I agree with you completey Beddy, yesterday was a real lesson. There is no doubt that we have been ridiculously unlucky with injuries, however this has really shown us that we have absolutely no strength in depth. Hooiveld has put in many solid performances for us in the last couple of years and he hasnt been playing much, but we all know he isn't premier league standard. He can be carried when we have the rest of the team fit, but do we really want to have to keep playing a centre back that loves scoring own goals so much!? Fox and Gazzaniga however have proven time and time again that they aren't up to it at all. Gazza is young, so needs to go out on loan and learn his trade. Fox however needs to be written off, inept performance after inept performance, I don't know why Pochettino persists on playing him. Even Cork RB and Chambers LB would have been better. If we are forced to continue with Gazza, Fox and Hooiveld in the side for any length of time we are in real trouble.
Think we are panicking a bit here. We have a best 11-13 players and need more depth added in the summer. If we can get the right player(s) in January fine, but no need to panic (apart from a GK). Our best team will get us enough points to finish top half...we should assume that Europe is lost for now (unless I am being too pessimistic?). Mauricio is still learning about the PL as well and is trying to cope with a horrendous period of injuries. One player doesn't just slot in for another...it can change the whole feel of the side (which the team has to cope with). Other results went for us yesterday...for which we should be grateful.
It's not panic Fran to state the obvious in my view.....but if we cannot win against a team that has had 4 loses in a row or at least get a draw. Fran that result was on the cards as soon as we kicked off. No fluke strikes, no accidental slips, just plain old fashioned carelessness at defending nothing more nothing less!!
Yes, sorry I thought that was a given. Although out of all nationalities in the PL surely in the top 10?
It's inexcusable that no-one from the management team has recognised the need for a back up CB to Fonte and Lovren. And a back up for Shaw. Half the threads on here in the summer said we needed a CB. None came. Admittedly, having two keepers out is unprecedented, but Davis isn't up to it as a second choice so a keeper should have been brought in as well. There is no need to panic, as we are desperately unlucky with injuries, however it's annoying that we are throwing away our great start due to the exact same problems that we have suffered from for the last two years.
I can completely understand why the management team thought Yoshida and Hooiveld were up to it, considering both put in solid performances during the latter half of last season, keeping Fonte out of the side. The lack of a backup to Shaw is confusing though.
Some of you need a drink or two..... The way some people are posting it makes out we are in relegation cut adrift from any one else. We are ninth! Yes the past few results haven't been good enough but look at how many players we have out. Any team would find it hard with 6 or 7 players out. Also Fonte was on the bench as we have no one else.
That's an interesting question. I'd have to guess probably not, off the top of my head I can think of: Ãzil Ramsey Cazorla Silva Touré Mata Hazard Those are definitely better and there are plenty more probable ones (Oscar, Kagawa, Deulofeu, Coutinho, etc) As far as English players go though, I think you might be right. Maybe Barkley? Struggling to think of any others who come close right now though. Not great news for the England team that I can easily think of so many great foreign playmakers and so few English ones.
I'm not that downhearted about it, we still have a first 11 that are definitely good enough for top half. It's just disappointing that we are throwing away our good start instead of building on it. With a full strength side I am confident we would have beaten spurs. I just hope Pochettino and his staff are learning their lessons about who is good enough, and who isn't. I think we need a Centre Back in January for certain. I have never rated Maya personally (rightly or wrongly) and Hooiveld is not up to it either. As long as the coaching staff know and recognise our weaknesses then I am happy.
Osvaldo has been on and off being used as an impact sub. So is not necessarily first choice. Wanyama is injured his replacement is of a similar standard but that for me is 1 Shaw and Clyne I agree so that makes three.......Fonte was on the bench......as was Yoshida so either in theory could have been included. You could argue it is 4 yes I would go along with. Cork is equal in standard to Wanyama in my view at least! Chambers is a first class replacement for Clyne. Two key positions....... Yoshida should have been in rather than Josh which means the main problem would have only been fox and with Lovren covering him possibly would have been. As for Gazza....not going there again......
Beefy, I think the club has to shoulder a lot of the blame for our raised expectations, both players and staff, the way they were talking themselves up. I was always one of the more skeptical about our chances (some were confidently predicting a top 4 finish only a few weeks ago) but even I find myself frustrated by our recent form. We're obviously not in any danger of relegation, but the aim for this season was clearly not just survival. The way people were talking earlier anything lower than 8th would have be deemed a failure, and having a thin squad is hardly an excuse.
At the start of the season, I understood the aim to be a top half finish. Still on course for that. I can understand why hopes were raised, especially after the start and the noises from the club. I still think that had we kept everyone fit, we'd still be in the top seven or six teams in this league. Inevitably frustrated after the recent slump, but there's been many contributing factors that cannot be controlled, as the window has closed. I remain pleased with our season so far, and am still in total support of the management, as I suspect we largely are? However, yesterday had some staggeringly basic and straightforward errors. It was a really basic error of a lack of communication between DF, JH and PG which was quite unforgivable. What annoyed me most yesterday? Not the daft goals, but seeing Fox and Hooiveld bickering with each other even after the massive hash-up had happened, to the point Lovren had a go at the pair of them. It's just amateurish, unprofessional and uncalled for.
At this rate, as the window opens - even if we do want someone - our league placing risks not being great (in terms of attracting top class players with aspirations of challenging for a European position. I feel that we will have to do some dipping into the market, as Poch's targets are clearly league-focused, given the lame attempt we gave the League Cup. Though I am with the majority, in terms of preferring no one to weaker/short-term/loan players. Trying not to get too worked up, though - this is all part and parcel of building an awesome and sustainable football club. I just hate Spurs.
I think we would still be broadly behind the current management even if we finished as low as 14th again, there is more at stake than just where we finish this season after all, but after boldly predicting a charge into Europe, they have questions to answer. I can understand the frustrations of the players, because they know they're letting the side down. I'd normally say it's how they react in the next game that matters but even with the right attitude, some of them are simply not good enough, and the fact we are in a situation where we have so many players on the pitch who are so out of their depth has to be down to Pochettino, Cortese, et al.
Mauricio has never said where we would finish, but only that he didn't like to set limitations. It was inevitable that we would get excited after the start we had, but top ten (about 7-8th) is still achievable. We've hit a blip...every team will. The team with the shortest blip will finish top. We have lost 4 of the last 6, but remain 9th and won't be caught even if we lose on Boxing Day. If we had climbed to 9th, we'd be pretty happy at the moment. Get those sicknotes back ASAP, Santa.
It seems unfair that almost every other Premiership team seem to have these amazing second keepers, who seem to impose themselves on the team, and often end up keeping the first choice out. We haven't even got a half decent Championship keeper available. Masive oversight imo.
I said at the start of the season I expected a finish anywhere from 9th to 13th, with a chance of 8th or maybe 7th if Martinez screwed Everton up. Yes, the defending in the Spurs game was shameful but we're generally doing okay. Fox and even Hooiveld are carryable if they come in on their own and it's only the freakish number of injuries in defensive areas that mean they're playing at the same time as each other and Gazza. Players will start to come back from injury soon and we'll see an improvement.
