obviously we want our strikers to score goals, and soldado hasn't provided in that area. But for a man whose had a torrid time since joining, to see him still giving everything when we're nearly in March, is great to see. Many players would have given up hope. I honestly think that 1 goal is all that's needed for him to find some form.
Agree, he put in a shift last night and was decent. You're always gonna lose the ball more when you are receiving it in and around the 18yd box so we can't hold that against him. Decent finish for his "goal" too. He seemed to get a good reception when he was brought off, which i thought was deserved.
I agree wiht a lot here, but CE's free kick 'and' them reduced to 10 men in equal measure sprang us into life imo. CE drifting about didn't sort much 1st half. This is difficult, as I don't want to detract from what he did do, but I can't help feeling Benfica or any decent side would have exploited the space we left....on the left!
Obviously the 10 men is a bonus, but how many times have we watched us play against 10 who park the bus and frustrate us? if it hadn't have been for the free kick, we could easily have struggled, once again. Scoring it resulted in their mindset and organisation falling to pieces, as well as boosting ours positively. There's no doubt we need to sort out the balance of the side, but Eriksen playing on the left has somewhat of a "square peg in round hole" feel about it, just like we had under AVB. So therefore we just need to play someone there who'll get back and do the job better than him, as well as get forward at pace. Is it really that difficult?!
Fully agree with that, CE shouldn't even be asked to play a disciplined LM role, total waste of the lad. Give him the free role and sort the rest of the side around that.
Yep This is what i don't understand with old Timmy-boy. All his blabbing to the media is like "just let them go out and express themselves" etc etc. But clearly our most creative player has been told otherwise. Football is quite simple in my mind. If we are playing 1 up then CE gets to do what he wants and we have 2 wingers hugging the touchline and crossing (and on occasion coming inside of course). If we play 2 up then i would possibly give Ade a free role. He showed last night he can take the game by the scruff of the neck. With 2 up CE does need to be a bit more disciplined which i guess is what we saw last night.
I remember looking at Eriksen's face before the free kick, and thinking, he really believes he's going to score and that we can win the tie. Well, maybe he will score, I thought, but surely we can't get three goals in half an hour. It's doing things like that that make players stars. I would hope and guess Sherwood understands that as well. If he has a free role with Ade up front, I'm thinking that means Lennon and Chadli/Townsend on the wings, with two spots left, I guess for Sandro and Paulinho. It's not a bad idea to rest Dembele for this game, but I think we need him back eventually. Play him on the left, maybe?
What I'm really hoping is that Sherwood says, hey, remember how you looked and felt and played when you needed three goals in half an hour against Dnipro? Well do whatever you need to do to look and feel and play like that every minute of every game for the rest of the f*ucking season.
Adebayor up top, Eriksen behind, Lennon and Townsend on the wings, lets have a go. Liverpool are gone now but we could still catch the Goons. Boots on the other foot this time, wouldn't it be great to pip them on the last day of the season just like they've done the last couple of years
Don't set yourself up for even more agony!. If we manage to get within a couple of points then it could be on, but right now we have to start winning matches after playing midweek European matches. Is it 5 losses so far? we have to break the winless run.
Boss, what made it hurt last couple of years was because we threw it away, this year we've got nothing to lose, lets see how the goons cope with being the ones under pressure
If we win tomorrow and lose agaisnt Chelsea, we face the Goons not long after so even with a loss agaisnt the chavs, tomorrow does set us up nicely for the N London Derby as Arsenals next premier league game is agaisnt us due to their cup games inbetween.
Failure to secure 3 points here will see our already slim chances of making the top 4 gone for good this season. I am expecting another post Europa leggy, lethargic performance from the Spurs.
I was saying we could catch them but think last week was crucial. Last year Fulham was the game when we threw it away, everyone around us went on to beat them. My crystal ball says , come last game of the season Arsenal need to win to keep 4th spot-they are at Carrow road and win. However I still hope that crystal ball is broken.
How should we view today ?? Pressure or opportunity ?? Last week the "pressure" was on to win. Perhaps today should be viewed as an "opportunity" to close to 6 pts of joint 2nd and 10 pts off top (the latter would be a first for Spurs for this stage of the PL season) .
Do I have to pick 'pressure' or 'opportunity'? Can I pick 'formality' instead? It's Cardiff. We're at home, on the back of a good win. Ade is on fire.
"Do I have to pick 'pressure' or 'opportunity'? Can I pick 'formality' instead?" Formality + <standard> Spurs is a dangerous mix. I prefer "opportunity" , as it suggests an added bonus rather than a must do.
