please log in to view this image Wednesday 20th January 7.45pm King Power Stadium FA Cup 3rd Round Replay Another week and another game against Leicester. It's become a bit of a saga. Pochettino's fourth attempt to overcome them this season and it's about time that we won one. A bunch of changes from both sides might derail that ambition though, unfortunately. A trip to Colchester awaits the victor. Lineups for the last league game: Spurs: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Dembele; Lamela, Alli, Eriksen; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Wimmer, Davies, Carroll, Onomah, Chadli, Son. League form: WWWDLW. Leicester: Schmeichel; Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs; Mahrez, Kante, Drinkwater, Albrighton; Okazaki, Vardy. Subs: Schwarzer, De Laet, Wasileski, Inler, King, Gray, Ulloa. League form: WLDDWD. Referee: Anthony Taylor. How many changes do you expect and how many would you like to see? Should Pochettino be prioritising this game over the trip to Crystal Palace on the following Saturday? Is there anything tactical that we need to change to overcome Leicester, as we haven't managed it this season?
In 3D !!! Feel the crush of 11 players in their own third !!! Thrill at Mahrez diving into your lap on the sofa !!! "It's like you're really there" - Sky Sports
The novelty of seeing them do well this season has definitely worn off for me. They deserve it if they do win the title or get top 4 no doubt, but it has been a chore to watch them against us the past two games, and I expect it'll be more of the same this game as well. Disappointing to fall at the first hurdle in the FA cup, but I kind of just want to get it over and done with and move on.
As always, I am insisting we should put out our strongest line up for this one. Let's get this hurdle out of the way as we are more than capable of winning there, and then we have, dare I say this, an easy fixture in the next round.
"and then we have, dare I say this, an easy fixture in the next round." Better to say that we have another game where a lot of squad players can get 90 mins of match time into their legs and team understanding into their heads, before the Europa once again raises its head at the business end of the PL season.
Waiting for the first pundit to notice that Leicester don't try and play much football and rely on others making the game for them. Not going to happen is it.
"Waiting for the first pundit to notice that Leicester don't try and play much football and rely on others making the game for them. Not going to happen is it." Not worth worrying about. Play the same tempo as the first 45 the other day for the entire game, and in more clinical finishing we will have to trust.
I expect 4 changes from yesterday . I'd like two. Rest Dembele as he is crucial and injury prone; and Eriksen, as he needs a rest. In their place Bentaleb and Son. I want to win this game. I think we can do well in the cup and it would be silly to go out so early with a weaker team, especially as pointed out the next game should be winable with our weaker team. Tactical: learn how to defend corners. Oh and while on the subject of corners, learn how to be effective from our own corners.
Lineup for the initial game: Vorm; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Dier, Carroll; Chadli, Eriksen, Onomah; Son Lineup for the league game: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Carroll; Eriksen, Alli, Lamela; Kane Lineup I'd go for: Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Davies; Dier, Bentaleb*; Lamela, Alli, Son; Kane * If Bentaleb is still at the dreaded 90%, play Carroll - he'll be able to ping passes around if Leicester park the bus
It's probably because I am a child solely of the business-driven PL era, but I don't value the domestic cups as highly as I do league position. Obviously in an ideal world we'd have both, but if given the choice between 5th + FAC or 4th without a trophy, I'd go for the latter every day of the week. I doubt there's a Wigan fan alive who wouldn't happily exchange the trophy for just a single league place to ensure their survival. And whilst the situations obviously have their differences, I finishing 4th at this crucial juncture when big clubs are under-perform and massive New Stadium financial and logistical disruptions about to kick in, as equally as important to ensuring the survival of our great club's long-term hopes and aspirations. I also feel, having watched all EL games this season and the first act against Leicester, that the depth of our squad is underestimated and that healthy rotation will be key to the longevity of our campaign to secure top 4 or even higher. I disagree with the sentiment ton 'always field your strongest team' because A) that approach failed dismally in Harry's last season, and B) As fatigue and niggling injuries start to take their toll, your 'strongest team' can quietly become your weakest team without anyone even knowing how when or why. That said, I'd go for: Lloris Rose Wimmer Jan Walker Bentaleb Dembele Onomah Carroll Chadli Son
Shouldn't both teams be thinking they could win the F.A. Cup? Who is there to fear this season? No team has looked unbeatable. Two top four sides whose only trophies in recent memory have been the League Cup should prioritise this as a chance to win silverware. That EL sh#%& is the chance to rest players.
It's a matter of perspective Luke. To a United fan who has enjoyed CL football pretty much solidly for over 2 decades, of course 'that EL %$&^' is the chance to rest players. For me, whilst the group stage is tedious, no amount of banging on about 'the magic of the cup' will convince me that the atmosphere at the Lane when we walk out against a club of the size and repute of Fiorentina won't be utterly electric. Spurs live for those European nights precisely because they've sadly been so rare over the past few decades. To you, the EL is more of a mark of shame than anything, especially considering the lack of quality in the group you failed to qualify from. To us, advancing to the latter stages of the EL to face admittedly 'big' teams by any measure is a hugely important step towards taking this club up to the next level of becoming champions league regulars. I fully expect Poch to play his strongest side against a team who have been superb so far this season both in Europe and in Serie A. And, given the quality of teams who are already in the tournament at round of 32, I'd tend to think that he'll need his strongest eleven for the rest of the competition now.
You're right to some extent, but this competition is just flawed in my view. Too many games and too much travelling are the main issues for English teams who already have a congested, competitive fixture list with no break. How many suffer in the league because of extra workload? And most of the leading teams are in the CL. A competition to find the 30th best team in Europe has little kudos. On the other hand, the F.A. Cup has a great history and tradition, all teams take part and the trophy does carry kudos.
I agree with your initial comments Luke, but for those of us who aspire to be champions league regulars, this competition should (and I think does) mean something, and the fact that a champions league place is now on offer for the winners surely means it has kudos . I think that your comments about finding the 30th the best team in Europe are rather disingenuous, for a start the 30 best teams don't actually play in the champions league and also this competition may offer your best route back to the champions league next season! However I do also agree that we should be looking to win the FA cup it is a competition in which we have a good history but at the moment it is exactly that - history and this year marks 25 years since we last won it and that's not good enough.
I think we're just talking about two different stages of the competition. I agree that the qualifying rounds and group stages of the EL are a pain in the backside involving too much travelling to face the equivalent of pub teams on nigh unplayable pitches. I see that stage as a perfect stage to blood in youngsters and bring senior players out injured back to match fitness. Seeing the likes of Josh Onomah and Tom Carroll make their first senior starts for the club due to the competition begins to make it very worthwhile. And if you go back a little further, the EL introduced us to the likes of Harry Kane, Ryan Mason, Danny Rose etc. But I'm talking specifically about the stage of the tournament that coincides with the FA Cup kicking in. A combination of CL drop outs and process of elimination means that as 'early' as the round of 32 and certainly 16, the likes of Fiorentina, Napoli, Dortmund, Marseille, Galatasary, Porto, Sevilla, Basel and Leverkusen populate the list of potential opponets. Granted, they ain't no Real Madrid or Barcelona, but for a club at our stage of development (and yours, I'm afraid!) those are massive, massive games against teams who it is a real privilege to play against and for the majority of my years supporting Spurs, a privilege that I haven't been able to enjoy. If it's a choice between travelling to the Westfalenstadion with a full strength team or the Colchester Community Stadium, I'd go with the former every single time - even though the latter is undoubtedly an 'easier' (on paper) road to a trophy.
The EL only has 2 games more than the CL...the round of 32. I want us to win a trophy...we have gone 25 years without winning the fa cup and 33 years since winning the uefa cup so would love to see us win one of them...I would prefer EL as you get CL football as well as the trophy but beggars can't be choosers But back to the match...I would play Lloris Trippier vertongen wimmer Davies Bentaleb Lamela Onomah Ali Chadli Son
