There’s more doubt than usual as to who will be in the team, since Dier, Rose and Dembélé are all doubtful. Safe to say we’ll see Lamela, Son, Eriksen and Janssen, I think, but N’Koudou looks like he could cause your back line problems. Janssen has been valuable for us against teams that park the bus by occupying the central defenders and creating space in the middle, but might not be so valuable in an open game. Could Pochettino play with N’Koudou and without Janssen, as he did versus CSKA Moscow?
Looking at that defence, a lot will depend on who plays in the pivot for us. Apart from a few pictures of players training, we havent got a clue who will start. If it's Dier-Dembele, I'm confident that we can disrupt your supply lines to Silva and Aguero sufficiently to force what is an admittedly suspect back 4 into making numerous mistakes. If it's Wanyama and Alli, I am far less confident as the former isn't comfortable enough in possession whilst the latter isn't disciplined enough to stick to a deeper role and will repeatedly wander further up thr pitch, leaving behind plenty gaps for your creative players to exploit. Both sides are missing some of their best players - Kompany and De Bruyne for you and Kane and probably one of Rose/Dier/Dembele for us. Should be a very even, entertaining match.
I'll be wearing two ties, just in case. I'm also about to shave using sulfuric acid, just to be sure.
One thing Americans do well is advertise. NBC is promoting the game heavily (though it’s only on their cable station, not their free channel, which is too bad) in the US with the words "Two great houses of football." Note the football. There are a few quick shots of both teams, then a longer shot of Alderweireld celebrating. I think they like both the passion and the hair. The overall impact is "this is cooler than the football you know". It’s a good angle. Their other phrase is "Premier League behemoths." No doubt this kind of campaign makes Spurs more popular. Of course, the best thing would have been Alli’s goal plus the crowd reaction, or maybe Lamela’s rabona, but I’ll bet they couldn’t get the rights to those.
Fancied somewhere decent for prematch lunch,not a greasy spoon or a packed away pub No idea I go to every game so never see them on the tv
If you walk down from Euston station to Kings X, there are are several pubs along the way. How many will be open etc when you arrive is another story, but you should be able to get sorted.
You are a man without honor, who should be encased in a block of aluminum and dropped into the center of the nearest deep river.
My Dad always wore a Spurs tie. He had a huge range and wore them with pride whether Spurs were playing or not. I bought him a new one every birthday & Christmas and it was always the favourite present whatever else he'd been given! I think he and O.Spurcat would have got on well...
Lovely to see Rose back but the Wanyama-Alli pivot fills me with a sense of dread, as does seeing Son up top on his own. If this season has shown one thing, it's that Son is most effective when not playing as a striker. He thrives off of runs from deeper and wider positions and simply isn't a target man in the way that Kane and Janssen are. Good to at least see Dier back on the bench but Dembele's prolonged absence is a major worry. He is a player with a history of groin and hamstring injuries, and as he gets older they will only increase in frequency and severity. I'd prefer Sissoko as his understudy rather than Alli.
