Disappointing night and in all honesty at full strength (i.e. with Wanyama and Toby) I think we would've had enough to beat them. Both goals were down to sheer inexperience - players getting sucked out of position and losing their man and we get punished for it. You can lose the likes of Benteke as often as you want and nothing will happen. Lose Higuain for a split second and the ball is in the net it really is as simple as that. Chiellini by contrast - and it pains me to say this - will find Harry Kane in his pockets later amongst the lint. Eriksen and Son our outstanding players. Jan was uncharacteristically shaky but having said that Dave marshalled Dybala superbly for most of the game and showed some excellent anticipation throughout. Shame he got duped by Higuain's movement but bottom line is we have one heck of a player on our hands back there. Moussa showed quality in fits and starts but neither he nor Dier really asserted control over the midfield. I still think Wanyama should've started as Dier contributes very little at this level. But ho hum. Alli had a superb first half but then in the second half faded. What frustrates me about him is that for all the excellent positions he takes up it is still all about these little take-the-piss flicks and spins. If they don't work on a weekly basis against the likes of West Brom what on earth makes him think they'll work against Juve? Trippier and Davies both had solid games albeit both were at fault for both goals. All in all, a campaign we can look back on with pride including 180 minutes against Juve where on the balance of it we were the better side. As others have said, now comes the true test of character. Last year we reacted perfectly to the Gent disappointment, going on to win 9 in a row before losing in the Taxpayer Cup Final against the ****s in claret and blue. More of the same now please and we can force our way into 2nd spot. Onwards.
Absolutely devastated to be honest. Struggling to collect everything together in my head still. Thought Dier and Sanchez were poor for the goals and Pochettino was poor with the subs but still proud of the team, as a unit and individually(including those listed as poor). We played great football as we have done throughout our CL run and it's given me a lot of joy. Hope we qualify again and learn from our mistakes next season because the football we play is incredible to watch. Thought Alli was our motm, superb in the first half and, unfortunately, kicked off the park in the second. Still the FA Cup and top 4 to go for. If they keep putting the effort in I'm sure we'll do well. COYS
Really hard position for a young manager to be in, you had been the better team over two legs up to the 5 mins where you went behind tonight. What is the best way to go, keep doing what you have been and hope your superiority shows or bring on players cold from the bench who could take 10-15 mins to get into the game and make things worse?
Totally agree. The only way to learn from mistakes is to live through them. Sanchez overall had a really commanding game. He was duped by Higuain's movement on both occasions but that is the inevitable by-product of a 21 year old defender coming up against one of the most experienced and deadly strikers in the world.
All very well to say we were the better team and all very well to say experience won but WHEN will it be our turn? It just happens again and again.
Just watched the highlights back. It's Dier who fails to track Higuain. Just stops running as they enter the box. I know I've been harsh on him in the past but he's having a very poor season overall. Ineffective tonight and it just seems as though he has a costly error in him every game at the moment. If United come sniffing and they offer £60m, I'd take it tbh.
Got home about 45 mins ago as I stopped off for some late night Maccy D's as I needed comfort food Gotta be honest, this is only the game of the season I've been genuinely gutted to lose. Losses against Arsenal, Utd etc have been frustrating but this one was just well and truly gutting. Fair to say I have mixed emotions. Immensely proud, getting out the group of death and then losing to the Kings of Italy by a one goal margin over two legs shows how good of a team we've become. But also disappointed in that I felt our naivety was what cost us, in both players and management. Jan and Davies had poor games, couldn't fault their effort but I felt for too ever so reliable defenders, they looked way too easy to beat and Jan should've had a penalty given against him. Dembele didn't take control of the game like he did in the first leg, to have matched that first leg performance would've been quite a feat but he looked nowhere near that player. Dave made a blinding tackle in the first half and was looking solid but Higuain fooled him on the second goal when putting Dybala through, no shame in that though, Higuain has been one of the best in Europe for around a decade. Dave showed enough tonight to yet again convince me he is going to be one of the elite CBs in years to come once he irons out a few things. Sonny and Eriksen were superb, especially Sonny, who caused Juve so many problems, while Eriksen dictated everything. Sonny looked distraught at the final whistle and I'm not surprised, he ran himself into the ground for us, should hold his head very high though, when a player puts a shift like that in for my club, regardless of the result, I'll always be proud of them. Alli had an immense first half but massively deteriorated in the second. Dier also tired massively and this leads to my next point about criticism for Poch - and it isn't the first time I've said this about him - but why does he take so ****ing long to make subs?! He was absolutely schooled by Allegri in how to be a proactive manager. Allegri realised that he had to change things around, he made two subs on 60 & 61 minutes respectively and within 5 or 6 minutes Juve grabbed two goals. That there, in my opinion, is top class management. Poch on the other hand, he's too much of a reactive manager and when he does actually react, he leaves it too late. Dier and Alli could've been taken off much earlier for fresher players who could've helped strengthen our position in the lead, instead, he only makes the change once we're a down and by then it's too late as Juve shut up shop. Why the **** he left Moura on the bench when his pace would've been ideal I'll never know. Only making two subs was poor as well, throw everything at trying to get the win, mate! I really hope tonight Poch may have learned a thing or two from Allegri, because as they say in MMA - "You win or you learn". Well done though, Spurs, as gutting as it is there's no shame in losing to a world class side like that. Now onto focusing on that FA Cup!
Proud but gutted. My worry is in the games that really matter, Poch is always slow to react with changes. To risk sounding like a gooner, top 4 and FA Cup is the aim now.
How did we lose that match? 3 Minutes of madness and proof that against the very best you just cannot switch off. Totally agree with so much of what has already been said about our players, and our manager, but I must also commend Juve for a masterclass in winning matches by being more streetwise and comfortable in winning at all costs. They were measured, cynical, and ruthless in equal measure, the way they kicked Alli out of the game with a different player taking him out each time was so Italian, but it was also completely effective. Not sure now Pjanic stayed on the field and as for only 3 minutes of stoppage time it took Higuian 90 secs to get off the field alone These just small gripes, and maybe slightly sour grapes on my part, but we have made progress from last years champions league campaign to this one and now we need to ensure that we are in it again next season so that we can continue our education against the very best.
Aside from the first 9 mins of the first leg and the three crazy minutes where they scored with their first two shots on target we were clearly the better team over the two legs. So proud of Spurs. What a team we have right now - and getting better. Poch still has some things to learn but he's the best manager we've had for decades. I love him. Keep him at the club and who knows what can happen? I think it's fair to say that we are now very comfortable among the European elite of teams. Look at where we are now compared to ten years or so ago when Jol getting us into the Europa via league position was (rightly) celebrated. There's been the odd Ramos and AVB on the way but really it's been clear and steady improvement and consolidation since Jol shoved Santini out the way to show him how it was done. Time was when we a squad half-full of Sissokos. Now one player in the squad who's just not up to it sticks out like a sore thumb. Only thing that I really regret about last night is that Kane really wasn't quite up to it for once. Great contribution for the goal but, like Son (who was superb: as I said earlier in the season - *what* a crucial player he is for us), his finishing was uncharacteristically off on the night. I had a feeling he might have a huge game - a Bale v Milan sort of announcement of world greatness. Not to be. Oh well - let's hope that Bournemouth then Swansea feel our wrath now and we are firing all cyclinders in time to absolutely smash that repugnant stain of a football club, Chelsea. One thing about being a Spurs fan nowadays - I find myself strangely optimistic after a loss. It's rarely deserved and I just think about the next unbeaten run we'll go on! COYS
I don’t think we should be downhearted at all. Punching above our level, with a young team/manager with limited CL experience against top 3 European football team. If we had the riches of PSG or a City I would expect more but we were the clear underdogs. Can’t be critical of anyone at THFC. We are exceeding expectations - above and beyond. We want a trophy, yes - extremely difficult to win CL and PL when your competing with teams with an abundance of riches and decades of winning league and European titles. Need to realise where we are at. Until we have funds to spend +£50-£150m on individuals and paying big wages, we will not be winning anything apart from possibly an FA Cup. It’s the reality. We could do a major title once in the next few years but the odds are rightfully slim. If we had spent what Arsenal/City/Utd/ have on players on wages and transfer fees and not winning medals, then I would be on Tottenham Fan TV screaming like a pussy ****.
Overall view..... Disappointed on the night as we could and should have won it. Officials were poor and overall we got the worst of their decisions. Two Juve players should clearly have seen red. The non-penalty suggests it was ineptitude rather than bias - but how the ref can play a bare 3 minutes over when there were 5 subs alone, let alone 2 long injury stoppages and timewasting, is beyond me! We were not ruthless enough in that first half when totally dominant - that came back to bite - along with an inspired piece of management on Allegris part. Player wise, Dier didn't have a good night, Moussa flitted in and out and both FB's looked vulnerable at times. However, there were some really good performances as well. Disappointing, but not the end of the world. What I do react to is Chiellini saying “Tottenham, it's the history of the Tottenham. They always create many chances and score so much but in the end they miss always something to arrive at the end.' Butt out, twat!
I think you need the attitude of not caring about the big money teams, show no respect and just play them as equals. If you're constantly thinking that there's no way to overcome them then you never will.
makes no difference what we think...the players clearly do not think this when they step onto the pitch otherwise we would have flopped in the CL and would not be in with a chance of coming in the top 4 even though we are not playing any games at our home ground. Edited to add... The money stuff is important for fans to remember...we came seriously close to going bust in 1991 and as a result the club try to spend sensibly...this hinders us and as fans it is important to remember this so we can realisically judge how we are doing rather than act like plastic twats. look at some of the gooners claiming Wenger has destroyed their club...he has them better in league than the day he took over...won 3 titles, gone a season unbeaten, won 7 fa cups, got to a CL final, 6 or 7 other finals, changed the footballing cukture at the club from turgid to watch to free flowing football and they came top 4 for 21 years running yet he is destroying their club? look at some West ham fans holding banners claiming their owners have damaged the East End more than the Nazis did! There is no perspective and those clubs are becoming toxic cos of it.
I think that link between the club and fans is still there, social media is another link that players see and react to and that then filters through the club.
The thing with Arsenal is that they're actually not doing all that bad which makes their entitled fans look rather foolish. They have about the 4th/5th highest spending in the league (not seen figures for a couple of years - they still spend more than Liverpool?) and so finishing outside the top 4 is not that unlikely at all. Finishing in or around 4th/5th is about par for them and they've won a few cups recently too. What the **** is so wrong? Haha - we're what's so wrong, I guess. Love it. They're position looks all the worse cos of how we're clearly the better team now. And as a result they will play some managerial Russian roulette and the odds are that they will go further backwards before they go forwards again. Good luck finding another Wenger. Much more likely to be a Moyes or a van Gaal.
