Still behind the spam and the goons and one has to go all the way down to 17th, Leeds, to find a worse goal difference. Could do better.
Fans want heart and belief and passion...especially when we're not playing well. It's great to see someone who wants to win.
I thought Tanganga had a poor game, passing was miles off and often caught in possession ( not the only one in 1st half )
The positive is that NO ONE can pretend everything is OK so players have to do as they are told. Clearly the ht talk and tactics changes worked and the players responded to them. Conte clearly has influence with the whole squad and the ability to make the necessary tactical changes mid game. Not sure the last time I thought that about a manager. Very interesting to see Sessegnon on and Sanchez replacing Tanganga (thought he was poor). Also thought he showed he doesn't panic. Would have been easy to sub players off but credit to him ... he made tactical changes and helped Winks, Reguilón, Son, Kane and Moura to have very good second halves
Sanchez was excellent in his few minutes. And good to see Sessegnon get some time. Was difficult to think there would be any positives after that first half, but a win is a win.
I ****ing LOVE this manager. He’s exactly what these soy boys have needed, what I’d have been to be a fly on the wall during that HT team talk because that second half was the best half of football we’ve played since the opening day. The passion he showed throughout the game and afterwards was brilliant to watch. So Jekyll and Hyde though, dominated in the first half to dominating in the second. Thought Dier and Davies were very good and the WBs made themselves busy. Sess and Sanchez also very good when they came on too. ANTONIOOOOO! ANTONIOOOOO! ANTONIO! ANTONIO! ANTONIOOOOO!
Nuno and maureen would have lost after that first half. Rumour has it that Conte makes Wenger look water bottle Friendly.
Although Reggie was awarded MOTM a special mention should go to the young lad from Leeds, Joe Gelhardt the lad is 19 and did not look out of place in that team
Could’ve been a Spurs player too. We looked at him around the same time we signed Devine, even talk of a double deal but Leeds beat us to his signature.
He looked very impressive indeed. As for Reguilon being MotM however... He improved 2nd half - as they all did - and got the goal, but he was bloody awful in that first half, including getting the wrong side for their goal.
I thought Hugo was a close MOTM, he had a fairly busy match, made some good saves and did everything else with little fuss. Early days still for Royal, but he is not looking anything special going forward and was skinned for their goal.
Good to see you back, Sess! Looked good in his cameo too, if he stays fit it should be a great battle for that LWB role as both and he Reguilon are perfect for it. Presuming/ hoping he starts on Thursday.
Peculiar match overall. The lack of confidence across the board is so painful to watch. Conte in that regard is probably the perfect person to solve that problem. Maureen killed players' confidence and Nuno had the charisma of a damp dishcloth, so perhaps someone with a fire and an energy can get this group believing again. Mixed performances all over the pitch. Dier, Davies and Hugo very good. Kane gave 100% for probably the first time this season - his only fault was that he looked too desperate to score and it affected his decision making. But overall he was everywhere, scrapping, held the ball up well and some of his passing was exquisite. Lucas industrious as ever and deserved an assist for his efforts. He may have scored 7 goals in his last 70 appearances but right now he is undroppable, simply due to his work rate and being one of the few who still has confidence intact. Tanganga had a disappointing game. Was solid in the tackle but his passing was woeful and positioning dodgy, although in his defence he's only played in a back 3 a handful of times. Hojbjerg looked like he was carrying an injury. Winks is essentially another body on the pitch. Grew into the game but is so very unremarkable. Emerson wasn't great. As others have said, he gets turned far too easily and has this infuriating habit of trying to get his body between the winger and the ball which means if the winger is stronger than him, Emerson won't have the ball and also won't be goal side, which is exactly what happened for their goal. Really happy for Reg that he finally got his goal but another one with a mixed performance. Some horrific decision making chief of all was that failure to slip Emerson in when he was clean through. Will be interesting to see if Sess plays a more significant role moving forward. As for Son...not sure where to begin. He is on a horrendous run of form and is one of the numerous players whose confidence looks rock bottom. Out-muscled so easily, slowed down multiple attacks and apart from a few pot shots from distance contributed very little. Difficult to know what to do with him but a spell on the bench might be the solution.
