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Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Brentford

Discussion in 'Tottenham Hotspur' started by PleaseNotPoll, Nov 30, 2021.

  1. KingHotspur

    KingHotspur Well-Known Member

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    Must win game was won.

    Not perfect but a clean sheet and 3 points is always welcome
     
    #101
  2. vimhawk

    vimhawk Well-Known Member

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    Before we start thinking that it was only Brentford, our opponents drew against Liverpool and Chelski, who are supposed to be two of the three teams that are 'way ahead' of anything else in the league.
     
    #102
  3. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

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    Far more solid when we didn't have the ball today, and what helped that was seeing various players showing they were willing to run until their legs could give no more - and what really stood out was they were fit enough to keep that up for 75-80 minutes by and large, rather than 60 minutes tops as we had under the ubermensch

    Also, the London Curse is over
     
    #103
  4. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

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    One thing this season is doing is giving players redemption arcs

    Dier has had a quietly good season, and has started being surprisingly effective as a libero under Conte
    Davies has gone from a player people were writing off as deadwood to a very useful part of our back three

    When we get to the point where Harry Winks gets a hockey assist against Leeds and frankly deserved an assist this evening, it's certainly worth seeing who else's form starts heading in the right direction
     
    #104
  5. Allledleykingsmen

    Allledleykingsmen Well-Known Member

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    Good performance that. Not amazing but pleasing. Our ball recoveries were excellent.
    Defensively good and thought Dier and Davies were very good.
    Skipp continues to develop, just needs to be braver with his forward passes.
    Son worked his socks off and Kane and Lucas were good too.

    Emerson is OK but for me we need to upgrade RWB and obviously need a creative goal threat behind Kane and Son.
     
    #105
  6. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

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    Brentford keeper Alvaro Fernandez, speaking to Amazon Prime: "It wasn't easy. Today was good opportunity for us because if we had won we would have finished in seventh position. We have to go again on Sunday. Spurs pressed us so much. With Harry Kane, Son and Moura... it's normal when you come here that you suffer until the end. We tried to create opportunities but we couldn't score."

    And that's the difference - Conte has us set up so we know when to press, and when to murder opponents on the counter
     
    #106
  7. KingHotspur

    KingHotspur Well-Known Member

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    Beat Arsenal too didn’t they
     
    #107
  8. Dier Hard

    Dier Hard G'day mate!

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    Just got in, bollocks are frozen but was worth it.

    Thought it was a controlled game from start to finish, didn’t really feel like we’d concede which is a nice feeling as I’m often expecting to give the opponents a 1-0 head start. Could’ve done better with the ball but I think until we get a creative mid it’s always gonna be an issue.

    Thought Hojbjerg, Skipp and Reguilon were brilliant whilst Dier and Davies were also very good. Kane also had a really good game, should’ve buried his chance but he was making those passes that he done last season where he plays it through the lines of the defence to a runner, one of them resulted in a great goal but there were two or three others we could’ve done better from.

    Annnn-tonio Conte
    Annnn-tonio Conte
    He eats spaghetti, he drinks Moretti
    He ****ing hates Chelseeeeaa!
     
    #108
  9. littleDinosaurLuke

    littleDinosaurLuke Well-Known Member

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    please log in to view this image
    please log in to view this image
     
    #109
  10. Tilly'sowner

    Tilly'sowner Well-Known Member

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    Conte is slowly but surely steadying what was a sinking ship.

    Some good performances tonight. On we go. Continue the progression.

    It certainly helped that we weren't playing a defensive minded team because that is when the team really struggles.
     
    #110

  11. The RDBD

    The RDBD Well-Known Member

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    4th place is going to be a real dogfight this season.
    It will come down to who manages their squad best
    (the next two months especially) .
     
    #111
  12. Left on the Shelf

    Left on the Shelf Well-Known Member

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    Decent performance and a noticeable increase in effort against a decent team.
    A win is a win - and it's remarkable that having been so **** all season, we still find ourselves in a position where a win in the catch-up game would put us in a CL place! <laugh>
    Jury is still out on Royal, but will get the benefit of the doubt for now.
    Main concern would be the previously telepathic relationship between Kane & Son appears to have degenerated into that of a soon to be divorced couple -;either not knowing or not wanting to know what the other was thinking.
    (Even if Kane appeared to be working harder)

    The Conte reign is taking hold :emoticon-0148-yes:
     
    #112
  13. redwhiteandermblue

    redwhiteandermblue Well-Known Member

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    While it's natural to single out bad performances and disappointing players, the real problem for four years has been the collective, which has gone from having superior work rate, organization and toughness to being inferior in all three. It's only been a couple of games, but Conte has earned his money so far by getting the first team properly organized and working hard in a system they believe in.

    Spurs got the ball at the goal quickly and reasonably often, pressed well, and looked well organized at the back, despite a back line that impresses nobody. Brentford were poor, but much of that was Spurs not giving them time and space.

    Moura, Hojbjerg, Skipp, Davis, DIer and Son were good. Reguilon doesn't take care of the ball well, but his tendency to run far and fast makes him a real threat in Conte's system. Emerson had has second straight disappointing game. Son scoring was a real plus. Kane had a good game at deep lying playmaker, but was disappointing with his finishing, as was the team overall.

    So, score one for the Conte quick fix, which I've been running down. I can only hope he keeps proving me wrong.
     
    #113
  14. The Changing Man

    The Changing Man Well-Known Member

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    All in all that was a decent performance, quite simply on the night the best team won. And that's what we were a team, individual performances stepped up for sure, but it was the team aspect that was most pleasing. Even with Sanchez & Royal on the right side we looked solid. Skipp was rightly named player of the match as he set the tempo for so much of what we did well. We have definitely found Ben Davies best position and Eric Dier is so much better in a 3, thought his passing was good throughout last night too. The front 3 did OK, was Sonnys best match for a while and there were signs that Harry may not be far off finding some proper form for us.

    As Left said above its quite a amazing that we have been appalling this season, and the media have constantly told us that the spammers are fantastic and that the Goons have turned a corner under Arteta yet here we are just behind them with a game in hand. 4th could be a real fight between the 4 sides currently 4th - 7th and if we get January right you never know, then again it is us so you probably do.......
     
    #114
  15. Lovearsenalcock

    Lovearsenalcock Homeboy
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    Reggie looking a bit more like the full back I thought we had signed.

    Emerson…tbh if Fatboy Tanguy deserves season after season of ‘settling in’ so that we can witness his magical god given man wasted talent then Emerson deserves the backing and support during his legit settling down period.

    I need more from Hojberg…fist bumps and gritted teeth with a Viking roar will not cut it for me.

    Antonio can do this
     
    #115
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2021
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  16. Dier Hard

    Dier Hard G'day mate!

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    If we can add a creative mid more than anything in January then I think providing we don’t get any further substantial injuries like Romero’s, we stand a real good chance under Conte, which is crazy considering how bad we were looking beforehand.

    The second half vs Leeds and most of yesterday’s game showed some real positive bits of play as a team for the first time in a long while but it’s still lacking that extra bit of creativity. We probably should’ve won 4-0 though having said that, as Kane should’ve scored and also had an assist or another Modric pass where he crossed it low into Hojbjerg, who either should’ve finished better or laid it back to Son for a tap-in. Though we’ll also face tougher sides than Brentford where it won’t be as easy to play through and that’s where an Eriksen-esque player makes the difference for me.
     
    #116
  17. "Thanks for that Brian"

    "Thanks for that Brian" Well-Known Member

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    That performance was much, much better. Then I watched the second half of the Man Utd. v Arsenal game...and we've got a long way to go. Arsenal especially, no matter that they lost, were playing with a fluency that we're a long, long way off of.

    Conte has already markedly improved fitness levels. Last night, we were able to run for 75 minutes, which is 45 minutes more than we were able to manage under Nuno and Mourinho...and for the most part, better than Poch was able to extract after 2017/18. That improvement alone, will significantly improve results, although it's also likely to drive the need for significantly more quality on the bench.

    It's pretty clear that we desperately need first team ready players in a number of positions, but DH is right that we really badly need someone to come in to that midfield. Ndombele is now behind Winks in Conte's pecking order, which is damning of what he's seen as offering to the collective. We have Lo Celso to return and no matter his issues, he's desperately needed, as Hojbjerg looks like he needs resting or is carrying a knock. Other than Lo Celso, we could really do with getting someone additional in. Hoping for Pape Sarr to be able to play at the right level, straight off, is likely to be met with our usual transfer disappointment.

    No matter his current form, we're also a significant Kane injury away from complete disaster. Yesterday, I read something about Conte thinking of putting Bergwijn up top before moving Sonny centrally. I get the thinking and suggested exactly that, some time before we signed him. Bergwijn has the physical strength and first touch to hold the ball up much better than Son, but given his lack of confidence and really poor finishing over the majority of the last 2 years, I'm struggling to see it getting us where we want to go.

    Conte's driving change and improvement and can get us where we want to go but he needs to be given the resources to stand a chance of getting there. If we have to pay more than we might want to, to get in someone really good, we should go that extra mile. Even getting 6th, rather than 7th or worse, would make it financially worthwhile.

    (This is the longest post that I've written in a very long time, without slating the owners or the incumbent manager. Is hope returning...? It could be...)
     
    #117
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2021
  18. Dier Hard

    Dier Hard G'day mate!

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    I think when Sarr arrives we’ll have to treat him similar to Gil. Don’t expect him to be a world beater for a season or two at least but trust that in time he’ll potentially be a star. Both him and Gil were coveted by a lot of teams and it’s good for us to have beaten them to their signatures, just need to ensure we help them develop.

    As for the last paragraph, that’s what I’ve pretty much said a few times. Under Conte I’ve now got a much better outlook for the future and so much renewed optimism. He’s elite, no one can say anything to dispute that and if given time, support and resources he’ll put Spurs back on the map, I’m sure of it.
     
    #118
  19. humanbeingincroydon

    humanbeingincroydon Well-Known Member

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    Pass map time

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    Certainly a lot better in regard to actually finding teammates, as the smallest dot on there is Lloris (as it should be) rather than some microscopic specks in the opponent's third that we've seen far too much in the last couple of years. You can also see combinations coming back into focus, for example the Dier/Davies/Hojbjerg combinations we saw a lot of last season is once again working, but given the change in tactical plan it's working in a different way as now Reguilon is also in play so they have another option to move the ball onto

    Obviously the right side of defence would look smoother with Romero on the pitch, as he'd not only a better passer so would be feeding Skipp more often but would also urge Emerson forward, but given how Emerson and Sanchez kept Rico Henry quiet all evening that's nitpicking really

    What also stands out is the way Skippy's a useful outlet for everyone around him, as he's picking up the ball from Dier, Sanchez and Emerson while he;s also moving it on to Kane, Lucas and Hojbjerg, as well as rolling it back to Sanchez or Dier for when we play it back to rebuild again, and this is why players are getting more of the ball because we're keeping hold of it not to play busparquet, but because Conte's system does expect midfielders to play it back to defence so moves can be built from scratch if they have to be

    However, what really stands out isn't in our passmap, but in Brentford's

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    They're clearly playing a lot deeper than expected, and what really stands out is how little they got the ball to Toney, Canos and especially Mbeumo, while Henry wasn't making forward runs and instead laying it off to Norgaard or Janelt, but what really sums up how well we sat on them is the fact that their goalkeeper was a more effective playmaker than their midfield was
     
    #119
    PleaseNotPoll likes this.
  20. PleaseNotPoll

    PleaseNotPoll Well-Known Member
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    Highlights:


    Of course, we all know what Brentford's real mistake was, don't we? <whistle>
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    #120

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