Pretty good i thought. The closing down and blocking in and around the penalty box was very impressive. Dier seems to be dragging commitment out of everyone else in that area. Going forward we were ok in the first half without looking massively deadly. We were perhaps guilty of only attacking with 1-2 players at a time and getting swallowed up by the defence. Once we went behind we improved a bit and the markedly so again after HT. Clinton looks a decent player, he looks a decent out ball too. When he came on Kane seemed to drop deeper and do more defending leaving Clint up field with his pace giving the City defence something to think about. Alli is still class. Not a massive game for him today but still keeps things ticking along and has some (too much sometimes) fight in him.
I love Alli. He's aggressive, talented and likes to go forward. Yes, he'll blow hot and cold a bit, he's young and still learning. But, unless I'm very much mistaken, he's going to be a star. I just hope we can keep hold of him.
We've got a fantastic side, all round! It's down to Poch to prove that he's a great manager who can put it all together. If he can get today's performance out of the players every game, we'll finish in the top 4, no problem. It's all down to his ability to prove that he has the consistency.
Watching him its hard to believe he's 19 and just jumped up 2 divisions. So much potential its frightening. If we can keep him for a long time we'll be in a good place. Players that are as good as he looks like he's going to be can really progress a club (eg, Gerrard at 'Pool, and i don't just mean for his tapping up)
I doubt that such a young side will achieve such consistency yet. @Hoddle Is A God but we have seen today the potential of this squad. MP is doing fine IMO and we should stick with him as consistency of management is something we have needed for a very long time.
Still think some journeyman old hands in MF would be useful. But that is for the winter transfer window (depending on how the play and injuries go between now and then) .
If we get Berahino in the January window, we'll certainly secure 5th spot. Leicester have gone; and although the Spanners are riding high at the moment, I doubt that any serious money is going to be placed on their finishing in the top 7.
I'd agree with that assessment Spurm. We pressured well from the front which was good to see, City did pass around us a few times but then again they do have some very good players ands generally we were effective. Dier and Alli seem to balance the midfield very well, Alli has a wiry strength about him and beat Toure a few times, and Dier is a real unit. They both put it about effectively when they have to as well. We looked a little vulnerable from the flanks in the first half, Sterling is very quick and will give better RBs than Kyle Walker (who actually had a great second half though) a worse time than he did today, and down the left De Bruyne and Kolarov were getting at the isolated Davies. Second half Walker put Sterling in his pocket and didn't let him out, and down the left the presence of Son in the second half helped Davies immeasurably, and the Welshman ended up having a reasonably solid game overall. Lamela worked very hard to help Walker all throughout the game which was good to see. De Bruyne drifted a little more in the second half but City have some very dangerous attacking players who have great physical qualities and are strong in terms of their technical ability and movement too, so we did well to shackle them. Going forwards we were a little aimless at times and could have done with having a little more support when we broke out occasionally, but generally we managed to transition well and get support up there considering how under the cosh we were at times. Eriksen wasn't at his best but he certainly makes a difference. The decision making will improve - Kane for example could have passed in the first half and Eriksen would have an extremely good chance but he shot as he seemed very keen to break his duck, but he's past that now, and Son needn't have touched Chadli's second half header as it was probably sneaking in and we could have had 5! N'Jie looked to provide a good outlet as City were chasing the game, and generally in the second half we were attacking with more purpose I felt. It wasn't perfect, but overall a very encouraging performance indeed especially considering that we've had a shocking record against City recently until that game. On the consistency front, I think we have to take the bad with the good. This performance proves that we can deservedly win against the top teams, and although I think its unrealistic yet to expect this level of performance across an entire season we can never be written off now. Consistency will come if we stick with the manager and keep the core of this young team together. It will not be perfect and there will be times (both incidents within games, team selection issues, and longer spells of poorer results) when it becomes highly frustrating, but that is what we need - consistency. We need to find a way to maintain our league position over the next few years while the stadium gets built and paid off, and then we can look to push on from there, as Arsenal have done recently spending more money and winning the FA Cup twice. That is the reality of our situation now.
"and although the Spanners are riding high at the moment, I doubt that any serious money is going to be placed on their finishing in the top 7." Finishing within 20 points of Spurs in the PL come May is their equivalent of an English team winning the double.
Switching Son and Eriksen towards the end of the first half really seemed to change the game in our favour. The Korean's hard work prevented City from isolating Davies and the Dane benefited from having a little more space to work in. I'm not sure how much of an impact Chadli's introduction had, but putting N'Jie up top and dropping Kane into a deeper role put City on the back foot. They couldn't deal with his pace in behind, so they dropped deeper, where he fought them for everything. Pochettino gets quite a lot of stick for not having a Plan B and he's been somewhat deserving of it at times. His changes today were very important and I hope that having better options from the bench will see him having this sort of influence more often. Having a few back from the injured list might help, too.
"If they finish within 20 points of us, they'll be claiming that there's a Power-Shift!" That was last season (we finished 17 pts ahead after only over-taking them around Xmas) . But truly exciting times for them this season. Playing in the Europa league. The RWC showing them how the hoofball will look to a spectator come 2016. <nosebleed territory>
To be honest the CBs of City couldn't cope with the pace of Kane, and Kane isn't exactly a speedster. So Clint must have terrified them! Not having Kompany was a massive blow for them, but we all have injuries, so suck it up.
The big test comes next week, our best 2 Perfomances last season (chelsea/arsenal) were followed by defeats gotta back this result up. I didn't think I would ever say this but...Well done lamela
Just the four? You go on an on about it, just as I kept saying how important it was to rest the starters against Arsenal so they’d be fresh against the league leaders. I really have thought all year we look like a good team suffering from bad finishing and bad luck. We looked better than that today. Great performance and great performances today. Lloris turned the game for the second straight week with a great save. We look astonishingly well organized and committed defending against some very good attackers. Alderweireld looks like a great buy, but I tend to give Dier the most credit. He is a big, aggressive, committed, talented player who would be one of the last players I would want to face in the league. Alli looks so good so young I’m also already worrying about keeping him. We’ve been getting quicker and more ambitious attacking and continued to today. I like how we’re trying to create danger as quickly as we can. The interchanges in the final third often looked sharp and skillful. I thought Eriksen was very good. Son worked very hard and makes a big difference by giving us some pace. Lamela was superb barring a couple of goofs. Kane worked hard and had a well-taken goal. Clinton’s future looks bright. As good as we looked, my note of caution is that we’ve looked good this year partly because we press harder and run farther. It can keep working, but the danger of burnout, as happened last year, is considerable. I would really consider playing only second choice players in all the cups from here on in, partly to avoid burnout and partly because our chances in the league look much better than I would have guessed not very long ago. And on the topic of mea culpas, our transfer window doesn’t look so shabby at this point. I figure as long as we take enough short corners, we’ll be fine.
So, here we are then. Given the fixture list that was, I think most of us would have settled for 12 pts right now. And only 2 pts adrift from the 2 pts per game total that would give us a final total of 76.
"As good as we looked, my note of caution is that we’ve looked good this year partly because we press harder and run farther. It can keep working, but the danger of burnout, as happened last year, is considerable. I would really consider playing only second choice players in all the cups from here on in, partly to avoid burnout and partly because our chances in the league look much better than I would have guessed not very long ago." Of all the perennial complaints about Spurs managers not fully utilising/managing the squad over a season, Pochettino will get it hardest because the efforts his "philosophy" demand put the greater stress on his team.
