please log in to view this image Sunday 29th November 12pm White Hart Lane Premier League Another midweek trip out of the way and we're back to business in the Premier League with another derby. That's three Sunday games against fellow London sides on the bounce, for those not keeping track. Good performances in the other two will have raised expectations for this one, as will last season's fixture. One of the biggest shocks of the campaign saw Chelsea's defence ripped apart and Mourinho change his tactics for the rest of the season. A repeat of that display would be very welcome. We didn't appear to pick up any new fitness problems in Azerbaijan, so Pochettino should have plenty to pick from. Walker, Rose and Dembele will probably come straight back in, especially as Alli's suspended. Lamela picked up a knock with Argentina though, so his presence might be missed again. Terry looks likely to be out for Chelsea and Ramires faces a fitness test. Everyone's aware of Chelsea's dramatic fall from grace this season, but they've managed to pick up a couple of wins prior to this game. Norwich and 10-man Tel Aviv might not be the fiercest opponents in the world, but the players will feel better about themselves, regardless. Being able to dig yourself out of poor form is more important than how you actually manage it. Mourinho might even be a little less miserable with the press before the game. Our biggest question will be who replaces Alli and where everyone plays in his absence. Mason is the most obvious replacement, as he continues his return from injury. Whether he'll drop into the midfield in a deeper role or take up a more attacking one remains to be seen. That's assuming that Lamela doesn't get over his problem, as he offers us a different solution. Lineups for the last league game: Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Alli; Son, Dembele, Eriksen; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Davies, Mason, Carroll, Onomah, Townsend. League form: DDWWDW Chelsea: Begovic; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Kenedy; Fabregas, Matic; Willian, Hazard, Pedro; Costa. Subs: Blackman, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Ramires, Traore, Oscar, Remy. League form: LWLLLW Referee: Michael Oliver. Given a choice, would you prefer Mason or Lamela to return to the side? Did anyone do anything against Qarabag that would merit their selection or promotion to the bench? Anything change in approach needed for this tie?
I would prefer Lamela to return because he will harass the hell out of the chelsea back four and midfield, whereas Mason plays deeper. I would go for... Lloris Rose, Vertongen, Alderweiled, Walker Dembele, Dier Lamela, Eriksen, Son Kane Subs Vorm, Mason, Bentaleb, Davies, Trippier, Onomah, Townsend (could be useful off the bench in second half if we start to tire when pressing)
Harass the chavs, pressure them into making mistakes as they are still panicky in defence. Watched part of the Chelsea Tel Aviv game and Tel Aviv caused them problems so I would get in their faces, ask them questions and see if their players are up for a feisty london derby. If we start off slow, we all know it takes seconds to score a goal, so thats the concern, if they score first.
I’d prefer Lamela without a doubt, especially as Mason looked off the pace against Qarabag. He was so off the pace I’d be tempted to start Carroll instead, who looked good. But I think I’d resist the temptation. I might pair Dembélé and Dier deep, though, and push Mason further forward, towards his more natural spot. I can’t decide where I’d play him in the front three, but I’d be tempted to put him on the right, where I hope he’d be a good harrassing stand-in for Lamela. I seem to think he’s comfortable on the right, but could be wrong. Then I might put Eriksen on the left and Son in the middle, though switching that seems just about as good. Anyway, if Mason isn’t comfortable on the right, then he’s in the middle and Eriksen is on the left. It would be too harsh on Mason, I think, who after all got injured because he was willing to sacrifice his health to get us a win, but I have a sneaking suspicion our best team might be Dembélé as CAM and Carroll paired with Dier farther back.
I think Tommy Carroll definitely deserves a place in the 18 man squad after his impressive 20 mins against Qarabag, I felt his energy boosted the whole team and served as somewhat of a catalyst to our eventual winner. N'Jie also looked lively in his cameo Thursday night and gave us a great chance for a second goal when he won the free-kick on the edge of their box after skinning two or three players, so he too deserves a spot in the 18. Team I'd go for: Lloris Walker, Toby, Jan, Rose Dier, Dembele Lamela, Eriksen, Son Kane Vorm, Davies, Wimmer, Mason, Carroll, Onomah, N'Jie COYS!!!
Every year recently except the last AVB year there was one game against a relatively big team that knocked us off track. This seems like just that kind of game, so it may give us an idea whether there is anything different about our team this year.
Spurs and Poch have had plenty of praise throughout the media of late, and Moanrinho has predictably played his mind games by suggesting Spurs can win the title, add to that Chelsea fans in the media linking our better players with January moves to Stamford Bridge on the eve of a big game and historically this kind of media work would just set Spurs up for a fail. This Spurs team seems made of sterner stuff these days though, proof will be in the pudding I guess.
More important than what individual players we select is how we have recovered from our long journey. It's more than a shame that such a big game should be compromised by TV requirements.
I liked Dier’s comments that the team could recover completely if they took advantage of all the resources they have at their disposal. Though Pochettino has done a great job and generally says all the right things, complaining about fixture congestion at this point didn’t seem wise, to me. In other words, Dier saying we’ll be fine seems better for team morale and confidence, even if it’s not really true. I’ve never believed in making excuses beforehand, or afterwards, for that matter. (As a player, that is. As a fan I make all kinds of excuses all the time.) Dier adds mental and physical strength to Spurs.
During Avbs first season, Carroll would be introduced as a sub in various games, he has that ability to change a game, showing skill and vision, forward thinking. No shame in being an impact player, all teams need a squad player that can be introduced as a sub and change games so it would be great to see Carroll selected more often, as you felt his chance had passed, until Mason showed our academy players shouldn't be discarded if they haven't progressed as expected by age 23.
please log in to view this image I am a bit concerned that Mason will not be at his best after the long flight.
Quite a lot will depend on Costa. He will try his usual tactics and try to get one of our players sent off. We have to be sensible and not take the bait.
But we have two factors in our favour: 1) I rarely agree with The Smug Git, but when he says that they're getting a lot more refereeing decisions go against them this year, he's right. I think the Association just had it up to their eyeballs with his constant moaning about officials, regularly going so far as to imply that certain officials were unfit for the job. And whilst they still get away with murder every now and again, the consistency of decisions against them is much more realistic than it was last year. 2) I don't know if anyone shares this opinion, but Super Jan is without question one of the biggest on-field WUM's I've ever seen play. Shirt pulling, body barges, mooning, little comments in the ear, he has the complete package. And he does it all with a completely straight and innocent face. None of the Martin Keown scruffy snarling and swearing man who should be locked up in a leper colony type; no - just the super cool, hair neatly brushed in a side parting, clean shaven boy you'd let your daughter date sort of way. He's such an annoying tw*t when he wants to be and it more often than not works. In any event, we can't slip lower than 5th whatever the outcome tomorrow. But surely knowing that winning will put us within a point of the top 4 and just 2 points of the leaders is as big an incentive as they come to win...
I'm arriving in Japan today for a bit of sightseeing. **** knows what they'll make of me running round the bar screaming when we score !
Good luck finding a bar playing a Spurs match. When I was in Tokyo in October, bars were far more likely to show Bundesliga games than Premier Leagues ones, barring Leicester's. If we want to crack the Japanese market, we need Cy Goddard to become a top player by mid-April.
Half the weekend results have gone our way. Win today and we are 2 pts off top and nearly at the 2 pts per game return.
Maureen has picked a really attacking side, well apart from having no striker, think we can really take them apart again today. COYS
