please log in to view this image Wednesday 23rd September 7.45pm White Hart Lane League Cup Third Round Three wins on the trot in the space of 8 days sees us entering this fixture on encouraging form. Unbeaten since the opening day, keeping clean sheets and putting points on the board and it's nice to see. Our opponents have had something of a reverse of that this week, losing back-to-back games after a good overall start. As ever with this sort of thing though, form is often irrelevant. Team selection will be key and also fairly hard to predict. Both sides would normally field fringe players and give youngsters a shot at this stage. I can't see either manager taking too many risks with this one, but I'd suggest that Wenger still might. Injuries and suspensions may force his hand in some areas, following their loss to Chelsea. Lineups for the last league game, even though I just suggested that they'll be irrelevant: Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Dier, Alli; Lamela, Son, Chadli; Kane. Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Fazio, Carroll, Eriksen, Townsend, N'Jie. Arsenal: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Cazorla; Sanchez, Ozil, Ramsey; Walcott. Subs: Ospina, Debuchy, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Giroud. Ref: Andre Marriner. Should we rotate or continue with a winning team? Do any of our players potentially returning from injury deserve to be considered for a start? With City up next at WHL in the early game on Saturday, should we be leaving anyone out?
Put out our strongest team and crush them. Nothing else matters but beating them...I hate losing to them...with every bone in my body I hate it. I work in a school and I have already told the arsenal kids to expect lunchtime detentions if they beat us...the only thing worse than losing to them is the build up to the game which is so stressful cos I just spend the build Up expect yo have my heart ripped out and trampled on by them.
Is that it?! You've gone soft in your old age, rcl. Surely they should be nailed to crosses lining either side of the road leading to the school gate with signs underneath each cross reading 'Pirates Ye be Warned'?
"Should we rotate or continue with a winning team? Do any of our players potentially returning from injury deserve to be considered for a start? With City up next at WHL in the early game on Saturday, should we be leaving anyone out?" NLDs require special attention, whatever the occasion. If Pochettino does not understand this, Citeh at the weekend or not, get rid. So I guess we can expect a lineup akin to the one Arry put out in 2010.
Always change a winning team! If nothing else you need to play to the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and palace and Arsenal could hardly be more different
Anything less than our strongest available team is a disgrace and an insult. No rotation or tweeking, trying new tactics etc, strongest X1 and lets smash them. F.O.G.S.
This obsession with finishing top 4 is boring. I want us to win trophies. Calling the league cup second rate is an insult considering we don't often win **** all. Same goes for the Goons.
Finishing in the top 4 is the only way this club will progress. Missing out on the champions league in 11/12 has knocked us back years. I'd rather finish top 4 than win the league cup or the fa cup.
Respectfully disagree. Building a new stadium and growing the club's brand abroad is the only way we'll progress. Even a successful CL campaign only ('only') nets around £20m for the club. That's small change to the likes of City, Chelsea and United. True, the allure of CL football helps in transfer recruitment, but then again we can't afford the wages of most of the players that allure would appeal to. Catch 22. Even the seasons recently where we've appeared to 'make progress', finishing above the likes of Chelsea and United, is ultimately extremely hard progress to maintain - as clubs of that power will simply throw hundreds of millions at the problem until it goes away. Our current policy of investing in youth, spending carefully in the market and pumping all available funds into the news stadium is a pragmatic and extremely sensible approach.
What's the point in chasing that dream every year then come May sitting down in envy of Aston Villa, Wigan etc etc just because we are too pig headed to respect competitions...we are far from being too big for this attitude. Plus I find it strange how teams/fans brag about a positive result in winning the Commuinty Shield, like it means anything.....but on that day it does..it gives a fan everything that makes him enjoy football. We whine and whinge our way through the Europa league, complain about Thursday/Sunday games. Yet we want to play in the Champions league on Wednesday/Saturday......God knows where this snobby attitude has come from. I want trophies, I do not want to be like Arsenal...the laughing stock of the Champions league for 18 years and counting. With 190 mill apparently sat in the bank...for players. 18 years of that crap and their fans still act like little bitches. Why would I want to be like that. Let's stick to things we can win and go for them.
There's a simple reason why fans prefer playing matches Tuesday/Wednesday-Saturday to Thursday-Sunday: the atmosphere at WHL has always been muted for Sunday games compared to Saturday ones. Also, by playing on Saturday, we're less likely to be subjected to the whims of the Sky/BT pissing contest.
The bigger groan is usually because we don't play well statistically on Sunday's. So the fans turned against the Europa for that. When In fact the team had the issues. Yet we think we can play Tues/weds and Saturday's.
"Even a successful CL campaign only ('only') nets around £20m for the club." You are badly mis-informed on that one. Spurs earned 40m Euros from the CL adventure. For nothing more than beaten QFs. And with a conservative exchange rate of GBP = 1.15-1.17 EUR. And it has been going up steadily ever since. Imagine that coming into your club EVERY season. That is almost the difference between the Spurs and Goons wage bills. And then factor in the wider exposure that the participation (potentially better ad/sponsor opportunities) and play (potential signings) gave. Even one season on one season off would have material benefit to the club.
"The bigger groan is usually because we don't play well statistically on Sunday's." Which is utter b*llocks, when you consider every season since 2006 that Spurs have been participating in UEFA land. The truth is that the squad and management, whoever the manager/players, have not been able to handle it without compromising the CL slot via the PL. So this is another obstacle that must be overcome if the club is to go upwards.
"That is my point...so nothing would change and we will still be groaning about the fixture list." As the CL campaign proved, you have to continually field strong sides and it takes a toll (re the way the final third of the 2010-11 PL campaign died a slow death as squad weakness and injuries took their toll) . I want to see a Spurs manager find a balance between the utter contempt of Arry 2011-12 and the two seasons of AVB paralysing fear of losing.
