Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal

["Thanks for that Brian"]

I have no ostensible proof as to whether the way that we played yesterday was a decision made by Mourinho or the players completely disregarding his instructions and trying to shut up shop, when having been told to take the game to them. Of course, Mourinho would have us all believe that it's someone else's fault but personally, I doubt that and it's strange that it keeps on happening against anyone who isn't in the bottom half of the table. Is there anyone who actually believes a single word that this bloke says?

However, the one thing that I'm pretty sure about, is that it really doesn't matter, either.

If the players are ignoring his instructions to that level, then he's done.

If he picked those players and chose to play that low block **** against that Arsenal team, then he's done.

After the game, he called out our better players for hiding. I'm not sure what good that was meant to achieve, when he's flogged them to death and it can only be a matter of time before Kane pulls up lame again and we waste 2 or 3 of the best attacking players in the world.

He's done and this ridiculous episode needs to end as soon as possible. However, Levy's going to give him enough rope to hang all of us...and he should have football decisions removed from him for that.

P.s. Operation went fine...but I've got to spend the next 10 days with my arm up in the air...like I'm constantly asking for permission to go to the toilet.

 

[Left on the Shelf]

Holdjberg was lucky not to get booked, but he wasn’t your worst player - which IMO was Bale as he was almost invisible.
Btw what is your view of Kane’s barge on Gabriel ?

Anyway as of yesterday 189 NLD games with 78 wins for Arsenal, 60 wins for Tottenham and 51 games drawn.

Wouldn't disagree with most of that, although identifying the worst of the bunch yesterday is a tough call. One of 4 or 5 equally awful.

As for Kanes challenge? Late, deliberate and a definite card. Yellow rather than red under the rules.

 

[Dier Hard]

Hojbjerg: just knackered or just not as good as we were thinking he was?

He's had more than a few off days for some weeks now, limited in his ambition and regularly losing position (not alone there).

I like the guy but he was one who definitely went AWOL yesterday.

Is it physical or mental fatigue?

As with Sonny, surely their medical stats are being monitored so carefully these days that any significant loss of capacity would be recognised.

And if those negative changes are ignored by JM and on field performance suffers then it's on him, surely and not the player.

His downturn in form over the last two or so months has been worrying. I think it's definitely down to fatigue but maybe the new signing momentum has also worn off and perhaps he's just not as good as we initially thought he was after his first few months? We'll probably need another season to really assess, as well as better management of him but right now he's gone from being a potential signing of the season contender to slowly but surely becoming just another in the line of poor additions we've made in recent years.

He's played every minute in the league, unnecessarily brought on or used in multiple Europa games, played 120 minutes against Everton either side of two league games and so I definitely think that he's likely running on empty, just as Son was (and Kane is). However, his inability to tackle of late and his erratic positioning can't just be down to fatigue in my opinion, he's currently looking like the Danish Winks which for me especially, is probably my worst nightmare.

Thankfully we'll have Skipp next season, who I now believe goes straight into our XI, whether that be alongside or even for Hojbjerg and so with having two options like that, we may see Hojbjerg used more effectively and not ran into the ground which in turn hopefully gives us more of his form from the first three or so months of this season and not the most recent two or so months.

 

[Dier Hard]

P.s. Operation went fine...but I've got to spend the next 10 days with my arm up in the air...like I'm constantly asking for permission to go to the toilet.

Someone's gonna have trouble wa....walking, walking.

Good to see it went well though, mate

 

[Dier Hard]

Btw what is your view of Kane’s barge on Gabriel ?

Not quite hard enough, could've done with a bit more force to let him really know he was there.

 

[Left on the Shelf]

Operation went fine

Great news, Bri!
At least changing light bulbs will be easier!

 

["Thanks for that Brian"]

Someone's gonna have trouble wa....walking, walking.

Good to see it went well though, mate

Where there's a will(y), there's a way.

You must log in or register to see media

 

[littleDinosaurLuke]

Fans have always complained about ref decisions. As long as I have been watching football fans have screamed at the decisions made, so I don't accept that refs are any worse. What is the case is that the game is faster, mainly because of the pitch quality and the lighter ball. The players are more athletic and probably quicker. The idea of diving is now entrenched into the game, just look at the old videos from the 70's and you will see some tough tackling most of which is now outlawed but you won't see so much acting from the players. Players like R. Charlton and Lineker probably never dived in their whole career, neither would go to ground unless truly forced to. The players are far more likely to be open to dubious tactics than before. Finally the rules have changed and they continue to change far more frequently than they used to. It seems that at the beginning of every season the referees are given instruction on how they should police the game. This season they even changed the rules after the season had started (hand ball) The unrevised rule had already cost Spurs 4 points so hard luck for us.
Against all of this background I think to target the referees for your ire is misplaced. IMO you should be looking at FIFA, UEFA and the FA not too mention SKY, BT and all the other interested media. The refs are part of the show as far as the authorities and media are concerned and they are more worried about the image of the sport than the rights and wrongs of any particular game. Add to that players get targeted as divers while others get away with it and it's just not set up for fairness. The only way to win is the same as it's always been and that is to score more goals than the opposition and to endeavour to play the game in their penalty area not your own.

Football used to allow contact because it is a contact sport.

Now contact has been outlawed in so many situations.

Technology has allowed the slightly mistimed tackle to be punished when it wouldn’t have been in the past. A 50/50 ball, the defender makes contact with the opponent a fraction before getting the ball and he is penalised.

As you say, the game is played at speed. What are the odds on a 50/50 tackle being clean? No better than 50/50. So these issues arise time and time again. Slo-mo replays don’t help because they create a false impression that the defender has time.

The same kind of problems apply to handball and marginal offside decisions.

So many games are being decided to some greater or lesser degree by how officials interpret these margins and that is always going to be unsatisfactory.

 

[bigsmithy9]

Can you imagine Chopper Harris,Nobby Stiles and Tommy Smith (to mention just three) playing today????

 

["Thanks for that Brian"]

Football used to allow contact because it is a contact sport.

Now contact has been outlawed in so many situations.

Technology has allowed the slightly mistimed tackle to be punished when it wouldn’t have been in the past. A 50/50 ball, the defender makes contact with the opponent a fraction before getting the ball and he is penalised.

As you say, the game is played at speed. What are the odds on a 50/50 tackle being clean? No better than 50/50. So these issues arise time and time again. Slo-mo replays don’t help because they create a false impression that the defender has time.

The same kind of problems apply to handball and marginal offside decisions.

So many games are being decided to some greater or lesser degree by how officials interpret these margins and that is always going to be unsatisfactory.

Those who make the rules and apply them have lost track of what the laws of the game are for. They're there to stop cheating and dangerous play. If they're not applied to give effect to those principles, the meaning is lost and decision making has no proper basis...and there's your problem.

We're getting the wrong results because those in charge of making and applying the rules, are asking the wrong questions.

 

["Thanks for that Brian"]

Can you imagine Chopper Harris,Nobby Stiles and Tommy Smith (to mention just three) playing today????

No, but I played 5-a-side against 'Chopper' back in the mid-80's. .

 

[O.Spurcat]

I saw Chopper Harris on the beach at Swanage a few years ago. He’s an ugly man.

 

[bigsmithy9]

No, but I played 5-a-side against 'Chopper' back in the mid-80's. .

....and you lived to tell about it,Brian. Your my new hero!!!!!!?

 

["Thanks for that Brian"]

....and you lived to tell about it,Brian. Your my new hero!!!!!!?

Thanks, Smithy...and I can report that we won...that match and the league, that year.

To be fair, I was 23 or so and very fit then...and he would have been nearly 20 years older and suffering the effects of being a pro for most of his adult life, so catching me would have been the issue. I can't say I wasn't a bit worried before kick off, though.

 

[Alfie Conn]

P.s. Operation went fine...but I've got to spend the next 10 days with my arm up in the air...like I'm constantly asking for permission to go to the toilet.[/QUOTE]
Glad to hear the op went well, hope you were discharged with a big bottle of pills from the "locked cabinet "

 

["Thanks for that Brian"]

P.s. Operation went fine...but I've got to spend the next 10 days with my arm up in the air...like I'm constantly asking for permission to go to the toilet.

Glad to hear the op went well, hope you were discharged with a big bottle of pills from the "locked cabinet "

I got some...but no Tramadol. That's the real ****.

 

[Alfie Conn]

No, but I played 5-a-side against 'Chopper' back in the mid-80's. .

My mates son played against a young lad who was on Watfords books at the time , Warroll Sterling , this was an under 13 5 aside tournament , Sterling was about 5"5' with a full beard , don't think he grew much taller but he had a kick like a mule , he shot at goal and luckily my mates son who was in goal never got near it as it hit the bar and nearly flipped the goal over backwards

 

[Spurlock]

I think the absolute worst thing from yesterday for me is that I'm rarely going to be able to watch that Lamela goal too often because I'm not sitting through highlights of the game and even if I just want to watch the clip of the goal, it'll still remind me of a dross performance and result.

That's one of the best goals in Prem history in my opinion, not just NLD history. The sheer cheek along with skill to try that AND pull it off makes it so special, it has to be favourite for the Puskas award. Such a shame it was marred by a horrendous display and result.

Yup...what a bummer that I won’t watch that goal again

 

[Spurf]

His downturn in form over the last two or so months has been worrying. I think it's definitely down to fatigue but maybe the new signing momentum has also worn off and perhaps he's just not as good as we initially thought he was after his first few months? We'll probably need another season to really assess, as well as better management of him but right now he's gone from being a potential signing of the season contender to slowly but surely becoming just another in the line of poor additions we've made in recent years.

He's played every minute in the league, unnecessarily brought on or used in multiple Europa games, played 120 minutes against Everton either side of two league games and so I definitely think that he's likely running on empty, just as Son was (and Kane is). However, his inability to tackle of late and his erratic positioning can't just be down to fatigue in my opinion, he's currently looking like the Danish Winks which for me especially, is probably my worst nightmare.

Thankfully we'll have Skipp next season, who I now believe goes straight into our XI, whether that be alongside or even for Hojbjerg and so with having two options like that, we may see Hojbjerg used more effectively and not ran into the ground which in turn hopefully gives us more of his form from the first three or so months of this season and not the most recent two or so months.

In Hojbjerg's defence I think poor decision making is a classic manifestation of tiredness and his game is all about positioning. His passing which was a feature of his game when he first joined us has also gone to pot. He just needs a rest and it's another poor decision from Jose who has taken advantage of his willingness to play every minute to the point of exhaustion.

 

[gooner4ever]

Wouldn't disagree with most of that, although identifying the worst of the bunch yesterday is a tough call. One of 4 or 5 equally awful.

As for Kanes challenge? Late, deliberate and a definite card. Yellow rather than red under the rules.

Bale was poor as I was expecting so much more from him but he didn’t seem to be up for the game, nor did many others tbf.
I wasn’t saying Red for Kane but defo a yellow and he needs to stop stupid fouls like this and the one where he waits for a player to jump and then makes contact coz besides being very dangerous, I think come the Euros I can see a sending off.