Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Barnsley

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Tuesday 19th September 8pm
Carabao Cup 3rd Round
Wembley Stadium​

Another week, another disappointing home result in the league.
Onto our third Wembley match of the week and a chance to progress in a competition that we could win.
The team selection for this one will be interesting, as the fixtures come in thick and fast.
How strong a side will Pochettino pick and will it be good enough to see off Championship opposition?

Barnsley's season has not started particularly well and their form in this cup has been a bright spot for them.
Narrow wins over Morcambe and Derby have earned them a trip to Wembley.
Normally takes a few more than that, but I'm sure they'll be happy to take the opportunity, anyway.
Their league form has seen them win two, draw one and lose four of their opening fixtures.
Their latest loss came at the hands of fellow strugglers Aston Villa, who ran out 3-0 winners at Oakwell on Saturday.
Josh Onomah came on just after the hour in that game. Maybe we should ask him for some tips?

We haven't faced Barnsley much in recent seasons and their last season in the top flight was in 1997/98.
We met four times in that campaign though, as we drew them in the FA Cup, losing a replay 3-1.
The following season we got our revenge, as we were drawn together in the quarter-final of the same competition.
A solitary goal was enough to win it and what a winner it was:

Neither side has any suspensions for this game.
No official injury news yet, but it seems likely that we'll still be without Rose, Lamela, Wanyama and N'Koudou.
I can't find any reliable information about Barnsley's injuries, unfortunately.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Trippier, Dier, Sissoko, Son; Eriksen, Alli; Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Foyth, Aurier, Davies, Dembele, Winks, Llorente.

Barnsley: Davies; McCarthy, Jackson, Lindsay, Pearson; Williams; Hammill, Potts, Moncur, Barnes; Bradshaw.
Subs: Townsend, Pinnock, Fryers, McGeehan, Ugbo, Thiam, Hedges.

Referee: Tim Robinson. A young ref (32), who does Championship and lower league games. All 2nd tier this season.

TV: No television coverage.

How should the manager approach this, in terms of team selection and tactics?
Should we pick a strong side and try to finish it off early or rest players and give a few youngsters a chance?
Stick with three central defenders or go with a back four and more firepower?

 

Aurier on the right and KWP on the left for me. Play Winks, Llorente, Sanchez, Vorm and Foyth together with whoever seems freshest among the regulars.

We could actually try a back 4 of;

Vorm

Aurier
Sanchez
Foyth
KWP

Eriksen
Sissoko
Winks
Son

Kane
Llorente

See if 442 is an option when something else is needed.

If it's been tried in training obviously. Be good to give Verts and Toby some time off.

 

I'm wondering how many of the kids will be involved for this one. KWP may well get a start, and it wouldn't surprise me if Edwards and Oakley-Booth were on the bench - Georgiou too, given our experiments with non-left back left backs...

 

Darren Gough claims to support both these teams.

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Verts will have a rest in our CL week so I would play him along with Foyth. Foyth has to play for all the obvious reasons (they are obvious to me ) Verts is also a good teacher alongside a newbie.
It's also the perfect opportunity to introduce Edwards-who was supposedly promised first team action this year.
Vorm
Aurier Foyth Verts KWP
Winks, Dier/Oakley-Booth
Edwards,Sissoku,Son
Llorente

 

forgot about that red card . You're right, play him then give him a few days off CL week.

 

Have bought tickets in the Club Wembley section for this. Disappointing to hear that Marcus Edwards isn't going to be involved, not even on the bench, although Tashan Oakley-Booth is.

I'll take a win of any description at this point and we can go from there.

 

Likewise. He is such a talent and this would be a perfect time to get him into the first team.

 

A couple of journalists have tweeted Pochettino's comments from his press conference.
He suggests that Edwards isn't physically up to starting for us yet and that he's better off playing for the U23s and in the Youth Cup.
Llorente, Winks and N'Koudou all mentioned as being involved and Ashley-Boothe will be in the squad.

He also made a comment about Wigan winning a trophy and what's happened to them since.
Heavy rotation sounds like the order of the day, again.
The domestic cups don't sound like anything near a priority for Pochettino.

 

He said a few weeks back that he's after the PL and CL and doesn't count the other two as important. However, he tells hacks what he wants. When he was telling them that the Dele contract negotiations were rumours, you could see him smiling as he did it. His contempt for them is obvious.

You can't knock his ambition but this season, I don't see us as having a great shot at either of the big two. I can't see any English club winning the CL. We'll not win the PL at Wembley. Top 4 and a domestic cup would be great if we could pull it off. If we get into the later rounds, he'll assess whether it's worth the effort and resource.

 

Oakley-Boothe being in the squad isn't much of a surprise, given he was on the bench against Burnley (as well as getting a few appearances in pre-season), although I'm not so sure about Edwards. Yes he missed a good chunk of last season due to injuries, but he's looked sharp for the U23s so surely deserves a cameo - especially since GKN is apparently getting a start even though he's just come back from injury.

 

A few U23 games for N'Koudou could do him good. Get his fitness back up and help his confidence.
He's still eligible to play in them without being an overage player, too.

 

Edwards is playing for the Prem 2 team tonight V Swansea in stevenage

 

Here's confirmation of who won't be featuring tomorrow...

 

Vorm
Foyth Dave Jan
KWP Winks Dier GKN
Alli Fan Selected at Random
Llorente

For me.

 

What about KWP on the left, allowing GKN to displace Random-Fan?

Sissoko or my mum on the right?

 

Thought about it but after another stale Trippier performance, I'd like KWP to get as much game time as possible in his natural position. We saw GKN in the LWB role in last season's competition and although that didn't exactly end well, Poch tends to toy with ideas far longer than the average fan.

Talking of fans, he could pick anyone from the stands and they'd contribute more than Sissoko, hence my decision.

 

I hear Sissoko is on his hands and knees begging for another start...

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...it looks like my dear old mum has kneed him in the 'nads. Not a bad idea as it goes.

 

It's disappointing to know that Poch isn't taking the domestic cups seriously, when we won't win the premier league or the champions league. So another trophy less lesson then.

God knows who'll play this one.
I just hope Sissoko does and plays 90 mins so there's less less chance of him featuring against West Ham.