Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Barnsley

Poch would rather win something more superior than the domestic cups. Yippee, never mind us long suffering fans who just want to see us take all competitions seriously and at least win something. Winning the League Cup could act as a springboard. I never heard winners like Sir Alex talk like this. Not the sort of talk I want to see from a Spurs manager.
We are Tottenham Hotspur, to dare is to do.

 

To be honest mate I wouldn't read too much into his comments. In the past three years we've reached a League Cup final and FA Cup Semi final so I think he definitely cares about them, frustrating we couldn't go all the way but that's just our luck, or should I say that's just Wembley!

Naturally though in these early rounds - especially against inferior opposition - we'll likely be seeing a fair bit of rotation to give others chances so it's just a case of hoping those who come in get the job done.

FWIW I'd go with:

Vorm
Tripps, One Fourth, Jan, KWP
Dier, Winksy
Sissoko, Alli, GKN
Llorente

Gazza, Dave, Davies, Dembele, Oakley-Boothe, Son, Kane

 

It's one of those times of the season when there are two games every week and another international break around the corner.
I'm sure he'll rest 5 or 6 first team regulars who are likely to be playing in all these other games (Lloris, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Alli, Kane).
All the other leading teams will do the same.
The team selected will be strong enough to beat Barnsley.
If he rests 11, then you know he's not bothered.

 

The same Alex Ferguson who regularly used the League Cup as a place to give youngsters and reserves a run out, and that includes the 2009 final?

 

Well if he wants to win the big trophies so much, then why did he balls up big time in the FAC semi last season, and in his ludicrous team selection and line up on Saturday against Swansea ??

 

So you're admitting that the League Cup is not a major trophy by trying to change the subject? Good, we're on the same page, because it isn't - it's an anchor on a team's season, as evidenced by how that same tournament derailed our 1999, 2002, 2008 and 2009 seasons, and we're by no means the only team who've had their season derailed by reaching the final (see also: Middlesbrough in 2004, Birmingham in 2011, Liverpool in 2012, Swansea in 2013)

Now let's talk about how no manager on earth can prepare a team for a match where the referee has decided the result before a ball has been kicked, as evidenced by Atkinson doing everything in his power to get Chelsea into the final such as rewarding the Chavs a penalty for Moses' blatant dive yet waving away our penalty shout when the score was 2-2 in the second half, or on Sunday when Mike Dean apparently forgot that when a team commits a foul in their penalty area that leads to a penalty not once, not twice, but three bloody times.

 

It's a bit misleading because clubs didn't have such strong squads then. Promising youngsters were on the fringes of selection for all competitions.
Mourinho could pick a different XI for Burton from Everton and stil put out a team of mainly full internationals, costing £250M+.
However, last season he saw the merit in picking strong teams and trying to win it (which he did). A trophy is a trophy. When you're not going to win the PL and you're not in the CL, its status is raised.
Large squads are necessary because leading players would play 80+ games every season if they played every club and international game they could be selected for. That's a recipe for injury and fatigue in the modern game.
The League Cup is the least important competition for the leading clubs. It's nice to win it, but not at the expense of players getting injured or fatigued for PL or CL games.

 

Yes, the same Alex Ferguson who withdrew his side from the 1999-00 FA Cup so that they could compete in the FIFA Commercial World Cup.

 

TBH it's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't for Poch. If he plays a full strength side and a key player picks up a bad injury, we'd all be up in arms. And if he plays a weakened side and we lose, we'd all be up in arms. The trick is to rotate sensibly rather than en masse, rest 5-6 players max and keep enough quality in the side to get through the tie.

I sometimes wonder why certain posters bemoan our lack of squad depth, but then shy away at the first opportunity to utilise that depth and start to bring through hopefully the next batch of youngsters.

 

Pre-match stuff :

 

What about all the other top flight teams that have won
it and not had their seasons "derailed" (hints here of
"confirmation bias" ) ??

I have discussed the physical/logistics aspect of the
League Cup before, as I have the team sheets for
each game (so not bothering again) .

 

You mean teams such as Chelsea or Manchester United who had much deeper squads so they were able to regularly field reserve teams in the tournament in a way that the teams I listed obviously couldn't?

No confirmation bias, merely a basic knowledge of one team's squad depth over 90% of the rest of the Premier League's.

Funny how that one always gets overlooked every single time the BBC bang on about The Magic of the Cup™

 

Citeh won in 2016. Was their season "derailed" by the tournament ??

If so, then a club in your 10% had no advantage in squad depth
that prevented any derailment.

The competition is not highest priority for Spurs, but I expect the
manager for every opponent to choose line-ups (subject to squad
status) that is strong enough to get a result, but as far from the best
starting XI as possible.

 

Are you seriously holding up a Manchester City team who finished fourth in the Premier League in a season where Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool all failed qualify for the Champions League let alone mount a title challenge as an example of a team who didn't have a poor season?

Also, be honest with yourself, that City team is an example of a team having a big squad rather than actual squad depth, given on the one hand they lacked any adequate cover for Aguero, Kompany or Toure and it showed, on the other the squad was lumbered with players such as Zabaleta, Sagna and Clichy who were all past their peak but the club couldn't offload them as nobody was going to meet their grossly-inflated wages - so it's no wonder they couldn't balance being in several competitions at once.

How about citing an example that backs up your strawman argument, rather than riddle it with holes? Oh wait, there isn't one.

 

The onus is on you to specify what "derailed" actually means.
Once you have done that, then I can debate your claim.

 

To Dare is to Do. Try and win every fekking match for fek's sake. Anything else is disrespectful to the fans who pay good money to watch.

 

Whatever the team that is picked, they should be trying to win the game. When do you look at fringe players if not in a game like this?

 

Pochettino understands the need to use this game seriously
for squad rotation. So a lot of senior players should be getting
a run out today. Whatever places in the remain in the starting XI
are then open for the academy prospects etc.

 

The thing to which I am looking most forward tonight is seeing how Juan Foyth performs. I've never seen him and because of all the hype pre season I'm interested.

 

You start with a strong side and once you have a decent lead, you bring on the fringe players. It would be helpful if 5 (or more) substitutions were allowed in the league cup.