Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund

Chav bottler

 

MLS certainly engaging for people who fondly remeinisce about the Premier League of the mid-90s, where teams are stuffed with journeymen whose main instruction is to get the ball to the bloke up front who couldn't hack it in the Premier League/La Liga/Serie A/Ligue 1/Bundesliga anymore so are topping up their pension for a couple of seasons before strolling into a career in coaching and/or punditry

I hear it's particularly popular in Middlesbrough for those reasons...

 

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Tuesday 5th March 8pm
Champions League Round of 16
Signal Iduna Park​

Not the best result on Saturday, but far from our recent worst, too.
It was another weekend where those closest to us generally won though, so far from ideal.
Our hosts have also been having a bit of a blip for the last month or so and will be hoping to turn things around.
Their loss to Augsburg on Friday means that they've only won one of the last seven in all competitions.
Any result that sees us through is a good one, but can we get back to winning ways?

Dier and Winks have travelled, but Dele Alli is still out.
Schmelzer and Piszczek are injured for Dortmund. Neither side has any suspensions.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Alderweireld, Sanchez, Vertonghen; Trippier, Wanyama, Sissoko, Rose; Eriksen; Kane, Son.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Davies, Skipp, Lamela, Moura, Llorente.
League form: WWWLLD.

Dortmund: Burki; Hakimi, Akanji, Zagadou, Diallo; Witsel, Delaney; Sancho, Reus, Bruun Larsen; Gotze.
Subs: Hitz, Toprak, Weigl, Wolf, Guerreiro, Philipp, Alcacer.
League form: WDDDWL.

Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED). He's only 36, but UEFA clearly rate him.

TV: BT Sport 2.

How should we approach this one, given our form and the scoreline?
Try to stifle it and sneak through, go for the win or try and get an early goal to give them a mountain to climb?
Three or four at the back and one or two up front?

 

Is it telling anything as to which players walk alongside each other?

 

We approach with caution. First 10 minutes are massive. DON'T concede an early goal and definitely DON'T be 2 down after 10 minutes.

 

I watched LA United v Sporting K.C. 40,000 in the ground.....looked and sounded like a rock concert,drums and all.

 

They will go into a high press which will give us the choice between trying to pass it out from the back or conceding possession by hoofing it upfield. I'm a big fan of the former but I've yet to sit near a fan who agrees.....

 

Go for it. Start fast and furious and get that all important away goal.

 

Just play Jan at LB again. Guaranteed result that way.

 

I’d be for Llorente up top alongside Kane and/or Son for this one, we need the outball to help us play round the high press. Maybe Kane as a 10 behind Nando, Son left and Moura right. As important as Eriksen is to us I think this might be a game for him to start on the bench as having Llorente’s presence, the threat of Kane, and the pace of the wide men will probably be more useful to us breaking through their press than Eriksen’s quality in possession.

 

"Half a league,half a league,half a league onward,into the valley of death (or victory) rode Tottenham Hotspur!" COME ON YOU SPURS!!!!!!!

 

Dier's back which is great news, probably too soon to start him tomorrow but he could be crucial coming off the bench to shore things up if we're still holding a lead with say 25 or so minutes left.

 

A man with a mission

 

Yeah! Not sure about the valley of death, though!

 

So if we go through tonight...what camp are you in?

The one which says...what a great achievement, not happened since 2010, let's celebrate it and hang off it forever or the one that thinks...we need to get to the semi final...that would be real progress.

 

The Sun are reporting that we have a chance of getting revenge on the Chavs.

As any one country can only have 5 entrants into the CL, in the event that Spurs win the CL, Arsenal win the Ropey, and Man U finish above the chavs but below the Mousers and Citeh, then even if the Chavs finished in 4th, they would lose out. Let it be.

 

Celebrate all milestones. If you are always looking to the next level you will never be satisfied. Of course I always want more, but I also enjoy the massive forward strides the club has made in recent years. If you don't recognise this, then you can develop a bad mindset. What's wrong with being satisfied?

 

Nothing wrong with being satisfied...ill be well satisfied. I just don't want to be reminded about it for years to come with phrases like 'be thankful for a quarter final in the CL, what more do these fans want' kind of thing.