Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth

[crackerman jack]

We've still got the sixth most costly squad so my expectation is that we will finish between 4th and 8th.

Last year's form is entirely irrelevant as was driven by injuries and a unique coaching style.

I agree with this. Top half isn’t good enough. The squad massively underperformed in the league last year so that’s not a benchmark for improvement to say that finishing top 10 is a step forward. To me that would be a huge failure. I expect at least Europa, and ideally to be challenging for champions league football.

The league is so competitive and if you are not 100% on it you can easily drop points. Yesterday was an abysmal performance and attitude from the players, which we have seen time and time before. After beating City they think they just need to turn up to put a team like Bournemouth to the sword. I can take losing, but that was shocking, we should never have stats like that against a mid table side. It would be different if it were Liverpool and they had that type of domination against us, but I know we would raise our game and not let that happen, which is the point I’m trying to make.

I would only accept a mid table finish if we had an amazing run in the champions league due to prioritising that instead.

 

[Citizen Kane.]

Top 6 and a very good cup run for me.

I want another trophy, but I'm realistic enough to think that will totally depend on the draw in the domestic cups.

@Citizen Kane put it well, CONSISTENCY is key for me, especially after yesterday's s*** show!

I don't mind losing, especially if we play well but just get beaten on the day.

But our inability to build any sort of momentum is killing us, and has been for years.

It's the reason we did well in Europe last season. You don't need consistency if you're meeting random teams and the fixtures are months apart. In fact, the new format makes it easier for inconsistent teams to excel as in the group stage you only meet everyone once.

 

[humanbeingincroydon]

I don't mind losing, especially if we play well but just get beaten on the day.

But our inability to build any sort of momentum is killing us, and has been for years.

It's the reason we did well in Europe last season. You don't need consistency if you're meeting random teams and the fixtures are months apart. In fact, the new format makes it easier for inconsistent teams to excel as in the group stage you only meet everyone once.

Ironically that's the one time Sevilla didn't get to the last four of a European competition

 

[Spurf]

Last season was an unfinished project that bears little relationship to the season we face now. Humans are pattern seeking animals, always looking for links and clues, it's why we have so many religions and the way huge numbers of people make their political decisions. 1 + 1 = 3
We have a different manager with different ideas, our squad is different. Yes most of the players are the same but they are a young squad who will change as they learn. If they don't become better in the next couple of seasons then something is wrong.
All the time commentators refer to previous games in previous times as if they have a bearing on the game being played in front of them, they don't. Just take yesterday's results as an example:- Brighton beat City, West Ham who couldn't hit a barn door in their previous two games beat 'high flying' Forest, and Palace who have just sold their 'best' player beat Aston Villa. The only pattern is no pattern.
Predictions in football Ridiculous idea.

Anyway my prediction, I am confident we have a decent squad and an intelligent manager I expect top 6 or better.
The chances of that happening? I haven't got a clue!

Why do we love football? It's unpredictable.

 

[Spurlock]

We shouldn’t be shy to demand a trophy

even if it’s the League cup

might not win it but as a fan I expect an all out assault for a trophy

otherwise Levy has you exactly where he wants you and you can all enjoy the Europa league trophy for the next 17 years

 

[Dier Hard]

Anyway my prediction, I am confident we have a decent squad and an intelligent manager I expect top 6 or better.
The chances of that happening? I haven't got a clue!

As do I and I think the chances are quite high, more so if we end today on a positive note with 1-2 top signings.

If we end today on a high we’ll have had one of the best windows in the league and this is on top of a decent side that just miserably underperformed last season, last season was absolutely not a real representation of our quality.

Then looking across the league, I think we have to accept that Pool are miles above us, as are Arsenal (unfortunately) whilst Chelsea and City are also better, albeit the latter are definitely the weakest they’ve been in the Pep era.

Beyond that? I see no other team better than Tottenham. Utd have bought well but Amorim’s system doesn’t seem right for the players. Villa’s lost half their squad and could be set to lose Martinez today. Toon are losing Isak, which is the equivalent to us losing Kane & Son. Brighton and Bournemouth will often prove to be problem sides but I think they lack a few extra bits of star quality to maintain consistent results. I’m almost certain Forest won’t be as good as last season, their good season was somewhat the opposite to our bad one, it wasn’t really a real reflection of each team. Palace without Eze and potentially Guehi will hurt them in the long run, especially with European football.

I see little reason why Spurs shouldn’t be aiming for a minimum of 5th this season to be honest. 6th will also be ok. We should also be going out with genuine intention to win a cup too.

 

[Spurf]

As do I and I think the chances are quite high, more so if we end today on a positive note with 1-2 top signings.

If we end today on a high we’ll have had one of the best windows in the league and this is on top of a decent side that just miserably underperformed last season, last season was absolutely not a real representation of our quality.

Then looking across the league, I think we have to accept that Pool are miles above us, as are Arsenal (unfortunately) whilst Chelsea and City are also better, albeit the latter are definitely the weakest they’ve been in the Pep era.

Beyond that? I see no other team better than Tottenham. Utd have bought well but Amorim’s system doesn’t seem right for the players. Villa’s lost half their squad and could be set to lose Martinez today. Toon are losing Isak, which is the equivalent to us losing Kane & Son. Brighton and Bournemouth will often prove to be problem sides but I think they lack a few extra bits of star quality to maintain consistent results. I’m almost certain Forest won’t be as good as last season, their good season was somewhat the opposite to our bad one, it wasn’t really a real reflection of each team. Palace without Eze and potentially Guehi will hurt them in the long run, especially with European football.

I see little reason why Spurs shouldn’t be aiming for a minimum of 5th this season to be honest. 6th will also be ok. We should also be going out with genuine intention to win a cup too.

I am sure Liverpool are better but how much will they miss Alexandra- Arnold? In the games I saw of them last season they never looked as good without him IMO

 

[Dier Hard]

I am sure Liverpool are better but how much will they miss Alexandra- Arnold? In the games I saw of them last season they never looked as good without him IMO

Anyone will miss Trent’s deliveries into the box but I think Pool have bought amazingly this summer to the point where I think they’ve added creativity elsewhere to cover his loss. Getting Isak today as well is just putting them in a different stratosphere at the moment, very hard to look beyond them for the league again. They should be looking to win the CL too.

 

[LockStock]

We shouldn’t be shy to demand a trophy

even if it’s the League cup

might not win it but as a fan I expect an all out assault for a trophy

otherwise Levy has you exactly where he wants you and you can all enjoy the Europa league trophy for the next 17 years

Levy himself said, "we want to win the PL and CL", the idiot.

I had some empathy for him up to this point, I have less now. He needs to act accordingly in the window and at least follow through on at least making it look like he's serious.

Xavi is a great signing, as is Kudus. A couple more would still be sensible. Especially with Solanke out.

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This is interesting....

 

[Spurlock]

Levy himself said, "we want to win the PL and CL", the idiot.

I had some empathy for him up to this point, I have less now. He needs to act accordingly in the window and at least follow through on at least making it look like he's serious.

Xavi is a great signing, as is Kudus. A couple more would still be sensible. Especially with Solanke out.

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This is interesting....

don’t know much about this player

heard of him though

will research if we sign him

 

[humanbeingincroydon]

don’t know much about this player

heard of him though

will research if we sign him

Probably best if you avoid the last World Cup final

He could've won the game in the last minute of stoppage time only to blast it straight at the keeper like Robbie Keane always seemed to do

 

[PleaseNotPoll]

That was an absolutely dreadful performance and we could've lost by a larger margin.
The wonkiness of having two right-footers on the left really didn't help.
They pressed relentlessly and overloaded Kudus whenever he had it.
Took Frank too long to sort out, though we nearly nicked an undeserved point at the end.
Early days though, so he should be given plenty of leeway to sort things out.

Simon Hooper needs to be removed from our games.
He was the ref for the VAR mistake against Liverpool and got crucified.
He seems to have responded by not giving us a decision since.
The failure to give Semenyo a second yellow was particularly egregious.
Don't get me wrong, we were ****ing awful. He somehow managed to be worse.

This match demonstrated how carefully we need to manage our team selection.
The same XI went from making City look awful to making Bournemouth look amazing.
Horses for courses. Frank's supposedly versatility should help here.