You guys really know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory dont ya? We were mediocre at best! This is 2016 all over again. You guys get a whiff of weakness from Chelsea and instead of taking advantage, your players turn full ****** and start kicking lumps out of our players and get themselves sent off, allowing us to get something from a game that we had no right to get. Credit to the 9 men who stayed on the pitch though, they played great with 9 and even had a couple chances to grab an equaliser when it was 1-2. I think the fans get so excited at the prospect of beating us that their spastic energy filters in to the players who then lose their cool. In all seriousness though, you guys did yourselves no favours with this game, not only losing your unbeaten streak, but losing two guys to suspension and some big injuries now too. Shame because you guys had been playing well above expectations so far this season, be interesting to see how Spurs respond to this.
Without a doubt 11 vs 11 we win that match. Chelsea really are poor and the fact we had chances to equalise with 9 men tells you everything. I’d also say their ineptitude was largely the reason they didn’t initially punish til late more so than being taken aback that we still intended to attack. Naturally can’t predict or determine a “what if” but I just think it was a bit too naive to go with that high line with those specific players. Had it not been for Vicario it could’ve been about 7 and that would’ve then been a real embarrassment regardless of the circumstances. I love the fact we have a manager that is “attack at all times” but there should probably just be a minor stipulation that we be a bit more conservative if we ever find ourselves down to 9 men, lol.
Absolutely NOT. Opposition teams have stated that the atmosphere is intimidating for them. Therefore long may it continue, and not be quelled by the unprofessional antics of any Spurs player.
I think Ange is rightly fixated on ridding the club of the 'poor old us' mentality that has crippled us for years. He had his work cut out for him from day one when we sold our best player but to my mind this has been his most valuable contribution to the club so far: a complete change in mentality. Telling 8 outfield players with two off injured to carry on as if nothing happened shows enormous trust in them and their ability, and it showed. They left nothing on the pitch. You could see our approach visibly mess with Chelsea's minds. They didn't quite know what to do other than try the same ball over and over again until eventually it worked. There was a period after Dier's disallowed goal when Chelsea genuinely looked nervous which is simply absurd considering the circumstances. Last night was the closest embodiment of Audere est Facere we've seen in a heck of a long time. I imagine Sir Bill was beaming down with pride.
Ange's comments on VAR and Referees was spot on IMO. I see the game exactly as our manager does and I can't remember the last time I was able to say that. From playing it to the officials he is spot on.
Absolutely. We all know VAR needs to be looked at and reviewed. But the time to do that isn't the middle of the season and therefore for now, it is here to stay as it currently exists. The likes of Klopp and Arteta trying to launch parliamentary subcommittees into decisions can only have one outcome: Match day officials will be increasingly fearful of making the wrong decision, which means checks will happen more frequently and will on average take much longer. This then has the ironic knock on effect that VAR becomes even more annoying than it already is, all to satisfy certain clubs who seem to think it is their right to call the entire sport into disrepute when one bad decision goes against them.
There’s zero criticism for the work ethic of the team and that’s why we stayed behind to applaud their efforts but there comes a point where being brave and daring becomes naive and silly. Their goals came from a penalty and then easily running in behind a high line that had only one reasonably quick player - Porro - along with two players playing out of position. It’s unlikely the result/ outcome would’ve been much/ any different had we tried to protect the draw but I felt we basically handed Chelsea the win by playing that high line, they’ve struggled for goals all season and I can’t help but feel that had we tried to play for the draw there might have been a possibility we’d have gotten it. If not for Vicario, that game could’ve finished 7 or 8-1, that then no longer becomes a spirited effort but more a collapse and an absolute battering to confidence and goal difference. The Italian put in one of the best goal keeping performances you’ll see yet still had to pick the ball out of the net 4 times. Ultimately Romero and Udogie have to take the major part of the blame though, especially the Argentinian. He needs to understand there’s a difference between aggressive and reckless. Not only did he let us down but he also massively let Johnson down who had to be sacrificed for his mistake, a shame too, because Johnson was looking threatening down that wing and was unlucky to not register an assist.
https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...efeat-reveals-first-flaws-in-frantic-angeball I think this is a pretty good take. Ultimately the players and manager have to take responsibility and account for what happened in those mad minutes in the second portion of the first half. Playing a high line with those CBs down to 9 men turned out to be a decision that could of, but didn’t work, but we see that to be the case with teams with 9 men who defend deep too, even when they actually have CBs on the pitch, like Liverpool against us earlier this season. The focus really needs to be on what went wrong to get us in that situation in the first place, and how we minimise the chances of it happening again.
I think that’s just largely player error as well as ****ty luck for Micky. I can’t blame the whole team nor the manager for Romero’s idiocy and Udogie’s naivety. The youngster I can definitely forgive, especially as I don’t think he was fully fit last night but Romero has shown he still hasn’t really learnt that there is a somewhat fine line between being aggressive and being reckless. It will be that that potentially prevents him from being a world class CB in my opinion, he has all the attributes to be one but his decision making in situations is just too “seeing red”. The VC role looked like it sort of matured him a bit and we’d seen the reckless side disappear whilst the aggressive side maintain, however last night showed he’s still a bit to learn.
The obvious counterpoint to Udogie's second yellow is it came shortly after Reece James elbowed him in the face, yet Oliver did **** all about it Indeed his handling of the whole game is why it got so tetchy, because with his ineptitude coupled with lengthy delays when VAR had to step in only served to make the atmosphere more aggro than it should have been, and with him ignoring one Chelsea foul after another that only increased it And the fact remains referees have been letting teams have open season on us and go unpunished for weeks, with the Palace and Fulham games devolving into pure farce where the laws on what is and isn't a foul were applied about as evenly as the spire of Chesterfield cathedral
None of you lot were complaining when your club robbed Brighton and other clubs last season. It appears the modern day fan is incapable of being humble in defeat.
I felt it was very strange when it was still 1-1 as it felt like we were asking for it but then I come back to what I said above: this is part of Ange's current objective which is to rid us of the 'woe is me' attitude that has plagued us since tbh Poch's last season and only briefly alleviated at the early stages of Conte's tenure. I think he went about this the right way. Once you're down to 9 men with that long left at this level, chances are you will concede again. It's a matter of when rather than if. Ange doesn't seem to care much for draws and sees 0 points playing fearlessly as a greater gain than 1 point playing cautiously. Our chances to equalise only came about because of our approach. Chelsea were completely rattled. I've never seen us get in opposition heads like that. Some of their passing and finishing was farcical. And yes, they picked us off in the end, but had one of the Dier/Son/Bentancur chances gone in, I'd have bet we'd finish at 2-2.
Poch seemed quite emotional at the final whistle. After a stint at PSG and now Chelsea, he probably misses managing an actual football club with genuine fans who don't try to cheat the system to win things.
