Changing the squad doesn’t equate to progress though, if the change in squad isn’t bearing more fruit than the previous squad then what are we meant to deduce from that? £320m spent in three windows should be showing signs of progress and yet there’s a stronger argument to say we’re regressing instead of progressing.
It will take a couple of seasons to move on the right track no doubt but the question is are we on the right track? I’m not so sure. There are very little signs of improvement.
So much of the above could also be said of AVB. Ange must understand that for where Spurs are (on-pitch and financially) , and wish to be (likewise) , the margins of error are very fine for the manager. People may not like that, but it is what it is.
It's far too early to tell. The squad is ridiculously young. My biggest concern is that by point-blank refusing to sign experienced players, we run the risk of the youngsters not developing as quickly as hoped and what will happen meanwhile is a downward spiral of form that eats away at their confidence which in turn slows or ruins their development, which in turn leads to a further spiral in form, which leads to the manager being sacked and another £300m spent trying to fix the new problems. We're toeing a very fine line with the current strategy.
I think we’re more actually in the middle of the pack in the Premier League with regards to average age. The likes of Moore, Gray and Bergvall are evened out with the likes of Son, Forster and Davies. Many of our first XI are 25+ too, a good handful 27+.
We finished 8th because we had Kane. This was a team that had finished 4th the previous season and he insisted on bringing in Peresic and playing him out of position and Richarlison. We were awful to watch. We are currently 8th after 9 games with a young team. I see progress. He is taking the EL seriously which IMHO I don't think I've seen anyone do since Ramos tbh. I really struggle to think of many entertaining or memorable games between 2019 (after pochettino was sacked) until Ange came in. We beat West Ham 3-2 away in JMs first game, beat Olympiakos after going owing 2 down and beat United 6-1. Under Nuno the only memorable games were the car crash defeats. Under Conte I remember the run in of 2022 where we beat West ham, Toon, the goons ,Norwich , that 4-3 loss at anfield and that remarkable win v Leicester late on. That's 9 games in 4 yrs. Under Ange I can remember that dramatic Sheffield Utd ending, the Villa away game, the Arsenal 3-2 loss, the 4-1 west ham game, Man city away, Liverpool home, United away, Everton at home, Brentford both seasons home and away. That's 11 games that stick in my memory. We have more attempts on goal ... and are scoring more. For me, we are better to watch. I ain't sure what people want tbh. Last Thursday some on here were calling the match poor. Everyone around me at the game thought the second half was excellent. We will be inconsistent and I can live with that
Neither are Moore (bar today), Gray or Bergvall in the league. The usual PL side isn’t a young side so not sure where that narrative has come. Same as people saying the signings are all for the future. Some are but just as many aren’t.
That’s just selective memory though. You can easily pick out more great results and performances under Conte, along with some absolute dogshit ones. Conte finished 4th in his first season for us too and took over midway into the season which makes it even more impressive. I hated Conte’s football as much as the next guy towards the end of his tenure but Ange’s football has been nowhere near as exhilarating as you and others try to imply. We’ve had some excellent results and performances along with some absolutely dismal ones, it took him 8 tries to win a London derby too. As for taking EL seriously, we’ll have to see. He’s made wholesale changes in all of the games which implies he’s putting more emphasis on the Prem than the EL. It’s just that we’ve won 3 out of 3 with the squad in EL that makes it look as such. Personally if he came out and said the EL was his priority I’d happily write off games like today but considering he’s largely saving his first choice XI for League games, he’s rightly criticised for putting in yet another stinking performance. 9 losses in 16 league games is midtable to bottom half form.
All the post-match comments from coach and players I've seen appear to focus on the fact that Palace worked harder and wanted the game more. And that is spot on. They did. Sure, that can happen on occasion, but surely not so starkly the first away game after the worst capitulation in decades at Brighton. The very least the team should have shown yesterday was some real commitment and backbone. That they didn't collectively should be a warning sign for management. The lack of on field leadership again raises its ugly head, but you have to wonder what is being said and thought in the dressing room at HT, because the last 45 was worse than the first.
Spurs have become too predictable. They only play one way and teams are sussing us out and know the weaknesses of our formation and tactics. All they need to do, is simply attack and overwhelm us in midfield and we’ll fall apart. I said to my boys before the game that Spurs would lose because Palace would have done their homework (by watching the Brighton game). Palace were hungry for a win and knew spurs would capitalise if they attacked us. Ange really needs to understand that he needs to adopt different tactics/formations when playing teams, especially during away games. Like others, I’m not really seeing any signs of progression. We have some promising youngsters for the future but what about the present? Someone mentioned 3 away wins in the league in the last 10 months? Someone mentioned we have a terrible record in the London derbies? Where’s the progress? I don’t think Ange is going to be the solution but I don’t think sacking him is the solution. But he seriously needs to adapt.
Lack of leadership is the biggest issue imo. The body language of most of our players when the going gets tough is simply pathetic. Losing Kane, Lloris and Hojbjerg in quick succession has hurt us hugely in this regard. Son isn't the answer. The nicest bloke in football isn't going to pick his team mates up by the collar and give them the bollocking they deserve when playing poorly. I'd hoped Romero might step up into the role, but the fire appears to have deserted his game entirely. Maybe he's scared of picking up more suspensions, or maybe he's got one eye on leaving in the summer (I personally wouldn't mind at all if we get a big fee for him)? Koke and De Paul are out of contract in the next 12-24 months at Atletico. Those are the sort of players we need imo. Ideally someone who has spent the past decade being kicked in the balls by a frothing at the mouth Diego Simone but also with experience of winning major trophies.
This is it for me. I knew **** all about Ange before the club appointed him, but presumed that he'd been appointed because he could work successfully within the parameters of the club's modus operandi. On that basis, I would expect that he would be afforded 2 seasons, at least. Since Poch, our employment record of coaches is that of a club constantly flirting with relegation, constantly rolling the dice, in the hope of scooping the pot. It ain't gonna work.
I think Glasner completely played us this weekend. We were stumped by their pressing game and just couldn’t get things going consistently. Ange’s big misstep was the subs that took us to 2 up top. Rather than doubling down on our midfield presence right around the time you’d expect a pressing team to tire a bit, we went to 2 in midfield and stopped trying to dominate that area of the pitch.
For me, that midfield has always been the issue. Complete revamp for me. They showed extended highlights of the game here on a Spanish channel, and let's be honest from what was shown it was an horrific performance. The goal in particular was very painful to watch...
So we've played 13 matches so far and won 8 of them, most of them easily. We've lost 4 by a single goal in each case. Our goal difference in the PL is 8. We've scored 17 goals and conceded 9. If we continue scoring twice as many goals as we concede all season we will be odds on to be in the top 4. And only three clubs, Chelsea, Bournemouth and Southampton have had a younger starting eleven than ours on Sunday. Don't panic!
