please log in to view this image Tuesday 18th September 5.55pm BST Champions League Group Stage San Siro A loss either side of the international break has scuppered any early season momentum that we might have had. The victory at Old Trafford seems like it was quite a long time ago and our performances since have been poor. A positive start to this Champions League campaign is a must and it's a tricky opener. The San Siro isn't unfamiliar to us, but it's been a very mixed bag, too. Pochettino needs to get this one right and come away with at least a point. Our hosts are the blue side of Milan, who aren't having the best of starts to the season. Luciano Spalleti's side finished their last campaign in 4th place, edging out Lazio. The team from Rome had the same points and superior goal difference, but a worse head-to-head record. A goalless draw at the San Siro meant that a 3-2 loss at the Stadio Olimpico on the last day pushed them down into 5th. Quite the sickener for our old fascist friends, I'm sure. Qualification saw Inter make some interesting moves in the transfer window. Nainggolan, Politano, de Vrij, Asamoah, Martinez, Vrsalijko and Balde were amongst those brought in. Those signings have yet to pay off though, as their start has been rather rocky. An opening day loss at Sassuolo was followed by a home draw against Torino. A 3-0 win at Bologna will have raised spirits, but their 1-0 loss at home to Parma will have dampened them again. We've faced Inter on two occasions in the past and they've both been fairly recent. The first was our Champions League group meeting, which is largely remembered for Gareth Bale. Here's a reminder of why: The second time saw us drawn together in the last 16 of the Europa League in 2012/13. A comfortable 3-0 win in the first leg should've seen us progress comfortably, but that wouldn't be Spurs. A weakened side and a dodgy ref saw the Italians make a game of it, matching our 3-0 win. Emmanuel Adebayor scored in extra-time to put us back in front, but they leveled it up again with time to spare. We held on to win on away goals and Villas-Boas lived to fight another day. Dele Alli, Hugo Lloris and Moussa Sissoko are all still missing due to injury. Neither side has any suspensions. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Vorm; Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dembele, Dier, Winks, Eriksen; Kane, Moura. Subs: Gazzaniga, Aurier, Sanchez, Davies, Wanyama, Lamela, Son. Inter: Handanovic; D'Ambrosio, de Vrij, Skriniar, Chagas Estevao; Gagliardini, Brozovic; Candreva, Nainggolan, Perisic; Balde. Subs: Padelli, Ranocchia, Miranda, Vecino, Valero, Mario, Asamoah, Politano, Icardi. Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA). He was in charge for our 2-1 win in Dortmund last season and Alli's incident. TV: BT Sport 3. What would you change for this one, given the heavy schedule and previous two losses? Lineup, system, tactics or a mixture of all three? Any changes to the match squad or is that balanced enough already?
Apparently a 'technical' decision..... WTF!! Trips didn't have a good day but didn't think Toby was particularly at fault - certainly not in comparison with Rose, Dier, Eriksen and Kane!!
It's the new UEFA ruling about staggering matches. It means that us and the Scouse aren't on at the same time. You'll see quite a bit of it from now on.
Just a thought regarding Toby... Naturally the ITKs are talking about training ground bust-ups and aren't considering the fact that, since his wife gave birth, he's hardly been home due to the international break and so forth
Maybe a good call, but in that case why be ambiguous. That only provides opportunity for speculation.
Travelling to Inter with half a squad... yaaaay! Gazza KWP, Dave, Jan, Davies Wanyama, Eriksen Lucas, Lamela, Son Kane
Dele's continued absence is concerning - a 'minor' issue seeing him withdraw from the England game now sees him miss two of our most important games! If it's not bad enough that the injury occurred on international duty, but is this linked to the injury he picked up in the WC when Southgate left him on when clearly carrying a knock? We missed his mobility on Saturday and he'll be a big miss in Milan. A draw would be a miracle result IMHO.........
I'd assume that it's down to rotation and squad use. Pochettino can pick Sanchez and Aurier to start, bench Dier to use as backup centre-half and add Walker-Peters as cover for right-back. We've got depth in those areas and both players left behind had long World Cups and were called up again in the last break.
Hope you're right - but there aren't too many teams that would leave their best defender kicking his heels at home.
No Dele, Hugo, Toby or Trippier. Jeeeezzzz. Pretty much agree with @Dier Hard ’s line up, although I feel strongly about Kane getting a rest. So potentially play Son up top and bring in someone next to Wanyama, with Eriksen, Lamela and Lucas in the 3.
https://www.not606.com/threads/tottenham-hotspur-v-inter-milan.367199/#post-12129942 Maybe you are the Jose of this game. < you're not special anymore >
Do you know what this means? I've won more of these games than the rest of you put together. I invented the game. Who can judge me who has won nothing? When I arrived here, nobody had even heard of the game. Now everybody tells me how to play the game. Look at the stats. Look at my heritage. Some people win nothing for 5 years, then when they win, they tell me how to play the game. It's really hard for some people to accept : "Here he is, he's won the game again." But I'm happy. I know the game.
Honestly, with the exception of Eriksen over Winks this is what I'd like to see anyway. The squad needs a wake up call, the regulars have seemed complacent lately and we need others to step up if the regulars won't.
