agreed, dembele and sissoko are meant to be box to box. dembele has been the dribbler and sissoko with the energy. Unfortunately for you dembele is old now and doesn't have the legs so strictly hangs back and sissoko really doesn't have a creative bone in his body (he is a bulldozer) so alongside dier who is a DM, that's basically as uncreative and as unadventurous as it can get for your midfield composition. Any other midfielder in there would have made it more creative.
A very close game. Couldn't fathom whether Spurs were poor at attempts on goal or whether City's defence were too good. If Spurs had scored, then I would have said that it was a deserved draw but as it stand, Spurs did well to lose by only the solitary goal which Trippier messed up. I thought Lloris had a good game. His distribution is woeful but a great shot stopper. But Sissoko was excellent bar his finishing. Lamela actually did well despite losing possession a few times and missing that great opportunity. Winks did well and I hope he becomes a bit more consistent. He's not a creative midfielder but sometimes Spurs could do with him keeping order in the midfield. Spurs are in a little bit of a slump but the signs are there for them to go on a good run. Good to see some of the injured returning and once Verts and Rose return, all should be good. I think Dembele still has a lot to offer but he simply cannot cope with Poch's style of play. It's too demanding of him. He will be better suited to a slower pace game.
Yeah but the only other option is Winks - who apart from the last few games where he’s upped his performances - has a tendency to play back and sidewards passes to the point where he’s just a passenger. Alternatively we could chuck Eriksen there but Poch has never done so unless all CMs are injured. It’s why we need one or even two in January. Would love Milinkovic-Savic although I know I’m dreaming there. Frenkie De Jong would also be great, geezer’s like a young Modric. While I’m still pissed we allowed Fulham... ****ing Fulham, to get Seri.
Everyone is in a bit of a slump it seems. Poch's comments earlier suggest that he's fed up. The team huff and puff but can't seem to find another gear. I understand it was City we were playing but as you say they weren't at their best. Didn't help that Poch made his subs too late again. Feels like he seems to have juiced as much as he can from this group of players. Our best players are those that have a lot to prove..such as Lamela,Lucas and I will also put in Sissoko and Winks into that as the latter two have been playing better than expected and both have massive question marks over what they bring to the team. The positive impact of the new stadium might have masked our transfer window failure a little bit but even that hasn't materialised and I think all these things are taking their toll on Poch. He's certainly doubting something and it isn't an over reaction by those that suggest Levy should have backed his man. It's telling when he says even though it's the best start to a PL season by Spurs...it's the worst for him in his time here and something feels 'different' for him. The team and manager need re juvenating...I can see Poch leaving if Levy takes the piss in any more transfer windows
All can be rectified in January with at least 2 new signings but I won’t hold my breath. The last three years have always felt like we are just 1-2 players away from having a real shot at winning some trophies.
That's still half a season in...Poch has been let down by Levy and his frustration has come out in his comments. These comments are real and should be getting alarm bells ringing.
A plea. Can we please keep the match day thread as a discussion on the game and NOT an opportunity to have a go at DL and the club's transfer policies? ( That can go on the transfer thread ). Thank you
Only for the pessimists Spurlock some of us are enjoying one of the best periods in Spurs history. If you are not careful you will miss all the fun. Your expectations are way too high and that only brings discontent. Football is about enjoying yourself.
I think that point (with which I fully agree!) somewhat undermines your negative views on him. His recent performances have given me real hopes for his potential. Aren’t a player’s recent performances the ones that matter most? I think we could all identify players who began by being adequate but limited, or promising but inconsistent, and ended up by being exceptional. There’s that Welsh chap who used to play for us at left back when he began..... and no I’m not saying Winksy will end up a superstar. But I do think there are real signs that he could be a key player for us in years to come.
Disagree. City were fast and always threatening in possession. They were pretty ruthless in defence, snuffing out several promising Spurs attacks in and around the box. As a result we had very few clear-cut chances before that late, gilt-edged one which sadly Lamela fluffed. But I thought we stuck to our task with energy and commitment. Never seen Harry so aggressive, right from the off. Sissoko could be a vital player in games like this if only he could shoot (at least he seems to acknowledge his lack of skill now and passes when he should have a shot - lack of confidence, I guess - actually his passing isn’t brilliant, either!). I came away from Wembley having enjoyed a fiercely fought game, which we nearly managed to draw against one of the leading teams in Europe. Of course City didn’t run away with it, but that was down to Spurs’ competitive spirit and degree of skill - not because they were rubbish!
In this half a season we are 5th, only 5 points behind. We are out of nothing yet (well CL probably). Give Arsenal a stuffing in the NLD and all will feel different.
I'm more concerned about Poch's disgruntlement at everything...not a single isolated result. I'm a bit shocked at how everyone is taking it so lightly and at best will put it down to mis translation. He just came out and said the chairman is not interested in winning trophies...it's not his biggest concern...Ding dong everyone...them Alarm bells should be ringing.
I'm shocked at how you ignore what Poch said. I'm sorry Spurf if you don't see what we are capable of and how our transfer policy has hindered the next step. I'm not missing anything...I watch Spurs every week...I also won't ignore what Poch said and I'm not prepared to put it down to misinterpretation.
We rely too heavily on Kane and we don't think that we can score without him when, in fact, yes we have and scored well. I will repeat that our last 5 matches have been 1,2,1,2 and 0 and in those matches when we scored two, one was a deflection and one was a dived penalty so in effect from our forwards, 1,1,1,1 and 0. So, when's it going to be Tottenham 4 someone else 0? Not yet it seems. I have suggested before that we drop Kane and see how we do like we did pre season and last season without him for a few matches. He is absolutely in a slump. I have said before that I don't think Poch's the man to take us up another level, that I think someone like Conte or Ancelottti could do that for us.
I think we need to go back to what was said in May: From a position of strength, Pochettino sent a message to Levy that sounded suspiciously like an ultimatum: if the club want to take the next step to the biggest trophies, they have to invest more lavishly in top signings. Pochettino was asked whether he would definitely be at the club next season. He had been asked the same question last Friday and, once again, he gave an ambiguous answer. “I repeat from my last press conference – today, 100% I feel that I am here,” he said. “But the most important thing is that tomorrow all can change because it’s not in my hands.” Pochettino needed no second invitation to enter into great detail about how the club could improve. “I have very clear ideas of what we need to do,” Pochettino said. “I don’t know if the club will agree with me or not. We are going to talk next week to create the new project. It is a little bit up to Daniel and the club to agree with us. “If we want to be real contenders for big trophies, we need to review a little bit the thing. We need to create dreams that will be possible to achieve. Maybe we are a bit disappointed and frustrated because now we are close [to trophies]. “I think Daniel is going to listen to me, of course. You need to be brave. Being brave is the most important thing and take risks. I think it’s a moment that the club needs to take risks and tries to work, if possible, harder than the previous season to be competitive again, because every season will be more difficult. It’s not only the big clubs. The clubs in behind us like Everton, West Ham or Leicester – they are working so hard to be close to the top six.” Tie that with the comments that came out in the last few days: Before the daunting task of facing Manchester City at Wembley on Monday, it was intriguing to hear the former Argentina defender’s assessment of the campaign. “I don’t know why, it is difficult to explain,” Pochettino said. “The circumstances, because many things happen; I am disappointed we are still waiting for the new stadium when the expectation was to be there at the beginning of the season. I don’t know, many things happened in the summer, many things that make myself not in my best mood or best humour. I know I always have a good relationship with you but my feeling is not the best feeling. I had better feelings in previous seasons.” “The circumstance that happened in the last years, I think the club is not focused completely in winning titles or winning games,” Pochettino admitted. “We have a lot of focus and you know very well when you are competing with sides, like we are in Champions League and Premier League, the most important thing is to fight in the same conditions as others. “But the club needs to be all focused in trying to win titles. Because today we need to fix other problems and different circumstances that happen that don’t help the team or the club to only be focused on winning titles. Sometimes people expect that we should be winning or we must win titles when the circumstances are not ideal. To go further, you know better than us.” As he acknowledged, a new stadium is no guarantee of success – especially against the spending power of a team such as City. “I don’t have the answer how we are going to act when we are going to move there. It is easy to see in the last few years how we act in front of the market, how we act in front of everything and how the other teams were acting. That is the difference. Everything is not perfect but we are in a circumstance and a project that is completely different to another club, at the moment. But maybe when we arrive at the new stadium maybe we will be in the same project, have the same resources as different teams like Liverpool, Man City, United, Chelsea or Arsenal. The way we have been competing in the last few years, the frustration is massive because we have had less in every single aspect.” He couldn't be much clearer but I'm sure it's all been mis transalated. What I will say about Poch is that this is his toughest period by his own admission so if he has balls he should try to get through it but I think he has gathered what Levy's long game is.
