Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United

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Sunday 14th May 4.30pm
Premier League
White Hart Lane​

Last weekend we had a disappointing trip to a new, largely disliked stadium.
This Sunday we say goodbye to an old and beloved one.
The last game at White Hart Lane.
The end of an era.

Our league campaign may be all but over, but it's vital that we do this the right way.
There's not a lot left to play for but pride, so that pride needs to be on full display.
The last North London Derby at this ground went perfectly.
Our performance in this game needs to match the occasion, too.

Our visitors came into this season with a lot of hope and expectation.
Van Gaal's FA Cup win wasn't enough to keep him in the job, so he was replaced by Jose Mourinho.
An already talented squad was bolstered by big signings.
Bailly, Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan and Pogba all had big reputations and added to the anticipation.
Has The Special One delivered? Yes and no.

The aims at the start of the campaign would've been a top four finish and some silverware.
The former looks impossible, while the latter's already been delivered.
Another piece could well be on it's way too, if tonight's game goes as expected.
Winning the Europa League would also secure Champions League football, so a top four finish wouldn't matter.
Things wouldn't have been perfect at Old Trafford, but that would makes things perfectly acceptable.

Utd's recent form will also have been something of a boost, barring last week's loss to the Goons.
A 25 match unbeaten run in the league is impressive by anyone's standards.
The football played during that run hasn't always been up to Ferguson's high standards, though.
That lack of flair was very costly to van Gaal, but it hasn't been an issue for his successor. Yet...

Our trip to Old Trafford earlier in the season was a frustrating one.
We had the majority of the possession, but failed to create chances and didn't take the few that came.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the only goal, his first in the Premier League.
Wanyama missed a simple header and should also have had a penalty, but it wasn't to be.

The game at the Lane last season looked like it would similar, until a crazy six minutes changed it all.
Van Gaal set his team up to defend and they rarely looked interested in attacking.
They kept us out pretty well though, until Fosu-Mensah picked up an injury and was forced off.
Darmian's introduction didn't go quite as well as they would've hoped and this happened:

Marouane Fellaini will see out the last game of his suspension for this one, as the only banned player.
Winks, Lamela and Carter-Vickers all miss out again, but Rose is back in training, so we await news.
Utd have an extensive injury list, including Ibrahimovic, Rojo, Shaw, Young and Fosu-Mensah.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies; Wanyama, Dier; Eriksen, Alli, Son; Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Trippier, Wimmer, Dembele, Sissoko, N'Koudou, Janssen.
League form: WWWWWL.

Man Utd: De Gea; Tuanzebe, Smalling, Jones, Darmian; Herrera, Carrick, Rooney; Mata, Martial, Mkhitaryan.
Subs: Romero, Bailly, Blind, McTominay, Pogba, Lingard, Rashford.
League form: WWWDDL.

Referee: Jonathan Moss.

TV: Sky Sports 1.

What changes, if any, are needed, following the loss to West Ham?
Should we switch to three at the back or should one of Dembele or Dier drop to the bench?
Does anyone need to be rested or dropped in other areas?

 

Paul Stewart?
Now, come on....

 

LAMELAAAAAAAAAÀAÀAÄĂĀÅÃÂÀĀÀÀÀÄAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAÀÃ!!!!!

 

I hope it is as exciting as the last 20 minutes of the 125 match was.
That kind of excitement and an unbeaten season at the old girl would be a fitting goodbye...but I fear that'll be too much to hope for with Man Utd's manager being the last to visit. Several buses will be parked as he seeks to do very little before whining about how hard his team have it.

 

I think you know that Utd will play as if the game's a pre-season friendly if we dispose of Celta Vigo tonight.
Spurs couldn't wish for a better opponent.
Utd can't realistically finish higher than 6th- CL qualification is certainly fanciful through league position.
Nobody will risk injury or further fatigue with a final pending.
It will be a routine win for Spurs.

 

You should know by now, we don't "do" routine wins.

 

I genuinely fear for this game.

With all the fanfare surrounding our last game at the current WHL, those guests being paraded- we are almost celebrating before the game. A game that could cap a wonderful home season. Just has 'Spursy' written all over it.

 

This is an interesting game because it ticks all the boxes of things fans care about more than players. The question is whether the players will respond the way we really want them to. I hope and tend to believe they'll do their best.

 

Aren't the celebrations after the match?

 

There's also a half time Chas & Dave performance

 

Apparently, Adele is going to guest. The word is she's doing "In the cup for Totting-ham" .

I hope Roy Wood plays too. If you'd asked me to link him to Keithy, I would have struggled.

 

Indeed, Roy Wood is a noteable Brummie! I wonder if Counsellor Troi will be there - she has a Spurs tattoo believe it or not.

Also a bit worried about the post-game celebrations - remembering the last match at the old Wembley, which was a world cup qualifier which we lost against Germany, Keegan then resigned and then they had a fireworks display.

 

For that last Wembley international I was in Crete having a last and hastily arranged pre-kids holiday with a pregnant Mrs B. Also in Crete was half the population of Germany. I pretended to be Irish.

Also I was in Corfu in '83 when we lost to Denmark in a qualifier for the Euro's. It was well into September and the island was all but shut down. Where we were staying there were just 2 oither blokes. ****ing Danes took the piss mercilessly until I drank them under the table. Happy days!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/39898482

 

And another reason to fear the ''curse''

 

Didn't we get that out of the way last Friday? Surely that counts?!

 

That'll feckin' raise morale if we've struggled for 45 minutes.......

 

Hope it's a 'Curse' without blood-letting!!!

 

Danny Rose is apparently still not fit enough to make the match day squad. Really disappointing as I'd hoped he would feature from the bench.

Our handling of injuries this season has come across as farcical this season. Both his and Lamela's carried the air of 'we're making it up as we go along'. Even Spurs fans were roasting the club on twitter after the latest 'update'.

Kane aside, most of our injured players have returned to action later than expected. Are the medical staff slacking?

 

I see it as an example of the common strategy of minimizing the impact of bad news by not letting the entire truth be known at once. It breaks one big disappointment into a series of small disappointments which occur over time...and incidentally plays hell with the credibility of those who practice it...