Dembele was more at fault although I think Ben was also culpable of losing Sanchez. He was also a bit timid closing down Herrera - and I said that all yesterday! I do 100% agree that he’s looking really tired and that has been evident by his not appearing in the opposition box as he was doing the end of last season and most of this.
Haven't read up the thread yet...I was out yesterday and decided to stay out after that. We are the ultimate 'hope that kills you' team. We start every season knowing we are better than mid table but not enough quality to get to the top. 8th semi final defeat in a row. We haven't lost a league game where we have taken the lead yet we have got knocked out of all 3 cups after being in the lead. Something is not right.
Oh joy, Alan Sugar's mouthing off about how Lloris would've saved both goals yesterday. Obviously he's been too busy tweeting dreadful limericks about Jeremy Corbyn to notice that Lloris has made a series of high-profile and costly blunders in recent weeks that make such a declaration as laughable as his business empire...
It is the first time he has talked of not being at Spurs, or at least the first time I have heard it. Is that reflecting his disappointment at losing this game or indicative of something more? I don't know of course but it's not good to hear.
I hope we don't go Arsenal's way and realise 20 years later that we were only interested in top 4 I want trophies...I'm not saying we have a right to them...but we have the wrong mentality. I said I don't like Poch's demeanour regarding cups, leading up to the game and why the **** did he rest so many players against Brighton if it's about the league?
Incidentally I would like to mention Davidson Sanchez who played well and really tried to make things happen towards the end of the game. He hadn't given up at all and it should be noted because we are always talking of Toby and not enough about this young man who has not let us down at all.
Here's the issue with both cup competitions these days: the reward for winning them is significantly diminished compared to what we and at least five other clubs are focusing on compared to 25 years ago in terms of both status and (far more importantly) financial reward. If you go back to 1991 there were four ways to qualify for European football: winning the league got you into the European Cup, finishing as runner-up got you into the UEFA Cup, winning the FA Cup got you into the Cup Winner's Cup, while winning the UEFA or Cup Winner's Cup got you into that competition the following season. Considering that in 1990/1 we finished in tenth, so were nowhere near qualifying for the main two competitions, the FA Cup meant we could look forward to warm Tuesday evenings in Rotterdam instead of wet Tuesday evenings in Rochdale, so not only did it improve the status of the club but also offer additional gate revenue. Fast forward to today and the incentive is irrelevant, given there is far more incentive to qualify for the Champions League in terms of both status and financial revenue, while there's several examples of the runners-up being given the Europa League place that the winner won't be taking as they qualified for the competition that's had so much money funnelled into it that UEFA really need to stop trying to pretend the Europa League is in any way on the same level as the Champions League. Instead the cups are little more than something fans use to play a tiresome game of Top Trumps with one another, even though if the option of winning a cup or qualifying for the Champions League is such a no-brainer nobody ever actually asks that question knowing full well what the answer will be. The only advantage we'd have got from winning the FA Cup this season is nothing to do with any sense of achievement for the club and everything to do with shutting down the usual media Narratives for five minutes while also avoiding a couple of hours worth of spiteful posts on this board from insecure fans of certain other clubs. But what's the value of having a Sky Sports pundit say nice things about us for five minutes when, a few weeks later, they'll just be back to saying how we should be paying all of our players £2.8bn a week if we want to keep them?
Why can't we do both? We were only 2 wins away. Why would that get in the way of the League? 3 cup competitions...taking the lead and losing all 3...all at Wembley. I think we need to put this right for ourselves more so than shoving the narrative down the hacks throats. Poch can't hide behind ''this won't move the club forward' narrative. He buggered up the Brighton line up for something he doesn't take seriously? I think he doesn't know how to tackle cup games..in game management etc
I read that as `back me or I will be off, I`ve taken Spurs as far as I can under the current financial restrictions`.
I think it may be time to have a discussion in the transfer thread about this. The comments make for an interesting discussion about a potential cross roads we’re at. More so than ever, perhaps.
This is why I fear us emulating Arsenal. Get top 4 and it's ok. The fans get duped into accepting that philosophy. Poch chasing leagues and Cham Leagues has nothing to do with playing the second half like we are wearing lead boots. Only way it is related is that we have no real game changers on the bench to change things. Plus why was he playing it down? It won't elevate us blah blah....think he was just softening the blow for himself. That spreads to the team...they play like 'ah well we gave it a shot in the first Half' We need to be careful as fans we don't start buying into this ****e or that's what we will get...top 4 at best.
Actually, the PL is so cash rich currently that the usual suspects can take a couple of seasons out with nominal damage to their revenues. The issue with Spurs is sadly all about the TIMING. Breaking into the CL slots now is bad timing, as : 1. the above stuff on revenue applies 2. one of the usual suspects now has a route to the CL via an EL win 2006 was the big moment for damaging the Goons. So was 2012 and 2013.
Next year...new stadium...that's the excuse already sorted for next season's failures. In the meantime this squad of players gets a season closer to dismantling...that is the reality of it.
It isn't. The CL stuff may bring in money that allows the new WHL debt to be paid down quicker, but beyond that tis a few games where Spurs get to pit wits against a few pedigree Euro clubs. The two previous seasons have been about actually being a PL contender right to the end, not competing for the Wenger 4th place Cup.
Let me make this quite simple: winning the FA Cup last season didn't keep Sanchez, Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain or Walcott at Arsenal, qualifying for the Champions League would have at least given them a chance. Similarly, our failures to secure Champions League football in 2012 or 2013 went a hell of a long way to making sure Modric and Bale were spirited away the following summer or, looking back further, coming up short is what led to Keane and Berbatov being snatched in the same summer. That's the point, it is a choice at the moment, and anyone saying otherwise is missing the point entirely.
Both still could have gone regardless of getting the CL. For Modric, 2011 and 2012 became the convenient excuse for merc behaviour. I would have loved Spurs to have been in the CL 2012-13 to at least have called him on it.
Poch has the attitude...it's the league/CL or nothing...that's chairman talk, he should be a damn sight more serious about 'smaller' trophies...especially at the semi final stage. We failed in the CL in the same way we failed in the league cup and FA cup. That suggests a flaw in his management more so than a strategy by the club. I hope he's not hiding behind his 'league/CL or nothing' mantra
