Ted the Yid
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Founding Member
Glad you made it back okay. you now need to burn your clothes after sitting amongst the filth.
Glad you made it back okay. you now need to burn your clothes after sitting amongst the filth.
skiathospurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
Don Diaz
Zero tolerance of Numpty's
Founding Member
Johnny Depp having a bad day on his return from the Pirate ship in the Caribbean....??
skiathospurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
Ok who restored the premier league back to factory settings??
arsenal 4th......
arsenal 4th......
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J.spurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
I have a lot of friends over here who are football fans but are basically neutral when it comes to the PL. Several who have been to that place have said exactly the same thing about their fans, they were shocked at how fickle and bitchy they are, more so the anywhere else.
boo
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
* Perhaps it is a measure of the general progress of both teams that Tottenham headed into this game in disappointed mood and Arsenal will leave it in a similar frame of mind. One is the only unbeaten team in the country and the other went within a point of first place after the draw. These are two clubs with grand ambitions and realistic hope of achieving them, for once.
Mauricio Pochettino will be far happier than Arsene Wenger with the result, of course. Arsenal have now dropped seven points in six home games, an unlikely brake applied to their title challenge. Pochettino is the first Spurs manager in history to go unbeaten in their first five league games against Arsenal, and it continues the unbeaten league run. Wenger may be worried that the famed November ‘curse’, or at least their struggle to continue bright starts to the season, is happening again.
Yet neither manager can be wholly satisfied by the performance. Judging teams on their displays in local derbies played at the ludicrous time of midday is foolish, but neither Pochettino nor Wenger will believe that their side played to their fullest potential. There were too many misplaced passes, too many scuffed chances, for this to be stellar fare, high on entertainment but far lower on quality. Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son were among the game’s biggest passengers, while the stars were at full-back and in central midfield.
The goals too were reflective of that lack of quality, an own goal from a reserve centre-back and a penalty given away foolishly. As time went on, we waited for a late assault from either team that never really came. Arsenal had one shot on target after the 32nd minute; Tottenham had two in total from open play.
* The most interesting aspect of the team news was Pochettino’s decision to operate with a 3-4-3 system with Kevin Wimmer and Eric Dier joining Jan Vertonghen in central defence. The new en vogue Premier League formation finds a new home.
There was method behind Pochettino’s choice, even if Tottenham had only used the formation once before under his management. Arsenal overpowered Antonio Conte’s Chelsea before the Italian chose to change formation to a 3-4-3, possibly offering a warning, and it reduces the chances of Danny Rose and Kyle Walker getting pinned back. Both are vital to Spurs’ attack as they provide much-needed width, and were lacking against Leicester. Pochettino’s side can look very narrow and sluggish if both are unable to get forward.
Also, as the excellent Spurs blogger Chris Miller said before the game, when your full-backs push up as high as theirs and the holding midfielder drops as deep, it’s not actually a huge difference from the norm.
Still, there is no doubt that it was a surprise. Pochettino’s only other dalliance with the formation came against the two strikers of Watford, and the pre-match suspicion was that three central defenders to deal with one false nine in Alexis Sanchez was overkill. Would Eric Dier be sent out to sit on Mesut Ozil?
* While the return of Harry Kane was welcomed by Tottenham supporters, the loss of Dele Alli through injury wasn’t. Pochettino revealed before the game that Alli had twisted his knee in a training session on Saturday, and his injury would need to be assessed. Pochettino then confessed that Alli would be out for a few weeks. Walker followed him later in the match.
It indicates a wider trend, too. Tottenham enjoyed great fortune with injuries last season. Kane, Alderweireld, Hugo Lloris, Walker, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Alli and Dier played a combined 285 league games out of a possible 304, missing just 19 combined. This season, they’ve already missed 15. The consequences of a tournament summer and Champions League participation are already hitting hard.
* Tottenham started the brighter, as if catching Arsenal off guard with their new shape. Arsenal’s attacking midfielders looked uncertain whether to press the central defenders in possession, allowing Tottenham to easily play their way up the pitch and right up to the edge of the opposition penalty area.
That was reflected in the chances in the first 20 minutes of the game, with Arsenal caught offside more often than they touched the ball in the opposition box. Son tore away down the left and crossed for Kane when he could – and maybe should – have shot, while Kane himself headed wide when given a presentable opportunity to score.
Shortly after that miss, Shkodran Mustafi was heard screaming at Alex Iwobi for his failure to stop Walker running forward. Tottenham’s wing-backs presented Iwobi and Walcott with a dilemma of how much they should track their men.
* Yet if Arsenal took time to understand how to combat Tottenham’s shape, they worked it out before half an hour had passed. You sensed that Pochettino’s team had to take advantage of the uncertainty in the opposition, and they failed to do so. Arsenal began finding pockets of space in behind the full-backs, with Nacho Monreal pinning back Walker and Ozil enjoying time on the ball in front of the defence.
The first chance came for Walcott, who struck Lloris’ crossbar with a rifled effort; Ozil could not direct the follow-up on target. Next came Iwobi, played in after intricate play between Sanchez and Ozil. The winger’s shot was scuffed and sent straight at Lloris.
* Three minutes before half-time, the goal came. Not via sumptuous skill but a central defender struggling to cope on his first league start of the season and some ineffective officiating.
Ozil’s skill in open play was displayed during his majestic winner on Tuesday, but the German’s set-piece delivery is just as proficient. A whipped free-kick left Wimmer with little choice but to try and head the ball away but, falling back, the Austrian could only direct it past Lloris and into the corner.
Any incompetence on the defender’s part was more than matched by the assistant referee, who failed to flag for offside despite two Arsenal players interfering with play and beyond the last defender when Ozil struck the ball. Wimmer would not have jumped to head the ball had Sanchez not been in front of him. To adapt the Brian Clough quote, if an attacker is a foot away from the ball and in front of the goalkeeper and not interfering with play, then he shouldn’t be on the pitch.
* While I’m going all ‘You Are The Ref’, can we please change the rules on head injuries? Current guidelines dictate that the game should be stopped as soon as the official notices a head injury, in order for treatment to be provided as soon as possible, vital in such circumstances. Yet if the play is not close to the stricken player, why does the physio need to wait for instruction?
Let me explain. In the first half, Mustafi went down holding his head on the halfway line, ten yards away from where the physios sat. Tottenham had the ball, and continued to attack, moving away from Mustafi. What is the problem with the game continuing while Mustafi receives treatment? If play then moves over to Mustafi’s position the referee can then stop the game, and if not, so be it. It would help the game flow and ensure head injuries were dealt with immediately rather than relying on a referee spotting it.
* I’ve given up my campaign against players who hit the first man from corners and free-kicks, because nobody is listening to me. It’s time for a new issue, and it’s defensive midfielders and defenders shooting from 25 yards or more despite having next to no chance of scoring. I’m aware that I’m edging dangerously close to xG chat, but bear with me.
The prime example from the Emirates was Victor Wanyama’s strike from 30 yards in the first half. It’s one thing Eriksen or Philippe Coutinho shooting from distance often enough to frustrate supporters, but another entirely when it’s a midfielder like Wanyama. High and wide is the norm, shots on target the exception and goals a rarity. Stop it.
* Why is it that every initiative about pulling shirts and grappling in the penalty area lasts about a month before things return to normal? What is it about shirt-pulling that make referees so afraid to penalise them?
In the first half, Vertonghen clearly pulled Xhaka back over a period of three seconds from a corner, stopping him getting to the ball. It was a penalty, and I can feel my anger rising.
* Laurent Koscielny is one of the best defenders in the Premier League, but was responsible for letting Tottenham back into a local derby that looked to be moving out of their reach. There looked little danger as Moussa Dembele moved across the edge of the penalty area, closely guarded by two Arsenal players. Koscielny’s decision to hang out his leg was uncharacteristically brainless.
On commentary, Howard Webb described the penalty as soft but correct; only the second of those terms matters. Koscielny should know better than to risk giving away the foul. Kane scored the resulting penalty, his fifth goal in his last four north London derbies.
Incidentally, Wenger described the penalty as harsh because the foul was not deliberate, which is an award-winningly one-eyed view of the decision. Fair play to him for seeing it, anyway.
* I’ve been critical of Wenger in the past for his delays in making substitutions to try and change the course of a game, but he deserves praise for his proaction against Tottenham. If Wenger has previously made all three substitutions by 70 minutes without any forced through injury, I can’t remember it. Particularly not when they weren’t a reaction to being two or three goals down and rolling the dice.
Unfortunately, it just didn’t work. Wenger opted for the same plan as against Sunderland, with Olivier Giroud coming on and going up front, but Giroud missed a headed chance and failed to impact on the game. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was amusingly bad while Aaron Ramsey was in his ‘I’ll shoot from distance and then look surprised when it misses’ mood. The intention of the changes was good, but the effect was negative.
* I can’t leave it there on Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose cameo took him back a step after fine displays against Sunderland and Reading. It feels like a cycle he’s ever destined to repeat until he finally leaves Arsenal.
Given 20 minutes to try and change the game, Oxlade-Chamberlain attempted only six passes and completed three, including one of four in the opposition half. His shot from an acute angle rather than crossing to the waiting Giroud summed up a player whose decision-making is beyond frustrating.
* Kane lasted more than 70 minutes on his return, but is clearly not yet fully match-fit. Right now, a 60% Kane is better than a 100% Vincent Janssen.
That seems harsh on a 22-year-old striker, and Janssen may well come good after settling in England and the Premier League, but he’s just not giving Tottenham enough. The touches are off, the shots are scuffed or mistimed and the hold-up play was lacking at the Emirates. Vertonghen shot an angry glance in his striker’s direction after he lost the ball for the third time in ten minutes.
This is not me writing off Janssen entirely, but he has to be fit for purpose now to help Tottenham out. In Kane’s absence, the Dutchman really hasn’t stepped up.
* There are few more underrated players in the Premier League than Nacho Monreal, and Arsenal’s left-back was comfortably his team’s best player.
Monreal nails the balance between attack and defence perfectly. His average touch position was further back than Hector Bellerin but still near the halfway line, and he regularly overlapped Iwobi to offer an outlet. Monreal’s three crosses from open play was the highest of any Arsenal player.
Yet defending is his strongest suit, epitomised by the challenge on Kane during the second half that somehow stopped the striker from shooting at the back post and yet still avoided conceding a corner. Four tackles and seven interceptions is just a normal day’s work for Monreal, and I love him.
* Monreal was pipped as the game’s best player by Dembele, described as a “genius” by his manager in the post-match press conference. There are few better central midfielders in the country when the Belgian is at his best.
The most endearing thing about Dembele is just how elegant he looks on the ball when under pressure. Just watch how he moves away from his marker and glides away from challenges even in the close confines of a north London derby.
The second-highest pass accuracy of any of the 22 starters was 83.3% by Francis Coquelin, and eight players registered between 77% and 83%. Dembele’s passing accuracy was 89.1%. When you can keep your head while all others lose theirs, you’ll be a decent central midfielder, my son.
* Finally, one interesting thing about this Tottenham side is just how effectively they share around the workload. It’s a little thing, but the gap between the Tottenham player with the most touches (Dier – 76) and the player with the eighth-most (Wimmer – 63) was just 13. For Arsenal, that gap between eighth and first was 31, Monreal to Iwobi.
It works on sprints, too. Danny Rose made the most with 72, but the gap to fourth was only 14 (and that would have been lower had Walker not been substituted with an injury). For Arsenal, the gap was 22. It’s a hypothesis rather than conclusion, but is this how Tottenham keep up their intensity every week?
Mauricio Pochettino will be far happier than Arsene Wenger with the result, of course. Arsenal have now dropped seven points in six home games, an unlikely brake applied to their title challenge. Pochettino is the first Spurs manager in history to go unbeaten in their first five league games against Arsenal, and it continues the unbeaten league run. Wenger may be worried that the famed November ‘curse’, or at least their struggle to continue bright starts to the season, is happening again.
Yet neither manager can be wholly satisfied by the performance. Judging teams on their displays in local derbies played at the ludicrous time of midday is foolish, but neither Pochettino nor Wenger will believe that their side played to their fullest potential. There were too many misplaced passes, too many scuffed chances, for this to be stellar fare, high on entertainment but far lower on quality. Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son were among the game’s biggest passengers, while the stars were at full-back and in central midfield.
The goals too were reflective of that lack of quality, an own goal from a reserve centre-back and a penalty given away foolishly. As time went on, we waited for a late assault from either team that never really came. Arsenal had one shot on target after the 32nd minute; Tottenham had two in total from open play.
* The most interesting aspect of the team news was Pochettino’s decision to operate with a 3-4-3 system with Kevin Wimmer and Eric Dier joining Jan Vertonghen in central defence. The new en vogue Premier League formation finds a new home.
There was method behind Pochettino’s choice, even if Tottenham had only used the formation once before under his management. Arsenal overpowered Antonio Conte’s Chelsea before the Italian chose to change formation to a 3-4-3, possibly offering a warning, and it reduces the chances of Danny Rose and Kyle Walker getting pinned back. Both are vital to Spurs’ attack as they provide much-needed width, and were lacking against Leicester. Pochettino’s side can look very narrow and sluggish if both are unable to get forward.
Also, as the excellent Spurs blogger Chris Miller said before the game, when your full-backs push up as high as theirs and the holding midfielder drops as deep, it’s not actually a huge difference from the norm.
Still, there is no doubt that it was a surprise. Pochettino’s only other dalliance with the formation came against the two strikers of Watford, and the pre-match suspicion was that three central defenders to deal with one false nine in Alexis Sanchez was overkill. Would Eric Dier be sent out to sit on Mesut Ozil?
* While the return of Harry Kane was welcomed by Tottenham supporters, the loss of Dele Alli through injury wasn’t. Pochettino revealed before the game that Alli had twisted his knee in a training session on Saturday, and his injury would need to be assessed. Pochettino then confessed that Alli would be out for a few weeks. Walker followed him later in the match.
It indicates a wider trend, too. Tottenham enjoyed great fortune with injuries last season. Kane, Alderweireld, Hugo Lloris, Walker, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Alli and Dier played a combined 285 league games out of a possible 304, missing just 19 combined. This season, they’ve already missed 15. The consequences of a tournament summer and Champions League participation are already hitting hard.
* Tottenham started the brighter, as if catching Arsenal off guard with their new shape. Arsenal’s attacking midfielders looked uncertain whether to press the central defenders in possession, allowing Tottenham to easily play their way up the pitch and right up to the edge of the opposition penalty area.
That was reflected in the chances in the first 20 minutes of the game, with Arsenal caught offside more often than they touched the ball in the opposition box. Son tore away down the left and crossed for Kane when he could – and maybe should – have shot, while Kane himself headed wide when given a presentable opportunity to score.
Shortly after that miss, Shkodran Mustafi was heard screaming at Alex Iwobi for his failure to stop Walker running forward. Tottenham’s wing-backs presented Iwobi and Walcott with a dilemma of how much they should track their men.
* Yet if Arsenal took time to understand how to combat Tottenham’s shape, they worked it out before half an hour had passed. You sensed that Pochettino’s team had to take advantage of the uncertainty in the opposition, and they failed to do so. Arsenal began finding pockets of space in behind the full-backs, with Nacho Monreal pinning back Walker and Ozil enjoying time on the ball in front of the defence.
The first chance came for Walcott, who struck Lloris’ crossbar with a rifled effort; Ozil could not direct the follow-up on target. Next came Iwobi, played in after intricate play between Sanchez and Ozil. The winger’s shot was scuffed and sent straight at Lloris.
* Three minutes before half-time, the goal came. Not via sumptuous skill but a central defender struggling to cope on his first league start of the season and some ineffective officiating.
Ozil’s skill in open play was displayed during his majestic winner on Tuesday, but the German’s set-piece delivery is just as proficient. A whipped free-kick left Wimmer with little choice but to try and head the ball away but, falling back, the Austrian could only direct it past Lloris and into the corner.
Any incompetence on the defender’s part was more than matched by the assistant referee, who failed to flag for offside despite two Arsenal players interfering with play and beyond the last defender when Ozil struck the ball. Wimmer would not have jumped to head the ball had Sanchez not been in front of him. To adapt the Brian Clough quote, if an attacker is a foot away from the ball and in front of the goalkeeper and not interfering with play, then he shouldn’t be on the pitch.
* While I’m going all ‘You Are The Ref’, can we please change the rules on head injuries? Current guidelines dictate that the game should be stopped as soon as the official notices a head injury, in order for treatment to be provided as soon as possible, vital in such circumstances. Yet if the play is not close to the stricken player, why does the physio need to wait for instruction?
Let me explain. In the first half, Mustafi went down holding his head on the halfway line, ten yards away from where the physios sat. Tottenham had the ball, and continued to attack, moving away from Mustafi. What is the problem with the game continuing while Mustafi receives treatment? If play then moves over to Mustafi’s position the referee can then stop the game, and if not, so be it. It would help the game flow and ensure head injuries were dealt with immediately rather than relying on a referee spotting it.
* I’ve given up my campaign against players who hit the first man from corners and free-kicks, because nobody is listening to me. It’s time for a new issue, and it’s defensive midfielders and defenders shooting from 25 yards or more despite having next to no chance of scoring. I’m aware that I’m edging dangerously close to xG chat, but bear with me.
The prime example from the Emirates was Victor Wanyama’s strike from 30 yards in the first half. It’s one thing Eriksen or Philippe Coutinho shooting from distance often enough to frustrate supporters, but another entirely when it’s a midfielder like Wanyama. High and wide is the norm, shots on target the exception and goals a rarity. Stop it.
* Why is it that every initiative about pulling shirts and grappling in the penalty area lasts about a month before things return to normal? What is it about shirt-pulling that make referees so afraid to penalise them?
In the first half, Vertonghen clearly pulled Xhaka back over a period of three seconds from a corner, stopping him getting to the ball. It was a penalty, and I can feel my anger rising.
* Laurent Koscielny is one of the best defenders in the Premier League, but was responsible for letting Tottenham back into a local derby that looked to be moving out of their reach. There looked little danger as Moussa Dembele moved across the edge of the penalty area, closely guarded by two Arsenal players. Koscielny’s decision to hang out his leg was uncharacteristically brainless.
On commentary, Howard Webb described the penalty as soft but correct; only the second of those terms matters. Koscielny should know better than to risk giving away the foul. Kane scored the resulting penalty, his fifth goal in his last four north London derbies.
Incidentally, Wenger described the penalty as harsh because the foul was not deliberate, which is an award-winningly one-eyed view of the decision. Fair play to him for seeing it, anyway.
* I’ve been critical of Wenger in the past for his delays in making substitutions to try and change the course of a game, but he deserves praise for his proaction against Tottenham. If Wenger has previously made all three substitutions by 70 minutes without any forced through injury, I can’t remember it. Particularly not when they weren’t a reaction to being two or three goals down and rolling the dice.
Unfortunately, it just didn’t work. Wenger opted for the same plan as against Sunderland, with Olivier Giroud coming on and going up front, but Giroud missed a headed chance and failed to impact on the game. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was amusingly bad while Aaron Ramsey was in his ‘I’ll shoot from distance and then look surprised when it misses’ mood. The intention of the changes was good, but the effect was negative.
* I can’t leave it there on Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose cameo took him back a step after fine displays against Sunderland and Reading. It feels like a cycle he’s ever destined to repeat until he finally leaves Arsenal.
Given 20 minutes to try and change the game, Oxlade-Chamberlain attempted only six passes and completed three, including one of four in the opposition half. His shot from an acute angle rather than crossing to the waiting Giroud summed up a player whose decision-making is beyond frustrating.
* Kane lasted more than 70 minutes on his return, but is clearly not yet fully match-fit. Right now, a 60% Kane is better than a 100% Vincent Janssen.
That seems harsh on a 22-year-old striker, and Janssen may well come good after settling in England and the Premier League, but he’s just not giving Tottenham enough. The touches are off, the shots are scuffed or mistimed and the hold-up play was lacking at the Emirates. Vertonghen shot an angry glance in his striker’s direction after he lost the ball for the third time in ten minutes.
This is not me writing off Janssen entirely, but he has to be fit for purpose now to help Tottenham out. In Kane’s absence, the Dutchman really hasn’t stepped up.
* There are few more underrated players in the Premier League than Nacho Monreal, and Arsenal’s left-back was comfortably his team’s best player.
Monreal nails the balance between attack and defence perfectly. His average touch position was further back than Hector Bellerin but still near the halfway line, and he regularly overlapped Iwobi to offer an outlet. Monreal’s three crosses from open play was the highest of any Arsenal player.
Yet defending is his strongest suit, epitomised by the challenge on Kane during the second half that somehow stopped the striker from shooting at the back post and yet still avoided conceding a corner. Four tackles and seven interceptions is just a normal day’s work for Monreal, and I love him.
* Monreal was pipped as the game’s best player by Dembele, described as a “genius” by his manager in the post-match press conference. There are few better central midfielders in the country when the Belgian is at his best.
The most endearing thing about Dembele is just how elegant he looks on the ball when under pressure. Just watch how he moves away from his marker and glides away from challenges even in the close confines of a north London derby.
The second-highest pass accuracy of any of the 22 starters was 83.3% by Francis Coquelin, and eight players registered between 77% and 83%. Dembele’s passing accuracy was 89.1%. When you can keep your head while all others lose theirs, you’ll be a decent central midfielder, my son.
* Finally, one interesting thing about this Tottenham side is just how effectively they share around the workload. It’s a little thing, but the gap between the Tottenham player with the most touches (Dier – 76) and the player with the eighth-most (Wimmer – 63) was just 13. For Arsenal, that gap between eighth and first was 31, Monreal to Iwobi.
It works on sprints, too. Danny Rose made the most with 72, but the gap to fourth was only 14 (and that would have been lower had Walker not been substituted with an injury). For Arsenal, the gap was 22. It’s a hypothesis rather than conclusion, but is this how Tottenham keep up their intensity every week?
Thfcire
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
They were bad we were slightly better good performance work on it
deejbah
Well-Known Member
I pissed myself when I read Wenger's comments this morning almost as much as I did when Dembele ran through their defensively impotent midfield and defence (the attempt of Ozil to foul him was very, very special). Almost as big a deflection job as some of Jose's and Fergie's.
Both teams got away with stuff - Jan was being his usual sneaky, grabby self and they did some grabbing as well and both teams got away with running through the back of players.
Well done to Wimmer for recovering from giving that goal away. I did wonder what he was complaining about to the ref and at first thought he was complaining about being fouled but he was exactly right about their positioning.
Both teams got away with stuff - Jan was being his usual sneaky, grabby self and they did some grabbing as well and both teams got away with running through the back of players.
Well done to Wimmer for recovering from giving that goal away. I did wonder what he was complaining about to the ref and at first thought he was complaining about being fouled but he was exactly right about their positioning.
Liam
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
An interesting few points from yesterdays game.
From my hungover feeling fucking rough point of view we put in a much improved performance compared to Wednesdays CL game. Jan has been immense in the absence of Toby and was again yesterday, having Dembele on this pitch and playing like he did yesterday will makes us a much better side when Dele comes back into the fold and Kane is on top form. Good to see Harry get a goal (a penalty!!!) on his return and hopefully he can now kick on with the season for us.
Anyway here's the article I was posting before I started to ramble on.
Edit: here's the link. Lol. http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co....appy-eriksen/story-29872652-detail/story.html
From my hungover feeling fucking rough point of view we put in a much improved performance compared to Wednesdays CL game. Jan has been immense in the absence of Toby and was again yesterday, having Dembele on this pitch and playing like he did yesterday will makes us a much better side when Dele comes back into the fold and Kane is on top form. Good to see Harry get a goal (a penalty!!!) on his return and hopefully he can now kick on with the season for us.
Anyway here's the article I was posting before I started to ramble on.
Edit: here's the link. Lol. http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co....appy-eriksen/story-29872652-detail/story.html
Havocc
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
I think the fact that we are not playing as good as we can but are still unbeaten is the most important thing we can take since the City game.
Knowing that we can improve, and we have key players coming back gives me great excitement for a good Christmas period
5 points clear at the top come the end of January?....
Knowing that we can improve, and we have key players coming back gives me great excitement for a good Christmas period
5 points clear at the top come the end of January?....
Liam
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
This is a positive thing for sure, some won't have any of it but being unbeaten is a good thing!!! Yes we have played poorly at time during this unbeaten league run but we still haven't lost and that's without Dembele, Lloris, Toby and Kane for long periods of the season so far. Get the squad close to full fitness and we will see the results and performances improves for sure,
Don Diaz
Zero tolerance of Numpty's
Founding Member
Having reflected (a bit) on Sunday and generally I think we're doing better than some might imagine. Poch was brave on many levels against Arsenal and I have to admit, that I was fearing a bit of a beating, I should have known better and had a bit more belief. We've been a bit unlucky in recent games, Leverkusen aside and Poch has had to work with depleted resources, which were added to on Sunday with neither of Lamela and Dele being fit, coupled with Harry being about 75-80%. He got the team fired up, played a different formation and got a great result in terms of performance and a point away from against one of rivals.
I think once back at full strength and everyone on form, we'll not only start scoring goals as we did last year, but beat teams comprehensively. It's a great mark of any team if you can play well when not at your very best. The manager is also having to factor in important Champions League games and losing the entire squad to International fixtures during the course of the Premier League season. Combine all this with his first year of suffering significant injuries and still being at the top of the table, he's to be commended.
To push on from here we're going to need to have a bit of better luck during the remainder of the season both on the injuries front and also in converting chances, rather than for example hitting the woodwork or finding opposition goalkeepers in great form. We'll need Mousa back to his best, as he was on Sunday and take control in midfield. A fully fit Kane and a bit more from the guys in midfield. The defence is strong again although I'd like Walker, who is having a good season especially going forward, to try and cut out that odd lapse he seems to have once or twice a game. Once we're really firing on all cylinders, which I think will happen soon, I can see us building momentum and confidence, like we had up to and including the City game.
Chelsea away, on current form, will be a great test. A really tough game, especially considering that they have no European competition and we come back from Monaco. This team and manager are still growing and learning, but we're on the right path and I expect the future to continue to be bright and rewarding.
ps just realised also that we restricted the scum to only 2 shots on target. No mean achievement
I think once back at full strength and everyone on form, we'll not only start scoring goals as we did last year, but beat teams comprehensively. It's a great mark of any team if you can play well when not at your very best. The manager is also having to factor in important Champions League games and losing the entire squad to International fixtures during the course of the Premier League season. Combine all this with his first year of suffering significant injuries and still being at the top of the table, he's to be commended.
To push on from here we're going to need to have a bit of better luck during the remainder of the season both on the injuries front and also in converting chances, rather than for example hitting the woodwork or finding opposition goalkeepers in great form. We'll need Mousa back to his best, as he was on Sunday and take control in midfield. A fully fit Kane and a bit more from the guys in midfield. The defence is strong again although I'd like Walker, who is having a good season especially going forward, to try and cut out that odd lapse he seems to have once or twice a game. Once we're really firing on all cylinders, which I think will happen soon, I can see us building momentum and confidence, like we had up to and including the City game.
Chelsea away, on current form, will be a great test. A really tough game, especially considering that they have no European competition and we come back from Monaco. This team and manager are still growing and learning, but we're on the right path and I expect the future to continue to be bright and rewarding.
ps just realised also that we restricted the scum to only 2 shots on target. No mean achievement
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skiathospurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
skiathospurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/sport/foot...tottenham_crisis_has_been_overblown_1_4765266
Eric Dier feels talk of a crisis at Tottenham has been rather overblown after the Lilywhites earned a 1-1 draw at Arsenal in yesterday’s north London derby and maintained their unbeaten record in the Premier League.
Spurs arrived at the Emirates having failed to win any of their six previous games in all competitions, after drawing four times and losing twice.
The latest defeat on Wednesday, just three days before the trip to the Emirates, as Spurs went down 1-0 against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League at Wembley.
The nature of that poor performance, which left Mauricio Pochettino’s side third in Group E, prompted some to predict a one-sided derby on Sunday - and the Gunners led 1-0 at half-time after Kevin Wimmer’s own goal.
But Harry Kane levelled from the penalty spot after the break to earn a share of the spoils, and Spurs remain unbeaten in their 11 top-flight fixtures so far this term.
“People started talking about Tottenham being in crisis during the week - we haven’t lost yet in the Premier League,” said Dier. “Obviously the Champions League was very disappointing but I think it’s a funny crisis if you’re unbeaten in the league.
“The manager doesn’t need to say anything to us - as players we understand and know that on Wednesday we were nowhere near good enough.
“Everyone knows that and when you play Arsenal away three days later it isn’t nice, but you have to move on from it, forget about it and go again.
“There isn’t time to sulk or cry over it. We know we weren’t good enough and it’s very disappointing - we worked so hard last year to be in the Champions League and our performances haven’t been good enough.
“We’re all disappointed about that but this is football and there’s no point dwelling on the past. We have just got to look forward now.”
Pochettino surprised Arsenal by changing his formation in the derby, playing with three central defenders and deploying Kyle Walker and Danny Rose as wing-backs.
“The first time we knew about it was Saturday,” said Dier. “We worked on it in training and we went there and played it. It was probably a good thing because we didn’t think too much about it and we just got on with it.
“The manager thought it was best to play this formation and I think it was a risk that shows our character and our attitude - we’re not afraid to do anything and try anything. We did that and I think it paid off.
“Sometimes it’s nice to freshen it up, do something different and try something new. We enjoyed it and I think it worked well.”
Tottenham went into the last international break on a high, having beaten Manchester City 2-0 at White Hart Lane, but the pause in domestic action halted their momentum, and the Lilywhites have not won since.
Spurs’ internationals are now departing again, denying them the chance to build on their encouraging result in the derby again.
But Dier said: “I’m just now looking forward to going away with England really. That’s the way it’s set up, there’s nothing you can do about it.
“Last time we beat City and then went away on an international break. The first game back is usually hard when the players come back at different times, but we have a lot of international players and we should be used to it by now.”
Eric Dier feels talk of a crisis at Tottenham has been rather overblown after the Lilywhites earned a 1-1 draw at Arsenal in yesterday’s north London derby and maintained their unbeaten record in the Premier League.
Spurs arrived at the Emirates having failed to win any of their six previous games in all competitions, after drawing four times and losing twice.
The latest defeat on Wednesday, just three days before the trip to the Emirates, as Spurs went down 1-0 against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League at Wembley.
The nature of that poor performance, which left Mauricio Pochettino’s side third in Group E, prompted some to predict a one-sided derby on Sunday - and the Gunners led 1-0 at half-time after Kevin Wimmer’s own goal.
But Harry Kane levelled from the penalty spot after the break to earn a share of the spoils, and Spurs remain unbeaten in their 11 top-flight fixtures so far this term.
“People started talking about Tottenham being in crisis during the week - we haven’t lost yet in the Premier League,” said Dier. “Obviously the Champions League was very disappointing but I think it’s a funny crisis if you’re unbeaten in the league.
“The manager doesn’t need to say anything to us - as players we understand and know that on Wednesday we were nowhere near good enough.
“Everyone knows that and when you play Arsenal away three days later it isn’t nice, but you have to move on from it, forget about it and go again.
“There isn’t time to sulk or cry over it. We know we weren’t good enough and it’s very disappointing - we worked so hard last year to be in the Champions League and our performances haven’t been good enough.
“We’re all disappointed about that but this is football and there’s no point dwelling on the past. We have just got to look forward now.”
Pochettino surprised Arsenal by changing his formation in the derby, playing with three central defenders and deploying Kyle Walker and Danny Rose as wing-backs.
“The first time we knew about it was Saturday,” said Dier. “We worked on it in training and we went there and played it. It was probably a good thing because we didn’t think too much about it and we just got on with it.
“The manager thought it was best to play this formation and I think it was a risk that shows our character and our attitude - we’re not afraid to do anything and try anything. We did that and I think it paid off.
“Sometimes it’s nice to freshen it up, do something different and try something new. We enjoyed it and I think it worked well.”
Tottenham went into the last international break on a high, having beaten Manchester City 2-0 at White Hart Lane, but the pause in domestic action halted their momentum, and the Lilywhites have not won since.
Spurs’ internationals are now departing again, denying them the chance to build on their encouraging result in the derby again.
But Dier said: “I’m just now looking forward to going away with England really. That’s the way it’s set up, there’s nothing you can do about it.
“Last time we beat City and then went away on an international break. The first game back is usually hard when the players come back at different times, but we have a lot of international players and we should be used to it by now.”
skiathospurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-a-win-narrowly-avoided-for-spurs-429336.html
Martin Cloake
Winter draws on. And to be fair, most Spurs fans would have taken that before the game. And the measure of a North London Derby is how you feel after the game. In the pubs of north London, the feeling was that we narrowly avoided a win.
The trouble with a NLD is that every fan wakes up nervous and hating it, but also knowing we wouldn’t have it any other way.
So you arrive with those contradictions, but wishing you could want it more than the other lot want it, but not as much as the other lot don’t.
Beers early at Kings Cross beforehand, some left in the pub watching, the rest of us on the way. We are Tottenham. From the Lane.
Arrival. All ok but robocops on the way in, no edge yet between the fans. Yet.
In the ground, a beer and a song on the concourse. Or two.
Kick off. The realisation that we are probably louder than that lot. But also that we are in the middle of the away end. Singing.
Urging them on. Harry Kane starting. Delle injured. A back three. What does it mean? For 30 minutes, a proper tussle. The form book out the window.
That great derby cliché. Singing our hearts out for the lads. Just like a library.
To and fro. The edge still there. Clattenberg his usual erratic self. Physical contact on a red shirt a foul. The other way? Not so much. Abuse traded but the game grips. No quarter given.
The singing proves we are the best away fans in the league.
Approaching half time and hearts in mouths. It could go either way. Them on top. Hold on til half time please.
A ball comes over. Wimmer rises. Wimmer. We’ve wondered why he hasn’t started. A header. It’s in. In our own goal. For fuck’s sake!
The whistle. Half time. To the concourse. Chewing over the ebb and flow. Some depressed and thinking our run of nothing is set to get worse.
A queue at the away refreshments. Somehow, the fact that 3,000 away fans have bought tickets weeks in advance has escaped the planning genius of a club in the self proclaimed best league on the planet.
Because there is no food left. Apart from, purely coincidentally obviously, the most expensive item.
And no booze. Because it’s not the rugby or the cricket when drunken behaviour would be merely ’high jinks’. So booze is banned. For our own protection. It’s a premium sporting experience.
An £8.80 coffee and hot dog with over-stewed onions later and we are back out. A crafty snack – almost certainly. Spurs are on the front foot.
The two songs offered briefly by the home support just before half time seem to have exhausted them. The away section cranks up the old classics. Glory glory hallelujah.
Dembele. Hacked down in the box. Protests from a team that has dived at the merest hint of a challenge all afternoon. Kane tells Son ’taking it thank you very much.’ He scores.
Clattenberg notices it has gone over the line. Never let it be said we don’t notice when there’s been improvement.
Madness in the away end. We roar them on. The banners around the ground seem limp. Rhode Island, Malta, Malaysia, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy gooners - all wanting a result.
But not as fiercely as Spurs from North London. Perhaps a controversial point to make in these post Brexit, post factual, post reason times but also indication of what a local derby means locally.
Onwards and onwards. Challenges to whether this is a library get louder. As do the groans from self-entitled Arsenal fans at every misplaced step.
Intensity increases and Spurs are on the front foot. But anyone can still snatch it.
The whistle comes inconsequentially. A draw. Both sets of fans would take that. The away contingent more disappointed. We clap them off because a corner has been turned. An international break. A meander home. A beer or four and a debrief.
This was The Derby. There’s another one coming soon.
Martin Cloake
Winter draws on. And to be fair, most Spurs fans would have taken that before the game. And the measure of a North London Derby is how you feel after the game. In the pubs of north London, the feeling was that we narrowly avoided a win.
The trouble with a NLD is that every fan wakes up nervous and hating it, but also knowing we wouldn’t have it any other way.
So you arrive with those contradictions, but wishing you could want it more than the other lot want it, but not as much as the other lot don’t.
Beers early at Kings Cross beforehand, some left in the pub watching, the rest of us on the way. We are Tottenham. From the Lane.
Arrival. All ok but robocops on the way in, no edge yet between the fans. Yet.
In the ground, a beer and a song on the concourse. Or two.
Kick off. The realisation that we are probably louder than that lot. But also that we are in the middle of the away end. Singing.
Urging them on. Harry Kane starting. Delle injured. A back three. What does it mean? For 30 minutes, a proper tussle. The form book out the window.
That great derby cliché. Singing our hearts out for the lads. Just like a library.
To and fro. The edge still there. Clattenberg his usual erratic self. Physical contact on a red shirt a foul. The other way? Not so much. Abuse traded but the game grips. No quarter given.
The singing proves we are the best away fans in the league.
Approaching half time and hearts in mouths. It could go either way. Them on top. Hold on til half time please.
A ball comes over. Wimmer rises. Wimmer. We’ve wondered why he hasn’t started. A header. It’s in. In our own goal. For fuck’s sake!
The whistle. Half time. To the concourse. Chewing over the ebb and flow. Some depressed and thinking our run of nothing is set to get worse.
A queue at the away refreshments. Somehow, the fact that 3,000 away fans have bought tickets weeks in advance has escaped the planning genius of a club in the self proclaimed best league on the planet.
Because there is no food left. Apart from, purely coincidentally obviously, the most expensive item.
And no booze. Because it’s not the rugby or the cricket when drunken behaviour would be merely ’high jinks’. So booze is banned. For our own protection. It’s a premium sporting experience.
An £8.80 coffee and hot dog with over-stewed onions later and we are back out. A crafty snack – almost certainly. Spurs are on the front foot.
The two songs offered briefly by the home support just before half time seem to have exhausted them. The away section cranks up the old classics. Glory glory hallelujah.
Dembele. Hacked down in the box. Protests from a team that has dived at the merest hint of a challenge all afternoon. Kane tells Son ’taking it thank you very much.’ He scores.
Clattenberg notices it has gone over the line. Never let it be said we don’t notice when there’s been improvement.
Madness in the away end. We roar them on. The banners around the ground seem limp. Rhode Island, Malta, Malaysia, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy gooners - all wanting a result.
But not as fiercely as Spurs from North London. Perhaps a controversial point to make in these post Brexit, post factual, post reason times but also indication of what a local derby means locally.
Onwards and onwards. Challenges to whether this is a library get louder. As do the groans from self-entitled Arsenal fans at every misplaced step.
Intensity increases and Spurs are on the front foot. But anyone can still snatch it.
The whistle comes inconsequentially. A draw. Both sets of fans would take that. The away contingent more disappointed. We clap them off because a corner has been turned. An international break. A meander home. A beer or four and a debrief.
This was The Derby. There’s another one coming soon.
Don Diaz
Zero tolerance of Numpty's
Founding Member
There was quite an interesting analysis on Match of the day last night where Danny Murphy highlighted how Arsenal tried (and failed as it turned out) to exploit the space left behind Walker and Rose when they had pushed upfield. They were more effective behind Walker because Dier didn't come out of his 'comfort zone' as often as Vertonghen (as highlighted above in fact) who is more experienced in doing so.
Cleverer people than me will already appreciate this and it's one of the things that Walker perhaps needs to appreciate, however having said that, he can't be in two places at once and as Spurs fans I appreciate him and Danny charging down the wings and running at defenders with attacking flair, when we're not playing eithe Son or GKN in a wide position.
Credit to Poch for having the balls to play with the formation above and the players for pulling it off. I also remember various numpties a while ago in another place, criticising Poch for having no plan B....I think he probably has a 'C' and a 'D' as well.
skiathospurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
Yeah they must be stoked he finally listened to them
So far Poch has played 4,4,1,1 4,1 4,1 3,5,2 and even 4,4,2 .I dont understand why some just want to moan about whatever he does,who else since burkinshaw has done better,maybe venables 25 years ago?The guy is clearly quite adaptable.
Don Diaz
Zero tolerance of Numpty's
Founding Member
you missed 4-6-0 for the full house....ha ha!!Yeah they must be stoked he finally listened to them
So far Poch has played 4,4,1,1 4,1 4,1 3,5,2 and even 4,4,2 .I dont understand why some just want to moan about whatever he does,who else since burkinshaw has done better,maybe venables 25 years ago?The guy is clearly quite adaptable.
Dorset
The Voice Of Reason
Founding Member
Football Bingo. I like it! I always wanted to go to an old folks home and volunteer to do the Bingo, Kellys Eye 26, Two Fat Ladies 17, on its own 34,...... they would go mental! I used to go to Bingo with my old nan when I was a kid, it was fucking terrifying, if you moved or made a noise a hundred old ladies would fire laser beams from their eyes at you!
skiathospurs
Well-Known Member
Founding Member
even better i hereby trademark my new game "scum bingo"
german bug eyed cunt 11
oxo-laughing stock number 15
spanish hamster face number 19
you spin me right round right round like a record baby right round round round number 14