An Opportunity for some 'Spursy' Revenge - West Brom preview & expected line-up

And we’re back! The lowlights of the England team can be swept under the rug and we can return to the heady heights of the Premier League…and the Midlands.

Pochettino in his press conference said, “It’s too early to talk about the title..” and that’s for sure! But for me this game against WBA will teach us more about whether we can win the title than the City game did.
We dropped four points against them last season and shouldn’t have. We should’ve slaughtered them in both matches, and the fact is champions win these games - somehow, someway.

The Pep in our step must be used

The trouncing of Pep’s pupils has raised expectations but this WBA team is going to be a completely different test of our resolve.
Both teams love to physically impose themselves, and both matches last season were not without incident. I’m hoping for more of the same, especially with Dele Alli coming faceto-face with Claudio Yacob again.

Last season, the Argentinian midfielder was able to provoke the young Englishman into punching him in the stomach. This season Dele seems to be expressing himself without the look of losing his cool - this will be a test of that.
The battle of the Belgians - Alderweireld and Vertonghen vs. Chadli - will also be fascinating. Chadli’s scored three and assisted twice in four games. I still like our chances. Chadli will be the one with something to prove, and both Toby and Jan will know exactly what Nacer will be looking to try.

Shake off those Spursy shackles!

Pochettino suggests “…we are more mature now and we are more focused to try to compete in every game and to treat every game like a final”. This is the first chance to get some revenge on one of the teams that scuppered our title chances last year, just as our games against Chelsea, Leicester and West Ham will be also. That fact should be a motivating factor for the boys.

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Expected line-up: Lloris, Walker, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Rose, Wanyama, Dier,Eriksen, Alli, Son, Janssen

 

So back to the proper stuff , last game was only a couple of weeks ago but feels like an eternity now .. 7 games in 23 days and only one at the Lane , this will be a testing little stretch and for that reason it's going to be interesting to see what team Poch puts out tomm .. Hard to be sure what's the best strategy here , it's still early enough in the season and there are still plenty in the squad who are not in top gear I.m.o ... I wouldn't be overly worried about rotation just yet , I'd be more inclined to play a near to full strength team and worry about each game as it comes until this stretch is over but listening to the gaffer yesterday I think we,ll see some changes ... We know he likes to rotate the full backs more then other positions so I wouldn't be surprised to see Rose and Walker on the bench tomm , Lamela and Son had long trips and are just back so I wouldn't be surprised if both of them didn't start either ... Hopefully he doesn't start Victor and Eric together in the centre , not a fan of them types playing together , but with Dembele more then likely out its a bigger possibility to happen ... Maybe it's time to give Winks a start beside either of those 2 ( preferably Victor ) but I doubt that will happen ... All in all , he has a lot of decisions to make and thankfully he has plenty of options ... The main thing is we walk away with 3 more points this time tomm eve , and that's no certainty I.m.o ... Their manager worries me more then their team if I'm honest , we,ve all had enough of getting Pulis,ed but credit to him , it's ugly but he's fairly deadly at what he does .... C.O.Y.S .......

Someone on another thread was saying England should play with 3 holding midfielders , 3 out + out strikers and play caveman football , not sure I'd agree with that but if they ever decided that was the way to go the there probably wouldn't be a better candidate as manager then Mr Pulis .......

 

These are the kind of games that will tell more about this team than the bigger games. It's easier for players to get amped up for big games; it's the ones where we are the favorites that will be more challenge, especially to a young squad. Can't afford a momentary lapse in concentration, whether it being on a counter attack or a set piece. Pulis' teams are great at taking those opportunities.

I expect the boys to be ready, this season seems different....no nonsense and all business. Take the chances and finish them, they'll need to be clinical. This is why I believe Poch will pick a strong squad. Janssen's had his chance, I say Son stays upfront and maybe later Janssen will replace him to control the game if we are ahead.

Lloris, Walker, Vert, Alde, Rose, Dier, Waynama, Lamela, Alli, Eriksen, Son

Hopefully we can get ahead in team to rest some of them for the midweek game, would be nice to see Winks, GK, Janssen get some game time as well.

 

Got a feeling Janssen is gonna get his goal tomorrow, we owe Brom a spanking just hope this totally pointless international break hasn't put us off our stride.
Poch needs to prove his worth tactically in this 1 if things arent going to plan.

 

Well, yet again we've matched last season's result, and we all know how that ended. We've GOT to start winning the winnable games, and improving from the plateau of about 70 points and about 4th/5th that we've been averaging for the past seven seasons if we're finally going to push on and claim a permanent place at the top table where we all reckon we belong. I want to believe that Pochettino is the man to do it, but he keeps giving ammunition to doubters like me with team selections and results like this!

 

On pochettino and his selection I heard spurs battered west from and should have been out of sight at half time???

 

If you doubt Poch now, what were you thinking for the last twenty years?
I'm pessimistic but to doubt Poch now is utter madness.

 

These games may seem easy/winnable games, but they're the most difficult. Playing a team that just tucks in with the discipline of Tony Pulis not to mention their imposing physicality; that's a tough one to crack. It's too big a gamble to make, the only way to break them is to put as many numbers in the box and hope that you don't get caught on a counter. After we went down 1, Poch did just that and added a few more technically gifted players....we were able to get leveled. The only compliant I'd have is of Janssen; he's hold up play was exceptional, he made runs....but he didn't take a shot on goal until the 83rd minute. If you're a striker, you have to take your chances and create some of your own....it's okay to be selfish at times. We need him to get goals, that's his primary responsibility! On the whole, glad we didn't lose all 3 points...Westbrom's a tough place to go.

 

Sorry, but I still don't see the fundamental transformation in the club under Pochettino's management that so many people claim to. Just as under AVB, we usually dominate possession, but we often fail to turn that possession into three points, and draws like today's can cost us dear at the business end of the season. Yes, we're stronger in defence than at any time I can remember (not that that's saying much!), but our results over the past two seasons under Pochettino haven't actually been better than under his recent predecessors - lowest points since 2009 in his first, and one single point more than Sherwood's 2014 total last season - our 'transformation' has been style rather than substance to date, and only REAL success (a trophy or two THIS season) is going to make me change my mind - the ball's in your court, Mr P!

 

Ouch , we got stung by Pulis again I'm afraid ... It was typical in many ways from both sides to be fair .. Quite simply we need more goals from everyone , this plethora of attacking midfielders don't have enough goals in them for all their individual qualities , hopefully they will develop this as the season moves on .... Taught we were sloppy enough at the back too at times , Brom did cause us problems the few times they got down there .... ( Chadli , who was it ever going to be , lol ) ... In the end a point wasn't the end of the world , it's the feeling we have the same old failings that's the worry going forward .. The biggest worry was seeing Toby limping off , fingers crossed it's nothing serious ... We are about to find out how important he actually is to this side ... We all suspect he is the key man but don't really know because he's never been out .... Frightens me a bit if im honest ... On to the next one ....
C.O.Y.S .......

 

If one of our players could actually use his right foot we probably would have scored a couple more. Having a one-footed player is like having a basketball player under a metre tall in the NBA (with all due respect to short people). Scoring early would probably have changed the game and many said that we had to take our chances - someone forgot to tell our one-footer (Foster didn't even have to make the save).
I really thought this was a game for N'koudou - someone that can run at a ten-man defence and cause panic rather than someone that can run around like a headless chicken!

 

Team selection was key. I am not a Lamela fan but potchettino is - of course ! Lamela should be benched and not starting every game when clearly 'My Son' should and was far more creative. But for his clever play we'd have lost ! Time for Wimmer infor Toby or Dier to show he is still a competent defender as yesterday. Horrible feeling Jansen will be another Soldado ........

 

A poor result whatever way you dress it up - our annual draw with the Baggies is not good enough :-(

Personally I think it would have been better to start with Son and taken him off in the second half (ahead of the CL). The only positives were maintaining our unbeaten run and Mousa coming back into the fold. We have to find a way of putting teams like this to the sword.

As for Janssen, he will not be another Soldado - he is a different player and brings decent support play to our game. We need to get behind him and believe.

Put this one behind us, learn from it and go and get a result in Germany!

COYS

 

Good point, I would have liked to see Son start the game and once we scored and then the game would have opened up for us. We lacked creativity in our attacking mid, Eriksen and Alli were the only ones....Lamela and Sissoko aren't technical enough to play in tight spaces. Things changed when Son and Dembele came on. Janssen has such a strong hold up play, he ought to develop some power moves. He could easily have rowed several defenders with the ball on his left foot and taken a shot at goal. He's playing very timid right now....you won't score if you don't take the shots!

 

Thoughts.....

- The International break, with such a cosmopolitan and global squad is never going to suit teams such as us, but then it's the same for all the top sides.

- I do not think I see Janssen as another Soldado, but as many have said, if you don't shoot you'll not score. I guess he lacks confidence and therefore it's easier for him to focus on his hold up play.

- Nothing new about this, but our lack of goals will always leave us exposed against teams like WBA. With Foster having a blinder, a tough visit got all the more difficult.

- However difficult it is to break down Pulis's teams, if we want to win anything we must succeed in games like this.

- We will now see if Poch has buried the hatchet with Wimmer.

With 5-3-0 and not losing to teams up at the top, it is as good as any of us would have wanted back in August. Now let's keep it to that ratio in a months time.

COYS

 

Wouldn't anticipate wimmer coming in for Toby being a naturally leftsided centre half. Probably be dier with wimmer on bench.

 

I do agree about the left sided issue, but Dier's form hasn't been great this term for me......

 

Not very impressed with Sissoko or Lamela both are being carried by the team maybe it is time to bench and save for the Liverpool match,Dier will get better just need's to shake off the England hang over,great new's about Toby,Janssen is getting better he will soon start hitting the goal's..
We are still un-beaten and have the best defence in the PL!!!!COYS

 

Need more from all the so called attacking midfielders , need more goals from all of them .. Don't think too many were falling over with excitement when we signed Sissoko and he hasn't done much to change our minds yet but it's early days in his Spurs career to be fair , like most I'm far from convinced .. What's his position I keep wondering .. So unlike Levy to pay the kind of money reported for someone like him , I have my doubts about that too , it just doesn't make sense .. Lamela is Lamela I'm afraid , debating his merits has been done to death by now , no point getting into that again ... Jansen has a lot about him to be fair , he needs to get into better positions to give himself a chance .. I don't have a problem with him not shooting from crazy positions , we have enough of them types of players but as our front man he's got to start finding better positions ... His lack of pace is a bit of a worry long term but I'm still hopeful he,ll come good given time ... Still early days in the season and nobody looks bombproof so at the moment it really does look wide open for the title and the top 4 .... There's 6 teams all with a sniff , all have strengths and weaknesses , but in the end 2 won't even be in the top 4 .... All to play for .... C.O.Y.S ........