If you don't play well- don't lose! Rose saves the day.

I shall not gloss over what was a pretty dismal performance from Tottenham at home to Liverpool this lunchtime. What I will say is that Spurs a few years ago would have lost this game and although we didn't play well, we showed resilience and kept going to claim a point and remain unbeaten at the start of this new season.

I felt that Janssen was very unlucky to start on the bench today after impressing against Palace last time out, but it's hard to argue against Dele starting when he is fit. I still feel we would do better with 2 up front bit that something for another day and another article.

Spurs kicked off and in the first 5 minutes the game was frenetic. A possible handball shout for Spurs and shocking play from Eriksen allowed Liverpool to stroll into the box and Coutinho, with the goal at his mercy failed to score thanks to a great piece of goalkeeping from Vorm. Spurs had a decent free kick shortly after but Mignolet was equal to it with a save that was for the cameras.

Dele had a shot wide but from 10 minutes onward, Spurs were so sloppy in their football. The passing was at times dreadful. Ball control seemed to be an issue too. 20 minutes in and Liverpool were dominating the game. They were pressing high and Spurs were second to every ball. Mane was making Vertonghen very uncomfortable and Spurs were frustrating the White Hart Lane faithful.
Seeing Milner at left back presented Spurs a real chance to attack but they never did. Milner is not a left back and we should have been getting at him. But we got nowhere near. Then after 25 minutes, Poch was forced into a change when Walker went off due to illness.
Janssen came on and Dier slotted into right back but Spurs still failed to click into any gear at all.

On 30 minutes there was a good penalty shout for Spurs when Jansen was manhandled and under the new guidelines, it was a penalty. The new directive will cause much controversy this season because at Stoke we saw the ref applying the letter of the law twice, today the referee ignored it twice and that inconsistency is going to frustrate many a fan this season. Liverpool should also have had a penalty for a similar foul by Vertonghen.

More controversy quickly followed as Mane went in hard on Rose and it was a clear yellow card. Mane had already been booked and it was a certain red card. Very poor from the ref who to be honest had an absolute shocker. Not just in terms of Spurs but in terms of both teams today.

When Spurs did get forward in the first 45, the final ball was poor. Where have we heard that before?

As half time loomed, I'm sure every Spurs fan would have been happy going in at 0-0. But Liverpool again got free, Lamela was chasing back and just, and I mean just clipped the heels. It was just outside the area but in real time it would have been hard to spot and Spurs didn't really complain.

Milner stepped up and popped the ball home giving Liverpool a deserved lead. At the break, Spurs man of the match, Vorm had kept the score down with some Lloris esque sweeper keeping.

5 minutes into the second half and Spurs got some space and Eriksen shot wide with a very tame effort. It was then the officials who took centre stage on 55 minutes when Liverpool left Spurs wide open at the back and Mane scored only to be ruled offside. And replays showed it was very tight. This seemed to lift the crowd and Spurs started to get some tempo in their play.
Nearly an hour passed and Eriksen came late but shot over. He really should have done better. We got a few corners and Alderweireld headed one toward goal but Mignolet got down early well to keep the ball out.

Spurs have always been seen as a soft touch but today they again showed their resilience under Pochettinio to keep plugging away. Dier got out wide, one of very few times that Spurs got down that side, placed the ball in, Lamela caused all sorts of problems and Rose, unmarked, took a touch and poked the ball home to give Spurs a point, and in fairness, a point that wasn't really deserved on the balance of play. But it's a point we will take and move on.
I would rather us play bad and get a point than play really well and get none.

Vorm did a great job today and should be applauded for his sweeping and a superb save from Coutinho. The defence was far from the solid unit from last season and I felt Vertonghen was a weak link today. He looked harassed and was sloppy in play, but to be fair most of the team were today.
Kane hardly got a sniff but I felt Janssen again worked hard and will be a handful this season as he grows in confidence.
Lamela and Dele in the first half were anonymous and the midfield kept falling over itself. A lack of width and communication was clear to see and that needs sorting out. There is no doubt that we are hugely missing Demebele. Wanyama is a good signing but we miss that strength going forward of Dembele and that has been clear in all 3 games so far this season.

The player who has really disappeared me this season though is Eriksen. Today his passing percentage was 68% (thanks to 442 stats Zone for stats data) and in all 3 games he has looked slow, lacking in endeavour and needs a big rocket up his bum.

I would drop him for the next game because he is not adding anything to the team at present. Maybe he needs to sign a contract and start focusing on his football rather than paper and money?

Onomah was fresh when he came on and showed some good skill and also naivety when he was caught offside which was a shame but he has talent and will no doubt be another bright star under Poch.

In summary, Spurs were not good today. At all. The ref was poor. For both sides.

Much work to be done then for Spurs but now let's regroup and get ready again after the international break.

As ever. Come on you Spurs!!!

 

Overall Mattj your view of the match was spot on alas the US TV was very bias for the Pool?I agree Eriksen should have been on the bench he has been pants for 3 games and without doubt need's a spell on the bench,Spurs look much better when Janssen teams up with Kane and with Ali also playing gives us a much better balance, we do miss Dembele he is back after the break so should be ok for the stoke game,The US TV think the Ref had a great game!!!! Still we are un-beaten so I am happy at that but we really do need to improve and soon..COYS..

 

Top Top assessment!

 

What is it with Erikson and these slow starts to the season , same every year and then he goes missing for another 6 or 7 games in the middle ... No doubting his quality but hes a lightweight and can be very frustrating .... The whole attacking unit are sleep walking at the minute and you can see the lack of work done in preseason due to Euros , but we weren't the only team with players at it .... We kept going and got a point but that was as much down to them not finishing us off as anything we did ourselves ... All in all a shocking performance really so a good point in the end ... Lots of work to do if we have top 4 aspirations and with Champs Lg and a serious lack of Dept in the squad it's hard to be overly optimistic about the season ahead I.m.o ..... Again we,re only a couple of injuries away from really struggling and we won't keep getting away with it ..... Im a fan of giving the young fellas a chance but if that's the way we,re going we're going to have to have patience because it's going to be a huge ask for them to be consistent throughout a full season .... Not sure at all how it's all going to turn out , as always time will tell .... Have to give a shout out to Vorm who has taken a fair bit of stick from some of our fans , he was excellent today and if he keeps that up then we have no worries in that department and dare I say it he might make Loris look over his shoulder which would be no harm I.m.o , saying that one swallow doesn't make a summer so he has to keep it up .... C.O.Y.S .....

 

Why does most English fans have a blind spot for players like Kane and Dier. You pointed out Eriksens pass % but how about Kane in the #10 role with a 31% pass accuracy, 0 key passes, and 0 shots? Kane was our worst field player for the second time in three games and all I hear is that Eriksen needs to be benched. Eriksen is a skill player that thrives in a system where the ball is played on the ground, not long ball after long ball. He also requires midfielders around him to make good movement off the ball which we have lacked. Often he receives the ball and no one is making the run off the ball to create the space and he is forced to try and force a low percentage ball.

The biggest issue's I have seen so far is no Demebele, Kane as a #10, slow and sloppy passing, and too many long balls. Dier has been poor and Victor is more off a DM then a CM. Demebele created a lot of space for players to work in which we are missing at the moment. Drop Dier when Moussa comes back and let Victor play in his best position. Kane as a # 10 doesn't work, but the bigger worry is that he has shown no hussle to press or move without the ball. I think he is not fit and needs a few weeks off to get him back to himself. If you watch Jannson and then watch Harry you will see the dramatic difference in running. The other problem is our tactics of playing slow out of the back and then chucking up long ball. Spurs were at there best last year when we played the ball quickly out of the back on the ground. Players like Lamela or Eriksen aren't going to win balls in the air, but they can play quick give and goes which have been missing so far this year.

Spurs have been poor and the issue is more with tactics and positioning then one or two players being poor. Watch Barsalona or Bayern Munich yesterday if you want to see how a team should play attractive attacking football. The sad part is that we were doing that for half of last season but haven't played like that since April.

 

This was such a predictable score line, and in the end we were lucky to get a point.
So far ive seen no improvement whatsoever to build on. Weve been slow, sloppy, painfully predictable and unless Poch and Levy are blind or have no ambition we need to ship 5 players at least and get in 3 quality attack minded players with pace.
Lamela for all his improvement and work rate is too predictable, Eriksen for his quality is too light weight, both are slow and unimposing going forward.
Kane and Alli look bang average all of a sudden.
We cannot keep any meaningful possesion going forward or in the centre of the park.
As a whole its been very mediocre at best the start of this season and exactly how it will pan out if a few things arent addressed quickly.

The bench is worrying and the pace we play at.
We will find it very hard to break teams down playing at the tempo we do at present, and we all know when plan A isnt working we have no match winners on the bench.
And with a looming CL campaign is "work hard" Poch gonna work the 1st team into the ground again so we capitulate when we need to step it up?

 

Can't really compare us with Barca or Bayern to be fair , would any of our players make any of their squads never mind their first teams ... They,re 2 of the top teams in world club football and have been for a long time and if you're measuring us against that type of quality you're going to be a very disappointed person more often then not ......

Look it's early in the season and we all know the type of preseason Poch likes to get into the players , one which he hasn't got into them this year and hopefully that's the reason we look so rusty and sparkless so far this year ... Its easy to pick anyone of the players at this stage and say whatever because they all look way off the pace especially the attacking side of our game .. Dier and Victor together in the center is always going to be limited so that doesn't help in a lot of ways .. Dembele coming back seems to be everyones answer to our midfield problems and I hope they're right , we all know how good he was last season but a lot have forgotten what he was like before then , remember he couldn't force his way into a midfield containing Bentelab and Mason , I just hope last season's version is the one that turns up but they all have to step it up in fairness .. Kane , Alli , Erikson , lamela , all piss poor today and anyone of or all of could have been taken off today but who do you replace them with ...... I think the reason Erikson is getting more stick then the others is we get this **** off him at the start of every season and he has no Euro hangover excuse ... He needs to step up and be more consistent throughout a season and stop going missing for 5 , 6 , 7 games at a time .....

 

It is not often that I agree with you Felon but in this case you are spot on;Some thing is missing from the team,a wide man with speed and with a good cross would help and a play maker,I wonder if the contract problem is the cause of Eriksen's problems,he needs to stay benched until it is sorted his head is not there,as for Levy he is the same every year waits to the last day and buy's cheap dross like the report of Zaha a joke,plus this saga of Koudou,we miss Dembele, and again a plan B, Poch has to get this sorted COYS...

 

You would think we are providing relegation form.
I agree that we do need more pace in the team. Onomah has pace and he could play a part as the season goes on. Remember that Poch will try and bring young players in if he can.
Zaha is not the answer. He's bang average and I don't think he would really make that much of a difference.
The issue in midfield today was that were all falling over each other. There was no space and that's because the formation is stifling the players. We badly miss Dembele and I in not sure why Winks doesn't get more game time. I've been watching him for the last 2 years and you can see a real quality in his play. He looks lightweight but is strong on the ball and is very attack minded.

As for signing people, I'm not sure we will. We are entering that period where Levy tries to buy , gets desperate and end up with no one at all. We will certainly move a few on but some pace would be welcome.

Koudou is now allegedly training with us but is he just another N'Jie? We need pace that gets tonged line and crosses rather than stops, pulls back and delivers nothing.

Regarding Lamela, I have not been his biggest fan but last season he really worked hard to Improve and although he was peripheral today, his movement into the box created the space behind for Rose to score.
As for him being predictable , I couldn't disagree more. He didn't get into the game enough today but he is one of the first names on the team sheet.

Vertonghen was shocking today. Toby was as solid as ever but Verts is slow and his distribution terrible.

is Wimmer inured? I would like to see him start.

Eriksen. I still feel that as good as he is he has not fulfilled his potential yet. He's had some good moments but he goes missing in too many games. He has been a match winner but I'm not convinced he has enough about him to do that consistently.

If we had lost today, maybe there would be calls for Poch to be sacked. In fact there would have been. I know I called for it 2 seasons ago but I have learned a lot since then. I watch the game, shout and moan but then I calm down a bit before my reviews.

I was disappointed by our performance today but also pleased that we kept going and got the equaliser.

Clearly there is work to be done, but we are certainly no worse than Liverpool. Arsenal had a win today against a poor Watford. Everton laboured to a win.
Man United look good. City too. But it's 3 games!

United fans think they will win the league after 2 games.

Calm down folks. Unbeaten and need to improve.

 

Evening All.

Thoughts.....
- we have 5 points, no defeats after three, plus we've not played well
- Kane, Alli, Dier look knackered, although Alli was better than last week, just
- the early tactical switch, adding Janssen, shows Poch doesn't know his best formation, even though watching the 2ndhalf v Everton plus all of last week should have told him.
- when Dembele returns, Dier would have to be benched
- we have a really thin squad
- if Kane doesn't rediscover his form we will really struggle.
- and despite being very average so far we still have 5 from 3.

It's a funny old game

COYS

 

We do look tired. Kane and Dele look short on fitness and confidence.
Dier looks like he is lost because his pals are tired.

Dembele is the big miss. He energises the team and when he is back I think we will improve. But we really aren't as bad as some are saying.

I've seen one post tonight on Twitter saying Poch should be sacked because he has achieved nothing and not developed the squad.

What utter rubbish. He has brought this squad on leaps and bounds and after 3 games people are talking about the sack. I know I'm pessimistic but I'm amazed how negative some are.

5 points, unbeaten.

 

I would reserve "not good at all" for some other ties we might watch later in the season. Klopp did his homework well and Spurs faced quite viscous defense from his side. So some credit is deserved by opposition. The rest of the Mattj article is spot on in its analysis, while Felon is right "naturally".
I would only add to it that IMO both Mr. Don't Call Me Till October Kane as well as Mr. Easy Turnover Eriksen must be on the bench at the next tie start. Besides those two "stars" the rest of the squad was from mediocre to good, while two (Vorm and Rose) were excellent.

 

For me Wanyama shaded it ahead of Rose, who still worries me with his positional play. For me Vorm had a great game, top class.

 

Vorm has to get more credit for his performance - he hasn't had many chances until now and many fans have criticised him before (how can he be criticised when he has not had a chance). Two and a half games now without conceding a goal from open play and a brilliant performance yesterday - I haven't seen Lloris in such good from for a good while.
JV is an accident waiting to happen - sorry, accidents!
Lamela and Erikson are all clever flicks and tricks but very little creativity in their play - one of them on the pitch at a time (I've been saying that for a couple of seasons now).
When Kane went off we settled for a draw.
Dier may not be the best wingback there is but Walker should watch him and learn - getting close to the byline before making a cross is ten times more dangerous than swinging in aimless crosses from halfway up the pitch.
Still optimistic that we can come good but think Poch has to be a bit more ruthless with some players.
When did we stop our high-pressing style?

 

That's a midtable club mentality, right there.

 

Agree with Mattjj. The bottom line for me is the team as whole is not performing to its potential then add to that some pretty mediocre performances from several individuals then we are fortunate not to have lost yet. Whilst Dembele is quality and should definitely start , on his own is not the full answer. 75% of the team in unison need to step up their performances. We are a class outfit when everyone plays at their best. Poch needs to make that happen lively.

 

Judging by all the post's Dembele on his return will save our season all on his own!!I just hope he has a out standing first match otherwise all will be after his head as well,Dembele is just a part of the problem we have we need other player's to step up and a new winger to step in to give us pace it is just not Poch alone but >Levy who has to act.Dembele can NOT save our season alone he need's help,over to you Levy.....COYS..

 

Save our season? 3 games in and we need to save our season.
Come on, that's just beyond silly.

 

I think there is still a hangover from last seasons disappointment and Spurs havent found the momentum as yet which nearly reaped dividends but for a catastrophic finale. With still a few days left before the window shuts, i would like to see a couple more signings in the shape of a pacy winger or someone who can run at a defence and give the opposition plenty to think about. Maybe another striker aswell to give some competition to Kane and Janssen. Coys

 

Poch has stated already in an interview that we are a long way behind where he'd like us to be in terms of sharpness and even fitness because of the extended breaks some had after the euros ... I think he said they've done very little apart from fitness and conditioning work so if that's 100% accurate then there should be a huge improvement to come over the coming weeks ... There's no getting away from the lack of dept in the squad I'm afraid so that's something that will play itself out over the season and only then will we get a true reflection of how we can manage that with the players we have and the young fellas coming through ... Just hope we can hang in there for the time being and keep ourselves in the hunt until we get up to scratch and then we,ll get a lot truer idea of how this season might turn out for us ... Don't forget it's our last season at the old W.H.L so I.m.o we have a few difficult season's coming up before we settle into our new home which will hopefully be the start of something big for our beloved Spurs .... Onwards and upwards hopefully but it will take time to settle down and it will surely test our patience along the way but we,re well used to that .... C.O.Y.S .....