Matchday discussion

Might it be possible to start one thread about Levy and another thread about Pocchettino?
Doing so might free up the other threads from the comments about Levy and Pocchettino, for me (maybe for others as well) it would be nice to see one thread without complaints about those two and/or complaints about recruitment.

 

Responding, purely on a personal basis, the moany, critical theme comes through because we’ve made such big rickets in the transfer market, passing up at the right price or failing to get players, much of whom have featured above in the recent threads.
Sure I’m a fan, but it’s been increasingly difficult not to criticise either MP or DL because they have ruled over the past 5 years. Of all the gripes, the striker one is the most criminal for me. It’s surely not beyond the Club to have de-risked the current situation, as so much rides on the next three months - talent money from CL and Top 4....it’s a no brainier. So painful. Sure we still love them, but pain, such pain....COYS

 

We have gotten striker already. His name is Troy Parrott. JM is playing his regular mind games. He wants to take a credit for developing the lad, if he pans out and to protect himself from criticism should he not. Mou planned to keep him off first team for those reasons, something that is not possible to do with a striker signed. Now with injury crisis Parrott will be used. Not in UCL, but in EPL we will see him. Mourinho knows how to create a gale that will bring attention to his persona and keep attention away from the players, the club and its problems. Don't believe him, Spurs will win 2:0 or 1:0 over RB. COYS!!!

 

You n VoR looking for a safe space, free from differing opinions and hurty feelings where you can control n tell people how to speak and think????

Ah bless, I hope you find your solace.

 

Derby and can have big impact on who gets to play CL.

I didn't have control over the remote so I didn't see the match against RB Leipzig so the ones who watched (and I suppose anyone else as well):

Same formation or?
Same players or?

 

What a ridiculous thing to say! You are the first to criticise everything and everyone and then when every few weeks when someone or other finally has enough of your incredible negativity and whinging and calls you up on it, you start getting petulant

Jespers suggestion is not unlike other forums where you might have people interested in different areas of a subject being able to concentrate on what interests them
If we had a section for management and owner issues
Tactical issues
Transfers etc
It might help promote considered dialogue between those passionate about those particular elements, without having to put with the ever so predictable response to an injury, poor result etc of “I told you so, where are you all now , ner,ner nee ner ner!!

 

Looks like your wish has been granted , there's been some safe spaces made for you.

 

Have to fling my hat in here after a week or two of not getting involved and I feel sure I'll get a thumbs down from many quarters. I'm in the boat with Felon, I see quite a few pigeons coming back after what was a period of relative calm. We've won a couple of games we probably shouldn't have but that merely masked the obvious - we're certainly short of quality in a few places and now that our only real quality, Kane & Son, is taken from us we're going to struggle. Moura, much as I like him, isn't the answer and who else is there? Nobody, and the suggestion that Troy Parrott should be tried, while certainly having merit, would show, to me, that he isn't yet ready. He may be at some time but he's not yet; he's had a few minutes, very few, here and there and that's never enough; he should have been on the bench more often and gradually getting more preparation for what we need right now. No point aportioning blame again but definitely another a case of "this should have been addressed earlier". It wasn't, we're here, let's get on with it but it's not going to be pretty.

 

I think Mourinho would be satisfied with a draw and put all the hope on possibility that Lampard will trip down the road and lose more points than Spurs later. A win will be a success that should overshadow the miserable loss to Leipzig.

Tanganga, Toby, Sanchez, Jan
Gedson, Dier, Winks
Lamela, LoCelso, Bergewijn

If 4-2-3-1 retained, then Gedson would be moved up.

Tactically, the ball will be given away for the first hour. Long balls may be lobed forward that period in the hope for speed of front 3. Last 20-30 minutes the possession football will start with Davies replacing Jan and providing crosses along with Tanganga and Dele replacing Gedson. If Spurs are lucky to score in 1st hour, no change, same defensive posture AKA Park-the Buss.

 

I believe that one of the reasons why the midfield keeps getting run over leading to defending deep is that the players haven't played together that much. Even great players need some time together to function well as a team. The midfield against RB Leipzig had never played together, the midfield suggested above has never played together.
The tinkering might be forced on the team as of the above team then I'd say not many people might have considered 4-5 of them to be in a starting eleven. Getting one or two players into a settled team where the roles and responsibilities were clear since a long time can be relatively fast but in my opinion the team hasn't been playing well together for a long long time. About a season and a half.
I do not think the deep defending is some genius move by Mourinho, it is more a result of a team which has been without structure for a long time before he came.

So yes, probably we'll see deep defending as the team-pressing is not yet working and when the team-pressing is not working then the default is defend deep.

I suspect that the priority is the league so the team being put out on Saturday might be the team that Mourinho believes is the best of the players available. Alli might yet get another chance as a starter & Aurier might also be a starter, for the rest I believe the suggested line-up might be the one.

 

A few people have already mentioned this but it seems pretty obvious to me.

I can’t understand why we play the formation we play with the players we have available?

We cannot play a back 4 with the available players we have (IMO), so until we get injured players back or new signings in the summer, I would make the system fit the players, not the players fit the system.

Lloris
Sanchez / Toby / Tanganga
Bergwijn / Lo Celso / Dier / Ndombele/ Sessignon
Alli / Moura

Use Parrot (for Moura) / Aurier (for Bergwijn) / Lamela (for Sessignon)

 

Maybe swap Dier or Ndombele for Winks as one of the subs

 

Who are the wing-backs? Sessegnon on the left? Who is on the right? No one, I afraid, unless Aurier starts. Aurier played 90 minutes Wednesday. He has to be on the bench.
When was the last time Spurs were successful playing 3 back? They just couldn't under both MP and JM.

 

Careful Gordon your not allowed to look back at, evaluate or critique what's gone on, you can only look forward and find positives.......

 

Oops - sorry about that Felon. Must pay attention.

 

Possibly I should clarify my position.

I found the posts about the past informative for a while. Then as they continued to be repetitive, negative, repetitive, boring, repetitive, uninformative, repetitive, lacking new insights, repetitive I then decided to use the ignore function in the forum. For the reason being that I found them repetitive, did I mention that I found them repetitive?

Or shorter, I saw them as spamming of every new thread. Hopefully me doing so did not hurt anyones feelings, if I did hurt anyone then my apologies.

 

I wouldn't start Aurier, NDumb or Moura.

starters have to be Tanganga, Alderwwireld, La Ceslso, Bergwijn & Gedson

fill in around them with Lloris, Deli, Davies, Lamela, Sanche & Winks (unbelievably)

 

There's no hurt feelings , I couldn't care less about ignore functions etc.
It's an open forum though so people can post what they want , you and VoR think you can tell people what they can n can't it's ridiculous.

 

We can’t defend with 4 at the back and that has 2 players dropping to hold so they need to do something.

I’m not saying 3 at the back is our best shape but given we have 3 decent CB’s and Jan as a sub yet no FB’s that can actually defend, that’s what I would go with.

Given the injuries, I would pick players that can operate in the spaces alongside the 3 CB’s we do have that are half decent with Dier or Winks holding to allow the 3 to become a 4 when needed.

I would use Sess and Bergwijn (not sure if he can get back but seems to be able). if that doesn’t work use Aurier on the right, knowing that his positioning is terrible.

 

I would start Ndombele and don’t think we have a choice with Moura at the moment as much as it’s quite sad.

My point was more around the fact that we are playing 4 at the back with 2 holding midfielders at times yet leak more goals than most.

The reason for that IMO is that we don’t have a LB or RB that can defend so I would go 3 at the back and 1 holding then use Sess and either Bergwijn or Aurier if Bergwijn doesn’t get up and down the line. If we used Aurier, I would then move Bergwijn up the pitch and drop Alli