What's the Strategy for Leicester?

With back to back fixtures against high flying Leicester City, what should Spurs do? Of course, manager Mauricio Pochettino will say that he takes every competition seriously, and he will probably send out a strong side in the FA Cup match this Sunday, but should he? The fixture list gets almost as tricky in the coming week as it did at points in the festive season, and Spurs might just feel like resting some stars this weekend to push forward in the league starting on Wednesday.

Let’s consider this: In the next 13 days, Tottenham play four matches, starting with the FA Cup match at home to Leicester. They then play Leicester again at the Lane and then have Crystal Palace away with a home fixture against Sunderland thrown in between. Leicester and Palace are direct rivals for top four finishes this season and beating Sunderland is imperative if Spurs want to win the league. These games are vital.

Now, I’m not saying that the FA Cup should be overlooked. It shouldn’t, but with Poch using young players and academy products in all competitions thus far, it would be good to see a side filled with these hungry young players on Sunday.

Leicester have strategized for this cup tie. They have send star man Jamie Vardy to the groin surgeon at a strategic time where he will miss the cup clash, but possibly return for the league encounter. They know where their opportunity lies. It lies in the league. For Spurs, it should be the same. There has never been such a great opportunity to finish this high in the table and the team sheet for Sunday’s match should reflect it.
Give Erik Lamela the day off. Let Jan Vertonghen or Toby Alderweireld or both rest. Certainly, Eric Dier could use a breather. Give some time to Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason, Kieran Trippier, Kevin Wimmer, Nacer Chadli, and Josh Onomah. Play key men like Christian Eriksen or Harry Kane for a half, no more. Better yet, make them late (last 20 minutes) impact subs and rest them for the mid-week, top four six-pointer.

Now’s the time to invest in the future like you mean it. Now’s the time to put out the youngest Spurs team in a long, long time. You aren’t sacrificing talent. You’ve given them a chance (in some cases many chances) this season and most have made the most of them. Now’s the time to make a strategic move that will help our top four and title chances. Do it Mauricio! You know you want to.

 

we made this mistake .last season against Leicester. Winning some silverware should be a priority. It is a very long time since we did . So put out as strong a team as we can I say

 

Totally agree that we should give the kids a run out. The likelihood of winning either the FA Cup or the Europa League is miniscule versus the probability of a top 4 finish. We need to prioritize the league above everything else and keep players fresh for it.As it stands, Dier, Kane, Vertonghen and Alderwiereld have played way too much.

 

We have the fittest squad, and players should cope with those games without making too many changes.

Having said that, it could well be opportunity to field different starting XI than recently, such as below:

Lloris
Trippier Veljkovic Wimmer Rose
Bentaleb Mason
Onomah Carroll Chadli
Son

Subs: Vorm, Alderweireld, Carter-Vickers, Winks, Eriksen, Lamela, Kane

 

I'm with you on the cup games dnoll ....remaining games given a good run PL 18 EUR 9 FA 6....so whilst I know we are unlikely to get that far in the cups, if we were to do that, it would be 6 more games than in the first half and the natural trend is for players to get more tired as the season progresses.
Test the rest of the squad. See how Bentaleb plays, give all the young lads a run.

 

Beggining of the Season i wrote about what are the priorities/goals, and the strategy being implemented to achieve these.

We never seem to learn as we have a half hearted attempt at all and master none.

For me Priorities are the League and Europe with the main aim CL football for revenue and holding on to our best players.

We need to rest our key players for this game an injury to Toby, Alli Dier or Kane could be catastrophic for the over all function of the team so we need to keep them all fresh and delivering.

Vorm Bentaleb Wimmer Chadli Caroll Trippier Davies all need game time give it to them for this.

 

dnoll5 Your comments make sense,but I doubt Poch will follow your advice,most of the people on here agree the kid's need to have there chance and will do the job if put in the team,Every match is important to Spurs..COYS

 

I think you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. It's not just a matter of giving the young players a run out, it's also about chemistry. Maybe it can be developed sufficiently in a few practice sessions, but I'd hate to get knocked out of the cup once again by Leicester. And a win against them in a competition which neither side may deem priority puts a question in their collective minds as to what to expect next Wednesday when the points are on the line. Why give them unnecessary confidence with a less-than whole-hearted approach to the cup?

 

My priority would have been to get a striker signed ASAP before this game to give Kane a proper rest that he desperately needs. I'm hoping that is the case but cannot see that happening as we're probably haggling over the odd million,add ons and method of payment!! But let's be honest we have enough quality players in need of game time. I'd defo give Toby and Alli a rest off.
Lloris trippier vertongen wimmer Davies Carroll dier bentaleb lamela son Kane

 

we have a good squad make some changes as some player need some rest

Vorm
Trippier Topy Wimmer Rose
Bentaleb Mason
Lamila Eriksen Chadli
Son

#COYS

 

Vorm
Trippier dier wimmer Davies
Bentaleb mason
Townsend Onamoh chadli
Son

Enough talent in our ranks capable of a good result and performance against Leicester. Benefit of being at home too!!

 

I don't see why we cant win the FA Cup - on a good day we are capable of beating any team. Having said that, some players do need resting but why rest them all at once? We should be able to beat Sunderland with 3-4 of our reserves included.

So for Saturday I'd go with:

Vorm, Trippier, Davies, Wimmer, Vertonghen
Bentaleb Dembele
Eriksen Carroll
Son and Chadli up front and then give Verts, Eriksen and Dembele a rest against Sunderland

 

I don't think it will be a case of playing the kids but there will be some changes.

Lloris, Trippier, Wimmer, Alderweireld, Rose,
Carrol, Dembele, Mason, Chadli, Onomah, Son.

We can bring additional quality off the bench but this team is more than capable of beating Leicester on Sunday giving Kane, Eriksen, Verts and Lamela much needed rests.
We will then beat them on Wednesday.

Coys.

 

Do you think it is wise to play Dembele so soon after his knock?better we keep him for wednesday,also why not rest Toby we have cover with Davies...COYS

 

Yeah, and since Davies has since commented that he wants to win the FA Cup more than play in the Champions League......

 

I would question his ambition if he really thinks the FA Cup is better than playing in the CL,but as long as he gives us 100% every time he plays I'm happy..COYS

 

That applies very much to Leicester. They must get out of FA Cup as well.

In terms of fatigue, the tie lasting 120 min + is the worst case for both clubs with rematch in sight. Spurs are the deeper team and shall overcome it better. So in some sense, therefore, the Saturday tie may derail LCFC should they expose their best squad Saturday, which is good news for Spurs. The bad news is that Spurs are in the same boat.
It is difficult to decide, but that is why football managers are paid well. In Poch We Trust. COYS!

 

Spurs have the squad to finish in the top 4 and win the FA cup. And Europa league.
Okay, so we need 2 signings to do that but it s achievable and this is Tottenham Hotspur. We should expect trophies and success.

 

Come on, we all want CL football next season. Absolutely key to the club and its growth, not to mention the ability to retain (and attract) the top players.

We have a squad for a reason; rotation and to cover injuries etc. Why have numbers and depth?

Prioritise accordingly. PL, EL and then the FA Cup. Give the key players a rest Sunday!

A win on Wednesday is imperative and 7 points from our next three PL fixtures has to be the focus for Poch... And for Danny boy, open the safe and dig around for the cheque book; im sure it is in there somewhere

COYS

 

Listen, guys I NEVER really been the type to be starstruck or overwhelmed in the presence of celebrities/ well known public figures.
However, should the time ever arise where mine and a certain Daniel Levy's paths were ever to cross, I couldn't promise the calm, cool and composed aura, that I project with EFFORTLESS ea
Jay Z, Kelly Rowland, Prince Charles , Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlychenko, Alan Sugar (hang on...let me just pick those up) to name but a few, The Ram has seen, and met, them all!!! ...

se, would be able to hold up.

I mean the man has done what he said he would, upon Enic's takeover, and COMPLETELY transformed the club/ institution that I cherish.

On and off the pitch, Levy has done a fantastic job in CONTINUING to help change the perception, reputation and direction of THFC, and, for that, I will ALWAYS be more than appreciative.

Listen, I know he gets his bad press from the media, and a section of the fanbase, but I for one have only ever understood, from a football mans (and EXTREMELY proud supporter) perspective, ALL the decisions he has made during his tenure.

Hey, I written enough essays on the man, using this very platform, for you guys to know EXACTLY how highly I regard the job he has done, so I won't bother compose another. What I will say is below is some of the good press DL has received (which can sometimes get overlooked) and I offer no exaggeration when I say it brings a tear to my eye and a shuddering accumulation of energy to my body.

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...aniel-levy-to-duet-if-tottenham-win-a-trophy?

All I can say, is what I am seeing, and feeling now about my club, is the result of a unshakable belief and an unwavering vision. So if I sometimes come across as over-passionate, fiercely protective and endlessly optimistic about all things THFC, it is because this is the way I have ALWAYS loved my club...and it worked pretty well for me up until this point!

Because apart from being one of the greatest football minds never to manage in any of Europes top 5 leagues, I am still a Tottenham Hotspur (obsessed) supporter at heart.

The Ram

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