It can't happen again can it?

We basically threw our European Cup hopes last night with as many have stated selection suicide.
One can only presume that this has been done to solely focus on the Premier League title push.

Last year we did it at the expense of the League Cup and it didn't work out, of course as a Spurs fan I hope/pray this is not the case this time round but it seems a massive gamble to me.

I cannot see why we would do all those previous games/rounds using key 1st team players just to put out a side that would struggle in a reserve match let alone vs a German Giant. I just can't see the logic in it at all.

Having all but write off our cup chances our full concentration must now turn to the league which has me worrying-

It can't happen again can it?

Title talk was being bandied about, odds shortening to favourites, team being talked up by all, different animal to years past.
Then 2 crunch games
Sham away and Scum at home. It was a poor performance vs Sham it was leggy uninspired and their game plan worked perfectly.
Then Scum at home, on a poor run, countless injuries and down to 10 men we took the lead and it was time to make an example of this lot. To back off and let them back in after how well we'd played was scandalous and has now cranked the pressure up that bit more. (Followed by a European Tonking)

There is a 5 point gap from top spot and a 6 point gap from 5th that's how precarious this run in is, and I'm worried that we are beginning to falter.

5 wins from 9 is required imo to secure CL football this would have us on 70 points. With Liverpool, Utd, Chelsea still to play we have to ensure we make 15 points from Villa, Bournemouth, Stoke, West Brom, Saints, Newcastle.

There are a lot of factors involved in the run in of course.
But we must ensure that we start putting teams to the sword in the Premier if we're not do a Spurs again.

Time for Poch and the team to step up and get us over the line.

We could sweep all aside and be crowned Champions which would be amazing and the perfect tonic for us long suffering fans, but Champions League football is now a bare minimum target, anything less in a season like this would be spectacular failure and does not bare thinking about.

The last 3 performances are probably making me nervous.
I just hope Poch has made the right call with last night.

Let's thump Villa and get back on track.

 

Hi

I agree we did not put a competeive team out lst night and surely when we get a the opportunity to be a top European sdie the fans want to see a great game of football, after all is that not why we strive to get into European comps? If not then all this fuss about finishing in the top 4 is a waste of time IMO. However, Apart form kane, lamella, walker and Djembele there was no one else availaable to play really. BD were a fantastic team last night and I very much doubt if we had included these 4 players we would have faired much better. What it did show me was that if we do want to compete in the CL next season then we really need much more depth and experince in our squad.

 

Last night was horrible from the moment I saw the team. it proved how essential Dier is, but considering his looming 2 match ban, why not play him last night, tell him to get booked at Villa then play him the following Dortmund game so he can have the following 2 weeks off. If we were going to throw it away on purpose (my only reasoning of that line up) then why not rest more of our first team in the last round when we knew top 4 (winning the league) was possible. I understand taking the groups seriously as at the time we didn't know, but fiorentina were a distraction if we intended to throw it anyway. Unless Poch was hoping for a minnow or two on the way so he could win the league then concentrate on the Europa?

 

Shocking decision to pick a weakened side against Dortmund, I for one cannot see any logic in it. That is now 4 games in the last 6 that we have been very poor in, we are in danger of losing the winning mentallity we had before this lull. We need to step it up against Villa, but now Pock has fecked up the UEFA, I hope on the second leg he plays a weak side as I think it's a lost cause now, and is not worth the effort. COYS

 

we should have come out of this comp ages ago, just concentrate on title and FA cup.
This is the best chance of winning the premier league we're gonna get, the big boys will be back with a bang next year, no doubt.
We have been found out, we can't compete with the top Europe teams, we need to focus on the premier league.

 

I disagree.

This game should have been played for the result. Get a defensive line up out and wait for a chance on the counter attack. It's how this season weaker teams had drawn points from us. Considering that Dortmund play a pressing game up the pitch we could have had a better chance hitting them on a counter attack then trying to play with possession as we normally do. Football is much about tactics and this season we have solid defensive players so we can rely on them in games like this. I think that Poch needs to learn that different games need to be addressed differently. When you play an opposition that is slower than you, less technically apt or with lower stamina than yours, you press them and chase them all over. But when a fast dynamic sides stand against you that have no problem getting the ball out of their half even when pressured than you have to reassess your tactics and move back. Leicester could win the league playing like this in every game so why couldn't we when, at least in my opinion, we have a lot more quality in our squad then them.

 

Agree.

This is Poch's achillies heel, I like that he has brought a team spirit, fight and an identity but he must learn to develop some different styles for certain games.
This game was crying our for keep it tight game plan yet he played Mason Carroll Eriksen Son Chadli hardly the defensive line up of the year.

 

The Spurs team from a few weeks ago (High on confidence, with Kane, Alli, Dier, Dembele, Walker, Rose, Lamela in place, In my opinion would have been a match for Dortmund even away, even if we had played our strongest available team yesterday, I could have seen us only losing say 2-1 leaving the tie fully alive. What I am trying to say is I dont think the weak side we fielded yesterday proves anything other tha Dortmund are a good team, and we lost badly beacause we fielded a poor team, Spurs definately deserve to sit at the same table as Dortmund.

 

It wasn't the case for Gooners, but Palace, WHU and BVB all made Spurs look bad with similar reason: they pressed back. Poch doesn't know a recipe against his own tactic applied to his team by an opponent.

Also, Wimmer after all hype surrounded his successful deployment subsided, has become a weakest link of Spurs back 4. I know we lost because of opponents running over our MF at will, but if you look at last goals against (including one by Alexis), they all are broken in at mid-left. He also fails to hold the line at times.

 

Thoughts......

Apart from the Wimmer's performance, which is a little worrying, I don't feel that any of what happened last night either surprises me or worries me.

Why is that?

Since we last won the top league in the land has been 55 years. Let's conservatively say, based on 20 games per season since then and 30,000 Spurs fans each game, 33 million fan days have been spent in pursuit of the top title in the land for a football fan - winning the "Premier League".

Please set aside all your thoughts about what happened last night and forget it.

33 million fan days have not and cannot be in vain. Young and old came and went, some even came every one of those 1100 games. They all deserve the chance of a shot at the title SO MUCH MORE THAN ANY EUROPA LEAGUE CAMPAIGN.

So lets be positive now. 2 wins delivers 8-1-1 from 10. This is Spurs for f**ks sake. That will set us on track to win the title. 33 million fan days have and will not be in vain.

COYS

 

I have been saying this for months.... We are no where near good enough, Poch is an average manager and we will fail to get CL. Another year of disappointment!

 

This is the best comment I have seen here. I know it's the hope that kills you, but just keep believing. COYS.

 

Ever the pessimist i'm afraid. Fail to win at Villa then we are left with a nail biting finish for top 4. All I can do is focus on the gap between us and 5th! No excuses Sunday IMO; even Liverpool went there and stuck 6 past them FFS.

Now, did we expect to win the league in August? No. Did we expect to finish top 4 in August? No. BUT, given our position prior to playing the Spammers anything short of top 4 would be a complete failure. I won't be convinced otherwise!

C'mon - produce a proper steely and clinical performance Sunday and get our PL campaign back on track...

 

I am about to celebrate 60 years as a Spurs supporter with all the joy, suffering, agony and wonderment that this has brought my way. This is far and away the best team we have had for very many years. If you pressed me I would say the best team since the glorious double side in 1961.
What we have always done is played beautiful football. Or the best that reasonable resources allow. The Arse fraudster tried hard to change this but this was only a blip. Now is the time to get behind our lads. Everything is possible including the Premiership title. We will soon know (Sunday, Villa will be a meaningful clue given last night's disappointment) if this has been yet another false dawn or what we are all about (Glory, beautiful football and no compromise). And we are all about glorious victory. If we falter this year then it would be very sad but we will always be glorious Tottenham. Keep the faith you yidos. Keep heads up high. It will happen. Maybe not this year but it will happen. Hopefully it will happen this year and what a party that will be. But if not we will all be supporters next year with all the same love of the beautiful game played at its best.

 

This is a great time to be a Spurs supporter. I first went in 1974 and in my opinion this is the most promising time I can remember over that time. We have had great teams but no real sense of building something special for the long term. This is it and WE are living it. We will lose games but we have massive promise. I genuinely think the next 5-10 years could be amazing for us. In that context not getting it right all the time now should be expected - we are not the final product but we are getting there. This is a time for unity and unconditional support. If we can get champions league this season that will be an amazing achievement. We have a great academy and young players being given the chance; we have young foreign players; we have a style of playing; we have a great manager; we have a steady business model and we have the most amazing stadium that will be built. Altogether fans and players and management - support, support , support. COYS

 

So it was okay to capitulate Thursday and to become a laughing stock in Europe even before entering a real competition next season, perhaps? It was deplorable. Such a gamesmanship should not have anything to do with THFC. It was against football, frankly.
The group Poch dressed against Borussia could be enough to beat Villa. Now our best XI may be in trouble tomorrow being affected by such ginormous defeat.
I am no longer optimistic. Just hope Spurs will finfish 4th. They have no depth to compete and the late attempts to shed off competitions look pretty telling to me. Even Wenger hasn't done that. Sad.