Title Pretenders

It was another poor quality game between 2 of the top sides , wasn't anything between them really and could easily have been 1- 0 either way ... We were really comfortable for most of it but we had no cutting edge at all , that was the big disappointment ... What a stinker of a goal to give away , a gift wrapped 3 points for the Mancs , just like the 3 we gifted Chelsea earlier in the season .. So frustrating to loose 2 x 6 pointers in that way against our direct rivals , could be so costly come may .. Have to say some of the knee jerk stuff is as bad as you'd get off the pundits ... Poch apparently gone from one dimensional to a tinkerman , neither is good enough it seems ... Young fella like Winks getting slated by some , jeez the youth wouldn't get much chance off some of yee ... Surely even a blind man can see how promising he is ... Modric , Bale , Erikson ,Rose , etc etc wouldn't have got much of a chance off some of yee , and as for Harry , lol he'd have been in the scrap heap a long time ago ... Been a frustrating week , the fact both results were so avoidable makes it harder to take ... Hopefully the players are a bit more grounded than some of the fans or they might as well just throw the towell in now ... Like at this stage of all seasons under Poch , we haven't hit anything like top gear yet i.m.o , hopefully we hang in there for next few weeks and the trend of us hitting top form around the X-mass period and motoring on into the new year continues ... Every point we've dropped so far has been avoidable , self inflicted as much as anything , haven't been outplayed by anyone in the league so far , that's the biggest frustration .... C.O.Y.S ....

 

On the Winks and Sissoko exchange. First Winks, he has surprised me. He's improved and my sense is he will improve and the first team is the place to accelerate that improvement.
Sissoko - he doesn't really score goals, has fluffed his lines in front of goal regularly, I can't remember any assists. At the end of the day he's an attacking midfielder, so goals and or assists are tablestakes for me, and I've not seen them. He has been "better" than last term, but he was rank poor then.
If he's a confidence player, then that's a worry, because building that confidence starts and finishes with him. He should play back his Euro final performance - might jog a few brain cells......fingers crossed.

 

Start Winks every game and I guarantee you we will not win the league.. that is my issue. Pochettino is clearly obsessed with him and what he represents.

All the media fawning over Winks recently reminds me of Cleverley at United.. never could understand what that was all about.. Cleverley plays for Watford now.

I've said enough about Sissoko. He didn't get a chance last year.. fell out with the manager and was barely played at all. He's a good player on a very good team now.. judge him at the end of the season.

 

Yes Hull.. that's where we sell off all our dross didn't you know.

 

Harry would have been in Hull a long time ago if you were in charge ...

I like the way you picked Cleverley , would the Neville bros , Nicky Butt and the likes been given the time they needed if you were in charge ... Not sure Carragher would have lasted to long at Liverpool either ... Plenty don't make it in the end but you have to give youth time to develope ... It's not like we're carrying him big time or anything , was a bit underwhelming on Sat but who wasn't ... Was certainly worth his place on all his other performances this season and that's after coming back from injury ... Time will tell as always , but he's certainly done enough to be given that I.m.o ....

I've always been more of a marmalade man myself ......

 

Spurs promote youth and then sell.. that's the business model. Kane is clearly the exception.. and in more ways than one.

I mentioned Cleverley because he like Winks was overhyped. I never saw the attraction. Same with Mason. Pochettino used to sit Dembele to start Mason.. madness. And heads up Nicky Butt was never much good.. he would struggle almightily to hold down a spot in a top four side these days with the huge influx of foreign talent in the EPL.

With the odd exception a player's ceiling will be evident by the time and often before he's 21. Defenders are somewhat different.. their most important attribute is their mentality which is harder to gauge.. see Caulker (who I hope still comes good).

I'm all for giving youth a chance but only when it warrants it. I'd like to see Spurs win something.. we've progressed far enough now. There are far stronger players than Winks in the squad.. rotate him intermittently against lesser opposition if you want.. don't make him a fixture of the side.. particularly when you leave guys like Sanchez on the bench at Old Trafford.

Should Winks turn into the next Iniesta as Pochettino jokes then I'll gladly admit my error in judgement.. I don't see that at all. And if I'm right? Well we're blowing our besr chance of winning the league in decades.

 

Jam - would you like to tell us again how Winks is only fit for Hull. Such a poor pass to split the Madrid defence for the first goal. So bad was he that Modrić, Kroos and Casemiro were hardly even noticeable in midfield.
I think you might be a Woolwich troll - if not, maybe you should become one.