PLAYER RATINGS: Spurs 5-2 Saints

Taught they had dropped 2 points yesterday but they scored last few seconds the feckers but i think if we get our own act together we'll have every chance of being in the top 4 ... Lots of people raving about this l.pool side and their fab 4 , in fairness they're exciting to watch but as a side they're pretty one dimensional ( to use one of your own phrases ) , and can be horrendous at the back ... United are awful to watch and can look very limited , don't think anyone enjoys watching them or would describe them as having a fab 4 but believe it or not they've only scored 5 less than the much vaunted l.pools attack .. As far as we're concerned , well we've been pretty average overall this year and the spine of our team has been pretty much dismantled from last few seasons but win our games in hand and we're one point behind l.pool and 4 behind Utd who look just as vulnerable to me .. We're starting to find our groove a bit more i.m.o and with the injuries starting to subside and our spine starting to come back together I feel we still have a more then fair chance of getting where we need to be .. As a team we need to focus on ourselves , we get our own house in order then we're a more complete side then Utd or l.pool i.mo and hopefully we'll show that over the rest of the season ... Can't say I'm major confident how it will turn out for us but I'm more then hopefull at this stage ... Happy new year all & C.O.Y.S .....

 

We should be stronger with the return of wanyama and lamela. Toby won't be too far away either. Rose is getting fitter too. I don't expect pool or utd to strengthen in this window. Arsenal and Chelsea will have to sell to add more.
Spurs however I believe will add two attacking players having again linked with barkley and sessagnon which would be two very good additions as long as its not at the expense of rose.
There have been talk about malcom who looks a frightening talent but could be a gamble at the quoted 40 to 50m given his age and standard of league but fits the profile of player we look to buy. But it's worked with sanchez so who knows. Zaha would cost around the same but would not be available in this window. Is Zaha going to get any better and is he consistent enough I'm not sure.

 

Scousers just splashed a colossal 75 ish mill on Van Dyke Fran so they've already addressed their weaknesses ... Crazy money I know but you have to try ....

 

Hey Fran - not at all convinced by Zaha but I've been wrong before and with style too. Got into a car coming home from work a few years ago and it wasn't me daughter - it was a total stranger with a similar car who had stopped to let someone out. Tee hee all round except for the driver, who thought it was a hijack situation.

 

Listening to the Swans game and only now beginning to feel comfy - a couple of minutes plus stoppages to go and Alli seems to have sealed the deal for us. It's been a bit of a trial but radio commentaries invariably make it seem more exciting than it actually is. COYS !

 

We won which is the main thing, weather was atrocious, refereeing was even worse.
Got away with a few decisions tonight.

We do like to make things a lot harder work than they need to be at times.

 

We started well , first 20 mins was decent , after that it was a grind .. It was a game that matched the weather .. Oddly enough we played at our best while the weather was at its worst ... Our passing and ball control was really poor at times I taught .. Sanchez got away with one , didn't think the first was a card but you can't make the second challenge when you're on a yellow .. Lorrente was offside for the goal so got away with one there but was onside after when clean through and was given offside .. Ali prob should have got a penalty when pushed in the back , would have been soft but it was pen I taught , so all in all a poor night for the officials but one that went our way , it will be visa versa on another day no doubt so we'll take it .. 3 points in the bag is the main thing though not a performance to inspire confidence , hopefully we'll be better on Thursday ... Good to see Wanyama back .. C.O.Y.S ...

 

Lady Luck was certainly with us last night.

Whilst the conditions were challenging, I thought we were ragged at times. Lamela offered nothing for me. So he's rusty and not match fit perhaps, but he needs to step up to the mark soon and show some quality. Great to see a trim looking Victor back.

This second half of the season is going to require a step up from what we've achieved so far. With only 34 points at the halfway point, 68 for the full season just won't be good enough. Those wasteful home draws and late goals against Chelski and Manure could turn out to be defining.

We need to concentrate on our own game, and not be over concerned about what's going on around us. I fancy MU to be a weak link in the current top 4, more so than the Scousers, as they will score their way out of trouble.

Wet Spam arriving at Wembley for their Cup Final looks like a banana skin, with Carroll doubtless going to be swinging his forearms at every opportunity. We need to be out of the blocks quickly. I'd go with 4-2-3-1 with Aurier, Sanchez, Verts, Rose, Wanyama, Dier, Alli, Eriksen, Son, Kane. At our strongest, Toby apart, we look as good as any. We've had a good run, thanks to H, who hopefully is not too badly affected by the cold he has had.

Bring it on. COYS

 

I like Zaha. Okay he's got his critics, but apart from the money, he offers us quality that we lack - a tricky pacy strong forward, to complement our front running, and scarce, pool of strikers.

 

Fran I just have this horrible feeling that if we don't sell - Lamela, Sissoko, Janssen, NKD - then we will not see any significant influx of new talent. The trouble with those 4 is that they are not going to fetch any real money. I saw that we had a budget of £35m plus sales....wishful for sure!!

 

Jesus Christ -

How can anyone still have hope in Lamela?

How many more years of the great Argentinian dope do we have to endure before he is finally offloaded (at a loss most likely even in an inflated market) to another unsuspecting victim?

And Sissoko the pretender to his throne?

Whats the point of the lesser spotted 'Kodou?

Its Sooooo Frustrating because if u replace these 3 with Quality/Contributers then we'd be a real force

 

On the button Felon - he's had time, and plenty of it, since he came. There aren't many occasions when I can remember a half decent game from him, never mind a good one. Problem is shipping him and the other deadweights is going to be difficult unless they're in the bargain bin at real knock-down prices. However - onwards to the Spam game and ffs put them away lads, with a decent score to rub it in too. Just beware that Noble and his talentless ilk like to put a shoe in at 100mph when this fixture comes around, when for the rest of the season they're my late gran in carpet slippers. Get in there first boys.

 

Lamela is marmite for sure. You either get him or you don't.. Does he look anywhere near the 30m we paid for him?, certainly Not. But I'm sure we've paid nothing near that as much was performance related. He was in good form prior to his injury and given how long he's been out maybe just maybe his hunger has been reignited we can only hope. I think he deserves one last shot as I think he was important to how we used to press. I'm not saying he's a starter but there are other clubs in and around with inferior players than Eric that's for sure. I think he's an able squad player tbf.
On the budget it's anyone's guess but 35m will be nowhere near enough and barring player sales I only anticipate Gkn to move on which would be 5m at best but more than likely a loan. Sessagnon and barkley look definite legitimate and realistic targets. Malcom and Zaha summer ones but probably out of reach unless we are proactive and steal a march in this window. Ditto with Dembele of celtic.
If I were pochetinno I'd be asking for my summer budget now with a view to trimming the squad considerably in the summer also flogging vickers onomah llorente Janssen GKN and Sissoko. Depends how ambitious you believe him to be I suppose. I'm not convinced. A stronger manager in such a strong position would always demand one more player.

 

What are people making of the Ross Barkley scenario with him heading to Chelsea with spurs pursuing other targets its alleged?
Seems strange that we are not interested in a young gifted English centre mid at a knock down 15m..
Is it wages or a change of heart from Poch? Has he had a change of heart given his last minute summer transfer broke down due to him seemingly having his heart set on spurs? Is just our stock has fallen that low below our London rivals.
I cannot for the life of me understand why he would not be of interest anymore given he is 25m cheaper than the last window and Dembele has continued to struggle with injuries fitness and form. Barkley was the heir apparent was he not. He ticks every box bar probably wages.
After again huffing and puffing last night and dropping points at home to poor opposition with the away side parking the bus wouldn't he be the exact type of game changer with the x factor we clearly lack. I watched the game and thought what more can we do with the players we have and the lack of options on the bench. Not a lot really other than sign better players with more variety to their game. Ross can pass dribble and shoot from range. What's not to like? We had 3 centre mids on the bench yet started Sissoko in there. It's an area where we were so strong the last two years but now seem to be threadbare. Surely Barkley would get more time at Spurs with Chelsea already boasting Kante Fabregas Drinkwater Bagayoko Hazard Pedro and Willian. Where he falls in that pecking order is anyone's guess but given the fact that Conte is lauding him as a signing of potential rather than one for the now tells you all you need to know.
I'm gutted I'll be honest I thought this was in the bag I really did.

 

Fran - like you I thought he was coming in, and like you I'm a bit peeved he's not. Looking at the competition he now faces: Drinkwater ? No contest - average at best. Fabregas ? Not much time to go. Willian ? If he can't nail a regular spot then they don't fancy him. Bakayoko ? Hmmmm. That leaves - to me anyway - only Pedro & Hazard to worry about, and Hazard may or may not be there for the long haul as Madrid have been fluttering their eyelids. I'd say if Conte has bought him, Conte means to play him and at £15m he's well worth a punt when you consider such thoroughbreds as Sissoko and Lamela at £30m. Maybe Poch doesn't like him, maybe Levy doesn't, maybe we're broke. It's not the first time we've fannied around and decent players have slipped through our fingers - Go WAY back to a teenage Souness, for example, who wouldn't stay, and look what happened there. At the moment, Chelsea can probably offer CL football next year (and this year ?) along with a quicker personal route to Billionaire status for him. Anyway, whatever his reason(s) for deciding on Chelsea we can chalk him off the "maybe" list. Disappointing ain't it.

 

BINGO!

U know it, I know it, anyone thats non delusional knows it everyone knows it except Ming the Penniless and Pooch the Puppet.

But apparently 'it is very difficult' to improve on the unbelievable talents of Sissoko/Lamela/Nkodou/Jannsen/Llorente etc

Its also 'very difficult' to break down 2 banks of 5 at snails pace with extremely poor delivery and uninventive play especially when your not used to such an innovative tactic of defending deployed against u.

If we fail to make top4 this year it could tear this house of cards down quite rapidly mark my Words!

 

Fran....Firstly money, then followed by money, and finally more money. As soon as I heard Cheski were introduced it was game over.....

 

20 days left of the window.

Any News about bolstering our ranks to ensure we give ourselves the best chance possible of finishin top 4?



COURSE NOT !

 

Felon.....nobody......the vibes are not good.....we've been here before.....

 

Weve got a tricky run of games coming up that cud make or break our season aswell.