Spurs go Spluttering On!

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So As the Spurs go Spluttering on......

Was a busy man yesterday so only had 1 eye on the football.

What I saw was another cup Potch Botch Job, 11 changes and a cluster of barely fit let alone match fit mish-mash of lesser spotted/injured/sub standard players thrown together and hope for the best.

Now of course there still should've been enough to get the job done but because of the reasons above neither the coherence or the sharpness is there.

Credit again has to go to the lower leagues side Rochdale who made a good cup tie out of it, deservedly going in 1-0 up after creating the better of the chances and being overall quicker/hungrier to the ball and better organised.

Again 2nd half we are chasing a game and finally start to get our act together, Moura scored a great goal, really looking forward to him getting fitter and more settled, he's the type of player our pondering attack has been screaming out for!

Back in the game at 1-1 with Poch making changes to try win the game. Alli fouled in the box - some may say soft, but I think on this occasion it was a pen and Harry dispatched it in the corner 1-2 late in the Game lovely Jubbly just see it out........

Injury time a never say die team effort from Rochdale and they get their just reward with the equaliser and a trip to Wembley.

Great for them , but for us? Another game to squeeze in amongst an important period in the season. Juggling all mastering none!

The Stuttering/Spluttering on continues, will it be detrimental to the cause (whatever the main cause is?) Only time will tell, but we've had a favourable draw thus far and are making a right pigs ear of it.

 

'Cos it was a Beeb feature and a Sunday, I got to watch the whole damn thing; To me it was nearly a car-crash, only nearly mind, so let's just settle for a well dented bumper and damaged boot. Lots of stuff happened but nothing happened - and the main thing for me was that in the absence of Son and H up front and Christian in the middle what was there ? Very little. Moura looks fine, but many have for us, first time out. Let's give him a chance, and I certainly will but I'm always haunted by the ghosts of men like Laurie Brown, David Jenkins, Colin Lee, Chris McGrath, Helder Postiga and more recently poor Roberto Soldado (not to mention Fernando Llorente, so I won't) who we've thought might turn out to be not too bad, but turned out to be hardly anything at all. The usual Aunt Sally - Moussa Sissoko looks less like a footballer every time I see him, his first touch is akin to that of a JCB and he has all the grace of a giraffe on ice. Juan Foyth - not convinced at all. The Lesser Harry was bleakness personified but strangely a couple of our more favoured and complete players - Toby and Danny looked well out of sorts too, maybe fitness issues there though. Along with a second-half change in attitude/ tactics, it was left to the subs - Alli, H and Pamela - to change the dynamic rescue us from potentially another embarrassing awayday. Could have been a whole lot worse, but could have been a fecking sight better too. As Felon says - favourable draws have got us to Round 5, but things will change in the 6th (assuming we make it) and Sheff Wed/ Swansea ain't no shoo-in methinks. Wake up.

 

So many people seem desperate to believe that Pochettino has banished 'Spursyness', when the evidence for its continued existence is staring them in the face. Early season dropped points that make a crucial difference in May; throwing away a winning position against West Ham in the League Cup (or whatever it's called now); failing to beat strugglers in the FA Cup, and having to fight back from a disastrous start against Juventus (when we could easily have been three or four down by half time) in a tie which is far from over - isn't it just a continuation of Spurs' story for years, and if it yet again fails to produce a trophy, what exactly can Pochettino put on his CV to impress Real Madrid or Man U? Improved fitness and positively Olympic diving skills?
Yes - Spurs HAVE improved in the past three and a half years, but does an average league position of 3.3 in Pochettino's three full seasons in charge, compared with 4.5 in Redknapp's (and no trophies in either) really justify all the hype?

 

Sigh ... can never please everyone. If Poch had played most of the first teamers that played against Juventus and one or more got injured, I'm sure the same complainers would have something to say about Poch playing these players against Rochdale. Same too if these players were fatigued and are not able to perform optimally against Crystal Palace or Juve in the weeks to come ... This is nowhere near a disaster. In fact, the additional game at Wembley can only be good for our coffers and good for those players recovering from injury who need more games. Surely no one is suggesting that Toby or Wanyama or Rose be put into play against Juve in their current state of fitness or match sharpness?

We can play the same 11 that started against Rochdale in Wembley and need not trouble the current first team at all. And win. So, what match congestion??

 

@Spurs Forever... well said

 

Typo in my previous post - should have read '4.3' as Redknapp's average league position, so we're exactly one place higher under Pochettino, in a generally much weaker league than in 2010-12. Still, it IS progress of sorts.

 

'Fess up time for me too: it looks like I thought Son was missing - well he was, sort of - my point being that in the event of absence of the named three, what threat would we have. It still has the same answer though - very little.

 

You may well have convinced me of your argument because I was raging after Rochdale!

 

The way I see it, is I am happy for rotation to take place but there still needs to be a Team good enough and balanced enough to get a win what Poch threw together yesterday was just asking for trouble.
Toby, Wanyama, Winks, Rose all way off the pace, supplemented by serial underperformers Sissoko & Lorente, then an inexperienced Centre Half, a new signing and reserve Keeper.

That's far too many weaknesses and too mish mash for a proper team performance.

Let's say we lost would that have been acceptable to a Team propping up League 1?

 

Either on the day, or when you reflect on the match today, the truth is that:

- there were some very poor performances

- we've got stiffs that aren't good enough to match the starting side, so no game changers.

Vorm did now't. Toby looked very shaky in the first, better when he switched to his favoured right side. Rose was ill-discipline personified. He doesn't know how to mark anybody or even cover the space and gets drawn narrow far too often. Sissoko...ffs is he really an International footballer. Wanyama, Llorente very poor. Foyth...not sure. A poor man's John Stones?

Lucas made a difference and got us back into the game. Dele dived, albeit it was probably the right call and H hit a stonking pen.

Then we switched off. Rose (and others) were too narrow, drawn to the ball and we're stuck with a much needed replay (not). Put the same side out and tell them to prove they can actually win against a bottom of League1 side.

Painful or what.

 

I think Wigan have put our performance into some sort of context - maybe if we had still had Walker playing we would not have needed a replay, or to mention the FA Cup again this season.
I must just say that I thought Rochdale were excellent Sunday - far better than many PL teams we play. They do not seem to be able to replicate that form on a regular basis though.
I feel sorry however for most of our players - a team is only as good as its weakest player, and that player would not even get into the Rochdale or Newport starting XI. He has started 12 league games this season with an effective return of 1.5 points a game and a goal difference of 17-13 whilst on the pitch (it only includes 2 top-6 sides) and without him we are averaging over 2 points a game with a goal difference of 35-11 (15 games including 6 top-6 sides). If he starts any of our remaining games we can kiss goodbye to that competition.

 

Spurs on the Beeb, but “1 eye on the football?”
Propaaaa Spurs fan that.
On that matter, how can you write a summary/opinion/critique of the game only if you had 1 eye on it???
Hopefully Man City result will make a load of you wake up and realise its tough to go to these lower league sides, when the oppo got nothing to lose, but the Prem side everything to lose, and every1 wants underdog to win.
And as for Potch Botch Job comment.......W T F?!

 

Welcome to the forum of pessimism and doom where only oil-rich billionaire owners are acceptable

 

It's a free forum why don't you dazzle us with your take?

 

So which Trophy competition has he got right so far then?

 

Tetchy, tetchy!!!! Replying like a shot, some1 likes the sound of their own voice and not when others question it.

I would dazzle you with my take but considering it actually WATCHED the game with 2 EYES it would probs blow your brains

 

As the man said - he was busy Sunday. |I take it that he had something important to do - respect to him for admitting that. I'm a LONG, LONG TIME Tottenham fan (I remember 10-4 against Everton) they're important to me, I love them, but there are times when I'm doing stuff and they're not the centre of my attention. Cut him some slack.

 

I get your point & I get you cant be able to watch Spurs ALL THE TIME , but how can you give a damning, and it is damning, opinion on a game if you havent watched it? Surly you couldn't review a restaurant without trying the food? Or a film if you walked out half way through???

Nahh this just reeks of an agenda to spout anything negative about Spurs. I can imagin it know, final whistle goes for 2-2, straight on here to write how bad spurs were, and oh wait, i didnt even watch it!!!! LMAO

I visit this site every so often and while their are some well though out opinions, the crux of it is the same old recycled **** again and again. I bet if wed have thumped Rochdale 7-0 the same person would be saying, dont get ahead of ourselves it's only Rochdale, and if wed beaten them 1-0 would say, ffs we can only beat a league 1 side 1-0

 

Nothing Tetchy, just a simple suggestion. I believe the Tetchyness was on your behalf damning the Thread.

I take it you think Drawing with Rochdale is a good result?
All part of the bigger picture and plan aye?

 

Not a good, not a bad... will take it. important not to lose at those grounds and be on the losing side of ‘1 of the greatest upsets in Fa cup history’ as the journos love to talk about.. see City yday!

In an Fa cup were the Arse were knocked out by Forest, City by Wigan, Lpool by an awful West Brom,,, IS IT REALLY THAT BAD that we only managed to draw with Rochdale? I think CITY/ Pool and and the scum would prefer to be in our position for the FA Cup?!?