PLAYER RATINGS: Tottenham 0:1 Aston Villa

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A single Benteke goal proved the difference in a day to forget for Spurs which was also Tim Sherwood’s return to White Hart Lane. An extremely poor performance in a game that we should be winning if we want Europa League next year.

Vorm – 7 – Made a few decent saves and one outstanding one vs Delph to keep it at 1-0. An excellent replacement for the injured Lloris.

Chiriches – 4 – another really poor game from the Romanian. Was troubled all day and looks uncomfortable at right back.

Dier – 5 – Took too long on the ball and was dominated by Benteke for the whole game.

Fazio – 5 – Had a decent game in defence up until he got out jumped by Benteke for the Villa goal.

Rose – 7 – Probably our best outfield player today. Was really good offensively and defensively. Looks like a new player from last season.

Mason – 4 – The midfield duo of Mason and Bentaleb were extremely poor today could hardly string two passes together.

Bentaleb – 4 – Along with Mason, he couldn't put a pass right today. Extremely average.

Townsend – 5 – Reasonably quiet game, delivered a few nice crosses but didn't do enough.

Eriksen – 4 – One of his worst performances in a Spurs shirt. Couldn't get a shot on target and couldn't make a 5 yard pass. Worrying that one of our best players is playing so poorly lately.

Chadli – 4 – Offered nothing going forward really poor game from the Belgian.

Kane – 5 – Very quiet game from our top goal scorer. Didn't get a lot of service but you would expect him to create something for himself.

Subs

Soldado - 5 – Replaced Chadli on 62 minutes but didn't contribute anything.

Lamela – N/A – Replaced Townsend on 78 minutes.

Yedlin – N/A – Came on in the 78th minute for his first team debut but didn't have enough time to do anything.

Our next game is away to a struggling Newcastle side next Sunday at 4pm, a must win if we want to be in Europe next season.

 

We were awful again today. Pathetic.
Villa and Tim deserved all three points and we must improve next season.

Poch has done okay this season but not enough to convince me we will improve next season.

We will have to sell before we can buy and that could be harder than it seems.

Top four is a long away from Spurs and finishing above Arsenal is further away than ever.

 

total shambles today rose benti mason townsend lamela vlad not good enough to play for spurs.when you remember all the midfield that played for spurs the present crop are rubbish

 

Jeez that was horrible stuff even by our standards .. Even with the blinkers on its hard to be positive about anything we,re seeing from this side at the moment .. Its looking a long way back now to the side we were a few years ago .. This is as poor a side as we,ve been in 10 years i.m.h.o ..

 

Another pathetic performance why we keep playing the same system and personel which is clearly not working, rose was our best player again I do feel for him when he has no else as a natural left winger in front of him when he receives the ball he always looks like he waiting for someone to pull out wide for him to pass through he looks on his own half the time! I'm a believer in giving a manager time but poch is really starting to annoy me with his starting line ups and his inability to change a game win his subs or even tactics we are too imbalanced how can he not notice this??? It's unbelievable how 1 week we were challenging for top 4 and some silverware and the next our season ends in disappointment once again, I'm getting pissed off wiv **** performances and a reliance on Kane to score and captain a side Why?????????????? So well done Spurs for letting your devoted fans down again and again !!!!missing the redknapp displays badly compared to watching this **** each week!

 

hahahahahahahaha pochettino after match interview we caused the problems ourselves???? They've been doing that for ****ing weeks stop the excuses and ****ing do your job and sort it out u thick ****!!!!!!

 

Don't think we were ever challenging for a top 4 place really .. We had falling into a position where it looked like we were challenging for it due to others having poor seasons but it was all an illusion really ..

 

The team is not Poch's. He's inherited a group of very inconsistent players, but what is worrying is the lack of improvement he has been able to produce. A top quality coach should surely be able to instill into his players his ethos and there should be signs of the team playing to his tactics. The fast high pressing style Poch had at Southampton and very fleetingly at Spurs has gone, making me think he's either changed the style of play because the players don't suit it, or the players simply refuse to play it.
Defensively Spurs are a shambles. They simply haven't got a leader at the back or players of the quality needed at that level. Forty six goals conceded says it all. In midfield Eriksen seems to be an enigma. Brilliant at times, but these times are too few. Mason and Benteleb
are still learning and as a result are too inconsistent. Up front Kane is isolated making his job so difficult. Service to him is poor and he drifts wide to back to get the ball, leaving no one centrally to pose a threat.
Everyone realises that a complete overhaul is required. Money may be a deciding factor in this. The new stadium will cost plenty and there is only so much money to go round. Young players from within may be the way, but don't expect them to take the club into the top four as they, like Dier, Mason Benteleb need to gain experience.
All in all I am not that hopeful of great turn around next season. Great players cost and I don't think Spurs have that, so it may well be another season or two of bringing in young players, before we can challenge for major honours.

 

The man who should be our manager showed up the joke who is. Two fantastic team displays are not enough in a season. No consistent team selection, no ability to change tactics, no real enthusiasm, no ever hope of the top four.

 

To be honest, not getting Europa may be a blessing in disguise. It will be disappointing of course but it may help us focus more on the league games and the cups. I don't agree that the squad hasn't improved, I believe Poch has had an impact on lots of our players. He still needs time to put his own squad together, hopefully offload lots of the players we don't need or want; Paulinho, Ade, Capoue, etc... I do believe we're a few players away from being a side that can contend for top 4. Biggest need is a decisive, stabilizing defensive midfielder (Schneiderlin) if we can swing it and another CF to support/helpout Kane.

I hate to see Levy being premature and sacking Poch, that won't help us a bit. It's not unlike Tottenham though, sacking Redknapp and Sherwood still I feel were terrible moves.

 

I disagree with the comments about Rose. I think he has been one of our best players this year and it was through him our best chances came today.
We have been poor this season and whether the team is pochs or not, he chose not to do any business in January. Make of that what you will!!!

 

As a Spurs fan I'm glad sherwood turned us over just to let all the muppets see he should have been given the chance to manage for a full season at least . He has passion and that's something I haven't seen at Spurs for years our season is over we will slowly drift away as Normal. never buy the right players always sell the good ones levy gets rid of all the talent and a manager in redknapp that had us playing great football and was only a couple of players away from challenging for trophys . Is a current manager the man for the job I'm not sure with levy as a chairman I think it's a losing battle plus with baldini there it's double hard . Lack of hart desire passion nerve leadership and until this changes we are in for a long long struggle . Are we not use to this how I miss the excitement of a redknapp team instead of the dire shite we have now. as a side note Lennon been given confidence at Everton and playing well surprise surprise .

 

Said it before he went to Everton , Lennon is far better all round team player than Chadli , Townsend , Lamela ,
and playing with these second raters is affecting Ericson .

 

Kane created a few chances today, but didn't receive much of a service himself.

Why does Pochettino keep playing the same formation when it's obvious it's not working?

Pochettino must think Stambouli and Dembele are rubbish if they can't displace Bentaleb and Mason. Bentaleb and Mason are fairly good prospects, but they keep passing to the opposition!! LOL.

 

Hey, some things are just written in the stars... And Tim Sherwood coming back to haunt his former employers, at the 1st time of asking, was ALWAYS scribbled in permanent marker, as far as I was concerned!

In all truth, I'm not sure there's much point in me writing too much today, as I have already said what I believe the main issues are with the side at the moment.

Anyone remember when I recently stated:

What Poch and the players have to do is ensure we don't have a game where so many players are off-form.

Because after the 1st 30 mins where Spurs were the better team, too many performances dipped, as the lads became sloppy and wasteful in possession.

Eriksen, Mason, Townsend , Chadli and Kane were the players charged with attacking from the front two departments within the team, and yet NONE of those players, with the exception of Kane, looked at the races, in that regard.

Townsend drifted in and out of the game with most of the play coming down the left or centre of the pitch.

Chadli dithered on the ball, offering little in terms of creativity. Yes his movement off-the ball was as good as usual, finding himself in great positions to score twice, but his subsequent finishes pretty much summed up his day.

Eriksen was poor and has been struggling for form ever since he curled home that wonder strikes against Sheffield Utd in the 2nd leg of C1C semi final.

He touch was shocking all game, and his passing wasn't much better.
Spurs need the Dane to be something close to his best for the next 8/9 games if the side are going to put together the kind of run that could see us still, yet, claim a CL place.

Perhaps the biggest issue for TH in the game though was found in the middle of the park where Bentelab and Mason REALLY struggled to take control of proceedings.

Not only were they outnumbered in the engine room for much of the match, a point that was magnified by particular Nabils lackluster display in possession of the ball, but they were out-thought by a three-man midfield containing the wiley-old veteran Esteban Cambiasso who was impressive thoughout.

I wonder if now might be the time to take either Bentelab or Mason out of the firing line for the next couple of weeks. We should remember that it ONLY their 1st and 2nd seasons, respectively, at this level, with the former also having been involved in the ACONs earlier in the campaign.

Maybe both players are beginning to show signs of mental fatigue with their standards just dropping in the past few weeks.

Unforced errors and lapses of concentration have become a reoccurring feature of their game in recent weeks, and I just feel that a break from the strain of 1st team duties might do them both some good...

Well, unfortunately for the Spurs support today, it was a case of de ja vu.

Eriksen has offered very little since his his two strikes that assured Spurs of a place in the C1C final, and the rest of the attack-minded players have all been far too inconsistent in their displays - with the exception of Kane.

Indeed, the fact that Danny Rose has been one of our most effective attackers over the last month or so, probably says all you need to know.

Mason, Bentelab and Eriksen all look mentally exhausted, having played, and been relied upon so much over the course of the season.

And with Pochettino seemingly unimpressed with the other alternatives on offer within his squad, that would allow him to rotate/rest his key men, the 3 players who play such a MASSIVE part in his tactical set-up have all appearing jaded.

As many of you will already know, a team is, generally, only as strong as it's 'spine' - especially when deploying the high-tempo, pressing style that Pochettino favours.... And as things stand, Spurs' spine is appearing badly fractured.

Ironically, the fact that Spurs have had a remarkably good record when it has come to keeping KEY players fit this season, may have inadvertently hampered the teams progress/performances over the last month, with MP opting NOT to regularly rotate in important departments within the side.

Spurs have played the most amount of competitive games out of any EPL side, this season, and although the lads are probably feeling fine physically, the effects of having to compete, concentrate and emotionally refocus after
various high and lows, in a number of different comps is probably just caught up with them.

Despite a disappointing month or so, I, still, feel there are PLENTY of positives to take from this 1st season under the guidance of Pochettino. The Argentine will have learned an awful lot about all the players he has at his disposal, and will undoubtedly be looking to improve upon his achievements in the next campaign.

And with a core of young talented players such as Dier, Rose, Walker, Mason, Townsend, Bentelab, Eriksen, Kane, Dele Alli and the potential return of the exciting Alex Pritchard, there is every reason to be optimistic about the future.

What is IMPERATIVE now is to clinch one of those EL places, before clearing the squad to allow Pochettino to bring in players he wants and trusts to carry out his demands.

THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!!!!

 

What a shambles, all those that have given it the Felons negative, fickle, dnt know what your talking about, naive, where are you????
I told you our business was poor in the summer, i told you that we wouldnt win any trophies, for 2 years when its been said we have the best squad weve ever had and ive said its average at best, when ive said Soldado Lamela Paulinho are rubbish ive had pelters. Where are you now?

Is pointing out Reality Negative or is the Reality Negative?

Poch is a 1 trick pony who is getting found out with ease, the squad is full of sub standard players, our transfer business has been scandalous, weve not improved and are goin backwards.

Anyone ready to tell me different??

Poch has been fortunate kanes come into form as hes been carried by 3 players all season, hes no better than Sherwood or AvB, were further away from top 4 than when jol was in charge.

This is not a transition its a waste of time for all that care dearly about the club.

This summer is massive for Poch as this team is not good enough to challenge for top 4 until it buys some top 4 standard players. And it will not challenge for europe playing reserves.

 

Being out of Europe helped Liverpool and could help us. We are limping across the line and Poch has a full season to again prove his worth.

I said before the season that at Southampton he had no plan B and that has proved the case this season.
Poch must learn from his mistakes. We are currently nowhere near being a top four team and next season that has to change but we can only buy once we sell and we will make massive losses so we could struggle to attract the top names.

Youth will be the way as the penny pinching for the new stadium will begin in earnest.

If Poch thinks his first season has been hard, it is about to get a whole lot harder!!!!

 

totally agree wiv u mate watching this **** week in week out is pissing me off, the players and manager talk a good game but when they step out onto the pitch it goes down the pan like today all the pre-match talk was be aggressive and fight yet where the **** is it????? Complete farce our beloved club has become!

 

I think not making Europa League will be a blessing in disguise. will enable us to concentrate on the league and domestic stuff only. we can't seem to handle playing on Thursday and then Sunday. Been the same for years. The only good thing about Europa League is the winner gets CL the following season but we have looked way off the pace in EL anyway

 

Not much to add, as all of you seem to have watched the same game I did!

Truth told, as soon as I saw the Number 6 in the lineup I knew the day would be long. Chiriches. I've seen better-looking Rumanian pastrami sandwiches.

Either most of the guys are gassed out or just playing for a paycheck. I realize playing against a team desperate for points near the end of the season to stay in the EPL means you have to play well, yourself, but we've plain sucked, and I join all the Poch critics for him not changing the approach during the game and his lineup selection. So pleased to see Yedlin on the bench and into his first senior game. If Walker's still hurt, I'd like to see what he does from the start.