Another red card and individual brilliance save Spurs

Spurs left it late yet again to overcome Hull in a tightly contested affair. Despite a series of poor performances, Spurs somehow find themselves just 2 points off the top 4.

Déjà vu

Following the disappointment of the home defeat to Stoke, Vertonghen claimed that crisis talks would be held amongst the players. Adebayor also had his say, claiming that the atmosphere at White Hart Lane was having a negative impact on our performances.

Two weeks later, away from home and crisis talks held, I expected a different performance – it surely couldn’t get that much worse.

It came as no surprise then to see Livermore drill one in from 20 yards with less than 10 minutes gone. The inevitability of the goal wasn’t what frustrated me though, it was the lack of fight and conviction in the performance yet again. As a fan I can accept being outplayed but not outfought.

It’s worth mentioning because we won’t have the luxury of being just the one goal down against better teams. We have Everton and Chelsea coming up next and, should we play like we have been in the past couple of games, the game might be over by half time.

The red card swung things in our favour, much like it did at Villa, but the introduction of two players gave us something we’ve been desperately lacking all season: width.

We stretched the opposition for the first time in a long time and added real speed to our game, something we’ve also lacked for most of the season.

It’s clear Pochettino doesn’t know his best XI yet but this will give him something more to ponder come next Sunday.

Papering Over Cracks Again?

I said that after the Villa game that we’d papered over the cracks massively. That was sadly proven after our disappointing performance against Stoke.

Part of me feels the same after today’s game. Another red card and some individual brilliance won us the game but we were poor for the most part. Granted, we created some good chances in the second half but the overall performance still leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall, an important victory which lifts us up back into the top 10. We’ll take the 3 points but the performances must improve if we’re to achieve anything this season.

 

I don't think we were as poor today as against Villa, but it was close. The defence looked shaky again and I dread to think what Chelsea and Diego Costa will do to us in just over a week.
Mason and Kane look more interested than their more illustrious counterparts and Soldado was awful today. Maybe a goal will give him confidence but I think it's time he was shipped out along with Adebayor.
Lamela was abysmal. Again. The majority of his passes went straight to Hull players and his shooting is not gong to worry too many keepers. Thirty million for a player who doesn't score is ridiculous.
Lennon added pace to the team when he came on, but even against ten men we looked very laboured.

Considering how poor we are, and make no mistake, we are very poor, it is madness that we sit just two points off fourth place.
Next Sunday sees us lay that dreaded Sunday after Europe games against Everton and a win would do wonders for confidence. A defeat will simply confirm just how bad we , and indeed the premier league have become!!!

 

Dier should not be played at RB. I can't believe I'm saying this but Chiriches deputized in that role far better than Dier has done and should remain in that role until Naughton or better yet Walker can come back in to re lain the position.
Dembele has been a shadow of himself and the entire team played with zero fight and energy in that first half.
Why it takes for the opposition to go a man down to finally spark the belief in this Spurs team that they can actually win a game and put in the effort, which they did in the second half, goes to show how fragile this team is mentally.
I hope MoPo is given the proper backing in January and more importantly next summer to build the team that will fit his system but more importantly that has the mental strength to compete in the Premier League because this team has shown precious little of that most prized quality!!

 

Can't agree with the people knocking Lamela. I think too much of him is expected because of the price paid for him. He certainly needs to improve but I think there is more fluidity to spurs when he plays and I would certainly not accuse him of lacking passion or commitment . Given time and a few quality addition to the team I'm sure he will show his true class .

 

Three points....its a welcome relief.At least Poch made changes that did improve play and make a difference . Its very early days but at least Poch had a positive plan B. We need more fight and self belief and if the results are positive it will make a difference. We tended to hold on to the ball a bit too long as a result we missed opportunities or the delayed pass put the receiver under pressure .

I am keeping positive hoping that this is the start of a turn around in fortunes...berating the team or manager is not going to bring about the positive change that we want...take the points and hope the players can show the fight and determination coupled with real team play.

Interesting few weeks ahead..COYS

 

We must take more shots.

If the goalie can kick it 60 / 70 yards with two steps (and he looks like 10 stone dripping wet). The others need to keep their heads down and strike more often with confidence and concentration.