Basel Vs Tottenham: Match Thread

Ade's approach...

There are only 2 European trophies to be won per year. And there are about 40 big to biggish clubs in Europe. After a few seasons of everybody focussing on CL now the Europa is being taken more seriously with every year that passes. Talking about the Europa league as if it is Micky mouse is becoming ridiculous. Yes, qualifying for CL is a big deal but winning a European trophy is what separates winners from also rans. We were right to take it seriously this year. We simply don't have the squad depth to campaign on 2 fronts as well as we will be able to in a couple of years time.

I would be over the moon if Basel can beat Chelsea

dondo said:

Been a steady flow of hurt for 25 years now. When is our day coming again? not sure iii be alive that long, must try pass this joy on to my grandkids though

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They're not huge in the grand scheme of things but just remember how it felt when we beat Man City to finish 4th? Or the League Cup win against Chelsea; The 5-1 against Arsenal; The 3-2 and 4-4 games against Arsenal. It's only a matter of time before something big comes along, I can't wait.

mquinn73 said:

Yeah, probably will give it up at the end of this season to be honest. Very disillusioned at the way this club is being run. That's my personal opinion. I paid a bloody large amount of money over the past 8 years on my season tickets and I've had enough. And I can tell you that I'm not the only one. Of course, there'll be no shortage of suckers to take my place... but maybe if you'd paid the money I have to follow a club that I used to love, you'd be pretty pissed off too....

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I've paid an awful lot of money in the last eight years going to games, and paying to be on the season ticket waiting list. But I've never tried to elevate my opinion above that of any other fan because of it.

But cool, when you give yours up I'll be one place closer to getting one.

EnfieldYiddo said:

I think my eyes are deceiving me but as Holtby bent down it looked like he had a little blue thong on...

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Still mystified on this... It's troubling me more than the result

mquinn73 said:

Really?!?! So the starting team tonight wasn't the best eleven available? Even though AVB said it was? Clever...

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straws
at
clutching

man i love my team. i don't care about what happened tonight. we showed heart and that's all that matters. COYS

mquinn73 said:

Yeah, probably will give it up at the end of this season to be honest. Very disillusioned at the way this club is being run. That's my personal opinion. I paid a bloody large amount of money over the past 8 years on my season tickets and I've had enough. And I can tell you that I'm not the only one. Of course, there'll be no shortage of suckers to take my place... but maybe if you'd paid the money I have to follow a club that I used to love, you'd be pretty pissed off too....

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If you used to love them - but you don't anymore - then take a walk son - you won't be missed.

nightgoat said:

I'm not his biggest fan and I wasn't especially enamoured by signing him in the first place, but it's still idiotic to unload a torrent of hatred on him because of it.

To be fair, he never really looks incredibly energetic even when he's on form. I thought he had a decent game tonight, a lot of the time he didn't really have great support and had to come short or into the channels which left us no one in the box. Extra time was futile really, up against two defenders with barely any support. You could see he was trying to relieve pressure on the team by trying to win corners and throws up the pitch.

I'd like us to replace him with someone better and more consistent too, but I'm not going to slag him off while he's still playing for us. Certainly not for missing a penalty, which as I said, even the best players in the world do.

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The penalty was just too cute and reminded me of one where Berbatov overdid the Mr. Cool bit a couple of seasons ago. Of course, if it had dinked into the top corner people would have been raving. Some you win, some you lose—but we lost this tie at the Lane a week ago.

I didn't think he was terrible, but his hold-up play wasn't that great.

plashy said:

Ade's approach...

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That was so funny, I feel better now!

Wheeler Dealer said:

Having an OAP between the sticks for these two important games was always a risk and unfortunately 2nd goal and his lack of mobility for penalties was a factor in us going out tonight.

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We were very comfortable up to Dembeles crazy attempted pass

Having had a chance to reflect and calm down, we have had a great run in the Europa League - out of the 19 games we played 16. AVB has been damned if he did and damned if he didn't - including by me. We moaned when he played the likes of Gallas and Friedel, yet complained that the EL was taking it's toll on our squad and shouldn't give it such priority.

In the event, AVB rotated the squad a little as in some places he had no option to do so - the 3 full backs were rotated, Friedel took his place between the sticks to keep competition going with Lloris, and the centre halves rotated with Gallas featuring alot more in the EL. The options on the wing and up front have been dictated alot more by scarce resources. Overall the club is high up the league and progressed far in the EL - it was only in the latter stages that the competing demands started to take a toll.

However, going through the season with just 2 strikers even when in January it was clear they weren't cutting the mustard, has been a big mistake. Letting Townsend go out on loan is simply baffling. And I think it was a mistake to play Friedel this evening - up to this point fair enough, but when it was all on the line and we had no weekend match we should have brought Lloris in.

All that said, after Dempsey's 2nd goal I posted that the game was for the taken and we were killing them, Verts' red card changed the whole thing. As soon as it descended into a backs-to-the-wall defensive battle we had no chance. Basel knew a goal for us would be fatal for them so kept us on the back foot throughout ET and we obliged. Adebayor provided almost no outlet whatsoever, and when penalties came everyone knew beforehand how it would end. My own prediction was that we'd miss 3 and save none, and that Ade and Walker would be among the misses, I take no pleasure in being right about Ade missing.

I think AVB was right in his substitutions on the whole, although maybe a more attacking player than BAE might have been a good last throw. Also, didn't see the togetherness/huddle that we normally do, whilst theirs was apparrent throughout.

What do you disagree with davidmatzdorf? That the red was actually a red or that Naughton wasn't too far up the pitch?

To be fair, after tonight's extra time I was pretty damn proud of our team for holding out 30 mins with 10 men and with basically no energy left. Kudos to them for their resilience. Roll on top 4 now

mquinn73 said:

So AVB committed to playing his best available starting XI for the majority of the Europa League. Where has that got us? A tired squad, our best player injured, and no silverware.... goes to prove that Harry was right!!

Should have stuck to playing a second string team in the Europa League and kept our key players fresh for the Premier League campaign instead.

We'll finish 5th in the league this year behind Arsenal in 3rd and Chelsea in 4th.

Bale will be gone in the summer.

Levy will mess around in the transfer market as usual but fail to deliver as usual. Blue & Yellow, yeah right....

I've been a season ticket holder for the last 8 seasons and I'm fed up with the same old excuses year in, year out. Levy engineered the departure of the best manager we had in the last 25 years because he never trusted Harry and he never believed that Harry fitted his description of a modern day football manager. Now he has AVB who was found out at Chelsea - and who'llbe found out at Spurs within the next 6-9 months. We have a reducing squad which has too many players which are simply not good enough to play regularly for a 'top 3' team - Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Adebayor, Dempsey, Lennon (yes, completely overrated & overhyped by Spurs fans), Huddlestone, Defoe, Livermore, Friedel... not good enough.

What I'd give for a Berbatov or Modric in their prime... that was before Levy sold them and replaced them with players of a much lesser quality, but that's our beloved chairman's definition of a 'good deal'.

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You're really that fed up? Good. Fuck off. We don't need you.

mquinn73 said:

Yeah, probably will give it up at the end of this season to be honest. Very disillusioned at the way this club is being run. That's my personal opinion. I paid a bloody large amount of money over the past 8 years on my season tickets and I've had enough. And I can tell you that I'm not the only one. Of course, there'll be no shortage of suckers to take my place... but maybe if you'd paid the money I have to follow a club that I used to love, you'd be pretty pissed off too....

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But surely the last 8 years were better than the 8 that went before that ?

sebo_sek said:

So if anyone older than Bale is worse than him they should get the boot? Bloody hell that's 80% of the squad. Now we're really in the crapper.

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Did I say that? Just saying he's no spring chicken. I actually like Naughton, suspect he may have a better career than Walker or Rose, but he's not a youngster.

stemark44 said:

I think you will find that Dawson diving out of defence and losing the ball in midfield left Verts in a bad spot.

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So? Defenders deal with bad spots. It wasn't that desperate a position. If Verts had played the pass short and Daws had got himself sent off, would you be that forgiving?

THFC_67 said:

But surely the last 8 years were better than the 8 that went before that ?

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Hey, don't you go dissing Spurs 1997 - 2005. The era of Toda, Bunji, Andy Booth, Vega, Ginger Pele. Raziak.