jonathanhotspur
Loose Cannon
- Jun 28, 2009
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Tottenham Vs Hull: Match Thread (Capital Cup)
- Thread starter chrissivad
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Spurs_Bear
Well-Known Member
- Jan 7, 2009
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In what sense?
There was a really nifty, anti AVB chant echoing around the stadium all night. Along the lines of:
"Steve fucking Bruce has outwitted you twice in a matter of days".
To the tune of Puff The Magic Dragon, for some reason.
The match is thankfully on Sunday. More than three and a half days to recover. Providing none of them picked up injuries, they should all be fine to play.
Would have been a different matter if it had been a Saturday game, mind. For once, playing on a Sunday has worked in our favour.
Rout-Ledge
Well-Known Member
- Jul 29, 2005
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****s
thinktank
Hmmm...
- Sep 28, 2004
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If my auntie had balls, she'd be my uncle.
Point is that we have scored penalties. We did have Bale. If we hadn't scored those penalties, who's to say that we wouldn't have scored other goals? If we hadn't had Bale, who's to say that the players we had instead wouldn't have made us more successful?
As to AVB, he's tried a number of different formations with different personnel.
He does, though, have a preferred formation and pattern of play. Like most managers. And sometimes you have to persevere with it, even when it's not working smoothly. Because the only guarantee is that a style of play will never work consistently if you always forsake it whenever you find yourself in a difficult game.
shelfboy68
Well-Known Member
- Jun 14, 2008
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[quopuzzling/04/91, post: 3675511, member: 7242"]I've not read through the 91 pages but I can see why some people wouldn't be overly happy this morning.
Getting through on pens against a Hull side not at full strength is papering over cracks. A lot of the positive posters on here are saying 'who cares, we're through' or 'look at the table' but frankly the table isn't a fair reflection at this stage - it needs to be 20 games in before I'd get too excited.
Other than 2 goals from outside the box we created very little last night. The opening half hour wasn't bad at all, we moved the ball quickly and without too much of a cutting edge looked comfortable - I thought a second goal was coming & end of story.
But I really don't know what happened second half. We looked devoid of ideas.
There's no plan B at the moment and this 4231 doesn't seem to be working. I wouldn't mind if there were signs of it clicking but there isn't really. Sometimes you look at teams & performances and think 'we're about to give someone a good hiding' - not us, not at the mo.
It isn't exciting football and whilst we've got a number of new faces which need time to gel, we should expect to see things improving, giving us hope. Can we honestly say that's the case?[/quote]
The puzzling thing for me is we play two holding midfielders yet are cut open with apparent ease and all that possession and very little to show for it.
Some are waiting for IT to click I don't think it will as it doesn't work unfortunately we may in a situation where by we have a young clever man who thinks he can be a football manager his ego is so bloated that he thinks anyone who plays fifa can do it sadly this is not the case.
Getting through on pens against a Hull side not at full strength is papering over cracks. A lot of the positive posters on here are saying 'who cares, we're through' or 'look at the table' but frankly the table isn't a fair reflection at this stage - it needs to be 20 games in before I'd get too excited.
Other than 2 goals from outside the box we created very little last night. The opening half hour wasn't bad at all, we moved the ball quickly and without too much of a cutting edge looked comfortable - I thought a second goal was coming & end of story.
But I really don't know what happened second half. We looked devoid of ideas.
There's no plan B at the moment and this 4231 doesn't seem to be working. I wouldn't mind if there were signs of it clicking but there isn't really. Sometimes you look at teams & performances and think 'we're about to give someone a good hiding' - not us, not at the mo.
It isn't exciting football and whilst we've got a number of new faces which need time to gel, we should expect to see things improving, giving us hope. Can we honestly say that's the case?[/quote]
The puzzling thing for me is we play two holding midfielders yet are cut open with apparent ease and all that possession and very little to show for it.
Some are waiting for IT to click I don't think it will as it doesn't work unfortunately we may in a situation where by we have a young clever man who thinks he can be a football manager his ego is so bloated that he thinks anyone who plays fifa can do it sadly this is not the case.
Behave.
The only reason why we stood the remotest chance of keeping Bale is because of the enormous respect he had for AVB. Has the celebration of that goal at West Ham back in February already slipped your mind? AVB helped to transform Bale from a very good player into a borderline world class player. And "free role"........???? How much fucking more of a free role could Bale have possibly wanted than the one that AVB gave him?
As to the rest of your post, I've been attending games at WHL since 1979. I've seen some great players and great football in those times. But I've also seen some utter shit. Include most of the 90's in that statement. And the early 2000's. Simultaneously boring and calamitous, if that's even possible. To compare then with now is brainless. It's just that some Spurs fans have developed this risible sense of entitlement after the merest flirtation with success - though not actual success, mind. Pathetic.
This isn't negative football. It is possession football. It is high pressure football when not in possession. We are consistently dominating games to an extent that I have never before seen. There are still key elements missing, though. Tempo. Movement off the ball in the final third. Width from the full backs. Confidence in attack. Clinical finishing.
Of course, all of these things are very important. But they can come in time. And, if they do, they will be based on the solid foundations that the team already has.
If things haven't improved by the end of the season - and especially if we fail to hit any of our targets - then AVB will have deserved all the criticism that comes his way. But for now - sitting pretty in 4th, three points off the lead, and progressing nicely in the cups - I'll keep my powder dry.
mattstev2000
Well-Known Member
- Aug 15, 2007
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I would imagine he means in all senses. Primarily because it was a nonsensical, overly negative, exaggerated view of the last season and a bit.
Players have clearly improved (Siggy this season, Defoe 1st half of last, Bale, Sandro, Townsend and so on). There have clearly been entertaining games in both seasons (I was more than happy to give up an afternoon for the Norwich game for instance). The quality is clearly a vast improvement on a lot of the 90s (bring back Jason Dozzell!). Paulinho and Eriksen haven't played enough games to even settle in properly yet alone have had time to be good and then go backwards. He has no insight whatsoever into whether Bale had 'the outright audacity to say to AVB he didn't want to play his tactics'. etc. etc.
It was just a sensationalist excuse to bash AVB.
It was the equivalent of me saying 'The football under Christian Gross was the greatest football this club has ever seen with all players vastly improving under his gentle caress and I know for a fact Ruel Fox was instrumental in the communal baths at the lane having massaging water jets installed'.
People would surely say 'That's complete bollocks' and they'd probably be right. Although I stand by the Ruel Fox bit.
camaj
Posting too much
- Aug 10, 2004
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Movement was fine last season, once players settled. Movement was fine last night even at 0-0. The problem is players aren't spotting it. Erikesen, in one moment, got himself into a great position but the player on the ball didn't pass to him. There were other times when players opted to pass back or sideways rather than forward to a player who was in a dangerous position. I'm frustrated but it's something that will improve when the dust settles. I have to say, if this is us in disarray, I welcome it!
For all the complaints, look how we were once we'd conceded. Movement was superb and the pace really picked up. Our problem right now is pace, our build up play is excruciatingly slow at times when against a team like Hull you just know they would find it a lot harder if we sped things up. When your opponents move quickly it's hard to defend against and the worse a team is the harder it'll be.
Spurs_Bear
Well-Known Member
- Jan 7, 2009
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But with all due respect, I could reply to that paragraph with "It's all bollocks I'm afraid."
Sandro for one hasn't improved, he's hardly played due to injury. People are not talking about Capoue being ahead of him on the teamsheet, and he clarified Townsend by saying he improved while out on loan.
For what it's worth I'm 110% behind him on Bale, and I would argue against anyone saying "we set the team up so Bale could thrive" and tell them they were talking complete bollocks.
Cant argue with you on the Ruel Fox bit though.
JUSTINSIGNAL
Well-Known Member
- Jul 10, 2008
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What a load of BS!
This "young clever man" with the apparent "bloated ego" led us to our highest points total in the history of the prem last season and has us only 3 points off the top after 9 games and in the quater final of a cup.
Not bad for a someone who thinks "anyone who plays fifa" can manage.
Despite what you think of our style of football the facts tell a vastly different story.
Rout-Ledge
Well-Known Member
- Jul 29, 2005
- 9,682
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It's a cliche, but the table doesn't lie.
We finished last year with our highest ever points tally. Individual players do not achieve that on their own. Suarez scored more than Bale last year, but did Liverpool finish ahead of us? No.
Look at the table come the end of the season, if we're not in or around the top four, then questions can be asked. Until then, we have 7 new players still in their first few months at the club, and two players who've returned from loan and come straight into the first 11. Give them the season.
We finished last year with our highest ever points tally. Individual players do not achieve that on their own. Suarez scored more than Bale last year, but did Liverpool finish ahead of us? No.
Look at the table come the end of the season, if we're not in or around the top four, then questions can be asked. Until then, we have 7 new players still in their first few months at the club, and two players who've returned from loan and come straight into the first 11. Give them the season.
Spot on.
Not to mention that this "young clever man" won the treble in his one year as manager of Porto, including winning the title unbeaten, dropping only six points in the entire season.
Kendall
Well-Known Member
- Feb 8, 2007
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Don't be afraid.
Kendall
Well-Known Member
- Feb 8, 2007
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Ummm I think you have misunderstood.
AVB said that Bale came to him last year and said he didn't want to play on the wing and that he wanted a free role, so AVB gave him it.
Bale made the decision, Bale knew he'd be better there. It wasn't an AVB lightbulb moment, AVB just simply appeased Bale because he knew he was the best.
That's my point. It took Bale to ask for the move himself to make him a better player. Everybody else has gone backwards under AVB or not hit the heights they were at before they came to play for him.
Bale knew AVB was a fraud.
ShelfSide18
Well-Known Member
- Aug 23, 2006
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Because my favourite Bear, our Kendall has pretty much made up the fact that Bale apparently went to AVB and said he disagreed with his tactics. Where has this come from? Interestingly enough the squad appear to love AVB from what I see, there's a fantastic team unity and togetherness and never say die spirit which is continually winning us points. I've never seen this in a Spurs side in my time, and this is down to a coach who takes this part of the game very seriously. His Porto players said it, now our players are - this is probably the best thing that he's instilled, a team togetherness that doesn't know when it's fucking beaten, even when half the fans have given up as per fucking usual. If it is going to be AVB vs the fans (not that I want it to be), then fuck it i'm happy to sit on AVBs side. You lot keep moaning as we keep stockpiling points and cup progress.
I know the football is not setting WHL alight thus far, although it's far from as bad as people are claiming but I tell you what I found realllllly boring... getting beat, week in and week out. Going to away games and within 5 minutes knowing there's fuck all chance of us getting anything from the game, going to Wembley and getting pumped 5-1 by Chelsea, 2 points from 8 games, not beating a top 4 side for donkeys years, not winning at Old Trafford since before that donkeys great grandfather was born, watching all our rivals competing on the biggest stages whilst we released DVDs when we fluked a draw against one of them.
Now I found that, really fucking boring - the occasional nice moment whilst floating upon the sea of mediocrity, I prefer now to be honest. I prefer winning, highest EPL points totals, best ever EPL starts, 12 clean sheets in 16 games, I prefer attracting a plethora of talent like we did this summer from some of Europe's finest clubs, I prefer never getting bullied in games any more, I prefer being a force away from home not the timid pussycats we used to be (I'd also prefer if I could have my away season ticket back), I prefer being Europa League favourites, I prefer that the problems we are now seeing is because teams are shit scared of venturing outside their own penalty area against us even at home.
I just prefer not being so fucking 'typical Spurs' I guess.
