Match Ratings vs Qarabag

thought Alli was fantastic, Son and Toby good.
Lamela was Lamela - lots of waste but kept working and got the third.
Everyone else was meh to me.

Alli getting all the plaudits but Tom Carroll gets it from me. Kept things ticking over, showed for the ball for the full 90 minutes and generally used the ball quickly and well. Neat, tidy and involved.

Disagree about Carroll. Thought he gave it away far too often even when there was no real pressure on him. It's not like he was trying to play the 'killer' ball a lot of the time either - was just sloppy distribution in the middle of the park. The only player worse was Andros.

Alli looks phenomenal. With him, Son and Eriksen in the team we are going to create a whole lot more.

Surprised me that Carroll was a lot better at nicking the ball back. I actually thought his passing wasn't that great - not when it mattered.

Lloris was fine, made the one good save he had to make and was otherwise comfortable.

Trippier started poorly, albeit he was unlucky to concede the penalty, but I felt he grew into the game and contributed well to our attack.

Alderweireld was steady and dependable. He's not outstanding at anything but he is very good at everything, so he might not catch the eye but I bet his presence will (and has) lead to far fewer silly goals conceded.

Rose had his worst game in a long time, riddled with errors and not looking focused at all defensively.

Dier had his worst game in this position and it led to a lot of our struggles in the game. He overcommitted and got outfoxed far too often.

Carroll was okay, generally tidy and play a few lovely passes but he also played several sloppy passes under no pressure.

Townsend was dreadful. He worked hard but his decision making, running down blind alleys and lack of any product caused no send of frustration.

Alli shot his bolt about an hour in and should've been withdrawn, but played very well. Lovely link up with Son and Lamela, some great dribbling, a superb assist and would've scored had Lamela inexplicably taken it off his feet as he was lining up.

Lamela had a mixed bag. Out wide he was dreadful, making wrong decisions constantly. Down the middle he was better, working very hard, showing plenty of imagination and asking for the ball constantly. Lovely chip for his goal redeemed too.

Son scored a simple goal when unmarked from a corner. Then his confidence grew and it was delightful. His imagination and dribbling left me thoroughly entertained while the subtlety of his passing was beautiful and thus was as key to his second goal as the trickery of Alli. We have a real talent here.

Kane came on and gave a good account, getting involved and playing unselfishly. Great work for Lamela's goal in firstly chasing theist cause and then playing a lovely pass.

Njie looked very raw. Some nice moments with good touch, pace and ability but a few daft passes too. Also wish he didn't resemble Ballotelli so much.

I was impressed with Winks, more so than Carroll. Lots of energy, pretty robust, but very comfortable on the ball and picked out a couple of lovely passes.

Just checked the match stats. Our three worst for pass completion were;

Andros Townsend 76% (19/25)
Erik Lamela 82% (42/51)
Tom Carroll 83% (64/77)

and our best....

Dele Alli 97% (34/35)

Alli MotM to be sure. He really put his stamp on the game and at his age, Spurs look to have a potential star there. Son honourable mention. he looked comfortable on the ball, nice vision with passing, a quality player overall. not to take Kane for granted, he got on late, worked hard, and created the goal for Lamela.

Carroll had a slow start, but played well overall in the end. Dier just needed to save himself for the palace match. Winks came on and slotted right in and looked good. Townsend was okay overall. didn't really notice Clinton very much, but he didn't play very long.

Wimmer and Toby seemed fine at the back as a central pairing, but the fullbacks really struggled. Trippier's first game out and a bad start. Rose is not my favourite player, but to be fair by looking at the way he was running he is definitely not 100% fit yet. but that had nothing to do with that ridiculous attempted chested ball back to Lloris. Lloris was fine, not too much for him to do overall.

Lamela mostly had another nightmare, but came on stronger in the second half. he lost possession a lot ( passing and dribbling into trouble) and had so many missed opportunities,... the Soldano comparisons were flying in!! had he not finally scored how many would have the knives out?...

it really should have been more like 5-1, but a relatively comfortable win with a real patchwork Spurs team on the night. a 7/10 for team performance with all things considered...

I don't like individual ratings as it's a team game but thought Trippier did very well after giving away the pen.

Alli was superb, as everyone seems to be acknowledging. He has strength, enough pace and most importantly composure on the ball. I hope to see him cementing his place over the next few weeks.

Lamela's performance and the subsequent reaction on here kinda sums up his time at Spurs. He was very poor for much of the game - awful first touch, running in to opposition players, non-existent ball retention - but then improved and took his goal very well. The problem is that in a more 'competitive' match he'd have surely been dragged off before he got the opportunity for redemption. He's clearly got some balls about him to keep showing for passes and getting to positions (as demonstrated by his late goal), but this isn't enough of a positive given how ineffective he is for much of the game. I suspect Europa may be his last chance to make it at THFC given Poch's comments earlier in the week.

tototoner said:

I don't like individual ratings as it's a team game but thought Trippier did very well after giving away the pen.

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He did, but loses 2 marks for those God-awful tattoos.

Despite him getting some poor ratings in here, I was actually quite impressed with Clinton's cameo. Despite a shockingly bad first touch in Spurs colours, he showed some good passing, composure on the ball, and that he can run in behind the last man (which quite frankly is what we desperately need from our wide men). Would have had a 1-on-1 with the keeper had he not been pulled back. I look forward to seeing more from him.

walton said:

Alli was superb, as everyone seems to be acknowledging. He has strength, enough pace and most importantly composure on the ball. I hope to see him cementing his place over the next few weeks.

Lamela's performance and the subsequent reaction on here kinda sums up his time at Spurs. He was very poor for much of the game - awful first touch, running in to opposition players, non-existent ball retention - but then improved and took his goal very well. The problem is that in a more 'competitive' match he'd have surely been dragged off before he got the opportunity for redemption. He's clearly got some balls about him to keep showing for passes and getting to positions (as demonstrated by his late goal), but this isn't enough of a positive given how ineffective he is for much of the game. I suspect Europa may be his last chance to make it at THFC given Poch's comments earlier in the week.

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yup, he has to play a 90 minute game and play with some control. for 90 min last night he was all over the place again. had he played the first 45 min like that in the prem, poch would've had him off at HT. he has to start strong and play the whole match well.... not sure what his problem is specifically, but it clearly is not a physical problem that's affecting him. hoping he figures it out a solution soon.

Alli was excellent if not a little raw, certainly there is a player in there. Deffo MoM last night and would love him to start Sunday.

Son looked good, has an eye for a goal and always looks to move the ball forwards.

Lamela's performance was like his whole Spurs career rolled into one evening - frustrating, brilliant and leaving you wanting more!

I am a bit surprised Carroll has got so many mentions in here, to me he is the sort of player you don't really notice, but then that may be a good thing I guess! Not sure!

Defensively we were a shambles pretty much throughout.

Surprised there's not a bit more love for Wimer in this thread. I thought he was composed and was really positionally sound. I'm not surprised he had 0 defensive errors that led to goals last season. There certainly seems to be a player there.

Alli was, and will remain, absolute mustard. Just has a bit of class about him and seems a proper Tottenham-type footballer. The assist was delightful.

Lamela, as usual, was frustrating and brilliant in equal measure. Credit to him, even after giving it away a few times he kept showing for the ball and demanding it, trying to make things happen. His second half was outstanding.

Booney said:

Disagree about Carroll. Thought he gave it away far too often even when there was no real pressure on him. It's not like he was trying to play the 'killer' ball a lot of the time either - was just sloppy distribution in the middle of the park. The only player worse was Andros.

Alli looks phenomenal. With him, Son and Eriksen in the team we are going to create a whole lot more.

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Harsh on Carroll IMO. Yes, he misplaced a few passes, but generally speaking I think he did well. I like the way he plays passes first time or with a single touch. It's like a breath of fresh air compared to the 'control, look about, one touch, another touch, and another, play it sideways or backwards' stuff which seems to have become our style. Thought he was quite adventurous and willing. Didn't think Townsend was that bad either tbh.

Has Ali nutmegged someone in every game he's played so far?

I thought we were an absolute mess to be honest considering the quality of the opposition.

Carroll, whilst tidy on the ball, was practically a ghost in terms of any defensive work and Dier provided very little in the way of defensive cover (which is supposed to be his job).

Trippier looked okay going forwards but conceded a silly penalty, and Rose had a 'pre-Sunderland' sort of game.

Wimmer and Toby looked okay, particularly considering they were given very little in the way of cover from in front or by the full backs.

Townsend started okay but then faded, and Alli, whilst very good in patches, looks like a bit of a luxury player at present. He needs to develop his all round game to allow him to do more than just the odd bit of brilliance (although I really do think he can turn into a star).

Son took his goals well and generally looked a threat. Will be interesting to see where we play him against Palace.

Which brings us finally to everyone's favourite topic of conversation....Lamela. He scored a goal, he created chances, and yet there were large periods of the game where he just looked utter rubbish. He literally never seems to be mediocre. He's either brilliant or terrible, and it's incredibly frustrating. I think someone needs to tell him to just never try and take people on. It's as if once he's taken more than 2 touches his brain just implodes. He's also not a wide player at all. In the first half, when he was largely awful, he was offering nothing from the wide position, but when he gets inside he's clearly dangerous.

I'm just still not sure that the good things he offers outweigh the bad...but the fact that at least we're seeing some good bits now makes it more of a debate.

Let's just put it this way.... Play like that against Palace and we're getting a complete thumping.

talkshowhost86 said:

I thought we were an absolute mess to be honest considering the quality of the opposition.

Carroll, whilst tidy on the ball, was practically a ghost in terms of any defensive work and Dier provided very little in the way of defensive cover (which is supposed to be his job).

Trippier looked okay going forwards but conceded a silly penalty, and Rose had a 'pre-Sunderland' sort of game.

Wimmer and Toby looked okay, particularly considering they were given very little in the way of cover from in front or by the full backs.

Townsend started okay but then faded, and Alli, whilst very good in patches, looks like a bit of a luxury player at present. He needs to develop his all round game to allow him to do more than just the odd bit of brilliance (although I really do think he can turn into a star).

Son took his goals well and generally looked a threat. Will be interesting to see where we play him against Palace.

Which brings us finally to everyone's favourite topic of conversation....Lamela. He scored a goal, he created chances, and yet there were large periods of the game where he just looked utter rubbish. He literally never seems to be mediocre. He's either brilliant or terrible, and it's incredibly frustrating. I think someone needs to tell him to just never try and take people on. It's as if once he's taken more than 2 touches his brain just implodes. He's also not a wide player at all. In the first half, when he was largely awful, he was offering nothing from the wide position, but when he gets inside he's clearly dangerous.

I'm just still not sure that the good things he offers outweigh the bad...but the fact that at least we're seeing some good bits now makes it more of a debate.

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Did you watch yesterday? Carroll's performance was literally the opposite of what you just described. He was rubbish on the ball but was probably our most effective midfielder in terms of winning the ball. If Alli is a "luxury player" then god knows what you think of Eriksen, Chadli, Townsend or Lamela. He wins the ball, he has an assist and didn't miss a pass the whole game.

motm Son for his goals as given Kanes continuing struggles jeez do we need someone to step up.
most were ok bar the collective back four and Lamela who were a shambles and awful respectively