Barcelona vs Tottenham Hotspur (Joan Gamper Cup) 19.00 Tonight

[Whitey]

@Roberts84 @Whitey In reference to your "dislike" ratings, we *were* getting pummeled at the time I wrote the comment, so I'm not sure why you were reacting negatively? Thankfully, we've been excellent since then.

I'll think you'll find that was a fat finger that was rectified.... I'll always reply rather than neg rep... Thanks for pointing out coop.... But now I know your precious I'll keep an eye out

 

[Carson35]

bloody hell Lamine Yamal is only 16... christ

he is the same age as Moore (born in 2007). Imagine if Moore had the same performance against a quality opponent. We would go crazy. even only a friendly.

 

[Carson35]

Score line flattered them. We didn’t deserve to lose that game.

We played very good in the first 80 mins. then just ran out of gas when they brought in fresh legs. would have been a different ball game if porro or richarlison scored in the second half, or solomon in the first half. should have done a little better with those free kicks as well.

 

[Gilzeanking]

It's going to be a real wake up call for a lot of fans as to how ridiculously underrated Lloris has been for years.

We're going from a top 5 in the world goalkeeper over the last decade to a promising prospect who looks fairly solid.

It's a massive comedown and that's absolutely no criticism of Vicario.

What amazes me is how low people seem to rate Forster. I noticed no sudden drop in 'keeper quality when he played.

 

[SlotBadger]

Regression?

Did you ever think our 2023 battle for left back would include Sergio Regression and…



(Please click the image to view one of the greatest posts in SC history)

 

[rabbikeane]

he is the same age as Moore (born in 2007). Imagine if Moore had the same performance against a quality opponent. We would go crazy. even only a friendly.

Maybe he would if we were brave enough

 

[easley91]

From minute 5 to minute 75-80 we were very good. Xavi's second half subs made the difference with fresh legs and pace against a tiring defence.

Overall I was happy with that last night.

 

[Jamturk]

Looking at Barca''s 2nd and 3rd goal Dier has no interest in defending.

He is either spent or he's throwing the game.

Absolutely disgusting.

 

[aliyid]

Very good run out and adds confidence that our back-up players are well suited and able to play this positive style. Barcas fresh legs off the bench punished us at the end but don’t let that take away from how we were moving the ball around under pressure.

Hard to take anything from pre-season games as never sure of opposition intensity but the signs were good.

Strap yourself in, we’ve mixed things up and this is going to be a fun season.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Looking at Barca''s 2nd and 3rd goal Dier has no interest in defending.

He is either spent or he's throwing the game.

Absolutely disgusting.

Throwing the game? No interest? I get people are on a downer with him and that's taken on an irreversible life now, but that is just embarrassing.

 

[spurmin]

Throwing the game? No interest? I get people are on a downer with him and that's taken on an irreversible life now, but that is just embarrassing.

Fairly mild compared to some of the shit that gets posted by some. It was a friendly but the comments are like a usual match day thread.

 

[Krafty]

We all know that Dier’s biggest weakness is pace in behind - even when given a few yards head start he is so afraid that he stands off too much (Rashfords goal when Dier stood off about five yards comes to mind)

that’s just not going to be a good fit regardless of fitness or form

 

[Styopa]

We're doing an awful lot of rewriting history with Dier. Was great for us in Poch's first few seasons in cm and as part of a back three. He was really really good.

The appendicitis and subsequent health issues have just seemed to stop him ever getting back into the kind of shape he really needs to be in to really excel at centre back.

Dier is one of those players we would have been better off selling while he was at his peak - when Man U were supposedly interested in him.

There probably would have been an uproar in here that he would want to move to a supposedly inferior team, which United arguably were during our peak Poch years. But funnily enough, Dier probably would have emerged from it with a better reputation among Spurs fans than he has now.

 

[RuskyM]

Throwing the game? No interest? I get people are on a downer with him and that's taken on an irreversible life now, but that is just embarrassing.

The glee people take in hating our own players is fucking bizarre. As is the need to assign fault to every goal, like it isn't something that happens in football, particularly if, say, you've been pressing for eighty minutes against a top-class side after a non-ideal pre-season and they've put on two fast lads specifically to target your high line.

No one's going to argue Dier's done enough to start, and no one could complain if he moves on this summer, but he knows that too. I don't get the need to be mean about it. It's good that Ange will be more level-headed than our fans.

 

[TheSpillage]

We're doing an awful lot of rewriting history with Dier. Was great for us in Poch's first few seasons in cm and as part of a back three. He was really really good.

The appendicitis and subsequent health issues have just seemed to stop him ever getting back into the kind of shape he really needs to be in to really excel at centre back.

Yes, this.

As recently as the season before last, Conte’s first year in charge, Dier was widely considered to have had the best season after Sonny. He has had 1 (admittedly very) poor season and suddenly everyone rewrites his entire back catalogue with us. Very strange.

 

[Meercat]

I don’t know who it was, because the image was fleeting, but on either the third or fourth, one of their subs sprinted onto the pass and left our high line defender in the dirt, and he just crumpled like he was going to collapse and you could see it was sheer physical exhaustion. You look at Celtic the first 3-4 months after Ange took over this was a fairly common thing, players run into the ground with nothing left to give, leading to counter attacking goals. We will see it plenty, I’m sure, until those crazy fitness levels are attained. For me, great performance by essentially a good chunk of our second string, and it was only when our seconds were replaced by our kids in Alfie, Dane, and supposedly transfer listed players like Djed that they got back into it. The future is bright.

 

[spurmin]

I don’t know who it was, because the image was fleeting, but on either the third or fourth, one of their subs sprinted onto the pass and left our high line defender in the dirt, and he just crumpled like he was going to collapse and you could see it was sheer physical exhaustion. You look at Celtic the first 3-4 months after Ange took over this was a fairly common thing, players run into the ground with nothing left to give, leading to counter attacking goals. We will see it plenty, I’m sure, until those crazy fitness levels are attained. For me, great performance by essentially a good chunk of our second string, and if was only when our seconds were replaced by our kids in Allie, Dane, and supposedly transfer listed players like Djed that they got back into it. The future is bright.

I remember us playing Liverpool when Klopp became their coach. They ran out of steam after the gegenpress at about 60 minutes.

 

[Jamturk]

Throwing the game? No interest? I get people are on a downer with him and that's taken on an irreversible life now, but that is just embarrassing.

I don't hate the guy I just looked at the goals and he made no attempt to either cut out the cross on the 1st or tackle the guy running across him on the second.

After all the effort that Sanchez put in all game I find it bewildering that people think that is acceptable for a footballer being paid x amount a week.

 

[brasil_spur]

What a performance from Big Dav Sanchez!

Club record signing at the time and still 5th highest fee we’ve paid for a player. We were looking at Ndombele as the redemption story for Ange but perhaps it’s big Dav! If we’re keeping Kane and Sanchez is actually a feasible cover / rotation option for Romero then I could live with us bringing in Lenglet as backup to VDV. We’d then have: Romero, Sanchez, VDV, Lenglet & Phillips as our CB options.

 

[brasil_spur]

I don't hate the guy I just looked at the goals and he made no attempt to either cut out the cross on the 1st or tackle the guy running across him on the second.

After all the effort that Sanchez put in all game I find it bewildering that people think that is acceptable for a footballer being paid x amount a week.

Dier was always a bit shit as a CB and that was in a 3 CB formation. Under Jose and Conte he began to find his rhythm a bit under a defensive based style of football, largely because there were two other CBs alongside him and the rest of the team was sitting deep and also defending.

It’s absolutely no surprise that he’s out of his depth in a back 2 and more so completely out to sea when in a team that relies on quick passing, attacking based football.

Dier, unfortunately for him, couldn’t be any less suited to a CB role in an Ange team.

It’s unfortunate as he’s a great guy, so there’s no need to lay into him, he just isn’t a fit for the way we’re going to play football going forward and for his own sake he needs to realise this and move on.