Besiktas Vs Tottenham: Match Thread

[Spur4life]

Year 2014, coming up too 2015. It looks like we're going back too 1994 . Only plus is we are playing on itv4 every two weeks. At least

 

[slartibartfast]

I've had a ponder and I have a conclusion/observation...
Levy may well be right! (Even I gulped at that thought)
But how can one club with so many proven (before Spurs ruined them) internationals have such a mediocre team?!
Players that have reached international level are, by definition, the best of their peers.
We must have 18 in our squad and yet they all become shit under the Spurs cockerel....Verts, Capoue, Soldado, Chicriches, Paulhino (once hailed the next best thing t come from Brazil - with a subsequent Brazillian press article venting "what have you done to him?!"), Stambouli, Dembele, Chadli, Lamela, Rose (a bad joke, but true, player of the season at Sunderland and with England caps)...all of them - simply mediocre now. Erikson - the stand out, but still played out of position etc etc...
Where can the blame lay?
It's not rocket science, and I'll cry it til my dying day - play your best players in their best positions and build a team that way - if you're missing a piece of that jigsaw....buy that piece - don't buy 6 number 10s.
Neither MoPo or AVB and their "continental one off seasons" can veer from their blinkered Inflexible systems - and frankly it is shit, shit to watch, shit to behold and shit that we are still having to witness it week in week out.
international players don't become shit over night - unless they move to Spurs - and that is A pretty fucking damning reflection and a sad reality of where we currently reside.
Mason, Lloris and Kane being the stand outs for the season?!
I wish I had the answer - but I'm pretty sure MoPo doesn't either.

Agree with ALMOST everything you said except it is Levys fault for appointing a DOF, allowing him to buy players when they know fk all about building a squad and not allowing a manager to bring in players to suit his style.
When Harry came in one of the first things he said was we've a great squad, a lot of great players but its not balanced.
A squad needs a good starting 11, all of a type of player to play a particular style the manager wants and squad players who can drop in and replace any injuries, tired players, etc.
Realise this is pretty much what you said.
The thing is Redknapp, Pullis and prob a few more out there would first and foremost look at what they have at their disposal and set them up to get the best out of them.
AVB and Poch did not and will not do this for some reason.
Poch is a bit more flexible than AVB. He has dropped players. The 11 tonight were the first 11 a few months ago. Its almost been a complete reverse between starting 11s of EPL and Europa.
Its a proper cluster fk of a mess no mistake and is gonna take a while to sort IF we stick with Poch which I think we should till this time next year then see where were at.

 

[TheGreenLily]

I think your spot on, look how well siggy is playing for swansea as a number 10, all he ever played for us was LW,LWF or in a CM2.

This why I will always keep saying that we can punch way above our financial clout, if Levy stopped being a dick and brought the players we needed, rather players to appease the fans to look like we are investing and developing...

 

[prawnsandwich]

I think your spot on, look how well siggy is playing for swansea as a number 10, all he ever played for us was LW,LWF or in a CM2.

I know Chadli has scored the goals but I would rather Siggy had been kept.

 

[prawnsandwich]

Monday lunchtime is the draw for the next round.

 

[Breezer]

Tonight some of those players were playing to enable scouts from other teams to watch them and it's also to boost their value a little as we can say they're important to our squad. Poch could have easily played Dier over Vlad. But we've just signed Dier and he will be with us for a few more years. Vlad on the other hand will probably be gone in January. My only concern would be scouts watching and then telling us to piss off . As for Paulinho.... WOW! Some of his touches were so bad i had to look away from the TV haha. I'm sure he's not Brazilian, he looks more Bolivian! I refuse to believe we scouted him.

 

[Spurger King]

Monday lunchtime is the draw for the next round.

Can't wait to see which lucky team gets us

 

[prawnsandwich]

One season, one system managers.

Good quote.

 

[kendoddsdadsdogsdead]

Should we use him as a winger? Or at least try him there? He doesn't have the passing ability and he doesn't take any chances driving into the penalty area from the middle. His dribbling is probably his finest asset yet for whatever reason we don't see enough of it. I'd like to maybe see him been given the chance to do that without having too worry about his defensive duties as much.

He's had some very good games on the right, but generally he's had his best performances when he's shown some aggression and intent no matter where he plays. I thought in the first half he showed a bit of that, letting the ball run across his body, bringing the ball forward with more purpose. Dembele has got tremendous ability and real physicality. Need someone to get in his head.

 

[DAZZA1978]

Every player we buy is always a cheaper version of who we should get? We need to stop trying to get a bargain and buy decent quality? If you go food shopping and want a nice bit of steak you buy the finest as you know it costs more but it will be worth it. We need to stop buying supermarkets own brand steak and trying to get as many different cooks/managers to make it taste as good as the finest because it won't.

 

[VegasII]

What was that about all the lights going out? Was Poch trying to communicate with Bill Nic via a seance with Elsie Partridge?

Probably didn't work and he's ended up with a bunch of Pleatisms through a hooky car stereo.

 

[TheGreenLily]

Good quote.

And the ramifications that the committee have seen ManC play a successful 4-2-3-1 and expect the managers to follow suite.

Get pooch in to coach our players to play 4-2-3-1 one rather than get the players we really need to play that system. And that is why he is the coach and not a manager...

This goes all the way back to the committee and why Pooch got the job over FDB.

 

[CosmicHotspur]

Are WE still US?

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

God get into perspective lads. Our second string lost in a close away europa league match. We have already qualified for the second round. Losing 1-0 does not equal the end of our season.

 

[SlickMongoose]

Are WE still US?

 

[DEFchenkOE]

And to think I looked forward to watching that tripe all day in work.

I had the day off today and was actually excited to get the chance to watch one of our 6pm games, why do I do it to myself???

 

[SpurSince57]

That's what I am getting at. Which is where the discussion was born from, a replacement for Modric with a player that could pick a pass and retain possession. I think Modric was already on his way before AVB came in so wasn't taken into consideration and when AVB requested Moutinho, he was told he needed to further room (sell VDV)

We had already spent 15m on Dembele who was probably part of the replacement, and the non-transfer of Moutinho led to the signing of Dempsey I recall.

Despite this I do believe AVB made a hash of things, but maybe he put all of his eggs in the "Moutinho basket"

No, you weren't.

Sorry, but that's rot.

We had just four days to bring off the Moutinho deal. Real left their move for Modric so late that some people were actually beginning to hope that they'd lost interest and he'd still be with us. Porto weren't desperate to sell and wanted absolute top dollar, there were third-party ownership issues, and Moutinho started demanding huge wages. It was pretty remarkable that we came as close as we did.

Rafa went to HSV on deadline day. Dempsey arrived before the Moutinho deal fell through.

 

[TheGreenLily]

God get into perspective lads. Our second string lost in a close away europa league match. We have already qualified for the second round. Losing 1-0 does not equal the end of our season.

It not the fact it is our second string... The players meant fuck all today...

It is undying stubbornness of this club to stick with a formation that doesn't work for us, because it worked for someone else. And as a result of sticking with this 4-2-3-, we looking f-ing awful and we look in control, because we rarely pass the ball forward.

For pooch to play a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2.... or even 4-6-0 would show that there has been step forward...............

That is what is pissing people off....

 

[CheeseGromit]

God get into perspective lads. Our second string lost in a close away europa league match. We have already qualified for the second round. Losing 1-0 does not equal the end of our season.

I agree.
The league games are more important
We played poorly tonight and I am annoyed but there has to be a perspective. Sure things have to improve.
The team was changed around to try some things that didnt work ( who now wants Chadli to play up front on his own) Tonight nobody took the game by the scruff of the neck which Townsend could have done.
Glad Kaboul made the mistake in this game and not a prem league game

 

[Kendall]

God get into perspective lads. Our second string lost in a close away europa league match. We have already qualified for the second round. Losing 1-0 does not equal the end of our season.

Its cumulative mate, this is every week, sometimes twice