Match Threads Chelsea vs Spurs - Match Thread

[ernie78]

There is absolutely no way that Sterling could be worse than Llorente. At the very least he'd be moving around and forcing the CBs to mind him, and he certainly has the pace to get on the end of a through ball. I don't know why Llorente even drops deep, just stay up top and wait for the play. Ignore the offside line.

There’s no way that VJ is worse than him!
I really want to know what he’s done to have been frozen out of the squad

 

[Diarmuid]

We're shit

 

[SPURSLIFE]

Unfortunately these lapses in concentration and effort are very common in Dier. Will never be a top level player because of how often and costly his mistakes are.

I can't believe he's an England regular.

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

Apparently it’s going a bit shit. I haven’t caught up with the comments yet but my monies on the prevailing sentiment regarding the need to bolster the squad and buy some fucking players that might rescue our season

 

[stevenurse]

Wow. How the hell can you blame poch for having Kane and Alli injured at the same time Son leaves for international duty? Have you considered that without those 3 Chelsea are just a better team than us man for man...?

Can you imagine how shit they'd be without Hazard, Jorginho and Pedro?

They'd just bring in Willian or Hudson Odoi, Giroud and Kovacic. Miss Kane and Son and we are a mid table team. We can just about scrape by maybe with Dele or Lamela as a false 9, but in reality we're shocking without the 2, let alone the 3.

 

[Thewobbler]

Bad half but we are still in this. Poch needs to give a few players a bollocking at HT

 

[Fredo]

Yet he has been one of the worst players on the pitch. If things are going badly or the bigger boy gives you a bit he hides.

If he's been one of our worst players idk what game you've been watching lol

 

[Zippy1980]

This proves if we finish top 4 and nothing else it will be good season.

 

[paulcumpstone]

Wow. How the hell can you blame poch for having Kane and Alli injured at the same time Son leaves for international duty? Have you considered that without those 3 Chelsea are just a better team than us man for man...?

Can you imagine how shit they'd be without Hazard, Jorginho and Pedro?

he knew son was going on international duty, the other 2 is bad luck but partly poch's fault for flogging the same few players to death. llorente played as badly as any player ive seen in recent years but still poch refuses to turn to youth, clearly his faults are costing us currently, trusts far too few players, why not give kwp a game, is he really worse than aurier or trippier, sterling would have put himself about much more than llorente ever will but no doubt llorente will amble about for 90 minutes tonight and the same hopeless shit on sunday.

 

[nedley]

Still another half of football to be played. Keep the faith but I'm really not sure where the goals are gonna come from.

Poch has the faith. Not sure if it's blind though.

 

[felmani26]

All going wrong, and the team doesn't look up for it.

I have no sympathy for Pochettino for starters. Lets revisit an old discussion, because yet again we concede a goal from a corner headed to a man unmarked edge of the box. It's already happened in one semi final against Chelsea ffs, and I make it four games now it's happened that I can recall. Lots of posters have tried to tell me that you cant do anything about this type of goal, that isn't fucking true. How about marking the two players left unattended at the edge of the box? We aren't learning, it's not good enough, it might have cost us yet again. Fine margins you have to eradicate.

The second goal is largely down to us getting tactically done. Chelsea have predicted we'd go with the diamond, and are just playing with width - using the fullbacks and the likes of Barkley are coming out into the channels to gang up on us. The goal we just get done on shape, pure and simple.

I don't know what you do. We're stuck in our own third and no outlets. So many haven't turned up yet, Eriksen, Lamela etc. Llorente is playing like what he is - someone who's legs have gone with the added debilitating factor of zero confidence. Sissoko looks off the pace, but the one who surely has to be hooked at the break is Dier, who is so far off it tonight and is a gamble that isn't working.

As it stands we need a huge effort that looks unlikely, and we badly need to regroup at the back as we'd threatened to get cut to pieces as we went chasing the game as the whistle came.

Poch hasn't helped himself tactically at all when what was needed, despite an obviously depleted side, is to be able to grind this one out and restrict the space for Hazard to operate in.

To make it so open and utilising a fucking tree trunk up top in Llorente you are asking for trouble and we've been duly punished.

Harsh or not but when it comes to the crunch in these latter stage matches in Cups I think Poch is continually tactically naive - this performance is no exception.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

There's no connectivity in our play. There are just too many injuries - it's not just about individuals, there are so many players missing that it has disrupted our teamwork.

I usually say that we underestimate the important of the other team's play and over-blame Spurs individuals. Chelsea have played well, fired up by Sarri's criticisms, but this has really been about a headless-chicken team display from us. Nowhere near the ball, scores of passes going directly to Chelsea players, minimal possession in the opposition half and, as I said, no connectivity. Except from Winks. the passing has been consistently twitchy, inaccurate and badly-weighted, leading to constant loss of possession. Chelsea haven't had to win the ball. We've given it to them.

It hasn't helped that Llorente has continued his uncanny ability to make the wrong choice and be in the wrong place. His confidence is shot, which you really can't do when you're his age and have his big-game experience. Alderweireld has made several important individual mistakes, one of which eventually cost us the second goal. Only Winks, Vertonghen and, sometimes, Aurier and Eriksen are coming out of this with any credit at all. Sissoko has not got on the ball to make a run once. Dier has done nothing except foul. Both left backs have passed directly to Chelsea players multiple times. Lamela is a doing a parody of the tough-tackling player we know, but is mainly uninvolved.

It's mess, but it's mainly because we're missing half a team. It's hard to see what Pochettino can do, given the available players, other than taking off Llorente, asking Moura to play as a false 9 and hoping some pace can compensate for our total lack of control of the ball.

I don't believe we had a single chance or shot at goal in that half.

 

[The Apprentice]

We’ll win this.

 

[DFF]

Still another half of football to be played. Keep the faith but I'm really not sure where the goals are gonna come from.

Well if we have another half with zero shots they’ll have to come from own goals.

 

[Tucker]

Apparently it’s going a bit shit. I haven’t caught up with the comments yet but my monies on the prevailing sentiment regarding the need to bolster the squad and buy some fucking players that might rescue our season

Everyone is quite cheerful considering.

 

[kaz Hirai]

Don't think I ever saw Dembele pass to the front two. The wing backs, fullbacks and Eriksen yes. Never one for playing into strikers' feet though.

No dembele helped us command the midfield area

 

[mpickard2087]

All this sympathy for Poch. Presumably he signed off on the two useless, waste of space and money strikers we have on the books? He's had £40m and £100k per week to spend on Kane backups and got two donkeys

He's also had five seasons to sort out defending set pieces and not repeatedly concede identikit goals like that at critical moments.

Maybe chuck some of these millions at a set pieces coach?

 

[Maske2g]

Bit harsh on Dier, who clearly is’nt match sharp

Eriksen and Lamela though have no excuse.

He is a useless footballer regardless. But I agree he shouldn't be in after 10 games out.

 

[Gbspurs]

Lorente must be some player on the training pitch.

Based on the fact we never play him im not sure what gives you that impression.

 

[lis spur]

How did Toby get away with his challenge lol.