Crystal Palace Vs Tottenham Hotspur: Match Thread

[Legend10]

But you are not stating what it is you find "unbelievable" and what you think it says about me as fan. If it is the wording you are opposed to i can easily substitute it. On a scale of 1 to 10 i give all our players a 5 or slightly above for their performance today. But lennon get a 4 from me today, for his poor decisions. I wish him well and hope he improves.

I wish you well and hope you also improve!

 

[$hoguN]

Walker's passing is really improving. He's always been able to strike a ball pretty well but his calmness and vision is a lot better.

The problem is that he tends to run onto the ball and stop. Slowing down play. As a footballer he offers so much more than the likes of Glenn Johnson, but he really needs to make sure he gets his cross in early when running forward on to the ball.

 

[Spurger King]

Cue commentators proclaiming him the prophet Jeremiah, ooh he is a character he is.

Jeremiah was the pessimistic, miserable prophet. Currently to be found hanging out in the ITK thread.

 

[tevezito]

I thought that was a really positive performance today, not to mention the result.

Compared to last season:
A real number 9 up top who looks like a natural finisher and that he gives a s**t.
A cool, classy penalty taker and a penalty to take (from Clatters no less - perhaps we'll get twice as many pens as average this year to make up for last year).
Three beasts in the centre of midfield (for now) instead of half of one.
Real competition at left back without having to take Verts out of positiion.
Kaboul on way back in and will only strengthen a defence which cost us too many silly goals last season.
Walker continuing to improve and hopefully he'll be better this year than he was even two years ago.
Lennon making a decisive contribution even though he didn't have a good game. We don't need an upgrade on Lennon squad-wise, him, Townsend and Chadli will have a good competition to play alongside Bale/Lamela depending on how things pan out. And he can upgrade on himself at least two gears based on that performance.
Defoe playing in his best position - super sub.
We're in the Champions League with three more points and a club record 75 points .
If we have luck with injuries and referees and the media fall in love with us and get on our side, we could challenge for the title.
If we continue to be Tottenham (media always supporting the opposition, referees treating us as the away team at home, more than our fair share of injuries), we should still challenge for third and at least finish fourth.
Thank you, Daniel Levy, you're learning your lesson.
Thanks, Joe, seems you're helping Daniel learn his lesson.
Thank you, Balders, pure green.
Thanks, AVB, enjoy your first full second season in charge and make the most of it.

 

[klacey]

Considering we usually start off the season poorly, im happy. No team at this stage looks good, but as the weeks go on we shall start to see how good or bad the season is likely to go. New guys looked good, a few issues like Paulinho being abit slow on the ball, dont think he realises how quick teams are to chase you down. But overall thought he looked good. Chadli looks good, just needs to be better in final 3rd. Soldado is going to be great, very good movement and cool penalty. Capoue i think is looking like a great purchase, was unsure at first, but got right into the game well.

 

[coys63]

controlled it really, just the very good palace fans made it seem more than it was.

the only bitter after taste for me was siggurdson, he should have went off instead of Demebele. Thought he was really poor in the hole. I hope Bale plays there again or Willian if he leaves

oh and a hate to say it because he was ok overall but Michael dawson, he steps up at the wrong moments leaving gaps and doesn't have the pace to save himself and those long balls aren't good for my blood pressure

To be fair to Daws if you watch the replay the one with Phillips was Walkers fault.

 

[southgatespur40]

Started really poorly but thought he got better as the match wore on and defensively he's a real asset.

It was just infuriating watching him cut in and well go no where, but no one can fault his work rate or desire.

 

[PG Spurs]

Maybe already been said, but Capoue looks to me like a mobile Carrick. Exceptional buy.

Say it quietly, but he might be the new Vieira

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

We look very solid through the midfield with Paulinho, Capoue, Sandro and Demeble to call upon. My only slight concern is that we appear to lacking that creative spark to unlock tight defences and ability to move the ball quicker.

 

[cjsimba]

I dont think the pitch was great today to be honest. Seemed very sticky. Obviously we have to get used to these types of pitches, but i think our football will look a lot slicker on better surfaces.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Has the bickering over who has the biggest tallywhacker finished yet? I haven't seen any but there's bound to be some.

A good result. It was always going to be scratchy and we might see some more of that while the new players bed in. I liked the look of every single one of our new signings.

 

[hodsgod]

It's early days, I found it a little underwhelming, but there were enough good signs for me. We will have a better idea by the end of September.

 

[Spurger King]

I dont think the pitch was great today to be honest. Seemed very sticky. Obviously

I think that was down to Quinn jizzing over the Palace players every time they managed to string more than one pass together.

 

[wearetheparklane]

Full backs were pretty good offensively but still left a bit to desire defensively on occasion. Concentration lapses seem to be a niggling problem with us and full backs imo.

 

[THFCSPURS19]

Swansea are very good on their day. I hope we get a creative mid before next week but unlikely.

 

[nidge]

Say it quietly, but he might be the new Vieira

Was thinking the same thing but didn't want to jinx him.

 

[Francis Gibbs]

Apart from looking weak on occasion at the back (Dawson) the glaring issue is the Sig role. If we are going to play this shape we need someone who is lets just say 'more effective' in the position

 

[bigpalacios]

If we played capoue and paulinho then we could play dembele further forward which would maybe stop him being conservative.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Once they've settled and Bale comes back I think we'll start to see some proper exciting stuff.

 

[TH1239]

Our new signings all acquitted themselves very well, in my opinion. Soldado had outstanding movement and should've had an assist. Chadli is an excellent dribbler and very physically strong on the ball. He will be an AVB favorite and iron man playing 90 minutes a game, in my opinion. Paulinho showed why he's a world class midfielder and he'll likely be the key man leading Brazil's charge for the World Cup next summer.

Capoue, though, deserves special mention. His interceptions, strength, and passing were outstanding. He needs to start with Paulinho and Dembele. Sandro can take his time getting fully fit, and then we can properly rotate.

However, there was one major concern for me today and that was the role Sigurdsson was assigned. He was exceptionally poor, in my opinion. It wasn't just his botching of a golden chance set up by Soldado, but also the constant giving away of the ball. His lack of pace and physical strength would be acceptable if he was an elite dribbler like Dembele or had very high level passing skills. However, he doesn't possess those attributes. His right footed shot is by far his best attribute, but in the role he played today (linking up play, taking corners, playing off Soldado), he is a liability. Hopefully Bale comes back and sends him to the bench, but if not, then Eriksen is a MUST as a new signing.