Crystal Palace Vs Tottenham: Match Thread

[Kendall]

We have one goal scorer. No second option. That's the problem, which is patently obvious. We can all blame the midfield, or defence but you have to score goals to win games. If Kane gets injured or suspended can someone explain to me where the goals will come from.

Yes our defence and midfield needs working on by Poch, but as good as he can make them, we simply have no options up front. When you look at the current top four teams how many of them have more than one option up front?

I agree with you on the forward options, but I also think our midfield and full back areas are poor.

Walker I like, but if you play with inverted wingers, the fullbacks have to have good delivery, Walkers is shit IMO. And that's why Davies should play over Rose, he's the better footballer and thinks more about his delivery and can execute it better as he has a better technique.

Our central midfield is woeful. We have a bunch of fairly solid footballers with reasonable technique, but as a unit, it is completely devoid of aggression and imagination. Our ability to craft something is compltely limited and our vunerability to capitulation whenever some pressure is applied is a massive concern. We folded as soon as Palace turned up the heat and with the personnel they have, it shouldn't happen - same thing at Burnley last Monday and to an extent, the same against Chelsea at home as well - they could have easily scored another 2 or 3.

I just don't think we've been good. I think against QPR, Everton and Chelsea we showed that we can play a bit, but on the wholem particularly away from home we've been poor/lucky.

The main plus is that Chadli, Eriksen and Lamela are all showing signs of improvement this term and obviously the emergence of Kane, but we have some fundamental problems here.

 

[shelfboy68]

We have one goal scorer. No second option. That's the problem, which is patently obvious. We can all blame the midfield, or defence but you have to score goals to win games. If Kane gets injured or suspended can someone explain to me where the goals will come from.

Yes our defence and midfield needs working on by Poch, but as good as he can make them, we simply have no options up front. When you look at the current top four teams how many of them have more than one option up front?

Are striking options are poor but without a decent spend we wont be able to bring quality in, more likely he will look for out of contract players come the summer.
Some may see this as good business strategy but i feel it leaves us looking a bit lame in the market and its hardly a ringing endorsment of a club with intent.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

I agree with you on the forward options, but I also think our midfield and full back areas are poor.

Walker I like, but if you play with inverted wingers, the fullbacks have to have good delivery, Walkers is shit IMO. And that's why Davies should play over Rose, he's the better footballer and thinks more about his delivery and can execute it better as he has a better technique.

Our central midfield is woeful. We have a bunch of fairly solid footballers with reasonable technique, but as a unit, it is completely devoid of aggression and imagination. Our ability to craft something is compltely limited and our vunerability to capitulation whenever some pressure is applied is a massive concern. We folded as soon as Palace turned up the heat and with the personnel they have, it shouldn't happen - same thing at Burnley last Monday and to an extent, the same against Chelsea at home as well - they could have easily scored another 2 or 3.

I just don't think we've been good. I think against QPR, Everton and Chelsea we showed that we can play a bit, but on the wholem particularly away from home we've been poor/lucky.

The main plus is that Chadli, Eriksen and Lamela are all showing signs of improvement this term and obviously the emergence of Kane, but we have some fundamental problems here.

Agree with everything you say. For me Dembele and or Strombo has to play with either Bentaleb or Mason. I mean i'd soon see Eriksen alongside either of them than the pair of them play together again.

Why the hell Davies is not being played is beyond me. He is a genuine left back and Rose nothing more than a converted failed left winger. Our results have flattered us in the extreme with last minute wins papering over the so obvious to see cracks. Had it not been for Kane's goals so far we would indeed be in deep shite. Something that is the fans can see then surely the Club management can? The sixty four thousand dollar question though is will tey actually do something about it when there are options out their?

 

[parklane1]

We need to do something about our CM, I have been to most of the games this season and our M/F is wide open to opposing attacks. I keep hearing how bad our CB's are but they are not getting the protection they should be.

 

[StartingPrice]

We missed Masons energy and forward thinking today. I hope he isn't out for long.

Pochettino identified Mason when he first arrived, over and above all of the expensive alternatives at the club, specifically for this reason.
Further, however, while I love that we have Bentaleb and Mason in the 1st team, and may have more options from the youth set-up who can step up in the centre of the park (in the near future, Veljkovic, maybe), I still believe we absolutely need an experienced, and preferably EPL experienced, midfielder who is already suited and already gets what Poch wants there, to play alongside and help develop our home-grown players. A player who can dominate the middle of the park, drive us on and drag us up by the shoe-laces when we start to let the oppos get on top of us (like yesterday). The obvious choice is Schneiderlin - whoever it is, and McCarthy and Cabaye. Whoever, I suspect it will cost money.

They were unbelievably biased. 'Definitely a penalty for Palace, not one for us, Walker knew what he was doing when the ball hit him on the arm' etc Grrrrr

And it was a deliberate stamp on Hugo that could have been avoided IMHO. But they seemed unable to criticise Palace for some reason.

I thought so, too.
I felt the Chadli incident in the first half warranted a second look - not the dismissal the pundits vindicated the ref in giving it.
I felt the challenge on Rose in the 1st half maybe warranted a pen.
The foul on Kane certainly did.
They got a penalty for a dive.
And Niall Quinn tried to make a bit thing about the Walker accidental hand-ball (he couldn't see it, but I think he sensed it was there - like in a 1980s tennis racket based martial arts film featuring a blind warrior - WTF).

It's the same every week. Quinn yesterday was like Owen Hargreaves trying to excuse Rooney's rugby tackle on Kane to the point where, when even Michael Owen said it was a definite pen, Hargreaves response was "Well, well...it just wasn't."

But that, that stamp on Lloris - they just ignored an assault on one of our players (obviously taking lessons from Cahill). This is allowed to happen with impunity - and largely because our fan-base are more intent on labelling anyone who complains about it as wearing lilywhite sunglasses than they are about actually standing up for the club. Hell, other teams supporters make so much of a big issue out of decisions that were rightly given against them that officials buckle and award them incorrect decisions. Thank Gawd for Fazio!

Agree wholeheartedly. People keep pointing to what we did against Everton and Chelsea, when that's just not the full story, especially since it overlooks a very essential fact: they came directly at us.

These teams that sit back and attempt to frustrate us do so very well because we have no one who can get the ball forward quickly enough to our attackers before these sides can regain their organization, and especially without Mason. And then when we do get the ball up high, we have absolutely no one with the fucking nuts to take a risk and run directly at the defenders as Zaha did for Palace's second goal today. Absolutely no one will take responsibility on except for Kane, and he's just not quick enough to run into the spaces when he does have it.

So no, Chelsea and Everton cannot be seen as blueprints, because not every team will come at us like they did. We have to improve our efficiency of breaking down these smaller sides, or no matter how we fare against the stronger sides we will not achieve our ambitions.

This.
Thing is, it has been happening ever since teams figured out we were a bit good under Redknapp. It's just a selective memory that ignores how many huff and puff games we had against teams below us in the table. Part of Redknapp's tactical frailty was that he couldn't suss out how to break them down. AVB also struggled with them. Poch is still selecting his squad and inculcating methodologies, etc., so we can't say that he won't suss it out - and maybe all teams always will just occasionally lose some of these games.

More specifically, we missed him taking the ball on the half turn and driving forward, or moving it forward.

And this.

The referee bottled it. He was in a better position for the foul of Ledley on Kane and I cannot see how he could not give that. Stambouli got the ball but was stupid for diving in like that in the box and that was enough to give that cheating shit ledley the opportunity to swan dive.

Ps I absolutely fucking hate Pardew.

I thought so at first. Then the Sky analysis convinced me that Ledley got his boot to it first (due to colour of boot, and in real time, slow motion and close up). Then I saw the vid on here showing that Ledley wasn't touched, or barely so, and clearly dived.
So, you are wrong that Stambouli got his foot on the ball, but I agree with the rest of your post...especially about Pardew, ****!

I was thinking Alex Pritchard's creativity and tenacity would have been extremely useful today.

Maybe so. I would be happy with a bit of a clear out now and in the summer, some strategic purchases and some more of the younglings being promoted - Pritchard, Carroll, Veljkovic - they have to at least be worth a chance as squad players, eh?

 

[zoneD]

We have one goal scorer. No second option. That's the problem, which is patently obvious. We can all blame the midfield, or defence but you have to score goals to win games. If Kane gets injured or suspended can someone explain to me where the goals will come from.

Yes our defence and midfield needs working on by Poch, but as good as he can make them, we simply have no options up front. When you look at the current top four teams how many of them have more than one option up front?

...Ade???
COYS

 

[THFCSPURS19]

I like this quotes from JV:

But defender Jan Vertonghen admitted the game should have been wrapped up by then. He said: “I just think we needed to finish it off before.

“We were 1-0 up and then we had to push more for the 2-0. Decisions can be lucky or they can be unlucky – we just have to finish it off.”

Vertonghen also branded his team “stupid” for failing to build on their stunning 5-3 win at home to Chelsea on New Year’s Day.

He said: “There is no point winning against Chelsea and then losing here. We have been very stupid to drop these points. Once again we have failed to jump up to fourth place.”

 

[Mr Pink]

I like this quotes from JV:

Yeah saw that earlier. He sounds totally exasperated that we failed to capitalize on the Chelsea result.

One of the few decent performers yesterday to.

 

[Shea]

Just watching the highlights again on Sky sports 1

I'm not convinced their penalty was legit

Eriksen, Walker and Capoue were all pathetic when challenging Zaha for for their second goal and Dembele equally so for the way he turned his back instead of trying to make the block

and Kane was clearly fouled and should have a penalty to level the match

I think had Kane got the penalty we'd have gone on to win that match

 

[Colston]

Where have you been for the last 5 weeks?

I've let Poch get on with it because he got results. I've never said I've seen any improvement in the team or anything like that, all I've said is that he got results. Nor am I on here after every game complaining either, I just stated my opinion.

The best coaches get the best out of their players, and I don't see improvement in many of our players, if anything, I see the opposite.

And to whoever said players are responsible for their own bodies, yes, they are. But it's the manager's responsibility that the player takes that responsibility seriously, and it's his job to give them the guidance and the balance required to be able to compete weekly in the Premier League... Knowing this is a minimal requirement for a coach of Tottenham Hotspur, actually... I expect our manager to know even more than this, and I've yet to see Poch employ a system of any consistency, our players are up and down in their individual performances and our starting XI is a revolving door.

I'm not done with him, I'm not saying we should fire him yet... I still think he can do a job, because they seem to have solid fundamentals going over at Southampton, and if that is due to his influence, I hope we'll get some of that energy in here soon. Now all I'm seeing out of our squad is passion, we need more than passion if we're going to reach the goals we as fans require, and to prove that Poch is the right man for the job.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Afraid that I only saw the MOTD highlights, and we all know that's fairly unrepresentative of the true nature of the game, but my general opinion was that we were simply too soft against Palace. Usual trick of getting carried away after the Chelsea result, and thinking this will be easy. But I saw the same sort of defensive laxity that saw us ship 3 in that game lead to us shipping another 2 in this one. And this time we didn't match the attacking ruthlessness.