It doesn't matter who we sign...

[malin]

More than happy to give them a chance. My only point is that in the nearly 20 years I can remember supporting spurs we've had goodness knows how many managers, players, coaches etc yet its like we havent changed at all. Its still the same old weaknesses. It may be that we spurs more often so we highlight it more but no other team have a reputation for being soft like we do. Partly why Fergie didnt bother with teamtalks against us

Surely the fact that we've gone from fighting relegation to finishing in the top 6 every season suggests that things have changed in the last 20 years.

 

[kungfugrip]

Its clear to see at WHL if we are 2 goals up and the opposition score. There's almost an expectation we will fuck things up.

Last week that happened.
It was the first time in the league for 3 years.
It's not a pattern, it's not re-occurring....its not even occasional.

 

[SteveH]

We need a real leader on the pitch!

Angela Merkel

 

[MyNameIsNicolaBerti]

Why can't we just give this team a chance? They obviously still figuring it out.

Oh come on mate. I admire your faith, but I how long do these "chances" last?

Just my two pence worth, but surely a season is the benchmark?

I think part of the problem, which the OP hints at, is whatever is happening behind the scenes.Poch came in roughly at the start of last summer's transfer window. In that window we signed players that we've sold/want rid of a year. If they were Poch signings then it raises questions about his targets. If they weren't then it raises question about why Levy didn't back the manager last summer and/or why we were letting Baldini control the show after the previous summer's failings. Which ever way you look at it there are clearly problems with our approach to things. I feel as if Levy expects his managers to turn water into wine. It feels like he expects them to turn around whatever we have, no matter how average it might be. But that's a very big ask when the men you hire are managers of the moment with little proven track record. Poch, like AVB, might be a great coach in the making. But in the short term his experience might not be enough without the proper support. But I don't think Levy does that. I suspect he wants yes men who will accept things done in the manner he envisages and if they don't perform to that standard he gives them the chop like any other corporate executive. Much has been debated about why we canned Redknapp, but I suspect part of the reason was that Redknapp was too strong a personality for Levy (same with Sherwood, who I can't stand personally, but the strong personality is obviously there).

I think this biggest issue at the moment isn't melters and moaners. I'm certainly not one to succumb to that normally. It's frustration. History is repeating itself. We know how this story ends already....and that, for me, is sucking the life out of supporting an institution that has been a fundamental part of my life for decades.

 

[nav007_2000]

Of course it matters who we sign. It also depends on the tactics we play. Look at Leicester and Palace. Where does the attacking threat come from? The wings. Bolasie and Mahrez take on the players and cross the ball in for the strikers. The tactics we play with Poch and with AVB is to use the inverted wingers where they always cut in and pass the ball to the nearest player. We are getting no service to Kane. Under Harry, why were we scoring so many goals? Lennon on one side and Bale on the other. Running at players, taking them on and crossing the balls in for Crouch, VDV or Adebayor.

We have become so boring nowadays and it looks like we are getting rid of the wingers who can actually make a difference. We have turned predictable.

 

[branchie]

Confidence plays a big part - and it's evident that the team aren't very at the minute.

I still think we'll beat Everton though ...

 

[SteveH]

Confidence plays a big part - and it's evident that the team aren't very at the minute.

I still think we'll beat Everton though ...

I aggree re confidence - Everton not so sure

 

[WiganSpur]

I want a fist shaking terrier of a central midfielder. An organiser. A nasty bastard who doesn't mind upsetting his team mates if he feels they need their collar grabbed and a kick up the arse if they aren't on top of their games or concentrating.

There is no player in our team like this. Not even one.

And fucking replace these ponderous, slow, cut inside and congest, wingers. We need width and pace - right now we are an extreme dull team.

Just over a week to sort it out...

The times where we have had success was when he had the strong defensive midfielders.

When Davids came in he changed us, as did Palacios in 08/09 and Parker a few years later. Sandro was also fantastic before he got injured at QPR and I had no doubts that we were heading for the top 4 had that not happened.

It's such an important position to give confidence to the whole team. If you're a centre back and you see a giant, experienced organiser in front of you you're going to go into the game with so much more confidence. If the defence is confident then suddenly the whole team starts to believe.

I know he's not particularly experienced, and I know he's injured for now, but i'd love us to try for someone like William Carvalho, he's massive and I reckon he would give the team so much confidence. Sadly though I don't think we'd come anywhere near their asking price.

But what frustrates me also is that Inler would have been a really good signing for us as well, he's extremely experienced and has a good attitude.

 

[TropicalYid]

The thing that frustrates me is that we have signed several players this window but still we have the same team as last year playing.
I can see that Alli is a talent and I dont expect him to carry us. But why isnt Njie even on the bench? Not fit? Not good enough?
Pritchard. Oh we have heard so many thing about this guy but will we ever see him play?

Levy, poch and the rest of them need to get their shit together and sign a cm/dm that goes straigt in to the team. We are desperate for leadership. Dier is not a midfielder. Mason is not good enough. And from what ive seen of bentaleb in preseason ang agains man u, im very sceptical.

Kane got little or no service yesterday. We were so slow in build up it was painful to watch. None of our so called midfielders was interested in the ball that Toby and Jan kept passing between them .

 

[millsey]

After the best transfer window we have ever had, shouldn't we be doing better than we are??

 

[penfold_99]

I hope the next signing we make is a world leading psychiatrist, we need mental toughness and if that requires the team to balling their eyes out on a shrinks couch, so be it, but until this is fixed we will always be nearly men.

The need to change the entrance music to the Al apachio speech about adding up all those inches. That will fire up the players and they should have a picture of arsenal team they punch on the way out to get extra fired up.

 

[Dr Know]

I really don't get it to be honest. We've changed manager, we've changed players, we've changed staff (coaches) but the problem still remains.

Thing is, when the players get booed on the first home game of the season, it seems a catalyst to fallen confidence and then some try too hard and forget the basics.

I feel us fans have a part to play in this. If you keep telling someone they're shit, eventually they believe it

 

[Jamturk]

When a winger beats his man the CB has to come across and....

 

[tototoner]

We finished 5th last season in the most competitive league in the world.

that papered over a lot of existing squad cracks, and they have not been repaired

 

[IMissTheWaddler]

After the best transfer window we have ever had, shouldn't we be doing better than we are??

Better than signing Jurgen and the fabulous five?

 

[HotspurFC1950]

Last week that happened.
It was the first time in the league for 3 years.
It's not a pattern, it's not re-occurring....its not even occasional.

Well done

 

[lukespurs7]

The fact is that as a club we are mentally too weak and fragile. How often do we crumble at the slightest hint of pressure? Its happened for years and is why there is the word "spursy". Its even laughed off after we piss away another lead or lose to the bottom club. Said with a knowing nod and a raise of the eyebrows "just spursy eh?"

Manager after manager, we see the same end product. We are experts of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

We have this excuse every week that may satisfy some by saying "we played well for X number of mins" or "we might have lost but we were the better team" and lastly the worst of all "yeah but against last years results we are a point up!". Bullshit.

All that matters are results and only winners recognise this. The old cliche about good teams playing badly and winning? Its true. But to delude ourselves and say its OK not to win as long as we play well doesn't sit well with me.

I don't doubt poch and he still has my backing, as do ENIC and Levy but the most important signing we could make is someone to make these talented players we have, believe and have some bollocks and fight about them. There's something about the club that turns clearly talented players into an absolute wreck.

The club needs a real kick up the arse and to rid ourselves of this inferiority complex we have. Maybe the quicker Lennon and his massive length leave, the quicker our lads can start being more confident?

Good post and agree with this.
The only time we started to buck the Spursy trend was under Arry and that is for two reasons.
1) Whether people liked him or not he has been around the block and the players respected him and he set out a game plan that suited our players that got results and that they believed in
2) The players/characters we signed(We had experienced winners and game-changing match-winners): Friedel, Gallas, Parker, VDV, Keane and then we had the likes of: Bale, VDV, Adebeyor(on form), Lennon, Modric etc.

We now have a lot of young but talented players but lack players with that winning know-how and experience.

 

[joelstinton14]

The fact is that as a club we are mentally too weak and fragile. How often do we crumble at the slightest hint of pressure?

I think that a little bit unfair. I know we have twice this season let leads go. But last season, didn;t we take the most points from losing positions, and score the most goals in the last ten minutes?

We've also lost 2 and even 3 goal leads for fun in recent years.

Till stoke, We had won their last 74 Premier League home games when we had gone two goals ahead. I believe that is the stat Lineker mentioned last week.

Not saying we are perfect, and we have too many spursy moments, but we need to have a little bit more faith in the side. Sometimes i think we invite the misery on our selves as fans. See? the stats show it isn't that bad. Sometimes we ourselves create the perception.

 

[HotspurFC1950]

It was the first time in over 70 games that any team has come back from 2 nil down at whl.

 

[Xeeleeyid]

We're no weaker or mentally fragile than any other club. For every time we screw up and look mentally fragile, there's another where we play badly, get outplayed, but eak out a 2-1 last minute win by fighting to stay in the game.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest we're any worse at holding onto leads than anyone else, or throw games away over anyone else.

We probably do so more than the likes of Man U, Chelsea, Citeh and all, because they can afford better players and mental toughness and competitive edge is one of the attributes you attribute to top-class athletes.

If we can afford to buy the 5th/6th best squad in the country, we'll be the 5th/6th best team at avoiding screw ups, but they will still occur at a frequency above the 4/5 teams above us.

They way some fans go on, it's like Spurs are the only club that throw away leads, conceed stupid goals and lose in big games.

These things do happen to everyone and our turn will always come around. As will success and all the good things that happen (like Vertonghen getting away with his blatant shirt-tug versus Leicester).