Norwich Vs Tottenham: Match Thread

[TheGreenLily]

We don't have a winning mentality because we haven't won anything with this group of players. We won't get that winning mentality if we don't try to win cups when they are there to be won.

Success breeds success and right now we do not have a philosophy in place to create that winning environment. Our philosophy is focused on qualifying for the Champions League not as champions but as the third or fourth best team in England.

Man City used the FA Cup as their springboard to the title. JM won the League Cup to get Chelsea into the habit of winning again. AF took the League Cup serious in years when the title was beyond Man United. Continental clubs have won the UEFA/EC to create a foundation for future success. Athletico Madrid and Porto for example.

Why are we as a club above winning the League Cup or the Europa Cup? How will we become a winning club if we don't actually win anything?

Because many fans and sections of the club, seem to think that we are above the cups and it is our god given right to be the champions league.

The unrealistic aims of a lot of the fans are just as harmful as anything else.

Blame the EUFA cup when we lose to Norwich.

Fuck me, are people gonna blame the CL when we play on Wednesday and Saturday.

Fucking piss poor attitude to cups by fans, players and the club.

 

[spursbhoy67]

I was against the appointment of TS and will stand by prediction at the time that he would not be in the job for preseason.

Liverpool appointed a manager who spent time studying the Spanish game and had Jose Mourinho as a mentor. We appointed one who was influenced by Harry Redknapp and Kenny Dalglish. Therein lies the difference. The game has changed since TS was a player and hard work and physicality are no longer enough.

Having said that the insight I have of training is of a divided squad and that we need a strong leader with a vision and a disciplinarian. The issues might run deeper than the manager but better performances and an actual playing style would encourage certain players in the squad that the future is bright.

The current top four all have a clear philosophy as a club and a playing style suited to their respective playing staffs. We have neither.

I will support the manager and hope he can prove me wrong.

 

[travellerstune]

We never had it so good than vs Inter Milan CL night. We reached the top, battering the European champions and then when we could have went on and did something...we did nothing and signed Saha and Nielsen when sitting 3rd in January the following season 3 points off top spot. Always has been a lack of ambition at THFC, won't change unless current owners clear off.

That was the moment, we all knew it.. I will never understand why we didn't sign a striker then... I remember thinking wtf as nelson and Saha popped up on sky sports.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

Unless Levy is prepared to spend £50m plus on three or four very good players, the manager is irrelevant. We'll carry on in 5th at best.

He's just spent a hundred on seven who couldn't knock over Norwich, so another fifty is hardly likely to solve the problems we have now is it?

We are where we deserve to be with this team, and you have to rule out any chance of finishing above Arsenal, Man Citeh and Chel$ea anytime soon. Liverpool have been revived and Man Ure will reload this off-season.

Fifth is a good a finish as we can expect before we get a new stadium to help finance players that we can pay to perform on a Winters Sunday up in East Anglia. The sixty four thousand dollar question is how is Danny Boy going to offload some of the cack he paid a Kings ransom for last Summer. If it is to be LVG i can hardly wait to see what he thinks of Soldado, the hypochondriac and a winger who runs flat out in straight lines, cannot cross and has an assist ratio that would make and Conference player ashamed to turn out.

Yup fifty more million please Mr Levy.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

I was against the appointment of TS and will stand by prediction at the time that he would not be in the job for preseason.

Liverpool appointed a manager who spent time studying the Spanish game and had Jose Mourinho as a mentor. We appointed one who was influenced by Harry Redknapp and Kenny Dalglish. Therein lies the difference. The game has changed since TS was a player and hard work and physicality are no longer enough.

Having said that the insight I have of training is of a divided squad and that we need a strong leader with a vision and a disciplinarian. The issues might run deeper than the manager but better performances and an actual playing style would encourage certain players in the squad that the future is bright.

The current top four all have a clear philosophy as a club and a playing style suited to their respective playing staffs. We have neither.

I will support the manager and hope he can prove me wrong.

Tim is four years older than Brenda, has played at the highest level and won a Championship. Liverpool have a leader who has won the CL, and a forward who is possibly the third best striker in Europe. We have Dawson and Soldado.

Go figure, but please don't kick the manager in the balls after his second PL defeat since taking over.

 

[scottlag10]

Tim is four years older than Brenda, has played at the highest level and won a Championship. Liverpool have a leader who has win the CL, and a forward who is possibly the third best striker in Europe. We have Dawson and Soldado.

Go figure, but please don't kick the manager in the balls after his second PL defeat since taking over.

Ask yourself this question, if Spurs sacked Tim would he get a job managing at any other Prem team?

 

[postigol]

That was the moment, we all knew it.. I will never understand why we didn't sign a striker then... I remember thinking wtf as nelson and Saha popped up on sky sports.

Both those players were stop-gaps to the end of the season due to Bassong (loan to Wolves) and Pavlyuchenko (sold) leaving. Redknapp was quite good at short-term signings on the cheap, I don't think he was given much of a choice because (other than that 1st January window after he took over when we faced relegation) Levy never allowed Redknapp much funds for player purchases throughout his time at spurs.

 

[Revan1882]

I don't think anyone is saying he's on that level. But at least he has some guile in his play, unlike the rest of our midfield.

He also can score a free kick which is something no one seems to be either, the truth is we need a player that sees a pass and can deliver it and he is the only one. We used to have Holtby but the dick Sherwood sent him out on loan and plays three DM's instead.

 

[Revan1882]

I was against the appointment of TS and will stand by prediction at the time that he would not be in the job for preseason.

Liverpool appointed a manager who spent time studying the Spanish game and had Jose Mourinho as a mentor. We appointed one who was influenced by Harry Redknapp and Kenny Dalglish. Therein lies the difference. The game has changed since TS was a player and hard work and physicality are no longer enough.

Having said that the insight I have of training is of a divided squad and that we need a strong leader with a vision and a disciplinarian. The issues might run deeper than the manager but better performances and an actual playing style would encourage certain players in the squad that the future is bright.

The current top four all have a clear philosophy as a club and a playing style suited to their respective playing staffs. We have neither.

I will support the manager and hope he can prove me wrong.

I have the same view on this one, but I would say we did have a manager whom study under JM and we sacked him lol

If Van Gaal is coming in the summer the season can't finish quick enough, he is a winner and he will get the players to be winners. I would love to see us win something this year but that won't happen if TS keeps doing this passing in tiny triangle thing that the players are doing now in the wrong paces. Three players passing it in a triangle only works when one of them is on the move, but they all stand still playing keep ball.

 

[Dazza86]

We need someone who can pass the ball and set a tempo. We've lacked it since Modric left and not getting Moutinho in as a replacement was the moment our performances changed. Cabaye was then the next best thing and we missed that ship as well.

Paulinho looked a good all-round player at the Con Fed and any Brazilian starting XI for sub 20m was always going to be a Levy purchase, but his game is further forward. You can see it in the way he sets himself up positionally.

We could have better spent that money on a passer. Bentaleb isn't ready to be the player we need in there and it'll never be Dembele's game style either. All 3 are good players but our balance is off and this is making the whole team look worse than they are. This is where Levy has ballsed up the most for me.

The countdown for Summer has begun.

 

[dagraham]

We need someone who can pass the ball and set a tempo. We've lacked it since Modric left and not getting Moutinho in as a replacement was the moment our performances changed. Cabaye was then the next best thing and we missed that ship as well.

Paulinho looked a good all-round player at the Con Fed and any Brazilian starting XI for sub 20m was always going to be a Levy purchase, but his game is further forward. You can see it in the way he sets himself up positionally.

We could have better spent that money on a passer. Bentaleb isn't ready to be the player we need in there and it'll never be Dembele's game style either. All 3 are good players but our balance is off and this is making the whole team look worse than they are. This is where Levy has ballsed up the most for me.

The countdown for Summer has begun.

We need more than one passer. Our whole attacking unit is devoid of passers. We can't pass into space, only behind the man (ironically the only player who came close to achieving this yesterday was Lennon and yet he still got slagged off).

I agree that part of it is coaching and movement but its also down to the type of players we are buying. When your CB's (Vlad and Verts) are more adept at passing than the rest of your team you've got problems imo.

 

[Dazza86]

We need more than one passer. Our whole attacking unit is devoid of passers. We can't pass into space, only behind the man (ironically the only player who came close to achieving this yesterday was Lennon and yet he still got slagged off).

I agree that part of it is coaching and movement but its also down to the type of players we are buying. When your CB's (Vlad and Verts) are more adept at passing than the rest of your team you've got problems imo.

Completely agree. Aside from Eriksen, I think nearly all of our midfielders are worse at controlling the ball and passing than any other top 4 team.

A tempo controller is a start and one I think we desperately need right now, particularly so we can actually play a ball in-front on someone's run.

I'd be amazed if we don't have something to rival Dortmund's control/passing arena in our training centre. It's massively improved their entire teams ability to keep the ball and put it in dangerous positions - two things nearly all of our players lack.

 

[SteveH]

We need someone who can pass the ball and set a tempo. We've lacked it since Modric left and not getting Moutinho in as a replacement was the moment our performances changed. Cabaye was then the next best thing and we missed that ship as well.

Paulinho looked a good all-round player at the Con Fed and any Brazilian starting XI for sub 20m was always going to be a Levy purchase, but his game is further forward. You can see it in the way he sets himself up positionally.

We could have better spent that money on a passer. Bentaleb isn't ready to be the player we need in there and it'll never be Dembele's game style either. All 3 are good players but our balance is off and this is making the whole team look worse than they are. This is where Levy has ballsed up the most for me.

The countdown for Summer has begun.

Biggest problem for Levy is he just deals with money, he knows jack about players per se, just their respective values.
It's the faceless 'advisors' who are the weak link and now Baldini. Abramovich is no different, except he buys at the next level up so he gets a better hit rate as the quality is higher, so he buys the like of Hazard, Oscar and Ramires and gets the odd de Bruyne.

Levy has financed the club well and we are hitting the mark we should be with our resources.

I can just about understand Arsenal fans moaning as they continually slightly underachieve. But Spurs fans must realise we are punching our weight. When the Bales of this world come along we can also step up a notch as we did 2010/11. Liverpool are getting that same lift from Suarez at the moment.

Fact, we are fifth and are about where we should be along with Everton, Man U are temporarily becalmed due to the Moyes effect, but it wont last and Liverpool are very aware of this.

But Spurs are right where they should be, between 5th and 8th depending on a prevailing wind.

 

[Styopa]

As someone pointed out prior to the game, we often play poorly after Europa League matches and this was no exception. We looked tired and uninspired and it reminded me a little of our defeat at home to Fulham last season - a potentially season changing defeat coming in the wake of a tough Thursday night away match in the Europa cup. In some ways a tired performance is understandable given the fact the team didn't arrive back from Ukraine until 3am on Friday morning. On the other hand, given the investment in the squad and our ambition of playing Champions League football we should be doing better. Nonetheless it is worth noting that in 2009/10 when we achieved Champions League qualification we did not have any European football to distract us from our task in the league. This season Liverpool who are going very well in the league likewise have no European football to distract them.

On reflection then, the result and performance were not entirely unexpected. We did everything poorly - defending, attacking, creating - so need to improve on everything in our upcoming matches. Assuming we progress to the next round of the Europa League, Sherwood needs to find a way to make sure we are fresh for the succeeding premier league matches.

So next in the league is Cardiff at home while Liverpool play Southampton away. That is enough to give me some hope, despite how pessimistic I felt following yesterday's defeat.

 

[scottlag10]

Biggest problem for Levy is he just deals with money, he knows jack about players per se, just their respective values.
It's the faceless 'advisors' who are the weak link and now Baldini. Abramovich is no different, except he buys at the next level up so he gets a better hit rate as the quality is higher, so he buys the like of Hazard, Oscar and Ramires and gets the odd de Bruyne.

Levy has financed the club well and we are hitting the mark we should be with our resources.

I can just about understand Arsenal fans moaning as they continually slightly underachieve. But Spurs fans must realise we are punching our weight. When the Bales of this world come along we can also step up a notch as we did 2010/11. Liverpool are getting that same lift from Suarez at the moment.

Fact, we are fifth and are about where we should be along with Everton, Man U are temporarily becalmed due to the Moyes effect, but it wont last and Liverpool are very aware of this.

But Spurs are right where they should be, between 5th and 8th depending on a prevailing wind.

But Levy and Co. still cocked up big time in the way we spent the £100M from Bale, thats why everybody is laughing at us. We had our big chance...and blew it!

 

[scottlag10]

As someone pointed out prior to the game, we often play poorly after Europa League matches and this was no exception. We looked tired and uninspired and it reminded me a little of our defeat at home to Fulham last season - a potentially season changing defeat coming in the wake of a tough Thursday night away match in the Europa cup. In some ways a tired performance is understandable given the fact the team didn't arrive back from Ukraine until 3am on Friday morning. On the other hand, given the investment in the squad and our ambition of playing Champions League football we should be doing better. Nonetheless it is worth noting that in 2009/10 when we achieved Champions League qualification we did not have any European football to distract us from our task in the league. This season Liverpool who are going very well in the league likewise have no European football to distract them.

On reflection then, the result and performance were not entirely unexpected. We did everything poorly - defending, attacking, creating - so need to improve on everything in our upcoming matches. Assuming we progress to the next round of the Europa League, Sherwood needs to find a way to make sure we are fresh for the succeeding premier league matches.

So next in the league is Cardiff at home while Liverpool play Southampton away. That is enough to give me some hope, despite how pessimistic I felt following yesterday's defeat.

But there were 10 free days before the Dnipro game, we should not of been that tired! Our best football (not much) came in the last 10 mins at Norwich so were we really that tired, or just not good enough?

 

[dagraham]

But there were 10 free days before the Dnipro game, we should not of been that tired! Our best football (not much) came in the last 10 mins at Norwich so were we really that tired, or just not good enough?

A very good point. If we were so jaded, how come we suddenly switched on in the last 15 mins? IMO we need a manager to instil a bit of fear into the team Fergie style. We still seem to stroll through games, even when we haven't played in the EL.

Van Gaal might be that man, although I am also warming to the idea of Cappelo. I didn't want him at all at first but thinking about it, he might actually instil some balls into the team. I've just read Zlatan Ibrahimovic's autobiography (great read btw) and he speaks very highly of Cappelo.

 

[Styopa]

But Levy and Co. still cocked up big time in the way we spent the £100M from Bale, thats why everybody is laughing at us. We had our big chance...and blew it!

This season Chelsea have spent £108.4m. Manchester City have spent £90.9m. Man Utd have spent £64.6m. Even Liverpool and Arsenal have spent the best part of £45m. According to reports, they all also pay significantly higher wages than we do. And none of them had to replace their best player and arguably the best player in the league. Sure, we spent £100m but that was just about enough to keep up.

 

[Mr Pink]

A very good point. If we were so jaded, how come we suddenly switched on in the last 15 mins? IMO we need a manager to instil a bit of fear into the team Fergie style. We still seem to stroll through games, even when we haven't played in the EL.

Van Gaal might be that man, although I am also warming to the idea of Cappelo. I didn't want him at all but thinknig about it, he might actually instil some balls into the team. I've just read Zlatan Ibrahimovic's autobiography (great read btw) and he speaks very highly of Cappelo.

I think the psychological aspect of us needing a goal and Norwich dropping deeper to protect what they had explains a good part of that.

For me it was exactly the same sort of limp performance we saw against Fulham at home last season that fucked us.

The way we started against Newcastle was vastly different.

But I do agree with you - we need someone to put the fear of God into these players so they can give more fatigue levels aside. If the players being picked aren't capable of giving 100%, you pick players who will give you that - inferior or not.

What grates about yesterday the most....there was no fight or heart, no leaders out there demanding we upped it etc,

 

[Styopa]

But there were 10 free days before the Dnipro game, we should not of been that tired! Our best football (not much) came in the last 10 mins at Norwich so were we really that tired, or just not good enough?

I think it's about a 3000 mile round trip and there's a time difference involved. I have no idea how many hours total flying time that is - 8 +? Now in my own experience that kind of journey will affect me for a few days after without playing a football match and it doesn't matter how well rested I am before the journey. But hey, I'm no athlete and as I said we need to find a way to do better.