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Positives vs Negatives

cliff jones

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
4,059
6,516
+ Moura, Dembele, Lamela as an impact sub

- Tinkering with formation,
Lloris' injury/Vorm doesn't command his box,
Davies, Rose and Tripper not good enough to date,
IF Toby aint signing then pick Sanchez more- he's good enough!
Eriksen and Kane axis broken, finally one or two signs of life last week
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
Shit defense.
Poor midfield.
Tired Kane.
No pressing.

What I'd like to see is the defense worked on (especially on set piece situations). And the wing backs need to be re-educated and reminded about the spaces they are leaving behind. Rose was shocking in the BHA game for doing this time and again. Trips was weak and got mugged a few times too.

Lamela, Son, Lucas and Dele should be rotated to freshen things up and give us options from the bench.

Most importantly Poch absolutely must get the whole team pressing again.

Finally, I really want to see the whole team taught how to pass properly as their passing is poor. They need to be a lot more precise in their passing. It's got to also be played a lot more quickly and there's got to be a lot more forward passing. You could see when Lamela came on all that passing game I mention came into the game and going forward we were much more dangerous. Much much more of that is needed please.

What are the positives?
 

brendanb50

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2005
4,484
3,890
Pros at this early stage for me are:
- Better off after 6 games than we were last season, so not a terrible start
- Moura looks exceptional
- Lamela back and impacting games (these 2 plus Winks will feel like new players for us)
- Toby/Rose both slotting back into the team despite big questions in the summer

Cons:
- Kane looking tired (Son likely to struggle too) and not being able to play in his ideal role at the moment
- Team tinkering - I get why this is happening, no new faces means we need to try some alternative formations and set ups but i don't think we know what our best formation/11 is at the moment
- Set pieces - switching off IMO, team isn't 100% in this regard at the moment
- Late concentration - see above
- Midfield - we're still lacking a bit of something here the one area i hoped we would add to in the summer - i hope we can at least bring some younger players into the mix to keep us fresh here
 

Lighty64

I believe
Aug 24, 2010
10,400
12,476
Positives is still in touch whilst not playing well.

Negatives are not having an identity. We used to be known as a high/hard pressing team who didn’t give any team time on the ball. I don’t know what’s happened to that, I’m not sure that the players know what they are supposed to be donning either

I do wonder if the high press will return once any tiredness from the WC and lack of pre-season kicks in, and to counter burnout too early.
 

aliyid

Well-Known Member
Dec 28, 2004
6,944
19,929
Negatives
  • We seem to have lost an element of spark / enjoyment in our game (Poch feels different, players feel different)
  • Feels as though we don’t have the hunger / belief of previous years
  • Vorm failed his audition as our backup gk
  • Look vulnerable when under pressure
  • Kane has been dropping too deep to get involved

Positives
  • Pts tally is decent
  • Squad players (Moura & Lamella) have stepped up to show their value
  • Gazziniga put in decent display against Brighton
  • Winks & Son are back
  • Barca coming to Wembley next week
 

Donki

Has a "Massive Member" Member
May 14, 2007
14,451
18,966
Positives - We are picking up points.

Negatives - We are playing like horse shit.
 

wrd

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2014
13,603
58,005
Positives
- I'd say our results have been bang on with what I expected thus far
- Moura looks like he's going to contribute in a big way
- Lamela is fulfilling his potential at long last
- Winks is back
- Alder and Rose have managed to get back in the team
- I get to watch Messi play live which is a testament to how far Poch has taken us. Nights like next week are what it's all about

Negatives
- Poch hasn't learnt on his two biggest weaknesses
- One; subs are fucking terrible still, even the Lamela sub was needed much earlier and we were lucky to hang on
- Two; still playing his favourites no matter how shit they play
- We haven't managed to land on a formation despite having no new additions
- Our set piece defending is atrocious
- We are being bullied again for good periods of games and our defending is comical at times
- Our passing has been pathetic
- Midfield is a shambles more due to circumstance than personnel, Dier needs a rest, Winks and Wanyama back from injury, Dembele needs to be managed carefully.
- Trippier and Davies haven't been too great so far, We are using Dier so he can tuck in and allow trippier to push up and my opinion is that Trippier hasn't justified that sort of tinkering thus far.
 

vegassd

The ghost of Johnny Cash
Aug 5, 2006
3,356
3,330
Really not many as far as I'n concerned, but I will add 1 then.

We're only 6 points from the top.

I find it so hard to understand how some fans are like this. How can you see no positives with the current setup? And if you see no positives how can you bear to watch any games?

The big positive for me is that we have a group of players who know how well they can play together. If we were trying to integrate new players and had a run of three defeats (ahhhh.... such a crisis!) then the spotlight would fall on the new guys and increase the pressure. As it is, we know that as a collective our squad is capable of being very competitive.

Others have mentioned the likes of Moura and Lamela already, but I reckon Son winning his medal (and military freedom) could see a further upturn from him this season. He'll need a bit of a rest at some point but is such a boost for our team.

The recent article on the BBC about how we have outperformed ourselves from last season goes to show just how much of a non-crisis this recent blip was. People are freaking out from all sides without pausing to consider the reality of the situation. It's not all roses of course, but I'm personally laughing at the knee-jerkers.

The negatives are primarily off the pitch, but the big one I've seen so far this season is the form of Dier. His passing seems poor which I think is coming from poor decision making. He might be knackered from the WC or whatever, but I'm certainly hoping we get Wanyama and Winks back to top health as soon as possible to give us the chance to rest Dier.
 

thfc1973

Active Member
Apr 29, 2015
565
1,192
I find it so hard to understand how some fans are like this. How can you see no positives with the current setup? And if you see no positives how can you bear to watch any games?

Ditto!!!! I too find it so hard to understand how some fans can always find the positives, especially with the current setup.

Team playing shit. Manager appears to have a brain fart every fucking game and forgets how to manage a team he's managed fairly well for 4 years and still manages to be clueless in setting up and picking the right formation/tactics for every game so far this season. Tightarse owners that don't want to spend a penny. The ignominy of us being a laughing stock to all other London clubs and their fans when we are seemingly going to be eliminated from CL football and play with Chelsea and Arse (where we deservedly belong) in the Europa League in our new stadium! I could go on but that's only the first 6 games of the season..

Sure, you carry on. Don't let me stop you bleating on about the positives whilst I watch it all slowly collapse as the season unfolds.
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
You know there is such thing as middle ground guys, you can both be right...I see both positives and negatives, you'd be a miserable bugger if you're only seeing bad things and have a bad outlook about the team at the moment but at the same time you're be totally blind to dismiss the problems that are rearing their ugly heads.

That said I think there are more positives than negatives personally :p
 

Bulletspur

The Reasonable Advocate
Match Thread Admin
Oct 17, 2006
10,690
25,246
I do wonder if the high press will return once any tiredness from the WC and lack of pre-season kicks in, and to counter burnout too early.
The lack of high press is not solely due to tiredness. It is not a coincident over to past few seasons that when Lamela plays, we have urgency resulting in pressing.
 

YidoCraig

Who's Taddy Mason?
Jul 2, 2007
203
97
I mean that facts are there, we're better off at this stage of the season, than we were at the exact same stage last season.

Albeit playing not to the same standard, like has been said before, let's hope we kick on!
 

vegassd

The ghost of Johnny Cash
Aug 5, 2006
3,356
3,330
Ditto!!!! I too find it so hard to understand how some fans can always find the positives, especially with the current setup.

Team playing shit. Manager appears to have a brain fart every fucking game and forgets how to manage a team he's managed fairly well for 4 years and still manages to be clueless in setting up and picking the right formation/tactics for every game so far this season. Tightarse owners that don't want to spend a penny. The ignominy of us being a laughing stock to all other London clubs and their fans when we are seemingly going to be eliminated from CL football and play with Chelsea and Arse (where we deservedly belong) in the Europa League in our new stadium! I could go on but that's only the first 6 games of the season..

Sure, you carry on. Don't let me stop you bleating on about the positives whilst I watch it all slowly collapse as the season unfolds.

I think there are people who can always find the positives because there always are positives. That doesn't mean there are no negatives of course - there's the sort of "real world" scenario where some things are good and some are bad. It just surprises me at the number of people who seem to fall on the "it's all doom and gloom" side of things. It makes me wonder how they can enjoy life, honestly!

Out of interest I had a look at a few of your past posts to see if there's anything in there that might help me explain what I mean. I found this comment from you in the Race for top 4 17/18 thread:

May 6 said:
If I was rich I'd bet every fucker on this forum who think we'd get 4th that we are not gonna make 4th spot.

As such, I'm just gonna say it instead. We aren't gonna make 4th!

This was with two games of the season left for ourselves, Liverpool and Chelsea, and of course Chelsea vs. Liverpool was one of those remaining games. You ended up viewing the scenario in the most negative way possible - it was mathematically pretty tough for us to finish 5th - and you ended up being wrong. Spurs finished 7 points clear of Chelsea in the end.

So in this case, the 100% negative outlook was the completely wrong one. In many other cases I'm sure this has played out the same way. You having these "funny" digs at other supporters who view the positives of the situation but you then end up being wrong.

It seems a shame really. I can't imagine that following football is a particularly pleasant experience for you. There are plenty of positives around the club at the moment (go ask supporters of other teams what they think of Spurs) and I can assure you that when you start to uncover them it becomes so much more enjoyable watching our games.
 

Shadydan

Well-Known Member
Jul 7, 2012
38,247
104,143
I don't think people realise how good this goal was, perfectly illustrates why we play out from the back and why we are so patient in our build up play.

Reason I am posting it in here is because it's seen as a major positive for me seeing as we looked to be broken and our passing game had gone to shit in the previous few matches, had to be something to hold onto.

 

BringBack_leGin

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2004
27,719
54,929
I don't think people realise how good this goal was, perfectly illustrates why we play out from the back and why we are so patient in our build up play.

Reason I am posting it in here is because it's seen as a major positive for me seeing as we looked to be broken and our passing game had gone to shit in the previous few matches, had to be something to hold onto.


Totally agree. Superb finish. Every Spurs player on the pitch bar Dembele, Eriksen and Kane was involved. My favourite goal in ages. I texted my dad earlier telling him to rewatch this. Guarantee you that if City scored this goal it’d be a contender for goal of the seasonx
 

daryl hannah

Berry Berry Calm
Sep 1, 2014
2,674
7,717
negatives - slow start to the season, a g a i n...

positives - don't care whether we win or lose (alright I do a bit...) just glad tottingham hotspurs are back on my tele twice a week. That was a long summer...
 
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