Ratings vs Chelsea in Capital Cup final
- Thread starter Bulletspur
- Start date
KAISERwells
Well-Known Member
- Aug 16, 2012
- 167
- 297
I'm giving the fans 10 out of 10 today. The atmosphere at the torch pub on the highroad outside Wembley before kick off was the bollooocks. We got such good fans that want to believe in Tottenham hotspurs, absolutely unreal before the game, highlight of the day. Just a shame about the game.
lillywhites61
SC Supporter
- Aug 11, 2009
- 3,538
- 2,270
Not sure why so many dislikes, I thought both Chadli and Townsend could have done more, maybe they shouldn't have played from the start to be fair. Dembélé should have started this match. Bentaleb MOM and Kane and Rose I think did well
mpickard2087
Patient Zero
- Jun 13, 2008
- 21,889
- 32,562
In some ways we were unlucky, in others it was a bit disappointing.
You cannot say we played a bad game. The vast majority of individuals were at least ok, we played with composure and kept plugging away for the whole game, unfortunately we just didn't have enough cutting edge in the final third. I cant really recall Cech being tested and apart from the freekick early in the game that hit the bar we were then limited to a few half chances and momentary signs of danger that didn't amount to too much. Chadli and Townsend didn't offer much, and Kane and Eriksen were largely nullified.
Having said that, Chelsea themselves didn't exactly pepper our goal. I know they were sitting back and soaking up pressure, but they were mostly restricted to set pieces and very few counter attacks. I felt defensively we did ok.
Unfortunately we didn't get the rub of the green today, and the two goals either side of half time killed things. The first was a stupid freekick to give away, and you saw what can happen with zonal marking where they all stand in a line and don't man mark, but it was still fortunate to fall to Terry. The second was cruel. I don't think Walker could have done too much, Costa shifted it on to his left and sent a hit and hoper across goal, and we got ridiculously bad luck in the deflection and that it then went at an angle that crept inside the post out of reach of a wrongfooted Lloris.
However I was a bit disappointed with some of what we did in the second half when tasked with trying to get back into the game. Whilst its all well and good saying that there was a quality difference and their players cost more and we have a limited set of tools, It seems to me that we have no way of mixing things up and just stick to plan A throughout. About four times in the second half we got a freekick and instead of getting it in the box and at least having a go, we took it short, played even more tippy tappy, and on two of those occasions spectacularly fucked it up and lost possession immediately. I don't know why when our game wasn't having success that we insisted on keeping on doing the same thing.
Linked to that is some of Poch's decisions. Yet again he made very predictable subs (taking off the AM's not named Eriksen + Mason, and throwing on his bench AM's + Soldado) and didn't change anything shape wise or playing style. I know we don't have a lot of options but I think he could be more imaginative... Townsend could have come over to the left at some point, get us playing wider and get the ball in the box a bit more, even before subs are made. At 0-2 and time running out he could 'do a van Gaal', fuck playing pretty football and put his biggest guy (Fazio) up top and start hitting him and see if that is effective. It was a bit disappointing to see us persist, however valiantly and admirably, with tippy tappy plan A when it wasn't working and time slowly ran out.
Overall we went down fighting, even though things didn't go our way. And we shouldn't be too despondent. Things that we have to improve on though, and we desperately need a bit more panache up front. A big effort is also required from them now that its only the league to concentrate on, heads mustn't drop, we have to come back strongly and finish the season well to get a decent enough league placing. Another test for them...
Lloris - Not a huge amount to do. Unlucky for both goals.
Walker - Did ok against Hazard I thought. Clearly played on with a painful knock which deserves mentioning.
Dier - Assured game, mopped up most danger. Composed on the ball. Big future ahead of him.
Vertonghen - Not a huge amount of work to do. One slight annoyance was that I noticed some of his passing being lazy at times... He is guilty of putting his team mates under pressure or under hitting them frequently.
Rose - Decent game. A couple of good last ditch interceptions to snuff out counter attacks. Tried as much as anyone to carry us forward and take the game to them.
Mason - Did ok. Composed game.
Bentaleb - Really decent game. 20 years old, first cup final, against the champions-elect... and absolutely untroubled in midfield. Another who has a big future ahead of him.
Townsend - I thought at times in first half he had brief moments where he did ok. Carried the ball on the counter well a couple of times and made a good run to open up space for Kane. He also worked quite hard, I noticed him making tackles and interceptions which is a rare occurrence. However he was shut down for long spells and didn't really provide any cutting edge. Probably should have got a run on the left wing to offer us something a bit different before getting subbed.
Eriksen - At times picked up space well, but that was usually from deeper positions. On the whole was marked out of the game. Worked reasonably hard but could have been a bit braver at times. Unlucky with his freekick.
Chadli - I said in the week that I thought his recent performances meant he would be lucky to play... well, Poch showed faith in him, and that wasn't really repaid. Gave away a daft freekick for the opening goal and in general had little impact. He didn't especially work hard, nor did he do anything positive with the ball at his feet. I sympathise that he has had a very tough time off the pitch recently, but currently his form isn't good and he is a passenger. Maybe needs some time out.
Kane - Very isolated, and was feeding off scraps. Battled away though and showed good feet to shrug off markers and win free kicks. Not his day.
Subs:
Dembele - Ok.
Lamela - Pretty erratic. Some good stuff mixed with some bad.
Soldado - One good ball across the box, but also gave the ball away a couple of times in his brief sojourn.
You cannot say we played a bad game. The vast majority of individuals were at least ok, we played with composure and kept plugging away for the whole game, unfortunately we just didn't have enough cutting edge in the final third. I cant really recall Cech being tested and apart from the freekick early in the game that hit the bar we were then limited to a few half chances and momentary signs of danger that didn't amount to too much. Chadli and Townsend didn't offer much, and Kane and Eriksen were largely nullified.
Having said that, Chelsea themselves didn't exactly pepper our goal. I know they were sitting back and soaking up pressure, but they were mostly restricted to set pieces and very few counter attacks. I felt defensively we did ok.
Unfortunately we didn't get the rub of the green today, and the two goals either side of half time killed things. The first was a stupid freekick to give away, and you saw what can happen with zonal marking where they all stand in a line and don't man mark, but it was still fortunate to fall to Terry. The second was cruel. I don't think Walker could have done too much, Costa shifted it on to his left and sent a hit and hoper across goal, and we got ridiculously bad luck in the deflection and that it then went at an angle that crept inside the post out of reach of a wrongfooted Lloris.
However I was a bit disappointed with some of what we did in the second half when tasked with trying to get back into the game. Whilst its all well and good saying that there was a quality difference and their players cost more and we have a limited set of tools, It seems to me that we have no way of mixing things up and just stick to plan A throughout. About four times in the second half we got a freekick and instead of getting it in the box and at least having a go, we took it short, played even more tippy tappy, and on two of those occasions spectacularly fucked it up and lost possession immediately. I don't know why when our game wasn't having success that we insisted on keeping on doing the same thing.
Linked to that is some of Poch's decisions. Yet again he made very predictable subs (taking off the AM's not named Eriksen + Mason, and throwing on his bench AM's + Soldado) and didn't change anything shape wise or playing style. I know we don't have a lot of options but I think he could be more imaginative... Townsend could have come over to the left at some point, get us playing wider and get the ball in the box a bit more, even before subs are made. At 0-2 and time running out he could 'do a van Gaal', fuck playing pretty football and put his biggest guy (Fazio) up top and start hitting him and see if that is effective. It was a bit disappointing to see us persist, however valiantly and admirably, with tippy tappy plan A when it wasn't working and time slowly ran out.
Overall we went down fighting, even though things didn't go our way. And we shouldn't be too despondent. Things that we have to improve on though, and we desperately need a bit more panache up front. A big effort is also required from them now that its only the league to concentrate on, heads mustn't drop, we have to come back strongly and finish the season well to get a decent enough league placing. Another test for them...
Lloris - Not a huge amount to do. Unlucky for both goals.
Walker - Did ok against Hazard I thought. Clearly played on with a painful knock which deserves mentioning.
Dier - Assured game, mopped up most danger. Composed on the ball. Big future ahead of him.
Vertonghen - Not a huge amount of work to do. One slight annoyance was that I noticed some of his passing being lazy at times... He is guilty of putting his team mates under pressure or under hitting them frequently.
Rose - Decent game. A couple of good last ditch interceptions to snuff out counter attacks. Tried as much as anyone to carry us forward and take the game to them.
Mason - Did ok. Composed game.
Bentaleb - Really decent game. 20 years old, first cup final, against the champions-elect... and absolutely untroubled in midfield. Another who has a big future ahead of him.
Townsend - I thought at times in first half he had brief moments where he did ok. Carried the ball on the counter well a couple of times and made a good run to open up space for Kane. He also worked quite hard, I noticed him making tackles and interceptions which is a rare occurrence. However he was shut down for long spells and didn't really provide any cutting edge. Probably should have got a run on the left wing to offer us something a bit different before getting subbed.
Eriksen - At times picked up space well, but that was usually from deeper positions. On the whole was marked out of the game. Worked reasonably hard but could have been a bit braver at times. Unlucky with his freekick.
Chadli - I said in the week that I thought his recent performances meant he would be lucky to play... well, Poch showed faith in him, and that wasn't really repaid. Gave away a daft freekick for the opening goal and in general had little impact. He didn't especially work hard, nor did he do anything positive with the ball at his feet. I sympathise that he has had a very tough time off the pitch recently, but currently his form isn't good and he is a passenger. Maybe needs some time out.
Kane - Very isolated, and was feeding off scraps. Battled away though and showed good feet to shrug off markers and win free kicks. Not his day.
Subs:
Dembele - Ok.
Lamela - Pretty erratic. Some good stuff mixed with some bad.
Soldado - One good ball across the box, but also gave the ball away a couple of times in his brief sojourn.
THFC_67
SC Supporter
- Mar 22, 2011
- 379
- 214
Agree with pretty much all of this and beautifully put, as usual.[/QUOTE]
Thought Walker deserved a better rating, did a very good job on Hazard and unlucky for the goal.
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Bus-Conductor
SC Supporter
- Oct 19, 2004
- 39,837
- 50,713
I'm not sure how to title this one. Maybe as I'm writing this one will come to me. The problem is there was no clear overriding narrative. There was some things to criticise, but some to praise. The bottom line is, no single facet cost us today, just football. Football doing it's thing, and sometimes that thing favours you and sometimes it fucks you. Ultimately, though I think Poctettino got his selections a bit wrong, his tactics a bit wrong, and though we do show frustrating ineptitude at crucial moments, and we were up against an arch tactician and his very talented and well drilled team, it was really mostly football that fucked us more than any other factor, because for all those things to criticise we didn't play badly today, we played with good intentions, we were never embarrassed and with a bit of rub our way could easily have come out with more than we did.
Managers are a puzzling breed. Anyone who watched the Arsenal game would say "There's the blueprint". So I really don't understand why he didn't go with that team, including Lamela and Dembele in the ARM and ACM and try and fuck up Chelsea like we fucked up Arsenal. Set about them, rattle them higher up before that impenetrable Mourinho bus gets into it's parking bay.
It baffles me that after nearly 40 league games and 73 first team games of largely futile clucking Townsend was given this gig. We all know Lamela is flawed but against a team like Chelsea his willingness to operate the press high up could have made a difference, and the admittedly small but real chance he may have produced something tangible could have also made a difference. An example of the pressing thing arrived early in the first 10 or so minutes, Kane and Eriksen go to press Cahill and Terry, but Townsend is off message, he's stood still 10 yards from Azpillicueta and Chelsea can easily escape to pincer movement. Townsend wasn't idle but there were occasions where he just doesn't work with the group or its a late dash afterthought. I wouldn't have had Chadli either because he's too erratic and not great for the high press either but I could at least make a case for him as he does produce sometimes. The other thing is that neither Townsend or Chadli show up for the ball as much as Lamela and Dembele do. And on tough days this is also important. Another example of this was early on when Walker was desperate for an out ball but Townsend actually ran further away and stood behind Azpillicueta as a result Walker was forced to hump away possession. Both Townsend and Chadli seem to struggle with their first touch when under pressure too. They both had moments where they got the ball and ran at Chelsea, but neither created anything you could tangibly call "good". And defensively they can both be mentally lazy. This was evidenced by the free kick Chadli gave away for the first goal. Just mental laziness, thinking I won't make the extra bit of effort to position myself properly.
I think these two selections made a difference to the way we played. Maybe Pochettino liked the 5-3 WHL Chelsea blueprint, but I thought that although we played well, that game was vey messy and open and we were very lucky that night that we buried our chances and they wasted more of theirs.
I wanted that ferocious strangle we put on Arsenal and Liverpool, not the slightly more stand offish open version we got today.
That said, after an iffy first 15 minutes I thought we grew into the game and pretty much dominated the ball, bar little pockets of the game, for the majority of it. Part of that was of course Mourinho's penchant for shelling once his team are a goal (and especially 2) to the good and also his very defensive selection of Zouma. But a big part of it was also how well Mason, Eriksen and Bentaleb played. Eriksen faded a bit second half but was everywhere first half.
Some of our approach play was very good, the ball gets moved around and we worked players into some half promising situations but unfortunately we do some mind numbingly stupid things once we get there. Rose and Walker wasted their usual quota, Kane chose to run into crowds instead of a couple of times playing simpler more effective options, Townsend and Chadli created knish and Eriksen, great everywhere else, just doesn't seem to be able to pick an incisive pass this season.
Not for the first time I thought Pochettino's subs were banal and added nothing at best and made us weaker at worst. I just do not get the tactical notion of effectively swapping mason for Dembele as CM's when you are desperate to get the ball forward quicker. And playing Soldado and Kane hasnt improved us once. He should have left Dembele in the attacking midfield and added Lamela and finished with Erikisen left, which would have also got him away from his man marker Zouma.
There are qualities I am liking about this young team, and despite the grumbles I have I thought there was plenty of honour in our defeat today. Even in this less diligent mode we are still much more tenacious and competitive than in years gone by, and we keep working to the bitter end. These are qualities that have come from Pochettino and are worth applauding because they aren't really in our DNA. 5 months ago people were making relegation threads. Here we are with the youngest team in the league playing cup finals and duking it out at the right end of the table with a load of pretty decent teams in the toughest ever EPL.
The End is possibly not nigh.
Individual
Lloris - No chance with the goals. Decent game.
Walker - Started early with one of his trade mark careers up the pitch that's all promising but ends up, under no pressure, fizzing the ball to their CM and creating a counter attack that has everyone back peddling frantically. After that he had a pretty decent game until the second goal where he drops two yards behind the defence and plays Costa onside. As ever Wasted the chance to put a couple of decent crosses into the box. A pretty standard game.
Dier - Good game, big future.
Vertonghen - Good game.
Rose - As Walker, wasted 2 or three great chances to put a telling cross in, but apart from that had a very decent game.
Mason - He still loses composure at those vital forward moments but I thought he had a very good game and should never have been taken off.
Bentaleb - Outstanding game.
Townsend - Poor. See above
Eriksen - Saw shitloads of the ball, and I appreciate that he's often involved in setting up the setting up, but we really could do with him finding his creative boots and actually creating some quality chances for others. That said, had a very good game overall and worked extremely hard with and without the ball.
Chadli - More involved than Townsend, but ultimately pretty disappointing.
Kane - Disappointing really. Needs to get his head up sometimes and play the simple pass instead of trying to plough through traffic.
Managers are a puzzling breed. Anyone who watched the Arsenal game would say "There's the blueprint". So I really don't understand why he didn't go with that team, including Lamela and Dembele in the ARM and ACM and try and fuck up Chelsea like we fucked up Arsenal. Set about them, rattle them higher up before that impenetrable Mourinho bus gets into it's parking bay.
It baffles me that after nearly 40 league games and 73 first team games of largely futile clucking Townsend was given this gig. We all know Lamela is flawed but against a team like Chelsea his willingness to operate the press high up could have made a difference, and the admittedly small but real chance he may have produced something tangible could have also made a difference. An example of the pressing thing arrived early in the first 10 or so minutes, Kane and Eriksen go to press Cahill and Terry, but Townsend is off message, he's stood still 10 yards from Azpillicueta and Chelsea can easily escape to pincer movement. Townsend wasn't idle but there were occasions where he just doesn't work with the group or its a late dash afterthought. I wouldn't have had Chadli either because he's too erratic and not great for the high press either but I could at least make a case for him as he does produce sometimes. The other thing is that neither Townsend or Chadli show up for the ball as much as Lamela and Dembele do. And on tough days this is also important. Another example of this was early on when Walker was desperate for an out ball but Townsend actually ran further away and stood behind Azpillicueta as a result Walker was forced to hump away possession. Both Townsend and Chadli seem to struggle with their first touch when under pressure too. They both had moments where they got the ball and ran at Chelsea, but neither created anything you could tangibly call "good". And defensively they can both be mentally lazy. This was evidenced by the free kick Chadli gave away for the first goal. Just mental laziness, thinking I won't make the extra bit of effort to position myself properly.
I think these two selections made a difference to the way we played. Maybe Pochettino liked the 5-3 WHL Chelsea blueprint, but I thought that although we played well, that game was vey messy and open and we were very lucky that night that we buried our chances and they wasted more of theirs.
I wanted that ferocious strangle we put on Arsenal and Liverpool, not the slightly more stand offish open version we got today.
That said, after an iffy first 15 minutes I thought we grew into the game and pretty much dominated the ball, bar little pockets of the game, for the majority of it. Part of that was of course Mourinho's penchant for shelling once his team are a goal (and especially 2) to the good and also his very defensive selection of Zouma. But a big part of it was also how well Mason, Eriksen and Bentaleb played. Eriksen faded a bit second half but was everywhere first half.
Some of our approach play was very good, the ball gets moved around and we worked players into some half promising situations but unfortunately we do some mind numbingly stupid things once we get there. Rose and Walker wasted their usual quota, Kane chose to run into crowds instead of a couple of times playing simpler more effective options, Townsend and Chadli created knish and Eriksen, great everywhere else, just doesn't seem to be able to pick an incisive pass this season.
Not for the first time I thought Pochettino's subs were banal and added nothing at best and made us weaker at worst. I just do not get the tactical notion of effectively swapping mason for Dembele as CM's when you are desperate to get the ball forward quicker. And playing Soldado and Kane hasnt improved us once. He should have left Dembele in the attacking midfield and added Lamela and finished with Erikisen left, which would have also got him away from his man marker Zouma.
There are qualities I am liking about this young team, and despite the grumbles I have I thought there was plenty of honour in our defeat today. Even in this less diligent mode we are still much more tenacious and competitive than in years gone by, and we keep working to the bitter end. These are qualities that have come from Pochettino and are worth applauding because they aren't really in our DNA. 5 months ago people were making relegation threads. Here we are with the youngest team in the league playing cup finals and duking it out at the right end of the table with a load of pretty decent teams in the toughest ever EPL.
The End is possibly not nigh.
Individual
Lloris - No chance with the goals. Decent game.
Walker - Started early with one of his trade mark careers up the pitch that's all promising but ends up, under no pressure, fizzing the ball to their CM and creating a counter attack that has everyone back peddling frantically. After that he had a pretty decent game until the second goal where he drops two yards behind the defence and plays Costa onside. As ever Wasted the chance to put a couple of decent crosses into the box. A pretty standard game.
Dier - Good game, big future.
Vertonghen - Good game.
Rose - As Walker, wasted 2 or three great chances to put a telling cross in, but apart from that had a very decent game.
Mason - He still loses composure at those vital forward moments but I thought he had a very good game and should never have been taken off.
Bentaleb - Outstanding game.
Townsend - Poor. See above
Eriksen - Saw shitloads of the ball, and I appreciate that he's often involved in setting up the setting up, but we really could do with him finding his creative boots and actually creating some quality chances for others. That said, had a very good game overall and worked extremely hard with and without the ball.
Chadli - More involved than Townsend, but ultimately pretty disappointing.
Kane - Disappointing really. Needs to get his head up sometimes and play the simple pass instead of trying to plough through traffic.
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Phomesy
Well-Known Member
- Aug 20, 2013
- 9,188
- 14,102
I'm pretty sure the Dembele decision was made by Dembele himself - he was dreadful against West Ham... Worse he was disinterested and lazy.
Clearly he didn't show remorse or fierce desire to atone in training. ...
And when he came on today, he didn't really do much at all. Again.
Dembele, like Ade and Capoue, has all the talent in the world but if they don't buy into the "mission" then they don't get started. And eventually they get the flick...
I would have liked Dembele to start today - but that was based on a performance two months ago. his last performance I saw close up was against West Ham and he was diabolical. I trust that Poch doesn't trust Dembele.I hope Poch can get Dembele to buy in - because Dembele could be anything...
As for Townsend - he was good first half. He was the only player who even looked like troubling Azpilucueta - and yes, Azpi still owned him in the end but Azpi was MOM for mine. Maybe Lamela might have put more pressure on but I thought we got about Chelsea early anyway...
I just wish that sometimes we'd play our wingers on their natural sides. Or just Townsend.
Clearly he didn't show remorse or fierce desire to atone in training. ...
And when he came on today, he didn't really do much at all. Again.
Dembele, like Ade and Capoue, has all the talent in the world but if they don't buy into the "mission" then they don't get started. And eventually they get the flick...
I would have liked Dembele to start today - but that was based on a performance two months ago. his last performance I saw close up was against West Ham and he was diabolical. I trust that Poch doesn't trust Dembele.I hope Poch can get Dembele to buy in - because Dembele could be anything...
As for Townsend - he was good first half. He was the only player who even looked like troubling Azpilucueta - and yes, Azpi still owned him in the end but Azpi was MOM for mine. Maybe Lamela might have put more pressure on but I thought we got about Chelsea early anyway...
I just wish that sometimes we'd play our wingers on their natural sides. Or just Townsend.
ackie
Well-Known Member
- Dec 29, 2005
- 8,780
- 6,660
We lost in Italy on Thursday and lost a cup final 3 days later but I'm still proud to be a Spurs!
I believe we are going in the right direction. The future is bright.
We just need to tweak the squad with a few more quality players.
Obviously disappointed but not angry.
I'm also proud of the Spurs fans...we outsang them!
COYS
I believe we are going in the right direction. The future is bright.
We just need to tweak the squad with a few more quality players.
Obviously disappointed but not angry.
I'm also proud of the Spurs fans...we outsang them!
COYS
EastLondonYid
Well-Known Member
- Jan 26, 2010
- 7,837
- 16,145
Even the worst manager in the world has worked it out let alone probably the best one.....congest the area where Kane and Eriksen operate and bar abit of luck you stop Tottenham.....once i saw their line up with 2 holding players i feared we would struggle to really open them up.Jose was taking no chances and knew exactly who to stop.
No shame in the way most of the team played, infact Bentaleb was the best player on the park by a mile, Walker,Rose and Dier didn't let themselves down either,whilst Kane & Eriksen tried tirelessly to get through Mourinho's tactics with little help from Townsend & Chadli or Lamela & Moussa later.
Poch ,like our team, is a work in progress.....and he fell short against the master on the big stage, but he is the right man and he will hopefully learn from yesterday...Jose proved once again that there are different ways of winning...and did.
No shame in the way most of the team played, infact Bentaleb was the best player on the park by a mile, Walker,Rose and Dier didn't let themselves down either,whilst Kane & Eriksen tried tirelessly to get through Mourinho's tactics with little help from Townsend & Chadli or Lamela & Moussa later.
Poch ,like our team, is a work in progress.....and he fell short against the master on the big stage, but he is the right man and he will hopefully learn from yesterday...Jose proved once again that there are different ways of winning...and did.
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shelfboy68
Well-Known Member
- Jun 14, 2008
- 14,566
- 19,651
It's not a cheap shot at all. I noted down what the ref was and wasn't giving as it happened. I included it in my ratings. The officials were absolute toss-pots. Here it is again, watch the match again and you will absolutely see all of these things (unless you have SelectiveSightitis:
Referee and assistants (particularly that baldy **** on our right) - oh, f'off, Mourinho's antics clearly got to them. Costa started on three players in quick succession, Rose was fouled by Ramirez and Cahill in quick succession, they were constantly niggling, pushing, pulling, Terry (the ****) walked behind Rose and stuck his elbow in his back in the build-up to a dead ball, Willian did a sneaky little pull-back (that I have seen players, particularly Eriksen, booked for) and we had a penalty appeal completely ignored for a handball where their player had 1 billion times more chance of getting his arm outta the way than the Vertonghen one Mourinho went on and on about at the Lane. And who got the first yellow - yeah, you guessed it, Dier (looked to me like Costa bought it a bit). And every time I see Ramirez, especially against us, I am left wandering how the hell he doesn't get about 7 yellow cards per game (obviously, would be sent off after 2, but y'know what I mean) = 4
And in not scoring. The defence wasn't shitty, they could have dealt with the situations better that led to the two goals, but that doesn't alter the fact that Chelsea scored from two scruffy deflections (I'm not that sure the second was even intended as a shot, TBH). But this kinda misses the point, anyway.
It was a poor decision, I said it was a poor decision in my ratings in this very thread. Questions have been raised, incidentally, as to whether it was actually a foul. But, again, it's kinda missing the point.
That's the narrative you want to see...so that is what you see! If we came desperately close to scoring and they only scored due to deflections on scuffed shots, then, surely, it is not so clear cut as saying they were always going to score and we were always going to not score - not unless you believe in some cosmic fate-pipe that gets turned on, for games like this, so a quota of fate pours out.
Again, you miss the point. I didn't ask it if hit the bar, I stated that it did. I didn't ask if stats wise it counted as on target. I asked you if you knew before hand that the ball from any Erisken free-kick would hit the bar today rather than go in, because that is the only way you can say you knew we wouldn't score. It missed by a fraction = therefore it was fahooking close = therefore no-one could have predicted that Erisen would not score with any free-kick today unless they have the sight.
And, as I explained to Enfield, taking a before hand understanding that Chelsea were the favourites, with a manager who knows how to grind out results in this type of game and experience of winning several trophies, and a team with the quality and nous to implement his tactics, and pairing that with knowledge of the final result doesn't mean you knew what the result would be. It means they were favourites...and we all knew that. It means a victory for Chelsea was the more likely outcome...and we all knew that. But it doesn't mean they were predestined to win and any such prediction would have been infallible! And it misses the point: if Eriksen's free-kick had hit the bar, would you absolutely certainty (or anyone else's, based on looking at the team-sheet, for instance) have still been correct?
Come-on, Shelfy, it's what is known in the legal profession as a leading question
SP i look forward to your blogs and this again is a good one, i especially like the narrative about seeing what you want etc.
I think your blog covers it superbly with the officials who did a good job overall considering Mourinho won this last week when he went on sky tv moaning and groaning, the siege mentality started then.
I see you have mentioned eriksons freekick on this thread more than once which i can understand why as we didnt have a shot on target in open play absolutley shocking.
We were never going to beat them twice in a season you must have known that your a clever fella,beating them once is worth a DVD on its own.
And as for Our defence well since beating Arsenal we have been conceding two goals a game, if thats not shit i dont know what is the question is what the Fuck is poch doing about it.
When pullis when to palace he had them keeping clean sheets within a few weeks so why cant we, i would say our players are not good enough.
However its good to see your blogs whether i agree with them or not.
shelfboy68
Well-Known Member
- Jun 14, 2008
- 14,566
- 19,651
We dont have the players to open up these teams if you stifle the two you mentioned then we are fucked.
spurs-r-us
Well-Known Member
- Aug 21, 2008
- 2,206
- 3,022
Thought Dier was excellent all day against a very tricky opponent.
Gone for him just ahead of Bentaleb.
Gone for him just ahead of Bentaleb.
Gilzeanking
Well-Known Member
- May 7, 2005
- 6,108
- 5,038
This is a new Spurs . The stats for increased effort are off the scale vs recent years . There's a lot of obvious pleasure in these threads about this . The new equation is Poch + young players + massive effort = success . After a great Jan we had ITK declaring that the days of buying costly foreigners was over , the above equation was going to see us into a new era .
A chairman's dream ..new assets being created cost free before his eyes as the victories pile up .
After a couple of great wins we all bought into it . Spurs new mantra being 'effort is king'....and the effort has been impressive.
Its very newness at Spurs has surprised opponents , new stars like Kane have surprised them too. However these surprises are over now .The world now knows how we're going to play . We have a plan A only manager so in-game surprises are rare.
What I'm getting to is that Levy has the same probs as before. He HAS to put his hand in his pocket so we can buy skill , buy the unexpected .Soldado Pauline and poss Lamela have all failed to come close to expectations . (Chadli not , because he plays like an 8 mill player) This will have affected Levy's view of foreign talent and his preparedness to risk a skill purchase .
Have we reached a Sugar like ' No more Carlos kickaball' situation? ITK says yes . I hope not because as we've seen recently , we aren't getting through oppo defences, our players aren't creative enough...creative skills cost the most. The next bus parker at the Lane will frustrate us as usual regardless of our youthful effort.
Everyone has sussed it, stop Kane and Eriksen and we have very little left .
I see people here regularly say how bright our future is these days , but without an injection of skill into our attack , I'm not so convinced we're going further than 6th-7th. A blend of skill and youthful effort is required and at the mo we just don't have the skill part sorted. The 2013 splurge on skill has been close to a disaster . I'm praying Levy isn't now expecting miracles from our academy alone .
...and where the FUCK is Ade .
On the match , good effort , but a skills shortage .
A chairman's dream ..new assets being created cost free before his eyes as the victories pile up .
After a couple of great wins we all bought into it . Spurs new mantra being 'effort is king'....and the effort has been impressive.
Its very newness at Spurs has surprised opponents , new stars like Kane have surprised them too. However these surprises are over now .The world now knows how we're going to play . We have a plan A only manager so in-game surprises are rare.
What I'm getting to is that Levy has the same probs as before. He HAS to put his hand in his pocket so we can buy skill , buy the unexpected .Soldado Pauline and poss Lamela have all failed to come close to expectations . (Chadli not , because he plays like an 8 mill player) This will have affected Levy's view of foreign talent and his preparedness to risk a skill purchase .
Have we reached a Sugar like ' No more Carlos kickaball' situation? ITK says yes . I hope not because as we've seen recently , we aren't getting through oppo defences, our players aren't creative enough...creative skills cost the most. The next bus parker at the Lane will frustrate us as usual regardless of our youthful effort.
Everyone has sussed it, stop Kane and Eriksen and we have very little left .
I see people here regularly say how bright our future is these days , but without an injection of skill into our attack , I'm not so convinced we're going further than 6th-7th. A blend of skill and youthful effort is required and at the mo we just don't have the skill part sorted. The 2013 splurge on skill has been close to a disaster . I'm praying Levy isn't now expecting miracles from our academy alone .
...and where the FUCK is Ade .
On the match , good effort , but a skills shortage .
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THFCSPURS19
The Speaker of the Transfer Rumours Forum
- Jan 6, 2013
- 37,891
- 130,525
Regarding Mason, hasn't he been substituted in nearly every game he's played in? I wonder if he just physically cannot play 90 minutes yet.
Didn't think we did too bad, limited Chelsea to a small handful of chances and played some bright football at times, albeit unfortunately without too much end product. Some big plus points for the future with Bentaleb and Dier in particular looking like they could grow into top players.
Walker is a big concern for me. He is a an excellent athlete and I don't doubt his commitment at all but his positional sense and his knowledge in the art of defending shows little improvement. As a defender he should be stopping balls coming into our box but often he is not positioned well enough to prevent this. Costa went by him and sent a shot across (which he was unfortunate to deflect) but he should not be giving Costa that option. About 5 minutes later Costa gets into a very similar position but this time with Vertongen (I think) marking him and Vertonghen is tight to him and forces him to turn and play back out - that is good defending. Last week for West Ham's second goal Walker was overloaded with a man in the middle and a man behind him at the edge of the penalty area. When the ball came over he busts a gut to get to the man at the back but then suddenly stops 2 yards off him and practically invites him to cross, thereby leading to the goal. We have to stop letting the ball come so easily into our box from the flanks (both sides but particularly our right) and Walker seems to have taken a step backwards in this area.
Walker is a big concern for me. He is a an excellent athlete and I don't doubt his commitment at all but his positional sense and his knowledge in the art of defending shows little improvement. As a defender he should be stopping balls coming into our box but often he is not positioned well enough to prevent this. Costa went by him and sent a shot across (which he was unfortunate to deflect) but he should not be giving Costa that option. About 5 minutes later Costa gets into a very similar position but this time with Vertongen (I think) marking him and Vertonghen is tight to him and forces him to turn and play back out - that is good defending. Last week for West Ham's second goal Walker was overloaded with a man in the middle and a man behind him at the edge of the penalty area. When the ball came over he busts a gut to get to the man at the back but then suddenly stops 2 yards off him and practically invites him to cross, thereby leading to the goal. We have to stop letting the ball come so easily into our box from the flanks (both sides but particularly our right) and Walker seems to have taken a step backwards in this area.
DEFchenkOE
Well-Known Member
- Feb 13, 2006
- 10,527
- 8,052
Agree with your post, but unfortunately the bit in bold isn't happening any time soon.
Mourinho did outdo Poch tactically, Eriksen gets lost sometimes in the no 10 position anyway but by putting someone as strong and quick as Zouma in the DM position basically meant there was no space at all for Eriksen to do anything in the final 3rd.
kungfugrip
Well-Known Member
- Apr 8, 2005
- 1,613
- 1,523
Our team of relative youngsters bossed the first half against the league leaders. Conceded two scrappy goals and ran out of steam second half. We didn't create much and we're frustrated by the lack of saves Cech had to make, but we should be proud of our young team.
walworthyid
David Ginola
- Oct 25, 2004
- 7,059
- 10,242
This is the first time I've been on here since the game and I am very surprised. Maybe just people expressing their dis appointment but I thought we played really well yesterday. No bad performances really. We just didn't get the breaks and Mourinho got it spot on tactically to nullify the threat of kane and eriksen.
I'm really optimistic for the future of this team.
I'm really optimistic for the future of this team.
double0
Well-Known Member
- Aug 29, 2006
- 14,423
- 12,258
Bentaleb was amazing real classy dominant midfield performance from a 19/20 year old fucking unbelievable. MOTM. 9/10
Walker had Hazard under control very unlucky with Costa deflection .8/10
Eriksen Rose Dier 7.5/10 well played
Mason played very controlled. Kane was a little isolated but when in the game made things happen. 7/10
Lloris 6.5/10
Vertonghen did not take charge imo 6
Chadli Townsend 5/10 failed to support Kane more.
I believe in our /Pochettinho-philosophy but can also understand the need of planB however our style of play with more time will come out on top imo the roots are there and to be fair Chelski had to deflected goals.
Walker had Hazard under control very unlucky with Costa deflection .8/10
Eriksen Rose Dier 7.5/10 well played
Mason played very controlled. Kane was a little isolated but when in the game made things happen. 7/10
Lloris 6.5/10
Vertonghen did not take charge imo 6
Chadli Townsend 5/10 failed to support Kane more.
I believe in our /Pochettinho-philosophy but can also understand the need of planB however our style of play with more time will come out on top imo the roots are there and to be fair Chelski had to deflected goals.
mpickard2087
Patient Zero
- Jun 13, 2008
- 21,889
- 32,562
I think its more to do with Poch having just one set of pre-planned substitutions... If we aren't winning a game he takes off the AM's not called Eriksen, plus Mason, and throws on his bench AM's + Soldado. Never going away from the 4-2-3-1.
