TheHoddleWaddle
Well-Known Member
- Dec 13, 2013
- 11,359
- 20,392
Not blaming rose btw. It's a team weakness.
Ratings vs Crystal Palace
- Thread starter Bulletspur
- Start date
THFCSPURS19
The Speaker of the Transfer Rumours Forum
- Jan 6, 2013
- 37,894
- 130,530
I thought Eriksen was quite poor, surprised you think he made us better when, apart from the first 10-15 minutes, we were pretty dire in the 2nd half.
nssmuckers
Active Member
- Jul 2, 2013
- 284
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Thought the first substitution really hurt us, unfortunately. I think obviously it was right to bring Eriksen on, but removing Dembele pretty much reduced us to one central midfielder and created a disconnect between defense and attack. I don't think Onomah was poor but he probably should have been the one to make way. The system was working fine--we just needed the players to be sharper in the final third. I would have preferred like-for-like subs across the board to see if different players could find the answer.
I think even Pochettino recognized this and tried to rectify it (too late) by bringing on Mason to partner Bentaleb. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Nabil had a better first half than second. Dembele may not have been great, but he's not exactly the type of midfielder to make runs off the ball into the box. Once he went off, Nabil was very often on his own in central midfield, and IMO we were lucky not to get hit harder on the break with all the space that was there.
Interesting that usually I feel Pochettino waits too long to make changes, but today he kind of jumped the gun IMO.
Son and Alli were our best players probably--at least in the first half. Defense was very shaky, central midfield was just okay, fullbacks were incredibly inconsistent as is often the case with this pair. Thought we weren't bad though...starting to become a bit worried about our goalscoring, but shit happens...cup football is a crapshoot.
I think even Pochettino recognized this and tried to rectify it (too late) by bringing on Mason to partner Bentaleb. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Nabil had a better first half than second. Dembele may not have been great, but he's not exactly the type of midfielder to make runs off the ball into the box. Once he went off, Nabil was very often on his own in central midfield, and IMO we were lucky not to get hit harder on the break with all the space that was there.
Interesting that usually I feel Pochettino waits too long to make changes, but today he kind of jumped the gun IMO.
Son and Alli were our best players probably--at least in the first half. Defense was very shaky, central midfield was just okay, fullbacks were incredibly inconsistent as is often the case with this pair. Thought we weren't bad though...starting to become a bit worried about our goalscoring, but shit happens...cup football is a crapshoot.
Vorm (7) -Saved a goal from Walkers header, claimed the ball well in front of Dann. Wouldn't blame him for the goal despite it being as his near post. Played pretty well in my opinion.
Walker (6) - Quite ineffective both in attack and defence today. Disappointing performance
Dier (7)- Good game, as always now days. Has grown into the DM role but today he showed himself still a great option to back up our CB options.
Wimmer (6) - Generally played pretty well, looked a little slow and sloppy on occasions though, was positionally out of sorts once or twice. Needs Toby next to him right now still I think
Rose (6) - His general play was worth a 7. Worked very hard, played very well up and down the pitch, I bump him down to a six however because it infuriates me when our full backs tuck too far inside and mark no one (occupying space covered by our CB's already) and allow the opponents to get a man over on their wing, it so often leads to a chance from an unopposed cross and today it cost us again with a shot that was completely unpressurised resulting in the winning goal. I'm not singling Rose out because all our full backs do this every game and indeed the wide forwards ahead of them never seem to get back and cover, but today was an example of neglecting the runner and poor positioning not a fullback struggling to get back down the pitch having been on the attack (which is of course forgiveable)
Bentaleb (6) - I thought he had a decent enough game. He's just not currently one of our best CM options. As a squad player he's excellent though and he put in a good shift today. It's up to him to step up his game and force his way back in to the first team as others have raised the bar however
Dembele (6) - Without being his excellent self I thought he played well and I thought we were weaker in the middle having brought him off
Son (7) - Played very well, great dribbling, lots of energy and constantly looked like making something happen. Made the wrong choice a couple of times but he's still growing in to the squad and adapting, Very promising performance, I Think it was a mistake to take him off when we did.
Onomah (6) - Also very promising. High energy, got forward and got involved. Could have scored twice and should have done better (at least hit the target and forced a save each time). He pressed well and won the ball and he was lively and looked capable in attack. I would have taken him off though as despite all his huff and puff I never felt he had the key to unlock the gate today. He certainly looks an excellent prospect for the future though.
Alli (7) - Between he and Son for my MOTM, I give him the nod. Thought he was excellent again. So unlucky not to score twice and always pressured the defence and wanted to get the ball and make things happen for us. Such a great player, a superstar in the making
Kane (6) - I thought he played very well. Was strong, worked hard on and off the ball, brought team mates in to play, unlucky not to score from a free kick and his deflected volley could have gone anywhere. For me he is often isolated and we need more players to do what Lamela can and bridge the gap between midfield possession and attack i.e. give Kane some presentable chances instead of forcing him to rely on long shots and 50/50s. My only complaint is I felt he should have scored from Alli's excellent low cross when he missed his flick in the 6 yard box (would have been much like Son's goal vs Watford)
Subs:
Eriksen (6) - He was decent but didn't do enough to really make things happen. With the amount of set pieces we had he should have put the ball in more dangerous positions, even with their height and strength in the box we should have been able to force them into more dangerous situations than they faced from corners
Chadli (6) - He failed to really make an impact. In truth by the time he came on we had lost our attacking intent and he wasn't given much chance but he for his part did nothing to change that, I only really remember his volley which hit the defender and went out for a corner. We need more impact off the bench I fear
Mason (6) - Very sloppy, off the pace just like on Thursday. In truth I couldn;;t understand why we brought him on in the first place. Seemed like the wrong move to me and the way things panned out did nothing to make me reconsider my initial reaction
On the whole disappointing. A game we controlled first half and for the first half of the second half. A game we really should have won with ease. But we were sloppy and wasteful as well as unlucky at times. THe biggest shame was how we lost all hope half way through the second half and just went through the motions with long shots and corners, no attacking guile or craft. First half I never doubted we would win, second half of the second half I never believed we could score.....story of the game for me
Walker (6) - Quite ineffective both in attack and defence today. Disappointing performance
Dier (7)- Good game, as always now days. Has grown into the DM role but today he showed himself still a great option to back up our CB options.
Wimmer (6) - Generally played pretty well, looked a little slow and sloppy on occasions though, was positionally out of sorts once or twice. Needs Toby next to him right now still I think
Rose (6) - His general play was worth a 7. Worked very hard, played very well up and down the pitch, I bump him down to a six however because it infuriates me when our full backs tuck too far inside and mark no one (occupying space covered by our CB's already) and allow the opponents to get a man over on their wing, it so often leads to a chance from an unopposed cross and today it cost us again with a shot that was completely unpressurised resulting in the winning goal. I'm not singling Rose out because all our full backs do this every game and indeed the wide forwards ahead of them never seem to get back and cover, but today was an example of neglecting the runner and poor positioning not a fullback struggling to get back down the pitch having been on the attack (which is of course forgiveable)
Bentaleb (6) - I thought he had a decent enough game. He's just not currently one of our best CM options. As a squad player he's excellent though and he put in a good shift today. It's up to him to step up his game and force his way back in to the first team as others have raised the bar however
Dembele (6) - Without being his excellent self I thought he played well and I thought we were weaker in the middle having brought him off
Son (7) - Played very well, great dribbling, lots of energy and constantly looked like making something happen. Made the wrong choice a couple of times but he's still growing in to the squad and adapting, Very promising performance, I Think it was a mistake to take him off when we did.
Onomah (6) - Also very promising. High energy, got forward and got involved. Could have scored twice and should have done better (at least hit the target and forced a save each time). He pressed well and won the ball and he was lively and looked capable in attack. I would have taken him off though as despite all his huff and puff I never felt he had the key to unlock the gate today. He certainly looks an excellent prospect for the future though.
Alli (7) - Between he and Son for my MOTM, I give him the nod. Thought he was excellent again. So unlucky not to score twice and always pressured the defence and wanted to get the ball and make things happen for us. Such a great player, a superstar in the making
Kane (6) - I thought he played very well. Was strong, worked hard on and off the ball, brought team mates in to play, unlucky not to score from a free kick and his deflected volley could have gone anywhere. For me he is often isolated and we need more players to do what Lamela can and bridge the gap between midfield possession and attack i.e. give Kane some presentable chances instead of forcing him to rely on long shots and 50/50s. My only complaint is I felt he should have scored from Alli's excellent low cross when he missed his flick in the 6 yard box (would have been much like Son's goal vs Watford)
Subs:
Eriksen (6) - He was decent but didn't do enough to really make things happen. With the amount of set pieces we had he should have put the ball in more dangerous positions, even with their height and strength in the box we should have been able to force them into more dangerous situations than they faced from corners
Chadli (6) - He failed to really make an impact. In truth by the time he came on we had lost our attacking intent and he wasn't given much chance but he for his part did nothing to change that, I only really remember his volley which hit the defender and went out for a corner. We need more impact off the bench I fear
Mason (6) - Very sloppy, off the pace just like on Thursday. In truth I couldn;;t understand why we brought him on in the first place. Seemed like the wrong move to me and the way things panned out did nothing to make me reconsider my initial reaction
On the whole disappointing. A game we controlled first half and for the first half of the second half. A game we really should have won with ease. But we were sloppy and wasteful as well as unlucky at times. THe biggest shame was how we lost all hope half way through the second half and just went through the motions with long shots and corners, no attacking guile or craft. First half I never doubted we would win, second half of the second half I never believed we could score.....story of the game for me
whitelanefever
Well-Known Member
- Aug 21, 2012
- 2,149
- 2,855
Vorm.. As a back-up keeper he has some pluses & negatives.. his kicking is very good & he was quick off his line today.. Negative.. Does'nt command his box enough & although it's hard playing with a new cb pairing he needs to be more vocal.. the first half today was very much the combination of Dier, bentaleb & Wimmer playing there own individual game.. I wouldn't be to hard on Vorm.. had some very good moments & some not so.. 6.5
Walker... A few weeks ago he looked a world beater.. the last couple of games he has been average to poor today.. it's so confusing to know what to make of him..5
Dier.. really struggled first half.. he was been constantly fowled by Wickham & Ade first half which made it hard for him to compete.. second half was better..6.5
Wimmer.. I thought first half really struggled without Toby organising.. second half I thought he really stood up & took some leadership of the back line & grew into the game.. 7.5
Rose. You got a love his battling qualities & is a real warrior however he has to improve his crossing & there was a few occasions where Son & Bentaleb had played the ball for him to run onto & he was asleep.. gave away some needless free-kicks late on.. poor on the goal.. I'm hard on judgement on him like Walker that's because I love there commitment & want them to be better..6
Bentaleb.. I like how he sees the whole field & want's to move the bal quickly off either foot.. sometimes tried to force it other times players just weren't on the same page when he played the ball into space.. He has a quality where he doesn't hide & can distinctly remember 3 incidents where he was screaming for the ball from Walker & Son & if you look at him before he called for the ball you could see him look left where there was loads of space.. the ball never came to him & it was opportunity missed.. lack of understanding with team-mates at times but at least he was looking to up the tempo.. it can take two players to make good pass..Overall for first game in ages I thought he was ok.. not great & not awful. I'd hate to see the boo boys ruin such a talented lad..6.5
Dembele.. lacked his usual dominance...6
Son.. Worked so hard & could actually understand him going off as he was starting to fade.. some really nice runs other times he would of been better off just laying the ball off quickly.. wanted to many touches at times.. 6.5
Onomah.. done ok in sporadic moments.. so did some good things.. not enough though at this level will have gained confidence from not been subbed.. instead of been hauled off having not had a great day, Pochettino showed trust in him that will help his confidence.... Tends to over thinks things when he is in the box.. needs to be more like Alli & just play instinctively in those areas.. he gets nervous in those moments.. talented lad just not ready yet.. 6
Alli.. He has the swagger of a superstar about him.. he knows it opposition know it.. he's going to the very top.. today because there was so many changes we didn't have any cohesion & understanding between players, surprised he came-off as looked one of the more likely to get a goal...7
Kane.. Very quiet today but still showed moments of quality..6.5
Eriksen.. For the first 10-20 mins he was on we looked better after that looked to struggle with the pace of the game.. he's vital to our play & when he's not in the team we lack that ability to expose teams...5.5
Chadli.. Nothing of note. 5
Mason..lack of sharpness told..very poor..4.5
Walker... A few weeks ago he looked a world beater.. the last couple of games he has been average to poor today.. it's so confusing to know what to make of him..5
Dier.. really struggled first half.. he was been constantly fowled by Wickham & Ade first half which made it hard for him to compete.. second half was better..6.5
Wimmer.. I thought first half really struggled without Toby organising.. second half I thought he really stood up & took some leadership of the back line & grew into the game.. 7.5
Rose. You got a love his battling qualities & is a real warrior however he has to improve his crossing & there was a few occasions where Son & Bentaleb had played the ball for him to run onto & he was asleep.. gave away some needless free-kicks late on.. poor on the goal.. I'm hard on judgement on him like Walker that's because I love there commitment & want them to be better..6
Bentaleb.. I like how he sees the whole field & want's to move the bal quickly off either foot.. sometimes tried to force it other times players just weren't on the same page when he played the ball into space.. He has a quality where he doesn't hide & can distinctly remember 3 incidents where he was screaming for the ball from Walker & Son & if you look at him before he called for the ball you could see him look left where there was loads of space.. the ball never came to him & it was opportunity missed.. lack of understanding with team-mates at times but at least he was looking to up the tempo.. it can take two players to make good pass..Overall for first game in ages I thought he was ok.. not great & not awful. I'd hate to see the boo boys ruin such a talented lad..6.5
Dembele.. lacked his usual dominance...6
Son.. Worked so hard & could actually understand him going off as he was starting to fade.. some really nice runs other times he would of been better off just laying the ball off quickly.. wanted to many touches at times.. 6.5
Onomah.. done ok in sporadic moments.. so did some good things.. not enough though at this level will have gained confidence from not been subbed.. instead of been hauled off having not had a great day, Pochettino showed trust in him that will help his confidence.... Tends to over thinks things when he is in the box.. needs to be more like Alli & just play instinctively in those areas.. he gets nervous in those moments.. talented lad just not ready yet.. 6
Alli.. He has the swagger of a superstar about him.. he knows it opposition know it.. he's going to the very top.. today because there was so many changes we didn't have any cohesion & understanding between players, surprised he came-off as looked one of the more likely to get a goal...7
Kane.. Very quiet today but still showed moments of quality..6.5
Eriksen.. For the first 10-20 mins he was on we looked better after that looked to struggle with the pace of the game.. he's vital to our play & when he's not in the team we lack that ability to expose teams...5.5
Chadli.. Nothing of note. 5
Mason..lack of sharpness told..very poor..4.5
jonathanhotspur
Loose Cannon
- Jun 28, 2009
- 10,292
- 8,250
Turns out Dembele was taken off due to a niggle with his groin.
So,so.
Alli(7+) so nearly won it in the first 15 minutes.
So now we concentrate on the league
with the Europa as back up.
All a bit indifferent, everyone had their moments.
Vorm(7) thought he was Lloris for the Walker save but then forgot.
Mostly 6's otherwise. perhaps 6+ for Bentaleb/ Son and Rose.
and a special not 6 category for Walker (5).
Pleased for Onomah being left on, could have had a couple
with more confidence and decisiveness
Thought Eriksen made an initial impact but lost his way.
Got used to winning or not losing so a little disappointed
but if you don't score you can't win.
And you can quote me on that.
Hey ho, on with motley
Alli(7+) so nearly won it in the first 15 minutes.
So now we concentrate on the league
with the Europa as back up.
All a bit indifferent, everyone had their moments.
Vorm(7) thought he was Lloris for the Walker save but then forgot.
Mostly 6's otherwise. perhaps 6+ for Bentaleb/ Son and Rose.
and a special not 6 category for Walker (5).
Pleased for Onomah being left on, could have had a couple
with more confidence and decisiveness
Thought Eriksen made an initial impact but lost his way.
Got used to winning or not losing so a little disappointed
but if you don't score you can't win.
And you can quote me on that.
Hey ho, on with motley
Good Doctor M
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2010
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dynamoSpurs
Well-Known Member
- Aug 29, 2006
- 2,718
- 895
Bloody rose's terribly misplaced cross field pass led to their goal.
So for that, I call him the crap of the match.
Says a lot considering he's my adopted player.
So for that, I call him the crap of the match.
Says a lot considering he's my adopted player.
dondo
Well-Known Member
- Jan 4, 2006
- 8,603
- 14,091
Lloris or any keeper wouldn't have saved that shot, the guy was 8 yards out and hit it as hard as he could unless it was straight at vorm he had no chance
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CarrickSpurgus
Well-Known Member
- Aug 31, 2012
- 626
- 1,583
Sorry but it's true,he doesn't fill me with confidence each time he plays,also I think Hugo wouldn't have conceeded that goal at fiorentina, I don't rate him as a keeper and it's been said that he needs a run of games to find form.Well that's no good ,we need a second keeper that hits the ground running
SlotBadger
({})?
- Jul 24, 2013
- 14,010
- 43,848
Do all of our fullbacks, other than Trippier, actually aim for the first man when crossing?
Blake Griffin
Well-Known Member
- Oct 3, 2011
- 14,162
- 38,452
it's easy to say hugo would've saved it but then he's let in some pretty soft ones himself this season like against newcastle(perez) and arsenal(gibbs), overall vorm has been fine.
Bus-Conductor
SC Supporter
- Oct 19, 2004
- 39,837
- 50,713
Just got round to watching the whole game.
I think the Dembele/Bentaleb CM pairing wasn't quite right, would have been lovely to see Winks given a debut, a game like this being a perfect opportunity, I think either him or Mason would have been a better balance next to Bentaleb. Pleased to see Onomah given a start and kept on the for the 90, justifiably IMO as for 18yo kid, playing against pretty much full strength premier league opposition I thought he had a very decent knock, showed some nice touches, pressed well and won the ball back a few times (making more tackles - 6 - than any other player) and getting 90 minutes under his belt will help his development.
I'd like to have seen Trip/Davies play this one, Walker/Rose play Fiorentina and then Trip/Davies play the league game next week.
Would much rather have seen Son started up front and Kane rested completely for this one.
This game took the pattern of quite a few games like this, Palace were organised, sat deep, were very competitive and physical and only offered token break and set piece threat. We dominated the game throughout really, and it was just a bit of carelessness and unlucky rub at either end of the pitch that saw us lose this game.
We rarely create shitloads of quality chances against this kind of opposition tactic, and we didn't today, but we created enough moments to have won, Alli particularly was very unlucky not to score.
Considering they weren't really overtly tested I thought all the defenders had some really poor moments. Rose gets a lot of plaudits for his energy and chippyness but his continual wasting of good forward positions is frustrating and it was his terrible cross field pass that led to their goal. Walker continues to offer very little going forward and has some poor defensive moments, Dier and Wimmer both looked a bit wobbly first half but improved second a bit half I thought.
Bentaleb had a very decent game, especially considering he's not been near the first team lately, saw shitloads of the ball, moved it quickly and got the ball into the AM's a lot.
Son's a bit of enigma. I thought he was actually very good first half, lively, direct, showed some decent touches, but there are other times when his touch lets him down or his feet don't quite cash cheques his brain tries to write. But this is true, in varying degrees of players like Kane, Alli and Chadli too.
The decision to bring Eriksen on not Winks or Mason wasn't disastrous, but it wasn't particularly tactically clever either. Hard to see the point of putting a player like Winks on the bench if's he's not going to be given the opportunity for 45 minutes in his best and natural position in a game like this, we certainly aren't going to play any less important games this season and these young players are rarely a compromise, they are talented, aren't jaded by the rigours of an exhaustive recent schedule and always give their all, and it gets them valuable development time. How/when better to get it ?
Odd individual moments aside, we played well enough today. Just one of those days.
Individual
Vorm - I think he did poorly for the goal. It didn't go high into the top corner, it went in about four foot up. Apart from that he was OK.
Walker - pfftt..
Dier - Did a couple of daft things, but got steadier I think, as the game wore on.
Wimmer - Same as Dier really, got caught out a couple of times on the break but steadied as the game wore on. These two haven't played much together and Palace's break football can cause problems.
Rose - Lots of effort, short on composure and quality.
Bentaleb - Good game.
Dembele - OK.
Eriksen - OK but was an odd choice to bring on for Dembele with Winks and Mason sitting on the bench. Would rather he'd just been given a complete rest today.
Son - I thought he was lively, direct and showed some nice touches first half, but at times he's also like an exuberant puppy and his touch lets him down, faded as the game wore on.
Alli - Pretty decent game, some nice touches, unlucky not to score.
Onomah - Decent game overall. Pressed well, played some nice little passes under pressure and made the most tackles of anyone - in other words, you can see he suits Poch's ethos.
Kane - Poor first half, worked harder second half but not his greatest game and I would have rested him completely.
I think the Dembele/Bentaleb CM pairing wasn't quite right, would have been lovely to see Winks given a debut, a game like this being a perfect opportunity, I think either him or Mason would have been a better balance next to Bentaleb. Pleased to see Onomah given a start and kept on the for the 90, justifiably IMO as for 18yo kid, playing against pretty much full strength premier league opposition I thought he had a very decent knock, showed some nice touches, pressed well and won the ball back a few times (making more tackles - 6 - than any other player) and getting 90 minutes under his belt will help his development.
I'd like to have seen Trip/Davies play this one, Walker/Rose play Fiorentina and then Trip/Davies play the league game next week.
Would much rather have seen Son started up front and Kane rested completely for this one.
This game took the pattern of quite a few games like this, Palace were organised, sat deep, were very competitive and physical and only offered token break and set piece threat. We dominated the game throughout really, and it was just a bit of carelessness and unlucky rub at either end of the pitch that saw us lose this game.
We rarely create shitloads of quality chances against this kind of opposition tactic, and we didn't today, but we created enough moments to have won, Alli particularly was very unlucky not to score.
Considering they weren't really overtly tested I thought all the defenders had some really poor moments. Rose gets a lot of plaudits for his energy and chippyness but his continual wasting of good forward positions is frustrating and it was his terrible cross field pass that led to their goal. Walker continues to offer very little going forward and has some poor defensive moments, Dier and Wimmer both looked a bit wobbly first half but improved second a bit half I thought.
Bentaleb had a very decent game, especially considering he's not been near the first team lately, saw shitloads of the ball, moved it quickly and got the ball into the AM's a lot.
Son's a bit of enigma. I thought he was actually very good first half, lively, direct, showed some decent touches, but there are other times when his touch lets him down or his feet don't quite cash cheques his brain tries to write. But this is true, in varying degrees of players like Kane, Alli and Chadli too.
The decision to bring Eriksen on not Winks or Mason wasn't disastrous, but it wasn't particularly tactically clever either. Hard to see the point of putting a player like Winks on the bench if's he's not going to be given the opportunity for 45 minutes in his best and natural position in a game like this, we certainly aren't going to play any less important games this season and these young players are rarely a compromise, they are talented, aren't jaded by the rigours of an exhaustive recent schedule and always give their all, and it gets them valuable development time. How/when better to get it ?
Odd individual moments aside, we played well enough today. Just one of those days.
Individual
Vorm - I think he did poorly for the goal. It didn't go high into the top corner, it went in about four foot up. Apart from that he was OK.
Walker - pfftt..
Dier - Did a couple of daft things, but got steadier I think, as the game wore on.
Wimmer - Same as Dier really, got caught out a couple of times on the break but steadied as the game wore on. These two haven't played much together and Palace's break football can cause problems.
Rose - Lots of effort, short on composure and quality.
Bentaleb - Good game.
Dembele - OK.
Eriksen - OK but was an odd choice to bring on for Dembele with Winks and Mason sitting on the bench. Would rather he'd just been given a complete rest today.
Son - I thought he was lively, direct and showed some nice touches first half, but at times he's also like an exuberant puppy and his touch lets him down, faded as the game wore on.
Alli - Pretty decent game, some nice touches, unlucky not to score.
Onomah - Decent game overall. Pressed well, played some nice little passes under pressure and made the most tackles of anyone - in other words, you can see he suits Poch's ethos.
Kane - Poor first half, worked harder second half but not his greatest game and I would have rested him completely.
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- Oct 17, 2006
- 10,706
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- Thread starter
- #36
Really? Dont think so. We only had to win 4 FA cup matches to lift the cup. Even if we win the 12 remaining games in the Barclays Premier League, we still are not guaranteed the title. The FA cup was our best bet in my opinion.
glospur
Well-Known Member
- May 19, 2015
- 2,608
- 9,806
Can't be bothered doing full rating's but I'm very surprised at the negative reaction to Bentaleb's game. I think he's been mostly poor this season, yet I thought he was one of our best against Palace. He maintained possession well and played a number of very good forward balls that split their defensive lines and led to chances for the forward players. He was also largely effective in his defensive duties, snuffing out a few promising situations in which Palace found themselves.
Between Bentaleb, Alli and Rose for my MotM.
On the other end of the spectrum, i thought Mason was mostly atrocious when he was on the field, but I'm a big fans of his so I'm willing to put it down to rust seeing as though he's been out for most of the season. Also, why the fuck for a 10-15 minute period late in the second half did we think it would be a novel idea to turn ourselves into Pulis or Allardyce-style long-ball neanderthals? I understand pumping the ball long in the last few minutes but there was still 15 minutes of so left when our CB's (mostly Dier), Walker and Mason decided to completely bypass our midfield and lump it to the non-existent aerial presence on the left wing. It was completely frustrating and wasted so much time when the ball would inevitable sail into the stands.
For the most part though we alternated by being incredibly unlucky or not being clinical enough. On another day we probably could have had 4 or 5. Hopefully though this loss will dispel any lasting complacency in the squad -if indeed, any did exist.
Between Bentaleb, Alli and Rose for my MotM.
On the other end of the spectrum, i thought Mason was mostly atrocious when he was on the field, but I'm a big fans of his so I'm willing to put it down to rust seeing as though he's been out for most of the season. Also, why the fuck for a 10-15 minute period late in the second half did we think it would be a novel idea to turn ourselves into Pulis or Allardyce-style long-ball neanderthals? I understand pumping the ball long in the last few minutes but there was still 15 minutes of so left when our CB's (mostly Dier), Walker and Mason decided to completely bypass our midfield and lump it to the non-existent aerial presence on the left wing. It was completely frustrating and wasted so much time when the ball would inevitable sail into the stands.
For the most part though we alternated by being incredibly unlucky or not being clinical enough. On another day we probably could have had 4 or 5. Hopefully though this loss will dispel any lasting complacency in the squad -if indeed, any did exist.
Matthew Wyatt
Call me Boris
- Aug 3, 2007
- 2,224
- 1,988
With the amount of possession and chances created we probably should have won that, but Palace winning wasn't a freak result. Both teams had three shots on target and one of theirs went in. Simple game.
Overall I thought we looked a bit lacklustre. There wasn't the intensity of our league games, and perhaps that was by design -- cruising in third gear -- or perhaps they're all so hyper-focussed on the title.
Made Son my MOTM for the effort he put in and for almost looking dangerous. He still seems to lack something but I'm confident Poch can coach whatever it is into him. Mustn't forget he's very new too. Didn't think he should've been subbed.
Thought everyone else was ok -- usual solid team performance. Dembele had a quiet game -- hope he's not carrying an injury. Key player Eriksen being rested while Kane and Dier not suggests physio team deem him more susceptible to burn-out, which is a concern.
Remember when Spurs were called a good cup side? That was damning with faint praise. We can still be a good cup side if enough randomly picked one-offs go our way, but now we're more a title-chasing side; consistent, durable and relentless. Our best chance of silverware before this game and now more so.
Overall I thought we looked a bit lacklustre. There wasn't the intensity of our league games, and perhaps that was by design -- cruising in third gear -- or perhaps they're all so hyper-focussed on the title.
Made Son my MOTM for the effort he put in and for almost looking dangerous. He still seems to lack something but I'm confident Poch can coach whatever it is into him. Mustn't forget he's very new too. Didn't think he should've been subbed.
Thought everyone else was ok -- usual solid team performance. Dembele had a quiet game -- hope he's not carrying an injury. Key player Eriksen being rested while Kane and Dier not suggests physio team deem him more susceptible to burn-out, which is a concern.
Remember when Spurs were called a good cup side? That was damning with faint praise. We can still be a good cup side if enough randomly picked one-offs go our way, but now we're more a title-chasing side; consistent, durable and relentless. Our best chance of silverware before this game and now more so.
Gilzeanking
Well-Known Member
- May 7, 2005
- 6,126
- 5,062
We're second in the league and since the City result the entire press has gone overboard on how great we are . I don't think that's good for player mentality . Its been so long since we lost , this whack in the gob with a wet fish could help keep us grounded for our main competition imo .
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