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Ratings Vs Limassol (H)

Who was your MOTM?


  • Total voters
    255

Spurs 1961

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
6,665
8,739
Hard to choose but I picked Sandro as I thought he looked so much better than I expected. But well done all
 

eddiebailey

Well-Known Member
Oct 12, 2004
7,452
6,672
Competent performances all round, but no-one particularly advanced their case for a starting place against Liverpool.

The key thing for me though that is that everyone looked up for it, and that in itself is progress. In the past senior squad members would approach this sort of fixture like they were doing us a favour by turning up.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Well well well my lovely Tottenhamistas, that was a thoroughly enjoyable romp. Two games running we've not had to engage our sphincters.

Twice in week we get to wheel out the "you can only outclass and stuff what's put in front of you" cliche.

The stiffs put on a really good show. First time this season we've seen the PochPress put into plan with any kind of collective cohesion and it really paid dividends, and more importantly, gave me a warm feeling down below.

One of those performances that, despite the quality of opposition, was pretty faultless. We pressed superbly and maintained that for about an hour. Our passing and movement was really good. We were good as a team and good individually.

No-one was bad, everyone was good but who shone the brightest ?

Kane was excellent in many ways, his movement was very good, some of his hold up play superb, he took his goal with composure, he still still needs too many great chances to score and despite generally being technically very competent he still occasionally gets in a bit of a muddle on the ball.

Sandro was Sandro, his pressing and biting a shining example to everyone else. What he does with the ball is still a bit limited but what he does without it is still outstanding. His flame died a little after the 60 min mark but was all action during that time. Vintage Sandro. Proved he can still an important on the right day.

Chiriches was superb, defensively not exactly overly tested, but showed his ability to read and press, snap into a tackle and strip the ball, and his ability to go forward was demonstrated several times and eventually set up a goal. My original concern with him was not his ability in the air, the game is changing and in he high line we bought him for (and are still going to play) I think his reading, tenacity and ability on the ball is far more valuable than aerial ability, but his penchant for over playing at the back and taking risks. I think he showed improvement throughout last season and as long as he can manage this aspect I think he's a great squad option to have. Really hope he stays because I think he's got good qualities that could suit todays football.

Some promising stuff.

Individual musings:

Lloris - Not much to do but was smart when called on.

Naughton - Decent game, won the pen with a good forward run.

Kaboul - Good game.

Chiriches - Very good game, good reading, snappy in the tackle, good on the ball striding into their half and eventually into their box to set up a goal.

Davies - Very competent.

Sandro - Vintage Sandro performance. Aggressively hunting his foe before pouncing. Infectious.

Dembele - Very good game.

Townsend - A very typical Townsend performance. Lots of effort, lots of involvement, some decent touches, some erratic stuff, some letting a touch get too far away, some wildly poor shooting. The boys a trier, but mostly of my patience. He didn't have a bad game, didn't have a great one, more an involving one.

Paulinho - Decent game. Set up Kane well for the first, took his gaol well, did some perfunctory stuff well enough.

Lennon - Decent game. Good energy, some decent contributions.

Kane - Very good game. He's not perfect, but has plenty to offer. Technically competent, good movement, decent hold up and has a knack of getting into good positions, and although he doesn't always make the most of all them he is at least starting to get in the habit of converting something regularly. Not a bad habit.

Subs - All decent.
 

DogsOfWar

Well-Known Member
Jan 12, 2005
2,292
3,603
Very solid team performance with noone putting in a bad performance.

To nitpick, Sandro was strong but lacked mobility, Paulinho had plenty of mobility but is suffering from a heavy touch when hes around the box with his back to goal, and Townsend is trying hard but not succeeding.
I was actually impressed by Davies as this was the first time Id seen him play and he was getting some stick on here but hes strong and linked up well going forward. Rose has done nothing wrong but if he gets injured or his form drops off Davies is more than good enough to replace him, so no more Fryers or Naughton on the left.
Kane is really starting to impose himself on games and my only issue is that he should have scored more.
I thought Lennon played well, excellent pressing, rarely gave the ball away, but is just lacking a little bit of magic.

This is the first time I have properly seen the high pressing style and it was the difference between a comfortable night and a difficult night.
AEK didnt look capable of posing too many problems but we never allowed them to in the first place.

We must have one of the best second strings in the league.
 

THFCSPURS19

The Speaker of the Transfer Rumours Forum
Jan 6, 2013
37,886
130,485
Well well well my lovely Tottenhamistas, that was a thoroughly enjoyable romp. Two games running we've not had to engage our sphincters.

Twice in week we get to wheel out the "you can only outclass and stuff what's put in front of you" cliche.

The stiffs put on a really good show. First time this season we've seen the PochPress put into plan with any kind of collective cohesion and it really paid dividends, and more importantly, gave me a warm feeling down below.

One of those performances that, despite the quality of opposition, was pretty faultless. We pressed superbly and maintained that for about an hour. Our passing and movement was really good. We were good as a team and good individually.

No-one was bad, everyone was good but who shone the brightest ?

Kane was excellent in many ways, his movement was very good, some of his hold up play superb, he took his goal with composure, he still still needs too many great chances to score and despite generally being technically very competent he still occasionally gets in a bit of a muddle on the ball.

Sandro was Sandro, his pressing and biting a shining example to everyone else. What he does with the ball is still a bit limited but what he does without it is still outstanding. His flame died a little after the 60 min mark but was all action during that time. Vintage Sandro. Proved he can still an important on the right day.

Chiriches was superb, defensively not exactly overly tested, but showed his ability to read and press, snap into a tackle and strip the ball, and his ability to go forward was demonstrated several times and eventually set up a goal. My original concern with him was not his ability in the air, the game is changing and in he high line we bought him for (and are still going to play) I think his reading, tenacity and ability on the ball is far more valuable than aerial ability, but his penchant for over playing at the back and taking risks. I think he showed improvement throughout last season and as long as he can manage this aspect I think he's a great squad option to have. Really hope he stays because I think he's got good qualities that could suit todays football.

Some promising stuff.

Individual musings:

Lloris - Not much to do but was smart when called on.

Naughton - Decent game, won the pen with a good forward run.

Kaboul - Good game.

Chiriches - Very good game, good reading, snappy in the tackle, good on the ball striding into their half and eventually into their box to set up a goal.

Davies - Very competent.

Sandro - Vintage Sandro performance. Aggressively hunting his foe before pouncing. Infectious.

Dembele - Very good game.

Townsend - A very typical Townsend performance. Lots of effort, lots of involvement, some decent touches, some erratic stuff, some letting a touch get too far away, some wildly poor shooting. The boys a trier, but mostly of my patience. He didn't have a bad game, didn't have a great one, more an involving one.

Paulinho - Decent game. Set up Kane well for the first, took his gaol well, did some perfunctory stuff well enough.

Lennon - Decent game. Good energy, some decent contributions.

Kane - Very good game. He's not perfect, but has plenty to offer. Technically competent, good movement, decent hold up and has a knack of getting into good positions, and although he doesn't always make the most of all them he is at least starting to get in the habit of converting something regularly. Not a bad habit.

Subs - All decent.
BC, are you high? I refuse to believe that a positive ratings post written by you can be real :woot:

Being serious, I find our different interpretations of games interesting. I noticed the pressing on Sunday but you said it wasn't evident but today you said the pressing was excellent, but I didn't notice it too much (albeit I was watching it at the stadium as opposed to on TV)

I actually think you've been a bit too kind to Lennon and Townsend (especially Townsend).
 

walworthyid

David Ginola
Oct 25, 2004
7,059
10,242
Thought sandro was excellent. I think at his best he is a better, but admittedly different, player than Bentaleb. He also really suits the high press and tackles better than any other player in our squad. If he can stay fit I can see him getting plenty of game time.
Kane showed again that he has some real talent.
Paulinho got better and better as the game went on.
Chiriches was very good but obviously had very little to do. The rest were par except townsend who just doesn't seem to learn.

Overall you could really see a pattern of play. We keep it and try to probe for openings and then really inject some pace once we find one. Some of the one touch stuff around the edge of the box was fantastic too. But it was the pressing that really impressed me. Paulinho ' s goal was a perfect example. We literally strangled the life out of them for about 5 minutes and then scored.

It is amazing that poch has done more in 2 months than avb did in all the time he was there. You can clearly see what we are trying to do and we look good doing it.

Very impressed and while still nervous, I can't wait for Sunday as I think we will at the very least give them a real game.
 

@Bobby__Lucky

Well-Known Member
Aug 20, 2013
2,933
3,982
Been back a little while from the game....love it when's mate calls and says..."Rob I got 4 free tickets for tonight, you on it?"

Was pretty pedestrian as a game, decent performances alround.

Lloris ..........could easily have made a cup of tea and not been missed but as always was concentrated when needed....7

Naughton...decent game....7

Kaboul....decent game .....7

Chiriches....as above ....7

Davies .....looks an intelligent footballer, drives inward from the wing more than rose, tried to play a few 1-2's and drive inward, liked his style, much potential...like ....7.5

Sandro.....decent....7

Dembele...released the ball quicker which made him look more effective and changed the dynamic of his passing, showed potential in the system .....7.5

Paulinho.. Decent lacks desire at times, especially when losing the ball but a decent knock and well taken goal .....7

Townsend....pretty much played for himself and ran into blind alleys ....frustrating and ineffective for much of the game...6

Kane some lovely skills at times, that control and turn in the first half was special and shows there is far more in his locker, saw intelligent passes didn't always come off, but was heavily involved, showed skill and desire MOM for me.....8

Lennon lot of running, covered Davies well on occasion, was aware and a few lovely dribbles but lacked incision and faded 6.5
 

Sweech

Ruh Roh Ressegnon
Jun 27, 2013
6,752
16,378
Kane and Paulinho were mutual man of the match for me, but I gave to it to Paulinho in this case as he converted better plus had the assist.

I thought those two were easily our most threatening players on attack. Nearly every single threatening chance we had came off of one of them. While Lennon and Townsend were AWOL for different reasons. Lennon rarely received the ball and Townsend wasted the ball almost every time he had it. His first 20 minutes seemed good as he was willing to play to his teammates and then the same old Townsend came out where he took 5 dumb shots for every good shot, all of them being from distance, and proceeded to dribble himself into two defenders in the corner losing possession every time. I feel really bad for our other attackers as they must know the second Townsend gets the ball they'll never receive it back and it will be under the oppositions possession sooner than later.

Sandro played well, but I think some here are suffering from a little confirmation bias. He's a fan favourite player, so I think every tackle he made had everyone going "SANDRO'S BACK". Whereas I don't think he played at all any better than we've seen Capoue play so far and I actually felt like Dembele was the better of the pairing. Dembele seemed to make just as good challenges and was better going forward. Sandro also looked incredibly tired for much of the second half and wasn't chasing down players as well as he should have been. This could be down to a lack of match fitness, but it's a little worrying as it has been a very, very long time since we've seen a fit Sandro.
 

sloth

Well-Known Member
Mar 7, 2005
9,018
6,900
I don't get to many matches, but I did this one, so I wonder if the fact that I saw it so different to some is down to that?

The main thing to say is the comments I and others (season ticket holders) made during the match was we were disappointed by the lack of press. Indeed we lacked any urgency at all. We seemed very lakadaisacal all around, very AVB. I just put it down to being an easy match, against nothing opponents, and so hard to get any fire in the belly, so I'm genuinely surprised to see people waxing lyrical.

My rating is a nothing performance, workmanlike, but got the job done.
 

jezz

Well-Known Member
Aug 21, 2013
5,650
8,650
I don't get to many matches, but I did this one, so I wonder if the fact that I saw it so different to some is down to that?

The main thing to say is the comments I and others (season ticket holders) made during the match was we were disappointed by the lack of press. Indeed we lacked any urgency at all. We seemed very lakadaisacal all around, very AVB. I just put it down to being an easy match, against nothing opponents, and so hard to get any fire in the belly, so I'm genuinely surprised to see people waxing lyrical.

My rating is a nothing performance, workmanlike, but got the job done.
Well that was a in depth view, thanks
 

LexingtonSpurs

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2013
13,456
39,042
I don't get to many matches, but I did this one, so I wonder if the fact that I saw it so different to some is down to that?

The main thing to say is the comments I and others (season ticket holders) made during the match was we were disappointed by the lack of press. Indeed we lacked any urgency at all. We seemed very lakadaisacal all around, very AVB. I just put it down to being an easy match, against nothing opponents, and so hard to get any fire in the belly, so I'm genuinely surprised to see people waxing lyrical.

My rating is a nothing performance, workmanlike, but got the job done.
Fair points, but given that this was the 2nd unit out there, I saw a lot of positive developments. I don't think we are constantly pressing, but I think we are effective at spots - both goals were created off off turnovers caused by pressing. I saw a lot of passes forward looking for fast breaks. So, I think, in that regard, it was very anti-avb. I think some of the disjointedness came from being the 2nd unit, none of our normal creative midfielders to link with Kane, and guys doing a little too much at times trying to impress individually.

Just as another observation about pressing in general, I doubt the team is prepared to press on all 15 triggers Pochettino allegedly used at Soton - that takes time to implement.
 

whitechina

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2012
4,225
9,094
I really did not see Townsend trying to win the game on his own. As I recall he had three shots on goal, all from reasonable positions, and one required a good save. In the opening exchanges in particular his passing showed good vision. He was up against a particularly fast fullback, and was often double teamed, but when he made a run he was always aiming to get into a crossing position. He took a well struck penalty.

He was really no better or worse than anyone else today, but the SC hivemind has made up its mind about him and nothing as inconsequential as his actual performance is going to change it.

gotta say this made me lol and I got a few stares from those around me.
 

archiewasking

Waiting for silverware..........
Jul 5, 2004
7,848
11,668
I voted Naughton. Did really well at both ends of the field and won us a penalty. Though I'm not a Paulinho fan, I was pleased for the guy that he got a goal and showed a couple of nice touches.
 

theShiznit

Well-Known Member
Jul 26, 2004
17,800
23,813
.

To nitpick, Sandro was strong but lacked mobility,

He's played 46 minutes this season (late sub in just 2 pre-season matches)

I think he's allowed to be a little off the pace. (even though i don't particularly feel he was)
 

fatpiranha

dismember
Jun 9, 2003
8,337
21,678
Lets be honest, we were up against dross. That said we've struggled against dross many times before but we didn't struggle tonight.

Nobody was terrible, oh okay, Townsend was terrible but he took his penalty very well.

Paulinho was very poor to start with but improved massively in the 2nd half. I still can't see how he would fit into the 1st team but he showed enough tonight that if he has suitors they will have liked what they saw.

Chiriches was very classy. We'd be fools to let him go. My MotM (y).

The Beast is back! Well almost. By far his best performance for some time.

Lloris had nothing much to do but did it superbly :pompous:.

Kaboul had a good match. Showed some signs that he may be getting his pace back.

Naughton had a decent game. Won the 1st penalty very cleverly. I still think his future lies elsewhere though.

Davies had his best game in a Spurs shirt. Looks a team player. It will be an interesting battle between him and Rose this season for the LB slot.

Dembele looked good. Very strong in possession and seems to be making the effort to move the ball quicker.

Lennon worked hard. Didn't really threaten but I can see why managers like him. Let's hope one of them likes him enough to buy him :unsure:.

Kane used his brain. This kid is going to be good one day (y).

BeMoreDog came on and ran around enthusiastically. I for one would like to wish him all the best for his future career with Hamburg.
 

ralvy

AVB my love
Jun 26, 2012
2,505
4,603
Kane and Paulinho were mutual man of the match for me, but I gave to it to Paulinho in this case as he converted better plus had the assist.

I thought those two were easily our most threatening players on attack. Nearly every single threatening chance we had came off of one of them. While Lennon and Townsend were AWOL for different reasons. Lennon rarely received the ball and Townsend wasted the ball almost every time he had it. His first 20 minutes seemed good as he was willing to play to his teammates and then the same old Townsend came out where he took 5 dumb shots for every good shot, all of them being from distance, and proceeded to dribble himself into two defenders in the corner losing possession every time. I feel really bad for our other attackers as they must know the second Townsend gets the ball they'll never receive it back and it will be under the oppositions possession sooner than later.

Sandro played well, but I think some here are suffering from a little confirmation bias. He's a fan favourite player, so I think every tackle he made had everyone going "SANDRO'S BACK". Whereas I don't think he played at all any better than we've seen Capoue play so far and I actually felt like Dembele was the better of the pairing. Dembele seemed to make just as good challenges and was better going forward. Sandro also looked incredibly tired for much of the second half and wasn't chasing down players as well as he should have been. This could be down to a lack of match fitness, but it's a little worrying as it has been a very, very long time since we've seen a fit Sandro.

Or maybe people actually enjoyed Sandro's performances and understood his main role is not a creative one, so they aren't judging him based on his offensive passes or lack of them (even if he indeed started some nice plays).
 

HotspurFC1950

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2011
4,223
2,623
Very solid team performance with noone putting in a bad performance.

To nitpick, Sandro was strong but lacked mobility, Paulinho had plenty of mobility but is suffering from a heavy touch when hes around the box with his back to goal, and Townsend is trying hard but not succeeding.
I was actually impressed by Davies as this was the first time Id seen him play and he was getting some stick on here but hes strong and linked up well going forward. Rose has done nothing wrong but if he gets injured or his form drops off Davies is more than good enough to replace him, so no more Fryers or Naughton on the left.
Kane is really starting to impose himself on games and my only issue is that he should have scored more.
I thought Lennon played well, excellent pressing, rarely gave the ball away, but is just lacking a little bit of magic.

This is the first time I have properly seen the high pressing style and it was the difference between a comfortable night and a difficult night.
AEK didnt look capable of posing too many problems but we never allowed them to in the first place.

We must have one of the best second strings in the league.


And that's without Soldado.
 

Yid

Well Endowed Member
Jul 5, 2013
1,254
1,366
I picked Kane as MOTM, but mostly everyone did really well IMHO. Andros was a bit frustrating to watch at times, and Paulie was sporadically lethargic sometimes (and pretty focused other times). Sandro got progressively better throughout the match. Eventually (starting with 30th min. or so) picking out some smart passes and dishing out his marquee punishment to the Cypriots. Still a bit rusty, but this is his first 60 + minutes of open play in a long time. He'll keep getting better provided there are more minutes for him to play. Just needs consistent game time that's all.
Overall quite pleased with our performance. It wasn't glamorous or anything, but we stayed pretty organized and kept pressing well into the 2nd half (from what I've seen).
My stream did freeze right before both goals of the 2nd half were scored (so I missed those).

Could someone :link: the highlights by any chance? That would be peachy keen!

Thanks in advance! :)
 

Sweech

Ruh Roh Ressegnon
Jun 27, 2013
6,752
16,378
Or maybe people actually enjoyed Sandro's performances and understood his main role is not a creative one, so they aren't judging him based on his offensive passes or lack of them (even if he indeed started some nice plays).
His role may not be a creative one, but he's still required to get the ball forward in some capacity, which he failed to do. Also even in a defensive only role he still wasn't all that above average. He wasn't strong enough in some challenges and also lost the ball on a few occasions as well. I can put some of that up to fitness though, but I think calling him man of the match requires making a whole lot of excuses and exceptions for him.
 

jedimonkey

COYS!
Jan 28, 2011
1,849
4,230
I really did not see Townsend trying to win the game on his own. As I recall he had three shots on goal, all from reasonable positions, and one required a good save. In the opening exchanges in particular his passing showed good vision. He was up against a particularly fast fullback, and was often double teamed, but when he made a run he was always aiming to get into a crossing position. He took a well struck penalty.

He was really no better or worse than anyone else today, but the SC hivemind has made up its mind about him and nothing as inconsequential as his actual performance is going to change it.

See you are making a massive assumption there. I couldn't give a monkeys what anybody else thinks. I actually like Townsend but for me he didn't stick to Poch's plan last night. I actually think he was trying too hard to show what he could do when in fact a more simplified performance would have been better.

He doesn't need to always take on his man and the next and the next. It's all about timing and doing that when it will make a difference.
 
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