Spurs vs Toronto FC

[Tom Pops]

Morning all,

didn't watch the game but seen the goals, could someone provide a brief review on it? Who played well, who didnt....

First half was good - Davies looked good, Lamela excellent, Lennon and RS played well as did Mason. No one really played badly first half.

Second half team was completely changed (apart from Brad) and defence was pretty shocking honestly. Holtby did play well however.

 

[absolute bobbins]

Morning all,

didn't watch the game but seen the goals, could someone provide a brief review on it? Who played well, who didnt....

Lamela

High Pressing

Dawson

Rose

Townsend

First Half

Second Half

 

[mark87]

First half was good - Davies looked good, Lamela excellent, Lennon and RS played well as did Mason. No one really played badly first half.

Second half team was completely changed (apart from Brad) and defence was pretty shocking honestly. Holtby did play well however.

Thanks for that

 

[cookiemonster]

It crazy to think that a couple years ago we were talking a Kaboul and Verts partnership to rival anyone.

The season have not even started and we are leaking goals all over the place

Again

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Thought Mason was quietly good. I think it was his pass to Eriksen building up to the first goal that was absolutely wonderful.

Edit: Yeah, it's Mason's first-time ball to Eriksen that makes that goal. I really hope we see more of that from our central midfield. We're already showing more willingness to simply TRY stuff like that.

Basically first pass in the video is Mason's.

Also didn't notice that it was Erik's layoff to Mason in our own half that helped create the space. A player like Lamela who can draw players to him and then still release the ball under pressure probably one of the most in-demand commodities in football.

I like Mason - he looks like a very mature player.

Not sure what his best position is but he has nice technique. Not flashy, just very clever, very accurate play. I suppose he'd be an Iniesta or Modric type, a CM who keeps things ticking over.

I think (but hope I'm wrong) that given he's 23 years old, he may ultimately struggle to make it for us given (a) competition in midfield and (b) the need for a bit of muscle in the middle.

But I really like the way he moves about and I really hope he shows his quality for us this year

 

[Ron Burgundy]

He probably had most of his touches on the right but as ilikeost said, he was all over the place. Really encouraging to see him have that free role and make the most out of it.

That's exactly what I want from him and was delighted to see the role he played. His strengths are his touch, his passing, his vision and his finishing - for me he's not a "skin you and knock it in the box" type attacking mid. He's far cleverer than that and we should use him as such.

That being said, given in some ways Eriksen is a similar type (I want him looking for the ball as well) we definitely need someone who'll go for full backs in a more direct manner as well. Whether that's someone we bring in, or (and recognising that they're quite patchy players) Lennon/Townsend, I'm not overly fussed right now because signing a £25m player is not without it's risks and I'd like to see what Poch can make of our lot.

As an aside - Poch gets the players to train hard, and they respond well. Shock horror.

 

[Kendall]

Lamela

High Pressing

Dawson

Rose

Townsend

First Half

Second Half

Fryers?

?

 

[FibreOpticJesus]

The season have not even started and we are leaking goals all over the place

Again

I think the Man u result against LA Galaxy says it all about our result last night.

We have a long way to go. Let's not forget they finished a long way behind us last year

 

[Kendall]

It was interesting that Lamela's goals came from the left of the box. I hope he and Eriksen can work together and fire together rather than one overshadowing the other. We'll need both of them scoring if we're going into the season with Soldado as the main man, since he doesn't score any

 

[mark87]

Was Fryers playing CB?

 

[ghetto_spur]

Highlights again incase anyone is having trouble locating -

 

[Jay070]

could someone PM me a link to the full game? I missed it because I thought it was tonight haha

 

[Kendall]

I think the Man u result against LA Galaxy says it all about our result last night.

We have a long way to go. Let's not forget they finished a long way behind us last year

They finished 1 place and 5 points behind us last year. I do expect them to be a lot better, but this is pre season and means little. When we trashed Roma, everyone was excited and we were being talked up a lot. Then... 2-points/8-games-gate.

LA Galaxy probably just had a bad day at the office. You go 3-0 down at half time, you're not going to kill yourself to get back into a friendly when you're already underachieving in the league.

 

[spacessships]

Watched the whole game, my takeaways from what is not THAT meaningful of a match:

1. Lamela is on another planet from last year. I haven't seen a player so hungry for the ball since Bale was running circles around Maicon. He never stopped calling for the ball, never slowed down, was always the first to make himself available, pressed the keeper constantly (forcing throw ins twice) and even took the ball from his own teammate because he couldn't wait to get forward.

2. Who plays where at left wing/right wing/CAM does not matter in this system nearly as much as any previous Spurs setup I've witnessed. The three interchanging in these positions need to have a) endless workrate b) creativity and vision primarily in (as everyone and their mother has mentioned) vertical play & c) finishing. Many of our goals are not going to come from a sole striker, they will come from these three--Soldado assists this game and Kane's in Seattle are examples of this. Instead of focusing on positional players, we should focus on two footed players proficient in those three areas IMO.

3. Poch was and is right about transfers: the blindest spectator in all of Canada could have seen tonight that our defense is in the most need of changing/improving as much as we lust over Griez or Depay.

4. Davies clearly wasn't settled (nor should he be expected to yet) and still out played Rose. When cutting down the left, Davies feigned crossing and passed inside to the on running forward (Lamela mostly) leading to near goals. As we know, when Rose goes forward we either get a cross over the entire box to the opposite assistant ref or a goal kick--exactly we witnessed in the 2nd half.

5. Eriksen is going to have to significantly up his work rate to fulfill his potential of playing in this system. He's got the creativity and finishing as we all know, but was always behind Lamela and Lennon (granted, two very pacy players) in pressing and attacking and even sat fairly deep at times, though perhaps that was the plan? He looks a little lost as of now but early days and all of these things are subject to change.

 

[Supersi32]

Was Fryers playing CB?

Well he lined up in that position, but had a complete shocker.

 

[FibreOpticJesus]

They finished 1 place and 5 points behind us last year. I do expect them to be a lot better, but this is pre season and means little. When we trashed Roma, everyone was excited and we were being talked up a lot. Then... 2-points/8-games-gate.

LA Galaxy probably just had a bad day at the office. You go 3-0 down at half time, you're not going to kill yourself to get back into a friendly when you're already underachieving in the league.

We are not playing Roma or any other top quality side. These are Mickey Mouse teams. Yep it would have been interesting to see what the score would have been if we had kept the same first half team on the pitch. But that has always been Spurs problem. Good first team and relatively little quality in reserve. We always get injuries and let in to many goals. A seven nil thrashing of a c rated team breeds confidence.

 

[spacessships]

They finished 1 place and 5 points behind us last year. I do expect them to be a lot better, but this is pre season and means little. When we trashed Roma, everyone was excited and we were being talked up a lot. Then... 2-points/8-games-gate.

LA Galaxy probably just had a bad day at the office. You go 3-0 down at half time, you're not going to kill yourself to get back into a friendly when you're already underachieving in the league.

I think it was a mix of both. Look at Galaxy's failed clearance in Rooney's non-PK goal: absolutely dreadful. But look at Herrera's dictating play and confidence on the ball: absolutely frightening.

 

[Kendall]

We are not playing Roma or any other top quality side. These are Mickey Mouse teams. Yep it would have been interesting to see what the score would have been if we had kept the same first half team on the pitch. But that has always been Spurs problem. Good first team and relatively little quality in reserve. We always get injuries and let in to many goals. A seven nil thrashing of a c rated team breeds confidence.

I know we're not. But you're saying thrashings of teams breeds confidence. Well in 2008 we thrashed Roma and it probably gave us too much confidence because we were shit for 6 months after it.

I don't agree that they're mickey mouse teams. If both teams were fully fit and sharp, then the gulf in class widens. But it's a good test because we're not playing another side that is in pre season mode, we're playing sides that are in mid season. We also have a bunch of players to come back, including one of the best goalkeepers in the world and the two CBs whom I would like to see become our first choice pair.

Liverpool just lost to Brondby. The season we qualified for the Champions League, we lost 2-0 to South China. Pre season is the time to make mistakes, not have an easy ride.

United will have learned less by playing an LA Galaxy side that was not up for it.

 

[Supersi32]

He has just came back from injury and didnt even do anything wrong for those 45minutes, why are you suggesting that?

It was obvious that Walker was easing himself back in after a lengthy lay off, good to see him back out there.

 

[Shanks]

Highlights again incase anyone is having trouble locating -

@TaoistMonkey you were asking in the Lemala thread dude!