Tottenham Vs Arsenal: Match Thread

[shelfboy68]

I agree with the manager comments; we need stability and to invest in the managers vision and style with patience. Sherwood is not this manager. De Boer or LVG would be. I do believe we have a core of players that are the basis of a great team. Other players we have signed will hopefully step up to the plate once they settle. We all know where the obvious weaknesses are and what needs to be addressed in the summer, let's just hope this happens. I do believe the distraction of Europa league games and the disruption to consistent starting line ups has had a impact on our league form.

I wouldn't bank on those weak area's being addressed we have had weak area's for years and nothing gets done about it it's a case of muddling through so as not to spend too much money.
Not one of the players we have bought this year is any real quality imo erikson is very average and so are the rest we are going to have a real job shifting those lot for the money we paid for them.
This season we have just carried on from last couple of seasons to slipping out of top four and moving further away from the best.
Look at Liverpool they keep their best players and add quality plus are playing some superb stuff they along with the others will improve again leaving us out of the promised land.
Terrible mistakes and decisions from the board through to players this is a real mess.

 

[CrazyHeart]

And as I was hinting at in my post, I think that sacking Redknapp and replacing him with AVB and subsequently Sherwood was a mistake, so do I win the clairvoyance contest compared to people whose major grievance is the AVB-for-Sherwood replacement? It's all about opinions, isn't it? Clearly, ours differ.

I'm not trying to wage a crusade against you, but I did feel the need to argue against your point that people who weren't happy with AVB must therefore by necessity 'deserve' to have someone no better (like Sherwood) appointed in his stead. Because if we go back far enough then we can all play that game and it will end up with someone winning when they say that they saw it all coming when Bill Nicholson left WHL for the last time.

Likewise... no crusades on my end either. But really, there was no clairvoyance required for this one. And it's not about Sherwood either. Switching out managers mid-season with seven new players is an extremely high risk proposition coupled with the general destabilising of the club yet again, right when we were starting to show a semblance of solidarity and long term management.

Anyway - looks like we're at an impasse on this one. Back to Sherwood though - I saw some progress in the players attitude to the game this time around and our passing has come a long way since Benfica. It's the strikers again that need to step up and put their chances away. Let's see how we do next game.

 

[WhiteHeartLowe]

We have to face the fact that the 'Bale dividend' money was basically wasted. We needed maybe two quality players to replace Bale and move us onwards. Instead we blew the lot on a whole crop of basically average players, at inflated prices, and now the team has gone backwards. The only one who has shown any promise at all is Eriksen, (and I will excuse Lamela as the guy has hardly played!) The others have flopped. We are now miles away, in terms of quality, from competing with the top four, and it will take years to claw our way back to where we were. Just remember, Modric, Bale, Van der Vart, and yes, even Benni at left back, none of our recent signings can hold a candle to that list. I know they all wanted to leave, so we had no choice but to let them go, but we did have a choice of how we reacted to their leaving. There can be only one person to blame for this, the person who sanctioned the purchases, who, I presume, must be the chairman.

 

[THX2208]

 

[bigfrooj]

Bentaleb playing with Paulinho benched is bizarre, playing inverted wingers which brought down AVB, Soldado getting a goal as a reward for his hard work and then getting benched, its all bizarre. The ill-timed substitutions, the lack of leadership all bizarre. Sherwood starting as cool as a cumumber and now on the verge of a nervous breakdown - again just bizarre.

The application and performance was fine without looking dangerous. Naughton is our best right-back at the moment, well done to him.

 

[tobi]

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't this the point when our extreme high line that he instructed was broken again?

 

[spursbhoy67]

Patience should have been shown with AVB by both the fans and DL. He should have been told that his position would be evaluated at the end of the season based on results and performances.

Once AVB was fired an interim manager should have been appointed even if it meant someone like Hoddle. Sherwood was and is not the answer and he should only have been promoted in the summer as an assistant with the long term view of being the manager in a few years.

Our vision and style which has always impressed people in the game (not opposition fans) has been lost this year. We are in panic mode when leadership and stability was needed. We needed an interim manager who put the interests of the club first before his own. I don't think we have that now.

We cannot compare to Liverpool because their wage structure is twice ours and they were prepared to go into debt for a CL place. It looks like it will pay off for them but would we and should we have taken the same risk?

The players we signed were good and most of them will prove it. Yes, we could and should have signed 3 quality players but name them.

 

[easley91]

Showing patience is one thing, but didn't AVB want out anyway? If the man wants out, there's no point sticking with him anymore.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

The players we signed were good and most of them will prove it. Yes, we could and should have signed 3 quality players but name them.

It's not a matter of naming any player, or providing a wish list here. The fact is that the Club went out and just burned the Bale cash on a bunch of average or up and coming potential. Thirty fucking million for Lamela is totally inexcusable.

What was needed was sensible spending on a left back (AVB knowing that Bennie would be loaned), a midfielder to run the show and a forward that was PL battle hardened and with doubt over Kabul another center half to compliment Dawson and Verts (which in fairness we did get).

You could have spent all one hundred million on four exceptional players rather than the seven that with the exception of Eriksen wouldn't even get a trial at any of the top four clubs, with the possible exception of Paulinho. That should indicate just how much money was wasted on the say so of AVB, Baldini, and Levy.

I just do not understand and would welcome any insight as to why all the money simply had to gotten rid of in a month of free for all spending? Why some of this money could not be kept for January or indeed the following season. To try and integrate half a team into a PL side during the season was set up to fail. Baldini, and AVB should have known this and Levy is culpable for allowing the spending to go out of control unabated.

Now we have another off season, of unloading players no longer required and replacing players we do want to keep but have seen the light and want to go to pastures new. A clusterfuck of a season that you just couldn't make up.

 

[ParklaneDazza]

"You could have spent all one hundred million on four exceptional players rather than the seven that with the exception of Eriksen wouldn't even get a trial at any of the top four clubs, with the possible exception of Paulinho."


To be fair Gaz, in answer to the above I do agree the money could have been spent more wisely, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Both Paulinho and Soldado were brought and everybody was bloody excited. Eriksen and to a certain point Chiriches have been the pick of the bunch. Lamela only seemed to come after the Willian debacle and People were positively drooling with anticipation. Capoue was well sought after. Chadli for me was really the only player who seemed to be purchased rashly. but he too in my opinion is better than a couple of our existing players.

I agree that only two could get into a top four side based on how they are performing, but here's hoping they all eventually settle and start to show their true form. We need to be taking a look at some of our older players who are not performing to any great standard (Lennon, Sig, walker ) before discarding the new players completely.

 

[CrazyHeart]

Showing patience is one thing, but didn't AVB want out anyway? If the man wants out, there's no point sticking with him anymore.

He didn't want out. He made that perfectly clear and would've at least finished out the season.

 

[tobi]

Lack of Spurs cohesion

There was still no obvious way Spurs were attempting to make the breakthrough, however, and there’s still a complete lack of cohesion and mutual understanding between the Spurs players. They certainly had pressure, they were unfortunate not to score on a couple of occasions, but there was barely a moment of genuinely good football – they simply ramped up the pressure and prayed for a mistake. When the error came, through Szczesny, they didn't take advantage.

Zonal Marking analysis

 

[spursbhoy67]

Baldini and Levy tried to sign young talented players in the hope that they added to a team that was one point off fourth. I don't think anyone really believed they would all struggle and have virtually no impact on the club's season.

The contacts I have at the likes of Ajax and Roma and others at Spanish clubs were raving about Eriksen, Lamela and Soldado. All pros in the game and somehow they have been proved wrong too. I will give them all another year before adding them to a list that includes Rebrov and Claesen.

A lot has gone on behind the scenes all season and not all should be blamed on either manager. Some of our English players need to stand up and be counted. They also need to become better players and being professional. Benfica showed what a group of players playing as a team could do. We have too many players who believe the hype around them because of their nationality.

The new signings have taken a lot of the criticism but have Walker, Rose, Townsend, Lennon and Dawson had good seasons or improved on last year? And BAE would also have been an issue had he stayed. He has been poor at QPR and a shadow of the player he once was. He won't play in the PL again.

 

[carpediem991]

Not one player had a season above his standard, that is worrying and certainly there is sth wrong.

In a way I feel sorry for the players. So much talent and most likely they would be phenomenal at clubs around us.

We have to find our way again. They should give us a team feeling and a certain passion. I guess aside from 2 quality defenders and a LW like Lallana or Kono we need one or two real leaders/ characters above 30. Someone like Parker only a bit younger and more useful. But who? Someone like Gareth Barry maybe??

 

[scottlag10]

You could have spent all one hundred million on four exceptional players rather than the seven that with the exception of Eriksen wouldn't even get a trial at any of the top four clubs, with the possible exception of Paulinho. That should indicate just how much money was wasted on the say so of AVB, Baldini, and Levy.

I just do not understand and would welcome any insight as to why all the money simply had to gotten rid of in a month of free for all spending? Why some of this money could not be kept for January or indeed the following season. To try and integrate half a team into a PL side during the season was set up to fail. Baldini, and AVB should have known this and Levy is culpable for allowing the spending to go out of control unabated.

Now we have another off season, of unloading players no longer required and replacing players we do want to keep but have seen the light and want to go to pastures new. A clusterfuck of a season that you just couldn't make up.

I am not arguing for the sake of it but I just havn't seen anything from Paulinho to justify you saying that. Maybe he has just been badly handled, but what is he? not a holding player, not a creative midfielder, box to box goal getter? I have not seen enough of Brazil to make a judgement but he has done nothing in a Spurs shirt for me, very disappointing.

 

[Shadydan]

Seriously there's passion and there's acting a nob.

He needs anger management

 

[yiddopaul]

Seriously there's passion and there's acting a nob.

He needs anger management

Yeah, and if someone posted a clip of LVG doing that, this forum would be full of "get him in, we need that kind of passion". Honestly, some people wouldn't get out of bed unless they can complain about something.

 

[Nine while nine]

Seriously there's passion and there's acting a nob.

I just assumed he'd had a damascene realisation that gilets make you look ridiculous.

 

[Shadydan]

Yeah, and if someone posted a clip of LVG doing that, this forum would be full of "get him in, we need that kind of passion". Honestly, some people wouldn't get out of bed unless they can complain about something.

I doubt that.

 

[Bennys LOL]

Yeah, and if someone posted a clip of LVG doing that, this forum would be full of "get him in, we need that kind of passion". Honestly, some people wouldn't get out of bed unless they can complain about something.

You just got up? lol