Tottenham Vs Gent: Match Thread

[Wsussexspur]

Like a lot of the above posts I didn't think we played badly last night and with 11 men on the pitch we would have won. Really the awful display in the first leg cost us yesterday. We took Gent too lightly in the first match and subsequently paid the price.

 

[Monkey boy]

Like a lot of the above posts I didn't think we played badly last night and with 11 men on the pitch we would have won. Really the awful display in the first leg cost us yesterday. We took Gent too lightly in the first match and subsequently paid the price.

Not sure I agree with that, after the 1st leg we only had a 1 nil deficit to overturn against the 8th best team in bloody Belgium in front of 70k Spurs fans.

If you're looking for where we lost this tie, look no further than Dele the ridiculous. Even with 10 men we still could and should have won comfortably so imagine what we would have done with 11.

Anyway, fuck it. Let's draw a line under it and move on. Our stupidity and ability to shit the bed when it matters just will not go away.

 

[bubble07]

Please lets not waste another 60m this summer

The fact n'koudou was not even in the match day squad, sissoko was an unused sub and Janssen played all of 5 minutes I would say Poch knows he fucked up

 

[Romulus]

25 shots at goal

3 on target.

stop blaming the ref, this is why we lost the tie

 

[Damian99]

We didn't look void of ideas last night, just shit at finishing.

We went four league games without scoring in open play RECENTLY i would say at the time we did look void of ideas but yeh last night was great, you gotta love conceding three goals to a quality side like Gent, two of those while we had 11 on the pitch.

I would also suggest we looked a little short of idea's in the first leg too?

 

[1882andallthat]

I've left it till now to post by reflecting on it in the cold light of day rather than the heat of the moment.
In my view I know it's a cliche but there are equal measures of positives and negatives to take from yesterday's performance.

Starting with the positives, it was a very brave and committed performance where we were right up for it from the off and we kept going even in adversity, albeit that some of that adversity was self inflicted and we so very nearly pulled it off. For most of that second half you wouldn't have guessed it was 10 v 11 or if you did it looked as though we had the extra man. It showed we did care about this and it was evident that the manager cared as well. It was a much more committed display than the first leg, there can be no doubt about that.

Moving onto the negatives, yes it is true that refereeing decisions that should have gone our way didn't but that is a fact of life that has always happened in football and always will to every team at some time. It's how we react to this that is key, aside from the obvious reaction from Dele Alli we racked up far too many yellow cards by overreacting naively when decision went against us, and it was a little reminiscent of the end of last season and the Chelsea away game which also ironically ended in a 2-2 draw. There is a fine line between full blooded commitment and allowing things to boil over. This brings us onto Dele Alli. Many will say you can't take away this competitive streak as to do so would adversely affect his game and that he is young and he will learn. There is little doubt though that there are only so many times you can say this, the same factors that bit us on the arse in the way he reacted in the West Brom game have repeated themselves and cost us very dearly again as there is overwhelming evidence to suggest we could have turned things fully round with him on the pitch 11v11 with his attacking threat. If we now miss out on 4th by a slim margin this will hit us big time as it could have been another potential route into the Champions League.

Alli must learn and learn fast. Moving back to the positives we still have an awful lot to play for and if we can harness this full blooded commitment and we don't allow it to boil over and we keep our heads there is every reason to be optimistic about going all the way in the FA cup and finishing in the top 4 but let's look at the concerns if this is not dealt with and addressed swiftly.

We have a few so called "tasty" and pivotal fixtures left this season which have the potential to boil over. The last NLD at the lane, Man Utd at home also going for it etc etc. if we beat Millwall we have another potentially massive clash in the semis at Wembley. West Ham at their stadium has the ingredients to boil over.

Make no mistake about it teams like Millwall and West Ham will have been watching this and they will be targeting Alli by getting physical and hoping it sends him over the edge, to level things up, he won't always have the protection of the officials so he will have to deal with it, and make sure he doesn't overreact. So there is some serious work behind the scenes that Poch must do with Dele to convince him that he must keep his cool because his temperament will be severely tested over the coming weeks. Every team knows how we imploded by letting things boil over so you can be sure we will there to be shot at many times, and opposing fans will also play their part in trying to wind us up, so we just have to be smart enough not to take the bait.

 

[Spurs 1961]

Poch said he would know how we would play from the first minute and last night we showed what was needed. In the end playing chasing a game with ten men for most of it cost us. I have no doubt we would have won with eleven on the pitch.

However what does concern us is that too often we let aggression, urgency, fight boil over and play onto our opponents hands. Reckless lash outs, holds, trips after losing the ball or losing decisions from the referee don't help us. Controlled aggression is what is required

 

[dagraham]

Like a lot of the above posts I didn't think we played badly last night and with 11 men on the pitch we would have won. Really the awful display in the first leg cost us yesterday. We took Gent too lightly in the first match and subsequently paid the price.

How can you be so sure of this? We dominated the match with 10 men and had many chances or half chances, but couldn't hit a barn door or make the right pass. An extra man wouldn't have changed that. And we still would have had to defend occasionally with 11 men, and most likely still would of made a pig's ear of it.

Obviously Alli's stupid challenge had an effect, but that's not why we lost. We lost because in the big moments we fell short, as we do most of the time. Poor defending when needed, and wasteful when presented with chances to win the game. In all sport it's the individual or team who excel in the crucial moments who invariably win, and until we can do that on a regular basis we'll be winning precisely jack shit.

 

[mark87]

Despite the shite last night, there was a nice moment just before kick off, there was a young lad of about 6 sat behind me with his grandfather and when the music hit and the players start to walk out he got massively giddy and started laughing and clapping, it might have been his first ever spurs game and he was just so happy to see the players and it brought a massive smile to my face. Just a shame we couldn't win.

 

[nightgoat]

I've just gotten home from work and watched the match (well, up until Alli's red card, at which point I switched over to highlights,). A few observations which I'm sure have been made already, but which I nevertheless feel compelled to make:

Alli's hotheadedness cost us this tie. We were the better side by leaps and bounds and had it stayed 11 vs. 11 I have little doubt we would have gone on to the next round. It's just something we'll have to live with as he continues to progress, and to be fair up until tonight he seemed to have taken some lessons away from what happened last season, it's just a shame that it has cost us our chance in Europe. He needs to be taught a lesson and be sat on the bench for a few matches.

Dier is having a genuinely awful season. He's been consistently poor when played in central midfield, and significantly worse at CB. When he plays in defense it seems a near certainty that he will gift the opposition multiple chances through stupid mistakes. He was at fault in both the build-up to the corner for Gent's first goal (the American commentary correctly stated he was "spun like a top" by Koulibaly), as well as for their second when his positioning was frankly embarrassing. Wanyama has already relegated him to second choice at DM, and if we strengthen at CB in the summer (which we really ought to) he'll be nowhere near the first XI, even if we play three at the back. He needs to pull his finger out, because at the moment he's nothing short of calamitous.

Dier hasn't played central midfield this season, except for maybe two or three games at the very start of the season. Last season when he regularly started there he was one of our best players and a complete revelation in that position. It wasn't broken and it didn't need fixing. Pochettino, however, thinks Wanyama is undroppable and there are plenty of posters on here who also seem to think he can do no wrong. He's been rubbish for over a month now and it was his failure to control a simple ball in midfield which lead to the counter that resulted in the erroneous corner Gent equalised from. That was the moment that knocked the momentum out of our good start which was then compounded by Alli's red card.

 

[shelfboy68]

Regardless of who was at fault for the first goal the fact is your have to give yourself a chance and defend set pieces well which is where we struggle.
So many times this year set piece play has been our undoing which is concerning given the height and physicality within the side that it's such an issue.
I kind of understand there was always going to be a risk of them getting another on the break late on with us pouring forward for a winner, but again it was a poor goals to concede.
Again last night showed how when teams are organised against us we really struggle to break them down, and what was up with Eriksen last night looked like he had the legs of a 90 year old when trying to run.
I won't hold my breath but I sincerely hope that the summer recruitment is looked at in detail and better quality targeted, no more Nkoudou, Janssen and njies please.

 

[Nebby]

Please lets not waste another 60m this summer

The fact n'koudou was not even in the match day squad, sissoko was an unused sub and Janssen played all of 5 minutes I would say Poch knows he fucked up

Really is shocking. Kane looked knackered last night, and I don't understand why Janssen didn't get a chance against Fulham. The game was over at 2-0. He must be absolutely crap in training.

Sissoko I don't get at all. £30m on a squad player? Madness.

 

[Nebby]

Dier hasn't played central midfield this season, except for maybe two or three games at the very start of the season. Last season when he regularly started there he was one of our best players and a complete revelation in that position. It wasn't broken and it didn't need fixing. Pochettino, however, thinks Wanyama is undroppable and there are plenty of posters on here who also seem to think he can do no wrong. He's been rubbish for over a month now and it was his failure to control a simple ball in midfield which lead to the counter that resulted in the erroneous corner Gent equalised from. That was the moment that knocked the momentum out of our good start which was then compounded by Alli's red card.

Another player who looks like he needs a break. Surprised that Dembele was taken off and not Wanyama, as he was giving the ball away a lot. It was shit or bust at that point, and I would have thought that Winks and Dembele carry a greater threat going forward than Winks and Wanyama.

 

[TaoistMonkey]

Its amazing how many people get upset about going out of a cup they didn't want to be in.

 

[Eddy4956]

I thought we played well last night. Let's take the positives:

1. I've never seen a 10-man team so completely dominate an 11-man team. Great strength of character, bodes well for the future.
2. No more Thursday night football - will definitely improve our chances of a top 4 finish. We'll be knackered for the Stoke game, but after that we will be stronger.
3. Hopefully Deli grows from what happens and continues his maturity to the great player he can be.

 

[Trix]

We went four league games without scoring in open play RECENTLY i would say at the time we did look void of ideas but yeh last night was great, you gotta love conceding three goals to a quality side like Gent, two of those while we had 11 on the pitch.

I would also suggest we looked a little short of idea's in the first leg too?

LOL. Was merely stating it wasn't a case of not creating enough last night. It was the only point I was trying to make. nothing more nothing less.

 

[Metalhead]

Modern fans I am afraid. They want top 4. I am a little bit long in the tooth so I want a trophy. Different horses for different courses. The manager has no choice. He has to listen to Daniel san.

I agree with you but most managers have to accept what the chairman wants.

 

[montylynch]

As someone said earlier, we really need to learn how to play the ref in europe. Chalk and cheese from the prem. They got two early yellow cards, so the obvious ploy would have been to target those two. Have to admit the ref was a bit of a plum though, he seemed to be enjoying the limelight at Wembley, he's probably doing a nice bit of sightseeing this morning.. Again, it something we've got to get used to and learn from.

Kane was off it last night, didn't hold the ball up well enough for me. I've a feeling that heavy tackle in the first half took it out of him. Alli, well what can you say that hasn't been repeated again and again since 8.30 last night. He knows he fucked up royally, and hopefully, someone in that dressing room would have got hold of him and told him what's what, get inside his head and let him know what he did and not the opposite saying 'Don't worry, everything will be OK'. These players should be able to handle getting dug out by the team. Has he come out and said anything since last night ??

Sunday is such a big game now, back at home. Stoke will be bang up for it make no mistake, they'll target Dele from the off. I wouldn't bench him, I'd play him and give him as much as the ball as possible. Poch must make sure everyone has his back, and in turn, Alli must make sure he doesn't fuck up again.

 

[sunnydelight786]

All I keep reading/hearing is 'we must learn from this', 'ref had a shocker', 'all Alli's fault', 'must take our chances', etc , from our excuse merchants whist we have thrown away our true genuine chance of a trophy this season. Utd/Roma aside we had NOTHING to fear in that last 16 yet once again this team/squad of players have let us down when it matters. This team has a inability to see anything out and the truth is in the pudding the last 1 year. Every game that has really mattered they have failed miserably.

Do any of you really see us beating 2 of AFC/MCFC/CFC/MUFC, which we will have to do in FA cup semi and Final, to win it at Wembley? If the answer is no, deep down you know the truth, why make excuses for yet another pathetic exit from Europe? Nobody does failure and excuses like THFC. If trophies were handed out for excuses our fan base would be record holders of it.....!

 

[glacierSpurs]

Please lets not waste another 60m this summer

The fact n'koudou was not even in the match day squad, sissoko was an unused sub and Janssen played all of 5 minutes I would say Poch knows he fucked up

This.

The way GKN has been handled this season is nothing short of appalling.. So many games we could have his speed doing some good but he could not even make the bench.. As worse as our summer spending could be (and for one I am still leaving them till end of season to judge them), the sporadic matches/minutes they were given to consistently 'play' with team in actual matches were really really very poorly managed by Poch IMHO...