Tottenham vs West Brom: Match Thread

[SelbYido]

Took my friend and his son to their first premer leauge game today. Wont do that again. Tut

Of course you won't, if you did it would be their second Premier League game. Yep, I'm that kind of internet twat.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

No but those two golden boots do cloud his judgement many a time, and his team mates are beginning to demonstrate that frustration.

I don't give a damn what any other player thinks (or not) about Kane, he is the best goalscorer in the PL this decade and if those around him don't like it then Poch should ship em' out. A damn i don't give.

I didn't see a single instance of players demonstrating their frustration and any of them are quite welcome to step up to the plate and perform as good as him in the PL and CL.

Storm in a teacup, nothing to see here, now move along.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

So who reckons Zaha will come to us for less than HK's wages because I can see an apple cart and it is going to get upset, big time ?

I guess he's looking forward tremendously to visiting Villa, Derby and Notts Forest next season, rather than testing his skills in the Champions League...

 

[DCSPUR]

I don't give a damn what any other player thinks (or not) about Kane, he is the best goalscorer in the PL this decade and if those around him don't like it then Poch should ship em' out. A damn i don't give.

I didn't see a single instance of players demonstrating their frustration and any of them are quite welcome to step up to the plate and perform as good as him in the PL and CL.

Storm in a teacup, nothing to see here, now move along.

yup! If anything Alli was a tad too deferential late on when he tried to pass instead of shooting!!

 

[Bilko]

Really pathetic comments on here-we`re all dissappointed for f..ks sake.
Poch is one of the best managers there is- Kane is one of the greatest strikers Spurs has had and the team has been built around a fantastic structure and leaders-it`s a long term job and will need another couple of seasons-anybody who bood at the match should find another team please

 

[TheChosenOne]

I guess he's looking forward tremendously to visiting Villa, Derby and Notts Forest next season, rather than testing his skills in the Champions League...

You just know I've had 6 beers tonight ( first alcohol for about a month or so) and I am losing the will to live dontcha ?


+ I have just necked a bottle of iffy Chardonnay from a six bottle stash from Lidl that was part of me wife's Christmas bundle.


Uh oh I'm in trouble.

 

[Phomesy]

It's a huge overreaction and I don't care but why on earth isn't the clock stopped when the ball is out of play or there is a stoppage? Reduce the game to 80 minutes.

It's like this an Aussie Rules and NFL. In fact I can't think of another sport where stoppages and "time on" are left to an arbitrary referee glancing at his watch.

 

[Phomesy]

Defensive players are not the reason we are not breaking down teams like West Brom.. Levy and Poch need to invest in pace in attack. Salah, Mane, Sane, Stirling, Martial, Batshauyi, Lacazette are the level of attacking we should be buying. They don't come to sit on the bench they come in to challenge the players we already have. We also need a player like Mahrez to challenge Eriksen who has looked off the pace recently.

And yes if Bale is fit I would 100% pay £80 million to get him back as he definately has the abilty to break down packed defences

So what you're saying is that we should replace most of our existing attacking players with players from other sides who have similar - or often lesser - output?

Bold strategy Cotton. Let's see if it works out...

 

[Phomesy]

If only we had an exciting 18 year kid on bench. Someone with low centre gravity and great dribbling skills that can run at a packed defence

Sissoko's 18?

 

[St José Dominguez]

Swear some of these teams aren't barely putting a foot wrong defensively. Understand we were complete and utter shite today but when these teams go to etihad they'll be blasting the football into each other's face, falling over and giving de bryne ten years to find an unmarked Sane. Definitely think these teams have sussed us out and feel comfortable and confident along with raising their game because it's Wembley.

At WHL due to fact we were on fire teams looked terrified and that led to idiotic defending further helping us. The two big wins at Wembley against Liverpool and Dortmund (not suggesting we didn't deserve to win) were both aided by horrendous defending. We needed an early high scoring win at Wembley against one of the lower teams to scare and raise questions. Right now I'm more confident of scoring against Man City than say Brighton. We've got big issues and it's concerning.

 

[Gassin's finest]

yup! If anything Alli was a tad too deferential late on when he tried to pass instead of shooting!!

This, he made a great opportunity for himself late on, and any other day of the week he'd be curving it low into the bottom corner, but instead opted to side foot pass it through 2 or 3 defenders for Kane...

 

[ajspurs]

At WHL due to fact we were on fire teams looked terrified and that led to idiotic defending further helping us. The two big wins at Wembley against Liverpool and Dortmund (not suggesting we didn't deserve to win) were both aided by horrendous defending. We needed an early high scoring win at Wembley against one of the lower teams to scare and raise questions. Right now I'm more confident of scoring against Man City than say Brighton. We've got big issues and it's concerning.

Not sure I quite believe the defending claim, because even if we were aided a few goals by some defensive mishaps, you can see the way in which we play against these types of teams is severely lacking energy and intensity. But I agree with the lower part, it says a lot when we have much more joy playing against Real Madrid, Dortmund and Liverpool at home than we do Burnley, Swansea and West Brom.

What annoys me the most is that our football now at home against the bus parkers has not seemed to have changed at all yet from the start of the season. I don't know if it's naivety or stubbornness in thinking that we can just play the way we usually do in the hope that it clicks or that we are trying new things and it's (clearly) not evident but either way it would be nice to see some sort of major change to our approach to these games, even if it meant dropping someone and going with 2 strikers or something just different. I'm kind of sick of seeing the slow side to side and backwards play and looking at the clock seeing 35 minutes and barely remembering a decent effort on goal.

 

[journeyman]

To me, yesterday confirmed two things:

(1) We really need a fit Dembele in these home games against weaker but well-organised sides - he's by far our most effective at breaking the lines and creating the space necessary to create chances;

(2) We are really missing the pace Walker and Rose provided on the flanks last year - crosses from deep, however accurate, are not sufficient recompense.

 

[Dannyspur]

Well that was shit ... and I'm only talking about the mobile network connection at Wembley.

Diabolical goal to concede that allowed WBA to waste time as they pleased. A miracle it took 82 mins for Foster to get booked. Ref must have deliberately waited so long so he knew he would'nt have to produce the red.

We as usual struggled to break down 10 defenders + GK. I'd rather play Aurier and Rose against teams that sit so deep because I feel they stretch play and try to move behind better than Trippier and Davies. A decent goal but we wasted so many good opportunities through dallying and allowing them to regain shape. Poor game from us.

I totally agree about the timewasting, if the ref (who was probably one of the worst I have seen) books Foster after the third or fourth time (about 10 mins into the game) then he would have risked a sending off if he continued. I reckon the ball was out of play in their possession or in Foster's hands for an hour of the game. We were counting the seconds he was holding it and many times it was 10 or 11. Six second rule is never enforced - we should have had loads of freekicks in their box. Also 7 mins added time considering the stoppages was a joke.

 

[Rufusman]

The time wasting got to a silly level when they even had a go at the ball boys a couple of times for being to quick.

 

[TheLionKing]

So who reckons Zaha will come to us for less than HK's wages because I can see an apple cart and it is going to get upset, big time ?

That’s another issue all together which is a problem. If we limit who we target because we aren’t prepared to pay the going rate wages wise. How can we expect to improve?

If we don’t start paying more (I’m not talking City, Manu, Chelsea wages here) we can’t expect our players to remain happy and motivated either.

We have to lift our wage ceiling really if we want to have a competitive team imo.

 

[diamondlight]

yup! If anything Alli was a tad too deferential late on when he tried to pass instead of shooting!!

There is no magic formula for when to pass and when to be greedy. There are general rules like *give it to the best English striker of our generation unless you have a very good chance to score* but it's not a science. The key is respect between the players, even when bad decisions are made, including by Kane. Poch it seems is very good at cultivating this mutual respect - for example, all this stuff about the players eating together, and shaking hands with each other in the morning. As long as there's a good atmos within the squad, frustration on the pitch won't turn into animosity or - much worse - apathy.

 

[FibreOpticJesus]

Swear some of these teams aren't barely putting a foot wrong defensively. Understand we were complete and utter shite today but when these teams go to etihad they'll be blasting the football into each other's face, falling over and giving de bryne ten years to find an unmarked Sane. Definitely think these teams have sussed us out and feel comfortable and confident along with raising their game because it's Wembley.

At WHL due to fact we were on fire teams looked terrified and that led to idiotic defending further helping us. The two big wins at Wembley against Liverpool and Dortmund (not suggesting we didn't deserve to win) were both aided by horrendous defending. We needed an early high scoring win at Wembley against one of the lower teams to scare and raise questions. Right now I'm more confident of scoring against Man City than say Brighton. We've got big issues and it's concerning.

Nothing new here. Both at Wembley and the Lane we have struggled to beat teams with 10 men behind the ball. We beat teams who come to play and we draw, lose or just win against teams who do not. WBA have always been a team we struggle to beat at home. Do you remember the Leicester game the year they won the league? My concern is that Spurs have not dealt with this problem. Its a no plan B or C that frustrates me. The constant passing of the ball from side to side and back makes me scream till my eardrums burst. We will always come up against time wasters and useless referees (there are too many) and yes the time added on is a big issue. But when it comes down to the hard facts you pick a team to counteract the negative style and Poch has failed on this since he joined the club. Love him as we all do it rests with him. Einstein's Theory of Insanity is never more evident.

 

[Bilko]

If we don’t start paying more (I’m not talking City, Manu, Chelsea wages here) we can’t expect our players to remain happy and motivated

Can't agree

 

[mpickard2087]

We aren't working hard enough to beat teams that sit back currently. Until that changes we will struggle.

The last couple of games I have watched with my dad he has had a real and annoying fixation on calling us out for standing still... But he's not wrong unfortunately. Go back and watch recent games and don't focus on the ball, watch the others and see what they are doing, there is far far too often where our players, particularly the ones playing in the forward line, are indeed like statues, or being lazy, not offering anything to the man on the ball. You cant wait for something to happen and get in bad habits, be busy and always on the move. Not just bursting into life as and when for the big play.