Match Threads Watford vs Spurs - Match Thread

[Reece]

I really don't get changing a winning team away to Man Utd. Tinkerman

 

[Doctor Dinkey]

Strangely I don’t think we’ve started the season as well as our previous results suggested. We were poor in parts against Newcastle and they were very unlucky not to bag a draw. We played ok against Fulham but we allowed them to get at us fairly frequently. And though I don’t agree with Allardyce that OT was a freak result, we certainly could have been out of it by half time, and Poch expressed his annoyance with the whole performance. So today wasn't totally unexpected really.

 

[heelspurs]

Will take a while before some are ready to admit it.

Same with Dier.

There's a reason I've excluded dele from so many of my matchday team selections (to hysterical blowback).

He can pop up with a goal, but the deficiency he presents in other areas isn't a fitting pay-off imo, and is too much of a liability for some games.

Really have to pick and choose when to play him imvho.

TT...quick....duck....incoming.....

 

[thinktank]

TT...quick....duck....incoming.....

I'm actually surprised it's gone so well so far, Heelsy.

Still ready for the Molotovs, though.

 

[theShiznit]

Strangely I don’t think we’ve started the season as well as our previous results suggested. We were poor in parts against Newcastle and they were very unlucky not to bag a draw. We played ok against Fulham but we allowed them to get at us fairly frequently. And though I don’t agree with Allardyce that OT was a freak result, we certainly could have been out of it by half time, and Poch expressed his annoyance with the whole performance. So today wasn't totally unexpected really.

The WC and staggered (zero in some cases) pre-season was always going to make it a difficult start to the season, we exceeded expectation in the opening few games, that's why this is an annoying performance and result, when our fitness and cohesion should be improving we put in a very leggy, listless display with few positives.

 

[thinktank]

Strangely I don’t think we’ve started the season as well as our previous results suggested. We were poor in parts against Newcastle and they were very unlucky not to bag a draw. We played ok against Fulham but we allowed them to get at us fairly frequently. And though I don’t agree with Allardyce that OT was a freak result, we certainly could have been out of it by half time, and Poch expressed his annoyance with the whole performance. So today wasn't totally unexpected really.

True, but think we rode the margins well enough to earn the wins, overall.

I also don't think we weren't that bad in the fist half against manure.

We missed some and they missed some that half.

We competed, for sure.

Then blew them away in the second.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

I don't see much creation from lamela and son weighs in with a decent ratio of goals but where is creativity from midfield apart from erikson, I bet poch wishes he could have brought in 3/4 in to bolster his side's ambitions.

Didn't he pretty much top our assists & chances created charts when he was playing regularly for us?

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

It's a pointless argument as we are not in a position to win a title so players and fan's should not even entertain the notion.

They didn't entertain anything, though. They simply answered a question.

 

[shelfboy68]

Didn't he pretty much top our assists & chances created charts when he was playing regularly for us?

Wouldn't have thought so mate although that's not me saying I don't like him because I do just that I don't see him as the answer.

 

[shelfboy68]

They didn't entertain anything, though. They simply answered a question.

Regardless it isn't happening so forget about it.

 

[SdB]

one defeat and the fickleness comes out

I'd say it cant play if you have two up front and still want to press and have good pitch coverage. The only way is as some sitting deep counter attacking tactic as we saw in the CL games or Liverpool game.

If we had a Man City 4-1-4-1/4-3-3 operating then maybe, though as I've always said I'd play Alli as the Left Forward in a 4-3-3.

But yeah, you're relying on those individuals to be ultra disciplined and putting in a shift... And so far this season that hasn't been the case.

What I see is 2 strollers and 1 borderline stroller in our team.

Dier and Eriksen are the strollers and Deli is the borderline

When we play those 3 we look like England with Deli/Henderson and Lingard, awful midfield Unfortunately and I say with deep regret is that Dier (now) is not as good, mobile amd defensively diligent as Henderson.

 

[wadewill]

Were you thinking this on Monday night?

Ffs - nothing like a good overreaction...

In the first half. Yes

Plus a bit easier to get up for a game at OT than put your head where Troy Deeney is going to smash it up.

I’m not saying it’s clearly the problem but it could be. We haven’t played well this season for more than 10-15 minutes a game. We were massively flattered by that scoreline at United

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

Wouldn't have thought so mate although that's not me saying I don't like him because I do just that I don't see him as the answer.

Well, here's to hoping he proves you wrong & not me buddy. I think he's got so much of what we're missing, and can (will) make many people eat their words.

One thing I can say with almost 100% certainty, though. Today he would've shown much more desire & willingness to make something happen, than anyone else that was impersonating a footballer in a Spurs shirt today.

 

[nedley]

True, but think we rode the margins well enough to earn the wins, overall.

I also don't think we weren't that bad in the fist half against manure.

We missed some and they missed some that half.

We competed, for sure.

Then blew them away in the second.

We were abysmal for the first 25 mins.

 

[Metalhead]

Nothing more than responding to the interviewer asking them about being title contenders.

I'm baffled as to how so many seem to be annoyed about it, to be honest. Like I said, they were just responses to questions in an interview after the game.

I guarantee, if the same players had spoken down the possibility of challenging for the league, the very people who are angry at them for being positive, would be slamming them for lacking a winning mentality and being weak.

Spursy.

Well, context is important I guess. Talking about aiming for the title is acceptable for sure but talking about in relation to a single result is daft.

 

[shelfboy68]

Well, here's to hoping he proves you wrong & not me buddy. I think he's got so much of what we're missing, and can (will) make many people eat their words.

One thing I can say with almost 100% certainty, though. Today he would've shown much more desire & willingness to make something happen, than anyone else that was impersonating a footballer in a Spurs shirt today.

I never doubt his desire mate that he has in abundance hence why he gets carded so much not sure he is the answer as he seems to be made of glass but hopefully for you he will prove you right.

 

[CoopsieDeadpool]

Well, context is important I guess. Talking about aiming for the title is acceptable for sure but talking about in relation to a single result is daft.

Spot on. However, with Dier's recent interview, when he said about no transfers, but players buying into having the right mentality etc. I genuinely believe it is a general belief among the squad, rather than being solely based upon that 1 result.

And now, hopefully, today will act as a kick up the arse & a slap in the face, reminding them to either put up our shut up because if they let standards/efforts drop, today happens.

 

[Spurs 1961]

Poor result but not unexpected when we did not seem to want to win. In the first half I thought we defended really well giving no chances away but on the other hand the forward play was just pretty, pretty as well as being pretty short of any cutting edge. Maybe we thought Watford were not good enough to worry about.

I have to say that, imo, we got away with a poor first half against United, tried to throw the game away against Fulham and scrapped through against Newcastle. We have not played with any really convincing authority yet this season so 9/12 points represents a surprisingly good start for a team playing some way below their best. Perhaps we will come back from the international break sharper starting the game against Liverpool on the front foot. Lets also hope that we get the energy of Son and Lamela back soon.

 

[king26]

I think Watford will cause trouble for most teams especially at home, but this result is so disappointing because I felt when the tide started to turn we didn't react. Moussa starts giving the ball away in key areas and nothing is done. If he is subbed for Harry this result never happens! It felt so much like the Juventus match and it is disappointing that lessons are not being learnt.

Ben Davies is a solid enough player but we seem to lose something when he plays. I also have to agree with the posts about Davinson Sanchez. He may well be a great player in time to come, but he does seem to have a bit of a headless streak to him at times. It may be that he never really progresses to the level we all thought because of that lack of "football intelligence". Whatever you think of Toby and loyalty he has has bucketloads of that.

lost deeney for his goal dont think toby was that good

 

[ljinko888]

Two weeks to spew over this. Would have been brilliant to get through to the international break unscathed. We weren't good enough though. In the first half I thought we moved the ball around at good tempo but without really causing them damage and when we got a pretty scrappy goal we should have tried to control the game and not let it be so open. The manager missed a trick not bringing on a midfield player to get a grip on the game as they pushed bodies forward. Winks was very lively when he came on for about ten minutes - he should have been on when we were ahead.

As far as the talk of can we challenge for the title - one victory at Old Trafford didn't confirm we can so one defeat at Vicarage Road doesn't confirm we can't. It's too early to be holding such conversations in respect to the fact the points differential isn't going to be big four games in.

We'll get a bit more clearer idea by the time of the next international break which follows the next four games which for us are:

Liverpool at Wembley
Brighton away
Huddersfield away
Cardiff at Wembley

We'll also have Champions League games and at least one Carabao Cup game sandwiched between those league games. Seven games in all competitions across 22 days until the next international break.

Liverpool is a game I'm even more looking forward to now. I'd rather have that game as our first back because if we turn up and get three points, it rights the wrong of Watford because while it's important to win games against "the rest of the league", you can't win them all so what you have to do is take points off your rivals. If we top the so-called "Top Six mini-league" we'll have a great chance.

Inflicting defeat on Liverpool is huge for us because it puts the ball back in our court in terms of taking a big scalp. And if we do we can't squander the momentum like we did today by dropping points in the following relatively easier games.