Gary Neville on Spurs & Poch on MNF

[worcestersauce]

A lot of statwaffle in there but the real nail on the head phrase was " all the foundations have been put in place", this is what I have been saying this season, we are building something good and you can't rush that.

 

[southlondonyiddo]

The mentality and mindset of the players changed when fun time frankie revolutionised the entire squad and got rid of the incredible amount of dead wood that had been the norm for the previous 20 years or so

I get where Neville is coming from but we've been a pretty competitive side for a good number of years now

 

[sloth]

What does it mean though? I will be more impressed if and when we take points off the teams that finished ahead of us last season. So far we have only played the two Manchester clubs in the league taking 3 out of a possible 6 points.

It just means that on the whole we've got our points against this season's form teams rather than the duds.

 

[guiltyparty]

The mentality and mindset of the players changed when fun time frankie revolutionised the entire squad and got rid of the incredible amount of dead wood that had been the norm for the previous 20 years or so

I get where Neville is coming from but we've been a pretty competitive side for a good number of years now

Yeah know what you mean, everyone loves the 'narrative' (hate that word) of Spurs down on their luck and needing turning around but the reality is we've been predictably consistent in the league for years, whoever is in the dugout. All the chop and change in personnel and style actually hasn't affected things in terms of results really. I remember us whopping big guns under AVB too - and I remember Poch getting spanked.

It does seem that Kane is getting us a lot of goodwill at the moment. Few losses on the bounce and they'll be saying he needs to leave I guess. But while that 'work ethic' stat can be interpreted many ways, what it does show is how quickly Poch has changed the way we play, which some people doubted.

I do like Neville tho and I agree the short time in which Poch has not just implemented a change of style but stood firm on shipping people out is a testament to him. As ever, I won't be carried away on one result but there's plenty to believe in at Spurs and it doesn't surprise me its Neville pointing that out

 

[teok]

I thought I would chuck this in here (please click the link if you enjoy what you read, the article carries on for the whole prem):


http://www.football365.com/news/premier-league-winners-and-losers-5


Winners

Tottenham

As a Premier League neutral (or as near as it is ever able to be), there is plenty to enjoy about this Tottenham team playing well. The side selected against Manchester City was the youngest in the Premier League this season (with an average age of 24 years and 40 days), breaking their own record. Having a front six aged 19, 21, 23, 23, 23 and 22 is extremely unusual in Europe’s ‘big four’ leagues, more common in Dutch and French football. In Dele Alli and Eric Dier (plus Harry Kane up front), they also have an English core. That can only be good news for Roy Hodgson.


Yet the greatest thing about Tottenham in recent weeks is the sense that the club is finally pulling in the right direction. Many supporters will celebrate the departure of Franco Baldini, but it is from the pitch that the most positivity can be drawn. Heung-Son Min’s arrival has ignited a spark of understanding in the final third, the vital missing link between attack and midfield. For too long Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli were forced to carry out that task alone, but they can now concentrate on other roles.

I’m a soppy sod, but I watched on with a huge grin as an inexperienced Spurs side responded after falling behind (aided by a huge slice of offside fortune, it must be said), and then exploited the weaknesses of their opponent to maximum effect.

The second-half performance was precisely the blueprint that Mauricio Pochettino is working from. Possession was won by pressing the opponent with the ball, those not tasked with the press closing off the passing options to force the mistake. When the ball was won, Spurs immediately attacked at pace. Having pacey options like Clinton N’Jie and Chadli makes that possible deep into matches, and N’Jie assisted the fourth goal with brilliant skill and vision.

One of the benefits of such a young team is that they should be able to fight until the last. Spurs beat Crystal Palace and Sunderland in the final quarter of the match, and powered over City in the latter stages.

The mood among Tottenham supporters was one of resignation during August, but three consecutive victories have reversed that. Long-suffering supporters may opine that the hope will kill you in the end, but you’d rather be hoping and failing than never hoping at all.



Erik Lamela
A standing ovation from the White Hart Lane crowd. It seems highly patronising to congratulate a £30m player on an impressive performance, but we might finally be seeing the benefits of a player settled in England and enjoying his football. It’s just a shame it’s taken over two years.

 

[whitesocks]

Because despite the effort, they didn't have the quality in their squads. Outrunning your opponent is always a positive, especially if it's on a consistent basis.

And there's the rub - you cannot outrun every opponent twice a week for a whole season.
And why would you try to, unless you were always behind in games, like the teams at the bottom.

 

[Lilbaz]

Pre-game tonight, Gary Neville spoke quite a bit about us and the great job Poch has done since he arrived.

Not sure if there's a video of it out there but Sky Sports have transcribed most of what he said in this article: http://www.skysports.com/football/n...or-tottenham-change-under-mauricio-pochettino

I wish more pundits looked beneath the surface and avoided the temptation to spout sound bites and copycat opinions.

It's incredibly refreshing to hear an opinion from someone who's actually bothered to spend a bit of time watching us and trying to understand what we have been trying to do these past 18 months beyond 'wasting the Bale money'.

Pity it was on Sky in the build up to a game no one was watching!

Over to you Lawro...

Spurs beat city 4-1, pubdit says good things about us.

What did he say after we lost against utd?

 

[Database]

Neville is talking like 2013-2014 Tottenham was bottom half team.

69 points and two managers sacked. Still not ready to jump Poch bandwagon...

 

[Lilbaz]

Neville is talking like 2013-2014 Tottenham was bottom half team.

69 points and two managers sacked. Still not ready to jump Poch bandwagon...

He's never managed a team. Might as well ask a check out girl how to run sainsbury's.

 

[thfc1989]

Some people here clearly don't understand the point. He isn't say that running around the most means you win matches. He is saying Pochetino has been successful in shifting a negative attitude at Spurs and this can be demonstrated by how hard they are working.

 

[wrd]

People saying that running is a useless stat, try watching ahtletico the season they won La Liga. The fact of the matter is that certain teams can't compete with high spending. However when you couple the high intensity running with the quality which Athletico possessed and we potentially possess great things can happen.

He's spot on about the foundations, people were crying about attacking fluidity being lost because of dier completely negating the fact the attack has barely played together. We will get better and hopefully that provides consistency. Top four is a big ask but all we can do is be consistent and pounce if the big spenders mess up.

 

[whitechina]

I'd say in 18 months when LVG goes he will be ready to at least be in the team with giggs and scholes etc.

fair enough but for me he has been a breath of fresh air in many of his pieces on Sky. He doesn't make silly puns, weak jokes very often and does seem to put time into his informative observations. I think he has a long career ahead of him in this field should he choose to stick with it.

 

[SlotBadger]

I absolutely detested Neville as a player (even more so because he was annoyingly great) but I don't think there's a pundit I'd rather listen to.

He shocked a lot of people with his punditry when he first signed to Sky and, unlike Carragher, I actually look forward to his analysis of our performances and opinions of our club, even if I don't entirely agree with everything he says.

 

[theShiznit]

Ability comes into it as well...

People saying "So why didn't Southampton win the league?", or "why did Cardiff, Burnley go down?"

Because what they did on the ball was the problem.

I'd like to think we have better players than those three clubs.

We have assembled a team that works it's nuts off for each other and are now assembling an attack that understands each other's strengths and weaknesses, our play in the final third over the past few weeks is vastly above what we have seen for at least three seasons, Son, Alli, Mason and Lamela are all a major part in that, as they look to move the ball (and themselves) with real purpose which in turn creates space for the likes of Eriksen and Kane to produce their own magic.

And all this is without a full understanding of Son yet, without Kane really hitting form and with Eriksen still not fully match fit.


I think we may fall just short of 4th this year due to lack of back up for Kane, but what we are assembling ATM makes me much more optimistic when the Bus parkers come to the Lane on a Sunday after a Thursday in Latveria... (I feel we are not doomed to 0-1's in those games any longer)

 

[teok]

fair enough but for me he has been a breath of fresh air in many of his pieces on Sky. He doesn't make silly puns, weak jokes very often and does seem to put time into his informative observations. I think he has a long career ahead of him in this field should he choose to stick with it.

Nobody is disagreeing with you that he is a good pundit but he should be coaching/managing. Young english coaches of his quality are few and far between. We should be encouraging as many of them as possible with an actual genuine understanding of the game to get involved.

He could easily be a future england boss.

 

[Lo Amo Speroni]

I absolutely detested Neville as a player (even more so because he was annoyingly great) but I don't think there's a pundit I'd rather listen to.

He shocked a lot of people with his punditry when he first signed to Sky and, unlike Carragher, I actually look forward to his analysis of our performances and opinions of our club, even if I don't entirely agree with everything he says.

Ditto

 

[whitechina]

Nobody is disagreeing with you that he is a good pundit but he should be coaching/managing. Young english coaches of his quality are few and far between. We should be encouraging as many of them as possible with an actual genuine understanding of the game to get involved.

He could easily be a future england boss.

We see things a little differently but in a positive way. Yes we should encourage former great (yes Neville was a great RB in his day) players to help the next generations and I think he's already doing that with the present set up. let's hope he helps some of our younger England squad members become future greats. I still recon he'll be a pundit for years thou

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

I absolutely detested Neville as a player (even more so because he was annoyingly great) but I don't think there's a pundit I'd rather listen to.

He shocked a lot of people with his punditry when he first signed to Sky and, unlike Carragher, I actually look forward to his analysis of our performances and opinions of our club, even if I don't entirely agree with everything he says.

He's the best pundit on TV by a country mile in my humble onion.

 

[SteveH]

Thought GN was absolutely spot on last night.

@whitesocks said " you cannot outrun every opponent twice a week for a whole season." Garry's old team did it year in year out!

 

[guiltyparty]

Some people here clearly don't understand the point. He isn't say that running around the most means you win matches. He is saying Pochetino has been successful in shifting a negative attitude at Spurs and this can be demonstrated by how hard they are working.

And (some) people are saying that that stat doesn't equal a 'negative attitude' shift, it just equates to us doing more running - which can be interpreted in various ways. What it shows is that we have massively changed the way we play, though, that is undeniable – we are more energetic, we press higher, but that doesn't necessarily equal 'good'. As ever, outside that, stats can be bent in any direction you want.

Man City are 13th on that running table, yet sit 2nd in the league. Arsenal are 16th on that table, yet sit 4th in the league. On the other hand, Newcastle are 6th on that table but sit 19th in the league. If people want to argue that worse sides have to run more, sure, Bournemouth have run the most despite only being 16th, sure – but then Norwich are bottom of the running table, but sit in 12th in the league. In turn, Everton are 17th on that table, yet are 5th and above us in the league.

Would you argue Everton have a better squad than us? That we need to do more running to compete with them? Or is it actually, after 7 games, a fairly worthless indicator of anything other than style of play?