Spurs (A) | Post-Match Thread

[decmancity]

We cudda & shudda won 4 trophies! We all knew our strongest team & line up for the CL Final, so explain why so many of us were shitting ourselves that Pep would over-think the final, try to pull a surprise & fuck things up.

It was our final game of the season, & the most prestigious one-off game in our history, so with a fully fit squad to choose from, were Fernandinho & Rodri being rested? Because they had a long hard season?

No. Pep selected that team as he thought an all out attack would bring dividends. It didn't, just as many feared. The day Pep is above criticism, is the day this club is fucked. No person (including the Great Guardiola) is infallible or should be above scrutiny.

Don't know what that has got to to do with anything to do with players resting yesterday but ok.

 

[Dribble]

Don't know what that has got to to do with anything to do with players resting yesterday but ok.

It's got everything to do with the reason our better players were left on the bench yesterday, albeit some believe they weren't fit enough. Weren't Fern & Rodri fit enough for the CL Final?

Several of our better players could have played a part yesterday, & been rotated in the match. They weren't. We lost. End of. :-|

 

[decmancity]

It's got everything to do with the reason our better players were left on the bench yesterday, albeit some believe they weren't fit enough. Weren't Fern & Rodri fit enough for the CL Final?

Several of our better players could have played a part yesterday, & been rotated in the match. They weren't. We lost. End of. :-|

What relevance is last season to anything. Move on.

They did play a part or did I imagine that KDB, Zinchenko and Jesus all came off the bench?

 

[Dribble]

What relevance is last season to anything. Move on.

They did play a part or did I imagine that KDB, Zinchenko and Jesus all came off the bench?

What I saw yesterday, was a continuation of some of the curious selections I saw toward the end of last season. I really shouldn't need to spell out the relevance of it.

Yes, Zin, KDB & Jesus played a part. My WHOLE POINT is, why not start them, get the job done, & then bring on Sterling, Mendy & whoever else to rest & rotate?? :-|

 

[why me? Blue Manchester]

I think he plays Mendy because the others have been in involved for their respective countries and need to come back slowly. We were always going to be slow starters because of our players heavy involvement with the tournaments. Mendy is a worry

He's a first class lump

 

[decmancity]

What I saw yesterday, was a continuation of some of the curious selections I saw toward the end of last season. I really shouldn't need to spell out the relevance of it.

Yes, Zin, KDB & Jesus played a part. My WHOLE POINT is, why not start them, get the job done, & then bring on Sterling, Mendy & whoever else to rest & rotate?? :-|

Curious selections?

He played those that have had the most time in pre-season and that himself and his staff concluded are the fittest and in the best position to play. What is curious. Yesterday was the most expensive 11 to ever play in a premier league game so if they are not up to it then we are properly fucked.

"get the job done" ffs. We weren't playing some friendly against part timers in Slovakia.

 

[SS2dan]

Mendy is not a worry he is a liability

 

[OB1]

What I saw yesterday, was a continuation of some of the curious selections I saw toward the end of last season. I really shouldn't need to spell out the relevance of it.

Yes, Zin, KDB & Jesus played a part. My WHOLE POINT is, why not start them, get the job done, & then bring on Sterling, Mendy & whoever else to rest & rotate?? :-|

KDB was only good for about 15 - 20 minutes and only ever going to be used in the circumstances that did occur yesterday. Starting him would have been stupid.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I'm losing the will to look at these threads and Twitter.

Raz started because, as Pep has told us many times over the years, he is exceptional in terms of fitness and recovery.

Ederson started because he is a GK and so not running about but maybe he shouldn't have because he wasn't sharp on their goal and Zack has been excellent in pre-season.

It always looked like a tough start for us and, after last season, our players will need to pace themselves and Pep will need to rotate a lot. People need to get that in their heads now or not bother watching us.

And while I am complaining, I was disgusted with a lot of our so called supporters. The abuse (not racial thankfully) that Mendy was getting yesterday was appalling. I don't care what you think of a player's performance, slating them, potentially within earshot, is not supporting the team. People that do it on these forums, claim it's ok to slag people because the player(s) don't see it but that's not guaranteed and it carries over into the stands into, frankly, mindless abuse. A narrative has been set and Mendy just can't win: people simply lose objectivity in my view.

You've been around long enough to know that 80% of football fans, the most vociferous 80%, don't know anything about football. There are still morons who pop up regularly on this forum whenever we rotate saying "AlWaYs pLaY yOuR sTrONgEsT tEAm". They are doing it today.

Totally agree about abusing players in the stadium. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

Watching the game yesterday I had the sudden sense that what Pep managed to do last season was a small miracle that could only have been achieved in empty stadiums. Gundogan, god love him, isn't going to have a hot streak like he had last winter and we can't keep playing a system that requires every single player to be on form because it just won't work at the start and end of seasons. Foden and Kev and now Grealish will help out, of course, but we need a striker who can score scruffy goals and give low blocks something else to think about. Jesus and Torres are decent players to come on to the pitch after another player has pulled you apart for 60 minutes, and Kev as a false 9 is a great plan B, but we need a plan A and we haven't had it for 18 months. Need to get this Kane deal over the line.

 

[East Level 2]

Pg is not above criticism , the sun doesn't shine out of his arse like some think.
Why the f-ck he persists to give Mendy & Ake chances god only knows ?
Nearly everyone can see they are shite & should be no where near the 1st team.
Before a ball was kicked pg was getting his excuses ready & sending negative vibes out by saying the team are not ready for the start of the season , whose fault is that ?
I believe we were the last team in the prem to start preseason training .

We were also the last team to finish last season (along with Chelsea) and had a lot of players at the Euros.
And we'll have similar issues for the next couple of summers with next season starting early and finishing late due to the monumentally stupid decision to play a mid-season World Cup in Qatar.

 

[OB1]

You've been around long enough to know that 80% of football fans, the most vociferous 80%, don't know anything about football. There are still morons who pop up regularly on this forum whenever we rotate saying "AlWaYs pLaY yOuR sTrONgEsT tEAm". They are doing it today.

Totally agree about abusing players in the stadium. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Any touch Mendy had that wasn't perfect got slated, yet, for instance, the guy made the most passes of any player and had the second best pass completion. He also ranked second on key passes and tackles.

I need to watch the game on TV at some point and see if Mendy's poorer moments and there were some were that bad compared to those of his team mates.

 

[jonmcity]

Mendy is not a worry he is a liability

You will loose every game with him playing, unless you can outscore the opposition. He guaranties goals for the opponent.

 

[OB1]

We were also the last team to finish last season (along with Chelsea) and had a lot of players at the Euros.
And we'll have similar issues for the next couple of summers with next season starting early and finishing late due to the monumentally stupid decision to play a mid-season World Cup in Qatar.

No team in world football had as many players go so deep into international tournaments this season as ours did.

 

[Blu1]

Just watched highlights how did we lose this game.

One thing I noticed from us was very little team effort. Looked like a team with no game plan. Weird

 

[Damanino]

Defence need more help, more stability front of them. especially with the fans being back at stadiums. we fucking panic at the back every time there is a counter against us, last year it was dead silence in away grounds but this year it will be different to deal with these counters.

thing is the Bernardo out, Grealish in change tactically will make us more creative going forward and less balanced defensively meaning more pressure on our defence after all which is the last thing they need. Zinchenko, Walker, Stones being back will help, but even them will be turned over if our midfield will not be there to help them out. and if Fernandinho was sturggling yesterday on his own, an immobile,slow Rodri who even gained some weight over the summer will not be much of a change.

Tactical balance will be huge for Pep this year, hope we start pressing like crazy but doubt we have the fitness or appetite for that anymore with the likes of Grealish, Mahrez. best presser we have is Bernardo, who is about to leave.

 

[jonmcity]

Just watched highlights how did we lose this game.

One thing I noticed from us was very little team effort. Looked like a team with no game plan. Weird

Was a bit, almost like pep saying we need a striker or we will win nothing. Was he telling our owners to get their hand in their pockets?

 

[Pablo ZZZ Peroni]

this is what gets me about we are not fit and ready for the new season. It was the same last season.

we have a great team full of international players but we are not unique in that . So do the rag shit , the dippers and Chelsea.

who equally had long hard seasons last season and players played for their country over the summer but they were ready. Richarlison for Everton played in the olympics a few weeks ago but he was ready for Everton Saturday.

there seems to be a prevailing narrative (excuse even) before we have even played that we aren’t ready and we have had no pre season. We are under no different pressure on players than all the other top sides in the premier league but somehow we are the only ones who never appear to be ready.

Richarlison is match fit because the Olympics final was just over a week ago. Benitez said he will be involved for the first few games and then have a break.

 

[eyalluvitt]

Watching the work ethic, desire and tenacity of Son and Moura was in stark contrast to our front three who seemed to be in pre season friendly mode.Add in Mendy and his chuckle brother Ake and we were massively up against it. Despite his issues, Rodri has to play for me if available, he is a unit who won’t get bullied.

 

[OB1]

Just watched highlights how did we lose this game.

One thing I noticed from us was very little team effort. Looked like a team with no game plan. Weird

What does no team effort mean? There was plenty of effort from the team, even if it lacked a bit of energy. You don't have 66% possession in a game where the team does put in any effort or where there is a lack of co-ordination if that was what you meant.