Spurs (H) | PL | Post Match Thread

A team full of potential but to win the two pots worth winning we need more .

When you build you can build on quicksand. Any team that has Rico nunes and a cent half who can’t head a ball have clear and obvious problems.

Dias is a myth . Not just yesterday but for every season bar one he’s been here.
Can’t head it in either box lacks pace and no strength. A career on blocking shots .
 
Lewis went to sleep really for the first. The Spurs winger was a good few yards behind him when Stones slipped yet got there well ahead of Lewis (who also went with the wrong foot IMO). He needs to be more aware of where his man is.
He definitely went with the wrong foot. Just make sure you get something on it.
 
The balance of the team selection or how we played? There was plenty of optimism pre match with the selection along with some confident predictions. It was a poor show from us and Spurs were better at some of the basics.
The balance of how we set up, for me. Not sure Cherki is ready to play in a midfield three against a team as physical as Spurs. Maybe with Rodri at his peak sitting behind but not with a whole new midfield.

I thought it affected our whole setup.
 
A big concern for me is that at 2-0 down, other than a brief period at the start of the second half we didn't make them sweat at all. It was really comfortable. All very flat.

Hopefully just the fact we are trying to get up to speed still, but we have tough games coming thick and fast so can't afford to be that far off it again.

Part of that, a significant one, is that they are better prepared physically due to having started their preseason 3 weeks earlier.
 
A team full of potential but to win the two pots worth winning we need more .

When you build you can build on quicksand. Any team that has Rico nunes and a cent half who can’t head a ball have clear and obvious problems.

Dias is a myth . Not just yesterday but for every season bar one he’s been here.
Can’t head it in either box lacks pace and no strength. A career on blocking shots .
You can argue that Dias had a bad game, or that he is slow. You cannot claim that Dias is not strong or cannot head the ball.
 
The main thing that stood out was we have a team who no longer has any physicality. Our players were bullied off the ball, time and time again. This you can live with to a certain degree if you have an out ball and play the ball quickly. Playing back to Trafford isn't like playing back to Eddie, who is like playing with another outfield player. He might have been subject to the odd brainfart but Walker provided that aggressive nastiness which we are missing, we are all too nice.

The game is clearly being refereed differently over the last few seasons where more physical players (unless its Haaland) are allowed more leeway yet we dont start players like Kushanov. We need someone in the middle, who is an alternative to Rodri who brings a bit of bite to the team, Nico isnt that player.

Im sure we will look a different team when we have Rodri and Gvardiol back but we are far from complete.

Finally can we get someone who can head the ball, or at least train someone who can because Ive never seen a tall striker like Haaland be so bad at it.
 
Is there a level of complacency running through the club, distracted by other things going on ,I wonder..
 
Not sure if I was just imagining it but before the game I said to my son that it looked like we'd narrowed the pitch quite significantly which I thought was odd as we usually like to use the full width to make space through the lines.
I also then noticed that the play seemed congested and we were playing very narrow which allowed Spurs to close down all the spaces. Does anyone know if this was the case and we've altered the pitch dimensions because if so then this is a huge tactical change which will take a while to get right and embed?
 
I think Pep need to make 2-3 selection issues:

a) There is an obvious call to make on Trafford. He played a terrible game. It wasn't 1 error. I hope Pep rests him.

b) Marmoush does not work wide on the left. He cannot be asked to play there. If we want to play Marmoush and Haaland together, then they have to play as a 2.

c) Whether we can play Cherki. He may have strong offensive skills, but his defensive game is weak and he is slow.
 
He can only pass to the players that are in front of him. If Nico isn't trying to lose his market and Dias and stones are barely moving, what's he suppose to do? He can't smash it long as he's obviously been told not to buy Pep
At times the keeper has to make the decision to just get rid of the ball. You have seen Pep telling his keeper to play long near the end of matches. It was a minute before half time. Just use your head and be aware of the danger.
 
Yesterday brought home to me our “imperial phase” is over. Remains to be seen if it’s temporary.

We are now in rebuild mode. This will lead to inconsistent performances and results.

Patience may be needed (and defenders told not to let the ball bounce).
 

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top