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    Chelsea have become very catchable now - Arsenal only 3 points behind them and a draw and and loss for Chelsea means we could be fighting with them too for either 3rd or 4th place.

    Spurs will most likely throw it away at some point in, as said ^, a very Spursy way (losing to Burnley?) ...........................................but will they, that's half the fun and half the pain of being a Spurs supporter.

    Must say that after watching the game highlights on MotD second Son goal against Leicester was a peach with Kulusevski's and Emerson's performance really good to watch. Both not scared of using a bit of muscle but the skill not to give away free kicks too often.

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      Brilliant effort from the team this evening, some superb displays from players giving 100% to block everything. Liverpool were dominant for long spells but we defended so well that Lloris didn't have to make any really world class saves. I think we probably had the better chances in the end.

      So unlucky that the Liverpool equaliser came from a massive deflection, nine times out of ten that probably deflects harmlessly away. Without that bit of bad luck we could very well have held on for all three points. We also had a couple of attacks after we went 1-0 up where a better cross and we'd have had great chances to score. And a real shame that Hojbjerg couldn't direct his header back across goal to Kane for what would have been a tap in in injury time (although seeing a replay after the match maybe he should have tried to head it in himself).

      Still, I think most would have expected us to come away from tonight with zero points, so let's hope the one point we did get ends up being really important. COYS!

      Edit: also, whatever else happens, that point now means we're guaranteed at least 5th place. Worst case scenario, we've got a place in the Europa League group stage, and a higher league finish than the past two seasons, so we're going in the right direction again. Of course, let's hope we can get something even better than that. Fingers crossed.
      Last edited by EJG1980; 07-05-2022, 21:04.

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        Yes, excellent performance and I'd say a very good result bearing in mind it was Liverpool and our atrocious record at Anfield.

        As you say: an unlucky deflection for their goal and whisker away from stealing a victory.

        Big games to come and realistically Spurs need to win them all or we'll mostly likely be relying on Arsenal to make mistake. I can't see them losing to Leeds later today so even if we beat Arsenal on Thursday we will still end up 1 point behind with both of us having two games left.

        However if Leeds do us a favour and scrape a draw or win then it'll still be in Spurs' hands but a tough job, particularly the Burnley game where they're going to be desperate for points now they've slipped back into the bottom of the league danger zone.

        EDIT

        As expected Leeds were no help and look as if they're going to be in a dog fight with Burnley to avoid the third relegation spot which is not in our interest at all.
        Last edited by fallenangle; 08-05-2022, 15:33.

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          Superb performance yesterday, especially defensively - I thought Davies was awesome. Conte might need to knock some of Romero and Bentancur's sloppy passing out from the back from them next season, however.

          So, to Thursday, Have to win, no questions asked. If Arsenal draw to move 5 ahead (or, God forbid, beat us on our ground to clinch 4th), we'll never hear the last of it. There'll be 4K UHDs, t-shirts and mugs for years.

          And then we have to hope we beat Burnley and Norwich and suddenly start supporting the oil dollar in Newcastle - their last home game at St James Park, under the lights next Monday, again Arsenal. That should be tough, if Newcastle turn up. In a perfect world, Everton will go into the last weekend of the season needing something from a trip to the Emirates, but it's beginning to look like they'll be safe and on the beach by then - they have Watford on Wednesday....

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            Originally posted by TonyDA View Post
            Superb performance yesterday, especially defensively - I thought Davies was awesome. Conte might need to knock some of Romero and Bentancur's sloppy passing out from the back from them next season, however.
            Yeah, a slight off night (passing wise) for Bentancur compared to most of his appearances this season. I think a lot of the players were slightly nervy in those opening 15-20 minutes and that's when most of the misplaced passes from Romero, Bentancur, etc., occurred (and that very dodgy header from Sessegnon!) but as the match wore on they all pretty much eradicated the sloppiness from their games.

            I think Romero is going to be such a good defender for us. Even as he is right now he's excellent, but a couple more years experience where he smoothes out the occasional rough spot... he'll be phenomenal. It was Ben Davies night though to be the star defender though, I cheered his block on that Salah shot in the second half like it was a goal!

            Originally posted by TonyDA View Post
            So, to Thursday, Have to win, no questions asked. If Arsenal draw to move 5 ahead (or, God forbid, beat us on our ground to clinch 4th), we'll never hear the last of it. There'll be 4K UHDs, t-shirts and mugs for years.

            And then we have to hope we beat Burnley and Norwich and suddenly start supporting the oil dollar in Newcastle - their last home game at St James Park, under the lights next Monday, again Arsenal. That should be tough, if Newcastle turn up. In a perfect world, Everton will go into the last weekend of the season needing something from a trip to the Emirates, but it's beginning to look like they'll be safe and on the beach by then - they have Watford on Wednesday....
            I always thought Newcastle away would be the toughest game remaining for Arsenal, they've been really good this calendar year (only Liverpool and Man City have more points than them in 2022) and in their final home match of the season, under the lights, let's hope they're really determined to finish their home season in style.

            So, yup, we simply have to beat Arsenal on Thursday night. Then we play Burnley before they play Newcastle, so beat Burnley and Arsenal go into that match two points behind us. Then the pressure is really on them because they know anything other than a win puts it back in our hands going into the final day. But yeah, we really really have to get wins over Arsenal and Burnley for a realistic chance at fourth.

            Oh, slight nitpick because I can't resist, if we draw with Arsenal they won't move five points ahead of us; both teams get a point for a draw, not just them So the gap would stay four points. Still wouldn't be good though as we would then need them to drop points against Newcastle AND Everton.

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              Lucky deflection? We were lucky to be able to see your goal the amount of players in your box Was a tough game from our point of view. You guys made it frustrating and that's fair. Would have thought yous would have gone for it a bit more kinda needing 3 points, but yeah you guys didnt have the best record at Anfield, so counter attack may have been best tactic. Wasn't really sure about the amount of time your players laid on the ground like, but hey you had a plan and stuck to it.

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                We basically played like Brighton and Brentford did against us - disciplined defence in numbers (very un-Spurs like) and indeed hitting on the counter, which is what Spurs have always been good at.

                Perhaps Liverpool should have played a similar game then it would have been a boring midfield tussle with the first team to blink or make a mistake (usually Spurs) losing - the Liverpool v. Spurs Champions League final being a good example. This time Klopp forgot that. tried to get them to play their 'normal' game and the result was Spurs came away with a hard earned and well deserved point.

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                  The pitch does look good enough to sleep on tbf.

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                    Originally posted by EJG1980 View Post
                    Oh, slight nitpick because I can't resist, if we draw with Arsenal they won't move five points ahead of us; both teams get a point for a draw, not just them So the gap would stay four points. Still wouldn't be good though as we would then need them to drop points against Newcastle AND Everton.
                    Yeah, that's what I meant - Haha....good point. Perhaps I was getting ahead of myself and projecting how disappointing a draw would feel?

                    And I do love the Liverpool arrogance - no-one's allowed to rock up to Anfield and go away with anything other than a defeat and their tail between their legs. Should that happen then there has to be an excuse, a failing of someone other than Liverpool. Only one team is capable of going toe to toe with Liverpool and that's Man City - everyone else has to try and get something from a trip to Anfield, and most teams don't. Tottenham had a game plan and it nearly worked - play tight and hope the front three (who are one of the best in the league) conjured up some magic. It almost came off, if only Hojberg had stuck the injury time chance away; but it almost failed in the opening 25 minutes, when it looked a case of when Liverpool would score and then how many. For most teams going to Anfield, even those who think they're good enough for Top Four, that's the best shot of taking something from Liverpool away.

                    And we really needed a win, but the point from that draw could be vital - and definitely better than going hell for leather and getting tonked 5-0, which Liverpool could easily have done had we given them space.
                    Last edited by TonyDA; 09-05-2022, 18:02.

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                      Originally posted by TonyDA View Post
                      And we really needed a win, but the point from that draw could be vital - and definitely better than going hell for leather and getting tonked 5-0, which Liverpool could easily have done had we given them space.
                      Yup. Liverpool's last 12 home matches in the league before playing Tottenham: played 12, won 12, scored 35, conceded 2. 4-0 wins over the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd. Liverpool are one of the best teams in the world and unless you also fit that description, it's very unlikely that going toe to toe with them at their home will get you anything other than a slapping (hint: we don't also fit that description).

                      Would we like to eventually go to Anfield and go toe to toe with Liverpool? Yes. Would it have been a good idea to do that with the way the Spurs team is right now? Nooooooooo!

                      We're way off where Conte wants us to be as a team, but, one thing we definitely are good at right now is hitting teams on the counter attack. Liverpool play very attacking with a high line, something that, if you get it right, can be vulnerable to the counter attack.

                      So suggesting that we DON'T play in a way that 1. We're good at and 2. Might be a way to hurt an opponent who is currently much better than us, and instead play in a way that we're not as good at and that our opponent is phenomenal at, seems... strange

                      And yeah, ideally we wanted a win, and with Conte's tactics we came within a Hojbjerg getting his header to Kane right from getting all three points, or within a Diaz's deflected shot going in a harmless direction of getting all three points. Came close, didn't quite do it, c'est la vie.

                      Klopp's comments after the match were actually quite funny, a bit like prime Mike Tyson coming out after a match and saying "I dunno what was going on, the bastard kept moving and blocking my punches instead of just standing there and letting me hit him!"

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                        Son come to Liverpool Don't you think I never spotted you enjoying Klopp hugs

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                          Speaking of Son, I do find it quite strange that there have pretty much never been any rumours of him leaving Spurs during his entire time here. Aside from his first season where he took a little while to settle in, he’s been quality for six straight seasons since and just keeps getting better, one of the best players in the league consistently, yet not a sniff of him being linked away. Not that I’m complaining, but still, it is a bit weird!

                          I just voted for him as my player of the season too. I did consider going for Eric Dier instead, as I think he’s been absolutely superb in the back three since Conte came in; there was a period where Dier was out for about three matches and the defence looked so much less organised without him in there, He’s proven me wrong because I didn’t think he’d get up to that level and thought he’d be someone Conte would eventually ship out.

                          Had to go with Son in the end though, and he’s only two goals behind Salah, so there’s still decent chance he could nab the golden boot.

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                            As if by coincidence there are reports on the BBC web site that ex-Spurs flair player favourite Dimitar Berbatov has been warning Spurs that HK is not the only player Spurs should be worried about losing in the summer, Son in particular.

                            Why Berbatov's opinion on such matters holds any importance I cannot imagine. It is pretty such stating the obvious that any club's top players, which Son certainly is, are going to provoke interest from those others with the money available to make it happen. But I don't like coincidences.

                            Also other reports say that Spurs are interested in Richarlison particularly if Everton get relegated.

                            That's odd because I have been thinking for some time he might me a good fit at Spurs, especially if HK jumps ship. All he needs is better service in the last third than he gets at Everton and he could become the top goal scorer he has always had the potential to be.

                            Spurs are also apparently sniffing around a couple of other Everton players too.
                            Last edited by fallenangle; 13-05-2022, 00:02. Reason: typo

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                              Well, that went well

                              As Conte said after the match though, it’s a good win that we can enjoy tonight, but it only stays a good win if we get another three points on Sunday. Gotta do that and put the pressure on Arsenal for Monday night.

                              I think though, whether we end up 5th or 4th, if we back Conte big time in the summer we will really step it up a level next season. Looking forward to it no matter what, although obviously fingers very crossed it’s with CL football.

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                                Originally posted by EJG1980 View Post
                                Well, that went well
                                It certainly did.

                                I was listening on BBC5 Live on and off, suddenly we were two goals ahead and Arsenal down a man, I thought: no can't be true. But it was.

                                Spurs even scored another and kept a clean sheet so it could not have been better.

                                Now we have to hope Arsenal drop points - lose or draw either of their remaining games and its back in our hands but only if we don't drop points too. Exciting times, just hope it is them that fall at the last hurdle and not Spurs.

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