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    Ooof. Yeah we were unlucky with the disallowed equaliser (that handball law REALLY needs to be changed ASAP!) and Sheffield Utd were very lucky not to have the player who elbowed Son sent off, but that doesn’t excuse the performance.

    Actually the first half wasn’t too bad as a few times we were in very good positions and it was the final ball that was missing (the commentator saying that Spurs just need that final ball and they’ll surely punish Sheffield) but in the second we didn’t even make the good positions. Something like 70% possession yet their goalkeeper was a spectator.

    The defence was really poor too, for their goals Sheffield just seemed to waltz through us with our players just watching them rather than challenging. A shame after they’d started to look a bit more solid in the first two games after the restart, this was a massive step backwards.

    The players need to step up because most of what went wrong today was down to individual desire and quality, which there wasn’t enough of.

    That’s surely it for any lingering CL hopes, and if we have more performances like this even the Europa will look tough.

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      I was going to say much the same things after watching it on MotD.

      Lousy decision on the penalty but that doesn't excuse the performance. As JJ on MotD said: poor defensively and one dimensional in attack. With Trippier and Rose gone there's no width, only Aurier on the right and its a lottery if after coming forward he makes the effort to get back into his defensive position fast enough.

      More talk about him being sold this summer to pay for some of the players JM apparent has his eye on.

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        Not the greatest match you’ll ever see, neither side was too inspiring but we deserved the win. Aside from one Richarlison shot at the end of the first half there was nothing worrying attacking wise from Everton. The only worry was that they might nick something from a set piece with it only being 1-0, but we dealt with them well, heading and clearing anything Everton put into the box.

        Still need a lot of improvement but the most important thing tonight was to get back to winning ways. I expect a few changes against Bournemouth with the short gaps between the upcoming games, but we definitely need another win going into the Arsenal match.

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          Didn't sound great on BBC R5L so I dipped in and out of it over the evening. A good result from a good defensive performance seemed to be the conclusion. It was certainly a welcome win we desperately needed.

          Now if Leicester can hold or beat Arsenal it could get very 'interesting'. There's a good chance we might end up being in a straight fight with Arsenal for the last Europa League spot making that match with them even more important.

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            Blimey, awful first half of football from Spurs. Should have had a penalty right at the start of the half but since then Bournemouth have been in charge and we've done nowt. I dread to think what the Arsenal match will be like if we play anything like this, massive step up in performance needed in the second half.

            Edit: well I suppose we kinda went from really bad, to just bad. A very slight improvement but nowhere near enough, and the two best chances to score still went to Bournemouth.

            Ndombele at least showed some attacking intent when he came on, some nice touches and good driving runs forward, but nobody else upped their performances levels to match him so it only made a marginal difference. Lloris was the only other player with some credit thanks to his brilliant one on one save from Harry Wilson. Hard to judge Harry Kane in matches like these as he's being utterly starved of any kind of service.
            Last edited by EJG1980; 09-07-2020, 19:28.

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              Yes, saw it on Freeview Pick and whilst I appreciate the chance to see Spurs playing live hell's teeth was it a poor game of football. Worse, Spurs looked a pale shadow of what they can be at their best and could have even lost the match. Not good.

              I caught the MotD review of the game and they had it right in every respect. HK, indeed because he's not getting any service, playing deeper and deeper. Son going missing for long sections and flitting from left to right to no great effect. Sparky Lamela winning the ball but then losing it because there's no room when he tries to go through the middle of the opposition defence yet again.

              No width and barely a shot on target. Bad, bad, bad.

              The Arsenal game, as predicted, is crucial now but if Spurs play like that against them we're going to get nothing.

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                Get in! A night and day difference between that and the performance against Bournemouth. Interesting that today we went with a straight 4-4-2 with Kane and Son up front, and Sissoko and Lucas as proper wingers. I wonder if we’ll stick with it going forward; one big advantage was that it allowed Kane to be much more involved in the game, he’s been so isolated up there on his own recently.

                The first half was quite end to end, very even, but I think we just shaded it as we had slightly better chances and could have taken the lead when Ben Davies hit the crossbar.

                Arsenal started the second half the better and monopolised possession but aside from one great chance for Aubameyang when he hit the bar, we defended it really well and there were no other heart in mouth moments. We kept them at bay quite comfortably.

                After soaking up that pressure we then stepped it up in the final twenty minutes and started creating chances much more often, eventually getting the winner with that superb Alderwireld header. We had two or three good chances to make it 3-1, but luckily it wasn’t too nervous at the end, we saw it out very well.

                I would have taken any kind of skanky win today, but to get it and put in a decent performance is very pleasing. Fingers crossed we can build on it for the remaining three games.

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                  Just finished watching it on MotD on the iPlayer - excellent result and a performance so much better than they managed against Bournemouth.

                  Not pretty but professional I'd call it and the win keeps us in with a chance of a Europa League place. Chelsea didn't do us any favours losing to Sheffield Utd and the latter have out of away form Leicester at home to come too.

                  We just can't afford to drop any points now and it could well come down to GD so if we can rip Newcastle to shreds, on Wednesday I think, it would be a very good thing.

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                    Yup, if we can get Europa League qualification that'd be a great end to the season. Especially as Mourhino has said that if we qualify he'd be in it to win it and wouldn't treat it like an unwanted distraction. It'd be a nice bonus if we could nab sixth place to extend our ten year run of top six finishes, but any qualifying spot would do.

                    Like you say, we almost certainly can't afford to drop points, so the players have gotta make sure there are no more Sheffield Utd / Bournemouth style performance drop offs.

                    I don't know if it came across in the highlights but I thought Lucas Moura had an excellent game yesterday. He played in Kane a couple of times with fantastic passes, made some really great runs that opened up space for others, and put in ten successful tackles too. Despite Son scoring and assisting, Moura shaded him for MOTM for me.

                    ----------

                    Bloody hell, absolutely awful news (just now confirmed by the club) that Serge Aurier’s younger brother has been shot dead outside a nightclub in France
                    Last edited by EJG1980; 13-07-2020, 09:56.

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                      Great result today, and a lovely bonus hearing that Burnley got a last minute equaliser against Wolves to close the gap between us and them to one point.

                      It wasn't as straightforward as the scoreline suggests, Newcastle were dangerous throughout and it wouldn't have been undeserved if the fourth goal had gone to them to make it 2-2 instead of 3-1. They had a lot of shots, and while the vast majority weren't clear cut, it still made it a bit nervy until we got the third.

                      I think our performance was affected by fatigue as it was our fourth match in a row with a mere two days break between the matches, plus the team was unchanged from the match against Arsenal. They did really well to still work so hard during the match, but I think it affected our sharpness a bit. Still made it count when it mattered though with the three goals, and great to see Kane break through the 200 goal barrier.

                      My thoughts go out to Serge Aurier tonight; he wanted to play so I hope being with the team gave him at least some small degree of comfort during an unimaginably awful time. Mourhino has said he's now going to leave for France tonight to be with his family.

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                        Saw the highlights on midweek MotD - looked like a good performance but the result is what mattered and that was almost exactly what was needed. Would have been better with a clean sheet but you can't have everything.

                        The Leicester game is going to be crucial and the Leicester v. Sheffield Utd of huge significance to Spurs too.

                        It is difficult to know what would be the best result for us with that one.

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                          Originally posted by fallenangle View Post
                          Saw the highlights on midweek MotD - looked like a good performance but the result is what mattered and that was almost exactly what was needed. Would have been better with a clean sheet but you can't have everything.

                          The Leicester game is going to be crucial and the Leicester v. Sheffield Utd of huge significance to Spurs too.

                          It is difficult to know what would be the best result for us with that one.
                          If you believe in miracles, a Sheffield United win is the best result, as that means we can still technically finish 4th

                          It’s quite the scenario: we’d need Leicester and Man Utd to lose all their other matches, and draw with each other on the final day. We’d need Sheffield United to lose at least one of their final two matches, and Wolves to draw at least one of their final two matches, while we win both of ours. Result? Man Utd, Leicester, Wolves and Sheffield Utd all finish on 60 points, we finish on 61. Bound to happen

                          Edit: a win for Leicester, so no CL miracle for us, but it does keep Sheffield Utd behind us and help with what was the much more realistic aim of going for a Europa League spot.
                          Last edited by EJG1980; 16-07-2020, 19:19.

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                            Watched that match on Pick live and I wondered how SU had managed to get into a potential Europa League spot. They were not very good with several players consistently losing the ball in dangerous situations. In the final third its not unfair to say they were bereft of ideas for most of the match. There were several times I was almost shouting at the screen: were is the bloody support? You don't score goals unless you have players willing and able to get into the 18 yard box.

                            SU lost and now Leicester are out of reach for us but they look very beatable if Spurs can assign somebody to sit on Vardy, literally if necessary. He was just looking too good at times, playing almost as a number 10 rather than a centre forward. He put through some exceptional passes which should have resulted in more goals if that lump: Barnes had had a bit more composure.

                            Spurs can certainly beat them if they play their best game.

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                              Obviously I am going to disagree hah hah. I was willing Palace to draw with Man U last night (stupid VAR decision) as that would likely mean a draw against Spurs would mean a draw against Man U keeping them in the last spot for CL. But it will be interesting. And I can always hope West Ham do us a favour against Man U too (especially if they lose to Watford tonight, more incentive they have to get something), they looked very ordinary against Palace, a team who had lost their last five games.
                              Lie with passion and be forever damned...

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                                WH beating Watford doesn't really mean much. On their current form MU will eat them for breakfast.

                                MC losing to Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final - that is significant because it could affect the number of Europa League places. Not sure if I have this right as there are various possibilities but I think Spurs are going to have to hope Arsenal or MU win the FA Cup for 7th place in the Premiership to qualify.

                                Of course Spurs will still likely need maximum points from today's game and the Crystal Palace one and hope Wolves lose their two remaining matches. That could be very import to Leicester as well, particularly if Spurs beat them.

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