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    I was gong to post about that Chelsea v. WB match myself and how useful it could be to Spurs if we win today against Newcastle. Leicester losing, not unexpectedly, to MC keeps third place still a viable possibility too.

    Agree about the WB performance - extraordinarily good football from a team in the relegation zone with that superbly controlled volley goal a particular highlight.

    EDIT
    Arghhh! Wasted opportunity. 85th minute Newcastle equalising goal - how very Spurs.

    Jose will not be pleased.
    Last edited by fallenangle; 04-04-2021, 15:09. Reason: severe disappointment

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      * very long sigh *

      Could see that one coming from a mile away. My entire family, ten minutes into the second half, all agreed that unless we sneaked a third there was no way Newcastle wouldn't get a second. Poor performance from us, bar the opening five minutes, and the couple of minutes when we got our goals, Newcastle were the better team throughout and fully deserved at least a point (and on number of chances I wouldn't have complained if we'd lost).

      And we almost did sneak that third just before Newcastle equalised, a great counter attack where Lamela had a ton of time to play in Son for a one on one but delayed so long that the chance went begging. He did manage to eventually scramble the ball to Kane, but it was a much harder chance where he had to beat a defender to get his shot away, which he managed, and was very unlucky to hit the post. But if Lamela had played that easy ball for Son, 99/100 he scores and we're in the top four this afternoon.

      Gah, so disappointing to put in that performance after yesterday's results.

      Main positives: Kane was excellent, second goal especially was great, and Rodon was very good at the back (unfortunately, unlike the rest of the defence, Sanchez in particular looked very ropey today, SO many misplaced passes / clearances in dangerous positions).

      Okay, better stop, because even my positives have turned into another rant about the bad stuff
      Last edited by EJG1980; 04-04-2021, 15:17.

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        I think that’s probably it for top four this season, after today’s defeat. Six points gap to make up in seven games is tough, but doable, but I think the harder thing is that we’ll need too many teams ahead of us to slip up. We’ve gotta make up the six points AND do better than West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool and probably Everton too. Too much to do, I think.

        Can’t complain about the result. I thought we were the better side in the first half, but only by a little bit, whereas in the second half Man Utd were the better side and by a fair margin. Disappointing that it’s yet another match where we’ve taken the lead and gone on to fail to win. We had moments here and there in the second half, and still could have got a second goal, but for the most part it was another performance where we took the lead and then went into our shells.

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          Soooooooo disappointing. Son scoring just after their disallowed goal made me think Spurs were going to have some luck but no. We give away three goals.

          You can't complain too much because its almost par for the course this season. We go into the lead and then lose games we should be winning or at least getting a point.

          Europa League here we come again and even that is not certain.

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            Well, I guess the only good thing with defeat today is that top four is gone (probably was anyway) and that means eight more games of Joseball before the inevitable.

            Having said that, half the squad could do with going as well. Stopped playing for Poch in the Champions League final season (lost to Burnley in Feb that year when they were in touching distance of Liverpool & City at the top and went on a downward spiral for the remainder of the season), didn’t exactly turn up in the Final, and have given up on Jose as well.

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              I just don't think he has any faith in the best players in the Spurs current squad and keeps trying to find some other working combo, particularly in the holding midfield role and defence.

              Harry Winks out of favour and linked with a move to Southampton or loan deal. Lo Celso blowing hot and cold, Bale too often sidelined if he doesn't produce something in the short amount of Premiership match time he's being given. That right back position filled by the mercurial Aurier, sometimes good in attack and intermittently hard working but then slackens off and too often involved in the defensive mistakes which cost Spurs goals.

              But having said that: Spurs GD and other stats, until this MU loss, was almost as good or better than three of the clubs above us. Even now we're still in the top five of the Premiership on GD. Its just that performance has not been converted into points; its frustrating.

              Comment


                Originally posted by fallenangle View Post
                You can't complain too much because its almost par for the course this season. We go into the lead and then lose games we should be winning or at least getting a point.
                Yup, saw the stats on Sky yesterday. We have the second best record in the whole league for scoring the first goal and for leading at half time, but are the worst in the whole league for converting half time leads into wins, and have dropped more points from winning positions than all but one other team in the league.

                Originally posted by fallenangle View Post
                I just don't think he has any faith in the best players in the Spurs current squad and keeps trying to find some other working combo, particularly in the holding midfield role and defence.
                At points this season all three of Dier, Sanchez and Alderweireld have had periods where he's seemingly lost faith and they'll suddenly be out of the team and even match day squad for five or six matches, then a few weeks later they're back in again. Our defenders can be mistake prone, but constantly chopping and changing, being unable to build a partnership, isn't going to help them improve that.

                Bale also suffered from this recently; had his best spell of the season with about six matches where he was scoring and assisting every match, has one off match against Arsenal (as the whole team did) and he's been on the pitch for about five minutes since. That "one mistake and you're out" attitude can't help the players, they become too concerned with not making a mistake that they go into their shells and can't express themselves.

                Originally posted by TonyDA View Post
                Having said that, half the squad could do with going as well. Stopped playing for Poch in the Champions League final season (lost to Burnley in Feb that year when they were in touching distance of Liverpool & City at the top and went on a downward spiral for the remainder of the season), didn’t exactly turn up in the Final, and have given up on Jose as well.
                Agreed, the squad is definitely in need of being refreshed. It's not all on Mourinho (as Hugo indicated in his post-match interview after we lost to Zagreb). A number of players that have stagnated and gone stale need to be shipped out and replaced with hungry players that want to fight for their place and support the team, not sit on the sidelines and sulk if they don't play.

                Comment


                  I keep thinking that - in a perfect world - we'd sell about 6-7 players this summer, replacing them with 2-3 established players and 2-3 younger players with PL/Champ pedigree and with promise (U21 internationals etc). And then I think how much that will cost and realise it will not happen.

                  There are two players I'd love to see back in the fold after good seasons on loan - Skipp and Sessegnon. I'd also make a case for Foyth, but I can't see him coming back. I'd be looking in the Championship/Premier League at players like Max Aarons (Norwich RB, although as they'll get promoted that's an unlikely or expensive deal) and Dwight McNeil at Burnley. Add to that the players commanding decent fees that we're being linked with, like Sabitzer (Red Bull) and Skriner (Inter) and you see how it will take something like £150m could reshape the squad. But can you clear out 5-6 of our current squad to raise the vast majority of that? Not unless you sell the main man, sadly - likely as that's beginning to look, it's still a massive backwards step.

                  And then you'd need a new Manager, as Jose isn't into encouraging young players to learn from their mistakes - Skipp would be flavour of the week as a combatitive midfielder....until he loses possession one weekend and we surrender a 1-0 lead because of it and Jose slaughters him after the game because it's not the coaches fault.

                  I'd also take issue with the scouting, although how much of this is budget driven I'm not sure. We were linked, at least in the media, with Maddison before he left Norwich, Bowen at Hull, refused to pay £30m for Grealish when Villa were in the Championship. right through to Lingard before he moved to West Ham on loan. All of those, a couple still unproven, would have improved our squad (and I realise they may not have come to us). Instead, we went for players like Gedson Fernandes and (slightly harsh this one) Vinicius.

                  Sorry, rant over. See why I don't post too often?
                  Last edited by TonyDA; 12-04-2021, 16:33.

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                    Please Spurs noooooooooooo!

                    Just seen a report I think from the BBC news website and repeated in some newspapers that Jose is interested in bringing Marouane Fellaini to Spurs.

                    He's a decent footballer but I really, really dislike him. He's that type of utility, fit any role player who managers turn to when they run out of ideas. He also has a nasty streak that marks his card too often.

                    For me he epitomized what was wrong with the MU squad a few years ago - not a MU player and definitely not a player I want to see at Spurs.

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                      Originally posted by TonyDA View Post
                      There are two players I'd love to see back in the fold after good seasons on loan - Skipp and Sessegnon. I'd also make a case for Foyth, but I can't see him coming back.
                      I definitely want to see Skipp back here next season, he's got a great future ahead of him. I've watched a few Norwich matches this season just because of him and he's been doing really well, Norwich fans have been raving about him. If he comes in and takes the squad place of say, Sissoko, you increase the number of home grown players (which Spurs have had a problem with for years), reduce the wage bill, and can put the Sissoko fee towards other transfers.

                      I'd bring back Sessegnon too, though I think the case for him is slightly less compelling than it is for Skipp. On one hand, he's done well at Hoffenheim, he'd be a more "like for like" backup for Reguillon as they're both attacking full backs who like to get forward, and he'd help with our home grown numbers in Europe where Ben Davies counts as a foreign player.

                      On the other hand, Ben Davies is a very decent backup and not one of my top priorities to be upgraded, and you can argue that having a different type of fullback to Reguillon in the squad gives us more versatility. He is still only 27 though and counts as homegrown for the Premier League, so he's probably a player we could get a decent fee for to reinvest in other areas of the squad.

                      Originally posted by fallenangle View Post
                      Please Spurs noooooooooooo!

                      Just seen a report I think from the BBC news website and repeated in some newspapers that Jose is interested in bringing Marouane Fellaini to Spurs.
                      We all want signings that get our heart racing... but we mean racing from excitement, not because we're having a heart attack! I have to agree that he would be a very uninspiring signing.

                      I think most transfer rumours are just there to fill up space though, and linking a manager with an ex-player is one of the easiest to go with to fill up column inches. It was a few years ago now but there was some research done on how many transfer stories reported in the newspapers actually happen, and I think the best paper has something like a 9% success rate. So most transfer rumours I take with a pinch of salt until they start getting some really persistent legs.

                      Jose's position seems quite unstable at the mo too (reports of a fractured squad, a long run of iffy form, fans unhappy with the style of play, CL qualification looking unlikely, etc.) so I'm not sure the club would be concentrating too much on signing players specifically at his request, until the picture of who our manager will be next season is a bit clearer.

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                        I was about to write: well, I was going to finally get around to posting about the Everton match, but then all this European Super League **** hit the fan so maybe I'll mention that instead.

                        But now... Talksport have just posted a tweet saying that they've heard Mourhino will be sacked by Spurs with the announcement made today, and other journalists are starting to tweet the same thing. So... bloody hell. It's all kicking off!

                        Officially announced, bugger me:

                        The Club can today announce that Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos, Carlos Lalin and Giovanni Cerra have been relieved of their duties.
                        Last edited by EJG1980; 19-04-2021, 09:55.

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                          OMG - bad enough the drawn Everton match and HK getting a knock. Then we get all this !!!!!.

                          I think it was likely JM's threat to get Marouane Fellaini in was the last straw.

                          Damned odd timing though just before the League Cup final.

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by fallenangle View Post
                            I think it was likely JM's threat to get Marouane Fellaini in was the last straw.


                            Originally posted by fallenangle View Post
                            Damned odd timing though just before the League Cup final.
                            According to all the articles I’ve read he was on the brink for a while because of all the players he’d upset, but Levy was in favour of keeping him in place until at least the cup final because of his record in those big matches (and hoping that an unexpected cup win might be the boost needed to turn things around).

                            However, apparently after the Everton match and yet more chucking the players under the bus, there was almost nobody in the dressing room still on his side. His position became untenable, and even Levy was tipped over the edge into thinking it was better to get rid, cup final or not.

                            One thing I will say is that I’m glad Ryan Mason (and Chris Powell) is taking charge of the team for the cup final, and seemingly the rest of the season, as it’s an amazing story. Spurs youngster who didn’t make his league debut until 23, career ended by a terrible head injury by 26, leading out his boyhood club for a cup final as manager at 29.

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                              So, the European Super League...

                              There's lots of talks about the clubs being kicked out of their domestic leagues, players being banned from internationals, etc., but let's assume for a moment that the clubs running the Super League get what they want, it's basically a Champions League replacement and everything else carries on as normal.

                              Straight off the bat, the same group of fifteen clubs qualifying for it in perpetuity, by right, absolutely sucks. We've been on this path for ages, with the commercialisation of the game, the money being concentrated at the top, etc., but at least you still had to earn things by doing well on the pitch.

                              That fact alone, that teams are in it by default every year, is enough to say that it’s a terrible idea that shouldn’t go ahead.

                              The Champions League is already having "big match fatigue" with the top clubs playing each other so often, the way the Super League would be set up exacerbates that even more. When you see Barca vs Liverpool, Real Madrid vs Man Utd, etc., every single year, without fail, I don't think it takes long before special matches start feeling run-of-the-mill.

                              Automatic qualifiers for the Super League robs the domestic league of a ton of excitement. No more top four dog fights where at least a couple of the "big six" are going to miss out, because they're going to qualify anyway no matter where they finish.

                              All those seasons where we were 4th/5th going into the final few matches, the excitement, the hope, the fear, praying that we can get over the line so we can travel to the Nou Camp or San Siro next season... all gone. Magical nights like 2010 against Man City, where a win seals our place in the CL next season but a loss puts them ahead of us... gone, can't happen anymore.

                              Any of the six Super League clubs, as soon as they're out of the title race, their domestic season is basically going to be a dull procession to get to the end of the season. Finish 3rd or 13th, it makes no difference, so why put in the effort?

                              It also shafts all the clubs outside the Super League six. West Ham are currently having what must be one of the most exciting season in decades; it becomes almost meaningless with the Super League in place.

                              If this was in place a few years ago, would Leicester have been champions and then not playing in Europe’s top competition the next season? Madness. It would damage the domestic league for the rest of the clubs so much. What would they even be playing for any more?

                              So, yeah, I’m not a fan! I also think that it’s a damn shame that the club I’ve supported since I was a child has been involved in trying to set this up. I really hope it fails. And if it does fail, I’m worried what the fallout and consequences might be for the club. I just think it’s a bit of a s**tshow.

                              Comment


                                That didn't take long, it looks like the "Super League" idea is falling apart.

                                BBC reporting that Chelsea and Man City are preparing documents to withdraw, which was quickly followed by news from Spain that Atletico Madrid are also pulling out.

                                I hope we follow suit ASAP, I don't want to be one of the last ones left in. But thank you know what it seems to be collapsing.

                                Edit: we’ve officially announced our withdrawal. Should never have been involved at all, but at least we’re out.
                                Last edited by EJG1980; 20-04-2021, 22:24.

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