***OMT: Mighty Spurs vs ManMour***

[milo]

The only thing we didnt do is pick off the 2 or 3 extra goals we deserved to completely kill them off (as we have suffered in the past as well!).

Get the penalty and Son squares to Kane and that is 4 - 0. I think that if Kane had hit 100 goals last night, he would have ended up with a hat-trick.

 

[StephenH]

It is a mentality thing. We played by pressing and being relentless in our pursuit of the ball. We gave them no time on the ball at all. In games where we are favourites, we too often stroke the ball about imperiously but with no incision, aggression or tempo. Yesterday, we were fast, aggressive, incisive and showed we wanted it more right from the start. That is how we play when the team considers itelf "underdogs". How many of the posters on here gave us little chance before the game? Most would have settled for a draw. That is what I mean by an underdog mentality. It is when we approach games in this manner that we are at our best.

Definitely not "underdogs" maybe less well healed ? We are not even in the top ten riches clubs let alone "the riches club in the world"

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

Get the penalty and Son squares to Kane and that is 4 - 0. I think that if Kane had hit 100 goals last night, he would have ended up with a hat-trick.

Its really not a complaint, I know its a fine margins thing, it was just the crowing glory the performance deserved.

 

[milo]

Its really not a complaint, I know its a fine margins thing, it was just the crowing glory the performance deserved.

I know that it wasn't a complaint. I think that we were very close to having a scoreline that matched our superiority. It would have been the kind of score that can break a team, so it is a shame that it didn't happen.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

That said, I think the performance will have scarred them. I havent seen a Utd side looking that jaded/shell shocked in a long time.

No guts, no fight, no care. Not even a team, just a group of individuals.

Their next few games are relatively easy, should paper over the cracks - but those issues run deeper than one bad game.

 

[Jordinho]

Even funnier looking at their pre-match comments:

Our best lineup on paper. Now let's go for it.

Like that team I think it is our first 11 when we want to attack. Hope we really go for it and Alexis to score today!

Boom!!!!!

Yeahhh!!!

Try stopping that forward line!!!

Jose is going for it! Love this XI

Aren’t we a bit light in midfield? Well, let‘s beat them!

Feck this line up is so good

now I have got a bad feeling about the whole thing. :nervous:

Ah, was hoping for the woeful Sissoko to start. Tottenham’s bench is so uninspiring...

Best looking Utd 11 on paper in years. Let's hope it's a cracker.

Looking to finish off Spurs' top 4 chances with that line-up.

Risky though, extremely attacking.

If we lose, we'll all be saying it was crazy not to play Fellaini or Herrera, to be more solid

Poor Matic. He is going to hold the fort all by himself

Damn even that bench would survive in the PL just playing 7 players

So important we win tonight with that adventurous line up. If we win, Jose will be more likely to attack in tough games away from home.

If we get a dingdonging, Jose might revert back to his usual self against top 6.

What a team! Jose is building something very special.

Kickoff

 

[Pirate55]

that's nothing like how we played against Dortmund or Madrid (and Liverpool at home also) where we sat back, let them have the ball and hit them on the counter - our high pressing game is a sign of us dominating not playing as an underdog.

the reason we 'stroke the ball about imperiously' against weaker teams is that they are happy for us to have the ball as it negates our press - weaker teams who try to play against us get pressed in to oblivion (Stoke/Everton/Southampton as recent examples)

As I tried to explain to you, it's not how we play, it's how we approach the game. Those that we expect to win, especially comfortably, our attitude is not always spot on. Hence the often slow start to those games. Against quality opposition ( apart from City and Arsnl away where we had a bad days at the office) our attitude going into major games has generally been very good. Perhaps I should have used the term "focussed" rather than "underdog" to have avoided confusion.

 

[Jordinho]

I actually thought our game management was spot on last night.

I really feared a backlash after HT, with us getting caught cold. Poch had us fired up so that didnt happen. Then about 65minutes we clearly started to play smart. Taking a little longer in possession, making them run, slowing the game down and moving fast again.

Was extremely composed. One of those factors that makes me realise we are becoming a big time team. Its what top teams do, and have done to us countless times in the past.

The only thing we didnt do is pick off the 2 or 3 extra goals we deserved to completely kill them off (as we have suffered in the past as well!).

It might even be a good thing that we didn't win by 4 or 5 goals. Don't want any complacency sneaking in right now.

 

[billyiddo]

As I tried to explain to you, it's not how we play, it's how we approach the game. Those that we expect to win, especially comfortably, our attitude is not always spot on. Hence the often slow start to those games. Against quality opposition ( apart from City and Arsnl away where we had a bad days at the office) our attitude going into major games has generally been very good. Perhaps I should have used the term "focussed" rather than "underdog" to have avoided confusion.

i think you're twisting things to fit a narrative here and our change in 'approach' can easily be explained by our opponents game plan - much like how we approached the games v Everton Southampton and Stoke with a similar tempo from the off.

 

[milo]

As I tried to explain to you, it's not how we play, it's how we approach the game. Those that we expect to win, especially comfortably, our attitude is not always spot on. Hence the often slow start to those games. Against quality opposition ( apart from City and Arsnl away where we had a bad days at the office) our attitude going into major games has generally been very good. Perhaps I should have used the term "focussed" rather than "underdog" to have avoided confusion.

I don't think that was very clear from your original post before the game.

Fast start please. Pretty please. Let's play like we are the underdogs ala Real and Dortmund.COYS.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

It might even be a good thing that we didn't win by 4 or 5 goals. Don't want any complacency sneaking in right now.

I think we will take huge confidence from that game, and try to maintain that sort of level.

Im not sure there is room for complacency with Poch, and when the team gets going he is generally good at keeping them on point.

 

[StephenH]

That said, I think the performance will have scarred them. I havent seen a Utd side looking that jaded/shell shocked in a long time.

No guts, no fight, no care. Not even a team, just a group of individuals.

Their next few games are relatively easy, should paper over the cracks - but those issues run deeper than one bad game.

The seeds of doubt have been sown!

Scarred is spot on!

 

[StephenH]

Proof - it made me chuckle

Manchester United identify ideal managerial successor to Jose Mourinho


https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...r-united-mauricio-pochettino-manager-14232547

 

[JerusalemMan]

It is a mentality thing. We played by pressing and being relentless in our pursuit of the ball. We gave them no time on the ball at all. In games where we are favourites, we too often stroke the ball about imperiously but with no incision, aggression or tempo. Yesterday, we were fast, aggressive, incisive and showed we wanted it more right from the start. That is how we play when the team considers itelf "underdogs". How many of the posters on here gave us little chance before the game? Most would have settled for a draw. That is what I mean by an underdog mentality. It is when we approach games in this manner that we are at our best.

Quite possible.
Could it maybe being a manifestation of the mentality that Poch tries to drum into his team?
That they are winners and can be dominant.
Maybe it was the display of a team really and truly believing that they were best and wanting to show it.

 

[We are Tottenham]

Have I even mentioned how much I hate the long ball out from Vertonghen kick offs we do? They never, ever work.

I take that all back!

I guess you forgot...it was a blue moon!

 

[alekaras]

I dont think we played like underdogs at all.

We played like the team in 2nd, where they were the team from a distant 5th

The team in 3rd vs the team in 6th, to be exact, if going by xPts. They have been seriously lucky and we have been anything but. We should have been comfortably in top 4 by now, but we fluffed a number of games that we should have won. Hopefully results will play to form from this point on.

 

[alekaras]

Get the penalty and Son squares to Kane and that is 4 - 0. I think that if Kane had hit 100 goals last night, he would have ended up with a hat-trick.

Does anyone have a video of the Dele penalty claim?

 

[mephitis]

Does anyone have a video of the Dele penalty claim?

Plenty on youtube mate.

Penalty all day long, could see that from the opposite end. OK Dele can be theatrical at times but this wasn't an iffy forward dive, this was from the side and his body sort of bent in two. Body angles said clattered not minimal contact.

Like I said ref's clearly from Salford.

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

Plenty on youtube mate.

Penalty all day long, could see that from the opposite end. OK Dele can be theatrical at times but this wasn't an iffy forward dive, this was from the side and his body sort of bent in two. Body angles said clattered not minimal contact.

Like I said ref's clearly from Salford.

The annoying thing about that watching on tv was the “expert” Graham Poll giving his opinion on the Pen claim without seeing a replay, “no pen”!!?? What the fcuk!? At least wait until you see the replay, it’s no wonder we never got any decisions from his era of referees, the default decision is in favour of Utd.