OMT - TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS southampton

[GrimsbyYid]

I like the way AVB wants us to play, we can look extremely good but with Defoe up front we can't quite pull it off. Not blaming defoe, it's just not his game. But we're 4th so who cares. I will say he's surprisingly negative, how many times does he do a sub to sit on a result?! Taking our only striker off? Then taking off the only player who can even remotely play up front on his own?! So bizarre.

I will say though that it continues to show that Dempsey, Sigg and especially Livermore really do stick out as being not quite good enough for this team... Can't wait for Dembele to come back to limit livermore even more; and I can't wait for January when we get Willian for just behind the striker.

It's the striking situation, like for the past 5 years which worries me most. Ade injured or they had a massive fall out? Either way, we need the best striker possible that AVB actually rates and can play his system.

 

[Jimmy-g]

Well won!!!!!
Knockers can sit down...it's not always pretty and it's not always fun...the sort of game we'd have lost last season.

Soon weren't going to be that brick in the second-half, and it turned into a fight.

Finally, for those who bash Livermore (and he wasn't amazing today) the boy doesn't hide and doesn't avoid getting involved. It takes all sorts to win a match...back in 4th despite the injuries.
COYS!

ffs Steff its the performance, we looked all over the place in the second half without Sandro and Gallas we could well have lost it, Livermore plays nothing forward and dos`nt track his man, its too late for him to get any better, at times we look an absolute mess, has someone as said we are over achieving.

 

[DHSF]

Well won!!!!!
Knockers can sit down...it's not always pretty and it's not always fun...the sort of game we'd have lost last season.

Soon weren't going to be that brick in the second-half, and it turned into a fight.

Finally, for those who bash Livermore (and he wasn't amazing today) the boy doesn't hide and doesn't avoid getting involved. It takes all sorts to win a match...back in 4th despite the injuries.
COYS!

Its not the sort of game we would have lost last season - for this game look at Fulham last season.

I take your point though but still think we are a 45 minute team and whether thats first half or second half just depends on how we are set up

 

[billyiddo]

And as for not having options, that's AVB's choice. He chose to let VDV go, so I assume he has a game plan to cope without him. If he let VDV go before we lined up a nailed on replacement, then again I have little sympathy.

.

I don't think it was AVB's choice to be losing so many players through injury, limiting our rotation in the early part of the season meaning there are several players in the team in need of a rest.


3 points away from home after an away mid week European game is good news for me, regardless of how we played.

 

[thfcsteff]

I don't think we're as fit as last season. And if you think the European games are having an effect on us, then you agree whether you actually believe it or not.

And as for not having options, that's AVB's choice. He chose to let VDV go, so I assume he has a game plan to cope without him. If he let VDV go before we lined up a nailed on replacement, then again I have little sympathy.

I also think we're lacking leadership. Redknapp used that as his reason to bring in Parker, and it's painfully obvious that we have no real leadership in the team in his absence. Our midfield is actually still quite young, and it really could with an older head in there to calm things down.

Good result though today, and I am pleased with it.

VdV was not unhappy to go and AVB thought he was getting Moutinho all summer. Aside from which, VdV was, shall we say, a 'presence' and not always as you might want.

The options I'm talking about right now, today, are down to injuries not squad. When fit, Dembele and Parker are two top drawer midfielders who would make the difference for any side with regards to options.

Agree re: leader in midfield, but it must be clear why he made his peace with Gallas this summer and why WG continues to play (another fighter, incidentely, another man who doesn't go missing...

Agree re: result. Not many here seem to realize we have a shocking record there...

 

[Bullet]

We also seem to forget how to hold the ball and pass it, go into space and make the easy target for a pass/receive the ball.

Modric
Dembele
Tom Carroll

All able to pass it 8 yards and move and receive and pass and move and receive and pass and move...

Hell even Huddlestone is more likely to keep possession than all the other midfielders we have... it was no surprise that Sandro/Livermore/Dempsey/Sigg did not keep the ball whatsoever

 

[thfcsteff]

Eh? if the EXACT same thing has happened 3 other times and has happened 4 out of 4 times then it must not be about the players playing midweek.

Personally i think it's about the closing down tactic that you simply can't maintain for a full 90 mins.

Ekotto, Dembele, Ade all missing either as options or rotation players...not counting longer-term injuries...BTW, you are correct, the EXACT same thing happened at Utd, Reading and Soton; we won the games. Is it all luck?

 

[thfcsteff]

Its not the sort of game we would have lost last season - for this game look at Fulham last season.

I take your point though but still think we are a 45 minute team and whether thats first half or second half just depends on how we are set up

You do not get into 4th position in this league as a 45 minute team.

 

[Kingdawson]

Ekotto, Dembele, Ade all missing either as options or rotation players...not counting longer-term injuries...BTW, you are correct, the EXACT same thing happened at Utd, Reading and Soton; we won the games. Is it all luck?

you're missing the point. i'm not critcising the players for dropping off the second half because i know it's because of they way we've set out but to say it's because of europa League is not true imo. Anyway i started a thread on it.

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

Great faith shown on your team. Harry lover perchance?

He has a valid point in my opinion. We've had an easy run of fixtures for sure, but we haven't been playing well and yet have still picked up a healthy points total. The Man Utd away win was massively instrumental in this, but we were terrible in the second half of that game.

There is also historical precedent to the way we currently are playing. It reminds me a lot of when Ramos first took over, and the 2002/03 first half of the season under Hoddle. We were playing poorly, not really showing any sort of consistancy and yet still winning matches and gathering points. We need to up our level of performances massively, or we'll suffer the same fate as those two seasons and go on dreadful runs. I am slightly concerned because we have had so many easy fixtures (we've pretty much only played two of the three title contenders and all the relegation candidates! The only exception is Saudi Sportswashing Machine....and we lost) and if we don't up our performances against the mid-table level sides then we could be in for a painful few weeks.

 

[Kingdawson]

You do not get into 4th position in this league as a 45 minute team.

? yes actually you can? you sure can?

 

[ringo]

Feel a bit sorry for Livermore. He can only do what he can do -he is never going to be a Dembele or Huddlestone. I blame AVB for putting him on and essentially inviting Southampton to attack us for 30 minutes. When all we want to see (or me anyway) is Spurs play attractive attacking football and finish them off. Harry made some strange decisons at times, and often seemed reluctant to use his subs. AVB makes even stranger decisions

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

You do not get into 4th position in this league as a 45 minute team.

Is the season over then? And I disagree. If a team plays brilliantly for 45 minutes and score three goals every match during that period, the chances are even if they're poor for 45 minutes of every match they'll still accrue enough points for top four.

 

[thfcsteff]

ffs Steff its the performance, we looked all over the place in the second half without Sandro and Gallas we could well have lost it, Livermore plays nothing forward and dos`nt track his man, its too late for him to get any better, at times we look an absolute mess, has someone as said we are over achieving.

The problem is Jimmy, we had people saying how 'brilliant' we were in the first-half when it was actually very average. The diff was, in the second-half Soton clamped Lennon, Gareth looked sleep-deprived for large swathes and Soton decided to show up and fight. So we had to fight for it. The over-achieving question is interesting, and I think we should re-visit in May 2013.

A decent away win at a ground where we have been abysmal.

 

[DHSF]

You do not get into 4th position in this league as a 45 minute team.

We should have a 45 minute punch up just for the fun of it.

In all seriousness - we were also fourth last season but playing much better football etc. When I say 45 minute i mean playing well. The other 45 we do not. Chelscum last week. Today. QPR at home. To name three games.

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

Ekotto, Dembele, Ade all missing either as options or rotation players...not counting longer-term injuries...BTW, you are correct, the EXACT same thing happened at Utd, Reading and Soton; we won the games. Is it all luck?

Utd and Reading certainly were. I don't think it applies to Southampton though. Southampton didn't show enough quality to deserve an equaliser.

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

VdV was not unhappy to go and AVB thought he was getting Moutinho all summer. Aside from which, VdV was, shall we say, a 'presence' and not always as you might want.

The options I'm talking about right now, today, are down to injuries not squad. When fit, Dembele and Parker are two top drawer midfielders who would make the difference for any side with regards to options.

Agree re: leader in midfield, but it must be clear why he made his peace with Gallas this summer and why WG continues to play (another fighter, incidentely, another man who doesn't go missing...

Agree re: result. Not many here seem to realize we have a shocking record there...

Why were previous managers (especially Hoddle, Jol and Redknapp) not allowed to have injuries as an excuse for poor performances but now it's acceptable under a different manager? What's changed?

 

[metalgear]

just watched the replay and the goal was probably a mix up between gallas and bale.
gallas was the near post man and ideally bale should have gone for the block.

 

[thfcsteff]

Is the season over then? And I disagree. If a team plays brilliantly for 45 minutes and score three goals every match during that period, the chances are even if they're poor for 45 minutes of every match they'll still accrue enough points for top four.

You know what's funny mate (and this is a general point, not just at you)? There is so much conjecture around this place. 'If' a team plays brilliantly for 45 mins and scores three goals every match...I mean, look. I know what you're saying but it doesn't happen! And 'we could've lost this gane' came up a few posts ago. Yes we could've.

But we didn't. And we've only lost two all season.

I think people forget that we are not going to play like Barcelona week-in-week-out, we don't have that sort of squad (who does?)...

As for your 'is the season over' question, I suspect many here think our club is over!

 

[johnola]

Away win and fourth! Great stuff.