***OMT - Tottenham Hotspur v Everton***

[Muttley]

Branthwaite is a great player. I would have liked him to have replaced Romero.

When he first came on the scene I was predicting big things for him. I thought he would have been at the recent World Cup as an example.

I said the same about Joe Gomez when I saw him as an U21. Most recently, same about Levi Colwill.

Look at the injuries these young English players get. So frustrating.

 

[Muttley]

Small sample size but so far we aren't creating nearly enough chances - so i don't think it's a case of one just going in by any means necessary unlocking anything.

Can I be old fashioned for minute and say that back in the day if you turned losses into draws that was a great step to move to wins. It was the way that the best managers drove change. A tight defence and clean sheets were at the core of that journey. Once you had that in place you loosened the reins and the goals appeared.

I'm ever hopeful this is the journey we're on with this set of good players.

 

[billyiddo]

Can I be old fashioned for minute and say that back in the day if you turned losses into draws that was a great step to move to wins. It was the way that the best managers drove change. A tight defence and clean sheets were at the core of that journey. Once you had that in place you loosened the reins and the goals appeared.

I'm ever hopeful this is the journey we're on with this set of good players.

Of course, we will need to see how that plays out - i don't think we were particularly good in that regard v Everton, who despite having little of the ball in our defensive third still came away with the better goalscoring opportunities (and an Xg over twice as high as ours)

 

[Gutter Boy]

When he first came on the scene I was predicting big things for him. I thought he would have been at the recent World Cup as an example.

I said the same about Joe Gomez when I saw him as an U21. Most recently, same about Levi Colwill.

Look at the injuries these young English players get. So frustrating.

I'm pretty sure he would have started, partnering Guehi, if he'd been fit for the WC

 

[thfcsteff]

He's saying the quotes you've seen from RDZ aren't actually what he said. In his actual comments he didn't berate Tel.

This is what he actually said in the presser.




That's all he said directly about Tel. Any other quotes are being mischievous and aren't actually from RDZ.

Thanks.
I watched ALL his post-match pressers (with Sky and conference).
I saw this.

Look back at what I criticised. I did not mention any quotes directly, offered or fictional, because I was criticizing what he did on the pitch in front of 60,000+ people and TV. In MY opinion, that was wrong. It's funny, both you and @SissokoWasGood (BoL) have taken the angle that I was all in on quotes when it was the pitch action I expressed a personal opinion on.

With regards to the post-match presser.
IMO he should've elected to say nothing and actually use it as an opportunity to shut down press sniffing. Or (as I said earler) a smile and 'I love Matty' - which he did- but without all the tactical stuff (keep that inside).

FWIW I don't believe him.
I think he lost his patience at the final whistle, Tel was convenient, he gave him an earful, strode off. If it IS true it is actually worse IMO because it is performative. And we don't need that. And Tel is not the only issue in the final third, in fact on Saturday he was far from it.

Funny there has been a burst of 'fake quotes' etc, and here, what I am expressing an opinion was reframed.

@SissokoWasGood (BoL) just to say, I wanted to clarify, I think we likely still agree to disagree and (as ever) enjoy our conversations...you too @Bishop

 

[thfcsteff]

I do wonder how much of that is the confidence of the players and the chemistry between them. I really think in that first 20 minutes there was lots of 1 touch, line breakers, and half turn under pressure type stuff. It really opened things up. For the rest of the game we looked very disjointed, like the players didn’t know what each other would do. And you could see like Savio having a go at Gray for the angle of his run. This is the stuff I hope works out quickly. We at least have that first 20 as the example to draw from now.

Confidence. And we need someone to step up and take the chance. If JP scores on the back post early doors (and he should've) then it's 3 or 4 IMO. Instead we saw that decision making/lack of conviction/wanting an extra touch creeping in. Our other issue is Solanke. He needs to get more effective especially with runs in the box. He is nowhere right now.

 

[El Dante]

At the moment our attacking play feels too stiff. No fluid movement, no speculative runs or attempts that may pass off.

I think there’s a lack of confidence in attack. Imagine that they know if they misplace a pass, or miss a shot, then whole sections of the crowd will groan. And if we fail to score than that will translate into booing at half time, and then full time.

Whilst it could be argued that they should be mentally stronger. At times I think we could be more supportive as a whole crowd.

I know we have some there that sing positively from start to end, but that isn’t everyone.

I think the home support has to be patient, positive and maybe if a player misses a shot we should sing their name anyway. Maybe that will show the player that we back them, and are happy for them to take shots without fear of failing.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

I still wouldn’t say we looked ‘bad’ I’d say we looked ‘toothless’. Which, sure, you can argue is bad, but really what I mean is we’re 85% of the way there, and the final 15% is someone actually sticking the ball in the net. I don’t think the rest of the team is useless and so devoid of talent that we’re playing like relegation fodder.

I think, cliche as it is, we need one to go in off an arse cheek and the tension will lift and we will suddenly find that actually we are ok at scoring goals. I still think these need to be spread round the team as we don’t have one player that I’m expecting to be banging them in (Marmoush most likely for me). However I still don’t think we’re an awful team playing terribly, I think we’re playing decent and not putting the final touch on it yet. It’ll come.

I think we’re benefiting form having the extra CM in that we look defensively better and can move the ball up to area better
But there is no edge to anything because we have almost stooges up the space
That balance is key
I actually think Tonali being “injured” is a blessing short term

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Of course, we will need to see how that plays out - i don't think we were particularly good in that regard v Everton, who despite having little of the ball in our defensive third still came away with the better goalscoring opportunities (and an Xg over twice as high as ours)

Everton are not a good side and as you say, their XG was much better than ours
I wonder if the chance gifted to them by Kinky (and well saved too) was a chunk of that
But it’s very bland football once we get to their box
I do wonder if all the midfield “control” we have means teams get penned in more but that means there is no space for our players to attack

 

[thfcsteff]

I think the chance Kinsky gave them (and saved TBF) is a mistake we will see this season as a consequence of what RDZ wants.

 

[Baleforce]

Everton are not a good side and as you say, their XG was much better than ours
I wonder if the chance gifted to them by Kinky (and well saved too) was a chunk of that
But it’s very bland football once we get to their box
I do wonder if all the midfield “control” we have means teams get penned in more but that means there is no space for our players to attack

will be part of it, but as it was edge of the box not much, they had two chances inside the 6 which would have been the higher rated ones

 

[Kandi1977]

I think the 'excuses' he gives are valid and traceable. Basically adds up to explaining a below average start.

But, it's also true that every game has looked a step forward. That first 25 mins was great in many ways.

The 'no goals' headline is a gift for the media. (If only we'd lost a game 5-1. Roll eyes). And by it's nature, it will be the loudest voice in the room. An easy juggernaut to pile all kinds of other negativity on. eg Think he's 'a bully' today.
I hope he's good at ignoring all this nonsense. It's literally a faux created works of zero importance.

We played well, fitness and availability will improve and results will come. And I'm guessing goals will be part of that, by default

We didn't play well. If we did that, and created lots of chances, only it just wouldn't go in, we could brush the criticism under the carpet.

But that's not how it is. We've created next to nothing in 4 consecutive games. I don't know our combined xG, but I doubt it's more than 2 for the 4 games combined. There's valid reason for us not being fluid, but seriously, there are other teams in the league that are pretty patched up, and have had a less than optimal pre season, and have players nowhere near the calibre we have. Yet they mange to compete, create chances and score.

 

[billyiddo]

We didn't play well. If we did that, and created lots of chances, only it just wouldn't go in, we could brush the criticism under the carpet.

But that's not how it is. We've created next to nothing in 4 consecutive games. I don't know our combined xG, but I doubt it's more than 2 for the 4 games combined. There's valid reason for us not being fluid, but seriously, there are other teams in the league that are pretty patched up, and have had a less than optimal pre season, and have players nowhere near the calibre we have. Yet they mange to compete, create chances and score.

Combined xg of 4.1 according to Understat across the 4 games - this needs to improve dramatically as it's relegation form.

Tbf I do expect it to get better as the team settles, just not by a dramatic amount.

 

[Rafa87]

Small sample size but so far we aren't creating nearly enough chances - so i don't think it's a case of one just going in by any means necessary unlocking anything.

I don’t necessarily think we’ll score one and rocket up the league, but I do think one going in will relieve a huge amount of pressure and tension from the players shoulders and I think once that happens we start to see a more consistent patch of form and look like we could win games.

The first twenty minutes on Saturday I felt like a goal was coming and I felt like if one went in we would have got a few, but then you could see as it didn’t come, that tension caused even more overhit passes, extra touches etc. They were there throughout but it felt like they increased as the pressure ramped up from the goal not coming.

Now I feel like we go into every game with this huge weight on everyone’s shoulders of “is the goal ever coming”.

As I say, I don’t think it will immediately solve everything, but I do think once that first goal arrives we relax and it becomes much more consistent.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

We didn't play well. If we did that, and created lots of chances, only it just wouldn't go in, we could brush the criticism under the carpet.

But that's not how it is. We've created next to nothing in 4 consecutive games. I don't know our combined xG, but I doubt it's more than 2 for the 4 games combined. There's valid reason for us not being fluid, but seriously, there are other teams in the league that are pretty patched up, and have had a less than optimal pre season, and have players nowhere near the calibre we have. Yet they mange to compete, create chances and score.

I think we have an issue with people wanting to see the shoots of positivity without really looking at the outcomes on the pitch
I think the positive things have come because we have a numerical advantage in some parts of the pitch where we have some decent players
Nothing more than that