***OMT - Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea, Tue May 19th, 8.15pm, Stamford Bridge ***

[thfcsteff]

@thfcsteff, are you gonna do the Everton thread? This is the most important OMT in the history of this board. Think carefully, summon whatever inspiration you can.

As the most positive person of Spurs persuasion, it can only be you. Make it a good one mate.

Indeed my friend...it will be up in the AM...

 

[El Dante]

Please can we have Spence left wing and Tel on the right v Everton and let Kolo Muani go on holiday already.

 

[Sandman]

Maybe RKM can be an impact sub that comes on for a tiring Richy.

 

[mudshark]

• 2025–26 (The Current Directive Campaign): Ahead of the current 2025–26 season, PGMOL issued a strict new directive instructing referees to crack down on sustained and impactful holding in the penalty area. As a result, 7 penalties have been awarded for holding/shirt pulling this season alone (with 4 of them coming directly via VAR intervention).

But none against Arѕe, who were objectively the worst offenders by any measure.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

I actually think players should be penalised at corners for dragging players down even if it's down whilst the ball isn't in play. It removes this great area and the frankly ridiculous grabbing that happens so often at corners.

Totally, I agree with you. But even taking them at their word here, I just don’t get it. When exactly does a grab or a touch become a foul. In the NBA for example there’s a ‘foul in the act of shooting’ where a free throw is awarded. Often times players will try and bait the foul, and they will be fouled, but the refs judge when the shooting motion began.

I still don’t understand with this VDV example…when exactly does the foul begin? How have they determined that the ‘foul’ begins before the ball was in play? Because grabbing is happening all the time that isn’t a foul,

The amount of subjective calls that have not gone our way this season is completely ridiculous.

 

[Mikey10]

Maybe RKM can be an impact sub that comes on for a tiring Richy.

Not a bad idea. If we need someone to run up blind alleys and cede possession around the 60/70 minute mark, who better?

 

[Robbo]

Bentacur had a pen go against him vs Saudi Sportswashing Machine

So they have clamped down on it.

 

[Muttley]

Totally, I agree with you. But even taking them at their word here, I just don’t get it. When exactly does a grab or a touch become a foul. In the NBA for example there’s a ‘foul in the act of shooting’ where a free throw is awarded. Often times players will try and bait the foul, and they will be fouled, but the refs judge when the shooting motion began.

I still don’t understand with this VDV example…when exactly does the foul begin? How have they determined that the ‘foul’ begins before the ball was in play? Because grabbing is happening all the time that isn’t a foul,

The amount of subjective calls that have not gone our way this season is completely ridiculous.

It's quite easy. The officials just have to become draconian.

If any on-pitch or video ref spots a shirt pull then that becomes an immediate yellow. So that disappears from the game in about 2 weeks. That itself changes the entire approach to the grappling we see today. Then you start awarding corners and brandishing yellows to any player that raises their hands above waist height before the ball is kicked. That massively reduces it further.

If we remember rightly, there was some good adjustments where opposition players can't encroach a defensive wall on a free-kick. Remembering it before and after, you can now see that nobody even talks about it anymore.

There's solutions everywhere for these items, not all requiring technology. They do require the laws being clear though.

 

[Robspur12]

First, Palhinha lets Palmer keep that ball in play and flick it inside to Neto when I'd expect ball, player and hoarding to be tackled as one.

The ref was throwing yellows at our backline like confetti when the Chelsea players were falling over like they'd just discovered gravity.

I was waiting for him to show a red.

Yea agreed, I thought it was a really disappointing performance.

The front 3 playing badly you kind of accept, as they’re all we’ve got left, a complete mismatch of an attacking unit that doesn’t compliment each other in any way, but there’s literally no alternative, so we deal with it..

The midfield 3 yesterday were my biggest disappointment, each one of them played well below expectations, RDZ really should have changed that up just after HT, they were having stinkers. Similarly Idogie was having a shocker and the Spence sub really could have been done at HT.

Opportunity missed yesterday. Having said all that the stats were very much in our favour and suggest we should have won it.?

Completely agree. The changes were needed earlier. Plus we showed more defensive frailty on Tuesday than we have in recent games. For example, how was Fernandes able to have time to pick his spot in such a central position? It was head banging on desk stuff and the poor pass from a player who should have been subbed at halftime that led to their second goal, was despair inducing. I am already on the RDZ train and think he could do well with the proper support. But he didn't manage that game well IMHO. Easy for me to say of course.

 

[We are Tottenham]

Quite clear the ball was in play when the ref blew

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View attachment 22396

Im not really following this..gatting too old..but yeah the ball definately in play when the foul was commited!

 

[We are Tottenham]

Even if you put back in the injured ones, there's still very little talent.

VdV is class. Gray and Spence have high ceilings but a way to go yet.

Solanke - if he's good enough for Spurs, wtf was he doing at Bournemouth at 26?
Maddison - top players don't come from Leicester at the back end of their careers
Kudus - guess what, if you buy players from the relegation fight they tend to be suited to that end of the table
Gallagher - might have been a good idea 5 years ago

That's about a Harry Kane and a Gareth Bale of transfer spend there.

Yeah i said it at the time when we bought solanke..he was not good enough for what this club needs..i got a lot flak on here for saying it...but i know!.you dont allways get it right ..even clough didnt! But ive been brought up with spurs buying class players unfortunately ..hes a good player but i allways thought he fell short of the kind of players that this club needs if it wants to achieve anything.A ny way f me this is definately the worse position this club has ever been in with the neighbours keep winning leagues after leagues..its a nighmare really if you care about this club...