OMT ** Tottenham Hotspur v Palace **. 28.12.25 4.30pm

[thfcsteff]

We were dog brick for the second half of the season and it was a harbinger of things to come, as well as the first signs of decline caused by ENIC completely fudging Poch the summer before. To put it down to injuries is a nonsense.

It was part of the problem that second-half of the season, absolutely compounded by the summer (non) window and refusal to move certain big names on for quality replacements as Poch wanted. We lost Kane, Alli and Dier at key moments for stretches of important games. Getting to the CL Final was a miracle; getting top 4 too? Wow...but yes, the seeds had been sewn that summer. Poch knew. I think that's why he went a bit doolally TBH, because he realised what we could've done.

 

[Jeff Leach]

We always look toothless, we looked blunt under Ange as well despite scoring decent numbers. The quality of the attack just isn't really there.

Kane & Son have not been replaced. Solanke is not the answer. Richarlison also not the answer. He is incapable of controlling any ball played up to him.

 

[K.D.D.D.D.Soc]

Would have been interesting to see if VAR would have intervened if palace had scored from one their many foul throws.

Refs don't care about throw ins, you can take them where you like and in anyway you wish, a ref might signal go back a couple of yards after 10 have nicked then let the player take back the 2 yards.

 

[clownfoot]

Kane & Son have not been replaced. Solanke is not the answer. Richarlison also not the answer. He is incapable of controlling any ball played up to him.

I feel a bit for Richarlison. If he plays in a 2 up top he can do well, isolated he’s a frustrating figure

 

[mudshark]

Can we not just celebrate a goal these days

No, didn't you get the memo?

Eventually, some suit will be reminded by their 9-year-old granddaughter what the offside rule was meant to be about in spirit, and they will stop getting the VAR micrometers out and start talking about whether a player has gained a perceptible advantage. The new rule will first be applied in a game involving Spurs, and will result in the award of a goal to our opposition that wins them the game and sees them achieve progress towards a trophy or European qualification or something at our expense. It will later be shown that, under the current law, the decision would have gone our way.

 

[Silly McSilly Face]

If we had an anywhere near normal home record we'd be literally right up there (we are 17th for home form)

 

[Pandy]

It was part of the problem that second-half of the season, absolutely compounded by the summer (non) window and refusal to move certain big names on for quality replacements as Poch wanted. We lost Kane, Alli and Dier at key moments for stretches of important games. Getting to the CL Final was a miracle; getting top 4 too? Wow...but yes, the seeds had been sewn that summer. Poch knew. I think that's why he went a bit doolally TBH, because he realised what we could've done.

Yeah, in short biggest missed opportunity we have or likely will have for most of our lives.

Sickens me to look at the gooner scum and see them actually make use of their time in the sun.

If it all goes pear shaped (but not too pear shaped) perhaps we will swap frank for poch at the end of the season.

Football has changed since then, but I still think poch may be able to get a serious tune out of this squad.

 

[Chrissivad]

We still managed to give them too many chances, but that was a lot better going forwards at times.
.
Some direct play and balls played across the box, not just hit and hope we have someone in there.

3 points were needed.

 

[Robbo]

I was wondering today about how VAR decides what is offside.

Eventually they always come up with a fancy graphic showing which body part(s) were offside. While sometimes infuriatingly and frustratingly miniscule, it's always conclusive. You see where the offside comes from. Or why it's not offside.

But why does it take so long to show the graphic? And how come some offside calls (in my experience) are made much quicker than others?

Surely - if this graphic is automated, which it must be - each offside call should be made equally fast, because of the unambiguity of the graphic itself.

Just very curious about the process.

 

[Mikey10]

I was wondering today about how VAR decides what is offside.

Eventually they always come up with a fancy graphic showing which body part(s) were offside. While sometimes infuriatingly and frustratingly miniscule, it's always conclusive. You see where the offside comes from. Or why it's not offside.

But why does it take so long to show the graphic? And how come some offside calls (in my experience) are made much quicker than others?

Surely - if this graphic is automated, which it must be - each offside call should be made equally fast, because of the unambiguity of the graphic itself.

Just very curious about the process.

Not sure - but I am sure that it’s slowly taking away much of what is good about the game. Impossible to feel unbridled joy when most goals are scored now, for example.

 

[thfcsteff]

Yeah, in short biggest missed opportunity we have or likely will have for most of our lives.

Sickens me to look at the gooner scum and see them actually make use of their time in the sun.

If it all goes pear shaped (but not too pear shaped) perhaps we will swap frank for poch at the end of the season.

Football has changed since then, but I still think poch may be able to get a serious tune out of this squad.

I agree, but sadly my own fear of what he will endure should he fail precludes me from supporting it actively as it would be heartbreaking to see him suffer in such a way...

 

[Kandi1977]

I feel that’s going to be a tough one (which ones aren’t!) they travel well and their fans are always behind them

That's not right. They're unbeaten at home, so that's where they have taken the vast majority of their points.

 

[tommysvr]

I was wondering today about how VAR decides what is offside.

Eventually they always come up with a fancy graphic showing which body part(s) were offside. While sometimes infuriatingly and frustratingly miniscule, it's always conclusive. You see where the offside comes from. Or why it's not offside.

But why does it take so long to show the graphic? And how come some offside calls (in my experience) are made much quicker than others?

Surely - if this graphic is automated, which it must be - each offside call should be made equally fast, because of the unambiguity of the graphic itself.

Just very curious about the process.

Semi-automated offside technology: What you need to know

Ahead of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) being used in the Premier League this weekend, here is more information as to how it will work

www.premierleague.com

Semi-automated offside technology is a support tool that automates key elements of the offside decision-making process for the video assistant referee (VAR).

It will be used in close offside calls – to either confirm or recommend a change to the referee’s call on-field – as is currently the case with VAR.

To determine close offside calls, the VAR currently needs to work with replay operators (RO) to manually determine the "kick-point" for the offside decision and then "draw" calibrated lines with a crosshair on the relevant defender and attacker, using multiple camera angles.

Once the lines and kick-point are determined, an "offside" or "onside" decision is generated.

Semi-automated offside technology will suggest a "kick point" and automatically create offside lines on the second rear-most defender and the relevant attacker – saving significant time in determining whether a player is onside or offside.

Once the semi-automated offside technology-generated outcome has been reviewed and approved by the VAR, a decision visual will be automatically generated and distributed to fans in the stadium and to the media.

How does the system work?​

The system uses up to 30 newly installed cameras mounted around Premier League stadiums – with several capturing footage at 100 frames per second, twice the frame rate of typical broadcast cameras.

The cameras track the exact movement of the ball as well as up to 10,000 surface "mesh" data points per player - meaning the technology will track to see if any attacking player involved in the build-up to any incident was offside.

These are then "flagged" automatically in SAOT software to the VAR and SAOT operator.

Why isn’t it fully automated?​

The technology is "semi-automated", meaning there is human input as the VAR still needs to confirm the decision and that the SAOT system has accurately identified the "kick-point" and the correct players with the correct part of the body – and the outcome of the SAOT.

VAR will also need to determine whether the referee needs to conduct an on-field review for "subjective" offside calls – such as cases where deliberate play by a defender needs to be considered, or where an attacking player doesn’t touch the ball but could be interfering with an opponent while in an offside position.

 

[thfcsteff]

Kane & Son have not been replaced. Solanke is not the answer. Richarlison also not the answer. He is incapable of controlling any ball played up to him.

Unfortunately I don't think Kane will ever be replaced, and Sonny will be very hard to replace...Kane is a generational talent and then some...

 

[Lilbaz]

Yeah, in short biggest missed opportunity we have or likely will have for most of our lives.

Sickens me to look at the gooner scum and see them actually make use of their time in the sun.

If it all goes pear shaped (but not too pear shaped) perhaps we will swap frank for poch at the end of the season.

Football has changed since then, but I still think poch may be able to get a serious tune out of this squad.

Think the small pitch size of whl suited his tactics very well. Lot easier to constantly press on a smaller pitch.

 

[Yiddo]

If we had an anywhere near normal home record we'd be literally right up there (we are 17th for home form)

Wasn’t it Poch when asked about having a poor record against the top sides who said those games don’t really matter when it comes to the table, its winning all of the games you are expected to win that add’s up the points? Similar thing here, win 90% of your home games and pick up a few away points here and there and you are practically challenging for top 4.