The Mighty Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United

[scott]

Yeah, but our first choice pairing in midfield last season have only played together once...in our only defeat...not sure what my point is...

ha. well i think it was dier & bentaleb against utd.
i thought it was mainly bentaleb & mason last season.
both i think will be better when not played next to each other.
dier will be a big miss if he gets injured. we have decent back up but nowhere near as effective as dier.

 

[TheJockmur]

What's the debate? Lamela on the right and Son in the No.10 spot.

I imagine it will be Eriksen in at 10, Son left and Lamela right. But for me there is no debate. That is our best three behind Kane when everyone is fit and firing.

 

[tbonepremier]

that would be fine if no one ever got injured.
so far we have been pretty fortunate on that front.

Have we though?

So far we've had Lloris, Rose, Bentaleb, Mason, Dembele, Chadli, Eriksen, Pritchard and Son injured at the very least.

It could have been worse, but I'd say that 8 of our top 15 players missing games due to injuries in the first three months of the season isn't anywhere near lucky.

Yes, backup is good, but if anything we've proven that we do have good backup. We don't know yet if we have good enough backup up front, but personally I believe that we have the versatility to be ok should Kane be injured. Of course, we don't have the backup to be as good without Kane as with him, in his current form, but I don't think we'd be better off with West Broms backup as our backup.

And, and this is very important, especially for a club that wants to develop young players: Too much backup is a thing, and can easily be a problem.

 

[ArtyB]

Have we though?

So far we've had Lloris, Rose, Bentaleb, Mason, Dembele, Chadli, Eriksen, Pritchard and Son injured at the very least.

It could have been worse, but I'd say that 8 of our top 15 players missing games due to injuries in the first three months of the season isn't anywhere near lucky.

Yes, backup is good, but if anything we've proven that we do have good backup. We don't know yet if we have good enough backup up front, but personally I believe that we have the versatility to be ok should Kane be injured. Of course, we don't have the backup to be as good without Kane as with him, in his current form, but I don't think we'd be better off with West Broms backup as our backup.

And, and this is very important, especially for a club that wants to develop young players: Too much backup is a thing, and can easily be a problem.

It's the players who were considered as being on the fringes at the start of the season that have made the difference though, Lamela, Dembele, Dier and Alli are now first on the team sheet.

 

[klrfegen]

Must say I enjoyed watching yesterday's game. At no point did I have the usual "Here we go again - We lost a 2-0 lead" feeling I have become accustomed to over the years. Boys looked solid, I'm control. Passing was awesome, movement off the ball good. Very impressed. Now I have the dreaded Chelsea again feeling coming through...

 

[Super Jan Fan]

Must say I enjoyed watching yesterday's game. At no point did I have the usual "Here we go again - We lost a 2-0 lead" feeling I have become accustomed to over the years. Boys looked solid, I'm control. Passing was awesome, movement off the ball good. Very impressed. Now I have the dreaded Chelsea again feeling coming through...

The thing which concerns me about Chelsea is that I could see Jose sending his players out to start a fight. He needs passion from his team at the moment and he knows if challenged we will stick up for each other and scrap. He did it with Torres a couple years ago and it backfired but I could see him risking it given the circumstances. their best chance to beat us is in an uneven fight. In a fair fight I just don't think they can compete with us at the moment.

 

[tbonepremier]

It's the players who were considered as being on the fringes at the start of the season that have made the difference though, Lamela, Dembele, Dier and Alli are now first on the team sheet.

All the more reason to say that it's a good thing we didn't buy others to provide backup. If the afformentioned fringe players hadn't gotten the time to play and improve, would we be enjoying the same magnificence?

 

[mouse]

The thing which concerns me about Chelsea is that I could see Jose sending his players out to start a fight. He needs passion from his team at the moment and he knows if challenged we will stick up for each other and scrap. He did it with Torres a couple years ago and it backfired but I could see him risking it given the circumstances. their best chance to beat us is in an uneven fight. In a fair fight I just don't think they can compete with us at the moment.

I think we'll be alright. The reason they're in the position they are in is because the players have refused to turn up when things have got tough for them, a large number of them also look like they don't give a flying fuck what Mourinho has to say any more. The usual suspects will want to make it a physical game. If he has any clue what he's doing anymore he will start Ramires and we know all about Costa the nasty little prick.

I would hope that Poch has them so well drilled and disciplined, and team spirit is so high, that none of the players will want to disappoint him by throwing the game away in a moment of rashness.

If it's a game of pure determination, it's one we will win every day.

 

[SydneySpur]

I remember people talking about poch and how he transformed Lallana and Rodriquez into beasts. I was skeptical but now I'm convinced that he is a wizard.

 

[The Yinzer]

I imagine it will be Eriksen in at 10, Son left and Lamela right. But for me there is no debate. That is our best three behind Kane when everyone is fit and firing.

I think I agree with you on paper. But if everyone is fit, available and on form, who would sit---Alli or Dembele?

ETA: We've got some great midfield depth suddenly, haven't we?

 

[SouthStand Billy]

Thank you Ajax.. Thank you for these beautiful people.

 

[El flaco]

really don't like seeing them in red and white

 

[TheJockmur]

I think I agree with you on paper. But if everyone is fit, available and on form, who would sit---Alli or Dembele?

ETA: We've got some great midfield depth suddenly, haven't we?

I think it would be Alli. Would be great having a sub that could come on deep or in behind Kane with real talent if we're a goal behind.

 

[Tottenham Sean]

Great performance, great day out, empty wallet.

Disgusting news about the stabbing.No one deserves to go to a football match and get that.
Hope the fella makes a speedy recovery
Is it true that it kick offed outside the Bricklayers?
The Bricklayers?? Never thought i'd hear of that sort of thing there.

 

[SouthStand Billy]

Great performance, great day out, empty wallet.

Disgusting news about the stabbing.No one deserves to go to a football match and get that.
Hope the fella makes a speedy recovery
Is it true that it kick offed outside the Bricklayers?
The Bricklayers?? Never thought i'd hear of that sort of thing there.

Not really, there were a few that tried to get in but nothing major.. It was like most cases these days, lots standing there shouting waiting for the police to move them on.. Little bit of a curfuffle.

In regard to the stabbing, it seems it might have been a car load of Turkish who did the damage?
They chased someone in their range rover, caught him and stabbed him. Not sure if that's true but that's what i've heard.

 

[Tottenham Sean]

Not really, there were a few that tried to get in but nothing major.. It was like most cases these days, lots standing there shouting waiting for the police to move them on.. Little bit of a curfuffle.

In regard to the stabbing, it seems it might have been a car load of Turkish who did the damage?
They chased someone in their range rover, caught him and stabbed him. Not sure if that's true but that's what i've heard.

I'm hearing that as well. Still disgusting.I hate blades and blade merchants.
Sounds like some people have been reading too many football books.

 

[Totti]

really don't like seeing them in red and white

Better?

 

[Kafkaesque]

The thing which concerns me about Chelsea is that I could see Jose sending his players out to start a fight. He needs passion from his team at the moment and he knows if challenged we will stick up for each other and scrap. He did it with Torres a couple years ago and it backfired but I could see him risking it given the circumstances. their best chance to beat us is in an uneven fight. In a fair fight I just don't think they can compete with us at the moment.

I kinda hope he does. If he sends them out to fight and not play football, I'm calling a repeat of yesterday. Also, if it's red cards you're worried about, I'd say we've got a better chance of avoiding them than they do. We're flying high, and they're, despite a win at the weekend, always on the brink of mental breakdown due to frustration. If things get dirty, they've got more frustration in their game and more players who often step over the line from physical to plain nasty red card offences.

 

[El flaco]

Better?

hell yeah

 

[Kafkaesque]

Hey brother, if you want to run off and say that we're title challengers then go right ahead; and more power to you. I sincerely hope you're right and we march to championship glory this year. Just forgive me for keeping my feet firmly on the ground when we're 13 games into the premier league season.

Thank you. I won't though. I don't think, we're title challengers right now. I only think we've got a shot at getting in and amongst it in the next few months. More to the point, I was only arguing, that if someone besides me thinks, we are actually challengers, they should be allowed so, without a specific thread to encourage sin binning anyone suggesting thus. Again, we can discuss the merits of it, but binning is over the line, and they should be entitled to the optimism, just as you are entitled to keep your feet more on the ground than most of us at present :dierpochhug: