Oh don’t get me wrong I don’t see us going for the title next year. That’s a way off.
But I think we’ll get better. And I think we’ll continue to get better year after year.
Let’s hope I’m right!
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But I think we’ll get better. And I think we’ll continue to get better year after year.
Let’s hope I’m right!
Percy, old boy
You sound like a reprimanded school kid
Come here
Sorry not buying the inadvertently clicked on disagree line - what kind of idiot would do that
There are ways around it Percy !
Sorry not buying the inadvertently clicked on disagree line - what kind of idiot would do that
There are ways around it Percy !
We want your kisses back!!!!!!!
Join the club - I used to do it so often I asked admin to remove the disagree button from my account and they kindly obliged
I think this notion we were better second half is actually bogus. I think bizarrely, we played better, more cohesive football in the first half, absolutely dominated the ball (71%) and territory, and possibly constructed better situations. Bear in mind one of their goals we scored, one was a set piece and the other should have been a penalty to us. They ended up with 3 goals from two shots on target first half, and an XG of about 0.4.
Second half, they actually had better control over the game (possession almost 50/50) and we were looking like we’d pretty much run out of ideas. Even after Romero’s gift goal we were a bit flat until the Wankhorn needlessly booted Davies in the nuts. And….even then all we did was hump floaty shit balls into the box.
I think both sides scored goals in their weaker halves. But imo, there is no way they deserved to win that game on any test (eye or metrics).
As far as Ange’s selections, I get the logic of Kulusevski coming in to help play through the Arse press better than Johnson, and it was a shame Werner had to be replaced by Johnson because that effectively killed any left sided threat (Werner can’t hit barn door with a banjo but he is actually one of the best players in the league going past his man and getting a ball across).
I don’t think taking out Bissouma and Sarr was smart as it left us really weak and slow on defensive transitions - that second goal is really atrocious in every way defensively. Hojbjerg makes a half arsed effort to close Saka at the edge of their box, then just stands and watches as Saka runs away from him, within 30 yards, Saka is 20 yards past him and he just keeps trundling, allowing Odegard, who started behind him a free run into the box. There’s two players (Porro and Bentancur) putting no pressure on Havertz, meanwhile Davies has left Saka acres of room and then shows him onto his left foot. Really, really shit all round.
We’ve got to get smarter and nastier. We need to be fouling in their half if necessary. People need to be sprinting back as quick as they bomb forward. But our forwards lose the ball and just fucking crumple.
I can’t watch these fucking forwards next year. Kulusevski can hang on to the ball but can’t do fuck all afterwards, Son can’t hold onto the ball but occasionally does a brilliant thing and Johnson occasionally holds onto the ball and occasionally does something ok.
And why the fuck did no one get hold of that cunty headed cunt White and fucking sort him out at set pieces. Just start fucking with him before corners, pushing him, grabbing him etc. Wind the cunt up and keep him from fucking about with our keeper. Why doesn't Vicario just give him a fucking big shove before the corners taken, wind the cunt up. This can be lumped in with our fucking lack of nastiness and professional fouling to stop us being countered on. Ange needs to be getting this across.
Get fucking nasty you fucking cunts.
Second half, they actually had better control over the game (possession almost 50/50) and we were looking like we’d pretty much run out of ideas. Even after Romero’s gift goal we were a bit flat until the Wankhorn needlessly booted Davies in the nuts. And….even then all we did was hump floaty shit balls into the box.
I think both sides scored goals in their weaker halves. But imo, there is no way they deserved to win that game on any test (eye or metrics).
As far as Ange’s selections, I get the logic of Kulusevski coming in to help play through the Arse press better than Johnson, and it was a shame Werner had to be replaced by Johnson because that effectively killed any left sided threat (Werner can’t hit barn door with a banjo but he is actually one of the best players in the league going past his man and getting a ball across).
I don’t think taking out Bissouma and Sarr was smart as it left us really weak and slow on defensive transitions - that second goal is really atrocious in every way defensively. Hojbjerg makes a half arsed effort to close Saka at the edge of their box, then just stands and watches as Saka runs away from him, within 30 yards, Saka is 20 yards past him and he just keeps trundling, allowing Odegard, who started behind him a free run into the box. There’s two players (Porro and Bentancur) putting no pressure on Havertz, meanwhile Davies has left Saka acres of room and then shows him onto his left foot. Really, really shit all round.
We’ve got to get smarter and nastier. We need to be fouling in their half if necessary. People need to be sprinting back as quick as they bomb forward. But our forwards lose the ball and just fucking crumple.
I can’t watch these fucking forwards next year. Kulusevski can hang on to the ball but can’t do fuck all afterwards, Son can’t hold onto the ball but occasionally does a brilliant thing and Johnson occasionally holds onto the ball and occasionally does something ok.
And why the fuck did no one get hold of that cunty headed cunt White and fucking sort him out at set pieces. Just start fucking with him before corners, pushing him, grabbing him etc. Wind the cunt up and keep him from fucking about with our keeper. Why doesn't Vicario just give him a fucking big shove before the corners taken, wind the cunt up. This can be lumped in with our fucking lack of nastiness and professional fouling to stop us being countered on. Ange needs to be getting this across.
Get fucking nasty you fucking cunts.
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https://theathletic.com/5449194/202...aign=5888993&source=dailyemail&userId=5792480
I think this pretty much backs up what I felt in terms of eye test and metrics. Whatever our flaws, we were unlucky to lose this game. Also that the Hojbjerg change didn't really pay off.
Tottenham 2 Woolwich 3: Quick start key again? What is Havertz? How unlucky were Spurs?
The title race remains on. Woolwich made sure of that at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.For Spurs, though, the race for a top-four spot looks less likely to be won after a chastening defeat to their north London rivals.
This derby victory put Mikel Arteta’s side four points clear at the top of the Premier League before second-placed Manchester City’s match against Nottingham Forest. City’s victory means there is now one point between the top two, with City having a game in hand.
Premier League: Title run-in
Though Woolwich deserved the win, Tottenham could have considered themselves unlucky after a first half in which they had a strike disallowed for a very close offside and could have been awarded a penalty. Pulling two goals back meant for a nervy ending and they almost nicked a point.
Ange Postecoglou will have much to ponder, but his side came up against a determined title-chasing Woolwich.
Here, Art De Roche, Charlie Eccleshare and Michael Cox break down the action.
(Another) quick start key for Woolwich?
Woolwich extended their record as the Premier League’s most potent force in the opening 15 minutes when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg directed Bukayo Saka’s corner goalbound. It was their 12th goal in that period of a Premier League game this season, the most in the division, with Tottenham Hotspur’s 10 the second highest.Those fast starts have been crucial to Woolwich’s title charge in the second half of the season specifically, with just three of those goals coming in the first 19 league games.
Equally important was the fact their opener came from a set piece. It was their 20th set-piece goal of the season, also the most in the Premier League, and allowed them to capitalise on their best period of the opening 15 minutes.
Aside from those five minutes, Tottenham were on top. That is why having a routine of players starting at the far post to come to the near post, with Benjamin White causing confusion with the goalkeeper, can be so important. It opens games up and gives them a platform for more.
- How Woolwich’s corners became a key weapon in title challenge
Art De Roche
Were Spurs unlucky?
The first half of this game was really strange.You could be forgiven for looking at the scoreline and imagining Tottenham had been outplayed. Or that they’d been in the game but were naively caught out on the break. And while Saka’s goal did see them concede on the counter, it really wasn’t either of those two kind of games.
Tottenham were right in the contest and were extremely close to equalising on three occasions in the 12 minutes between falling behind and Saka making it 2-0. They had a very close VAR call disallow a goal scored by Micky van de Ven(below) that would have got them back into the game.
(Sky Sports)
Put it this way, they’ve played much worse on occasions this season but been ahead at half-time. That said, they’ve struggled defending set pieces all season and this is an area they have to improve in.
In open play, Dejan Kulusevski was particularly impressive, giving the Woolwich defenders a really difficult time and fully justifying his selection. With better finishing and a bit more luck, they wouldn’t have left themselves with such a mountain to climb.
Charlie Eccleshare
What is Kai Havertz?
Earlier this season, when Kai Havertz was struggling to make a consistent impact on games, it was fair to question precisely what he was. Was he a natural No 8? Not really. Was he a natural No 9? Definitely not. Where was his place in this system? What was he offering?That seems a long time ago. Stylistically, Havertz is something in between those roles and on Sunday, he was both.
Few No 9s in the Premier League are capable of dropping deep and spraying the wonderful diagonal ball out to Saka for Woolwich’s second goal. And few No 8s would be capable of ghosting into the six-yard box unmarked and nodding home from a corner for Woolwich’s third of the game.
Havertz’s aerial ability also proved useful when Woolwich wanted to go long, particularly in the opening stages when Tottenham were trying to press, and won a couple of important headers inside his own box when Woolwich were defending set pieces — an area where they’d looked vulnerable in the early stages.
- Havertz was a £60m-plus gamble. He is proving a winning bet
Michael Cox
Did Hojbjerg gamble pay off?
It’s rare for Postecoglou to spring a big surprise with his team selections, but opting to start Hojbjerg on Sunday certainly fell into this category.Doing so meant benching both Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr and picking someone who had only started six Premier League games this season, when others have been unavailable. In eight games he had started in all competitions before this, Spurs had won just once.
Did the decision pay off? You’d have to say no. Hojbjerg’s headline contribution was an own goal to open the scoring after an even first 15 minutes, and in general, this was an afternoon where his limitations were shown up.
The odd loose touch and misplaced pass are nothing to slate a player for, but this was an afternoon when Spurs needed to be perfect. After a loose touch in the first half that Saka pounced on, Hojbjerg puffed out his cheeks knowing he had to up it.
He improved as the match went on, but it was a difficult game for a player who may well have just played his last north London derby.
Charlie Eccleshare
How did Davies deal with Saka?
Bukayo Saka against Ben Davies was always going to be the key match-up. With Destiny Udogie out for the season, that was the match-up most were looking at going into the game and it was clear Davies wanted to make an impression from the off.He was touch-tight on Saka when he received the ball in the opening exchanges. The main objective was to ensure the winger did not have time to turn and run at him. That somewhat worked throughout the first and second half before he grew frustrated late on and was booked for fouling the England international on 80 minutes.
(Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)
The issue for Davies came in open spaces. Saka knew that. So as soon as Havertz got his head up on the break, he was calling for the ball. Once under control on the right, the 22-year-old used Davies to perfection, committing him before cutting inside and finishing into the far corner.
Woolwich looking to hit Saka quickly has been a theme against Spurs for the past three seasons. It led to the opener in the first north London derby of this season, both goals in Woolwich’s 2-0 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season, and two of the three goals in their 3-1 win over Spurs in September 2021.
Saka stepping up is not new for Woolwich. His goal also ensured that this is the best Premier League scoring season of his young career (15 goals).
Art De Roche
Woolwich show title credentials?
This was a performance that owed as much to resilience as ability.So many details were supposed to make it extra tough – the wild intensity of this particular derby, the hostility of the venue, the amount of football Woolwich have clocked up compared to their neighbours in the past two weeks, the negligible room for error that exists in a Manchester City world.
Previous incarnations of Woolwich might have wilted, but this Woolwich, no matter how leggy they were in the latter stages, hung on. Their determination and unity kept them together under pressure at the end.
Arteta does not have much faith in his bench and the players who have become foundation stones in this late-season run are the players he will live and die by.
Amy Lawrence
https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/upl...ttenham-vs.-Woolwich-match-dashboard-wide.png
The Tottenham vs Woolwich match dashboard, showing the threat timeline, territory, match stats, shot maps and pass networks
What did Ange Postecoglou say?
Ange Postecoglou praised Cristian Romero and suggested some other Tottenham players should look to him as an example of what he is looking for. “He was outstanding,” Postecoglou said. “He’s a World Cup winner and I’ve just got to get some of what’s in him into some of the others.”On the performance and result, he said: “The outcome was disappointing. We wanted to win today for our supporters and for the club. We didn’t do that and whatever I think about the performance it’s still the outcome that sits on you. I thought our general football was good, was decent. We controlled the game for long periods for the most part but we know that. We know we’re a team that can do that.
“We’re still not absolutely laser-focused on the details, the small things that get you from where we are to become a team that contends. Credit to Woolwich, they’re there now. They’re a team that does deal with the details well and we don’t.”
What did Mikel Arteta say?
Arteta spoke about his level of confidence in his players. “I do (have faith in them), but in the last few minutes I was doubting them, to be fair!” he said.On Havertz’s performance, the Woolwich manager said: “He was sensational in every department. He wasn’t 100 per cent today — he was ill before the match and was struggling a bit — but he still put in the performance that he put in. I thought he was unbelievable.”
What next for Spurs?
Thursday, May 2: Chelsea (A), Premier League, 7.30pm BST, 2.30pm ETIt’s another big London derby for Ange Postecoglou’s side, this time against former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino and his Chelsea team at Stamford Bridge.
The two sides last met in November, as Chelsea ended Spurs’ unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 4-1 win that saw the home side reduced to nine men after 55 minutes. Chelsea have a superb record at home to Spurs: the latter have only won once at Stamford Bridge in 34 years and that was back in April 2018.
What next for Woolwich?
Saturday, May 4: Bournemouth (H), Premier League, 12.30pm BST, 7.30am ETAndoni Iraola’s side travel to the Emirates in Saturday’s early kick-off. Woolwich won the reverse fixture 4-0 in September and have never lost to the Cherries at home in the Premier League (six wins from six).
The most memorable of those encounters is undoubtedly the 3-2 comeback win in March 2023, in which Woolwich were trailing 2-0 with half an hour remaining. Goals from Thomas Partey and Ben White drew Woolwich level before Reiss Nelson scored a 97th-minute winner to inspire euphoria in the home crowd.
Trusting sky sports:Like I said all along. I told you not to get caught up in silly conspiraciesbk_spur
My problem with refereeing conspiracy theories is the motive (plenty of conspiracies/conspiracy theories are legit, like the MK-Ultra project, but they tend to have vastly more significant motives than who wins the sportsball). It's not like PGMOL as an organisation seriously has a favourite team. And, while there's always financial motives, if match fixing scandals are often uncovered in less developed, more corrupt countries, you'd think that at least some would be discovered here. But no. Which either means the entire hierarchy is absurdly corrupt and also great at keeping secrets or that corruption on that scale doesn't really happen here. And that makes sense: for betting purposes, you're far better off fixing a more obscure, less thoroughly scrutinised league.
The one thing I've always conceded/accepted, though, is that the refs are likely at least aware of the PL's preferred narratives in each season. Like the season where Leicester won and everything just seemed to go their way in the back half. IDK if any refs were consciously assisting them, but they obviously will've known that the fairytale was part of the league's seasonal narrative and quite possibly will've wanted to see it themselves on some level. My guess is that if conspiracies exist in top-level English football, they're concerning favourable narratives rather than irrationally-disliked teams, as every fanbase seems to think theirs is.
Do players really care about their club's pride once the season's done? Prior evidence seems to suggest not. But I seriously wonder about it. Like, what goes through their heads.
I have rewatched that goal, and was surprises to see that Mickey was ball watching a bit. If hew took a quick look to the far side of the pitch he would see Saka steaming forward. with his speed he would have easily prevented Saka being so wide open.
He had to hold the middle of the pitch.
You can see Romero has already been pulled out to the RHS side of the pitch to cover two players as Porro is not there.
It’s the risk in this system. You have got your two CBs covering the whole width of the pitch. It’s literally impossible to do that.
They have conceded 97 goals.
By the time this season is finished they will be confirmed as the worst team to ever play in the premier league era.
If we can’t beat them then we may forget about it.
I don’t think it’s a refereeing/var conspiracy against us, it’s a shambles across the board.
People are making decisions who have no clue about the game, it used to be just the ref, now VAR is a second ref who has absolutely no fucking clue about football.
People are making decisions who have no clue about the game, it used to be just the ref, now VAR is a second ref who has absolutely no fucking clue about football.
If I'm never successful,
It won't be distressful,
'Cause I don't care!
View: https://youtu.be/1yGMDokp9VQ
I agree with pretty much all of that- start of 2nd half we were pretty awful until he took Maddison and hojbjerg off (i would have hooked Maddison at HT) after which we were pretty dominant - biggest disappointment was all Johnson’s great work undone by crosses going straight down rayas throat
Are you Gobbygonk
Are you Gobbygonk
Are you Gobbygonk in disguiiiiiiise
Utter hogwash
it's the fucking same year after year after year
Why is it everyone in the football world believed the goons could win the prem even when they were behind us and everyone knows it's never going to happen for Spurs?
If you allow yourself to be really honest, you know what the truth about the premier league is.
Like I said all along. I told you not to get caught up in silly conspiracies
Oh yeah because Sky sports will be the arbiter of fucking truth on what VAR did or didn't do.
The broadcasters all get the same feed of audio from that VAR room. It will be a world feed that you pay to access.
Why would the US broadcaster just randomly come out with something like that?
Sure they're not as credible as big Robbie Earl via some Aussie fan via some Reddit post.Trusting sky sports:
Kind of sad how you just won't admit the story was BS, like Sky Sports wouldn't be all over a story about the ref refusing to go to VAR but would instead invent an alternative more mundane narrative not to mention even the more sensationalist sports rags didn't run anything on it.