Mauricio Pochettino

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I hope not, the bar / post has been our best defensive asset this year. Oh... you meant going in the back of the net for us?



Which other numbers? We're getting marginally more shots than the opposition, but they are getting better quality opportunities.

I tend to use my own eyes to judge performance and we are where we deserve to be - mid table, with decidedly average performances.
We're actually taking significantly better quality opportunities than we're conceding. And have done in literally every match save last night. In the league we're outshooting teams both on quality and quantity well enough to be the third best club in the league. Your own eyes I feel are deceiving you.

By 2 different people running xG models, we're 3rd best:




We're also 4th on raw Shots on Target Ratio, Total Shots Ratio and Unlocked Shots Ratio.

All of these things are much more predictive of final finishing positions and actual team strength than current points or goal difference.

We've done this while still not fully integrating Son and N'Jie, and without Eriksen being fit. We're not playing like a mid-table team.
 
Actually our form is good enough for the top 4 right now

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Juicy....i think it's your eyes that are deceiving you....your analysing games from statistics that can easily be misinterpreted.
Ok, if you're so sure they are, then explain why. Better teams outshoot poorer teams. This is consistently true, both within seasons and across seasons. The final finishing positions generally most closely reflect the teams that created the best quality of chances for themselves, and the lowest for others. The is because those statistics measure the process, rather than the result. The process of outshooting the opposition is repeatable, and it's the measure of which teams are better than others. Spurs are actually quite good by that measure. Misanthrope eye-tests don't win matches. Consistently outshooting your rivals does.
 
What? Our league form is the 3rd/4th best in the league this year. We've had a couple of bad bounces, but aside from the Stoke game, where the players got stupid in the final 20 minutes, we've actually been quite good. The ball hasn't been going in the back of the net as much as it should, but that will change. Fans fixate on the table as if it was a static thing. The only time the table matters is after 38 games. Before then, other numbers tell the tale.
Yeah, here's a number...

After our inevitable failure to beat Man City at the weekend we'll have won three in nine games.

I hate to break it to you, but in order to finish high in the league or get trophies you actually have to win games. You should like Sherweasel, who was boasting this week about how much Villa's form had increased, despite only managing four league points.
 
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In this era of football I just don't think you will see a fully committed full Bodied NLD (or any other derby) in the 3rd round of the league cup.
...and that right there is why this era of football has become the over-hyped, over-indulged, over-televised, overrated crock of over expensive shit that many of us have become so disillusioned about!
 
Yeah, here's a number...

After our inevitable failure to beat Man City at the weekend we'll have won three in nine games.

I hate to break it to you, but in order to finish high in the league or get trophies you actually have to win games. You should like Sherweasel, who was boasting this week about how much Villa's form had in creased, despite only managing four league points.
So, it's inevitable? My, why should we ever bother playing then?

We will win games. You're going on like we must be completely doomed because we've had a slow start. In 2011-2012 we'd only won 3 of 7 at this point. Was that also a crisis? We've won 3 from 8, across 3 competitions.

But the sky must be falling because we can only possibly be a terrible team.

We're playing a lot better than most want to credit us with, and if that continues, then a whole lot of negative nancies will have a lot to explain.
 
Some utter bollocks being spouted on here today.

I can tell you this cup didn't seem so mickey mouse to the 6,000 of us that went up to Sheffield in January.

One of the best nights I've ever had supporting Tottenham.

But no, some of you would rather we beat City, which quite frankly will count for fuck all come May.

Unbelievable.
Absolutely spot on. Add to that the fact it was the NLD & it's no wonder that people are angry & bitterly disappointed today. He's got to start gauging things better. You cannot, CANNOT miss an opportunity to shit on that lot. Plus you are in the next round of a cup. It may be the poor relation of the 2 main domestic trophies in England but winning it & beating the scum on the way would have been very sweet indeed.
 
So, it's inevitable? My, why should we ever bother playing then?

We will win games. You're going on like we must be completely doomed because we've had a slow start. In 2011-2012 we'd only won 3 of 7 at this point. Was that also a crisis? We've won 3 from 8, across 3 competitions.

But the sky must be falling because we can only possibly be a terrible team.

We're playing a lot better than most want to credit us with, and if that continues, then a whole lot of negative nancies will have a lot to explain.
This form got the past three managers sacked. You might want to think about that before declaring big things on the horizon from Poch.

I'm not saying the sky will fall. What I am saying is that I think fans need to be prepared to face the prospect that in all likelihood we will finish a little lower in the table than last year and that there is a significant greater chance of us ending the season yet again without a trophy than there was this time yesterday.

You want to be an eternal optimist then that's your bag. But I've been here too many times before not to have doubts. There's only so many seasons a man can watch the same rinse and repeat cycle without becoming a bit jaded. Based on last season and our current form, I see another season of same old, same old and us coasting along like this until the new stadium is done. Frankly, I think Poch is damned lucky he doesn't have half the heat that the three previous managers have during spells of poor results and/or form. He, like AVB and Sherweasel, are not an upgrade on what has come before. They are of equal quality at best. That is not to say that Poch should be the sole fall guy for any of this. Ultimately the buck stops with Levy.
 
This form got the past three managers sacked. You might want to think about that before declaring big things on the horizon from Poch.

I'm not saying the sky will fall. What I am saying is that I think fans need to be prepared to face the prospect that in all likelihood we will finish a little lower in the table than last year and that there is a significant greater chance of us ending the season yet again without a trophy than there was this time yesterday.

You want to be an eternal optimist then that's your bag. But I've been here too many times before not to have doubts. There's only so many seasons a man can watch the same rinse and repeat cycle without becoming a bit jaded. Based on last season and our current form, I see another season of same old, same old and us coasting along like this until the new stadium is done. Frankly, I think Poch is damned lucky he doesn't have half the heat that the three previous managers have during spells of poor results and/or form. He, like AVB and Sherweasel, are not an upgrade on what has come before. They are of equal quality at best. That is not to say that Poch should be the sole fall guy for any of this. Ultimately the buck stops with Levy.
The last 3 managers got sacked for this form? Hmm. If you think so, go ahead, but AVB quit, by his own admission, Sherwood never showed this form, and Redknapp did far more to seal his fate than just finishing fourth rather than third.

Also, perhaps Levy actually feels he should be more patient in future?

Either way, we differ considerably on what the current form actually is, so if we cannot even agree on that, interpreting it won't really work either. Agree to disagree?
 
The last 3 managers got sacked for this form? Hmm. If you think so, go ahead, but AVB quit, by his own admission, Sherwood never showed this form, and Redknapp did far more to seal his fate than just finishing fourth rather than third.

Also, perhaps Levy actually feels he should be more patient in future?

Either way, we differ considerably on what the current form actually is, so if we cannot even agree on that, interpreting it won't really work either. Agree to disagree?
More than happy to disagree. What I don't like is the underlying tone that some have that if you're not happy clapping all the time this somehow means you're a shit fan. Often it's quite the contrary. It's the desire to push on and see success, or at least the odd trophy or two, that converts the emotion into frustration. I want to see us win things and this causes patience to wear thin if I think there is a chance we are just stagnating or, worse still, going backwards.

The start to this season simply hasn't been good enough and we are now on the back foot, even if our form picks up. So right now I have a feeling of "here we go again", and I just don't know how many more times I can put up with it before becoming of those old, perpetually pissed off fans like the cunts on The Spurs Show.
 
We're actually taking significantly better quality opportunities than we're conceding. And have done in literally every match save last night.

Aaaaand that's where the model falls down. However you look at it, quality of opportunity cannot be scientifically defined. We are not a 'normal' team either, most of the teams in the league play a conventional defensive line while ours is much higher - our defenders are more often facing the wrong way when defending, which means that regardless of their measurable proximity to the attacker (a nice easy stat) they will be less able to block / stop the attacker. In statty terms, chances are barely 'ordinal' and certainly not 'scale'.

Unfortunately I'm a Research Director by trade and I can see weaknesses in statistical models a mile off. I'm sure this model will get better over time, and I reckon it's probably right for most teams, but Spurs under Poch don't play like 'most teams' so the application of the model will be off, unless these guys are statistical geniuses of the highest order that I haven't come across in my 9 years in the business.
 
I love the line about "Bale, Modric, prime Parker, Vdv, King etc"

King, was a crock, Harry managed to get him fit and playing

Bale, was a cursed kid with the physique of a sparrow who spent more time fussing with his hair that with the ball.

Modric had just arrived.

VDV wasnt even at the club when we got 4th the first time nor was parker, in fact the line up against City was:

Gomes; Kaboul, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Huddlestone, Modric, Bale; Crouch, Defoe.

and the line up against young boys:
Gomes Bale Dawson Corluka King BAE Huddlestone Lennon Palacios Crouch Defoe
Tottenham
Yeah look at all those worldy stars...


As for our rivals not being as strong, where were City Woolwich United and Liverpool when we won the double?
King still played a decent amount of games to make a difference, crock or not he's the only CB who made Suarez look shit. When he did play he was great, only in his last season did his form drop. If by Harry getting him fit and playing you mean King stopped training to do swimming then yeah okay.
Modric, Bale etc weren't at their peak under Harry, but they were still awesome. Many argued Bale and Lennon were the best winger-pairing in the league, and that Modric-Parker was the best central midfield partnership.

Relative to the strength of the league that was a good team. King, Bale, Lennon all good at the time. Palacios before his brothers kidnappig was pretty good too.
 
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