Bad luck, bad management or bad juju?

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Apparently this is up from 15.5 season average since 2012/13. Now 37 by Jan 25 is a large spike and it could be argued that the lack of investment in the Summer is to blame. Now I don’t want to turn this into a Sammy v John cunt off where one denounces signings and the other blames Levy but I’d love to hear what others think.

Now whilst I think it’s fair to argue that because of the lack of preseason, rest and recuperation for some of our squad because of the WC that it’s had an effect on fatigue and injuries, but can we really attribute it to not signing players? It may have had some impact but enough to see it spike to what could be 50+ injuries by May? I just can’t see how 2-3 signings could have prevented that entirely. Maybe it could have reduced it a bit but not totally.

Mousa who sat on Belgium’s bench a lot has hindered CM rotations, as has not having Big Vic, and neither exerted themselves too much in the summer, so not purely down to the WC either imo.

Now, the one thing I will say is that I’m proud of the lads so far. To reach a SF, CL knockouts and sit comfortably inside the top 4 whilst seeing players regularly checking into the hospital ward is bloody admirable imo, it’s a testament to the coaching of Mauricio, and the hard steely resolve he’s instilled in the squad. A testament to the players for never giving in and always fighting on.

Usually losing to that filth annoys the utter shit out of me for days, but last night I was proud of their resolve and refusal to give in.

Truly laughable that social media/forum/pundit flogs throw up the bottled it argument and question Pochettino’s credentials after that game.

We could have done with a signing or two in the summer, even if just depth, but it being the root of our woes, and Levy being public enemy no.1 is a tad unfair, something else is clearly at play that has seen our injury attrition rate spike massively. Agree with the gaffer, this will make us stronger, hopefully a watershed moment for this group. The football gods are trying to break us but they refuse to give in.

COYS!
 
Pochs grueling training methods.
I don’t see any other reason.

It’s not coincidence or bad luck, or Spursy or lack of depth.
The squad started the summer intact and despite the myth had no less rest than any other top team.

We seem to have broken the team.
Literally. This is not fatigue, it’s physical....we have trained them to SAS standards, then in games we have lost the ability/energy to press like we used to.

It’s like we have a priority in training that surpasses the standards we need in the pitch.
Something needs addressing anyway, the whole squad is becoming injury prone with players who used to walk through walls.

37 injuries is not normal, it’s insanity.

You cannot overlook the coaching here, and if you do, it’s pure denial and Poch worshipping.
 
Pochs grueling training methods.
I don’t see any other reason.

It’s not coincidence or bad luck, or Spursy or lack of depth.
The squad started the summer intact and despite the myth had no less rest than any other top team.

We seem to have broken the team.
Literally. This is not fatigue, it’s physical....we have trained them to SAS standards, then in games we have lost the ability/energy to press like we used to.

It’s like we have a priority in training that surpasses the standards we need in the pitch.
Something needs addressing anyway, the whole squad is becoming injury prone with players who used to walk through walls.

37 injuries is not normal, it’s insanity.

You cannot overlook the coaching here, and if you do, it’s pure denial and Poch worshipping.
Agreed - sack the cunt now
 
Not sack him, just hold him somewhat accountable for the most injuries any team has ever suffered in any division, in any country over a season, in the history of world football.

You know, as he is the manager of that team.

Or we can blame the chairman.
Makes sense.
I don’t think it’s that black and white.

I think you could be right about Poch’s exacting standards breaking them physically, we saw it in his first season as we capitulated by March.
I think Levy helping the team by buying a player or two could have helped also, but at the same time injuries like Kane has endured can’t be prepared for.

Maybe the club could have pushed harder with the KFA that if we release him for the military avoidance games and they win then Son completely sits out the Asian cup. But what’s done is done.

I do like that mentally they’ve not cracked or broken. They’ve still got that hard edge the gaffer has instilled.
 
The reason is that we have loads of players (Dembele, Wanyama, Rose) with repeated / cronic injury issues. We have a big / good enough squad to manage the season....but not with some players that never play

Added to that we have others the manager doesn't want (Janssen, Nkoudou, Llorente).
 
It's surely lots of reasons.

We have been incredibly unlucky which happens. As with any set of data you don't use one set but a series. For example if we have a summer in the UK as hot as last year, then we are in sh!t street in terms of climate change.

So I think there is definitely a small link between lack of transfers and maybe injuries to players. Our squad is not the size of City's so can absorb less. United have had quite a few and they like us had numerous players at the world cup and only added Fred.

We have also played the joint most games I think or just behind Chelsea.

Another point is injuries to the same players. That suggests a lack of being ready on their return or maybe rushing back or their bodies compensating leading to other injuries.

As for our many semi-final losses, lets not conflate the 2 things.

Last night we lost with a side that would never have been on the same pitch if our full squad was available.

So the unbelievable number of semi-final losses continue (must be a record surely?) but even posters like me would be unfair to criticise Pochettino too much here but we need to cross the line the next chance we get.
 
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Do you blame the bank for all the troubles in your home?

Are you friends with Rio Ferdinand lol.


The two are not remotely the same. Owning a club is not like owning a normal business. Lewis is equally the best thing and worst thing to happen to Spurs. Yes we have improved immensely but we are still Spursy. Only way we will lose that is to spend and be brave. I’d rather have 5 years of complete madness and over spending to win the league like Blackburn did than another 20 years of a maybe club.
 
There is a definite case to say we should have played Llorente more, because he'd have been in a better state of readiness when we needed him or that we could have established that we need to bring forward other players.

We have a fair amount of cover but in some places we're just not there Tripps/Aurier for example, neither have been quite good enough for the level we're playing. Davies is not adventurous enough and Rose is not quite fit enough, I think we have reasonable cover at centre back and Lloris/Gazza is not a bad set of choices.

Midfield is an issue, Sissoko is not fit, Dembele gone, Dier an all rounder but not someone we should normally start with, Wanyama is a shadow of the player we bought, Winks is developing, there's a lot of work in progress. Eriksen is brilliant but he is not a player you can build a squad around, he can be brilliant, but you need one of Son, Dele or Kane to work off him.

In attack Moura is a good option, Lamela is inconsistent (I want him to succeed but his final product is not there), Son is brilliant but we do see him have great games and ones where he's burnt out and then there's Kane, who is genuinely world class but we are naturally over reliant on him. You have to conclude that the last couple of games we've looked pretty toothless in attack.

The problem is we just don't have the depth of other teams we're competing with. Let's say we sign Rabiot, he's a great player, but he's not going to fill the hole Kane leaves, he's also going to need time to bed in, potentially, by which time Kane & Son will be back.

We have a great first 11 when fully fit, realistically we're 2-3 seasons and probably 5-6 players away from having a great squad, hopefully some of that will come from development but we will need to buy some in and if we want to be at the top end of things we do need to look at competing on the wages front.

There is a counterpoint which you have to consider, we should not be top 4, we should not be in the champions league when you compare the level of money and squad depths of our rivals, that is the logical dispassionate view.

I believe it is on Poch that we are effectively ahead of the curve and we naturally raise our level of expectation as much as it's frustrating to say 'we're not there yet', it really is a marathon and not one of just this season but several years, we are not a club that can provide instant success, it has to be built and we are moving in the right direction albeit slower than I'd like.
 
not really black and white is it? Some injuries are due the the following:

1. fatigue
2. bad challenges
3. a twist or unlucky movement on the pitch or in training

It's also common for a player coming back from injury to pick-up another small strain that sets them back another 2-3 weeks. How often have we heard "That's a blow, they've only just come back from injury"? It happens to lots of teams.

We play a faster, tighter game than we have in the past which might lead to injuries in category 2-3. We know our fitness has seen us grab victory from the jaws of defeat many times, it's what has given us a backbone. The upshot of this is fatigue which can lead to muscle strains late on in a game/season. In truth only a bigger squad and rotation will reduce this. Obviously some players are more prone to fatigue than others.
 
It's surely lots of reasons.

We have been incredibly unlucky with happens. As with any set of data you don't use one set but a series. For example if we have a summer in the UK as hot as last year, then we are in sh!t street in terms of climate change.

So I think there is definitely a small link between lack of transfers and maybe injuries to players. Our squad is not the size of City's so can absorb less. United have had quite a few and they like us had numerous players at the world cup and only added Fred.

We have also played the joint most games I think or just behind Chelsea.

Another point is injuries to the same players. That suggests a lack of being ready on their return or maybe rushing back or their bodies compensating leading to other injuries.

As for our many semi-final losses, lets not conflate the 2 things.

Last night we lost with a side that would never have been on the same pitch if our full squad was available.

So the unbelievable number of semi-final losses continue (must be a record surely?) but even posters like me would be unfair to criticise Pochettino too much here but we need to cross the line the next chance we get.

Good post. More measured than a lot here since last night...and fairer than I’d be.

I’d go further in a couple of areas. 1) whilst no-one could’ve forseen 37 injuries...football clubs (like ours) surely sit down in May and plan for the next season. We could all see that a CM was an absolute necessity, probably followed up by another credible striker. As I’ve posted last night, January isn’t the time to do business, yet we may now be forced to due to a lack of foresight in the summer.

2). It seems like bad juju that we always seem to get the hardest draw in cup competitions but once on the pitch luck has little to do with it. Poor preparation, questionable team selections and psychological resolve all appear to be at the heart of our many defeats and failures to ‘get over the line’ - not just semi finals but key league games too. Surely the manager carries the can on this?
 
Amazing that its a well known fact that our training methods are extreme, but it can’t be a factor.

Apparently having Grealish in the squad instead of N’Koudou, Sessengon instead of Davies and Ndombele instead of Wanyama means that 37 injuries wouldn’t have happened.

Be interested to look at our history pre and post Poch.
 
Good post. More measured than a lot here since last night...and fairer than I’d be.

I’d go further in a couple of areas. 1) whilst no-one could’ve forseen 37 injuries...football clubs (like ours) surely sit down in May and plan for the next season. We could all see that a CM was an absolute necessity, probably followed up by another credible striker. As I’ve posted last night, January isn’t the time to do business, yet we may now be forced to due to a lack of foresight in the summer.

2). It seems like bad juju that we always seem to get the hardest draw in cup competitions but once on the pitch luck has little to do with it. Poor preparation, questionable team selections and psychological resolve all appear to be at the heart of our many defeats and failures to ‘get over the line’ - not just semi finals but key league games too. Surely the manager carries the can on this?


100% on your last bit in particular but not last night.

Posters have to remember that in the first game and whilst we did win and with our better players Chelsea pushed us back nearly the whole of the 2nd half.

But there is something and I think deep down Pochettino knows it.

Once and if we get past that last hurdle we will be fine. You just sensed yesterday Chelsea believed they would win and that only comes from knowing what winning feels like.

Of the summer preparations I am in agreement but not sure it is players alone that take us over the line.
 
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