Whats gone wrong?

[Yorkshire Yid]

To many players like Sanchez, Sissoko, KWP, Lamela in that starting line up ain't good enough to play for a top 4 team every game. We have a squad that is ageing in key positions, and needs another 2 windows of serious investment mainly in defense.

Poch can't escape criticism however looks like he's lost the fire under him and its filtered into the squad. We are only 3 games in however of this season and might simply just be the players are still down from the CL final and poor run in last year. We need to turn it around however and fast

 

[BangkokSpud]

Agree. What is the point in 800 side ways passes. I am not sure we had a single chance on goal.

Seriously we had 38 crosses .... the fact nobody got on the end of any of them is the issue ... it's what Dele does so well ... and hopefully Ndombele and LoCelso ... not Son, Lucas or indeed Lamela, all Newcastle had to do was mass mark Kane, which they did ... maybe this was a game where Parrott would have been a decent option, shame he's not fully fit ...

 

[FightingIllini]

Seriously we had 38 crosses .... the fact nobody got on the end of any of them is the issue ... it's what Dele does so well ... and hopefully Ndombele and LoCelso ... not Son, Lucas or indeed Lamela, all Newcastle had to do was mass mark Kane, which they did

So you're saying we played right into the hands of our opponents in a predictable and impotent fashion?

Now I'm just a simple country lawyer, but where I come from they call that shit football.

 

[ElTel]

Seriously we had 38 crosses .... the fact nobody got on the end of any of them is the issue ... it's what Dele does so well ... and hopefully Ndombele and LoCelso ... not Son, Lucas or indeed Lamela, all Newcastle had to do was mass mark Kane, which they did ... maybe this was a game where Parrott would have been a decent option, shame he's not fully fit ...

Ndombele and Lo Celso are not going to get on the end of crosses

 

[BangkokSpud]

So you're saying we played right into the hands of our opponents in a predictable and impotent fashion?

Now I'm just a simple country lawyer, but where I come from they call that shit football.

Pedantry but it's shit tactics not shit football ... were the guys putting in the crosses playing shit football? were the guys supplying them the ball to do that playing shit football? or were the tactics in fact shit?

If you look at team selections on this site, the vast majority went with exactly what Poch did, clearly it didn't work ... that's on him not on shit football ... we should have been shooting from distance forcing them to come out, running at the middle forcing tackles ... doing the same thing over and over, pass, pass, pass , out wide, cross, cleared easily, why?

Not saying for one second we were "great" or that we played "quality football" but let's not go overboard on a team where most of the players had pretty decent games ... let's talk about what options we have, and we do have a few, and how we need to find a way to break down 10 man defences, because this is what we will face nearly every week this season ... get used to it.

 

[jonomarch]

we dont press anymore city presses liverpool presses why have we not done the very thing that made us successful

 

[FightingIllini]

most of the players had pretty decent games

We just didn't watch the same match today I'm afraid.

 

[VirginiaSpur]

I actually saw plenty of pressing today.

The issue was brain-dead defensive positioning and lackluster attacking play.

 

[trifficTotnum]

We beat juventus & bayern in preseason. Not to mention we held Manchester City away. Its wayyyyyy to early to start rocking the boat. Eriksen wants to go. So Poch tried to play lamela in his position. I don't know what the issue with vertonghen is. But I think our defence isn't good these days. It's still early days for Ndombele, he will become a monster in midfield. We also need dier back. Maybe play him along winks. Poch needs to rotate the side a little more.

 

[trifficTotnum]

I also back levy. The stadium cost £800m. Where the hell is he going to get the money from? Woolwich went through a period of selling their best players to balance the bookd after they built their stadium. We Need champions league to stay competive. Despite having a bad season last year Woolwich still fell out because they are stuck in the europa league death trap.

 

[harry7]

Ndombele and Lo Celso are not going to get on the end of crosses

And I'm not convinced they will be delivering crosses either.

We need to sign the Trippier lad from Athletico.

 

[harry7]

We beat juventus & bayern in preseason.

Sure, our Audi Cup win will be talked about for years to come and is the pride of our trophy cabinet.

Not to mention we held Manchester City away.

by adopting the same tactic Newcastle just played against us. If we are to stand any chance of top 4 we need to learn how to beat teams that park the bus.

We also need dier back. Maybe play him along winks. Poch needs to rotate the side a little more.

At least Dier can offer us a threat from corners and free kicks. Right now Sissoko is a liability in games where we dominate possession.

 

[Borodin55]

We beat juventus & bayern in preseason. Not to mention we held Manchester City away. Its wayyyyyy to early to start rocking the boat. Eriksen wants to go. So Poch tried to play lamela in his position. I don't know what the issue with vertonghen is. But I think our defence isn't good these days. It's still early days for Ndombele, he will become a monster in midfield. We also need dier back. Maybe play him along winks. Poch needs to rotate the side a little more.

With all due respect your opening comment referring to two 'friendly' wins and a rather fortunate draw does little to validate confidence for future games. It is not way too early to rock the boat, that is called complacency, the problems need sorting now before we find ourselves trapped mid table.
Today was a huge wake up call and we need to make sure the players don't doze off again.

Something is evidently not right at the moment within the club and it reflected in the performance and the manager's veiled comments concerning unity and team spirit.
Eriksen and Jan are clearly situations that require solving but I have my suspicions there is more too it than that and it goes deeper....probably involving Levy/Poch.

It's a defining match next week and our rocking boat needs stabilising quickly before we begin shipping water and sinking.

 

[Notabadsquad]

Shocking statistic and not denying there's problems.

But a lot of those games we would have won IMO if we were not concentrating on the CL. And the statistic glosses over the Ajax and Man City victories (and possibly Dortmund if it goes back far enough).

Disagree.

Pochettino is talking as though he can't handle the unease within the squad. That ends in a few days and then he says what?

Had this been a 3 game start off the back of a strong season end there would be no real discussion.

I am not saying the situation is irretrievable but the game yesterday was a concern because I thought after 55 mins we were not going to win.

I cannot remember the last time I was confident that we would win, the last time I thought Kane would be dominant or when I thought we have just given a master class.

We have Woolwich next week, a game I have no doubt we will lose. None whatsoever. If the defeat is heavy then Pochettino will need to look over his shoulders.

It's not about whether someone can do better but whether other managers would do worse at this stage.

It needs a turnaround and that is not knee jerk. One additional striker aside this is a good squad of players, either not being coached well enough, lacking confidence in the manager or in need of a new voice.................possibly.

 

[harry7]

What is worrying is that we are seeing City, Liverpool, Woolwich, Chelsea, United all playing quick, one-touch forward passing football. City and Liverpool have this perfected; and the others are certainly showing signs of improvement.

We are still stuck passing sideways and taking 5 or 6 touches before passing the ball. We rely too much on other teams to make a mistake and it is a rare sight to see us score a team goal because we were 'that damn good'.

It's no coincidence that the loss of Dembele timed exactly with our form falling off a cliff. We cannot get the ball forward quick enough to catch the other team out of position....and even worse; we refuse to give up possession of the ball - which means the other teams can comfortably remain in their defensive formation and simply chuckly as we pass it sideways from left to right and back again.

 

[sammyspurs]

To many fans that are moaning wankers ... just like the cunts down the road ... having a whole section of the crowd almost begging for something to whine and moan about (just like on this site) will start to impact on the players ... bloke in the bar tried the 'we're shit' dialogue last night, it didn't end well ....

This is supposed to be a Spurs fan site not a home for gooner/spanner/dipper trolls but sadly that's what it's become ... far more negative posts than positive ones ... truly depressing stuff

Translation:
The tactics vs Newcastle was the work of a genius

 

[sammyspurs]

it's what Dele does so well

Yet the manager no one is allowed to criticise plays him in the halfway line

 

[GreatBigButtz]

I've been in love with this team since they were running around in Kappa kits while Martin Jol chain smoked in the tunnel. And we've definitely seen some shit football in the years since then, so this run of form isn't new for us. It's definitely not something I think any of us should think is impossible to turn the corner from. But we don't want to turn the corner to more top 4. We want to kick on and be a genuinely great team like City and Liverpool.

This is what you get when you support the battlers though (which, let's be honest, Spurs are; No real trophy glory since the 60s.)

I think a side effect of supporting the battlers is really rallying around and sticking up for your lads. I'm not so sure players like Sissoko, Llorente and Jansen would've had so many chances to impress if they were plying their trade in Manchester. So when players like Sissoko or Llorente eventually do well we cheer them on with that much more love knowing how far they've come.

But then that makes me think of the phrase "good is the enemy of great". (It probably originates from some douchey corporate seminar speak but I think it applies to some of our players.) We're happy with Lamela, Sissoko, Winks et al because they are solid players and they've come so far. They're definitely a cut above most. Kicking them to the curb would feel like a heartless attack on our battlers. But really - they're not great enough to beat the top 2. Not even come close.

We have a really good team that now believes they're great. But in most cases they just aren't. And I think that's hurting them. The fire of the underdog battlers is gone. And it's not only visible in our alright guys, you can also see it in the likes of Dele, Kane and Eriksen. Constantly being talked about as world class but let's be honest: are they really the cream of the crop? I think they can be but more often than not they don't try and prove it enough anymore.

 

[skywalker68]

We just didn't watch the same match today I'm afraid.

How anyone can say that the player's had a good game is either on a wind up or in denial

 

[John Thomas]

I think it's both. These days, a manager's tactics and motivational techniques will go stale a lot sooner than they have in the past. Even the best managers aren't going to stay in the same place for 10+ years.

Even from the beginning, I thought Poch would stay for no more than 7-8 years before he grew bored or the players started tuning him out.

I think the lack of investment in recent years has expedited that process, as he's clearly grown frustrated, and there are fewer options to keep players motivated and tactics fresh.

I think one has probably affected the other.

Going a year and a half with no new players or investment is the root cause.
It was half way through this period, after the January window slammed shut, our form started to collapse.
No new players, no new faces.: For the 2nd successive window. What kind of message does that send to the players. Why would the likes of Toby and Christian see their futures at a club prepared to neglect the team in such a shameful manner.

It's inevitably going to lead to a complacency, a lethargy and a lack of motivation amongst the players.
If the people at the top ain't bothered, why should we be?

It was during the fruitless 2018 window that cracks started to become more and more apparent in the working relationship between Poch and Levy.
If any manager had earned maximum backing from his chairman, it was Poch.
He got nothing! It was nothing short of a humiliation for him.
After claiming week after week that we needed to be brave, start acting like a big club, stop trying to win stuff on the cheap he had his pants pulled down by his boss .

It's clear to anyone with an ounce of sensibility the relationship has never recovered and neither has the attitude of complacency on the pitch.

The root cause of our alarming slump has to be our unprecedented period of zero investment. And deep down, although most of you will never admit it, you know that's the reality