Are there problems behind the scenes or is this just bad form?

[olliec]

We need a creative playmaker who can find and pick a pass. The players are making the right runs, especially Son and Alli, but we don't have a playmaker to pick the right pass. Eriksen has lost it, and without any creativity in the final third we just keep going sideways.

 

[Database]

Something is really wrong. From the first minutes of the game I noticed defenders didn't even yell to others teammates when somebody fumbled.

Looking our November fixtures is starting to look like this might be Pochettino's last year or even last month as Spurs manager.

Oh, and yes. Its unforgivable not to qualify from this UCL group.

 

[shelfmonkey]

Poch is a young manager and our current problem is one that he hasn't faced before. I agree that we are very short on creative guile, but these are conundrums that managers have to come up with solutions for and the great managers find a way to utilise his resources successfully, imo this season we will find out just how good a manager Poch is, that said, he is still a young man and he still has much to learn and it will be interesting to see how/if he adapts or he may just crumble under the pressure.

 

[Danny1]

I actually think that, come the end of November, Poch could be in serious jeopardy with regards to his future at Tottenham. I know I am going to get a load of WTF ratings however, if we continue to play like we have been we will be destroyed by Arsenal, will lose to Monaco, and be eliminated from the CL, and be destroyed by Chelsea. In the middle of that is West Ham who are always up for playing against us.

Ultimately this could mean 10 games without a win and any manager would be subject to questions if this happened. The players are letting Poch down and I think he should drop a few of them, most notably Eriksen for me who is a shadow of the player he was 2 years ago, he is now looking no better than Sigurdsson when he left us.

 

[Xeeleeyid]

We need a creative playmaker who can find and pick a pass. The players are making the right runs, especially Son and Alli, but we don't have a playmaker to pick the right pass. Eriksen has lost it, and without any creativity in the final third we just keep going sideways.

Don't agree that the players are making the right runs, I think that is part of the problem, there's no movement so we are having to go back or sideways all the time and we don't catch team's on the break as nobody is making those lung bursting runs forward anymore. The player in possession has to take a touch or play it back as absolutely nothing is on half the time. The players aren't running any more.

 

[Xeeleeyid]

I actually think that, come the end of November, Poch could be in serious jeopardy with regards to his future at Tottenham. I know I am going to get a load of WTF ratings however, if we continue to play like we have been we will be destroyed by Arsenal, will lose to Monaco, and be eliminated from the CL, and be destroyed by Chelsea. In the middle of that is West Ham who are always up for playing against us.

Ultimately this could mean 10 games without a win and any manager would be subject to questions if this happened. The players are letting Poch down and I think he should drop a few of them, most notably Eriksen for me who is a shadow of the player he was 2 years ago, he is now looking no better than Sigurdsson when he left us.

The worry is the lack of application and indifferent look about the players. Looks like Chelsea when Mourinho lost the dressing room. Went from title winners to pathetic in the space of a summer. That was because of a lack of willingness to listen to instructions and a lack of willingness to run.

Poch is a manager who pushes his players very hard in training so the worry is it wouldn't take much, one or two disagreements or fallouts for the atmosphere to turn sour and the players to club together against him.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

Bad form. Yet weirdly we're only 3pts off top, but if this continues that gap is only going to go one way. We've no devine right to play well every week or to be the only team in history that doesn;t have a spell like this and I retain full faith in Pochettino to get things back on track, even if we have a poor season. And that's IF.

Not disagreeing, but we were one point off top the week before, and on current form likely to be six off top by Sunday night. Poor form it maybe but even Sunderland are scoring goals.

Poch appears to be stubborn over how he wants to play, and i can't see him changing, and therein lies the issue. I think Levy is a million miles away from considering a change and rightly so but our current form is a bigger issue than i think we all think and one that i can't see changing even when Toby and Harry come back.

 

[TheHood]

Poch is a young manager and our current problem is one that he hasn't faced before. I agree that we are very short on creative guile, but these are conundrums that managers have to come up with solutions for and the great managers find a way to utilise his resources successfully, imo this season we will find out just how good a manager Poch is, that said, he is still a young man and he still has much to learn and it will be interesting to see how/if he adapts or he may just crumble under the pressure.

He has been a a manager going on 8 years, in this industry that is almost a lifetime. And also he is almost 45 so he is not that young in managerial terms and he has experienced more difficult situations previously. He won't be able to hide behind the age and experience argument if his form carries on into the Christmas period.

 

[danielneeds]

Nope. We didn't have to move. We play other cup games there don't we

Look, we have to play the whole season there next season, in many ways easing in a few games this season was smart. At least next season the players will be more used to it, and won't have a West Ham like start to the PL season hopefully. Finger's crossed we batter CSKA Moscow and at least get rid of this Wembley curse thing.

 

[beats1]

We are without our best defender, best midfielder and best striker. Not many teams would find that easy to cope with. Certainly not us.

The problem is when they have been on the pitch we havent been much better

Having a great defence dont win you league titles but you will be in the mix if you do have a great defence.

Whats worrying is that, take away the stoke match and we have only scored 10 goals in 9 games, and Harry kane has played in half of our league matches.

Then you have a team like liverpool who havent had either of their strikers score a goal in the PL and yet they have scored 10 goals more than us

For me the biggest issue is the CM, none of our players can move the ball quick without taking 2 or 3 touches or are actually good at passing, personally I think Winks has to start playing more of a role.

Our CM at the moment when they have a midfield four in front of them immediately defer to the CB's or goalkeeper for the next pass for fear of a press. Last season we got away with it especially with Dembele seemingly gliding past players but it was still an issue last season. Now we are struggling.

Our best players at moving the ball forward in our current 11 are our CB's and Bayer Leverkusen did brilliantly by playing 2 strikers and having them mark/press the CB's forcing Wanyama/themselves to pass backwards to lloris a lot and then him hoof the ball forward as he had no option.

 

[onthetwo]

I don't see him talking to the senior players when things aren't working. Who are the leaders on the pitch?

 

[worcestersauce]

I just think missing Kane Alderwiereld, Lamella and Rose and then losing Dembele to injury was too much for us last night, just when you think someone is coming back they don't and instead we lose another one.
I said in the Summer I wanted a right centre back but people said Dier could cover, he isn't covering too well at the moment which is a shame.
No doubt this hits confidence so it is a bit of a perfect storm, Poch is going nowhere, we are in a trough but we'll climb out of it.

 

[Gilzeanking]

However last season I thought we were mainly based on energy, work rate and tenacity. The football was solid but as an attacking unit not exemplary and we were more about battering a team into submission. Take away that energy and you've got problems.

Yup precisely , and I'll do my usual June 2016 Toby quote to put the icing on this . ..

'If we don't play with our effort we are (just) a normal team '

 

[raymundo-iow]

I saw hardly any give and go play from our attackers last night, the majority came from our fullbacks.

Compare that to there game and they created a lot more space and seemed to have the spark just by passing the ball and making a run into space positively rather than back for an easy pass towards our own goal.

In last nights team there was no go to player who the team could look to for making something happen, the top teams this season all have them... coutinho, hazard, de bruyne.... Ozil

I know we're all about a team game but we need a special player or 2 mixed in that can change the game for us

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

No problems behind the scenes. We have a young team who are having a temporary crises of confidence. It will pass. Any team will suffer with 3 of their key players out(Toby, Kane, Lamela).

 

[Gassin's finest]

No problems behind the scenes. We have young team who are having a temporary crises of confidence. It will pass. Any team will suffer with 3 of their key players out(Toby, Kane, Lamela).

This.

These are all very good, if not excellent, footballers. Just a couple soft hearts in there without the strong characters around to pick them up. Kane, Toby, Danny, Moussa, Lamela... half a team of our key players, 3 of which ; Kane's goals, Toby's dominance, and Moussa's retention; were the main reason we were so good last season.

But we'll fight through this and come out strong again. People forgetting this time last season? A series of draw's without a goal, defeat to the Goons at WHL in the cup... we kicked on after that with a belting christmas period and damn near won the league.

Perspective people.

 

[elDiablo]

For me i think we are missing Kane. The Kane - Alli axis did very well for us last season and may have carried us to an extent.

This season they both started poorly, but imo Alli is slowing getting back to his best, but other players are not on his wavelength.

On top of that Eriksen is playing really poorly. He needs to be dropped for a few games. Poch did it in his 1st season and he came back firing. I think he needs another kick.

 

[Thetmc]

anyone watch irish t.v lasni? Didi Hamman was a pundit along with Damien Duff and really poured water on the hype around us as a team before the game and that last year we only came where we did as the rest of the "big" sides didn't show up. Hamman wouldn't put us in his top 6 in the league, and after lasnight I would have to agree. Christ that was turgid,from the get go we didn't look at it. literally from the kick off the sloppy ball back from Dier and his mis-controlling we looked off it from the beginning. ( put wimmer in CB)

Hard to know if there is something wrong behind the scenes,but it does look like a crisis in confidence , which in itself might suggest that somethings not right if players cant get themselves right or up for a big champs game at Wembley.

Trying to be positive and saying that the timing of the derby is a good thing as opportunity for the players to get themselves up for a big game and put things right but its really hard to see them pulling off a result in our current situation.

all this being said, were missing 2 of our main players in toby and kane and Dembele is not match fit. not sure would city, arse etc cope without Augero/De bruyene and Ozil/Sanchez. Roll on sunday

 

[Damian99]

Pochs credentials are certainly going to come under serious scrutiny in these next few weeks that's for sure. Since we beat Man City we appear to have gone into "haven't got a fucking clue mode" for some reason.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Need this guy back: http://www.football365.com/news/football365s-early-loser-moussa-sissoko