The race for the title

[Lighty64]

We are now starting to pay the price for awful recruitment last summer. Sissoko just never made any sense and still doesn't. Janssen doesn't have the pace or touch to succeed in the league despite trying very hard. GKN has looked good in flashes but it would seem Poch's view of him is pretty similar to that of Njie. So the bottom line is we spent £60m on players who aren't good enough to even be used from the bench let alone fill in when first teamers are unfit or off form.

Unfortunately I'm not that optimistic we will do any better this summer.

no we are now paying the price for being unlucky with injuries, we have still only lost 3 games with 2/3 of the season gone, and now have 9 fixtures before we play a rival which will be at home,

5 of those being at home against teams that are not known for putting 10 players behind the ball.

we have 4 away matches in which 3 of them at the moment are involved in a relegation battle, what's needed in those games is for us to get a goal in the 1st 20-30 minutes, do that and they won't have 10 men sat deep, which was what went wrong v Sunderland.

 

[stevenurse]

no we are now paying the price for being unlucky with injuries, we have still only lost 3 games with 2/3 of the season gone, and now have 9 fixtures before we play a rival which will be at home,

5 of those being at home against teams that are not known for putting 10 players behind the ball.

we have 4 away matches in which 3 of them at the moment are involved in a relegation battle, what's needed in those games is for us to get a goal in the 1st 20-30 minutes, do that and they won't have 10 men sat deep, which was what went wrong v Sunderland.

Completely agree, however that's much easier said than done. Literally every team would say they would like an early goal. It's one of those cliches that is true, but also completely pointless saying as of course an early goal is good.

Sure I heard something like 13 of our last 16 goals had come relatively late or something like that. Last half an hour maybe?

We control most games possession wise but generally lack any kind of killer instinct. Rodgers Liverpool team and the Redknapp Spurs team had it where one goal would bring another and a team could be out of sight in 20 mins. They didn't have the defence to sustain it though. We do. Instead we score, then piss around with it at the back making 400 passes before Lloris gets pressured into spooning it out

 

[Doctor Dinkey]

I'm not that confident of top four now. Man city will go past us tomorrow and we're virtually level with Liverpool and arsenal. United are looking really strong too. Although we can be very capable I think that Liverpool and united look better equipped to make top 4 than we do based on yesterday's games. I'm hoping that a combination of missing players returning and easier fixtures get us over the line, but my current feeling is that it will be us and the gooners who miss out narrowly.

 

[tiger666]

We control most games possession wise but generally lack any kind of killer instinct.

Not sure I agree with that. We scored 18 goals in 7 games last month. 17 in 6 the month before.

 

[shelfboy68]

Completely agree, however that's much easier said than done. Literally every team would say they would like an early goal. It's one of those cliches that is true, but also completely pointless saying as of course an early goal is good.

Sure I heard something like 13 of our last 16 goals had come relatively late or something like that. Last half an hour maybe?

We control most games possession wise but generally lack any kind of killer instinct. Rodgers Liverpool team and the Redknapp Spurs team had it where one goal would bring another and a team could be out of sight in 20 mins. They didn't have the defence to sustain it though. We do. Instead we score, then piss around with it at the back making 400 passes before Lloris gets pressured into spooning it out

Yes can be frustrating when they are passing it sideways and backwards continuously trying to bring the opposition out only to find they are not for moving.
We could do with someone like a hazard or a Coutinho who can run with and carry the ball, in short we lack pace up top.

 

[Saoirse]

Let's not overreact. We weren't in the title race anyway, this doesn't change that. We played away from home to a top side, with a pressing game we've always struggled against under Poch, with a weakened defence. The loss isn't surprising and isn't what will ultimately determine whether or not we get Champions League football. What'll determine that is whether or not we can pick ourselves up and go on another good run through the on paper less challenging fixtures, so let's get behind the team and give it our best shot.

 

[stevenurse]

Not sure I agree with that. We scored 18 goals in 7 games last month. 17 in 6 the month before.

I get that but what I mean is finishing a team off early and scoring 2 in quick succession like both city and Liverpool did. Forget that we got a draw at city as that was a ridiculously fortunate set of circumstances, we could and should have been out of sight. The game was effectively over after 20 mins yesterday.

We might have scored lots of goals but often late and when the other side is pushing forward. The first half at Watford was perfect, early goals and no let up.

 

[tiger666]

I get that but what I mean is finishing a team off early and scoring 2 in quick succession like both city and Liverpool did. Forget that we got a draw at city as that was a ridiculously fortunate set of circumstances, we could and should have been out of sight. The game was effectively over after 20 mins yesterday.

We might have scored lots of goals but often late and when the other side is pushing forward. The first half at Watford was perfect, early goals and no let up.

Oh yup, I see what you mean. My bad.

 

[guy]

I'm not that confident of top four now. Man city will go past us tomorrow and we're virtually level with Liverpool and arsenal. United are looking really strong too. Although we can be very capable I think that Liverpool and united look better equipped to make top 4 than we do based on yesterday's games. I'm hoping that a combination of missing players returning and easier fixtures get us over the line, but my current feeling is that it will be us and the gooners who miss out narrowly.

Crikey we're still in second and have been in the top four most of the season.

I know it was pathetic, but It's one loss.

Don't give up so easily

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

Crikey we're still in second and have been in the top four most of the season.

I know it was pathetic, but It's one loss.

Don't give up so easily

OR, for the glass half and all that, it's 5 points in 4 pl games.

 

[DIEHARD]

Crikey we're still in second and have been in the top four most of the season.

I know it was pathetic, but It's one loss.

Don't give up so easily

It's not the loss

It's the manner of the loss. It was turgid.

 

[tiger666]

It's not the loss

It's the manner of the loss. It was turgid.

It happens. The team and manager are young, we had injuries, Poch made a mess of things, Liverpool played well. All teams play like shit for various reasons occasionally.

 

[DIEHARD]

It happens. The team and manager are young, we had injuries, Poch made a mess of things, Liverpool played well. All teams play like shit for various reasons occasionally.

Yes shit happens but it's a theme especially away against the likes of Man utd, Liverpool, Man City etc

And at which point do we stop saying they're young as I'm curious? I agree they're young but before you know it you'll turn into an arsenal fan with the whole the young players crap

 

[sparx100]

It happens. The team and manager are young, we had injuries, Poch made a mess of things, Liverpool played well. All teams play like shit for various reasons occasionally.

Agreed. I am as frustrated with the result and the performance but everyone bar Chelsea have had a dodgy result or run in the season. Wait until Verts and Rose come back and then Lamela and we will be much stronger.

 

[Shadydan]

Yes shit happens but it's a theme especially away against the likes of Man utd, Liverpool, Man City etc

And at which point do we stop saying they're young as I'm curious? I agree they're young but before you know it you'll turn into an arsenal fan with the whole the young players crap

Who has the youngest team in the league right now?

 

[SUIYHA]

Some of the nonsense in here is unbelievable. It was OBVIOUS we were going to lose this game. As I said several times in the past week, if you weren't lumping money on a Liverpool win then you either haven't been watching Spurs for very long or you're so stupid that you'll never figure out how this works. That being said, I was furious at how poor we were in the first half. Liverpool weren't even that good.

Our away form has been terrible this season. Yes, it was great smashing Stoke, Southampton and Watford. But we've played all of the other teams in the top 8 away from home now and haven't won a single one of those games, and let's not forget how we were outplayed away at Leverkusen, Monaco and Liverpool in the cups too. Luckily, we've now played all of the top 9 away from home already so hopefully now things should improve.

Like I've always said, we're in a five horse race for three Champions League places. We're still leading the pack, but we could be in last place if we drop points in our next game, and I do worry about things given how poor our backup players seem to be doing and how our fan base is demanding that we try harder in the cups. But I find the meltdown on here amazing, people were on the top of the world on Saturday morning and thought we were still in the title race, we lose a game that we were obviously going to lose and now suddenly we're going to struggle to make top 4. A bit of perspective please.

 

[spursfan77]

I'm not that confident of top four now. Man city will go past us tomorrow and we're virtually level with Liverpool and arsenal. United are looking really strong too. Although we can be very capable I think that Liverpool and united look better equipped to make top 4 than we do based on yesterday's games. I'm hoping that a combination of missing players returning and easier fixtures get us over the line, but my current feeling is that it will be us and the gooners who miss out narrowly.

I wouldn't base anything on yesterday's game. The only concern I have after it is that a few of the players looked a little ill disciplined once they knew the game had been lost.

I think that we've still got as good a chance of finishing second as finishing anywhere else. We are a good side and I fully expect us to show that in the coming months.

 

[mightyspur]

Some of the nonsense in here is unbelievable. It was OBVIOUS we were going to lose this game. As I said several times in the past week, if you weren't lumping money on a Liverpool win then you either haven't been watching Spurs for very long or you're so stupid that you'll never figure out how this works. That being said, I was furious at how poor we were in the first half. Liverpool weren't even that good.

Our away form has been terrible this season. Yes, it was great smashing Stoke, Southampton and Watford. But we've played all of the other teams in the top 8 away from home now and haven't won a single one of those games, and let's not forget how we were outplayed away at Leverkusen, Monaco and Liverpool in the cups too. Luckily, we've now played all of the top 9 away from home already so hopefully now things should improve.

Like I've always said, we're in a five horse race for three Champions League places. We're still leading the pack, but we could be in last place if we drop points in our next game, and I do worry about things given how poor our backup players seem to be doing and how our fan base is demanding that we try harder in the cups. But I find the meltdown on here amazing, people were on the top of the world on Saturday morning and thought we were still in the title race, we lose a game that we were obviously going to lose and now suddenly we're going to struggle to make top 4. A bit of perspective please.

Is it lonely up there on that pedastal?

 

[dontcallme]

Some of the nonsense in here is unbelievable. It was OBVIOUS we were going to lose this game. As I said several times in the past week, if you weren't lumping money on a Liverpool win then you either haven't been watching Spurs for very long or you're so stupid that you'll never figure out how this works. That being said, I was furious at how poor we were in the first half. Liverpool weren't even that good.

Our away form has been terrible this season. Yes, it was great smashing Stoke, Southampton and Watford. But we've played all of the other teams in the top 8 away from home now and haven't won a single one of those games, and let's not forget how we were outplayed away at Leverkusen, Monaco and Liverpool in the cups too. Luckily, we've now played all of the top 9 away from home already so hopefully now things should improve.

Like I've always said, we're in a five horse race for three Champions League places. We're still leading the pack, but we could be in last place if we drop points in our next game, and I do worry about things given how poor our backup players seem to be doing and how our fan base is demanding that we try harder in the cups. But I find the meltdown on here amazing, people were on the top of the world on Saturday morning and thought we were still in the title race, we lose a game that we were obviously going to lose and now suddenly we're going to struggle to make top 4. A bit of perspective please.

What an odious post.

 

[arunspurs]

Two weeks back , I said we are getting complacent and dont take the chance when given chance to push on. That view has only strenghtened after Liverpool game.

Having said that, I am very confident of a top4 finish. We will not trouble Chelsea but we have what it takes to finish in the top2 or 3.

Reason being the remaining fixture list.

Our left over home games :

Stoke
Everton
Southampton
Watford
Bournemouth
Arsenal
Man United

Our left over away games :

Palace
Burnley
Swansea
Leicester
WestHam
Hull

We are in such a good home form right now. I would say we could go unbeaten at home. While I agree away games teams will be fighting for their life, point is, they are whether they are because they don't play well.

I can see us getting more than 2 points a game in all remaining 13 games - say even with conservative 26, our points will be 76. Only once in PL history, all top4 had more than 76 points.

Arsenal have a horror fixture list from April, so do United. Liverpool arent that good.

While we arent good enough for title, we certainly can get top4, if we do thr basics right.