Leicester Vs Tottenham: Match Thread

[Sweetsman]

Honestly, I can't believe the over the top, negative bullshit I read on hear (and in fairness on twitter)

It's incredible, we didn't have a solid top four team like the arse before we decided to invest in a stadium. Of course the amount of money spent on players will drop, of course we will look to slash the wage bill, but fortunately we seem to have a fantastic youth set up in place.

We've got one of, if not the youngest, team/squads in the league and the future as a club overall is incredibly bright

It's not been a great start but I'm amazed that I've already read people saying poch should get the elbow, Levy needs to spend the bucks. I tell you what, let's spend a fortune (or whatever we consider is the right amount) with no guarantee of top 4, increase the wage bill and possibly hinder the first team chances of a few of our young bright stars

I'm genuinely concerned that if we go one down early against Everton the atmosphere will become toxic, yeah great way to encourage the kids

I read a decent article on Bolaise, basically saying the palace fans love him and allow him to have a grey deal of off days. My mates a place fan and he said so many time he's looked like a league 2 player, balls bouncing of his knee, shots hitting the corner flag etc but it's worth it for the days when he's unplayable. Let's be honest with ourselves, he did that at the lane over a period of 6 months, the crowd would turn on him.

Think we've got to take a long hard look at ourselves as fans, realise we're in a huge transition period and support the team (especially the manager) during low times. Has anybody considered he hasn't played a number of new signings becuase he may be concerned about putting them in a team that isn't playing well and clearly one that the fans are turning against

Our reputation as being fickel as fuck is being confirmed, today I'm ashamed to be counted alongside a number of you as Spurs faithful

On a brighter note, my team for the next match

Hugo
Trippier Dier Toby Rose
Bentaleb Alli
Clinton Eriksen Pritchard
Kane

COYS!!!

Truly excellent post with a few home truths for the moronic moaners in the home crowd. I also like your team, primarily because you've dropped Jan Vertonghen.

 

[lukadownthelane]

Where do you think we should finish in the league? We finished 5th last season, and I am not sure if we should finish any higher. That was pochs first season and he got us fifth yet there were some shocking results along the way. Not equating this toto Chelsea but they have had the same start to us - it doesn't mean that they are going to finish in the bottom half of the table .

In my mind it is just too early to worry about results.

We probably won't finish that high again this season, but that's not really the point. If we have ambition of finishing higher than 5th, which we should (have as an ambition), then we need to be improving, which we're not. Hence I am unhappy.

 

[MaccSpurs]

Just watched the highlights on Match of the Day and as annoying as it is not to win that was a great finish from Mahrez.

 

[g_harry]

poch needs to drop vertonghen. And let the rest big time Charlies to f off they think they here for a good time. Sorry but I would rather chadli was no were near that team also.

 

[Mighty Spurs]

We surely missed Eriksen today. Very poor defending by Vertonghen. Another two points lost.

 

[eViL]

We surely missed Eriksen today. Very poor defending by Vertonghen. Another two points lost.

What difference would he have made?

 

[eViL]

Ingredients needed: speed...ok, I can actually stop there and not even touch on creativity and the rest for you to get the picture.

We've got the fastest RB in the league, but what's the point of all that pace if you aren't willing to run at opposing defenders?

We needs balls and a ruthless streak. We're too fucking nice and have been for some time now.

 

[amathews3416]

Did Verts not read the scouting report that Mahrez has a deadly left foot? Why he was playing him onto his left is beyond me.

 

[Cornpattbuck]

Probably the worst Spurs game I've seen in awhile.

But then even Leicester on a hot streak and full of confidence were terrible (bar Mahrez - but the we gave him so much room he'd have had to be throwing the game to have a poor one).

Back to the drawing board. Still early days.

 

[SydneySpur]

Only 3 games in to the season this year and I'm over it already. Got that nervous feeling back in the pitt of my stomach from the pre Harry days.

 

[Crash]

With Verts playing pub football where's Wimmer?

To be honest with Verts not doing it last season we shouldn't be surprised at how he's doing now. Not sure Barca will be in for him now

 

[voxy28]

2 pts in 3 games.... Being hit on the breaks so many times.

i wonder if we finish bottom half, how the reduced revenue and top players leaving would impact the club. We might be seeing more than another year of transition when Lloris, Vert, Eriksen, Kane might leave for CL football.

Poch will have a lot of pressure next game..... Not sure if it's the player issue or tactic issues and I wonder if he can resolve it base on the last few games. The players stop making through runs every time we attack and the ball is held back.... Strange tactics.

 

[BuryMeInEngland]

Now they're allowing water breaks in the middle of PL games when it's hot, can we expect to see them stopping for a nice cup of hot bovril or a warm cup of tea when it's January or February?

 

[ardiles]

With Verts not having a good start to the season, wouldn't mind seeing Wimmer given some time in the LCD role.

Although it won't happen would like to see this -

Lloris
Trippier - Toby - Wimmer - Rose
Dier - Alli
N'Jie - Dembele - Pritchard/Eriksen
Kane

 

[TomElRumi]

Transition, young team, loads of potential and hope to see sparks of it as the season wears on. Demebele is being groomed to be the old head in the team...if he can just be quicker on the ball he has the potential (god I hate that word) to be unplayable.
MoPO needs a good 8-10 games to get the mix right.
At this moment it's a real work in progress and the obvious, that we see - he will be seeing too...
-Is Verts all he is cracked up to be?
- Walker's last chance to prove he can get back to his best?
- Midfield pairing...to be tried and re-tried for sometime yet.
- Harry's on his own.
- We need to do things at pace and find players with pace.
- Lamela is at last chance saloon.
Lots of hard work for MoPo to work this out and get it sorted plus of course missing transfer links etc.

A long way to go, a long season ahead - but let him do it and support the boys doing it. You can't fault their effort - just many many other things - at the level our youngsters are playing at - they will and are getting punished. Hence the need for the elder statesman in the middle of the park.

COYS

Vertonghen defends like he's high. I like his surging runs forward (at times he offers more penetration than anyone else on the team, which is tragic), but at the back he's all over the shop. Time to give Wimmer a run?

 

[Cornpattbuck]

The strangest thing (and a continuing theme of the last few years) is that we dominate possession only to give it away in the most dangerous and ridiculous of circumstances.

I've no idea how you coach out brain farts, but we desperately need to work out how (both defensively and offensively) because individual errors are so often our undoing and everyone is making them.

 

[glacierSpurs]

Let's be very clear. Our transfer activity, or lack thereof, poses a existential threat to Pochettino's tenure as manager of this club. This result and a backslide this season in the league is entirely predictable. We have culled the hell out of the squad, leaving us with a very inexperienced roster with few players capable of changing a match on a dime. The 5th place finish last season was on 64 points, 5 less than the season before under AVB/Sherwood. People conveniently forgot this when they were saying things in July along the lines of: "We finished 5th last season and lost no one, so with everyone improving, we should finish around the same."

I don't know how many times it has to be said. This league is stronger than ever. These bottom teams have tons of talent that they've bought from outside England and if you don't have deep quality in your squad and aren't constantly looking to improve your first XI, you WILL go backwards. We have huge holes in the central midfield (no creativity, few goals, mediocre defensive shielding), have a dearth of strikers, and we have an exceptionally suspect backline.

What is this squad going to do come September when we start playing Europa matches? Our 7th, 8th, and 9th games are against City, Swansea (away), and Liverpool. We could lose all three if things continue like this!

I think the biggest blame needs to be placed on whoever the hell is formulating our transfer strategy. Yes, not making signings early is a major problem, but even worse than that, is passing quality players who can help you and who end up at smaller clubs. I'm watching quality players in these others matches contribute right away (Ayew, Cabaye, Wijanldum, Payet, Shaqiri, Traore) and there are others who went to teams with far less financial clout than us (Imbula, Suarez, Clasie, Konoplyanka, Beauvue) who could've helped us. There are still players of this quality out there. Experienced internationals with quality production in EL/CL/Domestic Leagues (Llorente, Yarmolenko, etc), but we seemingly aren't that interested. It seems to me we are pinning our hopes on convincing West Brom into selling their best player and on Clinton N'Jie, who has essentially half a season of Ligue 1 football under his belt, where he played alongside the most in form player (a striker) in system nothing like Pochettino's.

I thought before the season we'd be fortunate to finish 6th, with Liverpool strengthening far more than us, with a better squad on paper by a mile than us. Now, I'm not entirely convinced that we don't need at least 2, and possibly three signings to finish ahead of Swansea in 7th. Failure to make top quality signings, and a few more injuries like Eriksen's today, and we are looking at a Dortmund redux from last season.

Apology for quoting a long post, but this absolutely nailed it.

And adding to the point of mid table clubs attracting quality players, I'm not sure if Levy or Poch is even realising these players that seemed mediocre to us are almost marquee to them.. In this respect, they are strengthening quite significantly.. Passing these players not signing them is ok, UNLESS we are signing players who are strengthening us too!! Signing mostly prospects and not upgrades immediately is just a chance for these mid table clubs to catch up to us, and we will never improve..

 

[JAYSTAR]

Posted elsewhere: While I do agree that Vertonghen is looking off the pace and liable to make mistakes, he is seriously exposed whenever Davies plays. Yesterday Davies was doing exactly what Rose used to do. Caught out of position, sometimes in the middle of the pitch and supposedly trying to get back to the middle to allow Vertonghen to push left. He pretty much never made it. I'm sorry to anyone who loves Davies, but I do not rate him. He is not fit enough or aware enough to play in this system successfully ATM and needs to hurry up and learn when he is safe to attack and when he cannot. As much as I am frustrated with Vertonghen, Leicester were constantly sending the ball over to their right to double team Vertonghen and Poch's poor strategy was being exposed with Davies out of position over and over again. We need players who can spot the problem 'in game' and counter act what's happening. They seem scared to think for themselves.

 

[dwaynedibley]

I fear for us if we don't sign a striker and an experienced midfielder and poch needs to stop picking the wrong players, for me trippier and rose should both be in next game as both walker and especially Davies offer nothing going forward and have no positional awareness, get Pritchard and njie on the bench at least also, we need options.

 

[2bearis2do]

Vertonghen defends like he's high. I like his surging runs forward (at times he offers more penetration than anyone else on the team, which is tragic), but at the back he's all over the shop. Time to give Wimmer a run?

"which is tragic" - made me laugh - nicely put!
TBH - I have no idea what Wimmer is like - he must have been bought with first team football in mind. I think my biggest problem at the moment with our defence (other than Verts), and I've said it since I saw him in those pre-season friendlies - is Dier.
Seriously - why is MoPo trying to train him up to be a DM at the beginning of the of season?! I hate that - players out of position - trying to make them something they are not and it costs us. I'm not blaming Dier directly - I think he'll be a super CBack.
Personally - I'd try Dier beside Toby A. Dier wants that position and is more athletic than Verts. At the moment it's a bit like watching Spurs with Kaboul in the team last year (and made captain) - like WTF!
I fear MoPo won't change Verts - simply because of the Belgium brotherhood thing he is trying to nurture.
I fear Walker is not the answer either - Trippier looks more creative and better on the ball than the headless Walker. The back 4/5 isn't right at the moment and until we get that right....it's going to be a long season!