Match Threads Spurs vs AZ Alkmaar

[mattstev2000]

What exactly were you expecting from a patched together side in the Europa?

Better than that.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Richy injured or just cramp?

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I'm not convinced by dragusin. Might be a confidence thing and/or age as he doesn't play often but I just don't feel there's that sense of calm with him that central defenders need

I think he seems pretty calm and composed tbh especially for his age just doesn’t have a ton or rhythm as he’s not playing regularly

 

[Yid-ol]

Richy injured or just cramp?

Cramp by looks of it. Bergvall's one looked a bit worse, so hopefully he isn't out too long.

 

[muppetman]

Better than that.

You have seen us in the Europa over the last decade or so?

 

[mattstev2000]

You have seen us in the Europa over the last decade or so?

Yeah, expecting was probably too strong a word, hoping for more I suppose!

 

[Col_M]

I'm not convinced by dragusin. Might be a confidence thing and/or age as he doesn't play often but I just don't feel there's that sense of calm with him that central defenders need

I was surprised how many duels he won and how often he chested it down. He was very confident but he had a few loose passes. iMO that’s just lack of game time. And also playing alongside a different CB.

 

[Col_M]

Richy injured or just cramp?

to me he knew he was only getting 60mins which is why he was desperate for the penalty.

 

[DiscoD1882]

Richy injured or just cramp?

Lost a tenner on him scoring two goals to be the.

 

[DiamondLites]

I thought Radu done well for the most part, and had some nice forward passes that broke the lines. To me Davies is the one that stands out like a sore thumb in terms of not fitting how we play

 

[taidgh]

Completely pointless stat but the average position of our final 5 opponents is 15th.

We really should be comfortably going through in the top 8, shouldn't we?

Every one of them is in a play-off spot. Last place is Qarabag, and we saw how much trouble we had with them 1st half. No walkovers in Europe.

 

[DenverSpur]

No doubt Ange will talk about that behind closed doors

Every game there should be a designated penalty taker so there shouldn’t be any squabbling.

 

[DenverSpur]

Where is Johnson there! Get to that back post!

Yep very poor from Johnson there.

 

[DenverSpur]

On this half, it’s gonna be hard to justify Moore not starting against Palace.

He’s only just turned 17 so we have to manage his minutes. There is no need to rush him.

 

[FloridaSpur]

Job Done

Points Won

Youngsters Bloodied

Players Rested

No Injuries

Not full bloodied cut and thrust football, but we will be ready for that when we need to be.

 

[DenverSpur]

A win is a win and always welcome but that was, for the most part, a very disjointed performance. Aside from the penalty we didn’t really trouble their GK.
All that’s a result of putting out a team with 9 changes. I’m all for rotation but that’s not rotation that’s playing your second string and it never looks good. A team is made up of a series of partnerships: the CBs, the CBs and their respective FBs, the FBs and their wide players. Further forward creative midfield players and strikers build up an understanding of each others game . All this is lacking if you just throw 11 players out there who’ve hardly played a competitive game together. There’s few posters criticizing Dragu but that slightly unfair as he’s hardly had any game time especially with the players around him.
Modern football is a squad game and if we want to do well in all competitions then we have to make proper use of the whole squad. That means doing away with this concept of starting 11 who start all the weekend games with back up players playing in the cups. There needs to be 2 or 3 changes to the starting 11 every game with full use made of the bench during the game. That way minutes are spread around the squad and players are able to build partnerships with different players. That way there is little to no drop off in performance from game to game. I keep harping on about this but this is one of the secrets of Pep’s Man City’s success. Where he definitely knows what his best 11 is and has them for the big games he doesn’t play them every game but instead makes 2 or 3 changes nearly every game. That means when it comes to the sharp and of the season all his squad have minutes under their belt and can contribute and his best 11 is not exhausted from over playing.
Anyway I know many of you disagree but that’s my two pence worth

 

[anydange]

Didn’t watch but great result and Moore for the Ballon d’Or

 

[worcestersauce]

I thought we all knew that this stage of this tournament was always about rotation, playing the squad, building them up and Postecoglu has done that very well so far.
Three wins from three without ever starting half our first choice players is without doubt a success, it's daft to lament the fact we haven't been winning easy because we'd still only get three points.
To be honest I reckon it's been perfect for us and we've got out of it everything we could have hoped for.

 

[easley91]

On this half, it’s gonna be hard to justify Moore not starting against Palace.

Actually quite easy to justify because Son is back..

 

[freeeki]

Actually quite easy to justify because Son is back..

If only we were allowed to select more than one outfield player