Match Threads Spurs vs Brighton

[allatsea]

Too many of our players are either not fully match fit or tiring after competitions in addition to the PL/FA Cup/League Cup. Hopefully getting back to one game a week and lots of Training Ground work will see us flying in the latter stages of the season.

 

[worcestersauce]

I love the way people say if the opposition had taken their chances but disregard ours, Richarlison should have scored when through with only the keeper to beat and their keeper kept them in it with the save from Kulusevski. It's not like they peppered our goal with shots all game, they just had some chances, that's normal.

 

[allatsea]

I love the way people say if the opposition had taken their chances but disregard ours, Richarlison should have scored when through with only the keeper to beat and their keeper kept them in it with the save from Kulusevski. It's not like they peppered our goal with shots all game, they just had some chances, that's normal.

I thought despite his usual high work rate Richarlson was disappointing. His passing was poor as was his ball retention, and his shooting was not what we have become use to over the last few weeks.

 

[HildoSpur]

Don't understand why some people are saying Ange made a mistake making those subs. Half the team is still trying to get match fitness after injury so it's clear we need to rotate and make full use of our subs for the next few weeks.

 

[worcestersauce]

Don't understand why some people are saying Ange made a mistake making those subs. Half the team is still trying to get match fitness after injury so it's clear we need to rotate and make full use of our subs for the next few weeks.

We had momentum, we had our tails up and we had started to click so it wasn't so much the subs as the timing. I think he had simply planned to do it from the start and just did it in no response to the game at that moment.

 

[Gilzeanking]

Not everyone.
I would have left it as it was for another few minutes at least and even then, would've only changed Bentancur for Bissouma (I didn't think Bents was having a good game).
Personally, I thought Werner was doing well and Kulusevski had grown into the game and become one of our better players.

It felt to me like weird subs and almost changing for the sake of it. I know Johnson got the winner and I understand Son coming on but I think Deki was playing the best we've seen for a while.
All three at once was a bit odd for me.

I reckon it's to do with keeping player's motivation high. Ange is looking to play those not starting the match to keep their spirits up.

 

[Styopa]

We had momentum, we had our tails up and we had started to click so it wasn't so much the subs as the timing. I think he had simply planned to do it from the start and just did it in no response to the game at that moment.

I think the momentum argument is interesting. There were people crying out for changes at half time and still questioning why we hadn’t made any changes 5 to 10 min into the second half. Then we scored on 61. So for those people 5 to 10 min of so called momentum means we shouldn’t make the changes they themselves were crying out for?

I think we scored and people thought we would go on and score more. When that didn’t happen people pointed to the changes as one explanation.

 

[PhC]

I do hope we can play a game where we control it and win well. Seems every game is tense and close.

Yes, bring back Conte!

 

[eViL]

Football would be great if it weren't for those pesky opposing teams.

Brighton are no mugs.

 

[spurs mental]

I love the way people say if the opposition had taken their chances but disregard ours, Richarlison should have scored when through with only the keeper to beat and their keeper kept them in it with the save from Kulusevski. It's not like they peppered our goal with shots all game, they just had some chances, that's normal.

Yeah it makes me laugh when I read things like that or;

"If it wasn't for Vicario saving them shots Brighton would have won."

Damn Vicario being good at his job. It's not fair.

 

[Styopa]

Football would be great if it weren't for those pesky opposing teams.

Brighton are no mugs.

Exactly this. It took Man C 71 min to score v Everton yesterday and they only put the result beyond doubt with the second goal in 85th min.

Liverpool also might have easily conceded to Burnley yesterday whilst the match was still 2-1.

Those are the two best teams in the country struggling to beat Everton and Burnley at home.

It’s true we’re not blowing teams away right now or dominating matches but neither are Man C, Liverpool or Arsenal.

We did ok yesterday versus a decent team which lots of people here rave about. We showed earlier in the season that we have a few more gears to go up and I expect us to find that kind of form again once everyone is fully fit and we properly click. But even now we’re doing fine - 3 wins and 2 draws in our last 5 league games.

 

[Styopa]

Yeah it makes me laugh when I read things like that or;

"If it wasn't for Vicario saving them shots Brighton would have won."

Damn Vicario being good at his job. It's not fair.

Or… we were “lucky” to win by scoring in injury time, it was almost a draw.

Whereas we concede in injury time, it’s nothing to do with luck but is a massive problem we need to sort out.

 

[EastUpperDK82]

Football would be great if it weren't for those pesky opposing teams.

Brighton are no mugs.

I totally agree here... BUT... we have been very sloppy lately. Yesterday was no different. That's the one frustrating part for me.

But I'm also sure that our sharpness and fluidity will return.

 

[leffe186]

I love the way people say if the opposition had taken their chances but disregard ours, Richarlison should have scored when through with only the keeper to beat and their keeper kept them in it with the save from Kulusevski. It's not like they peppered our goal with shots all game, they just had some chances, that's normal.

Every fan base does it all the time . It’s one reason why I hate the word “deserve” in football analysis. xG has numerous pitfalls, but it is pretty useful in a general sense to refute some of fans’ bullshit.

You also have to consider that fans in general haven’t watched more than - at best - the MoTD highlights. We all know how misleading they can be, by design or accident or both.

On another topic, I really wish we could get a better angle of the penalty call because it just seems so…soft to me. I feel like I must be seeing things - it just looks like Welbeck makes something out of nothing. I stand to be corrected of course, but to be clear, anyone anywhere who says “there was contact” needs to be first against the wall when the revolution comes.

 

[Whazam]

Most of the game was frustrating, with a shaky start and the penalty, followed by some missed chances we probably should have scored.

But I think that frustration is clouding a lot of people's view of the actual performance.

We weren't great, but from their goal going forward we were by far the superior team, creating several great chances and stopping Brighton from even getting close. Things changed again after us going level, but it wasn't all bad. We seemed to get back in the driver's seat again at the end.

We didn't really click, but we were by far the better team and we still scored two well-strung together goals.

 

[Styopa]

I totally agree here... BUT... we have been very sloppy lately. Yesterday was no different. That's the one frustrating part for me.

But I'm also sure that our sharpness and fluidity will return.

I agree about the sloppiness, but a lot of that sloppiness is coming from players we know can do better: Udogie and Bentancur have been two of the main culprits. I think in the case of the former he’s still very young and will learn whilst in the case of latter he still needs more time to return to his pre-injury peak.

I don’t see it as a tactical or structural issue which needs fixing as some here have been suggesting.

 

[Westmorlandspur]

Or… we were “lucky” to win by scoring in injury time, it was almost a draw.

Whereas we concede in injury time, it’s nothing to do with luck but is a massive problem we need to sort out.

They found a way to win is what the pundits say when City and Liverpool do it, We will improve, no doubt about it. If Biss can get back to his early season form that will make the difference. He can take th3 ball, keep it, power past people. Bentancur not really that sort of player and got caught more than once yesterday.

 

[muppetman]

Surely a last minute winner against a team that have been time wasting almost from kick off is one of the sweetest things in football.

 

[teedee]

I agree about the sloppiness, but a lot of that sloppiness is coming from players we know can do better: Udogie and Bentancur have been two of the main culprits. I think in the case of the former he’s still very young and will learn whilst in the case of latter he still needs more time to return to his pre-injury peak.

I don’t see it as a tactical or structural issue which needs fixing as some here have been suggesting.

I agree. At the beginning of the season our passing out from and around the penalty area was very crisp and accurate but some players are now making poor passes, they put Vic and other defenders under unnecessary pressure. It was our crisp smart passing earlier in the season which led us to being top of the table and the players need to take responsibility and concentrate.

 

[spurs mental]

xG has numerous pitfalls, but it is pretty useful in a general sense to refute some of fans’ bullshit.

Yep. I read somewhere that Brighton's xG without the penalty was less than 0.5 yesterday. Ours was nearer the 2 mark.