Match Threads Spurs vs Pacos de Ferreira - Match Thread - ECL - Qualifying round - 2nd Leg - KO 7.45pm

[punky]

Ryan sessegnon did alright today. He was busy and didn't have to do much defending, but did fine on the occasions I recall he was needed. Just didn't get the 'rub of the green' today, poor officiating made him.look a bit ineffective going forward, there were a few dubious decided against him. He's a quick, strong lad and with game time it'll come.

Loved Gio today. He is one of those players I'd hate to come up against as you know your ankles are game for a bruise. He was fouled a.lot, but got stuck in and i was happy for him to score.

Gil. Boy was everywhere, his off the ball movement and energy was amazing too. One to watch. You need to watch this lad pitch side to appreciate his effort levels.

And a cheeky shout to winks. He was decent today.

Only players that I thought was a bit average was Doherty. He didn't do anything wrong, but seems to be shot of confidence to me. One ball came pinging over to him that was crying for a quick one touch cross and he fluffed it. Come on lad! Let's see some Irish fight ans show us what you're more than capable of.

A cup we can win.

Agree with all this.

I don't think Ryan was as terrible as others say, but I think like a lot of our players, just suffering with confidence. we bought him, loaned, brought him back, sort of half-using him. He's always going to struggle.

Loved Winks. His involvement in the first goal was majestic.

 

[sebo_sek]

Had a look at the actual trophy today. Looks like Chelsea's new stadium, except it's real

 

[PLTuck]

Had a look at the actual trophy today. Looks like Chelsea's new stadium, except it's real
View attachment 95638

That stadium looks like a PC heat sink ?

 

[Coolbury]

Don't think that's likely mate

No idea , who would have thought everything would have to shut down like it has, lower income might mean we need to sign a cheaper manager , Mason ,Hoddle, Ardiles, Sherwood

 

[oohaahedgar]

Bryan Gil has the potential to be a Tottenham great. Just needed to put it in writing. His balance reminds me of Ardiles and Modric, long way to go but I love what I see.

 

[beats1]

Went to the match and watching Romero was interesting to say the least, the guy goes forward alot

I think there was one chance where Gill(I think) nearly scored with a shot to the far post in the second half and there is someone following the shot as it went wide. It was ROMERO LOL

 

[Spud82]

Like I said he was never the right back ib though we should sign but he was excellent at arriving at the back point and under and over lapping confidently but we have not seen that. And he is a far better defender than we have seen. He is nowhere near what we should be putting out for our first team but he is better than we have seen I assure you.

Wolves, Spurs and Irish fans say he is shit and cant defend.

PS Im Irish too

All very positive bar Sess. He lacks quality and just doesn't have a football brain.

This guy is simply not good enough. Lacks pace and aggression, has a poor touch and is generally not on the same wave length as others. Championship player at best and last night showed it. Im more concerned with the amount of people that think he had a good game ? ? ?

 

[sebo_sek]

Watched the highlights. Bloody hell, that could have been 8-0

 

[tommo84]

Lots of people going over board with the Sessegnon assessments. He was pretty average last night but he was better last night than Lo Celso was the week before, and Lo Celso was terrific last night. One or two games isn’t enough to write off a 21 year old. That competition provides a great platform for him and others to build confidence, work with Nuno and become the players we want them to be.

Except Doherty. He’s just bad.

 

[CowInAComa]

Glad I didn't burn my season ticket and embarrass myself having a big strop after our kids and debutants narrowly lost the first leg now.

 

[smallsnc]

Looked to me like he sold it too - he was back on his feet very quickly once the ref blew for it.

If anything Romero won the ball and the other guy kicked his boot. Not sure what the ref saw but was not even a foul.

 

[idontgetit]

Just saw the highlights, we looked extremely good.

 

[beats1]

Also don't get why Nuno brought on Alli, Son and Bergwijn

Match was over and it was unnecessary to risk them

Also gollini got off to the worst start possible, didn't look comfortable on the ball and with Lloris being left footed, it seemed Dier and Davies passed to Gollini's left foot despite him being right footed

 

[davidmatzdorf]

...And the players look fit. Last season they weren't fully fit. How did we miss that? The whole squad was three quarters fit. No wonder we kept conceding late goals.

I noticed that Harry Winks, in his post-match interview, when asked about how the new season is progressing under Nuno, said this:

"There's been a real lift in the club. The manager's come in and he's got us working. We're fitter than we was last season. We're working harder than we was last season."​

So it hasn't been my imagination, then . I spent so much time last season talking about our lack of mental strength, with most people, typically, blaming poor results on the perceived incompetence of individual players and their individual errors. It was only in the later stages of the season, I guess around the time of the Zagreb fiasco, that I started to suspect that our major problem, especially with conceding late goals, was physical fitness.

It's the easiest, the best way to explain why players like Sanchez, Dier and Winks are looking rejuvenated this season. Defensive discipline and organisation help, certainly, but you can't stay organised in the 87th minute when you're running out of energy. And last season we kept running out of energy, week after week.

How on earth does a multiply-decorated coach with 20+ trophies to his name not bother to get his team fully fit? Is it arrogance - the notion that his coaching skills are so inspired that his players don't need to work? Outdated training techniques? Just not giving a shit? Not checking our players' fitness statistics against previous seasons and against the required standard?

It just beggars belief that someone with Mourinho's experience and track record would blow his team's season - and lose his job - because he couldn't see that his players weren't sufficiently fit.

But it looks increasingly as if that is exactly what happened.

 

[Japhet]

I noticed that Harry Winks, in his post-match interview, when asked about how the new season is progressing under Nuno, said this:

"There's been a real lift in the club. The manager's come in and he's got us working. We're fitter than we was last season. We're working harder than we was last season."​

So it hasn't been my imagination, then . I spent so much time last season talking about our lack of mental strength, with most people, typically, blaming poor results on the perceived incompetence of individual players and their individual errors. It was only in the later stages of the season, I guess around the time of the Zagreb fiasco, that I started to suspect that our major problem, especially with conceding late goals, was physical fitness.

It's the easiest, the best way to explain why players like Sanchez, Dier and Winks are looking rejuvenated this season. Defensive discipline and organisation help, certainly, but you can't stay organised in the 87th minute when you're running out of energy. And last season we kept running out of energy, week after week.

How on earth does a multiply-decorated coach with 20+ trophies to his name not bother to get his team fully fit? Is it arrogance - the notion that his coaching skills are so inspired that his players don't need to work? Outdated training techniques? Just not giving a shit? Not checking our players' fitness statistics against previous seasons and against the required standard?

It just beggars belief that someone with Mourinho's experience and track record would blow his team's season - and lose his job - because he couldn't see that his players weren't sufficiently fit.

But it looks increasingly as if that is exactly what happened.

I think Mourinho just expected our players to play his style of football with no consideration at all that they weren't at all suited to it. He constantly started with 2 in CM and we constantly got out-fought in that department. He had our twitchy back line defending our own box for God knows how many hours, almost inevitably resulting in an individual error that usually proved costly. For someone renowned for his preparation and thoroughness, he didn't seem to have much idea how we were best equipped to play or even how our players had been performing recently. One of the first things he did was give Dier a new contract, presumably thinking he was the same player as 2 season previous, which he quite obviously wasn't to anyone who'd been paying attention.

By contrast, Nuno seems to have worked out how our players are best equipped to play and has also set up to counter our rivals strengths and exploit their weaknesses. We usually have 3 in CM which gives multiple passing angles and supports the CBs and we now look solid and capable of defending. He also undoubtedly has the players much fitter which is the least you'd expect from any EPL coach. Nuno seems to have a flexible, pragmatic approach whereas Mourinho just had his way of playing regardless who was on the pitch.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

I think Mourinho just expected our players to play his style of football with no consideration at all that they weren't at all suited to it. He constantly started with 2 in CM and we constantly got out-fought in that department. He had our twitchy back line defending our own box for God knows how many hours, almost inevitably resulting in an individual error that usually proved costly. For someone renowned for his preparation and thoroughness, he didn't seem to have much idea how we were best equipped to play or even how our players had been performing recently. One of the first things he did was give Dier a new contract, presumably thinking he was the same player as 2 season previous, which he quite obviously wasn't to anyone who'd been paying attention.

By contrast, Nuno seems to have worked out how our players are best equipped to play and has also set up to counter our rivals strengths and exploit their weaknesses. We usually have 3 in CM which gives multiple passing angles and supports the CBs and we now look solid and capable of defending. He also undoubtedly has the players much fitter which is the least you'd expect from any EPL coach. Nuno seems to have a flexible, pragmatic approach whereas Mourinho just had his way of playing regardless who was on the pitch.

You're making parallel points to the one I was making, but my underlying suspicion is that all of the tactical issues and incompatibilities you highlight might have been minor problems, capable of being overcome, had the squad been properly fit.

Any tactics look more impressive when there is a fit squad implementing them! Mourinho's rope-a-dope deep defending would nearly always work for 80-85 minutes. Then the players would get exhausted, lose a step, make a mistake and we'd concede a goal.

Dier would have been "the same player" as he was two years ago had he been fully fit. He looks the same player again now. Our back line only became twitchy when they couldn't keep up with the opposition. Twitchy or not, they were effective for 80+ minutes - we had the joint fourth best goals-against record last season. But we kept losing leads due to fading at the end of matches.

Had it not been for those late goals, which we can plainly conclude, from Winks' comments, were due to lack of fitness, we would be playing in the CL this season and Mourinho would still have his job, frustrating tactics, arguable formations and all.

The rest of it is debatable. The fitness problem isn't anymore. No coach can expect his team to play at an elite level without a demanding fitness regimen. I think it trumps the rest of the discussion.

 

[WaldotheCat]

Its probably because of an over-active imagination, but I have thought several times that Mourinho was like a sleeper, or double agent - paid a secret retainer by Abramovich to come in and do as much damage to Spurs, as he could get away with. It was the same at Man.U.

 

[Saoirse]

What a top, top signing Gill looks like he could be based on that performance. Well done Paratici - more where that came from please!

 

[Saoirse]

If Winks and Doherty both start, this will probably be our final UEFA Conference League match of the season.

I’d rather John or even sissoko to Winks. Did Nuno not see how shit he was last Thursday. Shouldn’t be afforded another game after that.

Harry Winks WHY. What is the point he doesn't offer anything should be told to get out of the club not let him think he has a chance of playing or being in the squad.

I rather vinny samways in the team ahead of winks?

They will couldn't think of a worse centre midfield.

As it turns out, Winks had an absolutely fantastic game and ran the midfield. But even if he hadn't, he really doesn't deserve this at all. He's a Spurs lad through and through, he's never given anything less than 100% to the club, and he's been fighting for his place with us constantly no matter the adversity. No, he's not Pirlo, but he's done everything we could have asked of him. As fans we quite rightly demand loyalty from our players, but it's probably unsurprising that they so often don't have any when the fans now have zero loyalty to the players. They all know they're only a bad run of form away from getting dogs abuse, and that if the roles were reversed they'd be out in a flash with no hint of 'loyalty' shown at all. Full credit to Winks for maintaining complete dedication and motivation regardless.

Fingers crossed people stop writing off our own team, remember that we're meant to be supporters, and that Winks does just as well the next time he's selected.

 

[Saoirse]

P.S. Fingers crossed it's Sessegnon and Doherty who prove the always-negative wrong next!