Match Threads Spurs vs Qarabag FK

[Locotoro]

This got the strangest dislike I think I’ve seen on here…

Could be fat thumbs

 

[14/04/91]

Mad isn’t it.

Yes we made too many mistakes giving the ball away cheaply but we had to play almost the entire match with 10 men, it’s bound to leave the players fatigued and making errors.

I will say again this talk of them missing chance after chance is being overplayed and the statistics prove it.

Without their nonsense penalty which was worth 0.76xG, they only managed 1.46 to our 1.5xG. We created more than them with 10 men from a statistical pov without the penalty.

Absolutely spot on. People lazily accuse us of bombing forward and leaving gaps but the problem is not being careful enough with the ball at times.
Few occasions last night where we conceded possession stupidly and players (particularly full backs) are caught out.
Cut out the poor decisions on the ball, make better choices more often.

And any conclusions from last night have a massive asterisk next to them, playing 90 mins with 10 men is obviously not normal.

 

[easley91]

One's playing City away and one's playing Qarabag at home. But I'm sure we would've done the same vs City. That may not have ended well, but I'm glad we did it against Qarabag and were rewarded.

We did the same with 9 men v Chelsea last season. Ange won't change the way we play no matter how many players we are down.

 

[hughy]

Yep. And in my opinion, I felt the ref was right ropey. Had an awful game in terms of consistency. Qarabag should have zero complaints. They got us down to ten players before ten minutes and the ref was very easy on them. If I’m their fans, and watched objectively, I’d feel embarassed that they lost by 3 given all of the advantages they had , in particular with a ref who was very easy on them.

One small example, Dragu being sent off was fine. Though I still feel it was a smidge harsh. But their player obviously initiated contact, went down, sat up and mad a ‘give him a card’ gesture. Isn’t that a yellow card offence?

Really struggling to see how anyone can say the referee had a bad game. I thought he was very good. All the big calls he made quickly and correctly.

 

[spurmin]

Could be fat thumbs

That’s one hell of a thumb considering where the dislike is situated.

 

[markt]

Really struggling to see how anyone can say the referee had a bad game. I thought he was very good. All the big calls he made quickly and correctly.

I thought he was terrible in consistency with yellow cards. Romao was very lucky

I also think he missed a lot and was inconsistent in his calls. I do agree with the big call on red card though, clear as day

 

[ernie78]

Really struggling to see how anyone can say the referee had a bad game. I thought he was very good. All the big calls he made quickly and correctly.

He let them foul with impunity especially in the first half. They should have had a fair few yellows and if they had I think it could have become 10 v 10

 

[DiamondLites]

Having just sent off one of the home team players, was amazed the ref allowed them to get away with numerous fouls without showing a yellow card. I know I watch the games with white tinted glasses but he seemed to favour them far more than us in a number of 50/50 challenges.

The officiating was dreadful. Normally I say I hope the ref gets stuck in traffic on his way home after a performance like that, but that was a given last night anyway

 

[KingNothing]

I'm just glad Dragusin made that mistake against Qarabag and not against AZ, Galatasaray, Roma, Rangers or Hoffenheim. Qarabag were so poor in every way that playing with 10 men made almost no difference. It was actually hilarious to see them miss so many chances, be offside and see the different ways they could lose the ball. At one point late in the second half, their left back dribbled himself. They never gave up though! Dragusin is only 22 years old and will learn from this

 

[JonnySpurs]

I'm not trying to be difficult - but when we got a goal ahead, playing in a slightly less cavalier manner would have been more sensible IMO.

And before someone says "oh well, why don't we just park the bus like Arteta then, FML, are you really a Spurs fan?", I'm not suggesting we go super defensively, but we left ourselves unbelievably open for an incredible amount of the game.

A slight readjustment to just marginally reduce their attacking threat, while still being able to hit them on the break would have been smarter IMO. I'm just not sure Ange is at all open to the idea

This is exactly how I feel and I'm really disappointed that it's so black and white in here.

I'm glad we won but did I enjoy the game overall? No I didn't. At least not the first half, which I think was borderline kamikaze football.

I admire Ange's desire to play front foot, high line, attacking football but it sometimes feels incredibly naive to me. Does it not strike anyone that Radu was on his own, barely inside our half and yes, he's messed up, which he needs to own but he's left with absolutely no room for error there. He's not been playing regularly so there's some rust to contend with and he's facing an incredibly fast Qarabag striker in Juninho. For me he was hung out to dry a bit by our tactics and I find that frustrating.

Maybe I'm just being a grumpy old fucker but I think there needs to be a bit more balance. What I see opening 5 mins is another team camped in their own half just waiting for us to misplace a pass or mis-control a ball so that they can pounce on us and counter attack with speed. Make no mistake we were INCREDIBLY lucky last night. Qarabag should have been at least level at HT, if not 2-1 up.

As Ron has alluded to, we're not suggesting parking the bus but a little more control, given the circumstances is not much to ask. We got that in the 2nd half, save for a mental spell shortly after we scored our 2nd, where we lost our heads again and conceded a number of chances unnecessarily. To me it all felt way too chaotic and desperate, scrambling back like headless chicken at times. Don't get me wrong, I'm not Ange Out or anything like that and I have hugely enjoyed a lot of our football but sometimes it feels as though we went from a manager in Conte that was so wedded to a specific way of playing that was passive, negative and defensive to a manager in Ange who is equally very stubborn and single minded about how to play, it's just at the opposite end of the spectrum. Is that any better? I thought so before but I'm not so sure lately.

On paper it's a good win, in reality I think we were very lucky we weren't facing a more clinical team and that leaves me feeling a little worried is all. For me it feels like our games are awesome for a neutral to watch but for me I've gone from being bored and frustrated under Conte to feeling like I'm gonna have a heart attack every 2 mins.

Perhaps I'm just too old for this shit (and I'm only 42 )

 

[DiamondLites]

I for one am proud of our approach and belief in our way of playing. We kept attacking and pressing down to 10 men for 84 mins, a certain other team would never

 

[alfie103]

Really struggling to see how anyone can say the referee had a bad game. I thought he was very good. All the big calls he made quickly and correctly.

Because he didn't give everything our way, it is a little childish to be honest.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Failed to book them time and time again and gave a nonsense penalty.

 

[Impspur1]

People moaning about winning 3-0 in Europe with 10 men? Yeah we gave up some chances no shit. Yeah there were some sloppy moments but you’re a man light which reduces your options on the ball. Also the officiating was awful

Thought we were totally in control, and could and should’ve scored a couple more. Vicario was brilliant, loved seeing him get the armband. Gray, Micky, Biss were excellent. Udogie was great when he came on and Dom ran himself into the ground

Some are never happy

 

[spurs mental]

Sensational work.

 

[hughy]

He let them foul with impunity especially in the first half. They should have had a fair few yellows and if they had I think it could have become 10 v 10

I disagree, I think he was spot on with mostly everything. Their 6 could have got a yellow in the first half for his second challenge, but that's literally the only thing I can pick out.

Opinions, I guess.

 

[muppetman]

I do wonder if everyone would be quite so happy with the gung ho football if we'd lost. 3-0 flattered us somewhat and it could have been very different.

I am concerned about the quality of chances we give up and agree with @JonnySpurs that expecting perfection from your CBs in every game isn't hugely realistic.

I'm glad we won, but whilst I wasn't doom and gloom when we lost/drew a couple, I'm not now going overboard that we have won a couple. Still very much a work in progress.

 

[14/04/91]

Isn’t it nice to have a manager taking the competition seriously.

 

[RuskyM]

Isn’t it nice to have a manager taking the competition seriously.

It's a bit embarrassing, but I'm pretty sure we've been in the Europa more than any other British side since it was renamed in 2009, and the furthest we got was the quarters. Meanwhile, Chelsea won it twice, United won it once, Arsenal, Liverpool, Rangers and Fulham all got to the final, and Leicester & West Ham both reached the semi. Poor showing.

 

[Snarfalicious]

It’s weird to see folks a little underwhelmed by that win. Qarabag had Leverkusen on the ropes last season in the Round of 16 (after being up by 2 goals in the 2nd leg, then surrendering the lead after a red card). They’ve got a bunch of experience and while they undoubtedly have a “Europe League name” they aren’t a bunch of part-time players. They had their chances, they always would, but we win 3-0, playing our way, despite the odds.

This win feels important to me. I think it could have lasting impact in terms of building confidence back up and generating more belief in what Ange is doing.

Radu screwed up. Shit happens. The team did the opposite of what they have done in the past so many times before; they picked themselves back up after some turbulence and decided the story would be different and went out and won (by a lot).

I’m choosing to be happy with this win as opposed to dwelling on negatives or trying to conjure up more significant issues that quite frankly are silly.