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What the pundits & media are saying about us

Gilzeanking

Well-Known Member
May 7, 2005
6,354
5,642
In my opinion is a mentality thing born out of the culture of the club itself as we've been doing this for years- players and managers come and go, but this maddening inconsistency is always a constant.
I don't see this. Spurs are fine when the opposition gives us space to play...and do badly faced with an energetic opposition roughing us up and pressing.

This has been a consistent feature for years.
 

stevespurs

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2005
1,218
2,076
Ha ha it’s a funny old game. I actually think we have more youngsters and a newish manager, it feels like second year Poch.

I genuinely think we are a midges away from being top drawer. And as Ange has more time and our younger players mature, we become a serious team…. Title winning stuff.

Consistent quality is an age thing. Just my onions 😬
 

Donki

Has a "Massive Member" Member
May 14, 2007
15,550
20,498
Ha ha it’s a funny old game. I actually think we have more youngsters and a newish manager, it feels like second year Poch.

I genuinely think we are a midges away from being top drawer. And as Ange has more time and our younger players mature, we become a serious team…. Title winning stuff.

Consistent quality is an age thing. Just my onions 😬
I think as with many football fans we are too quick to pass opinions. Look at Santos with Forrest this season, he is doing wonders with what he has. Yet a lot of fans never have him the chance here.
 

Thenewcat

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2019
3,881
13,270
We are consistently inconsistent :cautious:
We are at the moment but it’s the narrative even when we aren’t. The peak Poch teams weren’t inconsistent (we beat promoted teams something like 15 times in a row from memory), we also consistently led the league in points from losing positions. But one bad result and we were mentally weak and spursy, because everyone is looking for it from spurs. All teams lose to teams they shouldn’t sometimes (look at city’s surprisingly bad record against us or them losing a few to palace) but when we do it it’s immediately pounced on. The only way to change that is to win either several trophies or the league.

To be honest if you just said spurs are good at home and bad away that was pretty consistent for most of this season. We lost a tight game at home to one of the title favourites (Arsenal) and beat an ETH shambles away but otherwise that rule held for the first 10 games. It’s only the last two games that blew that up - if we had beaten Ipswich 4-0 and lost 2-1 to City I’d be arguing we were the most predictable team in the league!
 

Japhet

Well-Known Member
Aug 30, 2010
19,796
59,445
We are at the moment but it’s the narrative even when we aren’t. The peak Poch teams weren’t inconsistent (we beat promoted teams something like 15 times in a row from memory), we also consistently led the league in points from losing positions. But one bad result and we were mentally weak and spursy, because everyone is looking for it from spurs. All teams lose to teams they shouldn’t sometimes (look at city’s surprisingly bad record against us or them losing a few to palace) but when we do it it’s immediately pounced on. The only way to change that is to win either several trophies or the league.

To be honest if you just said spurs are good at home and bad away that was pretty consistent for most of this season. We lost a tight game at home to one of the title favourites (Arsenal) and beat an ETH shambles away but otherwise that rule held for the first 10 games. It’s only the last two games that blew that up - if we had beaten Ipswich 4-0 and lost 2-1 to City I’d be arguing we were the most predictable team in the league!

I'd say it's the gulf between our performances v Ipswich/Palace and City that's most frustrating. We struggle against teams that will scrap for everything which points to complacency (which has dogged us for years). We are capable of extraordinary results at both ends of the spectrum.
 

leffe186

Well-Known Member
Sep 2, 2004
5,530
2,417
I watched this earlier and thought it was decent.

Recognised that we were very good, but also that City brought some of it upon themselves. Particularly us outworking City, something we haven't done in the poor games we've had. The stuff about overloading one wing was interesting also.

Yeah enjoyed that. Manchester City’s average position map was insane 🤣
 

Frozen_Waffles

Well-Known Member
Jan 26, 2005
4,343
11,854

Great video, this guy is really worth having a listen to.

One thing that I want to point out is this...

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21 (Kulusevski) is great when he has space and was also all over the place, getting involved in all the attacking.

Brennan (when Kulusevski is not playing next to him) is pretty much on his own. Now this was against City so there is a lot more space, but in a normal game when the other team are sitting back it makes it very difficult for any right winger to perform.

He would basically have to do it all himself, as Porro doesn't push up as much as Udogie and Sarr doesn't join in on the attack as much as Maddison.

People being critical of Johnson should bear this in mind, he also hugs the touchline which means he's not going to get to many opportunities to impact the game and can become a bit anonymous.

It's no surprise that Johnsons best games this season are when Kulusevski is playing next to him. He needs support.

I understand why we play like this and if we get the ball quickly to Johnson he can find the space. However this should be remembered when criticising him.

I actually think if Timo could be as effective on the right (as he is on the left) he'd actually suit this role more.
 

Thenewcat

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2019
3,881
13,270
I'd say it's the gulf between our performances v Ipswich/Palace and City that's most frustrating. We struggle against teams that will scrap for everything which points to complacency (which has dogged us for years). We are capable of extraordinary results at both ends of the spectrum.
You’re right of course that our performance variation is too high, but I think the main culprit is tactical rather than complacency. We struggle to break down teams that sit deep, and we’ve seen that against teams like Arsenal and Newcastle not just the likes of palace.
 

mabolsa_ritchey

aka Hugh G Rection
Oct 23, 2005
1,550
2,154

I made a comment on this video saying that this is why teams mostly play a low block against us as if they go toe to toe then we generally batter teams.
It was an entertaining morning watching rival fans trying to prove me wrong by saying stuff like “Arsenal and Liverpool beat you without playing a low block, lol”
 

k1cks77

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2022
1,274
3,504
Carragher SPITTING facts today…

‘ people talk about the top 6. The other 5 teams usually find a way to win, no matter what. Spurs though, always find a way to lose’.

this has been spurs in a nutshell for the three decades i have known them.
 

parj

NDombelly ate all the pies
Jul 27, 2003
4,178
7,173
Carragher SPITTING facts today…

‘ people talk about the top 6. The other 5 teams usually find a way to win, no matter what. Spurs though, always find a way to lose’.

this has been spurs in a nutshell for the three decades i have known them.
It's true. If the other team can't beat us, we help them
 

Tucker

Shitehawk
Jul 15, 2013
34,910
162,791
Spence, Gray and Sarr all in Troy Deeney's BBC team of the week. Not saying I don't agree in terms of Sarr's performance, but surprised he got picked ahead of Maddison.

Source: BBC Team of the week

View attachment 149042
Deeney’s teams generally tend to be darts thrown at a board. If you read what he says about each player it pretty much confirms it.

Garth Crooks wasn’t exactly great at doing this, but Deeney makes him look like the Messi of it. Genuinely have to question why the bbc thought he’d be a good replacement.
 

muppetman

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2011
12,078
34,255
I thought that this was a pretty fair write up.

Analysis

Bravery of Tottenham tyros breathes life back into Ange's style of football​

Jacob Steinbergat the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Archie Gray and Antonin Kinsky lead the way in defeat of Liverpool to give Ange Postecoglou hope for the future

Wed 8 Jan 2025 23.48 GMT
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A hard-earned, robust, counterpunching 1-0 win against the team who put six past us last month? It’s just who we are, mate. It is of course classic Ange's style of football to kick and hassle opponents into errors, to irritate and snarl in midfield, and to find a ruthless edge just when it seemed that the first leg of this Carabao Cup semi-final was beginning to turn Liverpool’s way following the introduction of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez after an hour of surprising ineptitude from the Premier League leaders.
This was a different Tottenham Hotspur from the one that collapsed against Arne Slot’s team 17 days ago. Implausibly, with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven still missing in central defence, there was snap and aggression from start to finish. There was Yves Bissouma, who walked a tightrope after an early booking, finding it within himself to dominate Liverpool’s midfield. There was Djed Spence filling in for Destiny Udogie and keeping Mohamed Salah quiet. And there was, perhaps only fleetingly, a sense that life remains in the Ange Postecoglou project, no matter how precarious it has felt for much of a trying campaign.


Lucas Bergvall celebrates after scoring Tottenham’s winner against Liverpool.
Bergvall gives Tottenham edge in Carabao Cup semi-final to fury of Liverpool
Read more

Naturally Spurs put their manager through the full gamut of emotions. Postecoglou was animated by his standards here. There was even a very dramatic drop to the knees when Pedro Porro shot wide after an error from Alisson early in the second half. Had Postecoglou seen his team’s best chance come and go? Spurs being Spurs, it felt that way when Porro failed to capitalise on Alisson losing possession after being driven to distraction by Lucas Bergvall, who was both the best player on the pitch and very lucky not to have been sent off for a second yellow card shortly before his winning moment.
There were four minutes left when Bergvall fired in the only goal after Dominic Solanke rolled substitute Ibrahima Konaté, turned and laid the ball into the path of his team-mate. Liverpool raged, claiming that the 18-year-old midfielder should have been off after taking out Kostas Tsimikas before scoring his first goal for Spurs since joining last summer. Arne Slot would later note sarcastically that Postecoglou had grumbled about refereeing decisions after Spurs lost to Newcastle last weekend.
But take nothing away from Postecoglou. So often criticised for his gung-ho approach, this was a more resolute version of Spurs. They did not overcommit, their midfield setup was more conservative, they were not caught on the counterattack and, when it comes to whether Postecoglou’s insistence that he is building for the future should be taken seriously, it was hard to look beyond how this victory centred around the performances of players with their best years ahead of them.
Archie Gray and Antonin Kinsky celebrate at the end of a night on which they came of age.
View image in fullscreen
Archie Gray and Antonin Kinsky celebrate at the end of a night on which they came of age. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
It was not just Bergvall. Spence, 24, made the crowd roar when he jumped into a crunching tackle on Conor Bradley in the first half and there was a lovely moment after half-time, Archie Gray winning possession on the edge of the Spurs area, stepping out of central defence, gliding as he moved forward before releasing Dejan Kulusevski with a beautiful pass with the outside of his right foot.
Gray, remember, is 18. He is predominantly a midfielder, elegant and controlled, but is filling in at the back because of Spurs’ injury crisis.
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Lucas Bergvall celebrates after scoring Tottenham’s winner against Liverpool.
Bergvall gives Tottenham edge in Carabao Cup semi-final to fury of Liverpool
Read more

Mature beyond his years, Gray’s sacrifice sets an example. He was not overawed by marking Diogo Jota, who was not given a sniff of goal, and his excellence helped Antonin Kinsky, the 21-year-old Czech goalkeeper on his debut.
“I pray to God I’m the beneficiary of their talent,” Postecoglou said of the tyros. He raved about Gray and loved how Bergvall neutralised Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones. Liverpool, strangely underpowered, never got going. There were so many loose passes, so many heavy touches. Slot seemed bewildered.
Liverpool will expect to get the job done at Anfield in the second leg on 6 February. They still had enough moments in the final third. Alexander-Arnold, who began on the bench after his calamity against Manchester United, had a shot cleared off the line by Radu Dragusin. Núñez almost equalised with a volleyed flick, only for Kinsky to spring to his right and tip the ball wide.
There was hope for Spurs in that match-winning save from their new goalkeeper. Likened to Petr Cech, Kinsky only joined from Slavia Prague last weekend. Spurs have struggled since losing Guglielmo Vicario, with the 36-year-old Fraser Forster unable to adapt to Postecoglou’s demands to play out. They have a modern deputy now, and it was very Postecoglou to throw Kinsky straight in against Liverpool. Such bravery is why Spurs fans remain desperate for this to work.


https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...athes-life-back-into-Ange's style of football
 

ernie78

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2012
7,748
16,479
I really like this channel, she talks a lot of sense and seems to have a soft spot for Ange's Spurs


She talks a lot of sense and does real research into players and tactics.
She wipes the floor with braindead, narrative driven idiots like Rory who somehow get lucrative deals with Sky et al.
 

tototoner

Staying Alert
Mar 21, 2004
29,783
35,676


Four reasons to be positive despite 'grim situation' at Spurs​


Nick Godwin
BBC Radio London reporter

There is no point in describing the current situation at Tottenham as anything other than grim. Terrible form, a dreadful league position and an injury list that keeps getting worse - even though that appeared impossible.

However - and this will not improve the current situation, or relieve the pressure on Postecoglou, or cheer Spurs fans up this week….or next week - it might be worth taking stock of the astonishing development opportunities being handed to some of the young players at the club.

Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mikey Moore and Antonin Kinsky have all been thrown into this situation with virtually no Premier League experience.

Gray, 18, is being played out of position, with a partner in Radu Dragusin who has struggled to establish himself as a reliable presence at the back. Bergvall, also 18, now finds himself an increasingly important figure in midfield and seems to relish the challenge. His goal against Liverpool stands out as the biggest moment for Spurs for some time, possibly all season.

Until just a few weeks ago, 21-year-old Kinsky was keeping clean sheets for Slavia Prague and has now played in a semi-final, on a plastic pitch and in a north London derby.

Meanwhile Mikey Moore, 17, keeps finding himself thrown into virtually impossible situations and asked to save the day.

There is a danger that these players could be overwhelmed, inflicting sustained damage on their psychological make-up. However, the striking thing is, they are playing pretty well in the circumstances, putting their senior, far more experienced colleagues in the shade.

It is clear these positives are not helping Spurs out at the moment. They remain in a difficult position.

But one day those youngsters might just look back on this period and be ruefully thankful for the opportunity and the experience.

It does not get much tougher than this.
 
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