It was absolutely the right call to make by Poch. Let's agree to disagree.
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***OMT - Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund - first leg***
- Thread starter Lemonade Money
- Start date
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It was absolutely the right call to make by Poch. Let's agree to disagree.
Bedfordspurs
Arthur Rowe
Haha. Funny. I did that many years ago when almost near the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Wow
That's still a hell of a climb
StephenH
David Ginola
This was good from Raj Bains
http://www.umaxit.com/index.php/columns/tottenham-spurs-borussia-dortmund-reality-check?
Tottenham’s Dortmund Loss Provides Timely Reality Check & Opens Path Forward
If you were unlucky enough to suffer through Robbie Savage’s poor excuse of co-commentary when Borussia Dortmund faced Tottenham last night, you’ll be more than familiar with all of the baseless arguments being made about how Spurs have “thrown” yet another cup competition. While being on the end of a 3-0 scoreline is never a good look—especially when there’s an argument to be made that it’s not only deserved, but flattering—the lack of context being applied to what exactly happened in the match is alarming.
Having rotated his squad, Mauricio Pochettino treat this tie just as he would any other in the competition. For the most part, the players that had taken to the field played most of Europa League games up until that point, but some—including the aforementioned Savage—couldn’t quite understand why Spurs hadn’t thrown their full compliment of available first choice players out, especially when the travel isn’t particularly taxing to Dortmund, and all you’ve got is Aston Villa away at the weekend.
Here’s the thing: Pochettino didn’t rest his players because he’s scared of Villa, but because he’s trying to avoid another result like the two in the league previous, having only picked up a point from both West Ham and Arsenal, allowing Leicester to extend their lead at the top. Fatigue is a very real concern at this stage of the season; while it’s true that Tottenham have actually done more running in 2016 than 2015 on average, that doesn’t mean those that have played the most won’t be starting to feel it. Dortmund, meanwhile, have a 16-point gap between themselves and the next team behind in the Bundesliga, and have had a month-long winter break to refresh themselves across. That’s not at excuse, but a factor.
The blasé attitude towards a game like Aston Villa away is also troubling. Comfortably the worst team in the league they may be, but they’re also a side with absolutely nothing to lose anymore, and they’ll eventually play like it, too. To beat a side at that end of the league, you have to swiftly crush any remaining spirit early doors and pummel them into submission, which is much more likely with your regular leading cast having had a slight rest, rather than coming off the back of a massive test against a side that would comfortably sail through into the latter stages of the Champions League if it wasn’t for a freak season last time out.
In truth, by sticking with his rotation policy in this competition and falling back on the regulars on the weekend, Pochettino isn’t prioritising one competition over another, he’s just being consistent. He could’ve quite easily thrown his weight behind all he had available and gone for it, but all that would’ve done is made the match on the weekend even harder and can’t afford to be anything less than a win. The only reason somebody like Josh Onomah played was because Eric Dier was in genuine need of a rest and Dele Alli was suspended—he didn’t play the kids and pop all of his eggs in one basket, easy as it is to force that agenda forwards.
On the field, Tottenham weren’t just outplayed, but given a cliched lesson in football. Better than anyone currently playing in the Premier League—and by some distance—Dortmund in full flight at home are a sight to behold. They defend quickly, and in numbers, attack with great pace and have a hunger and relentlessness that is often associated with Spurs in domestic competition.
Both sides share a similar playing identity, and it’s no surprise the home side had a more refined version to roll out on the night—they’ve been doing it for so much longer. It’s barely two years since Pochettino took over at Tottenham, while Klopp began building this philosophy at Dortmund around eight years ago. Even having changed managers, Thomas Tuchel is simply an extension of what Klopp had created, much in the same what that Tito Villanova remained largely faithful to how Pep Guardiola had set up Barcelona before him. Therefore, while you might take that game as an example of what Tottenham aren’t—and be somewhat correct in doing so—isn’t it far more appropriate to consider, given a similar amount of time to develop, what they could be?
The outstanding players for Dortmund on the night, the likes of—Mats Hummels, Sven Bender, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang—made the biggest difference on the night. They played with a level of belief and self-assurance that comes from having been at the club for a significant amount of time, and more tellingly, they’re all just north of 25 years of age, so theoretically all entering the prime of their careers. That said, however, a player that deserves more praise than he’s received is Julian Weigl, who sat and held midfield with absolute authority at just 20 years old, which leaves Dortmund with a significantly smaller headache come the summer should Ilkay Gundogan make his heavily reported move to Emirates Marketing Project.
When you compare that with Tottenham, and look at the spine of their side—not just those that played on the night—it’s only Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele who have a comparable level of experience, and they’ve all benefitted from that and had standout seasons as senior members of the squad. When you throw in Kyle Walker and Danny Rose—both 25—into the mix, the maturity of the Spurs defence and their league-best figures start to make a little more sense.
Then you start looking at the other main characters, and it’s clear where the disparity kicks in: Harry Kane, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Heung-Min Son, Dier, Alli, Ryan Mason and even Tom Carroll are all under that 25-year-old maturity mark, still in what is sometimes referred to as their pre-prime.
Even when you take their age out of it, their level of experience tells its own story: this is Kane’s second full season as a starting forward, having only really broken into the side the November before last. Lamela barely kicked a ball before Pochettino arrived, Son only arrived in the league this season, Dier has learned an entirely new position, Alli was a teenager in League One at this stage last year and Eriksen is being transformed from a luxury No. 10 in to a mirakuru powered super-soldier.
Make no bones about it, this Tottenham team—and project, if that’s your sort of thing—is well ahead of schedule. Playing a team like Dortmund is a good measuring stick if used in the right way, rather than focussing on the one-sided nature of the performance and result. Those players who’ve never played Champions League football before, or haven’t since joining Tottenham, now know the level that’s required at the height of European competition. While winning brings obvious positives, nothing teaches you more than an early set-back and reality check, which should provide the right level of hunger and desire across the squad to improve and become even better than what they are at the moment.
In the short term, there are things for Tottenham to take a closer look at. Carroll, now 23, still has the same frame he carried as a teenager, and desperately needs to add some physicality, power and presence to his game if he’s ever going to work effectively as a central midfielder in a Pochettino team. Similarly, the mystery surround both the future and whereabouts of Nabil Bentaleb must be solved immediately. First choice last season alongside Mason, this would’ve been the perfect opportunity for someone of his ability to stake a claim in the side as the final run-in continues, but he’s nowhere to be seen, with no good explanation being offered.
Where the manager is concerned, both domestic cup exits raise their own raft of questions. The rotation early on in the season against Arsenal at home in the League Cup was disappointing, not because of the competition meaning anything special, but the opponents. Despite that loss preceding the 4-1 home victory against Emirates Marketing Project, little excuses not doing everything possible to win a derby match, and that fixture remains one of few heavy blots on Pochettino’s copybook this season.
In the FA Cup, the home loss to Crystal Palace was almost entirely avoidable, with Spurs the most profligate they had been all season in front of goal, wasting 10 matches worth of chances to win comfortably. With that in mind, perhaps, those in charge of recruitment will look to strengthen in the areas necessary to make rotation much less of an issue going forwards.
Regardless, it remains intriguing to see how Tottenham approach the second leg next week—an Edmund Hillary-sized task awaiting them—with AFC Bournemouth at home a few days later, but that will likely depend on how they get on against Aston Villa this weekend. In prime position to finish comfortably within the top four, if not win the entire competition, fans minds will naturally shift their attention to the final few matches of the league season. All will be forgiven come May, should Tottenham do what they’ve failed to since 1961 and win the league, but that’s far from a certainty. Either way, the away loss to Dortmund should be looked at more as what could be, rather than what could’ve been.
http://www.umaxit.com/index.php/columns/tottenham-spurs-borussia-dortmund-reality-check?
Tottenham’s Dortmund Loss Provides Timely Reality Check & Opens Path Forward
If you were unlucky enough to suffer through Robbie Savage’s poor excuse of co-commentary when Borussia Dortmund faced Tottenham last night, you’ll be more than familiar with all of the baseless arguments being made about how Spurs have “thrown” yet another cup competition. While being on the end of a 3-0 scoreline is never a good look—especially when there’s an argument to be made that it’s not only deserved, but flattering—the lack of context being applied to what exactly happened in the match is alarming.
Having rotated his squad, Mauricio Pochettino treat this tie just as he would any other in the competition. For the most part, the players that had taken to the field played most of Europa League games up until that point, but some—including the aforementioned Savage—couldn’t quite understand why Spurs hadn’t thrown their full compliment of available first choice players out, especially when the travel isn’t particularly taxing to Dortmund, and all you’ve got is Aston Villa away at the weekend.
Here’s the thing: Pochettino didn’t rest his players because he’s scared of Villa, but because he’s trying to avoid another result like the two in the league previous, having only picked up a point from both West Ham and Arsenal, allowing Leicester to extend their lead at the top. Fatigue is a very real concern at this stage of the season; while it’s true that Tottenham have actually done more running in 2016 than 2015 on average, that doesn’t mean those that have played the most won’t be starting to feel it. Dortmund, meanwhile, have a 16-point gap between themselves and the next team behind in the Bundesliga, and have had a month-long winter break to refresh themselves across. That’s not at excuse, but a factor.
The blasé attitude towards a game like Aston Villa away is also troubling. Comfortably the worst team in the league they may be, but they’re also a side with absolutely nothing to lose anymore, and they’ll eventually play like it, too. To beat a side at that end of the league, you have to swiftly crush any remaining spirit early doors and pummel them into submission, which is much more likely with your regular leading cast having had a slight rest, rather than coming off the back of a massive test against a side that would comfortably sail through into the latter stages of the Champions League if it wasn’t for a freak season last time out.
In truth, by sticking with his rotation policy in this competition and falling back on the regulars on the weekend, Pochettino isn’t prioritising one competition over another, he’s just being consistent. He could’ve quite easily thrown his weight behind all he had available and gone for it, but all that would’ve done is made the match on the weekend even harder and can’t afford to be anything less than a win. The only reason somebody like Josh Onomah played was because Eric Dier was in genuine need of a rest and Dele Alli was suspended—he didn’t play the kids and pop all of his eggs in one basket, easy as it is to force that agenda forwards.
On the field, Tottenham weren’t just outplayed, but given a cliched lesson in football. Better than anyone currently playing in the Premier League—and by some distance—Dortmund in full flight at home are a sight to behold. They defend quickly, and in numbers, attack with great pace and have a hunger and relentlessness that is often associated with Spurs in domestic competition.
Both sides share a similar playing identity, and it’s no surprise the home side had a more refined version to roll out on the night—they’ve been doing it for so much longer. It’s barely two years since Pochettino took over at Tottenham, while Klopp began building this philosophy at Dortmund around eight years ago. Even having changed managers, Thomas Tuchel is simply an extension of what Klopp had created, much in the same what that Tito Villanova remained largely faithful to how Pep Guardiola had set up Barcelona before him. Therefore, while you might take that game as an example of what Tottenham aren’t—and be somewhat correct in doing so—isn’t it far more appropriate to consider, given a similar amount of time to develop, what they could be?
The outstanding players for Dortmund on the night, the likes of—Mats Hummels, Sven Bender, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang—made the biggest difference on the night. They played with a level of belief and self-assurance that comes from having been at the club for a significant amount of time, and more tellingly, they’re all just north of 25 years of age, so theoretically all entering the prime of their careers. That said, however, a player that deserves more praise than he’s received is Julian Weigl, who sat and held midfield with absolute authority at just 20 years old, which leaves Dortmund with a significantly smaller headache come the summer should Ilkay Gundogan make his heavily reported move to Emirates Marketing Project.
When you compare that with Tottenham, and look at the spine of their side—not just those that played on the night—it’s only Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele who have a comparable level of experience, and they’ve all benefitted from that and had standout seasons as senior members of the squad. When you throw in Kyle Walker and Danny Rose—both 25—into the mix, the maturity of the Spurs defence and their league-best figures start to make a little more sense.
Then you start looking at the other main characters, and it’s clear where the disparity kicks in: Harry Kane, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Heung-Min Son, Dier, Alli, Ryan Mason and even Tom Carroll are all under that 25-year-old maturity mark, still in what is sometimes referred to as their pre-prime.
Even when you take their age out of it, their level of experience tells its own story: this is Kane’s second full season as a starting forward, having only really broken into the side the November before last. Lamela barely kicked a ball before Pochettino arrived, Son only arrived in the league this season, Dier has learned an entirely new position, Alli was a teenager in League One at this stage last year and Eriksen is being transformed from a luxury No. 10 in to a mirakuru powered super-soldier.
Make no bones about it, this Tottenham team—and project, if that’s your sort of thing—is well ahead of schedule. Playing a team like Dortmund is a good measuring stick if used in the right way, rather than focussing on the one-sided nature of the performance and result. Those players who’ve never played Champions League football before, or haven’t since joining Tottenham, now know the level that’s required at the height of European competition. While winning brings obvious positives, nothing teaches you more than an early set-back and reality check, which should provide the right level of hunger and desire across the squad to improve and become even better than what they are at the moment.
In the short term, there are things for Tottenham to take a closer look at. Carroll, now 23, still has the same frame he carried as a teenager, and desperately needs to add some physicality, power and presence to his game if he’s ever going to work effectively as a central midfielder in a Pochettino team. Similarly, the mystery surround both the future and whereabouts of Nabil Bentaleb must be solved immediately. First choice last season alongside Mason, this would’ve been the perfect opportunity for someone of his ability to stake a claim in the side as the final run-in continues, but he’s nowhere to be seen, with no good explanation being offered.
Where the manager is concerned, both domestic cup exits raise their own raft of questions. The rotation early on in the season against Arsenal at home in the League Cup was disappointing, not because of the competition meaning anything special, but the opponents. Despite that loss preceding the 4-1 home victory against Emirates Marketing Project, little excuses not doing everything possible to win a derby match, and that fixture remains one of few heavy blots on Pochettino’s copybook this season.
In the FA Cup, the home loss to Crystal Palace was almost entirely avoidable, with Spurs the most profligate they had been all season in front of goal, wasting 10 matches worth of chances to win comfortably. With that in mind, perhaps, those in charge of recruitment will look to strengthen in the areas necessary to make rotation much less of an issue going forwards.
Regardless, it remains intriguing to see how Tottenham approach the second leg next week—an Edmund Hillary-sized task awaiting them—with AFC Bournemouth at home a few days later, but that will likely depend on how they get on against Aston Villa this weekend. In prime position to finish comfortably within the top four, if not win the entire competition, fans minds will naturally shift their attention to the final few matches of the league season. All will be forgiven come May, should Tottenham do what they’ve failed to since 1961 and win the league, but that’s far from a certainty. Either way, the away loss to Dortmund should be looked at more as what could be, rather than what could’ve been.
Jurgen the German
Tommy Harmer
BBC did a feature on teams playing in Europe and how it affects their league form. Basically it hasn't affected ours too much but this is slightly skewed by the fact that Redknapp pretty much wrote off the Europa League. As Bedford Spurs said, it's the routine that messes with the players rhythms rather than the travel and distance.
greatwhitenorf
Vedran Corluka
Never heard of Raj Bains before, but will definitely look him up now. That's a good summing up of things as they stand.
One other notion. We have a challenging away match against Liverpool coming up. No doubt, Klopp will have planned to look at the video of this game to see how his former squad played us using tactics he's familiar with.
If we field our proper starting 11 at Anfield, he'll have very little to work with from that game and, given the heavy result, will probably have a similar lack of feedback from the return leg.
One other notion. We have a challenging away match against Liverpool coming up. No doubt, Klopp will have planned to look at the video of this game to see how his former squad played us using tactics he's familiar with.
If we field our proper starting 11 at Anfield, he'll have very little to work with from that game and, given the heavy result, will probably have a similar lack of feedback from the return leg.
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Jurgen the German
Tommy Harmer
Not's not true. Bedford posted a feature that BBC did about Thursday-Sunday games. And that's not taking into account the fact that you are playing a day later than your rivals which puts you under pressure.
Glenda's Legs
Les Ferdinand
Tottenham fan. Part of the Rule the Roost podcast team.
Which is also a load of gonad*s. Most of them play on Sunday anyway.
Group stage:
Round 1: Liverpool, Man Utd
Round 2: Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Man Utd
Round 3: Liverpool, Emirates Marketing Project, Man Utd
Round 4: Arsenal, Liverpool, Emirates Marketing Project
Round 5: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool
Round 6: Arsenal, Liverpool
Before xmas we played 8 Saturday games and won 2.
NaijaSpurs
Rafael Van Der Vaart
Personally it was not a case of blubbering like babies but rather disappointment about coming so far so quickly and not been able to properly measure ourselves against one of the best teams in Europe, lets face it they were definitely head and shoulders above any other team we have played this season
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alekaras
The ITK of IDK
You want your cake and to eat it too, Dubai. That's not always possible. Poch didn't throw the game; he took a gamble that the second string could get a result at Dortmund, which would have allowed him to keep the main team fresh for the run in in the league, which I'm sure is everyone's first priority. It didn't work out. So be it.
Here's an alternative: we play our first eleven the rest of the way and maybe we get past Dortmund. We keep doing that and by mid-April they're so knackered that we drop out in the quarters or semis AND we slip to 5th by the end of the season.
What a lot of people seem to forget is that making CL is hugely important. We need a couple of quality players to get to the next level. Without the promise of CL and the added revenue that won't happen and we'll be back to square one. There's a longer term strategy in play here and people need to step back and look at the bigger picture.
AjaxDeSuperYids
Drama queen
Sorry but if the ref behaves in accordance with the rules then it would have been 1-1 after an hour and a different story.
For the ppl moaning a bit please note that no one can legislate for an incompetent clam officiating the game.
braineclipse
Willie Hall
Tough to loose. Obviously not our best line-up. But one thing you cannot blame Pochettino for this season is rotating too much and not working his key players hard enough when the fixture list has gotten congested.
I thought we would start a stronger 11, but if Pochettino felt that many changes were necessary I can accept that.
It's not only Villa, it's Dortmund again after that then Bournemouth. And it's not just those 4 games, that's the end of what's been a long period of two games per week.
The way we lined up we were inferior to Dortmund just about in every area. Right now I rate Lamela ahead of Son and that meant we had 3 players from our current strongest 10 outfield players on the pitch at kick off (Toby, Wimmer, Eriksen). Two players out of our strongest 10 outfield players if everyone's fit. Dortmund have a fantastic side that would be outsiders for the CL if they were in that competition and we were simply second best.
On to Villa...
I thought we would start a stronger 11, but if Pochettino felt that many changes were necessary I can accept that.
It's not only Villa, it's Dortmund again after that then Bournemouth. And it's not just those 4 games, that's the end of what's been a long period of two games per week.
The way we lined up we were inferior to Dortmund just about in every area. Right now I rate Lamela ahead of Son and that meant we had 3 players from our current strongest 10 outfield players on the pitch at kick off (Toby, Wimmer, Eriksen). Two players out of our strongest 10 outfield players if everyone's fit. Dortmund have a fantastic side that would be outsiders for the CL if they were in that competition and we were simply second best.
On to Villa...
AjaxDeSuperYids
Drama queen
This was good from Raj Bains
http://www.umaxit.com/index.php/columns/tottenham-spurs-borussia-dortmund-reality-check?
Tottenham’s Dortmund Loss Provides Timely Reality Check & Opens Path Forward
If you were unlucky enough to suffer through Robbie Savage’s poor excuse of co-commentary when Borussia Dortmund faced Tottenham last night, you’ll be more than familiar with all of the baseless arguments being made about how Spurs have “thrown” yet another cup competition. While being on the end of a 3-0 scoreline is never a good look—especially when there’s an argument to be made that it’s not only deserved, but flattering—the lack of context being applied to what exactly happened in the match is alarming.
Having rotated his squad, Mauricio Pochettino treat this tie just as he would any other in the competition. For the most part, the players that had taken to the field played most of Europa League games up until that point, but some—including the aforementioned Savage—couldn’t quite understand why Spurs hadn’t thrown their full compliment of available first choice players out, especially when the travel isn’t particularly taxing to Dortmund, and all you’ve got is Aston Villa away at the weekend.
Here’s the thing: Pochettino didn’t rest his players because he’s scared of Villa, but because he’s trying to avoid another result like the two in the league previous, having only picked up a point from both West Ham and Arsenal, allowing Leicester to extend their lead at the top. Fatigue is a very real concern at this stage of the season; while it’s true that Tottenham have actually done more running in 2016 than 2015 on average, that doesn’t mean those that have played the most won’t be starting to feel it. Dortmund, meanwhile, have a 16-point gap between themselves and the next team behind in the Bundesliga, and have had a month-long winter break to refresh themselves across. That’s not at excuse, but a factor.
The blasé attitude towards a game like Aston Villa away is also troubling. Comfortably the worst team in the league they may be, but they’re also a side with absolutely nothing to lose anymore, and they’ll eventually play like it, too. To beat a side at that end of the league, you have to swiftly crush any remaining spirit early doors and pummel them into submission, which is much more likely with your regular leading cast having had a slight rest, rather than coming off the back of a massive test against a side that would comfortably sail through into the latter stages of the Champions League if it wasn’t for a freak season last time out.
In truth, by sticking with his rotation policy in this competition and falling back on the regulars on the weekend, Pochettino isn’t prioritising one competition over another, he’s just being consistent. He could’ve quite easily thrown his weight behind all he had available and gone for it, but all that would’ve done is made the match on the weekend even harder and can’t afford to be anything less than a win. The only reason somebody like Josh Onomah played was because Eric Dier was in genuine need of a rest and Dele Alli was suspended—he didn’t play the kids and pop all of his eggs in one basket, easy as it is to force that agenda forwards.
On the field, Tottenham weren’t just outplayed, but given a cliched lesson in football. Better than anyone currently playing in the Premier League—and by some distance—Dortmund in full flight at home are a sight to behold. They defend quickly, and in numbers, attack with great pace and have a hunger and relentlessness that is often associated with Spurs in domestic competition.
Both sides share a similar playing identity, and it’s no surprise the home side had a more refined version to roll out on the night—they’ve been doing it for so much longer. It’s barely two years since Pochettino took over at Tottenham, while Klopp began building this philosophy at Dortmund around eight years ago. Even having changed managers, Thomas Tuchel is simply an extension of what Klopp had created, much in the same what that Tito Villanova remained largely faithful to how Pep Guardiola had set up Barcelona before him. Therefore, while you might take that game as an example of what Tottenham aren’t—and be somewhat correct in doing so—isn’t it far more appropriate to consider, given a similar amount of time to develop, what they could be?
The outstanding players for Dortmund on the night, the likes of—Mats Hummels, Sven Bender, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang—made the biggest difference on the night. They played with a level of belief and self-assurance that comes from having been at the club for a significant amount of time, and more tellingly, they’re all just north of 25 years of age, so theoretically all entering the prime of their careers. That said, however, a player that deserves more praise than he’s received is Julian Weigl, who sat and held midfield with absolute authority at just 20 years old, which leaves Dortmund with a significantly smaller headache come the summer should Ilkay Gundogan make his heavily reported move to Emirates Marketing Project.
When you compare that with Tottenham, and look at the spine of their side—not just those that played on the night—it’s only Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Mousa Dembele who have a comparable level of experience, and they’ve all benefitted from that and had standout seasons as senior members of the squad. When you throw in Kyle Walker and Danny Rose—both 25—into the mix, the maturity of the Spurs defence and their league-best figures start to make a little more sense.
Then you start looking at the other main characters, and it’s clear where the disparity kicks in: Harry Kane, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen, Heung-Min Son, Dier, Alli, Ryan Mason and even Tom Carroll are all under that 25-year-old maturity mark, still in what is sometimes referred to as their pre-prime.
Even when you take their age out of it, their level of experience tells its own story: this is Kane’s second full season as a starting forward, having only really broken into the side the November before last. Lamela barely kicked a ball before Pochettino arrived, Son only arrived in the league this season, Dier has learned an entirely new position, Alli was a teenager in League One at this stage last year and Eriksen is being transformed from a luxury No. 10 in to a mirakuru powered super-soldier.
Make no bones about it, this Tottenham team—and project, if that’s your sort of thing—is well ahead of schedule. Playing a team like Dortmund is a good measuring stick if used in the right way, rather than focussing on the one-sided nature of the performance and result. Those players who’ve never played Champions League football before, or haven’t since joining Tottenham, now know the level that’s required at the height of European competition. While winning brings obvious positives, nothing teaches you more than an early set-back and reality check, which should provide the right level of hunger and desire across the squad to improve and become even better than what they are at the moment.
In the short term, there are things for Tottenham to take a closer look at. Carroll, now 23, still has the same frame he carried as a teenager, and desperately needs to add some physicality, power and presence to his game if he’s ever going to work effectively as a central midfielder in a Pochettino team. Similarly, the mystery surround both the future and whereabouts of Nabil Bentaleb must be solved immediately. First choice last season alongside Mason, this would’ve been the perfect opportunity for someone of his ability to stake a claim in the side as the final run-in continues, but he’s nowhere to be seen, with no good explanation being offered.
Where the manager is concerned, both domestic cup exits raise their own raft of questions. The rotation early on in the season against Arsenal at home in the League Cup was disappointing, not because of the competition meaning anything special, but the opponents. Despite that loss preceding the 4-1 home victory against Emirates Marketing Project, little excuses not doing everything possible to win a derby match, and that fixture remains one of few heavy blots on Pochettino’s copybook this season.
In the FA Cup, the home loss to Crystal Palace was almost entirely avoidable, with Spurs the most profligate they had been all season in front of goal, wasting 10 matches worth of chances to win comfortably. With that in mind, perhaps, those in charge of recruitment will look to strengthen in the areas necessary to make rotation much less of an issue going forwards.
Regardless, it remains intriguing to see how Tottenham approach the second leg next week—an Edmund Hillary-sized task awaiting them—with AFC Bournemouth at home a few days later, but that will likely depend on how they get on against Aston Villa this weekend. In prime position to finish comfortably within the top four, if not win the entire competition, fans minds will naturally shift their attention to the final few matches of the league season. All will be forgiven come May, should Tottenham do what they’ve failed to since 1961 and win the league, but that’s far from a certainty. Either way, the away loss to Dortmund should be looked at more as what could be, rather than what could’ve been.
Good article and very true on benteleb. Did Nabil bugger pochs wife or something
Bedfordspurs
Arthur Rowe
How many did we lose? one vs United
You are referring to the first 4 games of the season when we couldn't buy a win but weren't playing in Europe at that point
The spanking of Emirates Marketing Project
The draws with Liverpool and West Brom Away and the beating of Southampton (Norwich was a Saturday too)
What I would say is that we weren't in the title race at that point according to most (and some dont think we are still) so maybe the pressure wasn't on for the Sundays
jaysea67
Erik Edman
Would it be virtually impossible? The teams I assume you are referring to would be split between Pots 1 & 2. If we are in it, we could well be in Pot 3.
Robspur12
John Lacy
This. The club should refund the money.
milo
Jack L. Jones
Because of the team selection or the performance?
Robspur12
John Lacy
Team selection.
milo
Jack L. Jones
So we should do the same for everyone who went out to Florence too?
Robspur12
John Lacy
We had this discussion yesterday mate I won't start it again. You can get away with a weakened side against fiorentina. It's quite another thing against Dortmund. I am sure fans who went out there were expecting our strong est possible line up and a good, competitive game in a fabulous stadium. I wonder how many would have bothered turning up to see a second string side.
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