Official OMT ****Tottenham Hotspur vs West Bromwich Albion****

[shaney]

fudge off you clueless nob! It's fan like you that drag the whole club down. Does anyone know the meaning of the word support?! Why don't you actually have an ounce of intelligence about you and explain exactly what went wrong; personlly it was playing defoe for an hour when we completely dominated and having nothing to come on to go back to 451. To do with transfers.

I fudging hate mindless inane comments like that. Nothing to it, no brain, no thought, just being a taco!

A grown man, I presume, calling me names (well, typing me names) on an internet forum.

Ha ha ha ! If you think about it, Its a bit silly.

 

[funster]

Best thing I can think of is that we're a point better off after two games now than we were last season.

Really disappointed with that performance, but sort of not sure why - aside from the obvious - as we clearly are a team (and club) in transition.

The train ride back to south Hampshire will be a long one. As least I won't have to put up with the fat, ugly Chelsea fans I had to sit next to on the way up.

Here's to a finalised squad and three points against Norwich.

 

[Gilzeantoscore]

So what was AVBs options if not to play Defoe up front? Adebayor? Do any of you know how fit Adebayor is considering he's had sod all football lately? Or should we of gone with Kane? Enlighten me please....

Yeah, I don't know that AVB had a whole lot of choice with this one.

 

[tynesidespur]

WHAT?! The highline wasn't a problem in the slightest. Our defenders coped with most things they had, except crosses and corners and such, Friedel being glued to his line doesn't help, but he had a good game as a whole. And Dawson would have ate him up? Really? I love him, but he's awful against fast attackers

West Brom's attacks were coming from fast counter-attacks where we had pushed too far up the pitch with only a 1-0 lead. The link between midfield and defence was non-existent, they went through us like a hot knife through butter. We should've defended with a bit of depth (not easy when you sub off Sandro and try to rectify by bringing on Jenas). There was no need to gamble with Lukaku up against Gallas and/or Verthongen. Lukaku is fairly quick but its not his biggest asset - that is his strength. Gallas always panics and gets under the ball when faced with physically superior opponents. Verthongen struggled with him massively as well. Dawson would put his head on such long passes and not let him get the ball down. A lot of West BRom's chances came from firing it into Lukaku. I think Dawson would've been better suited against that sort of physical assault.

 

[harr1984]

It's knee jerking season as soon as something isn't perfect. A lot of positive signs in both matches so far and with a couple of good signings this team should do really well this season, but a few things that needs improving as well.

The voice of reason.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

My GHod, some of the reaction in here would be hilarious if it wasnt so pathetic.

We werent great. Shock, horror.

We only have a new manager, a new system, integrating new players and suffering the loss of key men last year.

Who ever would have thought that through a TRANSITONAL period we wouldnt be on top of our game fro 90 minutes?!

Bloody hell

 

[Icelander]

I've no doubt part of the reason he's saying that is because that shower of a backline is AVB's invention of playing too high up the pitch. Saw it all through pre-season and it looked shambolic then.

Centre-halves looked poor to me. fudging Dawson off for that? Seriously boils my tinkle - he would've had Lukaku for breakfast - sort of game Dawson loves. Same as at Anfield when Liverpool tried to dominate with Carroll and Dawson had him in his pocket.

There were some massive gambles there from AVB as well. Putting two up top changed the dynamic and we lost midfield. Then he brought on Sigurdsson for Sandro leaving us wide open. We were fortunate that we scored from Sigurdsson's first touch otherwise I shudder to think what would've happened.

To be fair, West Brom really parked the bus on us and we were pushing for a win. If he hadn't brought on Ade and Gylfi and the game would've ended a bore 0-0, people would be calling for his head on that as well. I agree about Dawson. I would've thrown him on and let him man-mark Lukaku , but hindsight is always 50/50 I suppose. Now we just have to finish the bloody transfer window, figure out how our squad is going to look like and get behind the lads for a long and very important season for us.

 

[GLENROYID]

On my way home...gutted...

Was defoe offside for the first d/a goal?

What did gallas do for vertonghen's d/a goal?

 

[DubaiSpur]

First 30 - we were in control, second 30- fairly even, third 30 - they were all over us.

Lukaku was probably the acid test for our high line - fast, brutally strong, good in the air, technically gifted, and willing to run in behind our two rather ponderous CBs. We won't face a test like that again for a while, thankfully.

What we did need, though, was dribblers. We badly, badly need dribblers. West Brom had so many players willing to run at our defence; we, by contrast, had Lennon, and to a lesser extent Bale. Willian would help in that regard.

Overall, decent point, all told. The 'weak' teams of last season will not be similarly weak this campaign, if early results are any judge.

 

[tynesidespur]

Thank you!

Obviously didn't watch the last 30 mins where West Brom had free reign to fire high balls into Lukaku in the centre and in the channels then.

 

[spurspinter1]

It's knee jerking season as soon as something isn't perfect. A lot of positive signs in both matches so far and with a couple of good signings this team should do really well this season, but a few things that needs improving as well.

It's far from something not being perfect though isn't it. As I've said even if we'd got lucky and won I still wouldn't feel particulary good about it, as the luck only goes on so long.

Essentially we have an almost 30 year old who has never been suited to the role which he was playing today for 60 minutes and the most of the last game. We have had a serious amount of time to address this issue. Ade could have been brought in and actually had a pre season and that might have helped. But even then, we'd still only be one injury away from having to witness the limp flaccid attempts at playing football which is what happens when you've got Defoe up top alone. I'm not hating on Defoe, think he is a good player in the right system for sure but it's sure as fudge not our system.

 

[marcospur2]

My GHod, some of the reaction in here would be hilarious if it wasnt so pathetic.

We werent great. Shock, horror.

We only have a new manager, a new system, integrating new players and suffering the loss of key men last year.

Who ever would have thought that through a TRANSITONAL period we wouldnt be on top of our game fro 90 minutes?!

Bloody hell

I agree with your post. Any comments I make are going to be more specific but I don't lose sight of the bigger picture. But considering this is all new it is important that AVB 1) has the personnel he needs (next week is crucial) and 2) he does not try to implement changes too quickly.

 

[Gilzeantoscore]

My GHod, some of the reaction in here would be hilarious if it wasnt so pathetic.

We werent great. Shock, horror.

We only have a new manager, a new system, integrating new players and suffering the loss of key men last year.

Who ever would have thought that through a TRANSITONAL period we wouldnt be on top of our game fro 90 minutes?!



Bloody hell

All true, but given our squad, we should have accounted for a pretty limited West Brom side at home.

 

[Armchair Expert]

Sadly the midfield options are as limited as the attacking. We need at least one new midfielder.

Its going to take a while for AVB to balance the squad and get a personeltogether who can play his way.

We have to buy someone who can fill Modric's boots ie someone who can keep us ticking over. A winger is vital too.

Although Bale wasn't at his best today, if he gets injured at any point we'll be well in the brick.

Centre mid & attacking mid/winger - crucial in the next week.

Patience is the key, as it was always going to be.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Have to say I was very disappointed in AVB today. Defoe should NEVER play as a lone striker against a team who will be defending deep which West Brom were. Surely anybody can see that? For this type of formation to work, the 4-5-1 must become 4-3-3 when we're on the attack, but Lennon doesn't appear to have been coached to play as a wing forward as there were a fair few times when Bale had the ball out wide and got dangerous balls into the box that Lennon should have been attacking but wasn't.

AVB's substitutions were poor. Livermore and Sandro are both competent technical players but Van Der Vaart was our only creative central midfielder on the pitch and as soon as we took him off we stopped dominating the game the way we had been doing before. I'd understand if he was coming off for Sigurdsson but to switch to 4-4-2 with two defensive based midfielders was bizarre, and no surprise to see that we opened up as soon as that happened. When Sigurdsson did come on, he came on in place of Sandro who had been having a good game and we were even more exposed. Then finally, AVB went back to the original formation to see out the game - should be fair enough, except with Jenas on the pitch. Jenas has played for Spurs for seven years now, it's clear to everybody that he is not good enough for this team, even from the bench. AVB should have moved Vertonghen to midfield and brought on Caulker if he wanted to close out the game.

Gotta say, Vertonghen was also disappointing I thought. Good on the ball for sure, but a few careless mistakes. The defending for the goal was shocking all round, how the fudge Morrison had that much time and space in our box right at the end while our defence casually stood about was appalling.

The only real positive to take is that hopefully, just hopefully, this will illustrate to AVB and Levy that our squad is far from complete, and that we need another striker and a Modric replacement urgently or we'll be seeing a lot more of this sort of thing, especially if Adebayor gets injured.

I don't blame AVB, and I don't necessarily blame Levy. I understand why DL does his business the way he does, because we need to compete as much as we can financially and that means getting the best deals. But it also means AVB has to make do with a squad that isn't ideal, and then changes he makes aren't consistent with his philosophy.

He definitely needs someone in Lennon's place, because Lennon doesn't offer enough goals. But obviously he hasn't been able to try and sell him yet and we have no-one else. And if he thought the reaction from the fans for Dawson and Huddlestone was bad, the one for Lennon would be terrible. Plus, he is a good, dangerous option to have. But we need more of a goal threat. I'm confident that if we had Willian we would have been up in the first half easily.

His substitutions were bad, but I don't see what else he could have done that would have worked out well. He has to play Defoe, because he can't start with Kane and Ade hasn't trained enough. We know Defoe isn't suited. He knows it too. Defoe probably knows it as well. But he had to play because that's the situation we are in. And then when we are chasing a goal, he can't take Defoe off without looking like a fool. We did concede the midfield then though. And he probably coaches the players all week to play a pressing game, but then removes a midfielder and allows WBA the opportunity to slice through us. But again, if he had taken Defoe off, while we were chasing a goal. The fans would have been on his back and that would have transmitted. He couldn't win.

I maintain Jenas was a good sub in the context of the game. Probably won't be here beyond September but him coming on allowed us to get our shape back. We were still nervy though and probably still would have been had JV been put in midfield.

We need a goalkeeper, we need a Modric replacement, we need a Lennon replacement, or at least competition for him, and we need another striker. We need to let Defoe and Friedel go, and probably ultimately Lennon next year, because he works better in a 4-4-2. Uncomfortable truths, but I believe like with Dawson and Huddlestone, that is what is needed to be done.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

Obviously didn't watch the last 30 mins where West Brom had free reign to fire high balls into Lukaku in the centre and in the channels then.

Saw the hole game. On balance a draw is fair, and there are plenty of positives to take from it as well as clear areas of work.

Some of the responses in here are a bit hormonal to say the least - what exactly did people expect? Perfoection straight away?

 

[DubaiSpur]

My GHod, some of the reaction in here would be hilarious if it wasnt so pathetic.

We werent great. Shock, horror.

We only have a new manager, a new system, integrating new players and suffering the loss of key men last year.

Who ever would have thought that through a TRANSITONAL period we wouldnt be on top of our game fro 90 minutes?!

Bloody hell

Absolutely.

But I think you're missing something; that last minute panicky, mindless scramble in the box, our futile attempts to stop an inevitable West Brom equalizer?

That's Spurs. Playing with the entire cast of the Expendables 2 as our line-up wouldn't change that. There is apparently something in our make-up that makes us macaronically panicky in the box in situations like that. I can't figure out for the life of me what that is, though.

 

[disc0]

It's knee jerking season as soon as something isn't perfect. A lot of positive signs in both matches so far and with a couple of good signings this team should do really well this season, but a few things that needs improving as well.

Agree 100% Jordinho.

People, calm the fudge down.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

All true, but given our squad, we should have accounted for a pretty limited West Brom side at home.

Our squad? Lacking a striker fit for the system and a possession player I think its doing West Brom a dis-servicve to be honest.

they are a decent team, dispatched Liverpool comfortably last season and have some good players.

 

[Kingdawson]

Ahhhh that is gutting. We needed that win. The knives will be out for AVB now, some fans will already lose patience...he's been handed a nice run of fixtures to start the season and it would have been a good opportunity to get some confidence in him, and for the team.

We were excellent in the opening third of the game, I was really impressed with how the team were opening WBA up. We looked far better drilled than at many points last season when teams would come to frustrate us and with better finishing we would have been out of sight. Unfortunately the final period was like watching the Norwich game from April.

I think we do need a keeper. We need a keeper that is better keeping possession. Often we will pass the ball about, back to Friedel, who is capable of passing out under no pressure but as soon as a little bit of applied, the ball goes long.

We also obviously need a striker, badly. I liked how Defoe was coming deep today, he really seemed to be trying. But, like Friedel, he just isn't suited to what we are trying to do.

I also think today showed why AVB needs to shape the squad in his image, and why it is tough for him as a new manager, needing to accommodate players left over from Harry's era. Ideally we should have Siggy starting every week IMO. But because we have to give Rafa time, our changes were a bit of a mess. This wouldn't happen if he had a squad shaped in his image. We shouldn't ever have needed to go 4-4-2 and lose control of the midfield, we need a striker that can come in and allow us to keep that shape. We need a keeper. We need a better striker and we probably need Willian in to take Lennon's place in most games, because his finishing was too poor for someone that would need to offer goals.

Basically, AVB needs a squad that has depth, so players can come in and allow us to keep our shape. Jenas was a good sub, because we got that shape back and had some semblance of normality again, but we still weren't totally calm. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, he couldn't take Defoe off when we needed a goal and expect to have the goodwill of the crowd and keep the momentum, but yet we lose our shape. Ideally, he would never have needed to play Defoe, because he would be at QPR, and we would have Ade or another striker more suited to playing up top. And therefore our changes would have been much more natural, we could have altered things in midfield, rather than adding another striker, conceding the midfield and looking lost.

Very frustrating, but particularly at the start of the game there were signs, along with Saudi Sportswashing Machine, that once AVB completes his business we should be ok.

AVB isn't obligated to start anyone he doesn't want starting. He made a decision to start VDV when he really should have stuck with Sigurddson and it has nothing to do with what players have been left over from the previous manager. VDV had a good first half tbf but it's baffling that AVB decides to drop Sigurddson after 1 game.

AVB's substitutions so far have been atrocious. The Saudi Sportswashing Machine game where he took off Sigurddson for VDV was garbage, today he takes off VDV for Ade and goes 4-4-2 which is another garbage decision, jenas coming on is a waste substitution. I'm very annoyed at the fact that we haven't brought in the neccesary players after 2 games but we need to sort ourselves out asap.