*** OMT Tottenham Hotspur v AFC Bournemouth ***

[Silly McSilly Face]

I genuinely think they are.

Personally I think it was probably the wrong team selection yesterday, which I’ll put down to Frank still figuring out the squad and who is capable of what. But it’s interesting for an adaptable manager that the same team that beat City away was seen as the right selection to beat Bournemouth at home.

Maybe he was trying to encourage principles of the same players being asked to do different things. But it clearly didn’t work. And that is where I think the issue was yesterday, as opposed to the individual quality of our defenders. We were really bad and the defence faced an onslaught all game. More ball progression and ability to impose our will on Bournemouth would have helped I think.

But I’m not going to judge Frank. I put it down to a learning experience - him about the squad. And the squad understanding his asks.

I like Dragusin as a defender but he's been out for such a long time who knows if he can refind his form. I don't think VDV is a very good defender. He has pace and he is good carrying the ball out from the back so we are a better team playing with the ball and from a recovery perspective with him in it, but marking? Defending set pieces? Standing up to a player 1 v 1? Nah. Romero - it is all there but he switches off concentration wise. He's been costing us goals for getting on 4 years now. As to our full-backs. We have one natural full-back and he's 33. The others were bought as wing-backs mainly for their prowess in carrying the attack down the flanks and supporting the midfield in Conte's system.....and when we have to do some sustained defending it often shows.

You know i compare our game to the Chelsea v Fulham game. Chelsea were under the cosh in a very similar manner. They weren't on it and Fulham were pressing them all over the park and turning over the ball regularly. The difference was Fulham didnt score and nor did they manage to create the absolute catalogue of chances Bournemouth did....because Chelsea's backline maintained its shape and created a wall it was hard to get through, they eventually got the goal against the run of play and then killed them off second half.

The PL is brutal and you need to dig deep in those situations where the other team are absolutely on it and you're not firing. We simply cant do that.

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

I like Dragusin as a defender but he's been out for such a long time who knows if he can refind his form. I don't think VDV is a very good defender. He has pace and he is good carrying the ball out from the back so we are a better team playing with the ball and from a recovery perspective with him in it, but marking? Defending set pieces? Standing up to a player 1 v 1? Nah. Romero - it is all there but he switches off concentration wise. He's been costing us goals for getting on 4 years now. As to our full-backs. We have one natural full-back and he's 33. The others were bought as wing-backs mainly for their prowess in carrying the attack down the flanks and supporting the midfield in Conte's system.....and when we have to do some sustained defending it often shows.

You know i compare our game to the Chelsea v Fulham game. Chelsea were under the cosh in a very similar manner. They weren't on it and Fulham were pressing them all over the park and turning over the ball regularly. The difference was Fulham didnt score and nor did they manage to create the absolute catalogue of chances Bournemouth did....because Chelsea's backline maintained its shape and created a wall it was hard to get through, they eventually got the goal against the run of play and then killed them off second half.

The PL is brutal and you need to dig deep in those situations where the other team are absolutely on it and you're not firing. We simply cant do that.

I’ll agree to disagree. I think there’s going to be plenty of games this season where we are going to win a game in the manner Chelsea did yesterday. I just think yesterday was a bad day, and we can’t read too much in the individual quality of the players on the back of it, as long as the coaching staff learn from it.

 

[SpurMeUp]

We didn't look prepared for their press. That is probably on the manager, maybe the players knew it was coming, but couldn't play around it.

The one other frustrstion was we failed to take advantage when they tired - at the end of both halfs. More composure was needed - in the face of their press, and to make it pay when they tired.

It was the sort of performance a smaller side can deliver when fresh. They outworked us, and we weren't prepped or able to play around them.

Listening to Franks press confrence he says words to the effect: we knew the press was coming and trained for it.

For me the disappointing thing was 1. the lack of composure and 2. belief when we did get some space towards the ends of the halfs. Huge credit to Bournmouth stopping us settling. And playing at home when under pressure, it can make us more nervous and jittery, too frantic. We needed more composure and belief to impose our game when they tired. But by then we were rattled, and shaky. Too many sloppy passes and no one stood up to impose our game.

The ref didn't help. Bournmouth fell over better and seemed to get more of the decisions. Certainally could have been a second yellow for Seymanyo. When we were challanging them 50-50 they fell over and got the FK most of the time, vice versa we wouldn't fall over or Rici would too easily. Bournmouth managed the game in the last quarter, stopped us getting into any rythm. As we did against City.

At least Frank now knows we need to work more on our passing out under pressure. Few teams will press as well as Bournemouth - even Bournemouth won't press as well as that all season. It isn't sustainable even without Europe. But we must improve. And we need to be calmer and more composed to play through a press.

Credit to Bournmouth they were better than us. We are work in progress, and need to learn how to play as favorites.

I'd consider swapping out Paulhinha in such games, as we needed more passing guile in the middle. Even someone like Odobert could give a bit more dynamism in the centre, able to step around the press and make a pass. That was missing.

 

[Mrs Vert]

I’m more concerned with how many times we let them run untracked into our box. That caused us so many issues, including the goal.

And we never sorted it out

 

[Dr Rosenrosen]

We still lack a switch passer. I remember a moment late on when Kudus beat his man but the cover defender was there so he passed to Bentancur and Odobert was deep left in acres of space. Bents definitely saw him because he shaped to make the pass then declined and passed to Romero instead it took another 2 or 3 passes before it eventually made its way to Odobert by which time the Bournemouth defence had moved over and the gap was gone.

Simons might be a difference maker in that regard because he does had a good switch on him but he won't always be the one recieving that pass. We need a bit more bravery and technical passing quality in the deeper midfield positions because it otherwise makes things quite pedestrian.

As much as we miss Kane's goals, he had such awareness and vision and created so much with his passing.

 

[Bishop]

As much as we miss Kane's goals, he had such awareness and vision and created so much with his passing.

Kane had that ability to make space for himself to shoot and had incredible accuracy along with that shot. We ain't getting another Kane tbh so we just have to let that go.

If we can improve the rest of the attackers we might reach the same overall quality or even better than when we had Kane because we never had a good RW option in all that time.

 

[markysimmo]

Stat

The last nine times we have beaten City we have not won the game after

 

[Silly McSilly Face]

As much as we miss Kane's goals, he had such awareness and vision and created so much with his passing.

It was the partnership he had with Son too. Telepathic and you can't coach that two players either click like that or they don't. Bit like i could never see Dembele and Dier midfield working. It shouldn't really on paper when you think about it. But it just did.