*** OMT Tottenham Hotspur Under 12's V Wolverhampton Wanderers ***

[Mooresinho]

Just got in so haven't read match comments. We were superb for 30+ minutes (or were they just sh!te?) then it all switched around. Held our nerve for the penalties (or were they just sh!te?)

Anyway Clarets up next. Might be in with a shout of a ticket for that as well. Less of as schlep than Wolves (for me anyway).

@milo Skipp, followed by Gil and Ndombele. Don't know what Nuno's been putting in Ndombele's tea but it seems to work. Just wish he'd give him a second cup at half time.....

Looks like he's giving him a chance too, those 2 mistakes, if you agree or not that the 2nd was just fault, he probably would normally have been hauled off, but he actually kept him on the whole game.

Even after those mistakes he was still trying to play and that foul on Podence was funny. He knows he has talent, I see it creeping in in each of the last 2 games. I hope he starts against the goons

 

[Kandi1977]

Looks like he's giving him a chance too, those 2 mistakes, if you agree or not that the 2nd was just fault, he probably would normally have been hauled off, but he actually kept him on the whole game.

Even after those mistakes he was still trying to play and that foul on Podence was funny. He knows he has talent, I see it creeping in in each of the last 2 games. I hope he starts against the goons

Ndombele has to play vs the goons. He's involved in pretty much everything we create going forward. Without him we're pretty limited going forward.

 

[Badger]

Ndombele has to play vs the goons. He's involved in pretty much everything we create going forward. Without him we're pretty limited going forward.

And there lies the shocking decline of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club over the past 5 years...

 

[ShipOfTheseus]

People like ShipOfGoldblum, GilzeanToScore, DanishFurnitureLover, Kandi1977, Rorschasch, for GHod's sake will you please try to be less prickly and more positive about the good stuff?

i wonder how many other people on that list watch on the same device on which they post. I’m much less likely to switch windows when we’re fun to watch - didn’t look at GG at all in the first 35 - so there’s a natural bias to angst.

Maybe it’s different if you’re watching the game on telly, phone in hand.

 

[braineclipse]

Definite progress. Building on the first half against Chelsea. Wolves looked really poor up until they scored, perhaps we looked better than we were because of that. But a factor in them looking poor is surely also that we were good.

Still a lot of work left to be done, but progress. Very happy about that.

Win is good too.

 

[MKSpur]

based solely on the highlights which may have left out Wolves best bits as published by Spurs!

Small steps, lineup was more attacking. Dele made a goal and almost a second with the pass to Gil.

Skipp seems to be maturing into a very able competition for Hojbjerg.

Sanchez seemed to have got dragged over to left back a couple of times in the clips, displaying that remarkable ability he has to lose a shoulder barge he should be the overwhelming favourite for!

losing a 2-0 lead is disappointing but it did look like we had the better chances, which depending yon your point of view may bide better than winning 1-0 with a goal from a set piece.

The challenge seems to be the trade off of how we incorporate a more attacking line up as it seems to come at the expense of the tightening up of our defence. It’s a conundrum where this can be addressed by personnel or shape. Gil would potentially give us something more threatening from the right at the expense of the off the ball work of Moura or Bergwijn (although did read in the match thread he made some good tackles?) and it may be a case of Ndombele or Dele with Hojbjerg and Skipp needed to provide the defence shield at the expense of a genuine box to box option.

edit: Also what has happened to Lo Celso. He was the stand out player for a while when we finished Mourinho’s first season, seems to be an important player for Argentina but is delivering very little for us and not sure where he fits into the team at the mo?

 

[diego_maradona]

I get it. Tanguy made a couple of costly mistakes. It’s frustrating. But last night watching him and Bryan was fun. That’s what being a spurs is about. Both seem to be exceptional footballers, and worth the entry fee alone. I’ll accept the good with the poor because I have a feeling they will entertain us a lot. COYS

 

[Daisuk]

I get it. Tanguy made a couple of costly mistakes. It’s frustrating. But last night watching him and Bryan was fun. That’s what being a spurs is about. Both seem to be exceptional footballers, and worth the entry fee alone. I’ll accept the good with the poor because I have a feeling they will entertain us a lot. COYS

It's what we've comforted us with when our team haven't been particularly good, and it'll do now as well, I agree. Tanguy, for all his faults, always has a few special moments in pretty much every match. I still dream of him exploding into some sort of machine out there, and know it probably won't happen, but one can dream.

 

[glasgowspur]

I get it. Tanguy made a couple of costly mistakes. It’s frustrating. But last night watching him and Bryan was fun. That’s what being a spurs is about. Both seem to be exceptional footballers, and worth the entry fee alone. I’ll accept the good with the poor because I have a feeling they will entertain us a lot. COYS

The second goal looked as much a foul on Ndombele as the couple wolves got towards the end.
Tackle from the wrong side and no clear deviation of the travel of the ball.

 

[Bishop]

The second goal looked as much a foul on Ndombele as the couple wolves got towards the end.
Tackle from the wrong side and no clear deviation of the travel of the ball.

We've deffo seen those type of challenges given as fouls even in the match yesterday. But not something that I would complain about either way if I'm honest.

 

[glasgowspur]

We've deffo seen those type of challenges given as fouls even in the match yesterday. But not something that I would complain about either way if I'm honest.

I wouldn't either if there was parity and consistency.
And he lost the ball 40 yards from goal and we never really got a block or tackle in so we really only have ourselves to blame.

 

[Finney Is Back]

I return to my question about XG and what it counts as a chance. Tonight we again had two gilt edged moments that weren't 'XG' but were nearly goals. We are far, far from where we want to be, but we are showing genuine signs of getting there if the manager can get a run of weeks training the same players.

What do you mean about them not being 'XG' mate?

 

[braineclipse]

I get it. Tanguy made a couple of costly mistakes. It’s frustrating. But last night watching him and Bryan was fun. That’s what being a spurs is about. Both seem to be exceptional footballers, and worth the entry fee alone. I’ll accept the good with the poor because I have a feeling they will entertain us a lot. COYS

Entertainment, effectiveness. For now. Let's see what a steady run in the team can bring in addition to that.

 

[Finney Is Back]

I return to my question about XG and what it counts as a chance. Tonight we again had two gilt edged moments that weren't 'XG' but were nearly goals. We are far, far from where we want to be, but we are showing genuine signs of getting there if the manager can get a run of weeks training the same players.

FYI - here is the XG summary of last night's game. We were worthy winners and should've done so in normal time (as I felt was the case while watching in the stands)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1440800006768787460

 

[SteveAWOL]

The second goal looked as much a foul on Ndombele as the couple wolves got towards the end.
Tackle from the wrong side and no clear deviation of the travel of the ball.

FWIW from the slow-mo it looks like Hwang got to the ball before his knee touched Ndombele’s thigh.



And this is the sort of high press trap I hope that our players will be executing regularly once Nuno gets a decent amount of time on training ground with them.

 

[Badger]

FWIW from the slow-mo it looks like Hwang got to the ball before his knee touched Ndombele’s thigh.

Of course he won the ball fair and square. Was pretty clear even without the slo-mo.

But otherwise how can we defend a player running into a blind alley with three opponents, allowing himself to be dispossessed without a fight and giving them a free run at goal....

 

[Kandi1977]

Of course he won the ball fair and square. Was pretty clear even without the slo-mo.

But otherwise how can we defend a player running into a blind alley with three opponents, allowing himself to be dispossessed without a fight and giving them a free run at goal....

He should never receive the ball in that position, at that stage of the game, when most of the team are in front of the ball. Skipp has an easy way out with a pass to Sanchez.
It's ok to give the ball to Ndombele there if we're chasing the game, as he is capable of fending off the press, and that would take 3 of their players out.
But when we're in the lead, there's no point in passing it into the middle to a player who is under pressure of 3 opponents! Add to it, Skipp played the pass with a bit of a bounce, which is why Ndombele got a slightly bad touch.
It's ridiculous, and utmost unfair to blame it on Ndombele!! It's more a tactical team error, and the inexperience of Skipp, combined with a slightly sloppy played pass from him. Skipp could easily have passed it back to Sanchez, but I think they were coached/told to play with more risk.
To then blame it on Ndombele is utterly ridiculous! For once he got a slightly bad touch, and we were exposed, because that's how they'd been told to play.
This witch hunt on single players HAS TO fudging STOP!

 

[Bedfordspurs]

He should never receive the ball in that position, at that stage of the game, when most of the team are in front of the ball. Skipp has an easy way out with a pass to Sanchez.
It's ok to give the ball to Ndombele there if we're chasing the game, as he is capable of fending off the press, and that would take 3 of their players out.
But when we're in the lead, there's no point in passing it into the middle to a player who is under pressure of 3 opponents! Add to it, Skipp played the pass with a bit of a bounce, which is why Ndombele got a slightly bad touch.
It's ridiculous, and utmost unfair to blame it on Ndombele!! It's more a tactical team error, and the inexperience of Skipp, combined with a slightly sloppy played pass from him. Skipp could easily have passed it back to Sanchez, but I think they were coached/told to play with more risk.
To then blame it on Ndombele is utterly ridiculous! For once he got a slightly bad touch, and we were exposed, because that's how they'd been told to play.
This witch hunt on single players HAS TO fudging STOP!

The defending of a player making a mistake has to stop too though
Skipp would have had to turn backwards to pass it backwards if Sanchez
Tanguy looked to me like he called for the ball and the pass was fine
He had time to do something before he lost it
He had more than one touch before he was tackled
It was a mistake
But it didn’t hurt us
As long as he learns, who cares?
We’re through

 

[Bedfordspurs]

FYI - here is the XG summary of last night's game. We were worthy winners and should've done so in normal time (as I felt was the case while watching in the stands)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1440800006768787460

Should have been well clear first half
We gave away a soft goal again from a set piece
Second half we had chances too and Ruddy still doesn’t know how he saved that Kane chance