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What went wrong today?

SpurMeUp

Jimmy Cantrell
In terms of tactics, formation, personnel, or management? Or were we just unlucky? If Defoe shot had crept in, or one of Paulinho's shots gone in, it would have been another Spurs win.
 
AVB doesn't (it seems) know how to change tactics to deal with the opposition. Blatantly got it wrong against Big Sam's set up but didn't know what to do to change things.
 
I have never liked playing two defensive midfielders, particularly when one of them is Dembele, who I do not rate. No creativity at all. teams realise that if they pack the defense we have no one who play a ball in to the forwards.
 
We lost it in the midfield. Sandro was our best player before he got injured last season and yet he is sitting on the bench and playing Europa league football. West Ham are a strong unit and they out muscled us all over the pitch today.

This whole sticking with a winning team does not work in the premier league it makes teams predictable. United, Chelsea and City have always rotated depending on who they are playing and this is why they are successful.
 
Am I the only one not bloody suicidal about this defeat?

It is football. Shocks happen. That's what makes this league so good, the best teams don't always turn up and roll over the weaker teams at home.

Yes, we were terrible. West Ham played very well, credit to them. 3-0 flatters them, we just had a mad 15 mins or so. As you say, if that Defoe shot goes in I think we win comfortably. These are the thin margins of football.

If anything I just hope this result gives the foreign players a wake up call- you can't just turn up and beat the weaker teams, you still have to work very hard for it.
 
It's been alluded to on here but it's no plan b and tactics. It's what people accused Wenger of yet we have AVB who in my view is useless at changing things.

Anyways what a disgrace of a performance but now two week break.
 
We lost it in the midfield. Sandro was our best player before he got injured last season and yet he is sitting on the bench and playing Europa league football. West Ham are a strong unit and they out muscled us all over the pitch today.

This whole sticking with a winning team does not work in the premier league it makes teams predictable. United, Chelsea and City have always rotated depending on who they are playing and this is why they are successful.

This. I said Sandro should have started, and I can't believe he would have been so softly, softly, to allow a team like West Ham to run us over.

Agree about the rotation of the side too and would have picked Soldado ahead of Defoe and brought on Holtby when it was apparent that we weren't succeeding in creating good chances.
 
AVB was schooled today, and once the first goal went in the players stopped caring. It was a collective failure. AVB was out-thought by Big Sam, and the players wandered out there with their thumbs in their mouths and got their asses handed to them by a determined, motivated West Ham side.

Sigh. That's twice in two weeks AVB has been out-thought by the opposing tactician. Still too early to judge (till January, anyway), but those are worrying signs given he's supposed to be a master tactician.

That does not mean, however, that our dopey players are allowed to get away with. They were leaderless on the field, with Dawson retreating into his shell as West Ham pressed. They lost all motivation, inexcusable in a derby. And the worst part is that Arsenal or Chelsea would have used this as a springboard to come back ferociously and beat the **** out of West Ham next time, but our lads will probably return to their dopey ways and forget all about this in a couple of days.

Clueless all around, and one of the first major disappointments in AVB's reign so far.
 
1. When dominating we're too narrow. We didn't get in behind and stretch them often. Where were our overlapping fullbacks today? Walker got in behind once I think.


2. Wrong mentality. We thought we'd just turn up and win. We needed some anger and determination.


3. AVB in the last 2 games has left the midfield exposed. We needed to shore up the middle against Chelsea in the second half. Sandro or Holtby could have bolstered us. With Sandro on, Paulinho and Dembele can get forward without leaving us too exposed, and the fullbacks can bomb forward knowing Sandro can fill in.


4. Daws, Eriksen, Sig were not at the races. Wet Spam made it difficult for them, certainly stopped Eriksen playing, but we needed better performances from all of them - too lax for me. The trip abroad took its toll?


5. Subs were a bit late - I thought first half we could have switched things (though we almost scored beginning of the second). Rather than helping, we fell apart after the subz.


Sandro needed to come on. We missed Lennon, who provides natural width. Holtby. Those three players have the right mentality and could have made a difference.
 
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No-one AVB intended to start against West Ham should have even travelled to that poxy little potato field in Russia. His Europa League obsession cost us lost year and it has already cost us this year.

Levy needs to have a word and explain what the priorities is.

I hate that ****** competition,

Defoe starting - especially as he actually played midweek - was an even bigger mistake.
 
No-one AVB intended to start against West Ham should have even travelled to that poxy little potato field in Russia. His Europa League obsession cost us lost year and it has already cost us this year.

Levy needs to have a word and explain what the priorities is.

I hate that ****** competition,

Defoe starting - especially as he actually played midweek - was an even bigger mistake.


Its a good point. **** also slipping up post midweek game.
 
When you play with Michael Dawson at the back adn 451 with jermain defoe up front this is what happens..

We have known this for ten years now... Is this club going to move on one day?
 
In the first half the players looked like they just had to turn up to win.
There was no tempo, no bite. We players as if we were already a few goals up.

Tactically Paulinho and Dembele created nothing. Eriksen got muscled out of it. Our only outlet was down the right. But then we had no one in the box to finish it off.

Then West Ham finally saw we were there for the taking and went for it.

Dawson and Vertonghen were shown up as being poor defender when teams are running at them. Both are great in a crowded penalty area heading balls away and making interceptions but chasing back against a team on the break they are both poor.
 
This is going to be interesting AVB made to look a mug by Sam, £56mill of AVB players cannot make the starting eleven, Paulie and Sandro would be the middle two for me, also we have missed Rose terribly down the lefthand side, no way should Defoe start before Soldado, this is where we see if AVB is the real deal, we never looked like scoring today but we must remember we are a work in progress, I thought the hammers were excellent.
 
More an attitude problem for me - played at 50%, thought we'd won the game before it began. Hopefully this will be the ultimate kick up the back side and we don't treat games like this again.
 
AWB team selection. Defoe lost it long time ago. Naughton and Siggy dont work together now width at all, since Naughton is not Walker. Townsend should start on the left giving us width and speed there. Lamela on the right would work since Walker always going forward overlapping. Also players looked tired especially Walker, Dawson and Verts who I have never seen so bad.

Big Sam had read this and packed players in the middle and we were getting nowhere. Siggy, Eriksen and Paulino all in the same area.
 
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