OMT * Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton *

[Yiddo]

Most that have come in also haven't been good enough, N'dombele, Lo Celso, Emerson, Reguillon, PEH, Clarke, I could go on.
Romero along with the buys in Jan are the only ones we've got right recently.

Yep, lets keep papering over the cracks. They were part of one of the best teams, if not the best the season Leicester won it and still couldn’t compete, Champions League final? Liverpool were brick that night and our Elite players went missing again.

Compare that to Lewandowski, Salah, Aguero, even Sterling turns up in big games. To be Elite is dragging your team over the line.

 

[DubaiSpur]

Most that have come in also haven't been good enough, N'dombele, Lo Celso, Emerson, Reguillon, PEH, Clarke, I could go on.
Romero along with the buys in Jan are the only ones we've got right recently.

Most of that atrocious lot came from Steve 'I hate January' Hitchen. The utter ridiculousness of that man being the head of our transfer activity is evident.

The one stinker Paratici has had so far has been Emerson, an instant failure - Gollini too, but he barely plays, so all good.

Against that, Romero, Kulusevski and Bentancur have genuinely been great signings that have made an instant impact. It's an up-and-down record overall, but much better than Hitchen's, thank GHod.

 

[thfcsteff]

We just haven’t got a backbone and this stems from our main players, Kane, Son, Lloris, Dier, Davies. Not just today but the years they have been here. They were all apart of that great poch team that bottled everything they done so well to build. Top players who can’t handle pressure spread doubt to the rest of the team.

I said before the game we need them all to step up right now.

 

[AjaxDeSuperYids]

Well the 60k at the stadium who paid good money to watch zero entertainment deserve an explanation for why we were so hideously flat today.

Was it the party, was it flying half way around the world and back or was it something else, arrogance, poor management, getting done by potter.

I hope the interviewers press this point and we get a proper answer.

 

[demotw]

Eh. I'm the first to criticize this spineless lot when we lose, but I have to say, it isn't on them today as much as it is on Conte for being thoroughly out-thought and out-tactic'd by Graham Potter of all people.

It's not rocket science - Potter started with a midfield three of Mwepu, Bissouma and Caicedo, and the defensive solidity of those three locked down the middle and also kept Kane and Son both relentlessly marked throughout the game.
On the flanks they hounded us into errors, since neither Emerson nor Reguilon are good on the ball, and it led to giveaways, throw-ins and corners galore.
At our throw-ins, there was an organisation to Brighton, to the way they hunted in packs to dispossess us instantly. On our throw-ins, we seemed lost, just waiting for someone to show.

Yes, Potter is a good coach, but for a world-class manager to be so thoroughly contained by him using tactics half the crowd could see coming is galling.

When we win, we are not world-beaters. When we lose, we are not atrocious.We are what we are, an upper mid-table side scrapping for 4th, with a few brilliant players, some acceptable ones, and some dross.

But we do have a manager who should be doing better with what he has, and reacting to opposition tactics better. Conte cannot be getting outcoached by Graham Potter.

I was about to say, this game felt more on tactics then players, when I saw winks coming on I assumed was for Reggie with Davies moving to LB in a back 4. We were unable to feed the forward lines due to that, and have to give a lot of credit to Brighton and Bissouma in particular for constantly watching Kane. Yes we should have moved the ball quicker, we should have had a bit more urgency but replacing Kulu/Son was not the answer.

We won’t win every game, neither will the other lot so will take this one on the chin and move on to the next

 

[DubaiSpur]

He got sold too easily for sure, but I was equally disappointed with Romero getting done before him.

To be fair to Romero, it was an unfortunate slip after an unfortunate ricochet. Hard to be too harsh given that sequence of events - that goal was unfortunate.

But the rest of the game was entirely on us.

 

[AdamB]

Well the 60k at the stadium who paid good money to watch zero entertainment deserve an explanation for why we were so hideously flat today.

Was it the party, was it flying half way around the world and back or was it something else, arrogance, poor management, getting done by potter.

I hope the interviewers press this point and we get a proper answer.

I'm not sure what he'll say. Its hard to say that our WBs were rubbish. Disappointed with the players today but also Conte given he didnt really change it materially when it was clear that the system wasn't working against their 5-1-3-1

 

[thfcsteff]

Reckon this result is going to cost us severely.

Reminds me of the run in under avb in Bale’s last season when we were in the driving seat and then played fulham at home and lost 0-1.

I'm going 2019 and tripping into the top 4 despite ourselves.

 

[thfcsteff]

If people wonder why Dier isn't being called for the national team, I think Trossard just showed us today.

How do you explain Harry Maguire?

 

[AjaxDeSuperYids]

Funny that I mentioned earlier this 0-1 home loss to fulham in 2013.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21732280

Just read it and so much is strikingly similar today including the context of going for a CL place.

Big difference is that prior to that game we played a couple days earlier in the europa at the san siro and the game went to extra time.

So what excuse do todays mob have for a similarly lacklustre brick display?

 

[DeanoAustin]

I was about to say, this game felt more on tactics then players, when I saw winks coming on I assumed was for Reggie with Davies moving to LB in a back 4. We were unable to feed the forward lines due to that, and have to give a lot of credit to Brighton and Bissouma in particular for constantly watching Kane. Yes we should have moved the ball quicker, we should have had a bit more urgency but replacing Kulu/Son was not the answer.

We won’t win every game, neither will the other lot so will take this one on the chin and move on to the next

Would agree 100% with this being on tactics rather than players. There was a lot of back and sideways and that's because there was no movement in front but looking at the play, I couldn't see where the players should have been moving too. Brighton cut off all the space and angles for passes. They were very impressive, time-wasting aside.

I was shocked we didn't sacrifice one of the wing backs or Davies for Stevie or Lucas. Conte was a bit stubborn today and it cost us.

 

[DubaiSpur]

I was about to say, this game felt more on tactics then players, when I saw winks coming on I assumed was for Reggie with Davies moving to LB in a back 4. We were unable to feed the forward lines due to that, and have to give a lot of credit to Brighton and Bissouma in particular for constantly watching Kane. Yes we should have moved the ball quicker, we should have had a bit more urgency but replacing Kulu/Son was not the answer.

We won’t win every game, neither will the other lot so will take this one on the chin and move on to the next

Exactly mate. I don't think moving the ball quicker would have made too much of a difference, either - the runners in behind just weren't there today, and a lot of that is down to our tactical setup. Conte got it wrong today - needs to do better.

Luckily we're up against one of the form sides next in Brentford, and I actually think that might help, because it will make them more willing to come at us, which should hopefully create space for the front three to play into.

But we have to - *have to* solve the Emerson issue. He's useless, and shouldn't play another minute - we need a solution there, whether it's Lucas, Kulusevski or someone else.

 

[thfcsteff]

It won't. I've done it enough times (not in the private jet unfortunately) and it takes a day or two tops to get back to normal after a commercial flight.
He wouldn't have been there long enough to adjust his body clock so no jet-lag to worry about.

I've done it many times (and quite a lot private) and for 24-48 hours, with the space to sleep properly, a 7 hour flight and 5 hour time difference will not do anything providing you stay on UK time (which you would) I do agree with the suggestion that the message it sends is poor.

 

[thfcsteff]

FWIW… wasters of a feather…

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Am I missing something?
I only see water on the table.
And a birthday cake.
And friends having dinner celebrating someone's birthday.
This had absolutely nothing to do with today's performance, and in truth, we all know it.

 

[DubaiSpur]

I've done it many times (and quite a lot private) and for 24-48 hours, with the space to sleep properly, a 7 hour flight and 5 hour time difference will not do anything providing you stay on UK time (which you would) I do agree with the suggestion that the message it sends is poor.

That plus the lads that went to Dele's birthday bash, which was an own goal both for them, and for Dele. I don't care what they do on their private time, but they are obligated to not let it affect their working lives. With results like these, the question arises if they met that obligation or not.

As for Dele, he can't get into an Everton side desperate for some quality, any quality, and which is currently in a relegation fight. It's not a good look for him, unfortunately.

 

[DubSpur]

Am I missing something?
I only see water on the table.
And a birthday cake.
And friends having dinner celebrating someone's birthday.
This had absolutely nothing to do with today's performance, and in truth, we all know it.

The players aren't allowed have a private life, they must go to training and then home to bed.

 

[DubaiSpur]

The players aren't allowed have a private life, they must go to training and then home to bed.

They barely train 15-20 hrs a week, and then have maybe 4-5 hrs of pre-game prep/game time/post-game warmdown on a weekend. When they have a game mid-week, that's a grand total of 30 hrs a week of football.

I'm not going to say no one thinks they shouldn't have a private life - many folks do. But they do have an obligation to not let their private life affect their performances in those 25-odd hours they're actually paid to do what they do. With Kane jetting off to Augusta and Dier et al attending Dele's birthday bash, I just wish they would have then proven on the field that these things don't affect their ability to perform.

But they didn't - so maybe there is indeed an issue there, despite the bluster about how it's only one birthday party or one trip out to Florida mid-week for absolutely no reason.

 

[thfcsteff]

That plus the lads that went to Dele's birthday bash, which was an own goal both for them, and for Dele. I don't care what they do on their private time, but they are obligated to not let it affect their working lives. With results like these, the question arises if they met that obligation or not.

As for Dele, he can't get into an Everton side desperate for some quality, any quality, and which is currently in a relegation fight. It's not a good look for him, unfortunately.

Give me a break. Seriously. Kukusevski was pictured out at dinner with 'friends' as well, was that why he was poor? Did Bentancur eat dinner away from home thus have a bad day? How can you seriously say the players who had dinner with Dele 'let it affect their working lives'? As for Dele, it's obvious there is an issue, what does that have to do with our lackluster performance? Sorry, there's some weird human math going on here IMO (not just you mate FWIW).

 

[AjaxDeSuperYids]

I've done it many times (and quite a lot private) and for 24-48 hours, with the space to sleep properly, a 7 hour flight and 5 hour time difference will not do anything providing you stay on UK time (which you would) I do agree with the suggestion that the message it sends is poor.

So certain conditions have to be met to mitigate the otherwise issues that would occur. One of those as you say is that he sleeps right. Perhaps he didnt sleep right, intentionally or not. Other things he needs to stick to and maybe again through intent or not perhaps he didnt. Also what about the time he missed at the club? Did he go on sunday and come back tuesday or wednesday? Wouldnt his time be better spent at the training ground? Based on todays performance it seems the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

The message it sends is also all wrong.

At such a pivotal stage in the season there should be no trips to the states, however brief, there should be no parties. They should all be staying at that lodge hotel at the training ground, working, eating correctly, drinking correctly, focus 1000% on brighton. Clearly this didnt happen and could now have monumental consequences for the club.

Conte also needs to look at himself. Not bringing bergwijn on for davies or reguilon is an absolutely absurd decision.

 

[thfcsteff]

They barely train 15-20 hrs a week, and then have maybe 4-5 hrs of pre-game prep/game time/post-game warmdown on a weekend. When they have a game mid-week, that's a grand total of 30 hrs a week of football.

I'm not going to say no one thinks they shouldn't have a private life - many folks do. But they do have an obligation to not let their private life affect their performances in those 25-odd hours they're actually paid to do what they do. With Kane jetting off to Augusta and Dier et al attending Dele's birthday bash, I just wish they would have then proven on the field that these things don't affect their ability to perform.

But they didn't - so maybe there is indeed an issue there, despite the bluster about how it's only one birthday party or one trip out to Florida mid-week for absolutely no reason.

Dubai.
IF you want to tag an event from the past week which affected the performance, I would suggest the manager not being able to be close to the players all week due to covid19 was the single biggest factor.