*** OMT Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea Rent Boys F.A Cup SF ***

[DubaiSpur]

I can only assume that Davies had suffered a knock... otherwise I'm at a loss with that decision!

Well, I'm baffled too. But what I suspect (and I freely admit that this is only a suspicion) is that we made the change because of Wembley's size, which we hoped would allow Son to get forward down the touchline while Davies (who is naturally more defensively-inclined) wouldn't get down the flanks as much. It was a gamble that failed miserably, but it speaks in itself to one of the problems playing at Wembley versus playing at the Lane - we have to adapt our game. Which isn't helpful at all.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

We were dominated by Bayer, mate. And they are mid-table (lower mid-table, iirc) in the Bundesliga, having sacked the coach that got the upper hand over Poch in that game (Roger Schmidt) due to a terrible run of form.

As for the rest, Gent were a Belgian mid-table team - there are few excuses for us going out the way we did to them. Monaco game, sure, they were clinical and got away with it. Chelsea game, they were clinical but we also shot ourselves in the foot somewhat by playing Son at left-back, a decision which I still find inexplicable a full day after it was made.

It's partly true, but by the same token, why are sides more clinical at Wembley than they are at WHL? When we beat Chelsea 2-0, what did we do differently at the Lane that we failed to do at Wembley?

I was at both Bayer games and disagree

I don't think they were better at all. They had a spell towards the end of the second half at theirs

Here are the stats for Wembley



Teams are more clinical and s that's how they got there in the first place

And bayer drew with bayern the other week didn't they whilst Monaco are IMO the side who have taken the ECL by storm as they play fast counter attacks which good aides struggle with

 

[billyiddo]

i thought they tinkled all over us in the away leg and looked the better side at Wembley

(continuation of the Bayer Leverkusen discussion, not talking about Chelsea FYI)

 

[milo]

I think that yesterday evening undid a whole season's good work. I'm talking about @DubaiSpur's positivity, not the improvements on the pitch

 

[DubaiSpur]

I think that yesterday evening undid a whole season's good work. I'm talking about @DubaiSpur's positivity, not the improvements on the pitch

Ach, don't mind me. I get more bitterly cut up about cup defeats than I do about the league sometimes, and that's not new (nor will it change) - I got tons of flak last season for getting bloody furious at Poch because he threw the League Cup NLD against Arsenal, while everyone else was wondering what all the fuss was about.

Beat Palace (although that looks bloody hard at the moment), finish above Arsenal, secure a records points total and the season will be a big success. Hell, even one of the three would secure the season's success. Nobody should overlook that.

 

[SteveAWOL]

Well, I'm baffled too. But what I suspect (and I freely admit that this is only a suspicion) is that we made the change because of Wembley's size, which we hoped would allow Son to get forward down the touchline while Davies (who is naturally more defensively-inclined) wouldn't get down the flanks as much. It was a gamble that failed miserably, but it speaks in itself to one of the problems playing at Wembley versus playing at the Lane - we have to adapt our game. Which isn't helpful at all.

I'm also baffled as to why Trippier was picked over Walker on the opposite flank, as whilst the former is a superior crosser I would've thought the latter's defensive capabilities might've been more important... Perhaps Pochettino did just want to take full advantage of the extra 1 metre of width plus 5 metres of length that the pitch at Wembley offers, like you say.

 

[Kandi1977]

Still can't believe how we lost. It's the most one sided 4-2 loss I've ever seen!

 

[thfcsteff]

I'm also baffled as to why Trippier was picked over Walker on the opposite flank, as whilst the former is a superior crosser I would've thought the latter's defensive capabilities might've been more important... Perhaps Pochettino did just want to take full advantage of the extra 1 metre of width plus 5 metres of length that the pitch at Wembley offers, like you say.

I am taking a punt here, but is it possible that Walks and Ugo were especially tight and he might not have been in a great frame of mind? Even when he came on he looked a bit cloudy?

 

[DubaiSpur]

I was at both Bayer games and disagree

I don't think they were better at all. They had a spell towards the end of the second half at theirs

Here are the stats for Wembley



Teams are more clinical and s that's how they got there in the first place

And bayer drew with bayern the other week didn't they whilst Monaco are IMO the side who have taken the ECL by storm as they play fast counter attacks which good aides struggle with

Those stats are roughly as I remember the game going - Leverkusen had more shots than we did, more threatening breakways, more time spent in dangerous areas (more corners). We had more possession, but it was the timid sort where we recycled it on the half-way line.

I'll disagree based on that and say that they were better than we were. As for them drawing against Bayern, one swallow does not a summer make and all that - they are 12th out of 18 teams in the Bundesliga for a very good reason.

 

[thfcsteff]

I agree. Given that he booked Toby early, we had a valid reason to ask him to ref both sides the same.

One of the worst performances in a long time. People hammer refs for one poor decision, yet when a ref blows it on the 'smaller' things (like consistency and accuracy over 95 minutes) he gets away with it. The numbers are a joke. Over 7 fouls for some of their mob before a card got shown. There was also some clear provocation of Dembele and Alli. Atkinson should be censured. What if the 5th Alonso foul had resulted in an injury? brickeshow.

 

[thfcsteff]

BBC talked about the pitch yesterday
It's 400 m2 bigger than white hart lane and we can change it to what size we want
Oh and shearer said Wembley had a very different surface and bounce to white hart lane

Having walked on our pitch recently enough, I can tell you it is a very hard, crisp and 'fast' pitch. I couldn't actually fathom the level of skill and control necessary to gather a zipped pass on that surface!

 

[thfcsteff]

You don't need contact for a freekick (or penalty) to be awarded, that's just something clueless pundits keep saying. The player was impeded. He added a marvellous dive, but that doesn't make that foul go away.

If that rule was applied with any consistency you might be onto something. Moses dove. He cheated.

 

[thfcsteff]

Official stats have Chelsea only conceding 19 fouls,

Given that he didn't use his cards for them, how many fouls were not given?!!!!

 

[Bedfordspurs]

Those stats are roughly as I remember the game going - Leverkusen had more shots than we did, more threatening breakways, more time spent in dangerous areas (more corners). We had more possession, but it was the timid sort where we recycled it on the half-way line.

I'll disagree based on that and say that they were better than we were. As for them drawing against Bayern, one swallow does not a summer make and all that - they are 12th out of 18 teams in the Bundesliga for a very good reason.

Hold on mate.. they had 2 more shots in a relatively high shot counting game and 1 more corner but actually had almost 50% less of the ball. That to me doesn't show a dominant bayer side at all

We can agree to disagree on that...

I think we will see very different results when we play teams like Bournemouth and Watford at Wembley next season

 

[DubaiSpur]

Hold on mate.. they had 2 more shots in a relatively high shot counting game and 1 more corner but actually had almost 50% less of the ball. That to me doesn't show a dominant bayer side at all

We can agree to disagree on that...

I think we will see very different results when we play teams like Bournemouth and Watford at Wembley next season

Fair enough. Personally, saying we dominated because we had more of the ball than they did isn't really fully accurate - much in the same way as saying an AVB side (although he does get an unfair rap, imo) was dominant because it enjoyed so much of the ball most of the time. Doesn't really matter if most of it is at the halfway line, and most shots are blooters into the stands whenever you get within 50 yards of goal.

 

[Glenda's Legs]

I am taking a punt here, but is it possible that Walks and Ugo were especially tight and he might not have been in a great frame of mind? Even when he came on he looked a bit cloudy?

I wondrered about this. Only because I read that Walker apparently played with Ugo at Sheffield Utd and if right then it figures that there might therefore have been an added connection when they were both at Spurs.
Some connections might be stronger than others, but the effects of bereavement can be wide and even if one person is not directly impacted, they can still be indirectly affected because those close to them are grieving/hurt/in shock.
I would not be at all surprised to learin in the future that Ugo,s sudden death had knocked many of our players for six. In which came the shift they put in yesterday is even more worthy of praise.

 

[90291Spur]

I wondrered about this. Only because I read that Walker apparently played with Ugo at Sheffield Utd and if right then it figures that there might therefore have been an added connection when they were both at Spurs.
Some connections might be stronger than others, but the effects of bereavement can be wide and even if one person is not directly impacted, they can still be indirectly affected because those close to them are grieving/hurt/in shock.
I would not be at all surprised to learin in the future that Ugo,s sudden death had knocked many of our players for six. In which came the shift they put in yesterday is even more worthy of praise.

We'll never know the full extent of Ugo's sudden and sad passing but I don't doubt that having a beloved member of the Spurs family die that way had an impact. And I agree that the effort put in by all was remarkable given how shocking such an incident is. I recently had a colleague who dropped dead of a heart attack at 35 and it took a long while for things to return to a semblance of normal.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Still gutted about the game. 7 semi finals in a row now, just doesn't seem to be our competition anymore sadly.

We've got the players to match Chelsea, the only thing missing is the mentality. Whatever it takes to get us to the next level, I think we just don't quite have it. We're not far off in terms of personnel, maybe another 3-4 players whilst getting rid of some deadwood like Sissoko and GKN.

They scored from a free kick, a penalty, a corner and a screamer from outside the box. Hard to be too disappointed with the performance but ultimately the record books will say that we lost another FA cup semi final, I honestly think if we had taken the lead at any point then we would have won the game.

 

[Hemant]

Re: Davies being on the bench; it would seem he could played some part if we were desperate but wasn't fit enough to start.

It's not a binary choice: 100% fit or 0% fit.

What and at 3-2, down we were not desperate?

For me, it should be as good as binary, either you are fit to play or are not. If you get a knock while on the pitch you might have to carry on at the risk of making things worse, if the game hasn't started and you have a knock then, in modern football with large squads, you shouldn't be on the bench. You are no good to man nor beast.

 

[indospurs]

Never a penalty and a once in a lifetime goal by Matic. To top it off the ref was absolutely shocking for the majority of the game.

Son dove in, reckless and Toby had to make needless yellow when a player (?) in front made a mistake.

For an ex defender, Poch lined us up at the back all wrong. My conspiracy theory is he is actually focused on the league, wanted us to leak goals and not focus on the FA cup.