OMT Tottenham vs Fulham

[Bedfordspurs]

This game reminded me of Sven's regular post match interview whilst England manager - "first half good, second half not so good". This then leaves with the opposite takeaway from the West Ham game when you end on a negative.

It was a worrying reminder of those games in December/January where we nearly give away a lead although on this occasion (unlike Palace and Wolves) it did feel as if the change in the second half was more down to Fulham raising the tempo, pushing us further back, rather than any intended tactical instruction by Jose. I guess you have to look objectively and consider that from a Fulham perspective they will have the reverse narrative and may question why they didnt start the game as they did in the second half.

We saw the benefits of flaws of the shape and personnel we had out. We look very much at home pressing high in the first half but in the second the almost 4-2-4 shape looked very shaky against a midfield that was outnumbering us.

Unlike other occasions luck was on our side with the disallowed goal - I still think the handball that went against us at Sheffield U last season (when Lucas was fouled and then the ball cleared against his shoulder before ending up at Kane's feet) will forever be the most ridiculous handball interprettation but you can feel sympathy for Fulham - as Parker correctly said the law is a daft one though it was correctly followed.

That said Lamela coming on made a big difference - his role as a 'closer' was much needed and it felt as though once he was on the ball was always about 15 yards higher up the pitch.

In conlsuion you feel that from the first half you've seen enough to think we've definitley turned a corner and that we'll continue to create better chances every game but the second half still give syou the nagging feeling that we're still vulnerable.

And sissoko adding to the midfield when he came on too
In rugby the role of the finisher is become a genuine skill. Players when can kill games and take the pace out of it

 

[StephenH]

Yesterday was a dreadful watch for all us Spurs sufferers. I was so pleased with the Burnley effort.
Fulham was frightening with a view top four.

Some of the Fulham lads are loans Daniel

 

[Raziel]

This game reminded me of Sven's regular post match interview whilst England manager - "first half good, second half not so good". This then leaves with the opposite takeaway from the West Ham game when you end on a negative.

It was a worrying reminder of those games in December/January where we nearly give away a lead although on this occasion (unlike Palace and Wolves) it did feel as if the change in the second half was more down to Fulham raising the tempo, pushing us further back, rather than any intended tactical instruction by Jose. I guess you have to look objectively and consider that from a Fulham perspective they will have the reverse narrative and may question why they didnt start the game as they did in the second half.

We saw the benefits of flaws of the shape and personnel we had out. We look very much at home pressing high in the first half but in the second the almost 4-2-4 shape looked very shaky against a midfield that was outnumbering us.

Unlike other occasions luck was on our side with the disallowed goal - I still think the handball that went against us at Sheffield U last season (when Lucas was fouled and then the ball cleared against his shoulder before ending up at Kane's feet) will forever be the most ridiculous handball interprettation but you can feel sympathy for Fulham - as Parker correctly said the law is a daft one though it was correctly followed.

That said Lamela coming on made a big difference - his role as a 'closer' was much needed and it felt as though once he was on the ball was always about 15 yards higher up the pitch.

In conlsuion you feel that from the first half you've seen enough to think we've definitley turned a corner and that we'll continue to create better chances every game but the second half still give syou the nagging feeling that we're still vulnerable.

My takeaways

- We are better with Son/Kane/Bale +AM (Dele/Lucas/Lamela), it makes it extremely likely we will score (even when one of our attackers isn't taking chances)
- Spurs with Reguilon/Aurier is a very different proposition that Spurs with Davies/Doherty, that's not tactics, that's just a gap in quality
- To your point, no sympathy re the handball for three reasons, your Lucas example and the fact that a large part of why that rule was created was because a very similar goal of ours went against City (Llorente's where it brushed his fudging arm hair then off his hip) and finally in replay it hits him with the arm by his sides but he clearly makes a pushing motion in the direction the ball ends up going in.

Again I think Jose looked at our run, knew Fulham's scoring problems (the weaker FBs seem to invite pressure) and picked this game to set the team up for the FB rotation to give us strongest sides against Palace and Scum

 

[braineclipse]

I don't disagree, Fullham showed why they are in the bottom 3, they couldn't finish. But a better side would have. That is the issue.

They also showed why they've been doing much better in recent months than at the start of the season.

If they were good at finishing they wouldn't be in the bottom 3 so I guess the expectations for the game would be different.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

They also showed why they've been doing much better in recent months than at the start of the season.

If they were good at finishing they wouldn't be in the bottom 3 so I guess the expectations for the game would be different.

Yep
It’s why they are where they are
Same with Brighton who regularly “outplay” teams and lose

 

[stratnumberone]

Immediately prior to the handball, doesn’t he amble back from an offside position anyway - surely the offside should have been called even if it hadn’t hit his arm? He’s offside, walks back onside as the ball comes forward, causing Sanchez to adjust his position to try to cover him (ie he is interfering with play) and then gets in the way of Sanchez attempted clearance. He is therefore - in my opinion - offside early on in the phase of play that ended with the ‘goal’.

 

[braineclipse]

My takeaways

- We are better with Son/Kane/Bale +AM (Dele/Lucas/Lamela), it makes it extremely likely we will score (even when one of our attackers isn't taking chances)
- Spurs with Reguilon/Aurier is a very different proposition that Spurs with Davies/Doherty, that's not tactics, that's just a gap in quality
- To your point, no sympathy re the handball for three reasons, your Lucas example and the fact that a large part of why that rule was created was because a very similar goal of ours went against City (Llorente's where it brushed his fudging arm hair then off his hip) and finally in replay it hits him with the arm by his sides but he clearly makes a pushing motion in the direction the ball ends up going in.

Again I think Jose looked at our run, knew Fulham's scoring problems (the weaker FBs seem to invite pressure) and picked this game to set the team up for the FB rotation to give us strongest sides against Palace and Scum

I think you might be right on the squad rotation bit. Though somewhat worrying we looked less energetic than in most recent games and a lot of the players out there will have to go again against Palace.

Aurier and Reguilon will hopefully inject some energy into the team, and Lamela/Moura/Bergwijn will probably come in for Bale and can do the same.

Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Kane and Son though.... Hopefully yesterday was more of a blip in terms of energy and that getting a couple of wins and clean sheets will give us the boost to up our game against Palace.

 

[Pirate55]

I think you might be right on the squad rotation bit. Though somewhat worrying we looked less energetic than in most recent games and a lot of the players out there will have to go again against Palace.

Aurier and Reguilon will hopefully inject some energy into the team, and Lamela/Moura/Bergwijn will probably come in for Bale and can do the same.

Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Kane and Son though.... Hopefully yesterday was more of a blip in terms of energy and that getting a couple of wins and clean sheets will give us the boost to up our game against Palace.

To this end, I was surprised he didn't take off either Kane or Son in the second half. Both looked shattered and certainly Dele could do with more minutes. We really should utilise Vini more - though I think it is clear that Mourinho doesn't rate him that much.

 

[Raziel]

I think you might be right on the squad rotation bit. Though somewhat worrying we looked less energetic than in most recent games and a lot of the players out there will have to go again against Palace.

Aurier and Reguilon will hopefully inject some energy into the team, and Lamela/Moura/Bergwijn will probably come in for Bale and can do the same.

Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Kane and Son though.... Hopefully yesterday was more of a blip in terms of energy and that getting a couple of wins and clean sheets will give us the boost to up our game against Palace.

Unfortunately I'm not sure there is an answer to the sheer volume of games we have.

Plan must be -> win/survive Sunday
Rotate as much as we can get away with Thursday.

 

[StephenH]

The Fulham left-back look useful?
Antonee Robinson?

 

[90sSpursBook]

In rugby the role of the finisher is become a genuine skill. Players when can kill games and take the pace out of it

I think a 'closer' was a specific role for a pitcher in Baseball to come on and close the game out in the final few innings' - may need one of US friends to confirm this?

 

[Raziel]

To this end, I was surprised he didn't take off either Kane or Son in the second half. Both looked shattered and certainly Dele could do with more minutes. We really should utilise Vini more - though I think it is clear that Mourinho doesn't rate him that much.

Only 3 subs was the issue

Dele might want more minutes but his energy level was dropping and it was more important to prop up the midfield (Lucas was clearly to support Doherty, Sissoko was to add DM support), Bale is being managed and Ndombele is probably the player we need to protect the most.

 

[90sSpursBook]

The Fulham left-back look useful?
Antonee Robinson?

yes he's caught the eye a few times with his dribbling and forward running attributes which is what the modern day full back is judged on. Not sure what his defensive capabilities are like as not watched him closely enough. Maybe a decent option if reggie gets recalled to Madrid.

 

[braineclipse]

Only 3 subs was the issue

Dele might want more minutes but his energy level was dropping and it was more important to prop up the midfield (Lucas was clearly to support Doherty, Sissoko was to add DM support), Bale is being managed and Ndombele is probably the player we need to protect the most.

Agreed. Part of the problem stems from having players that we need to manage, and subpar options for others. Meaning that the workload on some becomes very high.

On the other hand being in the EL has allowed us to rotate a hell of a lot more compared to if we were in the CL so far. If we keep progressing in the EL facing increasingly difficult opposition we will face even more issues with rotation and/or fatigue and injuries.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

The Fulham left-back look useful?
Antonee Robinson?

Yep looked quality
He was an Everton youth player but plays for USA

 

[K.D.D.D.D.Soc]

I think Scott Parker got his tactics spot on, they played at a high pace knowing Bale and Dele are short of PL game time, the longer the game went we struggled to keep possession or get the ball off them, Lamela and Sissoko gave us legs but no control. This is not a criticism of the players and Bale is a good option to start games and help us get a lead, but I can never see him playing in PL for more than 60 minutes.

 

[Raziel]

I think Scott Parker got his tactics spot on, they played at a high pace knowing Bale and Dele are short of PL game time, the longer the game went we struggled to keep possession or get the ball off them, Lamela and Sissoko gave us legs but no control. This is not a criticism of the players and Bale is a good option to start games and help us get a lead, but I can never see him playing in PL for more than 60 minutes.

Thing is with Bale, we don't need him to play 90 mins, squad is big enough, he could be our modern VDV. Honestly if Jose can keep him and Lamela fit and available for an extended part of the season it is nigh on a miracle.

Do agree re Scotty, he used the fact that his players have much less miles on their legs, played high tempo and he targeted our left side as well.

 

[parklane1]

We won the game and if Kane had taken those two GOOD chances we would have won by more then the one, Scotty has done a very good job there and i hope he keeps them up.

 

[SteveAWOL]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1367882095469588486

https://twitter.com/x/status/1367762192456683520

 

[Finney Is Back]

We won the game and if Kane had taken those two GOOD chances we would have won by more then the one, Scotty has done a very good job there and i hope he keeps them up.

I think that second Kane chance would've been ruled offside by VAR if we'd scored it.