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Mauricio Pochettino - Sacked

Absolutely agreed.
And he deserves such praise for the formation switch (albeit forced) as it showed he acknowledged his mistake early on. The more I think about the first 30 mins compared to the last 60, I think we wrestled our way right back into this tie and Ajax know it. That 70th minute post? Massive.
What might ultimately help us, is that everyone in the Netherlands thinks that Ajax is practically there. The supporters do, of course, but the pundits too. Both Rafa van der Vaart and Ronald de Boer said they were disappointed with Spurs' ability to play and participate in the game, which reveals a tendency around Ajax to focus only on the first thirty minutes, and both were confident that the tickets for the final could be booked. Now I'm not saying we are in the driving seat, far from it. But I am very confident that we will perform better in Amsterdam than at NWHL, regardless of the Bournemouth result. The Ajax players know it too, De Ligt did not describe the second half as 'a real fight' for nothing. But the media narrative is very much that this tie is done and dusted. Let's surprise them.
 
What might ultimately help us, is that everyone in the Netherlands thinks that Ajax is practically there. The supporters do, of course, but the pundits too. Both Rafa van der Vaart and Ronald de Boer said they were disappointed with Spurs' ability to play and participate in the game, which reveals a tendency around Ajax to focus only on the first thirty minutes, and both were confident that the tickets for the final could be booked. Now I'm not saying we are in the driving seat, far from it. But I am very confident that we will perform better in Amsterdam than at NWHL, regardless of the Bournemouth result. The Ajax players know it too, De Ligt did not describe the second half as 'a real fight' for nothing. But the media narrative is very much that this tie is done and dusted. Let's surprise them.

Really good writer on 442 wrote about the game after... so Ajax were so dominant they had less possession, less corners and less shots than spurs... and that was a spurs side with Llorente who excels in not holding the ball up. Maybe it wasn’t as one sided as some would like us to believe
 
Really good writer on 442 wrote about the game after... so Ajax were so dominant they had less possession, less corners and less shots than spurs... and that was a spurs side with Llorente who excels in not holding the ball up. Maybe it wasn’t as one sided as some would like us to believe

Take out the first 30 minutes and it was pretty even.
 
Really good writer on 442 wrote about the game after... so Ajax were so dominant they had less possession, less corners and less shots than spurs... and that was a spurs side with Llorente who excels in not holding the ball up. Maybe it wasn’t as one sided as some would like us to believe
I agree, but then I want to agree with this of course. It is difficult to distinguish between the two sometimes. We did not create many clear cut chances, in hindsight I think the Alli shot from our kick-off routine in the first twenty seconds of the second half may have been the best one. They created some very very good ones, from open play. Will that be very different in Amsterdam, with Son? I am not sure. I do think that if, there, we manage to rattle them in the first half as we did in London in the second, we are in with a real chance. I trust in Poch to find a solution. Whether that involves playing Dier, or even Lamela if he is fit, I honestly don't know. I keep thinking that Dele holds the key.
 
I agree, but then I want to agree with this of course. It is difficult to distinguish between the two sometimes. We did not create many clear cut chances, in hindsight I think the Alli shot from our kick-off routine in the first twenty seconds of the second half may have been the best one. They created some very very good ones, from open play. Will that be very different in Amsterdam, with Son? I am not sure. I do think that if, there, we manage to rattle them in the first half as we did in London in the second, we are in with a real chance. I trust in Poch to find a solution. Whether that involves playing Dier, or even Lamela if he is fit, I honestly don't know. I keep thinking that Dele holds the key.

Lamela is broken like an old biscuit

Dier with maybe a game this weekend may be more match fit so is an option

Get Kane on the bench just to scare them
 
including that it’s even

They had one more shot on target than us and that was the difference
I think they had better chances than us. We were outplayed for the opening half an hour. We were the better side in the second half, but not by as much and we didn't create real clear cut chances, they did. Deserved one goal win for them, but a positive for us that we upped our game, should give us some confidence for the second leg.
 
I think they had better chances than us. We were outplayed for the opening half an hour. We were the better side in the second half, but not by as much and we didn't create real clear cut chances, they did. Deserved one goal win for them, but a positive for us that we upped our game, should give us some confidence for the second leg.

They had the better chances but we had more chances
The issue is we were passing to lamppost who had a good game by his standards but still offered nothing
They were passing to better players, like we can on Tuesday
 
They had the better chances but we had more chances
The issue is we were passing to lamppost who had a good game by his standards but still offered nothing
They were passing to better players, like we can on Tuesday
Agreed, and hopefully we can make it count in the second leg. I'm just saying that they deserved their one goal win imo.

We had Llorente, who I also think did alright. Problem was we didn't do enough to use him well. Not enough movement around him for flicks and holdup play, not good enough crossing.
 
Agreed, and hopefully we can make it count in the second leg. I'm just saying that they deserved their one goal win imo.

We had Llorente, who I also think did alright. Problem was we didn't do enough to use him well. Not enough movement around him for flicks and holdup play, not good enough crossing.
Every time he got it he couldn’t manage to pass it to a spurs player

He had some great control but his passing was woeful
 
Every time he got it he couldn’t manage to pass it to a spurs player

He had some great control but his passing was woeful
If he had more movement around him perhaps it would have been easier?

We know Llorente, we know his strengths, we know his weaknesses. To succeed more with him on the pitch we should play to his strengths. IIRC the best cross from open play came from Foyth in the last minutes.

Too easy to blame it on Llorente imo. He did as well as can be expected, others did not.
 
If he had more movement around him perhaps it would have been easier?

We know Llorente, we know his strengths, we know his weaknesses. To succeed more with him on the pitch we should play to his strengths. IIRC the best cross from open play came from Foyth in the last minutes.

Too easy to blame it on Llorente imo. He did as well as can be expected, others did not.
Yes, I agree. And although the best cross may have come from Foyth, I would still play Trippier in Amsterdam precisely because of his crossing ability. I thought Trips' free-kicks in the first half were decent, with good deliveries to Llorente and Alderweireld (at least I think they were both Trippier's). For various reasons (Son, Sissoko, our awareness of what Ajax can do from close up) I think the second leg will be different. Class may tell in the end. I think Ajax are not a shabby team, and they are ahead. Poch needs to earn his corn perhaps more than ever before Wednesday, when facing a team which in terms of playing style and ability is pretty unique, certainly not like any team we face in the PL.
 
Yes, I agree. And although the best cross may have come from Foyth, I would still play Trippier in Amsterdam precisely because of his crossing ability. I thought Trips' free-kicks in the first half were decent, with good deliveries to Llorente and Alderweireld (at least I think they were both Trippier's). For various reasons (Son, Sissoko, our awareness of what Ajax can do from close up) I think the second leg will be different. Class may tell in the end. I think Ajax are not a shabby team, and they are ahead. Poch needs to earn his corn perhaps more than ever before Wednesday, when facing a team which in terms of playing style and ability is pretty unique, certainly not like any team we face in the PL.
Agree with most of that. Would start Foyth against Bournemouth and if he does well again start him against Ajax. He brings some much needed composure and ambition on the ball into our team. Can see the argument for Trippier though, if he could find form he would be an automatic starter for me. Just been so long since he showed any real form.

Son, Sissoko, smarter approach than in the first half at home. I'm reasonably optimistic about the second leg. As optimistic as one can be for a second leg away having lost 1-0 at home and being without Kane and Winks...
 
If he had more movement around him perhaps it would have been easier?

We know Llorente, we know his strengths, we know his weaknesses. To succeed more with him on the pitch we should play to his strengths. IIRC the best cross from open play came from Foyth in the last minutes.

Too easy to blame it on Llorente imo. He did as well as can be expected, others did not.

I actually think he is really poor in the air

He doesn’t win many 50/50s and he doesn’t attack the ball

He looked better on the floor than he normally does but took the wrong option too many times

He had his best game for us IMO
 
I actually think he is really poor in the air

He doesn’t win many 50/50s and he doesn’t attack the ball

He looked better on the floor than he normally does but took the wrong option too many times

He had his best game for us IMO
He's a bit Peter Crouch at times for sure. 11 " aerials won" against Ajax according to whoscored though. Blind and De Ligt had 8 combined.

There was potential there to hurt them. Will be in the second leg too if he plays, if we can use him correctly.
 
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