***TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v Chelski OMT***

[Legohamster]

Jose parking the bus at home - I guess it's acceptable now...

It seems the only team it's not an acceptable tactic for is Arsenal and Spurs.

wenger won't and spurs fans won't allow it.

 

[Hashegotthesackyet?]

Lennon at fault for the first, didn't track the runner.
Hugo 2nd.
verts 3rd.

Some very good interchange, winning the 2nd ball, spirit and desire.

Sometimes players too close to each other and getting in each others way.

Harry is a 9 1/2 in my book, not a number 9.

Vlad was Ok going fwd, but too sloppy at least twice losing concentration and giving away throw-ins.

On the whole, positive for me as I can see some plan and a bit of shape.

 

[Kandi1977]

On the whole, positive for me as I can see some plan and a bit of shape.

Agree with that, but as I said in an earlier post, we need to get more cynical and clinical. We showed some vs Everton, but it's still something we lack most of the time.
Sometimes you just need to kick the ball out of the stadium, but instead some of our players are far too naive and try a back-heel or nutmeg in those situations and we get punished.
This is something Poch can and should adress! Morinho has managed to do it with his players. Just look at Oscar and Willian! Totally different players now compared to when they first arrived at cheatski! Many times we are far too naive and lack a defending mentality. For example yesterday on numerous occasions the ball was played up to Lennon, and he got pressed bacwards hard by two players, but still both fullbacks went charging forwards! You would NEVER see Ivanovic or Zabaleta do that! They would stay back and protect in case the ball was lost.
Once we get things like that sorted, I think we will be a much better team and harder to beat.

 

[thfcsteff]

its nice having a hungry young team out there that we can move forwards with rather than wasters like ade, kaboul and capoue, who are either shiit now, always been shiit or are on the way down to shiitness.

id much rather watch these guys giving it a go. these players and performances i can get behind and have faith we can develop.

Well said that man!!!

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

We lacked cutting edge but my word are we staring to look a decent side with the team that started - we lack a couple of players but I am actually happy with a lot of that game funnily enough

Agreed, the last 2 games have restored my faith a bit, need to follow it up with a win and performance against palace though.

 

[Kandi1977]

Ex-Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann on Match of the Day:
Report: Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham
"Spurs were out-played, out-thought and out muscled. If you have no conviction in your play, don't be surprised if you don't get any points. It is a very worrying time for Spurs fans."

I wonder what game he watched! But then again, he's ex-Liverpool......

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

I've just read the bbc match report on our game "Chelsea completely bossed the 2nd half" I'm not sure I saw that? We never really troubled them but when one team has over 60% possession it's usually them who are described as bossing it, not the other way round. In fact the whole report reads like Chelsea could have won by a hatful. I mean, even mourinho is quoted as saying 3-0 was too many and it was a lot closer than the score line!

 

[Jordinho]

The studio pundits really annoyed me yesterday (as usual really). We were just some minor obstacle for Chelsea to overcome on their way to the title. Same with Sunderland against City. It's not presented as a game between two teams, but simply as Chelsea TV.

 

[shaney]

This; though when following bits on the radio on and off, it did feel like Chelski were just chilling waiting for us to run out of puff or slacken and give away a chance....

Exactly. It amuses me that some fans use the fact that Chelsea were happy to take a breather and let us have the ball and play non threatening sideway passes to each other on the half way line as some kind of "positive" we can take from the game.

The truth is Chelsea did not break a sweat.

 

[Rob]

The studio pundits really annoyed me yesterday (as usual really). We were just some minor obstacle for Chelsea to overcome on their way to the title. Same with Sunderland against City. It's not presented as a game between two teams, but simply as Chelsea TV.

The first 15 minutes, when Harry Kane could've bagged a hat trick, we came flying out of the traps, this couldn't be sustained. Chelsea sat in second gear, not exactly 'soaking it up' but they didn't concede did they. Next thing we know we're 2 down. Yes we were just another team to beat on their way to one of the top two spots, no we never looked like putting Gary Lineker out of his misery, yes Chelsea looked content for us to pass it about between our defence with a 2 goal cushion. They reported it how the rest of the world saw it. Chelsea are playing so well that every other article is labelling them invincible, whereas we are on a winning run of 2 games having overcome hull and Everton.... Did anybody expect, rather than hope for, the win??

 

[braineclipse]

Exactly. It amuses me that some fans use the fact that Chelsea were happy to take a breather and let us have the ball and play non threatening sideway passes to each other on the half way line as some kind of "positive" we can take from the game.

The truth is Chelsea did not break a sweat.

They certainly broke a sweat early on in the first half.

Of course after going two goals up Chelsea will sit back and be ridiculously difficult to break down. This is Mourinho and this is arguably the best Chelsea team he's ever put together. We made them work reasonably hard though and if at any point we'd gotten the 2-1 goal I think it would have gotten very interesting.

Disagree with your statement about us being in control. We had the ball but rarely did they look stretched or out of second gear. We looked tidy but blunt and created very little

It was for me a winnable game off the back of a great performance at the weekend but we concede defeat by playing a weakened team (not our best a viable which was the side that win against Everton)

We massively contributed to our downfall though with poor defensive errors and that has to stop (can't blame Poch directly for that) but why away at Chelsea play Lamella???? Yes he played some nice passes and did out Kane in once although he was offside but if your gonna change it then play a defence minded player rather than a player who is busy but impacts the game so little either way.

Very frustrating

The game was winnable in the same way that any game is winnable. This was the toughest game of the season and Chelsea have lost once (I think?) ever under Mourinho at home in the league. It might have been winnable, but it was always a long shot.

To win it we would have needed marginal stuff to go our way. The team Poch sent out at least got us into the right situations to do that. Had we scored early on the game would have changed drastically in character and we surely created chances. Once those marginal situations didn't go our way we needed to weather the storm a bit when Chelsea attacked. It wasn't like they carved us open repeatedly, they were rather clinical and scored with 2 of their first 3 shots on target iirc. At that point it was always going to be very difficult. But I don't think that takes away from the performance. And there's just no way of knowing if playing your team would have meant a better performance or a higher likelihood of winning.

 

[glorygloryeze]

They certainly broke a sweat early on in the first half.

Of course after going two goals up Chelsea will sit back and be ridiculously difficult to break down. This is Mourinho and this is arguably the best Chelsea team he's ever put together. We made them work reasonably hard though and if at any point we'd gotten the 2-1 goal I think it would have gotten very interesting.



The game was winnable in the same way that any game is winnable. This was the toughest game of the season and Chelsea have lost once (I think?) ever under Mourinho at home in the league. It might have been winnable, but it was always a long shot.

To win it we would have needed marginal stuff to go our way. The team Poch sent out at least got us into the right situations to do that. Had we scored early on the game would have changed drastically in character and we surely created chances. Once those marginal situations didn't go our way we needed to weather the storm a bit when Chelsea attacked. It wasn't like they carved us open repeatedly, they were rather clinical and scored with 2 of their first 3 shots on target iirc. At that point it was always going to be very difficult. But I don't think that takes away from the performance. And there's just no way of knowing if playing your team would have meant a better performance or a higher likelihood of winning.

On one hand it's not the end of the world losing against this Chelski side. On the other hand it's another case of the usual 'ifs, buts and maybes' that we as Spurs fans are adept at handing out.

I still don't get why we paid Arsenal far more respect than we did Chelski. Sitting deep and having two banks of 4 would have made us much more solid imo. We may still have lost in the end, but losing 1-0 and keeping some semblance of dignity to the scoreline would surely have been better for team and club morale imo

 

[braineclipse]

On one hand it's not the end of the world losing against this Chelski side. On the other hand it's another case of the usual 'ifs, buts and maybes' that we as Spurs fans are adept at handing out.

I still don't get why we paid Arsenal far more respect than we did Chelski. Sitting deep and having two banks of 4 would have made us much more solid imo. We may still have lost in the end, but losing 1-0 and keeping some semblance of dignity to the scoreline would surely have been better for team and club morale imo

How is one supposed to talk about a performance rather than just the result without using ifs buts and maybes? I honestly don't think my post was making excuses, I don't think I was unduly biased towards us. I might have to watch that opening 20 minutes again with a bit less stress, but i really think we did well. I know we had the better chances up until Hazard's goal. What should we do? Just discuss the scoreline and the goals? The performance doesn't matter?

I would rather see Poch go out to try to get the result. Whatever the reasoning we were really good in that first period of the game, it worked (if you're capable and allowed to look at a performance and not just the goals scored).

Hopefully when reviewing the game Poch and the coaches spends some time focusing on the period of the game where Bentaleb, Mason, Lennon, Lamela, Eriksen and Kane with an average age of what 22-23 years old outplayed Chelsea and created chances. That's what they're capable of. That's their best level. Now just do that a bit more often. I think that feeling could do a lot for our confidence.

 

[Notmegov]

I would rather see Poch go out to try to get the result. Whatever the reasoning we were really good in that first period of the game, it worked (if you're capable and allowed to look at a performance and not just the goals scored).

Hopefully when reviewing the game Poch and the coaches spends some time focusing on the period of the game where Bentaleb, Mason, Lennon, Lamela, Eriksen and Kane with an average age of what 22-23 years old outplayed Chelsea and created chances. That's what they're capable of. That's their best level. Now just do that a bit more often. I think that feeling could do a lot for our confidence.

Well said, i took a lot more positives from that game than negatives. It was weird to watch we played well and got beaten by the best team by far in the country. No shame just keep on working on those moves Poch and this team will go very very far.

 

[glorygloryeze]

How is one supposed to talk about a performance rather than just the result without using ifs buts and maybes? I honestly don't think my post was making excuses, I don't think I was unduly biased towards us. I might have to watch that opening 20 minutes again with a bit less stress, but i really think we did well. I know we had the better chances up until Hazard's goal. What should we do? Just discuss the scoreline and the goals? The performance doesn't matter?

I would rather see Poch go out to try to get the result. Whatever the reasoning we were really good in that first period of the game, it worked (if you're capable and allowed to look at a performance and not just the goals scored).

Hopefully when reviewing the game Poch and the coaches spends some time focusing on the period of the game where Bentaleb, Mason, Lennon, Lamela, Eriksen and Kane with an average age of what 22-23 years old outplayed Chelsea and created chances. That's what they're capable of. That's their best level. Now just do that a bit more often. I think that feeling could do a lot for our confidence.

It's good to look at positives, but to get the best long term out of the team you also have to look at the negatives. It's no disgrace to lose to Chelski, but why not go out and get the result in the same manner we also tried to get the result away at Arsenal? We frustrated Arsenal before starting to turn the screw and it nearly worked in getting us all three points. In the end it partially worked in that we got a very creditable draw. We played from a very solid base, whist yesterday we seemed to fire ourselves out of the blocks and attack them from the get go. And Chelski are a FAR better team. Why not be similarly cautious against them?

Yes, we were a whisker from taking the lead, but against a Jose team you have to play the long game and I don't think we did at all. It we played similarly to Arsenal but still lost say 1-0 or 2-0 late on, I don't think things would feel so bad.

Remember that these were young players whose confidence of knowing that they 'went toe-to-toe with Chelski for 20mins' could easily be shattered by a final scoreline that actually says 'yeah, yeah, play around all you like but in the end you're nowhere near touching us'

However, if we beat Palace AND play well, them all will feel better again...however if we don't (and that's NOT inconceivable) then this result will feel all the worse imo

 

[diego_maradona]

There were a lot of positives yesterday. But we really do have to stop making silly mistakes. We have been saying this for years and years. There's something about that ground. Lloris has been imperious this season but even he succumbed to the hoodoo. We just honestly have got to cut it out. Its a mentality thing. We are always on the verge of a silly mistake. It plays on the players' minds. Chelsea mistakes are so few and far between that they just don't believe they will make any anymore.

 

[braineclipse]

It's good to look at positives, but to get the best long term out of the team you also have to look at the negatives. It's no disgrace to lose to Chelski, but why not go out and get the result in the same manner we also tried to get the result away at Arsenal? We frustrated Arsenal before starting to turn the screw and it nearly worked in getting us all three points. In the end it partially worked in that we got a very creditable draw. We played from a very solid base, whist yesterday we seemed to fire ourselves out of the blocks and attack them from the get go. And Chelski are a FAR better team. Why not be similarly cautious against them?

Yes, we were a whisker from taking the lead, but against a Jose team you have to play the long game and I don't think we did at all. It we played similarly to Arsenal but still lost say 1-0 or 2-0 late on, I don't think things would feel so bad.

Remember that these were young players whose confidence of knowing that they 'went toe-to-toe with Chelski for 20mins' could easily be shattered by a final scoreline that actually says 'yeah, yeah, play around all you like but in the end you're nowhere near touching us'

However, if we beat Palace AND play well, them all will feel better again...however if we don't (and that's NOT inconceivable) then this result will feel all the worse imo

I think our youngsters are a bit tougher than you seem to think.

Remember Mason started his first league game away to Arsenal and didn't look out of place. Remember Bentaleb being thrown in a the deep end last season and looking like he'd been playing PL football for years, at 19, in central midfield. I don't think their confidence is shattered by a loss away to Chelsea. They'll get the ball against Palace and just keep doing their thing.

There were a lot of positives yesterday. But we really do have to stop making silly mistakes. We have been saying this for years and years. There's something about that ground. Lloris has been imperious this season but even he succumbed to the hoodoo. We just honestly have got to cut it out. Its a mentality thing. We are always on the verge of a silly mistake. It plays on the players' minds. Chelsea mistakes are so few and far between that they just don't believe they will make any anymore.

The thing is that those silly mistakes get punished a lot more against Chelsea. Lloris has one weakness, it's his kicking/distribution. Not some complete shock that it ended up costing us. Not a big shock that it's the best team in the league that ended up punishing that weakness. It's what they do.

 

[glorygloryeze]

I think our youngsters are a bit tougher than you seem to think.

Remember Mason started his first league game away to Arsenal and didn't look out of place. Remember Bentaleb being thrown in a the deep end last season and looking like he'd been playing PL football for years, at 19, in central midfield. I don't think their confidence is shattered by a loss away to Chelsea. They'll get the ball against Palace and just keep doing their thing.



The thing is that those silly mistakes get punished a lot more against Chelsea. Lloris has one weakness, it's his kicking/distribution. Not some complete shock that it ended up costing us. Not a big shock that it's the best team in the league that ended up punishing that weakness. It's what they do.

That's a fair point; I guess the proof will be in the pudding vs Palace...we'll see...

 

[braineclipse]

That's a fair point; I guess the proof will be in the pudding vs Palace...we'll see...

Kane and Bentaleb at least showing the right kind of reaction to the press:

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/harry-kane-calls-on-tottenham-to-pick-themselves-up-for-crystal-palace-match-9902496.html

Kane admits they were taught a hard lesson but wants Spurs to bounce back against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

“We started very well, we created a few chances and hit the bar with a header,” he said. “On another day it could have dropped in.

“We created a couple of others, too. They didn’t go in, either, and Chelsea punished us for it. They’re a good side and it’s something we have to learn from. They were just more ruthless than us.

“But we have to dust ourselves down because we have a big game coming up at the weekend.

“Obviously we are disappointed but we can’t dwell on it too much. There are too many important games coming up that we have to win, starting this weekend. We have to keep up the intensity in games and do well.

“Everton [the 2-1 home win last Sunday] was the benchmark of how we have to play this season and hopefully we can go beyond that and keep improving.”

Midfielder Nabil Bentaleb also feels it is vital they restore their spirits and make up for the defeat against Palace.

“We have to keep our heads up, go back to the training ground and work hard because we have another game to prepare for on Saturday,” he said. “Now it’s all about Palace. We won’t have any problems (against them) if we play like we did against Everton.”

I'm guessing most Spurs fans would have accepted 3 points from the Everton and Chelsea games if offered it before the games. That's what we got along with one very good performance and one at least acceptable performance. Now we move on from those very tough games to a game that on paper seems very winnable. If we can keep up the intensity, like Bentaleb indicates, we'll have a great chance.

 

[Yiddo]

[video=youtube;S4CA44daEUQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4CA44daEUQ&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop[/video]

Pregame last night.

The fans were fantastic last night.