A belated contribution.
Ryan Mason .... my favourite Spurs player !
From the start we weren't doing our high-line act, so we gave a strong impression of being under-rehearsed. There was the usual over-reliance of passing across and back from corners and forward play until we started again through Hugo. This must stop ... the Manager is the problem here, methinks.
They were positive, and JD was what we would expect/fear, joined by Lens making a potent combination. We were lucky with some decisions, lucky that sometimes they dived too obviously, and on one occasion lucky that JD stayed on his feet.
The referee was often wrong IMHO, but the crowd were working themselves ino a frenzy. Their frustration got to their players more than us or the referee. Another ref would have been more problematic for us.
Generally, I though our passing was better, but the sense of forard purpose got lost, notably (traditionally?) when close enough to shoot. As a youngster the value of of a toe punt (open play and penalties) was stressed, as the lack of back-lift was disarming to the keeper, the direction wasn't guaranteed, and it had more power. I do wish they would work on this, instead of looking to stroke/swerve/curl all day.
Many have mentioned the subs. I groaned when Lamella came on, but he and Townsend proceeded to shake things up. Not playing the usual style and looking for different lines. Perhaps having less cramped areas to work in helped. Manager please note.
The new boys didn't excel, but they weren't rubbish. The opposition were having to play route one, and had speed. No PL match is easy, the first away and needing a first win puts extra pressure on all.
Toby is growing on me, in part because Jan and he are getting the hang of each other. Walker is looking more muscle-bound than fleet, perhaps too much gym work while injured. At least he avoided the o.g. today.
Roll on Thursday. COYS
