Spurs 3 Aston Villa 1 post match thread.

[phantom limb]

I’m not sure if one game is the best way to judge a player, any of them

[AlexAlexCropley]

Just back in the car. Thoughts...

Walking to the ground I had a fear we would be rolled over and be 3-0 down at half time. I was worried about the full backs and Hourihane. I also had echos of some absolute abject surrenders here.

First half surprised me, pleasantly. We competed. That's what is key for me, collectively, we competed. We were compact, had good shape and caused problems on the break. Scored a good goal, could have scored a couple more and grew in confidence.

Second half they upped the tempo and this caused us to contract and stretch the space up to Wesley and increase the distance the midfield needed to break out.

We didn't retain territory, the ball came back quicker and we had to work harder in defence. They forced errors. Grealish for one and they got a little bit of luck with the bounce of the ball, but the goals were coming. We couldn't find an answer and realistically, who expected us to?

It's not excusing or triumphing defeat. But since 2010 we've gone one way and they've gone the other. They're a very good side, brought a £60m player in and brought Eriksson off the bench.

We on the other hand have a number of players to blend in. Taylor, Elmo and Hourihane wont finish the season there for example. We'll get wiser and smarter.

Ground was good. Feels oddly compact. Absolute silence though. The old Lane used to be a bit noisy, but this one is a morgue.

Like saying what the weather was like today.
Ground was underwhelming. Like a poor ICC.

[hilts_coolerking]

I’m not sure if one game is the best way to judge a player, any of them

No but you can judge their performance today and one or two were poor.

[KRS]

Also, it's worth remembering that not many teams will come away with any points at Spurs this season and some will come away with significantly worse than a loss by 2 goals. This was a free hit for us and any kind of result would have been a bonus so everyone needs to keep their heads up and support the team loud and proud next week.

[SoccerHQ]

Jota potential flat track bully? Can see him having better games where we are attacking and getting more of the ball.

It's tough coming on with 30 minutes left. Spurs were pretty much completely dominating at that point. I thought it would be a decent sub and give us more of the ball but we were basically sitting on our 18 box at that point.

From what I've seen in pre season Jota can be more than useful player in home games against opposition that come to defend. Will have to see how he fits into the strategy away from home.

[phantom limb]

I’m not sure if one game is the best way to judge a player, any of them

No but you can judge their performance today and one or two were poor.

We’ve been here before though haven’t we? Someone has a bad game and it for some it means that it’s the end of their career, and they’re always going to be a poor player who will never make it.

[taylorsworkrate]

Jota potential flat track bully? Can see him having better games where we are attacking and getting more of the ball.

It's tough coming on with 30 minutes left. Spurs were pretty much completely dominating at that point. I thought it would be a decent sub and give us more of the ball but we were basically sitting on our 18 box at that point.

From what I've seen in pre season Jota can be more than useful player in home games against opposition that come to defend. Will have to see how he fits into the strategy away from home.

It was the wrong sub for me in the match situation. It should have been Luiz for Conor at that point.

[hipkiss92]

Thought Hourihane and Engels were immense shutting them down in the 1st half, the Mings looked like a brick wall in the 2nd. It took the Champions League runners up almost 80 mins to get past us today. We'll easily have enough against the bottom-14, and probably enough for United and Arsenal.

[hilts_coolerking]

I’m not sure if one game is the best way to judge a player, any of them

No but you can judge their performance today and one or two were poor.

We’ve been here before though haven’t we? Someone has a bad game and it for some it means that it’s the end of their career, and they’re always going to be a poor player who will never make it.

Yeah well there's always a few muppets about but I don't see anything wrong at all in judging a player's match performance.

[Toronto Villa]

And a word for Heaton. The save just before they scored was just outrageous.

[Clark W Griswold]

First Impressions;
Tottenham - Jesus, you really see how good they are when you watch intently when they're playing your team. Strong, quick, skillfull and relentless but we defended really well until late on when we were ground down.

Heaton - Excellent, will be a star for us.
Elmo - If he's likely to be our second choice right back i'm more than happy, did fine.
Taylor - See above
Mings - Even though we lost today i'm even more convinced he'll be a star, one positional mistake in first 5 mins but was magnificent afterwards.
Engels - Another one who will be a top player for us, no doubt.
Hourahane - He tired but i saw enough today to say he's easily good enough for the division, never thought i'd be saying it.
McGinn - Possibly the best player on the pitch first half, did get overwealmed a bit second but will boss the game against most bottom half teams.
Grealish - i've critisised him in the past and rightly so but skill wise he looked as good as the Tottenham players, just not quite as strong and quick and it told as the game went on. He was up for it and he'll be a very good player even at this level.
Trezeguet - Little hints and signs that he has quality but in a 'backs against the wall' game he was never going to see much of the ball, tracked back earlier in the game but not so much later on, maybe tiredness.
El Ghazi - Looked like the player i was moaning about before his upturn in form last season, but it was a tough situation.
Wesley - Same problem as the other forwards but you just expect him to hold it up better, i actually thought he got better before he was subbed. He'll do well against the lesser teams and will prove to be a good signing.

Jota - looked a bit ponderous, not a player for a game like this but seen enough in pre-season to think he'll be very useful.
Kodjia - Oh jaysus, it was like a pissed up fan had run on the pitch. Needs to improve drammatically.
Douglas - Looked half asleep, i hope it's because he's still settling in.

As a team - Great organisation until we finally buckled, defended brilliantly and broke well first half. Gave the ball away far to much second half though and this would be the main point to work on. Giving a team like that so much posession and it's inevitable they'll break through.

Smith - Set us up really well but saw the problems and named them in his interview after the match. Couldn't have done any more.

[hilts_coolerking]

And a word for Heaton. The save just before they scored was just outrageous.

It was.  And there was at least one other as well.  He was very very good overall, first half header notwithstanding.  Could do with working on his goal kicks though, several sailed out of play on the left touchline.

[avfcpg]

They were actually a lot better than I gave them credit for before....that's what being the championship for 3 years does for a fan I guess. We will learn form it hopefully. First half was good and we looked full of pace on the break...second half we just wilted under the constant pressure and you knew it was coming.

Thought Mings, Engels and Heaton were excellent. Trezeguet looks decent and Wesley grew into the game....Jack can't hang onto the ball for that long and in this league and I just can't see a way of fitting Hourihane in the 3 in midfield. We need a proper holding player.

Early days....see where we are after 5-7 games before worrying too much. 

[hilts_coolerking]

Although we lost I don't miss the Championship one fucking bit.

[BoVillan esq]

We will adjust, we will get sharper, streetwise, more ruthless and realise there are no easy rides this season.