Spurs v Villa Post Match Thread.

[Clark W Griswold]

Is this the beginning of the unravelling or just a blip?

So many players well below what they were last season. Bailey is struggling and Philogene doesn’t look like he can play at this level. Ramsey isn’t what he was yet pre injury. Mcginn not as effective. I thought pre season about 8th might be our level with champions league distraction and that might be optimistic.

Thought JJ was our best player. Give him the ball to take a player on and he'll win us 30 yards up the pitch and get a shot away (which led to the first corner which led to our goal) or he'll win a free-kick as in the second half. We just didn't feed him enough.

Agree with that, he played well.

I suppose it’s a bit of a concern that the starting 11 today was probably our best, save for trying to squeeze a fully fit Kamara back in and also considering our proper natural wide players are way off it. And we got hammered. It’s been a bit of a theme that when our defence caves in, it really does cave in. We did defend well though until their second. Son’s ball in for the first was pretty unplayable. Still, I’m sure we’ll pick up form again soon although I can’t see much other than similar next Saturday.

[VillaTim]

Selling Diaby wasn't the issue, Bailey morphing back into Bailey 2.0 2021 version is the issue

[Deano's Mullet]

Despite conceding early in the second I felt we still looked dangerous on the break but once JJ had got in that decent position on the left and passed behind everybody we were never in it after that.  This is depressed as I've felt since Nov 2022 but we are still 5th with 28 games left so anything is possible. Definitely think we miss Luiz and Diaby more than I thought we would but then give Kamara more minutes and you never know....

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Selling Diaby wasn't the issue, Bailey morphing back into Bailey 2.0 2021 version is the issue

That’s part of it but many thought Diaby did ok last year, in his first season and would have improved, he went and was replaced by a promising championship player.

[olaftab]

Just my opinion but if we’d been a bit more bothered in the week about winning a cup competition and playing a few of the players that were rested for today we wouldn’t have lost that 4-1

They knocked Man City out ffs didn’t do them any harm
All this shit about bigger fish to fry and priorities is a load of absolute bollocks
It was bollocks then it’s bollocks now it will always be bollocks

Take every game seriously, winning games in any competition never does any team any harm
We’ve totally fucked up big and proper this week

bigger fish my arse

This.

[Olneythelonely]

You players were a fucking disgrace today. After being rested midweek you go and embarrass us like this?

Gutless second half

Just to say, I’m not embarrassed by this group of players.

[Beard82]

That was a bad week. 

The problem is when we set our standards and objectives as high as we have, there isnt that much room for error.  We have had a very easy start to the season and domestically - we have 1 win in 6 games.  We have only played two of the teams we need to be measured against and they have both beaten us comfortably without having to play well.  We also got away with a few early ones.

Admitedly you could never describe me as an optomist - but I am slightly worried.  I think we really miss luiz and Kamara (the sooner hes back in the team the better).  Tielemans has been great, and Im impressed with Onana, but we just cant keep position anywhere nearly as well as we could, our build up play is rarely at the levels of last season, and we cant we play through a half decent press.  We have been reverting to going back to front too often and the ball just keeps coming back, and means that our dangerous players arent getting space around the box.

I though Ramsay was good todat - but Bailey not being like last season, and Jayden not looking ready / good enough means we have no options.  We have been lucky that Duran is capable of doing incredible things - and that has hidden a lot.  That combined with our inability to keep a clean sheet means UCL is probably going to be beyond us. 

[Demitri_C]

You players were a fucking disgrace today. After being rested midweek you go and embarrass us like this?

Gutless second half

Just to say, I’m not embarrassed by this group of players.

Im referring to the performance not the players just to clarify which was embarrassing

[john2710]

When Spurs upped the intensity in the 2nd half we simply couldn't get the ball out. The midfield seemed to evaporate. Which lead to mistakes. Spurs didn't need to be better, they just worked harder & we played right into it.

A note on the ref, compared to the one last week we might as well been watching a different sport.

[Ads]

You lost 4-1 ezri and you think its funny?

Cheers ezri

Players are allowed to have lives and laugh with their mates. It's not an affront to anyone, he obviously doesn't think the result is funny does he

What about the poor fans who paid all that money, wasted their money going to watch that? Laugh in the changing room dont disrespect the fans and laugh on the pitch

Im sorry but that stuff infuriates me. I wouldnt mind if we lost 1-0 but to get absolutely humbled 4-1 like this i dont like that after you perform like that.  They should be angry after that

I'm not offended by Ezri laughing. I've seen us battered loads, it's football, maybe calm down and don't get offended on others behalf.

[Demitri_C]

Selling Diaby wasn't the issue, Bailey morphing back into Bailey 2.0 2021 version is the issue

That’s part of it but many thought Diaby did ok last year, in his first season and would have improved, he went and was replaced by a promising championship player.

I think we are missing him and luiz. But diaby more his pace especially when we were counter attacking really helped us last season. We have no one that does it as well and as quickly. JJ and rogers do their best but are not as quick. We tend to slow the play down.

Baileys been a big let down so far this season. Philogene has been nowhere near the standard as of yet. Had one good game rest of season hasnt been good enough

[Villan82]

Just my opinion but if we’d been a bit more bothered in the week about winning a cup competition and playing a few of the players that were rested for today we wouldn’t have lost that 4-1

They knocked Man City out ffs didn’t do them any harm
All this shit about bigger fish to fry and priorities is a load of absolute bollocks
It was bollocks then it’s bollocks now it will always be bollocks

Take every game seriously, winning games in any competition never does any team any harm
We’ve totally fucked up big and proper this week

bigger fish my arse

This.

This x2.

I defended it last season and the previous season as the league truly was the priority. But we've 'done that' now, adding silverware would truly cement the current team as legends.

[Demitri_C]

And also give vital minutes go players like kamara buendia and mings

[Beard82]

Selling Diaby wasn't the issue, Bailey morphing back into Bailey 2.0 2021 version is the issue

Yeah but that what happens - to expect Bailey to be Bailey to be 23/4 bailey again is a huge ask.  Whereas maybe Diaby would have adapt more been better - hes clearly a very good player even if he did struggle at time

[RamboandBruno]

We controlled the game without threatening too much first half, Onana was by far our best player in that half. Second half, as Clark has said l, Son’s cross was brilliant and credit where its due. To be honest after that for twenty minutes I thought we pretty much calmed the waters and again controlled things without creating anything.

Rogers going off changed our shape and control of the match. Torres fell apart in that period, however some of the calls to get him out the side are a bit misguided in my view. Without Torres we dont get the big wins we’ve got in the last year or so, Man City, Arsenal, Bayern etc, his ability to play out from the back is pivotal. But our goals conceded stats can’t be denied. Can Torres and Mings play together with Konsa at RB?

Going forwards we created nothing second half. Its a bit of a concern that there are no easy answers to this, other than Bailey and McGinn playing themselves into Form. Or maybe Onana and Kamara as a double pivot with Tielemans further forwards.

I don’t understand the hysterical comparisons to ‘Moscow’. I was in my mid 30s ffs. A different manager sacrificed a uefa cup tie to focus on and failing to qualify for the champions league. If Emery sacrificed the league cup its to concentrate on doing well in the champions league and to try and qualify again, whilst having a good crack at the competition that we’ve already qualified for, the comparison doesn’t fit at all?

We got battered, it was shit, we’re playing okish whilst sitting in 5th and playing very well in the champions league. Things could be better and a lot worse. There are a lot of hysterical airplane moments going on at the moment.