Paulinho the problem for woeful Spurs
Well 11 changes to the line up, not a surprise and it does rather confirm that Jan Vertonghen, our best centre-half, and Mauricio Pochettino have had a falling out over the captaincy. Clearly Vertonghen has been expecting it, quite why after he downed tools last season I don't know.
Presumably that means Chiriches will be playing at Arsenal which all but guarantees them victory. It's a depressing time to be a Spurs fan with him in the team. Another player who is simply not bothering at the moment, Paulinho. After 30 minutes of boredom I gave up watching the supposed football and watched Paulinho.
He was simply walking about centrally providing no options at all. The players from the back for the whole of the first half had either no forward passes or just one option. Bentaleb and Stambouli were forced to pass sideways or backwards and then we have no confidence and start to not even look for passes. At that time you need leaders, Vertonghen by this time had upped his game considerably but there appeared to be few leaders out there.
That problem all caused by no movement in front of them. Paulinho was playing central, his movement was crucial, if he is just wandering about, then the wide men haven't a hope of achieving anything on their own and that becomes the only ball Bentaleb and Stambouli can play. His failure to even try made everyone look useless. He can't or doesn't want to play the central attacking midfielder role. I did speculate before the game whether he would be better playing wide, I certainly don't want to see him in that role again, Harry Kane is better at it.
We were not playing a pressing game, we were not playing high tempo, we were not playing interchanging front four for the second game in a row, hard to know what we were playing, certainly not football.
We deservedly went behind thanks to lazy defending with no conviction. The goal came from the right but Davies was simply ball watching at left-back when he should have been tucking in, especially as Fazio had had to go out wide. That left Vertonghen with two to mark and nobody helped him.
Spurs were utterly awful, not playing as a team, but a bunch of individuals, the cause of which was Paulinho's lack of movement in central midfield. As soon as he went off Tottenham suddenly started to get into the game. Man of the Match Ryan Mason came on for the last 30 minutes in place of Stambouli and Harry Kane for Paulinho.
Mason injected urgency, his passing was quick, just what Pochettino is looking for. That and movement in front of him from Kane suddenly gave us passing opportunities, which we took advantage of. A passing exchange around the Nottingham Forest box and Ryan Mason was there to hit a powerful shot into the top corner.
There were still strange decisions to come. Soldado had been quiet all night, well nobody had bothered to pass him the ball. Andros Townsend had another shot, which was going wide and Soldado reacted to turn the ball into the net. Just what he needed a goal and with the end of the game coming the chance to use the space and get another. The result, we take him off and put Lamela on, why?
Did we not want Soldado to gain the maximum amount of confidence? Or is the confidence of Lamela more important for Pochettino? There has been talk at all the clubs he has been at that he has his favourites and if you are not one of them you don't get a look in. Lamela is clearly a favourite but then you could argue if we can get him firing on all cylinders he'd be a major asset, at the moment it looks as if we have overpaid for him.
He did make a lovely pass for Harry Kane, who had made an excellent run into the wide open spaces that were appearing in the Nottingham Forest defence, that Kane put away with aplomb.
I suppose Soldado could have been brought off because Pochettino didn't want him getting injured as he intends to use him at the weekend, but I doubt it, more likely he is not a favourite. We messed around with his confidence last season and we are doing it again. The look on his face spoke volumes as did Vertonghen's body language in the first half.
One was not pleased to be playing, one was not pleased to be taken off. A 3-1 victory simply papers over the cracks and makes people forget what came before, utter rubbish.
Presumably that means Chiriches will be playing at Arsenal which all but guarantees them victory. It's a depressing time to be a Spurs fan with him in the team. Another player who is simply not bothering at the moment, Paulinho. After 30 minutes of boredom I gave up watching the supposed football and watched Paulinho.
He was simply walking about centrally providing no options at all. The players from the back for the whole of the first half had either no forward passes or just one option. Bentaleb and Stambouli were forced to pass sideways or backwards and then we have no confidence and start to not even look for passes. At that time you need leaders, Vertonghen by this time had upped his game considerably but there appeared to be few leaders out there.
That problem all caused by no movement in front of them. Paulinho was playing central, his movement was crucial, if he is just wandering about, then the wide men haven't a hope of achieving anything on their own and that becomes the only ball Bentaleb and Stambouli can play. His failure to even try made everyone look useless. He can't or doesn't want to play the central attacking midfielder role. I did speculate before the game whether he would be better playing wide, I certainly don't want to see him in that role again, Harry Kane is better at it.
We were not playing a pressing game, we were not playing high tempo, we were not playing interchanging front four for the second game in a row, hard to know what we were playing, certainly not football.
We deservedly went behind thanks to lazy defending with no conviction. The goal came from the right but Davies was simply ball watching at left-back when he should have been tucking in, especially as Fazio had had to go out wide. That left Vertonghen with two to mark and nobody helped him.
Spurs were utterly awful, not playing as a team, but a bunch of individuals, the cause of which was Paulinho's lack of movement in central midfield. As soon as he went off Tottenham suddenly started to get into the game. Man of the Match Ryan Mason came on for the last 30 minutes in place of Stambouli and Harry Kane for Paulinho.
Mason injected urgency, his passing was quick, just what Pochettino is looking for. That and movement in front of him from Kane suddenly gave us passing opportunities, which we took advantage of. A passing exchange around the Nottingham Forest box and Ryan Mason was there to hit a powerful shot into the top corner.
There were still strange decisions to come. Soldado had been quiet all night, well nobody had bothered to pass him the ball. Andros Townsend had another shot, which was going wide and Soldado reacted to turn the ball into the net. Just what he needed a goal and with the end of the game coming the chance to use the space and get another. The result, we take him off and put Lamela on, why?
Did we not want Soldado to gain the maximum amount of confidence? Or is the confidence of Lamela more important for Pochettino? There has been talk at all the clubs he has been at that he has his favourites and if you are not one of them you don't get a look in. Lamela is clearly a favourite but then you could argue if we can get him firing on all cylinders he'd be a major asset, at the moment it looks as if we have overpaid for him.
He did make a lovely pass for Harry Kane, who had made an excellent run into the wide open spaces that were appearing in the Nottingham Forest defence, that Kane put away with aplomb.
I suppose Soldado could have been brought off because Pochettino didn't want him getting injured as he intends to use him at the weekend, but I doubt it, more likely he is not a favourite. We messed around with his confidence last season and we are doing it again. The look on his face spoke volumes as did Vertonghen's body language in the first half.
One was not pleased to be playing, one was not pleased to be taken off. A 3-1 victory simply papers over the cracks and makes people forget what came before, utter rubbish.
13 comments
out in February. Under AVB
we would make 5-6 changes
between the midweek and
weekend games and lost all
cohesiveness. Poch is trying to field two teams of roughly equal quality with our first choice defence playing behind our second choice midfield and forwards. I dont think it is sustainable and the problem comes from the creative midfield players. Paulinho looks like he wants to be elsewhere. Dembele slows the game down too much. Eriksen is in poor form. Only Lamela seems to have urgency and he played more intelligent passes in 10 minutes tonight than the rest of the midfield managed between them in 90.
As for the article, I'm getting sick to death of all these negative Spurs fans, yep the game wasn't great and frustrating at times but why do you have to tell the world. It seems these days it's cool to hate the team you claim to love. It's no longer if you have nothing good to say then don't say anything at all, it's now put it on the internet. We've had ups and many downs for years, as long as I can remember since the 80s. If you don't like it move on, go somewhere else, somewhere that can fulfill your plastic fans cravings. I will always love Spurs, no matter what, through thick and thin, proud to be a Spurs fans, always will. COYS.
lamela is MP favourite. he played a defense splitting pass which leaves kane unmarked and he scores. but its utter rubbish. that moment should never have been created. MP should never have subbed soldado in the first place so his confindence would have developed ten minutes more.
and did you figure it all on your own all the problems that ails tottenham. you sir are a genius