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A poor spell that should not be a surprise.

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It's a very poor spell for many reasons. As for a crisis not yet but I do think Pochettino can be accused of thinking too much of the squad and for the first time not getting the sum to at the very least equate to the quality of the individual parts.

Confidence is everything and in that regard ours is not there. Despite somewhat flattering victories against Real and Liverpool I think it has been the losses and draws which have revealed more about us this season.

Forget Walker. Wanyama is the biggest miss of those who played last season and in my opinion Rose caused subconscious damage by his comments prior to the season starting. Lamela's return may add some spark but I would caution hysteria in that regard. Of course having Alderweireld out is a problem as well.

For me Pochettino needed to add 2 strikers in the summer which I said and I also believed we needed players to push Alli and Eriksen. Not easy but nonetheless. We do rely too much on Kane and have become caught up in the hype over how good the pundits think our manager and players are. Good yes, brilliant no and where are these seers now? Exactly.

We have approached some games this season believing that just because we are THFC and have had 2 very good seasons that teams will fear us. We have to try and find a way back to our destructive, fast playing and clinical selves or we will be in a fight to have relevance to the second part of our season. The looming world cup should help us in that regard.

It is an important phase for Pochettino who will hopefully use this time to see who has moved into the complacent zone on the one hand and which type and quality of players he wants for next season although I strongly believe we need Zaha and Barkley and possibly Sessegnon (if he is that good) who will add pace to a side that at times is a little one-paced.

Interesting if frustrating times but as with some of the other top 6 sometimes you go back to go forward.

Dips in form and performance happen to most teams so that is not unusual. Maybe the speed of decline has taken us all by surprise but genuinely I have not thought we have been impressive or convincing this season so maybe our position and points reflect our current reality.
 
3pts worse off than at the same time last season. Finished 2nd.
So long as we (poch) can find a way through this tough time soon there's no reason to be alarmed.

Do think we may need to buy a player in January though. CM or AM.
 
I like some of your thinking
not sure about Barkley, but better than Sissoko
we do need a striker, and a goal scoring midfielder
and Poch needs to change tactics/formations depending on who we are playing
 
Lack of intensity. I don’t know if the players are knackered or what.

Lamela is such a good player for us in his creativity and pressing and it was great to see him back but reality is we need more competition for place to both motivate players and also allow rest.

Eriksen, Dele and Dier look totally off, ideally all would be benched for the next few games but whether we have that luxury is another matter.
 
Long term injuries have hurt us, Wanyama and Alderweireld out means we've essentially ended up without a holding midfielder.

In addition our young players like Walker-Peters, Foyth, Edwards, etc don't have enough experience to step in to Premier League games - hopefully they will all play against Apoel and we get a few easy early FA Cup games.
 
It's a shit patch I agree - but let's focus on the positives:

1 - We topped a CL group with world champions Real Madrid, CL finalists Dortmund and the very good APOEL
2 - We are playing home games at Wembley, so it's all away this season.
3 - In our four defeats, we have only lost to PL winners
4 - We are really suffering from a lack of Alderweireld and Wanyama. But Lamela is finally back!
5 - I think Man City will be the undoubted PL winners this season, so however great the others are they are likely just scrapping for the FA, Carabao, Europe cups and a top four finish
6 - Next season we are in the new White Hart Lane ground and we are all cumming all day... :)
 
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This remind me of the Harry Redknapp 2010-2011 so far , Do really well in Europe but then being piss poor in the league , Hoping that we don't get knocked out the champions league in the next round as otherwise there will be talk of pottechino leaving for a bigger job (Just like Redknapp with the England speculation). I don't know why he keeps playing Arrier whatever his name is! He is a liability in my eyes keeps giving the ball away. Demble don't look fit , Not been impressed with that Swansea striker we have brought he looks worse then Soldardo and that other striker we had who now has gone out on loan! Last season we was the top team for running and fitness and we seemed to have a understanding now keep seeing balls going stray and the team seem to lack understanding of eachover and we don't seem nowhere near fitness or the running of last season really worrying to see!
 
Attitude of the team needs fixing. From the sidelines it's almost impossible to identify causes of this but I feel there is a sense that a large part of our make-up the past two seasons has been the desire to prove themselves. The motivation was to prove people wrong. I go back to Dier's interview post match Man City, one of the most revealing post match interviews I have ever heard but clear where the motivation was coming from.

The feeling is may be they think they have nothing to prove now?? I wouldn't call us arrogant but perhaps there is an over confidence that's got into their heads. If this is the case this recent run of poor results should be enough to re-focus. Obviously this is total speculation and based on a gut feel but there can be no denying that that nasty, quick in your face attitude just isn't the same as last two seasons

There is absolutely no panic on my side, this team is still very good, I've seen it in every game. A side that doesn't create opportunities is a side that has a major problem and in every game (even our worst performance against Woolwich we created chances, Man U was flacid for Mourinho reasons). But if you take a look at our poor performances then the one element missing was that bite in the tackle, that snarling fuck you, winning the 2nd ball, our menace.

Problems that we aren't or can't fix are:
1. Dembele = My favourite player, his injury is causing us a void that we can't replace, however it doesn't take a genius to know that he is one of a kind, there isn't a player in the game that does what he does. Not much else we can do here but it does mean the dynamic changes (not always as a negative I might add) as Winks is totally different player, a better passer and great a constantly recycling it & dictating our tempo. Wanyama is probably the closest, whilst not a serious dribbler, he has shocked me how much of a baller he is, he can beat an oppo press.
2. Wanyama = Huge, huge miss. Last night our back three were exposed, the narrative in the media is that Vardy and Marhez were terrorising our high back-line. I say that's bollocks. They scored two worldies from a long way out. We play a high-line to compress the opo, that leaves a big space behind, oppo teams think great we can exploit that by putting a ball behind and have a player to run onto it, we want teams to do that, we are confident that 99% of the balls played we will deal with and therefore the attack comes to nothing and 99% of the time it does (there is always a risk a goal is conceded this way e.g Rondon's goal) but they are far and few between hence the best defence in the league the past two seasons. Vardys goal wasn't a consequence of this high-line, it was a worldie end of. For me the issue we are currently facing is not having Wanyama in front of the back three. Vertonghen's only weakness is defending 1v1's without a DM to screen, slow-down or challenge the oppo they have a clear run on our defence (Toby probably the best defender 1v1 I have seen and his absence is felt more acutely when Wanyama or Dier is not playing as DM).
3. Full Backs = Losing Walker dah! No need to speak of how we feel his loss. The issue for me is just a timing and balance one, Rose nowhere fit enough (I do trust Poch and team are doing the right thing in managing his return), Aurier, who I like, still needs to get up to speed with the team and League. Biggest issue we are facing is against the low block, narrow defences. The full backs are so important to dispruting these defences, staying wide and winning 1v1's, Tripps can't do this and Davies can't beat his man on the outside (he's actually good when coming inside but against a narrow defence it plays into the oppo's hand).

IMO these are the biggest issues, not Sissoko, not Dele, not Eriksen.
 
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Guido said:
Attitude of the team needs fixing. From the sidelines it's almost impossible to identify causes of this but I feel there is a sense that a large part of our make-up the past two seasons has been the desire to prove themselves. The motivation was to prove people wrong. I go back to Dier's interview post match Man City, one of the most revealing post match interviews I have ever heard but clear where the motivation was coming from.

The feeling is may be they think they have nothing to prove now?? I wouldn't call us arrogant but perhaps there is an over confidence that's got into their heads. If this is the case this recent run of poor results should be enough to re-focus. Obviously this is total speculation and based on a gut feel but there can be no denying that that nasty, quick in your face attitude just isn't the same as last two seasons

There is absolutely no panic on my side, this team is still very good, I've seen it in every game. A side that doesn't create opportunities is a side that has a major problem and in every game (even our worst performance against Woolwich we created chances, Man U was flacid for Mourinho reasons). But if you take a look at our poor performances then the one element missing was that bite in the tackle, that snarling fuck you, winning the 2nd ball, our menace.

Problems that we aren't or can't fix are:
1. Dembele = My favourite player, his injury is causing us a void that we can't replace, however it doesn't take a genius to know that he is one of a kind, there isn't a player in the game that does what he does. Not much else we can do here but it does mean the dynamic chances (not always as a negative I might add) as Winks is totally different player, a better passer and great a constantly recycling it & dictating our tempo. Wanyama is probably the closest, whilst not a serious dribbler, he has shocked me how much of a baller he is, he can beat an oppo press.
2. Wanyama = Huge, huge miss. Last night our back three were exposed, the narrative in the media is that Vardy and Marhez were terrorising our high back-line. I say that's bollocks. They scored two worldies from a long way out. We play a high-line to compress the opo, that leaves a big space behind, oppo teams think great we can exploit that by putting a ball behind and have a player to run onto it, we want teams to do that, we are confident that 99% of the balls played we will deal with and therefore the attack comes to nothing and 99% of the time it does (there is always a risk a goal is conceded this way e.g Rondon's goal) but they are far and few between hence the best defence in the league the past two seasons. Vardys goal wasn't a consequence of this high-line, it was a worldie end of. For me the issue we are currently facing is not having Wanyama in front of the back three. Vertonghen's only weakness is defending 1v1's without a DM to screen, slow-down or challenge the oppo they have a clear run on our defence (Toby probably the best defender 1v1 I have seen and his absence is felt more acutely when Wanyama or Dier is not playing as DM).
3. Full Backs = Losing Walker dah! No need to speak of how we feel his loss. The issue for me is just a timing and balance one, Rose nowhere fit enough (I do trust Poch and team are doing the right thing in managing his return), Aurier, who I like, still needs to get up to speed with the team and League. Biggest issue we are facing is against the low block, narrow defences. The full backs are so important to dispruting these defences, staying wide and winning 1v1's, Tripps can't do this and Davies can't beat his man on the outside (he's actually good when coming inside but against a narrow defence it plays into the oppo's hand).

IMO these are the biggest issues, not Sissoko, not Dele, not Eriksen.
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This is very well put together.

Job well done
 
sorry Guido don't agree with you
Dembele yes good player but never creates anything, yes great at holding on to the ball, but you need more
Playing a high line against them was madness without Toby getting everyone in right place.

yes I think some of the players think they have made it, But the have won nothing,
we need a Roy Keane or Patrick Veirria who can add that character to the team, (not talking about hard tackles, we need mental toughness)
 
There is a bit of we believed our own PR. But our strengths remain Europe will now be parked play the kids against apoel. Pochettino needs to reignite the team and it's goals. I have utmost confidence.
 
rusty said:
sorry Guido don't agree with you
Dembele yes good player but never creates anything, yes great at holding on to the ball, but you need more
Playing a high line against them was madness without Toby getting everyone in right place.

yes I think some of the players think they have made it, But the have won nothing,
we need a Roy Keane or Patrick Veirria who can add that character to the team, (not talking about hard tackles, we need mental toughness)
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Click to shrink...
You mean a leader? I think we have needed that for a while.I see the potential in some players, but a true leader on the pitch has yet to emerge.
 
rusty said:
sorry Guido don't agree with you
Dembele yes good player but never creates anything, yes great at holding on to the ball, but you need more
Playing a high line against them was madness without Toby getting everyone in right place.

yes I think some of the players think they have made it, But the have won nothing,
we need a Roy Keane or Patrick Veirria who can add that character to the team, (not talking about hard tackles, we need mental toughness)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Dembele is all about enabling us to control and dominate the midfield, we simply don't do that when he doesn't play or when his not fit. He draws player towards him and then beats them, he breaks the oppo press which, all of this creates space for Eriksen and Dele. You want to know why Eriksen and Dele are not firing than here is the reason they don't have that space to work in that they had last couple of years. This is his role in the team, unfair to judge a player on lack of creativity when it's not his role to provide that.

You say it's madness to play our high-line, how many times did they get behind that high-line last night. If you say when Vardy scored, sorry can't buy that as he was miles out, usually having a player take a pot shot from there the defending team would be fine about. It was a brilliant goal, an easy contender for goal of the month and may be goal of the season so far.

There is a difference between toughness and attitude. We are one of the most physical sides in the league, so I'm not questioning that, in the second half that was there in abundance, think we won every 1st and 2nd ball and challenged everyone of their players when they got on the ball. But why are we not doing that from the off? Seen it in many, many games this season. It could be we are trying to "manage" the game/players and conserve energy, this is what I believed up to the West Ham game but I'm questioning it now.
 
No Wanyama, no Alderweireld and a home ground that the opposition revel in playing at. It's a shit patch, but at least we're not the Gooners (where their entire existence is shit) - heads down and we'll get through this
 
It's amusing to read the negativity towards llorente when everyone was creaming themselves over him and convincing themselves he is the bollocks. Crouchy would have been a much better signing if poch was after someone that can get his nut on the ball. He still scores goals, one of the tallest in the league and I'd like to think all spurs fans like him.
 
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