Arse v Spurs 19/20 ratings and ramblings

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MOTM


  • Total voters
    51
Chaos Theory

Some days it's hard to know where to begin. Days like today it's hard to know where to begin, what's in the middle and how to end.

I have absolutely no idea what Poch's plan was. Was it to control the game? Was it to cede control and counter attack? Who fucking knows?

It's bad enough that they are now often outplaying us again, but much, much worrying to me has to be how we are now getting out fought and out aggressed by them. How they, despite going through a transition, a new manager after 20 odd years of Wengerism, and finishing below us for three years straight are still managing to look more coherent than we are.

It's pretty pointless trying to tactically weigh up that chaos. We had chances, they had chances. They started better, we had a good 10 minute spell after we scored, they then got back on top and stayed there until the end of the game, with us occasionally threatening to hurt them with a sucker punch, but we pretty much bumbled all those opportunities away - nearly all of our x/g total of our 1.9 coming from Eriksen's two yard open goal tap in and Kane's penalty - I think Mourinho summed it up brilliantly afterwards when he said something along the lines of "if either one of these teams had shown some intelligence or composure they might have won the game".

Poch's selections continue to be somewhat abstract. If Aurier - the RB Poch bought for 25m - is fit enough to be on the bench, why the hell play Sanchez at RB. Why the fuck is Sissoko still getting games in the midfield of a team at this level*.

Structurally, we appeared to play a pretty orthodox 442, that kind of morphed into a 4222, which wouldn’t have been my choice, especially with the personnel picked to do it.

His in game subs wren't exactly bad, just a bit fucking meh. There were several things he could have done to "change" what was a pretty sloppy mess of a game, but he chose to fundamentally maintain the status quo. Swapping the eratic and mercurial Lamela for the eratic and mercurial Alli. Getting Lo Celso on wasn't a terrible idea, but taking off Son, who would probably pose more problems on the counter than Kane had been wasn't the smartest move IMO.

He could and should have brought Skipp into that midfield so Winks wasn't all alone. he could have brought Aurier on. He could have switched to a back 3 and put Sissoko at RB. Even Moura, with his teeny tiny brain might have been more of a threat on the counter than Alli was.

Hard to pick out any shiners from out lot, but Winks deserves an honourable mention. Nobody on either side tackled more than his 8/6. Him and Christian Eriksen saw the most ball (ahead of the defenders) and it was his tenacity and composure that set up the goal that ultimately got us a point.

Individual

Lloris - Couple of decent saves, maybe I'm being a bit harsh but I thought he was a bit weak on Lacazette's goal (I know it was blaster but he's already falling over as the shot comes in).

Sanchez - Not a good game but an odd choice to play him at RB.

Alderweireld/Vertonghen - OK

Rose - remember when everything was Trippier's fault and Opposition "Targeted" him every game? Rose can't play under pressure, can't defend, creates fuck all and gives the ball away constantly. Meanwhile Trippier's to of the Spanish league. Go figure.

Winks - The only living boy in midfield.

Sissoko - Like a turtle in a fucking windsock. Again. Poch needs to wise the fuck up.

Lamela - Usual Lamela, the odd decent moment, plenty of effort, but some eratic shit too and the customary card.

Eriksen - Decent first half, pretty poor second half. Highest passes by one from Winks, I think it says a lot about our aggressive ineptitude when our second highest tackler with 3 is Eriksen.

Son - Lively first half became erratic and bumbly second half, wasting a couple of good situations with indecision. Still looked more likely to make something happen than Kane.

Kane - Really poor game overall, completed 7 fucking passes, frittered the ball away needlessly a few times, doesn't;t seem to press anymore, and for the second week running wasted a good opportunity trying to win a penalty.


Pochettino - Wise the fuck up. Quickly.


* Above Pub
 
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Hmm, I think if Kane’s shot that hit the inside of the post had gone in to make it 3-1 we wouldn’t be saying how poor he was. And if Zhaka had got the red card he deserved it would have been game over.

Personally I would never take off Son in a game where the opposition is going at us, especially where the defence is as soft centred as Woolwich’s. That pattern plays to his strengths as we saw in the first half.

Crazy not to play Aurier under the circumstances and Davies is a better defender than Rose , especially once he was yellow carded.
 
[RATING][/RATING]
Lloris-kept us in the game, several times, but has to stop the short passes out from the back.

Sanchez- like most of the back line good opening 30mins went to shit after they changed tactics.

Toby- getting slow, but still a quality ball player.

Jan- see above.

Rose- actually looked our best defender first 30mins, some really good blocks and clearances, went to complete dog shit when we changed 2nd half.

Winks- great game, ref blew him up for everything and that took the shine of him, not his fault.

Sissoko- N/A

Lamela- useless in just about everything he does, so so weak.

Eriksen - MOTM, energy, passing, fight, just stop taking corners.

Son - Looked way more busy than he was, decision making needs to be more clinical, never should have been subbed tho as his pace on the break was a delight.

Kane- needs to become the most shellfish fucker in football again, and quickly.

Pochettino - overthinking it once again, needs to trust his players more, and he pulls the triggers too late with subs, if a player isn’t doing it get him off ASAP.
 
The Good

Play opened up for the first time in what seemed a long time. Some real quality moments/team work. We were looking for runs behind the line. I was impressed with Sons hold up play at times, especially with a CB on his back.

We got a point

The Bad

75% of the game pretty much sucked. We had moments mentioned above, but those totaled maybe 15 minutes of quality play. The rest of the time we lacked any form or composure. No willingness to settle the play and dictate it.

Lloris just isn’t the modern day GK you need. He is scared with the ball at his feet and will cost us a goal or two this season because his lack of comfort on the ball.

FBs are a huge question mark. Today they were shit. The way we have deployed them all year has been odd. Very flat and rigid in attack. No overlapping runs.

Effort was lacking in many areas of the pitch. Getting ourworked by some of those players was infuriating.

The Ugly

The Ref was bad. Thought the whistle was in his mouth too much. A lot of soft touches being called. 18 fouls to 13 isn’t horribly skewed, but felt like there was a stretch where minor issues were ending some positive movements for us. Those attack starting tackles were getting called back.

Poch has got some work to do. RB should be played by the RB that is healthy and in your matchday squad. And if not, play the squad player that meets most criteria; Sissoko. If he would have just started there and the played Lo Celso from the jump, we would have been much stronger in midfield and Sissoko would have been someone to worry about down the right. With Sanchez out there, we offered them the left side all game. Sanchez was exploited out there and offered nothing going forward. Woolwich had nothing to worry about down the right. That Poch experiment failed, which most saw when the lineup was announced.

Right now Sanchez is doing a bit of a Wimmer. Strong showing and then stalling. He is a dynamite athlete, but has Luiz type lapses. Needs to sort that out or Poch should be offering CB time to the likes of Dier or even Japhet.

Sissoko in midfield...not enough time in the day
 
Do not know how I feel about that match. Would have taken a draw before it started. 2 goals up was great but the pressure we were under I always expected it would not last and was relieved when final whistle went.
Cannot understand how a 2 footed tackle to give away a penalty did not deserve a yellow card or even a discussion on Tv. That player got a yellow eventually and should have been off. As I stated in Lloris thread, we must sort out the getting out from goal kicks. My suggestion is the defender kicks it long rather than Lloris when pressed and no short option available. At least I do not have to suffer for 2 weeks following a defeat but the team play needs a lot of improvement if we are going to get into top 4
 
Lloris 7- good saves but stupid passing

Rose- 10 and 0 in one half, overall 5, sublime defending with that header, atrocious with the pondering that led to their first

Toby 6

Jan 6- equaliser on him

Sanchez 5 - blame him all people want, we all know whos fault it was he was there. Tried his very best.

Sissoko 5 - ran himself to exhaustion covering Sanchez so was obviously missing from the middle of the pitch for large spells (we all know whos fault that was)
Apalling wasted chances to win the game late on, not acceptable after the Liverpool miss. Just fucking calm down and hit the target in one on ones.

Winks -8

Eriksen -9

Kane - 7

Son 7

Lamela 7

Lo Celso -4
Dele -3

Poch
-1st half 10
-2nd half 1
 
Lloris. Excellent saves. Kept a steady head under a lot of pressure.

A couple of times Toby and Jan were so close for the pass out I thought they were going in for a group photo. Hugo didn't tell them to scatter. Not sure what that was about.
 
Lloris - 6/10 let down by the kamikaze playing out and inability to kick it further than the halfway line. Great saves though

Sanchez - 4/10 but not his fault for being picked at RB. Can’t believe we are in this situation 4 games in!

Toby/Jan - 6/10 both slightly culpable for their goals. However, without them it might have been carnage. Not sure Jan is that comfortable playing out from the back.

Rose - 5/10 passion, heart, desire, bravery eclipsed by brain farts and indecision

Sissoko - 5/10. Huge physical effort. Can’t be faulted for that. Not going into one about his lack of technique and composure. It’s all been said before. Can’t believe any other side in the top 6 would have him anywhere but the bench.

Winks 8/10 - top performer. Not perfect but showed heart, desire and occasionally composure when all around him were headless chickens

Erikssen - 7/10. Great first half. Shrunk in the second. Can’t beat the first man at corners or free kicks. Frustrating

Lamela 5/10 ran around a lot in the first half. Another who wilted in the 2nd

Son 7/10 - they were petrified of him first half. Looked like he was a goal threat every time the ball went near him in their half. Poor decision making in the 2nd half. As others have said, would have kept him on late just for pace

Kane 6/10 - meh. Still doesn’t look quite fit. Maybe that’s just him getting a bit older. Great pen as usual. The shot that hit the post was classic Harry. The half chance that he spurned wasn’t

Subs - Thought Dele might snatch it at the death. Made some great runs but team mates couldn’t find him. Lo Celso displayed some neat touches

Poch - 3/10 baffling. Poor decision at RB. Mental fragility on him. Slow to react.

I’m sure the neutrals loved it as an end to end spectacle. Just wanted the whistle to blow for HT at 2-0 because we looked one mistake away from conceding. Could’ve made it 3-1. Hung on against expectation to take a point. Effort from all was commendable. Lack of cohesion, leadership and composure from a CL finalist and top 4 finisher worrying and unacceptable
 
Lloris. Excellent saves. Kept a steady head under a lot of pressure.

A couple of times Toby and Jan were so close for the pass out I thought they were going in for a group photo. Hugo didn't tell them to scatter. Not sure what that was about.



I've never seen a team put themselves under so much unnecessary pressure before, the panic it was causing was ridiculous at times.
 
Lloris - 6/10 let down by the kamikaze playing out and inability to kick it further than the halfway line. Great saves though

Sanchez - 4/10 but not his fault for being picked at RB. Can’t believe we are in this situation 4 games in!

Toby/Jan - 6/10 both slightly culpable for their goals. However, without them it might have been carnage. Not sure Jan is that comfortable playing out from the back.

Rose - 5/10 passion, heart, desire, bravery eclipsed by brain farts and indecision

Sissoko - 5/10. Huge physical effort. Can’t be faulted for that. Not going into one about his lack of technique and composure. It’s all been said before. Can’t believe any other side in the top 6 would have him anywhere but the bench.

Winks 8/10 - top performer. Not perfect but showed heart, desire and occasionally composure when all around him were headless chickens

Erikssen - 7/10. Great first half. Shrunk in the second. Can’t beat the first man at corners or free kicks. Frustrating

Lamela 5/10 ran around a lot in the first half. Another who wilted in the 2nd

Son 7/10 - they were petrified of him first half. Looked like he was a goal threat every time the ball went near him in their half. Poor decision making in the 2nd half. As others have said, would have kept him on late just for pace

Kane 6/10 - meh. Still doesn’t look quite fit. Maybe that’s just him getting a bit older. Great pen as usual. The shot that hit the post was classic Harry. The half chance that he spurned wasn’t

Subs - Thought Dele might snatch it at the death. Made some great runs but team mates couldn’t find him. Lo Celso displayed some neat touches

Poch - 3/10 baffling. Poor decision at RB. Mental fragility on him. Slow to react.

I’m sure the neutrals loved it as an end to end spectacle. Just wanted the whistle to blow for HT at 2-0 because we looked one mistake away from conceding. Could’ve made it 3-1. Hung on against expectation to take a point. Effort from all was commendable. Lack of cohesion, leadership and composure from a CL finalist and top 4 finisher worrying and unacceptable
My thoughts almost entirely. Except I thought Lo Celso offered very little when he came on.
I’m happy that we have two of the nastiest away games of the season out of the way already.
Kane historically starts slowly then hits full pelt during September. I just hope he doesn’t have his customary ankle injury mid season.
We don’t look “together” right now but we do have injuries that aren’t helping & that fucking transfer window shuts today.
I’d have taken 2 points from our away games so far if offered. 1, maybe 2 points behind where I expected us to be as of today. I think we will be fine if Poch gets his shit together because at present he does seem like a rookie manager all over again, rather than the man that has guided us almost to the precipice over the past 5 years.
That bit has me very confused. But he deserves a lot of patience from us fans in my view. He’s not suddenly run out of ideas, or become a shit manager.
Time & patience. And an understanding that we have some new faces to integrate into the squad.
COYS.
We will be fine.
 
MOTM - Lloris. Despite almost fucking it up he made some fine saves and one of the reasons we didn’t lose the game.
The good - Eriksen and Son first half. But Son needs to stop exageratting with his dribbles, just shoot or pass. Lo Celso when he came on.
The bad - Sissoko, I like the guy but he should be nothing more than a cup player.
Kane - what the fuck was he doing, strolling around while others pressed, kept quiet by that peasant Sokratis and I don’t think it’s the first time it happened.


Rose - I can understand that when he’s trying to take on players in the opponents’ half but you don’t fucking do that near your own third. Probably got intimidated by the handball appeals and his concentration dropped for a few seconds. I think a fully fit Davies is a better player.

Sanchez - not his natural position ok, but holy crap his positioning was shit, Kolasinac made a fool out of him.
 
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