Final game of the season vs. Newcastle (away)

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I don't think it's scapegoating though to call things, as you see them.

He was very very poor yesterday and was all over the place in both ends of the pitch.
He's been the focus of most people's melting (for the want of a better term) in the last few matches each time having people point at his introduction as the sole reason we dropped points. Which is nonsense.

I don't disagree that he was poor on Sunday but it's the way people articulate that opinion that is the issue.

Fans complain that there is no loyalty in modern day players but players could easily argue that the same goes for fans. If a player gives his all and tries his best then the very least he deserves is the respect of the fans.
 
He's been the focus of most people's melting (for the want of a better term) in the last few matches each time having people point at his introduction as the sole reason we dropped points. Which is nonsense.

I don't disagree that he was poor on Sunday but it's the way people articulate that opinion that is the issue.

Fans complain that there is no loyalty in modern day players but players could easily argue that the same goes for fans. If a player gives his all and tries his best then the very least he deserves is the respect of the fans.

Not going to argue he ain't but if it's about love of the club no player derseves to stay more than Townsend, he bleed lilywhite and was devastated to leave. If football was about loyalty we would have kept him.

Mason is a good lad who tries his best, personally I don't see him fitting into a top 4 team and football is a cut throat business. Let's be honest Kane loves Spurs but if we where in the conference he would go to further his career and who could blame him.

That's modern football, fans are loyal to their club and some players can be loyal depending on circumstances but as Dembele remarked about Poch's Spurs you feel anyone can come in and anyone can leave this team.

Poch has a streak of ruthlessness about him and everyone in our squad is playing for their future.
 
All of a sudden Ryan Mason has become the the John Pratt wipping boy.
His game time has been based on replacing someone who is either injured or suspended, and like Davies, Trippier & Vorm he is good enough for our squad , and always put a shift in when considered.
LC had a small squad but used it wisely, and as a team they played for each other.
One thing that has emerged this season is the players looking after each other, and connecting to us as fans. COYS
 
If you think Ryan Mason has a place in a Champions League, title-chasing squad then you are letting sentimentality cloud your judgment. Or you know fuck all about football. Or both.

As a starter, definite no. As a squad player, I'm on the fence, because he's been hampered by injuries and been a bit part so much that it's hard to tell. I will say this though. I cannot see Poch using Mason as the first sub in and as a starter, if he didn't believe, Mason to, at the very least potentially, have the stuff to be a part of where we're going, at this stage of the squad's development. He'd sooner play Onomah or another youngster than playing someone, he doesn't believe in. So either Poch is a fraud who knows fuck all about football....or it's you.
 
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Is it safe to come out yet?

Obviously not.

Gotta love the negative nancies. Always looking for a scapegoat. Always thinking they know better than the manager. Always suggesting we try completely untried formations / players out of position when all we need is a point away to get over the line.

Just fucking get it done Spurs. We've been more than good enough to get this result all season (bar a few sketchy performances which understandably have been more prevalent towards the end of an epically long and mentally draining season).

It's crazy to me that the perceived success of Woolwich and Spurs's respective seasons hinge on one game now, in the minds of the fans at any rate. We finish below them and our season is a failure. They finish above us and all is forgiven.

I guess it was always gonna be this way.
 
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Is it safe to come out yet?

Obviously not.

Gotta love the negative nancies. Always looking for a scapegoat. Always thinking they know better than the manager. Always suggesting we try completely untried formations / players out of position when all we need a point away to get over the line.

Just fucking get it done Spurs. We've been more than good enough to get this result all season (bar a few sketchy performances which understandably have been more prevalent towards the end of an epically long and mentally draining season).

It's crazy to me that the perceived success of Woolwich and Spurs's respective seasons hinge on one game now, in the minds of the fans at any rate. We finish below them and our season is a failure. They finish above us and all is forgiven.

I guess it was always gonna be this way.
Sorry but that's far too sensible, please try again.
 
For fucks sake, we have qualified for the CL group stages. How can that be deemed a failure?
I will be gutted if we don't finish 2nd, but don't let that distract you from the achievement.
Who would have thought at the start of 15/16, with this squad, that we would be playing CL football in 16/17?
This was supposed to be a year of no expectations.
I am well proud of my club. I love this club. Don't be fooled by the cunts saying we have fucked it all up. If anyone fucked anything up it was Woolwich, who had their best chance of winning the league in over a decade and fucked it up.
They are looking to salvage something form their disaster of a season by imagining that finishing above us will somehow cover them in glory. Isn't that fucking tragic.

Especially as we're supposed to be forever in their shadow, that shit team from down the road.

I am going to be really pissed if they snatch 2nd from us. Yet, we know, they know and the footballing world knows we are the better team.
Out future looks bright. We are still building from the bottom up.
They however are supposed to be at the pinnacle, yet cannot take advantage & win the league when Chavs, City and Man U don't turn up. Despite beating the champions on 2 occasions this season.
 
Suddenly people start to doubt the team because of one loss. We're playing against bloody Newcastle, they are 18th for a reason, we'll fucking smash them. COYS!
 
Suddenly people start to doubt the team because of one loss. We're playing against bloody Newcastle, they are 18th for a reason, we'll fucking smash them. COYS!
Suddenly one loss ?
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Not going to argue he ain't but if it's about love of the club no player derseves to stay more than Townsend, he bleed lilywhite and was devastated to leave. If football was about loyalty we would have kept him.

Mason is a good lad who tries his best, personally I don't see him fitting into a top 4 team and football is a cut throat business. Let's be honest Kane loves Spurs but if we where in the conference he would go to further his career and who could blame him.

That's modern football, fans are loyal to their club and some players can be loyal depending on circumstances but as Dembele remarked about Poch's Spurs you feel anyone can come in and anyone can leave this team.

Poch has a streak of ruthlessness about him and everyone in our squad is playing for their future.

If football was about loyalty, Townsend would chip in with an o.g hat-trick on Sunday... but he won't...
he'll probably score for Newcastle... but maybe not celebrate... (due to loyalty) ...and we're supposed to be happy with that!
 
Not going to argue he ain't but if it's about love of the club no player derseves to stay more than Townsend, he bleed lilywhite and was devastated to leave. If football was about loyalty we would have kept him.

Mason is a good lad who tries his best, personally I don't see him fitting into a top 4 team and football is a cut throat business. Let's be honest Kane loves Spurs but if we where in the conference he would go to further his career and who could blame him.

That's modern football, fans are loyal to their club and some players can be loyal depending on circumstances but as Dembele remarked about Poch's Spurs you feel anyone can come in and anyone can leave this team.

Poch has a streak of ruthlessness about him and everyone in our squad is playing for their future.
I don't disagree with any of that. There's two separate issues here though.

A) whether he's good enough

B) whether he should be receiving the dogs abuse that he's getting

Personally I think the jury is out on A. I'm open to the fact that he might not be good enough for us going forward but I'm also not ready to right him off based on a few bad performances off the back of an injury hit season and very little game time.

On B I think the tone of the abuse he has had recently on here and in other formats has been pretty embarrassing from a group of fans that take no time in calling fans of other clubs fickle or plastic etc.
 
Results rarely come in isolation so I think it is fair to say yesterday's was a direct result to our draw against Chelsea and the subsequent fallout. 2 points from 9 at this stage of the season is not impressive but there is some mitigation.

This game is infinitely more important for us than Woolwich in nearly every respect other than the short term bragging rights however.

We have to get a point because I believe failing to finish would now represent failure to the watching masses and potentially have a negative impact on the squad for next season. It says shirk erst if we finish 3rd even though it is above our start of season expectation.

The Woolwich fans will temporarily gloat but then recognise how nonsensical it is to be celebrating failure again.

I would really like to see Pochettino either give a chance to Chadli or play Son right up top with Kane.

Much may of course depend on whether Sunderland beat a woeful Everton but we have to use a calmer week to galvanise our strength for one last push. Pochettino signing a new contract would be a perfect boost.
 
It's not mind blowing if the reason is Bentaleb is a jumped up stroppy little cunt which I'm getting the strong feeling that he might be.

Not to mention he became a serial offender of dwelling on the ball and either getting dispossessed or make wayward no look passes in front of our back 4 and putting opposition attackers through on goal.

He undoubtedly has more natural ability than Mason but his attitude and application is massively under scrutiny and Mason deserves a lot more support than people saying he's shit or not good enough for us.
Bentaleb with chance to win over Pochettino after relationship soured
Eyebrows were raised at the size of Bentaleb’s entourage when the talks were taking place, and at the midfielder’s willingness to speak openly about interest from other clubs.

Juventus were thought to have been monitoring the discussions and Bentaleb told the Daily Telegraph: “I’ve had some interest from big clubs, from Champions League clubs. I’m flattered. Sometimes it is annoying when you don’t feel treated as you should be.”

Bentaleb’s advisors were pushing for a weekly wage of £40,000. The player eventually signed a five-year contract worth about £30,000 a week last July, but Spurs were concerned about the nature of the advice Bentaleb was receiving. For his part, Bentaleb is believed to have sought answers from Pochettino about his lack of involvement.

Pochettino made a point recently of praising the attitude of Tom Carroll, who is now ahead of Bentaleb in the race for a midfield spot.
He played very well for a while but after falling out of favour I think he may have let it get to his head - his couple of performances this year have been terrible from memory, I understand the same could be said recently about Mason but a large part of it will be how they apply themselves in training which we don't see. If Poch isn't happy with Bentaleb he'll be moved on like others before him, if Mason gives his all in training but it doesn't quite happen on match day it'll be hard for us to see but arguably Poch would be right to make that call.
 
We will win this one easy lads. Three factors to bare in mind. If Newcastle have a chance of survival they will go on an all out attack, leaving loads of space at the back for us to kill them off. If they are already relegated then the place will be a cauldron of anti fatboy sports direct which will help us. Three Newcastle are shit.


The only thing I'm worried about is Andros . Curse of the ex player and all that ....
 
Don't do it to yourself mate. Players do it for themselves. With group stage CL secured, that's them done.

On another issue, why did/do we play our first and last matches of the season away from home, with 3 Monday nights in a row when we had half a chance? Load of bollocks really.
My impression of yesterday's match was not of a team not trying, but of a team that was knackered. But still- they need to find the last vestiges of energy and do what is needed next week. If this was Italy we would be paying a visit to their houses (or at least the training ground!) to remind them of the importance of finishing above the scum.

What's people's opinions on the following...is it okay to finish level on points with the scum and beat them on goal difference? I reckon they will then say "you haven't finished with more points than us for 20 years", does this matter? Would you take a draw now? Obviously better to have more points than them but how much do you care as long we're above them? The scum are 98% certain to beat Villa I would say.
 
We will win this one easy lads. Three factors to bare in mind. If Newcastle have a chance of survival they will go on an all out attack, leaving loads of space at the back for us to kill them off. If they are already relegated then the place will be a cauldron of anti fatboy sports direct which will help us. Three Newcastle are shit.


The only thing I'm worried about is Andros . Curse of the ex player and all that ....
The reason he's on Newcastle is because of his failure to show up ,I'm not concerned
 
My impression of yesterday's match was not of a team not trying, but of a team that was knackered. But still- they need to find the last vestiges of energy and do what is needed next week. If this was Italy we would be paying a visit to their houses (or at least the training ground!) to remind them of the importance of finishing above the scum.

What's people's opinions on the following...is it okay to finish level on points with the scum and beat them on goal difference? I reckon they will then say "you haven't finished with more points than us for 20 years", does this matter? Would you take a draw now? Obviously better to have more points than them but how much do you care as long we're above them? The scum are 98% certain to beat Villa I would say.

I think we'll win so their result will be academic. Kane understands.
 
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