Plus its incredibly valuable experience to play against better opposition.
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Plus its incredibly valuable experience to play against better opposition.
We are the fans. He owed it to us to bin the Europa after the first leg - not play first teamers
Let's hope the Holy Goalie does have another nightmareAnother a quick one, I’m doing this on my lunch break. Let’s just go straight in with the line-ups:
Lamela and Alli both started last night but were brought off early with Sunday’s game in mind. Dier supposedly took a knock and if that puts him out then I expect Mason to take his place. Toby, Wimmer and Rose will all be a little tired but I don’t expect that to stop any of them starting.
Pochettino seems close to committing to this kind of 433/3421 shape and I wonder if Dembele might spend more time on right of central midfield to accommodate and balance it.
Bournemouth were very weak when we played them earlier in the season. The common criticism of them at the time was that they were too attacking, too keen to play the football they wanted to and stubborn in recognising the quality of the competition they were in.
Eddie Howe, who will deserve all the plaudits he receives this season, stuck with his guns and now Bournemouth look more than safe. I’m very glad he did. The idea that every promotion team has to play defensive football to stand a chance of staying up is a crushingly depressive one but also obviously untrue. For recent examples just look at Swansea and, thanks to a certain Argentinian manager, Southampton.
Having just praised their decision to stick with stylish, attacking and possession based football I think this is a game where they may well be punished for it. I’ve written before that the teams we’ve performed best against over the last 5 or so years are the lesser teams, like Swansea and Southampton who I just mentioned, that want to come out and play their own attacking game but are second best at it on the day.
Howe knows that Tottenham struggle against teams who defend narrowly and while he may take that in to some consideration Bournemouth will remain a team who play almost exclusively down the touchlines.
As said before Bournemouth have improved a lot since our last game and I certainly don’t expect Boruc to have the same nightmare he had that day. Afobe will trouble us with his mix of physicality and technique but only if we allow Bournemouth to supply him. And Bournemouth have that individual talent that can make a goal out of nothing – Matt Ritche being a personal favourite.
If Ritchie and Gradel are instructed to mark Rose and Walker and our front three can pin back Bournemouth’s back four and Surman there could be a lot of space for Eriksen to operate in and for that reason I’m expecting a performance from him.
@TTTactics
What fucken planet are you on?! They paid to see a game of football, so, fuck it, we should play our best players and ignore other competitions? FFS
The manager is not gonna set his team up to get embarrassed at home. If you want to rest every player who will play Sunday we'd get done 5-0.. It'd be fucking embarrassing and to expect that he would do that is pure naivety. The tie might have been over but Dortmund would tear us a new one if we didn't have some first teamers in there.
Be a great boost for the squad losing 8-0 on aggregate wouldn't it. Come on mate what did you really think was going to happen.
Seems to work for the Woolwich every year, they get dicked in the CL, then suddenly go on 8-10 game winning streak!
I guess an open game should suit us, at home.
Couldn't agree more. The tie was over, but we still had to play the home leg without making absolutely fools of ourselves. We didn't and we rested Walker, Kane, Dembélé, Eriksen in the process and the players that did play didn't run themselves to the ground. I think we'll be more than ready for Sunday, knowing we have a long time until next game and always a week between from now!
What would you rather happens ,we lost 2-1 to dortmund and draw to bournemouth
OR
We lose 5-0 to Dortmund and beat bournemouth.
No one remembers humiliations when you are in the title race.I remember 4 years ago Woolwich losing 8-2 to Manu only to finish above us..The whole momentum argument is a load of crap.You need your best 11 playing with energy/fitness its as simple as that.
We were playing Dortmund in the equivalent to the 5th round of the FA Cup. Not like we were a game away to the final. Poch is managing his squad for the important final 8 league games. I like most other fans want us to win everything, however we are in the title mixer with a very young, tight knit, small squad the players need protecting.
This disagreement is irrelevant, Poch made the right choice...
Who has decided that certain players are unable to play Thur/Sun. Poch protected Kane/Dembele/Eriksen for Sunday, our most influential players. Rested his first choice Full backs. He gave an hour run out for Alli (experience for a 19 year old). Lloris can play every game. Alderweireld and Wimmer seem to be able to cope. Toby's for me showed his one of the best CB in Europe against BD , thats how high I rate him. The game wasn't at full pace and played in a respectful sporting nature. Its a better run out for fitness than training would had given.
how can it danage the confidence of the 1st 11 if the 2nd 11 get battered by dortmund.
We need our players to get mentally tougher if they are that affected by our 2nd 11 losing.
I think he is 1 booking away from a 2 game ban.
He has to get through the next 2 games without a booking i think?
Yes he would be needed the most against liverpool i reckon.
But we cant look to far ahead & risk resting him against b'mouth.
It's not just about the first 11. The whole is together on this and need to rely on all of them for the remaining 8 as well. There is no help in killing the confidence of the players we need to bring on to make a change in the last games of the season. The squad is together on this, the way it should be.
Bournemouth is the one team that matches our running, but we should have too much for them, mate! Agree with your sentiment here.
The way people are questioning and criticising the manager for team selection in what is our best league campaign for more than 25 years is staggering. Players can play two matches in a week. Some players will want game time. Some players actively need it. But anyway, if you can't have faith in our manager now, then you never will do. Too many nouveau fans coming on board. The words 'fuck' and 'off' spring to mind.
Am I asking top much.Both the Scum to lose to Everton and LC to lose at Palace. WHU can beat Chavs (ill give em that) becuse they are 3 points behind Woolwich.
Tough, tight 1 nil win.