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Match Spurs v Liverpool 16 Dec 20:00

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It's only "Spursy" if we decide we definitely can no longer challenge for anything special after a closely-contested, last-minute loss at what was and still is the best team in the league on a ground they have not lost since April 2017 one third of the way into the season. We weren't going to win the title if we won this game, and we're not going to lose the title because of losing it either.

Ultimately I'll argue it's the games against the "bottom 14" that will define our season - we need to figure out how to break down teams like Palace consistently, because there's a lot more of them than there are of Liverpool!
 
Moura sub was a mystery as was Regie. Game seemed to shift back in their favour after that and there were a number of set pieces they had. Why no N'dombele?
 
result hurts, no doubt about that, but I absolutely can't understand the melting. Wasn't our best performance, but wasnt a terrible one either. We gave them a good fight, and I'm proud of the team. No time for the players to wallow: use it as fuel and onto the next one. I'll be much more concerned if there are hangovers in form from results like this. The occasional last-minute loss away to Liverpool hurts, but no reason to trash the team or half the players. Still a lot of football yet in the season.
 
Things that I think helped us on our way to a loss.

- The rotation and line up. I cannot believe we lined up with a 442/4411 in that first half. We pretty much gifted Liverpool midfield whilst playing both Sissoko and Bergwijn out of position pretty much. If Jose was wanting to rotate, Palace was the game. Not our biggest of the season. Fair play to Lo Celso for putting in one mighty shift though and getting an assist.

- Yellow cards to key personnel. Can't really be helped this one but yellow cards affected us. Lo Celso getting one pretty much meant we took him likely earlier than planned. Hojbjergs yellow pretty much killed his game. Whilst he still had a really good game, it just meant he couldn't fly in there when he could have done and he slowed his press down.

- Taking Lo Celso off and replacing him with a failed winger. This was just a woeful sub. I called it at the time and said it wouldn't have been a BAD sub if we then took off Bergwijn and brought Ndombele on but even that didn't happen. It literally left us with zero creativity in midfield, which again, just handed Liverpool midfield.

- Game management. Now this one was hard to swallow as Mourinho is supposedly the master, serial game winner. Yet he got is so horribly wrong at the end. We went 5 at the back, were far too deep, played a Sissoko/Hojbjerg double pivot with zero creative player with them, took Son off and brought on Dele Alli. Words fail me. I am not surprised we ended up losing.

- Too many players having an off day in our biggest game of the season. Quite easily Kanes worst game in a Spurs shirt this season. Bergwijn missing a glorious chance to put us ahead. Lucas coming on and adding nothing.



Over the last 5 or so years, we've gone to Anfield and missed one big chance to potentially win it only to then throw it all away and end up losing (or dropping points). And it happened again today.

There was a Jose Mourinho vs. Pochettino thread on here recently and in all honesty. The past few games have felt just like Pochettino. He always beat Woolwich at home too. Tended to drop inevitable points away at clubs like Palace after leading and then a typical Liverpool throw away.

Just when we thought the mentality might have changed at this club. Turns out, it probably hasn't. It's just a weird season where other teams are just abit shite.
 
KEDS said:
Just watched Mourinho's 2nd interview....not sure I like him singling out Stevie B chances, that's killing his confidence even more.
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Berwijn needs some tough love right now. Mourinho had been protective of him. At top level, he needs to take these chances. He has been very unproductive for a while now, and not just this one game. For a starters, his stats is not good enough at the moment. There is no hiding from it now that this result while not killing our PL season, it now puts us in less ideal position after all the hard work.

Improve his productivity or other players should get their chance.
 
Cranston said:
Klopp is an absolute stone cold cunt. Gurning and screaming and spitting on the sideline and then uncle fucking chuckles when he’s being interviewed.

Fuck him. Can’t stand how the media fall for his nice guy shtick.
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He's got proper anger issues.....
Also does the 'thing' that wife beaters do... play nice in front of their 'friends' at dinner parties etc... but is a right nasty piece of work when they 'get home'.

My only surprise is that he doesn't realise he's being watched when he's gurning and ranting on the sideline...

A bit of Chest thumping at full time and it's 'passiom' apparently!
Bloke's a fucking bully if you ask me!

At least Jose KNOWS he's a bit of a cunt, and makes no apologies for it!
 
deadleyledley said:
I've got nothing against Bergwijn.

I just think JM has drilled him so much defensively, he panics in forward situations.

He makes great forward runs, but you can see the fear in him when he has the ball. He needs to find confidence again around the box.
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To be fair the first chance he was unbalanced by TAA as he shot. The second one he should have buried. But he can be a good player and miss. Kane missed a sitter.
 
This felt very similar to many Poch games against Liverpool - decent performance, 0 points. In the long run it is not the manager, it is not playing style - the difference is in the $$$ spent on wages and transfers. In the end it is the quality of players in your squad that counts.

There will be no PL title this year and probably not the next five. Maybe, maybe in a few years if the stars align and the pandemic disappears and Levy can get a NFL franchise to London, but that seems too distant even to contemplate atm.
 
So much to say but honestly right now just absolutely gutted and deflated to lose it like that. Been a while since I've felt like this after a spurs game fucking hate it.
 
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