Match Ratings Ratings vs West Ham

[DJS]

I said before match playing Dier and Wanyama together in midfield was stupid.

It just don't work.

Should have stuck with 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 and pushed Dele back and bought Son in up top.

I love Poch but fuck me he makes some utterly bizarre team decisions sometimes...

As BC said above real shame we dont have Winks available either at moment, wonder if we need to get another box to box midfield-type in summer as it is one of the most important areas in the team.

Or Onomah needs to be blooded more and if not up to it moved on and area then strengthened.

 

[whitesocks]

Mourinho would have been watching - he knows all about bringing the bus.
But they are running out of fit defenders, so that might help us.
Leicester don't know any other way to play than this.

Teams can play deep against us as we do not have any players good in the air. Kane is hopeless. Dele not a chance against an old fashioned centre half. Even our 3 CBs are hybrids.
If we find our selves in this situation again, I'd take off Dele and bring on Wimmer. At least we'd have target for these longer balls, and perhaps their defence would move up a bit.

 

[jonathanhotspur]

I really need him to explain the logic of effectively swapping Vertonghen for Dier at LCB ? It was as idiotic as when Jol was chasing a game, would take off one of the FB's, put another striker on and put Jenas at FB.

The only thing I can come up with is that Vertonghen seemed to pick up a knock in the Arsenal game and maybe it was hindering him. Otherwise it was a staggering decision.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

He's slowly falling into the the trap of 'utility man' and Poch likes this perceived versatility mid game which is all very well but when he's poor, just haul him off for the greater good rather than shuffle the pack to accommodate him.

I like the kid, he's young and can i would suggest get better, but at the highest level and against teams that press he can be woeful. Against Wycombe, Liverpool, and several times in the CL and EL he was caught either with the ball of gave it away cheaply and in dangerous areas of the pitch. Hell he passed it straight to Giroud last weekend when under no pressure.

I am by no means blaming him for last night but for my money Dembele has to start next to Wanyama especially with Winks being out. At the end of the day the current squad is strong, but not Trophy winning strong enough.

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

Poch is obviously the man, but son at lwb and playing two holding midfielders against a team set up to counter attack are two decision that defy explanation.

 

[danielneeds]

With a bit more distance from last night, if we were brutally honest this result had been coming. We got out of the Swansea and Palace matches by the skin of our teeth, despite very similar performances.

When it comes down to it, we've not been able to transfer our home form on to the road all season. We'll need to work it out next year because of Wembley otherwise it'll be a long old season.

 

[Wellspurs]

I've had time for result to sink in now then suddenly realised... all our winning run games were played in football stadiums!

 

[Lighty64]

Off my memory didn't a lot of our draws at the start of the season come from the Dier/Wanyama partnership. Frustrating but our football is slower and more ponderous with that.

yes was down to Dembele being banned for the 1st 4 games, and perhaps Poch didn't want to throw Winks in to early.

our slow start in my eyes was down to pre-season on top of the Euros, and a lot of very tired players. next season all the squad will have a good rest leading up to training re-starting, and will all be together when we travel to the USA for the tournament. what is needed is too do all our transfer (if we have plans to do any) by the time we do travel to the US

Any more unlikely than Arsenal overtaking us last year when we only needed one point from Chelsea, Southampton and Newcastle?

no when we played Chelsea we needed 2pts

 

[Lighty64]

Didn't wanna say it before cos seemed stupid since we were winning all those games in a row, but I don't personally think Toby has been at the level he was before he got injured. To me he hasn't really looked fit, looks almost sluggish at times. Today he was diabolical. Jan has looked much the better player since Toby came back.

I just wonder if he isn't 100% fit. Again it seems stupid because of all the clean sheets but he is so so good and personally I just don't think he's been at that level for a couple of months.

not sure if the contract talks are weighing on his mind too, plus wasn't there chat he suffers with home sickness even though it hasn't really effected him before now

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I said before match playing Dier and Wanyama together in midfield was stupid.

It just don't work.

Should have stuck with 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 and pushed Dele back and bought Son in up top.

I love Poch but fuck me he makes some utterly bizarre team decisions sometimes...

As BC said above real shame we dont have Winks available either at moment, wonder if we need to get another box to box midfield-type in summer as it is one of the most important areas in the team.

Or Onomah needs to be blooded more and if not up to it moved on and area then strengthened.

See, this is exactly why I was fucking fuming with Pochettino for not giving Onomah more minutes here and there and then not bringing him into that Watford (I think) game when we are 4-0 up with 35 minutes left and the same at Bournemouth last year. People like @THFCSPURS19 get all pissy with me about it - but now we are in a situation where we could really fucking use a footballing CM at an absolutely crucial time of the season, but because Poch hasn't given Onomah those vital minutes back when it was easy, he's scared shitless about doing it now it's not.

There were so many games this season and last where Onomah could have been given time. So many games we had big leads and he could have been given a taste in his proper position.

 

[Shea]

See, this is exactly why I was fucking fuming with Pochettino for not giving Onomah more minutes here and there and then not bringing him into that Watford (I think) game when we are 4-0 up with 35 minutes left and the same at Bournemouth last year. People like @THFCSPURS19 get all pissy with me about it - but now we are in a situation where we could really fucking use a footballing CM at an absolutely crucial time of the season, but because Poch hasn't given Onomah those vital minutes back when it was easy, he's scared shitless about doing it now it's not.

There were so many games this season and last where Onomah could have been given time. So many games we had big leads and he could have been given a taste in his proper position.

Poch may not rate him based on what he's seen in training

I have to say that I've not been overly impressed from what little I've seen from the lad

But I agree if he's gonna be involved in the squad he may as well have been given mins here and there in games we've long won

I suppose he's a victim of our squad size, we have established first team level players who don't get much game time (Sissoko for example) and in the pecking order from a man management and squad harmony point of view it's probably more important to allow them some game time rather than to pass them over for a youngster who's not really showed a great deal in the game time he's had so far

 

[davidmatzdorf]

yes was down to Dembele being banned for the 1st 4 games, and perhaps Poch didn't want to throw Winks in to early.

our slow start in my eyes was down to pre-season on top of the Euros...

I've seen other references to "our slow start" this season. It never happened. We won 5 and drew 2 of our first 7 league matches. Then we had a sequence where we drew 4 consecutive league matches and dropped from 2nd to 5th in the table.

But there was no "slow start".

 

[Gb160]

I've seen other references to "our slow start" this season. It never happened. We won 5 and drew 2 of our first 7 league matches. Then we had a sequence where we drew 4 consecutive league matches and dropped from 2nd to 5th in the table.

But there was no "slow start".

Yeah it's a myth that gets trotted out every year.

 

[stevenurse]

Mourinho would have been watching - he knows all about bringing the bus.
But they are running out of fit defenders, so that might help us.
Leicester don't know any other way to play than this.

Teams can play deep against us as we do not have any players good in the air. Kane is hopeless. Dele not a chance against an old fashioned centre half. Even our 3 CBs are hybrids.
If we find our selves in this situation again, I'd take off Dele and bring on Wimmer. At least we'd have target for these longer balls, and perhaps their defence would move up a bit.

Just because teams will play 3 at the back doesn't mean we have to turn into Stoke Circa Pulis. We've reached 2nd in the league playing to our own philosophy. Sometimes it just doesnt come off. We all played badly, that's it. West Ham and their aging bunch of monkeys at the back, played well but we're lucky we weren't at the races.

 

[Lighty64]

I've seen other references to "our slow start" this season. It never happened. We won 5 and drew 2 of our first 7 league matches. Then we had a sequence where we drew 4 consecutive league matches and dropped from 2nd to 5th in the table.

But there was no "slow start".

what i should have said in the pace of our play, and once the 2 main injuries hit us Kane and Toby we then hit that sticky period. even with the 1st 5 games, it wasn't until we played Boro away that we looked totally convincing, though very edgy in 2nd half

Everton 1st half performance on another day we would of struggled to get back, even if they got a bit of a freaky 1st goal
Palace we had chances, but scrapped the result
Liverpool, same as Everton, though Liverpool were more threatning
Stoke we rolled over the team at the bottom of the table, but would only say we started to show something
Sunderland should of won at a canter, but nicked a 1-0

don't get me wrong I'd take that start every day of the week

 

[whitesocks]

Just because teams will play 3 at the back doesn't mean we have to turn into Stoke Circa Pulis. We've reached 2nd in the league playing to our own philosophy. Sometimes it just doesnt come off. We all played badly, that's it. West Ham and their aging bunch of monkeys at the back, played well but we're lucky we weren't at the races.

It is something Hanson used to say - if the attack has big players you play a high line. If they have fast players you play a deeper line. Wham could afford to play very deep, as we do not have a no 9.
Towards the end we were playing like Stoke - playing long balls, hail mary... but without the common sense of having a target man.

I think much of the result was down to tactics rather than not being at the races, and we need to think of an effective plan B, as Leicester will do the same.

 

[spurs9]

Off my memory didn't a lot of our draws at the start of the season come from the Dier/Wanyama partnership. Frustrating but our football is slower and more ponderous with that.

No, we drew 6 of our first 11 games and Dier only played CM in 2 of them (Everton & Liverpool).

 

[Wellspurs]

See, this is exactly why I was fucking fuming with Pochettino for not giving Onomah more minutes here and there and then not bringing him into that Watford (I think) game when we are 4-0 up with 35 minutes left and the same at Bournemouth last year. People like @THFCSPURS19 get all pissy with me about it - but now we are in a situation where we could really fucking use a footballing CM at an absolutely crucial time of the season, but because Poch hasn't given Onomah those vital minutes back when it was easy, he's scared shitless about doing it now it's not.

There were so many games this season and last where Onomah could have been given time. So many games we had big leads and he could have been given a taste in his proper position.

Yep it's time he showed faith in youth.

Any player wanting to play will have to convince the management in training every day.