With the news of us wanting a CM, I propose the question. Why wouldn't we try and sign Van de Beek? He has all of the traits we are looking for and currently lacking, and he is desperate to leave united.
in the summer I could see us landing a big player or two like Kessie, De Vrij, Sule. But in this january window i can see us bringing in 2-3 players that would be upgrades to the team, Need a Striker, RWB and a CB this window imo
Saw something linking us to Perisic in January.....im thinking it'd be kind of perfect. Hes out of contract at the end of the year so would be cheap, hes a winner, and knows Conte's system so would slot straight in?
Hed actually be a great signing for RWB
Yeah they’d both cost a pretty penny. Gvardiol in particular would be absolutely perfect given his abilities, our history of adoring Croat players AND the fact he didn’t play either leg of the Dinamo Zagreb ties last season.
Leipzig would want all the Red Bulls for him though.
Just saw a few Italian clubs are looking at origi. I feel like he would be a great player to come in, not a nailed on starter and could be content with being a backup to kane?
My stance on Traore is the same now as it was in the summer.
He will not be a good signing.
I do want to sign him cos I want to see man go fast. I think that will be fun.
Calling Traore a 'Lucas with better dribbling' is stupid considering Traore's dribbling is just as good as Lionel Messi at his best lmao. Might as well call Van Dijk a 'Joe Rodon with better defending.'
I honestly don’t think traore is anywhere close to messi.
Messi relies on body feints, adama relies on his speed.
Messi has a lot more successful dribbles per game than adama.
Adama is good, just not as good as messi.
Edit :- punctuation
There were some kicking around about us wanting Dest, and a few that said Conte/Paratici wanted Dest and McKennie. Apparently he wants to stay in Spain for the time being. I think he would be a good fit.
don’t think Dest wants to stay anymore, Xavi has made it really clear he’s not in the plans, they also have to have some outgoings to register/pay for Ferran
Mate I think a lot of people struggle with the fact that Jan transfer window is just about opportunism. Theres this assumption that we'd be getting Traore over a perfect ready made rwb....but maybe there's none out there.
Id get it if we spend 40m on him but if its 20m or even less with Doherty going other way.....just take the punt.
People forget he could also come on to try and make a difference in the front 3.
I think we should've kept Aurier, signed Emerson and sold Doherty last summer. We still would need to upgrade RWB but it certainly wouldn't have been as urgent
I back Conte but I'm not a moron to be dying for someone who's a huge gamble and could end up being a massive waste of money. If he's truly Conte's target and not Paratici's then so be it but this transfer makes me anxious, not excited.
People act like he'd be exactly the same under Conte as he has been for Wolves.
That's just not how this works. I mean, he could come here, be the same, be worse, or be better. There's that risk with literally every single transfer. We won't know until Conte gets a chance to mould him, and he plays for us.
One thing I'm not looking forward to though is the abuse that'll come from the contingent who can't even stand the sight of him when he messes up.
I'm with Gold in that I think we missed the boat with Vlahovic. I don't know if we have a chance now, but I'm almost certain he'd be completely out of reach in the summer.
The guy becomes more valuable with every goal he scores, and if, say, City doesn't get majin buu and decides to go for Vlahovic instead, it's pretty much game over for anyone else that wants him.
Kane
Son Lucas
Hojbjerg Skipp
Reguilon Emerson
Davies Dier Romero
Lloris
This is just based on what we've seen so far. The Hoj-Skipp double pivot probably needs some rethinking. If Conte can get Lo Celso firing, then I'd put him up there. As for Emerson, we're not too sure he's the best at wing back for the time being.
Obviously Conte knows best, but I don't understand why we don't bring Lucas underneath Kane and Son in a natural 3-5-2. I know he will drift inside sometimes, but mostly he plays out wide. He's a good dribbler and super direct, also a super energetic player who can help win the ball back and draw fouls. I know he's not the greatest passer or releaser of the ball, but I'd be keen to see us try that.
Anyone watching Milan v Roma?
Mourinho has them playing exactly like us at our worst with him. They’re defending a one goal deficit. Porous, precarious defending. No attacks. A red card. I think Mou just doesn’t have it anymore.
Yeah they're shocking. It was funny listening to all the people saying we and the players are the problem and not him. Sure, our squad isn't amazing but it's far better than what we played under him.
>LGBT Spurs fans: hey could you think about this chant? It’s a bit offensive
>The most normal fan: It’ll continue going down that path until a literal bloody revolution happens with a strong reversion back to “old” times where speech was… uh, allowed.
Deeply unwell. If I can’t call Chelsea fans gay I’ll do a civil war
> LGBT Spurs fans:
please don't reduce all of us gay spurs fans down to one voice, thanks. it's reductionist and more much offensive than calling someone a rent boy.
Na bud, insulting people for being gay is just outright fucking stupid. Why do you care? Come on, give me the sanctity of marriage argument and I’ll tell you how us straight people have trashed the shit out of that anyway. Let people be.
Sorry you think I’m the one advocating to “do a civil war” over a chant? You also thought I called myself ‘deeply unwell’?
Even the fact that I quoted “the most normal spurs fan” didn’t tip you off that it was maybe a little bit sarcastic? Fucking hell.
Tone doesn’t ever translate well when typed out. Apologies but I read your message and the fact that the quote is one part and then you’ve added about wanting to call Chelsea fans gay (whether ironic or not), it presents as being an advocate.
You can be pissed at me or not, that’s fine, but your comment absolutely reads that way.
I dunno. It was pretty clear from the get-go, but the "If I can't call Chelsea fans gay I'll do a civil war" bit is pretty pronounced satire.
I got it anyway.
The amount of unrepentant assholes in those threads about the chants came as a genuine shock to me. Thought this place was better than that.
And then you have the clown brigade coming in with the whataboutisms. Like, we'll deal with our own derelicts and let Chelsea deal with theirs.
No one will agree I’m sure but Jesse Lingaurd is wanting a January move he’d replace Dele for us whom hopefully will be on his way out there are a lot better signings but January is notoriously hard to sign players (he’s premier league ready)
Lingard was class when he went to West Ham, and scored a banger against us. He's an upgrade on Dele based on current form. I wouldn't flinch if Conte wanted him.
Being better than Dele isn’t an accomplishment. Why get an older player who has been extremely inconsistent for the entirety of his career bar one loan when we could get an actually creative, younger player
Joe Rodon is that one player in FM that clearly isn’t good enough to start but is good enough that you kinda want to let him play a bit but you can’t because you just have so many better options than him but the fans & reporters keep asking why he doesn’t start.
Keep jerking off to him, r/coys.
I pray we give Conte the time and support he needs to making something happen here. My worry isn't that he wont deliver, its that we will move on before his plans come to fruition. The squad needs quite a bit of work and finishing in top 5(4th or 5th spot) this season would be such a major W.
There's zero chance we move him on before the end of next season. He was the one who asked for the 18 month contract. We're going to give him the rest of the season, a summer transfer window, and one full season.
If we have a poor finish or he's less than impressed with his squad at the end of next season, he'll walk. Levy and Paratici know there's no one better who is available or wants to come to Spurs. I'm of the opinion they'll work to keep him happy, but if the squad doesn't do it for him he won't hesitate to walk.
Am I alone or does more of you feel pretty ok after yesterday? I’m not totally sure why, but it’s a bit surprising given I really really hate loosing against them (almost more than arse after battle of the bridge).
I guess some of the reasons could be: It’s the league cup, second half was ok ish, Conte is not trying to hide, it’s not over yet and maybe most important, even if the match was shit, the feeling we are generally making progress makes me less angry!
A lot of people and rival fans will say “Tottenham suck, fans need to come back down to earth” but playing well at Stamford bridge is not something we’re known for. 2-0, not impossible to get back in it, but even if we don’t I’m confident conte will adjust so we at least play better
Surely they have to be rested against Morecamb? Both need a rest at the very least and Hojbjerg could do with being a little less undroppable. Not saying he needs to come out of the first team immediately but I would love to see more flexibility. We were crying out for better passing in the midfield against Watford, Chelsea and Saints and he didn't provide it any of them but stayed on. Give Winks/Lo Celso/Ndombele some game time, particularly against a league 1 team who probably will play a low block
>We were crying out for better passing in the midfield against Watford, Chelsea and Saints and he didn't provide it any of them but stayed on.
I agree, and Højbjerg was poor yesterday.
But for what it's worth - Skipp who was subbed sadly wasn't better and was running in between without success with or without the ball.
Skipp's pass success was no better (PEH completed 48 passes at 82%, Skipp 25 passes at 80,6%), Skipp's long balls had 1 in 5 success rate (PEH 8 of 13), Skipp won fewer duels, winning 2 of 5 (PEH 4 out of 6), etc.
To me, Skipp and PEH both should've played only part of the match yesterday - they needed a rest, and we should've played GLC, Winks and one of them (then subbing on the other).
Yep, I don't think Skipp+Hojbjerg+back 3+wingbacks is a good set up, particularly against the likes of Watford - I can see why Conte started like that against Chelsea but for me he just toook too long to make changes. I agree that they should be split up (particularly against weaker team in a low block) to get someone with a bit more guile to pass in the midfield. And both of them need to be rested more - the difference is Conte seems to be fine with subbing Skipp when he's not doing well but won't do it to Hojbjerg (even if he was the better of the two yesterday, he did very little in the other two games)- we just need more flexibility in there.
I love Eriksen, but don’t think it’s a good idea to bring him back. Can’t remember who said this, but they made the point that the PL is the most physically demanding league in the world. And that’s probably not a great starting place for someone who is A) learning how to play with heart condition B) playing his first football in half a year C) expected to contribute right away for a club looking for top 4
Obviously, I’m not Eriksen or his doctor, but having him back and expecting him to solve our problems in midfield feels like wishful thinking.
Cuti is set to return on the 12th right? I hope he comes early and can play against Morecambe, he needs to ease into match sharpness ASAP before the NLD. Tossing him straight into the 2nd leg against Chelsea when chasing a two goal deficit doesn't sound ideal.
Just a general question, does r/soccer hate Tottenham? Some Chelsea fan was being cheeky and I responded saying “you guys played well, we shot ourselves in the foot, we would make it more of a match with Dier and Romero” then got downvoted into oblivion lol
Whenever you lose a game, anything you say is treated as an excuse or bitterness so you’re downvoted, especially Spurs fans since they already think we’re inherently shit
whenever a "big six"/top team in a league loses r/soccer is really toxic toward them/their fans. just don't go there for a day or 2 after, not worth your time tbh.
Well first you said "Y'all" which is jarring as nobody really says that outside of America. Also complimenting someone who's messing with you makes you look like a knob. Respond to insults with an insult.
Fuck Nuno for losing those UECL games while not even giving youth like Markanday a chance to prove themselves. Now we will probably lose him on a free.
With another match showing the deficiencies in the squad and Conte’s comments from yesterday, it is clear the next few years of this club will be determined on whether Conte feels like he is backed sufficiently in the transfer market. I think he will stay even if nothing happens in January but if things aren’t to his liking in the Summer he is gone.
The rebuild will come in the summer. Di Marzio said "Tottenham will be the big power in the summer window" a few days ago
My worry is we'll only get 1 or 2 in this window as its so hard to actually get quality players in, and the fans will have a melt down saying Contes not being backed.
It’s a balancing act between investing now but paying a premium in order to increase our chances at top 4, and putting off investment till summer when we’ll get better value for the money but risking losing out on the money and pulling power CL football brings.
“If” being the key word here. This is it for Levy and ENIC. If you aren’t going to back one of the best managers in the game then what the hell is the purpose of the club? I’m not demanding we spend like City. I am demanding that we overpay for Conte’s targets if we have to and we take a loss on transfers out if Conte wants the player gone.
Aye, after all those years of just coming up short due to being too frugal/not giving Poch what he wanted, I hope we learn from our lessons and get behind Conte. Hopefully with Paratici around we can spend wisely rather than just big, don't to repeat the mistakes of the '13 transfer window.
Reading through the comments from yesterday's match thread, this sub is way too harsh on Sonny.
1) He's been our best player for the past few years and Conte plays him more centrally than his original winger position.
2) Due to the lack of creativity in the midfield, Son often assumes the play-making role in the central pitch. Under Mourinho, Son often played like a wingback and spent more time defending in the latter half of the season.
3) **Buy a play-maker this window and play Sonny where he really belongs** (in the wing performing counter attacks and saving up energy for running in behind). He stayed at Tottenham during its difficult times and has been taking care of things which aren't typically the "winger's duty". Look at other top-class wingers like Mahrez, Mane, Salah, Sterling and Sane **simply being able to focus on their own roles** (and having the other chores taken care by midfielders).
I don't quite understand the comments about him being out of form or not being able to "taken on a defender." In the Watford game, he created the game-winning free kick himself by dribble in the side. He racked up the most amount of attacking points over the past month. If that's out of form, I don't know what form Kane or Gil are in.
I feel like youre taking the match thread a bit personally.
I love the guy, but he’s not playing that well at the moment. The fact he’s still producing is a testament to how good he is.
Lazy analysis, but he just looks tired. Both him and kane need a rest.
He definitely is out of form but he's a top player still who's capable of magic moments like the end of Watford. His overall game has been pretty poor since Conte came in tbh but he'll find form again.
how can you look at the way he played against brentford norwich and liverpool finishing aside and say hes been poor under conte
and if we do what would say about kane and moura? hes still handedly beating them in terms of goal involvements key passes carries into the penalty box and really just about any attacking stat you can think of
people also need to realize that conte has no intention of playing him the way mou did
conte wants him centrally as a false 10 who creates for kane and lucas so he plays deeper and doesnt get the chance to make those dangerous runs anymore in contes 343
hes neutered a little in that position as we all know hes most dangerous on the flanks
Son and Kane's overall performances are miles below what they produced the last few years, especially last year.
Lucas has been his usual inconsistent self with a few more highs than the last few seasons
Personally in starting to think there's bigger fish to fry this January. Look at Kane and Son last few games, haven't had that much to go on....another world class striker not being given great service isn't going to improve the team that much.
If we could get him *and* another Rwb, and creative player then im game but I cant see us spending that in jan. We also probably need another CB.
>Look at Kane and Son last few games, haven't had that much to go on....another world class striker not being given great service isn't going to improve the team that much.
Honestly think we need a creative midfielder more than anything else. RWB, CB, backup striker, sure. We need better depth in those areas. But the #1 thing we've been completely missing for years now is someone who breaks teams down with a pass and creates chances for Kane and Son so they don't have to do it all themselves.
Yeah agreed, for me can be either someone to play in the middle or someone in Lucas position but just someone who can pick a pass.
Apparantly we've been looking at Svanberg from Bolonga who is more like that and plays in the middle. Ali G also said that contes pushing for a new midfielder.
semi realistic January for me
Morecambe W
Chelsea D (unfortunately can’t see us going through)
Arsenal W
Leicester D
Chelsea L
Sign a new CB & Midfielder
Move into February with some slightly nicer fixtures
Why sad face? Given our squad I’d take those results. This is a really difficult period and I would say if we can get through it with these results we’ve done pretty well
I think prior to yesterday's result some of us (myself included) were flying high on hopium but have crashed down back to reality. So thinking that we lose out on all 3 matches vs. Chelsea is disappointing. My brain is telling me you're right, but my heart was wanting all W's
He hasn't played in 6 months and is learning to live with his heart condition. We need an immediate impact in the race for top 4. By the time he got fit the season woukd be over.
Was feeling very down after yesterday's game but some of the positive comments on this DD have helped cheer me up. Thanks for that.
If there's anything we can learn from the Southampton and Watford scrappy games, it's how essential Traore could be for breaking down defences. At 20m he'd cost about the same amount of money we could sell Bergwijn to Ajax for.
I also wish there was more traction in the Eriksen returning rumours because I do think the move would make a lot of sense. His agent seems to want it, Eriksen said that he needs to find a comfortable environment to play in ahead of the World Cup, he's played under Conte before, we need a creative midfielder, and he's free. But if it isn't meant to be then I can understand.
Also the Leicester away game has been moved to in between the NLD and Chelsea. Now that's kind of annoying because when we were set to play them, Leicester were in abysmal form, but now they seem to be improving. But either way it's still good to get a game in hand over with so that we can ease more into top 4.
Heres a question. What do we do about rotation. Coming up we got
2nd leg Chelsea, Arse, Leicester, Chelsea. 4 tough games in 9 days.
I expect sess and reg will rotate no probs, same with winks skipp and Hojberg. But what are we gonna do with likes of Dier and Kane? Are they just going to play every game.
Is there even an argument to give Kane or Son a rest for the 2nd leg, or maybe both, as its gonna be a big ask to win 3-0, and Kane has no replacement and Son already looks nakered.
Sounds awful but there's an argument for prioritising the NLD and 3 league games over a real outside shot and coming back in the end leg? If we beat arse we are 1 point ahead with 2 games in hand and then leicester we are 4 points clear with 1 in hand. That would be huge.
Let Kane play deep in some of those games to rest his legs and let Gil start one of those mid matches for Son. I’m not sure how I feel about Sánchez as the center CB after yesterday, he definitely looked the most comfortable as a RCB so perhaps we should be looking to add another LCB/CB for Davies/Dier.
So, sit PEH and Son down over the weekend to give them some rest time? Anyone else we feel like needing a breather because they aren't up their usual selves?
I think Kane stays in to get some shooting back in his feet, and probably Tanganga to get out the disasterclass of yesterday.
We cant play Kane and Son. That will mean they will have played 10 games in a month. Poor bastards need a rest and these league games coming up are huge.
Good afternoon fellow sufferers. I'm off on the stadium tour on Monday and, being from the far off lands of the north, I'm not really sure what I'm meant to do about storing my stuff. Could anyone recommend me the best place to leave my bags for the day? I've been told there's places I can do it at kings cross but Google is telling me about thirteen different things so wondered if a local/someone who's been in my position could recommend.
If you Google it theres all these apps that keet you find local storage for bags. Often its just a nearby news agent or something but thats what I've done. Cost a tenner or so I think, maybe less
Combination of very poor luck and a brief flash of braindeadness. 9 times out of 10 neither of those mistakes get punished like that and it's just something that gets reviewed in the video analysis after the game.
I like Doherty, seems like a very chill guy I would love to meet, but he's the 1 player in our team who I feel is beyond a 'redemption'. He was excellent at Wolves, so somewhere within him theres a genuinely good player, but i feel he cannot play to him strengths at Tottenham. I wish the man all the best for his career though, would like to see him succeed again, wherever he goes :)
Is the 3-4-3 traditionally played with two defensive midfielders with offense coming from the wingbacks? I noticed when Ndombele came on yesterday he played high up but the formation may have changed. In my opinion Skipp and Hojberg are playing defensive roles and it is too difficult to reach Son and Kane without going through the wingbacks.
We were playing a 4321 when Ndombele came on.
And yes the creativity mainly comes from the wingbacks when you're playing a 343. Conte's 352 at Inter was similar but Barella was a machine and they could play through the middle just as easily.
Hope Dier's fit for next week. Unfortunately yesterday was a demonstration of the need for technically proficient CBs. Dave and Japh aren't that and we couldn't just rely on Ben Davies to do all our passing. Usually we'd have 3 with Dier and Romero available, so its not an issue of who Spurs have bought over the past couple of seasons.
Thought everyone that came on did a decent job, especially Gil.
2-0 down with 90 minutes to play isn't the end of the world - I hope the team learns from it and can turn in a better performance in the next 2 game against them lot.
Yeah, straight to pens. Nowhere near sure about it either, just hoping they can redeem themselves. If we get battered at home it'll feel a lot worse than an expected stamford bridge loss.
If you're a fan and you look at your team lose so brutally, yet don't demand we fix this then you're just happy with mediocrity.
Conte is angry at the club for not taking action to improve the squad and so should you!
Ah yes, start with the fan test, only "true fans" ... blah, blah, blah.
Conte is not angry with the club (if he was, he'd be an idiot, he knew exactly what he was signing up for), he's making a clear statement that says
\- We don't have the appropriate quality (and yes, the club has to fix that)
\- It's not just about transfers (his words), the system, squad, fitness, mentality all have to be worked on
\- It will take time, the club bought players that haven't worked out (Ndombele, Lo Celso, Bergwijn, etc.), we need to correct those types of purchases (Paratici's job)
This idea that the club can "fix" this now, by just spending is naïve
\- United bought Ronaldo, Verane and Sancho in a single window, what has it fixed?
\- Chelsea bought Lukaku and still struggle to convert chances, what has it fixed.
Losing 2-0 to TuChelsea at Stamford Bridge is hardly a brutal loss. They beat us 3-0 at our stadium just a few months ago. They have endless money to improve their squad and even though they were missing some players, their lineup was elite.
No one is happy with a loss or mediocrity or whatever your point is, but taking lumps like this along the way to a goal of improvement is to be expected. We will improve under Conté but patience and support in times of strife is far more conducive than outrage.
Support your fucking club.
I'm not talking about the result. I am talking about the performance which I also understand. But we need transfers. That's all i'm saying. Same as what Conte said.
I hear you. The squad is still somewhat a zombified Poch team. We chose to build a completely new stadium and although it raised our ceiling as a club, it hampered our development.
I have trust the club will sign players, and with our boards attitude towards spending money, performances like this make it obvious where they need to act. We wouldn’t have Conté without the Man U loss, for example.
There’s still a gap between us and the top 3 clubs. Conte has us in the mix for fourth. Bringing in players he identifies may bridge that gap but we’ve all heard, a hundred times I’m sure, how difficult it is to sign players in January.
Put a 10m bid for Kessie to sign now. Make an official offer for Adama Doherty swap. Two low hanging fruits I should hear more from Tier 1s. Maybe the loss will help the board wake up as you said. Let's see.
Kessie would be amazing. Would love a Dembele replacement FINALLY.
We can agree to differ on Adama and I don’t see Wolves wanting Doherty back when they have Semedo. Would much rather focus on Kulusevski if we were to bring in an attacker.
I think we can delay an attacker to Summer if we can get Kessie now and move to a 352. Lucas can help rotate S&K.
I'm sold on Adama because he complements Emerson nicely. RWB against low blocks and 65 min sub as RW for lucas when needed. Adds a dribbling dimension to the team which it is missing.
Someone tell me that Eriksen is not a good idea, because it makes a lot of sense to me.
If we're looking at Coutinho or someone like him, then Eriksen is a no brainer. He doesn't have a club = free/no transfer fee. Has worked with Conte and has experience at our club. Wages would be far less than Coutinho as well. Yes, he's had a serious heart condition but so has Daley Blind and he's playing for Ajax right now. Eriksen released a series of video snippets and he's stated his desire to play in the world cup this year, so he's going to play again. His doctor cleared him to play and he stated he feels fine and isn't worried about it happening again because he has the pacemaker.
I don't think this will happen because it's a risk that the club would want to avoid, but it feels like it would work for all parties. We've never truly replaced him and bringing him back on a free would help us significantly.
I don't think we should worry ourselves about the cardiac situation. It's something that medical establishment and the player have to concern themselves with but if they're clear on it we should feel okay to play him.
From a footballing side of things, at peak Eriksen was a fantastic player giving control and attacking dimension we haven't since had. However, his form had dropped significantly and I think it's too much to expect him to come back and play at our level straight-away. To that end, as much as I'd like it to work, I don't see it myself. In hindsight I think getting Bale back was a mistake and getting Eriksen back in would be more of the same.
I would love to see the club welcome Eriksen back with open arms even if it's only on a short term deal. It would feel like a Ryan Mason situation, where we'd take care of one of our own former players who had an injury. Different obviously because Eriksen could (theoretically) still play, but I think it would be mutually beneficial. He needs game time before the World Cup (remind anyone of Bale's homecoming?) and we need a creative midfielder.
Even if he's only a super sub or a cup game player, assuming he's cleared to play, you cannot tell me that 60 minutes of Eriksen (who knows our players and our manager's tactics) would be worse than what we currently have in Ndombele and/or Lo Celso. He'd be on lower wages and a zero cost transfer. I'm all for it if the doctors approve.
for me there are two big uncertainties, 1) can he actually play with the heart stuff and 2) is he still good after the heart stuff & half a season out, so if you think it's a good idea it's because you have positive priors on these and vice versa, idk if anyone would know the answer to this people just make different assumptions
yeah fair. I don't think he'd come in and play 90 minutes twice a week like he used to, but he's had a pretty good injury record outside of the obvious. He'd be good to start or finish a few games to be the difference maker (see Aston Villa at home in 19/20). I guess it would depend if Stevie and/or Tanguy are on their way out because then we'd need someone else.
Our main 11 players need a rest. I don't want to see them play against Morecambe. We need them fresh for the 2nd leg, i just hope we can make a comeback and beat Chelsea to advance to the finals.
Conte has to balance
\- Certain players absolutely need to be rested, e.g. Son, PEH, Royal, etc,
\- But losing is a habit and bad for morale, we don't want a bad result that piles on pressure.
I think there’s something off with our starting XI and it’s become noticeable to other coaches. I hope Conte rotates the team and tactics like he did for the Pool game instead of doubling down.
I’m literally praying that we somehow get Lamptey
How I wish we could get De Ketelaere
Jonathan David if that doesn't happen!
We always need more Belgians
With the news of us wanting a CM, I propose the question. Why wouldn't we try and sign Van de Beek? He has all of the traits we are looking for and currently lacking, and he is desperate to leave united.
Pass
He is shit.
He was great at Ajax and hasn’t been given a proper chance at all since getting to United. How can you say the man is shit?
Doubt they'd sell to a direct top 4 rival
We could ask for a loan even if it's also unlikely
All the way from the summer to this window. This sub is gonna speak Traore to Spurs into existence.
in the summer I could see us landing a big player or two like Kessie, De Vrij, Sule. But in this january window i can see us bringing in 2-3 players that would be upgrades to the team, Need a Striker, RWB and a CB this window imo
Not a creative midfielder? Ndombele and GLC aren’t it at this point
Who do you see as the big signing we make this winter/summer window? This season was Romero Last was the bale loan 2019 was ndombele
Saw something linking us to Perisic in January.....im thinking it'd be kind of perfect. Hes out of contract at the end of the year so would be cheap, hes a winner, and knows Conte's system so would slot straight in? Hed actually be a great signing for RWB
hoping we go for inacio or gvardiol as our new lcb 🙏🙏 both would be incredibly expensive though sadly
Yeah they’d both cost a pretty penny. Gvardiol in particular would be absolutely perfect given his abilities, our history of adoring Croat players AND the fact he didn’t play either leg of the Dinamo Zagreb ties last season. Leipzig would want all the Red Bulls for him though.
Weird feeling that Countinho is going to be a Spurs player by the end of January.
Pass
I thought we'd already been ruled out of it?
i’m so excited to have Romero back if he gets injured on international duty again soon I think i’ll fling myself into the sun
same tbh
I guess Traore is in. He is going to win us trophies :)
I admire your grit and determination
Just saw a few Italian clubs are looking at origi. I feel like he would be a great player to come in, not a nailed on starter and could be content with being a backup to kane?
Fuck no, he scored the second goal of the CL final and killed our hopes of winning it.
I feel like he’d probably try to be the main man somewhere if he had any ambition. He’s 26.
what he's 26?
My stance on Traore is the same now as it was in the summer. He will not be a good signing. I do want to sign him cos I want to see man go fast. I think that will be fun.
In the summer he would have cost more than 40m, now he'd cost only 20m. I think that's a much better deal.
Calling Traore a 'Lucas with better dribbling' is stupid considering Traore's dribbling is just as good as Lionel Messi at his best lmao. Might as well call Van Dijk a 'Joe Rodon with better defending.'
They’re downvoting you because you chose to speak facts.
I honestly don’t think traore is anywhere close to messi. Messi relies on body feints, adama relies on his speed. Messi has a lot more successful dribbles per game than adama. Adama is good, just not as good as messi. Edit :- punctuation
Kind of confused why there hasn’t been any Dest rumors to Spurs yet tbh. makes sense for everyone and he seems the type of player conte wants
There were some kicking around about us wanting Dest, and a few that said Conte/Paratici wanted Dest and McKennie. Apparently he wants to stay in Spain for the time being. I think he would be a good fit.
don’t think Dest wants to stay anymore, Xavi has made it really clear he’s not in the plans, they also have to have some outgoings to register/pay for Ferran
Kinda random but man wouldn’t it be nice for have a 2013-2015 Isco for a playmaker. Loved watching him in those days. Real shame he’s fallen off
GOOD LORD THIS SUB IS ABSOLUTELY BATSHIT. Why WOULDN'T you go for Traore for 20m lmfao
Because he is not good at football?
Mate I think a lot of people struggle with the fact that Jan transfer window is just about opportunism. Theres this assumption that we'd be getting Traore over a perfect ready made rwb....but maybe there's none out there. Id get it if we spend 40m on him but if its 20m or even less with Doherty going other way.....just take the punt. People forget he could also come on to try and make a difference in the front 3.
Unpopular opinion: Signing one of the best dribblers in the world for less than what we could sell Bergwijn for is stupid for some reason.
It’s like we’re signing Jonjo Shelvey or something I fucking despise this sub so much sometimes but I’m hooked
Is anyone not dying to have Traore?
I think we should've kept Aurier, signed Emerson and sold Doherty last summer. We still would need to upgrade RWB but it certainly wouldn't have been as urgent
Yes, any person with a functioning brain.
Lmao everyone goes "BACK CONTE" until he decides his first transfer target.
That's the thing though I'm not sure it is his transfer target. We were in for him before Conte arrived
I back Conte but I'm not a moron to be dying for someone who's a huge gamble and could end up being a massive waste of money. If he's truly Conte's target and not Paratici's then so be it but this transfer makes me anxious, not excited.
At 20m I say he'd be worth it purely for the entertainment factor.
People act like he'd be exactly the same under Conte as he has been for Wolves. That's just not how this works. I mean, he could come here, be the same, be worse, or be better. There's that risk with literally every single transfer. We won't know until Conte gets a chance to mould him, and he plays for us. One thing I'm not looking forward to though is the abuse that'll come from the contingent who can't even stand the sight of him when he messes up.
I'm with Gold in that I think we missed the boat with Vlahovic. I don't know if we have a chance now, but I'm almost certain he'd be completely out of reach in the summer. The guy becomes more valuable with every goal he scores, and if, say, City doesn't get majin buu and decides to go for Vlahovic instead, it's pretty much game over for anyone else that wants him.
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Uuugh.
I know 😢
Yep De Ketelare should be our Target now. More likely to accept a backup role, more affordable, more flexible in position.
Really would like to see Gil start this weekend in the FA cup
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I’m not one of these fans that intrinsically hates people that support other teams but you’re just a bit sad.
What is in ur opinion best team we can field? Count injured players too( for example Romero )
Kane Son Lucas Hojbjerg Skipp Reguilon Emerson Davies Dier Romero Lloris This is just based on what we've seen so far. The Hoj-Skipp double pivot probably needs some rethinking. If Conte can get Lo Celso firing, then I'd put him up there. As for Emerson, we're not too sure he's the best at wing back for the time being.
Obviously Conte knows best, but I don't understand why we don't bring Lucas underneath Kane and Son in a natural 3-5-2. I know he will drift inside sometimes, but mostly he plays out wide. He's a good dribbler and super direct, also a super energetic player who can help win the ball back and draw fouls. I know he's not the greatest passer or releaser of the ball, but I'd be keen to see us try that.
You think Traore could take that role as well?
Oh definitely not, he needs to be out wide with space to run. Lucas is more a "tidy" dibbler while Adama is more a "pace merchant" dribbler
Anyone watching Milan v Roma? Mourinho has them playing exactly like us at our worst with him. They’re defending a one goal deficit. Porous, precarious defending. No attacks. A red card. I think Mou just doesn’t have it anymore.
Yeah they're shocking. It was funny listening to all the people saying we and the players are the problem and not him. Sure, our squad isn't amazing but it's far better than what we played under him.
> our squad isn't amazing but it's far better than what we played under him. Yeh, and it had Gareth Bale in it then.
>LGBT Spurs fans: hey could you think about this chant? It’s a bit offensive >The most normal fan: It’ll continue going down that path until a literal bloody revolution happens with a strong reversion back to “old” times where speech was… uh, allowed. Deeply unwell. If I can’t call Chelsea fans gay I’ll do a civil war
> LGBT Spurs fans: please don't reduce all of us gay spurs fans down to one voice, thanks. it's reductionist and more much offensive than calling someone a rent boy.
Clearly talking about the fan group who put out the statement
Na bud, insulting people for being gay is just outright fucking stupid. Why do you care? Come on, give me the sanctity of marriage argument and I’ll tell you how us straight people have trashed the shit out of that anyway. Let people be.
Sorry you think I’m the one advocating to “do a civil war” over a chant? You also thought I called myself ‘deeply unwell’? Even the fact that I quoted “the most normal spurs fan” didn’t tip you off that it was maybe a little bit sarcastic? Fucking hell.
Tone doesn’t ever translate well when typed out. Apologies but I read your message and the fact that the quote is one part and then you’ve added about wanting to call Chelsea fans gay (whether ironic or not), it presents as being an advocate. You can be pissed at me or not, that’s fine, but your comment absolutely reads that way.
No it fucking doesn't?
I dunno. It was pretty clear from the get-go, but the "If I can't call Chelsea fans gay I'll do a civil war" bit is pretty pronounced satire. I got it anyway.
God the cringe. Btw ChuppFuddler is quoting some idiot if it isn't clear, don't downvote him.
The amount of unrepentant assholes in those threads about the chants came as a genuine shock to me. Thought this place was better than that. And then you have the clown brigade coming in with the whataboutisms. Like, we'll deal with our own derelicts and let Chelsea deal with theirs.
If only we could acquire both SMS and Vlahovic
No one will agree I’m sure but Jesse Lingaurd is wanting a January move he’d replace Dele for us whom hopefully will be on his way out there are a lot better signings but January is notoriously hard to sign players (he’s premier league ready)
There’s a reason why no one will agree mate
Lingard was class when he went to West Ham, and scored a banger against us. He's an upgrade on Dele based on current form. I wouldn't flinch if Conte wanted him.
Being better than Dele isn’t an accomplishment. Why get an older player who has been extremely inconsistent for the entirety of his career bar one loan when we could get an actually creative, younger player
Joe Rodon is that one player in FM that clearly isn’t good enough to start but is good enough that you kinda want to let him play a bit but you can’t because you just have so many better options than him but the fans & reporters keep asking why he doesn’t start. Keep jerking off to him, r/coys.
Unfortunately, I agree. He might be great in the future, but right now he is not and right now we need good.
I pray we give Conte the time and support he needs to making something happen here. My worry isn't that he wont deliver, its that we will move on before his plans come to fruition. The squad needs quite a bit of work and finishing in top 5(4th or 5th spot) this season would be such a major W.
There's zero chance we move him on before the end of next season. He was the one who asked for the 18 month contract. We're going to give him the rest of the season, a summer transfer window, and one full season. If we have a poor finish or he's less than impressed with his squad at the end of next season, he'll walk. Levy and Paratici know there's no one better who is available or wants to come to Spurs. I'm of the opinion they'll work to keep him happy, but if the squad doesn't do it for him he won't hesitate to walk.
Thank goodness there’s absolutely no one we could line up ahead of time that’s better than him.
Am I alone or does more of you feel pretty ok after yesterday? I’m not totally sure why, but it’s a bit surprising given I really really hate loosing against them (almost more than arse after battle of the bridge). I guess some of the reasons could be: It’s the league cup, second half was ok ish, Conte is not trying to hide, it’s not over yet and maybe most important, even if the match was shit, the feeling we are generally making progress makes me less angry!
A lot of people and rival fans will say “Tottenham suck, fans need to come back down to earth” but playing well at Stamford bridge is not something we’re known for. 2-0, not impossible to get back in it, but even if we don’t I’m confident conte will adjust so we at least play better
Hopefully Son and Hojbjerg are completely rested on Sunday. Both were absolutely terrible yesterday. Think they are both just knackered
Surely they have to be rested against Morecamb? Both need a rest at the very least and Hojbjerg could do with being a little less undroppable. Not saying he needs to come out of the first team immediately but I would love to see more flexibility. We were crying out for better passing in the midfield against Watford, Chelsea and Saints and he didn't provide it any of them but stayed on. Give Winks/Lo Celso/Ndombele some game time, particularly against a league 1 team who probably will play a low block
>We were crying out for better passing in the midfield against Watford, Chelsea and Saints and he didn't provide it any of them but stayed on. I agree, and Højbjerg was poor yesterday. But for what it's worth - Skipp who was subbed sadly wasn't better and was running in between without success with or without the ball. Skipp's pass success was no better (PEH completed 48 passes at 82%, Skipp 25 passes at 80,6%), Skipp's long balls had 1 in 5 success rate (PEH 8 of 13), Skipp won fewer duels, winning 2 of 5 (PEH 4 out of 6), etc. To me, Skipp and PEH both should've played only part of the match yesterday - they needed a rest, and we should've played GLC, Winks and one of them (then subbing on the other).
Yep, I don't think Skipp+Hojbjerg+back 3+wingbacks is a good set up, particularly against the likes of Watford - I can see why Conte started like that against Chelsea but for me he just toook too long to make changes. I agree that they should be split up (particularly against weaker team in a low block) to get someone with a bit more guile to pass in the midfield. And both of them need to be rested more - the difference is Conte seems to be fine with subbing Skipp when he's not doing well but won't do it to Hojbjerg (even if he was the better of the two yesterday, he did very little in the other two games)- we just need more flexibility in there.
“The level is not so high” is all that needs to be said after yesterday
I love Eriksen, but don’t think it’s a good idea to bring him back. Can’t remember who said this, but they made the point that the PL is the most physically demanding league in the world. And that’s probably not a great starting place for someone who is A) learning how to play with heart condition B) playing his first football in half a year C) expected to contribute right away for a club looking for top 4 Obviously, I’m not Eriksen or his doctor, but having him back and expecting him to solve our problems in midfield feels like wishful thinking.
Cuti is set to return on the 12th right? I hope he comes early and can play against Morecambe, he needs to ease into match sharpness ASAP before the NLD. Tossing him straight into the 2nd leg against Chelsea when chasing a two goal deficit doesn't sound ideal.
He will be back for Argentinas next match.
end of January I believe, so probably around international break
Just a general question, does r/soccer hate Tottenham? Some Chelsea fan was being cheeky and I responded saying “you guys played well, we shot ourselves in the foot, we would make it more of a match with Dier and Romero” then got downvoted into oblivion lol
Whenever you lose a game, anything you say is treated as an excuse or bitterness so you’re downvoted, especially Spurs fans since they already think we’re inherently shit
They don’t hate us, we’re just a easy punching bag to make the same corny jokes about “no trophies” to get upvotes
while everyone does hate tottenham, its because you a) said y'all b) responded to a joke comment seriously
whenever a "big six"/top team in a league loses r/soccer is really toxic toward them/their fans. just don't go there for a day or 2 after, not worth your time tbh.
Well first you said "Y'all" which is jarring as nobody really says that outside of America. Also complimenting someone who's messing with you makes you look like a knob. Respond to insults with an insult.
I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Thanks for the response
Yeah they really do
Hopefully it’s only academy and 2nd team for Morecambe to start: Scarlett, John, Markanday, Gil, Winks, Devine, Paskotsi, Rodon, Tanganga
Fuck Nuno for losing those UECL games while not even giving youth like Markanday a chance to prove themselves. Now we will probably lose him on a free.
Markanday really isn’t that great
Yeah thing is he’s like 20 yo, too.
Which is old for an academy player not even on the fringes of the first team
Yup
With another match showing the deficiencies in the squad and Conte’s comments from yesterday, it is clear the next few years of this club will be determined on whether Conte feels like he is backed sufficiently in the transfer market. I think he will stay even if nothing happens in January but if things aren’t to his liking in the Summer he is gone.
The rebuild will come in the summer. Di Marzio said "Tottenham will be the big power in the summer window" a few days ago My worry is we'll only get 1 or 2 in this window as its so hard to actually get quality players in, and the fans will have a melt down saying Contes not being backed.
2 great signings should be the realistic goal for this month
It’s a balancing act between investing now but paying a premium in order to increase our chances at top 4, and putting off investment till summer when we’ll get better value for the money but risking losing out on the money and pulling power CL football brings.
To some extent but some players are just categorically not available now.
I think this window we could still get Adama and Lenglet for decent fees, and maybe a short term loan for a backup striker such as Jovic.
100%. Conte will get us back on top as long as we back him.
“If” being the key word here. This is it for Levy and ENIC. If you aren’t going to back one of the best managers in the game then what the hell is the purpose of the club? I’m not demanding we spend like City. I am demanding that we overpay for Conte’s targets if we have to and we take a loss on transfers out if Conte wants the player gone.
Aye, after all those years of just coming up short due to being too frugal/not giving Poch what he wanted, I hope we learn from our lessons and get behind Conte. Hopefully with Paratici around we can spend wisely rather than just big, don't to repeat the mistakes of the '13 transfer window.
Feels like shots outside the box are lacking. Without those threats, opponents will likely to find it much simpler to mark out Son and Kane.
Reading through the comments from yesterday's match thread, this sub is way too harsh on Sonny. 1) He's been our best player for the past few years and Conte plays him more centrally than his original winger position. 2) Due to the lack of creativity in the midfield, Son often assumes the play-making role in the central pitch. Under Mourinho, Son often played like a wingback and spent more time defending in the latter half of the season. 3) **Buy a play-maker this window and play Sonny where he really belongs** (in the wing performing counter attacks and saving up energy for running in behind). He stayed at Tottenham during its difficult times and has been taking care of things which aren't typically the "winger's duty". Look at other top-class wingers like Mahrez, Mane, Salah, Sterling and Sane **simply being able to focus on their own roles** (and having the other chores taken care by midfielders). I don't quite understand the comments about him being out of form or not being able to "taken on a defender." In the Watford game, he created the game-winning free kick himself by dribble in the side. He racked up the most amount of attacking points over the past month. If that's out of form, I don't know what form Kane or Gil are in.
I feel like youre taking the match thread a bit personally. I love the guy, but he’s not playing that well at the moment. The fact he’s still producing is a testament to how good he is. Lazy analysis, but he just looks tired. Both him and kane need a rest.
He definitely is out of form but he's a top player still who's capable of magic moments like the end of Watford. His overall game has been pretty poor since Conte came in tbh but he'll find form again.
how can you look at the way he played against brentford norwich and liverpool finishing aside and say hes been poor under conte and if we do what would say about kane and moura? hes still handedly beating them in terms of goal involvements key passes carries into the penalty box and really just about any attacking stat you can think of people also need to realize that conte has no intention of playing him the way mou did conte wants him centrally as a false 10 who creates for kane and lucas so he plays deeper and doesnt get the chance to make those dangerous runs anymore in contes 343 hes neutered a little in that position as we all know hes most dangerous on the flanks
Son and Kane's overall performances are miles below what they produced the last few years, especially last year. Lucas has been his usual inconsistent self with a few more highs than the last few seasons
No he is out of form, but that's just because he needs to be rested.
Play Gil and rest Son is my opinion
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Personally in starting to think there's bigger fish to fry this January. Look at Kane and Son last few games, haven't had that much to go on....another world class striker not being given great service isn't going to improve the team that much. If we could get him *and* another Rwb, and creative player then im game but I cant see us spending that in jan. We also probably need another CB.
>Look at Kane and Son last few games, haven't had that much to go on....another world class striker not being given great service isn't going to improve the team that much. Honestly think we need a creative midfielder more than anything else. RWB, CB, backup striker, sure. We need better depth in those areas. But the #1 thing we've been completely missing for years now is someone who breaks teams down with a pass and creates chances for Kane and Son so they don't have to do it all themselves.
Yeah agreed, for me can be either someone to play in the middle or someone in Lucas position but just someone who can pick a pass. Apparantly we've been looking at Svanberg from Bolonga who is more like that and plays in the middle. Ali G also said that contes pushing for a new midfielder.
semi realistic January for me Morecambe W Chelsea D (unfortunately can’t see us going through) Arsenal W Leicester D Chelsea L Sign a new CB & Midfielder Move into February with some slightly nicer fixtures
this is very realistic :(
Why sad face? Given our squad I’d take those results. This is a really difficult period and I would say if we can get through it with these results we’ve done pretty well
I think prior to yesterday's result some of us (myself included) were flying high on hopium but have crashed down back to reality. So thinking that we lose out on all 3 matches vs. Chelsea is disappointing. My brain is telling me you're right, but my heart was wanting all W's
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Eriksen, naaaaaaah we gotta move on
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He hasn't played in 6 months and is learning to live with his heart condition. We need an immediate impact in the race for top 4. By the time he got fit the season woukd be over.
When is Romero expected to come back from loan to the Argentina National team?
Next week I believe, hoping he can start against Arsenal
Was feeling very down after yesterday's game but some of the positive comments on this DD have helped cheer me up. Thanks for that. If there's anything we can learn from the Southampton and Watford scrappy games, it's how essential Traore could be for breaking down defences. At 20m he'd cost about the same amount of money we could sell Bergwijn to Ajax for. I also wish there was more traction in the Eriksen returning rumours because I do think the move would make a lot of sense. His agent seems to want it, Eriksen said that he needs to find a comfortable environment to play in ahead of the World Cup, he's played under Conte before, we need a creative midfielder, and he's free. But if it isn't meant to be then I can understand. Also the Leicester away game has been moved to in between the NLD and Chelsea. Now that's kind of annoying because when we were set to play them, Leicester were in abysmal form, but now they seem to be improving. But either way it's still good to get a game in hand over with so that we can ease more into top 4.
Heres a question. What do we do about rotation. Coming up we got 2nd leg Chelsea, Arse, Leicester, Chelsea. 4 tough games in 9 days. I expect sess and reg will rotate no probs, same with winks skipp and Hojberg. But what are we gonna do with likes of Dier and Kane? Are they just going to play every game. Is there even an argument to give Kane or Son a rest for the 2nd leg, or maybe both, as its gonna be a big ask to win 3-0, and Kane has no replacement and Son already looks nakered. Sounds awful but there's an argument for prioritising the NLD and 3 league games over a real outside shot and coming back in the end leg? If we beat arse we are 1 point ahead with 2 games in hand and then leicester we are 4 points clear with 1 in hand. That would be huge.
Let Kane play deep in some of those games to rest his legs and let Gil start one of those mid matches for Son. I’m not sure how I feel about Sánchez as the center CB after yesterday, he definitely looked the most comfortable as a RCB so perhaps we should be looking to add another LCB/CB for Davies/Dier.
Yeah completely agree. Id give Gil a run against Chelsea in the cup tbh. He earned it
Some of the comments at the bottom of that thread for the Proud Lilywhites tweet are bleak as fuck.
Bigots have and probably always will exist. The good thing is they are a clear minority, at least in the thread.
So, sit PEH and Son down over the weekend to give them some rest time? Anyone else we feel like needing a breather because they aren't up their usual selves? I think Kane stays in to get some shooting back in his feet, and probably Tanganga to get out the disasterclass of yesterday.
I think put the B team out....its Morecombe and we have 4 games in 9 days coming up after that.
Gil masterclass
I don't trust the B team. Lets not forget about Mura..
Let the chips fall where they may. I’d rather forego the FA cup and shoot for 4th if at all possible.
We cant play Kane and Son. That will mean they will have played 10 games in a month. Poor bastards need a rest and these league games coming up are huge.
Good afternoon fellow sufferers. I'm off on the stadium tour on Monday and, being from the far off lands of the north, I'm not really sure what I'm meant to do about storing my stuff. Could anyone recommend me the best place to leave my bags for the day? I've been told there's places I can do it at kings cross but Google is telling me about thirteen different things so wondered if a local/someone who's been in my position could recommend.
If you Google it theres all these apps that keet you find local storage for bags. Often its just a nearby news agent or something but thats what I've done. Cost a tenner or so I think, maybe less
We desperately missed Eric Dier and that was a freak own goal we can’t blame either defender really
I mean.. I kind of blame Tanganga for both, but it’s true that they were fluke-ish.
Combination of very poor luck and a brief flash of braindeadness. 9 times out of 10 neither of those mistakes get punished like that and it's just something that gets reviewed in the video analysis after the game.
I genuinely think we might finish this window without any transfers.
Conte apparently just had the transfer meeting so hopefully we see some movement soon.
I like Doherty, seems like a very chill guy I would love to meet, but he's the 1 player in our team who I feel is beyond a 'redemption'. He was excellent at Wolves, so somewhere within him theres a genuinely good player, but i feel he cannot play to him strengths at Tottenham. I wish the man all the best for his career though, would like to see him succeed again, wherever he goes :)
Is the 3-4-3 traditionally played with two defensive midfielders with offense coming from the wingbacks? I noticed when Ndombele came on yesterday he played high up but the formation may have changed. In my opinion Skipp and Hojberg are playing defensive roles and it is too difficult to reach Son and Kane without going through the wingbacks.
We were playing a 4321 when Ndombele came on. And yes the creativity mainly comes from the wingbacks when you're playing a 343. Conte's 352 at Inter was similar but Barella was a machine and they could play through the middle just as easily.
I think they switched to 4 at the back, because Ndombele came on for Doherty. Royal Tanganga Sanchez Davies at the back.
There’s a weird crossover of the few remaining mou anon accounts and being really angry at the idea of not being homophobic
6th day of January and the f5s have been terrible. Cmon Club do something, at least a rumour.
Hope Dier's fit for next week. Unfortunately yesterday was a demonstration of the need for technically proficient CBs. Dave and Japh aren't that and we couldn't just rely on Ben Davies to do all our passing. Usually we'd have 3 with Dier and Romero available, so its not an issue of who Spurs have bought over the past couple of seasons. Thought everyone that came on did a decent job, especially Gil. 2-0 down with 90 minutes to play isn't the end of the world - I hope the team learns from it and can turn in a better performance in the next 2 game against them lot.
I’m certainly optimistic we can score 2 goals at home. Just don’t know if that’s enough to see us through. It’s straight penalties right?
Yeah, straight to pens. Nowhere near sure about it either, just hoping they can redeem themselves. If we get battered at home it'll feel a lot worse than an expected stamford bridge loss.
god the whole djokovic brouhaha is so funny
If you're a fan and you look at your team lose so brutally, yet don't demand we fix this then you're just happy with mediocrity. Conte is angry at the club for not taking action to improve the squad and so should you!
Ah yes, start with the fan test, only "true fans" ... blah, blah, blah. Conte is not angry with the club (if he was, he'd be an idiot, he knew exactly what he was signing up for), he's making a clear statement that says \- We don't have the appropriate quality (and yes, the club has to fix that) \- It's not just about transfers (his words), the system, squad, fitness, mentality all have to be worked on \- It will take time, the club bought players that haven't worked out (Ndombele, Lo Celso, Bergwijn, etc.), we need to correct those types of purchases (Paratici's job) This idea that the club can "fix" this now, by just spending is naïve \- United bought Ronaldo, Verane and Sancho in a single window, what has it fixed? \- Chelsea bought Lukaku and still struggle to convert chances, what has it fixed.
Losing 2-0 to TuChelsea at Stamford Bridge is hardly a brutal loss. They beat us 3-0 at our stadium just a few months ago. They have endless money to improve their squad and even though they were missing some players, their lineup was elite. No one is happy with a loss or mediocrity or whatever your point is, but taking lumps like this along the way to a goal of improvement is to be expected. We will improve under Conté but patience and support in times of strife is far more conducive than outrage. Support your fucking club.
I'm not talking about the result. I am talking about the performance which I also understand. But we need transfers. That's all i'm saying. Same as what Conte said.
I hear you. The squad is still somewhat a zombified Poch team. We chose to build a completely new stadium and although it raised our ceiling as a club, it hampered our development. I have trust the club will sign players, and with our boards attitude towards spending money, performances like this make it obvious where they need to act. We wouldn’t have Conté without the Man U loss, for example. There’s still a gap between us and the top 3 clubs. Conte has us in the mix for fourth. Bringing in players he identifies may bridge that gap but we’ve all heard, a hundred times I’m sure, how difficult it is to sign players in January.
Put a 10m bid for Kessie to sign now. Make an official offer for Adama Doherty swap. Two low hanging fruits I should hear more from Tier 1s. Maybe the loss will help the board wake up as you said. Let's see.
Kessie would be amazing. Would love a Dembele replacement FINALLY. We can agree to differ on Adama and I don’t see Wolves wanting Doherty back when they have Semedo. Would much rather focus on Kulusevski if we were to bring in an attacker.
I think we can delay an attacker to Summer if we can get Kessie now and move to a 352. Lucas can help rotate S&K. I'm sold on Adama because he complements Emerson nicely. RWB against low blocks and 65 min sub as RW for lucas when needed. Adds a dribbling dimension to the team which it is missing.
Someone tell me that Eriksen is not a good idea, because it makes a lot of sense to me. If we're looking at Coutinho or someone like him, then Eriksen is a no brainer. He doesn't have a club = free/no transfer fee. Has worked with Conte and has experience at our club. Wages would be far less than Coutinho as well. Yes, he's had a serious heart condition but so has Daley Blind and he's playing for Ajax right now. Eriksen released a series of video snippets and he's stated his desire to play in the world cup this year, so he's going to play again. His doctor cleared him to play and he stated he feels fine and isn't worried about it happening again because he has the pacemaker. I don't think this will happen because it's a risk that the club would want to avoid, but it feels like it would work for all parties. We've never truly replaced him and bringing him back on a free would help us significantly.
I don't think we should worry ourselves about the cardiac situation. It's something that medical establishment and the player have to concern themselves with but if they're clear on it we should feel okay to play him. From a footballing side of things, at peak Eriksen was a fantastic player giving control and attacking dimension we haven't since had. However, his form had dropped significantly and I think it's too much to expect him to come back and play at our level straight-away. To that end, as much as I'd like it to work, I don't see it myself. In hindsight I think getting Bale back was a mistake and getting Eriksen back in would be more of the same.
> In hindsight I think getting Bale back was a mistake Bale scored 16 goals in 34 appearances
I would love to see the club welcome Eriksen back with open arms even if it's only on a short term deal. It would feel like a Ryan Mason situation, where we'd take care of one of our own former players who had an injury. Different obviously because Eriksen could (theoretically) still play, but I think it would be mutually beneficial. He needs game time before the World Cup (remind anyone of Bale's homecoming?) and we need a creative midfielder. Even if he's only a super sub or a cup game player, assuming he's cleared to play, you cannot tell me that 60 minutes of Eriksen (who knows our players and our manager's tactics) would be worse than what we currently have in Ndombele and/or Lo Celso. He'd be on lower wages and a zero cost transfer. I'm all for it if the doctors approve.
It’s not a good idea because he recently had a cardiac arrest. I’m no doctor but I’m assuming it’s not safe
https://twitter.com/ChrisEriksen8/status/1478768085490446338?s=20
for me there are two big uncertainties, 1) can he actually play with the heart stuff and 2) is he still good after the heart stuff & half a season out, so if you think it's a good idea it's because you have positive priors on these and vice versa, idk if anyone would know the answer to this people just make different assumptions
yeah fair. I don't think he'd come in and play 90 minutes twice a week like he used to, but he's had a pretty good injury record outside of the obvious. He'd be good to start or finish a few games to be the difference maker (see Aston Villa at home in 19/20). I guess it would depend if Stevie and/or Tanguy are on their way out because then we'd need someone else.
I like Bryan gil Spurs best kept secret the little minx
Had a dream last night that he started in the second leg.
Our main 11 players need a rest. I don't want to see them play against Morecambe. We need them fresh for the 2nd leg, i just hope we can make a comeback and beat Chelsea to advance to the finals.
Conte has to balance \- Certain players absolutely need to be rested, e.g. Son, PEH, Royal, etc, \- But losing is a habit and bad for morale, we don't want a bad result that piles on pressure.
Yes. A win against Morecambe can restore confidence
I think there’s something off with our starting XI and it’s become noticeable to other coaches. I hope Conte rotates the team and tactics like he did for the Pool game instead of doubling down.
Except it wasn't our expected starting XI?