Official Tottenham Hotspur Thread

and1GS · Post #1501 » by **and1GS** » Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:01 am

It's bizarre man, we've blown all our transfer funds on CMs and we can't retain possession or defend from CM.

Especially when it comes to cost vs. strikers, I'm a firm believer in building from the back--might be due to all that serie A I used to watch--and was real upset that we didn't seriously try to strengthen LB or get a RB to push Kyle. Like the Fazio signing and heard he looked good in Europa, but Kaboul is not getting it done.

It's just such a bummer seeing us get stuffed unless Eriksen or Lamela have the ball. I knew Ade's poor form was coming, too. Like clockwork, every other season.

and1GS · Post #1502 » by **and1GS** » Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:03 am

It's bizarre man, we've blown all our transfer funds on CMs and we can't retain possession or defend from CM.

Especially when it comes to cost vs. strikers, I'm a firm believer in building from the back--might be due to all that serie A I used to watch--and was real upset that we didn't seriously try to strengthen LB or get a RB to push Kyle. Like the Fazio signing and heard he looked good in Europa, but Kaboul is not getting it done.

It's just such a bummer seeing us get stuffed unless Eriksen or Lamela have the ball. I knew Ade's poor form was coming, too. Like clockwork, every other season.

and1GS · Post #1503 » by **and1GS** » Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:03 am

It's bizarre man, we've blown all our transfer funds on CMs and we can't retain possession or defend from CM.

Especially when it comes to cost vs. strikers, I'm a firm believer in building from the back--might be due to all that serie A I used to watch--and was real upset that we didn't seriously try to strengthen LB or get a RB to push Kyle. Like the Fazio signing and heard he looked good in Europa, but Kaboul is not getting it done.

It's just such a bummer seeing us get stuffed unless Eriksen or Lamela have the ball. I knew Ade's poor form was coming, too. Like clockwork, every other season.

BUCKnation · Post #1504 » by **BUCKnation** » Wed Sep 24, 2014 2:42 am

Baphomet wrote:Same old team under 3 different coaches, I'm beginning to think this crop of players is ****. Very poor, a tough game to watch. Eriksen's corners really need to improve, they never get past the first man. We had Lamela on them against QPR and we scored from one, why did that change?

Fair play to West Brom, they went at it all game long. Would've had a couple of goals if they had half-decent strikers.

I have definitely been noticing Eriksen on set pieces. He is pretty poor on corners and indirect free kicks. He is still awesome at direct free kicks on goal, but maybe we should give corners to someone else, probably Lamela.

Post #1505 » by **Baphomet** » Sun Oct 5, 2014 6:07 pm

Happy to see stuff like this after a hard fought game. Not a beautiful win by any means, but I'm glad we could get the full 3 points against a respectable Southampton side.

BUCKnation · Post #1506 » by **BUCKnation** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 3:09 am

After the last few late goal debacles, I was happy we could finish the game off against a hot S'hampton side.

We still need a striker though.

Also, the Naughton injury could be big. Dier has been very good there, but he is our only option there right now and I really don't want to put Kabs there if need be. We'll get Yedlin in January and I think Walker still has a few months before he comes back.

and1GS · Post #1507 » by **and1GS** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 3:18 am

Capoue has really grown on me - maybe because Sandro Beast is gone

He really does give his all and sacrifices his body for the team. He never stops running and if it weren't for his **** shooting, he's already be everything we thought we were getting with Paulinho. Very fun game to watch all around. Poch's high pressure style finally went into action and it was great to see. Frenetic pace that yielded some stupid breakaways, but also forced Southampton to play uncomfortably.

and1GS · Post #1508 » by **and1GS** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 3:18 am

Lamela was my MOTM btw. Incredible throughout and he thrives in a fast paced system. Just a natural attacker.

Post #1509 » by **Baphomet** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 3:47 am

BUCKnation wrote:After the last few late goal debacles, I was happy we could finish the game off against a hot S'hampton side.

We still need a striker though.

Also, the Naughton injury could be big. Dier has been very good there, but he is our only option there right now and I really don't want to put Kabs there if need be. We'll get Yedlin in January and I think Walker still has a few months before he comes back.

Oddly, it feels like Chadli has been playing as our striker. He's good at getting into those key attacking positions. I'm not sure if he ever played as a striker at FC Twente, but our attacking core seems to be developing an understanding and I strongly believe that the goals will come sooner rather than later.

I'm delighted by Lamela, Chadli and Capoue starting to come good, honestly. I think people were too quick to dismiss our Bale summer, and us fans all wanted instant results too, but these are all foreign players acclimating to a new league and have become key players this season. We still have a lot of problems and I still don't believe that we're top 4 worthy, but I'm beginning to feel good about our progress.

Ted Lasso · Post #1510 » by **Ted Lasso** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 9:54 am

There is no defending the Bale summer. We have basically closed the book on two of the three largest investments already. That's €50m down the drain.

I am however really enjoying Lamela. For a seemingly frail player, his pressing is surprisingly active and destructive. So even when things aren't going his way offensively, he makes an important contribution. Reminds me of Thomas Muller in that sense.

Jadoogar · Post #1511 » by **Jadoogar** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 6:51 pm

Having just started following Spurs, Lamela and Chadli have been my favourite players. Lamela is just great with the ball, has been making great passes and runs. Didn't really know about Chadli before this season but he's impressed me with his finishing ability (just picked him up in fantasy, was super excited when he almost scored).

Having fun watching the game so far. Think i made the right choice

and1GS · Post #1512 » by **and1GS** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 8:52 pm

Spurs are always a fun team. Not often a top 4 side, but we surely are fun to watch

That Bale summer is still a let down. Paulinho is taking a dump, Soldado is a backup striker and Holtby is permanently on loan (I include him here because he was expected to play a big role after Bale let).

On the flipside, Lamela, Capoue, Chadli and of course Eriksen are really coming around. I commented on this last year with Chadli, he's clearly built as a CF/ST and plays best there, not sure why we'd try and force him into LM when we clearly should have dumb ****, greedy ass Townsend out there. Seriously, when will that guy come around?

We (still) need a LB - I'm surprised it's been so hard to find one. Davies is clearly a Europa league guy right now and while I have faith in Danny Rose, we're a team that should aim higher.

Post #1513 » by **Baphomet** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 10:57 pm

Ted Lasso wrote:There is no defending the Bale summer. We have basically closed the book on two of the three largest investments already. That's €50m down the drain.

I am however really enjoying Lamela. For a seemingly frail player, his pressing is surprisingly active and destructive. So even when things aren't going his way offensively, he makes an important contribution. Reminds me of Thomas Muller in that sense.

For some reason, I don't even find myself all that disappointed by Paulinho. I can't say I expected a lot from him to begin with, I never envisioned him as being a significant difference maker in our team. Soldado on the other hand is a massive disappointment, he has been a prolific striker everywhere except Spurs, and I thought he'd finally be our first top tier striker since Berbatov. I understand that those two account for a big chunk of the total spend, but I've never seen a transfer window involving mass acquisitions not have a couple duds. I think that by and large our recent acquisitions have been as good as expected.

and1GS · Post #1514 » by **and1GS** » Mon Oct 6, 2014 11:59 pm

The cheaper buys have been better than expected. I don't recall the exact pricing, but know Eriksen, Chadli and Capoue together are about how much Soldado cost us. Paulinho has been disappointing to me because I expected him to be a non-stop hard-working box-to-box CM. Instead he positions himself as a CAM, but is better equipped to play CDM. It's a bit of a bummer, though I was always a Moussa fan to begin with - especially when he's paired with an Eriksen who can actually make that final incisive pass.

I cannot say enough about Lamela though. Every time he touches the ball, it's magic. Defenders are visibly uneasy around him because he releases the ball so quickly and has been incredible with through balls. Our most exiting plays are when Eriksen/Lamela happen to be in the same proximity as each other, which happens very often and is clearly by design. Lamela floats all over.

Post #1515 » by **Baphomet** » Wed Oct 8, 2014 10:36 pm

Yeah, Lamela is just about reaching the kind of level we expected from him when we signed him. I think he needs to start scoring before the 'he's a flop' pundits get off his back, though, but he's been agonizingly close at times. Who would have guessed that a player would have a better season when he's not injured?

Hoping we can do ourselves proud at the Etihad next week. I don't expect to win, but our sturdy defensive performance at the Emirates gives me a little hope. Roma also played them very well there in the CL, and though we're not on Roma's level, I think it proves that you can nullify their game with the right gameplan.

and1GS · Post #1516 » by **and1GS** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 12:10 am

IDK what was more embarrassing, the loss, Kaboul's constant idiocy at CB or Lamela **** up twice then sulking for 40 minutes.

Awful, terrible loss that we should have gotten a result out of based on how we were playing for the first 60 minutes. The Soldado PK miss was awful as was his other miss, but Kaboul was absolutely pathetic. As was Rose. As was Dier. And Fazio was just ok. We need defenders ASAP, but I read that Kaboul will cotninue to start due to his 'leadership qualities.' lol, ok...

and1GS · Post #1517 » by **and1GS** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 12:13 am

Main positive I have is that Ryan Mason, right now, is twice the player Nabil will ever be.

BUCKnation · Post #1518 » by **BUCKnation** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 7:02 pm

Honestly, I wasn't even that upset with the result. Take away the penalties and we easily matched them. It's a different game if Soldado makes that PK and we're tied with 20-30 min left. That miss, and then the one that proceeded it were huge. Hart having a rare blinder didn't help as well. I actually am looking forward to the rematch at the lane.

Post #1519 » by **Baphomet** » Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:47 am

There's plenty of positives and a couple of negatives to take away from the Asteras game in the EL. Of course, Lamela scored twice (including THAT goal) and Harry Kane looks to be progressing faster than we anticipated. On the other hand, our backline still looks disorganized and I don't see any real leader out there. If Asteras had more quality up front, I feel like we would've been punished and the scoreline would've been different.

Kane in goal made it the most entertaining game of the season so far, though.

GOAT. "England's number one"

BUCKnation · Post #1520 » by **BUCKnation** » Fri Oct 24, 2014 2:21 am

The funny thing is that Lamela's second goal was awesome as well, deflected up and volleyed for a goal. It is just overshadowed by one of the best goals I've ever seen.