Good lord, you'd think we're playing against Real AND Barca at the same time by reading this board. We're better than them. If we can't beat them, we really don't deserve to be in the CL.
Agreed. But Max's tactics so far have been too conservative in Europe this season. We can't get away with that from here on out in the CL. He bought all those attackers cause he figured out last year you had to play to win in the knockout stages and that requires scoring goals. So far he has not shown that in the CL. I kind of understand it in the league, because he keeps saying he wants to get to March with all competitions still in play, but I was a bit disappointed on Saturday when he didn't throw on Costa or Berna to try to beat Inter once Spalletti threw in the towel and played for a draw when he took off Candreva. That was an opportunity to throw one of them on to win the game, but Max seems content with not losing. That has to change in the CL immediately and in the league shortly.
The fact that the EPL doesn't have a winter break is one reason why in recent seasons English clubs have struggled in the knockout stages of the CL. I really hope we can hit our stride in the league and overtake Inter in the standings that way we can focus on these two matches versus Tottenham come mid February.
Allegri said it best. If we show up against them, we win. We're the better side. No disrespect to Tottenham, but this isn't Real or Barca we're talking about, and we're finally starting to hit stride ourselves. It's a major disappointment if we don't advance.
Something people are not taking into account.... We all know that the CL has favoritism to the EPL teams because of their larger international fan base guaranteeing more viewers and more growth of the popularity in the game. The draw reflected this, but what is more worrying is the fact that their will no doubt be refere bias in all of these matches... they wont let the EPL teams lose if they can help it. Juve is going to have to be in top form and Max needs to be rotating our wingers so everyone is in top form, so they can come off the bench if need be. Paulo is going to have be iconic in these matchups because they will smother Gonzalo and his first touch has still not shown up, he is a fully regressed player at this point.
Winning against Spurs is crucial if we do not want to see summer turnover in the form of Sandro and Paulo, a first ko round exit will motivate these players to head to higher ground.... to a league that has more viewership, more money, more fame, and preferential treatment. Every game has huge ramifications for the future. Some you dont like Sandro and I get why, however... Paulo will not be able to be replaced... he leads the team in goals and is the only reason we are in the top 3... Who is going to get service to Gonzalo if he leaves... We have seen a few games without Paulo and the service to Gonzalo has been very very thin.
Well the first game is 2/13 which means we will play: Sass at home on 2/4 Fiory away on 2/11 (will be moved) Spurs at home on 2/13 Toro away on 2/18 Second leg: Atalanta home on 2/25 Lazio away on 3/4 (will be moved) Spurs away on 3/7 Udine home on 3/11
The draw actually worked for us for once. Like @Dante and @gumbacicc said, if we show up, we win. If we do not, then a serious look will be taken at not just the manager, but certain players as well. No offense to Spurs, but they’re utterly insignificant. We control our own fate and therefore I don’t want to hear any excuses.
harry kane has scored 50 goals this year including the end of last season demonstrating a long run of consistency. So far he has 20 goals and and 3 assists for club and country this season. Dele Alli has 7 goals and 6 assists in the EPL and CL this season while Eriksen has 5 goals and 4 assists this season. They will be a good team to watch on Saturday/ Sunday mornings to see what we are going up against and how they build their play. Thankfully Kyle Walker is gone on to City... not sure if that is a good thing since City will surely make a run into the semis.
At their best Spurs are at least the second best in the prem. But imo we are still stronger. Will be a good tie.
Didn't we, not that long ago, shut out an attack that featured Messi, Neymar and Suarez? I don't want to take anything away from Kane because he is among the best strikers in the world, but we're making him seem like he is the reincarnation of Pele. He is a nice player, but if we can hold better attacks, why not him?
It is funny, but Spurs are somehow seen as some goal scoring machine yet in 16 Prem games they have only scored 28 and conceded 14 for +14 GD. That would place them 6th on GD in Serie A - right where they are in the Prem. OTH, we have scored 41 and given up 14, the same number of goals conceded as Spurs. We just shut out Napoli who have 35 goals, and Inter who are on 33, Barca who are on 38 in only 15 games and the KOS who have 31 in only 14 games. Our defense is rounding into form and Max needs to make sure his tactics allow the firepower he amassed for a CL run over the summer to flourish and score.
We're going to lose if we come out playing defense. Hopefully we have our full roster and come out blazing. Spurs are not a push over, they might be sixth in the EPL, but 3 (United, City, Pool) out of the 5 ahead of them are in the draw.
If we are at our best we are far ahead of these guys, hope we bring our best a thrash them as there is nothing more fulfilling than ko'ing a British team.
if Allegri gets his head out his Ass, we would beat Tottenham comfortably im just not too confident in him this year....he makes weird choices and plays waaaay to conservative. Which is weird because this is the year we have a lot of attacking players and depth. Yet he chooses to go defensive and doesnt sub until 85th min. Then sometimes his subs are weird like Barzagli or Lichsteiner coming on when we need a goal.
Apparently... Tottenham won more points in the group stage then any other team, pretty impressive. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...elsea-face-Barcelona-16-Champions-League.html
This is what scares me... he is so stubborn and he wont change. And then he plays word games instead of taking responsibility or saying the real reason for his choices. Max Allegri “hoped Juventus would put in a good performance against Inter, but didn’t expect it to be that good” The Coach was asked why he had decided to leave Paulo Dybala, Douglas Costa and Alex Sandro on the bench. “In football, other than technical qualities, you need to be in good shape physically. I always say that running isn’t indispensable in football, but it certainly helps. Like many others, he needs to improve his fitness levels and we’ll work on that this week." http://www.football-italia.net/114035/allegri-better-expected In regards to having good fitness levels, I have not seen stamina or even a good work ethic on the field by Asamoah or Khedira, Pjanic is hit or miss and plays way too much. He has been here a year and a half and failed to emerge as the crucial chance creation playmaker he was thought to be. Pjanic is a serviceable solid midfielder with good passing, quick burst, good ball control, He has failed to emerge as a reliable free kick taker or goal scorer. He will have his moments, but the formation needs to be changed to account for him. Pairing him with Sami just yields low production. In 1300 minutes of play this year, Pjanic has 3 goals and 5 assists. Sami has only 3 goals and 1 assist in 900 minutes of play. Paulo has 12 goals and 3 assist in 1600 minutes of play.
Juve has scored 50 goals in all competitions so far this season. I don't think that's too defensive, but that's just me.