Spurs head to the south coast buoyed by the news that they will play their first matches in the new stadium at the beginning of April - finally, no more Wembley! YES! Dele is back in training but it is unknown whether he will feature. Winks is doubtful while Trippier is definitely out. Poch will serve the first of a ridiculous 2-game touchline ban he received from the petulant FA, which I think he got for his criticism of the FA's scheduling around European fixtures, and not for his berating of Mike Dean. If that were the case, every manager in the league would get bans for their dealings with the veteran official. Saints are playing much better under Ralph Hassenhuttl, who has implemented a more aggressive pressing game - they should have got something out of their last game at Old Trafford, but the referee Stuart Attwell bottled 2 clear penalty decisions against the hosts (yes the old times are back at Old Trafford, including the No Penalty Rule...). With Saints just 2 points above the relegation zone, Spurs will have their hands full and cannot allow a repeat of the Burnley performance. We will have to be particularly careful not to concede slopppy free kicks around the box, as James Ward-Prowse is a master technician from dead balls. The fact that Saints play a positive game may play into our hands as we have the quality to pick them off on the break. Putting 3 points on the board is crucial with Arsenal and Man U going head to head on Sunday.
"We’ve got Perez, Jesus Perez,I just don’t think you understand.... "Poch is in the stand, but he’s second in command, we’ve got Jesus Perez...* * - from internet COYS!
1-0 HT. Total domination, but need to get a couple more goals to put this one away. Good to see Dele, Dier, Moura and Walker Peters get the start. Dele and Moura especially look sharp. Praise Jesus!
I’d buy that argument if we played a reserve squad today. Playing a full strength side and losing to Southampton relegated progress in CL to the realm of fantasy. Top 4 is the target. Failure to qualify for next season’s CL would be a disaster.
Nothing to add really - once again the fullbacks were terrible, Walker-Peters was dreadful - we CANNOT play a back 4 with the fullbacks we have, they lack the defensive discipline. And our chronic failure to put teams away when we're one top was there for all to see. Top 4 is gone now, the losses to Burnley and Saints are 6 points we will never recover. Enjoy the CL tie at the new stadium, because that is the only one we're going to see for a while. Next season we open the new ground as a Europa League side. Sigh.
I almost always go (to England) in the Fall. I've only gone once in the Spring, and it was during one of our typical late season foldings. I saw us lose to Benfica in the Europa and then to Arse in the NLD at the Lane. It was right after Tim had his meltdown presser when he said the squad had no character. I went over in a sense of dread and it was easily the worst footy trip I've ever made. … I'm having the same feelings right now.
In the second half Southampton did what everyone has been doing to us since the Man U game - just playing balls into the gaping space behind the fullbacks, especially the right back. The whole 2nd half Saints identified Walker-Peters and just dumped ball after ball behind him. The only person in football who hasn't seen it is Poch. And again, why was Alderweireld not playing? We don't play again for 3 weeks.
With the break I'm just going to keep away from Premier league news for a while. It will just be a pile on. Title contenders don't take 1 point out of 12. Pochettino's comments about our level seem on point, but it's his job to get beyond that.
The manager has basically called out the team over this latest bad stretch, and he is right to do so as the performances over the last 4 games have been embarrassing. However, if he felt the squad was inadequate, he had the chance to freshen it up in the summer and in January but sat on his hands and even made things worse by selling Dembele without bringing in an adequate replacement. His comments have been contradictory - at the beginning of the transfer window he talked about being bold and bringing in 5 players and when he didn't bring in anyone, he made it clear he was happy with the squad he had. On the pitch, I think he has taken his eye off the ball, as he has been out-coached of late (Sean Dyche and Ralph Hassenhuttl made dynamic substitutions that changed the course of the games at Turf Moor and St. Mary's, while Poch's changes were innefective if not detrimental).