Premier League 2019/2020

[Federberg]

Yeah, there was contact and VAR confirmed it. Mane made the most of it but it was generally agreed by the commentators and analysts that it was a foul. Liverpool were the better team and deserved the win.

Spurs are pretty awful at the moment.

that's an understatement! I think Poch might have taken us as far as he can sadly. Although I blame Daniel Levy for the whole thing...

 

[britbox]

that's an understatement! I think Poch might have taken us as far as he can sadly. Although I blame Daniel Levy for the whole thing...

There lies the problem. Unless Levy and Joe Lewis provide an injection of cash then nobody is going to take you any further. It would seem a pity if Poch got the boot and the next manager got a war chest. Poch should get that money.

 

[Federberg]

There lies the problem. Unless Levy and Joe Lewis provide an injection of cash then nobody is going to take you any further. It would seem a pity if Poch got the boot and the next manager got a war chest. Poch should get that money.

I sort of agree. Poch deserved to be given the chance. But a lot of fans are starting to think that there's a reason why Poch has never won a trophy. His mentality in the big games absolutely sucks. His playing Kane from the start in the Champions League final was unforgiveable. It would have been bad, if forgiveable, if this was the first time. But this was the 2nd time this season that Poch changed a team surging with confidence in favour of putting Kane back on the field. He did it when we were still in contention against City and your lot in an away match against Burnley. Bear in mind we had gone on a run winning all our matches while Kane was injured. There was absolutely no reason to bring him back so quickly, but he did... and we lost. For some reason after that match our form in the premier league cratered. No one noticed apart from fans, as we kept going in the Champions league. And then... in the final. Game theory would have told you to put Kane on the bench. The team was doing well without him, what nutter wouldn't play the hattrick hero who got you into the final anyway? And if things went wrong? You could bring Kane on. Frankly if things went well you could still bring Kane on with 20mins to go. There wouldn't be any harm in it. Starting Kane was the worst possible decision. If his form was poor it would be difficult to take your talisman off after 20mins or even one half. But that's what he did. That was the decision of a man who was trying to cover all bases. You know the base he forgot to cover? The one that says fuck it... it's the ultimate final, I'm going to go for the win. Our motto is "To dare is to do", it's about glory. The Spurs way. He played that final like... a &&%&%^

And now here we are in this dire season. Eriksen wants to leave, Toby wants to leave. And Danny Rose has just made clear he will stay until his contract ends, and he will refuse any transfers. And now Vertonghen is rumoured to be determined to run down his contract as well. When Pochettino first arrived he was ruthless, players who weren't a part of his plans or had the wrong attitude were lucky if they got to train with the U21s. Now Eriksen says... in public! that he wants to leave. And what does Poch do? He plays him. Where have his balls gone. They shrunk like a drop of water on an Australian hard court in the summer.

Despite all of that, I'm willing to give Poch a chance, because I think there's a possibility that Levy has created an environment that has crushed that early promise. If he finally understands now that players are NOT financial assets and you can't underpay them and keep their interest. If he realises that his model of being ruthless with players has been blown out of the water by players being willing to run down their contracts. Then... maybe... just maybe Poch might be able to turn it around. I'm sceptical at this point. I don't think he'll ever be able to do it. I think he deserves until the end of this season, but there are other young managers who could take us forward. I don't want one of these big spenders, and frankly I don't even want Mourinho coming to our stadium as a football fan. Check out this data.... Thought it was interesting.

 

[britbox]

I certainly rate Nuno at Wolves, but even he had a few clowns calling for his head at the beginning of the season. There were a couple of dicks calling for Klopp's head after a couple of draws last season, believe it or not.

This is the world we live in. So, Poch gets Spurs to a Champions League Final, which was frankly punching way above Spurs' current weight and people are talking about sacking him 12 games into the new season? The guy's budget has been basically zero.

 

[Federberg]

We fluked our way into that Champions League final mate. Inter blew it in the group. The we fluked it against City with VAR. And then Ajax absolutely choked. Greg Norman would have been proud. Meanwhile our form in the league absolutely cratered. The teams which were seeing us every week knew what was what. As far as I'm concerned I can't factor the Champions League. But you're right, Levy is primarily to blame. Doesn't let Poch off the hook, but it's hard to do much with a stale squad. As far as I'm concerned I'm judging him based on the here and now. The CL final is ancient history now. Arsenal made the mistake of riding with Wenger for years longer than they should, but at least the guy kept winning trophies. Mate... our cupboard is bare. Our cleaner wouldn't know what brasso was used for if you asked him!

 

[Federberg]

and there it is.. Poch sacked. It was bound to happen. Mourinho rubbing his hands with glee I bet. I don't want him, but if he gets it, I'll obvious support him. Hope we aren't the first club he doesn't get silverware for

 

[britbox]

Mourinho in the chair. I'm assuming he gets a pretty large war chest to play with. I doubt he'd have taken the job otherwise. It seems there are a lot of mixed feelings among Spurs fans. Ironically, Poch might get a shot at the United job in due course... I think Ole is probably out of his depth.

 

[Federberg]

not sure what to think about this, but this rumour is doing the rounds over here.....

 

[britbox]

I think the Kraft thing is likely a hoax, although he did check in with Liverpool before FSG bought the club. Good start for Jose but still in the honeymoon period right now. The Liverpool juggernaut rolls on, it's looking like this is the year.

 

[britbox]

The title race is over with City's loss at Wolves. Liverpool aren't going to throw this away from the position they are in.



13 pts clear of Leicester and 14 pts clear of City with a game in hand.

The celebrations in the City when it's official will be epic.

 

[britbox]

@atttomole - This is a done deal old sport. 30 years of waiting coming to an end... bar the few weeks of waiting! Liverpool FC. Premier League Champions.

 

[atttomole]

@atttomole - This is a done deal old sport. 30 years of waiting coming to an end... bar the few weeks of waiting! Liverpool FC. Premier League Champions.

I agree with you mate. Out of superstition, I have avoided saying it, but this looks like the year that the Premier League goes to Anfield. At this pace, Liverpool could win it with a record number of points. I hope Klopp is already shopping around for new players to strengthen the team, in order to sustain the dominance.

 

[Federberg]

suddenly occurred to me I hadn't done this yet.... Congratulations Owen. Well deserved

 

[britbox]

suddenly occurred to me I hadn't done this yet.... Congratulations Owen. Well deserved

It was a long time coming. A pity they couldn't celebrate in style. Regretting ditching Pochettino yet?

 

[Federberg]

It was a long time coming. A pity they couldn't celebrate in style. Regretting ditching Pochettino yet?

I view Pochettino going and Mourinho coming as two separate things. Poch had to go, he was busted from the middle of the previous season. He was a victim of his own success and Levy broke him. No transfer through two windows and that will happen to the best of them. I don't blame Poch for the deterioration, I blame Levy, but at a certain point the collapse in confidence has to be dealt with and sadly the quickest way to do that is to bring fresh ideas in from a new manager. As for Jose... well.. that's a tough one. It wasn't his squad, I can't blame him for the performances. Remember about 3 or 4 seasons ago when we had the youngest squad in the league? We now have pretty much the oldest squad, with some shockingly bad players in there. I don't love the football we're playing but... but... there are some promising signs. If you had told me in September that at the end of this season I would be delighted that Eric Dier had signed a new long term contract I would have told you you were crazy. But here we are... he's no longer playing the defensive midfield role. He's back in central defence, where he always wanted to be, and he's doing well! But we have no competent fullbacks, nor do we have a passing midfielder (we have a bunch of great dribblers). With Vertonghen leaving we don't have a left footed centre back, just 4 really decent right sided centre backs. There is some serious work that needs to be done and I can only hope that Mourinho has the stature to get Levy to act. This thing he does, where he tries to negotiate everything to the nth degree is the very definition of penny-wise and pound foolish. I may not love Jose, never really wanted him to be our manager, but I think he can get us silverware. I understand what he's trying to do. And I have to not whine about it at the moment when he's trying to implement his style with the wrong pieces. But... ask me the same question nearer December

 

[britbox]

^ Poch deserved some money Fberg. He was running the show on a shoestring. Yes, Levy is to blame... but teams and squads are built incrementally into winners. Klopp is a classic example. If Poch had three or four windows with decent cash to bring in one or two players each time, Spurs could have developed into a powerhouse challenging for 3 or 4 years. The problem with Mourinho is that to play his brand of football, he'll need to rebuild throughout. I really thought it was a backward step.

 

[Federberg]

^ Poch deserved some money Fberg. He was running the show on a shoestring. Yes, Levy is to blame... but teams and squads are built incrementally into winners. Klopp is a classic example. If Poch had three or four windows with decent cash to bring in one or two players each time, Spurs could have developed into a powerhouse challenging for 3 or 4 years. The problem with Mourinho is that to play his brand of football, he'll need to rebuild throughout. I really thought it was a backward step.

I'm not sure if you're writing that thinking I said something different? I didn't. Of course Poch deserved the investment! Two windows with no refreshing of the squad was absurd. My point is that once that wasn't done, Poch lost interest/ confidence, pick your diagnosis. At that point he was busted as an effective manager of that team. No one is sadder than me to say that because there was a time when we were playing stunning football. What can you do at that point? Keep looking at the past? You have to fix it, and the only way you can do that mid-season is move on from Poch and get someone else in with new ideas. Did I want Jose? Heck no! Do I like his style of football, heck no! It's not the Spurs style. But if he is able to convince Levy to make the necessary investments and we start winning consistently again then I'll be happy

 

[britbox]

I'm not sure if you're writing that thinking I said something different? I didn't. Of course Poch deserved the investment! Two windows with no refreshing of the squad was absurd. My point is that once that wasn't done, Poch lost interest/ confidence, pick your diagnosis. At that point he was busted as an effective manager of that team. No one is sadder than me to say that because there was a time when we were playing stunning football. What can you do at that point? Keep looking at the past? You have to fix it, and the only way you can do that mid-season is move on from Poch and get someone else in with new ideas. Did I want Jose? Heck no! Do I like his style of football, heck no! It's not the Spurs style. But if he is able to convince Levy to make the necessary investments and we start winning consistently again then I'll be happy

I guess where we differ is that I think Poch should have been retained. An injection of cash and a couple of new faces could have made the world of difference. Back to the drawing board with Mourinho... who I'd agree, plays the least "Spurs-like" football. If Glenn Hoddle was dead, he'd be turning in his grave!

 

[Federberg]

I guess where we differ is that I think Poch should have been retained. An injection of cash and a couple of new faces could have made the world of difference. Back to the drawing board with Mourinho... who I'd agree, plays the least "Spurs-like" football. If Glenn Hoddle was dead, he'd be turning in his grave!

well as a Spurs fan who was an avid Poch supporter.. I watched the guy. He wanted out. He didn't want to be there any more. Nothing you can do when that happens. Let the guy go, good luck and thanks for the memories. I'm pretty certain if the same scenario had played out at Liverpool you would have been of the same view