Spurs v Everton. 30th Nov @ 16.00.

[EFC Si]

haven't posted for ages.

How frustrating was that though....utterly infuriating result!

We just don't seem to be able to create anything....we have the posession but we pass it sideways or backwards.

Hopefully should be back above these by wednesday though!

 

[marty mcfly]

From where I was it looked like it was Distin's?

The 2nd goal?

Barry lost it in midfield and then they where running through 5 on 2.

It's not like the pass into Barry was dangerous, he had options to move it on faster but like what was happening all day he as with the rest of the team he wanted too many touches.

Watch how a really good possession team play like Bayern of Barca, they can receive it when in no space but they pop it off straight away without taking a touch. We aren't doing that at the moment. Ironically it's only Barkley who does even though he gets so much stick.

 

[Bigmaclad]

WE'RE GETTING RELEGATED

 

[Big Fat Sam]

I just hate it, EFFING HATE IT, the way we play most of the time from the back; Howard to a centre back, to a full back, to a centre back, to the other centre back, to Barry, to Baines, to Distin, to Howard, to Jagielka, long, lost possession. When we're losing like today, instead of killing a minute fannying around before going long, why not just go long in the first place?

 

[Philw]

Germaine Jenas hit the nail on the head. If we turn it over because Baines and Coleman are so far forward they're running at out CBs which forces everyone to play safe. I've always said with Martinez I fear conceeding more when we have the ball than when we don't.

...

I'm not sure how to change it but I would start by keeping one of Coleman or Baines back until the ball goes into our attacking four.

Totally disagree with this. How many points has those two bombing on won us in the last few years? If anything in this game they weren't getting forward enough, especially in the first half. Their were times when the right wing was begging for Seamus to get up into it, and really put some pressure on them, try and hurt them, but it never really happened, or if it did, not soon enough.

The 2nd goal?

Barry lost it in midfield and then they where running through 5 on 2.

It's not like the pass into Barry was dangerous, he had options to move it on faster but like what was happening all day he as with the rest of the team he wanted too many touches.

Yeah saw that on MoTD. Must have just gone a bit blind with rage at the time!

I just hate it, EFFING HATE IT, the way we play most of the time from the back; Howard to a centre back, to a full back, to a centre back, to the other centre back, to Barry, to Baines, to Distin, to Howard, to Jagielka, long, lost possession. When we're losing like today, instead of killing a minute fannying around before going long, why not just go long in the first place?

They don't need to go long ball, but the passes, especially side to side across the back, need to be played with more pace and power. Too many pea rollers from Jags to Distin and vice versa. Ping that [Poor language removed] in there, get the defense moving and create some gaps!

 

[mrb85]

I just hate it, EFFING HATE IT, the way we play most of the time from the back; Howard to a centre back, to a full back, to a centre back, to the other centre back, to Barry, to Baines, to Distin, to Howard, to Jagielka, long, lost possession. When we're losing like today, instead of killing a minute fannying around before going long, why not just go long in the first place?

Because in Roberto's world, if we have the possession the opposition can't score, so by keeping majority possession at least the opposition will have fewer chances. So, in today's game, say the ball was in play for 60 minutes then we had it in our possession for around 37 minutes compared to Spurs's 23. So, we should be winning games. Simple isn't it? Unfortunately the key missing factor is of course what you do with your 14 extra minutes on the ball.

 

[PITA]

LOL MOTD2 says no penalty..........

Not really bothered about the pen because we were so bad and deserved nothing but........

The new criteria for whether it is or isn't a penalty is 'Did the referee give it?' it would seem.
Clearly the Aguero incident wasn't a penalty since it wasn't given. The pundits did agree on that didn't they.

We might as well sack all pundits. They've got no role anymore.

Another new rule is that it's OK to have your hand above your head to block the ball because that's what happens when you jump for the ball. Odd that no other 'jumping' player had their hands in the same place.

 

[Joey66]

Punter ML where does a defender put his hands when jumping for the ball - I can answer that not above his head to save the ball with his hand - why do the BBC pay punters who have played the game to come out with trash statements like that one???????
Another was the 50/50 challenge on Barry - ML the best tackle of the game according to him was by Kane on Barry leading to the Spurs winning goal well I thought tackling from behind had been outlawed in the modern game ML?????
These MOTD punters need removing as they talk pure trash imo!

 

[Klinker]

Very frustrating match. I think it will provide a lot of points for us to learn from.

1. We don't have enough wingers and forcing Barkley on the wing is a bad idea. All it does is clog up the most important zone for us. We can't have another match with Lukaku, E'too and Barkley starting together. Barkley out wide just drifts right to the middle where he is comfortable and E'too drops deep to receive the ball so they are right next to each other. How many times was Coleman open in space because Eriksen did not track back but he had no one to play combinations with? The only way I can see playing Barkley and Etoo together is if you do a 4-3-3 and have Barkley deeper flanked by two of Barry, Besic and McCarthy.

2. When Stones comes back to full fitness he steps right in. While Distin recently has been much better compared to his disastrous first month, he still can't distribute and him and Jags are not a shut down tandem as in past years.

3. Howard did not have a good match and was at fault on the first goal. However he is what he is. A second tier EPL goalie. Right now the best goalies in the league are (in order) Courtois, DeGea and Lloris. Then there is a steep drop off and Howard is in the same category as Begovic. He is inconsistent and prone to some very head scratching mistakes but he organizes the defense well and in general is a very good shot stopper. The question isn't whether would it be better if we had an upgrade at keeper (obviously), the question is who do you get to replace him? The only options within the league who I think would step in as an improvement would be Begovic and Cech (wages). However, is that the best place to spend our limited transfer budget. Moan all we want, Howard is here until the summer at least.

Ratings:

Howard- 4.5 Didn't have much to do and one big mistake.
Baines- 6.5 Didn't do too much wrong but didn't make a major impact
Distin - 5.0 Looked lost on defense, couldn't corral Harry Kane and distribution out of the back was his standard "not great"
Jagielka - 6.5 As a defender I thought he played well but as the leader of the defense there was too much sloppiness that needed to be fixed which was not.
Coleman - 7.0 No attacks really came down his side (as Eriksen was mostly threatening when he switched sides or went to the middle). Needs an actual winger to be effective. I would like to see a return to last year of pienaar with Baines and Mirallas ahead of coleman
Mirralas - 7.0 Fantastic goal and a constant threat. Wish he stayed on longer but after just coming back from a long layoff, playing 80 minutes Thursday and a match on Wednesday I see the reasoning.
Barry - 4.5 One of the worst matches of the season for him. Chalk it up to him not being in full fitness but he was slow on the ball and didn't have as many vital intercepts as usual. His give away on the second goal has no excuses.
Besic - 7.0 Almost another terrible mistake, but he was our most active defender and showed some very quick feet. Also some of the balls he played out wide were fantastic. We need to switch fields faster against an organized and compact defense
Barkley- 7.0 (in the middle) / 4.5 (as a winger) We need to stop playing him out of position. It just does not work. He looked better taking on defenders and running with the ball compared to the past few matches but still had some sloppy turnovers.
E'too - 4.0 Did not space himself well with Barkley and missed a lot of chances to feed through balls to Coleman. Didn't so anything
Lukaku - 6.0 Didn't do much, but to be fair he had no service.
Osman - N/A
McGeady - N/A

Martinez - 5.0 I can see his thinking of putting his best players on the pitch but it just did not work.

 

[dannyboy]

Criminal that we let them back into the game so easily. As soon as we went 1-0 up we should've tried to kill the game, instead we continued to play as though the scoreline hadn't changed.

The fact is we're not good enough to go to White Hart Lane dominate possession and win 3-0. Our tactic should've been exactly what Spurs implemented on us, absolutely nothing wrong with making it difficult for the opposition when it wins you points.

 

[Chang Elephant]

Then there is a steep drop off and Howard is in the same category as Begovic.

I wish mate

 

[Klinker]

Don't get me wrong, I think Begovic is an upgrade as a keeper, but is he that big of an upgrade where it is worth spending the 15M to get him? Personally I would rather spend that money on finding a replacement for Pieenar and Distin.

 

[SPOTTER]

They looked like they were boss all over the park. They defended well and broke so fast. However our team selection and formation made them look boss.With baines& barry looking short on fitness and coleman having no options ahead we really missed the pace and athleticism of mccarthy and naismith.We had no pace in our movement. and our shape was [Poor language removed]. Despite all our injuries I have to say the team choice was a very poor one. Very amateur of RM in my opinion. We are so much better than that and I think its the manager and not the players that the finger should be pointed at.

 

[JAYTALITY]

I heard a tremendous chorus of 'school of science on its way back' exploding out of white heart lane today. Goosebumps.

Now I hope all these harsh Martinez critics posting on here where not in that crowd singing that song earlier. Because if you where, ya'll are cardboard reactionary flip flop hypocrites. Does this apply to you? I can't imagine I'll get a response because flip floppers are renowned cowards also.

 

[BBleck]

I thought it was a pen but I thought their coverage was dead on including calling the Besic one as a tangle of legs.

Someone in the CBS coverage here in the states said they thought Kane intentionally hooked his foot around Besic looking for the pen. Don't know about it being intentional, but Kane is every bit the snide that Besic is and maybe more. The only call from that game I'm still curious about is Kane appearing to come from behind Barry at the end of the first half. US broadcast and pundits didn't break down either why that tackle was clean or why it should have been a foul. Would like to be educated about that.