And you've come to this conclusion after one bad moment in an otherwise decent game away against probably the best team in the world?
Spurs officially departed tonight
- Thread starter Fortitude
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Why not? If Fosu Mensah made the same kind of tackles playing for us the old headless chicken line would be rolled out, he would be written off for all eternity. It wouldn't matter if he had a decent game otherwise. My remark was slightly tongue in cheek though.
I'm glad they didn't win now. There'd probably be a thread on here claiming they were now the best side in Europe.
They did ok. Real weren't at the races yet Benzema would still have had an easy hat trick on another night...and that insane full back Spurs bought from PSG showed again that he is going to cost them games this season.
It was a CL group game.
They did ok. Real weren't at the races yet Benzema would still have had an easy hat trick on another night...and that insane full back Spurs bought from PSG showed again that he is going to cost them games this season.
It was a CL group game.
He was awful all game. He was awful all game when I watched them against West Ham.
He just doesn't look like a very good player. Too brainless to be a defender and not good enough at anything to be anything else.
Work horse who has always been a far better attacking outlet than defensive so the point is invalid. Llorente is a very technically gifted player not a pole to lump the ball to. Then their midfield was eriksen and winks to out and out creative players. And in the end they were pragmatic whilst also going for a win.
I thought Madrid were a bit crap. Been dropping points, willy nilly, in the league too, right? What’s happened to them?
But yeah, group stages. Means very little. Nobody has arrived. Spurs impressed me more in the CL when Bale was tearing Inter a new one, 7 years ago.
But yeah, group stages. Means very little. Nobody has arrived. Spurs impressed me more in the CL when Bale was tearing Inter a new one, 7 years ago.
Spurs officially arrived tonight? I guess that's what it means to a club and supporters who aren't on the level or expectations/standards of United...long way to go to be a winner and a club to take seriously when it comes to winning trophies.
An entertaining match tonight which ended in a draw. Spurs scored zero goals while RM scored both goals with on being an OG.
An entertaining match tonight which ended in a draw. Spurs scored zero goals while RM scored both goals with on being an OG.
They seemed really devoid of ideas in attack. Were only really threatening when Spurs occasionally gifted them the ball with some sloppy passing, or when their key attackers with pace were left in plenty of space. Often they were resorting to fairly hopeless crosses.
Still...plenty of positives for Spurs to take from that game. Lloris was fantastic, and when they were on the backfoot they looked like a strong threat on the counter. I'd be stunned if they win the whole thing but with a reasonable draw there's no reason they can't make the QF's or even maybe the SF's at a push.
An own goal is still a goal. Especially when it was forced by a Spurs attack.
You're aware that he's got Lingard-esque numbers, right? He's pretty much the guy to 'do the job' and work his ass off, it's also why he's picked for France to give so called 'balance', not thanks to his fantastic attacking capabilities. Llorente might be technically gifted (I've never claimed he isn't) but he's picked primarily for the long ball option, iirc Spurs play as many if not more of those than us, so yeah. Sure about Winks and Eriksen but that's about it.
He's a terrible player really but most his actual qualities are attacking. Watching him for france ,newcastle and totteham its clear he is not a particularly hardworking or defensive minded player.
Also long ball isn't the same as hoof ball
So I take it we specialise in hoof balling while Tottenhame specialise in long balls?
It means we will almost certainly progress to the knock-out stages, with a decent shot at topping the group. It means that Spurs as a team move forward with great confidence in their ability to give any team in the world a competitive game ... even when several of the first XI are missing. It also means that young players like Harry Winks and Davinson Sanchez will move forward in the knowledge that they can play on the biggest stages and not look out of place.
And - with reference to your mention of Bale - it means that, unlike when Bale was in the team, we are far less reliant on any single player to dig us out of a hole: the current squad is far more balanced - and has more depth and all-round talent - than the days of Bale.
Fair play to Spurs. It wasn’t a great performance by any means, but if you consider their European performances last year then the progress is obvious. More maturity is an excellent way to put it.
Fair play to Spurs, can be proud going there and not getting beaten. But Real didn't look at the races did they, haven't for much of the season so far. They'll wake up when it matters but can't take anything from Tottenham, pretty much qualified now barring a monumental implosion in the next 3 games.
And Bailly and JonesImagine Aurier plus Rojo
No country for weak heartsNot normally but against Liverpool we did.
He is a former CB
That was never in doubt (for me at least), last season was the first time for many players. This improvement isn't a surprise, you're easily impressed I think.
I was curious as to how Spurs would match up against the current European champions and they were very impressive. Pochettino deserves a lot of credit.
Atleti-Chelsea 1:2
Real-Spurs 1:1
Still, we should wait the knock-out stages before drawing conclusions. Personally, I expect the Spanish teams will be better after the group stage.
Real-Spurs 1:1
Still, we should wait the knock-out stages before drawing conclusions. Personally, I expect the Spanish teams will be better after the group stage.
Without a doubt. Arsenal won quite convincingly against Bayern a few season back in the group stage but always routinely got spanked in knock out stage by these bigger clubs. Now that with the new seeding system, the big clubs wouldn't too fussed about not finishing top in the group as it wouldn't guarantee easy first KO round.
However, beside it's too early to compare Tottenham to Madrid's true level point, Tottenham deserved the recognition for their improvement. This time last year they struggled in weaker group. Now they likely go to the end knockout round if they can hold themselves against Madrid for another match.
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All of the talk before the game was Harry Kane, all of the talk after the game was Harry Kane. He scores most of your goals.
In terms of digging you out of holes, you might not be quite as reliant on him as you were on Bale, but it's not far off.
It's a positive though that the PL teams finally look like they are ready to compete again and are not just taken apart by any La Liga team that crosses their way.
It is very positive indeed. It can make the CL less predictable this season but at the moment it's just conjectures.
Do it in the knockout stages and I'll be impressed. Especially since the Spurs goal was an own goal.
We were beating Real Madrid in the 88th minute last year. Damm Ronaldo and the only time he succesfully took a freeekick in the recent past. Madrid are slow starters. Good result for Spurs nevertheless.
[QUOTE="NoLogo, post: 21611546, member: 44274"]It's a positive though that the PL teams finally look like they are ready to compete again and are not just taken apart by any La Liga team that crosses their way.[/QUOTE]
True. But the extent to which they are ready to compete will become clear a bit later. Arsenal finished above PSG last season but it didn't make them particularly competitive. The big boys are waiting for the knock-out stages to show their best. There is nothing exciting for Madrid to beat Spurs at home. They may play better at Wembley though, it's a mythical ground.
True. But the extent to which they are ready to compete will become clear a bit later. Arsenal finished above PSG last season but it didn't make them particularly competitive. The big boys are waiting for the knock-out stages to show their best. There is nothing exciting for Madrid to beat Spurs at home. They may play better at Wembley though, it's a mythical ground.
The result last night could be important for our game vs Spurs but I don't know whether for good or bad.
On the one hand, they will be filled with confidence and will probably come to win at OT. If you are good enough to draw with the best team around you are good enough to win at other grounds.
On the other hand, this could be used against them as they may play more open and risky football than it is reasonable against United at OT.
On the one hand, they will be filled with confidence and will probably come to win at OT. If you are good enough to draw with the best team around you are good enough to win at other grounds.
On the other hand, this could be used against them as they may play more open and risky football than it is reasonable against United at OT.
I agree that we should wait for the KO Phase but English Teams getting 4 Points out of 2 games in Madrid is quite impressive. It Looks like all 5 EPL Teams will be among the last 16 so it will be interesting to see what happens next.
After jerking around for far too long, they finally arrived - do you need me to spell it out, mate?
It was actually an enjoyable match to watch for a neutral, certainly both teams had chances to win the game, corners were 9-8 Madrids way. Hardly a park the bus performance, Spurs without their main central pairing of Dembele/Wanyama decided to cede the midfield battle to RM. But remained compact with that defensive three of Sanchez, Dier, Alderweireld.
I think it shows that Pochettino is also progressing as a coach, I recall them getting bollockings away at top clubs just trying to play the high press game 100% of the time like they did at the old WHL. And getting spanked because of their inability to adapt and play a more measured/defensive game when called for. Even the Llorente signing seems not the norm for Pochettino, but is a great pick up for them imo.
For a Spurs team playing Vertonghen as a makeshift LWB, missing Alli, Dembele, Wanyama, Lamela, Davies and Rose a draw away at RM is a good result.
With Andy Carroll up frontImagine Aurier plus Rojo
I'm far from a Spurs apologist, but this 'it's the groups' thing is wide of the mark in that when the biggest sides lock horns they go out there with a point to prove and are up for the game before it even kicks off. I don't know how Spurs were regarded in Madrid's camp before the game, but Madrid went out there and played good stuff that lesser organised teams would have fallen to. Spurs' organisation and composure made them look like a proper CL-level team last night, and that's the first time I've thought that of Spurs, win or lose a game. It looked like they could play that same game again and even improve on it - which is expected of all CL-level teams - rather than it being the game of their lives or some one-off anomaly.
Giving the ball to Bale and having him roast an over-the-hill Maicon time and again is not the same as giving RM a game as a team, also. In one scenario, I'm thinking if Inter played them again, they switch out Maicon for someone who can at least keep up with Bale and then we'll see if the performance can be repeated, in what was seen last night, I've no doubt Spurs, as a cohesive unit, could go out there and do what they did again.
Also hate to say it, but Glaston is right here:
The big games are a barometer of where a side is truly at. Before then, we can only guess and assume. Going to the Bernebau and matching off with a RM that needed the points and weren't going easy or disinterested in the match isn't something many teams will have a hope of doing in the CL. If RM had spanked them, nobody would have batted an eye and we'd all be laughing at Spurs and telling them they're still no match for the big boys.
Them giving a controlled and measured performance where they didn't look out of place against the back-to-back winners of the CL is something to take notice of. Yes, RM are not firing on all cylinders, but neither were Spurs. What we can say is they looked completely at home in the company of a team consisting of the likes of Ronaldo, Isco, Modric, Kroos, Marcelo all giving the game a proper go.
It has merit.
They are set up to provide Kane the platform. It's not the same thing as virtuoso just taking over and doing everything by himself. Delli-Ali's absence was felt by Kane, for example as he couldn't make the same runs or dummy moves he could without the aforementioned providing the distractions he has come to rely on. Kane isn't like Bale in this Spurs side - he's the final cog in a well-oiled attack, not the be-all and end-all of it.
truth to be told Spurs should have had a pen as well
Really? Thought Aurier was one of their best players penalty aside. He and Sanchez nullified numerous Madrid attacks on the left, and his passing out from the back really helped Spurs not get under the cosh from Madrid. Also started numerous attacks. He's a hothead but let's not act like that's all he did all game
It's a good result for them no doubt and they'll certainly gain confidence from this and rightly so. However I think these proclamations are a bit too soon and ignoring the fact that Madrid aren't in the best moment themselves are surely a little low on confidence at the moment.
He is amazing going forward and these days a full back is supposed to be that - I think Spurs goal came due to his spirited show on the right and except for that one rash decision, he was very good. Defensively, he ain't the best (far from it).
The same was also said for Cleverley, Wilshere, Barkley etc. Don't get me wrong I think he looks a fine young player but he needs to perform with such consistency for a much longer period to be the answer to England's problem.