And, we’re off.......2018/2019

[Orikoru]

God, that was one of the most frustrating games I've ever seen.

We never thought we'd say this, but Sissoko going off harmed us quite a lot. With Pogba in good form now, the only midfielder we had who can cope with him physically is Sissoko. Once he went, it was Winks and Eriksen in the middle, not exactly a physical pairing. Pogba was far more influential after that. It was only about three minutes later he hit that pass for the goal.

Second half we played brilliantly to create chances, but the finishing was frustratingly poor. De Gea was absolutely ridiculous also. Granted a lot of the efforts were not far away from him, but any other keeper in the league probably lets in one or two - he just didn't put a foot wrong.

The goal was coming all second half, but it never actually arrived. Absolutely painful to watch.


To those who were asking about Dembele earlier, he's currently injured, plus he's on his way to China anyway because he hasn't got the fitness for the physical demands of the Premier League anymore. I don't think we'd be selling him unless the coaching staff knew he was on his last legs, so I trust their judgement, sad though it is to lose such a fantastic player.

 

[Rlburnside]

God, that was one of the most frustrating games I've ever seen.

We never thought we'd say this, but Sissoko going off harmed us quite a lot. With Pogba in good form now, the only midfielder we had who can cope with him physically is Sissoko. Once he went, it was Winks and Eriksen in the middle, not exactly a physical pairing. Pogba was far more influential after that. It was only about three minutes later he hit that pass for the goal.

Second half we played brilliantly to create chances, but the finishing was frustratingly poor. De Gea was absolutely ridiculous also. Granted a lot of the efforts were not far away from him, but any other keeper in the league probably lets in one or two - he just didn't put a foot wrong.

The goal was coming all second half, but it never actually arrived. Absolutely painful to watch.


To those who were asking about Dembele earlier, he's currently injured, plus he's on his way to China anyway because he hasn't got the fitness for the physical demands of the Premier League anymore. I don't think we'd be selling him unless the coaching staff knew he was on his last legs, so I trust their judgement, sad though it is to lose such a fantastic player.

Agree we missed Sissoko when he went off i can’t think of any other player that’s gone from a complete dud to one of our most influential players.

The pass from Pogba and finish from Rashford was first class but it did come from a bad pass from Trippier, there wasn’t much difference between the two sides in the first half but Utd tactical were better and had the better half.

Big performance from us when Poch changed system, Utd got the win but their defense was poor, the amount of good chances we created would have won most games.

We could of finished some of those chances better but De Gea was outstanding.

Worry now with Kane limping at the end is we have little options up front with Son away and Moroe injured.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

This is now where the lack of investment in the summer may seriously harm Spurs if Kane is out for a significant period - it was foolish to think he could go through a whole season without any injury - it’s something that could seriously harm their top 4 spot - thankfully for them at the moment their rivals also have issues but it will only take a couple of losses and they will catch up

 

[Orikoru]

This is now where the lack of investment in the summer may seriously harm Spurs if Kane is out for a significant period - it was foolish to think he could go through a whole season without any injury - it’s something that could seriously harm their top 4 spot - thankfully for them at the moment their rivals also have issues but it will only take a couple of losses and they will catch up

Yeah, what we should have done is bought a £40 million pound striker who could have sat on the bench for the last 5 months waiting for this very opportunity.

 

[Wolf]

Yeah, what we should have done is bought a £40 million pound striker who could have sat on the bench for the last 5 months waiting for this very opportunity.

That's exactly what you should have done that is the nature of football now the going rate is in excess of 35mill for a half decent player and part and parcel of being a player of fighting for opportunities, its happened for years at top clubs why should spurs be any different in just thinking the 1 you have is enough. Likely you will finish top 4 anyway due to early season results and picking up points here and there but to say you agree with not buying someone because you have 1 perfectly good player shows Spurs lack of ambition to spend that and push forward imp. You will obviously disagree as a Spurs fan but that's how a lot will see it

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Yeah, what we should have done is bought a £40 million pound striker who could have sat on the bench for the last 5 months waiting for this very opportunity.

I don't know (and so not trying to be argumentative) but what are the striker options available if Kane is out long term and where will the goals come from. Given the "no buy" policy in the summer and the way Levy is prudent (to say the least) with the money, would the manager even get the go ahead to buy anyone in this window if Kane was to be ruled out for an extended period

 

[Orikoru]

That's exactly what you should have done that is the nature of football now the going rate is in excess of 35mill for a half decent player and part and parcel of being a player of fighting for opportunities, its happened for years at top clubs why should spurs be any different in just thinking the 1 you have is enough. Likely you will finish top 4 anyway due to early season results and picking up points here and there but to say you agree with not buying someone because you have 1 perfectly good player shows Spurs lack of ambition to spend that and push forward imp. You will obviously disagree as a Spurs fan but that's how a lot will see it

And what player would agree to that?? We're not paying City & Liverpool wages so you're looking for a good striker who's willing to take just reasonable wages to sit and watch Kane and wait for him to get injured. Basically that's what Llorente is for. Our primary back-up is Son playing there, but bad luck for us, he's going to this stupid Asia Cup now.

 

[Orikoru]

I don't know (and so not trying to be argumentative) but what are the striker options available if Kane is out long term and where will the goals come from. Given the "no buy" policy in the summer and the way Levy is prudent (to say the least) with the money, would the manager even get the go ahead to buy anyone in this window if Kane was to be ruled out for an extended period

Good point, I didn't even think of the fact it's January at the moment. If Kane is out for several months, and without Son for the immediate future, we'd have to dip into the market you'd think. Even if it's a loan deal.

 

[clubchamp98]

Yeah, what we should have done is bought a £40 million pound striker who could have sat on the bench for the last 5 months waiting for this very opportunity.

Don’t you rate Lorente to do the job.

 

[clubchamp98]

Good point, I didn't even think of the fact it's January at the moment. If Kane is out for several months, and without Son for the immediate future, we'd have to dip into the market you'd think. Even if it's a loan deal.

You can have Sturidge for a small fee?.

 

[Orikoru]

Don’t you rate Lorente to do the job.

It depends who we're playing in all honesty. He doesn't have pace or great movement, but his touch is really good. Against the smaller sides he would be able to bring others into play well, and maybe produce goals for Alli, Eriksen etc. Our next league games are Fulham and Palace, got no problem with him starting against them really. But Chelsea in the Carabao second leg, I can't see him causing them any problems. Champions League v Dortmund in February, I can't see him causing them problems either. Then end of Feb / start of March is Chelsea and Arsenal in the league, so we'd be praying Kane is back by then.

 

[Wolf]

And what player would agree to that?? We're not paying City & Liverpool wages so you're looking for a good striker who's willing to take just reasonable wages to sit and watch Kane and wait for him to get injured. Basically that's what Llorente is for. Our primary back-up is Son playing there, but bad luck for us, he's going to this stupid Asia Cup now.

That's the job of the manager and scouting staff to find that player and as for wages again that's down to how far do they want to go if they want to compete at top table you have to show ambition and in current climate be accepting to pay the going rate..

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Yeah, what we should have done is bought a £40 million pound striker who could have sat on the bench for the last 5 months waiting for this very opportunity.

Why would he have sat on the bench for 5 months - the club buys a quality striker and you then give the manager options , so instead of playing Kane every single minute he could rotate or bring someone alongside Kane and rest Son or play all three - options , Spurs have players like Lamela , Moura etc who rotate in why not another striker instead of just relying on one - the same striker who has played non stop for 3 maybe 4 years now - Pochettino even suggested the club needed to invest in the team

And what player would agree to that?? We're not paying City & Liverpool wages so you're looking for a good striker who's willing to take just reasonable wages to sit and watch Kane and wait for him to get injured. Basically that's what Llorente is for. Our primary back-up is Son playing there, but bad luck for us, he's going to this stupid Asia Cup now.

The club knew Son was going to the Asia Cup - it’s not snuck up on them , Llorente hasn’t really done anything for two years

 

[Orikoru]

That's the job of the manager and scouting staff to find that player and as for wages again that's down to how far do they want to go if they want to compete at top table you have to show ambition and in current climate be accepting to pay the going rate..

You're talking is if you don't know anything about Spurs. We have never paid the top wages, and with us not even in the new stadium yet he's not going to start now. We are where we are because we managed to get a great manager in, and got lucky that lots of our players who didn't cost much (or anything) turned out to be amazing. Kane (free), Dele (5m), Eriksen (12m), Toby (11m). These sort of bargains don't exactly grow on trees.

 

[Orikoru]

Why would he have sat on the bench for 5 months - the club buys a quality striker and you then give the manager options , so instead of playing Kane every single minute he could rotate or bring someone alongside Kane and rest Son or play all three - options , Spurs have players like Lamela , Moura etc who rotate in why not another striker instead of just relying on one - the same striker who has played non stop for 3 maybe 4 years now - Pochettino even suggested the club needed to invest in the team


The club knew Son was going to the Asia Cup - it’s not snuck up on them , Llorente hasn’t really done anything for two years

Kane demands to play every minute. He even went on at 6-0 up against bloody Tranmere. That's not all the manager's doing, that's Kane in his ear because he wants to be on the pitch the whole time. Remember around the World Cup people were saying he looks tired, he said he doesn't like being rested, he prefers it when he has a game every 3 or 4 days as he reckons he gets into a run of scoring that way. I think this why someone like Son works well as a back-up for us, because he can play on the wing at other times and then move up top when needed, rather than sitting around waiting for Kane to be injured like Llorente has to do. Llorente 'hasn't done anything' precisely because Kane demands to play every game and he never gets a look in. He usually shows good touches when he does get on, but he's not a natural finisher.

 

[Papas1982]

You're talking is if you don't know anything about Spurs. We have never paid the top wages, and with us not even in the new stadium yet he's not going to start now. We are where we are because we managed to get a great manager in, and got lucky that lots of our players who didn't cost much (or anything) turned out to be amazing. Kane (free), Dele (5m), Eriksen (12m), Toby (11m). These sort of bargains don't exactly grow on trees.

The problem with this summer is that there was no chance of unearthing a gem as you didnt buy anyone. I get the logic of son being the replacement in previous years. But he's a starter now, meaning you're only sub is Llorente. Do you have any viable youth options?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

You're talking is if you don't know anything about Spurs. We have never paid the top wages, and with us not even in the new stadium yet he's not going to start now. We are where we are because we managed to get a great manager in, and got lucky that lots of our players who didn't cost much (or anything) turned out to be amazing. Kane (free), Dele (5m), Eriksen (12m), Toby (11m). These sort of bargains don't exactly grow on trees.

Kane not doing too bad on £200k a week ,Son around £150k ,Lamela prob not far off and when it comes to new contracts for Alli and Eriksen those will be big wages as well - Spurs aren’t paupers

Kane demands to play every minute. He even went on at 6-0 up against bloody Tranmere. That's not all the manager's doing, that's Kane in his ear because he wants to be on the pitch the whole time. Remember around the World Cup people were saying he looks tired, he said he doesn't like being rested, he prefers it when he has a game every 3 or 4 days as he reckons he gets into a run of scoring that way. I think this why someone like Son works well as a back-up for us, because he can play on the wing at other times and then move up top when needed, rather than sitting around waiting for Kane to be injured like Llorente has to do. Llorente 'hasn't done anything' precisely because Kane demands to play every game and he never gets a look in. He usually shows good touches when he does get on, but he's not a natural finisher.

It’s not up to Kane though ,all down to the manager and the player should know the club comes first - If Kane is out for anything more than 4/5 weeks then that big worries for Spurs and CL football - something which is massive for their finances

 

[Orikoru]

The problem with this summer is that there was no chance of unearthing a gem as you didnt buy anyone. I get the logic of son being the replacement in previous years. But he's a starter now, meaning you're only sub is Llorente. Do you have any viable youth options?

I think you've misunderstood me slightly. I meant if Son moved from left wing to striker, then Lucas or Lamela comes in as the cover don't they. I've not heard of any academy strikers good enough to make the step up right now to be honest.

 

[Orikoru]

Kane not doing too bad on £200k a week ,Son around £150k ,Lamela prob not far off and when it comes to new contracts for Alli and Eriksen those will be big wages as well - Spurs aren’t paupers

It’s not up to Kane though ,all down to the manager and the player should know the club comes first - If Kane is out for anything more than 4/5 weeks then that big worries for Spurs and CL football - something which is massive for their finances

If you don't think they could near-double those wages moving elsewhere then you're kidding yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if Toby and Eriksen do exactly that in the near future, as they both seem to be umming and ahhing about signing new contracts at the minute. I don't believe it's ever been the board's intention to win the Premier League, simply by being talked in that vein we've exceeded expectations.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

We could sell you Niasse and Tosun. They would do a great job at Spurs, wasted at Everton