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Spurs v Saints - Match Thread


St Chalet

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Sat in the Spurs end and probably the worst atmosphere I've experienced at a ground and I once went to see Wimbledon the season their fans boycotted the stadium (OK, maybe not THAT bad).

 

The only crumb of comfort was predicting 3-1 before the game and it all pretty much went as expected. We just simply cannot defend and Spurs rarely got out of second gear. Even if we had scored from more of our chances, they looked like they could score another. 3 very simple goals from not picking up our men - who leaves Kane unmarked at a corner?!

 

One positive was that we looked quite dangerous from open play with some lovely moves creating space and chances, albeit mostly when 3-0 down.

 

Some thoughts on the players:

- Gabby looks totally shorn of confidence, he couldn't hold the ball up and when through on goal hooked a shot terribly that dribbled along the ground. The sooner Ings is back the better. Austin would have been a better selection and hopefully he'll push on after his goal.

- The new man has to find a way to get the best out of Redmond - if he could shoot or cross consistently he'd be some player. Even without that he creates space for others with his runs.

- We need Bertrand back desperately. Soares had a decent game. The two of them in tandem make us look much stronger going forward.

- Trippier was left virtually unmarked by Targett who had a shocker - did he not watch the world cup?

- Armstrong continuing his steady improvement, but even he missed a pretty easy chance on his left from a rebound with Lloris stranded

- Davies looked tidy, but unfortunately a lot slower than his prime

- Missed Lemina's energy

 

Central defence aside I do think there's a half-decent team in there somewhere. Some games we've been solid in defence, some games good in attack, but rarely at the same time - best of luck Ralph, you're going to need it!

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Just because Austin scored and came close to more doesn't mean he should start. In fact, it's precisely the reason he shouldn't.

 

Due to his lack of fitness he burns out faster than everyone else so is always at a disadvantage. If he comes on with 20 minutes to go he is fresh against tiring defenders, and there might just be a place for someone of his ilk.

 

Funny/depressing that this has been so blindingly obvious all season and it's taken this long to see it in action.

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We hit the post three times and it took a couple of world class saves from Loris to prevent other goal scoring chances. We had more shots than Spurs, although slightly fewer were on target. We were missing key players which weakened both our defence and our midfield. In my opinion Kelvin got it wrong tactically too. I think we should have played three at the back with Romeu in front instead of Davis. When we had Cedric playing LB with Valerie on the right, it would have been better than having Targett on the left, where he was hung out to dry by Trippier all evening. If one player would have made a difference, it would have Lemina had he been available.

 

OK, Spurs were much the better team, but it was inevitable that the team we played and the formation we played would see an easy win for them, especially when we gifted them three soft goals like that.

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Anyone else think it’s time we gave Gunn a chance in the league?

 

Really don’t think McCarthy is all that and his distribution is abysmal.

 

I agree with you. I also don't think he communicates that great with the defence - not in anyway blaming him for the dross in front of him, but there were a couple of times in the Utd game where he could have shouted to a defender to head/chest it back to him but he didn't talk and defender ended up hoofing it out of play.

 

Probably not an urgent issue though to be fair, need a decent defence first.

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