Post-match thoughts v Spurs

So called experts are saying we don't press just because we're not pinning top 6 sides in their 6 yard box. It's like some kind of psychological warfare.

Spurs were really on it, referee giving them the usual rub of the green made it really hard for us to impose ourselves on the game. I didn't expect an easy game but it was much harder than I expected.
 
Spurs were better technical players with a good measure of street wise dark arts and persistent diving. They bossed the officials who were the usual level of pgmol finest.

A yellow card for deliberate elbow in full view of the assistant was an unbelievable odd error.

AFCB looked like a work in progress
Kluivert and Traore need to get up to speed quickly
 
My player ratings for what’s it’s worth-

-Neto- 5 arguably could have done better with the first goal, getting a hand to Maddison’s strike. Distribution was shaky throughout and seems incapable of venturing out of his six yard box. I’m really not sure about him.

-Aarons- 5.5 struggled defensively against the very impressive Spurs left wing back, seemed reluctant to put a challenge in at times. Neat and tidy in possession but unable to really influence the game from an attacking perspective.

-Kelly- 6 used his pace to sweep up on quite a few occasions, distribution was hit and miss but it normally is. Partly at fault for the second goal, but other than that he had a fairly solid game.

-Zabarnyi- 7 a good game from him today, read the game very well and carried the ball out from the back effectively. Made a number of good interceptions. Has a lot of the attributes that you’d want in a modern day centre back.

-Kerkez- 7 another good game from a very promising young player, rarely got beaten defensively and boundless energy and overlapping runs to support the attack. Probably should have done better when in dangerous positions a couple of times but all in all a good performance.

-Rothwell- 5 I feel sorry for him, he really struggled out there today. He was pressing well enough but he just isn’t a defensive midfielder. He was getting turned far too easily and seemed very unsure as to which areas of the pitch he should be covering. I really don’t know if he has the physicality or positional nouse to be effective in a pressing team.

Billing- 7 great energy levels and desire to win the ball back, covered an awful lot of ground today. He of course won’t get any credit from some because he is Billing. Faded in the second half along with the rest of the team.

Christie- 7 applied himself in exactly the way you’d expect him to, covering every blade of grass. Actually produced a decent strike to sting the palms of the opposing keeper too. Same issue as always with him, he never really looks like scoring or creating anything, but a decent showing none the less.

Semenyo- 7 another good showing for him, full of strong running and physicality. He really is a handful when running with the ball at pace. So very nearly scored with a very good effort that hit the side netting. I’d be tempted to play him as the centre forward, I think he’d be a nightmare for centre backs to deal with.

Kluivert- 7 I’ve seen a few who have been quite critical of him and I can’t really work out why. Thought he was arguably our best player today. Not everything he did came off but he was probably our most threatening outfield player, his sharp bursts of acceleration infield looked our best chance of creating something. He created our best two opportunities of the second half before being strangely substituted.

Solanke- 5 got absolutely no change out of either centre half, really struggled to hold the ball up effectively and to get in behind their back line. Never felt like he was going to threaten them really. Looked okay on the rare occasion that he dropped deeper and looked to create for others, but that isn’t his role within this system. disappointing.

Subs-

Cook- 7 thought he played well, covered space very intelligently and competed well for second balls in the middle of the park. The midfield looked a lot less open with him on the pitch, needs to play until Adams is fit. Rothwell is a better player but Cook is a better fit for the deeper midfield role in this system.

Anthony- 4 polar opposite to Kluivert, barely ran at his full back at all. It is just far too easy for opposition full backs to defend against him, he doesn’t have the pace or ability to really threaten at this level as a winger. I don’t think he’s good enough currently to play at this level, sorry.

Traore- 5 I can see why Iraola doesn’t want to start him, clearly not suited to a high intensity style at all. Very erratic on the ball, did a few good things and can certainly pick a pass. Was also guilty of surrendering possession too easily a number of times. Play him from the start and I’d back him to create a few chances though.

Moore- 5 he’s just not quite up to it at this level is he? He does offer something, just not enough sadly. Would anyone actually be comfortable for him to lead the line from the start if Dom were to be unavailable? He needs to be moved on and his space filled by a striker who can genuinely challenge Solanke.

Iraola- 5 thought he got the subs badly wrong today, we were in the ascendancy at that point and he killed any momentum we had built up. We again really didn’t look like creating anything, is his style really going to be effective in the PL? For me, the early signs don’t look too promising. If we were at least creating chances then it would be easier to be more confident, but we aren’t. It is incredibly rare for a bottom half PL team to play anything other than a low block and counter attacking game, perhaps there is a reason for this. This way of playing is inevitably going to concede chances, but how are we going to create enough going the other way?
 
Johnny Comelately said:
I thought the ref made one genuinely bad decision today, which was the foul on Semenyo. The rest were par for the course. That aside, I think you have to give credit to Spurs. For me, they were much the better side. We ran around a lot but there was never any end product, there were so many times we got into the final third and lost the ball or gave it away that it was just really frustrating. The only players who've stood out under the new manager have been Semenyo and Christie but it's early days and it looks like we have the sort of young, fit, players who can come good in time. Much to my surprise even Billing has bought into the system and has definitely upped his workrate, although I'm not sure he fits into it yet.
I have to say Solanke definitely doesn't, not yet anyway. Despite scoring against the Hammers he's often been anonymous and surely was today. Kelly was very disappointing too, not great defensively and his passing was awful. Neto didn't have a great game either and if Travers main failing is that he doesn't command his area I can't see that Neto's any better.
I didn't really enjoy today's game, I thought we were outplayed, lacked creativity and, but for a couple of occasions, never looked like scoring.
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Sums up the failings of the pgmol when a deliberate elbow in full view of the assistant is not a red card is par for the course.
The same assistant who was conned by Richarlison cheating to get Kelly booked
 
KingKieffer said:
My player ratings for what’s it’s worth-

-Neto- 5 arguably could have done better with the first goal, getting a hand to Maddison’s strike. Distribution was shaky throughout and seems incapable of venturing out of his six yard box. I’m really not sure about him.

-Aarons- 5.5 struggled defensively against the very impressive Spurs left wing back, seemed reluctant to put a challenge in at times. Neat and tidy in possession but unable to really influence the game from an attacking perspective.

-Kelly- 6 used his pace to sweep up on quite a few occasions, distribution was hit and miss but it normally is. Partly at fault for the second goal, but other than that he had a fairly solid game.

-Zabarnyi- 7 a good game from him today, read the game very well and carried the ball out from the back effectively. Made a number of good interceptions. Has a lot of the attributes that you’d want in a modern day centre back.

-Kerkez- 7 another good game from a very promising young player, rarely got beaten defensively and boundless energy and overlapping runs to support the attack. Probably should have done better when in dangerous positions a couple of times but all in all a good performance.

-Rothwell- 5 I feel sorry for him, he really struggled out there today. He was pressing well enough but he just isn’t a defensive midfielder. He was getting turned far too easily and seemed very unsure as to which areas of the pitch he should be covering. I really don’t know if he has the physicality or positional nouse to be effective in a pressing team.

Billing- 7 great energy levels and desire to win the ball back, covered an awful lot of ground today. He of course won’t get any credit from some because he is Billing. Faded in the second half along with the rest of the team.

Christie- 7 applied himself in exactly the way you’d expect him to, covering every blade of grass. Actually produced a decent strike to sting the palms of the opposing keeper too. Same issue as always with him, he never really looks like scoring or creating anything, but a decent showing none the less.

Semenyo- 7 another good showing for him, full of strong running and physicality. He really is a handful when running with the ball at pace. So very nearly scored with a very good effort that hit the side netting. I’d be tempted to play him as the centre forward, I think he’d be a nightmare for centre backs to deal with.

Kluivert- 7 I’ve seen a few who have been quite critical of him and I can’t really work out why. Thought he was arguably our best player today. Not everything he did came off but he was probably our most threatening outfield player, his sharp bursts of acceleration infield looked our best chance of creating something. He created our best two opportunities of the second half before being strangely substituted.

Solanke- 5 got absolutely no change out of either centre half, really struggled to hold the ball up effectively and to get in behind their back line. Never felt like he was going to threaten them really. Looked okay on the rare occasion that he dropped deeper and looked to create for others, but that isn’t his role within this system. disappointing.

Subs-

Cook- 7 thought he played well, covered space very intelligently and competed well for second balls in the middle of the park. The midfield looked a lot less open with him on the pitch, needs to play until Adams is fit. Rothwell is a better player but Cook is a better fit for the deeper midfield role in this system.

Anthony- 4 polar opposite to Kluivert, barely ran at his full back at all. It is just far too easy for opposition full backs to defend against him, he doesn’t have the pace or ability to really threaten at this level as a winger. I don’t think he’s good enough currently to play at this level, sorry.

Traore- 5 I can see why Iraola doesn’t want to start him, clearly not suited to a high intensity style at all. Very erratic on the ball, did a few good things and can certainly pick a pass. Was also guilty of surrendering possession too easily a number of times. Play him from the start and I’d back him to create a few chances though.

Moore- 5 he’s just not quite up to it at this level is he? He does offer something, just not enough sadly. Would anyone actually be comfortable for him to lead the line from the start if Dom were to be unavailable? He needs to be moved on and his space filled by a striker who can genuinely challenge Solanke.

Iraola- 5 thought he got the subs badly wrong today, we were in the ascendancy at that point and he killed any momentum we had built up. We again really didn’t look like creating anything, is his style really going to be effective in the PL? For me, the early signs don’t look too promising. If we were at least creating chances then it would be easier to be more confident, but we aren’t. It is incredibly rare for a bottom half PL team to play anything other than a low block and counter attacking game, perhaps there is a reason for this. This way of playing is inevitably going to concede chances, but how are we going to create enough going the other way?
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Rothwell was awful today. He doesn’t cut it at this level when exposed at CDM. He was getting constant instructions from Andoni.

Three games, three different forward lines. I’m wondering if some consistency would help them form patterns.
 
KingKieffer said:
It is incredibly rare for a bottom half PL team to play anything other than a low block and counter attacking game, perhaps there is a reason for this. This way of playing is inevitably going to concede chances, but how are we going to create enough going the other way?
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This is my point about the squad. We’ve signed a manager who historically plays high press and chance creation/taking. We’ve bought him ten forward players who are bang average with the exception of Tavs. We are now looking at more presumably because he doesn’t rate them. Look at the money we’ve spent on forward players and none of them look like creating or scoring.
 
KingKieffer said:
My player ratings for what’s it’s worth-

-Neto- 5 arguably could have done better with the first goal, getting a hand to Maddison’s strike. Distribution was shaky throughout and seems incapable of venturing out of his six yard box. I’m really not sure about him.

-Aarons- 5.5 struggled defensively against the very impressive Spurs left wing back, seemed reluctant to put a challenge in at times. Neat and tidy in possession but unable to really influence the game from an attacking perspective.

-Kelly- 6 used his pace to sweep up on quite a few occasions, distribution was hit and miss but it normally is. Partly at fault for the second goal, but other than that he had a fairly solid game.

-Zabarnyi- 7 a good game from him today, read the game very well and carried the ball out from the back effectively. Made a number of good interceptions. Has a lot of the attributes that you’d want in a modern day centre back.

-Kerkez- 7 another good game from a very promising young player, rarely got beaten defensively and boundless energy and overlapping runs to support the attack. Probably should have done better when in dangerous positions a couple of times but all in all a good performance.

-Rothwell- 5 I feel sorry for him, he really struggled out there today. He was pressing well enough but he just isn’t a defensive midfielder. He was getting turned far too easily and seemed very unsure as to which areas of the pitch he should be covering. I really don’t know if he has the physicality or positional nouse to be effective in a pressing team.

Billing- 7 great energy levels and desire to win the ball back, covered an awful lot of ground today. He of course won’t get any credit from some because he is Billing. Faded in the second half along with the rest of the team.

Christie- 7 applied himself in exactly the way you’d expect him to, covering every blade of grass. Actually produced a decent strike to sting the palms of the opposing keeper too. Same issue as always with him, he never really looks like scoring or creating anything, but a decent showing none the less.

Semenyo- 7 another good showing for him, full of strong running and physicality. He really is a handful when running with the ball at pace. So very nearly scored with a very good effort that hit the side netting. I’d be tempted to play him as the centre forward, I think he’d be a nightmare for centre backs to deal with.

Kluivert- 7 I’ve seen a few who have been quite critical of him and I can’t really work out why. Thought he was arguably our best player today. Not everything he did came off but he was probably our most threatening outfield player, his sharp bursts of acceleration infield looked our best chance of creating something. He created our best two opportunities of the second half before being strangely substituted.

Solanke- 5 got absolutely no change out of either centre half, really struggled to hold the ball up effectively and to get in behind their back line. Never felt like he was going to threaten them really. Looked okay on the rare occasion that he dropped deeper and looked to create for others, but that isn’t his role within this system. disappointing.

Subs-

Cook- 7 thought he played well, covered space very intelligently and competed well for second balls in the middle of the park. The midfield looked a lot less open with him on the pitch, needs to play until Adams is fit. Rothwell is a better player but Cook is a better fit for the deeper midfield role in this system.

Anthony- 4 polar opposite to Kluivert, barely ran at his full back at all. It is just far too easy for opposition full backs to defend against him, he doesn’t have the pace or ability to really threaten at this level as a winger. I don’t think he’s good enough currently to play at this level, sorry.

Traore- 5 I can see why Iraola doesn’t want to start him, clearly not suited to a high intensity style at all. Very erratic on the ball, did a few good things and can certainly pick a pass. Was also guilty of surrendering possession too easily a number of times. Play him from the start and I’d back him to create a few chances though.

Moore- 5 he’s just not quite up to it at this level is he? He does offer something, just not enough sadly. Would anyone actually be comfortable for him to lead the line from the start if Dom were to be unavailable? He needs to be moved on and his space filled by a striker who can genuinely challenge Solanke.

Iraola- 5 thought he got the subs badly wrong today, we were in the ascendancy at that point and he killed any momentum we had built up. We again really didn’t look like creating anything, is his style really going to be effective in the PL? For me, the early signs don’t look too promising. If we were at least creating chances then it would be easier to be more confident, but we aren’t. It is incredibly rare for a bottom half PL team to play anything other than a low block and counter attacking game, perhaps there is a reason for this. This way of playing is inevitably going to concede chances, but how are we going to create enough going the other way?
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Kluivert had a bad day at the office poor control and final ball not good enough.
Traore was caught in possession too often and ambled about out of possession
 
KingKieffer said:
My player ratings for what’s it’s worth-

-Neto- 5 arguably could have done better with the first goal, getting a hand to Maddison’s strike. Distribution was shaky throughout and seems incapable of venturing out of his six yard box. I’m really not sure about him.

-Aarons- 5.5 struggled defensively against the very impressive Spurs left wing back, seemed reluctant to put a challenge in at times. Neat and tidy in possession but unable to really influence the game from an attacking perspective.

-Kelly- 6 used his pace to sweep up on quite a few occasions, distribution was hit and miss but it normally is. Partly at fault for the second goal, but other than that he had a fairly solid game.

-Zabarnyi- 7 a good game from him today, read the game very well and carried the ball out from the back effectively. Made a number of good interceptions. Has a lot of the attributes that you’d want in a modern day centre back.

-Kerkez- 7 another good game from a very promising young player, rarely got beaten defensively and boundless energy and overlapping runs to support the attack. Probably should have done better when in dangerous positions a couple of times but all in all a good performance.

-Rothwell- 5 I feel sorry for him, he really struggled out there today. He was pressing well enough but he just isn’t a defensive midfielder. He was getting turned far too easily and seemed very unsure as to which areas of the pitch he should be covering. I really don’t know if he has the physicality or positional nouse to be effective in a pressing team.

Billing- 7 great energy levels and desire to win the ball back, covered an awful lot of ground today. He of course won’t get any credit from some because he is Billing. Faded in the second half along with the rest of the team.

Christie- 7 applied himself in exactly the way you’d expect him to, covering every blade of grass. Actually produced a decent strike to sting the palms of the opposing keeper too. Same issue as always with him, he never really looks like scoring or creating anything, but a decent showing none the less.

Semenyo- 7 another good showing for him, full of strong running and physicality. He really is a handful when running with the ball at pace. So very nearly scored with a very good effort that hit the side netting. I’d be tempted to play him as the centre forward, I think he’d be a nightmare for centre backs to deal with.

Kluivert- 7 I’ve seen a few who have been quite critical of him and I can’t really work out why. Thought he was arguably our best player today. Not everything he did came off but he was probably our most threatening outfield player, his sharp bursts of acceleration infield looked our best chance of creating something. He created our best two opportunities of the second half before being strangely substituted.

Solanke- 5 got absolutely no change out of either centre half, really struggled to hold the ball up effectively and to get in behind their back line. Never felt like he was going to threaten them really. Looked okay on the rare occasion that he dropped deeper and looked to create for others, but that isn’t his role within this system. disappointing.

Subs-

Cook- 7 thought he played well, covered space very intelligently and competed well for second balls in the middle of the park. The midfield looked a lot less open with him on the pitch, needs to play until Adams is fit. Rothwell is a better player but Cook is a better fit for the deeper midfield role in this system.

Anthony- 4 polar opposite to Kluivert, barely ran at his full back at all. It is just far too easy for opposition full backs to defend against him, he doesn’t have the pace or ability to really threaten at this level as a winger. I don’t think he’s good enough currently to play at this level, sorry.

Traore- 5 I can see why Iraola doesn’t want to start him, clearly not suited to a high intensity style at all. Very erratic on the ball, did a few good things and can certainly pick a pass. Was also guilty of surrendering possession too easily a number of times. Play him from the start and I’d back him to create a few chances though.

Moore- 5 he’s just not quite up to it at this level is he? He does offer something, just not enough sadly. Would anyone actually be comfortable for him to lead the line from the start if Dom were to be unavailable? He needs to be moved on and his space filled by a striker who can genuinely challenge Solanke.

Iraola- 5 thought he got the subs badly wrong today, we were in the ascendancy at that point and he killed any momentum we had built up. We again really didn’t look like creating anything, is his style really going to be effective in the PL? For me, the early signs don’t look too promising. If we were at least creating chances then it would be easier to be more confident, but we aren’t. It is incredibly rare for a bottom half PL team to play anything other than a low block and counter attacking game, perhaps there is a reason for this. This way of playing is inevitably going to concede chances, but how are we going to create enough going the other way?
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Don't know what you've seen in Kluivert....absolutely awful.......some players like Dango are raw but have loads of potential and you know they will improve.......Kluiert is 24 and he looks too lightweight to be effective at this level.
 
Topfarrier said:
Don't know what you've seen in Kluivert....absolutely awful.......some players like Dango are raw but have loads of potential and you know they will improve.......Kluiert is 24 and he looks too lightweight to be effective at this level.
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I think KK said it was his sharp bursts of pace infield he has seen. Which he has definitely got and does take him away from players. End product needs work but there's something there. More than Anthony for me right now.
 
Topfarrier said:
Don't know what you've seen in Kluivert....absolutely awful.......some players like Dango are raw but have loads of potential and you know they will improve.......Kluiert is 24 and he looks too lightweight to be effective at this level.
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100%. He was so ineffective
 
JIMNNINA said:
Kluivert had a bad day at the office poor control and final ball not good enough.
Traore was caught in possession too often and ambled about out of possession
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I keep waiting for this Traore performance having missed Brighton away last year where apparently he did stuff.

Since then I just see this shuffling non entity. If he is worth 20m then I’m worth about 5m
 
Neil Dawson said:
100%. He was so ineffective
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I assume you've never played football before. Which is ok btw. He broke free from his marker on the wing and drove infield and forward with the ball at pace to take us up the pitch. Haven't seen anyone do that here like that since Josh King. Like I said his final product needs work (maybe why he hasn't properly settled anywhere?), but he was looking to make things happen and was close to doing so. I wouldn't say he was ineffective.
 
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KingKieffer said:
Semenyo- 7 another good showing for him, full of strong running and physicality. He really is a handful when running with the ball at pace. So very nearly scored with a very good effort that hit the side netting. I’d be tempted to play him as the centre forward, I think he’d be a nightmare for centre backs to deal with
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solanke in the 10 role and semenyo up front we play more the their strengths then?
 
JIMNNINA said:
Sums up the failings of the pgmol when a deliberate elbow in full view of the assistant is not a red card is par for the course.
The same assistant who was conned by Richarlison cheating to get Kelly booked
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After Mike Dean's admittance that he would rather 'spare a friend' than actually enforce the rules of the game that he was supposed to be administering just about says all that we need to know about the 'neutrality' and 'credability' of referees. The PGMOL is nothing more than a bunch of over paid, under achieving puppets.... backed by the top 6 'big' clubs'
 
The subs today were generally pretty poor but the game situation where we went 2 down almost immediately makes it tough to impact things. Never like to judge players without a run but Anthony isn’t doing it so far.

If Christie wasn’t knackered there was no way he should be coming off he was leasing the press.

Kluivert I thought had moments but end pass wasn’t great, and caught on his heels a few times.

The defence I thought were quite good considering the exposure they get. Everyone will blame Kelly as usual but thought he was pretty good.

Overall thought we had decent patches and some good performances. But Spurs if they can keep people fit will be good this season.
 
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