Tottenham 2018/19: Transfers? Who needs transfers?

Gunfighter 09

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So are we watching Sonny get Wally Pipped by Lucas?

And yes, great match and three points at Old Trafford!
I dont think so, I think having Lamella and Moura this year means that Son and Dele aren't dragging by April. I think it also means that we have a chance of seeing more Son up top and Kane getting some rest than we have in past years. Finally, I really like the idea of seeing Son and Lucas on the field together, especially in matches where they plan on sitting back and trying to counter more. Having two fast players who are excellent on the counter is not something we have seen in quite a while.

Regardless of how they use Lucas, I am fucking excited. This team looks confident and dangerous.
 

scott bankheadcase

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Barca, PSV and Inter in the group stage. Going to enjoy seeing Kane and Eriksen deal with Messi.

Spurs topped Real and Dortmund last year, no reason to think they can't advance out of this one.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Marcus Edwards went on loan to mid-table (based on last season) Eredivisie side Excelsior. Fingers crossed for him, as this seems like last chance to turn his unquestioned talent in to a Spurs future.
 

Kliq

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I think Spurs can fair pretty well in CL, because while they lack the depth of the true blue-bloods of European soccer, their best 11, from keeper to defense to midfield to attack, is good enough to play with anyone in the world. The challenge will be keeping those guys healthy and balancing the schedule.

The first matchweek (Sept. 18/19) kind of sucks because Spurs will have their massive stadium opening game against Liverpool on the 15th. Hopefully they will play PSV that week. The next matchday (Oct. 2/3) will be better, in between games against Huddersfield and Cardiff, where Spurs can hopefully rest some players to face Inter/Barca. The next week (Oct. 23/34) comes in between games against West Ham and City. The Hammers look like a poor side this year but Spurs had a hard time with them last season.

Matchweek four (Nov. 6/7) comes in between Wolves and Palace, which isn't too bad. Matchweek five (Nov. 27/28) will be rough, in between a game against Chelsea and then the derby on Dec 1. The final matchweek six (Dec. 11/12) comes in between Leicester and Burnley.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Hey guys. Please tell me about Josh Onomah.
A hot/cold prospect for the past couple of seasons. A "Windy" favorite (Spurs youth expert), he helped lead England U-21s to a WC playing in CM. Made some first team appearances a couple of years ago, but always on the flank, not his best position. Looked fine, but nothing noteworthy.
Since then, he's been on a pretty poor loan to Villa... was played in and out of position, in and out of the squad. Not sure why there was a struggle to fit.

His ceiling is an excellent box-to-box midfielder, who can carry the ball (think Dembele) with both bite and a forward looking eye for a pass. An England regular. I have hopes that this loan spell is a winner and we see him in the center of the park with Winks and Dier for both club and country for years to come.

Will be watching Wednesday again this season!
 

Dummy Hoy

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Awesome, thanks.

A bunch of people seemed to think he was a winger, but what I saw matched your description.

I’ll keep you guys updated...I’d guess Wednesday stick with the gaffer’s preferred 4-2-3-1, which puts Onomah in the middle of that attacking 3.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Son Heung-min is now exempt from military service, as are the rest of SK's U-23 players after their 2-1 ET win over Japan
 

scott bankheadcase

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The new contract looks even better now. More than anything just happy that sonny can maximize his career. He always seems to play with such joy.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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I’ll keep you guys updated...I’d guess Wednesday stick with the gaffer’s preferred 4-2-3-1, which puts Onomah in the middle of that attacking 3.
He should be better, even, as the forward thinking of the double pivot 2... as I understand it.
 

eddiew112

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At least we have a nice run of league games coming up, because this team is a complete mess right now. Some major rotation is needed, and drop underperformers like Dier and Rose for Amos and Walker-Peters. Let's see what some of the young guys that Poch refuses to send on loan have to offer.
 

Cellar-Door

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I thought your best player was back this week, is he just being given the week off or did he get injured in training?
 

Zososoxfan

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No Son or Alli plus playing Dier and Dembele simultaneously is not a winning strategy. Also, Aurier should be a starter for the big matches. Worm made some big saves, but also flubbed the first goal.
 

coremiller

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I think Poch got his tactics wrong against Liverpool. It was the wrong game to play two forwards. Playing Lucas and Kaine together meant Spurs were destined to be outnumbered either in midfield or the flanks -- it turned out mostly to be the flanks. The fullbacks both had poor games but were put in impossible positions: without any wide midfielders in the side Liverpool could press their own FBs forwards and create numerical overloads out wide, since Liverpool were playing with wide forwards.

The other side of the coin should have been that Spurs had a numerical advantage in midfield, as 4v3. And generally they did, as for the most part these numbers allowed Spurs to control possession for long stretches. The problem is that they weren't able to do much of anything useful with the ball. Partly this was due to a lack of width in attack, which allowed Pool to bottle them up. Partly it was due to the positioning not making sense -- Dembele was often the deepest midfielder, and he's the best dribbling ball progressor, but Winks and especially Dier ween't creative or technically skilled enough to make use of any progression Dembele created. Dier in particular is simply not good enough on the ball to play as an 8 like he did on Saturday. That resulted in Eriksen having to come too deep to get the ball, but then there was no link between the midfield and attack.

The result of all this was a lot of square and backwards passing in midfield ending in one of the CBs playing a long ball up to the forwards that the Liverpool defense easily dealt with. Because the fullbacks were exposed in defense they couldn't get forward, which meant Spurs couldn't create the "juega de posicion" attacking band of 5 they like to use. The angles and distances between the players were all wrong, too many big squares and not enough small triangles.

FWIW much the same thing happened in the first half at Old Trafford, but Spurs got bailed out by 1) United wasting their chances, and 2) United's make-shift back-3 defense collapsing in the second half. As good as Lucas has been, Poche's use of him as a second central forward creates tactical problems in the rest of the side.
 

Gunfighter 09

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I am sure there are better goal keeping evaluators than me on this board, but I dont need to see Vorm ever again. I am all Gazza all the time until the Captain is healthy / his suspension is complete.

Really happy for Dele to get the tying goal and the winning PK in his hometown today.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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I am sure there are better goal keeping evaluators than me on this board, but I dont need to see Vorm ever again. I am all Gazza all the time until the Captain is healthy / his suspension is complete.

Really happy for Dele to get the tying goal and the winning PK in his hometown today.
Both of these thoughts are 100% fair and true.
 

Kliq

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Neither win was a dominating performance, but it's nice to see them get a few wins back after that rough patch and the meltdown in Milan. A very winnable game against Huddersfield this weekend before Barcelona comes to Wembley. I'm keeping expectations low for that one.

After a couple of lost seasons, Lamela has been great so far; their attacking midfield depth is actually pretty good between Moura/Eriksen/Son/Dele/Lamela/Winks.

Gazzaniga doesn't have a ton of top flight experience, but he's an imposing presence in net and has so far avoided any obvious mistakes. Vorm has had a rough go of it lately, but I think he's still a pretty good backup keeper.
 

Zososoxfan

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Neither win was a dominating performance, but it's nice to see them get a few wins back after that rough patch and the meltdown in Milan. A very winnable game against Huddersfield this weekend before Barcelona comes to Wembley. I'm keeping expectations low for that one.

After a couple of lost seasons, Lamela has been great so far; their attacking midfield depth is actually pretty good between Moura/Eriksen/Son/Dele/Lamela/Winks.

Gazzaniga doesn't have a ton of top flight experience, but he's an imposing presence in net and has so far avoided any obvious mistakes. Vorm has had a rough go of it lately, but I think he's still a pretty good backup keeper.
Nothing makes me happier than Lamela playing well for Spurs. I've named one of my pub league teams after him. Interesting that you included Winks in that group. He's the only one that plays in the second level (i.e. the "2" in 4-2-3-1). But I think that gives Poch more tactical options. The 4-2-3-1 is already flexible in itself depending on who plays, but Winks adds another element entirely.
 

scott bankheadcase

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Ericksen out this weekend. Hopefully he's fit for Barca, but the offense always looks much less organized without him on the pitch. Hopefully it doesn't matter this weekend.
 

Kliq

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It feels like they are punting on CL, which sucks after only one game. Keeping very low expectations for the @Zososoxfan derby.
 

scott bankheadcase

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It feels like they are punting on CL, which sucks after only one game. Keeping very low expectations for the @Zososoxfan derby.
I think the injuries are making it easier for them to focus elsewhere. Hopefully they surprise, but even if I had hope without Ericksen, Vertongen and Dembele seem almost necessary to have a hope to keep Messi et all in check.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I dunno about including Dembele in that mix, he seems pretty damn cooked this year.

The lack of Vertongen hurts a lot though.
 

Kliq

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Vertonghen is a great player, but Alderwireld/Sanchez are still a very capable CB tandem, even against an elite team. I'm more worried about the lack of offensive options without Eriksen/Dele; they'll need big games from Kane/Son/Lucas.
 

Tangled Up In Red

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Feels like 3 at the back, dropping Dier in between Toby and Davinson. Then looking to spring Son and Lucas/Lamela on the break.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Barcelona’s away form in Europe has been total crap the last few years. They’ve won 3 of their last 10 away fixtures, getting completely drubbed by Juve, City, Roma, and PSG and eking our lifeless draws with the likes of Olympiacos and Conte’s crisis Chelsea last spring. The injury situation doesn’t sound good but Spurs should be expecting to get something from this match.
 

Zososoxfan

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It feels like they are punting on CL, which sucks after only one game. Keeping very low expectations for the @Zososoxfan derby.
Inter is my Serie A team as well! Sad that they can't all advance, but nonetheless these matches have been fun for me and Spurs-Barca should be the best. Should be very entertaining.

Vertonghen is a great player, but Alderwireld/Sanchez are still a very capable CB tandem, even against an elite team. I'm more worried about the lack of offensive options without Eriksen/Dele; they'll need big games from Kane/Son/Lucas.
Eriksen-Dele being out is definitely a huge problem. Son and Lucas are quite good though. Might we see a Lamela start (gasp!)?!?

Feels like 3 at the back, dropping Dier in between Toby and Davinson. Then looking to spring Son and Lucas/Lamela on the break.
The way Barca have been attacking lately, the threat usually comes from in front of the back line. Barca don't throw runners behind the defense in the middle anymore--it's one of the reasons why their offense can stagnate. Suarez is always a target, but other than him the only one that runs in behind is Alba. Couts and Dembele both like to pick up the ball and try to combine their way in. Dembouz has really been trick or treat. When he's on, he can score wondergoals that destabilize a match. When he's off, he's invisible. Vidal surprisingly, is the one player that seems to be adding a new dynamic. His through balls are surprisingly good and he's getting more and more comfortable. He's still trying to figure out how to combine with his mates effectively, but I think he would be better served by making runs forward and opening space. Him and Rakitic can both do that.

Barcelona’s away form in Europe has been total crap the last few years. They’ve won 3 of their last 10 away fixtures, getting completely drubbed by Juve, City, Roma, and PSG and eking our lifeless draws with the likes of Olympiacos and Conte’s crisis Chelsea last spring. The injury situation doesn’t sound good but Spurs should be expecting to get something from this match.
While that's true of the knockouts, Barca are usually pretty sound in the group stages. They often draw against the 2-seed on the road, but usually finish with 14-15 points. In fact, in the last 5 group stages they have finished first every time, and finished with 14, 15, 14, 15, and 13 points respectively.

The thing I will be watching for today (on delay sadly) is speed. Barca have looked glacial, especially Pique and especially on the counter. We'll likely see Pique and Lenglet in the middle and Lenglet hasn't been tested at this level yet and Pique can be attacked. I would expect Spurs to not press the CBs but instead press the middle of the field hard. That's where Barca have been struggling when Couts and Messi don't drop back. Nevertheless, I think Barca's pocket aces Messi and Couts create some magic and Barca comes away with a 2-1 result, maybe 2-2 draw if Spurs' attack is on form.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I think they have to start Lamela, given the other absences. Son & Lucas are both very good players, but they're both more dribblers than providers of killer balls. Lamela is the one who best brings that skill sans Eriksen, and he is also the most demonic presser, which should be important in this game.
 

Kliq

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I ignored the game while I was at work and then peeked at the score in the 85' minute. I was expecting to see them losing, but then I saw they were down 3-2 and then I got really mad that they were losing. Of course, they then went down 4-2. Oh well, at least Kane scored. They need to pound PSV, hope Barca smokes Inter and then beat Inter at home. It's not impossible.

Edit: Kane's goal was pretty nice; like a soccer version of James Harden.

 

Gunfighter 09

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I think Erickson and Alli both missing really limits this team.

I am very happy with how well Lamela is playing.

Ponch is a great leader of men. His team fought their ass off today.

I need Sissoko out of my life.

I’m officially on the Messi is better than Ronaldo bandwagon.
 

Zososoxfan

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I think Erickson and Alli both missing really limits this team.

I am very happy with how well Lamela is playing.

Ponch is a great leader of men. His team fought their ass off today.

I need Sissoko out of my life.

I’m officially on the Messi is better than Ronaldo bandwagon.
Lamela finally seems to be regaining his form from 3 years ago and having 5 players for the MF 3 will do wonders for the ability of this team to compete in the EPL throughout the whole campaign. At some point I wonder if there's a way to let Kane get some rest and have one of them (Alli probably?) play as a false 9. Llorente is...limited.

More than Eriksen though, I thought Vertonghen's absence was clear as day. On the first goal, I have no idea why Trippier was playing so narrowly, but ultimately that goal is on Hugo. See @Morgan's Magic Snowplow post in the gamethread for the appropriate obvious joke. But on the second goal as well, I think Vertonghen would've had the other CB more organized and may have had better positioning than Sanchez. I don't have a huge problem with Sanchez on that play (the ball from Messi was inch-perfect), but Vertonghen is just better than Sanchez and Toby on the nuances of defending, even if he doesn't have their athleticism.

Lastly, while I like the Spurs DMFs for the system, they are clearly a cut or two below the elite DMFs of the world (Kante, Casemiro) but defensively even behind the likes of Fernandinho and Nzonzi. They would be well-served by paring down from the current 5 (Sissoko, Dier, Dembele, Wanyama, and Winks) to 3 if it means getting higher quality players. Dembele and Sissoko are probably going to age out sooner than later anyway.
 

Kliq

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Three of the goals really bothered me. The first one is clearly Lloris' fault; he had no reason to come off his line. The two Messi goals were just bad defense. You can't let one of the all-time greats run into the box unmarked and it happened twice. The last goal was particularly atrocious, the defense just sort of gave up when they still could have tied the game and earned a huge point.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Help me here, I read the last goal as very poor execution and effort by Sissoko losing possession deep in his own end followed by the rest of the defense being out of position because Sissoko has to win that ball or at least foul when he knows he is going to lose possession. I am not a soccer expert, what were the other bad responses?
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Help me here, I read the last goal as very poor execution and effort by Sissoko losing possession deep in his own end followed by the rest of the defense being out of position because Sissoko has to win that ball or at least foul when he knows he is going to lose possession. I am not a soccer expert, what were the other bad responses?
I'm looking at this replay starting around 12:58. Spurs is in a pretty typical press breaking formation which involves splitting the center backs out wide to give Loris wide options to either side and the CMs dropping deep in the middle. Loris passes to Sanchez, the right CB, and Sanchez doesn't have a lot of good options so he lifts it up the wing to Sissoko, who plays it poorly and allows the Barca player to win the ball. From what I can see, the main problem at this point is that Alderweireld has done nothing to get back into the center of play. He's supposed to stay wide if the ball is being passed between Sanchez and Loris, so that Spurs has the option to move it to his side. But once the ball goes up to Sissoko, he needs to be back in the center of the defense. It was the end of a tiring game but Alderweireld is basically just walking around on the other side of the pitch and then makes a half hearted effort to get back into the play. Had he run back toward the center as soon as he saw Sanchez play the ball up the wing, he's probably there in time to fight Messi for the ball.
 

eddiew112

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The other thing that drives me nuts about that goal is that it's late in the game, we have Llorente on, and Barcelona were starting buckle a bit at the back. Why aren't we going long and actually playing to an advantage there?
 

Zososoxfan

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I'm looking at this replay starting around 12:58. Spurs is in a pretty typical press breaking formation which involves splitting the center backs out wide to give Loris wide options to either side and the CMs dropping deep in the middle. Loris passes to Sanchez, the right CB, and Sanchez doesn't have a lot of good options so he lifts it up the wing to Sissoko, who plays it poorly and allows the Barca player to win the ball. From what I can see, the main problem at this point is that Alderweireld has done nothing to get back into the center of play. He's supposed to stay wide if the ball is being passed between Sanchez and Loris, so that Spurs has the option to move it to his side. But once the ball goes up to Sissoko, he needs to be back in the center of the defense. It was the end of a tiring game but Alderweireld is basically just walking around on the other side of the pitch and then makes a half hearted effort to get back into the play. Had he run back toward the center as soon as he saw Sanchez play the ball up the wing, he's probably there in time to fight Messi for the ball.
Isn't it Trippier who plays the ball up to Sissoko? Anyway, as you mentioned this is the end of a tiring match and I don't place too much fault with anyone. Trippier should've played a longer ball if he wasn't going to play a possession pass and Sissoko should've done better or conceded a foul. Hard to blame Toby there because he was setup out wide to give Hugo options and was the weakside CB. Sanchez wasn't in good position and was slow to react, but ultimately it wasn't a good pass from Trippier and it was a lightning counter by Barca and a very clever dummy by Suarez to let it run for Messi.
 

Gunfighter 09

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Man, Spurs looked like shit in that second half.

I like Poch's priorities here, in that he is not punting on the UCL just yet. Taking Kane off early, not playing Son and getting Eriksen some work all seem like moves aimed at getting a win against PSV this week.
 

Kliq

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Their CL odds were pretty bad heading into this game already, but my god Lloris, control yourself.
 

Kliq

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At least Eriksen looked good, his ball to Kane was sublime on the second goal. Hopefully Barca will thrash Inter today without Messi.
 

coremiller

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Spurs can still go through, but they need help. In particular, they need Barcelona to beat up on everyone else.

- If Spurs win out, they go through so long as Inter take <4 points from Inter's other two games. The easiest way for that to happen is for Barca to beat Inter again, although there are other possible permutations. If Inter take exactly 4 points, it will depend on tiebreakers.

- If Spurs win the two homes games but lose at Camp Nou, they can still go through if:
a) Barca beat Inter, and
b) Inter fail to beat PSV. In this scenario, it would depend on tiebreakers.

Tiebreakers: UEFA uses H2H results, not overall GD. All these scenarios have both Spurs and Inter winning their home fixture against the other, so the points would be level and it would come down to GD/GF/away goals in those two matches. Spurs have an away goal.

Spurs have the benefit of playing at Barcelona last, when Barcelona could well have already sewn up the group.

Lloris will be suspended for the next match against PSV.
 

Zososoxfan

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At least Eriksen looked good, his ball to Kane was sublime on the second goal. Hopefully Barca will thrash Inter today without Messi.
I didn't see the whole match, but I actually thought Eriksen didn't look up to his standards. He had some excellent touches sure, but his vision also looked a step slow. During the last 30 minutes, he missed Lamela several times while trying to force the ball to Arry.

Spurs can still go through, but they need help. In particular, they need Barcelona to beat up on everyone else.

- If Spurs win out, they go through so long as Inter take <4 points from Inter's other two games. The easiest way for that to happen is for Barca to beat Inter again, although there are other possible permutations. If Inter take exactly 4 points, it will depend on tiebreakers.

- If Spurs win the two homes games but lose at Camp Nou, they can still go through if:
a) Barca beat Inter, and
b) Inter fail to beat PSV. In this scenario, it would depend on tiebreakers.

Tiebreakers: UEFA uses H2H results, not overall GD. All these scenarios have both Spurs and Inter winning their home fixture against the other, so the points would be level and it would come down to GD/GF/away goals in those two matches. Spurs have an away goal.

Spurs have the benefit of playing at Barcelona last, when Barcelona could well have already sewn up the group.

Lloris will be suspended for the next match against PSV.
You really need to squint for this to seem possible. Yes, Spurs have a chance if they take 6 points from Inter and PSV, but does anyone like their chances of doing that ATM?

As an aside, when are Alli and Aurier expected back?