Spurs 2014-15: Have You Found Our Lost Argentine?

[coremiller]

I thought Spurs outplayed Liverpool for the first hour or so but were undone by bad luck and a couple of stupid errors, but after getting level at 2-2 the intensity flagged a little.  I would have liked to see Poch rotate a little more, especially in the central midfield positions -- Mason in particular was not sharp yesterday.  And while Poch got the better of Rodgers tactically in the first half, Rodgers did better with his substitutions.  Taking off Gerrard (who was poor) and bringing Can into midfield was key for Liverpool reasserting themselves in that zone in the last 20 minutes.
 
And Danny Rose is what he is, a left-footed good athlete who can run up and down the flank all day but has no football sense or touch on the ball.  He's not good enough to play for a CL-quality side, but LB is a position where top-tier talent is very scarce.  I was hoping Ben Davies would push him more for the LB berth this season, but that hasn't happened.

 

[DJnVa]

Spurs host Fiorentina today in Europa League: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/tottenham-vs-fiorentina-11-things-5187847

 

[coremiller]

No Harry Kane, but Robbie Solider scores after fives minutes.  Would be great to see him hit a purple patch.  

 

[DJnVa]

I have to imagine Kane is an early sub in the second half. Champions League seems a bit more attainable through Europa than the PL at the moment.

 

[DJnVa]

Ugh, a 1-1 draw.
 
Although it makes it real easy next week---win or 2-2 draw or better.

 

[eddiew112]

The drop in form after the NLD has been disappointing, but not surprising. Today was just classic Spurs. I am still in shock over the chance Soldado squandered. Shouldn't he have seen his confidence spike after his goal last week?
 
OTOH, a large part of me is happy they are out of the Europa League. It has really screwed with our league form. After the LC final we have a pretty easy stretch (Swansea, QPR, United, Leicester, Burnley, Villa). Hopefully we get the trophy and get some positive momentum from it.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

Needed win today over Swansea in a match that I thought would be tough due to all of the games lately. 
 
 
I like him more than I should, but Townsend's goal today was just an awesome display of speed and audacity. 
 
http://www.espnfc.us/barclays-premier-league/23/video/2331521

 

[eddiew112]

Other than the hiccup at the end, Spurs were dominant for most of the match. Great goals from Chadli, Mason, and Townsend. Monk really did us a favor by not starting Montero. 
 
QPR at Loftus Road will be tough, but a full week off after that to prepare for the Mancs.

 

[eddiew112]

Spurs U18's defeated Chelsea 2-0 in the first leg of the Youth Cup semifinal at WHL last night. The U18 squad is loaded with major prospects, including an American (Cameron Carter-Vickers) CB. Apparently they setup in a 4-3-3 with a false 9, it must be very fun to watch.

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

Carter-Vickers (CB) and Walker-Peters (I believe a RB) the real high potential prospects
 
Edit: Walker-Peters, not Wright-Phillips, doh.

 

[eddiew112]

Yeah, people who follow the youth team closely are very high on Carter-Vickers. Walker-Peters is extremely talented but he needs to fill out a bit. Azzaoui and Onomah are both highly rated MF prospects as well, I think Onomah got off the bench in a cup game this year. 

 

[DJnVa]

Per twitter: Spurs starting lineup today is the youngest average age for any Premier League starting XI this season.
 
That said, a U12 player would know not to head that back like Walker just did. Jesus.

 

[DJnVa]

And Harry Kane notches his 25th goal of the season, 15th in the PL.
 
6th straight away game in which he has scored.

 

[eddiew112]

Spurs have been rampant in the second half and should have killed this game off. Townsend and Walker have been extremely wasteful

 

[eddiew112]

KANE!!!!

 

[eddiew112]

I dream of a Spurs team that doesn't shit itself whenever they are pressured

 

[Bosoxen]

Spurs are damn lucky this isn't 2-2. I can't believe that clear handball by Bentaleb wasn't called.

 

[Luis Taint]

I'll be very happy when Kane is sent to La Liga.

 

[DJnVa]

I have absolutely no idea what to expect from the game tomorrow.

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

Season hinges on the result.

 

[DJnVa]

Yeah...a win and good result from Swansea against Liverpool and they're sitting in 4th (losing out on GD actually). A draw and they'll need help. A loss and they'll need a miracle.

 

[coremiller]

Yup.  It's a true six-pointer.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Danny Rose wearing a Red Sox beanie during warmup for Man U today!

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Rooney"s a beast. This is tough to watch.

 

[DJnVa]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/20/tottenham-kevin-wimmer-fc-koln
 
 

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a €6m (£4.3m) deal with FC Köln to sign the central defender Kevin Wimmer in the summer.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season at the German club, starting in 24 of their 25 Bundesliga matches, and he has impressed Tottenham with his composure, physicality and aerial ability.
Wimmer, who is 6ft 2in tall, moved to FC Köln from Linz in his native Austria for €250,000 in 2012. He fits the profile of the type of player that Tottenham want to add, as he is young, talented and hungry to progress.
 

 
Tottenham needs to sign every defender with a pulse and see if any can actually defend. This is in contradistinction to just PLAYING a defender if he has a pulse.

 

[DJnVa]

Holy crap Kane. It's getting ridiculous.

 

[DJnVa]

Come on already. It's Burnley.

 

[Merkle's Boner]

That was a brutal game. Terribly disappointing not to get three points there.

 

[eddiew112]

Pochettino's lineup and in-game adjustments made absolutely no sense today, and it's not the first time. This team has completely fallen apart since the Arsenal win. 

 

[Gunfighter 09]

 

 
Tottenham Hotspur is hoping its new palace will draw National Football League games away from Wembley, and perhaps the first NFL franchise away from the States.
The refurbished Spurs grounds are set to be ready in 2018-19, and will have all the amenities and infrastructure necessary to host the larger rosters — in size and quantity — of NFL teams.
A London Evening Standard report says Spurs are in talks with the NFL to host games in the $600 million stadium.

 
Man I love Daniel Levy sometimes. This would certainly suck for the quality of the pitch in December / January, but it would give Spurs access to a valuable revenue stream that no other BPL team would have. I am curious what the rent and merchandising revenue from this would be, both from the 3-4 games a year model we have now, and when / if the Jags / Raiders / expansion team play there.
 
 
 I can see the attraction from an NFL perspective of having a stadium that they can make construction inputs to now ( like the larger locker rooms) that doesn't have any real cost risk for the NFL. We will know this is real when Arsenal & Rams owner Stan Kroenke is doing everything he can to rally NFL owner votes against it. 
 
EDIT: While the Glazers probably don't care about a little team like Spurs getting extra revenue, it would be interesting to see if Jags and Fulham owner Shad Kahn would agree to an arrangement that gave Spurs a bunch of extra revenue, even if it was the best venue for the Jags. 
 
http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/23/report-national-football-league-in-stadium-talks-with-tottenham-hotspur/?utm_network=twitter&utm_post=3612079&utm_source=TW%20%40NBCSN&utm_tags=srm%5Bfootball%2Csoccer%2Carticle%5D
 

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

Home kit (white with blue sash) marched out last weekend:

 
Road kit leaked:

 

[DJnVa]

Home kit looks like some early 80s top.
 
Not sure about the road one yet.

 

[URI]

Sigh.

Good bye season, where the positives were Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris, and laughing at Brenden Rodgers' 100m pound comment.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

5th, a cup final and the improvement of so many young players are certainly things we would have accepted at the start of the year. 

 

[eddiew112]

Glad we finished 5th, especially at Liverpool's expense. Overall, lots of positives to take from this year. The summer window should be very, very interesting.

 

[URI]

5th, a cup final and the improvement of so many young players are certainly things we would have accepted at the start of the year.

You, maybe.

Our defense was worse this year, we had less points, we still lose/draw teams we should beat. Players we brought in still didn't develop. 4th round in the FA Cup. Crashed out unceremoniously in the Europa League.

This season was a big meh, with Harry Kane turning into Alan Shearer. At the beginning of the year, if you said "At the end of the year, we aren't going to seriously challange for a top 4 spot, will shit out of the FA Cup and Europa League, make the League Cup final, leave about 12-15 points* on the table due to horror defending, and get 31 goals out of Harry Kane." I would say "Harry Kane?" and then make fart noises with my mouth until you walked away.

*made up number. It was a lot though.

 

[Gunfighter 09]

You, maybe.

Our defense was worse this year, we had less points, we still lose/draw teams we should beat. Players we brought in still didn't develop. 4th round in the FA Cup. Crashed out unceremoniously in the Europa League.

This season was a big meh, with Harry Kane turning into Alan Shearer. At the beginning of the year, if you said "At the end of the year, we aren't going to seriously challange for a top 4 spot, will shit out of the FA Cup and Europa League, make the League Cup final, leave about 12-15 points* on the table due to horror defending, and get 31 goals out of Harry Kane." I would say "Harry Kane?" and then make fart noises with my mouth until you walked away.

*made up number. It was a lot though.

 
 Yeah, no shit, but I am on vacation, sad the season is over, have already ordered the awesome 2016 keeper kit and I am focusing on the good ole bright side. You won't be dragging me down with your shitty dose of reality and much longer track record of Spurs-based pessimism. Besides, 5th is a good deal, it keeps Europa away a while longer and puts extra money in Levy's transfer magazine. Coming at the expense of Liverpool and Rogers is even better. Getting four points from Arsenal was nice and New Years Day might have been the most fun I have ever had watching soccer. 
 
Yes, 53 goals allowed that should have been 65 sans Hugo, Vertongen and Walker's regression and six months of wondering why the fuck Bentaleb & Mason were allowed to continue getting torched while Dembele wilted on the bench were awful, but this year was better than last and next year looks to be better than both of them. 

 

[Tangled Up In Red]

 
 have already ordered the awesome 2016 keeper kit 

Yes, it is outstanding.
 
And, the future is more bright than dim. I have hopes for Alli and trust Poch and know the Levy feels the stadium/NFL money at the doorstep.

 

[DJnVa]

Our defense was worse this year, we had less points, we still lose/draw teams we should beat.

 
We picked up 1 point in 4 games against Stoke and Crystal Palace. They both finished in the top half, but come on.
 
And in early April, with games against Burnley and Aston Villa back to back, we picked up just a single point. Winning just those 2 games, and picking up 2 more points against Stoke/CP and well, we finished 6 back of ManU.