Match Thread Tottenham v Leicester

[Miles Away]

Maybe 442 now?

 

[City Fan]

He’s put Barnes in behind Vardy and Nacho. Surely Perez would have been better behind? He has been better than Barnes today.

 

[Matt_B]

Soyoncu deserves slating, I accept that. Although I expect a manager to instill a level of discipline which makes it less likely to happen.

Players being out I don’t accept as a good reason. It’s as much about fitness and conditioning as it is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I agree that what he is left with is rubbish. But then you set up deep and narrow, you commit fouls and you look for Vardy‘s pace on the counter. We might have lat anyway but we’d have had more of a chance. He has used what he has very badly today.

Even if I were to accept the reasons you outline as mitigation, it wouldn’t explain why we’ve played so badly since the early part of December when those things weren’t factors. My concerns aren’t about any one match.

I blame a lot of the initial decline on pressure. We were doing absolutely fine until it got to the point where people were making jokes about us being invisible in second etc. Then we had a lot more media scrutiny, could we win it again etc. I think Vardy went on another big run. Then the loses against Liverpool and Man City, I think it got to a lot of players. It could be because they're mainly young and inexperienced or it could be a failing on the manager to instil that resilience. We'll never know, but for me it's no coincidence that the decline coincided with the added pressure.

 

[glyn]

Genuinely think we've been managed out of the top 4.

but not managed into the top five after 3 seasons of mediocrity?

 

[LeeCovFox]

Don't think you can put any blame for Soyuncu's moment of madness on Brendan.

We don't have many moments lkek that at all, suggesting we do have discipline instilled in the squad

If that happened all the time, then yes you can blame the coaches. But we don't have that at all usually. That's all on Soyuncu

I’m not blaming him for any one moment. But that kind of moment comes from a culture. It’s about lacking bottle at big moments, losing one’s head instead of digging in.

 

[City Fan]

but not managed into the top five after 3 seasons of mediocrity?

3.5 seasons.

 

[Miles Away]

I blame a lot of the initial decline on pressure. We were doing absolutely fine until it got to the point where people were making jokes about us being invisible in second etc. Then we had a lot more media scrutiny, could we win it again etc. I think Vardy went on another big run. Then the loses against Liverpool and Man City, I think it got to a lot of players. It could be because they're mainly young and inexperienced or it could be a failing on the manager to instil that resilience. We'll never know, but for me it's no coincidence that the decline coincided with the added pressure.

Which has long been the book on Rodgers, for what it’s worth.

 

[londonfox]

He’s put Barnes in behind Vardy and Nacho. Surely Perez would have been better behind? He has been better than Barnes today.

He absolutely would.

 

[sparky79]

Two minutes of utter gash commentary from neville and tyler there. Neville 'gets the ball, that wasnt a foul' when lo celso takes vardy out from behind. Then a minute later tyler says aurier 'knows too much for the youngster' before Thomas robs him and draws a rash foul. Its not until theres hardly any distraction you realise what absolute shit they talk.

 

[City Fan]

Which has long been the book on Rodgers, for what it’s worth.

Yep. He’s a bottler. Maybe he’s better suited for Scottish football.

 

[Graz]

I’m not blaming him for any one moment. But that kind of moment comes from a culture. It’s about lacking bottle at big moments, losing one’s head instead of digging in.

Or its an inexperience player having a moment of stupidity, which hopefully he's been disciplined for and will learn from, because he's costing his team big time.

 

[mabrah]

30 minutes for a Nacho hattrick...

 

[City Fan]

Tielemans has gone back to the form he has shown for most of the season

 

[Brown Nose]

Panic over. I was on the verge of picketing the club until they get shot of that twat Congerton.

Congerton did similar with Alvarez at Sunderland and that deal ended up costing them circa £20m and they tried legal action to try to stop signing him.

It's 5 starts, not 5 appearances so we don't have to sign the lumbering oaf.

 

[City Fan]

Barnes shoots....straight at the keeper. I’m so glad he’s in that role rather than Perez....

 

[City Fan]

Panic over. I was on the verge of picketing the club until they get shot of that twat Congerton.

Congerton did similar with Alvarez at Sunderland and that deal ended up costing them circa £20m and they tried legal action to try to stop signing him.

It's 5 starts, not 5 appearances so we don't have to sign the lumbering oaf.

And breathe...

(Although we’ll probably still sign him)

 

[Lako42]

but not managed into the top five after 3 seasons of mediocrity?

Yes of course.

I got a promotion at work this year, so I'm going to act like a blithering idiot from now on and then just point out my previous good performance if any ****er says anything.

Some of his tactical decisions and lineups are ****ing ludicrous.

 

[Graz]

So, so frautraring how this season will end.

I don't think you can blame it too much on any one thing.

It's a combination of
Injuries
Naive, inexperience players
Naive management
Individual errors

But all coming together to create a dismal end. Hopefully all things that can be improved though.

 

[londonfox]

Barnes shoots....straight at the keeper. I’m so glad he’s in that role rather than Perez....

How long do we persevere with Barnes before we accept that he's an average player?

 

[LeeCovFox]

I blame a lot of the initial decline on pressure. We were doing absolutely fine until it got to the point where people were making jokes about us being invisible in second etc. Then we had a lot more media scrutiny, could we win it again etc. I think Vardy went on another big run. Then the loses against Liverpool and Man City, I think it got to a lot of players. It could be because they're mainly young and inexperienced or it could be a failing on the manager to instil that resilience. We'll never know, but for me it's no coincidence that the decline coincided with the added pressure.

It’s the manager’s job to use that pressure or protect his players from it, I’m afraid. You probably can’t shield them from it completely. They spend half their lives on social media. But it’s part of being successful.

We don’t have that young a squad either. It’s the eighth youngest in the league. Pretty much middle of a pack. Man Utd and Chelsea are younger, and have far less experienced managers.

The two defeats against Man City and Liverpool were symptoms rather than causes, in my opinion. We’d already started to fade and we set up against them in the same way we set up against clubs we perceive to be bigger than us - as though we are scared of them.