Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Sheffield United

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Sunday 19th May 4pm
Premier League
Bramall Lane​

No injury news yet. We have 8 players out for the season, though.
Neither side has any suspensions.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Dragusin, van de Ven; Sarr, Hojbjerg, Bentancur; Maddison; Johnson, Son.
Subs: Austin, Emerson, Skipp, Hall, Lo Celso, Moore, Kulusevski, Gil, Scarlett.
League form: LLLLWL.

Sheffield Utd: Foderingham; Souza, Trusty, Robinson; Bogle, Hamer, Arblaster, Brooks, Larouci; Archer, Brereton.
Subs: Grbic, Lowe, Osula, Sasnauskas, Norwood, Slimane, McAtee, Brewster.
League form: LLLLLL.

Ref: Andy Madley. VAR: Tim Robinson.

TV: Not televised in the UK.

How would you like to line up for this one and how do you think we actually will line up?

 

Vicario
Porro, Romero, Dragusin, van de Ven
Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison
Johnson, Scarlett, Son

Bosh.

 

My thoughts exactly.....and this has a 1 - 0 to Sheffield all over it. 98 minutes of relentless pressure and missed chances before we concede...

 

Yeah, from Sheffield! I’ve forgotten what that’s like with us.

 

If we ain't 5 up at ht we should inundate SM with complaints about how **** we are and those there should be booing... just to show that we fans have a winning mentality

#notfuckingoverthatshitinterview

 

Well suddenly there's no reason not to have Donley, Lankshere, Santiago or Hall on the bench this Sunday...

 

And then Chelsea get awarded a dodgy penalty in the last minute and finish above us.

 

I foresee somebody with a Croydon accent running on the pitch and draining the weasel on the away penalty spot at half time before legging it down Ecclesall Road

Well they didn't catch me last time...

 

Other than the U21 team are playing Chelsea on Sunday....

 

Time for Sheff U to show they are Real Madrid in disguise?Didn't a certain relegated team beat a "splendid Spurs team" 5-1 a few seasons ago to let a certain London team jump above us end of season ? Of course,that couldn't happen today!!!

 

Well not today it can't.

 

One could say that a squad who does not fear
their manager if they do not keep a clean sheet
and score at least 3 goals in this game, is a
squad who will achieve nothing with that manager.

 

I'd be pretty happy with that lineup, but I can't see Postecoglou picking Scarlett.
Sticking Kulusevski up there instead might be worth a punt.
He's got most of the traits required to play that role in this system.
If it doesn't work, then chuck Scarlett on to replace him.

 

All the traits except being able to score though, lol.

Not sure why that is either, on paper he should be a player capable of hitting around 10-15 goals a season with his skill set. Definitely an odd one.

 

I'll do it but you will have to provide a chair so I can sit down after running 10 yards.

 

He scored the winner in the reverse tie!
You're right that he doesn't score enough, though. Needs an option out wide of him that he doesn't get in this system, for me.
Playing him up top would give him more options and he's always got a pass in him.

 

My worry with him as a central forward would be I don’t think he has one of the defining physical attributes to make it properly work. He’s not quick enough to break an offside trap, nor is he someone you’d lump it up too. There’s other attributes of course that make a good striker but I generally feel having at least one of those is usually one of the fundamentals. I can’t help but feel like we’d play it into his feet a lot and he’d then try dribbling a bit too much before laying it off backwards or losing possession. There’s also just that predatory instinct a goal getter has, does Kulu have that? I don’t think so.

You’re right though that Ange almost certainly won’t start Scarlett, so it’s then trying to find the most logical solution in what is largely a lot of illogical options.

 

Kane wasn't quick enough to break an offside trap, nor was he someone you lump it up to.
I also don't think that Postecoglou's system emphasises either of these.
Wouldn't expect Sheffield United to play high enough for them to become an issue, too.

I totally agree about him dribbling and then playing it off, but I think that's a positive.
If he's got Son, Johnson and Maddison playing off him, then that's probably a good thing.
I suspect being central would allow him more shooting opportunities, too.
His finishing is pretty decent. He just doesn't get in shooting positions often any more.

 

I've only seen the lad in the few appearances over the past few years, but I really am struggling to remember any moments when I thought ''Wow, this lads got something special!"
As I say, I'm probably being unkind and I imagine you and a few others will have seen more of him, but do you think he's shown the development since his debut 4 years ago to warrant more opportunities?

 

I don’t think he’s ever been played in the right conditions for us to make sound judgement.

He’s played with usually 5 or less minutes at the end of games or started in matches with a heavily rotated side that had zero cohesion. It’s hard to expect a young player to standout in any of those situations.

I’d have liked to have seen him given starts in the league whilst Richarlison was injured as then he’d be playing alongside the best possible players. When Sherwood handed Kane his first league starts he got three goals in three games. I don’t expect Scarlett or any young player to ever be as good as Kane but just like Kane, you need that faith from the manager and that’s something that Ange, Conte and co haven’t given Scarlett or any of our young players.

I said on the transfer thread last night that you only have to look at what trust from the manager has done for the likes of Mainoo, Miley, Hinshelwood and so on. No one outside of Utd had heard of Mainoo at the beginning of the season, there’s now a very strong possibility he could be on the plane this summer. He was playing alongside Donley, Hinshelwood and co for the England U19s earlier this season, it really is incredible what a run of first team games can do for a player.