Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

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Saturday 11th January 5.30pm
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium​

A mediocre performance against Boro, mounting injuries, no new signings? New year, same crap.
The malaise hanging over the club has continued into 2020, so what's up next?
A Liverpool side that hasn't lost in the league for over a year? Wonderful.
A quicker, sharper, stronger and better organised shift is needed and I don't think anyone's expecting one.
Can Mourinho surprise us all and cause an upset or will we get another frustrating disappointment?

I'm sure everyone's familiar with how Liverpool's season has been going, so I won't dwell on it.
They've had quite a congested fixture list recently, but rested most of their players in the last game.
A young side still managed to see off Everton, who started well but faded badly after the break.
The first team should be well rested for this one.

This fixture was came early in the campaign last season and it was a poor performance at Wembley.
We had plenty of possession and territory, but rarely threatened their goal until the very end of the match.
Wijnaldum gave them a 1-0 lead at the break and Mane added to it early in the second half.
Changes came too late and Lamela's injury time goal looked like it was very much a consolation.
The Argentinian should have had a penalty after that, but Mane's hack went unpunished:

The visit to Anfield in October was a better showing, but with exactly the same result.
A blistering start saw Kane score inside a minute, as Son's deflected shot fell to him from the woodwork.
Gazzaniga had a lot to do to maintain that lead in the first half, but we also squandered chances to increase it.
Henderson leveled things up after the break, scoring shortly after Son struck the woodwork for a second time.
Salah put them ahead from the spot, following a mistake by Aurier and they took the three points, again:

No official injury news yet, but Lloris, Davies, Kane, Sissoko, Ndombele and Rose will miss out.
Milner, Clyne and Keita are out for the visitors, while Shaqiri, Matip and Lovren will be assessed.
Neither side has any suspensions.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Gazzaniga; Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Sessegnon; Sissoko, Ndombele, Eriksen; Alli, Moura; Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Sanchez, Tanganga, Skipp, Winks, Lo Celso, Lamela.
League form: WWLWDL.

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk, Gomez, Robertson; Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Adrian, Williams, Philips, Jones, Elliot, Lallana, Origi.
League form: WWWWWW.

Ref: Martin Atkinson. VAR: Craig Pawson.

TV: Sky Sports.

How would you like to line up for this one and what would you change from the Boro game?
Would you stick with much of the same lineup, make a few changes or go for a wholesale switch?
Which system and tactics would you use and what are you expecting Liverpool to go with?

 

Paul Stewart

In record time

 

It
Doesn’t. Bloody. Matter. Who.
Plays. Because.
We. Are. ****ing
****

 

It in goal and **** up front? Clueless.

 

Award for the Worst poem of 2020 goes to...

 

We have had a free week to prepare - but I am not expecting much change and If I am honest its not a match that I would put the kids in for so I think we are by default left with Gazza, Aurier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Sessegnon, Dier, Winks, Lo Celso (or probably Eriksen), Moura & Son

 

Can we not just forfeit the match and take the 0-3 loss and paltry fine?

 

I'll have the lasagne, please.

 

Back 4 : Stay in your own half. Do not play a high line ( how many goals have we conceded because of the ball over the top? Even Woodgate said in post match he knew that would be their opening.)
Mane to score in 1st minute with the ball in behind the defenders.
Same old, same old.

 

It's completely ridiculous that we've dropped Sanchez and continue to play a high line. Centrally, we're playing Vertonghen, Dier and Alderweireld, with a huge hole where our right back should be.

It's absolutely nuts and we're conceding goals like a team fighting relegation.

Goal 1 - Eric Dier plays a blind pass, nowhere near a white shirt. He's got previous for this.

 

Goal 2 - Toby runs scared of Mane allowing him free reign to slot past Gazzaniga.

Goal 3 - Aurier gives away a penalty which Salah puts away.

It’s actually painful how predictably bad we are at the back/ midfield now.

 

Does anyone understand this one? Seems strange that he's benched and joined there by Tanganga.
It's good to see the youngster getting close to the first team, but it leaves us short of options.

 

The obvious thing we need is a team made up of players who actually give a ****

Gazza
Foyth, Sanchez, Alderweireld, ...uh oh
Winks, ...oh crap
Lamela, Lo Celso, Son
...this is getting bad now

 

We are owed a quarter of a centuries worth of good fortune against this lot.

 

By now Mourinho’s method should be much more familiar to the players. A rout tomorrow and it could be the beginning of the end for Jose.

 

I didn't want Maureen and still don't but with no Sissoko, no Kane, no Ndombele and no Lloris and only 11 games as manager it would be mad to judge him on tomorrow's massacre

 

Not just tomorrow’s result, sooner or later there needs to be some sort of improvement and a hammering tomorrow will put him under pressure, he’s never been the sort who has ever recovered once his teams hit a rut.

 

For me, he has to show that he can set the team up to get the best out of what we've got.

Currently, I don't think that he's anywhere close to doing that and that's the job of, all but 3 or so, managers in the PL. He's had 2 of those jobs in the last 4 years and been sacked.

I'm not expecting Levy to sack him right now but I've got no confidence in him to turn our decline around and think it'll happen sooner rather than later.

 

I don’t think he’s up to it and have thought that all along. When his teams hit a crisis, they don’t come out of it and the toxicity comes quick around him. I genuinely wouldn’t be surprised (and part of me hopes) he didn’t start next season as Spurs manager.