Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham

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Thursday 4th March 6pm
Premier League
Craven Cottage​

I think everyone's taken heart from that team selection, performance and result against Burnley on Sunday.
It's something that we're all keen to see more of in the league from now on.
The opposition wasn't great, but they're normally a tough test for most teams and no pushover.
Fulham have also been hard to beat recently and they'll want to avoid a similar fate to Sean Dyche's men.
Can Mourinho get another top performance out of the side or will Parker get one over on his old boss?

Fulham had a good season in Scott Parker's first as their permanent manager, ending in promotion.
They spent most of the campaign in 3rd or 4th and there was little between them and Brentford in the end.
Their superior form at the tail end of things probably told in the end, as they sneaked past them in the play-offs.
The squad wasn't up to the challenges of the Premier League and a significant rebuild was on the cards.
5 transfers in were supplemented by 6 loans, as a large number of players were shown the exit, too.

Things didn't start well and they only won two of the first 22 matches, losing half of them.
With such a high turnover in their squad this probably should have been expected, but relegation was looming.
Things appear to have turned around recently though, as they've only lost 3 of the last 15 matches.
Those were to Chelsea, Man Utd and Leicester too, so they're clearly a lot harder to beat.
They're still in the relegation zone, but they've narrowed the gap to three points and an escape looks possible.

There was no equivalent fixture last season, but our meeting in January had a familiar ring to it.
We started well, dominating for the first 25 minutes failed to take a number of chances before Kane scored.
Areola kept out Son on two occasions and continued to play well as the game went on, keeping them in it.
Those missed opportunities came back to haunt us again, as Cavaleiro headed them level late on.
Reguilon thought he'd nicked the points at the death, but the linesman's flag correctly chalked it off:

Lo Celso continues to be our only absentee, though he's back in training and should be available soon.
Cairney misses out for the hosts and Rodak is also likely to join him, as he's injured his finger.
Neither side has any suspensions.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Aurier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilon; Ndombele, Hojbjerg, Bale, Moura, Son; Kane.
Subs: Hart, Doherty, Dier, Davies, Winks, Sissoko, Alli, Lamela, Vinicius.
League form: LLWLLW.

Fulham: Areola; Tete, Andersen, Adarabaioyo, Aina; Anguissa, Reed; Reid, Loftus-Cheek, Lookman; Maja.
Subs: Fabri, Kongolo, Ream, Robinson, Bryan, Lemina, Onomah, Cavaleiro, Mitrovic.
League form: LDWDWD.

Ref: David Coote. VAR: Jarred Gillett (AUS).

TV: BT Sport 1.

How would you like to line up for this one and what would you change from the Burnley 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 Fulham to go with?

 

Look to Wenger era Goonish for how to deal with these games.
Rack up the PL points to qualify for the CL by bullying teams in
the lower reaches of the PL , then the match losses against the
usual suspects serve no other purpose than supporter banter
and bragging rights.

Therefore I expect the same attack in he starting XI, with the same
mindset shown in the Burnley game.

 

I understand that this isn't your point here, but we've actually done fairly well in the big games this season, strangely:
https://www.planetfootball.com/quic...-head-to-head-table-in-2020-21-liverpool-top/

 

Our poor record against teams that are no better than or worse than us, is one of the most insufferable elements of Mourinho's management. We have profligately chucked points away, often from winning positions - Fulham, Newcastle, Palace, Wolves and West Ham (H) were games that we could and should have taken 3 points from. That's 10 points wasted...putting aside the wretched no-show at Brighton (for their first home win since Methuselah was in short trousers) and a wretched hour at The White Elephant against The Spammers.

Those 10 points would put us third. Third......

In the last couple of weeks there seems to have been a long, long overdue change of tack. Mourinho seems to have stopped trying to destroy the squad and play to our weaknesses...and there have been some signs of a possible upturn in mood and performance.

We have better players than Fulham and we simply have to win this game. No more ****ing excuses about not having the players he wants. Fulham would kill to have any of our forwards...so, put out a properly coached and prepared team and WIN!

 

Yet it shows precisely that via another analytic dimension.

The team that is 5 pts BELOW Spurs in your list is CURRENTLY
a good 8 pts ABOVE in the PL table. A 13 pt difference that
can only have come from hat team beating the opposition that
Spurs recently are not.

So that team is exactly exhibiting Wenger era Goonery.
Their current record against the usual suspects matters not.

 

Yes, Solskjaer's extremely conservative to the point of being completely boring against the better sides. Terrible record in that sense.
He understands that he can more than make that up against other sides by winning the "easier" games.
Being gifted 3,000 penalties in those matches helps, too.

 

Same as Sunday please

 

We've got Fulham, Palace, Zagreb, Arsenal, Zagreb and Villa this month which is all in the space of 17 days, so it’s gonna be a real test of squad management and fitness. Good few are gonna need to step it up at times whilst Jose’s also gotta get it right by not consistently running Kane and co into the ground.

 

Winksy is fresh...

 

We’re not that desperate!

All seriousness we'll definitely be needing him. I think he’ll likely start the two Zagreb games at least. He’s done pretty well for the most part in Europa too so I don’t have too many qualms with him facing certain teams in that.

 

Honestly, he could've do e with ten minutes against Burnley, partly to save Hojbjerg some minutes and partly as the game was open enough that he wouldn't have been as miscast as he has often been this season

 

Was it Hojbjerg who turned his ankle towards the end of the game on Sunday? I wonder if he will finally be rested.

 

Bale suddenly looks like the Bale you thought you’d signed. That’s a game changer for Mourinho. For all his pragmatism, he’s always had one or two players who could win games in any circumstances. With Kane, Son & Bale he must fancy his chances now

 

He's also come extremely close to getting himself sacked by playing ineffective, defensive football and falling out with players he needs this season...and given our history of moving players on and Covid's effect on the transfer market, he'll be needing many of them next season too.....if he survives.

He was brought in to get CL football and win something. Currently, we're level on points with Villa and 6 points behind West Ham. Sure we're in the League Cup Final but if we finish where we currently sit, he's history.

I've little doubt that Levy's told him all of the above and that, if he wanted to keep his job, it was time to stop ****ing about, make up with the players he'd fallen out with and win some football matches. The problem's going to come when we lose a game, whilst playing a more expansive game...which we will, sooner or later.

Then, will he revert to cowardly, defensive football, that we're not very good at...? He would be well advised not to but...

 

The players never stopped playing for him during our winless streak...that was wishful thinking from some of the fan base.

Bale as he has alluded to himself in his last interview has been on the road to getting match fit and he’s been consulted with regards his game time...in other words he’s been managed back to fitness, he seems happy enough with it and has been playing like such


Dele deserved no game time up until he started to pull his finger out the last 2 games...it’s been reported that he’s had personal issues lately and whatever it may be(not bothered as I guess they are immature issues created by an immature mind) he has allowed it to affect his game...plus he’s been a lazy trainer...Jose doesn’t like lazy players...nothing wrong with that...which manager does?

Let’s not pretend Bale/Dele have been sat on the bench whilst they have been **** hot on form and raring to go but for the meanie manager.

 

Not convinced. Jose has shown himself to be defensive against teams like Palace, Brighton, WBA, Sheff Utd. and West Ham. Teams that we ought to be confident of beating and playing like we are the boss, not creeping about looking for chances on the break. I have not seen Dele play badly when he has the chance he has just not had the chance, meantime he has played Bergwjin and Lucas because they run around a lot not because they were making a difference. Our strengths are clearly in attack and he has set us up defensively. The proof of all this is our position in the league and our run of losses. Portuguese football is by nature defensive, I have never enjoyed watching their National team and I have never enjoyed Portuguese football played at Tottenham. There is no doubt Portugal has enjoyed better results than England in the national arena but I still don't want to watch or if I do it is to see them get smashed.

 

That’s fine if you’re not convinced but like I said I’m going with what Bale said in his last interview about his fitness, fits in with what I have actually witnessed over the course of the season. As for Dele, it’s laughable to suggest he was treated bad. He just needed to up his game...maybe that penny has eventually dropped.

Season isn’t over yet

 

I agree that the players haven't stopped trying. It was the same as the end of the Poch era. They'd still be trying to pull out a result, right up to the final whistle. Lions led by donkeys?

Unfortunately, we've seen the same thing this season. As soon as we conceded late goals against Fulham, Wolves, Palace, etc., the players killed themselves to get a winner but it was too little and all far too late.

Mourinho's not lost the dressing room but that doesn't mean that he was right in having Sonny, Bergwijn and the like flogging themselves stupid to try to close down teams, so that we could repeatedly attempt to defend (unsuccessfully) the 18 yard line for 70+ minutes against teams that we would have beaten, if we'd attacked them.

In the same way, falling out with players we need to take the strain of a long hard season, serves no useful purpose. Alli's regressed, as has Winks and Dier and a number of others...but he needs to get some sort of a tune out of them. It's what I said on the date he was appointed..."He's going to have to coach, cajole and fix players because that's what Tottenham managers have to do."

I hope that the penny's finally dropped...but I wouldn't bet my pennies on it.

 

Laughable, laughable? I am glad I am keeping you amused. Meantime I will snigger at your support for Jose.