Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United

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Saturday January 2nd 12.30pm
Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium​

No match against Fulham, so we face another of the newly promoted clubs, instead.
A horde of draws has left the top section of the league looking even more congested.
Our fixture list is equally packed and we're in desperate need of some positive results.
A win for Leeds would move them onto level points with us and they've been good value for their position.
Can Mourinho get us back to winning ways or will Pochettino's mentor get one over on his replacement?

It's Marcelo Bielsa's 3rd season at Elland Road and it's fair to say that he's transformed the club in that time.
They've gone from an embarrassing shambles to an entertaining, competitive side while progressing every year.
His first campaign ended just short of automatic promotion and a burned out side crashed in the play-offs.
His second had a squad that was better adjusted to his demanding style and they saw it out in style.
They won 12 of the last 14 games and went up as champions, finishing 10 points clear of West Brom in 2nd.

This year has seen more of El Loco's high energy football and their results have been good but erratic.
Opening up with two 4-3 matches, winning one and losing the other, set the scene and they've stuck to it.
They don't have the quality to win every game and they'll have some bad scorelines.
They're not going to roll over and let people steamroller them, though.
They'll press, fight and create and they'll take plenty of points doing so.

No injury news yet, but it seems likely that Lo Celso, Bale, Moura and Vinicius are still out.
Berardi, Forshaw, Koch, Llorente and Cooper are out for the visitors, while Klich faces a fitness test.
Neither side has any suspensions.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Davies; Doherty, Winks, Hojbjerg, Reguilon; Ndombele; Son, Kane.
Subs: Hart, Aurier, Tanganga, Alderweireld, Rodon, Sissoko, Alli, Bergwijn, Lamela.
League form: DWDLLD.

Leeds: Meslier; Dallas, Ayling, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips; Harrison, Rodrigo, Klich, Raphinha; Bamford.
Subs: Cassila, Casey, Davis, Jenkins, Shackleton, Hernandez, Costa, Poveda, Roberts.
League form: LLWLWW.

Ref: David Coote. VAR: Paul Tierney.

TV: BT Sport 1.

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

 

No asterisk on the date yet?

That's brave...

 

I don’t like Leeds.

 

Went to Spurs v Leeds in the FA Cup in 1982.
Crooks scored our winner.
Was up on shelf side. Think the official crowd figure was 45000 but it felt way way bigger

 

Nobody likes Leeds

Even Leeds don't like Leeds

 

Me too. There were some games when the official gate was way, way off. The United cup tie in '79 was ridiculous.

For me, Leeds memories have to be this one...

 

About 6 years ago I wrote to all 92 league clubs and 8 non league ones asking if they would be able write a well done note to my daughters on headed paper as they had worked really hard on their GCSEs and SATs exams even thoughthey both were going through a tough time.
I explained that we were all spurs fans and their mum was a Sheffield Wednesday fan and her grandparents supported Chelsea and Leicester and that a note on a compliment slip from an admin worker would be brilliant.

All the mentioned clubs sent photos, postcards and a note. Arsenal, Sheffield United also sent more than asked. Mansfield sent each a team photo signed by the first team. Exeter got Steve Perryman to write to them.
In total around 60 clubs sent stuff and I made them a great scrapbook each.

Leeds wrote back (on official headed paper) to say that they did not do things like that for non leeds fans ...would have been quicker to write "well done from all at leeds"

Never has a club so lived up to it's minging reputation

 

Hopefully Spurs rediscover their mojo and return to winning matches again. I do not want to see the gap between Spurs and the top 4 widen.

I feel dirty because a dear friend of mine is a Leeds supporter and I do not want to receive a smiley emoji text from him!

 

And whenever I see the legendary :

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I always think of Porridge, and Fletcher sorting out 'orrible Harris.

 

A rather dour and flat press conference from Mourinho. Sounds tired and unhappy.

 

After 365 days of misery that obliterated the concept of optimism, I'll be going into 2021 with more realistic expectations

So we go 1-0 up in the 23rd minute, sit back for the rest of the game, and in the 92nd minute Aurier clatters somebody close to the corner flag, Dier mistimes a header, and we can add yet another draw to the ever-growing pile

 

Agreed he sounds tired, but he is asked some god awful questions

 

Me too!
Was in my usual spot on the tunnel for that one.
Jeez, the tension that night was something else!

 

I was in my usual shelf paxton end spot , this is one of those games that you remember forever ,you could cut the atmosphere with a knife and the relief at the final whistle

 

Ives was 'Orrible...Harris every bit as much so...but not named as such.

 

My hatred of Leeds is a result of the era where if the kids at school didn't support a local or London club they supported Man U or Leeds U and my class had 6 glory hunters, knew f all about football but supported them because they were the team of the moment

 

Dirty Leeds.

Nobody likes us and we don't care

 

Press conferences match the performances on the pitch

 

We need to win or we are sliding and a lot of the good work is undone when you look at the table

we must win