Match Day Thread Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton

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Saturday 25th January 3pm
FA Cup 4th Round
St Mary's Stadium​

Our first league goals of 2020 and our first win, but the performance against Norwich was unconvincing.
There were positives to take from it though, so how we follow it up is quite important.
Mourinho has always done well in domestic cup competitions and we need him to continue that here.
Our last trip to Southampton was pretty appalling and it only happened a few weeks ago.
Did the manager learn enough from that travesty to turn it around or will we get another lesson?

The Saints have been in very decent form recently, despite a blip against Wolves last week.
They've gone from the relegation zone in the middle of last month to 9th place near the end of this one.
That says a lot about their turnaround, but also a fair bit about the compact nature of the league this year.
That the run includes wins over us, Chelsea and Leicester makes it even more impressive.
They face Liverpool next and will want to into that match with morale high.

Our aforementioned trip to St Mary's was bad for all kinds of reasons.
The result, performance, team selection and refereeing were all poor, but one injury made it a disaster.
Ndombele went off early, after we'd already gone behind to a goal by Ings, but Kane's late one was far worse.
We still haven't recovered from his pulled hamstring and it looks like it'll be quite a while before he does, too.
Mike Dean finished the match by booking Mourinho, just to prevent him from feeling left out:

The home match was similarly messy, but with a much more positive result.
Ndombele's early goal came after he'd failed to take a similar chance, but any thoughts of an easy win didn't last.
An incorrectly given throw-in was followed by an Aurier red card and a howler by Lloris.
Ings' equaliser may have lead the visitors to believe that it was their day, but it wasn't to be.
Son, Eriksen and Kane combined to restore our lead and it was rarely threatened, despite the extra man:

Davies, Kane and Sissoko are still out, while Winks faces a late assessment, surprisingly.
Vestergaard, Soares and Long join Valery on the Southampton treatment table. Bednarek will be tested.
Nether side has any suspensions.

Lineups for each side's last league game:

Spurs: Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Sessegnon; Lo Celso, Winks; Lamela, Alli, Son; Moura.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Sanchez, Tanganga, Dier, Fernandes, Ndombele, Eriksen.
League form: WDLLDW.

Southampton: McCarthy; Soares, Stephens, Vestergaard, Bertrand; Redmond, Hojbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Armstrong; Long, Obafemi.
Subs: Gunn, Yoshida, Romeu, Boufal, Djenepo, Adams, Ings.
League form: WDWWLW.

Ref: Peter Bankes. VAR: Jonathan Moss.
Seems a strange choice, as Bankes is normally a Championship ref and Moss is established in the top flight.
The Merseysider has taken charge of some Premier League games for the first time this season, though.
Claims to support Brentford...

TV: Not televised.

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

 

This is the end of the post-match conference for the Norwich game, which is why the start probably feels a bit odd.
Mourinho earlier had a joke about the journalist that asks the first question having a nice trip to Lisbon.

 

The lack of posts here suggest we are writing this off as a probable season ending loss!

I think Jose will pick a strong side but if the saints do likewise I can't see us winning, but a draw might be the most likely outcome.

Come on You Spurs - lets be a 'Cup Team' again and dream of winning something - That's what Jose was bought here for can he deliver?

 

Maybe some of us are listening to the cricket
Seriously I expect us to get better with each game as the new players bed in and Mourinho understands his squad more. I fully expect a win at Southampton so I for one am not writing this off at all.

 

The good old days when we used to enter the fa cup and give it a good go and sometimes even win it

 

If he was backed sufficiently this window I’d be feeling pretty confident, not just today but in general. One loan signing is poor from the club when we have glaring weaknesses.

Should’ve had a striker in on day one of the window whilst a CB should’ve been a priority to get done too.

I’ll give a bit of credit to Aurier that despite the fact he still can’t defend, he’s proving an asset going forward, so I can live with the idea of not bringing in a RB this window but hopefully a deal for Aarons can be done for the summer, he impressed me the other night and I think with the right coaching could be a decent RB.

I too think and hope Jose goes strong. Would really like to see a 433 along the lines of:

Hugo/ Gazza
Aurier, Dave, Tanganga, Sess
Tanguy, Gedson, Gio
Lucas, Alli, Son

 

And parrot on the bench for once

 

Since Dortmund have decided to play without a striker, how about we just copy their system and hope nobody notices?

Gazza
Tanganga Toby Sanchez
Aurier Lo Celso Gedson Sessegnon
Lamela Alli Son

...is it because, by the 60th minute, we'd have noticed for all the wrong reasons?

:::EDIT:::

Somehow my formation made more sense than ours

 

First start for Gedson, woop woop. Winks starting too (yaaay!), injury obviously not as bad as first feared then. Tanganga at LB again, I know Sess was **** the other night but I'd still rather a left-footer there. Strong line up though all in all, pretty happy.

 

Tanganga at left-back again? Not for me.
Looks like Alli might be playing further forward than he has been though, so it's not all bad.
Eriksen completely omitted from the squad, so that's the end of that.

 

Interesting to see Gedson of course, can he add some steel to our midfield? It's a younger team as well should be good for upping the tempo which so often we fall short on.

 

Feels like a day where we need to look at this chart again...

 

He's travelled though, weirdly. 19th man I'd presume.

 

Levy trying to sneak him on a boat to Italy to save a few quid.

 

PerhAPS THEY LIKE TO KNOW WHERE THEIR 15 MILLION QUID IS. (Sorry for caps)

 

Winks starting is a little surprising after the way he left the field on Wednesday - If this 4-3-3 with Dele as a 'false 9' that might just be effective.

I am stuck at work so please keep the updates flowing as this and the BBC are just about the only web sites I can access

 

Finally, a more balanced looking line-up for an away game with a midfield three.

Whilst our full backs are a bit of a concern, at least we shouldn't be giving them the run of the middle of the park. That midfield has a decent look to it with a bit of everything in there..

Let's come out and play with a bit of fire in our bellies from the off, please?

COYS!

 

I doubt he was. Jose was likely giving him the chance to say goodbye and he turned it down because he can't understand why running down you contract and playing **** will get the fans' backs up.

£15mill for him is a joke. Everton got that for Barkley but that's what we're getting for one of the best no 10s going.

 

spurs are on their way to Wembley