Rick Rant : West Ham

It was another glorious sunny day at The Atlantic Bar with a surprisingly large crowd for a midweek afternoon game.

I was not in a good mood from the moment I walked in the door because of our previous performance against Forest. My mood never improved as the game wore on and if anything it got worse.

I’ll start with some positives. We have played 5 games so far, three away, two of which were against bitter London rivals. Despite this we have 11 points and remain unbeaten.

Here’s the bad news, buckle up.

Apart from the first game against Southampton we have been bloody awful all season. Today’s game was the worst performance by far. We actually started pretty well and were pushing West Ham back but after the disputed penalty decision everything changed.

I’m not going to discuss the non penalty award. I will say, however, if the ref gives it and VAR can’t make up its mind after 5 minutes, it should be awarded.

We can all moan about the lack of subs and lack of energy but there are deeper issues. As I mentioned in my last rant this team is crying out for a midfield general. A midfielder who can hold the ball, relieve pressure and start attacks. It’s criminal that we do not have such a player in the whole squad.

The lack of play through midfield got so bad we at the bar started ironically cheering every time Dier received the ball from a back pass.

I haven’t looked at the individual player stats to see who had most touches. I can easily estimate that Dier and Sanchez had the most touches and Son the least touches of all our players.

Conte May be happy with the results and in terms of numbers so am I. I am not happy at all about our style of play, if you can even call it a style. It is an incoherent mess that seems to be designed to bore the opposition and anyone watching to death.

We seem to lack energy, urgency and movement. Players are simple folk and will only run when there’s a chance they might receive the ball. Because we lack good passers in midfield, the forwards become static, unwilling to waste their time running knowing they won’t get the ball anyway.

The only exception to this is Deki. He runs himself into the ground trying to help the team and is often double teamed because there’s no threat from anyone else.

I will lose my mind if Son is not dropped and replaced by Richarlison in the next game.

The transfer window closes tomorrow, Thursday. I’m dreaming of a new world class midfielder to be added at the last minute because we desperately need one.

The games for the next few weeks come thick and fast. The next game is against Fulham at home on Saturday the 3rd at 9am.

COYS

Rick

Rick Rant - Nottingham Forest

The Atlantic Bar was packed for our late morning game against newly promoted Forest. The occasion was enhanced by Michelle our bar person displaying her wares to the enjoyment of the patrons.

This was one of those games that infuriates me. It was, as it turned out, an easy win. But with the aggressiveness of the opposition and our sloppy play it was a horrible watch.

There is an ongoing argument between the end result and how you achieve it. I’m in the school of thought of winning by being the better team.

Today we never got out of 2nd gear. We conceded territory and possession and were sloppy when we did counter attack.

Once again we were out numbered in midfield which didn’t hurt us against this caliber of opposition. The problem will come if we play this way against the highly skilled, high pressing possession teams.

Conte has us playing the way he wants but there is no excuse for us giving away easy possession. I lost count of the number times our sloppy play gifted them possession in dangerous areas.

I cannot describe adequately how much we need a ball playing midfielder. We have so many players looking for good passes and making runs and nobody to provide the incisive pass.

We scored 2 goals but with more quality and incisive play we could have easily had 5 of 6 goals.

I think it is becoming clear that certain players need dropping/resting from the starting 11. It is also clear that certain players need to start games. I think Conte will have no choice to rotate given the number of games coming up.

I know it seems that I’m only highlighting the negatives. It was a good result away against a newly promoted team early in the season. Newly promoted teams invariably start well then drop off as the season progresses.

The next game is on Wednesday away to West Ham. We need to play a bit better to get a result in that game.

COYS

Rick

P.S. Michelle asked me for a mention.

Rick Rant - Chelsea

A full house at the Atlantic bar & Grill for the second game of the season. It was great to see some old friends like Jon Hewak who was our former barman.

We were away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge where we have a terrible record for positive results.

The games against Chelsea are rapidly becoming like a dormant volcano that could erupt at anytime. This time is was the managers and coaching staff that kicked off into a shoving match multiple times.

Obviously I’m going to blame Tuchel and in reality it was mostly his fault. He complained bitterly about of first goal because of a perceived foul on Havertz by Romero. Romero won the ball cleanly so I have no idea what he was moaning about. He complained bitterly about the little girl Cucurella having her hair pulled and he might have had point. He let that go and the fact that Kulu was getting unfairly mugged every time he got the ball with no fouls called.

If you want to know how much of a scumbag Tuchel is, I’ll explain. When Chelsea scored their second goal he ran down the touchline passed Conte and spat in his direction while gloating. At full time he shook hands with Conte but wouldn’t let go causing Conte to react trying to get loose. Both managers were red carded but it was completely Tuchel’s fault.

It should also be noted that the referee had a terrible game. He gave every minor foul to Chelsea and favored us in some big calls. It truly is a talent to be so bad that you annoy both sets of fans at the same time.

We started the game brightly but after 10 minutes we were lethargic and slow. We didn’t close down well or win 50/50 tackles and playing out from the back was fraught with mistakes.

I honestly think we didn’t react well to the extreme heat conditions. We were ponderous and lacking intensity. Because of this Chelsea had tons of possession while we were getting tired chasing the ball.

It should be noted however that even though we didn’t play particularly well we still had more shots on target than them. We got away with a 2-2 draw which we didn’t deserve and things only improved in the second half after a change of formation.

I really am not a fan of playing 3 center backs. It leaves us short in midfield in games like today where we were completely overrun. We are also missing a central midfield leader who can retain possession in a press and make quality passes.

I’m not going to disparage any of our players (Emerson) because I think most of the team didn’t play particularly well. It’s still obvious we need another center back and a central midfielder and if possible a solution to the right wingback position.

All in all it was a good result against a hated enemy in very hot conditions.

It’s obvious our hated rivals know how good we can be and will resort to fouling and spoiling tactics to disrupt us. We have to be technically good enough to deal with their crap however.

So onto the next game on Saturday 20th at home to Wolves. The game kicks off at 6:30am so set your alarms early.

COYS

Rick

P.S. Tuchel better not try that crap in the return fixture.

Rick Rant - The Magic of the FA Cup

The magic of the FA Cup is alive and well. The prospect of lower league or even non league teams playing top tier premiership teams is always magical.

We were drawn against Marine FC of the 8th tier of the English football pyramid. It was the largest difference between two clubs in the competitions history (161 places). The home team boasted a teacher, a supermarket worker and a trainee plumber. The difference between the clubs was highlighted by the fact that Spurs team coach was too big for their parking lot. The spurs players had to walk the last few meters to get to the ground.

The magic of the cup was not lost in the UK where the game was selected for live coverage on the BBC (a rare event).

Marine and their community reveled in the exposure of the tie, quite rightly. They conducted themselves with dignity and respect to us, their more illustrious opponents. They even trolled Arsenal on their twitter account. They refused arsenals loan offer of Ozil saying their bench was already full.

So onto the game itself. It was a professional performance with us winning 5-0. We gave a host of second string players a run out and even substituted our youngest ever player Alfie Devine. Alfie even scored the last goal becoming our youngest ever goal scorer.

Marine had the inspired idea to sell virtual tickets for the game since no fans could attend. The selling of 30,000 virtual tickets, mostly too Spurs fans added much needed income to Marine who currently cannot play regular season games due to Covid. This added to the merchandise sales of programs and scarfs. The Marine chairman expressed his happiness and gratitude to us the fans of Spurs.

As shirt swapping at the end of the game (a tradition) was banned due to Covid, Spurs provided a full set of souvenir shirts to Marine after the game.

All in all, both teams treated each other with dignity and respect. The magic of the cup is alive and well.

Wear a mask and stay safe.

COYS

Rick

Rick Rant - The Case for the Defense

No, this is not about Trump (as there is no defense in his case), but the stout, strong, heroic defending of the Spurs team against Wolves. What may surprise you, as it did me, was that the game was not actually as one sided as it appeared when watching the game live. Wolves had 58% possession (it seemed more) and 5 shots on target (the same number as we did). The appearance of dominance seemed to stem from where possession was lost. Wolves lost possession while attempting to score, where as we lost possession mostly in midfield and mostly through our own ineptitude.

Now, I don't want to sound like a broken record repeating the same rhetoric over and over again, but I'm afraid it has to be said again. Sissoko is a cult hero among fans but i'm sorry, hes bloody awful. I counted 6 giveaways in the first half alone. The attempted cross-field pass which he kicked out of bounds was diabolical. Now the argument can be made that he wasn't the only one to give the ball away but the problem with Sissoko is that often this is the rule for him, not the exception. Opposing players know that certain players (Sissoko) will panic and give up possession or assist in giving up possession. The good teams have no bad players in any position, and to have a player that the opposition can target is an unacceptable weakness.

The game itself was extremely frustrating to watch. Wolves are a very good team and have some quality players. They close down space very well when not in possession and spread the play when attacking. They also have the humongous Traore on the right wing who in reality should be playing Rugby due to his speed and power. A number of our players had to resort to fouling him and receiving yellow cards in an effort to stop him attacking. The man actually designated to mark him (Vertonghen) did not get a yellow, and for the most part kept him under control. God only knows what Traore would have done to Danny Rose.  

For all the faults we had playing the game, we must also be commended for the following:

1) Our tenacity in defending
2) Our strong mentality after conceding the equalizer
3) Our determination going forward
4) Our getting the winner in extra time.

In all honesty, this can be summed up easily as "The Mourinho Effect". I think we can all agree that if the previous regime was still in charge, we would not have won this game. We definitely rode our luck in this game, but in addition to the luck, was the determination, passion and enthusiasm of the players not to lose.

Rick - COYS

Rick Rant - Fullback Conundrum

Where do I start with this one? I have just finished watching the Bayern away game in the champions league and it highlighted what we all new already; we need new full-backs.

We currently have Rose, Aurier, Davis, KWP as dedicated full-backs and Foyth, Vertonghen, Sissoko and Sessegnon as emergency full-backs. When you look at it like that it appears we have plenty of options but lets look deeper.....

Rose is passed it and will be gone soon.
Aurier is ok going forward but gets injured regularly.
Davis is currently long term injured.
KWP is not good enough and should be sold.

The full-back emergency players Vertonghen and Sissoko are regular players in other positions so when they fill in, they leave a gap behind them. Foyth is not a regular and neither is Sessegnon so they can fill in, but its not an idea situation because if they get injured there is no-one left.

Years ago, we had the best full-back pairing in the league in Rose and Walker and it's no coincidence that the we played better with them, than we do now without them.

The full-back position is criminally underrated, and its no coincidence that the better teams have the best fullbacks. The full-backs often face an adversary who is speady and skillful and the primary provider of assists in the opposing team. The full-backs job is to stop crosses coming in, and to halt the progress of the opposing winger. If they can assist the attacking players as well it is a bonus. Only the best full-backs can do both.

Since we lost Kyle Walker, our full-back positions have been neglected and I think the demise of Poch (who played a system that required good fullbacks), was a consequence of not improving this position in the team. He even made the situation worse by selling Trippier, an inconsistent player but a body that was not replaced.

What will Mourinho do about this? I really don't know. I would hope he would prioritize this position as it cannot have escaped his notice that Rose is done and KWP is not good enough. So at the very least he either needs to buy reserve full-backs or promote youth full-backs. The ideal situation would be to buy two first team full-backs and the ones we have can either be backups or sold to raise the funds.

I am not concerned about the result of the Bayern game. We used this game as a training exercise for reserve players. Our concern should be Wolves on Sunday and in Mourinhos words: "Only the next game matters".

Rick - COYS

Rick Rant - Son is a Shining Light

I am here reminiscing about our 5-nil thrashing of Burnley, because that is what is was. We scored 5 but could have easily scored 3 more in what was the best performance by the team this season.

I will admit, Burnley were poor and on a bad run having lost 5 of their previous 7 games. They did however show some endeavor in the game and should have scored at least one goal. I hope that the fans and the media don't get their knives out for Sean Dyche as he is a decent, honorable and good guy.

The problem Burnley had in this game was they caught us on a good day. Harry Kane was completely unplayable. Dele Alli had a great first half as did Lucas Moura. The defense and the midfield looked a lot more solid presumably because Sissoko was paired with Dier instead of Winks in central midfield (see my previous blog post).

And then we come to Son, Heung-Min Son. What can I say about a player who has been directly involved in 15 goals in his 15 appearances at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions, more than any other player (nine goals, six assists)? What can say about a player who has been Asian International player of the year 3 out of the last 5 years? What can I say about a player who runs 80+ yards, passed 7 Burnley players to score a goal which will easily be goal of the season? What can I say? We are lucky to have him. He is a shining light in our squad, a genuinely nice guy. If he was almost any other player he would have been condemned for his tackle on Everton's Gomes that led to him breaking his ankle, but he wasn't, because of the genuine distress he suffered. John Terry would have got a 10 game ban.

There is also another itch I need to scratch, the anolomy that is Sissoko. He is so infuriating to watch and I am at a loss that others cannot see what I see when I watch him play. What I see is a player that is ill at ease on a football pitch. He has qualities, his passion and commitment are second to none, he also has a great engine and rarely gets injured everything you need in a premiership footballer. But, his technique lets him down too frequently i.e. kicking the ball directly out of play when trying to pass to Moura. He also makes awkward passes to team-mates which frequently leads to a loss of possession. I want Sissoko to do well, and am very pleased with his new found scoring boots, his one-two with Kane was brilliant.

We have now scored 16 goals in the 5 games since Mourinho took charge, that's more than 3 goals a game. Long may in continue.

Rick - COYS

Rick Rant - The Case of Central Midfield.

I am writing this after the Man Utd away match, full of disappointment, confusion and anger.

I think like most Spurs fans, I was surprised and disappointed to see the two central midfield positions occupied by Winks and Sissoko. This is a midfield pairing that Poch used repeatedly in his final months and proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it just doesn't work.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of players looked out of sorts, Kane and Sanchez too name but two, but the central midfield pairing were non existent.

The role of central midfielder is a vital one, perhaps the most vital in a football team. The defenders defend and clear the ball to the midfielders. The strikers rely on the midfielders for service. The full-backs rely on the midfielders for cover if they go forward. The strikers rely on the midfielders to recycle lost possession, to maintain an attack. It is very hard to find an individual player that is good at all those things, so what you do, is put a midfield pairing together, that can accomplish all those tasks.

Winks and Sissoko have their own positives and negatives, the problem is, each of their positives and negatives are not a good pairing. Almost every time they are paired, our central midfield becomes non existent. They do not read each and they are always in the wrong positions. Neither of them is good at holding onto the ball to give others time and space. Sissoko in particular constantly passes the back backward immediately to the player that passes him the ball, and therefore invites pressure on that player because the opposing players know exactly what he's going to do.

Winks on the other hand is a great forward thinking player, he makes runs and good passes but his recovery runs, tracking back and tackling leaves a lot to be desired. If you then complement a forward minded player, with a player that covers all the time, you end up with an empty central midfield when possession is lost.

I am not just saying this because of my thorough dislike of Sissoko. I have said this before, his effort and commitment are unmatched in our squad. The problem I have with him is his technical ability. If he has to touch the ball more than twice when he has possession, he will either lose possession, pass to a player that will then lose possession or kick the ball out of play. He is a lower mid-table premiership player at best and is not of the required standard for our squad. We win games despite him, not because of him. His goal against Bournemouth was a good one though (one touch).

I would hope that Mourinho learned a valuable lesson today and, unlike Poch, will never deploy Winks and Sissoko in the those positions on the same team at the same time again. I would imagine and hope that it was only deployed this time because of injury and fitness doubts to other players. The fact that both were subbed off, Winks through injury, Sissoko through being crap, highlights the problem we have in those positions.

Rick - COYS

Rick Rant - Managerial Merry-Go-Round

It has been a firing squad in premiership managerial sacking terms in the last two weeks. As of writing, we fired Poch, Arse fired Emery and Watord fired Sanchez Flores. There are also a few other managers in peril, Silva of Everton, Hasenhuttl of Southampton and Solskjaer of Man Utd.

The rate of managerial firings seems to have increased over the years because of the fear of relegation or the expectations of how the respective club should be performing. This is mostly fueled by the media, especially for the "bigger" clubs. If a "big" club loses a few games or fails to win a few games in a row the media, in this instant news world, are extremely quick to vilify a manager. This media coverage also encourages the fans to voice their displeasure when in fact, in some case, the manager is actually liked.

Whether you agree with the sacking of Poch and the hiring of Mourinho, credit must be given to Levy for acting at the right time and decisively. Poch, although we loved him, had hit a wall and it wasn't going to improve. Levy gave him more than enough time to fix the issues but it wasn't going to work. If reports are to be believed Levy was in discussions with Mourinho a couple of weeks before Poch was fired. So when the inevitable happened and Poch was fired, we had a new manager within 24 hours so we didn't suffer any doubt and endless media speculation.

The other benefit of Levy acting decisively was to out manoeuvre Arsenal who undoubtedly would have tried to hire Mourinho if they could. Levy has also reportedly given Poch a golden handshake, where he will receive 12.5m in compensation as long as he doesn't join another premiership club this season. Say what you want about Levy, but that is a stroke of genius.

Mourinho has started his reign at Spurs with 3 wins, making November an unbeaten month. There are obviously still issues with the team but he has the squad building in confidence. He will obviously want to improve areas of the squad but he is being superb in his man management so far by saying he loves the squad he inherited. He even invited the famous ballboy to participate in the pre-game meal with the match day squad before our game against Bournemouth; what a guy.

Rick - COYS