A lively game for all the wrong reasons.
Let’s get the pitch invasion nonsense out the way. The first guy on the pitch was a heads up to any half awake security minded person that something was up. Why? Because it wasn’t in response to the actual football match. It was at that point that all the stewards ought to have been wheeled out.
You don’t sit there thinking to yourself, ‘oh look, there’s a bloke on the pitch’, you ask why. But our stewards were too busy watching the game to get involved.
It’s all well and good THFC issuing a statement that the men involved are helping the police with their enquiries, but it is whoever heads up security for Levy & Co. that needs to be answering questions this morning.
I’m not going to concoct some doomsday scenario of a player being stabbed in the future, rather simply point out that it depresses me that we get targeetd for this sort of crap in the first place. Let alone that our little Hitler stewards, who specialise in bullying fans, turn into fat statues when called upon to do something useful.
We discuss rebirth in the Championship on this week’s show
To the football then. The results on paper from this our latest European forray, look decent. But watching the games themselves isn’t one for the purists.
That said, we’re making very hard work of playing any game, against any club, in any competition.
The biggest symptom of our problems is undoubtedly our passing. So many redundant balls in the first half, at one point I felt I was being hypnotised and began to slip under.
Until things improve, Pochettino needs to stop talking about a ‘philosophy, there really isn’t much of one.
Lloris saved our bacon with a couple of cameo appearances. Naughton was decent enough defensively but horrid further up the pitch. Vlad looked much improved. Thank gawd. And Vertonghen appeared to be much more focused than normal. Thanks for that, love.
Davies irritated the life out of me. Heads towards the byline, cuts it back in. Makes himself available. The James Milner Book Of Soccer Skills, page 13.
I see lots of people making jokes about Stambouli’s pace, but my angst on that front was aimed at Mousa. Ponderous isn’t the right word, that implies he was in the thick of some decision making. To many touches, no spark, no drive, no point. Has he caught that malaise that Benny had, where the more Hair Bear he went, the worse his play became?
Mind you, Dembele looked like Lothar Matthäus compared to Paulinho. Another hub of pointless passing.
Azza Blud’s most dynamic performance in perhaps the last 3 seasons. And still he achieved the square root of naff all. Lamela did contribute some nice stuff, the wonder moments like his dribble and strike on goal are joyous, yet complete rarities across an hour and a half of football.
Soldado is a fine wristwatch with a bit missing from its movement. So whilst you might wear your Jaeger-LeCoultre with a sense of pride, you’re actually praying that nobody asks you what the time is.
This isn’t some I’m through with him! and a foot stamp, more of a loss of belief that he’s ever going to come good. 18months in and he still can’t reliably finish a single opportunity in open play against anyone. He has a wealth of positives about him. But he doesn’t score.
Bentaleb and Kane running onto the pitch mae everyone cheer. Nice to see Winks get a go.
Everton and Chelsea are potentially messy games. Very messy games. Maybe we should organise some streakers.
