Bar the one fatal error of judgement, Joe Rodon had a great game against Liverpool. Which is a little like, bar the iceberg, the Titanic’s maiden voyage was an unprecedented success. However, it’s important to understand what José said what he said after the game. It wasn’t sympathy.
As you will know, I expect my backline players to pass the ball with exceptional accuracy, and Rodon’s passing was immense.
Losing the ball is another massive issue for defenders and against Liverpool Joe lost the ball 4 times. For context, against Sheffield United Joe lost the ball 13 times, 7 times in his own half.
Dribble
Joe also won a lot of duels. More than Dier (13), more than Doherty (12) and more than Davies (16).
Errors like the one that aided the third Liverpool goal simply cannot happen, they aren’t acceptable at this level. The concentration levels of too many Spurs players are miserable. So Rodon could be a quality signing, if he can stay switched on – otherwise, we’ve got a home grown Davinson Sanchez on our hands.
He did it 10 mins beforehand as well. Left a ball over the top 10 yards from goal with Firmino right behind him. Firmino just missed bringing it down. I see him do it regularly. Leaving balls completely unaware that ppl are behind .
Of course it’s not good, but from who’s perspective? Rodon had a good game, Jose said so. These things are ironed out on the training pitch, you train as a team, win or lose as a team and here’s always the opportunity to score another and move on. Yes the errors are a problem, so let the coaches deal with it rather than saying “damn, we lost because of this and what can we do, individuals eh?” Just sort it out as a group in training.
Agreed. It was a schoolboy error that a schoolboy wouldn’t be happy with, but both Dier and Rodon should have just cleared for me. I heard a commentator say Rodon maybe didn’t know Mane was there. If he didn’t he needs a 101 lesson in defending.
Coventry 87. Remember it well (sad journey home) Bennett winner. That was glens last game for us before he moved to Monaco. He didn’t have a good game
We’re 20 games in, and we’re 2nd in goals allowed, only ManCity have let in fewer. Dier’s been at the heart of that defense, so…..must be doing something right.
Watching it live, my impression at the time was Dier’s mistake was worse the Rodon’s. Couldn’t believe he just let it run through to Firmino, didn’t even attempt to touch the ball. How is that any kind of mix up? Unless Hugo is behind him yelling to leave it, which he definitely was not doing – Hugo’s looking face on at the striker nipping in.
So is Dier just afraid of the OG there? Why does he make that decision that is so bonkers it would even make Kyle Walker blush with embarrassment?
Boy’s got a lot of potential. Need to get him in the weight room, and make him eat an extra meal every day, put about 25lb of muscle on him and he’ll be a titan of the industry.
High flying WBA too! Sums it up.
Thank You. I remember the Finals from 69 to 91 because they were day outs, when I started Drinking back in ’73 we all went out for the day, so the occasion and result stayed with you. If you asked me who won it 2 years back I could’nt tell you ! Its sad what happened. When we won in 91 we were the record holders , I even looked it up in the Guinness Book OF Records FFS. We know The Potential that THFC have. Its a real shame.
Mistakes do happen, but the ones we made are not common place in the Premier League. All 3 goals were Key Stone Cops stuff. 3 in one game is inexcusable, no?
I look at the number of mistakes Fulham, WBA, Burnley and Newcastle collectively made against Liverpool and few stand out. We have discussed developing a winning mentality, but I am not convinced we are anywhere near one. Our position in a competitive, but lacking in quality league shows this. Rodon looks decent, but the mistake was horrendous. His shame is reduced by Dier’s and Lloris’s mistakes, but that isn’t comforting me. Jose must be tearing his hair out at the number of goals given away by our own ineptitude. I don’t want Rodon to learn from this, same with Dier and Lloris. At this level the mistakes we make should not be happening. Who else makes calamitous errors like our lot and in such numbers?
Apart from the City game and 10 man Utd I haven’t seen a decent performance for months. Limerick AL is correct, we need substantial investment to buy quality. We also need a good scouting network. We have neither. Calling the summer of 2019 a brilliant transfer window highlights the mess we have been in for years. Reggie and Hojbjerg are good, but where is the striker and CB that we all wanted 3 years ago? Bale and Vinicius need sending back. They are offering nothing. Someone should show Bale how VDV came to Spurs and lit up the Lane. A class above was Rafa, that is for sure.
We took our time to break into the top 6, then top 4, but the final piece of the jigsaw was missing. We knew it, Poch knew it and Jose knows it now. Too many of our team are decent Premiership players, but they are not going to get us to the top of the league, where we were by the way. As soon as Dembele left and wasn’t replaced the slow decline set it. It is embarrassing that a hard working West Ham are above us. I thought top 4 was achievable, but it is looking suspect now. Jose is not going to turn us back into challenging for the league without an overhaul.
Very nice piece Al. That 1987 FA Cup final against Coventry was the day I started supporting Spurs. Those were the days when FA Cup coverage would start at 11.00 and Elton Welsby would do the road to the final. They featured Hoddle and I was instantly hooked. I hadn’t a clue about football but I knew I was looking at class. He was my idol even though I only ever saw him play once for Spurs! I was taken in by the name, the cokerel and our cool shirt. Little did I know then that the team would be pretty much dismantled and 30 odd years of mostly mid table dross would follow but I loved the fact Spurs were the cup kings and had won the most FA Cups. The FA Cup used to held in the same esteem as the League and it kills me today that Arsenal have surpassed us and the big clubs win it almost as an after-thought or as a consolation prize for not winning the league. Being from Dublin you were either Utd or Liverpool but I was Spurs and while Arsenal and Chelsea are our biggest rivals I fuckin hate losing to them as much because of having to put up with their backhanded admiration of Spurs because theykniw we are nit a threat anymore. Nice inoffensive, easy on the eye soft as shite Spurs, thats what Levy has done to us. If we back the current manager with proper investment I might one day get to shove a PL trophy in the faces of my condescending Utd and Liverpool supporting mates
Individual defensive errors happen, they shouldn’t be constantly rolled out as excuses in a game where you really should be exerting more pressure at the other end of the pitch. That’s what really needs explaining.
In fairness to Dier arguably his best game of the season was when we secured our narrow late win against WBA at the Hawthorns!
Henderson was played out of position but managed just fine. Milner plays wherever Klopp wants him to. Good footballers can play anywhere. Inverted wing backs or full backs should not be that bad of a change. If Doherty lacks confidence, I question why play him out of position against Liverpool (irrespective if they weren’t playing out of their skin). The mistakes lie with Rodon, Dier and Lloris, but Jose can’t come out of that game smelling of roses.
Problem for Rodon he’s got to play with two very poor team mates in Dier or Sanchez. It’s a shame he won’t get enough minutes playing with Toby.
Thank You Mr Lily.
Yes a solid performance except for the error that led to their third goal.Not entirely unexpected considering he’s still young and relatively inexperienced and thrust into a high pressure game with very little game time with these players behind him.
I too would like to see him paired with Toby for a run of games,he would be a fine mentor.Why Toby has been on the bench recently is a mystery and i would like Mourinho to explain the reasons.As fans it’s not a lot to ask.
👍
Thank You James.
Thank You David.
True David, I think I mentioned some football historian has said that actually fans feel closer to and have a deeper bond with their clubs if they aren’t particularly successful. When success becomes routine like at United and Chelsea the fans can become entitled and blasé.
We are a great club and will always be a great club!
Quite frankly even if we don’t win another trophy and endure constant seasons of frustration us Spurs fans can always tap into our illustrious history of the past!!
That’s the journey Al, good times outweigh the bad. You get your hopes up like the year Leicester won, the Champions League Final and the other night against Liverpool and then you get sucker punched. It only hurts because we care and if us the fans didn’t care there wouldn’t be a Tottenham Hotspur Football Club worth talking about. Without the fans there is no game.
Limerick Al.
Nice memoir!
It was 50 Years ago today , Tottenham Hotspur taught the Rest to Play . My first game Supporting Spurs was against Everton at WHL , we won 2 to 1, and Brian Labone broke his Leg. I’m Irish, but spent a lot of time in London, visiting Family and the reason I started following Spurs was because I had bought a Pennant and I liked the name. I remember seeing the Floodlight Pylons as the Bus , a Double Decker , made its way up the High Road. When we won the Leagie Cup, in 71′ some Pub near the ground , The Corner Pin ? had a photo of Mullery , Peters and Chivers with the trophy in their window, Must have been the England International Connection. My first Hero was Martin Chivers. Later on my Hero was Hoddle , Relegation didnt bother me , we all had hope. I even named my son Glenn, when he was born in 92′. He couldnt care less about Football, I should have named him Fred, after his hero Chopin. In 50 Years my greatest moment was winning the cup in 81 , theres a great passage in Perrymans book about coming out of WHL, at dawn the next morning, Friday, and looking at the empty High Road. The Celebrations must have been awesome. My worse moment was losing to Coventry in 87′ with a great Spurs side, the loss did’nt sink in until the following Monday. Looking at the Newspapers brought it home to me. We had of course a rare Penalty Shoot Out WIn against Anderlecht, I was there and I will never forget it. Winning the Cup in 91′ was somewhat tarnished with the Gascoigne saga, without him we were ordinary. Since then it has been frustrating, in that when we got something going we could never fine tune what we needed to be taken seriously , then fall away and start again. Remember Al Pacino in the Godfather 3. ‘Just when I thought I was out, They drag me back in’. Thats what Spurs do you. You will not believe this, but I have yet to see One Second of the CL Final. The reason ? I knew that we would loose , we had lost before a ball had been kicked and why torture myself. The last game I saw at WHL was in the Cup against Wycombe , I just loved the atmosphere and before and after in the Bricklayers. Today we just carry on, we hope. I am one of the people that believe whoever is made Manager will make no difference when it comes to Glory. If they are not backed , forget about it, we will just make up the numbers. 50 Years of great memories and some God Awful Times. I was 13 when I looked at that Pennant , If only I knew ?
Agreed H. It was a heartening performance by the boy, aside from the Sadio Mane shaped iceberg! He showed all the attributes highlighted by Jose and by yourself in this article; commanding in the air, certainly plenty of courage, he is vocal in his organisation and his distribution was excellent. A lot to like and apparently, from all reports, a great attitude towards training regarding attitude and coachability.
Played out of position or not the guys confidence is shot!
One of the worst signings we made for a while and that says a lot!
Surely Doherty won’t be selected against Brighton??
I’d give Bale a full 90 mins against Brighton
All this chopping and changing is no good.
Need some stability.
Fine by me!
The problem I have with the Toby and rodon partnership is will if played against Brighton they then play against chelski.
As he is in Jose’s good books surely Dier is undroppable?
Bad performances can’t go unpunished so Dier needs to be dropped for a few games to give him a kick in the backside.
I said the same thing about Winks from a captaincy perspective.
Wrong then but confident about Rodon now.
Drop Dier and pair Toby with Rodon against Brighton.
Rodon had a good game apart from the bad mistake for Liverpool’s third goal. I think he could be a very solid centre back for us but he needs someone alongside him who will keep him focused and concentrated. He’s quick, aggressive, gets his foot in and reads the game quite well. I’d like to see him play alongside Toby for a few matches.
Impressed with Rodon’s heartening mature performance, one of the few pluses following our woeful defeat the other night. I like his no nonsense attitude. Comfortable on the ball, getting stuck in he makes his presence felt alright. Very vociferous which is what you want from a centre back plus captain material for both club and country me thinks!