As fans watching a game, we look for the sort of plays that are dynamic, that might change our fortunes. From the likes of Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura, we routinely get a fair few sparks, and it was clear that having been given a start by José yesterday gave the pair a psychological boost.
The problem is, once you get beyond these fleeting positives, the negatives rapidly begin to mount up and overwhelm them. Make no mistake, this isn’t nitpicking, solid players are not dogged by endless losses of possession and ongoing affairs with blind alleys.
Pictures courtesy of Sky Italia
So this run is superb, but if we look at the entire 96-minutes, it was pretty much the only decent action. The match stats as per Wyscout (€) show that Moura’s passing accuracy was 69%, against his mean average of 81.6%.
Again, the black crosses haunt this performance, as well. I’m not sure that there are many Lucas Moura apologists in the audience these days, but the territory we’re in is very similar to that of Dele Alli; which is to say we are presented with a bunch of poor to ignore and asked to focus upon the good instead.
Some bad is perfectly acceptable, but Mourinho has far too many players that he simply cannot rely on.
Cries for Dele Alli to be ‘given a run’ have been rife, and I would, with regret, relish the idea as much as seeing Lamela and Moura flatter to deceive again.
José must be wondering what the flip he’s got himself into at Spurs. Lo Celso and Reguilon are far more enticing options, but neither of them will back anytime soon.
You forgot woulda.
I would rather a Coco whos available sometimes, over a Winks or Tintin who are always available, but never actually turn up..
Exactly right. It’s such a shame injuries have dogged him. He can’t help those. And they never affect his head after. We would have seen consistency and development bar his injury setbacks.. I love Coco, not just his mentality, he is a petite little guy but tough with it. His style and flair is unique, when he’s on song he’s a joy to watch.
Dele played his best as a number 10 under Botch… He’s never played on the wing mate. He wouldn’t have the pace for that. Prem wingers are all rapid runners now.
You know the best ability, availability. Coulda, shoulda, doesn’t cut it.
I’d take plenty. Brighton is just as unappetizing and they beat Liverpool!
WBA are so bad though that we cannot take too much from the performance or result. The Everton game will give us a better idea of where we are, if the same team plays. Everton dominated us in the first game of the season and they are playing with confidence. If we can beat them I will be more confident for the rest of the season. I certainly would welcome a more attacking approach.
2 players that do not quite cut the mustard. I love players who care, I know these certainly do, but we need more. There was a reason Lewis Holtby didn’t make it with us and it had nothing to do with his attitude. A team can only carry so many, unfortunately, we have assembled a squad full. My theory on Lamela is that he hibernates from November 1 and wakes up in 1 Feb.
100%. If he had been fit all these years, who knows what we might have achieved?
Lump into Bergwijn into this category.
Jose needs to start trusting the team to take the game to the opponent more. We haven’t improved defensively from playing two defensive midfielders and blocking low. I hope WBA was a sign that a better balance between solidity and attack might now have finally been struck…
Both have come up short on far to many occasions. Lamela generally because he’s never not injured.
Yesterday we swapped one defensive lump (Sissoko) for another attacking player a d dropped Tanguy in alongside PEH and we were much better at controlling the game and in possession. Why it’s taken so long to make this alteration is anyone’s guess.
Can’t be Jose being safety-first surely? 🤔
I think Lamela and Moura are nearly-men, rarely achieving any end result but I would not put Dele in the same category. I think he has been played out of position by Mourinho. He will never be a ten. I do think if he was picked instead of Bergwijn and made those late runs he was so good at, with Harry pinging the ball through he would be a regular scorer
Lamela is a good player with a shocking injury record. He doesn’t just get stuck in. He plays decisive passes and through balls, he transitions play quickly, he makes very good runs, and he always tries to make himself available for a second ball.
Unfortunately for much of his Spurs career he has been playing with injuries or, more often, not playing because of injuries.
Sorry to disappoint you but there are plenty of Lamela and Lucas apologists, just read through any post and you’ll find the same thing.
It’s usually along the lines of, “I love” Lamela /Lucas’ attitude, he gives it everything, a real trier, always gives 100 per cent, a real team player, always willing to put his foot in. On and on it goes.