weekly.
Spurs managed yet again to throw away a lead, as they lost to Leicester in yet another away loss, something that’s become a regular feature of 2019.
For the second time in four days, for the third time in three games Spurs fail to hold an away lead, after the midweek capitulation they at least came away with a point, in the Premier League it’s different as they conceded twice in the second half, to lose 2-1 to Leicester meaning they haven’t won away in 2019 since the first month of the year.
It was one of those games that was both harum and scarum. But once the big decision went against Spurs, with them still one up, you knew what was coming as they just imploded.
VAR played it’s part early on when Spurs indulged in a bit of defensive omniclusterfuckshambles luckily the Leicester who received the ball and caused the goal-line panic as offside, along with a number of others. It was a clear and obvious error by the linesman, who should have spotted it.
Half an hour in and Kane opened the scoring. The ball was going forward, as with all the best bits we’ve seen from Spurs this season, they work best when it’s going forward, at pace. Another run down the middle by Lamela that’s led to a goal, he played in Son with a pinpoint pass, Son on the edge of the area cut the ball back to Kane running in. Kane was barged by the defender and started to fall, as he falls to the ground he doesn’t take his eye of the ball, hooks his leg back and taking a shot bounced the ball past the keeper.
That was a hell of a goal.
The game changed just after the hour with the second VAR decision. Some nice work by Sissoko, who gave the ball to Ndombele, who played a lovely ball to Son on the edge of the area, running into the box the Korean was well tackled, the ball going left to Kane, who played the perfect cross to Aurier wide open on the right edge of the D, he lined up his shot and with the help of a deflection “scored the second”.
Here comes VAR and Son is millimetres offside. Son’s shoulder is millimetres offside. yeah I know, it’s gone for Spurs before and now it’s gone against them. Poch takes the line of going with the flow but this wasn’t anywhere close to being a clear and obvious error. This was nit-picking. And after half an hour checking the goal was chalked off.
If you’re going to go this way with VAR the offside law has to be adjusted. I like the old rule that there had to be clear daylight between attacker and defender but if you don’t do that you could just say if the part of the body the player used to touch the ball is offside. I mean, Son played the ball with his foot. It wasn’t offside.
Within minutes it was one-all. Wanyama came on for some unknown reason, yes Sissoko had a yellow card, which was a good tackle and not a yellow and had put in some robust challenges on Maddison – well someone had to – but this wasn’t the right substitution. It almost looks like Poch is putting a player on that he wanted rid of just to prove a point to Levy. Wanyama gave the ball away, Maddison, who yet again had all the space and the time in the world played it through to Barnes, onto Vardy, his cross went behind everyone in the box but found Ricardo who slammed it in.
Yet again Danny Rose was making a despairing lunge at the back post. Yet again Danny Rose was jumping into a shot and deflecting it past the keeper. All the praise for Rose and his last ditch tackles, well maybe if he was a better defender he wouldn’t have to be making last ditch tackles.
But then Danny doesn’t even understand basic pointing. As shown earlier when he had the ball, Ndombele was outside him on the touchline pointing where Rose should pass it, he wasn’t pointing at himself, and yet Rose didn’t understand this basic concept and passed it straight to Ndombele.
Four minutes before the 90 were up and Leicester took the lead. Winks jumped out of trying to block a ball on the right, a nod down a square pass and yet again Maddison is in acres of space, from where he has a shot for the winner. Three central midfielders and where were they?
Well as said one was out wide. The “he’s one of our own” favourite. After the game I saw one site give Winks an 8/10 another claimed he was snapping at heels all over the park. Strange then how he didn’t manage a single tackle in the whole of the game. Maddison ran rings around him all game, Winks barely got close, a leg dangled here, run away from him there. Oh he ran about a bit. Wow. Someone midweek couldn’t understand the criticism, saying Winks recycles the ball. That’s just a wanker version of sideways passing that does nothing. He recycled it a bit for Leicester. The number of times the likes of Ndombele were criticised for losing possession when they were passed the ball by Winks, with a man-on. Winks seeing they were marked and yet still passed it, when other options were far preferable. But no, the coward’s pass. It’s someone else’s problem to deal with.
The centre of the park is weak with him there. Leaving Spurs weak.
Aurier came in for some stick for his passing. Yes some of it wasn’t the best but one pass in particular didn’t deserve it. A curled ball out to Son on the right wing but as he decided to come inside as Aurier hit the ball it curled round Son and he was left chasing it to the touchline and not getting it. If Son had stayed going forward, he would have easily got the ball with acres of space in front of him and a great attacking situation.
Poch didn’t bring on Eriksen ’til late, the 80th minute, while some that obvious hadn’t watch him mince around in Greece midweek questioned why he didn’t start. He offered very little. It’s telling that from the season Leicester and Spurs fought for the title only Vardy and the keeper started from them from that season. While for Spurs it was three of the back four, Lamela, Kane, more were on the bench, Dier, Eriksen while chances are Dele and Hugo would have featured.
Poch wanted to overhaul the squad, he wanted players out as much as players in. To refresh. It didn’t happen as much as he wanted so they just look stale…