bookd.
Tottenham0 - 2Newcastle
A bizzare choice playing Porro as a winger and Gray as a right back. It's easy with hindsight to criticise, of course, and in theory that choice could have worked but it's so weird to experiment when Moore and Kudus are on the bench. I think there's a lot of potential in this squad and it's pretty clear that if we had better wingers on, we could've done wonders in this game. It's weird but even after two losses, i've still got this hope that this team will gel and start playing better. At the end of the day, it's a rebuild, one that's long overdue. It could've happened when we still had Kane or Son but the owners decided now instead of then, and we're reaping the consequences of having to need an entirely new squad instead of having a key player to build around.
Crystal Palace1 - 4Man City
Pretty weird how this city team struggled last season considering the firepower they have. Maresca's tactics are interesting and it seems to compliment Haaland pretty well. Not having a naturally progressive 10 feels weird to watch in a city side after the years of De Bruyne but Cherki is a great replacement, even if their playstyles are polarizingly different. They play a 3 in the back when with possession with Anderson dropping deep for build-up play which was really nice to watch. I do wonder though if Anderson had a heavier, more consistent press, would that stop City's momentum? Maybe Bouaddi's signing adds creativity to this City side and some relief to Anderson. There's a lot to love and expect from this young and talented City team. I do think an Enzo Fernandez or Angelo Stiller would do wonders for this team as I feel like it's missing a pivotal piece in the midfield.
Man CityTottenham5 - 1Charlton
Us Spurs fans have been so starved from progressive passes, creativity and dribbling that this game just made me so happy just by how much was being done by our midfield and wingers. Fernandes proves his high fee with those line-cutting passes. Moore seemed dodgy with his decisions until his goal which turned him into a british Yamal. Unbelievable how confidence changes a player's performance. Savio is oozing with confidence and skill and all that rubbish about his finishing was proven wrong instantly with a goal. It's clear this Spurs team is brimming with potential and this is a team without Tonali, Marmoush, Kulusevski, Kudus, Simons, etc. Spurs need time for these players to stick and understand each other, while also fully committing to De Zerbi and his unique tactics, but once that happens, I have no doubt we'd be title contenders.
Tottenham
Brentford3 - 0Tottenhamone of our most pass-progressive lineups in the past two years and we still stink 😭 instagram comments saying this isn't our starting 11 as if it's not a good enough lineup to beat or even draw to brentford.. couple things: Senesi and Van Hecke work together in a back 5 but both together in a back 4 don't sync well because they're both so attacking-minded, Danso would've been a better fit especially against Igor Thiago who's well known to be a very physical and strong striker. Gallagher as a 10 feels weird as well as him in the 10 role should be reserved to when we're playing a big club that needs to be defended constantly. I would've preferred LWB in terms of creativity in the 10 role at this point. It's easy to criticise though with hindsight, in theory this team should've been more than capable to beat brentford. Happy to give this team more time to sync with each other, there's a lot of talent but not enough chemistry which is something that just gets worked on naturally through time. COYS!
TottenhamTottenham3 - 01899 Hoffenheim
I love Mikey Moore and I hope he doesn't do a Vuskovic on us. He's got so much potential and I don't see why we don't trust him more. I think he's good enough to be a squad player for us so I'm hoping these loan moves just make him better and don't alienate him from the club.
France0 - 2Spain
The reason why Mbappe performed so well in the last two world cups and struggled here is the same reason why he's struggling in Real Madrid. He's not a striker. He's a winger. Mbappe is at his best when there's a tall, big 9 to divert attention away while he slithers past to either score himself or create chances for the 9. Players like Giroud for France or Joselu for Real Madrid would have worked wonders for 25-26 Mbappe but instead, he's forced to play as a 9 in Madrid and France. Even when he's not playing as a 9 for France, he has Dembele as the 9 instead of Thuram. Dembele won the balon d'or of course, but Mbappe needs a striker with hold-up play and heading capabilities instead of a fast one. Also the fact that both Madrid and France don't have a proper 10 just further isolated Mbappe. Griezmann and Giroud did wonders for that France team and this France team will continue to struggle until they figure out that playing the best players statistically in terms of G/A on the pitch won't always result in the best results, and they should instead play one or two of their top performing players and then build around them. Thuram should've started and Cherki too imo.
Spain
Portugal0 - 1SpainA poorly managed Portugal team with a midfield trio that drastically underperformed. When you have two midfielders who've just won the champions league together back to back and a 10 who's just gotten the most assist in the premier league, there should be much more creativity and risk taken in that central area. Ronaldo was definitely not at his best and played more minutes than he deserved but there's been a lot of national teams that have had slower, older strikers that just have teams built around them. This Portugal team looked lazy from the very start and it was obvious this team had 0 team chemistry or respect for Ronaldo. Nuno Mendes is the best full-back in the world and his great performances this world cup was overshadowed by how bad every other player in his team were.
Portugal
Ajax2 - 3Tottenhami love dele and i love lucas moura
Tottenham
PSG2 - 2TottenhamImagine telling a Spurs fan ten years ago we'd win the Europa League then draw with the Champions League winners but also finish 17th twice in a row with us surviving the second season by 2 points.
TottenhamTottenham1 - 2West Ham
Genuinely a really embarrassing performance by Spurs and to get outscored by this West Ham team was a clear sign for Frank to go. After watching Ange for two seasons, I was excited to see Thomas Frank join Spurs because he seemed so tactical and analytical compared to Ange but there's no use having all the tactics in the world if the team doesn't trust you. Thomas Frank was insecure from the very start by saying "we will lose games" and this flimsy mentality reflected the overall insecurity displayed by his players on the pitch. Players looked too scared to try creative passes and too nervous to try dribble against opponents. Ange-ball was formulaic, basic and repetitive but it was exciting and he knew how to inspire a team. Frank was the complete opposite where he would try new things, be overly-defensive and struggle to get the team going. Overall, one of the worst managers we've had but also a blessing since this De Zerbi signing has led to actual player signings. Hoping De Zerbi is the right mix of Ange and Frank.
Tottenham1 - 0Man United
Honestly, Ange-ball was super iffy and felt really simple tactically at times. It's a type of system that fits leagues with big fishes in small ponds like PSG, Real Madrid or Celtic and not one that's super competitive like the Premier League. Just grateful that Amorim-ball was twice as bad and Johnson got that goal. That Van De Ven clearance was legendary and one that seals him as one of my favourites. Glad Son also got to lift a trophy.
Tottenham
Juventus1 - 2Inter
Juve was rubbish. Kolo Muani was terrible for Spurs all of last season and he was terrible the few minutes he was in this game too. Dimarco got to roam free without any proper marking and Inter just looked the better team most of the game. Crazy to think that a few years back this team had Ronaldo, Dybala, Chiesa, De Ligt, Kulusevski, Bentancur and so much more.
Inter
Milan1 - 1InterWhen the game started, I pointed to my friend at Amorim and said "That guy is the reason Spurs lifted the Europa League, because he doesn't know how to defend against a wing back". Quick tangent but I loved watching Spurs play against United because Amorim always had the weirdest ideas like forcing Bruno Fernandes to play deeper or making Bruno Fernandes mark Djed Spence, it's just so weird to ask one of your most creative and attacking-minded players in your team to not only trek back but to mark a wing-back. It's like he needs a high energy wide-covering defensive midfielder but also wants that same midfielder to be creative which is impossible in today's market. Anyways Amorim did the same in this match where he constantly let Dimarco run free in the final third multiple times with no one marking him. It's as if the Premier League and his improvised three in the back system at United taught him nothing. Super lucky Inter wasn't clinical that night and lucky to get the penalty. I know this is just a friendly but if they're relying on Leao and Loftus-Cheek as their attacking midfielders for the rest of the season, they're going to struggle compared to Inter, Napoli, even Juve looks better on paper. Love Modric and love a few of the players they have and just bought, so i'm super curious on how this season goes for them. Surprised they didn't buy Spence though since he would fit well in this Amorim system.
Inter