Spurs must show character after West Ham thrashing
metro
Stunned Spurs must bounce back quickly from shock thrashing by West Ham
This was Tottenhams third London derby of the season.
A second defeat leaves us with a solitary point and no bragging rights.
Where has it all gone wrong
Well, it hasnt gone wrong. Lets try to contain the melodrama.
But the result serves to illustrate that football remains unpredictable.
Weve managed to top our worst performance of the season (away to Arsenal) with an even more inept display at home to West Ham United. A game that gave so much in the way of a one-sided score line yet possessed very little substance in terms of major talking points.
Aside, that is, from our defending. Which was awful.
From an oppositions perspective, the game must have been brilliant. Turn up, dont do much, defend doggedly and maybe grab a goal against the run of play. Which they duly did.
Then they got another. Then amazingly a third.
Our performance was too slow paced and lacklustre. There was not enough urgency and inventiveness.
Not that it was amazing in terms of the football, more so the shock of amazement with what was transpiring as Spurs impressive form imploded.
Sure, there were chances in the first-half. There was a glorious one early in the second-half which Jermain Defoe failed to poke/lift past their keeper.
But overall our performance was too slow-paced and lacklustre. There was not enough urgency and inventiveness.
We all know there isnt great balance on the flanks and that we dont stretch teams enough with our width thanks to the fact we only have the single winger available.
Andros Townsend, it must be said, was superb.
Weve managed without two traditional wingers in prior games, but against West Ham the formation didnt seem to ignite excitement.
Its easy to over analyse and knee-jerk when you lose a game much like its easy to get carried away when you win one. But its not like our form prior to this slap in the face has been poor.
Weve not been outstanding but weve looked accomplished.
Weve looked settled with one or two quirks to iron out. We boss teams, we score goals (not many) but we do create chances.And most importantly we have shape. There simply wasnt any on Sunday.
It reminded me of some of the performances of old when we plugged away for 70 minutes, failed to break the opposition down, then concede late on and lose.
Im gutted about the result and disappointed. Id be worried if I wasnt.
Not just because we lost at home to West Ham but equally so because these days Spurs dont lose that many games.
So when we do lose, it hurts because our expectancy is so high and with reason.
We have aspirations and defeats like this can feel harsh and play with emotions.
Supporters naturally think of the worst scenario to follow and attach themselves to a fatalistic conclusion. Id prefer to accept this as a wake-up call much like our coach has cited.
This was a not so gentle reminder not to take anything for granted and to avoid complacency.
Its a long season. All that matters now is how we react to this.
This was Tottenhams third London derby of the season.
A second defeat leaves us with a solitary point and no bragging rights.
Where has it all gone wrong
Well, it hasnt gone wrong. Lets try to contain the melodrama.
But the result serves to illustrate that football remains unpredictable.
Weve managed to top our worst performance of the season (away to Arsenal) with an even more inept display at home to West Ham United. A game that gave so much in the way of a one-sided score line yet possessed very little substance in terms of major talking points.
Aside, that is, from our defending. Which was awful.
From an oppositions perspective, the game must have been brilliant. Turn up, dont do much, defend doggedly and maybe grab a goal against the run of play. Which they duly did.
Then they got another. Then amazingly a third.
Our performance was too slow paced and lacklustre. There was not enough urgency and inventiveness.
Not that it was amazing in terms of the football, more so the shock of amazement with what was transpiring as Spurs impressive form imploded.
Sure, there were chances in the first-half. There was a glorious one early in the second-half which Jermain Defoe failed to poke/lift past their keeper.
But overall our performance was too slow-paced and lacklustre. There was not enough urgency and inventiveness.
We all know there isnt great balance on the flanks and that we dont stretch teams enough with our width thanks to the fact we only have the single winger available.
Andros Townsend, it must be said, was superb.
Weve managed without two traditional wingers in prior games, but against West Ham the formation didnt seem to ignite excitement.
Its easy to over analyse and knee-jerk when you lose a game much like its easy to get carried away when you win one. But its not like our form prior to this slap in the face has been poor.
Weve not been outstanding but weve looked accomplished.
Weve looked settled with one or two quirks to iron out. We boss teams, we score goals (not many) but we do create chances.And most importantly we have shape. There simply wasnt any on Sunday.
It reminded me of some of the performances of old when we plugged away for 70 minutes, failed to break the opposition down, then concede late on and lose.
Im gutted about the result and disappointed. Id be worried if I wasnt.
Not just because we lost at home to West Ham but equally so because these days Spurs dont lose that many games.
So when we do lose, it hurts because our expectancy is so high and with reason.
We have aspirations and defeats like this can feel harsh and play with emotions.
Supporters naturally think of the worst scenario to follow and attach themselves to a fatalistic conclusion. Id prefer to accept this as a wake-up call much like our coach has cited.
This was a not so gentle reminder not to take anything for granted and to avoid complacency.
Its a long season. All that matters now is how we react to this.
