22 upvotes, 4 direct replies (showing 4)
My take on the situation is that we've just come out of a dreadful period and the team aren't playing with confidence, with players that have either been overplayed or haven't played in months. We have changed the team profile massively over the past 18 months (or thereabouts)... the squad for yesterday only 8 out of the 20 were here before Ange - and three of those were the midfield starting 3.
Injuries fucked us for the past 3 months, now we need confidence... but the situation within the stadium is toxic while we are underperforming.
We need to win on Thursday, coming back to salvage a draw yesterday hopefully gave the team some confidence.
Personally I have been Ange in this entire time, I'm done with chopping and changing managers every 18 months, its done nothing for the club. I'd give him to the end of the season and see how we are then.
In my mind what we need is a strong DM to protect the central defenders. Biss is too inconsistent, and then a way to break a low block defence.
The positive note is how essential Bergvall has become to the midfield - we are better when he plays - my ideal Mid 3 would be (new DM) Bergvall & Kulu - with Madders, Sarr & Gray as back ups (or try Gray out as 6 now we have Cuti & Mickey back.
Comment by CommercialPlastic604 at 10/03/2025 at 09:08 UTC
7 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Completely agree about the manager change. I’ve had a season ticket since August 2021 and have seen a lot of people in the managers box by the side of the pitch compared to some other PL clubs. I’m not necessarily saying I think Ange is the right one for us but we have absolutely made some bad decisions since Poch or haven’t backed them properly.
Comment by trigb0y at 10/03/2025 at 10:29 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
spot on. i’ll add that so much of this as well is up to the fans to not be SO reactionary. its one thing to finally have a ton of players back but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be straight back at their peak ability and fluid in how they work with eachother. they need to re-integrate and build cohesion on the pitch again.
Comment by anonymous_mouse101 at 10/03/2025 at 09:17 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Absolutely, when we are underperforming, the reaction from the fans does nothing to help the situation. Bissouma is definitely not the DM we thought he was, it's just gonna be so tough to find a world class replacement (although admittedly any replacement would be a start).
Bergvall has been so good! He and Gray have been so exciting, I just pray that they'll both still be with us in 5 years time.
Comment by philatio11 at 10/03/2025 at 14:06 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
A strong DM has become so critical to modern football. Today's DMs have two critical roles:
1. Act as a sweeper higher up the pitch to stop counter attacks. No one uses a sweeper in D anymore, the 6 plays that role in the midfield instead.
2. Make the transition to offense work with accurate passes upfield to break the press. Facilitate switching fields when we dead end.
Watching Tyler Adams really puts it into perspective how lacking we are in that area. Yes, his career was stopped from reaching his full potential by constant injuries. No, we don't have a player that comes even close to doing the quiet, dirty work that he does.
It's a sad state of affairs when the US National Team has far better options at their disposal than Spurs. Adams, Weston McKinnie (Juventus), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), James Sands (FC St Pauli) are all reasonable options to play the 6. We need someone confident and calm with the ball on their foot during a press.