Tottenham Hotspur 24/25: To Dare is to Didgeridoo

[eddiew112]

Looking for some help...My wife is heading to London with a few girlfriends and one got them tickets to the Europa League game vs. AZ Alkmaar. She is looking for some advice on how to proceed. My wife knows her way around London like it was Boston, but has never been to a Hotspur game.

First, will this game sell out? Should she be prepared for that type of crowd?

She is thinking they should be in the area a few hours before the game. Grab a bite to each and then bar hop towards the stadium. Is there a lot around the grounds? Post-game, probably taking the Tube home to the hotel (across from The London Eye. She has heard that post-game can be madness on the tube and may want to wait out the crowd a little while at a pub. For a game like this, will the crowds be that large to where they need to wait it out?

Any recommendations/advice are appreciated.

Happy to help! Weather permitting and if they have time, I recommend that they take the Victoria line to Seven Sisters and take the ~30 minute walk up Tottenham High Road to soak in the atmosphere and get a sense of the area. For pubs, my favorite pre game spot is the Coach and Horses (5 min walk north of the stadium and has a large beer garden in the back), but there a lot of other good options. The stadium also opens 90 minutes before kick-off, so they can grab a beer at the huge bar under the South Stand as well.

Getting the trains is a bit of a shit show for ~45 min to an hour after the game (especially on a week night as everyone will be rushing to get the last trains back to Essex/Surrey/Hertfordshire). I usually grab a beer and let the crowd thin out a bit. For Tube home, they can take the Victoria from Seven Sisters to Warren Street and change there to the Northern line for Waterloo.

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

Thank you very much!

 

[eddiew112]

No problem! Also, if there are any issues with the trains, they can take the 341 bus to Waterloo at Bruce Grove Station, which is between the stadium and Seven Sisters on Tottenham High Road.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Brutal result yesterday and makes for a discouraging start to the campaign. The lillywhite colored glasses can only say that Arsenal and Newcastle are likely 2 top 5 teams, and the squad were unlucky not to take 3 off LCFC. But 4 points is 4 points. My notes from a rewatch:

• Solanke had a great chance off the press in the first half that didn't even yield a shot. Unacceptable.
• Vicario had an outstanding save on the header in the first half. Porro struggled all game with Martinelli (and overloads). Vic also made a good save on Martinelli off the break just shy of 20'. Defended a corner well with a punch at 22' which is relevant considering the eventual goal. Got lucky with another corner he went for and mostly missed at 33'.
• Credit to Arsenal's D that was very well set and clogged up the middle. Spurs had a bit of success combining in the right channel when Solanke would drop deep, but once they faced goal they didn't play the final ball quickly or decisively enough.
• Halfway thru the first half, Udogie intercepted a pass and broke forward extremely well, but when he found himself in on goal he tried to square when he should've shot and the pass was blocked.
• Another press turned the ball over the final third (credit to Deki and Ben10), but Deki and Solanke got in each other's way preventing a shot from getting off.
• VDV intercepted an easy pass, strode forward, and hit a really nice diagonal on the ground to Son in space. Led to a Madders cross and Solanke header that was close to a goal but missed. Good defense by Gabriel.
• Brennan Johnson had a horribad game. He didn't add much and when he found himself in space he lacked creativity to create space and otherwise his delivery wasn't up to snuff.
• Right before half Son cut into the middle and created a chance that Johnson put over the bar.
• Nice interception on a low cross by Vic to start 2nd half.
• Nice team press gets Johnson loose down the right (notice a pattern?) and he finds Solanke for a diving header that's defended well.
• Nice corner set play gets VDV loose for a header but he doesn't do enough with it and Raya reads it perfectly to make an easy save.
• Porro plays a great ball thru to Deki but his cross is bad and gets blocked.
• Really nice buildup from the back between Romero, Ben10, and Deki gets the latter loose in the box but he misses Madders trailing the play and no danger comes of it.
• Another nice buildup from the back gets Johnson free down the right but Arsenal defend well with numbers, 6 vs. 4. Spurs waste the corner.
• Arsenal continue probing Porro's corner quite a bit with overloads and finding space into the second half.
• Another nice buildup with Deki in the middle of it gets Johnson free down the right but he mishits and puts a soft shot right into Raya.
• Right after the first subs, at 70' Udogie beats his man down the line but his cross is bad and goes into 7 Arsenal defenders in the box while only Solanke is in there for the good guys.
• After that, Arsenal really planted their men behind the ball and Spurs didn't have any answers for the low block. Madders had a decent cross from the left at 75', and there were a handful of other crosses into a crowded box. I like Odebert's skillset but his crosses were a bit aimless, although I give him a pass since he was going up against a title challenger parking the bus. Porro had a nice cross for Romero at the end of regulation but it went right to Raya. Deki had a nice shot from distance.
• The Madders sub (Werner on) didn't make sense to me. The break wasn't on at that point and the result of all the shifting meant that Son was deeper alongside Sarr where he would get on the ball and make a sideways pass before making his run. He needed to be more direct than that. Arsenal in contrast overloaded the right and made quick passes to unlock a team defending with urgency.

TL;DR - I thought Spurs played alright and created more than their share of the dangerous chances. The press worked well and created 2-4 chances but Spurs have a lot of trouble converting those turnovers to shots (to say nothing of goals!). Spurs' aggressive approach exposes Porro's weak defense, but it didn't directly bite Spurs yesterday. Spurs were at their best in possession when they get pressed in the middle of the park and break from there with space to run into. It resulted in getting wingers loose but Johnson was very wasteful with it yesterday. Romero had some bad defending on the corner, but Vic still shows weakness and timidity on corners.

Deki and Maddison were the best yesterday, while Udogie, VDV, and Porro were fine. Ben10 was also good enough as Bissouma's backup, especially considering the opposition. Stock down for Johnson, Son, Solanke, Romero (tough for a 1-play let down, but it was key), Vic, and Sarr (TBF shouldn't be playing the 6). No score for Werner or Odebert.

Let's get right vs. Coventry on Wednesday so we can have some momentum vs. a solid Brentford side on the weekend. COYS

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

Very late goals from Spence and Johnson salvage a 2-1 Carrabao win over Coventry, on the heels of a lackluster first 87 minutes.

Coventry outshot Spurs 15-9, and a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. Yuck

 

[Zososoxfan]

Very late goals from Spence and Johnson salvage a 2-1 Carrabao win over Coventry, on the heels of a lackluster first 87 minutes.

Coventry outshot Spurs 15-9, and a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. Yuck

The best thing I can say about that game is that Madders and Deki changed things immediately when they came on, Spence looks real good and should get into almost every match even if as a sub, and good for Brennan Johnson to slot home the winner. He needed some good press as apparently Spurs supporters have been hard on him via social media (he deleted/deactivated his Insta account recently).

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

The Spence goal especially had this quick sharp interplay and vertical running attacking into the box which I think looked a lot more like Ange goals are meant to look than some of the ponderous advancement to a wing who then crosses into a bunker that we see too much of.

It was a horrid match but weirdly the nature of that goal had me leaving it more optimistic than even some overall better matches have done.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Very encouraging win against Brentford on the weekend. Madders was incredible, as his pressing led to 2 goals and he finished off a third. He pushed wide left and beat his man A LOT, and that made a lot of the attack generally work better. Brennan Johnson may be heating up, as he got the ball in space towards the corner of the box, and he pushed it forward a bit to create space and had a terrific finish to the far post. Solanke also opened his account for Spurs and had a nice poacher's goal. Deki as the 10 (or second 10 to Madders) is paying dividends. He's been so good and he has a unique skillset that gives other teams problems. Ben10 had a terrific game and his pressing from deep helped turn the ball over which led to a couple of the goals. The backline was OK, Porro struggled defending his wing for most of the match, although he had a couple of nice blocks towards the end. Finally, Vicario had one of his nerviest games and was lucky not to receive a yellow for handling the ball outside the box. His shot stopping is truly elite, but his play on corners and set pieces is...not elite to put it kindly.

Since Spence isn't registered for UEL, I thought we would've seen him in this game. Spurs host Qarabag of Azerbaijan on Thursday before traveling to Old Trafford on Sunday, so I expect to see some rotation on Thursday. Even if Udogie starts at LB, we're almost certainly getting Ben Davies or VDV minutes there so he's not playing a full 90. On the right, I suspect Gray comes in for Porro. Ben10 and Biss will split the time at DMF (both are good options at the moment), and hopefully only one of Deki/Madders starts at the 10. Bergvall or Sarr should start at the 8. Werner on the left, likely Solanke (or Deki I guess) at the 9, and Johnson likely on the RW.

 

[Zososoxfan]

Spurs seem to be figuring out Ange ball! Brennan Johnson and Solanke continue their hot streak, and the double 10s with Deki and Madders is super fun to watch. VDV and Romero continue to be hosses, Vicario shook off his bad game from earlier in the season, and the fullbacks continue to impress. Udogie did come off with injury, but Spence looks like he belongs. Ben10 was solid again, I can't believe his suspension is supposed to be 6-12 games! Werner still can't finish at all. Bergvall and Moore continue to get minutes, along with the Dragon.

Up to 8th in the table, but with a top 5 GD (Arsenal, MANC, Pool, Chelsea).

Ferencvaros on Thursday for UEL. COYS!!

 

[DJnVa]

It does seem like something *may* be starting to click. Spurs are top in xG this season, with second fewest goals allowed. By some measures their xG yesterday was over 5.

9-1 GS/GA in last 3, and 2 of those games had 20+ shots and 10 on target.

 

[Kliq]

If you swap Son in for Werner, yesterday would have been a historic result.

 

[Zososoxfan]

If you swap Son in for Werner, yesterday would have been a historic result.

It already was! Old Trafford has been a house of horrors for Spurs in recent years. By the end of the match on Sunday, we were subbing on teenagers and resting VDV.

 

[Zososoxfan]

No one really cares to write about UEL yet, huh? JK

I didn't watch closely, but obviously happy we rotated a ton and still won the match. I'm kind of into Ange's habit of getting the stars on for a short bit towards the end of these games. Keeps the real miles off their legs, and let's them come in and cook against tired and outclassed defenders. It's also more useful for evaluating the young players as they're going against fresh legs.

I'm starting to really enjoy Gray's game. He seems to be the quiet confident type who can do a lot of things well. Being able to play at least 3 positions at this level (RB, LCB, DMF) shows a well-rounded skillset. He may have even played LB after Davies shifted to LCB in the second half--I really can't remember if Porro shifted sides or someone else came in.

Moore is a very modern footballer in that he attempts dribbles relentlessly from the wings. This is likely a directive from Ange and the 17 year-old seems willing to try anything and everything, even if it didn't come off yesterday.

I didn't see much of Bergvall or Lankshear--thoughts?

Very happy for Sarr to get a goal as he seems to have lost his starting spot, but I always want rotation players to do well and continue pushing the starters.

Deki, Johnson, and Madders (although I admit I saw less of him yesterday) are on fire right now. Deki has really shined in his central role, and that also freed up just a bit more space for Madders, and he's taking full advantage. Johnson's finishing is really starting to impress, as he's picking out the far post low corner regularly. If he continues to do that and get defenders to over-commit to it, he'll have the opportunity to drag the ball onto his right more often and threaten both sides.

Didn't see exactly what happened on the Ferencvaros goal? Was anyone in particular at fault?

Brighton on Sunday should be a super entertaining match as both teams play comically high defensive lines and like to press aggressively.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

The scouting reports and pundits all seem very convinced that Gray has a high ceiling as well, which I look forwards to seeing, but right now what I love is that Gray seems to also have a pretty high floor as a quite useful early Dier or always Davies utility guy who can capably fill many holes in a squad. Extremely useful already whether he does eventually become an England caliber starting 6 or not.

Lankshear for me did just about everything right other than put the ball in the back of the net. I'm very happy with him as a squad striker option.

Bergvall oozes class, but you can really tell that the game is faster than he's used to. It makes sense, compared to say Gray the Championship seems a lot closer to top-level speed than the Swedish league likely is. I think he'll keep getting minutes but Spurs (and Spurs fans) will need to be patient.

 

[scott bankheadcase]

Brennan with 5 goals in 5 games is a crazy run. And he's also hit 3 posts in that timeframe, including an impressive strike yesterday.

If Son can get rested and healthy, a front 3 of Son, Solanke, Johnson can cause real problems.

 

[DJnVa]

I didn't see much of Bergvall or Lankshear--thoughts?

Lankshear seemed to play well, but I don't know exactly what Ange was asking of him. I did see few nice runs, and had a play in the box where he, the ball, the defender, and the keeper all arrived at the same time.

Bergvall shows flashes, but I think he needs the confidence to hit him. There's clearly a lot of talent there but every once in a while, he either has a bad turnover or plays a really timid pass--but he's like 18 and I'm not worried.

Didn't see exactly what happened on the Ferencvaros goal? Was anyone in particular at fault?

I think we just gave the guy on the ball a bit too much space, and he put in a good ball and it was a pretty sweet finish.



From some of the podcasts this week, they pegged the Brighton game a MUCH more important this week. The new UEL format means you can drop an away match and it's not the end of the world. But they have tougher UEL matches later, so banking 3 points was nice, especially starting 4 teenagers.