Tottingham Hotspurs v Aston Villa PREMIER LEAGUE Saturday 10th August 17.30 k.o. | Page 37 | Vital Football

Tottingham Hotspurs v Aston Villa PREMIER LEAGUE Saturday 10th August 17.30 k.o.

Yes it was a wierd feeling yesterday going to the game . I got so used last season going thinking if we play well we will win no problem and have utmost confidence .

It's got to be a different mindset this season. Bournemouth won't be easy at all.
 
Yes it was a wierd feeling yesterday going to the game . I got so used last season going thinking if we play well we will win no problem and have utmost confidence .

It's got to be a different mindset this season. Bournemouth won't be easy at all.

What we have to come to terms with is that every team in this league will see us as a game that they can get points from. We will have to fight as hard as yesterday and improve our weaknesses quickly to win games.

Completely different mentality needed and the quicker we get some points the better in terms of belief and confidence.
 
Unfortunately I work with 2 plastic spurs fans.

Not that I will admit to them but Spurs were bloody good.

And they didn't start with Ericsson, Alli, Son or Vertonghen .
Wow.
 
I was surprised when Hourihane was replaced by Luiz for several reasons;

In the first half Hourihane had played well defending the defence.
Spurs changed their formation slightly in the second half, putting more pressure on Hourihane, he needed help not replacing.
Replacing Hourihane with a young player, who hasn't even trained with the first team and is at least 5 weeks behind the rest of the team in training, is asking the impossible, in my opinion. Luiz was overrun.
If Luiz had of been played alongside Hourihane, replacing El Ghazi, it would have significantly strengthened our defensive midfield, while not necessarily weakening our attack too much, if at all.
 
There are no easy fixtures. There weren't last season, and we were fairly average until suddenly things clicked.

Same this season. We can lose to anyone. But also, anyone can lose to us; Spurs nearly did yesterday, until they found that killer touch towards the end which makes them a top 4 side.

No match is going to be a must win. What's key though is Smith maintaining that desire and belief in winning. There were plenty of matches last season where we did a Spurs towards the end. Yesterday we were too knackered towards the end, though we did try (that's how they scored their third goal).

I'm looking forwards to this season. Losing to Bournemouth wouldn't change that. All I want is it to see that desire and belief, because that'll see us through at the end of the day.
 
Reading back over the past few pages I wasn’t expecting so much negativity?
We could of got a right hiding like Norwich but from what I watched we were right in it for well over half the game. We won’t play many better sides than spurs this year so on yesterday’s viewing I think we should stay up which is the only aim at the moment.
 
Ok
We lost to spurs and we were 10/1 to win. On the plus side our kid had a corporate with his mate and the spurs fans were great with them from start to finish. £1500 a match so it was top drawer. Make no mistake spurs have done a proper job with that stadium and as I said yesterday have progressed for 10 years as we went into decline.
 
What we should take away from the game yesterday:

Not all the new signings are up to speed/integrated yet.
Fitness levels must be improved
Less time allowed on the ball
Keep the ball, ease the pressure

We will improve but this was a steep learning curve. People can decry the quality of our pre-season but we had limited time to get them together and are not on the A list just yet. I do believe that sometimes the fan base is a little unrealistic.

We showed we can compete, we got overrun late on, so plenty to work on and plenty to improve. Keep the faith fellow Villans and role on our first home fixture.
 
Reality is we may need a fair few games before we are up to speed .
This is the challenge as time to settle in this division is scarce .
I think we have enough quality and strength in depth to be above the worst 3 .
 
This pre-season had to be low key in terms of relative quality of opposition as Smith had to get the newbies settled quick in his system, facing AC Milan would've added more to the gate but been entirely counterproductive in terms of making our play 'natural'.

Next summer we'll probably see a tougher pre-season.

There was enough from Spurs to show we're not far off. We aren't going to crack the top six, if goal difference is what it takes that's what it takes.

But don't forget, if we go down this year we are already 500% in a better position than 12 months ago, it's not doom and gloom.
 
Wondered how Mings would shape up; he was outstanding. Ably partnered by Engels who knew exactly what was required. The whole defence was good, and that's a tribute to JT and the other coaches who have really got on top of things.

Wondered where Guilbert will fit in. My guess is that he and Elmo will swap depending on how DS wants to balance attack versus defence. For now I think Taylor will get the nod over Targett.
 
Easiest fixture?

Ok . We'll see. Said this yesterday that there are going to be some disappointed people when the 'easy' teams like Bournemouth are not dispatched by us.

Remember last season when we had a run of 'easy' fixtures which we royally fucked up yet subsequently got a haul of points from the top sides?. Not always simple.

Not saying we will get points from the top sides in this league but I would be careful classifying teams like that

Rivals yes. Teams we need to beat. Oh yes.

Easy . Not for me Jeff.

Completely agree.

To say there are no easy fixtures this season is an understatement and a half. Even little ol' Bournemouth are probably a level above us right now, considering they've had a good run in the Premier League with a way of playing and a good manager. They hammered Chelsea 4-0 last season.

We are still a bunch of new bodies and a work in progress. We could very easily lose this but we have to keep the faith no matter what. If many are saying they'll happily see us finish 17th, then that's going to be a hell of a lot of defeats along the way.
 
What's annoying me now is that if Deano thought that was our best side why he never once played it in pre-season?

So the G-word goes out the window for me.

I have to be honest that team selection wasn't one many if any Villans saw coming and that is always a worrying sign for me.

Either these new players are better or they aren't, no debate over Heaton or Engels, some of them never made the bench which is strange as all were declared fit bar Chester.

I like Deano but he got this one all wrong for me, even down to the subs El Ghazi was crap and he takes off Trez who was offering a threat.

Lots of little things annoying me, Heaton kicking every ball into touch over ElGhazi WTF was that about?

Oh well it's done now and we move onto Bournemouth, hopefully, we have learnt from that
 
The team selection was a surprise but we don't know everything that is going on do we?

Maybe Targett just isn't performing well in training? He sure didn't perform well in the friendlies. We want a manager who picks on form rather than price tag don't we? Surely thats a good thing?

I was amazed Jota didn't start after pre-season but in hindsight I can understand why he went with Trezeguet instead of Jota, given how the game panned out. He offered us a massive outlet with his pace on the break.

Due to that I can understand why Elmo played as they are Egypt team mates and have played with each other many times.

Apart from that the other 8 were as expected.

As for the subs, maybe Trezeguet was just tired? He signed late and might not be up to full fitness yet.

All in all, we gave a very good account of ourselves against a top 3 side away from home, and we know we have quality in reserve should we need to change things to suit particular games.

Far more positives than negatives for me......

............but why oh why didn't I cash out for £646!?!?! I could punch myself! :(