Topic: Spurs vs Liverpool 2-1 Post Match Reaction

[Beninger]

Same result, in the same fixture, as last year.  Just upsetting because you always want to get off to a good start.  I'll gladly double or triple our losses from last year, if it means we turn 0-0's into wins...

I'm glad we have another match in a few days...a week's wait to right this wrong would be torture.

[Des Lynam]

Just got back an hour ago. Disgusted with our performance to be honest, it was a shambles.

But to be honest, I half expected it going into the match. We've been painful all pre-season, no form, we don't look fit and we've lost two very influential squad members in Alonso and Sami.

Our squad is so thin, it's worrying. We need to invest in 3 players before the window shuts. I don't know were the money will come from, but we need it. We need another centre-half, a striker and another midfielder to have any hope of even mounting a title challenge.

Todays performance was horrible to watch. We couldn't keep the ball, we had no movement or creativity, but worst of all, we had no real desire to even win the game. Babel was abysmal, I would really like to know what goes through his head sometimes. He's 22, got talent in abundance and the world at his feet. He's playing in the RED shirt of Liverpool, yet his attitude is dreadful. He won't track back or take a man on, he stumbles around the pitch, clueless. It's horrible to watch.

Talking of which, Carragher needs to have a long look at himself. It's all well and good screaming at other players when they don't perform, but you've got to practice what you preach Jaime, lad. He was all over the shop today. At fault for the 2nd goal (Gave away the free-kick, then failed to win the header against Bassong). His day was summed up when he practically took Skrtel's head off.

I hate to say it, but Lucas is NOT good enough for our team, especially if we have aspirations of winning the league. YES, he made some decent tackles and played some neat passes. But we require more. I know Alonso has gone, but today showed how much we missed him. We couldn't retain possession in midfield at all. We had no imagination or flair and all our play looked forced and dis-jointed. We had no creativity or flair and it's a big worry. Gerrard, although he was unfit, looked isolated and Torres stunk the place out. I think we missed Riera and the balance he brings. I also don't know why Benayoun never started. Heard something about a rib injury, but sounds like bullshit.

Insua looked out of his depth as well, Lennon skinned him a few times. The sooner Fabio comes back, the better off we'll be.

The only plus points were Johnson and Mascherano. Johnson looks a class player and will get better and Mascherano never stopped. If they all had his attitude, it would have been a lot different.

We need to learn and learn quick, because on that performance, we will struggle to finish 4th. And that's not "jerking" or whatever. I fear for this season simply because of our lack of depth. Voronin is not good enough and if Torres gets injured, we're finished. Apart from Benayoun, we've got not no one to come on and change things. Look at Spurs, they brought on Pavyluchenko and Crouch. It's worrying when their front 4 have more depth than ours.

On the whole it's extremely frustrating, because we've got the chance to actually do it this year. Chelsea and Utd looked poor this weekend, yet they grounded out results (Albeit against lesser opposition). But being honest, after our pre-season and lack of funds, this train-wreck was coming today. I just hope we can turn things around before we find ourselves out of the running by October.

Lastly, I'd like to say, Phil Dowd is one fat fucking bell-end. Fucking incompetent. He gave three minutes injury time and lets Spurs make a change, he sends off Sammy Lee and then talks to Lucas for a minute over some shitty fanny push. Then bang on 3 minutes, he blows up for full time. FUCK RIGHT OFF.

Please let us twat Stoke 7-0 just to get this shitty game out of our system.

I've probably rambled on and I apologise, but it's been on my mind since leaving the ground. Shitty trip, Shitty Result, Shitty Spurs fans thinkin their world-beaters with their shitty kit and shitty songs. Fuck off. 

[J-Mc-]

Agree with everything said Des

[KopThat]

It was a difficult game to watch.

Harry got his tactics right, press and frustrate the shite out of us.

If not for Reina it could easily have been a 4-1 drubbing

We shouldn't have to rely on penalty decisions against a team like Spurs.

Without Alonso, Masch and Lucas give us no creativity in the middle, and until Aqualini is fit we should play Gerrard in the middle. Gerrard defintely looked like he wasn't 100% fit.

I know Torres didn't get much quality service, but when he did he was shown up against King and Bassong who are pretty average by Premier League standards.

The performances by Reina, Benayoun and Johnson are the bright spots for me.

[Beninger]

One of our biggest problems was our overall strategy...they pressed us all over the pitch, and when they had the ball, we sat off of them.  Compare that to RM at home last season, when we were the ones with the advantage going in...we played to finish them off.  When we pressed spurs, a goal down in the second half, we did well and earned a penalty, but conceded again, and looked shit until Yossi came on and opened up some space.  Seemed like we tried to congest the midfield, and in doing so, congested ourselves.  Everyone seemed very static and lethargic.  Everyone put Pepe, Yossi, and at times, Johnson.

[jp2]

Interesting stats from the Guardian 'Chalkboard' application:

Babel in 68 minutes - 12 total passes.
Benayoun in the remaining 25 (which should have been 28) : 9

Torres had a few games last year where he was a non-factor - this game we actually got the ball to him more often but he still wasn't able to do much. Their four central players (Palacios, Huddlestone, King, Bassong) were very physical on him - if the Guardian kept stats for # of times gone to ground he would have easily have the lead.

Lucas with 36/37 on passing, Masch 48/53. 5 to 1 in terms of successful tackles, respectively with Lucas surely saving a goal for his tackle on Lennon. Masch with 8 interceptions, 3 for Lucas. I personally though Lucas had a solid game. Gerrard was actually the worst player in terms of passing %.

Our right side was clearly preferred - Johnson got more touches than Insua and Babel combined. Hopefully those 2 (Johnson, Kuyt) keep their wing play up because I think their interplay will be key this year.

[Notayesman]

Interesting stats from the Guardian 'Chalkboard' application:

Babel in 68 minutes - 12 total passes.
Benayoun in the remaining 25 (which should have been 28) : 9

Torres had a few games last year where he was a non-factor - this game we actually got the ball to him more often but he still wasn't able to do much. Their four central players (Palacios, Huddlestone, King, Bassong) were very physical on him - if the Guardian kept stats for # of times gone to ground he would have easily have the lead.

Lucas with 36/37 on passing, Masch 48/53. 5 to 1 in terms of successful tackles, respectively with Lucas surely saving a goal for his tackle on Lennon. Masch with 8 interceptions, 3 for Lucas. I personally though Lucas had a solid game. Gerrard was actually the worst player in terms of passing %.

Our right side was clearly preferred - Johnson got more touches than Insua and Babel combined. Hopefully those 2 (Johnson, Kuyt) keep their wing play up because I think their interplay will be key this year.

Agree about lucas he was one of the few that did ok. Makes the clamour for Gerrard to move back all the more bewildering when you consider how bad he actually performed, particularly when he did drop back deep and proceeded to give the ball away with gusto.

[jp2]

Agree about lucas he was one of the few that did ok. Makes the clamour for Gerrard to move back all the more bewildering when you consider how bad he actually performed, particularly when he did drop back deep and proceeded to give the ball away with gusto.

I wouldn't mind Gerrard moving back, especially if Benayoun takes his place. Towards the end, Gerrard came well into our own half to get the ball and still made things happen, still made connection with Torres. He has the pace to move anywhere in the center and he'll misshapen any defense he encounters, regardless of where he plays. I'm comfortable with Lucas playing anywhere in the center as well for the time being - he controls his touch decently and he does have the ability, somewhere, to make quick, 1 touch passes. Unless we play Yossi consistently, we'll lack another spark until Aquilani is fully in the squad.

[Liverbird 2010]

German telling me I'm a bellend for having an opinion on my team, boss.

haha 

[Stevie-G]

Yossi was class when he came on. Johnson's run to get our penalty was superb. Cant believe the criticism Lucas is receiving by some. Thought he played well. Stopped some Tottenham goal attempts from happening (such as Lennon after he flew passed 3 of our players in the 2nd half), and made some very composed and direct passes. I think some people are just comparing him to Xabi Alonso, which he is obviously not as good as, but these people have to remember there is a 5 year age difference between the two.

Obviously Gutted that we lost but i am just glad we have another fixture in a few days to help us forget this game.

[PIPA23]

Our squad is so thin, it's worrying. We need to invest in 3 players before the window shuts. I don't know were the money will come from, but we need it. We need another centre-half, a striker and another midfielder to have any hope of even mounting a title challenge.

agree

Goran Pandev from Lazio
Tucay from Boro
and maybe Shawcross..

but i only dream..

with our squad we can not win title..it is not deep enough.. just look at United, they have bunch of young players that will again be big in future, and their manager is not afraid to try them.. Macheda, Wellbeck, Gibson, De Leat, and more..

[EverReddy]

One thing hasn't changed, season after season, year after year.

Substitutes get only 20 minutes of play.

[Juan Loco]

Christ on a fuckin' chopstick! At what point, in what fucktarded universe, did De Laet and Darron Gibson become examples of stunning squad depth and quality in reserve.

The mind boggles.


Actually, it does not. The mind wonders why we don't all go drink bleach...

*shakes head*

[kkhaku]

Agree with the above there - but there are some things stats don't tell you.

Lucas did well when we got on the ball - but he simply didn't get on the ball enough. Much of that isn't his fault either...our centrebacks right from the kick off were very eager to play the long ball rather than pass it about. I understand we were closed down quite quickly in our own half, but for me the solution to that is patience, not a mind numbing Carragher-like hoof disguised as a long ball to the forwards.

If you combine that with Torres having one his few 'everything I touch turns to shit' matches, and one big gaffe by the officials, and Rafa's brain fart of a decision to start Babel at left wing, Gerrard's inability to get involved in the general play rather than force the issue, our strategy of crossing the ball into two big centrebacks, (I could go on forever here) - you get a recipe for disaster.

Its one of those games you really can't blame on one or two factors. Everything went wrong. Everyone on the pitch bar maybe Johnson and Yossi contributed very little.  Sammy needs to put a boot up all their arses, and Rafa needs to get this long ball and hopeful cross shit out of our system. What's the point of having a player like Lucas if we continuously bypass him?

[Beninger]

Agree with the above there - but there are some things stats don't tell you.

Lucas did well when we got on the ball - but he simply didn't get on the ball enough. Much of that isn't his fault either...our centrebacks right from the kick off were very eager to play the long ball rather than pass it about. I understand we were closed down quite quickly in our own half, but for me the solution to that is patience, not a mind numbing Carragher-like hoof disguised as a long ball to the forwards.

If you combine that with Torres having one his few 'everything I touch turns to shit' matches, and one big gaffe by the officials, and Rafa's brain fart of a decision to start Babel at left wing, Gerrard's inability to get involved in the general play rather than force the issue, our strategy of crossing the ball into two big centrebacks, (I could go on forever here) - you get a recipe for disaster.

Its one of those games you really can't blame on one or two factors. Everything went wrong. Everyone on the pitch bar maybe Johnson and Yossi contributed very little.  Sammy needs to put a boot up all their arses, and Rafa needs to get this long ball and hopeful cross shit out of our system. What's the point of having a player like Lucas if we continuously bypass him?

Very valid points.  Lucas' percentage in his passing is incredible.  The fact he had less than 40 touches on the ball is ridiculous. 

[Notayesman]

I wouldn't mind Gerrard moving back, especially if Benayoun takes his place. Towards the end, Gerrard came well into our own half to get the ball and still made things happen, still made connection with Torres. He has the pace to move anywhere in the center and he'll misshapen any defense he encounters, regardless of where he plays. I'm comfortable with Lucas playing anywhere in the center as well for the time being - he controls his touch decently and he does have the ability, somewhere, to make quick, 1 touch passes. Unless we play Yossi consistently, we'll lack another spark until Aquilani is fully in the squad.

I dunno where this perception that Gerrard did well when he dropped deep came from, I just saw him give the all away several times in quick succession. Lucas misplaced 1 pass all day, Gerrard missed 12. I'd play Yossi but at Babels expense not Lucas'. Leave Gerrard where he's at his most dangerous and let our true central midfield players do their jobs. Lucas definitely needs to get on the ball more than and show for it but then so does masch.

[PIPA23]

Christ on a fuckin' chopstick! At what point, in what fucktarded universe, did De Laet and Darron Gibson become examples of stunning squad depth and quality in reserve.

The mind boggles.


Actually, it does not. The mind wonders why we don't all go drink bleach...

*shakes head*

i dont point them out as examples of perfect squad depth...

i only agree with comment above about the fact that Lucas has to play in our midfield, while he is not such player as Xabi was, now i know we have Aquiliani, but... we need more quality on bench more than Yossi (who should be playing) We should be signing players like Ashley Young instead of Babel who obviously has his last chance and he FAILED, he is average ffsake.. Voronin is also not the striker capable of wining us the game when Torres is off...

but then again it is no need to argue, becouse our owners dont make a single thing to improve our squad with one or two WORLD CLASS players...

if they stay i dont have high hopes...i only want to see our team fight for win...

[Ron]

Completely the opposite of last years fixture.
This time they outplayed us and could have won much bigger.
Reina was good, thank god.
Our Dutch guys were really crap, Torres looked lost and Skrtel still looks a liability.
But on the positive side, well, I guess we'll have to wait 'till Wednesday for any positives.
I can't see any.
Spurs looked pretty good, though ...

[jooneyisdagod]

Agree with most of what you said Des except that line you had on Insua.  Lennon will skin any full back coming up against him and this has been proven time and again.  He's absolutely slaughtered Cole, Clichy and Evra in the past, all of whom are considered to be amongst the best LB's in the league.  Fact is that when he gets going, he is nearly unplayable given his pace and agility.  I wouldn't read too much into it really. 

[zabadoh]

Lucas was okay, but really plays like a poor man's Masch and we already had the better version on the pitch.  When he gets the ball, he can't make any incisive passing or running with it and got muscled off the ball a couple of times by the wingers.  We are really lost in the attack without Xabi and I hope Aquilani is worth the money and the wait when he starts playing in a couple of months.

Torres looked bad because of poor service from the wing and constantly found himself in the middle of 3-4 defenders with no support until Bennynoon came on.

Gerrard was constantly forced to fall back and defend which limited his attacking chances.

Johnson did okay, but we really could have used Arbeloa as a makeshift CB today.  Losing Sami, Arby and Xabi all in the same summer combined with our injury woes has apparently turned our defense into a shambles.

Insua did well for a young player I thought.  Yes, he got skinned a couple of times, but that's going to happen when you're facing the likes of Lennon.  Otherwise, he was solid with the ball further up the pitch.  Not great, but serviceable.  No worse than having, say, JAR in there. 

And what about Kuyt?  Invisible just like Babel.  What happened there?

But of course it's our CB situation that has me worried the most.  Everyone's crocked except the youngsters.  Do we trot out Ayala and Kelly to face Stoke City?

[Marko B]

Yossi was class when he came on. Johnson's run to get our penalty was superb. Cant believe the criticism Lucas is receiving by some. Thought he played well. Stopped some Tottenham goal attempts from happening (such as Lennon after he flew passed 3 of our players in the 2nd half), and made some very composed and direct passes. I think some people are just comparing him to Xabi Alonso, which he is obviously not as good as, but these people have to remember there is a 5 year age difference between the two.

Obviously Gutted that we lost but i am just glad we have another fixture in a few days to help us forget this game.

What you say is right people are comparing him to Xabi without for a second realising that not now, nor never will Lucas ever be Xabi. They are totally different players with totally different strengths and totally different attributes.

Lucas was one of our only shining lights out there today. He performed extremely well in all areas and I for one am definitely feeling confident as this season continues on he will grow into his role. I don't really care who doubts him or bags him I am confident in my own views on him and am confident that he will prove beyond a doubt his quality to those who disagree.

[Ron]

And what about Kuyt?  Invisible just like Babel.  What happened there?

Non of the guys that played last Wednesday looked good, except maybe Johnston.

[cartmansom]

The truth staring us in the face is that we lack creative players. With Xabi gone, we only have Benayoun and maybe Agger. It is clear that we were second best (and by a big margin) to Spurs. I think Rafa needs to learn the hard way that he has to appreciate his smarter players a lot more. I think we will do poorly this season - the squad just doesn't look formidable - it was evident in pre-season and is clear from our season opener.

It would be good to start blooding the younger players this season, and just focus on scraping into 4th place. Maybe next season, we will be better for it.

[The G in Gerrard]

It would be good to start blooding the younger players this season, and just focus on scraping into 4th place. Maybe next season, we will be better for it.

Oh good god we should settle for 4th already?

Also no surprise to see Lucas get slagged off as soon we suffer a defeat and the next time we draw.... He was by no means our worst player yesterday but its just an easy target for the mindless few....

[NatD]

I am sorry mate, I do personally think Babel is better than anyone in the Newcastle team, especially one that Bobby Robson used to call Carl Court!!!!!

 

[Mad Men]

Let the comedy begin... our naive reactions

Judging by the "carra was a disgrace....lucas was shite...torres was crap" comments, you would think we just got relegated.

How fickle some people truly are. Its one loss. And we have a long season ahead. Why the need to panic?

[Ron]

Judging by the "carra was a disgrace....lucas was shite...torres was crap" comments, you would think we just got relegated.

How fickle some people truly are. Its one loss. And we have a long season ahead. Why the need to panic?

1st game of the season, lots of expectations and a really bad performance.
I guess that's all part of the "why".

[jckliew]

And we have a long season ahead.

Long one indeed if the preseason and yesterdays performance are to go by....not just the result. Performance as a team

[GBF]

Non of the guys that played last Wednesday looked good, except maybe Johnston.

dont put the blame on the internationals, we played like that in the friendlies too.  The fitness level hasnt kicked in yet and I hope its sorted by the next game

[Mad Men]

1st game of the season, lots of expectations and a really bad performance.
I guess that's all part of the "why".

Yes, fair enough. But I think we also forget that Carra had a nasty head injury and was perhaps not at his best after that...

[stevieg987]

Think Yossi should start every game for us, one of the first on the team sheet. Considering his form last season and pre-season he should of had been in from the start. That said, Babel's start was not that shocking all things considered. Between his pre-season which people were thinking we had a "new" Babel, the England friendly, and Riera out made him seem, a decent shout. But unfortunately he is not a prem player, the pace is too quick for him and he doesnt have the technical skills to play the wing. Maybe, just maybe, he could be effective at forward but Rafa clearly doesn't envision him there. Poor Performance. Sell best for player,club and squad.

This was a result many saw coming, but the manner in which it occured stings. We really looked clueless today, their wasn't a single point in the game where the team instilled any confidence in me. The lack of creativity was shocking, our formation seemed so stale, as if spurs were aware of our every move. This was probably the worst the Torres-Gerrard partnership has ever played. I would probably say Torres was bottom 3 performers and Stevie not far behind, simply unacceptable from our leaders. Lucas played well, but that is the worst part of it all. We got decimated in MF, Lucas imo lacks the ability to stamp his authority on the game. He is a very efficient player, and tidy in possesion but our MF was completely bossed. I like him as a player but I think he is too-lightweight to serve as the lynch-pin in our team vs. top teams.

Until Aquilani returns I say move Gerrard back to CM with Yossi playing the hole against the stronger teams. Lucas should still start vs. weaker teams at home, but when we are in for a battle like today we need the muscle in MF. To establish control of the field and shift the focus of our attacks from hopeless longballs to Torres into calculated possesion oriented build ups.

[12Kings]

What Des said.

[CF999]

First half was awful. With IMO the midfield the main problem. Carra made a very silly mistake which led to him and Skrtel getting injured. Gerrard was trying to make things happen but was crowded out every time.

Second half was much better and I was sure of a win when we scored. The whole team was playing well. That run from Johnson was what a £20m full back needs to do and what we bought him for. Good start to his Liverpool career for him, well done. And he didn't hide at any stage throughout. The midfield picked things up and made alot more happen too.

Very dissapointed in Babel and I think the link between Gerrard and Midfield wouldn't be a problem if Benayoun started. He's always available for the pass

Was absolutely fuming at the final whistle yesterday with that fat southern twat of a ref but I've come to expect that. Sammy should have cracked the c*nt a headbutt. Fucking joke throughout from booking Mascherano for standing still to the penalty we had rejected.

In the second half I saw many positives, more than I saw from the Mancs and Chelsea games from their point of view

NEED and I mean need to beat Villa, Stoke, Bolton and Barnsley

[Pr0n]

Fucking hell.. How come the criteria for Lucas "being good enough" is that he should have bossed the game? He misplaced one single pass despite there being no options whatsoever due to poor movement (until Yossi came on). Actually we had a player who has continually bossed centremid (despite the team playing poorly), next to Lucas but he was running around in circles.. and was far from taking charge of the game.

I tell you what. There are a handful of players in the world who could have made a real difference in a game such as yesterdays - single-handedly dragging us trough. We had two of those on the pitch and neither were up to it. Xabi wouldn't have made any difference whatsoever.

[hide5seek]

I don't know if it's because of his slight build or the fact that we got him for cheap but Yossi tends to be easily forgotten, and every time he plays well it's like we discovered him all over again.  Most people didn't pick him to start in their match threads, and a lot were excited to see Babel start in his place before the match started (even though they now slate Rafa in retrospect).

The guy was oh I don't know, just about our most important player for the second half of last season.  Is it really that much of a shock that he came in and got our offense moving again?

I'd put the guy #3 on the team sheet, behind the obvious 2.

Agree with this. If he's fit he should start.

[maqu006]

Yesterday we simply lacked technique almost all over the pitch and that's why we could not keep the ball. We had some of our best ball playing players missing: Aurelio, Agger and Yossi/Riera (I'm sorry Ryan, if you want to start games you have to do better.) We simply had no options for passing the ball around and since we have no Alonso any more we had little or no creativity. Our first half was the worst half since Middlesbrough.

Once Yossi came in we started keeping the ball better and passing it around faster. I love Rafa but he can't fill the team with too many technically mediocre players.

[mooks]

Without Alonso, Masch and Lucas give us no creativity in the middle, and until Aqualini is fit we should play Gerrard in the middle. 

Hopefully we'll get Alonso back in the side soon.

[mooks]

Think Yossi should start every game for us, one of the first on the team sheet. Considering his form last season and pre-season he should of had been in from the start. That said, Babel's start was not that shocking all things considered. Between his pre-season which people were thinking we had a "new" Babel, the England friendly, and Riera out made him seem, a decent shout. But unfortunately he is not a prem player, the pace is too quick for him and he doesnt have the technical skills to play the wing. Maybe, just maybe, he could be effective at forward but Rafa clearly doesn't envision him there. Poor Performance. Sell best for player,club and squad.

This was a result many saw coming, but the manner in which it occured stings. We really looked clueless today, their wasn't a single point in the game where the team instilled any confidence in me. The lack of creativity was shocking, our formation seemed so stale, as if spurs were aware of our every move. This was probably the worst the Torres-Gerrard partnership has ever played. I would probably say Torres was bottom 3 performers and Stevie not far behind, simply unacceptable from our leaders. Lucas played well, but that is the worst part of it all. We got decimated in MF, Lucas imo lacks the ability to stamp his authority on the game. He is a very efficient player, and tidy in possesion but our MF was completely bossed. I like him as a player but I think he is too-lightweight to serve as the lynch-pin in our team vs. top teams.

Until Aquilani returns I say move Gerrard back to CM with Yossi playing the hole against the stronger teams. Lucas should still start vs. weaker teams at home, but when we are in for a battle like today we need the muscle in MF. To establish control of the field and shift the focus of our attacks from hopeless longballs to Torres into calculated possesion oriented build ups.

Did you not just say Gerrard stunk the place out?

[VintageRed74]

Roll on Wednesday

[Liverbird 2010]

Just got back an hour ago. Disgusted with our performance to be honest, it was a shambles.

But to be honest, I half expected it going into the match. We've been painful all pre-season, no form, we don't look fit and we've lost two very influential squad members in Alonso and Sami.

Our squad is so thin, it's worrying. We need to invest in 3 players before the window shuts. I don't know were the money will come from, but we need it. We need another centre-half, a striker and another midfielder to have any hope of even mounting a title challenge.

Todays performance was horrible to watch. We couldn't keep the ball, we had no movement or creativity, but worst of all, we had no real desire to even win the game. Babel was abysmal, I would really like to know what goes through his head sometimes. He's 22, got talent in abundance and the world at his feet. He's playing in the RED shirt of Liverpool, yet his attitude is dreadful. He won't track back or take a man on, he stumbles around the pitch, clueless. It's horrible to watch.

Talking of which, Carragher needs to have a long look at himself. It's all well and good screaming at other players when they don't perform, but you've got to practice what you preach Jaime, lad. He was all over the shop today. At fault for the 2nd goal (Gave away the free-kick, then failed to win the header against Bassong). His day was summed up when he practically took Skrtel's head off.

I hate to say it, but Lucas is NOT good enough for our team, especially if we have aspirations of winning the league. YES, he made some decent tackles and played some neat passes. But we require more. I know Alonso has gone, but today showed how much we missed him. We couldn't retain possession in midfield at all. We had no imagination or flair and all our play looked forced and dis-jointed. We had no creativity or flair and it's a big worry. Gerrard, although he was unfit, looked isolated and Torres stunk the place out. I think we missed Riera and the balance he brings. I also don't know why Benayoun never started. Heard something about a rib injury, but sounds like bullshit.

Insua looked out of his depth as well, Lennon skinned him a few times. The sooner Fabio comes back, the better off we'll be.

The only plus points were Johnson and Mascherano. Johnson looks a class player and will get better and Mascherano never stopped. If they all had his attitude, it would have been a lot different.

We need to learn and learn quick, because on that performance, we will struggle to finish 4th. And that's not "jerking" or whatever. I fear for this season simply because of our lack of depth. Voronin is not good enough and if Torres gets injured, we're finished. Apart from Benayoun, we've got not no one to come on and change things. Look at Spurs, they brought on Pavyluchenko and Crouch. It's worrying when their front 4 have more depth than ours.

On the whole it's extremely frustrating, because we've got the chance to actually do it this year. Chelsea and Utd looked poor this weekend, yet they grounded out results (Albeit against lesser opposition). But being honest, after our pre-season and lack of funds, this train-wreck was coming today. I just hope we can turn things around before we find ourselves out of the running by October.

Lastly, I'd like to say, Phil Dowd is one fat fucking bell-end. Fucking incompetent. He gave three minutes injury time and lets Spurs make a change, he sends off Sammy Lee and then talks to Lucas for a minute over some shitty fanny push. Then bang on 3 minutes, he blows up for full time. FUCK RIGHT OFF.

Please let us twat Stoke 7-0 just to get this shitty game out of our system.

I've probably rambled on and I apologise, but it's been on my mind since leaving the ground. Shitty trip, Shitty Result, Shitty Spurs fans thinkin their world-beaters with their shitty kit and shitty songs. Fuck off. 

Best post on this page.