Kid Icarus

I'm not sure how that add up in terms of us going for a second and a third, mind. I'd get it if we were struggling to get the first, but we're doing that part of it which would suggest that in itself isn't a problem. Once we get that goal though we very noticeably change our approach instead of going hell-for-leather again.

Barnes was by far and away our best attacking player last night and was very good against Everton. Really not sure how you've come to that conclusion about him.

It used to be the case that if we got one, you could hang your hat on us quickly getting one or two more. Why that's stopped being the case when it was so effective and seemingly unstoppable is anyone's guess.

Maybe I've memory-holed it, but there's a huge gap between the obvious mistake in Marseille and Pope's other mistakes that are being a bit overstated in terms of how frequent and bad they were.

I don't get the focus on Ramsey tbh, Howe could have also brought Willock on. Really not sure how much trying to do the opposite of 23/24 is playing its part here, but we don't seem to be getting the balance right. Maybe there's a bit of result bias influencing that feeling though.

There are far too many factors coming in from all angles that chip away at the atmosphere and that collectively result in a shit atmosphere. As long as the club keep prioritising the reason for those factors (revenue) above and at the cost of all else, they'll nurture it and it'll only get worse.

Spells of not having the ball is fine. I don't think we sat back after scoring against Everton either, we kept the pressure on and although they did have a period with the ball after that, the feeling was still very much that we controlled it. It's a marked difference from last night when an absolutely nothing team were still regularly getting corners and we never looked ruthless. In isolation you'd call it a freak result tbh, they were honking and scored from their only 2 shots on target, but the pattern this season is that we're even vulnerable to that, never mind teams that cut through us. Hopefully Wissa changes things. Woltemade's a very good player, but so much hinges on him if like last night he's not playing well.

It seemed to me like the ref didn't give free kicks when he was fouled, but maybe it's more that he needs to bulk up a bit.

Really poor tonight. Not a criticism, I'm sure there are fair reasons, and I like him a lot, but it's really hard to do much when the focal point of your attack isn't on it.

Easier to take it out on a player who's widely seen as underperforming than the players that most underperformed. Woltemade was head and shoulders worse than everyone, but no one will dig him out all that much. Elanga played one underhit pass to Tino as far as I can tell. Looked as clear as day he was taken down by the last man as well.

Ramsdale has been like this for years.

Doesn't count points dropped from regained positions (like Liverpool, Brighton) or non-PL matches like Marseille either. It's a real problem for us that needs to be our priority to fix really.

Just ignoring Thiaw fluffing his clearance then?

I'd rather he just wasn't shit. I'm really hoping he matures like other 'keepers have like. I'd 100% be targeting a different 'keeper in the summer though.

Yeah, I'm talking about him not saving the shot itself though.

It was Thiaw's mistake on the second. Nothing to do with Burn.

Don't necessarily have a huge issue with him on either goal tbf. One flashes past him, the other is Thiaw's mistake that he can't react to. What I have a problem with and always have is his lack of command in the box. Something that we've taken for granted that Pope (usually) excels at.

He really needs to sort out this mentality issue when we score, it's fucking insane like. It really looked like we'd planted the seeds for it against Everton, so to go and then do that at home to a side that offered nothing other than their 2 shots is just mental.

Utter bollocks.

He was very good for an hour, at which point he should have come off.

Don't it always seem to go...

The positive is that the league is once again incredibly tight and there for the taking - something that we've exploited before. Have to admit that it feels different this season though and that we don't look like a team that needs minor adjustments to kick on like previously - we still look very much like a team having a transition season that needs more changes to progress, that might not find form until the run in, and that has a mentality issue when in the lead. It could be not that deep and just as simple as Wissa coming in, who knows, but it's not been much of an enjoyable ride so far this season, I have to admit.

That's the most sickening one of the season for me, which is really fucking saying something. Spurs are absolute toilet, we'd have wiped the floor with them in previous seasons.

Feels pretty clear now that we're not turning any corners for the foreseeable and that this is just the pattern. Fucking ridiculous how much we've thrown away this season. Spurs were absolute dogshit and we ended up somehow being lucky to draw in the end, despite leading twice. It's just not an enjoyable season this one, is it. Ramsdale: 5 Livramento: 6 Thiaw: 6 Burn: 6 Hall: 6.5 Tonali: 5.5 Bruno: 7 Miley: 6 Joelinton: 6 Murphy: 5.5 Woltemade: 4 Barnes: 7 Gordon: 6.5

Wonder if it's something to do with the ball going to where Burn was.