Eric Dier ban and Review of the Bournemouth/ Spurs game (9th July).
For those that haven't got sky, like me, this match is on normal TV/ Pick.
A game we must win on Thursday,
or we will be in big shit… but I seem to be saying that every time I write
something—the sad state of affairs we've found ourselves in at Spurs of late.
First of all, let us deal
with the team News;
Bournemouth
Eddie Howe is awaiting news on whether
defenders Steve Cook, Simon Francis, Chris Mepham and Jack Simpson will be fit.
Their forward Callum Wilson returns after serving a two-match suspension and is
expected to replace Dominic Solanke.
Tottenham
Dele Alli faces a fitness test on the
hamstring injury which caused him to sit out Monday's match with Everton. Juan
Foyth and Japhet Tanganga remain on the sidelines. Dier, I believe, will be
banned immediately. Only the last game of this campaign will he be available. That
is against Palace away.
Thoughts and prediction
Watching the match, I got
the impression that Bournemouth wound-up United so much that it jolted them into
action and they ended up having no response. When Cherries scored first, it was
like slapping the Red Devils over the face with a wet kipper. Or a bit like Ali's
rope-a-dop against Foreman, if you are going to try a particular tactic, you
must know what you are doing and totally flummox your opponents. The Cherries didn't.
It culminated in a terrible defeat for them. Lately, United have been playing
well and climbing high, not so for us.
We have our own problems,
which Mourinho knows all about and is determined to solve them quick-fast. Otherwise,
we will end the season in a very sorry state. On top of that, we are reliant on
other results.
We where hard done by when
we faced the Blades, with our goal being disallowed, however, we can't blame
anybody but ourselves for that defeat. As for Everton, a poor performance by Everton
and an owe goal helped us out.
Saying all that and trying
to be optimistic, I believe we can get a result against Bournemouth, that is provided
this time we are fully with it and focused. Therefore I will go for a 2-1 win, their
one-goal is because we've got a habit of conceding stupid goals.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
Bournemouth's only win in
nine Premier League matches against us came in this fixture last season.
The only other competitive
fixture between the sides outside of the Premier League was an FA Cup
fifth-round tie in February 1957 that Bournemouth won 3-1.
Bournemouth
After losing just three of
their first 11 league matches this season they have been defeated in 17 of
their last 22 top-flight fixtures.
They have equalled their
Premier League club record of five consecutive defeats, set from November to
December 2019. They last lost more matches in succession when they were beaten
in the opening seven games of the 1994-95 season in the third tier.
They are one goal away from
becoming the first side to concede at least 60 in five consecutive Premier
League campaigns.
Tottenham Hotspur
Even if we win all five of our
remaining league fixtures this season, we would still post our lowest points
total since finishing with 62 in 2010-11.
Since winning 11 of our opening
13 Premier League away matches at the start of last season, we have won only
three of 22 top-flight away games.
We have kept a clean sheet
in two of our last three league games - as many as we had in our previous 14.
Our sole clean sheet in our
last 23 top-flight away matches came in a 0-0 draw at Watford in January.
Jose Mourinho has not lost
any of his 24 Premier League away games against a side starting the day in the
relegation zone. So, that is something… and may that continue.
To Dier.
There has been a lot of
predictions that Dier will be let off, I never came to that conclusion. With
the FA being fair on some and biased against others, my feelings were that Dier
was going to get the book thrown at him, and he did.
Dier was given a four-match
ban and fined £40,000. All this was because he saw his brother in an
altercation with a fan. So he tried to become a hero for the night, but it didn’t
go his way, and he ended up making a fool of himself. This was back in March. I
was in the Premium section at the time, and even though I wasn’t aware of the
problems outside, I saw him coming through to our section, surrounded by
security staff. At least it lightened up a poor showing on that night. The
incident happened after we were knocked out of the FA Cup at home by Norwich.
The FA’s ban rules Dier out of
all but one of our remaining Premier League fixtures. He has also been warned
about his future conduct by the FA.
A statement said: "The
Tottenham player admitted that his actions at the conclusion of a fixture
against Norwich City in the FA Cup were improper but denied that they were also
threatening. An independent regulatory commission subsequently found Eric
Dier's actions to be threatening."
Speaking at the time, Jose
Mourinho said a fan had insulted Dier after the game.
In a written statement, the
FA outlined several aggravating factors:
1.
The stand was
heavily populated by spectators.
2.
Dier travelled
an appreciable distance for a not insignificant period of time trying to reach
the spectator - it was a determined and sustained attempt to get to the
spectator.
3.
He pursued the
spectator after he had desisted and moved away.
4.
He pursued the spectator
when he knew he posed no threat to his brother.
5.
Dier's actions
caused some pushing and shoving in the stands
6.
Dier's actions
resulted in a melee at the entrance of exit 103.
7.
He is a high
profile footballer, whose conduct was witnessed by many within the ground and
countless others more widely.
Even though it is annoying
that he won’t be able to play for four games, we do have others that can
adequately fill his role. I would be more concerned if Kane, Son or one of the
midfield players were banned. It could be a blessing in disguise. It would be
ironic if we ended up performing better without him. Time will tell!
Best Regards, Glenn
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