Match Report: Liverpool 4 Spurs 3 (we slide further down the greasy pole)
Mason has been in charge for two games, and both
games followed the Conte/ Stellini pattern of conceding in the first half and
then fighting back in the second… the first time (under young Ryan), we managed
to salvage a point, this time around, we surrendered any chance of getting into
the top four.
Our team currently sit in sixth place, level on
points with Aston Villa and two points behind Brighton (the Seagulls have two
games in hand over us)… and it could get even worse. Brentford are four points
behind us (but level on games). So the possibility – if we don't buck our ideas
up – is finally slipping to 9th in the table.
I hope Levy isn't considering employing novice
Mason as the next manager to save money… that would finally be the nail in
Levy's created cardboard coffin.
The
game…
When we equalised in the third minute of injury
time, we thought we had at least salvaged a point (again)… but Diogo Jota's
injury-time winner gave Liverpool a dramatic victory at Anfield.
The first half saw us going three goals behind
inside 15 minutes. We thought it was going to be another Newcastle
mortification. Some of our fans even started to leave… as they did against the
Newcastle game. They could have at least waited until the final humiliation.
Thoughts…
Richarlison headed his first Premier League goal
of the season in stoppage time; we were on the brink of rescuing an unlikely
draw - until Jota capitalised on a defensive mix-up seconds later to win the
game for Liverpool.
Richarlison sent us visiting fans wild with a
header before Jota had the last word. All this helps Liverpool, who moved up to
fifth, while we slid further down the greasy pole.
Our season has been typified by slow starts, and
we paid the price once more for failing to get to grips with the game in the
opening half.
Goals…
Liverpool…
Jones
(3'minutes), Díaz (5'minutes), Salah (15'minutes pen), Jota (90'+4minutes)
Spurs…
Kane
(40'minutes), Son (77'minutes), Richarlison (90'+3minutes)
Granted, we almost completed a remarkable
comeback against Liverpool on Sunday, but it was yet another match in which we
conceded several first-half goals and gave ourselves a mountain to climb. That
seems to be our story for this season.
Since Pocettino was sacked (who took us to the
Champions League Cup final and other finals), we've had Mourinho, Mason, Santo,
Conte, Stellini and (again) Mason, and none of them could put Levy's Humpty
Dumpty back together again (back to where we were before Levy took over).
Statistics show an apparent gulf between how we
start and finish matches. Indeed, only a third of our 63 Premier League goals
this season have been scored in the first half, the lowest share of any team in
the top flight. In fact, if games ended after 45 minutes, we would be ninth in
the league, with 10 wins out of 34 and a goal difference of -9 (21 goals scored
compared with 30 conceded).
In contrast, our record in the second period (17
victories and a goal difference of +15 (42 goals for, 27 against)) is bettered
only by title-chasing Manchester City and rivals Arsenal.
We have consistently fallen behind in games;
why? We appear to be more cautious in the first half as we have taken 205 shots
in the opening 45 minutes while allowing 240 efforts on our own goal.
In contrast, we have taken 267 shots in the
second 45 minutes, compared with 235 against, and are the only side in the
league to have faced fewer shots in the second half than the first. However,
none of this helps us at this moment in time. Where do we go from here?
Downwards or try to salvage some respect in the last few games left of the
season.
The games we have left are against Palace (H),
Villa (A), Brentford (H) and Leeds away. All potential banana skins. As I said,
it isn't that impossible to finish in 9th position this season.
Managers
who have won honours while at Spurs...
John
Cameron FA Cup: 1900–01 1
Peter
McWilliam
Second Division: 1919–20, FA Cup: 1920–21
FA
Charity Shield: 1921 3
Arthur
Rowe
First Division: 1950–51, Second Division: 1949–50
FA
Charity Shield: 1951 3
Bill
Nicholson
First Division: 1960–61, FA Cup: 1960–61, 1961–62, 1966–67, League Cup:
1970–71, 1972–73, FA Charity Shield: 1961, 1962, 1967 (shared), UEFA Cup
Winners' Cup: 1962–63, UEFA Cup: 1971–72 11
Keith
Burkinshaw
FA Cup: 1980–81, 1981–82, FA Charity Shield: 1981 (shared), UEFA Cup: 1983–84 4
Terry
Venables FA Cup: 1990–91 1
Peter
Shreeves FA Charity Shield: 1991 (shared) 1
George
Graham
League Cup: 1998–99 1
Juande
Ramos League Cup: 2007–08 1
All trophies were received before the Daniel
Levy era (apart from the League Cup 2008, 15 years ago).
I know… we should be looking to the future
rather than the past… but the past offers us more than the Levy future we are
currently in. It is beyond doubt that our problems stem from Enic's takeover…
yes, I accept that what Levy/ ENIC have achieved with the ground is
magnificent… but our history is not in bricks and mortar… but the team… and the
team have been underperforming (in fact have got worse) under Levy's and Joe
Lewis' hamfisted beady-eyed control.
Next up: Crystal Palace, which are under the
revitalised control of Roy Hodgson. That will be fun!
COYS!
Glenn
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