was a given.
It’s Spurs, it’s live and exclusive on Amazon Prime, it’s an away game, it’s one of the “little” teams, there was only ever gonna be one outcome, a defeat with a terrible display. And so it was with Bournemouth flattering them with just a 1-0 win.
Amazon week is guaranteed to bring you the Spurs shitshow. Every year they somehow manage to be even worse than the year before in this fixture. It was obvious before the off here, things weren’t gonna be much different. When that starting XI dropped and you knew Ange was gonna be playing Johnson on the left and Kulusevski on the right. It had this debacle written all over it.
62 games in his Spurs tenure, how many more games to Ange need to work out Johnson is non-existent when shunted out on the left?
But that’s Ange. He doesn’t learn. He doesn’t change. “Yeah, look mate, that’s not me.” That’s why we have the same old same old. Such as this game. A game in which again Spurs didn’t turn up and the the home team totally outplayed them, with the opposition coach totally out-coached Ange.
Well, can that be hard though? I mean does Ange do any coaching? Do they do anything during the week? It’s funny, today I’ve seen a lot about Arteta’s start at Woolwich. Yeah, you know that one where ended up winning the Cup in his first season, which Ange didn’t do. Arteta sides are coached. He got the coaches in. He got a set piece coach in and last year they equalled the PL record for goals from corners. This season they have already equalled the record for the most set pieces goals in the PL and they’re only 14 games in. Meanwhile Ange wasn’t “interested” in Spurs struggles at defending set pieces. YEah, why would you bother coaching an area in which your side is deficient?
You look at the coaches of the two teams. That lot have guys that came from top teams in Italy, Spain and England. Spurs have a couple of guys from Hibs in Scotchland and a lumper from Palace. His number two was Scott Parker’s assistant in Belgium, where they won two out the 12 games he managed before being binned off. They’d both come from Bournemouth, where in the PL Parker had won his first game and then went on a three game losing streak that saw them ship 16 goals, scoring none in reply.
It led to asking last night if any Spurs player has got better under Ange? Or has it all become a steady decline for them. From Romero being pretty much responsible for most of the goals when he’s played to taking Maddison from a player that scored in double figures and was one assist away from double figures in a side that was regelated. To the shadow we’ve seen of the player since that 10 start last season. To Son who looks shot this season.
So shot he was dropped for this game. But Solanke was back. Yeah, great, desperately hoping for the law of the ex. Well, it works against Spurs but when you’re as bad as Solanke it doesn’t work for Spurs. Solanke showed very early on when getting through to a long ball and bounced it off his shin before ballooning it over the bar, this wasn’t gonna happen for him. It was a surprise that he got onto the ball originally, as he was on his heels not expecting it, much like he was all night. He can’t read the game, he can’t anticipate anything, it’s always reacting with him.
He’s a bum. An expensive bum. Look at the Bournemouth fans that are happy they got so much for Solanke, while buying a player for a lot less who has the same number of league goals. They both had the same number of shots in this game, 3, but while Solanke didn’t manage one on target his replacement had 2.
Only three Spurs players managed a shot on target, while six Bournemouth players did. Won, that’s the excitement of Angeball for you there. It was only their wastefulness in front of goal that kept the score down. While Spurs never looked like scoring because they created so little. Bournemouth looked like they could increase their lead at any time except for getting their curly big toe under the ball and ballooning it over the bar.
After the City game, Spurs were 6th. With this result they’ve dropped to 10th, overtaken by the two teams they’ve faced since along with Forest and Villa.
So the game. Well, it was crap. They went missing for the corner from which Bournemouth scored the winner. They went missing in attack. Johnson didn’t see the ball on the left, as said Solanke hasn’t got a brain, never mind a footballing brain – yet the happy clappers will still act like he’s the best striker they’ve seen in a Spurs shirt – while Kulusevski when he wasn’t losing the ball in a duel, well if there was a wrong choice to make, he made it. While the midfield did nothing. Lost count of Bissouma’s long balls to the opposite corner that went nowhere near a Spurs player.
And Ange stood there watching, while his media mates absolved him of all responsibility. God they love him. For 45 minutes he watched it being awful and he did nothing at the break. He made one change nearly a quarter of an hour into the second half and while so many that could have come off, Sarr made way for Son. It made no real difference. Son scored but was offside, other than that he dithered, they all dithered.
And when you think it can’t get any worse, here comes Timo Werner. Ange said yes to the loan deal for Werner last season. Ange saw Werner stink the place out last season and said yes to the loan deal this season. Now apparently they’re thinking of turning that loan into a permanent deal this January. The first two are sacking offences. The latter is something that should see people committed.
Ange seemed more unhappy with some of the chi-iking he got than the performance. poor Demis, his rather thick, greasy, unwashed, looking skin is getting thinner by the day.