Europa League 2015/2016

Sphaero said:
Absolutely. Would have been my least favoured team to play against this round. IMO the second strongest remaining team after us.
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yep. Dortmund is even better, but that match could turn into a fantastic contest.

It will be interesting to see, if Sevilla can find some form away from home. They can be pretty annoying. As Dortmund fan you might remember a tie against them in the euroleague a couple of years ago, where the time-wasting and fouling was ridiculous. The current team is not that cnutish, but they know how to drag down better teams to their level and they are well organised.
 
PedroMendez said:
yep. Dortmund is even better, but that match could turn into a fantastic contest.

It will be interesting to see, if Sevilla can find some form away from home. They can be pretty annoying. As Dortmund fan you might remember a tie against them in the euroleague a couple of years ago, where the time-wasting and fouling was ridiculous. The current team is not that cnutish, but they know how to drag down better teams to their level and they are well organised.
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Honestly, every remaining Spanish club will be annoying as feck to play against and I expect us to be required to beat at least two of them (one probably in Basel) to win thisw thing,

Still, we are the team to beat now. We have the strongest team, play at least on the level of a CL quarterfinalist and as shown vs. Porto and now against the Spurs, we have managed to flip the mental switch and take the games as seriously as possible.
 
slig said:
so...this was the second of the bundesliga versus the second of the pl, a league which some call "the best league of the world"..this is ridicoulus, we could easily have a 5:0...
another thing which is laughable, is the phrase: "the pl is so fast and strong"..hmm yeah, ive seen nothing of this this evening.

great game, tottenham never had a chance.
EUROPAPOKAL!!!! :D
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Well everyone knows that the BPL is not the best league in europe. It's a simple fact that La Liga is the best.

In comparison with the Bundesliga we all know that the BPL is a bit better overall (because of much more money) but the top 2 in Germany are better than any BPL team for a few years already.
 
Did Eriksen really say that they showed their ability to compete during the first two (!!) minutes of the game?
 
do.ob said:
How small time was that from Poch? Such a disgrace.. I really hope they end their title hopes at the weekend. This shouldn't be rewarded.
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Not gonna happen, they're playing fecking Aston Villa at the weekend, who are so inept at playing football they should be forbidden to walk onto the pitch. The thing is, Spurs could've probably played their strongest XI tonight and rotated a bit this weekend and still won against Villa. I get Poch didn't want to take any chances in the league and feels the team is in with a real chance, so he made a choice. It turned out to be embarrassing for them tonight, but I can kinda understand why he did it, the style Spurs play is very tiring and I'm sure quite a few players are a bit fatigued by now.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
Not gonna happen, they're playing fecking Aston Villa at the weekend, who are so inept at playing football they should be forbidden to walk onto the pitch. The thing is, Spurs could've probably played their strongest XI tonight and rotated a bit this weekend and still won against Villa. I get Poch didn't want to take any chances in the league and feels the team is in with a real chance, so he made a choice. It turned out to be embarrassing for them tonight, but I can kinda understand why he did it, the style Spurs play is very tiring and I'm sure quite a few players are a bit fatigued by now.
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Yeah, it probably won't happen. But I still think that his decision was small time and short sighted, especially since it's only Villa at the weekend.
Even at half time he could've made some adjustments, like for example bringing on Dembele to strengthen the midfield - at that time it was still just 1-0. Instead he waits until an hour has passed before Dembele gets subbed in for Chadli and then he subs in Lamela and Kane for Eriksen and Son after the game is basically already over. And to achieve what exactly? Sight seeing? If you want to rest players then leave them on the bench, if you want to get something out of the tie, then don't wait until it's 0:2 or 0:3 before you bring on the better players!?
And what message does it send? Most of their players probably see Spurs as a stepping stone towards bigger clubs. Proving themselves against big(ger) European sides is probably precisely why they joined the club and then Poch tells them: feck that there is not enough money in it? feck competing for silverware, when there is not enough money in it? feck the supporters who traveled to Germany? feck the supporters who bought expensive tickets for the return leg?
Most teams who are new to the CL struggle with the pressure and level of competition in their first season, so this would've been a chance to introduce that kind of atmosphere to the team, so they wouldn't be as naive and green when they get to play it next season. And on top of that I expect that on some level such a schooling will affect the team's confidence and momentum.
 
do.ob said:
.... And what message does it send? Most of their players probably see Spurs as a stepping stone towards bigger clubs. Proving themselves against big(ger) European sides is probably precisely why they joined the club and then Poch tells them: feck that there is not enough money in it? feck competing for silverware, when there is not enough money in it? feck the supporters who traveled to Germany? feck the supporters who bought expensive tickets for the return leg?
Most teams who are new to the CL struggle with the pressure and level of competition in their first season, so this would've been a chance to introduce that kind of atmosphere to the team, so they wouldn't be as naive and green when they get to play it next season. ....
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Are you done with your silly rant?

I strongly doubt that any Spurs player will want to leave for Man. Utd in the summer, despite your claim of "stepping stone towards bigger clubs". It would be seen as a step-down.

As for the rest of your comments ... calm down dear heart. Poch was simply choosing to prioritise the Prem-league for obvious reasons. It has nothing to do "feck competing for silverware, when there is not enough money in it". If Spurs were in mid-table, with no chance of a top 4 finish (far less competing for the title) then I'm sure he would have played his strongest available XI last night right from the start.

You also talk about "... teams who are new to the CL struggle with the pressure and level of competition in their first season". Well, in their first CL season Spurs reached the QFs and might well have gone further if they hadn't been drawn against RM.
 
GlastonSpur said:
I strongly doubt that any Spurs player will want to leave for Man. Utd in the summer, despite your claim of "stepping stone towards bigger clubs". It would be seen as a step-down.

.
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Spurs to United, 'a step down'.

Quote of the day.
 
GlastonSpur said:
Playing in the EL next season when you can otherwise play in the CL would be a step-down. Deny it if you wish.
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Football doesn't work like that, as you are aware.
The only player United wouldn't tempt from Spurs is Kane, and that's because he's a fan.

If we're half decent in two years he'll probably jump ship too.
 
Conclusion for the game from the magazin "11 freunde" ("11 friends"):

"BVB could win with 30 points ahead of the Premier League. At the hour Zorc and Watzke check whether the club has an English grandmother.

And Performance Tottenham:

If Tottenham sets out to attack, I think of middle-aged women in terry sweatsuit that walken through the park. Get well from this point."
 
Utd heap said:
Football doesn't work like that, as you are aware.
The only player United wouldn't tempt from Spurs is Kane, and that's because he's a fan.

If we're half decent in two years he'll probably jump ship too.
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Sorry, but you're living in a fantasy world if you think that any Spurs player will be agitating for a move to United this summer.
 
GlastonSpur said:
Sorry, but you're living in a fantasy world if you think that any Spurs player will be agitating for a move to United this summer.
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Noone said they would be 'agitating'. I took issue with the step down comment, which is clearly tosh.
Spurs currently have a better side, this seems to be clouding your judgement significantly.
 
Fener will march to Braga, slap those Portuguese around the head, and go on to avenge our semi-final loss back in 2013. We'll take Liverpool in the next round, please.
 
Fener1907 said:
Fener will march to Braga, slap those Portuguese around the head, and go on to avenge our semi-final loss back in 2013. We'll take Liverpool in the next round, please.
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It won't be easy getting past Braga. They are strong at home. They just beat Porto 3-1 last weekend. But of course you don't have the handicap of having Casillas as your goalkeeper :lol:
 
Sly said:
It won't be easy getting past Braga. They are strong at home. They just beat Porto 3-1 last weekend. But of course you don't have the handicap of having Casillas as your goalkeeper :lol:
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My confidence is just too high this season, but being 18 points ahead of Galatasaray and having recently beaten your nearest title rivals will do that to you! I'm confident of scoring, and hopefully we can manage to not feck it up from then on by conceding three goals. You're right though, their home record isn't too shoddy this season.
 
GlastonSpur said:
Are you done with your silly rant?

I strongly doubt that any Spurs player will want to leave for Man. Utd in the summer, despite your claim of "stepping stone towards bigger clubs". It would be seen as a step-down.
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Are there only United and Spurs in football? Yesterday the club demonstrated a small time loser mentality, that doesn't get you far. What does it tell to your squad if you wave the white flag? And as a potential signing I wouldn't have to think twice which club I'd want to join if one relishes these big matches and the other one chickens out.

As for the rest of your comments ... calm down dear heart. Poch was simply choosing to prioritise the Prem-league for obvious reasons. It has nothing to do "feck competing for silverware, when there is not enough money in it". If Spurs were in mid-table, with no chance of a top 4 finish (far less competing for the title) then I'm sure he would have played his strongest available XI last night right from the start.
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Given that Spurs are 5 points behind the leaders and their next fixture is against the train wreck that is Aston Villa I don't follow that logic. If you see yourself as realistic title candidates then you shouldn't need to pull out of an entire competition (which btw also grants its winner a CL spot) because you face probably the worst team in all of the four top leagues a couple of days later. Realistically even a bit tired/rotated team should be more than sufficient to get a win, so when you do something this drastic because of some off chances it sends a clear message.
Almost all teams left in the competition still play for something in the league, a lot of them have a lot tougher fixtures than Spurs ahead of them at the weekend, yet I didn't see any of them doing something similar.

You also talk about "... teams who are new to the CL struggle with the pressure and level of competition in their first season". Well, in their first CL season Spurs reached the QFs and might well have gone further if they hadn't been drawn against RM.
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Great! So how many of those players are left in the team?
 
do.ob said:
Yeah, it probably won't happen. But I still think that his decision was small time and short sighted, especially since it's only Villa at the weekend.
Even at half time he could've made some adjustments, like for example bringing on Dembele to strengthen the midfield - at that time it was still just 1-0. Instead he waits until an hour has passed before Dembele gets subbed in for Chadli and then he subs in Lamela and Kane for Eriksen and Son after the game is basically already over. And to achieve what exactly? Sight seeing? If you want to rest players then leave them on the bench, if you want to get something out of the tie, then don't wait until it's 0:2 or 0:3 before you bring on the better players!?
And what message does it send? Most of their players probably see Spurs as a stepping stone towards bigger clubs. Proving themselves against big(ger) European sides is probably precisely why they joined the club and then Poch tells them: feck that there is not enough money in it? feck competing for silverware, when there is not enough money in it? feck the supporters who traveled to Germany? feck the supporters who bought expensive tickets for the return leg?
Most teams who are new to the CL struggle with the pressure and level of competition in their first season, so this would've been a chance to introduce that kind of atmosphere to the team, so they wouldn't be as naive and green when they get to play it next season. And on top of that I expect that on some level such a schooling will affect the team's confidence and momentum.
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A lot of what you say makes sense. But you have to keep in mind that for English clubs, the Holy Grail is the league (more than European competitions, and definitely more than the Europa League), and it's maybe a once in a 50 year opportunity for Spurs to actually have a go at it. And even though you can rationalize a posteriori, I think to a certain extent, what he did made sense. He most probably underestimated BVB, but he prioritized the league.
 
Fener1907 said:
My confidence is just too high this season, but being 18 points ahead of Galatasaray and having recently beaten your nearest title rivals will do that to you! I'm confident of scoring, and hopefully we can manage to not feck it up from then on by conceding three goals. You're right though, their home record isn't too shoddy this season.
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Yeah i have been following Fener's results since Vítor Pereira joined and your domestic campaign looks set to be succesfull. Gala is currently shambles and i think Besiktas will falter sooner or later since i think they will struggle with the pressure. Fenerbahce is used to it, in their usual fights with Galatasaray every season. Vítor Pereira is a league manager and his wins with Porto and Olympiakos prove that. Fener is clearly the favourite but it's very hard to play away with Braga. You better take them seriously.
 
Fener1907 said:
My confidence is just too high this season, but being 18 points ahead of Galatasaray and having recently beaten your nearest title rivals will do that to you! I'm confident of scoring, and hopefully we can manage to not feck it up from then on by conceding three goals. You're right though, their home record isn't too shoddy this season.
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Please slap them!
France needs Portuguese teams to score as few points as possible. (nothing personal Portugal)
 
Utd heap said:
Football doesn't work like that, as you are aware.
The only player United wouldn't tempt from Spurs is Kane, and that's because he's a fan.

If we're half decent in two years he'll probably jump ship too.
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Nope. Mind you, Spurs fans still deny that Kane is an Arsenal fan just like they denied Bale was one. It's hilarious how much these small 'victories' mean to them.
 
BBRBB said:
Please slap them!
France needs Portuguese teams to score as few points as possible. (nothing personal Portugal)
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We have 3 teams in the Champions League guaranteed till 2017/18 :D Thanks Benfica (puke)
 
Rooney in Paris said:
A lot of what you say makes sense. But you have to keep in mind that for English clubs, the Holy Grail is the league (more than European competitions, and definitely more than the Europa League), and it's maybe a once in a 50 year opportunity for Spurs to actually have a go at it. And even though you can rationalize a posteriori, I think to a certain extent, what he did made sense. He most probably underestimated BVB, but he prioritized the league.
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I'm still not sure if that was smart from a psychological point of view though and often late in the season when all teams/all players start to get tired, it's momentum and confidence that keeps teams going. Great sides draw excitement and motivation out of playing strong opponents in meaningful games and that really helps to get over tiredness.

It also adds so much pressure now on the team, it's all about the title now and the players will start thinking about it more than they should. They only play Villa and Bournemouth before the international break. That's their only 2 remaining meaningful games in March. Deliberately throwing the only other competition you're in and accepting a heavy defeat sends all the wrong signals during this time of the year in my opinion, especially if you do it to make it a bit more likely to beat two poor teams over the next 20 days. I guess we'll have to wait how it turns out, but Spurs will be judged way, way harsher in their games over the next two weeks than they would if they played a strong side against Dortmund and just acted as if beating Villa is business as usual (which it really should be).
 
It's possible @Balu, but I'm not entirely convinced being knocked out of the Europa will change much psychologically for Spurs players. It's been a little while now they've known they have a shot at the title, it could actually have the reverse effect and have them 100% focused on the league. It's a bit 'cheap psychology' in any case to try and understand what their mindset is, I'm really focusing on the choice Poch made and saying it made sense to a certain extent. I'm not saying 100% it's going to be effective, I'm just saying you can understand why he made it and why he felt it was the right call to make.
 
balu is absolutely right.

and with this attitude tottenham is never going to be a top-team.
and i wouldn't wondering if they now struggle even against villa and others, cause they realised how average they are in comparison to europe. next year tottenham in the cl, with that attitude? seems that italy will get some more points for the uefa-ranking.
could have been a test for that, how it is to play against european topsides and have the next game 3 days later. a good test, cause villa is so weak.
mission totaly failed.
 
Utd heap said:
Spurs to United, 'a step down'.

Quote of the day.
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He's not wrong, comparing the current positions of the clubs.
The Purist said:
Nope. Mind you, Spurs fans still deny that Kane is an Arsenal fan just like they denied Bale was one. It's hilarious how much these small 'victories' mean to them.
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Kane probably is a Spurs fan now tbf - Wilshere was a West Ham fan when he was a kid as well, he clearly supports Arsenal now.
 
The PL is a bit pathetic really. Each top two teams in Germany and Spain would walk the league as would Juventus.
 
Sly said:
We have 3 teams in the Champions League guaranteed till 2017/18 :D Thanks Benfica (puke)
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With all the Russians out we're also safe for now. (thanks Benfica?)
But the fight is on for 2018/2019.
:lol:
 
Rooney in Paris said:
A lot of what you say makes sense. But you have to keep in mind that for English clubs, the Holy Grail is the league (more than European competitions, and definitely more than the Europa League), and it's maybe a once in a 50 year opportunity for Spurs to actually have a go at it. And even though you can rationalize a posteriori, I think to a certain extent, what he did made sense. He most probably underestimated BVB, but he prioritized the league.
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I refuse to believe that Pochettino underestimated Dortmund. Therefore, I think it had made perfect sense (although I find it disappointing as a fan from the opponent and would be fuming if I was a travelling Spurs fan) if Tottenham's next fixture wouldn't have been Aston Villa, and if Pochettino hadn't subbed in Kane and Lamela late in the game.
If he wants to focus on the EPL, in spite of a weak Villa in the next game, fair enough, so be it: But then don't even try to camouflage it.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
That type of sentence really makes no sense.
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Makes no sense? Dortmund, Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, Real/Atletico and PSG would all likely walk the league in pretty emphatic fashion. Considering the money being thrown around in the PL the top teams should be much better.
 
Gol123 said:
Makes no sense? Dortmund, Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, Real/Atletico and PSG would all likely walk the league in pretty emphatic fashion. Considering the money being thrown around in the PL the top teams should be much better.
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It might be true, but that type of definitive conclusion makes no sense in that it suggests things happen in a vacuum or at least in a very different context. If Dortmund were in the PL, would they be this efficient? Would they be able to keep certain of their top players and attract others? Would they have the same physical level? Would they score as many and concede so little?

If your opinion is that BVB is a better team than English teams currently, that's fair enough. But saying they'd walk the PL makes no sense whatsoever.
 
Gol123 said:
The PL is a bit pathetic really. Each top two teams in Germany and Spain would walk the league as would Juventus.
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Yet thankfully they aren't in the league, and we're having the most exciting title race since the 70's or something like that, with a potential winner in either Leicester or Tottenham, that would be the most surprising winner since Forest won as a promoted side in 1978.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
It might be true, but that type of definitive conclusion makes no sense in that it suggests things happen in a vacuum or at least in a very different context. If Dortmund were in the PL, would they be this efficient? Would they be able to keep certain of their top players and attract others? Would they have the same physical level? Would they score as many and concede so little?

If your opinion is that BVB is a better team than English teams currently, that's fair enough. But saying they'd walk the PL makes no sense whatsoever.
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That's of course then putting them within the parameters of the league itself. I was comparing the Premier league to the other leagues and they are quite frankly not holding up to those teams.

I don't know whether its management, being tactically behind every other league or not being able to attract the talent to compete but its a worrying thought for the league going into the future that there are 7/8 sides across Europe who playing at the level they are this season would easily win the league.
Lurpak99 said:
Yet thankfully they aren't in the league, and we're having the most exciting title race since the 70's or something like that, with a potential winner in either Leicester or Tottenham, that would be the most surprising winner since Forest won as a promoted side in 1978.
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Sure its good entertainment. Its not good for the league though. All the top teams are taking turns trying to be more shit then the other. We have been somewhat left behind by the rest of Europe for some reason. With all the money in the league, you would expect better.
 
Gol123 said:
Sure its good entertainment. Its not good for the league though. All the top teams are taking turns trying to be more shit then the other. We have been somewhat left behind by the rest of Europe for some reason. With all the money in the league, you would expect better.
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Sure, it would be better if the top 6 in the PL was in the top 15 in Europe, but I'd rather have it as it is this season, than having one team that's just running away with it.
 
Lurpak99 said:
Sure, it would be better if the top 6 in the PL was in the top 15 in Europe, but I'd rather have it as it is this season, than having one team that's just running away with it.
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I would rather have it like this then one team running away with it too. But with the resources and managers coming into the league, we should really have both dominant and competitive teams within the league. How it is the way it is I don't know but it is certainly worrying to say the least.
 
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