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Boro v Tottenham Hotspur 1-2


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[align=center]249x261http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/attachments/club-competition-logos/1039866d1459710231-logo-requests-thread-middlesbrough-fc.png[/img]227x254http://png-1.vector.me/files/images/7/1/710340/tottenham_hotspur_fc_thumb.png[/img]

 

 

 

 

 

[align=left]Well, well, well.......

 

After back to back defeats at the hands of Palace and Everton it seems the Premier League honeymoon period is well and truly over. Things won't get any easier, certainly not this week anyway, as Boro welcome Spurs to The Riverside for an oldskool 3pm kick off on Saturday the 24th of September.

 

 

 

The Opposition

 

Spurs come into this season after a fine campaign last season in which they had their highest ever Premier League finish. They finished up 3rd after a late collapse seen them relinquish 2nd spot to bitter rivals ***nal. This season so far they have played 5 won 3 and drew 2. Making them one of only 3 unbeaten teams in the league, with Everton and Man City sharing that honour.

 

Tottenham tend to set up in a similar way to us on paper with a now common 4231. Tottenham's 'wide' players in the 3 behind the striker often come inside with the fullbacks pushing up to provide width. Statistical analysis of Tottenham's games this season shows they like to play possession football and control the game inside the oppositions half, with the majority of their attacks coming down the left. So I would expect Barragan to be busy, if Juanjo Vila/Karanka has picked up on this then I can't see Traore starting on the right. So that could mean N'Sue starts again, Stuani is possibly back for this one though or AK could even throw a curveball and play Downing there. Tottenham tend to win a lot of fouls and catch teams offside quite frequently, heat maps of average CB positions show them playing a high (but not extreme) line which does not bode well for our criminal lack of pace in the team. However Spurs do give teams chances with them conceding on average 11.4 attempts on their goal each game.

 

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[align=left]Spurs play Gillingham in the league cup 3 days before our game but no doubt wholesale changes will be made for that one and will probably not feature many (if any) players that will start against us. However, they do play CSKA Moscow 3 days after facing us and will no doubt have one eye on that, especially with them suffering defeat to the hands of a very decent Monaco side at home in the opening round of the Champions league last week.

 

Harry Kane will not feature in this one as he picked up an ankle injury in the Sunderland game on Sunday. He will almost certainly be replaced with the very physical Janssen. However, Dembele and Dier who also hobbled off in that game are expected to return. It is thought the pair were only suffering from cramp against Sunderland. Danny Rose should may also be available after returning to training following a hamstring injury.

 

 

Concerns For Boro

 

Hmmmmm... Well we've been dog*** going forward haven't we? Our right hand side attack is really a problem despite us trying to attack down there more than the left hand side. On the right Stuani is ineffective unless he scores which is not often enough to negate his total lack of creativity. He registered 1 assist all season in the Championship and made 0.4 chances for a teammate per game. I mean that's 1 every 2 and a bit games in the level below. I cannot see that improving. N'Sue looks out of his depth and Karanka didn't even bring Traore on when we were 3-1 down in the last ten mins of a game, so who knows with him. On the other side Downing has been 'tidy' in some peoples opinion. I can see why, as he has averaged the second most amount of passes in our team, with only Forshaw beating him. Now on one side this is commendable but on the flipside if you look at the other premier league teams the top 5 or so players are almost always the CB's and CM's. Also he has only the 8th best passing accuracy in the team. But for me the defining characteristic of him this season is the absolute lack of ambition, he has made zero successful dribbles. He is not the only one though, Stuani also shares that statistic with him. Not good enough. We rarely stretch teams and tend to play everything in front of them. Add this to the fact Spurs will play a relatively high line, it is concerning. As once again we will look to Gaston to produce something essentially on his own. With Spurs able to employ deploy the likes of Wanyama, Dier and Dembele to marshal him he will probably come deep to find space and leave Negredo isolated again. Unfortunately I just can't see us getting any joy against these. The defence and Valdes in particular need a good game too.

 

 

Reasons to be positive

 

Martin de Roon looks like he's getting back to full fitness. We started well in the first 20 mins against Everton. Each game is a learning curve for most of these players, so valuable lessons have hopefully been learned from the previous games. We are not expected to get anything from this so 'should' play without fear. We are at home.

 

 

Odds

 

Boro - 14/5

Draw - 12/5

Tottenham - Evans

 

 

So lads and lasses how do you see this one going? [/align]

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Good effort.

 

Can see AK making some changes, he won't be happy after losing two on the trot. I reckon Chambers and Espinosa will start but I'm not sure who for. Friend and Ayala would be the obvious shouts given how poor they were at Everton.

 

And unpopular opinion, but I would honestly bring Guzan back into the side. Whether Valdes was at fault for any of the goals on Saturday or not, we've looked more calm and assured with Guzan in goal.

 

In central midfield, I think Saturday's defeat will give AK an excuse to go back to the default CM of De Roon and Clayton. Any updates on Clayton's injury?

 

Fischer put in a very impressive cameo on Saturday. I'd like to see a trio of Fischer, Ramirez and Downing behind Negredo with Downing on the right.

 

This will be a tough game, heart says 2-0 Boro head says 3-1 Spurs.

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Love the minimalist Boro badge! Wish the club would adopt one similar.

 

I think tottenhams game congestion and injury woes give us a much better chance than at first glance here. Still be a tough game obviously, but I'm going to go for a 1-0 win for us!

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Good effort.

 

 

Ta, I've just went for a no frills, approach.

 

Best way. Might have to take this approach next time, don't think my EastEnders and X Factor themed M/D thread took off the way I wanted. :P

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Don't fancy our chances unfortunately. Stranger things have happened than us getting a respectable draw, but I think that Spurs are just devastating going forward, and going 2 goals behind is going to be a big killer for us this season. Son and Lamela look very good, Eriksson rarely has a bad game, and if it all clicks then the fact that Janssen is very possibly a spud won't stop him scoring.

Would like to see us go for it when behind, and do what we all wanted to see against Everton. I maintain that if we had played another 5 minutes against Palace we'd have equalised, so a bit of that same spirit when roared on by the crowd might raise the spirits, even if the result is a poor one.

1-2, Traore to pull one back after Son and Alderweireld score for them.

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Valdez (he must prove his worth after the Everton game)

Barragan (what a nice hardworking versatile transfer scoop)

Ayala (normally it's after a few games he is good again, when returning from injury)

Gibson (Nothing out of the ordinary, but he does the job)

Fabio (if he is fit, cause friend has not adapted to the top tear yet)

De Roon ( I like the dude and he will only get better and better)

Forshaw ( I hate, that Karanka probably will use Clayton)

Fischer (why not try him in the right side?)

Ramirez (must also improve a lot fron last game and show his true self)

Downing ( solid but borring and I wish he would cross and run like in his first spell here)

Negredo (give him the ball more and he will score a few)

 

Subs: Traore, Espinosa, Chambers, Clayton, Rhodes, Friend, Nugent.

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3-0 Spurs, is my guess. On paper, that's not awful. Spurs in my eyes are an even better side than Everton, regardless of where they're playing. Pochettino has got them playing some quality football. They haven't quite lived up to the form they had last season yet but they've only improved their squad and they really weren't reliant on Kane to be successful.

 

If all are fit and well from the last game, I'd go:

 

Valdes

Barragan Ayala Gibson Friend

De Roon Clayton

Nsue Ramirez Downing

Negredo

 

I was really toying with the idea of throwing Rhodes in. Negredo isn't much use to us without service and against a team as strong as Spurs, I think we're going to struggle having any build up play at all. So do you throw someone in who has a habit of getting goals from nowhere and play a bit more direct?

 

Do you perhaps even drop a midfielder and play him alongside Negredo to see if they can work together? It would certainly give Spurs something to think about if we changed our shape. I know pigs will fly before this happens from the start of an AK game but food for thought.

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3-0 Spurs, is my guess. On paper, that's not awful. Spurs in my eyes are an even better side than Everton, regardless of where they're playing. Pochettino has got them playing some quality football. They haven't quite lived up to the form they had last season yet but they've only improved their squad and they really weren't reliant on Kane to be successful.

 

If all are fit and well from the last game, I'd go:

 

Valdes

Barragan Ayala Gibson Friend

De Roon Clayton

Nsue Ramirez Downing

Negredo

 

I was really toying with the idea of throwing Rhodes in. Negredo isn't much use to us without service and against a team as strong as Spurs, I think we're going to struggle having any build up play at all. So do you throw someone in who has a habit of getting goals from nowhere and play a bit more direct?

 

Do you perhaps even drop a midfielder and play him alongside Negredo to see if they can work together? It would certainly give Spurs something to think about if we changed our shape. I know pigs will fly before this happens from the start of an AK game but food for thought.

 

Would you not change the back 4 after Saturday?

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3-0 Spurs, is my guess. On paper, that's not awful. Spurs in my eyes are an even better side than Everton, regardless of where they're playing. Pochettino has got them playing some quality football. They haven't quite lived up to the form they had last season yet but they've only improved their squad and they really weren't reliant on Kane to be successful.

 

If all are fit and well from the last game, I'd go:

 

Valdes

Barragan Ayala Gibson Friend

De Roon Clayton

Nsue Ramirez Downing

Negredo

 

I was really toying with the idea of throwing Rhodes in. Negredo isn't much use to us without service and against a team as strong as Spurs, I think we're going to struggle having any build up play at all. So do you throw someone in who has a habit of getting goals from nowhere and play a bit more direct?

 

Do you perhaps even drop a midfielder and play him alongside Negredo to see if they can work together? It would certainly give Spurs something to think about if we changed our shape. I know pigs will fly before this happens from the start of an AK game but food for thought.

 

Would you not change the back 4 after Saturday?

 

No. Full backs have to stay the same as Barragan is doing fine and whilst Friend hasn't been great, there's nobody who will be able to do a better job than him available to play there. I thought Gibson had a good game at Everton and Ayala hasn't been terrible, lets not forget he missed a full pre-season.

 

If I'd change anyone it would be the keeper but then I look at who would likely come in for him and no thank you, still not a fan of a keeper who is only a shot stopper.

 

I honestly don't see what changing anything in that back 4 is going to achieve right now. Our problems are at the other end of the pitch, for me.

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