Spurs set out not to lose and fail, wrong approach


GENT 1 SPURS 0



1st Half
0 - 0
2nd Half
1 - 0
54'
(Tripping) Walker K.
59'
Perbet J. (Milicevic D.)
68'
Son Heung-MinDembele M. 
71'
N'Koudou G.Sissoko M. 
73'
(Foul) Alli D.
74'
Kalu S. Simon M.
75'
Coulibaly K. Perbet J.
80'
Eriksen C.Winks H. 
80'
Gershon R. Asare N.


Another poor away performance where we didn't look as though we set out to win the game. In Europe, we seem to be hopeless away from home. As I wrote in a recent article about our poor first half performance record, we don't set out to win, we set out not to lose, which means we give ourselves 45 minutes to try and win a game.

It looked to me as if certain players weren't motivated, perhaps they didn't rate the opposition and thus didn't properly motivate themselves for the game. Every game is a big game, not just against a top four side in the English Premier League.

Harry Winks was everywhere, yet Mousa Dembele, although missed when he went off, was poor by his standards and Victor Wanyama looked as if he was going through the motions. Moussa Sissoko was his usual hopeless self, I don't know why we insist on playing him on the wing, he is a central midfielder.

I don't think Pochettino rates him at all and we may well be looking to offload him in the summer, as we only have to pay an amount per year he stays with us. Sell him quickly and he will not have cost us £30 million.

Georges-Kevin N'Koudou doesn't look near first tram standard yet, Vincent Janssen is clearly not thought up to it and when we can't feed Kane we have no attack. Dele Alli was off the boil, Eric Dier is still learning his trade at centre-back, Kevin Wimmer isn't trusted as he hardly gets a look in.

It is only 1-0 and the tie is very much alive, but Gent will be really up for playing at Wembley so we have to be and we haven't been yet.

We once again had the wrong mindset for the game. Commentators telling us it takes time for youngsters to learn the right mindset is nonsense, it can be taught if you have the right people teaching, professionals. Mindset is a skill on its own and it has its own set of professionals, they are not football coaches, they can only teach you so much about mindset, which isn't enough if we want to rise to the top in the shortest possible time.

We can still get there, but it will take a lot longer.

Further THBN Reading
Common knowledge Bentaleb was never returning to Spurs
Spurs bid for Bruno Peres
Summer target a striker and winger
Damarai Gray - our summer target, should we pursue him?
Pochettino and his analysis staff - did they get it wrong?
Simple explanation for the Liverpool defeat


Over 550 Spurs articles at Tottenham Hotspur News