Match Review: Tottenham 5-1 Stoke City
My duty is to write a succinct match report outlining the events.
However after todays debacle I am struggling to report on anything other than what we have become. A 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Spurs might not seem so bad in isolation, however that is just the point. Forgetting the fact the three previous Stoke v Spurs matches have all finished 4-0, the last 12 months have been dire. Today enough was enough for many.
The first large scale ” Hughes out ” chants rained down from the away section at Wembley Stadium as our goal average took another shocking hit. A video just released on Twitter too of Stoke fans chanting at our players ” Your not fit to wear the shirt ” is starting to go viral. The mood has become toxic, make no mistake, we stink of relegation right now and something has to give.
The first half today I did not think Spurs were actually that impressive, however when they cranked up the pace they created opportunities. They led at the break through a Ryan Shawcross own goal after Son had whipped in a dangerous cross. To be fair to Ryan, I thought he was unlucky here. The real concern during the half for me was our complete lack of attacking threat. In fact I cannot recall a single shot as our lone striker Mame Diouf toiled without any service or impact.
I was hoping that the second half might see us be a bit more positive and create more opportunities. Unfortunately we were blown away very quickly following two early goals first from Heung-Min Son (easy for me to say) and then Harry Kane – game over. Kane added a 4th on 65 prompting more angry ” Hughes out ” chants before Christian Eriksen made it 5 on 74. Stoke fans were streaming for the exits absolutely furious at the spineless display they were witnessing, thus many missed our Captain score a consolation header on 80 minutes. With 5 minutes to go, I had seen enough myself and swiftly headed for Wembley Park Station – it had been dreadful.
For me, the Manager has to go.
This has been a slow and painful decline over a long period of time. I look at the team right now, we do not appear to have a system the players are comfortable with, we lack pace but more alarmingly today – they did not look as if they were playing for the Manager. Peter Coates will surely act soon because at least we have the time to recover this situation. Should he fail to sack Hughes before Tuesday night then he must be on ” last chance saloon ” as Burnley and West Ham loom large.
Keep the faith is very difficult to say right now. I am struggling to find anything positive to report but this defeat is very raw in my mind. Regroup and go again Tuesday, it is all we can do.
Over to you Mr Coates.
Written by James Lockett
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