Gone Fishing Spurs (a) 10/11/2013

[The Fish 10857]

These were the pre-season questions,

 

What's a realistic aim for your team this season?

Where do your team need to strengthen to achieve this?

Which new Premier League players are you looking forward to seeing?

Which of your players do you predict having a big season?

Which of your players do you expect to have a disappointing season?

Which fixtures do you immediately look for?

Which away game are you looking forward to the most/least?

What's your most memorable game against NUFC?

Newcastle have been in the papers for all the wrong reasons again, what's your take on the Kinnear debacle?

Which Newcastle players would you like to see in your side?

Pardew winds up quite a few opposition managers, what's your take on him? Is he playing mind games? Or is he just an Average/Bad manager with a mouth?

Where do you expect Newcastle to finish this season?

and their answers can be found here,

 

Any follow up Qs you want me to ask?

[Howmanheyman 33240]

These were the pre-season questions,

and their answers can be found here,

 

Any follow up Qs you want me to ask?

 

Ask them if they fanciy a sucking you off while you finger their bumholes

[Meenzer 15531]

[desmondTUTU 0]

got a feeling were going to beat these

[ChezGiven 0]

 

Ask them if they fanciy a sucking you off while you finger their bumholes

[ADP 0]

What did they make of the decision to keep Lloris on the pitch last weekend?

Edited November 6, 2013 by ADP

[The Fish 10857]

 

Ask them if they fanciy a sucking you off while you finger their bumholes

Well played.

 

What did they make of the decision to keep Lloris on the pitch last weekend?

Will do

 

I was thinking about asking them if they regret any of the summer signings? Lamela and Soldado for example (but for different reasons)

Which clubs' summer signings have impressed them so far?

Do they still think top 4 is achievable?

They initially said a Striker was the priority; has that weakness been addressed, if not who would they like to see join them in January?

The majority of them predicted a midtable finish for Newcastle, have they seen anything that would change their mind?

[Andrew 4757]

What so they make of the "yid army" carry on?

[Howmanheyman 33240]

Do they think the long, slow, drawn out 'When the Spurs go marching in' song is as good as any football song around or do they think pulling their teeth out with a rusty blunt pair of pliers is preferable to singing/hearing it?

[Dr Gloom 21924]

Do they think the long, slow, drawn out 'When the Spurs go marching in' song is as good as any football song around or do they think pulling their teeth out with a rusty blunt pair of pliers is preferable to singing/hearing it?

 

[Dr Gloom 21924]

do any of you actually live in the shiteheap catchment area that is white heart lane or have you all migrated to essex? will the new stadium do anything to change the local and/or matchday demographic? will you fill the proposed 56k stadium?

[Howmanheyman 33240]

Whatever happened to Holsten pils and did you drink it?

[ewerk 30616]

What so they make of the "yid army" carry on?

Aye, this.

[Meenzer 15531]

Are you aware that having hoardings with the slogans "The Game Is About Glory" and "To Dare Is To Do" around your ground makes everyone else think you're a bunch of utter nancy boys?

[OTF 7295]

Slightly inflammatory, but:

 

Given this is Spurs most successful start to a Premier League season ever, how disappointing is it that you're in fourth place 5 points behind your biggest rival?

 

Less so:

 

Are you surprised at how few goals you have conceded? Do you think your success will continue to be based around an excellent defensive record, or are you expecting the goals to start flowing once the team gels?

[Park Life 71]

Will you ever get more than one person into the box?

[David Kelly 1245]

What do you think about being referred to as Cockney Makems?

[The Fish 10857]

A few questions in response to those I've put to them:

 

What are your thoughts on Pardew?
What position are you most needing to strengthen in January?
What the hell has happened to Cisse?

General fans view on Ashley, put up with him or can't wait until he sells the club?

Would you say we're (Spurs) a grave yard for young talent?

If you could have any Spurs player, who would it be?

What do you think about the current policy of harvesting French (speaking?) talent?
Have you stabilised as a club, following the trauma of 2009 and thereabouts?
Are you worried that Sunderland's superb form could see them challenge for a top-18 place?

 

[The Fish 10857]

Do regret any of the summer signings? Lamela and Soldado for example haven't set the world on fire as yet, are they not being utilised properly or are they just not good enough?

Galeforce - No, just taking time to adjust.
Rossi22 - A little. Namely Soldado, I don't think he's a bad player by any means, just not suited to this team, not yet anyway. It's easy to just conclude that Soldado has one goal from open play in 9/10 games so he must be crap but the truth is he's had barely any service whatsoever. Lamela's just being eased in very gently, I'm sure he'll find his feet when given a chance, hopefully this Sunday. Of the others, Chiriches and Paulinho seem to have settled quickly, Capoue was doing well before his injury, Eriksen has cooled off a little but it's still early days and Chadli's been injured for a while.

GutterBoy - Of the 7, only Chadli has so far failed to show he has the tools to succeed for us. Lamela is young and settling (remember at the comparable stage in his career, our last manager was considering selling Bale to Nottingham Forest). Soldado has had naff all service because we’ve not yet solved our three AMs issue.

Billyiddo - no, not at all - i think once the players have fully settled and we look back on the window it will be seen as very good business. one or two have struggled to slot right in and perform to a high level consistently but have shown enough, for me at least, to suggest they are more than capable.
along with the transfers we also have Townsend and Rose who have just returned from long loan spells so we're looking 9 players 'in' this summer effectively and with that kind of turnover there will always be a few teething problems.

JoeMo - Neither of what you suggest, just in an adjustment period. Paulinho, Capoue, Chiriches, Eriksen all have shown glimpses of brilliance already but still I think we are yet to see the best from any of them. Soldado, Lamela and Chadli are taking a bit longer to properly gel but I think we will begin to see good things from all of them in the coming months. Our whole philosophy has changed this season so it was always going to be difficult.

You initially said a Striker was the priority; has that weakness been addressed, if not who would you like to see join in January?

Galeforce - I think it has.

Rossi22 - I don't think it's been addressed, no. With the current team set up I wish we'd have signed Benteke instead and I hope he's still on our radar.

GutterBoy - Happy with Soldado as our main man. We need an alternative/back-up though, as Ade is all but gone and Defoe reminded us very clearly against West Ham that he’s not good enough for this level. Pato or Hernandez would be my preferences for January.

Billyiddo - I think so, to me Soldado looks at a cut above what we've had for a few years now - once the midfield behind settles and start to pick up on his fantastic off the ball movement he'll start getting played in more and with that will come the goals that have been missing. maybe there may have been better options out there but i think he'll score goals once the our general attacking pay improves - he's not really getting the service atm and he's a player who thrives on that as opposed to a forward who creates his own - so it would be unfair to judge him on something that we haven't signed him for. looks like Ade is off asap so a replacement back up striker, preferably of the young and hungry type, will be brought in.

 

JoeMo - Personally I don't wanna see us sign any more strikers. Soldado will come good, Defoe and Ade are top class backup and Harry Kane is a decent youngster for the Europa League and other cups. Any more would be unnecessary clutter right now.

 

Which clubs' summer signings have impressed you most so far?
Galeforce - It has to be Arsenal. Ozil has made them twice the side they were last year.

Rossi22 - Negredo, Lovren. Remy and Lukaku as loan signings.

GutterBoy - Southampton, Cardiff

Billyiddo - nothing really stands out if im honest - i thought Norwich done well at the time but it doesn't look so just yet.

JoeMo - Think Loic Remy was a great bit of business for you guys, but he'll go back to QPR next season. Think Wanyama has be excellent for Southampton as well.

What do you make of the "yid army" controversy?
Galeforce - Ridiculous.

Rossi22 - I haven't taken much notice of it, people will always feel the need to be offended by something. As far as I can tell, Tottenham's Jewish following are proud of Spurs fans referring to themselves and singing Yid Army.

 

GutterBoy - White Christian conspiracy to persecute us and our proud decades’ long campaign against anti-Semitism

Billyiddo - total ******** which does more to harm the 'cause' than to help. I could go on but won't

JoeMo - Overblown ******** by the media, people trying to dig up controversy when there is none (i.e. Hodgson and Townsend). For me the most pressing opinion is that of the Jewish community, who have been given very little coverage during the whole affair, mostly because they really couldn't give a toss.

 

Will the new stadium do anything to change the local and/or matchday demographic? Also, will you fill the proposed 56k stadium?
Galeforce - Probably not, for most games I expect so.

Rossi22 - I think we'd fill it for most games. The stadium development will have a positive impact on the local area I'd imagine, not sure how the match day demographic would change - unless Levy hikes the prices up ...

GutterBoy - No, we’re already as prawn sandwich as the other big clubs. We could fill 60k for 80% of matches IMO.

Billyiddo - we have the third highest average home attendance record post WWII behind Liverpool and United (although it won't be long before Arsenal over take now they have The Emirates) despite being 'stuck' in a 36k capacity stadium for the past 2 decades - that should tell you all you need to know about how many Spurs supporters are actually out there.

JoeMo - It'll change Haringey majorly but that is only positive. In terms of matchday demographic, the average age of someone who attends Premier League games these days is 41 so I don't see how that can be changed much more. 56k will be filled without too much hassle, we have a season ticket waiting list of about 15,000.

 

 

Given this is Spurs most successful start to a Premier League season ever, how disappointing is it that you're in fourth place, 5 points behind your biggest rival? and do you still think top 4 is achievable?
Galeforce - Its early days, i'm still confident of at least 4th.

Rossi22 - Is that actually true? I thought we'd had a better start under Harry in the 11/12 season? I concentrate on Spurs, not Arsenal. I'm more disappointed by the boring football we've played than Arsenal being above us. I think we can finish top 4 but I'd probably plump for 5th again if I had to predict.

GutterBoy - The season has barely begun. We’re still in touching distance. None of the rest of the top clubs look in anyway standout. I expect us to get 3rd and think we’ll be closer to 1st (points wise) that most people think.

Billy iddo - not really much at all - despite the common stereotype of Spurs fans we aren't actually obsessed with them to that point - although of course no one likes seeing their rivals do well. fair play for doing things the right way though - a good reminder that a club can build itself up rather than relying on the money of others. as for our own chances for 4th - i think we're in a good position - players which were signed with the intention of being key to our style (Soldado/Eriksen/Lamela) are yet to fully integrate, our defense which is fairly unchanged from last season is looking strong and should remain consistent throughout.

the concern is that whilst the top teams seem to be struggling (United/City/Chelsea) there are several others playing well - (Southampton/Liverpool/Everton) so there are a lot of sides performing around the same kind of level (at last in terms of results) so it's hard to see any real gap developing between the top 4 favorites and the chasing pack. should be an entertaining season and one which goes right down to the wire.

JoeMo - We tend to start slowly and pick up speed as the season goes on, so I'm not really that fussed about how things have gone so far. It's about consistency throughout the season so if that happens then we'll really have matured. Top 4 will come if that maturity does.

Are you surprised at how few goals you have conceded? Do you think your success will continue to be based around an excellent defensive record, or are you expecting the goals to start flowing once the team gels?
Galeforce - No, we showed signs of this last season. I think both, we'll continue to be sound at the back but start banging the goals in as well.

Rossi22 - Not really. Probably. Not really.

GutterBoy - Have you seen the four wall of steel CMs (Sandro, Paulinho, Dembele and Capoue)? I’m surprised we’ve conceded any goals! We’ll get the balance and interplay between the three AMs before long and will become much more clinical in attack. We won’t have high scoring games ever though, as AVB puts the limiter on once we get to 2-0 to start preparing us for the next match.

Billyiddo - building from the back - the defense is more settled compare to the rest of the team so naturally we are stronger here than in attack. one clean sheet away from equaling last seasons haul already and the seasons not even one third in yet - i think a lot of us fans are struggling to come to terms with this very 'anti-Spurs' set of circumstances (strong in defense 'poor' in attack) and would prefer to be winning by the same margins but 4-3 instead of 1-0. hopefully it's a good sign for the future

JoeMo - Yes. Hugely. I've never seen us look so assured at the back and to be honest I don't think Spurs fans know how to react to it. Everything AVB does is with that defensive solidity assured, so the hope is that once they gel the attacking side will sort itself out. I think most people would have liked to see more evidence of this happening by now.

 

The majority of you predicted a midtable finish for Newcastle, what do you make of our start?
Galeforce - Random, lost to the Mackams then beat Chelsea. Who can predict where a team like that will finish?

Rossi22 - Up and down, so probably mid table.

GutterBoy - I thought you’d be further down. I thought it would be a ‘by standing still you go backward’ season

Billyiddo - tbh i haven't really followed your results all that much so can't really comment.

JoeMo - There's about 8 teams better than you and 8 teams worse than you so I think come the end of the season that'll play out.

 

Initially, Cabaye and Ben Arfa were the players you'd like to see at Spurs, has anything changed?
Galeforce - Remy as well maybe.

Rossi22 - Only Cabaye really interests me.

GutterBoy - Don’t think we need either of those two really. I’d take Davide Santon off you though

Billyiddo - i believe i said in pre season that i wasn't really interested in either and i stand by that - not that they aren't good players just that we probably have better options here already.

JoeMo - They are both very good players but we have an abundance of players in their position already. Maybe having players in who are used to the League would be beneficial.

 

Where do you now expect Newcastle to finish this season?

Galeforce - See above, but if I had to bet my life on it i'd say 8th to 12th.

Rossi22 - 11th

GutterBoy - 11th

Billyiddo - lower mid table

 

J oeMo - 9th-ish

[The Fish 10857]

drunk formatting for the win

[OTF 7295]

They seem a pretty well reasoned bunch tbh.

[The Fish 10857]

Forgot to ask them to predict the score

[Dr Gloom 21924]

sort that lime green font man fish. want to read it but it's giving me a headache

Edited November 11, 2013 by Dr Gloom

[The Fish 10857]

Do regret any of the summer signings? Lamela and Soldado for example haven't set the world on fire as yet, are they not being utilised properly or are they just not good enough?

Galeforce - No, just taking time to adjust.

Rossi22 - A little. Namely Soldado, I don't think he's a bad player by any means, just not suited to this team, not yet anyway. It's easy to just conclude that Soldado has one goal from open play in 9/10 games so he must be crap but the truth is he's had barely any service whatsoever. Lamela's just being eased in very gently, I'm sure he'll find his feet when given a chance, hopefully this Sunday. Of the others, Chiriches and Paulinho seem to have settled quickly, Capoue was doing well before his injury, Eriksen has cooled off a little but it's still early days and Chadli's been injured for a while.

GutterBoy - Of the 7, only Chadli has so far failed to show he has the tools to succeed for us. Lamela is young and settling (remember at the comparable stage in his career, our last manager was considering selling Bale to Nottingham Forest). Soldado has had naff all service because we’ve not yet solved our three AMs issue.

Billyiddo - no, not at all - i think once the players have fully settled and we look back on the window it will be seen as very good business. one or two have struggled to slot right in and perform to a high level consistently but have shown enough, for me at least, to suggest they are more than capable.

along with the transfers we also have Townsend and Rose who have just returned from long loan spells so we're looking 9 players 'in' this summer effectively and with that kind of turnover there will always be a few teething problems.

JoeMo - Neither of what you suggest, just in an adjustment period. Paulinho, Capoue, Chiriches, Eriksen all have shown glimpses of brilliance already but still I think we are yet to see the best from any of them. Soldado, Lamela and Chadli are taking a bit longer to properly gel but I think we will begin to see good things from all of them in the coming months. Our whole philosophy has changed this season so it was always going to be difficult.

You initially said a Striker was the priority; has that weakness been addressed, if not who would you like to see join in January?

Galeforce - I think it has.

Rossi22 - I don't think it's been addressed, no. With the current team set up I wish we'd have signed Benteke instead and I hope he's still on our radar.

GutterBoy - Happy with Soldado as our main man. We need an alternative/back-up though, as Ade is all but gone and Defoe reminded us very clearly against West Ham that he’s not good enough for this level. Pato or Hernandez would be my preferences for January.

Billyiddo - I think so, to me Soldado looks at a cut above what we've had for a few years now - once the midfield behind settles and start to pick up on his fantastic off the ball movement he'll start getting played in more and with that will come the goals that have been missing. maybe there may have been better options out there but i think he'll score goals once the our general attacking pay improves - he's not really getting the service atm and he's a player who thrives on that as opposed to a forward who creates his own - so it would be unfair to judge him on something that we haven't signed him for. looks like Ade is off asap so a replacement back up striker, preferably of the young and hungry type, will be brought in.

JoeMo - Personally I don't wanna see us sign any more strikers. Soldado will come good, Defoe and Ade are top class backup and Harry Kane is a decent youngster for the Europa League and other cups. Any more would be unnecessary clutter right now.

 

Which clubs' summer signings have impressed you most so far?

Galeforce - It has to be Arsenal. Ozil has made them twice the side they were last year.

Rossi22 - Negredo, Lovren. Remy and Lukaku as loan signings.

GutterBoy - Southampton, Cardiff

Billyiddo - nothing really stands out if im honest - i thought Norwich done well at the time but it doesn't look so just yet.

JoeMo - Think Loic Remy was a great bit of business for you guys, but he'll go back to QPR next season. Think Wanyama has be excellent for Southampton as well.

 

What do you make of the "yid army" controversy?

Galeforce - Ridiculous.

Rossi22 - I haven't taken much notice of it, people will always feel the need to be offended by something. As far as I can tell, Tottenham's Jewish following are proud of Spurs fans referring to themselves and singing Yid Army.

GutterBoy - White Christian conspiracy to persecute us and our proud decades’ long campaign against anti-Semitism

Billyiddo - total ******** which does more to harm the 'cause' than to help. I could go on but won't

JoeMo - Overblown ******** by the media, people trying to dig up controversy when there is none (i.e. Hodgson and Townsend). For me the most pressing opinion is that of the Jewish community, who have been given very little coverage during the whole affair, mostly because they really couldn't give a toss.

 

Will the new stadium do anything to change the local and/or matchday demographic? Also, will you fill the proposed 56k stadium?

Galeforce - Probably not, for most games I expect so.

Rossi22 - I think we'd fill it for most games. The stadium development will have a positive impact on the local area I'd imagine, not sure how the match day demographic would change - unless Levy hikes the prices up ...

GutterBoy - No, we’re already as prawn sandwich as the other big clubs. We could fill 60k for 80% of matches IMO.

Billyiddo - we have the third highest average home attendance record post WWII behind Liverpool and United (although it won't be long before Arsenal over take now they have The Emirates) despite being 'stuck' in a 36k capacity stadium for the past 2 decades - that should tell you all you need to know about how many Spurs supporters are actually out there.

JoeMo - It'll change Haringey majorly but that is only positive. In terms of matchday demographic, the average age of someone who attends Premier League games these days is 41 so I don't see how that can be changed much more. 56k will be filled without too much hassle, we have a season ticket waiting list of about 15,000.

 

 

Given this is Spurs most successful start to a Premier League season ever, how disappointing is it that you're in fourth place, 5 points behind your biggest rival? and do you still think top 4 is achievable?

Galeforce - Its early days, i'm still confident of at least 4th.

Rossi22 - Is that actually true? I thought we'd had a better start under Harry in the 11/12 season? I concentrate on Spurs, not Arsenal. I'm more disappointed by the boring football we've played than Arsenal being above us. I think we can finish top 4 but I'd probably plump for 5th again if I had to predict.

GutterBoy - The season has barely begun. We’re still in touching distance. None of the rest of the top clubs look in anyway standout. I expect us to get 3rd and think we’ll be closer to 1st (points wise) that most people think.

Billy iddo - not really much at all - despite the common stereotype of Spurs fans we aren't actually obsessed with them to that point - although of course no one likes seeing their rivals do well. fair play for doing things the right way though - a good reminder that a club can build itself up rather than relying on the money of others. as for our own chances for 4th - i think we're in a good position - players which were signed with the intention of being key to our style (Soldado/Eriksen/Lamela) are yet to fully integrate, our defense which is fairly unchanged from last season is looking strong and should remain consistent throughout.

 

the concern is that whilst the top teams seem to be struggling (United/City/Chelsea) there are several others playing well - (Southampton/Liverpool/Everton) so there are a lot of sides performing around the same kind of level (at last in terms of results) so it's hard to see any real gap developing between the top 4 favorites and the chasing pack. should be an entertaining season and one which goes right down to the wire.

JoeMo - We tend to start slowly and pick up speed as the season goes on, so I'm not really that fussed about how things have gone so far. It's about consistency throughout the season so if that happens then we'll really have matured. Top 4 will come if that maturity does.

 

Are you surprised at how few goals you have conceded? Do you think your success will continue to be based around an excellent defensive record, or are you expecting the goals to start flowing once the team gels?

Galeforce - No, we showed signs of this last season. I think both, we'll continue to be sound at the back but start banging the goals in as well.

Rossi22 - Not really. Probably. Not really.

GutterBoy - Have you seen the four wall of steel CMs (Sandro, Paulinho, Dembele and Capoue)? I’m surprised we’ve conceded any goals! We’ll get the balance and interplay between the three AMs before long and will become much more clinical in attack. We won’t have high scoring games ever though, as AVB puts the limiter on once we get to 2-0 to start preparing us for the next match.

Billyiddo - building from the back - the defense is more settled compare to the rest of the team so naturally we are stronger here than in attack. one clean sheet away from equaling last seasons haul already and the seasons not even one third in yet - i think a lot of us fans are struggling to come to terms with this very 'anti-Spurs' set of circumstances (strong in defense 'poor' in attack) and would prefer to be winning by the same margins but 4-3 instead of 1-0. hopefully it's a good sign for the future

JoeMo - Yes. Hugely. I've never seen us look so assured at the back and to be honest I don't think Spurs fans know how to react to it. Everything AVB does is with that defensive solidity assured, so the hope is that once they gel the attacking side will sort itself out. I think most people would have liked to see more evidence of this happening by now.

 

The majority of you predicted a midtable finish for Newcastle, what do you make of our start?

Galeforce - Random, lost to the Mackams then beat Chelsea. Who can predict where a team like that will finish?

Rossi22 - Up and down, so probably mid table.

GutterBoy - I thought you’d be further down. I thought it would be a ‘by standing still you go backward’ season

Billyiddo - tbh i haven't really followed your results all that much so can't really comment.

JoeMo - There's about 8 teams better than you and 8 teams worse than you so I think come the end of the season that'll play out.

 

Initially, Cabaye and Ben Arfa were the players you'd like to see at Spurs, has anything changed?

Galeforce - Remy as well maybe.

Rossi22 - Only Cabaye really interests me.

GutterBoy - Don’t think we need either of those two really. I’d take Davide Santon off you though

Billyiddo - i believe i said in pre season that i wasn't really interested in either and i stand by that - not that they aren't good players just that we probably have better options here already.

JoeMo - They are both very good players but we have an abundance of players in their position already. Maybe having players in who are used to the League would be beneficial.

 

Where do you now expect Newcastle to finish this season?

Galeforce - See above, but if I had to bet my life on it i'd say 8th to 12th.

Rossi22 - 11th

GutterBoy - 11th

Billyiddo - lower mid table

JoeMo - 9th-ish

 

 

[The Fish 10857]

sort that lime green font man fish. want to read it but it's giving me a headache

Better?