From Jim's chair
We only drew at Old Trafford, so why did it feel like something bigger had happened?
I think it was the wingers. Good wingers are what I picture when I think of the Tottenham I grew up with, and we haven't had them for a while. On Saturday, Kudus looked like Kudus again and Savio was dragging defenders all over the place. That's the Spurs I want to watch.
Credit to Enya as well. Her pre-match pack said United's midfield was the weakness and that we could hurt them by playing through the middle. We did exactly that for most of the first half. When the data matches what you see on the pitch, you know the manager has done his homework too.
The bit that surprised me was Tonali. I barely noticed him watching it live, because you're watching the ball as a fan. On the rewatch he was everywhere. When you pay that kind of money for a player, a good game from him just looks like the minimum, and the praise goes to someone else.
Then there's Bergvall. We spent all summer worrying about losing him because he wasn't getting minutes. He starts at Old Trafford and half the fanbase panics. If we want to keep players like him, we have to actually trust them.
It wasn't perfect, otherwise we'd have won. JJ has gone through the Van Hecke moments still by still, and he's fair about it. The stills and Enya's numbers are in the PDF in the Patreon chat.
And the red card. JJ says Bentancur won the ball cleanly and Shaw should have gone. Enya says orange. What do you think?
Keep it Lilywhite #OhSo33,
– Jim