so I've only seen the last 20 or so mins, but we seem to just be running around a lot without much quality. there's no-one in midfield to put their foot on the ball amid all the headless chickens on both sides, and the ball isn't sticking up front either. Janssen for Lamela would appear to be the obvious half-time sub IMO. yes he probably won't score - because we don't actually create goalscoring chances for him - but he will at least hold the ball up and allow the 3 behind him to get on the ball in the final third.

Sherwood is still a knob.

The way I saw that half was that we played as well as Bournemouth allowed us to. They worked hard, harrying and pressing us all over the pitch and succeeded in frustrating us. The 4 bookings were really unneccessary and caused by tackling with the wrong leg/foot.

Our performance hasn't been helped by the fact that Son and Alli especially are not able to hold the ball long enough for players to support. In any case we have been far too static again in the final third with players either all moving towards the man on the ball or watching the man on the ball and not moving.

Doubt Pochettino will change anything at half time. He'll wait until we go one down or 60/65 mins.

Bournemouth are employing a hundred mile an hour pressing game and throwing bodies behind the ball whenever we get close to the goal and if they can keep it up, we'll be lucky to get anything out of the game at all.

I agree with Pee in that the game needs Janssen and his ability to hold the ball up. at least then we might stand a chance of getting something going. move son out wide where he prefers, take Lamela off before he's sent off and stick Janssen in the middle.

And yes, Sherwood still is a knob

Your right. This is a poor decision from Poch. The risk of a Lamela red is so high its a no brainer.

Lamela too slow to get the shot away.

and this is the problem. we're being dragged down to their level for the most part, and we don't seem to have anyone with either the coolness or the ability to slow the game down.

Son off instead of Lamela. Wrong player Poch.

Son has goals in him and wont get sent off. Lamela has no goals in him and is on a tightrope for a red card. Explain that sub to me ?

Alli off. What on earth is Poch doing today.

Sisokko ban coming up for that elbow.

I think West Brom last week and today's game showed a lot of people where we actually are as a team under Poch (or at least it should do). Apart from the Man City and Stoke games we have been poor in the majority of other games. Sneaking wins with poor performances by the odd goal and lots of draws can give you a healthy looking league position but it doesnt last. Poch and the team have a lot of improving to do. We certainly dont deserve to be top. We just have'nt been good enough. A team who cant score is going to go nowhere over the course of a season.

Another frustrating game. Best defence in the league but the most frustrating attack.

Wanyama had another good game and kept Wilshere in his back pocket for good measure

Have to give it to Bournemouth though, they played well. Ran and hassled and ran and ran some more and it certainly did expose our shortcomings in opening teams up, even though we actually did look pretty likely to do that at the start of the second half.

Leicester (*spit* ) are going to do much of the same next weekend as well so we've got to figure it out somewhere.

Anyway, I'm not sticking around for the usual post mortem. Things to see, people to do or something like that

Timmy Tempo is such a massive end-of-a-bell

Looks like we definitely need Kane back ASAP to hopefully instil some confidence into our attacking play. At the moment, Son, Alli, Eriksen, Janssen all want too many touches in and around the box. How many times did you shout "SHOOT!" today? There were at least 3-4 occasions when it just needed the player to put his foot through it but instead he took an extra touch or tried to play someone else in.

We need alternative options to our attacking 6. Hoping that against Liverpool he'll give Winks and Onomah a run out in the Eriksen and Lamela roles.

The more I see of Rose and Walker the more I start to think how unproductive they are in terms of creating clear chances for our forwards. Ok Walker got in behind them a few times today but what did he actually create in terms of goalscoring opportunities? Rose got down his flank a few times in the 2H but when he needed to sling a cross in, he stopped and played the ball inside or backwards. If Poch insists on playing Son upfront he needs quicker and earlier balls than he got today.

Finally, I'm still struggling to see what Sissoko brings to the team as he never seems to do very much. He strolls about, plays a few sideways passes and......nothing. So far, he offers absolutely no creative or goal scoring threat when he plays? Did we sign the right Sissoko because this one looks like he'd struggle to get a game in my local Sunday league.

Meh! Another game where we can't break down a mid to lower table team. We are looking a bit toothless up front. Liverpool having no problem with WBA.

Our strike rate this season is grim reading. We have scored 20 goals this season yet 9 of them came in just 2 games, Stoke and Gillingham. That leaves us with just 11 goals from the other 11 games. A goal a game ratio is frankly pathetic.

So basically we are pinning all our hopes on Kane coming back all guns blazing and banging in 20+ goals again.........no pressure there then haha ! Of course there is no guarantee he will get even close to that. So whats Poch's plan if he does'nt ? Where are the goals going to come from ? What is Poch going to do to get us scoring goals?

4th in the league, unbeaten and conceded the fewest number of goals in the entire league - half that of the nearest teams (City, Everton and United on 8 goals conceded - we've conceded 4) and we still find a way to complain.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see goals. I'm happy to see us battering the opposition and i'd dearly love Janssen to "click" and start knocking in the goals, but I just think it's pretty 'spurs' of us to complain we're not scoring enough when we've had our best start to the premiership campaign in years.

Would we still complain if we won the title with a goal a game ratio ?

Bournemouth away was the 10th game last season, this year it's the 9th.

We went there last season having scored 11 goals, this year we'd scored 13.

Poch out!

tbf, it was disappointing even accepting Howe has brought his team/squad on considerably. I suppose Poch is still experimenting positionally and in partnerships, the new boys are still integrating into a complicated set of systems, but still .. we are 2 points behind last season now. Beating Leicester at home becomes more important as that was 3 points we didn't get last year ..

I could only listen to the radio and you really don't get too much insight from John Hartsen so it's the highlights later - interested in particular in how Eddie Howe approached the issue of our fullbacks.

Beating Leicester is also important for my general mood and happiness for the remainder of the season

Well a goal a game ratio is relegation form so I dont think you need to worry about winning titles with it !

By the same token, I could say its very 'Spurs' for some people to totally ignore the obvious problems we have and will continue to have unless something changes. You could have the best defence in the league and finish mid table, hence my point about Poch needing to address the issue of goals. I cant believe we are in a position yet again where all the pressure is going to be heaped onto Harry to carry the burden of us having a sucessful season.

Really ?

I'm willing to give a new signing like Sissoko, the benefit of the doubt here. However, your description could be applied to Eriksen and Lamela's form over the last 18 months.

Towards the end of last season and this pre-season, I thought Lamela was finally going to break through as he seemed to be popping up in goal scoring positions. Unfortunately, nothing has changed, Lamela is just a poor decision maker whether it be holding onto the ball too long or flying into tackles.

If Eriksen and Lamela aren't providing through balls, they do very little else creatively. At least Son and Sissoko have the variation of going on the outside and putting a cross in.

I think it's got to the point where it's got to be either Eriksen or Lamela in the first XI. One ineffective forward you can afford to carry but not two on a regular basis.

I would agree with this. Eriksen has been poor but can pop up with a goal and in our present situation thats what we are desperate for. Although how long do you go on playing him when he has been so ineffective this season ?

As for Lamela, whatever slight promise he showed that he had actually turned the corner has completely gone out the window and he has regressed to the Lamela we had before. He does'nt look convincing on the ball.........he does'nt look convincing running with the ball..........he does'nt look convincing going past players with the ball..........he does'nt look convincing shooting.........he does'nt look convincing passing...... .he does'nt look convincing tackling...........apart from that he's Lionel Messi ! I lost count of the amount of times yesterday I shouted at him "pass" when he had the chance to, before he yet again tried a trick or to go past a player which he was'nt good enough to execute, ending with us losing the ball.

Its no secret that I have never thought he was good enough and it brings me no pleasure to say any of this. Unfortunately some salivating fanboys went over the top with his glimpses of improvement (mostly against poor opposition). The truth is, he set the bar so low for himself those first couple of years that it would be hard not to improve.

He's played 90 mins for us twice and this happens

Poch has put him right of the three so far, it's not his position but I presume Poch has him there to get him match time with this group.

Fwiw, he typically plays a Lampard box-to-box role but is comfortable anywhere along the midfield spine - attack, defence, central, at least he's comfortable a little while after two games with a bunch of strangers playing a different system to what he knows.

Koeman seemed to like him at £30 mill and, Pogba partners him for France - which would be a pretty decent local Sunday league midfield.

The context for this is that Poch has only now been able to put Wanyama and Dembele together, and this while Dier covers for Toby. So even the 2 CD / DM unit is in considerable flux. There is a process, several processes, underway, it just takes time.