Premier League Fans Preview: Tottenham, West Brom, West Ham and Wolves
- Chris Coughlin
- Sep 13, 2020
- 13 min read
The 2020/21 Premier League season is less than a week away so Matchday FM is getting the views from fans across the most watched league in the world.
In today's article, we get the thoughts of fans from Tottenham Hotspur, West Brom, West Ham and Wolves
Tottenham: James Robbins (@James_THFC)
First of all, do you think it was the right decision for Pochettino to be sacked and Mourinho to come in last season?
I don’t think it was right to sack Mauricio Pochettino, no. I worked the Leicester away game when we had some dubious VAR decisions work against us and we ended up losing. I stand by that if we won that game, Poch would still be in the job.
As soon as Aurier’s goal was ruled out for one of those offsides the cameras can’t depict accurately, the mood changed, and you could feel it in the ground. This spurred Leicester’s season and hurt ours. Poch had earned the right to try and turn things around.
He knew and, maybe to his detriment internally, was very vocal about a squad rebuild being needed. We have seen on the documentary that the aim is to do this slowly over a few windows but, Poch needed more from the summer we bought Lo Celso, Ndombele and Sessegnon.
Sacking him probably worked out cheaper. Mourinho came in and steadied the ship, improved the defence, got an away win and brings clear trophy winning pedigree. We will never know where we may have finished if we didn’t have so many injuries, including to Harry Kane, under Jose’s stewardship. I am quietly excited for the first full season under him yet also anxious about it.
I am a Poch advocate and have hated Mourinho’s style of football so far, it’s very anti-Tottenham to me but I am giving him a chance and pre-season has looked promising. Some good signings have been made and this is essential to adding balance and pressing football seems to be back at White Hart Lane.
It’s imperative we sign another striker though and then maybe we’ll get Top 4 and some silverware.
When you look at the likes of Kane, Son, Moura, Alli, Bergwijn etc, where do you rank Spurs’ attacking options against the rest of the league?
We have attacking talent that rivals the best in the league: Kane, Son and Alli have proven that over the years, albeit with Christian Eriksen supplying them. I’m not huge on Moura but he seems to have improved under Jose but, I’d much prefer Bergwijn starting over him more frequently.
Alli has looked bright in pre-season and Son scored in 3 of the 4 matches. Bergwijn scored a stunner too. They look ready for the new season. Hojbjerg offers defensive capabilities in midfield that will allow the likes of Lo Celso (who was excellent last season) and Ndombele, who has struggled but is a world class talent, to provide the service to the forwards.
My preferred midfield 3 that we’ll likely never see is Hojbjerg, Ndombele and Lo Celso with an attacking trio of Son, Kane and Bergwijn. We have the most ridiculously dangerous fixture list that shows a real lack of care for the human element of football.
On the bright side, because of this we should see a real mix of players across all competitions, Sessegnon should get plenty of games and players like Lamela and Jack Clarke (if not sent on loan) must step up. The problem hasn’t really been with our attack, that can compete with the best of the league.
The issue has been with the defence and the lack of defensive midfielder providing cover. With Hojbjerg in that’s been solved and Dohurty can’t be as risky as Serge Aurier, we can have a solid base and allow the attack to thrive.
I will say this a lot, but we need another striker; we can’t let Kane be run in to the ground.
Which would you prefer and why: Finish fourth with no trophy or finish outside the top four and win the Europa League?Which would you prefer and why: Finish fourth with no trophy or finish outside the top four and win the Europa League?
For me there is two maybe ideal options: Top 4 and a Trophy or just Europa League.
If you asked whether I’d prefer top 4 and no trophy or outside top 4 and a trophy, I’d have picked the former. Since you specified the Europa League trophy, I would take that and no top 4! The way I see it, from the outside looking in, Levy will need UCL football to be more competitive in the transfer market and thus, help us continue to be competitive at the top level on the pitch.
At least when it comes to how Spurs annoyingly do things. We need a trophy though; it’s been too long for a club as big as Spurs to not have one. Hugo and Harry lifting a trophy that isn’t the Audi Cup would be nice.
I want more than a League Cup, but you have to start somewhere! That could be the catalyst we need to cement the winning mentality Jose is trying to instil.
What have you made of Spurs’ business so far in the transfer window and who else would you like to see come in?
4 In my opinion I think our transfer business has gone slightly under the radar and seems quite uninspiring on the face it. In reality it looks great business, we have fixed two of the biggest issues with the squad with a defensively minded midfielder and a new right back.
Other fans will laugh at it but, we don’t need to sign Ziyech or Havertz, they don’t necessarily improve on Son or Alli. Werner would’ve been nice as another striker! We have a real issue here as I alluded to in another question, Kane cannot be the sole striker with our insane fixture list.
On another note, the good feeling in the transfer window thus far is starting to sour amongst us Spurs fans. Being unable to compete with Aston Villa for Watkins or the fact we need to sell before we buy when clubs like Everton, Leeds and Wolves are splashing the cash is a joke.
We’re supposed to be in the Top 10 most wealthy clubs in the world! If we pull off a striker like Milik (or someone of similar quality) I will be very happy with the business but, it looks more likely we’ll end up with Troy Deeney. We’re also interestingly being linked with wingers even though we have Son, Bergwijn, Lucas and Lamela for those positions, Sessegnon can play there too.
This surely would only work if one of them leaves. Otherwise we are being linked to CB’s and Reguillon at left back. I Can only see him joining if the club really sees it as a bargain for a brilliant player. If we signed just Milik on top of what we have signed already, I would be happy.
Add a CB and Reguillon to this and it’d be amazing but it’s so unrealistic. Admittedly, shortly after I wrote this, the Milik rumours have be squashed so… I am so lost with our striker search.
What are your hopes/expectations for the 2020/21 season?
Hopes and expectations are a tough one!
At a base level, I just want to enjoy watching us play football again. Part of the reason I love Spurs is that we have always tried to play entertaining football and Mourinho doesn’t really fit that. I have personally found his football really frustrating to watch so far. As I have said, signs of pre-season have seemed promising, we are pressing high, getting at the opposition and trying to create.
This will be better when the whole squad is available and when Lo Celso is back from injury. If this is the case, I can accept the odd dull game, sitting back grinding out the win against the other members of the “Top 6” but not against everybody. On a squad level, I have some real hopes for a few players. I really hope Tanguy Ndombele will break into the first 11 and prove himself to the doubters.
He showed at times last season that he can be an unbelievable player. He has had a really quick rise to the top of the game since playing in the French lower leagues just a couple of years ago and I think this has caught up with him and he experienced his first real injury issues in his career last season. This destroyed his fitness and he unfortunately has this natural running gait and demeanour that look exhausted and laid back at all times. This makes the flack he gets from fans so much worse than it needs to be in my opinion. Here’s hoping he can show why he is so highly rated in football whilst at Spurs.
I am expecting more from Sessegnon as well. I think the fixture list gives him a real opportunity to show what he can do at both Left Back, Left Wing and inbetween, he has looked good in preseason. I want to see Lo Celso continue his excellence and how Bergwijn can perform from the start of the season too! In terms of actual achievements. I am trying not to get my hopes up.
Top 4 and a trophy would be absolutely perfect and not out of the realms of possibility. Winning the Europa League would be incredible and give us all important Champions League football. In general, I expect a trophy this season, Spurs cannot be the only club Jose does not win one and it is probably the main reason he was hired other than to steady the ship. If there is no trophy and no top 4, we could seriously lose Harry Kane. That would be heart breaking and disastrous.
We have to win a trophy and we need Champions League.
West Brom: Connor Ashfield from West Brom Fan TV (@ALBIONFANTV)
The Baggies are back again but there appears to be a more attack minded approach from Slaven Bilic’s side than under previous regimes. Is that a fair comment?
There is a definitely a more attack-minded West Brom side under Slaven Bilic.
We saw this style of play in the Championship but I do believe Bilic will have a different approach to games in the Premier League .
Would you say that the team are better equipped to survive that other West Brom teams in the past?
I think the team are definitely more well equipped to survive in the Premier League this season.
We have a lot of brilliant players with loads of belief and a manager who is great at getting the best out of the squad.
West Brom’s last spell in the Premier League lasted for eight seasons, how confident are you of another stay like that, if not longer?
I’m very confident that with the right support and backing from the chairman that we can survive in the Premier League for the same amount of time as our last spell.
At the end of the day it all depends on the amount of investment from the board.
What have you made of the Baggies transfer business so far? How important was it to make Diangana’s loan permanent?
I think our transfer business so far has been excellent from signing Pereira for just over £8million which is an absolute bargain for a player of his ability.
To sign Grady Diangana for a record fee, I think the signings we have made so far have been very sensible and good ones.
What are your hopes/expectations for the 2020/21 season?
My hopes for this season are to remain in the Premier League and I think this is massively important especially for the financial side of the club.
I think the longer you stay in the league the longer the club can cope financially. And also why wouldn’t you want to be in the best league in the world?
West Ham: Dan Woffenden (@danwoff98)
It was another frustrating season for West Ham, how do you think the club can finally go about meeting the expectations of the supporters?
I think the club have a lot to answer for. Obviously there has been a lot of speculation this summer about the lack of investment and rightly so.
Quite simply, I can’t see the club progressing and competing at a higher level until the owners have gone. They have spent money and backed Pellegrini, but that didn’t work.
I think Moyes deserves the backing as he did the job he was asked to do. I think West Ham fans just want a bit of optimism, but that’s hard when the owners are not spending and other clubs continue to be pro active around us.
David Moyes was a surprise appointment to many last year, how to assess his second spell at the club so far and how far can the Hammers go under him?
I think it was a surprise, but almost risk averse because the owners knew what they were getting. He’s experienced in the Premier League and knew some of the players from his first spell at the club, so that was a big factor.
To his credit, we played some good stuff at the end of last season and made life difficult for a few teams. But unfortunately I don’t think he can help the club progress unless he’s backed substantially.
Souček and Bowen were two very good signings, but it’s clear to see there are further issues that need addressing. Unless we rectify those issues we won’t progress and it could be another difficult season for West Ham.
There were promising signs post lockdown from the likes of Antonio, Bowen and Soucek. Can they carry their form on into this season?
Definitely. I think there’s a lot more to come from those three. Souček provides a different quality that we’ve lacked since Kouyate left, that ability to bomb forward and get into dangerous positions.
Bowen is a hard worker and had a lot of quality, so I’m hoping he can progress this season too. Obviously Antonio’s goals were fundamental last season in keeping us up.
He was getting into dangerous positions and his finishing improved massively, which has been something he’s lacked in terms of being a top forward.
They’re three massive players for us and I’m hoping all of them can produce some good performances.
The Hammers have been quiet in the transfer market, who would you like to see come in?
I think we need a few players. Obviously the recent departure of Diangana baffled every West Ham fan. We were all excited to see him as he provided a different dynamic and would’ve provided the perfect service that Haller lacked the whole of last season.
I think the biggest area we need to address is the full-back areas. We’ve lacked two good full-backs for five years now which has stopped us from progressing and being a good team. If you look at top teams like Leicester and Wolves, they all have very good full-backs who make the difference.
I think Rico Henry would be a perfect addition and I would’ve liked us to have gone for Matty Cash at the time he was available. We also need a back-up striker, Rhian Brewster would be a perfect option that would provide competition that we need.
We simply can’t rely on Antonio to keep fit as he’s notoriously known for his injuries
What are your hopes/expectations for the 2020/21 season?
My hopes are that we stay in the division.
I think there are some very good teams that are improving their teams so it leaves us in the dark.
I think if you flirt with relegation for too long eventually it’ll get the better of you, so we need to get results and perform because we could easily go down and that would be catastrophic for the club.
Wolves: Gully Kular (@molineuxmusings/WWFCFancast)
It was the longest season in Wolves’ history in more ways than one but how do you assess the 2019/20 campaign overall?
I think ultimately, given the position we were in as we went into lockdown, the final league table has to be considered a disappointment.
When it came down to the last few fixtures, while they came thick and fast, the way we failed to display our best form in the games against Arsenal, Sheffield United and Burnley really counted us out of the race for Top Four and to then drop our of European qualification altogether was doubly disappointing.
In the context of European football and a heavily congested fixture list, 7th place and a quarter-final finish in the Europa League is outstanding and something we all would have been pleased with at the start of last season’s campaign. Of course, the way the season unfolds can affect your judgement though.
Either way, more points, more goals scored and less conceded is a step in the right direction, especially when you consider this is pretty much the side that played the second half of the 2018/19 campaign.
The combination of Jimenez and Traore was deadly at times last season, likes of Jota and Podence are effective players too. Where do you rate Wolves’ attacking options compared to the rest of the league?
You would suggest that the top end of the pitch is where our real strength lies, especially now we have added Fabio Silva to that line up as a genuine alternative to Raul Jimenez, who frankly was overworked last season.
I’m sure there are many clubs across the league throwing envious glances at Wolves and you could argue in terms of the gap between our first choices in the wide positions and the reserves, we are as competitive as Man City.
We can rotate based on the opposition we come up against and I’m most excited about seeing more of Daniel Podence who is the most unique of the group and is less about dribbling over long distances, but more of a cute, clever player around the box, something which we have lacked.
Matt Doherty has of course moved to Spurs and Jonny is set to be out for good while with Vinagre set to deputise for him. How much confidence do you have that Wolves can cope without them considering they were such a huge part of Wolves’ recent success in the Premier League?
My confidence in Wolves managing without Doherty and Jonny is entirely dependent on our transfer activity.
That doesn’t mean I disagree with the sale of Doherty - I believe he had reached the peak of his Wolves career and can’t see him emulating that form under a different system and manager. We will miss his goal threat and defending of the back post but if we do bring someone in for the right hand side, there were deficiencies in Doherty’s game that they could address, such as his crossing.
Once fit, Jonny could play that role, but that’s a long way off now. The latest is that Ruben Vinagre could also be on his way which leaves us with just Fernando Marçal as a left sided option and most likely Adama Traore filling in until we find a more natural option for the right flank.
There is definitely work to do to address those positions but we have to look above and beyond the level of those who have/may depart.
It’s been relatively quiet for Nuno’s side on the transfer front, who would you like to see come in to ensure than Wolves keep pushing toward to the European places this season?
That brings me nicely on to incomings and while this is always a moving feast, the name Alex Telles has been been tantalisingly dangled in front of Wolves as part of a deal seeing Vinagre move to Porto.
This would certainly constitute an upgrade in that position, if not addressing the glaring gap on the opposite flank. The impending signing of Vitinha looks an interesting addition, likely taking up the position of a third central midfielder who could offer more in the final third, something Morgan Gibbs-White flattered to deceive in his appearances last season.
Other than that right flank is increasingly a priority, especially knowing how big a part of our game Matt Doherty was. If Nuno persists with Traore as a forward on that flank, then it’s important for the wing-back to offer something inside of him.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles fancies himself a midfielder and would be an ideal option out there, but he looks likely to stay at Arsenal. The worst case scenario? Pluck another Portuguese wonderkid out of thin air.
What are your hopes/expectations for the 2020/21 season?
My hope is that we continue to improve on the basis we will have a less congested fixture list a swiss army knife of a forward line for Nuno to rotate based on the opposition at hand.
I’d like us to take more control of games as we always seem to be playing on the finest of margins, proven by the way we dropped 3 critical points against Sheffield United and Burnley after the restart.
Ultimately, we should be aiming for a Top 6 finish again and I always say that a team featuring the likes of Ruben Neves, Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho and Raul Jimenez should be aspiring for that as a minimum
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