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Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Monaco means Mauricio Pochettino’s men can no longer progress in the Champions League. It’s the continuation of a worrying run of form for Spurs, writes Adam Bate… Pochettino argued that you can only smile after Tottenham bounced back from a lacklustre first-half to earn a point at Arsenal earlier this month. Their fans added laughter to the smiles after turning another derby around against West Ham at the weekend. But Tuesdays defeat to Monaco showed theres also a serious side to Tottenhams travails.Of course, this is no crisis club. Spurs are the only team in the Premier League who remain unbeaten in the competition. But nor could the 2-1 defeat in the principality, one that confirmed the team will not be progressing to the Champions League knockout stages, be regarded as a shock result either. Spurs are struggling not soaring this season. Tottenham crash out Tottenhams 2-1 defeat at Monaco ends their hopes of Champions League progress. Saturdays scarcely deserved win was their first in eight. The fluency that so marked their title tilt in the spring is long gone and explanations are offered as regularly as the fixtures pile up. Its the challenge of the Champions League. Its the Wembley home games. Its injuries to key players like Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld. Its new players needing time to settle.All of these things should be seen as reasons rather excuses. Chelsea and Liverpool are enjoying far greater preparation time. Pochettino can show videos to his players but the opportunity to drill them relentlessly on the training ground has been lost. The problem is we dont have time to train too much, he admits. The priority is to rest and recover. Tottenhams players are struggling to regain their fluency this term Wembley has been a factor in their Champions League disappointment. The problem is home games, as simple as that, said Hugo Lloris this week. Its very clear.The ease with which Monaco cut through Spurs on Tuesday challenged that theory but nevertheless, had they so much as drawn their two Wembley games, theyd be on course for the last 16.The disruptive impact of losing both Kane and Alderweireld can hardly be overstated either, particularly when neither man missed a Premier League game last season.Replacements Kevin Wimmer and Vincent Janssen have offered nowhere near the same quality - but could that ever really have been expected of back-up figures given the abilities of the missing men? The confidence, belief and fluency just seems to have drained out of them. Paul Walsh, Sky Sports And yet, still there are issues that nag away. While Pochettinos reputation as one of the brightest young coaches in the game has been too hard earned to be easily lost, it must be acknowledged that mistakes have been made too.The coach is striving to get the balance right in rotating his squad but its difficult to be persuaded that he is getting it spot on.With Alderweireld missing, Jan Vertonghens inclusion surely became of paramount importance against a Monaco side that had scored 28 goals in their previous eight matches. Not since Alderweirelds arrival had Spurs gone into either a Premier League or a Champions League fixture without one of the two Belgians in the starting line-up. Harry Kane did equalise from the spot but Monaco soon retook the lead Instead, the experienced Vertonghen was left on the bench as Wimmer and Eric Dier were paired at the back. Alongside him among the substitutes was Kyle Walker as Pochettino opted to go into the game with only Danny Rose of his first-choice back four. It was a gamble befitting the Monte Carlo surroundings and it did not pay off.Dier, looking as uncomfortable in defence as hed appeared assured in midfield, was guilty of a wild swing at the ball in conceding the first-half penalty that was saved by the brilliant Lloris.Wimmers woes, meanwhile, show no sign of coming to an end - unable to intercept crosses as might be expected of a man of his height let alone track runners at pace. Hugo Lloris made nine saves against Monaco - the joint-most by a goalkeeper in this seasons Champions League. But its not all about individual errors. Tactically too, Spurs have issues that need to be addressed.The lack of width in the team is supposed to be resolved in an attacking sense by the forays of the full-backs, but against Monaco both Rose and Kieran Trippier found themselves badly exposed defensively by the absence of meaningful cover ahead of them.This was a key factor in Monacos match-winning goal. Straight from the kick-off, right-back Djibril Sidibe was able to overlap untracked leaving Rose in a two-on-one situation and unable to cut out the cross. On the other side of the pitch, left-winger Thomas Lemar had the freedom to pick his spot with no sign of any support for Trippier. Highlights of Tottenhams 3-2 Premier League win over West Ham Perhaps Pochettino does not feel he has the players to do things any differently right now. Certainly, wide options Moussa Sissoko and Georges-Kevin NKoudou have shown little so far to suggest they should be entrusted with such roles. And the Argentine at least seems well aware of the need for his Spurs project to evolve more than two years into the job.Hes spoken of the need to be flexible and to play in different ways in different games recently, backing that up by going with three at the back against Arsenal. But his admission that he cannot rotate the way wed like to rotate the players suggest that his selections are being governed by issues of fitness rather than tactical preference. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! Weve had a difficult period over the last month for different reasons, he said ahead of a result that leaves Spurs facing the prospect of the Europa League once more.We need to be clever. We need to assess every player because we have some problems, we need to be clinical in how we pick the starting 11 because we have a lot of games ahead.The next of those games is at Chelsea on Saturday. Its a return to the ground where Pochettinos players unravelled along with their title hopes in May. Theyll need to be cleverer this time. Given the form of the two teams, they might also need some more of their derby fortune if theyre to find a way to be smiling when they leave Stamford Bridge.Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4! Also See: Tottenham crash out As it happened Sami Khedira Jersey . Dancevic won his singles match on Friday, defeating Go Soeda 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to even the best-of-five series at a game apiece. World No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky in the opening match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Medhi Benatia Jersey .J. - The New York Jets have signed former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Graham Harrell, giving them some added depth at the position. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Cristiano-Ronaldo-Jersey/ . When a game is in the balance, however, they still have the personnel and the experience to end up with the two points. Giorgio Chiellini Jersey .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Alex Sandro Jersey . "After consultation with the Team USA medical staff and officials, it was determined that he should return to Winnipeg as a precaution due to his previous injury history," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Wednesday in a statement.TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips answers several questions each week. This weeks topics include the Blue Jays struggles at Yankee Stadium, what the Tampa Bay Rays should do with David Price, remembering Tony Gwynn and his pick for the best team in baseball. 1) What is it about the Blue Jays and Yankee Stadium that dont go together (15 straight losses through Wednesday)? You would think an offensive team would do well in a hitters park. In your experience, what was the toughest park to play in and why? There isnt anything wrong with the Blue Jays. They just cant seem to beat the Yankees. The Yankees have the Jays number. Baseball is such a mental game. What you think or feel impacts how you play. When one team dominates another like this it gets in the mind of the losing team. It also empowers the winning team. As each subsequent game unfolds, the losing team feels that a loss is inevitable. When something goes wrong in the game it feels like that will be the reason the team loses on that day. In contrast the winning team has a feeling of inevitability as well. They just know someone will make a play or get a big hit to win the game. The Jays have a defeatist attitude against the Yankees. Im sure they start out each game telling themselves that this will be the day they end the losing streak. But at some point a lost scoring opportunity, an error, a bloop base hit, etc causes the voices of doubt start to scream in their psyche. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I lived this nightmare when I was Mets general manager. We could not beat the Atlanta Braves, especially at Turner Field in Atlanta. It didnt matter what we did, we lost. We could get good starting pitching but their starters pitched better. We could score a bunch of runs but they would find a way to outscore us. We lost every way imaginable. We lost some games with bad first innings and some with bad ninth innings. We lost on home runs, errors, wild pitches and squeeze bunts. We would rally and look like we were coming back and then hit in to a double play to end the game. We even walked in a game-winning run in the NLCS in 1999. What makes matters worse is when the team that has your number is in your division. With the unbalanced schedule we played division rivals nineteen times each. We always finished second to the Braves mainly because we couldnt beat them head-to-head. I told Braves GM John Schuerholz and manager Bobby Cox that if I ever had to pick them out of a police line-up I would have to have them turn around because I chased them for six years and only saw their backside and never saw their faces. In fact I am convinced that the only reason we advanced to the World Series in 2000 against the Yankees was because the Braves lost in the NLDS that year to the Cardinals. Our struggles ran from one season into another season. Not even an off-season flushed out the demons. In fact, several years after I was general manager I returned to Turner Field as a baseball analyst to broadcast a game. I remember walking in the visiting clubhouse and the awful feelings of past losses at Turner Field flooded me. It was still in my head. Every team has that other team. Unfortunately for the Jays that team is the Yankees. 2) There are a lot of suggestions that the Rays should be trading David Price now. Would you do it, and what would be your expected return in a deal for Price? What team has assets that fit that wish list? The Rays must trade David Price. Small market teams have to do all they can to maximize their assets. Price is the Rays most substantial asset. They cant afford to keep him and they cant afford not to trade him. In order to continuously reinvent themselves, small market teams have to recycle their roster. It seems highly unlikely that the Rays would trade David Price withinthe AL East. It is already a very difficult division so why make it that much tougher. Certainly the Jays, Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox would all have interest in Price. But so do the Tigers, Athletics, Angels, Braves, Cardinals, Reds Giants, and Dodgers. The Rays have had success being an organization built around deep pitching and just enough offense. Unfortunately for them, this year they dont have anywhere close to enough offence. The challenge for small market teams is finding the right balance between their pitching and offence. The timing between the two is critical since they cant spend significant dollars in the free agent market to fill deficiencies. The Rays want to compete again as soon as possible so finding young major league talent instead of a bevy prospects is preferred. The team that can make the best deal with the Rays is the St. Louis Cardinals. The Rays should ask for 1B Matt Adams and RHS Michael Wacha. This would replace Prices role in the rotation and give them a big power bat for the middle of their lineup. I would expect the Cardinals to say no to including Wacha in the deal. So the Rays should then ask for RHS Shelby Miller and RHP Carlos Martinez in the deal with Adams. The Cardinals would have a rotation that would include Adam Wainwright, Wacha, Price, Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia. Alan Craig can play first base in the absence of Adams and Oscar Tavares can play right field. The Rays would get a quality young starter in Miller, a potential impact starter/closer in Martinnez and a big bat for their lineup.dddddddddddd. It will be very interesting to see where Price goes and what the deal will be. One thing for certain he will not finish the season with the Rays. 3) We lost one of the great hitters and great personalities in baseball last week. What is your fondest memory of Tony Gwynn and where does he rank among the hitters you saw play? Tony Gwynn is one of the best pure hitters that baseball has ever known. He was a student and a teacher of the game. Gwynn is one of the rare players who played for one team his entire career. He is known as Mr. Padre. He never had a contract dispute. He didnt play for the money. He could have taken advantage of the free agent market and squeezed every last dollar out of his ability. But he wasnt about money. He played for the love of the game. Interestingly Gwynn got more attention in his death than he did as a Hall of Famer. People in some ways diminished his accomplishments because he was a singles hitter. The most home runs he ever hit in a season were seventeen. He could have hit more but he chose to stay within himself and do what he did best. He punched the ball the other way. He was a contact hitter. He hit for average. Gwynn had a .338 career batting average. He led the league in hitting eight times. He was a 15-time All Star and a five-time Gold Glover. His .393 batting average in the strike-shortened 1994 season, was the closest that anyone has gotten to .400 since Ted Williams did it in 1941. The hole between the shortstop and third baseman became know as the "5.5" hole because of Gwynn. He had an uncanny knack of being able to hit any pitch anywhere in the zone through that hole. I remember an afternoon when I was GM for the Mets that I was sitting in my office and heard the crack of the bat coming from the field at 1pm. We had a 7pm game that night so I wondered who could possibly be hitting that early. I went out on the concourse and saw Tony Gwyn taking early batting practice with one of the Padres coaches. I couldnt believe it. The game was six hours away. Then after regular batting practice I saw Gwynn walking with a bucket of balls down to the batting age under the stadium. He was going to practice some more. The best pure hitter of his era was also the hardest worker. That told me all I needed to know. The other remarkable thing about Gwynn was his smile. He was the least Hall of Fame acting Hall of Famer I have ever met. He was genuine, sincere, compassionate, kind and friendly. He greeted fans and opponents and ground crew workers in exactly the same way. He wasnt too big for anyone and no one was too small for him. Baseball lost the best pure hitter of this era and one of the best ever in the game. But the bigger loss was that of the man that was Tony Gwynn. 4) Baseball is such a great sport. Everyday gives you some different feeling about your team and its chances. It is made for sports talk radio. Or maybe it made sports talk radio. Either way our team can excite us one day and disappoint us the next. One week we feel like we are going all the way and the next week our team is a bunch of bums. The season is a marathon-long roller coaster ride. It can be exhilarating or exhausting depending upon the end result. Statistics allow us to continuously grade the progress of our team and how it is performing. The numbers can be made to tell just about any story and often times suit our bias. I love the weekly power rankings that come out and show which team is ranked ahead of its competition. Each week the teams are moved up and down based upon how they performed over a seven-day time frame. Seven days in a baseball season is only a snapshot of a team and who they are. There is a saying in baseball that no team is as good as they are when playing its best or as bad as they are when they play their worst. Yet each week we come up with an ordering of the teams according to some arbitrary evaluation. This year is no different. So far in one ranking the Giants, Cardinals, As, Brewers and Tigers have all been atop the rankings at one point or another this season. This is bizarre to me because there is one team that is the best and no one else is even close. The best team in baseball by far is the Oakland As. Why? The As have outscored the opposition by 134 runs. The next closest team is the San Francisco Giants who are a +47. Isnt the idea to outscore your opponent? The As have scored the most runs in baseball. "Well isnt pitching more important?" you ask. The As have given up the least number of runs as well. Back when Billy Beane co-wrote "Moneyball" everyone focused on the need for hitters to have a good OBP. Yet, Beanes teams back then had much better pitching than they did offence. They didnt win because their hitters had a great plan at the plate, they won because their pitchers didnt give up OBP. This As team is a true "Moneyball" team through and through. They are baseballs best offensive team while also having the best pitching. Beane has been criticized because his teams never won anything. That means championships. His clubs won a ton of games and got more bang for the buck than anyone else but that doesnt seem to matter. This is their year. Here are my power rankings: Its the Oakland As and then everybody else. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '