Tottenham face Newcastle United at White Hart Lane in the Premier League today, and Mauricio Pochettino’s team selection includes a major talking point.
After his impressive display against Monaco on Thursday night, Tom Carroll is handed his first league start of the season.
Carroll is partnered in central midfield by Eric Dier, who was substituted in the first half against Monaco.
Heung-Min Son drops to the bench, while Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Erik Lamela all start. Mousa Dembele is absent with a foot injury.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Carroll’s selection and the rest of the team news.
Fair play to Carroll, good performance on Thursday night. Interesting that Son didn't make the XI after linking well with Lamela. Good XI!
— Nikhil Saglani (@Nikhil_Saglani) December 13, 2015
Tom Carroll is starting!!!!!????!! Bold move by Poch #COYS
— Harry Charalambous⚽️ (@TransitionTHFC) December 13, 2015
If Poch thinks Carroll is good enough to start today, then I support him 100%. G'warn Tommy Carroll!
— Spurs In The Blood (@SpursInTheBlood) December 13, 2015
Big 90 minutes for Tom Carroll. Could be career-defining… #nopressure
— Jay Jaffa (@jayjaffa) December 13, 2015
Not a massive fan of Carroll by any means but you have to admire Poch who's clearly rewarding players who put in a shift for him.
— Paul O Keefe (@pokeefe1) December 13, 2015
Didn't expect to see Carroll starting today but he probably deserves it after his performance on Thursday. Rest of the side picks itself.
— The Spurs Brain (@TheSpursBrain) December 13, 2015
Fantastic to see Pochettino rewarding Carroll with a start today, player has been craving a chance, hopefully he fulfils Poch's trust. #THFC
— Ricky Sacks (@RickSpur) December 13, 2015
Bentaleb is a real talent but he’s just getting back from a long lay-off and hasn’t been great either. Carroll deserves his start.
— Andrew Gaffney (@GaffneyVLC) December 13, 2015
Would've preferred Son instead of Carroll and Alli alongside Dier because little Tom is mediocre but gives options & Tom a chance.
— O'Boogie (@drwinston001) December 13, 2015
#thfc This is Carroll's first start for Spurs in the Premier League, which says a lot and underlines the importance of this game for him.
— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) December 13, 2015
Excited to see such attacking threat on our bench today! Nacer Chadli, Josh Onomah and Sonny all can make a difference. #COYS
— Talking THFC (@TalkingTHFC) December 13, 2015
Off to #THFC v #NUFC. Huge game for Carroll. Must admit, I haven't been massively impressed by him yet. But would love to be proven wrong.
— Leon Mann (@Leon_Mann) December 13, 2015
Carroll's played 2 full games for us. 1 of which he was excellent, the other he was average. Also a great sub app. Imagine moaning?
— Jack. (@KaneAndEriksen) December 13, 2015
Good to see Carroll starting. Come on the lily white Messi, earn your place. COYS
— Marty the Hotspur (@wildy412) December 13, 2015
#Poch has improved 4 or 5 players in our squad so if he backs #Carroll that's good enough for me. There is a plan! #COYS
— SpursDiver (@spursdiver) December 13, 2015