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Sunderland (a) Preview 13/14 Premier League

December 6th, 2013 , Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Dec, 06 2013
1 Comment »

Saturday 7th December, Stadium of Light, 17:30 live on Sky Sports

You can sense it. The vultures are circling. The media cannot wait for it to happen. The vast majority of the football family want us to lose a game to see what happens at our club. Hell, even some of our own support would like to see us lose a couple if it meant AVB was kicked out.

56 minutes into the game on Wednesday night and the journo’s had what they wanted. We were behind and they could frantically write how AVB must be on his last legs in the eyes of the board. Vlad and Lewis save the day but they would not have deleted the texts they wrote, simply changed the date to this Saturday in the hope that it happens then.

Every game is being portrayed as a cup final, this increases the tension in the stands which will then rub off on the players. It is probably a blessing in disguise that these games against teams at the foot of the table are away from the Lane.

The media, in most cases, have been overly harsh on and pretty much against us this season. Whether it be the Yid debate, the atmosphere, AVB bashing or the new reports about Spurs banning the 1882 movement from games. Most have been to turn the tide of affection against the club from the neutrals. Surely they realise that we are not playing entertaining football at the moment, the neutrals don’t need any help turning away.

Is it a must win game? No, we are only three points off fourth and six off second – hardly a must win scenario. We were never title contenders, that was opposition managers trying to put pressure on us and you could argue it worked. Another point, if it wasn’t Woolwich sat top of the tree would our current predicament be portrayed as badly? I honestly do not think so.

My Opposition opinion

After the fireworks of Di Canio we now have the slightly less extravagant Poyet. It is good to see that Poyet was not too adversely affected by the Ramos stint at Spurs but I am sure we would all want his miraculous saving of Sunderland to wait another week.

The Chelski game during the week showed us that Sunderland will not simply fall over in front of us. So we shouldn’t expect free flowing football, Poyet will know that is how we want to play and will do anything and everything the prevent us playing our way. In your face pressing is what to expect when we have possession but when we don’t then Poyet will want his team to play the ball around rather than lump it forward.

Can Sunderland, currently sitting bottom of the table with 8 points, afford the luxury of playing football? We’ll have to wait and see. It is the holy grail of football at the moment, some would deem it more important than winning but I am sure Sunderland fans do not agree with this.

In Brown and O’Shea they have a Utd bread defensive partnership but you know both are prone to the odd major mistake, much like our own Dawson and Walker. Attacking wise you have the likes of Altidore as a bulldozer, Fletcher as an all rounder and Borini as the threat in behind.

Sunderland have a decent squad, much better than their league position currently leads you to believe. Having said that, at the beginning of the season I did put Altidore as my ‘WTF were they thinking?’ transfer, perhaps someone will enlighten me as to whether I was wrong…

Expected line up

It looks like this game is too early for Rose to return so he will join Eriksen as a definite no show. There are doubts over Dembele due to the hip complaint that kept him out of the Fulham game and Vertonghen who turned his ankle towards the end of the midweek game. I personally think Dembele will make the game given his midweek rest and AVB would want his midfield trio as it was against Utd so I have gone for:

formation

Subs: Friedel, Kaboul, Fryers, Capoue, Holtby, Townsend, Adebayor

I think Vertonghen may miss this game and given his recent less than great performances at left back, it may not be a bad thing. I know he doesn’t want to play left back but he had some very good games there last season so it strikes me as a little bit petulant with his ongoing outbursts at being a centre back. So I think Naughton will come in. Chiriches could play there with Kaboul coming in but I think AVB is still stung by the Dawson/Kaboul partnership used at City. I would prefer Fryers as we need to see if he has what it takes but I don’t think AVB will do this.

The midfield central trio would be as the game against Utd, this is despite Paulinho really needing a break. Holtby could come in and play as the number 10 given his performance midweek but I think AVB wants the Utd trio given the positive feedback from that game.

The wings I would keep with Lennon and Lamela. Lennon has provided some directness (when on the right) that was lacking with Townsend – not because Townsend was not direct but because Lennon will go outside more frequently, stretching the defence. If only he could put a decent ball in more often. Lamela needs game time and a run in the team.

Up front will be back to Soldado for me. Just really think Defoe is dead in this formation, AVB has teased that both could play but I don’t think that will work. Would be Ade and one of the other two…

Prediction

It is going to be tough but I am going for a 2-1 win again. Sunderland to take to lead so that the media can get excited but another fight back from Spurs.

So what do you think? Defoe to keep his place? Siggy back in on the wings? What is your line up and predicted score?

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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‘Quick, get rid of AVB’ – no not yet

November 25th, 2013 , Posted in Articles
Nov, 25 2013
16 Comments »

I go away with work for three weeks and all hell has broken loose! We all need to calm down a bit. The last two results are bad but we are Spurs, we are used to hiccups…

The team are not playing the football we want to see. Neither are results going the way we want them to and when they do not go our way, they are very hard to take. But to suggest we should get rid of AVB so quickly is definitely a bit premature. I am not suggesting that AVB will suddenly get it right but he does need some time to get the team working well together.

Many of you will say he had all of last season, and to an extent you are correct but we all know in our hearts that the problems were papered over due to a particular Bale. He drew the oppositions focus so much that the rest of the team had more time. But it went too far, to the extent where his own teammates were simply waiting for him to do some magic.

This season, with the additions made that (let us not forget) we were all raving about, it has been painstakingly slow going. Usually you would have at least one player hit the ground sprinting but none have done that. There have been bits and pieces, Eriksen’s debut is just one example – the reaction to this was well and truly over the top but that is because we are yearning for the next superstar given the one so recently lost.

Perhaps we need a mentality shift? Instead of wanting one player to be amazing, why not have the team as a collective be amazing without a truly standout superstar.

We know that these players have the ability, all of them. The squad is good and we know it – that is why we are so downbeat at the moment. Perhaps it is a little bit more than that – perhaps we let ourselves believe the hype of title challenges before we had any real evidence to suggest we could mount one.

While the football is not so good at the moment, our points total compared to last year after 12 games is actually 3 points better off and we got a record haul last year. Not a massive consolation given our lack of goals scored but perhaps we should be thankful as it could have been a whole lot worse… The table below shows this years and last years record:

Year Points Win Draw Loss Scored Conceded
13/14 20 6 2 4 9 12
12/13 17 5 2 5 20 21

Let’s face it, Levy will not shunt AVB out mid-season when you have a comparison that shows an improvement over last year. We all know that the goals scored column is worse but the column that counts, points, is better. Levy wants Champions League football and while it would be nice to do it playing entertaining football, he essentially couldn’t give a rats arse as long as we achieve that goal.

We are the ones who care about what we watch. But deep down, if you are really honest with yourself, you want success. Just a taste, we are not greedy but something to celebrate. If we achieve it playing sexy football then we will be all the louder about talking about it. And no, 4th is not success (i.e. CL football) but a reward for a decent season. Success is trophies…

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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Tottenham needs you: Lennon!

October 17th, 2013 , Posted in Articles
Oct, 17 2013
2 Comments »

Oh dear, how we have missed Aarons little legs scampering down the right wing at times this season.

Forget that his final ball is often criticised, sometimes we just need that natural tendency to stay wide and stretch the play. Let’s face it, unless his recent foot injury absence was in fact reattaching his left foot he forgot about so many years ago, he will never make an inverted winger as he is too one footed. He is your stereotypical winger, beat them on the outside, get to the by-line and throw the ball into the box.

Soldado is often described as a penalty area player in that he does very little outside the box. Lennon can find him once he has beaten the full back all ends up. Crossing in the air is usually about finding someone perfectly, but crossing along the floor is about putting it into danger areas and this is something that Lennon has done throughout his Spurs career. This is something that Soldado could thrive on. Lennon also has a better defensive work rate than our other wingers at the moment which should not be underestimated.

After his injury at the beginning of the season, it appeared that AVB was looking at inverted wingers (or 4-3-3). Many thought (myself included) that the end was near for Lennon. But recent games have shown that the inverted wingers do not work well when the play is too congested, well unless the winger is Messi or something. Aside from Townsend (although it appears he is being asked to do otherwise), Lennon is the only winger that appears to have the ability to stay wide and play well wide. So Lennon does provide something different for Spurs currently, another plan B.

Lamela and Chadli are much more suited as inverted wingers and both are good in their own right but nothing from either of them so far suggests that they could play the traditional wing role well enough if needed. That is not saying that they cannot and they may well prove me wrong at some point in the future.

You have got to wonder, if Lennon had not been injured would Townsend have played in the league prior to Chadli’s injury? And even with Chadli’s injury, Lamela had signed by then.

Will Lennon play against Villa on Sunday assuming he is back to near full fitness? It really depends on how AVB thinks Villa will set up against us, if they try to congest the midfield then I would say yes… but at the expense of who? Or perhaps a surprise start on the left after saying he will never make an inverted winger?

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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Tottenham needs you: Adebayor!

October 15th, 2013 , Posted in Articles
Oct, 15 2013
9 Comments »

I have never held back in claiming that Adebayor is a great striker and now more than ever I think Spurs need him back in the team, even if it is only a plan B bench position.

Quite regularly I write that I believe that Adebayor to be the best striker at the club in playing the lone striker role. He has all the attributes needed to lead the line, bring in teammates and create something from nothing. Even during a very poor year by anyone’s standards last year he showed glimpses of what he can do.

I think he would work better with AVB’s current system. He will naturally drift wide to receive the ball which will either create two on ones with the full back or pull a centre back out of position leaving space for an Eriksen, Holtby, Paulinho or winger to come in. If he has to play as a target man, he can and instead of only looking for a striking partner he has the number 10 and both inverted wingers to look for – far better chances of knock downs finding a lilywhite shirt. He can bully defenders with his strength but also has that little bit of skill to create something from nothing.

During his good year with Spurs he had a great understanding with the attacking midfielders, being Bale, Lennon, VDV and the deeper lying Modric. The key was that they enjoyed playing together. They wanted to do well together. He can do this again with the current crop of exciting attacking midfielders at the club.

I believe some sections of the support never truly forget that he once played for Woolwich Wanderers and another section have jumped on the ‘reputation proceeded him’ front by where he only plays well when playing for a contract. This will rub off on him during games which is probably why he performed (on the odd occasion he did perform) better last year away from home.

I am not suggesting he should replace Soldado with immediate effect, neither am I saying that Soldado or Defoe should be automatic starters. We need them all as they are all different.

The rumours are back again in that Spurs are trying to flog him. It is an easy rumour to start really given his apparent nomadic nature and the wages we suspect he is on. I am not saying there is not an element of truth there, he probably is one of the top earners at the club if not the top and getting that off the wage bill may open up space for a new player or two. Hernandez is not an Ade replacement but a Defoe replacement, selling Ade may well allow for more wages to sign Hernandez but it would not solve the lack of a striker plan B. Selling Defoe for Hernandez would be a better solution in my eyes.

AVB has returned him to first team training, he would not have done this unless Adebayor showed him something in training. Showed him his dedication to the cause was back. The next time he pulls on a lilywhite shirt we need to let him know that this is the best club he has ever played for! Tottenham need him but he also needs us…

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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Townsend – you either love him or you hate him

October 14th, 2013 , Posted in Articles
Oct, 14 2013
3 Comments »

Having written this article before his England debut, I almost ditched it in light of his MOTM performance for England due to how quickly some will have changed their opinions. The calls for him to be replaced by Lamela have quietened but perhaps only briefly.

That’s what it appears to be at the moment. Marmite. You hate the fact that he does not play the patient continental possession way or that he is always shooting from distance. Or you love the fact that he brings a sense of urgency to an otherwise methodical team and is always willing to try and beat a man.

I fall down on the like side of things for a number of reasons. He is Tottenham through and through, having hailed from a Spurs family and been a member of the youth set up since his childhood. If any player is going to know what it means to Spurs fans then surely Townsend fits the bill. You could argue that this is why, for most people, he was our best outfield player in both London Derby defeats this season.

In his six Premier League games, he has had 26 shots (8 on target, 8 off target, 10 blocked). Given the inverted winger role he is being asked to play then this level of shooting is understandable and given he has as many on as off target, it does go against the theory that they all end up in row Z. He is young and we cannot forget that he is learning his trade as an inverted winger, by rights he is a left winger and I personally would love to see him switch flanks more regularly.

The key thing I think right now is that the team actually need him more than perhaps the team and fans realise. He gives us something completely different to anyone else in the attack part of our squad (aside from the returning Lennon) in that he will try and beat a man with skill and/or pace to whip a cross in. He is willing to go on his right foot (something than Lennon really lacks with his left foot) to keep the opposition full backs guessing. We cannot ignore this when the rest of the team seem so content (tad harsh) to play in second gear and in front of the opposition. You need the bursts of energy to compliment the methodical, controlling approach otherwise more and more teams will set up like WH against us at home. They will know that they have time to regroup back to two banks of four (or in WH case six and four) and as long as they remain disciplined then they have every chance of stopping the team scoring.

Given time he will progress and see more passes that are available, especially once he learns how his new teammates work and play. Once Lamela has acclimatised he may well find himself on the bench more frequently. I hope not. I hope there is a way both can play but I get the feeling I may be in a minority there…

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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37% English at Spurs so far

October 13th, 2013 , Posted in Articles
Oct, 13 2013
2 Comments »

In relation to the state of the game stuff done by the BBC, Spurs are above the average.

I am not ashamed to admit that I am of the old school type (though only 29) and want the national team to do well as well as Spurs. I am in no way saying that Spurs are solely responsible for this but I would like to think that Spurs have contributed heavily to the national set up.

The BBC state of the game debate got me thinking what the relevant percentages were for Spurs so far this season, so I knocked up a spreadsheet and came up with the following graph for Premier League games only:

premleagueper

That is 37.56% English so far this season, not bad when you consider we have not bought a single English player this year and sold or loaned a few out. We have had five ever present players so far this season, being Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen and Paulinho. If Rose had not been injured we would probably be four minutes shy (Kaboul replaced him against Palace) of another ever present. It is good to see the defence is settled, crucial for them clean sheets to come back again.

As is my nature, I went a bit further and did another one including the cup competitions and got the following graph:

allcompper

English participation fell slightly to just under 37%, you would guess that if Tom Carroll had not been loaned out then the English participation may well have increased over the Premier League percentage.

Unsurprisingly, we have no ever presents in the team for all competitions although Lloris does lead the way with 900 minutes played out of a possible 1080 with Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen and Dembele all having played over 800 minutes so far this season.

Should the FA change something

While I am sure they can limit the amount of foreign players in a squad should they wish to, they will not as foreign fans enjoy the Premier League because of the multinational flavour of it. That is a massive revenue stream for the Premier League and if the FA did put something in place then the Premier League would need to back it, highly unlikely.

However the argument that if a player is good enough then they will play is sound. What is not shown is that we never know if they are good enough because they will hardly ever get a chance. I touched on this in my article, ‘Sorry Carroll, you (probably) have no real future at Spurs’ (read here) but if Carroll is as good as the coaches say and fans want to believe then surely we have just wasted a load of money on one of the midifelders we have signed recently…

We need to find a way of making it worthwhile for clubs to give a chance to youngsters in the games that matter as well as coaching them better. I think Spurs are clearly improving on the coaching front but out of the youngsters we have given a real chance to recently, all have had a loan to a Premier League club first (Walker to Villa, Caulker to Swansea, Rose to Sunderland and Townsend to QPR). I suppose Livermore may be the exception to this however he was a bit part player rather than first team starter and now has a Premier League loan.

We cannot rely on other clubs taking them on loan to prove they have got what it takes but then the board and management know that if they give a youngster the chance and it goes wrong, they are a little bit stuck. It is seen as less of a risk getting a player in who is semi established rather than give a youngster a go. This is what needs to change but never will, not while the financial penalties of relegation or simply not qualifying for Europe are so big.

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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Sandro was not the answer last weekend, but is he going forward?

October 11th, 2013 , Posted in Articles
Oct, 11 2013
8 Comments »

He wouldn’t have created anything and while he may have prevented a goal or two, he probably would have been subbed for Lamela or Holtby at 0-0 against WH.

I do like Sandro but wonder what people think he would have done to win us the game last week. Let us get one thing straight, we were at home against a ‘lesser’ team. We should not need a defensive minded midfielder in these circumstances. Against bigger teams or away from home is a different matter.

You could argue that because it was a local derby the term ‘lesser’ does not apply and I agree to a certain extent. But I think it was more down to the fact that perhaps the players not understanding the significance of the game rather than Sandro not playing that contributed to the downfall.

Sandro and Capoue are players that will win the ball back. So far this season, with the exception of Woolwich away and Chelski second half at home, you could argue that our possession stat’s have suggested we do not need a ball winner as we have the ball more often than not. Against Woolwich Capoue played so it is only really the Chelski game where AVB was a little slow to realise the need for a break up type of player.

Therefore I do not necessarily agree that Sandro must start against Villa in our next game. If AVB assumes we will be dominating possession then we should not need to as Paulinho and Dembele (injury dependant) should be able to do the mopping up job well enough. I am not suggesting that he shouldn’t play more that I disagree with the ‘must’ play vibe floating around. To be fair the following two games after Villa are home to Sheriff and Hull so you would really struggle to see the need for a defensive midfielder.

Perhaps I am being a little unfair on the rest of Sandro and Capoue’s respective skill sets. If they can play in the same fashion as Dembele (i.e. retaining the ball and playing a decent pass) and add in tough tackling then one of them probably should start every game.

I think we need to realise that AVB, with the squad he has assembled, will take each game on its own merit. How he thinks the opposition will play will help decide who will and who will not play. No player is guaranteed a start (with a few exceptions clearly, mainly full backs and goalkeeper) as each game may require a different skill set or approach.

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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We are still Spurs after all…

October 7th, 2013 , Posted in Articles, Match Reports
Oct, 07 2013
2 Comments »

I grew up in East London, this one hurts me a lot! It has been a while since we wrote anything, I have moved and currently still have no internet or TV and ChrisWadds has been on a couple of stag do’s (his own) so it is lucky he can still speak let alone write something.

So let us jump back in, plan A really didn’t work on Sunday but that is not entirely the teams/AVBs fault. WH’s 4-6-0 formation worked well is also a major factor. Is it anti football? Not really given the score line. I wrote an article a while back (here) about a plan B and came to the conclusion that our bench really can just be like for like. Is this AVB’s Achilles heel, not wanting to move from the 4-2-3-1 cum 4-3-3 formation?

The opposing formations meant that 11 of the 20 outfield players were all vying for the same third of the pitch, a problem exacerbated by playing inverted wingers. Unless you pass like Barcelona or have dribblers like Messi and Ronaldo, there were simply too many players there able to mark space as well as players. This is highlighted in FourFourTwo’s statszone (here), where four of our top five passing combinations were between defenders – the top two were between our centre backs. There were no options for them to move the ball forward due to overcrowding. Some will say they should have taken the ball forward themselves and that may well be true but they would have added yet another player to the already overcrowded space.

Without a target man we only have the option for short balls and WH knew this so packing the midfield prevented our natural game. Out of 502 passes attempted only 42 were long balls, I don’t want to see balls pinged about all the time but with such a congested midfield surely a few more were needed. Had they been good balls then WH would have had to start closing our centre backs down which in turn would have lead to more space in the middle. If a game ever needed a lanky striker in a lilywhite shirt then this was it!

When playing with a right footed left back I think it is a mistake to play with an inverted left winger, we needed width that was not forthcoming from either Naughton or Sigurdsson. This is something that needs addressing as clearly AVB wants inverted wingers, Rose was a big loss.

It was a crap result, we know that. This is the first game we have not matched or bettered last season’s corresponding fixture (assuming CP = QPR and Car = Wig) so look for positives – ok there are not any about this game, it hurts too much. We struggled to break teams down last season also but still came away with a record points haul though so chins up!

I have said previously that we are learning something new at the moment and there will be hiccups along the way, granted I was not predicting 3-0 home defeats but still bumps in the road. The squad is better than last years and will get better at breaking the opposition down. The reaction to the result itself is a positive, the media have jumped on it and that is because we are a better team now. I never knew I knew so many WH fans but they all crawled out of the woodwork at about 17:45 on Sunday.

This was AVB’s biggest home defeat but it wasn’t so long ago that defeats like this were far more likely to occur. We need to stay positive, support the team until the final whistle. Yes boo at the end if you want but during them 90 minutes, as long as they are wearing a lilywhite shirt then support them like your life depends on it!

Look on the bright side, there cannot be that many more international breaks to lose a game before during the rest of the season…

You can follow the blog on twitter, @thfc1882dotcom and “like” our facebook page! We are even on instagram. If you are really bored you can follow my ramblings about anything and everything on twitter (@waddiealex) as well…

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Chelsea (h) Preview – Premier League

September 27th, 2013 , Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Sep, 27 2013
2 Comments »

Saturday 28th September, White Hart Lane, 12:45 live on BTSport

The clean sheets keep coming and Spurs keep rolling on. Everyone realises how good a start to the season it has been given the changes made to the squad. Twenty goals scored and only a single conceded in nine games are the headline stats but league alone is a slightly different prospect, five goals and one conceded in five games. Still good but not as eye catching. I am quite happy to continue winning one nil though!

What is funny is that Andy Gray has come out saying Chelsea need to sort their scoring out given they have only scored six league goals in five games. I suppose using that logic means we need to sort ours out as well!
A lot of people are suggesting that this game will be a good gauge on our current progress. I could not disagree more! It is a single game of football and essentially proves nothing no matter the outcome (win or lose), it is a derby and anything goes. Gauge how we are doing come Christmas or Easter not a single game.

Having said that, lose and the media will be all over it. How Spurs cannot beat the top teams or back to ‘does AVB know his strongest team’ rubbish. Win and the media will be go to the other extreme, we will be contenders this year and will win everything!

There are a lot of people pushing for a start in this game, there are some who cannot really do anymore when they have been given the chance. I’m thinking really about Defoe and Holtby, yes the opposition have been poor or a second string but if that is all they get a chance to play against then what more can they do.

Our last two league games have shown that the team have started to understand each other and this is an encouraging sign. It needs to continue but this is probably the first game where the starting line up does not pick itself as easily as before…

The Opposition

We know what we are up against. They may not have set the world alight with Jose’s return but they are not a bad squad overnight. They will be up for the game, it is a derby and they will want to win. It is a massive surprise that he does not play Mata. I know Jose has said he needs to adapt but he has been the best player for the last two seasons, not someone you should leave on the bench. Jose clearly thinks he is surplus to requirements which is probably why he signed Willian.

I hope the fans do not goad Willian too much, it will come back to bite us. He’ll probably score a hat trick in injury time with Spurs leading 2-0. I am a Spurs fan after all, it is natural to have these pessimistic moments! Jose has changed his team quite a lot this season so who knows who will play (except Oscar, he’ll play). We do have a poor record against this lot, 3 wins in 42 Premier League games is beyond shocking but times are a changing.

Expected line up

Team news has come out a bit earlier than normal, Rose is pretty much back. Kaboul is a doubt while Lennon has only just rejoined the team so unlikely to be involved. Capoue is out until after the international break. We have a lot of players in some form at the moment, it will be hard for AVB to select a team. I have gone with:

formation

Subs: Friedel, Chiriches, Naughton, Sandro, Holtby, Lamela, Defoe

I said previously that this would be a hard team to pick but with Kaboul likely to be out, the back four picks itself. Now the controversial bit, I went with Paulinho and Dembele. I know Sandro is the obvious choice (to kick the Chelsea attacking midfielders) for this game (probably at Dembele’s expense) but I am not sure AVB will want to change that partnership at the moment. They dominated the midfield in the last two league games albeit against what you would normally class as weaker opposition in relation to Chelsea. Neither of them are traditional defensive types but both are not afraid of a challenge.

Again, with so many attacking options and the majority of them knocking on the door for a start the three attacking midfielders is a little controversial. Some are saying play Holtby and Eriksen together, but that would mean one of them will have to predominantly start from a wide position. They can both do that but are more comfortable being in the middle to start so this is not the game to try this out in. It will be Eriksen who starts for me, not because Holtby has done anything wrong (I wrote an article before Eriksen signed that he should be the number 10) but because Eriksen has the understanding with the other choices I have made.

The two wide midfielders are Townsend and Sigurdsson. Chadli has only just returned from injury so this game is probably a little too soon for him hence him not even making the bench. Lamela has been playing well it little bits (for me), clearly he is a classy player but he is still finding his feet at the moment. With Ivanovic likely to play at right back for Chelsea I want to see Townsend on the left at some point to take him on with pace, in my opinion he is a better centre back than right back and I think a winger can get at him.

The striker, along with Sandro, is probably the hardest call to make given Defoe’s current form. If you look at Defoe’s first goal against Villa it was made by him coming deep to get involved and then making a run from deep. From what I have seen from Soldado so far (and I admit it is little) I am not sure he is as willing to do this. I have gone with Soldado though because Chelsea will be playing more of a European style of football rather than British and that may well play into Soldado’s hands.

It is scary when you look at the bench and realise that Kaboul, Capoue, Chadli, Lennon and Adebayor are not there and all could easily be first team starters…

Prediction

We should not expect to roll these boys over handsomely but neither should we accept a draw as a good result. I am going for a 2-1 win, Soldado and a Townsend thirty yarder!

So what do you think? Sandro and Lamela in? What is your line up and predicted score?

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17% think StubHub is ok as it is!

September 26th, 2013 , Posted in Articles
Sep, 26 2013
8 Comments »

Stubhub - get rid?

  • Get rid (55%, 47 Votes)
  • Make it fairer and keep (28%, 24 Votes)
  • Keep it, it's great (17%, 15 Votes)

Total Voters: 86

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Well the results are in and as you can see for yourself 17% think StubHub is fine as it is. Now I know the sample size is tiny in comparison to the total fan base but 17% is still higher than I thought it would be. You can read the original article here. The poll is now closed however a work colleague did point out that I could have been more descriptive with the options, also that everyone was more interested in seeing gifs of Vertonghen pulling someone’s pants down! So there is a new poll at the end of the article.

Some have asked about the prices being listed, as of last night (when I wrote this post), there were 272 available for the weekends game, a category A game. The cheapest is £86.26 which is north lower block 23, that’s the corner of Paxton and the Shelf and includes the StubHub booking fee which is 15%. That would mean the seller listed it at £75. Sellers get charged 12% if their ticket is sold so if they factor that in then they will be getting £66.96. Face value of ticket in that section if bought through the club would be £48. The seller is getting 39.5% above the face value, the buyer is paying 79.7% above face value. StubHub are making £19.30.

The most expensive ticket is west upper block 4, which is pretty much on the half way line so in terms of pitch viewing it is the best seat. It is listed at £1,265, therefore seller listed it at £1,100. Again, with the 12% fee the seller will get £982.14. Face value of the ticket £81. The buyer would be paying 1461% above face value and the seller would be getting 1258% above face value. StubHub would be getting £282.86 for this one.

Now we must point out here that if the ticket does not sell then the StubHub get nothing and clearly the seller is left with a ticket. But the seller can adjust their price as they wish and as often as they want. There are also tickets for W Ham (category A), 151 ranging from £80.50 to £750. Hull (category C) tickets are also available, 49 ranging from £59.80 to £500.

You have got to wonder though, if the seller listing their ticket for over grand does get it sold for that price, they have pretty much paid for their season ticket. If you think that is right and proper then well… I don’t even know what to say to that, you are just wrong!

I said in the previous post that as it is a three year agreement then we will have to be patient with anything major changing. Clearly this is looking at the tickets available, I do not have access to information regarding tickets that have actually sold (for any game) – if the opposition become vocal enough then the club may well release some of this information. I will not post about StubHub again for a while, don’t want to seem like a broken record! Sign the petition. Back to footballing matters for the next post!

New StubHub Poll

View Results

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