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Spurs 4 – 1 FC Twente: A Match Report

September 30th, 2010 Posted in Champions League, Match Reports
Sep, 30 2010
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Instead of concentrating too much on whatever it is I normally babble on about I thought I’d go for a more traditional match report today. Here goes:

Dear old Harry loves to pull some surprises doesn’t he? I didn’t see anyone predicting last nights starting 11 or the formation we’d play. Lennon dropped and two strikers. It just made no sense at all but it worked and that’s all that matters. When I first saw the team sheet I couldn’t work it out. Who was going to play on the right of midfield? I presumed it would be Modric but then there was Redknapp on Sky TV saying it would be the left footed Van der Vaart in a 4 man midfield. Quelle surprise indeed.

I was worried but also happy we were playing 2 strikers. The lone striker just hasn’t worked in domestic football so far and I’m a little annoyed we’ve persisted with it for so long when really it’s only needed away from home in Europe but hopefully Redknapp’s now consigned it to the “only use when absolutely necessary” pile of formations. Just as I hope last night’s player positions isn’t used in the premier league, because with the likes of Ashley Young this Saturday our lopsided right will get found out. After the match Rafa spoke about how playing on the right isn’t his favourite position but because he had a free role it wasn’t that bad. Free role would be an understatement. When Bale hadn’t swapped to the right the player responsible for giving us any width on that side or an out ball was Alan Hutton and once again he did very well. On this form I would’ve thought Charlie was sitting on the bench last night wondering if his days at Spurs are numbered. Maybe harsh and definitely premature but with Hutton and Kaboul staking their claims to the right side of defence he’s suddenly got some very real competition.

Bassong and King did what they do best which was head the ball away when needed. They also tried to play total football in the first 45 by picking the ball up in their own half and running with it. We’ve seen King do this before although not for a long time which told as he got near Twente’s area and suddenly realised where he was. Bassong’s run was even funnier. He surprised everyone, so much so by the time he’d got into the corner there were 3 defenders on him and not one team mate. They were all standing, watching with mouths wide open wondering what the hell was going on. It was great to watch.

Ekotto put in another typical performance, linking well with Bale on the left and he too found himself in advanced positions on a number of occasions which was good to see. While all 4 defenders were playing like we all used to at school, a little Croatian was tidying up around them, filling in the gaps left, breaking up Twente’s attacks when he could and while not obvious did an excellent team job. Listening to Alan Smith on Sky you would’ve thought Modric had been giving the ball away constantly, missing tackles and was generally crap. I guess once a gooner, always a moron.

The first half had a typical spurs ebb and flow to it. We get the ball, you get the ball, entertain, entertain, entertain. This is why I love my football club, and hate it equally I guess when it doesn’t go right, but last night it went just how we all wanted. That’s not to say we didn’t get our fair share of luck. Early on Huddlestone lost the ball just inside his own half and Ruiz ran in on goal. As he tried to lift the ball over a flailing Gomes, the octopus managed to stick one of those massive hands in the air and thankfully made a wonderful save. This moment can’t be highlighted enough. All of the talk will be about Van der Vaart and Pav but who knows how the game might’ve ended if Gomes hadn’t produced that in his first game back after injury. Then Huddlestone again was in the thick of things but this time it probably should’ve been his last involvement in the match. Having his shirt tugged and being nibbled at by a Twente player his frustration got the better of him as he swung an elbow that connected sweetly on his opponents jaw. Quite how the referee missed it I don’t know but thankfully he did. From that moment on the game had a little bit about it. Some tackles were flying in, lots of rolling about on the floor and even demands for bookings from the Dutch side. A major pet hate of mine that last one. Bremen are now my German team for their  hospitality when I was there but Twente can’t expect the same honour from me.

Then just as half time approached we got the first of 3 penalties on the night. There’s been plenty of discussion on whether any of them were but in my opinion the first 2 were dead certs. The third was a little fortunate but that’s football. Crouch was sent to the ground with the twente defender on top of him as they wrestled in the area waiting for a cross to come in. Which of the 5 officials gave the decision no-one seems to know but then that was the theme of the night. After plenty of gamesmanship and waiting, Rafa stepped up and placed the shot in the same corner as he did against Wolves, but this time the keeper went the right way and produced a good save.

It’s gonna be one of those nights, right? Wrong. Just as I’d finished writing on the forum how I’d like to see us stop persisting with this annoying tactic of playing early, long, deep crosses to Crouch at the back post in the hope that someone would get to the knock down, we scored by doing exactly that. Huddlestone’s cross, Crouch’s knock down and a beautifully controlled and volleyed goal from Rafa saw us take a deserved lead. A couple of minutes later Bale went on one his jinking runs only to be hauled down and it was another penalty. This time, Pav stood up and slotted it home. This was the start in a turnaround in performance for Pav.

About this time I was thinking, I hate it when we’re 2-0 up. Unfortunately my fears were realised when Twente managed to get a scrambled goal back. More poor defending unfortunately but it was also a little pinball so we can forgive them just this once. On another day it falls to a defender instead of a striker. So it’s 2-1 and now I’ve got another bad feeling. Van der Vaarts been flying around all night, obviously trying to prove something against Dutch opposition. He’s already got a yellow card and a red seems imminent. I tweet my feelings. I’m soon told to stop tweeting as Rafa goes in for a silly challenge and gets his marching orders. One well read spurs blogger, who shall remain nameless at this point tweeted something along the lines of “RIP Champions League”. Who says he’s not a knee jerker like the rest of us? ;) Although I’m sure he wasn’t the only one feeling like that. This had all the hallmarks of a classic Spurs game. In control, dominating and then a series of events happen to leave us all mystified and angry. Not tonight though, not on this historic first champions league home game.

Strangely enough when we went down to 10 men we actually played better. We kept the ball exceptionally well and maturely. Not like us at all. Even stranger was the performance of Pav. He was very poor in the first half. No movement, expecting the ball to come to him all the time, couldn’t hold it up or link play and sulked when a decision didn’t go his way. That was the bad side of Pav. The 2nd half saw the side that most resembles his song, if only he could do it all the time. He came to the party, not only with his 2 well taken penalties but mainly with his all round play. He did everything you want of a lone striker and did it well. I’m the first to admit I don’t rate him and the best thing about him is his song but I’ll also happily commend him when he plays like that. Do this every game Pav and you’d be our first choice striker. He’s so frustrating.

It was Pav that forced our 3rd and final penalty, attempting a shot from about 25 yards that was blocked by the raised elbow of the defender. A good 5 seconds passed before the referee blew his whistle for what seemed like a harsh spot kick but I’m not complaining. 3-1 it was and game over. For a change I was pretty confident of that fact.

We carried on passing the ball about, conserving energy and looking like a side about to win it’s first game in the group. Huddlestone was coming into his own, playing in a more advanced role than normal which was good to see and he had an excellent 2nd half as did the whole team. There was still enough time for Bale to get into the headlines again with a well taken goal. As the ball broke he was the first to react, heading the ball into the penalty area and coolly slotting into the bottom left hand corner.

4-1 and the glory nights had returned to N17. Our biggest Champions League win in 128 years isn’t bad is it? ;) Bring on Inter.

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Redknapp Key to Success – FC Twente preview

September 29th, 2010 Posted in Champions League, Match Previews
Sep, 29 2010
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Match days are great fun, reading everyone’s opinions on team selection and formations. Who will be fit and who will spend another week on the sidelines? Will Bale play in midfield or defence? Two up front or the lone striker as preferred in Europe so far? Does Lennon deserve to start with his current form? Whatever way you look at it, there’s only one man who’s opinion counts and that’s Harry “don’t call me a wheeler dealer” Redknapp’s.

Dear old twitchy has a lot of important decisions to make today. This is a momentous night in our history, the first home European Cup, Champions League, whatever you want to call it game in almost half a century. We welcome a very good FC Twente side to the Lane. Once again the mass hoards of spurs fans that frequent the internet are largely edging on the side of a comfortable victory. We never learn do we? The Dutch champions, currently lying in 4th spot in the Eredivisie, having not lost a game in any competition so far, and coming of the back off a home draw against Ajax, are a team we shouldn’t be taking lightly.

I’ve heard many suggestions that as they came from the 4th pot we must win this game as we’re at home and those sentiments are right but we need to win the other home games too. We need a performance that we know this team can produce, not the other type of performance we’ve seen too often of late. As we’ve seen last season not only can we beat any team on our day but we can destroy lesser sides at home. I doubt tonight’s game will be the latter but with our up and down form it’s hard to say.

Back to Redknapp. The only decision that’s easy for him is the one based on King’s fitness. If he’s fit, he plays. If he’s not, Corluka moves centre half. If he is fit though, who plays at right back?

Decision One: Hutton or Corluka? This depends entirely on how Harry wants to play tonight. He’s said he wants to go out and attack and if that’s the case the man who likes to beat up his dad in the middle of the street needs to get the nod. Even during our abject display at Upton Park, Hutton showed his willingness to bomb forward and this could be a key to opening a well organised, disciplined team like Twente. Corluka on the other hand, while in equal if not worse form than Lennon, offers slightly more defensive cover. With Twente’s one major injury worry being they’re missing both their natural left backs I’d opt for the more attacking Hutton, who alongside Lennon could cause mayhem. If Hutton isn’t given the chance, I would expect Lennon to have a decent game on that side anyway, just so Mr Redknapp can claim the plaudits for his comments this morning.

Decision Two: Bale at left back or left midfield? There’s only one answer to this for me, but unfortunately as we’ve seen recently away to West Brom and West Ham, Harry isn’t as convinced. Bale is one of the most exciting attacking players currently in the game. A player that can stretch the opposition seemingly at will when he’s on his game and a player with pace who will be able to join a lone striker regularly. Ekotto may not have his fans (I’m one of the few) and the partnership he’s developing with Bale has the potential be to our most productive if worked on. Also by playing Bale on the left of midfield it free’s up Modric to play in the middle and control the tempo of the game.

Decision Three: Gomes or Cudicini? Again a no brainer for me. If Gomes is fit he plays. With the chopping and changing going on in the back line we need the big Brazilian to marshal what’s happening in front him. Something Carlo hasn’t been able to do, although he did manage to pull off some decent saves in his last game.

Decision Four: Lone striker or two? I can’t see Harry changing to 2 strikers after spending the last few weeks playing poorly in the league while trying to learn the lone striker formation so I expect Crouch to start and given his European form, not only for us but for Liverpool, rightly so.

Decision Five: Who plays in central midfield? We could start with Thud and Modric, Thud and Jenas, Modric and Jenas, Thud and Jenas or even stick Palacios in there. How about Jenas and Palacios? ;) only kidding obviously. I’d personally like to see us go back to how we finished last season with Thud and Modric. Thud while not the best holding midfielder should be able to find a decent amount of space by dropping deep which might also tie up one of their advanced players when we have the ball. What I don’t want to see is what we’ve done a couple of times this season and play 2 holding midfielders at home.

The main point is if we want to win tonight we can. It won’t be easy although an early goal and a full 90 minutes performance close to the first 45 minutes against Bremen and we should be fine. If all the decisions that need to be made are the correct ones and the players are sent out with the right attitude this could be a true glory night. Back to the past, in Europe’s premier competition, push and run, a blistering noise from the stands, do it for Bobby and most importantly do it for the rest of our season.

Sing up, sing loud. COYS

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Lennon told to lift Spurs

September 29th, 2010 Posted in Articles
Sep, 29 2010
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Aaron ‘azza’ Lennon’s poor form so far this season has got so bad it’s led to Harry Redknapp speaking about him in an interview before our first home champions league group game tonight. What effect it’ll have if any will be very interesting. Two home games in 3 days is the perfect opportunity for the little man to try and get his game going again.

Before Lennon got injured last season he was electrifying. So much so he almost single handedly took the team to victory game after game. His late winners at home to Birmingham and away at West Ham were prime examples of that. Cutting in from both flanks and firing a shot into the bottom corner. He completely destroyed poor Erik Edman on his return to White Hart Lane against Wigan but then he got injured and hasn’t been the same since. Being the groin, it’s the type of injury that can effect pace which is what makes Azza special. Hopefully though with the odd glimpse we’ve seen this key aspect of his game hasn’t been reduced because without it he’s just David Bentley but can’t cross as well.

The thing that puzzles me is what Redknapp said, “He’s not playing like he did last year, that’s for sure,”. Ok, that’s a given, but this:

“He’s got to find a way – or we’ve got to work hard with him – to get him on the ball,” added Redknapp. “He has to work very hard to find a yard of space out there now because full-backs are going to get close to you.

“He has got to learn to come off the line, pop up in little holes in between midfield, like Modric does or like Van der Vaart can do. Maybe he should add that to his game.”

What concerns me about this is I don’t think that’s the problem at all. I don’t see defenders standing particularly closer to him and quite frankly with his pace I would’ve thought that’s exactly what he wants. A move in one direction followed by a run in the other and he’d leave them for dead. So what does Redknapp see that I don’t? I’ve watched Lennon a lot this season, even off the ball, because I, like everyone else hopes and prays he’ll return to his old form. We’d all like to see Lennon tearing holes in defences down the right and the stud Bale doing the same on the left. We’re so close to being the “winged wonders” I can almost taste the pre-cum. Am I allowed to say that? Maybe a little gay but do you get me blud?

“He is a quiet little lad, but one game can turn it for him. He needs to get a bit of confidence.

That’s what it’s all about for me. Confidence. Towards the end of last season when he returned from injury he wasn’t on fire like he was before but that’s unsurprising after a long lay off. I think we can once again thank England for that. Not only has international football taken 2 linchpins of our team, Defoe and Dawson, but it’s ruined little Lennon too. Against West Brom he had the time and space on many occasion to run behind the full back to receive the ball. Standing directly in line I could see the man with the ball wanted him to make that run but he just stood still by the touchline to receive it, time and again. He had such a poor game that afternoon when he was substituted some of the so called “faithful” cheered as his name went up. If you’re reading this and you remember doing that, ask yourself why players often have no problem leaving Tottenham and then look in the mirror.

We have to work with him and get him going again. That’s what we get paid to do as coaches, to work with him, to find the key to getting on the ball more.”

At least for once instead of issuing a fatwa on a player, Redknapp is taking some of the responsibility. He’s right after all, that is exactly what he and his coaching staff get paid to do. My worry is what he’ll do to rectify the situation. As a winger himself I’m sure ‘Arry knows a thing or two about that position so we can only hope he gets it right.

For me though it’s simple. Look to give Lennon the ball, tell him to run beyond defenders to get it. With players like Van der Vaart, Modric and Huddlestone surely we’ve got the quality to find him when he makes those runs? With Defoe out and the supporting midfield we’ve got we’re crying out for someone to get to the byline and cut the ball back to the penalty spot as he was doing with regularity this time last year. It’s exactly the same as we do when Bale’s on the left of midfield. Yes, he gets given the ball and will jinx passed a couple of players but Bale and Ekotto have formed a partnership that means BAE knows when the ball over the top is on and Bale runs onto it. Most of our chances down the left are created this way and it’s as simple as that. I’m not saying play hundreds of long balls over the full backs heads all the time but when the time is right Lennon needs to be making that run to give the team that option. His natural pace and trickery will take him from there. The only way he’ll make those runs again is to improve his confidence. Time will tell whether discussing his form in public is the way to do that.

COYS

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What’s the point of Thud?

September 28th, 2010 Posted in Articles
Sep, 28 2010
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Something’s been going through my mind a lot recently that I just can’t shake. It started towards the back end of last season and it’s got so big now I’ve got to let it all out. What’s the point of Tommy Huddlestone? Great player? Mediocre Hoddle wannabe? Fat bloke who wears bad cardigans? Midfield maestro? Tough tackling central midfielder? I just can’t decide, and more importantly I don’t think he knows either.

He’s still only 23 but has been at spurs now for 5 years and has more than 100 appearances for us and 200 club appearances in total so we’re no longer talking about an inexperienced youngster. He’s even managed to break into the England team a few times although never really looked convincing when given the chance.

His main ability is his passing. It’s why he is and probably always will be while at Spurs likened to Hoddle. However, at 23, Hoddle had already won the PFA young player of the year award, was scoring a goal every other game and was about to lead the team to back to back FA Cup glories. Huddlestone is no Hoddle. That’s no reason to tar him with the dirty brush though. Apart from maybe Gazza we haven’t seen anyone like Hoddle since his departure in 87. My problem with the THud is his inability to do anything of any real substance. Most fans have now given up on hoping one day the penny will drop with Jenas and he’ll realise his potential and start running games for us on a regular basis. If you haven’t seen the cartoon spoof by Spooky (from DML fame) take a look here. My fear is Huddlestone is slowly turning into the same player, promising so much but never really delivering on that potential.

Last season in particular he really came into his own, but this is also where I think the merky line between creative attacking midfielder and deep lying holding playmaker have become confused. He runs the risk of being half decent at both but not great at either. The play-maker side of his game seems to have disappeared, especially so far this season. He usually manages to keep possession for the team but only because his passes are mainly sideways or backwards, with the odd beautiful sweeping long ball to the wings, Paul Scholes style. Many now see him as our holding midfielder allowing others around him to get forward but by doing so he’s putting his career on the line. Let me explain.

What do you think of when you see a holding midfielder? Tough tackling? Defensively minded? Playing simple passes to the more gifted players around him? Positionally excellent?

Now what do you think of when you see a creative midfielder? Good passer of the ball? See’s chances others don’t? Good shooter? Links play well? Arrives late in the box? Scores a goal every 4 or so games?

I wish it was easy to say Tommy fits into one of those moulds but he doesn’t. He’s a good passer of the ball and can sometimes see opportunities that others don’t but sitting so deep and rarely getting forward he doesn’t take advantage of those things, because he’s defensively minded. However, he’s not a tough tackling, typical holding midfielder. He fits right in the middle of both styles which eventually might curtail his career. As a more creative advanced midfielder he’s not going to replace Modric or VdV and at the moment he’s only playing as the holding midfielder because we lack someone to take his place.

When Sandro was bought most felt he was going to replace Palacios, which to begin with I’m sure could happen but in the long run it’s Huddlestone who’ll find himself out of the team. The only way I can see that not happening is if he makes the conscious decision to grab games by the scruff of the neck and make everything go through him. Move a little forward if needs be and start hammering those shots in again. Practice what to do when you get into the penalty area because it doesn’t happen that often as we saw from Saturday’s exceptional miss. He has the ability to stand in the centre of our team and make it his own, spraying passes everywhere. He needs to be looking at competing with Modric and not Sandro.

Rumour has it Sir Alex is interested in buying Tug-Boat Tommy. Obviously it’ll cost him but at the moment of all our midfielders, with the exception of the one’s that don’t play, Tommy would be the least missed because he hasn’t found his niche. With the right replacement I doubt people would even notice he’d gone.

Tomorrow’s European game is the perfect platform for Huddlestone to show us what he’s got. We’ve seen glimpses of it in the past and have all been waiting for it to come out for 90 minutes, game after game after game. Europe will allow him more space to pick his passes, but with his quality he needs to be hurting the opposition at every opportunity. Get forward, get in the box, shoot on sight, run the game. Then he needs to take that onto Saturday’s game against Villa in the league where it’s likely to be an open game, again giving him space he can exploit. I dearly hope I’m wrong and I’m not saying he’s a bad player at all. His performances defensively last season were very good, especially in April and May, but I don’t see him as the answer to our defensive midfield question. I doubt many others do either. It just seems a waste of such a talented player and we don’t need another JJ on our hands.

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Injury Crisis

September 27th, 2010 Posted in Articles
Sep, 27 2010
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So apparently William Gallas got injured with the last kick of Friday’s training session and will now be out for 2-3 weeks. Thankfully we’ve got an international break coming up which might mean we’re not down to 1 centre back and Corluka for too many games.

Our injury list to key players is becoming a bit of a joke. It feels like we’ve been transported back to the mid nineties when we were constantly beset with them and most Saturday’s ended in disappointment. It certainly seems so. However, as I said on Saturday our current form or lack of can’t be blamed on injuries alone. Or put another way, it’s contributory but so have our dealings in the transfer market and our current squad.

Last season Dawson and Bassong formed a very good partnership which was disrupted every other week when Ledley King was fit. I said at the time I didn’t think this was right, especially as King doesn’t even train. Defenders get better at their craft with practice and playing together. They learn to instinctively know where their partner will be, much like strikers. The simple but important things like defending set pieces are worked on in training. If a player who hasn’t been involved in those discussions and practice sessions walks into the team on the Saturday errors can happen. An excellent player when fit without doubt but at what point do we say enough is enough?

We bought William Gallas in the summer. When I say bought I mean got on a free, paid him a fairly high wage even though we knew he’s been injury prone over the last couple of seasons. Why do we do it all the time? We did the same with Woodgate and that got us 1 season and since then we’ve been paying for him to be slowly put to death. I feel sorry for these guys I really do, well not Gallas, but King and Woodgate have more ability than Sol, Ferdinand and Terry put together but they’ve never been able to prove it. However, we’re constantly being told football’s a business nowadays, but it seems to me we’re a business with some members of staff who are on the sick way too often and it’s effecting everyone.

Saturday saw us having to play Bassong and Corluka centrally. Yes another different partnership. In the 10 games we’ve played so far this season we’ve had 8 different central partnerships. EIGHT!!! Only Dawson and King have played together more than once. Is it any wonder we’re conceding goals and looking a shambles defensively? Obviously had Dawson not got injured with England he would’ve played most if not all of the games but that probably still would’ve meant his partner being swapped between Gallas, King, Kaboul and Bassong every week depending on fitness. In an ideal world you want 3/4 central defenders who are fit all of the time and pushing each other with another looking to push on, a Kyle Walker or Steven Caulker perhaps. Unfortunately this is something we don’t have. Even last season we only realistically had Dawson and Bassong with others around them playing when they were fit enough. We then send players like Walker on loan and more worryingly Caulker on loan AFTER we find out Gallas will be out for a while. This just doesn’t make sense to me. Walker performed well in pre-season and has the experience of the championship already so what’s the point in sending him out when we’re short for central defenders and in form right backs, both positions he plays naturally?

In the summer we should’ve been looking to buy in quality, none injured players. Not William Gallas. We should’ve been looking at the Brede Hangeland’s and Gary Cahill’s of this world. Players currently at “smaller” clubs who would love the opportunity to possibly play in the champions league.

I’m not saying we need to cancel King’s contract and tell him thanks but no thanks but with his injury problems players like him, as good as he can be, shouldn’t be walking back into the team whenever he can. Like anyone else he needs to be biding his time and taking his chance when he gets it. A settled defence is always better than one that needs chopping and changing every week. Gallas was brought in to offer us experience in the champions league but as of yet hasn’t played in one of the 3 games we’ve had and is out of our 4th on Wednesday. We’ve bought an injury prone player to help cover for another injury prone player. It didn’t make sense at the time and doesn’t know.

Corluka on current form shouldn’t even be playing in his favoured right back position. When Alan Hutton looks like he might start making the first team regularly you know you’re not playing well, so doesn’t the fact that Charlie played at centre back show what a lack of quality cover we have in one of the most important positions on the field? Add that to the fact we appear to lack any sharpness in attack and we look like we’re turning into Arsenal. We’re very pretty on the ball and our midfield at times looks amazing but we don’t really offer any real threat.

We’ve had major injuries to key players right throughout the side. Gomes, Dawson, Modric and Defoe but players like King, Gallas and Woodgate can’t be included in that list because they’re always injured. Their sole purpose is to make the physios and doctors earn their money. With a lack of depth in quality in important positions like defence and attack and an apparent lack of transfer activity in those positions in the summer is it any wonder we’re now struggling with a couple of injuries?

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Tactically Inept: West Ham 1 – 0 Spurs

September 25th, 2010 Posted in Match Reports, Premier League
Sep, 25 2010
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Let me apologise for my knee jerking and sensationalism before you read any further. Normally I like to leave a match report until after I’ve either calmed down after a defeat or come down after a win. If I’m at the game it’s easy because of the trip home but today as I watched the dodgy live feed I was getting angrier by the minute and instead of watching the game again and trying to give an honest, calm assessment of the match I’ve decided to post a knee jerk update.

Probably like everyone, when I saw the team I had to wonder what the hell was going on. A defence of Hutton, Bassong, Corluka and Bale. I said in my pre-match article that I thought Bale would start at left back and that if I was right I’d tackle that issue on Monday, but why wait? When Bale first came into the team in January opinion was largely split on his best position but now most fans agree he’s one of the best, if not the best, left sided midfielders in the country. So why does Redknapp consistently push him back into defence at every available opportunity? It’s clear he doesn’t rate Ekotto, as many don’t, but removing Benny and replacing him with Bale not only reduces our effectiveness in attack but makes us more vulnerable defensively because whatever your thoughts on Ekotto he’s a better defender than Bale. Reports suggest Ekotto picked up a knock on Tuesday but the fact he played the full 120 minutes suggests he was never going to play today.

Playing a very out of form Corluka in a position he doesn’t play his best is another mistake. Some will say given the fact we also had no defenders on the bench we had no fit defenders but I find that hard to believe. King was fit on Friday and trained. There was no news of an injury picked up at any point so where was he? Resting for the Champions League no doubt. It seems everything so far this season is based on the Champions League. A competition we have no chance of winning. That’s not defeatist talk, it’s realism and I defy anyone to honestly disagree with that fact. Sure, we want to do our best in the group stages, but not at the expense of our league form and that means playing the strongest team available in a formation best to win that game, not resting players and practising a formation we plan to use in Europe.

Lets say for arguments sake the back four today were the only players we could put on the field. Where was Kyle Walker? Oh, hang on. He’s been sent on loan when he can play right back and centrally. Anyway, back to today’s back 4 being the strongest we could field. At some stage during the match things should’ve been shuffled. Bale should’ve been pushed forward to try and help get a goal. Bassong, who has and can play left back well enough for 15-20 minutes at the end of a game and Huddlestone could’ve dropped next to Charlie with Modric moving centrally to pull the strings. That’s just one option. We couldn’t even gone 3 at the back and pushed Hutton and Bale forward, playing a 3-5-2 but nothing. All we did was swap like for like.

Tactically in the league 4-4-1-1 just doesn’t work. Maybe against the better teams but why change the successful 4-4-2 we used to great effectiveness last season? 4-4-1-1, 4-5-1 or however you want to look at it works in Europe and that’s fine, use it then, but don’t practice in the league. Last Saturday we did the same and Wolves were quite comfortable until the final 15 minutes when we changed it to 4-4-2 and we scored 3 goals. Learn the lessons.

I don’t pretend to be a tactical expert or know more than Redknapp but watching a lot the game, whether at a ground or on TV, it’s clear when things aren’t working for a team. What’s wrong with changing things early? West Ham were all over us in the first half and we did nothing. Yes, we got back into the game towards half time and created some good chances, forcing Rob Green to make some very good saves, hitting the crossbar and missing an open goal courtesy of Huddlestone but that’s not an excuse for sitting there and thinking it’ll happen eventually. Make it happen. Change it to make it happen. Just do something. Gamble for Christ’s sake.

Now this might seem like I’m starting to jump onto the small group of get harry out fans but I’m not (although if we were to look for a new manager, Thomas Tuchel wouldn’t be a bad choice ;) ). I’m a fan of his but I’ve also voiced my concerns in the past about his ability to attract the really top players we need to get to the next stage and his apparent tactical inabilities. Nothing I’ve seen, whether it be in the transfer window or in many games this season makes me think otherwise. I don’t see this as making me less of a fan or a knee jerker to a defeat against a London rival. Getting into 4th spot last season will give Redknapp more time than most other managers we’ve had but surely even the most ardent fan will soon start questioning some of the decisions being made unless things change?

How about constantly only playing 1 striker or changing the defence every game? No wonder we’re not scoring and conceding goals. It can’t all be blamed on injuries either. Yes, we’ve had some bad injuries in key positions but we’re constantly being told our squad is the best there is. Really? Van der Vaart stands out like a sore thumb when he’s played because of his quality but he must be wondering what’s going on at the moment. We look disjointed and all over the place because we’ve got players in positions they’re not used to in a formation they’re still learning.

Even if we’d managed to get a result today my opinion wouldn’t have been any different. Obviously the anger flooding through my veins at the moment would be less but I’d still be talking about the starting formation and why it’s just not right for most of the premier league games we’ll play this season. Let’s make no mistake, we’re not a bad team, and we’ll be there or thereabouts this season. I still don’t see any reason why we won’t be in the top 6 come May and if we can concentrate on our league games and put in performances we know the team can we might even be able to compete for that 4th position because it’s going to be close.

Right, I’m not even sure if any of this makes sense and I can’t be bothered reading it back. I know it’s the frustration coming out right now and I can’t type as quickly as the thoughts are flooding out but even once I’ve calmed down I’ll stand by my thoughts on Redknapp’s tactical ineptitudes. Add to our defeat my fantasy football team was crap today so it’s not been a good day ;)

At least the pattern has continued so it’s not hocus pocus but fact, so get down the bookies and put money on us to win our next game against FC Twente and to draw next Saturday with Villa. At least the win in the Champions League will keep Harry and Levy happy, because as far as I can see that’s all that matters to them so far this season.

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It’s all about the Patterns

September 24th, 2010 Posted in Match Previews, Premier League
Sep, 24 2010
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Apparently we’re in a cup final tomorrow. Obviously not our cup final. We save those for actual cup finals. You know the one’s usually held at Wembley and at the end of the match one of the two teams walks up some steps and collects a trophy? Our opponents tomorrow have replaced real cup finals with little itty bitty league ones against us. For no apparent reason they see us as local rivals and take great pleasure in trying to beat us.

Fortunately for us that hasn’t happened too often in the past few seasons, having not lose in the last 8 matches and winning the last 5. Pity we haven’t actually met at Wembley in that time. Adding to that, West Ham have only managed to score 1 goal in those last 5 games you’ve gotta wonder why they look forward to this fixture. As far as Upton Park goes we’ve scored more goals there than we have at any other away ground, so the team is hardly overawed by that bubble song.

However, before you start getting all excited and start predicting a massive win, let me put my more traditional pessimist head on with a couple of other stats. We’ve only won 19 of the last 84 away London derbies and haven’t won an away game anywhere in September since 2001. Hardly Champions League stats.

Tomorrow will be a really tough game. Normally I’d like to think the team would bounce back convincingly after the carling cup display but the team we play will probably not contain any of the players that started that game, with the exception of Ekotto, although I have a feeling Bale will be put at left back, but that’s a whole different moan which we’ll tackle on Monday if it happens. So there won’t be the personal need to go out and prove something to themselves, the fans, management, press etc because they weren’t involved in that game. Once again we could be looking at a team of players with one eye on the Champions League game next week as it appeared they were at the Hawthorns.

Now onto the nitty gritty (itty bitty, nitty gritty? what’s wrong with me this morning?). If any of you out there are anally retentive like myself you may see patterns in certain things. How about these I’ve spotted? This season our league results have been:

D W L D W ?

It doesn’t take Stephen Hawkin to work out the next result in that sequence does it? How about all of our results so far this season?

D L W W L D D W L ? ? ?

Ok, so this one’s slightly more far fetched (because the other one’s full-proof), but a pattern is still a pattern and it gives the same result as the first one. A great big, soul destroying “L”. In theory it also predicts the next 3 results so if I were you I’d get down the bookies sharpish. ;) For those that think I’m drunk and can’t see a pattern the next 3 results will be L W D.

Alright so it’s a little like believing in Horoscopes and fortune tellers but now I’ve seen this I can’t get it out of my head. You’ll be happy to know that rarely does the sequence continue but if it does don’t blame me. I just pointed out the obvious match fixing going on in football today to enable pretty mathematical patterns in results.

I expect Redknapp to play 4-4-1-1 again away from home in the premier league which I’m undecided upon. Personally I don’t think it’s needed. In Europe, yes, but in the premier league there’s nothing wrong with 4-4-2 except against the so called better teams. No offence to West Ham, well, actually that’s a lie. They’re shit aren’t they? I know as I write this I’m going to regret it but they are. Shit little club with shit fans who have wall head-butting competitions before a game and are now run by a porn supremo. For the record I’ve got nothing against porn. Trying to fit VdV into Redknapp’s preferred 4-4-2 seems to be the main problem. In the 2 league games he’s played so far everything’s gone through VdV and he’s stood out with his quality and once properly match fit it’s going to be a joy to watch. So much so I’m already starting to change my man love from Modric to Rafa. Fickle fans eh?

It seems every week we’ve got another “must win” game and I don’t see tomorrow as any different. With City playing Chelsea, this is the opportune time we pick up all 3 points, hopefully rise up the table and put pressure on the teams above us. Of course it’ll also put more pressure on the teams below us and more importantly, the Hammers. Redknapp’s also got something to prove against Avram Grant who as we all know managed to get his relegated, financially screwed Portsmouth team to the FA Cup final at our expense last season.

Once again, it’s time to fight for the ball. Win every 50/50. Pass with vigour, determination and purpose. Start brightly, silence their crowd and score first. Of course none of that will make a difference because the pattern says so.

COYS

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Harry Redknapp – Part II: The Lovers

September 23rd, 2010 Posted in Articles
Sep, 23 2010
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In our second Harry Redknapp piece, another forum member, Matty Greg, gives his reasons for hailing our supremo a Hero. (to read Part I: The Haters click here)

2 points, 8 games 1 Hero

I didn’t think much of Mr Redknapp when he joined my football club, yes he did a good job at west ham bringing through players who are now regarded as top players in world football but this could be down to the youth coach, not harry. Yes he kept problem players in check such as Di Canio but that quality doesn’t win trophies.

Harry went to pompey and did a good job getting them promoted but he had a decent budget. He then built on that sucess and after slapping each and every pompey fan in the face by joining their bitter rivals Southampton, thinking it was the gravy train, it turned out to be the shit express and he returned, tail firmly between legs. Lucky for him spurs, liverpool and chelsea were throwing away decent players and the pompey board were set on self destruction so Harry could deliver a suprise FA Cup for the soon to be championship club. Then there’s the tax evasion stories, not good, not what i want at my club.

An odd start for a pro harry article you may say but i view football managers and players alike from a very selfish point of view, I dont care what you have done in the past, what can they do for my club and this is where the Harry love comes from. 2 points from 8 games, a continental coaching system that had failed us dearly, lots of mediocre players, an unbalanced team and a trigger happy board desperate for sucess. We were in trouble, after the man every spurs fan loved got us 5th position 2 years in a row expectation was to improve but Jol lost the players and the board confidence and Ramos was, to put it technically, shit.

Enter Harry Redknapp he is the most english style manager you could get, totally the opposite to the previous 2 regimes and as it turns out a massive breath of fresh air. I still had my reservations. I didn’t think this man was what we needed to reach the next level, the top 4 and beyond.

We always had the spending power of a top 4 club but not the stature in terms on league position and I could not see harry as the man to take us there, escaping relegation was his thing.

Harry’s first season in charge was nothing short of godlike, from bottom of the league to knocking on the door of the UEFA cup. A shuffling of playing staff, retrieving a couple of previously unwanted ones and confidence installed in the existing squad. Easy huh? If it was they would all be doing it. That first season Harry earned my respect because of what he had done for my club, which was at that point saved us from relegation, could he do any more? I will be honest in saying I am a heavy optimist and from that point i predicted top 4 the following season but i have to admit i didn’t really think we would do it.

Not only did Harry give us what we have craved for many, many years he did it in a style we demanded, open attacking football. He also did it mostly with players discarded by previous managers. Pre-spurs Harry no longer exists.
If we did not know who Harry Redknapp was before he came to spurs we would all have statues of him up in our living rooms, since he has been at spurs everything he has touched has turned to gold, the odd tactical indiscretion is soon forgotten when we are beating chelsea and the wanderers back to back, sealing the golden ticket.

I suspect Champions league football is a totally new animal for Harry, he will need to think on his feet and most probably learn from his mistakes but as he is the main reason, if not the only reason that we are there at all I am willing to put trust in him to learn and get it right in the end.

Is Harry the man to win us the premier league title? Why not? Nobody thought we would escape relegation, get in the top 4 or get through the qualifiers….

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Harry Redknapp – Part I: The Haters

September 23rd, 2010 Posted in Articles
Sep, 23 2010
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If you spend any amount of time in the company of other Spurs fans eventually the Harry Redknapp discussion will surface. Probably never has a manager split opinions so much, especially one that’s been relatively successful in his short term. Below is an article written by one of our forum members, YidetteKels. Kelly attends every Spurs home game even though she’s been patiently waiting for her season ticket and manages to also get to quite a few away games including European trips. I should also point out she never wanted Redknapp in charge and has stuck to her guns admirably.

As I write this it’s on the back of a quite positive champions league result in our first champions league match proper of all time, so its not clouded with the disappointment and frustrations of a few days prior to that and a terrible performance away to west brom, but it is from my heart and not my head.

What you are about to read is my view about our manager Harry Redknapp, Harry Houdini, Bent Arry, or whatever you want to call him. My view is not the common one, or so I’m led to believe. I’m constantly being told I should respect him, after all look where he took us, he took us to the champion’s league. I’m always being questioned about why I don’t like the ‘best manager we’ve had in decades’, and of course I’m told every week ‘in Harry we trust’.  This is not me justifying why I don’t like Harry, this is me being totally honest about things as I see it. So let me go back to the start.

To say I was less than happy when we were first linked to HR after the sacking of Ramos is an understatement. There is something about HR that I just don’t like, well maybe a few things, but more importantly I don’t trust him. I don’t think he is here to make spurs successful, I think he’s here to have his name associated with success and a club with a colourful history, a club with foundations already laid, therefore making himself successful. If he was that good why isn’t he lined up as Fergis replacement at Manchester United? He had the foundations of a good team when he joined us. After all it wasn’t that long before that we lifted the carling cup after giving the multi million pound stars of Chelsea a lesson in football.

At about this point, if this was a conversation, I’d expect ‘2 points in 8 games’ to be rolled out. That’s fair comment and unless you where living under a rock I’m sure everyone knew that. I don’t for one minute take away the fact that he turned that season around for us, or that he has guided us into champions league football, something I’ve wanted for so long for spurs for many reasons, but he didn’t do it alone did he? If you want to give sole praise to the manager when things go right then you must attribute sole blame when it all goes pete tong as well. Securing that 4th spot against city was a fantastic moment for us, however we then travel to Burnley and put in one of the most laughable performances I’ve ever witnessed. People will say it didn’t matter because we had 4th place and the lads knew at half time that Arsenal where winning comfortably so we didn’t need to achieve anything. Really? What about those of us who travelled to see that? Don’t we deserve to see a decent performance?

For me I’ve always associated HR as someone who is a ‘little bit whoa, little bit whey’, a wheeler dealer (although don’t tell him that he might get the hump!), a man with a few tricks up his sleeve. I associate him with West Ham, a collective I just cant get along with. I know before anyone comments, that he started off in our youth team but his first goal for them was against us. I associate him with Portsmouth, leaving them for Southampton and then going back to Pompey again. Even now I feel like he thinks he still owes them. Sometimes I feel like it’s a big give generous to pompey charity event with spurs leading the campaign. After all pompey is his ‘spiritual home’. Don’t get me wrong I love a bit of a cockney wide-boy, hell that’s one of the things that enticed me to London (from Newcastle) in the first place, but I don’t really want one as the manager of my football club, there’s enough controversy in the game to start with, players losing their way and bonking anything that moves. Managers are supposed to be older and wiser and lead by example not be linked with tax evasion or bung dealings.

Then of course my biggest issue with Redknapp is his mouth. As a manager you should know when to run your mouth and when to keep it shut. This is something that evades Redkapp and always has done, even by his own admission. Lets cast your mind back to his West Ham days as manager….

“The chairman Terry Brown had offered me a new four-year contract. What I did was talk to a fanzine, made some comments, and sometimes I should be a bit more careful. I sat down with these guys from the fanzine and they started asking me questions and I spoke to them in the way I’d talk to someone in a pub. I said a few things I shouldn’t have said. He read it and got very upset. I walked into his office expecting to sign the contract and walked out without a job!”

It seems he hasn’t really learned much from this either, just before coming to spurs while still in charge at Pompey, I’m sure we recall the incident regarding Sol Campbell and the comments about us being homophobic, racist scum after that match and a song that the press took delight in jumping on the bandwagon with instead of seeing it for what it really was/is, a set of fans passionate about their club and a feeling of betrayal by a man who said one thing and did another all for his own financial gain. Then Harry pleaded with us, via the press, to lay off Judas when we played Arsenal at the lane last season. Even now he can’t seem to grasp why most spurs fans have a deep hatred for that man.

Other incidents include slating his own players in the press, we all know Sandra could have sunk Darren Bent’s goal, I’m sure that does a lot for moral. By all means say the performance was poor, we should have scored, but don’t single out players for individual roastings, save that for the dressing room and let the fans and press be the cynical voices being heard publically. Don’t shit on your own doorstep Harry.

Then that leads me to present day and the England job. Why do you feel the need to publically put your hat in the ring? Speculation is one thing, coming out and saying you would take the job is another. We all speculate that any English manager in the history of managing would take that job without fail, you don’t have to make your desire public.

My other issue with Harry is a bit of a 2 part thing contributing to my dislike for the man. Team selection and transfer targets. The one transfer that got tongues waging on the final day was our signing of VdV. Strangely enough all that was done by Levy, not Redknapp as his targets seemed to be the likes Parker and Bellamy. Parker is never going to set the world on fire and is mediocre at best, not someone who you feel is the next level for spurs and as for Bellamy, I don’t have the space to give you 100 reasons why he would have been a disaster signing and one you can bet we will be linked with again while Harry is still here. Then the signing of Gallas, controversial for obvious reasons but my main issue was I thought he was too old and a bit of a sulky nut job. The jury is still out on that one, but to publically say to the press he might be given the captaincy on his debut just screams to me that HR is on a wind up, is it the press or the fans he’s trying to get a reaction from? I’m not sure. Like his team selections and his insistency on starting players in positions that are not their best. As much as Harry wills it, Gareth Bale’s strength at present is left midfield, not left back, so why keep on playing him there, you start to think its just to prove a point.

Remember this is my opinion and I don’t represent all fans by any stretch of the imagination but I can’t like someone just because he got us playing champions league football and he is the manager of our club.

Harry Redknapp – Part II: The Lovers, will come later. To discuss this please join our forum HERE

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Who Needs the Carling Cup?

September 22nd, 2010 Posted in Carling Cup, Match Reports
Sep, 22 2010
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Who needs the Carling Cup? We do and judging by the team Wenger put out last night he feels it wouldn’t be a bad thing to not completely dismiss it this season. It was meant to be our youngsters with a few reserves thrown in against their’s but what we got was Wenger playing half his 1st 11 and the rest youngsters. The gap in quality was there for all to see.

However, I’m going to do something I rarely do and that’s just touch on the negatives and concentrate on the positives.

Lets get the negatives out of the way first. I think the Carling Cup is important. Granted it may be considered the 4th priority as far as possible trophies go but it’s 1st in the most likely to win category and there aren’t many of us who were saying it was a mickey mouse cup 2 years ago when we lifted it. Winning trophies is what football is all about and the team we put out was a clear indictment that it’s not important to the management at Tottenham Hotspur. Well, for those in attendance and those watching on TV it’s important. Not only because it’s a trophy but because it’s a derby. The club and Redknapp should’ve known this and therefore should’ve fielded a stronger team. I’m not saying first 11, I understand the need for squad rotation but in key areas we should’ve played key players.

Tactically we got it terribly wrong playing 4-4-1-1 with Bentley on the left and Gio having a free role. Unfortunately Redknapp did nothing about this glaring mistake until half time at which point we were lucky to be only 1-0 down. Bentley in his first game of the season and playing in an unfamiliar role looked poor most of the game but we know his quality so I’m not too worried about that. Gio on the other hand looked completely out of his depth, as he did against Wigan. I’ve got no idea why. He had a good world cup and looked bright in pre-season and I really wanted him to be given a chance but when he’s given one he just ambles around running into people.

That’s it as far as the negatives go. There’s plenty more but I don’t want to concentrate on them. Even after being knocked out of a competition we could’ve won and being knocked out by the locals there are things we can take out of the game.

Firstly, Sandro. We’ve been waiting for what feels like years to finally see this supposed young future superstar in action and I didn’t feel let down. Quite the opposite actually. He’s got great strength, hardly surprising given his size, can spot a pass and never gives up. It’ll still take some acclimatising for him to be at his best but I’d have no problems on that performance seeing him drafted into the 1st team quicker than most think he will be. I’m not even sure if he’s a Palacios replacement, or at least not just Palacios. I think he’ll eventually oust Huddlestone, which will upset those who think he’s still the next Hoddle.

Young Steven Caulker also did well on his debut, apart from the penalty he gave away in extra time. Approaching 19 it’s great to finally see someone from our youth set-up looking like he could be a mainstay in a few years. He’s still got a lot of learning to do but he did well enough for me to think when some of our current crop of central defenders go to pastures new we won’t have to spend a fortune on a replacement. Hopefully his development will continue in the right direction so United have another player they can sniff around.

I’m not Pav’s biggest fan. I’ve been known to say the best thing about him is his song but I felt he did better than normal last night. That’s about as good a complement as I’ll give him until he does it every game. He ran the channels well and looked up for it. Unfortunately we didn’t get any decent supply to him to see if he could make the difference.

When you look at their team and ours last night the one thing I thought was their’s wasn’t that much worse than their 1st 11. Obviously with Fabregas and a few others they’re a better team but they’re not on a completely different level, whereas I believe our first 11 would’ve battered the team we put out last night. This makes me feel quite positive about the league games between the sides. It’s always hard but none of the players we select in those games will have lost any confidence from last night. They still remember winning 2-1 in April and know they’re a lot closer in terms of ability to Arsenal than last night’s team was.

The one thing that annoys me by putting out a weakened side last night is the extra pressure Redknapp has now put on the team for Saturday’s trip to Upton Park. It’s never an easy game as it’s their cup final. It may be a different team that starts for us but by losing last night all we’ve actually succeeded in doing is make that a must win. 3 points is all we’ll be happy with and all that might wipe last night’s game from the mind. If West Ham turn up and put in the display they will do eventually against us and we lose, there will be one or two more people joining the “Harry Haters” club.

Finally, when you’re thinking about the game today and start feeling sorry for yourself just stop and be thankful you’re not an Everton fan ;)

COYS

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