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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur v Wigan

January 30th, 2012 Posted in Match Previews, Premier League
Jan, 30 2012
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THFC1882 welcomes back guest writer Kenny Palmer with a preview of Tottenham Hotspur versus Wigan.

A week is a long time in football, as Spurs two contrasting performances highlighted. Heroic in defeat against Manchester City earning plaudits for the character they showed in coming back from 2-0 down to level the scores before losing to an injury time penalty. They were then abject in victory against championship strugglers Watford in the FA Cup producing the most shambolic, disjointed performance in Harry Redknapps reign as Tottenham manager. A game in which only the goalkeeper Cudicini, defenders Michael Dawson, Younnes Kaboul, Kyle Walker and midfielder Jake Livermore can claim they played well.

Emmanuel Adebayor was particularly poor a fact he acknowledged after the game. His performance produced such a level of knee jerking it probably registered on the Richter scale in North London! The Togo international has been a pivotal part of Tottenham’s success this season leading the line and linking play. His industry and hold up play was greatly missed at the defeat to City at the Etihad Stadium. It was one bad game nothing more. Just as the darlings of the Spurs Twitter sphere Benoit Assou-Ekotto, whose decision to smash the ball up field rather let the ball run out of play for a Tottenham throw in and run the clock directly led to Spurs conceding the penalty against Manchester City and Rafael van der Vaart are allowed a bad game without opprobrium Adebayor along with all Spurs players deserves that right as well.

Tuesday’s opponents Wigan, who prop up the bottom of the league, provide the perfect opportunity for the team to put three points on the board before a challenging run of away games in February against Liverpool and Arsenal sandwiched in between a home game against a vastly improved Newcastle. Wigan come into the game on a dreadful run of form, they have not won a premiership game in their last seven matches. Their last win an away victory against West Brom in December. They have the distinction of the second worse defensive record in the premiership shipping forty three goals and the least potent attack scoring a paltry nineteen goals this season.

Roberto Martinez’s team will probably start with the same formation that played against the defeat to QPR. Hugo Rodellega a lone striker ahead of a five man midfield. The goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi a potential summer target of Spurs, who has been excellent this season can expect a busy evening in store. Wigan despite being bottom will still try to play an open brand of football. Wigan’s main threat will be the mercurial Victor Moses who they will do well to keep in this transfer window with his direct dribbling and shooting.

A hugely improved performance is expected from Spurs after the dreadful display against Watford. That game hopefully ended any notion that Luka Modric can be deployed from the flanks and influence a game. As the team’s best player he has to always be played in his best position central midfield!

Gareth Bale who missed the Watford game is the main injury worry but should be fit to start. With seven goals and seven assists he has been crucial to the team but has created a conundrum. Deployed as an orthodox left winger he is arguably one of the best in world. But his game has developed this season in a free role in which he is encouraged to come inside. Against Norwich he was devastating; in the first half against City it was less productive. But once positioned back to the left wing position in the second half he scored a stunning goal and produced a cross which Defoe was unlucky not to convert.

Redknapp is likely start with the same team that played against City with Adebayor coming in for Jermain Defoe or Rafael Van der Vaart. The Dutchman has been off the boil of late producing another anonymous performance against Watford despite the goal, Dofoe would be unlucky not to retain his place in the team. He has an excellent scoring record against them most notably his five goal haul in the 2009/10 season.

Prediction

Spurs still have a five point lead over fourth placed Chelsea and are looking to consolidate third. I fully expect Spurs to put the defeat to City, which effectively ended their title challenge, behind them with a comprehensive win 4-0 to Spurs.

COYS

Kenny Palmer (Follow Kenny on Twitter @KennyPalmer )

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Match Report: Man City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur

January 23rd, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Reports, Premier League
Jan, 23 2012
2 Comments »

THFC1882 presents Adam Nathan’s report of Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to Manchester City.

They are two time-old clichés, but not only is it a funny old game, it’s also one heck of a rollercoaster following Tottenham Hotspur. After a drab first half, the second period against Manchester City yesterday afternoon pretty much had it all. Having gone two down and looked like potentially being on the end of another Nasri-inspired hammering, a little bit of luck and an awful lot of drive saw us fire our way back on level terms, and probably look the most likely winners with twenty minutes of the game to go. What followed was a period fraught with tension from both sides, with some of it spilling over illegally-both Joleon Lescott and Mario Balotelli will feel extremely fortunate to step out onto the Anfield turf on Wednesday night-but more importantly manifesting in errors, all of which performed by players in mud-spattered white shirts. No sooner had Bale and Defoe conspired to miss one of the chances of the season, Ekotto, Parker and King all made uncharacteristic mistakes that saw a ball start in our left back position, have a brief soiree into the Manchester City midfield before looping, bouncing, and ricocheting out for what all Spurs fans hoped was to be a Manchester City corner. Sadly, Howard Webb’s arm correctly pointed to the penalty spot, and with practically the last kick of the game, Balotelli was able to dust himself down and slot the Etihad stadium into raptures.

Whilst the moment itself was depressing enough, Spurs fans will be further saddened this week when thinking back to all three City goals, which, with a touch more concentration in some areas and desire in others, probably would have been averted. With all that said, if this was to be the acid-test for Harry Redknapp’s men, they certainly passed as far as the performance was concerned. Unlike in August, the lilywhites matched their hosts from whistle to whistle, and will hope that as the season continues, they don’t have to face such heartbreak on any other occasions.

In terms of the first half, I’m not going to waste too much of your valuable time by talking about it. Ultimately, it was cagey and both sides were pretty flat. Milner did an excellent job marshalling Bale when he drifted inside which really halted our attacking progress, and Van Der Vaart spent a lot of time in a more central area than attacking, which left Defoe isolated. As always, people are split on the performance of the Duutchman, but in truth-and I am biased because I think he’s great-I felt that he was the only one of our players who was moving the ball around with intelligence. Yes, a lot of his passes were from side to side, but if you want to play possession football, you need players like that who just keep the ball ticking over. I daresay that if Modric and Parker had shown the same desire to be on the ball and use it quickly, we may have been able to leave Rafa in a more attacking position. In addition, Van Der Vaart ran the highest number of yards in the first half, and the more I watch him, the more of a leader I can see in him; say what you like, but he has carried us through so many games since joining, probably more than anyone else in the squad, and to give him the amount of criticism that he receives not only seems laughable at times, but ungrateful. Our whole club ethos revolves around players like Van Der Vaart, and whilst Modric and Parker are seemingly able to escape with below par performances on an all too regular basis at the moment, it never ceases to amaze me how often anything less than a perfect team performance is always blamed on Rafa.

And breathe.

In terms of the second half, it seems futile now to go through the moments that determined the mach in too much detail, so I’d rather look at the connotations, and perhaps what we could have done differently. In terms of the positives, I was really impressed with the efforts of Defoe up front, who was well rewarded with a goal that was indicative of his performance; not the prettiest, but earned through grafting and anticipating errors from the opposition backline. Naturally Bale’s goal is one that will be showed over and over again, and it’s no coincidence that it was created in one of the rare moments in the match where Lennon actually attacked a full back and created space as a result. The more I watch the speedy winger against good teams, the more let down I’m beginning to feel. I’m not sure if it’s a mental issue that still hangs over him after the World Cup, but if I were an extremely fast winger, the thought of my man being booked after 10 minutes would have me licking my lips; as it happens, Lennon didn’t take Clichy on once for the rest of the game, which was a real shame. I’m just starting to wonder if he’s got the bottle for the biggest games anymore.

In terms of the goals we conceded, I think there are two ways of looking at them, depending on the way you’ve been talking about the team this season. If your focus has always been on getting into the top four and giving it our best shot, then we were a bit sloppy in the main and thoroughly capitalized on by clinical finishing by the Citizens. If, however you have been talking us up for the title as many of the journalists have done recently, then you probably have to highlight a number of individual errors for all three goals that handed City the points. I know this sounds harsh, but sadly there are no concessions when you are in your first title race. Unlike getting free banking for a new business in your first year, in the Premier League it doesn’t matter if it’s your first or twentieth title race, the circumstances are the same. Having seen all the goals again, I couldn’t help but thinking how furious Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho or an early 2000s Arsene Wenger would have been with their teams had they given up such soft scores to their opposition. For the first, Silva has no right to get away from Bale and Modric, who seem to give up chasing him, Parker wasn’t in the position you’d expect from a defensive midfielder and of course, perhaps more lethally, Kyle Walker let Nasri run completely free to finish emphatically. For the second, Bale really has to win the ball at the near post from the corner-albeit it was excellent work from Dzeko-and on another day Parker may have won the battle with Lescott at the back post to prevent the latter from bundling the ball in.

The third goal, irrespective of timing and context, was the most disappointing thing to give up. Firstly, Ekotto could probably have let the ball run out for a throw, but in keeping it in, he simply has to send his clearance down the line. In aiming for Defoe’s head, he handed possession straight back to City, and with our midfield rushing out at the time, left a big gap between them and the defence, which is exactly where their forward ball landed. I’m inclined to point a finger at Parker here and say that the ball should have landed on his right boot, but I’m cautious about being too harsh on him; I do believe that footballing wise, Sandro is a better player, but to ignore Parker’s influence on the team mentally would be harsh on him to say the least. He has turned our season around, but it just doesn’t overly surprise me that he has put in his two worst performances this year against the top class midfields of Chelsea and Manchester City. Overall, I do think we should have done better for the goals, but I don’t think anyone ‘cost’ us any of them, or the game for that matter. We were just punished by the most clinical Premier league team I’ve seen since Mourinho’s Chelsea.

The only things left to talk about are the Defoe miss in the last minute and, sadly, refereeing decisions. As for the chance, I personally believe that Bale should have slipped Defoe in as soon as possible and give him a one-on-one with Hart. This isn’t to say that what he did was wrong necessarily, but if I was coaching a defender in a two-on-one situation, I would urge him to send the attacker with the ball wide, and if possible, make him cross it. Both Lescott and Bale did their jobs very well, and I am hesitant to blame Defoe for not getting there in time. From what I’ve seen of Jermain over the past seven years, I reckon he’d trample over his grandma if it meant scoring a goal, so I certainly don’t think it was a lack of effort. I just think it was one of those moments that confirm it’s just not going to be your day.

As for referees, I don’t actually blame Webb for not seeing the incidents on Kaboul and Parker. Ultimately, I blame the game. If you run a business where your employees are incapable of doing their job, you have to go to whatever lengths possible to make it easier for them. Until television replays are used, or there is one man watching the game on a screen and reporting to the ref, as in the majority of other sports, I almost find it pointless to chastise the referee for incidents that they only get one view of. None of the Spurs players appealed for red cards on either occasion, and they had as long as Webb to have a look at it. It’s really annoying, but I’ve popped too many blood cells and wasted too much precious oxygen bemoaning refs recently, when in reality, the reasoning is that they are not able to do their jobs with the game being as fast as it is currently. If you’re reading this Sepp, get your head out of your backside and sort it out, because it is killing the sport.

Overall, I think we’ve all woken up today wondering what might have been. To be behind, come back, nearly win and then lose it like that is stuff that even the nightmare goblins in your head wince at when you drift off to sleep, and to see it happen like that will take some getting over. With all that said, the lads showed an incredible amount of spirit to get back into the game; heck for thirty five minutes they really did play like potential title winners. In order to clinch the hallowed crown, they will have to turn thirty five into ninety five on sixteen more occasions this season. Do they have the talent? On the basis of yesterday, undoubtedly yes. Will they be able to put that ability into practice? That remains to be seen. Whatever happens, we are still ten points clear of fifth and everything is shaping up for a memorable run-in and celebration of some sort in May.

COYS

Adam Nathan (follow Adam on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/#!/adamdnathan)

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Match Preview: Man City v Tottenham Hotspur

January 21st, 2012 Posted in Match Previews, Premier League
Jan, 21 2012
3 Comments »

THFC1882 welcomes another new guest writer. I’ve been wanting this guy to write for the blog for ages and finally he’s found the time. Here’s Adam Nathan with his preview of Tottenham Hotspur’s crucial visit to Manchester City.

Spurs travel to the Etihad on Sunday to face perhaps their fiercest competitors for the Premier League Title in Manchester City. Much has and will be made of the importance of this game in the context of both sides’ seasons; a Spurs win or draw would be enough to cement their credentials as potential champions come May, whilst a victory for the hosts will only confirm that Roberto Mancini’s ‘noisy neighbours’ are perfectly set to claim the league crown from their bitter rivals on the other side of town.

In the world of Sky Sports that we are compelled to live in, it would be understandable to see the game as make or break for our hopes this season but in truth, it is important to remember that nothing, even elimination from the battle for top spot, can ever be confirmed in the middle of January. With a tough run of fixtures to come, Spurs’ fans will be praying for a positive result to kick-start the New Year that has yielded good results but perhaps not the same performance levels as the first half of the season. A defeat would of course be a major set-back, but only a terminal one if the team are unable to bounce back and show their qualities as the season draws to a close.

Games are never won on precedents, but Spurs will take heart from the fact that Eastlands has often proved to be a successful location for them, especially when the odds have been with the Citizens. In the past years, Fredi Kanoute, Darren Bent, Robbie Keane, Steed Malbranque, and of course Peter Crouch have chipped in with winning goals in games that Spurs would have been delighted with a point from. Whilst this Manchester City side represents a completely different challenge to any of the teams featuring Danny Mills or Elano, the travelling support will hope that another man in white can make himself a hero this weekend. With that said, the hosts undoubtedly hold the bragging rights in the duel at this stage, having clinched their Champions League place against us in this fixture last year, in addition to the ‘oh-why-can’t-i-forget-it-already’ hammering that they dealt us (well, a team that wore the same colour shirts as us anyway) in August.

As for team news, Spurs are expected to be without Gallas and Sandro once again as they continue to recover from their torn calf injuries, although Ledley King may make a surprise, and extremely welcome return. Up front, Adebayor misses out through ineligibility, with Roberto Mancini exercising the ridiculous rule that, although he isn’t good enough to play for him, he is far too good to play against him. Agreeing with Arsene Wenger isn’t something I can usually stomach, but on the loan player issue, he does have a point.

For Manchester City, influential captain Vincent Kompany misses out again through suspension, serving the third game of Chris Foy’s redemption present to us, whilst the Toure brothers are away with the Ivory Coast at the African Nations. Latest injury reports would suggest that Micah Richards and Mario Balotelli will be fit for the clash.

As for team selection, it has been a fascinating week to be a part of social media. Whilst everyone will expect Jermain Defoe to start, which in truth he probably deserves after a string of good performances this season, there have been a lot of calls on Twitter and the forums to start with Van Der Vaart up front instead. There is certainly a lot of mileage to this idea, and is probably what I would go with on Sunday afternoon if I was in Redknapp’s shoes. Defoe has proved me wrong a number of times this year and is probably as complete a player as he will ever be, but my worry is that, whilst he is good in almost every attribute, he is exceptional in none. As a result, he becomes exactly the type of player that Joleon Lescott thrives against. Rafa may not have the pace of the England man, but his positional sense and movement are fantastic. Far from me to ever compare us to the greats of Barcelona, it would be interesting to see how we played with Van Der Vaart dropping off ala Messi with Lennon and Bale playing on the shoulder of the last men, positions that Pedro, Villa and Alexis benefit from on a weekly basis. In addition, we would have space for another defensive midfielder, and whilst Livermore is no Sandro, he certainly impressed with disciplined performances against West Brom and in his real acid test against Cahill and Fellaini last Wednesday.

The return of King would of course be a huge boost, but if he plays, it must be next to Younes Kaboul, who for my money has become the best defender at the club this year. King is still a wonderful player, but having seen the Chelsea game where he was partnered with Gallas who is less able to sweep up in behind, we looked a bit of a mess at the back. King and Dawson has always been an excellent pairing, but in my opinion one of the centre back positions is Kaboul’s to lose at this stage of the season.

Gareth Bale will of course start, but his positioning must be sorted out. Redknapp definitely has a point that Bale can be explosive when playing through the middle, but that tactic is more likely to work when it comes as a surprise as opposed to being the norm. Against West Brom, Everton and Wolves we looked very congested as the Welshman spent far more time inside than out on the wing, and in truth created far fewer chances than usual. When thinking back to the wonderful performances we put in against Aston Villa, QPR and Bolton with two orthodox wide players, it would be folly to consider that system obsolete. For me, Bale should spend the majority of time out wide and occasionally drift inside, especially when we are on counter attacks. We will see a lot of possession on Sunday but also spend large portions of the game defending; when we do have the ball in attacking areas it is essential that we make the most of it; with Bale out wide I feel that is more likely.

It is difficult to predict how Manchester City will line up, but their defence is likely to be the area of greatest interest to us. With Micah Richards being fit, Mancini may line up with him partnering Joleon Lescott at centre back, thus sparing the at times hapless Savic, but he may fear that Zabaleta doesn’t have the pace to compete with Bale out wide. Personally, I find that Bale seems to find it easier to play against brawn than brain-see games against Glen Johnson and Phil Neville as examples of that-so I’d rather see Richards in his usual position of right it with Savic central, although he will of course offer plenty going forward. Going forward, it is always difficult to predict how City will line up, although Mancini’s moans about lack of depth clearly have foundation; after all, he may only have three twenty five million pound players warming the bench, as opposed to the usual five or six. I expect Barry and De Jong to sit in front of the back four, with Milner, Aguero, Silva and Balotelli operating in the forward positions. When you put it like that, it’s actually a bit scary.

In conclusion, it is impossible not to be extremely excited about the game. Many a pundit will label it as a true test of our ambitions and ability, but in truth, I think that is just over-hyping a bit game in mid-January to attract bigger TV ratings. For me, whilst it would of course be damaging to our title ambitions if we lose, I don’t really see this as a game where our players should feel any pressure whatsoever. At the start of the season, I would have been sectioned for predicting the league table to look like it does at this stage of the season, and that is a huge credit to the players and coaching staff that have worked so hard to turn this into a wonderful year so far. Getting a win tomorrow would be the stuff that fantasies are made of, and I would be delighted with even a point, but with ten home wins out of ten this season, City rightfully go into the game as favourites. It is of course a results business, but a negative one tomorrow would do nothing more than make us less likely to win the title. Even to write that makes me feel dizzy, and personally, I seem to look south rather than north when studying the table, with the distance between us and fifth of far greater importance to me than the one separating us from the summit. Without wanting to sound too pessimistic, I will be delighted with a good performance tomorrow and waking up on Monday morning with a gap between us and fifth place of at least nine points. With that said, we do have every chance of making a real statement to the rest of the league tomorrow. If we can combine intelligent, patient play with some of the electrifying pace we have displayed this year, Spurs fans may be dreaming on Sunday night of one hell of a party on Tottenham High Road in the middle of May.

COYS

Adam Nathan ( @adamnathan on Twitter )

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Spurs Transfer activity – Falque, Hoillett, Samba & more

January 17th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Transfers
Jan, 17 2012
5 Comments »

With just two weeks of the January transfer window left, Tottenham Hotspur yesterday made their first signing. Iago Falque’s loan from Juventus was made permanent for a fee rumoured to be around £1.5m. The young Spaniard was immediately sent out on loan to Championship club Southampton. Falque showed glimpses of quality when given chances in the Europa League campaign and his time at Southampton is surely to help him settle into life in the English leagues. Southampton play nice, attractive football and their manager Nigel Adkins seems happy to have Falque on board for their push to the Premier League. Opinions are divided on whether Falque is going to be a big star and questions have been asked as to why Juventus have offloaded him without ever using him. That said, Juventus have previous in getting rid of talented youngsters who then come good, so that may not mean too much.

In other news Spurs must continue to look for a winger who can offer back up and competition for Bale and particularly Lennon. Junior Hoillett is still the number one target but his father (and agent) today said that he can’t see Junior leaving in January. This blog has been calling for Spurs to snap up Hoillett since the summer and if a deal can be done then he would surely add more depth in an area that really needs it. If Hoillett isn’t available then three other names have been mooted as possible targets. Firstly, Arjen Robben for over £20m. A move for the fragile ex-Chelsea man seems a non-starter all the way and seems nothing more than made up paper talk. Equally unlikely is a loan move for Juventus’ Serbian wide man, Milos Krasic. Krasic made a massive impression in his first season with Juve last term but has been sidelined for much of this term. Even so, sources close to Juve suggest that any loan move for him is unlikely. His team mate, Dutch international Eljero Elia is slightly more likely but again it’s an outside bet. Elia is extremely quick and full of tricks but can be inconsistent. Basically, with these options looking long shots, let’s just get the Hoillett deal done and put this one to bed!

At the back, Spurs seemingly endless search for centre backs continues. Now that Cahill has gone to Chelsea, Chris Samba is still top target. Although QPR are apparently favourites to take him off Blackburn’s hands. This blog see’s no need for Samba (or anyone else), Younes Kaboul, Ledley King and William Gallas are all better players than Samba while he’s probably on a par with Dawson and Bassong. Not to mention that Steven Caulker will be returning from loan at the end of the season. Any move for someone like Samba would surely hamper Caulker’s development. Of course King and Gallas fitness is always called into question, but even so, unless Bassong really pushes for a move it would seem a senseless addition.

In other news, Jermain Defoe is today linked with a £10m move to Liverpool. Unless Spurs bring in a big name then this seems way off base. Redknapp would hate to be left with just Adebayor and Pavlyuchenko as options and the supposed move for Loic Remy has been rubbished by Remy himself as well as Marseille coach Didier Deschamps. Defoe may well be desperate to get more first team action in a bid to make the plane to Poland and Ukraine with England for the Euro’s this summer but it looks like he may have to continue to bide his time on the bench at White Hart Lane and hope that Spurs take the FA Cup seriously.

Sadly no one seems to be taking any interest in Steven Pienaar, so it appears he’ll still be at The Lane come February 1st too.

It would be expected that as per usual Spurs will leave their business until the last minute in search for a bargain, so don’t fret too much before then!

COYS

Stuart Watts ( @THFC1882dotcom on Twitter )

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Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Wolves

January 15th, 2012 Posted in Match Reports, Premier League
Jan, 15 2012
1 Comment »

THFC 1882 present Kenny Palmer with a report on Tottenham Hotspurs latest match.

After Wednesday’s victory against Everton which propelled Spurs to just three points behind leaders Manchester City the team went into the game with expectations of going joint top with a victory over Wolves.

In the lead up to the game the team was heavily feted by the press even usurping Manchester City as the new media darlings. Inevitably this being Spurs they were brought back down to earth with a bump by Mick McCarthy’s industrious Wolves who held Spurs to a 1-1 draw.

The only change from Wednesday’s fixture was a not totally fit Scott Parker replacing the impressive Jake Livermore. While Wolves opted for the inform Steven Fletcher ahead of the hard working Kevin Doyle.

Tottenham started the game slowly with no real tempo to their play allowing well drilled Wolves to get men behind the ball and frustrate Spurs.

A consequence of Wolves conceding a lot of possession and not pressing Spurs in their half was it enabled Michael Dawson to make sweeping cross field passes from the right to Assou-Ekotto to break forward from the left back position to not much success.

Younes Kaboul also had a lot of time to surge forward Beckenbauresque style creating an opening on 18 minutes which Adebayor could not make more of. Spurs 1st real clear opening was a shot from outside the box Modric on 20 minutes.

Completely against the run of play Wolves took the lead on 22 minutes from a corner. The corner was headed on by Roger Johnson and converted from close range by Wolves inform striker Steven Fletcher. Brad Friedel has been excellent in goal for Spurs this season but he is loath to claim balls in the air from corners unlike his predecessor Heurelho Gomes.He could take some pressure off the defenders by trying to claim more balls and being more commanding in the box.

Wolves should have extended their lead when Dave Edwards found himself in space coming in from the left but missed the target with his shot.For much of the first half Spurs dominated possession but found it hard to break down an extremely well organised Wolves. Adebayor had the ball in the net on 44 minutes but was disallowed for offside.

Spurs started the second half brightly with Bale ballooning a good opportunity over the bar on 47 minutes. Not too soon afterwards Spurs could have been 2-0 down but Friedel saved well from Emmanuel Frimpong.

The breakthrough for Spurs came in the 50th minute when a shot from outside the box went under the keeper. This goal seemed to bring Spurs to life. With Adebayor failing to get on the end of an excellent Lennon cross.

A sideshow to the game was Arsenal loanee and pantomime villain Emmanuel Frimpong, who inevitably picked up a yellow for a foul on Bale in the first half and should have picked up a red after another foul.

The Wolves manager Mick McCarthy taking the sensible precaution of replacing him with Stephen Hunt. The resultant free kick wasted by VDV. What has been evident in recent games is Spurs inability to capitalise from dead ball situations. Corners have been particularly poor on many occasions failing to pass the first man and free kicks not working the goal keeper.

Bale was less of a threat from his floating inside position. One of the best sights in English football is Gareth Bale powering down the left wing delivering an accurate cross into the box at pace. Spurs missed his penetration from the orthodox left wing position.Jermain Dofoe came on for Aaron Lennon on 73 and managed to work the keeper with a good shot from outside the box. The game ended without any breakthrough.

Spurs are now perceived as one of the top teams by opponents so will have to find more guile and creativity when trying to break down opponents who put men behind the ball.

A patently unfit Scott Parker was poor today conceding possession with sloppy passing.Wayne Hennessey the Wolves keeper was not overly extended by the Spurs forwards.

Aside from Jermain Defor Spurs did not possess an impact player off the bench who is a real goal threat. Blackburn’s forward Junior Hoilett who can play anywhere across the forward line and who is a transfer target is such a player who would make the difference. The pursuit of his signature may be stepped up in the coming weeks.

After the hype about Spurs pretensions in the build-up to the game maybe the draw is no bad thing as it will now dampen expectations.

Despite the draw Spurs are still 6 points ahead of 4th placed Chelsea and only 2 points behind leaders Manchester City who they play next Sunday in a game which will be a true barometer of whether spurs are genuine title contenders or are going for a top four position.

Not exactly after the Lord Mayor’s show, more consolidating top four.

COYS

Kenny Palmer (Follow Kenny on Twitter @KennyPalmer )

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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur v Wolves

January 13th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Jan, 13 2012
1 Comment »

THFC1882 presents another guest writer. This time it’s a guy I’ve known on Twitter for a while and he’s always got something to say on our beloved Tottenham Hotspur. It gives me great pleasure to present Kenny Palmer with a preview of this weekend’s game:

Wednesday’s victory over Everton in the postponed game in hand from the start of the season has left Spurs level on points with Manchester United and 3 off leaders Manchester City. The win also took Spurs 8 points clear of Chelsea in 4th and a further point ahead of North London rivals Arsenal in 5th. Mind the gap!

Saturday is the 3rd of successive home games. Any side managed by Mick McCarthy is always competitive illustrated by their narrow defeat to Chelsea and a well-earned draw against Arsenal at the Emirates. Despite the good performances against Arsenal and Chelsea Wolves still find themselves languishing in 16th position and just a point ahead of 18th placed Bolton in the relegation position. They have won just two of their last 18 Premier League games and have gone 17 games without a Premier League clean sheet which bodes well for Spurs who have scored in the last 19 games.

Wolves normally line up with a 5 man midfield when at home so expect a similar formation on Saturday at the Lane. Arsenal loanee and Mr. T look alike Emmanuel Frimpong will form a combative central midfield alongside Karl Henry. Wolves will look to unsettle Spurs with some robust tackling so it is hoped the game is officiated by a strong referee. Mick McCarthy will probably start with the hard working Kevin Doyle as the lone striker and bring on the in-form Steven Fletcher late in the game. Creativity will come from the flanks from the industrious Jarvis and Adam Hamill. Fletcher is Wolves main goal threat with 5 goals in his last six Premier League starts. Spurs old boy Jamie O’Hara is out injured; Wolves other main injury doubt is Roger Johnson who has been woeful since his move from Birmingham.

Spurs come into the game brimming with confidence after Wednesday’s impressive victory over Everton. The game saw the Premier League return after injury of Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon. Dawson was excellent putting in a consummate defensive performance marshalling the defence superbly. His return should quell the calls to go into the transfer market for Christopher Samba. This would be a needless signing, along the lines of Steven Pienaar, as Spurs are more than adequately covered at centre back with the consistently excellent Kaboul, Bassong contributing and Gallas and King to return.

Wednesday’s game was also notable for Jake Livermore’s’ solid performance in central midfield more than adequately deputising for the injured Scott Parker and Sandro. Even if fit I expect Redknapp to rest Parker for the upcoming titanic game against Manchester City on the 22nd. I expect Redknapp to go with the same team that won against Everton although Redknapp may be tempted to rest van der Vaart, who played the full 90 minutes and bring in Defoe. Van der Vaart had an exceptional game on Wednesday combining craft; we saw a full range of his passing ability and graft, yes graft a continuation from his WBA performance adding a facet we weren’t aware he had in his game. Defoe would be a more than able replacement, scoring 4 goals in five Premier League appearances against Wolves and would be confident scoring against a somewhat static central defensive partnership of Roger Johnson and Jody Craddock.

Prediction

This is uncharted territory for Spurs, six points better than anybody over their last 18 matches. Dare we dream? The team Redknapp has assembled has eclipsed Burkinshaw’s Cup team of the 80’s and Pleats 86–87 team of nearly men. The form Spurs are in has brought optimism and expectation, which is unusual for Spurs fans. A win will put Spurs level on points with Manchester City. Spurs go into the game having gone unbeaten in 9 home games and kept clean sheets in 5 of the last 6. I’m going for a similar score line to when the teams last met at the Lane 3-1 to Spurs!

To echo the sentiments of Younes Kaboul and Aaron Lennon post match against Everton: Keep the run going!

COYS

Kenny Palmer (Follow Kenny on Twitter @KennyPalmer )

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Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Everton

January 11th, 2012 Posted in Match Reports, Premier League
Jan, 11 2012
5 Comments »

Tottenham Hotspur tonight moved level on points with second placed Manchester United after a performance of patience and high quality.

Everton turned up at The Lane as many teams now do, to sit deep and try and frustrate Spurs. It’s to the credit of Harry Redknapp and his team that they didn’t get frustrated and saw the opposition off to seal the points.

Spurs played good possession football throughout yet struggled to create openings early on as Everton shut down the wings by doubling up, particularly on Bale.

It was from the wings though that the opener came. Benoit Assou-Ekotto has had a couple of poor outings recently but was back to his cool best tonight and it was he who launched a crossfield pass for Lennon. Spurs jet heeled right winger may have been slightly fortunate to beat the first defender but from then on looked sure of his purpose as he jinked inside and slotted past Howard with his left foot. It wasn’t the sweetest of strikes but it left the Everton keeper wrong footed.

Van der Vaart, in imperious form all night, went close with a curled effort and Adebayor should have done better after a fast break move but it remained 1-0 at the break.

Everton started the second half with a burst of enthusiasm but once Spurs had shaken off the half time cobwebs, the slick possession football resumed.

More often than not van der Vaart was at the heart of things, dropping into space and playing pinpoint pass after pinpoint pass. He was ably assisted by Modric who again looked top class and capable of creating space where none existed. Bale had something of an off night, maybe Phil Neville really does have his number?

It mattered not though as his left wing partner Assou-Ekotto provided the moment of genius for Spurs second. The ball broke to the coolest left back in football 30 yards out and he took a touch to set himself before launching a 30 yard rocket past Howard. It may have taken the slightest of deflections on the way through but no one is taking this goal away from Benny.

Spurs were never really in danger of losing this one. Friedel didn’t have a shot to save and the back four remained untroubled for the most part. Dawson and Kaboul dealt easily and efficiently with any Everton attack that got past the half way line but the majority of the keeper and defenders night was taken up recycling possession. Jake Livermore put in his best performance yet for Spurs. Scott Parkers absence wasn’t felt as Jake easily won the majority of his duels and linked defence and attack with ruthless efficiency. Adebayor had a frustrating night in front of goal but as always worked hard and always looked to bring his team mates into play.

Spurs tonight looked like the title challengers they must now be considered. It was the kind of performance that we’ve all seen Manchester United put on time again as teams look to defend and minimize damage.

Look out Manchester, North London’s finest are closing the gap. They’ve also opened a much bigger gap on their London rivals.

That’s how you deal with a game in hand!

COYS

Stuart Watts

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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur v Everton

January 9th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Jan, 09 2012
8 Comments »

So the Premier League season is finally here, it’s Tottenham Hotspur’s opening game versus Everton……….

That’s how the preview for this one should have started, but the unfortunate and unseemly rioting of early August put paid to Spurs opening fixture. Now this is the game in hand it’s vital that Spurs get maximum points if they want to be taken seriously as title challengers. Everton though are one of the trickiest teams in the league to get a result against, despite some major inconsistencies, this is never a fixture I feel confident about.

Everton currently sit 11th in the table, and 11th in the form table. That seems about right for the squad they have, despite the delusions of grandeur that some of their fans seem to have. They come into this fixture with injury problems for several key players, Cahill, Rodwell, Jagielka and Hibbert all seem sure to miss out as do Leon Osman and Seamus Coleman. Danger men for the visitors will be Tim Howard, one of the Premier League’s most consisitent goalkeepers who’s now added scoring to his repertoire! In all seriousness, he shouldn’t offer a threat to Brad Friedel’s goal but could well frustrate Spurs attackers. Ahead of him Leighton Baines is one of the best full backs in the country and is also a well known danger from set pieces, Spurs will hope not to give any silly free kicks away around the box. American international Landon Donovan, currently on loan from LA Galaxy might be Everton’s biggest attacking threat and it will be important that the defence keep a close eye on him. Louis Saha also shouldn’t be discounted, on his day he is a lethal finisher, though his ‘day’s’ appear to be getting fewer as time goes on.

With most of the first team rested for the FA Cup win over Cheltenham, Harry Redknapp’s team shouldn’t be too hard to predict, central midfield being the major exception. Brad Friedel should return in goal, with Kyle Walker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto resuming full back duties. One question for Harry, is who to partner with Younes Kaboul at centre back. Gallas is unavailable while Ledley King is also likely to be missing. Most people’s saviour Michael Dawson made a succesful return from injury at the weekend, however this blog still maintains that he’s not as good as most think and he could be a risk agianst Premier League opponents after such a lengthy lay off. Sebastian Bassong would be the sensible choice. Never thought that sentence would make it into the blog! In midfield Bale, Modric and van der Vaart seem no brainers, it’s the other slot that is up for grabs. Scott Parker could yet return from his knee injury but if not then Jake Livermore should get the nod to offer a bit of bite against a well drilled and hard working Everton midfield. The other potential options, Niko Kranjcar and Steven Pienaar just don’t offer enough ‘tackley-ness’ for the job. Aaron Lennon returned from injury on Saturday but again may not be risked from the start, his pace could offer an effective weapon from the bench. If Lennon does start, Harry could take a gamble that has paid off for Holland boss Bert van Marwijk recently. Playing Rafa as a holding midfielder! It seems mental, but he has shown effectiveness on a couple of occasions for the Dutch national team and no one can fault his work rate or will to win and get stuck in. That said, Harry is unlikely to take that gamble. In form Jermain Defoe and Emanuel Adebayor should both feature up front again.

Prediction

Spurs really have to win this one, doing so would put them level on points with second placed United and open an 8 point gap on 4th placed Chelsea. It won’t be easy, David Moyes’ team rarely rolls over and surrenders, but the quality in Spurs line-up should shine through. 2-0 to the Lilywhites for me!

COYS

Stuart Watts ( @THFC1882dotcom on Twitter)

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Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 0 Cheltenham

January 7th, 2012 Posted in Articles, FA Cup, Match Reports
Jan, 07 2012
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THFC1882 returns from it’s Christmas and New Year break. Whilst we were off, Tottenham Hotspur collected 7 points from Norwich, Swansea and West Brom, happy days. Today, the FA Cup 3rd round was the focus and we have a special guest reporter for you. Here’s Danny Carrier from the Camden New Journal with his report:

This was the chance for Harry Redknapp’s fringe players to step up to the plate and show what they could do – as well as give Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon some much needed game time to get their match fitness back.

It meant we were treated to the unlikely central midfield pairing of Niko Kranjcar and Steven Pienaar, and while you would worry where the tackles were going to come from, in this thrid round tie their guile, speed and vision were far too much for Cheltenham Town of League Two, and the lack of bite went unnoticed.

And while you’d expect a comfortbale stroll against lower league opposition who offered plenty of effort but were caught short in the quality stakes, those with points to prove didn’t hide.

Roman Pavlyuchenko, so often criticised for his work rate, knitted things together, while Niko Kranjcar underlined what a class act he is: Harry’s request for a centre midfiled shift was met and at times he looked from a different planet than the League Two huff-and-puffers around him. The same has to be said for another fringe player, who will leave this January if an acceptable bid comes in: Gio Dos Santos had his best game in a Spurs shirt, and was instrumental in the opener.

Speaking after the game, Harry Redknapp said he was pleased with the performacnes of those who do not normally get a look in.

“Games are never straight forward and this might not have been easy, but we stuck a couple of chances away and always looked cofmfortable,” he said.

And he praised his side for their professionalism.

“There were a few players out there who needed games under their belt – Steven Pienaar, Niko Kranjcar, Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon – and they all did marvellously well.”

He also joked that he had told Jermain Defoe that his opener was being given to Gio Dos Santos, after the poacher helped it over the line as it was going in.

“Defoe swore it was going wide,” said the boss. “We’ve told him we’ve taken it off him.”

In a midfield muddle caused by Cheltenham’s cramming tactics, the craft and guile of Kranjcar came to the fore. He was instrumental in the opener, on 20 minutes. His instinctive ball out left to Dos Santos cut the Cheltenham defence in half and the Mexican did well to stride goalwards and then beat the keeper with a classy lob. As he turned to celebrate, Defoe, the goal poacher, slid in to make sure. His was the final touch and it was Defoe’s name on the score sheet – but this was the out-of-favour Mexican’s goal all the way.

It had been coming: from the off, this second string side were far too good for their guests. Pavlyuchenko set the tone on 10 when he jinked himself some space after good work by the lively Lennon on the right. Dropping a shoulder he sent his marker one way and then curled a lovely effort on to the roof of the net. Spurs continued to build up a head of steam and with Dawson and Bassong marshalling things at the back, when poor Cheltenham did get forward they lacked the competence to get round Tottenham’s internationals. The closest they came in the first period was a long ranger on 20 from midfielder Russ Penn, but his hasty swipe sent the ball skywards where it as gleefully caught by the crowd behind the goal.

Yet for all of Tottenham’s possession, a tendency to over elaborate when approaching the Town box meant the game wasn’t safe until the 42nd minute. However, it was worth waiting for: the second came in the shape of a super team goal. Steven Pienaar, enjoying his run out in an unaccustomed central role, flipped the Town defence backwards with a neat reverese pass out to Defoe. The striker, perhaps aware that he had already pinched a goal from the toes of a team mate, strode forward and drew the keeper – before uncharacteristically squaring the ball for his strike partner Pavlyuchenko to tap home from close range.

The second period saw more of the same: Spurs pressing when the mood suited them, and the back four that inlcuded Jake Livermore as a full back more than capable of keeping their visitors at arms length.

The third, which the sell out crowd helped by £5 deals for kids were calling for, came at the death. Dos Santos tee’d himself up on the edge of the D and his shot took a deflection to spin in. It was all he deserved.

Before the final goal, Pavlyuchenko had gone close with a header, and then tried an audacious, Hoddle-esque lob, while Defoe also tested Town keeper Scott Brown on 56. Brown earned his performance fee with a double save from Kranjcar and Dos Santos on 71, and it was partly down to his heroics that the score line was kept sensible.

So job done and a fourth round draw to look forward to. Redknapp was content with his charges, but admitted the man of the match, Dos Santos, would in all probability not be here for later rounds.

“Gio needs to play, get fit and train hard,” he said.

“In all honesty I expect he will move on in the transfer window. We had a big bid for him in the summer from Italy but he did not want to go there. He was keen on a move back to Spain. But he is an international so the offer has to be right for us before we sell.”

His potential transfer will not undermine this squad – as Redknapp pointed out, he could field eight internationals against Cheltenham, and his current first XI are flying. He will be looking forward to the fourth round draw tomorrow.

COYS

Danny Carrier ( Follow Danny on Twitter @dannycarrier )

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