thfc1882.com

Spurs blog

What went wrong for Spurs at Stevenage?

February 20th, 2012 Posted in FA Cup, Match Reports
Feb, 20 2012
14 Comments »

For all the credit that Stevenage are due and will get, Spurs put in a disappointing performance at Stevenage and will now have an unwelcome replay at The Lane.

From the minute Harry Redknapp picked his team it was never going to go well. The England manager-elect decided to pick a team and formation to combat the strengths of Stevenage. If Spurs were the League One side we’d all accept that as good management. As it is, Spurs are the technically superior side and should have played to their own strengths not played down to their opponents level.

On the pitch the team compounded the managers failings with a sloppy performance full of naïveté.

From Michael Dawson’s first long ball aimed at strikers who were physically outmatched by Stevenage’s centre backs it was clear that Spurs fans were in for a long afternoon.

With manager and captain setting the tone the whole team was poor in possession, constantly misplacing passes. To Redknapp’s credit he obviously realized this and through the first half bellowed at his team to keep hold of the ball.

However keeping the ball was only half the battle. Without the rested Modric and injured van der Vaart, Gareth Bale was allowed the free role he hankers for. Despite his dynamism and forceful running with the ball he’s nowhere near the creator that Modric or Rafa are and Spurs lacked a cutting edge.

With Niko Kranjcar warming up at half time it was to be hoped that Redknapp had realized the folly of his 3-5-2. Alas it wasn’t to be. At least until 15 or so minutes into the second half. When Kranjcar was introduced it meant Bale being forced into a wing role with Niko starting from the opposite flank. The Croat instantly showed more incisive passing than had been seen for the previous hour and a bit but even so there was to be no breakthrough.

Spurs truly only looked like themselves when Redknapp was forced to take Danny Rose off – once again effective going forward against lower opposition but clearly not good enough to make it as a Premier League left back – and bring Lennon on. Lennon instantly threatened and created a couple of openings in the few minutes he had on the pitch.

Yes Spurs had the ball in the net from Saha but the referee and linesman were unfortunately competent and correct for once in ruling Parker offside.

Spurs attention will now turn to next weeks North London Derby. That is a game where Spurs must play to their own strengths rather than lowering themselves to match weaker opponents.

COYS

Stuart Watts

, , , , ,
Read More

Match Report: Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

February 7th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Reports, Premier League
Feb, 07 2012
No Comments »

THFC1882 present a match report by Anthony Lombardi

Liverpool and Tottenham: Both Clubs Fail to Dare and To Do.

 

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 at Anfield, in a tight Premier League encounter that neither team wanted to lose, or seemed determined enough to try and win.

The hosts seemed happy to limit the visitor’s options in attack and try to nick a goal through a moment of brilliance or luck. Unfortunately for the Reds, their starting 11 had both of these in short supply.

As both sets of supporters drifted off after the final whistle, there was no doubting the happier of the two. The Liverpool faithful have now had to endure eight home draws this season, a record that for a team aiming for top is well below par.

Tottenham came into this encounter shorn of Redknapp’s presence, due to adverse weather conditions at John Lennon airport, as well as key first team players. These factors clearly affected Spurs who lacked the swagger and style that has come to symbolize their 2011/2012 season

The White Hart Lane outfit has exposed countless teams this year by stretching them across the pitch. Lightening fast wingers Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon have forced teams to double up on them, leaving Luka Modric and Rafa Van der Vaart to expose the extra space. Last night however, with Bale central and Modric and Niko Krancjar offering no penetration wide, Liverpool were able to play narrow close the space, forcing Spurs into a long ball game.

Liverpool, who despite certain deficiencies in attack, are blessed with a wonderful centre back pairing in Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. These two kept Emmanuel Adebayor and later Louis Saha in check for the entire game. Ably supported by Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly, the Reds back four was tested only once in 90 minutes, when a long ball sent Gareth Bale through one on one with Pepe Reina, who saved well from the Welshman..

The Reds will without doubt return to training today knowing that had they been braver and technically better in the final third, they could have claimed the two extra points. Target man Andy Carroll, who over the last few weeks seemed to be returning to his Newcastle best, was once again wasteful in and around the area. The £35 Million striker won his fair share of headers and on occasion caused some problems for Michael Dawson and Ledley King, but when a great chance fell to him, he blazed it into the Kop. Champions League qualification, League titles and cups are earned on the ability of striker to convert a half chance, unfortunately for Liverpool, Carroll doesn’t look like that kind of striker.

With 25 minutes left on the clock, the game threatened to peter out, disappointing the capacity crowd and the millions of Sky viewers, but fortunately, Liverpool have their own headline maker, Uruguayan Luis Suarez.

Returning to the side after serving his 8 match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, Suarez was given a heroes welcome by the Anfield crowd, however, that was the highlight of his cameo. There is no doubting his ability or his commitment to Liverpool. With the ball he is has the skill to attack off either foot, and off the ball he is a man possessed hassling and harrying the opposition defenders. Last night though he reminded us why we haven’t missed him in 2012.

First there was the kick to Scott Parkers midriff long after the whistle that earned him a yellow card, then there were the on existent penalty claims, the screaming and histrionics. These may be accepted in South America, but as he found out when he called Evra a certain word, that is no defense in this country.

Redknapp and Dalglish will have a lot to ponder this week as their teams prepare to face Newcastle at home and Manchester United away respectively. With Chelsea and United sharing a point this weekend, there was a chance for both clubs to close the gap on the team above, but perhaps the biggest worry for both managers will be their teams inability to adapt over 90 minutes.

The Tottenham bench, for the first time in years looked lightweight. After the January departures of first team squad players and the loaning out of promising youngsters, the Spurs coaching staff had no real game changers to work with. This matter will be addressed once players return to fitness, but as last night proved, if Plan A doesn’t work, the Plan B is shaky at best.

Across the technical area, the same thought should have been settling on Dalglish.

In the early part of 2011, the legend reconstructed a stifled Roy Hodgson team in to a free flowing attacking unit. Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt and former Red Raul Meireles were all grabbing goals both home and away. A Championship winning run of results reignited the hope within the club that Liverpool would once again be challenging rivals United at the top, but Dalglish’s masterplan has crumbled around him.

The purchases of Stuart Downing, Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson have failed to sparkle, each player has lost the attacking vigor that earned them the big price tags. Whilst captain and Talisman Steven Gerard, has become a shadow of the man that dragged his team to FA Cup and Champions League finals.

Perhaps it is time for Dalglish to give up on his summer experiment and revert back to his 2011 tactics, otherwise another year outside the top 5 beckons.

On reflection a draw was perhaps the fair result, but there remains the nagging thought for both set of fans, that had their club and manager believed, they would be two points better off today.

COYS

Anthony Lombardi (visit Anthony’s blog here and follow him on Twitter @ARLombardi )

 

 

, , , , , , ,
Read More

Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Wigan

February 1st, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Reports, Premier League
Feb, 01 2012
No Comments »

THFC1882 presents guest writer Kenny Palmer’s report of Tottenham Hotspur versus Wigan:

A man of the match performance by Gareth Bale against obliging opponents Wigan helped reignite Spurs title challenge, as they now sit just five points behind the Manchester clubs following the leaders City’s defeat to Everton. The Welshman’s two goal brace capping an exceptional personal display and a perfect response from the team to Friday’s poor performance against Watford in the FA Cup.

The only change in the line-up to the team that faced Manchester City in the last premiership game was Niko Kranjcar coming in for the injured Aaron Lennon. It’s a puzzle as to why the Croatian international has been so rarely used this season even from off the bench when he started the season so brightly before picking up an injury.

An early run from Gareth Bale from the left wing position proved to be a statement of intent of what was to come from the Welsh Wizard. With Wigan not pressing the ball the Spurs midfield dominated possession an ideal game for Niko Kranjcar to start as he seamlessly interchanged good passing movements with Modric, Parker and Bale in his free role. As against Spurs last opponents at the Lane Wolves, Wigan retreated to their own half and defended in numbers making it hard for Spurs to break them down.

Tottenham’s best effort in the opening stages was a shot from just outside the D from Luka Modric after some good build up play. Bale and Kranjcar continued to swap flanks to create openings. Younnes Kaboul was unlucky not to score with a powerful header from a corner which was cleared off the line. Benoit Assou-Ekotto was seeing a lot of the ball from the left with Bale floating inside. Unfortunately his decision making was poor and delivery inconsistent despite finding himself in good positions high up the left wing.

The inevitable breakthrough for Spurs came in the 25th minute. Luka Modric floated an exquisite pass from the left midfield position, possibly the pass of the season, onto the chest of Gareth Bale who timed his run to perfection and dispatched it to the left of Al Habsi’s goal. A worrying sign for Spurs soon after was the sight of Rafael van der Vaart going off and being replaced by Jake Livermore, possibly another hamstring injury which the Dutchman has been plagued with this season. The change didn’t stop the team’s rhythm as they were soon two ahead after Modric’s drive from just outside the box, another goal in successive home premiership games following on from his equaliser against Wolves. A criticism of the midfielder is that he doesn’t score enough goals for a player of his ability. His tally is now three in the league this season.

Spurs controlled the first half against a poor Wigan team. Brad Friedel was not tested at all.

Gareth Bale started the second half in similar vein to the first. On 48 minutes he broke down the right wing and put in an excellent cross with his right foot to Emmanuel Adebayor who should have scored with the header. The Togo internationals industry and work rate cannot be questioned in the game but quality wise he took his poor performance against Watford into this game straying offside on numerous occasions and lacking sharpness in the box. The signing of Louis Saha to the end of the season should put pressue on the Manchester City loanee to up his game and maybe rested as he has played all league games when available since signing.

Inevitably after a poor first half, Wigan started the second half vastly improved, taking the game to Spurs. Moses had a good effort on fifty two minutes and Ledley King had to make a great tackle in the box to stop a Wigan attack soon after. With Wigan pressing more Spurs play became sloppier with stray passing. Gareth Bales second, spurs third coming somewhat unexpectedly finding space on the left he shot across the box alluding Al Habsi into the net.

Kyle Walker departed late on having picked up a knock replaced by Sandro himself returning form injury. It is hoped it’s nothing serious as with the club allowing Vedran Corluka out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen they have no cover at right back.

Wigan’s good play was rewarded on eighty minutes with a goal from James McCarthy. The relegation strugglers should have had a second when Connor Sammon could not convert a ball flashed across his path. The closing stages of the match were illuminated by the man of the moment Gareth Bale. Released by debutant Lancaster a great run right from the right was saved by Al Habsi with the crowd willing him on to score and get his hat trick. A final trademark run in injury time this time from the left resulted in a shot wide. The Welshman’s two goal haul now takes him onto nine goals as the team’s top scorer in the premiership along with Adebayor. Following on from his performance against Norwich he once again excelled in his free role, a constant threat in the final third, be it from crosses from either flank, surging runs from deep or his powerful shooting. On current form he’s arguably the Premier League’s best player.

With the early season momentum gone from a faltering Manchester City and United having to negotiate tricky games against Chelsea and Liverpool respectively in their next two fixtures Spurs are firmly back in the title race.

Injuries to VdV, Adebayor & Walker tonight will undoubtedly test the depth of the squad particularly as the departures of Corluka, Bassong, Piennar and Roman Pavlyuchenko have weakened the squad with only the injury prone Louis Saha coming in. February’s challenging games against Liverpool, Newcastle and Arsenal will tell us more.

To Dare Is To Do!

COYS!

Kenny Palmer (follow Kenny on Twitter @KennyPalmer )

Follow this blog on Twitter and ‘Like’ it on Facebook, click the links on the right hand panel!

, , , , , , , , , ,
Read More

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)

, , , , , , , ,
Read More

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 )

, , , , , , , ,
Read More

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

, , , , , , ,
Read More

Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 0 Cheltenham

January 7th, 2012 Posted in Articles, FA Cup, Match Reports
Jan, 07 2012
No Comments »

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 )

Follow this blog on Twitter and ‘Like’ it on Facebook, click the links on the right hand panel.

 

, , , , , , , , ,
Read More

Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Chelsea

December 23rd, 2011 Posted in Articles, Match Reports, Premier League
Dec, 23 2011
4 Comments »

This isn’t going to be overly analytical of the game, THFC1882 is about to go on it’s Christmas holidays! Before that though we take a brief look at Tottenham Hotspur versus Chelsea from The Lane.

On the balance of play both sides will have been satisfied with a point. Spurs again struggled with a formation lacking in shape. With no like for like Lennon replacement all roads led to the left wing. At first this worked and Spurs dominated the first half. Bale, returning from injury, was the provider of an early goal for Emmanuel Adebayor. At that stage with White Hart Lane buzzing Spurs should have run riot. However they failed to turn possession into chances. Howard Webb then predictably stepped into the role of provider for Chelsea. He awarded a soft free kick near half way and then failed to call Ashley Cole for handball before his cross for the equalizer. Apparently there is some doubt as to whether it was a handball but being right in line with play in the East Upper it looked clear to me. Even so King and Ekotto should have played to the whistle and may have prevented the goal. Webb also should have dismissed Bosingwa for a cynical and vicious foul on Bale but again failed in his duties.

Chelsea started the second half on fire but like Spurs in the first rarely threatened to actually score. Spurs meanwhile had to replace van der Vaart with Pavlyuchenko and this caused even more imbalance. That wasn’t helped by a typically dire Pav performance. Spurs gave the ball away too much in the second half and gave Chelsea too much room on the ball. Bale also faded in the second half, missing a great chance, blazing a first time shot over when he had time to control the ball.  The Lilywhites did however have the best opportunity to clinch it in the closing minutes as Pav – his one useful moment – fed Adebayor, his shot beating Cech but pantomime villain John Terry slid in to stop it on the line.

Spurs go into Christmas in third and the highest placed London club, a fine achievement. It’s obvious that a winger must be purchased to provide depth and competition. I’ve been calling for this since the summer and it belies belief that no one at the club saw this need. Junior Hoillett should be top of our January shopping list.

All told though it’s been a great start to the 2011-12 season and Spurs fans can tuck into their turkeys as the pride of London.

THFC1882 is now taking a well earned Christmas and New Year break. We’ll be returning to action for the FA Cup tie with Cheltenham! Obviously we’ll be hoping for maximum points from Norwich, Swansea and West Brom in the meantime!!

I’d like to wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!!

COYS

Stuart Watts ( @THFC1882dotcom on Twitter )

, , , , , , , ,
Read More

Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Sunderland

December 19th, 2011 Posted in Articles, Match Reports, Premier League
Dec, 19 2011
No Comments »

It wasn’t pretty. On a cold December Sunday afternoon, Tottenham Hotspur saw off a resilient Sunderland to record a 1-0 victory and get back to winning ways in the Premier League.

Winning ugly is the sign of champions. Not getting carried away here, I’m not suggesting Spurs are going to win the title, there’s a chance of it, but Manchester City are a scarily good outfit and their neighbours are impossible to write off. That said, there’s no reason that with these kind of wins that Spurs can’t be up there and should certainly be looking at the top four come the end of the season. For years, United and more recently Chelsea have had this ability to win when not playing well, to grind out three points despite not firing on all cylinders. Yesterday wasn’t the first time that Spurs have pulled it off this season and Harry Redknapp is to be credited for instilling a steely resolve into the squad.

The first half was certainly ugly, shorn of the electric Bale and the Modric/Parker axis broken up with Luka nominally on the left wing the side looked unbalanced and there was little in the way of fluidity. Aaron Lennon’s pace was used a couple of times before he picked up a hamstring injury that is likely to sideline him for some time. With the two lightning wingers out of the side, it highlights the one area of weakness in our squad, Townsend, Falque and Rose are clearly not considered good enough to take their places at the top level. Junior Hoillett or Xherdan Shaqiri or both even, should be at the top of ‘Arry’s Christmas list for a January move. Despite the lack of cohesion and width in the first half, Spurs always seemed in control, only for Sunderland to have the two best chances of the half. First Larsson put a low cross into the box that just eluded Richardson then Larsson had a good free kick palmed away by Friedel. Spurs best chance fell to Sandro, a beautiful reverse pass from van der Vaart – something he was to repeat a number of times in the second half – put the Brazilian through but he scuffed his shot wide.

Into the second half and Spurs livened up, van der Vaart and Modric had obviously been given licence to roam freely, Sandro and Parker providing cover for them and also allowing the full backs to maraud, providing width. Still though it appeared that Sunderland may just stand up to the attack. Too many balls bounced off of Adebayor and especially Pavlyuchenko to frustrate the home crowd. Just as it seemed that this would be one of those days, the magic happened. Super Scotty Parker did what he does, winning the ball in midfield and feeding Modric. Luka’s incisive pass found van der Vaart and the Dutch master played a beautifully weighted reverse ball in for Pavlyuchenko who didn’t need to break stride as he rifled it low into the corner past Keiren Westwood. It was as true a strike as you’ll see and Pav knew it was in the minute it left his boot. Super Pav does it again. Spurs searched – in vain – for a second and still weren’t at their flowing best, although there were some extremely slick passing moves, van der Vaart was at the heart of them all. Being freed of the right wing he’d been pegged to after Lennon’s departure clearly cheered Rafa up and the ability to roam meant he was a threat that Sunderland struggled to pick up. He set up the hard working Adebayor for an excellent chance – another reverse ball – that Westwood did well to save, only palming it into Modric’s path for a sure fire second. But Luka somehow contrived to sky it into the Paxton from 1o yards with an open goal.

‘Old’ Spurs would have suffered for this, but not this team. Parker and Sandro patrolled the midfield dutifully, tackling and intercepting at will. Behind them, William Gallas had his best game of the season, giving a masterclass in defending against first Conor Wickham then the hapless Bendtner. Alongside him calm as ever, Ledley King did what he always does, turns up, puts in an excellent performance and goes home. Neither Walker or Assou-Ekotto had their best games but both did enough to help contain Sunderland in front of the unflappable Brad Friedel. No disrespect to Gomes but the team just seems so much more assured with Mr USA between the sticks, shame that he’s already over 40 and that Spurs may need to replace him next season. Sunderland showed heart to attack for the last ten minutes but in all honesty it never felt like they had much chance of seriously threatening to score, Bendtner will do that to a front line.

It wasn’t sexy, glory-glory football, but it was three very important points that see’s Spurs in third as they approach a massive game with Chelsea on Thursday. That’ll do for now.

COYS

Stuart Watts ( @THFC1882dotcom )

‘Like’ this blog on Facebook, click the link on the right hand panel.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More

Match Report: Shamrock Rovers 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur

December 15th, 2011 Posted in Articles, Europa League, Match Reports
Dec, 15 2011
1 Comment »

Tottenham Hotspur went to the Tallaght stadium needing a Lyon type turnaround to make it through to the knock-out rounds. From his team selection, including only choosing four subs, it appeared that Harry Redknapp wasn’t really counting on the results going Spurs way.

As the game got started it was clear that Shamrock would try hard and run around a lot. It also appeared that the Spurs players seemed to believe that they were just plain better than Rovers and would win without trying too hard. Fact is they are better than the Rovers boys but no one ever won a football match just by turning up. Except Scotland in Estonia in the 90′s, even that was eventually declared null and void and they drew the replay!! Spurs rarely looked in danger, unless they created it for themselves, but also rarely looked too threatening either. Giovanni made one jinking run into the box and pulled the ball back for Defoe who’s shot was blocked. Sandro also made a couple of dashing runs but again there was no end product.

Spurs really came alive when Redknapp made some tactical switches. He moved Giovanni out to the right, with Pienaar going central and Townsend moving to his natural left wing. Pienaar it was who got the breakthrough, having a hopeful effort from the edge of the box deflected past the keeper and into the corner of the net. There was a conspicuous lack of celebration though and it had to be questioned whether the players seemed bothered. A few minutes later and Andros Townsend who had already had a couple of tricky bursts down the left combined with Defoe before curling the ball over the keeper into the top corner. It was a beautiful effort, on his wrong foot, and Townsend rightly looked delighted. Spurs looked a lot livelier after that and it was Townsend again who provided the key. Flying down the left flank and whipping the ball across for Defoe who had got across his marker, the England striker swivelled on the ball and had his shot deflected past Shamrock’s keeper for a third that with PAOK leading Rubin left Spurs hopes considerably higher than ever heading into the second half.

The second half though soon showed the harsh reality of football. Five minutes into the half news filtered through that Rubin had equalised with their 10 men at PAOK, so whatever Spurs did would be irrelevant if it stayed like that. Rovers looked a little more determined in the early parts of the half and at times stretched Spurs. Harry Redknapp’s men meanwhile huffed and puffed but rarely looked like causing any more bother to the scoreboard. Sandro hit the post as a pass meant for Defoe went astray, hitting the keeper and going for a corner. Jake Livermore was lucky not to see red, seeming to haul his man down when clean through but got away with it. Spurs continued to have efforts but there were lots of determined Shamrock blockers at every turn it appeared. Bafflingly with fifteen minutes left and Spurs still needing goals and a PAOK winner, Defoe was taken off and replaced by young Harry Kane. The youngsters potential shouldn’t be underplayed but surely Spurs should still have been going hell for leather for the five goals in the hope of a PAOK assist? Falque came on for Assou-Ekotto with minutes left and within seconds had three shots, one hitting the post. As time wore on it was Shamrock in fact who looked more likely to score, Cudicini pulling off a sharp save and a couple of other efforts going wayward. Then with it seeming dead in the water, Harry Kane showed why he’d come on, turning in Townsend’s nod back for his first Spurs goal. Townsend proving to be the pick of Spurs performers tonight. Still Greek assistance was needed. It wasn’t forthcoming, nor was Spurs fifth.

Spurs Europa League campaign is over for this year, I’m sure Harry Redknapp will be delighted to get this tournament over and done with. It really is a shame that he and many Spurs fans treat the competition with such disdain. The game is about glory, it says so at The Lane, and glory comes from winning trophies. This trophy was very winnable for Spurs and winning is a habit that we should be getting into. The whole Thursday/Sunday argument holds no water either, how is it any different from Wedneday/Saturday or Saturday/Tuesday in the Champions League? Thats right, it’s not.

Anyway, it’s now back to Premier League business on Sunday, with the first of two massive home games, revitalised Sunderland visiting before London rivals Chelsea rock up on Thursday. I guess it’s okay to play Premier League games on a Thursday right?

COYS

Stuart Watts ( @THFC1882dotcom on Twitter )

, , , , , ,
Read More
Older Entries