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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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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 )

Follow the blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom) and ‘Like’ us on Facebook, click the links on the right hand panel.

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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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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland

December 16th, 2011 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Dec, 16 2011
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Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland, White Hart Lane, Sunday 18th December, 3pm Kick off

So on Thursday night Spurs European adventure for this season came to an end, despite a 4-0 win at Shamrock. The perceived wisdom is that this is a blessing in disguise and can leave Harry Redknapp and his team to concentrate on getting Spurs back into the Champions League. Still, the Europa League could have been very winnable and would look nice in our trophy cabinet. Never mind it’s not to be and now attention turns to the first of two tough home fixtures before Christmas.

Sunderland are the visitors on Sunday and with new manager Martin O’Neill at the helm are fresh from a last gasp win against Blackburn. A new manager often revitalises a struggling team and O’Neill certainly seems to have lifted Sunderland already. Although the value of a win against Blackburn should surely be questioned. Spurs meanwhile will be looking to put last weeks defeat to Stoke behind them and will attempt to set off on another winning run to carry on the push for Champions League qualification and the possibility of a title challenge.

Sunderland will hope that Nicklas Bendtner is available and the crueller Spurs fans will too. The self proclaimed ‘best striker in the world’ can on his day dent any defence, but has thus far through his career more often threatened row Z than opposition keepers. Besides his fitness concerns Bendtner, along with club captain Lee Cattermole was arrested for criminal damage, it will be interesting to see how fiery Irishman O’Neill deals with the pair. If Bendtner’s not fit or able to start then the young Conor Wickham is likely to retain his place as the lone frontman. It’s a lot of responsibility for the teenager but he’s certainly not lacking in the physicality department and has shown flashes of the quality that made him a target for ourselves and other big clubs. Sunderland’s two biggest threats are likely to be Stephan Sessegnon and Seb Larsson. Sessegnon arrived last season from PSG and is a lively and tricky player who is prone to bouts of indifference. Hopefully he’ll not be up for a cold Sunday afternoon at The Lane. Larsson is in this blogs opinion a massively underrated player who has been unlucky to not move to bigger clubs than Birmingham and Sunderland. His delivery from open play is excellent whilst his dead balls can be lethal. Benoit Assou-Ekotto will need to maintain his concentration throughout in order to keep the Swede in check.  On the other flank Kieran Richardson is a player who’s always promised a lot yet rarely delivered on his potential, if he has a blinder he could trouble Kyle Walker but Kay-Dub must rate his chances of winning that duel. Sunderland’s midfield, if without Cattermole, is likely to be David Vaughan and Jack Colback, they are workmanlike and will put in a good ‘shift’ but in all honesty Super Scott Parker and Luka Modric should by rights win that battle. At the back Sunderland will likely have O’Shea at right back and Bardsley at left back, which is odd because they are left and right footed respectively. Maybe ‘inverted’ full backs are the new cool thing to have in football and O’Neill sees himself as a trendsetter? Between them will probably be Wes Brown and Titus Bramble. Adebayor will like his chances against that pairing and keeper Keiren Westwood could be in for a busy day.

Spurs biggest worry for the line-up is at centre back. This year Younes Kaboul has been phenomenal but after Chris Foy’s Stoke nightmare is now suspended for this match. Ledley King also remains a doubt but Redknapp has not ruled out a return for his skipper. If King doesn’t make it then Gallas and Bassong are likely to form a defensive partnership that could have Spurs fans worried. Both have had limited opportunities this season and have yet to look anywhere near their best, here’s hoping it’s a case of needs must and they come through. Brad Friedel will continue his run of consecutive Premier League games and there is no reason to suspect that Walker and Assou-Ekotto won’t return to their rightful full back positions. With no other fitness worries the midfield four doesn’t need to be messed with, Lennon, Parker, Modric and Bale are all on form and are all more than capable of tearing Sunderland apart at will. Ahead of them, Emmanuel Adebayor will continue to offer a figurehead who is capable of troubling the best defences in the world, the only question will be, who with? Fresh from his goal against Shamrock there will be the usual clamour for Defoe and a good old fashioned 4-4-2. Defoe of course can be a lethal finisher but clearly Rafa van der Vaart offers more to the team and it seems nonsensical to not start the World Class Dutchman. Whichever Redknapp goes with, it will be a tough ride for Sunderlands defence. Options from the bench should be enhanced by the return of Niko Kranjcar and maybe Pavlyuchenko. Andros Townsend will hope his thrilling performance at Shamrock will get him a place on that bench too.

Prediction

It may be a cliche but there really are ‘no easy games in the Premier League’ and this certainly won’t be one of them. O’Neill will ensure that Sunderland fight all the way and will hope they can contain Spurs. The home side meanwhile will believe that last week’s result was a blip and that this game should see a return to ‘business as usual’. I think Sunderland will frustrate but can see 2 or 3 being scored in quick succession if Spurs get one and I’ve also got a feeling that a team are due a proper ‘kicking’ at The Lane this season. I’m going for 5-0 Spurs to set us up for Chelsea’s arrival on Thursday.

COYS

Stuart Watts ( @THFC1882dotcom on Twitter )

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Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 3 Bolton Wanderers 0

December 4th, 2011 Posted in Articles, Match Reports
Dec, 04 2011
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THFC1882 presents Siva’s guest report on yesterdays action:

Tottenham: Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon (van der Vaart 72), Parker (Livermore 85), Modric, Bale; Defoe, Adebayor

Goals: Bale 7, Lennon 50, Defoe 61

Well that was easy. 3 points on the board, again. I could get used to this winning every week business.

As I said in the preview getting a win was always the minimum expected before Bolton arrived.  There was a nice calm around WHL before the game, hearing people speculating if other teams might drop points this weekend to help us consolidate 2nd/3rd. was nice.  Everyone came to the game ready for a comfortable home win, and that’s exactly what they got.

Even the news that Ledley wasn’t playing couldn’t jolt people, ‘we can beat Bolton without Ledders’ was the general opinion.  With Defoe starting in place of VdV we were set up for goals.  However, before the game began, there was a very touching minutes applause for  the recently passed Gary Speed. So much has been said on this over the last week by wiser people than me, so I’ll leave it at that.

As we started the match we were nice and bright, a few signs of intent brought us our first corner. There was some fear that VdV’s absence might hurt us from set pieces, especially corners. Its not clear if Modric’s attempt at a corner was scuffed or sneaky but either way, Bale ran ahead of his man and managed to get a toe poke on the ball at the near post and in she went! 1-0 after 6 minutes! Bale had ‘RIP Gary Speed’ stitched into his boots, he took one off and showed it to the Bolton crowd which was a nice touch to their former player and Bale’s former International manager.

Long admired Tottenham target Gary Cahill had a chance to show Harry Redknapp and the Spurs faithful what he was about, sadly he didn’t get much time after the goal to show us what he could do in terms of defending.  Adebayor and Parker chased the ball down from our right midfield all the way to the other side, and as Cahill mis-controlled the ball, Parker picked his pocket and was away. Cahill logically committed the professional foul that would save his team. Parker was on the half way line there were at least a couple of covering defenders and an obvious yellow was required. However Stewart Attwell could find himself reffing in the Conference North next week as he produced a red card as harsh as you’ll see. I sit at the front of the East Upper so had a great view, everyone around me was bemused and/or laughing. Luck is on our side it seems.

As the first half progressed, Jääskeläinen, the Bolton keeper proceeded to have one of those halves that show why they are worth their paycheck. A string of close range instinctive saves kept the score down to 1. With a marauding Bale in the mood to cause havoc it was an odd 30 minutes, no goals but the intent was there.

The half died towards the end as Bolton slowed the ball down trying to get in to their dressing room still in the match, the crowd got a bit restless when we started to do the same but cheers and applause all round when the whistle was blown.

The second half was a decent showing from Tottenham and was as relaxed as I’ve seen us play this season. Lennon scored a great goal, finishing off a sweeping break from Walker on the right who fed Defoe in the centre, the ball finally made its way to Lennon who checked and dummied a couple of times, found some space and drilled into the corner to make it 2-0, game over.

Just 10 minutes later it was 3.  A near post flick on from Bale after another short Modric corner, found Defoe lurking under the bar. He showed good body strength and athleticism to turn his body to the ball, a classic instinctive poachers finish.

The game died when VdV came on and as stated in the preview should never play in right midfield.  He was almost operating as a central sweeper just to get the ball.  When he is in that free role he is as good as they come, but it felt like Harry put him on to keep him happy. 3-0 up against a tired, demoralised Bolton side, why not let him rest for a week and save the hamstring? Give one or two of the bench players a go? Eventually the game petered out, like the first half we spent ages just passing the ball between our back line happy to save energy.

Ultimately we all went home happy with the 3 points in the bag.  The shocking red card decision clearly helped us, but I saw enough of both sides to say confidently that 11 vs. 11 would not have ended in a dissimilar way. Bolton almost played to not get thrashed in the second half, which may not have been the same with 22 on the pitch.

Man of the Match:  Gareth Bale was excellent first half and actually made an impression on the right when switched in the second.

Chant of the Match: “KABOUL KABOUL, KABOUL is on fire!”

Moan of the Match: Ade had an average game. First half he lacked a bit of luck with his runs. But he definitely seems to lower his work rate when we go a couple up, but then again all he’s tasted is 10 wins and a draw since he joined us…!

Stat of the Match: We have officially won 6 games in a row in the Premier League for the first time!

How far can we go this season is anyone’s guess on this form and now we are all but out of the Europa League we can fully concentrate on finishing in our highest ever Premier League position.   Premiership beware Tottenham Hotspur are coming to get you!

COYS

Siva

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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers

December 2nd, 2011 Posted in Articles, Match Previews
Dec, 02 2011
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THFC1882 gives a debut to Siva who previews the Bolton game for us.  Siva has been a Spurs fan all his life and as the man puts it himself  he was born with lilywhite in his vains! The first game Siva remembers was when he was 5 or 6,  Ledley King (or Mr Spurs for Siva) is his favourite player and he likes a drink in the Bell and Hare pre match.

Oh the joys of being a Tottenham Hotspur fan. Everything was going so well, unbeaten in 10 league games, winning 9 and top of the Premier League form table with very hushed mutterings of a title challenge. All that stood between us and another routine Premier League win was a home match against a European team whose name resembles that scrabble world your Dad pulled out of the bag, which vaguely resembled cheating. Yet here we stand.  After a shattering loss to the current 5th best team in Greece all those old Spurs instincts have come back. Is this the beginning of the inevitable collapse? That horrible sense of anxiety when we’re 2-0 up with 10 minutes to go and our opponent has a corner haunts us, worried we’ll suddenly remember this season’s run has been a sick dream and revert back to the Spurs of old… But it isn’t, we are 3rd with a game in hand, we’ve made our best start to a league campaign since we won the double 50 years ago and some of our players are on a list in every top managers desk draw with a big ‘?’ aside their name. I’m confused though, we are all but out of Europe yet I find myself not that bothered. Yes it’s an inconvenience to lose an outlet to give our reserve and youth players some games, and it’s a trophy that we would have liked to win, but it seems a small price to pay if it helps us cement a top 4 spot at the end of the season.

With that we look to Saturday and our match against Bolton Wanderers at White Hart Lane, incredibly our first 3pm Saturday fixture at home this season. The big fear is that Wednesday’s result may knock our momentum. In Modric, Lennon, Defoe, Walker and Bale, half of our outfield side that started against West Brom either began the game or featured and unfortunately tasted that bitter pill of defeat. We are generally excellent at home, especially in the league and against Bolton we have a record of 6 wins and a draw in our last 7 home match ups with The Trotters. Thanks to Opta I can also tell you that we have lost 1 of our last 22 home games in the league whilst Bolton have lost 15 of their last 18 away games, winning 2.

Whilst statistics can promise everything and mean nothing, those who attend WHL every week will know that there is something special brewing on that pitch. The feelings of expectation I feel when I get to the ground these days is like nothing I’ve experienced before - I believe its called confidence. We no longer have to fear the special weapons the opposition may have, because we know that if we play our football, even the best clubs have to spend just as much time worrying about our artillery and guile before they can think about unleashing theirs.

I actually have a lot of time for Bolton these days. They’ve moved on from the hoof tactics of Big Sam, as well as the anti football Megson brought to the table. Under Owen Coyle they try to play with the ball and really give it a go. Yes they still use the big lump of Kevin Davies as their focal point of attack, but he has to be respected. A crafty old fox at 34, when given the right service he is as effective a target man as there is in the Premier League. It has to be noted that Bolton are going through a horrendous injury crisis to an already thin squad, one which has stifled Coyle’s attempt to truly change the ethos of how they play.

So it comes down to how our loss on Wednesday has affected the mood in the camp and the mindset of some of the players who strived for the win but couldn’t find that goal. Given the state of Bolton and our current league form, I don’t think it is outlandish to suggest that if we turn up we should be looking at a strong home win. However we also know that we have that awful ability at any time to become the Tottenham of old again and struggle to break down well marshalled and disciplined sides - being hit on the break or from a set piece is certainly not out of the question. The bonus that Rafael Van der Vaart is fit and included in the match squad should help us. His creativity combined with his free licence to do as he pleases works well for us, especially at home (unless he’s in right midfield…). Hopefully Adebayor has rested up and is focused on continuing his good recent form; having played the 90 minutes on Wednesday, Defoe is likely to return to the bench.

I believe this season is going to signal a shift in the sands of the Premier League hierarchy. A big club is going to miss out on the Champions League at our expense, I have no doubt about that. This club has been looked after prudently, we have a chairman who has grown over time and is now strong enough to stick with his convictions and a manager who can get the best out of our creative talents by letting them go out and play as they know best. Referring back to Opta again, this is the fifth time in Premier League history that we’ve won five matches in a row, we’ve never won 6. This is a season to show the world (and more importantly the other big PL clubs) we mean business and I firmly expect us to smash this record to carry on our good form.

Prediction

I’m going for 2-0.  Bolton will be hard to break down and work nonstop for the 90. Brad Friedel will have to stay focussed with their aerial threat always a factor but I expect us to wear them down with a Lennon and Adebayor double whammy.

COYS

Siva

 

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