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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich City

April 8th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Apr, 08 2012
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich City, Monday 9th April, White Hart Lane, 3pm kick off

THFC1882 is pleased to welcome back Ciaran Griggs for his preview of the game against Norwich.

I’m going to start this preview by reminiscing. For those who recall, the reverse leg of this fixture against Norwich in December was held in a happier, more enjoyable time in Spurs’ season. It was the start of the “Bale Experiment”. Gareth, in his pomp, roamed across the pitch, terrifying defenders and midfielders alike as we eased to a 2-0 victory (it should have been more). Who needs positions and defined roles? We were unstoppable, we were rampant, we were TITLE CHALLENGERS. “MIND THE GAP!!” was screamed from the stands, it was plastered all over Twitter and Facebook. Let’s stop the season now, there’s no chance that we can be caught…

…So as we approach the return leg, at home to Norwich on Monday afternoon, on the back of a dismal March, only just ahead in the race for 3rd place, with our expectations only slightly raised by the 3-1 home victory over Swansea and a 0-0 draw away to Sunderland in April. Largely, the feeling is that our season is teetering, that we stand at the precipice. On one side stands 3rd place, the FA Cup and glory. On the other stands 5th place and an(other) average season. Which way do we go? Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal are all breathing down our necks. Where do we go from here?

A quick analysis of our opponent’s position offers us hope. Norwich are 12th with 40 points achieved in their first season back in the Premiership. They have acquitted themselves well in that first season with Paul Lambert receiving many plaudits for their style of play. As with all teams in their first season though, now that safety is achieved, there should be a tendency towards some complacency, with results dipping and a lack of concentration. In their last outing, they managed to fight back to 2-2 after twice being behind to a strong Everton team. The team performance however, was a bit behind the result, with individual ability rather than strong team play leading to their goals. Their front line, as usual, was led capably by Grant Holt. A man full of effort and determination, Holt typifies the concept of someone making 100% use of what ability they have been given, supplemented with hard work. Their players are less glamorous, less high profile than our own, so should the team spark be lost, they have less to fall back on. This is not to take away from what is a great team ethic and style of play that Lambert has built. It is merely to point out that their personnel dictates that they have less in their locker than an established team like Tottenham.

What do Spurs have to bring to the table? Should we be optimistic? Yes, I think. The Swansea game was a very good performance and only the Manchester teams have more points in the PL than Sunderland since MON took over. Gareth has, largely, returned to his berth on the left-hand side, and we look more solid through the centre of the pitch, whether we are playing Modric + 1 DM or 2 DM in the 4-2-3-1 formation. Given this will be our 2nd game in 2 days, we should see some changes from the team that played on Saturday. I expect that VdV will be dropped and we will switch to a 4-4-2 formation. Lennon is returning to match fitness and this game represents the perfect opportunity to give him a start. I’m not the only Spurs fan, surely, who will relish the prospect of seeing our “wing wizards” start a game together for the first time in a long time. This is only enhanced by the fact that Norwich’s first choice right-back, our very own Kyle Naughton, is ineligible to play due to PL loan rules. My hope is that with 2 wingers, we go big with 2 strikers, Ade and Defoe for this writer, but I expect that Harry fancies Saha to pair with Ade at the moment. We should look to overwhelm them, and quickly. Our central midfield pairing will need to take control of the game quickly, so that we can feed the wingers and thus create opportunities for the strikers. Sandro did not have the best of matches against Sunderland and Parker has looked tired as the season has dragged on. I think that Jake can do a job against opposition like this. He’s been a vastly improved player this season and has worked hard on the defensive side of his game. Allied with that, he has a range of passing that is beyond what most expect of a player in that role. The key word in that sentence is passing. One noticeable feature of our downturn in form is the number of passes that have gone awry in key moments. I don’t have a pass completion stat for you, because they are generally fairly meaningless as no weighting is given to the area / type of pass. Suffice to say, I think our key pass % would be vastly reduced compared to Nov – Feb this season. If we can get our passing improved, deliver balls from wide areas to a strong front two with their shooting boots on, we should have a Bank Holiday Monday to celebrate.

Prediction

I can’t see anything other than a replica of the match from December, so 2-0 to Spurs. I’m going to eschew the traditional practise of predicting goalscorers. What I will predict though is that our wingers will play a key part in both roles, with pace and guile confusing some static canaries.

COYS

Ciaran (@LordFIMM on Twitter)

Today’s Opponent view is from Sam Jermy.

Sam is a journalism student at Sunderland University who is from the East coast of Norfolk. He has been a Norwich City fan for nearly 15 years. His favourite players in that time include the gap-toothed Welsh centre forward Iwan Roberts and the electrifyingly quick attacker Darren Huckerby. They both helped Norwich storm the nationwide division one title in 2004 and even though Norwich lost out on penalties, Sam counts seeing Roberts score at the Millennium stadium at Cardiff in 2002 as special. He has always admired the consistency of Adam Drury in his 11yrs service at the club and says he is still Norwich City’s best left-back. A testimonial at home to Scottish champions Celtic is well deserved. Last but not least, the current number 9 Grant Holt is fast becoming a cult hero amidst his 70-odd goals in a Norwich shirt. Hop on Twitter and give him a follow @SamJermy

Easter Monday will see Tottenham Hotspur entertain Norwich City at the Lane and with the away side all but mathematically safe they can afford to turn up to North London and enjoy themselves. I know the loyal fans in the ‘Yellow Army’ will really savour the day, as many will remember we were losing away at Tranmere Rovers just two years ago. After a great battling point against Everton on Saturday the Canaries have reached that magical 40 point mark and it would not be too dramatic to say our season is virtually over as we have already achieved the one and only target of premiership survival and another year at footballs top table.

The onus will certainly be on Spurs to turn up, perform, and collect the three points. I am guessing that is what many Tottenham supporters will be expecting more than hoping as the race for a Champions League place and the North London bragging rights are still very much at stake.

However, these circumstances could well mix together and conspire against Harry Redknapp’s men. Norwich have performed admirably against the ‘big’ teams so far this season but aside from beating Newcastle and draws against Liverpool and Chelsea they haven’t really got that one eye-catching result that invariably happens throughout a rigorous campaign. By rights Spurs should comfortably beat us but if we get to half time without a mountain to climb I would fancy City to grab a result.

A lot has been made of Grant Holt this season and I know that he polarises opinion throughout the countries pundits and supporters. All I will say is that in the three seasons he has been a canary he hasn’t stop scoring and with 15 goals to his name in 2011/12 coupled with Rooney and Bent ruled out of the first Euro 2012 games then he has to be considered for a call-up. That is testament to how far Holt has come as it was only 3 years ago he led Shrewsbury to the League 2 play-offs! A Swedish TV station brilliantly described him as a “Strength of a Buffalo with the touch of a ballerina” recently and I am glad that some people can see he is more than a burly Cumbrian who wins free-kicks and penalties. He can finish and he can also run all day…he is a very fit lad despite the doubters. If Paul Lambert keeps Holt in the side and resists the temptation to make wholesale changes then the Spurs defence could be in for an uncomfortable afternoon.

Another consistent star performer this season has been John Ruddy. He has been a big player for Norwich, with a string of fines saves and important stops winning us many valuable points. The one game that sticks out in my mind is when Ruddy stopped just about everything against Liverpool at Anfield. At the relatively young age of 25, he is a future England goalkeeper, and some may argue he should be one of the three men who go to Euro 2012. Watch this space.

Many thanks for Ciaran and Sam for spending the time to do the preview’s for us.

COYS

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Match Preview: Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur

April 6th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Apr, 06 2012
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Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur, Saturday 7th April, Stadium of Light, 12.45pm kick off, SS2 &HD2

Tottenham travel up to Wearside for a Saturday lunch time game off the back of 2 very impressive performances against Bolton and Swansea.  We looked back to the form we were displaying earlier in the season before we had our mini blip. The passing and movement was superb against Bolton and the pressing against a good footballing Swansea side on Sunday was vital and the key to the victory.  Add to that Rafa Van Der Vaart finally seems fully fit, having his best game of the year against the Swans and the class we have in the side, it seems we are in prime position to finish the season in a vastly different manor then we did last year. Van Der Vaart isn’t the only key to making us tick but he certainly helps for me and when he is on song, like he was on Sunday, we look a better side.

Since Sunderland appointed Martin O’Neill in early December they have had an upturn in fortunes and have made their home a fortress with winning 6 games out of the 8 they have played there, including wins against Manchester City and Liverpool. Their only loss being to Arsenal.  They have also only conceded 5 goals during this period. Make no bones about it, this will be a very difficult game for Spurs and our hardest one left away from home this season. Sunderland will be looking to reverse the loss they had at White Hart Lane earlier in season when a Roman Pavlyuchenko goal beat them.   The Northern Irishman really is a miracle worker as he has done a remarkable job for the Black Cats with basically the same players Steve Bruce had at his disposal but the enthusiasm, man management and good feel factor he brings to a club is second to none.

One of the first things O’Neill did was install young Northern Irish winger James McClean in the team, someone who Bruce completely overlooked. He has been a sensation and brings a new dimension to Sunderland’s attacking play. I would not be surprised to see his name on the Young Player of the Year awards nominations when they are announced.  With Sebastian Larsson, the skillful and quality playmaker Stephane Sessegnon, a player I wouldn’t mind having at the Lane actually, and O’Neill even getting the best out of Arsenal loanee Nicklas Bendtner, Sunderland are a dangerous attacking force that Spurs will have to be at their best to keep out.

They also play at a fast tempo and are direct so there will be no hiding place for Spurs on Saturday.

Spurs will pick from the same squad they used against Swansea but Harry Redknapp has already stated that Aaron Lennon will only participate in one of the games over the Easter period to ease the workload on the winger and to make sure he doesn’t injure himself again so soon after coming back.  This is good to hear as Lennon really makes a difference to our side and gives us balance. The game definitely changed when he came on at the weekend and there was a real buzz. Having speed on both wings creates space for Modric and Van Der Vaart to work their magic and opportunities for the team.  I would personally use him on Saturday, maybe from the bench again though, as without being disrespectful to Norwich we will probably have enough without him to beat them, although I see a tough game against them too.

The same situation for Lennon applies to Sir Ledley as well, as his knee problem won’t stand up to both games. There is, in fact, a good case for him to be saved for the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea as Kaboul and Gallas have been immense in recent weeks, very solid and really have shown they have a good understanding. A lot of the Spurs faithful now believing this combination is our number one pairing.  I still expect King to play on Saturday and then rest for the following weekend with Gallas the unlucky one to make way.

The rest of the team will most likely be the same as against Swansea, in the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Sandro and Super Scotty Parker in front of the back 4 to make us more secure and snub out the creativity of the Sunderland team, well in theory anyway! Adebayor will once again be very important for the link up play and bringing others into the game and it is important that he doesn’t get isolated.

Probable line up:

 

Prediction:

This is a tough away game for sure and with Arsenal playing Manchester City it is very vital that we get something out of it.  We have some form again and are looking good and while Sunderland are very good at home and the atmosphere will be electric I expect us to achieve a fighting 2-1 win and keep the pressure up on all our rivals for the top 4 finish and throw the challenge down for 3rd.

COYS

Rob

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Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 3 Swansea City 1

April 2nd, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Reports, Premier League
Apr, 02 2012
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Kenny Palmer gives THFC1882 his match report on Tottenham Hotspur’s great display yesterday.

A headed brace by Emmanuel Adebayor and an excellent side footed opener by Rafael Van Der Vaart helped Spurs back to winning ways with a victory against Brendan Rodgers impressive Swansea.

The win takes the Lilywhites onto the same points as Arsenal and crucially maintained the 5 point lead over Chelsea and Newcastle in the race for the coveted top 4 places.

In a compliment to Swansea Harry Redknapp setup the team in a 4-3-2-1 formation which he has used successfully in away games this season but rarely at home. With Sandro, the excellent Scott Parker and Modric in the midfield and Bale and Van Der Vaart nominally on the left and right respectively behind Adebayor.

As auditions for jobs go Brendan Rodgers put himself on top of the list of candidates to replace Redknapp when he takes up the England job if Levy decides to go down the British route.

Swansea opened the game playing some attractive possession football. Their good approach play undone by not having a quality forward to cause a threat in the final third. Bar a good effort from Wayne Routledge Brad Friedel was rarely tested in the first half.

Scott Parker back to his best after some sluggish performances set the tempo how Spurs were to play thundering into tackles tigerishly and pressing at every opportunity. The other players followed his lead pressing high up the pitch at every opportunity disrupting Swansea’s attempts to get their passing game going.

Gareth Bale looked very sharp in the opening stages of the match breaking dangerously down the left often. Spurs took the lead against the run of play from this position on 19 minutes. Released down the left wing from an excellent pass by Modric the Welshman flashed a cross across the box which came to Van Der Vaart who nonchantly clipped it into the net with a superb side footed effort.

Repeatedly in the first half Bale made surging runs down the left putting in excellent crosses. The Welshman was unlucky with a shot from outside the box on 33 minutes followed by another good effort coming inside from the left on 38 minutes.

Luka Modric who has found himself in good shooting positions in recent games had the last effort in the first half shooting wide from outside the box where he could have fed Adebayor who was in a better position

Swansea started the 2nd half brightly and the Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson was unlucky not to level the scores on 50 minutes when Friedel pulled off an outstanding save pushing his effort wide. The equaliser came when Sigurdsson finished well when the ball fell to him outside the box.

Tottenham were always a threat when going forward and deservedly went 2-1 ahead from an excellent Van Der Vaart corner, Adebayor rose above the Swansea defenders and headed past Vorm. Remarkably this was Spurs 2nd goal from a corner in successive games and the1st goal from the last 133 corners in the league!

Van Der Vaart was excellent against the Swans always available for a pass and a real danger in the final third. His confidence illustrated by an impudent piece of skill in the 2nd half: on the touchline on the right wing he held off 2 defenders then improbably flicked the ball with his left foot past his right foot to a Spurs team mate taking out 2 Swansea players out with the pass.

Aaron Lennon entered the fray to the delight of the White Hart Lane faithful and Spurs switched to the 4-4-1-1 formation which has served Spurs well this season with Bale on the left and Lennon on the right and Van Der Vaart playing off Adebayor. It didn’t take Lennon long to show us want he can do and what the team has been missing delivering a fantastic cross from the right wing for Adebayor to head home on 86 minutes and wrap up the points.

From back to front Spurs were excellent, when called upon Friedel made some crucial saves, Younnes Kaboul put in a prodigious central defensive display putting in block after block in the 2nd half, Scott Parker back to his best charging into challenges and Gareth Bale a constant threat on the left with his surging runs, accurate crosses and powerful shooting assisted by Van Der Vaart who had his best game of 2012 and Adebayor who took his premiership goals tally to 13 goals.

With Arsenal to face Manchester City on Sunday Spurs have the opportunity to leapfrog them into 3rd when they take on Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland Saturday lunchtime.

Out of the teams chasing the Champion League places Spurs have the more favourably run in not having to face a team in the top 8. With 7 games remaining Spurs look favourites to finish in a top 4 spot!

To use the catch phrase of the Spurs half time guest the actor Lesley Philips, “Ding Dong” Spurs are back!

COYS!

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

You can follow this blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom )

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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs Swansea City

March 31st, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Mar, 31 2012
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Tottenham Hotspur vs Swansea City, Sunday 1st April 2012, White Hart Lane, 4pm kick off, SS1 &HD1

THFC1882 has Kenny Palmer give us his preview for the upcoming league visit of Swansea to the Lane

Boosted by Tuesdays win against Bolton in the FA Cup, booking a Semi Final date against Chelsea, Spurs go into Sundays game against newly promoted Swansea with renewed confidence.

Although not a stellar performance the team is slowly playing its way back into their early season form. The team created a catalogue of chances and the tie should have been done and dusted by half time but for some wayward finishing and an outstanding goalkeeping performance from Bolton’s Adam Bogdan.

The breakthrough came from an unlikely source the former Blackburn Rovers reserve Ryan Nelsen and just as surprisingly it was a headed goal from a corner! The win cannot disguise Spurs profligacy in front of goal which could prove costly as the season draws to a close, with the forwards missing countless chances, Rafael Van Der Vaart guilty of missing a sitter for the 2nd successive game. Which makes it all the more surprising the team’s most clinical striker Jermain Defoe was warming the bench.

Brendan Rodgers the Swansea manager comes into the game on the back of being installed as the new favourite to take over from Harry Redknapp in the Spurs hot seat when Redknapp departs to takes the England job.

If the reports are to be believed this would be an excellent appointment by the chairman Daniel Levy. Rodgers has guided Swansea to 10th place by playing some of the most attractive football in the Premier League.  In the game at the Liberty Stadium earlier in the season Swansea were outstanding and outplayed Spurs for large parts of the game with the Lilywhites fortuitous to get a draw. Rodgers Swansea’s style of football fits in well with Tottenham’s philosophy. Rodgers also carries himself with professionalism, decorum and class diametrically opposed to the current incumbent managing Spurs! Tottenham’s next managerial appointment needs to be long term to build something with the club.

Swansea are in a good run of form winning 3 of their last 4 games, a notable scalp being the then league leaders Manchester City. They have also won 4 of their last 6 away games in the league so this will prove to be a tough game for Spurs.

The impressive Steven Caulker will sit out the game against his parent club. The experience he has gained this season will bode well for Spurs next season where it is hoped he will be integrated into the 1st team squad.  Swansea will play a fluid 4-2-3-1. Their main danger men will be Leon Britton who will look to dictate the play from midfield, the tricky winger Nathan Dyer who returns from suspension and the goal scoring midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson who has been outstanding in his loan spell scoring 5 goals in 5 appearances. Michel Vorm is one to watch as well as he has been outstanding in goal for the Swans. With Friedel the wrong side of 40 and Cudicini in his late 30’s Vorm should be a summer target as a long term replacement in goal for Spurs.

Spurs have recovered from their dip and were unlucky not to get all 3 points at Stamford Bridge last Saturday. Sunday’s game gives the team an excellent opportunity to get the win which will help cement a top 4 position.

The big injury news is that Aaron Lennon is fit and is available for selection. The absence of the tricky winger has affected the team badly to the extent that Redknapp felt the need to play the teams 2 best and influential players Luka Modric and Gareth Bale out of position.  Although not match fit as we enter the business end of the season he has to start.

The other main selection dilemma for Redknapp is who to partner Emmanuel Adebayor with in attack. The Togolese international is pivotal to the team with his all-round forward play. Rafael Van Der Vaart’s poor return of 3 goals in 20 games is not good enough and shouldn’t warrant a place in the starting line-up. When the Dutchman plays he plays far too deep picking the ball off the Centre Backs toes leaving Adebayor isolated in attack. Spurs two best performances this season the 4-0 win against Liverpool and the 5-0 demolition over Newcastle the Dutchman didn’t start, not a coincidence in my opinion. He flatters to deceive in too many games of late.

I’d expect Defoe to be restored to the starting line-up to partner Adebayor with the team going back to a 4-4-2 system. Despite starting mainly on the bench he is the team’s top scorer and is the only forward who is always a genuine goal threat.

With only 8 league games left sufficiently rotated all the strikers will make goals contribution now till end of season.

Probable line-up:

 

Prediction:

Spurs have an excellent home record undefeated in 30 of their last 32 home matches in Premier League. With the FA Cup Final to look forward they can concentrate on consolidating a top 4th spot. With Lennon back the manager can select the 1st choice starting 11. I expect a confident performance in front of the White Hart Lane faithful and back to winning ways 3-1

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

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Match Report: Tottenham Hotspur 3 Bolton Wanderers 1

March 28th, 2012 Posted in Articles, FA Cup, Match Reports
Mar, 28 2012
2 Comments »

Tottenham Hotspur are on their way to Wembley again for the FA Cup semi-Final against Chelsea after battling past an inspired Adam Bogdan Bolton side on an emotional night at the Lane.

The night started with  both sets of players warming up in T-shirts which read “Uniting for Fabrice” on the front and “thank you for your support for Fabrice” on the back.  The match was also preceded by a warm minute of applause with chants of Fabrice Muamba heard around the ground.  The playing shirts from last nights game were to be signed by the players and auctioned off, with all proceeds to be split between the London Chest Hospital and three heart charities. The match programme also featured messages of thanks to the medical teams from both clubs and the global football community from Bolton manager Owen Coyle, Muamba’s father Marcel and his fiancee Shauna Magunda. It’s such great news that Muamba is on the road to recovery even though there is a long way to go still.

After an impressive display at Chelsea at the weekend seemingly giving back confidence to the players and playing with our best formation and system (4-2-3-1), Spurs were dominant and back to the type of football that has been so admired by many this season.  Harry Redknapp made four changes from the weekend with Cudicini, Nelsen, King surprisingly and Livermore coming into the team. King’s inclusion was the most baffling for me as surely that will rule him out of the home game against Swansea at the weekend.

Tottenham’s passing was back to it’s best and our pace, purpose and movement was creating holes in the Bolton defence and it was only Bogdan’s brilliance under siege that kept the match goalless for so long otherwise this cup tie would have been over by half time.

Bogdan was equal to Gareth Bale’s powerful early drive before pulling off the first of two top-class double saves, to deny Livermore and Modric from close range.

Kyle Walker, who had a outstanding game, was causing all sorts of problems down the right and Adebyaor had opportunities to open the scoring. Firstly from a Van Der Vaart corner when he should have done better followed by Bogdan saving a low drive after he was released down the left by Assou-Ekotto and he cut in towards goal. Bogdan completed another double save when he blocked Bale’s follow up shot.

Spurs continued to pepper the Bolton goal when Bale hit the side netting and Parker had a shot well saved. Bolton offered nothing in the first half and I’m sure they were relieved to get into the dressing room on equal terms. The Tottenham faithful were left wondering how we weren’t ahead and although totally outclassing our opponents was it going to be one of those nights.

Spurs continued the onslaught in the second half with Van Der Vaart beating Bogdan but not the woodwork from a 25 yard free-kick and then both he and Adebayor had chances when put through on goal but couldn’t finish off the move. This was sandwiched in-between a couple of against the run of play chances for Bolton through Reo-Coker, who was superbly tackled by Nelsen after he was clear on goal and a Chris Eagles shot that was deflected wide.

Ryan Nelsen, who had a good game last night, I felt was unfairly treated by some Spurs supporters before the game when the teamsheet was announced. Yes, he wasn’t the high profile signing we expected or wanted during the January transfer window but he is a New Zealand International and a good solid back-up for us. Harry Redknapp has in fact said today that  he wants to keep him for next season as well, probably because we don’t quite know how long Sir Ledley will be carrying on for. Although next season I expect Steven Caulker to be inter-grated into our first team plans after his impressive displays and the experience he has gained for Swansea this season.

It was, in fact, Nelsen who finally got us the break through and from a corner no less. Just to make it clear and if you missed it SPURS FINALLY SCORED FROM A SET PIECE. Van Der Vaart delivered from the right and Nelsen rose at the far post to head the ball back across goal into the top corner after Bogdan didn’t reach the corner. Spurs then set about Bolton to finally kill off the game and they didn’t have to wait long before they did exactly that.

Jermain Defoe, who surely is one of the best impact substitutes in the Premiership, had already stung Bogdan’s hands just before the opening goal, led the counter attack as Bolton pressed for the equaliser. He fed Bale who was motoring up the right flank, who cut inside to set it up on his favoured and trusty left foot and he dispatched it into the bottom right hand corner. Just reward for us and finally some breathing space.

Of course, Spurs being Spurs, conceded a late undeserved consolation goal when Klasnic crossed for Kevin Davies, who always manages to score against us, slid in to put it in the back of Cudicini’s net.  No nerve jangerling  minutes to hold on this time though as Louis Saha collected a pass from Assou-Ekotto, spun his man and despatched a right footed shot past Bogdan with the final kick off the game.

Some final thoughts from the match.  Jake Livermore was once again superb last night and his development this season has come on leaps and bounds, Harry Redknapp deserves some credit as his tactical changes were spot on last night and he gets enough criticism for it when he gets it wrong so only right he should get praise when he gets it right and what a top bloke Owen Coyle is as he made sure he shaked hands with all the Tottenham players at the end of the match.

Spurs richly deserved their win and the scoreline could of been a lot worse for Bolton, who now put their attention back to staying in the league. As for us, we are once again creating some much needed forward momentum  for the run in with chasing down Arsenal for third place and a FA Cup semi final place to look forward to.

Altogether now Spurs are on their way to Wembley……..

COYS

Rob

You can follow the blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom )

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Match Report: Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur

March 26th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Reports
Mar, 26 2012
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Kenny Palmer gives THFC1882 his match report from Saturday’s game against Chelsea.

An impressively earned point for Spurs at Stamford Bridge built on a professional away performance maintained the Lilywhites 5 point lead over Chelsea in the hunt for a Champions League place.

Harry Redknapp surprised the White Hart Lane faithful, by after weeks of baffling team selections, picking the team and formation most fans would have picked thereby putting the team on the front foot from the start.

The England elect manager setup the team with a solid midfield 3 of Modric, Parker and Sandro with Gareth Bale and Rafael Van Der Vaart playing in free roles behind the excellent Emmanuel Adebayor. Why on earth did he not use this line-up and formation in the tough away games lost to Arsenal and Everton?

The Togo international Adebayor was outstanding on his return from injury. Often toiling without help from the other forwards he put in a superb exhibition of playing the lone striker role with his industry, hold- up and link play. It cannot be underestimated what he offers and his importance to the team. He is the only player in the Premier League so far this season with double figures for goals 11 & assists 11!

Spurs performance was a repeat of the away game to Liverpool at the start of February which the team managed to earn a draw with a clean sheet.

An undistinguished first half, unusually devoid of high tempo and pressing for a London Derby was characterized by Spurs defending deep conceding possession to Roberto Di Matteo’s team. An unimpressive Chelsea didn’t have the guile, creativity or imagination to break through a disciplined back four with Parker and Sandro offering an additional shield to the defence.

From an attacking perspective Tottenham offered nothing.  Adebayor had a good run from on the break on 32 minutes but had no support. Not long after Kyle Walker in a good position outside the box hit his effort over the bar.

Spurs should have been in the lead going into the break when the Rafael Van Der Vaart inexplicably missed a golden opportunity 5 yards inside the box even given 2 opportunities to convert. The Dutch international despite his goal against Stoke on Wednesday has made negligible contribution since returning from injury and needs to contribute more to the team to retain his place in the starting line-up.

Tottenham’s approach in the 2nd half was far better Kyle Walker was unlucky with a shot on 52 minutes which flashed wide as was Adebayor who miss hit a shot in the box on 57 minutes.

Tottenham were far more threatening in attack with Gallas heading over the bar from a corner   and should have taken the lead on 78 minutes when Adebayor rounded the keeper but his goal bound effort was cleared by Gary Cahill.

As the game drew to a close Spurs could have wrapped up the points when Bale hit the bar with a header from a corner and Peter Cech made a good save from the Welshman’s free kick in injury time. Over the 90 minutes Spurs were the better team and were unlucky not to win.

The impressive point cannot disguise the fact that it is still 6 games since Spurs last won a premiership match which was is February against Newcastle at the lane and you have to go back to December 27 against promoted Norwich when Spurs last won an away match a run of 6 game without an away win.

Tottenham have also taken just 5 points from the 8 Premier League matches this season against other clubs in the Premier League top 5!

Another poor statistic is that Spurs have not won a Premier League match in March since beating Portsmouth 2-0 two years ago!

The poor run has coincided with Arsenal going on a run of 7 successive wins making them firm favourites to take 3rd spot and an automatic place into the group stages of the champions’ league.

With Chelsea having the more difficult run-in amongst the London rivals for a top 4 place, still having to play Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool while Spurs do not have to play any team in the top 7 you would fancy Tottenham to be favourites to secure 4th.

The performance against Chelsea which the players will have taken confidence from their display is an excellent platform in which to play out the remaining league games.

Tuesday s game at the Lane against Bolton in the FA Cup gives the team an excellent opportunity to book a place in the Semi Finals at Wembley. That is followed by what should an attractive game against Brendan Rodgers  entertaining newly promoted Swansea giving the team the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways in the league. A game which Aaron Lennon tweeted he will be fit and available for selection for.

The key to Spurs ending the season well is getting as many of the key players: King, Bale, Parker, Modric, Adebayor and Lennon on the pitch together in the remaining 8 games.

As we enter the business end of the season there is much to play for Tottenham Hotspur, 3rd spot and a FA Cup final!

COYS!

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

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Match Preview: Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur

March 23rd, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Mar, 23 2012
2 Comments »

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea, Saturday 24th March 2012, Stamford Bridge, 12.45pm kick off, SS2 & HD2 and in 3D

THFC1882 is once again delighted to welcome back Kenny Palmer for his preview of the important game on Saturday.

Saturdays visit to Stamford Bridge against Roberto Di Matteo’s revitalized Chelsea takes on even greater importance after an injury time goal by Rafael Van der Vaart salvaged a draw for Spurs on Wednesday night and ended the teams run of 3 defeats on the bounce but extended the run without a win in the league to 5 games.

The draw was compounded by Arsenal’s victory against Everton which means Spurs slip to 4th in the chase for a Champions League place. Wasn’t this Arsenal team meant to be the worst  in the Wenger era and as Redknapp keeps telling the media the best Spurs team in many a year? Looks like the gap has been breached!

Tottenham held a 10-point lead over Arsenal before the north London derby at the Emirates on February 26 – but less than a month later they are now behind Arsenal.

Wednesday s unconvincing performance against Stoke was characterised by sloppy and misplaced passing, bluntness in front of goal and ineptness in dead situations. The OtaJoe stats highlight what all Spurs fans already know: Tottenham haven’t scored from a Premier League free kick since 1 January 2011 and you have to go back to 26 January 2010 since the Lilywhites last scored from a direct free kick shot. As countless corners fail to pass the first man it comes as no surprise that Spurs have taken 121 corners since they last scored from one!

Its common knowledge that Redknapp does not do any coaching but the fact that his lieutenants Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan haven’t addressed Spurs poor execution of dead ball situations on the training field reflects badly on them.

The teams’ early season form and attractive winning football has evaporated and the team now has no belief and conviction in their play. What is disconcerting is that Redknapp, the England elect manager, seems to have no solutions on how to halt this dip in form. He has nothing in the way of tactical adjustments or team selection. Even his somewhat overstated motivations skills seems to have deserted him as he admitted after Wednesdays game he tried a ruse of telling the players that both Arsenal and Chelsea were ahead when the players went in for the half time break to try to spark them into action.

Saturday s hosts   Chelsea have Spurs firmly in their sights chasing down that 4th position in the league. Since the departure of the sacked AVB and the reintroduction of the senior players they seem to be playing with a lot more belief and confidence.

They will be buoyed by the fact that they have never lost a Premier League game at home to Tottenham, winning 13 and drawing 6 of the matches. The players seem to be somewhat over confident that they will get a result against Spurs with Peter Cech and Gary Cahill coming out in the press that Tottenham are there for the taking. This cockiness should serve as motivation for Redknapp and the Spurs players.

John Terry who sat out the defeat against Manchester City will likely return to the team as will the Ivorian international Didier Drogba who was on the bench. Ivanovic picked up a knock in the game and is a major doubt. It is hoped he does not recover as his likely replacement Bosingwa hasn’t the defensive ability to contain Gareth Bale!

Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge and Didier Drogba will be the main danger men for Chelsea. The Spurs backline will have to be at their best to contain them.

It is imperative for a stuttering Spurs that they keep some daylight between themselves and Chelsea in 5th with the points gap 5 points. Harry Redknapps men have only won 2 of the last 9 premier league games which is a dreadful run.

The 2 main injury doubts for the Spurs are Emmanuel Adebayor and Aaron Lennon. Lennon still recovering from a hamstring injury will probably start on the bench. It is hoped that Adebayor fully recovers for the game. He is crucial for the way Spurs play whether in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation his all-round forward play, leading the line, hold up and link play has been excellent, his absence in the team has been greatly missed.

As a draw would be a good result in the context for a top 4 berth I expect Redknapp to dispense with playing 2 strikers which he has done in the previous away games to no success and go with a 4-3-2-1 formation which he used against Norwich with a midfield three of Sandro, Parker and Modric with Bale and Van Der Vaart in free roles behind Adebayor, when out of possession the team will drop to a more solid 4-5-1. That performance in December was Spurs last away win.

Probable line-up:

 

Prediction

Spurs record at Stamford Bridge is abysmal Chelsea are undefeated in their last 14 home matches against the team from White Hart Lane in all competitions winning 4 out of the last 5 matches, while Tottenham have failed to win their last 5 away matches in the league.

Chelsea will have one eye on their away Champions League fixture to Benfica on Tuesday which Spurs should capitalize on. It will be an evenly contested London Derby but I expect Spurs will be good enough to earn a draw 1-1!

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

The opposing fans view this week comes from youngster Josh Robinson. He has supported Chelsea for all of his 16 years as it’s in his blood and his favourite past players include Robben, Carvalho and Crespo. Present day hero’s include Lampard, Terry, Mata, Ramires and Ivanovic. He is is take on tomorrow’s game:

What a game this potentially could be. Previous games between the ‘top teams’ have had goals galore and the neutrals will be hoping for the same again. We go into the game with confidence installed from interim manager Di Matteo, whilst Tottenham have been on a less impressive run in recent weeks. Chelsea, under RDM, have got the results but we haven’t been totally convincing at all (bar the Napoli game). Stoke at home was very unprofessional after we scored the goal and against Leicester, after we went 3-0 up, there was also a high level of unprofessionalism by some of the players. The Stoke game in the last 20 minutes was quite unbelievable, it was like our game plan was ‘Stoke are dangerous with set pieces so let’s give them as many as we can by giving away needless and silly fouls’.

Drogba put in a great performance (2nd half and onwards) against Napoli last Wednesday and Torres scored two and assisted two against Leicester in the FA Cup quarter final on Sunday. Torres put in a solid and more confident display against Man City on Wednesday too. I would start Torres, especially against Spurs’ tall centre backs who would be required to keep an eye on Torres’ clever runs on the shoulder- we won’t pick out Torres with those runs due to our lack of creative spark, of course. It is unknown whether John Terry will be fit for the match but we have options of Cahill and Luiz if he is not but the sad potential absence is Branislav Ivanovic; this is because Bosingwa is a nailed on cert’ to start at right-back if Brana is not fit. Bale vs Bosingwa, what could possibly go wrong? Sturridge didn’t take part at all against City (in my opinion he should have came on instead of Essien) and so will be fresh, ready and hopefully hungry, for the game ahead.

This game is now massive for Chelsea; pretty vital for Spurs too. We lost against City in poor style and with Arsenal continuing their good run of form, this game is now a ‘must win’ for a top 4 finish. Big game, hopefully our big players turn up. I read a stat yesterday that we, joint with QPR, have lost the most points from winning positions this season- that speaks a thousand words.

I always predict 2-0 in any Chelsea game when anyone asks me. It’s not just sheer arrogance, it’s just a safe scoreline to go for. I’m quite the pessimist.

My starting XI:
Cech;
Bosingwa, Terry, Luiz, Cole;
Ramires, Romeu;
Sturridge, Mata, Kalou;
Torres (4-2-3-1)

My Prediction for likely starting XI:
Cech;
Bosingwa, Terry, Luiz, Cole;
Ramires, Lampard;
Sturridge, Mata, Kalou;
Drogba (4-2-3-1)

‘Big game’. ‘Must win’. ‘Got to turn our attention on the next game’. ‘We’re taking it game by game’. Cliches galore; let’s hope there is goals galore… but just for Chels. We can only hope.

Josh ( @Robboandsports on Twitter )

Many thanks to Kenny and Josh for giving their time to preview the game.

Massive game which we need to get something out of or our end of season form is beginning to look a lot like last season.

COYS

Rob

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Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City

March 19th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Previews, Premier League
Mar, 19 2012
No Comments »

Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City, 21st March 2012, White Hart Lane, 7.45pm kick off

Stoke travel to North London on Wednesday night with football still in the shadow of the horrific and distressing scenes that occurred at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

It’s encouraging news that Fabrice Muamba is stable, his heart is working without the aid of medicine, there has been movement in his arms and legs and he has been coherent and talking to friends and family.  Of course, the situation is still very critical and all of football pray that he makes a full recovery. Full credit and admiration go to the medical staff of both Tottenham and Bolton for the quick response and life saving work they did and that was continued by the London Chest Hospital.

This does truly put into focus the need for footballer heart scanning with our very own Spurs supporting heart rhythm specialist Steve Robinson (@robbo4479 on Twitter ) highlighting and working hard to raise awareness along with C-R-Y, of exactly this happening. More information can be found on the C-R-Y website www.c-r-y.org.uk. The Spurs players might actually have taken the first steps in actioning this as the entire squad have now requested heart checks.

The Tottenham players now have to try and get their minds back on footballing matters rather then the upsetting scenes they witnessed on the pitch on Saturday. Jermain Defoe and Rafael Van Der Vaart visibly seemed the most affected. This, I’m sure, will be hard to achieve completely in what is actually a very important week for Tottenham in terms of their season. We will get our chance again at some point to get our place at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final, which will be against Chelsea, if we beat Bolton in the rearranged game.  Now it is essential to get our league form back on track after 3 straight defeats and Arsenal breathing down our necks for 3rd place.

Stoke won’t be an easy game. They have already beaten us twice this season, both at the Brittania. In the Carling Cup in September when we lost on penalties, although we didn’t have a full strength team out and the priority was clearly not on the fixture and in the league game in December, they beat us 2-1 to end our 11 game unbeaten run since the 2 Manchester defeats at the start of the season. Stoke are rugged, in your face and never stop running. The type of team Spurs would normally struggle against in seasons past and might do again on Wednesday since we are a tad disjointed at present.

Tottenham will have the same squad they used on Saturday available as long as all the players can turn their attention fully to the game.  Harry Redknapp has already stated that they can have all the time they need to ensure they are mentally prepared.  Sir Ledley could be available but I doubt he will be risked anyway with Chelsea to play on Saturday and Kaboul will most definitely be back alongside Gallas.  Brad Freidel will be back in goal. The rest of the team I expect to be the same with Van Der Vaart being played out of position on the right with Lennon still out injured, meaning Kyle Walker will have a busy game keeping Matthew Etherington under wraps along with the full back. Saha and Defoe will probably be up front as Emmanuel Adebayor is again doubtful.  Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone are, of course, out for the rest of the season.

Predicted line up:

Stoke will line up in their tried and tested 4-4-2 formation with emphasis on the wingers and full backs delivery crosses into the box. They will be very dangerous from set pieces and our defence will have to be their best to keep them out.  We will be looking for Walker and Assou-Ekottu shutting down Spurs old boy Etherington and former Gunner Pennant or Shotton.  Peter Crouch and William Palacious will also be back at the Lane and I’m sure they will get a warm reception.  Stoke are sitting in 14th place in the Premiership with 36 points and they battle for every single point they earn.

Prediction:

This a vital and must win game for Spurs and we must gain the 3 points to start some forward momentum towards the end of the season run. With this in mind I expect us to put the harrowing few days behind us for the time being and gain the victory we need by a 2-1 scoreline.

Rob

You can follow the blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

 

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Match Preview: FA Cup Quarter Final: Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers

March 16th, 2012 Posted in Articles, FA Cup, Match Previews
Mar, 16 2012
1 Comment »

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers, Saturday 17th March 2012, White Hart Lane, 5.30pm kick off, ESPN & ESPN HD

THFC1882 is pleased to welcome back Adam Nathan for his preview of the FA Cup Quarter-Final game, a game that could prove to be a pivotal point for the rest of Tottenham’s season.

Bolton Wanderers arrive at the Lane on Saturday evening to take on a Tottenham side who have had one of their worst months in recent memory. Banishing thoughts of a disastrous period in the Premier League in order to focus on the cup is an absolute must, but as the thousands of Spurs fans arrive in N17 at the weekend, they would be forgiven for having more than one eye on the absolutely crucial league fixture against Stoke on Wednesday night. That is not to diminish the importance of the cup by one iota. The FA Cup is a bastion of footballing tradition across the globe, and we would celebrate a victory at Wembley on the 5th of May with unbridled joy, but even Chas and Dave would forgive the Spurs faithful if their celebrations of a (hopeful) win on Saturday were slightly clipped, with the memory of three awful weekends still fresh in the mind.

Everyone has had their say on the past three games, so further analysis would be futile. Whether the focus of your anger is aimed at the manager, players, coaching staff or the new evil Chirpy, what is clear is that something has gone very wrong, and the sooner we can get ourselves back on track the better. My personal opinion is that everyone at the club has seemed to take their eye off the ball by a few crucial percent (well, perhaps not the mascot), and as a result, the whole club has struggled. The England job issues have done us no favours whatsoever, but as a nation we should be used to utter ineptitude from the FA and be looking to ignore it at all costs.  Naturally that is a very utopian view of the situation, but if we continue to let the issue cast a dark cloud over the club, we will continue on our downward spiral.

Therefore, whilst the league may be firmly on all of our minds, the game this weekend could hopefully provide a bit of respite and allow the players to get back to doing what they do best; playing top quality football. With Bolton embroiled in a tussle at the bottom, they should provide a perfect opposition for us to get back on track. That is not to say that it will be an easy game, far from it, but I would certainly expect the Trotters to sit back, allow us plenty of possession and invite us to break them down, just the kind of opposition that we enjoyed so much success against in the early stages of the season. Saturday’s game represents a real opportunity to get our best players back on the ball for long periods of the game, return to a slick passing game and get some confidence pumping through our battered veins once again.

With regard to selection, I would hope to see a very strong team striding out of the tunnel at 5:25. Some may argue that resting players for Wednesday would be wise, but I think that would be a bad move; we have never been particularly eye-catching in FA cup ties under Harry for whatever reason, and labouring to a hard-fought victory with half a side would only raise more doubts about the Stoke and Chelsea games to follow. We need a return to the style that so dismantled Newcastle in early February to breathe life and optimism into the club again, and to do that we need a full team out.

Whether or not that happens of course is a completely different matter, and as usual, the Van Der Vaart or Defoe debate will no doubt rear it’s ugly head again. The Dutchman has his doubters of course, but I would hope that many of them were forced to reconsider their opinions after his substitute appearance against Everton last week. That was the performance of a true winner and a true professional. The way in which he demanded the ball and almost moved the whole game twenty yards closer to the opposition goal was a joy to watch, and whilst Bale and Modric are probably better players than Rafa, they don’t even come close to his mentality and level of professionalism when the chips are down. Defoe on the other hand has actually been very good when called upon this year. He looks stronger and more of a threat against better opposition, especially at home, and his two goals against Stevenage would give him a strong case to continue his good FA Cup form. Starting the two of them will be a difficult one to manage unless Van Der Vaart begins the game from wide right (well, at least it won’t be Bale), but I’d be inclined to return to a team as close to the one that was so devastating between September and December. The right side of midfield presents a problem, but I’d like to see us set up with Bale, Modric and Van Der Vaart behind Adebayor and Parker and Sandro sitting in midfield. That formation doesn’t have to be defensive, as we showed away to Norwich and Wigan, and I think it is the best way to solve the issue of Lennon being injured. In terms of what the team will be however, I would not be surprised to see Adebayor and Defoe start up front with a midfield four of Van Der Vaart, Modric, Livermore and Bale. At the back I’d expect to see Walker, Nelsen, Kaboul and Ekotto protecting the goal of Carlo Cudicini.

Probable line up:

As for Bolton, you will have to forgive me for not offering a predicted line-up as I have seen very little of them in the cup this year, but  I’d expect the dangerous Klasnic to return to the side in place of David N’gog after his goalscoring appearance last weekend. Mark Davies will certainly give the defence problems if allowed time and space, and we will have to watch out for the blistering pace of Arsenal loanee Ryo Miyachi who has had an excellent start to his Premier League career in the North West.

Prediction:

Overall, I desperately hope that we use Saturday’s game as a launch pad for the rest of the season. The last three weeks have made for painful viewing, and a home game in the cup with the prospect of a Wembley appearance should be more than enough to get White Hart Lane rocking again and our beloved team back on track. If we start the game as we did against Newcastle then I’d expect us to run out comfortable winners, especially with Bolton having to focus primarily on staying the division, so I’m going to plump for a 4-1 Spurs win. A result and performance like that would give the whole club a huge boost and do wonders in our quest for Champions League football again next year.

Come on you Spurs

Adam   ( @adamdnathan on Twitter )

The opposing fan’s view this week comes from Dominic Walsh and I’ll let him introduce himself.

My name is Dominic Walsh and I’ve been following Bolton for around 24 years. I have seen many ups and downs in that time. The ups have largely outweighed the downs though. When I was younger I used to love going to the game to watch John McGinlay and Andy Walker score goals for fun. It was also great being the team that upset the bigger teams in the cup for a few years. Between 1993 and 1994 we beat Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Aston Villa andNorwichas a team lower in the league. This era was a major turning point for Bolton. We got our first promotion to the Premier League in 1995 and reached the Coca Cola Cup Final.

In recent years, Sam Allardyce brought arguably some of the greatest players in world football to the Reebok. Seeing Jay Jay Okocha run around in a Bolton shirt alongside Youri Djorkaeff was truly amazing for a lad like me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen after some of the gloomy afternoons as part of small crowds at Burnden Park watching us play in division 3.

Under Sam Allardyce we enjoyed some of our greatest moments. Following his departure we have struggled an awful lot but under Owen Coyle last season things seemed to be looking up.

This time last year Bolton were riding the crest of a wave in the league and looking forward to a quarter final trip to Birmingham. That day ended being many Bolton fan’s favourite game of last season. Lee Chung Yong dispensing a 90th minute winner at the away end in front of a 5000 strong away following was truly incredible. Unfortunately, our season and fortunes took a severe downward turn not to long after.

At the same stage this season we are fighting a relegation battle and showing extreme inconsistency in performance in addition to missing some of the great players that helped us defeat Birmingham last year at this stage.

Team News:

In recent weeks Bolton have been lining up with a 4-5-1 formation with David N’Gog leading the line as Kevin Davies has fallen a little out of favour due to a poor first half of the season. Down the flanks, Arsenal loanee Ryo Miyaichi has shown some great touches of brilliance and some stunning pace. I think he could provide us with plenty of chances in this game as well as in the rest of the games in the end of season run in. On the flipside, Chris Eagles has been Mr Inconsistency; one great game to three or four not so great. Martin Petrov has a great ability to deliver a killer ball into the box but again hasn’t shown it on a regular basis.

In the centre, Owen Coyle has been prone to chopping and changing quite a bit. Mark Davies has grown in confidence this year and is finally showing some of the promise that made, the now unemployed again, Gary Megson sign him from Wolves. He has been one of our main attacking threats. Fabrice Muamba and Darren Pratley seem to be rotating a fair bit alongside the ‘stand in’ captain and largely ever present, Nigel Reo-Coker.

At the back, we have had Tim Ream in our ranks for a few weeks since Gary Cahill joined Chelsea. He joined us from New York Red Bulls in January. He has been paired with Zat Knight or David Wheater and they have been assisted in the full back positions by Gretar Steinsson and Sam Ricketts.

I think we will keep the 4-5-1 formation for the game with the two wide players making a forward 3 in attack. Who Owen Coyle will start with will be tricky. He may choose to rest a few ‘key’ players with a view to ensuring Premier League survival. Tuncay may come into the fold in the attacking line along with Marcos Alonso making a return from injury in defence at left back. I would expect to see Kevin Davies and Ivan Klasnic at some point during the game to. It would be nice to progress with a win and build some momentum going into the last few games of the season.

Prediction:

As much as I would love to see us get something from the game, I can’t see us getting the win. In all honesty, I want to ensure we stay in the countries top division this year. I think we will and I think we will build well next season. If I was to predict a score I’d go for the home win. Maybe 3-1. This being the cup though, I guess anything can happen!

Dominic ( @bwfcdom83 on Twitter )

Many thanks to both Adam and Dominic for previewing the game for us.

So Spurs go into the game as favourites but both teams you could say have other things on their mind at present. This is the FA Cup though and Wembley is calling!

COYS

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Match Report: Everton 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0

March 12th, 2012 Posted in Articles, Match Reports, Premier League
Mar, 12 2012
3 Comments »

Kenny Palmer reflects for THFC1882  Tottenham Hotspur’s 3rd league defeat in a row.  The first time under Harry Redknapp that this has happened.

Tottenham crashed to their 3rd league defeat on the spin after another unconvincing away performance against David Moyes committed and organised team.

The team were undermined from the start by Harry Redknapp, the England elect manager’s, team selection. He decided to play the teams 2 best and influential players out of position. He deployed Luka Modric the Croatian international in a left midfield position, where he has never influenced a game and Gareth Bale in a right midfield berth.

It is alarming for Spurs and soon England that Redknapp cannot grasp that you have to play your best players in their proper positions. It ain’t rocket science! On Saturday, as before, he was found to be tactically wanting!

Jerrmain Defoe deservedly retained his place in the starting line-up after scoring 3 goals in the last 2 games alongside Adebayor. Sandro partnered Scott Parker in the central midfield position.

The Toffee men started the game brightly and went deservedly ahead from a Jelavic goal on 22 minutes. Leon Osman skipped past Younes Kaboul just outside the box with embarrassing ease and zero resistance to feed Jelavic in the box who finished well. Since returning to the starting line-up for the Arsenal game from injury, the French international has not replicated his form of the first half of the season which makes Michael Dawson’s absence for the rest of the season a huge blow.

With Parker and Sandro in centre midfield Spurs lacked creativity in this area and starved the strikers Adebayor and Defoe of service. Despite this, of the 2 strikers Defoe looked the sharper and was the team’s only real goal threat in and around the Everton box. The diminutive striker had a few good half chances in the 1st half.

The men from White Hart Lane returned from the half time break without any changes to the line-up and started the 2nd half with a good tempo. Again Jermain Defoe had another shot breeze just past the post early on.

As this was a game which Spurs had to get something out of Redknapp correctly made an early change on 55 minutes bringing on Louis Saha for the disappointing Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togo internationals hold up play and overall game was poor. Any gentleman’s agreement between Moyes and Redknapp about whether Saha could play was dispensed with for expediency!

Everton proved to be a hard team to break down. Even from set pieces. A Kaboul free kick on 63 minutes reflected how poor Spurs are in dead ball situations blasting the ball high and wide of Tim Howard’s goal. Even when talented footballers like Van Der Vaart or Modric take them they are poor. This is an area the coaching staff has to work on with the players.

The Dutch international Van Der Vaart came on for Sandro on 68 minutes to provide more guile and creativity to try and break down the Everton back line. Bizarrely Redknapp deployed him on the left with Bale  still left in his right midfield position.  With the season drawing to a close this tactical ineptitude from Redknapp is proving costly for Spurs!

Brief hope was had for the team when Defoe had the ball in the back of the net on 75 minutes but it was correctly ruled out for offside and late on when, Saha hit the post almost salvaging a point. Despite a vastly improved and spirited 2nd half performance it was a 3rd consecutive defeat. The last time the team lost 3 games on the bounce was in October 2008 which culminated in Redknapp replacing Juande Ramos as manager!

From what beforehand everyone knew was going to be a testing run of games Arsenal away, Manchester United  at home and Everton away Spurs have lost on an aggregate score line of 9-3 which is a disgrace!

The season is eerily replicating last season when at this same time the teams performances and results dipped and Spurs went on a long streak of games without a win! Similarly the season before, until Redknapp begrudging let Roman Pavlyuchenko play a few games late in the season and score a hat full of goals which helped secure champions league qualification.

The manager has to take responsibility for this poor run, as it’s all very well taking the plaudits when things go well, but he also has to take the criticism when they are not. Redknapp doesn’t take criticism well judging from the comments from his post match press conference.

“Yeah I’m suicidal.” Was Redknapps glib response when highlighted he lost 3 on the bounce by a journalist. Comments like these will never enamour him to the White Hart Lane faithful who are hurting at the moment!

The poor run has coincided with Redknapp being linked with the England manager’s job; clearly it is affecting the team and manager. Daniel Levy the chairman has to find out now from Redknapp if he would accept the position if offered to him by the FA. If that is the case an agreement and announcement with the FA needs to be made now. Once done Redknapp can focus on his immediate objective, securing champion leagues qualification!

The next 2 weeks and 3 games will define Spurs season. Bolton in the FA Cup Quarter Finals; a tough home against Stoke and the pivotal encounter against Chelsea in the league. The positive view is we go into the Chelsea game having made the FA Cup semi-final and a morale boosting victory against Stoke. The pessimist view we’re out of the FA Cup and if we lose to Chelsea they’ll leapfrog us consigning us to 5th! Doesn’t bare thinking does it!

To end on a positive note Spurs are still third in the league. Even when Arsenal beat Newcastle on Monday the lead will still be a point and after the Chelsea game Spurs have a run of winnable games. The players are professional enough to see out the season and attain the object of champions’ league qualification!

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

So Spurs need to get back on track and quickly or all their good work that they have done this season will end in disappointment.  Who do you attribute blame to or is this just a blip? Are the Tottenham players not mentally tough enough in the big games or are Redkanpp’s tactics letting the team down.  Let THFC1882 know your thoughts.

You can follow this blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom )

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