First of all, apologies for the lack of posting recently, a combination of being away, an excruciatingly dull international break and a spot of writers block has conspired to slow this blog down. Fingers crossed, we are back up and running.
Inter. San Siro. Champions League. These are the games that I dreamt of as a young boy in the mid to late-90s watching men like Paolo Tramezzani and Jason Dozzell pretending to be footballers. We've come a long way since then and we deserve this stage. There is no better time or opportunity to announce to the giants of Europe that Tottenham Hotspur has arrived.
If we aren't up for this game then my idea of professional football is badly skewed. Am I naive to think that footballers these days dream of playing in games like this? Or is it all Rolexes, Bentleys and prostitutes? If standing in front of 80,000 people at the San Siro as the Champions League music rings out doesn't raise the hairs on the back of every single player in Lilywhite's necks, then that is a very sad thing indeed. I play in a weekly Powerleague team and was amazed when during a routine bit of handbags on the pitch next to us prompted one of the players involved to rush to his bag behind the goal and produce a knife with a 6 inch blade. What sort of mentality is this? 'Off to play football tonight, have I got everything? Boots, shinpads, knife. Yep, good to go.' I want to be reassured tomorrow night that for our young team, a game like this still means everything and should be the pinnacle of a number of careers so far. 'Arry shouldn't have to say a word to pump them up. Setting and opposition should be all they need.
So what can we expect from the game tomorrow night? I think there isn't a sane Spurs fan out there that wouldn't take a point now if offered it. But can we take all 3 points? Why not? An advantage Spurs have in this year's Champions League is the mystery factor. Teams aren't sure what to expect from us. The Werder Bremen director dismissed our threat out of hand and we played Bremen off the park for 45 minutes in Bremen and should have won the game. We will threaten Inter and we will create chances. It's how we cope at the back that will define tomorrow's game. Make the mistakes we made against Bremen and quality like Sneijder and Eto'o will massacre us. If Bassong does his rabbit in the headlights impression that he did against Young Boys then Inter will show no mercy. Defend solidly and we will have a chance. Inter are not as scary as they were last season. Rafa Benitez was comically bad with last season with his hilarious 'guarantee' of 4th place. If Mourinho were still in charge then I would be much more worried. Admittedly, playing a team containing the European goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and striker of the year doesn't bode well. But I hear rumours from Italy that midfield hardman Esteban Cambiasso and European striker of the year Diego Milito are out of the game. Of course there is strength in depth and of course the likes of Maicon, Sneijder and Eto'o are all available, but I guess I'm just trying to stress that this isn't a foregone conclusion. Inter will be nervous of us too.
So what from Spurs? Big performances from each and every one if you please. I think what I'll do is go through my ideal XI and have a think about their roles:
Gomes: More experience at this level than most in our team. Will certainly have work to do tomorrow. More word-class saves and less rolling about crying when a stiff breeze goes by. Gomes needs a Snickers-wielding Mr.T to roll onto the pitch in a tank to tell him to stop acting like a crazy fool.
Hutton/Corluka: Tricky one this. Hutton's attacking instincts could be useful but is defensively a bit suspect and is slow on the turn. Corluka badly out of form and was poor at Bremen but could be a safer option at the San Siro. I'd be tempted to be bold and go for Hutton.
Bassong: Needs to take a deep breath, focus and listen to Gallas next to him. No playing silly buggers at the back. If in doubt, hoof it out. If Heskey can outfox you, so can Samuel Eto'o.
Gallas: Needs all his experience at this level. Take charge of our defence and keep talking to Bassong. A key night for him.
BAE: Such an underrated cog in our machine IMO. Quick, calm, solid at the back and can support Bale in attack. Will need to be at his best against the marauding Maicon.
Lennon: Signs against Fulham that he may be coming back into form? With VdV out, Azza needs to step up and be a key attacking outlet again.
Huddlestone: Same old same old from Thudd. Needs to get his foot on the ball and use it. Needs to be a calming influence if Inter start to get on top.
Jenas: I'm not a fan of Jenas. He annoys the hell out of me on a Saturday. But in VdV's absence he could be useful at the San Siro. Needs to impose himself and use his athleticism to get up and down the pitch and ensure we don't get overrun in the midfield.
Bale: What can you say? Surely the man Inter fears most. If Bale has a good game, Spurs have a good game. His threat may also force Maicon to abandon his surges forward which could be crucial.
Modric: By his own admittance not at this best at the moment but with VdV out, I expect him to be sitting in the hole behind the striker. We know how good he is. He is a genius. The return of Moddle tonight please.
Crouch: Maybe slightly unfair on Pav as he is a better goalscorer. But there is something about Europe that, like England duty, tends to bring the best out in Crouchie. Maybe continental defences don't know what to do with him. Will need to have this thinking cap on because he won't get much change out of Lucio and Samuel otherwise.
We should be full of confidence. We have players that can hurt any side in the world. I'm not saying we will win, but I'm saying that Inter will have to be at their best to beat us. They will underestimate us at their peril. Maybe, just maybe, an upset could be on the cards.
To the Spurs fans who will be there. We want to hear you drowning out the Inter fans. A lovely, long 'Oh When the Spurs' ringing out at the San Siro. This is what we wanted. Let's make some history.
COYS.
Tuesday 19 October 2010
Friday 1 October 2010
New Stadium or Olympic Stadium: What's going on?
There seems to be a lot of confusion this morning as to where we are planning to spend our long-term future. Are we building our new stadium after Haringey council unanimously approved our plans, or are we doing the unthinkable and moving to East London and the Olympic Stadium after 2012, possibly changing our name to Stratford Hotspur in the meantime?
I for one think this is very sound and sensible planning from Daniel Levy. Obviously, priority number one is a brand spanking new stadium on our current White Hart Lane site. I don't for a minute think Levy would ever consider moving us to East London. There would be uproar and revolt. But there are still plenty of hoops for us to jump through before we can start building our new home. There are plenty of things to trip us up. Furthermore, the new stadium will cost a hell of a lot of money. We don't want to cripple ourselves financially for the future trying to pay for it. Levy says we were told that if we did not put in a bid for the Olympic Stadium now, we wouldn't get another chance. It would be stupid not to, right?
I don't think anyone can deny that Daniel Levy is a) an excellent businessman and b) a Spurs man. The Financial Times was the first to announce that our bid for the Olympic Stadium will be a joint bid with the entertainment and facilities management company AEG and that it is with a view to leasing out the stadium. I believe our involvement with the Olympic Stadium may be a money-making scheme to either help pay for our new stadium construction or as an additional income should we be forced to stay at White Hart Lane if our new stadium plans fall through. I don't think actually moving to the Olympic Stadium ourselves is a serious consideration to Levy. It couldn't be, could it? Please, no. Just. No.
Screwing over the Hammers is an additional perk in this process. I for one think it would be fun to buy West Ham's 'spiritual home' as David Gold has called it and then lease it back to them. We could charge them extortionate amounts or evict them midway through the season or other fun things like that. Seriously though, I think this move is a sound business move from Mr. Levy. It would be silly to put all our eggs in our new stadium basket when there is still much work to be done. Putting in an application to the Olympic Stadium when there is no commitment to go through with it makes a lot of sense. It could make us money in the long-run and it has pissed off the Hammers. Win-win.
In Levy we trust. Many say he is a business man first and just wants to make money. But you don't buy a football club to make money. He has Spurs at heart and wants what is best for the club. Believe in him.
I for one think this is very sound and sensible planning from Daniel Levy. Obviously, priority number one is a brand spanking new stadium on our current White Hart Lane site. I don't for a minute think Levy would ever consider moving us to East London. There would be uproar and revolt. But there are still plenty of hoops for us to jump through before we can start building our new home. There are plenty of things to trip us up. Furthermore, the new stadium will cost a hell of a lot of money. We don't want to cripple ourselves financially for the future trying to pay for it. Levy says we were told that if we did not put in a bid for the Olympic Stadium now, we wouldn't get another chance. It would be stupid not to, right?
I don't think anyone can deny that Daniel Levy is a) an excellent businessman and b) a Spurs man. The Financial Times was the first to announce that our bid for the Olympic Stadium will be a joint bid with the entertainment and facilities management company AEG and that it is with a view to leasing out the stadium. I believe our involvement with the Olympic Stadium may be a money-making scheme to either help pay for our new stadium construction or as an additional income should we be forced to stay at White Hart Lane if our new stadium plans fall through. I don't think actually moving to the Olympic Stadium ourselves is a serious consideration to Levy. It couldn't be, could it? Please, no. Just. No.
Screwing over the Hammers is an additional perk in this process. I for one think it would be fun to buy West Ham's 'spiritual home' as David Gold has called it and then lease it back to them. We could charge them extortionate amounts or evict them midway through the season or other fun things like that. Seriously though, I think this move is a sound business move from Mr. Levy. It would be silly to put all our eggs in our new stadium basket when there is still much work to be done. Putting in an application to the Olympic Stadium when there is no commitment to go through with it makes a lot of sense. It could make us money in the long-run and it has pissed off the Hammers. Win-win.
In Levy we trust. Many say he is a business man first and just wants to make money. But you don't buy a football club to make money. He has Spurs at heart and wants what is best for the club. Believe in him.
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Glory Glory Nights R Us: FC Twente Preview
After the appetizer of Young Boys (behave), the arrival of Schteve McClaren's former charges FC Twente signals the arrival of the Champions League proper to the Lane. The Champions League music and the flag waving against Young Boys set my heart fluttering. We've made it to the promised land. We may not be here again next year but for now who cares, we're here, let's have fun. Champions League footie under the floodlights. The atmosphere is going to be electric. I can't bloody wait.
So what can we expect from Twente? Well despite the fact that the 'Wally with the Brolly' has moved on they are Dutch Champions so they can't be shit. A warning as to the dangers of Twente can be found in their draw with Inter in the first game, not just in the result, but in the manner of the goals. The first a cracking free kick from Theo Janssen and the second an own goal from a Theo Janssen corner. Twente are a threat from set pieces and last time I checked we aren't too hot at defending them. The left boot of Theo Janssen will be a huge threat all night and we need to keep corners and silly free kicks around the box (Mr. Bassong take note), to a minimum. That being said, as long as we keep Twente on the back foot as much as possible I think we will be ok.
Now to the boys in European all-Lilywhite. It is possible we will have no-one who missed the West Ham back (although fingers crossed on Gomes and Assou-Ekotto). However, I'm confident that we will still be too strong for Twente. We have seen in the past that visiting teams in the Champions League tend to be cautious and defend deep. Hopefully this should mean that our patchwork defence does not come under too much sustained pressure. Nevertheless, we need all our attacking players firing on all cylinders, including our cigar-chomping winger. Whether 'Arry gives him the arm round the shoulder or the kick up the backside, we need Aaron back on form and soon. I want to see Huddlestone in the quarterback role, exuding authority and stroking balls left, right and centre. Modric and VdV buzzing around like blue-arsed flies creating space, openings, chances. Even if he starts at LB in the absence of BAE, Bale needs to be the unplayable simian marauder we know he can be. Crouch may not be able to hit a barn door in the Premiership but stick a Champions League badge on his arm and he becomes a goal machine. Another couple tonight please Crouchie.
Our club is built upon these floodlit European nights. Glory glory Tottenham Hotspur and all that. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
COYS.
So what can we expect from Twente? Well despite the fact that the 'Wally with the Brolly' has moved on they are Dutch Champions so they can't be shit. A warning as to the dangers of Twente can be found in their draw with Inter in the first game, not just in the result, but in the manner of the goals. The first a cracking free kick from Theo Janssen and the second an own goal from a Theo Janssen corner. Twente are a threat from set pieces and last time I checked we aren't too hot at defending them. The left boot of Theo Janssen will be a huge threat all night and we need to keep corners and silly free kicks around the box (Mr. Bassong take note), to a minimum. That being said, as long as we keep Twente on the back foot as much as possible I think we will be ok.
Now to the boys in European all-Lilywhite. It is possible we will have no-one who missed the West Ham back (although fingers crossed on Gomes and Assou-Ekotto). However, I'm confident that we will still be too strong for Twente. We have seen in the past that visiting teams in the Champions League tend to be cautious and defend deep. Hopefully this should mean that our patchwork defence does not come under too much sustained pressure. Nevertheless, we need all our attacking players firing on all cylinders, including our cigar-chomping winger. Whether 'Arry gives him the arm round the shoulder or the kick up the backside, we need Aaron back on form and soon. I want to see Huddlestone in the quarterback role, exuding authority and stroking balls left, right and centre. Modric and VdV buzzing around like blue-arsed flies creating space, openings, chances. Even if he starts at LB in the absence of BAE, Bale needs to be the unplayable simian marauder we know he can be. Crouch may not be able to hit a barn door in the Premiership but stick a Champions League badge on his arm and he becomes a goal machine. Another couple tonight please Crouchie.
Our club is built upon these floodlit European nights. Glory glory Tottenham Hotspur and all that. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
COYS.
Tuesday 28 September 2010
Spurs are just like Real Madrid
There has been a lot of negativity flowing around the blogs and discussion boards regarding our beloved club and after back to back derby defeats it is understandable.
However, a lot of this ill-feeling is directed towards 'Arry, claiming that he has lost the plot and has taken us as far as he can etc etc. Basically every criticism certain fans had of Martin Jol, dusted off and recited re: Mr. Redknapp. I personally was a fan of our lager-drinking Dutchman and only conceded that he needed to go when it had appeared that he had lost the dressing room, an irreversible and fatal action. So why does 'Arry, in the eyes of many Spurs fans, need to go? To many, our indifferent start to the season suggests a return to inconsistency. A return to our soft underbelly away from home. A clear failure to adequately strengthen the side over the summer in the shape of a world class striker. With heightened expectations, 'Arry has revealed himself to be unable to cope with the pressure of juggling league and Champions League. He has shown himself not to be tactically astute enough to rotate players and tinker with formation. If 'Arry stays in charge, we will be out of the Champions League before Christmas and sitting in midtable. 'Arry out.
Absolute ballbags.
'Arry achieved what 99% of people thought wasn't possible, considering the strength on paper of the established 'Big 4' and the wallet of City, and qualified for the Champions League. We're not in the relegation, we're 8th. We're 3 points off 3rd. Wigan parked the bus and hit us with a sucker punch. It happens. A draw away at West Brom looks a credible result seeing as they turned over that lot down the road on their own patch. Two outstanding displays of goalkeeping kept us from thumping City and getting at the very very least a draw against the Spammers. A win at Stoke is difficult for anyone. Wolves beat us twice last season. 2-2 in Bremen is a very good result and should have been better.
Let's not forget our injuries. Sky Sports is awash with talk of injuries crippling United ahead of their game with Valencia. No Rooney. No Giggs. No Scholes. United have big problems they say. If they lose at the Mestalla this will be why. You can't underestimate the effect that injuries have on a team. No King, Dawson, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Kaboul, Defoe or Gomes against West Ham. Arguably 5 of our strongest 11 and 2 first choice back-ups. Away at a team that always raises their game against us. How is a defeat under those circumstances 'Arry's fault? Would Corluka have played like Beckenbauer at CB if Mourinho had been in charge? Would Green have played worse if 'Arry had picked a different lineup? Injuries disrupt consistency, confidence and fitness. If Chelsea had gone to Upton Park without Cech, Terry, Ivanovic, Alex, Ashley Cole, Essien and Drogba and lost, would people have been deriding Ancelotti's tactical know-how? Of course not. People will say that with players like VdV, Modric and Bale we should be beating teams like West Ham anyway. It doesn't work like that. If you have a patchwork defence in place ahead of a goalkeeper they may not be entirely confident in, then leaking goals is a distinct possibility.
Herein lies our connection with Real Madrid. Fans of Spurs and Real have unfulfillable expectations. At Real, Vicente Del Bosque won the domestic double but was sacked for failing to win the Champions League. Mangers since have been sacked for winning the league but not Champions League and more recently failing to topple a Barcelona side which is arguably the greatest ever. If Mourinho wins the Champions League and league this year but fails to defend one or both next year, he will probably be sacked. At Spurs we have lower but equally unattainable goals. Every time a manager achieves something at Spurs, we raise the bar too high too soon and sack him for failing to reach it. We want Martin Jol to get us into the top 6. Done. Keep us there? Done. Top 4? Failed and sacked. 'Arry. Champions League? Done. Signs in the first 6 games that we aren't going to mount a title challenge? Calls for his head.
Please please please let's stop the knee-jerking. 'Arry is the best we've had in years. We're 6 games into the season. Half our squad is injured. We will be ok. Believe. In 'Arry we trust.
Sunday 26 September 2010
Curse of the Champions League?
I would like to be clear straight off the bat that I am not trying to excuse our terrible performance against the Hammers yesterday. I do not believe in curses, jinxes or the work of Eileen Drury.
But I have noticed an interesting pattern that has emerged across the leagues of Europe. This is not designed to make us feel any better about our sluggish start to the season. But maybe it will comfort us just slightly that we are not alone. Harry, pundits and journos have all talked about the 'Champions League Hangover'. If I can stick with this metaphor for a moment, the best teams can handle the boozy midweeks of the Champions League and are fresh to consume the meat and potatoes of the following weekend's league fixtures. The others are glugging down Resolve and smell of the meat and potatoes makes them go all queasy.
Metaphor out of the way, I'm not sure whether I subscribe to the 'hangover' theory, but I get the feeling that at Spurs the whole Champions League thing is all new and exciting and Harry and the players are struggling to find the balance between CL and EPL. Do the players constantly have one eye on the San Siro? Is a rainy night at the Reebok just not what it used to be? (No, it's exactly what it used to be. Shit.) But maybe we are struggling to get our heads down and grind out some back to back wins in the league when we have big exciting Champions League games on the horizon.
Anyway, here is why at least Spurs are not alone in struggling to mix the two.
Spain:
La Liga's participants in the Champions League are perfect examples of experienced Champions League teams that can mix League and Champions League. Valencia, Real Madrid, Barcelona. Siting 1, 2, 3. Something for all to aspire to.
Italy:
Inter are another example of an experienced team that can juggle both. Top of the league and unsurprisingly so. AC Milan are 5th. But Roma, a team perhaps similar in stature to Spurs, are languishing in 17th.
Holland:
Ajax may be top but Champions Twente are 4th with just 3 wins from 7. In the Dutch League 4th isn't very good.
France:
The two French participants have made league starts that make Spurs look like they have flown out of the blocks. Auxerre, who took the same play-off route into the Champions League that we did are 17th with 0 wins and 5 draws from their first 7 games and Lyon are 19th, having already lost 4 times.
Germany:
Our old friends Bremen have had a very similar start to ourselves, sitting 12th with 2 wins from 6 games but including a 4-1 defeat this weekend. Schalke 04 are currently 17th in the Bundesliga without a win.
I know each team will have particular circumstances and reasons as to why they may or may not have started well. But these are all good teams, they wouldn't have finished in the top 3 or 4 of these leagues if they weren't. We are a good team. Let's not panic. Some seasons you start slowly. Is the Champions League a burden if you aren't an Inter, Barcelona or a Chelsea? Some teams across Europe, Spurs included, may feel in the coming weeks that it is.
But I have noticed an interesting pattern that has emerged across the leagues of Europe. This is not designed to make us feel any better about our sluggish start to the season. But maybe it will comfort us just slightly that we are not alone. Harry, pundits and journos have all talked about the 'Champions League Hangover'. If I can stick with this metaphor for a moment, the best teams can handle the boozy midweeks of the Champions League and are fresh to consume the meat and potatoes of the following weekend's league fixtures. The others are glugging down Resolve and smell of the meat and potatoes makes them go all queasy.
Metaphor out of the way, I'm not sure whether I subscribe to the 'hangover' theory, but I get the feeling that at Spurs the whole Champions League thing is all new and exciting and Harry and the players are struggling to find the balance between CL and EPL. Do the players constantly have one eye on the San Siro? Is a rainy night at the Reebok just not what it used to be? (No, it's exactly what it used to be. Shit.) But maybe we are struggling to get our heads down and grind out some back to back wins in the league when we have big exciting Champions League games on the horizon.
Anyway, here is why at least Spurs are not alone in struggling to mix the two.
Spain:
La Liga's participants in the Champions League are perfect examples of experienced Champions League teams that can mix League and Champions League. Valencia, Real Madrid, Barcelona. Siting 1, 2, 3. Something for all to aspire to.
Italy:
Inter are another example of an experienced team that can juggle both. Top of the league and unsurprisingly so. AC Milan are 5th. But Roma, a team perhaps similar in stature to Spurs, are languishing in 17th.
Holland:
Ajax may be top but Champions Twente are 4th with just 3 wins from 7. In the Dutch League 4th isn't very good.
France:
The two French participants have made league starts that make Spurs look like they have flown out of the blocks. Auxerre, who took the same play-off route into the Champions League that we did are 17th with 0 wins and 5 draws from their first 7 games and Lyon are 19th, having already lost 4 times.
Germany:
Our old friends Bremen have had a very similar start to ourselves, sitting 12th with 2 wins from 6 games but including a 4-1 defeat this weekend. Schalke 04 are currently 17th in the Bundesliga without a win.
I know each team will have particular circumstances and reasons as to why they may or may not have started well. But these are all good teams, they wouldn't have finished in the top 3 or 4 of these leagues if they weren't. We are a good team. Let's not panic. Some seasons you start slowly. Is the Champions League a burden if you aren't an Inter, Barcelona or a Chelsea? Some teams across Europe, Spurs included, may feel in the coming weeks that it is.
Thursday 9 September 2010
Rise of the 4-5-1?
With the news today that Defoe will be out of action for 6 weeks despite personally claiming to be fit to face West Brom on Saturday, I got to thinking about the potential for Spurs to adopt that most fashionable of formations, the 4-5-1, on a more regular basis.
With the good old 4-4-2 we failed to break down a Wigan team that Blackpool put 4 past and so far our only league win has come from a 4-5-1 formation at Stoke. I know this is simplifying the argument but the advantages for Spurs are there for all to see now that Defoe is out. First of all, who from our other strikers is going to score on a consistent basis? And who can work together as an effective partnership? Pavlyuchenko is a talented striker but runs hot and cold and when he's cold he's colder than a Moscow winter. Keane is a ghost these days and I think his days as an effective Spurs player are long over, although I hope I'm proved wrong about that. Crouch is good at what he does which is receiving the ball with his back to goal but he is never going to score consistently as he showed last season and the very best defenders in the league can effectively neutralise him. Playing two of our other strikers together has rarely worked in the past and would seem to take up a spot in the starting XI that could go to a more effective player.
Here is where my argument is based. We have just signed Rafael Van der Vaart. We already have Modric, Kranjcar, Bale and Lennon as forward thinking midfielders. Despite having a bit of a stinker against Wigan I think Huddlestone is crucial to our efforts and so should start every week, pinging passes long and short onto a sixpence and generally exuding a quiet authority. Which, if we were to play the 4-4-2, would leave Van der Vaart and Modric to battle for the final midfield spot, assuming 'arry continues to play Bale on the left wing and BAE at full back. This to me seems like a waste. With a 4-5-1, we can have someone like Crouch or Pav lead the line, while Bale and Lennon maraud down the wings, Modric and Van der Vaart wander around with guile and ingenuity generally causing havoc in front of the defence, whilst Huddlestone, Palacios or Sandro can sit back and keep an eye on things. Crouch's general lack of goals would not matter so much if the likes of Van der Vaart, Bale, Modric and Lennon are chipping in with close to double figures themselves.
Midfield is where games are won and lost and it showed against Young Boys in the first leg that getting overrun in the middle of the park can lead to massacres. I believe that we are a better team than Werder Bremen but I am concerned that if we get our tactics wrong, as we did in Switzerland, we could get thumped again. This season we will be coming up against seasoned European teams who are used to playing with five in the middle. Teams experienced with the 4-5-1 can dissect 4-4-2 fairly easily. Can you imagine a midfield two of Huddlestone and Palacios for example against a Barcelona midfield three of Xavi, Iniesta and Mascherano? Ouch.
Midfielders who can score 15-20 goals a season are the Holy Grail for teams. All the best teams have one. Fat Frank at Chelsea. Gerrard at Liverpool (although they may not be a top team anymore). Messi at Barca. Ronaldo at Real. Manchester Utd may not have one free scoring midfielder anymore but the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Nani all chip in with close to double figures. The days of effective strike partnerships, little and large, Quinn and Phillips, Yorke and Cole, Shearer and Sheringham, are over. If you have a lone striker who can score frequently (Drogba, Torres, Rooney), then you don't need a second if you have two or three midfielders who can score on a regular basis.
Maybe the injury to Defoe could allow Spurs to contemplate joining this formation revolution?
With the good old 4-4-2 we failed to break down a Wigan team that Blackpool put 4 past and so far our only league win has come from a 4-5-1 formation at Stoke. I know this is simplifying the argument but the advantages for Spurs are there for all to see now that Defoe is out. First of all, who from our other strikers is going to score on a consistent basis? And who can work together as an effective partnership? Pavlyuchenko is a talented striker but runs hot and cold and when he's cold he's colder than a Moscow winter. Keane is a ghost these days and I think his days as an effective Spurs player are long over, although I hope I'm proved wrong about that. Crouch is good at what he does which is receiving the ball with his back to goal but he is never going to score consistently as he showed last season and the very best defenders in the league can effectively neutralise him. Playing two of our other strikers together has rarely worked in the past and would seem to take up a spot in the starting XI that could go to a more effective player.
Here is where my argument is based. We have just signed Rafael Van der Vaart. We already have Modric, Kranjcar, Bale and Lennon as forward thinking midfielders. Despite having a bit of a stinker against Wigan I think Huddlestone is crucial to our efforts and so should start every week, pinging passes long and short onto a sixpence and generally exuding a quiet authority. Which, if we were to play the 4-4-2, would leave Van der Vaart and Modric to battle for the final midfield spot, assuming 'arry continues to play Bale on the left wing and BAE at full back. This to me seems like a waste. With a 4-5-1, we can have someone like Crouch or Pav lead the line, while Bale and Lennon maraud down the wings, Modric and Van der Vaart wander around with guile and ingenuity generally causing havoc in front of the defence, whilst Huddlestone, Palacios or Sandro can sit back and keep an eye on things. Crouch's general lack of goals would not matter so much if the likes of Van der Vaart, Bale, Modric and Lennon are chipping in with close to double figures themselves.
Midfield is where games are won and lost and it showed against Young Boys in the first leg that getting overrun in the middle of the park can lead to massacres. I believe that we are a better team than Werder Bremen but I am concerned that if we get our tactics wrong, as we did in Switzerland, we could get thumped again. This season we will be coming up against seasoned European teams who are used to playing with five in the middle. Teams experienced with the 4-5-1 can dissect 4-4-2 fairly easily. Can you imagine a midfield two of Huddlestone and Palacios for example against a Barcelona midfield three of Xavi, Iniesta and Mascherano? Ouch.
Midfielders who can score 15-20 goals a season are the Holy Grail for teams. All the best teams have one. Fat Frank at Chelsea. Gerrard at Liverpool (although they may not be a top team anymore). Messi at Barca. Ronaldo at Real. Manchester Utd may not have one free scoring midfielder anymore but the likes of Giggs, Scholes, Nani all chip in with close to double figures. The days of effective strike partnerships, little and large, Quinn and Phillips, Yorke and Cole, Shearer and Sheringham, are over. If you have a lone striker who can score frequently (Drogba, Torres, Rooney), then you don't need a second if you have two or three midfielders who can score on a regular basis.
Maybe the injury to Defoe could allow Spurs to contemplate joining this formation revolution?
Monday 30 August 2010
Where are we going under Capello?
What a depressing squad announcement.
The return of Carson, Upson, Lescott, Jagielka and Carrick are what we get when we are promised a 'new era' after our shambolic World Cup campaign. Claims that David Stockdale was set to earn a call-up are all well and good and it would have been deserved following his start to the season but we could call me up to be 3rd choice keeper. It wouldn't make much difference. This squad demonstrates that when it comes to competitive games, Capello still cannot help but play safe and go with solid, middle-of-the-road performers instead of blooding exciting youngsters.
Those nasty rumours going around that Capello still hadn't closed the door on international returns for Beckham and Scholes sums this up for me. England's qualifying group is not exactly terrifying. We should qualify without the need for the experience of Beckham and Scholes. The European Championships are two years away, by which time the two of them will be far too old to make any sort of significant contribution. Why then do we not bring in the likes Huddlestone, Lennon, Rodwell and blood them now, meaning that by the time the European Championship comes around, players such as this will be settled within the squad and have two years international experience behind them.
The inclusion of the likes of Gibbs and Wilshere in these squads seem more like a pointless token gesture, similar to how Eriksson took Walcott to the World Cup in 2006. Neither player has made any sort of contribution to Arsenal yet and Capello knows by calling them up, he will look as if he is fulfilling his promise to blood young talent, whilst actually leaving them on the bench to play behind the likes Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Maybe a part of me is a bitter Spurs fan, angry that Huddlestone and Lennon have missed out. But I'm sure not many people could argue that Huddlestone has been a better and more effective player than Carrick over the last 18 months, and the same can be said for Lennon over Walcott and Wright-Phillips. Lescott struggles to make the City team and the last time Jagielka played for England he had to come off with twisted blood after an encounter with David Villa.
With these sorts of players, yes we will qualify for the European Championships. But if we go to the Championships themselves in Poland and Ukraine with players like Carlton Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, who quite frankly are not international quality, then it will all end in tears again.
In Joe Hart we have a new and very good goalkeeper. But so far that's it. Nothing has changed from the team that flopped so miserably in South Africa (aside from Heskey's retirement). Unfortunately I don't see this changing. Upson & co won't concede many goals against Bulgaria, Montenegro, Wales et al. Carlton Cole may even score a few goals. Capello will therefore see no reason to drop them and as soon as we come up against a decent team at Euro 2012 we will be humbled again.
Sorry if this seems overly cynical. But as Baddiel and Skinner said, 'We've seen it all before'.
The return of Carson, Upson, Lescott, Jagielka and Carrick are what we get when we are promised a 'new era' after our shambolic World Cup campaign. Claims that David Stockdale was set to earn a call-up are all well and good and it would have been deserved following his start to the season but we could call me up to be 3rd choice keeper. It wouldn't make much difference. This squad demonstrates that when it comes to competitive games, Capello still cannot help but play safe and go with solid, middle-of-the-road performers instead of blooding exciting youngsters.
Those nasty rumours going around that Capello still hadn't closed the door on international returns for Beckham and Scholes sums this up for me. England's qualifying group is not exactly terrifying. We should qualify without the need for the experience of Beckham and Scholes. The European Championships are two years away, by which time the two of them will be far too old to make any sort of significant contribution. Why then do we not bring in the likes Huddlestone, Lennon, Rodwell and blood them now, meaning that by the time the European Championship comes around, players such as this will be settled within the squad and have two years international experience behind them.
The inclusion of the likes of Gibbs and Wilshere in these squads seem more like a pointless token gesture, similar to how Eriksson took Walcott to the World Cup in 2006. Neither player has made any sort of contribution to Arsenal yet and Capello knows by calling them up, he will look as if he is fulfilling his promise to blood young talent, whilst actually leaving them on the bench to play behind the likes Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Maybe a part of me is a bitter Spurs fan, angry that Huddlestone and Lennon have missed out. But I'm sure not many people could argue that Huddlestone has been a better and more effective player than Carrick over the last 18 months, and the same can be said for Lennon over Walcott and Wright-Phillips. Lescott struggles to make the City team and the last time Jagielka played for England he had to come off with twisted blood after an encounter with David Villa.
With these sorts of players, yes we will qualify for the European Championships. But if we go to the Championships themselves in Poland and Ukraine with players like Carlton Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips, who quite frankly are not international quality, then it will all end in tears again.
In Joe Hart we have a new and very good goalkeeper. But so far that's it. Nothing has changed from the team that flopped so miserably in South Africa (aside from Heskey's retirement). Unfortunately I don't see this changing. Upson & co won't concede many goals against Bulgaria, Montenegro, Wales et al. Carlton Cole may even score a few goals. Capello will therefore see no reason to drop them and as soon as we come up against a decent team at Euro 2012 we will be humbled again.
Sorry if this seems overly cynical. But as Baddiel and Skinner said, 'We've seen it all before'.
Saturday 28 August 2010
Back to Earth with a Bump.
After the Euphoria of our midweek thumping of Young Boys and the glamourous reward of a trip to the San Siro. Us Spurs fans could have been forgiven for thinking that this was it, we had made it, we were one of the big boys now. After dining on the caviar of the Champions League, we returned to the bread and butter of the league and vomited all over ourselves. This was Spurs at their worst. Static, devoid of ideas and lazy. At the time of writing, Manchester United are moving through the gears and leaving West Ham as a greasy stain on the road. We have a long way to go.
First of all, I believe 'arry got his team selection wrong. A home game against Wigan does not require two defensive minded players in the middle of the park. Huddlestone was as bad as I've seen him in a long time, giving away his first three passes set the tone for a torrid afternoon. Palacios was much improved on his midweek showing but still lacked the creativity we needed to break Wigan down. Many plaudits will go to the Wigan goalkeeper but in fact he only made one save of note before the final 15 minutes when Spurs realised a win was not going materialise by its self. Spurs played the first half at something of a stroll, thinking that the goals would flow without too much effort. By the time they realised that this wasn't going to be the case it was too late and their panicky, rushed attempts to grab a goal only resulted in more frustration, both from the crowd and from each other, and a breakaway Wigan goal.
So who can really hold their heads up after todays game? Bale and Lennon lacked their usual effervescence, Crouch and later Pavlyuchenko were anonymous. Defoe buzzed around in his usual busy way but was bullied out of the game by the physical Wigan defence. After a wonderful midweek performance, Assou-Ekotto spent most of the first half playing silly buggers at the back before being replaced at half time. Cudicini was a spectator for most of the game but when his moment in the spotlight came, he fluffed his lines horribly. Ledley gave Rodallega, who likes a shot (as the member of rows F thru P behind the goal were finding out throughout), too much space to shoot and the resulting tame, scuffed effort someone squirmed through Cudicini's hand and in. Wigan's 14 supporters went mad, the rest inside White Hart Lane went madder.
Until we learn how to break down teams that defend deep in numbers, we will not be able to make the step up to consistently challenging for the top 4 and beyond. As we improve and teams give us more respect, more and more teams will adopt this tactic at White Hart Lane. Last season Wolves, Stoke and Hull got joy from this tactic. Wigan are the first this season and I have a nasty feeling they won't be the last.
First of all, I believe 'arry got his team selection wrong. A home game against Wigan does not require two defensive minded players in the middle of the park. Huddlestone was as bad as I've seen him in a long time, giving away his first three passes set the tone for a torrid afternoon. Palacios was much improved on his midweek showing but still lacked the creativity we needed to break Wigan down. Many plaudits will go to the Wigan goalkeeper but in fact he only made one save of note before the final 15 minutes when Spurs realised a win was not going materialise by its self. Spurs played the first half at something of a stroll, thinking that the goals would flow without too much effort. By the time they realised that this wasn't going to be the case it was too late and their panicky, rushed attempts to grab a goal only resulted in more frustration, both from the crowd and from each other, and a breakaway Wigan goal.
So who can really hold their heads up after todays game? Bale and Lennon lacked their usual effervescence, Crouch and later Pavlyuchenko were anonymous. Defoe buzzed around in his usual busy way but was bullied out of the game by the physical Wigan defence. After a wonderful midweek performance, Assou-Ekotto spent most of the first half playing silly buggers at the back before being replaced at half time. Cudicini was a spectator for most of the game but when his moment in the spotlight came, he fluffed his lines horribly. Ledley gave Rodallega, who likes a shot (as the member of rows F thru P behind the goal were finding out throughout), too much space to shoot and the resulting tame, scuffed effort someone squirmed through Cudicini's hand and in. Wigan's 14 supporters went mad, the rest inside White Hart Lane went madder.
Until we learn how to break down teams that defend deep in numbers, we will not be able to make the step up to consistently challenging for the top 4 and beyond. As we improve and teams give us more respect, more and more teams will adopt this tactic at White Hart Lane. Last season Wolves, Stoke and Hull got joy from this tactic. Wigan are the first this season and I have a nasty feeling they won't be the last.
Monday 23 August 2010
Goal Line Technology is needed. But the ref got it right.
Another weekend of competitive football, another controversial goal line incident. According to the country's pundits and everyone involved with Stoke City, the header from Jon Walters clearly crossed the line despite Crouch's best efforts and it joins the 'goals' of Lampard, Pedro Mendes and Luis Garcia sitting on Sepp Blatter's desk marked 'Goal Line Technology - Get on it'.
Chris Foy has been vilified by the media for missing another clear example of the ball crossing the line. The fact is he couldn't have given that goal. He would deserve more criticism if he had given it. From where he was standing there was no way he could have seen if the ball had 100% crossed the line. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. Foy wasn't sure so he looked over to the linesman to see if he was sure, but the linesman wasn't sure either. You can't give a goal on a guess. Clattenburg was about 60 yards away when Mendes's shot bounced over the line at Old Trafford, he couldn't have been sure. Criticism should be aimed at the linesman, he should have been better placed and should have seen the ball cross the line. When Lampard 'scored' against Germany, the linesman was again perfectly placed but for some reason did not give the goal. From the referee's postion some 30 yards from goal, he couldn't be sure.
Foy couldn't have possibly won with that decision. If he had given the goal, comparisons would have been made with Luis Garcia's goal against Chelsea in the Champions League a few years back. The general consensus is now that the ball probably didn't cross the line. The referee couldn't possibly have been 100% sure and so gave the goal on a guess. Maybe the Anfield atmosphere and the importance of the 'goal' swayed his decision. This deserves much greater condemnation. Foy had his hands tied by the rules and FIFA's lack of technology and made the correct decision. Why this incident remains controversial is FIFA's fault.
So what can FIFA do? I personally remain unconvinced by the extra officials behind the goal. The 'did it or didn't it cross the line' debate happens fairly infrequently and having two men stationed just for this seems like a waste of man power. Talk of sensors in the goal or in the ball seems like an accident waiting to happen when defenders or goalkeepers are standing right on the line. The best bet in my opinion would be a cricket-style 3rd umpire or referral system. If the referee is not sure if the ball crossed the line, he should have the power to stop the game to consult with an extra official with access to a TV replay and then either give the goal or restart play with a drop ball. Another method could be the attacking team asking for a cricket-style referral, although this would throw up questions of the referee's authority and could be used tactically to deny counter-attacks etc.
I am aware there will always be people saying that referees are always at fault if they get a decision wrong or that TV replays slow down the game, but I have no doubt that if a TV replay was used at the Britannia on Saturday, results would have proved inconclusive and the official's original decision would stand, as often happens in the cricket. TV replays would have shown likewise that the goals of Mendes and Lampard would have rightfully stood and we would be able to get back to criticising referees for missing handballs, red cards and diving. As it ought to be.
Chris Foy has been vilified by the media for missing another clear example of the ball crossing the line. The fact is he couldn't have given that goal. He would deserve more criticism if he had given it. From where he was standing there was no way he could have seen if the ball had 100% crossed the line. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. Foy wasn't sure so he looked over to the linesman to see if he was sure, but the linesman wasn't sure either. You can't give a goal on a guess. Clattenburg was about 60 yards away when Mendes's shot bounced over the line at Old Trafford, he couldn't have been sure. Criticism should be aimed at the linesman, he should have been better placed and should have seen the ball cross the line. When Lampard 'scored' against Germany, the linesman was again perfectly placed but for some reason did not give the goal. From the referee's postion some 30 yards from goal, he couldn't be sure.
Foy couldn't have possibly won with that decision. If he had given the goal, comparisons would have been made with Luis Garcia's goal against Chelsea in the Champions League a few years back. The general consensus is now that the ball probably didn't cross the line. The referee couldn't possibly have been 100% sure and so gave the goal on a guess. Maybe the Anfield atmosphere and the importance of the 'goal' swayed his decision. This deserves much greater condemnation. Foy had his hands tied by the rules and FIFA's lack of technology and made the correct decision. Why this incident remains controversial is FIFA's fault.
So what can FIFA do? I personally remain unconvinced by the extra officials behind the goal. The 'did it or didn't it cross the line' debate happens fairly infrequently and having two men stationed just for this seems like a waste of man power. Talk of sensors in the goal or in the ball seems like an accident waiting to happen when defenders or goalkeepers are standing right on the line. The best bet in my opinion would be a cricket-style 3rd umpire or referral system. If the referee is not sure if the ball crossed the line, he should have the power to stop the game to consult with an extra official with access to a TV replay and then either give the goal or restart play with a drop ball. Another method could be the attacking team asking for a cricket-style referral, although this would throw up questions of the referee's authority and could be used tactically to deny counter-attacks etc.
I am aware there will always be people saying that referees are always at fault if they get a decision wrong or that TV replays slow down the game, but I have no doubt that if a TV replay was used at the Britannia on Saturday, results would have proved inconclusive and the official's original decision would stand, as often happens in the cricket. TV replays would have shown likewise that the goals of Mendes and Lampard would have rightfully stood and we would be able to get back to criticising referees for missing handballs, red cards and diving. As it ought to be.
Wednesday 18 August 2010
What a difference 90 minutes makes
Well that wasn't meant to happen.
Since Gareth Bale dismantled both Arsenal and Chelsea in the space of a week back in April, the optimism of your average Spurs fan has been on the up and up. Clinching Champions League football at Eastlands. Promising pre-season performances against Benfica and Fiorentina. A plum draw in the Champions League. Only an inspired goalkeeping display preventing us from scoring a hatful against the pundits' tip for the top 4. But what a difference 90 minutes makes.
Suddenly those Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham fans who have become mysteriously quiet over the last six months were coming out of the woodwork and chortling at our downfall. Beaten by some minnows of Swiss football, this was normal service resuming. It is difficult to deny that a few Spurs fans were thinking the same thing after half an hour at the Wankdorf last night. It was three, but it could easily have been five or six. Our defence looked like rabbits in the headlights as Young Boys played with the intent, confidence and tempo that we have been used to seeing at White Hart Lane. As Harry said, to escape those opening 28 minutes with no more goals conceded and two away goals really is a 'great defeat'.
There are two ways of viewing this game:
1) Spurs of old are peeking through.
Sustained periods of pressure on our defence reveal that a soft underbelly still remains. Bassong is raw and panics when confidence is low. Dawson has the turning speed of an oil tanker. Palacios does not have any sort of acceptable passing ability. Where are the goals coming from? Pav, Defoe, Crouch and Keane are all flawed players and do not have the required attributes to become our fabled '20 goal a season' striker. Did this game indicate that once again this season we will struggle away from home against battling teams and be outclassed by the bigger teams?
2) Bad day at the artificially-surfaced office.
The first half hour was a perfect storm. With home-advantage Young Boys came at us all guns blazing. They knew how the ball would zip across the surface and used the pace of Bienvenu and Hochstrasser to stretch our back four. Spurs on the other hand, if we are to believe Harry's comments, were far from happy on the plastic pitch, unable to get to grips with the bounce and carry and suffering from achey joints. It seemed to me that the occasion also got to Spurs. The majority of our team had not experienced a night like that before. As the Champions League music rang out, it hit home to our boys that this was it, they had arrived and, as a result, knees went trembly. A lucky, marginally offside opening goal lit the taper. Spurs crumbled and curled into the foetal position. As the game wore on we gradually unfurled ourselves and began to realise that we were a much better team than Young Boys. I have no doubts that we will be better. We can't be worse.
It is very very easy to knee-jerk over this performance and result. We were as bad as I've seen us under Harry yes and there were some worrying performances but I believe things will be different this time next week. Huddlestone came on and demonstrated why he is now one of our best and most important players with a colossal, ship-steadying performance. There were signs last night that Young Boys are defensively very poor. We will learn from our mistakes. This was a baptism of fire in the Champions League and we will be stronger and more confident in front of a packed house at White Hart Lane. Last time we were in Europe's top competition we opened by shipping four to Polish minnows. We took them back to the Lane and scored eight. We can't afford to be so sloppy again. We won't be so sloppy again. Time for another glory glory night at White Hart Lane.
Sunday 15 August 2010
Young Boys Preview
Right, first post and I'm jumping straight into the deep end with a preview of our Champions League qualifier showdown with Young Boys. No need to dwell on the City game, they were poor, we were great, we should have won. Promising stuff.
The biggest concern over Tuesday night is the uncertainty. Despite the headline-writer's dream of a name, we really don't know anything about the team from Bern. They beat Fenerbache 3-2 on aggregate in the last round and have an Enfield-born Spurs fan in midfield. That's about it. Oh, and they play on astro-turf, a surface that will cause Ledley to break into millions of tiny pieces if he plays on it apparently, so expect Bassong to deputise.
Doubters will point to this astro-turf pitch, saying it is the ace-up-the-sleeve of Young Boys and will be our downfall. They know how to play on it, they say. They never lose at home because of it, they say. I can't get worried about the pitch. How different can it be? The ball may bounce a bit higher, it may skid off the surface more, but so what? Would this not aid a technically superior side like Spurs? If the pitch was a ploughed field I would be more concerned. Home advantage, plastic pitch etc should count for nothing if the likes of Bale, Modric and Lennon play anything close to their best.
Two legs. At our best I would say we could give Barcelona a game at the Lane. We should beat Young Boys comfortably at the Lane. Nevertheless let's not give them a sliver of hope. At least two away goals. Above all, do not lose. We've been waiting a long time to hear that music ring out at White Hart Lane. Bring it on.
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