It's football Jim, but not as we know it
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 9:07AM So there I was. Popcorn. Cold beer. Hooker on speed dial for half-time. Remote control sat beside me on the sofa so that I could avoid the half-time tactical punditry from the ITV team. In hindsight, I wish I had avoided the forty five minutes either side of the interval. Monumental let-down, but then again, I was naïve to think that Chelsea would allow Barca to run rampantly all over them. Would be suicidal to go there and attempt to out play the Catalans. Hiddink was wise to have his team play defensively deep and man mark players. I only noticed Lampard when he found himself sitting on the bench. Chelsea’s tactic was too soak up the pressure, nullify Messi, Henry and Eto’o and possibly, cheekily grab an away goal from a counter. It almost worked.
In the end, neither side found a way through. I was not only bored and despondent that I had not seen a masterclass of epic Champions League football, I also found myself screaming obscenities at the tv everytime the ball went near Drogba as I preferred to be in full vocal colourful flow when treated to the inevitable dive. Alves was no better. As for ITV, just how giddy are they when they host these live games? They drown in the hype of their own mediocre coverage. How ironic that their big night would end with no fireworks. The only person who scored was me and for that, I’d like to thank Louise from the agency for her prompt services and ample abilities.
As for my Barca fix, roll on El Classico.
Elsewhere, Harry has apologised for slating Darren Bent earlier this season when he told the world that his wife could have scored the chance Bent squandered. How we laughed. And cried. Bent has now scored 17 goals, which isn’t too shabby for a player that nobody rates. Unless you rate him? Bent has been the subject of discussion half a dozen times this season, and subjected to various ‘What does he do?’ articles on this here blog and practically every Spurs message board out there.
He isn’t a dynamic fox-in-the-box (Defoe) forward or a classical goal-poacher (Lineker) and arguably, he only plays well when Spurs are forced to play a certain type of style (usually, away from home, on the counter, long ball over the top for him to run onto). He struggles with movement and all-round play. But, he scores. He finds himself in the right place at the right time. But there’s no doubt that if Defoe was up there instead of him, Defoe would also score – but would also contribute a lot more than Bent. It’s all very subjective, and one Spurs fan would find himself disagreeing with the next one. For the time being, Bent deserves both our support and the managers. Cometh the summer, he will probably be someone else’s conundrum.
And finally, Howard Webb. Remember him? He’s been demoted, relegated and dismissed from the Premier League. For this weekend at least. The FA have punished him for his penalty cock-up by giving him to the Championship to officiate the crucial top of the table Reading v Birmingham game. That ought to teach him!
Reader Comments (9)
couldn't really agree about Defoe. I don't think he is a "fox in the box" at all. In fact I think it's the scappy goals (balls flying across the 6 yard box) that are totally missing from his game. His positional sense for a striker is very poor, similar to Keane. All Defoe's goals come from him running onto a ball from midfield and having a crack, rarely scoring tap ins. that may be one reason why himself and keane can't play together, they spend so much time loitering outside the box.
Bent may not contribute much in terms of link up, but I don't think Defoe is much better in that regard. Keane is a better passer, but spends his time going too deep. Pavlyuchenko is probably the closest thing we have to a Linekar, Bent is a like a poor Ade Akinbiyi, Keane a bit of a headless chicken (with the ability to score cracking goals) and Defoe simply shoots like Lampard, but does little else.
Oh alan d, it must be so so so so terrible supporting such a shit team!
Get behind the lads for fucks sake and SUPPORT the team.
I can't stand people who call themselves 'fans' then all they do is slate the players, the manager for signing the players then sit and moan and groan throughout everytime they watch Spurs play.
If you want to do that then go support Chelsea or Arsenal.
Fox in the box is probably not the best description for Defoe but he's far more of a menace and can create out of nothing on occasions too.
Don't agree that all Defoe does is shoot. Maybe 2 years back, but he's all round game has developed well and his movement is far better than, in comparison, Darren Bents. He is a far better option to have up front than Bent is.
I guess fox in the box is a player who uses his sly abilities to sneak around the penalty box and steal in with a goal? Defoe isn't a true fox in the box - he's more explosive, more in your face. But I get what Spookys saying. Although you could also argue that a goal poacher like Lineker could also be defined as a fox in the box type of player.
I think the difference is that Defoe looks top draw and Bent doesn't. The fact that he is more dynamic and bursts around the pitch purposely, means that other players can look for his movement. Positionally, he might not goal hang and feed off the scraps, but he does have plenty to offer as a team player. The virtue of the fact that he can create havoc from the edge of the box serves its purpose. Players will look to play him the ball. With Bent, its a case of it rolling in front of him.
Amazing, Webb relegated. Justice has prevailed. Makes losing 5-2 all that better now.
i dont mean to slate the players, i'm simply giving an opinion as to what we need to do to progress. Defoe is a far better player than Bent but still has a few things to improve on.
There are, however, plenty of players who I really admire, players that have gotten us out of the slump. Players like King, Woody, Corluka, Gomes, Lennon (who has really grown as a player), and Modric and more all deserve huge praise. It is a mark of their character that they can perform under the utmost pressure of impending relegation. All the players deserve praise, though some may not have the quality to bring us on a bit further. That is all.
I completely agree with alan d, none of our strikers are what you would call 'top drawer' - whatever that really means....
The cutlery drawer - Defoe very sharp, but small, a vegetable knife perhaps?
The underwear drawer - Pav and Bent, smelly socks and pants?
The top drawer in the shed - Keane, a rusty tool?
No, nothing wrong with wanting better players.