Same old Tottenham, always winning
Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 10:13PM Tottenham 2 Brummies 1
You wouldn’t have blamed one or two people from knee-jerking had there been only 94 minutes of play at the Lane this afternoon. Had it finished 1-1, we’d have heard a moan or two about our lack of edge in a game where Birmingham did their very best to not only frustrate but also take a professional point back to the midlands. We’ll always have days like this. When our play isn’t quite polished and we struggle to step up a gear. Happens to every team. Usually (go back to pre-Redknapp) we’d have lost this game based on that on-going quintessential Spurs problem where our heads dip and the plucky away side steal in for all three points. It’s been a while since that’s happened but looked a possibility for parts of the second half. Up until the 94 minute.
The knee-jerk that would have covered off our inability to edge ahead and consolidate our lead. After the 95th closed, the actual conclusion on the afternoons performance was more positive and about how this is the type of thing the ‘big teams do’. Win when they are far far from their best.
Let’s go back to the first minute and kick-off.
Can we live with the hype? Best start to season since the early sixties, wonderfully ironic compared to last year’s worst ever start. Haven’t lost at home since Everton beat us last November. This was always going to be a tricky game, and I wanted us to be tested for it. Whether that be the opposition taking the game to us and taking the lead or simply frustrating us with men behind the ball. It was the latter. And boy did they frustrate.
Same team that started away to West Ham, saw us dominate the opening 10 minutes possession. But you sensed there was a lack of sharpness. Plenty of play from the left-wing saw us cause the Brummies some early worries. Keane shot, Defoe in the way. Modric having plenty of success down that flank.
Birmingham countered, O’Conner with a volley easily saved by CC in goal. This was the story of the first half. Ball mostly at our feet, not quite finding a way through, and having to deal with the odd counter.
There was no shift in tempo. Even though Modric was having plenty of success against Parnaby. One passage of play was almost Hoddlesque, allowing the ball to do the running, getting away from his man on the left and finding Lennon, who’s shot was cleared. Lennon in the mood, greedy, but in the mood.
Larsson shot thankfully wide. Sloppy defending from us allowing him in with a chance. At the other end, Defoe’s turn to be greedy, shooting wide when Keane was the better option.
Ominous, that oh so familiar rude word was doing the rounds in my head. Where’s the opening goal to help settle the nerves? Not that we were overwhelming nervous, but you’d think getting into the positions we were we’d have slotted one away by now. Going on the general sharp movement and ruthless finishing of previous weeks. Possession was there. Composure wasn’t.
Birmingham’s plan was to defend deep, counter, and nick one. Dangerous, but if they allowed the game to open up, we might be more fruitful. They even gave us a helping hand, giving the ball away often. But no punishment forthcoming for the men in Lilywhite (and yellow streaks).
Too many loose touches from Keane and JD. Huddlestone lacking that extra spark we know he can produce. A shot here, a run there. That word ominous was getting a little louder.
The test was now upon us, 30 minutes into the game. Could we avoid the frustration building up and seeing Birmingham turn it to their advantage? Could we adapt and find another way through? Let’s face it, teams will not come to WHL and bend over for us. The key here is simply this: Patience. For all their stubbornness, we still crafted the better chances. Modric coming close with a curling shot. But for every 3 or 4 chances we had, Birmingham replied with half of one.
Half time, and no swagger.
The test got a little tricky cometh the second forty-five. Off went King (groin tweaked) on came Hutton. Bit of a shuffle in defence. What you don’t then want to see is Lee Carsley head towards goal dangerously (wide) and McFadden almost scoring not long after the half has begun.
And if the double scare wasn’t enough, Moddle went off with an injury. More on this later.
Plan A wasn't working and its main instigator had hobbled off. Time for Plan B. Crouch. Its a little more traditional this. Altogether a different kind of threat. Ping the ball to his head. Simple, right? With Luka off, the next 45 and some would be a preview of what life is like without him in the side (if he was out injured for a while).
Still no spark. Birmingham grew a little in confidence. Half a chance, Keane pulled back the ball but Defoe made a mess of controlling it. Crouchie is fouled on the edge of the area, not given. I guess that’s something we’ll see a lot of. Expect refs to give plenty against him. Tallism that is.
Another Lennon run, should have released JD early, didn’t and Stevie Carr cynically fouled him. Hudds freekick attempt to bulldoze the wall summed everything up.
Then a scare. Penalty shout. Was it? Wasn’t it? McFadden clipped, although Palacios had his hands up already with the Blues player a tad off balance. Personally, not a pen. But then I would say that.
Nearing the 60th minute mark, and this was now officially an unsettled performance. The test was not just unnerving, but our attempt to get through it was stagnating. Teams, as I’ve already said, will aim to frustrate us and hope to steal in with a breakaway goal.
But then we were blessed with a good omen. Crouch header, Hart save. Then a BAE cross, Crouch nodding it back across the goal, cleared away. Still a bit untidy, but the pressure turned up a little on the opposition. Plan B perking up.
Defoe then had half a chance, a sort of messy version of the overhead kick. Crouch was looming, had the ball been left. Huddlestone was quiet creatively. Missing Moddle big time at this point. Games like this where we don’t click are the exact type of games where we need to nick a goal and take all three points.
Crouch header from another sweet Keane (who improved as the game went on) cross hit the sodding bar. Followed up by a JD effort resulting in a corner. Then another Crouch header, cleared off the line by Carsley. Crouchie was getting closer and closer.
That slight tempo change evident now.
Another cross, this time Lennon nearly finding Crouch who couldn’t quite get his head to it. Birmingham wasteful in possession. It was time to make the breakthrough. And it came. Crouch heading (yes, heading, would you believe it?) the ball across the goal, beating Hart to make it 1-0. All from a free-kick. Simple. 72 minutes. Plan B works when Plan A is busy having treatment.
Now, let’s close the shop.
Close the shop. Lock it up. Bring down the shutters. Park a bus in front of it. Deck it out with a Romulan cloaking device. Just close the sodding thing!
Three minutes later, Birmingham equalise.
Did we close the shop? Yes. But Hutton decided to sleep-walk to the front door, unlock it, and leave the door wide open while the shopkeeper inside was asleep at the till.
This was Spurs of old. Dither, wait for each other (CC and Hutton failing to communicate or take responsibility) and the deflected ball fell into the path of Lee Bowyer who tapped it in for 1-1. Shocking stuff. Why wasn’t it cleared? Cudicini wasn’t at his best today (far too many moments where he failed to command his area). Hutton is prone to these sorts of things. Combine the two, and we have ourselves a gift. At least Alex McLeish did.
The test had now evolved, asking the question: Can we show bottle and determination and re-take the initiative and reclaim the lead?
JD trotted off, Pav his replacement. 10 minutes left and we are struggling to overcome the Brummies. Question remainign unanswered.
Benitez caused a bit of panic in the penalty area, O’Conner should have scored. Tidy passing ending with a thankfully tidy pass into the side netting.
WAKE UP TOTTENHAM.
Six minutes left. Goodbye 100% record? The game was turning into an example of why we don’t quite have that Top 4 mentality and will need to raise our games if we have aspirations to claim a top 6 finish.
Brummie free-kick, Roger Johnson should have scored and should have won it. Suddenly the value of a point had most wanting the final whistle to be heard.
Final minute.
What was going through your mind? No knee-jerking from me. Just a gentle reminder that there are some weak links in the squad and that the mental strength is not quite fully charged for a real surge forwards. It’s an off day, one where too many players were off form. With Modric off injured, nobody was able to quite grab the game and shake it to its foundations. At least it’s a point gained if you compare it to last time out (where we lost home and away to Birmingham couple of seasons back).
Then we had a 5th minute of injury time.
Oh. Wasn’t expecting that. Carr slips, immediately cancelling out Hutton’s dithering, and we break. Pav finds Lennon who cuts into the box, shifts to the right of two defenders and shots...and scores.
Holy crap. 95th minute winner. 100% record retained. 12 points. 4 game. Delirium.
Let me take you back to something I said early in this review of the game:
This is the type of thing the ‘big teams do’. Win when they are far far from their best.
We did not play well from the start, and I don’t think it would even be far to suggest we can’t play without Modric pulling the strings. It wasn’t a great performance and Birmingham had a bit t to do with it, with or without Moddle we made hard work of it. And if Hutton had cleared it, we probably would have picked up the points without the necessity of injury time dramatics.
But credit for looking for it and pushing forward, be it Carr slipping.
Days like this will not be uncommon, and expecting to win every game with an avalanche of goals is simply fantasy.
Dug deep. Bided our time. Adapted play after injuries. Scored from the tactical change. And embraced luck with the returning gift that saw us take all the points (although Lennon had far more to do than Bowyer). We punished them and 64% possession, 14 shots on goal says we edged it just a little bit. I still wouldn’t blame them for being gutted....I mean, 95th minute...ouch. I guess when you play for a draw...
Importantly, it takes us into the Utd and Chelsea games with max points so if we match last season’s efforts against them, we can all smile that little wider. If we continue in the same vein, then start to polish that open bus for the parade.
Missed O’Hara today (can he be re-called?). Reckon he would have been useful out there, in what was a sluggish second half. Harry (yesterday) claiming we are not close to signing anyone, not sure I quite believe him. We should be in for someone. Simply because we’ve loaned out Jamie and got rid of KPB. CM cover is required.
I’m not going to go rate the players. Like I said, low-key day for most. Modric (was superb 1st half) has a ‘nasty injury’ to the calf and King might be out for a bit with groin trouble. This is the quote that best not come back to haunt us:
“If we lose Ledley and Modric, with Michael Dawson and Jonathan Woodgate already out, the squad is a bit short.”
Harry, I refer you to the previous quote about not being close to signing anyone. I hope you're blagging it mate. Don’t want us to be blaming squad depth if we deplete further. Others have to take responsibility and (cue broken record) we need to add another player to the squad – because it’s not just Modric we need to worry about. Lose Palacios and we are shagged.
Back to Moddle. He has broken his fibula. Damage? Two/Three months sidelined. If correct, that’s devastating news. It’s almost a certainty we would need to bring a player (Petrov?) otherwise we might be left wanting...literally. If we don't, Gio might have to impress, but I expect Keane to slot in there – which is not something I want to see personally. Still waiting on the official word. But don’t expect it to be good news. Textbook, hey? We’re going to find it tough without his magical boots. He's the brains.
Harry seems to be downplaying it (saying it's a kick to the calf). Slaven Bilić suggesting it's as serious as noted above.
JD should be ok. Ledders defo out of the England squad.
As for his match assessment, Redknapp reckons we battered them. Statistically, we did. But don’t think it was quite in the realms that Harry described it. Birmingham seemed content to park the bus. We couldn't quite roll them over.
If we start playing like this every week and riding our luck, I’ll be concerned. Still think it was an off day, and the injury to Luka has deflated me. I guess we should still bask in the glory that is 4 from 4. We are on the up with Harry. And I like it. Let’s hope we do good between now and the end of the transfer window.
COYS
Reader Comments (23)
Birmingham are dirty foulers. Obvious foul by Benitez that led to their equaliser
I would have no sympathy for them
SPurzzz youve had your luck now
Think Spooks sympathy was a piss take. Gutted about Luka. Hope it's a month at the very worst.
Hey Chris. Thanks for your concern. Always a pleasure to see us playing on your mind.
Good win today, considering we played average for the best part of the game. Lukas injury looked serious. Something was bound to happen. Best midfielder in the country so far this season and this happens.
Bit harsh there Spooky. Didn't think we did that badly today, just found them hard to break down. Defending was shoddy at times. Crouch was excellent when he came on. How many headers did he have? Love that we have this option now.
Wouldn't say we played that well. We could have scored one or two, didn't and looked shaky at the back. Don't mind playing like this and picking up the points. Any new news on Luka?
I can't say I completely agree with your assesment. We were totaly on top until we scored. Mind you I was up in the rafters! We really should have scored 4 or 5, but Keane was awful in the fist half, he ironically came into the game when Modric went off. I personally think that Crouch or Pav should be upfront with Defoe, leave Keane out on the left. I thought the ref was pretty awful, he gave brum a free kick every time they fell over. I am a bit worried about Modric, but he did walk off so it cant be that bad surely. I'd take the three points roll on united.
We played ok, but I think the defending and losing Modric didnt help. It was one of those frustrating games but I agree Spooky. Wasn't fluid and although we had the majority of possession I don't think we used it too well. Better teams would have soaked it up and hit us on the break. But it was a worthy 3 points. Never gave up on it did we?
The thing that I will take from this is that it was Thudd who chased and harried 3 Birmingham players before he made Carr slip. That was in the 95th minute!! He is not only being inspired by Palacios he is turning into him~!!!
Absolutely made my weekend!!
Personally thought that Brum couldn't get anywhere near us for the first 30 mins and that we were unlucky not to be three-up going into the second half. Went a little flat towards the end of the first half and the injuries definitely disrupted our rhythm. We let them get back into it and they imposed their game on us after their goal. Overall, we deserved the win and I pity the fools who left early. Keep the faith!
Brilliant to see Lennon developing into the player we always thought he could become and hopefully he can paper over the cracks left by the injury to Modric, who was fantastic. That's the second player of ours that Brum have broken, Bale still not right after knackering his ankle.
Bassong looked shaky, his positional sense was at times erratic. Woodgate is down for a Sept 4th return on Physioroom.com. Hopefully this is accurate.
Dirty brummy clodhoppers. Bowyer knew what he was doing to Luka. I'll have another 2 litres of Strongbow please barman.
I'm sorry but Keane was awful, mis hit neally everyball that came to him in the first half. When he was moved to the left he pulled off when decent cross to crouch and then went missing. He didnt defend well and left Bae isolated, when he did receive the ball he would run down the nearest blind alley and either waste it by passing it to a brum player or passing it back to our defence when our entire team was on the break, leaving said defender under pressure with little relief which usualy resulted to him having the clear it and us losing possesion and brum being able to counter as our team was out of position. He is a liability and should be dropped. Other than Hull he has been very very very very poor. In this game when we did dominate possesion what we needed was a player who would continuely run at the brum defenders and who would be able to get past them. That player was sitting on the bench in Gio and he was left there. Keane doesnt turn up against anyone half decent so i will be truely sad to see him in the line up for our next two goals. he will cost us the limited oppotunities that will present themselves throughout the 180 minutes of extremely difficult football.
I have read that Woodgate has been ' jogging'.Is there any hope he will be back in 2 weeks.
good win but we need players who can run and dribble the ball and take the opposition on and go past them.yes lennon can do it but i fink players like gio or adel taraabt have the skill to do that.maybe they aint good enough but we need to try them out sooner or later..
We did well in the end to come away with all 3 points. I think some of the problem was that we broke Brummie down too easily early on and it looked to me like a potential goal fest. On that account I think many of the players thought the same and decided to have a crack at goal to get on the scoresheet when there were other players much better positioned to take a shot. That led to us wasting many good chances and making a difficult game for ourselves
We will have King and Woodgate ready for Utd in my opinion, if he came off when he felt it tight then it won't be such a long recovery rather than playing on
We lost this fixture last year & last years side would have lost this one too, good to see us grind out the dirty results against the 'workmanlike' sides as well as spanking the also-rans. While Moddle is out, give Bentley a sip of the bottle from the last chance saloon & let Lennon freak from the left. Sarn't Wilson & T'Hud in the middle. We'll soon see whether Bentley is man or sunbed mouse.
just glad to have won today, we would have ended up losing that a season or two ago
Negatives: The injuries and our seeming awkwardness and loss of defensive confidence when Ledders came off. We miss him and Woody when they're not there. Finishing was poor as well. All the hype afforded to JD and Keane regarding their free scoring record against the Brums came to nothing for reasons you said above. Off day, too right it was.
Positives: Tactically we were very positive. Went at them all the time even after we scored the first. cr'Ouch (although I'm not a big fan) was very useful when he came on - seemed to make the Brum defenders panic a bit, even though they're big tall bu88ers themselves. Lady luck was smiling on us a bit, and I suppose we do make our own luck. It's just like Cheatski and Hull. Drogbaa scored a miracle, but that was the result of positive play - in the same way that Azza did yesterday.
Silver lining: Ledders available to play against manure, and hopefully Modder's injury stopping Rednose from grabbing him in this window at least.
trembly...funny you say that about modder...i was thinking the same thing...while the window is almost shut it absolutely shuts any possible chance of him leaving...i'm surprised the injury could be as bad as rumors have it...on tv it didn't look horrible...just looks like a swift kick to the back of the leg...while i doubt there was much intent, im surprised there wasn't a caution as a result...
...as an aside, did anyone else catch when berba totally whiffed on that surefire goal and landed on his ass? how the f*** did we sell him for 30mil??
(that last question behind rhetorical...)
*being ... ah the graveyard shift....
Good win, 3 points,Lennon grabbing a late one and 3MP off the mark in league. TRIFFIC.