Three gripes
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at 12:00PM Trying to rationalise yesterdays result.
We created (apparently) 18 chances including hitting the woodwork. Although the chances were never always clear cut and usually long range efforts, there's an undisputed argument that for the best part of the game we dominated in terms of possession and intent to go forward and score. Sunderland defended, we attacked. Okay so our version of attack is not quite the swashbuckling variant we have been accustomed too in recent seasons. Our movement up top is not the best. We tried to win the game and probably would have won it if Gallas and Kaboul did not brain fart in synchronicity to allow the equaliser from their first effort.
There are two gripes here. Three gripes. Probably more, but I'll go with the three for now.
Gripe #1 - Forwards, lack of. I know this is turning into a weekly excuse but there is a deficiency in our league games that is making the performance appear worse than it actually is. It's all about scoring goals, obviously, and if you don't you're not going to be winning many games. Even when we play just above average football we still endeavour to craft and create. But the issue remains because we don't have a robust tenacious forward in the side, it's akin to Zorro being asked to sword fight with a haddock in his hand. However, as witnessed at Bolton, we can score goals. It's the one dimensional application that places us under pressure and the longer the game goes on the more it plays on our minds.
Gripe #2 - Urgency, lack of. For around 70 minutes we asked all the questions. But it felt like we stood there speaking in a monotone drool slowly working through a power-point presentation made up of bland and boring graphs and stats. Where was the intentionally placed photo of a woman in a bikini in amongst the slides to brighten up the presentation? It's all a bit one gear, same speed with little variation. See end of gripe #1. Now perhaps I'm being a little harsh here because I know there are several of you (I've checked) that believe it was a 'frustrating result but not a frustrating performance'. I appreciate what you're trying to say here, but it is a frustrating performance because the players need to work just that little bit harder and we need to go beyond just 'asking questions' and just ram it down their throats a bit like Steve Jobs jumping around on stage during a key-note speech screaming 'IT'S MAGIC, IT'S MAGIC, IT'S MAGIC!'.
Okay, go on then, you've forced me into it. Here's another analogy. We're like an iphone 4. We look fantastic out the box but if we struggle to fulfil the most important function, then we're practically rendered useless. We need a new antenna (see gripe #1 again) because trying to hold ourselves up in an awkward manner is simply not working. Unless we're in Europe. Where reception is pretty good.
Last season we churned out results. Whether it was with or without key players. Our midfield in the past might have resulted in a migraine or two, so the irony of having a midfield now but nothing up top hurts. But even so, it's not like we're not creating chances. There simply has to be more urgency in our play. Get into the box, hassle, do or die even if its unwarranted in terms of it being a club like Sunderland (rather than a NLD). Works for United in the tenth minute of injury time. We need to make it work for us. Because with that attitude, if we did have a working forward, we'd be laughing proudly.
Gripe #3 - The basics. This is something that leaves me scratching my head. And it might be something that isn't looked at in terms of major reconstruction internally but there's enough to make me hope Harry does takes a look. It's the simple stuff. Like set pieces. The way we defend them is obviously something we all know is an issue. But I'll concentrate on the way we attack them, or should I say not attack them. Countless corners - no end product. Not suggesting we score from everyone but Christ, come on Spurs, make at least one of them count. We still don't appear to make the most of direct/in-direct free-kicks either. And in terms of desire the players have to understand that just going through the motions even if those motions are decent (in terms of passages of play) it's not always going to be enough to defeat the opposing side. Players have to adapt in game and add some ooh into the oomph. If Bale is being doubled up and there's no Lennon on the other side, swap it around for ten minutes. Force Sunderland into changing their shape. Reshuffle damn it.
Felt yesterday evening was a routine display where we just did the same thing over and over again. Enough to win it, excluding the mistake that meant we didn't. When we did score our goal it was from the first decent cross from Bale and vdV once more alert to the nod down from Crouch. There is more to us than this. Even with missing players and that need for a new forward. We are not this one dimensional. And let's be frank here, a man holding a fish might not be as cutting as a man holding a sword, but you can still smack someone in the face with it.
Reader Comments (64)
Ok, I am clearly now banging on about the same point but it seems to me you are overlooking a major issue: our defense--as it stands right now is--not good enough.
Brain farts? It's starting to become clear these are a feature not a bug.
I guess this could be a subset of point #3 but it seems worthy of addressing.
I did say there was probably more.
Our defence, the conveyor belt of change, is a gripe for sure. But even with it patched up and leaking goals, if we were bright and sparky up front we'd be less inclined to look at the back.
True enough and you did say there were more.
I will in no way defend our lackluster strikers, but I don't see why we couldn't have locked down and ground out a 1-0 victory last night. Surely a top 4 team should be able to do that.
We need a striker on a run of form and we dearly need a fit again Dawson to hold the defence together.
We took Sunderland to the cleaners first half.
But if you don't score when you are on top then shit happens.
Basic rule of football - let your opponents out of jail and they will punish you.
Got no complaints about the general team play last night... just the finishing which was dire
Re Harry’s comments - huge misjudgement. The fans’ frustration is in comparison to last season’s performances, not some fictional expectation. Basically it read to me like he was saying “you’re shit, you’ve been shit for a while, so you should be used to it.” He spoke like someone who doesn’t understand or have any affinity for the club. Any decent manager would say “I understand the fans’ frustration and we are doing x, y and z to sort it out and get us back to where we should be.”
Nice to see the Harry Out brigade back. Haven’t seen those guys since February, when sacking the boss would have greatly assisted our Top 4 push and put us in a far stronger position today.
Sorry, all this biting sarcasm must be contagious.
Still think i'm Knee-jerking Spooks?
Good point on the corners, we had 17 corners according to the Sun, when was the last time we scored from one???
It is easy to blame the defence, but we should be able to score more than 1 goal at home, at 1-0 there is always the danger of not getting 3 points.
Anyone else annoyed with Arry's comments, especially this: “They’ve had it so good over the years, you see. When you keep winning league championships every year, you get upset when you don’t win.”
Who the hell does he think he is? Do your job, if fans want to Boo then they can boo (though I don't condone them but the booing will be at every match at this rate!) We pay his wages and ARE THFC!!!!!
the re-shuffling is the thing for me. Changing things about. I suggested on Friday that we play Bale on the right and Niko on the left just to confuse Bolton a little who would've been working on keeping Bale quiet all week in training. If it didn't work then fine but at least give it a go.
Neither Saturday or last night did we try to change something to make things different. Completely void of any ideas and that for me is the worrying thing. Not the results or even the performance, it's the fact we don't even have a plan A.2 let alone B.
The booing happens all the time not sure why he's latching onto that as a means to deflect. Oh wait. I see what he's done there.
The fans boo because they hate players like Crouch/Keane/Bentley/Jenas/Palacios. You would think Harry would have got rid of them last season.
Also the Ref was the reason we lost. Just unlucky but we played to high standards.
White men can't jump # 1. Crouch.
He's 6'7" for gods sake! Weigh him down with diving weights and make him train 2 hours a day jumping and heading a ball on bungee cord. Shanks did it with Tony Hately- that worked!
It nudged itself to the front of my brain after watching the game yesterday - been nagging and itfinally hit home. We are a 'two trick pony' team at the moment - Give to bale and watch him rip the full back. Long ball to Crouch to head down to VdV. What ele do we have at present? Sadly if that ain't working we don't have much else .... the article is right - where was the switch of Bale to the right ...how did Bentley not get replaced for the last 15 mins...where is our over-burdened with talent midfeild getting in the box to score ....etc .
To be honest I thought Spurs played well last night. Gordon made at least four/five fine saves, (2 from Bentley). Hud hitting the bar and the pen not given after good play from Bentley was very unlucky. Kaboul and Gallas played very well together but unfortunately made one error during the game which cost us. I can't recall Sunderland having any shots, did Gomes actually make a save? The ref did cost us big time, Cattermole should of gone and the pen had to be given.
The abuse from some of the fans is very poor and does not help. I hear quite a bit of it was directed at Bentley but he did well for most of the game and then got tired.
Harry said: "'What have they got to moan about?' the Spurs boss asked after the game against Sunderland. 'They've seen some of the best football in recent times here, I don't think anyone can be disappointed with us.'
I have to agree with him on those points. I don't think he said anything about winning championships.
It is frustrating not to win and our recent run is not good but hopefully it will change.
Pristar you are a prick if it were not for Bentley and Palacois last season we would not be playing in the champions league this season.Sorry but we cannot play the same squad week in week out in every game it just can't happen.We have to change players around to rest them.What the fans need to do is help the players coming in and the ones who have lost form from last season.Get off there backs and off your arses and sing like meat loaf like a bat out of hell lets raise the roof no matter what that is what will help the players you knobs.
I thought Harry was spot on to raise the issue of booing which is embarrassing to the club. Booing real failure is one thing. But if you think Spurs over the past couple of years is a failure then you have delusions of grandeur.
Probably nothing that can be done these days. Many modern fans are different to the people who travelled far and wide to support their team back in the day. Too many brought up on XFactor panto stuff where you boo and cheer within seconds of one another. Away games is often where the best Spurs atmosphere is these days.
Crossing your fingers and hoping is not a game plan Harry.
Nor is sending on Crouch and crossing your fingers and hoping.
I like Harry, for an idiot he speaks quite a lot of sense occasionally.
Either Kranjcar and/or Jenas with Bale on the right for the last twenty minutes might just have confused them long enough to get the winner.
As it was they looked the more likely.
Criticising Harry is not the same as calling for his head
My Gripe is
1-Harry showed no respect for the fans. Reason-Because he has no respect for the fans and believes the hype about his 'England calling'.
2-He could have played Bale on the right side or at left back and confused the issue, but he allowed Sunderland to guess correctly the make-up of the team and the playing pattern and hatch a plan that worked a treat.
3-He promised a striker (world class) during the summer and started the season with a team that couldn't cope with injuries and the CL and he boasts that his squad is the best in the Premiership.
4- I have become frustrated listening to him talking up the players and saying they gave their all but that's the way visiting teams play nowadays. Bruce came on saying; we need to slook as though we mean it. He hit Tottenham on the head with that one. They didn't look as though the meant it. Who's fault is that.
The Managers.
Those, who think Bentley didnt play well, are downright bias and are not being fair. To me, he had a better game than Bale(because he was double teamed). He placed in good crosses and took great shots, what more can a winger who hasent played for god knows how long, do! He deserved to get a penalty, and the strickers should have done more with his crosses. Bentley should play in the next match.
All we can do right now, is support the team, booing and further demoralising the team dosent help. Sing as loud as u can, fly the flag with pride cause after all, they are representing the mighty SPURS! COYS!
Gripe 4 : simple quick passing, lack of. How would you open a team who park the bus when you player stay with the ball in their feet more than 10 seconds doing nothing but waiting the see if the defender puts a foot wrong
Gripe 5 : movement when we have 7 players in their last 25 meters, lack of. perhaps the gripe 4 cause.
Harry was spot on to having a go at the fans. It was pathetic to boo after a draw. We have some of the best fans in the land when things are going well but there is a vocal minority that expect a win in every game, expect 4th every year at least and expect the inter milan performance every week. These people are idiots.
Its all very well moaning about we need a striker but we cant get one till January at the earliest so shut it and lets get on with what we've got. By all accounts we were unfortunate last night, we are all a bit flat but to have a go at these players and manager who have got us higher than anyone in the last 20 years is incredible.
JimmyG2
I will call for his head.
Arry has taken us as far as his ability allows.
He has done well, steadied the ship, got us through some choppy waters, and set us on course to have a go at the Champs Lg. But now that we are there he has reached his ceiling. Time to be replaced.
His tactical shortcomings at an elevated level are now being exposed.
Also his attitude is becoming a cause for concern. Is he prioritising CL over EPL because it will look better on his own CV and thus enhance his prospects of succeeding Capello ? Its beginning to look that way to me.
The cameras caught him laughing and joking towards the end of last nights game. Would you see Ferguson or Wenger even smiling if their team was playing like we did last night ??
No way.
What i want to know is who from the backroom staff has any imagination!!
Who sits down and states: " right guys, today we are going to look at corner variations and some free kick routines". Im sure the answer would be.........eh!!!! what guv - what do ya mean! we fling it over for Crouch or Bently goes for glory on every freekick, eh, why do we need a defender on the back post at corneres - anyway guv, i go home at 1pm!!
...........and by the way - we are also going to learn how to play football again - Crouchy - you can go home lad!! !!!
my grip is so called fans like 'cookiebun' and this moron 'kaiskama'. get lost and go support somebodyelse you pricks. Thank god you have no power in the club, the biggest thing wrong with our club are idiot fans like you, you have no idea about the game............. yeah lets sack the manager, genius. Utter morons.
My gripe has to be not necessarily the performance as such (although I think at times we really do lack urgency), but the fact that we had 17 corners last night and we didn't even really come close to scoring from one. Couple that with the fact that we have one of the tallest players in the league (albeit he was only on for 45 minutes), and some pretty tall defenders as well as Thudd, it's fuckin pathetic really. Having 17 corners in one PL game is unheard of really. I really was dissapointed last night, we are dropping points where last season, where we won these games. To me, it looks as though the only way we are going to qualify for CL next year is to win it.
Also, with regards to Harry's comments, the man is a fuckin tit. To come out and say that afterwards was ridiculous, and i'm beginning to tire of him brushing under the carpet shit performances and referring back to last season. Comments like that make me wonder whether or not they are resting on their laurels a bit, and I say this to him. I pay over a £1k for a season ticket, as well as costs getting to these games, and being mugged off for these cup matches. I am entitled to air whatever views I want (even though I don't). I do not appreciate being taken the piss out of by him, I am working class and unlike him I don't have millions of spare £. So to come out with this titses me off. I heard after the Wigan match they don't get many days like this etc etc, but he seems to be reeling out the same lines everytime we get a shit result which for this season has been more often than not.
Beating Inter Milan once does not make us world beaters, and i'm afraid I think he'll be dragging out the same excuses over and over.
last night was powder puff football. Loads of possession, no punch. No urgency, no aggression.
Webbs mistakes paper over the deficiencies. From an attacking perspective not a single player comes out of the game with credit. Sunderland won't have many easier 90 minutes, soaking it up comfortably and, as the game progressed, became the more threatening team.
Redknapp has no right to dictate what we, the heartbeat of the club, do or don't do. He got it all wrong yesterday and needs to take the criticism on the chin. We boo to rightly express dissatisfaction and we cheer when the boys put in a good shift. It is how we, the crowd, are able to engage with the team and redknapp (or anyone else that has an issue with it) must learn that reaction, good or bad is an integral part of the game. As supporters we aren't like customers of any other industry. We can't take our support elsewhere and lets be honest - the majority that saw last nights game love their club far more than the most of the players and certainly redknapp (who cares so much he has publicly touted himself for another job). Maybe it needs a reminder from Levy that we pay the mans wages and will be around long after Redknapp has departed and good riddance as our success has come about in spite of Redknapp rather than because of him.
Spurs have a fantastic squad of players and I remain absolutely convinced that a top top manager would achieve far more from them than redknapp could deliver - he remains our biggest weakness and until this is addressed we have no chance of achieving our aspirations and genuinely competing with the big boys on a regular basis
I actually thought we did alright yesterday considering our injuries and the striking situation, the goal conceded aside. We bossed the game, but couldn't convert which isn't something we are new to this season. But its not the player's fault that pav got injured and had to come off early, when he may well have popped up after the restart. And even though he hasn't scored, crouch has proved his worth but assisting pretty much all of v d Vaart's goals at WHL this season, which isn't bad considering he is rubbish with his head. I think the booing at the end was unnecessary, the players worked hard we just couldn't finish and Webb didn't help matters as usual. I'd argue a 3rd of our first team is injured and maybe a quarter of our fringe players. I hear people saying we managed with injuries last season so why not now? Well I think that we are creating opportunities but we don't have an on form striker to convert them, which we always had last season. None of our strikers have been on form this season and that is the difference. I expect things to change when Defoe gets back and had we had him last night I have no doubts we would have won and no-one would be so angry or frustrated today. Its just one massive knee jerk!
Jim
Nice reply to my earlier post.
Although you did use "moron" twice. Your thesaurus not working ?
Otherwise it was a well thought out and constructive post. Most usefull for the debate.
I agree. I think that we lack a cutting edge, and that became increasingly obvious after the shock of Pav PASSING and MOVING wore off. Soon we were into 'lets get down the flanks because that easy, and get the ball into the box'. Not a BAD idea but useless unless combined with 'lets get BODIES into the box and vary the point of attack', and even, daringly, with 'let's cut inside and go for broke with a shot or a ball behind them', to keep them guessing. If you are going to beat massed defence, you need VARIETY and the unexpected. Sunderland are good, but not THAT good, and can be shocked out of their methodical plans, but only by genuine commitment and real urgency, and meaningful imagination. Aside of Modric, there was little of this around. Then that defence is an accident waiting to happen, and Kaboul, nice and genuine as he is, does not have the powers of consistent concentration for the role, and nor does Gallas have the energy and the stamina. We need to get our defence sorted out better (which can't be too difficult if West Ham, Wigan and Sunderland can do it against us, and we need a REAL top-notch striker who costs big money and can do the deed. Personally, I would have kept Pav on, and added Crouch, removing Bentley from the deal (long past his sell-by). They threatened us by increasing their strikers, and Wellbeck is a total donkey. Or is it that our gameplan was so brilliant that we wouldn't be able to switch to a more varied approach. Just an additional thing re corners: can't we switch takers and have Bale dispatching in-swingers from the right, and Bentley from the left - plus the odd short one to Modric, or the odd lay-back for a Thudd from Hudd? In the end, though, it comes down to a number of players not being UP FOR IT, as they were v Inter.
Actually although JIM was a little rude I don't disagree with his general message. That negative posts ignorant of even a basic understanding of football or life are not helpful to anyone. Harry and the team are doing pretty well overall If it makes you so mad to draw a game you dominated then try another pastime like flower arranging.
haha aren't we a fickle bunch , i must admit my knees are trembling and ready to start jerking away but i try hard to ignore it
Fact is that it hasn't been good enough this year , even with the addition of a WC player and the Bale show we still come short most of the time. Diego Forlan would have been great but he isn't there so we need to work with what we have. I for one think that GDS should at least get his chance to show us that he is :
a) not good enough
b) better than Harry gives him credit for
But i understand those that are dissapointed with the way things are going , as i said before , i 'd rather be punching above our weigth than settle for mediocricity.
ps I rate Crouch because he tries hard but it hurts my eyes to see the type of football we play when he is on the pitch , we are Spurs , we play football with our hearts and when everything comes together it is pure sex ... Unfortunately there is nothing sexy about Crouch (except for his better half)
1. I think it's a sign of how far we have progressed when so many are angry we did not win games. It's an improvement over our recent past.
2. Hands up how many thought we would make the same impact this year, given
a) the lack of significant transfer activity (I mean Gallas? when we knew we had Woodgate and King perma-crocked)
b) the additional burden ( and excitement) of our maiden voyage into the UCL?
3. Of course injuries to key players at key moments (Dawson, Defoe) didnt help, and dodgy refereeing.
4. Up until the Everton game, everything was still okay and on track. It's only three games (one of which was Man U away and one of the others, our other bogey team Bolton) since the so-called "rot" set in.
5. However,
a) HR must take some blame for not playing the fringe players regularly or semi-regularly. This creates the worst case scenario. Those players who play all the time two or three times a week become more prone to injury, whereas those who are suddenly thrust into big game action suffer from lack of understanding and rustiness.
b) We have got lucky decisions from refs so it all evens out.
6. We must work on our weaknesses. Something called foreseeability and anticipation. If you can foresee something is going to go wrong, then do something about it. This is down to experience and this is something that can be done scientifically.
a) So if our defence lacks understanding, then all of them must practice more on developing this understanding until we get it right.
b) If Jenas acts like a frightened rabbit acting all nervous and uncertain, then get him to practice visualising how to make those penetrative passes and then practice making those penetrative passes.
c) If we cannot score from corners, then practice different set pieces until we perfect them.
d) Crouch must learn to appear he is fouled. I realise he is often not given the benefit of the doubt because his flailing arms appear to elbow people. Either he learns to move away from his marker much faster, or learns to jump higher.
e) Sandro must practice harder to develop an understanding with the back four.
7. By the same token, we cannot take any of the opposition for granted. Other teams have sussed us out. We need to suss them out. Study their strengths and weaknesses. This can be done scientifically so if not done yet then why not?
8. Above all, the team must stay focussed and hungry. Focus on the job at hand and concentrate. Hunger comes from being deprived of honours. Our team must want to win more than the other team. Keeps them alert. Once you believe you have "made it", complancency seeps in. Just look at Liverpool. Their morale and confidence took a beating. Then several wins later, through sheer determination, they are back in it.
9. Our team appears to react well after an injustice. The loss to Portsmouth last year was followed by the win over Arsenal. The loss to Man U this year was followed by the win over Inter. It seems to galvanise them into a higher level of determination. Of course this is not a good way to motivate, but I'm just observing.
10. We need a good result on Saturday. All the ifs, buts and maybe please leave them at the door on the way in. We need to beat Blackburn convincingly to keep our season on track.
11. I hate to say this so early, but it is beginning to look like our most realistic expectation is a Europa Cup place. Unless we get unexpected results from playing Chelski, L'Arse and Man City. Last season, from these teams and Liverpool, we won 5 games from 8. A similar record is a minimum.
Come on, lets admit it - being upset over a draw is an advance on a few seasons ago, isn't it!
Its simply, we need to go back to basics. We are too reliant on bale. Time to push bale back into left back. We know he can do the same job from there and it then opens up a place in midfield. We need to go back to playing 4-4-2. We have been getting these results since we changed. We don't have enough in the box playing with one upfront. The team should have been: gomes, hutton, gallas, kaboul, bale, vdv, huddlestone, modric, krancjer, Pav, crouch(if Keane was fit then Keane). Our defence is a problem but we don't have any better at CB fit. When all our players are fit I want to see us play 4-3-1-2 which is almost 4-3-3 with team: gomes, kaboul, Dawson, King,bale, Lennon, huddlestone, modric, vdv, Defoe, Pav until we get a new striker.
Your right Spang it is, but wasnt a few seasons ago better than a few seasons before that? So shouldn't we have been happy then?
It's called ambition and not settling for just being an also run, as Bill Nic said, It is all about the Glory, too many of us are happy for us just to be taking part!
Thought Bentley played well.
We finished 4th last season playing with two forwards.
Res, VdV gets forward and is scoring at home, but the I think the big problem is that a) we don't have a strong enough / quick enough forward and b) whoever plays up front is easily blottred out by the multiple defenders.
Harry is playing 4-1-1 in order to fit all the best players into the team, even 'though it just doesn't work. He needs to
change back to 4-4-2 in the league, so that the presence of two forwards will make it harder for defences.
I thought Bentley played well too, he had a couple of cracking shots. He certainly put in a better performance than Krancjar did on Saturday so I feel some of the criticism is a tad harsh. Krancjar should only really be used on the left in my opinion but with Bale in the form of his life that doesn't work right now.
I think credit has to go out to Onouha and Turner, how many crosses did they block? They nullified Bale well and he had to change his game plan massively from the usual style of play. After that we looked bereft of ideas (apart from the goal, of course) and had to rely on the right wing. Perhaps we could have been more central and direct?
I agreed with Harry's starting lineup for the most part, the only change I would have made is to drop Gallas to the bench and have brought in Bassong. Gallas was carrying a knock still from the weekend and even though it would have changed out back line for the umpteenth time this season I think it would have given us a bit more speed.
So no kneejerk from me, we're not even a third through the season now and we're still in a decent position without several key players. This has to be the most even spread of points across the league in a long time. We all know it's not been good enough so far but have faith lads, we'll have Daws and Defoe back soon and let's roll over Blackburn on Saturday.
COYS!
for the record, i thought bentley was pants.
maybe it's because he has to do a hell of a lot more to impress me than say, bale or vdv, but i thought his over all game and attitiude for a player who has to fight to regain his place was poor.
the back heels and hollywood balls into no mans land are a waste of time and lead to nothing.
gooner trained and it shows.
Canada yid , it seems to me that with every passing week we believe/hope/convince ourselves that things (in the EPL) will pick up the next week , but then they don't and the positive ones amongst us declare it as a temporary setback and believe that next week ... well, i guess you catch my drift.
I am just wondering at what point we will realise that the week for picking things up has passed us by and that there is nothing left to fight for ?
just reread that last phrase , better renew my prozac prespriction me thinks
1. Harry starts with Pav up front. Good choice.
You want to make Spurs a more unpredictable team with more attacking options, than just the long ball to Crouch and where VDV scores. That will only work for a while
2. Harry replaces Pav with Crouch. Bad choice
You are showing that you chose to go back to the old rutines, instead of developing the team
3. You started with Bentley. Good choice. Bentley plays well. He is unpredictable. He combines well with Hutton. We have a good right side
4. Harry - Here is what you didnt do.
You never figured out - even after two matches - that our opposition now know that they need to be aware of Bale. So Bale doesnt produce that much any more. How to fix it?
Put Bale back to Left Back. Bring Kranjar into Left Midfield.
What have you now got?
Correct: 2 attacking options on the left.
Harry: For me you might as well become the next England manager. You are no great manager.
What do you do during practise on weekdays?
Do you only build attacking options where Bale and VDV are involved?
What about getting the strikers to move when Bale or Bentley have the ball?
In January we should buy a COMMANDING and QUICK CB, at least one REGULARLY SCORING attacker and a really HOLDING and QUICK defensive midfielder. The addition of these three players will improve also the rest of our players and the team as a whole. Of course we need also to apply better tactics sometime.
A lot of people bemoaning the lack of creativity/ability with attacking set pieces and I would like to join them. Our players look static in the box and there is no one arriving late from deep. Also I noticed that we alway have crouch's starting position set by the 18 yard line toward the back post, so he has to grapple his way through 3 or 4 shirt-tugging defender to get what is probablya weakened header at goal. Why not stick him near post in front of the keepers line of site to either flick on or distract the defence enough to allow a power player like Kaboul to get himself in. Also - Huddlestone is bog and strong and yet we have him sat on the edge of the area waiting for a glory-volley that never comes. GET IN THE BOX soft lad and be a bully. Same as Bale - he;s tall a nd built. Leave the outside of the box rubbish to van der vaart, modric or ekotto.
Something I'm not sure I've seen pointed out much from alst night is how lively Pav looked before he was subbed off for what I'm told was an injury. He ran the channels, held the ball up well and was unlucky not to score a couple of times. I'm no crouch hater but even though he provided another knock-down assist, the team as an attacking unit look a lot worse while he was on the pitch. Pav MUST start the next game if he is fit.
HARRY OUT.
LEVY OUT.
EL TEL IN.
Booooooooooooooooooooooo
Just want to echo certain comments regarding Arry's sarky mouth.
We don't need you taking the piss or mocking our fans, we've got enough cunts elsewhere to do that for us, stop living off your success and start building on it.
He's in a lot of credit is Arry, but those comments are at best misguided, and at worst downright fucking arrogant.
On the subject of us requireing a CB or two....why have we stuck with Woodgate and King...? I know the sentimentality of King BUT we are here to win ! not to moan about how good we would be with those two in the team...they are not even fit enough to train....so ship them out, release their wages and buy a CB or two...Bassong..washe not our CB during the run of clean sheets? Why Gallas ?
Midfield...ok they are OK...but lets change it up during a match, maybe Bentley would not be so tired had he played 15-20 minutes at the end of a couple of earlier matches! BAle must be shattered and teams are sussing him out, as mentioned before, try hiim on the right or at LB to at least put some doubt in the oposing teams mentality....Kranc .. 15-20 here or there? Remember Bolton? Down to players not having played together or even getting time on the pitch...
If we need to score...last night....why one substitution?
Forwards....Sorry to say all four of them are hopeless...2MP, Pav and Keane are not good enough...Defoe is loved at the moment BUT will not be our savious..a one trick pony if ever there was one...
Perhaps a look at stopping the opposition from scoring could be the way forward?
Frustrated !
Redknapp is not the way forward...sorry .
People who dont rate Bentley never will, whether its his hair or posture, I really dont know, but he did more than Krancjar, far more to be honest, but Nico's definitely on the no abuse register, well not yet anyway. It's taken some time, almost a year for many to understand that Wilson's a liability and Keane's absolutely diabolically useless, but then I couldn't care less about their haircut, just how they play for us, but I certainly would doubt that without his (Bentley's) input last season, we'd be swapping places in Europe with City. As for the booing, I honestly thought it was more of moan and groan, with the real venom aimed at Howard Webb.As for our defence, anyone tell me who else should be playing there?, silly me we've run out of options of course! Harry's tactic's ( or lack of them), never appear to be questioned is it simply because he's got us into the promised land after all, lets see how wonderful he and his team are if we have a flat season!
Belgian, I'll give up hope when we have no conceivable way of catching the top four near the end of the season, until then it's all achievable regardless of (lack of) consistency.
We dipped last season during Christmas when Lennon, Modric and King were out and that was before Bale even came on the scene in force. We recovered in the new year, had a couple of blips and stormed to 4th in the end.
It's a marathon, not a sprint. Fact of the matter is we didn't play too badly yesterday, not like we did against Bolton at least. Frustrating yes, doom and gloom, no.
Get our squad fit again, add a striker in Jan and I reckon we'll be well on the way again.
I'm clearly in an optimistic mood today, long term belief is all that is needed, not short term reaction.
That was poor, no matter of Harry for England or anything dresses it up otherwise we have one point from two very poor teams. Most of the people there had spent allot getting there and even at 1-1 the fans roared them on, but no response from the players. He wanted to take the plaudits of 2 points from 8 games or whatever it was now he has to deal with this.
Howard Webb is useless too how he is still refereeing is beyond me, he is one of the reasons referrees have no respect and has embarissed our country on the international stage maybe it is because Clattenburg makes him look good he is still there.
Having spent forever getting to a midweek game and then to face a points failure for most fans, or the M25 shutdown for others.
Bentley while he did a couple of useful things was mostly average to crap.
Has BAE been taking fannying around with the ball lessons from Atouba?
"Like set pieces. The way we defend them is obviously something we all know is an issue. But I'll concentrate on the way we attack them, or should I say not attack them. Countless corners - no end product. Not suggesting we score from everyone but Christ, come on Spurs, make at least one of them count."
As the corners were mounting I was thinking along those lines as well. But statistically, what is the percentage of scoring from corners? Last year I remember reading an article in Tomkin's Times (don't ask me what I was doing there) and he cited some statistics on EPL corners. The season previous produced an average of one goal per roughly 30 corner kicks. That's across the board, all teams. But some teams were clearly worse than others and the relationship is linear. I think he cited one team as not having scored in over 90 attempts (it wasn't Spurs). I tried to find the data on this but it's not out there.
It would be really interesting to see how we stack up against the other teams in terms of corner kicks that 1) result in a chance 2) result in a goal.
I'd bet we are somewhere in the bottom third.