How very Tottenhaming of us
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 11:07PM I was in a restaurant in the middle of nowhere (might as well have been on the edge of the universe), with absolutely no type of mobile phone signal at all. 3G, Edge, cellular data of any type - Zilch. No texting, calling, no nothing. Couldn't possibly ask anyone else on the table (98% women) if I could borrow their non-o2 network phones just to er...check the...er...weather, as my cover as devoted partner to Mrs Spooky would have be blown (her birthday today). I gave up in the end, deciding the anticipation of tonight's result would drive me to much excitement when I browse into the BBC's footie page on arrival back home.
Ooh the disappointment. Akin to dressing up in a tuxedo for the prom only to find out at the end of the night that your sexy prom queen date has a penis tucked away Buffalo Bill style.
3-2 away night defeat to a supposedly mediocre (based on current domestic form I was told) side. I've not actually read the Beebs report - or any report, or browsed to any forum or spoken to a soul. The headline was all I had time for. Nervous Spurs, right? FFS. Not this shit again.
I'll hazard a guess and then you lot can write up your opinions below in the comments section for me to read over my morning bowl of cereal, as I have a crying baby daughter that is apparently far far far far more important than some tin-pot qualifying game (not my words, the missus).
So, my guesses:
1) We failed to turn up, getting all trembley in the knees by the significance of the occasion, failing to simply embrace and take hold of our own destiny, and instead preferring to hide in the corner, wetting ourselves. Young boys in Lilywhite.
2) Keystone Cops. Any episode.
3) Textbook Spurs, getting all the haters hating, do it the hard way because its the only way we know. Will end up stuffing them back in a glory glory night at the Lane.
I have a feeling it's an element of all of the above? I don't know, you tell me. And all this after looking every bit the CL team against Man City.
RIP, the dream is over, razor blades etc etc
What's that you say? Two away goals? Hmm...
Reader Comments (118)
Jesus Christ, we were 3-0 down after 30 minutes??? Thank fuck I wasn't watching this at home, I'd have topped myself.
Oh, baby is a calling...
Chin up brother.
Something special will happen at the lane, as long as big bad Huddlestone starts, and runs the game like he did after his late introduction tonight.
I was sat in a boozer full of various Gooners/ManU/Liverpool scum all revelling in taking the piss at our big 3-0 bottlejob, walked out with my head hung slightly higher after the two away goals.
Next week, I can feel something special coming on. Tingly fingers and all that.
Spooky, it was horrific. 3 could have been 7.
Wow, that is quite a knee-jerk, Spooky.
I'm appeasing the 'faithful'.
First goal was lucky, could have been offside. Palacios for me was a fault for the next two along with a flat footed defense. Pav was shite up until that strike at the end. We got outta jail............................so far.
It was a bit like Portsmouth with the dodgy pitch and biased refereeing but without the complete domination and failing to score in 90 minutes
I kid you not, I reached for the rope at 3-0, it was a shocking performance for the first 30mins, you wont get an ambulance in north london tonight, a&e will be full to the brim with us spurs fans having heart attacks!
Gutless stuff, but we'll win through I have confidence. Although fuck only knows what will happen if we then have to play Barca away in the group games.
Fakkin ell! All three of your guesses? Yes..and more to boot no doubt!
They hit the post first minute as a warning, proceeding to score 3 mins after (was that the offside one?..I think it was)
And yes, after half an hour, nails down to the elbows and chainsmoking at the backdoor praying to a God I don't believe in.
We were caught completely cold! Unrecognisable, one of THE bad performances I've seen.
Agree with the above that a certain Mr Huddlestone pulled us out of the mire tonight and dictated our play allowing us to get a stranglehold nay hand on the ankle of the game.
Daws & Bassong were very out of sorts, Wilson is woefully out of form, and Pav looked lost until his (admittedly) brilliant strike for the second...such is Pav I guess.
We are extremely lucky to be taking them to the Lane with the score we have.
Thank Fuck for that!
Amen
(I promised)
Spurs just wasn't good enough tonight, defending was awful. 3 goals in half hour is horrific if we end up getting into the group stages what happens if we play Barcelona at new camp we will get slaughtered. Pavylachenko was poor too but who'd of thought he would score a screamer and keep us into champions league. We SHOULD beat them comfortably at WHL
Lets all just hope and pray
We were brutal. Across the park. Dawson, Bassong (aside from his goal), Pav (aside from his goal), Corluka, Palacios were absolutely atrocious. If harry could have made six subs he would have. Keystone cops is right.
Let's all move to Bridge End.
Lost money on tonight as well :(
Where was the sodding ambition to win the game, grab it by the throat and batter them? Left it back in N17 I reckon.
Onto this weekend for the recovery.
Woops! I meant 'God' , Thank 'God' for that.
Anyway, forgot to mention another take on tonight in that in Arry's post-match interview he mentioned that he 'had a bad feeling about tonight' after taking training and seeing the look in some of the player's eyes and what they'd relayed back to him regarding the pitch.
Apparently Azza didn't fancy it and Hudd had been injured (and out for 6 weeks) after playing on a similar surface and that this had affected his decision with the line up.
Make of that what you will.
Our posession was good in the second half but throughout the first half we were second to every loose ball. Palacios is not a good player on occasions like this, when we need posession he gives it away too easily. He would be immense against a top European side taking down roving superstars, but when we needed a calm head to play the simple ball he wasn't it. Assou Ekottu was shocking and was taken off after half an hour. We looked much better in the second half, Keane was alright and while Pavlyuchenko was largely anonymous, we barely played a pass in the final third for most of the game. I don't know if their keeper made more than 2 saves (1 from Giovanni which could've made it 1-1, and another that was fairly routine...).
Never, ever, bet on Spurs! It just doubles the heartache...
Very true, we hardly got the ball up there.
And what of Bale tonight????????????????????
Bale Bale Bale....bale me out of here !
Very, very, very, lucky not to have had seven past us. We didn't settle well on the plastic pitch, but when they get 60-70k a week, we expect a lot better than we first got, and by the final whistle our lot had earned there pay.
The head line is very apt, "How very Tottenham" but at least we're never boring.
Next Wednesday, no problem.
BAE was taken off for tactical reasons (Bale go to LB) and because he was on a yellow. He wasn't even close to being the worst Spurs player.
Have faith, at home, on our own patch on our own terms we will bully them Prem speed tempo and all. I can see us scoring 2/3 first half and another one in the second.
Agree with Winter about Huddlestone. When he came on he looked like a man playing in a team of, well, young boys
Can't be alone over here with not approving of Harrys team selection.
I agree with That. BAE was taken off for tactical reasons. He received a Yellow after 4 minutes.
Credit to:
Gomes for bailing Wilson out for that suicidal back pass
Bassong for his bullet header &
Number 14 for YB's for being shite at shooting from 8 yards out with an open goal at his mercy........TWICE!
*initial 3 goal capitulation akin to the man u 2-5 game after that webb penalty.
*it could have been that score
*Paverick picks up get out of jail card
*lillywhite knuckle ride will ensue next week.
i believe that both teams don't feel the game should of ended that way, young boys would have been disappointed to go from a 3 goal to a 1 goal cushion and plus spurs obviously didn't know how good this team is and underestimated them.
OO Yeah the surface also excuses excuses its pompey all over again
Levi, put your hand in your pocket, we need cover at the back, a decent striker up front, Gio shouldn't be played on the right wing, a decent right back who can beat his man....NOT champions league form, and lacking the basic organisation any team in Europe might have
yes it was a rough entrance into the champions league, howeva at the end of the 90 we left ourself with a very good chance of making it through. The biggest concern is this Modric groin injury. i will shit a brick if he goes out for another extended period.
We'll learn plenty from this shambles. How could we possibly not. I'm content we'll stumble through.
My gripe about the line up is:
If our best team was put out against Man City on Saturday when we should have been 6-0 up at half time why wasn't the same team thrown out (apart from King for obvious reasons) against YB's?
We have only played 1 competitive match this season so fatigue is not an excuse!
It was awful especially the first half hour but the pitch has to take some of the blame as 2 groin injuries to Modric and Defoe testify. Plastic pitches should be banned.!!! We also need 2 or 3 class new additions to compete in both the Champions league and the premier league- class teams risk giving us the run around especially if we have a few injuries or suspensions. (Assuming we qualify !! )We also need to stop being tactically naive - our defense was far too open until Thudd came on - away from home good defensive midfielders are needed - palacios was pretty dodgy tonight.Good comeback but we're lucky to be still in with a chance...
let's just hope Modric doesn't go to Woodgate's physician!
Lets face facts:
1) We already knew Assou-Ekotto was NOT good enough for Premier League let alone Champions League football. He got skinned, he is a liability. Who tries a trick when we are 2-0 down chasing the game and gives it to them so they can attack in our own half?! We knew this, Harry must of known about this..he is not stupid..nothing was down over the summer so far. If we do get through this area will haunt us. Bale is not the answer, he cant defend, he is more of a left winger.
2) Bassong is average. He scored (praise the gods) but was out of position on many occasions. We need a recognised, experienced centre back. PS Gallas is NOT the solution Arry!!
3) Corluka. Why cant he run?! What is that sort of tippy toe nonsense he does? Watch him, its as if he has sh*t in a really tight fitting nappy and cant run because the turd is squashing his meat and two veg. He is too slow. He gets done for pace which means dawson has to cover any attacks. This creates space between our centre backs for the opposition to explore (cue first goal)
4) Palacios. WTF Happened to him?! I know about his family problems but he is so prone to stupid errors its unreal. Twice tonight the goals could of been avoided had he done his job. Hopefully however we have Sandro who is far better. I would suggest that Harry realise's Palacios' faults hence the reason for the Scott Parker bid.
5) Pavlychenko. At fault for giving the ball away time and time again. He has poor control. One of the goals came because he gave the ball away. He has a slow footballing brain. He reads the game slow. His pace is slow. He never beats players for speed. He never reads the bales, keanes, modric's, lennons, dos santos of the teams play. Tonight Dos Santos, Hudd, Keane, Bale put many balls to him which he failed to read.
6) Huddlestone is an important player for us. More important than we give him credit for. His passing makes us tick. He maybe clumsy at times and not the fastest. But mark my words he was missed and it showed. When he came on we were far better.
7) Keane. Changed the game for us. Worked his a*ss off. If i was Arry, id be selling Pavlychenko and Crouch. Id keep Keane and Defoe. I would add two of Remy, Saurez, Huntelaar or maybe some others to the sqaud. Crouch didnt play but i dont think he fits into our style. Big Lanky, rarely knocks the ball down in the right places. Should score more with his head. Losses the ball 70% of the time its pumped up to him. Gets a foul against him 20% and well as i said 10% of the time his headers will come off.
We need these players to move further forward. If we come up against the Barca's, Reals, Munich's we will be skinned alive if we play some of these players.
We need a new first team right back, try Kaboul there maybe as he did do well last season when he played there, we definately need a new left back and centre back, plus a goal machine striker upfront. Possibly a central midfielder as well.
Out: Assou- Ekotto, Pavlychenko, Crouch, Jenas
Keep as back-up Corluka, Palacios
In: New RB, LB, CB, STR, CMF - We need 4 maybe 5 new players.
Something id of liked Harry to have tried in pre-season was 3-5-2 formation.
Kaboul-Dawson-King/Bassong
Lennon - Hudd - Palacios/Sandro-Modric-Bale
Defoe/Keane - New Striker
I think this formation might work as Bale is a very mobile winger. He can get back and forward and when on the attack hudd or palacios/sandro can cover his runs.
Thats my opinion of all things spurs at the moment guys.
joedomvince - you make an excellent point there. Curious selection preferences from Redknapp.
Let's not knee jerk after every sodding game people. This player is shit because he played shit tonight and is therefore shit all of the time is tiresome stuff to be readin in post-match threads and comment sections.
It was a woeful evening no lie about that but it happens. We are infants in this competition and let ourselves down with being overhauled by the occasion. We'll live.
Ps excuse the spellings and gramma on some parts of my above post, very tired and i didnt read it back before posting but i think you get the idea.
I'm with you, James, only I don't feel that Pav is as bad as you think
much though i like him,i think corluka is going to be found out 4 his lack of pace if we progress with teams closing him down early. Its seems ironic suggesting we need a new right back with all that we have had on the books but thats my opinion.
& a rolls royce striker
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/17/young-boys-tottenham-hotspur-champions-league
Good write-up this.
Bumble: Pav is a likable player, but we could do far better. He frustrates me. There are players out there who are faster and read the game better and if say for example bale puts a through ball in would read that and latch onto it. But with pav its a wasted chance. Imagine a striker that could put away the chances we create..we create so many..would be brilliant wouldnt it.
Also Pav shooting from outside the box when a player is in a better position to pass to or stick a through ball to for a shot on goal. We simply dont see pav do this. Instead he shoots from long range rarely troubling the keeper and thats if it goes on target.
Watched the game in a club in Benfleet tonight with the local west ham pikeys, even after one game of the new season alll the are interested in is spurs losing how sad perhaps they realise they are in for another fantastic season just the 30 years now since they won a trophy lol
Ledley will do us right lads.
Agree with That and Winter. BAE did make a couple of errors, like every other player in white tonight, but cleaned up his own messes.
Bassong had an absolute mare for the first 35 minutes, but what a "I want it more" way to attack that header. Who knew he could do that?
Can't big up Hudds enough. His arrival made a huge difference, seemed to settle everyone's nerves and bring some organization to our play.
Our one Spurs-like move of the match was the Keane-Pavs combination that led to the goal. More of that, please.
Question: why did we wait until we got to Switzerland to practice on a synthetic pitch? I realize that there will be some variation, just like with grass, but surely there's similar in the London area? A lot of the keyston kops aspect was due to inability to deal with the bounciness.
Yeah, pretty embarrassing performance, but Christ, feels like a great escape. I was thinking FA Cup semi deja vu till the Pavs goal.
My guess is that your still SHIT, im hoping you lot get through on away goals so we can have a good giggle when you play Milan, better than Arsenal my crack!
Spurs last shot at the highest european competition we went 4-0 down away from home. Got it back to 4-2 and the second leg at whl won 8-1 i believe. Sure i read that somewhere. Keep the faith.
Tonight we were running too slow and we have been too slow-witted for this level of European football.
We got our scare tonight. Wednesday will be different.