WANTED: One top class striker. Requirements: ruthless eye for goal, sublime first touch, clever movement and a bit of a swagger
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 1:01PM Tottenham 0 Manchester United 0
If Manchester United were toothless, Spurs were limp. Neither side had cutting edge. Both sides defended resolutely. And yet there is no disguising the disappointment that we didn't carve out more clear cut chances. Ball seemed to get stuck under feet once or twice. When a quality ball was crossed in, there was no quality at the end of it to finish it off.
Perfect illustration that we can go up against the teams that are meant to be on another level to us, compete and feel regretful for not quite grasping the initiative and punishing them.
Sure, we're not title contenders. Mainly because we lack that extra punch in the side that probably would have seen us take more points than we did against Man City (D), Chelsea (D) and now Man Utd (another D). The concern is that other sides might have that punch aplenty, either from seasoned experience of from splashing out £27M for the privilege.
We need to turn these almosts and if onlys into three points at home and dig deep away. Regardless, let's face it, even if Man Utd are hardly the beast of old they are one that has to be respected and very much admired for their spirit and their annoying doggedness. They battled and they could have nicked it, at least their fans would argue they had players with the potential to do so. But much like us, the game (end to end as it was) lacked that final third slick pass and movement to get past the bricks in defence.
Rooney and Berbatov hardly had me biting my nails. Apart from perhaps two efforts on goal by 'Wazza', but hardly heart-stopping. But alas, unbeaten they remain. The red card (not that it's helped in the past) was hardly fruitful in terms of possession in our favour. As we didn't quite make it count down the flanks and through the middle. A day for defenders indeed. Still think we're going to finish top four, got the players for it just need that ruthlessness in the key forward area. So yeah, top four ‘if’ we get that ruthlessness in the key forward area.
Crouch, no doubt, is going to be much maligned in post-match discussion, I'm certain of it. Nothing to suggest we would not have discussed the same 0-0 result had Pav started or even Defoe.
The Russian probably would have given us little movement or bad first touch (depends what variant of Roman would have turned up, but can't have seen him troubling Rio and Vidic much). Defoe also might have found himself lacking the cunning to get behind the Utd centre backs. Although, arguably, both Pav and Defoe could lay claim to having better shooting boots than Crouch.
Just that Peter can hold the ball up and head it down and...you know, stuff, for a big man. Crouch 'should' have scored from that delicious Hutton cross. In another parallel dimension. Not to single out Crouch, so I won’t, also worth noting vdV was not quite crisp with his efforts either.
And let's be honest, regardless of the forward(s), it would have taken something special to unlock the United defence on the form they were on. Trend developing here, with the reoccurring references re: defenders.
Don't think too much was wrong with our performance and our intent. Modric was supreme again. World class? Yeah, go on then. Stick that on the back of his shirt. He makes us tick, he conducts and dictates. Fergie licking his lips on the touchline.
Palacios played well in parts, but also doing his best at times to remind us of his erratic composure when attempting to pass, but he was effective with defensive duties. Not so bright in offensive positions. And please someone have a word with him regarding shots on goal. Jenas the alternative. Pienaar the alleged transfer target (Chelsea to nick him). Huddlestone, no doubt, the preferred choice of partner for Modric. Having him back in the side might actually feel like a new signing. You felt for all the majesty of Modric, with vdV not quite claiming a stranglehold on the game like he usual does, Hudd's pinged balls into and around the box are missed in games such as this where chances are not quite crafted with ease not for lack of invention – just needed a different type of question to be asked when moving towards the United goal.
Moving away from their defenders to ours...
Hutton and BAE worked tirelessly. And Dawson is beginning to be a tad talismanic at the back. What's that now, one goal conceded in our last five games? And that other bloke at the back, whathisface, the old bloke. Quietly quietly, he's proving one or two of us wrong with his composure and experience . What with Ledley stuck on the sidelines.
Other minor talking points?
Our set pieces remain utterly pants. Last decent free kick was taken back in 1991. More conversations required on the training pitch with D-Beck please.
The red card? Well it was hardly a Mendes or Nani or Webb incident. And petulant as Raphael was/is (the second ‘foul’ was probably meant rather than being accidently) he probably should have got away with just the one yellow. The first tackle, clumsy.
Conclusion?
In the end, not enough, when enough was not that improbable but neither likely. United, needing the point more than risking the requirement of all three. They contained us. I guess we should take that as a compliment?
In a season where nobody is head and shoulders above the team just behind them. In a season where Chelsea are showing signs of mortality and weakness, City spending more to consolidate and improve, Arsenal ruthless against the lesser teams and Man Utd, not playing with swagger but not getting beat either. It’s a soap opera with many unmissable story arcs and sub plots. We are stronger but with the ‘top four’ becoming ‘five’, so is the top end of the league which means we need to evolve further, and quickly. Twists and turns guaranteed, no doubt, before the finale.
Onwards.
Five of our next six games in all competitions are away. Backs to wall, wouldn't have it any other way. Well, other than being ten points clear of 4th spot looking down at it.
COYS.
Reader Comments (77)
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.................is it fucking april fools.....just heard some cunt is paying £18m for Darren fucking tortoise head, hide it in my shirt so no one can see me ,stick it long over the top and i might score Bent !
cunts
Seriously though, MON asked for money and was told to fuck off,now there nearly getting relegated and they throw £18mil at that cunt bent. MON must be well pissed off......
Nothing to do with topic, and yeah we need a striker.......a good one.
"Our set pieces remain utterly pants. Last decent free kick was taken back in 1991. More conversations required on the training pitch with D-Beck please."
This is so bloody true. Bale and Lennon can win corners all day long, but team doesn't threaten from them. Nor with free kicks - I watch Bale and VdV approach the ball, and all I can do is hope someone else suddenly appears to present himself.
Spurs' game right now creates many, many dead ball chances. Need to capitalize, particularly when struggling to score from open play (I still fantasize about that Krancjar goal against Stoke last year, after Gudjohnson's dummy through - seems like ages ago).
I think Andy Carroll would be good. Young, big, strong and fearless. If not, loan Ruud Van Nisterooy.
In the end a fair result. Neither team did enough to win. Of course we had some chances that we didn't capitalize on. Happy we got a clean sheet. I do think the rain worked to their advantage. Slowed the pace a bit. I just think Bale should have gotten the ball a bit more and actually taken Rafael on a bit more as that was their only real weakness at the back.
Loan Van Nistelrooy , lol ... They do not even let him leave for Real so i guess that options out.
Keep hoping against all odds that we will end up with Forlan , experienced, strong and as far as i know the only player that has no prefered foot , left and right are equally strong
Or maybe Klose , a straight up finisher
No young unproven players upfront please , time to go for the striker that has 2/3 seasons in him and a proven goalscorer
Andy Carroll ? Please......not another alcoholic..... King's just managed to rip muscle clean from his bone....! When will these twat's wake up and smell the coffee!
@CEJ
"- having said that, Chelski really are 1 0r 2 injuries short of losing a load of games again - fingers crossed."
So are we mate!!
vdV was actually pulling Vid's shirt first and we can see from the replay that from Dean's angle he couldnt see it. Shirt pulling is a part of the game unfortunately. However if it had been at OT.......
@ The Alamo
The 10 man thing is irrelevant. It quite often happens that the team with 10 men actually perform better and make it more difficult for the 11 to score. Our games at Villa and against Newcastle kinda prove that.
@The Alamo
and another thing........we had Crouch up front. I could have kept him in my pocket all day too. The easiest way to play Crouch is to let us fire balls up to him...thats what united did by standing off Dawson and letting him pump it up there. Stand off Crouch and let him receive it and control it (successfully about 50% of the time) and he'll be further away from goal than when he started and facing away from goal...at that point united's midfield have got into position and have ours covered.
Its not really rocket science. Fergie got it spot on. Ok creatively you might need something a bit better. It makes united look like they parked the bus when in fact they didnt. We effectively parked it for them. It was a bit different when Defoe came on we had a better chance of playing the channels and getting in behind them.
But at that point it was too little to late.
Great chance to keep pressure on Chelsea blown imo. Like not beating Chelsea at the lane too.
This word striker has bean used has the main excuse for Spurs not winning yet i have told you to the point of even me getting pissed of even with sudden deaths every years since i was told second half energy abuse was being used to win games or draw. What fans don't no is target testing has arrived and the top ten players are being targeted for blood testes five times a year. This should have bean 30 but with the help of Ferguson Sol Campbell and a few others objecting it was watered down to 10 and for the players names to be kept a secret. So if a top player starts to look rubbish slow and way of form then he could be targeted ( THESE ARE NOT PLAYING WELL) Drogba Torres Rooney three players from the old cartel and ones of them was on my radar for abuse. Its very funny becaused one of those three players team was the team i discovered using energy to overpower teams and they coined the nickname Duracell Bunnies and now they are Aldi cheap battery's with my campaign highlighting them. There back room medical staff have bean sacked along with there tempo this shows me what i new was right the Managers never knew why they run and run and both lost there jobs when it suddenly stopped with my blogs exposing them.. Red Bull gives you wings this shite i discovered being used gives you unlimited energy the big problem is if you over use it and mix it with Energy drinks you can collapse and die or have a stroke or become ill with the weight loss... You can spot the teams with all there players looking gaunt there second half surges in energy this is because of overuse that can cause deaths and now most high tempo happens when a team has played 45i minuets this is a very true incredible phenomenal statistic causing most of this seasons shocks.. So don't look at why we never scored or why Crouch has more time in Europe . Football has got to decide too things Firstly to stop all these drinks being passed on the field at every given chance these drinks are stopping testers from finding the real energy by masking the illegal substances being used this was the information i was told three seasons ago. The second alternative is to let teams use this energy and risk there players having there hearts stopping and strokes with overheating, because its spread so fast now even amateur teams are using it and that is even sadder.. One last rant on this subject because i cant win this battle on my own and its easier to blame Keane Bentley Crouch Dosantos and to ask for more spending than root out the real problem if you look at Ukad drug testing results for spoort you will see every drug known to man and women being used but you will also see the drug i found being used in both Rugby codes but in Football no names are given in the premiership but in other divisions they have named two Paddy Kenny and Cadamateri the premiership is protected for Sky Money. I can swear with confidents Spurs have not in my observations used this drug because we would be unbeaten like utd if we had our squad has also helped with good replacements also we don't chase the ball in a mesmeric way in packs of three denying space and forcing mistakes, with glowing red faced with overheating and Bale and Lennon are normally fast so don't ask for more players ask for better deterrent and more transparency when cheats are caught. Then i can blame Crouch for missing and Class will win once again, or we will have Blackpool in the top four and we will go bust throwing money at the problem remeber Holloway's statments when they get beat my team cant compete with the big boys and all there money when they win he says my team did me proud and but in a good shift this means you can spend 2 million on players and have the third best away record or pay millions more and get beat by Everton like we did thtas my compelling message to you Spooky sorry for the length of my rant but its important you know because Newcastle are next and they will be well pumped up Barton will make sure of that.COYS
Does anyone else think that maybe we need to replace Les Ferdinand as striker's coach? Defoe, Keane and Crouch have scored a combined total of one...yes! one goal entire season. Sherwood and the rest seem to be doing a job because, evidently, our midfield is great and Harry is well advised on midfield selections. Its time Harry had a look at his advisors vis-a-vis the strikers.
That said, Harry will also need to be a little bit more ambitious. Saying we 'can' win the league is good motivation for the players but, in all seriousness, he has a very simple choice really whenever we play the 'big 4s', its either we win the games, or we play Crouch. I seriously believe Crouch is the most untalented striker to ever put on the great lilywhite shirt.
And yes, I do remember Doherty and Rasiak.
Southbound Suarez?
The opposition team's equivalent of Davspur probably also say the same thing about our wingers and their pace. That we also partake in the ephedrine fun?
Maybe the answer to why Crouch never scores is very simple...He is very poor.
Southbound? I thought he was Anfield bound?
I hope we keep kranjcar, I know it causes more problems with squad selection, but we can't rely on Bale playing every single match and to be honest he looks in need of resting, although against organised defences like man utd he has done better attacking from left back but we couldnt guarentee that nani would have been no threat whatsoever so better to rest than risk.
One thing Pienaar gives us that no one has picked up on is a friendly face for a new signing from around the world, you may not think much of it, but bringing ardiles and villa together worked immediately, as soon as we got modric we got corluka which worked straight away and i have no doubt that the original intention was to bring in pav and arsharvin together. At this stage of the season bedding in quickly is important and getting both south africas best world cup performers together may help skip the introductory phase we had to do with sandro, pav, berbatov.... etc etc and if nothing else, it means we can play a quality back 9 injuries allowing :)
Good point bonse. Never thought of that in relation to Pienaar. Come on Khumalo, come and move to London. I know you don't know anybody but we'l find you a little friend to play with!
If Pienaar is the answer, what exactly is the question?
Farley's Rusks.
Farleys Rusks used to be delicious, i could eat a hole box of them.......tried them a couple of years ago when my missus fired out our first son ....and they were shit. Seriously, tasted like cardboard, i was gutted, thought i could demolish a box a week, but with the current recipe, no chance.
Whose the conspiracy nutter about the ephedrine ? fuck me !
Peter Crouch = Crotch Purée. Clearly had some off-field issues to resolve.
Robbie Keane = Broke Beanie. Right, that's why the Birmingham move broke down.
Roman Pavlyuchenko = Oh Levy, unpack Roman. What, still not settled?
Jermain Defoe = I need Jamfore. Who is this Jamfore? Is he French? Sign him immediately.
So no wonder they don't score. What about the targets?
Luis Alberto Suarez = Brutalize Arse-soul. Sounds like some big derby wins to me.
Andy Carroll = Carny dollar. Let's not pay too much, k Daniel?
Luis Fabiano = Labia fusion. ???????
Dear god Harry and Daniel. Please read this important scouting ITK before it's too late.
Pinear was bought to replace that cunt Jenas coz he can play anywhere in the midfield and has a good engine.Hutton is a donkey, and these idiots that say 30 mil. for Carroll, Levy wouldnt pay 30 for the whole newcastle team never mind for a 8 goal wonder, who wouldve thought we'll see the day that a draw against man u would be as bad as a loss
I am shit and I know I am. But Harry loves me so f@ck you!
I don't love Peter, I feel sorry for him...
We are in for Torres, 24m + Crouch!
My source wouldnt make this up as he knows only a fucking buffoon would fall for a complete lie.
Arsene Wenger is keeping a close eye on the Villa transfer dealings. A forward line that's Young, Bent and Keane would get him very excited.
*rimshot*