How did we do?
Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 12:46AM Home again. Spent a couple of days up norf, within spitting distance of Old Trafford (tested and proved). Highlight, on the delayed journey back, was sitting within stalking distance of Kaya Scodelario. I'm practically twice her age. I disgust myself. But not as much as I disgust the o2 network and it's weak 3G connection. Following the football on Twitter whilst travelling on route from Manchester to London whilst salivating is hardly the best way to get my THFC fix.
So what have I missed during my bout of cold turkey?
Luka out for three games including the first leg of the monumental double-header against Meelan.
King delays op because he can't find his passport (you can't make this sh*t up).
Harry is still telling everyone stories about the almost/nearly signings in this past transfer window which saw us fail to resolve the ongoing forward conundrum saga.
Spurs win. Away. Gritty I'm told, not perfect and not vintage but some highlights including the performances of our fullbacks, Gallas, vdV and Jenas. Crouch scored. Defoe has forgotten how to.
And apparently if we beat Bolton on Saturday, we'll be one point better off than we were this stage last season. Not to shabby, even though some of us are struggling to stay afloat in a sea of negativity.
The arguments are aplenty and I'll formulate my take on all the deadline day mishaps when I've had nine hours worth of sleep.
Would appreciate some honest 'reports' of the game against Blackburn. Fill ya boots (i.e. the comments section).
DIY blog for this early early morning.
Reader Comments (54)
Another game that proves we need a midfield general, apart from those already mentioned notable performance from Gomes. That about sums up a fairly non-eventful 3 points
Not including promoted teams, we are 3 points behind last season against teams played so far
How about Bentley looking really good for Birmingham? Wtf was that about...sorry...it was the game on tv here in the States. Spurs were on the laptop and honestly what you said and the first comment honestly say all that needs to be said about the game.
Seriously, mates, give fucking credit when due. I am the first one to criticize whoever when we get shellacked, but am also happy to raise my hat up when players perform like bunch of professionals they are (or supposed to be).
I am proud of every single one. They fought thru trenches vs. Rovers and came on top. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we outplayed Rovers. That does it for me. Everyone contributed. Defoe didn’t score, but he was tirelessly chasing their FBs and CBs to win the ball. Crouchy nodded one in, and it was enough for 3 points. Our misfield put up the fight and was never overrun like we had been in few previous games. Lennon contributed more than we got accustomed to lately. Hope he’ll keep it up. Our backline had few “scares”, but Gomesinho was unbeatable. I’m glad that Sandro got some playing time. MOTM? For me, there are 3 equally outstanding candidates: Raffa, Gallas, and Gomesinho.
Also, I don’t give a shit what and how Bentley and Keane did. Both are gone and forgotten as far as I’m concerned. Fuck ‘em.
GOOOAAALLL! GOOOAAALLL! GOOOAAALLL! CROUCHIÑO!!!
Blackburn forgot the route one to Crouch in the first five minutes and that was about it....the rest of the game was the current no apparent plot/tactics, with the usual suspects doing their well documented suspect things...
Take the 3 points Gomes pretty much saved us & forget about it!!!!
I got my wish that Corluka was in the line up, but I forgot to ask Harry to keep Lennon on the right side as well.
Which brings me to what people think of the Lennon on the left tactic? I'm sort of a fan. The Fulham game started this way but we really didn't get a chance to see it in full effect because we went to 10 men so early on. This time however Lennon was able to show what was possible. He mixed it up. Sometimes he passed in low with his left other times he pulled short and screamed across the box. He bagged the late equalizer against the Toons this way, and it may have sparked an idea in Harry. What was missing was the bit of creativity if he couldn't get the shot off. He did manage one belter that Robinson was lucky to save as it was deflected. It may need a little more work on the training ground. He was having a hard time dishing it off in tight quarters.
The other aspect of this is that his link up play with BAE seemed more forced. Lord Coif likes the aerial deliveries up the flank and Lennon's height makes this more difficult than with Bale. Maybe I'm imagining it or I'm biased because I wanted Lennon on the right with Corluka.
Great moments of defense but a few fingers-to-the-face-looking-through-a-crack episodes like when Bassong got caught in possession.
The boys played hard. It was a scrapper at times. The ref seemed pretty fair and willing to let a little physicality seep into the match. Rovers pressed hard at times, but Gomes was simply en fuego.
An extremely open game at times with Jenas showing a really nice performance. We should be proud of the 3 points.
dpac73, you nutter :)
4-4-2 i knew it would work better as harry does not excel at using other formation. Please keep it this way and rotate among VDV, modric and Lennon.
I hear a lot of people saying that we were lucky to win. I disagree.
We scored early (great cross from VDV, great header from Crouch) and hence earnt the right to defend most of the game.
Yeah it wasn't necessarily champaign football from us, but look at the injury list! Defoe looked a bit lost and lennon a bit uncomfortable - palacios made me swear a few times but all in all a well deserved win.
My MOM has to be VDV.
Honorable Mentions go to Jenas, Gallas and Gomes
Saw the game at 4am here.
A functional win. Nothing pretty.
Some views, some of which I've maintained during this season.
1. Corluka at RB is a far better defender than Hutton but weaker when attacking. I would like to see Corluka being played more often at RB.
2. Benny played his usual awesome game.
3. Jenas and Wilson in the centre of a 442 formation is a safe pairing against mediocre opposition. We will create nowt but not many will pass through the centre. Having said that they went down the flanks fairly easily and frequently. Wilson was pretty bad at times. I see that Kranjcar cannot buy some game time even with the injuries.
4. Defoe is still too selfish. Play breaks down because he collects too deep and goes off on his own. He would be better off either playing selfishly but staying near or in the box or, if playing deeper, then being involved in any build-up to distribute to a player in a better position.
5. Sandro's cameo showed ne needs more game-time.
6. Since we were short of central defenders, then what's the concern with Khumalo. If he wasnt good enough then why buy him? If he is good enough, surely it's worth a punt in the last 10 minutes. Speaking of which, why not bring Woodgate in the last 10 minutes to give him some game time?
7. Overall, we won, so I wont criticise the formation, but I believe we got lucky. We might not succeed against well-organised mid-tier teams like Fulham, Bolton, Sunderland, Everton or anyone who is equally organised on the day.
I know we dont want to risk players who are untried or rusty, but surely we need to rotate some. Bale, Modric or other key players who get injured or worn out need a rest occasionly. Tis better to use players who play regularly in their place instead of someone "rusty". We did it to great effect last year from Jan onwards, when players like Bentley, Pav came in and helped to win games. What has changed?
Although I was very sad at our FA Cup demise, i cannot help but think this could benefit us in some way.
To those lamenting the lack of significant activity during the transfer window, I would only say that if clubs rejected our silly money offers then so be it.
Here's wishing one and all a Happy Lunar New Year. It's the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit.
For me it is best we have 2 strikers on simultaneously. Defoe should warm the bench in place of one of our youth strikers like Obika, with Crouch as an automatic starter. Lennon laid a perfect ball for Defoe to score in the second half that could have given us a cushion instead he slams it against Robinson. This is the second time he is wasting a 1 on 1 chance to score in the space of 1 week and how much longer can we tolerate such expensive wastefulness? If he can't be clinical then his bum should ride the pine.
Why Kranjcar isn't starting with the absence of Bale and Modric, and now Pinnear, is mind boggling. He would have being perfect to operate from the left with Lennon attacking on the right, leaving the combo of VdV and Jenas to control the midfield, instead we had Palacious who on a few occasions messed up the build up the team was making, leading to Blackburn charging down for a swift counter attack that caused us a few panics at the back.
For defense, I think it was a blessing in disguise Dawson didn't play. Although he has played when we kept a few clean sheets this season, his overall performance hasn't been exactly stellar. With Gallas and Bassong, we actually had a little bit of controlled coordination to thwart Blackburn's charge. BAE was himself and gave a great command on the left side while Corluka came in for Hutton (why? Rotation?). The big guy is hard and deceptive to read because he does his slow motion moves when he overlaps so you can't tell if he is going to pass or run with the ball.
Gomes for me was the Man of Match as he made a number of breath taking saves to deny Blackburn a share of the spoils. I have to also give Jenas kudos for the goal line clearance that would even the match. If only Gomeshinho get a strong frame that can keep him fit consistently for the rest of the season.
Overall we should consider this 3 points gained. We didn't do enough to win the match but if you consider matches we did enough to win but either lost or drew, then this is one that made up for it. We have to play 2 strikers going forward if we are going to solve the issue of not scoring enough. The less strikers on the field, the less chances they have of scoring, and the lower their confidence will be. 'Arry, please find a way to accommodate 2 strikers on this team as we need to get back to being ruthless all over again. We haven't hit double digits GD this season yet and that might be the difference of who finishes 4th/5th/6th.
That is a good site you posted there Spooky.
most played well, Defoe's worst. should not play him against Milan - he's only good against the likes of Wolves or Stoke - or perhaps maybe not. Pav on!
Good 3 points. City stumbles. Yay! 14 games left + CL. All to play for. COYS. I googled Kaya and I too am disgusted with myself ;-)
Good result , might say excellent result and a good team performance , Crouch scoring , Gallas and Gomes strong but JJ was the key for me , he was pretty impressive.
Great result hard game .We did what we had to do win.I don't care if we win the rest of our games like that as long as we win.VDV was top drawer again putting himself about and showing class when he got the chance.Gallas ran the back door all night with bass putting in a good one and Gomes for me was the clear man of the match.Some fantastic saves and on the whole controlled all crosses.Big mention for lennon who was asked due to injury to pienaar to play the left .Worked hard all night and put in a shift.They had chances lots of them but we held tight.Jenas well despite getting his head used as the ball once was pretty solid if nothing else and we will need that on Saturday.Good to see Woody back even if he didn't get a game but every week is a chance to improve fitness if not match speed.We have a hell of a lot of injuries and on another night with a full team we may not have got this result but the guys fought like tigers.We must now do it all again at the lane on saturday with the same result needed.A win on saturday puts us equal with chelski and two points behind city although i expect them to win on saturday but we are right in there.We still have city to play and chelski and its looking like last year all over again.If we win our game in hand over city and beat them we go above them.A draw for chelski on sunday would be a great result for us as it would keep the pool of our backs and let us draw in on chelski.Keep fighting lads we can with effort like last night still get 4th and with chelski still to play mannure twice maybe even third but hell lets not get that far.Come on yee SPURS.
A decent shift by everyone plus a few wobbly bits like Bassong's pocket almost being picked a la Dawson of Fulham. Mind you the glares from his teammates jolted him up from his peaceful slumber bit sharpish. BAE solid: I love his ball control (ooh). Gallas Solid. Corluka did well considering: defended well and got up front a few time. Unfortunately his crossing was a bit wasteful when he did. Midfield battled hard and credit to them. VDV and Jenas (dare I say it) worked hard and therefore shone. Lennon was a constant worry to Blackburn while Palacios went about his business defending well, getting the ball and generously gifting his hard won prize to our opponents at times. Crouch and Defoe did OK. Alright, alright, Crouchie was stellar and managed to place his noggin in the right place for once and head the ball away from the keeper and, wait for it, on target! Other than that, the lack of understanding between our strikers was painfully obvious with Defoe darting one way only for Crouch to lay the ball the other. Still a good and solid display all around and, most importantly, three whole points. Oh, and Gomes saved our bacon a few times with great shot/heart stopping saves.
1. Van der Vaart - What a player. all of us that doubted him recently should learn not to doubt the master. He did'nt play on the right much tbh. Lennon should have switched play more.
2. Lennon - true Tottenhamesque player. Exciting and talented.
3. Jenas - Played well. His usual good game in every twenty(20) I guess. We've been there before.
4. Bassong - Poor defender. Must get rid.
5. Corluka - Intelligent. Hutton should be at Sunderland. Corluka + Lennon on the right was superb last season. Should be institutionalised. Much like the left side combination on BAE + Bale.
6. CROUCH - Played his best game this season. And he was still poor. Scored his second goal. Against the same goalkeeper (worst keeper in the business). The only reason he plays 90minutes for a CL chasing team is because he is Harry's son. If Spurs had any other manager, he would be playing for Stoke. His level. His style of play.
7. PAV - Harry is scared of playing him. If Pav plays 3 games he will take his tally to almost 10 goals. That would not bode well for Harry's sons Crouch-ie and Defoe whom he has nurtured in three different clubs. Pav is a guaranteed goalscorer. Especially in a game like yesterdays. But Harry would rather lose the points than suffer the agony of another Pav goal.
8. Gomes - If it wasn't for him, we would have come out of that with nothing. Thanks Gomes. Hero.
9. Harry - ?Its hard to be too harsh on him, after all, he did get us that top4 finish. But at the end of it, he really is just a tactless relegation-battle manager. Last season, Kranjcar's goals brought him the top4. And so did Pav's. Now they are castaways. And for what? Crouch. Crouch is sh*t. Even with his ugly goal. But Redknapp is not able to see beyong his three club relationship with his 'sons'. Wonder if the successful managers ever do such things.
Liverpool are coming for us. Suarez - having played only 20minutes in England - already has half the goals scored by both Defoe and Harry's Crouch-ie this season. So what if we pip them to 5th this season? What exactly does the future hold for a Spurs fan? Seeing that the type of goals we now score (Long-ball-to-tallest-player) is nothing special. We are the new Portsmouth.
I think that some if the criticism of last night are unfair. It WAS an ugly and gritty win, but that's how Blackburn play. The Arsenal of old would turn up, play a gorgeous game and leave with no points and three Injuries!
All in all this was a hurt Tottenham team and one at their weakest - but they largely controlled the game and could (SHOULD) have been three up before Gomes stepped in. It was a key victory.
The form of Defoe is troubling, he is easily read by defenders and seems to have lost sharpness - a Defoe of old would counter a tight angle with a fierce high thunderbolt, not a passing shot.
I prefer the under-dog status, the bright lights of City may sparkle but there's a fear that they'll miss out again and it's affecting their play - god help them when they have Europa games to tire them more.
Keep the faith, keep Charlie in the team, keep believing.
Suarez scored on his debut for the pool then! Cant understand why we get him when we had the chance.
Nevertheless a good tonic for the Fulham match and who knows, only 5 points between us and Mancity But only 6 between us and the pool. Its often the case that big name signings take time to settle in so who knows, if we can grind them out like last night, we should be there in the mix at the end;
All praise to Harry & the dedicated makeshift team he put together. You are the only guys who earn my respect and not those that pursue wealth rather than dignity.
Keep up the good work lads - the fans are definately behind your trying effort.
Great Gritty performance and lots of players to be proud of themselves, too many to mention , But overall a good team performance.
I watched the game in Australia, and the commentator said "Spurs have a prem side out with injurys " So really
a great performance on the back of Fullam.
Also lets not get on the back of Levy and Arry over the window, it just distracts from our objective of getting into fourth spot. Our new ground be wherever it is not important until the close season it is just a distraction.
Now let us concentrate on pushing our beloved SPURS to at least fourth in the league and winning the BIG ONE,
We all know that the year ends with a 1 ................And stranger things have happened, And would it be nice to stick that up the Ar5ena1.
COYS.
Just like to celebrate vdv's performance last night - vision and skill were head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch. Gomes produced another display of all action, heart in mouth heroics. Although Blackburn had a lot of shots we always seemed in control and to have another gear if needed. Gallas very composed even though not sure if he was moving freely. Wilson and Bassong contrived to keep the game interesting and give Blackburn some encouragement by having the odd mad moment. This was a vital 3 points both for league position and morale and the boys dug in and delivered, so I am well happy.
We deserve a bit of luck, a great great win
Osvaldo Villa, couldnt agree more about not going on about the transfer window. I think we all know Levy and Harry want to go forward as much as we do, but its difficult with abramovich around.
What made us so strong in the first half of the season was our togetherness, everyone pulling in the same direction, so lets forget the window, forget stratford and make sure we bring the house down against bolton, then city will really start shitting there pants.
Robbie Keane will lift Spammers out of relegation zone. They'll get the nod for the OS. Levy own goal. Job done.
Anyone else notice that we had two keepers on the bench!!
I think an important thing to note is that we are now 5 points behind Man City, with a game in hand.
That game in hand is away at Blackpool, so you'd like to think 3 points. Match City's results for the rest of the season and beat them at theirs again, and we'll finish above them.
Now that the dust is settling on the farce that was the January transfer window, I think we can put things into perspective.
1) We are still well within touching distance of a CL place for next season.
2) We are in the knockout stages of the CL this season
3) Last season's FA Cup semi-final defeat just galvanised us and helped us push on. Who's to say that Sunday's defeat won't do the same?
4) We have a lot of players currently injured
The future is potentially bright, but only if we stay 4-4-2
As for Khumalo, Harry said yesterday that the plan was to loan him out to a Championship club. Once Dawson got sent off on Sunday it ruled out that option as he is needed as cover. I think the loan window for lower leagues is still open, so he still may go out.
Ugly game, good win...3pts...COYS!
Sorry to bring it up again, especially when there is football on but, Lammy has issued a rebuttal, apologies if you've already read it but, if true, he has some interesting points... http://www.davidlammy.co.uk/sitedata/PD ... ttal-1.pdf
Fuck Lammy, Im sick of hearing that posh twat pretend he gives a fuck about our club. That cunt wants whats best for his career, he's loving every minute of being in the public eye. Levy should have him shot.
For me it was great to see a 442 formation, and even better was to see Charlie back in the team - so much more disciplined and composed than Hutton.
Gomes was immense - Lennon had a strong game out on the left and should have shot instead of passing to Defoe who really should have made it 2. A very tough game - No Dawson / Bale / Modric / Huddlestone - Lennon and VDV out of position so for me a great result.
Take away that fulham atrocity and I think that 1 defeat in like 15 or 16 so all in all not bad wouldn't you say. We don't play a 'top 4' side until April (I think) so lets get motoring over the next 2 months.
However, my biggest shout of th enight must go to jenas and that clearance of the line in the dying seconds that he knew nothing about - priceless.
Win against Bolton on sat with the same team apart from dawson back in for bassong and we are 1 point better than we were last year.
COYS.
CEJ,
Agree Lennon was trying his best to step up to the plate, great effort from all the lads.
We got the goons end of feb by the way.
A couple of sentences into the post you made me go and Google Kaya Scodelario... I was suitably distracted for the rest of...erm.... I think Spurs played last night...
P.S. Why couldn't we have signed Suarez?
Apparently we didn't go for Suarez as Harry seems him as a support/second striker rather than an out and out striker.
Harry said that VdV already has that role so didn't feel the need to move for him.
I think from evidence at Anfield last night, Harry's opinion was/is wrong!
Gomes MOM says most of what you need to know.
Bloody Crouch popped up again just as you write him off.
By 'yoiu' I mean everyone.
All round 'griity' (todays word) performance.
CaraVan der Vaart back on form, ditto Lennon, Gallas good.
Rest ok including JJ.
Not that it matters now but Suarez looked very top class for Liverpool.,
Thanks Christopher for the kind words of agreement, obviosly we are on the same plain with our beloved Tottenham .
The one thing that is coming through with most of the posts is that the fans have hope and if you look at the fixtures the oppisition still have hard games left. We are still in a strong position and I think that the Binndippers will beat Cheatski and throw the whole thing open again.
Also Walkerboy good post very true!
Cej also you watched the same match as me, GOOD ON YA ALL.
COYS.
Gallas was immense yesterday, BAE good and Corluka and Bassong so-so. The midfield was solid enough, and the centre-mid pairing works well in games like these. I think we just have to persevere with Defoe, we know he's a goalscorer and once on a roll will bang them in. Pav will not get us top 4, Defoe possibly can.
Nice one chaps. Will make watching the super condensed MotD highlights a little more acceptable.
@christopher
The Goons at the Lane in Feb has been postponed due to them being in the mickey mouse cup final.
"The Goons at the Lane in Feb has been postponed due to them being in the mickey mouse cup final."
Spurs - Proud holders of the Mickey Mouse Cup twice in the last 19 years and fuck all else.
@ Focussed from Singapore
"6. Since we were short of central defenders, then what's the concern with Khumalo. If he wasnt good enough then why buy him? If he is good enough, surely it's worth a punt in the last 10 minutes. Speaking of which, why not bring Woodgate in the last 10 minutes to give him some game time?"
thought your other points were pretty bang on... but 10 mins left, away from home, 1-0 up....you dont change the back line if you can help it! the win was far too important last night.
Thoought it was an okay performance, not exactly our sparkling best but then as everyone is saying lots of injuries....or "bare bones" as 'arry would say... but hang just one cotton picking minute....dont we have the best squad depth in the league....how come 4 players are injured and we cant play the way we should be.
aaah well, never mind... what happens happens. not going to stop supporting spurs if we dont get top four spot. thick and thin, in it for the long haul, for richer for poorer, better or worse....etc...
COYS
OK, I hate to let facts get in the way of a good story, but Suarez most definietly didnt score on his debut. He played his part in a comedy own goal. Indeed it was only his woefully mis-hit finish that allowed the stoke lad to make a fool of himself in scoring the OG. Seriously - there is no way in the world that Suarez will be given that goal. It was more than 6 yards from the goal when the Stoke player shanked it onto the post and into the net!
Lets all drop the Gomes love in for a minute. He wasnt exactly our saviour last night. He made some routine saves - had he let any of those in we would rightly be dissing him thoroughly today. He did his job, nothing more.
Whats all this crap about 'Crouch played his best game and was still crap'? Lay off him. And Ronnie - as the worst offender I feel compelled to tell you that Crouch has had many good games this season. Examples for you: He was outstanding against VIlla at home, Stoke away, all of the CL home games plus WB away and played well last night. Is he my fave player? No. Does that mean I think he is always rubbish? No again. You want to know what rubbish looks like? Try asking a Blackburn fan - Roberts was atrocious last night.
Jenas played well. Easily our best player IMO. VDV and Crouch did well, Gomes did what he had to do. Otherwise it was a humdrum performance by pretty much everyone. Not sure what Gallas and Bassong did to attract such praise, given the quality of the 'strikers' they were up against. BAE did his job ok, but he really doesnt give a sht about the rest of the team. Truly one of football's odd-balls. VC did ok, until he actually had to play against a left winger after which he was woeful. Lennon did well, given he was on the wrong wing. I wonder if Hary knows he is right footed and VDV left footed? Just a thought. Wilson was Wison, he tried hard, he broke up attacks...unfortunately most of the attacks he broke up were our own ones.
Whats all this about Modders missing Meelan? Not by my basic maths. Out for 2 weeks has him back with a day to spare. He'll play, trust me. There are games that big players dont miss. Thats one of them. Bale will also be back.
The challenge is clear now. We have clarity. We dont have to look at Chelsea's results any more, they are out of our range (and class). The target is City. Win our game in hand, win our game against them, and we are on top. Our top 4 fate is in our hands. Doesnt mean we'll make it of course, but its all you can ask for at this stage of the season. And I dont know about you boys, but I think we can go to City and win. COME ON YOU SPURS!
Don't tell that to Liverpool fans, they're already getting his name tattooed on their chests.
@Christopher
The game against the scum has been moved to the last week of season - not confirmed yet, but it will not be before April. Looks like we are gonna have to beat them all again in the closing weeks of the season once again!
COYS.
"Wilson was Wison, he tried hard, he broke up attacks...unfortunately most of the attacks he broke up were our own ones."
made me chuckle there and must say found it to be a very fair match review Paul F !
@ IaG
Harry needs a way to accommodate 2 strikers and vdV...thats the problem right there...vdV....thats the reason Krankie didnt play because harry wants to play vdV at all times and while lennon can run like Forrest Gump then he'll be on the pitch too even if it is LW
vdV was brilliant last night...even the ref thought so...did you see the bit near the end when he was flattened by someone (cant remember which Blackburn thug it was) as he was getting up he looked knackered and bewildered that he was flattened the ref, on his way past, gave him a nice little pat on the shoulder as if to say "thats the only way they can stop you" - - - - well thats what I took from it.
I reckon if Lennon gets injured and we persist with vdV on RW in a 4-4-2 then Krankie will get his chance..Pienaar when fit could slot in to CM alongside a fit Luka....this is assuming Bale is still out.
Anyway last night harry set us up in a 4-4-2 out of necessity and not by choice. If everyone is fit I reckon it'll be back to 4-4-1-1- with bale LW lennon RW Luka Thud CM and vdV ACM behind crouch....
Defoe needs a goal badly...when he gets one he'll get two...its like Rooney...the ability is still there but I reckon the uncertantity over the line ups and a lack of sharpness/confidence is whats holding him back. Trying too hard in other words. He needs a tap in.
Well chuffed with the result we performed JJ stepped up pal not too bad overall some heart in mouth moments as with bassong but I thought they did well. Charlie was good all night he'll be better with lennon in front of him.
Benoit...where do I start...not a cooler man at the club..brilliant....been meaning to post my membership application to the appreciation society for a long time now so without further ado its now in the post.
All we need now is for Benny to sport a full 'for and nab a win the in the pale blue shirt.
Feeling a bit more optimistic today than I was on Tuesday..still will be a tough battle to land 4th again and 1 swallow does not make a summer so I'm not expecting Crouch to go on a mental scoring spree...we'll at least not in front of goal anyway..
Rejoice, a win and a clean sheet away from home with a couple of players out of their natural positions with a horrendous injury list is pretty good.
Thje spirit and the will to win last night echoed the performances against the Scum (last season and this one) Chavs and Shitteh...
Believe
Five misplaced passes by Wilson. They look bad because they are such simple attempts that fail, other players misplace as many passes by attempt more ambitious efforts.
He's still awful compared to his destroyer mode when he first arrived.
As long as Crouch continues his amazing scoring streak (currently standing at a goal in each of his last one games) then we'll be unstoppable.
PaulF :"He made some routine saves - had he let any of those in we would rightly be dissing him thoroughly today. He did his job, nothing more."
Eh, that's pretty critical in my opinion. The Diouf strike was immense, the back peddle to touch away Toilet's bounce shot, and the free kick stop were all world class stops.
Also, "Whats all this about Modders missing Meelan? Not by my basic maths. Out for 2 weeks has him back with a day to spare. He'll play, trust me. There are games that big players dont miss. Thats one of them. Bale will also be back."
Luka had his appendix taken out. Assuming it was done laparoscopically he still needs time to heal where they staples were placed on his cecum. It's not a hamstring strain. You put him out there too soon, he takes a knock to the belly and the next thing you know he's got acute peritonitis. Then they will have to open him up with big incisions, put drains in him and he's basically done for the season. I hope he's ready for Milan, I really do. But I'd rather he miss it if there were any questions.