Spurs lose to United at Old Trafford again
Sunday, August 21, 2011 at 8:14PM Match previews for games at Old Trafford are all pretty much based on the same template no matter the season. We sort of know we're going to lose so we dress up the pre-match war cry to cite how 'it's all about the performance' and that it's important to show a good account of ourselves by fighting with ample tenacity and display desire and other such emotive footballing clichés.
Arguably, losing to Manchester United is hardly something that will leave us tainted with disgrace across our faces. They've been known to win silverware, domestically and in Europe. They have instilled in them a belief system that is pretty much second to none. In other words, they know how to play and they know how to respond positively if they're on the ropes.
My point is, its pretty much okay to cite 'it's all about the performance'. If we go up there on Monday and play stupendously well in a ding-dong game and lose because of a moment of brilliance or the simple fact they deserved it that little bit more - it's not RIP or end of days. Take it on the chin, move on.
But there's more to it than just that. Hence the same recurring template no matter the season.
There is a deep rooted psychological issue at play. We capitulate. We choke. Sure, the great footballing script writer in the sky complicates matters by adding that seasoned ingredient of controversy, usually in the colours of the referee and his assistants. It's a supporting role, sometimes starring...but we still remain accountable for allowing our heads to drop and for the inevitable to consume us. We accept it on the pitch and then post-match we spit blood in protest.
We've done alright at the Lane against United. We just black out up north.
So, to make it as simplistic as possible, we need to play for the shirt and look to win the game. Take it to them. Don't think we need to over complicate matters tactically to combat their team. I don't mean that disrespectfully. United, regardless of their current transition, still won the title off the back of sheer guts and determination. And skill and luck. All glued together by that classic emotive cliché 'belief'. Obviously, that part about skill along with additional qualities like focus and tempo and punishing clinicality are equally essential. As are the top drawer players. Belief is hardly enough if you don't match your opponents on the field of play, pound for pound.
And we can do so. We've hardly got a shabby outfit. Perhaps not strong in certain areas but perhaps as strong in others.
We have a bloody good squad of players. Quality through the spine of the side and we'll improve further once we announce Adebayor and Diarra (and hopefully another player). There is no need for fear or even a sheepish look back in anger to the past painful defeats.
Look forward. Take the game to them. Play football, play it the Spurs way. And for the love of all things Lilywhite, remove the potential for any controversy to shape the games life-span by embracing destiny, in fact no, forget the embrace, just kidnap the dizzy cow, tie her up and throw her into the boot of the car. Take control, unequivocally and without remorse. Want it and want to win otherwise what's the point? We have the players to compete. We need that belief to glue it altogether.
No apologetic looks up to the sky or shrugs at the man with the whistle. No implosions or mistakes. No longer be the victim. Commit the crime. Be ruthless b*stards. I guess the question that needs answering is - do we have it in us (that combination of belief and quality of players) to see it through.
Speaking of the apologetics, worth noting that I'm not suggesting that its our fault Howard Webb is so horrifically inconsistent with decision making or the linesman who was looking down instead of across and missed the Mendes goal. Just that none of it will matter if we're simply better than them on the day and it pays off with goals. Like I said, remove the potential for it to be used as an excuse.
It's a big ask. It always is. But it's hardly impossible. I know that. Let's hope the players are just as aware. We've broken so many hoodoos in recent seasons. This is one that remains with much frustration and mockery.
This preview actually fits perfectly into the aforementioned seasoned template for this encounter. Let's hope the usual outcome doesn't knowingly nod it's appreciation.
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Reader Comments (41)
Man U 1 Spurs 3
Man Utd 3 - 4 Spurs
I'll be happy with a point - just shut out Rooney, Nani and Young, and play on the counter.
But you're right - we need to have a positive 'why can't we' attitude.
Man Utd 0-2 Spurs
Chin up buddy, we might get a point. Unlikely with no king or gallas tho, I'd have to concede.
Adebeyor isn't coming, by the way. I know you hate the whole ITK thing so won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say, the deal is dead
Our Premiership season hasn't started yet and we've already got a stack of injuries. We generally have six to ten players injured throughout the season and this is what holds us back. Why so many injuries ? I have no idea.
Ok my prediction, we start well. Passing the ball around looking like or even scoring a goal. Then for some reason the ref will give or not give a decision that will change the game in Man U's favour. After which we will turn to pants a lose by two goals....... I think thats about right.
However IF we can get proper lines men I think we can win..... I repeat proper lines men. Not ones that guess at where the ball is or say there was no freekick or allow the ref to give a pen for a great tackle..... then and only then we will win by two clear goals
Unusually for me, I've got a good feeling about this one, which has surely put the mockers on it.
it will be a good game i think it will be close and high scoring
Chelsea away is the perfect example of what you talk about. 1-0, playing well and a dreadful lino decision gave chelsea a goal and confidence and gave us a decision to bemoan. Fact is gomes spilled that shot....we have control over our own destiny, so its a case of having our game face on from 1-90minute, not making silly mistakes, taking our chances and showing resiliance & bottle. We have it within us, we just have to show it on the big occassion. With their weakened defence, and thinking about Fergies defensive approach at OT last season he obviously is fearful our strengths. We should take strength from that and really go at them!
Did we fear playing against Villa when they had Ashley Young? No.
Did we fear not scoring against Blackburn and Fulham when thay had Phil Jones and Chris Smalling playing? No.
Player for player we are as good as them right now.
Sports Franchise With A Prison In the Basement 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3
There is nothing to be gained by sitting back and defending in depth. Spurs look great going for it, and I would sooner see them lose doing so than eke out a 0-0 draw. There is not a club that cannot point to poor decisions that has cost them--its natural not to talk about the ones that go the other way around. As long as we get humans referreeing there will be mistakes and inconsitencies. That is simply the way iot is. As long as there are no biases evident we must simply live with it.
great footballing script writer in the sky? More like the devils work to me.
whenever we score or are holding well late in the game against utd we retreat - to the point where its inevitable for them to come back...like you say we have broken many hoodoos recently and hopefully our spirits gaining momentum big result by big result- lets clear this up once and for all with a 3-1 win.....
Whatever they may say, officials are influenced by the 70'000 odd United fans there week in week out, the decisions they give reflect it.
Like the optimism on here but can't see us keeping a clean sheet. United did beat the City team that everyone is creaming themselves over right now and their forwards are not their problem area.
Livermore won't have played in a game like this either so be interesting to see how he does. Vidic and Rio out is our biggest advantage, Defoe normally gets snuffed out by those two. Looking forward to see Bale terrorising them down the left.
If we get a draw that will be a good result. With their defensive problems, attack will be our best form of defence, so hopefully Niko for Modric will be a positive given their head to head goalscoring record.
The season starts COYS!!
Sky Sports News are up to their old propaganda again on behalf of Chelsea.
They can bore off.
Has occurred to all theorists above that maybe, just maybe, utd have had a far better team than us for the last 20 years. I don't see wham or Fulham fans bemoaning their miserable records at WHL and putting it down to some kind of psychological flaw
Fucking sterling article! Got me right up for it.
Utd often lose early on at home, never to lose there again. Usually it is to Villa or someone lame - why can't it be us for a change? Vidic, Ferdinand, Hernandez, Raphael out. We just need our pacy ones to pin Utd's threats back.
Paul. Bingo.
We've had our chances to beat them though which basically tells me we can beat them. If we hold it together.
I have to agree with Paul f, we've been on the end of some of horrific decisions, but in the main we've just not been good enough. We need to lose the victim mentality and find a winning one.
We are playing a team who noes how to win well surely someone on here must think how do they keep losing players yet still play and win in the same high tempo. What is the secret is it the mentality my fellow Cockerel above says or something more is it Ferguson Hair dryer his master tactics the 76 thousand fans . Well in Ferguson's rein two of his captains have faced drug scandals Stam and Ferdinand . I have always suspected the Chewing gum man of allowing lets say tempo tampering to help is cause and when he objected to target testing and flew to the defense of Qerous the Portugal Manager who was protecting Nani and ex players Ronaldo and his team mates from drug testers he still got sacked Fergies said in the defense of his ex right hand man he was against drugs. So why tell the testers to fuck off who was he protecting Nani did he leg it like is team mate Ferdinand . Nani came home with a shoulder injury and flew to America after his Holiday with no sine of any shoulder injury and looked super fit It begs the question. did he jump out of the bed and run off we will never know Football hides scandal well. So what ever the score tomorrow one thing i can predict the new slimmer Rooney 38 year old Giggs the ill Fletcher ill looking Park the staring eyes Nani Evra Smalling Jones Wallwark Berbatov De goalkeeper will all be high on Tempo just like there noisy neighbors where today City flyers. This is the shocking well hidden truth the FA are ignoring Toure was a leaked to the press and would have bean kept a secret. I would bet any money Spurs would beat this defense on a level playing field Smalling Jones Evans Evra the problem is all these will be ten yards faster for the whole 95 mins We will have to match this tempo to win and hope the man in the middle stays strong when we are winning or drawing because City winning today will mean Ferguson will demand three points any way they can get them.
Hello davspur.
Whatever makes you think that's Davspur? lol
Reckon they are there for the taking and our attacking players should do well tonight. Defoe, VdV, Bale, Lennon should cause plenty of problems for them. I'm confident enough in our back 4 to hold up. It's whether our central midfield is up to it. Huddlestone needs to play and I wouldn't mind seeing Livermore paired with him. And I hope we get Adebayor in because if we do think we are 1 proven goalscorer away from taking 4th and possibly better.
You'd think AVB would give Modric a call and tell him to play given it could decrease ManU's point total at year end. I do feel we've erred in the way we've handled the Modric situation. We should have set a deadline and a price. 37mio quid and had to be paid by August 1st in order for us to get replacements in. If they weren't willing to meet that, we could have shrugged our shoulders and said 'hey Luka, we gave it a shot, get back to work.' We don't need this distraction going into the season and if we were going to lay down the law, Harry should have kept his mouth shut.
Harry, 'keep his mouth shut'? In the same sentence? Perhaps in a parallel universe!
fair point, but its gone from refreshingly straight talk to 'damaging our leverage in the transfer market'....
For those with their heads planted firmly in the ground!! Redknapp states that Modric's head isn't in the right place to play for us tonight!! He added - 'If a player doesn't want to play for you what do you do' ? He then added 'but he's not for sale'
£35 MILLION That's what Levy is trying to squeeze out of the Ruskies !
@ davspur
All very good, but there could be another reason, couldn't there? A reason that may have nothing to do with drugs, conspiracy, or for that matter, chewing gum!! To be honest this all sounds a little bit far fetched mate! However, they are faster, stronger, and never stop - very similar to Vampires!!!
Exactly right Spooky, it's all about belief and that is what has seperated us from the perennial top 4 teams in the past.
Ok, so maybe we haven't had the big names, but just how many of those names are actually so wonderful? Utd. have managed to combine very good and very average players with a spirit of belief and that has carried them through lean times in terms of playing personnel.
In a way, this is one of the answers to the City and Chelsea bankrolling approach and if we could develop that spirit it would take us a long way.
Unfortunately, tonight I think we will be OK for the first 2 minutes and then......the usual, but I live in hope. COYS, you can do it!
We always implode against Man U.
It's like we turn into BrainFart FC.
Have you seen this most stupendous article? This must be by far the most dumbest one out there.
http://www.astamfordbridgetoofar.com/chelsea/2011/8/21/the-modric-saga-bad-reputation-for-spurs.html
Here are some quoutes
“The only way to salvage that reputation is to let Modric go and make an apology to other players who are now scared to come to Spurs.”
“If Spurs are allowed to stop Luka moving, then other teams in the league will follow and good players will have a reason not to come and play in England”
So, Modric's head isn't "in the right place". I suppose this was the "injury" he was carrying on Thursday night too?
The guy is CLEARLY going to Chelsea....it is all about how much Levy can squeeze from Roman's wallet now.
Redknapp is laying the foundations for the blame game in the media already, continuously stating how he doesn't know where all the deals are up to because the chairman is doing it all, continuously repeating what Levy has said about Modric not being for sale. He knows he is going, and he knows they have backed themselves into a corner so he is already starting to put his teflon suit on.
I think Harry has three players lined up. Adethimimy and Diarrathiminy as well as a defender and I'd back him and agree that would make us stronger. Levy, let the Croat go NOW.
Would it be any skin off Citeh's nose to keep us waiting for Adebayour before pulling the plug at the last minute? Wouldn't put it past them.
Regarding tonight's game.....as with every trip to OT...I hope we get what we deserve...win,lose or draw..without controversy...without excuses.
Oh and it goes without saying, but let's test the keeper.
We are playing them soon, perhaps it has something to do with holding back until after that game. Although if its a permanent deal, they could have actually included that in the small print.
remove the potential for it (dodgy decisions) to be used as an excuse... well said spooky.
I think we will do'em tonight,COYS
Modric out on the last day with Diarra his replacement in a new look, more defensive, midfield then.
If the Adebayor transfer is simply a loan, then I can't see any reason for City to hold proceedings up, as he wouldn't be allowed to play against them anway.
However, if we're trying to come to an agreement on a permanent deal, there's little doubt that nothing will happen until next Sunday. You could have a gentlemens agreement not to play him, but anyone would be tempted to break that agreement. With a loan, you don't have any choice.
I don't think bringing in Diarra will make us look more defensive as such. I would say it makes us better balanced in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and doesn't leave 'Arry with a headache over who to leave out from the attacking 3 (VdV, Lennon, Bale).
I would say it makes us better balanced in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and doesn't leave 'Arry with a headache over who to leave out from the attacking 3 (VdV, Lennon, Bale).
Completely agree with this ^, but having 2 defensive midfielders rather than one, will obviously make the midfield more solid defensively.