Strength. Width. Tempo.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at 12:15PM Stoke, under the lights. I'm sure once I get to N17, walk down the Seven Sisters, have a beer or two and take my standing place in the Park Lane Lower I'll find myself edging back towards the necessity of us acquiring all three points. I remain fairly detached still from the pressures of finishing in the top four and retaining third place ahead of the two other London clubs below us.
Fabrice Muamba remains in our thoughts. It's great news that he's no longer critical and is in a stable condition, progressing well. Life goes on and so will football, even if for the moment it still feels some what unimportant in comparison. I wasn't at the Bolton cup game. I'll be there this evening (a rare occasion post-fatherhood) and I guess I wont know until the game kicks off how subdued the atmosphere will be. Hopefully it wont be. Harry said no player will be selected if they're not in the right frame of mind. If anything, we'll honour the lad as he continues to fight on and off the pitch. I'm positive all players will want to participate and do so with utmost professionalism.
I think the manner in which we played in the abandoned cup tie (aside from the openness in defence) would be a good starting point to continue with this evening. That means Bale out wide on the left in a more traditional flank role. Modric in the middle and van der Vaart free to roam from the right. It's a must-win game. Doesn't feel like it is but placing everything aside and taking the game in isolation - we can't afford to drop points at home. Not just in this game but all our remaining fixtures at White Hart Lane. Chelsea away to City, Arsenal away to Everton. It wouldn't be that surprising (considering the roller-coaster nature of this season) if the home sides falter. Ironic that for the best part of the season I've always cited how other results are of no interest to us. However now, the interest in what happens elsewhere is of a slightly more keen nature. It would be nice if our rivals came unstuck.
We need plenty of spirit and desire and complete focus at the task at hand. We're up against a side that has already beaten us twice this season. Make no mistake it's a tricky fixture under normal circumstances let alone following what happened in our last one. They are physical and dangerous from set-pieces. We need to grip the midfield and play our game and let them worry about attempting to contain us. Got to be organised when defending from high balls. We've also got to be wise to them breaking up our play so we might need to be patient in some of our build up play.
Strength. Width. Tempo.
Life does go on and we should embrace the positives and do them justice.
COYS
Reader Comments (37)
I don't share your feelings on the game.Maybe because I am younger or not a parent or just a cold hearted bastard but football is back to top of the priorities now. Muamba is one several thousand patients in hospital in the UK. Whilst I wish them all the best, life has to go on and my thoughts are back on football.
Thank fook the lad looks like he's going to pull through. Most surreal football match I've ever seen on the box. Being Irish it knacked my Paddy's day bevvies. Looking at that game from a football point of view, I thought we were atrocious and if we gift Stoke a goal that easily tonight this fixture is not going to be a happy one. We need to get back to basics. Solid at the back and quick incisive attacking moves. Too many players have gone off the boil. Maybe one or two need a rocket (or an arm around) but that's harry's job. Hopefully he can turn this slump around... COYS!!!
Here we are, top three, last stages of the FA Cup and generally playing a game that gets the pundits (and us) drooling. But, being Spurs we are still nervous about playing teams like Stoke. Go figure !!
I really think this is completely the wrong time to play VDV on the right. A lot of Stoke's attacks will come down this side. etherington will be dangerous and you know crouch is going to play a blinder.
IMHO it's the perfect game for parker and sandro in the middle, that only really leaves space for one up front.
Very tough selcetion process.
We can't defend set-pieces, so we're doomed tonight......
HarryG23 - I agree with most of that, but that sounds like Modric on right?
Can't move Modric from the middle or Bale from the left. You play your best where they play the best and let the other team adjust. If vdV is a weak link on the right, then go Ade alone, drop a forward, and slot Sandro behind Parker and Modric to provide cover, especially on vdV's side. Defoe will be offiside 60% of the time anyway so you won't lose much.
this is it guys
its now or never
have to agree with alan, respects to muamba and all that but no more excuses, we absolutely have to perfrom tonight
im surprisingly quite up for this game and i would suspect a lot of the fans will be too, i expect a good atmosphere as we are desperate for that win and if (IF) city and everton do us a favor watch how the tide will once again turn in our favour
absolutely everything has gone against us recently - even the biggest doom mongers could not have predicted the thrashings we've received, the resurgence of arsenal as an unbeatable superforce, the sacking of avb rejuvinating chelsea (f*ck even torres has decided to wake up now)
it feels like the days before the arsenal game were a totally different season
i say enough!!
we have an opportunity tonight to end this wave of depression which has overcome everyone at the club.
COYS!!!!!
I think Parker and Sandro together have actually been quite poor - don't know whether it's getting in each other's way too much, or lack of quality passing... perhaps the function they play is too similar. Bringing on Sandro as extra defensive cover against the Gooners definitely didn't work. So I'd prefer to see Modric in the middle with Parker and Sandro as an option off the bench. At home we should be more proactive than Sandro and Parker anyway.
"Strength. Width. Tempo." Thats what Mrs. Trembly said she was quite impressed with :o
More than this however, I want Spurs to play sharp, focussed and professional.
I agree with you Alan and i really can't see last matches events doing anything but heightening the atmosphere this evening. Unfortunately whats really important is the frame of mind of the players, this event clearly hit some of them harder that i personally would have anticipated, i guess they all thought they were immortal before.
We got our Tottenham back.
Safe to say they are all ignoring our requests when it comes to doing something on the pitch.
7 years since we last lost 4 league games in a row..... what price a 5th on Saturday.
We're now challenging for 5th place.....
Just not good enough, again. Where has the dynamism gone? The width? The pace?
Not getting a lot of luck either. The amount of blocks Stoke put in was ridiculous. Nice to see one of our gamewinners actually get us back in it though.
Ahem....... Okay, so we avoid a Santini moment, but still a crap performance.
Same old, same old.................if you draw with Stoke at home, you simply do not deserve to dine at the top table.My beloved
Spurs are in freefall and make no mistake, Bolton will be buoyed both by this result and the excellant news regarding Fabrices
recovery and they will have the will to win next Tuesday, something that THFC carelessly mislaid a month ago. This was a must win
game, but we have reverted to dropping points at home to the supposed lesser teams and our run in now closely resembles last
seasons capitulation, so will be lucky to scrape 5th. As regards the Harry England situation, ask yourself this-if you were a Spurs
player and knew that it was likely Harry and his Lieutenants were off at the seasons end, would you really give that extra 10%
needed every game? As regards Redknapps successor, why not Chris Hughton, a loyal Spurs servant if ever there was one.
OK, I finally accept we've lost the plot. Its hard to see how or why it would be anything else than the managers head being turned, unless we've had our medication changed or withdrawn.
Its very difficult to see a light at the end of this tunnel right now.Only a win at Stamford Bridge would provide that.And so its chest out, shoulders back and onwards to Chelsea and Victory. COYFS
What did I say at the beginning of this hill and gully ride.... a team fit for purpose. 4th.!
As I have always said, big teams, big players, for big games and we have failed big time!!
So Arry, what will you be known for when you leave the club, zero wins in the last 9 games, 2 points in the last 8 games. What goes round comes round.
Harry has taken his his eye off the ball, its gone to his head. Bale thought he was Messi, we buy cheap Asda plasters (Saha, Nelson, keeper) to try and cover up gaping holes, I.e no proven goal scorer, a crippled central defender and a goalkeeping clown and we have paid the price.
So be prepared, as I've always said this, no top four, then forget about our best players, i.e. Modric staying, it's as simple as that.
Levy needs a miracle now to turn this around and I can't see it coming.
We are finished for the season and I think we will take 5th place just about.
The sad thing is its not our technique or whether we are good enough, no, it's not that. Our problem is in our head, we have no mental strength what so ever, not even Parker. Our season has ended as for as most of the players are concerned, that's it.
It's sad, but to be honest, I expected it, I feared it and here it is.
There is more to life than Spurs, it's not worth it. Thing is, our players probably think this as well. what is really sad is that the rest, arse, Chelsea, United, City, they don't view it this way at all, because they have the mental courage and strength to know what they want and what it takes to get it. They know how to play the big games, turn up at the big games and win them when it matters. Us, we are not built this way, we are fragile, soft, good to look at, but that's it!!
FA Cup, I could not give a f@@@ about it. Those of you who think it will be great to win it, think again, that will not keep our best players, that will not attract the best players,that will not make us ££££ that will not fund the new stadium. It does not matter, what really matters is top 4, this has been the case for the last 3 years!!
Its really strange, We are the ones who get food poisoning, we are the ones who have the next future England manager, we are the ones to have suffered the terrible fate on Saturday (thank god he is ok), we are the ones who can't do it when it matters!! Others probably can, us, no, we can't!!
Some things never change!!!
D Levy, I'm past that type of anger, I'm at peace, believe it or not. I'm resigned to the fact that we simply can't do it and will always struggle to do it! Let it go, there is more to life than this!!
So lets second guess the mastr technician on saturday. I reckon Arry will go for a 0-0. He will play Sandro and Parker in midfield with Modricic in front then, VdV, adeb and bale. He will sit back and hit on the break. We will then lose 3-0. What do you think?
We have not won the league, basically the only thing that matters, for 50 years. Longer than my lifetime. We cannot possibly claim to be a "top" club on that basis. We are lower than Villa. There is a problem. Throughout our club, top to bottom. We are just not up there with the Manchesters, Chelski and (dare i say it) the other club. We need a new stadium, but can't afford it, we are totally bottling this season... We are spiralling downwards, further and further, on and off the pitch.
I am not a knee jerker, but this is falling apart horribly. The way we are right now, I cannot see us securing more than 9 points in our remaing fixtures and that puts us in serious trouble in securing Champs Lge, let alone finishing above Arsenal. An 11 point swing in four games! Harry is wrong in trying to appease Bale with the free role. Seriously, how successful has this been? It's detrimental to the shape and cohesion of the team as is having no effective cover for Lennon. Krancjar, Bale, Modric, van de Vaart have all gone out there and it's just plain wrong. It's soul destroying watching the season crumble with each passing week. I don't know what is more galling, having those wankers from down the road crowing in our faces or knowing that Harry is off, leaving a 40 year old goalie, crocked, ageing centre backs, no decent, effective striker to call our own and out of the Champs Lge placings. Trying to be positive, but Harry is out of his depth. This is a man that has won a single trophy in his long career, yet he is lauded as some sort of national saviour and hero.he is presiding over a disaster here (considering where we were) and seems incapable of inspiring a talented pool of players. They say he is a top man motivator. I just see a footballing dinosaur who cannot get away quicker and is desperately trying to save his credibility. All the Harry lovers will shout me down, look where we were and where we are now etc. bullshit. We have one of the most talented squads in the country. We should be up there. We should be home and dry in 3rd by now. I'm sick of hearing him say we're an open team, teams get chances against us. Christ, shore the team up then, play tighter away from home. Keep it tight and structured against the top teams. Stoke home and away. Should of got 4 pts, got 1. Wolves at home, 1 pt not 3. My City away 0 not 1. Newcastle away, 1 not 3. Chelsea at home 1 not 3. Arsenal away 0 not 3. Swansea away, Everton away........Jesus fucking Christ.
Ther great man has spoken, this is what he said.......
Spurs boss admits his side needs to go on a good run to reclaim third place.
Whoooooo, what insight, what a brilliant tactical strategy that is!!!
I agree with hotspurs we simply have no mental strength. The players will move on but we are left in this fucking purgatory. Actually not pergatory, we are already in fucking hell!
Looking at the highlights, we seemed to make some good chances, but we are missing rather than taking our chances. The Goons are riding their luck at the moment and RVP missed a few. Maybe, just maybe, that goal from VDV might just turn around the season. Yes, we didn't win, but we managed to claw back a point. Keep believing. I just think that we are being hit by the adrenaline deficit following Harry's court case as well as the weekend's events.
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
Does a tree falls in the woods and no one is on hand does it make a sound?
Does a team that can't beat Stoke deserve CL football?
We haven't been very fun to watch of late. If I were a neutral my head would have been turned by Swansea or possibly even Woolwich who look like they genuinely care and believe in themselves ... painful to say but true I fear.
St. Totteringhams days a-coming you daydreaming halfwits...
MIND THE GAP...to 5th place you mugs!!!!!
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
he he he , tiny little delusional totts , 4th in the table which is still pulling much much over their weight , spooky poopy poo where r u its time to go outside top 4 now , delusional pricks thought they will finish above us , ha ha u r bound to be always in arsenals shadow he he he..
@arsenal4ever - all I can say mate is, played! Our season ended when we came to yours and got eaten alive!! I really believe that if Harry had came out and said either 'yes, if I'm offered the England job I'll take it, or, ' No chance. . Why would I leave this club' clarity is all we needed at that time.......not a fence sitter! I feel that this 'will he wont he' uncertaintity loosened our wheel nuts! Funny thing is, with our current form, Harry is more likely to get sacked rather than be offered the England job!! And then along came Bolton, CPR, praying, fear and buckets of perspective!! Oh well, oh hum, it was nice while it lasted. . . . Coy.........yawn.......s
Arse fan here. You spuds need to get a grip. After the Chelsea game you've got the easiest run in by far. Arsenal yet to play City and Chelsea, both home games tbf. I recall Spurs beating City to fouth place not so long ago, which demonstrated no small amount of bottle. Third for Spurs is very much on. That said in recent games Sunderland, Newcastle, Liverpool and Everton all had a right go at Arsenal so those wins were all the more impressive - most un-Arsenal like. Its going to be a hell of run in.
The season is not over yet, lots of opportunity to clinch Top 4 still.
For me the recent blip is 2 fold.
1. Simple luck - we have played ok in a couple of the defeats, but just couldn't turn the performance into a win or a draw. Teams like Man Utd can do this to you.
2. Shift in team balance - without Lennon on the right, we look slightly disjointed and lose the feel of a free flowing, balanced team. In the absence of Lennon, rather than sticking square pegs out there like VDV, Modric or Kranjcar, I would seriously consider pushing Kyle Walker up to right midfield and sticking somebody else in a right back. I think that would give us a better balance, and he's got some attributes to do a job there - pace, purpose, a cross etc...
^^^^^
thanks lazyitis, how very un arse of you... but there is something very wrong with us mentally at the moment, players and fans alike. yesterday after stoke scored i literally felt sick.
maybe it's good that we've conceded third, its easier to be chasing than to be leading.
still, this season has gone from being the best in memory to the most soul destroying.
this is tottenham f*cking hotspur.
someone just reminded my that Chels are still i nthe CL, if (I know how unlikely this is) they win it, then 4th place would not be a CL spot...
Get a grip people were having our blip, first one of the season, Arse and Chels had theirs, now it's our turn and it's evened things out. Still much to play for and I'd take our run in compared to the others. If we finish 4th well we'd have taken that wouldn't we. Judge Harry at the end of the season, not now.
And if you know your history.....
Just had a Gooner I know throw the "This is our worst season in 15 years and your best in 51" at me. I'm sure you've all heard it.
Facts are: 1. If Arsenal finish 3rd, it can't possibly be their worst season in 15 years as they have finished 4th 4 times during this period.
2. We have finished 4th or above 14 times in the last 51 years.
Of course, their record is better than ours, but that quote is just plain crap and not true. So in my humble opinion, any Arsenal fan that says this to you is a lazy and brainless and needs this to be politely pointed out to them.
lazyitis, weve lost it mate!! ive said all along, big game players for big games, we've had 4 now and have not managed to win any. You have had four big games and won them all!!! For me, that tells me something!!
We are still in it, but its not looking good. Last night was terrible. We have lost our "snap", passess where always one yard in front or behind, players, bale drifting inside again, no width, poor defending at corners and again, poor delivery of corners and free kicks. On one occasion VdV hit a free kick from 35 years - i mean, what chance is there to score from this, this is what makes me mad, we never learn, we keep doing the same crap every game! And while im at it, if old Arry thought we were not patient enough in the build up, why was he not jumping up and down on the touchline slowing up play and giving out instructions, instead of slumping down on his chair watching it all unfold. I tell you what, he will soon be looking at the no job going forward!! The FA must surely be thinking, hang on a minute, pressure on big games, no result!!!