Open bus parade dream still alive
Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 11:30AM Spurs 3 Stevenage 1
Well that wasn't exactly the swashbuckle smash'em display I had in mind. We asserted ourselves in the end but it felt like a walk through marshlands in a downpour, losing both boots in the mud, because we left the keys in the car and forgot about having a spare set in our back pocket all along.
The team we put out was easily strong enough to beat Stevenage. Didn't quite work out 'easily'. They defended deep, we had plenty of possession but not much in the way of sustained pressure. No injection of pace and tempo. No authority. Very little spark in offensive positions. But never really in trouble even if they happened to trouble us with pockets of effort. Subdued in part.
All this compounded after the visitors took the lead in the 2nd minute through a penalty. Nelsen slow with the tackle. He's better with his head than he is with his feet. They almost went 2-0 up after some poor defending (mark your man damn it) from a free kick which ironically lead to Bale and a 50 yarder finding Defoe who finished superbly for the equaliser. Joy! It's alive!
Then it went dead again.
Dawson went off (Walker on) injured and is out long term (ruptured ankle ligaments and he's done his knee in as well). Absolutely no luck that lad and I'm gutted for him. Lennon (hamstring) also lost to a first half brace of injuries (replaced by Adebayor). Brilliant preparation for Goodison Park.
Second half was an improvement. Which was always on the cards thanks to the low standards set in the first. Walker and van der Vaart working the right wing with intent. Bale was effective and at times befriended his old mate the left wing. JD had a goal disallowed (right decision) which was a shame because it was lovely. Other highlights included Bale smashing the ball onto the crossbar and van der Vaart taking a class corner (that might end up with its own DVD it's that rare) which was flicked on by Bale (no one on the end of it - no DVD then). In amongst all this glamour football was a penalty, for us this time. Gareth fouled in the box, Adebayor making it 2-1. I was getting excited now. Not because of this match (watched via an internet stream) but because Messi was on his way to a 5 goal haul in the Champions League. Multi-tasking with the viewing.
We made it 3-1 (that rubbish Welsh winger-come-Ronaldo-come-Stoke) with his third assist. This one via his hands to Defoe who scored a brilliant second finishing with some pomp to finally settle the game. If anyone had any lingering doubts we'd balls it up, a sigh of relief stated 'Calm down and support your team'. Defoe proving he's full of confidence but the arguments that he still struggles to fulfil other team duties will rage on and into the weekend when we wait to see if we go 442 or bench JD and start with Adebayor.
We need to make sure our set pieces (taking and defending) improves vastly for the remaining games.
Stevenage, to their credit, still gave it a go. At 1-1 Cudicini saved point-blank from Roberts who also had another chance cleared off the line. Cudicini was kept busy once or twice, mainly thanks to some shabby back four defending. They had one or two other efforts on goal. Didn't make for comfortable viewing.
We got the job done, but Christ it was hard work. Hindsight is yelling something about how we wouldn't have required this replay had we played our strongest possible side in the first game.
Although all this might read quite harshly, I do appreciate the fact that the players probably knew and believed they would win the game without exerting themselves at full pelt and were not that bothered with wasting fuel on this game what with the desire to end our two-game Prem crisis in a few days time. No Luka and a make shift defence doesn't bode well for momentum but we'll be fair more structured and balanced next time round. A win is a win and the squad rotation worked even if we went round the houses to see it unfold positively. Perhaps the want for something special pre-match masked that a little.
I know it's three unconvincing performances. The NLD was woeful. Utd at home was a mugging (aided by incompetence from us). This game, does it really count because of the line-up? Or do we bunch it in with the other two and start to show concern for morale? Because regardless of the line-up we should have been far more convincing and despatched them with that missing relative ease. The real test is the Everton game. There's got to be hunger and there's got to be guile and above all some intensity.
Guess we should remind ourselves that the standard we've set this season is very high. Anything below that standard almost feels like we've lost our mojo. Look behind the sofa Harry, guaranteed to be there.
Bolton at the Lane in the 6th round. We'll have to be full strength for that one what with it being a game away from a semi-final. With Everton at the weekend, I appreciate that players had to be rested. I'm also not going to lose any sleep about the injuries (although as mentioned, really want to hug Dawson and tell him everything will be alright). Fact is, Tottenham are no strangers to doing it the hard way and if it's bare bones that the footballing Gods wish to bestow on us, then so be it.
COYS
Reader Comments (15)
For a game we should never have had to play the injuries are annoyingly pointless.
I can taste the early morning Wembley bound lager already....
Cudicini was kept busy once or twice, mainly thanks to some shabby back four defending.
Spooky you shouldn't have to make that statement about a match involving 3rd in the table, CL pretenders and Stevenage.
Barca went about dispatching the Germans with 'aplomb' and (for the fans) it must have been 'so pleasurable'. We in the other hand, are served up 'angina enducing', hackney marshes type defending and scare after scare, not just last night against Stevenage, but every time Harry's team take to the field. Apart from the Newcastle game, I cannot honestly I enjoyed a football match involving Spurs this season. It's all too nerve wracking.
VDV last night showed how much we need him in the team and how much we missed him the last few games. The man is class - every ball he plays is CLASS and with intent. He didnt stop running either - he will take us to 3rd - a born winner
I was there last night and boy did we make hard work of that, you have got to give credit to to Boro they were really good and if it wasn'nt for JD's superb finishing it could have gone to extra time and maybe heaven forbid penalties. I was in the Paxton upper tear it was a definite pen, horrible challenge by Nelson.The crowd was very quiet on the whole... even our Spurs are on their way to Wembley song seemed like it was being sung on low volume with the loudness button on...make no bones about it we made very hard work of that, but we are through and with a home tie against the Reebok's in the quarter final we should start to think that this could be a year for a bit of silver wear. COYS !!!
"Touch away from a semi" LOLZ
Just when I thought the days of my heart climbing into my throat were over. While I can't say I embrace em with open arms, I'm glad to see we still remembered how to win the game with a relatively comfortable lead. Or at least how it would appear judging from the scoreline. I didn't actually get to see the game, but from what I've read, I'm also kind of glad that I didn't after the last three games. Don't think I could have hacked it.
In other news, Sczezney is talking a lot of cunt - does he talk anything else? - and earlier in the season I wouldn't have been affected by this bilge, but now given how we're showing a lot of our old character, I must confess that I'm feeling a little uneasy. Also while I haven't been gloating excessively to the red and the blue cunts, I have said some words to a few that I would really hate to have to eat.
Anyway I think positively about seeing us with an Fa Cup and 3rd place finish above the cunts. Visualising, laws of attraction and all of that jazz.
I guess it's never really challenging until we make it so for ourselves. C'mon you Coys!
We look decisively shakey to me and will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I am feeling gloom and despondancy in shovels full, predict we will lose to Everton and piss our third place and champions league qualification up the wall, we look soooooo flakey, Lennon out again with hamstring injury, we must sort out our physios, they have to be the most useless cocks on the planet, how do we have VDV and Lennon and various others constantly out of the team with hamstring problems, these players must be made to do the proper exercises these injuries are avoidable and costing us big time. Fcuking sort it out !!!!!!
Every team--except United, with their experienced team and manager, and, this year, City, with their unlimited funds--goes through a dry spell. Happened to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle, and now us. You slip up a few times, have a few scares, and then pull yourselves together. We're fine. Excited for Everton. Fingers crossed for Lennon the flank, VDV and Ade up top with Defoe coming on in the 65 or 70 to spell VDV's hamstrings.
Boys have some faith and get behind the team! Bale looked good yesterday when he took his full back on and got to the byline, some delicious crosses smashed across that deserved a striker on the end of them. Defoe has some confidence from two great finishes and will be eager to prove a point if he gets any time on the pitch at Goodison. We need to recover some poise and form in the league but even in defeat against United we played some lovely stuff and created chances so let's just have some positivity and hope we carry on doing that.
Like I said. Two bad results and it feels like a crisis/end of the world because of how far we've actually come over the past few seasons. There's a positive in there. And there's also an opportunity to go on another run to see out the season and end this once and for all.
EVEN BARCELONA LOSE! two losses next to each other against our bitter rivals and the champions of english football does not mean it is time to panic. There was an extra bite to our game last night - our boys did work hard to win every ball back. For sure we were a bit shakey at the back but our boys have had a tough couple of weeks and last nights result is going to help a great deal. Man U lost to blackburn this year, city have lost to their fair share of lower teams also. We have not. There was stoke - but we deserved to win that one no question. Now im not saying the boys havent looked without that extra edge of fight the last couple of weeks because they have - we all know they have BUT we all know what they are capable of. The doom and gloom coming from the fans at the moment is not helping the team at all especially as (and im sorry for those who dont agree) up till before the Arsenal game we could barely fault our team this year and they have exceeded our pre season expectations by a country mile. I am still positive because i know what we are capable of and for the most part over the last few years since harry has taken over we HAVE done the business when needed. People forget how often this team has proved every single person wrong.....remember being 4-2 down to arsenal - remember being 2-0 down to arsenal, remember being 4-0 to inter milan, remember after we lost the cup semi final to Pompy and everyone wrote our CL chances off, the same way they did went we lost the first qualifying match and the same way they did when we drew our group and the same way they did when we drew AC Milan. My point is there is a team in there that we know can do this. We have all seen it rear its angry head and destroy all thats in its path and i believe it is about to be unleashed once more. 11 games for glory. 11 games to shut everyone up and take our rightful place in this league and in europe as a force to be reckoned with. COYS.
I was in my time machine for March 2013. Not nice. Rafa Benitez manager, 8th in the table, out of all the cups, playing boring, unrest in the dressing room, targetting Europa League qualification :( So enjoy these glory days. They don't last forever. This is as good as it gets.
as i said in an earlier post, half the battle is psychological
and we're losing it!
"Apart from the Newcastle game, I cannot honestly I enjoyed a football match involving Spurs this season. It's all too nerve wracking." -cookiebun
Good grief. 4-0 against Liverpool? You didn't like that one? 3-0 versus Bolton? 3-1 versus Fulham? We've had some cracking matches this season. The Bolton match in particular was swagger defined.
Great article as always Spooky. I'm hoping that we can maintain our league position and grab the FA cup along the way just for good measure, we are having an extremely good season and deserve to have a good old knees up. See ya on the High Road no doubt! COYS!!