Only a wise cracking soundbite can save us now...
Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 10:33PM Here's the match report.
We were crap.
No inspiration, no shape, no creativity and no cohesiveness. Another repeat performance, lacklustre in desire to somehow claw something, anything back. QPR value staying up more than Tottenham value top four.
Everything that continues to be wrong with us persists and festers from one game to the next with no apparent fix attempted. There's no doubt that we have to shrug and admit that lack of rotation and burn out has cost us along with avoidance to repair parts of the squad (cover wise) that so many of us predicted might come back to haunt us. Whether that's chairman or manager or both to blame for the consolidation we needed is there to be debated. But on the pitch there still isn't enough fight and there is no managerial astuteness. No leaders. No plan. No change. We've gift wrapped it for someone else to open.
Once more...Everything that continues to be wrong with us persists and festers from one game to the next with no apparent fix attempted. It's that simple. Or not so when you look at the results we've produced since late February.
I've given this match report as much energy as Spurs did during the game so apologies for its flatness.
I feel desperate for us that we've lost so much of our strength, physically and mentally.
Shameful.
If this was a magic trick we haven't disappeared a playing card. We've made the Statue of Liberty vanish. Except it hasn't vanished. It's still there, you just can't see it. It's an illusion. We are being made to look the opposite of what we've fought to become over the past several seasons. What happened at the back end of last season has repeated itself once more. Credit for what has been achieved but there has been a spectacular loss of control suggesting its just too much for some to be responsible for keeping things steady in troubled waters.
Everyone else has navigated their way through the storm, we're left sinking with the captain of our ship already sat in a rubber dinghy paddling away.
It's too much to ask a side tragically out of form to aspire and recapture that long lost tempo. Do I still believe? Of course. Football is so much better if you give it everything you've got, even if it can leave you drained in doing so. Six points from nine games will hardly lead into twelve points from four, will it?
Let's move on.
I said in the match preview that Spurs would pull the heart out of my chest and kick it about for 90 minutes. I'd like my heart back now please. What's left of it.
Love Tottenham. Hate this.
Reader Comments (85)
Someone said, "I can handle the disappointment, it's the hope that kills you." Where we were going into the Arsenal game vs. where we are now.
No shape, no width, no discipline, no fight. no leadership, no creativity.
Harry can moan all he wants about the squad lacking depth, but all these things he can influence. When Bale decided he is Messi and should have a free role, why didn't Redknapp tell him to fuck off back to the left wing where he is so effective? When Van de Vaart comes to collect the ball off the back 4, when Assou - Ekottou skies another clearance into our own box, when Lennon goes left when he can't kick with his left foot .... Fuck it. What's the point?
Whats that quote, it's better to fail aiming high..? I could cop that if that redundant twitcher was still talking about 3rd. But his constant lowering of goals and attempted validation of them, that I can't handle. I read today he's saying Newcastle are in pole position for 4th, meanwhile Wenger is discussing how they have it over us, Newcastle and Chelsea.
He has a loser attitude. He's too worried about maintaining his old style knockabout friendships and persona. Right now he should be saying that we're on for 4th, minimum and that Newcaslte and Chelsea both have tough runs and / or cup distractions. Play the fucking mind games that seem to so easily upset out balance.
We'll still be fourth, but very little thanks should go to Harry.
Once again there has been a huge outpouring of frustration and anger here and throughout the Spurs blogosphere after Saturday's result.
I have raised the question of an unknown issue(s) affecting HR's performance & perhaps, as TonyBlue says, after everything that's gone before, it's game over for Harry.
One thing is certain, we have four games left and be assured the manager is not going to change for those four games. What would be the point? The only managers who could have such a profound effect as to virtually guaranty a CL place are already gainfully employed.
Consequently I am not going to join the hue & cry (I'll do that during the Summer) preferring rather to remain in a positive frame of mind & present constructive ideas for the remaining four games.
That said here is my attempt at being constructive...
The Challenges:
1. It's obvious that the present line up and tactics are stale & the team/squad has lost belief in them (witness their speed of execution).
2. There is a disconnect in midfield that's affecting both defence & attack.
3. The balance of the team has been consistently wrong; we always play with one or two wide midfielders which, with two overlapping fullbacks & a centre forward that likes to play wide, pretty much telegraphs where the ball is going to go first-off & gives the opposition plenty of time to organise. Basically it's just too predictable & perhaps more importantly doesn't provide enough defence against the counter-attack
4. Our defence is very susceptible to the long ball at the moment because of injuries to first choice players, tiredness in the fullbacks (they have played more minutes than anybody else this season) & age!
5. We need to get more players in & around the box during attack.
6. Most of the chances we are creating at the moment are half-chances at best.
My Solutions for the Blackburn game (assuming availability):
1. GK....No change...not an area where we have real problems.
2. RB....No change KW has more energy & commitment than any other player...maybe
lacks experience (hey it's his first full season & where else can he learn).
3. CB's....Kaboul & Nelsen...can't play Ledley in his present condition (he's already going to have a rough time with his knees later on in life).
4. LB....Danny Rose...BAE needs a break...no other choice & DR needs more playing time.
5. Midfield....Holding players Sandro & Livermore....for preference Livermore to play higher up when required unless the play dictates otherwise....I know Sandro has not played well lately but he needs more playing time also ditto.... Livermore. Modric & Parker to play centre circle & higher with Parker able to drop back if play dictates, otherwise I don't want to see Modric play in our half....he has 45 mins. to influence the game up front otherwise sayanora baby!
6. VDV to play behind Adebayor...as with Modric I don't expect to see VDV much in evidence in our half.
Rationale:
What I'm suggesting is that we sacrifice the 'wide play approach' for a central midfield formation with more cohesion & which gives protection to our defence without sacrificing the platform for attack.
We need to be less predictable...if we need to go wide &/or provide the overlap then we must use KW & DR &/or Adebayor to do that...how many wide players do we need!
Scotty is just as comfortable on the ball as any other player in our squad so I see no reason why he can't replicate his form higher up the field.
No GB or AL?....sorry no, they are 'too rich' for us at this stage. Neither of these players have showed defensive qualities recently. GB is not producing a end product at the moment and AL very rarely does. In fact AL would not be on my bench!
JD, LS, BAE, GB, WG, GDS/DB (not sure on this choice) & of course CC are my 'go to ' players on the bench.
Most importantly I think this gives us the ability to make changes during game time (forced or otherwise) without altering the structure of the team, & that includes my comment about Modric.
Good post Nick after all the repetetive trashing of all things Redknapp.
Interesting formation and selection but I think the difficulty is that the mid-field area is packed with non-delivering players.
On current form I would not play Modric or Sandro (I really think he is a better player than we have seen lately but is not on form now). I would play Livermore with Parker in CM with Lennon and Rose wide, go 3 at the back and have VDV behind Bale and Ade.
Would it make any difference? I really don't know but at lest Livermore can pick a through ball on occasion and is keen, both Lennon and Rose do defend when told to and have pace and in the case of Rose, a powerful shot.
I guess we can all make-up formations but in reality I think it's all too late.
First; Stop blaming our chairman. He is the only proper chairman in the league. We are a healthy club. I bet you all wish we did like Leeds; spending over the top of our heads and finally end up in the middle of nowhere. Ofcourse our new stadium is our first priority. A new stadium is the only way the club can move forward and challenge in the future. No new stadium=No chance of higher revenue=No chance of higher wages=No chance of attracting and keeping the best players. No new stadium and pay top wages you say...Back to Leeds.
Levy is responsible for the whole of the club and he does a damn good job at it. He has tried everything; the manager the fans wanted in Hoddle, a european approach with DOF, international recognized manager in Ramos, back to basics in Redknapp. All of the managers have gone wrong. Why? Not because of Levy, but because we do not as a club have the money to compete at the top level. The fairytale days are gone where clubs with lower means can challenge the big boys. If we can´t buy the best players we will not be able to compete. If we can´t pay our own developed best players(by developed I here mean players like Carrick, Berbatov, Modric, Bale, Campbell etc) top wages they will leave. If these fairytale teams come along it´s only for short time. The time until bigger clubs triple their best players´ wages. Levy knows this and he knows that our only way forward is a new stadium.
Redknapp however must go. He has lost his head which I think he maybe never had. His success is mostly down to inheriting a group of extremely gifted players from Ramos.
Redknapps transfer policy is so poor it makes me cry. He does not buy players who can lift our team. The great players we have at our squad today was either here before or acquired by Levy. Who has Redknapp bought:
Defoe, Keane, Crouch, Palacios, Bassong, Nelsen, Saha, Kranjcar, Friedel, Gallas, parker and probably more. Except Parker I must say that the rest have been disappointing at truly shows the potential in Harrys transfers. For God sake Harry: WE ARE NOT PORTSMOUTH OR WEST HAM. WE ARE THE TOTTENHAM! Both VdV and Sandro who are top players was Levy´s work. Redknapp did not know about VdV before he was practically signed. He did not know about Sandro before he turned up at the Lodge.
Harrys summer priorities if he is not sacked:
1. Keeping Nelsen
2. Sign a proper goal scorer. I bet on Yakubu.
3. A free transfer would be nice. Maybe Paolo Maldini can do a comeback.
4. Beckham is of course always welcome. He offers so much and is still a top top player.
5. study the newly published book; Football tactics for dummies: When to apply 4-4-2. second edition. There obviously must have been something wrong with the first edition which Harry has read.
i've had enough of this season and however it finishes i want redknapp gone
and the only players i'm (now) bothered about staying are
kaboul - still young and will improve and is a beast on his day
walker - the only one who still seems to be going plus good full backs are hard to find
bale - although not producing now he is still a phenomenal talent
parker - genuine and gives his all, the kind of player i want to see
freidel - deserves to stay, not really to blame for out current crappness
the rest, including modric, can leave. whereas once i was worried about them being sold, they have disappointed me so much to the point that i want to see the back of them all.
new manager - Roberto Martinez please. I want someone young and likeable who we can take to our hearts. I dont buy all this in experienced rubbish, they all have to start somewhere.
It's a waste of time talking about formations and tactics now. The players have lost belief in a manager who has run out of ideas, a manager who has marginalised a large section of the squad by not rotating, and a manager they know will be moving on in a matter of weeks. Most of them have as good as given up.
The ship is going down. It's now a case of how many rats are going to leave it.
Not sure how Levy can take the blame for any of this - maybe he should have got rid of Harry by now but I can't see how any of this can really be blamed beyond Harry. He's simply not managing the team. I'm going to call Pav to see if any of his Russian mafia mates will do us all a favour
Harry has done some good for us, some very good. He has (had) stabilised our club and brought it up a level or 2. Yes we had fanatstic players, but these fantastic players were not performing until Harry took over.
My main concern(s) with him have been:
1) he doesnt appear to know how to alter the direction of a game, despite having some of the most creative and talented players not only in the premier league but in Europe. This for a manager who has been in the game for a long as him is weird.
2) He doesnt have the bollocks to buy expensive players, he would much prefer to buy squad players who can do a job. That said, Parker and Friedal were inspired signings i do think.
3) Bale on the right / Luka on the left - end of.
My main gripe with harry has been his reluctance to not once show any loyalty to our club since Capello left. He should have come straight out and said I do not want to talk about this as I am commited to spurs, they are my employer - end of do not ask me again. How the fucking FUCK FUCK can we expect our players to show loyalty to our club when the one figure that they all look up to in the club refuses to show any loyalty also.
also, did i say Bale on the right and luka on the left??
lets win our last few games and hope Chelsea and newcastle cancel each other out and we somehow manage to sneak into 4th.
COYS
That game was bollocsk from the start.............
JD as the lone striker ?
VDV in the MF ?
Sandro on top of Parker ??
Modric MIA yet again........
QPR's tactics were spot on ..........Take care of Bale and Lennon (when he was introduced) and let the rest of the team beat you..........Cue Modric many shots right into defenders and VDV & Defoe doing absolutely zero on the creativity front........
I simply don't get our 4-2-3-1............I'm sorry ............Yes, our defense is much better, but how many goals do we have in our last 9 games ??????
Do what we do best...........Attack and leverage the flanks. Bank on Parker to hold it down in front of the BL..........
Let AL and Bale roam on the side line............
Let Modric and then VDV provide the proper link thru the Middle (not having VDV or Modric on the side line).......
Wasn't this the exact formation and approach that put us 13 points clear of AFC and in title contention in January ??
Then provide some adequate rotation ..........Sandro for Parker.............Gio for Lennon............Pienaar for Bale..........Niko for Modric or VDV........Instead, Arry did none of this and ran the starting 11 into the ground...........
The sad thing here............We have a better team then the Arsenal...........And we've wasted it away this season thru some bone-head decisions and play......
But all is not lost.............Destroy Blackburn............Obliterate them thru an all out Attack...........Get that Mojo back................And repeat this at Bolton...............If were going down, lets go down fighting vs that feeble 4-2-3-1 formation which simply does NOT suit this club's style nor core player Group .
COYS
Playing through the middle is a non starter. We could not pick our way through anything. We need width, that the only way we are goinjg to do it now. Go back to basics and remember what brought us success earlier in the season. The real disconnect is the midfield. They simply cant work the middle of the pitch anymore. They cant defend the defence in front of the penalty area and they cant make the killer pass at the other end!. This is where i think the problem is. I would freshen it up and play Gio, i really would!! Defoe is a waste of space. he is at good a championship player and brings nothing to the team. I would play the following team/formation:
Friedal
Walker Kabul Nelson Ekotto
Parker or Livermore (i think parkers exhausted - so play Livermore)
Lennon Modric Bale
VDV or Gio -
Ade
We might as well go for it, there is nothing to lose - we lose 1-0 we might as well lose 5-0, at least for Gods sake give it everything you have and show some fight and pride wearking the shirt!! You will all be judged on Sunday and it will be the effort. Show us you will die for this club, show us you care, show us your spirit.
As for the caoching staff - get off your bloody backsides and support, encourage and scream you bastards, instead of sitting there slumped back in the chair feeling sorry for your self - yes you Jo, yes you Bond, yes you Allan - get up and stay up for 95 minutes and feel the clubs passion, feel it with us, show us you care - dont just let the 11 try and siort it out - encourage, fight to the death!!.
As an Arsenal fan I feel for Spurs as I think a lot of your problems were really caused by plain bad luck that led to a spiraling lack of confidence. But the squad is actually pretty good although it does have some obvious age issues. You can't lose faith just cause things have turned against you, quite the opposite that's the only time it matters. Seasons not over yet, Spurs can still come good
It comes down to squad rotation, pure and simple. We haven't had much in the way of major injuries to players who have been constantly in the starting XI in this campaign. The players that make up our consistent starting squad are totally exhausted.
4 wins in 4 games, yeah that should do it ... for me !!
I LOVE FOOTY !!!!!! - MY BETS ON 5-0.....
On another note... Terry's sending off - couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.
i will never comment on football again - sorry to everyone - am off ona cruise now....some boat titanic...
Erm, fourth place may seem a bit pointless right now that Combat18 have just made it to the final.
I hate to say it, but you have to admire that performance from Chelski. They earnt it. I want to see that passion, commitment, concentration & desire from Spurs. But (currently) I could never see it and that hurts. We'd have crumbled and got battered with the current crop. At least that filth Terry misses the final. What a grade A nob he really is.
Secretly, I had hoped that by now we would have had third sewn up and then the Goons got fourth with Chelsea winning the final, but then thought the preferable option would have been for us and the bar codes to push out the other two and Chelsea lose in the final. Both these possibilities could happen, but I very much doubt it. I'm reduced to this mindless prattle thanks to Harry.
I've been travelling this week and travelling again tomorrow. I have managed to write up a blog, it's lengthy and it practically reads like a seasons review (even if we still have 4 games left). Will finish it off on Thursday, then decide whether to sit on it or just blog it.
man i hate football so much right now
I look forward to that sir. I think a special piece needs writing regarding the failure to bring in strikers & i would happily submit something for your consideration.just a thought.
Hazzzard.
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will do spooky
Why is the new mantra 'the players are exhausted' We exited the Europa with 'bit part players' now all on loan. The Carling the same. Arsenal, the 2 Manchester clubs all played as many if not more games than us, the same with Chelski an FA Cup final, a CL final, 35 EPL games and we're tired. Gimme a break. We are badly managed by a narcissist who imagines himself at the head of the England set-up at £6m a year on a three year contract and cannot concentrate on THFC. The 'spammers' always said Harry would let us down in the end and they have been proved right. He'll do the same with England because, pure and simple, he's a exploitative, deceptive and unscrupulous individual.
"I have managed to write up a blog, it's lengthy and it practically reads like a seasons review (even if we still have 4 games left). Will finish it off on Thursday, then decide whether to sit on it or just blog it. Apr 24, 2012 at 11:00 PM | spooky"
Post it NOW spooky or you'll miss THE moment. There's gonna be some incredible hill and gully moments coming these next four games (and not just for us I suspect) so THIS moment; this one of revelation, is fleeting. Don't MISS it spooky. Please!!
I think the best we can hope for now is that Newcastle somehow take 3rd place and then Chelsea win the CL.......
However, I suspect they will struggle to overcome Real with 4 players suspended, and if it's Munich they have a "home" atmosphere to battle against in a Cup Final.
Fair play to them last night - they did what they needed to do. Just like Arsenal discovered over the last few seasons, having possession and high passing statistics is meaningless if you can't get the ball in the net. Anyone else notice a link?!? Arsenal 7 trophy-less seasons with Fabregas, Barca now trophy-less with him.
Spooky, could do with some rousing speech please...inspiration to get us through the next 4 games cos good Lord we need it right now!
see Guardian article today:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/apr/25/plan-b-barcelona-chelsea?intcmp=239
In particular the line 'Having the ball for 70% of the game is a futile statistic if you lose sight of your purpose in the last 40 yards' - now what other team that we all love dearly does this also apply to?
Spooky, you should maybe go back to finishing your blogs with that 'Love The Shirt' sign-off. It worked a treat earlier in the season. Not that I'm superstitious or anything... COYS!
Finished the articles, will start posting them tomorrow. 4 parts.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO EVERYONE
even the posts have dried up
people so fed up they can't even be bothered to complain
this season has been crap regardless of how it ends. i feel so deflated and numb by it all.
manu & man c challenging for title, are pretty much guaranteed cl, newcastle having the season of their lives, chelsea in two cup finals including having just beaten the best team in the world - hell even liverpool who are dog sh*t have already won a trophy and have another cup final to look forward to
and us? we lose to norwich at home and then lose to a goal by an ex spur
not even going to bother going on sunday, i have better things to do with my time.
New article up. Part II along shortly. Then III and IV later tonight or tomorrow.
It's called Redknapp fatigue koume2...
Even so, come on chaps, one more time up and over the top.... let's have 'em!!