Away trip snapshot: Kingstonian FC v Spurs XI

by @charlottepeachy

A young Spurs XI did the business at Kingsmeadow on a chilly July evening against Kingstonian FC.

There was a surprisingly strong turnout of supporters, all in great spirits, presumably itching to let the long summer football drought come to an end. And of course to check out the sexy new Under Armour kits. The general consensus – we approve.

Was great to see a highly vocal and impassioned Tim Sherwood in the dug out motivating the players, accompanied by Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey.

Throughout the game Sherwood could be seen enthusiastically jumping up from the bench every 30 seconds, shouting out to the young players.

After a delayed kick off due to the amount of supporters still trying to get into the ground (genuinely… my God we missed this), the first half was fairly uneventful, with the players on both sides looking a little rusty. Still, had to be said that the Spurs lads maintained strong possession and looked good on the ball – most notably Pritchard, who impressed up front.

The second half was livelier, with a great goal from Mason early into the second half, followed by a tidy goal from Barthram, who came on for Ceballos after half time. The Ks pulled one back with a penalty which was put away by Archer, and had a chance at an equaliser in the closing ten minutes of the match.

In summary, a solid first away day of the season for me - itching for the next already. A convincing win by Spurs, despite being down to 9 men by the end of the match due to injuries and having used all of our substitutions, playing very pleasing football. Lovely atmosphere (considering the team and opposition) and a very enjoyable friendly, despite Kingstonian’s fairly pushy slogan on the walls – “Get a life – follow the Ks”. In addition, the chips were decent with a vast array of available condiments and the pints were cheap. Smiles all around.

Kingstonian (4-4-2)

Tolfrey (Bragg, 75); Goode, Hutchinson, Murphy (Kamara, 44), Sterling; Pattison (Holloway, 46), Sankoh (Clayton, 46), Murray, Lodge; Mullen (Tait, 46), Small (McCollin, 46).

Spurs XI (4-2-3-1)

Miles (Archer, 46); Byrne, Hall (Ekong, 68), Veljkovic, Stewart; Bentaleb, Gomelt; Pritchard (Barthram, 58), Mason, Ceballos (Munns, 58); Bostock.

Goals:

Kingstonian - McCollin (penalty 84)

Spurs - Mason (50) Barthram (69)

DIY

Did you catch the Athletic Bilbao game? If so, you probably caught more of the game than I did. Making this is a platform for you to 'do it yourself' and write up your own thoughts on the game and let me know if I missed anything of consquence.

Uninspiring first half from the sounds of it, spent mostly in the kitchen, I managed to time my return into the living room to see us go a goal down. What I did witness looked lacklustre and without cohesion. I did however catch the second half (lucky me) which was a far more composed and controlled performance with plenty of direction and intent. Lennon and Bale flying down the flanks. Modric dictating. Two forwards scoring a goal a piece. Hedonistic.

I never place too much emphasis on pre-season friendly games for obvious reasons, but it was still enjoyable to see the team react positively. Talking of positive reactions, Luka got a very healthy mix of cheer and applause. If I was there, as previously cited, I'd have supported him because of the shirt he had on his back and the team he was playing for. Not sure I would have clapped my hands together and most definitely would not have been vocal about it. It's up to him to perform out of his skin once the season starts and claw back some of that genuine love we lost during this agonisingly boring summer of nothingness, punctured by his ungentlemanly quotes.

Still, it was okay that he got some cheers and applause by others more willing to sacrifice a little for the good of the club and the team. First step in moving on for everyone. Not literally moving on Luka. Don't get excited, West London you'll visit but only in Lilywhite colours.

Other footnotes from the game:

Pienaar injured.

Niko looking like a man holding his still beating broken heart, ripped out of his chest by fate. The look on him as he stood to take the penalty was touching on the tragic.

Lennon diving, poor show.

The Mexican wave. I'd take that over 'stand up if you hate <insert other North London club name here>' any day of the week.

Llorente's 'alright' performance. Disappointed that Levy didn't race on at the final whistle with a contract between his teeth, holding hands with Adebayor and Samba whilst watched on by Diarra in the stands, wolf-whistling his approval.

442 is better than 4411.

Harry Redknapp laughing in an interview before kick-off re: lack of transfer activity. Personally think for once he was covering up the fact that Spurs are probably balls deep in negotiations. Yes, I'm still banging that drum of hope.

Knock yourselves out with your write-ups.

-

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Wear your heart on your sleeve

So, here I am. Having returned from a weekend no-internet sabbatical. I have seen nothing at all of our 3-2 home friendly win against Fiorentina. Dare I ask...is Robbie Keane showing signs of redemption in form? It's pre-season though, right? So I guess we can't read too much into it. Although dos Santos continues to pull out the tricks apparently. No sign of any new signings. Harry now spouting sound-bites that we are not in a position to challenge the upper tier unless he brings in 3 players. Everyone awaits to see what Citeh plan to do, considering their untold targets and little squad room. They buy, they need to sell. And it's open season for the rest of us.

Had some colourful conversations this weekend. One concerned our redevelopment project. The listed building that have caused such a fuss, you know the ones? The ones that have been derelict for so many years. Apparently, if they do remain they'll be knocked down eventually. It's called progress. All this fuss, apparently - will be for nothing. I'm not I..T..K..(I promise).

Also had a fellow Spurs fan say that Bellamy would be a great signing. You get the feeling nothing is going to happen until perhaps this week or next - with incomings and outgoings. Like I said, everyone is waiting for City to kick-start it. One signing will cause a knock-on effect. I don't like Bellamy. Spends too time injured, or at least that's the perception I get from him. Yes, he was stupendous at times last season for City. You get the feeling he's the type of player who would kill off the 'ickle' teams we sometimes make hard work out of. But is he a next-level player? I guess 'superstar' signings are hard to find in this day and age.

Only other news I've picked up on since browsing back on-line is Crouchie paying £800 to some hooker for sex. Honestly Peter, shop about mate, you probably only have to endure two hours of West End shopping with the missus to get it for free.

Apparently Liverpool want him back. I don't see how that would work out. Although someone is going to have to leave if we're going to boost our front line with a new addition. My money is still on Keane.

Also, the England squad. Bit of a mish-mash. Several players dropped. Perhaps because they under-performed? Or maybe Fabio wants to take a look at some new blood and has simply excluded one or two for that perhaps. Although quite how a few of them (guess) have made it back in there considering their World Cup experience...meh, who cares? Either way, it's good news for us. Last thing we need are injury concerns before the season has even started thanks to a nothing international game.

Less than a week to go now until the EPL is back. Epiphany time. Many people are sort of half knee-jerking about the new season. I'm not so sure much has changed from last season to this. If we show the same tenacity, we'll do just fine. City might be collecting players for fun, but they might find themselves in a similar position to last year. Fragmented, and thus 5th. Doesn't mean we should be dismissive of them or others. When is it ever easy? But considering what we achieved in that final month or so, I'd say we should trust more. Wear your heart on your sleeve, and just enjoy it.

One night, two wins

Been travelling. Missed tonight's game(s) although caught the final 15 of the Benfica win. I'll try and find footage of the dos Santos magic that started the move for the Bale goal. If you happen across it before I do, please share (and I'll update the article). Elsewhere a Spurs eleven beat Ipswich. Whoo-hoo. Two wins in one night. The Tottenham XI side included King, Kaboul and Pav (scoring the only goal via a deflection). So a pretty decent work-out for all squad players this evening.

Back to the Benfica game, by all accounts, dos Santos impressing. At least one of our much maligned 'kids' is showing quality. Although we have been here before with the Mexican. Hopefully he's training well and Harry keeps and eye on him. I don't believe for a second we are short of money and won't be spending and blah blah blah. We'll be signing 2-3 players for certain, so IMO, ignore the dramatic sound-bites. However, that's not to say we should once more look to marginalise the players we have. And although dos Santos is (has been) infuriating (off the pitch which is therefore detrimental to his chances on it) we might finally be getting somewhere with this one. The other (Adel) is on his way to QPR apparently. More on that at a later date. Anyways, official match report here.

Statto king THFC6061 had the following to say over at GG:

The first half was rather shakey from a Spurs point of view, but we defended well and Gomes was very good indeed.

We got more into our stride in the second half and produced some good football at times.

Cudicini was the busier of our two keepers and gave an excellent performance.

Jenas played a blinder.

Dos Santos had a moment of magic to set-up Bale's goal.

Both right backs did well, although I preferred Walker to Naughton.

Dawson and Corluka were solid in the centre.

Benfica are a top quality side and for Spurs to go to their patch and grab a result, keeping a clean sheet in the process, wasn't a bad night's work at all.

Opinions and knee-jerks as ever, welcomed. Especially on the performance of JJ. And I'll leave you with what should be an imminent DVD box-set from the club, entitled 'Pre-Season Glory Glory Days and Nights', which chronicles the following Cup dominance:

Peace Cup Winners 2005
Vodacom Challenge Cup  Winners 2007
Feyenoord Centenary Tournament Winners 2008
Barclays Premier League Asia Trophy Winners 2009
Eusebio Cup Winners 2010 Winners

Trophy cabinet is desperate for some reinforcement before it buckles.

For a full run-down of our pre-season thus far - and the all important player stats - check out THFC's stat website here.

Spurs knocked out of Europe

No chance for the second leg. It's too much of an ask IMO. I knew Champions League was too good to be true.

HARRY OUT!

Europea League chumps. No wonder Cole chose Liverpool.

Back in the real world, I detached myself from pre-season friendlies after being psychologically shagged up by the thrashing we dished out to Roma, to be proceeded with two measly points from eight games when the proper games kicked-off. So rather than commit suicide after the dismantling of our beloved club this evening, read this quick-sharp review of the game, settle down, and forget about it.

Review by apotccc from GG.co.uk:

Just got back. 

First half was terrible. Boring. We were outclassed completely. But it was a complete mish-mash of a team. For someone that forged a reputation on keeping the game simple, we had a lot of players out of position from Harry in the first half. But it doesn't really matter. Hutton - crap. Just so, so bad. How was he ever seriously linked with Man United? Naughton's not yet good enough to be our 3rd choice right back so he was never going to do anything at left back. We just couldn't keep the ball.

Second half was a lot better. BAE was good I thought. Few times he tried to keep the ball in dangerous positions but it shows he's about retaining possession, hardly renders him shit. Bale a bit dangerous. Walker surprisingly for me good attacking although got beaten a few times at the back. Rose looked tidy in the middle although I doubt he'll ever be serious option, it was more surprising that he wasn't completely outclassed. Gio lively. Crouch confident. Liked the look of Parrett when he came on, and Adel didn't have much time to make an impact although one flick I thought was very clever. 

Pretty bad game but we had a fair few chances second half and so did they. Don't think any conclusions team-wise can be drawn from it. 

Feel free to share your despair here, if that's what takes your fancy. The rest of you, browse porn or summit. The night is still young.