THFC: Infuriating the soul since 1882

I remember back in the 2006 season when rather than take the ball into the corner of the opposite end and waste away some precious dying seconds in our favour, we opted to attack. Not long after, the opposition scored with practically the final touch of the game. I guess being a Spurs fan we tend to have the uncanny ability to see into the future. Hands up if you knew, just knew Leeds would score a second?

I'm not going to blame Bale by the way, he's been superb - if still very much inexperienced in other areas. As a generalisation, the team + manager should carry the weight of disappoint as one.  We just didn't work as a balance unit and far too many individuals under-performed over the course of the game.

Credit to Leeds for never letting their heads go down, but fuck me, where was the stamp of quality, the killing of the game that would see out the final moments? Twenty five minutes of football is not enough to win any game. And as much as this was a great Cup tie for the neutral and an exceptional one in the stands, out on the field (for the home support) it's nothing more than further evidence that something needs tweaking. More than one thing in fact.

So, no stamp of quality when it mattered. Well, the one, being the Roman goal which was expertly taken in both build up and finish. But overall, what we got was some of that wonderful irony only Tottenham can do. Dawson, brilliant tackle. No no no, I'm not talking post-match in the showers. I'm talking about the tackle on the pitch that came before the clumsy one that gave Leeds a last second escape - scored by Beckford who displayed more belief in one spot kick that Defoe has managed in his last three. That olde self-destruct button head-butted. Would you believe it.

I don't care for the magic of  the FA Cup. Fact is, they're League One. And the tragic truth is that for all our efforts on goal we made scoring more difficult than trying to seduce a nun. It's a trend. It's a problem. And if you want to be all critical and depressive you might argue that we are declining in form. Degrading. It's not a massive problem, not a crisis. Not yet. But those doubts that hark back to the need to improve squad depth are calling out again. Practically screaming. Once more - not enough leadership.

Let's break this down:

The Atmosphere

Proper old skool innit? Police dogs growling, horses charging down the Park Lane. Scuffles here there and everywhere. Not that I'm condoning this sort of behaviour. It gave the evening a bit of an edge. Shame our players couldn't match the tenacity on the field. Although I did laugh when I read today over at Glory Glory that someone saw a chair fly past them (Block 53 I think) just after Defoe's pen miss.

The Performance

There were moments when the gulf in class between the two sides was evident. Especially the opening 20 mins or so. Counts for nothing when you don't stick 'em away. 19 shots, 17 on target across the whole 96 minutes. We are fast becoming masters of denying our own destiny. Open the door, walk through it. Don't close your eyes, spin around and then run and hope you make it through.

Danny Rose didn't make too much of an impact out on the wing, but he's a kid. Whether he turns out to be a bit special like that other one we plucked from Leeds remains to be seen. One thing is for certain, we need width in our team. We sort of got it. But it was in no way the same type of intensity Lennon provides.

The midfield failed to inspire. Yet another limp Jenas performance. All heart not brain. Remind you of someone? He's just not very good. And he's became the poster boy for the boo-boys for all that's wrong with our team. Then again, he's always been the poster boy for mediocrity which on occasion spikes towards something above average. He's a good lad, but has no decisive application when it matters. Cat's have nine lives. JJ has got through around two hundred so far.

Defoe and Crouch were quiet, not really doing enough damage in the final third. Defoe and his penalties, how tiresome is this becoming? Obvious again he'd not score. You can read it in his face. Lacks the eye of the tiger. Can someone else not have a go? Also thought he was a bit slow at times.

Everyone else was okay. Hutton looked tasty at times getting forward. Nothing outstanding from anyone. The lack of end product the main gripe. As ever. Bale, for all his required need to improve defensively, continues to impress offensively.

Leeds displayed grit and Beckford got into tasty positions. We've sort of gone off the boil a little at the back. Their equaliser was shambolic from our perspective.

Memo to Redknapp: Tweaking, not tinkering please guv. Get the engine room sorted, the tempo set and the best players (in form) in their proper positions.

Roman

Deserves a start. Okay, I'm not going into a knee-jerk about it but he came on, run into decent positions, had a decent touch or two and scored a goal from a great passage of play (nice step over dude). Worked hard off the ball too. He's hardly had a sniff this season. Considering the 'form' of our other three strikers, we've got little to lose. Well, other than a few more million off his prospective transfer fee. Nice celebration from the Russian. I think he might have smiled.

Tactics

Summed up with Keane coming on to play on the wing/midfield. It doesn't work. Although time-wasting shouldn't be a necessity against League One opposition, considering we got ourselves 2-1 up, we should have killed the game. Possession wise or with the aforementioned 'taking the ball into the corner' trick.

The replay, next round

It's gonna be tasty. And they will came at us like men possessed. Powder-puff ethics will have no place in their cauldron of hate. It's going to be massive test of character. Do we have the testicular fortitude? Do we ever?

No negative tactics please Harry.

Love to see how we line-up, but I'm guessing Palacios will start this time round. The tempo will no doubt be relentless, the noise crucifying. Gonna be some away day. Bolton await in the next round for who dares. I know 4th is perceived as more important than silverware - in the long run - but it's been way way too long since we got to a proper cup final.

Arsenal

Plucky kids gave it a go, bless 'em, but it's no shame for them to be knocked out because it was only a yoof team comprising of kids. Guess there's always the risk when you play so many kids. How did Theo play?

LMFAOROTF

Kids.

ITV Coverage

Anyone catch any of the tv coverage? Jesus wept, what commentary. How many 'marching on togethers' did you hear? Yes we get it. You're covering the football so you want an upset. No need for you to wet your panties every 5 minutes.

Conclusion

We welcomed Leeds into the game simply because we failed to capitalise and bury them out of sight. Confidence drops a little, theirs improves enough to cause doubt and concern. We need to dig deep and re-discover the lost mojo because if things continue to fester, we're going to find ourselves in trouble.

We never make it easy for ourselves. Which is why supporting this club is so great. Even if your football soul is dragged through the mire half the time.

Next up

Massive game v Fulham. Lose that and we are officially in crisis. I suspect the first 'sack the board' flag to be waved in the following game.

COYS.

Rovers v Spurs: Fight for your right to party

Time for the truth. No, I'm not talking about the Dublin unofficial Christmas-do. That was yesterdays news. The only thing of importance is how we follow up the comfortable 3-0 home against Manchester City with a win today, away to Blackburn. This game and our next one against Fulham are quite possibly season defining. Not forgetting West Ham before 2009 closes. Okay, too much with the dramatics there, but maximum points will go along way with cementing belief and progress going into the New Year. Last time up at Rovers, we led until the 82nd minute. And lost the game in the 89th. No thanks to the ref sending Wilson off, but it had similar foundations that collapsed so epically away to Everton recently. So that olde question about mental strength is about to be asked once more.

Swift sharp answer please.

Our 'rivals' all have very winnable games, so pressure on. As ever.

Won't be an easy one. Probably won't be too pretty either. And without a doubt a game where players will be required to step up. Dollops of leadership from all areas of the pitch. Tactically, I'm sure Blackburn have plans to suffocate the supply from the midfield to Lennon out hugging the touchline. All eyes on how Harry deals with any potential 'job' done on both Azza and of course our talisman, Niko.

Talking of which, Modric wont be watching from the bench. Precautionary (ankle injury) I'm sure. King on his way back also, but doubt we'll see a change in the back four - which did very well with coping with City in midweek (as limp as they were).

No room for southern powder-puff up in the gritty north. Key for me is Palacios. Need him to be at his brick-wall best and hopefully not too wasteful with his distribution. Fact is, there is no way to predict it. Such is our consistent inconsistency.

Meant to be snowing/freezing up there (much like most of the country at the moment). Add Big Sam's brand of stench football to the mix and we're in for a fight. Won't be easy, they won't make it easy. It's pretty much another test of character and one that has to have the conclusion of cutting edge.

I like Tottenham, even with our blips. The blips are self-inflicted mind blocks blinding us momentarily. They can be corrected and avoided altogether. We are not getting out played by anyone. We are bossing possession and if we're not (in the course of a game) we still have enough about us to create chances. We are sort of on auto-pilot. Which is not ideal. It's time for some control.

Dig deep. Dictate. Retain the ball. Pick off the opposition. Kill the game off.

Over to you Tottenham. It's time for an audacious plot, planned with military precision. The objective? Three points.

COYS.

Spurs v Wolves: The Making of the DVD (match preview)

Match preview time. Shockingly short (by my usual standards). Busy weekend means I'm unlikely to be online tomorrow morning to allow for any form of blogging.

So...

Which Spurs will turn out at White Hart Lane this weekend?

Sexy swaggering Spurs (9-1 v Wigan) or the possession dominating chance wasting version (0-1 v Stoke)? It's not going to be the latter. It positively absolutely can not be the latter. We have to win. Quality on the pitch, pound for pound, player for player has to equal three fat points served up on a plate with a side order of chips and salad to compliment the spit-roast dished out, cooked to perfection, glazed and crispy.

Badly constructed analogy aside, we can't afford any slip-ups.

70% of the ball, wave upon wave of attack, 15/20 shots at goal - all of these stats will count for nothing if Stoke, I mean Wolves, sucker-punch us to win by a single goal.

I'm not suggesting we'll walk it. I'd like us to, but rather than believe that Wolves will be easily brushed aside, I'd like to think Harry and the players are well aware that these are the worst types of banana skins. That ruthlessness missing in the Everton game has to be back in abundance, much like it was against Wigan. Kill 'em off. Dismantle them. This isn't about not showing Wolves respect. It's about showing (us) the fans some.

Mental strength of a different kind required. Wolves have been easily bullied at times this season and it's all dependent on what Mick McCarthy decides to do tactically (defend with 10 outfield players behind the ball). If this game is open, it might end up being another DVD. It its not, and they frustrate us, then God help us and all the admins and moderators on all the football message boards across the internet.

City fudged it up at home against them, so there's evidence of fighting spirit in their ranks. That's the match template to avoid. Don’t rest on our laurels. Give them enough problems to be concerned with in order to overwhelm them. The Wigan template being the one we need to follow.

I don't expect Harry will change much. Maybe the re-introduction of Robbie Keane (in case we get a penalty, and he does loving playing against his former clubs) at the expense of Crouchie. Defoe will want to add to his tally and make up for the two points lost thanks to his less than confident spot kick. Niko has the chance to dictate tempo, with a certain other Croatian looking on. I'm hoping Luka gets his 20/25 mins of action, gently reintroduced to the side. I'm still going with one word: Galvanise. That's what he'll do when he's fully fit. And I can only imagine the type of noise when he stands on the touchline with a final stretch or two before running on to dink and sway and cut inside with the of the hairs on the back of my neck, long in hibernation, ripping themselves free from my skin and rocketing into the sky over North London.

No pressure Modric. No pressure lad.

Wouldn't change anything else. No King and no Woodgate means it's up Dawson to lead by example at the back. Bassong needs to improve. BAE will return to his usual composed quiet self after the antics up at Goodison Park. Daws has done well for us back there and although we suffered (shape wise) at Everton due to lack of 'experience' (yes, he's 26 years old but he's no Woodgate or King in terms of organisation) it should be a little more comfortable at the Lane. Well, as long as the midfield make sure the offensive play is scrumptious at best for our strikers to feed off. Although I'd happy score three from 5 chances than 1 from 15.

As for Azza. Hugging the touchline or counter-attacking, either way, get the ball over to him and let him do what he does best. Could well be a case of Niko to Lennon to the wing, cross/cut back, header/shot…goal.

Football. It's just plenty of running around and kicking it in the net® (all rights reserved Harry Redknapp).

Jenas for Wilson? What do you reckon? Might be the only other potential change. Might. JJ loves games like this (weaker opposition) and if he gets forward he'll cause little 'hampton a stiff problem or two. I live for the day to witness JJ bossing a game, running with complete impunity from deep in midfield, thrusting forward with guile and smashing it in to wheel away in celebration, chest out, proud and loving it. Oh gosh, did I just share with you my number one fantasy?

*Blush*

Huddlestone, for all the much-maligned discussion, will once more retain his place. If Wilson does play in midfield alongside him then he'll have plenty of time to run onto balls, edge of box, and play those pin point balls to feet that we do appreciate (and we do).

It's got to be professional.

Ridiculous that there's butterflies and nervous twitches in amongst the Spurs faithful, but such is the way of supporting this club. Nothing can ever be taken for granted.

COYS, sing up sing up.

Happy Harry Anniversary

12 months of Harry Redknapp at Tottenham this weekend.

Two points from eight games,
Two points from eight gaaaaaaaames,
When Harry took over,
We had two points from eight games.

Read 'em (stats below) and weep non-believers. Spurs have the R-Factor and 'arry has proven the doubters wrong and even managing to appease the free-flowing purists. We play football. We play with players in their correct positions. Square pegs in square holes. Nothing overly complicated. No need for head-scratching. And the fans actually believe in the team. It's not perfect, not yet. But it's better than what came before it by several country miles. The stats:

League games P38 W19 D8 L11 F59 A45 Pts 65
Others games P14 W8 D 3 L3 F34 A17

Joyful reading.

We've been on the up since he arrived. He turned a squad of misfits into a unit that work hard for each other. Got the simple things right, driving forward consistency and pride. Yeah sure, we all know there are still questions to be answered and the squad still lacks depth in certain areas - but considering what he's done with the current set of players - any additional ones will only make us stronger.

Happy days.

So, what's remaining on the fix-list?

The '4th' striker issue

Pav is sitting in the abyss at the moment. If sold, then its time we either promote one of our young lads from their loan or we buy a new striker (nothing more than £5M-£7M) who has the potential and patience to break into the first team.

Cover for Wilson Palacios

It's still a massive problem for me this. If he gets injured we don't have anyone to slot into his place. Jamie O'Hara will be back with us in January if you believe what you read and there's also the possibility of the Brazilian Sandro signing for us - although I'm uncertain how much of a midfield enforcer he actually is. We need cover here. A young understudy or possibly, if Harry really wants to mix it up, an alternative. Anyone know any players with the qualities of Carrick? Apart from Carrick himself.

Heart of the Defence

Ledders will only ever play one-game-per-week. Woodgate is still lost on the sidelines (does the club have a comeback date for him?) which means Bassong and Dawson are the only two remaining central-defenders with Huddlestone as cover. It's not ideal, and its all a bit fragmented. Is Troy ready (or good enough) for a promotion? Or do we look for another CB in the Championship that might be able to grow in stature at our little Prem club? We need to eliminate the potential for ready-made excuses here. Lose Bassong - without King and Woody - and I wont be getting much sleep.

David Bentley

Will he ever manage to make it beyond 20 Prem league appearances for us? He isn't even making much noise about the fact that any remote chance for an England place has evaporated into non-existence and his lack of league games is almost certainly the final nail in the coffin. Not that he ever really had a chance anyway, but as a player, you always think (and hope) you do. At least you should do. Either he's given up or he knows he is on his way in the new year. I guess he has no control over his destiny at the moment as he can't actually play football to prove to himself and Harry that he can offer us something. Sadly, Bentley can only play on the RW. He's not component enough to play in the middle or anywhere else. Either way, something has to give on this. It's embarrassing and frustrating for all concerned.

There's more (feel free to suggest) but I think many of the other fixes come with natural progression (like bossing teams when we go 1-0). The goalkeeper conundrum needs sorting, which can be resolved by playing Gomes, IMO. Set-pieces have been forever in a state of flux and hopefully these will improve. And of course, every season is the season we await for Jermaine Jenas to finally come of age and discover self-belief and confidence. Sigh.

Anyways, thanks Harry for a more than decent 12 months at the helm.

COYS.