Spurs loving the away day pints...I mean points

Morning.

Delightful weekend. Nothing more pleasant that the depressive yet heart warming sight of Sam Allardyce complaining in the aftermath of defeat. Okay, so we won ugly. It wasn't exactly a convincing victory for total football over anti-football but we managed (once more) to ride out the bumps and accept gleefully any slice of luck that presented itself with open arms. It was a hard working day at the office, no room for slacking. And unlike last season, no sleeping on the job.

We soaked up the tackles and the physicality, showed some strength - mental type too - and won the day. Huddlestone's superb disguised pass to Niko out on the wing (he meant it yeah?) who sent the ball back in for Crouch to climb all over the hapless defender and head the ball in for 1-0 just before the break. I loved this simply for the Blackburn fans behind the goal laughing at Tommy's shot almost (almost but not quite) going out for a goal kick. The second goal (Crouch again) was well taken, Peter beating any chance of an offside flag being raised and smacking it in to guarantee the three points. In between all that there was plenty of low key action. A day for defenders rather than offensive beauty. However, everyone put in a shift. For all the tabloid scandal about the unauthorised Dublin trip, it was great to see Spurs churn out the pints…points.

The game began to go in our favour when Harry made the substitutions. Yes, doubters, Harry made tactical subs that had a positive effect on the game for us. In our favour. Keane and Jenas both impressing when called into action. A Crouchie brace was also something to smile about. Add to it the stern and strong defensive display by the back four and the aforementioned slice of luck (McCarthy's effort hitting the post) and we can tag this one under the 'Spurs have backbone' category. We are not a bad team away from home these days.

Couple of things of note. First up, Gomes and that McCarthy shot. Unlucky? Er, no. Okay, so I keep banging on about slice of luck, but if you take a look at the incident again either the Rovers forward was guilty of a terrible miss or the victim of a more than decent save. The latter. It's the latter. Why can't it be the latter? Seems Gomes is immune to credit even thought he saved the shot (that then came back off the woodwork). So when does a ball hitting the keeper get to be considered a save? When the goalkeeper is English perhaps? Ooh racist.

I jest.

Also, Match of the Day 2. Gary Speed (talking about Wolves):

"They've had a couple of great results recently with wins against both Spurs and Tottenham...."

The anti-Tottenham agenda goes from strength to strength. If the indignity of losing the once to Wolverhampton was not bad enough, they've now been credited with defeating us twice. The propaganda is never ending.

Anyway, if I was to dish out marks out of ten (I don't own the copyrights for that) I'd split the team into 8's and 7s with perhaps a 6 for Defoe because he was fairly quiet. But no complaints, not really. These types of games are games that can prove to be more than tricky especially with historical expectations people have for us when we travel. We seem to be adapting and evolving. And as this ridiculous season continues to remain so, a Top 4 finish will simply come down to us finding that extra oomph from stepping up a gear. We just need to make sure we don't free-fall or drop too many silly points as we've done already. You can it see now, can't you? End of season, just one or two points in it. Best to avoid another such finale. Have it wrapped up weeks before.

So four points off Utd at Christmas? You'd have taken that at the start of the season. Don't torment yourself by adding the points lost (Stoke, Villa, Everton, Wolves) to our current tally. You'll shit bricks.

Conclusion for Saturday? Flying colours for me.

More blogs on the way (before I disappear for the Christmas weekend).

The season starts here...

Ok, shake off the hangover of two successive defeats. Losing to the elite clubs is not relevant as we are not part of the Top 4 Sky Sports Grand Slam Super League. And as long as we impress and win in our other games we'll be in with a solid chance of challenging for the second tier Premier Title. 5th spot has never looked so appetising.

Ok, so we're missing Modric. Boo-hoo. We're not a one man team. Ok, so King is out injured again. And arguably we're a two-man team but even with these two monster players on the sidelines and Woodgate lost in the abyss of confusion with his mystery injury - we still have plenty to drag ourselves upwards and through the next month and a bit. No excuses. No typical knee-jerk confidence drainers. Forget Webb and his incompetency. Forget the injuries. Dig deep. Battle hard. We need to start taking responsibility and taking it out of the hands of the officials and reclaim residency of our own destiny.

One of my readers nailed it with this rather simplistic statement:

"No siege mentality, no determination to right the wrongs..."

Nail on the head. Harry has some work to do. The players need to find the next level of play. The aim should be that by the time Modric is back and ready for action, we're flying, and his return to the side is effortless, lifting us up further as the Spurs faithful struggle with their nosebleeds.

Ooh, I do like a bit of romanticisation.

This time last season some of you guys and girls will remember a certain series of games that carried significant importance. Yep, I'm referring to the epic 'The Dirty Dozen - Challenge Spurs™'. Harry's first 12 Prem games in our quest for survival. Emotional days. Click here to re-live all those scary moments that had you shivering under the covers, knowing that the creature under the bed would attack if it could smell your fear.

Last season's zany antics

But the challenge this time round is altogether different. Take last seasons prem table and turn it upside down. Failure would still be deemed as depressive. When isn't it? But unlike last term when we were God awful and playing our way into the Championship, this time round we are looking at a far more appeasing target. This isn't an official launch of the new Challenge Spurs series as I've yet to carefully craft a snazzy campaign poster. Think of this as a pre-launch party.

So, what's the actual challenge at hand? Five games.

(H) Burnley
(A) Bolton
(A) Pompey
(H) Stoke
(A) Arsenal

Five massive performances required. We've got 12 points as of right now. Am I being greedy asking for 12 more points before we play the scum away? Burnley will no doubt be plucky. Bolton away is a match where we hardly ever get anything out of. Pompey away sees Harry return to his old stomping ground. And Stoke at home is one of those 'we'll win this Shirley' games.

If we plan to look towards 6th/5th with any true intent and claim a deserved open bus parade, then we should be aspiring for another professional and clinical four game run. The Arsenal away game we can discuss at a later date. Because I'm hoping we go into that match on the back of another run of victories. Would make the game fairly significant.

So it's up to Harry to just take a moment to relax and not over think things tactically, obsessing how best to deal with the Luka conundrum. Against Burnley I'd simply play our original formation, swapping Niko for the absent Moddle. Left-wing sorted.

Stability aiding consistency and confidence.

CB positions obviously the main bugbear at the moment thanks to the decimation of our backline. Huddlestone to slot in at the back? Fingers crossed Dawson isn't too far off. It's also time for Gomes to return between the sticks. Crouch is deserving of a start up front with JD. Harry has to place the club in ahead of any individual, even one wearing a captains armband. Drop Keane for a game. It's ok. The universe won't collapse in on itself.

We have a decent tally of points. And the end-game of this brand spanking new Challenge is this:

13 points. Minimum.

No pressure.

Same old Tottenham, always winning

Tottenham 2  Brummies 1

You wouldn’t have blamed one or two people from knee-jerking had there been only 94 minutes of play at the Lane this afternoon. Had it finished 1-1, we’d have heard a moan or two about our lack of edge in a game where Birmingham did their very best to not only frustrate but also take a professional point back to the midlands. We’ll always have days like this. When our play isn’t quite polished and we struggle to step up a gear. Happens to every team. Usually (go back to pre-Redknapp) we’d have lost this game based on that on-going quintessential Spurs problem where our heads dip and the plucky away side steal in for all three points. It’s been a while since that’s happened but looked a possibility for parts of the second half. Up until the 94 minute.

The knee-jerk that would have covered off our inability to edge ahead and consolidate our lead. After the 95^th closed, the actual conclusion on the afternoons performance was more positive and about how this is the type of thing the ‘big teams do’. Win when they are far far from their best.

Let’s go back to the first minute and kick-off.

Can we live with the hype? Best start to season since the early sixties, wonderfully ironic compared to last year’s worst ever start. Haven’t lost at home since Everton beat us last November. This was always going to be a tricky game, and I wanted us to be tested for it. Whether that be the opposition taking the game to us and taking the lead or simply frustrating us with men behind the ball. It was the latter. And boy did they frustrate.

Same team that started away to West Ham, saw us dominate the opening 10 minutes possession. But you sensed there was a lack of sharpness. Plenty of play from the left-wing saw us cause the Brummies some early worries. Keane shot, Defoe in the way. Modric having plenty of success down that flank.

Birmingham countered, O’Conner with a volley easily saved by CC in goal. This was the story of the first half. Ball mostly at our feet, not quite finding a way through, and having to deal with the odd counter.

There was no shift in tempo. Even though Modric was having plenty of success against Parnaby. One passage of play was almost Hoddlesque, allowing the ball to do the running, getting away from his man on the left and finding Lennon, who’s shot was cleared. Lennon in the mood, greedy, but in the mood.

Larsson shot thankfully wide. Sloppy defending from us allowing him in with a chance. At the other end, Defoe’s turn to be greedy, shooting wide when Keane was the better option.

Ominous, that oh so familiar rude word was doing the rounds in my head. Where’s the opening goal to help settle the nerves? Not that we were overwhelming nervous, but you’d think getting into the positions we were we’d have slotted one away by now. Going on the general sharp movement and ruthless finishing of previous weeks. Possession was there. Composure wasn’t.

Birmingham’s plan was to defend deep, counter, and nick one. Dangerous, but if they allowed the game to open up, we might be more fruitful. They even gave us a helping hand, giving the ball away often. But no punishment forthcoming for the men in Lilywhite (and yellow streaks).

Too many loose touches from Keane and JD. Huddlestone lacking that extra spark we know he can produce. A shot here, a run there. That word ominous was getting a little louder.

The test was now upon us, 30 minutes into the game. Could we avoid the frustration building up and seeing Birmingham turn it to their advantage? Could we adapt and find another way through? Let’s face it, teams will not come to WHL and bend over for us. The key here is simply this: Patience. For all their stubbornness, we still crafted the better chances. Modric coming close with a curling shot. But for every 3 or 4 chances we had, Birmingham replied with half of one.

Half time, and no swagger.

The test got a little tricky cometh the second forty-five. Off went King (groin tweaked) on came Hutton. Bit of a shuffle in defence. What you don’t then want to see is Lee Carsley head towards goal dangerously (wide) and McFadden almost scoring not long after the half has begun.

And if the double scare wasn’t enough, Moddle went off with an injury. More on this later.

Plan A wasn't working and its main instigator had hobbled off. Time for Plan B. Crouch. Its a little more traditional this. Altogether a different kind of threat. Ping the ball to his head. Simple, right? With Luka off, the next 45 and some would be a preview of what life is like without him in the side (if he was out injured for a while).

Still no spark. Birmingham grew a little in confidence. Half a chance, Keane pulled back the ball but Defoe made a mess of controlling it. Crouchie is fouled on the edge of the area, not given. I guess that’s something we’ll see a lot of. Expect refs to give plenty against him. Tallism that is.

Another Lennon run, should have released JD early, didn’t and Stevie Carr cynically fouled him. Hudds freekick attempt to bulldoze the wall summed everything up.

Then a scare. Penalty shout. Was it? Wasn’t it? McFadden clipped, although Palacios had his hands up already with the Blues player a tad off balance. Personally, not a pen. But then I would say that.

Nearing the 60^th minute mark, and this was now officially an unsettled performance. The test was not just unnerving, but our attempt to get through it was stagnating. Teams, as I’ve already said, will aim to frustrate us and hope to steal in with a breakaway goal.

But then we were blessed with a good omen. Crouch header, Hart save. Then a BAE cross, Crouch nodding it back across the goal, cleared away. Still a bit untidy, but the pressure turned up a little on the opposition. Plan B perking up.

Defoe then had half a chance, a sort of messy version of the overhead kick. Crouch was looming, had the ball been left. Huddlestone was quiet creatively. Missing Moddle big time at this point. Games like this where we don’t click are the exact type of games where we need to nick a goal and take all three points.

Crouch header from another sweet Keane (who improved as the game went on) cross hit the sodding bar. Followed up by a JD effort resulting in a corner. Then another Crouch header, cleared off the line by Carsley. Crouchie was getting closer and closer.

That slight tempo change evident now.

Another cross, this time Lennon nearly finding Crouch who couldn’t quite get his head to it. Birmingham wasteful in possession. It was time to make the breakthrough. And it came. Crouch heading (yes, heading, would you believe it?) the ball across the goal, beating Hart to make it 1-0. All from a free-kick. Simple. 72 minutes. Plan B works when Plan A is busy having treatment.

Now, let’s close the shop.

Close the shop. Lock it up. Bring down the shutters. Park a bus in front of it. Deck it out with a Romulan cloaking device.  Just close the sodding thing!

Three minutes later, Birmingham equalise.

Did we close the shop? Yes. But Hutton decided to sleep-walk to the front door, unlock it, and  leave the door wide open while the shopkeeper inside was asleep at the till.

This was Spurs of old. Dither, wait for each other (CC and Hutton failing to communicate or take responsibility) and the deflected ball fell into the path of Lee Bowyer who tapped it in for 1-1. Shocking stuff. Why wasn’t it cleared? Cudicini wasn’t at his best today (far too many moments where he failed to command his area). Hutton is prone to these sorts of things. Combine the two, and we have ourselves a gift. At least Alex McLeish did.

The test had now evolved, asking the question: Can we show bottle and determination and re-take the initiative and reclaim the lead?

JD trotted off, Pav his replacement. 10 minutes left and we are struggling to overcome the Brummies. Question remainign unanswered.

Benitez caused a bit of panic in the penalty area, O’Conner should have scored. Tidy passing ending with a thankfully tidy pass into the side netting.

WAKE UP TOTTENHAM.

Six minutes left. Goodbye 100% record? The game was turning into an example of why we don’t quite have that Top 4 mentality and will need to raise our games if we have aspirations to claim a top 6 finish.

Brummie free-kick, Roger Johnson should have scored and should have won it. Suddenly the value of a point had most wanting the final whistle to be heard.

Final minute.

What was going through your mind? No knee-jerking from me. Just a gentle reminder that there are some weak links in the squad and that the mental strength is not quite fully charged for a real surge forwards. It’s an off day, one where too many players were off form. With Modric off injured, nobody was able to quite grab the game and shake it to its foundations. At least it’s a point gained if you compare it to last time out (where we lost home and away to Birmingham couple of seasons back).

Then we had a 5^th minute of injury time.

Oh. Wasn’t expecting that. Carr slips, immediately cancelling out Hutton’s dithering, and we break. Pav finds Lennon who cuts into the box, shifts to the right of two defenders and shots...and scores.

Holy crap. 95^th minute winner. 100% record retained. 12 points. 4 game. Delirium.

Let me take you back to something I said early in this review of the game:

This is the type of thing the ‘big teams do’. Win when they are far far from their best.

We did not play well from the start, and I don’t think it would even be far to suggest we can’t play without Modric pulling the strings. It wasn’t a great performance and Birmingham had a bit t to do with it, with or without Moddle we made hard work of it. And if Hutton had cleared it, we probably would have picked up the points without the necessity of injury time dramatics.

But credit for looking for it and pushing forward, be it Carr slipping.

Days like this will not be uncommon, and expecting to win every game with an avalanche of goals is simply fantasy.

Dug deep. Bided our time. Adapted play after injuries. Scored from the tactical change. And embraced luck with the returning gift that saw us take all the points (although Lennon had far more to do than Bowyer). We punished them and 64% possession, 14 shots on goal says we edged it just a little bit. I still wouldn’t blame them for being gutted....I mean, 95^th minute...ouch. I guess when you play for a draw...

Importantly, it takes us into the Utd and Chelsea games with max points so if we match last season’s efforts against them, we can all smile that little wider. If we continue in the same vein, then start to polish that open bus for the parade.

Missed O’Hara today (can he be re-called?). Reckon he would have been useful out there, in what was a sluggish second half. Harry (yesterday) claiming we are not close to signing anyone, not sure I quite believe him. We should be in for someone. Simply because we’ve loaned out Jamie and got rid of KPB. CM cover is required.

I’m not going to go rate the players. Like I said, low-key day for most. Modric (was superb 1st half) has a ‘nasty injury’ to the calf and King might be out for a bit with groin trouble. This is the quote that best not come back to haunt us:

“If we lose Ledley and Modric, with Michael Dawson and Jonathan Woodgate already out, the squad is a bit short.”

Harry, I refer you to the previous quote about not being close to signing anyone. I hope you're blagging it mate. Don’t want us to be blaming squad depth if we deplete further. Others have to take responsibility and (cue broken record) we need to add another player to the squad – because it’s not just Modric we need to worry about. Lose Palacios and we are shagged.

Back to Moddle. He has broken his fibula. Damage? Two/Three months sidelined. If correct, that’s devastating news. It’s almost a certainty we would need to bring a player (Petrov?) otherwise we might be left wanting...literally. If we don't, Gio might have to impress, but I expect Keane to slot in there – which is not something I want to see personally. Still waiting on the official word. But don’t expect it to be good news. Textbook, hey? We’re going to find it tough without his magical boots. He's the brains.

Harry seems to be downplaying it (saying it's a kick to the calf). Slaven Bilić suggesting it's as serious as noted above.

JD should be ok. Ledders defo out of the England squad.

As for his match assessment, Redknapp reckons we battered them. Statistically, we did. But don’t think it was quite in the realms that Harry described it. Birmingham seemed content to park the bus. We couldn't quite roll them over.

If we start playing like this every week and riding our luck, I’ll be concerned. Still think it was an off day, and the injury to Luka has deflated me. I guess we should still bask in the glory that is 4 from 4. We are on the up with Harry. And I like it. Let’s hope we do good between now and the end of the transfer window.

COYS

Wishlist...top 6 please

Having reviewed the fact that between blogging, managing fantasy football teams, forum work, an anniversary, a birthday, losing my premium channel on my digital TV thanks to an admin cock-up by my provider and of course the weekend of football ahead - I'm going to have to downsize the Wish-List for the 2009/2010 season. Rather than individual articles, I've included all the remaining topics in one blog post. Lazy, I know. Already looked at Jenas and the hope of an FA Cup run.

Fortress Lane: Relentless and Ruthless

If we go one-nil up I don't want to see us sit back and let the opposition pile it on. I'm sure that's what they would aspire to do and in the past, we've had to watch our lot go on the back foot as we lose the initiative sometimes resulting with textbook consequences (oh look they've equalised). Get hold of the ball and control the tempo. Possession possession possession. When we attack (especially at home) we can be quite irresistible. Sexy swaggering soccer. What happens straight after going one up should be more of the same. Go for the jugular. Kill 'em off. Be relentless and ruthless. Make them fear us. Boss the park. Don't give them time to think. We had problems last year with scoring more than a goal and won plenty with lowly score lines. So more emphasis on the forwards to 'finish' off the chances created for them and we might find ourselves in a far more comfortable position cometh the final 10 minutes of game. We don’t have the excuse of being soft in midfield anymore. And we have talent up front and genius on one side of the field and irresistible pace on the other. We have the weapons. So pull the trigger. 

The next Lilywhite prodigy?

John Bostock. He's not been sent out on loan and hopefully he won't. With 7 subs on the bench he needs to be there every so often and nurtured into first team football. He's meant to be good. Very good. Ok, so with them lot down the road blooding Jack Wilshire, you might ask 'our kids can't be that great if they can't get anywhere near the first team'? Wilshire (tragically) does look at complete ease on the ball. Whether he develops or stagnates (Cesc anyone?) is something only time will reveal but it's all relative. He’s good now and good enough to play. But not every week.

Bostock is also not ready for full on first team football. Like I said, on the bench every so often will do. Considering the amount of young kids we've mis-managed and over-rated (Caskey, Jackson, Marney, Yeates) it's best to be patient. Unfazed. Confident. Decent shot on him, obvious skills on the ball and off it. But it's about making sure he is both mentally and physically up to the job. He handled himself well in the Championship so he’s deserving of something in the Prem. It's fine having young 'wonder kids' cameo here and there, showcasing their touch and flair in early rounds of the Carling Cup, but it’s altogether a different thing in the league. I do think he has something more than the boy Delph who Villa plucked from Leeds (who rejected our advancements).

Will be interesting to see the effectiveness he has on a game if given a chance, in comparison to Tom Huddlestone.

However, Bostock is still listed as a second year academy player on the OS squad list. Livermore (currently at Derby on loan) does have a number. So maybe he’s going out on loan or remaining with the academy lads.

Perhaps I’m over-rating the kid. 

Defoe the Prolific

Ok, so he scored a very decent goal against Holland. Didn't attempt to hit it first time, waited and hit it beautifully in off the post. Did he mis-control the ball initially? Who cares?JD looks fit, sharp and confident. So expect Harry to stick him on the bench come this Sunday. In all fairness, I'd be surprised if that happened. I know the obvious argument is that Keane is better starting than he is coming on and that JD makes more of an impact as a sub. Things do change. Crouch is back alongside him. Keane is off form. And there’s Pav who looks equally sharp and all smiles. But out of all the options we have, Defoe is the one who is likely to be our main catalyst up front. He has his faults. Struggles with offside. Blows hot and cold across a season. But with the World Cup not too far off I reckon we might see something special from the lad this season. 20+ league goals? I'll take the bet.

Away form

Can we have some please? No more of the soft touch that has become a tradition. If it wasn't for our decent home form we would have been in a lot of trouble down at the bottom across various seasons in the past decade. We've struggle badly at times, especially against teams we are expected to beat. Which might be the problem. That casual approach, and expectation from players who think turning up will be enough for us to take the points home. Harry has instilled some spirit so I hope we don’t get bullied and pushed around or show signs of nerves that haunted us at Rovers and Old Trafford towards the back end of last year. I have faith in our home form. Get it right away, and we’ll be just fine.

5-0 wins please

I miss the goal carnivals. Too many games last year ended 1-0 or 2-0 when they should have ended with two or three goals more in our favour, but instead we stood nervously as the opposing team remained in a perpetual state of still being in the game. We are strong at home and simply need to consolidate this. We’ve always managed to turn it on. I guess I’m just being greedy.

Top 6 challenge (no bottom half of the table antics)

You can’t read too much into Villa’s home defeat and Everton’s comical attempt at team work in the thrashing the scum dished out to them. But it proves that teams outside of the top 4 are still susceptible to fragility. The concern is our defence and the fact that Woody and Dawson are out injured, and King can only play one game per week. This leaves Bassong having to adapt to possibly two different players in the heart of our defence. Not ideal, but if we continue in the same vein that saw us climb the table last term, we should be in a comfortable position by the time Woodgate is back. The target is simply – do not lose touch with 5^th spot. No point in re-visiting this until the 10^th game of the season. But my guess is – this ‘year’ will be much like the last with everyone outside the top 4 beating each other. Which means – find form and you can take a massive advantage over the rest. Proven by Everton and Villa last time out.

Nobody is talking about us finishing 4^th or even competing for that position. But we are expected to compete for 6^th. So there is pressure, but far more understated. I guess if Liverpool do get the better of us on Sunday, there’s no reason to be despondent unless we roll over for them. It’s the way we apply ourselves that will count more than anything. And the way we do so with each passing game. Last year we got worse after every weekend. Stand up, be tall and be proud. Show us your balls Tottenham. Not literally (that would be obscene).

It’s about time we had a season where we competed.

Huddlestone – Will ‘it’ happen?

How do we plan to play him? Quarterback position? Impact sub? He’s young and maybe we’ve been harsh on him but the fact of the matter is the kid is not the most mobile of players. So his progression and deployment will be down to Harry to figure out. There is no doubting that when we play well, he picks out players beautifully well. But when we are under the cosh, it’s a different story. He can definitely offer us something. How often remains to be seen.

Love-in for Wilson and Luka

The two key players. Lose either or both and we are shagged. Luka is the talisman, the magician dinking and tricking his way across the pitch. Wilson is the guv. The boss. The general. He’s the man who does the dirty work in the centre of the pitch and allows our more creative players to push forward knowing he’s back there waiting, ready to break bones. So what if we do lose either one? Wilson is likely to be suspended at some point in the season. O’Hara can do a job, not in any way one to the standard of Palacios. Boateng is more of a creative outlet. So are we still looking at Sissoko or Scott Brown of Celtic? I hope it’s not the latter. I don’t think there’s any doubting we need another CM. One that could slot into the middle when our Honduran masterclass is up in the stands. Or possibly even play alongside him when we need to have a brick wall across the middle of the park.

There is no replacement for Luka. Unless we sign Ashley Young and have the option of slotting him on the left and Moddle in the middle with Wilson. Next few weeks will be telling.

We can’t go into the season with any readymade excuses. Our prep has been good. We’ve bought players in that we need. We’ve had a quiet pre-season with no over the top expectations. Even our players who have mentioned the top 4 have been ignored and forgiven for talking up our chances.

Let City and the rest carry the hype and expectations on their shoulders.