BBC Match Report: Stoke 2 - 1 Spurs

[Geez]

Tottenham had Gareth Bale and Michael Dawson dismissed as Stoke took advantage to claim a vital victory.

Bale saw red for a foul on Tom Soares and Danny Higginbotham scored the penalty before Darren Bent poked home.

Rory Delap tapped in to make it 2-1 before Ricardo Fuller struck both posts with a penalty and Delap hit the bar.

Dawson was sent off for a tackle on Mamade Sidibe before Fuller hit the post in injury time, which followed lengthy treatment to Vedran Corluka. <!-- E SF -->

The Croatian was caught by the knee of his own keeper, Heurelho Gomes, full on his chin and required medical attention on the pitch.

He left the field on a stretcher wearing an oxygen mask and was taken to hospital.

It was a horror injury for Corluka in what was a nightmare of a match for Tottenham.

Two points separated the teams at the start of the game, but Spurs are now five points adrift at the foot of the table after falling to their sixth league defeat of the season.

It is a bleak statistic for the north Londoners and adds to the already considerable pressure on manager Juande Ramos.

In contrast, Stoke will be delighted with their second victory of the campaign, which did not come as easily as might have been expected given their numerical advantage.

Stoke started brightly and created the first chance when Delap squared for Soares after a fine passing move, but the striker could only hit his shot weakly at Gomes.

A nervous-looking Spurs failed to heed the warning and when Bale dallied on the ball, Soares nipped in to get in front of him and was bundled over in the penalty area as he closed in on goal.

Bale was given his marching orders and Higginbotham the chance to put Stoke ahead, which he did with a cool confidence, despite having to place the ball on the penalty spot three times after the wind had blown it away.

On the touchline, Ramos gestured to his team, urging them to stay calm - and it clearly got through to his players as they suddenly, unexpectedly, took control of the match.

And they were rewarded for their new-found endeavour when Alan Hutton's shot was deflected into the path of Bent, who held slipped the ball through Thomas Sorensen's legs to equalise.

Stoke looked bewildered and Spurs took advantage, Aaron Lennon in particular coming into the game, and forcing a fine save from Sorensen after a strong run.

But the pattern of the game changed after the break as Stoke came forward and began to dictate the play.

And when Stoke worked the ball out wide to Sidibe, he supplied an inch-perfect cross for Delap to convert at the far post.

Stoke were forced into a change with Steve Simonsen coming on in goal for Thomas Sorensen after the Dane had been caught by Hutton.

But it was an injury to Corluka that had everyone concerned and a long break in play was needed to attend to the defender.

When the match resumed, Soares had a chance to seal the points for Stoke but shot over when well-placed.

The hosts were soon to get an even better chance to wrap up the win when Soares won a penalty after being fouled by Jonathan Woodgate.

However, Fuller's shot hit one post and rolled across goal to canon back off the other post and Delap's follow-up struck the bar.

There was still time for more drama in the 11 minutes of injury time as Dawson was given a straight red card for a foot-up challenge on Sidibe before Fuller smacked a shot against the post.

[AndyLov]

After only 3 months in charge Ramos announced that he didn’t need to try out the fringe players in the squad because he already knew everything he needed to know about them and the Premiership. Jol's team won a cup and when we played poorly he said that he couldn’t motivate players with nothing to play for. All that time he was describing himself as ‘The Perfect One’.
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We might have played better today and in our last game but I can’t see any of that coming from the manager. He destroyed our form with bizarre team selections and now we have a team devoid of confidence and rooted to the bottom. All we hear is excuse after excuse and now he tries to infer that he is unhappy with the board, whatever went wrong in the summer the manager needs to back his club, not stir up divisions trying to protect his own reputation.
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I listened to the twats on sky sports saying we should give him time, but it's not thier club. He has won 42 points in 37 league games and 40 of them with Keane and Berbatov in the team. We can’t score more than one a game and he still plays one up front. Today we play well until half time and after his team talk we come out and play worse. We have played a fifth of the season now, in five games time it will be a third if we are still bottom then we will be playing for a last day escape at best.
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And if we stick by him and he does take us down? He will just go back to top job in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region></st1:place> and not lose a minute’s sleep.

[glenda]

now please dont tell me this is not enough time,ramos has to really look at himself now,because in 30 years of looking at spurs this is the worst ive ever football ive ever scene!!! & forget about slating jenas!! modric has been shocking!!!!

[ridouche]

The good new it's not the end of the season. The bad new it's long way to go. We have made several changes to the team, and it is backfiring badly. Ramos seems completly lost. I think he needs help, of course that needs to come from the players. This game showed some moment of brilliance from the team, we controlled the game after we scored. It's all what it takes some belief. We surely lost any gained belief once they scored the second goal. After all, Ramos need to keep digging. we can't go all season without winning!! if we sack him, I am almost certain that we will go down. Especially that if the new boss is Poyet, assumingly, he looks as lost as Ramos. Keep it together, that's my message. They made some seriouse mistakes by acquiring new raw talent, and future assets to Levy's business-footy style corporate planning. I see no benefit in chopping the team by sacrifying proven (but lacking quality players) to unproven (raw quality players). Ramos needs to keep it very simple. I prefer some draws by playing safe, then take it one step further. Safe, and safe, Ramos. All the new players need to step aside for a while. Ramos needs to introduce one by one to see how the system needs to develop. Has he got the nerves to call back players that he thinks are unfit, I doubt it. I wish him well, but he looks dead and buried IMO.

[mic]

fucking disgraceful

ramos can fuck off, levi can fuck off, commoli can fuck off taking with him that useless little ferret modric and that even more useless beanpole pavluychenko.
dawson is a dickhead, bentley needs to shave his hair, bent isn't good enough, bentley needs to cut his hair and put in a fucking shift, king can retire, jenas and zokora were shit, only player who deserves credit is arran lennon worked his bollocks off and looked to be our only threat..

i'm sick of watching this shit every week, and something needs to be done urgently because if we don't beat bolton we wont be taking anything from our next 4games..

i'm absolutely disgusted and embarassed to be a spurs fan at the moment, the players and the manager don't even look like they care about the club we love so much

[mawspurs]

As they say, when you're down there everything goes against you, and so it was today, injuries, penalties both given and denied, and two player sent off.

We had no hope of winning with so many things going against us. Yet in the first half we actually started to play some football and I thought we had started to turn that corner. Looks like it will have to be against Bolton now.

[WhiteHeartLowe]

forget about slating jenas!!

Except to say that he should never, EVER be allowed to take a free kick for us, EVER again. :bang:

[DC_Boy]

jj is poor at free kicks I agree

but ask yourself why he was taking them

cos Bale made an amateur mistake that effectively cost us the game and the free kick ace no 2 bentley was subbed after - erm - not playing very very well

and two players that I would have started, hudd and o'hara, weren't on the pitch

there wan't much choice was there?

[sxboy]

Except to say that he should never, EVER be allowed to take a free kick for us, EVER again. :bang:

When he takes a free kick the only thing you can be sure of is the people behind the goal are in danger of being hit.

[Derek The Yid]

Modern football is crap.One can no longer tackle and the 2 penalties and the 2 sending offs were pathetic.Bale an the Stoke player went for a 50/50 ball which ended up with Bale being sent off.Dawson got the ball before the player and was sent off for a "studs up" offence.Name me one defender who does not tackle a couple of times a match with his studs up. It is IMPOSSIBLE not to when you go after so many tackles.If Dave Mackay and Graham Roberts were around today they would be sent off every week.
As for Ramos he has lost the plot.We have only 10 players then he decides to play with 2 strikers.He does not know his best team and as for Jenas those 2 free kicks he took in the last 10 minutes prove how bad a player he is.Championship here we come.

[nidge64]

Well if im honest.............We were lucky only to lose 2-1............. On another day it could have been alot worse !

[Derek The Yid]

sxboy.....well said.Jenas + free kick = someone in row g with a broken nose.

[bigspurs]

now please dont tell me this is not enough time,ramos has to really look at himself now,because in 30 years of looking at spurs this is the worst ive ever football ive ever scene!!! & forget about slating jenas!! modric has been shocking!!!!

30 years is a long time to support a team like Spurs! I think this under performing bunch of shit has taken years off of my life. Quite frankly I've had enough. Life is just too short!

[Derek The Yid]

I do not care if we play in the Championship.But I do care about the football Tottenham play.At the moment this 4-5-1 crap is the WORST I have seen in the 30 years I have watched Tottenham play.FUCK off Ramos,you´ve lost the plot.

[Coyboy]

As they say, when you're down there everything goes against you, and so it was today, injuries, penalties both given and denied, and two player sent off.

We had no hope of winning with so many things going against us. Yet in the first half we actually started to play some football and I thought we had started to turn that corner. Looks like it will have to be against Bolton now.


Mate that is a cliche. Both were penalties so how was that bad luck? Luck was Bent's goal. Luck is not even a scapegoat, it's just not an issue right now. Yes we should have had penalties against Wigan and Pompey but we should also have played better for the other 89 minutes.

[gophie]

Watched the game on TV in Spain with a fellow yid. It seems to me that there is something badly wrong behind the scenes which we don't know about. We have O'hara who at least has the balls to fight and get stuck in, which is what we need at the moment, but he can't get on the pitch. Yes things conspired against us yet again but apart from 25 minutes during the first half we were embarassing against a very limited but hard working team.

Don't know if its the right thing but I think the board will press the panic button and Ramos will be gone very soon.

[Mogga321]

If we fail to beat Bolton Ramos is gone - his position will be un-tenable

I know it will never happen but the best way we could get out of this mess would be for Levy to swallow his pride, get down on his knees & beg Martin Jol to come back - imagine how that would change the mood at spurs - imagine BMJ back in the dugout at the Lane on Sunday - the place would be absolutey rocking!

Since that will never happen, I don't know what the answer is - We played ok at times today but there is no fight & no confidence - The shocking defensive miskates continue - In the past we would have Keane, Berba & Defoe to dig us out of a hole - now we have nothing up front - We need to stop kidding ourselves that Pav will come good - he's a waste of time

Without a proper partner for Bent we are going to continue to struggle to score goals - It can't be fixed until Jan & it could be too late by then! BMJ always said that he saw Lennon as a striker long term - maybe we should try him through the middle - he is bound to get chances with his pace & skill - he would need an extra couple of hours finishing training every day though

Finally to all the idiots on here who were saying this time last year that Jol had taken us as far as he could & that he needed to go - SHAME ON YOU! We should never has allowed Levy to make such a monumental mistake

I am now going to e-mail the club urging Levy in the strongest possible terms to move heaven & earth to bring Martin Jol back to White Hart Lane - I urge every one of you to do the same - it may not work but at least I will feel like I am doing something

I want my Tottenham back!

Why would Jol swap a tilte challenge in Germany for a relegation dogfight? Quite simply becuase unlike Ramos he has Spurs in his blood & he couldn't turn us down!

I love Martin Jol, Martin Jol loves me

[trevo]

30 years is a long time to support a team like Spurs! I think this under performing bunch of shit has taken years off of my life. Quite frankly I've had enough. Life is just too short!

:up: I can't remember ever waiting so long for the season to start!

[sebo_sek]

To tell you the truth, and I am not very supersticious, this is a fuck you from fate for the we treated Jol. It must be. And yes I did want him gone then, but the wholesale changes of this season have turned us into a team that wouldn't outmuscle a year 7 school tournament team. It's a question of some things having to even out. We were crap to him, now life is crap to us.

Oh, how I miss Steeeeeeeeeeed - though I thought that Modric is and upgrade.
I miss Teemu - one of the best and most underrated DMs in the league.

I miss Boateng because he is all steel.
I miss Ghaly for his passion.

And the last two are in the squad mind you.

We ARE going down. We lost to two freshly promoted teams - one of which happened at home. Why? Because this is England not Spain. It's not technique that counts. It's not fancy passing, it's not 1-2s.

IT'S STEEL AND HEART AND WE HAVE NONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Derek The Yid]

Martin Jol got the perfect job at HSV.It would be like joining one of the to 4 here.He,like Ramos(has) had to go.We must look forward,Where,how I do not know.We are in seriouse trouble.Just look who we have played against and yet we have NOT won a league match yet.

[riversmonkey]

Where do you start with that game?

Stoke were there for the taking after we equalised and getting another goal before half time could have turned the season around and injected a massive dose of belief into the dressing room. The 2nd half was a complete disaster, even Chris Kamara would have ran out of 'unbelievables'.

You have to applaud Stoke, they play an ugly game, a whole level of ugly above the likes of Bolton and the club formerly known as Wimbledon did back in the crazy gang days but it's effective and they work to a gameplan and play to their strengths.

[Mogga321]

Martin Jol got the perfect job at HSV.It would be like joining one of the to 4 here.He,like Ramos(has) had to go.We must look forward,Where,how I do not know.We are in seriouse trouble.Just look who we have played against and yet we have NOT won a league match yet.

Why did Jol have to go??? He was the most successful manager we have had in over 20years - He took us to within 90minutes of the champions league, he took us to successive 5th place finishes, with better luck against Seville he would have won us the UEFA Cup, most importantly of all he loved & understood this club, he knew about & looked up to Bill Nic (Ramos probably doesn't even know who Bill Nic is)

With that record Jol should have been un-sackable yet he had a bad 10games & he was gone - that has to go down as one of the most shocking decisions this club has ever made

As I said those of you short-sited enough to agree with Jol's sacking (shockingly there were quite a few), shame on you

[Nads]

I want my club back.

[DC_Boy]

I've been supporting spurs nearly 50 years - in that time I've seen us win 14 major trophies - more than the vast majority of clubs have managed in their entire existence

and only 3 clubs - MU pool ans AFC have won more trophies than spurs during the time I've followed spurs

I'm proud to follow a team that has not only acheived so much but has done it the right way by playing football and not cheating/fouling their way to victory

incidentally I agreed that Jol had to go - I don't accept any shame whatsoever - and as for calling me an idiot ... well these are emotional times :-)

the situation had become untenable - and it wasn't a few spurs fans - even when jol was doing well - people used to come on here and other forums and slag him off big time

and when we started doing badly there were stacks of jol bashers throught the spurs cyber world

[infamousyiddo]

:(

[kernowspur]

In over 50 years of watchinhg Tottenham I've only seen us this bad before and it was, believe it or not, under Bill Nicholson. In the late 60s as a poor student I and some mates got to see 14 away games in a season and we didn't win any of them. We played with Chivers up front on his own in away matches and were dreadful.
I am also old enough to have seen us win the double in 61 and be relegated in the 70s. You just have to grin and bear it and hope things improve, but don't stop supporting Tottenham.

[DC_Boy]

In over 50 years of watchinhg Tottenham I've only seen us this bad before and it was, believe it or not, under Bill Nicholson. In the late 60s as a poor student I and some mates got to see 14 away games in a season and we didn't win any of them. We played with Chivers up front on his own in away matches and were dreadful.
I am also old enough to have seen us win the double in 61 and be relegated in the 70s. You just have to grin and bear it and hope things improve, but don't stop supporting Tottenham.

good perspective :-)

I saw a lot of away games in the late 60s too

actually the only time I've to stoke was at that time - a 1-1 draw

tough times - but at least we were still decent at home

and of course turned it round by 1970 by getting peters in, the emergence of perryman, and seeing a renaissance of certain players who had a bit of a rough time in the late 60s - the biggest transformation beig big chiv himself who turned into mr awesome during 70-71

[strader]

this is really bad, i am so worried and if we dont beat bolton then i know we are doom.

I never slate players and i will never, i thought it was the players not performing but now i can see ramos is losing the plot slowy.

why on earth do u not play the club captain KING, rest him for the uefa cup that is just plain silly.

so thing needs to change soon rather than later and i dont mean someone getting the sack.

its time for hudd, o'hara, something please as its becoming a health hazard.

[mawspurs]

this is really bad, i am so worried and if we dont beat bolton then i know we are doom.

I never slate players and i will never, i thought it was the players not performing but now i can see ramos is losing the plot slowy.

why on earth do u not play the club captain KING, rest him for the uefa cup that is just plain silly.

so thing needs to change soon rather than later and i dont mean someone getting the sack.

its time for hudd, o'hara, something please as its becoming a health hazard.


He rests King for the UEFA because Corluka is cup tied for that competition due to the timing of our crazy transfer dealings. Now Dawson is banned for the 3 league games though it looks as though King will have to play PL for a while and Dawson in Europe.

[bigspurs]

good perspective :-)

I saw a lot of away games in the late 60s too

actually the only time I've to stoke was at that time - a 1-1 draw

tough times - but at least we were still decent at home

and of course turned it round by 1970 by getting peters in, the emergence of perryman, and seeing a renaissance of certain players who had a bit of a rough time in the late 60s - the biggest transformation beig big chiv himself who turned into mr awesome during 70-71

My Dad started supporting Spurs in '58, despite his Dad being an Arse season ticket holder! As much as it breaks my heart to say it, my old man has got a lot to answer for! I can't say that I would rather have been a Goon, but I certainly would have enjoyed my football a lot more!!! Thanks a bunch Dad!

[nidge64]

I've been supporting spurs nearly 50 years - in that time I've seen us win 14 major trophies - more than the vast majority of clubs have managed in their entire existence

and only 3 clubs - MU pool ans AFC have won more trophies than spurs during the time I've followed spurs

I'm proud to follow a team that has not only acheived so much but has done it the right way by playing football and not cheating/fouling their way to victory

incidentally I agreed that Jol had to go - I don't accept any shame whatsoever - and as for calling me an idiot ... well these are emotional times :-)

the situation had become untenable - and it wasn't a few spurs fans - even when jol was doing well - people used to come on here and other forums and slag him off big time

and when we started doing badly there were stacks of jol bashers throught the spurs cyber world
Its supporters like you.....The Jol bashers......Who should be hanging their heads in shame, just at this moment. What more did you want, Took over from Santini when we were pants...got us to 1 win away from UEFA cup football...Then two 5th place finishes Blah De Blah, Its never good enough? And then one bad start to a season when Jol had been seriously undermined during that transfer window...It was almost as though the powers that be were trying to force him out? Anyhow who's to say Jol would not have won the Carling cup last season..Maybe even Jol would have found away around PSV..Who Knows...

[JimmyG2]

He rests King for the UEFA because Corluka is cup tied for that competition due to the timing of our crazy transfer dealings. Now Dawson is banned for the 3 league games though it looks as though King will have to play PL for a while and Dawson in Europe.

Zokora has played at CH quite well (and at left back,and at right back) Huddleston has also played there with reasonable success. Either would be better than Dawson I'm afraid

[Oscar2]

As much as it saddens me to say but we are probably going to be relegated. What we must do now is decide to we stick with Ramos or replace him with someone who could bring us down fighting. That would be my shout. Allardyce anyone?? Also I do expect the board to act this week and fire Ramos. Did anyone notice the way he waved at the crowd after the match and the look on his face. What a shameful disaster!

[DC_Boy]

My Dad started supporting Spurs in '58, despite his Dad being an Arse season ticket holder! As much as it breaks my heart to say it, my old man has got a lot to answer for! I can't say that I would rather have been a Goon, but I certainly would have enjoyed my football a lot more!!! Thanks a bunch Dad!

:-) bigspurs

actually to paraphrase a famous song - my old man was an Arsenal fan

but as I was growing in the late 50s/early 60s we were the team in norf lundun, so infant glory hunter that I was I chose spurs

I'd have had seen more trophies had I followed my dad's team - but c'est la vie - to have seen my team win 14 is gold beyond avarice for most clubs' supporters

imagine there are some 40 year old toon fans out there still waiting to see their first trophy - and as for poor ole fulham and orient fans ....

[DC_Boy]

[quote=nidge64;1100019]Its supporters like you.....The Jol bashers......Who should be hanging their heads in shame, just at this moment. quote]


ok nidge :-)- I have no choice but to put you on ignore - I was never a jol basher BTW - I simply agreed with Levy and many others he had to go - but I've nothing more to say to you on this or any other topic

[macspurs]

We need a miracle now to turn this utter crapper of a season around, and like most of us I can't see where it will come from. More of a worry is that the management can't seem to see it either. What is it now? Worst start to a season since 1538?

As unbelievable as it sounds, this was a six pointer today. Words cannot do justice to the pain and confusion I feel ( and that goes for many of us ).

I agree with what has been said before - we need to keep it simple to start trying to grind out a few results. 4 - 4 - 2. Will Ramos do it? I doubt it.

[DC_Boy]

Zokora has played at CH quite well (and at left back,and at right back) Huddleston has also played there with reasonable success. Either would be better than Dawson I'm afraid

in many ways I think zokora is a better defender than a mid player

I'm quite happy for him to play LB v bolton

I'd prefer him to BAE who still doesn't convince me

[bigspurs]

:-) bigspurs

actually to paraphrase a famous song - my old man was an Arsenal fan

but as I was growing in the late 50s/early 60s we were the team in norf lundun, so infant glory hunter that I was I chose spurs

I'd have had seen more trophies had I followed my dad's team - but c'est la vie - to have seen my team win 14 is gold beyond avarice for most clubs' supporters

imagine there are some 40 year old toon fans out there still waiting to see their first trophy - and as for poor ole fulham and orient fans ....

Actually my second team is Orient, so I'm proper f*cked!!!

[kicked]

Well at least Bale will rest for a few days...and we might win the next few games cos i think Dawson is banned too, so its not all bad news!! :-)

[bigspurs]

We need a miracle now to turn this utter crapper of a season around, and like most of us I can't see where it will come from. More of a worry is that the management can't seem to see it either. What is it now? Worst start to a season since 1538?

As unbelievable as it sounds, this was a six pointer today. Words cannot do justice to the pain and confusion I feel ( and that goes for many of us ).

I agree with what has been said before - we need to keep it simple to start trying to grind out a few results. 4 - 4 - 2. Will Ramos do it? I doubt it.

Spot on mate. If only he would keep it simple with 4-4-2. A win will happen and probably against a decent team, but I can't wait any longer, as I am currently dying a long and painful death by humiliation!!!

[gaganelov]

Levy destroyed us.

[nidge64]

[quote=nidge64;1100019]Its supporters like you.....The Jol bashers......Who should be hanging their heads in shame, just at this moment. quote]


ok nidge :-)- I have no choice but to put you on ignore - I was never a jol basher BTW - I simply agreed with Levy and many others he had to go - but I've nothing more to say to you on this or any other topic
Wooh there Leslie..........That was never meant as a personal assassination, I just wondered in your original piece you wrote"incidentally i thought Jol should go along with a host of others....Well that still begs the question WHY...If there is ever a time for the supporters to stick together its KNOW, Thats all we have left at the moment?

[DC_Boy]

[quote=DC_Boy;1100159]
Wooh there Leslie..........That was never meant as a personal assassination, I just wondered in your original piece you wrote"incidentally i thought Jol should go along with a host of others....Well that still begs the question WHY...If there is ever a time for the supporters to stick together its KNOW, Thats all we have left at the moment?

ok nidge fair enough, it's an emotional time :-)

the reasons I thought Jol should go were various of course

the key ones were that he seemed to have lost the respect of the players - they didn't seem to be performing for him and that he had lost the confidence of the board

it was when we lost at home to AFC 1-3 after taking the lead that pushed me reluctantly in that direction, but as i posted at the time, I wasn't sure

however by the time we lost at home to getafe things had gone too far for me, and I felt it was the right decision all round

in retrospect I may have called it wrong, like Levy, like many others who wanted Jol out at the time

however I'm not going to rewrite history, when I'm right as I often am, there's a very good chance I'll be on here telling people how I called it right

when I'm wrong I'll admit it freely too

I don't hide from my opinions and their consequences

I will also point out that when Jol got dog's abuse from many fans after we lost the 3-1 lead v CFC I was on here defending him and pointing out it was bad luck with injuries

ditto when we lost to AFC in the semis - of course there wasn't such bad luck then but berb's injuries were key in bot those games - and many people didn't grasp that

similarly when salty and lee were getting rubbished on a regular bais I was on here defending them (and by implication Jol)

I could go on, I'm a massively loyal fan, it took alot of persuading for me to think it was right for jol to go, but persuaded I was by the evidence as I saw it - like most people I thought Jol was a great bloke and no way did I dislike him on a personal basis

TBH I still can't say I was wrong about Jol, because it was a very complex issue and we don't know the full story of what went on

one problem with this '4 amigos' collective responsibility bit is knowing who did what and why

how far was it Jol's fault the players that we bought at a high price - bent kaboul boateng and bale haven't performed to the level expected

bale has of course been unlucky with injuries - but he's also way away from being the finished article at LB

instead of kicking on last summer we bought players that didn't work - now again I'm not going to say I said so at the time - cos I didn't

I supported buying bale and bent - kaboul and boateng I took on trust

we also don''t know why Jol fell out with the board

I've heard loads of speculation - I don't know the answers

but in any business fall out with your bosses and trouble is looming

[DC_Boy]

ok here's the telegraph stats for all those people who thought JJ deserved a 0 or that modric was way better than him etc

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...-Football.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/3216971/Stoke-City-condemn-Tottenham-to-their-worst-start-ever-Football.html)

JJ - 55 passes, 84% accuracy, balls won 3

modric -40 passes, 83% accuracy, balls won 0

zoko - 45 passes, 76% accuracy, balls won 1*

lennon - 21 passes, 67% accuracy, balls won 2

bentley -28 passes, 89% accuracy, balls won 0


obviously such stats are only part of the picture, but they are a welcome antidote to the anti-JJ stuff that gets posted on here on a regular basis

* most of game not played in mid - but posted for comparison anyway
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[Galliano]

I didnt get a chance to see the game yesterday. At first I was not a very happy guy for missing it, but boy am I glad now! They say the stock market in in crisis ...... the crisis down at Spurs right now beats that hands down. There is a number of people you can point the finger at for the mess we are in, the board, DM, JR .... the truth is they all should go. Right now I would be happy to see venners back in charge, someone who has passion, not only for the game but for Spurs too! JR has had enough time. OK he dont decide who comes and goes, but the fella has had plenty of time to do SOMETHING with spurs even if he aint got the sqad he really wants ... he is meant to be a class coach and on 5m a season .... pathetic. As for the board and DM .... why dont someone take the bull by the horns and show them both where the door is .... we cant do any worse that the state we are in! We are already going down and those Spurs fans that keep saying we will come good ...... well ... you better believe it bruvva we are going down!

[vicbob]

That was the worst second half performance i can remember, the "team" was a disgrace. Up until yesterday i didnt blame Ramos, in fact i had some simpathy for the guy, but yesterday he and the team looked clueless. We were made to look awful by a very poor Stoke side who are going to struggle this year, and were lucky it only ended 2-1. The performance by most of the players was laughable, they couldn't pass, tackle, cross or even hit a stationary ball in the vague direction of the goal. We look doomed, i have never had such optimism disapear so quickly as it has this season. What the **** do we do now.......................?????????

[westlondonyid]

I am sick and tired of all of these people coming on here and bringing up stupid stats and facts in order to tell me that Jenas and Zokora are still good players. Both did not have the required skill, heart, passion and desire to outplay some half baked team of chamionship players. At times in that game I almost had the clown theme music in my head whilst watching certain players. Total shit.

I said it after the Hull game and this has only confirmed it. If we avoid relegation this season it should be classed as successful

[rooster1]

To DL/DC,Ramos and the players, Any chance of giving us a win this Year ?
Xmas is coming up soon and I just wandered if you could give us a win,
if possible,before xmas, please.:bang:

[DC_Boy]

I post these stats, not to tell people what to think but as an antidote to those who slag JJ off for doing nothing and also as a bit of a clue as to why JJ is an international player and has been a regular fixture under both Jol and Ramos

and has also been picked by managers as diverse as Capello Robson and Sven

[coys63]

ok here's the telegraph stats for all those people who thought JJ deserved a 0 or that modric was way better than him etc

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...-Football.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/3216971/Stoke-City-condemn-Tottenham-to-their-worst-start-ever-Football.html)

JJ - 55 passes, 84% accuracy, balls won 3

modric -40 passes, 83% accuracy, balls won 0

zoko - 45 passes, 76% accuracy, balls won 1*

lennon - 21 passes, 67% accuracy, balls won 2

bentley -28 passes, 89% accuracy, balls won 0


obviously such stats are only part of the picture, but they are a welcome antidote to the anti-JJ stuff that gets posted on here on a regular basis

* most of game not played in mid - but posted for comparison anyway
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Apreciate what you are trying to convey DC but tell me this. How many of JJ and Modric's 95 passes between them were forward or penetrating? Very few. We are a team of Ray Wilkins style players always going backwards and sideways. Now I don't place all the blame on the player with the ball. It is more down to the fact that we have very little or no movement forward of the ball. Players stand and watch instead of getting involved...Oh, and for Stokes second yesterday have a look at the replay. Jenas, Modric & Lennon (i think it was) all in a line across the pitch marking space, ball watching whilst the Stoke midfield were in behind them. Schoolboy stuff and that's what really disappoints me.

[AllSeeingEye]

...Oh, and for Stokes second yesterday have a look at the replay. Jenas, Modric & Lennon (i think it was) all in a line across the pitch marking space, ball watching whilst the Stoke midfield were in behind them. Schoolboy stuff and that's what really disappoints me.

Agreed, I thought, and was saying, exactly the same when they waltzed thru our defence.

Absolute cock tactics yesterday. The team clearly have no idea how to play this game over two halves.

We had a bad start but having improved some what we sat on our hands. Instead of drawing players into us or creating spaces and attacking spaces we are forgetting the modern practices if the game.

Where Jol lacked fitness wise, we seem to be doing OK, but what Ramos lacks is skills, techniques and motivation.

What the fuck point is there is sticking with the guy?

The only point I can see is that we won't get another manager of similar calibre.

Finally we are up shit creek, so I personally advocate not trying to pretend we are not.

[UncleBuck]

Interesting stat that our five man midfield managed to win an amazing SIX tackles between them, that's so impressive! There lies one problem, we have no one who can win a ball, no one who is ready to roll their sleeves up and fight. Brilliant play from Daws as well, he see's Corluka carried off, he knows King is always injured so you might have thought that he would have seen this upcoming period as one where he can try to get back into the starting eleven.....so what does he do? He gets himself sent off......fcking great bit of play that one Daw's.....just about sums it up really.

[DC_Boy]

Apreciate what you are trying to convey DC but tell me this. How many of JJ and Modric's 95 passes between them were forward or penetrating? Very few. We are a team of Ray Wilkins style players always going backwards and sideways. Now I don't place all the blame on the player with the ball. It is more down to the fact that we have very little or no movement forward of the ball. Players stand and watch instead of getting involved...Oh, and for Stokes second yesterday have a look at the replay. Jenas, Modric & Lennon (i think it was) all in a line across the pitch marking space, ball watching whilst the Stoke midfield were in behind them. Schoolboy stuff and that's what really disappoints me.

fair points 63 (the year I first went to the Lane BTW)

neither jj's or modric's passing was of the required standard

all sorts of people were at fault for stoke's 2nd - but the chief culprit was already off the pitch - Bale (and no I don't want people to boo him either)

away from home v another prem team - one man down for most of the game - of course they will create chances

this one was a very good cross for a player who gambled correctly