Disappointment

[Rob]

Disappointment. A word that as Spurs fans we know all too well but this time it feels different and I’m still trying to figure out why.

The obvious place to start is last night where our season seemed to simultaneously end both on and off the pitch. Losing to Arsenal, even if it was partly a second string side, is something we’re used to by now and while it still hurts every time it’s not as though it was unexpected. What was unexpected at the start of the season was the decline we seem to be in at the minute and that’s something I’ll discuss later in this article but first let’s relive last night for a final time.

We were missing 3 key players, let’s not forget that. King, Berbatov and Lennon are arguably the only 3 really quality players that we have and all 3 were out but we surely had enough to cope with what was an average Arsenal team. Sadly not. As soon as the team was announced it all looked wrong.

The following is a brief overview of how I think everyone performed, not just last night but over the season so far.

Robinson – Has been extremely poor this season and we’re all aware of it now. Last night he appeared to be stuck to his goal line and had absolutely no command of his area, which is even more important without King at the back. The other major criticism Robbo comes in for is his “hoof” up field. If he’s punting it up for Berbatov to sublimely control on his chest and provide an attacking threat you can see the reasoning, but kicking it over Keane and Defoe’s heads every time is a horrible waste of possession which was reflected by the stats from last night. While still a fan’s favourite and “England’s Number 1” he really appears to need resting and rumours of his inability to take advice from our goalkeeping coaches means he’s fast becoming a target for disgruntled fans.

Chimbonda – One of the few players who seems to consistently put in performances. A very solid player who adds a huge attacking threat when linking up with Lennon but with Ghaly in his place it never looks like working.

Dawson – Again a solid defender who’s maybe become slightly over-rated due to his immense partnership with King. On his own he’s not quite playing to the same standard but still easily our best defender alongside King.

Rocha – Oh dear. This guy could be quality or he could be Ramon Vega Mk II. The problem after his blunder last night is that he may not be given a chance to prove his quality to the fans who are notorious for knee-jerk reactions.

Eokotto – Put in a good performance last night and while he’s not as consistent as Lee he has shown signs of becoming a very good player in the future if we stick with him.

Ghaly – He doesn’t appear to be on form any longer and we need to realise he’s not suitable cover for Lennon. He does have pace, power, good feet and a decent tackle so it’s understandable that we liked what we saw when scouting him but as a package he just doesn’t quite work, something that could be said of Spurs as a whole.
Jenas – Just back from injury and put in a huge performance in our last game, leading to cries of joy that we finally had a decent midfielder back. Unfortunately last night he got lost somewhere between WHL and the Emirates Stadium and never made it to the game. His energy, his surging runs, his tracking back, his passing, all of them disappeared last night. When he plays well he can play very well and be a huge player for us, potentially captain material and exactly what we need in the centre. When he doesn’t play well he’s anonymous and a huge liability.

Zokora – The title of this article would seem to describe his first season at Spurs. A disappointment. I’m not sure what Comolli saw to make us pay £8 million but it’s about time the rest of us saw it. His tackling is awful, he’s not a “ball winner” by any stretch of the imagination. He slides around often through players, often missing the ball. He has an awful first touch and poor passing. His one strength is his powerful running from midfield but that’s enough to base his game around, especially if we want to build a strong midfield around with him as one of the key components.

Malbranque – I’ve been impressed by his ability but at the same time disappointed by his fitness. The same could be said of the team as a whole but he doesn’t seem to have 90 minutes in him, not yet anyway. When he does he could become a very important player for us and I feel it’s worth giving him time, whether it’s on the left wing or in the hole behind the front two.

Keane – Passionate. Petulant. Poor. Those three words seem to sum up what used to be one of my favourite players. He has the ability but he doesn’t stop complaining long enough to use it. He doesn’t fit into the long ball system which we appear determined to adopt and he certainly doesn’t link up well with Defoe.

Defoe – Partnered with Berbatov he was really starting to recapture some form that has been absent for far too long. Without Berbatov he is anonymous. His running, his link up, his awareness and especially his ability to stay onside are all awful. It’s only because of the undoubted quality of his Bulgarian strike-partner that he was performing like we all wish he would. He needs someone to do all the hard work for him, to have the vision and awareness, to draw the defenders and provide the link up player. If that’s all taken care of, Defoe can run fast and hit the ball hard and more often than not manage a shot on target or even a goal. Without a partner who plays to his strengths he’s no better than Bobby Zamora or the many other poor strikers we’ve had over the years. Remember Chris Armstrong’s superb partnership with Teddy? If Berbatov can stay fit that’s possible what we have with him and Defoe but Defoe on his own is not the answer.

Jol – One of the biggest disappointments is BMJ. Fans have been making knee-jerk reactions about him for the past year and unfortunately some of them appear to be coming true. Tactically we look lost at times. He states that Defoe/Keane can’t play together but then that’s what he resorts to and along with a poor, unbalanced midfield we really struggle because of it. I’m confident that Jol is still the man for us and can turn this around but he needs to start doing it fast with the players we have available.

Comolli – Whatever the reason, he failed this transfer window to get us the players that we needed. The disappointment here is his claim at the recent AGM that we “do not need a left sided player”. Whether this was PR spin or he really believes it, it does provide cause for concern. We arguably need another central defender to replace Gardner, a quality left sided midfielder, a creative force in the centre of the park and a target man up front. Obviously a lot to ask for but not addressing any of these areas has led to many fans wondering what he is here for. We tried to sign Young, we tried to sign Bale, we tried to sign Barnes, we tried to sign Davies. The list goes on. We obviously believe we need these positions filled as we have been trying to fill them but ultimately we’ve failed to do so.

Levy – Levy is coming in for more and more criticism lately. The problem is we don’t know the facts. Has he really seen deals we’ve needed to be completed fall through because he quibbled over tiny details and small amounts of change? Is he really threatening to sue UEFA if they don’t let us play someone rather than receive a bye? Lots of rumours appear to suggest this but we can’t judge him based on them. One thing we can judge him on is the continual awful service to the fans, in particularly from the Ticket Office. I plan to write a more detailed article on this in the future but the horror stories of how the TO is run are just dismissed by the club. The continual poor, laughable “service” is barely acknowledged and excuses from the likes of Barber are trotted out about the increase in games.

So many areas of disappointment. Can we pick ourselves up and make something of this season or will the quote that “there used to be a football club over there” ring even more true come the end of the season.

Yours Disappointedly.

Rob

[BTN1]

Hey Rob, you make some good comments, but you have to realise we are still a work in progress. Yes we have disappointing performances, but as you failed to mention, they have already nearly completed the total of last seasons games by the end of January.

We're not used to a conjested fixture list, and some of our reserve team are below par - but I'd rather we are where we are than Portsmoth who are chucking money at old pro's to achieve their success.

Wait and see this will be a turning point. We will finish in the Top 6 and probably win the UEFA cup... mark my words

[Crabby]

Well I was at the game last night and I have to disagree on some of your points, but of course agree with many. I thought Ekotto was superb last night, a lot of effort, decent passing, tackling and got forward whenever possible.

Rocha, aside from his UNFORTUNATE slip looked composed and won some decent headers and read the play well, not sure why the Vega comparison comes in, ludicrous at this stage.

Malbranque does tend to tire but this is due to his work rate from the kick off, great feet, one-two's, running although final ball could be better, peased with him.

Defoe made some good runs but simply wasn't getting the service and had 2/3 players around him with little or no support so lost the ball too often.

Keane lots of running and willing but wasn't sure where he should position himself a lot of the time. Not sure why Mido and Defoe didn't start if I'm honest.

One all too glaring point is when Arsenal players run with the ball we back off and back off until they are near the goal and can have a pop. Im not suggesting players dive in, but we give the oppostion far too much time and space on the ball, something other teams do not afford us.

Thought jol could have taken Ghastly off of half time, moved JJ on the right and put Hudd in the middle and told Zakora to get box to box (ability to do so) and if Steed had to come off later on let Keano play on the left. Anyway im not a manager and like Jol a lot but it's my view (always good with hindsight).

Having said that when i saw keane and defoe starting i thought here we go again, no holding the ball up!

Just hope we can beat Fulham and get to the new Wembley!

[martins_jolly_babies]

You know, I am/was (confused today) a Jol fan and usually see the glass as half full, but today I awoke with the uneasy feeling that big mart aint all that. In the big games, where it counts, we lose. I.E toward the end of last season, last night, the cup game against liverpool a couple of years back. Were all huff and puff. To me, playing a partnership of keane and defoe, when hes openly stated it doesn't work, in our biggest game of the season is ALMOST unforgiveable, along with only having 4 subs (!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?) and the disastrous re-shuffle in the first leg(he should have kept the same system that was working VERY well and brought on MIDO, not gone 451! Ive said it before but when Keane plays with defoe, he drops into midfield, isolating Defoe, and thus negating his strengths. Defoe is outstanding playing on the shoulder, with his pace and deadly finishing. As a lone striker he's quite frankly useless! The 1st murmours of discontent are here and it will be interesting to see how he and a few players (ROBBO) cope with the impending abuse. If he is our saviour and the man to take us back to the top, he will rise to the challenge and learn from his errors, if not he will crumble, like many before him and be remembered as no better than Gerry Francis - Time will tell on this one.....

[dirtydave]

If we have to go out of 1 cup im glad its the league cup.

Wiley pissed me off though.

[Crabby]

I seem to have lost some of my comments.

Jenas was great, running, energy, willing etc and has been badly missed, he will only get better.

Zakora, didnt quite know what his role was, did ok but much room for improvement, still think he'll come good.

Ghaly was awful, got to the bye-line a couple of times but caught in possessin more than both sets of players put together and always thought he had been fouiled which he hadn't.

[TheChosenOne]

I listened to Graham Roberts on Talksport this a.m.

I think he summed it up when he said something along the lines of ...

Shaking hands and that in the tunnel, not the way we used to etc.
We used to kick lumps out of each other on the pitch then go and have a drink afterwards.

Needed someone "to put a foot in" a ballwinner.

Summed it up for me. When Mido got that equaliser it rocked Arsenal a bit and the fans had doubts too, thats when we should have went for it, too long we have been
a soft touch against the big clubs, not that I want to see Bolton style footy at WHL but too many Jessies dont make for trophies.
You can have all the best wingers in the world but if no one is winning the ball for them and feeding them , well.

[BringBack_leGin]

agree with some points but not others. Defoe this season has worked tremendously hard in most games, dropping into midfield, holding up the ball, making good dribbles, and yes, berbatov brings the best out of him, but thats because more than anything berbatov creates space, keane jsut doesn't. Jenas was overpowered because the useless Zokora left him alone to take on two monsters in Gilbero and Diaby. He was still always available to receive the ball and never gave it away. Dawson i felt had by far his best game without king, with king he is better butlast night he was a giant. Ghaly i thought provided our best threat from midfield and looked the only one likely to do anything.

I hope Rocha gets a chance because he is a good player and lets face it, even without his blunder we'd have gone out on away goals. Robinson if you remember did make three very good saves last night, two of which he had no right to save.

Good article but i disagree on parts.

Can I also say, hey, we were missing like you said, our 3 best players. Arsenal may be able to cope without Henry, Fabregas and Toure, but they're the only ones. Imagine Manure without Ronaldo, Ferdinand and the slowly improving Rooney, or Chelsea without Drogba Lampard and Terry. And I'd laugh at Liverpool without Kuyt, Gerrard and Carragher. Robinson is on bad form, but he is a very good goalkeeper, King and Chimbonda are both brilliant defenders, and Dawson is going to be, he's already very good. Ekotto could be great, it remains to be seen, but last night he was very good. Huddlestone and Jenas could form the combination of passing and energy we need for a solid centre, while Lennon is going to be a world class winger. Berbatov IS a world class striker, and Defoe is very good with him. If Ekotto improves, and we sign a left sided player not only good for attacks but also meaning the Ekotto isn't so exposed, we'll be a very good side capable of challenging the top for. I saw Nene the other day and I hope we do get him, he['s tall, quick, and a very good crosser and shooter, reminds me of Gamst at Blackburn. What we lack is depth. Hopefully Rocha can be good back up for Dawson and King, and Gardner is OK as the fourth. But Stalteri and Lee are not up to it, and neither is Tainio or Murphy, Zokora might be ok as a fourth choice, but we should really sign someone to be good back up to Jenas and Huddlestone, or even replace one of them in the first team. And aside from having no LW, we have no cover for either wing at all! Malbranque could be very good in the middle for us, but he's no LW thats for sure. And i'm happy with Mido, but i'm beginning to be very disgruntled with a Keane who ahs become a prima donna!

[JonnySpurs]

I'm a little suprised in you Rob, the way you're talkin, if Spurs were the be all and end all in my life then I may as well go and top myself! I mean crikey, talk about depressing!

I honestly don't believe things are anywhere near as bad as all this! The article from the BBC is way more up my street and makes FAR more sense that articles of this nature. Yes I am an optimist for the most part but I'm not delusional. I recognise that this season hasn't been good and I feel as down and dejected as most over last night's result and the lack of filling the left side!

However, that said, we don't need this kind of attitude, it doesn't acheive anything and doesn't help the team and general mood around the club. We HAVE to get behind the players and MJ who we all loved and adored 5 mins ago! Come on guys, things always look bleek in these sort of times, but IF we were to go and beat United on sunday, how happy would everyone be, think about it!

[banks_18]

Defoe no better than Bobby Zamora ? Are you sure ? I'm as dissapointed as the next man this morning but they key to your article was in 3 words King, Berbatov and Lennon ! Mainly our captain and our best player. The season is far from over, even though last nights result is still stuck in my throat !

[Langers]

I couldn't agree more Rob. Before the season started I was so optimistic. But last night when I saw the line up, I realised it may have been a false dawn. Four central midfielders and two strikers who even the manager himself admidts cannot work togther. Managerial suicide.

I would have preffered to play them at there own game and given the youngsters a go. After all we beat them in the reserves league last year.

[roguepsi]

Rome wasn't built in a day. Nuff said.

[renniks]

what a load of crap, moan moan moan. I agree everything is not hunky dorey, but we could villa. potential euro candidates 8 weeks ago, now there relegation candidates. A couple of wins and this will all be yesterday's news.

COYS

[Jonesey]

Risking the inevitable onslaught from you lot, I have to say I've been questioning Jol's tactics, team selections and substitution-strategies for some time now.

Yes, he's the best manager we've had for years, yes he's great with the press but considering who else we've had that's not saying all that much. We haven't been a good 90-minute-footballing side for ... ever, but he hasn't exactly changed that has he? Even last season, the reason we didn't make it into the Champions league is because we let 1-goal leads slip (because we couldn't score more than 1 goal most of the time) and lost by 1-goal margins to bottom/lower-table opposition.

Also, we have an extremely good squad of players, yet we only seem to be able to play excellent football for 20 minutes, half an hour, sometimes even a whole half ... but I can't remember a game we played, even against lower-league opposition - where we played to our ability for the whole 90 minutes. Yes, this should come down to the players as well but it's GOT to start with the coach.

The most worrying thing for me is how we keep losing because of the same problems we've had for the past season and a half; lapses in concentration, poor team selection, lack of width, poor on-pitch starety like playing the long-ball to two small strikers, lack of pace in attack in that final third.

It just doesn't look like our coaching staff have learned anything from our poor run in last season and horrific start to this season.

I know the 'Jol-bashers' on this site get a lot of stick but at the same time it's unfair to have a go at players like Keano for "waving his arms around" and complaining. Last night he was on the wrong end of some extremely petty and misguided refereeing and he quite rightly got frustrated. At least he gives a shit.

Sure, he may also not have had many shots on goal last night - along with Defoe - but he was all over the place, dropping deep and trying to press Arsenal when he could. And thanks jesus he did or we might have lost by a more hefty margin.

However, if he's doing that, he can't be in a goalscoring position. I was more disappointed with Defoe last night. His running off the ball and positioning has never been the best and last night, against a young, extremely skillful side, he exposed himself in my opinion.

Our problem is clearly still our midfield. Without Lennon we have no width, no balance, no pace, no passion, no heart ...

1. Zokora, I'm sorry, just doesn't do it for me. He's complacent and his ability to pick out a pass let-alone a defence splitting ball is questionable at best.

2. JJ; I have never been his biggest fan but considering he's probably still not match-sharp after injury I'll excuse his virtually non-existent performance last night (good free-kick for the goal though). He's too weak in the middle with Zokora. We need someone to boss our midfield. Thudd could do this in time and perhaps JJ could make a good partnership alongside him - now he's back from inuury let's see.

3. Wingers - this is the most frustrating thing at the club, surely. Without Lennon we have no width whatsoever. Arsenal attacked us down the flanks a lot last night and stretched us which is why in Extra Time we were knackered and they still looked like they could play another half an hour. But what does the club do? Keeps Routledge out on loan and sends Reto out on loan.

Now, with Reto, the jury's out for me; not convinced he's good enough at this level but my point is, if Jol doesn't think that either - and he clearly doesn't or he'd be playing him - why not just sell him?

I have the same question RE: the Routledge scenario except I really think he can do a job on the left for us despite not being a left-footer. He's still a tricky player who can beat a man and whip a cross in and this is what we lack. Steed's done ok for us drifting around the left wing but he's not an out-and-out winger and could possibly be better utilised alongside Thudd or Jenas in the middle.

Plus, of course, when Lennon's injured - or ill - Routledge can do a similar job on the right.

Of course the obvious solution is to buy a left winger but how long have we been waiting for one of those?

4. Passing - my god our passing in midfield is atrocious. Compared to the Arsenal kids we looked like an under-11s side.

My questions about last night are:

Why the fuck wasn't Thudd on from the start to tighten up the midfield and pull the strings a bit, allowing Keane to play more as a striker?

And why didn't he bring Mido on before they scored when it was obvious to everyone that Ghaly was tiring?

And more generally ... where's our squad gone? We seem to be the only team who hasn't strengthened our squad for the present season in the transfer window.

Buying youngsters is fine for the future if they come to fruition but if we don't get into Europe next season we could be saying goodbye to some of our best players in the summer and then we have to start all over again on the rebuilding front.

Maybe it's time Jol and the coaching staff take a step back and a good look at their own tactical shortcomings over the past 18 months because.

On the plus side, the transfer window may be closed, resigning us to an unbalanced midfield, but it's still a very talented and potentially ver good midfield.

League form aside, on the pitch we're also still in the F.A. Cup and doing well in the UEFA Cup so all is not lost but if we play like we did last night, the most we can expect at the end of the year is a mid-to-lower table finish.

Let's hope lady luck shines on us a little in Europe in the next few months. We're going to need her.

[speroni]

Disappointment in this case should be spelled "dissssssappointment" to reflect the air rushing out of the Spurs season.

Others have said it before: we're still a work in progress. Take away our best players through injury, tire out the rest through a punishing fixture list and that wasn't a bad result. Just not good enough.

We should still sneak Euro football next year -- somebody wrote that an Arsenal/Chelsea final adds another UEFA place to the league, taking it down to seventh. We might even win the UEFA. Offering European football is going to be vital to keep the current squad together in the close season and attract reinforcements.

[Spursfect]

I posted this on a previous thread, thought it was more appropriate for this one.

Much as I hate to say it, we got what we deserved yesterday. Over two legs we were not good enough to beat the foreign legion. Basically they had a relatively fresh team, whereas most of our players were playing our umpteenth game. You could see in the final quarter of the game that we had nothing in the tank. When we equalised all it did was prolong our slow death, instead of driving us on.
With Jenas and Zokora in midfield I would have thought we would have pressed and rushed them a little more in midfield, but once again they were dominant in that area.
As much as I love Defoe he is nothing without service, and when he does get it he is offside!!!!
Keane is not the striker we need at the moment. Running through on goal he never looks like he can put the ball away. Give him no time to think and the ball invariably ends up in the back of the net!!!
Dawson needs a rest.
Rocha needs longer studs.
Lennon needs his own chef!
Mido play like you did yesterday and maybe you wont warm the bench as much as you have done.
Ghaly more consistency, for every good thing he does, he has already done five poor things.
Malbranque please get fitter as I believe you offer a lot of control if only you could last for 90mins.
Robbo you are getting there after a drop in your high standards, for get about the seven-year contract and start oerforming like you are after a new one.

Finally BMJ, learn from Fergie. Sometimes the players need the hairdryer treatment instead of the bear hug. Better we go down in a blaze of glory than a whimper.

Now something positive....we are in the best position we have been for a long time. We are disappointed with losing a semi rather than being happy we got there. We achieved this mainly without the King. Our squad is the strongest its been for a long time, even though we need to increase the pressure on the first XI. Unfortunately Ghaly, Murphy,Tainio, Lee, Stalteri, Gardner & Ifil do not do this. BAE and Zokora have a stay of execution because this is their first season and I believe this is the hardest league to get attuned to and play well in.

We are on the up, which is more than can be said about previous regimes that have been here. The expectation level of the fans are on the up hence the disappointment, but let's be patient. Let us see this as a five-year plan, we are almost 40% into it so I would say we are ahead of schedule.

Maybe you agree or disagree, but one thing we can all agree on......the future is bright the future will always be lilywhite.

Onwards to Spurfection

[worcestersauce]

We played them at home and drew 2-2 we played them away and were 1-1 at 90 minutes.
We had them beat at home with Berbatov on and I've got no doubt at all that we would have won without his injury so they haven't wiped the floor with us.
We did not lose to the "kids" I counted two kids in their team at the end of the game last night, some young players maybe, but young players who play first team.
We are not that bad, we still have a lot of improving to do and we are doing it, we will get even better.

Still we've got an easy game on Sunday to get a bit of confidence back!!


Keep the faith!!!

[Mchillio]

I listened to Graham Roberts on Talksport this a.m.

I think he summed it up when he said something along the lines of ...

Shaking hands and that in the tunnel, not the way we used to etc.
We used to kick lumps out of each other on the pitch then go and have a drink afterwards.

Needed someone "to put a foot in" a ballwinner.

Summed it up for me. When Mido got that equaliser it rocked Arsenal a bit and the fans had doubts too, thats when we should have went for it, too long we have been
a soft touch against the big clubs, not that I want to see Bolton style footy at WHL but too many Jessies dont make for trophies.
You can have all the best wingers in the world but if no one is winning the ball for them and feeding them , well.

i have to agree with this we needed a player who would shake up the midfield and put tackles in and generally not take any shit. I think the last player we had remotely like this was Steffen Freund!! I was hoping Zokora would be the tough tackling midfielder we need that scares the shit out of teams and winds them up but it dont seem to have happened.

At the end of the game they were all shaking hands and patting the goons on the back! I remember the days when Spurs players would be fucking fuming that they lost to the goons.

Jol should have kept them in the changing room and made every player that was all nicey nicey at the end of the game meet a Spurs fan and explain why they congratulated their players on beating them!

I think the whole history around the north london derby has been lost on most of the players and we need to start in the academy telling the youngsters that arsenal are our rivals and you should be willing to run through walls to beat them.

[Ryan]

[quote=worcestersauce;280506] We had them beat at home with Berbatov on and I've got no doubt at all that we would have won without his injury so they haven't wiped the floor with us.

Surely our team shouldnt revolve around one player - injuries happen and we should be able to adapt to that. Jol had 70 mins to sort out the shape but didnt. Do we not have a plan b?

You cant really blame injuries when they're resting half the first team.

[worcestersauce]

Ryan,

I don't disagree with you but I just feel that we can field a team to match any, and had he not got injured we would all be saying how good we are.
Maybe we need to work on something of a system (maybe we are) so that when a player goes out another steps seamlessly into place but that, more than any other thing, takes time.

Having said that it's a bit of a bugger when your last best hope gets ill on the day of the match.

Maybe the gods just toy with us!

[KingSpur]

Guys

I would love to have some of those Aresnal youngsters. It was like we were playing against a team with 4-5 Lennons in it. I think this is what Jol wanted in midfield, to pack the mid with experienced fighters and outdo the pace with fight. Didn't work.

Dissappointed with JD last night, but he didn't get the service. Ekotto had a super game against Walcott - he does well in the big games.

Keaneo - well - as a Dublin man, it pains me to say that he's not doing either the creativity nor the scoring.

I'd love another BBtov - where one exists, I'm not sure.

We also need to get our 'fight' sorted out - in European games, where we have the luxury to spread the ball and play 'football' we've done great - but cant cope with either the hussel & bussel of EPL or teams with Pace (Aresnal youth).

[Yidatron]

Its funny that when we doing well last season, everyone was saying 'hey, this is going to be a roller-coaster of a ride...there's going to be ups and downs, but if we hold on tight, we'll get there in the end'

Now we are having a slightly dip and some are desperate to bale out of the moving vehicle! Lets try and practice what we preached when the going was good...sit tight and have faith in the management. We've made amazing progress and we'll get there in the end.

PS. Whilst criticism of bmj can be seen as just a difrference of opinion, critcizing levy is insane. He's the man who's given us hope again...I cant believe that one dissappointing cup loss against the scum and you want to throw all that away and start again!

[Tubbsy8]

dissapointing - yes. Work in progress - Yes. I really don't think last night showed this much doom and gloom. We punched above our weight last season and a second season of Uefa qualification is consistent enough for me. Other clubs have struggled to maintain this level once they get into Europe. The side and BMJ still need time. I still think BMJ is the man and long may he continue.

[mawspurs]

Well judging from some of the responses Rob your comment about it hurting more this time seem to be true. I know I am gutted.

Without our three key players we were always going to struggle against them. The comments about Jol needing to learn from his mistakes are correct, although there is no way he should leave the club.

We made the mistake of not going for it, despite starting quite brightly we ended up sitting back and letting them come at us again. That will never work against the goons, the only way to beat them is to get at them and rock them back on their heels.

A key factor was the front two, Mido may not have been at full fitness which is probably why Jol kept him as a late sub. But we'd have been better off going for it with him from kick-off and bringing on whoever was left on the bench later in the game.

Defoe struggles up front on his own against two big burly center backs, he doesn't have the physique to deal with that. Keane drops too deep and leaves Defoe exposed up front, this also adds to the inviting the opposition onto us rather than causing them problems where he should be.

So up from it should have been Mido +1, and for me that 1 should be Defoe because he would stay up front and cause them a few worries, with Keane to come on as super-sub and help us to hold onto a lead.

The midfield should have been : -

Malbranque Zokora Hudd Jenas

In Lennon's absence at least we would have had pace and drive on the right wing with Jenas there. Ghaly should have been on the bench for this one. I'm surprised at the the criticism Zokora is getting because it was one of his better games, although he does need to improve his passing accuracy.

At the back Rocha should have started, despite his mistake, which was really due to him losing his footing slightly rather than him just making a howler. He just looks more composed than Gardner. BAE had his best game for the club that I can remember. Dawson played like he normally does with King, much improved on recent weeks. Chimbonda had a good game too.

Robbo despite letting in 3 goals actually looked better in this game than for a while. The comment about him not coming of his line is a bit of a no win for Robbo, he came of his line in the home match and look what happened, we conceded and he got slaughtered for it by Andy Gray.

[Davids_5]

in jol we trust

[Tubbsy8]

Here here!

[coldasice199]

I agree with your article Rob. The fact the window closed without adding to our weak areas compounded the night for me. I felt that if we had played Arsenal as they played against us, with swagger and belief we would have beaten them. Likewise with a bit more grit, bullying them. We saw a masterclass of how to do it, as little ago as the weekend.

We cant keep blaming the fact we have no imagination when Lennon doesn't play. To be honest we look ordinary against most teams (except europe) and we have a few match winners (lennon, berbatov, king) that win us the bulk of our games.

Im not a pessimistic spurs fan, nor am I a defeatist. And the thought of sacking Jol after losing a semi final in extra time seems comical to me. However there are problems that need to be addressed for the side to move on. Problems that if arn't addressed must lead to the removal of Jol (all other managers know this reality). So I leave it to Jol to fix it, and we should give him every bit of support we can in the hope he will.

But seeing Klinsmann's spurs style-eske Germany in the world cup, has got me occasionally dreaming of greener grass.

[Frazzle]

Hey Rob, you make some good comments, but you have to realise we are still a work in progress. Yes we have disappointing performances, but as you failed to mention, they have already nearly completed the total of last seasons games by the end of January.

We're not used to a conjested fixture list, and some of our reserve team are below par - but I'd rather we are where we are than Portsmoth who are chucking money at old pro's to achieve their success.

Wait and see this will be a turning point. We will finish in the Top 6 and probably win the UEFA cup... mark my words

"Turning point..."
"Work in progres..."

How many times and for how many years do I have to endure these phrases?

[bigspurs]

It really pisses me off when some Spurs fans keep referring to our team as, "Work in progress". It's so lame!

In the sense that we are building up towards something bigger in the future, you're right. However right here and now, we need better tactics to achieve better results. And intelligent use of the transfer market would be nice too!

[Kingstheman]

Let us look at some things:

1) Prior to Jol we had managers, these managers had no direction, no idea and no thinking as how to develop Tottenham Hotspur as a club. Jol does. Jol is making sure that the club do the hard work, by developing the academy, by developing the kids, by getting a decent scouting system in. Did Hoddle or Graham or Gross do this? No. Jol will evolve our club - the youngsters that he recruits and trains (or has trained by Moniz and Ingelthorpe and are recruited by Comolli) will be as good as Arsenal's and Man Utd's youngsters. This is key - from the ball boys to the first team Captain, we must pick winners (to paraphrase Bill Nicholson).

2) We have had injuries and suspensions all season long. We will overtake last season's game total in next to no time - a club like ours buys young and gets the team games - we could do a Bolton or Portsmouth and always buy oldies, but this is neither financially sound, nor does it grow or evolve the club - it just sustains it.

3) Hang your heads in shame if you want Jol out. We will all be crying into our soup if we sack him and the replacement is poor.

4) Jol has had 2 years and one month as manager - give him time, Wenger and Fergie needed longer than this to win anything.

[Spoilt4_the_spurs]

i disagree with more than what i agree with in this ariticle, last night zokora was fantastic, people tend to forget that he came from the french league as such he will take time to adjust, just look at Essien or Drogba, the latter took two seasons to get it right and here he is the leagues top scorer. We are too fickle, personally i thought that we were fantastic yesterday, every player ran his heart out for the team, yeah we may have lost but we learnt a hell of a lot from it. Your comments about dawson are shortsighted he was M.O.M yesterday, won everything in the air, tackled hard and never stopped. Rant over.we have 14 prem games left, we are still in the UEFA and FA Cups, lets make the most of it COYS

[mart_loves_me]

Disappointment in this case should be spelled "dissssssappointment" to reflect the air rushing out of the Spurs season.

Others have said it before: we're still a work in progress. Take away our best players through injury, tire out the rest through a punishing fixture list and that wasn't a bad result. Just not good enough.

We should still sneak Euro football next year -- somebody wrote that an Arsenal/Chelsea final adds another UEFA place to the league, taking it down to seventh. We might even win the UEFA. Offering European football is going to be vital to keep the current squad together in the close season and attract reinforcements.

Not quite - an Arsenal/Chelsea final at the moment means the UEFA places go down to 6th rather than 7th.

If the FA cup final is played out by two top 4 clubs then 7th will get UEFA....I have the feeling we might be the team needing that extra place...

[MattWilliams]

We've just got to stop dropping so deep, and start pressing play... I really don't understand the mentality that's being instilled in our team.

Extra time should have seen us going all out, instead we looked like we were trying to defend an away goals advantage.

Why Routeldge hasn't been bought back when we're in obvious need of some proper width and Lennon is so stop start at the moment, I really don't know... hmm...

Confused of Reigate

[JKSpurs]

Rome wasn't built in a day. Nuff said.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinions, but sorry that is a crock of shit. If some of the comments on here were not so wildly exaggerated and over the top I might be able to spent time coming up with a structure argument on each point, but unfortunately I'm so wound up that our OWN fans would be so negative ( I did post on here a few days ago how do you expect the players to believe in themselves when all the fans are so negative) I can't think straight.
All I say is i'm glad some of you lot have no say of the running of my club, and matey above has it spot on and to the point with his comment... Rome wasn't built in a day...

[Boaman]

We lose in AET to Arsenal over a 2 legged semi final and fans are questioning, the manger, the DOF and the Chairman. I can only laugh.

The biggest disappointment for me last night was the Keane & Defoe partnership being utterly rubbish, they are both quailty players who didn't produce one moment of quality last night, the service wasn't great yes but a strike partnership makes chances for each other. Berbatov would have.

For the record I have read 20 posts today saying 'Jol even admits Keane & Defoe can't play together' what a load of bollocks that is, I can guarentee he has never said that. He has said he prefers a big man small man partnership but he has always said both Keane & Defoe are good enough players to play together, he's said this live on TV - look it up and get you facts right or prove me wrong. It's the worse fan based argument of the lot as it just isn't true.

Overall we were second best at everything last night and we really didn't deserve anything, thats why I'm not hurting today. I felt worse after we lost to them 0-3 in Dec and worse when we lost 2 games in close proximity to Newcastle but last night has rolled off me already. I would rather lose to Arsenal in the Carling Cup than any other competition as it means the least to me personally. Real disappointment was the FA Cup semi's at Wembley & Old Trafford, the journey home from both of those we sickeners, last night will have no lasting effect.

[JKSpurs]

i disagree with more than what i agree with in this ariticle, last night zokora was fantastic, people tend to forget that he came from the french league as such he will take time to adjust, just look at Essien or Drogba, the latter took two seasons to get it right and here he is the leagues top scorer. We are too fickle, personally i thought that we were fantastic yesterday, every player ran his heart out for the team, yeah we may have lost but we learnt a hell of a lot from it. Your comments about dawson are shortsighted he was M.O.M yesterday, won everything in the air, tackled hard and never stopped. Rant over.we have 14 prem games left, we are still in the UEFA and FA Cups, lets make the most of it COYS


Its comments like this that restore my faith in the "Fans" that visit this website.

[walworthyid]

[quote=worcestersauce;280506] We had them beat at home with Berbatov on and I've got no doubt at all that we would have won without his injury so they haven't wiped the floor with us.

Surely our team shouldnt revolve around one player - injuries happen and we should be able to adapt to that. Jol had 70 mins to sort out the shape but didnt. Do we not have a plan b?

You cant really blame injuries when they're resting half the first team.

This argument rests on the assumption that ALWAYS is a plan b,c etc. There is not. You cannot build a 4 storey house when you only have enough materials for 3. It as simple as that. With the resources available there was simply not much else that we could do. We just did not have the pace or width to trouble them with that route or the ability to retain the ball up front to go more direct.

Sadly, the loss of berbo and lennon essentially ended any realistic chances that we had after we let them back in last week.

We will be back!

[Chedozie]

This kind of article is of no use to anyone. Some of it just silly, saying that keane is no good as we play long ball football shows a lack of understanding of the game we play.

We lost to evil arsenal, its horrible and it hurts, this is the first time we have been involved in a proper season, one that consists of more than 45 games. Were in the FA cup, were in the UEFA cup and we're only 8 points off 5th place.

When you have a young team and we have a young team there are going to be disappointing results and this is one of them.

Robbo is a fine keeper, Rocca may well turn out to be very good, one game against southend and 30 mins against arsenal won't tell us.

Keane is recognised goal scorer at this and international level and would walk into any team outside the top 4, and would get on the bench for them also.

Zakora is a good player and needs a season to settle into premiership fooball.

Jol is the best manager we have had since venables, he's doing a fantastic job and will continue to do so.

If were going to win a cup this year lets make it a proper one, UEFA or FA will do.

Up the Spurs.

[infamousyiddo]

question to the "we want jol out" fanclub.

if we get rid of him, who can we REALISTICALLY get in and do a job that BMJ supposedly cannot do????

im intruged.

[Ali]

Wow Rob, I really can't believe that you would write such a negative article. It's only Feb 1st, it is nowhere near the end of the season! Personally as soon as we drew Arsenal I knew we were out of this competition. Losing Berbatov and King and Lennon just made it even more likely. And of all the competitions we have been in, this is the one I cared about least. My one and only ambition this year is to win the UEFA Cup, because I really think we can.

So my main hope last night was that we would at least go and give it a good shot, and give them a game. And we did that. Apart from anything else, they are able to field a team in which most players only play big games once a month! Whereas our lot are playing every few days. I was cool with last night - we weren't humiliated and we could even have won it with Mido's late shot which went just wide. I knew we'd be too tired to compete in extra time, and we were. Most of the critiscisms you make of individual players are way over the top and frankly inaccurate, so I'm not going to pick them all apart one by one.

A lot of your comments are, I'd like to think, born of frustration, and not what you really believe. I agree with Kingstheman and Spoilt4Spurs. There's still loads to play for and a long way to go this season. Get over it and look forward, not back.

[Style_Over_Substance]

It really saddens me to see some of the abuse robbie keane gets on here. He has been pivotal for us for the last few years, player of the year, top scorer etc. It was only a while back that he was outstanding against Chelsea too. I think the problem lies with Defoe and Keane not being able to play together. I like Defoe, I think he can play well with Berbatov but yesterday he too was useless, especially at beating the offside trap. We have become incredibly reliant on Berbatov which is something that needs addressing come the summer.

On yesterday's game, well it was disappointing but hardly suprising. This team will come good with some tweaking and BMJ will be the man to lead it

[Ali]

By the way, glad to see I have finally been recognised as a regular poster and have been promoted from Paolo Tramezzani to Vinny Samways!

[Boaman]

question to the "we want jol out" fanclub.

if we get rid of him, who can we REALISTICALLY get in and do a job that BMJ supposedly cannot do????

im intruged.

I'll pay good money to get a sensible answer on this. Mourinho is the dickheads choice so far, which is pathetic. I would double the money for a good rational of why a replacement manager will be a fillip for success.

Has no one learnt anything from the last 15 years?

[mkkid]

I listened to Graham Roberts on Talksport this a.m.

I think he summed it up when he said something along the lines of ...

Shaking hands and that in the tunnel, not the way we used to etc.
We used to kick lumps out of each other on the pitch then go and have a drink afterwards.

Needed someone "to put a foot in" a ballwinner.

Summed it up for me. When Mido got that equaliser it rocked Arsenal a bit and the fans had doubts too, thats when we should have went for it, too long we have been
a soft touch against the big clubs, not that I want to see Bolton style footy at WHL but too many Jessies dont make for trophies.
You can have all the best wingers in the world but if no one is winning the ball for them and feeding them , well.

In the past we had Roberts,Miller,Perryman today we have Ghaly,zokara,Jenas,lee,keane Defoe is it a wonder why we dont win big games anymore!

[rooster1]

I think Rob has every right to vent his frustrations,
It's been toooo long in the making of a successful spurs side
so I can empathise with him as well as questioing the set up
behind the scenes,ticket office,Levy ,transfersetc why not ? That's
worth a debate on it's own.

We are in the court of pessimism V optimism at the mo,
but our trial is not over yet and the fate/destiny of our
campaign has not reached It's conclusion.

From what you get from the top four managers are different
contrasting styles of tactical systems,we are always going to compare Jol with them cos at the mo they're more successful,we don't usually talk about other managers, do we ? AS Boaman once said we all want to be a (spurs)
manager.We all want the bragging rights,When ? Who knows ? All empires as above have their fall,christy I hope
Its in our lifetme though.

We will get our revenge on them,it could be this season !!

[Green Samot]

I think the main problem was having no Berbatov, King or Lennon. When Berbatov went off in the first leg we were instantly a poorer team.

Personally I wouldn't make some of the tactical decisions that Jol has, but I have faith that he knows what he's doing and that I'm just an armchair fan and know sod all.

[Parmenio]

I rarely disagreed with Jol's team choices this year. While lots of people moan in hindsight, much of the talk assumes that everyone is fully fit, and the minute they are back from injuries they are instantly 100%.

This just isn't true!

We had a really large amount of injuries this year, I can't remember the last time we fielded what I would call our top 11, or even our best midfield 4 (possibly against southend, but that was Jenas' first game back).

So Jol options for team selection have been loads more limited than people seem to think, and he has mostly chosen the strongest team available to him at the time.

Last night he brought on two players, and a few mintues later one of them scored after a good passage of play. This is managers effecting games midflight, what more do you expect? What other options were there? People will say Start with Mido ... but was he fit to start? I have my doubts he'd have lasted 90 minutes, never mind the whole of extra time.

Again hindsight makes things a lot easier. You can say stuff like... well that didn't work they should have tried something different. But how do you know in advance that some things wont work? You don't always. Even with Keane and Defoe, there are occasions where they have combined well when we have provided them with enough service. However we lost the midfield battle lastnight, and they hardly got the ball all game ... Defoe had what? One shot?

[Rob]

Wow Rob, I really can't believe that you would write such a negative article.

I surprised myself as well. We've lost games before, we've been knocked out of cups. This just feels different somehow. I've been hurt, angry and upset but this time it feels worse.

Last season, the lasagne-gate scandal was awful but we were unlucky and the club was moving forward so it wasn't that bad.

I've always had faith in Levy, Jol and Comolli to do the best for the club but with the joke that is the TO, the statements by Comolli that we don't need a left midfielder, the stupidly high ticket prices (Watford is a Cat B game apparently) and the poor performances on the pitch it's all adding up to finally make me question whether the faith we have is misplaced.

I still don't think so, I think we will come through this. We'll have a bloody good go at winning a cup, we'll get into the UEFA via the league again and we'll improve during the summer but whilst my faith isn't gone, it is shaken somewhat by the recent developements on and off the pitch.

[martins_jolly_babies]

I surprised myself as well. We've lost games before, we've been knocked out of cups. This just feels different somehow. I've been hurt, angry and upset but this time it feels worse.

Last season, the lasagne-gate scandal was awful but we were unlucky and the club was moving forward so it wasn't that bad.

I've always had faith in Levy, Jol and Comolli to do the best for the club but with the joke that is the TO, the statements by Comolli that we don't need a left midfielder, the stupidly high ticket prices (Watford is a Cat B game apparently) and the poor performances on the pitch it's all adding up to finally make me question whether the faith we have is misplaced.

I still don't think so, I think we will come through this. We'll have a bloody good go at winning a cup, we'll get into the UEFA via the league again and we'll improve during the summer but whilst my faith isn't gone, it is shaken somewhat by the recent developements on and off the pitch.

I know where your coming from, I think its compounded by the fact i felt humiliated when faced with gooner mates claiming their kids/reserves beat us - this with the fact they pipped us to 4th last season just rubs salt in the wounds. we all thought we'd caught up with them, but maybe the realisation that they are still better has hit us a bit hard.

[YiddoJames]

Defoe no better than Bobby Zamora ? Are you sure ? I'm as dissapointed as the next man this morning but they key to your article was in 3 words King, Berbatov and Lennon ! Mainly our captain and our best player. The season is far from over, even though last nights result is still stuck in my throat !

Exactly. Our 3 best players were missing and nobody on sky seemed to mention that last night. We can't cope without these three against the best sides. It may not have been full strength arsenal but enough of their first team players played important, substantial roles over the 2 legs. We've got to learn how to keep possession without Berbatov playing. He's become so fundamental to our attacking play that we looked lost without him. Also, too often we don't have enough players in the box to get on the end of crosses. There were 1 or 2 instances early on last night where we did, which seemed to bode well at the time. However, this attacking mentality seemed to go out of the window pretty quickly. I don't know whether it was a question of the wrong mentality or simply that we couldn't get enough of the ball to create anything worthwhile. I suspect it was the latter mixed with an element of caution and fear which seems to be evident in most of our away performances.

[barry]

I love Spurs, and I was proud of the players last night. They gave it their all, and came close to doing the improbable without our 3 best players.
I don't understand how everyone can get on Ghaly's back. He seemed to be our most creative player, and is fast becoming my favourite Spurs player.
The only thing I agree with on Rob's post is the thing about Robbo. We need a new keeper to compete with Robbo. A good keeper could save us alot of points. It's one of, if not, the most important positions on the field. Robbo this season has been shit. I would say he's near the worst keeper in the league at the mo. He's fat, he lets in too many goals he should save. He's more often than not rooted to his line, he can't command his area. I don't know what's happened to him. I love the guy because of his loyalty to the club, and i regret that I can't show him the same loyalty, but Spurs has to be no.1.

[barry]

god hate's spurs

[Bobbins]

I'm surprised at you Rob, I wouldn't expect such a downbeat article from you. Here's hoping it's just the hangover from last night.

I thought you were pretty harsh on, well, everyone!

Rocha hasn't had near enough time or made near enough mistakes to start comparing him to Vega. Even if he was to turn out to be shite it would be completely different since Vega was bought to be first-choice while Rocha will be behind King and Dawson in the pecking order when everyone is fit.

Jenas didn't go missing last night, at least I don't think so. He didn't do anything great but he kept the ball and tried to get forward.

Zokora had one of his better games for us last night, and he put in some excellent tackles! I'm amazed by what you said, don't you remember the 5vs1 moment when we were pressing and only Zokora was left to defend against 5 Arse attackers, yet he won the ball? When we had Huddlestone deep with Zokora and Jenas pressing in front of him at the end of normal time, we finally looked like we could compete.

Robbo, shocking, yes, completely agree. Gutted to have to do so.

I think if last night/this season has shown one thing, it's that physical pace and power have become necessities in the Premiership. Defoe and Keane were simply outmuscled for two hours and the only player to make any impact up front was Mido. Zokora and Jenas were doing ok for much of last night, Arsenal had been reduced to nothing chances for much of the game until we tired.

Sure, there is a place for small players like Lennon when they have an obviously exceptional talent, but I honestly think the days of players like Keane and Defoe coming top of the goalscoring charts have gone.

Who would most people say has been the best recruitment from the summer? I think most would say it's between Berbatov and Chimbonda. And what do they both have? Physical power, allied with a good turn of speed. Obviously they both have good skill on the ball as well which is what makes them exceptional players, but I am truly fed up of watching Spurs get outmuscled and outpaced in games.

If radical changes are really called for, then sell Keane and Defoe in the summer and buy Dean Ashton or Darren Bent, and have three strikers competing for two places. Get a powerful left-sided midfield player (he doesn't have to be a winger) like Barnes or Babel. Push the boat out to get Heinze on the left.

I don't necessarily think these changes are vital, I think one of Keane or Defoe can still do a job, but last night, watching Wenger's collection of Maasai Warriors bully our team around and cut us apart at times with their pace, made me think it might be time to pursue a somewhat tougher policy when buying players for Spurs.

[ziggy]

Suppose it IS difficult to recruite top class players in this window for the positions we need, and we don't want to buy just anyone for the sake of it, but the LHS has been a problem for some time now as everybody (except those that count apparently) knows.

I just get frustrated that we don't seem to have anyone in midfield who can make that killer pass, it's all punt and hope. That means we need to go wide to supply the ball to the strikers but teams can suss a one sided wing attack out pretty easily so were left hoping for a bit of luck rather than outright creativity.

Talking of punt and hope, I also don't understand why Robbo does that, especially when we've 2 littlun's up front. It's like saying to the opposition "here have the ball back". Robbo lack of command in his area seems to have stemmed from the World Cup, where he was decidedly dodgy on crosses. That seemed to affect his game and he's still struggling to get it together IMO.

Having said all of that I still believe....................

Just wish we'd hurry up and get the team we all want.

[easiman]

Rob, a few hours ago, I was with you all the way. what's worrying is, given time to "get my head straight" I still agree with a lot of your points. Where are we going? Who calls the transfer deals? Why are we so negative with tactics, having not learned from previous outings? When does work in progress become finished team? - i'm getting too old, and may not live long enough to see it. What happens to the management team if we don't qualify for Europe next season? How good are the coaching staff?
So many doubts - I hope they are unfounded.

[greaves]

I take the point about Robinson kicking high balls to small strikers but Arsenal's defence is suspect (see Bolton), one miscontrol and our low-centre-of- gravity players are in. I think a lot of the comments are overly negative and we suffered greatly from not having Lennon. I don't think we need two wide men either - as has been said before on this site (and by Jol?), it leaves too many gaps. Zokora needs a season (like Vieira). Look on the bright side: Arsenal will be beaten in the final and collect injuries (especially at Bolton). Whinger will complain that his squad is too small and too young. On the last day of the season they will be afflicted by a virus or something and we will beat them to fourth spot. Dream. I dare you. Audere est facere.

[Pillbug]

Hate to say it, but this team doesn;t look ready to beat anyone with any class whilst without Berbs. We will lose against ManU.

Zok is NOT a carrick replacement, not from what I've seen. his bursting runs forward are nice, but they usually come against a pack of stick figures anyway and are few and far between against tough opposition. And he must have turned the ball directly to the opposition 4 times in the last 20 minutes.

Defoe appears off form again, and without Berbs looks lost. even with Mido playing up front, to pull defenders, he appeared no less out of position and baffled.

[worcestersauce]

Here's a thought!
Suppose last nights game was the first leg, we'd have come away with a 1-1 draw and we would be crowing about it!

We'd have been saying that we were without King, Berbs and Lennon and we were still unbeaten at their ground and don't fall for the rubbish about the kids, they soon took them off when they realised they weren't going to score with them on.

They had the advantage and it went their way that's all.

Keep the faith

[worcestersauce]

How many times do I have to post to get rid of Ramon Vega's name on my posts.

[easiman]

Here's a thought!
Suppose last nights game was the first leg, we'd have come away with a 1-1 draw and we would be crowing about it!

We'd have been saying that we were without King, Berbs and Lennon and we were still unbeaten at their ground and don't fall for the rubbish about the kids, they soon took them off when they realised they weren't going to score with them on.

They had the advantage and it went their way that's all.

Keep the faith

What a great way of looking at it. Nearly cheered me up.

[easiman]

How many times do I have to post to get rid of Ramon Vega's name on my posts.

yeah, what do we have to do?

[fredrikstad]

I'm a little suprised in you Rob, the way you're talkin, if Spurs were the be all and end all in my life then I may as well go and top myself! I mean crikey, talk about depressing!

I honestly don't believe things are anywhere near as bad as all this! The article from the BBC is way more up my street and makes FAR more sense that articles of this nature. Yes I am an optimist for the most part but I'm not delusional. I recognise that this season hasn't been good and I feel as down and dejected as most over last night's result and the lack of filling the left side!

However, that said, we don't need this kind of attitude, it doesn't acheive anything and doesn't help the team and general mood around the club. We HAVE to get behind the players and MJ who we all loved and adored 5 mins ago! Come on guys, things always look bleek in these sort of times, but IF we were to go and beat United on sunday, how happy would everyone be, think about it!

Prett much sums up my feelings as well. I will always stand behind our faithful. Starting with 3 points against Manure on Sunday. I'll be over for my second game this season, last one we beat Pompey, let's all hope for another victory!

COYS!:clap:

[ultimateloner]

We couldn't have done much against a team with alot more skill and belief.

The real surprise for me was Defoe. He looked totally out of his depth and even failed to retain the ball.

I'm also against the 'long-punt' tatic Robbo does all the time but i don't see any choice. We don't have the skill to pass the ball around like Arsenal. Would you trust Zokora with the ball for over 5 seconds?

[mart_loves_me]

yeah, what do we have to do?

We have to keep posting random shit like this!

Oh Ramon wont thou go away...

[vegassd]

We lost the tie with the 2-2 draw at WHL. We did incredibly well to get a draw after 90 minutes at the Emirates. They did end the game with 6 first team players so they weren't exactly "the kids" that Wenger is famous for.

I think people are only disappointed because there expectations were very unrealistic. Sure, we were all really hopeful at the start of the season, but football is an unpredictable game and we have proved that this season so far.

But if you look at all the teams that had "a good season" last season; Spurs, West Ham, Wigan... we are surely the pick of the bunch this year.

You look at the teams above us; Bolton, Portsmouth, Reading, Everton... we have a much better looking squad and outlook for the future than they do.

My point is that most teams would love to be in the position that Spurs are in right now.

The real world of football is not like a Fifa game. We cannot just pick and choose the players we want for the team. We cannot expect a 100% consistent performance from a player each week if the team is being changed. We cannot expect all our players to stay fit and healthy all the time. We cannot expect every referees decision to be fair.

So patience and perspective are absolutely essential to keep the blood pressure in check. I am frankly loving being a Spurs fan right now. Never in my lifetime has our great club looked quite so damn sexy.

Come on you Spurs.

[RickyVilla]

I found the result a bitter pill to swallow as I always do when we lose to Arsenal (my old man says I need to grow up I am 30 afterall) but I have to say the preparation for last night was a disgrace. Forgetting to take Lennon's name of the team sheet and putting Lee's on. Amatuerish at best if this is what really happened. In regards to the match I was proud of the boyz. They gave it their all but just didn't have it in ET. Anyway, onwards and upwards. COYS

[marion52]

Our tactics weren't that bad last night. We took their pressure and equalised almost immediately after they scored. With a little more luck with Mido's second chance it would have been 2-1 with less than 5 minutes remaining. It might not have ben scintillating to watch but we were close.
It was a nuisance to be without Berbs and Lennon but 11 men (14 with subs) make a team and we shouldn't be reliant on one or two.

Any news on when the King may return - if at all this season.

COYS

[ravo]

Well we can tell you're still a little upset about last night, and I don't blame you.

However, your points, while well made, a probably a little harsh on the lads. There were the obvious errors - Ghaly, Defoe and Keane together, Zokora and Jenas together in the middle - but you can't say the effort wasn't there.

There were a lot of bright spots. Dawson was immense, Gardner had a good game and only got taken off for getting a yellow card. Chimbo and Ekotto were both very good. Walcott had nothing on Benoit, he must have been loving it.

We certainly copped a beating from the referee, but what no-one seems to have noticed, is that the linesmen were all over us, raising their flags for the most pathetic free kicks.

At the end of the day, we lost - unluckily it must be said - but we are still in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup, and only a couple of wins away from the top 6 in the league. So, chin up son, we'll get there. Do what I did last night - :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

A quick thanks and well done to all the supporters at the game last night. Watching it on TV from Sydney, the 5,000 of you were louder than those picnic-eating wankers, who filled the other 55,000 seats. We do have great support, and I will back amongst you singing my bits off in April.

COYS, for ever.

[Beachbum]

I enjoyed reading your views on the game.To me the big enigma is Mido.He seems so undisciplined,but at the same time can produce the unexpected.Disappointment. A word that as Spurs fans we know all too well but this time it feels different and I’m still trying to figure out why.

The obvious place to start is last night where our season seemed to simultaneously end both on and off the pitch. Losing to Arsenal, even if it was partly a second string side, is something we’re used to by now and while it still hurts every time it’s not as though it was unexpected. What was unexpected at the start of the season was the decline we seem to be in at the minute and that’s something I’ll discuss later in this article but first let’s relive last night for a final time.

We were missing 3 key players, let’s not forget that. King, Berbatov and Lennon are arguably the only 3 really quality players that we have and all 3 were out but we surely had enough to cope with what was an average Arsenal team. Sadly not. As soon as the team was announced it all looked wrong.

The following is a brief overview of how I think everyone performed, not just last night but over the season so far.

Robinson – Has been extremely poor this season and we’re all aware of it now. Last night he appeared to be stuck to his goal line and had absolutely no command of his area, which is even more important without King at the back. The other major criticism Robbo comes in for is his “hoof” up field. If he’s punting it up for Berbatov to sublimely control on his chest and provide an attacking threat you can see the reasoning, but kicking it over Keane and Defoe’s heads every time is a horrible waste of possession which was reflected by the stats from last night. While still a fan’s favourite and “England’s Number 1” he really appears to need resting and rumours of his inability to take advice from our goalkeeping coaches means he’s fast becoming a target for disgruntled fans.

Chimbonda – One of the few players who seems to consistently put in performances. A very solid player who adds a huge attacking threat when linking up with Lennon but with Ghaly in his place it never looks like working.

Dawson – Again a solid defender who’s maybe become slightly over-rated due to his immense partnership with King. On his own he’s not quite playing to the same standard but still easily our best defender alongside King.

Rocha – Oh dear. This guy could be quality or he could be Ramon Vega Mk II. The problem after his blunder last night is that he may not be given a chance to prove his quality to the fans who are notorious for knee-jerk reactions.

Eokotto – Put in a good performance last night and while he’s not as consistent as Lee he has shown signs of becoming a very good player in the future if we stick with him.

Ghaly – He doesn’t appear to be on form any longer and we need to realise he’s not suitable cover for Lennon. He does have pace, power, good feet and a decent tackle so it’s understandable that we liked what we saw when scouting him but as a package he just doesn’t quite work, something that could be said of Spurs as a whole.
Jenas – Just back from injury and put in a huge performance in our last game, leading to cries of joy that we finally had a decent midfielder back. Unfortunately last night he got lost somewhere between WHL and the Emirates Stadium and never made it to the game. His energy, his surging runs, his tracking back, his passing, all of them disappeared last night. When he plays well he can play very well and be a huge player for us, potentially captain material and exactly what we need in the centre. When he doesn’t play well he’s anonymous and a huge liability.

Zokora – The title of this article would seem to describe his first season at Spurs. A disappointment. I’m not sure what Comolli saw to make us pay £8 million but it’s about time the rest of us saw it. His tackling is awful, he’s not a “ball winner” by any stretch of the imagination. He slides around often through players, often missing the ball. He has an awful first touch and poor passing. His one strength is his powerful running from midfield but that’s enough to base his game around, especially if we want to build a strong midfield around with him as one of the key components.

Malbranque – I’ve been impressed by his ability but at the same time disappointed by his fitness. The same could be said of the team as a whole but he doesn’t seem to have 90 minutes in him, not yet anyway. When he does he could become a very important player for us and I feel it’s worth giving him time, whether it’s on the left wing or in the hole behind the front two.

Keane – Passionate. Petulant. Poor. Those three words seem to sum up what used to be one of my favourite players. He has the ability but he doesn’t stop complaining long enough to use it. He doesn’t fit into the long ball system which we appear determined to adopt and he certainly doesn’t link up well with Defoe.

Defoe – Partnered with Berbatov he was really starting to recapture some form that has been absent for far too long. Without Berbatov he is anonymous. His running, his link up, his awareness and especially his ability to stay onside are all awful. It’s only because of the undoubted quality of his Bulgarian strike-partner that he was performing like we all wish he would. He needs someone to do all the hard work for him, to have the vision and awareness, to draw the defenders and provide the link up player. If that’s all taken care of, Defoe can run fast and hit the ball hard and more often than not manage a shot on target or even a goal. Without a partner who plays to his strengths he’s no better than Bobby Zamora or the many other poor strikers we’ve had over the years. Remember Chris Armstrong’s superb partnership with Teddy? If Berbatov can stay fit that’s possible what we have with him and Defoe but Defoe on his own is not the answer.

Jol – One of the biggest disappointments is BMJ. Fans have been making knee-jerk reactions about him for the past year and unfortunately some of them appear to be coming true. Tactically we look lost at times. He states that Defoe/Keane can’t play together but then that’s what he resorts to and along with a poor, unbalanced midfield we really struggle because of it. I’m confident that Jol is still the man for us and can turn this around but he needs to start doing it fast with the players we have available.

Comolli – Whatever the reason, he failed this transfer window to get us the players that we needed. The disappointment here is his claim at the recent AGM that we “do not need a left sided player”. Whether this was PR spin or he really believes it, it does provide cause for concern. We arguably need another central defender to replace Gardner, a quality left sided midfielder, a creative force in the centre of the park and a target man up front. Obviously a lot to ask for but not addressing any of these areas has led to many fans wondering what he is here for. We tried to sign Young, we tried to sign Bale, we tried to sign Barnes, we tried to sign Davies. The list goes on. We obviously believe we need these positions filled as we have been trying to fill them but ultimately we’ve failed to do so.

Levy – Levy is coming in for more and more criticism lately. The problem is we don’t know the facts. Has he really seen deals we’ve needed to be completed fall through because he quibbled over tiny details and small amounts of change? Is he really threatening to sue UEFA if they don’t let us play someone rather than receive a bye? Lots of rumours appear to suggest this but we can’t judge him based on them. One thing we can judge him on is the continual awful service to the fans, in particularly from the Ticket Office. I plan to write a more detailed article on this in the future but the horror stories of how the TO is run are just dismissed by the club. The continual poor, laughable “service” is barely acknowledged and excuses from the likes of Barber are trotted out about the increase in games.

So many areas of disappointment. Can we pick ourselves up and make something of this season or will the quote that “there used to be a football club over there” ring even more true come the end of the season.

Yours Disappointedly.

Rob

[spursmanmy]

Guys, after reading through so many post, agreed with some and disagreed with others.

We in Asia, (I'm from Malaysia and had been LOVING Spurs since 7), are as passionate about our club as many of you. But lets face some issues :

1) We are a still young team. After MC left for MU, we have to redo the midfield. Tom is still young but is showing promises. Key to the failure for past few months, I believe is the right partner to Tom, JJ had been out and is just coming back in, give them time and believe we wiil be there to challange.

2) MJ, had been hearing calls for his head. Hey, can you guys tell me, how many of our managers for the last 15 years managed to bring in a CUP? Apart form GG, believe the answer is NIL. Even with GG, we cried OUT as he is from Gooners. Alright, sometimes he did screw up on the tactic and wrong personnel. But he DID lead our team and is progressing. SO, LAY OF HIS BACK!

3) Look around, how many of the team in the league have the promissing younster that we have? Apart from the Gxxxxx, NONE. Most of our players even the first team are 25y or below! Give them some time and they will produce result.

No doubt, I woke up around 3.30am 2 days ago, hoping to see our team beating the fxxxxx, but was disappointed. But i see HOPE in the process.

With JJ around, pushing forward and Zakora (he had a better game) holding behind, we look good at times. If we can keep current 1st team togather for at least 2 more seasons, WE WILL see results.

My first 11,
Robbo
Pascal King Dawson Ekotto
Lennon Tom JJ Mel
Barba Defoe

Lets put the disappoinment away and look to the future, we are still in the running for FA cup/UEFA cup. so this season, we are doing ok.

[StockSpur]

robs right, take away our best 5 players and our squad is mediocre