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►►►►►► Match Ratings VS Stoke City ◄◄◄◄◄◄

MOTM?


  • Total voters
    88

Gilzeanking

Well-Known Member
May 7, 2005
6,090
5,015
Is this the season that our incredible captain became human ? Ledley doesn't seem to be moving right...theres a faint suggestion of a limp even when he's walking , painful to watch . He's been wonderful for so long it would be a shame to mess up that reputation by carrying on too long . 5/10

I note even the crowd now loudly groan every time one of our 'stars' fail to deliver even a schoolboy quality dead ball . I took corners at school . If I'd delivered Spurs style corners I'd have been replaced . Really , beating the first man is kids stuff . Spur's dead balls 1/10 the coach responsible for dead ball situations .... fired immediately .

My Modric awe collapsed after seeing Rosicky vs us and barcodes . That is what I call creative play . Mods can ping a nice pass out to the wing and turn away nicely from a tackle...but he's not pulling up trees and hasn't for a while .We expect something truly special from a player so universally hyped/admired 6/10...I worry his price will start to fall because he's going in the summer .

Bale...thank god he started to perk up . I really don't agree with the tacticians arguing that if he's played 10 yards over he's no good or 5 yards further East and he's brill . People in SC seem to have so little regard for the psychology of the players .Harry rightly talks of it constantly .Bale decided to put a shift in.. simple as that Bale 7.5/10

Overall the team worked hard...but without Ade (in form please) we are the team from this time last year...hardworking but nothing effective up front bar Bale when he tries . Maybe I missed VdV's contributions , nice goal but trees are not being pulled up like he has done in the past VdV 6/10 .
We rely on our stars to pull out rabbits from hats...that has largely stopped happening ...off form or knackered I don't know.

Got sister's wedding Sat so no Chelski match for me thank god . Double whammy with Spurs collapse is England will pass on Harry and we'll be stuck in this repeating loop..Ha ha crap dead ball deliveries..uncorrected til the end of time .
 

stevenqoz

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2006
2,776
553
Too many players believe that they have to 'work' the ball Beckham style with almost every kick....including corners....sorry but a lack of technique selection will bring 'the hit the first man' syndrome we are witnessing. Go back to basics...non-kicking foot out wide and slightly back from the ball...slightly open the foot ...connect below the centre of the ball ....lean back as you strike the ball...be happy that you have lifted the ball towards the penalty spot where our honey monster centre backs are moving in to attack it....when your corners are capable of hitting far post or penalty spot consider developing a dipping/version but master the basics first!
 

Capocrimini

Well-Known Member
Sep 17, 2005
2,125
1,873
This has been a shocking run of form, and all of us could see it coming. I thought our defense was solid throughout, I thought Bale could have tracked Jerome a bit better for the goal to be honest. Now our midfield and attack, WTF has happened? Bale is getting some great reviews, but he gave a highlight reel performance if you watch the 90 minutes his play was to the detriment of the team most of the game going right to left to the middle back right then to the left, confused the shit out of our team, and when we needed an outlet on the wings no one was to be found. This trying to turn Bale into a second striker, central mid thing has gone too far.

The other 3 were just so sloppy, not a professional performance, Modric was atrocious, Parker huffed and puffed probably our best player, Niko tidy but ineffective.

Saha looked promising at the start of the game, but got little service as the game went on. VDV tried to make things happen, not as clinical as usual, but i put that down to match fitness, his overall play was good, him and Parker looked like they knew what they were doing.

Might sound lie I hate Bale, but his play seems so self centered, he has to go back to providing an outlet on the wings, and cut inside when the time is right. This is one of the main reasons we have struggled to score.
 

The Apprentice

Charles Big Potatoes
Mar 10, 2005
11,143
15,618
This is last season all over again.

Please take Redknapp off our hands England before his stock falls.
 

kaz Hirai

Well-Known Member
Nov 5, 2008
17,692
25,340
fresh new day, might as well have a go

Friedel 6 - didnt need to do anything apart from collect the ball out the net
Walker 6 - didnt provide much threat, did ok at back
BAE 6 - as above
Kaboul 7 - was ok
King 6 - bit of a shadow of who he was
Kranjcar 4- meh
Modric 4 - doesnt really look arsed
Parker 5- headless meh
Bale 6.5 was ok in bits, good assist
VDV 6.5 good goal
Saha 3 shite

sub
Defoe 3- shite
GDS 5- meh
 

talkshowhost86

Mod-Moose
Staff
Oct 2, 2004
48,074
46,927
Friedel - 6 - Not much to do and not really at fault for the goal

Walker - 6.5 - Did well in the second half when our ridiculous formation left him completely exposed

Kaboul - 7 - Good game and now looks like our leader at the back

King - 6 - Looking shaky at the moment

BAE - 6 - Did okay but a few too many hoofs up the pitch when a pass would have been better

Kranjcar - 4- Awful. Slow both in body and mind and had very little impact on the game

Parker - 6 - Did nothing wrong but isn't at his combative best at the moment. Looks tired

Modric - 8 - Excellent again. Just a shame that nobody else seemed to be on his wavelength last night

Bale - 7 - Our most dangerous player but still tries to do too much on his own

VdV - 6.5 - Ineffective in the first half and not much better when moved out of position. Good header though and ran his socks off more than most

Saha - 4 - Poor. Can't lead the line on his own

Defoe - 5 - Ineffective but not given a great deal of time on the ball

Gio - 5 - Equally ineffective in his limited time. Frankly ridiculous that we have got to the stage where he is on the pitch

Nelsen - 10 - Clearly inspired the equaliser
 

dav3j

SC Supporter
Jan 28, 2011
2,995
760
Friedel - 6 - Probably should've done better for the goal
Walker - 7 - For the first 70 minutes provided our only threat down the right
Kaboul - 7 - Pretty solid performance, got forward too
King - 6 - Forgettable
BAE - 7 - Decent defensive showing
Kranjcar - 5 - Pretty anonymous
Modric - 6 - Not exactly stellar but he kept possession well enough
Parker - 5 - You'd have thought he'd get stuck in for this sort of game. Lacklustre.
Bale - 8 - By a country mile our most threatening player.
VdV - 7 - Not bad, but as soon as he went wide right you knew we wouldn't see much more input from him. Nicely taken goal.
Saha - 4 - Probably generous. Lost count of how many times he gave away possession.

Subs:
Defoe - 2 - Forgot he was actually there for 45 minutes.
Gio - 4 - Anonymous. Can we put the myth that he is something special to bed now please?
 

SoulDog

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2005
3,620
590
What a frustrating night that was. We all know how hard it is going to play against a team like stoke, they are horrible. From the start they come to break up play, time waste, hoof it in the box anytime they can, put all there men behind the ball, work there nuts off, kick you about but we was so narrow we was never going to break them down. Every shot we had they blocked, it was like they had a brick wall in front of there goal. We was crying out for a right winger tonight.

We aboustley dominated the game you only have to look at the match details, we had alot of the ball and did play some nice football at times but we were also so sloppy with it,giving away silly passes, at one point Saha just passed it straight to a stoke player.

We had a few good chances but just could not break them down and you always knew they were going to score from a set piece late on. Maybe miss a Gomes in goal against teams like this?

Why bring Defoe on in a game like that? What he is going to do he cannot hold the ball up, we missed ADE today and you could see it, we missed his movement, the way he can hold it up and his work rate. Redknapp needed to do somthing but got it wrong, Sandro would of suited a game like this. Bringing on Defoe for Kranjcar was not changing anything.

It Is going to be very tough against Chelsea.

Also how can Stoke fans be proud of the way they play football? I know it works but it is fucking horrible. Imagine watching that every week, surely the players cannot like it? Surely Crouch does not like the way they play?

Friedal-5 sticks to his line to much,

walker-6 done ok

Kaboul-6.5 done well,

King-5 poor, hes deffo had it, he couldnt even run tonight, done a few good things but looked uncomfortable doing them

BAE-6.5 actually thought he did some good things and some stupid things, got forward well.

Kranjcar-5 poor game, cant totally blame him butjust gave it away in silly positions

Modric-6.5 done some good things, was trying hard, made some good balls and some sloopy ones too, should of scored twice maybe. Did ok and was trying

Parker-6 again tried hard, gave it his all, just shame he has no pace he always seems to do so well and does somthing really good but just that last final bit he runs out of pace and seems to fuck it up.

VDV-6.5 started of well, some nice touches, done ok first half but 2nd half why keep him out on the right? Took his goal well but set pieces were shocking!

Bale-6.5 done some good things, made some good runs was also very greedy at times and gave it away in silly positions, had a couple of decent shots, great ball for the goal, overall he done some good things an some very sillythings

Saha-5.5 done some ok things, when he chested it down and done a bit of skill to get a free kick, held it up ok in some parts but then some of his touches were poor and gave it away in silly positions a few times.

Defoe-3 did he touch he hardly touch the ball? Always going to be hard for him but he was just not going to change the game, he CANT hold the ball up. Poor game
 

Spurs_Q8

Well-Known Member
May 21, 2005
3,161
139
now the board must pay the price for lack of investment in Jan., we could have challenged for title or even finish above all, but now we are about to finish behind Goner..

each game lost for different reason, i see that 2 goals for Arsenal within 5 mins played it's role for it's 2nd half, but you can't accept the defending specially in 2nd half, specially King.

King once again, as Leader, should lead the defence, the first goal from United it was easy to deal with, Walker also blamed, and it's sealed the 2nd defeat.

vs Everton, same story with King.

Now i don't know who to blame, but even awful spaces at defence in 1st half.

I can see that the team deserved more in last 3 league games, finishing didn't help, but if you want to be top team, you can't concede or defend like that.

also, we are become the most team in EPL who subs CB for CB !! Yet again people blame me when saying Nelson should be above King in pecking order, wonder why Redknapp picked him instead of Dawson when he was fit.. if it's up to me, i would even pick Bassong instead of him, who i really don't rate that much...

Kranjcar played good game, unlucky to lose his spot for VDV ..

if we've more fit or Class at CBs, i would love to see Kaboul as RB, and Walker as RM.. if that's would solve our poor defending until the end of the season.
 

Bobbins

SC's 14th Sexiest Male 2008
May 5, 2005
21,545
45,012
So was Modric shit or good? Because every post says different...
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Friedel - 6 - Not much to do and not really at fault for the goal

Walker - 6.5 - Did well in the second half when our ridiculous formation left him completely exposed

Kaboul - 7 - Good game and now looks like our leader at the back

King - 6 - Looking shaky at the moment

BAE - 6 - Did okay but a few too many hoofs up the pitch when a pass would have been better

Kranjcar - 4- Awful. Slow both in body and mind and had very little impact on the game

Parker - 6 - Did nothing wrong but isn't at his combative best at the moment. Looks tired

Modric - 8 - Excellent again. Just a shame that nobody else seemed to be on his wavelength last night

Bale - 7 - Our most dangerous player but still tries to do too much on his own

VdV - 6.5 - Ineffective in the first half and not much better when moved out of position. Good header though and ran his socks off more than most

Saha - 4 - Poor. Can't lead the line on his own

Defoe - 5 - Ineffective but not given a great deal of time on the ball

Gio - 5 - Equally ineffective in his limited time. Frankly ridiculous that we have got to the stage where he is on the pitch

Nelsen - 10 - Clearly inspired the equaliser


For the record Kranjcar covered more ground in the first half than everyone bar VDV. I'm not saying he had a brilliant half, but I'm not sure how his contribution gets 4 and Defoe's get's 5.

Kranjcar's not the quickest, but he keeps moving and showing for the ball and creating options and tries to move the ball intelligently and at least in the first half we had this element to our play. Defoe had no meaningful contribution to the game whatsoever. He saw the ball 7 times and gave it away 3 of those and spent the whole game stood in one spot waiting for Stoke to allow him the time and space to pull off his one trick.
 

mpickard2087

Patient Zero
Jun 13, 2008
21,884
32,496
Friedel 5 - Puzzled as to how the ball can drop literally one yard from his goal line yet the attacker beats him to the ball for the goal.

Walker 6 - Not bad, should have played higher up the pitch though and provided the width on the right hand side.

Kaboul 7 - Looked the best of our defenders, even tried to do Walkers job and attack down the right at times.

King 6 - Still not at his best.

BAE 6.5 - Did some good stuff, a few too many hoofs at times though. Also when he does pass the ball, absolutely firing it into a player does them no favours at times. Got forward better than Walker though.

Kranjcar 6 - I didnt think he was that bad, and wouldnt have made that halftime change. When he plays on the right it is surely the gameplan for him to be tucked in and Walker to overlap and provide width. Neat and tidy and played one pass in to release Parker. Got his foot in reasonably well at times too.

Parker 6 - Did reasonably well, not at his best though.

Modric 6.5 - Bright in the first half taking up some good positions in advanced areas. Less and less involved I thought as the game went on, couldnt find the space.

Bale 6.5 - A good assist and our most threatening player, however when we rely on him to provide width it is no good that he swans around the pitch for large parts of the second half.

VDV 6.5 - Ran more than most and put in a shift, shouldnt have been stuck out right side. Great header for the equaliser.

Saha 5 - Poor IMO, a number of times he got the ball under control only to lay the ball off straight to the opposition. No threat in front of goal.

Defoe 4 - I struggle to remember him doing anything of note.

Gio 5 - Didnt really get into the game

Nelsen n/a
 

Gilzeanking

Well-Known Member
May 7, 2005
6,090
5,015
Defoe spent the whole game stood in one spot waiting for Stoke to allow him the time and space to pull off his one trick.

Ha ha..tis a good trick though...edge of the area on the ball , jink right and shoot .

There was a twist though recently which worked...edge of the area on the ball , jink left and shoot..

..couldn't believe my eyes , serious progress :grin:
 

tRiKS

Ledley's No.1 fan
Jun 6, 2005
6,854
142
not sure Kaboul or King can be rated lower than a 7. both had good games. the goal was BAE's man. other than that becase of the way stoke play they were asked to do the bulk of the work.

I now Gomes isn't the answer but Friedel is contributing massively for our frailty at set pieces. stays on his line far too much. He's regarded as a "safe pair of hands" but not a top 4 pair of hands IMO
 

Spurs_Q8

Well-Known Member
May 21, 2005
3,161
139
So was Modric shit or good? Because every post says different...

We dominted the game, it's says that the midfeilders played well, may be they said that because he made two poor passes, but they forget that he almost score one or two.
The problem we missed Adebayor movement, he used to made himself available for Bale or others, which helped Bale to get two options, run at opponent or pass but yesterday many times forced to run at opponent only.
 

talkshowhost86

Mod-Moose
Staff
Oct 2, 2004
48,074
46,927
For the record Kranjcar covered more ground in the first half than everyone bar VDV. I'm not saying he had a brilliant half, but I'm not sure how his contribution gets 4 and Defoe's get's 5.

Kranjcar's not the quickest, but he keeps moving and showing for the ball and creating options and tries to move the ball intelligently and at least in the first half we had this element to our play. Defoe had no meaningful contribution to the game whatsoever. He saw the ball 7 times and gave it away 3 of those and spent the whole game stood in one spot waiting for Stoke to allow him the time and space to pull off his one trick.

Splitting hairs between who was worse to be honest but gave Defoe a bit of benefit of the doubt because, as you say, he only got the ball 7 times. It's hard for anyone to have an impact with that little of the ball, although it doesn't disguise the fact that he was poor when he did get it.

Kranjcar gave the ball away, was muscled out of it too quickly and didn't track back well. i don't think drifting around behind Saha really counts as 'covering ground' and even if he did get around the pitch he did very little with it.
 

BringBack_leGin

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2004
27,719
54,929
Friedel: Didn't do anything wrong, but he does stay glued on his line for set pieces.

Walker: Fine really, but not getting forward as much as he can.

Kaboul: Nothing wrong, and brought the ball forward well.

King: Also noting wrong, but he's not the same imperious force of old.

Ekotto: Simply superb, our best player by a mile both defensively and going forward.

Kranjcar: Fed up with him if I'm honest. Beginning to understand why he never nailed down a place.

Parker: He's dipped a lot lately and that's a big part of why we've dipped. He might be tired, I don't know, but the all action fully committed fight for every ball leader just isn't there lately.

Modric: The imagination seems to have disappeared from his game lately, which makes him basically just a neat player. His and Parker's form have dipped in synchrony with eachother and it's not good at all.

Bale: Great in the second half, single handedly dragged us forward.

VDV: Scored a goal, had a few nice touches, but he wasn't up to scratch. And his set pieces are inexcusably poor.

Saha: Made me look at Crouch with envy.

Defoe: Pretty ineffective.

Giovani: Barely touched the ball.

Nelsen: Did he touch the ball at all?
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
Splitting hairs between who was worse to be honest but gave Defoe a bit of benefit of the doubt because, as you say, he only got the ball 7 times. It's hard for anyone to have an impact with that little of the ball, although it doesn't disguise the fact that he was poor when he did get it.

Kranjcar gave the ball away, was muscled out of it too quickly and didn't track back well. i don't think drifting around behind Saha really counts as 'covering ground' and even if he did get around the pitch he did very little with it.

IT's not really splitting hairs. In my opinion there is a massive difference between what Krnajcar contributed - even though he wasn't at his best - and what Defoe contributed - and his seven touches were about par for half a game.

And IMO, it was this switch in personnel, tactics and formation which directly contributed to our ineffectiveness in the second half.

It's not Defoe's fault he is what he is, I hold Redknapp directly responsible for his bizarre over use of Defoe in the last few weeks.
 

JollyHappy

Well-Known Member
Oct 9, 2005
1,437
1,158
I have to say I thought Ledley looked more vunerable than I've ever seen. I don't want to start another of these debates about what he can or can't do but last night was his worst game for Spurs for a long time.
 

talkshowhost86

Mod-Moose
Staff
Oct 2, 2004
48,074
46,927
IT's not really splitting hairs. In my opinion there is a massive difference between what Krnajcar contributed - even though he wasn't at his best - and what Defoe contributed - and his seven touches were about par for half a game.

And IMO, it was this switch in personnel, tactics and formation which directly contributed to our ineffectiveness in the second half.

It's not Defoe's fault he is what he is, I hold Redknapp directly responsible for his bizarre over use of Defoe in the last few weeks.

It was definitely a stupid substitution as it put VdV out of position and further weakened our presence in midfield.

But I think Kranjcar deserved to go off. For me he didn't contribute anything going forwards and as soon as he lost the ball they were away from him in seconds. He's a more technical player than Lennon but don't think he is able to make the most of that due to his lack of pace and quick thinking.

As for Defoe he contributed little but was given so little of the ball I'm not sure what he could have contributed.
 
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