►►►►►► Match Ratings VS Blackburn Rovers ◄◄◄◄◄◄

[Spurs_Bear]

61% possession, 9 corners to their 1....21 shots to there 9. That's pretty dominant whatever way you cut it.

Stats can be a bit deceiving though Mr Pink. It certainly was a decent first half performance but as a game it is nowhere near worthy of a place in BC's top performances of the season category, but it doesn't really matter. It just one of those things he keeps repeating.

I just went and revisited the match thread from that game, and it was pretty much as I remembered it from most, good first half, poor to average second half. "Same old Spurs", "Didn't control the game" etc, there are a couple who use the stats as a same opinion as BC, but it's in a minority.

And according to it he only watched in on Football First.

My comment of "Wigan away we were terrible" for which Partizan had a charisma bypass was more of a banter/piss take at BC, we've done it to death previously. I don't think it was a terrible performance but as I said, for me, defo not one of our best.

 

[Mr Pink]

Stats can be a bit deceiving though Mr Pink. It certainly was a decent first half performance but as a game it is nowhere near worthy of a place in BC's top performances of the season category, but it doesn't really matter. It just one of those things he keeps repeating.

I just went and revisited the match thread from that game, and it was pretty much as I remembered it from most, good first half, poor to average second half. "Same old Spurs", "Didn't control the game" etc, there are a couple who use the stats as a same opinion as BC, but it's in a minority.

And according to it he only watched in on Football First.

They can be Bear, but I thought it was more than a decent first half performance - I would say it was a very good one.

Second half not as good and we wobbled a bit but overall a good performance. I mean much better than Fulham where we should of lost and at Blackburn we had 33% possession!

As far as away performances go, I would say it was right up there for this season.

 

[Mr Pink]

Stats can be a bit deceiving though Mr Pink. It certainly was a decent first half performance but as a game it is nowhere near worthy of a place in BC's top performances of the season category, but it doesn't really matter. It just one of those things he keeps repeating.

I just went and revisited the match thread from that game, and it was pretty much as I remembered it from most, good first half, poor to average second half. "Same old Spurs", "Didn't control the game" etc, there are a couple who use the stats as a same opinion as BC, but it's in a minority.

And according to it he only watched in on Football First.

They can be Bear, but I thought it was more than a decent first half performance - I would say it was a very good one.

Second half not as good and we wobbled a bit but overall a good performance. I mean much better than Fulham where we should of lost and at Blackburn we had 33% possession!

As far as away performances go, I would say it was right up there for this season.

 

[Mr Pink]

Is the site slow for anyone else tonight? Keep getting error messages, then it posts twice for me!

 

[Spurs_Bear]

They can be Bear, but I thought it was more than a decent first half performance - I would say it was a very good one.

Second half not as good and we wobbled a bit but overall a good performance. I mean much better than Fulham where we should of lost and at Blackburn we had 33% possession!

As far as away performances go, I would say it was right up there for this season.

Yes I can see your points, I just think it's all relative really, I don't think we were disgusting against Blackburn, a lot of their 'possession' came from when they were in possession of the ball with all their set pieces at the end of the game, taking a minute or two place everyone up the pitch and then lumping the ball up towards the goal. We clarified it at the time, because I know to a lot watching the game they certainly didn't pass us off the park.

We were second best against Fulham particularly in the second half, but then they are (were at the time) a much better team than Wigan. Relatively speaking, we shouldn't have given Wigan a sniff of anything in the second half.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Yeah the site is a bit gash tonight, keeps timing out.

 

[Mr Pink]

Yes I can see your points, I just think it's all relative really, I don't think we were disgusting against Blackburn, a lot of their 'possession' came from when they were in possession of the ball with all their set pieces at the end of the game, taking a minute or two place everyone up the pitch and then lumping the ball up towards the goal. We clarified it at the time, because I know to a lot watching the game they certainly didn't pass us off the park.

We were second best against Fulham particularly in the second half, but then they are (were at the time) a much better team than Wigan. Relatively speaking, we shouldn't have given Wigan a sniff of anything in the second half.

Very true and you're quite right on that mate. Against Fulham we had 47% possession, Blackburn 33%...but I think we all know the Fulham game was a more fortunate result.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

We haven't had that many home games that were overall better than that Wigan away game. I subsequently watched just about all of it bar the bits that were freezing. First 15 minutes were shaky.

We had more ball than most of our home games. The second half felt more desperate because they got a goal back and one goal is never comfortable but we allowed them fuck all of any note and once their bod was sent off we pretty much controlled the game again, without being cavalier, which we had no business being.

 

[steve]

I think that Lennon falls down in two key areas-vision and execution.

I'm sure we've all heard the old chestnut about top players knowing what they're going to do with the ball before they've even received it. The general feeling I get when Lennon receives the ball is that he doesn't really know what's on.

Here's Hoddle speaking about Huddlestone (another player I don't rate, by the way)...

"He’s got ability, but more importantly as a midfield player he looks forward, he plays forward rather than square and back, he can hurt the other team and that’s the key thing Spurs miss when he’s out.

"He’s got quick feet, he’s got a quick brain and he’s got a good picture in his mind when he receives the ball. There are enough athletes in football, in the modern game, there are enough people who run around and do whatever but Tom’s got a special gift and I think he’s starting to believe in himself more and use it."

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2557...s-praise-on-tottenham-hotspur-midfielder-tom-

Not a Tom fan either. What he has in technique and composure he loses in most other areas.

I've seen lennon display enough vision and execution to suggest to me that it's consistency that is his problem...and i still think that's a mental/emotional issue for the most part...he's sizzled at times and wet farted at others...why? If he can show proficiency in every technical area (which he has over his career at different points) why can't he do it regularly?

 

[jonathanhotspur]

Not a Tom fan either. What he has in technique and composure he loses in most other areas.

I've seen lennon display enough vision and execution to suggest to me that it's consistency that is his problem...and i still think that's a mental/emotional issue for the most part...he's sizzled at times and wet farted at others...why? If he can show proficiency in every technical area (which he has over his career at different points) why can't he do it regularly?

You've lost me, steve. I think Lennon hasn't got much more to offer than square and back. Square and back and pace. When have you seen him making incisive passes? There is too much he doesn't see and I also think he struggles to get the right weight on his passes (not to mention his flicks), meaning that incisive passes are more or less beyond him. I even look at the way that he strikes the ball and I think he is allergic to using certain parts of his foot. He can stand a cross up at the back post but he can't wrap his foot round the ball. I saw him taking a corner the last day and I thought I was seeing things. I got to thinking that here we have a guy who is supposed to be a delivery man, yet he can't take a corner. It doesn't make sense. The bulk of his passing is over short distances. Why is that?

 

[steve]

You've lost me, steve. I think Lennon hasn't got much more to offer than square and back. Square and back and pace. When have you seen him making incisive passes? There is too much he doesn't see and I also think he struggles to get the right weight on his passes (not to mention his flicks), meaning that incisive passes are more or less beyond him. I even look at the way that he strikes the ball and I think he is allergic to using certain parts of his foot. He can stand a cross up at the back post but he can't wrap his foot round the ball. I saw him taking a corner the last day and I thought I was seeing things. I got to thinking that here we have a guy who is supposed to be a delivery man, yet he can't take a corner. It doesn't make sense. The bulk of his passing is over short distances. Why is that?

The pass to walker, clipped over the top for him to run onto late on was a demonstration of his technical ability. The 5 1 game v Arsenal when he played Keane through with a clipped ball outside of the right boot is another. There's more i can't think of. I never said he was consistent but he has the ability technically. To suggest he doesn't is slightly myopic. To suggest he's massively inconsistent, frustrating, lacking in composure, mentally weak is all reasonable. But he's displayed enough to prove that sporadically he is technically capable.

 

[steve]

The obligatory youtube cack...but it shows whipped crosses, good finishes and composure at times...which all suggest he's technically able...

 

[Bus-Conductor]

The pass to walker, clipped over the top for him to run onto late on was a demonstration of his technical ability. The 5 1 game v Arsenal when he played Keane through with a clipped ball outside of the right boot is another. There's more i can't think of. I never said he was consistent but he has the ability technically. To suggest he doesn't is slightly myopic. To suggest he's massively inconsistent, frustrating, lacking in composure, mentally weak is all reasonable. But he's displayed enough to prove that sporadically he is technically capable.

Got to agree with JH here Steve. I remember the chipped ball through to Keane in that game, but that's the problem, I remember it easily because it's knocking around fairly lonely in the "Lennon Memory Bank of exceptional moments" of my brain.

I gave him a good mark Sunday because he saw more ball than he usually does, and he was quite diligent at tracking back when called on (something he's always been better at than Bale - even if it is usually only a watching brief), but he won't get a better chance than Sunday, he had loads of opportunities to do something meaningful and he wasted 95% of them through lack of intelligence or ability.

Last year for example, he was outscored and assisted by Etherington 11-5. If he was generally more involved in build up play you could mitigate, but he is often our least involved player.

I like having him in the squad I really do. Some days I think he should play instead of Bale, god knows Bale has plenty of unproductive days, but even for a winger he's very wasteful. I'd much rather we brought someone in who can craft stuff, get his head up and deliver something intelligent more consistently.

 

[ShelfSide18]

I tend to agree with Steve that Lennon, like Walker, probably lacks more in the decision making department than actual technique. It depends what you define as good technique too, I'm not saying Lennon is as technically adept as Rafa for example but he's shown enough to me that he does have quality - the sporadic nature of it however lends me to the view that it is more a problem of decision making and the fact that he wanders in and out of form far too much to be considered a top player.

The Arsenal through ball, the West Ham 4-3 flick for Tainio, Milan, skinning Evra at Old Trafford in the cup and whipping the ball in for Keane, Taking Wigan and Man City to the cleaners in 09/10, away goal at West Ham the same season and that Chelsea goal are just a few hastily remembered examples that he does possess quality even if it is far too occasional for a top player. Something I've also commented on quite regularly is his knack of scoring some hugely important goals for us over the years, far too many to just be a one off - that suggests some sort of good mentality because he has delivered when it has mattered (even though it is fair to say that he was quiet in some of these games and if he'd done a bit more he wouldn't have needed to find a last minute winner etc).

I agree with BC that we need a bit more brains in wider areas, that kind of Ozil/Pires drifter who can pick passes and complement the pace and directness that players like Bale and Lennon offer. We are encountering many more teams who come to park the bus (it still makes me laugh that phrase was born because of us of all teams) so having terrifying pace down both wings isn't the danger it used to be. It needs more craft, rather than Bale/Lennon/Walker being denied a run up and then looking a little like lost sheep and only occasionally coming up trumps.

 

[jonathanhotspur]

I tend to agree with Steve that Lennon, like Walker, probably lacks more in the decision making department than actual technique. It depends what you define as good technique too, I'm not saying Lennon is as technically adept as Rafa for example but he's shown enough to me that he does have quality - the sporadic nature of it however lends me to the view that it is more a problem of decision making and the fact that he wanders in and out of form far too much to be considered a top player.

The Arsenal through ball, the West Ham 4-3 flick for Tainio, Milan, skinning Evra at Old Trafford in the cup and whipping the ball in for Keane, Taking Wigan and Man City to the cleaners in 09/10, away goal at West Ham the same season and that Chelsea goal are just a few hastily remembered examples that he does possess quality even if it is far too occasional for a top player. Something I've also commented on quite regularly is his knack of scoring some hugely important goals for us over the years, far too many to just be a one off - that suggests some sort of good mentality because he has delivered when it has mattered (even though it is fair to say that he was quiet in some of these games and if he'd done a bit more he wouldn't have needed to find a last minute winner etc).

I agree with BC that we need a bit more brains in wider areas, that kind of Ozil/Pires drifter who can pick passes and complement the pace and directness that players like Bale and Lennon offer. We are encountering many more teams who come to park the bus (it still makes me laugh that phrase was born because of us of all teams) so having terrifying pace down both wings isn't the danger it used to be. It needs more craft, rather than Bale/Lennon/Walker being denied a run up and then looking a little like lost sheep and only occasionally coming up trumps.

If we say that decision making is the problem, is that a euphemistic way of saying that he's lacking in football intelligence? It's interesting that you finish your post by saying that we need a bit more brain in wider areas, ShelfSide18.

 

[ShelfSide18]

If we say that decision making is the problem, is that a euphemistic way of saying that he's lacking in football intelligence? It's interesting that you finish your post by saying that we need a bit more brain in wider areas, ShelfSide18.

Yeah it is about footballing intelligence JH, he's not completely lacking but he's not up there with the best - pretty much what I've said about him for ages. Vision, technique, decision making, the mentality to do it regularly and when it matters - the ingredients of a top player, he isn't a top player, but he's not Andy Sinton.

Yes, a bit more craft from out wide would be delightful, but Lennon still has a time and a place - I don't think i've contradicted myself here.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Just to clarify, I agree with SS18, I was more referring to his intelligence than his technique, where I think Lennon's OK. Walker I think is lacking in both.

 

[jonathanhotspur]

Yeah it is about footballing intelligence JH, he's not completely lacking but he's not up there with the best - pretty much what I've said about him for ages. Vision, technique, decision making, the mentality to do it regularly and when it matters - the ingredients of a top player, he isn't a top player, but he's not Andy Sinton.

Yes, a bit more craft from out wide would be delightful, but Lennon still has a time and a place - I don't think i've contradicted myself here.

I'm not suggesting that you've contradicted yourself, ShelfSide18. I'm trying to work out what steve means by a mental/emotional issue.

 

[mpickard2087]

Not a massive fan of Lennon, considering the promise he showed at 18/19 when he first came into the team I would have expected him to have progressed more and offered more consistency and contribution.

Whenever I feel that he has gone stale and it may be time to cash in and replace he usually puts in a performance and shows what he is capable of. Just wish he was firing a lot more often.

 

[steve]

I'm not suggesting that you've contradicted yourself, ShelfSide18. I'm trying to work out what steve means by a mental/emotional issue.

I'm saying he has the technical ability. But he doesn't possess (well he does but he hasn't realised it yet) the mentality which means he can deliver it on a regular basis which makes him as I think we've all agreed 'inconsistent'. I think he lacks confidence in himself and that is psychological hence a 'mental/emotional' issue rather than a physical one. I used Torres as a starker example because he went from being world class to pony in a relatively short space of time all due to confidence. Lennon on very rare occasions puts in world class performances. Why doesn't he do it more often? Confidence. And that is a mental/emotional issue...