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►►►►►► Match Ratings VS Liverpool ◄◄◄◄◄◄

Man of the Match?


  • Total voters
    252

WhiteHart4Ever

Well-Known Member
Feb 18, 2004
1,429
321
In defence of the way we sat back and defended deeply, it''s not the way I want to see us play generally but with the paceless Dawson and rapidly slowing King as centre backs playing high up the pitch would have certainly brought Bellamy and later Suarez in the game in behind us, Kaboul's pace is vital for us to play more proactively higher up the park, and also VDV helps us keep and recycle possession better as a team. As it was, sitting deep negated the pace of in form Bellamy, and Suarez when he came on although it did mean Carroll was a threat with his knock downs. Play high up the pitch against Carroll you render him useless but I would have winced seeing Bellamy and Suarez getting in behind Daws and King.

We defended compactly, and weren't particularly troubled by them. Put Kaboul, VDV and Sandro in that side - and Ade holding the ball up better then we could have played more proactively and taken the game to them. I still look at that as a decent well earned point.

I agree they didn't trouble us that much; and that it was a decent point all in all. But we didn't play well and we only really troubled them once. With Parker and Livermore in the side I'm disappointed Modric, Walker and BAE didn't get more forward to support Bale, Kranjcar and Ade. As it was we really missed VDV and his ability to link the midfield and Ade. Kranjcar was decent but has nowhere near the vision of the Dutchman. A lot was left for Ade and Bale to sort out on their own and neither had particularly good games. I'm fine with the point, and I can see why we sat back and let Liverpool do some of their absolutely inefficient passing back and forth between midfield and defence, but we really didn't trouble them at all on the counter and should have been able to keep the ball a lot better. Really hope VDV, Kaboul, Lennon and to a lesser degree Sandro will be back soon as VDV and Lennon in particular were missed dearly yesterday. Looking forward to Newcastle, should be a good game and 3 points.
 

stevenqoz

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2006
2,776
553
Thinking about the way Bale is being employed it seems detrimantal to some aspects of his game if he is given a roaming brief. He has been one of the better left wing backs worldwide in the past year.....stick him there and reinforce the responsibilty that position demands....start and remain in front of BAE...track back do that job...anything else is elaboration
 

JonnySpurs

SC Veteran
Jun 4, 2004
5,345
12,398
As usual in this thread I can only assume most ratings come from people who watched highlights, can be only explanation for some of the posts I'm reading.

Friedel - 7 - Not a massive amount to do but coped well when called upon.

Walker - 7.5 - Defensively sound as a pound, lots of good challenges and kept Bellamy in his pocket ALL night. Lacked a bit going forward but that's cos Liverpool worked hard doubling back a lot in the wide areas on both sides.

King - 8.5 - Pretty much flawless all evening.

Dawson - 9 - As above but added a number of blocks and good clearing headers as well some nice long range passing at times

Ekotto - 6 - Poor. Again. Getting a little tired of the pissing around on the ball and getting caught in possession. Needs to start concentrating more.

Krancjar - 7.5 - Tackled back better than I've ever seen him do before. Lovely pass through to Bale. Neat and tidy throughout.

Parker - 9.5 - Inspiring performance, defensive masterclass. Only reason he doesn't get a 10 was for quite a few sloppy fouls in 1st half. Love him.

Modric - 7 - Decent game, think our shape and tactics didn't help any of our attacking players.

Livermore - 7.5 - Very tidy, disciplined and hard working. Not out of place at all in our first team squad.

Bale - 6.5 - Weird one this. Was singled out by them for obvious reasons but allowed himself to get frustrated which I think led to the panic in front of goal for his chance. Allowed the crowd and heavy challenges to get into his head. Has to also watch the diving, only player to have been booked twice this season for it. He'll bounce back though.

Adebayor - 6.5 - I'm not gonna beat up on Ade like you lot have. He was brutally isolated throughout the game thanks to our tactics and he clearly needs and plays better with a partner. Saha should have joined him not replaced him. HOWEVER, he needs to up his game overall a bit more. His touch is off and he needs to be getting more shots off at goal.

Saha - 6.5 - Worked hard when he came on, liked what I saw, won plenty of headers and showed some nice touches too. If Defoe or VDV aint fit for next game then I'd start him up top with Ade, could be a good partnership.
 

markdadude

Well-Known Member
Oct 25, 2007
445
470
modric motm for me. We would have not kept the ball for very long last night if it wasnt for him - always getting out of tight spaces and not losing the ball when pressured even by two or more players. Without him last night and no VDV we would have trouble putting 3 passes together. Parker is a true leader, very brave, and we needed that because we missed harry bigtime.
 

Coyboy

The Double of 1961 is still The Double
Dec 3, 2004
15,506
5,032
He was there for the second half against Wigan and Watford and we were shit then too.

We weren't shit against Wigan at all. And we have played well against City, Arsenal, Chelsea and destroyed Liverpool this season so it's clueless to say we have been second best against them. In none of those games have we completely dominated other than Liverpool but then they are all top teams and some of them have better, costlier and more experienced players than we do.

I do wonder how you coped in the 1990s when we were genuinely average at best when you piss and moan on here every week when we sit third in the table now. Last night was messy, we didn't attack well, were missing players and had our manager away but it was hardly terrible. I believe Liverpool is unbeaten at home this season so a draw is a decent result.
 

StartingPrice

Chief Sardonicus Hyperlip
Feb 13, 2004
32,568
10,280
Kranjcar wasn't outstanding but I'm glad he played because without him we would have struggled even more to retain any ball. He sees more ball than Bale and loads more than Lennon and also did work defensively, he's just not great at it, but at least he tries.

Krankjar wasn't outstanding but I was very pleased with his performance, nonetheless.
He's slimmed down, and seems to have got it into his head that working hard is actually important, even if he is no Parker.
And, as said, rather than issuing statements before this TW saying he wants out as he needs game time, he issued a statement saying he wants to be a part of this - and I think that new (or renewed) attitude has shown in the last two games and, perhaps, in training. Still, have to accept being cover/impact sub IMHO.

Possibly so, it was definitely the conservative option to take but I can see why with Kaboul, Sandro and VDV out. Kaboul is obviously perfect for a proactive approach, Sandro is a better shield than Parker and Parker is a better scurrier than Livermore. VDV obviously speaks for itself. We had a good team out there, but those few players do make such a difference to our dynamic.

My main beef with us last season was that when on the back foot we didn't get compact and were criminally open, it was horrible. At least when we're on the back foot this season we look reasonably compact and haven't been playing out those ridiculously open slugfests. I don't think we should be on the backfoot that much at all these days, tonight I'm sure we would have been more proactive had we had those players fit, and also good options from the bench to change the game.

First half I thought we were decent and second we did concede the initiative which was frustrating but I'm still reasonably contented with a point. Perhaps half time we could have been braver and pushed up 15 yards and moved Modric from his deeper role in the 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1 (I even made that point at HT in the match thread) because he is better from deep against bus parkers, but when there is space higher up the field that's where he should be, especially in VDVs absence.

When I said 'In defence', it wasn't that I am entirely thrilled by the way we went about things, although I do understand it to some degree, and compared to some of last seasons games which looked bereft of any tactics whatsoever I prefer what I saw tonight, if not the way I ultimately want to see us playing.

I agree with this.

I felt we needed a lot more from our fullbacks going forward. Massively disappointing.

I haven't bothered to bash BAE for ages now but all the different coloured boots in the world, mad barnets, vacant expressions and "profound" observations in newspaper interviews can't gloss over his shoddy use of the ball tonight for me. Completed 39/61 passes.

But he was laserified :eek:mg:
 

Mr Pink

SC Supporter
Aug 25, 2010
54,770
99,327
We weren't shit against Wigan at all. And we have played well against City, Arsenal, Chelsea and destroyed Liverpool this season so it's clueless to say we have been second best against them. In none of those games have we completely dominated other than Liverpool but then they are all top teams and some of them have better, costlier and more experienced players than we do.

I do wonder how you coped in the 1990s when we were genuinely average at best when you piss and moan on here every week when we sit third in the table now. Last night was messy, we didn't attack well, were missing players and had our manager away but it was hardly terrible. I believe Liverpool is unbeaten at home this season so a draw is a decent result.

We were poor in the second half against Wigan though...they were the better side that half.
 

Mr Pink

SC Supporter
Aug 25, 2010
54,770
99,327
Friedel 7.5 came off his line, dealt with crosses better and made one very brave punch with a dangerous free kick that came in. Good game.

Walker 7.5 Very good defensively, probably his best performance from that point of view. Wasted several good opportunities in the first half when attacking though.

Dawson 8 Thought he was excellent, sublime tackle on Carroll early doors and was made for this game to compete with the big Geordie. Didn't win everything in the air but generally he played very well with great commitment.

King 7.5 Calm and composed, did everything well and put off Carroll at one point when he had a great chance with a header by tracking him and staying very tight.

Ekotto 6.0 thought this was a very average performance by Benny tonight, lost the ball quite a few times and his passing wasn't as good. Seemed to check back a lot in the first half when a cross was on into Adebayor. Did a few nice things though, that little drop of the shoulder and darting inside always impresses me.

Parker 8.0 MOM yeah he gave away a few free kicks first half but his second half display alone was titanic. Doesn't really need describing.

Livermore 7.0 worked hard, kept possession reasonably well and put in an assured performance alongside Parker at a difficult place to go.

Modric 7.0 couldn't get the best out of the little fella last night but still kept the ball in tight situations superbly well and overall he had a decent game. First half very influential but he faded in the second which probably explains why we had less grip that half.

Kranjcar 7.5 thought he did very well last night. Worked hard, made some tackles, kept the ball well and put in an exquisite ball for Bale.

Bale 5.5 needs to do considerably more for the team when we arn't dominating. Could do with just keeping it simple a lot more when nothing obvious is on.

Adebayor 5.5 Isolated yes, but that was more the case in the second half. First half the moves broke down with his poor touch quite frequently (not that we had that many moves) which was pretty frustrating to watch. Needs to improve now, no doubt he's in a little dip of form recently.
 

StartingPrice

Chief Sardonicus Hyperlip
Feb 13, 2004
32,568
10,280
We were poor in the second half against Wigan though...they were the better side that half.

Yeah, but BC often simplifies in this way.
Dropping back, losing the initiative, or even just taking our foot of the gas, after playing fantastically well to more-or-less win the match (which we then do under pressure), and he will categorise the whole performance, rather than a part of it as shit.

No offence, BC, and not wanting to initiate one of our infamous and interminable 500 page arguments, but you do do this. The second half performance against Wigan was disappointing, because we could have really biatch slapped them - but they had a part in it by upping their game. But that doesn't mean we played shit against Wigan.
 

Mr Pink

SC Supporter
Aug 25, 2010
54,770
99,327
Yeah, but BC often simplifies in this way.
Dropping back, losing the initiative, or even just taking our foot of the gas, after playing fantastically well to more-or-less win the match (which we then do under pressure), and he will categorise the whole performance, rather than a part of it as shit.

No offence, BC, and not wanting to initiate one of our infamous and interminable 500 page arguments, but you do do this. The second half performance against Wigan was disappointing, because we could have really biatch slapped them - but they had a part in it by upping their game. But that doesn't mean we played shit against Wigan.

Yes that is true...we played well first half and probably felt the game was won, but I hate that air of complacency. We need to be more ruthless in certain situations and had Bale not scored the third it would of been a nail biter which is so easily avoided. Apart from another Bale shot and Ade heading over it was mostly Wigan that half.

We should of been killing the game off and not giving them a glimmer of hope of getting back into the game.
 

sloth

Well-Known Member
Mar 7, 2005
9,018
6,900
Very satisfied with a draw in the end, and as others have said there were a few stand-out performances defensively to get us all purring.

The talking points for me however, all revolve around those players that didn't offer us anything.

I'm critical of Modric off the ball sometimes, but at least he works, he put a shift in. Yesterday was no different, you can see he's determined to improve that side of the game and he is getting better at it too. Bale though...!!!

What a lazy *&%$£! He really pissed me off last night.

I was one of those advocating the system we ended up playing, but yesterday it just gave Bale an excuse to hide. I don't want a player who only comes to life whe we're on the front foot, or when we have the ball. With that free role, he could slope about the pitch when we lost it shirking the hard work. I read somewhere pre-match that King said it's so good having Bale in the side because in the last ten minutes of the game he's still making gut-busting runs... well no fucking wonder if he spends the rest of the game doing fuck all!!

Adebayor has also gone off the ball, and seems to have lost a bit of the desire to win.

Saha, on the other hand, looked really up for it, he won more headers and held up more balls in his little cameo than Ade managed all game. A really promising glimpse of a player I was totally underwhelmed to have signed.

The worst thing about Bale last night is that those kinds of individual performances can effect the whole team.

If/when Harry leaves in the summer I hope we get someone in who won't tolerate that kind of ethic, who will haul players off if they're not contributing and tell them what's what.

If Harry stays then hopefully it will be on a long contract and all the players will understand it's him and no one else they have to impress and he'll also be able to get a bit more of the work ethic into these kinds of players.
 

dynamoSpurs

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
2,718
895
ade was pony as as he has been since november. absolute pony. haven't been that frustrated watching a Spurs player for some time..
 

StartingPrice

Chief Sardonicus Hyperlip
Feb 13, 2004
32,568
10,280
Yes that is true...we played well first half and probably felt the game was won, but I hate that air of complacency. We need to be more ruthless in certain situations and had Bale not scored the third it would of been a nail biter which is so easily avoided. Apart from another Bale shot and Ade heading over it was mostly Wigan that half.

We should of been killing the game off and not giving them a glimmer of hope of getting back into the game.

I don't think anyone (remotely rational) disagrees with that.
 

Bulletspur

The Reasonable Advocate
Match Thread Admin
Oct 17, 2006
10,690
25,246
Friedel 7.5 came off his line, dealt with crosses better and made one very brave punch with a dangerous free kick that came in. Good game.

Walker 7.5 Very good defensively, probably his best performance from that point of view. Wasted several good opportunities in the first half when attacking though.

Dawson 8 Thought he was excellent, sublime tackle on Carroll early doors and was made for this game to compete with the big Geordie. Didn't win everything in the air but generally he played very well with great commitment.

King 7.5 Calm and composed, did everything well and put off Carroll at one point when he had a great chance with a header by tracking him and staying very tight.

Ekotto 6.0 thought this was a very average performance by Benny tonight, lost the ball quite a few times and his passing wasn't as good. Seemed to check back a lot in the first half when a cross was on into Adebayor. Did a few nice things though, that little drop of the shoulder and darting inside always impresses me.

Parker 8.0 MOM yeah he gave away a few free kicks first half but his second half display alone was titanic. Doesn't really need describing.

Livermore 7.0 worked hard, kept possession reasonably well and put in an assured performance alongside Parker at a difficult place to go.

Modric 7.0 couldn't get the best out of the little fella last night but still kept the ball in tight situations superbly well and overall he had a decent game. First half very influential but he faded in the second which probably explains why we had less grip that half.

Kranjcar 7.5 thought he did very well last night. Worked hard, made some tackles, kept the ball well and put in an exquisite ball for Bale.

Bale 5.5 needs to do considerably more for the team when we arn't dominating. Could do with just keeping it simple a lot more when nothing obvious is on.

Adebayor 5.5 Isolated yes, but that was more the case in the second half. First half the moves broke down with his poor touch quite frequently (not that we had that many moves) which was pretty frustrating to watch. Needs to improve now, no doubt he's in a little dip of form recently.
I agree with all of this as your assessments are spot on. IMO this is the most accurate reflection of the players' performances.
 

kernowspur

Member
Nov 1, 2004
896
278
With all our injuries that was a point won against a team that had knocked both Man U and Man C out of the cups in there last couple of games. A very good defensive performance, and yes disappointing in attack, but still a good point won.
 

SoulDog

Well-Known Member
Jan 31, 2005
3,620
590
Before the game I always knew it was going to be tough, against a hard working well up for it Liverpool side who have had a few decent results of late.
It is always going to be tough to come to Anfield and get three points but I felt we really needed to come out and win this game but we never got going from the start, we looked poor and sloppy and could not keep the ball. Liverpool pressed us well and worked hard but we were disappointing.

I think Liverpool were the better side but never really had that bit of class to punish us, maybe if they had a better striker they would of won that game.

Overall it was a very frustrating and disappointing night but I guess I have to be happy with a point after that performance. A couple of seasons ago I would of been happy with a point.

Also what has happened to our passing game? We just seemed to hoof it or give it away.


grrrrrrrrrrrrrr:bang:


Friedel-7 made a few good saves

Walker-6 worrys me defensively, gives it away and relies on his pace to get back, he also could not beat his man when attacking, worrys me.

Dawson-6.5 looked clumsy as usual at times, every time he gets the ball I worry. Made a few decent tackles and clearances but still done some clumsy things.

King-7.5 thought he done well, much better than the Wigan game

Ekotto-6 again worrys me defensively, gave it away in silly positions, sloppy passing,

Parker-8 worked his nuts off, vgood game,

livermore-6.5 done his job, worked hard

modric-6.5 again quiet for his standards always going to be hard for him, still worked hard

kranjcar-6.5 done some good things, got back, some good challenges

bale-4 poor yet again, gave it away, fell over, sloppy passing, sloppy shots, should of scored, poor game again

ade-5 poor really, held it up ok at times but thats about it.
 

gp13tot

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2011
1,759
1,278
Friedel 7

Walker 5 going forward, 8 defensively (7)

BAE 6

Dawson 8

King 7

Parker 9

Livermore 7

Modric 6 - disappointing in possession at times tonight

Kranjcar 7

Bale 4

Ade 5

SAHA 6
ROSE n/a
 

Blake Griffin

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2011
14,133
38,225
bale-4 poor yet again, gave it away, fell over, sloppy passing, sloppy shots, should of scored, poor game again

yet again? that's a bit harsh isn't it? he's pretty much been fantastic over the past 4 months or so and had just won player of the month for january(maybe it jinxed him)
 
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