- Jul 10, 2008
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We've lost TWO games out of the last FIFTEEN. That's not a bad spell. That's called losing TWO games!
We sorely missed Lennon. It's funny that whenever he's playing we win a lot of games but people still say "we need an upgrade on Lennon", and soon as he's not playing they say "omg we miss the pace of Lennon". It's not just Spurs fans, it's the media as well. I remember him being derided in the Guardian one week, and then when we played without him the Guardian ran an article on how we were a shadow of the team without, and without the width he provided we struggle.
Bus-Conductor;2677958[B said:]Not quite a water tight theory[/B]. First two games (against ManU and Manc) Lennon plays, we get stuffed both games. Next five he doesn't and we go on a great run including getting results against Liverpool and Arsenal.
Neither is your's though BC...Lennon played in those first two games yes, but as we all know circumstances, selection etc wern't the norm; the Modric situation, playing Kranjcar in central midfield, Parker and Adebayor not involved etc etc etc
(understand your point but there were multiple variables in play at that time, tricky to draw conclusions on that basis)
And here's an interesting/tangential thing to consider, can you (sometimes) be misled by watching the match? What I mean is, I actually stopped watching the Arsenal match after they scored their first goal because it was obvious what was happening (I kept an eye on the score, hoping, but I knew there was none to be had)
That's a bit lame imo. I force myself to watch even when we're playing crap or it all seems a bit too much like glory hunting. No offence.
The more I think about our recent little spell I wonder if our lack of immediacy has come from a bit of caution over injuries & fatigue considering our squad was being stretched.
With Lennon, Sandro, Defoe and VdV all lacking fitness and with no great cover at either full back, maybe the first players were subconsciously playing under 100% in terms of defensive pressing because they knew that they would all probably be playing 90 minutes every week.
I know they shouldn't really be doing that as players but it's just a theory. :shrug:
That's a bit lame imo. I force myself to watch even when we're playing crap or it all seems a bit too much like glory hunting. No offence.
The more I think about our recent little spell I wonder if our lack of immediacy has come from a bit of caution over injuries & fatigue considering our squad was being stretched.
With Lennon, Sandro, Defoe and VdV all lacking fitness and with no great cover at either full back, maybe the first players were subconsciously playing under 100% in terms of defensive pressing because they knew that they would all probably be playing 90 minutes every week.
I know they shouldn't really be doing that as players but it's just a theory. :shrug:
I know it's a bit lame but I knew what was going to happen and knew i'd get depressed (which was not expeditious at that moment) - you don't really want to watch us get thumped on MotD do you?
Anyhow, would the players have the strategic forethought to sit back because they'd believe they'd play a match a week? I think it's more to do with that we're easily cowed.
The stoke match should have been a landmark game - there's so much talk about players harassing referees and so on, but what about those that don't? That image of Adebayor sitting on the ground in utter despair after a blatent corner wasn't given said it all. The dog that doesn't bark is surely the most interesting?
we have lost 1 game in the last 15, perspective needed
I personally feel it is a same old problem. If we want to win anything, we have to treat every game like a cup final and give everything.
The other thing is that as soon as we start winning we get over confident and forget the reasons why we are winning. I.e. two wingers doing what wingers are supposed to do, DM's doing what defensive midfielders are supposed to do etc etc
Recently we have completely been losing our shape, the effort is not there, two many injuries to key and certain players. We have a great first team, but I don't think we have the proper natural cover for many players within our squad.... Lennon's cover/replacement to force Lennon to fight for his place as well as providing suitable cover in his absence.
The thing is, there is not any really big issues as such, just more like lots of little issues that combine together that end up causing us major issues. And these little issues really need to be resolved and in all honesty can be done fairly easily.
Every top team has a bad day at the office like ManU being beaten by Southampton 6-1 if I remember rightly. The problem is we seem to have far too many bad days at the office and far to many wins this season have not really be convincing.
That's the thing, he can't cross. But he passes it along the deck in the 18 yard box instead to negate his lack of crossing ability. His pace and control make him absolutely lethal on the break and creates a lot of space. I think he is highly underrated by many personally.
Playing Man U may just be what we need. Beat them on Sunday and it will again be all positive.