Ekotto

[absolute bobbins]

Good call. Although you missed out the most obvious example. He even made his hair shit deliberately for charity... he should have realised that the second he announced that, he was destined to get injured, lose form, never score again and end his life with his face engulfed in what looks like an angry privet hedge.

I thought that was the Huddlefro not the Benny barnet

 

[formlesswater]

He has always been lazy defensively, however he made up for it in the past by having a good partnership with Bale down the left. Now that Bale is playing centrally, im afraid Ekotto doesnt offer much more than Naughton.

 

[fortworthspur]

geez, Benny was the least putrid of our back 4 tonight. Got done by the egyptians pace several times, but to single him out of tonight's performance is wrong. Gallas/Vertongen were diabolical, and Naughton was at least as bad as Benny.

 

[ItsBoris]

He knows AVB don't want him.

Who cares? Dawson knew that too but there's an attitude difference. Dawson has pride and honor, and fought to show what he was worth and it payed off.

Any player who thinks 'well the coach doesn't want me so I'm not going to bother and I'm just going to take my money for nothing" can fuck off as far as I'm concerned. That attitude is why we fail.

 

[ItsBoris]

Pretty much this.

Even if Harry never rated a player, they would always give him 100%

Sometimes these big prima donnas need a hug, confidence boost. I just can't see AVB being like that to Benni or Ade

But then again maybe Ade is just a lazy **** and Benni has been injured for most of the season

Well this is how Sir Alex Ferguson reacts to a player with a bad attitude (doesn't give them a hug I'm pretty sure).

 

[sim0n]

You left adeboyer out of that bunch

Maybe BAE has been eating lunch with Adebayor this season?...

 

[steventhfc]

He still put in ludicrous displays under other managers, don't let the fact AVB seemingly doesn't rate him be an acceptable excuse.

 

[WestBelfast Spurs]

Adebayor Dempsey Defoe....thats a shockingly long list. Time for the youth

this they are tearing up trees in under 21's give some of them a little game time

 

[WestBelfast Spurs]

I don't believe in all this he needs a hug bollocks, its a job and a very well paid job that I would give my nuts for, needs a hug a arm around the shoulder balls, he must not be putting the effort in training to get picked so its his own fault, needs to man up and work harder win back his starting place

 

[double0]

Having calmed down a touch Assou-Ekotto really did have a difficult opponent with the tricky quick winger the name has slipped me. in fairness to Assou-Ekotto he did a much better job than when Vertonghen was given the task.

What really surprised me with BAE was his running power and a real lack of quality with his delievey.

Basel has so far been the best team I've seen perform at the Lane in a long long while.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Benni absolutely rocks, and I'll not have that never been good nonsense. But his personality and game is very much centred around his happiness and freedom. He didn't really do much in his first couple of seasons here, but under Harry his attitude improved massively and as such so did his game. Bear in mind that he has been injured for a large spell of this year and hasn't been played very much as a result. I get the impression that if something doesn't feel quite right to him then his morale and game suffers.

Just give him game time and faith and he'll return to that awesome and dependable player he was for the previous 3 seasons. Otherwise he simply won't give a fuck.

Agree that he will likely be moved on in the summer, but hopefully only if a genuinely better LB. Naughton is a decent player but isn't quite good enough to be a first choice full back in my humble opinion.

 

[brendanb50]

Having calmed down a touch Assou-Ekotto really did have a difficult opponent with the tricky quick winger the name has slipped me. in fairness to Assou-Ekotto he did a much better job than when Vertonghen was given the task.

What really surprised me with BAE was his running power and a real lack of quality with his delievey.

Basel has so far been the best team I've seen perform at the Lane in a long long while.

Agree with all of that, my thoughts exactly.

Not sure if he's rusty from injury or what but Benny's passing was pretty poor last night, even the short balls seemed to be asking a lot of his team mates. I guess only time will tell if he's just struggling for form a bit or if he doesn't really give a shit.

 

[Flashspur]

Players getting paid and needs to put in a shift, simple. I dont think BAE's put in enough shifts this season. He hasn't looked 100% since the injury but he seems too switched off at times.

 

[Wardy]

Didn't have a good game last night, but when you're playing next to Gallas you can be forgiven

 

[SpursTillIDie1882]

He has never been good.

The amount of goals he has cost us from making needless and stupid errors, and yet he is popular because he says 'LOL' on the internet and has an afro.

The only thing he's missing is a red nose to go with his afro, fucking clown.

stupid comment

 

[foxilator]

I didnt think Benny was that bad last night, he's clearly suffering this season from being in and out the team, and from having no left winger covering tracking back and helping him out. Conversely Walker benefits from Lennon's immense workrate and willingness to track back and cover.

Re the injury I was at a football journalists Q&A around the New Year/ the Lance Armstrong conviction and one of the questions was around drugs in UK footballs. While the panel rubbished the idea of performance enhancing drugs they did say that recreational drug use was a problem and that there are a few cases of high profile footballers who have been out for long periods of time 'injured'. One of the panelists (a spurs fan) gave an example, without mentioning any name, of a left back who has spent time on the sidelines recently with an ankle injury, and seems to have been out much much longer than normal for that type of injury. Clearly it's just speculation but i think he was talking about our Benny. Maybe that's why AVB has lost faith in him.

 

[SargeantMeatCurtains]

stupid comment

Pot kettle black, son.

 

[balalasaurus]

Seriously can't understand whats gone wrong with BAE. Shocking performance all round BAE legs looked gone...Friedel Gallas Naughton Parker not good enough sorry.

what are you talking about. friedel did well yesterday. naughts got some of our only shots on target and parker did ok (aside from that open goal but then again who says he can strike anyway). this is gallas' last season here anyway

 

[balalasaurus]

RE benny, he has been injured for much of the season. His last few games have been poor though. I wouldn't go so far as saying he has been dreadful all season though.

Has anyone else noticed that whenever Naughton plays RB he is utter shite, but a LB he looks half decent (sometimes) - or am I imagining things?

you're imagining things. its actually the other way around. when he's at LB he's shite but at RB he's not too shabby

 

[michaelden]

Seriously can't understand whats gone wrong with BAE. Shocking performance all round BAE legs looked gone...Friedel Gallas Naughton Parker not good enough sorry.

Friedel was poor last night. Naughton was okay. I thought Verts struggled at CB and was better at LB.

Dembele & Bale were strangely selfish, often holding on to the ball beyond any reasonable requirement, running up blind alleys, not passing , doing a trick then passing late when the momentum was down.