Krafty
Well-Known Member
- May 26, 2004
- 4,780
- 2,108
Yes, like your daughter's ex-boyfriend or that rash, Good Week/Bad Week is back! For those who are seeing this for the first time, this is a column that evaluates the past week or two for the Spurs boys, staff and players, but does not look too much at individual performance but more about the bigger, longer term impacts. Speaking of which....
GOOD WEEK
Mousa Dembele
Some pretty good/content performances from the languid Belgium international, but two starts from two make the past week or so a very good one for Mousa. I still doubt that he provides enough end product to truly deserve a place in an attacking trio, and slows down the play too much when selected deeper, but the ex-Fulham midfielder was in danger of being the forgotten man at White Hart Lane this summer.
Youngsters were getting pre-season minutes, a forward, winger/forward and a central midfielder were all on the club's radar, and yet there was very little interest from buying clubs for Dembele. Even Paulinho found a buyer! But Mousa has started and played well in the two games so far, and will likely start against Leicester too.
Eric Dier
A rough diamond at defensive midfield, or a subtle shout out from manager to chairman that improvements were needed? The way Dier has both got on the ball and also filled in as a third centre back as the play is developed indicates that this is a tactical change that Pochettino is looking to introduce. Whatever the case, Dier has not been completely out of his depth in midfield although we all hope he will be second choice in that position.
Ryan Mason
We might have thought Mason would end up being the spare wheel in the Spurs midfield but his drive, ambition and positioning is something none of the other central midfielders can match.
Nathan Oduwa
The loan to second division Rangers is a curious one, but could be the making of Oduwa. The winger will be given a platform to show his skill, with wins for the Glasgow giants largely thought to be a given. Even after one cameo appearance he is now a marked man, but if he comes out of this stronger, then there is nothing left for him to fear. If you survive a kicking from some rough Scottish footballer/butcher, the fancy dans in the Premier League will not present a problem.
Franco Baldini
So he does have a use. Spunked the Bale money on a bunch of tripe, but has also managed to rid the club of most of that tripe without losing too much money. A summer that has seen Paulinho, Chiriches, Stambouli, Kaboul and Capoue leave in prompt manner means the Italian with the unmoveable hairdo deserves some credit. If he can find a home for Adebayor and Lennon before the end of the month then all will be forgiven.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Another couple of pay cheques in the bank. Probably hasn't turned up for pre-season, much to the club's happiness.
BAD WEEK
Harry Kane
Two games, no goals. As much as the media are in love with one of our own, it won't be long before they flash the one season wonder in our face. Sooner he gets off the mark the better, for everyone. The sooner the club sign a decent striker to take the goalscoring burden off his shoulders, the better. Being taken off with fatigue an hour into the second game of the season indicates that something, somewhere, has been messed up.
Hugo Lloris
Broke his wrist on holiday, sits out the first game of the season when we do pretty well defensively, gets back in goal only for Spurs to do a classic and let a two goal lead slip late on. Same rubbish, different season. Bad news for him, and good news for us, is that their does not seem to be a suitor lying in wait.
Nabil Bentaleb
Complained about contract negotiations dragging on, signs a new bumper contract, and puts in one of the worst performances I've seen in a Spurs shirt for a long while. It's frustrating to see a player take the safe option all the time, passing sideways and backwards. However, passing it straight to the opposition is worse and after two warnings, Bentaleb eventually set up United's only goal on the opening day.
Came on with Spurs two up last weekend and could not stop the initiative being passed over like an embarassed mother giving chocolate to a crying toddler in the middle of Bluewater. Really needs to pull his finger out.
Daniel Levy
I understand why we have to wait to get the players who will make a big impact right away (simple case of being down the pecking order) but yet again the month of August passes us by and we have to play catch up. On the plus side, Pochettino's squad is slowly taking shape so we should only need one or two additions each season from here on, but if we don't solve our central midfield and striker issues properly Levy will get more stick, and this time it will be fully deserved.
Milos Veljkovic
U20 World Cup winner this summer, played against Barnet U20s this week.
https://twitter.com/AlanFrost_HT
GOOD WEEK
Mousa Dembele
Some pretty good/content performances from the languid Belgium international, but two starts from two make the past week or so a very good one for Mousa. I still doubt that he provides enough end product to truly deserve a place in an attacking trio, and slows down the play too much when selected deeper, but the ex-Fulham midfielder was in danger of being the forgotten man at White Hart Lane this summer.
Youngsters were getting pre-season minutes, a forward, winger/forward and a central midfielder were all on the club's radar, and yet there was very little interest from buying clubs for Dembele. Even Paulinho found a buyer! But Mousa has started and played well in the two games so far, and will likely start against Leicester too.
Eric Dier
A rough diamond at defensive midfield, or a subtle shout out from manager to chairman that improvements were needed? The way Dier has both got on the ball and also filled in as a third centre back as the play is developed indicates that this is a tactical change that Pochettino is looking to introduce. Whatever the case, Dier has not been completely out of his depth in midfield although we all hope he will be second choice in that position.
Ryan Mason
We might have thought Mason would end up being the spare wheel in the Spurs midfield but his drive, ambition and positioning is something none of the other central midfielders can match.
Nathan Oduwa
The loan to second division Rangers is a curious one, but could be the making of Oduwa. The winger will be given a platform to show his skill, with wins for the Glasgow giants largely thought to be a given. Even after one cameo appearance he is now a marked man, but if he comes out of this stronger, then there is nothing left for him to fear. If you survive a kicking from some rough Scottish footballer/butcher, the fancy dans in the Premier League will not present a problem.
Franco Baldini
So he does have a use. Spunked the Bale money on a bunch of tripe, but has also managed to rid the club of most of that tripe without losing too much money. A summer that has seen Paulinho, Chiriches, Stambouli, Kaboul and Capoue leave in prompt manner means the Italian with the unmoveable hairdo deserves some credit. If he can find a home for Adebayor and Lennon before the end of the month then all will be forgiven.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Another couple of pay cheques in the bank. Probably hasn't turned up for pre-season, much to the club's happiness.
BAD WEEK
Harry Kane
Two games, no goals. As much as the media are in love with one of our own, it won't be long before they flash the one season wonder in our face. Sooner he gets off the mark the better, for everyone. The sooner the club sign a decent striker to take the goalscoring burden off his shoulders, the better. Being taken off with fatigue an hour into the second game of the season indicates that something, somewhere, has been messed up.
Hugo Lloris
Broke his wrist on holiday, sits out the first game of the season when we do pretty well defensively, gets back in goal only for Spurs to do a classic and let a two goal lead slip late on. Same rubbish, different season. Bad news for him, and good news for us, is that their does not seem to be a suitor lying in wait.
Nabil Bentaleb
Complained about contract negotiations dragging on, signs a new bumper contract, and puts in one of the worst performances I've seen in a Spurs shirt for a long while. It's frustrating to see a player take the safe option all the time, passing sideways and backwards. However, passing it straight to the opposition is worse and after two warnings, Bentaleb eventually set up United's only goal on the opening day.
Came on with Spurs two up last weekend and could not stop the initiative being passed over like an embarassed mother giving chocolate to a crying toddler in the middle of Bluewater. Really needs to pull his finger out.
Daniel Levy
I understand why we have to wait to get the players who will make a big impact right away (simple case of being down the pecking order) but yet again the month of August passes us by and we have to play catch up. On the plus side, Pochettino's squad is slowly taking shape so we should only need one or two additions each season from here on, but if we don't solve our central midfield and striker issues properly Levy will get more stick, and this time it will be fully deserved.
Milos Veljkovic
U20 World Cup winner this summer, played against Barnet U20s this week.
https://twitter.com/AlanFrost_HT
