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Good Week/Bad Week

Krafty

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2004
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Good Week

Emmanuel Adebayor

2 in 2, the man is on fire! Seriously though, while on Thursday night Manu got a goal, his performance was still lacking, however on Sunday the Togolese striker looked almost back to his best. He grabbed the early goal, hit the post for the second, showed a lot of desire, determination, work and some very good touches. There were a few ropey touches as well but I think they have always been in his game.

He’s rightly taken a lot of stick this season but on Sunday he was one of, if not the best player on the pitch.

Glyfi Sigurdsson

2 in 2, the man is on fire! With Bale moving inside, an opportunity opened up on the left and Siggy is now first choice in that position. He offers a goal threat, will get in the box, and while he still needs to work a little more on his movement off the ball in the build up – you really feel for the left back when he gets the ball on the halfway line, looks up and sees everyone twenty yards to his right – the Icelandic midfielder is providing vital goals from midfield, something we have lacked for a long while (Bale excepted).

His set pieces were a little disappointing on Sunday but I don’t think there is a question mark over that left midfield slot anymore.

Lewis Hotlby

Two starts, and two quite impressive performances without really standing out. Still, it’s good to see the German playing, he brings a touch of quality, technique and creativity that we lack without the pace of Lennon, Bale, Defoe etc.

It looked on Sunday like he was starting in a central position alongside Dembele, with Parker sitting behind, and as a result we were a bit more effective with the ball, competed for a lot more second balls, and just lacked real width/pace/flair in the final third.

Tom Huddlestone

Granted it was only a 20-minute cameo, but Tom showed what he can bring to the team, and with the evolved 4-3-3 we saw on Sunday, there is a big place for a big man who can pass the ball quickly over long distances to release the full backs in one on one situations.

Jon Obika

96th minute winner for Charlton after coming on as a sub.

Bad Week

William Gallas

I was surprised Gallas started against Internazionale, and I was even more surprised he started again against Basel. While Caulker didn’t exactly solidify his place in central defence on Sunday, he was far better than Gallas on Thursday who was found wanting in nearly every department. Once he picked up his yellow card he became an even greater liability, because he knew he could no longer commit himself nor keep pace with the attackers, and it ruined our shape. He was a bit lucky not to pick up another yellow, and then he walked off with another calf injury.

It’s time to put him and us out of his misery. Let’s move on and work on the future.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto

Rumours have been flying for a while about AVB wanting a new left back, and while we all love Disco Benny it’s fair to say that he has not been playing well this season, and on Thursday he was all over the shop. He couldn’t contain their right winger, neither getting tight nor showing into dead ends, running out when he should have dropped deep and vice versa. All in all, not good.

Playing left midfield against Fulham was perhaps a further sign that AVB doesn’t trust Benny at left back, and unfortunately it would not be a surprise if he was usurped at left back over the summer.

Clint Dempsey

He’s our Yid from America (woah-oh) but the ex-Fulham attacker is increasingly looking like a jack of all trades, master of none. Lacking the raw physical talents to get by, his technical play lacks the finesse we need. He had a limited impact off the bench on Thursday, and apart from some speculative efforts on the weekend didn’t really do much. With Sigurdsson and Holtby impressing, and Lennon and Bale hopefully back soon, the American did nothing to stop his return to the bench when they return.
 

beuller

Well-Known Member
May 10, 2005
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2,353
Agree on most points. Good summary. Esp Gallas.

When Dempsey plays as he did yesterday, It is really difficult to find any positive in his game. Slows us down immeasurably, no goal threat and his closing down was almost non-existent. When you compare his closing-down with Sigurdsson's, who also has very little pace yet manages to get a lot of blocks and tackles in, there is a stark difference. I guess he has an aerial threat but we aren't seeing it at the moment.

Hopefully Adebayor can kick on. The fans are 1 really poor performance away from booing him. And you can tell that he senses it too. That will help no-one.
 

rjhotspur

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2006
158
288
Sigurdsson is Bentley mark II and has been dreadful every game. Holtby is no winger either and offers very little. We will continue to get the results we have been getting if these two are the best we can offer in wide positions.
 

DreadySpur

Well-Known Member
Dec 15, 2006
1,037
642
Tom Hudd, looked good in his brief spell yesterday. Played like he used to. Was disappointed that Ceballos did not get on, with us needing a goal and him scoring for fun in Under 21's though.
 

Marflox

New Member
Aug 31, 2012
23
30
Tom Hudd, looked good in his brief spell yesterday. Played like he used to. Was disappointed that Ceballos did not get on, with us needing a goal and him scoring for fun in Under 21's though.

Got to agree with you there. It was refreshing to see Hudd come in and be a bit more direct. Our short passing game was not fat enough yesterday, and i think Hudd opened them up more by being more direct nd his great ability to pick passes, long as well as short. Further i can't believe Dempsey stayed on the pitch for the full ninety minutes! He did NOTHING. Must be sad for a guy like Ceballos not to get a single minute in a game where the guy starting in his position ahead of him brings nothing to the team.
 

ginola007

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
880
1,142
On Sunday, some of our much maligned players, namely Ade, Sigi and Tom Hud stepped up big time, and did much to compensate for Bale and Lennon's absence. Problem is: our defence, which looked so solid against Arsenal, was strangely ineffective. We couldn't defend corners when Harry was in charge, and we can't defend corners now. But it is not doom and gloom yet. Chelsea have a difficult run ahead, not to mention a congestion of matches. It's up to our boys to show their mettle, now, at the business end of the season.
 

slartibartfast

Grunge baby forever
Oct 21, 2012
18,320
33,955
Good post. Agree Hudd played well but that's really the only type of game you can play him in, when the opp just sit and defend so he's got all the time in the world to spray the ball about.
Scratched my head when he came on but avb new what he was doing. Good sub.
Surprised you missed Dawson out. He had a Samba which is most out of sorts.
Not convinced continually swapping cbs around is a good idea. Best thing to do with Gallas is take him out the back and put him out of his misery lol. Its a kindness.
 

deadlight

Well-Known Member
Dec 14, 2006
1,361
788
Ade really doesn't make his case though. With play taking place in the middle of the park, Ade just casually strolls toward the ball, and when the ball is kicked toward him, he's not ready for the ball (as he should be) so watches as it skids beyond him (and thus to be picked up by an Everton defender). Doh!
 

slartibartfast

Grunge baby forever
Oct 21, 2012
18,320
33,955
Ade really doesn't make his case though. With play taking place in the middle of the park, Ade just casually strolls toward the ball, and when the ball is kicked toward him, he's not ready for the ball (as he should be) so watches as it skids beyond him (and thus to be picked up by an Everton defender). Doh!
Don't agree with that mate. He ran his nuts off and the only time he didn't go for the ball was when he knew he was offside or was flat out fucked late in 2nd half.
No comparison with his performance Thursday and Sunday.
He's back, just in the nick of time ;)
Prob gonna cause a shit storm here but i think what also helped was Bale wasn't there running around like a headless chicken taking up space and getting in the way. Lennon has been suffering from same thing.
But that's another story.
 

14/04/91

Well-Known Member
Jan 13, 2006
3,527
5,693
Hudd did what he does best but it was a good 20 mins for him to come on with Everton sitting back defending a lead. He'd have struggled to play his game in the 1st half with Everton snapping at heels and defending from the front.

Dempsey disappoints me I'm afraid, if he's not scoring he's not really contributing. You might expect that from a striker but not someone in the thick of the action. Obviously our options were limited on Sunday but he's not convinced me he's good enough this season.
 

Chris_D

Well-Known Member
Feb 24, 2007
2,652
1,278
Tom Hudd, looked good in his brief spell yesterday. Played like he used to. Was disappointed that Ceballos did not get on, with us needing a goal and him scoring for fun in Under 21's though.
I looked at our bench and thought "who do we turn to if we need something in a hurry". For so long that answer was Crouch but wouldn't Ceballos have been a decent option?
 
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