- May 26, 2004
- 4,785
- 2,126
Good Week
Everyone
We won. Against United. At Old Trafford.
That is all.
AVB
We all know about the media witch hunt on our manager, but there were a fair few Spurs fans who at best were unconvinced, at worst downright scathing of the AVB appointment. While one swan does not make a summer, and one historic victory does not a legendary manager make, the 3-2 win should relieve all pressure from the manager’s shoulders, both from the media and the stands.
Naturally, the media hounds will not give up the hunt so easily, but hopefully all Spurs fans will be willing to give AVB time and if we don’t get the three points on Thursday or Sunday there will not be the booing or calls for his head that came up from a minority of Spurs support earlier in the season.
Steven Caulker
First Premier League start for us, and he looked like he had been playing there for the last ten years. Personally, I’m very pleased Caulker has got in the starting eleven so quickly as he has the potential to be a colossus for club and country, and it would have been shambolic if he had needed to move elsewhere to get game time.
The Left side
Vertonghen has played a game and a half at left back and looked very, very impressive. Bale succeeded in playing the more central role that he craves on Saturday, although I think he still needs to be trained to work out that it is the space that he enjoys, not necessarily being central. United were wide open and with the pace Bale and our team has, it is no surprise we looked so good on the counter.
Clint Dempsey
Some wondered if Dempsey was worth buying, or whether it was Levy at his classic worse – desperate and looking for a deal. However he has usurped Sigurdsson in the pecking order and offers hard work, a physical presence, and a goalscoring threat. How well he can do as an out and out striker, as we will need to accompany Defoe against weaker opposition, I don’t know, but for £6million there must be a few clubs kicking themselves they didn’t move in for him before us.
Andros Townsend (and to a lesser extent Mason, Falque, Smith, Obika and Carroll)
Andros has established himself in the first team squad, and after a bit of a ticking off he scored a nice goal at Carlisle. Mason, Falque and Smith all started as well on Wednesday, and it will be interesting to see how many of them play in the Europa league and League Cup. Given Panathinaikos’ woes recently, they might see some more game time in Greece.
Bad Week
Michael Dawson
I expect he will play on Thursday, but he is firmly at the back of the pecking order.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto
Previously an ever present, with little to no rivals for his spot, the Frenchman might find it a bit harder to get his place back now.
Gary Lineker
His only goal from out of the area, he will no longer be talked about as the last winning goalscorer for Spurs at Old Trafford. Picked the wrong week not to be on Match of the Day, even if the golf was pretty good.
Peter Shreeves, Doug Livermore and Ray Clemence, Ossie, Gerry Francis, Christian Gross, George Graham, Glenn Hoddle, Martin Jol, Juande Ramos, Harry Redknapp
Everyone
We won. Against United. At Old Trafford.
That is all.
AVB
We all know about the media witch hunt on our manager, but there were a fair few Spurs fans who at best were unconvinced, at worst downright scathing of the AVB appointment. While one swan does not make a summer, and one historic victory does not a legendary manager make, the 3-2 win should relieve all pressure from the manager’s shoulders, both from the media and the stands.
Naturally, the media hounds will not give up the hunt so easily, but hopefully all Spurs fans will be willing to give AVB time and if we don’t get the three points on Thursday or Sunday there will not be the booing or calls for his head that came up from a minority of Spurs support earlier in the season.
Steven Caulker
First Premier League start for us, and he looked like he had been playing there for the last ten years. Personally, I’m very pleased Caulker has got in the starting eleven so quickly as he has the potential to be a colossus for club and country, and it would have been shambolic if he had needed to move elsewhere to get game time.
The Left side
Vertonghen has played a game and a half at left back and looked very, very impressive. Bale succeeded in playing the more central role that he craves on Saturday, although I think he still needs to be trained to work out that it is the space that he enjoys, not necessarily being central. United were wide open and with the pace Bale and our team has, it is no surprise we looked so good on the counter.
Clint Dempsey
Some wondered if Dempsey was worth buying, or whether it was Levy at his classic worse – desperate and looking for a deal. However he has usurped Sigurdsson in the pecking order and offers hard work, a physical presence, and a goalscoring threat. How well he can do as an out and out striker, as we will need to accompany Defoe against weaker opposition, I don’t know, but for £6million there must be a few clubs kicking themselves they didn’t move in for him before us.
Andros Townsend (and to a lesser extent Mason, Falque, Smith, Obika and Carroll)
Andros has established himself in the first team squad, and after a bit of a ticking off he scored a nice goal at Carlisle. Mason, Falque and Smith all started as well on Wednesday, and it will be interesting to see how many of them play in the Europa league and League Cup. Given Panathinaikos’ woes recently, they might see some more game time in Greece.
Bad Week
Michael Dawson
I expect he will play on Thursday, but he is firmly at the back of the pecking order.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto
Previously an ever present, with little to no rivals for his spot, the Frenchman might find it a bit harder to get his place back now.
Gary Lineker
His only goal from out of the area, he will no longer be talked about as the last winning goalscorer for Spurs at Old Trafford. Picked the wrong week not to be on Match of the Day, even if the golf was pretty good.
Peter Shreeves, Doug Livermore and Ray Clemence, Ossie, Gerry Francis, Christian Gross, George Graham, Glenn Hoddle, Martin Jol, Juande Ramos, Harry Redknapp