Ratings v Fulham

[Bus-Conductor]

I don't need to be told anything about how any of our players are supposed to play or what qualities they have for certain positions.

I have said in the past that Corluka,Palacios,Lennon have been out of sorts and needed to be dropped.They were.
I have pointed out that Modric has been playing poorly for the past couple of weeks and guess what? The player himself states that he is just back from a few niggling injuries and is not playing well.

It appears that our manager and one of our better players agrees with my opinion.Thats good enough for me.

Whether or not he is playing at his 100% best is irrelevant to what I, or SS18 actually said. He continues to do do what he does, generally even when not at 100%, which is probably why he has not been dropped, because in the same way that Berbatov on a bad day was still better than Keane or Defoe on a good one, so is Modric with Huddelstone. Considering you considered him to be having an off day yesterday, and he played one half at RM, he still managed to see more ball than Huddlestone (twice as much as Bale) and make more accurate passes. When allied to the fact that Modric's passing usually contains more incision, that is pretty impressive for a guy not on top form, and why he is still a vital component.

 

[Damian99]

For the record, I don't think it was our shape that was exposed. I know I keep repeating this - but our midfield is always less dynamic, less able to press and dominate when Huddlestone is there in the wrong combo. Sandro was great for 20 minutes and Huddlestone benefited from his energy, but a combination of the pace & intensity of the EPL, his first game, booking, started to slow Sandro up and Huddlestone shrunk back into his shell a bit and the pair of them just became passive as we have seen in several games lately where Huddlestone is in CM (Arse/ManC away first half/ManC H second half etc) Fulham then got on top for the next 25 from what I saw and have been told.

Modric comes into CM second half and what we have is Huddlestone reverting to his deeper less adventurous role, Modric moving and grooving, giving and going and we have some dynamism back in CM.

The shape is fine, and it worked well second half against Villa and first 20 and second half pretty well against fulham, it's getting the balance right within that shape.

The two more disciplined CM's in the 4231, must be dynamic and able to play a high tempo pressing, passing & moving game.

At the moment of the four, Huddlestone and Sandro are probably the least best equipped to do this for 90 minutes as we saw Saturday.

ffs are you still seriously trying to suggest Palacios and/or Jenas should be in the team ahead of Huddlestone??
:stupid:

 

[jrio]

BAE generally played very well and is a very good footballer. The problem is mental with him sometimes. 2nd half running back towards his own goal, closely pursued, he attempts to cut inside towards goal (instead of the safe option of touch, away from goal) luckily stands on the ball and comes away with it, only to shank the clearance straight back to Fulham who, after some neat play, create a great chance for Camara to miss. It's these little idiosyncracies that let him down at times. Generally he was excellent though.

Something largely missed by those gushing with a little too much praise.

Soon after he also got caught when rushing up to retrieve the ball after a loose clearance, whence Fulham played behind him, leaving him stranded out of position.

He is playing to a very high standard, but these are the examples he needs to cut out to be at the top of his profession, which he could easily be.

 

[Midostouch]

Something largely missed by those gushing with a little too much praise.

Soon after he also got caught when rushing up to retrieve the ball after a loose clearance, whence Fulham played behind him, leaving him stranded out of position.

He is playing to a very high standard, but these are the examples he needs to cut out to be at the top of his profession, which he could easily be.

But at least people are recognising his strengths. I'm sick of sitting with people who swear at him the whole game and think he doesn't do anything right.

 

[stevenqoz]

Watched the Fulham game and at times thought we looked very dangerous. This danger pleasingly came from numerous avenues. On a day that our most consistantly effective player Bale was actually relatively quiet we had so much good passing and movement from elsewhere. With VDV, Modric,Hutton BAE and the injected Lennon willing to go at the defence we looked very dynamic. Huddlestone was there to move the ball on or keep possession depending on the need. As ever I thought he did this well. The fact that he did not help us totally dominate for 90 minutes is no surprise.....that just does not happen in the EPL especially against a side with the attitude of Fulham who do go for it. The reality recognised by Harry is that Hudd with this blend of players is more accomplished than Jenas or Palacios who are water carriers by comparison

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Without water you die.

 

[stevenqoz]

Glad to see you are awake BC

 

[Damian99]

Without water you die.

Aye but you can get through 90minutes of football quite comfortable without any :wink:

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Only if you're a "holding" camel.

 

[Damian99]

Only if you're a "holding" camel.

Erm no

 

[robbiesavagehasbreasts]

Whether or not he is playing at his 100% best is irrelevant to what I, or SS18 actually said. He continues to do do what he does, generally even when not at 100%, which is probably why he has not been dropped, because in the same way that Berbatov on a bad day was still better than Keane or Defoe on a good one, so is Modric with Huddelstone. Considering you considered him to be having an off day yesterday, and he played one half at RM, he still managed to see more ball than Huddlestone (twice as much as Bale) and make more accurate passes. When allied to the fact that Modric's passing usually contains more incision, that is pretty impressive for a guy not on top form, and why he is still a vital component.

did you see the Fulham game?

the whole 90 minutes?

 

[BorisTM]

did you see the Fulham game?

the whole 90 minutes?

I dont think he did.

 

[Gilzeanking]

Not sure who's argument this observation supports...but in our bad first half period at Fulham , a very clear and noticeable thing occurred .

We suddenly stopped tackling Fulham ,right up to about 10 metres into our own half . Fulham players were suddenly allowed to advance into our half and then send their pass or cross into our area without any pressure from our players at all .

One of the many good things about Spurs overall these days is seeing the players hassling the oppo...deep into the oppo's half...so it was spectacularly noticeable when suddenly Fulham were free to advance into our half with the ball like that.

Later the prob was rectified and we were back to tackling in the Fulham half ...and won the match .

Exactly who's fault this was I dunno , but Sandro, Hudd and the forwards are all in the frame .

 

[stemark44]

Not sure who's argument this observation supports...but in our bad first half period at Fulham , a very clear and noticeable thing occurred .

We suddenly stopped tackling Fulham ,right up to about 10 metres into our own half . Fulham players were suddenly allowed to advance into our half and then send their pass or cross into our area without any pressure from our players at all .

One of the many good things about Spurs overall these days is seeing the players hassling the oppo...deep into the oppo's half...so it was spectacularly noticeable when suddenly Fulham were free to advance into our half with the ball like that.

Later the prob was rectified and we were back to tackling in the Fulham half ...and won the match .

Exactly who's fault this was I dunno , but Sandro, Hudd and the forwards are all in the frame .

The reason was that as soon as Fulham realised that Pavlyuchenko was no threat to their defence they pushed 10 yards up.
This only changed when Lennon came on and they were frightened of his pace added to the fact that Murphy had to go off injured as well.

 

[Gilzeanking]

The reason was that as soon as Fulham realised that Pavlyuchenko was no threat to their defence they pushed 10 yards up.
This only changed when Lennon came on and they were frightened of his pace added to the fact that Murphy had to go off injured as well.

I don't see it like that myself .Conceding space on that level had to be something to do with our players not working hard enough .

Anyway a completely different point...my mate liked to go to parties where there was a 'quorum' of people he knew, so felt comfortable there , 5-6 was the minimum I recall .

In a slightly strained comparison ,this Fulham game was the first where I really felt we had a quorum of great players who would win it for us . OK so Bale wasn't blistering , VdV slightly quiet..even Mods wasn't his best...but Hey , Lennon decided to do something and the little bits of genius the others chipped in with were too much for Fulham .

With Lennon coming back we now have a wonderful array of talent .Yes , the killer striker might be still missing...and mebbe we were a tad lucky to win vs Fulham , but it felt to me for the first time like we had a quorum of top players any one of which could win it for us ...and that we could go far with them...a very good feeling .

 

[Bill_Oddie]

I agree totally with that Gilzeanking but the defence pushing up was all Hughes. We couldn't do much about it. Hughes was shown on the telly box screaming at his backline "Get up! Get up! Push up the pitch!" with extravagant arm movements about 10-15 minutes in. Suddenly the game shifted from us panning them into a more competitive midfield battle.

The question is why they thought being so deep would be a good idea in the first place. I suspect they were most concerned about Bale and his pace. Hence triple-marking him for most of the match.

 

[Partizan]

I agree totally with that Gilzeanking but the defence pushing up was all Hughes. We couldn't do much about it. Hughes was shown on the telly box screaming at his backline "Get up! Get up! Push up the pitch!" with extravagant arm movements about 10-15 minutes in. Suddenly the game shifted from us panning them into a more competitive midfield battle.

The question is why they thought being so deep would be a good idea in the first place. I suspect they were most concerned about Bale and his pace. Hence triple-marking him for most of the match.

Cause we're a top 4 team baby

 

[leffe186]

The "hassling" thing worries me. It's something that Villa have become much better at over the last few games and it makes them a far more effective team. I realise that players like the Hudd are not born to do this, but unless we are adaptable enough to play like this in games from time to time I fear we will fall short in the final analysis. Barca are often held up as the perfect example.

We must be capable of soaking up pressure on occasions without conceding too many goal-scoring opportunities. This may tire us out a bit (Villa often wane at the end of games) but that is when our extensive squad should help. Unfortunately, I just can't see us doing this regularly until we get a settled back line, which may mean the loss of King.

 

[Gilzeanking]

I agree totally with that Gilzeanking but the defence pushing up was all Hughes. We couldn't do much about it. Hughes was shown on the telly box screaming at his backline "Get up! Get up! Push up the pitch!" with extravagant arm movements about 10-15 minutes in. Suddenly the game shifted from us panning them into a more competitive midfield battle.

The question is why they thought being so deep would be a good idea in the first place. I suspect they were most concerned about Bale and his pace. Hence triple-marking him for most of the match.

I realise I'm labouring this...especially on the day we go to the San Siro..

...BUT , surely it matters not so much what Hughes asked his team to do . The bare fact was that we stopped tackling Fulham until they were 10 metres in our half and conceded many chances and a goal as a result .

Then we returned to our (thank god) normal practice of defending from the front and ran out winners . Our crisis period (first half after the first 1/4 hr) was down to US going way deep and allowing Fulham time and space in our own half .
Sandro got subbed and I assume part of the reason was this ocean of space in our half that he (and others) should have been defending .

 

[StartingPrice]

I realise I'm labouring this...especially on the day we go to the San Siro..

...BUT , surely it matters not so much what Hughes asked his team to do . The bare fact was that we stopped tackling Fulham until they were 10 metres in our half and conceded many chances and a goal as a result .

Then we returned to our (thank god) normal practice of defending from the front and ran out winners . Our crisis period (first half after the first 1/4 hr) was down to US going way deep and allowing Fulham time and space in our own half .
Sandro got subbed and I assume part of the reason was this ocean of space in our half that he (and others) should have been defending .

I have to be honest and say that is what I saw, too. I remember very clearly thinking "why are we standing off of them" - they may not be Barca, but they are a very compact team who can hurt anyone who allows them to play.