Reflective perspective

[Bus-Conductor]

Last night I watched the whole 90 mins again curtesy of it being FF main game and I had it sky+'d. Sometimes watching it on telly re-afirms or slightly alters your perspective (although that relaxed way you watch a game when you know you've won it also helps). I can honestly say that in all the years of watching spurs I'd never seen a game quite like it. So was interested to watch it again and try and make some sense of it.

First off, something was confirmed from my previous perspective in ratings. When we had 4 defenders on the pitch we defended pretty well against a side with a lively pair of strikers who were a real handful. 3 goals came from set pieces. The only "normal play" goal came when we were down to 3 defenders and were caught bombing forward and was virtually a 2 v2 situation.

We actually only allowed them 5 shots on target (3 being the set piece goals) and Robinson contributed heavily to the first and could have come for the second, and the third went straight past him. I am being harsh regarding the 2/3rd I know. But the second, most commanding keepers would have come and taken, but I feel his first cock-up influenced any future desire to come and deal with anything. And people will say that Kaboul should have got out his way for the first but Robinson just doesn't inspire that kind of trust does he ?

What continues to amaze me is the percentage of shots on target that the opposition (from all over the park) need to score past us. Some is shit defending/goalkeeping but it is still amazing how few chances we give away yet still manage to concede so many. There is also a big chunk of bad luck involved (Fulham away, BHam home eg). I would love to see a comparison stat because I'm sure we must have the worst percentage in terms of conceding from chances given.

I thought on the day that Reading work their nuts off. Closing down very quickly all over the park. However, I was impressed by how we still tried to play football and actually dominated possession far more than it felt on the day.

I want to give Huddlestone a mention. I have doubts about the fella (not his ability, just his suitability) and there were times in this game, like other games like this, where it just went to quick for him and being pressed makes him somewhat moribund (DOW's favourite word) but to be fair he kept plugging away and put the ball through for the pen.
Just like Carrick, I don't think he should be a holding midfielder, as this requires tenacity and mobility, which he lacks. But let him play further forward where his passing can hurt the opposition and he has less responsibility and he makes more sense (said the same about Carrick).

Lastly, and I know this is bound to guarantee a shit performance tuesday, but we all (including, especially me) sometimes forget how good this side is. The pile of wank we watched for years. We grumble about our personal stooges but ultimately I have to say watching spurs the last 3 seasons has been far more pleasurable than the previous 15 or so.

This season we have played even better football than the last two in my opinion. Even away from home we are playing well (even OT, Anfield, Emirates) and controling games. And have what I believe is a great manager. We haven't got what we deserve in many games, that's football, but most of us can see that what we are watching is a fuck sight better than most fans are watching in this country. We are watching spurs do what we have always wanted them to:

Entertain us.

 

[Juande_Ramos]

Going forward this Spurs side are almost as good as any team in this league. Maybe United and Arsenal edge it when they play at their very best but that's just about it.
When I read the criticism players like Zokora or Lee get I laugh when I think of what supporters of other teams have to put up with.

This team can beat anyone in this league included the big four. Berbatov is so underrated it is not even funny. Malbranque and Keane are excellent players. Lennon is a good wide player. Huddlestone is another creative force in midifield. The back four are comfortable in possesion. I believe that Spurs are going to have a strong second half of the season and considering that Everton are only 9 points in front I wouldn't discard that Spurs qualify to UEFA via the league, in fact I bet they will. And there is a strong possibility of winning a pot or two in the process.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Can a mod change the title of this to just "reflective perspective" please as I don't know how to.

Thanks.

 

[Black]

If we went 3 at the back and had Zokora on the field in CM reading wouldnt have scored that many goals

 

[DogsOfWar]

Going forward this Spurs side are almost as good as any team in this league. Maybe United and Arsenal edge it when they play at their very best but that's just about it.
When I read the criticism players like Zokora or Lee get I laugh when I think of what supporters of other teams have to put up with.

This team can beat anyone in this league included the big four. Berbatov is so underrated it is not even funny. Malbranque and Keane are excellent players. Lennon is a good wide player. Huddlestone is another creative force in midifield. The back four are comfortable in possesion. I believe that Spurs are going to have a strong second half of the season and considering that Everton are only 9 points in front I wouldn't discard that Spurs qualify to UEFA via the league, in fact I bet they will. And there is a strong possibility of winning a pot or two in the process.

Couldn't agree more with BC and yourself.

Berbatov, Keane, Defoe, Malbranque and Huddlestone were all heavily involved with creating/scoring the goals against Reading. Jenas and Lennon have been our leading source of goals/assists from midfield in the last couple of seasons,
Bale was the leading source until he was injured and Zokora is a bloody good workhorse.

We have a decent quality defence (when fit) but unfortunately our inability to defend set-pieces seems to be clouding the judgement of our support.
For me this season was not black and white, it was not about having to come fourth. It was about playing the quality of football that would allow us to challenge for that position and at the moment we are.
Ramos has put us in a position where getting sixth and qualifying for Europe through the league is a possibility, but more importantly, we now look like a side that can beat the top four which means the possibility of silverware.

 

[nidge]

Can a mod change the title of this to just "reflective perspective" please as I don't know how to.

Thanks.

Done. :up:

A good interesting read as always BC. May not always agree but, your comments always give food for thought.

 

[SpurSince57]

Going forward this Spurs side are almost as good as any team in this league. Maybe United and Arsenal edge it when they play at their very best but that's just about it.
When I read the criticism players like Zokora or Lee get I laugh when I think of what supporters of other teams have to put up with.

This team can beat anyone in this league included the big four. Berbatov is so underrated it is not even funny. Malbranque and Keane are excellent players. Lennon is a good wide player. Huddlestone is another creative force in midifield. The back four are comfortable in possesion. I believe that Spurs are going to have a strong second half of the season and considering that Everton are only 9 points in front I wouldn't discard that Spurs qualify to UEFA via the league, in fact I bet they will. And there is a strong possibility of winning a pot or two in the process.

I don't think too many underrate Berbatov; it is, however, true that many instant experts on body language interpret his failure to celebrate each and every goal with a lap of the pitch whirling his shirt round his head before heading to the centre circle to lead the faithful in a chorus of 'My old man, said be an Arsenal fan' as a clear sign of lack of commitment. Frustrating is the word, and the same goes for Keane and Defoe, for different reasons.

Zokora divides opinion as no other player; in a strictly demarcated role, I think he does well. Lee remains our most underrated player. Malbranque has accustomed himself to playing out of position and been our most consistent player of the season. Lennon is still learning.

I am very, very confident about the second half of the season. We need to average 2 points a game to challenge for a top six spot, and I see no reason why this should be beyond us.

Back to B-C's original post, I'd love to see the stats on how many goals we've conceded from set pieces as opposed to those from open play. That has been our besetting sin for a season-and-a-half, and it's difficult to see why after two seasons in which (by Spurs standards) we had a remarkably parsimonious defence.

What I'm enjoying about Ramos' approach is his willingness to take risks; Jol did tend to err on the side of caution. Should we be letting in four against an intrepid, well-drilled but ultimately limited side like Reading? Possibly not. On the other hand, I can't help but think that Bill and Danny would have approved wholeheartedly; our tradition is to entertain, not bore the opposition and fans to death, and results like Saturday's take me back to my teens, when 6-4 scorelines, if not exactly the norm, were not hugely remarkable either.

 

[Juande_Ramos]

Well, with the attacking power of this Spurs team and the attacking mentality and high tempo style of Ramos's teams I can see Spurs scoring buckets in this second half of the season like they have started to do. Aalborg 3, Wigan 4, Fulham 5, Reading 6. Who is next for 7 at the Lane? :grin:

 

[Jody]

have some rep for a well thought out post. i didn't necessarily agree with all of it, in particular the robbo bit, but it is this type of post that keeps me coming back to sc. COYS!!

 

[Has1978]

B-C, SS57, Juande, and (if you´re there) Joey55, thanks for enlightening me over the past few months. I salute you all. It´s nice to read the views of posters I truly respect . Happy New Year!

Hic!

Like the gist of this thread, I´m quite upbeat for our side, as I think we´re due a slice of luck. If Ledley and Berba stay fit, we´re in business again.


YYYIIIIDDD AAAARRRRMMMMMYYYYY!!!!!!!!!YYYAAAAAA!

 

[robbiesavagehasbreasts]

i agree with you about huddlestone. he needs to be playing further up the pitch. even though he can pull of good long range passes, he's not pirlo. he got two assists against reading (the penalty, and the malbranque goal) and those passes came from just outside the box.

 

[stevenqoz]

Bus-Conductor, agree with most of what you say here. I feel that we are in a relatively good spot with the flexibility of our squad. We have genuine competition in most areas and when Bale returns we will have some menace going down that side as well. O'Hara has given us a bit of balance and as you would know left footers always give themselves a good chance of being selected in any team. I don't think Huddlestone gets enough credit for his passing and even in the Reading game he made two by my reckoning.
I cannot remember season ever (I have been on the books since 1963) where a keeper of ours has conceded so many 'fly in ' goals as this one. Tactically it may be that our headers/ punches clear are being dollied up directly outside the box...the old high, long, wide adage for clearances does not seem to apply to us. When Robbo came for their first goal he had allowed the ball to drop too far(so far that Kaboul actually partly headed it away) and his punch did not go to less dangerous wider areas.
It wouldn't actually surprise me if we got Carrick back quite soon (along with Brown) if Gilly's brother goes north. If that were to happen we may act ually lose Defoe as well because the concensus at the club still seems to be that Defoe and Keane can't play together, although he could play with Kanoute.

 

[karennina]

It wouldn't actually surprise me if we got Carrick back quite soon (along with Brown) if Gilly's brother goes north.

It would be great, I think, but it might be worth bearing in mind Ferguson's long history of relentlessly using very talented players on the fringes of national teams to populate the fringes of his own teams. Saha, Brown, Fletcher, O'Shea, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, and many others have spent season after season as semi-backup players at Utd rather than be regulars in slightly weaker sides. Having a player of Carrick's quality to fill their boots for the next few seasons will be filling Ferguson with glee.