- May 17, 2005
- 3,765
- 5,505
After another poor performance, here's my run-down on how I thought we performed-
Gomes: No point ripping into him, keepers make mistakes from time-to-time. He made some good saves, but was at fault for creating the situations that required him to make last ditch saves. Getting to crosses is great; deciding to punch regardless isn’t so great.
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Corluka: wasn’t too good. He passed the ball to the touchline while under no pressure at one point. Made his transfer fee look very inflated
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Dawson: I like him but it’s getting difficult to defend him. That pass to the touch line while in acres of space was shocking for a professional footballer.
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Woodgate: Solid
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Bale: needs another left-sided player in front or behind him. He’s less effective when he’s got to cover the left side on his own. Team imbalance impinges on his effectiveness more than any other player. I don't know why GDS isn't playing in front of him or Gilberto behind him.
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Modric: should’ve tracked Barry for the 1<SUP>st</SUP> goal. Because he didn’t, Bale had to move in to cover Barry’s potential shot, leaving Reo-Coker more space to pick his spot. All players have to track back, especially in central midfield positions, so there’s no point saying it’s not his job, he shouldn’t have strolled back watching Barry tear into the box.
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Huddlestone: should be deeply embarrassed by that ‘tackle’ in the lead up to the 1<SUP>st</SUP> goal. He’s one of the classiest players we’ve got, but accusations of lacking mobility and bite will stick if this is what he calls a tackle. otherwise ineffectual
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Zokora: quiet
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Lennon: looked dangerous on the ball, but the final ball was lacking again. Young is so much better than him it’s untrue. He needs to look at the videos of his emergence under Jol when he took players on and passed simply and effectively in dangerous areas.
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Pavlyuchenko: showed sparks that he could be effective but he was quiet enough tonight. TO be fair, he didn't see much much quality service either.
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Bent: fairly anonymous and our goal threat so far this year is brutal. The goal was a fluke that flattered us and him
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Jenas: I’m a critic of his, but he showed the other midfielders what multi-tasking in midfield is all about. Without him, we wouldn't have upped our urgency, we would've been less threatening, and we would have conceded more. Spurs' man of the match.
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Bentley: should’ve been a starter with King and a lefty to play with Bale. But didn’t distinguish himself when he came on. Needs to stop worrying about his hair and start dominating matches.
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Giovani: lively but toothless
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Ramos: For a fella who supposedly hates losing, he’s getting pretty used to it at Spurs. It’s all well and good making bold substitutions during matches, but making such a mess of the starting line up might not require major substitutions so much. Is he planning to only show respect to the top 4 this year again? Did he not play our strongest team because he felt we’d beat Villa with less than our 1<SUP>st</SUP> team (with an eye on mid-week)? If so and if he keeps it up, he’ll deserve the sack when he eventually gets it.
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Villa are way better than us. Much more solid, much better balance in their team and squad, much more drive and determination, much more hard working, much better organized, much more consistent (in a positive way), and much more likely to have a successful league campaign than we are. They had a bad result against Stoke, but I wouldn't fancy us at Stoke at all at the moment. It could be argued that we’ve got better players on paper than Villa, but like all good clubs, they’re building a team rather than playing fantasy transfer football with the real thing. Good luck to them, they've got a proper set-up and a wonderful manager.
We've got a lot of work to do and a change in attitude toward more urgency is what's needed in the short term. Things might not be too bad over the longer term if we can get our act together before 1/4 of the season is gone.
Gomes: No point ripping into him, keepers make mistakes from time-to-time. He made some good saves, but was at fault for creating the situations that required him to make last ditch saves. Getting to crosses is great; deciding to punch regardless isn’t so great.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
Corluka: wasn’t too good. He passed the ball to the touchline while under no pressure at one point. Made his transfer fee look very inflated
<o></o>
Dawson: I like him but it’s getting difficult to defend him. That pass to the touch line while in acres of space was shocking for a professional footballer.
<o></o>
Woodgate: Solid
<o></o>
Bale: needs another left-sided player in front or behind him. He’s less effective when he’s got to cover the left side on his own. Team imbalance impinges on his effectiveness more than any other player. I don't know why GDS isn't playing in front of him or Gilberto behind him.
<o></o>
Modric: should’ve tracked Barry for the 1<SUP>st</SUP> goal. Because he didn’t, Bale had to move in to cover Barry’s potential shot, leaving Reo-Coker more space to pick his spot. All players have to track back, especially in central midfield positions, so there’s no point saying it’s not his job, he shouldn’t have strolled back watching Barry tear into the box.
<o></o>
Huddlestone: should be deeply embarrassed by that ‘tackle’ in the lead up to the 1<SUP>st</SUP> goal. He’s one of the classiest players we’ve got, but accusations of lacking mobility and bite will stick if this is what he calls a tackle. otherwise ineffectual
<o></o>
Zokora: quiet
<o></o>
Lennon: looked dangerous on the ball, but the final ball was lacking again. Young is so much better than him it’s untrue. He needs to look at the videos of his emergence under Jol when he took players on and passed simply and effectively in dangerous areas.
<o></o>
Pavlyuchenko: showed sparks that he could be effective but he was quiet enough tonight. TO be fair, he didn't see much much quality service either.
<o></o>
Bent: fairly anonymous and our goal threat so far this year is brutal. The goal was a fluke that flattered us and him
<o></o>
Jenas: I’m a critic of his, but he showed the other midfielders what multi-tasking in midfield is all about. Without him, we wouldn't have upped our urgency, we would've been less threatening, and we would have conceded more. Spurs' man of the match.
<o></o>
Bentley: should’ve been a starter with King and a lefty to play with Bale. But didn’t distinguish himself when he came on. Needs to stop worrying about his hair and start dominating matches.
<o></o>
Giovani: lively but toothless
<o></o>
Ramos: For a fella who supposedly hates losing, he’s getting pretty used to it at Spurs. It’s all well and good making bold substitutions during matches, but making such a mess of the starting line up might not require major substitutions so much. Is he planning to only show respect to the top 4 this year again? Did he not play our strongest team because he felt we’d beat Villa with less than our 1<SUP>st</SUP> team (with an eye on mid-week)? If so and if he keeps it up, he’ll deserve the sack when he eventually gets it.
<o></o>
Villa are way better than us. Much more solid, much better balance in their team and squad, much more drive and determination, much more hard working, much better organized, much more consistent (in a positive way), and much more likely to have a successful league campaign than we are. They had a bad result against Stoke, but I wouldn't fancy us at Stoke at all at the moment. It could be argued that we’ve got better players on paper than Villa, but like all good clubs, they’re building a team rather than playing fantasy transfer football with the real thing. Good luck to them, they've got a proper set-up and a wonderful manager.
We've got a lot of work to do and a change in attitude toward more urgency is what's needed in the short term. Things might not be too bad over the longer term if we can get our act together before 1/4 of the season is gone.