spud
Well-Known Member
- Sep 2, 2003
- 5,850
- 8,794
Where do I start? I know.....that was one of the most depressing, insipid, gutless displays by a Tottenham team that I have ever had the misfortune to witness. From tactics and personnel selection to individual and collective performances to inexplicable substitutions, there is barely anything to praise. I write this just after the game and without seeing any comment, so this may be a knee-jerk reaction, but I really can'y see my opinion changing.
The one thing that gave cause for optimism was the performance of Michael Dawson. One of only two only players (the other being Jamie O'Hara) to emerge with any kind of credit from the debacle. He was strong in the air and in the tackle and was just about our only hope of avoiding defeat. When he went off injured, we were sunk.
I can understand that, expecting a muscular performance from Wigan, you try to match fire with fire. So you play a defensive midfielder. But Ledley King? A man who is not fit enough to train between games is played in a position with which he is almost totally unfamiliar, and (almost certainly) without his teammates seeing him play in training! Why not Corluka, with Zokora at right back? At least they could have practised that.
Gareth Bale. Oh Dear. How can such a talented player who played so well when he first arrived become such a liability? If I was awarding marks out of ten, he might get one for turning up. It was as if he had never played the game. Positionally poor, he challenged his opponent square on, therefore giving him both inside and out. No surprise, then, that he barely made a tackle. He clearly had no confidence, and no idea. What do they do in training? We have a cast of thousands on the staff, can't any of them help a young man play in his preferred position? Doesn't anybody know how to play full back?
Poor Bale was the worst, but really, who was much better? Nobody gave me the impression that they wanted to win. Nobody seemed to be ready to play. When we had control in the first few minutes and Wigan didn't lay down and die, the life went out of us. Inaccurate passing, virtually no movement, no support for the ball-carrier. Etc....etc....etc.
So what does the management do? First, nothing. Then , shortly after half time replace Pav with Bent. Why five minutes into the second half? If Pav was injured, fair enough, but ridiculous if he wasn't, as it didn't give him enough time to make an impression and gave Bent five minutes less time to make a difference.
Then, having pushed Modric into a position on the right where he will be less effective, he is taken off. So now we have replaced two players with skill for one with none (Bent) and Lennon. And what happens? Lennon gets the ball about three times in total. WTF? Wasn't there any instruction to give it to him? If you want to give the opposition a problem by bringing on somebody who can hurt them, shouldn't you have a plan to get the ball to him?
And what about Gomes? The man pulls a hamstring or groin early in the second half and - it appears - is forced to stay on! FFS - if your keeper can't run / kick / move around his area aren't you asking for trouble? Even if we had got away with it and got a point, how long is he going to be out for now that he has made his injury worse by playing on? You had a keeper on the bench Redknapp, why didn't you use him?
I don't get it, I really don't. I realise that this has been a rant, but I can't believe what I just saw. I was worried before today by the increasing tendency of players and management to blame everything but themselves for bad results, but after that I'm terrified. There is simply nothing to suggest any cause for optimism. One thing is for certain: no matter who we sign this month, if this is the benchmark for the rest of our season, then we are going down. And don't expect us to bounce back any time soon.
The one thing that gave cause for optimism was the performance of Michael Dawson. One of only two only players (the other being Jamie O'Hara) to emerge with any kind of credit from the debacle. He was strong in the air and in the tackle and was just about our only hope of avoiding defeat. When he went off injured, we were sunk.
I can understand that, expecting a muscular performance from Wigan, you try to match fire with fire. So you play a defensive midfielder. But Ledley King? A man who is not fit enough to train between games is played in a position with which he is almost totally unfamiliar, and (almost certainly) without his teammates seeing him play in training! Why not Corluka, with Zokora at right back? At least they could have practised that.
Gareth Bale. Oh Dear. How can such a talented player who played so well when he first arrived become such a liability? If I was awarding marks out of ten, he might get one for turning up. It was as if he had never played the game. Positionally poor, he challenged his opponent square on, therefore giving him both inside and out. No surprise, then, that he barely made a tackle. He clearly had no confidence, and no idea. What do they do in training? We have a cast of thousands on the staff, can't any of them help a young man play in his preferred position? Doesn't anybody know how to play full back?
Poor Bale was the worst, but really, who was much better? Nobody gave me the impression that they wanted to win. Nobody seemed to be ready to play. When we had control in the first few minutes and Wigan didn't lay down and die, the life went out of us. Inaccurate passing, virtually no movement, no support for the ball-carrier. Etc....etc....etc.
So what does the management do? First, nothing. Then , shortly after half time replace Pav with Bent. Why five minutes into the second half? If Pav was injured, fair enough, but ridiculous if he wasn't, as it didn't give him enough time to make an impression and gave Bent five minutes less time to make a difference.
Then, having pushed Modric into a position on the right where he will be less effective, he is taken off. So now we have replaced two players with skill for one with none (Bent) and Lennon. And what happens? Lennon gets the ball about three times in total. WTF? Wasn't there any instruction to give it to him? If you want to give the opposition a problem by bringing on somebody who can hurt them, shouldn't you have a plan to get the ball to him?
And what about Gomes? The man pulls a hamstring or groin early in the second half and - it appears - is forced to stay on! FFS - if your keeper can't run / kick / move around his area aren't you asking for trouble? Even if we had got away with it and got a point, how long is he going to be out for now that he has made his injury worse by playing on? You had a keeper on the bench Redknapp, why didn't you use him?
I don't get it, I really don't. I realise that this has been a rant, but I can't believe what I just saw. I was worried before today by the increasing tendency of players and management to blame everything but themselves for bad results, but after that I'm terrified. There is simply nothing to suggest any cause for optimism. One thing is for certain: no matter who we sign this month, if this is the benchmark for the rest of our season, then we are going down. And don't expect us to bounce back any time soon.
