Frankly, I think it is a bit disingenuous for him to suggest that he was disappointed that the players didn't hunt for a 6th and 7th goal.

As soon as we had 4-5 goals, MJ started making substitutions and pulled off three of his first choice 11. Inevitably, this disrupted the team shape and sapped our momentum. It also sent out a signal that we were happy with what we had.

I think the substitutions were very sensible and all three of them played pretty well, but blaming the players for sitting back is a bit rich, as it was the manager who provoked it.

I love the fact he said that. Exactly what Bill Nic would have said too.

Not sure, DM, both Murphy and Mido would have had something to prove and were brought on with plenty of time to do it in, and Malbranque and Berbatov needed the rest. It should have been with the aim of renewing the team's energy that Jol made the substitutions. Everything is so tight this season that goal difference might be crucial and Jol realises this as much as anyone. In the end, as he indicates, the professionals out there treated it more like a training game and it's difficult to 'blame' them if they've done such a good job.

Don't think you can argue with the scoreline, i'm always someone who no matter how many goals we are up i always want us to be pushing for more goals, but subsitutions can change the game for bad or worse. I think that in this case the momentum was taking away with the subs we made.
I hope thats not the only tonking we hand out to a team this year though, i've had a feeling it would all click in one game soon with the amount of chances we have been creating and not putting away. So well done again lads!

gr8 scoreline but ould have been more, how many times have we said that this season??

cant wait for nxt game especially as it could be a big decider for our season

if we win we play a third placed team or if we lose then we play either CSKA moscow, Werder Bremen, Bordeaux, benfica, steau bucharest, shackter donesk, aek athens, sparta prague

I believe that we play a 3rd-placed team if we draw against Dinamo Bucuresti. Am I right?

Yup - Dinamo have 7 points, we have 9 and it's the final group game for us both - a draw will see us top the group and then play a 3rd placed team. 2nd place gets us a CL drop-out.

Selling Kanoute was the most stupid thing Jol has done so far. And for that price! Sometimes we really tore teams apart when Kanoute was playing. We would be better off with him instead of Mido. Now he shines in Sevilla instead.

Although i may be wrong, i am sure Jol wouldnt have sold Kanoute because 'he lacked ability' He showed on many occasions how fantastic he could be. I remember readin on here that he refused to go on an end of season tour or sumin. So u never really know what happens behind the scenes

The Kanoute sale was clearly against Jol's wishes. But it was also an attitude issue, not a quality issue. There were plenty who disliked him on this site, thinking (wrongly) that he was lazy and also (rightly) that he didn't score enough goals.

I thought at the time that he was our best attacker and the focal point of our best performances. Last season, after a shaky start, Carrick became the focal point, so off he went. It's typical Spurs really.

What's great about the side we're developing now is that we've got a selection of possible matchwinners - Zokora, Huddlestone, Lennon, Keane, Defoe. But the one who looks the best is Berbatov. We've found one of the maybe 10 strikers in Europe with more ability than Kanoute.

Kanoute was sold becuase he changed countries, left us in the lerch went to play in the african nations, come back and did nothing. Yes he was a talent but he done us up

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re:

It's not like he is the first ever player in England to participate in the African Nations Cup now is it? We have Mido, Ghaly and Zokora in our squad now. The Arse*** used to have at least 2-3. The problem was that we were totally dependent on him. We didn't have any alternatives. Jol knew this, as he said that Fredi was his first name on the block come matchday. Therefore, i suspect the board's influence on his departure, something which is a frightening prospect if it continues( haven't seen it yet though).
My personal opinion is that Mido isn't half the player that Fredi was, and we would have the best strikeforce in the premiership if Fredi was still here.

The issue with Kanouté and the African Nations Cup happened before Jol arrived - Pleat was in charge. And the reason it was a problem was not because he went - as Freddiehotspur points out, we have 3 eligible players at present and other teams have them, too.

The issue was that he aimed to be a France international when we signed him, so the management didn't count on him disappearing for weeks in mid-season. Then he decided to play for Mali instead and didn't consult the club about the implications of his decision.

He's a fine player in many ways, but consistency was never his forté when he played in England and I think his off-field disciplinary issues, such as not turning up for a friendly tour, finally damaged his relationship with Jol, who was probably his main supporter at club level. Once that happened, he was off.

I and others have observed that we gave teams a number of spankings in Freddie's last year with us and he was on the pitch for all of them. Tactically speaking, if we have a replacement for him now, it isn't Mido, it's Berbatov, because of his ability to receive and retain the ball high up the pitch.

We'll see if Berbatov turns into our ever-present when we administer thrashings ... which, of course, it would be nice to do more frequently than once every 18 months.

That's exactly what he did, and refused to accept a fine imposed on him for not taking part. I don't think it was the first time either. He was not a team player in that way and always wanted his own way. I believe his refusal to pay the fine was the final straw.