woody

[General Levy]

Well guys.

They said King wasn't injured; so why didn't he play?

 

[Legend10]

Well guys.

They said King wasn't injured; so why didn't he play?

Cotton wool for Saturday

 

[TopSpurMan]

shattered legs?

 

[yanno]

Woodgate done well, but for me the Hudd was outstanding!

The Hudd does have natural composure - something Dawson will never possess. We all know Big Tom's Achilles heel: his lack of pace and slowness on the turn. But Everton kept on trying to use Johnson's pace in behind him, and apart from the tangle of legs penalty claim, they had no success in this tactic.

I think the Hud'll need a run of games at CB to see if he can make it at the back at this level. But I applaud Ramos for giving him a chance at the back: it took cojones, and it hasn't backfired so far.

 

[Legend10]

The Hudd does have natural composure - something Dawson will never possess. We all know Big Tom's Achilles heel: his lack of pace and slowness on the turn. But Everton kept on trying to use Johnson's pace in behind him, and apart from the tangle of legs penalty claim, they had no success in this tactic.

I think the Hud'll need a run of games at CB to see if he can make it at the back at this level. But I applaud Ramos for giving him a chance at the back: it took cojones, and it hasn't backfired so far.

I think hudd could play at the back alongside either one of Woodgate or King with quick full backs like Hutton & bale. In a 4 which has 3 players with pace the Hudd would mostly get away with his mobility.

he has real composure, he is also brave and seems to spot the danger early. Somewhat surprisingly he also bloody good in the air which has never shown itself when he has played in midfield.

Finally and especially at home we would score goals with the Hudd at centre back as he would opening teams up with what can only be described as his fantastic long range passing.

 

[robbiesavagehasbreasts]

The Hudd does have natural composure - something Dawson will never possess. We all know Big Tom's Achilles heel: his lack of pace and slowness on the turn. But Everton kept on trying to use Johnson's pace in behind him, and apart from the tangle of legs penalty claim, they had no success in this tactic.

I think the Hud'll need a run of games at CB to see if he can make it at the back at this level. But I applaud Ramos for giving him a chance at the back: it took cojones, and it hasn't backfired so far.

Yep. That's three games in row for the Hudd at CB now. Has been very good there, if you ask me.

 

[yanno]

I think hudd could play at the back alongside either one of Woodgate or King with quick full backs like Hutton & bale. In a 4 which has 3 players with pace the Hudd would mostly get away with his mobility.

he has real composure, he is also brave and seems to spot the danger early. Somewhat surprisingly he also bloody good in the air which has never shown itself when he has played in midfield.

Finally and especially at home we would score goals with the Hudd at centre back as he would opening teams up with what can only be described as his fantastic long range passing.

I agree with all of that. I also think Ramos is a super savvy game coach, and will know when and how best to utilize the Hud's specific skillset. So, he'll understand the players to play him with, to give him a bit of defensive cover, and he'll also recognize opportunities to use the Hud's creativity.

For instance, there are some European matches when his vision at the back could be devastating. Hell - Big Tom might even bring the best out of Darren Bent. We saw pre-season that the Hud had the vision to spot Bent's runs early and the technique to play him in.

I really can't wait for Ramos to have a pre-season with his squad of players, all super fit thanks to Alvarez and co. Then we'll see him devise even more specific game plans for each opposition and, hopefully, stuff 'em! :grin:

 

[Legend10]

I agree with all of that. I also think Ramos is a super savvy game coach, and will know when and how best to utilize the Hud's specific skillset. So, he'll understand the players to play him with, to give him a bit of defensive cover, and he'll also recognize opportunities to use the Hud's creativity.

For instance, there are some European matches when his vision at the back could be devastating. Hell - Big Tom might even bring the best out of Darren Bent. We saw pre-season that the Hud had the vision to spot Bent's runs early and the technique to play him in.

I really can't wait for Ramos to have a pre-season with his squad of players, all super fit thanks to Alvarez and co. Then we'll see him devise even more specific game plans for each opposition and, hopefully, stuff 'em! :grin:

I agree, I've been going to Spurs for 30 years and I can't ever remember feeling that we have as much potential as we do now.

As for bent his dream would be to play with Hudd playing at centre half with time on the ball.The great thing about having a player like Hudd at centre half is that the opposition will find that they have no choice but to go and press him because if they don't his range of passing will put you under real pressure.The result of this is that it should be easier to play through midfield.

Hudd has played 3 games there and I can only recall1 major mistake and that was tonight in the 2nd half when he let Johnson get the wrong side of him and Arteta slipped him in, thankfully Cerny come up with a big save.

But overall I have been more than impressed.

 

[davids88]

i was at goodison tonight and i thought woodgate looked a great signing for us!very calm, headed everything away and just didnt panic.shame we couldnt take 3 points tonight but on the plus side, both Woodgate and Gunter were impressive

 

[SpurSince57]

I'd say the Hudd's quite possibly pushed himself up to third-choice CB. I like Dawson's commitment, and don't blame him too much for Sunday's misjudgements (I noticed Judas, with all his wealth of experience, got totally done by similar long hoofs from VdS tonight but got away with it), but he is very obviously short of gorms. On Sunday also, the Hudd outpaced Rooney over a short burst, starting from just behind him, which suggests he's using his noddle to anticipate. I think Jol perhaps got fixated with him as a CM after Carrick went and that it's taken a new head, under less pressure, to look at him anew and decide he's best employed as a CB.

Did any of us see that coming?

Oh, and Woody. From the pathetic amount of time we had on MOTD, the plaudits of the radio commentary and the match reports, sounds like we've got a good 'un.

 

[DC_Boy]

yep hudd did well but johnson did get behind him two or three times - nearly scoring once and the infamous 'pen' incident - which wasn't a pen - but as we all know they've been given

AJ was a very difficult opponent for Hudd and he handled him well - but he is still learning of course

 

[RamboRoberts]

Well we have a ready-made man in Woodgate, who maybe can get the best from Daws as Ledders can. I like the combo in principle, but if Tommy Hudd can play at the back, we may have unearthed yet another CB of note!

Bent would certainly gain from the Scuddmeister, and will latch onto those crazy missiles Huddlestone can produce. It does free-up space for the midfield too:hump:

So we have a new guy in Woodgate, who will do nicely, if he stays fit. But we also see the emergence of Tom Huddlestone!Eek

The new Beckenbauer???

 

[theShiznit]

the problem with Daws and Woody playing together is that they are both Right sided centre halves, and there is a LOT of difference in the two positions, I'm sure Woody would be able to play there but why limit a player when you have ample cover at left sided Centre back; Ledders, Gardner, Hudd, Kaboul (L or R) and Rocha.

and Dawson is not comfortable on the left as he has the turning circle of a great white.

The idea of Woodgate and Ledley together though is soooo sexy :hump:

 

[RamboRoberts]

True. Ledders, Woodgate and then Hutton with Gilberto!

Thats a cup final defense there...

 

[Blotto]

Here in the States we were lucky enough to see the match on a delay, Woody looked solid at the back--the effect of his presence, to me, was indeed pronounced. That back line was solid, and while we lacked offensive flair, I thought we defended very well--very calmly and as a team. Good match for Hudds and Gunter, who looked promising to me as well. Thumbs up to Woody, it looks like he is already starting to make his mark.

Where is Leds? Injured? Resting? Lost in a magical forrest?

 

[sim0n]

He didn't get injured tonight, good buy... COYS

:beer:

 

[JJ1978]

The yellow? No, the FA won't process it that quickly. It takes a week, I'm sure. He'll miss the Derby game.

Jolly good! Best game for him to miss to be honest!

 

[milkman]

"I thought Jonathan Woodgate was absolutely fantastic. He was commanding the back four and winning everything in the air.

"He was tight when he needed to be and made great decisions. Sometimes the good players are the ones that make the best decisions and Woody does that. We were very pleased with him."

Woody did have a good game....

 

[Netty]

Definitely man of the match, Tom a close 2nd.

 

[bubble07]

If ledley doesn't feature on saturday i think we can all safely say he is injured