- Oct 19, 2004
- 39,837
- 50,713
Ratings v Bolton Cup II
Patience is a virtue.
But so is good set piece delivery.
Once again our jolly non wheeler dealer came up trumps. I liked the changes he made and what I thought was a 4231 (He confused me slightly in his post match interview by saying "we played 3 again in midfield tonight" - he is old, I forget shit I did 5 minutes before and I'm only 46). Even if it was the 433 again, it certainly played like a 4231 with Modric clearly ahead and central of Parker and Livermore.
I know it was the cup. I know it was Bolton. I know this Bolton aren't the rugged kick first ask questions later of yesteryear. But boy did we take them apart with some scintillating football at times. Even taking the performance of the opposition into account, and Bolton really weren't up to much, part of that was we were just damn fucking good and never allowed them to leave go.
4231 or 433 what we have clearly seen in the last two games, played in very different circumstances is playing with two "normal" cm's and without two orthodox wingers means more creativity not less. Both the last two games saw us create more and better quality chances than previous games.
I have no problem with us missing good chances, the more we make the more we will eventually take, all great teams play this way and make and miss great chances. It's much better than relying on half chances and miracles. Arsenal's great side missed at least 3 1v1's every week. And tonight most of the great chances were saved not missed.
Bale was superb tonight, he really seemed to take the game by the throat and seemed to be everywhere. Adebayor was very good and VDV was bang on. Modric showed some nice touches, but best of all they all interacted superbly.
I thought the subs were spot on too. Right people, right times. We still need to be a little more diligent about our defending at times, otherwise we undo the lots of good work with a little sloppy shit, and we gave Bolton a sniff they should never have had. That apart though, this was a top notch demolition that was vey entertaining.
And the importance of set piece practice was made clear tonight. Sometimes, no matter how brilliant your team play, it needs a good old fashioned corner to unlock the door. We'd clearly been practicing these as there was a marked improvement. Not only did we score from a corner, we actually hit the bar from a free kick.
Ratings:
Cudicini 6 - Not a lot to do, but was OK.
Walker 6.5 - His technique let him down a few times tonight, over running the ball and giving it away needlessly a couple of times. His pace gets him into good positions but he just lacks the craft to deliver. He has a great attitude and fast legs though.
Nelson 7.5 - Good game and vital goal.
King 6 - Was OK tonight, but has deteriorated very quickly. Was caught a bit flat footed for their goal.
Ekotto 7.5 - Very good game tonight and contributed heavily to our build up play., also setting up a few chances.
Parker 7 - Good game. Has been a bit leaden footed around the opponents box lately when he gets there. Lacking composure with his final ball/shot. Was unlucky not to score what would have been a great move.
Livermore 7 - Did simple things pretty well. Lacks a bit of dynamism at times but is very economical with the ball.
VDV 8 - Was very good. Could have done a little better with his chance but his movement and intelligence created openings all night. Should have done better maybe with his chance but also created a 1v1 for Adebayor too as well as one for Modric as well I think. A good nights shift
Modric 7.5 - Was a little bit quiet at times but was very good at others. Once again being involved in the areas of the pitch where his touch, glide and vision help us create more opportunities. I would have rather swapped him and VDV around as VDV has just that little bit more composure in the box and Modric is better at moving with the ball at his feet, but it was still great to see him, VDV and Bale all interacting in advances positions. I wish he could be a bit more assertive when he gets into the shooting positions.
Bale 8.5 - An outstanding nights work. Seemed to be everywhere and you can see the influence that VDV is having on his game on nights like tonight. He drifted around, came deep, went wide and took his goal beautifully. He still makes the odd poor choice (like shooting from a tight angle) and wastes the odd good position, but this was as good as I've seen him play.Sometimes I reckon he could be converted into an uber striker.
Adebayor 8 - Great shift.
Defoe 7 - we got the full mini cameo. Was typically DefoeLively©. Came on, shifted and shot. Completely missed a great chance in the 6 yard box, did really well to set up Bale for the goal, then was unbelievable selfish when he should have passed a couple of times and was rightly berated by Bale. At 2-1 wasting a guilt edge chance to roll him in clean through. An 80th minute sub is perfect role for Defoe as you can usually condense everything he does in 90 minutes into a 5-10 minute window anyway, this way he does it all at once.
Saha 6.5 - Great goal.
Redknapp 9 - superb allround decisions two games running.
Patience is a virtue.
But so is good set piece delivery.
Once again our jolly non wheeler dealer came up trumps. I liked the changes he made and what I thought was a 4231 (He confused me slightly in his post match interview by saying "we played 3 again in midfield tonight" - he is old, I forget shit I did 5 minutes before and I'm only 46). Even if it was the 433 again, it certainly played like a 4231 with Modric clearly ahead and central of Parker and Livermore.
I know it was the cup. I know it was Bolton. I know this Bolton aren't the rugged kick first ask questions later of yesteryear. But boy did we take them apart with some scintillating football at times. Even taking the performance of the opposition into account, and Bolton really weren't up to much, part of that was we were just damn fucking good and never allowed them to leave go.
4231 or 433 what we have clearly seen in the last two games, played in very different circumstances is playing with two "normal" cm's and without two orthodox wingers means more creativity not less. Both the last two games saw us create more and better quality chances than previous games.
I have no problem with us missing good chances, the more we make the more we will eventually take, all great teams play this way and make and miss great chances. It's much better than relying on half chances and miracles. Arsenal's great side missed at least 3 1v1's every week. And tonight most of the great chances were saved not missed.
Bale was superb tonight, he really seemed to take the game by the throat and seemed to be everywhere. Adebayor was very good and VDV was bang on. Modric showed some nice touches, but best of all they all interacted superbly.
I thought the subs were spot on too. Right people, right times. We still need to be a little more diligent about our defending at times, otherwise we undo the lots of good work with a little sloppy shit, and we gave Bolton a sniff they should never have had. That apart though, this was a top notch demolition that was vey entertaining.
And the importance of set piece practice was made clear tonight. Sometimes, no matter how brilliant your team play, it needs a good old fashioned corner to unlock the door. We'd clearly been practicing these as there was a marked improvement. Not only did we score from a corner, we actually hit the bar from a free kick.
Ratings:
Cudicini 6 - Not a lot to do, but was OK.
Walker 6.5 - His technique let him down a few times tonight, over running the ball and giving it away needlessly a couple of times. His pace gets him into good positions but he just lacks the craft to deliver. He has a great attitude and fast legs though.
Nelson 7.5 - Good game and vital goal.
King 6 - Was OK tonight, but has deteriorated very quickly. Was caught a bit flat footed for their goal.
Ekotto 7.5 - Very good game tonight and contributed heavily to our build up play., also setting up a few chances.
Parker 7 - Good game. Has been a bit leaden footed around the opponents box lately when he gets there. Lacking composure with his final ball/shot. Was unlucky not to score what would have been a great move.
Livermore 7 - Did simple things pretty well. Lacks a bit of dynamism at times but is very economical with the ball.
VDV 8 - Was very good. Could have done a little better with his chance but his movement and intelligence created openings all night. Should have done better maybe with his chance but also created a 1v1 for Adebayor too as well as one for Modric as well I think. A good nights shift
Modric 7.5 - Was a little bit quiet at times but was very good at others. Once again being involved in the areas of the pitch where his touch, glide and vision help us create more opportunities. I would have rather swapped him and VDV around as VDV has just that little bit more composure in the box and Modric is better at moving with the ball at his feet, but it was still great to see him, VDV and Bale all interacting in advances positions. I wish he could be a bit more assertive when he gets into the shooting positions.
Bale 8.5 - An outstanding nights work. Seemed to be everywhere and you can see the influence that VDV is having on his game on nights like tonight. He drifted around, came deep, went wide and took his goal beautifully. He still makes the odd poor choice (like shooting from a tight angle) and wastes the odd good position, but this was as good as I've seen him play.Sometimes I reckon he could be converted into an uber striker.
Adebayor 8 - Great shift.
Defoe 7 - we got the full mini cameo. Was typically DefoeLively©. Came on, shifted and shot. Completely missed a great chance in the 6 yard box, did really well to set up Bale for the goal, then was unbelievable selfish when he should have passed a couple of times and was rightly berated by Bale. At 2-1 wasting a guilt edge chance to roll him in clean through. An 80th minute sub is perfect role for Defoe as you can usually condense everything he does in 90 minutes into a 5-10 minute window anyway, this way he does it all at once.
Saha 6.5 - Great goal.
Redknapp 9 - superb allround decisions two games running.