The Away Form Continues

Fulham are one of those teams that you can never be too sure what the result will be. Some years they are tough and difficult to play. especially at home, and we have been lucky to come away with a draw. Mostly though we go to The Cottage with high hopes of an expected win, only to have those hopes dashed by resilient Fulham and a late goal.

Even without Harry on the sidelines, Spurs got off to our usual high-impact start with Adebayor & Kyle Walker once again carving an opportunity out of nothing down the right hand side. Walkers pace destroyed the Fulham defence, allowing him to get to the by-line and making a smart cutback to Lennon, who's well placed shot was parried by Schwarzer into the path of an on-rushing Bale. The Welsh Monkey God need no second invitation to unleashed a fierce shot that cannoned off of Baird and into the back of the net. Ten minutes played and 1-nil up...

Fulham had their chances during the first half, with Granddad Friedel making some great saves from the likes of Dempsey and the like-wise aging defender, John Arne Riise, (I thought he had retired...?), but Tottenham were strong through the midfield, and ended the half strongly. So strongly indeed, that in injury time Lennon popped up on the left after a neat interchange with Bale, and weaved his way past a defender before shooting across Schwarzer and into the net on the far-side. CRACKER... and into the changing rooms at half time 2-nil up....

The second half followed the now usual script, with Fulham coming out strongly and immediately putting the Spurs back 4 under pressure, which eventually led to a goal. Much like the goal conceded the week before against QPR it came from a corner that was not effectively cleared, and Kings wayward header clipped Kaboul on the back and deflected past a stranded Friedel.

From then on it was all Fulham, and at no point for the remainder of the half was I confident that Spurs would come out on top. There was one almighty classic goal-mouth scramble, where at one point, Walker was on the ground at the feet of the players holding the ball to his chest...? How we got away with that one I don't know. Luka Modric, who had done almost nothing all game, managed to save a nailed-on goal from Dempsey whilst guarding the post at a corner, when he somehow scooped the ball off the line and put it round the post... Amazing....

Even with a minute to go in injury time I was still not convinced we were going to hang on for the win, when Defoe, who had come on for VdV, was presented with the slightest of chances from a deflected Adebayor cutback, that he wasted no time in dispatching into the back of the net for a very unlikely 3-1 score line.....

Although I have complained over the past few weeks about Tottenham' inability to put a game away when we go ahead, we have at least done enough to seal the win eventually on each occasion, whereas in previous season we would have collapsed under the pressure. It appears that this season, Spurs are a different proposition away from home, and I think the addition of Parker in midfield has given us a resilience that he have not seen at Spurs for a good couple of decades. Even though I do not really enjoy the closeness of some of these games, and I would prefer to see my beloved Tottenham win in style every week, I'll take a win every day of the year....

Come On You Spurs....

My player ratings are: -

   

• Friedel - 8.0 - Another great performance that kept us in the game
• Bale - 7.5 - Starting to cause some real threat and score on a regular basis
• Kaboul - 7.0 - Couldn't do much about the goal, but a generally good game
• King - 7.0 - Probably could have done better with the goal, but I can overlook that...
• Walker - 8.0 - Great build up play for the first goal. A career in Rugby may await...
• BAE - 7.0 - Quiet but solid game, just how a left back should be
• Lennon - 8.0 - Working well with Bale and popping up in new positions. Great goal
• Sandro - 6.5 - Bit-part performance, which strengthened the midfield toward the end
• Parker - 8.0 - Another gritty game from our midfield lynch pin
• Van der Vaart - 7.5 - Lots of industry this week, just not the end product
• Defoe - 7.5 - Did nothing but score... I'll take that...
• Modric - 7.5 - Seems a little out-of-place in the midfield. Great goal saving stop though
• Adebayor - 7.5 - Still no goal but some great touches. Strong in defence as well

To Russia with Love...??

The return match between Tottenham and Rubin Kazan was played live on ESPN at 6:00am on Friday morning here in New Zealand, which gave just about enough time for me get up, watch the first half, shower at half-time, watch the second half, and head off to work before 9:00am. In reflection, I am not sure why I bothered...?  I knew that this would the Spurs Europa League 'B' team playing away from home in the far distant Russian hinterland, in a game in which the result was less important than previous games, as long as we didn't get spanked... But for some reason, I put some money of a Tottenham win, (because of the good odds), and watched anyway.

The first 20 minutes was an object lesson in keeping the ball from Spurs, the Ruskies hardly got a look-in, but even with all that possession we did nothing with it, just endlessly recycled the ball around the midfield & defence. Suddenly and with little warning, the game sort of opened up and the Russians started to apply some serious pressure on our decidedly second string defence. In particular, the playmaker Kasaev look very very dangerous, along with Natcho and Ryazantsev, and if it was not for a fine series of excellent saves from the age-defying Cudicini in the Spurs goal, we could have been 3 or 4 down by half time.

My season long disappointment with Roman 'the Pavlova' Pavlyuchenko contiued, as he spent the first 45 minutes running around aimlessly, only to make a half-hearted effort to poke a foot out at a great cut back from Defoe, the solitary opportunity Totteham had in front of goal. I know he scored a corker in the home leg, but he needs to at least look like he is trying, he can't keep drifting through these games.... He made Obafemi Martins look industrious....!

The irony of the whole game was that this time it was Rubin Kazan that scored from an excellently taken free-kick, from an almost identical position from where Pav scored in the home leg. This time it was Natcho who stepped up and neatly curled the ball over the wall and into the corner of the net, past a stranded Cudicini.

From that point on, it was all Rubin Kazan, and if it had not been for the single-handed heroic's of Cudicini in goal, the Ruskies may garbed a handful of goals to help with their goal difference. He pushed away Ryazantsev's shot and kept out a Karadeniz header before instinctively stopping Nelson Valdez's rasping effort. To add insult to injury, (or in this case, injury to insult), Gallas went off injured half way through the second half, replaced by Parrett, who had 20 minutes he would most likely like to forget.

At the final whistle I was glad that Tottenham had only lost by a single goal as it could have been so much worse. The result was bad enough, but when the stats showed that Spurs never had a shot on goal, it felt very disappointing. Looking on the bright side, we have POAK at home next, and I bet we will have a far stronger team on display for that match. This will be followed by an away game with Shamrock Rovers, which may end up being a dead rubber, but if not, expect to see a full strength team making their way to Ireland.

On a night where the keeper was our best player, it was a game that only die-hard fans will remember, and one we should really try and forget.

My player ratings are:-

• Cudicini - 8.5 - World-class goalkeeping display. Saved us from embarrassment
• Gallas - 7.0 - Our strongest defender who played well enough before going off injured
• Parrett - 4.0 - Useless, like a dog chasing a paper bag....
• Bassong - 6.0 - Mediocre performance with far too many mistakes
• Livermore - 6.0 - His best move was tackling the pitch invader, not direct enough
• Townsend - 6.0 - Never really got going, no penetration on the wing
• Pienaar  - 7.5 - Our best out-field player, that has to say something....?
• Fredericks - 5.5 - Some promise, but needs more time before his next start
• Carroll - 6.0 - Good individual skills but always looks a little out-of-his-depth
• The Pudding - 2.5 - Lazy, Lazy Lazy. Needs a good kick in the arse or a transfer
• Kane - 5.0 - Not enough of a run out, but did at least put some effort in
• Defoe - 5.5 - Lonely and lost up front, and forced to come too deep
• Falque - 6.5 - Lively and at least wanted to take the ball forward

Double Bubble

Spurs made a welcome return to White Hart Lane, and a welcome return to the style of football I love, with a 3-1 win over fellow Londoners QPR. After the nervy and discordant display at Blackburn Rovers the week before, it was markedly better game that had Bale finally on the score sheet this season, and our seventh undefeated game in a row.

As per usual, Spurs started very strongly, and but for the fine goalkeeping display from QPR's Paddy Kenny, we could have been at least 2-nil up within the first 10 minutes, with both VdV & Adebayor going close. It was clear that the result was never going to be in any doubt, and Tottenham didn't have too long to wait before we went ahead. Adebayor linked nicely with Van der Vaart on the right, who fed a clever ball in-field to Lennon, who easily picked out the unmarked Bale coming in from the left, who lashed the ball into the back of the net.

Bale very nearly scored a second a minute later from a well executed run & cut-back from BAE, but ended up putting it over the bar. Our second goal had a certain element of luck associated with it as Leadley Kings wild off-target shot landed right at the feet of an onside Van der Vaart, who easily slotted past the helpless keeper, for his fifth goal in as many games.

As is the Tottenham way, instead of nailing our advantage and scoring a hatful of goals, the Spurs team gave out a collective sigh, as if to say, "well that's it, we have done enough", and proceeded to take their foot off the gas. This was not helped by QPR's manager Warnock shuffling his pack at half time and adding a bit more steel to his attack by adding the extra man up front, and consequently applying more pressure on the Spurs Defence. This paid dividends 15 minutes into the second half when new boy Bothroyd easily nodded-in a corner in front of a static defence and a Goalkeeper that didn't do more than flap at the ball. Disappointing.

If we had continued to play the way we did after Blackburn scored last week, I could see QPR getting back in to this game. I think the the difference this weekend was that Spurs were playing in front of a home crowd, and instead of letting our heads-drop, the team upped their tempo and started playing with some intensity again. VdV had a couple more chances before an excellent move, again involing VdV, Lennon & Bale culminated in an excellently dispatched side foot into the top corner. The relief was palpable, and at 3-1 I could now start to enjoy the game again, which was made more enjoyable as I had a bet on a Spurs win and more than 4 goals... Double bubble...

Even though QPR are firmly rooted in the lower half of the league, this was a good game for Spurs that helped to highlight some of the progress we have made since the poor start against the Manc's. It was good to see Bale starting to recapture some of his mojo, and Lennon being involved in most of what was good about the game. Even though he didn't score, Adebayor also played well enough for a mention as did Parker & Walker. What was most pleasing to see was the all-round teamwork exhibited by all the Spurs players, that bodes well for the rest of the season.

My Player Ratings are: -

• Friedel - 7.0 - Maybe could have done more to stop the goal, but not bad overall.
• Bale - 8.5 - The Welsh Monkey God's best performance this season. More Please...
• Kaboul - 7.5 - Good performance, works well with Leadley
• King - 7.5 - Accomplished performance from our irregular hero
• Walker - 7.0 - Not as much influence on this game as previous games, but still strong
• Assou-Ekotto - 6.5 - Bit of a mismatch marking Bothroyd at the corner, but solid otherwise
• Lennon - 8.0 - Looked good coming in off the wing for both of Bales goals. Sweet....
• Parker - 8.0 - Central pivot around which a strong team performance was delivered
• Sandro - 6.0 - Always good to see our Brazilian 'Destroyer', even if it was for only a few minutes
• Van der Vaart - 8.0 - Great Goal and a full 90 minutes, who would have guessed...?
• Modric - 7.5 - Nothing too flashy this week just a solid game for the team
• Adebayor -7.5 - Should have scored, but on balance contributed more than he missed

Winning Dirty

The line between winning and losing is sometimes a very fine one, and Sundays game was a great example of just how fine that line can be sometimes. Whilst in retrospect Spurs had the upper hand in the stats over the course of their encounter with bottom-of-the-table Blackburn Rovers, any self-respecting Spurs fan would have been biting their nails down to the quick throughout most of the second half. I cannot even pride our back four on some stout defending as Spurs seemed to lose all semblance of shape throughout the game, and it was not for Blackburn's poor quality in front of goal, it could have been a different story....

Looking at the team sheet I thought this was the best line up we have fielded for a while, and the game started brightly enough with both teams looking up for a competitive game. Hoilett made a few early penetrating runs through the left side of the Spurs defence, but he ultimately squandered with poor passing. At the other end both Bale & Adebayor came very close within the first 10 minutes, which took some good work from the Blackburn defensive backline to stop an early goal.

Fifteen minutes in and Adebayor released Walker on the right-hand touchline who started off on one of his now familiar athletic runs to the bye-line, where he skilfully picked out the waving Van der Vaart, who majestically slotted the ball passed the flying Robinson, into the bottom corner. Praise was due almost in it's entirety to Walker's run, and VdV acknowledged this in his celebrations.

One-nil up and Spurs started to play expansive football, with Bale terrorising Lowe on the left flank, putting in crosses that were causing Rovers all sorts of problems. Adebayor had a nailed on chance gifted to him from a Bale cross, but he seemed to scuff his shot, allow the ex-Spurs goalkeeper time to deflect it wide. At this point I thought that this game could go one of two ways; either we ran away with it and racked up a cricket score, (as Man City had done earlier in the day); or we would take our foot-off-the-gas and make hard work of retaining our lead.

As is now becoming routine on the road, we made it difficult for ourselves, giving away a needless foul 25 yards out, that allowed Pedersen to send the ball straight on to Samba's massive head, and nod it down to the waiting Formica to slide in from inside the area.... Bugger..!  Whilst we had a few chances to regain the lead after the half-hour mark, but Blackburn kept coming back at us, keeping the pressure on, and if it had not been for some good work from Friedel, we could have gone it at half time behind.

I like Harry, I think overall he has been very good for Spurs in the 3 years he has been in charge, but I am sceptical that he is able to put the 'fear-of-God' into the players during the halftime break like some other Managers we know. I always picture him sitting around in the changing room having a cup of tea and a biscuit, saying, "Don't worry lads, we'll come out on top, won't we...?", oh to be a fly on the wall.

Anyway we came out unchanged for the second half, and immediately started to look under pressure. Even the goal seemed to be against the run of play to some degree, as a poor pass ran loose on the edge of the penalty area, where fortunately VdV latched on to it and planted a sweetly hit ball into the back of the Blackburn net.

At Two-One I again foolishly thought that his may be a turning point in the game, but after the goal it was almost all Blackburn coming at us with wave-after-wave of high balls, poor passes and wasted chances. No-one in the Spurs defence seemed to be able to put their foot on the ball and make a cultured pass out of defence, it was all scrappy long ball stuff, hoofed away to anywhere on the park. All this did was invite the pressure back on Spurs, and we never really looked like we would be able to kill the game off with a third goal, but the spectre of a Rovers equaliser was ever-present.

For the final 30 minutes I watched in agonised despair as we desperately clung on to that slender one goal lead, and resisted all Blackburn attempts to breach our goal, even if Friedel did spill the ball, Bennie came close to giving away a penalty, and Samba accidentally back-heading the ball almost beyond our flailing keeper.... Towards the end we brought on Rose & Defoe to no avail, and Rovers brought on the ever-muscular Yakubu who bullied his way around our 6 yard box, and even he missed a chance to steal it at the death, poking the ball wide.

Four minutes of injury time went on for an eternity, but in the end the Ref blew his whistle and we survived to take home the 3 points. Pundits often say that a championship winning team needs to 'win-dirty' in a campaign in order to go the distance, but this 'ugly' win against a team at the foot of the table was far from convincing.

My Player Ratings: -

• Friedel - 7.5 - Not his best game, but he did keep us in it with some fine saves
• Bale - 7.0 - Had a good 30 minutes in the first half , but faded from the game after that
• Kaboul - 7.0 - Another that didn't play to his normal level, did just enough
• Bassong - 6.5 - Average performance, cant say much more than that
• Walker - 8.0 - Much better going forward, but just about covered his defensive duties
• Assou-Ekotto - 6.5 - Poor showing from our usually dependable left-back
• Lennon - 6.0 - Look good in patches, still hunting for the form of old
• Rose - 6.0 - Added very little when he came on
• Parker - 6.5 - At fault for the Rovers goal, average performance at best
• Van der Vaart - 8.5 - As long as he keeps scoring, he should be in the starting line-up
• Defoe - 6.0 - Wasted substitution, should have brought on Sandro
• Modric - 6.5 - Had few opportunities to shine, less than usual quality from the wizard
• Adebayor - 6.5 - Should have done better with the handful of chances he had

Revenge of the Pudding

I have really developed a deep disliking for our mercurial Russian striker, Roman 'the pudding' Pavlyuchenko, this season, as he meanders through games, shuffles aimlessly around the penalty box and occasionally pokes a shot high, wide, and seldom handsome.

So yesterday he starts in the Europa league game against 'Rhubarb' Kazin, continues his directionless forays in and around the area for the first 30 minuets, and then steps up and scores the best free-kick by a player in a Tottenham shirt since Gazza against the Scum in 1991...!

I'm not quite sure what Walker was doing behind the wall and whether or not he was interfering with play, but the keeper could have had a thousand attempts to stop that shot, he would never had made it. Unfortunately ther is only one word to describe it, and that is 'Sublime'...

That pudding has given me indigestion....

PS. I will not be doing a full review as I had to watch the game, (and I use the term loosely), on a combination of a dodgy internet feed, and BBC London 94.9 on the iPlayer... Not recommended....

My Player ratings :-

• Gomes - 6.5 - Equal parts comedy & brilliant, just what we have come to expect
• Bassong - 7.0 - The best of a make-shift defence
• Walker - 7.0 - Athletic performance, all over the park
• Lennon - 6.5 - Good to see Azza playing himself back to fitness
• Modric - 5.5 - 15 minute Cameo of no great note
• Rose - 6.0 - Had a bit of an up-and-down sort of game, needs more polish
• Livermore - 6.0 - Some good touches but not really a Centre-back
• Sandro - 8.5 - IMMENSE, what more can I say
• Kaboul - 6.5 - Brought on to bolster the defence. Job Done
• Carroll - 6.0 - Still looks like a boy amongst men, but still a prospect
• Pavlyuchenko - 9.5 - Nine of those point are for the free kick
• Giovani - 6.5 - lost of running, just wish he would take the ball with him
• Assou-Ekotto - 6.0 - Another brought on to bring a better defensive shape in the 2nd half
• Defoe - 6.5 - A couple of good efforts, needs some more heading practice

I'll take an away draw....

After two weeks of international break, i was starting to get withdrawal symptoms..... I am impatient for Spurs to continue the good start to our season and make our way back into the Top 4 where we belong.  Having said that, it was not going to be a push over for us, as we have not beaten Newcastle United away in six seasons or so, and they have had a good start to the season as well. With an unbeaten run of 7 games, this game against the 'Toon' looked like it would a good test of our resolve and allow us to see how far we have come.

Our team formation has settled down recently, and apart from the inclusion of Livermore in midfield, it's pretty much that same squad we have used in the Premiership over the past month or so. Having said that, not sure why VdV could not start in central midfield and allow Defoe to start up front with Adebayor..? I mean is VdV really an attacker or a midfielder/supporting striker, he does spend a lot the game coming deep most of the time...? I guess Harry knows what he is doing....

The first half was a cagey affair, with both teams feeling each other out for weaknesses & openings, which were few & far between. Whilst there was some good build up play from Spurs in midfield, the Newcastle defence was resolute and easily contained our efforts to break through on goal. The major 1^st half event was losing Leadley King to another injury, as he pulled up with an abductor strain, and was replaced with Bassong. King has been immense in the past 4 wins, and this was a big blow for our defence.

Livermore & Modric at the heart of the midfield were both fairly quiet for the first half hour, but equally there was little for Friedel & the defence to worry about.  That all changed on 40 minutes when Livermore stole the ball from Cabaye and nudged it through to Adebayor running through on the box, where Steven Taylor clipped the tall striker, who took the opportunity to go down for the penalty. It looked like a pretty weak foul, but Taylor was nowhere near the ball, and after a moment’s hesitation, or intervention from the linesman, the Ref pointed to the spot.  Van der Vaart stepped up and took a finely executed penalty, sending Krull the wrong way, and planning the ball firmly in the back of the net.

The second half was an altogether different story, with Newcastle taking the gloves off and coming at Spurs right from the whistle. Gutierrez was given far too much space on the left and easily strolled to the by-line before delivering a neat lofted pass into the area where Demba Ba was on hand to slide in an push the ball past a sprawling Friedel. The marking on the goal was a bit random and Newcastle were given far too much space and time to walk through the defence, Walker & Modric did little to stop Gutierrez on the left, and Bassong & BAE did not pick up Ba’s run into the box.

The good news was that the equaliser happened early enough in the 2^nd half that Tottenham had plenty of time, and inclination to came back at Newcastle in equal measure.  Adebayor was unlucky not to put Spurs back in front a couple of times, the closest chance being a low angled shot that beat the keeper but went narrowly passed the upright. Harry threw Defoe into the mix, replacing a ‘leggy’ VdV, which paid immediate dividends, when a neat through ball found him with his back to the goal and being closely marked by Taylor, but with a quick spin inside, he managed to let loose with a fierce low shot that Krul could not react quickly enough to.

At 2-1 up, it was game on, and while Tottenham look like they wanted to put the game to bed with a 3^rd goal, Newcastle were also doing all they could to get that vital equaliser and save their unbeaten run. Spurs had a couple of efforts and if Defoe & Adebayor had been a little less selfish, we could have scored. The game had gone end-to-end with Newcastle coming close with some long range efforts from Tiote & Ryan Taylor saved by Friedel, but Spurs  were holding on valiantly. That is until substitute Shola Ameobi was given just a little bit too much room on the left and launched a missile of a shot that Friedel had no change of saving.

Even at 2-2, it was still a very open game and it could have gone either way. Defoe has a couple of chances to score, and Newcastle kept coming with Coloccini going close, but in the end I think it was overall a fair result,  and it was good to come away with a point where in the past we may have capitulated at the end. Newcastle, while not being flashy, look very solid and hopefully will continue their good run of form.

My Player Ratings: - 

• Friedel – 7.0 – Not much to do in the first half, but was he too slow to get down for the second goal.
• Bale – 6.5 – Pretty much anonymous, and didn’t look comfortable on the right
• Kaboul – 7.5 – Very solid at the back and looking like becoming a regular in the centre-back pairing
• King – 5.5 – Always a sad sight to our heroic talisman hobble off yet again….
• Bassong  - 6.5 – Slotted in nicely but should have picked up Ba for the first goal
• Walker – 7.0 – Looked good going forward, but may need to keep focus on his defensive role as well
• Assou-Ekotto – 7.0 – Some good forward forays and look dependable at the back
• Parker – 6.5 – Not his best game in a Spurs shirt but still adds a lot of strength in the middle
• Van der Vaart – 7.5 – Great penalty, but still not looking at his best
• Defoe – 8.0 - This week’s super sub, reasonable to ask why he was not playing from the start..?
• Modric – 6.0 – Sub-par performance from the Croatian
• Livermore – 6.5 – Nothing sensational, a little quiet at times, but still a good game for the lad
• Adebayor – 7.5 – Could do with being a little less selfish sometimes, but still plenty of chances
• Pavlyuchenko – 5.0 – Why do we persist with this clown…?

Player Ratings - The story so far...

If you have been reading the blog you will know that after each game that I actually manage to watch on TV, I will rate the players performance for that game.

In the interests of understanding who our best performers have been so far, I have added up the individual rating for each game, (removing the lowest & highest scores), and divided this total by the number of games played, (assuming more than 2 games played this season)

This gives the following weighted value for my rating of each player for the season so far: -

• 8.50 Parker
• 7.63 Friedel
• 7.50 Adebayor
• 7.20 Walker
• 7.00 Van der Vaart
• 7.00 Defoe
• 7.00 King
• 7.00 Sandro
• 6.83 Corluka
• 6.75 Kaboul
• 6.75 Assou-Ekotto
• 6.75 Kranjcar
• 6.67 Modric
• 6.63 Bale
• 6.50 Livermore
• 6.50 Bassong
• 6.00 Pavlyuchenko
• 5.50 Lennon
• 5.50 Giovani

Note: Of the 31 players have been rated so far this season, only the above 19 qualify for rating as they have played more than 2 games