Welcome to the Horror Show

I remember fondly the sensation I used to get on attending the first home game of the season, the trudge through the bowels of White Hart Lane and a long walk up a dark stairwell, only to step out into the pristine chapel of Tottenham Hotspurs,the August sunlight reflecting the brilliance of the perfection of the green playing surface. It was almost religious…

Now that I am 11,000+ miles away in self-imposed exile, the ritual is somewhat diminished…. I record the games off the Sky satellite overnight and wake pre-dawn on a Sunday morning to a darkened living room, the chill of a winter’s night not quite passed, with only a mug of tea and a TV for company. No cathartic transition from darkness to sunlight, no chance to absorb the smell of a new coat of paint or the freshly mown grass, no atmosphere, no buzz, just the bright glow of a TV in the dimness of a cold New Zealand morning….

And on this day, not even the comfort of a good result to take the edge off...

After switching on and listening to the team selection, my hopes were buoyed by the inclusion of Modric in the starting line-up, and perplexed by Crouchys call up. I know Crouch has some form against Man City, but even though we had lost the previous weekend, I would have rekoned that Defoe looked to be a better choice than just a single lanky bean-pole up front.

The game kicked off and Spurs took the initiative right from the very start with 2 very good attacks in the first few minutes. VdV looked sharp, and was unlucky that Joe Hart was in good form to push away a couple of good chances. For a few minutes I began to believe that we actually had a chance in this game that is until the Man City front line started to move up a gear. Friedel was once again called into action early on to tip away a shot from Silva, but with Nasri and Aguero orchestrating some flowing moves from midfield it was not going to be too long before they unpicked the lock on our defence. After a good break on the wing, Nasri crossed perfectly for Dzeko to poke home in front of a hapless Kaboul.

Even at 0-1 down we had a couple of quality chances, and I thought that we could get back in this game. Firstly Bale was found at the back post but somehow ended up blasting over the bar, and a few minutes later, this time Bale was the supplier and his superb cross was met by Crouch’s header, only for the ball to sail fractionally past the right-hand post. But then almost immediately a well worked header from Dzeko, where he headed the ball backwards against the direction of the keeper, and we were 0-2 down. Once again, for the second week in a row, our heads dropped and Spurs slipped out of the game.

Despite a Second half revival, and Kaboul scoring Tottenham’s first league goal of the season, Dzeko ended up netting 2 more goals with Aguero getting on the score sheet to make it a 1-5 drubbing. Worse still, Modric didn’t look engaged, Lenno went off with a groin strain, and VdV walked off with a hamstring. 

When it rains it pours…

It was a poor performance all round, even taking into consideration the excellent movement of  Man City’s midfield, and the newly found quality of Dzeko’s attack. Even if we expect both Man United & Man City to be in the top 3 at the end of the season, and dropping points against them was to be expected, the manner of the 2 defeats don’t bode well for the upcoming away game against Wolves, (never an easy trip).

The only solace I can take from the day is seeing Arsenal go down 8-2 to a rampant Manchester United. Even we only let in 3 goals....

My Player ratings: -

• Friedel – 7.0 – Played well even if he did have to pick 5 goals out of the back of the net
• Bale – 5.5 – Uninspiring game, 1 big miss and very few crosses
• Kaboul - 6.5 – Apart from the gaol, not one of his best games
• Dawson – 5.5 – Missing in action for most of the game
• Corluka – 6.0 – Average performance, but Nasri had him in his pocket
• Assou-Ekotto – 6.0 - Average performance
• Lennon  - 5.5 – Some good movement early on, but then went AWOL
• Van der Vaart – 6.5 – Best of a poor bunch until he pulled a hammy
• Modric  - 5.0 – For God’s sake get a grip man...!
• Kranjcar  - 6.0 – Average start to the game, tailed off in the 2^nd half
• Crouch -5.5 – Should have done better, but really unsupported
• Huddlestone – 6.0 – Not much he could do, some good passes but all too late
• Defoe – 6.5  - Should have been on from the start
• Livermore – 6.5 – Looked lively when he came on, better than Modric on the day