Spurs v Villa – A Two Goal Thrashing

/ Alan / 8 Comments

A nondescript autumnal evening in a mousy part of north London. Monday night football, a game on the dullest day of a week that’s barely got started. The ground’s not quite full, acres of blue until 5 minutes or so before kick-off. A game we should win, and did, by a couple of goals at home against a mid-table side. In the history of Spurs, less even than a footnote, a dash or a comma maybe.

But when we look back and talk about the best performances, the days or nights when Spurs really turned it on and played with the verve and daring that marks us out from the rest, those who were there or who gaped open-mouthed in wonder at the television will fall quiet and with a far-away look in their eyes softly whisper – Spurs v Villa, November 21st, do you remember?

A performance of style and shimmering beauty not so much took the breath away as sucked it forcibly from your lungs leaving you gasping and swooning with astonishment. In the second half there was no let-up. Wave upon flowing wave of movement and inventiveness dazzled the hapless Villa defenders into submission. Attackers ransacked from all angles. Bale steaming down the left or muscling his way into the middle, scorching swerving missiles impossible to handle. Lennon tricky on the right, Van der Vaart sliding across the edge of the box, no one could have picked him up, let alone a bedraggled Villa side. Modric and Parker driving on from midfield, and again, again, no stopping them.

We’ve seen great players and fine displays many times before but seldom one of this intensity and consistency, an attitude that spread through every player and lasted for almost the whole 90 minutes. At the end of the first half the tempo dropped and we were less effective, although still dominant, but flagged only at the very beginning of the second half where, as with QPR, we seemed distracted. It was however only a momentary lapse. For the rest of the match we played as well as I can ever remember. If you want to know what I want from my Spurs, replay this spell of glorious attacking football, of unstinting effort, of intelligence, power and guile. Brilliant.

Churlish to pick out individuals when the team is the thing. Not just the runs from deep, the understanding of team-mates’ abilities that mean Parker can loop a 60 yard crossfield ball 30 yards ahead of Walker and still he gets it, or Modric can slide a ball through for, well, any of the several men who made runs from deep or came short. Not when Benny nonchalantly sprays passes into Bale’s stride or picks out his man inside, or when Kaboul mightily heads away pretty much everything.

But there’s Luka, under pressure, two men, dips his shoulder and turns in the same movement and is gone, not pausing but head up, eyes bright, searching for the next ball. Luka driving us forward time and time again or dropping deep to sweep up. Luka, having excelled to a level few others can dream of let alone achieve, makes a rare error and holds head in hands in self-admonishment. Because he cares. Chelsea, the transfer, wages – forget it, he cares.

Here’s Scott Parker. At 30, finally, he has the chance to make it at the very top and he will not allow his ambitions to be thwarted this time. Failed transfers, poor choices of club, injuries, he won’t get a better opportunity, so without breaking focus, face etched with the effort of concentration, he runs, he holds it, waits for others to reconfigure into the right place, short passes, long passes, through balls, cover tackles made as if his life depended on it rather than being in just another Monday night league match. He inspires the players and the fans. We watch him and we believe.

Kaboul, learning alongside King the master, they shall not pass. Villa are potentially dangerous in the air and on the break but when you have power and pace like this, there was no way through. Kaboul would not allow it.

Bale, not one but two full backs in Hutton and Cuellar to beat, and beat them he did. Over and over again. I don’t blame the Villa defenders for not dealing with that cross -see it live, in real time, how can anyone handle it? Manu, two goals and a couple of misses, not at his sharpest but once again his movement and ability to hold up the ball transforms our attacking options. Rafa roaming, unleashed. Should have scored, uncharacteristically over-playing a few chances at the edge of the box and passing when normally he would have shot but a fine game all round.

Ask people around my generation about the great games. Sure we have tales of finals, of Europe and Wembley, but many will give a quiet mention to another evening game, in the early European rounds at home to Feyenord with Cruyff and a young gauche Ruud Guillit. We scored four in a scintillating first half attacking unsurpassed in my memory when we got everything right. Last night the only difference was the number of goals. A victory to live long in the memory.

Redknapp Moves With The Times, Spurs Prosper

/ Alan / 8 Comments

Harry Redknapp is the quintessential English manager. Working class roots, played football since he was a kid, steeped in the game, worked his way up in management from the lower leagues. Close to his players, he preaches the virtues of hard work and character. He has prospered in the modern era but his teams would look familiar to fans from any era of English football – big men at the back, tough tackling midfielders and wingers with another big bloke up front.

He’s often scornful of tactics, preferring or so he claims, to assemble good players and let them express themselves on the pitch. John Giles, a shrewd man not easily fooled, concurs: “You don’t see him complicating it with big tactics or formations.” Yet our success this year has come about precisely because of a different approach to tactics. Like the players, he’s absorbed a few lessons from our European experience. A couple of changes have made all the difference.

Teams play from the back – get it right there and everything flows. That’s true for us, of which more later, but the crucial difference is up front. Redknapp has jettisoned his faith in a centre forward as target man in favour of mobility. Manu Adebayor is not performing to the best of his considerable ability but he doesn’t have to, because he brings out the strengths of those around him. Crouch was a target for Bale and Lennon’s crosses. Manu is that and more. In particular, his runs open up space for others to either move into themselves or to slide in a pass through the channels.

As a result, Van der Vaart has prospered. Harry has him in a free role, working across the pitch and in the gaps between the opponent’s back four and midfield. He can hang back or make a little run himself, feed Adebayor or a runner, all these and more are possible. Bale is encouraged to make diagonal runs into the box. When all three are firing, Lennon is stretching them wide and Modric is hanging around, any defence will struggle. Before we leave Rafa, note how hard he’s working this year. His ‘ground covered’ stats rival anyone on the pitch when he plays well. He’s no longer a luxury.

The other major development is our centre midfield. Whether they are called a half-back, defensive midfielder, midfield destroyer or ‘a Makelele-type’, English teams have revolved around the energetic, tough-tackling midfield player. Times have changed and Redknapp has moved on. Positional play, the ability to pick up the ball and distribute it, to keep possession until team-mates are in the right place and defence can become attack, these qualities are more valuable at the highest level of the game. Spurs fans owe a huge debt of gratitude to Wilson Palacios but he doesn’t possess these abilities and so, like Crouch, has become part of our past. We know Modric can do this. Now we have Parker too. Both can tackle but that’s a bonus.

The modern game is so much about possession and movement off the ball. The great Italian coach and theoretician Arrigo Sacchi talked about formations but in the end the most important quality was the player’s ability to understand where he was in relation to his team-mates and to the ball. It was as if the game is about thousands of these micro calculations, re-calibrating constantly as the game flows. Put it all together and you have a team functioning as a unit, adapting to the ebb and flow of the match, to the conditions, to the opposition’s pressure or the need to score or defend, and above all to whether or not you have the ball.

Scott Parker is good at many things but this is finest quality. He knows where he should be at any given time. In defence he will shield the back four or slip back into a channel, leaving the defence to mark opponents. He’ll pick it up and wait. Not dither or procrastinate, but wait, a touch or two here, shielding the ball as others move around him. Then he’ll release, short or long, short mostly, keep it moving and allow more time to readjust into attack from defence. No space, well, knock it around, get others moving or move it himself. Sometimes he will inject some pace, either with a run upfield, jabbing strides and low centre of gravity, or with a sweetly timed through ball.

At his best, the game moves at his pace, hums to his tune. Add the traditional English virtues of toil, sweat and tackles and you have the perfect midfielder. He’s been outstanding, both in himself and in the way he gets the best from others. His intelligence means he knows what’s best for them, where they might be and how they want the ball, and again Redknapp’s coaching has been instrumental in getting the pieces to function as a whole.

Last season I said similar things about Luka Modric. Put the two of them in the same team and they complement each other perfectly. I would go a step further and include Sandro, a world-class prospect in my view, alongside Parker. They would lie deeper, although as I’ve implied that’s not a rigid demarkation, with Bale, Modric and Van der Vaart ahead. Lennon would miss out.

This isn’t about straight lines, remember. Rather, flexibility, intelligence, mobility and an ability to respond to conditions are key. All these five can run all day. They will have to, to cover, press and chase when we don’t have the ball. If we are short, one of the two DMs can slide across whilst others make a direct run straight back to cover. This allows Walker room to plunder on the right. If he’s forward, another stays back. Doesn’t matter who, they work it out according to where they are and the positions of their team-mates. Each player takes these same decisions, hundreds of times a game.

Choose Your Own Match Report!

/ Alan / 12 Comments

An exciting new service from TOMM to you, dear reader! Choose a match report from the two options available! No need to argue or comment, just read the one you agree with and carry on with your day happy in the knowledge that you were right all along!!!

Option 1 Gritty Spurs Rearguard Action Sees Us Through

In the old days, stretching back as far as, oh, 6 or even 7 months ago, Spurs would have let this one slip. Emerging from the half-time break two goals to the good, we were forced back on our heels, partly by surrendering the initiative but mainly because of a determined comeback effort by our opponents Fulham that would have shaken any team in the league. Under intense bombardment, we bent but refused to buckle. Inspired by an heroic performance by our keeper Friedel, we held out and stole away for a last kick of the game breakaway goal to seal a fine victory. Umpteen games unbeaten, the top four are looking over their shoulders: they are worried and they have every right to be.

Acting manager Kevin Bond was worried about the effect Fulham’s intense pressure had on Harry Redknapp, convalescing in front of the television after his heart operation. However, he had few doubts about his team, praising them for a resilience that has developed over the past year or so that saw us through some frantic moments.

The first half saw us start brightly. Although we had less of the possession, we were sharp and clinical in front of goal and took the few chances that presented themselves. Bale forced an own goal by attacking at pace and hammering a low cross that Baird, with only a fraction of a second to react, kneed into his own net. Lennon, who had a good first period, showing an intelligent use of the ball and decent workrate, made the second for himself and took it superbly, a well-placed left-footer (left foot!!) into the far corner after his trickery made space.

Fulham emerged transformed for the second half but couldn’t find a way through. Friedel was superb throughout and the only way he was beaten was via a fluke, an own goal after King headed the ball onto Kaboul’s shoulder. As they desperately sought an injury-time equaliser, Spurs bravely threw their bodies between the ball and our goal, a ‘they shall not pass’ attitude that will serve us well during the rest of the season as we march onwards and upwards.

 

Option 2 Lucky Spurs Get Away With Daylight Robbery

In the old days, stretching back as far as, oh, 6 or even 7 months ago, Spurs would have let this one slip. Emerging from the half-time break two goals to the good, we were forced back on our heels, partly because of a determined comeback effort by our opponents Fulham but mainly because we surrendered the initiative far too easily. Under intense bombardment, we were buckling but have an heroic performance by our keeper Friedel and a generous helping of luck to thank for the win that was sealed by a volleyed but totally undeserved third by Defoe. Umpteen games unbeaten, the top four are looking over their shoulders but have nothing to fear.

Acting manager Kevin Bond praised the team for their resilience but good old Martin Jol had a far more accurate assessment of the match when he said Fulham deserved at least a point.

The first half saw us start brightly. We had less of the possession, denied by a hard-working and well drilled Fulham side. We took the few chances that presented themselves. Bale forced an own goal by attacking at pace and hammering a low cross that Baird, with only a fraction of a second to react, kneed into his own net. A shame that once again we couldn’t get any of our own men to the near post, where they should be. Lennon, who had a quiet first period, unable to make headway, came to the left and made the second for himself, taken superbly, a well-placed left-footer (left foot!!) into the far corner after his trickery made space.

Fulham emerged transformed for the second half but couldn’t find a way through, despite the fact that we unable to prevent a steady stream of shots and chances. Friedel was superb throughout but once he was beaten via a fluke, an own goal after King headed the ball onto Kaboul’s shoulder, it seemed to be only a matter of time until Fulham scored. We were constantly giving the ball away, a crime for a team as skilful as ours. Even after Sandro came on and their threat diminished, we contrived to let them back into the game for one last effort. As they desperately sought an injury-time equaliser, Spurs used up a large portion of the season’s good fortune. Scrambles, goal-line clearances and a blatant penalty, all of these and more conspired to deny Fulham who were terribly unlucky.

 

In reality, both and neither are true. If luck balances itself out over the season, we are due a cataclysm sometime soon. No doubt against Chelsea we’ll lose 5-0, two own goals and an earthquake will shatter N17. I swear I didn’t draw breath for most of the last 10 minutes.

Yet this imponderable characteristic ‘resilience’, I can’t figure it out and as you know, I certainly like a ponder. It’s real but you can’t touch it, feel it or know how it got there. At the start of the season, I hoped that our European experience would forge a greater strength, both mental and physical, and there’s no doubt something lasting has affected the team for the better. Young men like Walker have picked up the feeling from the others. Trying to put my finger on it, although we were pulled all over the place by Fulham, especially by Zamora’s movement in the second half, our shape never fully disintegrated and our workrate was mostly pretty good. Motivation is good – Walker, Kaboul and Parker all different players but determined in their own way, and that attitude not only spreads to others, it leads to tired legs making one final effort and packing bodies in a human goal-line barrier.

Friedel has made a huge improvement. He makes the saves he should make, alert to come off his line and sweep up the through-balls, thus negating Murphy’s clever angled efforts for Zamora and the others, or quick to get down low. As a result, a sense of assuredness spreads through the defence. A highly accomplished performance yesterday and full credit to Harry for not only getting him on a free but fearlessly playing him as first choice from the beginning.

A word of praise for King too. He was lax with a  couple of clearances and frankly should have done better with his clearing header for the goal. However, several times he pushed Zamora wide, he and Freidel sorting out the angle so there was no way through, plus a couple of great blocks. Of the 15 goals we have conceded this season, only four have gone in when Ledley was on the pitch.

The first half was pretty dull in all honesty, fine by me as we were two up for most of it. Fulham could close us down but at the expense of diluting their own attacking power. Most of their efforts were looping crosses from deep, easy enough to handle.

Bale had a good first 45. He benefits from receiving those sweeping cross field passes. Good tactics – knock it around on one side then if there is no way through, pass out wide where Bale has some space and is not double marked. Clever tactics – who says the coaches don’t do anything at Spurs? He popped up all over the place and doubling up with Lennon on the left for the second was a masterstroke.

Fulham were good in the second and old habits die hard – I found myself hoping Jol would have a smile on his face at the same time as I released this would mean we would not win. I pulled myself together quickly, mind.

We gave the ball away far too easily in the second half especially, even when not under pressure. Their threat subsided after about 70 minutes – Sandro helped – but we let them back into it when we should have closed it down tight. Walker’s attempted touchdown at the end was a certain penalty, although Parker should have had a free kick a few moments earlier. Adebayor was too isolated from the midfield. This has to improve if we are to maintain the challenge for the top four.

To be realistic, luck will indeed even itself out but holding the ball is something under our control. Better teams will slaughter us if we make that easy for them. This isn’t about a jammy win, it’s about handling the pressure of being at the top of the league. We cannot lose two goal leads if we are to stay competitive. We can afford to smile, especially after Defoe’s volley, but the reality is, the pressure’s on and it’s going to be this way for the rest of the season. next time we might not be so fortunate.

 

 

Kazan Away – Forget It

/ Alan / 4 Comments

I’m pathetic at cards. I pick up the rules easily enough but then it’s pretty much all a blur. So few numbers and colours, frankly it’s not that complex, but if you waited for me to work out what to do, you’d be there all night. And people round the table, staring…Whatever the opposite of a poker face is, I’ve got it. A fishface? Derren Brown could read me in a second, then use his spare time learning how to spell his name properly. Bluff and I’d be quivering like an electrocuted jellyfish. Might as well hang a neon sign round my neck with my hand showing.

But even I know there’s a variant of poker where you have the opportunity to keep the cards that you believe to be the strongest and discard the rest in the hope of replacing them with better ones later on. Luckily for Spurs, Harry’s obviously better at poker than I am. Kazan away was his throwaway. Defeat still leaves us in a strong position as the chips hit the table and the brave hold their nerve.

This stage of the Europa league is all about getting out of the group with the minimum of effort. Playing a weakened team is not a sign of a lack of priority for this competition – on the contrary, we should be aiming to win it. It’s about doing just enough to get through without wrecking the rest of the long season to come. I detest writing about football in this manner. As anyone who’s read this blog before knows, or indeed has read my report of the QPR match, football is something far more entertaining, profound and beautiful, whichever team you support. However, that’s the way it is. Not Harry’s fault: point the finger at UEFA’s wretched money-grabbing blazered accountants who understand balance sheets but not the power and glory of the sport, thus creating tournaments with matches that have no meaning and where failure in the Champions League is rewarded with a place in the final stages of another cup.

Redknapp has to play the game and he’s done so superbly. Not only was this our first defeat, he’s successfully bloodied young men like Carroll and Livermore, kept Gomes and Cudicini on their toes and generally made the whole squad feel involved. Yesterday we had the added bonus of Pienaar and Gallas playing their way back to fitness.

When Harry announced at the start of the season that he was going to play the kids in Europe, I thought he meant men like Townsend and Livermore, Kane too, who are young but have played in the Championship and I still suspect Redknapp didn’t wish to go as deep as Fredericks. However, we’ve managed just fine.

As soon as the draw was announced, this was the discard. A long trip into the unknown versus the team with the best pedigree in the group was never a priority. Win the home games and pick up a couple of away points, that’s it.

At this stage, he always wanted to be right where we are, our destiny in our own hands. This may sound like limited ambitions but not only are they totally realistic, they are not easy to achieve as Villa and Manchester City have found out to their cost over the last couple of seasons. I would play a full team at home against PAOK, a Wednesday game sandwiched by Saturday fixtures against West Brom and Bolton, to make certain of 3 points, then see what needs to be done in Ireland.

Last night we put in a reasonable effort but did not deserve to win. Having said that, it’s a shame the goal came in the manner in which it did, a fine free-kick but needlessly conceded by Bassong, who had one of his concentration lapses again.

Carroll and Livermore impressed me again. Not perfect by any means but they both have an exemplary attitude and appetite even when things don’t always go the right way. They take responsibility, which can’t be said for players like Pav, who could have done more. Cudicini is a veteran but has same enthusiasm even after all these years. He was the pick, several fine saves to keep us in the game. Otherwise, we should have kept possession much better but that’s the problem with a scratch team in Europe.

We ended the game with a side so young, it’s a good job they’re aren’t being sponsored for Movember, they wouldn’t earn a penny. As I’ve said before, this isn’t a reserve team. Our best ‘age group’ youngsters are on on loan so we’re on the brink of qualification with our 10th choice midfielders. Given this stupidly structured competition, Harry’s played his hand to perfection.

 

I know you’ve had sleepless nights worrying about the Gazza competition. To put you out of your misery, when he signed for Spurs, Irving Scholar threw in a house for his parents, a BMW for his dad, a sunbed for his sister and fishing gear for the great man himself. Allegedly the sunbed and fishing rod came from Scholar’s own pocket.

Thanks to everyone who entered and congratulations to Dave Spurr, who won. That appears to be his real surname – impressive.