Adebayor

Tottenham Hotspur: Football The Way It Should Be Played

/ Alan / 23 Comments

We were in our places a few minutes earlier than usual, standing not sitting, hopping around not so much to stave off the bitter cold, more in excited anticipation. Even the veterans haven’t seen anything like this.

The players had a prematch kickabout, the mascot’s nervous pride shone through as they found a hero to play with, but all eyes were on the tunnel. Harry scuttled to his seat, eyes down, surrounded by his loyal lieutenants. A few short paces, but the march of an ancient Roman Emperor returning to the city from a successful campaign could not have been greeted as a greater triumph.

The ground sang his name from beginning to end, ‘one Harry Redknapp’, ‘we want you to stay’.  Pause for breath and it was ‘Pardew for England’. As if determined not to be overshadowed, the players proceeded to rip their hapless opponents to shreds. Inspired by a tidal-wave of goodwill, they swamped Newcastle in a breathtaking display of bewilderingly complex movement, stunning pace and ice-cold finishing.

Modric dominated the centre, sinew and artistry in contrast to his team-mate Bale, pace and muscle

Harry waves at me

rampaging through the defence. He and Krancjar swapped sides, Saha became 10 years younger in an instant. Throwing off all those injuries and scars as he drank deep from an elixir of youth. Assou Ekotto strolled up and down the left and was both playmaker and unlikely scorer. And through it all Emmanuel Adebayor provided the focus and vision around which every attack revolved.

Beforehand Redknapp tried to pretend this was business as usual but as the goals went in one by one he was as thrilled by his marvellous side as any fan in the land. He’d created this, a team of all talents that swept away a rival for the coveted top four. Harry’s a tough old bird but he’s seldom seen football this good, and he made it happen. This was beauty, the way the game is supposed to be played. He punched the air after the first goal then quickly sat down to regain his composure. Less than twenty minutes later, number four and he punched the air, a little dad at a wedding dance, part joy, part incredulity, much relief. After a week like he’s had, everything had come right and the expelled tension flowed into the night air. The Lane is home now. He’ll never feel safer.

Everything happened around and because of Adebayor. Four assists plus a sweet delicate chest high volley, it’s hard to believe he’s been out of sorts lately even though his most disappointing game was only 6 days ago. Maybe that’s the sign of a quality professional, that he decided to do something about it. Drifting wide he took the defence with him, leaving the keeper cruelly exposed, as for the opener when Benny had enough room to throw down a picnic blanket and open the hamper at the far post. More central, he held on to it under pressure or toppled sideways, in the act of falling touching back to a team-mate, eye on the ball, mind on the half chance.

His work for the first two goals was masterful, an irresistible combination of skill, pace and precision. He’s top dog here if he plays like this. He has no rival for that position. Rather than making him complacent, that’s where he wants to be, on the pitch and in the dressing room. That’s why we don’t get any disruption from him. This was the definitive modern lone striker and the first half should be used in traingn videos.

We prospered from the stream of crosses and neat balls into channels that came from all sides. Walker, Modric, Bale, Benny, Niko, a few from Parker who for the most part stayed in the background and made sure nothing much happened at the other end. Although Saha was playing off Manu, his instincts take him into the box. Recently I’ve mentioned that if I do have a niggle, it’s about scoring more goals from inside the area and noticeably we had a couple more bodies in there last night. Our second showed the value of how an ageing striker may not have the legs but he has the instinct. Right place right time, only the finest goal scorers make it look that easy. I’ll leave you to the blockbusting blasters from 25 yards. This is my kind of goal. I’ve watched it 20 times on ESPN goals and you now what, I’m pausing for a second to have another look. Oh Harry, you’ve done it again.

Manu and Louis again for the third, back to the goal touch this time, Saha close by. They say it takes time for partnerships to build and develop, but 20 minutes?

Newcastle are shattered and there’s still three-quarters of the game to go.

HR looks worried. This wasn't taken yesterday

Adebayor has pulled them all over the place. Like an old woollen jumper after a downpour, they are sagging and out of shape. Collocinni has no idea what to do but he makes a better effort than the rest of his defence. Our opponents had injuries but no pattern or organisation. Their midfield offered no protection whatsoever and their fullbacks will have nightmares for years to come, in the depths of the night a vision of blurry white shirts rushing past them from all angles. Make it stop, in heaven’s name stop, have mercy! You don’t have to be a first-teamer to stand in the right position but they failed to do even that.

The gaps opened and e filled them, piling into the space at lightening speed from all directions. Saha almost with a hat-trick then Niko followed up.

We drew breath and the second half was bound to be an anti-climax after that. We strolled, largely untroubled although Friedel made one good save, as attentive to his duties as ever. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him on the end of one of those first half crosses, such was our superiority.

I love Harry Redknapp, Harry Redknapp loves me. I think he’ll go but if anything keeps him here, it will be nights like these. The Lane is rocking, the football is delightful and Harry’s heart was pounding. He’s one of us now, and he likes that feeling. He’ll forever be associated with West Ham but Harry, be honest, you never had a night like this one at the Boleyn, now did you?

On a day when the headlines have been dominated by the wretched Suarez and a minority of apologist Liverpool fans who seek to justify his foul, base attitudes, this was the perfect antidote. Football as it is supposed to be. An outstanding, stunning performance.

Looking Back, This Could Be A Good Point

/ Alan / 7 Comments

Everybody yearns to be up there, to be a contender. Yet we’re still puzzling over what success feels like. Here’s another side of it, being the envy of other fans. Top four, playing dazzling football. It won’t be long before the negative coverage begins. Players who have been doing well for an entire season will be picked on by pundits after a single poor performance, or young men playing out of their skin will fail to be at the top of their game for one of their 50 or so performances and people will pick holes. Redknapp’s standing with the media will protect us to a large extent but things will turn.

Enjoy it while it lasts – except we can’t, because it’s not always fun. On Saturday, resisting pressure for the most part and a goal to the good, Swansea significantly tip the balance in the last 15 minutes. We’re hanging in there, then the keeper and two defenders are drawn to the near post. The ball somehow eludes them all and as it squirms free across the box, there’s the stomach-upending so familiar from the old days, that moment when you know what’s going to happen before it does. The whole game flashes before your eyes….

Swansea’s possession game and their disciplined organisation collectively pushed us back early on and we never established our domination of territory or the ball for any length of time. It was as if their collective will imposed itself on our game. They have a few quality footballers – Redknapp paid Allen the compliment of  pushing Sandro on to mark him but like all classy players the Swansea man responded by doing even better. However, their midfield stifled at birth our efforts to get going by pressing high up the pitch and denying us possession. It’s amazing how few Prem teams have learned this lesson so admirably demonstrated by the Swans – however good the other team is, they can’t do a thing without the ball.

Because of this high pressing, our midfield were forced deeper. Modric and Parker never got going and Adebayor was isolated from his team-mates. Bale tried too hard to break the stranglehold. His free role works only if he comes from deep and his runs are unexpected. If he hangs around in the centre, he’s back on his heels and was swallowed up by eager tacklers. He would have been better staying on the left, cutting in when required. Benny found it simple enough to take the full back apart, not once but twice, then VDV pounced.

Although he was helped by a deflection, the goal appeared to signal the difference in class between a team at the top and the rest – sharp in the box when it matters. For all Swansea’s sterling efforts, we defended perfectly well for most of the match, restricting them to ooohs and aaahs from long shots. Pretty enough but the danger comes from what goes on in the box, not from range. Still, Kaboul had to make one timely stretch and as in previous games we looked frail at set pieces. Falling for the Sheringham corner was slack.

As the match reached its final stages, we seemed to have accepted our fate of being pushed right back but were apparently unconcerned, defending reasonably well and content to see out time until the final whistle. Moore’s surge into the box was only moment of genuine danger until Graham came on. His presence and movement tipped the balance in Swansea’s favour and although we should have dealt with that cross, they had several chances and deserved their point. Funny to see Friedel less than perfect. We’ve become used to better.

Great credit to our opponents, and few teams have scored at their ground let alone won. In the cold light of a frosty Monday morning, this looks a decent point. Last season we would have probably lost a tussle such as this one and of course we gained at least this single point on our rivals. The true value of this draw, however, will not be judged until the end of the month when we complete a run of winnable home games including the game in hand versus Everton that has achieved mythical status. Win those and an away draw when off the boil and against sound opponents will look just fine.

Parker looked unhappy and needs to look after that leg. It looked like a bump on the side rather than anything deep down. Let’s hope so.

The league will be wondering how to stop Spurs (another sure sign of how well we are doing!), so several managers will be scrutinising the DVD of Saturday’s game. As well as Swansea, West Brom in the first half and Chelsea for three quarters of the game stopped us from getting going by piling on the pressure in the centre of the pitch, so expect more of the same this month. We have to find a way of getting through this. The key is doing what we do best, keeping the ball despite the lack of space and using width from the full-backs especially. It’s another challenge and I believe  we are up to it.

Happy New Year to Spurs fans wherever you may be. Supporters from all round the world read Tottenham On My Mind, and each and every week I’m so grateful. Thanks to the regulars, the cracking comments sections and subscribers. Couldn’t do it without you, and here’s to a glorious 2012 for the club we adore.

Manu’s Bottom. I’ve Got To Worry About Something

/ Alan / 6 Comments

It was all a bit of a rush. Fancy letting family stuff get in the way of football. What on earth is happening to me? Anyone would think it’s Christmas or something.

So when I switched on the TV it took me a moment to get my bearings. First thing – top left hand corner, read it three times just to make sure and remember to breathe. No goals, 34 minutes gone. A second or two to focus on the pitch. Then this team in white pick the ball up near their box, develop a passing move at full speed that slices through the yellow shirts, end to end in about four or five touches and as many seconds, hammered just wide. Hang on, that’s us…Remember to breathe.

This is us, the new Tottenham. Sincere apologies to Norwich fans if you did anything exceptional in the first 33 minutes but from what I saw, Spurs were stunning. Relentless pace, exceptional passing, bewildering movement. There seemed to be no end to our inventiveness coming forward, the only concern being that in the first half this did not lead to any goals. Second half, City could contain a rampaging Bale no longer. Given free rein by his manager, he was unstoppable. Out wide, teams can at least try to double or sometimes triple-team him, but what can you do if you don’t know where he’s going to appear?

A couple of interesting reflections on this that relate to the team these days. In the past, our, um, idiosyncratic players often fooled their team-mates as much as they bamboozled defences. Ginola for example was wonderful to watch but often the others didn’t take up good goalscoring positions because he hung on to it for so long and so they didn’t know when to commit to a run into the box. Yet this team picked out Bale on a regular basis, Van der Vaart excelling yesterday in another, complementary, free role and Modric, more disciplined but still alert and accurate.

Second, Our Gareth invoked the Champions League as an educational experience as the secret of our success. This is something I identified at the start of the season, that we should be more resilient as a team because of Europe and so it proved. Undaunted by our failure to score, we quickly re-established the dominance of our first period and turned the screw with a determined effort to retain possession. Add the confidence that something will turn up once we have that platform and you’re on to something big. Adebayor made the difference. Found unerringly through a crowd of defenders by Rafa, his impeccable control and delicate touch set up Bale who was left in too much space by the usually attentive Norwich central defence. They too were mesmerised by Manu’s dazzling feet and were sucked in like moths to a flame. Bale therefore had the room and time to score.

We kept up the tempo after scoring and nearly converted a couple more efforts before this phenomenon came into a central position and began his charge. This is a great time to be a Spurs fan – I’ve not seen us play this well for a good thirty years. But Bale on the charge is one of the great sights of my time as a fan. Someone that big, at pace, caressing the ball as if it were made of eggshell – utterly remarkable. He tore the defence asunder, then kept his poise to finish not with power but with guile and intelligence. Remember to breathe.

Rafa was outstanding, Luka a close second, Parker calm and solid, Sandro a rock. All of them jealousy guarded the ball once it was won. Another instance of the fluidity that’s possible with Sandro and Parker, Modric in front of them. It gave Bale and VDV the freedom to do what they do.

It also snuffed out any fleeting hopes of a Norwich comeback. If I have a complaint, it was that they had too much room in the last 5 minutes around our box. However, this highlighted another aspect of our game these days. We back ourselves one on one in any match-up. Kaboul knew he had the task of holding Holt and he did not shirk for a moment. Gallas covered and tackled, while Walker, well, I’m not a huge fan of stats as a way of describing the whole truth about a player or a match but: tackles won – 6/6, ground duels 8/8, aerial duels 1/1. That means he won every single challenge over 94 minutes

Norwich are a well organised side who were outplayed. They stuck to their task and there’s no disrespect in defeat under those circumstances. I can’t quite believe I’m writing this way about a Spurs team but that’s how it was – in every area we outplayed, out-ran and out-thought them. There had to be one worry. Not normally one to stand and stare but Manu’s buttock held my attention for a minute or two in the second half. He’s such an influence, we really don’t want to lose him. But he was OK and frankly so am I. That’s all I wanted for Christmas. Unreservedly superb, the perfect away performance.

The Joy of Three

/ Alan / 14 Comments

As the first half drew to a close, like kids again Spurs knocked the ball around just for the sheer pleasure of playing the game. The pressures of the Premier League were forgotten such was our dominance, replaced by infectious exuberance and a freedom and delight in being able to do anything that can be done with a football.

Rangers were as disoriented as a drunk leaving the pub at closing time, focussing everything on keeping going yet unable to exert any control over their fate as they topple and teeter towards the gutter. They had been stretched this way and that as Spurs pulled out all the skills in their repertoire. First to every loose ball, strong in the tackle. Short passes threaded a path through the defence, finding space where there was none. Sucked in, defenders then saw the ball sprayed effortlessly from side to side. Wherever you looked, there was a Tottenham man on the end. Adebayor sneaking into channels, Benny pinging it far and wide, Bale thundering down the left then popping up in the box, Van der Vaart and and Luka exchanging one twos (and threes and fours) at the edge of the box. No respite – Rangers’ underpowered attack couldn’t hold the ball at all and back it came.

Hardly surprising they struggled: this was pure football and breath-taking to watch. The skills on the ball, the pace and the movement combined – we fans looked on in awe and shared the players’ joy.

The only disappointment was that we should have scored more. We could have been two up in the first few minutes and despite our good play missed a fair few opportunities, even allowing for Kenny’s excellence in goal. Adebayor especially was out of touch with several weak finishes having accomplished all the hard work of getting in the right place and controlling the ball to perfection. Still, it was brilliant, crazy stuff with shots flying in, last-ditch tackles, desperate saves and near misses.

Bale, powerful and unable to be contained even by his now regulation double marking, sent a series of crosses lasering across the box before thumping home the first goal. Lennon set him up, a quiet game in terms of attacking but two assists as he came off his wing. Football at its simple best – a decent move then up the pace as the ball nears the box, two simple quick touches, Bale’s explosive finish.

Rafa was glorious now, working tremendously hard to get on the ball in between QPR’s back four and their midfield. He was far too good for them, and linked deliciously with, well, everyone. His goal was well-taken but made by his ball control, for the second time in the game he pulled down a colleague’s shot, King this time, Luka earlier, as easily as if the mascot had rolled the ball towards him in the warm-up. A fabulous 45 minutes, he’s leaner and hungry. As Harry remarked this week, I too feel for Defoe who has upped his game this season but Rafa has risen to the challenge. Shows the value of competition to play in a good team. Good player but where does he fit? Argument over.

Adebayor’s movement makes this all possible. Not at the top of his form, he nevertheless makes the space either to receive a pass or for others to move around him. Luka appreciates it and makes the most of it. Although others eclipsed him yesterday, interesting to see Barton single him out for praise on twitter last night. Those closest to him know his value. Alongside Scott Parker they ran the midfield. Parker in the first half was prompting a and probing, or tidying up like a hyperactive womble. Shorter passes mostly, busy and businesslike. Next time when you check out our highlights and goal attempts, see how often he’s at the edge of the camera shot, hanging around having done his work and letting others have the limelight.

As the half ended, the boys were having fun. Flicky and kicky, all clever stuff but less effective than simple passing and hard work. Totally on top but they didn’t look hard enough at the scoreboard. Only two goals to show for it, concede and we’d be wobbling. Whilst I’d like to think that this blog is read avidly throughout the game, it’s frankly unlikely that opposition managers drop by to pick up a few tips about Spurs. If they did, I’d tell them that the best way to take us on is to attack. But hey, who’s interested in the ramblings of a fan, what do we know?

QPR discovered this too late. 4-3-3 with Barton where he belongs in centre mid and Bothroyd a focal point immediately put us on the back foot and by the time we recovered our composure, sure enough we had conceded and were wobbling like a Weeble on speed. Full credit to our opponents for picking themselves up, and it could have all fallen apart for us if their finishing had been anywhere near as sharp as their fans were vocal.

Another silly goal from a set-piece. Bothroyd on the keeper and left unmarked when he simply moved three yards. Last season we gave away fewer goals from set pieces than any other Premier League side but now it’s back to the bad old days.

The best goal of the game clinched it, a precise interchange at the edge of the box before Bale ripped a blast first time. Top class set-up with a thrilling finish, wonderful goal. But who’s this loitering as it went in. Scott Parker I do believe, enjoying the moment with quiet satisfaction. He’d done his work, which won’t turn up on any stat sheet but it was as much his goal as Bale’s. Where others had been frantically trying too hard and giving the ball away, he picked it up and kept hold until the right moment presented itself. Simple, effective and match-winning, it summed up his second half where he was the master of the Lane. Passing, tackling, once, twice, three times because he does not give up. As we were pressured, without needing telling he tucked into the back four to help out, then moved it on to start another attack. He left to a deserved standing ovation from all sides of the Lane.

Another terrific game,  potential realised, superb entertainment. Churlish to mention that in the last two matches, against better teams with better finishers we would have been punished for missed chances and slack defending. League title? Do me a favour. Contenders for cups and top four? It’s all I ask, to be in with decent shout. But we are the form team and others are scared of us right now, so let’s enjoy the moment. 5th in the league, is that 19 points from a possible 21? Need to check but no need to research how good it makes me feel. In the first half we were blessed, simply blessed.

Still time to win a copy of Gazza’s new book ‘Glorious’ – just scroll down, marvel at the insight and profundity of my review, then answer the question at the end. Good luck!