Spurs v Bolton. Our Saviour Cometh

February 25, 2010February 25, 2010 / Alan / 5 Comments

Couldn’t get on WordPress this morning, so here is the delayed report. Just so you know, I got up early for this….

Thanks to everyone who popped down to Pav’s Cafe in Westgate yesterday in response to my match preview. I wasn’t able to make it myself, work commitments, you know how these things go. If I could, I would have, but the prayers of the pilgrims did not go unheeded. Our Saviour returned to the Lane and all is well in this troubled land. If a few loaves and fishes should be on hand on Sunday….Mind you, knowing Spurs, I’m certain they would charge £6 per loaf.

Pavlyuchenko’s first goal settled any lingering nerves after a sedate opening in which Bolton had a surprising amount of space in front of our box. From the very beginning, Ricketts anxiously followed Modric’s every move. Clearly Coyle identified him as our danger man. Luka came in search of the ball as his colleagues had until then largely left him peace. He moved forward with purpose and delivered a penetrative pass to Pav, who turned and slotted the ball home, his natural finisher’s instincts flooding back as the shot nestled into the corner. Right behind the line, it was one of those that you knew was in as soon as it left his foot, the perfect judgement of a class player.

Afterwards Ricketts remonstrated with the referee and with some justification – we won possession only after Luka had blocked him off the ball but the indiscretion went unnoticed. This ref was odd – he didn’t want to blow his whistle. Only 8 free kicks in the entire match, refreshing in many ways, not least because the result depended on open play rather than rehearsed training ground moves, I suspect Ricketts was not congratulating him on his generosity.

This showed also the character of the game, pleasant and enjoyable (for Spurs fans) without the bite and bile of a cup tie. Bolton moved the ball well but ineffectually. Coyle’s coaching abilities are evident in the ease with which he has transformed his team’s style but with nothing much up front their good work was wasted. Bassong hindered their casue with an excellent first half display to mark their pivot Klasnic out of the game. We know about Bassong’s pace on recovery but here he steadfastly refused to allow his opponent to turn or to have a clean touch.

After Pav’s opener the result was never in doubt. Another fine ball from Modric gave a Defoe a good chance but more goals were certain. Bale revelled in the space and evaded the attentions of the two defenders ahead of him with his darting, incisive strikes and excellent early crossing. Not all worked but as a sign of his ever-growing maturity he varied the final ball, at times picking out a man rather than going for the far post ball. However, the second came from the opposite flank. Hud shaped to shoot but preferred to precisely lay the ball to Palacios. He in turn used the time at his disposal to deliver a great near post ball. I credited Defoe with a fine finish but in fact in the tangle of legs Jaaskelainen did the job for us.

Bale was not to be out-done and his low near post cross was turned in by O’Brien. Although both could have been avoided, we are pressuring defences with hard, accurate balls delivered into the danger areas from on or near the byline. Without Crouch, the long balls have suddenly disappeared, unless you count the succession of excellent passes over distance from Huddlestone. This is Pav’s real contribution. His movement encourages others to play and to keep passing. In order to make this work, we must of necessity retain possession and be more creative. Wigan and Bolton put us under little pressure, so Everton on Sunday will be a truer test of the new style but the players seem more comfortable with this shape and the pieces are fitting into place.

After this the game petered out. Bolton looked more dangerous with more attackers but they were three down by then and on the few occasions when they broke through, Gomes was in good form, as is the norm these days. He’s done so well for us over the last three months.

Although Palacios did not have an especially good match, his value was evident as soon as he was substituted. His absence left gaps in front of our defence but as I say, Bolton could not take advantage. Bassong did not duplicate his first half form – this was because he was moved around more by the strikers and so here is a vulnerability in his game, his positioning. Dawson compensated and dominated the box, still moaning at the ref and fully motivated deep into injury time when we were four up.

The fourth goal was again well-worked and Pav took full advantage of the space in the box at his disposal. This was an odd goal for me. For what seems like the first time in forty years, I missed the moment that he struck the ball because the bloke in front of me stood up and blocked my view. He had no need to – he had a totally unobstructed view of the pitch – but standing is not the sort of thing that bothers me. I picked up his movement early, born of my vast experience as I now enter the veteran stage but suddenly he became so wide, I couldn’t see round him. I blame myself – are my reactions finally becoming so dulled? This is a worrying development.

Of those I haven’t yet mentioned, Eidur’s interaction with his team-mates was good but the passing became all a bit flicky. BAE looked so calm, as usual, and first match back, late on he recovered after Elmander stampeded through and sweetly removed the ball from his toe. Bentley did little.

In the quarter finals, the field is not as strong as in previous years and suddenly there’s real excitement in the Cup.

The Four Phases of Harry – Can He Keep Spurs Going?

February 17, 2010February 17, 2010 / Alan / 16 Comments

The frustration of the downturn in our form in the New Year should not obscure the progress Spurs have made this year and indeed since Harry Redknapp became our manager. However, we have entered another phase of his regime, one where his leadership skills will be tested severely.

Redknapp deserves full and unreserved praise for extracting us from the apparently bottomless trough of steaming putrid filth that was the Tottenham team in October 2008. As he never stops reminding us, ‘Two points from 8 games’. The team set to and upped both their work ethic and ability to score. Then we entered 2009 and phase two, where just as the new manager bounce lost its elasticity, his heavy investment in new players gave the crazily unbalanced squad he inherited some much-needed equilibrium. In particular, the purchase of Wilson Palacios provided a midfield foundation upon which a team geared to the demands of Premier League football could be built, whilst the return of Keane and Defoe offered striking power and experience.

The dawn of phase three could be the beginning of this season but I would put it a little later. After a month or so, we were right up there, which I suspect surprised both the fans and Redknapp. We played good-looking attacking football and the rise of Aaron Lennon as a major force, much of which is down to coaching, ran parallel with our rise up the table. However, as the pressure of raised expectations increases, Harry needs to act to maintain this momentum and halt our gradual slide down the table. Phase four begins, and Harry’s acumen will be tested to the full.

A graphic of Spurs’ development under Redknapp would take the form of a steady upward curve but Harry has had to build three teams in his comparatively short time with us, not one. The first got us out of the relegation zone, the second targeted the top eight and the third is or will be to challenge for the top four. Those are three connected but separate tasks. Obviously there’s an overlap of players and some qualities in common but we had to build up from the bottom. Phase three demonstrated a potent attack, creative midfield and a mean defence. Unfortunately they’ve seldom been on display at the same time. We rejoiced as the goals flew in and the passes pinged around with pace and certainty, then were quietly satisfied in the midst of one of the longest periods of not conceding in the club’s entire history. But now we have a few problems. We’re stuttering rather than coming to a grinding halt so that in itself holds some grounds for continued optimism, implying that some running repairs are required rather than scrapping the whole model and starting afresh. It also gives Redknapp an asset more precious than a bulging transfer budget or supportive chairman – time. Not a massive amount but some. We’re doing OK but the remedial work needs to begin now.

The biggest issue is that basically we have been sussed. Work hard, close us down and we don’t know quite what to do. That can be worked on, but the most concerning aspect of the last two games, both away admittedly, is the players’ response, or more accurately the lack of it. Against Wolves and Bolton they weren’t ready for the struggle. Here are a few words from Jermaine Defoe after Sunday’s game, taken from the official club site:

Jermain Defoe revealed the lads were on the end of a rollicking at half-time at Bolton and admitted: “We deserved it.”

Players and management alike conceded that we were second best in the first half of Sunday’s FA Cup fifth round encounter at the Reebok Stadium….”We had a bit of a rollicking at half-time and we deserved it because we didn’t compete in the first half.”

Post-match comments from players and managers seldom carry much perspective or weight, so it’s a little unfair to attribute undue significance to these. However, it’s what has gone unsaid that it important. Why after failing so ignominiously against Wolves did we kick off with such a poor attitude at the Reebok? We failed totally in terms of application and motivation. Also, the rollicking was undoubtedly well-earned but there was no response whatsoever at the beginning of the second half. We carried on exactly where we left off and were lifted not by the manager’s words but by a Crouch header. In other words, here is some evidence that Redknapp’s motivational skills, legendary in the minds of a sycophantic media corps, are on the wane.

Another snippet from Sunday’s press coverage was Bale’s comment that we don’t practice penalties, to which could be heard the sound of Spurs fans up and down the land shouting as one, ‘Why not??!!’ Only Harry knows. There’s an old saying in sport that the great coaches pay attention to the details, to the little things, and here’s an example of us failing in that respect.

Now when things aren’t working on the pitch, all teams need a plan B, which brings me to another problem. There was a frightening stat that I saw last week about the team that plays the most long balls in the premier league. Know who it is? Tottenham Hotspur FC. Again it’s unfair to read too much into this. I assume the figures do not differentiate between a wild hoof from the back or an aimless whack from midfield, a precision 40 yard through ball or a cross from out wide. I expect those masterpieces that Glenn Hoddle came out with most matches would be consigned into this category. Other stats show we pass the ball more than any other team apart from the top four. But anyone who has seen us lately knows that we play the long ball to Crouch far too often and as the pressure builds up it is fast becoming our main offensive ploy. Some of us are finding it extremely offensive. Apart from the aesthetics, it does not work. Crouch is too easy to defend against even when he plays well.

Time then for plan C, time unfortunately for the last problem that can justifiably be laid at Redknapp’s door. We don’t have a plan C. Keane is gone, at least for the time being, so it should be time for Pavlyuchenko to step up. He’s mobile, wants the ball to feet, does not want to play with his back to the goal all the time and, when he’s on form, can take his chances. However, Redknapp has always neglected him. He’s not fit, has had little game time and has been on the receiving end of his manager’s scathing ‘wit’. In short, he’s not a ready-made alternative, largely because Redknapp has never handled him well. Whilst he’s not the saviour that some portray him as, I’ll like to see him play because we need a striker with precisely the above qualities, but it requires a big change in our current tactics. We should have been more prepared for this, or not presumptuously have disposed of Keane.

I was not a huge admirer of Redknapp before he come to Spurs so I’m not an instinctive supporter of his. I judge him on his record and he has done well for us. Despite the problems I deserves more time because in terms of building a top four team, 18 months is not that long a stretch and the good he has brought to the club easily outweighs the bad . He’s taken us on from an awful place and has created a good squad of players. It’s hard not to link the tax and court case with our recent tribulations, and he needs precisely the mental fortitude we are seeking desperately in our players to get us through this bad patch. He’s made some mistakes and phase four plus the High Court is a dual challenge he may not have been prepared for.

What’s Going Wrong?

February 10, 2010February 10, 2010 / Alan / 21 Comments

You know those people, older usually, who come out with the same old comments every time certain topics come up. The warning sign is a sentence beginning, ‘Well of course in my day…’ or ‘Kids today, don’t know they’re born…’. Delivered with deep gravitas, as if this is a totally fresh insight into the ways of the world, they have an effect opposite of that intended. This is signalled typically by groans and synchronised eye-rolling from an audience that has heard this one before.

Sad to say, perhaps I’m becoming one of these old codgers. Seen it all before. Nothing new under the sun. I know because I was going to use my pet line to begin this piece before I checked myself – what am I turning into? But here it is, something I heard once and stayed in the brain, crushingly familiar to colleagues and family:

“For every complex, complicated problem, there is a simple, straight forward answer.

That’s completely wrong.”

After my health warning, you might find it useful. Handy for politicians – there’s an election on the way – or saloon bar bores and know-alls. In my experience their favourite recommendations are national service, castration or sack the lot of them. Perm any one from three and you can’t go far wrong.

It is easy to point the finger at certain individuals (many would include referees here) or formations but there is no single reason why we are not scoring netfuls of goals at the moment. Some of our play has been dazzling, some downright pedestrian, most somewhere in between, but more than good enough to earn more points than we have.

Early in the season I was fretting about our defence but it’s been clear for several months that our fate depends on scoring consistently. Although our defensive record is excellent, we are not able to organise ourselves as well as teams like Villa and so must play to our strengths – we will score one more than you. This season I am reliably informed that in the 13 league games we have drawn or lost, we have had 212 goal attempts, 122 of which were on target, yielding a total of 7 goals. Since Wigan we have scored only 13 times.

Some of this is down to the defensive fortitude of our opponents. Spurs are sussed. Massed ranks in front of goal, little ambition bar a possible sucker punch breakaway. This is one thing at the Lane but I suspect Wolves will try the same tactics at their own ground, emulating Villa’s second half at Villa Park.

A deep back four who stay close means there is no space behind them for Hud’s long passes nor room in the channels. Crouch’s flick-ons are similarly dealt with and JD’s speed is taken out of the equation. The midfield funnel our attacks into the middle where they founder on a mound of flying blocks and determined tackles. It’s hard to hit the byline too, especially without Lennon to keep a couple of defenders busy or left trailing in his wake. Villa, Wolves, Hull, all the same.

At the moment we do not have the wit or patience to break them down, although we tried hard enough on Saturday. The absence of a playmaker able to dictate the game leads to hurried efforts and rash decisions. We must maintain possession far more efficiently and keep both ball and man moving. Be patient, keep probing and something will come out of it. Modric and Huddlestone have the talent to fulfil this role eventually but their inexperience shows when the pressure is on.

One thing we could do more of is to have the midfielders making late runs into the box. Coming from deep or diagonally off either flank, defences cannot easily pick them up. Modric got into those positions early on Saturday but missed the chances and Villa then shut up shop. We could score more from midfield, something in favour of Krancjar’s place in the starting line-up.

Another tactic is more movement up front. We’re better away from home when we start attacks from deeper positions, unless Crouch is left isolated upfield and we hammer the ball forward to him, which is useless most of the time. Leeds left us the space for those through balls or byline crossing, and Defoe profited. Often however, Crouch and Defoe loiter at the edge of the box and move across it. They need to vary this and come deeper sometimes, to move up and down as well as laterally. This unsettles defenders who are uncertain about whether to remain in their comfort zone or follow the man they are supposed to be marking. Insert midfield runners into that space and we have more opportunities. That interchange of personnel up front is crucial. Crouch and Defoe can sometimes play their part by taking opponents away as well as scoring themselves.

Scoring, ah yes…both have decent records, Defoe especially, but frankly I can’t find a ready remedy for another blight that affects us currently – we keep shooting straight at the goalkeeper. Keepers must love playing us; their pre-match preparation includes planning where to drink the MOM bottle of bubbly. We have made it too simple for a succession of them to fly flashily across goal, arms and legs stretching, but the ball has been too close to them and (relatively) easier to save.

I just don’t know what’s happening – shooting practice? Modric needs it. No coincidence that Defoe broke his duck against Leeds with a mishit after striking previous chances hard, true and at the keeper.

Which brings me to Peter Crouch. The fact that he had his best performance for us on Saturday in retrospect highlights his limitations. We will find it extremely hard to be a top four team if he plays regularly. Again, there’s no single element to the equation. Some of it is not his fault. We don’t have to hit long balls to him so often if he plays, but we do. His presence is a refuge for players under pressure. One or two touches, nothing on, so wang and the pressure’s off. That is an option but not the only one. He can contribute to pass and move and is a target for crosses but our success will be founded on football played on the ground.

As an individual, Crouch’s distribution is generally erratic, Saturday being an honourable exception. He wins so much in and out of the box yet so little actually comes from it. It’s a percentage game that takes you so far but not to the very top. In the box, he is eased off-kilter, a little nudge, he’s off balance and the hard-won cross slides just wide. At the far post, he’s static and therefore easier to handle. Not easy, but at the top level defenders can deal with him and his bobbly little knock downs, vaguely directed across goal. Similarly, his reactions are poor and once the message goes all that way from brain to legs, the defender sweeps up the ball in the box just waiting to be hit.

The future requires a centre forward more mobile and versatile than Peter, but until we find one, sorry, make that find another one as Berba has come and sadly departed, just remember that we don’t have to kick it to him all the time and if we play the ball in front of him in the box, as he moves forward onto it rather than loitering at the back post, Crouchie can finish.

Any improvement requires collective resolve, something that has been lacking in the Marshmallow Men but promisingly on Saturday we kept going. I’ve said a lot about this lately (see ‘March of the Marshmallow Men’ in ‘recent posts’, so enough already. Wolves is a good place to test this is action. Try some of the above, add a bit of width and the win will come. Battle at the top is now well and truly joined so we must fight to the limits.

Spurs v Villa. Scant Reward for Our Excellence

February 7, 2010 / Alan / 27 Comments

The figures scurrying away through the north London backstreets were bent in frustration, faces tight with disappointment, but there was so much satisfaction to be taken from Tottenham’s excellent performance against Aston Villa. We dominated a pulsating match throughout with a display of sustained good football and earned more than the scant reward of a point.

This was first and foremost a team effort of the highest quality. By the end, wave upon wave of attacks were smashing against the redoubtable Villa defensive barrier to no avail. The stands were contorted in the twisted pleasure of desperate anxiety and anticipation as Spurs craved the goal their performance richly deserved.

If our last evening game was dull monochrome then this was vivid technicolour. From the very start, every Tottenham player appeared pin-sharp, each bead of sweat on their forehead precisely delineated as were their expressions of determined intensity. In my preview I asked for effort from the first whistle, taking the Leeds game as our template, and Spurs rose marvellously to the challenge, maintaining that application and tempo throughout, apart from ten minutes or so near the beginning of the second half when Villa threatened to break out, but we quickly closed down their escape route and reasserted our clear superiority until the gut-churningly frustrating end.

Straight away we settled into a purposeful rhythm. Modric was the pick early on, drifting inside to both get on the ball and be available as the extra man. He could spot the spaces in front of him but remained largely invisible to the Villa midfield. They repeatedly failed to mark him but sadly he failed to put in a clean strike. He looks so frail at moments like these, a forlorn little figure exposed under the glare of the lights. Nothing could be further from the truth. Brought up in a hard Croatian league that by all accounts resembles England in the seventies, he’s more than capable of handling himself and his stamina lasted for the whole game. Those were precious early chances, however, not by any means straightforward but well within his grasp, and you yearned for a shot as firm and well-directed as his winner against Chelsea last season.

Modric’s positioning also illustrated the growing faith Redknapp has in Gareth Bale. Young is always a threat, yet Redknapp felt that Bale could cope without a constant protector in front of him, although Palacios was always willing to lend a a hand, to the full-back and indeed to any team-mate who was under pressure. Bale responded with yet another performance of skill, diligence and maturity. Young beat him once, but the Villa man can do that with any full-back one on one. He was kept really quiet, to the point where if Redknapp is still interested in him, as is rumoured, then you began to seriously question his judgement. When Bale joins the attack, his timing is praiseworthy, another sign of that maturity that belies his inexperience. He doesn’t rush forward but waits for the moment then strikes, either cutting inside or hitting the byline. A fabulous young prospect.

The crowd were chanting ‘boring boring Villa’ by now, I assume a reference to Wenger’s comments a few weeks ago. I say ‘assume’ because I saw only a headline – I’m not interested in the post-match whinging of any hard-done by manager, including ours and certainly not Wenger. However, surely this is the first time ever that White Hart lane has in full voice endorsed the views of an Arsenal manager. And i was there, kids.

In fact at this point in the game, still in the first half, our opponents were sending healthy numbers forward. Heskey limped off (I momentarily had a rather sick vision of he and Ledley, two determined knackered warhorses, trudging off together) but Carew is always a handful, and Agbonlahor, as I suspected, loitered with intent around Dawson and Corluka hoping to exploit their lack of pace. The best way to prevent the danger is of course to not allow him the ball in the first place and for the most part he was very quiet. To his speed he’s added the ability to turn and shoot, but this allowed Ledley to assert his mastery. As the Villa man got away, Ledley snapped in the tackle. Those who say he’s finished are so wrong.

Villa were not boring, they were out-played. Unable to cope with our passing and movement, they were progressively forced further and further back until by the end the heels of their back four scraped against the Paxton stand. In their box they defended admirably well, again as sadly I predicted in my preview, but we too had bodies on hand to block any danger at our end.

The pattern of smooth passing was imprinted on the game. My repeated concerns this season about our capacity to support the man on the ball and to retain possession were banished, hopefully for good. Relaxed and apparently effortlessly we probed and prompted. Bale, Corluka and Bentley were always available to provide width. Modric passed the ball well but could have worked harder in the second half to become consistently involved.

Crouch won everything in what was his best Spurs performance so far. He worked hard to be constantly available, regularly found a team-mate with his lay-offs and kept the ball moving rather than holding on to it. Still, there were those ‘if onlys’ with his headed chances.

Another word of praise for Palacios with his finest outing for ages. Just what we need from a defensive midfielder, biting the tackle, high workrate and clever positioning, covering for defenders when they went forward and not going up if we had too many already committed.

But my top man (‘TOMM’s Top Talent’, hmm, it has a ring to it….hollow that is..) was big Tommy Huddlestone. He quickly adjusted to the shape of the play. Shorter quicker passes suited him and deprived by Villa’s deep defending of the opportunity to pass long, he was all the more effective. Not everything worked but he did not shirk his duties, a sign of maturity. He made himself constantly available and took responsibility to drive us on from midfield.

Finally on the individuals, Gomes once more when called upon was absolutely impeccable. Just love that man.

So arguably the best display of the season but only one point. What went wrong? Reflections on this at greater length in the week but a few thoughts for now, in no particular order.

There’s no one single problem that is preventing us from scoring a hatful of goals. Some are down to our opponents: yesterday, by defending deep Villa ran the risk of allowing us on to them but it closed off the possibilities of long passing into channels and over the top, by Hud and others, and made it hard to reach the byline. There’s no room behind the back four so the long ball is swept up by the keeper or centre halves, as are headed flick-ons from Crouch, and JD’s pace is taken right out the equation. Crouch played very well but at the highest level, and that’s where Villa’s defence is, those bobbly looping touches are easier (not easy, but easier) to handle than passes into channels, low crosses and movement.

Also, our midfield strikes a pose and a few decent long shots, but again a long shot is, percentage wise, easier to deal with than an effort from closer in from midfielders arriving late and unseen in the box. We don’t do enough of the latter.

JD is not quite as sharp as we have seen him, wanting that extra touch, and for some reason he and most everyone else is shooting unerringly and uncannily straight. Opposition keepers look forward to their MOM awards against us. Of course we currently are without the precious alternative of Lennon’s speed and ability to either occupy several defenders at once or leave one or two on the seat of their shorts.

Finally, teams have got wise to us. They are not bothering to play an expansive game and cluster round their own goals. And it works.