Redknapp

In Praise of Aaron Lennon

/ Alan / 4 Comments

A short celebration of Aaron Lennon’s England performance against Croatia last night. His toes have never twinkled more brightly.

After last time’s disparaging comments on the international scene, I ended up thoroughly enjoying the match, glowing with pride as Lennon justified Capello’s faith in him. The England manager is a stern judge, yet his choice over Lennon over the much more experienced Wright Phillips or indeed over another tactical option involving Beckham, says so much about the winger’s growing maturity this season. I noted in Sunday’s piece that despite the attention drawn towards him by his goal, Defoe was perhaps making less progress than Lenny, and I was especially pleased last night with the mental strength that underlies his (Lennon’s) development. He is clearly thinking harder about his game and in particualr about his role as a team player.

The Monument to Our Lenny

The Monument to Our Lenny

The Gerrard header displayed this new found maturity more so than his more eye-catching runs. Lennon did not overplay the position. Instead of setting off on a run, potentially dazzling but liable to end in a cul de sac, as we have seen so often at the Lane, these days he has another option. Running at a defender can obviously pay dividends, but also it cuts down any space that the player in possession has, and space is such a precious commodity in modern football. This is a huge problem in David Bentley’s game, by the way. Before he was ejected from the team, he would gather the ball  in space and run straight towards a defender like a moth to a flame.

Aaron used to do the same, but no longer. Instead, he picked out Gerard and delivered a perfect ball onto his head. Simple in one sense, but it was the choice that was the clever part. It also demonstrates his confidence in his final ball. I admit to despairing last season that he would never be able to cross or pass accurately, and his therefore his promise would be wasted. Now, not everything works but he’s so much better. His play has variation; we have seen him come inside to score for Spurs this season and last night he tucked in to offer a perfect through-ball for Heskey. Again, it’s the apparently simple things, allied to his pace and ability to beat a full back, that is so impressive.

Capello was brave to pick him but Redknapp and his many coaches deserve the credit for his progress. Much was made in the commentary of the lack of a proper Croatian left back (would Corluka have been detailed to mark him?!), but Lennon made room by clinging to the touchline, just as Harry encourages him to do. With good passers in the team, like Gerrard and Barry for England or Huddlestone for us, he’s not isolated. In turn, this creates more space for the rest of team and dilemmas for the opposition back four. If they spread out to mark him, there’s room for other players infield. If they leave him, havoc ensues down the right.

It was such a pleasure to see one of ours play so well. Aaron Lennon is becoming a real force in English football. One man didn’t enjoy watching the game: even as I write, Fergie is worrying about what to do on Saturday. I can’t wait.

Success for Defoe – This Time

/ Alan / 1 Comment

Yes, there’s nothing like an England friendly to soothe the nerves. Time to doze contentedly. An oasis of calm in an overwhelmingly frenzied world. Just a few moments contemplating the utter pointlessness of it all and I’m away. Peter Drury helps enormously: as he drones on, I drift off.

My heavy eyelids flickered open just in time to see Our Brave Boys combine for England’s second goal. It must be a reflex after all these years. My subconscious filters out all the dross but instinctively sends a swift burst of energy through the cortex as soon as there is a mention of anything Tottenham.

Even when the fixtures are suspended for the international break, everything still goes right for Spurs. I am genuinely pleased for JD, especially as I have already nominated him as my key man if success at White Hart Lane is to be achieved this season. He looks very good. A confidence player, he’s playing regularly and his self-belief is sky high. For me, the best element of his demeanour is that he looks well-balanced on the ball and when on the move, created by improved upper body strength that centres his core muscles.

Churlish though it may be to criticise such a fine goal, it may not be as indicative of his progress as the pundits appear to believe. He had a fraction of space at the edge of the box and with two defenders in front of him chose to shoot. It worked, this time. The problem is, we Spurs fans are the ones who know, because we have seen him do exactly the same thing many, many times, and the ball hits the opponent and bounces away. If we are honest, too often Defoe tries angles, whether for shots or passes, that do not exist.

All strikers are arrogant. That in this context is a compliment. When the pressure is at its most severe, they have the task of focussing totally on one single movement, that of putting the ball in the back of the net. To do so consistently there is no room for even a scintilla of doubt. You have to be one hell of a cocky so and so, and JD is that, to be sure. In the long run, however, JD has to have more than one trick at his disposal. Against Birmingham he missed a couple of passes that could have set others up. Later in yesterday’s game, through on goal he hesitated in two minds and was too easily ushered to the safety of the corner of the box. Don’t keep blasting away, JD, there’s more than one way to be a hero.

Meanwhile, the provider of the goal is making excellent progress on the faults in his game. Aaron Lennon had a quiet match but was effective in everything that he did. He had plenty of space, more so than in the Premier League, but for Rooney’s chance he burst into the gap decisively and with the ball under control found his man, qualities similar to those he is displaying each week for Spurs.

He works back well too. No matter that he tackles with the force of Kate Moss applying blusher, he’s in the right place and opponents have to work to get past. If a player is good enough to beat him for skill or pace, fine, but I guarantee 99% of left midfielders won’t.

That was more than enough excitement for one day. My last glance at the screen before settling back into the comfort blanket of sofa and pint of Pedigree revealed Stuart Pearce earnestly giving instructions to Carlton Cole with the aid of big pictures in his loose leaf folder. I guess the players have trouble with words.

Spurs Rise To The 10:10 Environment Challenge

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The boys at the Lodge

The boys at the Lodge

Tottenham Hotspur have signed up to the 10:10 environmental campaign to reduce carbon emissions.

This new campaign, launched on Monday, has a simple aim: we all reduce our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Spurs are founding participants, currently the only major club to back the scheme so publicly.

Full details of the campaign can be found here: http://www.1010uk.org. It’s a sound idea. Instead of fretting every time we see a David Attenborough documentary about polar bears falling into the ocean because the Arctic icecap is melting faster than a Mivvi in a three year old’s hand, we can all do something practical about it. Households, companies and football clubs unite. World leaders may be making earnest but totally unrealistic promises at various summits (it’s OK, behind their backs they had crossed their fingers. Feynights!!) but We the People can start right here right now.

This could mean changes at the Lane. No doubt Peter ‘Crusty’ Crouch will be off to join the peace camp on Blackheath, whilst David Bentley will trade in his Porsche for a Prius. Oh no, hang on, make that the number 57 bus, at least for another year. Harry is committed to turning off the heating in his manager’s seat on the bench, and training will be suspended as the boys gambol through green meadows, lace daisies in their hair and call each other sister. Wilson has undertaken to run only 37 miles every match. If only Keano could be re-classified as the N17 windfarm project and harnessed to the National Grid, then his arm-waving might actually achieve something.

The 10:10 campaign is an entirely laudable and worthwhile project and all credit to Tottenham for being in the vanguard. Football clubs are rightly castigated for their lack of involvement in the wider community but this is just one example of several over the past few years where Spurs have demonstrated a sense of their wider responsibilities. They were among the top givers to charity amongst clubs in figures released last year (far above the Arse), they are actively involved in local projects for children and young people with a disability and their education project greatly assists local children.

Is It Safe?

/ Alan / 4 Comments

The transfer window is closed and Tottenham Hotspur have concluded their business.

Our new Director of Football

Our new Director of Football

Is it safe? Is it safe? I detest the window, or more accurately the hullabaloo that surrounds it. I love the banter and camaraderie of the messageboards, so why is it that as deadline day nears, everyone goes mental? The bloke who texts the Sky Sports News ticker that his cousin’s best mate’s dad is a taxi driver and he’s been told to pick up Van der Vaart from Heathrow to take him to White Hart Lane is not telling the truth. Yet these and other similar rumours have been picked over and debated for the past few weeks on the boards. Oh, and is it too late to mention Van der Vaart was in the Dutch squad for an international at the time???

I am currently holidaying in not-sodding-sunny Cornwall and mercifully have been spared the ghastly spectacle of Sky Sports News on deadline day. Oh these gorgeous Cornwall villages and their cottages, oak beams, slate floors, roses growing round the window and only 5 T V channels – so delightfully quaint! I am therefore indebted to the Guardian online for the information that SSN knew big things were in store for Spurs today because, “Normally Harry Redknapp gives us a wave when he arrives at the training ground.”

I expect it was a full day of Standing Outside in the Cold news. Why do they have to stand outside a training ground or stadium to tell us what is happening? That is actually the last place to be, not only away from where decisions are being made but also out of  touch with other news-gathering sources. I’ll tell you what is happening outside the grounds – nothing. So then they spend several minutes telling us in excited, conspiratorial tones that nothing is happening.

As technology goes, Teletext will in years to come be regarded as the media equivalent of betamax. I never really mastered the knack of going back one page without it going through every page over again, and then missing out the one I wanted. But oh how I miss the humble page 302 now. Information. Plain and simple. This has happened. That’s all I needed to know. If the chief teletext reporter had a moustache like Ned Sanders, it was hidden from view. Irrelevant.

Pass the oil of cloves, deep breaths, HOLD and relax. The last few days have been good for Spurs. Kranjcar is a superb player, technically gifted, good on the ball and highly astute. Good for a passing game and for retaining possession, links well with the strikers, does things at set pieces. A steal at that price: this blog is unreservedly delighted at his arrival.

This is no short-term over for Modric’s injury nor squad-building, although we do have strength and quality in depth. He could initially slot in on the left but could play anywhere in midfield. Maybe Luka will settle into centre midfield, probably his preferred position, or we adopt the flexibility of the Croatian team, where they have a hard working, fluid midfield who support the man on the ball and use the space without having totally fixed positions across the field. Palacios will enable them to play. The prospects are genuinely exciting.

O’Hara’s loan looked at first glance as a sign that he was on the way out, but now it’s more like a sweetener to seal the Kranjcar deal. Portsmouth needed to bring players in before any could leave, because their squad looks well sort of Premier League quality. They will struggle and Boeteng will not help their cause. In 40 years of watching Spurs, I have never been so underwhelmed by a substantial signing. His brief performances proved only that he was a liability, full of hasty late tackles, conceding possession and positional naivety. Being skilful and promising takes you only so far. 4 million – thank you very much.

Finally, kudos to Daniel Levy. I’ve been extremely critical of his work in the transfer market in the past. This time last year he was desperate to buy any striker at any price and still failed, whilst letting Arshavin slip through our fingers is a cardinal sin. However, in the past he has shrewdly played clubs who he feels are weaker than us. Taking Keane and Lennon at the last minute from Leeds is a case in point, as is our ability to come up with cash for Sheffield United and the Kyles, and thereby outmanoeuvre our rivals Everton. All three deals with Portsmouth have been perfectly judged.