Through the Round Window, Little Harry’s Gone Bonkers Children

February 2, 2010 / Alan / 20 Comments

I thought the point of this window was to leave the squad, a squad that should be geared towards a full-scale assault on 4th place, stronger when it shut than when it opened.

Now we have no cover at right full back and have let go a striker and captain, one who is albeit off form but form can return. Pav is not fit, clearly, because he thought he was off. The cover for two experienced and able centre halves is promising but has a lot to learn.

No back up keeper

And we are 4th.

There’s always action around Spurs in any window. As the Sky reporters jockey for seniority, surely the real mark of achievement is who gets to wear the badge of honour and stand outside the Lodge on transfer deadline day. “I can tell you exclusively, Jim, that here at Chigwell absolutely nothing is happening. WHATSOEVER!!! Just look at that – it’s a car park!! With cars!” Rolling news, thank goodness for the 21st century.

Closer to the real action, Spurs fans are accustomed to the strange and mysterious, with the peak (or trough) coming a few years ago with a frantic midnight search for a striker, any striker, which culminated in equipping Juande Ramos for his charge at the league with a Manchester United reserve. That combination of mismanagement and absurdity will never be surpassed (please…) but yesterday’s events were bewildering.

I know I have said this before, but whatever the relative merits of players, why at this point do we need to let any of our first team squad go anywhere? So Hutton, Keane and Pav stew on the bench, with limited opportunities. So what? They will have chances to play as the pressure builds towards the end of the season. They provide different tactical options, either from the start or during the match. Or they don’t play at all. So what?

Naughton can gain experience elsewhere, fair enough. But already there is serious consideration being given to Kaboul, a centre half who is talented but very much a work in progress, at full back or midfield. He’s the cover, but if we had kept established internationals who can play there if needed, the cover is totally unnecessary except in dire emergency.

Keane is a good player who occasionally showed flashes of greatness but ultimately his technique does not equip him for the very top. Sometimes when it all flows, or when men like Berbatov were combining effortlessly with him, Keano was the perfect modern striker, able to drop deep and link front and back, pick out the pass with a touch or canny flick, and strike like a rapier in front of goal. At other times, sadly exhibited so often this season, he needs that extra moment or three or unleashes that clumsy airshot like an unco-ordinated 10 year old trying to be a parklife Messi.

Now he has his dream move. No, hang on, that was Liverpool, or wait, back to the Lane…Well anyway, he’s off to Celtic but it could have been West Ham or Sunderland. Obviously Harry has said he’s surplus to requirements, at least for now. I knew that something was not right when he came over to the Shelf late on against Fulham. The brightness in the eyes of this wholehearted competitor had dimmed. Sad to see him off-form, but form returns. Captain, goalscorer, international – there is no reason to let him go at this point in the biggest season for years and years.

Pav’s a good player who has played in Spurs teams where the tactics did not fully utilise is talents. He’s no lone target man, for sure. His mobility could be very handy, but maybe that is as much a reflection of my frustration with Crouch as it is of his skill.

But my assessment is less important (amazing, I know) than Harry’s, and so what has happened in the last few weeks to turn him from an unfit lazy no hoper on his way out, with the club touting him around, to suddenly a crucial element of our strikeforce for the rest of the season? That description is not mine, it’s how Harry perceived him and how Harry talked about him, openly dismissive only comparatively recently. I assume that no one came in with the right offer so we are left with him and I hope he takes his chance, but having destroyed him, is Uncle H now going to put his armround his shoulders? Not long now until Harry takes full credit, saying that he always knew Pav had it in him and that he wanted to give him an opportunity.

The whole thing smacks of a lack of planning or consistency. Keane’s departure will save us around 250k a month, so in the absence of any other coherent strategy, this could be a sign that we need to watch the pennies. Maybe Levy is just being prudent, but on the field this is our chance. None of this is about who is better, Defoe or Keane, Crouch or Pav, Corluka or, um… There is no imperative to weaken our efforts to achieve fourth place. No reason at all.

Five Live last night, Harry – 3 youth teamplayers on the bench for Leeds, I don’t have a very big squad and Naughton, Hutton and Keane have gone. Even allowing for Harry’s Big Gob, words fail me. Not a good thing for a blogger, but hey, I haven’t time to worry about that. As a lifelong atheist, I’m off to find a deity and pray night and day that Gomes does not get injured. Join hands everyone….

Spurs v Fulham. Lovely and Dull

January 27, 2010January 27, 2010 / Alan / 13 Comments

A routine win from an average display characterised by competency and the plain ordinary. Those long boring passages with nothing much going on were a welcome relief from the shredded emotions of the previous week. The lads knew we needed a break – they’re just so considerate, bless ‘em.

After the Hull game, Phil Brown said he had rung a few manager mates to find out how to cope with us. Mick McCarthy and others obliged, but the wonderful wily Roy Hodgson needed no help in setting up his team. They tried to funnel us into the packed midfield, where many of our attacks foundered. Bentley was probably the most surprised man in the ground where he heard he was playing but we needed width and that was his role. Desperate to impress, he was repeatedly drawn infield to the ball like a moth to a flame, indicating his lack of a big brain. However, we had so much of the ball that he was able to produce something out wide and did well enough.

Modric was the pick of our team. He could have got on the ball more, because when he did he upped the tempo and made things happen. Not only is he dangerous, he galvanises others into action. This blog’s mantra is pass and move. I’m always banging on about it but today I will give you some respite. Suffice to say that when we played in short bursts like this, as after the second goal, we looked so much more dangerous than when we hammered in the crosses but seldom provided enough support for the man on the ball.

And boy did those crosses and long balls come sailing in. Crouch causes anxiety in defenders and usually gets a touch but the real question is about what he does with these opportunities. Time and again in the last few weeks he has failed to make very much of them. Headers are misdirected past the woodwork or by team-mates in support and he’s easily nudged off the ball, just enough to affect his aim, because of his lack of body strength. He took his goal well, laid on a plate by Luka’s admirable persistence, but he is so frustrating and his presence means we look for him rather than try to pass our way forward. He’s a key option but not the only option. Defoe was left with a cricked neck as the ball flew over and past him for the whole game.

Bale continues to impress. We’ve not really seen him tested defensively since he came back into the team but already his accelerating forward runs are reminiscent of Cole (may I wash my mouth out) and Evra. Above all, he’s taking control of situations and seldom hesitates. When he makes a mistake, he’s quickly back into position and does not lose concentration. He will make mistakes but we must tolerate that, because he’s one of the best prospects I have seen for a long time. A top quality player in the making.

Hud did Ok. Again he does better when given a fraction more space but he made the most of what he was given, looking for the ball and passing well. At times his control was beautiful, and I mean an utterly beautiful skill, so much so that he stopped to admire his own genius and was therefore tackled. Oh well. And a word of praise for Gomes, who really has not put a foot wrong for several matches and his presence exudes confidence at the back. He’s a terrific player.

Fulham were missing several key men, which disrupted their formidable powers of organisation, and they don’t travel well, so their lack of threat was predictable and frankly welcome. Murphy impressed, as always. Shrewd and spiky, he releases the ball early into channels as well as picking everything up from their back four, but he had little to work with. Frustrated as much by his team-mates’ reluctance to pass to him as the redoubtable efforts of Dawson and King, Zamora forsook the more traditional methods of graft and talent and turned to sustained whinging in order to make the breakthrough. Surely the offside decisions against him were mistaken as he could never in this match have been considered active.

Overall, we were never seriously challenged and picked up the win without too much of a problem. Dull at times, and for once I’m glad.

Liverpool v Spurs. A Performance of Lettuce Proportions

January 21, 2010 / Alan / 23 Comments

We demanded strong and bold, what we were given was limp and lifeless. We were up for the moment, they were down in the dumps. It’s premature to describe the Liverpool defeat as a turning point, but after this and Hull, I stare at the table and see us fourth but by default rather than merit. The table does not lie, it’s what happens over a season that counts and there’s plenty of that season still to run, but last night in no way, shape or form did we look like a top four team.

Cameo performances typically brighten up a performance of any kind. In film or on stage, the actor seizes her or his brief chance in the spotlight to steal the scene and put on a show that is noticed. Last night a Spurs cameo encapsulated the entire night and the performer was indeed noticed but for all the wrong reasons. Closest to the pitch yet so tantalisingly far from the action, being a substitute requires a degree of resolution. Bassong must have had some idea before kick-off even that his services were likely to be required as once more Ledley’s prematurely creaking bones could give way at some time. Yet when called upon his mind was elsewhere, unable to offer the basics, like shorts. Finally on the pitch, he never came to terms with the fact that he was playing, missing tackles, late with a header and then conceding a penalty.

That foul made no difference to the outcome of the match – it was well and truly lost by then – but Bassong’s lack of mental application and fortitude perfectly sums up the approach of the entire team. Half a mistake, Daws not quite strong enough, and suddenly there is a gap for Kuyt to finish skilfully, a well-taken strike. Going a goal down early is tough but not insurmountable. I waited for us to get into our stride. Waited for us to get hold of the ball. Became frustrated as in the first half we lost possession so often, wanting to take three or four touches, to beat a man, where one or two would have done. Waited for the Croats to get on the ball and knock it around, it’s their game and here was the place to play it. Waited patiently, the second period came and finally the ball was ours, we were on top, we pushed them deep into their own half…

Nothing. Nothing but a smart long shot, a Modric chance and a couple of kerfuffles in their box. No pattern or intelligence. No one willing to take control. JJ and Wilson huffed and puffed, not everything came off but they won the ball for us on sufficient occasions only for nothing to come of it. Luka and Niko disappointed, drifting infield to be swallowed up by an eager Liverpool defence. In my preview I suggested they would be key. Without Lennon’s surging pace, they had to respond in a different but no less effective passing style, yet they seemed as confused as the rest of them.

I had warned that Liverpool should not be written off as a spent force and the performance that Benitez coaxed from them proves he remains highly influential in the club. They worked, covered and pressed, and when their legs tired did not wilt. Known for their open play, Liverpool on this night took heed of the success of their less illustrious counterparts and threw a stifling midfield blanket over us, as have Stoke, Wolves and Hull of late. It worked perfectly, and only some frankly awful finishing prevented them from handing out a real beating.

Nothing should obscure the fact that this was a ragged and intensely disappointing Spurs performance. However, now that we mention turning points, there was another one in this match. The Defoe goal should have stood. Active, phases, whatever – my view is that he was not offside. This is the second time this season that a controversial decision by Howard Webb has affected the outcome away against a big team, the first being the penalty he denied Keane versus Chelsea. Then as last night, we were not getting anywhere and such a moment could have brought us back into the match as well as testing Liverpool’s own fragile confidence.

Put into the context of the season as a whole, however, the point is that goal or not, we should not allow ourselves to wait for something to happen in order to ignite the passion and the football. We have to make it happen ourselves. In the same way, a shrewdly engineered two minute injury break broke what spluttering rhythm we had. Surely we had enough experience of that on Saturday to know how to overcome it. It says much for the lack of resilience in the team if we cannot deal with this.

Of the other players, Bale had another decent performance and apart from five minutes at the end of the first half where the ball was in his corner and he totally lost concentration, it augers well for the future. Not much more comfort to be had, I’m afraid. Crouch was awful, barely a single decent pass or lay-off in the entire match, let alone effort on goal, and Defoe was not far behind in the race for last place. Nothing stuck when the ball was played up to him and he spent most of the match in apparently increasing resentment that he was being tightly (but fairly) marked. Defenders tackling – the very nerve. And I genuinely forgot Keane was ever on the pitch.

Spurs v Hull. Next Time, We Take Charge.

January 17, 2010January 17, 2010 / Alan / 18 Comments

Not for the first time this season, Spurs toiled against a team with less talent but exemplary organisation. Hull deserve credit for their energy and application and none whatsoever for starting their time-wasting tactics in the first quarter of the match, but in the end despite all our travails we made and missed four gilt-edged chances, and with them the opportunity to bank valuable points in pursuit of fourth place.

Hull came with a plan to restrict and stifle our flowing football, and we fell right into their clutches by allowing them to dictate the tempo in the first half. We had precisely the midfield to combat their pressing game but chose instead to waste possession and play the long ball far too often. Searching for scraps, Modric and Kranjcar came inside and were enveloped in the Hull defensive blanket. Without Lennon there was no escape in width.

The time-wasting and staying down at the slightest knock is enormously frustrating (Bolton did this a few years ago when of course Brown was their assistant manager) but we have to be big enough and strong enough to rise above it. Instead, we failed to just hold the ball and shift it around and were sucked in. By the middle of the second half, Hunt had succeeded in winding up Hud to the point where he kicked the Hull player in the back. Hunt protested but in reality he was delighted – he had Hud exactly where he wanted him.

The long pass to Keane and Defoe, who were running centrally between their central defenders, looked like team orders, but our opponents learned from the away fixture earlier this season and played deeper, therefore there was little space between back four and keeper for the ball to be played into. Their cause was greatly assisted by Huddlestone’s poor performance. Time and again he went for the long ball, ignoring simpler but more effective alternatives. Everyone has a bad one from time to time, but this was a match where as the playmaker he should have taken on the responsibility of directing operations. He did indeed set the tone for the team, but being caught in possession and over-ambitious passing ripe for interception was not what we had in mind.

As the first half wore on, and time went very slowly yesterday, we gradually dragged ourselves into the match but Keane and then Defoe missed the chances. We expected more in the second half but it was only the introduction of Jenas to up the pace and to drive on from midfield that finally kick-started our game. Crouch won everything and we looked more dangerous, but for the most part the final ball in the box eluded us or heroic blocking from the massed Hull ranks prevented better opportunities.

Myhill had a fine match. My usual Saturday night routine is to look forward to MOTD and then fall fast asleep after the second match, so although I missed our highlights I’m assuming that Lineker’s trail of the ‘best goalkeeping performance for years’ referred to him. I feel duty bound to point out, however, that we placed the ball close to him on several occasions when we should have done much better. Keane was fatally hesitant when those rebounds fell to him, one in each half. For the first, Myhill did superbly to get up and back into position, his best save, but Keane had a lot of the goal to aim at, as did Crouch for his late header.

Keane’s form is highly concerning. Once again he was ineffective and approached his chances in the manner of a man who knows he is way out of sorts. At the moment we cannot rely on him in any way.

Bale was our best player. He showed total application, understood what he was supposed to do and defended well enough, although he was not seriously tested. Still, he will benefit from games like this. Modric and Kranjcar, two of my favourite players, disappointed, being absent for long periods. In the second half they and we fell into the trap of pushing ten or fifteen yards too far forward. Playing against teams with a blanket defence, one or two forwards have to drop back to start each move, to begin the pass and movement style, and they are experienced enough to know this, rather than hang around up front waiting for the ball in areas where defenders can more easily handle them. Dropping back also tempts their marker to follow them, thereby creating a fraction of space. I would have brought on Rose for Hud, with Modric in the middle, to give us the option of width and pace plus more craft in the centre.

Daws made a couple of fine tackles towards the end, one of which I would hail as magnificent if it weren’t for the fact that it was necessitated by defensive hesitation.

The question hanging over the Lane at full-time was, ‘why can’t we beat the teams at the bottom?’. The reason is that Wolves, Stoke and now Hull come with limited horizons. I don’t blame them: it’s just a fact. They can get ten or eleven behind the ball because winning is not the primary aim. Teams with greater ambitions will have a more open style because they will be attacking for at least some periods of the match.

To be a top team, we have to dictate to them, not the other way around. It’s not easy playing through and around defensive teams but we have to find a way. This was out biggest failing against Hull. Two points lost.