What Have We Learned?

November 8, 2010 / Alan / 11 Comments

I doubt very much if there is a team in the League that is more frustrating to watch at the moment than our beloved Spurs. Capable of so much, we deliver so little at times. Used to asking the question pre-match, ‘which Tottenham team is going to turn up?’, after yesterday we now have to pose the same query at half-time as well because who knows what they are going to come up with? Problem is, I suspect they don’t have any idea either.

Players make mistakes and teams go through bad spells. Intensely irritating but after all these years I’m used to it. What really grates, what digs around deep down inside and contorts my innards into a tight aching throbbing mass of bile-filled fury that bubbles and froths until it is fit to burst open the lining of my stomach, shatter the rib cage and spew into the light drenching the room with rancorous acid, is when we don’t learn. And round about now, it feels like we never learn. A few days ago we dominated the match by imposing ourselves on a quality team and by sustaining our effort and application for 90 minutes. Our centre midfield ran the show. Watching from the high television position at the Reebok, at times our team looked like Subbuteo figures on a giant pitch, spread out far and wide and just as mobile. I would have given them more than a flick to wake them, I can tell you. Memo to HR- at the next team talk make sure they understand that when you talk about making space, it’s not supposed to be space for the other team.

I refuse to lose that Tuesday night feeling and neither do I wish to infer too much from Saturday as a stand-alone performance. 99% of Spurs fans would gladly have exchanged defeat at the Reebok for the experience of victory against the European Champions. Left to myself I would have gone for 100% but I do know people who left the Lane muttering about the real bread and butter of Bolton away.

So I’m not going to get too maudlin about this tawdry little effort. But all this ‘would have taken that’ stuff is a sign of restricted horizons. We have huge ability and an even larger potential, so let’s fulfil that and see where it takes us. I want it all, wins against Milan and in a slog at the Reebok, not because of unrealistic expectations but because that’s what we should be capable of.

Bolton played well, especially at the beginning of the second half where they pre-empted our 4-4-2 by pressing higher up the pitch, holding possession and generally making a right nuisance of themselves. We expected to settle into a rhythm at that point and didn’t recover until we were three down and beaten.

Our opponents refused to let us play from the back. Sandro was dropping further and further back yet still he was denied any room. The first time he was tackled, we got away with it but no reprieve for the second time. Holden had a fine match as defensive midfield and Lee is a real talent while Crouch can only dream of a touch like Davies’ for the fourth goal. They took their chances well but we made it simple. Two goals came from us losing possession and the penalty was the sign of a tired mind. Without decrying their efforts, we made it so easy for them.

Bale had a good game; anything he came up with would have suffered by comparison with Inter. He made a series of opportunities down the left: it’s not just about him, it’s who gives him the ball. You can try to stop him getting going but if he plays those one-twos and the ball is accurate, no defence can get close. Modric too was excellent in the first half, plenty of sorties forward.

However, as I’m repeating so often these days, you can’t really play a through ball to Crouch. As the lone striker, he’s all Modders has. Time and again Luka made a little break and had to play it out wide. This is easier for Bolton to defend – Knight and Cahill were great dealing with the crosses, digging out even the toughest of Bale’s swervers, but they would not have been so sure-footed if we had come through the middle.

Over the last 12 months a number of players who were not first team regulars have shown a burning desire to seize every chance when it came their way. Last January Bale had a loan move on his mind, while Dawson’s introduction led to individual and team success, culminating international honours. Even poker faced Benny clearly burned to reclaim his place after injury. Now Kaboul for all his inexperience is determined to take the same path.

If only the same could be said for Palacios and Kranjcar. Not only did they fluff their opportunity, Niko in particular didn’t seem too bothered. I’m a big fan of his: on Saturday it was like playing with ten men. Wilson needs to build up a head of steam, using several games to settle into a rhythm, but he’ll never get the chance if he continues like this. Harry was apparently having a go at him. Whether he was drifting too far forward I don’t know, it would have been ideal if he hovered in front of the back four, because goodness knows there were wide open spaces for Bolton to exploit. The back four were stretched call over the place because none of the five midfielders dropped back. Bale and Niko were nowhere. We simply can’t do this. Didn’t I say that about the United game, in regard to Bale and Lennon? I did you know.

The selection of 4-5-1 against a Bolton team keen to get men forward was misjudged. It made it harder for us to take the game to them. I wonder if deep down, Harry knows that despite our strength in depth, this lot play best with a pattern dictated by certain key players. Tom Huddlestone’s value is so often proved in his absence. We’ve seen him come on this season, Young Boys being one example, when on the surface it’s like for like, DM for DM, but it all works more smoothly. The men around him look more comfortable with his presence.

Pav came on, did nothing, then scores a volley from a ball that dropped from the clouds. Hutton’s effort was superb, but I always feel great goals are wasted if you lose badly. Give me 3-0 and save the glory goals for another time. Hutton was the pick of a bad bunch. Probably the least effective man on Tuesday, he had a good game at the back and coming forward.

So what do know this week that we didn’t know ten days ago? We know how well we can operate if we attack and we have our best men available. The potential is breathtaking. We’ve learned that we cannot afford to chop and change too much, but I reckon we knew that already. We can’t play two games a week to the same intensity. I’m not having this ‘European hangover’ lark – it’s about an overall ability to stay strong mentally and play well even if individuals are tired, in other words something that pre-dated our involvement in the CL.

We’ve hit the heights this week but are still a work in progress. We are developing but fact is, we have to go a bit harder and faster because others are learning too and there’s a danger we will be left behind. As it is, we are as close to the relegation zone as we are to the top four. Two home matches to come are vital – six points is essential as we are running out of wiggle room.

The two opening paragraphs aren’t bad, even if I say so myself. They sum up both the game and the fan’s feelings of frustration. Thing is, though, I wrote them not on Sunday but after the corresponding fixture last season. We are a better team now, no question – the team we dominated before Bolton away last season was Aston Villa, not Inter Milan – and I’m really not too despondent, but it’s a salutary reminder that some things aren’t changing as quickly as we might like.

Not So Much a Match Report, More a Celebration

November 3, 2010November 3, 2010 / Alan / 23 Comments

Last night Spurs produced a fearless, compelling and utterly irresistible display of bravura football, the like of which I have seldom seen in my 40 plus seasons of watching my beloved team. Inter Milan, proud champions of Europe, a defence the envy of the competition, were repeatedly torn to shreds. One of the greatest nights in our modern history, but with football like this, there’s scant need to be parochial – this morning the eyes of Europe are upon us.

At the end of the night, a shy, modest young Welshman was anointed as a world-class talent. Gareth Bale shattered Inter with an unstoppable combination of muscular direct running and devastatingly accurate crossing. Top class players with every trick in the book, pace, hard tackling, positioning plus the arcane dark arts of international defenders, they’ve seen it all before but on the night all they saw was his backside as he powered past them. As they thrash around in the middle of the night in storm-tossed demented half-sleep, the number three will float into their consciousness and torment them for evermore.

I’ve seen a game or two in my time but I’ve never seen anything quite like Bale. In full flight this big man is a fearsome sight. he needs a stride or two to get moving but once he gains momentum he’s away. Yet despite this, the most remarkable aspect of his play is the final ball. Viciously swerving crosses that are nigh on impossible to handle or the far post ball on the ground, they are dispatched with great accuracy whilst he’s stampeding through at full tilt. The touch to the byline, the amount of times the ball does not cross the line but is pulled back as his instep curls around it and into the box. This is not a reflex reaction. Rather, he’s learned to pick his passes much better, witness the second and third goals last night. As the blood pumps furiously and every sinew strains, his mind remains focussed and calm. He is twenty-one years old.

It’s not as if Inter were unprepared. Not only was there plenty of first hand evidence from the first leg, Benitez knows the English game intimately, yet his team offered too much space. Even if they had closed him down, Bale would have escaped their clutches. This signals a new strand of defensive tactics. Against Bale, formations are no longer described with players spread across the pitch horizontally. Goal-line to goal-line, 5-3-2. It’s the only way.

This was no one man band. Modric was outstanding in the centre. Low to the ground, seeking space and then filling it with an angled ball or a short stabbing run to collect the pass and move on. Always active, he provided both an outlet for team-mates and a steady supply of creativity. Little arms outstretched, give it to me, give it here, I want it give it to me. The opening goal was exquisite, a simple natural beauty rather than the glamour of those that followed but nonetheless it took the breath away. The touch and turn, head up, how can a football rolling 6 yards be so sumptuous? Van der Vaart, on the same wavelength, as one and in. Stunning.

VDV roamed wild and free in the first half. Not everything came off but Inter could never rest. Hud was solid in the centre, spraying the ball wide and undertaking defensive duties diligently. Gallas had a decent match. He bounces around like tigger, hopping up, down and sideways, alert and balanced, barking out instructions. No thought of bygone days, only Spurs on his mind and new challenges ahead. Lennon occupied Inter’s attention, if only the final ball were better but he made his fair share of opportunities. Another word of praise for Kaboul. He should be way over his head in this company but he’s not having any of that. He wants it, wants it bad, and he had another good game. For our third, the little Inter forward had possession, edge of the box, back to goal, and Kaboul stayed patiently on his feet rather than diving in. Result? We gained possession and Bale disappeared into the wide blue yonder.

Yet the really wondrous aspect of this match was the team itself. No hint of the disjointed, aimless play we’ve seen so often with this squad. They produced a sustained display of attacking endeavour, moving as a single organism with one intent, victory. The movement was excellent throughout with barely a moment to catch their breath. They supported each other magnificently and played from the off with sustained purpose and high tempo. From the kick off Bale took a waist-high pass under pressure and first time knocked it back, to Benny I think. A footnote on a wonderful night but it was a sign of confidence. Spurs imposed themselves on their illustrious opponents from the beginning and never let up. My head was spinning as we tried to break down the Italian barrier – both wings, running, passing, onetwos, the entire gamut of creative football.

I suspect Benitez had no sense that Spurs would dare to attack so consistently. It’s the Champions League, a group match, you want to win but are cautious because losing is a crime. Everyone knows that. Kudos to Redknapp and the coaches for setting up the team in this way and for instilling the will to win. The fluency up front was a joy to behold. Not just VDV and Luka, but Bale making diagonal runs off the ball into the middle and pushing JJ forward when Rafa went off. Inter had barely a moment’s respite from this unceasing assault.

So Bale, this giant of the game, runs amok then amidst the tumult of celebration absent-mindedly checks his hair. In the post match interview, he looks at the floor, says he’s still learning. Last week he had a few days off. Went to stay with his mum. Just a kid of twenty-one. Me, I’ve seen it all before, but I’ve not seen anything like this. Past 1 am, can’t sleep, watch the recording and waves of goosebumps flow down my body from head to toe. After all this time, I should not surprised by what Spurs does to the emotions, but once again they’ve floored me. A head-spinningly joyous night of wild passion and wonder.

Not All About the Clattenburg Clanger

November 1, 2010November 1, 2010 / Alan / 5 Comments

Let’s do it then. 93 minutes of a fascinating and, for lengthy periods, pulsating match at Old Trafford can be dismissed because only 60-odd seconds really matter, or so you would think if you followed the media this weekend. You want more, don’t you, there’s not been enough about it.

It’s a while since I’ve seen so much go wrong in such a short space of time. Kaboul was fortunate to get away with the foul on Nani, then the winger took the most definite hold of a ball since Michael Johnson’s last basket but the turning point comes a few seconds later. Clattenburg’s decisive signal that he was denying the penalty appeal was not matched with a similar sign indicating advantage. Where Gomes placed the ball is irrelevant: all keepers pinch a good few yards if there is a free-kick close to the byline. Also, the ref could easily have thought our keeper was about to shift the ball upfield quickly. Then, Gomes hesitates, he knows something is not right. Scoles and other United players are urging Nani to get over his childish sulk and get on with it. Gomes looks to the ref, hands forward, and is met with a shrug. Up to you, old son, the ball’s in play.

The linesman’s late flag was reasonable. He had every right to assume the ref knew what he was doing but just in case, he wanted to tell him about the handball. There was an interesting discussion about refs on 5 Live last night. Some refs tell their linesmen not to flag for a foul if the ref is in their quadrant. I bet Clattenburg falls into this category. He likes to be in charge and be seen to be in charge. Linesman says handball, ref says I know. If the referee allowed Ferdinand to join in because he just can’t be arsed once again to tell players to shut up and go away for the zillionth time in a match, I might have a little sympathy, as players haranguing refs drives me bananas. But for a guy who wants to be in charge, it was a sign of fatal weakness. At least it offered further evidence of what a dipstick Ferdy is, abusing the linesman even after it’s gone his way. Not like our lovely nice boys – the stream I watched replayed pictures and sounds of the Spurs players around the ref at full-time and not a swear word to be heard. So sweet.

I don’t want to defend the ref – he did not deal with this well – but in the end, play to the whistle is an adage drummed into the youngest schoolboy and I presume it’s the same in Brazil. This season, referees are allowing more advantage and they do bring the ball back if none is gained. Clattenburg could have done so here, as Nani advanced towards the ball. If the FA followed rugby’s example and issued clear guidance to referees to permit a few more seconds for the advantage to pan out, football would be a better game. I remember saying that when I was a schoolboy, too.

Gomes was daft but I feel for him. This bizarre episode will be endlessly replayed over those blooper reels, with ill-informed D-list celebs ripping the piss out of our keeper to get a cheap laugh, and I don’t want that to happen because it’s so undeserved. He’s a fine keeper who had an excellent match. Often exposed by wayward marking in front of him, he was a redoubtable last line of defence.

Now we have Harry banging on about it, including in the Sun, where he just happens to have a contract and column. He seemed philosophical at full-time, chuckling away ruefully with Fergie. If the pressure on him to comment leads to a touchline ban, he’s more stupid than the ref.

Enough already. I’m curious as to why this one incident has occupied so much attention in the media this weekend. Sure, it’s crazy in itself, let alone in a top of the table Premier League clash, but the coverage has been way over to the top. It’s not as if the match hinged on this one moment. It snuffed out our final desperate efforts to seek an equaliser but we were a goal down and flagging. To me, it’s symptomatic of one of the most harmful aspects of the modern media coverage of our great game. It is reduced into micro-moments. ‘Let’s have a look at those penalty appeals’ and the TV pundits snuggle up to replays of 37 angles before pronouncing that they’ve seen those given. Football is about the ebb and flow over time, territory fought over, assaults repulsed and swift counters, all balance and guile, sweat and toil. On Saturday, the first half in particular was a pulsating advert for the much maligned Premier League, full of open, flowing and skillful attacking football. It’s like nobody bothers about that any more.

Also, from Spurs’ point of view, the Clattenburg Clanger is a convenient smokescreen to mask the limitations of our play. Harry doesn’t want to get into this, and neither does the media, because it doesn’t fit their current perception of our team. We are getting great publicity: our squad strength is praised consistently, rightly so, and our attacking football has won friends, especially in the Champions League, where if you want goals, choose the Tottenham Hotspur option on the red button. However, take a closer look, as we fans do, and there are a couple of problems that are not going away as the season goes on.

There are genuine positives to take from the match, especially the way in which we took the game to United in the second half. It’s not much, but we forced our opponents back for lengthy periods, holding possesion and probing for the gaps. We compelled them into making changes to bolster their defensive shield, and it’s a while since you could say that about a Spurs performance at Old Trafford. Van der Vaart was again brilliant in the first half. His turn and shot utterly breathtaking. Modric took a greater part in the second half, showing how well he can perform. We were not strong up front but at least we made some chances.

But there we are, what’s going on upfront. Not much. Keane’s selection was a brave one. He played well in that role in preseason and in theory it means we could keep it on the ground. However, he was largely anonymous, so it was left to VDV to provide the punch. Pav did well enough when he came on but there’s no disguising the lack of threat from our strikers, whoever plays there.

At the back, we were far too open. If United had not been so unusually wasteful, we could have been three down by half time. I’m always talking about how the midfield fail to protect our back four, so I won’t bang on about it again. Suffice to say, Superboy may appear invulnerable but in the end he’s human too. He has to get goalside and do his fair share of defending. Too often on Saturday he was drifting in no-man’s-land, 5 or 10 yards outside our box as United got in behind us. Same goes for Lennon and Modric to some extent. I don’t wish to be over-critical of these excellent players – but they have to do it and it is holding us back because it leaves us vulnerable.

Kaboul did well once again, a fine prospect, but part of his particular learning curve is when to get in tight and when to bounce back a fraction. Against Everton and on Saturday, unnecessary free-kicks led to goals. On Saturday the error was compounded by downright useless marking in the box. It was criminal to leave Vidic with so much space. Our injuries at the back are beginning to make me maudlin. If only. If only Daws and Led were fit. If only Woody could have come back…it means so much, and could mean real might-have-beens come the end of the season.

Rodney You Plonker

October 25, 2010October 25, 2010 / Alan / 14 Comments

Like a splinter under the skin, it’s usually a minor irritant, but sometimes, if you don’t get it out straight away, it festers and infection can quickly spread. Another two points dropped at home in a match where despite Everton’s effort and organisation we were the better team, another game where we go a goal down, another opportunity slipping away.

We’re a quarter of the way through, give or take a percentage point, and patterns are revealing themselves. This promises to be a tight league from top to bottom. Battling for a top four where Chelsea lead but Liverpool are floundering and United surprisingly vulnerable, there’s everything to play for and to establish ourselves in the top four we must show the ruthlessness that goes with that status. From that perspective, we have to bank points from games like these, rather than allow them to slip from our grasp.

The pressure’s on all over the field. Every element of the team has to function to their peak. The focus is always on the strikers, especially so if we’re playing one up front. it’s becoming a well-worn path, but Crouchie -what are we going to do with you, you downright plonker. This absurdist masterclass was surely surrealist performance art, a slapstick satire on the post-modern society. Effort is futile and wasted, we may as well accept our pre-ordained fate. No matter how much we try to control the world, time and again it refuses to obey, often wildly and unpredictably spinning off into the ether, just when you think progress is being made. Have you noticed, the ball and the world are the same shape? Worthy of the Turner Prize, I have a clearer, more humble sense of our place in the cosmos but not our top four prospects.

It was so unco-ordinated, when he sarcastically applauded the Park Lane’s ‘Super Pav’ chant I’m surprised he managed to make left hand strike the right. If it were possible to make things worse, take the piss out of your own fans, why don’t you.

This blog is all about the team. We stand or fall as eleven not one. However, when our single striker is so off and when so much is played towards him, frustration is the very least of the emotions. Modric and Van der Vaart are programmed in their genes to play the ball into channels or slide the ball in behind defenders. They’ve being doing so since they were kids, yet so often they turned away in frustration, as if to say, ‘Of course, forgetting myself, can’t do that, silly me’. It makes things so much easier for defenders.

Once again we started brightly enough without making any real inroads. Promising signs of interplay between Luka and VDV and a welcome ease with our passing. Luka is taking a while to play himself back into form and there were signs that he’s on the right track. Twice in this period he was prominent in and around the box, and he makes things tick. They talk about strike partnerships but if Luka and VDV get it on, we have something to look forward to. However, certainly as the match wore on, we could have done with more drive from midfield to overcome the increasingly frequent flat spots.

Talking of plonkers, this week Wilson got his mum to write him a note so he was excused detention. Next time he may have to play in his underpants as punishment for flying into to tackles. The early, needless booking helped in the short run because, wary of a second yellow, he stayed on his feet and had a better game as a result but the half time substitution was inevitable. It disrupted the team and used up a substitution that would have been handy as we struggled to score the winner later on. It’s a sign of his anxiety but he’s had a long time to learn that remaining upright is an option.

After a decent start, Everton came back into things. They defended with application and were busy in the middle without ever being negative. In the past they’ve lacked potency up front but Yakubu was always a threat. It was a fascinating struggle with Gallas and Kaboul. Both had good games. Kaboul once more emphasised his potential with another useful performance. Unafraid to impose himself on opponents, he did well. A fraction impetuous at the edge of the box, a foul, just, and Baines punished us with a superb free kick.

We were back on terms quickly. With Crouch pulling away to the far post, he makes defenders uncertain, or in this case the keeper, and Crouch’s deadly knee left VDV with a simple touch. On the far post, a decent ball will take out the centre half and leave him one on one with teeny tiny Baines, but the little guy is shrewd. The art of the good defending includes how to nudge and touch without conceding a freekick and the full back used his height to snuggle into Crouch’s back, secure in the knowledge that the ref would keep him safe. Once we had a good shout for a penalty, first half to the left of their box, but that was it.

Games are won and lost in the periods when teams get on top. We made chances early in the second half but they fell to Crouch, who proved the toe-poke is a less potent weapon than he presumably believed at the time. Pav was no better when he came on, similarly fluffing his one big moment.

Heitinger kept his compatriot VDV quiet during this time, effectively patrolling the area in front of the back four. We could have done with JJ’s energy and drive to lift us as Everton dropped back towards their goal. Instead, our efforts petered out, epitomised by one of the best attacking full backs, Hutton, launching a series of high balls from 35 yards out, easier to defend than going to the byline. I would have switched VDV and Luka with VDV more involved in the centre but we have to get both of them into the box as often as possible.

Bale had a reasonable game. Despite the evidence from Wednesday, he’s not superman but as he was surrounded by two and three men, he used the ball intelligently without making the breakthrough himself. He could have worked back more, not only to help out at the back but also he’s better coming from deeper positions. Galls had a good game, doing that bouncy thing he does to stay in touch with the man he’s marking and barking instructions at the back four.

I know what you’re thinking. I admit, the Turner prize cannot be awarded for performance art. Oh, and we are in a good league position. Forgive me if I’m asking for just a bit more in matches like these.