Month: October 2014

Not Waving, But Drowning

Posted on by anotherwisemonkey

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Watching Spurs against Brighton last night, I was struck by how much the quality of the team has declined since the 2010 Champions League season. We’ve lost Ledley King, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart replacing them with Younes Kaboul, Ryan Mason, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen. The watershed moment on the up was the stunning coup of signing van der Vaart from Real Madrid at the eleventh hour on transfer deadline day; doubtless made possible by our having qualified for the Champions League. The watershed on the way down was the failure to qualify for the Champions League in either of the two following seasons- and the attendant failure to sign a top level striker; Emmanuel Adebayor is a technically good player, but his mentality is below the level reached by the players above.

For 54 minutes we laboured against a team at the lower end of the Championship. It was the same old story. We had plenty of possession but lacked the ability to play a good through ball or telling cross into the box. Lennon had an excellent half before leaving with a hamstring problem and Soldado was superb all match except when shooting. Every time he touched the ball the pace quickened, but too often his team mates- notably Townsend and Naughton- were too slow to respond to his quick one-twos and the momentum was lost. There was little singing from the deflated Spurs fans, prompting Brighton to sing “We forgot that you were here” and “One nil and you still don’t sing.” The trouble is, there was nothing to sing about. It was best summed up when Brighton sang “You’re nothing special, we lose every week” and the Spurs fans replied “So do we, so do we, so do we.”

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Kane scored, but showed why he isn’t trusted to start in the Premier League. His first touch was heavy and attacks usually broke down once the ball reached him. Eriksen possesses the number 10 role Kane covets in the league, and he is a better player, end of story. Goals are the ultimate measure of success in a football match, but as a number 9 Kane will continue to play second fiddle to Adebayor for the foreseeable future, to the frustration of the anti-Ade brigade.

Newcastle at home in the cup is a reasonable draw and a chance for revenge after Sunday. Can we grasp the opportunity?

Perhaps we are in a period of gestation and in time will reap the fruits of this. Kyle Walker made an appearance pitch-side during half-time, and his eventual return to the team will provide some much needed width on the right, creating more problems for opposition defences to consider. But at the moment, the best I can say is that we’re a team treading water, and the worst is that we’re not waving, but drowning. I struggle to see us finishing above mid-table based on the season so far.

It’s no use just winning, we’ve got to win well.

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Turning a Corner

Posted on by anotherwisemonkey

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Tottenham’s recent record at scoring from or defending corners is woeful. But we have an opportunity to turn a corner this week, with a run of winnable fixtures in the Premier League and a feel-good factor after the midweek mauling of Asteras Tripolis.

Lamela’s wonderful rabona hopefully heralds the moment our underachieving but clearly talented midfielder steps up and begins to grow into the mantle vacated by Gareth Bale. He still has much to learn in the Premiership, especially without the ball- the three goals we conceded against City and Arsenal while he was on the pitch all came about in part because of the elite teams’ ability to take advantage of his defensive naivety. But what has been largely overlooked amidst the rabona hype is the fact Lamela also scored an excellent volley for his second goal on the night; the rabona was not a flash in the pan. Against a Newcastle defence shorn of confidence, with the fullbacks and Coloccini looking particularly vulnerable, Lamela will have opportunities to further showcase his confidence and creativity. Lamela has already been instrumental in much of our good forward play this season, creating several assists. Now he has some goals to his name, let’s see what he can achieve.

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Harry Kane is clearly what the Spurs team have lacked since Bale’s departure- a consistent goalscorer. Granted, his touch sometimes lets him down, but the same can be said of Adebayor. I’d start Kane in the number 9 position against Newcastle. I know Pochettino favours rotation, and Soldado is fully rested; I myself was initially clamouring for Soldado to start after a good performance against City; but I believe Kane is young and enthusiastic enough to handle playing twice in a week. He can be rested against Brighton.

At the back, we will do fine defensively in the upcoming matches if we persist in playing Vertonghen and Kaboul at centre-back. Hugo Lloris is in the form of his life and is clearly the best keeper in England. Rose is strong, and Dier is good enough out of position at right back to deal with all but the Premier League elite. I’m looking forward to Yedlin hopefully joining us in January, and when Walker is back fully fit I’d be keen to see Dier playing at centre back alongside Vertonghen.

All the teams above us are taking points off each other except for Chelsea. I was surprised to find myself really enjoying the West Ham win over City. I don’t mind West Ham and Southampton being above us at this stage, as I’m confident they will fade as the season progresses.

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There will be a celebratory atmosphere at the Lane as we commemorate the passing of the legendary Bill Nicholson. Remember to wear white if you’re going to the match.

Let’s hope Krul doesn’t have another match like he did last season. If we score early I can see us running out comfortable 2-0 winners. Chadli to get the first goal. COYS.

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In Defence of Roberto Soldado

Posted on by anotherwisemonkey

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I feel as positive as I have ever felt after a 4-1 defeat. Yes, we capitulated after Fazio was sent off, but until then, we created many good opportunities against City and could have scored several goals. Had one of Mason’s first-half efforts gone in, we might have been looking at a different result.

In particular, I feel it’s important to defend Roberto Soldado after he was pilloried in sections of the media after yesterday’s match. Here’s the thing. He played well.

Soldado provided the perfectly weighted assist for Christian Eriksen’s goal, splitting one of the meanest defences in the country. At half-time, fellow blogger Spurs Fanatic tweeted “Soldado’s touches, layoffs, one touch play and passing has been excellent. If only we can create a shooting chance for him!” We did, and his excellent reflex shot from within the box would have burst the net on another day, but he was up against Joe Hart in form good enough to make the BBC Premier League team of the day.

Soldado also won a penalty. He struck this on target, towards the corner, but again, Joe Hart made a great save. Soldado has been criticised for not hitting it hard enough, and Steve McManaman laid into him on BT Sport for a lazy run-up- but if you look at Aguero’s run-ups for his penalties that day, they look even more lazy. On Match of the Day Robbie’s involvement in some excellent defensive work was completely ignored.

This was Soldado’s first Premier League start this season. Unless he scores, the media are keen to hang him out to dry. Give the guy a break. His work-rate and team-play was excellent. If he was playing in the team of a few years ago, with van der Vaart, Bale and Modric providing ammunition, he would bag hatfuls of goals. Instead, he is doing the best he can in a system that suits a tall, physically imposing, mobile centre-forward. He is not that player, but should not be hung out to dry as a consequence. He is a victim of inappropriate recruitment, not an inadequate player.

We now go into a run of games that look very winnable. We are on the same points as Arsenal and United, and sit ahead of Liverpool and Everton. We’ve played Liverpool, City, Arsenal and top-four surprise packages Southampton and West Ham. The team are still learning to play with Pochettino’s philosophy. We will get better. COYS.

How I Became A Spurs Fan

Posted on by anotherwisemonkey

Argentinian Spurs striker Ricky Villa

I blame Ricky Villa.

“Who d’you support? West Ham or Spurs?”

It was a routine question in the playground of Blackhorse Infants School, ’79-’81. In those days, you supported your local team. They were the only options in the local area, roughly equidistant from Walthamstow. No offence to Leyton Orient, but I can honestly say I never heard of them until my teens.

“West Ham?” I offered, nervously.

“Nice one, mate. You’re in our gang.”

And then we’d link arms and walk around the playground singing “Who wants to play- wa-a-ar?”

This would continue for the whole of break, the line getting longer and longer.  Anyone who supported the wrong team got a dead arm. We never did actually play war. The bell always went too soon. This was just about being part of a tribe.

The thing was I didn’t support West Ham. I didn’t support Spurs. I just said whatever answer I guessed would save me a dead arm. And it continued that way until May 1981.

Dad was in the front room, watching telly. He called me in.

“Take a look at this goal, Christopher,” he said.

It was Ricky Villa’s famous Wembley final goal. A thing of beauty. I watched in slack-jawed admiration as Ricky slalomed right, then left, then right again, before passing the ball into the back of the net.

“What team’s that, Dad?” I asked, as I climbed onto his knee.

“Tottenham, son. What a goal!”

And in that moment, my mind was made up.

Tottenham. They were my team.

The next couple of years brought success and it seemed I’d made an excellent choice.

“Tottenham, Tottenham, no-one can stop them, we’re gonna do it like we did last year”.

And so it seemed, with us retaining the FA Cup in ’82 and winning the UEFA Cup in ’84.

It all changed in ’87 when the unthinkable happened. A Gary Mabbutt own goal saw us defeated in the final by Coventry.

Since then, it’s been slim pickings. There was a feeling of possibility when Gazza and Lineker put us back on the trophy trail.

Klinsmann was exciting. Jol almost took us to the glory land and Harry did. But much of what followed has been characterised by frustration, misery even.

But it could have been worse. If Dad had called me in to watch the FA Cup a year earlier, I would have been a West Ham fan.

I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.