Wednesday, September 15, 2010
We've Moved!
Cartilage Free Captain now has it's own dedicated domain with a spiffy logo. Check us out over at http://www.cartilagefreecaptain.com
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Review: Tottenham 2-2 Werder Bremen
Obviously, if you would have told me the match was going to be a 2-2 draw before it started, I would have taken it. In fact, that's exactly what I predicted a mere 20 minutes before the match. Werder and Spurs are pretty evenly matched teams, but that's not what it looked like in the first 30 minutes of the game.
No, in the first 30 minutes, Spurs absolutely dominated. The first goal, an own goal, came as a result of the brilliant work of Gareth Bale and would have been finished easily by Peter Crouch if it wasn't tapped into the back of the net by Petri Pasanen. The second goal came just six minutes later off of a brilliant header by Peter Crouch. Spurs continued to create opportunities, but would fail to score again. Of course, they would come to regret this.
Despite struggling to create opportunities while Spurs dominated in the first half, Werder were able to find their breakthrough in the 43rd minute. In a move that was completely against the run of play. Hugo Almeida headed home a perfectly placed cross that dropped just between Ledley King and Benoit Assou-Ekotto and was too far out for Carlo Cudicini to reach. It was that goal that gave Werder the motivation to press on and take over the game.
Only two minutes into the second half, Marko Marin equalized with a brilliant strike from 25 yards away. Only two minutes later, Rafael van der Vaart was subbed off because of fitness issues. That substitution would allow Werder Bremen to dominate the midfield for the rest of the game.
Both teams created a fair number of chances with Werder dominating the play in the second half, but the match would end 2-2. It was a fair result, as both teams had played well enough to earn a point and neither had played poorly enough to lose.
While the substitution of van der Vaart was obviously motivated by fitness, not tactics, and had to be made, the decision to bring on Robbie Keane was a curious one. Actually, I'm being generous. The decision to bring on Robbie Keane was a poor one. Unsurprisingly, it took all of five minutes for Robbie Keane to singlehandedly kill three separate attacking moves with his atrocious passing. For the better part of 45 minutes, Keane was absolutely useless. Every time I heard the color commentator use the words "positive" or "skill" in reference to Robbie Keane, I felt as if I needed an antacid. The only appropriate sentence using those three terms would be "I am positive that Robbie Keane lacks the skill to play at this level."
Say what you will about the deficiencies of Peter Crouch, but he worked his tail off today. This is more than can be said about Roman Pavlyuchenko on most days. In the departments of technical ability, tactical acumen, and pace, Pav is superior to Crouch by a fair margin. When it comes to work ethic, Pavlyuchenko's ability is...sporadic? In the games where he runs and fights as hard as he can for every ball, Pavlyuchenko is Tottenham's best striker. This happens about once every four appearances. Today, Crouch's work ethic was a massive contribution to Spurs' great first half and it was encouraging to see that they are able to play with him as a lone striker.
As good as we were in the first half, I think we have to consider what might have been if Thomas Schaaf had the [balls/brains?] to start all three of Marko Marin, Wesley, and Aaron Hunt. It was obvious that the game began to change when Hunt was brought on for Bargfrede, but it really changed in the second half. Having all three of those players on the pitch was just too much of a demand on Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone, making the Keane for van der Vaart substitution even more puzzling. It's not like Aaron Hunt entered the game after Keane did, he was brought on in the 37th minute. Harry saw how much Hunt changed the game and brought Keane on for VdV? Mind-boggling. The fact that we got straight-up creamed once Werder had their best team on the pitch is not encouraging.
Negatives aside, a point is a point. Getting a point on the road against Werder is a great result. The 2-2 draw between Twente and Inter Milan was a good result for us as well. Nothing that happened today changed the qualification prospects of any of the four teams in Group A. All four teams have reasons for concern and reasons to be optimistic.
Hopefully, Spurs forget about all of the things they screwed up today and take the momentum from their play in the first half into this weekend. A home match against Wolves should be three points, but based on what we've seen this season, it's nowhere near a lock, especially if Kevin Doyle and Steven Fletcher are both 90 minutes fit.
No, in the first 30 minutes, Spurs absolutely dominated. The first goal, an own goal, came as a result of the brilliant work of Gareth Bale and would have been finished easily by Peter Crouch if it wasn't tapped into the back of the net by Petri Pasanen. The second goal came just six minutes later off of a brilliant header by Peter Crouch. Spurs continued to create opportunities, but would fail to score again. Of course, they would come to regret this.
Despite struggling to create opportunities while Spurs dominated in the first half, Werder were able to find their breakthrough in the 43rd minute. In a move that was completely against the run of play. Hugo Almeida headed home a perfectly placed cross that dropped just between Ledley King and Benoit Assou-Ekotto and was too far out for Carlo Cudicini to reach. It was that goal that gave Werder the motivation to press on and take over the game.
Only two minutes into the second half, Marko Marin equalized with a brilliant strike from 25 yards away. Only two minutes later, Rafael van der Vaart was subbed off because of fitness issues. That substitution would allow Werder Bremen to dominate the midfield for the rest of the game.
Both teams created a fair number of chances with Werder dominating the play in the second half, but the match would end 2-2. It was a fair result, as both teams had played well enough to earn a point and neither had played poorly enough to lose.
While the substitution of van der Vaart was obviously motivated by fitness, not tactics, and had to be made, the decision to bring on Robbie Keane was a curious one. Actually, I'm being generous. The decision to bring on Robbie Keane was a poor one. Unsurprisingly, it took all of five minutes for Robbie Keane to singlehandedly kill three separate attacking moves with his atrocious passing. For the better part of 45 minutes, Keane was absolutely useless. Every time I heard the color commentator use the words "positive" or "skill" in reference to Robbie Keane, I felt as if I needed an antacid. The only appropriate sentence using those three terms would be "I am positive that Robbie Keane lacks the skill to play at this level."
Say what you will about the deficiencies of Peter Crouch, but he worked his tail off today. This is more than can be said about Roman Pavlyuchenko on most days. In the departments of technical ability, tactical acumen, and pace, Pav is superior to Crouch by a fair margin. When it comes to work ethic, Pavlyuchenko's ability is...sporadic? In the games where he runs and fights as hard as he can for every ball, Pavlyuchenko is Tottenham's best striker. This happens about once every four appearances. Today, Crouch's work ethic was a massive contribution to Spurs' great first half and it was encouraging to see that they are able to play with him as a lone striker.
As good as we were in the first half, I think we have to consider what might have been if Thomas Schaaf had the [balls/brains?] to start all three of Marko Marin, Wesley, and Aaron Hunt. It was obvious that the game began to change when Hunt was brought on for Bargfrede, but it really changed in the second half. Having all three of those players on the pitch was just too much of a demand on Jermaine Jenas and Tom Huddlestone, making the Keane for van der Vaart substitution even more puzzling. It's not like Aaron Hunt entered the game after Keane did, he was brought on in the 37th minute. Harry saw how much Hunt changed the game and brought Keane on for VdV? Mind-boggling. The fact that we got straight-up creamed once Werder had their best team on the pitch is not encouraging.
Negatives aside, a point is a point. Getting a point on the road against Werder is a great result. The 2-2 draw between Twente and Inter Milan was a good result for us as well. Nothing that happened today changed the qualification prospects of any of the four teams in Group A. All four teams have reasons for concern and reasons to be optimistic.
Hopefully, Spurs forget about all of the things they screwed up today and take the momentum from their play in the first half into this weekend. A home match against Wolves should be three points, but based on what we've seen this season, it's nowhere near a lock, especially if Kevin Doyle and Steven Fletcher are both 90 minutes fit.
Spurs vs. Werder Bremen Preview
Today, Tottenham Hotspur kick off their first UEFA Champions League group stage campaign with a difficult fixture in Bremen. Werder may have sold Mesut Özil and lost Claudio Pizzaro and Per Mertesacker to injury, but they will still provide a stiff test for Spurs. The Weserstadion is always a difficult place to play.
Whoever Harry Redknapp chooses in his holding midfield and fullback positions will have their hands full with Wesley, Marko Marin, and Aaron Hunt. Werder does not have a direct replacement for Özil, but those two players, along with the way Philipp Bargfrede makes runs from a deeper midfield position, will cause some problems for Spurs. Hunt has not been given the start, but he's likely to get plenty of time to make an impact as a substitute. Young target man Marko Arnautovic could be a bit of an x-factor. Surprisingly, he starts alongside Hugo Almeida. Werder has frequently played 4-4-2 variations, but many expected them to go 4-3-2-1 with Pizzaro out of the lineup and both Hunt and Marin behind Almeida.
Of course, as good as Werder is, they do have their deficiencies. Torsten Frings is now 33 years old. While still a quality player, he's beginning to show his age and can't quite cover as much ground as he used to. That combined with Per Mertesacker's injury and Bargfrede's tendency to get forward means that Werder is possibly susceptible on the counter attack, as evidenced by a good chunk of their qualifying tie against Sampdoria and their week one loss to Hoffenheim.
The question looms for both teams: Which Werder/Spurs side will we see? Both of these teams have immense talent and immense collapse potential. It wouldn't be that surprising to see a 0-0 draw, a 2-2 draw, or for either team to win 3-0. These are two of Europe's ultimate Jekyll and Hyde teams. When they're on, they're on. When they're off, they suck.
Werder's backline, in particular, is very guilty of this. They played brilliantly against Bayern Munich on the weekend, but have every capability of committing numerous mental errors and allowing Spurs to score in buckets.
Despite saying last season that tactics are only about 10% of the game with the other 90% being just how players perform on the day, Harry Redknapp has now made comments that he doesn't think 4-4-2 is a viable option on the road in Europe for Spurs. Unfortunately for him, there are concerns about the fitness of Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric. Both are able to play and traveled with the team, but neither is expected to be 90 minutes fit.
Rafael van der Vaart is in the starting lineup, but I don't expect him to go the full 90. Both Modric and Krancjar are available off the bench and one, if not both of them should enter the match at some point. Jermaine Jenas has been handed a start due to concerns about the fitness of Modric and the form of Palacios. Jenas has had a wildly inconsistent career, but he's a superb athlete who produces occasional flashes of brilliance, so he could make Harry look like a genius or a donkey.
Tactically, this match could get interesting, but I think that both teams will play similar styles that cancel each other out, leaving this one up to individual performances. Based on Spurs' recent form and the way Marin played against Bayern, I'm not sure if that benefits us. The good news is that Ekotto is starting, meaning Bale has been moved up to left midfield and will have more freedom to bomb forward with reckless abandon.
Mental errors should make more of a difference in this game than most. Both of these teams are very prone to awful mental mistakes, but both teams also occasionally put in spectacular, flawless performances. I've got a hard time believing both teams will keep complete focus. It could get sloppy.
Tottenham Hotspur lineup (4-4-1-1, left to right): Cudicini/Ekotto, King, Kaboul, Corluka/Bale, Jenas, Huddlestone, Lennon/van der Vaart/Crouch
Werder Bremen lineup (4-4-2, left to right): Weise/Pasanen, Silvestre, Proedl, Fritz/Wesley, Frings, Bargfrede, Marin/Arnautovic, Almeida
Prediction: Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Whoever Harry Redknapp chooses in his holding midfield and fullback positions will have their hands full with Wesley, Marko Marin, and Aaron Hunt. Werder does not have a direct replacement for Özil, but those two players, along with the way Philipp Bargfrede makes runs from a deeper midfield position, will cause some problems for Spurs. Hunt has not been given the start, but he's likely to get plenty of time to make an impact as a substitute. Young target man Marko Arnautovic could be a bit of an x-factor. Surprisingly, he starts alongside Hugo Almeida. Werder has frequently played 4-4-2 variations, but many expected them to go 4-3-2-1 with Pizzaro out of the lineup and both Hunt and Marin behind Almeida.
Of course, as good as Werder is, they do have their deficiencies. Torsten Frings is now 33 years old. While still a quality player, he's beginning to show his age and can't quite cover as much ground as he used to. That combined with Per Mertesacker's injury and Bargfrede's tendency to get forward means that Werder is possibly susceptible on the counter attack, as evidenced by a good chunk of their qualifying tie against Sampdoria and their week one loss to Hoffenheim.
The question looms for both teams: Which Werder/Spurs side will we see? Both of these teams have immense talent and immense collapse potential. It wouldn't be that surprising to see a 0-0 draw, a 2-2 draw, or for either team to win 3-0. These are two of Europe's ultimate Jekyll and Hyde teams. When they're on, they're on. When they're off, they suck.
Werder's backline, in particular, is very guilty of this. They played brilliantly against Bayern Munich on the weekend, but have every capability of committing numerous mental errors and allowing Spurs to score in buckets.
Despite saying last season that tactics are only about 10% of the game with the other 90% being just how players perform on the day, Harry Redknapp has now made comments that he doesn't think 4-4-2 is a viable option on the road in Europe for Spurs. Unfortunately for him, there are concerns about the fitness of Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric. Both are able to play and traveled with the team, but neither is expected to be 90 minutes fit.
Rafael van der Vaart is in the starting lineup, but I don't expect him to go the full 90. Both Modric and Krancjar are available off the bench and one, if not both of them should enter the match at some point. Jermaine Jenas has been handed a start due to concerns about the fitness of Modric and the form of Palacios. Jenas has had a wildly inconsistent career, but he's a superb athlete who produces occasional flashes of brilliance, so he could make Harry look like a genius or a donkey.
Tactically, this match could get interesting, but I think that both teams will play similar styles that cancel each other out, leaving this one up to individual performances. Based on Spurs' recent form and the way Marin played against Bayern, I'm not sure if that benefits us. The good news is that Ekotto is starting, meaning Bale has been moved up to left midfield and will have more freedom to bomb forward with reckless abandon.
Mental errors should make more of a difference in this game than most. Both of these teams are very prone to awful mental mistakes, but both teams also occasionally put in spectacular, flawless performances. I've got a hard time believing both teams will keep complete focus. It could get sloppy.
Tottenham Hotspur lineup (4-4-1-1, left to right): Cudicini/Ekotto, King, Kaboul, Corluka/Bale, Jenas, Huddlestone, Lennon/van der Vaart/Crouch
Werder Bremen lineup (4-4-2, left to right): Weise/Pasanen, Silvestre, Proedl, Fritz/Wesley, Frings, Bargfrede, Marin/Arnautovic, Almeida
Prediction: Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday Links (09/13/10)
Contrary to popular belief, Spurs have been to Europe before - The Guardian
Bremen will be without Claudio Pizzaro vs. Spurs - SuperSport
Somehow, Luka Modric does not have a broken leg and will travel to Germany - ESPN Soccernet
Redknapp ready to play it safe - UK Press Association
Kyle Walker joins QPR on a one month loan - The Guardian
Rafael van der Vaart was pleased with his debut - Sky Sports
More news and speculation about Spurs' planned new stadium - Goal.com
Bremen will be without Claudio Pizzaro vs. Spurs - SuperSport
Somehow, Luka Modric does not have a broken leg and will travel to Germany - ESPN Soccernet
Redknapp ready to play it safe - UK Press Association
Kyle Walker joins QPR on a one month loan - The Guardian
Rafael van der Vaart was pleased with his debut - Sky Sports
More news and speculation about Spurs' planned new stadium - Goal.com
Spurs vs. West Brom Review -or- Is This Real Life?
Really. Really. Really? REALLY?
Yeah, that happened.
For the second time this season, Spurs have dropped points against a relegation candidate. It was the third performance in all competitions that could fairly be classified as embarrassing. Spurs drew West Brom 1-1 after such a mediocre performance, I had to stop myself from saying that we lost.
What really hurts is that West Brom weren't particularly inspiring. Against Wigan, as much as that loss hurt, at least they looked good for periods of the game. Wigan played some fantastic football in the 10 minutes leading up to their winner. West Brom did nothing.
Harry Redknapp's tactical decisions weren't the best, but I don't think it would be fair to fault him for his initial lineup. Harry attempted to get his best players on the field together, and with Defoe injured, the lineup he chose was a perfectly reasonable one. However, it seemed apparent very quickly that Gareth Bale wasn't having the best time at left back. He wasn't nearly the threat that he usually is on the left hand side and he looked like a defensive liability. When Luka Modric was injured in the first half, I was sure that Redknapp's decision would be to put on Ekotto and move Bale farther up the pitch. Instead, the change was a like for like with Niko Kranjcar replacing Modric. Unsurprisingly, Bale's defensive deficiencies were partially (if not mostly) at fault for West Brom's equalizer.
The later substitutions, Keane for Pavlyuchenko and Crouch for Lennon were even more puzzling. I can't begin to dissect what Harry was trying to accomplish with those substitutions. Unsurprisingly, once Pavlyuchenko came off, the team looked aimless and disjointed. It never really felt like the equalizer was coming.
Rafael van der Vaart had a solid debut, as did William Gallas. They can hardly be faulted for the draw (I almost wrote loss again). The team as a whole just had no direction after Modric went down. Pavlyuchenko didn't appear to be working that hard, Gareth Bale looked confused at left back, Niko Kranjcar didn't exactly offer anything positive or negative, and Wilson Palacios gave the ball away frequently. When the players who have been with the side and who know each other aren't clicking, it's hard to blame van der Vaart for the result.
Some good news did come out of the match, though. Luka Modric did not break his leg as first feared and will travel with the team to Germany to face Werder Bremen in Champions League. Based on the way the team looked after Modric went out, they might need him.
Spurs have now scored only three goals in their first three games without facing any of the big three. It appears that without Defoe, Spurs are a team that needs their superstars to take over games by themselves to win.
I waited a while to write this because I thought I would be in a better state of mind than I was Saturday, but I'm not. I don't know what to make of this draw or this team. Right now, I'm not optimistic at all, and I'm extremely frustrated with Harry Redknapp.
The team doesn't have a whole lot of time to get their heads right before the matchup with Werder, a team that has the ability to beat anyone 4-0 and lose to anyone 4-0. They were conservative against Bayern at the weekend, but Almeida was rested and Marin showed some fantastic skill. They will provide a stern test, for sure. I'll preview that match tomorrow.
Yeah, that happened.
For the second time this season, Spurs have dropped points against a relegation candidate. It was the third performance in all competitions that could fairly be classified as embarrassing. Spurs drew West Brom 1-1 after such a mediocre performance, I had to stop myself from saying that we lost.
What really hurts is that West Brom weren't particularly inspiring. Against Wigan, as much as that loss hurt, at least they looked good for periods of the game. Wigan played some fantastic football in the 10 minutes leading up to their winner. West Brom did nothing.
Harry Redknapp's tactical decisions weren't the best, but I don't think it would be fair to fault him for his initial lineup. Harry attempted to get his best players on the field together, and with Defoe injured, the lineup he chose was a perfectly reasonable one. However, it seemed apparent very quickly that Gareth Bale wasn't having the best time at left back. He wasn't nearly the threat that he usually is on the left hand side and he looked like a defensive liability. When Luka Modric was injured in the first half, I was sure that Redknapp's decision would be to put on Ekotto and move Bale farther up the pitch. Instead, the change was a like for like with Niko Kranjcar replacing Modric. Unsurprisingly, Bale's defensive deficiencies were partially (if not mostly) at fault for West Brom's equalizer.
The later substitutions, Keane for Pavlyuchenko and Crouch for Lennon were even more puzzling. I can't begin to dissect what Harry was trying to accomplish with those substitutions. Unsurprisingly, once Pavlyuchenko came off, the team looked aimless and disjointed. It never really felt like the equalizer was coming.
Rafael van der Vaart had a solid debut, as did William Gallas. They can hardly be faulted for the draw (I almost wrote loss again). The team as a whole just had no direction after Modric went down. Pavlyuchenko didn't appear to be working that hard, Gareth Bale looked confused at left back, Niko Kranjcar didn't exactly offer anything positive or negative, and Wilson Palacios gave the ball away frequently. When the players who have been with the side and who know each other aren't clicking, it's hard to blame van der Vaart for the result.
Some good news did come out of the match, though. Luka Modric did not break his leg as first feared and will travel with the team to Germany to face Werder Bremen in Champions League. Based on the way the team looked after Modric went out, they might need him.
Spurs have now scored only three goals in their first three games without facing any of the big three. It appears that without Defoe, Spurs are a team that needs their superstars to take over games by themselves to win.
I waited a while to write this because I thought I would be in a better state of mind than I was Saturday, but I'm not. I don't know what to make of this draw or this team. Right now, I'm not optimistic at all, and I'm extremely frustrated with Harry Redknapp.
The team doesn't have a whole lot of time to get their heads right before the matchup with Werder, a team that has the ability to beat anyone 4-0 and lose to anyone 4-0. They were conservative against Bayern at the weekend, but Almeida was rested and Marin showed some fantastic skill. They will provide a stern test, for sure. I'll preview that match tomorrow.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Spurs vs. West Brom -or- Dear God We Can't Possibly F**k This Up...Again
Remember the last time I titled a post like this? It was before the Wigan game, a game I thought we couldn't possibly lose. I made jokes that Spurs screw up stuff like this all the time, but I never really entertained the possibility that Spurs might actually lose at home to Wigan.
You would assume that because of that match, I am entertaining the possibility that Spurs might lose to West Brom. Well SCREW THAT. No, I am going to be a blind fanboy for once. I am always the "realistic" fan, the guy who asks "what if?" Not today. We are going to beat the living piss out of West Brom, goddamn it, and I don't care what you say.
Yes, I know that Peter Odemwingie is really good. I did a daily podcast during the last African Cup of Nations, I'm a big fan of his. But he will NOT score on Ledley King and William Gallas. No no no no no no no. I won't give them credit. I don't wanna. We are awesome.
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm done acting like a two year old. Let's talk about what Spurs are going to do in this match. Jermain Defoe is unavailable, so Harry has to make some adjustments. If he's intent on staying with his English 4-4-2 with Peter Crouch up top, his logical partners are Robbie Keane, who is in awful form, or Giovani Dos Santos, who is also not in very good form. Harry could play Pav and Crouch together, but that never works and gives us a dangerous lack of speed. We could throw VdV into this setup with Crouch, but I'm not a big fan of him playing a more advanced role with Crouch as the center forward, it just doesn't feel like they would work well together.
So, what to do? Harry Redknapp has actually played five in the midfield this season, so it wouldn't shock me to see Huddlestone, Modric, and VdV all in the midfield with Pav as a lone striker. For me, this is the best option.
But really, it shouldn't matter. We should be able to put 11 random players on the field and beat West Brom. West Brom sucks. COYS.
You would assume that because of that match, I am entertaining the possibility that Spurs might lose to West Brom. Well SCREW THAT. No, I am going to be a blind fanboy for once. I am always the "realistic" fan, the guy who asks "what if?" Not today. We are going to beat the living piss out of West Brom, goddamn it, and I don't care what you say.
Yes, I know that Peter Odemwingie is really good. I did a daily podcast during the last African Cup of Nations, I'm a big fan of his. But he will NOT score on Ledley King and William Gallas. No no no no no no no. I won't give them credit. I don't wanna. We are awesome.
Okay, I'm sorry. I'm done acting like a two year old. Let's talk about what Spurs are going to do in this match. Jermain Defoe is unavailable, so Harry has to make some adjustments. If he's intent on staying with his English 4-4-2 with Peter Crouch up top, his logical partners are Robbie Keane, who is in awful form, or Giovani Dos Santos, who is also not in very good form. Harry could play Pav and Crouch together, but that never works and gives us a dangerous lack of speed. We could throw VdV into this setup with Crouch, but I'm not a big fan of him playing a more advanced role with Crouch as the center forward, it just doesn't feel like they would work well together.
So, what to do? Harry Redknapp has actually played five in the midfield this season, so it wouldn't shock me to see Huddlestone, Modric, and VdV all in the midfield with Pav as a lone striker. For me, this is the best option.
But really, it shouldn't matter. We should be able to put 11 random players on the field and beat West Brom. West Brom sucks. COYS.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Thursday Links - 08/09/10
Redknapp backs Gallas for timely debut - The Independent
Hutton wants first team football - ESPN Soccernet
Defoe out for six weeks (I guess the initial reports were BS, sigh) - Sky Sports
Portsmouth can't sign a player after the deadline because "we're not Spurs." (I think they have every right to be pissed at the FA about this) - Yahoo! Eurosport
Bristol City sign Tottenham's Danny Rose on loan - BBC Sport
Wild rumor time! Tottenham willing to shell out £22m for Ashley Young - Goal.com
Bremen without Mertesacker vs. Spurs - AFP
Game preview tomorrow kiddies, glad I could get you caught up on all the latest Spurs news and rumors.
Hutton wants first team football - ESPN Soccernet
Defoe out for six weeks (I guess the initial reports were BS, sigh) - Sky Sports
Portsmouth can't sign a player after the deadline because "we're not Spurs." (I think they have every right to be pissed at the FA about this) - Yahoo! Eurosport
Bristol City sign Tottenham's Danny Rose on loan - BBC Sport
Wild rumor time! Tottenham willing to shell out £22m for Ashley Young - Goal.com
Bremen without Mertesacker vs. Spurs - AFP
Game preview tomorrow kiddies, glad I could get you caught up on all the latest Spurs news and rumors.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
The International Break is Over...as is Michael Dawson's Month
Yep. Michael Dawson is set to miss at least six weeks after sustaining both cartilage and ligament damage. It's a good thing we just signed William Gallas, but that doesn't stop me from being pissed that one of our players got injured on international duty.
This anger isn't directed at anyone in particular. Capello did nothing wrong and I'm not about to go on a crusade about international dates, ripping into Platini and Blatter. It would be pointless. I'm just frustrated that a player was injured in a match that had little to nothing to do with the well-being of Spurs.
There is some good news, though. Jermain Defoe appeared to completely mess up his ankle in the following match against Switzerland, but despite being both stretchered and substituted off, it appears that Jermain is just fine. I doubt he'll start this weekend against West Brom, but it's very possible that he could be on the bench. Bullet dodged.
After a week off, I'm excited to get back to club football. Even though I'm a passionate supporter of the United States national teams, I don't care much for international football. I'd rather watch two teams at the bottom of La Liga or Serie A than an England match. Other than the Spurs match this weekend, I highly recommend watching Athletic Bilbao-Atletico Madrid, Juventus-Sampdoria, Hoffenheim-Schalke, and Borussia Dortmund-Wolfsburg.
We're back on our regular schedule here at CFC after the international break and Labor Day weekend. Expect your regular Thursday links tomorrow and a match preview on Friday. I'll be less arrogant than I was before the Wigan match, I promise.
This anger isn't directed at anyone in particular. Capello did nothing wrong and I'm not about to go on a crusade about international dates, ripping into Platini and Blatter. It would be pointless. I'm just frustrated that a player was injured in a match that had little to nothing to do with the well-being of Spurs.
There is some good news, though. Jermain Defoe appeared to completely mess up his ankle in the following match against Switzerland, but despite being both stretchered and substituted off, it appears that Jermain is just fine. I doubt he'll start this weekend against West Brom, but it's very possible that he could be on the bench. Bullet dodged.
After a week off, I'm excited to get back to club football. Even though I'm a passionate supporter of the United States national teams, I don't care much for international football. I'd rather watch two teams at the bottom of La Liga or Serie A than an England match. Other than the Spurs match this weekend, I highly recommend watching Athletic Bilbao-Atletico Madrid, Juventus-Sampdoria, Hoffenheim-Schalke, and Borussia Dortmund-Wolfsburg.
We're back on our regular schedule here at CFC after the international break and Labor Day weekend. Expect your regular Thursday links tomorrow and a match preview on Friday. I'll be less arrogant than I was before the Wigan match, I promise.
Friday, September 3, 2010
A Little Time Off
With the international break and Labor Day weekend, I'll be taking a little hiatus from CFC until Tuesday. We'll return then with some content for everyone. Hopefully this site will be moving over to SBNation within the next couple of weeks.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Rafael Van der Vaart Signs with Spurs
Well, that came out of left field.
Real Madrid were apparently so desperate to get rid of Van der Vaart that they were willing to take £8m for him, or roughly 2/3 of what they paid for him in the first place. Supposedly, an £18m transfer for Bayern Munich had fallen through the day before deadline day, and as a result, VdV was available for a discount price. Despite not needing him, Harry Redknapp couldn't resist getting a player of his quality for such a cheap price.
And really, Van der Vaart was cheap by just about anyone's standards. He played 26 games for Real Madrid last season, scoring 6 goals and tallying 7 assists. He started in the World Cup and made 5 total appearances for the tournament runners-up. The midfielder has 16 goals in 83 international appearances and 92 goals in 249 top flight league appearances for Ajax, Hamburg SV, and Real Madrid.
So, Spurs fans might be wondering how Van der Vaart fits into Spurs' regular setup. Truth be told...he doesn't. Van der Vaart is used to playing higher up the pitch than Spurs' central midfielders ever do. While he's competent as a winger, he's not good enough in that role to displace Bale or Lennon.
There are a few possibilities for fitting Rafael Van der Vaart into a Spurs' starting lineup. Let's give them a look:
1. He comes in for Ekotto. Bale shifts to left back and either Van der Vaart or Modric plays on the left with the other playing in the center. Against better teams with lots of attacking threats through the middle, VdV could play on the left with two of Sandro, Huddlestone, and Palacios in the middle.
2. We play only one of Huddlestone, Palacios, and Sandro, let VdV play the way he likes to play, and ask the defensive midfielder to do a lot of work. This is a role that does not suit the talented and intelligent, yet large and lead-footed Tom Huddlestone at all. The best man for this role is Palacios. Playing this way would be a really bad idea in Champions League. It could potentially be super effective against teams like Blackburn, Sunderland, Birmingham, and Stoke who do not have central midfielders who can pass or dribble worth a damn (slight exception for Riveros, there).
3. We *gasp* experiment with different tactics. We know it's not Harry's thing, but with Pavlyuchenko, Van der Vaart, and Sandro, we now have three players that are absolutely tailor made for the 4-2-3-1 setup that everyone and their mom is using these days. This setup is unlikely to have massive effects, positive or negative, on Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale, Giovani dos Santos, Niko Kranjcar, Tom Huddlestone, or Wilson Palacios. Obviously, this formation renders Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe irrelevant or ineffective, most likely. Luka Modric is a bit of a wild card, as he could play as an attacking central midfielder, central midfielder, or on the left wing. His role would likely either be as a player who is thrown into one of those roles due to a specific matchup against an opponent or as a super sub.
So, if you were thinking that Rafael Van der Vaart was going to be plug and play somewhere, you were mistaken. How Redknapp uses VdV might reveal a lot about him as a manager. If he can't make slight tactical adjustments to find room for a player of VdV's quality, he truly is a rockhead. If he throws VdV into Spurs' current setup with no adjustments and hopes it just works, he's an even bigger rockhead. How VdV is utilized will go a long way towards whether or not Spurs reach their ambitions. Let's just hope that he is used properly.
Real Madrid were apparently so desperate to get rid of Van der Vaart that they were willing to take £8m for him, or roughly 2/3 of what they paid for him in the first place. Supposedly, an £18m transfer for Bayern Munich had fallen through the day before deadline day, and as a result, VdV was available for a discount price. Despite not needing him, Harry Redknapp couldn't resist getting a player of his quality for such a cheap price.
And really, Van der Vaart was cheap by just about anyone's standards. He played 26 games for Real Madrid last season, scoring 6 goals and tallying 7 assists. He started in the World Cup and made 5 total appearances for the tournament runners-up. The midfielder has 16 goals in 83 international appearances and 92 goals in 249 top flight league appearances for Ajax, Hamburg SV, and Real Madrid.
So, Spurs fans might be wondering how Van der Vaart fits into Spurs' regular setup. Truth be told...he doesn't. Van der Vaart is used to playing higher up the pitch than Spurs' central midfielders ever do. While he's competent as a winger, he's not good enough in that role to displace Bale or Lennon.
There are a few possibilities for fitting Rafael Van der Vaart into a Spurs' starting lineup. Let's give them a look:
1. He comes in for Ekotto. Bale shifts to left back and either Van der Vaart or Modric plays on the left with the other playing in the center. Against better teams with lots of attacking threats through the middle, VdV could play on the left with two of Sandro, Huddlestone, and Palacios in the middle.
2. We play only one of Huddlestone, Palacios, and Sandro, let VdV play the way he likes to play, and ask the defensive midfielder to do a lot of work. This is a role that does not suit the talented and intelligent, yet large and lead-footed Tom Huddlestone at all. The best man for this role is Palacios. Playing this way would be a really bad idea in Champions League. It could potentially be super effective against teams like Blackburn, Sunderland, Birmingham, and Stoke who do not have central midfielders who can pass or dribble worth a damn (slight exception for Riveros, there).
3. We *gasp* experiment with different tactics. We know it's not Harry's thing, but with Pavlyuchenko, Van der Vaart, and Sandro, we now have three players that are absolutely tailor made for the 4-2-3-1 setup that everyone and their mom is using these days. This setup is unlikely to have massive effects, positive or negative, on Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale, Giovani dos Santos, Niko Kranjcar, Tom Huddlestone, or Wilson Palacios. Obviously, this formation renders Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe irrelevant or ineffective, most likely. Luka Modric is a bit of a wild card, as he could play as an attacking central midfielder, central midfielder, or on the left wing. His role would likely either be as a player who is thrown into one of those roles due to a specific matchup against an opponent or as a super sub.
So, if you were thinking that Rafael Van der Vaart was going to be plug and play somewhere, you were mistaken. How Redknapp uses VdV might reveal a lot about him as a manager. If he can't make slight tactical adjustments to find room for a player of VdV's quality, he truly is a rockhead. If he throws VdV into Spurs' current setup with no adjustments and hopes it just works, he's an even bigger rockhead. How VdV is utilized will go a long way towards whether or not Spurs reach their ambitions. Let's just hope that he is used properly.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Spurs vs. Wigan Review -or- A Rant About Harry Redknapp
I thought if I waited until Monday morning to post this that I would feel a little better. I thought that I would calm down and be a little more rational. I thought that I might start to view this game as a fluke and that it wasn't a big deal. Sorry, but this didn't happen. I still want to club baby seals to get out my frustration at Spurs.
Obviously, Harry Redknapp wasn't too happy after the loss. He was so unhappy, in fact, that he told a Sky Sports reporter to "f--k off" and that he was a "f--king football manager." That NSFW gem can be seen here. Frankly, Harry, I have to disagree.
Harry's made comments that football is only about 10% what a manager do and around 90% how players perform. I've discussed this on this site before. I don't disagree with Harry, though I would call it more like 80-20, but the point stands that managers often take a lot of heat for their tactics when in reality, their players were never going to win. Saturday, one of those games happened. Spurs' players were very poor and there probably wasn't a tactic in the world that would have changed that. However, that doesn't mean that Harry shouldn't have tried.
Harry Redknapp selected the team that he always selects. He put them in the formation he always puts them in. All of his substitutions were pretty close to like for like and didn't change the way we played at all. Based on the way the team played today, Harry didn't do the best job of mentally preparing them for this game. Based on the way they've played in previous games, I'm forced to assume that Harry could have done a better job of mentally preparing the team for the first leg against Young Boys and the second halves of the games against Manchester City and Stoke. Therefore...what does Harry Redknapp do, exactly?
It seems that if Redknapp is going to select the same team every week, play the same tactics, make no adjustments throughout the game, and fail to properly motivate his players, he doesn't need to have a job. If the game really is 90% down to the performances of players beyond what a manager can affect, why the hell are we cutting Harry Redknapp a big paycheck. It seems to me that a computer program could run Spurs in the exact same fashion as Harry Redknapp. He's not an atrocious manager, obviously. Spurs did get fourth place last year and did get to the group stages of the Champions League. But Harry's management style is such that he can be easily replaced by someone with basically no experience in football. I am forced to assume that a computer program would do the exact same job as Redknapp, if not better.
Oh, and a computer program wouldn't tell a Sky reporter to f--k off.
Obviously, Harry Redknapp wasn't too happy after the loss. He was so unhappy, in fact, that he told a Sky Sports reporter to "f--k off" and that he was a "f--king football manager." That NSFW gem can be seen here. Frankly, Harry, I have to disagree.
Harry's made comments that football is only about 10% what a manager do and around 90% how players perform. I've discussed this on this site before. I don't disagree with Harry, though I would call it more like 80-20, but the point stands that managers often take a lot of heat for their tactics when in reality, their players were never going to win. Saturday, one of those games happened. Spurs' players were very poor and there probably wasn't a tactic in the world that would have changed that. However, that doesn't mean that Harry shouldn't have tried.
Harry Redknapp selected the team that he always selects. He put them in the formation he always puts them in. All of his substitutions were pretty close to like for like and didn't change the way we played at all. Based on the way the team played today, Harry didn't do the best job of mentally preparing them for this game. Based on the way they've played in previous games, I'm forced to assume that Harry could have done a better job of mentally preparing the team for the first leg against Young Boys and the second halves of the games against Manchester City and Stoke. Therefore...what does Harry Redknapp do, exactly?
It seems that if Redknapp is going to select the same team every week, play the same tactics, make no adjustments throughout the game, and fail to properly motivate his players, he doesn't need to have a job. If the game really is 90% down to the performances of players beyond what a manager can affect, why the hell are we cutting Harry Redknapp a big paycheck. It seems to me that a computer program could run Spurs in the exact same fashion as Harry Redknapp. He's not an atrocious manager, obviously. Spurs did get fourth place last year and did get to the group stages of the Champions League. But Harry's management style is such that he can be easily replaced by someone with basically no experience in football. I am forced to assume that a computer program would do the exact same job as Redknapp, if not better.
Oh, and a computer program wouldn't tell a Sky reporter to f--k off.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Spurs vs. Wigan Preview -or- Dear God We Can't Possbily F**k This Up
This is one of those games where I almost don't want to waste my time or your time writing a preview. Sure, Wigan can get a result. Sure, Spurs can do something really cool like score nine goals. But we all know what's going to happen, most likely. Spurs will win by three or four goals in a rather uneventful match that includes some defensive errors by Wigan.
Tottenham's cause is aided by the fact that Wigan is in the process of selling Charles N'Zogbia, one of few Wigan players worth a damn, to Birmingham. The rest of their team has performed like absolute garbage recently. Honestly, Spurs reserves might grind out a result.
Of course, I could be jinxing the hell out of us. And pigs could fly out of my ass.
I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to give this game any more time. I can't. It's pointless. Wigan are a sorry team in shambles and we're going to give about 75% and win anyway.
God help us if we find a way to screw this up.
Tottenham's cause is aided by the fact that Wigan is in the process of selling Charles N'Zogbia, one of few Wigan players worth a damn, to Birmingham. The rest of their team has performed like absolute garbage recently. Honestly, Spurs reserves might grind out a result.
Of course, I could be jinxing the hell out of us. And pigs could fly out of my ass.
I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to give this game any more time. I can't. It's pointless. Wigan are a sorry team in shambles and we're going to give about 75% and win anyway.
God help us if we find a way to screw this up.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
CFC Shorts: Thursday Links (8/26/10)
Crouchie is looking forward to playing in the Champions League again - Yahoo! Eurosport
Now that Spurs are in the Champions League group stages, should 'Arry go shopping? - Goal.com
Harry likes bacon sandwiches - Daily Fail
Wenger is determined to stay #1 in North London - The S*n
Spurs' win follows in the tradition of Danny Blanchflower - Telegraph
Welcome, Billy Gallas - TopSpurs
Now that Spurs are in the Champions League group stages, should 'Arry go shopping? - Goal.com
Harry likes bacon sandwiches - Daily Fail
Wenger is determined to stay #1 in North London - The S*n
Spurs' win follows in the tradition of Danny Blanchflower - Telegraph
Welcome, Billy Gallas - TopSpurs
Champions League Draw: An Interesting Scenario
The Champions League Group Stage draw took place today, and Spurs fans should at least be content with their draw. We don't have a cake group by any stretch of the imagination, but it could have been a whole lot worse.
Spurs have been drawn in Group A with Internazionale Milano, SV Werder Bremen, and FC Twente. Drawing the defending champions seems tough, but there were no easy teams in Pot 1 and I believe that all eight teams in that pot would have been favorites to defeat Spurs. In pot 2, we got ultimate roller coaster team Werder Bremen. It's still yet to be seen if the loss of Mesut Oezil will have a significant impact on them. About 3/4 of their performance against Sampdoria was brilliant, but 1/4 of it was atrocious, as was their entire performance against Hoffenheim last weekend. FC Twente were among the better teams in Pot 4, but they have lost a couple of their key players from last season, along with their manager. I would have been happy with any pot 4 team not called Rubin Kazan.
Ultimately, while Twente and Werder are not cakewalks, Spurs should be favorites to get four or more points from both teams and advance to the knockout stages. I firmly believe that Spurs are the second best team in this group. We could have gotten an easier draw, but all I was hoping for is to be second favorites in our group. I think we got that.
CFC Shorts: Thursday Links is coming at you shortly. Wigan preview tomorrow.
Spurs have been drawn in Group A with Internazionale Milano, SV Werder Bremen, and FC Twente. Drawing the defending champions seems tough, but there were no easy teams in Pot 1 and I believe that all eight teams in that pot would have been favorites to defeat Spurs. In pot 2, we got ultimate roller coaster team Werder Bremen. It's still yet to be seen if the loss of Mesut Oezil will have a significant impact on them. About 3/4 of their performance against Sampdoria was brilliant, but 1/4 of it was atrocious, as was their entire performance against Hoffenheim last weekend. FC Twente were among the better teams in Pot 4, but they have lost a couple of their key players from last season, along with their manager. I would have been happy with any pot 4 team not called Rubin Kazan.
Ultimately, while Twente and Werder are not cakewalks, Spurs should be favorites to get four or more points from both teams and advance to the knockout stages. I firmly believe that Spurs are the second best team in this group. We could have gotten an easier draw, but all I was hoping for is to be second favorites in our group. I think we got that.
CFC Shorts: Thursday Links is coming at you shortly. Wigan preview tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Spurs vs. Young Boys - Leg 2 Review
Holy crap. Spurs are in the Champions League. Proper. The group stages. Up is down, black is white, Joey Barton just helped an old lady cross the street. 4-0 over Young Boys at the Lane, 6-3 on aggregate. It was truly a wild 180 minutes.
Spurs put in a brilliant performance tonight, one completely un-reminiscent of the Spurs I've come to know and love since I was a teenager. They needed to bring their A game and play with focus and intensity tonight, and they did just that. Not a single starter for Spurs had a poor game, although Gomes went unchallenged and injured himself anyway. Young Boys obviously made shutting down Aaron Lennon their #1 priority, and as a result, the other players on the pitch were able to shine.
The match will be most remembered for Peter Crouch's brilliant performance. He rarely lost a header and when he did, it was because he was fouled. His hat trick was capped off by a well taken penalty kick after two headed goals. You can teach a player technical skills and tactical acumen, but you can't teach 6'7".
Gareth Bale was credited with all four assists as he gave Crouch a run for his money for man of the match. As good as Bale and Crouch look on the stat sheet, Huddlestone and King were just as good. Neither fullback made a mistake, nor did Palacios. Lennon was very dangerous despite being the focal point of Young Boys' defense. Everyone did their job. It was a complete 180 from the performance in Bern.
I said two days ago that tactics wouldn't be the difference. They weren't. The better players came to play and outplayed inferior players. Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson couldn't have gotten Young Boys to defeat Spurs today. The team showed up in a big game and played to the best of their abilities under major pressure.
So, what's the scenario going forward in the Champions League? One of the other sites I write for, World Soccer Reader, was nice enough to post the information on tomorrow's Champions League draw. Here's what I really don't want to see and what I really want to see.
Worst Case Scenario:
Inter Milan
Real Madrid
Tottenham Hotspur
Rubin Kazan
Best Case Scenario:
Olympique Lyonnais
Panathinaikos
Tottenham Hotspur
Zilina
Thankfully, Spurs are in the same pot as my other team in Europe, Schalke 04. Roma is the only team in Pot 2 that scares me, other than Real Madrid. I feel that Spurs are on par with or better than Werder, Marseille, Shakhtar Donetsk, Benfica, Valencia, and Panathinaikos. Rubin Kazan is the only team I fear in Pot 4.
That's all for now. Let's hope for the best. I'll have some kind of evaluation of our draw tomorrow.
Spurs put in a brilliant performance tonight, one completely un-reminiscent of the Spurs I've come to know and love since I was a teenager. They needed to bring their A game and play with focus and intensity tonight, and they did just that. Not a single starter for Spurs had a poor game, although Gomes went unchallenged and injured himself anyway. Young Boys obviously made shutting down Aaron Lennon their #1 priority, and as a result, the other players on the pitch were able to shine.
The match will be most remembered for Peter Crouch's brilliant performance. He rarely lost a header and when he did, it was because he was fouled. His hat trick was capped off by a well taken penalty kick after two headed goals. You can teach a player technical skills and tactical acumen, but you can't teach 6'7".
Gareth Bale was credited with all four assists as he gave Crouch a run for his money for man of the match. As good as Bale and Crouch look on the stat sheet, Huddlestone and King were just as good. Neither fullback made a mistake, nor did Palacios. Lennon was very dangerous despite being the focal point of Young Boys' defense. Everyone did their job. It was a complete 180 from the performance in Bern.
I said two days ago that tactics wouldn't be the difference. They weren't. The better players came to play and outplayed inferior players. Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson couldn't have gotten Young Boys to defeat Spurs today. The team showed up in a big game and played to the best of their abilities under major pressure.
So, what's the scenario going forward in the Champions League? One of the other sites I write for, World Soccer Reader, was nice enough to post the information on tomorrow's Champions League draw. Here's what I really don't want to see and what I really want to see.
Worst Case Scenario:
Inter Milan
Real Madrid
Tottenham Hotspur
Rubin Kazan
Best Case Scenario:
Olympique Lyonnais
Panathinaikos
Tottenham Hotspur
Zilina
Thankfully, Spurs are in the same pot as my other team in Europe, Schalke 04. Roma is the only team in Pot 2 that scares me, other than Real Madrid. I feel that Spurs are on par with or better than Werder, Marseille, Shakhtar Donetsk, Benfica, Valencia, and Panathinaikos. Rubin Kazan is the only team I fear in Pot 4.
That's all for now. Let's hope for the best. I'll have some kind of evaluation of our draw tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Spurs vs. Young Boys - Leg 2 Preview
So, I'm scared. I don't see a ton of reason to be confident. We're not playing that well right now. We've got a history of epic f-ups. Failure in the biggest moments has been ingrained in me for years, ever since I started supporting Spurs. We've only recently turned that around.
The good news is that since Harry Redknapp has taken over as manager, we've been pretty good at grinding out results in matches where we don't play our best. I think that the 3-2 loss in Bern can be considered "grinding out a result." Yes, we lost, but to take the epic ass-kicking that we received and turn it into something workable constitutes "getting a result." We did something very similar at the Brittania this weekend. Yes, Bale and Lennon were brilliant, but as a whole Spurs played poorly. We got battered by Stoke for the entirety of the second half and managed to win a game we should have lost. These two matches are examples of the current Spurs team that is vastly different from the one I had such a strong love-hate relationship with over the years.
Some have gone as far to call our position an advantage over Young Boys. I think that's a bit of a stretch, but only a minor one. I'd call our chances of going through a coin flip, but it's only a coin flip because we're Spurs.
See, I haven't gotten that old Spurs mentality out of my head yet. I still expect us to blow big games. I still expect us to find ways to turn our advantages into disadvantages. Yes, tonight's game is at the Lane. Yes, we have superior talent to Young Boys. Yes, Ledley King is likely to start. It doesn't matter, I can't kill that sinking feeling.
It's not just Spurs. Sure, I remember the food poisoning incident. That was pretty high on the Bill Simmons' Levels of Losing. I also remember Schalke pissing away their title chances last year by inexplicably getting their asses kicked by Hannover and Cruz Azul somehow finishing ninth in the Bicentenario last year. I won't get over 4th and 26 until the Packers win another Super Bowl. I support the Milwaukee Brewers. I guess it was only natural that I would pick Spurs with my history in other sports. I didn't even know about their history of choking or that they were the richest team to never make the Champions League group stages. It must have been destiny.
Today, Spurs can reverse this. As of the time I'm writing this, they are still the richest team to never qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages.
There's no use writing about tactics and selections. Harry has limited personnel available to him due to injury and both teams are likely to play a fairly basic 4-4-2. Both might switch to basic 4-5-1 formations based on healthy personnel and game situations. This game doesn't require a Johnathan Wilson column or Zonal Marking graphs. The better team will win, period. No gimmicks, no bullshit. Unless the referee completely bottles it, which seems to be a rarity in the Champions League, the better team will win. I can only hope that Spurs are the better team.
The good news is that since Harry Redknapp has taken over as manager, we've been pretty good at grinding out results in matches where we don't play our best. I think that the 3-2 loss in Bern can be considered "grinding out a result." Yes, we lost, but to take the epic ass-kicking that we received and turn it into something workable constitutes "getting a result." We did something very similar at the Brittania this weekend. Yes, Bale and Lennon were brilliant, but as a whole Spurs played poorly. We got battered by Stoke for the entirety of the second half and managed to win a game we should have lost. These two matches are examples of the current Spurs team that is vastly different from the one I had such a strong love-hate relationship with over the years.
Some have gone as far to call our position an advantage over Young Boys. I think that's a bit of a stretch, but only a minor one. I'd call our chances of going through a coin flip, but it's only a coin flip because we're Spurs.
See, I haven't gotten that old Spurs mentality out of my head yet. I still expect us to blow big games. I still expect us to find ways to turn our advantages into disadvantages. Yes, tonight's game is at the Lane. Yes, we have superior talent to Young Boys. Yes, Ledley King is likely to start. It doesn't matter, I can't kill that sinking feeling.
It's not just Spurs. Sure, I remember the food poisoning incident. That was pretty high on the Bill Simmons' Levels of Losing. I also remember Schalke pissing away their title chances last year by inexplicably getting their asses kicked by Hannover and Cruz Azul somehow finishing ninth in the Bicentenario last year. I won't get over 4th and 26 until the Packers win another Super Bowl. I support the Milwaukee Brewers. I guess it was only natural that I would pick Spurs with my history in other sports. I didn't even know about their history of choking or that they were the richest team to never make the Champions League group stages. It must have been destiny.
Today, Spurs can reverse this. As of the time I'm writing this, they are still the richest team to never qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages.
There's no use writing about tactics and selections. Harry has limited personnel available to him due to injury and both teams are likely to play a fairly basic 4-4-2. Both might switch to basic 4-5-1 formations based on healthy personnel and game situations. This game doesn't require a Johnathan Wilson column or Zonal Marking graphs. The better team will win, period. No gimmicks, no bullshit. Unless the referee completely bottles it, which seems to be a rarity in the Champions League, the better team will win. I can only hope that Spurs are the better team.
Monday, August 23, 2010
CFC Shorts: Monday Links (8/23/10)
Harry says Gareth Bale is the best left-sided player in Britain - The Guardian
Tony Pulis thinks Spurs are title contenders - Yahoo! Eurosport
Sessegnon adds fuel to the fire that is his rumored transfer - ESPN Soccernet
Jason Cowley thinks that Spurs have the right structure for success - London Evening Standard
Bongani Khumalo is on trial at Spurs - Football 365
An Arsenal fan is happy that Gallas pissed off to Spurs - Goal.com
Tony Pulis thinks Spurs are title contenders - Yahoo! Eurosport
Sessegnon adds fuel to the fire that is his rumored transfer - ESPN Soccernet
Jason Cowley thinks that Spurs have the right structure for success - London Evening Standard
Bongani Khumalo is on trial at Spurs - Football 365
An Arsenal fan is happy that Gallas pissed off to Spurs - Goal.com
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Spurs vs. Stoke: Match Review
A win is a win, all that matters is the W, three points is three points. I've repeated these tired cliches to myself over and over in the last 24 hours. While they may be true, the fact is that Tottenham didn't play very well on Saturday. We relied on a face goal, a stunner, some missed sitters, and a blown call to win. Spurs were not the better team over 90 minutes on Saturday and Stoke deserved to win the game. Off the back of the debacle in Bern, it was not an encouraging performance.
With Defoe, Keane, Pavlyuchenko, and Dos Santos all unavailable, Harry's hand was forced as Jenas, Huddlestone, and Palacios all played. Spurs had considerably more of the ball in the first half for two reasons. First, the inherent advantage in the center of the pitch when you're playing three central midfielders against two, and second, the fact that Tony Pulis probably didn't know that was coming. Once he got a chance to talk to his squad in the locker room, Stoke made their adjustments and had about 2/3 of the possession in the second half.
That second half was truly awful for Spurs. They got battered for 45 minutes and somehow walked away without conceding. Tuncay missed a couple of sitters, Fuller had opportunities, Shawcross had opportunities, it was target practice on Gomes. When he was challenged, he came up big. Often, Stoke failed to challenge him when they should have. There's no question that they should have scored at least two goals in the second half.
Of course, they did score once. Just don't tell Chris Foy, who inexplicably looked to his linesman for a decision when he was two yards away from where the ball crossed the line for Stoke. Don't tell Redknapp either, he said that Foy was right not to allow the goal. Everyone with an HDTV or high-quality stream knows otherwise.
So, the positives. Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon had flashes of brilliance once again. When things aren't going well for Spurs, the two young wingers have shown an ability to create something out of nothing. Bale's second goal, in particular, was a superb strike. Jermaine Jenas deserves some praise as well, he had a surprisingly solid game. He disappeared for long stretches of the game in true JJ fashion, but he created a couple of chances and his hard work on the defensive end saved Spurs at the end of the match. It's nice to know that Spurs have a whopping SEVEN quality central midfielders (Huddlestone, Palacios, Jenas, Modric, Sandro, Kranjcar, O'Hara).
My biggest thumbs down for the match goes to Younes Kaboul. After the debacle in Bern, I (and everyone else) was calling for him to get his chance in the center of defense. He was at fault for Stoke's goal, completely losing Ricardo Fuller on a corner kick. As much of a d-bag as Billy Gallas is, we need him. Our central defenders are a guy with no cartilage in his knees (King), a guy with cement shoes (Dawson), and a couple of mentally disabled guys (Kaboul, Bassong). I expect the CFC and the cement shoed one to play against Young Boys on Wednesday.
Honestly, if we don't win our next three matches (H Young Boys, H Wigan, A West Brom) I'm going to hit the sauce hard. Usually I'd say that's cake, but these guys are scaring the crap out of me. Sort it out, boys.
With Defoe, Keane, Pavlyuchenko, and Dos Santos all unavailable, Harry's hand was forced as Jenas, Huddlestone, and Palacios all played. Spurs had considerably more of the ball in the first half for two reasons. First, the inherent advantage in the center of the pitch when you're playing three central midfielders against two, and second, the fact that Tony Pulis probably didn't know that was coming. Once he got a chance to talk to his squad in the locker room, Stoke made their adjustments and had about 2/3 of the possession in the second half.
That second half was truly awful for Spurs. They got battered for 45 minutes and somehow walked away without conceding. Tuncay missed a couple of sitters, Fuller had opportunities, Shawcross had opportunities, it was target practice on Gomes. When he was challenged, he came up big. Often, Stoke failed to challenge him when they should have. There's no question that they should have scored at least two goals in the second half.
Of course, they did score once. Just don't tell Chris Foy, who inexplicably looked to his linesman for a decision when he was two yards away from where the ball crossed the line for Stoke. Don't tell Redknapp either, he said that Foy was right not to allow the goal. Everyone with an HDTV or high-quality stream knows otherwise.
So, the positives. Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon had flashes of brilliance once again. When things aren't going well for Spurs, the two young wingers have shown an ability to create something out of nothing. Bale's second goal, in particular, was a superb strike. Jermaine Jenas deserves some praise as well, he had a surprisingly solid game. He disappeared for long stretches of the game in true JJ fashion, but he created a couple of chances and his hard work on the defensive end saved Spurs at the end of the match. It's nice to know that Spurs have a whopping SEVEN quality central midfielders (Huddlestone, Palacios, Jenas, Modric, Sandro, Kranjcar, O'Hara).
My biggest thumbs down for the match goes to Younes Kaboul. After the debacle in Bern, I (and everyone else) was calling for him to get his chance in the center of defense. He was at fault for Stoke's goal, completely losing Ricardo Fuller on a corner kick. As much of a d-bag as Billy Gallas is, we need him. Our central defenders are a guy with no cartilage in his knees (King), a guy with cement shoes (Dawson), and a couple of mentally disabled guys (Kaboul, Bassong). I expect the CFC and the cement shoed one to play against Young Boys on Wednesday.
Honestly, if we don't win our next three matches (H Young Boys, H Wigan, A West Brom) I'm going to hit the sauce hard. Usually I'd say that's cake, but these guys are scaring the crap out of me. Sort it out, boys.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Spurs vs. Stoke: Post-Match Hangover
Well, we deserved nothing from that match. Stoke out-played us for the entire duration of the second half. The referee missed a Stoke goal that crossed the line. Tuncay missed a couple of sitters. Quite simply, we got lucky.
There were some positives though. First and foremost, a W is a W and we'll take the three points. Second, Bale and Lennon were both absolutely brilliant in the first half. Finally, some credit goes out to Jermaine Jenas. A surprisingly useful performance from him where he came up big defensively at the death.
Personal commitments have kept me from writing a full match review, but expect a very detailed one tomorrow.
There were some positives though. First and foremost, a W is a W and we'll take the three points. Second, Bale and Lennon were both absolutely brilliant in the first half. Finally, some credit goes out to Jermaine Jenas. A surprisingly useful performance from him where he came up big defensively at the death.
Personal commitments have kept me from writing a full match review, but expect a very detailed one tomorrow.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Spurs vs. Stoke Preview
Both Spurs and Stoke got off to rocky starts last week. Spurs dominated Manchester City for most of their game, but thanks to Joe Hart and a couple of bad misses, they walked away with a 0-0 draw. In the middle of the week, they traveled to Bern to take on Young Boys in Champions League qualification where they were thoroughly embarrassed, yet were able to somehow stop the bleeding after 30 minutes and find a couple of goals as they lost 3-2. It will be interesting to see if their poor start to that match and failure to find the back of the net against Manchester City will have any effect on their confidence.
Stoke lost 2-1 away to Wolves in a match where many expected them to get at least a point. New signing Kenwyne Jones had a bad injury scare, but Stoke were fortunate that his injury was only minor and he could be on the bench for them on Saturday. Still, he is unlikely to be in the starting lineup which means that more will be expected of Ricardo Fuller and Tuncay Sanli.
The Wednesday fixture against Young Boys will probably be Harry's #1 priority, and as a result, I expect to see Ledley King rested again. The Bassong-Dawson partnership was not an effective one, so Younes Kaboul might get a shot to pair whichever one Harry found less competent. Peter Crouch and Aaron Lennon were both rested on Tuesday, so expect both of them to start against Stoke. Luka Modric and Jermaine Defoe are listed as very doubtful, so expect to see Robbie Keane or Giovani Dos Santos up top and either Gareth Bale or Giovani Dos Santos on the left. Personally, my bet is on Robbie up top and Gio wide left. After Ekotto's awful performance against Young Boys, Bale may be needed at left back.
Stoke and Tottenham play very similar tactics, so I expect talent to win out. 3-1 to Spurs.
Stoke lost 2-1 away to Wolves in a match where many expected them to get at least a point. New signing Kenwyne Jones had a bad injury scare, but Stoke were fortunate that his injury was only minor and he could be on the bench for them on Saturday. Still, he is unlikely to be in the starting lineup which means that more will be expected of Ricardo Fuller and Tuncay Sanli.
The Wednesday fixture against Young Boys will probably be Harry's #1 priority, and as a result, I expect to see Ledley King rested again. The Bassong-Dawson partnership was not an effective one, so Younes Kaboul might get a shot to pair whichever one Harry found less competent. Peter Crouch and Aaron Lennon were both rested on Tuesday, so expect both of them to start against Stoke. Luka Modric and Jermaine Defoe are listed as very doubtful, so expect to see Robbie Keane or Giovani Dos Santos up top and either Gareth Bale or Giovani Dos Santos on the left. Personally, my bet is on Robbie up top and Gio wide left. After Ekotto's awful performance against Young Boys, Bale may be needed at left back.
Stoke and Tottenham play very similar tactics, so I expect talent to win out. 3-1 to Spurs.
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