I cannot recall a time when I have watched us spend so much time on the floor writhing in agony.
Admittedly since the word got out one or two of our lot were quite good at playing football, the fouls have been flying in thick and fast. But today’s game was a masterclass in wincing and clutching that even left Drogba looking on in awe.
Once the territory of ‘foreigners’ on the telly, then the domestic domain of Chelsea and Manchester United it seems to be a Top 4 affectation. And so if that’s the case, Spurs are good at impressions.
Hutton went down easier than a Leith brass. Defoe got a free kick when it was he who backed into a Chelsea player who was barely aware of him until the whistle went. And Sarge made a three course meal of a challenge late in the game that went on for so long that Arry just threw Sandro on in order that we could resume playing 11 vs 11.
One of the things that has always left me cold about players like Nani, Anderson, Drogba & Co was the ham acting. The aim, for anyone joining us late, is not simply to break up play, but to put into the referee’s feeble mind that there is pattern of ungentlemanly conduct emerging. It’s an element of ‘gamesmanship’ I’d be happy to see us distance ourselves from.
The Tottinghams came out flying and the opening half hour was exhausting just to watch. Come the second half, the tempo ebbed and Ancelotti unsurprisingly threw into the mix the two players that have been most noticeable by their absence.
We were missing Van derVaart’s intelligence and the inclusion of 3MP for the burnt out Pav pretty much heralded the end of the entertaining football. A stream of balls walloped up on to his head took us from being in possession to wrestling 50/50 balls.
In the final analysis it was difficult to work out if Spurs were lucky to get a point or if the luck had been with Chelsea. Spurs are almost there. But it does look a little bit like an impression at the moment.
Gomes? As Arry once remarked, ‘people want goalkeepers who don’t make mistakes. Unfortunately, they don’t exist.’
Done good and for the first time we looked like winning the game instead of hanging on for un point (Pen inceident) asside. Expectation should not get the better of us this year but we should push v hard v another C League this year and a win against Manyoo wouldnt go amiss!
lets buy Torres in Jan. He isnt CL cup tied is he?
I think you can move up to CL.. as the bin dippers are stuck on ch5 Thursday night…
BTW why the fcuk would we buy that crap.. Swap deal for Keane… Childhood club etc…
Mike Dean was fcuking useless…
I thought that was jasper carrot
Regarding the Torres love-in, if anyone can point me in the direction of one single good game he’s had in the last two years I’d appreciate it. He is the archetypal flat-track bully and his international goal-scoring record gives a true indication of how good he actually is: 26 goals in 82 appearances. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most overrated player in world football.
the lads just had a baby ffs; his cunt must be killing him
I see potential there. In fairness he plays for the bindippers and they dont exactly have the Spurs boys loading the bullets.
He isnt going to be a Bale but he could definitely do a Hutton.
Great article on ZM as usual:
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/12/12/tottenham-1-1-chelsea-tactics/
The Crouch substitution was a joke I thought, and now I know why.
That is a terrific site. The graphic on 3MP’s possession is a replica of what we have been witnessing all season. I don’t understand why he ever starts a match. He had a chance to put the match away with an open header from 10 yards out and didn’t even get the shot on target.
To be fair, compare his chart to Defoe’s – which again is completely indicative of the player and his lack of quality. 3MP had twice as many possessions as JD did in half the time.
Compare those charts to Pavs’, who had a terrific match. 4 of his 5 missed passes were long balls up the pitch and 2 of those didn’t connect because of poor first touches by JD. He is very underrated with his back to the goal. For a player that looks so soft at times, it is surprising how hard it is for defenders to knock him off the ball.
This is the link to the charts app: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/create
Those stats are pretty grim viewing as far as Crouch and Defoe are concerned and lend support to the notion that Pavlyuchenko should be given an extended run in the team. Who knows, with Van der Vaart alongside him he might just be the striker we’re all craving.
a bit of a simplistic analysis though isnt it.
When Crouch came on we started hoofing every ball to him. Most balls to Defoe were cut out or put down the channels.
Defoe is a goal scorer. Crouch is a target man. different roles entirely.