The morning after the night before.
The players stand accused of, ‘believing the hype’. But it’s a little more intricate than that. There is an element of rogue ego, but the problem lies largely with the the mismanagement.
For those who cannot cope with the subtleties of argument, click away now. Here on planet Earth, there is light and shade. Arry’s record at Tottenham is extraordinarily good. 2 points, 8 games, not guilty, triffic. He has got it right on the bulk of occasions.
But now and again tactically, he goes missing. Either he appears not to have given the lads any direction whatsoever, or he sets the team up incorrectly and appears incapable of correcting it. The latter happened yesterday.
You build a team from the back to the front. That’s how it works. King wasn’t limping, he was just looking old. We’ve had a good run of it, getting away with this but the derby was a particularly grim time to get caught out.
The substitutions were baffling. Arry brings in vdV who clearly was a million miles away from being fit and Sandro who didn’t appear to know what his role was. Are we to presume that Azza Blud was even less fit that the Dutchman?
We had no width. Yet Arry decided to bulk out the middle. Yet he failed to do that. His inability to appreciate Kranjcar blinkered him yet again and despite the obvious fact that Bale and Modric don’t like to get involved in too much tackling these days he took off the only man who was baring the brunt of it alongside Parker.
Once they took the lead, we ought to have taken King off for Dawson, retired Walker, put Bale on the wing and introduced Lennon and gone at them. Instead we did nothing and made them look like Spain.
And so to Bale. It’s like watching a great racehorse that’s been got at by the handicapper. Someone needs to sit down with the lad and break it to him gently. His ambition is a wonderful thing but he got this free roaming thing all wrong. Also, we all know that he was becoming fed up with people kicking him, but diving is for suckers. Stop it.
If you look at the game from Arsenal’s perspective they showed us how the grown ups do it. They suffered a deflected goal. They suffered a penalty that was won by cheating. But they played as a team with defined roles. Man for man, Spurs probably had the better team on paper. The more exciting team on paper. But as a team on grass they were superior in every department.
Spurs need to take a long hard and honest look at themselves.
5.008 Probably went home and played, ‘One Man Band’ by Leo Sayer.
6.173 Not awful.
5.472 Not great.
3.653 Since the diagnosis we’ve been lucky. He doesn’t train, ho ho ho. He uses the chairman’s pool he he he. Well the jig is well and truly up.
3. 542 Played like he was on a beach somewhere. Ran like he was in deep sand, may have nipped out for choc ices at point. Uncomposed, leaky performance.
Should have replaced Walker sooner.
6. 444 Does the job of three men because he’s the man who has to mop up when the opposition breeze past the rest of the squad. Wings clipped after the yellow.
5.932 I hope Abramovitch was watching.
5.781 It gives me no pleasure to say that I covered Bale’s new found lunacy a few weeks back. His agent has convinced him he’s the new Ronaldo. What we actually have his Ronaldo MacDonaldo.
6.824 Defended admirably. A man who has the wit to realise it isn’t all about scoring a hat-trick and being home in time for tea and medals.
Insufficiently fit to play.
Dawson came on for Walker and screamed at him which made me wonder if he’s a gormless or had he simply not been given any instruction by anyone.
6. 732 It’s a cheap shot to deride the quality of his goal. Especially when it was just about all he contributed.
6.732 Yet again he opened brightly and when slowly but surely went off the boil. Took his penalty well.
I too cannot disagree with any of those comments we were shockingly shite for the first time this season bar Stevenage ploughed field and all that Ledders is done he’s been great but time to retire that one all hail the king better to bow out gracefully end of season not after les goons defeat Daws has to come in Rose LB Smith RB or YKabs with Billy G in the middle I think!!!! BIOYYC
At times for tactical analysis like these, always good to hear from the pro’s. The excellent zonal marking – http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/02/26/arsenal-5-2-tottenham-arsenal-complete-an-amazing-comeback/
Some interesting points. The space Song had at times was ludicrous. Often you get a player in that position who has no idea how to distribute the ball or surge forward, but Song ain’t that, and the way Arsenal are able to zip the ball around at their best means that the second Modric or Parker leave their men to close him down, the spare man WILL get the ball, the next spare man WILL get the ball, etc. On that form yesterday, Arsenal were capable of turning a 8 on 7 into a goal, most of the time, and once the horse had bolted (I know it was level when we switched it but they had massive momentum), we were only going to leave more space in chasing the game. It seems so obvious now, and yes we did score 2 by virtue of having 2 men up front and playing more direct football, but eventually that mismatch in the middle of the park had to tell.
I find most interesting the idea that Defoe would have played that defensive minded striker role much better than Saha. It’s the sort of starting line-up I’d probably have questioned after the Newcastle game, but it’s not my job to work these things out. Maybe, given the problems with playing 2 languid guys up front (from Saha, Ade and VDV), Defoe is in fact the answer in these types of games.
Agree almost entirely with the linked article. You’ll make few friends around here suggesting Jermain “Midget Gem” Defoe could have made a difference, though. The general consensus is that he only ever goes for goal and contributes nothing else. I tend to disagree with that. Although it is certainly true that he tends to struggle playing alone up top in 4-5-1, I don’t think that makes him a bad player, nor a one-trick pony.
Not that I was caling for him to start before kickoff on Sunday. And we can never know if he maybe was looking terrible at practice all week.
Aaaahh, the benefits of hindsight!
Took me ages to read the posts on this thread and it doesn’t help my disappointment about the result to read the negativity towards Redknapp.
Sometimes we get days when one or perhaps two players have a bad day. We can get over that by substituting them.
On Sunday we had at least six players who for some reason had an off day.
King, Ade, A&E, Bale, VdV, Sandro and a couple of others who got dragged down by the lack of push & run in the team.
It happens. It doesn’t make it any better but every team this season has had a walloping.
The tendancy for the “HR Out” brigade to get their kicks in after such a result doesn’t help, either. It merely makes me more miserable to know that I share this club with a few people who will always moan and try to apportion blame onto a popular target.
It is like schoolyard politics in a way and the usual suspects know who their allies are and come together to dish the dirt.
If we get a new manager, should ‘Arry go, then whomever they are (incl. Jose) will get exactly the same treatment.
You’ll all have a new pot to piss in.
And you will continue to spout the same old rubbish from a non-professional background and little savvy for what does actually happen in a changing room.
Did Siralex get this treatment following the Citeh rout?
Did Dalglish get it after we demolished them at the Lane?
I am at the Lane on Sunday. I didn’t feel like going Sunday evening/Monday morning then I discovered perspective; read a few blogs and decided the team needed a bit (lot) of support.
Leave out the ‘Arry bashing. I’ve had 50 years of mostly mediocrity. I’m appreciating the excellence we have shown in most of the games this season.
I only wish Arse were still in the FA Cup so we could have another go at ’em.
Ps – I didn’t wear my Spurs cap on the dog walk on Monday or today.
It’s back on tomorrow. I feel slightly ashamed of myself for being so fickle.
Some of us have played professionally, even in European Competition, so your assumption is as fickle as your support. So the Gooners gave us some flak, we deserved it, got a bit above our station. Bale (£150m) was crap as were the rest, feels like the worst performance in years.Harry doesn`t do tactics.
Come on Raz, you tease – tell us more… spill the beanz…
Memories, done it, got the t-shirt but women got the best of me, not in Bestie`s class but had a ball. If i were to spill, every poster would be wiki-ng and coming back with the tackle on JJ or the news headlines from ….best to keep stum and read the crazy posts from the experts. Nice memories from Stadio Olimpico and Estadio Da Luz.
Just watch now and it`s tough, very tough.
But you haven’t managed professionally?
So read my posts again.
You hold a grudge sometimes against posters who challenge your view.
And at least I acknowledge that I’m fickle occasionally. You just get angry and start with the insults.
And by the way…I don’t believe you.
I hold no grudge, everyone has a right to their view and for it to be challenged. I do believe you are mixing me up with another poster, angry & insulting, i think not.
Believe what you will, it`s what you know that counts !
And what have I said that you disagree with?
That a lot on here want HR out?
I didn’t originally include you in my comments about HR outers…but you seem to bite at my comments and compound my admission to being temporarily fickle. Get over it.
I can only assume that you don’t read properly and then give a knee jerk reaction.
Telling everyone that you played as a pro every thread gets a bit wearing. Too much detail sometimes.
As I said earlier most on here don’t know what goes on in any changing room unless they were there. Were you there Sunday?
Your opinion of HR’s tactical knowledge differs from Spurs players and existing, well established England players who want him on board.
So…You are outnumbered by other pros who come out in the press to hale ‘Arry as the next Boss.
Who do I believe? You or Gerrard, Lampard, Crouch?
And the tactically naive managers like O’Niell and Ferguson who have recommended ‘Arry as Boss?
Sorry Raz. It doesn’t wash.
And don’t say it’s a conspiracy to move him on from a resurgent Spurs. That would contradict your premise that he doesn’t do tactics. Why would they want him out if he was crap?
Most pro`s and pundits will say what the press want to hear, it makes good copy. Dozens of current players have put up other names but that goes unreported as it does not fit the media perspective. Harry is a good man-manager but are you telling me Sundays tactics were Ace ?
A bumpy pitch is enough to nullify us at Stevenage. Bale can run around a bit all over the pitch, VDV plays even when unfit. Tactics…outmanouvering the opposition, playing to our strengths. Levy is our future not Redknapp.
What position Razzle?
You choose.
Sorry Bruxie but you are not allowed to have positive views like that on here at the moment! Are you not aware that Harry is shit, King should retire today and we are close to getting relegated??
It cracks me up reading the comments after the Nocastle game, then fast forwading on to the comments by some on here!!
Oh what a difference two weeks makes!!
Just had a look at the Newcastle comments Phil and I’m proud to say that my consistency levels are tip top as I called for Arry’s head then as well… :-p
LOL I’ll give you that mate!! :daumen:
For a generation…
ROFLMFAO..deluded spud.
Nothing delusional about being third.
Smith has been good from what I’ve seen of him (albeit not at PL level) and comes back as cover for Walker.
I wonder if there’s a hidden agenda here.
Since Warnock took charge at Leeds he’s had two Spurs loanees recalled. Perhaps there are some issues with his playing style that we don’t want our lads to be associated with?
Hmmm… Interesting. I wonder if davspur has any relevant insight to add to this?
You lost me there, LL. :ermm:
I was implying that maybe dav would claim this as evidence that Spurs had reason to believe Warnock “tops up” his players. I don’t claim that, but dav might.
I don’t know what I’m saying…
I see what you mean…
He posted at 10:32 pm,he’s not a happy boy.No mention of Warnock…unless it was in some sort of code.