Good Afternoon.
The first game, the first defeat and if you listen to some; the first of many. Under our last manager who I developed a seething contempt for, I was accused of everything from not supporting the team to starting the King’s Cross fire. Now I’m genuinely finding positives it’s being suggested I be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Tactically we were superior. Individually we were lacking. The Bar Codes played as if they were the away team for much of the game. The only real giveaway were the referee and his assistants cowed by a very noisy Geordie audience. If Bale is to play more centrally then he has to show some wit and know when to move out wide. Their right back took a yellow and ought to have been pressed. He wasn’t. Instead we too frequently found ourselves involved in some class of medieval battle reenactment.
Newcastle won their first corner on the 45th minute. Newcastle shot twice and scored twice. These two statements give an immediate and interesting reflection upon how the game went.
Brad He’s a damn good goalkeeper but yesterday he looked past his sell by date both in terms of agility and mindset. We need a keeper who can get off his line and sweep. We need a modern thinking man who understands that hoofing the damn thing blindly up field turns possession into a 50/50 ball.
Kyle has improved his offensive game enormously. The Forest Gump runs seem to be a thing of the past and he is winning corners and throw ins. Defensively I still get the feeling he’s going through the motions; he doesn’t think of himself primarily a defender.
Gallas No I don’t know what the deal with Vertonghen was, but Gallas for the main part looked the business. He also looked about 53.
Kaboul went about his business as he always does when he has a decent game. He was understated and effective.
Benny needs a kick up the bottom. We’ve enough on our plate without him drifting off into some LOL’d out daydream. Mr Sloppy lives next door Benny. You won’t get away with the ‘dizzy’ stuff under Villas-Boas. Or me…
Jake worries me. I like his bravery and I warm to his no nonsense style. But if he was your evening meal, he’d be a TV dinner. He needs to distinguish himself before he wakes up one day and discovers he’s become the next J****. He could be really useful, but as yet, he actually isn’t.
Sandro had what at best could be called a ‘so what’ type performance. Not nice to say, but accurate. Olympics? An unfamiliar gum shield? Who knows or cares? What is essential is that with Scotty out for another month or whatever, he gets back into the groove as soon as.
Azza’s attitude seems to have improved. I don’t know what it is but he seems to have a bit more pep about him. Early early doors, but it would be great if he had a memorable season at long last. That said he didn’t exactly tear Toon in two, but certainly heading in the right direction. More please.
Gylfi took some quality corners and if we can get use to the ball actually being fired in like this then we really ought to see some goals from these. Otherwise he didn’t quite see enough of the ball. He really didn’t. Was he wasteful? Same old same old, isn’t it? If they go in you’re carried off at shoulder height and go home with the Prom Queen. They don’t and nobody remembers your name.
Bale didn’t really get it on and he seriously needs to watch that the Ronaldo impressions don’t solely focus on writhing in agony, checking for non existent blood etc. As above, he needs to get a handle upon when the part or the pitch he’s in becomes too busy for him to operate effectively and he needs to move.
Defoe, despite all his inherent limitations gave us a good game. He doesn’t do much other than turn and shoot but I swear I caught him tracking back on at least two occasions. Took his goal and the cruelty of only being level for a couple of minutes was unbearable.
Van der Vaart he was a breath of fresh air when he came on. Hungry for the ball, tenacious and intelligent. When he gave the penalty away it was like watching the back end of pantomime horse fall over whilst soiling itself.
Villas-Boas. You could hear him imploring from the technical area, ‘go, go, go!’ He’s really suffering from a depleted squad and the resultant depleted options. Yes we need a striker, but more importantly we need a better plan in the middle than Jake. I’m not using him as a whipping boy here, rather highlighting he’s a supporting actor, not a leading man. We missed Modric
and Modric would have arguably allowed Gylfi and Bale to fly a little further than they did.
Bang on the money Harry. Missed Roland massively in the middle. Not sure why Vertonghen wasn’t played instead of jake, he’s played there for Ajax before & done well. Gylfi looked a little lost for me tbh. Surely this must be the week we sign a striker ffs. W.B.A will be no easy game next Saturday, after yesterday’s performance vs the hubcap steelers. Boris is worried, I shall now retire to my study for a few swift sherries & a hand shandy from my lady friend Ken.
Roland. A lady friend Ken. I may well iron a Union Jack to celebrate your wit, sir.
Do so with pride Sir Harry of Tottingham :daumen:
AVB said yesterday in the pre-match interview that they had worked on pairing of Gallas-kaboul all week as Jan was on international duty. Thats understandable and you cant say our CB’s were horrific yesterday they were barely troubled. Agree with the livermore comments though he’s slowly turning into neil lennon “the proverbial crab” just passing sideways and running into nothing areas
My immediate reaction to the game yesterday was irritation at the way we lost cohesion in the second half. We were chasing them when they should have been coming after us, i.e. we gave away possession too often. Once again (as in the pre-season fixtures), there seemed no clear strategy for who or how to move the ball from the back third to the front third of the pitch, i.e. no one had the “Modric” type role of taking it forward, which is what I expected of Sig. or Liver. Plus there was no Hudd to ping it to the wings or up the channels.
After midnight I re-watched the entire game (something I rarely do) and am less pessimistic. Agree for the most part with your comments, though Daws is no slower than Gallas and a surer tackler and the absence of Vert is inexplicable. Sandro was asked to do too much too soon, and I’m a little less dazzled with VdV.
Perhaps Carroll could fill the “Modric” gap.
I hope you mean Tom and not Andy!
I thought he meant Vorderman!
I disagree on VDV – I thought his vision was superb. He is a natural genius and frankly speaking I’d play him deeper then to play THUD.
I agree with more or less everything there HH. I do think that Lennon looks really good this season and we should have gotten the ball to him more. Livermore, as i stated on a previous post simply isn’t good enough….. yet anyway. Defoe was actually decent but needs support.
All in all, when we bring in players before the window shuts to fill those problem positions, we’ll do well this season.
Have been the biggest fan of Lennon over the years and, as you say, he’s sparkled yesterday. But I am coming reluctantly to the conclusion that , as with boxing, good big’uns will always beat good littl’uns, i.e. that, overall, a Townshend (and a couple of big strikers in the Tommy Lawton mode) are what Spurs need. It hurts but it’s difficult to deny.
What I call going to Mars and looking at things from there in the cool, clear abstract, away from current context, sentiment, whatever.
Don’t all pile on.
I find your astronomical reference intriguing! ;-)
A good balance in the team with both types is always a good mix methinks Yachtsman. Hopefully Lennon will have a big role to play this season.
not that lennon is a great player because he isn’t but your big uns better etc quote doesn’t wash in football for me yachtsman sorry
maradona,messi,best,aguero,iniesta,silva i could go on and on if did some homework,i’m sure
spot on kojac, hows about barcelona or spain for that matter all them mofo’s are tiny
although,maybe the yachtsman means that if our players are shite then choose the bigger one :whistle:
Ah yes lets start a bring back Gary Doherty campaign, he was big alrite 8O
haha,the good old doc,cb/cf and we are complaing now :sideways:
Yup, Kojac, you’re ahead of me. Ditto your companions.
I should have thought it through before kicking the ball aimlessly. If we ask our footballers to think more, we should expect the same from ourselves.
Mea maxima culpa.
Yaughtsman you want big (tall) players in instead of Lennon and yet you suggest Carroll (Tom) as a playmaker. Make your mind up ‘Young Man’
Big strong fellahs on the wings and at striker. For which Kojac and his mates stuck my head in pie.
What more do you want?
Damned good summary Harry… in fact that is what I was going to say!
Jake is fine to bring on as a sub to shore up a win (or a draw – whatever), but to start with he doesn’t do anything that well. He’s just big.
He is a squad player, not a starter. I would have preferred to see Thudd, J****s or even Vertonghen in central midfield instead.
How Jake is an international footballer is a mystery to me.
Then again so was Anthony Gardner…
Actually your most accurate assessment ever HH. So I suppose it can only go downhill from here…
probably end up outside your house :winke:
Don’t worry mate, it’s no dangerous height to fall from.
Sell furniture. Bet on it.