Match Thread: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR vs Sunderland

[TURKISH]

Talk about the game here, during and after.

[peterc]

I don't think that it will be an easy one, hopefully is, 2-1 and don't be surprised that Darren Bent scores.

[gomessi]

The team I would play

gomes

corluka
woodgate
king
bae

lennon is he fit
jj
palacios
bale

keane
defoe

[berbzy 'G']

Jones and Richardson are out for Sunderland.

Still not going to be a piss in the park, But I think we will win 3-1.

[earl warwick]

The team I would play

gomes

corluka
woodgate
king
bae

lennon is he fit
jj
palacios
bale

keane
defoe

No, he isn't. Wigan at home the earliest return date.

With the players S'land have missing - Cana, Cattermole and Jones - we should win it comfortably. 3-1.

[gomessi]

Jones and Richardson are out for Sunderland.

Still not going to be a piss in the park, But I think we will win 3-1.

you sure???

[berbzy 'G']

No Lennon!!

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11675_5674082,00.html

[berbzy 'G']

you sure???

Either Richardson or Reid, one of them

[olly27]

No, he isn't. Wigan at home the earliest return date.

With the players S'land have missing - Cana, Cattermole and Jones - we should win it comfortably. 3-1.

Yep their spine has been ripped out for this one. Watch out for their up and coming star in Henderson (hope that doesn't bite me in the arse!)...he will slot into central midfield.

We should win this comfortably, and after the two defeats we have suffered I expect nothing more than an avalanche on their goal. Jones, Cana and Cattermole missing is a huge loss for them, we should walk this even without Lennon as Harry will have them really fired up for this.

No ifs and buts, 6 points from the next 2 games are imperative given that we have Villa and Everton away to come.Hopefully Modric will be back in contention then.

Team I would play:

Gomes

Charlie
Woody
King
Ekotto

Kranjcar
Palacios
Jenas
Bale

Keane
Defoe

My right hand side lacks pace, but what do you do - perhaps consider Hutton who was good against under par Everton side. Bentley I suppose, but he is any quicker than Niko. At least the two Croats know each other!
Last chance for Robbie before I would drop him, fails to make an impression here and I would start Crouch thereafter.

Keane, and particularly Defoe made mince meat of Turner against Hull - more of the same here would do nicely.

2-0 Tottenham - Defoe brace.

[gomessi]

Either Richardson or Reid, one of them

Think they are both fit.

[berbzy 'G']

Think they are both fit.

Na :001_huh:

[earl warwick]

Yep their spine has been ripped out for this one. Watch out for their up and coming star in Henderson (hope that doesn't bite me in the arse!)...he will slot into central midfield.

We should win this comfortably, and after the two defeats we have suffered I expect nothing more than an avalanche on their goal. Jones, Cana and Cattermole missing is a huge loss for them, we should walk this even without Lennon as Harry will have them really fired up for this.

No ifs and buts, 6 points from the next 2 games are imperative given that we have Villa and Everton away to come.Hopefully Modric will be back in contention then.

Team I would play:

Gomes

Charlie
Woody
King
Ekotto

Kranjcar
Palacios
Jenas
Bale

Keane
Defoe

My right hand side lacks pace, but what do you do - perhaps consider Hutton who was good against under par Everton side. Bentley I suppose, but he is any quicker than Niko. At least the two Croats know each other!
Last chance for Robbie before I would drop him, fails to make an impression here and I would start Crouch thereafter.

Keane, and particularly Defoe made mince meat of Turner against Hull - more of the same here would do nicely.

2-0 Tottenham - Defoe brace.

No, you don't start fiddling with a defence because there's no Lennon to give pace on the right. It would also, with Woody back, be the first time that that defence, so solid last season at home, has played.

[olly27]

No, you don't start fiddling with a defence because there's no Lennon to give pace on the right. It would also, with Woody back, be the first time that that defence, so solid last season at home, has played.

Would you play Niko on the right and Bale on the left?

[Chewy]

Gomes

Corluka
Woodgate
King
Ekotto

Kranjcar
Jenas
Palacios
Bale

Keane
Defoe

subs: Button, Dawson, Hutton, Huddlestone, Bentley, Crouch, Pav

Should get all three points in this one. Surely Bent will score against us.

[Rojoknapp]

Would you play Niko on the right and Bale on the left?

That's what I would do. Anyone but Bentley. The second people started to trust him a bit, maybe believe that he could turn the corner (after one performance against a piss poor Everton which I didn't even think was all that great) he goes and turns in that performance at the Emirates. He was absolutely dreadful.

[peterc]

[=Rojoknapp;168488]That's what I would do. Anyone but Bentley. The second people started to trust him a bit, maybe believe that he could turn the corner (after one performance against a piss poor Everton which I didn't even think was all that great) he goes and turns in that performance at the Emirates. He was absolutely dreadful.[/
I tend to disagree that Bentley had such a bad performance, he was limited as far forward he could go, this was due to Hutton not being on the pitch to overlap, Hutton and Bentley could have made a difference. Saying that, we still would have lost due to the school boy errors commited.

[earl warwick]

Would you play Niko on the right and Bale on the left?
No, Kranjcar left and Bentley right.

Bale could come on for Kranjcar or Bentley, the latter with Kranjcar switching right, but Naughton for Bentley would be less disruptive if needed.

[earl warwick]

That's what I would do. Anyone but Bentley. The second people started to trust him a bit, maybe believe that he could turn the corner (after one performance against a piss poor Everton which I didn't even think was all that great) he goes and turns in that performance at the Emirates. He was absolutely dreadful.

He wasn't the worst - BAE, King, Palacios, Keane - to name few. Bentley also had our first shot on target.

[Rojoknapp]

He wasn't the worst - BAE, King, Palacios, Keane - to name few. Bentley also had our first shot on target.

They were all very bad, yes, but that doesn't excuse Bentley's terrible performance, giving the ball away nearly every time he got it. He looked so ridiculously slow as well.

[earl warwick]

They were all very bad, yes, but that doesn't excuse Bentley's terrible performance, giving the ball away nearly every time he got it. He looked so ridiculously slow as well.

He didn't do that. Clichy was very effective in closing him down - he just stood off him, knowing he couldn't beat him outside, although Lennon has got little change out of him in the past.

[Rojoknapp]

He didn't do that. Clichy was very effective in closing him down - he just stood off him, knowing he couldn't beat him outside, although Lennon has got little change out of him in the past.

Whatever Clichy did, what does it matter. Bentley was poor.

[earl warwick]

Whatever Clichy did, what does it matter. Bentley was poor.
Whatever Arsenal did, what does it matter, Spurs were poor.

[Rojoknapp]

Whatever Arsenal did, what does it matter, Spurs were poor.

Yes, they were. Arsenal weren't particularly great, neither was Clichy.

[GQCoolest]

Our midfield should boss them. I'm assuming they will start a whopping 5-6 former Spurs players:

Bent
Reid
Tainio
Campbell
Malbranque
Fulop (maybe)

That is absurd.

Who will their CMs going to be? No Cana, no Cattermole.

I guess the kid Henderson will be one, as he started there against the Pikeys, but no clue who they will start next to him.

We should do them.

[Rojoknapp]

Our midfield should boss them. I'm assuming they will start a whopping 5-6 former Spurs players:

Bent
Reid
Tainio
Campbell
Malbranque
Fulop (maybe)

That is absurd.

Who will their CMs going to be? No Cana, no Cattermole.

I guess the kid Henderson will be one, as he started there against the Pikeys, but no clue who they will start next to him.

We should do them.

I imagine it would be Malbranque on the left, Tainio and Henderson in the middle and Reid on the right?

[WelshSpur82]

I think Tainio is out on loan at Birmingham aint he???

[Gino Ginelli]

They seem to be missing their combative midfield and their big man up front. They still have creative fulcrum Reid and the in form Bent, both of whom are going to love giving it their all in an attempt to show up their old club.

The onus falls more on whether our defence can communicate properly, can we hold a nice balanced 4 man midfield for a change, and can Keane just be a centre-forward for once and actually score some goals.

I think dropping Bentley after his (and everyone else's) shocker last weekend would be a step in the wrong direction and should be shown a bit of faith and played again. If we're ever going to get anything out of him then we have to show him some support at this point. Krancjar's been improving nicely with each game so I'd go with him on the left again, and bring Bale on for the last 20.

Wilson and JJ in the middle, no Huddlestone please. Pav and Defoe up top for me, as I'm unimpressed with Robbie at present. Last time he was dropped for a period a few years ago it spurred him on to really up his game in training, win his place back and went on to have his best spell for us. Another kick in the proverbials is required methinks. I know it'll be Crouch, but I'm not particularly a fan, and I'd rather Pav, so there.

Anyone else like to see Gio playing off Defoe when he comes back?

[GQCoolest]

I think Tainio is out on loan at Birmingham aint he???

Ah, this is correct. Even worse for them. I just have no clue who they'll play at CM.

[berbzy 'G']

Cattermole is out too

[earl warwick]

Henderson and Reid in the centre, Mal and Richardson on the flanks.

[MiloMinderbinder]

As Han said to Luke; "I've got a bad feeling about this". You'd be foolish to bet against Bent scoring and Mal having a blinder. also their keepr is in good form and they look very organised at the back.

Only saving grace is Defoe back, hopefully for the headless Irish chicken.

P.s. Bentley was not awful vs Scum, he was limited by poor service, poor support and Corluka constantly being on the back foot (and slow which is why I think Ledley had a 'mare as constantly covering).

[peterc]

[QUOTE=MiloMinderbinder;168610]As Han said to Luke; "I've got a bad feeling about this". You'd be foolish to bet against Bent scoring and Mal having a blinder. also their keepr is in good form and they look very organised at the back.

Only saving grace is Defoe back, hopefully for the headless Irish chicken.

P.s. Bentley was not awful vs Scum, he was limited by poor service, poor support and Corluka constantly being on the back foot (and slow which is why I think Ledley had a 'mare as constantly covering).
Totally agree MM, Hutton should have been brought on after half time.

[Indianspur]

Bring bale on the left and kranjcar in the centre.they both have that something special in their locker which hudd,jenas and palacios dont possess attacking wise.
King looked unfit and time to rest him against clubs which will speed past him.his natural ability is unmatched however.

[berbzy 'G']

Bring bale on the left and kranjcar in the centre.they both have that something special in their locker which hudd,jenas and palacios dont possess attacking wise.
King looked unfit and time to rest him against clubs which will speed past him.his natural ability is unmatched however.

I not 100% sure about playing Kranjcar in central midfield, He is a natural winger, But the same issue with Modric playing just behind the forwards, for one game he played on the Left and he was superb, so it could be worth a shot playing Kranjcar in a different area of midfield and see if he performs better.

Don't see what the fascination is with Bale recently. Did he score a f*cking hat trick against Arsenal at the weekend without me knowing or something, I really don't know :stupid:

[mjbmedia]

we'll lose, Bent to score 2 Defoe to score 1 .
Hope Im wrong, cant watch it as meeting with 12 millionaires over the weekend and none of them are footballers!

[Gino Ginelli]

I not 100% sure about playing Kranjcar in central midfield, He is a natural winger, But the same issue with Modric playing just behind the forwards, for one game he played on the Left and he was superb, so it could be worth a shot playing Kranjcar in a different area of midfield and see if he performs better.

Don't see what the fascination is with Bale recently. Did he score a f*cking hat trick against Arsenal at the weekend without me knowing or something, I really don't know :stupid:

No but he's a very talented footballer who can provide genuine width and delivery, and it's about time he became a member of the first team otherwise someone is going to have him off us for a fraction of what we paid and he'll no doubt be excellent.

It's about time we took a page of of the Wenger's book and started showing faith in our young players instead of throwing money around every window with fruitless results.

[olly27]

Lennon might make it Harry says...happy days, if he does that is a massive plus.

[deadleyledley]

they will be harder to beat than we think. i think we will win because harry would have given them a kick up the ass. this will hopefully lead into the performance. i would like to see a convincing win with our better quality then theirs.

gomes
charlie king bassong bae
bentley hudd palacios bale
defoe crouch

[gomessi]

No but he's a very talented footballer who can provide genuine width and delivery, and it's about time he became a member of the first team otherwise someone is going to have him off us for a fraction of what we paid and he'll no doubt be excellent.

It's about time we took a page of of the Wenger's book and started showing faith in our young players instead of throwing money around every window with fruitless results.

I would love to see Gio and Bale given a chance.

[singapore spur]

No but he's a very talented footballer who can provide genuine width and delivery, and it's about time he became a member of the first team otherwise someone is going to have him off us for a fraction of what we paid and he'll no doubt be excellent.

It's about time we took a page of of the Wenger's book and started showing faith in our young players instead of throwing money around every window with fruitless results.


agree with both points , thats why id like to see more of bale , also like to see naughton on as right back . he has impressed when i have seen him , seems quite pacey as well and he needs to get game time to improove so why not at home against a weakened sunderland side that i dont think should offer too much of a threat .
corluka as good as he is , seems a bit complacent .
also ,like to see pav have a chance up front with defoe , keane needs to earn his place again and this is not just after a poor arse performance where he was played out of position but a reaction to his season so far bar 1 or 2 games

[FLFooty]

watch the game live - www.freelivefooty.com

[Apples]

From the first few mins against Arse you knew Bentley was gonna have a shocker...

He is not professional enough
Thinks he's better than his is
Wastes possession far too often

The latter being the reason that he should not be in the team today

[earl warwick]

Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, King, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Jenas, Huddlestone, Palacios, Keane, Crouch, Defoe.
Subs: Alnwick, Hutton, Bale, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Dawson, Kranjcar.

That's a terrible selection.

[TURKISH]

Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, King, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Jenas, Huddlestone, Palacios, Keane, Crouch, Defoe.
Subs: Alnwick, Hutton, Bale, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Dawson, Kranjcar.

That's a terrible selection.

Kin hell keane on the left wing.:thumbdown:

[Gold7]

im going for an unexpected 3-0 to us of course everybody is expecting one of our old boys to score against us but some times what every one expects doesn't necessarily happen .

COME ON YOU SPURS !

[TURKISH]

Keane falls on the ball to make it 1.0

[SCIFIN17YID]

Please link me to the stream of the game.

[hodgy]

http://www.justin.tv/soccerbeasttt



so far so good

[SCIFIN17YID]

http://www.justin.tv/soccerbeasttt



so far so good

Thank you very much man ! COYS !

[SCIFIN17YID]

Has anyone got a better stream then this choppy laggy piece of crap ?

http://streamingstreaming1.blogspot.com/2009/10/fsfdsfsdf.html

[singapore spur]

no width for us , everything up the middle , pretty lame so far , lucky to be ahead

2 penalty shouts , one for each , didnt think either was

[TURKISH]

Charlie is having a nightmare.

[SCIFIN17YID]

LMAO @ Man City 0-2 Burnley, p.s stream is working fine now. COYS.

[singapore spur]

need to go 442 second half , crouch off , kranjcar on

[singapore spur]

LMAO @ Man City 0-2 Burnley, p.s stream is working fine now. COYS.

bugger , thats my last man standing selection

[earl warwick]

bugger , thats my last man standing selection

2-1 now, all the teams only have a goal between them.

Shocking half from Spurs. Sunderland controlling most of the midfield with Reid, Richardson and Mal. So far the mirror reverse of Stoke at home in not conceding. If Denis-Cro had been here, he'd have exploded several times by now.

[nuttyhotspurs]

ill some that half up in 3 words for you all

what a shambles


but we are winning :thumbup:

[TURKISH]

Love to see Bale come on this half down the left wing. We are getting dominated, Palacios is having a mare along with Corluka. We have no width, Keane is running around like a headless chicken and because we are playing it through the middle Defoe is becoming isolated.

Its the days of Martin Jol again, if lennon is injured stick three centre midfielders in midfield and stick keane on the wings.

[McSpurs]

Too many players in the comfort zone. If Mackems get one, you can only see one team winning this.

[nuttyhotspurs]

get modric fit ASAP:adore:

[TURKISH]

Gomes you legend.

[singapore spur]

i would like to think harrys little finger knows more about football and tactics than me , but im having my doubts

[earl warwick]

i would like to think harrys little finger knows more about football and tactics than me , but im having my doubts
Judging by today, I'd like to think Harry's given Sandra the chance to manage the side.

[TURKISH]

Who has Dawson come on for?

[singapore spur]

finally....

[TURKISH]

Get hudd and keane off for Bale and Bentley.

[hodgy]

why don't we keep the ball instead of trying to force it, get in and stay in

[TURKISH]

YOU DONT SAVE THOUGHS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Choda did you see that? Great hold up play and assist from Defoe.

Lucky Hudd stayed on :laugh:

[earl warwick]

Kranjcar has made a big difference, with his control and passing. The midfield has some balance.

[TURKISH]

Kranjcar has made a big difference, with his control and passing. The midfield has some balance.

He should of started in the derby, what impresses me is he isn't bad at heading. 2m? One of the best buys we have made.

The second goal has given us that confidence to go out and play.

Gomes made another smart save.:santaclaus:

[singapore spur]

Gomes made another smart save.:santaclaus:


.......MOM.........




(which he shouldnt have to be at home against sunderland )

[earl warwick]

.......MOM.........




(which he shouldnt have to be at home against sunderland )

Certainly ours, but the actual one has easily been Reidaldinho.

Our performance was so shocking that I expect questions to be asked in the Houses of Parliament regarding the blatant theft of 3 points.:thumbdown:

[singapore spur]

Certainly ours, but the actual one has easily been Reidaldinho.

Our performance was so shocking that I expect questions to be asked in the Houses of Parliament regarding the blatant theft of 3 points.:thumbdown:


true , but payback for the stoke game

[olly27]

3 points is all I gave a feck about but OMG I nearly choked my 6 month year old daughter (who has just gone on to solids!) when I saw the team line up for today. What on earth is Harry thinking. He's done very well so far but a blind man and his dog could see that was a terrible selection. I fully expected Niko to start and one from Bentley and Bale. Not only is Harry having trouble dropping Robbie, he cant drop the Hudd either...ironically who both have scored today.

On another day we were beat today, but then again - swings and roundabouts - we should of had the points against Stoke.

Harry stop playing Keane on the left!!! Modric really cant get back quick enough, I am just praying he's back by the end of this month - we need him for Villa and Everton away.

Should be Lennon on the right and Niko on the left for the Wigan game.

[peterc]

Considering that we were slaughtered for the first hour, I though that we were extremely lucky to win today. Don't like us playing that 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation, we always seem to lose the plot with those formations. Gomes, definitely MOTM.

[olly27]

What I find totally extraordinary and inexplicable is that Harry knows that Robbie is struggling for form, so what does he do: he plays him out of position and not for the first time, so what the hell has he learnt? If your going to stick with him Harry at least play him in his natural position, FFS.

Its starting to wind me up this a bit. Everyone will be banging on about how good Sunderland were - and they were, but it was Harry getting the team wrong again which gave an understrength Suderland the impetus. The result just papers over the cracks. I am starting to wonder about Harry, and I was a real loyalist...how could he not have the foresight to see that we would be far too narrow with that line up? I did as soon as I saw the team.

[Indianspur]

I';d rather a lucky win than ' did not deserve to lose'
However Harry needs to wake up and smell the coffee.
bentley is better on the right than jenas and kranjcar/bale better than keane on the left.
crouch is better deployed as a sub also. Hope gio gets a chance too.

[Antilokhos]

Not exactly a good win, but important to get the points. Gomes played well when needed, I don't think that was a penalty against him, but I can see why the referee would have given it.

It was nice to see Huddlestone and Keane both score, I still think they should be dropped, but I'm happy to eat crow on this one. I think Krancjar showed that he deserves to play more, he's one of the few people who actually gives the squad depth.

Jenas disappointed some going forward, but was solid and active getting back and being positioned properly. Palacios has been poor the last couple of games, hopefully we bring in somebody in January who can give him a rest. That or bring back O'hara.

[TURKISH]

What I find totally extraordinary and inexplicable is that Harry knows that Robbie is struggling for form, so what does he do: he plays him out of position and not for the first time, so what the hell has he learnt? If your going to stick with him Harry at least play him in his natural position, FFS.

Its starting to wind me up this a bit. Everyone will be banging on about how good Sunderland were - and they were, but it was Harry getting the team wrong again which gave an understrength Suderland the impetus. The result just papers over the cracks. I am starting to wonder about Harry, and I was a real loyalist...how could he not have the foresight to see that we would be far too narrow with that line up? I did as soon as I saw the team.

Robbie did score today but it was hardly clinical, he just about bundled it in. But he isn't a left winger and Harry with his team tactics nearly cost us the game today. Once Robbie was taken off we looked such a better side, Niko looked very slick and the boy gets stuck in as well.

Hudd was poor up to his cracking goal, very robust and slows the pace down. But then we didn't have no width throughout the game so he hardly had any options. Bae was the only player who provided width which doesn't get the best out of crouch nor hudd.

Dawson looks like he has matured once he came on Sunderland hardly had any chances. Woodgate had a decent game but overall I was worried with how well Sunderland played considering Jones, Cattermole and Cana all missed the game through suspension or injuries. Sunderland look a good side but I felt today with Harry's poor tactics we made them look better than they actually were (considering the side they had out).

Gomes was OUTSTANDING again, he derserves that clean sheet and he looks so assured. We still gave so many chances away which on another day we would get punished.

Palacios and JJ won alot of balls and interceptions but going forward they both lacked any rhythm. Palacios has hit a rough patch and JJ looked like he suffered because the midfield was congested.

Defoe looks a much more complete player, me and Choda have had some right ding dongs about Defoe and Bent. I always maintained that Bent is one dimensional and Defoe has more about him, choda disagreed saying Bent was the better footballer. Imo you could argue bent is the better finisher (which i don't believe but on goals and stats they are near even) but I think Defoe is much more dangerous and the more natural footballer.

Overall I was very impressed with Sunderland, they will be up their come end of the season. But what I'm not happy about is Harry playing stupid tactics and playing three men in the centre of midfield to stifle Sunderlands three in midfield. Its very negative and during the game we looked so much better in a 442 even though we still didn't have a right winger.

As usual square pegs in round holes, sounds familar aye Jol?

[olly27]

Robbie did score today but it was hardly clinical, he just about bundled it in. But he isn't a left winger and Harry with his team tactics nearly cost us the game today. Once Robbie was taken off we looked such a better side, Niko looked very slick and the boy gets stuck in as well.

Hudd was poor up to his cracking goal, very robust and slows the pace down. But then we didn't have no width throughout the game so he hardly had any options. Bae was the only player who provided width which doesn't get the best out of crouch nor hudd.

Dawson looks like he has matured once he came on Sunderland hardly had any chances. Woodgate had a decent game but overall I was worried with how well Sunderland played considering Jones, Cattermole and Cana all missed the game through suspension or injuries. Sunderland look a good side but I felt today with Harry's poor tactics we made them look better than they actually were (considering the side they had out).

Gomes was OUTSTANDING again, he derserves that clean sheet and he looks so assured. We still gave so many chances away which on another day we would get punished.

Palacios and JJ won alot of balls and interceptions but going forward they both lacked any rhythm. Palacios has hit a rough patch and JJ looked like he suffered because the midfield was congested.

Defoe looks a much more complete player, me and Choda have had some right ding dongs about Defoe and Bent. I always maintained that Bent is one dimensional and Defoe has more about him, choda disagreed saying Bent was the better footballer. Imo you could argue bent is the better finisher (which i don't believe but on goals and stats they are near even) but I think Defoe is much more dangerous and the more natural footballer.

Overall I was very impressed with Sunderland, they will be up their come end of the season. But what I'm not happy about is Harry playing stupid tactics and playing three men in the centre of midfield to stifle Sunderlands three in midfield. Its very negative and during the game we looked so much better in a 442 even though we still didn't have a right winger.

Couldn't disgaree with a word of that pal. Totally agree - Harry made Sunderland look a lot better that what they are. They are a good side at full strength but with those key players missing it should of been a routine victory - the reality was it was far from it. Could you imagine if we had lost today, Harry would of been getting stick left, right and centre - and rightly so with that line up. I mean is that what they worked on in training all week?!

[earl warwick]

Defoe looks a much more complete player, me and Choda have had some right ding dongs about Defoe and Bent. I always maintained that Bent is one dimensional and Defoe has more about him, choda disagreed saying Bent was the better footballer. Imo you could argue bent is the better finisher (which i don't believe but on goals and stats they are near even) but I think Defoe is much more dangerous and the more natural footballer.



Bent is a better finisher, he often scores from complete non-chances, which you'll remember from last season. Defoe is a better footballer, and really exposed Turner today - 12m! No wonder it was only 4m. Defoe is more dangerous from deeper areas, he can beat players and launch spectacular shots.

One question: how many dimensions did Lineker have? I always thought he was the ultimate one-dimensional player.

[gomessi]

Robbie did score today but it was hardly clinical, he just about bundled it in. But he isn't a left winger and Harry with his team tactics nearly cost us the game today. Once Robbie was taken off we looked such a better side, Niko looked very slick and the boy gets stuck in as well.

Hudd was poor up to his cracking goal, very robust and slows the pace down. But then we didn't have no width throughout the game so he hardly had any options. Bae was the only player who provided width which doesn't get the best out of crouch nor hudd.

Dawson looks like he has matured once he came on Sunderland hardly had any chances. Woodgate had a decent game but overall I was worried with how well Sunderland played considering Jones, Cattermole and Cana all missed the game through suspension or injuries. Sunderland look a good side but I felt today with Harry's poor tactics we made them look better than they actually were (considering the side they had out).

Gomes was OUTSTANDING again, he derserves that clean sheet and he looks so assured. We still gave so many chances away which on another day we would get punished.

Palacios and JJ won alot of balls and interceptions but going forward they both lacked any rhythm. Palacios has hit a rough patch and JJ looked like he suffered because the midfield was congested.

Defoe looks a much more complete player, me and Choda have had some right ding dongs about Defoe and Bent. I always maintained that Bent is one dimensional and Defoe has more about him, choda disagreed saying Bent was the better footballer. Imo you could argue bent is the better finisher (which i don't believe but on goals and stats they are near even) but I think Defoe is much more dangerous and the more natural footballer.

Overall I was very impressed with Sunderland, they will be up their come end of the season. But what I'm not happy about is Harry playing stupid tactics and playing three men in the centre of midfield to stifle Sunderlands three in midfield. Its very negative and during the game we looked so much better in a 442 even though we still didn't have a right winger.

As usual square pegs in round holes, sounds familar aye Jol?

Agree with every word.

[olly27]

What about City! How many draws is that in a row? They look all over the place at the back.

On another note, value for money, a sneaky bet on the Scum for the title could be a shrewd bet - not like I would part with my dosh on those lot.

[earl warwick]

What about City! How many draws is that in a row? They look all over the place at the back.

On aother note, value for money, a sneaky bet on the Scum for the title could be a shrewd bet - not like I would part with my dosh on those lot.
A better bet is that gomessi doesn't know many words. :001_smile:

It's 5, and you can get 7/2 for the Arse.

[olly27]

A better bet is that gomessi doesn't know many words. :001_smile:

It's 5, and you can get 7/2 for the Arse.

Did De Jong play today? Our their back four getting nout protection or have they just not gelled as a defensive unit yet? I think they parted with way too much cash on Toure and Lescott, but it could be a case of more time needed. They seem to attack with huge numbers which is always gives the oppossition a chance.

[TURKISH]

Bent is a better finisher, he often scores from complete non-chances, which you'll remember from last season. Defoe is a better footballer, and really exposed Turner today - 12m! No wonder it was only 4m. Defoe is more dangerous from deeper areas, he can beat players and launch spectacular shots.

One question: how many dimensions did Lineker have? I always thought he was the ultimate one-dimensional player.

The difference between Lineker and other one dimesional strikers was that he was so clever. My god talk about a football brain, he was always one step ahead of everyone. But considering he was one dimesional he still had the brains to play right wing for Barca when cruyff stuck him out there.

[TURKISH]

22 points: took us 23 games last season to surpass this total. 11 games ahead of schedule.

[olly27]

22 points: took us 23 games last season to surpass this total. 11 games ahead of schedule.

When its put like that you get the full perspective in terms of the improvement.

I just wish we were sitting pretty on 25 points, the Stoke defeat is still annoying me.

[earl warwick]

The difference between Lineker and other one dimesional strikers was that he was so clever. My god talk about a football brain, he was always one step ahead of everyone. But considering he was one dimesional he still had the brains to play right wing for Barca when cruyff stuck him out there.

I never saw him do it, but I doubt Barca fans would categorise him in those terms whilst there. He muddled along at best, as Bent would do.

[berbzy 'G']

All the goals here.

http://todayfoot.com/Football/Video-premier-league-tottenham-h-1-0-sunderland-1500-07112009

[TURKISH]

I never saw him do it, but I doubt Barca fans would categorise him in those terms whilst there. He muddled along at best, as Bent would do.

Mmmm I suppose Bent wouldn't play upfront let alone right wing for Barca.:tongue:

[olly27]

Good news if any of this is true:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/tottenham/6520979/Tottenham-manager-Harry-Redknapp-wants-Sulley-Muntari-reunion.html

[berbzy 'G']

Good news if any of this is true:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/tottenham/6520979/Tottenham-manager-Harry-Redknapp-wants-Sulley-Muntari-reunion.html

We was linked with Muntari in the Summer for a few weeks, As I was getting all excited about it the bastard came out and said 'I would be mad to leave Inter... exc.... '' :glare:

Would love him to sign, quality player.

[olly27]

Just watched the extended highlights on Football First. We were pretty shocking in the first half and Sunderland were defintely the better side until Niko came on for Robbie.

For me Bent goes down a decade before he meets Gomes, I mean there is drawing the foul and then there is a blatant dive! How can he be reaching the ball first if he's on the floor way before any type of contact!

Hudd's goal was just lovely with Defoe's intelligence to hold up, very well, and lay it off perfectly.

I just dont get Harry's team selection and it was obvious how narrow we were. We created very little until Niko came on, then we looked a force. Ekotto did whip in some fantastic balls, but Charlie had a real shocker.

Extremely lucky that Harry's tactics didn't cost us, we were so inept for large parts.

Gomes was brillant today, the save from Turner's header was exceptional.

Reid was the best player on the pitch though, no doubt about it.

I hope Harry sorts this out for Wigan, team selection I mean.

[earl warwick]

Mmmm I suppose Bent wouldn't play upfront let alone right wing for Barca.:tongue:

You wouldn't have imagined Luther Blissett playing for Milan either though, eh? :wink:

[hodgy]

steve bruce is a prize twot, we had no luck since the beach ball incident, and he also said gomes should have been sent off. well it was not a penalty, bent was on way down before he reached gomes and he threw his right foot towards the body of gomes to get contact, from the angle of bent's run up for the penalty it was always going that side, gomes quality once again, his shot stopping has never been a question mark just his decisions on crossing, well done tony parkes for giving him confidence, thought we were too narrow today, ok playing that way if hutton was rb so he could bomb on but no width mainly meaning hudd was ineffective as he had no one wide to spray the ball too, looked more effective with nico on, bit of natural width on the left giving us a bit more balance, can see bentley off in jan, if he cannot start a game at home against sunderland then no hope for him really, unless he was injured, 1 last thing, defoe, you naughty lad, be careful you got away with i today but those little petulent things you do are going to cause spurs points and maybe yourself a trip to s africa.

[olly27]

It's as certain as death and taxes that Pav is off, and Bentley couldn't be far behind if he still cant start when Lennon is out. I see Harry rasing a nice wad of cash to bring in at least 2 in January.

[TURKISH]

You wouldn't have imagined Luther Blissett playing for Milan either though, eh? :wink:

Sadly not.

[Gold7]

Really happy with the win despite the un inspiring performance and shape of the team.
I kind of see where Harry's coming from with the 4-3-3 I thinking he feels that if he doesn't have a pacey winger at his disposal then he just won't play wingers. All logic tells me that 4-3-3 should work with the players we have cos their good players but here's the problem.
In my opinion we have 4 strikers who are all similar keano , defo ,crouchy , pav all natural finishers like to be there to put the finishing touch on, out of the four I would say kean is the most flexible footballer but he just hasn't been his creative self for a long while , so with the absence firstly of modders and now Lennon there is an alarming lack of creativity within our team hence we are being out played in many games this season despite picking up some good results .

Our style of play is another thing which concerns me I can predict it before it happens it goes 3 or 4 passes then a hopeful lump up field. no one touch stuff no nice moves to cut defences open.

We need mod back in that team asap, lennon fit and fast and woodgate to marshal our defence and midfield.

[choda]

Robbie did score today but it was hardly clinical, he just about bundled it in. But he isn't a left winger and Harry with his team tactics nearly cost us the game today. Once Robbie was taken off we looked such a better side, Niko looked very slick and the boy gets stuck in as well.

Hudd was poor up to his cracking goal, very robust and slows the pace down. But then we didn't have no width throughout the game so he hardly had any options. Bae was the only player who provided width which doesn't get the best out of crouch nor hudd.

Dawson looks like he has matured once he came on Sunderland hardly had any chances. Woodgate had a decent game but overall I was worried with how well Sunderland played considering Jones, Cattermole and Cana all missed the game through suspension or injuries. Sunderland look a good side but I felt today with Harry's poor tactics we made them look better than they actually were (considering the side they had out).

Gomes was OUTSTANDING again, he derserves that clean sheet and he looks so assured. We still gave so many chances away which on another day we would get punished.

Palacios and JJ won alot of balls and interceptions but going forward they both lacked any rhythm. Palacios has hit a rough patch and JJ looked like he suffered because the midfield was congested.

Defoe looks a much more complete player, me and Choda have had some right ding dongs about Defoe and Bent. I always maintained that Bent is one dimensional and Defoe has more about him, choda disagreed saying Bent was the better footballer. Imo you could argue bent is the better finisher (which i don't believe but on goals and stats they are near even) but I think Defoe is much more dangerous and the more natural footballer.

Overall I was very impressed with Sunderland, they will be up their come end of the season. But what I'm not happy about is Harry playing stupid tactics and playing three men in the centre of midfield to stifle Sunderlands three in midfield. Its very negative and during the game we looked so much better in a 442 even though we still didn't have a right winger.

As usual square pegs in round holes, sounds familar aye Jol?

To be honest mate when Bent first came I thought he'd be much better than he was. I didn't scout his signature. :tongue:

After he got a run I realised he was sorely lacking in many ways in general play just like Defoe was.

But Defoe has come on leaps and bounds in the last two years so it's a different argument now, things change.

There was a time not so long ago when I bemoaned both of their general play as equally bad in it's own way, which was the case imo.

It's no contest now for me, Defoe is clearly superior. He links up well, holds the ball up and his movement is sharp and much cleverer than before. He's different league to what he was and certainly better than Bent now.

Robbie Keane is a different case altogether. He was on a very high level for years and I always maintain you need to stick by top quality in so-so form. But it has gone on for too long now and I think he needs to be dropped to force the cream to rise again or maybe it just isn't there anymore. I'd still be of the opinion that it is psychological as he's not lost his brain, legs or indded his scoring. I think he's just still reconstructing his talents after an awful experience at Liverpool and I might add that he still has 14 in 28 games since he came back and has certainly been important to the sides quality of possession. He also has 6 in 7 for Ireland in that time. Looking at his abilities and the stats I don't feel the malaise is permanent.

Time to short him out with tough love I feel though. I just hope we don't suffer in the meantime however because Crouch and Defoe just doesn't contain enough quality for me in terms of that bit of top class brains. Defoe is lethal but he's not a brainsurgeon and you need some real class all rounder with him imo.

If Keane is finished I'd love to get Lisandro from Lyon. I thought he was outstanding against Liverpool. He's very like Keane, or the old Keane. His football brain is as good as anyones. He started on the left and was good but he's not that quick, he really lit up when they put him inside and his link play, anticipation, reading the moves and movement was a joy to behold. Lovely skill, touch and a quality finisher too.

This guy Hulk at Porto looks the business as well. He's very different though, he's Emile Heskey with deadly finishing and a lot more technique.

Lisandro and Hulk would be a quality pair to bring in imo, and would possibly take over the first place slots. Lisandro would start anyway.

[choda]

I also like to add like many others that I think Harry is making a complete mess of his tactics again. This appears to be a real weakness.

Players missing stretches your tactical ability and Harry looks like he doesn't know what he's doing at the moment. The sooner we get Modric and Lennon fit again the better. They don't just add a lot but then the team picks itself, which is more of a problem than them being missing if you ask me!

I believe Harry is arguably the best on transfers around, he has a great eye for talent and he knows what ingredients he wants in this team. I also think he's a fantastic man-manager and gives players good direction on how to improve and add to the team. As a coach and his vision (as in Wenger) I think he is only so-so (but he does bring in good defensive coaches and makes the units function and as a full unit). However, tactically I think he is showing that he leaves a lot to be desired.

We were lucky today. Gomes was outstanding again. When is he going to be recognised as one of the best in the league?

Harry needs to sort his team selection and tactics out sharpish. There's no way this squad can't sustain injuries to the point that we get hammered by the top three and are lucky not to lose against Sunderland at home.

[dshandler]

3 points is 3 points. I don't know why the boo boys came out, I can't stand people that boo their own team. I hope we don't become a sort of club like Arse Anal. Kranjcar is absolute quality. Crouch and Keane is absolute dump. Crouch's touch is way too heavy and he frustrates me. Keane runs around like a headless chook, no idea where to go and what to do or how to play off Crouch. I think once Kranjcar came on and we got some width into our game we played much better. I think this makes it clear that we play much better when we have some width in our game eg lennon modric kranjcar even giovani. I don't think the 3 midfielders really worked, but i did think Thud had a good game. let's hope for a better performance and some goals against wigan! COYS!

[neilmcnab]

yeah olly spot on...if you watch most spurs matches, we heavily relay on assou as our outlet, and he plays many of our forward passes and crosses , surely our midfield should take more responsibility for this, we are very immobile in midfield, slow and cumbersom...as we see we get over run, and out musseled by very ordinary players in my opinion, and when it comes to the top teams ..its clean we are not at the races, ..in fact against the top teams its kinda over before half time...
our players need to be kept on their toes, and out of the comfort zone ....

[deadleyledley]

i thought this was one o those games that u need to grind out an ugly 1-0,2-0 result. and luckily we did that.
the performance in the first half wwas bollocks.
when niko came on he made a massive impact in the time he had. a good manager would have changed the sytem after 15 mins but harry waited until half time and he didnt completely change it. he put keane there and there wasnt much difference. harry should learn a few lessons after this game. he has 2 weeks to reflect and hopefully he sees that 4-4-2 is the formation for us.

also will modders be back for the wigan game?

[Shelfside]

Very rarely can a victory actually pose more questions about a team/manager than it gives answers,but yesterdays match was definately one of them.

[apr82]

the question is will the fortune last till january?

[olly27]

Very rarely can a victory actually pose more questions about a team/manager than it gives answers,but yesterdays match was definately one of them.

I took plenty of answers from it.

1) Playing a 4-3-3 with 3 strikers and Keane just in behind clearly does not work. Not sure how prepartion for matches goes down, but its odd why Harry continues to make the same mistakes experimenting and refusing to drop big name players for the sake of accomodating them.

2) Playing 3 central midfielders doesn't work either! Wilson is nailed on, Harry have the balls to play one of Hudd or JJ.

3) What on earth is the point in fringe players, Bale etc, doing well and then not starting them. I know Harry obviously doesn't trust these ones as much but Jesus, we lacked so much balance it was a joke. Why did he take so long to bring on Niko? Changed it all when he came on and when we reverted to 4-4-2.

4) I thought Harry would learn from the Man U, Chelsea games...apparently not.


If Harry really doesn't trust the fringe players (Bale's etc) he should be selling them or what the hell is the point. Why buy players like Niko etc if your just going to play Keane out of position.

I sincerely hope this is the end of weird formations and player selections. I know with the return of Lennon and Modric things will go back to normal but Harry was so lucky to get the points on Saturday...any more of those dodgy displays for him and our luck will run out - big time.

[Ioang]

I just want to also add that I'm starting to get frustrated at Harry's tactics.

We're back to the square pegs in round holes of the Ramos era. The point of our "big squad" that is being constantly lauded, I thought, was so if a few of our important players get injured the backup players in their positions could get played? Idiotic sticking Keane in midfield.

[Gino Ginelli]

The onus falls more on whether our defence can communicate properly, can we hold a nice balanced 4 man midfield for a change, and can Keane just be a centre-forward for once and actually score some goals?

The answers to my questions were clearly:

Barely.
No.
Kinda.

Defence were caught napping on several occasions, Reid and Richardson picking out Bent's runs very well.

Midfield was some amalgamation between 3 and a tight 4; no real width and yet little direct incisiveness through the centre either for most of the game.

Robbie was not a centre-forward in this game, and yet nor was he useless as he found good space and got a typical strikers (who'd a thought it) goal at the back post.

But there's a lot of negativity coming from this game. I understand why; we're not playing to the best potential of the squad, the players are there that allow us to play to our usual strengths so why are we playing players out of position to their detriment. Surely an actual wide midfielder a la Bentley, Krancjar or Bale would be better than an out of form CF? Surely just playing 2 CM's with the two wide players would suffice? And despite his belter surely JJ is better all round footballer than Huddlestone?

BUT, I saw many a Man Utd display in the 90's where they played pants but were rescued on countless occasions by Peter Schmeichal and they grabbed an ugly goal or two to seal the points. Gomes was just that for us today: we played poorly but Gomes manned up when it counted (the penalty was a dive, but then the near carbon copy in the first half wasn't, and should have been a pen) and literally saved the match for us, with the forwards either scoring (Robbie) or creating (Defoe). Hudd's unhurried and judged excocet is surely a goal of the month contender.

Man City did us a huge favour in being crap against Burnley, but we need to continue winning as Villa and the pack are only a point behind, with many still yet to play the game in hand.

Good and important result, but can play better. Harry, you need to start showing that faith in the squad rather than just blowing hot air about them.

[choda]

The answers to my questions were clearly:

Barely.
No.
Kinda.

Defence were caught napping on several occasions, Reid and Richardson picking out Bent's runs very well.

Midfield was some amalgamation between 3 and a tight 4; no real width and yet little direct incisiveness through the centre either for most of the game.

Robbie was not a centre-forward in this game, and yet nor was he useless as he found good space and got a typical strikers (who'd a thought it) goal at the back post.

But there's a lot of negativity coming from this game. I understand why; we're not playing to the best potential of the squad, the players are there that allow us to play to our usual strengths so why are we playing players out of position to their detriment. Surely an actual wide midfielder a la Bentley, Krancjar or Bale would be better than an out of form CF? Surely just playing 2 CM's with the two wide players would suffice? And despite his belter surely JJ is better all round footballer than Huddlestone?

BUT, I saw many a Man Utd display in the 90's where they played pants but were rescued on countless occasions by Peter Schmeichal and they grabbed an ugly goal or two to seal the points. Gomes was just that for us today: we played poorly but Gomes manned up when it counted (the penalty was a dive, but then the near carbon copy in the first half wasn't, and should have been a pen) and literally saved the match for us, with the forwards either scoring (Robbie) or creating (Defoe). Hudd's unhurried and judged excocet is surely a goal of the month contender.

Man City did us a huge favour in being crap against Burnley, but we need to continue winning as Villa and the pack are only a point behind, with many still yet to play the game in hand.

Good and important result, but can play better. Harry, you need to start showing that faith in the squad rather than just blowing hot air about them.

Sure, but no need to add bad team selection and bad tactics to that. Digging out results is one thing, making it even harder in an already very competitive and hard sport just means dropping needless points over time.