After 3237 'articles' during the week dissecting the possibilities I can reveal what all us knew from the off, Jermain Defoe will not play. This game was a 2-1 win last time and barring disaster (YOU know who you are) it's difficult to foresee this being much different. Of course, all dependent upon which Spurs side amble out of their Ferrari's and Hummers after extensive breakfasting of course.
An interesting game for England fans and I wonder if the new coach will be present to have a butchers at James vs Robinson? From this perspective alone, the game may end up meaning more than it does. Will King play? Gawd knows.
My team would be:
Robinson Hutton Dawson Woodgate Chimbonda
Lennon Tainio Huddlestone Malbranque
Berbatov Keane
Some old camp scouse defender predicts a 1-0 Home win. I'll suggest the more obvious ie, a belter and am going for 3-2. Kanu can be tasty.
22 comments:
Its a bit early for all this prematch prattle HH i have just got in from the night shift and im beat. Anyway today's game should be quite intresting i can see plenty goals regardless of who plays at the back. I just hop its in our favour
Its gonna be 2-0 to the Spurs.
A bold prediction i know but the 2 boys up front will grab a goal apiece which is a little less bold.
Glory Glory ...
3-1 Spurs
Berb to get 2..
perhaps Benty will get one if he comes on.. now THAT'S a bold statement..
If it's high, the wind (the meteorological, not the dietary) could make the game interesting.
A keeper who punches rather than catches might find the ball behaving like spit in a gale. I expect a few goalmouth 'incidents'.
Spurs to field a strong side of leggings and gloves. Spurs to win:
3 x leggings and 4 x gloves to 2 and 3 respectively.
COYS
9.37 Anon
not bad at half time good ball retention. Lennon still cant kick all ball over a metre off the floor. Midfield and Zokora look a bit more positve and stable wit no Jenas.
Huddlestones having a great game really linking up well with the attacking players well.
However, 0-0 at halftime and I think Portsmouth will up it 2nd half. Sorry to be negative but if we don't score early I can see a very tense last half hour.
Having said that...
COYS!!!!
just as good a game as Wednesday night...without the goals of course..
some nice little bits of play..
how frustrating is Lennon.. granted he's getting on the ball a lot..
we look very comfortable but would like to see us being slightly more direct..and i'm not talking about Robbo's hoofs up field..
Jenas not being missed in the slightest..
Yes I like saying well...
fucking hell lennon
say what you like about lennon this season but at least he can accept it gracefully when he is taken off.
anyone ever thought about having him down the centre instead? his ball control when at full pace is second to none and it would make up for the fact that his crossing is shocking?
Probably one of zokoras better games this....partly due to the save he made after Paul "I have a phobia of touching small round objects" Robinsons cock up.
And yes I realise I'm talking to myself here...but Darren Bent is ALRIGHT.
Give the lad a chance. One goal and one loverly run and set up. And that swith literally 5 mins odd on the pitch.
When his confidence comes back and he get some more minutes he will be a great player for spurs.
much better balance with hudd and zokora, instead of two player trying to do a bit of everything, they have dedicated roles in the centre of the park. well played benty, ur not worth the money but fair play to you.
I'm looking forward to round 2 of Mysterious Stranger Vs Bimitar Derbatov...
So, Bent scores and sets up the other. Guarantee he'll still get slated on here by the no good Bent haters. Go on son, you've grabbed your chance, fair play to you. Good result Spurs. Next!!!
coys
round two won't be taking place today i'm afraid Jared..
i have nothing bad to say about Bent today.. after all a player is o nly as good as his last game.. and Benty changed this game end of story... i prefered his assist to his goal.. showed good pace and awareness.. also i did predict him to score..
but whether, as christopher says, he will be a "great" player for Spurs remains to be seen..
but for now.. fair play to the lad..
round two won't be taking place today i'm afraid Jared..
i have nothing bad to say about Bent today.. after all a player is o nly as good as his last game.. and Benty changed this game end of story... i prefered his assist to his goal.. showed good pace and awareness.. also i did predict him to score..
but whether, as christopher says, he will be a "great" player for Spurs remains to be seen..
but for now.. fair play to the lad..
also my man of the match was undoubtedly Woody.. what a player he is..
Quite right bimitar. You did indeed predict Bent would score one if he came on. And if you say a player is only as good as his last game, what score do we give Berba this week? I'm not saying he's not quality, you understand? Perhaps he's a bit jaded. He showed some neat dribbling skills, but gave the ball away a few times. As for his mis-hit shot, thank the lord Messr. Bent was there to show the front two today where the back of the net was ;-p
Only joking. To take credit for your correct prediction (Bent scoring a goal if he came on) and not hold your hands up re: your other prediction (two for Berba) though? Come on bimitar...!!
But then, if I was a confessed critic of Darren Bent, I too would probably predict the scenario you did, just to "preserve some dignity" LOL. And who cares your Berba prediction was, like is finishing today, way off the mark? We love him to bits right?! So we scrap the "every player is as good as" rule in this case ;-)
Extra credits go to:
Huddlestone - Bossed the midfield, intelligent passes and through balls. Where was JJ? Who gives a toss?!
Zokora - Saved Robbo's flapping arse on one of the only occasions Pompey threatened.
Woody - Great player...
Bent - Did what I know he can do, proved the boo boys wrong, got us out of drawing a game we quite simply should have been winning already. Well done!
Extra training for:
Lennon - Either produce a final ball or give the ball to Hutton when he overlaps, since he evidently CAN cross. Unless he gets down to some hard practice, he's surely a prime candidate for the exit door come summer.
Malbranque - Not impressive at all today. My only criticism of Ramos' substitutions was choosing to remove Dawson instead of this fella. He was practcally teaching us all a lesson in how to give the ball away.
One shouldn't be too critical after a 2-0 win but often we were trying one pass (or should that say - "trick-flick"?) too many (Steed, Dimi, Robbie etc.) and not taking various opportunities to shoot.
Agree wholly with Christopher's comments.
MOTM - Jermaine Jenas
'MOTM - Jermaine Jenas'
Here we go, sigh. If it aint Bent, it's Jenas, if it aint Jenas it's Bent blah blah blah. Mate, have you ever seen the programme - Grumpy Old Men? You must qualify for a lead role!!
coys
What a travesty it would've been had we not won this match. With five in midfield opposing us, play was often congested; and we seemed determined to over-egg the pudding by manouvering the ball ever closer to the net till it could be walked in. Please just shoot, Yids, when the opportunity arises! Also, the intricacy of play sometimes causes a loss of forward momentum and the opposition, rather than being hypnotised by the passing-play, simply regroups.
Lennon looked promising in the first half, so I thought. Second half he faded noticably - or maybe that was the consequence of seeing more of the same forward runs without a finished product, and the statute of limitations was enforced. He certainly appeared to be doubling his efforts today in recognition that he is (perhaps) on trial. Left the field with grace, as mentioned earlier.
Chimbonda's performance was good in parts - better early on, quite poor later. Hutton was pretty solid, but for a couple of errors, and got forward well.
Zokora was dynamic and useful, perhaps unhampered by partnering Hudd instead of Jenas. I send Zokora an olive branch. Hudd himself made some delightfully accurate passes, and looked poised and confident on the ball.
Woodgate was exemplary. What a signing this man is proving to be. Gone is the Kaboul / Dawson panic of the (not so) old days.
Malbranque wasn't at his best, but showed his mettle once or twice in disposessing the opposition of the ball. He has a frustrating habit of running faster than he carries the ball, the ball often winding up under his feet or behind him, and he almost spilling over it.
Robbo made one fine save from a long-range lob, having to back-track hurriedly before just tipping the ball over the bar. Unfortunately, when he does make a good save, there's an inclination to over-praise, as if something exceptional had taken place, rather than something fundamental to good goal-keeping. As a professional keeper, he should be expected to protect the goal better than your average man. As England's erstwhile No. 1, he should be expected to perform the occasional extraordinary feat. This second element is absent. In fairness, he wasn't overly employed today, such was our dominance.
Spurs teetered a bit after O'Hara and Bent replaced Dawson and Lennon, and I wondered if we'd lost the balance of power and would rue the change. The goal from Bent, when it came, was a little scrambled, but well deserved and long overdue. Bent's opportunistic positioning was key. It was a bonus to score again so rapidly afterwards, and effectively end the game. Bent's speed and determination was central, and he delivered a challenging cross through the retreating Pompey defenders for O'Hara to take a deft slot-in. In the post-match interview Bent came across well. I have to say he seems a genuinely nice bloke - at any rate, quite a different character to Defoe (who, as usual, was seated watching the game, only in a more comfortable environment. The irony was probably lost on him.).
This wasn't an easy win, due to the stubbornness of the Pompey midfield and defence. Also, the weather was unfavourable to a skilful game, and it was a credit to Spurs that they played so much good football, rather than participate in an ugly match of blow-football. In addition, the fact that we scored twice so late in the game is, I hope, a testament to the growing resolve and fitness of the team.
Ramos himself seemed slightly bemused by the changeability of the weather, and probably drew comparisons between it and the Spurs team. Spurs, like the weather, can occasionally have stinkers. Today was mostly sunshine.
COYS
9.37 Anon
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