Posted on Monday, 12th November 2012 by Harry Hotspur
Essentially this was a game where the quality of the opposition pushed and pressured the Starship Tottingham Hotspur to the point where you could hear Mr Scott cry from the ether, ‘She cannae take it, Captain!’ The frailties in the engine room were there for all to see. Dry ice shot out of the pipes, lights flashed and the camera man didn’t need wiggle the vertical hold button about, the pitch did actually tilt violently now and again.
The inhabitants of the Blue Moon were a physically strong godless gang of vicious but talented bar stewards. We attempted to stun a few of them but they simply ate our phasers.
The boss made some questionable substitutions yet again and I would welcome him explaining why in his report to Star Fleet Fleet St. Ade was on a yellow, but unarguably our best player. With Defoe and Dempsey teaming up we were effectively down to 9 men.
If I didn’t know Hugo was there on the bench then I’d give the old buzzard an easier ride. It’s not his fault that Lloris appears faster, more proactive, determined not to hoof the ball. It’s not Brad’s fault. But thems the facts.
His agent should get him a non speaking extra part on EastEnders. A bloke happily shifting boxes of cauliflowers on the market. Playing football at this level he looked out of his depth. No howlers, just a startled bunny hopping about on a main road.
Gets dogs abuse from a certain section of our support. This must a be a group of people who live timid, anally retentive lives who will tell you with pride they don’t own a piece of red clothing. He wasn’t perfect but much better than some.
Against the Premier League Champions and their multimillion pound megastars he stock fell a little. Given his age and experience my guess is he’ll survive. The quality of his header beat the country’s best goalie. So yes, a mixed bag but no screaming disaster.
Really needed him in the middle of the defense. Again, with Verts as with others there was too much being thrown at us to indulge him being played out of position.
Here’s a guy that’s worth his wages and due a pay rise. Never goes missing. Doesn’t flounce about doing impressions. He’s mustard. If we had Parker back then we could focus more on feeding the creatives.
This was a game that I felt he genuinely tried his best and despite it not being quite good enough it, that doesn’t make him a bad person. He tried to defend more and move more, but it made little difference. If we could squeeze performances like this out of him against far far weaker opposition then he would be a squad rotation asset. At this level he was too pressured and gave away possession far too frequently.
I liked the figure pointing bit. Must find that for a caption comp. But he didn’t spin past them, he didn’t achieve a whole hell of a lot. He did pitch in defensively which was the right thing to do. But offensively they didn’t notice him.
Did City do a job on him or was he deployed more defensively? Whichever it was, it didn’t work out well for us. A game we could have really benefited from him blazing a trail. And he didn’t.
Oh dear. It appears Clint Dempsey is in possession of some rather lurid photographs of Villas-Boas and a pineapple.
My heart sank when he came on because we took off the only bloke who was probably going to supply him.
Best boy on the pitch. Hugged most of the City team in the tunnel and then proceeded on the pitch to wind most of them up like cheap alarm clocks. If we learned anything from this game it was that Emmanual Adebayor is a diligent footballer. Jermain Defoe is poacher.
Oh Andre, Andre, Andre. What was the deal with taking off Ade? And what on earth were you doing with that pineapple? My big concern is that you aren’t being as tough on the lads as some of us might wish you to be. That said you are missing so many vital ingredients there is a futility to the analysis. Carroll must be trusted. Huddlestone is too limited. As for Dempsey, I am afraid the jig is up.
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Posted in Blogs, Premiership, Tottenham Hotspur | Comments (233)
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November 12th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Hat trick?
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Bruxie Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Could do with one!
One to go!
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Deuce = Dunce.
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spursgoliath Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Before he pitched up at the Lane I cheerfully referred to him as Clunt Dumpsey…
The title has made a comeback in recent weeks
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UnkleKev Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 6:36 pm
…the ‘l’ is redundant.
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essexian76 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
So is the ‘N’
November 12th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Every manager has their under-achieving favourite.
Jol had Tainio
Ramos had O’Hara
Now we’re into the Dempsey era.
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Mabelode The Faceless Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
I thought that O’Hara always seemed to give his all for us. Still memory is not what it was.
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jay Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Dempsey is the worst yet, at times yesterday I forgot he was on the pitch……I think that will be it for him though for a while, he has given up with Sigurdsson and Dempsey wont be able to keep out Ade and Defoe….he hasnt had one good move or bit of play all season, his two goals I could have scored and his overall play is surprisingly bad.
Its Levys fault for buying cheap he must be watching in the stands and realising that, I dont blame AVB, last year Defoe couldnt get anywhere near this line up and was behind Pav….nowadays he is our best player, even though he hasnt improved, he still just turns and shoots…LOST TOO MANY PLAYERS IM AFRAID (Modric, VDV, Parker, Kaboul, Ekotto, King)
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wilboid Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 5:24 pm
I thought Tainio was great, and who could forget his volley against West Ham finishing one of our best moves of the last six years from a Lennon backheeled cross-volley. Yeah he was pretty limited but ran and tackled his guts out for 90 mins.
Man City just have a few better players than us, thats why we lost.
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chiversmetimbers Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
he will always be remembered by this yid for his classic winding up of Drogba and the chavs at Wembley, pointing to the scoreboard/clock even while he takes a yellow card for time waisting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wf5yuE7G38
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Wilboid Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:37 pm
I’d forgotton about that. Nothing like a bit of Drog baiting. Where does he live now? China? Teemu lives in New York and probably still laughing.
Here is the Tainio goal I was banging on about at about 1:50
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=8vxUTsvLKUk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D8vxUTsvLKUk
James the James Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 8:40 am
Ha! Jol had Jenas! Teemu never got a fair crack, was his boyhood dream to wear the lilywhite and I would take him over Dempsey & Jenas combined…
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
Have to agree with most of that.
What was behind the introduction of Dawson? Why play Gallas at full back, which everyone, including Gallas, knows he is too slow to manage these days, and then play Naughton on the wing?
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
For the second week in a row – AVB has cost us with poor tactics, poor team selection, and most of all – the complete inability to have an effect on a game that is underway. You take off a right back and move a centre back to right back, to then replace a right winger, with a right back! Where is the sense I ask!? And as for taking off Ade for Defoe and leaving Dempsey on the pitch – it really is becomming too much of a joke to be funny. I am not an AVB hater, and I wanted him to suceed and do well at spurs, and to be the future of spurs. However – you cant have a future without the hear and now – and unfortunately what ever way you look at it – AVB simply aint good enough. Surely he has maybe half a dozen more games to put a string of wins together, before the decision makers start looking elsewhere…. Sorry – I really – am but facts are facts!
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Paul9inch Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
He has his failings but as I mentioned below, once the players cross the white line its upto them.
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jim Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:28 pm
funny how when HR was in charge it was all his fault, then the fans have collective madness and want AVB in, now when we are awful, its not AVB’s fault but the players.
Look, we have to face it, love or hate HR we have shot ourselves in the foot big time. Why get rid for an inferior manager???
Tottenham’s own worse enemy = Tottenham
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Alspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
HR’s first 12 league games – 18 points
AVB’s first 11 league games – 17 points
Not much between them, is there, Jim? Especially, if we can pick up a point or better against the scum…
…and AVB’s dealing with a lengthy injury list…
Jermaine So-Low Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
AVB an inferior manager? What has Redknapp won exactly, Jim? In how many years of management? Did you miss everything that happened post January last season?
These Harry fanatics love the man more than their own club. It’s pathetic and deluded.
James the James Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 8:53 am
Look mate, Redknapp is gone, he is un-employable, he’s a crook and a thief and THAT is why he was fired. I do not the odious little man & i never did, I am proud to support Spurs partly because of the attitude to sporting competition that it shows as a club in general. Rarely can our players be seen as exemplars of the game’s dark arts and I like that. Redknapp was an affront to much of what I stand for in life, miserable, pessimistic and bent. Thank Christ he has gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AVB will do a grand job, he will not be fired by Levy, Levy doesn’t fire people anyway,it amuses me to read this seemingly unending criticisms of those in power at the club from people who get their world perspective from Flee St.’s red-tops and actually have no idea whatsoever who is actually doing the hiring and firing down at WHL. Stop booing, get behind the team until the spring and decide then if AVB needs to go. What being possessed of a sane, rational, semi-functioning brain thinks you can change the entire set-up of a English Premier League professional football club, it’s stadium, training ground, playing/coaching/medical staff and maintain a top 4 position in the league easily… Under all of the collective circumstances, Villas-Boas is doing a tremendous job, he appears also to have the players respect and trust. You haters need to back off or take of the lilywhite and find your way down to Stamford Bridge or the Boleyn, your bitter bile is starting to irritate.
Matt Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Errmm.. Is it really that difficult to see what he was going?
Is it possible that he went to 3 CBs (in Verts, Gallas & Caulker), with Naughton and Bale at wing backs? Possibly to counter how Mancini had done the same? Walker had been looking like he may be a liability, so looked at a way of mixing it up..
It didn’t work out, but at least we tried something instead, other than 442 no matter what game we are playing.
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NYC Spurs Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
what about Dawson? Unless I’m mistaken, he was on the pitch also.
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James the James Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 8:54 am
yes, and he was poo.
essexian76 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Stating the patently obvious..why not start Naughton at LB and play our best central defender in the centre of defence?
Why allow a player game time, when he’s clearly suffering, and then compound it by keeping the poor sod on?
Why not give a bloke the chance to renew a partnership-that only a few days earlier had yielded 3 goals-and why, oh why, do we shut up shop when leading-it’s so predictable , do we think the opposition won’t have noticed?
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Hot_Spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
No what you are saying are not FACTS, they are your assumptions. There was a good reason for all the substitutions, AVB knows the facts and those facts dictated the substitutions.
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spursguv Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:24 pm
Yep surprised me. After the wigan game you’d have thoguht watching Defoe and Ade together we’d see them side by side in this match at some stage? Not to be. The only thing saving AVB at the mo is..who the hell can he put on that’s better? Carroll, Dempsey, Siggy, Livermore and Hudd are simply not good enough. Walker has been having a mare too. So yep AVB has something to answer for but we aint in good shape. Especially as it looks we’re more likely to win a cup than a top 4 finish.
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
Friedel was poor for both goals but saved every shot that was straight at him, his distribution sucks….
Sandro was immense and Toure won’t relish the return at WHL…
Gallas was too slow on a few occasions with the offside trap, lead to their first goal…
Dempsey was awful but Adebayor was tiring, on a yellow and looking for another…the change should have been Dempsey for Defoe around 60 minutes with Sigurdsson for Adebayor around 75…
Other than that we matched them for long periods and had Hudds shot gone in we would have won, I have no doubt…
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Loke Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Absolutly right! Spot on!!
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Blimey. Where to begin with this one.
1.We simply do not have the personnel to do things the AVB way.
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Cheeky Bill Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
2. We should adopt a siege mentality because we cannot withstand the pressure.
3. Brad – great keeper – gifts the ball back to time after time. In side that is trying to play possession football this makes him a liability.
4. This site instinctively looks better as a 4-4-2 and will remain so until we sign that elusive creative midfielder.
Anyway – I’m with them until my last breath.
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Cheeky Bill Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Correction:
2 That’s should’nt adopt
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Yes AVB’s intellect and ability to make simple, logical and practical decisions is based soley on his available players?
essexian76 Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 1:05 am
Hold on a second-we did play yesterday did we not?, we were leading and almost increased the lead-we rattled City and got their fans irritated-and best of all got Mancini to change things around-all that with the players available and on the field-What we didn’t do was counter Mancini’s tactic-we had no answer and failed time and time again to pass 10 yards-how many times did an attempted pass go astray or out of play or to a City player-that’s poor, especially from a side who play possession football (Allegedly)- you cannot single out Friedel when almost every defender gave possession away or the mids (Sandro excluded), did the same. Everything Ade did well-he started himself, no wonder he was knackered after an hour and on the road to a 2nd yellow.
We played too narrow and negated any potential threat from the wings-hence Bale and Lennon getting starved and allowing City to push forward-bloody hell-it was painful enough, but let’s not kid ourselves it was a lack of resources because we had the game in our grasp and didn’t know how to counteract their changes-by not doing the basic’s I’d say!
November 12th, 2012 at 1:11 pm
Afraid we looked outclassed and it was back to the good old bad old days of not being able to string half a dozen passes together.
Blame AVB all you want (be surprised if sees out his contract) but once on the pitch the players must take responsibility.
Have to take issue with you over Walker. His young, he’s learning and to me he’s playing like he’s got too many things whirling in his head rather than playing instinctively. Sometimes its a case of 6 steps back before moving forward, you know what its like when you’re learning anything, not necessarily sport ……. at least I hope its that!
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Are you on happy pills?
“but once on the pitch the players must take responsibility”
Don’t reckon AVB’s A5 pad and bic would agree with you!
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
We lost our two best players in the summer and now AVB has to make the dross he has work. It is surprising that Dempsey and Sigg have been so poor. Dross plus injuries equals a lightweight team. AVB’s subs have been off as well. Mid-table and rebuilding this year? We probably need to be realistic.
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:14 pm
our performances this year have been largely below par and bar Sandro – who has been truly outstanding – none of our players have moved on at all from last season. I was all for Harry out but this new guy is a clown. Clueless tactically, still doesn’t know his best team and unable to get the best out of his players. didn’t this happen with him somewhere before. Better hope Mancini and Di Matteo do well and that Pep would give us a second glance because we will do nothing with AVB.
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Glenda was on about “teaching Ade to play in the pocket…” i.e. behind Defoe.
Personally, I don’t think he needs teaching. He’s a natural for the role and why Defoe and he are not pestering AVB to play him instead of Dempsey really does beat me.
Dempsey running back towards our goal during our counter attack says it all really. We played with ten men.
Verts is missing a left midfielder who can defend. Too often exposed.
Hurry back Benny and Dembele. And Parker.
Hamstring for Walker. Naughton against Arse?
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jay Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Yeh Walker will be out and personally he needs a period out, it was his fault the first goal but people havent seemed to pick up on that.
Naughton is a better defender and at the moment we are having problems defending.
I am really starting to miss Benny
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Same again AVB!!! Get a lead then sit back and pray the other team only score a few?! Dempsey is a fraud!!!! Spot on for once Harry with all the comments about our players! We are looking like a team in the last week of a season who has played 2452 games in the last month… Lost them all too I bet!? I wanted Harry gone and boy was I WRONG!!! Come back you unfaithful twiching chelski wannabe rodent lover!!!
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NYC Spurs Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
its bad when we are looking back at the saggy-faced ballsack as a positive! AVB is worse tactically than he was, which I am shocked to print.
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Matt Oliver Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:32 pm
There was a time we had a certain Peter Crouch up front – and I used to say the same thing – that he was RAPING a living from Spurs…. Can now only say the same about Dempsey. A complete fookin fraud who is raping his salary froms AVBs arse every single week…. Any chance we can swap Berbawank for Dempsey in Jan!?!??
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
Does Levy still have david moyes mobile number on a post-it somewhere?
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
There was 2 reasons why we couldn’t win yesterday, ratface and Rafa or better still lack of replacements
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
The goon game is bigger than ever, for both teams. The battle to see which one of two faltering rivals is really faltering and which is more likely to threaten 4th spot. Which all would seem to suggest a 2-2 draw. But at the same time I am quite scared that we will get our arses handed to us. Then again, if we play the same kind of passive, stodgy game we did at City then the ropey Arsenal attack might not quite have enough to get through. Whatever happens, I’m not expecting to be particularly entertained unfortunately. But hope for Tottenham’s sake we can come away without further humiliation.
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UnkleKev Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Sadly, recent history would suggest that they are more capable of raising their game against us than we are against them. I fear the worst.
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Hot_Spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
So you think that losing to the league champions, on their ground, by the odd goal, with half our squad out injured, is humiliation????????????
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LLL Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Did I say that?
How does losing to Wigan at home feel to you?
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:56 pm
If you want to cherry pick one game why don’t you pick the win at Utd?
LLL Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Don’t you start too. I was just forecasting more humiliation IF we lose at the weekend. I didn’t even specify when the humiliation began. Lord knows we’ve suffered it more or less ritually since January this year.
Harry hater Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Pick one game then Harry and your boyfriend can pick one too and then I’ll pick 8 fooking games to prove how pony we are!!!!! The win at utd was a joke! Sitting back trying to kill football like chelski did against barca might be what you want but I’d rather lose trying to win thanks!! We got lucky against west brom,, Norwich,, Southampton and united and we all know that!! And we haven’t been unlucky in any of the games so where we are in the league should be 14 at best but I suppose you will settle for that!?
CptCaveman Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Hang on Harry, Im getting fed up with this ‘We beat Man U’ rubbish. We played an ok 45 and then completely felly apart for 45 minutes…it was embarrasing and was only by the powers of grayskull that we suvived, history suggests that doesn’t normally happen and we get roasted. Dont let that game paper over the cracks. Yes we are understaffed but we are playing horrible passive counter attacking football, EVEN AT HOME! The fact is, Man City were pretty awful yesterday and we still couldn’t beat them! At least in previous seasons even when we lost we outplayed these teams…now it seems we lost the ability to attack! For most of the match yesterday we struggled to do that.
Short staffed yes, but are you honestly telling me we dont have the quality to beat Norwich, West Brom, Wigan??
AVB deserves time yes, but he’s not helping himself with his team selections & shocking tactics! Counter attacking football at home to Wigan was a joke
Alspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
I agree with some of what you say, but all this “Man City are rubbish”, “Man City were there for the taking” guff really gets me…
They are unbeaten in 35 games at home… they are the league champions, currently unbeaten in the league and sitting in second place…
Yeah, they’re not playing as well as last season, but they’re way ahead of us and any team with Silva, Tevez and Aguero up front is going to hurt teams (esp with Dzeko & crew on the bench…)
CptCaveman Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 10:51 am
Wo wo there Alspur, never did I say Man City are rubbish so you can lose those quote marks! Yes they are Champions, unbeaten bla bla but on Sunday they weren’t very good, hence they got booed off (and no-way was that for the ref), they played better in the second half yes, but the game was still for the taking, dont take my word for it…take that of England international Gary Nevill ‘ This game is for the taking, if Spurs can score now etc etc’.
The fact is, we were rubbish & we didn’t.
You watch that game back (as I have) and you will see that City were awful (considering the range of talent they have) and that we were worse.
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Alspur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
It was the ref that got booed – every commentator and the BBC text service all agreed on that point!
mystic arnold Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Watching the game on t/v I fear come 3 o/c I ll need to pick up a bargain new tv in Comet
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Whichever way I look at it, unless Dembele is a one-man team, I just cannot see many wins being squeezed out of: Arsenal, West Ham, Liverpool, Fulham, Everton… Worse – we could lose at least 3 of these. On top of this, Friedel, Gallas and Dempsey to play in all of these games? That’s right, friends… 12th with AVB gone grey by Christmas? Lovely jubbly.
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jim Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
good, bring it on.
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:36 pm
It’s easy to look back and blame this that and the other.
Fact is Ade went off with 10 minutes to go. It did not change the pattern of play, we were still inferior to them. If AVB had brought on JD and gone 2 up and we lost 2:1 then all would be shouting WHY did he do that?
It makes sense to bring on fresh legs. What did not make sense was why Dempsey stayed on. He looked tired, contributed nothing in attack or defence and really we needed a CM to play a more defensive role going into the last 10 minutes….While the addition of Livermore has often been slagged off, this was when he was needed (not when winning at home to WBA/Norwich etc). Even Sigurdsson would have contributed more defensively than Dempsey who seems to be the new PSB in the way he runs around, slows down play, runs down blind alleys etc.
I think I would have preferred to have seen Bale go centrally, off the striker, and some one like Naughton detailed to give Vertonghen cover because they raided down the left time and time again. Bale was not in it so a more central position might have go him more involved.
AVB is not being helped by injuries, poor form of some etc BUT Harry Hotspur proclaimed him to be a tactical genius and all I have seen is 433 applied at all times, deviating to a 352 once for 15 minutes when chasing a goal vs Wigan, and 442 at home to Maribor!
What has stood out to me in recent weeks was how Martinez’ formation and tactics showed AVB up.
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cookiebun Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Agree with the ‘tactical genius’ description you mention. He’s such a tactical genius that Chris Hughton, Clarke of WBA, RDM Chelsea, Mancini, and Martinez all out smarted him. His tactics and his system doesn’t suit the team at THFC, even if all the injured players come back. Without his ‘Porto midfielder’ his system is lost (even if it MIGHT work in the Premiership). Otherwise his praising of individual players after the game yesterday and the Chelski defeat means he rates their players as better than ours. Yet in all he says he doesn’t need players in January.
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Oh so it’s my fault.
Hahahahhaha. Please, ask Jose or Slur Alex if they could make a silk purse out of our pigs ear of a squad.
If you think players retired, sold or injured are a side issue you are crazy in the coconut.
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cookiebun Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
HH, I wanted HR out as much as you did. I didn’t want Levy to risk the next couple of years on AVB, instead I shouted for Moyes and lost to Paddy Power on it. I am nervous that if this season goes ‘tits-up’ we’ll loose our best players and the whole point of progression will be lost.
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DJB Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 7:20 pm
Good point on the pigs ear of a squad. So who’s accountable for that?
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Wilboid Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
It doesnt really matter who is accountable. Finding blame for something that has already happened isnt the answer. Sometimes people make mistakes, this whole football management business is a constant process of experimentation, it’s fluid, mistakes will happen, get over it.
Supporting the team that you have an irrational emotional attachment to is the answer, not constantly criticising with retrospective football manager genius.
Spurs supporters support.
Moany old tossers criticise.
Innit.
rennix Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
‘A pig’s ear of a squad.’
So, Harry, where does the buck actually stop? Levy? You won’t have anything said against him either.
I reckon it’s all down to the Tea Lady.
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:32 am
That’s a cop out HH and you know it.
“Jose or Slur Alex if they could make a silk purse out of our pigs ear of a squad.”
No, but I reckon they could make a substitution that is simple, logical, thoughful and makes freakin sense for once!
Oh and play their first 11, first.
Tell me im wrong!
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James the James Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
epecially when you consider who those players were!! Rafa, Modric, King…. big men with big shoes. You haters are dickheads, end this pessimistic nonsense
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:39 pm
If you take away the Southampton result, we really are on a bad run. We must get something at The Emirates. By the way, retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, you get all day to mull over bad results without the distraction of work to take your mind off it, and with daytime tv, I’m ready to put a gun to my head.
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Eh? Adebayor was the only outlet and the only player keeping possession and drawing fouls etc. Defoe came on and we lost that instantly. We also shipped another goal. It absolutely changed the pattern of the game. If we were to hold on to the point we needed Ade on the pitch. Seemed very obvious. ‘Fresh legs’ are no good if they don’t touch the ball. And I don’t think this was ever a game for 4-4-2, it’s just a shame that the options we have in midfield are mostly sub-standard.
Apart from that, I do agree with what you say though.
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LLL Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:43 pm
that was a response to Devonshire btw
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Devonshirespur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
I just think that what was costing us in that game was the zero contribution from Dempsey and it was clear that City were exposing Vertonghen in particular.
The changes lacked any real purpose
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NYC Spurs Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
the changes always either lack purpose, or the purpose is to sit on a lead which we are horrible at doing.
Hot_Spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:29 pm
No the changes didn’t lack purpose, two of them were to replace injured players, (Walker and Lennon, both of whom have withdrawn from the England squad), and the other one was to replace Ade who was knackered and on a yellow card. All seems reasonable to me.
LLL Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:53 pm
Ade didn’t look knackered at all!
As for Walker and Lennon, fine. But put Naughton at LB instead of RW as Jan was a liability all match.
November 12th, 2012 at 1:46 pm
We get more and more defensive with every week that passes. Gone is the swashbuckling entertaining football. One nil grinders in it’s place, bet all those Harry haters are delighted with this garbage we are regularly being served up.
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November 12th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
As disappointed as I was from yesterday’s result/performance we have to remember that we’re trying to turn round 6 months of awful performances under Redknapp without two of the best players we’ve had in recent memory. We’re missing our best centre back (Kaboul), our left back and our best central midfielder (Dembele). Would Redknapp have done any better yesterday? We lost by the same margin last year with a better team. Huddlestone was poor but he’s had a year out. Im not sure what’s happened to Walker, could be a blessing in disguise if he’s out for a couple of weeks. Adebayor was the right choice up front and he played well. And as I saw it he was brought off because he was on a booking and looking like he could lose it. Defoe should’ve started with him as Dempsey offered little. Sandro was fantastic again, but then again he always is. Very frustrating result but not a dreadful one. COYS
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:02 pm
AVB seems to be confused over Dempsey. He is not a striker, he’s more like Tim Cahill, or a slimmer version of Fat Frankie. He makes runs into the box unmarked and has a good eye for goal, but you can’t stick those players up front, back to goal with a big lug of a center half breathing down their necks. That position has to be Defoe’s.
Ade was perfect in the VDV role, dropping off the front into midfield, his hold up and link play was tremendous. Although he’s a big man he doesn’t play the traditional centre forward role, so Defoe and Adebayor could easily play together.
If he wants to be adventurous (which I doubt) Dempsey could start alongside Sandro in a Cahill-type role, chipping in with goals from midfield he could prove useful, and now that Ade’s back making the 5th man in midfield, we shouldn’t get overrun.
Our recent substitutions seem hell-bent on stopping us scoring in the hope that that will mean the scoreline stays the same. Flawed logic and not the Tottenham way.
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Phil McAvity Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 6:04 pm
Have to agree with all of that Gary.
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
The question is “do we have a midfield”. For me central midfield means having someone playing in central midfield. Sandro and hudd both play deep, and Dempsey is supposedly behind the striker. You then have 2 wingers. So there is no one in proper central midfield, and this allowed Man City (like other teams) to just come at us. At least with Dembele, he can take the ball into central midfield, and link up the play. I was kinda hoping we could play Carroll. Also I don’t know why it is Ade vs Defoe. It should be Ade replacing Dempsey. Lennon has also been very disappointing this season. AVB should look up and check the spurs motto!!!!
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Don’t forget that last year against pretty much the same players (except Tevez) at home with both Modric and VdV in the team we were soundly beaten….
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Bukkake-breath Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:25 pm
We weren’t soundly beaten at citeh last year we actually smashed them for most of the game and deadly JD should have won it for us.. Jus sayin..
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Hot_Spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
“SHOULD HAVE WON FOR US”, wasn’t so deadly then was he.
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NYC Spurs Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:36 pm
that was his point, i believe.
Cornerpin Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Its clear too see the players don’t believe in AVB and i hate to say it, but it isn’t going to work.. Levy has dropped a massive clanger in appointing AVB he should have gone in for Moyes who has the experience in the prem. I was more than pleased to see the back of HR after all his drivel last season.And i knew this was going to be a tough season. But AVB has got us playing some real dire football. I would say he’s probably got until new year then it curtains!!
LLL Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
We certainly gave them a better run for their money last year and offered up a far more entertaining game, this is an undebatable fact!
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:31 pm
as AVB noted they pressed us high up the pitch , we lost possession tried to play high lines and eventually succumbed. Odd not to leave gallas & caulker at CB and just bring on a right back for a right back. Hudd tried hard but needs too much time on the ball (always did) and we are missing modric a lot.We should bring in Loris now and play Adebayor + Defoe and get the wounded back It’s early doors though and the manager should be given his own team to blend.
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
When is AVB going to clock on to the fact that this team cannot defend a lead or hold out for a draw. Attack is the best form of defence for this side.
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:37 pm
I believe those two best players we’ve had in recent memory played most of that awful 6 months you mention. One has just scored his first goal for his new team 8 points of the league leaders and the other is in a relegation fight in the German League). Not sure which game you Ade lovers were watching but I would expect at least a couple of shots if I was playing one striker as you have no chance of winning if he don’t shot and keeps passing it wide (AKA Passing the buck because he can’t score for toffees). You got your wish – Ade played as the lone striker and Defoe was banished from the team. Win’s at Old Trafford etc. when Defoe played alone counted for nothing and guess what you got the loss your stupidity asked for. At this stage who cares if we would have opened up with 4 4 2, cos we were opened up plenty of times with 4 5 1 or whatever that formation was, City were crap and there for the taking but we weren’t brave enough to do it or have anyone who was likely to nick us a goal. Surely Ade could have played in Dempsey’s role (whatever that is running about doing nothing giving the ball away) and Defoe up top. Only we would drop someone after they score a hat trick. Is there therapy I can have to remove Spurs from my system as I can’t remember such awful performances in 50+ years. Bring back loads of goalmouth action and goals please instead of negativity.
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NYC Spurs Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
agree totally. we were slice apart at 4-5-1 regularly so how could playing to our strengths have been any worse than 0 points.
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77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
BANG ON. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR DO NOT HOLD ON TO LEADS. AVB NEEDS TO REALISE WHAT OUR CLUB IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT.
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Alspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
You can’t remember such awful performances in 50+ years? Are you sure?
Were you there for ANY of 1990′s, 2000′s, etc?? We were largely hopeless cannon-fodder for the top teams…
8th, 15th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 14th, 11th, 10th, 12th, 9th, 10th, 14th, 9th in the Premiership before Jol took over, for starters…
…and most of that wasn’t pretty, I can tell you…
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essexian76 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
@ Steve..
You should either.. ..
A Go more often and note the score
B Get down the doctors for a dementia check up or…
….. C stop telling fooking fibbers
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Can i ask, politely, what standard you played football at HH?
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Of course you can and you don’t even need to be particularly polite.
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:48 am
Championship Manager 1979′ (hardback version)…
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November 12th, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Did you hear the one about the player who scored at hat trick then got dropped next game? JOKE. They were vunerable and 442 with ade and defoe with bale and azza out wide would have had em pissing. Still, dont matter cos that was the most clearly fixed match for half time/full time betting since… well man city v ajax….but, yeah, it became crystal after 30 mins that the coup was us going in ahead and then sure enough city storm back in the 2nd half and win. The ref ignoring 2 absolute stone wall nailed on pens for mancs in 1st half coupled with tevez aguero et all losing all finishing prowess made it obvious. i told anyone who would listen after 30 mins to plie as much as they could get together on a sundee and put it on cit to win in the second half. Unfortunately for me i had no access to in play. fuckfuckfuckfuck. And no cash fuckfuckfuck
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
You don’t do talking books for children, by any chance?
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77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
My mistake. what was i thinking?
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77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Football is either corrupt as fuck or i am some kind of soothsayer. I prefer the former cos i couldnt handle the responsibility of my own E4 show.
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Alspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Try reading this…
http://windycoys.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-case-for-dropping-defoe.html
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77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Yep. playing defoe in a 442 would have played right into citys hands and they’d grind out a result….err hang on…isnt that what happened anyway?
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77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
What was that about “taking off a midfielder would have handed wigan control of the match” They HAD control of the match. We were chasing the game, its gonna be a risk, thats what happens when your loseing. I know what they were saying though. cheers for the link.
November 12th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
All those saying Defoe should have started, his hat trick was against a piss-poor Slovenian side of plumbers, get real. 4-4-2 is no way to go to a City side who haven’t lost at home in donkeys years, and if you can’t see that Ade was far and away our most useful player yesterday then I don’t know what to say.
Having said that, it is a shame that City were effectively playing with 12 men and us 10 as Dempsey was facing our goal for most of the game. So there is an argument that Adebayor could have played in a subdued role behind Defoe, but no, not 4-4-2. Tell me any team that has gone up there and won with 4-4-2?
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
Those still wanting the hat trick monster unleashed after watching Adebayor’s performance deserve to be shipped out to Slovenia and made to work as plumbers
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calebray Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
we would only draw to them in europe now we havent got harry and that prick levy in charge
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spurious Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
I agree that Ade was our best player and was the right choice if playing 4-5-1, but just to be devil’s advocate H, remind me how many shots on target or goals he scored. I thought that was the primary role of a striker.
Ps I would have removed Dempsey for Defoe, He’s supposed to be an attacking mid, but he was MIA.
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Alspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 7:25 pm
Sandro was our best player…
Adebayor did well… plenty under-performed, or made individual mistakes, not all the manager’s fault… (Dempsey, Bale, Lennon, Verts, Gallas, Caulks, Walker…)
the man from room five Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
the Turd burglars are back!
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SpursSince67 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 5:39 pm
I totally concur LLL, and like so many of us on this Blog I’m completely bewildered with persevering with Deuce….
Starting to wonder if DL has some vested interest in increasing our presence with the US market (Under Armour, not withstanding) that he has pressured AvB into keeping the “septics” in the limelight for longer than any sane person would. AvB will be very cautious not to piss off another Chairman in a hurry, but I do wonder…
We were a side in decline at the end of last season, before Modders and VdV left the camp, with only Dembele being anywhere near a decent addition, so what exactly were we expecting ! If we are still in the top 10 by the New Year I’d be cool about it, providing of course DL has funded some much needed quality reinforcements.
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spurious Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 6:17 pm
As Dempsey was so appalling, we were playing 4-4-0-1 and were 1-0 up. Defoe does occasionally hold the ball up and pass, he’s also scoring regularly. 4-4-2 might have improved us.
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November 12th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
I think I have this sussed.
Support is divided in to mostly two groups. One that can cope with being one point off what Arry had achieved at this point – despite missing about 7 players – and a second group that can’t.
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77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Its not so much the points i dont think. We’ve been lucky alot in games this year and in any case with Harry we were on to something and this season we would have kicked on, But the elite didnt want us upsetting the apple cart.
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Summerspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
He ain’t gonna see that chummy. He’s still compairing wigan , who played us of the park and manure which could have easily been. 6 2
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77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
Yeah. That Man Utd game is already being wheeled out more often than the last remaining beachboy.
77spur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
superquickcencorship. nonono
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NYC Spurs Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:20 pm
if you think we are progressing under AVB – injuries or not – then you are deluded. not one win has been without some extremely hairy moments and tactically this guy has no idea.
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Frontwheel 2 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
I think there’s a lot of folks who bet on moyes,lost a lump and can’t get over it,I won a bundle on AVB( thanks to A Feltching drawing my attention to betting patterns)AVB’s fucking great!
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Its quite clearly about how we play HH ! Shite!
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November 12th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
City have been played of the park at home several times. Maribor were not all that but you dont drop an in form player. Ade and Defoe up top would have been better the Ade and fooking Dempsey surely?
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November 12th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
A lot of talk about the substitutions, which is fair I suppose.
Like pretty much everyone I would have preferred Defoe beside Ade, but I’m not sure the big African had anything left in the tank at that point. He was quite rightly our man of the match, but in the last 10 minutes he was on the pitch I don’t think he managed to win a single ball played up to him. He looked spent – not that I blame him, he’d been running non-stop all game. Arriving late to every challenge isn’t going to do the team any good, but it’s a great way to get a second yellow card. I didn’t like the substitution at all, but I guess I can understand it.
As for Daws on for Walker, I think we were preparing for being on the receiving end of a lot of balls into the box. And when you’re pinned back, a lack of speed isn’t much of a problem for a right back, but positioning becomes key. I didn’t see Gallas do much wrong once he was moved out. Most of our problems were through the center and around our left flank.
Naughton on for Lennon is hardly a change that shouts attacking intent. But Lennon had done a huge amount of work, and they were starting to get around his tired little legs on several occasions prior to the change.
As far as the managers’ decisions go, looking back at the game, I was most disappointed that we didn’t start with Defoe in stead of Deuce, and Naughton for brain donor Walker. Either way, we started with something close to the best team we could muster, given the injuries we have.
It looked to me as though our XI were simply bested by a superior Manc XI. We huffed and puffed for periods of the game, and gave ourselves a bit of a chance. When Thudd’s shot went wide, though, and they got the equalizer(which was as much down to luck as it was poor defending), it was pretty much a done deal. Talk of us “going defensive” seem a bit naive. They got a bit of belief, and threw everything they had at a buch of tired legs who simply weren’t equal to it.
There are few things I love more than watching Big Tom in a game where he has that extra second to ping perfect passes onto the runs of the attack. This just wasn’t the game for him. He didn’t have that time, and for all his effort, he wasn’t quick or agile enough to break up their play, beyond trying (often in vain) to shepherd them wide. Maybe Carroll could have offered something different, but I’m not sure he’s much more effective in tackling, and I’m suspicious that he would have been out-muscled on the ball against a powerful City midfield. And Thudd’s set piece delivery was for the most part excellent.
Their second was down to a lapse on the part of Caulker, who should have continued to follow Dzeko’s run. It was, however, fully deserved and we rode our luck on several other occasions between the two City goals.
With Dembele, PNB, and A&E available maybe we could have expected better than we got, but given the resources at hand I’m hardly surprised at the outcome. We would have needed to be pretty damned lucky to get anything out of this, and we just weren’t that lucky on the day. As it turned out, we gave a decent enough account of ouselves, but made a few too many mistakes. It could have been a lot worse than it ended up being.
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cookiebun Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Very true, but I’m not that level headed.
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November 12th, 2012 at 3:20 pm
the boy lennon has to start on the bench, he looks very comfortable out on the wing doing nothing , he needs a rocket
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LLL Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:31 pm
He was quiet yesterday but has been one of the most consistent performers in an admittedly poor run of performances. So pick on someone else to bench. Like, um, Dempsey!
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essexian76 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Perhaps if he wasn’t having to cover our full backs ineptitude, he could’ve been in a position to threaten more often?
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November 12th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Forget the injuries for now-this was about those on the park yesterday-and they were doing it forcing Man City into a reshuffle at half time-surely we’d have had a plan, an idea or just the bollocks to deal with it rather than sit back and wait for the inevitable? I an really perplexed right now as to what the plan is or is supposed to be.
I’ve seen some pretty shitty performances over the years believe me and this isn’t even in the top 100, but I honestly can’t see what we’re trying to achieve right now?-we were just asking to be beaten-and we did. To win games you have to ask questions of the opposition, surely?
What purpose was there in keeping Dempsey on and not replacing him with Siggy? OK, they’re both in poor form-but at least you’re asking the opposition to re-think, if only for a while, and maybe it could work out-rather than persisting with a player who’s clearly struggling and allowing the opposition to concentrate on their own play…..
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November 12th, 2012 at 4:17 pm
I’ve just watched the whoile nightmare again and I can’t see why you lot say Ade was man of the match. Sandro was by a mile. The amount of headers Ade lost out to in the first half, Jermain would have won more (joke). He was outjumped in almost 75%(+?) of the balls directed at him. We got what you wanted Ade alone up front and we lost no points and no decent shots from him either. So if that is the way forward good bye to this season. No wonder the crowds are dwindling at WHL, Used to be 36,000+ each week even for midweek useless Europa ties but not any more so the natives are taking the advice and not bothering to attend as it is too painful. Even when we managed to get out of relegation battles by the skin of our teeth we still played decent football. Even when we went down in the 70′s.
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essexian76 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Get a sense of proportion please, when we were relegated we got thrashed by a poor City team 5-0, we were absolutely useless, deserving to be relegated-so put your West Ham spectacles away eh?
We’ve got a manager, who in turn has to bed in his idea’s and get the players to respond to them- Personally,I can’t see a pattern or logic to what I’ve seen so far, but that doesn’t mean that one doesn’t exist, it could be as simple as the players just don’t understand it yet or perhaps never will?
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November 12th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
So AVB is a point below Harry’s total after 11 games (last season) with a game in hand! That seems to be the post getting banded about in AVB’s favour..oh and ooh ooh we beat Man U (not that I was able to gloat about it to any Man U fans as we were shit)
So, folks…honestly, on these current performances you feel positive??
AT least last year around this time we were playing amazing football, I could seriously see us beating anybody!
This year game in hand or not, I cant!
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Frontwheel 2 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:32 pm
So what!
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Summerspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 4:51 pm
I get the feeling you enjoy being a bell end . It gives you a sense of purpose
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Frontwheel 2 Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Found out eh,oh bugger.
November 12th, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Ying and yang need to both play up top. confusious say compounding pressure will undo the tottinghams this year unless January is a month of prosperity.
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Love it. Well put, madam.
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November 12th, 2012 at 6:42 pm
AVB will be gone by Xmas, that’s what you get when you buy damaged goods. Underwhelming appointment, underwhelming football, and people can’t work out why the fans are not happy.
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Yes.
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November 12th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
i still don’t understand not playing Lloris,i find it an odd decision for the club,what with dawson and thudd being sold and then not,its all strange vibes,we sure need a result against the arse
how is dumpsey this shite,the bloke is shot,Mr toad made a right old kipper of Levy,we got dumpsey they got berbatwat,rodagella,ruiz and probably some slav,miles better than us
levy will have to make some statement if we get spanked by a shite arse,they really need to give us a perfomance on sat or else
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November 12th, 2012 at 7:22 pm
AVB out end of story he aint got a clue ? Levy has made a mistake time to rectofy it before xmas and bring in moyes ! Harry yeah AVB tactics and subs fought they or his strong points he’s a dummy !
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Alspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
He should have listened to you. Clearly…
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November 12th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Harry hotspur can you do a poll on shoul Avb be boss or not ?
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harry hater Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
done it and he shouldn’t!!!!! wooooooooooooo
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Shoul?
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November 12th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
Harry. What’s your obsession with playing Lloris and criticizing Friedel? When Lloris has played he’s not looked good. Norwich, dropped a soft header, was it QPR when he got away with a very dodgy throw out and they very nearly scored, last week against Maribor the joke goal. I’m not saying Friedel is the be all and end all but he doesn’t gift goals to the opposition.
Also may I remind everyone what happened last season when we played City away.. We barely won another game away all season… was the beginning of the end for Harry maybe…
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harry hater Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
harry hates players who give 100% like friedel and walker, or dawson but players like lloris and gallas or dempsey he luuuuuurves!!! Friedel should make way at some stage for lloris but only after the frenchie plays well, not sure when that will be though…….? we will not win in our next 5 games then harry and his chums will be on here saying he aint got a clue and dempsey is pants!? and 1 more point HARRY,, Everyone is pissed off with how we are playing not so much the results!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Harry Hotspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Yes that’s right. Lots of exclamation marks and shoutyness can and will defeat any cogent argument.
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paddtspurs Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Well said ! We pay good money we expect ! AVB out !
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November 12th, 2012 at 8:29 pm
not shouting harry as your a yid and i have respect for my fellow yids and there opinions!!!!!!
try it yourself mate!!!!!!!!!!! see it’s nice to be nice isn’t it 
go on give it another go!!! 
go on harry you can do it!!!!
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Summerspur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
What Harry do you hate ? Is it the dodgy , anything for a quick buck, tactical cluless imbecile who would readily sell his soul to the devil and dump on his nearest and dearest for the evil lure of some hard cash or is it Harry redknapp ?
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harry hater Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:45 pm
comedy at it’s finest Summerspur
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Frontwheel 2 Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:38 am
easily pleased
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Re Frontwheel
You aint got nothing on AVB fans, right now they are the PL definition of ‘easily pleased’.
November 12th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
.
Win lose or draw I enjoyed watching my team play football under its last manager more than the current one though there’s clearly time for that to change. I can’t tell you how depressingly dreary I found the man city match to watch. We looked scared to push into the midfield let alone the last third during the second half and we appeared to just give the ball back to them when we weren’t pressured to do so.
Levy, if he is the man most responsible for purchases, has let us down badly regarding building on recent success by not just failing to attract a quality goalscorer for the past several years, but in yet again proving that most last minute panic buys more often get you a Rasiak than a Van der Vart.
Losing is one thing, finishing outside the top 4 is another but being bored is another altogether.
Ho hum, coys.
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harry hater Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 8:53 pm
agreed, the 1 thing that isn’t acceptable is the style of football we are playing! i remember liverpool playing this way and the scum years ago and i always said thank god we don’t and if we did i would never accept it! and i don’t as i would rather not go and support a team who’s first thought is defend and don’t lose rather than attack and try and win. been to 6 games this season and the tickets i have for west ham, fulham and swansea will be the last i go til AVB is gone!
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November 12th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
For once I agree with you Harry. Dempsey is an old dog and he should be shot.
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Urbane Sturgeon Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:30 pm
.
Why blame the player, he’s just doing what he can; surely the person responsible for bringing him here should be your target?
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November 12th, 2012 at 8:55 pm
http://harry-hotspur.com/2012/07/are-you-cloughie-in-disguise-are-you-cloughie-in-disguise/
It’s a very funny read now.
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harry hater Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Harry still thinks this buffoon is the man for the job. oh Harry you mention he likes a high line there!? 6 yard line is about as high up as we go mate! still pleased you and AVB and every gooner/chelski/west ham fan are happy!!!!!!
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November 12th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Where’s all the usual pro-AVB bullshit Harry?
Or have you finally realised he’s out of his depth?
Do tell………
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
They do seem to have dropped off of late on this post. In particular HH does appear to be quieter these days on his own blogg! Surely not a coincidence with ‘All Very Bland’ being as useful as tits on a bull?
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November 12th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Walker..no howlers?? Didn’t see the Citeh goal? he runs across swipes at the ball it slices off his foot and is an inch perfect pass to a citeh winger who races inside and it’s a goal! How many times does he give the ball away? Lennon was crap so I guess it didn’t help Walker but fuck me dead the guys a walking disaster at the mo.
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November 12th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
.
It’s clearly not just that abu dhabi doo have better players because AVB was out thunk by martinez, hughton and pardew. Do wigan, norwich and newcastle have better squads than us?
Wait, maybe you shouldn’t answer that.
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November 12th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
I am sick to death of hearing “we have injuries, we lost our two best players, we are the Oliver Twist of the premier league, Daniel Levy gets dressed down and attends soup kitchens on Tuesday evenings”….
Funny that all these comments in defence of AVB(and there over 12 zillion) NOT ONE of you has managed (or even attempted) to explain away AVB’s substition or absolutely bizarre decisions?!
Is this because:
A) Your an idiot
B) There is no defence
C) AVB (All Very Bland) is wonderful and they made so much sense I didn’t need to explain them at all cause they worked wonderfully and won us the game playing how Spurs should. Remember ‘To Dare is to Do’!
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November 12th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
As provided by Topspur100 above (July 2012):
His tactics were rather sexy . A defensive high line and an emphasis on having the ball.
Retention, speed, attack. Just enough to make it unpalatable for the conditioned old guard who still only know and trust their counter attack methodology. And so where might a system like this flourish? Well did any of you watch the EURO 2012 final? Yeah, Spain.
So what can we expect? The short answer ain’t short. AVB spoke of a project at The Bridge and I have to break it to you that we’ll be facing an approach whereby the system is paramount and the players will have to meld in order to achieve success.
This isn’t as creepy as Scientology I promise you. But it can be as cool to watch as a Tom Cruise movie.
Don’t worry HH, we all make mistakes, after all Maggie once sunk the Belgrano !!
PS the quote about ‘Spain’ was just the cherry!
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notsohotspurs Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:33 am
Tom Cruise movie….Mission Impossible ?
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:47 am
Somehow I just can’t picture Thudd delicately poised above a high tech laser alarm doing backflips to avoid detection!
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November 12th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
I am one of those nothing red in my wardrobe types, but I do wear my poppy with pride as they dont come in navy and white.
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A_Felching Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
I never wear red either
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:36 am
You hero, I bet all the people who sacrificed at the Somme honour you too, with a penis shaped baloon!
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:52 am
Happens to be a very big one and apparently stays inflated for a longer than 30 seconds, ironically…..
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November 12th, 2012 at 9:53 pm
harry has left the building me thinks!?
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melcyid Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Probably down the boozer , fed up with his ears being used as rubbish bins.
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
If this bin is solely to dispose of ‘pearls’ of wisdom and mocking ‘birds’, then I cetainly concur !
Yes twas pretty lame…..
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November 12th, 2012 at 10:37 pm
so are you lot not going to give avb til the end of the season and see where we end up or are you finished now or are you just enjoying harry baiting
i’m pretty sure levy won’t sack avb until we are bottom feeding
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Urbane Sturgeon Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 10:53 pm
.
You think Levy will consider mid table as non-sackably adequate?
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A_Felching Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:03 pm
27 games left Einstein
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:51 am
So does Southampton, fancy supporting them…?
kojac Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:50 pm
i think he might survive mid table,if the natives are not causing an almighty stink,which i admit is probably not possible,i get the feeling levy would back avb,it’s a new project
new training ground etc
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
My HH baiting will end soon (he can give it he can take it!). Just remembering the occasions HH was baiting me for suggesting that AVB was not necessarily what we needed on a few occasions during the close season (I recall i referred to the situation warranting improvements through mofications, not a sledgehammer approach with AVB).
Interesting choice of words ‘until we are bottom feeding’! Hope it doesn’t get to that.
As previously posted I am well off the fence now, firmly in the supporters corner for attractive football and excitment THE SPURS WAY. Don’t understand the guys decisions (before and during 90 mins), detest this style of football, not showing any signs of improvement etc etc etc etc.
I would personally give AVB until Jan then re-assess. Just hope that Levy doesn’t use the potential instability around Jan as a springboard to not invest like with Arry.
I also unfortunately don’t think it will be long before player unrest will start surfacing. He has done well in this regard so far, but lets face it (bar Ade) he stuck with the players regardless of form based on his own agenda of internal politics. He needs to grow a pair quick smart!
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kojac Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
i think europe is a tottenham managers remit(arry & levy had a lovers tiff)myself but not sure levy will sack avb this year unless we are bottom feeding
if avb loses the squad & a lot of fans then of course he won’t last but i’ve been watching spurs a fair while now and i can assure you THE SPURS WAY goes missing quite often,never to be seen for a while
i don’t think we are in the “your getting sacked in the morning timezone” just yet
but i quite enjoy the clapping from both sides,it’s all good fun
if we beat arse it’s appy
clapping,if we lose 
very ugly clapping
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kojac Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:38 pm
you’re
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:59 am
I certainly do when I look at your picture!
November 12th, 2012 at 10:57 pm
AVB will turn Arsenal over at the weekend and he will be the best thing since sliced bread. I am beginning to worry about the mental state of some of the posters on here. 11 games in and people want AVB sacked. This bloke is here for the long hall and I for one am delighted with him.
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Hartley Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
I’m with ya brother…..
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:25 am
IF we do get a result against L’arse (the worst team they have had in 12-15 years), I can almost guarantee it wont be through dominating the game, it will be through a good portion of lady luck (just like the well deserved luck in the second half against ManUre).
Even HH doesn’t appear to now show your appreciation for Always Very Bland (see HH I can give compliments!).
As for the comment:
“I for one am delighted with him”
WTF, please explain what exactly you are delighted with?
Prize for if you can get ‘one’ reason why you are delighted with Always Very Bland.
Is it due to Always Very Bland’s starting 11, decisions during games, tactics awareness, post match comments, hair, man management etc etc etc.
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Hartley Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 5:54 am
Always very bland? Pot calling kettle, me thinks…..
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 7:25 am
If very bland is voicing my concerns with ‘my eyes wide open’ – then I’m hell bent on being bland, blander the better…!
melcyid Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:29 am
Brisblandspur?
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Scary’HH’spice?
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:33 am
Sporty’HH’Spice??
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:47 am
Apologies, can’t quite remember which one was Mel C and also dim witted….
LLL Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 1:29 am
What’s at the end of the long hall?
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Hartley Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 5:56 am
The trophy room…..
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November 12th, 2012 at 11:18 pm
H.H… you are sooo easy going on AVB; “Andre Ander Andre”… etc
I seem to remember you referring to H.R a retard for far, far less.
We all have our pet hates i suppose. Ones that often make a balanced opinion of a situation rather impossible!! Anyway, we move on…
Think AVB did the right thing starting Adebayor, i cannot understand this notion that just cos he scored a hat trick against a glorified pub team that he should he selected to lead the line in the next game. J.D has been great this season but if you play one up top at this level it’s just a no-brainer that you go with Ade.
However, he should have hauled Dempsey off and used Ade as a deep lying target man, as he played against the Slovenians but possibly more withdrawn as with Dempsey.
By the way, can someone tell me what on earth Dempsey is all about please? Why was he signed? I no understand such bollocks, Siggy should be given a go in that position now, Dempsey can go and play in the reserves at full back, he’s got the right number which also says how many he’s scored for us too dunnit??
I’m sure he’s alright but not in this role, total pants. Sort it Ginger!!
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kojac Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:51 pm
last man standing wasn’t he,levy was playing poker
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November 12th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Moutinho…
We simply don’t have the quality…
If Levy…
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Qoizu Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
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Qoizu Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:38 pm
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kojac Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:53 pm
moutinho & willian if only,do we believe they were possible
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:57 am
Qoizu: that is the best example yet of what Levy has achieved in the last two transfer windows…..
November 12th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
Some thoughts:
1. We need a midfielder who can both pass the ball and run with it. NOT Hudd.
2. Put Dempsey on the bench.
3. Give Siggy a run of 3 games behind Ade
4. Dempsey´s & Siggy´s poor form could be because Defoe doesn´t make players around him better, he only thinks me me me!
5. Ade & Siggy could link well together.
6. Bale is good but he doesn´t have to take ALL set pieces.
7. Remember preseason where Siggy was taking the corners and Bale was the player hammering the ball in the net from the near post…
8. Put Siggy on the dead ball situation and he´ll regain form when he´s allowed to do what he does best, bend it like Beckham. Just read his factfile!
9. Jan the man in central defence is key.
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kojac Reply:
November 12th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
we’ll all be amazed id dumpsey starts against the arse,i think its russia v usa this week,wonder if it will spark clint into some kind of life,he has been shocking for us
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:51 am
Amazed, will you really if Dumpsey starts (?) Bar a firm knock to the head for Always Very Bland (and a harder one for Dumpsey to knock the fuker out until Sunday)…. Don’t like your chances…
Love your optimism, but based on experience thus far, he will be first name on the team sheet!
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Alspur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:16 am
Some good points, I reckon:
1. We’ve got one: Dembele – just pray he’s back, soon…
2. Yep
3. Yep – Sandro, Dembele, Sigurdsson in MF
4. Defoe has always been that player
5. There’s only one way to find out…
6. Siggy is a set piece specialist – see stats 2011/12
7. See above
8. See above
9. Pray for the speedy return of BAE…
So, mainly, I will just be praying for the next 5 days…
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:53 am
I’d settle for Kermit the frog upfront if it provided just a little excitment on the pitch….
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Hartley Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 5:57 am
Very bland………as always
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 7:20 am
As oppose to:
“Hat trick?” (?)
“Hudds shot gone in we would have won” (truly inspiring)
“Don’t forget that last year against pretty much the same players (except Tevez) at home with both Modric and VdV in the team we were soundly beaten….” (Bollox)
I have to admit after that unadulterated demonstration of absolute innovative genious, I have nothing apart from my bland life (thank fuk)…..
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 7:26 am
PS noticed your still reading my comments…..
Hartley Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 7:40 am
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 7:42 am
Hartley Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 9:47 am
Frontwheel 2 Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 9:53 am
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:30 am
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:31 am
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Ronnie Wolman Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:43 am
Ade and Siggy are both Supply players
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Alspur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Incorrect. Ade has a better EPL scoring rate than Defoe. Fact.
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November 13th, 2012 at 1:05 am
Now your all soundly asleep suppose I should do some work. Oh well, excitment over for another day……..
I would have thought we would have at least one insomniac, after we have planty of maniacs!
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November 13th, 2012 at 3:43 am
Over the moon that we have got back our mediocre middle of the table Spurs club. Must have been dreaming that we had overcome the last 50 years and were serious contenders for a regular fourth slot. Best of luck to the young supporters who will still be around in 50 years time!
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Hartley Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 5:51 am
Drama queen…..
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November 13th, 2012 at 10:45 am
AVB needs time to build his own squad. The players he has available to him aren’t a great fit for the system he is trying to implement. As a result, he is having to adapt his system to suit what he has available.
There’s no more high line because our defenders were too slow.
There’s no more hard closing down of the opposition for 90 minutes because the team were spent after 70 minutes.
There’s no more 2 defensive holding midfielders every game. Hud tends to play a little more advanced when in possession.
AVB is still trying to get the best out of what he has, which isn’t the same squad as Redknapp had last year.
I refer you to the team that beat Newcastle 5-0 in Febuary.
Friedel
Bale (subbed for Lennon)
Dawson
King (subbed for Nelson)
Walker
Ekotto
Parker
Modric
Kranjcar
Adebayor
Saha (subbed for Defoe)
6 of the starting 11 aren’t available.
1.We are playing with a different unfamiliar CB pairing.
2.We are playing with a different unfamiliar CM pairing.
3.We are missing the creativeness of Modric and VDV.
I’m not saying AVB is blameless, he is young and still (should be) learning from mistakes, but you can see he doesn’t have the same players available as last year, so to expect the same football and same results is madness.
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November 13th, 2012 at 10:59 am
At least this hasn’t degenerated into petty point scoring and an online convention of unemployed psychics.
That’s the main thing
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melcyid Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:25 am
I miss Eileen Drewery lol
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Hartley Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:39 am
I knew you were going to post that….
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:54 am
Well he’s only led next to, course you would sweety….
melcyid Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 11:58 am
I knew you were going to post that
BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:01 pm
You really are psychic.. There’s no way you could see me type that from your mums wardrobe…?
November 13th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Would Dempsey, Livermore, Walker, Hudd, Naughton get into a top 4 team?
I ask this because that’s who we have and I can’t imagine getting anywhere with these chaps in our starting 11. The two Kyles need time, maybe even Livermore too. But I don’t have a lot of faith in a squad that’s putting ALL these chaps out into a starting eleven. not because they’re sh*t necessarily, but because they don’t really fit together and make a convincing side.
I can’t imagine how any manager could emulate some of our recent achievements with this squad.
It’s that simple to me. The only thing that could improve us now would be a couple of good buys in January and some key players returning.
There’s no quick fix. No scape goat. Just a lot of work to do.
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LLL Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
I dunno. For all the talk of the squad changing so drastically, it hasn’t changed that much. Most people celebrated the outgoings this Summer – VDV included. The only big miss is obviously Modric. But apart from that we are more or less the same. You can argue we lost quality with VDV but a lot of people will counter-argue with some justification that he could only manage 25 minutes of moving around on the grass and most of last season was a bit lack-lustre anyway.
You can always blame the incomings. But Jan was a good buy, our defence is certainly in better shape this year with a lot of options. Nobody is arguing with Dembele. Sig and Dempsey have been awful, but the blame for that has to fall on AVB and Levy, they bought them. To think that the players they replaced – Krancjar and Bentley, let’s say, might have been better options to keep is galling to say the least.
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November 13th, 2012 at 12:11 pm
To a point I agree. Yes, there are limitations with availability and Levy could have delivered a little more, but that is no excuse for being a self proclaimed, dimwitted ego maniac that plays internal politics whilst basing his footablling philosophy on Championship Manager 2026 and power point 2010….
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Twas for Re BrizzleSpur
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BrisbaneSpur Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Sorry, should have confirmed that aint AVB its HH im referring too???
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November 13th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
We were the most exciting team in the league, now we are the most boring.
Methinks AvB might well be a very clever tactician but he hasnt got a clue about Tottenham Hotspur football Club.
I want him out for this reason alone. he doesnt fit us and we dont fit him.
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East Stand Reply:
November 13th, 2012 at 9:16 pm
You could be on to something there about how he fits us, whatever potential he has and i’m still not sure if he can cut it in this country yet, although he still needs time.
I’m not sure quite how ‘clever’ he is tactically either, it seems to be a label put on him but if he were that astute, wouldn’t he make the kind of changes in games at home to relegation battlers that would put the game to bed? I’m not saying he’s bad tactically but has he shown anything yet with us that would make you think he’s particularly brilliant in that area?
We must not rush to judge the bloke with the players missing etc but getting back to your point, is he the kind of manager that fit’s with the identity of the club in terms of style of play? This is the most rigid and defensive i have seen us at home since Graham’s time. Even then we had Ginola to keep us entertained as the only attacking midfield player but what a player though…
I hope that AVB is just trying to consolidate things and will move on to more exciting play once things settle down properly. The signs so far are that he seems a bit obsessed with one particular system despite not having all the right players to play it. That’s not purely his fault of course but i think everyone can see that Dempsey needs to be rotated with another player in that position. Siggy, Falque, Carroll are all better ball players than Dempsey and it seems logical if a player like Dempsey isn’t working then for goodness sake TRY something/someone different for at least part of a game.
Tactical specialist eh? Time to earn your money mate!!
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November 13th, 2012 at 2:47 pm
BrizzleSpur come on dont put Walker into that list .Your talking like he’s 26 and we signed him for 12million from Porto or some shit.The kid has been a suprize success,and plays every game,he’s decision making and defending will only get better with age.In the mean time we need someone reliable rotate with him . As for Dempsey.He’s a squad player and only cover for a target man because he’s strong,good in the air and can finish end of,thats it!hes got nothing else!
Id rather Ade in that hole even Falque.I Dont want Deuce nowhere near that midfield goddamn it!
Levy has to finish what he started He made a bold choice bringin in AVB .I dont think he’s been as bad as people cry about.He’s 35 he’s thirty fuckin five he was in 6 form when I was in year 7 and Im young! Levys gotta back him with some class this window.
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November 13th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
We really need an advanced playmaker. Oh yeah, we had one of those… VDV!! That’s the problem with non football people signing players, they just look at their stats and goals rate, not how creative they are or the blend of the side.
I’d like to see Dembele play where Dempsey’s been playing, that way he would add strength to the midfield area, help keep possession and have more freedom to create with Sandro and Thudd or Parker sitting deep. I know he’s played the deep role so far but given the options we have with deeper lying players, he should be pushed be pushed up behind Adebayor. Plays off the striker, makes passes to the wide players, helps keep the ball and he scores goals. He’s tailor made for the role.
That’s what needs to happen when he and Parker are back fit. Siggy and Dempsey will be subs, neither have shown the quality to start when everyone’s fit. Maybe they’re squad players longer term, dunno what their role is at the moment…
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