News today from Selhurst Park, with the unfortunate appointment of Adminstrators to Crystal Palace, is that Victor Moses will not be allowed to play tonight as they want to protect their asset. No doubt he will be sold before the transfer window closes on Monday.
It is times like these that you can feel some sympathy for particularly young players. I am sure the boy wants to play. I am hoping this will turn into a plus for Spurs. Harry Redknapp has watched him play recently in a friendly that was played between the sides and Tottenham scouts would have seen him on numerous occasions.
From what I have seen and what I have heard he does look a very good player and some very big clubs have shown an interest and even with our self imposed transfer embargo, we can't let this one go the same way we allowed Ashley Young to move to Villa when I am sure he would have been happy to come to Spurs.
Wednesday 27 January 2010
The myth of the six pointer
It amuses me year after year the way the media hype up the six pointer. Why a Manchester United v Chelsea is more important than Manchester United v Burnley is beyond me. Now before we all jump and down, let me explain.
Every season, every club will set their target for the season. Whether it be to win the title, champions league, Europa league or avoiding relegation, there is a target. Of course each club needs to attain a certain number of points to get there. Yes it is true that if you beat a competitor for that position it is three points more for you and three points less for them. But apart from those at the end of the table, I don't think it is vital to achieving your target.
Last season, Manchester United failed to win a game against the top 4 but still won the title mostly because they got maximum points against the bottom 10. Spurs this season against the sides I expect would be bottom 10 have got 26 points out of a possible 36. This is the crucial statistic that is the difference between success and failure. Had Spurs go the maximum ala Manchester United, then Spurs would lead the Premier League. For any side, it is the failure to win against those sides who you would identify as the teams you should beat that make victory in other games vital.
Of course when you get to the bottom end that real six pointers take place. It would be in gaining the magical 40 point mark that games like hull v portsmouth, or wolves v burnley are important. In that case a match between the bottom 2 is more important than games between the top 2.
Every season, every club will set their target for the season. Whether it be to win the title, champions league, Europa league or avoiding relegation, there is a target. Of course each club needs to attain a certain number of points to get there. Yes it is true that if you beat a competitor for that position it is three points more for you and three points less for them. But apart from those at the end of the table, I don't think it is vital to achieving your target.
Last season, Manchester United failed to win a game against the top 4 but still won the title mostly because they got maximum points against the bottom 10. Spurs this season against the sides I expect would be bottom 10 have got 26 points out of a possible 36. This is the crucial statistic that is the difference between success and failure. Had Spurs go the maximum ala Manchester United, then Spurs would lead the Premier League. For any side, it is the failure to win against those sides who you would identify as the teams you should beat that make victory in other games vital.
Of course when you get to the bottom end that real six pointers take place. It would be in gaining the magical 40 point mark that games like hull v portsmouth, or wolves v burnley are important. In that case a match between the bottom 2 is more important than games between the top 2.
Sunday 24 January 2010
Time for a rethink?
I am like many Tottenham fans, when we win I think we can take on the world and when we lose I feel like we are staring into the abyss. This season has been very typical for us, although a little more success than we have had in recent years. We started the season with four straight wins and when we went ahead early against Manchester United, I am sure I wasn't alone, in thinking of great things. Of course it went badly for us in that game and subsequent games against Chelsea and Arsenal ended in disappointment.
I have felt we have stuttered through much of this season, the 9-1 win against Wigan contrasted by the 1-0 loss to Wolves. We played probably our best football of the season in the second half against Aston Villa and threw away opportunities against Everton in the league and Manchester United in the Carling Cup.
In my opinion we should have at least another ten points this season and should be in a position to challenge for the title. The only consistency for Tottenham has been inconsistency.
I think Harry Redknapp has been excellent for Spurs since his appointment, but he still made some errors which I hope he will learn from. Looking at last nights game, his starting line up was the wrong choice. A midfield of Rose, Modric, Jenas and Kranjcar was never going to win many tackles. I can understand what he is trying to do, but we need a tackling midfielder regardless of who we are playing. I would have played O'Hara instead of Jenas, as we would need Palacios fit for Tuesday against Fulham.
Another point from last night is that Pavlyuchenko was far more effective than Crouch. I would like to see Pav start against Fulham with Keane. I thought they showed signs of linking up well together, though Keane needs to be more aware of the runs that Bale is making.
It would be interesting to see Lennon and Rose in the same side as this would give us much more options to attack from. I don't think we have an ideal position for both Modric and Kranjcar as neither is a natural left sided player and neither is strong enough to hold down a central midfielder role, however I wouldn't want to see them missing from our side, it is a quandary.
Our defence has been our strength this season, this is despite having King and Woodgate being unfit for most of the season. Michael Dawson has lead well from the back, although he is a different type of defender than King, his no nonsense approach has got us out of trouble on more than the odd occasion. Dawson's distribution is a slight concern but every side needs a player of his strength. Bassong has been a worry of late. His poor tackle at Liverpool giving them a penalty and he was very indecisive last night making a number of errors.
My main concern at the moment is our inability to break down teams who set out to defend. We need craft and guile which we seem to be lacking when Lennon is not playing. Robbie Keane is playing poorly which may be a result of lack of confidence, he is still a quality player who I expect has many years to come in the top flight and I certainly hope it will be at Spurs. I am never sure of Defoe, he is a great striker, but he needs the ball put in the right areas and ultimately a good partner who can draw defenders away from him. Again I would say that Keane and Pavlyuchenko are better options than Crouch.
I think going into the last sixteen games if the season players such as Keane, Jenas, Crouch, Bentley and Giovani have a future. I hope they do as they are all good players but need to capture some consistent form.
I do believe that Harry Redknapp needs to rethink which players will do he job to get better consistency from Spurs.
I have felt we have stuttered through much of this season, the 9-1 win against Wigan contrasted by the 1-0 loss to Wolves. We played probably our best football of the season in the second half against Aston Villa and threw away opportunities against Everton in the league and Manchester United in the Carling Cup.
In my opinion we should have at least another ten points this season and should be in a position to challenge for the title. The only consistency for Tottenham has been inconsistency.
I think Harry Redknapp has been excellent for Spurs since his appointment, but he still made some errors which I hope he will learn from. Looking at last nights game, his starting line up was the wrong choice. A midfield of Rose, Modric, Jenas and Kranjcar was never going to win many tackles. I can understand what he is trying to do, but we need a tackling midfielder regardless of who we are playing. I would have played O'Hara instead of Jenas, as we would need Palacios fit for Tuesday against Fulham.
Another point from last night is that Pavlyuchenko was far more effective than Crouch. I would like to see Pav start against Fulham with Keane. I thought they showed signs of linking up well together, though Keane needs to be more aware of the runs that Bale is making.
It would be interesting to see Lennon and Rose in the same side as this would give us much more options to attack from. I don't think we have an ideal position for both Modric and Kranjcar as neither is a natural left sided player and neither is strong enough to hold down a central midfielder role, however I wouldn't want to see them missing from our side, it is a quandary.
Our defence has been our strength this season, this is despite having King and Woodgate being unfit for most of the season. Michael Dawson has lead well from the back, although he is a different type of defender than King, his no nonsense approach has got us out of trouble on more than the odd occasion. Dawson's distribution is a slight concern but every side needs a player of his strength. Bassong has been a worry of late. His poor tackle at Liverpool giving them a penalty and he was very indecisive last night making a number of errors.
My main concern at the moment is our inability to break down teams who set out to defend. We need craft and guile which we seem to be lacking when Lennon is not playing. Robbie Keane is playing poorly which may be a result of lack of confidence, he is still a quality player who I expect has many years to come in the top flight and I certainly hope it will be at Spurs. I am never sure of Defoe, he is a great striker, but he needs the ball put in the right areas and ultimately a good partner who can draw defenders away from him. Again I would say that Keane and Pavlyuchenko are better options than Crouch.
I think going into the last sixteen games if the season players such as Keane, Jenas, Crouch, Bentley and Giovani have a future. I hope they do as they are all good players but need to capture some consistent form.
I do believe that Harry Redknapp needs to rethink which players will do he job to get better consistency from Spurs.
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