Fun Is Subjective
And appearances can be deceptive. The referee blew full time on 90 minutes. It felt like 190.
Okay, I'm going to ease up on the quality control issues and simply say that a lot of better teams than us have won ugly midweek before now. I don't believe ripping this team apart after that class of match wouldn't be constructive.
The only bell I'll ring is that our midfiled is a jigsaw puzzle of the worst kind. There are bits missing and bits from other puzzles in there.
And without wishing to sound too poncey, Watford were having a cavort with the pitch. Did they host a Monster Truck Derby there on Monday?
Gomes 7 Made some decent saves. Another poor night then for the lazy hacks.
Woodgate 7 Their goal shouldn't have happened. But otherwise a good game.
Dawson 5 Long balling hoofmeister. Pack it in you Championship looking plonker. 'If you can lose your head when all about are losing theirs - Then your a Dawson, son'.
Ekotto 7 MOTM. All his usual stunts except against Watford he pulled it off. Showed invention.
Corluka 6.5 Didn't put a foot wrong but would've liked to see him attack.
Zokora 6 I struggle to see the good in him some games. This was one such outing.
Jenas 7 Worked harder as time went on and I am unconvinced he's 100% over his foot.
O'Hara 5 Industrious but ultimately suffering from the same problem as Campbell...
Lennon 6 Lively, of course he was but the end ball was back to 'Defcon Pants' again.
Pavlyuchenko 7 What's Russian for,'What's with all these crappy high balls?'
Campbell 5 Wasn't technically superior enough to Watford.
Bent 7 Well done. A goal and our ticket outta there.
watford v hotspurs
123 Comments
Ben Ekotto - rocked a lot oh!
Not so sure about the o Hara rating. He might not be great but i think we are a lot better team when he plays - compared to Bentley. Seems more comfortable then Bentley on the left and works a lot harder. Would like to see him play more often until we find the real solution. Having jenas meant we were also a bit more mobile in midfield. Our forwards still don't do enough. Maybe we should bid for Tevez :-)
The match was like a knackered old donkey pulling a heavy load up a hill on a rutted old path. No style, hard work, plenty of slog but got there in the end. That pitch was a mess and without that excusing some of the passing, it didnt help the slickness of our style.
It concerns me that we rely so much on a couple of individuals. Modric, Lennon, King, Jenas (when he's on song). We need a couple more really consistent players. Since we flogged Steed we've missed that.
Reply to abe:
which is why Bentley should NEVER be on the left. He is a right-sided MF* through and through. And i agree on O'Hara, thought he warented at least the same as Charlie.
*That can mean either midfielder or Mother f*cker. Take your pick
Not sure what match you were watching but I did not see Dawson put a foot wrong. He has not played well lately but give him a break. Zokora can't pass, no touch, can't tackle but he can run. Still so can my cat and dog, best get them down for a trial, cheaper on pay, couple of bonios.
agree mostly on the ratings and general overview of the game......bottom line is we are through and neither the goons or chelscum can say the same
Arry must really want this trophy; no room for youth or ressies on the bench.
bring on Derby, would love t have Manure at Wembley
Reply to DVC:
its all about opinions DVC, personally i thought his positioning was excellent and i dont recall him missing a tackle. however when he has the ball at his feet and the oppo closing him down he generally lets it fly northwards and upwards. would rather have him than not though
'Dawson - A long balling hoofmeister' ....quality
I couldn't agree more
From my armchair Pavlechenko looked really poor. His first touch is so non-existant and he does not play team at all, glory hunter. Even for Bents goal Watford player had to supply ball while Roman was trying to turn around, slowly. He will be another Rebrov.
Long Ball hoofmeister??? When you have Zokora and Jenas in no position to recieve the ball what do you do, give it away short, or get it long with no risk. Their goal was a prime example of losing the ball with no midfield to cover (all beyond the ball or hiding). He played short when able but got it in their half when no option.
Whilst I agree Dawson is prone to getting snow on the ball now and again, I wonder if Messr's Redknapp and Jordan asked him to try a few due to the conditions.
I don't know if anyone else noticed when one of the Watford defenders cleared up to the edge of our area very early on, a ball that should have bounced forward to gomes bounced back from where it hit the ground and resulted in dawson being in some degree of difficulty only to be saved by a generous award of a free kick. Replays showed the defender side footed the clearance (therefore unlikely to get any spin). I can only imagine the top of the pitch started frozen and it the ball bounced funny due to a frozen bit of raised turf. Maybe there was some science to the hoof of the (ahem) goof?
As an aside, Why did the Mary Xmas's not show us their presents?
Reply to rio:
Not that old nonsense again! Different players, different nationalities, different prices, different situations, different everything - no comparison. I think your expectations of him are what he's not meeting, but then if you've already concluded that comparison to rebrov then you need ti position your armchair closer to the telly or get your eyes checked my old mucker.
Trembly - next game Roman plays pls count how many of his passes are completed. I did not see many last night or before. He strikes as Sheringham type of a player ... without intelligence. Make no mistake - he was a panic buy and for 13 mil we should have a player that can receive a ball on the ground on in the air.
Reply to rio:
I think his point is more about the fact that you've arbitrarily compared Pavyluchenko to Rebrov based solely on the fact that they're from Russia.
Except one's from the Ukraine.
Think we have to give Pav a chance, granted his touch can sometimes be poor but I like him. Be interesting to see who harry brings in come January. PLease let it be a solid defensive mid, I hate having a dig at players but I can't handle Zokora anymore, he's a headless chicken, can't tackle, can't pass or shoot, rubbish positional awareness, gives studpid fouls away, he's got the lot. At the end when he kicked it out for a goal kick instead of a throw in summed him up.
Reply to rio:
I'd second that about Pav. For all his grumbling I never saw Berba fudge so many passes and controls in one game. I had high hopes for this guy after the recent period but that was dreadful.
Nunchucks - i compared Pav and Rebrov not because they speak the same language but because they are both strikers, both at Spurs and both crap at it.
As for Russian/Ukrainian angle - those guys are not known for for their work rate in anything, and i should know. Put Shevchenko in equasion and the patter emerges. Thanks fuck we did not get Arshavin
Rio - "Thanks fuck we did not get Arshavin"? Try saying that to JGM
) but he also hinted at what he's going to bring when he's had a proper rest and pre-season. This particular Rusky is capable of a lot more, until then I think we have to realise that £13m in todays market doesn't necessarily give you what you seem to expect. Look at PSB - 2 goals for £20m? My point exactly.
Now I understand your concerns regarding his passes yesterday (comparisons to the Bulgarian rat shouldn't be made Garth!
We're reputedly known for our fickle nature and ability to pay loads for a good player only to ruin it by not playing to their strengths. Lets hold off on the rebrov comparison a bit eh, at least until he proves you right and you can gloat about it all you want.
Reply to rio:
Holy Smokes.
What's your name? I think I downloaded a list last week that you might be on.
I'm not Pavyluchenko's biggest fan, and I'm still yet to be convinced. But that argument of yours is fucking weak sauce.
We've had plenty of shit strikers peddling their wares up front; like your Postigas, like your Ginger Ps. But you come up with Rebrov, (who arguably was mismanaged rather than was shit) and state that it's nothing to do with nationality, before immediately contradicting yourself in the next sentence.
Flawless. Really. Good work.
Reply to rio:
can't agree with you rio my old son....pavlyuchenko is 26yr and one of our older players now...and a goalscorer...see strike for blackburn win...and he can head in crosses too i think if we can learn how to cross properly...and although i doubt we could get arshavin...he is just the type of player we need to slice open hardworking and efficient teams like everton and co.....
Reply to TheSchoolboy:
I doubt I'll get many up for it, but perhaps we can continue from where Nun left off and do a festive season Avatar day? Perhaps Mary Xmas can 'get the gifts out then' - as long as it doesn't get nixed by the oleole big brother brigade...
Can't wait to see DV's entry!
As for the pitch and Dawson - fair shout on the cold conditions and state of the pitch. Follow the bear? LINK
Anything that puts a stop to me being forced to stare at the ungulating beave of NtG's avatar is absolutely jackanory with me.
Reply to Nunchucks:
So does that mean you're going to be judge and jury on this one - or are you going to enter it and put the s&m nuns aside for a bit?
Reply to Trembly:
oh my word your video link is "malformed"
Girl said that to me once, but not about me video...
Maybe Harry, could do an advent calendar of sorts by putting a scantily clad young lady (in xmasy stuff obv) every day with her getting them out on the 24th? The oleole police wouldn't dare insult xmas by pulling the picture. That would be religious prejudice now wouldn't it?
Festive Avatar is your baby. I was in the Readers Wives camp, but that's just because I'm a deviant.
Run with it, padwan. You are ready for jedihood.
Reply to TheSchoolboy:
this video link malarkey is a bit hard LINK not brilliant but this might work if not I'm giving up on these personal computers and going back to mainframes.
Like your idea about the tatsy spurs lady totty advent calendar, although I expect were Harry to do this it would be Nigella everyday?
I knew this craze for Trilby's came from somewhere.
Your probably right about Nigella. Judging by her love handles it looks like she already comes with the calendar doors attached.
That'll get me barred.
Reply to Nunchucks:
“Ready am I? What know I of ready? For eight hundred years have you trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All my life have I looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never my mind on where I was. Hmm? What I was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless.”
Bring on the entries...hands rub do I
Reminded me of Oldham's plastic pitch, plenty of hard bounce. Still at least for once Gomes looked like Sean Connery reading a ladies hand and their keeper looked like a Pires dive.
Fair enough Pavlyuchenko hasn't set the world alight since he has arrived but he has given a decent goal return for the number of games he has played. He must have played 15-20 games this season and has so far returned 7 goals, thats not too bad for his first season in a new league where he doesn't know the language.
He may well have been a panic buy but is proven goal scorer in Russia, and is showing some of that so far, and most importantly is a spurs player and so we should get behind him and support him. Look at the way Bent has transformed since he has been given some confidence.
Reply to KOJAC:
to add to that; he cannot be compared to the sulky bulgarian cocksucking cnut as he aint in his class (much as it pains me to say it), for a start he costs 1/3rd of the money and we had little choice but to bring him in.
To me the issue is he has been paying football without a break for nearly a year and needs a break.
When Arry bring another striker in early january he will i am sure have a well earned break. Until then we crack on with the three we have and live with it i guess
Twatford's defence were dismal. The Stikers and Lennon should have cut through them like a hot knife in butter. The score should been much higher in our favour.
Is there any chance Moders will be fit in time to take on the Boleyn Bin Feeders?
'Dawson 5'
I thought he was more a 6.5 on that performance, He has passion and bravery....he don't mind sticking his face/knackers in the way of anything that bloke.
Mind you his Thud stylee crossfield ball party-piece wasn't the best last night.
'Jenas 7'
Did you see that turn for the Watford goal, talk about the turning circle of an artic!
"Warning..Jenas is reversing!"
"I'm unconviced ripping this team apart after this class of match isn'i too constructive."
Tsk tsk. I'm not sure this says what you want it to say. Read the paper twice and always check your answers!
You certainly won't be dipping your brandy snap into Nigella's hot fudge this Christmas with sloppy writing like that. She likes her men taught in the journalist department.
Reply to Hamish:
and your real point is??.......................................................................................................................................
on a side note; has anyone read Graham Roberts new book?
Reply to rio:
Couldn't agree with you less. Despite having played a long season already already he scores goals regularly and showed a lot of balls to take the pen just after hitting the bar. Many players would have gone into hiding after that. Also, as I said in my previous post, his linking and hold-up play are improving all the time. I can remember several instances last night when he played in a team-mate, especially that sublime pass to BAE with the outside of the foot which lead to a great cross that Jenas or Bent should have attacked better.
Reply to KOJAC:
Totally agree with you again Kojac, im starting to fall in the love with the Russian, he works hard, not bad movement, can finish a pen as good as berba and he fuckin makes it a hard days and night for defenders, how many defenders would like to get kicked, elbowed and nutted, thats what he does quietly, just ask the watford defender last night when he split his head open on him. I just think he needs quality to feed him and remember he has been playing solid nearly for a year, wait till next year he will be even better.
Reply to Spurs8182:
Totally agree. Also, I think the guys got a good personality, unlike some of our exe's. Plays with a smile on his face which has a positve effect on the others. Just wait until he can speak the lingo - hmm........ on second thoughts.
No, I stand by what I said. I'm fed up with pointy shouty and miserable sods!
Reply to steve1987:
Well the blondes always do well at Spurs. Klinnsman was one of them can you name anymore?
Reply to Spurs8182:
er.........Steffen Iversen
Reply to steve1987:
Micky Hazard
Reply to steve1987:
Steve Archibald - probably more of a strawberry blonde!
Reply to Hamish:
Tsk Tsk? Threatening stuff.
People who edit blogs are the prefects of the internet, armed only with only the power to act clever and annoy.
Reply to BruceCastle:
here here BC, he seems to have facked auff to goonerslosetrophys.com
Reply to toddspur:
or over at Arsene's force feeding brandy snaps to kiddies
I wonder sometimes if many of the people who post on here ever watch us play. Pavulychenko is a proper top flight striker who will score goals at any level and anyone who can't see that either needs to watch more football or get their eyes (or brains) examined.
O'Hara does a lot of running around and looking aggressive which are things we all like. Unfortunately, he is not as good as he thinks he is, which leads him to places he should not visit such as shooting from 40 yards and taking corners and free kicks. I am trying to remember how many of his dead balls were any good last night. I can remember one corner that Woody got on the end of but that's it.
Reply to onedavemackay:
Technically, I'm one such person.
And also, technically, O'Hara doesn't take corners or set pieces because he thinks he's hot stuff. He's instructed to, because worryingly, when Bentley isn't playing everyone else on the pitch is worse at it.
Reply to BruceCastle:
you'll like this BC;
Was sat on tube the other day just after Gallas had his hissy fit and picked up a newspaper where the sports headline was "Wenger strips Gallas of Armband"....i couldnt resist....i tore out the heading and the last two words and gummed it to the doors
how childish, how funny
Reply to Nunchucks:
How do you know he's instructed to ?
I've seen him take corners and free kicks with Hudd on the pitch and JJ was available last night.
Reply to onedavemackay:
I don't. But I can't imagine that they just decide on the dot who's going to take the corner. You don't see conferring, or two shirts running up to the corner flag unless it's a short corner.
I don't really see the logic of 6ft Hudd whipping in a cross to a box with 5ft O'Hara in it, rather than the other way around. Do you?
Reply to Nunchucks:
I agree that one would imagine it's decided beforehand but the evidence suggests that Mr Confidence (in a team lacking leaders) rushes up and says MINE !
There is also no logic in anyone being in the box if the corners are poor.
It's strange how people are quick to slag off Bentley if he wastes a dead ball but Jamie's go almost unoticed.
Reply to toddspur:
does anyone know how long dos santos will be out for and if his recent injury is related to the one he arrived with, we dont want another sicknote on our hands, plus 4/5 million is quite cheap for someone they called the new ronaldinho, i think the kid has awesome talent, but will he play and why all the chelski rumours?????
Reply to toddspur:
Nah, we want ManUre in the semis, home & away with Champs league, Rudolph will field a weak team, whereas the final he will field a strong team... Derby for the semis please...
Reply to Trembly:
Nor can i....
Reply to Trembly:
Class