Tottenham Hotspur - Official thread

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Thankfully you can't believe everything you read in the papers. Having finally managed to dispose of Crouch last season I'd be appalled if we signed Carroll.

[fallenangle]

We got rid of Crouch and surprise, surprise he gets a regular start at Stoke and begins scoring goals again. HR just had no idea about how to play him or Defoe properly together. AVB unfortunately appears similarly minded judging by the way he's playing Defoe and Adebayor this season too.

Carroll is a very useful player at his best, I'd put him in the team ahead of the so far totally lack lustre Dempsey in a shot. If Dempsey doesn't improve perhaps we could do an exchange with Liverpool who went to desperate measures to try to get him before us. But the problem with Carroll is that he's not worth more than about half his last sale price. If Spurs could get him for <?20M or an exchange deal he'd be good value but I doubt he'll be let go for that much of a loss.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Well, 14 goals in 41 starts for Crouch since leaving us is hardly prolific. Adebayor scored 17 in 32 starts last season and offered a lot more to the team with his all round play, so I think it would be fair to say that we gained massively from selling Crouch and bringing in Adebayor as his replacement.

I don't disagree that Dempsey has been poor so far, but if anything that is a case of us not adequately replacing Van der Vaart. Dempsey just seems so laboured on the ball in comparison. Every time the ball comes his way our moves lose momentum.

Carroll is yet to score or provide an assist in five starts for a team (West Ham) who are playing to his strengths so I fail to see what he could possibly offer us. There is a reason Liverpool weren't that fussed about keeping him despite their huge outlay. Surely we must have some big lad in the reserves who can just be a battering ram if we are going to resort to such tactics? It shows how screwed up our internal market is that we would likely have to pay ?15 million to sign a player with no discernible attributes but for being big and strong. There must be a better striker out there somewhere in Europe for ?10-15 million.

[fallenangle]

Finally a decent result after a dominant performance but that Maribor goal was symptomatic of the casual, usually unnecessary, loose cross field or back pass habit too many of Spurs' defenders and midfielders (Huddlestone especially) seem to have acquired.But otherwise: Adebayor was immense particularly in the second half, Bale, Defoe great and our own Carroll gave a perfect demonstration of youthful enthusiasm, challenging for the ball and distributing well. Good game to watch and a good demonstration of what a 4:4:2 formation, with the right players, can do.

[EJG1980]

Good night tonight, but the highlight was Fabrice Muamba returning to WHL at half time. His reaction, the noise from the crowd, I don't mind admitting to a little tear. It was a lovely moment

[fallenangle]

He gave a good interview on ITV4 during the studio run up to the game too. Could have done with some sub-titles though, they had him, Gordon Strachan and Robbie Fowler all in full flow - I'm fairly sure the presenter was only getting about half what was being said too.

What will be interesting is what happens to FM in the future. There's this good will and genuine sympathy now and the football world can be proud of its response but five years down the line is anybody going to remember him or the near tragedy? There are plenty of other footballers over the years whose careers have been cut short by injury or for medical reasons who are never heard of again.

[NW2013]

4-4-2 FTW! Didn't really fault Lloris for the goal and I think he looks a good keeper overall.

Strachan and Fowler were virtually indecipherable!

[fallenangle]

Good to know it wasn't only me who was having trouble understanding what they were saying.Man. City today, if it's on Radio 5 I'll probably dip in and out of it. I think Spurs could get a decent result if they use a similar formation to mid-week and play like they did. Man. City just aren't firing on all cylinders yet and Spurs buoyed up by the win should be up for it. AVB was hinting about reverting to the lone(ly) striker set up again even after the 4-4-2 success. I really hope that threat was just deliberate tactical misdirection.

[bwi]

another lead thrown away

[EJG1980]

Balls, last minute away at City again.

Adebayor was outstanding I thought, he was our best player, but we didn't see nearly enough from the likes of Bale, Lennon and Dempsey. They didn't support Adebayor's immense hold up work and we simply didn't create enough in the final third. Thought Sandro was very good again though, our next best player after Ade.

What a match next weekend to try and get things back on track after a dodgy run, with Arsenal wanting to do exactly the same thing. COYS!

[PaTaito]

Thought spurs offered nothing, against a team that is struggling defensively, and for confidence and goals.

[bwi]

Have to admit that adebayor played a blinder, and when he took him off i said to the missus that would put more pressure on the midfield and defence.

it was one of those matches when bale and lennon didnt seem to exist. Even when Maicon came on for city i thought Bale could have a good go now (considering what he did to him in the San Siro), but it was maicon popping up on the edge of our area.

I'd like to say this was something new, but i've seen this for the last 35 years

[fallenangle]

The problem for me was Dempsey, he's supposed to be getting up there to support the lone striker and, in that formation, act as ball winner/play maker/distibutor like Modric/VdV were doing. But he's not doing enough in any role. Sandro/Dembele/Carroll look to be better solutions. Adebayor playing as he did today and mid-week is crying out for a genuine strike partner just as much as Defoe is when he's left up front alone. Obvious conclusion but we desperately need a replacement striker of some sort just in case one of them gets injured.

I just don't understand the reluctance to play a 4-4-2 or more flexible 4-1-3-2 formation rather than rely on some midfielder who may or may not turn up or have the instinct to get into the space where the ball is going to be played. I am wondering if it might be that concern about losing one or both our strikers which is influencing AVB's not to use of them together too often.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

To be fair, the formation we are playing this season is the same as the default system last year, which saw VDV just off of Adebayor in a 4-4-1-1, its just that Dempsey has thus far been pretty shocking playing that role just behind the striker. I don't think you can stick two up top against Man City as you'd leave yourself short in midfield. It would have been Toure, Barry and Silva (who consistently drifted in from the right) against just Huddlestone and Sandro, which would have been asking for trouble. At least Dempsey dropped back to help out in midfield, albeit without being the best tackler/ball winner in the world.

I think it is unfair to pin too much blame on AVB for some of the more recent results. This summer we sold two of our best players in Modric and VDV. One replacement, Dembele, has been injured in recent weeks, while two other players brought in to cover their departures, Dempsey and Sigurdsson, have been very disappointing so far. AVB's priority target was Moutinho and Levy failed to secure him, hence he is trying to make do with what he has. AVB probably had a say in the signings of Dempsey & Sigurdsson, highly probably in the case of the former, but still our midfield is significantly weakened in comparison to last year. We need Dembele back ASAP.

If Dembele does return for the Arsenal match then I'd actually champion sticking Tom Carroll into the side and having a midfield three of Sandro, Carroll and Dembele. Sandro can hold allowing the other two to rotate getting forward in support of Adebayor. We would keep the ball a lot better in midfield, allowing our full-backs time to properly get forward and for us to actually establish some control over the match, something we really didn't do at all yesterday.

[nakamura]

I must admit, Bale is looking less effective each match. The guy is talented but now seems to be relying solely on pace alone. Makes poor choices in the final third. With the class of VdV and Modric missing, you can see the step down in quality of the club.