Tottenham Hotspur FC 2013/14

[fallenangle]

I was listening to the first half on the the radio and when Eriksen scored I thought that's it and I'd wait until the highlights on BBC1.

The moment they introduced it as being a "dramatic" game I knew Spurs had messed up and I was just waiting for Sheffield Utd to score but when it turned into two, like EJG1980, I nearly had a heart attack. Surely Spurs couldn't have given it all away - thankfully not but I could have done without so much of the drama.

What got me is that both goals were similar in cause. No Spurs midfielder with the commitment or gumption running back to help out with the defence leaving their attack with an unchallenged spare man on the left far post who goes on to score. That's was the job of the right winger in both these cases: Andros Townsend definitely needs reminding of his defensive responsibilities. That's an area where Aaron Lennon is still much better.

Still we've got to Wembley, our first final for years, and we know that we can beat Chelsea. So whilst they should be undoubted favourites Spurs + cup game often brings out the best in us. Looking forward to it.

[EJG1980]

I think the subs disrupted things a bit. Our pressing game was very good, Stambouli in particular was really getting stuck in with tackles and harrying Sheff Utd into making mistakes to give the ball away, but the attacking players like Dembele and Lamela were also doing their bit and tracking back and getting tackles in.

When Paulinho and Townsend came on they didn't apply themselves with the same intensity and diligence and you just have to take your foot off the gas a little bit to let the opposition back into it. Hopefully Poch gave those who needed it a good b*****king for the slip up, alongside the congratulations to the team for sorting it out and getting through

We're getting an allocation of just under 31,500 for the final, so my brother and I shouldn't have a problem getting tickets (touch wood) as we both have a nice beefy number of loyalty points. Still annoying that there will be about 27,000 tickets going to corporates though. At least it's not as bad as the FA Cup final where the corporate / freebie allocation is higher than either of the clubs competing!

[fallenangle]

Good and welcome win yesterday. Eriksen and Kane are really doing the business but it doesn't look like we're getting any new striker or significant defender additions this windows.

There was some weird rumour of Spurs dumping Lennon and replacing him with Kevin Mirallas of Everton..........................another 27 year old winger!!!!?

[EJG1980]

Excellent game yesterday. The first thirty minutes especially were superb, and the second half extremely comfortable, and Lloris once again with a couple of fine saves when West Brom upped their game to try and get back into it in the final fifteen minutes of the first half.

According to The Sun we're going to spend ?60 million tomorrow on Jay Rodriguez, Yohan Cabaye and Aymeric Laporte

The most believable rumour at the moment is just Lennon going on loan to Hull, with a view to them buying in the summer if they survive. Poch clearly doesn't seem him fitting in to his plans as he's only started him three times in the league this season, so it wouldn't be a massive surprise if he did leave.

If I had to put money on it I'd bet on us not signing anyone tomorrow. More likely to see more ins and outs in the summer when Poch has had a full season to assess the squad and decided what he needs to improve it. You never know though!

[EJG1980]

So Lennon did leave on loan, but to Everton, not Hull. Stoke and QPR were also interested apparently. I think most footballers would make the same choice in his position! Hopefully he can inspire an upturn in form for them so they can take some points from our rivals for a top four finish.

Apparently West Ham wanted to loan Adebayor from us, and he was willing to go, but we said no. A bit of a "no brainer" really: leave ourselves with only two senior strikers and strengthen a team a few points behind us in the league? Not going to happen. Especially as if Ade felt like he had a point to prove, he might actually score a few goals!

We did make a signing though, 18 year old midfielder Dele Alli from MK Dons for ?5 million. Loaned straight back to them for the rest of the season. I know nothing about him at all, but he seems to be a highly rated prospect and is the top scoring midfielder in all four divisions. Hopefully he'll be someone we're raving about in a few years time.

[fallenangle]

Pity about Lennon; except in a case of serious injury to our first choice wing options I'd be surprised if we saw him back playing for Spurs again. If he gets on well at Everton I suspect they'll try to buy him in the summer.

Good to see with Dele Alli that they're thinking about the future, hope he turns out to be the right stuff. It will be interesting to see if Spurs can develop another talent like Kane, who I still can't quite believe has blossomed so quickly from the solid, donkey like player I thought he was only a year ago.

So otherwise no significant changes at Spurs for this window.

[EJG1980]

Get in there!

Excellent performance today, probably the most dominant display from us in a NLD for many a year. Normally in these games, even when we win, Arsenal have a lot of chances and pressure that we have to ride out. Apart from their goal, and a few shots here and there, we were clearly the better side today. I would have been gutted if we hadn't won after that performance.

Harry Kane... what more can be said? What a season he's having. His header that won it today was beautiful. Very Sheringham like the way he guided it into the net, perfect power and placement.

[prinnysquad]

When I think of the utter ****e that's been selected for the national team over the years, it's appalling that there's even a discussion about whether or not Kane should be picked. If they play to his strengths he could lead the line for years.

[nakamura]

Exactly right.

[fallenangle]

That was a great goal and a great result. Fully agree about Harry Kane. Last season I would have described him as a bit of donkey like some of the other England forwards they've lauded in the media and when selected turned out less than stellar in performance. Kane though, maybe thanks to Poch's hard fitness regime, looks like the genuine article now. Hope so.

Tuesday Edit:-

Boo, not unexpected to lose to Liverpool at Anfield but still a bit disappointing.

[EJG1980]

Boo, not unexpected to lose to Liverpool at Anfield but still a bit disappointing.

It was a really good match, just a shame we came out on the wrong end of the result. I thought both sides played very well and I thought we did enough to deserve a draw, but can't really complain about Liverpool getting a late winner. One of those matches where both teams played well enough to think they deserved something from the game.

Gutting to lose, but at least it was a match anyone could have won and we didn't just get turned over like the last few times we've played them! We'll get 'em next time

Ah well, now the players get just over a week to recharge (which I'm sure is welcome after the non-stop run of matches we had in January) before our next match against Fiorentina. Then we can get back to winning ways! COYS!

[fallenangle]

It was funny this morning on The Wright Stuff C5, one of the panelists, a comedian of some sort and a Spurs fan, was complaining that it just had to be against Spurs that Balotteli finally scored a goal for Liverpool. I was going to post exactly the same sentiment myself yesterday.

Yep let's get back to winning ways; COYS.

[EJG1980]

It was funny this morning on The Wright Stuff C5, one of the panelists, a comedian of some sort and a Spurs fan, was complaining that it just had to be against Spurs that Balotteli finally scored a goal for Liverpool. I was going to post exactly the same sentiment myself yesterday.

Yup, I said in the Liverpool thread that as soon as he came on as a sub and the commentator mentioned that he had yet to score in the Premier League for Liverpool, I thought "Ah bugger, he's gonna score!" because that's always the kind of thing that happens to Spurs!

I was watching with my two brothers and all three of us said, pretty much in unison, "I bet he scores!" when he came on.

[EJG1980]

Looking forward to tonight, it should be a really good game that's easy on the eye, but expecting it to be really tough as well. Don't concede an away goal and take any kind of lead to Italy and I'll be happy.

Two lovely League Cup final tickets turned up in the post today too

[fallenangle]

Nice and, yes, good luck to Spurs.

I always prefer the home game first. If you can keep a clean sheet or at least not concede more than one goal in a win or even a draw then there's added pressure on the opposition in the second leg. Any goal you score has the potential of counting double, score two and you're in the drivers seat.

Later Edit

Could have been worse.