Spurs vs Middlesbrough: Match Thread

[donny1013]

I think he's playing better football to be honest, his all round game is much improved, he tracks back better than alot of so called prem class defenders and his final ball is getting better tonight he put in some great crosses we just lacked the urgency to get on them.

true, just didn't want to seem OTT.:grin:

 

[Singayid]

I have to agree with Spurious that Pal wasn't the best tonite although he did get better as the game went on. Was it me or did JJ start to look like the player of old??? Pal will bring out the best in JJ & hopefully create a good solid partnership. COYS:beer:

 

[bergsuk]

I think he's even more important to our play than Modric

I agree, whilst Modric is great at creating space and chances when were in comfortable possesion, Lennon is a great outlet at relieving pressure when our backs are against the wall but he also has the ability to create space and chances.

I'm not saying Modric doesnt help out when were up against it, just that Teams fear Lennon on the counter alot more.

 

[bergsuk]

true, just didn't want to seem OTT.:grin:

I get you, but his performance tonight surely deserves some OTT posts, me beinf drunk also helps!

COYS!

 

[SpurSince57]

Don't want to be negative but Palacios was not fantastic.

But for the rest, great to win a cynical game, by which I mean we put away every chance we should have - which is what winning teams do.

And Lennon was brilliant, beautiful to watch, even my trophy wife said so, usually she couldn't care less!

But my god Mboro were rubbish. I found myself imagining how it must feel to support them - it's bad enough supporting our lot sometimes but I really feel for those poor bastards who have to try to put a positive spin on the catastrophe that Mboro played tonight (and I guess that it's not the first time)

No, he wasn't, but there seems to be a very fine line between 'fantastic' and 'shit' in some people's minds. 'OK' just doesn't seem to be enough.

Agreed, Lennon was something else. Maybe his best performance ever for us.

They were pathetic at the back and it could have been a lot worse if Jones wasn't such a capable keeper. But they were very threatening at times going forward (I hope we don't get any more comments saying Downing is slow after he showed a clean pair of heels to Zoko!); their problem is that although Tuncay and Aliadiere are classy players neither is a consistent goalscorer and Alves—like so many strikers who score for fun in the Eredivisie—has found the EPL a different matter altogether. If Marlon King's preferred to him, you know there's a problem. And, give them credit, they came out with the idea of playing good open positive football, not parking the bus and hoping to sucker us on the break. All credit to them for that.

 

[miles_64]

So, I thought I'd take the Jenas debate seriously tonight by really watching him and from the 10th minute onwards I wrote down every notable contribution he made to the team. He is clearly a different player to Wilson in that he's more of a positional player than a 'panther-pounce' player - he cuts off potential passes very well which I am guessing a good many of his detractors do not notice. He put in some very good tackles tonight but, as on Sunday, perhaps failed to make the forward runs I expect from him, especially given that we have Wilson in the side to yo-yo with him. His technique looks beautiful but he did occasionally give the ball away needlessly. I don't think he was as dynamic as usual tonight but he did make 2 goal-saving tackles and a fantastic cross-field pass to Lennon in the build-up to the third goal. Here were my minute by minute notes:

11:13 - Poor distribution results in Tuncay's offside goal.
12-20mins - square passing and not much in the way of attacking forays.
22 - nice interception
23:25 - needless loss of possession
23:52 - nutmegged
27:51 - classic JJ as far as SC is concerned - wins the ball well, makes a good run and then gives a hospital pass to Luka
36 - Similar story - nice footwork then horrendous pass straight into touch - not even close to AL
38:58 - Great cross-field ball for Lennon - results in goal.
41:30 - Just as I was thinking "press up!" - JJ holds back well and breaks up a potential counter attack
(internet goes down for 10mins)
59:28 - Commentator - "Boro just that bit quicker in the middle of the park at the moment" - fair comment - both Wilson and JJ are not winning the second balls and 50/50s. To be fair, JJ has played a cup final on Sunday.
61:40 - Think it was JJ with a brilliant challenge in the box
62:40 - And another!
63:20 - Good defensive clearance.

SUBBED


I also watched Hudd in much the same manner - to start with he wasn't running a great deal - epitomised by Arca getting away from him to put in a good shot. Like JJ he made a couple of good interceptions but I don't remember any tackles. I thought I was going to be critical of him but twice I have written BRILLIANT when describing his passing - he really did play some crackers tonight. In the build up to Bent's goal, he showed a good bit of strength coupled with a precise pass. Good subs app for the lad.

On another note - Downing - I always thought he was slow but he actually outran Didzok in the 16th minute. Didn't have his best game but wouldn't be so adverse to him coming to spurs if he actually has a bit of pace.

 

[hellava_tough]

Just got back from the game; great result lads :up:

Hard work put in by everyone, and although I'm delighted with the score line, we should have had even more!!

The second half was a right-off, because both teams knew the result by then, which was a tad disappointing, but overall a brilliant result which sees us moving further up the table. :grin: - COYS

PS We definitely need an outlet of attack on the left. I'm really surprised Southgate didn't put a man-marking job on Lennon; if he had, we would have been scuppered.

PPS I was in the South Upper right next to the way fans. Near the end of the match, around the 80 minute mark, there was an altercation between some Boro fans (in particular 2-3 female supporters) and some Spurs fans. Nothing physical, just a lot of abuse being hurled, although it was deemed bad enough to get the stewards involved, and a few Spurs fans were asked to leave (which they did).

Does anyone know what started this? Was something thrown? Or was it simply a case of Northern women being a little on the frisky side :hump:?

 

[hellava_tough]

So, I thought I'd take the Jenas debate seriously tonight by really watching him and from the 10th minute onwards I wrote down every notable contribution he made to the team. He is clearly a different player to Wilson in that he's more of a positional player than a 'panther-pounce' player - he cuts off potential passes very well which I am guessing a good many of his detractors do not notice. He put in some very good tackles tonight but, as on Sunday, perhaps failed to make the forward runs I expect from him, especially given that we have Wilson in the side to yo-yo with him. His technique looks beautiful but he did occasionally give the ball away needlessly. I don't think he was as dynamic as usual tonight but he did make 2 goal-saving tackles and a fantastic cross-field pass to Lennon in the build-up to the third goal. Here were my minute by minute notes:

11:13 - Poor distribution results in Tuncay's offside goal.
12-20mins - square passing and not much in the way of attacking forays.
22 - nice interception
23:25 - needless loss of possession
23:52 - nutmegged
27:51 - classic JJ as far as SC is concerned - wins the ball well, makes a good run and then gives a hospital pass to Luka
36 - Similar story - nice footwork then horrendous pass straight into touch - not even close to AL
38:58 - Great cross-field ball for Lennon - results in goal.
41:30 - Just as I was thinking "press up!" - JJ holds back well and breaks up a potential counter attack
(internet goes down for 10mins)
59:28 - Commentator - "Boro just that bit quicker in the middle of the park at the moment" - fair comment - both Wilson and JJ are not winning the second balls and 50/50s. To be fair, JJ has played a cup final on Sunday.
61:40 - Think it was JJ with a brilliant challenge in the box
62:40 - And another!
63:20 - Good defensive clearance.

SUBBED


I also watched Hudd in much the same manner - to start with he wasn't running a great deal - epitomised by Arca getting away from him to put in a good shot. Like JJ he made a couple of good interceptions but I don't remember any tackles. I thought I was going to be critical of him but twice I have written BRILLIANT when describing his passing - he really did play some crackers tonight. In the build up to Bent's goal, he showed a good bit of strength coupled with a precise pass. Good subs app for the lad.

On another note - Downing - I always thought he was slow but he actually outran Didzok in the 16th minute. Didn't have his best game but wouldn't be so adverse to him coming to spurs if he actually has a bit of pace.

Good review of JJ - pretty much what I thought of him tonight

If Jenas was 'hungrier' and more aggressive, he'd be world-class.

 

[walworthyid]

Good review of JJ - pretty much what I thought of him tonight

If Jenas was 'hungrier' and more aggressive, he'd be world-class.

Er, no, he really wouldn't! He would be a much better player but being hungrier and more aggressive isn't suddenly going to give him more vision, more composure, better positional awareness and an abundance of skill!

 

[leffe186]

Cheers for the Jenas-watching. Wish I could have seen tonight's game.

Can I get some feedback on how Zokora played at right back? Any of those horrible dive-in tackles? It sounds like he did a really good job. How was he at coming forward?

Can someone give me some solid reasons why they had so many chances in the first half? Was it problems with our midfield or defence, with individuals or organisation?

What little I've seen points to really good interplay going forward. Was Modric cutting in a lot? Did BAE get exposed? How did Pav do?

I'm not looking for negatives, just want to get a feel for how we're developing before the run-in. Don't forget we still have Pool, Chelski, ManU and Villa to come.

 

[Bonjour]

Good review of JJ - pretty much what I thought of him tonight

If Jenas was 'hungrier' and more aggressive, he'd be world-class.

The whole team was hungrier under Ramos, but it didn't get us very far.

 

[DC_Boy]

well once again you and I are going to differ Miles

once again I'm going to point out we have 4 front players and it is WP & JJ's job to cover the mid ground and help out defensively too, of course if they can get forward too great - JJ did once at least - but under the current set up it's not his or WP's primary function

the reason those two play in the middle and not the likes of Modric or Hudd is cos of their ground covering, tackling etc

modric and lennon have virtually free roles (and both do a good job helping the mid as part of that) but they have the licence to go forward

a lot of prem teams don't put four basically attacking players on the pitch

for JJ to make it five is too risky, especially while there's a relegation battle on

jj made at least three telling tackles/headers in our own box, I suspect it was more

Boro are in a bit of form ATM and 4-0 doesn't tell the story of a tremendous game, but it was a tremendous performance by us, especially after two hours plus at wembley and a tremendous result

 

[Kendall]

Its clear that Redknapp wants JJ and Palacios to stay in the midfield and let Modric and Lennon meander and supply the front two with support from the fullbacks. anybody who hasn't realised this yet from watching us and continues to berate JJ for not getting forward is a fool.

 

[miles_64]

Cheers for the Jenas-watching. Wish I could have seen tonight's game.

Can I get some feedback on how Zokora played at right back? Any of those horrible dive-in tackles? It sounds like he did a really good job. How was he at coming forward?

Can someone give me some solid reasons why they had so many chances in the first half? Was it problems with our midfield or defence, with individuals or organisation?

What little I've seen points to really good interplay going forward. Was Modric cutting in a lot? Did BAE get exposed? How did Pav do?

I'm not looking for negatives, just want to get a feel for how we're developing before the run-in. Don't forget we still have Pool, Chelski, ManU and Villa to come.

I'll do my best but I was maybe concentrating on JJ a little more than the whole picture at times. Zokora, who I am do not really admire, I thought played very well today - tackled well and made some energetic runs down the right without playing wasteful balls - :up:. BAE, whom I do admire, did not have his best game today. He gave his opposite man a bit too much space but this could well have a lot do with Boro's desire to expose our left-flank and Modric's predilection for roaming. Pav was not great today - yes he got a goal but his movement wasn't half that of Bent's and he didn't threaten too much - I would say he was off the pace and 'sloppy'. I am actually far more of a Pav than Bent man but that's the way I saw i.

You make a good point about the chances - you'll be sursprised to hear this but I don't think Woody played particularly well - I'm sure that others would have noticed he made a couple of exceptionally stray passes that led to good opportunities for Boro. Wilson, although good, was nothing like his usual self (excellent) and perhaps this allowed Boro to go through us at times. O'Neill played well for them as well. You'll be pleased to know that Jamie O'Hara received a MAGNIFICENT reception from the fans - singing his name loud and he repaid them with hard work and a couple of nice bits of play - very proud to be a Spurs fan after that. Daws was reliable as ever.

Overall, the scoreline flattered us in that they probably should have had a goal but we were coasting for long periods and played some sumptious possession football that wouldn't be all that alien to the Copa Libertadores.

 

[DC_Boy]

Its clear that Redknapp wants JJ and Palacios to stay in the midfield and let Modric and Lennon meander and supply the front two with support from the fullbacks. anybody who hasn't realised this yet from watching us and continues to berate JJ for not getting forward is a fool.

A little more forthright than I would be Kendall - but it might help get the message across

 

[DC_Boy]

I have no fears at all about playing any of the big 4 - as long as we can put out a strong team like tonight we'll give them a game ATM -

as we showed again on sunday where we were weakened every bit as much as MU - (given our respective resources) and took them all the way

 

[miles_64]

well once again you and I are going to differ Miles

once again I'm going to point out we have 4 front players and it is WP & JJ's job to cover the mid ground and help out defensively too, of course if they can get forward too great - JJ did once at least - but under the current set up it's not his or WP's primary function

the reason those two play in the middle and not the likes of Modric or Hudd is cos of their ground covering, tackling etc

modric and lennon have virtually free roles (and both do a good job helping the mid as part of that) but they have the licence to go forward

a lot of prem teams don't put four basically attacking players on the pitch

for JJ to make it five is too risky, especially while there's a relegation battle on

jj made at least three telling tackles/headers in our own box, I suspect it was more

Boro are in a bit of form ATM and 4-0 doesn't tell the story of a tremendous game, but it was a tremendous performance by us, especially after two hours plus at wembley and a tremendous result

DC - it's not that I expect JJ to make those runs all the time, maybe not even regularly but from time to time space opens up in front of him that requires a run and not a pass and it gets a little frustrating when JJ doesn't exploit that. I highlighted JJ's tackles in the box - they were very good. Before you put me on ignore, I really am a fan of JJ and believes he has vast potential but I was just trying to objectively look at him tonight. I thought he played well but there were nevertheless those typical JJ moments, results of a rush of blood to the head perhaps.

Its clear that Redknapp wants JJ and Palacios to stay in the midfield and let Modric and Lennon meander and supply the front two with support from the fullbacks. anybody who hasn't realised this yet from watching us and continues to berate JJ for not getting forward is a fool.

Kendall, over the past couple of weeks I have really enjoyed your posts (probably because i have agreed with a great deal of them and you don't appear to be a band-wagonner). However, 'berate' is quite a strong term and 'fool' is pretty insulting. As I said in reply to DC's post, I understand JJ's new role but that surely doesn't rule out the occasional run into space? He did it once or twice tonight but perhaps he could have tried a couple more times - there's no harm in taking the ball up the pitch a bit, laying it off and holding back to break off the potential-counter attack (as he did in the 41st minute).

 

[DC_Boy]

Miles - no way would I put you on ignore - I enjoy debating with you -

I just think you're asking a bit too much from JJ given our need for points and that we are playing four essentially attacking players - and not many of the teams around the bottom do that would be my guess

when JJ came on to join WP in the mid v bolton we were 2-0 down - we pulled that game back to 2-2 before yet another set piece disaster to lose 3-2

since then I believe we have played three full lge games with WP and JJ together each time - we've won 2, drawn one - pretty good for a relegation threatened side


those two are giving us some solidity (it's not perfect - gaps appeared today - but that's their main job)

 

[MattyP]

I thought it was because Bent scored two goals that we got back in to the game at Bolton :shrug:

 

[DC_Boy]

I thought it was because Bent scored two goals that we got back in to the game at Bolton :shrug:

what you're telling me that JJ's appearance in the second half made no difference to the performance?