The Apology Thread

[THFCSPURS19]

And the stadium sponsorship it happening any minute now.

Whisper it...takeover.

I take it you are joking...

 

[Misfit]

Yes.

 

[Mediocrates]

I wanted us to play Pedro Mendes instead of Carrick. I still have a huge soft spot for Pedro but that one sticks out as a mistake. I also really rated Routledge and wanted him given a run ahead of Lennon, but I don't think that one's quite as bad. Routledge has carved himself out a decent career in the last few years and I still maintain he has better delivery than Aaron.

Anyway, none of us I'm sure are as bad as this:

Gareth Bale, Southampton and Wales​

​

Steve Claridge assesses the qualities of young Southampton and Wales wing-back Gareth Bale​

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• The Guardian, Tuesday 17 October 2006

Gareth Bale is the youngest player to play for Southampton (at 16 years 275 days) and Wales (17 years 51 days), and having watched him play for both club and country it is clear we are talking about two very different disciplines. For the Saints he plays at left-back while Wales use him as a wing-back.​

I first saw him as an out-and-out left-back in the Championship and he seemed completely at home. At 6ft and 11st 10lb he's extremely well advanced physically for his age and looks like a footballer. That might be a funny thing to say but just by the way he looks on a football pitch you would expect him to be a good player.​

Bale has a cultured left foot, good initial pace, which when he hits his stride really comes to the fore, a sign that he is still maturing in strength. He likes to support his winger on most occasions, which in Southampton's case was Rudi Skacel, who would drift inside and give him the chance to make 60-yard runs into the opposition half. Once there he was comfortable receiving the ball with a neat first touch, and showed intelligent distribution.​

Bale will mark his winger, although at times he should read the game quicker so that he can get closer earlier. He is not a player who will commit himself or hurt his opponent in the tackle, preferring to stand up and occupy him. He is not bad covering when the ball is on the opposite side of the pitch and is rarely beaten in the air from a diagonal. His positional play for crosses is good: he does not leave too big a gap between himself and the centre-half.​

Surprisingly for a 17-year-old his game has a very consistent look. Some people blow hot and cold with so little experience but he did not panic in tight areas and showed good awareness all over the pitch.​

Last Wednesday Bale earned his third Welsh cap in the win over Cyprus playing as a wing-back in a defensive five. He is clearly good in the air because he was asked to mark the big Cypriot No9 in dead-ball situations but he was sometimes caught ball-watching and looked a bit uncomfortable at times in the position. Although able to find space when Wales were on the attack, there was a reluctance to really want the ball and a reticence by his team-mates to give it to him.​

He is much more exposed offensively in this position as he does not possess the ability to go past his opponent at will. He prefers to stick to the limits of his game: it is a good sign when a player understands his own capabilities. He played too deep for most of this match as wing-back but was able to get away with it because Wales relied on the pace of Craig Bellamy and Robert Earnshaw over the top, negating the need for real width.​

A lot has been made of Bale because he is so young but what must be remembered is he is a left-back, not another Ryan Giggs. Even at this early age I'm not sure he's the type of player who has the ability going forward to be a worldbeater, but he's on the path to being a fantastic defender. Because he is left-footed he has a great advantage. He is going to have a long and successful career sticking to what he can rather than what he cannot do​

 

[Mullers]

Wasn't Routledge and Lennon on a similar level when they started out? I seem to remember Routledge had a good peace cup, had some good games for us but got injured a lot, which allowed Lennon to break through outright.

 

[Misfit]

Wasn't Routledge and Lennon on a similar level when they started out? I seem to remember Routledge had a good peace cup, had some good games for us but got injured a lot, which allowed Lennon to break through outright.

Routledge was the starter for sure and Azza was a nice little punt on a promising player "for the future". One injury and history is written.

 

[Misfit]

Pull your socks up, Claridge!

 

[StartingPrice]

I think a lot of people had that opinion.

I remember everyone with any sense was strongly agreeing with the proposition that if we sold Bale we wouldn't be getting a string of 'football manager fantasy signings' like Lamela...but we were wrong, wrong wrong.

I must have been in a minority, then, because before the window even opened I said we would be outside challengers for the league whether we sold Bale or not*

* I did, however, say we wouldn't be selling Bale...but that was before the pictures of him with a RM kit on emerged

 

[cabinfever]

OK ********deep breath******* I never rated Ralph Coates.

There I've said it and he went on to score the only goal in the League cup Final against Norwich!!! (1973)

 

[coldasice199]

I....I.....I....actually liked Jermain Jenas.........sorry

In fairness I watched the carling cup 5 goal victory again recently, and Jenas was a man possessed in that game. Played exceptionally well. And scored a lot against arsenal. I suppose his problem wasn't talent, more consistency.

 

[ClintEastwould]

Love avb as a person but questioned his ability as a manager during the summer when it looked like he was stockpiling defensive midfielders after a season of turgid football. I know see his vision of a dominant team capable of controlling any football match with a strong athletic base and a mixture of pace creativity and directness up front.

 

[pook]

a couple months into his spurs career, I thought modric was too easily pushed off the ball, and wouldn't be able to cope with the pace of English football. in retrospect, that may not have been entirely accurate.

 

[ClintEastwould]

Im also eagerly awaiting BC and thinktank's apology over walker and daws, should be coming soon.

 

[EnfieldYiddo]

I apologise on behalf of Dawson that his footballing ability doesn't match his top notch attitude and commitment.

Have I got the gist of the thread right?

 

[Lilbaz]

Yes.

Oh . We didn't have our annual take over rumour this summer. I feel cheated.

We did get the Lewis pumping in £billions to buy new players (even though he's not allowed due to FFP). So I guess it wasn't too bad.

 

[Lilbaz]

I didn't think AVB would be a success. Although I never said anything negative about him once he signed. To be fair though he still hasn't achieved anything yet, but he's looking very good to achieve something special.

 

[PG Spurs]

Juande Ramos
Who wasn't excited by this one. The lengths DL went to get his man, becoming lifelong enemies with Sevilla in the process. He was the messiah, OUR special one. Turned out he was special all right, just in a different kind of way. Now slumming it with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Prior to that he spent some time at CSKA Moscow announcing on arrival "I have come here to help the team in the Champions League. Our target is to advance from the group stage"...he was turfed out 47 days later!

May not be popular this, but I don't think Ramos was a complete failure. He did beat the Arse 5-1 in the League cup semi, and then the Chavs in the final. Two of our greatest moments in the last decade. OK, it went down hill after the cup win, but there were good times.

 

[Tottenham_God]

I thought Phil Ifil would be the new Gary Neville.

 

[thinktank]

Je ne regrette rien

 

[thinktank]

I slated the recruitment of AVB as was a massive Harry fan. I thought AVB was another Ramos.
I was SOOOOOOOO wrong on every count.
Its a bit boring though now - I have nothing to moan about

I remember that you stupid xxxx, how'd ya feel now then numpty boy!!! Hahahahaha!! *does wanker hand gesture*

Hey..I think I'm gonna really like this thread.

That is a joke by the way JS, don't really think you're a numpty

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

AVB was always a no-brainer to me. this was my opinion at the time in another forum

at the end of May, when rumors of 'Arry possibly getting the old Spanish archer first emerged

I think AVB will be a good appointment wherever he ends up next. His failure at Chelsea IMO was more down to the players being resistant to the changes he was trying to introduce and him subsequently not being backed by the board as anything else. Everyone agreed at the beginning of last season that the Chelsea team were too old and need major changes, and that's what he was brought in for, yet he was given very little chance to make such changes, getting slaughtered for changing tactics, resting/rotating the likes of Lampard and Drogba, and trying to get players to press the ball. Di Matteo is getting a lot of credit for turning around their season, but he did that pretty much by reverting back to basics and of course some unbelievable luck. That's all well and good in the short term, but if they do decide to give him the job permanently, everyone will see just how much of a task it is trying to rebuild there for the long term. AVB is a very good coach, and very knowledgable about tactics and how they're constantly evolving. I doubt we'd have a chance at getting him, but I reckon his methods (particularly a high-line and intense pressing) would have far more chance of succeeding with the younger and dynamic players we have in our team (Walker, Lennon, Bale, Sandro, even VdV....and ball-playing CBs like Kaboul and Vertonghen if he comes) than they did at Chelsea.

then when it actually happened

AVB (if we could get him) would be a great appointment. he's a brilliant coach.

then when it turned out we actually did have a chance, and were talking to him

if we did get AVB, I'm pretty sure that would complete our hero-to-villain transformation as far as the media is concerned, given how they absolutely love 'Arry and hate AVB. we're already copping it all yesterday and today with numerous articles about the impending doom and gloom that will soon surround us, and how we'll soon be free-falling into oblivion because we've let go the best thing that ever happened to us. I even heard someone comparing it to when Charlton got rid of Curbishley, with the warning "be careful what you wish for". people really are silly.

on his tactics

I think they stand more of a chance of working with a younger and more athletic back line than he had at Chelsea, ball-playing centre-backs like Kaboul and Vertonghen, and the attacking players buying into the idea of pressing from the front, winning possession higher up the pitch, thus easing the load on the defenders. I definitely think we've most of the pieces to make such a system work.

and so on and so forth. basically, I'm ace, me