PAlace were the "bottom team" promoted and we have taken 3 points away - the "bottom team" relegated were QPR and we only got a draw there - so we are already 2 points ahead
I have to say, I seem to have formed a different opinion than most on many of our players today, including : Rose - I thought he was pretty poor. Nothing wrong with keeping things simple - and his distribution was certainly that - but I thought he looked extremely limited on the ball. His pace is an asset as games get stretched, but aside from that he looks out of his depth to me. Walker - Aside from a couple of bad touches I thought he was excellent. Showed his great pace on numerous occasions, and generally passed well and linked the play down the right. I actually thought he was Spurs' biggest creative threat for much of the game. Paulinho - I am expecting great things from this guy, but I have to say I missed what all the fuss is about regarding his performance today. Thought he was pretty quite for large parts of the game. Chadli - Didn't think he looked as threatening as Townsend. Lennon - Not the out an out speedster he was in his early 20s, but I thought he did pretty well today. Soldado - For me he didn't show anything much today that Defoe would not have done. Yes, he gets into a lot of good positions (and stays onside), but he was given a lot of chances today and rarely got a shot on target. Defoe - Scuffed his shot, but he's done very well to make the chance anyway. Thought he looked very lively. My marks would have been : Lloris 8 Rose 5.5 Dawson 5 Vertonghen 7.5 Walker 7.5 Dembele 6.5 Chadli 6 Paulinho 6 Siggurdson 5.5 Lennon 6.5 Soldado 6 Subs : Capu 7, Defoe 7, Kaboul 6.5
For anyone that's forgotten what a Spurs player scoring a penalty in a competitive game looks like: please log in to view this image
The main problem with Siggy, is his slow brain, he wants to control the ball, knock it forward then pick a pass or strike the ball, thats fine if you have world class movement and awareness but he doesn't so as you say hes far too slow, not just mentally but in his movement and he may well be a decent guy and a good squad player but to have him as our creative option in centre midfield isn't going to help us grab top four or higher,
On the way home from the game, I thought that we were in control until the last 10 minutes. Sig, Chadli & JD each had decent chances to make the game safe. I thought Lloris was excellent when needed, Dawson led the defence and played very well. Verts had a couple of dodgy moments and looked knackered. Rose settled and looked ok, Walker again ok. Chadli was off the pace 1st half and improved 2nd. Dembele looked good, pauliniho looked very good, Lennon look knackered throughout. Siggy done a decent job but misplaced a few balls, Soldado again done a decent job. I thought that there were signs of a good partnership developing with siggy & Bobby. Capou(?) looked immense when he came on. All in all, not a bad performance and 3 points from a banana skin of a game.
The first of many entertaining rants this season from Holloway http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23748851
Nothing like a sore loser eh? 1-0 masked our dominance - 2-0 would have been a fair result. ------------------ In general, we played ok I think. Opening day, away from home, against a bright newly promoted team - a win, a clean sheet, all of our signings played and a reasonable overall performance. I don't think I could've asked for much more. I thought Rose played ok though he needs more matches before a proper opinion is formed. Walker's decision making and crossing was just as poor as it was at the end of last season however, his link up play with Lennon was excellent. Sig as a creative midfielder just isn't going to work in my book. People say Eriksen is over-rated but I reckon he'd have taken the chance when Soldado pulled the ball back in the 2nd half.
Was Holloway actually watching that game? Some of the crap that Clattenburg was calling for them was unbelievable. His "little Blackpool side" got away with Charlie Adam's hatchet job against Bale at WHL and got two penalties, so he's wrong there, too. That horrible taste in his mouth will be from the **** he's talking. He seems really negative, compared to his old attitude. Seems a bit broken, already.
Just got back from a very noisy Selhurst Park and agree we were in control for pretty much all of the game. I would certainly have taken a 1-0 win before the start, but I can't help feeling a wee bit disappointed we didn't score more as we definitely should have done. We looked what we are, a team needing more time for the new players to gel in. I also liked what I saw from Capoue and I have to say I was somewhat surprised to hear Sky gave MOM to Paulinho. Dawson was all over the place early on, but fortunately settled down and Vertonghen is clearly not 100% fit and Dembele continues to drive me nuts. But overall a good enough performance, a clean sheet away from home and a decent 3 points which from the first game is the main priority.
He said he wasn't going to be funny this season. No, instead he acts just like Allardyce - another manager with a chip on their shoulder whose post-match interviews are filled with so much sour grapes and bullshit, we should be thankful they don't own a vineyard.
Well, we got her into the cab, as Holloway once said, and that's the main thing. We looked like a bunch of strangers, which we are. Too many woefully misplaced passes, especially at first. Worst of all was the group decision at the 87 minute mark to stop pressing, which rolled out the red carpet for Palace and nearly cost us. We'll never make it easy against anyone, I think. We'd end up barely holding on against our tea ladies. Lloris won two points for us with an excellent reflex save, but he shouldn't have to do that. Soldado didn't get enough service. However, plenty of bright points. We looked strong and combative, and lost few 50-50s and fewer balls in the air. Until we stopped pressing we snuffed out Palace's attacking threats nicely. Capoue may have looked better than anyone. Paulinho was good but not great (I also don't see what the fuss was about). Lennon was very good as usual. Walker was good until that nightmare-recalling header back to Lloris, and linked with Lennon well. Rose was pretty good, energetic, and made a good saving tackle. I'll disagree with everyone else about Gylfi (as, maybe you might expect, given my Icelandophile tendencies.) We had four good chances, and three involved Gylfi: an excellent shot from a difficult position, stopped by an excellent save; a corner which found Chadli at the post (at least I think it was from Gylfi), who somehow managed to miss the net; his own missed shot (though come to think of it Soldado really created that one); and Defoe's miss. I agree he's a confidence player, though, and would have been much happier if both he and Defoe had not missed their chances. Criticize Gylfi all you want, without him we would have hardly created anything; he did what a CM should do, overall, including working hard. Chadli was lively, but made too many mistakes, especially that horrible header. Great to see Soldado drill it into the side netting after faking the keeper to the other side. The announcer's curse. My wife was saying, "There's no way we'll ever get a pen-" when we got one. And I was thinking Lennon really needs to work on cutting it back for the late player coming into the box aka Paulinho rather than the inevitable centering pass into a clump of defenders--when the centering ball going into a clump of defenders won just about as blatant a handball as you'll ever see. Interesting learning curve this year. We'll have a considerably stiffer test next week, then the away half of the London Derby. Can't wait. I'll be at WHL in a week...
Please ask why referees didn't favour us last season.Perhaps we might have a little Man U luck this season.........
Sorry lads, we played well in the end, but we couldn't pull off the upset. After the first 30 minutes, we were probably the better side, but just couldn't create any really good chances. Oh, and Torres is an absolute ****, isn't he?
I think he realises that he's a manager who simply will never cut it in the EPL. Championship is his level.
When these players have had more time together, I think we are going to have an awesome pass-and-move squad that will be able to control the tempo of games, far better than any Spurs squad we've ever had in the past. That's without Bale. If we can keep Bale, we'll be title contenders.
2-0 away at the bridge is not a bad result for the first game of the season, especially with new signings who need to bed in. Chelsea are a tough side to beat away and if you get chances, you gotta take them. Today wasn't your day, but don't be disheartened by that result. There will be sides that go to the bridge and get battered this season.
OS, Agree re the noise there today, fair play to the palace fans they generated a lot of noise. Our support there wasn't to bad, went flat towards the end of each half.
