Thank goodness for that. Overall great performance - deserved win. Bad points - occasionally looked bad in defence, sloppy goal and a slightly worse passing performance than I normally expect from us. Other than that though - all good...
Well we've finally got a win on the board and we played very well, so I'm largely happy. Still things to work on, obviously and it's concerning to see Assou-Ekotto out and Bale limping at the end, but it's nice to get off the mark. Dembele was excellent, Lennon caused them a lot of problems, Sandro had a good game and Defoe had an impressive game in a role that he's rarely made an impact in. Naughton started off a little shakily, which is understandable, but improved as the game went on and looked pretty comfortable overall.
well pleased for AVB...Vert was my man of the match along with Defoe. Sig needs to stop being so greedy.. COYS
We switched off completely after the third goal really, which is kind of understandable in a way but still very infuriating to have conceded at the end. However I would hope that if we had been under more pressure from Reading then the intensity wouldn't have dropped off. We looked very sharp though, I know it's our first good performance of the season so I'm trying to avoid a knee-jerk reaction but hopefully this is the sign that AVB is starting to get his messages across. With the greatest respect to Reading we'll face tougher tests than that this season but if we can do well against Lazio in the Europa and then follow up with a win over QPR next weekend then we'll have some momentum as well. Our season starts now.
Huddlefro - I guess you've put the evil eye on Huddlestone now, so please when he goes in January don't change your screen name to anyone anywhere near the 1st XI.
Didn't like the way we conceded,work to do on late goals. QPR had a creditable draw against Chelsea so won't be pushovers but we caught up 2 points on the top slot so all good. I said 1-2 so 1-3 is a bonus.
i just think he has alot of the ball and not enough threatening deliveries...however im not nit picking im happy about today.
To be fair, Reading weren't any good in the first half but it was good to see us consistently create chances against a team trying to get men behind the ball and frustrate us, we often struggled with that last season. Still a fair few things to improve but this is only the 4th game in the season and the 1st where we've had all our new signings together. Promising though.
We often struggle against teams like Reading - a win is a win and we needed that - makes for a great evening and I can watch MOTD !!
When I saw Defoe had been chosen ahead of Ade or Demps I went for a walk with a scowl on my face. I'm confounded. So does AVB keep faith with Defoe? I suppose so.
Fair point Dona Moving on from this should we play 2 up front against QPR? It seems a waste having Adebayor sitting on the bench especially for a home match. IMO we should definitely start Defoe and Adebayor against QPR.
I felt the same about Ade,Jack. But that means changing formation? I felt that Sig was overthinking today and not making simple passes when they were on...mybe Ade for Sig? can't see the team changing next week...Defoe has earnt his place.
That was the Spurs I've been waiting for. AVB finally got rid of the 2 DMs which has really peeved me off in the first 3 games and to me it made the difference. We had more attack minded players on the pitch and Reading weren't sure who to mark. We pressed and pressed and pressed and it was the Spurs we've been used to seeing in terms of dominating play, entertaining the fans and finishing most of the chances. I can't call a MOTM, it was just a great team performance. Vertonghen, Dembele, Sandro, Lennon and Defoe were all top notch for me. Was also great to see Townsend get a debut, I'm a huge fan of his so I'm delighted for the lad, there's nothing better than seeing academy players make their league debuts for us. Still worried at the fact we switched off in the last 5-10 minutes but that's been a curse on Spurs for years. Definite from me, now have something to build upon. Well done Spurs and yes, well done AVB.
Until the late goal I thought we defended well. They had a number of occasions where they put good balls into the box but they were dealt with very well. The goal was more a stupid mistake rather than a collective failure of the defence. I was planning to praise the defence (and I mean how the team as a whole defended) before that, but why not, the stats are rather telling on this match.
It'll be interesting to see what sort of team Villas-Boas picks for our game against Lazio. I definitely want to see some of the players that didn't start today go into the first XI, with Lloris, Adebayor, Huddlestone, Dempsey, Dawson, Caulker and Townsend all itching to get on. It's a massively important game in that group for us though, so I'm not sure how many changes we should make. I'll just stick to being happy about today's result for now, I think. Enjoy the win and think about the rest another day.
Well done AVB. A great result against a very poor team , let's build on this. I have decided to become the 12th man as I meditate for two days before a game. This raises the ultra waves . Our Demi God Daniel has spoken . Onwards, upwards, together. Sid Join me on a journey of positive thought . (Dr Fincklestein)
5 points from 4 games - one point less than this time last season, but with a lot of players to bed in. Now that the players are in place (barring the Moutinho-shaped hole in midfield), they were either going to click or take a while to settle, so it's good for us that the former is what happened today. Naughton getting a chance, plus a cameo from Townsend, also leans towards the talk of using the youngsters more - also, being able to leave Ade on the bench helped us today - although I still hope that fellow benchees Daws and Caulker get a chance, even if it's in the COC.
