So the two major stories are... i.) Danny Rose found his passport ii.) The players we all presumed wouldn't be going didn't - although before any tabloid hack posts a story about Townsend, he supposedly injured his shoulder in the friendly against Reading
That squad list, and pictures posted by the club today, confirm that Lamela and Yedlin have joined up with the squad in the US rather than having them fly all the way over to the UK just to fly back a few days later. Sensible stuff.
It will be certainly interesting getting the first extended look at this year's team. I wonder: Who will be Bentaleb's partner? I might guess, and would hope, that it's Dier (again?). It's not just that he's one of our best 11, I think. It's that if we're going to play a high energy system, we need to reward the high energy players. Will we see Alli replace Bentaleb, Dembele replace Eriksen, and Winks replace Dier, as I gather happened last week? My guess is that the talks between Dembele and Pochettino resulted in an agreement to play Dembele at number 10 fairly often, maybe against the strongest teams. Will Onomah, Carroll and Yedlin play, and if so, where? Who will start at RB? Given Pochettino's track record of easing new players into games, this is pretty likely to be the squad which plays Man U. Not to denigrate him, but the thought that Coulthirst will be our striker if anything happens to Kane gives me pause. I just watched an Alli highlight vid. I realize it was League 1, but it was very impressive. The most impressive thing of all was how many different things he seems to be able to do: score from 30 yards, dribble, thread a long pass, provide an aerial threat, score while shooting from the ground at a sharp angle, burst into the box with pace... A lot of great prospects at his level end up disappointing in the Prem, but he really does look to have the makings of an outstanding player, and one who could be outstanding anywhere in the center of the midfield.
Anyone else staying up for the MLS All Star game tonight then? My only qualm about doing so is that I have work at 6am and I'm not sure how its being broadcast - I don't want to wait up only to have to watch on a crap stream. Is it on Sky, or I heard it might be free to view on the Spurs website if you're a member?
Vorm; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen (c), Davies; Bentaleb, Dier; Chadli, Dembele, Eriksen; Kane. McGee (GK), Glover (GK), Trippier, Yedlin, Fazio, Wimmer, Rose, Alli, Carroll, Onomah, Winks, Coulthirst. Five defenders in the starting lineup, five on the bench and only two strikers in the squad, who are outnumbered by our goalkeepers. Absolutely no wingers in reserve, with Rose and Yedlin the closest that we've got available. Why the **** am I bothering with this game? No idea. Link for members: http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/matchcentre/mls-all-stars-vs-tottenham-hotspur-30072015/ And others: http://firstrows.biz/soccer/mls-all-stars-vs-tottenham-hotspur-frs111aae
2-0. Kane hits a sitter straight at the keeper and they go straight down the other end and double their lead via David Villa. Sloppy stuff, so far.
2-1, Kane. Poor back pass from our half put him in, ran to the edge of the 25-yard box and smashed it into the top corner. Third good chance and he puts one away. Excellent finish.
2-1, HT. Entertaining enough first half, I guess. The team doesn't look a week and a half away from starting the season, though. I think it's fair to say that the Dier in central midfield experiment didn't work. Looked well out of his comfort zone and got booked. I'd expect Dembele to drop into his position and a sub to be brought on in the three behind the striker.
Dier has looked awful. Lumbering around. Davis has also looked pretty woeful. in fact only Kane has looked good. I would say we are in for a long season
Virtually all Spurs in this half, but the keeper's not being tested. Lots of crosses by Trippier and Carroll's passing and movement have been impressive.
2-1 FT. Oh well. The threat went after Kane was removed. Last half hour was basically Spurs kids v MLS locals and the whole second half was a bit of a let down, in entertainment terms. The squad looks light in various areas and not match fit, which doesn't bode well for the opener. We don't seem close to being ready for the season, to me. Need signings and a ton of sharpness.
I was more encouraged by how good the kids looked in the second half than let down we seemed to pick up right where we left off last year: shaky at the back if dangerous going forward. I agree Trippier and Carroll changed the game, Trippier by providing width and speed to the buildup, Carroll with some clever passes that took the wind out of their sails. But Winks and Alli impressed me as well. They did much better than Dier and Bentaleb in the first half, I thought. Rose, predictably, was a considerable upgrade on Davies. His pace and athleticism are impressive. Our starters looked awkward overall, I thought, and very vulnerable defensively. But Kane would have had four if he had been clinical. Dembele, in particular, created some excellent chances, even though he dawdled on the ball at times. I like him overall as one of the attacking midfield rotation. Chadli dawdled more, made his presence felt, but missed two decent chances--the opposite of what he usually does, in other words. His handball was idiotic, but nothing matters less than a handball in preseason. I was not happy Pochettino left his irreplaceable player in longer than the rest. I don't think more signings of any kind will help in the short term, and, perhaps, period. The kids looked better because they have the experience with each other to play as a team. The weak links in the first half were the three newish additions, Davies at left back, Walker at right back and Dier not at right back. Mason last year had his shortcomings but was much better in that role. The kids, on the other hand, all seemed to know who was going to be where when, and beat the press much better than the starters did (even if the pressing may not have been as determined). We do need a backup striker, though, no doubt. Coulthirst may be ready for the PL eventually, but isn't now. Onomah does have talent, no doubt, but didn't have a very good game. He botched one good chance with a shot that was underhit and misdirected. Pretty lively game overall, I thought. We created the better chances in the first half and controlled the second. I also don't think we're going to be fully up to speed in a week and a half, but would see it as the lesser of two evils. It's a very long season after a short break. I'd rather the players ramp up over the first few games if it means they have a little more time to rest and recover. We were also playing a team in the middle of their season at 7,000 feet.
I think RWAEB's point about the altitude is significant. 7,000ft is a long way up. Any of you who've ever been skiing will know just how quickly you can tire at that altitude. It scares me that we still appear to be relying on Kane so much. If he gets injured, we are going to be royally ****ed! Just hope Levy has something in the pipeline!
