Lazio Panathanaikos Lyon Inter Basel Anzhi (admittedly they have issues this season) are all well-known European regulars.
Thanks - am now reminded of that debacle of a Lazio game at home - didn't we have three of four aparently legitimate goals ruled out? [**Link to recent thread on here about match fixing perhaps?**] Wasn't Platini at that match, witnessing the "perfomance" of the ref that logic dictates must have been (1) incompetent or (2) corrupt? On top of it all, wasn't there racist chanting by the Lazio blackshirts (oops, I mean fans).
Was that the one where he was sitting next to someone else important/famous/etc but it looked really uncomfortable with Platini sitting at some sort of weird angle on his seat as if the person next to him was so abhorrent he couldn't sit straight? Or was that another Platini-spot?
But the only cross we scored from was a set piece taken from the left with the right foot, and we scored two goals from open play via Townsend and Lamela cutting in from the right. But I'm sure Townsend playing on the left made the real difference......
Thought it was a really good performance last night. Baring in mind we had a makeshift CB pairing I thought they worked really well. Great to see Danny (and Eriksen) back and I thought Naughton and Fredericks both played well too. Delighted to see Coulthirst given his chance, looked lively in the cameo, always brings a smile when seeing an academy player make his first team bow. Holtby's goal was a joy to watch, great technique and if he can join in more with the goals side of things (2 in last 3) then that'll be a very welcome bonus and a sign he maybe finding his feet. Overall very happy, especially as we used a little amount of first teamers and subbed most of them off at the right times. 6 wins out of 6 in Europe is a nice achievement.
We then visited Rome, had our fans assaulted and had another perfectly good goal chalked off. Lazio's fans have spent recent weeks plastering their city with mock ups of Anne Frank in a Roma shirt, too. Classy club.
Spurs v Lazio http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19582546 Lazio v Spurs http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20336209
No one is saying that for Townsend on the left to be deemed a success there must be a goal or assist from his left peg. Just his presence out there creates room for others, being ridiculous, he could not touch the ball all day, but his presence out wide, touchline hugging, still benefits the team keeping a marker out with him stretching their defence. Your intended last sentence of sarcasm has fallen a bit flat now hasn't it!
Probably right that I shouldn't use sarcasm, but I still don't get why everyone is so in favour of wide play and crosses! I think the problem with our play so far this year is that we've not had enough people making runs into the box to support Soldado. Making the wingers play wider makes that problem worse. In trying to understand why AVB uses the tactics he does I've been watching how often taking the ball to the byline and crossing it actually creates a goal (in all matches, not just Spurs). Seems to almost never happen!
Playing with width forces the opposition's defence to go wide, creating space in the middle. Parking the bus becomes much, much harder.
Theoretically it sounds great. But all sorts of other things change too. Many things that people think are 'obviously true' (like serving first in a tennis set is an advantage) don't stand up to proper examination. I've no idea which approach gives the better results but I'm pretty sure it's not that obvious.
Must have been watching a different game last night. While there were some real positives - Soldado scoring and general play, ditto Holtby (who is looking better and better), Fredericks impressive debut, Dembele, Capoue, Friedel and Sigs all putting in strong performances and a style of play that was actually good to watch - some of the deficiencies were still in evidence. Naughton was ok in the first half although responsible for their goal, but was poor throughout the 2nd. Townsend did some good things, but also showed poor decision-making and at times ran around like a headless chicken, never seeming to have control over the ball. He also wasn't that quick at tracking back, as Lennon would. Lamela, similarly, drifted in and out of the game without really stamping his authority on proceedings. 5-3 would probably have been a more accurate shoreline to reflect the game as a whole and would have brought sharper focus on some defensive frailties. Liverpool on Sunday - even an injury-depleted Liverpool - will provide a much tougher challenge.
