Well tbh for some reason I was feeling very disappointed on the way home tonight, and gutted tbh that we 'failed' to catch the teams above us. I guess its just the pressure of being bottom with another game chalked off. I was thinking I wouldnt come on here tonight, but here I am! Will try to give a balanced report as always despite my strange feeling of disappointment. THE GAME Well I think Harry got it spot on today, setting up in a similar style to the Chelsea game with taarabt as the lone striker playing 4-5-1. And tbh that was the only way we had a chance of stopping them with Bale/Lennon as the two wingers. They had much of the possession but bar a few decent chances they didnt break through us often and gave Cesar little to do in the way of saves to make. Saying that one double save Cesar made was excellent. First a tip onto the post from a defoe shot which then fell to Adebayor and he saved again. As I said spurs had much of the possession but that was it in terms of decent chances in the first half for them. SWP went close for us with a good shot after some good play to create the opportunity. For 10-15mins the ball did get stuck in the midfield and it got scrappy and bit heated after Lennon decided to dive to try and win a penalty. Certainly got the crowd going in the R block corner! Second half was much the same, most of the ball was with them, but we tried to hit them on the counter attack. Cesar was commanding his area well and we gave them very few clear cut chances which shows how well we worked as a unit. Although we did get a bit sloppy with the ball at times which really didnt help! All in all a fair result that we more than deserved with the effort we put in. Little to offer at the other end though which is a worry, but against the top 4 I guess you have to sacrifice that in order to have a chance. THE RATINGS CESAR - 7 - made a great double save and when required did what was required. simple but crucial to the clean sheet. two in a row in the PL now against two very attacking sides. FABIO - 8 - MOM - had a tough ask in marking lennon but did a great job. so much so lennon got subbed. didnt give him time on the ball at all and was right beside him every time. also got forward well and had a great chance in the second half where you would expect him to test the keeper. showed some nice skill as well which shows he is full of confidence. i have been a critic of his but was good today. HILL - 7 - again did what was required and didnt really have too many mistakes and kept them quiet. was always around to block/close defoe and adebayor down. NELSEN - 6.5 - taken half a mark away for a couple of misjudgements of the ball where he almost let them in with a chance but recovered well and much the same as hill bar that. perhaps im being a little harsh there! ONUOHA - 7.5 - again i have been critical of him at times but like fabio he had a massive task in keeping bale quiet and he did so. not much going forwards from him but did his first and primary job well to stop bale having time on the ball. a clear tactic redknapp installed in the side today. M'BIA - 6.5 - overall a good display but is so erratic in his performance during a game. one moment he does something good, then makes a stupid mistake. again had a couple of quite frankly embarrassing dives and roll arounds on the floor. but was working very hard and not giving them time at all. DERRY - 7 - did the simple things well as usual and gave the back four a shield from their strong cm of dembele and sandro. worked hard as we know he does but was prone to a couple of errors. other than that very good. SWP - 7.5 - looks confident for sure but his shooting is woeful im afraid. made several opportunities for himself with great ball control and runs but his shots let him down badly bar one in the first half that was deflected wide. if only he could shoot. a threat most of the game. MACKIE - 7 - gave naughton a torrid time as he always was around to close down and force errors. naughton looked exhausted at times. as usual gave his absolute all for the cause and if adel had passed to him in the second half he could have been in for a decent chance. PARK - 5.5 - sorry, some may disagree here but the obvious weak link imo. looked well off the pace in the first half with no rhythm with his teammates at all and his lack of pace against several of their players showed. poor tackling, passing, and control let him down when a decent chance may have been on for the side. cant believe he played for man utd. what a let down. TAARABT - 7.5 - worked very hard and showed flashes of skill, but today sacrificed much of his usual flair for hard work and defending for the team. he has turned himself into a PL player with these performances. in this league he is never going to be as effective as he was in the NPC but he now works his socks off. THE FINAL WORD As I said a well deserved point, and I subsequently found out it was the first time they havent scored away from home in the PL this season - so it shows what a good job we did today. For some reason I was very downbeat at FT which I think is down to the fact we still find ourselves 5 points adrift with another game less. And with that reading also coming from 2-0 down to win. But having had a couple of hours to think about it, four points from Chelsea away and Spurs at home is very good indeed. So im feeling a bit more positive now, but no doubt we are still bang in trouble. We are clearly in urgent need of some creative talent up front as we offer very little. Someone to work alongside Adel up there is a must. Someone to give opposition defences the run around and to collect the long balls. Hope that is a well balanced report despite my feelings at FT!
thanks mate, its good to know others enjoy them. i certainly found it difficult today for some reason, just felt a bit downbeat at full time. but feeling more positive now having reflected on not only todays game, but the chelsea one as well.
4 points against 2 top 4 teams. Do you know how much games Hughes needed for that? I bet you do. Just need to find good striker and we would be much better
Yep thats his total for the entire time he was in charge this season. Agree a decent striker or two even will help us for sure, and that is where we have struggled so far this season.
Good report Judo, game-plan was spot-on and we deserved the point. Shame other results went against us but that's the way it goes. We've done brilliantly to take 4 points and two clean sheets off Champion's League contenders...
I'd like to add my thanks as well Judo, I enjoy your write ups. Especially today as I couldn't go to the rearranged game.
Cheers Judo. It's a good point if we can back it up with wins against lower ranked teams. Given the way we set ourselves each game, I'm not convinced we can manage that. We need to have a go at some stage.
good report mate, I would of give M'BIA more than 6.5 though, his passing was awful but he worked really hard to break up their midfield
Did anyone else notice Nelsen completely turned his away and started to walk back up the pitch when Defoe hit the post in the first 5 mins (the double save from Cesar) I can only assume he thought the ball was going in - great look of surprise on his face when it hit the post and he suddenly had to react to the Adebayor chance
Always look forward to your reports, in particular the players ratings. Keep it up. Cesar's double save was some of the best keeping I've seen. Harry has us trying and I feel much more in tune with the team.
Cheers for that Judo. I felt pretty similar to you, a bit deflated during and after the game. On reflection though, like you I thought it was a good point gained. Spurs are a top top side, and to keep a clean sheet against them was a small victory in itself. Most of our fans seemed happy with the result in the pub after too. I think Harry is having to re-build the foundations. It was a good solid defensive performance but not registering a shot on target at a home game is not good. Needs must and all that, but it's not easy on the eye.
Thanks for the report Judo. Saw it pretty much the same way. We will have to attack more against weaker sides to get needed 3 points on the board, and that will leave our slow central defense more exposed than it was today with so many working hard back. Essential we get in a good quick CB January to negate this threat, as well as another good CF.
I think Harry is having to re-build the foundations. Absolutely spot on. The team now looks organised, disciplined and work as a unit. Incredible turnaround in a few short weeks. Two clean sheets against some world class players. I'm impressed.
Aimed at you fortune tellers and southsayers, would you like to predict next seasons home and away games against Brentford.
Cesar motm for me and that was before I realised he tipped the shot onto the post. both fbs were excellent and the balled Fabio rolled across the six yard box was great, its just a shame that we played without a forward or wed have won it.
