FIRST TEAM Lloris - 9. Some world class moments. Even the one at the edge of the box was (just about) a great bit of goalkeeping. Rose - 8. He has amazed me. His passing was very conservative in the first game, but after that looked very good attacking and defending. Vertonghen - 8. Quality. Had a brilliant first half today. Dawson - 7. I'm not really a fan, but he has been very good in many games. Was poor against arsenal and again had dodgy moments today, and I would still rather see a fit Kaboul playing there. Walker 7.5. Bit of a sketchy start with some woeful passing against swansea, but really seems to be coming back into form now. Siggurdson 7. Finally his bad luck in front of goal seems to have deserted him. Has faded in and out of games though. Paulinho 6.5. Lauded by some as a supertar, but not for me on what i;ve seen. His engine is fantastic and his attitude's great, but he's got a poor touch, not a great pass, and his awareness is a little suspect. Godd finish against cardiff. Dembele 7.5. I've never been a fan, but i'm converted now. He's finally looking sharp and making some incisive breaks; he's got to get an end product, that doesn't just pass it back to where he's come from, but i'm growing in confidence that it's not far away. Townsend 7. I've been undecided about him, and a little frustrated by his shooting from outside the box. Today decided it for me though; I thought he looked great, and was astonished when he was taken off. Think he's going to be a good player for us this season. Eriksen 8.5. Looks quality. Let's hope he keeps it up. Soldado 7. Lots of good play, works hard, selfless, good awareness, and whilst he clearly doesnt have the kind of power in his shot of a JD, I think the goals will come. OTHERS Friedel - 7. Did well against villa. Great to have him as backup. Naughton 6.5. Shocker against cardiff, but did pretty well today. Fryers 7. Much better defensively than what we were being led to believe. Looks limited going forward, but a capable defender. Kaboul 6.5. Great to have him back, but I worry whether he can stay fit. Chirches 6.5. Made a couple of nervy errors against villa but apart from that looked good. Too early to tell with this one. Chadli 6.5. Looks ok, but really sure what he brings to the team. Crazy for AVB to bring him on today, but that's not his fault. Sandro 7.5. Great to have him back. Looks sharp. Let's get him back in the team a.s.a.p. Capoue 7.5. Faded out of a couple of games, but looked great generally. Lamela 7. Too early to tell really, but he played a great ball in for the goal last week. Confident he will come good in time. Holtby 8. Looks very good, albeit he has played against weaker opposition. Lennon n/a. Defoe 8. Sharp. Still a great goalscorer. Ironically I actually think general play has been down a touch this season on normal. I actually really rate his passing and movement normally. IDEAL TEAM FROM HERE ON Lloris Rose Dawson ? Vertonghen Walker Sandro Dembele Holtby Eriksen Townsend Defoe Friedel, Fryers, Kaboul, Capoue, ANother, Lamela, Soldado
Hugo - 9 - For me without a doubt the best in the league in his position. Literally acts like a 5th defender at times too. Walker - 7 - Way better than last season, needs to improve on his crossing and defensive duties but going in the right direction. Vertonghen - 8.5 - Classy, up there with the best CB's in the league and dare I say Europe. Dawson - 7.5 - Two derby games aside, looked very good. Rose - 7.5 - Impressed me a lot, I wasn't a fan of the Rose over Ekotto decision but he's certainly proving me wrong. Paulinho - 8 - Been brilliant in my opinion, superb engine and been a goal threat too which is nice from a CM! Needs to work on his first touch and passing though. Dembele - 7 - Poor in the first few games but seems to be getting better with every game. Townsend - 7.5 - Has made great strides since January, looking like a real tricky player, just needs to improve on his team work. Eriksen - 8 - I'm a massive fan and he's started off brilliantly for us. Sigurdsson - 7.5 - Finding his Swansea goal scoring form, just needs to get himself involved more with build up play. Soldado - 6.5 - Yet to score from open play in the Prem which is a little disappointing, have seen signs of his class and ability to find space, just needs to utilise that space and find the back of the net! Friedel - 7 - Done nothing wrong. Is there a better backup keeper in the league? Doubt it. Naughton - 6.5 - Done fine at RB and had one awful and one ok game at LB. Chiriches - N/A - Can't score on one game, looked fine against Villa. Kaboul - 7 - Looked fine his games, really hoping to see him partner Vertonghen soon, perhaps harsh on Daws but I rate Kaboul higher. Fryers - N/A - Only had 1 and a quarter games, hard to judge but looked ok vs Villa. Capoue - 8 - Such a shame he got injured, slotted in like he'd been here for a years. Sandro - 7 - The beast is back, just hope he'll be back in the League side soon, miss his tenacity. Lamela - 6.5 - Not really enough game time to judge on, hopefully get to see more in coming weeks. Shown a few neat tricks and done brilliantly to set up the winner vs Cardiff. Holtby - 7.25 - Far cry from the player of last season. Think he'll struggle to get in over Eriksen though. Chadli - 6 - Seen glimpses of what he can do but not enough. Currently lost his place to Gylfi. Defoe - 8 - 6 goals in 3 starts, literally not much more he can do to warrant a league start. Team I want to start when all fit: Lloris Walker, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Rose Sandro, Paulinho Lamela, Eriksen, ??? Soldado Soldado needs to up his game however and the other wing birth is wide open for me, Townsend and Gylfi have impressed, Chadli looks like he can be a good player but needs to up his game like Soldado and we can't forget Lennon either.
Lloris has had a few 'moments' this season, so whilst he has certainly been good overall I think 7.5 / 8 would be more realistic. Rose has been ok and was probably playing his best game against Tromso when injured, but again 7 would be a fairer assessment. We are still weaker at LB this season than season 10/11. Townsend has done ok but has made too many wrong choices so far - shooting rather than passing etc - so I couldn't give him more than a 6.5/7. Gylfi has done very well so far and has got some goals in all comps, so worth an 8 for me Also been very impressed by Holtby in his limited opportunities so far.
Hugo, Hugo, Hugo: 9. Superb sweeper/keeper, and probably the key ingredient in our fast start. Rose: 8. Converted me as well. Vertonghen: 8 I don't think there's another CB I'd rather have, though he's had a few odd moments this year. Dawson: 7. Maybe the captain of a team that's given up so few goals deserves an 8. Walker: 7. Continues to be a real workhorse, and making fewer mistakes while continuing to provide width and trouble the other team. Paulinho: 8. Would have been tempted to give him a nine till yesterday, when he was not nearly as good as he's been. Dembele: 8 and moving up. Controlled the midfield along with Paulinho (till Mata came in y esterday). Now he's getting forward effectively as well. Eriksen: 8. Provided creativity and goals from the moment he came in. Chadli: 5. He can clearly help us score, but not team-oriented enough, at least not yet. Townsend: 6. Too many predictable shots at the keeper, but some brilliant dribbling. Gylfi: 8. 3/4 of our goals from open play in the PL, works extremely hard, dangerous shot. He, Paulinho and Defoe have been the ones to burst in on goal at opportune moments. They should teach the rest of the team how to do it. I like how he looks to block the block when he heads into traffic in the box. When it works (as with his first goal yesterday) it's great, because the defender disappears on his way to get the ball he just blocked. Soldado: 6. I'm satisfied with his role in creating goals so far. He thrives on knocking balls out of the air, and since he isn't that big, needs open games to do it in. We tend to have deliberate build up, and the one player who has given him good service, Chadli, is problematic for other reasons. Holtby: 8.5. Just can't decide if he deserves to be rated with Lloris or the many other good performers. Has been a revelation at number 10. Defoe: 8. Fantastic work with Holtby, but only against weak teams, at least so far. Best team: Hugo Rose Jan Dawson Walker Dembele/Sandro Paulinho/Sandro (the idea being Sandro should come in late for 1/2 as a general rule, and start some of the time) Gylfi/Holtby Eriksen/Holtby Lamela/Holtby (rotate four starters in three positions) Soldado (but keep bringing in Defoe late)
Hugo: Best goalie we've had for a long time...8 Walker: Getting to be one of our main men. Has faults but pace and hard work and tenacity make up for many of them...7 Dawson: Rarely lets us down. Bit of a shame that his dodgy moments do seem to come in big games...7.5 Vertonghen: Classy on the ball but a little weak in the air. Diagonal balls over him and towards Naughton were working a treat for Chelsea. Considering the woeful lack of options right now I wouldn't mind seeing him at LB...7.5 Rose: Still not convinced at all that he's a step up from BAE. A decent option but out-and-out nailed-on starter?...6.5 Naughton: Just so bloody average it hurts. Our worst right-back for years or our worst left-back for years? He gets 5.5 because at least he tries to keep it simple most of the time...5.5 Townsend: Still not sure he'll make it at Spurs but was our most effective threat for much of the last game. With training and experience maybe he'll prove me wrong...7 Paulinho: He's just...alright isn't he? Does a lot that'll endear him to fans but has anyone got excited by anything in particular that he's done? Seems like a nice bloke...7 Capoue: How bloody annoying is it that our best summer signing by a mile so far a) plays the same position as Sandro, someone who'd be one of the first names on my team sheet and b) gets injured immediately?...8 Dembele: Frustrates at times but there is such a good player in there...7.5 Sandro: I just love this guy. Wins tackles that I don't think he should even try to make, doesn't waste possession, is no slouch going forward, slaps his own face before tackling two opposition players simultaneously to create an attack which we score from. Score would be higher but he's not had enough EPL time...7.5 Chadli: A left side of him and Naughton and we may as well say goodbye to a Europa place. Shown nothing so far and seems a bit slow and reluctant to get back...5.5 Lamela: Our record signing - a 35+m man who looks a long way off being ready to set the EPL alight. Am I too harsh to be a bit disappointed? I know he's had very little time but he's only done one or two good things so far in that time and the rest of it looked a bit clueless...6 Eriksen: See? When you're obviously very bloody good you're obviously very bloody good. This has been true of all the current squad members who have made a career at Spurs. Dawson was excellent from the off, so was Lennon, so was Walker, so was Defoe etc etc. Class is obvious and this boy has it in ways that others have yet to show...8 Holtby: Starting to show the ability that we glimpsed on his debut with that beautifully fizzed ball out to the right that was his first touch (IIRC)...7.5 Sigurdsson: His touch is poor at time, his passing's a bit dodgy but he's at least getting into the goals now. He's this season's Dempsey! Good attitude and hope he can stay in the goals...7.5 Soldado: He's obviously good but is he THAT good? No goals from open play in the EPL and not too many moments of skill or magic to mention. Ten or so games in were many people wondering if Berbatov would make it? Hoping that it'll click for him and think it will...7 (just) Defoe: No one better to have on the bench. Done what he's needed to do in the cups and great to have him around...8 Chiriches: Special mention cos his passing was some of the worst I've seen from a Spurs player since...hang on - was it WORSE than Zokora? I think it was! Shiiiit. Luckily it was against Villa reserves but he'd be a disaster against any EPL team on that showing...4.5 Seems like I'm being a bit harsh on the new boys but then this is what it is - a player rating six games into the EPL season and only Capoue and Eriksen have got me excited so far. And I'm sorry but players worth 30+m should be exciting me by now.
I guess it depends how you see the marking out of 10. There's a tendency for people to think 5/10 is bad but really it's average and anything above that is good. With that in mind I think everyone would get either a 6 or a 7 so far. The results have been very good but the performances haven't always been and I'm struggling to think of anyone who's really shone so far. There are a few that have had a great game or two but then didn't really do much in other matches.
5 is average. Lloris, arguably Spurs best player so far. 8.5 Rose, surprisingly good and as no decent cover miss him when he is out. 6.5 Verts, real quality . 8 Dawson, limited but good performances . 7 Walker, better than last season so far . 6 Paul, time will tell, 6 Dembele, good against the Chavs, but still not consistent but better than last season. 6.5 Sigg, great goals but has little influence in flow of games. 6 Eriksen, Thank Jesus for creation. great if he can influence a whole game. 7.5 Townsend , been impressed, if end product becomes consistent then a real asset . 7 Soldado, Needs to bang them in but little service . 6 The others Naughton, at the moment a very weak link , 4 Fryers, as above . 4 Capoue, looked good at times, 6 Chadli, nothing much seems to happen. 4 Sandro , haven't seen enough. 5 Lamela, well , rather underwhelming so far. 5 Hotlby, done okay . 6 Defoe, His minor sub appearances in the premier haven't proved fulfilling but he has to come of the bench and take his odd chance. The scuffed shot against the Chavs was an example. Hard for him but his around game is weak. He has been here many years and never really established himself as the main striker for any long periods except when we had rubbish. Great in the weak cup games. 6
I think that Naughton deserves a bit of credit for just getting on with things professionally, despite being consistently played out of position and with a player that makes his weaknesses in the role even more obvious. He's often been exposed and made mistakes, but his attitude's been excellent and he's never publicly complained. Not a superstar, by any means, but a very useful pro to have in the squad. Ferguson always had a few dependable players like that.
How many games has Naughton played in our run of clean sheets I wonder. he came in for the Cardiff game, and the Chelsea goal wasn't his fault, our CB's sleeping if anything! I'm not saying he's great, but its a bit crass to not credit him with his part in that stat, and as PNP says, at least he's versatile on either side in times if injury.....like now.
Only one of our summer signings makes your 1st XI, and none of the 3 transfer record breakers. You must be furious with our transfer window?
He tries really hard to stop us getting clean sheets - against Cardiff and Tromso he played in opposition strikers with his suicidal backpassing, and in the Cardiff game it was only a linesman's flag that stopped it being a goal. Besides, didn't our record run of clean sheets in the Premier League era come with a back five including Ian Walker, Justin Edinburgh and Dean Austin?
If anything it's the midfielders who should take credit for the clean sheets. It's certainly not due to the defensive abilities of, say, Rose and Naughton. Even Verts has looked vulnerable at times. Worth noting, too, that we've not had clean sheets to shout about when faced with quality opposition. I also want to say that, rereading them, I agree more with Sidney's scores than mine. How did I manage to give Soldado a 7?!
I haven't seen enough of your players to give them a reliable rating, but continue to be impressed by Vertonghen and have been impressed aleady by Paulinho and Eriksen.
I really wanted to be positive about Naughton as he was getting forward well against Cardiff, right from the start. That's something that was missing and annoyed us all last season. He made mistake after mistake in our half against Cardiff though and the cleansheet was very much inspite of him. Had a decent game against Chelsea though. I don't mind him playing at right back but on the left I think he continues to be a nightmare.
Lloris, let in 2 goals so 8/10 Rose, shame he is out. 8/10 Verts, real quality 9.5/10 Dawson, all heart and hoof 7.5/10 Walker, better than last season so far 7/10 Paulinho, class, a mid out of the fat Frank mould, scores goals 8/10 Dembele, needs to learn to pass the ball before he runs into trouble 6.5/10 Sigg, plenty of heart and can shoot, beats the bus 8.5/10 Eriksen, can add that little touch of magic, Real Madrid will probably tap him up next year, hopefully there is a 2 billion buyout clause in his contract. 8.5/10 Townsend , growing as a player, impressed 7.5/10 Soldado, Can take penalties 7/10 The others Naughton, big heart lacks vision 5/10 Fryers, shows promise 5/10 Capoue, looked excellent 7.5/10 Chadli, needs time to settle, strong 5.5/10 Sandro , Beast 12/10 Lamela, will change games, vision and skilful 7/10 Hotlby, started very well despite injury 7.5/10 Defoe, looks sharp, knows where the goal is. 90 minutes perhaps too much, fades 7.5/10 Kaboul, Struggling with injury. If he loses his pace it may finish him. 5.5/10 Azza, Struggling with Injury, not seem him this year. Chiriches Hard to judge on one appearance, better second half. 5/10 Kane. A matter of time, this guy is clever and still learning. 6/10
Here's what my ideal team right now would be: Lloris Walker Dawson, Kaboul, Verts Capoue Sandro Lennon Eriksen Sigurdsson Soldado Though if we DO have to play with one up front (and apparently that's the law now) I really hope that Adebayor can start pushing for a place again. When he's playing well he's clearly better than Defoe in that position and quite probably Bobby Soldado too. Put Lennon on the right cos no one else has really impressed me there and I'd rather have what I know I'm gonna get with Lennon than rely on pure optimism and price-tags that Lamela or Chadli are suddenly going to look better than what Lennon's offered for years. Sig is not a player I rate that highly either but same goes for him - the supposed competition for those "wing" spots has not stepped up to the plate yet so he's our best option. Verts at left back is a bit of pie in the sky I know but who honestly thinks that defence looks worse than one where we drop one of Dawson/Kaboul/Verts in place of Rose/Naughton? I also think Verts offers more going forward and on the ball than either of our proper left backs.
At lot of teams are now playing the 1 up front system, and to be honest this could work to our advantage if we played the following: Lloris Kaboul - Dawson - Vertonghen Walker - Sandro - Dembele - Paulinho - Siggurdsson Eriksen Soldado Although think that would only work against the perceived 'lesser' teams ON performances so far, think our team at the minute would consist of: Lloris Walker - Dawson - Vertonghen - Rose Holtby - Dembele - Paulinho - Siggurdsson Eriksen Defoe Which wouldn't work to be fair, but this is based on performances so far rather than tactical/positional aptitude
I hope Ossie is right about Lamela http://www.tottenhamjournal.co.uk/t...an_even_better_signing_than_eriksen_1_2835560 Spurs legend predicts: Lamela will become an even better signing than Eriksen Tottenham legend Ossie Ardiles says he has been hugely impressed with Christian Eriksenâs immediate impact at White Hart Lane â but he believes his countryman Erik Lamela will prove to be the better signing. Eriksen has enjoyed a fine start to his career with the Lilywhites, scoring once and helping to create another three goals in his four appearances â including Spursâ strike against Chelsea on Saturday. Comparisons have been made with Arsenalâs £42million man Mesut Ozil and, at £11.5million, the 21-year-old Dane looks like one of the best signings of the summer. Lamela cost more than double that figure at £26m but has had a slightly quieter start to life in north London. The 21-year-old has set up two goals â including the late winner at Cardiff â and impressed in the Capital One Cup victory at Aston Villa, but he is yet to start a Premier League game and he was an unused substitute during Saturdayâs London derby with Chelsea. Lamela is likely to get another chance to show his qualities tomorrow evening when Spurs face Anzhi in the Europa League â and Ardiles believes that his fellow Argentine will go on to be the best of Spursâ summer recruits. âI am very impressed with Eriksen, immediately heâs been wonderful,â said the 61-year-old. âLamela will take more time, but over the long term heâll be our best buy. Iâm looking forward to seeing him develop. âIn Argentina, Lamela played for River Plate and he was named the new Messi. He moved to Roma and was labelled the new Totti. That gives you an idea how talented he is. âHe can play behind the centre forward, on the right and the left. Heâs not as powerful as Gareth Bale but heâs much more skilful - heâs a different kind of player. I would say he has a more difficult time to adjust, but I believe he will be our best buy this summer. âItâs always very difficult to replace a player like Gareth Bale. He was absolutely wonderful last season and I was worried how he was going to be replaced, but Tottenham did incredibly well over the summer and all [of the signings] are very talented. âLast season we were a one-player team - now we are much more of a team and looking stronger.â Another Spurs legend, Glenn Hoddle, has also had his say on Andre Villas-Boasâ newest stars â and he feels Eriksen has been the key addition. âHe [Eriksen] is just what the club needed,â said the 55-year-old. âWe were looking a bit too predictable, we needed someone to open the door. âHeâs scored a wonderful goal in the Europa League, heâs created a couple of goals for other people, heâs elevated the team right where it was needed. I think Spurs have got a chance of the top four.â Ossie Ardiles and Glenn Hoddle were speaking to promote Hoddleâs Zapstarz project â a 25-week programme aiming to find special new talent and improve all young players who take part. For information visit www.zapsportz.com.
