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Hi All
Made my first trip to Loftus Road of the (new) premiership era yesterday after flying home for christmas. I've watched all but a couple of our games this season as we get all the premier league matches live back in Uganda on ESPN and thought I would sum up my thoughts on the match .
Firstly I thought the result was fantastic. We always seem to raise our game for the big matches (liverpool excepted!) and I never thought it would be a thrashing but I was surprised how little we allowed Spurs to play and apart from Defoe who looked a threat every time he got the ball so quick are his feet, we nullified all of their big threats. Bale, Dembele, Lennon, Adebeyor (one of the worst players i've ever seen live) and later Dempsey were all very quiet, down in part to the work rate of Rangers and I never felt that we were hanging on at any time and given the clearer of the chances, we probably had the better ones.
Cesar - 7. Probably the best goalkeeper since Seaman that I have seen play for us. His save from Defoe onto the post and then quick recovery to stop Adebeyor was top goalkeeping and apart from one awkward catch from a Bale free kick where he made work of a simple catch, he looked confident and assured in goal. I wonder whether we need to be paying such a high profile player the amount we are for this position, but Im much happier with him in goal than Green, and I think the defence are too.
Fabio - 8. One of my biggest surprises of the day. Had a fantastic day up against both Bale and Lennon as they swapped wings. Great pace and his beating of Adebeyor for a header was one of my highlights. Positionally very good and got forward to support Wright-Phillips very well. Shame he is not ours but reads the game very well.
Nelsen - 8. First time I have seen him in the flesh and his experience is so valuable. He was winning headers against Dembele and Adebeyor without even jumping, just by shifting his feet, once he even beat a leaping Adebeyor with his chest. Excellent leader and was very vocal at the back. Considering that he formed a trinity with Hill and Derry, I was worried about the pace of Spurs against them, but they played deep enough so they never got caught out and showed good concentration when attackers were running at them. Will be missed.
Hill 7 - Seems unfair to give him less of a rating than Nelsen as he didnt put a foot wrong all game, Nelsen was just so dominating that he featured more in the game, with Hill almost as a backup player if needed. Like mentioned above, after his schooling by Suarez, he seemed to play a bit deeper to give attackers less room to run behind him, with Derry and M'bia sitting in front of the back four to discourage any players running directly at the back four.
Onuoha 7 - Didnt realise he was this quick. I watched the game with two spurs fans and before the game they told me that if Lennon cant beat his man, you may as well sub him as he cant offer anything and he loses his confidence fast. The fact that Lennon was subbed after 60 or so minutes says how well Onuoha did against him. Was supported superby by Mackie.
M'Bia 6 - Great energy and could probably have played 4 more games right after. I wish I knew what his role was, perhpas neither he nor Harry know either! Great at breaking up attacks and awesome strength, but then he would go and give the ball away again and needed to show much more awareness of his team mates as he seemed to panic on the ball somewhat . Its odd as I might say that if we didnt have M'Bia, then M'Bia might have cost us the game as a lot of the time he was cleaning up attacks that his own loss of possession caused. No doubt there is a decent player in there somewhere though and great heart. Though his role around in the box in the second half was embarrassing! Could either turn into a cult hero or on a list of terrible signings!
Park 6 - A lot of people seem to be saying that he had a bad game, he really didnt. I was sitting behind some obvious Park fans who had a big South Korean flag, which was kind of cool, I think that's all good fun, so we had a good look at Park to see if he would give his Korean friends something to cheer about. At first glance he wasnt really in the game, but seeing him in the flesh what I realised is that he does a huge amount of work off the ball, effectively marking the space that Spurs were trying to occupy. The amount of attacks he broke up without actually touching the ball was amazing, Dembele in particular had a hard job getting into the game because whenever Bale and Lennon tried to look inside, Dembele was covered by Park, forcing them down the line and right into our full backs. He could try and get more involved in attacks and he is no playmaker, that's for sure. Whether what he does off the ball is as valuable as what Granero or Faurlin could do with the ball is for debate. Against the big teams, when we are trying to avoid defeat, I think i'd rather keep it tight, so Park offers great protection.
Mackie 8.5 - The hardest working play I have ever seen. I'd love to see how much ground he covered. He gets a lot of stick for not having the skill of a top premier league player. Well he doesnt, but he knows he doesnt and his game has adapted to make up for this. When he was playing in the championship he was scoring more goals against weaker players. Now, to make up for the better opposition, he has upped his workrate considerably and if he has the skill of 1/2 a standard premier league player, he makes up for it with the workrate of 2 players. Both my spurs friends said they would absolutely hate to play against him and his hassling made Walker and Naughton play the ball quicker and with less accuracy which often resulted in us winning back posession.
Taarabt 8 - Had a great game. The last time I saw him play was in the Championship and he has matured so much as a player. I like him in this role in the middle of the park, he's never been a wide player and I have no idea what Hughes was doing with him most of the time. The strength he has is not evident on TV and the amount of times he held off 3 or 4 players before emerging with the ball was amazing. He really takes the pressure off the team. Sometimes its a bit heart in the mouth when he gets caught between a rock and a hard place in his own half, but the amount of times he played it simple and made the right pass were far beyond what they were a year or two ago. As much as I love him, I just wonder how good he could be in a great side, probably the most exciting player I have seen in the flesh bar Messi and Robben, he is often worth paying to watch which is few and far between in these times! I would love to see him with a quick striker in front of him but I can see why it wasnt the game for this to happen, in a way if we were allowed 12 players it would be a perfect set up!! A couple of great through balls too, probably our best and only offensive weapon, would be interesting to see how he is utililised in a more attacking formation.
SWP 8 - Just behind Fabio, the biggest surprise of the day. Was really impressed with him and he must have a boom of confidence after his goal at Chelsea. Looked hungry and willing to work, playing more like the SWP of old. The only thing missing was his shooting boots. He was put through three times for what I thought were the three best chances of the day and while his first was unlucky as Dawson got in a great block, certainly his next chance was fluffed somewhat after great initial play. If he can keep up this form then I think he will be a vital player for us during the run in. Worked hard and looked a threat. Unlike last season, i didnt fear him getting the ball and there were none of his huge first touches which often made him one of the oppositions best players. Looks refreshed since Harry arrived.
Sean Derry 7 - Everyone loves derry and the fact that he played the full 90 was testament to his work rate and mental attitude. To be a bit part player and all of a sudden be thrown into Harry's first team, like Clint Hill, he has been a top, top pro. Nothing went past him and he was sensible in possession. I was surprised how fit he looked and how quickly he covered ground. Because of his efforts, it allowed Hill and Nelsen to be protected and shielded them from players running at them a'la Suarez. I wish he was five years younger, but I hope he manages to stay fit and injury free as he is no where near as technically inept as I expected and kept up to pace with anything that spurs could manage before passing the ball on to those in front of him with more ability with it.
Redknapp - 8. Pretty much as you were for Harry as the lineup and game plan was exactly the same as it was away at chelsea and it worked almost as well. I've read on here a lot about harry messing it up or making bad calls by not trying to win it and bring on strikers. I'll remind them that we were playing the third best team in the league who are unbeaten in 10, they previously swept aside a Villa side who are above us in the league and we had a game plan to stop us losing. And it worked. I was happy we made no changes as it kept our shape and the players involved were very disciplined and clearly drilled in that formation for that fixture. The days of Hughes' random lineups not to suit any particular opposition and mindless substitutions are over. Sure, if we bought on a striker we might have scored, but we also might have conceded three. A point against top class opponents is a huge step forward in confidence and it keeps the small unbeaten run going to our next game. Conceding a late goal would have had a big in impact on confidence, we did well and the huge cheer at the end of the game told me that a lot of fans felt the same way!
The only downer on the game was my seat in V-Block of the E. Road stand had a pillar directly in front of one of the goals. This really should be a restricted view seat and paying £55 for a seat where you can only see one goal is a bit of a farce. All things told though it was a great day!
Made my first trip to Loftus Road of the (new) premiership era yesterday after flying home for christmas. I've watched all but a couple of our games this season as we get all the premier league matches live back in Uganda on ESPN and thought I would sum up my thoughts on the match .
Firstly I thought the result was fantastic. We always seem to raise our game for the big matches (liverpool excepted!) and I never thought it would be a thrashing but I was surprised how little we allowed Spurs to play and apart from Defoe who looked a threat every time he got the ball so quick are his feet, we nullified all of their big threats. Bale, Dembele, Lennon, Adebeyor (one of the worst players i've ever seen live) and later Dempsey were all very quiet, down in part to the work rate of Rangers and I never felt that we were hanging on at any time and given the clearer of the chances, we probably had the better ones.
Cesar - 7. Probably the best goalkeeper since Seaman that I have seen play for us. His save from Defoe onto the post and then quick recovery to stop Adebeyor was top goalkeeping and apart from one awkward catch from a Bale free kick where he made work of a simple catch, he looked confident and assured in goal. I wonder whether we need to be paying such a high profile player the amount we are for this position, but Im much happier with him in goal than Green, and I think the defence are too.
Fabio - 8. One of my biggest surprises of the day. Had a fantastic day up against both Bale and Lennon as they swapped wings. Great pace and his beating of Adebeyor for a header was one of my highlights. Positionally very good and got forward to support Wright-Phillips very well. Shame he is not ours but reads the game very well.
Nelsen - 8. First time I have seen him in the flesh and his experience is so valuable. He was winning headers against Dembele and Adebeyor without even jumping, just by shifting his feet, once he even beat a leaping Adebeyor with his chest. Excellent leader and was very vocal at the back. Considering that he formed a trinity with Hill and Derry, I was worried about the pace of Spurs against them, but they played deep enough so they never got caught out and showed good concentration when attackers were running at them. Will be missed.
Hill 7 - Seems unfair to give him less of a rating than Nelsen as he didnt put a foot wrong all game, Nelsen was just so dominating that he featured more in the game, with Hill almost as a backup player if needed. Like mentioned above, after his schooling by Suarez, he seemed to play a bit deeper to give attackers less room to run behind him, with Derry and M'bia sitting in front of the back four to discourage any players running directly at the back four.
Onuoha 7 - Didnt realise he was this quick. I watched the game with two spurs fans and before the game they told me that if Lennon cant beat his man, you may as well sub him as he cant offer anything and he loses his confidence fast. The fact that Lennon was subbed after 60 or so minutes says how well Onuoha did against him. Was supported superby by Mackie.
M'Bia 6 - Great energy and could probably have played 4 more games right after. I wish I knew what his role was, perhpas neither he nor Harry know either! Great at breaking up attacks and awesome strength, but then he would go and give the ball away again and needed to show much more awareness of his team mates as he seemed to panic on the ball somewhat . Its odd as I might say that if we didnt have M'Bia, then M'Bia might have cost us the game as a lot of the time he was cleaning up attacks that his own loss of possession caused. No doubt there is a decent player in there somewhere though and great heart. Though his role around in the box in the second half was embarrassing! Could either turn into a cult hero or on a list of terrible signings!
Park 6 - A lot of people seem to be saying that he had a bad game, he really didnt. I was sitting behind some obvious Park fans who had a big South Korean flag, which was kind of cool, I think that's all good fun, so we had a good look at Park to see if he would give his Korean friends something to cheer about. At first glance he wasnt really in the game, but seeing him in the flesh what I realised is that he does a huge amount of work off the ball, effectively marking the space that Spurs were trying to occupy. The amount of attacks he broke up without actually touching the ball was amazing, Dembele in particular had a hard job getting into the game because whenever Bale and Lennon tried to look inside, Dembele was covered by Park, forcing them down the line and right into our full backs. He could try and get more involved in attacks and he is no playmaker, that's for sure. Whether what he does off the ball is as valuable as what Granero or Faurlin could do with the ball is for debate. Against the big teams, when we are trying to avoid defeat, I think i'd rather keep it tight, so Park offers great protection.
Mackie 8.5 - The hardest working play I have ever seen. I'd love to see how much ground he covered. He gets a lot of stick for not having the skill of a top premier league player. Well he doesnt, but he knows he doesnt and his game has adapted to make up for this. When he was playing in the championship he was scoring more goals against weaker players. Now, to make up for the better opposition, he has upped his workrate considerably and if he has the skill of 1/2 a standard premier league player, he makes up for it with the workrate of 2 players. Both my spurs friends said they would absolutely hate to play against him and his hassling made Walker and Naughton play the ball quicker and with less accuracy which often resulted in us winning back posession.
Taarabt 8 - Had a great game. The last time I saw him play was in the Championship and he has matured so much as a player. I like him in this role in the middle of the park, he's never been a wide player and I have no idea what Hughes was doing with him most of the time. The strength he has is not evident on TV and the amount of times he held off 3 or 4 players before emerging with the ball was amazing. He really takes the pressure off the team. Sometimes its a bit heart in the mouth when he gets caught between a rock and a hard place in his own half, but the amount of times he played it simple and made the right pass were far beyond what they were a year or two ago. As much as I love him, I just wonder how good he could be in a great side, probably the most exciting player I have seen in the flesh bar Messi and Robben, he is often worth paying to watch which is few and far between in these times! I would love to see him with a quick striker in front of him but I can see why it wasnt the game for this to happen, in a way if we were allowed 12 players it would be a perfect set up!! A couple of great through balls too, probably our best and only offensive weapon, would be interesting to see how he is utililised in a more attacking formation.
SWP 8 - Just behind Fabio, the biggest surprise of the day. Was really impressed with him and he must have a boom of confidence after his goal at Chelsea. Looked hungry and willing to work, playing more like the SWP of old. The only thing missing was his shooting boots. He was put through three times for what I thought were the three best chances of the day and while his first was unlucky as Dawson got in a great block, certainly his next chance was fluffed somewhat after great initial play. If he can keep up this form then I think he will be a vital player for us during the run in. Worked hard and looked a threat. Unlike last season, i didnt fear him getting the ball and there were none of his huge first touches which often made him one of the oppositions best players. Looks refreshed since Harry arrived.
Sean Derry 7 - Everyone loves derry and the fact that he played the full 90 was testament to his work rate and mental attitude. To be a bit part player and all of a sudden be thrown into Harry's first team, like Clint Hill, he has been a top, top pro. Nothing went past him and he was sensible in possession. I was surprised how fit he looked and how quickly he covered ground. Because of his efforts, it allowed Hill and Nelsen to be protected and shielded them from players running at them a'la Suarez. I wish he was five years younger, but I hope he manages to stay fit and injury free as he is no where near as technically inept as I expected and kept up to pace with anything that spurs could manage before passing the ball on to those in front of him with more ability with it.
Redknapp - 8. Pretty much as you were for Harry as the lineup and game plan was exactly the same as it was away at chelsea and it worked almost as well. I've read on here a lot about harry messing it up or making bad calls by not trying to win it and bring on strikers. I'll remind them that we were playing the third best team in the league who are unbeaten in 10, they previously swept aside a Villa side who are above us in the league and we had a game plan to stop us losing. And it worked. I was happy we made no changes as it kept our shape and the players involved were very disciplined and clearly drilled in that formation for that fixture. The days of Hughes' random lineups not to suit any particular opposition and mindless substitutions are over. Sure, if we bought on a striker we might have scored, but we also might have conceded three. A point against top class opponents is a huge step forward in confidence and it keeps the small unbeaten run going to our next game. Conceding a late goal would have had a big in impact on confidence, we did well and the huge cheer at the end of the game told me that a lot of fans felt the same way!
The only downer on the game was my seat in V-Block of the E. Road stand had a pillar directly in front of one of the goals. This really should be a restricted view seat and paying £55 for a seat where you can only see one goal is a bit of a farce. All things told though it was a great day!
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