well, all the middle managers at the bar seem to boo when dempsey touches the ball. I think he is the rod that will get hit every time The spuds do badly. AVB has off footed Bale and Lennon in search of width. Bale was making these long cross field runs from the left, but he cant shoot with is right. Now Wigan are double teaming Bale cutting out the cut-in. Right now, game to Wigan manager.
Only Brad leaves this match as a spud with head held high. The manager and everyone on down should be ashamed.
Can't be losing at home to Wigan if you have top 4 hopes. Losing Sandro early really hurt an already depleted midfield.
Spurs were fine until Sandro got injured, then Wigan really took over. They need Scott Parker and/or Dembele back because Sig is not a CM. I'm glad Dempsey got a chance with Adebayor but with the midfield struggling they didn't get many chances to do damage. They kind of reminded me of Martin O'Neill's Villa, the attack was all get it wide and cross it into the box with no plan B. Of course, I would hope for Clint to get on the end of at least one of those, especially against Wigan.
Spurs have been defying gravity a bit up to now. If they start dropping points the wolves will be coming out.
Maybe it is Cudicini's turn, since it was a Lloris error off a set piece that lost the match on Wednesday.
Speaking of Redknapp, I'm surprised he hasn't been snapped up by someone already. I wonder if he could return to S. Hampton? Too many hard feelings?
AVB really needs to start Ade with Clint. Defoe reminds me of Nick Young when he played for the Wizards, for any NBA fans. Yes he can score, but does absolutely nothing to help his team. Defoe has scored 5 this season, but doesn't help Spurs within the flow of the game at all, just hurts them. How long until AVB realizes he needs a striker who can actually hold up the ball and connect with teammates? It won't just help Clint, but more importantly their attack from the wings in Bale/ Lennon.
25 touches in the first half is not "hardly saw the ball." But that also is not the point. The point is Spurs danger comes wide and from speed. If teams are able to neutralize that, then there needs to be additional danger from the center/deep. It will not be all up to Clint, obviously, but for him to really earn his keep on a side like Spurs, it would be great if he posed a dribbling/shooting threat in the middle of the field when teams are pressing wide. We all know he can poach. We also know he is extremely smart about showing up in the right place at the right time for opportunistic moments of creative brilliance. We all also know he can attack more directly, dragging players centrally and pulling defender. This, however, he does not do as much and in games like this needs to do more. That is part of what made vdVaart so valuable. A team with crazy dangerous wing play can't be neutralized as well if there is a threat from the middle. Obviously, Clint is not playing the vdV role, or even position, but the more Demps requires added defensive attention - and/or proves very directly dangerous from the middle attacking 3rd, the more it works to Spurs strength. I realize that is difficult to understand for someone with an 8 year olds understanding of the game, but perhaps you can follow along.
Strangely, Dempsey's problems are more defensive in my opinion. He needs to work hard at applying pressure and forcing turnovers. With Dembo in the line-up he was more effective linking centrally because Dembele was ball winning and pushing up the pitch through the middle. With Wigan crowding the edges, Dempsey needed to not only be more forceful centrally, but Verto et al needed to move the ball far faster through the middle, instead they kept force feeding the sides into the double team.
not long actually, they are heavily scouting guys like Edin Dzeko (who reports are want out of Man City), and Fernando Llorente.
That's good news. I still wonder though if AVB not playing Ade more is due to Ade not being fit, AVB not recognizing Ade's style would work better with Bale, Lennon and Clint than Defoe, or if it's a personality clash.
Little from column A, little from column B, little from column C. Ade has had back issues and also has battled a stomach virus recently, but he also has voiced his displeasure with AVB about not getting much time. AVB also was getting good results with Defoe up top (and Defoe was scoring) early on so he didn't want to mess with the lineup.
it seems clear too from a handful of spurs games i've watched this season that defoe is a fan favorite, while ade is obviously not. that may play a role in the new manager's thinking. as for demps, he needs to be the catalyst in the center to string together a few quick passes with teammates (i.e. modric and vDv (not the same role perhaps, but he's playing in a similar spot)). too many times it was middle, wide, wider, cross. if they can weave some patterns around the middle/middle-side-middle they can really fly. didn't see anything like that today.