Matchday 9-Tottenham Hotspur vs. Leicester City [R]

This will be a tricky game, one we should win but which Leicester have surely targetted as a must win for them. They need to beat teams like us at home if they want to stay up, and they're already in the bottom three this season.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co....layContent&sourceNode=42535&contentPK=7438525

Best thing for us would be a good start, get them on the back foot and get an early goal. That will dent their confidence and hopefully make it easier for us.

For our team news, Tony Gardner is suspended so a change has to be made there, with Doherty the most likely to come in although Mabizela is also in contention. Although Doherty can be a worry, he's strong in the air and should be happier in a 4-4-2 with Richards. Leicester are a direct team, so this game should suit the Doc.

Davies, King and Ziege are back in the squad but this game is most likely a bit too early for all of them. Zamora and Postiga are both carrying knocks, so we'd better hope KAK stay in healthy shape for the full 90 minutes. Postiga went off very early in the midweek reserve game, which seemed precautionary, so I think he'll be on the bench for this game and should be able to manage a few minutes if required.
http://www.soccerage.com/en/13/q7548.html

My predicted lineup:

Keller
-
Konchensky
Richards
Doherty
Carr
-
Dalmat
Poyet
Anderton
Ricketts
-
Keane
Kanoute

 

Tottenham 2 - Leicester 1

The Good:

Mabizela! What a screamer of a goal! ****ing top class way to mark your debut. He also looked full of committment.

Dalmat - completely changed the game and looked absolutely top class. He must start now.

Determination and Skill - have to hand it to the team, they showed both in the end to grit through the Leicester domination and get the winner. Top class. I also credit Pleat and Hughton for recognising everything was horrendous in the first half and taking drastic action to change it.

The Bad:

Izzet's ****ing disgusting tackle on Kanoute right at the end. There was only one thing in his mind for that, to injury Freddie as seriously as possible. Completely unnecessary and I just hope Freddie is not seriously hurt, as it is it's looking very bad.

Poyet and Anderton - they must not be played as a central midfield combination again. They just do not have the pace or energy to compete and were a huge part of why we were awful in the first half. Maybe in easy home games where they'll get the space and time, but certainly not in away games or against anyone half decent. Ricketts is a bit wasted on the right, he should be played in the middle, certainly ahead of Poyet.

Doherty - sure he's had injuries and not many games at central defence, but he's just not good enough for the Premiership, too slow and too clueless. He must be moved on as soon as possible.

Overal we were lucky to still be in the game at half time, and lucky to get a draw let alone a win. I criticise Pleat for his initial team selection, but I praise him for being brave enough to make changes and have them pay off.

 

Well in fairness at first there were (legitimate) concerns over Dalmat's fitness and sharpness, then a few concerns over how much time he would need to able to fit into the team and the Premiership. He'd looked very good for the reserves but occasionally a bit off the wavelength. But this was by far his best performance, he's more than ready to go a full 90 now.

 

It's worth you guys catching if only for Mabizela's strike, it's a cracker. I rate it just slightly lower than Kanoute's, because it was closer in and didn't have the bend and movement. But it went like an absolute arrow, a very good bet indeed for Goal of the month and should be in the Goal of the Season contenders.

Also worth catching is the Leicester goal, if only for sheer comical value. Keller will be having nightmares about that for months......

 

I just caught the 2nd half of this game, and I just wante dto say that I'm glad Tottenham won it. Just going by the 2nd half, I'd say that Tottenham deserved to win. and Mabizela's strike was verrrry nice.

a shame about Kanoute though, hope it's not career threatening. Always hate to see a player get injured.