Ferguson pays for taking Spurs too lightly

The plan has worked year after year for Alex Ferguson at White Hart Lane, let Tottenham have the ball, cope with small periods of mild pressure, and constantly and clinically pick them off. It’s not surprising that Ferguson said before the game that White Hart Lane is one of his most favourite places to play considering his record against Spurs. However, for the first time in a very long time this season, Spurs have not simply rolled over and accepted defeat. This season Tottenham have gotten 4 deserved points from Manchester United in the Premier League.

United have beaten Manchester City and Chelsea away this season, winning both games 2-3. With Robin van Persie up front Man Utd believe that they can outscore any opponent, and their results this season back that up. That is why it was so surprising that yesterday they weren't pushing forward in their normal aggressive manner and only recorded 2 shots on target. After scoring the opening goal, they seemed content to sit deep and soak up pressure. While this has worked for a very long time for United at White Hart Lane, this Tottenham side hasn't got the same fragilities that it used to. It is also now a side that truly believes it belongs in the top four.

In the second half Tottenham controlled the match and created 2-3 wonderful chances that they should have taken. United should have got a penalty when Rooney was tripped by Caulker, but Dempsey’s 93rd minute equaliser was more than deserved. Alex Ferguson only pays compliments to teams that he doesn't fear. For years he has lavished praise on Spurs’ style of play and the atmosphere at White Hart Lane, but after only picking up one point from Tottenham this season, he may have to rethink his approach next time round.

Tottenham make their game in hand count

Winning a game in hand always seems more precious than a normal win. In this case, Tottenham won a game in hand that they have had since the first day of the season. Spurs put in a solid performance, and after remaining unbeaten over Christmas and New Year they are now level on points with Manchester United and 3 points off the top of the table.

Everton failed to have a single shot on target on Wednesday, and Spurs’ defence looks tougher than ever after keeping their 8th clean sheet of the season. This was despite not having either Ledley King or William Gallas. Michael Dawson came back into the side after a long period out injured and partnered excellently with Younes Kaboul. Jake Livermore was also covering in midfield, where both Scott Parker and Sandro were missing. Tottenham’s squad depth is often overlooked, but with players like Defoe, Pienaar, Pavlyuchenko and Huddlestone in reserve, Spurs have a lot of cover all over the pitch.

Tottenham are now 8 points above Chelsea, 9 points ahead of Arsenal and 11 points clear of Liverpool. Such a strong league position is relatively unknown for Spurs, but it would take a catastrophically bad second half to the season for Spurs not to collect a Champions League place now. Challenging for the title should be Tottenham’s aim now, and falling short of that would be no disgrace. The top of the Premier League has been rather stale for a long time, and you would have had a hard time convincing people five years ago that in 2012 Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur would be battling for the Premier League title. Now that doesn’t seem so implausible.

Madrid 4-0 Spurs - Redknapp adds to the confusion

First of all, let me congratulate Real Madrid for an excellent and professional performance last night which saw them all but qualify for the semi-finals. In the second half in particular, Madrid demonstrated perfectly how to pressure and overrun 10 men and fully deserved their 4-0 win.

However I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to complain bitterly and wonder how it is even possible for Tottenham to capitulate so fast into a confused and disorganised mess. First of all Aaron Lennon is taken ill in the tunnel minutes before kick-off. Then Jermaine Jenas is used to replace him, yet Redknapp decides not to do a straight swap, and finally after conceding an early goal, Peter Crouch loses all sense and gets himself sent off.

I blame Crouch the most, to get sent off for two identical tackles in the first 15 minutes is unforgivable. He let his team-mates down and made the rest of their evening pretty much impossible. Defending for 75 minutes in the Bernabeu with ten men, when already 1-0 down is such a difficult thing to do. Lennon missing was also a massive blow for Spurs. Lennon can often shine on the right hand side when all the attention is on Bale, and together they can be devastating on the counter attack, it is rather disappointing that we never got to see this full strength attack in action.

There is one person who doesn't seem to be getting enough criticism in the press today in my opinion - Harry Redknapp. I don't blame him for what happened after Crouch's sending off, but in the opening 15 minutes Spurs were a complete mess. To me, with Lennon being withdrawn so late, Jermaine Jenas should quite clearly have just slotted straight into Lennon's position on the right side of midfield. Jenas has pace and while this is not his position, I am sure that he could have adapted. This however did not happen, instead Redknapp decided to change the entire shape of the team to accommodate Jenas in the middle. Surely the team have spent the last few days preparing in a very specific way, with Modric and Sandro in the middle and Bale and Lennon on the wings. Redknapp's last minute adjustments meant that Modric was pushed out to the left and Bale didn't seem to know which wing he was playing on as he continually switched early on.

As you can see above, in the first 15 minutes (before Crouch got sent off) Tottenham's midfield was all over the place. It baffles me that after having such a clear formation and game-plan almost right up to kick-off, that the manager would move so many things around at the last minute. It can also be argued that the confusion caused by these changes led to Adebayor's first goal. As the teams were lining up on the pitch, Tottenham's coaching staff can be seen showing Jenas tactical information on a clipboard. In comes the first corner, and Adebayor is left free by Jenas to nod home the opening goal. Surely somebody was assigned to mark Adebayor, and it couldn't have been little Lennon.

Bad decision making from the boss resulted in mass confusion on the pitch, and terrible decision making from the lanky one up front ended all hope of limiting the damage.

Rant over - One bad result won't deter us Spurs fans, we forgive and forget quite easily. We'll just win the second leg 5-0 at White Hart Lane - COYS!

Chalkboard courtesy of the excellent Total Football - Champions League iPhone app.

Champions League Round of 16 - Brief Analysis

The Champions League Round of 16 began this week with four 1st leg matches. Three of the games ended with rather surprising results as Shakhtar and Tottenham both won away in Italy, and Arsenal beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Emirates.

Below, I take a look at some points of interest with the aid of the excellent Total Football - Champions League iPhone app.

England’s rising star
Jack Wilshere has been getting a lot of positive press recently, and in last night’s game he showed off his qualities superbly. Against Barcelona, keeping the ball while under pressure is vitally important, and Wilshere was magnificent in possession. He completed 90% of his passes in the match and showed a level of composure with the ball that is a rare sight among English midfielders. Of course, the master of passing Xavi Hernandez was pulling the most strings again last night, but Wilshere managed to show his class despite Arsenal only having 39% possession.

Mixed Gunners fire power
Before the game Barcelona may have concentrated their attention on Theo Walcott. The lightning fast winger who caused the Catalans a lot of trouble last season may have been picked out as the danger man, but it was in form striker Robin Van Persie who caused most upset.

The Dutchman was a constant thorn in the side of the Barca defence, having 7 shots and scoring the equalising goal.

Walcott on the other hand struggled to make any impact on the game, only completing 9 passes during the 76 minutes that he was on the pitch.

Spurs’ hard work pays off
Every Tottenham player put in a great performance on Tuesday night as Spurs beat AC Milan 1-0 in the San Siro. The win was fully deserved and came on the back of an excellent team performance. Spurs worked extremely hard to restrict Milan and stopped their midfield from creating. Wilson Palacios and Sandro were an instrumental part of Tottenham’s defensive solidity.

This hard work not only restricted Milan, but allowed Tottenham to begin attacks of their own. Away from home, Spurs managed to have twice the amount of shots on target that Milan did.

Harry Redknapp got his tactics spot on all night, and bringing on Luka Modric after 61 minutes was another clever thing to do. Milan were starting to attack with more purpose and the game was getting tougher for Spurs. The introduction of Luka Modric meant that Tottenham were better able to retain possession. Modric only gave the ball away once and was responsible for the pass which set Aaron Lennon away in the build up to the only goal of the game.

Roma wasteful
A demoralising 3-2 home defeat was not how Roma would have wanted to start the Champions League knockout stage. Shakhtar Donetsk look in complete control of the tie after a great result against a rather wasteful Roma side. Only 4 of the home side’s 22 shots hit the target.

Record Breaker Raul
A 1-1 draw at the Mestalla leaves this tie in the balance, but it was ex Real Madrid striker Raul who took the headlines. His equalising goal for Schalke in the 64th minute means that he breaks the record for the most goals in European competition history. Congratulations to Raul and his amazing 71 goal haul.

Van der Vaart and Bale give Spurs a new edge

Over the last few seasons Tottenham have bulit up a talented group of players which rivals the depth of any squad in the division. Harry Redknapp has had many injuries to deal with this season, particularly in defense where Gallas and Kaboul are working well together despite both not being first choice. This large squad means that Redknapp has viable backup options in all positions, in stark contrast to David Moyes’ situation at Everton. Even Roy Hodgson does not have the squad depth that Harry enjoys, and has publicly stated that Liverpool need to strengthen in order to manage the strains of a full season. Spurs proved their quality last season by finishing fourth, but this season may be the one where they gain the belief.

The top teams in Europe do not just have the best players, they also have the belief that they can win any game against any opposition. Manchester United currently do not have the most potent squad of players, yet remain unbeaten in all competitions. The mental strength that they display is both impressive and demoralising for opponents, who often lack the belief themselves. United’s comeback at Villa a few weeks ago is a perfect example of how this belief can destabilise an opposition team. If a team reaches a point in a match where they no longer believe that they can get a result, then the match is as good as over. Tottenham’s comeback at the Emirates on Saturday indicates that the players are beginning to believe in their own quality a little more.

This belief is stemming from the emergence of genuine world class ability at White Hart Lane. World Cup finalist Rafael van der Vaart has arrived at Tottenham with the right mentality already in place. He inspires his teammates by never giving up and revels in taking responsibility. His class is beyond doubt and he is at the centre of everything Spurs do at the moment, with a goal and two assists at the weekend. Stepping up to take the penalty at 2-1, Van der Vaart fixed a determined and inspiring stare towards goal, the jeering Arsenal fans faded into an insignificant background, there was no doubt. Van der Vaart wants to take responsibility and enjoys absorbing pressure and Tottenham benefit hugely.

A player with the determination and quality of Rafael van der Vaart needs outlets on the pitch who are willing and able to take advantage of the opportunities that he creates. Spurs have lots of quality in their squad, but in Gareth Bale they have a superstar in the making who is currently enjoying world class levels of form. His touch and finish at the weekend for Tottenham’s first goal were masterful. Bale looks as comfortable and assured in front of goal as he does when bombing down the left wing. His ability to manipulate the ball is extra impressive because he can do it at top speed. In the last year Bale has bulked up physically and has become an immense athlete. His speed and strength is intimidating to play against and his final ball is of such quality and pace that he is a striker’s dream to play with. On top of his wing play, he is now becoming a proven goalscorer.

Together, Bale and van der Vaart give Spurs that extra class which is often so crucial in key moments of games. An accurate final pass or a perfect first touch when in on goal can be the difference between winning and losing. Spurs have a new edge and are growing in belief - the Premier League’s power structure of old is increasingly looking over its shoulder.

Spurs must seize their chance

Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool have dominated English football for the past decade. The Champions League has been a private playground for these four clubs, and their domination resulted in them being dubbed the ’big four’. In the past 10 years English sides have qualified for the Champions League group stages 37 times, with 35 of those achieved by the ‘big four’. Outside of these four teams, only Leeds United in 2000 and Newcastle United in 2002 have made it into Europe’s finest club competition proper. Newcastle and Everton failed to get past the Third qualifying round in 2003 and 2005 respectively. This trend has been great for the ‘big four’ clubs, but rather embarrassing for the rest of England’s top division. Many neutrals wanted to see a new name in the top four of the Premier League, and last season saw Tottenham Hotspur finish fourth after years of near misses and disappointing shortcomings.

Last season’s fourth place finish has entered Tottenham into the relatively new Champions League Play-off round. The draw was yesterday and Spurs received what would appear to be a pretty straight forward outcome. Tottenham were drawn against Swiss side Young Boys, avoiding the likes of Sampdoria, Auxerre and Dynamo Kiev. In another bonus, the second leg will take place at White Hart Lane on August 25. Back in 2005 Everton were rather unfortunate when they were drawn against Villarreal, who went on to reach the Semi-Finals, eliminating Manchester United (in the group) along the way. Spurs have dodged such bad luck with their draw and have been given an ideal chance to add some fresh English blood to the Champions League for the first time in eight years.

Harry Redknapp has built a large, strong and talented squad over the last season or so. His team has a fantastic home record, and the win at Eastlands at the end of last season which cliched fourth place, was a superb display, showing how far Tottenham have come. Should Tottenham advance to the group stages of the Champions League, I believe that they have a very good chance of making it to the knockout rounds, considering their big squad and strength at White Hart Lane. They proved all their doubters wrong last season, and now Spurs must seize their chance to test themselves at the highest level.