We Agree, I think

photo by Ed Yourdon	via PhotoRee

Scene: IN THE MIDST OF AN IMPASSIONED DISCUSSION BETWEEN CORRESPONDENTS ED AND JAMES

Topic:  SPURS

Dateline: YESTERDAY

Ed:  I wanted to note for the record that Spurs stunk and couldn’t score against Southampton, even though your whipping boy [Scott] Parker wasn’t playing.  

James: Well, dear Sir: Notwithstanding the absence of "My Whipping Boy" (I don't know if I really like how that reads) - the fundamental problem created by the impact of  Parker's skill set on this year's squad (e.g., sans Luka Modric) was not rectified by AVB's lineup last Saturday (of course it really wasn't rectified when Daniel Levy failed to get off his ass once again in the last two transfer windows).  To wit, there is no one, since the Sandro injury, who has been instructed to consistently occupy the defensive sweeper role (although I think that  Dembele, Parker and Jake  Livermore are more than capable).  And there is no one on the entire squad with the SKILL SET to recycle possession and trigger up field movement.  No one, that is, except for young Tommy Carroll - who for whatever reason AVB has chosen not to blood in this year. 

With the supremely athletic Sandro as a sweeper, Moussa Dembele was able to occupy the recycler role kinda sort of non-conventionally.  Specifically, Sandro covered so much ground that Dembele, after he got it from Sandro, could simply run the ball up field and then dump it into a void created by the sheer speed of the Sandro process, as opposed to running headlong into three opposing players and being dispossessed as Parker does most of the time.   What I can't for the life of me understand is why AVB doesn't just tell Parker to stay the f-- back there, do his whole pestering, tackling, disruptive thing and then get the ball to Dembele.

Easy Street: Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Internazionale Milan 0

photo by NCBrian	via PhotoRee

If James is writing, Bale is scoring:

Spurs strolled through an Inter Milan side today that appears to be a shadow of the team that Tottenham shocked in the Champions League group stage in 2010.  The Nerazzurri, struggling through transition, injuries and only one point off the pace for a Champions League places in Serie A, appeared as if they were happy to focus only on that for the rest of the season.  Spurs, on the other hand, are on a quest for both a European trophy and Champions League next year and, based on recent performances, are well on course for both.

Inter’s meek display should take nothing away from a dominating performance by the Lilywhites.  A fair score would have been five -- or even six -- to one or two.  Spurs took the lead only six minutes in on a headed goal from You Know Who off a fantastic cross from the ascendant Gylfi Sigurdsson (official MOTM).  It was Siggy who doubled the lead only twelve minutes later after a nice exchange from Mousa Dembele to Aaron Lennon, who gave Inter fits all night.  Also excellent were Jan Vertonghen who scored off a corner on a Bale delivery in the fifty third minute (Spurs scored on a corner!!!), Dembele and Scott Parker (unofficial MOTM).

Perched in Third: Tottenham Hotspur 3 - West Ham United 2

photo by ~fb~	via PhotoRee

Correspondent James' current form on the keyboard is almost as good as Gareth Bale's current form on the pitch:

There was a ton of tension and drama last night as Spurs took on West Ham at Upton Park. Of course, West Ham's home is one of those wonderful old English football stadiums like White Hart Lane.  And there was a nice pre-game tribute to England hero and former Hammer Sir Bobby Moore.  And there was Spurs desperately needing three points to maintain their four point gap on Arsenal, and West Ham needing the three points to help stay up.

Of course, in the midst of all of that, it may be unnecessary but nevertheless important to note, the fans of the respective clubs hate each other.  The Hammers, in the panoply of Spurs' bitterest rivals, are somewhere just behind Arsenal and juggling with Chelsea for second place, depending upon which of the two clubs’ retrograde Neanderthal groups of fans has lodged the most recent round of gas chamber hissing, Nazi salutes or other assorted anti-Semitic abuses at Spurs fans.

Yes - we do hate the Spammers.  And with a North London derby approaching in only six days’ time, the aforementioned perilous four point gap over Arsenal, the fortuitous opportunity to hop Chelsea into third with three points, the ESPN commentary of the inane Steve McManaman and the incredibly pedestrian play of Spurs' midfield (and by "pedestrian" I mean literally walking - Spurs midfield has been walking) yesterday's match shaped up to be an all-around rant inducing stress-fest for this correspondent.

It did not disappoint. For Spurs fortunes were once again saved by the Greatest Player In The World™ with two more simply ridiculous long range strikes balanced between a garbage goal picked up by someone not named Bale:  the seemingly resurgent Gylfi Sigurdsson.  The Hammers' goals came in ways that were almost as maddening as the horrific play in Spurs' midfield in the first half.  The recently lambasted Scott Parker stupidly slid into Andy Carrol in the box and the same obligingly slotted the ball into the top left corner of the goal on the ensuing free kick.  And, mid-way through the 2^nd half, West Ham burned Spurs' high line in a shambolic display not seen since late summer with Joe Cole of all people punching an angled shot past Hugo Lloris into the far corner.  This put West Ham up 2-1, and with Jussi Jasskelainen making incredible saves under waves of pressure from Spurs, this correspondent was left thinking of other recent and painful Spurs’ February collapses.

Missing Sandro: A Spurs' Diary

photo by Délirante bestiole [flying foxy]	via PhotoRee

In which Spurs' fan Columnist James returns from exile in Siberia:

It is tough to articulate just how abysmal Spurs' midfield performance has been since the injury to Sandro.  I know, I know -- last sixteen of the Europa League, mouth watering tie with Inter coming up, Top 4 in the Prem, The Greatest Player In The World™ ("TGPIW"), etc. etc.  But a series of singularly marvelous one-off goals by TGPIW (for the last four weeks running) and Moussa Dembele today (in Spurs' 1-1 second leg to advance in the Europa League against Lyon) have only served to paper over serious cracks in this squad since the Sandro injury.

And the most glaring of these cracks lies at the feet of (sadly, because he is one of my favorite players) one Scotty Parker.  To think that the RAF Captain was once captain of England and was voted Spurs' most valuable player last year is astounding.  His performance today was just terrible.  And while Dembele was not much better prior to his wonder goal that saved Spurs, it has been the switch from Sandro to Parker that seems to have seriously disrupted Spurs' transition and flow while in possession. 

It has been posited quite convincingly that Parker's core skill set is just not a good match both for AVB's system and the pairing with Dembele, but that fails to explain Parker's abject failure to adjust his game and just get rid of the ball.  Or of AVB's failure to clearly instruct him to simply fulfill the Sandro enforcer role and free Dembele for the charging runs.  It is true that Dembele and Parker are similar in that they like to hold and not look for (or are incapable of finding) the quick pass / through ball.  But that was the case with Dembele before the Sandro injury and Spurs' were not nearly this bad.  Recently, Spurs' offense has been just about non-existent save for TGPIW™'s wonder strikes and this is simply not sustainable. 

Neither can Dembele's decline -- traced back to the very same Sandro injury -- be regarded as a coincidence.  With Sandro so effectively protecting the back line, sweeping back and forth and springing Dembele up the field, Spurs were not exactly the fluid tiki-taka countering team they were with Modric, but their speed in transition enabled them to at least play the counter at times quite effectively.  Now, however, their transition and possession is like watching paint dry with Parker doing his pirouettes around the ball and Dembele dribbling all over the place with nary a decent pass between them. 

The Sky -- or Rather Third Place -- is the Limit for Spurs

Photo by Basibanget on Flickr

Just when you least expect it, up pops Columnist James with a report on the happenings over at White Hart Lane:

As November dawns in the Premiership so many of August's questions have been answered so unexpectedly and so many new questions have been created.  For example, as Mario Balotelli trudged off the ground of an exhibition in Los Anegles after a tragically misguided back footer, we all thought that Mancini would fail to manage the colossal egos on City as he had in the past.  That, and his stubborn insistence to maintain a conservative/Italian defense first mentality would doom City to more underachievement. Shortly thereafter, after an 8 goal emasculation of the Gooners,  we were asking not whether, but by how many points United would run away with the table this year.

Alas, as we encounter the first frosty nights of Autumn, it is City and not United who appear poised to run away with things even after the inevitable Tevez blow up and Balotelli antics.  While United find themselves struggling with injuries and disappointed with the play of a mid-field that many questioned going into the season, it has been City -- after their almost absurdly easy dismemberment of United two weeks ago at Old Trafford -- who are being hailed as the English Barca. And to reinforce the vital importance of an effective and balanced mid-field in modern football, City has benefited hugely from balancing the contributions of the magnificent David Silva with the dogged workmanship of the holders Yaya Toure and James Milner.

Which brings us to Spurs:  another club whose play has been compared to Barca of late, who have answered a different set of August questions in a most unexpected manner and who have, most surprisingly, benefited hugely from the contributions of a superbly talented, well balanced and, most importantly, committed mid-field.

Ten Plus One: Thoughts on the EPL Season to Date

Correspondent Ed Hanging Ten After His  Latest Column
photo by exfordy	via PhotoRee

Correspondent Ed has 10 things on his mind.  Oh, and one more for good measure:

1. I'm really confused about this Carlos Tevez case. He didn't refuse to go in, he just refused to warm up? Huh? Sounds more to me like his boss asked him to warm up and he responded with: "Why?". As in: "I'm not going to warm up because you're not going to play me anyway."  Well, that's cute and all, but I think Carlos has made the classic distinction without a difference. If you refuse to play unless you get a hug first, you're still refusing to play. For the sake of the sport, let him sit on the bench long enough to make sure no one else tries this again. All in all it's a sad story, as Tevez is a great talent and fun to watch.

2. David Silva is the best player in the EPL now, and he probably was last year, as well. Silva is what makes watching City worthwhile. Barcelona has about 4 guys -- Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Villa -- at or about Silva's level. Scary. Spain has probably never known such talent. Or are they just training their players better? I think both.

3. Natalie Sawyer is my SkySports News presenter of the month. She's got it on in all the right places. Plus she doesn't talk in that weird-imitation-male-broadcaster-speak that goes on at ESPN. What's up with that, anyway? Ladies on ESPN: feel free to talk sports without trying to sound like a snarky frat boy. We're fine with that. Really.

4. Since starting the season terribly, Spurs have been quietly. . . . . .winning. Now they're in fifth place, and only three points behind fourth place Newcastle. Hmmmmm, maybe we should keep it on the down low all season.

Questions and Answers from Week Seven in the EPL

Photo by walknboston on Flickr

Quick question for you: if members of the armed forces wears camouflage in order to blend into the background, why does Tim Howard wear it for his Everton 'keepers kit?  Every other goaltender in the league wears loud, garish colors, all the better to stand out: flourescent pink for Jussi Jaaskelainen, day-glo yellow for David De Gea, etc., yet Howard blends into the pitch with his vaious shads of green. Maybe it's so the opponents don't see him, which would explain Luis Suarez' point blank header right into Howard's arms with the whole of the empty net in front of him early on in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.

o King Kenny was looking a bit like a baseball manager on the sideline, wearing his Liverpool practice kit for the derby. In very few sports other than basesball does the manager wear the same thing as the men he coaches. Perhaps Kenny thinks he could still be out there cutting it on the pitch -- He certainly wouldn't be much of a step down in goal production from some of his newer signings....

o I didn't think it possible, but Luis Suarez somehow managed to enhance his reputation as a cheat with his antics against Everton on Saturday, losing a race to the ball to Jack Rodwell, and rolling over and writhing on the pitch as if his ankle had just been surgically removed. Now known around the league for petulance as well as his cheating disposition, Suarez is quickly becoming the man everyone else loves to hate.

o Referee Martin Atkinson once again saw fit to insert his name into the headlines on Saturday rather than letting the players hog the limelight. This isn't the first time Atkinson has done so, nor will it be the last. If the FA had any bit of common sense in its decision making -- it's a bit like yelling into an empty pit here -- they'll examine Atkinson's proclivities for making a name for himself in the games he oversees. And not in a good way.