good win can't paper over cracks

dantes74

as happy as i am to see my beloved spurs back to winning ways i'd only be fooling myself to think this was a good or convincing win. this cypriot team are so bad we should be chalking up a record win against them especially in our own back yard.
plus points to be taken from the game are the fact that keane and bent got on the score sheet and also that lennon is back (even if he's not having a good game)
our midfield is going to cost us so many games this season, they haven't turned up for any of our games this year (malbranque being the only exception). huddlestone, zakora, jenas, tainio ... would any of these players be on the team sheet for the so called top 4? i think not and thats where we aspire to be.
huddlestone should be shown the door straight away, can't even take a corner

KingdomYid

i think your response is a bit harsh,ok we did not totally convince tonight but when all is said and done this was a no win game for spurs,i believe the quality of the opposition can dictate the urgency of which you attack once you go 4 or 5 up,the important fact is that this job is now done and we can rest players for 2nd leg and concentrate on getting the league back on track.

galinka

My only positive was the finishing of Defoe - maybe he has turned the corner at last.

Our defence looked very suspect in the centre anytime they played a ball in behind us - Dawson not up to speed yet. Kaboul is great going forward and in the air but his positional sense needs a lot of work.

Lennon needs more games too.

Sets up an easy second leg though - compared to Blackburn or Everton.

John W

I was not impressed by out performance last night, if it were a better team we would have been lucky to get away with a draw. I do agree, the poor competition does influence your play, but there were to many negatives and not enough positives last night.
Positive - bent and Keane on score sheet
Negative - both did not play well and should have scored more!
Positive - Lennon and Esso were back
Negative - Not a great game for either, don't expect to see them start at Bolton
Positive - we won
Negative - should have scored even more, again no clean sheet
Positive - Defoe scored 2 great goals
Negative - should have been on for Keane from start
Negative - Midfield were poor (again)
Negative - defense looked bad against weak opposition
Negative - Dawson, Steed, Keane, Bent, Esso, Hudd, Zok, all had weak games!
Sorry, but I really expected more from the team. If we play like this at the weekend, we will not beat Bolton (also a poor side this season).
Defoe should start for Keane, Tarrabt should start for Steed, The Price must at least be on the bench?

Hatch99

Disagree. Dont get me wrong, I expected us to win handily against poor side, but most of your negatives are very questionable. I agree that Defoe should have started for Keane and that the defence was poor (as usual), but as for the rest.

Lennon and BAE were playing there 1st games in months, it was the perfect game for them to build up some match practice,get a good blow out etc..we cant expect miracles from them so soon.

Should have scored more....is 6 not enough, how many teams in the Uefa, good or bad, score 6 or more, very few !!

Also, all the shouts for Taraabt to start are questionable.Dont get me wrong, he looks like a great talent, but he needs to be introduced slowly. He is a kid and still very raw and inexperienced. Each time he has come off the bench for us, he has done some great things, but just as many silly things to match. He could be a great player for us, but only if looked after in the right way.

But I have the same question as always - we have some great defenders, but yet we continue to defend looking like we have never played with eachother before....only one man who can take the responsibility for that Im afraid !!!!!!!

John W

Okay, maybe I was a little hard on Lennon and BAE, but they were playing a very, very poor side and I expected more.
6 IS enough, but as usual we squandered chances and could and should have scored at least 2 more - our finishing (apart from Defoe) is still under question!
Yes Tarraabt is young so was Hudd, Rooney Ronaldo, Fabyougasp etc. We need something to happen from midfield and we need it now! For me Hudd and Zoc are not doing it, Steed still needs to answer questions, Jenas doesn't always have the best of games. so in these times I think we need to give this boy a real go! I would have also liked to have seen The Prince last night?

Hatch99

Dont get me wrong, i firmly believe that if they are good enough, they are old enough, but taarabt aint good enough just yet. Rooney Ronaldo and Fabregas are arguably in the top 4/5 in the world at the moment in there respective positions, hence the age thing doesnt matter.

Malbranque is'nt good enough, never has been since the day he signed. Jenas is so frustrating. I firmly believe he has the ability in him to be a top player, but we have yet to see it. Maybe a change of manager or a different type of manager would get the best from him, who knows !!

John W

Hatch99 wrote:

Malbranque is'nt good enough, never has been since the day he signed.

Given your opinion of Malbranque (which I share) would you rather not see Tarrabt or even The Prince given the chance over him? I just think we lack ambition sometimes, and the manger does not want to take ANY risks. That is why he keeps playing Keane and Steed - No Balls!:(

galinka

I'm not too sure Taarabt is going to be as good as we think.
Certainly last night he did not impress me - also seems like a solo player.

I thought he might bring on Danny Rose for last 10 minutes - what was the point in bringing on Bale at 5-1!!

I'd like to see Boateng too - see if he is any good.

dantes74

certainly don't think tarabat is up to the task when it comes to playing against big teams we've only seen him play against bad team like the cypriots last nite and derby where we won handily. i do however think malbranque is a good player when played in the right position i.e the center of midfield. he's the kinda player that needs to be in the thick of things, his work rate is phenomanol.
as for the keane/defoe debate i'd always pick keane 1st, even though defoe does score cracking goals his work rate is no where near as good as keanes and keane with berba is a proven parternership. defoe got more starts than keane last yr but nowhere near as many goals