UK time is: 23:45:23

Vital Login

Social Login

Spurs News 24/7

Choose your club

Other Sites

Network Navigation

Vital Partners

'If It's Football, It's Vital'

Check out the forum! There are 37 members viewing right now and 1163 visitors today.... Click here to join in!

Tottenham Hotspur Vs. Reading.

Firstly a very happy new year to everyone! I will play safe and wish you exactly what you wish me, whatever that may be…

If we look at results and league position, this is an easy three points for Tottenham, though of course we have said that before, and in truth despite what appears to be a more robust and defensively solid Reading, I don't see too much to stop Tottenham win and win comfortably, just as long as they themselves show up and produce football of their recent games. Seven wins in the last nine, is form that might not yet replicate Harry's golden run early last season, but you get the feeling that this is built on sound development under AVB and though we might not be looking to win the title, unlike the ever optimistic Sandro, this is a team and squad that is hopefully going to get better and better over the remainder of the season, whether we spend or not this month.

Reading are suddenly being talked about as being rock solid defensively, in only conceding one controversial goal in their last three games, and certainly an unfortunate defeat against Man City where Gareth Barry climbed all over Nicky Shorey/Nicky Shorey defended like a girl (depending on your point of view), a home draw against Swansea and a 1-0 win over West Ham have brought both hope, improvement and much needed points, but with seven defeats and a draw in their previous eight games, is hardly survival form and it will take more than these last three games and long overdue team resilience to convince me that Reading are going to stay in the Premiership. Perhaps as long as Tottenham don't make any James Collins style cock ups, we should again be looking at a clean sheet, and an early goal will surely force Reading into more offensive tactics.

Spurs are of course robbed of the services of Gareth Bale, whilst Clint Dempsey is the logical replacement, is he deemed fit enough to play a full 90 minutes, therefore could Gylfi Sigurdsson get a deserved start against his former club? Beniot Assou-Ekotto is potentially available, though I feel that we will not see him until we face Coventry at the weekend in a game that will be a perfect reintroduction after so long out with no competitive games since the start of September. I can see Villas-Boas, saving radical change for the FA Cup, which will probably mean that Scott Parker remains on the bench and we stick to pretty much the side that won and played so well at Sunderland. Whether AVB again rotates his centre backs, perhaps bringing back Gallas and Vertonghen and using Caulker and Dawson on Saturday seems like a good bet. Otherwise I expect to see: Lloris, Walker, Gallas, Vertonghen, Naughton; Sandro, Dembele; Lennon, Dempsey (Sigurdsson) Adebayor and Defoe start today, which is surely is a side good enough to win well, and then AVB has the opportunity to rest tired legs for Coventry and in effect give some two weeks rest before we travel to QPR and a Redknapp reunion on the 14th...

Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for the British GP

Seconds Out! Vital Boxing is here!

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.

Writer: OxfordSpur

Date:Tuesday January 1 2013

Time: 1:29PM

Your Comments

Drop Walker.

TopSpur13

Lloris, Naughton, Dawson, Caulker, Verts, Lennon, Sandro, Dembele, Dempsey, Adebayor, Defoe.

TopSpur13

Heck, Give Siggy a start instead of Adebayor who has been woeful too.

TopSpur13

no complacency - we need to go full throttle the whole match...perhaps Daws to deal with the Pog...

shedboy2

Just another 3 points needed to keep the ball rolling. Don't care if it's 1-0 or 6-4. If you had to be missing Bale for a premiership match you would probably choose Reading at the lane so his absence can not be an excuse for anything today. They frustrated City and they'll try to do the same here so COYS and lets win!

TopSpur13

Happy whatever Ox. And I agree re Gylfi being given a start COYS

Big Ron

I would stick with walker and naughton at full back today and bring in Vertonghen to CB with a rest for Vert and walker against Cov. Coventry is the game to rest players and giving Dempsey a start in place of Bale is reward for his good work when covering for him when he was injured. I agree that I would like to see siggy start, especially against his former team, but we know that in AVB dropping Caulker against Swansea he doesnt pick on sentiment but on the best team for the game

oxfordspur

surely he starts against Coventry at the weekend! what we and Im sure AVB is doing id dismissing sentiment and making sure where possible that players are fresh, but also fit to play and fighting for their position. It always annoyed me under Harry that we so often played players who were seemingly 70-80% fit, which was to the detriment of them and the team. Under AVB it seems that you not only have to earn your place, but be fit to run all game

oxfordspur

Win the game early. Make and take the chances so we can enjoy it please.

Love totty

Lloris, Walker, Daws, Verts, Naughton, Lennon, Sandro, Dembele, Dempsey, Ade, defoe....but we can change it around a bit....they will sit deep so perhaps the guile of Gylfi will mean we can lose a speedster in defoe or Lennon...I think Gallas could be bullied in the air (as usual) by Pogrebnyak so Daws should get the nod

shedboy2

I'd go for it...and give the team a Refresh..plus would give us a better clue on what may be required..jan' and the future. For me....Lloris, naughton,dawson,caulker,vertonghen, lennon,parker,dembele,townsend,siggurdsen,dempsey. subs..friedel,walker,gallas,livermore,sandro,adebayor, defoe. Would like to see goals goals goals.......can see lennon scoring again and ideally, all 4 of our attacking frontmen used and scoring today.

82spursdebut

Tough team selection today. No Bale and no left footed LB so it will be important that Lennon stays wider on other side. That could mean that AVB opts for Verts at LB.

muttley

I know some are suggesting we drop Ade, but I can see it then being a case of others complaining that we have only played with one striker, at home and against the team in 19th place. in contrast is this a game where we should be hoping that he has a stormer and regains some some and confidence

oxfordspur

Our starting team vs Reading today: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Naughton, Sandro, Dembele, Lennon, Sigurdsson Adebayor & Defoe

oxfordspur

And our subs: Friedel, Caulker, Livermore, Falque, Huddlestone, Parker & Dempsey

oxfordspur

Not understanding the inclusion of Dawson but the rest is as expected. I would have played Caulker.

muttley

The Reading team today: Federici; Gunter, Harte, Mariappa, Pearce; Karacan, Leigertwood, Kebe, McAnuff, Guthrie & Pogrebnyak #COYS

oxfordspur

Ox Clint Dempsey is the illogical replacement.

tophobunty

Mildly concerned that BAE still doesn't make the bench even

bowerman

I wonder if the inclusion of Daws is to counter the physical threat of Pogrebnyak? NO Gallas? Perhaps he is heading for QPR???

oxfordspur

Not sure why we are seeing 3 similar players on the subs bench. He did this saturday too. That to me is one clue as to why we require a new striker in jan' tranfer window.

82spursdebut

i still dont believe why Townsend sits on the bench when Bale is not playing, poor management, very. Naughton at left back is also very puzzling.

tophobunty

We really need to get goals, goals and more goals! btw, Westbrom losing....

Critical_Spur

tophobunty, Townsend NOT even on the bench!

Critical_Spur

Gallas OUT his most likely still suffering from the right hamstring pull or pi$$ed from last night, No loss. We have to rattle them early doors 2 up in 15mins, we need to get a cricket score today.

spu 4 life

all sorts of problems could come down our left side today, Kebe is a real flyer and we put a right footed left back against him with Siggy in front of him and he wont stay left and wont track back. This could mean we get even more bent out of shape with Lennon going left which negates him as a threat. This is a worry for me that AVB does not simply play Townsend as Bale's replacement in a place he is comfortable to play, keeping our shape and offering the oppo a significant threat. The team picked evens this game up and we could even end up losing. I hope not.

tophobunty

Adebayor owes us a good game ,hopefully today .Been dreadful all season .
Defoe hat trick 4-0 .
4-4-2 is working well but need to be more clinical

big cockeral

Critical i see that now, I struggle to understand the issue with not playing Townsend, is he injured?

tophobunty

yep' can see a 6-0 coming !!....time to go..."come on you spurs"

82spursdebut

Siggy to score? fulham leading 2-1 come on martin jol hold on...

spu 4 life

Line-up for today's seems ok. I would substitute in the 60th minute Falque for Lennon, 70th min, Parker for Sandro and after 75mins, Dempsey for Defoe or Ade. But all this should be done if we are up by two goals which on paper should not be a problem at all. But as the saying goes: the ball is round!!! COYS!!!!

Phil-Spurs

Ox - I'd gladly lose Dawson and Gallas for a young, top drawer centre half to compliment our other 3. The only link we've seen is Toby Alderweireld and nothing recently. It's hard to dislike Daws but after all of these years not even a hypnotist could convince me he's good enough.

muttley

tophobunty, agreed re missing Townsend. Unless AVB gave a prior nod to SOME of the players to enjoy their parties!!!

Critical_Spur

yeah if it stays 2-1 to Fulham thats a good start to the day !!

Edinburgh Spur

The left-side does look a bit suspect, but Naughton has shown that he's a capable left-back, better than Verts at left-back anyway. I think that if BAE was fit, Walker would be dropped. I think that Sigurdsson will work his socks off today. This is his rare chance to impress and he has pace. I wouldn't of started Townsend. I think that he needs to be loaned to another EPL team like Walker and Rose.

Fanman

fulham win it 2-1

spu 4 life

Fanman, Naughton is not a better left back than Verts and Siggy does NOT have pace.

tophobunty

Be interesting to see if Lennon attacks down the left, allowing walker to use the right side, Siggy another possible, certain AVB see;s them parking up, we will find out soon.

spu 4 life

Thought the article was never coming!We should score on the run of play and as fast as possible.Or else Reading will park the bus.4-0 to Spurs!

SilwalYid

tophobunty, I disagree. I think that Naughton is a better left-back than Verts. Verts gets beaten quite easily for pace at left-back, but he's good going forward. Naughton is good defensively, and good going forward. He can also pick a good through pass. Siggy is no Bale or Lennon, but he has more pace than Dempsey. I think that part of the reason he has been picked today is for his delivery on set-pieces.

Fanman

I can see Naighton becoming an increasingly integral part of the team, never mind squad. ultimately I see him as a player that could even fill in for Lennon as he showed in Pre-Season 2-3yrs ago he can be very effective as a wide midfielder too... no Bale in the side will almost certainly mean Ade or Defoe scoring.

Viyyash-Ramosh

a big cance here again or 3 points, reading are poor, i hope we areup for it, coys

123spurs

1st goal very important today. They're going to park the bus, just hope we can get something early. If they get to half time at 0-0, it will give them a lift. I'd take 1-0, we need 3pts to keep pressure on. COYS!!

RAF Yid

links anyone?

YankeeSpur23

Good to see Sigurdsson starting. He surely deserves a chance after his last subs appearances. A must win match for us and I hope all players to be focused on from the very beginning of it.

AlexSpur

YankeeSpur23, try this one http://www.thefirstrow.eu/watch/161231/1/watch-tottenham-hotspur-vs-reading-fc.html

AlexSpur

vipsports has been down for a few weeks... links please boys?

Yidmarks

AlexSpur, they are all must win these days. Such huge pressure nowadays.

Fanman

TOWNSEND has a slight hamstring issue & is NOT being ignored, which is NOT the result of poor management, let alone very poor management. And why on earth is Naughton at LB very puzzling? Have you not watched our last few matches tophob? Clean sheets etc etc, he was involved in those games mate & is getting better with every game. Or would you prefer AVB put Vertonghen there, even though the player himself has stated that he's not agile enough to deal with tricky or pacey wingers & doesn't like playing there?? Apart from possibly using Caulker instead of Dawson, I fail to see what else AVB could have done with his defensive choices?

coopsieyid

Everyone is copying our pre-match huddle.

Fanman

a good start at a high tempo should give Uncle Festa and his team something to think about

Viyyash-Ramosh

oh dear

In-spurs-ational

First goal we've conceded in the first fifteen minutes this season

In-spurs-ational

scool boy error from a fee kick ball watch

123spurs

amazes me the number of times teams score with their 1st real chance on goal against Spurs, yet we struggle to do the same. at least plenty of time to turn it around... I think Reading might just try to defend this lead only from here lol

Viyyash-Ramosh

Keep calm and pass me the ball.

thenuge

oh for phuck sake, well never saw that coming, now we need to up the gears...

spu 4 life

Missed that. What happened? Ade should have had that

Big Ron

sandro is poor again with hes passing very careless like last game

123spurs

Adebayor, Adebayor, give him the ball and he won't score

In-spurs-ational

hopefully this game will make people realise and the managment how badly we need another quality winger at the club as a back up for either lennon or bale when they are injured/suspended we just aren't the same team.....we are really gonna struggle this afternoon to open them up!! Hopefully will prompt a january buy!!!

WiseYid

Good test for us now. Let's see what we are made of.

In-spurs-ational

Dawson 1_1

In-spurs-ational

daawssssssssssssssss

123spurs

Did we just score from a corner?!

In-spurs-ational

Goal from a corner???

Fanman

Fanman, Verts is a much more natural left sided player than Naughton and will always be a better left back. You are faster than Demspey, so is a bus with a flat tyre, being faster than Dempsey does not mean anyone or thing has pace. Siggy is NOT pacey, Townsend is.

tophobunty

GREAT RESPONSE FROM MR SPURS !!!!

spu 4 life

That will add a few million if Harry wants him

In-spurs-ational

SPurs New Years resolution ?

Score from corners yeeha

big cockeral

Fanman I do agree with you ref Walker that he could/should be dropped if BAE were fit. I am keen to see if Naughton could be a better right back than Walker, I think there is a good chance he could be.

tophobunty

Another corner, hopefully another goal

In-spurs-ational

http://www.blinertv-ppv.cc.cc/p/blinertv.html

coopsieyid

Nice quiet first quarter of an hour!

In-spurs-ational

LOL Big C

SilwalYid

LOL big c!Good 1!!

SilwalYid

http://socsportslive.com/?htrtrhthrth

coopsieyid

Coopsie good to see you mate, not often I disagree with you but I do ref Naughton at left back. He might be a very good full back given the chance but never top draw at left back. I want top draw in every position, it's a failing of mine.

tophobunty

Sorry for the double comments

SilwalYid

Yeah this is by far the best link I've seen today

http://socsportslive.com/?htrtrhthrth

coopsieyid

tophob, I never said he's a top drawer LB, just that he's currently the best that we have available for the job. Oh & I agree with you & Fanman about Walker & Naughton. It's worth remembering that it was Naughton who broke into the Sheffield Utd team first & went on to win young player of the season & came second in the votes for full player of the season too. He then got moved to LB when Walker finally got a chance to get in the 1st team.

coopsieyid

Walker couldn't even cross the road!!

coopsieyid

good tempo attacking, siggy looks well up for the fight today, having a good first half, need to score again b4 h/time

spu 4 life

Isn't it time to give one of 'em a yellow for all the pulling, Webb?

Durbanspur

Coopsie Verts is by far the better option at left back, he doesn't need to come inside all the time on his right side and he can tackle with his left foot Naughton can not, its a no brainer really.

tophobunty

Adebayor is looking our worst signing ever .
OH we should have got Berbatov

big cockeral

seem to have real problems penetrating this season... Arry at least played with a flamboyant style that guaranteed chances galore

Viyyash-Ramosh

if we cant beat ading bottom 3 at home . forget it , ade is shocking has avb balls to drop him

123spurs

tophob it's not a no brainer at all, for reasons I explained a few responses ago mate. He may well be the best option BUT he's also our best CB. AVB is right to keep him where he's best & happiest :)

BigC, all I can say to you is I hope I'm right in believing that Ade was signed with no other intention than to sell him on ASAP for a nice little profit.

coopsieyid

Viyyash Redpike was and still is severely limited as a manager, please mate he's gone...

tophobunty

FFS, what the fu** has Redknapp got to do with this game or any other bloody game this season? 11 attempts at the goal in the first 40 minutes man, how many chances do you think we should be creating FFS.

coopsieyid

Dempsey to come on for the donkey Adebayor in the second half please. It's like we've only got 10 men out there at the minute.

thfc1882whl

We miss Bale. Sigurdsson is ok, but tophobunty was right. He has no pace. Sorry I questioned you mate lol.

Fanman

disagree Coopsie you play for the team/club NOT for yourself the same rule must apply to Verts. Is Caulker a better centre back than Naughton is left back? YES...so play Caulker CB and Verts left back for the sake of the team...not for the sake of what gives verts an erection, be strong and be a better manager for the good of the team.

tophobunty

Don't agree with ''frustrating'' from the commentator, we have pressed hard and it's good to see us shooting outside the box, won't be ong before siggy or defoe hit the target and it goes in. pleased for siggy his had a excellent first half, keep getting the ball wide for lennon. we can do this score early doors and press on, Sandro needs to be careful already on a yellow.

spu 4 life

123spurs - you are aware that the current PL champions took up until the 93rd minute to beat this bottom 3 Reading at home, aren't you? Why on earth do people seem to think that teams should just let us win?

coopsieyid

Reading are really frustrating us. Defoe looks most likely to score.

Fanman

Siggy poor so far ade just needs a goal.

jljyid

coopsie...... What makes you think that Adebayor would even allow us to sell him? He's riding the gravy train yet again and will only leave on his terms, plus, who in their right mind would buy him anyway?

thfc1882whl

I'm no fan of Arry but he did have the team playing to be able to penetrate and create chances. alot of the games this season we dont have that higher gear to apply consistent pressure... we need to commit more players forward and 1 of Dembele or Sandro need to attack the box more in rotation... dull tepid stuff for many games now (apart from dud-opponents like Villa)

Viyyash-Ramosh

We will still win the game but alarm bells are ringing on our production in the final 3rd .
Lennon needs to get the ball run with it & pick out his man .Only done it once today & to be fair ,Adebayor should have scored .

Poor final ball by several Spurs players it`s what costs us ,game after game .
Spurs have scored 15 goals in 11 home games .Our attacking threat has to be improved on ,just don`t open teams up enough .
Bale is pure class at this ,others need to follow suit

big cockeral

we had the same problem with moddy an vdv

123spurs

14 attempts at goal in 45 minutes, that's pretty much an attempt every 3 minutes, yet STILL people complain. Unbelievable Jeff!!

coopsieyid

Ade is poor. We need to learn how to play the long ball game like Everrton. Reading are content to sit back and hit us on the counter. Also that was never a foul by Naughton.

Fanman

thfc1882whl +1 .

big cockeral

Soporific. Hope to see higher tempo from everyone in the second half. Siggi needs to up his game or bring Dempsey on.

Harry-Kari

Patience please. We should take the bus parking tactics of visitors to WHL as the backhanded compliment it is. We have the quality to prevail.

SpuriousLife

Siggy and Ade need to improve. Ade should of scored. His head was the poorest I've seen this season. Can you imagine if that fell to Rooney or RVP?

Fanman

Viyyash-Ramosh We won one away game in 2012 under Harry .
Great managers don`t have 4 good months & 5 $hit ones

big cockeral

11 chances ??.... most of them low-quality low-percentage strikes from well outside the pen-box that any team could do.... the trick is in creating QUALITY chances at a fairly good rate... like we did under Arry's training and tactics

Viyyash-Ramosh

Not going to slag the guy off, but Ade looks all at sea, maybe he just needs a goal to kick start his season again.

spu 4 life

thfc1882 - He's pretty highly though of in Spain mate, God knows why? But there'd almost certainly be suitors for his signature if he started to voice discontent..

tophob, how many players would you like us to play out of position for the good of the team? Walker at CB? He's enough of a liability out of the way on the right, let alone in the business area that is the middle.

coopsieyid

Of the 14 attempts, apart from the goal, I only remember 2 that looked like going in and one of those was a deflection. I suppose it depends on your point of view but I never feel we are going to score so it comes as a nice surprise when we do.

Harry-Kari

We need a striker and a playmaker. This game is showing that now moree than ever.

Fanman

viyyash i remember games under arry that we struggled to score in just like now teams just sit back against us and make it difficult. thats the nature of the better teams playing the so called lesser teams. we had quite alot of attempts in that half so im not overly concerned yet

jljyid

Viyyash-Ramosh

Phuck off at support QPR then

big cockeral

COME N AVB YOUR THE MAN, TACTICS AND GOALS WIN GAMES.

spu 4 life

Be nice if some of the attempts actually worked the keeper a bit more. This slow build up, pressuring possession is ok to a point but it allows the opposition time to close down and prevent 2 on 1 situations in the last third.

Love totty

coopsieyid, right now I'd bite anyone's hand off if they offered a bid for Ade.

Fanman

ohh really sorry guys should of done this first HAPPY NEW YEAR to my fellow spurs breteheren

jljyid

*bretheren

jljyid

Viyyash - Penetrate and create chances? What like against Villa last season? Or QPR? Or Wolves? Or Wet Spam when he was "happy for them" when they beat us 1-0 whilst rooted to the bottom of the table without scoring a goal or registering a single point before playing us? Mate he was bloody clueless about what to do if his "just go out there & run about" tactic didn't work. But again, I'm still puzzled as to why he's even being discussed?

coopsieyid

We need a left-sided winger as cover for Bale. Personally I don't think that Townsend is good enough, but he can't be any worse than Siggy on the left.

Fanman

bigcock... Arry got us 2 Top4s in 4yrs, so lets not forget it. and he did it wit playing in a way that even had Fergie swooning last season.... we seem to be too conservative this season and not creating good chances at all... the swagger and confidence has drained from this team

Viyyash-Ramosh

If they score again, we'll be in big trouble.

Fanman

V-R, think you should start supporting QPR/Arry. The lads are doin fine and am sure another goal from us will open floodgates! COYS!

Critical_Spur

coopsie..... Personally I'd never have even entertained signing the bloke, I'm not one who revels in saying "I told you so", especially when our club is on the receiving end, but ............ COYS

thfc1882whl

Dempsey is pretty good on the left .

Take Adebayawn off & move Siggy in the middle

big cockeral

V-R, even Fergie got it wrong when he suggested Arry was the right man for England!

Critical_Spur

Oh dear lol.. "Like we did under Arry's training & tactics".. You mean the training that the players openly said they never worked on set-pieces or different systems? Or the tactics that VDV told us all about, via his "we have a tactics board in the changing room but Harry doesn't bother with it & just tells us to go out & enjoy ourselves"?? Yeah we all miss those QUALITY things ;)

coopsieyid

Big jobs have come up & not one looked at Redknapp .

big cockeral

OMG he scores

123spurs

That Adebayor is brilliant!

thfc1882whl

So deserved - so deserved. For all 11 and in particular thise two

BillNich

hahahahahaha i can talk em in Not going to slag the guy off, but Ade looks all at sea, maybe he just needs a goal to kick start his season again. spu 4 life Read more: http://www.spurs.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7514211#ixzz2Gjz6zLjn

spu 4 life

coopise GREAT at last you understand my point Verts is LESS out of position at left back than Naughton is, we reach an understanding...

tophobunty

Quick ,everybody hide

big cockeral

thfc1882 - I have always felt the same as you about Ade mate.

Viyyash, if the confidence has drained out of this team, WHY are normally quiet players such as Sandro coming out with public statements about us challenging for the league? Yep we've got a real confidence issue amongst our ranks. What we really need is to be as confident as we were between February & May in the last 2 seasons lol

coopsieyid

*those

BillNich

I've never been happier to be proved wrong. Adebayor, Adebayor, give him the ball and he WILL score!

In-spurs-ational

Webb is giving us nothing! Thankfully we'll do this despite him!

Durbanspur

ade he do that

123spurs

Right, my stream appears to be at least a minute behind yours.. I am reading down through responses & seeing Adecouldn'thitabarndoor has scored, even though my screen was saying 1-1 lol... Good to see Lennon showing his inability to cross again. That'd be 2 assists if Ade hadn't totally screwed up the first chance.

coopsieyid

Looks like #7 has been reading the massive support on here after your recent article, oxford spur. Oozes confidence

BillNich

Well done Lennon ,keep that going no fear ,no fear .Attack attack ,attack .
No more dancing around like Mary Poppins on ecstasy

big cockeral

Talk about putting the rose-tinteds on for Harry, Viyyash. He'll have a new soundbite next season, "when I came here they had Premiership football". Doesn't sound as good as two points from eight games, but then Harry's never had it so good.

Crissybwoy

2 more please! (:

SilwalYid

did I just see the biggest basher of our no 7 on this site praise him?

SilwalYid

did I just see the biggest basher of our no 7 on this site praise him?

SilwalYid

did I just see the biggest basher of our no 7 on this site praise him?

SilwalYid

Silwal, no mate, you're just still pi$$ed after lastnight lol

coopsieyid

3 comments ughh!I really hate this typo

SilwalYid

so so poor in the final 3rd.... we will pay the price against better teams. AVB needs to see some Spurs videos from last 2 seasons to see how we can attack with penetration

Viyyash-Ramosh

Viyyash, maybe AVB can also learn how to concede five at Wembley and not win any trophies.

Crissybwoy

oh dear, hearts in mouths time again!!!

vicspur

coopsie.... for confidence read bravado.... or maybe Sandro just isnt the most intelligent person on the planet, or even close.

Viyyash-Ramosh

3-1 whew!

Durbanspur

god bless the usa.........get in

spu 4 life

Well, that has got us out of trouble. Reading were looking likely to score.

vicspur

Nice bit of luck there

In-spurs-ational

Dempsey doea his party-piece again after same at Everton. saves on squeky-bum time for last 10mins.... for this game

Viyyash-Ramosh

If that's what you think of Sandro, VR - so, where do you put Walker on the intelligence quotient scale?

Durbanspur

Winning after eighty minutes again

In-spurs-ational

scotty ''luka modric'' parker what a player

spu 4 life

VR-Penetration my *******.Why dont you go and watch that game against QPR last season that literally cost us UCL place and come back and talk about penetration

SilwalYid

Walker is Sandro's twin

Viyyash-Ramosh

If we win this, it will be thanks to DAD (Daws, Ade and Dem)

In-spurs-ational

Maybe AVB needs to learn how to go out of the Europa cup group stages against clubs nobody has heard of .

big cockeral

Livermore is Sandro with at least half a brain

Viyyash-Ramosh

Adebaoyr may have scored but he was still complete nans pants all game

big cockeral

so I make Defoe my captain and all he gets me is 2 points.Should had stuck to RVP! LoL who cares,Spurs are winning!

SilwalYid

Haha big c. Viyyash is Harry but without the massive house paid for by Portsmouth.

Crissybwoy

Viyyash. Do you have anything good to say about our current team or management? I see a lot of slagging off from you about the current side and a lot of love for Redknapp. Are we doing worse now than under Redknapp? Join us in 2013 and stop hankering after your rose-tinted version of the past.

SpuriousLife

Talking out your a--e VR........respectfully!

Durbanspur

Man I'm beyond words.. Not only do you slag off the guy who currently has us sitting in THIRD, but you also slag off the mighty Sandro too!! Unbelievable Jeff.... And PENETRATION? NINETEEN attempts on target. If you had a molecule oif common sense, you'd see that PENETRATION most certainly is NOT the problem, it's the lack of quality finishers that is the problem.

coopsieyid

We could do with another one to help our goal difference. I'll take the three points though

In-spurs-ational

I would strongly recommend not reacting to Viyash-Ramosh. He is on the wind up. Well i hope he is. He just says controversial stuff to get a reaction. It might be Adrian Durham??

StillRickyVilla

Did you see HR's brilliant penetrating management style against Liverpoo the other night whenhis team were 3-0 down & DESPERATE for a goal? Derry for Cisse & then 2 further defensive players brought on, whilst leaving Hoilett & Faurlin on the bench. Genius!!

coopsieyid

This is rubbish. AVB out out out. What's that nurse? Time to take my pills

In-spurs-ational

rock and roll 3pts to the mighty SPURS

spu 4 life

Now just hoping Le Scums lose!

SilwalYid

WTF?? 7 wins from our last 9 league games? That's it, AVB OUT!!

coopsieyid

Oh how I wish the ref had blown five minutes earlier in our Everton game

In-spurs-ational

Need an article about AVB & the lads giving the Spurs faithful a great Christmas & a happy New Year .
3 games 3 wins ,yes yes well impressed

big cockeral

Great result. Well done to AVB and the lads. Obviously things still to work on but a win is a win. Well done.

Harry-Kari

Yes thats us again.Whoopee!!. Forgetting Coventry bring on QPR and then ManU. Lennon played really well and even the subs worked well today

Big Ron

Great goal from Ade, good win. I think we can all agree that buying Siggy was a mistake.

Fanman

AVB out!! LOL!! On a serious note, i love the togetherness and confidence, not just on the pitch, but on the bench. I'm telling you, there is something special stirring down at the Lane.

StillRickyVilla

SRV I feel you're right, Sir. Probably best for all concerned, and the site, if that particular poster is just ignored. Leave him/her to support QPR/Redknapp.

coopsieyid

Coops; sean derry are you sure, he looks a lot like John McEnroe from a distance?

spu 4 life

lol.... saved by a flukey goal by Dempsey luckily enough. otherwise you just KNOW how the game wudda ended in last 10mins of kitchen-sink football by Reading. we've deserved the luck to win last 2 games and we've had it.... look very timid and desperate when defending leads still..... great to see Lennon and Naughton finally getting the acclaim theyve deserved for many weeks now

Viyyash-Ramosh

AVB didn`t come out & call us all idiots & tell us how we`ve never had it so good .AVB has never looked down at the club or fans & shows no emotion or passion in the games he`s managing .We scored once & he threw his assistant out of the stadium ,disgraceful

AVB OUT !,AVB OUT !

big cockeral

Great result, superb Christmas. COYS

ro6ertj

At least it means Arsenal have to win their next two games to overtake us.

In-spurs-ational

spu you have a heck of a point lol

coopsieyid

30 shots, 3 goals. Fantastic to be so dominant but whether it is the chance creation or the finishing, something is not right. We could have been pegged back there. Easy to be happy with the win but let's remember who we were playing.

Love totty

V-R - you say we had better penetration and attacking intent under Harry? Well at this exact point last season we had 35 goals. This season we have 39 goals! And under Harry we were about to embark on 4 months of ****e from now on. Do you need more or shall we carry on?

StillRickyVilla

Think i'll say ..well done spurs.........acceptable result vs poor side. I expected / Hoped.. spurs to win by 3 clear goals. Praise to avb...as i feel we started 2nd half with more "intent" ( too slow first half). Liked to have seen all our corners "inswinging"..or majority. Shame Townsend missing. Lennon..my man of match. Good on yah..addy. Still need another top striker...IMO. Great scott'...you are back !!....lol

82spursdebut

Another nice win, Lennon is the most improved player of last season and so much fitter,Sandro anther blinder ,and Dembele just ozzes class ,,,11 shots on target 11 wide not bad really ,,was sweating for 10 mins though :) ,,well we are Spurs .

Edinburgh Spur

You're absolutely right Virresh, all the 7 wins out of the last 9 games were nothing but lucky..

coopsieyid

oh....MR.WEBB....4/10 !!!!..lol

82spursdebut

how fickle fans truly are.... it was less than a year ago when most of you were singing along to 'we want you to staaaaaaaay'.... avb needs to work on play in final 3rd, cos we look clueless and end up just resorting to long potshots when nothing else looks remotely on.... don't confuse results with performance, we looked very shaky (as usual) closing out the lead before Dempsey's fluke, flukes will not come to the rescue always

Viyyash-Ramosh

the usually underachieving Spurs festive period brought 10 pts from 12 games this year so far guys. Have to be happy with that. Lennon was great today. Really enjoying watching him at the moment. If we had Bale today it would have been 4 or 5-1 me thinks. Not sure what all the slag is on Naughton, he looks a really good yung player imo. Parker seems to have gotten rid of his Jenas back pass disease and looks to be an impact sub. Dropping Hudds was huge as he was killing us. Hope we can keep this form up boys. Keep charging up the table!! COYS.....nice to see you back Coopsie, its been a while.

YankeeSpur23

V-R is a comedian, an Arsenal fan or just a ****!? Which one can we have a poll?

StillRickyVilla

V-R are you RagingSpur in disguise? You're addicted to misery. Maybe you should seriously consider supporting Harry and his West London super-hoops! You'll have plenty of misery to keep you smiling there.

SpuriousLife

Read a report that Harry is trying to get Joe Cole for QPR. Thanks to the gods that he's not bringing in pensioners more for Spurs. No late season collapse for our team this season. Stronger as the season moves on. Those who expressed optimism early in the AVB era seem to have been right. Chase them blues away. The good times are rolling in.

Total knobhead

Naughton is looking excellent at left-back. For all we slate Walker. He got Dawson out of jail today with a match saving tackle. Dawson's pace was shocking.

Fanman

Love totty, it's absolutely unquestionable that it's a lack of quality 'finisher' that is the problem. Do you think that the likes of Chel$ki, City or United would only score 3 chances out of 30 with the 'quality' finishers they have? If we had our own version of Rooney, RVP, Hernandez, Aguero, Dzeko, Tevez, Torres, Mata or even Danny bloody Welbeck, we'd be MASSIVELY more potent. Unfortunately we've got Ade & Defoe as our 'strikers' with Bale probably being the best finisher at the club.

coopsieyid

V-R is either a very clueless fckr or on the wind-up. Spending new years day winding up fellow Spurs fans is a very sad and lonely thing to do. Either way the guy is and idiot.

asherthesmasher

In-spurs-ational, ou're absolutely right, re Arseanal (and the other teams around us too) now needing to win their games. It's ok for people to say "but they've got games in hand over us, but we've already won our games, they have to match us to keep up. I'd rather be in our position than theirs!!

coopsieyid

This time last season we had 14 victories
Today we have 12 .

That was before our second half season collapse .If AVB buys smart & keeps the ship steady he could get that 70 points needed

big cockeral

Viyyash, you say don't confuse results with performance, and yet I've never heard any manager say "it's a performance-based business".

Crissybwoy

Come on Southampton. Pull one out of that hat for us.

StillRickyVilla

Ecellent job well pleased for Ade and Clint all those who dissed CD well you can all fu(k off Well ANYONE who slags Lennon off after today's performance should take a long running jump off a very very short pier at high tide and deserves stay there. We all know who I mean. Maybe it's the new year spirit speaking here but what the hell, I am so p$$ed off with all the IDIOTS coming on here and slagging off our own players. I wish they would all bu99er off and "support" le arse or chavs cz we don't need or want you here you are a disgrace to club and players as well as a poor reflection of the REAL supporters of this brilliant great wonderful club which is the best club in the world.

chrishove123

We keep getting the points despite not looking at our best plus Webb up to his normal tricks. I'm loving the work-rate by the whole team when we haven't got the ball. We didn't give Reading any space all game. Starting to get concerned about Adebayor though. He is so much better than how he's performing at the moment.

muttley

Cheers TK! Good to hear from you - missed you buddy!

Durbanspur

VR, I agree we were playing nice football last season with 'arry but he had Modric and VdV.

taniban

Virresh - "It was less than a year ago when most of you were singing 'we want you to staaaaaaay' ".. You really haven't been on here that long have you fella? On here, most of us weren't even singing that 2 years ago lol

P.S. IF Villa go down, I think young Weimann would be well worth a look.

coopsieyid

chrishove123 = what a tool

big cockeral

I don't understand why Webb gave the foul that led to Reading's goal? The tackle by Naughton was clinical, perhaps for Dembele's previous attempt to get the ball? We all know what Webb is like anyway...

Fanman

Good result and 3 more points, 10 out of 12 over holiday period, good return, credit to AVB and the players. The only criticism you have to make, is that 3 goals out of 34 goal attempts (Sky stats), is just not good enough especially as GD may well be key to finishing in a CL place. Please Levy take a punt, and buy us a proper striker.

Frank

Let's not forget that our midfield is very different. Our two most creative players are gone and so we are going to have to win differently. Our squad has been rotated and we are still in Europe. Despite having a weaker squad we are in a better situation than we were last season. Players will not be running on empty and i fancy us to have a better second half of the season compared to the first. I really think Harry would have struggled with the squad we have now this season.

asherthesmasher

chrishove - Couldn't have said it any better.

muttley - Nice that you've noticed the workrate when we haven't got the ball, it's immense!! As for Ade, there aren't many on here who didn't see it coming mate. At the end of the day, he's only EVER had 2 good seasons in the PL, 2007 at Arseanal & last season with us. He is not the answer to ANY of our problems mate.

YankeeSpur - Thank you young man. To be fair, there's a couple of obvious posters that make it all too easy for far too many members to stay away from the site.

coopsieyid

We should put in a bid to get Modric back. He's been voted the worst signing of 2012 in La liga. He must be soooo gutted and embarassed. Serves him right! We could of told rat face that was going to happen.

Fanman

QUESTION - Is it just me that see's Brian McDermott & visualise him in a wheelchair saying "I want that one"? Andy Pipkin alert lol

coopsieyid

All these changes suggested. Have a little faith, yes Walker is having a bad spell but that boy covers the ground well. Yes Sandro does astray passes however he is a beast. Levy give AVB what he wants, spent on a couple that will make a difference, not on mediocre players.

RAF Yid

Of the 34 goal attempts, only 10 were from inside the box, does this suggest when a team just defend against us, we lack a lock picker to thread telling passes through packed defences. One remembers the Stoke, Norwich and WBA home games, all that could, and should have been won, with a lock picker and a finisher, how handy would those 6 points have been.

Frank

walker put in a great last ditch tackle today though. love the team ethic under AVB. as always though defoe causes more problems than he solves. ade is far far better playing a lone striker role, we are currently set up to accommodate defoe but his finishing rate is simply too poor to justify it, along with the fact that he never passes to a better placed teammate. on the other hand he is much improved under AVB. i think ade deserves a run as the main man though.

Guernman

Unfortunately the gooners are dominating Southampton.

Fanman

We are crying for a finisher and playmaker. If Sneijder is available for 8 million, we should takea chance on him. Hopefully he wouldn't disrupt the team. It would be a shame to break up the Dembele Sandro partnership.

Fanman

Frank, we don't need to see the stats about shots from inside the box, to tell us we are perhaps missing a lock picker. That's not me having a go at your response mate, it's just something that's truly obvious, and was mentioned in the article yesterday too mate. We NEED a David Silva type player, but we also need a damn site better striker for him the feed, than we currently have at our disposal. As was suggested in the article yesterday, just those 2 simple changes in personnel (class playmaker & class striker) would see us improve immeasurably, in my uneducated opinion.

coopsieyid

Fanman, Saints keeper looks good though! Gomes?

RAF Yid

holes appear when we score goals. I feel we start home games too slowly, not enough "intent". Bit of extra quality would also help ( striker ). Still think we are much more a goal threat from inswinging corners. I love the Beast sandro....But Great Scott' is back !! Be Brave..Mr.levy....please.

82spursdebut

Coops - you might be right. I remember Anelka being an absolute pain earlier in his career. He ended up a player most teams would have wanted. I was sort of hoping Ade would head the same direction. Anyway, with Cudicini gone here's hoping that Bentley, Jenas, Gomes, Dawkins, Khumalo etc follow closely behind so AVB won't be bogged down for too long with Harry's stockpiling tendencies. Then we might see our squad optimised for the first time in many years including a striker and flair player we clearly miss.

muttley

Frank It just means our attacking players need to improve on their final ball .
It was Reading today & yet still it`s an issue .No point playing really well against Reading & Sunderland & saying we have world class players ,really ?
The best can do it against the best ,that`s what makes them the best . Bale is the only attacking player we have who matches anyone .Defoe ,Lennon & Adebayor struggle against fine defenders .
The controlling of the game comes from Sandro & dembele ,have the middle of the park theirs ,can`t keep leaving it to Bale .

big cockeral

Leave Modric where he is, the little ***** bust a gut to go, now it looks as though he ain't cutting the ice at Real, let him get on with it. As far as I am concerned like Berbatoss he wouldn't be welcome back at WHL.

Frank

Guernman, when it comes to actual 'striking/finishing' Defoe is leagues above Ade mate and, coming from me, that's quite a statement lol... Ade's finishing is woeful, his heading isn't good enough for such a big fella AND his shots have the same power as shots from my 5 year old daughter.

Fanman - Lloris

Walker, Kaboul, Vertonghen, BAE
Sandro, Dembele
Sneijder

Lennon 'class striker' Bale

;)

coopsieyid

Muttley, been saying all week, if we get rid of Gallas, Hudd, Gomes, Bentley and Jenas, the wages saved would be enough to pay the 2 players missing. Sometimes Levy needs to understand this and allow them to go on a free, in order to save. None of those mentioned are good enough or going to play. Gallas past it, we all know that!

RAF Yid

coopsieyid, yep that's looking a fine team. What of Dempsey and Siggy? ;-/

Fanman

i cannot see sneijder coming to spurs...if his reported wages of £200k per week are true. I think ..parker (50% of football, is using your brain and scotty has a big one )to suffice for now......youngsters possibly coming through. Ages of our current strikers, is worrying...as they are actually slowing in their abilities.

82spursdebut

Just back from the game, what struck me the most, apart from the glaring problem of not finishing teams off, is that we look fit and fresh, the very opposite from the last two seasons at this time of year. COYS.

ItalianYiddo

We now have QPR (a), Man U (h), and Norwich (a) before the end of the window, I doubt that apart from the Man U game these will succeed in convincing Levy, and AVB, although he is certainly already aware of our needs, to go out and get us what we need, starting ideally with Wesley Snjieder. Apart from the quality required, we need to introduce more selection pressure in key areas (currently only 2 strikers, and one creative MFer available), nobody should be certain to get picked, make em work for it. We have a great chance of CL football, sod profit, and bean counting, let's start running a top football club not a building society.

Frank

Arsenal 1 down!!!

MalaysiaSpur

Comfortable win, never in doubt. This Spurs team is well managed, well structured and plays a very solid and complete game. Granted we lack a little bit of flair and there is still room for improvement. But IMO this is the foundation phase of AVB's long term plan. We are a far more confident football team under AVB and less likely to panic, when are backs are against the wall. I am very confident Spurs will be playing CL football next year. Keep building the momentum AVB. 2013 is the year of the Cock!

thenuge

SOUTHAMPTON SCORE

big cockeral

Go on the Saints!!!!! 1-0.

RAF Yid

1-0 to the saints

duckworth

Southampton score! Terrible defending from Arsenal, they look tired.

Fanman

southhampton 1-0 sweet

Edinburgh Spur

Arsenal losing and deservedly. Please do a Bradford!

bowerman

Fanman, it's called having a quality bench & being able to rotate with better players than we currently have at our disposal on the bench. With that team I just suggested, with a bench of Friedel, Dawson, Caulker, Siggy, Dempsey, Parker, Defoe/Ade = pretty decent options to call upon.

coopsieyid

Theo Walcott again showing lennon,Defoe & co how it`s done .

big cockeral

82spursdebut, we'll be lucky to get Sneijder, but there are only about 3 clubs interested in him apparently. Spurs, Liverpool, United and that rich russian club in the europa. And.. Arsenal equalise...

Fanman

until lucky goons get a massive own goal present to equalise.

bowerman

I threw the boot into Viyash last week for his weak link statement about Sandro. I am now dropping the 'peoples elbow' on his face for the mere fact he mentioned Redknapp. He is making Jimmy-yid look like an alter boy.

thenuge

coopsieyid, you're right, but Dempsey's grown on me. It would be a shame for him to be just a squad player.

Fanman

Just voted for Lennon as MOTM, closely followed by Sandro, Ade our worst, awful other than the goal, he is a shadow of the player he was last season.

ItalianYiddo

Coopsie - nobody missed sitters today, it was just the slowness of the build up play which closes down the spaces. It's all very well to want a Mouthino in the team but that would have to be at the expense of either Lennon or Dembele and we would lose the power and pace they provide. I'm hoping that Dempsey will provide the movement and link play behind either Ade or Defoe rather than play both.

Love totty

Big C, Walcott doing what, trying harder to get a better contract. He remains me of Ade in that respect. Still, as long as he listens to Sol Campbell, he'll be alright. Or are you being sarcastic?

RAF Yid

bowerman, can't complain though. We've had our fair share of luck, with Sunderland's own goal and Dempsey's lucky deflection today.

Fanman

Fanman - I agree mate, Demps is looking better & better BUT even Man Utd sit the likes of RVP, Rooney, Scholes etc on the bench mate. Unfortunately, though rightly, there's no room for sentiment if you're aiming for success. ANY player can either accept being part of what appears to be turning into something very special, or they can leave for a 'lesser' club with more chance of playing week in week out. I can't remember who said it earlier on, but they were spot on. NOBODY should be guaranteed a game, and competition REAL competition within the squad can only be a good thing :)

coopsieyid

@Italian Yiddo - Totally agree about our fitness levels. I think a lot of credit needs to go to the one and only........ 'Jose Mario Rocha'. Yeah I googled it, he is our first team fitness coach.:)

thenuge

Love totty, I agree. We should either play Ade or Defoe with Dempsey in support. I think that Ade would be better than Defoe on his own, but I can't really say I'm sure. Its clear though that playing them together is not ideal. Ade did look poor today apart from the goal.

Fanman

IY - That'll be 2 consecutive MOTM performances for the overrated & unproductive Aaron Lennon then ;)

Love totty, we are going to have no choice but to agree to disagree. Slowness of build up play or not, there were still THIRTY FOUR shots on target. So for only 3 of them to go in, it can only mean a lack of quality. The chances would still have been missed if they happened in fast forward lol

coopsieyid

RAF Yid You have a point ,but also think in the final 3rd Walcott is much better than we already have .
Lennon would be mustard if he learnt to assist & score more , no technical ability to his set up plays which is why he never takes corners or free kicks .Defoe is too inconsistent despite having a fine year .
Walker gets hammered but if we scored more silly defensive mistakes would count for nothing .Walker is clumsy , he needs work on that

big cockeral

Is Craig Mickail Smith, Jimmy Bullard lol

coopsieyid

Just got back from the game. Ade am Defoe were awful. Still need a clinical striker with good movement as well as a playmaker to pull teams apart. Other than that feeling very positive about Spurs at this moment in time with AVB at the helm supported by the fantastic Freund. Can anyone further inform me of the rumours we have signed that Lewis Holtby on a pre contract???

BrooksySpurs

true true fanman but Southampton should have a penalty on 9 mins but neither the commentators or even the bbc acknowledged it even.

bowerman

coopsieyid, you make things sound a bit too harsh for me. Of course top players have to do their time on the bench for rotation purposes, something Fergie does very well. But when a player is doing well, I think that they should be rewarded. Sigurdsson had his chance today, but he failed to impress. Does Sneijder play in an advance role for inter and Holland. Or does he play in central midfield?

Fanman

I see we have sold Cudicini to LA Galaxy. Who's next out the door?

thenuge

I agree to a certain extent about Lennon, definitely about Defoe but disagree about Walker. Yes, he could be better defensively but boy he covers well, gets up and down and is slowly learning what Lennon wants. Walcott is demanding where to play and buckets loads of cash. How will others feel in that changing room?

RAF Yid

Brooksy, there's nothing concrete anywhere mate, re Holtby. There's LOTS of noise about Levy's interest but nothing official. Personally I think that IF our interest is genuine, we'd be better off putting in a bid of a couple of million & making sure we get him, rather than hope we can win the race for a free signature in the summer. However, as far as I'm aware, the only other PL club that's interested in him is Liverpoo. Now, there's a chance we should be concerned because, despite their current standing in the league, Liverpoo IS a bigger name for players to consider. However, do not concern yourself mate. Why? Well because his dad & him are ardent Everton supporters ;)

coopsieyid

fanman...sneijder, not for me.....too expensive. Prefer other options if we are in the market for a attacking midfielder. But...i'm currently happy with dembele, parker, sandro...livermore...other youngsters, such as ..mason, cellabos etc. Not wishing to upset you or anyone else.......but i believe all football players are squad players...and just a case of game to game selection..before and during. Next game..i'd be trying dempsey and addy up front from the start. Townsend, if poss' ..starting..left wing (or falque).....lennon right wing. Bale and siggy subs. Parker and livermore..central mid'...with insurance on the bench. That's my thinking.

82spursdebut

Fanman, again I agree, re Dempsey/Siggy. Dempsey came into his own whilst covering for Bale when he had that injury a couple of weeks back, and he does operate better when working from the left hand side. However, Demps himself is still getting over that injury he suffered mate, so it makes a refreshing change to have a manager who actually 'eases' players back into things, rather than rush them back & end up losing them for even longer.. As for me sounding a bit too harsh, you're spot on mate, I'm old school lol.

coopsieyid

bowerman, ok. Hopefully Southampton can nick another one or hold on.

Fanman

82spursdebut, we definately have a bit of relief in the FA cup to change things up. I like your philosophy. coopsieyid, agreed lol.

Fanman

"Im happy with what I've got. We've different players for different positions. But this doesn't mean we won't do something"...... AVB on transfers, when interviewed by a reporter from Camden New Journal.

Surely the clearest sign yet that something could be being worked on?

coopsieyid

6 points off city an we lost 4 more games. avb 6 months pls give him time now it could be worth it in long run

123spurs

coopsieyid, I was a big Harry fan (as you may remember), but I wouldn't go back for all the tea in China. I can't believe how much fitter we look under AVB. Lennon's fitness is greal. He keeps on ataacking for 90+ minutes.

Fanman

*great*

Fanman

Oh, anyone who was at WHL today, can you answer a question for me please? I've just seen elsewhere that there were whispers circulating around The Lane about there being a certain 'special guest' in one of the directors boxes today. That SUPPOSED 'special guest' goes by the name of Moutinho.

Guys this isn't me saying we're getting Moutinho, it's me asking if anybody else heard these whispers whilst at todays match :)

coopsieyid

The gooners look knackered. Not closing down space or players just sitting and inviting pressure.

Fanman

chrishove123 agree but as we say in ireland there is always one.

123spurs

Fanman, not only does he (Lennon) keep on attacking for 90 minutes, he also keeps on covering for Walker for 90 minutes too ;).. It's also worth acknowledging how much better Defoe looks under AVB too, or did look until Ade became available for selection. He (Defoe) was leading our line well when he was our only available striker. He was moving well, coming to look for the ball, tracking back AND, most shockingly, staying onside.. And although appearances have been brief, even Parker looks improved. He's now looking to quicken the passing/tempo, he's making decisive FORWARD passes, rather than the constant 2 yard backwards & sideways passes that he was seemingly ordered to make by our old manager. Mr Parker is once again starting to resemble the little terrier of a midfielder that popped up with some crucial passes & goals for Wet Spam & Newcastle. Sandro is also looking as though he's been 'let off the leash' somewhat. He's pushing forwards, looking to link attacks, taking on shots etc etc etc.. I feel I could go on & on about how players have improved (apart from Walker), so it can only be down to the coaching being implemented, and the ability of the manager to get the best out of those that he has at his disposal, no??

coopsieyid

Vivyash is the most idiotic poster I've seen on here. And that is saying something!

Tottenham Hotcore

Avb has us playing a game that sees us getting 20-30 shots a game. The problem is with finishing. Defoe and Ade aint good enough. Nothing he can do about that, it's down to Levy.

Tottenham Hotcore

HELLO MATE, how lovely to see a friendly (and understanding) name :) Happy New year to your good self & your beautiful family...

Good to see you're clearly still a fine judge of character too ;)

coopsieyid

P.S... What's your brother making of our Redknapp-less THFC now? ;)

coopsieyid

More nervous watching the arsenal game than when we play

In-spurs-ational

Saints making Le Arse looking average

ItalianYiddo

In-spurs-ational, you deserve a slap just for watching them ;)

coopsieyid

Nice. Arsenal only get a point.

Fanman

Yessss. The perfect end to a good day with Arsenal drawing and not even managing to score themselves

Big Ron

Yes. Southampton draw! Two points dropped for le arse

In-spurs-ational

Le Arse drop 2 points... good day...

Yidmarks

THANK YOU SOTON GOOD RESULT 1-1 with wee north london side

spu 4 life

Arsenal should have lost but I'm very happy with them only drawing. 4th place is now ours to lose and is in our hands.

bowerman

Anybody slagging off Dempsey, Dawson or Ade deserves a slap. Nobody else has scored more than them this year ;)..

GREAT WORK SOUTHAMPTON

coopsieyid

coopsieyid, come and have a go if you think you're hard enough :)

In-spurs-ational

This Holtby bloke is he that special, is he going to solve our problem in MF? Lets forget about whether he is cheap or not, lets concern ourselves as to whether he is that much better than what we already have i.e. Dembele, or in other words is he good enough. The same question if asked re. Wesley Sneijder answers itself

Frank

coopsieyid, agreed. But Walker made a great saving tackle today. He's hoeand cold, but has loads of potential.

Fanman

Good performance today apart from for a 10 minute spell where we went bonkers.

Lennon continued his good form and Sigg came in and did well worked very hard. Dempsey is showing more confidence and Sandro and Dembele looking good in midfield.

Parker getting some minutes each game and naughton improving. Ade apart from goal is still not showing us enough and Defoe has lost his scoring boots, how many attempts so we do need that striker imo to take us through second half of the season.

I am still concerned about Walker he still not playing well and I would be happy for naughton to play there and push him for first place once BAE is back.

Overall I think we are doing fine and AVb is settling very well.

Surely we cannot have a repeat of the last two seasons after Christmas I hope not.

Thank you Southampton.

thfan

It's ok for people to say "but they've got games in hand over us, but we've already won our games, they have to match us to keep up. I'd rather be in our position than theirs!! coopsieyid - You sir are a fortune teller. Got six numbers for the lottery today

In-spurs-ational

Arsenal got lucky with a point there. They got lucky to finish 3rd last season, so many 90min RVP goals. If we continue playing like this surely this will be the year we finally go ahead of them. Still, i reckon this year will be the Jan where Wenger finally gets his chequebook out properly - We must do the same imo. We musnt make the same mistakes as Arry did last January. COYS

HuddersfieldYiddo

On Sneijder; ''the chairman deals with the transfers and i know his on big money @ milan, i've no idea what is going on'' I took that statement from Arry's book i got for christmas, ''Cooking up Stories'' by Arry Redcrapp and just for the record, i was phucking glad to see the back of him, saggy faced twa7.

spu 4 life

Thank you Saints!

noone

Hiya Coops, I didn't bother with a formal hello as we chat loads on Facebook, I feel rude now. Hope nye was ok for ya. Brother Hotcore is loving AvB, he was a HR fan but not a HR follower and doesn't mention him, unlike some idiots.

Tottenham Hotcore

Frank I think Levy is much more interested in signing Eriksen than Sneijder or Moutinho. They are both older and more expensive. Eriksen fits the Levy model more easily. I for one happy to take Eriksen of the three.

SpuriousLife

Coops, the mystery man at the lane today you mentioned, No idea!!!

spu 4 life

Frank, from what I've gathered after trawling through many a source, Holtby is an exceptional player with scope to become very special indeed. He's both footed, has an eye for a pass, runs at & beats players, scores goals, plays anywhere across the midfield, a natural PLAYMAKER :-). Also worth considering Freund would have worked with him in the German U21 set-up. By all accounts he'd be an excellent addition due to what we currently lack.

coopsieyid

Holtby City, you make him sound like glenn hoddle coops

spu 4 life

honestly if we sign Holtby I'll be under-whelmed, not exactly a statement of ambition is it?....he may come good and I'm sure the Freund connection would help but when I've seen him he just doesn't stand out...Affelay, farfan, Huntelaar all stand out when you watch Shalke....I just hope I've missed something and that it's Holtby allowing them to....

shedboy2

Fanman - I'll not argue with you about Walker's potential mate, the sky is the limit IF he can be arsed to attempt to improve. You know who he's making me think of? The very guy who I've often said I'd rather have instead of Walker, Micah richards. Remember him bursting onto the scene, getting caps galore & looking like an immense talent. Then it appeared that he started to believe the hype about him, stagnated & eventually found it hard to get regular football. I'm currently seeing the very same scenario unfolding with Walker mate, he seems significantly worse than he was last season. Hopefully this is just down to a lack of competition? I say that because I firmly believe that AVB will consider Naughton as RB when BAE is fully fit again. I'd embrace that because competition is healthy, and it may be the kick up the ass that Walker appears to need!!

coopsieyid

I-s-s... ;)

coopsieyid

Lewis Holtby positive reviews and it mentions us being in the running, if you google him?

spu 4 life

TH there'll NEVER be any need for you to feel bad when you & I are concerned mate. nye was absolutely bloody awful mate, and with that added to that other hospital news earlier in the week, a bit of a downer has followed. Glad your bro has embraced our new & improved manager mate. I only asked because I know he truly appreciated Recaro :)

coopsieyid

Cheers TK! Good to hear from you - missed you buddy! Durbanspur

Thanks, Durbanspur, it's good to be back. Can't say I had the worst year of my life, but I had a damned difficult few months.

Nothing like the Spurs to bring some joy back into life. COYS.

Total knobhead

Huddersfield - I honestly believe that IF Walnutt does sign a new contract at Arseanal, Wenger will NOT be getting any chequebook dirty ;)

coopsieyid

Solid win. 3 points. 3rd. FA Cup on the horizon. Big European match with Lyon soon. I'm pleased. And yes Hotcore, Vivyash is an idiot.

TopSpur13

spu - I don't make Holtby sound like Hoddle, I was simply passing on info that I sought for Franks benefit :).. Anyway, how did I make him sound like Hoddle? I said he "runs at & beats players", Hoddle run?? lol

coopsieyid

TK - Had I known you'd been away, I'd have told you I wish you had stayed away ;) lol.. sorry you've had a difficult time of it fella!!

coopsieyid

pato. simples

jljyid

FRANK - One one of the other THFC platforms that I like to get info from, I asked what exactly Holtby would bring to the party, ie would he improve us etc. This was the response I got mate.... "He really does it all. Can score, can create, good passer of the ball (knows how to set up others on a plate), can pick up the ball deep and play it through midfield or play in a more advanced role. He's a well-rounded player that is exactly what we need. It's unfortunate that if we sign him we will have to wait until Summer.".....

So make of that what you will buddy ;)

coopsieyid

coops, it looks like a couple of old farts have returned. it's good to be back and good to have you back.

Total knobhead

TK - It's good for me to think that it's good for you to think that it's good to have me mack & I also think it's good to have you back, even though I din't know you were back, and it's also good for me to be back too!

coopsieyid

My nye was spent watching the latest batman with the missus, no babysitter = no party. Total bummer about your ankle mate. If there is a god, he's a (unt. Did you watch that zeitgeist link I put on your FB before christmas?

Tottenham Hotcore

Cheers coops. Sounds good to me an just what we need. Where did you hear these rumblings about moutinho being there mate?? Camera didn't go to anyone so no idea if true mate soz

BrooksySpurs

I didn't get to see the game today but hearing good things about Lennon again which is very pleasing. He has to keep it going now, onwards and upwards for him hopefully. Sandro and Dembele solid again from what I hear and kept on their toes by an impressive returning Parker. Judging by the comments Adebayor (Although he scored) and Walker were both poor and as I said before the match in the first few posts I'd be in favour of them being dropped. Hopefully give them the kick in the arse they seem to need. COYS!

TopSpur13

tottenham hotcore zeitgeist is awesome but also totally terrifying

jljyid

Another MoM performance from Lennon...outstanding.SOMEONE has had a word wih him, surely.He now tries to shoot instead of passing(the buck!)Most impressed.We have Man You after QPR..winning away was sensational. Two wins against them would be miraculous ..would give anything for us to stick 5 past Man You with no reply.Please please.

wentworth

TH - I've had the full 2 hour+ version of Zeitgeist downloading since yesterday mate. I'd rather watch the full thing than a minor snippet :)... I've got the latest Batman on my usb but have put off watching it. Is it worth my time?

coopsieyid

coopsie you can watch zeitgeist on youtube its all on there

jljyid

Brooksy, it was on another site I use mate. One of the guys who was at WHL today said it. That's why I asked if anyone on here who was at WHL also heard the same thing. It's not inconceivable that somebody could have seen him as he was being smuggled into a directors box. Unbelievable possibly, but not impossible.

coopsieyid

Mountinho odds at 4/9. Just googled about him joining and one of the answers was that he will be announced tomorrow and ready for QPR. Sceptical, yep but he's the Boss's choice, get him in!!!

RAF Yid

Frank- I can think of a few players at Schalke who stand out a bit more than Holtby....Huntelaar, Affelay, Farfan, Julian Draxler if we needed DF's then Howdes & Papadopoulos...Levy needs to get his thumb out and get us proven quality Holtby will be OK as a back up/ one for the future after we secure Moutinho, Eriksen, Isco etc....but not as a main buy...

shedboy2

Man City 3 Stoke 0...thats the difference!..so before we all go bouncing down Tottenham High Road throwing rose petals at the feet of AVB lets remember that knocking over the likes of Villa and Reading and Sunderland and West Ham is great, but....we aint top 4 material until we start getting results against the top four and whilst OT was an "intersting" if not "unbelievable" result we have to come back to earth and remember we were stuffed by Scum and Chelski and got out witted by Citeh...I'll take my seat at WHL when Man U and Citeh and Scum come to town and I will watch what we do....the jury however remains out until we do the business on the clubs above and just below us......but like the venerable coopsie said last season..."he aint won anything" so lets see what the abbreviation can achieve in the rest of the season and then we can truly say ..."the boy done good"! ....next up ...Harry and QPR!

OyVeh Maria

Yeah, we've moved on a million per cent from last year; the team's gelling, ticking all the boxes and really has moved on to another level, mainly due to the fact that we got rid of a useless tw*t of a manager who was all gob and no trousers, and now we have a young forward thinking manager who does everything right, and anyone who says otherwise needs to take a cold hard look at the facts, which show that under the useless **** after 21 games we were third with 46 points, behind United and City by 2 points, 6 ahead of Chelsea on the same number of games, and this year we are far better off in that we are third, 13 points behind United, and one ahead of Chelsea, although they've got 2 games in hand. Er...um...yeah it's all going great.

lordjohnny

jlj - I've not yet sussed how to connect my laptop to my TV, and I'm not watching something like Zeitgeist on my little 14" laptop screen. Bollox to that, I'lll wait for it to download & watch it in 47 glorious inches of full HD viewing. Would it be any good in 3D?

coopsieyid

lol

coopsieyid

Shedboy - I feel you're overlooking the important point mate. Holtby may not be 'the main buy'. The fact is, IF we have secured him on a pre-contract, or IF we get him for just a couple of million, it leaves significantly more finances available to acquire the truly top class striker that we are in desperate need of mate. How much for either of the players that you suggested to Frank? You've admitted yourself that you've only seen Holtby a couple of times, I've not seen the lad at all. However, Freund has worked with the boy, he APPEARS to tick the boxes that our midfield is missing, and there could be people who haven't seen Modric play until this season, so they could think he's no good too, based upon what they've seen. Would you agree with them?

coopsieyid

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11675/8376118/Tottenham-boss-Andre-Villas-Boas-is-still-a-fan-of-Willian-and-Leandro-Damiao

Critical_Spur

I may get ridiculed for this but do we really need Moutinho a centre midfielder for 20+ million... I have watched him quite a few times since his impressive Euros and whilst he a very good player and would be a welcomed addition to the team, is he what we really need for that money? If he did come who loses out? I love our partnership of Sandro and Dembele centre mid. Pushing Dembele forward may not work and why ruin a good thing and disrupt our centre mid partnership... Huddlestone and Livermore can toddle off but would there be enough games to keep Parker/Dembele/Sandro/Moutinho fit and happy ... Personally, I'd rather a striker as Adebayor and Defoe are too hot and cold but certainly wouldn't complain or be disappointed If Moutinho joins.

TopSpur13

all you need coopsi is a standard vga lead from laptop to tv. the film is about content rather than what you are seeing. the first 10mins or so there is bugger all on your tv anyway just a guy talking

jljyid

OyVeh Maria, so Man City beating Stoke means we aren't so good. No offence mate, but can you tell me how well City did away at Sunderland the other day?

In-spurs-ational

Holtby would be a waste of time, would rather punt on Ben Arfa, he would offer us something different

tophobunty

I know it's been mentioned earlier, but I don't think anyone put up a link regarding Modric being voted worse signing of last year http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/368112/Luka-Modric-tops-poll-as-worst-signing-of-the-year-

In-spurs-ational

Cheers jlj :)

In-spurs-ational, you're well wide of the mark there mate. Aguero & Dzeko should have done much better for us against Stoke, whilst Yaya & silva were almost none existent for us. Sorry mate but OyVeh is right this time!! ;).. Another question could also be "how did Man City do against Reading at home?". Did they run out 3-1 winners? Or did they need a 93rd winner by a donkey called Barry? I'm glad OyVeh's argument isn't flawed!!

AVB OUT

coopsieyid

Careful Oyveh. Such common sense is likely to get short shrift on here, especially from self-appointed arbiters of every post.

lordjohnny

Top, a little short sighted, we need a flow of youngsters. For a couple of million, he seems like a chance worth taking.

RAF Yid

Yep, comparing us with a team who have spent around half a billion on transfers since 2008 makes perfect sense..

Guyver

TopSpur13

Woops. 26 isn't exactly young though.. for a footballer. I would rather a striker. But I understand fully why Moutinho would be sought by AVB. And on a side note, As I have been heavily critical of Walker as of late all of which is was warranted... Debuchy for 5 million... snap him up! Top drawer in the Euros! Even though defence is far from a priority for a welcome change.

TopSpur13

Must admit, like Taarabt and Gio before him it's not looking good for Falque. He always looks pretty decent in his infrequent appearances but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he's on his way. Now we're being linked with players who play his attacking midfield position. We'd also rather select a functional Siggy to cover for Bale rather than give him a go.

muttley

OyVeh Maria as you say let's wait and see what AVB wins before we start worshiping him. After all it took you 4 years before you started worshiping Harry before he won........***** all!!

ItalianYiddo

lordjohnny, you are comparing this year with last year whilst choosing to ignore that we lost 2/3 of our star players and AVB as yet unable to pick from a fully fit squad. Early days but AVB looks a good coach and as someone who pays his hard earned cash to go and watch my team I like what I see. COYS.

ItalianYiddo

Happy 2013, Fellows. I owe Coops an apology regarding the article ´bout AVB he wrote yesterday. Never wanted to state you said "2nd class" players . Poor choice of words to illustrate what I was willing to say. About today´s match, I guess we were the dominant side, even after that early scary moment of Reading´s goal but we were really lucky by not conceding an equaliser, right followed by Dempsey´s second deflected goal of this season. AVB has been doing a superb job steering us to 4th without the creative Modric and VdV and an unfair amount of key players sidelined by injuries thrown at his lap. He also managed to make Sandro, Lennon and Defoe all look different and improved players this season. I dare to say that if Spurs sign in no one, they still can fight a good fight for 4th place, but if they sign the playmaker and the striker we have been eargely waiting for the last 3 seasons, THFC might even compete for 3rd place. COYS !!!!

AlexSpur

Lord johnny you make an interesting point regarding out position compared to last year and points etc etc. but if you look at it differently we are three points better off from the same fixtures last year. So when looked at like that we are doing better then last season. What say you to that.

Chirpystheman

Coopsie... I have said on previous threads over last week or so... my ITK (Plays golf with a top contact at spurs) told me 3 weeks ago.. we will sign a portugual club player.. he was right about Harry departure, and verts. signing etc. So i expect something will happen

Block D Spurs

If we sign holtby will he be available straight away or in the summer? If he isnt ilegible 2 play straight away,why is this?

SpursSnM

Btw pablo osvaldo anyone? He looks are best bet as i dont think we can afford leandro damaio atm.

SpursSnM

The sneijder rumours are nonsense, wages are a major stumbling block, especially because thats the reason inter are prepared to let him go. IMO The only essential signing needed this January is a striker. Dempsey really has impressed me after i had major reservations of him and his link up play with our strikers has made signing a playmaker less essential. More importantly we need to clear the deadwood and maybe loaning Livermore and Carrol, who i can't see getting a lot of game time.

spurfect one

It'll be pretty funny if Spurs sign Walcott during the window, though he may also be the final piece of our puzzle. A fleet-footed finisher for a fleet-footed team.

dazzwater

Walcott is definitely leaving, that's the views of vital arse.They say he'd have signed already if he wasn't. Expect to see him at either Chelsea or City.

HuddersfieldYiddo

Coops and Jlj: jlj is right about video quality, you only need head phones to enjoy it. I've not seen part 3 yet. I only really showed part 1 as it tears christianity (and many others) apart in 20 minutes.

Part 2 I found mind blowing and not sure WTF to think. There is some compelling evidence on there.

But back to football......

Tottenham Hotcore

Lots of reports in the Portuguese press that Porto are about to sign Izmailov from Sporting. The man they are calling Moutinho's replacement.

I said at the time & I'll say it again, forget the WBA & Norwich games. We hadn't really started our transfer business at that time, AVB even said that at the time. You can only really judge the guy when he's been given some of the tools he requested. Take Lloris, Dembele, Dempsey & Adebayor out of the team today & how would we have looked? You can't judge a bloke when he's only got half a squad.

Another thing stop comparing the first half of this season to last season the fixture list is almost completely in reverse! Compare it to the tail end of last season by all means but it's hardly fair to compare a start where we had all the big teams at home to one where we've had to go to almost every tough ground in the PL.

Spurs Allday

Coops, has your pc not got hdmi out? We just got a 10 meter hdmi cable going under the carpet and voila, our pc now has a 51 inch monitor. And with the mobile phone sized wireless keyboard I got from Amazon for 30 quid, I can surf laying on my sofa. Though it's mainly Mrs Hotcore that uses it, I stick to using my mobile.

Tottenham Hotcore

Allday: comparing any part of the season don't really work for me. It's all different teams and a different level of points will be needed than last year, all we want is to be a point (or just a goal) ahead of the team that finish 4th. That is all I want.

You are bang on about the early results though. It's shameful how quick people jumped on avb. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried but I held my calm before committing to text, knowing it was early days.

Tottenham Hotcore

Hotcore I make you right with that. Like you say it's different clubs, different players even different managers at half the clubs this year. It's quite pathetic how some who pre-judged him as being no better than Ramos still cling desperately to any minor failing they can find rather face the cold hard truth that they got this one wrong in a big way.

For years the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Italians and god knows who else have been humiliating us with their slow, slow, quick passing game and now that we've got a guy who's trying to implement it here all they do is boo and tell him he's clueless!

The all out pace game we once played was seriously flawed because if a team parks the bus then you have no room in which to utilize your pace, which is where the patient slow passing game comes into it's own. All AVB needs is a little more guile in that midfield and we'd be unstoppable. It's already showing signs of improvement in what we've got, Dempsey in particular seems to be able to pick a clever pass(the chip against Spam & back heel against Sunderland). A bit more of that type of vision in the side & our opponents would have to come up with a different game plan.

Spurs Allday

More or less sums up what most posters here think: http://www.football365.com/news/21554/8376072/Spurs-Are-Close-To-Something-Quite-Special

jacobslad

Ox - I'm loving that we can now vote for AVB as MOTM ;-)

Spurs Allday

Spurs Allday - spot on. Starting to see already how our players are now comfortable holding the ball in tight spaces and then using triangles to play their way out of it. The movement off the ball is great as is the work rate when we haven't got it. Most people on here forget that our most attractive football under Harry was counter attacking and eventually teams didn't get suckered in by committing the players. Some games we created very few chances. AVB's system is more about a high pressing game, keeping possession and creating chances. We saw yesterday that a lot of the chances are only half chances but it still took a few great saves by Federici to keep them in it. I can't wait to see AVB's football when he has a couple more players added that suit his style more. That might not be great news for Ade and Defoe as it's probably their places that are most up for grabs.

muttley

Holtby, why do i always hear the casualty theme when his name is mentioned ... VR, you seriously need to ***** right off you a spurs supporter or just a troll, trying to get a reaction from real supporters ... Twitchy well outstayed his welcome .... AVB, at the beginning i admit looked like chelsea saga again however him and the team got through the crap spell and are starting to reap the rewards of hard work

E17YID

VR is raging spur, every post reads the same, put money on it? Anyway you can only beat what is put in front of you and I'm certain we are all aware, we may still lose a few more games along the way, but not for the lack of trying, keep up the hard work AVB. Some links around this transfer window, still have us interested in Leandro, Willian and a possible deal for Holtby who says he will leave in the summer what ever happens for nothing, some reports also say (only the messenger) AVB has requirements for 3 players, he quoted that. Gone from no players to 3 and Carlo in LA GALAXY bound, looking for homes for Gomes, Jenas and Bentley to finally get them out. Carlo, omes and Jenas all got listed in the 25 man squad, did Bentley as well. That NUMBER 9 shirt in the plastic bag, it's got LEANDRO'S name written all over it.

spu 4 life

O V MARIA- What does City beating Stoke proove ?? OK , We could only draw with Stoke but using this logic Sunderland beat City 1-0 and we won at the S0L 1-2- does that make us better than City ?? Of course it does'nt and we certainly are not ! Oh , and remind me how we did against the top teams last year under Arrry. Lordjohnny- you remember that after 21 games last season we had 46 points but forget to mention how we finished the season !! Time shows us that our last manager messed up big time in the second half of last season, AVB HAS yet to show how he will handle part 2 but we must give him the time to show us .Sorry boys but too many posters are far to critical- what if we were mid-table ??

cypyid

OyVeh Maria You are such a bloody cynic. Harry NEVER had the players believing they could win the Prem. Well THAT is what AVB HAS done at this stage of the season, so if the belief is there the possibility is there too. Why can't you just enjoy what is going on rather than claim none of it is good enough.. Enough with the negativity. VIVA AVB VIVA LEA REVOLUTION.

chrishove123

In August and September when many were claiming it was a huge mistake to hire AVB, I was writing about my optimism. I wrote that we should know by the end of December whether the project was moving in the right direction. I remain optimistic, but now I find that others are joining in my optimism. Surely the team is better now than it was in the months before AVB arrived. Will we continue to take 10 out of 12 possible points? I doubt it. Such a rate of success cannot be sustained, and we will bleed some points when we play vs. the Man Uniteds and Man Cities at times. But we have moved to a condition where we should feel good about our chances when we go up against the best in the PL. Now the move is up to DL to support what AVB is accomplishing and to bring in the crucial couple of needed pieces. COYS.

Total knobhead

coopsieyid- re: Holtby...I think we're on same page...my point was I won't be happy if he's the 'main' buy if we get him for the future for a couple of mill brilliant BUT we need to buy quality for now if we want to stay competitive...

shedboy2

Some spot on analysis right there guys. Another thing that gets me is when people look at fluke results against us, bad refereeing against us and injury problems. EVERY team in the league will point to similar issues, it's part of the game, fair or not.

Tottenham Hotcore

Muttley- thought the same about Falque...would really like to see more of him, I think he'll make it. SpursSnM- if we sign Holtby he can play but not if we only sign a pre-contract then we take him in the summer (and pay him instead of jj..;)..). Osvaldo would suit us, we had a sniff before he went to roma...

shedboy2

lewis holtby is not the signing for us,i will be fuming if he is the highest profile signing,i have seen schalke alot and he has good industry like henderson or gylfi but offers very little in terms of creativity

ghulamville

David Villa - no chance, no thanks

micyid

dont think falque is good enough sadly, decent squad player but might be too lightweight for the prem, the best of our young squad members IMO is Townsend and i think we should really get him on the pitch wide left whenever Bale isn't playing, we will need a replacement for Bale when he goes in the summer.

tophobunty

Muttley and Allday, you are correct. The improvements are huge from every player but due to the limitations of the overall skill level of the team AVB has us shooting more than necessary. The 'lockpick' theory is only a part of the answer, as a lockpick needs a door to open. The problem is that in general our movement isn't as clever or complimentary as it is required to be against a tight defense. It's fantastic to see the team become accustomed to dominating in such an organised manner, but that understanding of decision making is, as yet, not there and I'm not sure if it will be for Defoe, and I hate to say it, but Lennon also. Ade is like a stubborn goat who wants it all his way and playing with Defoe seems to me to irk his temperamental disposition; almost understandable but there's no room for it in AVB's team ethos. If you take Sandro into account and consider his limitations as a play-maker, he's another loss to the challenge of dismantling defenses (consider Toure as giving both strengths). Also, our shooting prowess is limited - Defoe and Bale are capable, but Defoe needs too much time (Mods might have excelled here) but the rest, Ade, lennon, Sandro, Dembele, all are not naturally gifted at striking the ball - consider Falcao and hulk instead and there's a massive gap in my estimation against our entire team. My point is that the players are excelling in the areas where effort matters the most and this is a great testament to AVB, the coaches and the players. I believe there will be even another step forward in these areas, but we will inevitably meet the glass ceiling of pure skill, but to only be limited by this is a great achievement. I think players will want to come to us now, even without CL football, as most will see how great an effect higher player-skill level should have on a team that appears to function with consistency and control. Btw, I'm not saying Sandro is a negative as I think he is superb, but I wish to point out that, in essence, many of the players are ill-suited for this brand of football, yet still we are considerably more solid, i feel.

ardone

Tottenham Hotcoreand weren't there some bloody poor referee decisions against us against Reading. Fouls not given for us then softer fouls given against us. refs should be held accountable after the games with an interview the same as the managers have, then maybe they'd start to show a bit more consistency in their decisions.

chrishove123

Block D Spurs How many times has he been wrong though, more often than not I'll bet. All this itk is pretty much rubbish until it happens. I will believe it when/IF it happens.

chrishove123

Chris... he has not been wrong mate... he is a spurs fan as well, and i have known him 18 years....believe me when i say a top contact.. he also knows Joe Lewis, before he was a billionaire.......

Block D Spurs

Block D I apologise for my presumptuousness, but nearly all the other ITK's do really turn out to be complete rubbish and the rest just don't seem to have a clue and make it up on the spot. Your one is one of the very very few who can come up with the goods. So I will await the outcome with bated breath.

chrishove123

Have Your Say

with your social network OR with your Vital account

Recent Articles

With friends like Madrid … (Tuesday June 18 2013)

Reality cheque!! (Tuesday June 18 2013)

Utter Nonsense (Monday June 17 2013)

Our midfield… (Monday June 17 2013)

WHO, WHERE and WHY?. (Sunday June 16 2013)

Adam Smith wants chance at Spurs or PL loan. (Saturday June 15 2013)

Musings of Nonsensical proportions. (Friday June 14 2013)

Wilshere to Man Utd (Friday June 14 2013)

What is an offer we can't refuse? (Thursday June 13 2013)

Now and Then (Thursday June 13 2013)

Archived Articles

Vital Spurs Articles from 2005
Vital Spurs Articles from 2006
Vital Spurs Articles from 2007
Vital Spurs Articles from 2008
Vital Spurs Articles from 2009
Vital Spurs Articles from 2010
Vital Spurs Articles from 2011
Vital Spurs Articles from 2012
Vital Spurs Articles from 2013

Vital Members League (view all)

1.	80deg16minW	227
2.	Spursex	202
3.	Real Deal	149
4.	spurdon	123
5.	coopsieyid	116
6.	ScottDaYid	78
7.	Spurfect11	65
8.	redbloodcell	64
9.	Kinygerbils	62
10.	Big Chiv	59

League Results (view all)

Latest Results
Spurs	1	-	0	Sunderland
Stoke	1	-	2	Spurs
Chelsea	2	-	2	Spurs
Spurs	1	-	0	Southampton
Wigan	2	-	2	Spurs
Spurs	3	-	1	Man City

League Table (view table)

Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
2. Man City	38	23	9	6	32	78
3. Chelsea	38	22	9	7	36	75
4. Arsenal	38	21	10	7	35	73
5. Spurs	38	21	9	8	20	72
6. Everton	38	16	15	7	15	63
7. Liverpool	38	16	13	9	28	61
8. WBA	38	14	7	17	-4	49

Breaking League News

Canas: 'I Saw a Great Opportunity At Swansea City'

» Swansea : 18/06/2013 22:51:00

Saints Season 2012/2013 Review - Goalkeepers

» Southampton : 18/06/2013 22:27:00

Madness Confirmed.

» Newcastle : 18/06/2013 21:48:00

Liverpool: International Heartbreak For Borini

» Liverpool : 18/06/2013 21:17:00

Elliot Ward Joins Bournemouth

» Norwich : 18/06/2013 20:38:00

Isco Torn Between Man City amp; Real Madrid

» Man City : 18/06/2013 20:13:00

Yankees' Lawyer on Man City MLS Partnership

» Man City : 18/06/2013 19:59:00

Current Site Poll (view all polls)

Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.