My cup runneth over

[Craiglistee]

I went nuts when we won the game. I have supported Spurs since the early years, highlights over the past decade and a half include Klinnsman signing for us, FA cup win and thats about it. A lot of pain watching poor teams perform and managers under pressure.

I wanted to write a review of all the players, but BigDub wrote a decent one and I think that does the board justice. I shall focus on something else, the managers and Man city players.

1. Harry Redknapp

Selection:
I really felt he would have gone with a safe route of Bale LB, Modric LW, Palacios in the middle. He shocked me. I saw the line up and I knew right away we were going to win. He played our best team. The biggest worry I had was not crouch but Lennon, he had been out for a long while and I wondered if he might perform defensively.
Tactics:
Made the whole team sit back and hit on the counter. A bit total footballish, even had Modric sit back very deep. It worked! Our defensive line was great, Adebayor was offside at every chance. Tevez never had a clear shot, never had a run except twice when he beat Kaboul but got blocked by Dawson covering.
Reaction midgame:
Second half he played more often. Told his players to attack more. As a result I saw more attacking intent, our wing backs got forward more which resulted in the goal. Harry was blessed with a full squad to call upon. His substitutions were informed and good. Bentley being the standout sub, he was better than Lennon on the night, but when Lennon ran, he got past his man. Bentley put some good passes in and his energy aided in stretching City in the last 20 mins. Pav had a good chance as well with his shot.

2) Mancini
Selection:
I expected Micah Richards to play at RB but Zabaleta came in instead, played as well as any RB has against Bale, but Bale still got through and put in quality balls. His other change was Barry coming in who proved to be the engine. I think they suffered when he went off. Viera was not present.
Tactics:
One word. Attack. But they faced the problem we did when we played Wolves. What do you do when the team parks the bus? They had no answers either. In fact, they were so vulnerable when we attacked that in the second half, they lost a lot of attacking strength I felt.
midgame subs:
Mancini had little option on the bench aside from SWP. I would not have put Santa Cruz on for Bellemy and it was obvious that Bellemy was perplexed as well as he trodded off like it was his last game for the club. I think Mancini should have made the change when Barry went off, putting SWP in and playing 4 up front. Play one attacking midfield to take long shots and one covering midfield to sit back.

What next?
- We need to sort out our fringe players and bring in a top striker.
- We need to make sure Robbie Keane does not become a disruptive force. The team fought and made CL together. Their leaders are Dawson and King. Keane no longer has a place and he has to move on.
-We need to enjoy ourselves and watch the summer transfer with glee. I do not see insane signings, but a Dzeko would be nice.
-We need to try for 3rd. It would be the icing on the cake.

Welcome Spurs.