Did Harry drop the ball?

[basskadet]

I've been one of Harry's biggest advocates since he came to Spurs & whatever happens I am extremely grateful for the way he has turned our season around. Generally speaking I approve of his tactics & the way he goes about his football, wanting to play a quick, passing, attacking game. He's very rarely defensive in his approach but knows when to be when necessary.

However, I can't help feel he dropped the ball this weekend away at Blackburn. I know that in the past we have lost away from home to late goals exactly because we've gone defensive, played for the draw & dropped increasingly deep. I also get that he is reluctant to change things after the form we've displayed recently.

The thing is you have to react to how things are going on the pitch. Harry is usually very good at this & has no qualms about making quick decisions but nothing really happened today & when he did make the change it came too late & I'm not sure he even got it right.

I am starting to wonder if Harry actually knows that he is allowed 3 subs & not just 1. Bent looked good in the 1st half but after about 50-60 min he looked like he was really lacking sharpness. We were searching to go 2 up & we really ought to have done so with the dominance we were showing. Even our final ball was half decent but Bent's runs were non-existent in the 2nd half & he was rarely where he ought to have been. I thought it was screaming out for Pav but Harry just resisted the urge. several times the ball rolled across Rovers' 6 yard box to nobody & you just know that, had he been on the field, it's exactly where the Russian would have been standing.

Then Wilson gets sent off with 10 min left. We had not been bothered by Rovers at all up to that point & I just thought, get 10 men behind the ball & keep it! That would have meant immediately taking off a striker & bringing on Zokora, leaving one man hanging forward perhaps to hold the ball up. However, again nothing happens. 3 minutes later Harry does make the change, but he takes off Lennon? Our 1 outlet has now gone, Zokora is on but we are still light in midfield, with 2 up top now a bit useless. as such we came under increased pressure. Something really needed changing. We could have brought on Hudd for some possession, or Daws as an extra defender to get stuck in . . . anything, but in the end the inevitable happened.

We were getting bullied by Blackburn & the ref did little to protect us but then he hardly helped out Blackburn either. Altho the ref cannot take the blame for us losing, I can't help but feel that had the game been officiated properly & with a modicum of consistency, we would surely have won such was our clear superiority with 11 men on the field.

Finally, I really think Pav needs to be given a chance when we play WHU next wek. I know Bent has done reasonably well recently but he's not scoring goals. Pav, on the other hand, was. He put the ball in the net against Boro & I thought he played very well. He clearly looked tired tho & I can understand why Harry took him off. However, to score a goal & then not be in the starting lineup for the next game must be slightly frustrating. Also, Darren hardly set the world alight at Sunderland, despite setting up the equaliser, he missed a couple he really ought to have scored. He's not scored in ages now & we need someone who can stick the ball in the net. Pav has been very patient & his attitude has been great. He played well when he last played for us & he played very well for Russia in the break. Give him a go Harry, please!

[thfcshady27]

gotta agree with wat u say bass but for any pav lovers (and i know there are plenty) this has gotta be the clearest sign yet that harry does not rate him at all....one decent genuine bid in the summer and he will be gone....if hiddink is still at chelsea then he will be playing at the stick bridge next year....harry has his eyes on someone to replace him no doubt but i reckon he fancies a keane defoe partnership next year once the wee man is fit!

no doubt in my mind if jd had been fit today we would have won that game easily.....defoe over pav any day for me!

[basskadet]

I know what you are saying Shady but Pav gives you something neither Bent nor Defoe can. The reason both Bent & JD got frozen out last year was because they don't bring enough to the table outside of the opponents penalty box. Pav can when he is on his game. He can spread play & link up very well. When he has not scored for us Pav has played some beautiful assists, example for Defoe against Stoke, & you don't really get that from the other 2. I know what you mean in that Defoe would have bagged us a winner today, I think Pav would have to tho tbh, but between Keane, Defoe & Pav we have options up top (as Lineker recently pointed out). Bent just does not do enough for me unfortunately. Don't discount Pav just yet. I'm still not convinced its because Harry "doesn't fancy him" but more a case of using him in reserve as his energy was draining. Harry was going to bring him on today but the sending off confused issues. I think he still should have made the change anyway personally but I think Harry just did not quite know what to do as it was a shocking decision & was a bit of a surprise because, if anything, it was Blackburn losing their discipline, not us.

[thfcshady27]

i get wat ur saying bass and i agree.....as for pav like ive said before if he gets another season then im all for it but if he goes then i wont cry over it.....i just think the whole not having a break for so long excuse is used too often.....he hasnt done it in the league for me but if he gets another season then ill be happy to see him do wat he can do......kinda going off topic of the original thread sorry!

as for harry i think at times he comes up with a masterstroke like he did with zoks and charlie the other week but at times he can be a stubborn old git and will just play through things and hope his players can do the same.....we obviously needed a fresh injection today and it didnt come but to be honest we had control of the game for 80 mins and not even i would have expected us to go to bits the way we did today...before we had a chance to make a change today we were pulled back to 1-1.....it was one of those days.....i think harry will take us back to top 6 next season but it wont be without the odd mishap and mistake from him here and there!

[paul turner]

i am getting sick of harry how the hell can he keep out pav bent is ****e he was crap today he first touch was terrible he passing was terrible keane was never in the game because he had nobody up front with him jj was crap i blame harry for the loss today hutton had such a great game for scotland on wednesday and he wasnt even on the bench why harrys a d--ck i dont understand him it is really pi--ssing me of .we go on a good run then we go and get beat to blackburn who are s--te i cant work out what his up to for god sake drop bent and jenas and bring back pav and zokora

[basskadet]

I disagree Paul, Bent was very good 1st half. However he just vanished a bit in the 2nd half. Also, I thought JJ played very well today. They boys in general all had a very good game but we lost shape & concentration in the last few minutes & the ref was a big reason for that, altho we should have been professional & not allowed it to fluster us.

We play that way again & we will win with a ref who can actually do his job

also, we had gone on a good run like you just said ourself. Harry could not & should not have changed anything. Hutton may have played well for the Scots but he is still not 100% fit & Charlie has been excellent recently, and was today. Nothing wrong with selection, the way we played or Harry's overall tactics, we just muffed it up with about 8 min left!

[thfcshady27]

i am getting sick of harry how the hell can he keep out pav bent is ****e he was crap today he first touch was terrible he passing was terrible keane was never in the game because he had nobody up front with him jj was crap i blame harry for the loss today hutton had such a great game for scotland on wednesday and he wasnt even on the bench why harrys a d--ck i dont understand him it is really pi--ssing me of .we go on a good run then we go and get beat to blackburn who are s--te i cant work out what his up to for god sake drop bent and jenas and bring back pav and zokora

wat was ur opinion after we beat villa away and chelski? im sick of people ****ging harry wen it suits them even tho he has dragged us outta the crap big time....we lost today due to an awful ref decision and then not gettin organised soon enough afterwards! did u watch the game? we dominated for 80 mins and didnt get the second goal due to some by decisions and poor deliveries by our own players!

[paul turner]

what game was you watching jj and db did nothing the whole game pav not played for weeks now they say they are resting him b---s--te start him and we might start getting goals again

[thfcshady27]

what game was you watching jj and db did nothing the whole game pav not played for weeks now they say they are resting him b---s--te start him and we might start getting goals again

yea mate cause his premiership goalscoring record has been so good! jenas wasnt that bad today and actually had a big say in a lot of our attacks!

[basskadet]

I was watching the same game you were mate, but JJ did play well, I'm sorry. I'm not his biggest fan, nor am I Bent's, but I will judge them only on what they do on the pitch & not by what my general opinion is of them.

We completely ran that game for 80min & JJ barely gave the ball away once. I admit that Darren did very little in the 2nd half but he played well for 45min & should have scored had it not been for Robbo's brilliant save.

I do really applaud Harry's determination to stick to a winning formula & play 442, attacking football even away from home. I just wish he could have changed it a little bit to prevent the problems we were facing. Samba was giving us difficulty & we needed to win the 2nd ball. We did that well for most of the 2nd half but when we lost the midfielder (& our ball winner no less) I really wish Harry had put some more bodies in there.

I can't believe you're sick of Harry after the form we've shown recently! Lol!

[thfcshady27]

not sure if that last attack was at u or me bass but good reply anyway lol i second wat u said!

[paul turner]

i take you was stoned when you was watching the game because we was ****e today and we didnt deserve anythink from the game bent is a waster pav is a far better player he reads the game better he is a better finisher better passer of the ball bents c--p i wouldnt even put him on the banch

[basskadet]

Cheers Shady, I thought I had it on the right channel!

Paul, I accept that you are miffed that we lost, as am I , but we had 60% possession away from home, Blackburn barely threatened our penalty area, let alone our goal. We looked dangerous on the break, passed the ball about brilliantly & spent most of the time in their half & around their Penalty area.

I accept that we lacked that clinical edge to put it in the net & I too felt that Pav may have given us that (he deserved a chance) but everything else was very good. We tackled very well , we closed them down brilliantly. Even Andy Gray had difficulty faulting us for large portions of the game. I find it a little bemusing that you are upset with the performance as well as the result.

Bent did not turn up for the 2nd half but he did well for 45. He got thru their defence on several occasions & linked well with Keano. He holds the ball up better than Pav too. Problem with Pav is that, while he is more than capable, he is just not very consistent

[thfcshady27]

i take you was stoned when you was watching the game because we was ****e today and we didnt deserve anythink from the game bent is a waster pav is a far better player he reads the game better he is a better finisher better passer of the ball bents c--p i wouldnt even put him on the banch

for any spurs fan to come on here and say we didnt deserve anything from todays game is either blind...stupid or a gooner!!!!
the first 2 i will excuse but if ur the 3rd then feck off!

seriously tho....are u wenger in disguise?

[THFCWill]

i take you was stoned when you was watching the game because we was ****e today and we didnt deserve anythink from the game bent is a waster pav is a far better player he reads the game better he is a better finisher better passer of the ball bents c--p i wouldnt even put him on the banch

Your comments about the game are starting to p!ss me off. I also admit that Pav could've done better for us but Bent is stronger and faster than Pav and i thought he had a good game first half and was unlucky to not score.
Pav is a girl guide when it comes to players in thug teams like Blackburn with huge centre backs, so i reckon Harry decided to go for some pace with Bent instead.
Just look at the goal scoring record and how many times Pav has played sh!te and you'll find some sense...Unless shady is right and you're a gooner!?