Official Tottenham vs Manchester City match thread

[worldfootballhere]

My match report. Great win, especially with Arsenal dropping points.

Tottenham 3-0 Manchester City

Spurs continued their dominance over City in recent fixtures with a cutting 3-0 victory, untroubled by any of the Manchester club's multi-million pound signings.

Sylvinho joined a long list of left-backs, topped by former Spurs man Erik Edman, who have probably required councilling after the scorching they were handed by Aaron Lennon. When he's on form Spurs often play well and if evidence were needed of his improved final ball, look only to the fact that almost every time he gets down the right at least 4 Spurs players often take the chance of breaking into the box looking for a finish.

It had nearly worked early on with Crouch's sweet backheel giving Lennon the run on Serginho, as if he needed that advantage; pulling the ball back for Kranjcar to sweep a powerful shot just wide of the foot of the post. The Croatian was disappointed but he soon made up for it, Lennon again drawing the attempted tackle from his Brazilian marker and scooting past him in the flash of an eye to lift the ball to the far post. Crouch's scoring form has been his one weak point this season and his header under the pressure of a City defender was put straight into Ireland's chest; but the midfielder was unable to get his foot through it to clear and Kranjcar was in the right place to bury the ball into what was only a semi unguarded net.

Again minutes later Crouch failed to quite show the scoring touch he seems to poccess for England, after a rare mistake from Nedum Onuoha who took too long on the ball and under pressure only half-cleared straight to a Spurs midfielder, with Defoe playing Crouch onto his left foot only for Given as always to make himself big and this time make the stop.

The 6 foot 7 striker is still worth his place as long as Defoe is bagging goals, and he showed just why after the break with a brilliant example of route one football that must surely improve his chances of a place in the World Cup squad as an impact substitute. Gomes launched a free kick from deep inside his box, Crouch rising above Onouha comfortably to loop his header just over Toure into the footballing equivalent of the corridor of uncertainty, when the ball drops near the edge of the 6 yard box and doesn't allow the keeper to claim. Defoe put the finishing touch on as so often this season with a not dissimilar finish to the one that opened the scoring against Everton, a toe-poked half-volley past the stranded keeper and into the roof of the net for his 13th league goal of the season. That goal now leaves him both tied for the top Premier League goalscorer with Didier Drogba, aswell as equaling his best goal tally for an entire season in the Premier League, with us still not having reached Christmas. This could, whisper it quietly, be the season Jermain finally prepels himself into a genuine top class player; especially with the World Cup to follow, which barring injury he is now almost a certainty not to miss out on, after famously being left in 2006 to Theo Walcott.

City were toothless, but every side gets there spell of pressure and it naturally came as Spurs set about trying to hold onto a 2-0 lead, for once. The away side could really have got the nerves jangling but for referee Alan Wiley missing Michael Dawson's handball as he tried to get back to cover Ireland's dangerous ball over the top which could have been dropping nicely for Roque Santa Cruz, barely seen since his big money move.

Santa Cruz through no fault of his own is the epitome of City's wasteful spending, having played just 188 minutes of football since being signed for £18 million over 16 games ago in the summer. He may warrant more time on the pitch soon though if Adebayor continues to miss chances on top of his usual act of going missing for most of the match. Brilliant on his day, and lets be fair most of those days have come against the Spurs, he failed to improve on his amazing record of 8 goals in 9 North London derbies. The crowd were giving him pelters, irrespective of the fact he's now left Arsenal and is if anything more hated in that part of North London anyway; great cheers went up everytime he missed the target, mis-controlled, anything. He blazed over from the right edge of the box after a strong little surge from Stephen Ireland, who giving credit was City's only real threat with Bellamy and Wright-Phillips both out through suspension and injury respectively. It got even better for the Spurs faithful when Petrov's ball for once found Bassong marginally out of position and dropped yards out for Adebayor, in an almost carbon copy of Defoe's goal earlier on in the half, except that the Togo international leant back and saw his attempt fly way up into the stand off the top of his foot. Robinho was back from injury, but looked uninterested apart from a shot from distance which forced Gomes to tip comfortably over; the Brazilian looking even less of a £30 million player than Dimitar Berbatov at the moment, while showing the same tendency to moan as he walked straight down the tunnel angrily after Hughes had brought him off.

Kranjcar added the cherry late on, finally calming the nerves of the Spurs fans who just 10 days before had seen an Everton side battered nearly out of sight and still come back from 2-0 down. The Croatian jinked past the City defence after getting onto Lennon's clever ball which had already taken half their backline out of the play, before sliding home his shot under Shay Given all in a not disimilar fashion to the way Cesc Fabregas had earlier in the season jinked past Ledley King to score straight from the Spurs kick off. It may have been late on with City deflated and it may only have been Adebayor who Kranjcar took the ball round, but it showed how deadly Spurs can be when it comes off.

The Croatian international's form will leave Redknapp with a bit of a selection conundrem once Modric comes back to full match-fitness, but after spending just £2.5 million this summer on Kranjcar, who has since scored 5 goals and set up 4 in just 13 games for the club, he must be one of the steals not just of the season but of the decade.

The victory made the Spurs only the second team to beat Mark Hughes' City side in a competetive match this season, and certainly the first to do it without complaints of 6 minutes stoppage being played.

Redknapp's side look back on track, but by it's very nature those are the moments when you are most likely to fall off the rails again, and they have another crucial game away at Blackburn on Saturday. Whatever though, after the struggle of last season Spurs have already reached the 30 point mark before Christmas, with the 65 points of the 2005-6 lasagne-gate season still their highest ever total since the top division was rebranded. Success has been thin in the Premier League era, but Redknapp is gradually building a squad that at least deserves to be mentioned in and around the race for Champions League football, currently sat fifth and just 2 points behind Aston Villa and Arsenal.

For City though, despite the game in hand which would see them go back to within a point of Spurs, the great oil tanker seems to have hit a few rocks, though it's fairly to early to say it's sinking. The defence has looked quite frankly appalling, and for a Spurs fan to say so of another team is saying a lot; 24 goals conceded in just 16 games, the worst record of any of the top 9 teams in the league table. City, despite just 2 defeats all season have earnt just 10 points in their last 9 games, dropping them down to eighth in the league and amazingly not even the highest placed Asian-owned football club after Birmingham overtook them with their fifth consecutive victory. All doesn't look good at the moment, with the small-talk of Gerrard and Torres jumping ship from Liverpool looking even more proposterous now that City are the ones in need of rescuing. I admit it's early to write them off, though in the case of Robinho's contract writing off may be the only alternative, however it was the manner of the defeat that was so gutting. Hughes still hasn't learnt how to play more than two or three attacking players in a team, which to be fair is a new experience for a guy whose previous experience came at Blackburn and Wales.

The defence though looks the worst problem, as it seems almost every single defender Hughes' tries to bring in is making errors. Lescott for £23m was appalling value, but he has barely looked worth 10% of that for much of this season without a player Jagielka alongside him. Toure seems past it and more frustrated than anyone that he keeps seeing strikers getting the better of him. Bridge was torn apart by McDonald and Elliott in the Burnley game and has struggled throughout, Richards hasn't improved since his 19th birthday, while Kompany was appalling against Bolton and would have been made to pay for his slackness if Fabrice Muamba had any sort of instinct infront of goal. Even Nedum Onuoha, whom many City fans sight as a player who should get a lot more games, had a very poor game against Spurs today, dominated by Crouch and again sloppy with his distribution. However City have had one on-form defender this season, Richard Dunne playing twice before joining Aston Villa in what in hindsight looks to be the signing of the season; the Irish captain earning rave reviews since his move, while he cost a ridiculous and fairly obscene £17m less than Lescott and £9m less than Toure.

What must be going through the mind of Gareth Barry, after making what looks to be the most ill-judged 'moving on to better things' move since Michael Owen joined Real Madrid to win the Champions League and duly had to watch former team-mate Jamie Carragher waving it aloft. Even with De Jong and Barry both playing the central holding role most matches and both having very decent seasons, City still appear a soft touch who take the heat with all the effectiveness of butter, melting, sloppy and easily sliced through.

Enough of the metaphors for now; Spurs won a crucial fixture to stay in the race for top 4 while City after tripping up again will need own heck of a strong Christmas to get their season up and running again. Mark Hughes will hope for money in January, but after spending £120m to move them the grand total of 2 places up the current table from last seasons finishing position, he may not be given another chance.

[yidno1]

Blimey an argument and it doesnt involve moi this time!!

I would just like to add that i do see the Hudd and Palacios as containers and the tacklers of the team despite what the stats may show without those two trying to intercept play and hussle the opposition i think we would lose way more goals than we currently do.

If your argument is to be understood Elitekiller what your saying is that every spurs player has the same role and there isnt a specific part to play for each individual? so lets take Willy and Hudd out and simply have Lennon,Modric,Nikko and Gio in the midfield where not only can they contain and tackle but also set up play just as well as the formentioned pairing.

What im saying is that i beleive the Hudd should be the one to set attacks up ie threading balls through to Lennon and Defoe with Palacios hussleing the oppostion and sticking his foot in when required, thats what i see when those two play anyway.

[kevfball63]

Last night we went forward as a unit and back as a unit = for the first time in a long while , when we lost the ball we attacked the ball in numbers until we got it back .

Very refreshing for once .

The result showed that .

[yidno1]

Yep i agree everyone put a shift in tackling all over the park and hussling from top to back which is great to see, however i feel the Hudd and Willy offer that as a primary job.

[kevfball63]

I cant believe you agreed with me = Yid No 1 are you going soft or have you made the rest of us tough

[yidno1]

Its not a case of agreeing with you Kev its was plain to see for every yido that the whole team were on their game last night tackling like lions and closing down when required, this is what the Spurs should be doing in every game.
Kev mate im certainly not going soft.

[karmacoma]

No,tackling, not together....I reckon that if we have the ball in our feet than they need to worry about tackling.

[EliteKiller]

Maybe got a bit OTT but the point I was making was exactly what Yid No 1 and Kev made, we played as a team. Of course the central defensive midfield pair are going to tackle and make interceptions, the point I was making is that they are not supposed to dive in, 'Arry wants the to just maintain a shape and keep opposition midfield players in front of them, not to tackle most of the time.

They did an excellent job against City long may that continue. .... COYS

[Berbatov]

No,tackling, not together....I reckon that if we have the ball in our feet than they need to worry about tackling.

As once the great Dannyboy said:

"If we have the ball, they cannot score..."

[d.mccombe]

As once the great Dannyboy said:

"If we have the ball, they cannot score..."

nice quote there, just what i was going to say