Well that was a very comfortable win wasn’t it? Before hand some may have been a little wary of an upset, but that fear soon went out the window. By the time Spurs were two nil up, Hearts had probably touched the ball twice. The passing was sublime - short sharp and incisive play. It can sometimes be frustrating when Van der Vaart roams deep into midfield but last night, along with Kranjcar, dictated the tempo beautifully. What made a nice change to last season was that Spurs played well and scored goals! The first goal early on in the game it set the tone, so many times in recent seasons they’ve huffed and they’ve puffed but if an early goal didn't come it often spelled disaster.
With it being a whole team performance last night it makes sense to look at each team members game individually starting from the back working forward.
With it being a whole team performance last night it makes sense to look at each team members game individually starting from the back working forward.
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| The whole team played their part last night |
Gomes, how with so little to do, did you still manage to look like a dodgy ‘keeper? With him still at the club the pending dread of seeing his name on the team sheet is still there, let’s just hope it’s not there on Monday night. In front of him was Kyle Walker. A very good player, he just needs to calm down a little, as everything seems a little rushed. Going forward he needs to utilise his teammates a little more as he is often found running, head down, into a dead end. When defending he needs to do the simple thing but overall though it was a pleasing performance. The centre back partnership of Dawson and Kaboul was solid, but it was clear early on that it wasn’t really going to be tested to its full capabilities. Kaboul can really become a top player, he was looking immense alongside Gallas last year until injury struck, let’s just hope he can really push on this year. Assou-Ekotto, so underrated by others but he’s one of the best left-backs in the league, no problems last night and oh so composed (a touch of the Chimbonda about him at times, not sure if that’s a good thing or bad).
In central midfield there was a new partnership, beforehand you would have been forgiven for thinking that it would have been Spurs’ weakest area, but it proved to be very strong. Livermore kept it simple and showed his composure to score his first goal for the club. On that showing he could be considered Spurs’ 5th choice midfielder with Jenas being shown the door...if there are any takers! Lennon is a bit of a mystery; he didn’t really do much until setting up Defoe, and still never really burst into life. Does he realise how quick he is? I’m often found screaming at the TV begging him to roar past a player on the outside but he just doesn’t do it as much since his groin injury, *sigh*.
Up front, Van der Vaart, a class above and a joy to watch, he just needs to build up that match fitness and try to be effective over 90 min throughout the season. His partner last night was Defoe, now with all the talk of a new striker, it seems like everyone has lost hope in Defoe, but remember his goals fired Tottenham into the top four two years ago, why can’t he do it again? He was looking really sharp at the start of last season until he got injured; there are early signs that he will be back on form again this year...until he peters out as usual around February of course.
Spurs fans got to see big Tom Huddlestone come on and show his class. Some lovely touches, some not so lovely. But he set up Bale with ease and hopefully he'll shake of this persistent ankle injury and get fit, then become a force to be reckoned with this year. The sky is the limit for him. Pavlyuchenko came on and...was frustrating. Heavy first touch, no awareness, poor overall technique. More performances like this and he'll be edging closer to the exit door. Finally Andros Townsend came on for Bale, the lad is quick and can dribble, and he could do a job on loan for a newly promoted Premiership club. With two fantastic crosses last night they could have been easily have led to two goals.
In central midfield there was a new partnership, beforehand you would have been forgiven for thinking that it would have been Spurs’ weakest area, but it proved to be very strong. Livermore kept it simple and showed his composure to score his first goal for the club. On that showing he could be considered Spurs’ 5th choice midfielder with Jenas being shown the door...if there are any takers! Lennon is a bit of a mystery; he didn’t really do much until setting up Defoe, and still never really burst into life. Does he realise how quick he is? I’m often found screaming at the TV begging him to roar past a player on the outside but he just doesn’t do it as much since his groin injury, *sigh*.
Up front, Van der Vaart, a class above and a joy to watch, he just needs to build up that match fitness and try to be effective over 90 min throughout the season. His partner last night was Defoe, now with all the talk of a new striker, it seems like everyone has lost hope in Defoe, but remember his goals fired Tottenham into the top four two years ago, why can’t he do it again? He was looking really sharp at the start of last season until he got injured; there are early signs that he will be back on form again this year...until he peters out as usual around February of course.
Spurs fans got to see big Tom Huddlestone come on and show his class. Some lovely touches, some not so lovely. But he set up Bale with ease and hopefully he'll shake of this persistent ankle injury and get fit, then become a force to be reckoned with this year. The sky is the limit for him. Pavlyuchenko came on and...was frustrating. Heavy first touch, no awareness, poor overall technique. More performances like this and he'll be edging closer to the exit door. Finally Andros Townsend came on for Bale, the lad is quick and can dribble, and he could do a job on loan for a newly promoted Premiership club. With two fantastic crosses last night they could have been easily have led to two goals.
Overall Spurs fans can’t be anything but happy with last night’s game, perfect preparation for Monday when they’ll somehow get cheated out of a win against Man United (you know it’s going to happen so prepare yourselves for the refereeing error now).
Josh
PS - If you don't use 101 great goals already to catch up on the goals you may have missed...do!
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