The Mighty Spurs - Swansea of Wales

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Great result and an overall good performance once we settled into te game. Only real complaint is that a more clinical side could have won that game 4 or 5 nil but maybe I'm being greedy. 3 goals away from home is always good.

I'd say jury is still out on sherwood as he's only had a handful of games but I was impressed to see him adapt the tactics a bit and have the nuts to drop soldado in order to make it work. It slipped under the radar a bit but I thought the Lennon for naughton sub was brilliant. In the past we might have seen someone like Holtby or soldado come on instead just to fill a gap but not do the same tactical job. However sherwood put walker at right wing where he can clearly play in a similar way to Lennon whilst you also have the benefit of his defensive talent.

What's funny is that I think this match was out best overal performance for a while (not counting stoke who were tired and shit) and we were essentially playing the same formation that AVB was caned for (4-2-3-1). The main difference, and something I've banged on about for ages, was we ha a strong, physical and skillful presence up top which I've always felt was vital for the success of that formation.
AVB should have played him when fit. Or we should have bough benteke instead of soldado if that was the planned tactic.

9 days rest or the squad now before the city game. Hopefully we'll get Sandro and vertonghen back and give them a bit more a game this time.
 
WHITE&BLUE said:
no. The lack of this guy wearing a suit is 73% of why I cannot stand him currently.
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73? Can't you be more specific?
He can stand there in a top hat and flippers for all I care, as long as he turns out teams that win with some style and gets players to bust their arses for the team and the supporters.
It's a sports club, not a board meeting. Hell, nowadays a lot of business meetings don't have people in suits.
Irrational
 
sicknote said:
...and this attitude is why THFC will be doomed to mid-table mediocrity until things change...
COYS
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Their transfer net spend since '08 is over 500 million, let alone the ridiculous wages they pay. We're barely even playing the same game.

Admitting we aren't at the same level as City just because they are insanely stocked with money doesn't mean we have a mid-table mentality.
 
People need to understand what Benteleb does, he has sat on front of the back four and has done a very good job today, at times, just tactical positioning is enough to say you've had a good game, you don't always have to do something with the ball.

But when he has had it, he's made some very intelligent 10-15 yard passes that have set out attacks up, and some times, very intelligent give and goes.

He is a very intelligent player and tactically very intelligent.

Hes a very intelligent player for his age.

Extremely intelligent...:bae:
 
Idiotic to blame the board for Bale leaving. We tried our hardest to keep him, and he slapped AVB in the face by not turning up to train when the manager made it clear he was expecting him to be there.

That was the point of no return, and we did well to get the money we wanted, after Levy told Madrid there will be no deal with the situation as it was, according to reports.
 
Here's another

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And Ade showing his "close" relationship with Kyle......:adegrin:

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And also a novelty one of Daws stopping Lord Voldemort from getting on the scoresheet

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another great away day, some great respect shown to RLP, more of the same against one of the top 4 next!



up yours yer welsh cunts

 
NorseYid said:
I think people are going way way over the top with Nabil.

As if he is a token of the new era post AVB with TS at the wheel and thus he has to be praised, even when he is not doing particulary well.

Take today. We play at least 2nd half some of the best stuff this season, but first half is another matter altogether. We could be down 2-3 goals at HT and the way Pozuelo and Shelvey just played Bentaleb like a cello in our final third middle was painfull to watch. He didn't know when to press, hold or drop and couldn't get near them at all.

2nd half was much better. The team around him better too. And we saw more of the ball. Then Shelvey went off. What that showed us was mainly, that Nabil is WAY better on the ball than off it and that he as a passing player, a thinking one too, I should add, has much more value to a team controlling play rather than a team playing on the counter.

I think, all things considered, that he did as well as we could expect. That however was not being "one of our best" nor "superb". He held his own as a possession player in the 2nd half, but as a more defending midfielder in the 1st he was in very high degree a part of the very problem rather than the sollution.

I applaud the loyalty and support for a young player breaking into the side, but some of the things being written and said are just baffling.

Today he was very poor to begin with and just fine later on. Not excellent or brilliant. Just fine. Eriksen was excellent. So was Walker. Ade was unplayable. Nabil was not anywhere near that (nor does he need to be). He was just fine.

Against City we will have different issues to deal with. A big one will be the way Yaya & Fernadinho utilises space in front of our defenders, supported by the brilliantly mobile Aguero. There will be no room for a minute of the defending Nabil showed first half today.
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I have to disagree. I think people on here are slating him much more than he deserves because he is young and unproven. Also, lost in the way we discuss football nowadays is nuance. Superb for one player might not be the same for another. But for Nabil Bentaleb today was a superb performance. Sure he's not Yaya Toure but who is? He's barely 19 years old.

If Sandro had put in today's performance with TEN out of TEN successful tackles (no one else had more than four), 9 ball recoveries, and 2 interceptions this forum would have fapped itself silly and deservedly so! He also didn't commit a foul when in past games given away silly free kicks has been a problem. He looked like a seasoned pro not a nineteen year old. Also, the whole team looked much better when Shelvey came off.

Of course Bentaleb didn't flash in the same way as Adebayor and Eriksen because he plays a position where there is very little glory. But when played properly and well, like it was today, it allows players like Adebayor and Eriksen to thrive.

Also, I know you didn't say this but the argument about his passing is so stupid. Only in English football commentary are ball winners and possession recyclers so undervalued. It's the same reason why Carrick can't get into the national team over glory ball players like Lampard and Gerrard despite the fact that Carrick is much superior player. Take a look at any of Busquets (who Guardiola said was the most irreplaceable footballer in the world), Schweinsteiger, Modric, Makelele etc passing charts and you will see plenty of sideways balls and short passes to the wings. They spread the ball, recover it, and keep things going.

Not saying Bentaleb is anywhere near any of those players but he's played that role to perfection these last two games.

Failure to understand the value of a player in that role is the reason why Florentino Perez doesn't understand football and Real Madrid don't win titles often. When he sold Makelele in 2003 following Real Madrid's best run in recent memory he said, "we will not miss him, he rarely passed the ball more than three meters". Of course a more adept minds like Zidane and Hierro realized he was an idiot with Zidane noting, "Why put another gold layer of paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?"

Overall, Bentaleb has a long way to go. He's young, there isn't a large sample size, and Crystal Palace and Swansea are not strong opponents currently. However, I can only judge on what I've seen as I cannot see the future and the last two games he has been superb. His game isn't a beautiful or glory filled and he will get slated for short passing and other nonsense but he is playing his role to a T currently. Also, he has showed passing range in the last two games on one occasion in each game. He played a great through ball to Rose against CP in behind the defense. I can't remember who his was to today.

Anyway, there's a reason why Busquets, Carrick, and Makelele have always been mentioned as underrated footballers and that's because the role they have is an under appreciated one. Bentaleb is playing in that same role and thus catching that same flak. It remains to be seen whether he can keep it up but for now IMO he's being knocked completely unnecessarily due to his role on the pitch.
 
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