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Spurs played out a 0-0 draw with West Ham as they had 21 shots on goal, nine on target, but failed to find the net with any of them. This was a game to forget for a number of reasons, but mainly because it highlighted again the need for a new striker at the club. Defoe was sporting a vest under his shirt that read 100 goals. Relating to the 99 goals he had already scored in the premier league. If his subsequent performance was anything to go by he may as well stick that shirt back in the wardrobe. He missed from two and four yards on separate occasions, both times with the goal gaping. It seems as though despite those two great goals at Wolves, he still lacks the confidence to get him to that landmark 100 figure.
Redknapp went with a line up that most Spurs fans could not have argued with. Bale and Lennon on the flanks with Van Der Vaart and Modric running the show in the middle and Defoe preferred upfront to Crouch…no complaints surely.
West Ham arrived with a 4-3-3 formation and doubled up on Bale and Lennon using Parker and Demba Ba to cover their wide runs. It worked to stifle the performance of the Spurs wingers but in focusing their pressure on the flanks, they exposed themselves to the creativity of Modric. The little Croatian had time and space a plenty on more than one occasion and he continued to pull the strings for Spurs as the stand out player in white. The problem was that the strings he was pulling were attached to Jermaine Defoe, who could have played all day long and would not have scored. Even the commentators were stating their houses on him putting away the ones he missed. There would have been a few homeless people in the crowd too if that were not just a figure of speech.
Bale seemed very rusty, and when your game relies heavily on pace to get past defenders then it affects your game considerably when you are not at peak fitness. Jacobsen, the West Ham right back had the beating of him all afternoon with the help of the covering Scott parker. Bale seemed like the only person in the ground who realised that he was still returning to fitness, he Continually tried to out run the full back, despite clearly not having the pace to do so. He frustratingly gave the ball away far too many times. Lennon was a little more effective and looked understandably sharper but still the final pass or the finish was missing as has often been the case with him.
Harry tried to change things by switching the wingers, but West Ham stood strong and defended well. In the second half the introduction of Pavlyuchenko for Van Der Vaart prompted the Spurs midfielder to walk straight down the tunnel into the changing rooms, as he had done when subbed against Milan. The talismanic midfielder is clearly returning to fitness and lacked his usual sharpness, but I remember as many Spurs fans will, that earlier in the season when he was being subbed. He went and stood next to Harry and cheered the lads through the last few minutes. Now that he is not winning the games for us with his goals and the attention is not all about him we are beginning to see a less affectionate side of the Dutch International. I am sure if he had scored twice and been subbed, no doubt he would have stayed in his previous position, cheering from the touchline. This is a worry and something that Redknapp will need to deal with. Spurs fans can only hope that his recent change of attitude is born out of frustration at his own performance and not a deeper lying feeling of unrest towards Harry
Redknapp.
Sandro again excelled in the midfield showing that he has the capacity to attack as well as defend, something that Palacios could never lay claim to. He will rightly continue to keep the Honduran out of the side. Corluka, who was subbed in the second half for the far more productive Hutton, should never have turned up. His distribution was so poor that his completed pass ratio was as poor as Defoe’s goals to shots one. Although Hutton is not the perfect full back at least he would provide more of an attacking threat with Lennon on the wing and will hopefully be given his chance in the next game. Modric was again the star of the Spurs side, and along with Dawson he kept the Spurs side going all game, much as they have done all season. If it were not for the lack of finishing up front, Spurs would have won at a canter.
Spurs had one of those days that they will want to forget and With Real Madrid now just round the corner, they will hope that their instinct in-front of goal will return to them in time to face the famous Spanish side. If they don’t start finding the net soon, a season that promised so much could end up going down as just a “flash in the pan”.
Some Related Spurs Posts:Spurs’ Ideal ScenarioSpurs Are Where They Should Be, Without Over-PerformingThe Dynamic Way Forward For Spurs.Super Spurs Beat Werder Bremen, And Make It Look Easy! (Includes Highlights)Can We Play AC Milan Again Please?
Category: Team News
Tags: Aaron Lennon, Harry Redknapp, Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Spurs, Team News, Tottenham, Tottenham HotspurTweet « Spurs V Real Madrid – The Tie Of The Round | Home | Comments | Add your comment Robert Reed | March 19th, 2011 at 11:57 am
Defoe and Van der Vaart don’t work, simple as that. I was pissed off when I saw the line up. They both want goals layed on for them but at least VDV works for the team whereas Defoe does nothing except shoot. I’m thoroughly sick of Defoe. He scores two goals all season and then spends his time bitching to the press about how he should be first choice and that he wants to leave etc etc. His 100 goals T shirt says it all. Me me me.
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