Right. NOW we have a left-back problem. It has been mentioned before, there have been doubts about Young-Pyo Lee (who I like) and Benoit Assou-Ekotto (who we haven’t seen that much of yet, really), but now that they are both injured – along with Paul Stalteri – we had to give Phil Ifil the job: Wigan away was his 3rd Premiership start ever. Pascal Chimbonda had looked uncomfortable on the left; in order to have one strong attacking side it seemed wise to let him take the right. Not that Phil is a terrible football player, but at this stage in the season… he was a poor replacement for Lee. Aaron Lennon, playing on the left against Wigan, did not get as far as he would when linking up with our little Korean, who we have now lost for the rest of the season. Oh well, another challenge to overcome – and the mentality seems to be there. We concede goals, but we score goals, make attacking substitutions and push on. It can still happen. And in the summer there will be set piece revision: defending against as well as scoring from.
Michael Dawson said that “we've got a full week's training now, we won't know what to do with ourselves!”. Darling, apart from getting a little well deserved rest, y’all can practice set pieces. Corners especially. Tottenham Hotspur football club have yet to score from a corner this season; the closest was when Juan Pablo Angel of Aston Villa (apparently on his way to the US) scored an own goal at a Spurs corner kick. Anyway, having a full week to train and prepare has been a rarity this year, and the team has looked strong when they have had one.
Portsmouth, Everton and Reading all won their games over the weekend, which makes the draw against Wigan sting that little bit more. But, as sometimes is the case, after that game a draw ended up feeling like a decent result. Spurs have really found the formula for entertaining neutrals: attacking flair and defensive insecurity. Which means goals. Against a team like Wigan, who also can’t defend and were hungry in attack, the end result is quite spectacular. Any number of goals could have been scored in that game, it is surprising it ended at 6. So, neutrals entertained but fans’ nerves in tiny little pieces. So, who have we got next week…? Yup, looks like another “entertaining” game.
Aaron Lennon, by the way, turned 20 yesterday; no longer a teenager and already one of the most important players for his club and country. Also up for the PFA player of the year award, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba. Well done, Aaron.
The FA-cup final will, of course, feature Chelsea and Manchester United after they overcame their opponents in the semis. Credit to Watford, who did their utmost to give Man U a hard time, and to Blackburn, who forced Chelsea into extra time and nearly made it. But these winning machines just will not be stopped. Will the universe implode when they start facing each other?
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