A long time ago I stated something which was so quickly shot down without a second thought. Martion Jol IS tactically inept. Lets look at todays signs of it.
He played a Right back by trade, and a magnificent one at that, as our left back.
He then employed our CM/LM as our RB where he had never played before.
He had two options with this. He had to mix up the defence a little bit with injuries to 3 key defenders and another being cup tied but he made too changes to the usual defence instead of the one.
Either play Chimbo in his usual right back position and Teemu as left back( He has played LM quite alot recently) or Play Chimbo on the left, where is significantly weaker it must be said, and Young Phil Ifil on the right where he has always played. Maybe Jol felt he was too inexperienced for the job, but surely it is better than playing two players out of position.
He then makes his next mistake. 4-1 down on aggregate, needing 4 goals in 45 minutes to win the tie and he decides to leave JD on the bench. The one man likely to get us a goal back. Eventually after about 60 minutes he brings him on. He brings him on for our best player on the night, the one man that looked like getting a goal and was trying so hard, Didier Zokora. This did not go down well. O what do ya know, JD scores with his first touch. What sort of fool are you, you need four goals bung on your second top scorer you tool.
Spurs fans are regarded as fickle and this is probably why. When things go right for us I love the bloke but it is times like this that his managerial prowess comes into question. It is not the first time this season he has let us down when it matters and I won't be the last. All three Semis/Quarters this season have been lost in a large part by Martin Jol. This is not an overreation but a fact. In each of the three games he has done or not done in some cases something that has got us knocked out.
Ars*nal in the cup, he brings Keane on instead of Mido, then site back and tries to defend our lead. When we go to highbury he plays defensively and doesnt try to get at them.
Chelsea in the FA Cup. He take Berbatov and Lennon off which gave them the momentum. Our two best players taken off.
Seviila in the Uefa. I have already touched on it.
Martin, you are still the man for the job, we all want you here for a long time but take a good look at yourself. These decisions are adding up and something needs to be done. Learn from your mistakes o great one.
This may seem like a very sudued Storts, just after we have been beaten but I can assure you more is too come
The games itself. Not much can be said about the first game. We played well but we were harshly treated, on and off the pitch. On the pitch the ref gave a penalty which completely changed the tie. It was
never a penalty. How any first class ref can give that is an absolute joke. The ball changed direction dramtically in the direction that Robbo was going, surely that was a clue in itself. In my opinion, that was the moment that lost us the tie. All was so fine and dandy until that moment and we lost heart. Then off the pitch the police beat us with batons for no reason. The players saw one fan be knocked over, blood streaming from their head after being attacked by a police baton. You know what for? For taking a picture of the team bus. Shocking stuff.
On to todays game, well by the time I have finished and posted this it will be yesterday's. First half to be quite honest we were outclassed. None the less though we have a lot to feel agrieved about. Firstly we had another European ref that played by European rules. In other words as soon as a Spanish player fell on the floor it would be a foul. I really hope Seville don't win the cup. They have talent in abundance within their team but time after time they resort to cheating. The amount of times their players faked injury and conned the referee was unbeliveable.
Fredi Kanoute was offside for their second goal, which killed the tie completely. That was the goal that ended our chances and it is typical that it would be the Tottenham Reject that scored. We were completely off the boil in the first half. The players just weren't up for it, whcih unfortunately spelt the end to our European aspirations for one year at least.
Second half we were much better than them. We should have started like it but didn't. In all honesty we had the chance to do the unthinkable. Berbatov and Dawson both missed sitters to be honest. If one of those had gone in we would of had a good ten minutes at least to push for the all important fourth. Unfortunately it was not too be and we had to settle for Quarter finals in two cups and semi's in the other.
Todays Ratings:
Paul Robinson 8- Could do little about either goal. Kept us in the game at vital stages and showed he was a true yid and several times. Top bloke, one of our only good performers.
Teemu Tainio 5 -Out of his depth at RB, not a good position for him.
Ledley King 7- Got better as the game progressed. Great to see him back.
Michael Dawson 6- Not one of his better games, not as commading as usual. Maybe because he wasnt our main CB
Chimbo 5- Again, LB is not his position, didn't cope well. Too easily beaten
Aaron Lennon 6- Terrible first half, great second half.
Jermaine Jenas 6- At times did some good passes/tackles at others he was lacklustre
Didier Zokora 8- Great performance again by him. Really looked dangerous, Our only player that ran at people all game.
Steed Malbranque 3- Truely Shocking, terrible own goal, terrible performance
Dimitar Berbatov 6- Not one of his better games, missed a good chance
Robbie Keane- Poor tonight, not very creative.
Subs:
Jermain Defoe 9- Instant impact, looked very sharp, arguably our man of the match.
The Ratings reflect the game as a whole. We started poorly and that was the trend that went on for the whole first half. We didn't turn up until it was too late and that was a great shame. In the next few days I will write up my seasons report on the successes. We know have the relatively comfortable task of securing a Euro spot for nect year. If Man U and Chelski win their semis then 7th is Uefa in the league. However we want 5th. It would secure our position as the 5th best team in England and show that we still are the closest to breaking in to the top 4. We have a squad that is very nearly CL standard. One more striker, A Left Winger, Decent CB cover and a tough midfield maestro would be enough.
So that is our season done and dusted for the most part. We have battled well on four fronts and it has been a breakthrough season for Martin Jol. We did not get the much desired silveware but we have shown that we are more than capable of challenging in the next few years. In every competition we have lost it for ourselves. No one has beaten us majestically. We have made mistakes and we will learn from them. For once I have been rational and not to disheartened after the game. Yes we may have lost today but hopefully this will inspire the players. They will have caught the bug and will want European football next year.
If we get it, you will THFC coming out bigger and stronger when we try to win the trophy. For me all is still rosy at the Lane. We have lost the biggest club game in years but the foundations are set. With MJ at the helm and players like Dimi and Azza at the club we will always have a chance. Lets qualify for Europe and build next year.
The Futures Still bright, The Futures Still Lilywhite
Up the Spurs
Storts
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