Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 Burnley – some thoughts

On Wednesday night Spurs scored four goals without response for the second time in the space of a fortnight. On New Year’s Day, we went from 0-1 down to 4-1 up against Chelsea (finishing 5-3); this time we recovered from a more perilous 0-2 to win 4-2.

Burnley rested three key players – Danny Ings, George Boyd and Ashley Barnes, whilst we rested six in Hugo Lloris, Kyle Walker, Federico Fazio, Harry Kane, Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen. Burnley’s fast start was somewhat exaggerated by two early goals, but they punished some poor defending well. The defending for Marvin Sordell’s opener was particularly shambolic.

Marvin Sordell breaks through

Having not having seen a replay from a different angle, it’s difficult to try to explain what was happening here. Younes Kaboul was up-field – I can only think that he was trying to play offside – but with Jan Vertonghen already too deep to allow this, one has to question the lack of organisation and communication, and that surely comes down to captain Kaboul. This could be explained (if not excused), perhaps, by the fact that Kaboul and Vertonghen haven’t played together since the 2nd November.

The second goal came after seven minutes. Benji Stambouli committed a needless foul, allowing free-kick specialist Ross Wallace to step up. His kick deflected off Roberto Soldado leaving Michel Vorm helpless.

The home crowd – assisted by this match being attended by the 1882 movement – roared Tottenham on, and they stepped up immediately. Andros Townsend made inroads on the right, and inverted-wingered the ball in for Soldado to flick on. Paulinho did superbly to get the ball down quickly and turned neatly to volley home.

From there it almost felt inevitable that Spurs would win – an unusual feeling for Spurs fans – and I think that the optimistic atmosphere in the stadium had a lot to do with it.

The positivity in the stands, though, was not always matched by positivity on the pitch.

Kaboul vs Vertonghen

After another miscommunication, Vertonghen turned to shout at Kaboul – who had, again, attempted to play offside – and got a whole load of verbal right back. The crowd responded by chanting Vertonghen’s name, a show of support triggered by a combination of factors: rumours about Kaboul’s falling-out with other members of the squad, his lack of emotion on the bench when we’ve scored goals in recent weeks, and the fact that he had been totally inept in this match until that point.

The slanging match continued for a good few seconds and was followed up later by a similar falling out between Kaboul and Vorm. It is clear that all is not well, and Kaboul leaving during the transfer window seems inevitable (so long as there’s a taker).

Kaboul struggled to cope with Sam Vokes’ strength and movement, but Spurs looked good going forward in much of the rest of the half. As halftime approached, Paulinho nicked the ball in midfield and launched a counter. He was cynically fouled, but Soldado picked up the pieces and fed Townsend. He carried the ball before feeding in a perfect cross for Soldado, who somehow hit the bar. The miss was so bad that the BBC even made a separate video dedicated to it. His reaction was to drop to his knees in despair – Stambouli ran over to quite literally comfort him, so broken that he is. But it’s well worth noting that he also continued to get unwavering support from the stands (“Viva Soldado, viva Soldado, he came from sunny Spain to play with Harry Kane, viva Soldado”) – I don’t think there are many players in the squad for whom there is so much genuine goodwill.

Fortunately for Soldado, his blushes were spared by a Capoue thunderbolt just two minutes later. Ben Davies crossed, Paulinho missed his kick, and the ball sat up nicely for a volley that nearly broke the net.

Just three minutes into the second half, stand-in right back Vlad Chiricheș won a corner, and then got on the end of it at the back post to bundle it home – it actually seemed to hit his arm, but I don’t think he knew a great deal about it.

When Danny Rose scored a fourth three minutes later (to make it three goals in a five minute spell) it felt like we might go on to get a few more, but 4-2 was how it stayed. Rose’s goal deserves praise – for the beautiful pass by Stambouli, perfectly flighted into the path of Soldado; for Rose’s fantastically aggressive run into the six-yard box; and for Soldado’s inch-perfect cross.

Nacer Chadli replaced Rose on the left, and made an excellent cameo – at one point putting Reid (I think) on his backside with his dribbling and close control.

The game did somewhat peter out, but was memorable for Josh Onomah, coming on to make his Tottenham Hotspur debut. I’ll be publishing a short profile of Onomah later, so keep an eye out. Onomah already has a song, which has followed him through the age groups. At a previous 1882 event – an Under-18 match – James Welham came up with the ultra-inventive ‘Do do do do do ONOMAH do do do do ONOMAH do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do!’ to the tune of ‘Mahna Mahna’ from The Muppet Show. It’s since followed him from Under-18 level to Under-21 level and now the first team… a proud moment for James as well as Josh! Onomah made some good touches and passes in tight areas, but didn’t really get to show off his terrific dribbling ability.

Vorm – had no chance with either goal, and looked relatively quick off his line, which was something I’d been concerned about after recent appearances.
Chiricheș – aside from one suicidal pass in the first half, he defended well, was a decent attacking outlet and, of course, scored the goal to put us 3-2 up. I enjoyed a short burst of my song for him – “strolling up the pitch is super Vlad Chiricheș, do do do, do do do do do”…
Kaboul – this was not a good return for Kaboul. He struggled with Vokes (Chiricheș had to repeatedly come across to cover) and was arguing with his own teammates.
Vertonghen – after a shaky start alongside Kaboul, he put in a very assured performance.
Davies – clearly a better defender than Rose, but doesn’t quite offer the same forward thrust. That said, his pass selection in the final third is consistently good, and it was his cross that led to Capoue’s leveller.
Stambouli – had a very busy game and worked hard throughout. There are some signs of him starting to settle.
Capoue – like others, he had a shaky start where Burnley were winning a lot of second balls in his zone, but he improved and was very controlled in the second half. His goal was a beauty!
Townsend – a constant threat and a constant outlet. Ben Mee gave him too much space, and he took advantage over and over again.
Paulinho – better, as Andy Townsend would say! I tweeted at half-time that he was ‘busy but imperfect’ and I think that sums him up. He frequently runs with the ball into areas of the pitch which he then struggles to get out of, but I think we have to just accept his limitations and appreciate his few strengths: first-time flicks and knowing when to arrive in the box. He took his goal superbly.
Rose – he actually started his career as an attacking central midfielder and then became a left winger, but his timing was slightly off in an attacking sense. His arrivals at the back post were generally a little *too* late, but he did marvellously for his goal, making a fantastic, aggressive surge into the six-yard box and pointing to where he wanted the ball played.
Soldado – some relatively good link up play, a nice flicked header for Paulinho’s goal, a wonderful cross for Rose’s goal, but his match will be remembered for *that* miss. Viva Soldado.

Chadli – a genuinely exciting cameo in which he looked a real threat. “Nacer is a dolphin, Nacer is a dolphin, la la la la, la la la la…”.
Onomah – I was so excited to see him get on to make his debut – I hope it’s the first of many appearances. Look out for a short profile which I’ll be publishing later.
Dier – it was good to see him back for the first time since the 6th December, nine games ago.

Join the conversation

  1. Some goals, be they in a cup final or on the park are just never forgotten when you score them, something about the way they leave the boat that feels satisfying, not always screamers, not always pretty, but something happens when you hit it you know that even if it's headed straight for the goalkeeper's chest nothing is going to stop it going in, and that first burnley goal looks like one of those. No idea what Kaboul was doing, but seemed keen to blame others for his own mistake, one thing a captain can't do, and once a person finds a way to blame someone else, he'll always find a way to blame someone else. I like Kaboul but i think we cash in if we can. I think for the second goal Vorm actually deserves a lot of credit for getting so much of his hand to the ball after being sent so far the wrong way, great agility, but typical of soldado's luck since he has been at spurs. Speaking of which, one reason why he get's so much sympathy is demonstrated in Rose's goal, Rose told him exactly where he wanted the ball, ball was placed exactly where Rose wanted it, under pressure but with his head up and aware. Some one was suggesting he play back up to eriksen, and him playing next to a speedy striker may pay dividends, so the question is, does our youth system have a speedster in the making?
    1. boat should obviously be boot, unless we are shipping goals i guess
    2. Forward? I guess Harrison is quite quick, but Sterling is the next speedster - he's only 15/16 so a long way off unfortunately!
  2. Great article, not easy to keep up with all of the games out here on the Costa Del Sol, many of the bloggs are just so critical and depressing!! look forward to the next one COYS
    1. Thanks - glad you enjoyed! Whereabouts are you on the CDS? I used to spend summer holidays in Sotogrande (Torreguadiaro).
  3. Of course I enjoyed the comeback and the goals coming from different sources, but is there really enough depth to compete full-stop in four competitions? Specifically, yes, MP rotated the squad, but left Verts out there. What happens if he goes down, and how can MP even pretend we don't need to add this window when Kaboul and Stambouli are not top-class cover at CB and CM, respectively?
    1. I could have easily said Capoue instead of Stambouli. His shot against Palace was as ferocious as his goal here, but as a DM, he falls short.
    2. We'll soon find out!
  4. Thanks Windy, Good to see (I mean, hear on the radio) Capoue in the team (and scoring) because when he arrived back in 2013 he looked a bit good!
    1. This was his best game since early season. Much improved!
  5. Thanks Windy. Good as always. I think Poch could have played Dier instead of Verts and given him a rest. Soldado is very creative even if cursed in front of goal. No Lennon or Ade must mean they are sold already? Many of our players look good against lesser opposition eg Townsend, Rose etc. Defoe was the same - scored all his goals in the easier games. I hope Kaboul is sold. I bet they are regretting selling Caulker. Our academy players are making a strong point - will Levy ever learn. I can't understand why they bought Stambouli. He's ok in a game like this but even Palace showed him up.
    1. I did wonder whether Dier should have started too. Supposedly Lennon was "sick".
  6. […] well-informed and reliable WindyCOYS was more cautiously optimistic in his […]
  7. Well said Windy you said nearly everything i was going to say even down to Josh. The other player i would consider against Leicester is Naithan Oduwa a fine prospect and Azzaoui, I have been screaming out and writing many tweets about playing two wings because it stops teams doubling up like Place did on a shocking doctored pitch. Also i said weeks ago about Rose moving forward because having two wingers also helps the full backs in there defending and when they attack. One last point we need tinkering not loads leaving like our fans are saying even Lennon Ady need to help with our heavy schedule till we have replacements for both. COYS
    1. I think Oduwa is terrific but Sonupe seems to be being prioritised ahead of him...
  8. Windy great summation and I liked the references to the songs. Do you have an opinion as to why Rose was played further forward? Was it just to rest/rotate or do you think Poch might be tempted to use him there in the future as a tactical switch?
    1. Cheers! I think Rose was filling in - Lennon was supposedly "sick".
  9. I've posted this on another form: do you think the miss by RS was due to him trying to lift the ball over the oncoming goalkeeper? He seems to also wait for the ball to come to him and his momentum takes him a bit too far forward. He obviously lacks confidence, but given that El Niño just blew away Real hope springs eternal for Soldado.
    1. I think so, yes. He didn't even need to do that - just needed to roll it.

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