Analysis of the goal conceded against Everton
A tight game at White Hart Lane, where Everton, lacking the attacking threat of both Fellaini and Arteta, nullified Spurs’ attacking options well. Heitinga was deployed in a virtual man-to-man marking role on van der Vaart, Seamus Coleman doubled-up well on Gareth Bale, and Leighton Baines handled Lennon exceptionally (see the below Chalkboard to see how often he got in behind him). It was left to Luka Modric to be the creative spark for Spurs, and he nearly came up with a goal, drawing a good save from Howard, and skidding one shot just wide in the second half. The chance of the match fell to Peter Crouch – a header 6 yards out on the stroke of half-time was planted straight into Tim Howard’s grateful hands.
Question marks have been raised about whether Everton’s free-kick should have been awarded, but I’m not sure that the referee could have done anything else.
Gomes barely even moves – he is well beaten by a great strike.
Spurs did well to get back on level terms so quickly, and it was a shame that we couldn’t find a winner after an industrious second half performance – the result was probably a fair reflection though, and it is by no means a bad result, especially after a tough test in midweek.
One brief comment on the team selection – I was disappointed that Crouch started up front, and he did nothing to change that opinion, despite getting an assist. His finishing (the header and the two chances with his feet) show the sort of form he’s in – in my opinion this was the sort of game were Pavlyuchenko may have been a better option. Whilst he offers less of a presence, his movement helps to create space for our other attacking players, and his goal record is far superior to Crouch’s. It will be interesting to see what line-up Redknapp opts for next week.
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We certainly learned too that Peter Crouch can't shoot with his left foot. Can't wait for Defoe to return, especially considering he was only originally said to be out for the same time as Theo Walcott and now Walcott's back playing for Arsenal.
Even more surprised when Bale was switched to the right.
Palacios is becoming a liability: five minutes for a yellow against Inter and 9 minutes for a yellow against Everton.
Should have won this.
Sandro is a better option though he is just as free with the uneccesary fouls.
I don't count a goalkeeping error and an inadvertent deflection as an assist.
The ref also didn't help Crouch who was definitely the sinned against rather than the sinner in this match. He was fouled just about every time he went near the ball and we should have had one or even two penalties for fouls on him. But having said that why oh why was he playing in the first place? Everyone I know assumed that Keane's appearance at the San Siro was to save Pav for Saturday. (Impossible to come up with any other reason for bringing him on...) 'Arry does do some strange things and not playing Pav on Saturday was up there. Yes he is frustrating but there is some chance of his scoring and he is actually a good passer of the ball. Bringing him on for Lenny reduced his possible affect on the match as did playing him with Crouch - who was meant to go where? I think if he had started we would have won.
I normally think that your analysis is great and agree with most of what you write, but I think that you are well off base on this occasion. I am getting tired of teams coming to White Hart Lane to try and stop us playing football by mainly foul means and referees being too incompetent to see what is going on and punish it accordingly. This seems to have happened in every home game so far this season.
"Crouch had a peculiar game against Everton on Saturday. Aggressively double marked at set pieces, with one defender in front and one behind, he was repeatedly buffeted to the ground as the ball was delivered, losing out not by foul play, but by his own inability to compete at the jostling and ground-standing aspects of what it is still a contact sport. By the end Crouch appeared to have spent most of the game either flat on his back or appealing to the referee for a (non-existent) foul. He did set up Rafael van der Vaart's tap-in with a deflection off his thigh. He also never stopped trying. But the increasing impression is that Crouch may be a busted flush at this level."
A little nudge in the back mid-jump is not enough to give a penalty.
The Kaboul/Yakubu challenge isn't comparable as Yakubu has control of the ball. Crouch doesn't have control of the ball, as it's in the air, and he's challenging for it with two players.
What we lack is the strike force to overcome such teams at the moment, particularly when Crouch plays. (and as for Keane don't get me started). I personally can not see a lineup that successfully accommodates our best players when Defoe is fit. I think he and VDV upfront without a 'big' striker will be a disaster as Defoe can't hold the ball up well enough.
I agree that a blatant push when showing no intent to play the ball is a foul, but I didn't see any of the Crouch/Jagielka/Neville aerial duels that way. In all cases, none of them had the flight of the ball IMO, and the Everton players have every right to stand their ground and jump with Crouch.
I think that so long as we keep the ball, Defoe and van der Vaart can work. Against teams who will have the majority of possession, it will be harder, and that's when Crouch may need to start.
You seem to have watched or been involved in a lot of football in your time, as have I. You should therefore be able to see when players are challenging fairly and when they have set out to deliberately foul or obstruct a player to prevent them from playing. A fair challenge needs strength to resist and may the best man win. A deliberate attempt to stop a player playing when you are not trying to get the ball yourself should not be condoned under any circumstances. In my view, this happens far too often and referees seem to adopt the attitude that you are adopting. However, they are inconsistent. I still don't see how you can say that Crouch should toughen up and yet see nothing wrong in what Yakubu did, going down under a challenge that didn't merit it. Why do we have to accept cheating in the game? Isn't the referee meant to ensure fair play, or don't you think that it matters?
I thnk in the Yakubu situation, the key was that he had the ball, he beat Kaboul, and Kaboul pushed him. We all know that it doesn't take much for strikers to go to ground - rightly or wrongly. I don't like it, but I'm pragmatic - our players profit too - i.e. Bale against Twente, he was going to ground before te challenge arrived, etc etc.
My comment on Crouch toughening up was more of a general point - I think that far too often he is outmuscled, and I think he needs to work on his core strength (although it's probably too late for him now anyway).
"in the past three seasons Crouch has scored 19 goals in 84 Premier League matches. In other competitions, against teams less familiar with his strength and weaknesses, he has scored 22 goals in 37 games."
pav ought to be getting the start ahead of crouch in league matches until JD is fully fit. he seems to have improved his first touch in recent appearances, and as has been mentioned, his chief asset is movement. crouch is an ent in the box, generally rooting himself near the far post. the only success he's had this season is creating some havoc (like the howard error that led to goal) but i don't think anybody believes he's really going to score. pav on the other hand makes diagonal runs that free up space. with him i think Modric can get more looks with the space that opens in the middle.
The points I'd make about it are;
1) The cliche goes that playing 4-5-1 in the EPL needs a "30 a season man". Actually it's more like twenty - but even that target is probably beyond Crouch. He makes a good stab at leading the line, but his movement and finishing is simply not of the required standard. Prem opposition are increasingly wise how to play him out of the game. Whether Defoe can lead the line is yet to be seen, but at least it gives us a Plan B of switching to a tried and tested 4-4-2 with JD and Crouch up top. Come to think of it, it really is pathetic that with 5 international forwards in our books, only one partnership is remotely effective.
2) If you're scoring less, then you need to be conceding less too. The concerning thing is that we are conceding most games now. One element of this is the centre back injuries, which hopefully should be eased by Dawson’s return and a January purchase too if possible. The other element is fullbacks. We play two attacking FB’s now, which is necessary because our attacking threat is so diminished. Both our fullbacks are awesome up top, but both have question marks over defending (particularly Hutton). Also, a lack of a disciplined DM to cover their surging runs adds to the problem.
3) It's a shame not to see Kranjar, but this 4-5-1 means we NEED pace on the wings, so until Defoe returns he'll likely not get many chances.
4) Our other midfielders increase their goal threat. All our goals are coming from midfield at the moment – well, VDV and Bale to be accurate. Moyes correctly realised on Saturday that if you heavily shackle these two then the rest of our midfield are, frankly, less than five-a-season guys, so we are nullified. Modric/Hudd in particular need to work on their runs and shooting, otherwise I believe Jenas – despite his inferiority at keeping possession – will need to be played instead (as he already is beginning to be). I’d almost be curious to see a midfield of Sandro/Jenas/VdV given a try in away matches.
5) January will be key for us.
The descending scale of priorities would be
- Striker; that can lead the line
- Central Defender to partner Dawson most matches
- Another striker, so we can offload both Keane and Pav
- 2nd keeper - because Cudicini makes too many errors
- Pacy right winger to replace bentley, so when Lennon is out we don't change our play. IMO Walker could easily be converted to this as he is far superior in attack to defense.
- Right back - who has pace but can defend
The first two there are overwhelmingly priorities.
Forwards are hard to come by, even international class players like Dzeko and Llorente are not going to fall in our lap, especially in Jan. The ones I would put in the frame would be
Strikers
- Hulk from Porto. Who is a cross between crouch and tevez in his style of play. Much stronger, and technically better than crouch. Still a gamble mind
- Cardozo from Benfica
Defenders
Mexes would the stand-out choice after his fallout with Roma. Below that, Kjaer, Tasci Cahill and Diakhate would all be improvements on Bassong, Gallas. Worse comes to worse, we could do worse than Chris Samba if none of the above are available.
And, go on, do a loan watch!