Analysis of the goal conceded against Fulham (17/3)

Berbatov’s goalFulham counter, with Dejagah beating Vertonghen and Dembele, before sliding the ball through to Riether, who crosses for Berbatov to score.

1

Dejagah, impressive in the second half, turns away from Dembele and Vertonghen, who both commit themselves.

2

Riether makes a superb supporting run, and Berbatov is on his bike. With Vertonghen having pushed forward, Naughton has left too big a gap between himself and Caulker, and now has a vast amount of ground to make up.

3

Riether doesn’t even need to take a touch, such is the weight on the pass from Dejagah. He plays the ball across Caulker first time, and Naughton has not managed to make up the ground.

4

Contrast Berbatov’s finish – a guided, looping effort into the far post – to Defoe’s at the end of the game from a similar position, where he just drilled the ball straight into Schwarzer. So calm, so clinical.

 

Analysis of the goals conceded against Liverpool (10/3)

Suarez’s goalLiverpool counter, and the untracked Suarez gets on to a Jose Enrique through-ball, and slots into the near post.

1Johnson cuts in from right back as Liverpool look to launch a counter-attack.

2

He plays a long ball out to Coutinho, with Walker chasing after him.

3

He holds the ball up well, and is supported by Jose Enrique, who he finds with a back-heel down the line.

4

Jose Enrique plays back to Coutinho again, as Suarez lingers around Livermore.

5

Coutinho’s through-ball is excellent – right between Dembele and Livermore and into Jose Enrique.

6

He mis-controls initially, but regains his balance to slip a pass in to Suarez, who has run in behind Livermore, with Jake caught ball-watching. Vertonghen also has time to see the run, but makes no move towards Suarez.

7

In true Suarez style, he takes the shot very early and catches Lloris out at the near post with a toe-poked finish.

 

Downing’s goalWalker launches a ball back towards Lloris without looking; Lloris rushes out to meet it, tries to take it past Downing, but the ball hits Downing and falls kindly for the winger to move forward and finish through Vertonghen’s legs.

1

Spurs are 2-1 up, with 66 minutes played – at this point in the game we were coasting. Michael Dawson has possession, and plays a simple pass to Walker, who has limited options – his best bet being a cross-field to Vertonghen. In truth, he is not helped by Parker, who is stood centrally, not making himself available to receive the ball.

2

Walker instead tries to play a first-time pass back to Lloris – clearly he has not seen Downing in an advanced position.

3

As Lloris comes out to meet the ball, he is in a no-win position – if he tries to make a firm contact, the ball could ricochet off Downing and fly into the net. Instead, he tries to take it past him.

4

Downing gets a slightly lucky bounce, and is able to take the ball on.

5

Although Vertonghen has backed onto the line, Downing squeezes it through his legs to draw Liverpool level. A suicidal piece of play from Walker.

 

Gerrard’s goalLloris punches Gerrard’s free kick to Defoe, who mis-kicks towards his own goal, putting Suarez in. His touch is heavy, but Assou-Ekotto collides with him to concede a penalty, which Gerrard scores.

1

Gerrard whips in a free-kick, and Lloris does well to clear with a firm punch.

2

The ball drops to Defoe, who takes a sloppy first touch, and then inexplicably sends a half-volley back towards his own goal – has he toe-ended the ball in trying an overhead kick? Why has he not just laid it back to one of the supporting players?

3

As it is in the sky, Suarez recognises an opportunity.

4

He gets to the dropping ball first, and is confronted by Assou-Ekotto, on his wrong side.

5

The contact is little more than a shoulder-barge, but Suarez’s dramatic fall makes it look a nailed-on penalty.

6

Gerrard sends Lloris the wrong way.

Analysis of the goal conceded against Arsenal (3/3)

Per Mertesacker’s goalParker needlessly gives away a free kick for a foul on Ramsey, and Per Mertesacker gets on the end of Theo Walcott’s cross, and finds the far corner (courtesy of a touch from Gareth Bale).

1

After Parker had given away a free-kick for a foul on Ramsey on the right touch-line, Spurs set about marking up in the penalty area. Arsenal crowd the penalty spot, with four men in close proximity. Mertesacker seems to be man-marked by Adebayor.

2

As Mertesacker makes a dart to the front post, Adebayor does not do especially well – he is blocked off by Ramsey, and doesn’t force his way through the crowd, meaning he has to effectively pass Adebayor on.

 

4

Bale is marking the near post, zonally, but becomes the nearest player to Mertesacker. As Mertesacker glances on, it grazes the top of Bale’s head…

5

…and this is what takes it into the far corner, beyond Lloris’ dive. It will likely go down as an own goal.

 

We have seen Spurs sides in the past cave in after conceding early second half goals, and it was a gutsy second half showing – not only did we “hold on”, but we should have sealed it, missing three presentable chances.

Vertonghen, Lloris and Dawson were particularly impressive, showing Arsenal how a high line should be played, and ensuring that we were rarely threatened.

Analysis of the goals conceded against West Ham (25/2)

Andy Carroll’s goalCarroll scores from the penalty spot, after Parker’s rash challenge on the same player was deemed a foul.

1

As West Ham flight a ball into the box, we have got ourselves into a bit of a pickle defensively – Parker is not goal-side of his man, so anything knocked down by Carroll will cause problems.

2

Carroll does win the header, and Nolan tries to create a yard of space.

3

In the end, he chooses to nudge the ball back to Carroll.

4

Parker sees an opportunity to win the ball, and recklessly goes to ground. He takes the ball, but not before he has gone through Carroll.

5

It’s a fantastic penalty – the type rarely saved. Lloris has no chance.

 

Joe Cole’s goalAs Vertonghen tries to play offside, Cole times his run, brings down a through ball, and finds the far corner with a neat finish.

1

West Ham work the ball into space from a throw-in, and Joey O’Brien has possession. Vertonghen has an eye on Joe Cole, who is looking to dart in off the flank.

2

As Cole breaks forward, Vertonghen steps up, attempting to play him offside – needlessly in my opinion, as he has the pace to easily match Cole.

3

Cole times his run, gets on the end of O’Brien’s pass, and brings it down superbly.

4

Vertonghen tries to get back at him, but is too late in doing so. Cole’s finish across Lloris is supremely accurate, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.

Riga Cup – Spurs U16s finish 4th

A Tottenham Hotspur U16 squad travelled to Latvia to compete in the Riga Cup over the weekend.

We were in Group A with Skonto FC (Latvia), FC Levadia (Estonia), and Valerenga (Norway).

Day 1 – Friday

11am vs Skonto FC – won 4-1. 1st half, 2nd half
3pm vs Levadia FC – won 5-0.

Day 2 – Saturday

9am vs Valerenga – won 2-0.
6pm vs FC Chertanovo Moscow – drew 0-0, lost on penalties. 1st half, 2nd half, penalties

Day 3 – Sunday

11am vs Vitesse, 3rd/4th place play-0ff – lost 2-1. 1st half, 2nd half

 

The Under-16 squad for this tournament was:

Harry Voss
Anton Walkes
Luke Amos
Anthony Georgiou
Cy Goddard
Joshua Onomah
Shayon Harrison
Christopher Paul
Armani Daly
Christian Maghoma
Charlie Hayford
Kerem Ismail
Charlie Owens
Joseph Muscatt
Kyle Walker-Peters
Ryan Loft
Joshua Walker
Louis Ramsey