Partly through our own loan policy and partly through injury, we are very short of players for tomorrow’s huge game. Using the Champions League squad list, I have highlighted the players that are available, the players that are on loan, and the players that are injured. Assuming that both Bale and Gallas are fit for selection, we have twenty players available, including three goalkeepers and Danny Rose, who is likely to be the “odd one out” (unless Kranjcar is ruled out by his foot injury).

Goalkeepers

1 Heurelho Gomes Available
23 Carlo Cudicini Available

37 Stipe Pletikosa Available

Defenders

3 Gareth Bale Available

13 William Gallas Available

19 Sébastien Bassong Available
20 Michael Dawson Available
22 Vedran Ćorluka Available

32 Benoît Assou-Ekotto Available

Midfielders

6 Tom Huddlestone Available
7 Aaron Lennon Available
8 Jermaine Jenas Available

14 Luka Modrić Available

21 Niko Kranjčar Available

25 Danny Rose Available
30 Sandro Available

Forwards

9 Roman Pavlyuchenko Available

11 Rafael van der Vaart Available
15 Peter Crouch Available
18 Jermain Defoe Available

I would expect the team to be:

Cudicini
Bassong
Huddlestone
Jenas
Pavlyuchenko
Defoe
Kranjcar

As a slight aside, something worth noting:

“Ronaldo, Ramos, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho, Ángel Di María and Raúl Albiol are within a booking of a ban.
That’s three of the back four that’ll start tomorrow.”
– Taken from the UEFA Champions League website.

It is therefore vital that our wingers are brave, and try to run at and get in behind the back four as much as possible. Bale and Lennon running beyond Carvalho will probably be our best route to a goal, and so it’s vital that they take turns in getting close to Crouch and playing off him.

Come on you Spurs!

Follow me on Twitter – @WindyCOYS.

Subs:

Kenneth McEvoy (16) for Ronnie Hawkins, 65 minutes.

Freddie Champion (17) for Lee Angol, 72 minutes.
Oliver Modeste (16*) for Jack Munns, 80 minutes.

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Some alternative match reports:

Spurs Odyssey report
Official site report

Spurs again went with a 4-4-1-1 formation but made a number of changes from last week’s game due to a slightly hectic schedule over the next week (Cardiff on Tuesday, and Southampton next weekend). The defence was totally changed (and included three first years and an U16), whilst Luongo returned from the Australian national side’s training camp to play in the middle of midfield in place of the injured Dombaxe, who was there watching with a heavily strapped leg. Shaq Coulthirst replaced Kudus Oyenuga up front, as Kudus has gone on trial with Finnish side MyPa with a view to joining Jake Nicholson there on loan.

MK Dons went with one up front, and the tricky Igor Coronado playing wide. As an aside, Coronado was a player I had seen when we beat MK Dons 6-0 back in November 2009 and so I was surprised to see him still playing at this level – it turns out that at the end of last season they invited him to stay on on “extended schoolboy terms”. He is now 19 now but still very small and slightly built, so this level of football suits him at this point in his career.

Spurs had plenty of possession in the early stages and didn’t have the same physicality problem as last week as MK Dons are not the biggest side either. We had two decent chances in the first fifteen minutes; first, Coulthirst found space just inside the box, and curled a low shot to the far post which the goalkeeper got down to well to turn around the post. A little more power and it would have been 1-0. Then, after Munns was fouled outside the box, Hawkins stepped up to take the free kick and lifted a beauty on to the bar with his left foot – it looked initially like it was going to go a long way over, but he has that knack of getting plenty of dip on the ball.

Hawkins was involved again shortly after, getting McBride in with a cracking pass over the top, but McBride seemed to be caught in two minds, and weakly dragged a cross/shot well wide. MK Dons came back into the game as Spurs failed to capitalise on their possession, and we could have been down to ten men on around thirty minutes when James Yeboah went right through the back of the lone striker, leaving him in a lot of pain and requiring treatment. It’s worth mentioning at this point that the young lad’s dad was having a moan at the referee at half time and said something along the lines of “how is that not even a yellow, ref? That’s my son’s career at stake”. He had a point.

Spurs put together the best move of the game five minutes before the break. McBride was found with a clever cross-field diagonal, and put in an excellent cross. Alex McQueen had got forward from right-back and cleverly headed back into the path of Angol who, slightly rushed by a defender’s presence, volleyed well over the bar on the upward bounce.

Spurs finished the half by creating two more really decent chances without playing particularly well. Lee Angol headed an excellent Ronnie Hawkins corner on to the bar from the near post, and then McBride linked up with Coulthirst to get on to a flicked header. He beat two men to the ball, and just as he was about to pull the trigger, a last ditch tackle came in. The speed of the attack meant that he was never quite in full control of the ball, otherwise he may have been able to beat the last man too.

I felt at half time that if we could break the deadlock, then we would go on and win comfortably – it was just a case of biding our time, continuing to play football, and waiting for the chance to come. As it turned out, we didn’t have to be patient, as MK Dons handed us the first goal on a plate with less than ten minutes of the second half gone. The right back received the ball from his goalkeeper, stupidly came inside under pressure from two players, before making a poor pass out. The impressive Luongo challenged and quickly found Coulthirst, who took his time and beat the goalkeeper easily. MK Dons went straight up the other end and forced a decent save from Jonathan Miles, but whilst doing so their defenders were still bickering about the goal – “it’s all on you”, one of them said to the full back!

As suspected, it wasn’t long before we scored again, and it was a real beauty. Hawkins played an exquisite pass straight into the path of McQueen, who beat his man easily and put in a fantastic cross to the near post, which Coulthirst guided in across the keeper. The power on the cross meant that Coulthirst just needed the slightest of touches, which he provided well.

Not long after, it was 3-0. MK Dons looked poor at defending set pieces throughout the game, but this was in part due to our excellent delivery. This time it was an in-swinger from Munns, and Luongo lost his marker and got up to bury the header.

Spurs used the 3-0 advantage as an opportunity to get some of the younger players involved – first, 16 year old Kenneth McEvoy came on for Ronnie Hawkins, with Jack Munns moving inside and McEvoy heading to the right hand side. Just after this substitution, we had a string of corners, all taken by Munns – one went all the way through and nearly crept in at the far post, and another was palmed out by the goalkeeper.

The final goal of the game came when MK Dons made the same mistake as they did for the first goal. They attempted to play out from the back, and Angol pounced on a loose ball, feeding Coulthirst for another relatively easy finish, and his hat-trick.

With about twenty minutes remaining, and McQueen and McEvoy getting some joy on the right, I felt that more goals were just a matter of time. We brought on Champion for Angol, and then shortly afterwards, another Under 16, Oliver Modeste, for Munns. When Coulthirst went down with cramp, our coaching team sensibly called him off, and McEvoy moved up front – from there, we understandably gave up our dominance. MK Dons nearly took advantage of their numerical advantage to get an equaliser – their centre forward rounded Miles and squared for a team mate but he chose to take a touch, allowing our defenders to close him, and we managed to clear the ball. Just before the end of the match, James Yeboah finally got a booking after a string of poor challenges.

MK Dons tried to play out from the back every time, which was admirable. However, our pressing at such a high tempo meant that they often ended up conceding possession. We ended up scoring two of our goals through this, and MK Dons didn’t learn from their mistakes.

Jonathan Miles 6 – Did what he needed to do. A very vocal keeper, who is constantly reminding the other players where to be.
Alex McQueen 8 – Very quick, very direct, and with good feet. Not a natural right back, but untroubled defensively on this occasion. On the few times that he was beaten, he was often able to use his pace to recover. Looks a real prospect, but will hopefully mainly be used on the wings in future.
James Yeboah 4 – Aside from the challenge mentioned earlier, he also caught someone quite badly in an aerial challenge that he was never going to win, and finally got his booking for going to ground and not getting the ball for the second time. Understandably rusty as he has not played much this season.
William Ekong 5 – Like Yeboah, he was rusty. He gave the ball away a few times when playing out from the back, and tended to dally too long when in possession. Defensively he did OK although he was not really tested too often.

Daniel Day 5 – An all-action player who looks lively even when he’s not playing well. Very enthusiastic with a good work ethic. It wasn’t a great performance from him, but he got forward quite well in support of McBride. Coronado beat him several times in the first half, but then he is three years older.
Jack Munns 6 – Is clearly not at his most effective when playing from the right, but he works so hard for the team. Always has a good touch and a real awareness to his game.

Ronnie Hawkins 7 – He has got an excellent left foot, and used it to good effect a number of times. He was unlucky with his free kick that hit the bar, and was involved in most of our best moves. A player I enjoy watching.
Massimo Luongo 9 – Strong, composed, intelligent, rarely gives the ball away, and got a goal from a header – a real prospect and a player I’m looking forward to seeing more of.

Paul McBride 6 – Another fairly quiet performance with several promising moments. Will have long periods of doing very little, but then deliver a peach of a ball. As a result, I still find it very hard to decide what to make of him.

Lee Angol 6 – A busy performance, where he showed good strength and pace on a number of occasions. Although raw, I like the look of him.

Shaquille Coulthirst 8 – Scored three goals and nearly scored another – you can’t argue with that. I hope that he will really establish himself next year, and should score plenty if he keeps up this level of performance.

Kenneth McEvoy – A Republic of Ireland U17 international who seems to have plenty of pace and the ability to beat a man. He’ll be one to keep an eye on next season too.
Freddy Champion – I’ve still not worked out quite what he brings to the team but, in fairness, I’ve not seen enough of him to really pass judgement.
Oliver Modeste – Looked keen to get on the ball – another to keep an eye on.

The team will be going off to the Belinzona Under 19 tournament in a few weeks, and it will be interesting to see which players are included in the squad.

Follow me on Twitter – @WindyCOYS.

Subs:

Alex McQueen (16*) for Laste Dombaxe, 10 minutes.
Jesse Waller-Lassen (18) for Ronnie Hawkins, 60 minutes.
Freddie Champion (17) for Lee Angol, 80 minutes.

Not used:

Jonathan Miles (17)
James Yeboah (17)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

In case anyone is interested, Arsenal lined up in a 4-1-3-2:

Some alternative match reports:

Spurs Odyssey report (if you have any interest in our youth players, I strongly urge you to read the other reports on Spurs Odyssey)
Arsenal site report
Arsenal Youth blog report

Spurs started kicking from right to left, with a 4-4-1-1 formation – Lee Angol starting again in midfield, with Ronnie Hawkins coming in for Massimo Luongo, who is one of a few young players called up to the Australian national side’s training camp, and Olumide Durojaiye in for Ramil Sheriff to add a bit of experience and physical presence in this important game. Arsenal went with a fairly narrow 4-1-3-2, with the full backs playing high up the pitch, and Jamie Edge sitting so deep that it almost resembled a 3-5-2 at times. Arsenal picked a physically strong line up, and their centre backs in particular dwarfed the majority of our players. They seemed to have the physical advantage all over the pitch, so Durojaiye was a good pick at centre back.

The game started in a fairly scrappy, scruffy manner, as you might expect from a local derby. Neither side kept the ball for any length of time, and the flow of the game was not helped by Dombaxe injuring himself when going to ground in a challenge. He tried to run it off but had to be replaced by Alex McQueen, with Munns moving into the middle of midfield.

Arsenal’s stand-in goalkeeper, Reice Charles-Cook, looked quite nervous throughout the game, and gave Spurs some hope with a fumbled claim in the first twenty minutes. Later in the half, he made another error when pressed by Angol. The ball came out to McQueen, who shot at the goalkeeper – it came out again to Angol, Charles-Cook went to ground, Angol rounded him, but fired over the bar.

Shortly after this, Munns had an excellent strike parried wide well by the goalkeeper, and Munns put the resulting corner right on McBride’s head; totally unmarked, he should have buried it, but he nodded it wide at the back post.

Arsenal had a half chance through Ebecilio, before Spurs nearly went one ahead just before the break. Barthram played a clever ball over Hajrovic for McBride to chase. Right on the byline, he hooked over a fantastic first-time cross which McQueen seemed to be about to bury – he either didn’t quite get to the bounce, or slightly misjudged the flight – either way, he didn’t make contact and it was a let-off for Arsenal.

Arsenal were greatly improved in the second half and had a couple of decent efforts through Wynter (who drifted in and out but looked quite useful), and Ebecilio again from distance. Archer tipped that effort wide, and the resulting corner probably should have been put in, but instead was headed weakly straight at Archer.

Spurs went to a more definite 4-3-3, with McBride and McQueen pushed high up the pitch, Munns to the right of Hawkins, and Angol to the left. The best chance of the game soon came, when another decent Munns corner was cleverly headed into the danger area by Kevin Stewart, and McBride volleyed over the bar from the edge of the six-yard box.

Jesse Waller-Lassen came on for Hawkins and went to the right, with Munns moving into the holding role.  McQueen went to the left, and Angol and McBride flanked Munns.

Arsenal’s best chance came when Hajrovic and Wynter combined to present the impressive Bunjaku with a one-on-one, but he was so keen to go with his right foot, when a left foot strike looked the best option, and he toe-poked wide. Shortly after, Spurs had a superb counter attack, with Kudus Oyenuga twisting and turning the defender. Jesse Waller-Lassen made a fine supporting run, and just needed the ball played through for a one-on-one, but Oyenuga hung on far too long, failed to get his head up, and the chance was lost.

The only goal of the game actually came from the game’s low point. Kyle Ebecilio’s touch was heavy, and in trying to make up for it (or, more likely, out of frustration), he went in two-footed and very late on Lee Angol in the Spurs half. It was a really dangerous challenge which had Durojaiye shouting at the referee that “it wasn’t an accident, he did that on purpose” – he was spot on. Ebecilio was booked but, in most other games, would probably have received a red (in my experience referees are very lenient at this level). Justice was done from the resulting free kick. Durojaiye launched the ball forward hopefully, Jernade Meade totally misjudged a header across his own goal and, at the opposite side of the box, Boateng too got his header wrong, and the ball looped over Charles-Cook. Callum Tapping charged in to volley home on the line – it may have been already over, but Tapping claimed it.

Waller-Lassen scuffed a shot wide of Charles-Cook’s right hand post, and then was at the heart of a wonderful move, where he turned cleverly around his man, ran at the defence, timed his pass to Oyenuga to perfection, but Kudus’ chipped cross was just ahead of McQueen, and Arsenal cleared. This was the one time where Oyenuga probably should have been more selfish, as he seemed to have a sight of goal.

Arsenal then had a couple of half chances and a penalty appeal when Durojaiye went to ground to block a cross and, as the winger cut back, the ball seemed to brush against his arm. It would have been a harsh decision – it was totally unintentional, and his arm was close to his body. Durojaiye then made a fantastic saving challenge as an Arsenal player was about to pull the trigger inside the box, and responded by chest-bumping Archer (!).

Throughout the match, some of Arsenal’s approach play was good, but they lacked cutting edge in the final third. They seemed to want to dominate game through their physical presence, whereas Spurs were the pacier and more technical side, which made a nice change.

It’s also worth noting that, in true NLD style, there were a few tasty challenges throughout the match – at one point Arsenal’s right back Sead Hajrovic had a kick out at Hawkins right on the touchline in front of us, and followed it up with some verbals directed at someone from the crowd who had complained about the challenge. Kyle Ebecilio was booked for a two-footed lunge but, as I say, would have been given a red card in a Premier League match .

Archer 7 – Dealt with everything that came his way – punched well from corners, and threw the ball out quickly and often, starting a couple of meaningful attacks.
Tapping 7 – I previously saw him as a more defensive player – perhaps making the holding role his own. This time, he changed my mind. He got forward really well from right back, showed a deft touch, a real tenacity, and the ability to find a pass inside the full back (often finding McQueen, who is very quick). He also got the goal by following in when more natural forward players didn’t.
Durojaiye 7 – Whether or not he has the subtlety or technical ability to “make it” at a high level, I’m not sure, but there is absolutely no doubt that he is a rock in this side – a really important, reliable player for the team, who came to the rescue on a number of occasions. A real character too – always good value!
Stewart 7 – Won plenty of aerial challenges against the physically bigger and stronger forward, Monakana, showing an ability to get up early. He’s a full-back by trade, but I really liked the look of him at centre back, where he has often been used this year – he has composure and is prepared to play out. As long as we accept that he will make the occasional error, I think it’s worth persisting with him at CB.
Barthram 5 – A right back playing on the left, he showed good willingness to use his left foot. Showed plenty of enthusiasm, but didn’t have a particularly great game – he got beaten a few times and didn’t offer too much going forward. That said, he did play one fantastic pass over the top to McBride, which we arguably should have scored from.
Munns 8 – My MOTM – a strong, committed, “in your face” type player, but with a decent touch and an eye for a pass. He played in three positions in this game – starting on the right, moving into the centre of a 4-4-1-1, before finally becoming the holding player/pivot in a 4-3-3. In all three roles, he showed a good understanding of what he needed to do and when. His set pieces also caused a lot of problems.
Hawkins 6 – I like the look of Hawkins – he’s my kind of player. That said, if I was Alex Inglethorpe, I’d want to see more from him. He does tend to drift in and out of games, and can be a little weak in the tackle. Has clearly got stronger since I last saw him, though, and he does have a very good range of passing. I would expect him to be a regular next season.
Dombaxe – Unfortunately had to come off very early in the game having gone to ground in a challenge. Looked like a muscle injury, so it’s difficult to say how long he will be out.
McBride 6 – For me he doesn’t impose himself on games enough. At 18, he is one of the senior players in this side, but he seems very timid. Clearly has some ability, though – illustrated when he volleyed a lofted Barthram pass first time into a dangerous area, and McQueen probably should have scored.
Angol 6 – My first proper look at him and, although he seems raw and quite slightly built, he seems to have a bit of pace and guile. He probably should have scored in the first half, when he chased a lost cause, and hurried the goalkeeper into an error – McQueen followed up, the ball came out to Angol again, he rounded the keeper, and then put the ball over the bar, leaning back and with players rushing back on to the line.
Oyenuga 6- Nobody could doubt this guy’s work rate, but he really needs to learn when to release the ball. At times he plays like a bulldozer, forcing his way through defenders and into gaps that he shouldn’t get into, so if he could just add some awareness to his game he could make a decent career for himself.

A McQueen 7 – Always looking to spring the offside trap and get in behind, he gave the much more experienced Jernade Meade a difficult game. At one point, he beat his man easily and got hacked down, requiring lengthy treatment. This didn’t put him off, though, and he continuously linked well with Tapping. If he can find a more consistent final ball, he will be a good player for the U18s next year.
Waller-Lassen 6 – His pace and touch frighten teams, and give opposition players a decision to make – do they stand off him, or do they get tight, and risk him nicking the ball past them? He was heavily involved in our best move, turning brilliantly around a player, before playing in Oyenuga, who couldn’t quite find McQueen.
Champion – Came on on the right and looked to come inside and pass with his left foot. Made a couple of positive contributions, but also gave the ball away in a dangerous area.

Overall there was a huge improvement from when I last saw this team at Readingin November, which is encouraging. We have a good mix of players, perhaps the one thing lacking is a bit of physical presence. Only Oyenuga, Munns, Dombaxe and Durojaiye seem to offer genuine muscle, and Munns, whilst strong and well-built, is quite short. Having said this, the majority of our players are always committed to tackles, and very tenacious. They seem to be developing nicely as a team and as individuals, with growing technical ability and good awareness.

Follow me on Twitter – @WindyCOYS.

Much has been made of our lack of “big name” striker signing, going back four transfer windows (although strangely, more from fans than the mainstream media). Levy and Redknapp’s failure to acquire a top class centre forward has been attributed to lack of funds, lack of effort, lack of knowledge of who is available, and a lack of need (i.e. they are happy with what we have). The reasons, in truth, are probably a combination of one or more. In the meantime our rivals have been busy, with the likes of Carroll, Torres, Dzeko and Suarez moving in the last few months alone.

It is so tempting to dwell on this and continue to think “if only…”, but we are stuck with what we have got for another few months, so who should we use, and why?

Defoe took many of the headlines for all of the wrong reasons after the West Ham game; he looked lethargic, wasteful, and lacked any sort of sharpness/striking instinct. His reasonable career record, his 18 league goals last season (by far his best tally in a league season) and the “natural finisher” tag that has often been attributed to him have covered up what has been a disappointing twelve months in front of goal.

For Spurs this season, he has scored against:

Young Boys
FC Twente (2)
Charlton (2)
Wolves (2)

In his other 17 matches (started 13, and played 45 minutes or more in 15) he has failed to find the net. In the league, he has played 1070 minutes and scored just 2 goals.

Defoe’s bad run of form is not a recent phenomenon – at the end of last season he went 4 games without scoring, only scored 1 (a penalty) in his last 8 games and 2 in his last 12.

I tend to not want to blame Defoe too much – all strikers go through bad patches, and he has been relatively consistent for most of his career. However, Redknapp’s decision to stick with him through his rough patch, however laudable, is costing us, especially when there is a viable alternative waiting in the wings.

I wrote in mid-December on ‘Why Pavlyuchenko should be first choice in the league‘, and statistics still back up my opinion that, whilst he is not perfect, he is the best that we have to partner van der Vaart, at least for the time being.

The difference in the average points gained when starting is particularly striking, but it is also worth noting that Pavlyuchenko is now 6th in the Premier League in terms of average minutes per goal scored (of those who have played 900 minutes or more) – the top 10 is:

Robin van Persie (87.18)
Dimitar Berbatov (98.90)
Javier Hernandez (100.6)
Carlos Tevez (119.3)
Theo Walcott (141.1)
Roman Pavlyuchenko (146.6)
Andy Carroll (147.7)
Rafael van der Vaart (149.8)
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (169.7)
Salomon Kalou (170.3)

Pavlyuchenko is far from the perfect striker – he sometimes gives the impression that he is not totally bothered, his first touch can be heavy, he tends to take on some silly shots, he is not particularly good at holding the ball up, he is not particularly strong in the tackle, and he’s not particularly great in the air. But he scores goals at a rate which is currently better than that of any of our other strikers and, at a time when we’re struggling to put the ball in the net, that should not be under-valued.