I’m no great Bassong fan, but Gallas has now been at least partially, if not directly responsible for the following goals against us:

Brunt’s goal for West Brom
Fletcher’s goal for Wolves
Kamara’s goal for Fulham
Eto’o’s second goal for Inter
Davies’ second for Bolton

And finally yesterday’s goal, which was a complete disaster.

Bassong has made mistakes too, but he is surely a better bet than Gallas right now? It would also allow Kaboul to play as the right-sided centre back, where he seems to be more comfortable.

Gyan’s goal.

Wellbeck cuts in from the left, dances past Huddlestone and towards Modric.

The ball escapes his control, but Modric doesn’t get a tackle in. That’s two central midfield players he has got past – unacceptable.

He manages to prod a pass forward. Kaboul seems to have read it, and is ahead of Gyan.Gallas should be dropping off here to cover, but instead also

Gallas ends up going to ground, and causes Kaboul to take his eye off the ball.

And the ball trickles through perfectly for Gyan to run on to.

Gomes tries to narrow the angle but is easily beaten.

The spine of our team is so easily beaten – quite distressing. For me, Gallas has to be dropped on Saturday – if nothing else, to show that constant mistakes won’t be tolerated.

I went to Finchampstead, home of Reading FC on Saturday morning to watch the Spurs U18 side. Unfortunately, the game kicked off at 11:30am rather than 11, so I only got to see the first half (before heading home to watch the Bolton game).

The first 45 minutes (the game is described in full by Ray Lo, writing for Spurs Odyssey here) was very one-sided, with Reading hitting the woodwork twice, missing the target from close range, and finding Jordan Archer in top form.

Reading’s strikers, Gozik Ugwu and  Lawson D’ath, caused our back four (which was changed again) no end of problems physically, and Reading’s midfield didn’t let us play – pressing high up the pitch. It was my first look at a couple of players – Freddie Champion, who will be disappointed with his performance, but he is only 16, and so allowances can be made, and Alex McQueen, who played at left back, but had played in central midfield last week. He looked more comfortable with his right foot, and also more at home going forward than defending.

Aside from Archer, Pritchard looked the best player in the first half, showing a decent touch and awareness, but none of the other Spurs players really stood out.

We seem to be persisting with a very young team this year – be that through injury or choice, I’m not sure – and as a result we aren’t winning as many games. Hopefully the wins will start to come as the young players get used to the physicality required but, of course, the focus is on individual player development rather than team results.

Below is a round-up of our fixtures/results, and the teams that we have put out so far.

August 2010

14 Sat Away Manchester United Friendly 3-1 Won
21 Sat Away Derby County Premier Academy League 2-1 Won
28 Sat Home West Brom Premier Academy League 2-4 Lost

September 2010

04 Sat Home Norwich City Premier Academy League 2-4 Lost
11 Sat Away Charlton Premier Academy League 4-0 Won
18 Sat Home Chelsea Premier Academy League 4-2 Won
25 Sat Away Leicester City Premier Academy League 0-1 Lost

October 2010

02 Sat Home Bristol City Premier Academy League 3-3 Draw
09 Sat Away Watford Premier Academy League 1-3 Lost
16 Sat Away Birmingham City Premier Academy Leagu 6-0 Lost
30 Sat Home Coventry City Premier Academy League 2-2 Draw

November 2010

06 Sat Away Reading Premier Academy League 1-0 Lost
13 Sat Home Cardiff City Premier Academy League 11:00
20 Sat Away Aston Villa Premier Academy League 12:00

December 2010

04 Sat Home Milton Keynes Dons Premier Academy League 11:00
11 Sat Home Birmingham City Premier Academy League 11:00

January 2011

08 Sat Away Coventry City Premier Academy League 11:30
15 Sat Home Reading Premier Academy League 11:00

February 2011

05 Sat Home Aston Villa Premier Academy League 11:00
12 Sat Away Milton Keynes Dons Premier Academy League 11:00
19 Sat Home Leicester City Premier Academy League 11:00
26 Sat Away Bristol City Premier Academy League 12:00

March 2011

05 Sat Home Watford Premier Academy League 11:00
12 Sat Away Fulham Premier Academy League 01:00
19 Sat Home West Ham Premier Academy League 11:00
26 Sat Home Arsenal Premier Academy League 11:00

April 2011

09 Sat Away Southampton Premier Academy League 11:30
30 Sat Away Ipswich Town Premier Academy League 11:00

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 21 Aug (at Derby) Derby County U18s vs Tottenham Hotspur U18s
Scorer: Kane 2

Sub:
Kenneth McEvoy (15*) for Laste Dombaxe, 69.
James Yeboah (16) for Ramil Sheriff, 76.

Not used:
William Ekong (16)
Daniel Day (16)
Zaine Francis-Angol (17)

Spurs Od report.
Kane’s Derby double

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 28 Aug (at Spurs Lodge) Tottenham Hotspur U18s 2-4 West Bromwich Albion U18s
Scorers: Hawkins, Waller-Lassen

Subs:
Kenneth McEvoy (15*) for Daniel Day, 70.
William Ekong (16) for Callum Tapping, 75.

Not used:
Jonathan Miles (17*)
Lee Angol (16)

U18s take positives in defeat.
Bankrupt’s report.

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 4 Sep (at Spurs Lodge) Tottenham Hotspur U18s 2-4 Norwich City U18s
Scorer: Dombaxe 2

Subs:
Alex Pritchard (17) for Jack Barthram, 46.
Darren McQueen (15*) for Zaine Francis-Angol, 46.
James Yeboah (16) for William Ekong, 75.

Not used:
Jonathan Miles (17*)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Dombaxe double not enough for U18s – Official Site report.
DAWKIN TREBLE SINKS SPURS
Spurs Od report.

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 11 Sep (at Charlton) Charlton Athletic U18s 0-4 Tottenham Hotspur U18s
Scorers: Dombaxe, Pritchard 2, Waller-Lassen

Subs:
Freddie Champion (16) for Alex Pritchard, 64.
William Ekong (16) for Zaine Francis-Angol, 64.
Lee Angol (16) for Shaquille Coulthirst, 74.

Not used:
Jordan Archer (17)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Spurs Od report.

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 18 Sep (at Spurs Lodge) Tottenham Hotspur U18s 4-2 Chelsea U18s
Scorers: Pritchard 2, Oyenuga 2

Subs:

Kevin Stewart (17) for James Yeboah, 12.
Jack Munns (16) for Laste Dombaxe, 77.

Not used:

Jordan Archer (17)
Ronnie Hawkins (16)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Official site report: U18s beat Chelsea
Spurs Odyssey report.
Chelsea official site report.
Windy’s Blog

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 25 Sep (at Leicester) Leicester U18s 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur U18s

Subs:

Daniel Day (16) for Lee Angol, 70.
Freddie Champion (16) for Kevin Stewart, 80.

Not used:

Jonathan Miles (17)
William Ekong (17)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

U18s take credit in defeat
Spurs Od report

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 18 Sep (at Spurs Lodge) Tottenham Hotspur U18s 3-3 Bristol City U18s
Scorers: Waller-Lassen, Oyenuga, Dombaxe

Subs:
Jack Barthram (16) for Ronnie Hawkins, 46.
Ruben Lameiras (16*) for Callum Tapping, 60.
James Yeboah (17) for Kevin Stewart, 75.

Not used:

Jonathan Miles (17)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

U18s hit back for point
Spurs Od report
Bristol City report

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 09 Oct (at London Colney) Watford U18s 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur U18s
Scorer: Lancaster

Subs:

Ronnie Hawkins (16) for Kudus Oyenuga, 70.
Cameron Lancaster (17) for Zaine Francis-Angol, 60..

Not used:

Jordan Archer (17)
Lee Angol (16)
Freddie Champion (16)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Late sting for U18s
Spurs Od report

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 16 Oct (at Birmingham) Birmingham City U18s 6-0 Tottenham Hotspur U18s

Subs:

Daniel Day (16) for William Ekong, 30.
Lamires (15*) for Freddie Champion, 65.
Lee Angol (16) for Darren McQueen, 80.

Not used:

Jordan Archer (17)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Spurs Od report.
U18s hit for six

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 30 Oct (at Spurs Lodge) Tottenham Hotspur U18s 2-2 Coventry City U18s
Scorers: Dombaxe, Oyenuga

Subs:

Freddie Champion (16) for Darren McQueen, 70.
Shaq Coulthirst (16) for Ruben Lameiras, 70.

Not used:

Jonathan Miles (17)
Daniel Day (16)
William Ekong (17)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Spurs Od report
Youngsters take credit in draw

FA Premier Academy League
Sat 6 Nov (at Reading) Reading U18s 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur U18s

Subs:

Shaq Coulthirst (16) for Freddie Champion, 50.
Darren McQueen (15*) for Kudus Oyenuga, 78.

Not used:

Jonathan Miles (17)
Daniel Day (16)
James Yeboah (16)

*age unknown, so best estimate given.

Spurs Od report

Essential links for Spurs Academy news, reports and information:


Official Site Academy Players List
Spurs Odyssey Youth Reports  
FAPL Official Site

The idea that Crouch is a good option as a lone striker in away games is based on his ball retention and ability to help out when defending set pieces. I would argue that his lack of goals (and shots) negates the positive elements that he may bring to the team.

Against Bolton, the only shot he managed in the 90 minutes that he played was an effort scuffed straight at the goalkeeper. Pavlyuchenko had one shot in his 45, scoring a spectacular goal.

Crouch’s shooting was a 100% improvement on the United game, where he didn’t manage a single effort – Pavyuchenko had two efforts (one deflected narrowly wide) in his 28 minutes.

And in the previous away game against Fulham, Crouch again managed just one effort during his 20 minutes on the pitch, whereas of course Pavlyuchenko started and scored.

Whilst I don’t rate Pavlyuchenko as highly as many, I personally feel that whilst Defoe is out, he is our best bet to start games. We are struggling for goals, and he has managed 3 despite only starting 3 league games. In his 8 league starts, Crouch is yet to find the net, and only has 3 assists. Is that enough to warrant Redknapp’s faith?

Images taken from Guardian Chalkboards.

Oh dear. From the highs of the brilliant midweek victory over Inter Milan, to the lows of yet another poor performance at the Reebok stadium. Is it a mental block? Many say that it can’t be as the players are different, etc, but Bolton certainly seem to be a bogey team for us.

Davies’ first goal.

Sandro, Sandro, Sandro.

Sandro receives the ball from Gallas and, whilst he has limited options, he can either go to Kaboul, Hutton (although he does have a player nearby), or back to Gomes.

Instead he dallies – Bolton pressed us high up the pitch for large periods of the game, and Muamba wastes no time in making a challenge here.

Quick thinking from Elmander – he spots Davies and plays it quickly.

Davies was offside when the tackle was made, and is still offside when the pass is made. It’s a bad decision from the officials, but I don’t think it would have changed anything – Bolton battered us at times in this game.

Davies takes it early, and seems to catch Gomes unaware.

He gets a hand to the ball quite comfortably, but fails to get it around the post – I think he’ll be disappointed with this one.

Steinsson’s goal.

Bolton are very hard done by with the “long ball” tag – yes they use Davies’ strengths, but they also play plenty of football – they even did so under Megson. This goal is a great move, and we couldn’t cope with the passing and movement.

Lee knocks the ball down the line for Taylor, who waits for Elmander to make a run off him.
  

It’s a well-weighted pass from Taylor, allowing Elmander to cross first time. Notice Steinsson at this point – edge of the box and totally unmarked.

It’s a great first time cut-back from Elmander. Assou-Ekotto has spotted the danger too late.

Steinsson takes a touch to set himself, and rifles it beautifully into the corner.

No blame on Gomes for this one – it’s a fantastic strike, lovely technique.

Davies’ second goal

William Gallas – so good in the week, so bad yesterday. It seems he can’t go a league game without being directly responsible for at least one goal. This is horrendous.

It’s a long ball down the line from Zat Knight, and Davies chases. Gallas is well in control, and with two Bolton players nearby, should be putting this into the stands.

He has the opportunity to put it into touch with his right foot, but instead chooses to drop the shoulder and take it on his left.

He passes out with his left without looking – expecting one of our midfield players to be there to receive.

The ball comes out instead to Taylor, who collects and waits for support.

Lee has made a supporting run, and is goal-side of Assou-Ekotto, who has been caught napping.

You just can’t risk these sorts of challenges – Assou-Ekotto goes through the back of Lee, and it’s a clear penalty.

Davies steps up – a nice height for the keeper perhaps, but tucked far enough into the corner.

Petrov’s goal (at 4:16).

After finding two beautiful goals to drag ourselves back into the game, we allow Bolton to see it out comfortably. Bolton take advantage of cheap free kicks to keep the ball into the corner. However, in stoppage time we have one slight opening.

A hopeful ball forward, and Gallas seems to be through – he has the edge on the Bolton defenders.

But he doesn’t have the pace that he used to – something I’m not sure Redknapp has realised – and Holden easily dispossesses him with an excellent sliding tackle.

Cahill looks up, and spots an opportunity to counter.

It’s a well flighted ball out to Davies, and Petrov anticipates that Davies will beat Kaboul, and makes a run inside him.

So intelligent from Davies – he angles the ball perfectly inside for Petrov to run on to.

Petrov’s first touch pushes him inside, and he doesn’t require to take a second before shooting

Instead he just waits for Gomes to make the first move, and lifts it over his legs.

Sandro and Palacios were really, really poor for us in the middle of midfield, and Kranjcar was anonymous wide on the right (where, incidentally, I don’t remember him ever having a good game for us). I am starting to wonder whether Palacios and Kranjcar are really appropriate squad options – neither seem to have the natural fitness of a Jenas or Bassong, and both struggle when brought in for the occasional game.

Crouch once again offered no goal threat and, despite his 3 assists in the league this season, I would still personally opt for Pavlyuchenko in most league games.

Defensively, we were a shambles. There were individual errors from each of our defenders throughout the game – twice in the first ten minutes, for example, Hutton let Taylor get goal-side of him, and get shots away. Gallas was dreadful for much of the game – unable to cope with the aerial prowess of Davies, and direct, powerful running of Elmander.

Thankfully we don’t have long to wait before we are back in Premier League action again, and we have two winnable home games in a row – Sunderland and Blackburn. We must ensure that we get the six points no matter what it takes.