The Game
Second home game of the season for the reserves, and I know first
team coaches Gus Poyet and Hans Leitert were both in attendance, as I passed
them on the stairs on the way in (Hans courteously held the door open for me as
well, so brownie points for him). The much maligned Damien Comolli was also
watching, but I didn’t see Ramos.
With a couple of older players who had been absent through season long loan and injury, in Daniels and McKenna respectively, returning and three ‘senior’ players in the starting line up, Spurs suddenly
looked quite an old side for this kind of fixture. Portsmouth were the
opposition and, some fringe first teamers such as Traore, Little and
Jerome Thomas aside, looked disjointed and lacking in quality. Their team was presumably made up largely of younger players, and that disparity
in experience and quality between the two sides certainly told, as Portsmouth were rarely
in the game, despite the final score not reflecting Spurs' dominance.
Overall, this is the best I’ve seen the reserves play for
some time. They looked organised, motivated, and played some decent stuff at
times. It’s amazing what a few experienced heads can do to a side like this,
and is precisely why I keep advocating senior players not getting first team
minutes being part of this group. Someone like Adam Smith is going to benefit
immensely from having a goalkeeper of Cesar Sanchez’ experience instructing
him, for example.
Spurs lined up in what was essentially a 4-2-3-1, with
Taarabt, somewhat nonsensically, as sole striker. Maghoma and McKenna anchored midfield
(Danny Hutchins, impressive in that role so far this season, was there but not in the
eleven or named as sub), with David Hutton and Charlie Daniels on either flank,
and Hossam ‘back from the dead’ Ghaly given a relatively free role to drop into
midfield or support Taarabt. Dervite was captain.
Spurs dominated the first half entirely, though the lack of
a proper striker hampered them greatly. The first goal came from a good strike
from Daniels, teed up by Taarabt from a freekick, and the second from some good
interplay between Ghaly and Taarabt, resulting in a speculative shot (one of many) from
Taarabt.
Daniels managed to undo his contribution of the opening goal by failing to track
his man to allow Portsmouth to equalise, and in
the second half, Portsmouth
managed to nick the two goals that gave them the win through some poor
defending, where first Sanchez and then Rocha were exposed as the only line of
defence. This was despite the visitors failing to look a genuine threat
throughout.
The Players
There’s only one place to start, and that is with the player
I, and I’m sure everyone else, assumed would never be seen in a Spurs shirt
ever again – Hossam Ghaly. To put it succinctly, Ghaly was a class above
everyone else on the pitch. His work rate was superb. In the first half, he
was everywhere, making himself an option for the pass virtually every time a Spurs player had the
ball, threw himself into tackles and made intelligent contributions defensively,
and looked by far the player most likely to create chances via an incisive
through ball or interplay in advanced areas. For the closing stages of the
first half, and the whole of the second, Clive Allen instructed him to play up
alongside Taarabt, and he continued to make a good contribution from that
position – linking well with Taarabt, for the most part, and playing some
decent angled through balls to the right to put in Hutton and Smith on several
occasions.
This of course is a player coming back from injury, who hasn’t
played first team football for months, and playing in the stiffs for a club who
has shunned him since a moment of petulance brought on by idiotic elements in
the crowd. For him to come out and show the effort and enthusiasm he did (this
also goes into things like trying to instruct and encourage Taarabt and his
other team mates) deserves massive respect, in my opinion. His awareness
of players around him, and of tactical requirements in any given situation, was
far in advance of any other player on the park, as you’d hope from a Premier
League player, and make no mistake, that is what Ghaly is. Anyone who suggests
he’s “Championship at best”, “a donkey”, “liability” and so forth, is simply
wrong.
He should be back in the first team squad. It’s as simple as
that. He has several things that we really lack at the moment, not least some
balls, aggression and ability to put in a tackle in central midfield, and the
confidence and ability to create in the final third.
Anyway, sermon over…on to the rest.
So Taarabt….the guy is an enigma, and right now, I’d be
willing to place a substantial amount of money on him not making it; at least,
not at Spurs. His body language says he doesn’t want to be at this club, and
Clive Allen seems to take some delight in giving him stick from the sidelines,
some of it may be deserved, but it’s pretty clear that this isn’t the coach
that is going to take what talent Taarabt does have and convert him into a
footballer.
As a lone striker, particularly in the first half, he was
hopeless. Failing to retain the ball as it was played into, not by over elaborating,
but just by poor first touch and anticipation. He did look better when Alex
Olsen came on up front and he dropped into a deeper role, and some of his
linking with Ghaly did show promise, but he’s so far from having the tactical
understanding to match the talent that it’s easy to see why he’s still so far
from getting a first team game.
Adam Smith was the youngest player in the starting eleven,
and despite a few lax moments defensively, had a good game. He linked well with
Hutton on the right flank and, once he’s bulked up a bit, could possibly be
regarded as prospect for good things.
Hutton, as per usual, was a good attacking outlet. His
crossing (and general technical ability, as I keep saying) is very good. That
didn’t really tell tonight because there was no real target in the box with
Taarabt as point man, but Hutton remains one of the few players in this group
that you can rely on to consistently beat his man and produce a decent final
ball. As I said, he linked well with Smith and the right flank always looked an
outlet, in contrast to Hughton and Daniels on the left who failed to show any
understanding or consistent threat.
A final mention for Sanchez and Rocha, as the other senior
players on show. Both sought to provide assistance and leadership to the
younger players around them, and whilst neither may have much contribution to
make at first team level this season, they could prove very important in the
development of what talent we do have at reserve level.
The Ratings
Sanchez – 66% - Didn’t have a great deal to do, was unlucky
with the second goal having made two good stops
Smith – 73% - Looks quite assured at this level
Dervite – 62% - Struggled at times and wasn’t commanding enough
Rocha – 66% - Commits himself too early at times, but looks to be
having a positive effect in this group
Hughton – 57% - OK defensively, but no offensive
contribution whatsoever
Hutton – 74% - Always looks a threat, but no takers for the
service he provides in this kind of system
McKenna – 55% - Reasonably disciplined but lacks quality in the
tackle and with the ball at his feet
Maghoma – 67% - I’m not a fan, but he did quite well and got
through a decent amount of work box to box
Daniels – 61% - Nice goal, but has the physique of a rugby
player and plays football like one
Ghaly – 78% - Impressive attitude, work rate and overall
contribution
Taarabt – 68% - Still a work in progress, and sadly it seems
like work that only has a chance of being completed at another club