Spurs vs. Aston Villa - ratings..

[Mumorn]

Lloris - 6 - Not much to do.

Walker - 7 - A solid game from him, still needs to cut out silly things but he's such an asset with that pace.
Dawson - 7 - Thought he was solid, we can't reprogram him to cut out the long passing but he's still solid.
Chiriches - 7 - Thought he had a good debut, a cleansheet, what more could he ask for
Vertonghen - 7 - So so good on the ball, I like him at left back. Solid.

Townsend - 8.5 - Great to see him finally get his first goal in the league for us, a constant direct threat.
Sandro - 8.5 - Solid, rarely puts a foot wrong and if he does, he wins it back anyway. Great game back, should never be dropped in the league from now.
Paulinho - 8 - What an assist that was for him, unlucky not to score today, Guzan made a great save to deny him and he should have scored the open net chance.
Sigurdsson - 6 - Not his best performance.
Holtby - 6.5 - Not his best performance, I was hoping we'd get to see some nice link up play with him and Soldado, played his part in the second though!

Soldado - 8 - His best game for us in the league, easily. An assist and a great finish. His touch today was outstanding. Really enjoyed watching him today.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Lloris 7 - Hardly anything to do

Walker 6.5 - Needless booking, would have given him 7 apart from that.
Dawson 7 - Solid
Chiriches 7 - Decent debut
Vertonghen 6 - Didn't think much of him today but glad he got the nod ahead of Naughton.

Townsend 8.5 - MOM. Almost unplayable given that he's two footed and is playing with so much confidence.
Sandro 8 - How much did we miss this guy last season?
Paulinho 7 - Not his best performance overall but great assist for the 2nd goal.
Sig 6 - Struggled to get into the game
Holtby 6 - Ditto

Soldado 8 - Fantastic touch and finish for his goal.

 

[colin fishwick]

Thought Soldado was poor until his goal, very static, zero oomph .

Townsend was lucky with the goal, nothing else came off for him, despite getting into promising positions .

One lucky goal and no assists in 7 games is hardly the play of a world beater.

 

[chancer]

Outstanding: Townsend, Sandro

Above par: Vertonghen, Dawson, Paulinho, Soldado

Par: Lloris, Chiriches, Walker

Below par: Holtby, Siggy

Bad: n/a


Lennon & Dembele both excellent as subs.

 

[Yermiyahu]

Thought Soldado was poor until his goal, very static, zero oomph .

Townsend was lucky with the goal, nothing else came off for him, despite getting into promising positions .

One lucky goal and no assists in 7 games is hardly the play of a world beater.

Gooner Troll.

 

[El Guepardo]

Lloris - 6 - Villa's shooting was do wayward that Lloris spent more time taking goal kicks than anything else

Walker - 6 decent game, seemed to be beaten on the wing if the opposition matched him for pace, and conceded a silly yellow

Dawson - 6 defended well, beating Benteke in the air on at least one occasion but his distribution was sloppy

Chiriches - 7 - Good debut, largely looked unfazed but must be careful not to be caught out in possession

Vertonghen - 7 - Played well at left back, good game for JV

Townsend - 8.5 - Fortunate goal but knew it was coming. Good crosses even if few managed to link on to them. Set up Paulinho for a chance which should have been scored. Keeps going for the full 90 minutes.

Sandro - 7.5 Welcome back The Beast. Great defensive work and tidy distribution

Paulinho - 8 unlucky not to score, quiet in the first half but put in a great shift in the second half including an assist and a good shot on target which Guzan saved well

Sigurdsson - 5 barely noticed him

Holtby - 6 didn't get on the ball enough in the first half, seemed to be caught in no man's land. I wanted him to shine but cloudy performance

Soldado - 8 - Great game, well taken goal. Needs better movement but to stay in the striker's areas. Really pleased for him getting his first goal from open play

 

[colin fishwick]

Was Townsend really that good ? How many decent passes did he do. How many good shots? ATm IMO he does not look like a classy player, if we are lucky and he improves, he may reach the standard of SWP, probably unlikely .

Trouble is the hype is making it difficult to play Lamela instead of him. Ultimately we need better than Townsend and Sigi as our wide players

What did Soldado do before his goal?

 

[Jurgen the German]

Was Townsend really that good ? How many decent passes did he do. How many good shots? ATm IMO he does not look like a classy player, if we are lucky and he improves, he may reach the standard of SWP, probably unlikely .

Trouble is the hype is making him it difficult to play Lamela instead of him.

What did Soldado do before his goal?

Would have had an assist if Paulinho didn't try to head the ball despite it being about 2 feet off the ground. His goal was lucky but it was a result of a great cross. You really are a hard man to please.

Soldado isn't some Messi type who creates chances and does everything else, he is a poacher like Linekar.

 

[Yid (Israel)]

I thought Walker was above par.

 

[Rossi22]

Lloris 6 - some dodgy kicky early on but other than that didn't have a great deal to do

Walker 7 - decent
Dawson 6.5 - loses half a mark for those soul destroying diagonals
Chiriches 6.5 - good, a little shaky at times but did well
Vertonghen 6.5 - same as above

Sandro 7.5 - beatsed it
Paulinho 7.5 - poor 1st half, great 2nd

Townsend 8 - started slowly but got better and better, not the finished article but such a threat
Holtby 6 - not really in it but did well for the 2nd goal
Sigurdsson 6 - same as Holtby, some nice pieces of control but never threatened

Soldado 7.5 - took his goal well and linked play reasonably well, was surprised by a burst of pace at one point when he ran in behind

Dembele 7 - very composed
Lennon 6.5 - did his job
Defoe 6 - not much time

 

[braineclipse]

Was Townsend really that good ? How many decent passes did he do. How many good shots? ATm IMO he does not look like a classy player, if we are lucky and he improves, he may reach the standard of SWP, probably unlikely .

Trouble is the hype is making it difficult to play Lamela instead of him. Ultimately we need better than Townsend and Sigi as our wide players

What did Soldado do before his goal?

Townsend really was that good after the goal when he got space to run into. He put in several good balls including the one to Paulinho where he should have scored, he had the shot saved down low in the first half and the shot just over the bar after cutting inside in the second.

He's not a silky player like Lamela or Eriksen, but the combination of pace, dribbling skills and two really good feet is a great combination for a wide player and makes him really difficult to stop when there's space to be exploited. Still plenty of room for improvement, I would love to see him improve his first touch a bit along with improving his decision making of course. But if you cannot see what he brought to the team in the second half today I don't think there's any need for discussion as I don't think any words will convince you when seeing him play like that didn't.

Soldado did exactly what he was supposed to do.

 

[colin fishwick]

Would have had an assist if Paulinho didn't try to head the ball despite it being about 2 feet off the ground. His goal was lucky but it was a result of a great cross. You really are a hard man to please.

Soldado isn't some Messi type who creates chances and does everything else, he is a poacher like Linekar.

There is a huge gap in between a Messi and a Darren Bent type. Soldado scored a decent goal, if he does that 20/25 times a season, then no complaints.

Just thought he was very poor until he scored. Linekar was very quick, football has changed since his day anyway.

If Townsend starts getting goals and assists then I will change my mind, just does not look the real thing to me.

 

[braineclipse]

There is a huge gap in between a Messi and a Darren Bent type. Soldado scored a decent goal, if he does that 20/25 times a season, then no complaints.

Just thought he was very poor until he scored. Linekar was very quick, football has changed since his day anyway.

If Townsend starts getting goals and assists then I will change my mind, just does not look the real thing to me.

So for Townsend it's all about the goals and assists, yet when Soldado scores you go on about what did he do apart from the goal? Seems somewhat contradicting to me.

 

[thfcsteff]

Thought Soldado was poor until his goal, very static, zero oomph .

Townsend was lucky with the goal, nothing else came off for him, despite getting into promising positions .

One lucky goal and no assists in 7 games is hardly the play of a world beater.

:ross:

I think you're on a massive wind-up personally...how long do you have to keep this up to win the bet?

 

[colin fishwick]

Townsend really was that good after the goal when he got space to run into. He put in several good balls including the one to Paulinho where he should have scored, he had the shot saved down low in the first half and the shot just over the bar after cutting inside in the second.

He's not a silky player like Lamela or Eriksen, but the combination of pace, dribbling skills and two really good feet is a great combination for a wide player and makes him really difficult to stop when there's space to be exploited. Still plenty of room for improvement, I would love to see him improve his first touch a bit along with improving his decision making of course. But if you cannot see what he brought to the team in the second half today I don't think there's any need for discussion as I don't think any words will convince you when seeing him play like that didn't.

Soldado did exactly what he was supposed to do.

Just have a nagging feeling he is going to be a Hudd. "Has a great shot", but never scores," has a great cross", but does not get assists .

You are right words will not convince me, shots that go in and passes and crosses that lead to goals will.

 

[thfcsteff]

There is a huge gap in between a Messi and a Darren Bent type. Soldado scored a decent goal, if he does that 20/25 times a season, then no complaints.

Just thought he was very poor until he scored. Linekar was very quick, football has changed since his day anyway.

If Townsend starts getting goals and assists then I will change my mind, just does not look the real thing to me.

I'm sorry, I fail to understand why Bent's name came up here. Are you seriously comparing Soldado to Bent?
Look, about to only discernible tactic Villa had (besides 11 men behind the ball and their own half-way line) was to make sure our midfielders could not get close to Soldado. To isolate him and force him to drop out wide wide for the ball. The moment we scored, that strategy was always on a clock. The moment Benteke came on, and Villa decided to actually try and win a point, it was only a matter of time before Soldado and the midfield found each other. For once he was not assisting. If you seriously cannot see what Soldado upfront does for us in the current system/style of play, then I suggest re-watching a few games and seeing if it clicks.

 

[thfcsteff]

Just have a nagging feeling he is going to be a Hudd. "Has a great shot", but never scores," has a great cross", but does not get assists .

You are right words will not convince me, shots that go in and passes and crosses that lead to goals will.

I was one of his biggest critics, based on poor decision making and, to a lesser extent, attitude. It is very very clear that his attitude has shifted, that his determination is far far greater than Hudd's and that today, had Paulinho been on his finishing game, he would've ended up with two assists as well as the goal. Look, I don't disagree that it's still early doors for Andros and that he has to prove it over time, but please tell me you can see the difference and growth in his game from his loan spell at QPR...

 

[braineclipse]

Just have a nagging feeling he is going to be a Hudd. "Has a great shot", but never scores," has a great cross", but does not get assists .

You are right words will not convince me, shots that go in and passes and crosses that lead to goals will.

Judging players strictly based on goal and assist stats over small sample sizes remains rather ridiculous in my book.

:ross:

I think you're on a massive wind-up personally...how long do you have to keep this up to win the bet?

I actually hope you're right Steff. If a Spurs fan only sees or only wants to discuss negatives after a game like today then it feels to me like something is missing from the football experience.

 

[SUIYHA]

Lloris - 6 - No difficult saves to make, but quick off his line once or twice. Poor distribution.

Walker - 6 - Generally good, but Agbonlahor is one of the few players in the league who can match Walker for pace and he struggled a couple of times.

Dawson - 7 - Strong in the air. Good performance.

Chiriches - 7 - Solid

Vertonghen - 6 - Solid at the back, didn't offer much going forward though.

Sandro - 8 - Great to see him back in the team. Good in possession, a few bone crunching tackles, covered lots of ground. The best defensive midfielder in the league.

Paulinho - First half 4, second half 8, overall a 6 - Pretty anonymous first half, but did well in the second. Great assist for the goal, but should have also scored when Townsend whipped the ball across goal.

Holtby - 6 - Not as good as the last game at Villa Park. Should have scored when he was through but refused to use his right foot.

Townsend - 8 - A quietish first half when Villa were double marking him, but as soon as they sent men forward looking for an equaliser he got the space he needed to really hurt them. MOTM.

Sigurdsson - 5 - Anonymous.

Soldado - 7 - Struggled to get into the game in the first half, some good touches and a superbly well taken goal in the second.

Subs:

Lennon - 6 - Didn't offer much, but gave the team much needed width.

Dembele - 7 - Composed and strong on the ball, helped us see out the game

Defoe - N/A

AVB - 6.5 - Correct call to drop Naughton and put Chiriches at CB, and also correct to bring Sandro back in for Dembele who's form has been poor (even if this may have been forced on him by injury). This is the sort of game however where we needed two wingers in order to stretch the play and give Soldado, Paulinho and Holtby more room to operate. We were struggling to create chances until we got a lucky goal, then Villa were forced to open up and attack us more which gave us more space. That lucky goal doesn't happen and we badly struggle due to a poor tactical decision. Still though, substitutions worked in our favour.

 

[Kenyan Spur]

I'm sorry, I fail to understand why Bent's name came up here. Are you seriously comparing Soldado to Bent?
Look, about to only discernible tactic Villa had (besides 11 men behind the ball and their own half-way line) was to make sure our midfielders could not get close to Soldado. To isolate him and force him to drop out wide wide for the ball. The moment we scored, that strategy was always on a clock. The moment Benteke came on, and Villa decided to actually try and win a point, it was only a matter of time before Soldado and the midfield found each other. For once he was not assisting. If you seriously cannot see what Soldado upfront does for us in the current system/style of play, then I suggest re-watching a few games and seeing if it clicks.

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