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***OMT*** Tottenham Hotspur vs Crystal Palace

"It's going to be a long, hard season for me with these people [referees]," said Holloway.

"I had this with Blackpool. Certain clubs get fouls and others don't."

"I don't understand how it was a penalty, or how Moxey could have got out of the way of it," added the former Leicester, QPR and Bristol Rovers boss.

"Do I think I would have got that at Tottenham? No I don't.

"Tottenham will feel decisions like that if they play Man United.

"I just want a bit of fairness. I want a foul like anyone else would have got one. I've got a horrible taste in my mouth after that."

I am not sure how serious he is. I thought the ref let a lot go.

But this is his second EPL season. It don't hurt to play the aggrieved underdog card.

Edit: I am still sticking to my view about accidental handball. You can't be accidentally offside.

Every handball should be penalised.
 
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I didn't think it was a penalty either, they always get given but they shouldn't, same as the one Liverpool conceded yesterday. There needs to be intent IMO, the last penalty given for handball that I agree with was Suarez in the last WC.
 
palacespurs
possession42%58%
pass success70%85%
aerial success64%36%
shots518
on target33
off target212
woodwork01
blocked03
offsides40
fouls98
tackles2124
corners37
throw ins3122
dribbles717

rating
jan vertonghen (dc)7.9
kyle walker (dr)7.9
hugo lloris (gk)7.8
danny rose (dl)7.6
michael dawson (dc)7.6
total shots
nacer chadli (aml)4
gylfi sigurdsson (amc)4
roberto soldado (fw)4
damien delaney (dc)1
kyle walker (dr)1
tackles
joel ward (dr)5
dean moxey (dl)4
danny rose (dl)4
mile jedinak (dmc)4
gylfi sigurdsson (amc)4
dribbles
kyle walker (dr)5
joel ward (dr)2
danny rose (dl)2
gylfi sigurdsson (amc)2
nacer chadli (aml)2

http://www.whoscored.com/matches/719849/live/england-premier-league-2013-2014-crystal-palace-tottenham

No offsides!!!!!!!
 
"It's going to be a long, hard season for me with these people [referees]," said Holloway.

"I had this with Blackpool. Certain clubs get fouls and others don't."

"I don't understand how it was a penalty, or how Moxey could have got out of the way of it," added the former Leicester, QPR and Bristol Rovers boss.

"Do I think I would have got that at Tottenham? No I don't.

"Tottenham will feel decisions like that if they play Man United.

"I just want a bit of fairness. I want a foul like anyone else would have got one. I've got a horrible taste in my mouth after that."


Ridiculous, the tackle on Paulinho just before the handball was a pen anyhow, I felt Cluttenberk was very much on theri side with all decisions...
 
You just rained on my parade. I remember some poster say Soldado is rarely offside and I thought JD looked a proper player today.

Sigh.

Not the right game for anyone to get in behind the opponents back four really. Lennon and Walker did a decent job getting into any kind of crossing positions at all considering how little space there was.
 
After watching rivals Arsenal stumble on the opening day of the Premier League season, Tottenham made no mistake as they overcame newly-promoted Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park.

There was no Gareth Bale for the visitors but the club's record signing Roberto Soldado was in action and it was the Spaniard who netted from the penalty spot early in the second-half to claim the points.

Palace battled hard as Ian Holloway gambled with a triple substitution midway through the second period but with Hugo Lloris in good form there was no way through. Here we take an in-depth look at Sunday's clash...

PalaceSpurs_2989103.jpg


Selection

Although the Opta starting line-up suggested Dwight Gayle would be the lone striker with Aaron Wilbraham and new signing Stephen Dobbie providing support from the flanks, Crystal Palace actually went with a narrow three in attack. All then worked hard to get behind the ball when out of possession, with Palace reliant on Gayle's pace to allow them to break.

Jose Campana had to settle for a place on the bench alongside fellow new boy Marouane Chamakh. Veteran striker Kevin Phillips was also among the substitutes as Holloway opted for a familiar-looking base to his team.

Belgium international Nacer Chadli, a summer signing from Twente, was the man tasked with replacing the injured Bale in the starting line-up on that left flank. Danny Rose, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, lined up behind him at left-back.

Paulinho partnered Mousa Dembele in the centre of midfield, while Soldado was predictably preferred to Jermain Defoe in the lone-striker role. Notably, there was no place on the bench for Emmanuel Adebayor, although new arrival Etienne Capoue was among the substitutes for Andre Villas-Boas' side.

CrystalPalaceAvge_2989344.jpg

Crystal Palace surrendered possession and played remarkably narrow

Where it was won and lost

Dembele hit the woodwork for Tottenham early on but the key to the game was Holloway's decision to play so narrow - asking his forwards to track midfielders into central positions rather than concentrate on wide duties.

The average position diagram shows just how much focus Holloway placed on seizing the middle ground, while the possession statistics show that Tottenham were still able to dominate possession. After all, while much of Spurs' work in midfield zones was cramped, there was always an out-ball for the visitors with their full-backs.

Paulinho_2989180.jpg

Paulinho spread the play well for Spurs - note the advanced positions of Walker and Lennon

In Paulinho, Villas-Boas had a man capable of finding that pass. The Brazil international dealt with the fast-paced physicality of life in a Premier League midfield and was composed in his use of the ball - with a pass completion rate in excess of 90 per cent. He spread the play well.

Kyle Walker was the chief beneficiary, getting 114 touches of the ball - a whopping 38 more than any other player (that man being Danny Rose on the opposite flank). With Bale to the fore, Spurs were among the top six in the Premier League for attacking down the left last season and in the bottom five for percentage of attacks down the right flank. In his absence it was a very different story.

WalkerAttacks_2989178.jpg

Spurs attacked down the right with Walker enjoying lots of touches in the opposition half

Walker made 32 passes in the final third, while no other player managed more than 20. Unfortunately for Spurs, the recipient of the full-back's possession was in wasteful mood before the interval with Aaron Lennon unable to pick out a team-mate with his crosses. Poor decision-making looked set to cost the away side and with both Soldado and Gylfi Sigurdsson more comfortable finishing chances than creating opportunities for themselves, the breakthrough did not come before the interval.

Of course, that was also down to the efforts of Palace with the home side working tirelessly to defend the box. Joel Ward was particularly impressive, making five tackles in the game and winning them all. His efforts summed up the willingness to compete but Holloway's main concern was on the opposite flank.

"That's been the biggest threat for Tottenham, down this (right) side," said Graeme Souness at the break. "They are there in numbers Palace and sooner or later someone is going to go to sleep." It wasn't narcolepsy that hit the Eagles, but rather a stray hand as Dean Moxey was ruled to have deliberately handled a Lennon cross shortly after the break.

Soldado duly converted the spot-kick - thus adding to last season's record of scoring all his goals from inside the area. It was only a penalty but the calm finish into the side-netting oozed class all the same. By the hour mark, Spurs had 10 efforts to Palace's one.

Holloway responded with a triple substitution. Marouane Chamakh and Kevin Phillips arrived to occupy forward positions, while Wales international Jonathan Williams was introduced to join Gayle in providing some thrust on the break. It was a qualified success as Palace did look more of a threat.

But it was not to be. Villas-Boas had made a substitution of his own in bringing on Capoue and the robust midfielder was a huge asset for Spurs in the latter stages - making six interceptions in his brief appearance, two more than any other player on the pitch managed all game.

It wasn't always pretty, but it was three points for a Bale-free Tottenham and disappointment for the Premier League new boys.

Holloway's view

"I don't know what the stats are, but we have got to learn how to attack. We defended very well, we blocked their spaces, but we didn't counter-attack after. Without (Yannick) Bolasie, with Wilf (Zaha) obviously gone, I think we need some pace - we are screaming out for that. I just wish Jonny (Williams) hadn't played 90 minutes for the Welsh team. He was injured for a year before he came and I thought he made a difference when he came on with his energy."

Villas-Boas' view

"We spoke before the game how difficult it would be because of the surprise factor. Ian put his team together very well because he had three players very narrow just behind the striker, which we weren't expecting. That caused a bit of unpredictability and it was a tough game. We had some good chances to put the game to bed but, bearing in mind 90 minutes, I think we deserved to win."

Player ratings

While the combination of Walker and Lennon was a key element of the victory and Soldado scored the goal, it was the simple effectiveness of Paulinho that caught the eye sufficiently to claim the Sky Sports man of the match award. It has become customary for specialisation in the centre of midfield but here is a player who can pass, intercept the ball and then carry it forward. On this evidence, he looks a shrewd signing.


http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/295710/analysis
 
The only thing remarkable about Schmuck was his hairstyle.

Holloway is trying to put a positive slant on today but the best players won.

The comm said they scored the most home game goals in the whole of English football last term. OK, no Zaha but that was ok from our guys today.
 
I didn't think it was a penalty either, they always get given but they shouldn't, same as the one Liverpool conceded yesterday. There needs to be intent IMO, the last penalty given for handball that I agree with was Suarez in the last WC.

Not sure how you can call that

- Players hand was away from his body (actually raised high)
- Blocked a cross that would have made it to 6 yard area
- Play occurred within the box

No question it's a penalty, if there was intent, it would have been a card or sending off.
 
Was it just me that thought that Jedinak guy who Quinn was creaming himself over was fouling non stop and got away with a lot?

It wasn't just you. People I was with thought the same.
oh and Clattenburg did let a lot go and rightly or wrongly it would have been a penalty anywhere in Europe under the current rules, so I don't know what substances Holloway has been consuming lately!
 
Not sure how you can call that

- Players hand was away from his body (actually raised high)
- Blocked a cross that would have made it to 6 yard area
- Play occurred within the box

No question it's a penalty, if there was intent, it would have been a card or sending off.

I'm not questioning the refs decision, I'm questioning the current understanding of hand ball, unless there it's a 100% guarantee that it was an intended hand to ball I'd let it go, 1% chance it's accidental, play on.
 
I was happy about the performance.

Was unlikely to be easy, away games in the PL rarely are and we haven't had the greatest of pre-seasons. I think some people that are unhappy about our performance might have expected us to just steamroll Crystal Palace. I don't think they will get steamrolled very often at home this season, but I could be wrong of course.

Great early signs from all the new lads I thought. Lennon looked fresh, got into a lot of good positions. Vertonghen and Lloris are top class. Dembele looks his normal awesome self. Siggy very unlucky not to get the goal that I think he needs.

I didn't think it was a penalty either, they always get given but they shouldn't, same as the one Liverpool conceded yesterday. There needs to be intent IMO, the last penalty given for handball that I agree with was Suarez in the last WC.

I disagree completely. Stonewall penalty for me, they always get given just for that reason.

If you're not giving those as penalties you're allowing defenders to go in with their arms spread and you're giving them a massive advantage based on being able to block the ball with their hands and arms. That's not the way the game should be imo. John Terry used to get away with those consistently 7-8 years ago and I'm almost certain he went into blocks "making himself big" with his arms spread out and gained a significant advantage to it.

No way there has to be "intent" with the arm moving towards the ball to stop them. There would essentially be no penalties from hand ball apart from blocks off the line then, when else would someone intentionally handle the ball?

The defender clearly gains a solid advantage by having his arm outstretched like that, an advantage from handling the ball - in football...
 
^^^ Totally agree with braineclipse.

First game of the season against a newly promoted side who are hungry to impress on their return to the PL. Not to mention 4 new signings, no Bale & not the best of pre-seasons both performance and with the transfer saga & we got the all important 3 points while Arsenal dropped points at HOME.

We are only going to better & I'm certain they'll be some more additions to the squad.

COYS!
 
Paulinho made Garth Crooks' Team of the Week:

MIDFIELD - PAULINHO (Tottenham Hotspur)

The 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace was a nice introduction to the Premier League for the Brazilian midfielder.

Considering it was his league debut, he controlled events very nicely, keeping it simple but effective.

Did you know? On his Premier League debut, Paulinho introduced himself by having a pass completion rate of 90.6%, misplacing just five of 53 passes in the game.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23746875
 
If we play like that against Swansea we will not get the right result.

That will be a completely different game. Game situations will rarely be the same. We dominated possession today 58-42, even more in the first 30 minutes. The Swansea game might be close to the opposite possession stats.

We were far from poor today.

---------------------------------

One more thing, about people complaining that "on another day we could have drawn that". The same thing could be said about Liverpool for sure and our other most obvious 4th place rival Arsena saying l "on another day they could have drawn that" would probably tinkle off their fans even further.
 
Kyle Walker was the chief beneficiary, getting 114 touches of the ball - a whopping 38 more than any other player (that man being Danny Rose on the opposite flank).

Walker made 32 passes in the final third, while no other player managed more than 20. Unfortunately for Spurs, the recipient of the full-back's possession was in wasteful mood before the interval with Aaron Lennon unable to pick out a team-mate with his crosses.

I agree with this assessment, in the first half Walker was providing about a third of our thrust, whilst others were dithering and turning back inside and laying it off and coming back towards our goal, Walker put his head down and charged through challenges, forcing the issue. Great play from him. And yes, he did make a few mistakes too.
 
Just like Hoddle or Souness said, we now have that fox in the box striker in Soldado that can win games on his own, with just one chance.

If we keep Bale then all I can say, is we will have 2 out & out match winners who will cause absolutely anyone problems.
 
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