***OMT*** Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich

He subs who he wants,
he subs who he waaaants,
Villas Boas!
He subs who he wants!

AVB has always been very careful and methodical even when two goals up. He doesn't want a slip-up and he knows how quickly a game can completely change character if the chasing teams gets a goal. Hence Sandro coming on for Sig just to make sure.

It's the same attitude that saw us come out right from the whistle at home to Tblisi looking to score and dominate the game even though we were way ahead on aggregate.

 

I really like Siggys striking technique - it's almost like a table-tennis topspin forehand, so elegant. It's a shame that it probably counts against him at times, with goalkeepers able to read it a little bit better, but it still requires very good goalkeeping to deal with. I get the sense that AVB really does believe in him, and want him to do well, but knows that he's not the finished article just yet.

 

As highlighted on MOTD, Eriksen doesnt even look as he passes for Siggy, that was quality.

Watching from the Paxton yesterday it looked a good move, seeing it again on MOTD this morning it just looked pure genius

 

+1

 

That's cos, as Eriksen himself said, he heard Siggy yelling for it behind him. Beautifully weighted and directed little pass in the box !

Siggy must have been bursting to be a hattrick hero, looked proper ****ed at being pulled of with a brace. Keep the hunger for the upcoming big and difficult games !

 

Happy with the performance and win. But for all our domination, wish we had scored more goals. Really enjoyed this match as we were comfortable from start to finish. We outplayed them totally and deserve to get a bigger win. But we just lacked a killer instinct in front of goal. Hopefully we will get that as the season progresses. The fact we kept a clean sheet makes it even satisfying.

Due credit to Sigurdsson for scoring both the goals. Nice to see him not hitting the post or woodwork for once ! He must have done his homework as he took both goals well. He could have completed his hattrick had his long range shot not saved by the goalie. Soldado was unlucky not to score as his cheeky back-heel hit the post while another effort was saved on line. But it was disappointing we didn't score more as we had so many other chances to score. Really disappointed Lamela didn't get to play more. It is a pity that we still yet to see why we paid 30m for him.

Sigurdsson did well to score but I think Eriksen deserves much credit for creating both the goals. It was top class the way he set up Sigurdsson for the first goal. I think Eriksen was the creative link we so badly missed in previous matches. Great to see Eriksen performing so well on his debut for us. Hope he will become even better as the team gels together. Apart from Eriksen, thought our midfield played really well and outclassed Norwich. Townsend, Paulinho and Dembele all played exceptionally well. Credit to Paulinho for getting the assist for the second goal. But wish Townsend will stop trying to emulate Bale by attempting long range shots everytime. He wasted so many of our chances with his off-target shots. I think Townsend should practice getting his shots on target before trying his long range shots.

Big credit for our defence for keeping another clean sheet. Apart from 1 or 2 moments, don't think we looked like conceding a goal. But a bit worried for Lloris as he looked shaky at times. But fortunately, we managed to stop Norwich from scoring. Thought Rose played really well. Maybe he will show why we send out BAE on loan. In contrast, Walker made too many mistakes and gave away the ball too easily. He seemed like the weakest link in our first 11. Hopefully he will improve.

Getting 3 wins out of 4 matches is an encouraging start in the league for us. But we need to learn to destroy teams whenever we dominate matches. Hopefully we will improve on that as the new players get more playing time.

 

Aaaaand the award for most one-sided game of the season goes to... While the scoreline suggests a comfortable win for Spurs, the reality was an utterly dominant performance from the hosts capped by a stellar debut from recent signing Christian Eriksen. Andre Villas-Boas' men outpassed hapless Norwich 568 to 192 (with 69% possession), outshot them 23 to 5 and frustrated the visitors into 12 fouls. The Canaries' pitiful influence screen tells its own tale.



Gylfi Sigurdsson netted twice from just 4 attempts - but look away Andros Townsend, who cracked a whopping 9 fruitless efforts at John Ruddy's goal.



In a game of notable individual feats, Kyle Walker again led the passing stakes (84/98), Townsend was at his tricky best (6/10 take-ons - another game high) and debutant Eriksen created 3 opportunities for his team-mates - including the assist for Sigurdsson's opener. The game's top three ball rescuers were all Spurs men, meanwhile, as Danny Rose (10), Jan Vertonghen (10) and Mousa Dembele (9) all recycled possession well for the White Hart Lane side. All in all, a very good day at the office for Villas-Boas' boys. As for Norwich, there's work ahead.

Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features...ts-zone-taught-us-today-1#LlAGBz1rxCgFWY0Y.99

 

But for a great save in the 2nd half, he would have been...and we would have been top of the league for at least 48 hours

 

I thought it was a very good display, particularly pleased as before the match I had overheard the usual my tits moaning that the team selected wasn't any good and Siggy should not be in it. Of course AVB is an idiot and definitely not the man to take us forward. I really look forward to going to our home games to hear this prats, I don't believe there is a player in the team they have not had a go at in the last 3 years. I know it's all a matter of opinion but I don't know why these blokes bother going.

 

I hate that

 

Oh, man. I know I'm really late to the party but just wanted to comment, this was the performance I've been waiting for for a long, long time. Ever since Modric and VdV left, only to be replaced by Dembele and Dempsey, I've been worried about our lack of creativity, swift one-touch passing, and a visionary playmaker, whether that is from the center (Moutinho) or wide and floating (Willian).

Just the lone addition of Eriksen has been able to transform us as an entire team. I don't want to go *too* overboard, but we are passing it so much faster (ok, Norwich were miserable at pressing, but we've looked turgid against worse teams before) because this kid is so tactically aware and fluent in the language of football, constantly offering an outball between the lines to keep us cohesive and moving. I have seen posts from the Ajax era suggesting that he often looks "invisible" for much of the game until he pops up with the cutting pass, but I think that's precisely because he ghosts into the final third - even when panned as "invisible" in some games last season, I've noticed that in those games he still has 65+ passes and a few key passes, which I would argue isn't exactly invisible at least in terms of ball circulation.

Even without a natural DM, we looked completely dominant because we pressed like utter bastards as a whole - Norwich could barely string together three passes before one of ours nicked it back. The high line with aggressive, intercepting fullbacks did a very good job compressing their space while Dembele and Paulinho had their best games in a while - Dembele in particular looked cool and unshakable on the ball once again now that he no longer has the creative burden; he could just simply lay it off rather than take time to look for an incisive pass, which isn't his strong point. Paulinho showed off some unexpected acceleration (he didn't strike me as a particularly pacy player, but his bursts cover a deceptive amount of ground) and besides the runs/goals I was also impressed with Siggy's off-the-ball workrate, even though he didn't touch the ball much.

Rose pleasantly surprised me. I've argued that like Walker, he isn't very composed and thus his passing can be sloppy or hit a little hard under pressure. Here, however, his crossing was inconsistent but had a good "zip" to it in dangerous areas, which will pay off eventually, and he was very good at intercepting Norwich's passes because of his reaction speed and sheer aggression. Our FBs naturally see a lot of the ball in our system and so they are also often our most exposed players, charged with providing not only the attacking thrust but the width, the overload, and the last-ditch defense of our high line. Yes it would be a lot less last-ditch if they were more tactically aware, and I did want Coentrao pretty badly, but they really do have an incredible amount of responsibility and I think we should keep that - and their relative inexperience - in mind.

Alas, poor Lloris :lol: I guess he's not quite over the France game, but he's looked very good at the start of this season and I'm sure he'll be back to his badass self soon.

 

Cut out everything in your post I agree with

I think Lloris looked fine. Yeah, he dropped one cross he should have punched, but those things happen. Coming out punching the ball in a somewhat crowded area at the edge of the box is pretty ****ing bad ass! And that's what he did. He just got it wrong by an inch or two. No big deal.

His style of play will lead to the occasional mistake, I'm guessing he's had a few in his career already. His ability to shake it off and move on playing his best at his style is key and to me it seems like that's exactly what he's doing.

 

You have certainly been consistent. I normally have a "wait and see" stance but this could be the player to take us to the top.

The added bonus is we have so many other players capable of damaging the opposition is that he can "ghost" a game and we should still be able to put in a winning (if not so pleasant to watch) performance.