OMT: Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland Match History 1898-2013 (Asia Trophy)

[Crawley]

Some people are unbelievable. In what way will that team that played to day in anyway resemble the team or even second team that will play for us in the coming season.

Thudd and Parker started in midfield and both are likely to leave this summer. None of the front 3 will probably start and the defence would be described as shadow or make-shift at best!

Chill out this game was about putting some players in the shop window and gaining fitness - nothing else.

Then what is the point of playing the game full stop?

Why use players you are not going to keep? Getting them fit for someone else?

 

[indianspur]

Speaking after the match, manager Andre Villas-Boas said

“He might have sprained the ligaments in his left ankle.

“We need to have an MRI to see the full extent. But there is some range of movement in the ankle so we hope that it won’t be that long. We hope he will be back for the first game of the season.

“I was concerned [about the conditions] but what can you do? It isn’t great. The pitch is what it is, it’s always like that at this tournament. You can’t change the conditions. They are extremely poor.”

hopefully we never return to Hong Kong....that pitch has alwys been rubbish, dont they play rugby on it as well?? Play the sh!t players against South China

 

[Denmark Spur]

Highlights

[video=youtube;ZZFqWZILmlk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZFqWZILmlk[/video]

 

[Viper]

Is that Emirates Marketing Project's new away kit or is their new manager sweating them in bin bags for pre-season?

 

[indianspur]

From what I remember from about the last 20 odd years, our pre-season performances have been inversely proportional to our in season performances.

Loads of times in the 90s/early 00s we beat all comers in pre-season, then went and had crap years. More recently we've looked stuttering and disjointed, then gone on to have our best seasons.

I think in sports science its called peaking - at a time like this you want players to be pretty much at the bottom of their curve.

last season pre season wasnt sh!t hot and we started the season with 2 points from 9 against Saudi Sportswashing Machine away, Norwich and West Brom at home

 

[charlietheyid]

We do already have the players in the team. They were just not available for multiple reasons. that i have already given, but lets go through it again. For a 4-3-3 you want 6 midfielders.


Paulinho - On holiday as he played the confederations cup.
Sandro - Just returning from injury.
Dembele - Has sinus issues.
Carroll - Passes it along the ground, on a waterlogged pitch he would suffer immensely.
Holtby - Not sure.
Siggurddsson - Played on the left because Chandli couldn't be registered.


The kids could not be registered either. So where is this mysterious central midfield pair that you would have played?

You don't understand. You are talking about formations and available players. What we need is quality. Take Bale out and we haven't got any. You can play any formation, Lennon is not good enough, Dempsey is not good enough.. and the list goes on...

I don't care about today, its every year the same. We need quality.

 

[Spursalot]

You don't understand. You are talking about formations and available players. What we need is quality. Take Bale out and we haven't got any. You can play any formation, Lennon is not good enough, Dempsey is not good enough.. and the list goes on...

I don't care about today, its every year the same. We need quality.

Yeah, you cared so little about today that you made multiple posts about it. You asked why we played Parker and Hudd, i explained it.

 

[Pandy]

Results have next to no meaning during pre-season. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just wrong, but especially with regards to the match today:

- Our starting XI today could well be our second choice XI by the first day of the season (bar Walker).

- The pitch was a bog, which was always going to play into Sunderland's hands.

- There were several bright moments and evidence of understanding between players: Sig and Dempsey were a constant threat in the box, Adebayor was frequently involved and dovetailed well with both of them, could have had a goal but for a good save from the ex-gooner and if Defoe could place shots he would have had at least 1. How are we supposed to be clinical with the same profligate strikers!?

I am more disappointed by the potentially serious injury of Vertonghen than losing 3-1 today.

 

[Nigeyman]

last season pre season wasnt sh!t hot and we started the season with 2 points from 9 against Saudi Sportswashing Machine away, Norwich and West Brom at home

yep not to concerned over this.....for reasons already stated - Sunderland looked a bit sharper than us but its all about peaking at the right time. mainly concerned with verts hope he is ok. The espanyol friendly will be key in trying to push for a performance and getting avb 11 in mind vs palace fit.

horrible pitch and to many unmotivated players playing. would rather awful pre-season and really hot league start.

 

[charlietheyid]

Central midfield is probably where we don't need to improve, we have three beasts, Dembele, Sandro and Paulinho.

But what we need next to them is someone who can play with the ball, use it, keep it, roll it around, make things tick. A luka Modric really... Unless Dembele can do that job.

The problem is on the wings, Lennon does nothing and isn't good enough, siggy and Dempsey are average at best and defoe and Ade are not good enough either.

So far in terms of quality we have:


--------------Lloris

Walker---xxxx---Vertonghen----xxxx

xxxxx- Paulinho-- Dembele---xxxxxx

---------------Bale-------------------

------------xxxxxxxx--------------


The rest just not good enough. We need 5 players then we can challenge

 

[charlietheyid]

Yeah, you cared so little about today that you made multiple posts about it. You asked why we played Parker and Hudd, i explained it.

I reacted to someone saying Hudd and parker were off anyway. I asked him why are we playing them then?

I never asked you anything..

 

[Pirate55]

I largely agree with Charlie, but I would have Kaboom and Sandro in that team too so we really need three. Chadli might be one. That leaves a left back ...and guess what... A quality striker.

Please Levy please.....


...and about today, can you imagine Man U, Chelsea or Arse losing to Sunderland...even in a Mickey Mouse cup?

 

[Spaceman]

Really worrying how bad we look going forward when bales not in the team

 

[greatwhitenorf]

14 July 2008 Tavernes N 8-0
19 July 2008 CD Dénia N 4-2
24 July 2008 Hércules A 1–1
28 July 2008 Norwich A 5-1
30 July 2008 Leyton Orient A 5-1
1 August 2008 Celtic N 2-0
3 August 2008 Borussia Dortmund N 3-0
10 August 2008 AS Roma H 5–0

16 August 2008 Middlesbrough A 1-2
23 August 2008 Sunderland H 1–2
31 August 2008 Chelsea A 1–1
15 September 2008 Aston Villa H 1–2
21 September 2008 Wigan H 0–0
28 September 2008 Portsmouth A 0-2
5 October 2008 Hull City H 0–1
19 October 2008 Stoke City A 1-2

Bravo. Nice little injection of perspective.

How today's water polo match had any bearing on our coming season is beyond comprehension and well undeserving of the sort of frothing, thesis-level analysis we're seeing in this otherwise valueless thread.

The only value this tourney has is to let our prospective departures show their talents to prospective buyers. My greatest concern was that niggling injuries - or serious ones - would crop up and impair any future sales.

 

[RigorMortis]

On a lighter note, I had a friend who was there and said some poor girl in an Arsenal shirt with her bf. Shegot so much stick from the Spurs fans she left the ground in tears, my mate insists it was all above board banter.
I wander if her boyfriend hates her?

 

[AdamB]

So far in terms of quality we have:

-------------Lloris

Walker---xxxx---Vertonghen----xxxx

xxxxx- Paulinho-- Dembele---xxxxxx

---------------Bale-------------------

------------xxxxxxxx--------------


The rest just not good enough. We need 5 players then we can challenge

Why haven't you included Sandro? Put him in and change to 4-3-3 and then we need 4. Kaboul and Verts seems to me to be a decent partnership so that would reduce it to 3 then bring in Soldado and Lopez and you're almost there

 

[charlietheyid]

You are probably right with Kaboul - Just worried about his fitness, after all he hasn't played for a year.

3 man midfield with Paulinho- Sandro and Dembele? How would that work? But you are right, Sandro would start above the two.

As for Lisandro, I have watched him for years and hes brick.

 

[spurspinter1]

Didn't see the game, just watching the highlights, fudge me Huddlestone, his touch for one of their goals is absolute dogbrick. I know it's pre season but he does that in the big games as well, got sacked for one of Arsenal's goals at WHL a couple of years ago. I really like to be positive about a player but I really hope he's nowhere near the squad come September, I don't rate him whatsoever, he should be playing out of his skin in these games to make a good impression, should be able to control a trap a ball within 2 metres of him for the love of GHod.

 

[ringo]

Speaking after the match, manager Andre Villas-Boas said this about Vertonghen:

“He might have sprained the ligaments in his left ankle.

“We need to have an MRI to see the full extent. But there is some range of movement in the ankle so we hope that it won’t be that long. We hope he will be back for the first game of the season.

“I was concerned [about the conditions] but what can you do? It isn’t great. The pitch is what it is, it’s always like that at this tournament. You can’t change the conditions. They are extremely poor.”

So why are we there risking injuries to our players, while not learning anything meaningful from the games because we are playing a second string, who probably will be sold soon? Poor club management. Are there no indoor stadiums in HK?

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

I largely agree with Charlie, but I would have Kaboom and Sandro in that team too so we really need three. Chadli might be one. That leaves a left back ...and guess what... A quality striker.

Please Levy please.....


...and about today, can you imagine Man U, Chelsea or Arse losing to Sunderland...even in a Mickey Mouse cup?

Haven't utd been losing to some Asian makeshift XI's this pre season? Sunderland are of a much higher quality than that.

Sounds like this was a mish mash of a team put out by us on a cabbage patch, personally my only concern is Jan's injury a d that we don't get anymore.