Really. Really. Really? REALLY?
Yeah, that happened.
For the second time this season, Spurs have dropped points against a relegation candidate. It was the third performance in all competitions that could fairly be classified as embarrassing. Spurs drew West Brom 1-1 after such a mediocre performance, I had to stop myself from saying that we lost.
What really hurts is that West Brom weren't particularly inspiring. Against Wigan, as much as that loss hurt, at least they looked good for periods of the game. Wigan played some fantastic football in the 10 minutes leading up to their winner. West Brom did nothing.
Harry Redknapp's tactical decisions weren't the best, but I don't think it would be fair to fault him for his initial lineup. Harry attempted to get his best players on the field together, and with Defoe injured, the lineup he chose was a perfectly reasonable one. However, it seemed apparent very quickly that Gareth Bale wasn't having the best time at left back. He wasn't nearly the threat that he usually is on the left hand side and he looked like a defensive liability. When Luka Modric was injured in the first half, I was sure that Redknapp's decision would be to put on Ekotto and move Bale farther up the pitch. Instead, the change was a like for like with Niko Kranjcar replacing Modric. Unsurprisingly, Bale's defensive deficiencies were partially (if not mostly) at fault for West Brom's equalizer.
The later substitutions, Keane for Pavlyuchenko and Crouch for Lennon were even more puzzling. I can't begin to dissect what Harry was trying to accomplish with those substitutions. Unsurprisingly, once Pavlyuchenko came off, the team looked aimless and disjointed. It never really felt like the equalizer was coming.
Rafael van der Vaart had a solid debut, as did William Gallas. They can hardly be faulted for the draw (I almost wrote loss again). The team as a whole just had no direction after Modric went down. Pavlyuchenko didn't appear to be working that hard, Gareth Bale looked confused at left back, Niko Kranjcar didn't exactly offer anything positive or negative, and Wilson Palacios gave the ball away frequently. When the players who have been with the side and who know each other aren't clicking, it's hard to blame van der Vaart for the result.
Some good news did come out of the match, though. Luka Modric did not break his leg as first feared and will travel with the team to Germany to face Werder Bremen in Champions League. Based on the way the team looked after Modric went out, they might need him.
Spurs have now scored only three goals in their first three games without facing any of the big three. It appears that without Defoe, Spurs are a team that needs their superstars to take over games by themselves to win.
I waited a while to write this because I thought I would be in a better state of mind than I was Saturday, but I'm not. I don't know what to make of this draw or this team. Right now, I'm not optimistic at all, and I'm extremely frustrated with Harry Redknapp.
The team doesn't have a whole lot of time to get their heads right before the matchup with Werder, a team that has the ability to beat anyone 4-0 and lose to anyone 4-0. They were conservative against Bayern at the weekend, but Almeida was rested and Marin showed some fantastic skill. They will provide a stern test, for sure. I'll preview that match tomorrow.
Yeah, that happened.
For the second time this season, Spurs have dropped points against a relegation candidate. It was the third performance in all competitions that could fairly be classified as embarrassing. Spurs drew West Brom 1-1 after such a mediocre performance, I had to stop myself from saying that we lost.
What really hurts is that West Brom weren't particularly inspiring. Against Wigan, as much as that loss hurt, at least they looked good for periods of the game. Wigan played some fantastic football in the 10 minutes leading up to their winner. West Brom did nothing.
Harry Redknapp's tactical decisions weren't the best, but I don't think it would be fair to fault him for his initial lineup. Harry attempted to get his best players on the field together, and with Defoe injured, the lineup he chose was a perfectly reasonable one. However, it seemed apparent very quickly that Gareth Bale wasn't having the best time at left back. He wasn't nearly the threat that he usually is on the left hand side and he looked like a defensive liability. When Luka Modric was injured in the first half, I was sure that Redknapp's decision would be to put on Ekotto and move Bale farther up the pitch. Instead, the change was a like for like with Niko Kranjcar replacing Modric. Unsurprisingly, Bale's defensive deficiencies were partially (if not mostly) at fault for West Brom's equalizer.
The later substitutions, Keane for Pavlyuchenko and Crouch for Lennon were even more puzzling. I can't begin to dissect what Harry was trying to accomplish with those substitutions. Unsurprisingly, once Pavlyuchenko came off, the team looked aimless and disjointed. It never really felt like the equalizer was coming.
Rafael van der Vaart had a solid debut, as did William Gallas. They can hardly be faulted for the draw (I almost wrote loss again). The team as a whole just had no direction after Modric went down. Pavlyuchenko didn't appear to be working that hard, Gareth Bale looked confused at left back, Niko Kranjcar didn't exactly offer anything positive or negative, and Wilson Palacios gave the ball away frequently. When the players who have been with the side and who know each other aren't clicking, it's hard to blame van der Vaart for the result.
Some good news did come out of the match, though. Luka Modric did not break his leg as first feared and will travel with the team to Germany to face Werder Bremen in Champions League. Based on the way the team looked after Modric went out, they might need him.
Spurs have now scored only three goals in their first three games without facing any of the big three. It appears that without Defoe, Spurs are a team that needs their superstars to take over games by themselves to win.
I waited a while to write this because I thought I would be in a better state of mind than I was Saturday, but I'm not. I don't know what to make of this draw or this team. Right now, I'm not optimistic at all, and I'm extremely frustrated with Harry Redknapp.
The team doesn't have a whole lot of time to get their heads right before the matchup with Werder, a team that has the ability to beat anyone 4-0 and lose to anyone 4-0. They were conservative against Bayern at the weekend, but Almeida was rested and Marin showed some fantastic skill. They will provide a stern test, for sure. I'll preview that match tomorrow.