So Spurs went out today and suprised a lot of people by trouncing high flying Bolton 4-1 at White Hart Lane, an hour of which playing with 10 men. Some may find this a surprising result, certainly it was the best performance I have witnessed so far this season, great movement and energy from midfield coupled with tenacity in both defense and attack, brilliant performances up front from Keane (unjustly sent off in my humble opinion, although the ball did flick his hand after thumping into his chest) and of course Berbatov, the truest exponent of the Spurs brand of football currently in the squad.
So far this season I have had to listen to a lot of our fans being down in the dumps, this is the first year I have been able to go week in week out and in fairness perhaps it is always this way, but it is something that should change.
We as a set of supporters rightly have a reputation for being fickle, for demanding the best and being quick to voice their disapproval when it is not forthcoming, trust me I have been one of them! What irks me somewhat though is when individual players are targeted, when the fans get on the players' backs and when new signings get precisely no time to impress.
Last year it was Rasiak, a striker whose Spurs career totalled four starts....why? Basically because in hitting the post twice against Liverpool he hadn't done enough to convince the supporters at his new home that he was up to scratch, he was jeered in future matches and never really got a chance to shine. Now I am not saying I would like him to still be at the club, but he has scored 20 goals for Southampton and perhaps he isn't as bad as we made him out to be.
Currently the guys I would say have been getting the most stick recently are Lee and Benoit at left back, Rocha at centre back, Zokora in midfield and Keano up front.
I would like to address each case in point, I will start front to back with the Rabbi. Now we all now Keano was our best player last year and that he hasn't been in the side so much this year. Personally I feel he is someone whose fitness suffers when he is not playing, if he is not on the pitch regularly his sharpness suffers, but as we all can see now, when he gets a run he is top notch. All those who said he should be sold please take note.
In the middle Zokora has taken a lot of flak, however since Hudd has been removed from the midfield unit suddenly he has transformed into this tackling, passing, powerful dribbling machine? Don't think so. He was never a problem, our midfield wasn't functioning because there wasn't enough bite and enough athleticism and because we didn't have a great shape, nor did we hold our positions. Zokora's quality has never been in doubt to me and since it came to my attention how many people wanted him out of the club at the end of the season (despite this being his first season in English football and him being a proven international holding player) his form has been spotless, no-one in the midfield has been better. Still want Hudd to take his place?
At the back it is all too easy to explain. Rocha, again a proven Champions League and international centre back, has only played a couple of games yet people are telling me he looks a dud??? He doesn't now all of a sudden does he? Perhaps a bit more patience for the foreign players. Lee and Benoit have had the worst time at all, if you believe the people near me then neither of them are good enough, we still need a left back blah blah. Perhaps attention should merely be turned to the fact we have not got a true left midfielder, and since Tainio has taken up the position and played tight disciplined games our left back spot holds no worries at all. Funny how these things change hey?
In truth none of these changes in fortunes have surprised me, I have been happy with the players all along, I believe in the scouting system and the transfer philosophy of the club and I am willing to give everyone brought in to help the cause time enough to settle in and make a difference, I hope the rest of the Yid army can do the same!
IN JOL WE TRUST!
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