Spurs vs. Aston Villa - ratings..

[colin fishwick]

Judging players strictly based on goal and assist stats over small sample sizes remains rather ridiculous in my book.



I actually hope you're right Steff. If a Spurs fan only sees or only wants to discuss negatives after a game like today then it feels to me like something is missing from the football experience.

It was a very good result, but not a great performance. Solid until the 2nd goal, after that we grew in confidence.

We have been here before. Yes we are not terrible and comfortably top 8 . Offensively we have not been convincing , hence our relatively poor goal difference.

We have a minimum top 4 requirement this year. Is Townsend a top 4 player? No I would say , not at atm and unlikely ever to be IMO. Is Townsend a decent player ? Yes.

So if you want to be top 8 or even 5 always finish behind Arsenal and Chelsea, Townsend is good enough for you.

 

[colin fishwick]

+1 or 10

There was a moment when we had the ball out wide nearly level with the pen area, Soldado just stood there as we mounted an attack , could easily have made his way into a threatening position .

He did nothing before his goal, ok, not nothing, but very little. We are not creative enough for a poacher like striker ATM.

 

[Spaceman]

Gooner Troll.

just ignore him. he wants attention and has been ****ging off townsend for weeks because he wants lamela in that position.

 

[Yermiyahu]

:ross:

I think you're on a massive wind-up personally...how long do you have to keep this up to win the bet?

This.

 

[thfcsteff]

It was a very good result, but not a great performance. Solid until the 2nd goal, after that we grew in confidence.

We have been here before. Yes we are not terrible and comfortably top 8 . Offensively we have not been convincing , hence our relatively poor goal difference.

We have a minimum top 4 requirement this year. Is Townsend a top 4 player? No I would say , not at atm and unlikely ever to be IMO. Is Townsend a decent player ? Yes.

So if you want to be top 8 or even 5 always finish behind Arsenal and Chelsea, Townsend is good enough for you.

Time will tell. But be prepared to stand behind your words or admit it if you're wrong mate. No wriggling. ;-)

 

[thfcsteff]

just ignore him. he wants attention and has been ****ging off townsend for weeks because he wants lamela in that position.

I think Lamela is going to be a huge factor in the second-half of the season, and I fully expect AVB to protect/rest Andros and not allow him to burn out. This is his first Premiership regular season at the top top end of the table, he will need good management and stewardship as there is no doubt he will have a dip in form at some point.

 

[colin fishwick]

Time will tell. But be prepared to stand behind your words or admit it if you're wrong mate. No wriggling. ;-)

Absolutely If Townsend starts to win us games, gets goals and assists . [ 10 of each is needed ] I will admit I was wrong in fact leave the board .

Would love to be proved wrong. IMO he want get 10 of each or equivalent, he want get 5 of each or equivalent . In the meantime our rivals will have genuine very good players who do.

 

[Jurgen the German]

I think Lamela is going to be a huge factor in the second-half of the season, and I fully expect AVB to protect/rest Andros and not allow him to burn out. This is his first Premiership regular season at the top top end of the table, he will need good management and stewardship as there is no doubt he will have a dip in form at some point.

I hope it's not a case of either Townsend or Lamela. Lamela can play on the left too surely.

 

[braineclipse]

I hope it's not a case of either Townsend or Lamela. Lamela can play on the left too surely.

Townsend more naturally suited to playing on the left for me, Lamela can play in behind the striker at least though so no it's not an either-or situation.

 

[charlietheyid]

Lloris 6 No problem

Walker 7 Solid

Dawson 6 Cant pass

Vlad 7 Solid

Vertonghen 7 Did well

Sandro 7 Beast

Paulinho 7 Love watching him play

Townsend 8 A class above the rest

Siggy 6 Kept losing the ball

Holtby 6 Struggled

Soldado 7 A goal, finally.

 

[Mumorn]

I hope it's not a case of either Townsend or Lamela. Lamela can play on the left too surely.

like I said in the omt, he can play on the left much like Siggy can play on the left or Lennon can. He's far less effective on the left though because his right foot isnt anywhere near as effective as his left foot and he isn't a winger.

 

[milo]

Was Townsend really that good ? How many decent passes did he do. How many good shots? ATm IMO he does not look like a classy player, if we are lucky and he improves, he may reach the standard of SWP, probably unlikely .

Trouble is the hype is making it difficult to play Lamela instead of him. Ultimately we need better than Townsend and Sigi as our wide players

What did Soldado do before his goal?

I feel a little sorry for you. Either you area Spurs fan who is getting no joy from our most successful sustained period in decades or you are a fan of another club who has nothing better to do than waste your time on the forums of a club you don't support trying to get a reaction. I don't know which is worse.

 

[colin fishwick]

I feel a little sorry for you. Either you area Spurs fan who is getting no joy from our most successful sustained period in decades or you are a fan of another club who has nothing better to do than waste your time on the forums of a club you don't support trying to get a reaction. I don't know which is worse.

Is 5th and not winning anything, really success? What sort of fan are you ?

 

[colin fishwick]

Townsend more naturally suited to playing on the left for me, Lamela can play in behind the striker at least though so no it's not an either-or situation.

We have Holtby and Eriksen who can play behind the striker .

We have 4 players contending for the wide positions. Neither of our flair/creative players started today . I don't think that is sustainable .

 

[Robspur12]

Lloris - 6 - No difficult saves to make, but quick off his line once or twice. Poor distribution.

Walker - 6 - Generally good, but Agbonlahor is one of the few players in the league who can match Walker for pace and he struggled a couple of times.

Dawson - 7 - Strong in the air. Good performance.

Chiriches - 7 - Solid

Vertonghen - 6 - Solid at the back, didn't offer much going forward though.

Sandro - 8 - Great to see him back in the team. Good in possession, a few bone crunching tackles, covered lots of ground. The best defensive midfielder in the league.

Paulinho - First half 4, second half 8, overall a 6 - Pretty anonymous first half, but did well in the second. Great assist for the goal, but should have also scored when Townsend whipped the ball across goal.

Holtby - 6 - Not as good as the last game at Villa Park. Should have scored when he was through but refused to use his right foot.

Townsend - 8 - A quietish first half when Villa were double marking him, but as soon as they sent men forward looking for an equaliser he got the space he needed to really hurt them. MOTM.

Sigurdsson - 5 - Anonymous.

Soldado - 7 - Struggled to get into the game in the first half, some good touches and a superbly well taken goal in the second.

Subs:

Lennon - 6 - Didn't offer much, but gave the team much needed width.

Dembele - 7 - Composed and strong on the ball, helped us see out the game

Defoe - N/A

AVB - 6.5 - Correct call to drop Naughton and put Chiriches at CB, and also correct to bring Sandro back in for Dembele who's form has been poor (even if this may have been forced on him by injury). This is the sort of game however where we needed two wingers in order to stretch the play and give Soldado, Paulinho and Holtby more room to operate. We were struggling to create chances until we got a lucky goal, then Villa were forced to open up and attack us more which gave us more space. That lucky goal doesn't happen and we badly struggle due to a poor tactical decision. Still though, substitutions worked in our favour.

Agree with your ratings but disagree that the first goal was purely luck. Good ball into the danger area and good movement by Soldado which caught out Guzan.

 

[El Guepardo]

Is 5th and not winning anything, really success? What sort of fan are you ?

Well, he's not an Arsenal fan and, if you support the side then success is immaterial. Sure, we want to be successful as a club BUT our support of the club doesn't waiver if we're losing 3-0 every week. Why? Because when you support a team, you do that irrespective of anything else. You get behind the team through both the good times and the bad times and you're part of a collective group for that club.

So I'm thinking that he's a true fan, that's what he is.

As for whether top 5 can be considered a success. In terms of reaching the very top, no, but it is the highest that we've been as a club for some time. So the success achieved is relative, we are enjoying high finishes and trying to move on to that next level up.

 

[Robspur12]

It was a very good result, but not a great performance. Solid until the 2nd goal, after that we grew in confidence.

We have been here before. Yes we are not terrible and comfortably top 8 . Offensively we have not been convincing , hence our relatively poor goal difference.

We have a minimum top 4 requirement this year. Is Townsend a top 4 player? No I would say , not at atm and unlikely ever to be IMO. Is Townsend a decent player ? Yes.

So if you want to be top 8 or even 5 always finish behind Arsenal and Chelsea, Townsend is good enough for you.[/QUOTE]

I agree that player for player we are probably not yet up there with Arsenal, Chelsea and City, but I think you are still being harsh on Townsend. He is not the reason we will not finish top 4 if that is to happen. Imo we need a top quality LB and obviously an Ade type striker who performs consistently. Townsend is not Eden Hazard but he is certainly the best prospect we have produced in years, has been consistently good and deserves the plaudits he is getting.


BTW 0 for the cnut who let off the flare.

 

[Jordinho]

Is 5th and not winning anything, really success? What sort of fan are you ?

It's more of a success than finishing 8th to 17th and spunking all our money on complete donkeys.

We have to take into account where we have been. Without using 'cheat mode' it takes time to become an established top side. I certainly don't want us to gamble on being extremely successful and doing a Leeds.

 

[colin fishwick]

Well, he's not an Arsenal fan and, if you support the side then success is immaterial. Sure, we want to be successful as a club BUT our support of the club doesn't waiver if we're losing 3-0 every week. Why? Because when you support a team, you do that irrespective of anything else. You get behind the team through both the good times and the bad times and you're part of a collective group for that club.

So I'm thinking that he's a true fan, that's what he is.

As for whether top 5 can be considered a success. In terms of reaching the very top, no, but it is the highest that we've been as a club for some time. So the success achieved is relative, we are enjoying high finishes and trying to move on to that next level up.

Fine he supports and the club so do you. You don't mind where we come, you don't mind that we don't win anything anymore, you don't mind that Arsenal always finish above us, no matter how much we spend compared to them.

Not really sure what that proves. You are easily pleased , the bar is low is low for you. Aim high is supposed to be our motto. The real fans do.

 

[Jordinho]

Fine he supports and the club so do you. You don't mind where we come, you don't mind that we don't win anything anymore, you don't mind that Arsenal always finish above us, no matter how much we spend compared to them.

Not really sure what that proves. You are easily pleased , the bar is low is low for you. Aim high is supposed to be our motto. The real fans do.

Oh my.