West Ham ratings..

[chicken_badge]

I didn't think Parker had a bad game last night. He tried to drive forward with the ball more than I've seen him do before, and whilst not Roy Keane he added a bit of bite in the midfield that wasn't coming much from Lennon, Bale, Holtby or Dembele. Don't get me wrong those boys stood their ground - see Dembeles rash yellow and Bale bouncing back to his feet for the winner. But it was Parker that was going head to head with Nolan and OBrien, and well it was one of those much ridiculed pirouettes that effectively put Nolan out of the game.

With regards the penalty, it was rash, he didnt need to make it as strong and will regret that. BUT how often to do want to see our players hurl themselves in with a block of some kind rather than let someone get a shot away. It was a fraction off being a helluva tackle, it was late and so it was a bad tackle. I think he also saw Andy Carroll there and thought he's a big boy I need to get a marker in and Carroll did make good of it. Yes a mistake, yes it could have been costly but you have to place it in the context of the match.

You need some of these no frills English players to win a derby with the likes of West Ham (maybe even more so than Arsenal or Chelsea games). I do rate Livermore and agree he may well have done the same job for us if asked. He wasn't, Scott was, and put in an important shift.

As for the rest, Dawson was fantastic and Id love to see him keep this up and become a first choice CB. Walker and Vertongen tried to add some width to our attack and its good to see that positivity . Walker was overlapping superbly with Lennon in the second half, if we had any aerial ability we would have scored from this.

Bale - just fabulous. Can't really add to what's been said here other than lets hope he has his biggest game of the season on Sunday.

And AVB. After losing the dressing room at Chelsea and getong the boot after the same number of games, to what we saw last night. This is a tremendous talent, a young man who will get better and he shows he will learn from his mistakes.

I hope we can keep Bale for years I hope we can keep AVB for years. But while they are here let's just enjoy it! COYS

 

[Spursalot]

I didn't think Parker had a bad game last night. He tried to drive forward with the ball more than I've seen him do before, and whilst not Roy Keane he added a bit of bite in the midfield that wasn't coming much from Lennon, Bale, Holtby or Dembele. Don't get me wrong those boys stood their ground - see Dembeles rash yellow and Bale bouncing back to his feet for the winner. But it was Parker that was going head to head with Nolan and OBrien, and well it was one of those much ridiculed pirouettes that effectively put Nolan out of the game.

With regards the penalty, it was rash, he didnt need to make it as strong and will regret that. BUT how often to do want to see our players hurl themselves in with a block of some kind rather than let someone get a shot away. It was a fraction off being a helluva tackle, it was late and so it was a bad tackle. I think he also saw Andy Carroll there and thought he's a big boy I need to get a marker in and Carroll did make good of it. Yes a mistake, yes it could have been costly but you have to place it in the context of the match.

You need some of these no frills English players to win a derby with the likes of West Ham (maybe even more so than Arsenal or Chelsea games). I do rate Livermore and agree he may well have done the same job for us if asked. He wasn't, Scott was, and put in an important shift.

As for the rest, Dawson was fantastic and Id love to see him keep this up and become a first choice CB. Walker and Vertongen tried to add some width to our attack and its good to see that positivity . Walker was overlapping superbly with Lennon in the second half, if we had any aerial ability we would have scored from this.

Bale - just fabulous. Can't really add to what's been said here other than lets hope he has his biggest game of the season on Sunday.

And AVB. After losing the dressing room at Chelsea and getong the boot after the same number of games, to what we saw last night. This is a tremendous talent, a young man who will get better and he shows he will learn from his mistakes.

I hope we can keep Bale for years I hope we can keep AVB for years. But while they are here let's just enjoy it! COYS

Huh? It was a challenge from Dembele that put Nolan out. It was confirmed by the Wham bench after half time..

Parker made a rash challenge in the box, ran into dead end alleys losing the ball and generally slowed down our play.

His defensive work wasn't as good as usual, however that's likely to do with Wham hitting it long.

 

[Spur of the moment]

I didn't think Parker had a bad game last night. He tried to drive forward with the ball more than I've seen him do before, and whilst not Roy Keane he added a bit of bite in the midfield that wasn't coming much from Lennon, Bale, Holtby or Dembele. Don't get me wrong those boys stood their ground - see Dembeles rash yellow and Bale bouncing back to his feet for the winner. But it was Parker that was going head to head with Nolan and OBrien, and well it was one of those much ridiculed pirouettes that effectively put Nolan out of the game.

With regards the penalty, it was rash, he didnt need to make it as strong and will regret that. BUT how often to do want to see our players hurl themselves in with a block of some kind rather than let someone get a shot away. It was a fraction off being a helluva tackle, it was late and so it was a bad tackle. I think he also saw Andy Carroll there and thought he's a big boy I need to get a marker in and Carroll did make good of it. Yes a mistake, yes it could have been costly but you have to place it in the context of the match.

You need some of these no frills English players to win a derby with the likes of West Ham (maybe even more so than Arsenal or Chelsea games). I do rate Livermore and agree he may well have done the same job for us if asked. He wasn't, Scott was, and put in an important shift.

As for the rest, Dawson was fantastic and Id love to see him keep this up and become a first choice CB. Walker and Vertongen tried to add some width to our attack and its good to see that positivity . Walker was overlapping superbly with Lennon in the second half, if we had any aerial ability we would have scored from this.

Bale - just fabulous. Can't really add to what's been said here other than lets hope he has his biggest game of the season on Sunday.

And AVB. After losing the dressing room at Chelsea and getong the boot after the same number of games, to what we saw last night. This is a tremendous talent, a young man who will get better and he shows he will learn from his mistakes.

I hope we can keep Bale for years I hope we can keep AVB for years. But while they are here let's just enjoy it! COYS

Best analysis I've read so far. Have only seen highlights (was out last night) so I needed to find out a bit more about how the game went. This take certainly tallies with the bits I saw anyway.

Good point about the contrast between AVB's relationship with us compared to Chelsea. Have to say I struggled with the whole idea of him coming and made my mind up I was never going to like him, but you know what? Even his most bitter enemies would have to concede he's got it. I'm coming round!

Also Parker. I'm with the majority who are tinkled off with his pirouetting and irritating dilly-dallying but you're right, without Sandro we do need a Roy Keane engine in the middle there, someone with oodles of grit, drive and sheer determination, and that's the big thing he's giving us right now. So maybe we should all back off a bit and accept the many negatives from him as a price worth paying overall.

Livermore might not slow things down so much nor make quite so many mistakes but maybe he's short on some of those other less obvious but more vital attributes.

 

[clevelandspur]

Lloris 8 Bawse
Walker 6.5 after a shaky start thought he did well
Dawson 7 rock solid
Caulker 7 very good but should have scored
Vertonghen 6 not his best game but credit for slotting in at LB not his favored position
Parker 5 first half he was awful improved in the second still think Livermore should be picked ahead of him
Dembele 5.5 walked a tightrope all game, not in good form simple as that
Lennon 5.5 anonymous for most of the game again tired of saying but he tracked back he is supposed to be an attacking threat for us and a lot of games I can barely remember him creating anything of note
Holtby 6.5 thought he was good and was harsh to be subbed with others more deserving of getting the hook
Bale 10 what more can he do? running out of superlatives
Adebayor 4 awful again, our worst player over the 90 by some distance

Siggy 8 - great impact sub unlucky not to bag a brace
Carroll 7 kept things ticking over would like to see him get a start, tidy little player

 

[metalgear]

Lloris 8 saved us a couple of times with his quick off the line reaction
Walker 7 one of his best games, confident, composed, didn't lose the ball much and had great drive going forwards
Dawson 7 kept carroll out of the game
Caulker 7 very good young player
Vertonghen 6 at fault for not tracking cole for their goal
Parker/Dembele 7 fighting for the cause, laid their bodies on the line, as well as laying some into the Wham players Parker unfortunate for the penalty.
Lennon 7 did a lot of running and defending. held on to the ball well and collected loose crosses to help retain possession.
Holtby 6 occasion got to the better of him, lost more than his fair share of possession, but still put in good shift and spirit
Bale 9 needs to improve his free kicks would have been a 10 if he'd scored. learnt to take the tackles, playing as a man now.
Adebayor 7 always a thorn in Wham's defence, the trojan horse that allows bale to score. very good work rate last night. no excuse for not scoring though

Siggy 7 - very good player, him and holtby - how to choose?
Carroll 7 - not much of an impact but tightened things up and added pace to the game compared to parker. ours much better than theirs

 

[ledley's knee injections]

Alright here we go...

Lloris - 8. Top motherfudging SWEEPER KEEPER. So alert and vigilant off his line - how many other keepers in the PL are like that? Not overworked, but held every catch, came off his line... and massive, top save at a crucial point at 2-1 to keep us in the game.

Walker - 6.5. I actually thought Walker looked quite good going forward in this game, some good runs, distributed reasonably well too. Loses a mark for a shaky-ish first half, let Jarvis get the better of him too often, although nice MOTD-friendly flying last gasp block to deny a probable goal.
Dawson - 7. Solid as a rock./
Caulker - 7.5. Same same, and a real threat in their box, forced three great headers from Jaskalainan.
Vertonghen - 6. Clearly not a LB, beaten a few too many times, looked tired at several points too? But I did admire his desire to keep getting forward. Loses a big half mark for really sloppy play for the Joe Cole goal - his fault.

Lennon - 6.5. Poor first half. He didn't come looking for it enough, but we also don't use him enough (or crucially when we do, it's not quick enough ball). Better second half, peaking once 'Mad Dog' Pogatez came on, who he absolutely skinned time and time again, unlucky to not get an assist a couple of times. Can do better though Azza, although workrate was as usual exemplary.
Parker - 5.5. Gave it his all, battled hard, but it doesn't seem to work paired up with Mousa. Standard pirouettes. Standard charging forward into dead ends. Doesn't move the ball well. Still won his 50-50s though. Stupid challenge in the area for their pen - 0.5 down on the mark.
Dembele - 6. In his own different way not much more effective than Parker... I like him defensively though, he's smart, reads the game well, intercepts well (reminds me of Carrick in this way), and his ability to win the ball and then glide out of trouble is a MASSIVE plus for this team. But generally he's not actually a ballplaying CM and it's clear - holds on it too long!! It's frustrating. Needs a proper partner... fudge you Webb for giving him a ridiculous yellow btw.
Holtby - 6. Didn't quite happen for Louis in this game. Can see at times he's a level above some of our players in the speed and intelligence of his play (quite often going for 1-2's, but he never gets the return)... but I know it will come. Wasn't really a threat, although his workrate is good and the lad has got balls too.

Bale - 9.5 MOTM. TBH that was one of the best performances I've seen from Bale in a Spurs shirt. Not only were his goals STUNNING, but his all round play was intelligent, good movement, kept dragging the team forward at times I thought. Fan-fudging-tastic.
Ade - 5. Not good for BAD ADE, I'm afraid. Didn't look like he fancied it... or, he was putting in effort but it was almost sort of token... he's DEVOID of confidence right now, it's clear to see. Should have scored at least one, probably two, and maybe three (although his header forced a good save out of their keeper). We need to pray JD gets back and sharp quick, or that Ade somehow remembers how to play football...

SUBS:

Sig - 8. Excellent in his time on the pitch. Extremely positive with everything he did, was a threat, forced saves from their keeper, hit the bar, got a well deserved goal. Liking his every sub appearance tbh, deffo pushing for a start soon.
Livermore - 7. Did well in his short time on the pitch.
Carroll - 7. Same as Jake. Like the look of this lad - good crisp passer, moves well, gets the team playing. Big future...

AVB - 9. Excellent tactics and subs... EXCELLENT celebrations... has fostered a really tight knit team and clearly excellent team spirit...

 

[Spur of the moment]

Thanks ledley, some quality analyses in there.

 

[Kenyan Spur]

Lloris - 7.5

Walker - 7
Dawson - 7.5
Caulker - 7
Vertonghen - 6

Lennon - 6
Parker - 6
Dembele - 7
Holtby - 6.

Bale - 9.75
Adebayor - 6

Subs:
Sig - 7.5
Carroll - 6.5
Livermore - 6

AVB - 8

 

[Fuego]

Didnt put a foot wrong all night.

He put one foot wrong when he failed to step up in time and one of his legs played someone onside, it was almost a carbon copy of Verts but no one is mentioning that in the ratings.

there is a reason west ham are in a relegation fight, it shouldn't have been close tonight, other than Bale and Lloris we phoned it in

(not saying Daws and Caulker did anything wrong by the way, they could phone it in as west ham are so toothless up front)

compare that performance with the way we tore them apart in the reverse fixture

It was their best performance of the season in their cup final.


They are one of the worst teams away and one of the strongest at home. That's like comparing Stoke home and away.


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We played well you fudgers. Their goalkeeper had the game of his life. On another day Bale gets 3-4, Ade gets 3, Siggy gets 2, Caulker gets 3, etc. It was the game of the goalkeeper's life, West Ham's best performance, their cup final.... And the Bobby Moore thing gave them 5-10 minutes of an edge at the start of the match. But despite all of that, we still could have absolutely trashed them. We played well.

This performance was one of 7-8s for the most part, even subs did well.

Lloris might have made a tiny mistake for their 2nd goal but he was awesome and made a save with his face. He was epic.

Walker was actually good, not excellent but he grew into the match and did well overall.

Dawson had to contend with the player that has won the most aerial duels in the league (yes, more than Crouch or any tall CB), he made a mistake that could have been very costly, but he played well.

Verts did well, he's not a left back and had a good game aside from his mistake for the 2nd goal. That's still a decent performance by anyone's standard.

Lennon did well in the latter part of 2nd half when people would actually pass him the ball, it wasn't his greatest game, but he put in defensive work in addition to doing some good work offensively.

Dembele didn't have the greatest game, he still did ok though, his early yellow card did not help him.

Parker The penalty was his fudge up for sure, I think he was unlucky because usually Carroll would have shot, it would have hit Parker and nothing more would have happened. Parker would have taken one for the team and we'd all have moved on. He didn't have the greatest game, but he worked hard and didn't do that badly defensively... He even worked hard offensively, passing and sprinting, forward passes more often than usual... He only slowed the play down two or three times at most when it didn't suit us, but for someone that gets the ball passed to him a ton of times, he was ok on the ball by a DM's standards.

Bale Didn't jump for a header I felt he could contest... It was kind of funny seeing him ask Walker where the valve was... There aren't many negatives to the game he had. From the moment he responded to West Ham's singing by scoring against them, it was always going to be his day, despite West Ham's best efforts. 2 goals and his free kick caused the chaos that led to the 2nd goal. His corners were awesome. I can't think of a better performance by anyone this season, it may be the season defining performance for the club.

Holtby Unfortunate, he didn't have his best day. Not a lot of things came off for him, it was mostly bad luck rather than anything else. A willing runner as always and played out of position. He did as well as could be expected but didn't offer much more than that. Still played well, but needs a bit of luck.

Ade 1 Costly wasted chance (on target at least), 1 other header saved. Overall did ok aside from the sitter that was saved. His air kick ended up being Siggy's first goal, so I don't mind that, but we should have had about 4 penalties in that mess anyway. He did very well at the end of the game to take control and make sure we won the game.

Siggy Scored a goal finally, I'm so glad one finally went in for him. Also hit the post, he had a great game despite only coming on as a sub.

Carroll He played very well, gave us something we were missing all game and put in an excellent cameo.

Livermore He wasn't on for long, but we scored after he came on, so as a lucky charm he is doing well. I hope he is enjoying playing for Spurs, even though he doesn't get many minutes. He will probably come on for Parker earlier in a few of our easier games. I like having Livermore around to rely on if we need to bring someone on.


Their goalkeeper was amazing and I wish that guy had been the West Brom reserve GK last year. Hell, if that GK faced Arsenal in each of their games, they'd struggle to reach double figures over a season.


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This was a great performance and a great result for us. No one let the team down, we didn't have to carry anyone, epic celebrations.

 

[billyiddo]

^ i agree - this place really is an endless sea of negativity sometimes. Dread to think what the OMT must have been like