How long will Tottenham and Jol hide behind excuses?
Tottenham just bottled a game they should have won, and in doing so showed that the lessons that should have been learned last summer (and the summer before that) have yet to be learned (or applied).
Tottenham fans may point to the fact that it was an away game, that they had King, Dawson, Lennon and Bale out injured, that they were desperately unlucky to concede a goal so late in the game without any chance to come back into it.
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
The absence of King and Dawson and Bale did not cause Tottenham any problems - Sunderland’s attack was rusty (or rather, Stokes was rusty) and Tottenham were sound defensively (despite a couple of good saves by Robinson).
Lennon?
Surely a team that has Jenas, Zokora, Malbranque, Berbatov and Robbie Keane can score without Lennon’s help? There’s no doubt that Lennon’s pace was sorely missed, but Martin Jol has known since last summer that the squad needs backup for Lennon - the likes of Ghaly and Boateng aren’t going to cut it if Spurs want the Champions League.
Spurs’ problems can be summarised like this:
1) No backup to Lennon / no width without Lennon.
2) No experience in midfield (see the central midfield pairings of the top four sides and you’ll know what I’m talking about) to help in such games.
3) A tendency to be ‘dazed’ when teams show the fighting spirit that Sunderland did.
Who is responsible for this? The buck stops with Jol, but hey, you decide.
The above is critical, I know. There were positives that Tottenham could take away from this game, but with their aspirations (even if those aspirations are to qualify again for Europe) this was not a convincing performance. The side has plenty of talent but this Spurs side has been making the same mistakes from two seasons ago.
Tottenham will win many games and will get a lot of praise for their performances, but there are specific deficiencies in the squad and in their tactics that Jol hasn’t fixed over the summer.
Players’ Watch
Paul Robinson - Made two very good saves and had a good start to the season.
Younes Kaboul - Very impressed with him, it will be interesting to see how he fares against bigger clubs.
Berbatov / Keane / Bent / Defoe - Berba couldn’t deal too well with Paul McShane (although he’ll surely get sharper as the season goes on) while Robbie Keane did well but perhaps did not go as far forward as he should have. Bent was ok, Defoe as usual didn’t get much time.
Zokora / Jenas - Good at passing the ball around and creating straight-forward chances but lack the creativity of Robbie Keane or the sheer directness of Lennon. Tottenham have a talented central midfield pairing but they can’t break defenses down.
Steed Malbranque - Decent performance, hopefully he’ll play a lot more this season than the last.
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Ok so we lost, but its not really that big a deal. Although we ended up losing the match there were a few positives to be taken out of the game. Kaboul looked commanding in defense and may even have the ability , if not jols support, to become first choice over dawson at CB. After Bent was brought on, we looked a lot more likely to score, and as you say, Robinson had a good first game. However at the end of the day, we lost because of the tactical decisions throughout the game. Why on earth, against a team that plays gritty, rather than pretty football, did we stick with Jenas, when we have Boateng, a player that gets stuck in and is creative on the bench? Also i have to add that Berba looked like he would rather be somewhere other that a football pitch today. If jol cant pick players on their performances rather than who he like (esp. jenas) we will be disappointed again this year. COYS
ITS NOT SOUR GRAPES OR DISAPOINTMENT AFTER AN UNEXPECTED DEFEAT………….MARTIN JOL IS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH AND HAS TO GO……………..SURE WE HAVE FINISHED FIFTH FOR SUCCESSIVE YEARS, BUT IT IS MY BELIEF THAT WITH THE RIGHT MANAGER WE WOULD HAVE DONE EVEN BETTER………..SAM ALLERDISE WILL PROVE, NOW THAT HE HAS BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE, THAT MARTIN JOLE IS NOT IN THE SAME UNVERSE………THE MAN IS TACTICALLY NAIVE HIS SUBSTITUTIONS AT TIMES CAN ONLY BE DECRIBED AS RIDICULOUS……….TO PUT IN A NUTSHELL FELLOW SPURS FANS HE IS JUST NOT GOT THE WEAR WITH ALL TO MANAGE OUR GREAT CLUB …..CASE RESTS………Dave the dreamer
i agree. get jol out. its enics money and the sporting directors that hav got us where we are today…not Jol
absolutely right,
we turned up as if we were trying to shut the door and we were playing very reserved, where was tarrabt? we needed width and we had no ideas,
i beleive martin jol is setting up the team to be too defensive, the midfield were not creating enough space or movement for each other and thats why we had no ideas,
im sorry theres no excuses even tho the goal came from a situation where we should have cleared the ball but instead i think it was huddlestone he was meesing about with it but at the end of the day we need our midfield to commit much more but instead zokora, jenas and tainio were like defenders not making any runs and were sitting back,
what sort of system was this?
i blame martin jol as this game should have been a win but instead he turns up worrying too much about the opposition attacking us when realy it should have been the other way around, i dont think martin jol can add a positive mentality, instead it seams he worries the players more than actually giving the encouragemenet to go forward,
our midfieldrs are too static and have to create triangles and if martin dosent know how to apply that to the players then i should come and do it,
what a joke im very pissed off
wake up martin and stop playing a defensive midfield system, get the players to move in triangles and to create space, also we need wingers fast,
forget tainio he done nothing, infact he lost the ball in vital positions,
lets hope we get in the top 10
as we need to learn to create space and supply the front, and i dont mean with long balls,
where were the crosses? how many croses did we create?
only stupid hopefull long balls,
rubbish football what a disgrace, i dont care who we were playing or where we we playing , all i know is that we should be beating this kind of oppasition, full stop
Although I wasn’t there, I think maybe it was a bit harsh. It’s only the first game of a season and the new players haven’t really had enough time to gel together yet. Pre-season and league matches are miles apart.
I’m sure it’ll come together soon but we just have to be patient
What a start.
We will not get top 4 if we don’t aquire better midfield players.
Zakora is the only decent player in the middle at the moment.
Jenas is a lightweight who not only flatters to deceive but cannot take a decent free kick
so why he takes them all I don’t know.
Best free kick experts are Kaboul and bale.
Tanio runs around like a headless chicken and malbranque wants to look up occassionaly.
Couple that lot with Gardener (not good enough) Staltieri (also not good enough) and you have a recipe for disaster.
Jol didn’t help by subbing Berbatov who was playing ok and putting the invisible man on (Defoe) then taking off the only effective midfield player off - Zakora and putting Huddlestone on who was fannying and tackling close to his own box - led to 2 free kicks.
We need a midfield and fast - clear out Jenas, Tanio, Staltieri, Gardener, Ghaly (shirt thrower) Routledge and Malbranque (lost us the Uefa Cup) otherwise kiss goodbye to progress.
We have a good un in Tarrabt,Zakora, Huddlestone,Prince? Lennon and need a left winger.
We have a great forward line and a great defence and keeper but that is meanningles without guile and craft in the middle.
How long before the “jol out brigade” starting spouting off although I must admit, he should have got the squad to go for it today and show Sunderland what a premiership team is all about…?
please take a look at how we played, espacially our midfield,
when we had the ball in midfield we didnt know what to do with it , why?
theres no one drifting wide, theres no one making a central run, wtf is going on, everyone was just looking at each other and waving there arms as if to say wheres the space? where are you? where dyou want it?
football is so simple but instead we complicate it for ourselves, i cannot see martin jol progressing unles he adds a positive aproach and starts puting some ideas together cos we need to strt playing more flowing football and i dont mean knocking it across the back four all the time, i mean by knocking it forwrd positively with players moving in different directions creating space and giving the opposition something tpo worry about,
its not rocket science, im a coach myself and i can see the problems and i tell you what if i had the chance with the squad we have this team will be winning things, instead if we dont sort it out quickly then players like berbatov will be leaving cos today was embarrassing and even if i was a top class player id be thinking that i feel very restricted at this club at the moment,
im blaming jol, get them moving and stop passing from left to right, lets go forward triangles, movment covering, its so simple and im so frustrated,
teams like man utd etc dont turn up to games worrying about the oppossition instead, they make the opposition worry about them and thats what we lack and i beleiv that come from the manager, if jol can just take a bit more risk and add creativity then maybe we can do something this season.
How on earth can you watch Keane and not critise him. He breaks up the momentum by looking to go backwards every time he gets the ball. This allows defenders time to get back in position, and prevents our forwards attacking with pace. Jenas and Zokora were my main dissappointments, moreso Jenas as he has skill in unbundance, but his football brain is that of five year old. Jol must play and persevere with Huddlestone, as he is the only one capable of hitting the forwards with a decent pass. Really poor show however, lacking in intellegence, width and creativity from start to finish. Must go down to team selection and tactics.
Sorry?
Didn’t Martin Jol post comments on the official site after the game entitled “NO EXCUSES”? He said and I quote -
“…and I could come up with excuses, but I won’t.”
So what the fuck do you mean “they’re hiding behind excuses”?
Prick.
anyone who says get jol out is pathetic tbh. 5th 2 seasons in a row is better than we have done in 10+ yrs! you cant expect to beat evey team every week. admittidly i thought kaboul was superb, all strickers looked lack lustre and we didnt look like we wanted the win today. But you can tell nothing from the first game,wait till 2-3 games into the season i say. when have we ever had a good start?
WHAT A SHITTY PERFOMANCE FROM THE MIDFIELD…KINDLY SORT THAT MIDFIELD UP WHEN THE NEXT GAME START..3 POINTS GONE JUST LIKE THAT~!!!!!!!! DON’T KEEP LOSING 3 POINTS LIKE DRINKING WATER,GO FOR GLORY AND FIGHT WITH PASSION..THE WHOLE TEAM PLAY LIKE A BIG MESS WITH BORING DEFENSIVE TACTIC?!! WHEN YOU HAVE PLAYER LIKE TARRABT AND PRINCE WHO DARE TO RUN AT DEFENDERS BUT TODAY MATCH.NONE OF THE PLAYERS EVEN BOTHER TO REALLY TRY OPEN THE OPPONENT DEFENCE OUT..WHAT SHIT IS THAT?!! MIGHT AS WELL GO HOME PLAY SOCCER WITH YOUR OWN KIDS. THIS IS A TOURNMENT NOT A TRAINING MATCH..IF YOU PLAY LIKE YOU DON’T BOTHER TO ATTACK THEN MIGHT AS DON’T TURN UP TO PLAY.
I was at the game today and I think the thing that lost yous the game was lack of width. Trying to go through the middle was never going to work because Mcshane and Nosworthy are really strong….FFS, its only the first game! I can’t believe all the whinging and doom and gloom!..Yous sound like Mags.
i realise tat jol sumtime prefer to put the player tat his admire in the starting line-up(tiano&jenas),tis 2 player is having decent performance and lacking in ability…y jol like to put tiano at RM,although it got the other choice,routledge can ply at RM!!jenas awful performance,y dont substitute him instead substitute zokora?yes~zokora also no perform well but at least he got speed and can dribbling push forward but wat can jenas do in the field?y dont let defoe subsitute early than bent?in tat match,spurs hving pressure and only can ply counter attack,defoe hv speed,bent only slowing the game,he hold the ball and cant do anything in front…then y subsitute berbatov?spurs is under pressure,they cant pass the ball well and holding the ball in front&ply long passing,berbatov can hold the ball and passing it around….after berbatov being subsitute,spurs face more pressure,the ball cant passing in front,long passing but none of the stiker is able to get the ball…..whole game lost wit the 1 wrong step……….
I knew this would happen. One bad result and an admittedly very poor performance and everyone is on Jol and the players back. It was only one result out of 38. Lets see where we are after 10 games. Lets have a bit of positivity. Gardner and Stalteri were only there out of necessity (although Rocha should have taken the place of one of them) so hopefully they won’t both have to play in the same defence again. Taarabt and Boateng aren’t yet fit enough but things will get better.
Tottenham own website says “jol No excuses” so why is some idiot writing an article saying “how long will Tottenham and Jol hide behind excuses” this was the dullest matches I have ever watched and we were poor but I am sick of people calling for Jol to be sacked he has taken us to 5th two years in a row and we are usually an exciting side to watch(not today) I think you have short memories we we only recently a side who were knocked out of cups early and only dreamed of being in the top half of the table! If you are supporters quit moaning and get behind the Greatest spurs side we have had in a very long time!
I’m afraid big MJ is just to nieve tactically and doesn’t have the ability to inspire and motivate the players. No one could argue that we don’t have the squad and talent to overcome teams like Sunderland but its not just about buying good players its about getting the best from them and I have to say Jol just doesn’t compare to the likes of Keane, Ferguson, Wenger, Morinho, Allardyce, Redknapp and O’Neal. Add to this his inability to make improvements via substitutions (proven over the last two seasons) and we will be lucky to make the top 5 this year.
I am in no doubt that players like Jenas, Malbranque and Zakora have the ability but they all seem to lack the application and desire to role up their sleeves and drive the team on. Today’s display in midfield was poor and the only time it improved was when Keane dropped deep late in the first half to provide an attacking creativity and drive. There were just too many times when Jenas and Zakora where to deep and Malbranque had to come inside and lay it back to them because there was little or no assistance provided by Stalteri.
So a poor performance because it was poor team selected that showed little desire and fighting spirit to go and win, underlined by strange subs (huddlestone for 5 mins ??) now the buck need to stop somewhere……Martin ?
HA HA HA U lot make me laugh ‘we are gonna take 4th spot this season’ on 2days performance u will b lucky 2 finish 10th u did’nt create a single chance and bent looks a compleate waste of money and as an arsenal supporter i feel well chuffed cos i always did know that ya shit lets face it u will always b in the shadow of the by far more classy ARSENAL HA HA HA HA HAHA
if it was man utd then i would agree spando, but it was sunderland i dont care if it was there first game , i dont care if they were up 4 it, the bottom line is we are spurs and are expected to deliver no matter what,
there was no urgency in our game and in fact we didnt even know what to do when we had the ball,
RUBBISH
Apart from one decent cross from Malbranque and the occasional foray forward from Chimbonda, Spurs had no width. Without Lennon Spurs are very limited in their attacking play. Last week Martin Jol said that with Lennon injured Routledge would get a chance to prove himself - he wasn’t even on the bench. So we played 3 central midfielders and Malbranque, who cuts inside anyway. It was a negative tactic which very nearly brought off the 0-0 it was designed for. At the end of the season we may well look at this performance/result and no doubt similar ones against moderate opposition as where we failed to get into the Champions League. Let’s hope we can bounce back in the next two home games, but this is definitely 3 points lost. Jol blames the strikers but the service was non-existant.
This is what i have been saying blk summer long spurs are just not good enough for the top 4 period.
It’s easy. Pre season spurs won every game playing 2 wingers - Routledge and Tarrabt. So today Jol was too scared about losing and played with a defensive midfield that created NO chances. Then he has the audacity to blame the strikers. Unbelievably inept
before today i was genuinly looking forward to the season ahead-40million in new faces added to a squad that finished 5th last year, arseneal on the slide why wouldn’t i???
Today made it glaringly obvious we will be in a fight for fifth at best! Martin jol has spent 16.5million on a substitue! I appreciate Darren Bent is a quality player who gives us an added dimension but why blow so much of the summer budget on a luxury FOURTH top class striker before addressing the left midfield berth?
Today we lined out with four central midfielders effectively two of them (Tainio & Malbranque) not fit to pull on the white shirt and jenas who i have always been supportive of showing no passion and being pushed off the ball by an avearge championship player (ethuhu) all day.
Martin jol has pinned the blame on his world class strikers for misfiring but what decent chance did the midfiled craft for them in 94mins???
Without seroius quality in the middle of the park (Thudd doesn’t cut it for me either) and a decent left sided option (Matty Taylor) we will struggle to achieve european football this year in my opinion!
One last point Anthony Gardner and Paul Stalteri started this match is anyone else embarrassed by this? Any of the top four would have ripped us apart today!!!
We will never get into the top four unless we have a central midfield that can compete with the top four and a wide provider. Nothing new, we all can see it, $40m and the same problems are there.
Spurs fans you are over reacting quite alot, it was an unlucky defeat and you will get better, Jol is certainly not to blame for anything . At the end of the day you shouldnt have tried kidding yourselves in the summer. Just face it with the midfield you have, even with Lennon in you will never break the top four. Take away all the bitterness and bias and compare your midfield to Arsenals or Liverpools, the difference is ridiculous. If you cant control games and cant create chances you wont win much no matter how good your strike force is.
As an Arsenal fan I’m so relieved reality has sunk in I wont have to listen to any spurs fans or ignorant journalists talking bollocks for the rest of the year.
What a mess!! Spent all that money and only one of them makes the starting 11 (mostly bad luck). Poor old Dawson - played every match last season and injured in training!! Nobody on the pitch was left footed. Berbatov seems to have his mind elsewhere and spent most of the match moaning with no sense of urgency. Come on guys!!!!
Arsenal fans should not be getting ahead of themselves-good squad A LOT to prove!!!
‘As an Arsenal fan I’m so relieved reality has sunk in I wont have to listen to any spurs fans or ignorant journalists talking bollocks for the rest of the year.’
Oh really? So has reality sunk in with you?…That Arsenal aren’t good enough to be in the top 4 either. Spurs may not be as good as people think but everyone knows they aren’t much worse than Arsenal…
1. Spurs will not be one of the top 4 . . . it’s a joke!
2. Berbatov will leave . . . today Jol humiliated him!
3. Jol will never get silverware - he’s not a winner and tactically naive!
4. Jenas will never be a Gerrard (Jol who do you think you are kidding?)- he’ll struggle to be a Joey Barton!
5. Jol is a nice guy - he would make a great neighbour or an even better Santa at the kids Christmas party - but sadly he is the Tottenham manager.
@mdh
THIS WAS THE FIRST GAME AND IM SURE ARSENAL WILL LOSE A FEW ASWELL, THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT WE LOST BEFORE YOU SO YOUR TAKING THE OPORTUNITY TO HAVE A LAUGH,
BY THE WAY WE HAVE A VERY GOOD MIDFIELD ONCE THEY ARE FIT AND HOW IS YOUR PATHETIC BABY MIDFIELD BETTER THAN OURS?
ONLY FABREGAS IS GOOD THE REST ARE HEADLESS CHICKENS,
THE PROBLEM WITH SPURS TODAY WAS THAT THERE WAS NO MOVEMENT NOTHING TO DO WITH ABILITY YOU IDIOT, ONCE LENNON, BOATENG AND TARRABT START GETTING INVOLVED YOU WILL SEE THE DIFFERENCE, MARTIN JOL DIDNT REALY MNAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS I FEEL TODAY, BUT THE PERFORMANCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE PLAYERS ABILITY MARK MY WORDS THIS WAS A BLESSING IN DISGUISE,
YOU GOONERS JUST COULDNT WAIT TOTAKE THE MICK AND GIVE YOUR BIASED OPINIONS, BUT NO PROBLEM YOU CARRY ON ITS ONLY THE FORST GAME,
ALSO LETS SEE HOW MANY TEAMS GET ANY POINTS AT SUNDERLAND THIS SEASON ANYWAY
another new season, another away defeat!
kaboul looks good, but thats the only good thing to come out the game.
the midfeld is pants, total pants.
teemu is crap and as for jj, well he must have something on jol cos he wouldnt get a game under any other manager.
with the players available today for selection, why didn’t he do this in midfield:
right: steed
left: tarabat
central: huddlestone and zokora.
sorry but this offers much more than teemu and jj dont you think!
boateng is the real deal, he is gonna be some player! if jol ever decides to drop jj that is!
come on jol, i like you alot but you need to get a grip mate.
coys!
anyway i think we are gong to give everton a pasting on tuesday!
just hope it’s a different look midfield!
LETS BE REALISTIC, I ACCEPT WE LOST BUT HOW MANY TIMES WOULD SUNDERLAND BEAT SPURS IF WE PLAYED THEM ANOTHER 9 TIMES, THINK ABOUT IT, NONE ,
ITS ONE OF THOSE THINGS SO BEFORE YOU GET TOO EXCITED YOU SCUM BAGS BE MORE REALISTIC, IS SUNDERLANDS MIDFIELD BETTER THAN SPURS’ OFCOURSE NOT BUT TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS AND IM NOT T ALL SURPRISED, SO BEFORE YOU START GIVING ABOUT WHOS GOT THE BEST MIDFIELD FIRST UNDERSTAND WHAT FOOTBALL IS,
OUR MIDFIELD IS GONNA SURPRISE YOU THIS SEASON, FORGET YOUR LITTLE DENILSONS AND DIABYS AND THAT, WHO ARE THEY? LOL DONT MAKE ME LAUGH FIRST OF ALL, WE HAD LENNON, KING, DAWSON, BALE, TARRABT, AND BOATENG MISSING, SO OUR OPTIONS WERE VERY LOW BUT STILL NO EXCUSE FOR LOSING, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT FORCED MARTIN JOL TO PLAY THE SYTEM HE PLAYED AND I COMPLETELY BLAME HIM AS HE GOT IT WRONG COS EVEN WITH THE PLAYERS THAT PLAYED HE SHOULD HAVE GIVEN MORE LICENCE TO THE MIDFIELD TO GO FORWARD BUT I THINK HE WAS A BIT WORRIED ABOUT EXPOSING THE BACK 4 AS ONLY 1 OF THE BACK 4 ARE USUALLY IN THE FIRST TEAM,
STOP SAYING SILLY THINGS AND LOOK AT IT PROPERLY, NO PROBLEM WE GOT IT WRONG AND DIDNTDESERVE TO WIN OR LOSE BUT VERY LUCKILY THE BALL BROKE FOR THEM AND THEY SCORED
I am mightily pissed of with the performance but moaning and demanding for BMJ to go. What bollocks. You give spurs fans a bad name. Shut the fcuk up. So we were poor. Get over it. Supporting spurs for over 40 years give me the right to say you moaners should be ashamed of yourselves. When we smash other clubs will you praise BMJ to the hilt or hide? Go away and grow up.
Martin Jol is a good manager, but sometimes his team selections seem wierd to me, if we paid all that money for Taraabt and Boateng, then why the hell not put them in? Zokora was ok, Malbranque tried hard, Jenas is shite, and Tainio was obviously not match fit. The midfield is going to shaft us big time this season. Its ok having 4 good strikers, but if no bastards giving them the ball they wont get a sniff. It was bad luck that Dawson was injured, and Stalteri is iffy, but Kaboul looked good. I reckon ten games in and BMJ could be in trouble if he doesnt wise up. The top teams lose about 8 games at the most. We have lost one already, to a shower of shit that will go straight back down. Where is Terry Venables when you need him?
Jol cant blame the strikers i heard the commentary on the radio and could read the outcome jol should read the game better if he brougth on a third striker 5 mins into second half defoe or bent allongside dimmi and kenno would have made all the differance he left it to late agaist savila
when he brougth defoe on had he done it a lot earlier we prob could have got the 4 needed to go through hes done a good job but his judgements a bit off either that or hes a soft git
absolutely right bill
I dont get what all the fuss is about. Spurs are one of the best middle section temas in the premiership, if not THE best..and as such Spurs will fight well for 7th , 6th and 5th position with the rest of the other middle section teams…
You didnt play that badly today and were beaten by a team that are more or less as good as you..Spurs will inevitably lose a game against a lesser team atleast once every 8 games this season playing alot better than u did 2day..so dont feel too bad lads..You just need to stop setting ur expectations alot higher than u can actually reach…Spurs beiung a middle section club shouldnt feel too down..
It matters if its the first game , i believe the first game sets you up for the season. Look at last year, united won 5-1 and for the rest of the season and were easily the most free scoring confident team. Liverpool drew and ended up 21 points behind united for tying too many games. Chelsea barely won their first game if i remember correctly, they played catch up the entire season and banked on a lot of last minute goals to save them. The problems for spurs are simple and the solutions even simpler. With the amount of money spent and talent on the pitch there was no reason why they shouldnt have beaten a lack luster sunderland team. Spurs have no width whatsoever, they miss carrick and dont have anyone who can hit 40 yard balls across the pitch, and the manager is a brainless tactician. A lot of you guys are right, they had the ball and no idea what to do with it. Sometime i feel spurs rely purely on the skill of the players and there is no one telling them how to apply that skill. So what’s the point of the gaffer then ? and to think Sir Alex wanted Jol as his no.2 before Quieroz !
Give Tottenham a break for Christs sake. They will come good. Its the first day of the season and they lost to a good team. Jol is a good manager and he has done good things at Tottenham. Calling for him to be Sacked is ludicrus.
i tell you what another manager would have done better last seaon and wouldnt have lost today and thats 4 sure,
bmj is a bottler he reminds me a bit of sven when he was in charge of england, just to afraid to let his midfielders commit, ffs they are pros and should be fit enough to get from box to box rather than letting them sit back and pass the ball around as if they are passing the buck,
wheres the movement does jol see that? tell them ffs to move in triangles and try to move forward by doing 10 to 15 yard passes and swiftly moving forward and exploiting space not 50 yard balls all the time,
wheres the passing spurs team that everyone talks about? cos i cant see it, no imagination and thats jols fault im sorry he saw the first half today and i expected him to get tham to sort it at half time but i only saw more of the same
Nick its not Martin Jols fault that you cant pass and move, its the players fault, they dont have the Brains or Talent just face it. How far behind do Spurs have to go before you face facts?
Not the manager’s problem? Hardly…
Look at his choice of players..
I can understand his choice of players because of the injuries, but what about the choice positions and tactics?
It is obvious to us all, MJ playing Malbranque on the left where he should play more towards the right, and Tainio on the right, where he should be playing more to the left? Trying to trick the opposition?
Then him bringing on Darren Bent for Tainio. Everybody wants to see the new signing that i agree. But drawing Robbie Keane to the left? He usually plays on the right whenever there are 3 strikers right? What is going on?
MJ seems to be insisting on a rigid 4-4-2 formation, why can’t he adapt other formations to the availability of his players? In the match against slunderland, he can always opt for a 4-3-3 formation with emphasis placed on the center of the pitch, since he doesn’t have wingers for the match!
Also, I felt that when it comes to motivating the players and the way to attack, MJ has got it all wrong. Times and times i’ve seen balls played to no one, or even when the ball is headed down, there are no one to effectively make use of the ball. Every now and then i see Berbatov shaking his head and most other players , upon getting the ball, open up their arms to signal to their own players ‘pass to where’!!!
It’s time for MJ to go.. He has given Spurs much by bringing Spurs to a level. It’s time for another manager to bring Spurs up a higher notch. Spurs need to improve!
oh yes, and could somebody tell MJ to instead of spending small amounts on players who p[lays in those positions Spurs already own a few, try spending a lump sum on a good player who plays on positions Spurs is in need of. Wingers?
(This has nothing to do with his purchase this season)
Fuck You Arsenal Fans!!!!
i’m with nick the yid. Let’s call for MJ’s resignation!
Com’on, join me
The midfield seemed lost and didn’t know what to do. Give the young lads like Taarat, Boateng,Routledge and Huddlestone more chances to prove themselves.
Spending big getting players but never use them is a waste of money.
Dont talk about the future when we can’t do it properly NOW.
Its Sunday morning and I have calmed down now! Thinking rationally about it, I reckon we should wait until the players who are out injured start to return, then see how it goes. We should have got a result yesterday, but all the arguing in the world wont change anything now. When Lennon, King, Dawson, Bale, Taarabt, and Boateng have played a few games we will be more clear on the way the team is going. I think the obsession with Jenas has to end, and Tom Huddlestone should start every game possible, as he seems to be the only midfielder who can pass accurately at the moment. Just keep supporting Spurs, cos it could be worse, you could be a South London Pikey gooner!
Has Jol gone mad,
Rocha wasnt even on the bench, he`s about 10 times better
than gardner.
He can also play right left or centre.
Thudd was on for 3 mins, and got a decent strike on goal,
which had hardly happend for the previous 87.
Tarabaat didnt even get the bench,
instead we had the 3 stooges Tanio, Jenas ,and Zokara.
I could pick a better side and im getting on 73 this year.
For god sakes Jol BE POSITIVE.
Its a bit extreme to call for Jol’s resignation after only one game. Although i did expect a lot more from Spurs in this game, i think they were a bit too casual in their attitude. I don’t know what kind of motivational speaker Jol is, but whatever skills he has were seriously lacking last night.
Hopefully for Spurs fans, this will be a wake-up call for the team that every season is a new one & the fight starts from day one all over again. If they want it that badly they have to take it, not expect to get it after just spending big money in the summer. If they fuck it up this summer, they have no-one but themselves to blame after all the expectations (not unrealistic, mind you) that have been placed on them.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Arsenal tonight. To all the other Arsenal fans out there, lets pray that our team can get off to a better start!
I support and love a club with horribly fickle fans. Give me a break, there’s no way Jol’s time is up. This is so ridiculous. Tony’s time has just begun. Let’s get behind the best manager we’ve had in 4 decades. Please let’s start building consistency. 5th for 2 seasons is consistency and the best we’ve had for a long time. The fools that think it’s time to change are just that. Long live the Jolly Farmer
It’s not about ‘just one game’ - these are problems that have been happening for 2 seasons now.
it annoys me the fact that just cause we lost one game and now everyone thinks that there is no way we can get top 4 football… fuck off… there is still a real chance, yesterday was our wake up call to be honest and i no jol will push them like they need 2 be. our fans our to fickle to think just cause we lost one game that jol should be chucked that is absoutly stupid. next game have huddlestone instead of tainio. steed looked great first half. JJ just needs his confidence back and it doesn’t help my some stupid fans putting him down, i don’t see what the hell is wrong with the player. and the same with gardener, there are a small section of our fans that think its okay too boo or put down our own players- how the HELL does that work.
Well i’m looking forward to tuesdays match
COYS
DAVID HART - you cannot even spell Jol’s name correctly, what sort of Tottenham fan are you?? Pleb!!
C’mon Ahmed. It IS just one game. Yes, the same problems are resurfacing, but i think Jol deserves a few more chances before we can write him off. Maybe this result will galvanize the team into being more active & playing more positively. It would wrong to underestimate them just yet. If he hasn’t done anything tangible to make up for this by mid-September, i think THEN it would be safe to say that he’s fucking it up again.
There is a glaring lack of imagination, intelligence, vision, awareness and skill pervading the Spurs midfield, it is a one trick pony that hopes that it will succeed by running blindly and making hit and hope passes. I don’t know if Jol is trying to create a midfield in what was his own sadly lacking and second rate style of play, but it will not get you into the Champions League. The squad needs a defensive ball player, a playmaker, good left and right wingers/midfielders, a left footed left back, a centre back and cover for right back, I know this seems like we need a new team , but there are so many deficiencies in the present squad that need sorting out.
For once I agree with a gooner! But to be honest my patience is wearing thin. Jol is a good manager, but he could become a great one or a mediocre one this season. Time will tell. He must get it right in midfield. Ive heard hes after Matt Taylor. I hope he gets him. A very good player, one that can inspire teammates and score goals. We have to many OK players in midfield, not enough good ones. My midfield at the moment would be Taarabt, Huddlestone, Zokora and Lennon. I know injuries prevent this at the moment, but Jenas is getting beyond a joke now. Also I read a previous comment about Jol having humiliated Berbatov by substituting him. I know thats a load of cobblers, but if it were true then Berbs should bloody grow up. The team comes first. Hes a great player, but for god sake, try scoring a goal and then daring the manager to take you off. All is not lost in one game. I reckon we will be ok.
Also, I have just read the write up on the Sours website. Jol was stating the obvious and when you read it, it seems like he doesnt know how to resolve things. For fuck sake, let me do the job. You bloody do mine. Any plum can see that certain players are not good enough. I am seriously wondering if he is up to it now. I have always been a fan, but I am wavering.
Spiral - go ahead and read the archives for the Spurs section, from last season, where I talk about Jol’s strategy and the specific problems Spurs have as a team.
It’s not today or yesterday, I’ve been saying this since last year.
one thing i didnt understand is why the hell he didn’t use adel taarabt i mean he’s one the most exciting players we got and to be honest i think he’s much better than jermaine jenas. I think he should replace him because i think tarrabt is the player to take us to the next level.
Ahmed -
I’m not questioning your assessment about Jol’s strategy, team problems etc.
I AM questioning the fact that you seem to write them off after ONE game. Its a new season with new players in the squad, and like i said before give Jol enough rope. He’ll either use it on his own neck or use it as a lifeline. This game could be a wake-up call for him & his team & MAYBE they can get their act together in time to still mount a serious challenge for top 4. I would wait until they’ve completed about 5 games before we can assess if they are a side that can learn from defeats like this & battle back or whether it REALLY IS the same old story.
BTW, i’m sure you wouldn’t write off Man Utd though they couldn’t score against a visiting side when they were down to 10 men in the last 30 mins of a game. Even with Rooney out of the match, are you telling me that Utd’s attacking power is just gone & they should now settle for something less than another Premiership Cup at the end of the season? Spurs had their injuries & so did Utd, but i’m not writing off Man Utd getting a title win this season either.
Quote from Martin Jol at the end of the game:
“We didn’t play well and didn’t create as many chaces as I would have liked,” said Jol. “Even a 0-0 draw would have been disappointing.
“When you don’t play well a 0-0 draw is still a 0-0 draw and we have to learn how to protect that. We didn’t and I could come up with excuses, but I won’t.
“We had players out but we were still strong enough. It was the first match and we were determined to do well but it didn’t happen.”
“We didn’t and I could come up with excuses, but I won’t.” So doesn’t this just destroy your argument you retard!!
I have just seen Jols after match quote,
he thought Antony Gardner did a good job.
While Rocha sat on the bench.
If this is true from our manager,than we may as well
all pack it in now,or take cyanide.
Hmmm…
nice game today.
reffering to the comments of Zimmer, Jol hasn’t got a clue! let’s see how long the Spurs fans will put up with this waste of space! Even as a Gunner it will make me cringe if they lose to Derby on Saturday. we at least want some kind of challenge from spurs this season. Or was it just talk as usual???
£40 million… fifth place beckons again. Money well spent. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha