To Dare is to Do - A Spurs Story

With my formation I usually change at about 60 mins depending on the situation, so I stick adebayor on the bench in case I need a big man up top for awhile. Then with Defoe, I've never really rated him, so for now he is a back up, back up winger. He's pacey enough and dribbles well that he gives tired legs a go late on in place of Lennon. I plan on selling him come summer though, try and get 10-15 milliom from him and put it towards a younger lad. Thanks for the encouragement, I played a little ahead and we're getting more confident with better results. Hopefully it'll continue! I'll post some more tomorrow. Thanks again!

Challenges Lie Ahead

September 20th Euro Cup
Steaua 0 – 2 Tottenham Hotspur

An expected win for Spurs, although not as comfortable as they would have liked. The first half was very chippy, as you would expect from the first Continental game of the season, with both teams not fully sure of themselves. It took a Younes Kaboul header off of a Sigurdsson corner to break that ice, and it came in the 43rd minute, a perfect time for Tottenham. As the second half started Steaua got more and more confident, occasonially testing Hugo Lloris. Michael Dawson rose powerfully to grab Tottenhams second in the 60th minute, again from a Sigurdsson corner, and after that the game settled, as both teams knew the outcome predicted beforehand was happening. Encouraging comebacks for supporters as Sandro and Kaboul both played well after re-entering the team from injuries.
Man of the Match – Gylfi Sigurdsson
Disappointment – Aaron Lennon

In a surprise behind closed doors fixture, Tottenham hosted local club Lingfield. We do not have a report on the game, but we caught up with Stephen Graham about it after-wards.
“The lads needed a game where they could go have fun. Morale around them was down a little, and our forwards can't hit a barn door, so I set up this little friendly to show 'em how easy it was. Hopefully it will pick heads up, and they'll go into the next few games as confident as they should be.”

September 25th League Cup
Southampton 1 p – 1 Tottenham Hotspur

With Southampton doing very well in the league, this looked like a tough game from the get go for Spurs. Rickie Lambert has been on fire so far this season, and his form continued today, cracking the ball against the post several times before earning a penalty he converted himself. The penalty itself was a rather dubious decision, and both managers agreed after the game that the decision could have gone either way. Soon after the penalty, Aaron Lennon burst down the right hand side and played a low ball straight to the feet of Gareth Bale, who made no mistake of smashing it home. 1-1 is how regular time finished, and extra provided nothing of note. In the lottery of the penalty shoot out, Tottenham showed a lot to be desired, missing their first 3 penalties and practically handing the saints the win.

September 29th Premier League
Aston Villa 1 – 3 Tottenham Hotspur

As we've been in and around the players at the training ground this week, the mood has been fairly low. A loss on penalties certainly hurt this team, and it seemed like it was going to roll into the away game at Villa Park. Graham made a few changes to a tired team, and it payed off. Even though Darren Bent put Villa 1 up with a close finish, Tottnahm always looked lively and prone to score. Wellington Nem finished the game with a pair of fine goals before Jan Vertonghen nodded in a scrappy heady from inside the goalmouth. Overall it was a confident performance from Tottenham, and Stephen Graham looked delighted with the win and performance.
Man of the Match – Wellington Nem. With a special mention to wingers Bale and Lennon.
Disappointment – Clint Dempsey. His name is showing up a lot in this section, it can only be a matter of time before the manager may need to change something.

October 4th Euro Cup
Tottenham Hotspur 4 - 0 Academica

An easy day at White Hart Lane, where 34,000 thousand fans witnessed Tottenham put on an impressive display against an inferior Academica side. The scoring started in the 3rd minute when Younes Kaboul connected with another Gylfi Sigurdsson corner. Spurs second goal came from a lovely through ball by that man Gylfi to set up a one on one for Wellington Nem to slot into the corner. Again Sigurdsson stepped up and floated in a corner that Vertonghen put away to put Spurs 3-0 up after 30 minutes. The goalscoring was completed just before halftime as Aaron Lennon scuffed a shot into the path of Nem who buried it first time from close range. A show of attacking force for Tottenham, who have so far this season been lacking in that department. This looks to be a turn around for our Spurs though, as they are more and more confident with every attack.
Man of the Match – Gylfi Sigurdsson
Disappointment – None. A solid performance all around for Tottenham players.

September Round Up

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With Spurs this month, all did not go to plan. By no means was it a failure of a month, but it does not seem like one the manager will have liked. Playing 3 Premier League games and picking up only 4 points was certainly not what was expected. The positives of the month were winning their first two Euro League games 2-0 and 4-0, and some tremendous displays from Gylfi Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson has recorded an incredible 7 assists in 5 starts so far this season, 5 of them coming in Europe. This month saw him pick up two man of the match awards, and see's him become our first Spurs Kicker Player of the Month. Now, a few word from that man Stephen Graham.

“September was a bit of a strange one. Fixtures got changed last minute to incorporate the Capital One Cup and Euro Cup, so a lot of training was changed due to that. Hopefully we'll be a bit more steady now and predict what we need to do. All in all, I don't see us in a bad place. We're 5 points off the lead and just 3-4 wins in a row away from where I think we need to be. The fans should be still excited, as we're in a league where things can change at the drop of a hat, and I'm confident we'll capitalize on that. Thanks.”

Straight from the man himself, Tottenham fans will want to remain positive and get behind the mighty Spurs!

Upcoming

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As you can see from the graphic, Tottenham's October looks like it has potential. An 'easy' home game against Reading should provide maximum points and then a 13 day international break. Coming back from that, away at Stoke has the potential to be tricky, but a strong performance from key men may pull Spurs into the top 6. A midweek Euro game at home to Rubin will be entertaining for the fans, followed by another potentially 'easy 3 points' at home to Fulham.

With the weather here in London starting to deteriorate and temperatures lowering, fans hope for Spurs to put on some electrifying performance to counter it.

Defence Doesn't Win Championships (In this game)

October 5th Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 0 Reading

In what most expected as a win for Spurs, this game turned out to be a frustrating one. Reading's defence played tremendous throughout, led by inspirational centre half Alex Pearce. Early on in the game, Adam Le Fondre got fouled by a cluster of Tottenham players in the box, and earned himself a penalty. Hugo Lloris came to the defenders rescue though, as he guessed right and saved low to his right. The game ended up fairly even, with perhaps Reading deserving more than Tottenham on this occasion. As we so often see though, neither team ended up breaking through, and it ended in scoreless draw.
Man of the Match – Alex Pearce (Kaboul)
Disappointment – Tottenham's attacking play

October 20th Premier League
Stoke City 1 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur

Both teams started off well, passing the ball around and getting every player involved. Neither team could quite figure out the final third until the second half though, when Etherington found some space and looped in a cross to Peter Crouch who used his height to nod home. After that, Graham put Tottenham in a more attacking formation, taking off Scott Parker and putting on Adebayor up front. This livened up Tottenhams attack, but still nothing would come for them. Coming into the last 10 minutes, Adryan hit the bar twice to go close, but luck was not with Spurs today. Things went from bad to worse as Vertonghen got carted off in injury time with a torn groin muscle, ruling him out for 2 months.
Man of the Match – Palacios (Kaboul)
Disappointment – Gylfi had a terrible day

October 25th Euro Cup
Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 0 Rubin

A cold night at White Hart Lane saw a new formation tried out by manager Stephen Graham. He turned his team out in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with a defensive midfielder bridging the the gap. Many Tottenham fans have been begging the coach to play a forward as the false 9 is not consistently creating chances. In the first half it seemed the players were getting used to the new look, as many players looked unsure of their role, luckily the unchanged defence played as well as the have all season, shutting down all chances Rubin could create. All that changed in the second half with the introduction of Emmanuel Adebayor. The big man looked dangerous his whole time on the pitch, linking up with Dembele on the left and Lennon on the right to great effect. Eventually he grabbed himself a goal, shortly followed up by a Dawson converted corner. A solid clean sheet and a good attacking show left fans happy this Thursday night, and that much more confident in Grahams growing ability.
Man of the Match – Dawson and Sigurdsson. Awesome displays by both
Disappointment – Wellington Nem wasted the little opportunities he had up front in the first half.

October 28th Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 1 Fulham

Again Graham displayed his willingness to change and adapt by playing Adebayor up top, this time the affect was not as great though. Adebayor did have a few chances, rattling the bar on one occasion, but Tottenham’s goal came through wonderkid Wellington Nem. A fierce left footed strike put Spurs ahead on 70 minutes, but the defensive performance left something to be desired and hurt them in the end conceding an 86th minute goal.
Man of the Match – Hangeland, a rock at the back for Fulham.
Disappointment – Tottenham. The whole side never got going

October in Review, November Around the Corner

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A poor month in the Premier League for Spurs saw them score only once in 3 games, and drawing all three. 0-0, 0-0, and 1-1 shows just how good the defense has been but they need to push forward more and get a few goals. Europe has been another story again, winning both games this month and not conceding. After playing all other 3 teams in the group now, Tottenham are top with maximum take away and look to be cruising. Stephen Graham had this to say,

“We need to replicate what we are doing in Europe in the League. While going deep into the Euro Cup would be delightful, we need impressive showings in the league to set us up to where we need to be for the years to come. The lads are still looking good, and believe they can turn this upwards.”

With a change in formation Graham is hoping it can push his time to where they need to be.

A long, hard November is on the horizon for Tottenham, with most of England’s Elite teams coming up. We'll be following right along to bring you updates of how the mighty Spurs fare.

That has been a very difficult start to the Premier League I'm sure you can bounce back though

Yeah Rookie, it was terrible start. Tbh I can't remember a worse PL start in my FM life haha. Found out the hard way can't force the false 9 into England yet. The seasons coming around though. A few changes in tactics and training and I'm looking to be back on track. I'll post an update in awhile so everyone can see!

Busy Times

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November brought us 7 games for Spurs to try and pick up points and march up the table, and considering the opposition faced, it was largely a sucessful month.

November 3rd Premier League
Arsenal 2 – 0 Tottenham

Tottenham went into this game knowing a strong defence was going to be key, and the formation portrayed that. The Arsenal attack proved far too much for Spurs in the first half, as they produced wave after wave of attack. Podolski opened up the scoring after only 9 minutes we a deft flick over Lloris. After that, Tottenham held strong to avoid conceding but with no one going forward not much was going in their favour. The second half proved a slightly different story, with a lot more countering from the boys in white, and Gylfi Sigurdsson even had a chance from the penalty spot to level the game. Unfortunately it was well saved, and Arsenal broke away incisively for Podolski to grab his second.
Man of the Match – Podolski (Sandro)
Disappointment – Gylfi/Kyle Walker

November 8th Euro Cup
Rubin 1 – 4 Tottenham

A new formation set out by Graham proved to be a deciding factor, as Tottenham burst forward to score 4 goals before sitting back for the second half to see out the game. With this win Tottenham secured a qualifying place in the knockout rounds, to the delight of the fans.
Man of the Match – Bale Zipped up and down the line to provide 3 assists
Disappointment – Lloris Made a minor mistake to allow Rubin in to score, not a big deal this day but potentially harmful in other situations.

November 11th Premier League
Tottenham 1 – 0 Liverpool

A fantastic result at White Hart Lane against in form Liverpool. The game itself was very even, both teams playing a short passing, very slow possesion game. Spurs were the livelier of the teams though, taking 18 shots to Liverpool's 5. This was due largely to the shut down defence played by both Kaboul and Sandro, who would allow nothing for 'pool through the middle. Gareth Bale again raced down the lane and threaded a perfect byline ball to Lennon to score the deciding goal in the game.
Man of the Match – Bale, Lennon
Disappointment – Defoe. Missed a lot of opportunities.

November 18th Premier League
Tottenham 3 – 0 Chelsea

Off the back of the Liverpool game all the players seemed high in confidence, with all showing their true ability in this win. Gylfi Sigurdsson provided two excellent corners for Kaboul and Dawson to convert either side of another Bale to Lennon goal. Tottenham fans were delighted to see the players a quick attacking game, and even more so to see it pay off against a rival.
Man of the Match – Gylfi
Disappointment – Good team game

Novemeber 22nd Euro Cup
Tottenham 2 – 0 Steaua

A solid win for Tottenham, carried largely by Kaboul, Caulker and Scott Parker dominating the middle of the field. Sigurdsson finally scored the goal he has deserved all season, breaking the duck for his time at Spurs.
Man of the Match - Kaboul Bossed the field
Disappointment – Adryan Showed his youth

Novemeber 25th Premier League
Newcastle 1 – 1 Tottenham

Struggling Newcastle were thought to be rank outsiders in this game, but defended well to earn themselves a point. Papiss Cisse scored a quick goal after a lapse in concentration from Jores Okore allowed him through in the 9th minute. After that goal, it was all Tottenham's game, as they pounded Newcastle from all angles. Unfortunately they could not break through, largely due to Jermaine Defoe being wasteful. It took a 30 yard cannon to the corner from Scott Parker to finally get a goal back, but nothing else was happening for Tottenham today.
Man of the Match – Colocinni (Kaboul)
Disappointment – Defoe and Okore

November 28th Premier League
Manchester United 3 – 1 Tottenham

It's always tough outing for any team away at Old Trafford, and Tottenham felt the pressure of that today. Although going up after 40 seconds from a bad mistake by 'keeper Anders Lindergaard, Spurs spent the rest of game frantically trying to stop United. Nani played immense throughout and caused Assou-Ekotto many problems. The Spurs counterpart though, played perhaps the worst game of his professional carrier. Gareth Bale received an official rating of 4.2 in this game, leading to serious questions asked post match by fans, asking whether or not the spearhead can handle big games.
Man of the match – Phil Jones (Parker)
Disappointment – Bale Woeful

Overall

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As a month in whole, Tottenham picked up a couple of huge wins against opposition that they would like to consider rivals. Spurs are in a place in the table where they can strike now, and a good December and Christmas run could well put them on their way to the goals set at the beginning of the season. Only time will tell what happens now, but what we do know is this; December separates the contenders from the pretenders, and Tottenham need to pop themselves up now if they are to achieve the goals they set.

Those Arsenal and United results must have been hard defeats to swallow. Although it looks as if you have finally found some form with wins against Chelsea and Liverpool You'll be climbing the table in no time