Basle Review - Poor and Lifeless, the Pressure Cooker is on Now

Antony Moule takes a look back at Thursday and the struggle against Basle.

All the above adjectives could describe Tottenham’s performance against Basel. We were lucky to get away with a 2-2, and still work to be done; if we want to get through the tie. I’m not going to lie, this article is going to moan, criticise and damn well lament the performance of the Spurs players, and even a decision of two by our manager.

Where to start? Well, bluntly, Bale and Vertonghen were poor, probably one of their worst performances this season. Both players looked like they were playing in lead boots, and neither had the same bite or sharpness about them that we have been accustomed to. Vertonghen most likely won’t play as poorly again, although his lack of pace, not only worried me, but surprised me as well. Is this the same player that made bursting runs up the field in support of the attack, or made great recovery runs to get unthinkable tackles in defence; it didn’t look like it. Hopefully this was a one off game, and I’m confident it was, but we shall see. As for Bale, well, that was his worst performance this year. He was a passenger for the majority of the game, didn’t look like he wanted to get involved, and when he did, I wished he didn’t. To top it all off, he got, what looked like a serious injury, dribbling in an area where it was hugely unnecessary. Fingers crossed that injury isn’t as bad as it looked and that he gets back soon.

Now, the whole team played bad, but for me personally, Naughton, Parker and Gallas looked especially poor. Walker has had a poor season, but I feel that he is, and can get back to, the decent form he showed last year, but Naughton is simply not good enough. He is definitely Premiership standard, but not top four. Against Basel, he was lost for both their goals and for me, is both poor defensively and going forward. As for Gallas and Parker, they were just outplayed by their opposition, and looked old and redundant against their young, vibrant opponents.

AVB played his part in this poor performance. Why Dawson didn’t start to deal with the 6’5 striker is a mystery, but the big mistake was taking off Holtby. The German was playing very well, looking for action, creating options and, as always, working hard for the team both in attack and defence. The moment he bought on Dempsey, Spurs didn’t get the ball back for about 20 minutes.

Moving on from this fixture clearly has hurdles. The Bale issue is a big deal, but at the time of writing this; I am unaware of his status. Injuries to Lennon and Bale couldn’t have come at a worst time, with congested and season defining fixtures in the next month. We have worked to do in Basel if we want to get to the Semi’s, but this is where great teams are forged. It’s time for players to step up out the shadow of Bale, it’s time for AVB to test his tactical knowledge, motivational theories, man management and for everyone involved in Tottenham Hotspur to deal with the pressure they are under. Pressure is not a problem for top teams and players, it’s a privilege.

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