The Daily Dose is our unique nightly round-up of all things Spurs. Catch the e-Spurs Daily Dose each night at 9pm!Tonight's Dose by Matt Tumminia
The Late Show with Tottenham, Cup Clashes at Villa, One More Romanian and Injury Updates
Being a Tottenham supporter has plenty of ups and downs, peaks and valleys, sunny days and rainy nights but today, we get to celebrate and recover from an emphatic moment in the dying stages of a tough trip to Wales. The enthusiasm from the players after the ball hit the back of the net was immense, their celebration in front of the traveling support a microcosm of the season so far and the fans, absolute pandemonium in the stadium. A perfect ending to a match which seemed to be petering out while we threw everything in our armament, only to be repelled by an inspired performance from the home side’s keeper, yet this did not deter our determination as we dug deep and found a winner thanks to a cheeky backheel from Paulinho. Great team spirit from the entire squad and a valuable 3 points claimed in a hostile environment.
Key Points
-Paulinho and Dembele deserve the chance to start against Chelsea. They both knew the proper time to attack and when to defend while offering outlets for our fullbacks, central defenders and front line.
-Walker seems to be back to his best. His performances this term have been inspired and he has shown the ability to link up play with the right winger, the tactical awareness to pinch inside when the opportunity presents itself and the willingness to mark players right out of the match.
-Eriksen had a quietly solid match, keeping the ball moving from side to side and playing a few clever passes into the box. Still early for the young Dane but he has shown the ability to pull the strings and be an influential part of the side.
-Soldado did well, constantly offering himself for passes and although he was unlucky to score, he looked dangerous and on another day, he could have notched a brace. Just a matter of time before he starts knocking them in.
-Kyle Naughton is not good on the left side. Is he serviceable in cup matches? Yes, he can do the job against lesser opposition but against Premier League sides, we are asking for trouble keeping him as our left back. Danny Rose needs to return and in the meantime, I hope to see young Zeki Fryers given a run as he is naturally left-footed and could do no worse than Naughton yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, Naughton is a solid right back and provides great cover for Walker but he cannot play as an effective fullback on the left side.
-Lloris is a lucky boy. Another ref could have sent him off for the incident early in the match but Mark Clattenburg chose to err on the side of caution and let it go. Was it outside the area? I can’t
even say after seeing numerous replays but it could have gone either way. Lloris is a great “sweeper keeper” and I like his agility to come out instead of staying on the line, but he has got to be a little more careful.
-AVB got his substitutions perfect with Holtby, Lamela and even young Harry kane all playing their part in the closing 10-15 minutes. Kane had a close shot from the left side which almost curled in while Holtby was able to play two great through balls in only about 8 minutes of play. Lamela, who replaced Andros Townsend, was the architect of Cardiff’s eventual crumbling with an excellent cross from the outside of his boot but showed plenty of creativity and willingness to attack in his short cameo.
Villian’s Cup
Not allowing us to even take a break and change our boots, we travel to Birmingham and face Paul Lambert’s Aston Villa at Villa Park in the third round of the Capital One Cup. The Villians, also coming off a tough road win at Norwich City, present a tricky test for our squad as we must play another top flight opponent in a little more than 48 hrs after escaping Cardiff with the 3 points. Both sides have injuries which will force the managers to utilize the full depths of their respective squads and while we have a deeper side, they do not have the European matches we have and they also have an extra day of rest to prepare for the tie. What type of lineup may we see tomorrow? I’m thinking that we will see Brad between the sticks with Naughton and Zeki Fryers as our fullbacks, while Kaboul and Vlad marshal the middle. With his work permit sorted out, Vlad may be raring to go and show the Tottenham faithful what he can bring to the club, which I am confident he will show us the level of class we expect from our players. Sandro and Holtby will likely take the two deep midfield spots while the rest of the lineup is a complete crapshoot. I still think we should overcome an Aston Villa side who are dealing with some injuries of their own, including troublesome forward Christian Benteke, as they may be more concerned with the league as opposed to a cup competition. Nevertheless, they represent a dangerous side and we should be prepared to fight a determined opponent.
Romanian Influx
Many media outlets are reporting that we are close to signing the out-of-contract Romanian forward, Ciprian Marica, who is a former Schalke striker and full international. Being quite the footballing nomad, he has amassed almost 50 goals playing primarily in the Bundesliga and at Shakhtar Donetsk. Versatile and quick, he can do a job for us but as I have no real background to whom he is and what type of player he represents, I may be a little off center in this assumption. Free agents are attractive but if they bring us nothing that we don’t already possess, what would be the point of paying his wages for him to take the place of one of our benchwarmers? Bottom line is this; if AVB likes him enough to bring him in, I am all for it as I trust the boss 100%.
Still Crocked
The injuries to both Moussa Dembele and Younes Kaboul from the Europa tie this past Thursday were minor, so minor in fact that Moussa started the Cardiff match and completed the full 90 while Kaboul was back in training with AVB not ready to risk him as he continues his return to fitness. Jermain Defoe and Danny Rose look certain not to feature for Spurs tomorrow as Danny was injured in the Europa clash and we are still awaiting news of his injury while Defoe picked up a knock in training over the weekend and looks to miss out. Aaron Lennon and Nacer Chadli may play some part in tomorrow’s match as they continue their recoveries from their respective injuries. Other than these few and Capoue, who is still recovering from an ankle injury suffered during our loss at Arsenal three weeks back, we should be able to put out an XI with more than enough quality to see off the Villians.
covered everything most die hard spurs fans would like to have covered. facts about injuries not hearsay is a must so as to b taken serious. good luck.
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