Which Players Stood Out?

i heard from someone who saw the game that in the second half it wasnt 4-3-3 and that El was just playing as an attacking midfielder

they looked like a good a verage mid table team, well orgnised some bright sparks here and there from the new boys, but missing that stroke of genius from one maybe two individuals, maybe martin and daniel will add these in the coming weeks, lets hope so.

Ok, I assumed that it was 4-3-3.

I stand corrected.

How did Mouney do as an attacking midfielder?

Friends told me that we are definitely missing an attacking midfielder.

we have these three strikers, that are good, not great, but good, defoe stands out amongst all of them, but it looked like as soona s we got into their half we didnt know what to do to release the strikers, that cutting edge pass to tear the other team apart, unfortunately this is the same problem we had last year.

The midfield is sorely lacking, and i do think we should replace, keane, mido and kanoute, and buy that attacking midfielder to rip defences apart and score himself. Who that is, I have no idea, any auggestions?

its a bleeding pre-season walk about for christ sake. Don't take life so seriously you idiots. Have the last few days taught you nothing?

Mugs.

kevin, dont get so heated mate, this is a spurs blog, we are here to talk about spurs matters, if i want to criticise the midfield i'll do it, it has nothing to do with taking life seriously, i think youre the one who should relax his crack, what are you getting so worked up about you lunatic???

The midfield is lacking, its been lacking since last season. I went all the bleedin way to stevange to this match and thats what i saw, if you dont like my oppinion, you know where you can stick you twat.

any suggestions for a midfielder for us to sign???

Yeah but Kevin has a point. It is a pre-season friendly. I know it's your opinion but his point is still valid that we are not going to come out all guns blazing in a friendly away from home with 4 players that have never played for us starting. He's saying we need to give it a chance - and I agree.

We shouldn't say either way whether our midfield are awesome or poo we should just see that look fit and that they learn how to play with one another. It's not going to happen overnight.

Chris, oobody expects them to go all guns blazing. yes its going to take time, but my point is we do need experience and creativity in the midfield, we are tottenham not some third rate club, we cant expect our youngsters to shoulder all the responsibility for this club, all I'm saying is I went to stevange paid my money and the signs look ok, but need improving in that area.

The key to agreat manager is to recognise the weaknesses ina side as quickly as possibly and then next step is to do something about, not wait and hope. I thin jol knows the weaknesses and has pinpointed who he wants but its down to levy to agree to pay for them and then negotiate the deal.

What i saw today, I thought lennon looked the most impressive. i predict big things for him, and huddlestone looked pretty solid.

Routledge looked the most impressive to me. He is different gravey. Instead of the normal long balls that we saw last year, he played the ball along the floor and played really well with Defoe. If there is any chance of playing Defoe and Keane together, Routledge is the man to bring this together.

Attacking midfielder? We have 2 good wingers now in Ried and Routledge. Ried to give the high crosses to the big man, Routledge to mix it up with the small man. Some fans are just blinded by the absoulte bollox that we need this "star" attacking midfielder.

El hamdaoui played very well as an attacking midfielder, although he seemed to be up and down the pitch very well - made more of an impression than mendes imho- maybe Jol has unearthed his true position there - he was really lively. Lennon had a great first half, Routledge played well and Tainio showed he could be that energetic, goalscoring box to box midfielder.

this is only a friendly or a warm up game. is really hard to comment on the player standard of play.

our Spurs had been missing the service of a midfielder for years. no doubt there is carrick and davis but they are either still young or more to a defensive. we need a playmaker in midfield to support our lethal strikeforce.

for the past weeks, we had heard about spurs interested in someone but they landed elsewhere. Talk is free but please action. Please ambitious my dear Spurs, bring in a star. Please no NATO.

How did Ramon Vega do? Is he still with the club?

It was only a freindly and our first of the pre season series so we can't read too much into it, Routledge did well in linking up with Defoe for the third goal and Mido looked much leaner, this can only bode well for the coming season. I do feel however that we need an experienced head in the midfeild with a goalscoring record, maybe Taino I don't know enough about him. I have high hopes for the forthcoming season but i'd like to see abig name come in.

I found some links with Tainio Goals from the 04/05 Season. Enjoy...

www.ajauxerre.free.fr/L1_0405/S0405_J32_Ajaccio_Aja_But_Taino.avi

www.ajauxerre.free.fr/CdF_0405/S0405_CdF_Demi_Aja_Nimes_Buts.avi

ajauxerre89.free.fr/2003-2004/VideosL1/J13_AJA_Guingamp_But_Taino.avi

ajauxerre89.free.fr/2003-2004/VideosL1/J20_AJA_OM_But_Taino.avi

ajauxerre89.free.fr/2003-2004/VideosL1/J22_AJA_Bordeaux_But_Taino.avi

ajauxerre89.free.fr/2003-2004/VideosC3/8A_C3_AJA_Psv_But_Taino.avi

ajauxerre89.free.fr/2003-2004/VideosCdF/cdf_32_AJA_Sochaux_But_Taino.avi

www.ajauxerre.free.fr/L1_0405/S0405_J13_Nantes_AJA_But_Taino.avi

www.ajauxerre.free.fr/Selections_0405/PayBas_Finlande_20041013_But_Taino.avi

Great find!

Just checked out the goals. He can can hit 'em with both feet

Aimar and Saviola.

i can't play those videos for shit

I am a spurs fan from Finland and have seen quite a lot of Tainio over the years. He actually was a striker or attacking midfielder when he moved to auxerre as a youngster. At auxerre Guy Roux made him more of a defensive midfielder which is the position he usually plays in the national team too. He is really fit and energetic an in Finland he is called the terrier from Tornio because of his aggressive style of play but because of hes history as a striker he also has a really good technique with the ball. He does have the ability to score goals but maybe not the creativity of an actual attacking midfielder. With Carricks passing ability, Tainios energy and work rate and the good wingers we finally seem to have I think we will have a good midfield this year. What I think we are lacking are good attacking full backs(maybe Stalteri and Kelly could provide for that?)and a striker if Keane or Kanoute leave.

It was a good run out for the boys and that's it. All I care about is that everything right when the season begins. Top 6 here we come!

guti/davids/alan smith..shhhh...
i was never here...

Shhh I dont want any of them coming to Spurs...

We just need one Ronaldinho type of player to complete the whole set.

I think all the boys played well today, keane, freddi and lennon linked up well with lennon looking very promising for the future involved with most good attcks and creating some good chances of his own. Also routlage and mido looked in good form although i felt mido was took generous and took to many touches when he could of had a shot on goal but none-the-less he found the net for the second so it doesnt matter to much. the players were very willing today aswell as when they came out of the tunnel they were signing autographs having pictures taken with fans, like i had my picture taken with andy reid, and also i thought the new kit was very nice.


I think we should try to sign, saviola, julio baptista and maybe a good attacking full back like......finnan.

By the way we didnt play 4-3-3 in the second half we played a diamond midfield wiv mendes behind El.

Keep the 20m and pay a part of it as bonuses (for getting into CL) to the current squad, while earning some income from the bank.

It was a good pre-season game with lots of promising individual performances.

Huddlestone looks awesome for his age. He is built like Duncan Edwards - let's hope he can play like him.

Lennon will press Routledge hard for a place in the team and they both bring speed to a team that has lacked it. They both showed up Mark Yeates as lightweight.

Taino seemed like a classier version of Michael Brown, with a bit more speed and skill. But he was lost a little at times.

Don't be surprsied if Davenport is on his way - he is expensive as a 5th choice centre back

Mido has lost at least a stone in weight. Also I was sitting near the du-out and noticed that Mido was the only person Jol called out and again ater the match he was the person he talked to longest,teeling him where he wants him to run.

Zidane, Ginola is ok. But it will be better if we have our own Zinadine.

If you have ever been involved in pre-seasons you will know, you cannot look too deeply into these early frinedlies, its mainly fitness and getting to know the new faces. If you look at our vast improvement in not even a full season under MJ, we have to feel confident in what he is doing. He 'IS THE MAN'. In my opinion half our problem last year was not getting the proper service to the front men from wide positions, Davies or Reid didnt have the pace to get to by line so we always had to cross from deep. Hopefully the introduction of Routledge and whenhe is ready Lennon will solve this. We have quality all over the pitch and youth, we will definitly be there or therabouts of that i AM sure. However I do agree one top name signing would be good for moral and to show we are back amongst the big boys.

I have the feeling that MJ will eventually settle for the tried and tested 442, with Mido playing a bigger role than he did last season. The main starting 11 will be :

Robbo
Kelly Dawson King Edman
Routledge Tainio Carrick Reid
Defoe Mido

look i didnt see the match hell i only no we won. but all i have rally read is negative things hell we r one of the only clubs that has a british based squad. our midfield is young and still developin. we have the likes of carrick still young but 1 of the oldest in our midfield. he holds the ball up well then u have davis who can do the same. then u have lennon good young attackin player with speed to boot. routlage to. we have a good deffence and we r still a new team. martin jol is a very positve manager. our play is positive the best i have seen in years so cut spurs some slack.


hopefully we will get one over on arsenal and get baptist James

I think Stalteiri or however you spell it has been bought to start.
Champions league experience and a winner, not sure right or left back though, anyone know for sure??
Also I hope Edman can get back to his pre injury form, i thought he was superb to start but faded badly at the end of the season

Stalteri hasnt played for us yet. Will have to see him in action first. If he is better than Kelly then he should definitely start.

I thought so far Kelly has given us good attacking support as compared to Pamarot.

has anyone seen what arnesen has just said about us, tht we were always at the back of the queue when it came to signing players and that all the players wanted to go to arsenal or chelsea.

And I suppose he is right, not only do we need to sign a big name for big money for the simple fact that we need one or two in the squad, but this fact will atract other players to our club, it is announcement to say, we are a big club that is prepared to go out there do what needs to be done, we have been relagated to a mid table team over tha pas ten year, we need to be lifted up again. It may not be club policy to pay big money but if the current regime want suces this is what they need to do.

I knw arnesen is saying this to wind us up, but i think there is a lot of truth in what he's saying , as the proof is whats been happening at our great club over the years.

Any thoughts?

I remember seeing Acimovic at Stevenage and thinking he was class. Just goes to show, you can't read too much into these matches. Why didn't the club ban Arnesen from talking to the press until he leaves us? He's a cunt.

I have been a season ticket holder for the last 4 years and going to many games before then, spurs are in the best shape thay have been in in my time of going. In the past we have realied to much on one or two superstars and the rest of the team being average - we now have two very strong first elevens.

Went to the game yesterday and lots of positives, in the second half we were much better, Edman was getting forward at every chance, overtaking Reid - who looked out of place (& still overweight), Kelly was superb, Dawson has lots of potential, Roultledge will make a big difference to us this year & Mido took off his shirt on the final whistle to show off his ripped figure (the guy has been working hard).

I am glad we are not rushing out to buy a big name player, do not need to panic buy. We have a team who can compete for a top 7 place easily this year, we will be difficult to beat & will score goals.

But the one player we do need is a left sided winger, Reid is not good enou…

Thanx for finding those links to Tainio's goals.

He was wearing the number 10 & 8 shirt, which could mean an attacking midfield role.

He can use both feet and his head, and is a box player. The guy can also shoot.

Thanx for the info on him from our supporter in Finland.

Liverpool are really going for that 4th spot. They are signing quality players left, right and centre!

We must not be left behind. Two top players need to sign soon. A striker and an attacking midfielder would do nicely.

I love the fact when prompted on who we should sign, people raise the names of those already touted. Some independent and original thought may be nice. From my experience, not many people have a good enough knowledge of the foreign game to pluck a name who is good enough, yet a feasible signing. But if you can't be original at least make it believable - steed malbranque would be fantastic.

If you want an original name, how about Tuncay from Fenerbache - young, gifted and turkish

i think malbranque would fit right in and for less than 4m I say we should get him.

One big name player will definitely add glamour and bite to the club.

But I am already quite optimistic that the team we have currently can deliver the consistency that we lacked last season and get us somewhere near the CL spot this time.

Everton have shown that CL spot is still possible with grafters and workers last season. Spurs should work on getting the maximum teamwork and understanding out of the players.

i think we should find a foreign toilet and sign the largest poo around. long live the poo.

Poshspur look... another shitstabber.com fan.

I think Defoe, King & Robinson are already world class or thereabouts.

Need a real world beater to complete the team spine.

Juan Pablo Angel. He played alongside Saviola at Boca before.

Can be a good target man.

I hope Carrick and co are practicing long ranged shots ala Hoddle.

ANY NEWS ABOUT DEFOE BUYING A HOUSE IN CHESHIRE PROBALY A FALSE STORY FROM A SAD WEST HAM FAN

what about joe cole as an attacking midfielder. if the russian pricks get swp then he wont have a future their. or even better put a bid in for swp. he would get more football at spurs. at chelski he is up against lampard duff and robben!

Let Arnesen say what he wants. I really believe that Spurs will be a serious force to be reckoned with in the next couple of seasons. Our squad is so young and will develop under the guidance of Jol. Last season we started to see glimpses of the football which we are famous for and with time we will see more of it whilst bringing success back to the lane.

Great news about Robinson signing that 7 year contract; gives me some faith in footballer loyalty after certain scumbags screwed us over in years gone by (F.A.O Arnesen and Campbell). Defoe signed a new contract during last season too; the club must now strive to tie down King and Carrick to deals to ensure we keep a stable core of the team.

I agree with some of you guys about bringing in someone who gives us magic and sheer creativity in the midfield area. Aimar would be awesome, but the thought of that at the moment is unrealistic. I watched D'Alessandro a few years back and he was an amazing player, whilst Rosicky would also gra…

I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE 2 C VAN DE VAART FROM AJAX AS OUR ATTACKING MIDFIELDER AND ALSO SNEIDER FROM AJAX!!! THEY'VE GOT 2 B TWO OF THE BEST MIDFIELDERS IN EUROPE!!! I ALSO THINK MICOLLI FROM JUVENTUS WOULD B A CLASSY ADDITION AS A STRIKER!!! I RECKON THE CURRENT SQUAD IS GONA B TOP GRAVEY, BUT STARTING FROM NEXT SEASON!!! WE SHOULD SELL KANOUTE!!! WEST HAM WOULD SNAP HIM UP BACK OFF US!!! HE'S LAZY, LANKY + INCONSISTANT!!! I AGREE WE SHOULD GET RID OF ATOUBA!!! HE'S PANTS!!! ALSO, WHY THE HELL HAVE WE STILL GOT BUNCA....? I DONT KNOW HOW 2 SPELL THE TWATS NAME!!!

LOOK YER WHO EVA HAS FOOTBALL MANAGER OR CHAMP MANAGER WILL KNOW THAT THERE ARE QUALITY PLAYERS ABOUT IN THE WORLD EG. RONALDINHO WHO? TRY FERNANDINHO OR A CHOICE BETWEEN DAGOBERTO (BRA) AND CAVENAGHI (ARG) THEY ARE HOT HOT HOT PROSPECTS! well cheap CARLOS TEVEZ OR MARCELO SALAS! THERE IS LOADS OF PLAYERS LIKE I SAID WHO EVA PLAYS CHAMP OR FOOTBALL MANAGER WILL KNOW!
ps. joe cole we will get in january he won't come now coz he wants to see if he can make it in the squad and to be fair in front of robben duff etc and new signings cant see it happening bt who knows! HEY DON'T FORGET BAPTISTA WE ARE IN WITH A SHOUT!

i say we sign someone like malbranque or cole or even angel, did mido play well.how much did we pay for saltari or did he come up through the ranks. Im twelve please dont compare me with that dick.

sorry this is the real world not a computer game.

6:48 was right on my comp game spurs won the prem and that aint gonna happen is it

spurs should get rid of keane and go for andy johnson. keane doesnt score enough goals but johnson scored over 20 goals in a shit team that was relegated

Van der Varrt has already signed for Hamburg from Ajax so that is a no go! joe cole would be good but unlikely to happen at the moment van der meyde his dutch team mate i believe is looking to leave inter though???

Bring back Steffan Freund,he is a legend!

I believe perhaps that Diego wiz kid from brazil who would give us the creativity we lack against teams like Chelsea.He was heavily touted along with Robinho at Santos.And Carlton Cole who would fit the the young talented british criteria as well as pleasing Jol's big man small man obsession.

Watched the Spurs XI at Fleet today. Was impressed bt Defendi and Ifil but the star of the game for me was Jamie O'Hara - fantastic touch and passing range and great vision. Maybe too early for him and Fleet obviously are a standard or two off even the reserves but give him time and he has all the makings of a top attacking midfielder (IMHO)

I have written a few posts on this similar vein so if you read previous ones i'm sorry to bore you.
Firstly why do So many so called Spurs fand feel the need to SLAG off at any chance. You can only beat who is put in front of you, yes it was a pre season WARM UP!!!! Not a game to tear muscles ligaments etc..... Save the real hard work for the Prem League.
Spurs DO need a couple more players to challenge for Champs League, but we must offload to help balance the books the transfer kitty and the wage bill.
Here goes my thoughts
Robo is solid and him signing a 7 yr deal sends out a good signal, Fullop will learn from Robo's ability and Cerny's experience so we don't need a goal keeper.
Defence....
We have a number of players who can play at Centre back with an option of 3 centre backs with wing backs if the need arose in Europe for example, Ledders is colossal and a definite starter, he could be partnered by Dawson (my man of the match at Anfield) we also have Huddlestone, Para…

Scholes and gang had Cantona as the pivot and talisman.

Can Baptista give us that?

JJ doesnt score enough goals. He will be competing with Carrick.

pleased to see someone mention Steed Malbranque,what a waste of talent at Fulham a perfect signing for us. £4 million would get him, already proven in the premiership he speaks english what more do you want. we have missed out on Dhorasoo whos joind Psg for 3 million euros,hes 31 but good enough to make alot of players look very stupid on the pitch. Of course saviola would be a bit special but i just cant see him being a sucsess at spurs. Doesnt look like he has the big personality (ala Klinsman,Ginola) i could be wrong but i guess we can wait and see,i would like to be proved wrong on that one. As for strikers,just shoot Freddie i dont look at him and think class,mido can stay intill Money is asked for him unless he turns out to be a bit more interested than freddie and scores over 15 next season. Keep keane,Defoe speaks for him self... Get some real quality in,there are so many names to choose from and they cant all be looking for champions league football,D'Alessandro would be…

Dont discount the Iranians yet (the younger one, at 19, can be a big potential). Iranian players are known to be very good technically i.e. excellent ball control/dribbling. Just need some Anglo-Euro skills to make one a complete player : pace, physique, positioning, tactical etc.

Steed malbranque for Spurs. I am all for him. If we can get him for 4m, it'd be a steal.

Save the money for next season. Because with CL qualification, many big names e.g. Baptista will want to play with us, using his Spanish passport of course.

Steed's only 25 this year. Bought for 4.5m in 2001.

These stats is for a player who's affected by injuries.

Year Games Goals Penalties Assists Shots Cornerswon
2004 26 6 1 6 15 6
2003 26 4 1 5 22 15

Let's get him.

At 8:16 AM, Anonymous said...
I am a spurs fan from Finland and have seen quite a lot of Tainio over the years. He actually was a striker or attacking midfielder when he moved to auxerre as a youngster. At auxerre Guy Roux made him more of a defensive midfielder which is the position he usually plays in the national team too. He is really fit and energetic an in Finland he is called the terrier from Tornio because of his aggressive style of play but because of hes history as a striker he also has a really good technique with the ball. He does have the ability to score goals but maybe not the creativity of an actual attacking midfielder. With Carricks passing ability, Tainios energy and work rate and the good wingers we finally seem to have I think we will have a good midfield this year. What I think we are lacking are good attacking full backs(maybe Stalteri and Kelly could provide for that?)and a striker if Keane or Kanoute leave.

This is the best comment I've read on this site, a…