Stephen Carr - Golden Goal

STEPHEN CARR 

For a three year period, Stephen Carr was possibly the most consistent right-back in the Premier League. A robust, stout individual but one who despite the perception of being unathletic could and did not stop running for the full 90 minutes. A reliable defender who would hassle left wingers not allowing them opportunities to deliver killer balls, but it was in the other final third that he became a somewhat hidden gem.

On October 23^rd, 1999 he famously scored a rocket against Manchester United in a rain-soaked encounter, the goal soared past Fabien Barthez from a 45 degree angle from 30 yards out, the shot was as true as an arrow.

That goal won Carr great acclaim, and anytime he ventured forward he was encouraged to repeat the trick and while lightning rarely strikes twice, there is another goal he scored that deserves further appraisal.

On the last day of the season, Sunday 14^th May 2000 – the same season as the Manchester United strike - Tottenham were at home against a Sunderland side that had exceeded expectations finishing 7^th with Kevin Phillips scoring over 30 goals in a season.

In a drab typical end of season affair not much is memorable in a 3-1 home victory apart from near the end in the 82^nd minute.  With Sunderland throwing bodies forward for an equaliser, Carr intercepted a cross from the right hand side and pounced on his own interception 30 yards from his own penalty area. He headed the ball clear away and gave chase when others would have deemed it a lost cause, he kept the ball in play by the touchline and found open space ahead of him due to the over-commitment of Sunderland going forward. Then Carr found himself alone 25 yards from goal devoid of support from teammates.  As he entered the penalty area he tried something.  

Ahead of him the Sunderland keeper Thomas Sorenson is off his line not sensing danger and with the ball at the corner of the 18 yard box, he attempted to pull off an audacious chip to the far corner and has the chip went in the air, a hush descended around the stadium as they waited for the ball to land.

When it landed in the far side of the net, a beautiful roar of disbelief, admiration and joy.  Stephen Carr had just put the icing on a convincing win with a goal that was more unbelievable due to it being achieved by a right back - it was a goal of speed, determination and at the end pure grace akin to another former Tottenham hero who scored a wonderful chip – Glenn Hoddle (v Watford, 1984).

Being Tottenham fan, it seems without the promise of glory in competitions, we still have great goals to savour and remember from Hoddle to Waddle and Gascoigne to Ginola.  Stephen Carr provided it not once but twice in a season; the United goals is more fondly remembered – the opposition, the weather, the surprise of the strike and it lives on in the annals of Sky Sports’ coverage. Yet the only clip of the goal is a grainy YouTube clip that seems to be running at a different speed, yet you can see how audacious the goal is. A goal scored by a player at the height of his confidence capable of taking on a whole team on his own as if you were in the playground.

 

 

Playing right back yourself growing up there is an affinity towards players like Carr and those who came before and after him; at Tottenham there have been some good versions of the right back from Dean Austin and Alan Hutton to the modern day Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier.  Carr was at the forefront of an altering landscape for full backs. Gone were the days were you were meant to just defend like Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn, a full back could venture forward if your end product of crossing or shot was worthwhile and you can see it now in the development of players such as Gareth Bale, Seamus Coleman and now Trent Alexander Arnold – these players dazzle and entertain but all bomb forward seeking to score goals but they can do so due to the initial ventures of players like Stephen Carr.

Spurs-y: When is a Choke not a Choke

You have a lot of ups and downs being a Tottenham Hotspur fan, more downs than ups in my lifetime. Things could be worse, I've never seen my team get relegated but they have only won three trophies in my lifetime since I started going - 1991, 1999 and 2008. I don't count the cup trophies of 1982 and 1984 as I was busy rolling around myself.

Yet the most recent Spurs defeat in an FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United (21-4-18) was not your typical Spurs-y performance; it was not the sort of game where they went all Spurs-y and threw it away.  The only circumstance was they threw away a position of superiority and did not see it out, but this was against a team who wanted to win the game versus a side who wanted to play football.

This has been the criticism of Tottenham in recent years, they like to play football and yet cannot do the things you need to do to win vital football matches. For all the stats of possession and territory translating to shots on target, there remains a lack of composure in the final third.

In the season when Leicester City won the league, they came to White Hart Lane and won 1-0 due a set-piece goal after Tottenham had dominated. Leicester soaked up pressure, got one chance and converted it. At that moment, the game did not seem important until it was important.

Tottenham again find themselves in moments of superiority and yet cannot convert into dominance or victory, before they took the lead on Saturday they were in the ascendancy and yet did not force De Gea into many saves with off-target attempts.  They finished the first half on the front foot including an Eric Dier effort hitting the bottom of a post.

In the second half, more pressure was undone by Manchester United converting their first chance of the half and then it was down to Tottenham to breakdown a stoic resistance of a familiar Mourinho side.

And yet the team struggled to find an fluidity or cohesion, trying to pass through a resolute back-line without little success failing to utilise the width and delivery of Kieran Trippier.  Whilst Pochettino may be at fault for not starting Toby Alderwield on Saturday, there were not many options on the bench to change the game - Erik Lamela has had an indifferent run of form, Lucas Moura is good on the ball but not electric in the box and there was no out and out striker to score a goal.

The reliance on Harry Kane reared its head again and he was unusually absent throughout the game, Christian Eriksen was hounded in possession and Moussa Dembele was outmuscled and below par.

Oddly, the goal came from a long ball from Davison Sanchez which found Eriksen in acres of pitch to pass to Alli unmarked in the box to convert the first goal.  Reminiscent of Alli's goal versus Chelsea which also came from a long ball; the pragmatism to remain loyal to the passing and movement led to our downfall as we were over-run in midfield by Pogba, Matic and Herrera.

Pochettino can do only so much to prepare his troops for these big games, but until they win a big one, those questions will circulate constantly from naysayers and critics.  Another season without a trophy leaves a bitter pill, but a close season with more additions may make it easier to swallow. I have been lucky enough to see Tottenham captains lift trophies three times at Wembley. It has been 10 years since the last, how long must we wait for the next?

Spurs v Liverpool Observations

In an all too familiar outcome between these two sides, Liverpool ripped Tottenham Hotspur apart at White Hart Lane.  In a battle between two Bielsa inspired coaches, the British overcame the South American as Brendan Rodgers charges out thought the team from North London.
Here are my takeaways from the game:

1. A Sterling performance
Raheem Sterling showcased perhaps his best overall performance of his career today. His pace was lightning but coupled with technical nuance and intelligence.  Sterling provides a touch of flair and pizazz to the team and has an eye for goal to add to his repertoire. It is safe to say that Rodgers is nurturing his talent correctly and if he remains at this level he will become one of the great English players.

2. No Dier call up
A few people were surprised by the exclusion of Eric Dier from the most recent England squad of Roy Hodgson this week, however, on a few occasions Dier's naivety was in evidence against the incisive passing of Liverpool. This lead to him conceding the penalty leading to Liverpool establishing a two-nil lead. His outstretched arm on Joe Allen was rightly penalised but it was more an indication of the training method employed at youth football, where players are taught to pull a shirt to stop forward progress. It might have been a 'soft' penalty but you will be surprised if Dier attempts again.

3. Mario will soon be Super
Mario Balotelli failed to score on his debut and he was quite ring rusty with some headers and a long range shot that he shanked terribly, but there were glimpses of a new emphasis on teamwork for the 24 year old Italian; he tracked back to tackle and do the nitty gritty and his strength was his strength against Younes Kaboul although his lofted pass was counter productive for the run of Sterling. The link up will prosper eventually and Super Mario shall return.

4. Over-manned midfield
Mauricio Pochettino was out manned in his midfield selection. His attempt for continuity in selection by starting the same XI that defeated QPR so convincingly last weekend, played into the hands of the Anfield club who had captain Steven Gerrard, the motor Jordan Henderson and Rodgers lynchpin Joe Allen faced the less than fearful Capoue and Nabil Bentaleb, who were outgunned and overpowered. Whilst he is out of favour the presence of Sandro might have made Liverpool think about a more combative approach. However, even an under par Gerrard did not have much to do as no pressure was forthcoming from a weary Tottenham side.
Perhaps Pochettino needs to focus more on motivation rather than tactical philosophies as Tottenham seem to currently freeze against fellow top 6 sides.

5. Mouth watering versus Madrid
The Champions League draw threw up the tantalising prospect of Real Madrid v Liverpool in back-to-back games at the Bernebeu and Anfield. These two encounters promise to be played at a neck break pace full of speed and passion at two footballing cathedrals, no need to pray, the prayers have been answered.

Follow me on twitter @JamieGarwood

AVB's people problem

The Tottenham Hotspur manager, Andre Villas-Boas, is facing a crisis of some sort at White Hart Lane. After having off-loaded the club's best player in the usual Spurs way and getting the most money you could for that same player, AVB promptly bought seven players of varying position and quality to help with the club's bid for a top four finish and the ultimate goal of returning Champions League football to the other North London club.

However, for want of a better word, this season has started to become a bit unstuck for the Lilywhites following a second consecutive Premier League defeat.  And when we say defeat a 6-0 away lose to Manchester City is still only a defeat as only three points were lost.  Of course pride and confidence will take a bruising for those players involved, and AVB himself looked a little bit more than stunned at the game's conclusion as he zombie-walked down the tunnel looking for some consolatory handshakes from City staff.

Yet not all can be put at the door of AVB, he has at his disposal a squad that in essence has two starting XIs in them and perhaps too many players to keep happy. Of course, his stubborn-ness in maintaining his 4-2-3-1 formation is causing all manner of problems for Roberto Soldado up front; who too often finds himself isolated from play and with little or no chance of making an impression on the game.  His only open play goal, away at Aston Villa in a 2-0 victory came from one of the only occasions when Spurs passed forward and with fluidity.  It came from harassing Villa defenders forcing an error and in two passes giving Soldado a shooting opportunity in the opposition penalty box which he duly converted with aplomb. 

AVB prefers the slow-tempo build up offense of passing teams to death and force openings by moving defenders out of position.  Unfortunately, by being so stubborn in his formation and tactics, opposition have grown accustomed to this practice and drop deep saying to Tottenham try and break us down, knowing that the pass will go sidewards or backwards wasting Soldado's runs into space with no ball forthcoming.

However, whilst a lot has been made of Bale's absence, AVB has been scuppered by the loss of Danny Rose at left-back to injury.  This has forced Jan Vertonghen to play in that position when his best role is at centre back, the role that got him into the Premier League Team of the Year last season. Younes Kaboul's return to centre back after two injuries last season, has not gone well and Michael Dawson looks to have lost a yard of pace. 

An injury to Capoue in the middle of the park has meant that Sandro and Moussa Dembele play more often, whilst Paulinho is not showing the Brazilian flair expected of him.  The elevation of Andros Townsend to the right flank has been good, yet he has evolved into a one trick pony coming onto his favoured left foot too often to attack when he should maybe deliver. Lewis Holtby is all guile without any end product and now Christian Eriksen has an ankle injury.  Nevermind his refusal to even use Jermain Defoe in his system, despite the fact the striker can score goals and has been reduced to taking on European teams instead on Spursday nights.

The constant changing of personnel is doing the team no favours, AVB needs to stick to his best starting XI and give those players the confidence to take the team forward. This Sunday they are at home to Manchester United, a team likewise going through changes and dropping points.  However, both teams are only two points off of fourth place.  All is not lost for the teams, although judging by betting patterns and rumour mills it may be a whole lot more than three points that Villas-Boas may lose come Sunday evening.

In praise of...Paul Gascoigne

Following on from the latest documentary into the latest sorry chapter of Paul Gascoigne's ongoing battle with off-field demons involving alcohol and substance abuse; this writer felt it necessary to correct the balance and remind readers of why Mr. Gascoigne is held in such esteem by writers, fans and now gossip columnists.

For many, Gascoigne or Gazza as he became to be affectionately known, is the once in a generation player and talent who transcends the sport he plays in, becoming known to millions of households, bringing new supporters to the sport.  He follows in the footsteps of Pele, Cruyff, Zidane and now the modern day duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. 

This is not to state that Gascoigne is as great as those aforementioned players, far from it.  Yet he remains the most gifted player from the British Isles since that other player who had a drinking problem, George Best.

That is why every time I talk about Gascoigne in glowing terms with my father, the question is asked 'How good was the Belfast boy?' and how sad to hear that Best wasted the peak years of his career when he was early to mid 1930s with his desire for booze and birds instead of scoring goals and winning trophies.

In this day and age, that is why a player like Ryan Giggs should be applauded because he has maintained such a high standard of performance and application for 20 years and over a 1000 games.  Giggs' resume of trophies is one of immense achievement.  What did Paul Gascoigne win apart from the affection of millions? An FA Cup winner's medal for which he could not collect and a Scottish Premier League title with Glasgow Rangers.

My point though is that Gascoigne's first great purple patch, late 1988 to May 1991 with Tottenham was one of the most amazing periods of football performance witnessed by this writer.  Being a Spurs season ticket holder was helpful and perhaps a bit myopic to ignore such talent elsewhere in the league at Liverpool (Barnes, Rush, Beardsley); yet did any one player carry the weight of responsibility with such blasé nature and passion as Gascoigne.

Being a passionate individual helped Gascoigne when he moved to London - you do wonder what might have happened if he had gone to Manchester United and worked with Alex Ferguson, how many trophies would they had won together - yet Gascoigne's weekly highlight package for Tottenham helped him get on the plane to Italia'90 when his tears in the semi-final versus Germany endeared him to the nation and made football cool again. 

Whilst it was England's best finals performance since the 1966 World Cup and the team had the goals of Gary Lineker, the inspirational defence of Mark Wright without the industry and guile of Gascoigne, England might not have made the knockout stages.  His free-kick deliveries to Mark Wright and David Platt versus Egypt and Belgium respectively in the dying minutes of both games, helped save English blushes.  Not forgetting his through ball to Lineker in the quarter-final versus Cameroon that dissected the defence and led to the goalkeeper upended Lineker from which he converted the winning penalty in extra time.  Gascoigne along with Lothar Matthaus was the stand out performer of the tournament. 

His first game of the new season was a home game versus Derby at White Hart Lane, where he scored a treasure chest of three long range efforts all past his England team-mate Peter Shilton.  However, injuries became a problem throughout the season; ankle knocks, hamstring strains caused Terry Venables to manage him effectively.  The FA Cup run was systemic of his handling of Gascoigne as performances at home to Oxford, away at Portsmouth, home to Notts County and subsequently the semi-final against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium, made it Spurs' year.

Against Portsmouth, Spurs trailed 1-0 at half-time yet Gascoigne scored twice including a rare header to win 2-1.  Against County, Gascoigne's hamstring was so bad he played virtually on one leg but his mere presence again turned around a half-time deficit. Then the semi-final when Gascoigne won the game after 4 minutes with his memorable free-kick, that every knew he would score.  Again injury meant he did play the whole game but his influence was never in doubt.

The final became less about Brian Clough v Venables as Cloughie v Gazza as the main event.  Yet as well known, Gascoigne's self-destruction came to the surface as his two assaults on Garry Parker (which was not cautioned) and then Gary Charles (again not cautioned) led to him being stretchered off with the first serious knee ligament damage of his career.  Spurs conceded from the subsequent free-kick and looked like they had a mountain to climb.

Yet this is where I thank Gascoigne the most.  Spurs were a lesser team without him undoubtedly, and yet they stuck at it despite having a Lineker penalty saved by Mark Crossley and a legitimate goal chalked off incorrectly for offside.  A team that contained such names as Steve Sedgley, Justin Edinburgh and Vinny Samways played out of their skins.  The industry of Paul Stewart elevated the team to better things culminating in Stewart's second-half equaliser and subsequent Des Walker own goal under pressure from captain Gary Mabbutt.

Who knows what would have happened if Gazza had been fit and played the whole game.  Yet for me his absence brought to the fore for me the ideal and ethos of the team ethic in the sport, no one man is greater than the rest of the team.  A team is a sum of all its parts, not made up of just four or five good parts.  Tottenham gave me one of the greatest days of my life and they did it without their best player, should not that team be remembered with more fondness than just the team that won it without Gazza.

Villa's decision no surprise

Reports on Barcelona's club website report that they and Atletico Madrid have agreed a fee for the transfer of Spanish international, David Villa to move from the Catalan club to the nation's capital.

The deal is expected to be a maximum of 5.1m Euros (£4.4m) with Barcelona retaining the right to 50% sell on fee should Villa move on again.

This is upsetting to many a Tottenham Hotspur fan, for whom Villa seemed destined to become a new idol of  for the Lilywhites, however those rumours were more than likely a part of the gossip columns.

For Villa though, the decision to remain in his homeland is not a hard one.  At the end of next season, there is the World Cup and so for him to remain in the spotlight and back pages for Vicente Del Bosque to look over him week-in, week-out is a very tantalising caveat.

Villa has not really recovered from the broken leg he suffered in December 2011 during the World Club Championship in Japan.  He returned to the Barcelona side, very much second fiddle to the unstoppable Lionel Messi and was even losing playing time to Alexis Sanchez.  He leaves with a record of 48 goals in 119 games - not that great a record for one of Europe's elite strikers.

Much of the surprise about Tottenham being in the ring for Villa's services was the lack of European competition offered for the side, whereas Atletico will be in the Champions League next season, and he will be top dog after Falcao leaving for Monaco earlier this summer.

Villa's needs to regain his form as he is currently behind Fernando Torres in the Spanish striker power rankings after the Confederations Cup.

The search for a new striker at Tottenham continues with the expected departure of Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe, and Arsenal who were also chasing Villa's signature have just had an offer for Luis Suarez rejected today.

It has been a strange summer for strikers, with no-one really going where intended or expected to arrive at. Falcao was expected to go to Manchester City, instead he has gone to tax haven Monaco.  Mario Gomez left Bayern Munich to head for Fiorentina. Whilst the final destination of Edison Cavani, Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney remains unclear.

The carousel is just cranking up, expect the ride to pick up speed soon enough.

This blog first appeared on The Sideline Agenda, click here for the link.

Follow me @JamieGarwood

Will AVB stop tinkering?

Being a Tottenham fan myself, I do try to not write damning pieces about our side and reserve my judgement to a sobering reflection across a pint or two with similar fans.

Over two weeks ago, Tottenham won the North London derby at White Hart Lane against rivals Arsenal 2-1 thanks to two goals in three minutes from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon.  Although they held on to the three points thanks in part to a solid rearguard led by captain Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen playing at centre back - the warning signs were there in the first half against the Gunners.

Until Gareth Bale scored the opener, it could be argued the lead came against the run of play with Arsenal enjoying the majority of possession and territory in midfield, albeit without engineering many chances of note.  The trio of Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla over ran the midfield duo of Scott Parker and Moussa Dembele of Tottenham, until Spurs engineered a sleek passing interchange which led to Bale's neat finish.  Two minutes later, a defence splitting pass by Parker met Lennon on a run where he rounded goalkeeper Wojech Sczezeny to give a two goal cushion.

However, with Tottenham things are never easy or as easy as they should be.  Having gained a 10 point lead over Arsenal, Tottenham should have been aiming to catch Manchester City in second place and yet in the last two league games away at Liverpool and home to Fulham, Tottenham have contrived to lose six points when at least four were there for the taking to cement their position in third place and secure Champions League football.

Leading 2-1 away at Anfield with 20 minutes remaining, Spurs conspired to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory thanks to two lobotomised moments of defending.  Kyle Walker suffering from 'second-album syndrome' played an ambitious across the pitch backpass that left Hugo Lloris somehow attempting to clear the ball, which he missed and Stewart Downing easily converted.  Then Jermain Defoe toe-ended and skied a clearance twenty-five yards from his goal back into the penalty area, landing at the feet of Luis Suarez who was fouled allowing Steven Gerrard to convert the winning spot-kick.

After giving up the lead, Spurs struggled to create any noteworthy chances.  Then they lost at home to Fulham, thanks to a winning goal by returning Dimitar Berbatov.  In this goal, Tottenham again failed to create chances and met Mark Schwarzer in inspirational form in the Fulham goal.

What was most striking about the Fulham defeat was the bizarre formation and team selection employed by Andre Villas-Boas.  Having just survived a Europa League tie at Inter Milan on Thursday night after extra time from a seemingly comfortable position (see how it is never easy for Spurs); AVB started five players who played the entire 120 minutes of the Inter game.  And then seemingly played a hot-potch of the best available players in an eleven seemingly there to go and get the job done before the international break.

AVB might have been responding to Arsenal's 2-0 win away at Swansea on Saturday afternoon, yet Spurs are the form team and yet played in response to the team Fulham played.

AVB played Steven Caulker at right back to probably nullify Damien Duff or the running of Giorgios Karagounis or Bryan Ruiz; whilst Dawson and Vertonghen could contend with Berbatov.  Then he played Kyle Naughton at left back with Benoit Assou-Ekotto at left wing.  This strikes you as bizarre given how Naughton's form this season has been less than impressive and he is predominantly right footed also the positioning of Ekotto at left wing left him rather exposed and wasted, is he meant to supply cover for the youngster or be an out and out wide threat which he is not.

Elsewhere, Parker and Dembele played in front of the back four with Bale and Sigurdsson behind Emanuel Adebayor who played up front on his own.  This left Tottenham shorn of creative wing play; whilst Bale has been on fire, he needs to play on the left wing to terrorise whichever poor soul is playing right back.  Yet the absence of him, has led many to suggest and correctly that Aaron Lennon has been more important to Tottenham's great undefeated streak than the Welshman.

Lennon has been playing better in recent months, yet again though he has succumb to a niggling injury and his invention on the right wing in parallel to Bale on the left had led to many chances being created.  On Sunday, the idea was seemingly give Bale the ball and something may happen, clearly something did not.  Tottenham were too narrow and constricted which played into the hands of Fulham whose midfield was marshalled by Steve Sidwell and Ashkan Dejagah whilst Sascha Reither bombed forward when possible on his right wing, his run and pass set up Berbatov's winner.

AVB must have felt that Fulham could be defeated by simply turning up, which is unfair to under-estimate a Fulham side whose away form whilst poor belies the football they try to play under Martin Jol - quick passing, counter-attacking which Tottenham allowed them to do in the first half which gained them confidence.

An observation aimed at AVB would be why play Adebayor whose still is even more laid back than Berbatov, but who looked even more lethargic on Sunday after having played two hours on Thursday.  Although he scored the vital away goal, his form has been woeful and Sunday demanded a start for Jermain Defoe who is coming back from injury.

Also, why has Lewis Holtby been used less and less in the Premier League yet more in the Europa League.  Holtby has the industry to unbreak many defences yet he was an unused substitute on Sunday (three strikers were brought on instead - Defoe, Thomas Carroll and Clint Dempsey) in search of an equaliser and played only six minutes as a substitute at Anfield, again in search of an equaliser.

The loss of Michael Dawson at half-time to a hamstring injury was unfortunate and led to Caulker joining Vertonghen in the centre, yet the substitute was Clint Dempsey. The correct change would have been move Naughton to right back, Ekotto back to his preferred left-back position, Bale to left wing, Sigurdssson to right wing and Holtby in behind Adebayor or Defoe, yet AVB felt more forward power would overcome Fulham; a hard task against a veteran backline of Hangeland, Senderos and Schwarzer.

In Praise of...Ledley King

So it is July 19th 2012 which is the day Ledley King finally gave in to the constant injuries that befell his 14 year career.  It could have been July 19th last year, or the same day next year.  But all in all it must be believed that Ledley has finally done the right thing.  For Ledley, his career will be more a case of what might have been, rather than what it was.

In his 14 year career he accumulated only 260 league appearances, 313 in all competititons.  That is an average of 18.5 games per season.  Where most professionals are expected to play 45-50 games a season, so really he should be quitting after having played 630 games.  He only played about 40% of the games he should have throughout his career.

However, sometimes it is what you do when you are around that makes people remember you with such fondness.  King came through the ranks of the Spurs Academy and was granted a debut in an end of season clash against Liverpool at Anfield in May 1999; however it was a performance against the same opposition at White Hart Lane over a year later in November 2000 that set him apart from the crowd.  King played in central midfield, a position out of his comfort zone yet he did a job for a team that resulted in a home win for Tottenham.  His maturity and control of his play made him look to be something special.

Soon he got to play at his preferred central defence and again he grew into the role as model professional and expert player.  After Sol Campbell left Tottenham for the hated North London rivals, Arsenal in July 2001 it was time to turn to Ledley as the beacon of hope and leader of the team, soon he was made team captain.

During that spell of transition he scored a rare goal away at Bradford, rare yes but it remains the fastest goal ever to be scored in the Premier League, King found the back of the net after 9.7seconds.

From 2006 though, King's career became one of stop start as the knee injury sustained in pre-season training of that year would define his legacy.  King's injury was not like normal knee injuries where cartilage and ligaments could be repaired; in King's case it was no cartilage at all. It meant his bones were touching each other and so the injury had to be managed with care meaning no training and not playing every game of the season, for instance if he played Saturday he could not play until the following weekend.

Whilst King did manage to find some great performances and a huge level of consistency in his play, especially during Spurs' charge for the Champions League in 2009/10 culminating in the victory at Manchester City.  That run of form allowed him to be selected for England's disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa that summer, although a groin injury sustained in the first half of the first game versus America meant his tournament was over.

Another sad indictment is that during a 14 year career where he was heralded as one of the finest English defenders of his era, he only garnered 21 full caps and two goals.  In contrast to his Senrab clubmate from his youth, John Terry, who is closer to 100 hundred than 50 and has captained his country.

The argument can continue that King was and is a better defender than Terry; as a chorus of a White Hart Lane song can attest to.  King even had a last laugh in 2008 when he beat Terry's all conquering Chelsea in the Carling Cup final at Wembley, and was able to lift the trophy (and then proceed to attempt to drink Faces nightclub in Ilford dry that same evening)

Personally, I was at that game and was amazed at how two eternally crocked players like King and Jonathan Woodgate totally outplayed the dominant Chelsea attack of Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda et al.  They did not so much keep them at bay, as not give them a sniff.  For me it remains the most dominant defensive display I have had the privilege to see.

Alas, in what was now his last season, 2011/12 King was becoming more prone to mistakes letting attackers muscle him off the ball (Grant Holt of Norwich for one) and being clearly outpaced by younger legs; at least Younes Kaboul and Brad Friedel were able to account for any errors in a season that saw Tottenham finish 4th in the Premier League.

However, for all the way his season finished and for what his injury history will overshadow part of his career, for a man who it seemed was around forever, to retire at the young age of 31 is still sad news.  It should not be discounted that he is a rare breed - a one club man of distinction and class which in this day and age of mercenaries should be applauded.

Norwich v Tottenham preview

On Boxing Day, it was the season of goodwill as the top teams (with the exception of Man United - who received their own present from referee, Phil Dowd) dropped points in the title charge.

Leaders Man.City drew goalless with West Brom who were disciplined and organised against the superstar line up as Jerome Thomas came closest to winning the game, the right back hitting the post that left Joe Hart beaten.

Liverpool's home form again put into question their Champions League aspirations as they again drew with a bottom half table team as they had to come from behind to gain a point from Blackburn, 1-1.  A Charlie Adam (the walking liability) own goal on the stroke of half-time gave struggling Rovers the lead, but a quick response in the second half from Maxi Rodriguez led anticipation to the floodgates opening, yet even the return of Steven Gerrard could not prevent some fine saves from Mark Bunn, who came in for the injured Paul Robinson.

For Tottenham, the best result was the dropped points by Chelsea at home to Fulham in a West London derby.  Chelsea took the lead through Juan Mata shortly after halftime, yet Fulham who were thumped 5-0 at home by Man.United before Christmas showed great character to equalise deservedly through Clint Dempsey.  Chelsea were denied the win by a fine goalkeeping performance by David Stockdale, an England squad member in for the injured Mark Schwarzer.  Stockdale showed he is good enough for a regular Premier League spot, if not at Fulham then anywhere.

December 27th has two intriguing match ups and both can effect Tottenham, who play away at Norwich City in the evening kick-off.  However, the afternoon kick-off between Arsenal and Wolves will see Arsenal go joint on points with their North London rivals if they win, leapfrogging Chelsea in fourth.

Tottenham are one point ahead of Chelsea, and so can extend that advantage to four points with a victory at Carrow Road.

However, the Canaries should not be under-estimated they are unbeaten in three games and worryingly have Grant Holt being his unplayable self as he was in the Championship last year and now scoring goals - the last game at Carrow Road was there performance of the season as they beat Newcastle 4-2, this has been followed by two solid away draws: 1-1 at Everton, 2-2 at Wolves, both games in which they dominated possession, territory and chances.

Norwich have a constant aerial threat in Holt and Steve Morison up front, they have scored the most headed goals this season - 11.  Yet they have not kept a clean sheet all season in the League, which against the forward prowess of Tottenham is a worrying statistic.

Tottenham have only lost one game in the last 14 league games, Emmanuel Adebayor has scored six in six yet Tottenham are having a mini injury crisis with players falling down hurt and so consistency of selection is suffering.  Expect Ledley King to be rested after he played two games in five days, his knee suffering in its swollen form.  The hope is that Younes Kaboul's hamstring is not that hamstrung to partner William Gallas at the centre of defence.  Other injury scares concern Rafael van der Vaart's own hamstring and Jermain Defoe.

Norwich lose Kyle Naughton to suspension, and Elliott Ward and James Vaughan remain out through injury. 

My feeling is that Tottenham struggled (in the first half at least) at Stoke when the aerial bombardment from Peter Crouch and Jon Walters led to a 2-0 deficit they could not overcome.  Expect Norwich to take heed of this weakness, admittedly King did not play that day and his dominance will be missed against the crafty Holt and Morison. 

It should be an entertaining game full of end to end attacking and certainly some goal mouth action, yet a point for Tottenham should not be sniffed at.  It seems to be the thing to do this Christmas.

Spurs v Chelsea preview

Tottenham Hotspur are on a roll.  Thanks to a tough 1-0 victory over Martin O'Neill's resurgent Sunderland on Sunday, they remain 3rd two points clear of Chelsea, who dropped two points away at Wigan where they could not convert dominance into goals.  And five clear of Arsenal who suffered their 5th defeat of the season (4th to a Top 6 side) as they lost 1-0 at Manchester City.

Now the Christmas season is upon Tottenham and they (like everyone else) they have four fixtures in 12 days starting with a massive encounter with Chelsea at home on Thursday, then Norwich City away on the 27th (live on Sky Sports); Swansea away on New Years Eve then to finish off a home game against West Brom on January 3rd, before the FA Cup tie at home to Cheltenham Athletic of League Two.

Things have been going well at Tottenham, as I have noted previously, due to their levels of consistency in terms of selection policy allowing continuity and finesse to the line-up.

Brad Friedel is the anchor at the back, getting clean sheets in games that last season would leak goals by Heurilho Gomes, forcing the team to attack and win the game.  On Sunday, Roman Pavyluchenko's goal won the game but the security of having Friedel being able to fend off Seb Larsson's free-kick mastery meant the clean sheet led to three points.

The defence has had a few changes to the usual foursome of Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto - due to injury to Ledley King and the suspension of Kaboul this week, luckily on both occasions the veteran William Gallas has been able to return from injury and do a solid job.

Owing to an ankle sprain sustained in training, Gareth Bale missed his first game of the season forcing Sandro to start meaning Spurs had to attack with a narrower midfield forcing Aaron Lennon to lead the counter-attacking purpose.  Unfortunately, Lennon himself tore a hamstring after 27 minutes in the Sunderland match.  Interestingly, Redknapp chose to bring on Super Pav instead of a natural winger like Steven Pienaar or Nico Krancjar; asking Pav to play with Van der Vaart off of Adebayor in a 4-3-2-1 formation. 

This tactic led to Tottenham plahying some of their most negative football - the fluidity of having two talented wingers coupled with full backs Assou-Ekotto and Walker bombing past in overlaps, meant that Spurs have been difficult to contain and defend against.  What happened Sunday was, Walker did a lot of running for balls that never came and against a stubborn Sunderland defence, this proved difficult until the goal game just after the hour.  Of course, once the lead was obtained the victory was never really in doubt.

Hopefully, Bale will return from injury and be able to attack Boswinga, the problem for Redknapp will be which player to choose on the right wing to not only offer an attacking thrust but someone who is able to track back against Ashley Cole who can bomb down the left flank with the best of them.  Although the team that finished the game, may well start on Thursday although another option may be to switch Bale to the right to combat Cole, and play the vibrant Danny Rose on the left.

However, the next week will bring many different episodes of injuries, suspensions and tactical hiccups - although after the Chelsea game, who themselves have injury concerns over John Terry, the tnext three games can be deemed winnable although Norwich and Swansea are better at home than away, whilst the visit of West Brom will be a welcome conclusion to the hectic period.

The loss of Lennon though is a bitter blow not just for his club, but for the player himself, a man who needs confidence and games under his belt to help his development and maybe earn a recall to the England fold ahead of the European Championships next summer.  He was someway back on the list behind Walcott, Young and Milner anyway but his history of injuries and the time he takes to recuperate will worry many, especially such a delicate muscle like the hamstring and for a player who requires speed so much.

Again, considering the depth of the squad and the players missing - Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone - Spurs have done well to maintain a considerable title charge or at least be taken seriously in discussions whilst Arsenal and Chelsea have both false started this season.  Tottenham went undefeated for 10 games between a defeat by Manchester City in August and last week's defeat at Stoke.

Following the thrilling game between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday, Thursday night promises to be just as exciting - for years Chelsea held a curse over Tottenham inflicting some heavy defeats at White Hart Lane, yet Chelsea have not won at 'Three Point Lane' in six years and the influence and play of Luka Modric, so touted by Chelsea in the summer, will be interesting.  It is expected that Chelsea may well bid again for the Croat in the January transfer window, while Spurs look likely to stand firm his performance against the Juan Mata will be interesting.

A Model of Consistency

Tottenham Hotspur, following their dominant 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday evening, sit in 3rd place in the Premier League.

A position that after the first two league games against both Manchester clubs would have been unimaginable - two games, two defeats, one goal scored, eight conceded. Tottenham looked brittle next to the two juggernauts of the North West.

Yet, slowly but surely Tottenham have turned the corner and navigated the fixture list with assurance. Admittedly during those two August fixtures there were still some unanswered questions concerning player personnel - the future of Luka Modric was uncertain due to the interest of Chelsea; Scott Parker was not signed until the penultimate day of the transfer window and there was a spate of injuries in defence meaning combinations like Bassong and Corluka were having to fend off the might of Manchester City - Nasri, Dzeko, Aguero and Silva ran riot at White Hart Lane.

The change seemed to come following the signing of Parker and the first game at Wolves - the sort of fixture last season Spurs would lose, this time they left with a 2-1 victory and then followed it up the next weekend with a resounding 4-0 home win over Liverpool (who admittedly ended with 9 men).
Then came the crunch game against Arsenal, who although had their chances it was their own defensive and goalkeeping frailties that led to Kyle Walker scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory.

Spurs have only drawn one game out of 9 games, a 2-2 draw away to Newcastle where they conceded only in the last five minutes to drop two points otherwise it would have been 27 points out of 27 and Tottenham would be only two points behind Man United in second place. Spurs still have a game in hand (home to Everton) which was unfortunately cancelled following the civil unrest in mid August.

A reason I feel that Spurs are doing so well is down to a consistency of selection and also not having the headache of serious European competition to worry about. Tottenham are in the Europa League but Harry Redknapp and his staff are using those games against Rubin Kazan, PAOK Salonika and Shamrock Rovers as breeding ground for his reserve team players - Jake Livermore has especially shone on these occasions. The same would have been said of the Carling Cup but they lost in a lottery of a penalty shoot-out away to Stoke.

However, the lack of fixture congestion and use of squad depth is helping one Ledley King especially. Ledley plays one game and he knows he has a week to sustain and regain his fitness before the next encounter. King's presence at the bag and coupled with the signing of veteran Brad Friedel in goal has led to youngsters like Younes Kaboul and Kyle Walker allowed to express themselves. King did the same trick with Michael Dawson, he has this unbelievable ability of making the man next to him look like he is having a blinder.

Spurs are benefiting from a fixed and settled starting XI - it has been the same men starting the last three and four games. The American in goal; Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto; Bale, Modric, Parker, Lennon; Van der Vaart and Adebayor.

This settled selection means the team knows they must perform to keep their places and their are players who can and will come in to do a job if necessary - Corluka, Sandro, Defoe and Bassong. Tom Huddlestone and Michael Dawson remain on the injury sidelines but will be welcome upon their return.

In contrast, Manchester City with all their highly publicised signings have made a rod for their own back. The constant requirement to keep everyone happy and the forging forward on four trophy hunts means that their is no fluidity in selection. Case in point, at the weekend Micah Richards and Gael Clichy had blinding games going forward in the 3-1 win over Newcastle from their respective full back positions. Yet in Napoli they were dropped for Kolarov and Zabaleta. This more defensive line-up belittled their attacking instincts and negated a negative performance away from home, where they went to not lose the game they did. Now City and their millions must fear the prospect of having to play Thursday night football like they did last year. It will be a big kick in the teeth to fail at the first attempt in the Champions League.

Arsenal after an early season collapse at Old Trafford are profiting from a steady line-up and a full season from Robin Van Persie, who is scoring for fun. The return of Tomas Vermaelen has helped.

Manchester United due to injuries to both central defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have also suffered from a lack of continuity, and the nervousness surrounding David de Gea's debut season means those in front of him might not fully trust him.

Chelsea are really suffering - a new young manager is struggling to impose his ideas on an old guard of senior professionals - they have lost four out of seven and themselves are struggling to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, having to defeat Valencia at home in their final game to avoid the Europa League.

In contrast, Tottenham in their first foray into Europe did not change their tactics and kept on attacking even when 4-0 down away in the San Siro - a 4-3 loss that galvanised that campaign and led to Gareth Bale being christened the best left back in the world. Whereas many people adored Tottenham's ability to adapt to the scheduling and challenges - there appears to be a certain type of pleasure in seeing City struggle as they attempt to keep as many plates spinning at once. They will be the most dominant side in English football perhaps for the next five years - but they need to get a more consistent system in place and like they have done with Tevez, if people do not want to fit the bill or play their necessary role, show them the door. As there will certainly be people willing to replace them.

Spurs European Adventure

Follow this link guys, to read my thoughts on how Spurs should get back to the big time next season

http://soccer-magazine.com/soccer-news/blogs/jamie-garwood/spurs-thanks-for-the-good-times-more-please/

BENTLEY NEEDS TO CLIP HIS WINGS

I do not want this blog to be totally restricted to a critical slant on filmmaking with its inevitable positives and negatives, I have other likes and dislikes of my own not restricted to the arts and culture.  A big cornerstone of my life has been taken up by my supporting of a football team, a sports team and its supporters embark on more high and lows over an entire season than a Wagner cycle retrospective, and certainly 90 minutes of fierce competition can stir things in the soul and the human spirit - wonder, disbelief, shock and awe are all in evidence.
With my brother in tow, I went to White Hart Lane (for 10 years in my early life, my Globe) for the first time in nearly 2 years to watch them play Sunderland in the Premier League, a game on paper we should be capable of winning especially as the Lane has become somewhat of a fortress since the start of Harry Redknapp's tenure in charge.  But Sunderland come into the game having won at home to Stoke at the weekend, and after our irrestible performance against Internazionale last week, we travelled to Bolton with a certain sense of complacency; but 4 changes and 4 leaked goals (3 gifted to them) meant we returned to the capital with our tails between our legs.  Tonights gave an opportunity to regain ground on the top 4 who are slowly opening up a gap in terms of points - and with a near full strength team starting, the omens are good.

And so the game begins, and as always we come hareing out of the traps full of determination and vigour wanting to stamp our authority against the Wearsiders, chances arrive, Huddlestone spreads the ball right and left. To Bale on the left wanting to overtake Onouha, to the right to Bentley who seeks the overlap from in form Hutton but too often the flow of play stops at Bentley's feet.  Inevitably, more ball goes to Van der Vaart and Modric as we attempt to go through the centre backs, Titus Bramble and the impressive Jordan Henderson.  Alas, Craig Gordon on his return to the team in goal for the visitors, his first game since ironically injurying his arm at this ground last season makes some fine stops from Bentley and even has the woodwork on his side as he stands rooted when Huddlestone's drive smacks the apex.  Half time arrives and deadlock is still in place.
2nd half and more of the same though not without controversy - five minutes in Bentley making an unusual hare into the box is fouled by Zenden, but Howard Webb deems it simulaton. Video replay show Bentley was going down, but did get kicked by the midfielder who did his best Paul Scholes impression.  Just after the hour, Spurs get the reward. A cross by Bale finds an unchallenged Crouch who heads down to his cohort VdV who pivots (with a hint of handball) and finds the net for his 7th league goal of the season.  Dominance should follow, but alas complacency and amateur defending seems to follow Spurs wherever a sense of superiority appears, a simple lack of possession should be dealt with by one of Kaboul and/or Gallas who both go for the same ball. In both leaving it, the door is open for Asamoah Gyan to clinically equalise.  Afterwards, the wind is out of Spurs' sails and they cannot make the second breakthrough and Sunderland nearly nick it near the end of the game.  But Spurs' lack of invention and initiative deems that apart from the dominant first half display they cannot moan about the point.

My gripe is the utilisation of David Bentley on the right hand side of the pitch, in the role usually reserved for (yet again injured) Aaron Lennon.  The thing is Bentley does have talent, but now he resembles someone who wants to fit in and help rather than work to the system of a team that has garnered success.  Spurs are now a quick counter punching team on the break using pace and finesse with a clinical edge in finishing.  Unfortunately, Bentley belongs to the old school of wing play or that which is reminiscent of one David Beckham. One who stops on the wide right 30 yards from the touchline and instead of taking on the defender caught in headlights who might be blinded by his pace, deems his quality of delivery good enough to make up for a lack of speed.  Wing play has morphed and transformed into something else now, you need only look at Bale and Lennon in the same team for evidence, and also look at Ronaldo, Daniel Alves on the continent of people who attack the byline and get the cross in causing an already backtracking defence to keep second guessing themselves.  Bentley is someone who always wants to impress, he took a free kick in the 2nd half on his favoured right foot; however, me and fans around me all knew that it would be closer to Jonny Wilkinson than top right hand corner, Gordon was untroubled.  I fear that Bentley (who was a Redknapp type of guy in personality) will remain in Spurs' fans affections for two things: for chancing his arm at the Emirates in the epic 4-4 draw embarrassing Almunia and for pouring sports drink over Redknapp when Champions League qualification was assured in his underpants.  He might follow the lead of another one who was good at a Premier League side before people caught on to him; Darren Huckerby last seen at Norwich in this country before leaving for MLS in America.

Whilst it is a shame that Bentley was called upon to fill a role, that I would have given to Krancjar a man with a bit of quality in spite of his lack of pace but his unrest at lack of first team starts meant he sat on the bench all night, not even warming up.  Redknapp is the man at the moment, but Bentley does not have the answers, unfortunately he provides more questions for a team that oddly seems to have the answers in European competition. That is so unlike Tottenham.  But then Spurs have never seemed to do things by convention. Maybe that is there appeal.