A game of two deja vu

halves.

Where have we seen this before, we have seen this before, haven’t we, I’m sure we have, it really rings a bell, can you remember it?

Oh that’s right in so many games, especially the reverse fixture, nearly everything about the game had you thinking deja vu except for a few things. One of them very important.

Well they both started the same as Spurs battered Everton, barely allowing them a touch of the ball, this time though the ball hit the back of the net. A great ball from Huddlestone, a long ball, but certainly not an aimless hoof up the park, right on Defoe’s foot who controlled it superbly. His shot though was going some way wide but thankfully there was a goal scorer on hand, sliding in to score his 6th in a little over 200 minutes of playing time. Now it’s one thing I have previously flagged up about Pavlyuchenko, sometimes he’s been lollygagging and not there for the tap in. He looks hungrier now, wants to show ‘Arry why he should be starting.

The second goal was just a piece of art, Croatian art, as Corluka, Kranjcar and the Modric teamed up for the little one to deposit a sublime finish past Howard. Modric, he’s a true Spur. OK there was the amount of chances as in the first game the football was there. Certainly didn’t miss Bentley on the left as Kranjcar filled in adeptly and on the other side Bale put another masterclass in “bombing on” (© Slaven Bilic).

Half time it was a cruise but half time came and gave Moyes a chance to have a go at his players and unlike their midweek European excursion, it had an effect. What also had an effect was the injury to Huddlestone, now last time around it was Palacios that went of with a “bad one”, luckily it wasn’t as bad as first thought, just have to hope the same with Hudd. As it totally disrupted Spurs with the introduction of Kaboul in the centre of the park. So we’ve found out Younes isn’t a right -back, now we’ve been shown he’s not a central midfielder. With him and Palacios in the middle there wasn’t really anyone to link up with the forwards with any passes the way Tom does. Could Everton have piled forward as much as they did with the chance of just one Huddlestone pass dropping over the back of them into the path of Defoe or Pav?

Huddlestone will be a loss, if it is a bad injury, what with Lennon staying sidelined for another 6 weeks, so having to cover the right wing, there’s a lack of depth in the middle. Thankfully the Jenasite is heading off for an operation, might as well just start with ten men than put him in there. I wonder if ‘Arry will think of putting Assou-Ekotto back in at left-back, move Bale up as left winger and shift Modric in the middle to see if he can run the game. In reality it’s what he should have done on Sunday, instead of Kaboul. Also the replacing of Pav with Crouch, now that didn’t work, just inspired aimless humps up the park.

Of course the one great difference between the games, the scoreline. From 2-0 up this one thankfully finished 2-1 not in a two all draw. Thanks to Gomes, who went from ridiculous to the sublime, with a range of flapping and dropping the ball turning to some great saves. But more than the ‘keeper thanks has to go to Landon Donovan, Everton’s resurgence this season can be attributed to that draw in the reverse fixture and then his loan signing. But his two yard, open goal, miss of the season and the reaction of Moyes filled many a Spur heart with joy.

No late equaliser, no dropped points, back up to fourth.

Now in other news: It’s about time a team made a stand. Stoke, their manager and captain, should sue Whingeing Wenger and his club for statements he made after their game at the weekend. He slandered all of them, as anyone who saw the challenge can see as Shawcross never took his eye off the ball for one instant. Sympathy for other player, lost instantly with the reaction of his manager and fans.

And as for Pugwash, I hear Barca have changed their mind and aren’t going to follow the Blackburn / Big Sam method of football, they’ve decided to go with the fat Spanish waiter’s style. Set up ultra defensively, with one up front at home, hoping not to lose, a draw being good, maybe nicking a win. They just have to budget for the bag of balls and a set of cones to bring Lucas, Kuyt and the rest of Pugwash’s dullards to the club.

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