feel.
Spurs’ last home game of the season against relegation fodder / strugglers Hull City wasn’t exactly the party affair.
Dame Julie Welch Tweeted it had that end of term feel before kick-off, I do hope those at there got to take in their favourite games to keep them occupied because the game certainly wasn’t going to.
That bloke they filmed falling asleep in the crowd summed it up perfectly as did another Tweet from the Boy Hotspur…
Getting bored waiting for this Hull goal.
— TheBoyHotspur (@TheBoyHotspur) May 16, 2015
Like last week Spurs were up against a bog awful team managed by a bog awful manager that only gets jobs because they once played for ManUre. This’ll be Phil Jones in 30 years time. A team containing Charlie Adam last week, this week it was Paul McShane, a blight on the game that single handedly disproves any claims the premier League has to being the best league in the world.
Now with the past few weeks of inept performances as the season petered out below the line of mediocrity Pochettino decided to approach this game with exactly the same set of players in the starting line-up. Well, there was a change in the back four as he included those that were available but that front six trotted out again, as they seemed to have done ad nauseum for some time now.
And yet again that front six did next to nothing. Certain individual certainly didn’t stop Hull advancing. Mason gets the dog’s abuse, Bentaleb gets the free pass. Well one pass was certainly free. Bentaleb took the ball, turned well and proceeded to kick the ball into touch in an area where no Spurs player was in the vicinity. It was almost as bad as his falling over and coughing up the ball that gifted a good chance for the visitors to score.
Mason or Lamela does either of those things and it’s Twitter uproar, Bentaleb and gloss over time.
Pochettino did highlight what Spurs have missed later on in the game with just over 1 minutes to go when he gave us a shock…
STAMBOULI'S ALIVE!
— Токсическая сеть (@Toxic_Web) May 16, 2015
Yes Stambouli, there alive, in a Spurs shirt and about to come on the pitch but of course for the wrong player, Mason departing. Of the central pair Mason is the attacker, Bentaleb the nominal defender. Yet with Stambouli Spurs have a better player who would have made them a a better team. Certainly would have helped the back four and Mason. They keep telling us how Bentaleb bosses the game unfortunately his one or two tackles a game say otherwise. Per 90 minutes Stambouli put’s in more than twice as many…
…while Bentaleb passes the ball back more.
By then a first half that barely rates a mention beyond this Tweet had passed…
'El Pathetico' #THFCvHULL
— Adam Powley (@adampowley) May 16, 2015
…and Spurs had taken the lead with the first shot on target in the game, in the 54th minute, Nacer Chadli scoring his 11th league goal of the season.
That number had made me wonder previously about Chadli’s season, he’s scored some important goals and played his part after so many wanted shot last season. Also comparing him to others over 90 minutes…
…now Hazard was player of the season and Coutinho was in the team of the season, yet Chadli has twice as many goals as the latter and a better goals to minutes ratio than the former. Can’t say he’d beat Hazard to player of the season but why Coutinho was even mention for team of the season, well he plays for Liverpool and they couldn’t give the spot to Gerrard.
Anyway his opener came from a good run that got on the end of Lamela’s excellent through ball. The Argentinian’s seventh assist of the season, Spurs leader in that stat. Won’t please the haters though. No he’s not been brilliant but he’s been better and who knows he could get better still.
Just seven minutes later the lead was double in what highlighted the level of Hull, as Danny Rose scored. The permanently befuddled left-back getting through onto Mason’s lovely chipped ball to appease those that didn’t like his red hair.
Hull had plenty of chances to win the game they could have got back into it moments after Spurs’ second with a number of attempts in a handful of seconds on Spurs goal that seemed to be living a charmed life. In the end they were just too inept to beat this Spurs side, summed up expertly by H…
https://twitter.com/HuK_6/status/599604062091251712
Yes, with that result keeping Dimwood up at Villa, I am torn about Hull or Newcastle going down. Can’t stand Bruce, would love to see him down but the Newcastle fans yet again got what they wanted, Pardew out, would be funny if that cost them.
And after all that rubbish AVB went and won the title in Russia with Zenit. Or course the usual “anyone can do it with Zenit” line is being trotted out.