this week.
Spurs won their six pointer against fellow league strugglers, Manchester United, 1-0, but you wouldn’t know by some of the coverage of this pretty poor show by both teams.
They used to say that the most important man in English football was the editor of Match of the Day because how they cut the match footage down to the few minutes of highlights dictated how the fans saw their teams performance. This was of course in the days that you had to be at the match to actually see it total and before we were flooded with match statistics.
So if you watched MotD you would think that Man U completely bossed their 90 minute defeat to Spurs, even if you looked at the stats posted on screen during the post-match interviews, which showed Spurs had more of the ball, more shots and more shots on target.
I mean they started with a United shot that was saved by the returning Vicario but you wouldn’t know Spurs had pretty much all the ball in that previous 10 minutes.
Anyway, it was a poor match in which the United manager had most of the excuses that Ange has been living off for months now. Ange couldn’t say anything about playing midweek. He couldn’t say anything about not having players available with a number of first teamers back in the starting XI and the bench, while United had a bunch of kids, with no real senior experience between them.
Of course, it didn’t stop Ange getting it wrong.
One thing he got right was reinstalling Maddison, who was obviously not “sore” anymore. 13 minutes in and Bentancur looked like he’s lost his way but put a cross in from the right, all the way to Son on the left, his first time volley was more of a cross than shot, rebounded out to Bergvall, who took it down but his shot was parried out by the keeper the only player who was going forward – look at Kulusevski backing off for some reason – was Maddison to latch onto the loose ball to slam it in.
As said earlier the other big player who returned was Vicario in goal. Now Kinsky and Austin have been good in lace of the Italian – Forster surely is now 4th choice keeper, first choice to be binned off quickly. He made a number of excellent saves. One down at the base of the post, as ball came through a group of players was the best. He was needed. Even with United’s inability to hit a cow’s arse with a banjo, he was required. Especially in the second half.
Spurs and their post half-time Ange team-talk performances. It really is Southgatesque how they drop off in the second 45. Screaming for changes, of course Ange waited and then made the wrong changes though i suppose for the right reason. Maddison came off, probably due to it being his first game back, with Bergvall joining him. But it was crying out for others to be replaced before the pair of them
Son and Kulusevski should have departed. The former was at least involved but still looks a shadow of his former self. While the latter did nothing for most of the game, bar again being the one dispossessed the most. They should have been replaced by Scarlett and the returning Johnson, with Tel moving from the front role he wasn’t working in, to the left. He could also have replaced Bentancur with Gray and finally play the lad in his actual position. Gray could also have started in that role, I know he could also have done with the rest before he came on to replace Danso who hobbled off in the second half, as did Bentancur.
Odobert also came on for the last few minutes. So a raft of available players that means Ange’s excuses aren’t available.
They hung on. For a lot of the second half they did that camp out on the edge of their own box and barely string a pass together, to try and get anywhere up the park. It was a win. it was two bad teams, one that needs a new manager, one that got one and hasn’t improved much.
Spnce was man of the match. No slight on Spence but there wasn’t many other candidates for the award. He was again outstanding though. And just imagine, if Ange’s hand hadn’t been force, he would be out on loan somewhere, if not sold off in January.
It moved them up to 12th the happy clappies were happy… and now they and the media are onto winning the Europa…