Pattern of Disappointing Play Continues

By: Richard | April 15th, 2008

The season has been over for some time for the boys of N17. A UEFA Cup spot was secured back in February and there’s really no where to go, up or down in league, so why bother? That’s the attitude we’ve been seeing from just about every member of Tottenham Hotspur over the past couple months. A fleeting moment of desire here and there (4-4 draw v. Chelsea, 4-0 win v. West Ham) but those results have been laced with lackluster effort after lackluster effort (4-1 loss to Birmingham, 4-1 loss to Newcastle).

Saturday’s game at the Lane against Middlesbrough was somewhere in between. I like to look at it like this: was a 1-1 draw at the Lane a good result for Brough? Yes, I’d say it was. They came to the Lane, not the easiest place to play, went down a goal and walked out with a point. How about Spurs? Should we have taken all three points against a team below us on the table when we’re at home? Yes. Saturday’s draw showed yet again that this team is in cruise control. Here are a few issues I had:

- Was our goal a nice piece of work out of Berbatov, flicking the ball over his head and to the other side of the box where Lennon was waiting? Or simply a bit of luck as the pass fortuitously found Lennon who wasn’t even able to complete his intended pass to Keane. The ball found it’s way into the net but not in the most stylish of fashions. To me the goal was created just as much out of luck as it was skill.

- Opportunity would come here and there for Spurs who would be unable to capitalize on their chances for the rest of the game. Berbatov, upon failing to further Spurs lead more then once, would be all smiles. He doesn’t seem to care all that much at this point when he fails to take advantage of his chances, unlike earlier in the season. It got me to thinking: How many times has Berbatov spoiled wonderful chances this year, hitting the cross bar or post or perhaps just sending the ball over the goal all together, when Spurs have been in control with a lead, only to see that lead disappear? The team ends up with a draw, like Saturday, or a loss. He’ll be off somewhere this summer and, if the cash is right, it might not be a bad thing. He’s class, but his shots aren’t always as clinical as they should be.

- Still, it was the combined effort of Berbatov and Keane that allowed Spurs to attack Middlesbrough as the midfield looked terribly disappointing.
* Lennon caused some problems but still couldn’t complete a cross. Was subbed for Bent in an effort to claim 3 points.
* Malbranque was non existent all game (was there a shoot out going on?) then was subbed for Huddlestone who allowed Downing about 5-7 yards worth of space to shoot for the equalizer.
* Jenas got just enough of his head on that shot for it to carry into the goal and away from Cerny, and to be honest it was the only touch he had all game that was even marginally memorable.
* Zokora had a nice run that amounted to nothing but he did his part…. still trying to remember what that is exactly.

There was little life in the squad and, from my point of view, even less disappointment on the faces of the players after getting a result that should be considered less then positive. There’s no pressure on the players aside from playing for a spot on next years squad, so one would think that the overall play would improve. That just hasn’t been the case. The result was what the team deserved. Spurs controlled the first half, got a goal and then failed to add to their lead. Middlesbrough came out in the second half, and got the equalizer so to be honest the score was an accurate representation of the flow of play. That being said I suppose I’m just hoping for the flow of play to start going Spurs way a bit more often during this last month. COYS!