Season Review - Tottenham Hotspur. Part Two.

Continuing our new series of articles reviewing the past season's fortunes of teams from across the footballing world, here's the second and final part of Guest Writer Lewis Buckler's Season Review on his team Tottenham Hotspur.

By Lewis Buckler @YidoBuckler

Luka Modric continues to be a key part of the Tottenham side.

The league campaign didn’t really have the same glitz and glamour as the wonderful run in the Champions League Tottenham endured. 

The highlight has to be coming from 2-0 down away against Arsenal to win 3-2, the 1^st win at the Emirates Stadium and the 1^st win away at Arsenal since 1993. It looked bleak when Nasri and Chamakh had put Arsenal 2-0 up within 20 minutes and they threatened to run riot. A half time switch from Redknapp changed things. Spurs were full of energy and running when an early Bale goal got them back in it. Fabregas conceded a needless penalty, confidently buried by the dutch master Van Der Vaart. Game on. The key moment came when Bale was cynically scythed down just inside the Arsenal half. The free-kick was swung in, Younes Kaboul, of all people, got up highest to glance a header into the far corner. Pure elation from the 3,000 Spurs fans inside the Emirates. This victory was probably sweeter for William Gallas more so than anybody else in the Tottenham line-up, especially as he was controversially made captain for this match.

Younes Kaboul celebrates his winner against Arsenal.

Eventually, Tottenham finished with 8 defeats in the league, the same as Arsenal and actually less than Chelsea and Manchester City, both of whom eventually finished above Spurs. The downfall of this side was the lack of a potent goal scorer and too many draws, especially at home. There were other bright spots in this season, including a 2-0 win at Anfield in May against an in-form Liverpool side. This result, coupled with the away win at Arsenal, could suggest the tide is turning after such a long run without an away win against any of the ‘SKY4’ teams. This was the stand out result in what was ultimately a poor 2^nd half of the season. 

Up until Christmas, Harry Redknapp’s claim that his team could win the title didn’t seem that far-fetched after all. The Champions League though, despite the brilliant run, ended up being more of a hindrance to Spurs than a help. The squad seemed to lose form in the league matches during the latter stages of the Champions League which cost them the chance to return to the competition next season. I saw a different side to Tottenham at times this season, signs of a mature Tottenham. I’m used to the naïve Tottenham who would go out all guns blazing and get ripped to shreds at the back. On many away days we played a controlled, intelligent game and came away with victories. This was our most successful season away from home in the Premier League, picking up 26 points. Only Manchester City (28) and Arsenal (31) picked up more.

Harry Redknapp believes Spurs are capable of pushing
 for the Premier League title.

It is hard to sum up whether the season for Tottenham could be deemed as a success or a failure. High points and low points aplenty, the aim for most fans would have been to finish in the top 4 and establish the side amongst Europe’s elite. But 5^th position and a run which defied the odds in the Champions League will be difficult for Tottenham to top in coming seasons. It is important that the club can keep the nucleus of the squad together for any chance of future success. Selling the likes of Modric, Bale & Van Der Vaart would obviously weaken this team and hence weaken any chance of at least competing for the Premier League title in coming seasons. Keeping these players at the club whilst fine tuning the squad with the quality that is needed to take us up that one more level alongside the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea could see Tottenham challenge for the title in the next season or two. It is a pivotal transfer window for the future of the club. I will keep believing though. Some of the stats provided show we really are not that far away from the likes of Manchester Utd and Chelsea. The gap is closing.

The future is bright, the future is lilywhite.

Up the Spurs!

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Season Review - Tottenham Hotspur. Part One.

In the first instalment of a new series of articles reviewing the past season's fortunes of teams from across the footballing world, Guest Writer Lewis Buckler gives his thoughts on his team's performance in 2010/11.

By Lewis Buckler @YidoBuckler

Rafael Van der Vaart proved to be a revelation  for Spurs
this season.

Highs and Lows. Ups and Downs. What seems like a permanent rollercoaster ride. Welcome to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

I’m not sure too many teams could outplay the European champions, beat the Serie A winners AC Milan away from home and yet manage to lose vital points home and away against the ‘poorer’ teams in the Premier League. But this was the problem for Tottenham this season. Was it a success? In many ways yes, but ultimately Spurs flattered to deceive in the Premier League and failed to at least maintain a place in the top 4, thus missing out on joining Europe’s elite for a second successive season.

1 Point against West Ham. 1 Point against Wigan. 1 point against Blackpool. Two of those sides ended up getting relegated. In the 6 games against said opposition, Tottenham managed just 2 goals, both against Blackpool, in the last minute of each game. This is obviously not good enough for a team wanting to challenge for titles and major trophies. In comparison, Manchester City won all 6 matches against those 3 opponents and scored a hatful of goals to go with it. It could be seen that ultimately, these poor results have cost the lilywhites their place in the top 4 come the end of the season.

Gareth Bale scored a memorable hat-trick at the
San Siro in the Champions League against Inter Milan.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. The 4^th place finish the season before brought back European football to White Hart Lane and boy did we witness some of those famous ‘glory glory nights’! Lets not forget though the opening game; 3-0 down against Young Boys on their artificial pitch in the playoff after 30 minutes. Things did not look rosy at all. A great Bassong header and a wonderful finish from Pavlyuchenko brought it back to 3-2 however, then the business was finished off in style in North London a week later. A 4-0 drubbing, including a Peter Crouch hat-trick, the catalyst for Spurs to go from strength to strength.

The group stage started with an encouraging 2-2 draw away at Werder Bremen, before FC Twente were blown away by a brilliant 2^nd half performance on English soil. Up next was the ‘big one’ in Milan, European Champions Internazionale. Thirty minutes in. Four goals & a man down. This could have turned into one of Tottenham’s most humiliating European nights ever. Until Gareth Bale intervened. Three brilliantly executed 2^nd half goals made the scoreline more than respectable in a game that looked all over after just 10 minutes. The return game at White Hart Lane was just as spectacular. An early Van der Vaart goal, racing onto a brilliantly executed through ball from Modric set the tone. Spurs, with Bale shining again, tore into the Milanese. They could not handle the pace and tempo. Eto’o briefly managed to put some nerves into the Tottenham faithful, but in the last minute Bale again showed his quality in setting up the clinching goal. Tottenham 3-1 Inter Milan. A true ‘glory-glory’ night.

The remainder of the group stage was pretty unspectacular. An under-strength Bremen team were dispatched 3-0 to clinch qualification to the knock-out stages and a thrilling 3-3 draw away at FC Twente confirmed Tottenham’s place as group winners. The reward? 7-time European champions, AC Milan.

Brazilian 'keeper Heurelho Gomes made a high-profile
mistake in Spurs' Champions League Quarter-Final
 tie against Real Madrid.

The return to the San Siro proved to be much more successful. Tottenham played a composed and clever tactical game against the Italians. Sandro in particular impressed in shackling the attacking quartet of Milan. Gomes made two fantastic saves. Flamini assaulted Corluka. Gattuso went mental (standard) and then, Aaron Lennon skipped past Mario Yepes, raced towards goal and slotted the ball to Peter Crouch. AC Milan 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur. The result was labelled one of the best in Tottenham’s rich history. Milan were not dispatched with the same style that their neighbours were in the group stage, but this victory was just as impressive.

It all went a bit sour though in the quarter-finals pretty early on. A trip to Madrid was always going to be a tough ask. Conceded a sloppy goal within minutes and then having Peter Crouch sent off didn’t help. After holding out for an hour with 10 men, Adebayor silenced the Spurs fans that travelled to the Spanish capital and made it 2-0. Di Maria made it 3 not long after with a great finish and then Ronaldo topped off the win late on. It was all but over before the return leg in London. Madrid eventually won that game to inflict only the 3^rd home defeat in Tottenham’s European history on a night to forget for Heurelho Gomes.

Make sure to check back tomorrow for the second and final part of Lewis Buckler's Tottenham Hotspur Season Review.

North London Thriller as Spurs Come From Behind to Draw with Rivals Arsenal

A true spectacle of English football was served up at White Hart Lane last night, where Tottenham Hotspur came from behind twice to earn a 3-3 draw against North London rivals Arsenal.

A derby game held at night and under the lights always adds to the atmosphere and occasion, and players form both sides certainly lived up to the expectation of the excitement that a match played between two great rivals should display.

The visitors got off to the best possible start after just five minutes, with Theo Walcott timing his run to perfection to latch on to a ball from Cesc Fabregas, before calmly slotting the ball past Spurs ‘keeper Heurelho Gomes and into the corner of the net. With the Arsenal fans celebrating their side’s perfect start and subsequently closing the gap on title rivals Manchester United to just four points, Tottenham immediately drew the scores level. Spurs’ Croatian international full back Vedran Corluka passed a low ball into the area to Rafael van der Vaart who rifled home a shot past Wojciech Szczesny at his near post.  With two goals after just seven minutes, the White Hart lane crowd knew they were in for a cracker.

The pace of Arsenal winger Theo Walcott was often
too much for the Spurs defence to handle.

Five minutes later, it was this time the Spurs supporters whose celebrations would be short-lived. Samir Nasri picked the ball up from Abou Diaby 20 yards out from goal and fired past Gomes, albeit with a slight deflection off Tottenham defender Michael Dawson. Arsenal winger Theo Walcott looked dangerous throughout and after being inches away from making it 3-1 on the half-hour mark, he was influential as the Gunners finally got a two-goal lead five minutes before half time. Walcott looped in a delightful cross to the unmarked Robin van Persie, whose initial headed effort was saved excellently by Gomes, but the Spurs ‘keeper could do little as the Dutch striker smashed in the rebound from close range.

The goal scoring action was not yet over however, with Spurs’ midfielder Tom Huddlestone pulling one back just before the half-time break. After a Tottenham corner was only partially cleared by Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, Huddlestone displayed fantastic technique to score what was to be the goal of the game, drilling a 20-yard rocket hard and low into the Arsenal net before Szczesny could even move. It was a lifeline for Spurs, who at 3-2 had every chance of earning some valuable points from the match in the second half.

Rafael van der Vaart scoring from the
penalty spot to level the scores at 3-3.

With Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp forced into a double substitution at the start of the second period due to injuries picked up by Gareth Bale and Vedran Corluka, it was Bale’s replacement Aaron Lennon who was handed the task of injecting some much needed pace into the Spurs attack. Just as Walcott had done to the Tottenham back line in the first half, Lennon’s pace was causing problems for Arsenal’s defensive counterparts and it was the 24-year-old who won the penalty that led to his side’s second equaliser of the night in the 70^th minute.

With Lennon rushing onto a through ball, he was brought down by Arsenal ‘keeper Szczesny just inside the box, the Gunner’s stopper having no complaints about the decision. Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart stepped up and slotted home the resulting penalty to Szczesny’s left, with the goalkeeper diving the wrong way.

It was a deserved equaliser for Harry Redknapp’s side, who could have gone one better if it had not been for Szczesny’s fantastic point-blank save from Luka Modric late on. Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will no doubt be disappointed that his team threw away a two-goal lead and a valuable three points in the Premier League title race, where as Redknapp will be undoubtedly delighted by the character shown by his Tottenham side to come twice from behind and take a point to close the gap on their rivals for fourth place – Manchester City – to just two points with six games remaining. 

What are your views and opinions on Tottenham's comeback against Arsenal last night and how do you think it will affect both teams' chances in the title race and in the race for the top four? Please share your thoughts in the comments box below.

Resilient Spurs battle through to Champions League Quarter-Finals

A hard-fought 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane was enough to see Tottenham Hotspur progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history after a 1-0 aggregate win over AC Milan.

For much of this season, it has been Spurs’ attacking prowess that has caught the eye and too much of the headlines, but last night’s clean-sheet against Serie A leaders Milan demonstrated that their often criticised back line can stand up against the very best and grind out a result when needed.

Spurs' midfielder Sandro showing the determination
that won him the man of the match award. 

Facing a mouth-watering front three of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Pato and Robinho, Tottenham’s centre back pairing of William Gallas and Michael Dawson stood up well to the almost continuous Milan attacks in the first half, with Gallas in particular positioning himself brilliantly to clear a deflected shot from Robinho off the line after a mistake by Spurs ‘keeper Heurelho Gomes. 

Harry Redknapp’s side certainly improved after the break, with Rafael van der Vaart going close from a curling free-kick and the ever-industrious Sandro chasing and harrying the Milan players in the centre of the park.  Although Tottenham failed to score for only the third time in 2011, their performance was enough to see them deservedly through to the Champions League quarter-finals, a feat never achieved before by an English manager.

Spurs’ boss Redknapp described his team’s progression as an “impossible dream”, adding “Two years ago if you would have said that we would have made it to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, I would have thought you were crazy.”

Tottenham’s transformation under Redknapp has been not short of remarkable and two clean-sheets against  seven-time European Cup winners AC Milan certainly demonstrate that Spurs’ often beleaguered back four is most certainly up to the challenge.