..awards.
You do bugger all for nearly 90 minutes, then when all looks lost you pop up and score yet another goal of the season candidate.
One man team
. Yeah our one man has Spurs within touching distance of your fabulously crafted 25 man squad.
Oh your player didn’t celebrate scoring against his old club. Well maybe that’s because his old club means more to him than your club does.
Now I have to admit I missed the first half an hour of the game – bloody interweb – and from what highlights there was of that opening 30 minutes it looked like a good thing. In front of Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles the visitors, Southampton, had come to play while the host looked like the two Argentinian legends, both aged 60, could quite easily get a game and improve the side.
Southampton’s play should have come as no surprise. They’ve beaten Chelsea and Citeh, while losing and drawing to teams those victories suggest they should have done better against. They lift themselves for the big teams.
And were it not for the fingers of Lloris, with yet another great save in a fantastic debut season, Bale wouldn’t have been scoring the winner later on. One of Pochettino’s main problems is that Ricky Lambert takes great free kicks but a number of times he could really do with the striker being on the end of them as well.
That could happen and Southampton could have been out of sight.
But then if the officials had half a clue Spurs could have been ahead slightly earlier than they were. Bale down the right cross was cut out in trying to retrieve the ball in the box the winger was clearly fouled. But of course with Clattenberk officiating nothing was given. Certainly not Spurs’ first penalty of the season.
Five minutes later for some unknown reason Southampton players let Bale come in from the right, get almost in the middle and have a bang at goal. A bang the flew past Boruc’s outstretched hand as it went from curling in to swerving away from the ‘keepers attempt.
That’s why he’s the player’s player of the year, young and old and the writer’s player.
But while the plaudits rightly come his way, you can’t forget Lloris’ early saves and the fact AVB yet again changed a game for Spurs, with tactical switch and a switch in personnel – though his early tactics seemed to be letting BAE make up for all those games missed with all the ball, only player on the park with triple digits touches. While it was good not to have to watch a game with Parker involved, it was a joy not to have to put up with Adebayor for too long either. But the striker
did some decent stuff when he came on. Layoff to Bale for the penalty shout and a nice little touch for Dempsey to balloon over the bar.
It all worked to drag this one out of the mire and keep it all in our own hands.