disguise?
Tune in to the Bolton v Spurs two all draw on Saturday and you’d think that the team in white were Spurs and those in blue the away Bolton team, but for the fact that the ground was swirling with someones fly tipping and the crowd wasn’t that great.
Yes Bolton played all the fancy Dan passing and moving game, they scored first very early on then conceded an equaliser that was a hump up to big man knock down bang into the net. Bolton then scored a cracking second goal with some nice play but then let another equaliser in minutes later from a set piece (corner). It really was a role reversal type of game.
Except of course for a couple of the well less finer points, fight and spirit. If it really was Bolton in blue then the there would have been more fight about the side. Yes the real Bolton did let in those two goals but would they have disappeared in the middle of the park the way Spurs did for most of the game. And would their left back have ponced out of clearing £37,000 bargain Tamir Cohen’s cross the way Assou-Ekotto did giving Davies a clear go at the back post.
With a bit of luck the international break will give Spurs plenty time to get the central defensive partnership sorted with either Ledley and Dawson or both back. A commanding presence is required in there, maybe it also requires Gomes to return. Also would help if someone explained the concept of not fouling a Bolton player anywhere in your own half.
Added to that ‘Arry really needs to look at the facts of the season so far. An unbeaten start looking good then two defeats on the trot followed by an easy home thrashing of a team who are hopeless away from home and then a draw on Saturday with no fight. What links all this, well he was missing for the unbeaten run, he returned for the defeats, he was OK against a Championship side, he didn’t have it in him to turn up away to Bolton. I look around and I see Malbranque doing it for Sunderland at Old Trafford, Murphy is doing it for Fulham, Mendes when fit does it, even Kevin Prince Boateng has been doing it for Pompey. How many have Spurs got rid of a player because Jenas has to play when available and how many times while he’s been central to the club’s plans have Spurs underachieved?
‘Arry the evidence is there right in front of you. I know the pull of winning things was the great pull for Carrick to leave for ManUre but the thought of having to play another season alongside Jenas can’t have helped Spurs cause to keep him.
Well back to the game and looking at it on past evidence it’s a ground we don’t do well at, it was a point after playing poorly and being behind twice, two first time scorers, back up to third in the table and 16 points from 8 games, what was that point total last year? I’m sure ‘Arry mentioned it at some point over the last year.. nah can’t remember…
Watching what has gone on at Old Trafford these last two weeks it reminds me I had a letter published in Match Of The Day magazine way way back when they started talking seriously about introducing the added time on the digital board and I said it couldn’t be done because you couldn’t fit “Until Man Utd score” on one of those little boards, how many years later and it’s still true and he has the 🙄 bare faced cheek to whinge about refs.