Ratings v Boro

[jurgen]

Gomes - 7 - mainly solid

Zokora - 7- showed some more intelligent play on the right with more time on the ball i thought, downing was decent against him though zoko looked solid

Woodgate - 7 - made a couple of little misjudgments

Dawson - 8 - looking almost the senior of the two centrebacks at the moment imo

BAE - 7 - not troubled too much as o'neil tucked in but maybe could have got forward more to test hoyte?

Lennon - 9 - always looked dangerous, the composure to take both goals bodes well, if he can score more he can get away with a relatively inconsistent end product

Modric - 8 - his mandate seems to be floating around and causing problems, and he did this, good assist where his instinctive turn foxed the defender. usual spurs crap free kick attempt though.

Palacios - 6.5 - agree he was a bit sloppy at times and not as dynamic as we've seen before but a solid base to the team

Jenas - 7 - covered his ground well, knocked some nice passes about

Pav - 7.5 - thought his hold up work and interplay were good and obviously stuck the ball in the net no matter how simple

Keane - 8.5 - his general play may not have been amazing, but made the right passes for three goals and stuck his away and you cant ask for much more than that from a front player

Bent - 7 - good play for the fourth goal, usual bent moments but we didnt quite find the range on the long balls for him to profit from

Hudd - 7 - usual array of passes, tried some more ambitious balls which didnt really come off and wasnt really harried in the middle by that time

O'Hara - not really enough to judge, was relatively average, ball for Bent was well hit, but seemed a little jaded.

All these marks may be flattered by the opposition but a good performance with a killer instinct most importantly.

 

[Rackybear]

Gomes - ray:

Zokora - :grin:
Dawson - :clap:
Woodgate - :think:
BAE - :grin:

Lennon - :bow:
Palacios - :eh:
Jenas - :lol:
Modric - :clap:

Keane - :clap:
Pavlyuchenko - For 1 minute :up: For the rest

Harry - :dance:
Kevin Bond - :shrug: with a bit of :-|
Joe Jordan - :shrug:

 

[DoublePivot]

agree with Lennon for MOTM

sometimes it seems like we spent 1 million on Lennon and an additional 16 to make him great

 

[hybridsoldier]

I thought Modric was like an 8, he was really really good we would be mental to sell him now he is getting the hang of this premier league stuff.

Keane was like a 7 but I think ive him 2 more games and he is gonna be back to his best, at times looked fantastic...gotta love his direct play in all goals... think 1st half of the season over-complicated things and Keane has brought the simplicity and the experience to know when to play the simple ball

For me again Jenas was great considering he played alot of the game on sunday too, i thought he once again put in a fantastic all round display.

I slagged him off all as having no heart but the last 3 games he has been fantastic I only hope he keeps it up because never 1 day have I said he hasn't got the ability...he has...looks like Harry has got him going though.

Apart from that we were decent, not great...a win is a win and we were more clincal...as pointed out we have played better and lost...but we've also played worse and won!

Oh and Lennon...near enough 9.5/10....really looking fantastic at the moment

 

[palace1000]

o'hara - 10

 

[spurdownunder]

O'Hara - 3 - Played a shit free kick and nothing else

Except put in a cracking cross that we could very easily have scored from, which ended up in a corner, then put the resulting corner onto Keano's head, which as mentioned above, had it been left to Woody, would have been a goal.

That's a little bit else IMO...

 

[ginol@14]

lennon keane and modric -class tonight
hudd looked awesome when he came on , his passing is simply quality
makes every ball look easy , glimpses of hoddle there
surely we need to involve him more now we actually have a decent DM in palacios
he can create out of nothing whilst other players choose to go sideways !

 

[garyhopkins]

A very good attacking display with some nice linking up between Keano, Lennon and Modric especially. It was good to see patience being shown and clinical finishing when necessary. Defensively we could have let a couple in (Tuncay was always a threat) and Palacios wasn't at his best. Given it's only three days since Wembley it was a terrific response. Now a more difficult away game beckons at Sunderland and I hope this acts as a confidence building springboard. Good performance, if not as great as the scoreline might suggest...
Gomes 6, BAE 6, Zokora 6, Dawson 6, Woody 6, Palacios 6, Jenas 7, Modric 7, Lennon 8, Keane 7, Pav 6.

 

[Spurz]

lennon should have saved a goal for the carling cup. excellent display all round!

 

[alamo]

A very strange team selection in playing Zokora at RB and leaving Chimbonda and Corluka on the Bench. Had he not done this we would have had the option of bringing the energetic Zokora into the CM when we were clearly tiring. I can understand Corluka being given a rest maybe but why buy Chimbonda and decide he's not good enough to play RB ? Bizare.

It meant that when we needed an injection of energy in midfield when tiring we could only bring on plodders Huddlestone and Ohara. Stupid tactics that on another day would have cost us as it nearly did several times tonight.

Perhaps I have read this post in the wrong way but I find it unnecessarily aggravating and a poorly veiled dig at Redknapp (about whom your opinions are abundantly clear).

Harry stated that anyone carrying a knock or a strain would be on the bench against Boro. So maybe, just maybe that was why Charlie and Chimbo weren't starters as opposed to any tactical naievity or stupidity from the boss? You instantly assume the worst and then dish out criticism towards a selection that ultimately won comfortably.

And no it wasn't a walk in the park by any stretch, but through no fault of Harrys. Boro played some genuinely good football at times - typical of a team that had kept a cleab sheet in their previous four matches and had manufactured a well deserved win over 'pool at the weekend.

 

[leffe186]

For the first time in a while the creativity is mostly coming from wide midfield & not the strikers. We should see less arm flapping from Keano this time around.

Didn't see this game bar the goals but can't agree with you I'm afraid. Pre-Keane & JD's return the strikers were barely creating anything at all. Lennon has often seemed our only creative outlet.

 

[Bill_Oddie]

Gomes 7 - Hardly a vintage performance but didn't do anything wrong, even with the two he conceded

Zokora - 7.5 - Very good
Dawson - 7.5 - Very good. One block from Tuncay was unbelievable
Woodgate - 7 - Good
BAE - 7.5 - Now he's added consistency to his quality, he has solved a huge problem for us going back years and years

Lennon - 9 - Nuff said.
Jenas - 8.5 - And that's deducting a half point for needing to be subbed. Not that it's his fault, but it would be a disservice to Lennon to rate him the same as JJ when one played for the full match.
Palacios - 7 - Some poor moments but overall good
Modric - 8.5 - See Jenas

Pavlyuchenko - 5.5 - Including a half point for his goal. His knock is clearly causing him problems so now we're a bit clearer and Bent seems to be working harder for the team, I think we need to rest the big Russian
Keane - 8.5 - Not his best match but had a hand in all goals, which is all that matters. He needed a game like this to boost his confidence. Looking forward to him firing us onwards in the run-in.

Harry - 8. Surprised by the line-up and if we hadn't got the early goal (or Tuncay's effort stood) then I think we'd have been run ragged in the last half hour. Still, we had quality on the bench. I just think we've got a 100m+ squad, so why not make more use of it? Bentley, Bale, Taarabt and Chimbonda can feel especially miffed not to play any part whatsoever in this game.

Still, good tactics, nice formation, and sensible changes. Harry, once again, proves himself a good manager.

 

[Spurs_Q8]

Gomes 6.5 - decent save and some of good things in the area.
Zokora 6.75 - good in defending, crosses weren't that poor but
Dawson 7.25 - solid, good game, get 0.25+ more for clean sheat
Woodgate 7.5 - as Dawson, more +0.25 for that vital block in half
Ekotto 7.25 - improving and did well, but almost costs us in 17' i think by leaving his man by that way !
Palacios 7.5 - most the ball two times, but worked very hard as always.
Jenas 7.75 - run everywhere, JJ is very different player with Palacios.
Modric 8.5 - Next Legend.
Lennon 9 - Class day
Keane 8.75 - important goal, two excellent assists, might score another but that's very good game.
Pavluchenko 6 - +1.0 for the goal, but another not productive performace, but still see him better than Bent.

Bent 6 - ok, tried and helped for the goal, but not impressive.
Hudd 6.25 - started poor and beaten easily by Archa, then improve and worked hard, but still not conviced that he is good CM, might be better with 4-1-4-1m specially for teams like Blackburn, Bolton, Stoke etc.. We missed JJ a lot after this.
O'Hara 6.25 - not to much to do, but good back after touch weekend, deserved 0.25 for that risky and good tackle in first mints.

Redknapp 8 - not ideal to take JJ off, but good to rest one of our 120 mins players in Carling for Sunderland game. Good team and excellent result. But Why Chimbonda instead of Bale on bench ? harsh treatment if he isn't injuried.

Team 8.5 - In terms of attacking, we were very good, but some mistakes could costs us at the back. Might be the players are tired but i hope the better against touch Sunderland team away from home.

 

[NickHSpurs]

I thought Lennon was superb, if he can keep putting in performances like that we'd all be delighted, everything about his game was quality last night.

Keane had some great spells in the game, his assists were both excellent and he made some very clever passes when we got the ball down and played.

Dawson was good as well I thought. People rave about Palacios being the hard man but Daws throws himself in front everything.

I wish Zokora would have more confidence going forward, he seems a little bit like a fox in headlights in the final third, which is a shame because he has the pace to cause a problem.

 

[NickHSpurs]

agree with Lennon for MOTM

sometimes it seems like we spent 1 million on Lennon and an additional 16 to make him great

Great point!

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Strange one for me. I thought Boro actually played some pretty decent stuff at times in particular Downing and Tuncay, who if Boro go down will surely be high up a few lists.

Gomes 7 - Seemed secure, caught a few crosses and punched one into a safe area.

Zokora 7 - After a shaky opening minute or so had a solid defensive game and was very strong going forward. Did his best to keep Downing quiet, although did get beat by Downing for pace on one occassion (just to prove Downing is far from slow)

Dawson 7 - Solid, great block from Tuncay in the first half. Good effort to even start.

Woodgate 7 - Again solid, won the ball in the air and is forming a decent partnership with the maturing Dawson.

BAE 7 - Strong performance again. Defensively stood off O'Neil a little too much for my liking and allowed him to get in a few decent crosses, but other than that another good game from Benny.

Jenas 7 - Strong running, a few moments off the ball where he was a little out of position. Good passing, good engine, good game.

Palacios 6.5 - Jekyll and Hyde game from Palacios. In the first half he was strong in the tackle and tidy. Loved the way he was screaming at Modric to fill in behind and was genereally commanding. Second half he was pretty woeful at times. Still a few decent challenges but the passing was sloppy and he seemed to be going through the motions.

Modric 7.5 - Decent performance, would like to see him do more, but when he drifted centrally some of the one touch stuff was excellent. When he and Keane get on the same wavelength it is going to be fantastic. There were signs it was coming last night.

Lennon 9 - Just great from the little man. He's such a threat and seems to be so much more direct than last season. If he can continue to get into those positions he can score more regularly. Also I liked the way he looked disappointed and said something to Bent when he didn't attack one of his crosses.

Keane 8 - So good to have him back. I said to my brother that I still didn't think he looked match sharp. His movement was excellent though and as I said when he gets that understanding with Modric it is going to be fun to watch. Would have liked to have seen him get in more goal scoring situations but 1 goal and 2 assists is a good return.

Pav 6 - The big disappointment tonight. Was decent enough for the first 15 minutes, got the flick for Keanes goal and then scored actually attacking the ball and getting in before the defender. Then he just seemed to run out of steam completely. Still not great with the hold up play.

O'Hara 6 - Decent performance, nice cross for Keane who should have done better.

Bent 6 - Got a telling off from Lennon for not attacking a cross. Ran hard and probably deserves to start next game.

Hudd 6 - Not that long but looked assured as always on the ball.

 

[Jimmypearce7]

Why didnt we do the voting thing for MOTM for the final and this game? It is more interesting to see who gets what votes than read lots of posts.

 

[nicdic]

Gomes 7 - Hardly a vintage performance but didn't do anything wrong, even with the two he conceded

Zokora - 7.5 - Very good
Dawson - 7.5 - Very good. One block from Tuncay was unbelievable
Woodgate - 7 - Good
BAE - 7.5 - Now he's added consistency to his quality, he has solved a huge problem for us going back years and years

Lennon - 9 - Nuff said.
Jenas - 8.5 - And that's deducting a half point for needing to be subbed. Not that it's his fault, but it would be a disservice to Lennon to rate him the same as JJ when one played for the full match.
Palacios - 7 - Some poor moments but overall good
Modric - 8.5 - See Jenas

Pavlyuchenko - 5.5 - Including a half point for his goal. His knock is clearly causing him problems so now we're a bit clearer and Bent seems to be working harder for the team, I think we need to rest the big Russian
Keane - 8.5 - Not his best match but had a hand in all goals, which is all that matters. He needed a game like this to boost his confidence. Looking forward to him firing us onwards in the run-in.

Harry - 8. Surprised by the line-up and if we hadn't got the early goal (or Tuncay's effort stood) then I think we'd have been run ragged in the last half hour. Still, we had quality on the bench. I just think we've got a 100m+ squad, so why not make more use of it? Bentley, Bale, Taarabt and Chimbonda can feel especially miffed not to play any part whatsoever in this game.

Still, good tactics, nice formation, and sensible changes. Harry, once again, proves himself a good manager.

I'd pretty much agree with all of this although I don't usually give half marks.

As well as Jenas played he still managed to frustrate me, it seemed as though as soon as he saw Huddlestone standing on the touchline waiting to come on, he raised his game another level. That is the level I feel he is capable of, and I really would love to see him at that level more often.

I was disappointed with O'Hara as well, came on made a decent tackle and one decent cross, but if we're going to slate Huddlestone at times for being too slow, what do we say about O'Hara? Also not sure I agree with the hero worship he got when coming on, unless David Bentley is going to get the same reception, which I doubt as there were audible boos for his name on the bench when the team was announced.

 

[Bromavinci]

I only saw the MOTD highlights so am not going to rate (i never do anyway, but..)..

I think people are a bit harsh on Pav - the lad has had almost a full year of football, and despite not showing real world class (ok - so he looks a bit shite) ability, he is still scoring...dont know his exact stats but i suspect they look quite good considering the shift he has put in 08 - 09?

Back to the match - from what i saw and heard, Lennon, Keane, Modric all good..Wilson a bit anonymous?

Whatever the ratings - it was a 4 - 0 victory over a good Boro side who rolled Liverpool last time out..so you have to give the whole team top marks

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

I wouldn't say Wilson was anonymous. He was everywhere on the pitch, just he was very sloppy. Made some dreadful passes and generally was poor on the ball.

There were positives to take from his performance too though, in particular his covering of other players (in particular Modric) and the way he was pointing and instructing, particularly in the first half.

And yes, Pav just looks exhausted. He isn't a bad player just maybe needs a break.