Spurs News
A look back at the 4-0 Real Madrid hammering
Fan Articles, Match Reports, News, Our Season | MF | April 6, 2011 at 8:53 am
To say that didn’t go quite as well as expected is probably understating the case a tad. If it could go wrong, it did. Is that an example of Crouch’s Law? It should be if it isn’t.
Injuries, incompetence and stupidity all played their part in this shocker. The sticking plasters started to peel off the patched up team even before kick off when Lennon pulled out, with a ‘sore throat’ apparently. His replacement, Jenas, was closest to the free as a bird Adebayor when he headed in direct from a corner after only 4 minutes. What seemed the worst possible start got even poorer ten minutes later when Crouch decided to make a tough task impossible by getting himself sent off for two unnecessary and more or less identical late challenges on the home team’s full backs. They both made the most of it but who can blame them? The ref was buying everything from anyone wearing white.
We held out for the rest of the half, Van der Vaart had a half chance and Bale a good one, and were looking ok in the second until we defended a quick corner really sloppily. We fell asleep and Adebayor took advantage of the absent defence to head his second. He was again given the freedom of the six yard box. The proverbial wheels fell off after that as the frustration that Madrid and their fans were starting to exhibit was replaced with the knowledge that the opportunity was now in front of them to finish off the tie there and then. First Di Maria fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner and then Gomes let an eminently stoppable one from Ronaldo squirm under his body. Bale, Gallas and Corluka all took knocks and we finished the match wondering how much worse it was going to get rather than trying to get at least one goal to pin our WHL hopes to.
We were supposed to have grown up in this competition. The rabbit in the headlights first half performances against Young Boys and Inter were a thing of the past. But no. The composure, poise and discipline we needed to give ourselves a chance in this game were completely missing. Crouch’s sending off was just ridiculous. A suicidal and imbecilic act. Shortly after he’d been dismissed, Van der Vaart was booked for booting the ball away at a free-kick, again a show of indiscipline, this time from one of our leaders on the field and one of the few with experience at this level.
For the first time this season we brought our Premier League form into the Champions League. There was no zip, pace, creativity or imagination and almost no threat up front. We weren’t even set up to give our best. Modric started on the left and Bale on the right with the overawed Jenas and the overwhelmed Sandro in the middle. The sudden absence of Lennon was no reason to put out an imbalanced midfield. Bringing on Defoe for Van der Vaart was odd too given his form, confidence and size. The fact that we ended up with Assou-Ekotto, a man more left sided than Karl Marx, playing at right back summed it all up.
Yesterday we called for the team to make themselves and us proud. ‘For Harry, Redknapp and St Luka’ and all that. Instead we got something timid, ragged and disorganised with Madrid becoming the fifth team this season to stick four past us. The occasion seemed too much for our players. All you ask for in the first leg of European ties is that you do enough to give yourselves a chance in the second. Largely through our own making, we ended up being not very close.
By MF
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And Inter were also shown to be poor last night. We’ve played crap teams in this champions league.
How many red cards this year? Inter Fulham Newcastle, Villa, Madrid?
How many times we been hammered? Inter, Fulham, Young Boys, Blackpool
but again he has cost rednapp respect as many supporters dont think rednapp has a clue and from the beginning of the year we can c y, infact from november we can c y,
spurs have played real badly
its not knee jerk, its facts , madrid won lastnite cos they were well prepared by their manager, we lost and lost badly becos of our poor prep, again due to manager! its like using cheap tyres and getin a blow out,
if he was a politician we wud expect his resignation lool, as his constituents have lost faith long time ago, NOW PLEEESE JENAS GO!
Would it have been different if we had Bentley and Naughton? Then at least we'd have our shape.
Let alone a world class forward
We conquered both Milans, and went further than Arsenal. It was a nightmare performance last night but it's hardly been a campaign filled with doom-and-gloom.
Now for the first time this season, we are facing a match where we have nothing to lose. Perhaps this is the time to try something different. Our biggest problem this season is that we have had strikers who couldn't score in a brothel full of blind nymphomaniacs. Why not try Bale as a striker? I have an idea that this lad has talents that we haven't even begun to discover.
What about Dos Santos as a forward
At least Defoe has some speed. In the end it didn’t matter as the ball was never up there anyway.
By the way I was at the bernabau last night and san Siro is much better even if thats crap as well.I really felt like clumping a spick last night to be honest cos they are fucking full of themselves.
There are too many lightweights in the Spurs team – we need more steel and midfield physical presence allied with pace . We have no leaders in our team – Lennon was plainly over-awed – scared if you like, and there was no big player(s) to instill confidence and desire.
The lennon incident was a bit of bad luck, or poor planning from Harry's part. Lennon and Jenas surely were not supposed to be marking Ade.
Bale should play on the left, not right.
We were sloppy for the second.
The third, a beast, but di maria got that space to shoot while bale was off the pitch.
The forth happened immediately after corluka's injury, with Benoit (who along with dawson i thought was excellent) moving away from where the goal was scored to the other flank.
These are the minor details (granted there were alot of them here) that games, particularly at this level, can hing upon.
The whole thing is just very disappointing that we didn't give a good account of ourselves or get a change to properly test ourselves. Crouch clealy lost his brain.