PLAYER RATINGS: Stoke 0-1 Spurs

Several of Tottenham's summer signings today proved they could do it on a cold Saturday afternoon in Stoke. Spurs met the physical and newly instigated style of football that has given Mark Hughes' side a new dimension this season.

Lloris - 7 - The French international didn't have too much to do and coped well in difficult conditions.

Naughton - 5 -An average performance at right back. Did make a few good interceptions but doesn't offer anything at all going forward.

Dawson - 7 - Solid performance under a lot of pressure from a typically physical Stoke side. Commanding from the back and seemed to really enjoy the battle.

Kaboul - 8 - Played excellently alongside Dawson despite being to yet regain full match fitness. He often asserted his physicality on Crouch to good effect and kept pace with an occasionally dangerous Odemwingie.

Rose (Fryers '68) - 7 - Rose conceded possession on several occasions and was often found out of position. He pace was threatening going forward and he took his goal expertly. Found it hard to keep a cool head amidst pressure from the Stoke fans.

Lennon (Townsend '77) - 4 - Too predictable with his wide play and struggles against physical fullbacks. He came infield far too often, crowding Eriksen's space. His touch also let him down several times in good positions.

Eriksen - 7 - A few phenomenal deliveries reminiscent of those two freekicks last weekend. If only he could replicate those from corner kicks. Found great positions in space in the midfield but needs more runners off the ball and better support from Paulinho and Chadli.

Paulinho - 4 - Can be such a strong runner from midfield and can keep possession well. Today he didn't pressure the ball hard enough and must lead by example if we want to continue to press high up the pitch. Went missing for large parts of the game and offered little outlet for the defence when Spurs were under pressure.

Chadli (Sigurdsson '72) - 6 - some powerful, purposeful runs but again lacked composure in final third. Must be more clinical to justify his central midfield role.

Kane - 6 - Continues to look menacing around the box but is yet to form a solid partnership with Adebayor. Squandered chances in both halves.

Adebayor - 7 - Yet to return to form and didn't give the Stoke defence too much to worry about. Great skill and composure to find Rose for the first goal. Had he nutted Charlie Adam, it would have been 8.

Substitutions

Fryers - 7 - did a good job at left back filling in for a riled Danny Rose in the last 20 mins.

Sigurdsson - 7 - worked hard and kept it simple but didn't have an opportunity to impress at such late stage in the game. Does offer a good attacking option and can slow the game down under pressure.

Townsend - 6 - Having not started in a game since at Arsenal back in March, Townsend has been unable to replicate his early form that earned him a chance to provide dazzling displays for England earlier this year.

In a good away performance, Spurs showed determination and grit to grind out a result against a tough side with a noisy home crowd. This could have easily been a banana skin in Tottenham's run in but Sherwood's men proved resolute in their plight to finish a turbulent season on a high.

 

Think dawson is still so important to our defence, cant imagine keeping a clean sheet against the potters without him. I know hes not perfect but without him weve been shambolic at times. Another good three points and winning is a good habit to develop at any stage of the season. Coys.

 

11 vs 10 men for more than 40 minutes and the best opportunities were for Stoke...! Why Tim didn't give some time to Sandro and Soldado? Paulinho was awful again and Kane did nothing... Good performance from Kaboul, Rose and Eriksen. COYS

 

Spot on genevaspur, would also like to point out Dawson was torn apart as soon as Stoke got some pressure on us, they should have scored twice when he didn't pick up runners

 

Paulinho is truly the worst midfielder that Spurs have ever had.

How on earth does he get picked? It is a total mystery.

 

Spurs central midfield is non existent. I have no idea how they won today. Very lucky. Paulinho wouldn't even be good enough to play in the championship, let alone the premier league.

 

Decent win against a horrible team. In danger of getting in Europa league again which is not what I want.

 

It is crazy, when you think we have class players on loan like Tom Carroll, Alex Pritchard, Lewis Holtby, Cristian Cebellos and instead we play a load of donkeys who were outplayed by a 10 men Stoke in the second half.

Time to sell all the donkeys: Chadli, Paulinho, Capoue, Livermore, Rose, Naughton.

Bring in some creativity to the Spurs midfield.

 

I haven't seen anything yet, rather responding here to the report and comments above.

Lennon 4..Paulinho 4.... Poor Aaron, time to move on is my sense, Paulinho move on please...I don't need to watch your performance, they are all the same, never hurting the opposition, the best passer backer of anybody in the PL. Cost us £17m, wages £4m...wtf.....not even an average player....

Sounds like we were more than a little lucky.....

 

A decent first-half was ultimately followed up by a below-par 2nd, and again Tim's POTENTIAL as a manager was undermined by his refusal to follow/adhere to basic football principles/concepts.

Team balance has been a topic that I have REPEATEDLY talked about throughout the course of the current campaign, as it has been something that ,both, our managers, this season, have CONTINUOUSLY overlooked.

In Sherwoods case, he doesn't seem to understand that you NEED to set up a team to be able to play WITHOUT the ball, as well as with it...regardless of who you are playing against. Because unless your side is going to keep 100% possession, or is EXTREMELY adept at pressing the opposition, as a unit (alla Barca under Pep), there are going to be moments in the game where you are required to (regularly) make tackles in the middle third of the pitch.... and this is something that Tim Sherwoods Spurs teams, of late, are incapable of doing with any efficiency.

Too often, the opposition are able to play, EASILY, between Spurs lines, and come into direct contact with Tottenhams defence without so much as a hand been placed on them! Nobody in arguably the MOST important area of the pitch (the midfield) for Tottenham, CONSISTENTLY wants/or is happy to :

- Spot danger, and eliminate it at source.

- Track runs, or position themselves to make inceptions.

- Make tackles and/or impose themselves physically.

- Marshall the space in front of the back 4, acting as a CONSTANT first line of defence.

- Organise the entire midfield, helping the team to maintain some sort of shape and balance.

-Give the team an aggressive/competitive edge in the middle of the park.

With all of those things missing from the team, it is no wonder that Spurs CONTINUE to afford AVERAGE level opposition so MANY chances to score/create openings.

Today was the turn of 10 man Stoke, who can probably consider themselves unfortunate not to get a point from the match.

If Tim is to preserve and improve his impressive EPL record, he MUST understand that the best way to control a match is not ONLY about keeping the ball well, but having the ability to win possession as quickly, and regularly as possible, during the course of the game.

At the moment he is asking too many players to FOCUS on doing things that don't come naturally to them, and it shows. Spurs have reverted back to being to 'nice'/easy to play against, and the defence is suffering because of it.

Good result today, and I hope to see us win all of our remaining games...but if truth be told, the end of the season can't come quick enough!!!

 

No standouts, no real contender for MOTM for me unfortunatly. average all round. positives - 3 points, clean sheet albeit against 10 man stoke, and what about the goal from Rose. illgive him credit for that one, still feel he's not good enough for spurs but nice goal.well taken. I still think we need a holding MFer,we were vulnerable against 10 men. good games from Daws and Kaboul. Paulinho rubbish as usual, for some reason he's still highly rated,sell while we might get a decent return.

 

and Mr. Tim have allergy to DM.....can't wait to see him go..

 

In my opinion Paulinho is useless in a 4-4-2 but could be very useful in a 4-3-3

 

Totally agree - Dawson was excellent, he made a great block in the first half after Kaboul's mistake, competed well with Crouchy in the air and made a crucial tackle on their sub who was waltzing through our midfield unhindered.
There will doubtless be many fans - the ones that think strikers are great when they score and defenders are awful when they make a mistake - who do not agree with this, but they would probably want to sell their grandmother because she is old.

 

Despite the comments on here, I actually believe that Paulinho is getting better. Look NOBODY has been a bigger critic of the Brazilian over the course of the campaign, than me. Indeed, the half-hearted 50/50 challenge he lost/bottled against Newcastle, at WHL, which lead to their winning goal, STILL wakes me up in a cold sweat...But, I have got to give the guy SOME credit, and say, while he is NOT performing to his UNDOUBTED potential, he is showing small signs that he is beginning to grasp what it takes to perform in the EPL.

In all truth, not many Brazilians coming from the Brazilian league, directly to England, have set the world alight in their 1st season in the EPL.

I must say though, that since Sherwood has reinstated Paulinho to the starting line-up in the last few games I have seen:

- A greater desire to work off of the ball (i.e. work-rate).

- The Brazilian win/commit-to more tackles/challenges.

- Him display a better level of tactical awareness.

- Show an improved level of aggression.

Listen, by no means am I saying that the Brazilian is playing at the standard you would expect from a £17m Brazilian International (regular), but I can see Paulinho is, now, at LEAST making the effort to adapt to the rigours and demands of the English game. I, actually, believe that Paulinho may of underestimated the overall quality of EVERY team in the premiership, and therefore thought he just had to show up, and allow his ability would win the day.

I STILL see a TOP-PLAYER hiding away in their, waiting to come out and it's just about getting a manager capable of unlocking that potential.

I agree with the post about the Brazilian being best suited to a 4-3-3, in the EPL, with Paulinho fulfilling the role of box-to-box midfielder once he becomes accustomed to the speed/tempo of the game.

Not sure I would sell just yet, as I believe Paulinho COULD be a HUGE asset to the club in the EPL, next season...but should the opportunity arise to recoup our money (or even make a profit, knowing Levy) I would certainly be tempted, especially when I believe Fabian Delph could be a cheaper, but better alternative as a box-to-box midfielder, for Spurs (allowing the rest of the cash recouped to re-invest elsewhere within the team).

 

when looking at the players that we bought last summer I for one was sure that the team would be set up for a 4-3-3 which at the time many thought was AVBs preferred formation. how many box to box MFs do we need

 

How many, NATURAL, box-to-box mifielders do you think we have??? 1/2 at a stretch...

 

Dembele and that's about it. I agree Paulinho has the ability to also be...another two wins and we match
Last seasons record haul how bizaare would that be after a seasonof transition allied with turmoil. Im convinced there is a manager out there of getting a decent team out of this conundrum of a squad in which redknapp did on taking over from Ramos.

 

Maybe important, but nowhere near as good as Ledley King or dare I say Sol Campbell were. Bring back Mike England too!!!