PLAYER RATINGS: Hull 1:2 Spurs

Christian Eriksen grabbed the 90th-minute winner for Spurs as they came from behind to beat 10-man Hull.

Former Spur Jake Livermore had given the hosts the lead with just 8 minutes gone when he slotted a loose ball home from 25-yards.

Spurs probed in vain for an equaliser before half time but the game was turned on its head minutes after the second 45 began when Gaston Ramirez saw red for lashing out at Jan Vertonghen. Pressure mounted and was eventually rewarded when Eriksen’s swerving free-kick came back off the post for Harry Kane to finish into the empty net.

The kitchen sink came out as Hull held on until the very last minute of regular time when Eriksen picked the ball up 20 yards out to fire across goal and hand Spurs a top-half place.

Player Ratings

Hugo Lloris - 6 – Topsy-turvy from the Frenchman who spilled a few long balls but ultimately cancelled out his errors with some sublime goalkeeping to keep out Brady and Ben Arfa.

Eric Dier - 5 – Another lacklustre showing from the centre-half who was substituted at half time. Good in terms of strength and footwork but he’s far from the type of fullback Poch’s system requires, and was given a difficult task up against Robbie Brady.

Jan Vertonghen - 7 – for all his grumpiness, Vertonghen is certainly our most gifted defender. Cut out some vital balls and was excellent on the front foot when Hull’s attack eased off. He even smiled when we scored!

Federico Fazio - 6 – Was given a hard time on Twitter due to his first half mistake, handing the ball to Jake Livermore who finished with aplomb. He was also in direct comparison with the man he replaced, Michael Dawson, but his second half display restored a lot of faith for me. Better with his feet than most think.

Ben Davies - 6 – Fairly average shift from Davies who didn’t exactly push the boat out like Danny Rose would. No doubt more solid defensively but hardly a risk taker, with few of is deliveries finding targets. Certainly more to come.

Ryan Mason - 7 – Had a rough game thanks to Huddlestone and Livermore’s heavy-handed approach, but Mason performed admirably on the big stage again. An excellent anchor and faultless in the way of work-rate.

Mousa Dembele - 4 – Struggling to see Dembele’s place in this Spurs side. Clearly not a defensive midfielder, although that was glossed over due to Hull’s defensive attitude after the red card. Guilty of holding onto the ball too long, too.

Erik Lamela - 6 – For some reason Lamela’s come under some intense criticism since full-time. I was impressed by the Argentine today although he is no doubt guilty of holding onto the ball too long. Every team needs a “selfish” player as long as they have that ability and it was good to see Lamela going alone every now and then.

Christian Eriksen - 7 – Praise the Lord he’s back! After weeks in the shadows Eriksen finally asserted himself as the side’s maestro, with every second touch of the ball coming from the Dane’s boot. Topped off the display with a lovely goal after his unlucky free-kick had resulted in the first. Showed that he needs to be playing in the middle!

Harry Kane - 6 – A relatively quiet one from Kane despite the attacking onslaught. Grabbed himself yet another goal, albeit a tap in, but needed to be playing as the number 9 rather than out wide.

Roberto Sodado - 6 – Some really positive signs from the Spaniard who yet again deserves praise for his positive build up play. Certainly should have found the net today but is due credit for finding himself in the right positions.

SUBS

Vlad Chiriches - 6 – a surprisingly good outlet when he came on at right-back. Much less risky playing him there rather than centre-back that’s for sure. Delivery understandably average.

Aaron Lennon - 7 – Changed the game. He balanced the side superbly by finally adding some width to the side, pulling the 10-men of Hull all over the park.

Paulinho N/a – Why did Paulinho come on?

This one was too close for comfort. For the side that we supposedly are aiming to be, needing the assistance of dubious red cards away at Villa and now Hull is simply not good enough.

There is no better feeling than seeing your side put away a Kane/Eriksen-esque last minute winner, but for the sake of my heart rate I’d love to see us beat a mid-table team comfortably for once.

Talking points aplenty, selection headaches and the seeds sown for no doubt countless debates, it’s good to have Tottenham back again.

CSWY

 

Thought Lennon was excellent when he came in and gave us much needed width and pace. I hope Kaboul and Adebayor stay away many more times as they were not missed at all.
Lamela is an absolute joke. His passes rarely went to anyone in white and he is just a very expensive show pony.
Three much needed points, another poor performance. Still, we are only two points away from fourth, so if we can tick over until January, we may still be in with a shout.

 

Harsh ratings I feel. Clearly the red turned the game and a massive possession ratio and record goal attempts this season. Fully deserved.

 

A much needed win today

Agree with most of your ratings, but I think your being a bit hard on Dembele. He was subbed because of the situation - being down 1-0 and suddenly playing 10 vs 11. I think he played ok while he was on - maybe a 5 or 6. Also, I dont think Lamela played well enough to score a 6.

Paulinho was brought on to play def mid, to free up Eriksen to focus on playing attacking mid. Pretty good move if you ask me, as Eriksen was obviously playing a good game, creating most of our chances today. Maybe thats what lead to the last goal? Who knows...

 

Everybody knows that verthongen is an excellent defender and that he has to play. Same for Eriksen, he is not a wide midfielder but he has to play in a central midfield rôle. Same for Lennon. He is always our best wide midfielder when he is fit. Hope that poch has learned that on this match...

 

Referee Rating?

Another helping hand from referee Pawson. Thats 2 for 2 opposition red cards he's dished out.

Sign him up I say.

 

Paulinho did okay when he came on and actually freed Eriksen up to get further forward.

 

Lennon has to start.

 

Wise substitution bringing on paulinho to free up erikson. Anyone notice we play better without kaboul and adebayor. Lennon needs to play out wide where he best. Get rid of lamela he holds ball to long and thinks he can dribble opposition on his own. Wake up pochettino. Time is de ticking. Well done kane. Seems to be only striker willing to put any effort. Coys....

 

kane is finding the back of the net unlike any other spurs striker. that makes him among the first names that should be on the starting 11 each week.
I don't know how much more obvious it can be, but Soldado clearly isn't a striker (anymore?) he actually has some brilliant passing and vision, and does fairly well at keeping the ball. If Spurs fall back to the dreaded 4231 then Soldado needs to be the guy in the middle of the 3 midfielders.

Lamela is getting too much game time, and clearly isn't up to EPL standards. £30million, OMG we got ripped off big time!
As much as I don't like the fact we keep going narrow all the time, Eriksen did well on left wing for Sherwood and I think we should make use of that fact.
being a manager is about getting the best out of your players, not forcing your players to conform to your 1 trick pony tactics. All the evidence shows 4231 doesn't work for us, and as shown against Hull, we've forgotten how to use 442.

 

I have only scene the MOTD highlights, but we seemed very lucky to go in a half time only 1 o down. Furthermore until their sending off we looked on the back foot. So both here and at Villa we got a bit lucky really. Still a good three points, we must take these games as positives and say well get got the the three points and stayed strong well into the last 15 minutes which was also a solid sign.

 

We at least showed some grit and determination yesterday but there are still issues with this team. For the first 45 minutes we looked lop sided and very wobbly at the back. The introduction of Paulinho and Lennon made a real difference. In fac, even Chiriches at right back seemed to make us look a more attacking threat.

Sadly, it seems when the opposition go down to ten men is the only time we wake up. I fear for the Chelsea game.

 

The second half team looked much better than previous mixes, and when Lennon came on that improved things even more. He needs to play as he brings width and movement, and he works hard tackling back. Good to see Kaboul, Rose and Adebeyour out of it, and Jan back. I just hope Poch doesn't mess with what looks like a half decent possible first team, although Walker needs to be right back again when fit.

 

We're are all the Lennon haters changed the game yesterday proper width in the side. shame that there are plenty of reports his going to be off in January after turning down a new contract who can blame him you need to play regularly to keep your form . Play all the other shitters in Europa league and stick with a settled team for the premiership .

 

Naturally delighted with the win, though as has been said we got lucky, the sending off was a game changer. I pretty much agree with the assessments, though I didn't see as much in Lennon's performance as others have.
Still, it is a long time since he played well for us, so it was good to see him look like a threat again.
I completely agree with the idea of playing Bob deeper, he isn't a striker. He had some chances he should have been put away blindfolded. He does have something to offer from midfield though, and if Poch isn't interested in that idea lets sell him in January for someone who can get 15 goals a season.
Kane is a striker of course, he didn't do a great deal in the game but he was there to turn in Erikson's rebounded free kick - exactly what you want your strikers to do. I don't care if he spends 89 minutes scratching his arse, as long as he can poach a goal or two he has to be played.
Chiriches was surprisingly good on the right, I'd like to see him tried in that position again.
There is no doubt about it, the team looks better away from home and I think a part of it is the amount of vocal support they get. I'm no fan of Adebayor, but there was something in what he said about the atmosphere at WHL. It quickly gets very quiet if the opposition go in front. So, if like me you will be there for the Everton game, be the 12th man - as Delia might say "lets be 'aving you".

 

Well it was slightly better than Villa, not convinced we wouldve got the points without the red card though.
Its hard to be to harsh with 3 points in the bag and we carved the result out in the end. But this is Hull and they were the better side first half which is not good enough from us.
Lennon definately improved us by giving us width and actually being positive for the first time in a long time
No Ade or Kaboul has Poch seen the light??? Good riddance wage thieves.
Soldado must be sold and replaced with a proper striker, and Lamela needs to sort his game out big time.

On another note- those talking about signings in January and Levy 'backing the manager' where have you been the last 5+ years we do little to no buisness in Jan, and in the Summer we will only sign who levy thinks he will make a profit off, not what we need or what Poch wants.
Levy Out!!!!

 

Great result, and frankly just what the Dr ordered!

I'ts hard for me to really comment on the entire game, as I only saw the 2nd half. But from what I gather, it was a contest that Spurs grew into, rather than controlled from start to finish.

Delighted for the manager, who identified the changes that were required at half-time and applied them with great effect.

Chiriches, although didn't have a great game at RB in the 2nd half, is more comfortable on the ball than Dier is and as a result offered more attacking intent down the Spurs right hand-side.

Indeed, if Soldado had been at the top of his game right now, and not short of confidence, the Romanian would be sitting on his 1st assist of the season.

The same could be said about Aaron Lennon, who restored to his favoured position on the right flank, offered the team balance, width and efficiency in his work, both from an attacking and defensive standpoint. With Lamela moved out to the left for the most part, although both the widemen still rotated/interchanged positions, Spurs began stretching the Hull rearguard, getting in behind their defence and as a result pulling the oppositions players out of their desired shape.

His pinpoint cross for Kane which went unfinished is proof again that most stats are RARELY worth the paper there written on. as far as individual or collective performances are concerned.

Pochettino's final change in bringing on Paulinho for the injured Soldado also had a BIG impact on the game, as it allowed the impressive Eriksen the freedom to get further forward in the latter stages of the game which resulted in the winner.

It's fair to say that Mauricio has come in for some stick of late, and yesterday he helped the team offer the perfect response by helping the side pick up the 3 points.

Many will point out that Spurs were playing against 10 men for the majority of the 2nd half and that helped swing the game in our favour. Well, whilst that may be the case, you STILL need to have the composure, intelligence and quality to take advantage of the situation and on the day Spurs did.

If memory serves me correctly, Spurs were down to 10 men in the opening 20-25 mins of the first game of the season, away to West Ham and the home side failed to make the numbers count!

Well, yesterday, Spurs put on a master-class of how to play against 10 men with the team maintaining (effective) possession, moving Hull around with quick passes and interchanges and spreading the ball wide at every given opportunity.

Eriksen and Mason were at the heart of this well advised tactic, with both men reveling in the extra space and time afforded to them on the ball, controlling the tempo of our attacks and generally dictating proceedings.

Mason was VERY good in that 2nd half, but Eriksen was SUPERB, with his ability to create, ghost past opposing players and control the momentum/flow of the game.

The Danes movement on and off the ball was exceptional and it was no surprise to me when he drifted in behind the Hull teams midfield, in a tight area and thumped home the winner.

When Spurs decided to get rid of the HUGELY talented Sigurdsson and Holtby in the summer it was clearly with a view to building a side around the gifted midfield schemers talents.

Eriksen's performances between now and the end of the season will determine whether or not making such a bold decision was justified or not, but if Spurs are to reach their full potential this term it is VITAL that Christian is able to produce those kind of performances on a REGULAR basis.

With Liverpool and Arsenal both losing games this week it was imperative that the team to were able to take advantage of those results by picking up a much needed win.

The team looked like they were enjoying their football in the second period and hopefully the enthusiasm and confidence gained through that display will carry through to the game against Partizan on Thursday.

A home win and a good display against Belgrade should set us up PERFECTLY for the game against Everton.

 

The second half was much better from Spurs but it wasn't 'superb' by any stretch of the imagination.
The substitutions worked well which is possibly the only time that the manager can be applauded for his tactical decisions this season.
This season will hinge on the January window and it will be interesting to see who comes in. The BEST decision that the manager made though was to have Adebayor and Kaboul nowhere near the team. Whether this was due to injury or not, they can stay away for me. Adebayor is lazy and no one can seriously expect Kaboul to keep delivering inept performances.
I expect both to be sold in January.

As for yesterday, I think we saw some fight from the team but the win merely papered over the cracks that still exist.
The most positive thing is that we sit only 2 points off fourth, but we still need to improve in all areas of the pitch.
I won't take too much notice of Thursdays game as the team will totally different again but if we can gain three points against Everton before Chelsea slaughter us, the top four is still going to be in our sights!!!

 

You might want to make sure your wearing your reading glasses before you attempt to quote The Ram, Matthew!

I DIDN'T say that say that the 2nd half was 'superb', I said Eriksen was in that period.

Just out of interest, wasn't it you who was BANGING ON about Levy giving the new manager time during the summer?

And yet here you are, knife in hand at the VERY first opportunity you get!...Typical.... Lol.

 

It was clear from the 1st half that we lacked width with undisciplined players Dier and Lamela causing a 33112 formation making the strikers drift wide to find space. Imho Dembele and Mason are not DMF's. Hassling the opposition for possession it not the same a having defensive awareness and the ability to tackle as they were 2nd in every 50/50 and 2nd
ball. The sending off undoubtedly changed the game along Poch providing width with his substitutions.