Redknapp takes Spurs crash course

4-4. Now that's entertainment. As a Spurs fan I'd have settled for that earlier tonight, and certainly this time last week! I was in the 'give Ramos more time' camp - we gave Jol the push too early - but good old 'Arry has definitely shaken things up since last Saturday night. I'll gladly wager large sums of cash with any muppet who reckons Spurs will still go down...any takers?

I think people should end the criticism of Gomes, so far this season he's been our best player - which I know isn't saying much - and he's kept us in games time and time again. At PSV he was outstanding, thus we bought him, he is not some naff import, he is proven at european level and once our defence is sorted I am sure that will show.

He has learnt that there is lots of quality in his squad (I think he knew that anyway...well...we even us lot know that) and he learnt that his defence and keeper needs drastically improving (again...we all knew that).

He will have lots of video clips to go through with the players! If I was in Harry's position the first priority would be the goalkeeper position.

Yeah, probably a fair analysis - the two results under Redknapp should foster a bit of self-belief.

Having said that, they had a few excellent results leading up to their Cup win last year, and should have carried confidence forward, but instead utterly self-destructed.

You never know what you're going to get with Spurs, but it's fun watching!

matchbox master, if it wasn't for Gomes then probably wouldn't have conceded so many and you might have won 1-0 or 2-0. Also he's on a mission to kill your defenders.

Spurs have got some very good players,some are equal to those playing for Chelsea,United and Arsenal or Liverpool,if the new boss changes things Spurs will be hard to beat and top 4 teams will be nervous going there.
Liverpool is the next victim,United to follow.

Youve been bought for a big sum of money. You have never played in the premier league. You have a back four that keep changing week in week out. You have yet to get the grasp of the english language, and you have a merry go round of coaching staff.
Despite all of that, your pulling magnificent saves!
There is nothing wrong with Gomes, he should at least be given a season, with a stable back four. Probably woodgate and king week in week out.
If I were redknapp, id get the goalkeeping coach to drill gomes with set pieces.
Buy a good utility defender for nothing more than £5m and a good striker for nothing less than £15m.

Good ol' 'Arry. What a splendid display of courage by a team thoroughly rejuvenated by an experienced, clever manager. We've got a way to go before the January transfer window, but a few good results to get us out of the relegation zone, and maybe a continued presence in the EUFA Cup, and there'll be a buzz around White Hart Lane that we may not have seen since the days of Blanchflower and Greaves

@ 2

Quite true. The goalkeeper only has a small amount of freedom on the pitch. Its up to the defence to make sure he doesn't have much to do.

Thats where Spurs are shaky.

Long-range shooting! Sunday: Modric shoots - bent gets a pen. Last night: Bentley shoots - GOAL! Hud shoots - fumble - GOAL! Jen shoots - GOAL! Modric shoots - post - GOAL!
Now if we can just rustle up a defence from somewhere ............
p.s. new stadium looks FABULOUS - but please don't sell the name so that it's the KFC stadium, or whatever. Are you listening Levy? Spurs play at WHITE HART LANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@quicksteve9:

"...there'll be a buzz around White Hart Lane that we may not have seen since the days of Blanchflower and Greaves"

Its that kind of ridiculous getting carried away that got you into this mess in the first place. I should worry about avoiding relegation first. If memory serves you're still bottom.

Hilarious. Classic Spurs.

I bet if you check the archives of the BBC from about 12 months ago you will see a similar blog from someone at the BBC about how Ramos will have looked at his squad and seen enough to give him encouragement that the fundamentals are there, but just needs some additions in January (central defence to cover for the unreliable King, dodgy 'keeper etc).

Heard it all before...

Gomes was a problem last night, as much as i agree he pulled off a few good saves he comes off his line to try and get every ball from set pieces. I agree with a few comments regarding the defence but they showed some promise. Spurs put some great pressure on Arsenal last night, Harry picked the right time to come fixture wise.....only Liverpool next!

Spurs were overwhelmed at times by the pressure from Arsenal but Rednapp and Spurs supporters will be heartened by te teams spirit and many glimmers of talent and creativity.
Gomez should not be judged until the defence settles down and learns how to defend set pieces. The press's criticisms are not helpful. It is true that Gomez should have not come out for the first goal, or judged it better but while he gets criticised no-one says anything about Alumnia's error for the first goal. This result will have given Spur's confidence a boost and I expect to see them play better against Liverpool. With regards to new signings most of all they need another striker and a modern Dave Mackay

Gomes was actually dealing with crosses better before he got a rib injury against Stoke. Since then, every diving save he makes, he grimaces and holds his ribs - I'm pretty sure that's why he can't take the ball out of the air when there are players around him.

I would have played Cesar for the last few games until Gomes recovers from his injury. That's the point of having spare keepers!

Is Gomes our worst keeper since Booby Mimms? They way he flaps at crosses makes one think of someone distracted by a wasp. He is currently making Robbo look like Pat Jennings, which towards the end of is time at WHL is saying something.

A step is needed after one the most amazing weeks in the Club's history.

First off, Hutton. He played badly last night and I am a bit unsure why, he is a fantastic player. I think he had an off night to be fair and I'm sure he will be fine.

Modric. This guy is beginning to be who we all hoped he would be. He was a class act against Bolton and again last night. Ramos tried making him fit when you need to treat him a bit like Berbatov or Messi (I'm not talking ability, simply playing style) and just let him play. I think he will be the big winner from this and by Christmas could be running the show.

Gomes. This is identical to what happned to Robbo. Robinson was quality and then, out of nowhere, he began punching, coming off his line at the wrong times and it all went very downhill. Gomes is a good player and earlier in the season played very well, all of a sudden his punching has floundered and his decision making has collapsed. The injury is probably to blame. He needs simple coaching and a return to confidence and then I'm sure he will be fine.

Thank God Hudd is being played, Bentley is being used over Lennon (he is quite clearly the better player) and the team has some shape.

Now I want to see Gio being thown in a bit and serious money being chucked at Veloso in the window!

Gomes is truly shocking!!

I think that 'Arry will raid his old club Pompey in January for David James.

He wasn't outstanding at PSV either.

If I was a Spurs fan, I would cringe every time he comes for the ball.

The defence could be a lot better but it doesn't help when they have no confidence in the keeper. Although I am not a Spurs fan and can't remember every single goalkeeper they have had recently I can't think of anyone worse they have had in the last 10 years. I am basing this on his performances- he has been terrible.

I would then tell them all to stop making basic errors - maybe even dock wages for schoolboy defending! (ok...this wouldnt happen but you know what I mean). First goal - Gomes had a mare. Second goal - Hudders gave away a silly free kick. Third goal - not schoolboy but got caught out. Forth goal - Hutton passes it straight to them.

Sort out ther keeper, stop giving away goals and get the players a little more fired up and things will improve quickly. I think they will finsih 10-14th.

Excellent article on the whole Phil.

I think its important that spurs fans don't get too carried away - last night was a fantastic result but if you actually take the performance apart then there was definitely a LOT wrong with it. What a great moment though when Lennon put it in!!

I think if we can take anything positive from the first part of this season then hopefully we have lost our delusions of brilliance and will now stop putting pressure on ourselves to perform. We need to invest time and build slowly - you can't just sack a manager and get instant success (as we should know by now).

One criticism I would have of the article is your comments on Gomes. Undoubtedly he has made 2 or 3 glaring clangers this season, but proportion that against the amount of brilliant saves and successfully claimed crosses and they pale in comparison. You are right that he does need to do better on crosses but he will - and he will continue to improve as the defence in front of him becomes more of a unit. I genuinely believe that if he hadn't have given away the penalty against Udinese then nobody would be on his back now. He is being overanalysed in my opinion.

The problem with the goalkeeper is not as simple as many seem to be making it out. Get rid seems to be the overridding solution.

Perhaps he is not so good at crosses and high balls. Perhaps he feels he should at least try to come for them because it doesn't trust his defenders. Last night he came, got nowhere and a goal was scored. Then he let his defence deal with a free-kick, he stayed on his line and Gallas scored.

The GK is one member of a defensive unit that, with every team up and down the country, thrives (or dies) very much on confidence.

Defenders drop back, defend deep if they don't trust the GK to command his 18 yard box. The GK tries to push his defenders out if he doesn't trust them to deal will crosses, free kicks, balls over the top.

While, on last nights display, it can easily be said Gomes is a liability, certainly with high balls. I think, too, the defence must also shoulder their fair share of responsibility.

That said, what a cracking derby match - more like that, please (though not involving my team - I don't think my heart could take it!!!!)

Firstly, I'm not a Surs fan - secondly, if any of you truely believe that Gomes is a better keeper than Robinson you truely are viewing this through lillywhite specs.
Harry has made an instant difference to attitude and confidence but the defence still needs huge amounts of work if you're to get out of the mire....

for the neutral no one could have asked for more from a game 8 goals etc.

Spurs had naff all to loose so of course played well.

The first goal! well quite a shot really but anyone with any sense would know that it was a " hit and hope " effort which actually worked and made Aluminous look a complete fool!

Not for the 1st time have Arsenal keepers been caught wandering around, soaking up the atmosphere! absolutely shambolic keeping and he really needs to look at himself as Hull also caught him out with a long range shot. The one last night should never have been a goal, it was not a wonder strike, but it was a goal and blimey what a boost that gave spurs!

Arsenals defence is woefull and yes we can forget about the League for another year.
Its all very well being able to score goals ( when everything works that is ) with the intricate passing, but its no good leaking them like we are doing and in the fashion they are being conceeded as well, beggars belief! and i am far from happy with what i saw, yes Clinchy did slip over, but were was the cover? who closed the guy down? were was Gallas and Co? truly abbismal inept display by Arsenal and that has now set a precedent for other teams. Fortress Emirates? i dont think so, not anymore, when we have goalkeeping blunders of such magnitude.

And now I firmly do believe our defence needs a boost and i think a few people should be dropped as well and yes perhaps we do indeed need some wise heads at the back for this lot are shamefull.

Silverware this season? hmmm perhaps the CL and one of the domestic Cups as for the League NO CHANCE if it was not for our midfeild and forwards we would be joint bottom with SPURS! they do all the hard work and score a plenty only for the shoddy defence to let the whole side down.

not happy at all to be honest.

but well done to spurs they played well but for all their efforts they are still propping up the rest of the PL and thnak yourself lucky you wont be playing many more teams as defensivly inept and lacking as Arsenals.

I have to say I think the fan who celebrated with the spurs fans, showed how passionate people are about football. Its a shame the stewards got so wound up about it! ... anyone agree?

Hasn't King publicly stated he can't play 2 games in a week because of his knee? I'm sure I read this somewhere, and if this is so, with the amount of football Spurs are going to be playing, the back four will never be settled as King will keep coming in and dropping out. Ironically, your best player, could be your weak link, if the back four is changing every game to accommodate him. Gomes is never going to have the same back four in front of him from one game to the next!

Gomes is a good goalie. He is suffering the confidence dip, just like Hutton did for half an hour last night. So did Bale and for a while.

Harry and Co will instill confidence in these guys. Bale was better for a bit of the game. Bentley was almost back to how I remember him.

It's up to the likes of Woodgate and Jenas to keep this momentum going and we will see some of the new players like Bentley and Hutton responding and doing their own marshalling around the pitch.

It was a great game and credit to all the players for showing their worth.

Fabragas isn't talking about Arsenal Ladies this morning. I was surprised to hear he said that.

Anyway Congratulations to all the Spurs boys you showed your metal at just the right time.

Reality Check! Two teams with very poor defences and hopeless goalkeepers.

Immortalhulkhogan - I love your username!

I disagree that Gomes is being over analysed. His mistakes are common and are there for everyone to see. He made a mess of 3 crosses in the first half last night. This is terrible and I think on current form he is the worst keeper in the league. Yes, he has made some good saves but every keeper has...he has probably made the most mistakes though.

Good ol'Arry pulls off another 'Oudinni act.

The team is not different fromthe one Juande's played. Its the spirit that's different.

Harry brings more spirit to teams than a Tennessee whisky distillery.

Arsenal were not unlucky, infact they were lucky to get a point.After taunting Spurs players, throwing "our ladies will beat you" in their faces and playing with that kind of mentality, even the just promoted Hull would of defeated them.

So much for playing with a swagger. Better to leave the beautiful scabbard and bring out the ugly but deadly sword.

Your right Fabregas, Arsenal lady's can get a point against us. Ha Ha Ha

What a game, it felt like winner the cup last session. You know Arsenal fans the silver cup thing that you win when you achieve something or have you forgotten what that feels like.

On the serious note, both teams made some very bad mistakes that needs to be worked on.

SPURS 4 LIFE............COYS

As you say, Harry is a great motivator. Clearly Ramos was weak in that department. Harry is also well experienced, very shrewd and should have few problems lifting Spurs to mid table before the end of the season.

But at age 61, how long can he go on leaving his house at 5.30am and not getting home until 9.30pm? While the adrenalin rush is still there he'll probably be fine. But as Harry has said, he's not the world's best forward planner (re: receiving the freedom of Portsmouth two days after departing). Dark mornings and early sunsets are here now and this 16 hour day is not an ideal working environment for anyone. Let's hope his health can stand the pressure.

Gomez must go - he is hopeless.

"And expensive full-back Alan Hutton did not deliver a display that will have earned top marks from his new manager"

Pretty uneducated comment that Phil. Luckily Harry will have a bit more of a bigger picture to look at and realise that Hutton is quality and is just coming back from injury.

If we didn't have so many CB injuries then Corluka would probably be spending more time at RB so Hutton could work up to full fitness.

Phil,

I agree that they way Spurs fought back will give them some confidence but I don't agree that Redknapp can make the snap decisions that you are implying.

1) Gomes - clearly suffering from a lack of confidence in himself and the defenders around him. Much work to be done on the training pitch but I watched him at the Lane for PSV and he was excellent. Good shot-stopper, excellent distribution and in command of the defence. Give him time.

2) Hutton - was one of our best players last season when he was in the team. A bad night I think.

3) The King 'situation' - sorry but having a player in and out of the team is no good. My suggestion would be to give Woodgate captaincy, play him alongside Corluka regularly and see what happens. King can be saved for cup games. A class player but league requires consistency and Ledley can't give that to us.

4) Transfers - seeing the amount we have spent recently I would be tempted to propose a one in-two out policy. However, Harry is likely to throw his toys out the pram at such a 'ridiculous' suggestion...

That said Harry has made a difference, 4 points from 2 games is a much better ratio than 2 from 8!

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Gomes is a liablility and i dont for one moment believe its solely down to a constant shuffle of the back four.

Goalkeepers should be at least capable of catching a ball or excercise a drop of understanding and reading of a football match or is that too much to ask from a professional sportsman? Comfidence is important i understand but surely it has become lately more of an excuse than a valid point when it comes to the basics.

Harry though is instilling a belief that has been severely lacking of late and although i still didnt want Ramos to go his tactics were at best baffling and his starting eleven a constant mystery to most.

Time will tell with Redknapp but the start has been promising... i remember saying the same thing when Ramos was appointed though so i reserve caution.

Jol though in my opinion should have never been pushed out and as well as the management being swept clean so should a few board members along with that clown Levy!!

What a cracking match this was great entertainment from start fo finish!

I think a lot of people here though are being overly critical on the spurs defence and gomes. He is a bit of a flapper right now but he is a solid keeper and just lacking confidence as much as anything else.

Hutton can be a bit naive defensively but he is lacking real match sharpness and he and bale are both attacking full backs if spurs just drop ledley king and bring in a centre back who can actually play most games then the defence will settle down. I know saying get rid of king might be a bit rough but it's more turn him into a sub as he clearly can't play and it's really no use being sentimental really.

Best of luck to spurs though and a few more prem games like this would be nice!

As a life long Spurs supporter I really want our team ot do well. But I cannot agree with the comments about last nights game.

At 4-2 we were dead and buried and the only reason for the draw was the down right lack of professionalism from the Arsenal team, who could and should have scored a heap more than 4 goals.

Thank god there was a group of players on the pitch who are more arrogant than the majority of Spurs fans who may well claim that just because we got the draw it is the spring board to the season being successful.

Dig in for a very very very long season

MaCKAY78 - That comment from Phil sounds fine to me. Hutton was an expensive fullback and didn't put in a good display last night- which part of this do you disagree with?

With the exception of the Bentley goal almost all other seven goals were the result of bad defending. Some may even say that Almunia was at fault with the Bentley goal.
Spurs defended badly at set pieces, Arsenal's defenders reacted slowly for Bent's & Lennon's goals. Clichy's slip and Hutton's back pass gifted their opponents with two goals. Wenger said that giving away two goals was down to inexperience. He is being saying that for the last 3 years.He should get the blame for not getting off his seat and urging his players to go for the kill when it was 4-2. I think the Ramos regime must take some credit for the fitness of the Spurs team. Chasing Arsenal's passing game must have been very tiring indeed,but yet Janus found the extra strenght to benefir from Clichy's mistake and have a run at the Arsenal defence and score. The true benefactors of the match were the other 3 of the top 4 , they gained 2 points on Arsenal . Especially Liverpool . They hade an uneventful game with Portsmouth and having in mind the exhaustive game Spurs had at Arsenal they are more likely to get the 3 points.

Gomes was directly responsible for two of the gooners goals.
He's rubbish and no amout of back 4 cover will change that.
Arry for Pompys main man anybody?

I have to say I think the fan who celebrated with the spurs fans, showed how passionate people are about football. Its a shame the stewards got so wound up about it! ... anyone agree?

------------------------------------------------
I have guys in today fixing the hole in the ceiling.I hope the stewards did not give him to hard a time but hey who can say he was buried by half the Spurs team this guy can,
and I think he was a true supporter and not some yob.

i think it's funny that arsene wenger continues to bang on about how the positives were that his team played well and the negative was that they didn't win.
arsenal under wenger will forever prance around playing beautiful football but inevitably end up disappointed.
put the game to bed and you'd be champions.

COYS...

Nice article, has helped ease me into the first few, dark hours at work reading these comments.

To date, Gomes has been a liability, he always seems to have a mistake in him when a ball comes, he looks uncertain, no confindence, but is clearly capable of pulling off some stunning reaction saves - similar to Robbo. Harry needs to sit him down and have a word with the guy, he has to catch or just stay put. At the moment, he's not the sort of keeper we need behind a very frail back four.

However, how good is it to see Spurs back to last seasons tactics of 'score as many as them'?

Also excellent to see 4 different, English, goalscorers.

Looking ahead to the next few games...they're gonna be massive, it'll shape our season - either relegation dogfight or another season of 14th-10th medicority, which, to be fair, i'll take.

COYS!

I agree that Gomes is unfortunately filling both the hero and the villain in the squad at the moment. He has pulled out some outstanding saves but it's his gung ho adventures out of the box to punch the ball away that are giving away goals.

Anybody know how to say 'Stay on yer bloody line!' in Brazilian?

"el stayo el lino, por favour"

You reading this Gomes?

Thanks Spurs and Arsenal for one of the most entertaining games of footie I've ever seen. OK, so the defending wasn't the best, but would you rather watch Mourinho's Chelsea grind out a 1-0 against an overmatched Portsmouth, or the 4-4 on offer last night?

Waterloospur - comment 34.

I totally agree with points 1-3 but not sure what a 1 in 2 out policy will solve. The situation is familiar...
We need a defensive midfielder and a centre back. Add to that a striker now.

Hutton will come good again. Gomes should be given more time. Bale looks out of form...

But don't let last night's performance paper over any cracks. There were some stunning strikes at goal, which were the result of individual brilliance, but looking at Tottenham so far this season, there have been very few goals that have actually been constructed. Most have been through outstanding strikes, goalkeeper parries, defensive slips or ricochets. The creativity that Keane and Berbatov brought to the team is no longer present. As the season goes on we will be looking more to the likes of Modric, Bentley and Jenas to provide the spark for the front man/pair.

So, a great start, but everything that was wrong with Spurs at the start of the season is still wrong:
1) Defensive frailties and inconsistent selection
2) Weak midfield
3) No creativity

Redknapp has instilled confidence and belief, which is worth it's weight in gold, but let's not forget that for the most part we were outplayed last night, and it was only through a combination of luck and arrogance on the part of Arsenal that we got a result.

Nice Article Phil

can i just say though that forget all the analysis about who was poor and who needs to go and who needs to be brought in

lets all just bask in the glory of a wonderful magnificent game that was a great advert for the game and a good advert for Premiership football, not to metion a right corker of a treat for the neutral?!

we can always seem to count on spurs for high scoring games

Nice Article Phil

can i just say though that forget all the analysis about who was poor and who needs to go and who needs to be brought in.

lets all just bask in the glory of a wonderful magnificent game that was a great advert for the game and a good advert for Premiership football, not to metion a right corker of a treat for the neutral.

we can always seem to count on spurs for high scoring games.

never really thought that spurs would go down, chiefly because ramos was always gonna go and a new man would come in a shake things up.

anyway, what i find funny is the renewed optimism of spurs fans - you're still not gonna take that 4th place mantle which you for some reason think you deserve/merit! don't think you'll get into europe to be honest.

The reason why everyone found your start to the season so funny was due to the misplaced confidence from pre-season. don't bring it back in flourishes now, cos it aint gonna get that much better...

I think Gomes is a good keeper. I've seen him play many times before he came to spurs and he was capable of the magnificent but with the drawback of the odd clanger. I think this season he has seen the lack of belief in his defence and so is trying to compensate for that by coming for things he shouldn't be to help them out. This means he is liable to make mistakes.

I think when 'Arry gets hold of him he could sort him out and get the best from him. I'm hoping we stick with him cos he could be immense for us.

I find it hard to believe that gomes is getting the stick when 3 of the goals were hutton's fault. He was 'marking' silvestre when he scored, he wanted too much time to clear when adebayor was behind him and he passed straight to adebayor for the 4th. He was dreadful all night. Thought gunther did well when he came on and hope he gets a decent run at some point.

Its certainly an exciting time to be a lillywhite...

Just for the record: Bentley tries one of those shots at least once a game, and they are always on target. just dipping under the crossbar, they're usually caught by the goalkeeper at a stretch, on his line.
but it just shows that if you keep going, and are at least on target, then one day you'll catch the goalkeeper slightly too far off his line and he won't be able to stretch enough to save it.
but it was no 'hit and hope'. Bentley has a good awareness of where the goal is, and will often hit shots on target from distance.
what the goalkeeper then does with it is up to him.

Harry Hotspur, anyone?
Happy Harry Hotspur, for me.
feels good just to have someone called 'Harry' at Spurs. we are named after Harry Hotspur after all.

so we're not getting carried away, just looking forward to more football, from a side that can produce good football.

and I think it's now fair to say that North London is the home of the most entertaining football to be found anywhere.

win or lose by the odd goal in 9 - the trophy don't sit in our cabinet does it? we just want the football to be enjoyable. and now parity seems to have been restored.

but ya canna have a skipper who ya canna rely on. especially directly in front of the goalkeeper. it's been our achilles heel for 3 seasons or more, and has seen off several goalkeepers, and will continue to do so until Spurs have a solid and permanent back four they can play game in game out. ya start your team at the back.

that said - it might help if Gomes didn't try and decapitate our centre-backs every time the ball's in the air. let them do their jobs - whoever they are.

From a Spurs Fan who sat in the Arsenal end last night chewing his fingers to keep quiet.

Both sets of fans are criticising the defence and goalkeepers - good points but did anyone else notice that the area between defence and midfield was empty on both sides? This gave all the space for the moves and long range shots that lead to the goals. Any defender will also tell you how much easier it is to defend when a defensive midfielder pushes the runs out wide or onto another defender so that they are not the last man all the time.
Remember Claud Makelele, Dave Mackay, David Howells, Flamini/Gilberto (ironically a role Ledley King played admirably for England not so long ago!)

Denilson wandered too much, Huddlestone was too slow and cumbersome.

Having said all of that thoroughly enjoyable game, particularly the stunned silence and rush for the exits when the equaliser went in!! The 30% of the Spurs Fans who left with 5 minutes to go must be sick!

GGGGGRRRRRRR!!! I turned off with 88 mins on the clock to play FIFA!!


Not to worry. tremendous game and bentley's goal was superb.

Spurs seem to lack confidence. Hutton had a nightmare last night but mark my words, hes the best full back in the country, he juts needs a few weeks to get back his best.

Bentley seems to be discovering his touch again and modrice also.

Again, its all confidence. modric has the ability to dominate a game, and bale and hutton, alongside bentley and lennon could really really stretch any team down the flanks.......its all confidence based. And big pavy will come good to. I actually felt he did well with what scraps he had last night.

Still...i'll watch until the end next time

Was Gomes really at fault for the first goal? OK, he came, he flapped, he missed, but if he'd stayed on his line unless he'd happened to be standing near the far post it would have been a goal anyway. Surely that's more the fault of the defence, allowing the hardly gigantic Silvestre a free header. Same with the second goal, and again, Gallas isn't the tallest. Hutton seemed more of a villain - he didn't exactly make a massive commitment to clear the third goal from Adebayor, and he gifted Arsenal the fourth.

And as bad as Gomes was, at least he didn't commit the clangers that Almunia did. Clearly at fault for Bent's goal, and if I were a Premiership manager I'd want my keeper to do better on Bentley's goal. If he had time to get back there and get that much of a hand on it, he should have pushed it over. I would have.

I am a bit peeved because I went to bed shortly after the second Arsenal goal. It wasn't just a case of thinking it was all over but I live in Istanbul and was tired after a trip to Thailand - as you should be! Checked the beeb today and almost fell out of my chair! Pleased for Spurs as I like them as a club and respect Harry as a manager. Love to watch Arsenal play and everyone raved about their recent performance over here.

Simple facts:

- Gomes was poor and erratic keepers are a luxury no team can afford. I doubt Harry will stick with him for much longer.

- The Brazilians speak Portugese. There is no such language as Brazilian - for the benefit of lilywhitegaz and his mates. Not that I know what 'Stay on your line' is in Portugese. I felt sorry for the defender that took the punch to the head! Ouch!

- I wanted Harry as the England Manager for the 2006 World Cup. Everyone laughed at me then. No-one was laughing after the World Cup was over - early in our case. He was close to being appointed last year as England Manager but for the shocking timing of the Police Investigation. Spurs have been lucky as they need someone like him. I am happy with Capello but Harry is the sort of manager overpaid and arrogant players like to play for. Harry does have an issue with timing and some choices as the stint at Southampton proved. Still, he wears his heart on his sleeve and has always done a good job wherever he has managed.

- I never jeered or taunted opposing players or their fans when I attended matches. I just find it both childish and more likely to psych them up. All the daft comments before the game are typical of the sort of BS we have to listen to when it involves this kind of rivalry. You could see Spurs were up for it in the first few minutes when Jenas got pulled up for all the fouls he had committed and was told to stop. Harry must have loved it - not difficult to motivate players when they are being told that even women can beat them! You just know by now that something is going to happen to shut all the jeerers up.

Finally, yes, the sort of game that makes the Premiership worth watching. just wish I had seen it all live!

Cheers, Joe.

4-5-1 can work, but only if you have midfielders supporting the striker.

that 2 of Tottenham's goals came from rebounds is testament to the 'Arry factor. under Ramos, uncertainty ruled. nobody knew their positions. (Bentley on the left, anyone?)

so to have people in and around the box - Hudd, Lennon, Jenas, Bent - and also people prepared to shoot from outside the box, means that goals will happen. goals mean points. goals might even mean making it to January, whereupon Spurs can get a little poacher type, like Defoe, or Owen to mop up the opposition's area and produce those extra 20 goals a season, that can win shiny silver things that mean euro footy for next season.

Good article Phil, we still need to work on defence, need a new keeper urgebtly, gomes is far worse than Robbo was, NEED TO PERSEVERE WITH THE hUDD AS DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER AND ARRY I THINK WILL MAKE HIM A GOODUN but ON THE NIGHT WE MUST NOT FORGET THE GOONERS CONCEDED Four goals as well, where does that put their defence, goalie etc,
aRSENAL WERE SECOND BEST DURING THE GAME AND THEIR POOR MANAGER WAS ALSO SECOND BEST AFTER THE MATCH AT INTERVIEW, WHAT DRIVEL HE SPOUTS, REMEMBER THE jOL LIE SCANDAL, HE HAS NEVER APOLOGISED FOR THAT AND UNTIL HE DOES HE DESERVES NO RESPECT.
hOPE HE HAS A MISERABLE SEASON

As a neutral spectator last night i thought it was a great game and a great advert for the premier league... I genuinely really enjoyed it

it also showed us why Arsenal won't win the league again but play enough nice football to get into the champions league and become CL also rans once again....and that Tottenham have enough class in their highly expensively essembled squad to once again climb to their rightful, deserved position of mid-table mediocrity.

well done to both clubs - great game - fantastic....

I think the criticism aimed at Almunia for the 1st goal is a bit unfair. He was situated near the penalty spot, which is the sort of position you would expect a keeper to take when the ball isn't in his defensive third.

You could see even Hutton on his own team didn't think a shot was on so was providing him with an outlet on the right wing and doing his best to make Bentley aware of this.

Harry must have had some influence on the team, I mean, he practically fielded the same XI that Ramos chose against Stoke, and look at the difference!!! The players would have been fired up because it was a derby, but when you are at the bottom, every game should be played like the proverbial derby or Cup final.

Also, I would just like to add that, how are players supposed to be loyal to clubs, when there are mangers like Harry Redknapp about. Everyone is quick to have a go at a player who leaves for money, but accept it when a manager leaves!!! Sort it out.

Bless Spurs fans, you guys are right up there with the Newcastle fans for people I feel sorry for. It was a great game of football last night and to get a point against Arsenal was a fine effort esp when Spurs normally can't buy a point in league games against their North London rivals. However it needs to be said that after reading most of the comments already made on this blog, many of the fans need to come back down to earth. I saw one comment that said 'Liverpool is the next victim, then Utd' Ha ha, calm down you guys. Both Liverpool and Utd defend better than Arsenal this season and I would be really surprised if either of those teams who let a 4-2 lead slip. Also Spurs can't defend. They were shocking at the back last night. Harry will have to buy at least 2 quality defenders in Jan.

I read another comment somebody made that said 'Gomes has been our best player this season' If that is the case, it will explain why Spurs are bottom.

This does show how quickly people's beliefs can be turned around. At best, Spurs will end up around 8th. A tip to your board if you want to a) breaking into the top 4 and b) stay there, don't keep making changes. Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool managers stay in the job for years and years. I hope Harry does the same!

Heskey > 2 yr deal

And Ramos to join the back room staff, because he is in need of a refresher course to management.

i agree with Kcraner, even though Spurs really can only look up, there are still many teams in the premier league who have the ability to beat Spurs, namely the big 4, man city, hull and villa amongst others.

i am also very surprised at Wigan's current position. who else believes they will finish top half - with players such as Zaki, Heskey, Palacios and Valencia amongst others.

the main underlying reason however for spurs' current position in the league is chiefly due to this - the huge funds made available are a blessing and a curse rolled into one.

for example, players they have spent so much money on - dos santos, modric and pavlyuchenko, have not lived up to their hype that was generated after the european championships. Hull on the other hand, are 15 places above them - with players such as Geovanni joining them for free, released from Man City, as well as capturing some great loan deals, such as Zayatte and Marlon King.

this can not as yet be compared to the amounts of money clubs such as chelsea (shevchenko, mutu, crespo etc) and manchester united have wasted on players, but if they don't want to follow this trend they need to let the team gel and work.

so ramos, as a manager, can learn from managers such as phil brown, steve bruce and harry redknapp that you don't have to buy the best players in the world just to have the best team - its the player that will fit best with the manager's style of football and the team mentality.

at best for tootenham a 9th or 10th place finish seems reasonable, but nowhere near quaification for europe this year.

Correct me if I'm wrong but dont Spurs win more trophies last season that Arsenal, Liverpool & Chelsea put together? All Redknapp has proved is that it is better to be lucky than good which will come in handy given how poor a manager he is.

The real topic of debate should be is it time for Aresnal to look for a manager who can win them trophies?

I think that there are a lot of problems in Spurs defence .... but most importantly, we have constantly changed it this season, in the main because of injuries, especially to King. In addition, we have players who can't play in Carling Cup and UEFA games. These are problems of Levy and Comoli's making ... This means that Gomes who has been proved to be an outstanding keeper at PSV has a different back four each week and is struggling to understand what to do with each. Rednapp tried to play King in three successive games and THAT came unstuck. So ... the King issue needs to be resolved, and, if there is no likelihood of him being properly fit he must either be replaced permanently, or a system must be worked out that all can understand and practised. Rather more importantly, we need to improve the preformance of Pavluchenko or replace him, and get more goals from our steadily improving midfielders. Bent is doing OK, I think, but isn't in the class of Keane or Berbatov.

One last thing ..... am I alone in considering that Rory Delap foul throws by running directly on to the field of play with his long throw-ins? Or that the kind of physical intimidation that Spurs suffered in their goalmouth against Stoke, leading to a number of injuries, would be penalised if attempted at home against the likes of Man U or Chelsea?

Arsenal's inability to defend around the box cost us last night. Each goal came about due to long shots from outside the area which highlights once again the need for a defensive midfielder.My biggest worry is how long Wenger is going to put up with his "young guns" before it's too late. With Man City looking to buy everyone in sight and the re emergence of Liverpool, Wengers tried and tested technique fielding youngsters could bring the club to their knees. If I'm right when we bought the stadium it was based on qualifying for the Champions League each season, the way we are playing and with the players we have we are in a situation where other teams are confident of getting a result from us especially away. Fair play to Spurs last night but at the end of the day Arsenal threw it away due to inexperience and nerves and for how long Wenger lets this go all we can ddo as Arsenal supporters is wait and hope!Please buy in January, please!!

Trick or Treat Arsenal? I think it was a trick from Tottenham but a treat to watch for the viewers. Halloween came early for Arsenal!

An injection of self-belief? Dont count on it. The game of Arsenal-Spurs brings special emotions to the game you never see anywhere else. I bet gunners could have sloughtered Udinese that totally whipped Spurs. You are likely to see a thrashing by Liverpool and wonder where all the football you saw yesterday went.

If Spurs are thrashed by pool expect them to lose a couple of games on the trott because its getting tougher both at the top or at the bottom. Wait and see the return at White hart lane. That is when there will be a REAL motivation: For Spurs to stay up and for Arsenal to send them down.

I'm not a Spurs fan, but I've always enjoyed watching them play over the years. I am, actually, a football fan, so I was able to watch last nights fantastic game without any of the sad, very personal bias that seems to exist all too often.
A few points:
As an ex-goalkeeper myself, I feel sympathy for Gomes, but I shudder every time he has to deal with anything other than a reaction save. He's just not reliable enough to be a good Premiership goalkeeper. Good shot-stoppers are ten-a-penny in the football league, good solid keepers are like gold dust.
Harry Redknapp could only ever have been an excellent signing for Spurs - good manager, very underrated.
On the subject of 'Arry, it's so sad to see the personal animosity towards him from Portsmouth supporters. Being a football manager is his profession, of course he's going to move on to a better paid/more prestigious/dream job, call it what you will, it's not a personal insult to you, it's a job!! The same thing applies to the Arsenal supporters who childishly booed David Bentley every time he touched the ball, or the Everton fans who always boo Rooney, and so on with countless others around the country - GET OVER IT!!
I was watching the game at home in front of Sky HD on a 42" plasma TV with my wife banished to another room, so I don't have to listen to comments like "Why do they have to spit?" and "why can't football be a non-contact sport?" Around the 87th minute, somehow I drifted into sleep, don't know how during a match like that, (probably a combination of red wine, central heating and a very early morning!), while it was 4-2, and stirred on the final whistle to see to my amazement a 4-4 result! Had to rewind it on Sky+ to see it but the moment had gone!

Sometimes keepers are bad / flappy because they don't trust their defence to do a job - we've seen it before - get a new central defender or even a defensive coach in, sort out everyones roles, and suddently the keeper goes from Sunday League to World Class

What has always been the problem at Spurs has been patience - Our hierarchy have none.

We need to give Harry, his staff and the players time. Granted we're bottom, but Spurs fans and board cannot expect to do any better than mid table and a cup run this year - simple as that. Next year, providing they have a steady summer in terms of transfers, things may finally kick on for the club.

If he can get solid defensive cover for King's failing legs and some strikers (I want Ashavin) we could start to scare people.

Gomes has had a bad start and looks as dodgy as Robinson.

Assou Ekotto isn't good enough for what Spurs want. Neither is Dawson.

This is what I would do:

----------------- Gomes ------------------------

Corlucka ----- King ------ Woodgate ---- Bale

------------------ Huddlestone -------------------

--------Bentley ---- Modric ----- Jenas----------

----------------------Ashavin-----------------------

------------ Pavelychenko ------------------------

Subs:

Bent
Lennon
Gunter
Hutton
O'Hara
Danny Rose (Yougster coming through)
Taraabt (underrated player)

tottenhams main problem at the moment is defence (to state the obvious) gomes has been as bad as paul robinson (the dreaded R word) and definatly needs replacing at christmas, we could well of won if he hadnt been playing

Gomes our best player? Not at all in my opinion. He has constantly made mistakes from set pieces especially when it comes to calling for the ball. His general positional play when it comes to closing down strikers has also been weak. But what a shot stopper. I think it is too early to name our player so far but Woodgate has top be up there......still 4-4 ay!

I hope that Harry feels a little for Ramos today as he considers his teams performance last night. I thought it quite disgraceful that they could suddenly start earning their money by playing at their best for ninety minutes, whilst previously they were acting and playing like spoilt kids.

Harry is no mug, he will have already noted the Prima Donna's trying to BS rather than impress him. On last nights showing he had better not upset or cross them, otherwise they will have him down the road with Ramos.

As a fan I do find it sad that it is the Players and Chairman who have gotten us into this mess, Ramos was like a lamb to the slaughter and is better off out of it, he did'nt stand a chance.

We will have to see how long Harry puts up with the attitude of Bentley, I suspect it will come to a head quite soon, he played well last night but lets see how long it lasts. One reprimand from Harry and the toys will be out of the pram again.

Long way to go yet, I'm not holding my breath.

why're we giving away the ball too easily in the last minutes ...

To be fair Blazer, I would throw my toys out the pram to if I was being forced to play out of my natural position. Started, benched, started again. I was sad to see Ramos go but I don't think he was up to the job.

Man Gomes is rubbish. He's flaps like a wounded albatross on corners.

So much so in fact, I propose to start GomesWatch on BBC2, presented by Bill Oddie. Bill, using binoculars will count the number of times Gomes flaps on corners. Sheduled just after Final Score.

let's face it. when Arnesen left for ... erm ... let's just say "pastures new" ... Comolli came in and didn't do such a good job. Jol paid for his mistakes, and so too did Ramos. but Jol had something Ramos didn't. communication.

Harry has visibly brought more out of the players, no matter what you call it; belief, confidence, luck ...
they seem to have their duties communicated better to them. but then the language Harry speaks is not so much 'English', as 'Footballese'. any footballer, from any nationality can understand what he's asking them to do, because he's able to communicate it in words they understand.

I don't think Comolli did a very good job. if Jol was having trouble with Berba, then it was Comolli's job to make sure that in the event of Berba's departure, Spurs would not be caught short.
Keane might have been a surprise, but with a sporting director, you have someone to deal with it.
or not.
any time we look to Levy, we have to say that he recruited people he trusted to do jobs he couldn't do on his own. certainly Comolli didn't do his job very well.
if Berba is going, or Keane is looking shifty, then don't go losing Defoe. and if you do ... replace him. Defoe didn't get replaced in the transfer window any more than Berba or Keane, and it isn't Levy's fault if he is already paying someone to point out these shortcomings to him.

there's something to be said for trying to upgrade the team, but when all those players went to Sunderland - (even Marton Fulop, who has definitely let in less goals than the 2 first choice keepers that were chosen over him at Spurs) - it turned Sunderland into a better team. they are above Spurs at any rate. Comolli saw those players out of the door, and didn't replace them with a balanced alternative.

and whatever his design for the team, Ramos was unable to make it work. or communicate it.
a whole year on, and still not comfortable with English?

that's alright if you're a French speaker at Arsenal, but Spurs are proud to have a solid backbone of English talent. so it's not going to bring great results bellowing at 'em in Spanish! especially if your actual talent - and Bentley is that - are being shunted around to every position other than the one they're most comfortable with.

give Bentley the right of midfield to play on. give Modders and Jenas their freedom in the middle - they can work it out between them perfectly well, with a bit of constructive help from the gaffer. and use Hudd to spray the ball all over the pitch. they play better when they're comfortable don't they?

"Quel surprise", as Arsene might say.

add in Lennon, who really can change a game, coming on to either wing from the bench - or starting on the left, in a Joey Cole-sort of way, and I can easily see why Spurs look better on the ball, and more comfortable, confident etc.

it is the 'Harry factor', but it's not voodoo. it's just better. and I'm sure the perennial defensive problems haven't escaped his notice either.
I still think Ledders should take a coaching role. certainly give up the captaincy.

too many goalkeepers, goalkeeping coaches, defenders and defensive coaches have been used and discarded. it must be about time we looked to the captain and took that step.
we love him. he loves us. but he's becoming our weakest link. time to make the unkindest cut. sorry. but it's a results-driven business, and the captain should be on the field.
and his name is Jenas.
he should definitely not be part of an ever-changing, permanently experimental back four.

well played spurs i told you it wasn't the players, just a change of managers and an english one. well done spurs now you are motoring just like er shrewsbury town!!

For all those of you saying Dave Bentley just took a fluke shot at goal - maybe, but I watched Bentley play for many years when he was younger. My son played in the same team as him and I spent many a wintery Sunday morning on a touchline watching him from the age of 8 till he was about 14. And I have seen that 'fluke' shot many a time over the years, he would see the keeper off his line and think 'why not?' When he took that shot last night and half the pub around us groaned, my son and I just smiled.

What a week, I feel like my birthday, Christmas, and winning the cup final have all happened. My heartrate is only just returning to normal after last night. COYS!

Well done Spurs. I was watching the game with an Arsenal mate and was silent and frustrated through most of the match. But OH MY GOD did we turn it around and take an amazing point from the fortress Emirates Stadium.
As a team, we need to keep the ball more, and when we lose it, we need to close the players down quicktime. Our defending at set pieces reeeaaally needs to improve. Lendly King needs to play every game. This way our 2 central defenders will be established and a ROCK infront of Gomez.
January transfer market, we need another Edgar Davids. A PITBULL in the midfield, with our playmakers running at the defenders.
And finally, our new stadium needs to be called 'The Etihad Stadium'. The direct competition to Emirates Airline. LOL! Perfect!

The worst Arsenal performance so far this season. I am so disappointed. There is no positives in the game as AW wants us to believe. There is nothing positive about allowing 2 goals in injury time especially to a team just coming out of crisis. Just like in the case of Hull city Tottenam will go from strenght to strenght after this game.

Arsenal fan here. Yesterday showed that the gunners have major weaknesses in every department. GK, back 4, midfield, forwards.. everywhere. To be honest Spurs were poor for most of the match but Arsenal were worse. These weaknesses are going to surface again and again, and the team will get exposed every now and then. Every small team now knows what has been out there for a long time. Put Arsenal under sustained pressure for even 5 minutes and they fold like a book. Arsene knew. That was 5 years ago! Aaaah!

To Essex boy up north:

"Stay on the bloody line!" is ''Fica na sua lina!'' not ''el stayo el lino, por favour". Thats spanish not portugese (Brazils national language).

--------------------------------------------------------

Also, I couldn't watch the damn match coz all channels showing it were unsuscribed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arry needs to motivate Gomez and let him recover from his injury-he has too much pressure on him.

This (the game) reminds me of when France was losing 2-0 to England and it was 87 minutes into the game. The final score was 3-2 to France.

What I learned from this match is that Arsenal, whom I admire, will not win the EPL this season.

so were are all the 606 threads then?

this blogg is fine but not easy to follow at all.

and anyways Arsenal were abissmal to be honest and whoever coaches the keepers needs to be sacked or resign another pathetic show but not an isolated incident,
seamen, lenham all were guilty of admiring the atmosphere as opposed to concentrateing on the game! the word has not got out.

just take a pop at the goal the chances are the Arsenal keeper is asleep or so dam arrogant he assumes he cant be beaten from distance.

WRONG!! you can be, have been and will be caught napping again.

shamefull display really.

Its amusing reading all the Spurs fans who think that the amazing Harry has single handedly rescued the club and inspired the players to reach new heights!

One of the most well known and frequently observed footballing idiosyncracy is the "amazing feats of crap teams when new boss arrives" trick.

It happens all the time, its nothing to do with Redkanpp, though it has happened a few times to him, especially since he has a had a few opportunities to be around for it himself.

Look, Redknapp has won nothing, done nothing. He is a likeable enough fellow, who is absolutely happy to settle for only losing by the odd goal to the best teams, and getting a draw away from home.

Good luck breaking into the top four with that attitude at the helm.

Perhaps, if Harry could have some of the former players, he wants in his enormous backroom team, play for the side, you might have a chance of doing something?

I watched the match last night as a neutralish Man Utd fan (ie I wanted Arsenal to drop points and boy, did they in spectacular style!).

I agree with Phil that the spirit, talent and also the attacking style of play is there. However, what they need and fast is a goalkeeper! They got rid of Paul Robinson for that!

Hes going to cost Spurs at least 30 points this season unless they replace him... and fast!

Arsenal ladies 4 Spurs 4

It literally means what it says. It was a comment by one of Arsenal's midfield players asking how would Spurs stand against Arsenal Ladies? The answer is:

Arsenal ladies 4 Spurs 4

simple.

We will crush Spurs, Harry Redknapp doesn't have the defenders to be able to stop the onslaught of a newly healthy Torres, no chance for them, 3 points for Liverpool...

go reds

yeah bring on the bets, this is Spurs we are talking about, we wont go down we do it every season, not as bad as this mind you but we pick up in the second leg.
But what a choice Harry Redknapp is a legend, he is going to do wonders!
But the next to go should be that blummin Levy, i question if he actually truely has passion for football, i think he just enjoys throwing money away and watching the s@#t hit the fan, the bloke is a mug, and we are better off without him!

Reading the comments here it would imply we need a new goalkeeper , a new steeled defence some inspiration in midfield and replacements for Keane Berbatov & Defoe!
I am still struggling to recognise half the spurs team as it stands. I am sure Harry will be makng some changes in January, but I don't think he will be changing all areas that are being highlighted here. Tottenham have always put the emphasis on attack So I would expect this to be Harry's first priority (Defoe) and trying to sort out the other areas. Arsenal have been a joy to watch over recent years partly due to Mr Wengers commitment to fitness skill and and attacking football. Wednesday night was a blip and I think the gunners will find their bit of silverware this season. Liverpool may well pop the bubble on Saturday but the message is its not over until the fat lady sings. (and I don't mean the Arsenal Fat ladies, who from memory are quite a bunch of crackers)

We need to leave Gomes alone, most of his fumbles have been caused by clashes with his own players, this is a communication problem which will eventually be sorted by HR. I have a very strong gut feeling that Gomes will end up being a Spurs hero if we just give him enough time and space to adapt.

We need to leave Gomes alone, most of his fumbles have been caused by clashes with his own players, this is a communication problem which will eventually be sorted by HR. I have a very strong gut feeling that Gomes will end up being a Spurs hero if we just give him enough time and space to adapt.

United fan here in peace. Whilst I appreciate Gomes didn't have the best of games, it's a bit too much to say he is a bad keeper and should be replaced. It's all about confidence and there was a season when even Peter Schmeicel had a nightmare few games. Let in 5 against Newcastle ( got lobbed ), then let in 6 against Southampton ( got lobbed ), 2 against Chelsea ( ran out like a mad man and got nutmegged ).....this was in the space of about 4 weeks....so based on that, anyone could have said he was a bad keeper....but confidence and time told in the end and is probably the best kepper the Premiership has seen. Gomes is no Schmeicel, but he is not a bad keeper either...everyone has bad games...

As for Liverpool this weekend, hope you stuff 'em...bring back the G-Force Gary Linker and Gordon Durie for a one time only match I say....