I'm not usually this negative...

[Mitch]

...but did anyone else feel, that despite the result, we were actually poor last night? The standard of opposition was low and we did score a couple of screamers, but moments of genius aside, I felt quite deflated at the overall performance and I feel that unless we re-double our efforts, Spurs could really hurt us.

I can't knock AJ - two good goals, and good off the ball running, but no one else really stood out as having a good game.
Murphy played some good passes, but was in and out of the game, then took a knock when looking to follow through in a challenge.
Dickson and Riise both had very poor games. The worst I've seen either play for a while. In that atmosphere and with Briggs having already been the victim of wind up merchants in Europe once this season I can see why Jol kept Riise on, but he really wasn't at the races.
Brede also had a poor game. How many times did he dive in? It's really unusual for him.
Also, did anyone else notice how much of the ball we allowed them to have and how we struggled to cope when then switched it wide with pace? Exactly what Spurs will be doing at the weekend.
Happy with the result and really impressed by some of the finishing, but just feel our overall play has been overlooked somewhat in the discussions about the finishes and the Poles.
Fingers crossed we can play better on Sunday.

[MJG]

Mitch, I can find a negative in any performance and there were quite a few last night. BUT it was way better than Stoke/Everton/Wigan put together for me.

The one real negative(and no surprise) was just how poor Etuhu was again. He gets his chance and did nothing to prove to me he deserves a place in the squad let alone the team.
Same old thing with him, unless he can pass the ball back to the player who gave it to him he is in trouble. He just does not have a footballing brain. Everytime in the 2nd half just inside there half I was praying that Riise or Hangeland were close by in case he ballsed it up.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

I thought we played alright. Not amazing, but our class shone through when it mattered.

Wisla were much improved since our game against them in Krakow, and I thought the lads handled the extra pressure well.

As for allowing them to have the ball - they had shots but most from outside the area - which is where you want the opposition to have their shots.

Dickson was poor - but was it Murphy's best performance of the season alongside him?

[BalDrick]

'Dickson and Riise both had very poor games.'

Not sure about Riise but Etuhu, once again, totally failed to fill me with anything approaching confidence. His air shot on the halfway line had me with my head in my hands. I spoke on here a few weeks ago about his lackadaisical attitude, and nothing I saw last night made me change my mind. His booking, although he did get the ball, was from a rash challenge that on another day could have seen us reduced to 10, which may well have meant game well and truly on from that point (from memory we'd just scored our third, so there was a while to go). Not unhappy with many other's performances though.

[epsomraver]

...but did anyone else feel, that despite the result, we were actually poor last night? The standard of opposition was low and we did score a couple of screamers, but moments of genius aside, I felt quite deflated at the overall performance and I feel that unless we re-double our efforts, Spurs could really hurt us.

I can't knock AJ - two good goals, and good off the ball running, but no one else really stood out as having a good game.
Murphy played some good passes, but was in and out of the game, then took a knock when looking to follow through in a challenge.
Dickson and Riise both had very poor games. The worst I've seen either play for a while. In that atmosphere and with Briggs having already been the victim of wind up merchants in Europe once this season I can see why Jol kept Riise on, but he really wasn't at the races.
Brede also had a poor game. How many times did he dive in? It's really unusual for him.
Also, did anyone else notice how much of the ball we allowed them to have and how we struggled to cope when then switched it wide with pace? Exactly what Spurs will be doing at the weekend.
Happy with the result and really impressed by some of the finishing, but just feel our overall play has been overlooked somewhat in the discussions about the finishes and the Poles.
Fingers crossed we can play better on Sunday.

I agree with most but not about Brede, he did a really good job along with Baird as usual

[MJG]

Dickson was poor - but was it Murphy's best performance of the season alongside him?

It may well have been Murphy's best performance alongside Etuhu this season, but we have not had that many great performances as it is.

If your really trying to say that Murphy had his best performance of the season BECAUSE he was next to Etuhu I would have to disagree.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Dickson was poor - but was it Murphy's best performance of the season alongside him?

It may well have been Murphy's best performance alongside Etuhu this season, but we have not had that many great performances as it is.

If your really trying to say that Murphy had his best performance of the season BECAUSE he was next to Etuhu I would have to disagree.

I am saying exactly that - Playing with Dixon appears to improve Murphy's performance.

[Mitch]

Regards to Riise, I sit dead in line with the full back position and he had a 'mare. He lacks the positional sense that I assumed he would have considering his past achievements, making it a much harder game for Hangeland (who did help himself in the first half, particularly with the goal, when diving in so often).
Etuhu was poor and didnt offer enough of a shield. If he doesn't play his defensive game well, then there is no point having in the team. I actually like him for the job he does, but last night he completely failed. It was his play that lost the ball for their goal, followed by both him and Brede diving in.
I agree you can find fault in any performance (friends who support Man Utd pick their team apart!), but I do think the scoreline has overshadowed some of the negatives.

[Mitch]

Dickson was poor - but was it Murphy's best performance of the season alongside him?

It may well have been Murphy's best performance alongside Etuhu this season, but we have not had that many great performances as it is.

If your really trying to say that Murphy had his best performance of the season BECAUSE he was next to Etuhu I would have to disagree.

I am saying exactly that - Playing with Dixon appears to improve Murphy's performance.

Can't say I agree. I've noticed a lack of movement in general when Murphy has the ball. Often we only give each other one option, which really doesn't help with Etuhu as his play is quite static.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Dickson was poor - but was it Murphy's best performance of the season alongside him?

It may well have been Murphy's best performance alongside Etuhu this season, but we have not had that many great performances as it is.

If your really trying to say that Murphy had his best performance of the season BECAUSE he was next to Etuhu I would have to disagree.

I am saying exactly that - Playing with Dixon appears to improve Murphy's performance.

Can't say I agree. I've noticed a lack of movement in general when Murphy has the ball. Often we only give each other one option, which really doesn't help with Etuhu as his play is quite static.

The thing is that Murphy has often been more shackled when the player next to him has been allowed to roam (see Bullard and Sidwell). Etuhu (and also Greening come to think of it) played a simple passing game and gave Murphy all the control. Having these well defined roles seems to allow Murphy to look forward, rather than to look back at his centre-mid team mate.

Etuhu has been in and around our most successful squads and has been picked repeatedly by three good managers, so he must be doing something right.

This is not a defence of his performance last night, which was poor, just a thought as to why, if he is awful, Dickson gets in the team.

[Mitch]

I don't think Dickson is awful at all, just last night he played really very badly. His position could be one of the most important for the Spurs game, so if picked he needs a 200% increase in performance.

If Dickson is out of form, how about Sidwell as a sitting midfielder, not box to box?

[BalDrick]

'This is not a defence of his performance last night, which was poor, just a thought as to why, if he is awful, Dickson gets in the team.'

God alone knows but I am willing to accept that the combined knowledge of Messrs Hodgson, Hughes and Jol adds up to more than I'll ever know. Sidders, though I do like him, is too much of a roamer to let Murph further forward, to do what he does better than Sid does. To me this is the main issue in our side at the moment, and to hope Murph will be able to put another equally good shift in on Sunday is asking a lot. But, as I said above, the manager knows more than me, dare I say us.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

I don't think Dickson is awful at all, just last night he played really very badly. His position could be one of the most important for the Spurs game, so if picked he needs a 200% increase in performance.

If Dickson is out of form, how about Sidwell as a sitting midfielder, not box to box?

I like Sidwell, I am just wary of his movement around the pitch.

He is really a box-to-box midfielder and I think this means he does not sit enough to protect the back four. Murphy ends up covering too much and his effectiveness is decreased. I might be wrong, but I dont recall seeing Sidwell make many interceptions this season, the hallmark of a sitting midfielder.

To be honest, I would play all three on Sunday in a 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation. Murphy the creator, Sidwell the legs and work and Etuhu the anchorman.

Gecov could be the answer long term - he seems to be happy to keep it simple and sit in front of defence in his brief outings.

[BalDrick]

'If Dickson is out of form, how about Sidwell as a sitting midfielder, not box to box?'

Think if it's to be Murph and Sid, then Murph needs to sit tight and let Sid roam. But, as I've just posted above, Murph does the forward role better than Sid does, possibly QED Etuhu plays.

Silly thing is, we've been overlooking the elephant in the room that is Chris Baird with regard to that position for so long, but I genuinely think he could do a real job there, to such an extent I think he could make the position his own.

[Mitch]

Would be interesting to see how Geckov and Murphy play next to each other. Geckov keeps it very simple and can tackle, so could be a good foil for Murphy, but I wouldn't want to risk it against Spurs where the midfield is their strongest point.

[richie17]

I want to see Gecov playing more, too.  When he's good and ready, I'm sure.

[Jimpav]

I agree with your initial post Mitch.

It was a brilliant match and quite euphoric at times but essentially Krakow were awful at best, essentially they flattered us.

There were a number of occasions where they found themselves in excellent shooting positions but either blazed it wide or shot so gently that Schwarz could stop it with his foot.

Not sure if this was the Riise/Kelly effect, forcing Hangeland to cover more ground than normal but I would like to see an improvement on Sunday otherwise Van Der Vaart will destroy us.

[Burt]

I thought it was a good performance, against average (rather than woeful) opponents.

I agree about the comments about Riise and Etuhu. They were the stand-out below-par performers in an otherwise strong team effort.

The only time I applauded Etuhu was when he went in hard on Nunez...whilst he got the ball he also made sure the cheating **** felt it.

He needs to make his presence felt more often, if he isn't fulfiliing a box-to-box role.

[Lighthouse]

Yet some of our one touch football was a delight and the way we Clint and Duff teased their defence was good to watch. I am not sure how bad Krakow were as they tried to pressure us high up the pitch. But I thought it was only the third game we have played where we did look good. No doubt a false dawn but Etuhu aside, everybody was fine.

[MJG]

Yet some of our one touch football was a delight and the way we Clint and Duff teased their defence was good to watch. I am not sure how bad Krakow were as they tried to pressure us high up the pitch. But I thought it was only the third game we have played where we did look good. No doubt a false dawn but Etuhu aside, everybody was fine.

Thats exactly what we are like, a real rollercoaster.
One second we are pinging it around for fun, the next Bobby's laying it off 40 yards from the nearest fulham player or Murphy taking a free kick into the box which was nowhere near anyone.
They set a high standard sometimes and we all want them to keep it at that level, thats why when it goes wrong you get the groans, because they can do better.