[Archived] Spurs 3 - 2 Rovers

[Neil Weaver]

It doesn't give anyone pleasure Jim. You know though, that was an excellent performance. One of the best in recent years.

388534[/snapback]

Come on Den, you should know by now that Jim's only joy these days is his weekly bedbath by nursy

[Eddie]

How anyone in our team could be given a 5 I don't know.

I really enjoyed that and I'm really devastated that we didn't come away with a point, or even the win. We missed a real opportunity given how well we played to pull it off and it was criminal to let them score so quickly after we had fought and played so well to come back into it.

Gray and Neill were a major reason for our ability to keep up the pressure and flow forward as we did, he was caught out by the raw pace of Lennon and there isn't too much you could do about that. Maybe his positioning could have been better but other than that he either had to take his man down or the play had to be stopped earlier. Where I thought that goal could have been stopped was when the ball was played in I think Todd and Neill just stood back when they should have seen it coming (I'm sure we all did) and got across to at least be able to challenge but really could have got in front of Mido and got rid of the danger.

I can't fault the team really. I'm damn proud of them and that was one of the finest performances I've seen from us or anyone this season. We didn't get the rub of the green but we made Spurs look like a second division side in the way they had to chase the ball. We created opportunities and we also took chances. Pongolle and Bellamy seemed to link up beautifully and I think we know who our first choice pairing up front is now.

Savage and Reid, and later Bentley when he moved inside, dominated the midfield and made Carrick and Davids look like out of place and off of the pace. Emerton and Bentley were decent and it was a shame that Bentley produced a wonderful shot from miles out when he couldn't do the same when Emerton put it on a plate for him just before half-time.

Neill and Todd were good and so was Friedel. He possibly should have done better when saving the free-kick though certainly made up for it with his save from Mido at the end. The only player in that Spurs team who looked like he could touch our boys was Keane. If we play like that for the rest of the season then I don't doubt we can make Europe. As for today, it happens in football and it's cruel because we certainly didn't deserve it.

[ihtd]

It doesn't give me much joy either but i would rather look at the positives and not get angry as it is not gongn to change anything now is it.

I do not really want to criticise any individuals really as we played well.

If anything as i said to my dad before the game, we will only lose if we get screwed and we got screwed.

[Eddie]

SPOT ON JIMBO!!!!!!!!!!

LOSING IS CRAP

388542[/snapback]

Losing is crap but we can take heart from the fact that we totally outplayed them and that if we continue to play that way we'll win many more than we lose. Sometimes fate is against you, I think it was today.

[Exiled_Rover]

SPOT ON JIMBO!!!!!!!!!!

LOSING IS CRAP

388542[/snapback]

Erm....nobody's saying "Fantastic, we lost!" Everyone is obviously disappointed that we didn't come out of the match with anything, but the performance has left a smile on most of our faces. When you're the best team on the pitch by far, despite being away from home against the team in 4th (who must have spent about £50m in the last few years) you can't help but be impressed. Spuds were playing counter attacking football for the majority of the game - this a team 4th in the league and apparently invincible at home!

Put it this way, I was in a pub here in Hull with a bunch of neutrals who were on the windup due to me being the only fan in the establishment. The way we were playing football brought them over to our side, with a few of them going out of their way to say how unlucky we were to lose. When your side has the ability to do that, well it leaves me happy and proud if nothing else

[krislu]

Fabulous performance from the boys.

A proper football team. Rovers fans should all be proud.

388498[/snapback]

Absolutely spot on!!

Rovers played very very well today, and it was damn unfortunate that we did not get anything from it. I saw the game with a friend of mine who is a spurs supporter and he was chewing his fingernails for 90minutes..

If we play with the same amount of determination and enthusiasm for the rest of the campaign then we WILL play in Europe next season!

Very good to see that the partnership of Pongo and Bellamy is getting better and looking promesing for the remaining matches.

Edited March 5, 2006 by krislu

[ihtd]

What pub was you in in Hull Exiled Rover?

If we play crap versus Villa and win that will do for me next weekend.

I am just grateful that our future as a club is looking bright for once and we can enjoy the end of the season instead of always looking over our shoulders at the drop zone.

Also to be fair to the lads, that Spurs team was made up of god knows how many millions worth of talent. Just think they had a striker what they paid upwards of 7million of the bench today, we had Kuqi, no comparison.

Well Done Lads

[G Somerset Rover]

Gray wasn't as bad as some are making out, but a new left back in the summer should be on the shopping list. Absoloutely gutted though, I have so many spuds fans as mates and know they'll try to make out they deserved to win. Rovers mullered them for nigh on 80 mins (Albeit without making too many clear cut chances) and deserved to thrash them. I always thought that spurs were overated and Rovers proved how ordinary they are. One other worrying thing....at least five of them players will be in the England sqaud come this summer!

[Exiled in Toronto]

Mixed emotions - negatives first. We played plenty of good football but Robinson only made one save of note from Bentley. Forget the decisions, our defending was poor for all three goals. A throw in down by the corner flag should not result in a goal; Brad yet again turned a shot back into the danger area, and the third was just awful. I was hoping we'd seen the last of Emerton and yet again he had no impact on the game.

The pluses though were heartwarming. Two excellent goals fashioned by our two strikers; Bellamy was outstanding and Sinima put in his best shift to date. Bentley seems to have much more confidence now and I think will get better and better. Neil is terrific coming forwards when he cuts inside. Excellent free-kicks and corners by and large. And even Kuqi added something to our attacks in his 10 minutes.

Champions League was too big an ask this season, but we should be gunning all the way for a Uefa spot.

[sany]

I feel terrible! I hate this game!

[Exiled_Rover]

What pub was you in in Hull Exiled Rover?

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The Boars Head, or whatever they're calling it now. It's on Bev Road.

[ihtd]

Yep i know that pub, you were a bit brave going in there with a Rovers top on mate.

[The Dart]

I thought we'd lose, and we did. Does it make me feel better we should have won? No makes it worse.

[Exiled_Rover]

Yep i know that pub, you were a bit brave going in there with a Rovers top on mate.

388561[/snapback]

Is there something I've not been told . I've done it a few times and been ok - though there was a few hairy moment when Ped equalised against United

[Arcturus]

I was hoping we'd seen the last of Emerton and yet again he had no impact on the game.

I thought Emerton was one of our best players today actually. Set up a couple of chances and was very lively i thought.

But (and this is not only directed at you Exiled) people seem way more interested in picking holes in his game than actually look at some of the positive things he does.

[Fife Rover]

Stop blaming on Gray!

He's up against a speedy Lennon who just came on and is full of energy. Put Neill, Todd or even Nelsen in Gray's position, and Lennon will still get past them with his pace, easily.

Overall every Rovers out there should lift their heads high. Yes, we got nothing for a fantastic performance. But we have nothing to be ashamed of. We were clearly the better team out there.

I've enjoyed the game. I have no complaints. We will go on and win the next 5. 

388510[/snapback]

I absolutely agree with you YS. I was just about to come on and say much the same; especially in defence of Gray. I sometimes wonder if we are all watching the same match! Martin Jol said himself after the match that he deliberately put Lennon on because of his terrific pace, and that he knew he was capable of getting in behind ANY defender to provide crosses for Mido and Keane.

As far as I am concerned I feel optimistic for the rest of the season if Rovers continue to play like they did today. It was a fantastic football match with great credit to both teams as all the varous pundits on Sky agreed. I just wonder what difference it would have made if we had Tugay and MGP playing? But then it also raises the question of how would Tugs have coped with the pace of the match, and would MGP have been any better than Bentley?

Some of you have made the point (correctly) that both the first two goals for Spuds were strictly speaking illegal, but can we in all honesty complain after the "hand of Ped" gave us the 3 points at Newcastle?

Anyway it is in the past now and we all need to focus on the next few games. Today Rovers showed the whole world just what a good team they have become under the MH regime. I just hope and pray that we can hang on to the services of the MH management team for some time to come.

Edited March 5, 2006 by Fife Rover

[G Somerset Rover]

Emerton was certainly alot more direct with his play today.

[thenodrog]

Calm down boys, Jim's on a windup.

388529[/snapback]

You don't need to apologise for the cupid stunt Den. You should diss him for being so churlish.

[grizfoot]

Can't beleive we lost that, they had 3 chances all match and scored from them, unbeleivable

I still think we've got a chance for 4th spot. Tottenham don't look that much of a good team they've got Chelski away next which is almost a definate loss so if we beat Villa we'll be in within three points off them again.

If we play like that every game (attackive wise) we'll win our next 5 games easily (but that probably won't happen).

Brilliant performance lads, just very unlucky

[tcj_jones]

A few observations: I haven't seen bentley play for a little while now and he is looking a very accomplished player - I am very much coming round to him now. Secondly, Emerton was far more direct in his play and is fighting for his life at the club.

[AlanK]

Regardless of what old Jimbob says, Spurs may have won the battle but not the war.

The majority of their games left are away from home, they still have to play Chelsea, Utd and Arsenal and playing like that won`t get much.

We on the other hand have the majority of our games left at Ewood ( 6 at home, 4 away ). 2 of the away games are Sunderland and Pompey. I don`t care if they are scrapping for points, its better than having visit top a top 6 team and playing like that we should be just fine.

Proud of the boys today. Should have done a lot for our image aswell.

[thenodrog]

SPOT ON JIMBO!!!!!!!!!!

LOSING IS CRAP

388542[/snapback]

There are two types of feelings after losing a match Abbey. After losing today I cannot wait for the next rovers match whereas 2 years ago I was dreading the next game.

[philipl]

Wow, What a game!

For quality of passing play, that has to be one of the best technical Rovers performances I've seen. Anyway a few disjointed observations:

- Great Gray header onto the bar at the end. Gray has limited pace- we all know that- but Ledley King got done all ends up and he's going to Germany!

- Neill at fault for Mido's goal (wait til Revidge comes on)- he lost Mido completely

- Reid guilty of a few wayward passes but otherwise ball retention by Rovers was magnificent

- I always though Keane was special but why did he chose today to show it? He was world class.

- All credit to Keane for saying it was an unintentional hand ball and that Rovers were the better side and Spurs couldn't get the ball off us.

- What a fantastic player Bentley is! OK he scuffed one and was a bit slow starting but apart from that, who the **** is Carrick in comparison?

- Pongo bad first half, AWFUL MISS, but all credit to him coming good later on.

- Even that fantastic performance cannot overcome throw in wrong way for first goal (but what a gem by Keane), pinball ricochets for free kick and handball for second, missed blatant penalty at the end.

- Five Spurs players playing for England? Forget about winning the World Cup.

I am so proud of the Rovers today.

Now the tricky bit- we have five games coming up which if we only play 80% as well as we did today, we should walk. Hughes has achieved a minor miracle so far- it will be a major miracle if we win all five of these games because the UEFA slot will be in the bag and we'll be in with a fantastic chance of Champs League football if we do.

Edited March 5, 2006 by philipl

[Fife Rover]

All this "proud of the boys" is hogwash.

We lost, end of story.

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For some time now I have been wondering why various posters on this MB seem to like having a go at you JimMk2.

Now I know! You really are a miserable old git! and it's people like you that give us older generation a bad press. Get yourself some better glasses or a bigger telly, or whatever it takes. Better still, stop being such a sore loser and pessimistic old F**T!

Edited March 5, 2006 by Fife Rover

[Bing]

- What a fantastic player Bentley is! OK he scuffed one and was a bit slow starting but apart from that, who the **** is Carrick in comparison?

388580[/snapback]

Not sure why Sparky switched the midfielders around but he really shone in a central midfield role.

I thought he'd be too lightweight and drift in and out of games too much to play in that position in a 4-4-2 but the way he got on the ball and tried to make things happen was almost Tugay-esque.