Tag Archives: rooney

Disappointed but not despondent

Posted by on September 14, 2009 10 comments

It’s a shame but it’s not the end of the world. We were beaten by a better side on the day. While I would have hoped we could cope with Utd at the Lane the fact is we couldn’t on Saturday. It doesn’t mean we can’t.

It’s easy for me to make comment after the game and I’m not criticising Harry’s tactics but I was a little puzzled by his decision to shuffle the side and start Keane out of position rather than bring Kranjcar in as a like for like swap for Modric. I just felt we weren’t as balanced as we might have been but I doubt it would have changed the result in any case.

Man Utd seemed to thrive with ten men. I know some people dislike Rooney but you cannot argue with his ability and determination. Having a player of that quality in your side is priceless. Not only is he world class, he doesn’t stop working for 90 minutes. Utd had four maybe five world class players on that pitch, Tottenham probably had one and he can’t train. Lennon and Palacios have the potential to be world class but aren’t yet. Keane, Crouch and even Defoe arguably fall just slightly short.

The positive thing about the game was that we weren’t totally played off the park. We had plenty of chances and on another day, the result might have been different. Utd played at their best and we weren’t that far behind. We are still moving in the right direction. If you’d have told me at the start of the season after five games Spurs would have won them all except for a loss to Utd, I would certainly have taken that. We still have more points than Liverpool and Arsenal and sit in the top four.

I try not to get too carried away any time Spurs put a decent run of results together but it’s hard not to get excited. Equally, it’s hard not to get a bit down after a home defeat even when it is to a side of Manchester United’s brilliance. It’s important to take a long term view. We have had a great start to the season and this is just a set back. There is no reason we can’t go to Chelsea and get something out the game. The likely scenario is we will hold them until the 93rd minute and they will get a late winner but there is always a chance we can do the same.

Pleasantly Surprised

Posted by on September 10, 2009 5 comments

As much as I wasn’t particularly looking forward to last night’s England game, the one hope I had was that Aaron Lennon would step forward and stake a serious claim for a World Cup spot. That’s exactly what he did and in some style!

Lennon’s first half performance was superb. He created two of the goals, secured himself the man of the match accolade and very likely a place in Capello’s squad for the 2010 World Cup.

As expected, Emile Heskey kept his place in front of Defoe and you can’t really knock Fabio Capello for his decision. Heskey gives the side better balance than a Rooney Defoe partnership would do. Although Defoe deserves to start a game for England on current form, it doesn’t look like it will happen while Rooney and Heskey are both fit. That being said, Capello may experiment a bit more now England have qualified.

While Lennon and Defoe may be a little fatigued going into Saturday’s game against Man Utd, we couldn’t have hoped for a much more positive and confidence boosting outcome to their England duty. The 5-1 drubbing might not have done Kranjcar the world of good though!

Although it’s hard to see Roman Pavlyuchenko starting at the weekend, he also put in a productive shift at the Millennium Stadium against Wales. He started the game on the bench but was introduced after 70 minutes and scored in injury time. I’ll be more than happy if our unlucky Russian can play a similar role on Saturday!