Birmingham 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur:A Spurs fans view

By Jon H
August 16 2003

Birmingham City 1-0 Spurs A predictable score line I hear you say, judging from the posts on NLP today - but, there are several positives to take from today's game. I have just returned from St Andrews –

where the philosophy appears to be “If it moves kick it, and if it doesn’t then kick it ‘til it does’ fans and players alike, or so it would seem. From the first to the last, Spurs did not win a decision from one of the worst referees it has been my [dis] pleasure to observe.

Spurs dominated the opening exchanges but lacked penetration. Both Ricketts and Keane looked lively, but the defence looked like they had met each other for the first time. As the half progressed, Ricketts began to find his feet with some neat interplay with Postiga and Redknapp. But, at almost every turn, each promising Spurs move was stymied by the referee. Evidence of Spurs’ pre-eminence was evidenced by the silencing of the home support. First of all Postiga went close, followed by a snap shot by Redknapp. When the referee was not influencing Spurs’ attacking moves, who should enter the fray but Mr Lily Savage with an absolutely disgraceful tackle on Taricco – afters from previous encounters I would hazard a guess. Spurs by now were still looking comfortable until just before half-time when Gardner was cruelly adjudged to have smothered Savage. Up stepped Dunn [who was admittedly impressive in the first half] to convert the subsequent spot-kick. Spurs again started comfortably in the second half but Hoddle took the decision after about 15 minutes to replace Postiga with Zamora. This tactical switch seemed to galvanise Spurs further and they were unlucky not to have at least equalised through Zamora [twice], Redknapp and Marney.

Player analysis:

Keller: Did not have much to do all game but looked tidy – and was very unlucky with the penalty. [7]

Taricco: Looked ineffective and sadly out of his depth today and Spurs improved once he made way for Marney. [5]

Gardener: Was a rock for the whole 90 minutes but blotted his copybook by getting tangled up with Savage for the penalty. He was also guilty of a couple of lapses of concentration. [7]

Bunjevcevic: Looked awkward initially [as usual] but kept his composure and effectively marked Dugarry out of the game – hence Dugarry’s early exit. He also produced a gem of a through-ball for Robbie Keane when the latter somehow contrived to miss a one-on-one with Taylor. [6]

Doherty: Looked clumsy at times but was left woefully exposed on occasion by Carr’s forays up field. He done well in his more familiar defensive role and was responsible for at least one goal-saving block. He was prepared to put himself in the firing line, but I feel that will not be enough for him to secure his place. He’s a solid squad player though who will not let anyone down in the heart of the defence. [7]

Carr: Made a couple of useful runs but seemed to content himself with berating his team-mates at every opportunity. He did not seem to gel that well with Davies and was guilty on at least three occasions of taking an absolute age over a corner kick. He also left Doherty exposed on occasion by not tracking back when we lost possession. Now don’t get me wrong, Carr is one of my favourite players but we aren’t seeing the best of him at the moment – early days though. [6]

Davies: Was full of running for 90 minutes. He had some neat interaction with Redknapp and Ricketts. It was good to see him doing what he does best – taking players on and running at people.[7]

Ricketts: For me Ricketts was man of the match. Looked like a fish out of water initially but soon found his niche in midfield. His strong running and intelligence caused Birmingham all sorts of problems in the heart of their defence. He’s got a great engine and also has great drive. [8]

Redknapp: Started well, spraying the ball about and getting a foot in where necessary. His play was probably indicative of Spurs in the first half as a whole until the penalty decision – cool, composed, comfortable on the ball – It was hard to find fault really until late in the second half when he began to run out of steam. [7]

Postiga: Started brightly with a couple of nice flicks and neat one-twos with Ricketts and Keane. Faded badly as the service dried up and was replaced after sixty minutes. He needs time to adjust but showed enough glimpses today to emphasize his quality. [6]

Keane: Robbie is showing signs at the moment of anxiety – hopefully this will be a passing phase and he’ll respond to the challenge of three new strikers at the club. He showed little today but could [and should] have scored when put clean through by Bunjevcevic. I’m sure that he’ll soon be back to his best but he needs to sharpen up – and quickly – to keep his place in the side. [6]

Zamora: Bobby made a massive difference when he came on – he held the ball up, he made space, he attacked the Birmingham centre-halves in the air and generally made a nuisance of himself. I for one, hailed the arrival of Postiga [and I still do by the way] but Zamora played really, really well today and with a little luck could have been travelling back to N17 with a brace. Look out Premiership Zamora’s coming to get you. [8]

Marney: Marney brought out a smart save from Taylor within minutes of coming on but was guilty of misplacing a couple of passes. He generally acquitted himself well and will surely progress. [7]

Hoddle: He saw today where things needed changing and acted accordingly. It also looks, given the formation today, that he has set his stall out to play 3-5-2 for the season. Hopefully this will lead to a settled formation - one that can only be enhanced by the arrival of Convey and Mabizela. [8]

Summary: We lost today to a Birmingham side which did not create a chance of note in the second half. With a little luck and sympathy from the referee, we would have emerged today with at least a draw. It must also be remembered that it was very much a scratch side which played today. Doherty, Bunjevcevic, Ricketts, Marney, even Gardener cannot consider themselves regular first teamers but all acquitted themselves well, showing both application and determination. I for one would be the first to moan if we’d capitulated today, but we didn’t – we stuck at it and took the game to a decent Birmingham side for long periods and even in defeat we can hold our heads high. If we show this level of performance week in, week out we will not go far wrong.

Jon H