{"id":10047,"date":"2024-09-15T20:50:58","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T19:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=10047"},"modified":"2024-09-18T20:42:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T19:42:15","slug":"no-need-to-get-cocky-dont-tell-spurs-though","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=10047","title":{"rendered":"No Need To Get Cocky (Don\u2019t Tell Spurs Though)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<a id=\"fo_3OYUzSsBQxEAkSHf7hA\" class=\"gie-single\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2171371585\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'fo_3OYUzSsBQxEAkSHf7hA',sig:'FquQ8WIAVM93zYXFVtFI0-iISrHHuMGwKY-4_JvSLGs=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2171371585',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\" async=\"\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>We beat Spurs one nil to record our third straight victory at the Toilet Bowl. It is one of the good days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spurs began with a lot of possession whilst we looked compact in defence. We took a few minutes to find our shape, Trossard and Havertz interchanging sufficiently that it would be hard to claim either were playing striker, whilst Saka\u2019s press was off until he worked out that Partey behind him was not going to be in the same places as Odegaard would be and adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gradually, we settled down. Both sides had chances, and the game felt tense, everyone knowing it was likely to be decided by who made the most of a few crucial moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Solanke dithered after White lost the ball and failed to get a shot off. Martinelli was put through by Trossard for our best chance of the half but he shot tamely at Vicario instead of cutting across the defender\u2019s line or squaring for Saka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Havertz had a couple of decent headers, one of which Vicario knocked into a Spurs hand, but that\u2019s never a penalty. Both sides had a few corners which they made little of and Solanke held off Gabriel to loop a header over Raya but round the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jared Gillet dished out a lot of yellows (a record 7 in a first half). Saliba got a stupid one for holding onto the ball after giving away a free kick. Please don\u2019t get any more of them. Spurs got a few, none of them for anything egregious and it wasn\u2019t a game with the aggression and physicality of many we\u2019ve seen in this fixture down the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It kicked off briefly about ten minutes before half time. Timber went in for a challenge in a way that I would not advise Arsenal players to do. His foot went on the ball and nearly went over it. If you keep doing that, you\u2019ll keep getting cards, and a small error in timing may turn them from yellow into red. It is also the type of challenge which can genuinely hurt the opponent if it isn\u2019t just right, so I have no issue with the yellow, but I would not be calling for a red if a Spurs player had done it, so I\u2019ve no truck with the idea that Timber was lucky on that count.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The opening twenty minutes of the second half saw little action until we broke away and Saka had a shot blocked for a corner. He took the corner, whipping it into the six-yard box where Gabriel rose unchallenged to head it in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vicario and Romero were all kinds of bad, and for all our prowess at set-plays, Spurs were undone simply by a bit of really poor defending. At this level, they have no excuse for making it that easy for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not much more happened. Spurs huffed and puffed and we held them at arm\u2019s length, trusting our defending to shut them out. Sterling came on for his debut alongside Jesus, replacing Trossard and Martinelli. Saka limped off with an injury, so we will have to hope he\u2019s okay. Ethan Nwaneri came on for the last ten minutes or so, and did very well. He looked calm, had the sense not to overplay the ball but also held it when he needed to. And he got a taste of the big game atmosphere. Jesus did well to push him up top and defend the right-hand side, taking a bit of pressure off the young man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The game ended 11 vs 11, which did not look likely at half-time, and more importantly, 1-0 to The Arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what else is there to say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, a few thoughts\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Timber is a really good player. Strong, technically sound, gets forward but gets back into position, good in one on ones. The more he plays, the better he will get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martinelli is not doing well in terms of goals and assists \u2013 he needs to improve his numbers. He does not make the most of good positions as moves break down to early and too easily when he either makes a bad choice or executes poorly. That said, he is still such a valuable player. Both he and Saka are absolute beasts on our wings in terms of their running, positioning, defensive output and mentality to do a job for the team. At his very worst, Martinelli is such a strong team player who makes us really hard to play against. When he starts getting his attacking numbers up, he\u2019ll really be one of the best in the league. It is also this side of his game that Trossard does not replicate. Martinelli will get the nod against City next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conversely, even in a brief cameo, we can see that Sterling is gonna make great runs off the ball and be willing defensive cover, but he will take time before he works out where he needs to be in our defensive shape. The question he needs to ask is \u201cwhere would Martinelli be?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Havertz, Saka and Trossard between them will have just about enough guile and cleverness to cover for Odegaard\u2019s absence in the short term. I don\u2019t know if they can in the longer term and I don\u2019t want to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Raya is really good. Even six months ago, when we could all see he was an upgrade on Ramsdale, I did not think he was a top, top keeper like Allison or Ederson, but his start to the season has been fantastic. He made a diving stop when a cross flashed past everyone in the box and looked to be heading in the far corner, but even though he didn\u2019t have many more tough saves to make, he just looked composed in the way he dealt with everything Spurs threw at us, and he\u2019s starting to fill me with confidence that doesn\u2019t just stem from the fact that he plays behind the best defensive partnership in the league and the best we have had for twenty years, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Partey and Jorginho did okay in the middle, and they did well not to overreach and leave themselves out of position. Jorginho\u2019s ability to come into the side, as captain, for his first game of the season, in a NLD, and perform like that is truly remarkable. He is such an asset for his manager and his club. Very well played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for Spurs. They are all a bit meh. Even the usually odious Romero did little to wind us up, at least by his own high standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, after the game they played against City last season when so many of their fans showed themselves to be more concerned with us doing badly than their own team doing well, I lost some of my interest in the rivalry. I have time for passionate fans who support their club and know what that means (or at least, what that has traditionally meant until recent times) regardless of what team they support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t have time for clowns who don\u2019t care about their club\u2019s integrity, change their opinion every five minutes and think that a sign of being a committed supporter is the vehemence with which they slag their own team off after a loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All clubs probably have far too few of the former and too many of the latter these days, but the current crop of Spurs fans don\u2019t seem worth arguing with and the current Spurs team doesn\u2019t interest me in the slightest. Perhaps a part of that is just that our own club has now got its sights set well and truly higher. We have bigger fish to fry, larger cocks to knock off their perches. Or whatever it is one does to vanquish large cocks. Ahem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t get me wrong, I am chuffed we\u2019ve beaten our rivals, but despite the best efforts of the home fans to make it tough for us, ultimately, they set their stall out with that reedy trumpet and their pathetic rendition of Oh When the Saints Go Marching In (with \u2018Spurs\u2019&nbsp; lazily subbed in for \u2018Saints\u2019) which has mysteriously started up right after own our new club anthem has organically arrived on the scene. What a strange coincidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a beautiful metaphor for them as a club; trying hard to keep up, not quite backing up their big talk, not quite the big cheeses they want to be seen as, always in our shadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For us, there are bigger and more important tests ahead. Today, rivalry or not, we looked like a team focused on winning a league, not just a game. That\u2019s a great sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until next time, \u2018holics\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images We beat Spurs one nil to record our third straight victory at the Toilet Bowl. It is one of the good days. Spurs began with a lot of possession whilst we looked compact in defence. We took a few minutes to find our shape, Trossard and Havertz interchanging sufficiently that it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10047"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10047"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10070,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10047\/revisions\/10070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}