Tottenham Hotspur: A seasons review 2006/07

Part 5: December.

Saturday 2nd December 2006. Arsenal (Away).

Tottenham's first ever visit the soul less hole called The Emirates stadium ended in defeat. The performance was poor to say the least but at least it matched the intensity of the home crowd. Most Spurs supporters will be erasing this from their memories so I won't go into too much detail. Suffice to say that Arsenal's first goal was borderline offside, their second was not a penalty (Chimbonda clearly won the ball), and neither was their 3rd (Robin van Persie handling the ball before being fouled). Despite these protestations Spurs did not deserve even a draw. Ok, that's done. Erase away.

Spurs performance rating: 0/10

Entertainment rating: 0/10 (I'm sure I could hear snoring from the other end of the stadium but I'm told that's normal for Arsenal home games).

Tuesday 5th December 2006. Middlesbrough (Home).

Desperate to get back on track in the league Spurs faced up to Middlesbrough knowing that 3 points were vital. Spurs huffed and puffed in the first half but despite being the better team could not score the goal that mattered. The second period began and the goal Spurs craved came shortly after in the 47th minute. A floated free kick into the box by Huddlestone was head back across goal by Chimbonda. With the ball still 4 feet from the ground Berbatov adjusted his stance and scooped a delightful volley into the top left hand corner of the net. Spurs then pressed for the goal which would have sealed the game but to no avail. With ten minutes left on the clock disaster struck. A free kick into the Spurs box was not cleared and after a lengthy bout of ping pong the ball was rammed home from 6 yards by Robert Huth. This woke Spurs up and thankfully they did not have long to wait to regain the lead. A short free kick on the 84th minute by Huddlestone was passed to Keane who shifted the ball to his right before unleashing a shot that Schwarzer should have kept out. The drama was not yet over when Boateng and Zokora tangled on the touchline. Once the melee had calmed down both players were shown the red card. Boateng's card was later rescinded but Spurs fans did not care as they happily settled for the three points instead.

Spurs performance rating: 6/10

Entertainment rating: 5/10

Saturday 9th December 2006. Charlton Athletic (Home).

It took much huffing and puffing before Spurs settled into their stride in this game and made the relegation haunted Addicks pay. Thirty minutes were on the clock before Berbatov opened the scoring. Nice work by Huddlestone and then Lennon paved the way for the Bulgarian to beat Scott Carson in the Charlton goal. Spurs doubled their lead two minutes later when Tainio pounced on a poor headed clearance to drive the ball home for 2-0.  Charlton shocked Spurs by pegging one back on 41 minutes. Andy Reid drove in the cross that Dawson could only deflect up and over Paul Robinson for 2-1. Spurs regained the 2 goal advantage after 55 minutes. A Tainio cross was delightfully headed down for the waiting Malbranque on the edge of the area. The midfielder controlled the ball on his chest before lashing the ball past Carson from 17 yards. Jemaine Defoe got in on the act after 62 minutes when he was released by a ball from Lennon. Running towards the corner of the right hand edge of the box the striker lashed in a shot which Carson could do nothing about. The rout was completed on 65 minutes when Berbatov grabbed his second and Tottenham's fifth. His short from an acute angle on the left hand side of the box went through Carson's legs and in off the post. Spurs really should have added to their tally with 25 minutes remaining but took their foot off the pedal. An enjoyable win over a poor opposition.

Spurs performance rating: 7/10

Entertainment rating: 9/10.

Thursday 14th December 2006. Dinamo Bucharest (H) UEFA Cup group stage.

Dinamo Bucharest turned up in London with the sole intention of doing some shopping before going home having already qualified for the knock out stages of the tournament. Someone then had to remind them that they had a match to play. So dutifully they turned up but that was about the sum total of their intentions. Spurs, who had also already qualified for the knock out stages of the tournament before this game took place, took the game more seriously. It was not long into the match before Spurs went 1-0 up. Bucharest keeper Hayeu collected a cross and then promptly threw the ball directly to Berbatov on the edge of the Bucharest area. The Bulgarian is not one to spurn a gift and he duly lashed it into the back of the net. The loyal support of Spurs then had to wait until the 38th minute before they saw their team extend their lead. Defoe was put through but still had forty yards of grass between him and the goal. His speed got him to the ball and then he raced on to coolly dispatch the ball for 2-0. Defoe doubled his own tally after 49 minutes with a deftly taken goal . Spurs were in complete domination and only once did they succumb to Bucharest and that was in injury time at the end of the game. Mendy got the consolation but it was not enough to take the shine off a fine performance from Spurs.

Spurs performance rating: 8/10

Entertainment rating: 6/10.

Sunday 17th December 2006. Manchester City (A)

Finally, after 5 long months Spurs recorded their first away win of the season. At this point Manchester City had not conceded a goal at their Eastland's home let alone been defeated. Spurs came out of the traps quickest in Martin Jol's 100th game in charge. Spurs took the lead after 16 minutes when a Tom Huddlestone free kick on the left was glanced in by Callum Davenport for one nil. Huddlestone himself would double the lead with a superbly taken goal after 24 minutes. Ghaly on the right moved into the City half before chipping a ball across the field. Huddlestone watched the ball bounce once before unleashing a superb half volley into the bottom left hand corner of the City net. Into the second half and Spurs should have extended their lead. Malbranque and Berbatov were both guilty of missing excellent chances early in the second period. Barton pulled one back for City in the 64th minute when he met a Dickov cross at the far post. Once again the marking was poor and Spurs only had themselves to blame for a nervy last half and hour. Still, they held on for a tremendous victory and a real boost before the busy Christmas period.

Spurs performance rating: 8/10

Entertainment rating: 8/10.

Wednesday 20th December 2006. Southend United (Home) Carling Cup.

Having knocked out Manchester United in the previous round Southend United came to White Hart Lane in a confident mood. And it was Southend who had the better of the early exchanges putting Spurs under pressure with some tough tackling and closing down our midfield quickly. Tottenham stuttered and created no real chances in the cold December night and at the end of normal time the game was still scoreless. The same pattern continued but now each team began to carve out some chances. The chance that mattered came just three minutes from the end of extra time when a ball played across the six yard area of the Southend box was poked in by a suspiciously offside Jemaine Defoe. The linesman had probably had enough at this stage and with the temperature below zero he was probably just as glad to get in and have a nice hot cup of tea as the supporters were.

Spurs performance rating: 4/10

Entertainment rating 2/10 (and that is solely for the song ‘Who's the pikey in my seat'.

Saturday 23rd of December 2006. Newcastle United (Away)

Fog stranded not only fifty or so supporters at Stansted Airport but also our illustrious chairman, Mr Daniel Levy. Your intrepid reporter hung around with Mr Levy for half an hour or so before the Chairman decided that there was nothing doing and he was going home. Judging from the highlights I witnessed later that day the Spurs team had came to the same conclusion around about three O' clock as well. In a shameful display of defending reminiscent of the Reading match earlier in the season Spurs found themselves 1-3 down by half time. Dyer gave Newcastle the lead after only two minutes. Newcastle's lead was double on 8 minutes when Martins headed home a Parker cross. Spurs scored their only goal of the game after 14 minutes when a Danny Murphy shot was deflected into the net via Steven Taylor's face. Newcastle's two goal advantage was restored on 33 minutes when an Emre free kick was pushed out by Robinson only for Parker to score on the rebound. The second half saw Spurs put some pressure on the home side but the damage had been done.

Spurs performance rating: 3/10

Entertainment rating: 6/10.


Tuesday 26th December 2006. Aston Villa (Home).

The first half saw Spurs dominate but fail to take the lead through a combination of poor shooting and good goalkeeping from on loan keeper Kiraly. Spurs finally made the breakthrough in the 57th minute when a through ball by Berbatov picked out his striking partner Defoe who shot across Kiraly into the bottom left hand corner of the net. It took Spurs nearly 20 minutes to increase their lead. A long Robinson kick was played on by Berbatov for Defoe. Defoe controlled the ball before lashing past the helpless Villa keeper. A clean sheet for Spurs was once again thwarted when Gareth Barry scored, his second goal against Spurs that season. It's almost worth buying him just so he cant score against us. Spurs held on, and in the dying minutes Defoe spurned the opportunity to score a hat trick when he shot into the legs of Kiraly with the Villa goal at his mercy.

Spurs performance rating 6/10

Entertainment rating 5/10.

Saturday 30th December 2006. Liverpool (H).

The final match of 2006 saw Liverpool at the Lane. The rain came down in sheets during this one and the chances went begging. The first opportunity fell to Mido inside the opening 10 minutes. In explicably his shot was lashed over the bar with the goal gaping. Neither team could create any real chance of value until stoppage time in the first half. Didier Zokora lost control of the ball when bringing it out of defence. Steven Gerrard profited but his shot took a series of deflections. The ball then landed in the path of Luis Garcia who made no mistake from inside the box. It was a poor goal to concede when two Spurs players had opportunities to clear and it was an equally poor time to concede. Spurs came out for the second half all guns blazing. Berbatov, Defoe and Ghaly all missed excellent chances. With minutes remaining Berbatov did get the ball in the back of the Liverpool net only for Ghaly to be given offside. And so ended 2006. Spurs would have to improve dramatically in 2007 if they intended to compete in Europe again through the league.

Spurs performance rating: 5/10

Entertainment rating: 6/10

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Related Articles:

• Spurs: A seasons review 06/07. Part 4. November.
• Spurs: A seasons review 06/07. Part 3. October.
• Spurs: A seasons review 06/07. Part 1. August.

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS