30^th August 2009 - Ledley is King but Spurs Suffer in his Absence Aaron Lennon’s late, late goal got Spurs off the hook and enabled them to maintain their perfect start to the season. It was a well deserved win that should have been more comprehensive against a Birmingham team that initially showed little attacking intent but in the end having endured an uncomfortable last fifteen minutes Spurs were relieved to claim the three points. However, when considering Spurs’ prospects for the remainder of the season, the most significant point from the game was not the departure of Luca Modric or Jermain Defoe through injury, or the impressive contribution by Peter Crouch but rather the departure of Ledley King at half-time with yet another injury problem. A game in which Spurs had been dominant, if somewhat laboured in their play throughout the first forty five minutes was suddenly transformed into the inevitable game of ‘two halves’ and showed the importance of Ledley King to the Spurs’ defence and any hopes there may be for Spurs to have a successful season. In the first half Spurs defended comfortably with King taking control and responsibility, clearing the ball to colleagues, covering his co-defenders and talking them through the game giving them confidence to give of their best. Midway through the half King appeared to be in some discomfort but he played on without any treatment and remained the best defender on display. Although feeling the slight injury he lost none of his pace in covering or moving around the pitch. However, after half-time in his absence, the defence was suddenly at ‘sixes and sevens’. The same defenders were unsure and no-one was willing to take responsibility, their defending was timid and they constantly put themselves under pressure by not clearing the ball effectively. The uncertainty spread throughout the defence and all of them were culpable for mistakes that could have led to Spurs losing a game that they had totally controlled for long periods. It was the uncertainty in the Spurs’ defence which became evident in the early minutes of the second half that encouraged Birmingham in the belief that they could take something from the game and in the final minutes they thought it was going to be a win. In the second half, after the re-organisation caused by the injuries to King and Modric, Spurs built up an impressive period of pressure which eventually brought about the elusive goal scored by Crouch. That should have been it, game over and three points for Spurs with less than twenty minutes remaining. However, within three minutes Spurs’ defensive frailties presented the visitors with the equaliser. Earlier warnings from sloppy defending were ignored as Alan Hutton and Carlo Cudicini contrived to get in a total mess, with neither taking responsibility to claim or clear a ‘nothing’ ball played into the penalty area. How many times do Spurs concede poor goals like that? Spurs’ revival and improved form during the final months of last season was based on a solid defence which grew in confidence with every game and central to that was the partnership of King and Jonathan Woodgate. It was that stability which helped Spurs move away from relegation and to the threshold of Europe. Everyone knows that Spurs’ best central defensive partnership is King and any other defender – whoever plays beside Ledley always plays so much better. Individually, all of them, Woodgate, Michael Dawson, Sebastien Bassong are good defenders but with King as their partner, they play so much better, emphasising the influence King has on the Spurs defence and hopes for success. Spurs have always displayed defensive weaknesses but with Ledley in the team, they invariably play so much better as a defensive unit, he is the rock on which the defence is built and no-one has ever been able to fill his boots. In an article in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph, they highlight the ever changing nature of Spurs team for the opening game of the season over the past five years. Thirty four players have appeared for Spurs in those five games but the most telling point from those five teams is that Ledley King was only able to play in one of these games – this year’s match against Liverpool. Such has been the state of his fitness that he has only started the first game of the season on three occasions since becoming a regular member of the team in 2001. Last season, Juande Ramos controversially decided to play King in the Cup competitions while in Martin Jol’s last season, King was unavailable until Christmas and was then used sparingly by Ramos in order to be available for the vital games in the latter stages of the Carling Cup as Spurs went on to claim their first trophy in nine years. For the previous two seasons he made his seasonal debut in September and in Spurs’ unsuccessful attempt to break into top four in 2006, it was an injury to King at Everton with four games remaining that was as much responsible for them coming up short as the ‘Lasagna gate’ issue in the final game. Ledley King is vital to any chance that Spurs have of building on their excellent start to the season. Last week, the prospect of King missing Spurs next two games against Manchester United and Chelsea because Fabio Capello might decide to include him in the England team was unthinkable. Now, he may well be absent due to yet another injury problem. If Ledley King had not been troubled by his recurring injury problems every England manager would have had him as first choice in the national team and John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Matthew Upson and Julian Lescott would have been fighting it out to see who would play alongside Ledley. That King, in spite of all his injury problems and his inability to train with the rest of the team on a daily basis, is still considered a potential England player is testament to his ability and skill and makes you wonder what he could have achieved in a career free form injury and what success would have come Spurs’ way with a fully fit Ledley King at the heart of their defence.

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21^st August 2009 - The New Defoe Inspires Tottenham

Never has a player been so committed to scoring a hat-trick as Jermain Defoe was against Hull City on Wednesday evening. Normally, having scored a brace of goals and with the team winning comfortably, a striker sees that as ‘job done’ but not Defoe. Having scored two excellent goals in the first half to put Spurs 3-1 ahead at the interval and calm the nerves as Hull strove to make a mark on the game following their unexpected goal mid-way through the half, Defoe continued to seek out that elusive third. He had a number of opportunities but a late block from an over-stretched Hull defender or a little lack of control seemed set to foil his endeavours for the evening.

However, even in added time he continued in search of a third goal with a strong run towards the Hull penalty area but once again the moment seemed to have passed but then he received the ball just outside the box and made another forward run before making a short pass to Aaron Lennon who had taken up a central position on the edge of the penalty area. Lennon controlled the ball and held off the defender as he teed the ball up like a rugby player holding the ball for his place kicker, as Defoe thundered the ball into the net past the despairing lunge of two defenders and a helpless goalkeeper. A hat-trick of immense quality was Defoe’s reward for an evening of hard word and endeavour.

Jermain Defoe has returned to Tottenham as a much better player than the one who was sold to Portsmouth in January, 2008. He had marked his arrival at Tottenham in January, 2004 by scoring four goals in his first three appearances but as time passed he rather lost his way as the goals became less frequent and he vied with Robbie Keane for the striker’s role alongside a taller partner. Martin Jol certainly had a preference for Keane leaving Jermain to try and make the most of limited opportunities. In season 2005-06, although he didn’t score as frequently as usual, he contributed to the team’s success by turning provider, creating goal scoring opportunities for those around him.

However, it appeared that defenders had worked out how to play Defoe and he had no answer to the problem and with limited opportunities, on occasions he appeared to try too hard while on others he looked isolated as Spurs struggled to contain teams, especially away from home. Defoe’s confidence obviously dipped and he seemed to loose the goal scoring knack that was so vital to his game. Juande Ramos decided Defoe was surplus to requirements although the striker appeared reluctant to leave.

Twelve months away from White Hart Lane and Defoe has returned much stronger on the ball and with a sharpness to his finishing that had been lacking for some time. He has shown an ability to hold the ball and a strength to keep going in spite of the robust attention of much larger defenders. He has suffered a number of disappointments in his career and his family life but he is determined to avoid a repeat of the disappointment he suffered in 2006 when he was omitted from the England World cup squad. He showed last week that he can score at international level against quality sides and the goals at the start of the Premier League season will have further enhanced his chances of being a regular member of the England set-up.

There had always been concern that Keane and Defoe couldn’t play together and following the successful partnership at Portsmouth, the arrival of Peter Crouch suggested that Harry Redknapp was planning to re-ignite that partnership at Spurs. However, the manager sprung a surprise by selecting Defoe and Keane for the season’s opening game against Liverpool and while neither scored, they showed they could play together successfully. Those of us who have seen it all before waited to see what would happen when it got difficult away from home and it was thought that Crouch might start against Hull. Redknapp knew differently and retained the partnership which rewarded him with three goals for Defoe, one for Keane and two assists for the captain.

Sometimes the fans can inspire the team to greater endeavour but this start to the season and the sparkling goal scoring form of Defoe has lifted the despondency that had seemed to have settled on this long-term supporter who has had the feeling of ‘I’ve seen it all before’ for the past number of months. Obviously, there’s a long way to go but it does feel good to look at the early season league table and see Spurs sitting at the top of the league, even if it is after only two games.

Disclaimer: Please note the words on this page are the opinion of the topspurs columnist and are just that, opinions, not facts and are nothing to do with Tottenham Hotspur Football club PLC. Just a supporter having his say nothing more nothing less. Any commentary on betting is meant for discussion purposes only and does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation.