TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v MIDDLESBROUGH TACTICS TALK 5-12-06
Stuart Ward



After being conned out of a point by a certain Portuguese winger, Middlesbrough make the long journey to the capital to play Spurs. As always we start with Boro's opposition, and the self proclaimed biggest club in the universe, Tottenham.

Key Players

Dimitar Berbatov - The big striker has come in and looked dangerous for Spurs since his move in the summer.

He has yet to find the net with much frequency but he has been heavily involved in all of Spurs' attacking movement.

He is a big lad, and is strong on the ground and in the air. He will definitely be doing battle with big Robert Huth today. If Boro can get stuck into him and stop him linking in with the players around him then they will have won half the battle.

Paul Robinson - The England keeper gets a bit of stick when he pulls on the national jersey, but for Spurs he is a top performer.

He is a world class shot-stopper - there is no debate about this. However his kicking is slightly strange at times, so when he gets the ball passed back to him we need to put the pressure on.

Boro have hardly been setting the world alight in front of goal this season, and Robbo will be looking to get himself a clean sheet chalked up.

Aaron Lennon - As much as it pains me to put him here, Aaron Lennon COULD have an effect on this match.

He is the only wide player Spurs really have in their squad, and will be the main outlet for their attacks.

If he is given the space to get his head down and run at people then he MAY cause us problems. Taylor will probably be left back today so he needs to get in his face and not give him the space to open his legs and start one of his mazy runs!

The Manager

Martin Jol - I really don't like him as a man or a manager. He likes to set himself up as the pleasant man, but every so often the act cracks and his true colours come shinning through.

He will defend his players AT ALL COSTS, and whilst this MAY be a good trait sometimes, when his players are blatantly in the wrong, it is highly irritating.

He likes his side to play good attacking football, keeping the ball on the ground, so Boro will need to hit them hard and early and not let them settle into a rhythm.

Possible Lineup

                               Robinson

         Chimbonda     Dawson     King     Lee

      Lennon     Zokora     Taino     Malbranque

                       Keane       Berbatov


Ex-Newcastle midfielder Jermain Jenas misses the match because of an ankle injury.

The Spurs defence is a bit of a conundrum. The often injured Ledley King has long been hailed as the next big thing in English football by the media. Granted he is a decent enough player, and he can play in defence or midfield. However this writer has yet to really see too much from him. We will see how well he fairs when the Yak is giving him a buffeting.

Next to King is young Dawson. He is another who seems to have been around ages and promised much but has so far yet to deliver.

Pascal Chimbonda is a character. He is one of the many "attacking fullbacks" in the Premier League - so called because they are crap at defending. If Stewy gets at him today, he could get lots of joy.

In midfield Spurs are missing a few players who would otherwise be on the team-sheet. Ex-Boro target Steed Malbranque will play down the left wing. He is not enjoying the best of starts to his Spurs career.

He is excellent as an attacking midfielder, but played most of his games for Fulham in the middle of the park.

On the other flank is the much hyped Aaron Lennon. Yes, yes, he is good to watch when he gets his head down and runs. But how much of a final product has he got? NONE. End Of (as a certain Bob would say).

The middle of the park is where they are weakest. Young Zakora is a talented defensive midfielder who likes a battle, and Taino is somewhat of an unknown quantity. The one thing they are missing however is someone to run the show from that position. This means that the game will be won and lost down the wings, an area where Boro are strong at the minute.

Up front, I have already mentioned Berbatov, and he is joined by one of my favourite players at the moment, Robbie Keane.

Keane is a great forward. He is small and quick and is deadly from inside the area. He is also a great team player, setting up his fair share of goals.

Now with Spurs out of the way, onto Boro.

Key Players

Stewart Downing - Looked decent against Man Utd, and that was against Gary Neville, one of the best at his job around.

Today he will come up against Chimbonda, who as mentioned earlier is a LOT better at attacking than defending. Stewy needs to show the world, on the ground of the media's darling Spurs, that he IS international class.

If Downing gets at the defence, he will cause mayhem, we just need to make sure that our lone striker is supported in the box by our midfield.

Lee Cattermole - The young combative midfielder played well against Man Utd. He covers the whole pitch and never says die.

He impressed me with the way he covered for the obviously slow Boateng, hammering people with good, fair, strong tackles and also never wasting possession when he got it.

If he can get about Zakora today and win the midfield fight for the Boro, we will have a decent chance of success.

Robert Huth - The big German looked at his dominating best against United. Anything in the air was gobbled up, and he was rarely beaten on the floor.

He will most likely find himself up against Berbatov today, and will need to put in another good performance against the physical Bulgarian.

I personally think he will keep Berbatov quiet and a lot will focus on how Pogatetz deals with Keane and his pace.

The Manager

Gareth Southgate - He went up a lot in my estimation after the United match. He knew Ronaldo had dived and wasn't afraid to speak his mind, even though it would make him unpopular with the so called "Experts"

We did alright against United, but we WERE outclassed.

I want to look forward to a Boro win, but every stat going shows we will lose.

Possible Lineup

                                          Schwarzer

                     Parnaby     Huth     Pogatetz     Taylor

   Morrison    Cattermole    Boateng   Rochemback    Downing

                                            Yakubu


Woodgate and Xavier face late fitness tests, and as such it must be assumed that they won't be fit for the match.

Due to this, and his coming on against United, I presume Parnaby will replace Xavier today. Woodgate's illness could mean that he misses out too, so I expect Boro to move to five in midfield.

The defence let its usually high standards slip for United's second goal. This will be stamped out immediately by Southgate, and we can expect the tightness to be back for this match. The only downside to our defence will be Parnaby. He really isn't up to standard for the Premier League, and Woodgate may not be there to cover for him this time either. This could spell bad news for Boro.

If Spurs had any sense they would move Lennon to left-wing to really make our weakness count.

Huth, as mentioned, is looking really good at the minute, and so does Pogatetz. We have one of the strongest central defences around at present.

I expect us to go with five in midfield, with Malcolm Christie dropping to the bench, unfortunately for him.

This means that we will be packing the centre of midfield again, looking to dominate the middle of the park.

Cattermole and Boateng will look to destroy any attacks that Spurs will build up. Rochemback, Downing and Morrison will have to get forward to give Yak the support he needs up front.

The Yak is in desperate need of a goal at the minute, but it is difficult for him as he simply isn't getting the chances.

He is moving out to the left-wing to do a lot of donkey work. This does lead to chances for other players, but restricts him as to what he can do in front of goal himself.

How it will go

As I mentioned earlier, the stats simply do not point to us getting anything today.

We have just played a big club, and we haven't beaten Spurs in London for four years.

We don't raise our game for this type of team and I think we are going to stink White Hart Lane out tonight.

2-0 or 2-1 Spurs I am afraid.

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