It's been painful to watch Spurs overtake us over the last few years. They've finished in or around the top 4 for a few years now and been in the ascendancy, while we've been stuck in mid-table in transition . You could almost say they've become a beneficiary of our demise, with one team less having to challenge for the top 4. Having said that, they have built a very strong team, with a core set of players that can be a challenge for any team. They've bought well with Dembele, Vertoghen, and Holtby. Added to Bale, Parker,Lennon and Defoe that's the foundation of a very strong team. Maybe that's the rational reason behind why I don't particularly like playing against them.
Beating them tomorrow would give me a huge sense of satisfaction in so many ways. Mainly because they've kind of become our bogey team, and also because I just want them to be brought back down to earth with a bang. They are riding high, and the match will be a good marker of where we are as a team.
I've often stated here that the way Spurs play is to blitz you for the first half an hour. They can do this because they attack at breakneck speed with Bale, and Lennon on either side of Defoe. Often, before you know it you're 2-0 down. I can think of countless times where this has happened. At Old Trafford, 2-0 up after 30 minutes. Last week against Arsenal, 2-0 up very early. Against us at White Hart Lane, 2-0 up after 16 minutes. Against Inter in mid-week - same thing. They seem to expend a lot of energy in that opening spell by just trying to blitz the opposition in to submission. More often than not if you survive that early assault you can get something out of the game. We need to be ready tomorrow from the 1st minute.
In the reverse fixture we played very well, but the damage had been done early on. But still, Spurs aren't infallible. I remember clear chances for Gerrard and Suarez in that game, and put those away and it was a different ball game.
Everyone knows Bale is the danger man. I know it's a cliche to say that if you stop Bale you stop Spurs. But Spurs are probably thinking the same thing about Suarez. If Carragher plays he could well get done by Bale's pace, so his positioning will have to be spot on. More importantly we'll have to nullify balls getting through to Bale from midfield, and that's where Henderson has to start for me. I wouldn't go in to the game with just Lucas and Gerrard as their midfield is very strong.
Sturridge has to start for me because we need goals and we need to win. I would keep Downing in, because without being extravagant he's just a solid player for us right now. Would be a tough call to leave Coutinho out on current form, but the only way we could play him would be to have Sturridge up top, with Suarez behind and Coutinho and Downing on either side. That would leave us a tad exposed in midfield I feel.
It should be a fascinating game, and if we play with the shackles off I wouldn't be surprised to see us win. All depends on how we combat their attacks early on. It looks like Lennon is out, and that's a big blow to them as he's traditionally given us problems in our matches
It would be nice to beat them for a change.
