Sunday, August 22, 2004
Newcastle 0 Tottenham 1

This might shape up to be a more interesting season than I thought it will be.Spurs coming away with an unexpected victory,defending with a doggedness that is totally un-Spurs like while still attacking,or rather counter-attacking,in a relatively fluid style.It's extremely surprising indeed.Jacques Santini must have done something right although it wasn't that apparent at first after the disastrous pre-season Spurs had.So what's right?I got to hazard a guess here.

The new spurs backline is a lot tigher and better than its previous versions.Indeed,Santini have adopted a defensive style that is almost George Graham-like in nature.I do not dispute its effectiveness but Spurs fans have been known to be fickle,if not downright idiotic.They'd complain if the team is not scoring goals,not attacking all-out,even if the team is winning.I wonder hwo long before some fans will start whining.Let's get back to teh backline.Like I previously said,Naybet and Edman are excellent buys and I do not retract my words.What is even better though is that young Phil Ifil may be finding his feet faster than I thought.At 17,he is a wonderful prospect.he can only improve so much more.And Paul Robinson is a much better keeper than Kasey Keller.He is a great shotstopper and has demonstrated that several times in his 2 appearances so far.And in Tony Gardner and less so,Dean Richards,we have two capable backups who can be called up at any time to replace the centrebacks.It's the centre-halves that have no cover though and I am extremely worried about that.Stephen Kelly,when he is back,might possibly go straight back to first-choice right-back but I'd hate to see Ifil lose his place though after doing so well and feels he should retain his place.Of course,Santini might still decide to go for Steve Finnan although the need to add another right-back to the fold is debateable right now.Mauricio Taricco is the backup for left-back and I'm happy enough with that at the moment.

As for the midfield,I am beginning to believe that Sean Davis and Pedro Mendes could make a very good central pairing although with the purchase of Michael Carrick,it's more likely that Mendes will be deployed to the right.Which is a good thing.Replacing the inept Jamie Redknapp.Of course when Simon Davies returns after his injury,things can get interesting as to whom Santini uses.Thimothee Atouba,believe it or not,is beginning to look a real find.He scored the only goal of this match with a stupendous drive but wasted so many chances before that,he ought to make up for it anyway.If he improves his dribbling and shooting,he could be a real potent threat.In truth,I'd still like Andy Reid to be signed.Reid looks like he's international class and it'd be a real coup to get him.Provided we can cough up the money for him. Upfront,there's no complaints.Defoe is brilliant.Kanoute ought to be replaced by Keane.Period.And that is it.I don't believe the team needs another forward,even if it is James Beattie.

A fianl word,Santini must be doing something right.And it's mainly to do with the defending.It is a philopsophy that mirrors closely to that of Jose Mourinho so will we see the new age of the defendsive team winning close matches?Chelsea just won their away match 1-0 as well against Birmingham and we might be starting to see a trend here.Let's keep watching.Meanwhile I will just enjoy the great start Spurs is having.I hope it lasts.