Looking Forward

Bolton Wanderers  (Home)

Premier League

Sunday 30th April 2006

With two games left, it will be two games of nail-biting and nerve-racking before our fate is sealed ... and even then ...

All Spurs can do is to try and win both their remaining matches.  This will be a tough one, as Bolton will not be allowed to relax under Sam Allardyce, even though their opportunity of UEFA Cup football next season is receding.  Their convincing 4-1 home win over Charlton Athletic shows that, coming after five straight defeats and a draw.  They have always done well against Spurs in the last couple of seasons, but we have been known to score goals against them in the past.  They work hard for each other and don't give up when things don't seem to go their way.

Allardyce has scoured the world for free transfers and he has moulded them into a team that is now a regular occupier of the top half of the table.  They are no mugs and appear to delight in upsetting the more favoured teams, so, as has been the case in our recent games, we will have to dictate the game both in terms of pace and attacking intent.  With last week's draw against Arsenal fresh in their minds, the Spurs players should take heart from that performance and go into this with the right frame of mind.

With the contract situation of Jussi Jaaskelainen being sorted out, it appears there will be little chance for ex-Spurs keeper Ian Walker to feature here or in the near future at Bolton.  The Finn has a good reputation as a shot-stopper of some note, sometimes using any part of his body that comes to hand (or foot or leg or arse or ...).  For a tall man, his ability to claim the ball in the air is suspect and his kicking from a moving ball is also not the best.  I think you might see Spurs players closing him down and following in on crosses ... whether they be high or low.  Mido is likely to be missing and Barnard on the bench, so the balls in which might put Jaaskelainen under pressure will be from dead-ball situations.  Walker has similar strengths and weaknesses, so the same applies.  His lack of confidence on crosses comes from a clash he had with John Fashanu some years ago and he was never the same again.

The defence of the Trotters has featured Tal Ben Haim, Ricardo Gardner, Nicky Hunt, Radhi Jaidi, Bruno N'Gotty, Joey O'Brien.  The Israeli international has become a steady member of the Bolton defence and his tackling is strong and distribution accurate.  Sometimes, he does dive in and get the odd yellow card (nine so far this season) and with someone running at him, Ben Haim is suspect to be taken on.  Gardner is a converted winger, who has great pace, but as he is not a natural defender, he can lose his positional sense.  If he is up against Lennon, it will be an interesting foot race.  Gardner has been the Jamaica captain for some time and has also racked up 32 straight starts for Bolton, so expect him to be a starter on Sunday.  Tunisian Jaidi is a powerful central defender who has adapted to English football, but he looks like he might be moving on at the end of the season.  He is very good in the air and can provide a threat at the opposite end of his team position, but he has been an infrequent starter of late.  This might leave Bruno N'Gotty to partner Ben Haim in defence.  The muscular Frenchman will most likely face the Defoe-Keane partnership and they might cash in against two more traditional central defenders.  Another good in the air, his weakness might be on the ground, so our little 'uns could make hay there.  Where they might find less joy is against the more nimble Nicky Hunt and Joey O'Brien.  Both fill the full back positions and they are similar in looks ... tall, gangly and keen to get stuck in.  Hunt came on in the recent game against Birmingham to replace O'Brien and the England Under-21 defender has retained that place in the side.  Another player who might not enjoy Lennon's pace, so it might be useful to pit Aaron's speed to test Hunt out.

Ivan Campo can play either in the back four or in midfield.  Now at the veteran stage of his career, Campo lacks pace, but his experience does give him a great reading of the game and this is put to good use.  Abdoulaye Faye is a leggy midfielder, who has added some strength to that area of the Trotters team and his defensive nous allows  Stelios Giannakopolous to get forward to add support to the attack.  Faye is one who gets his foot in, while Stelios breaks forward into the area to win a surprising number of headers for a man of his size and he also has a cracking shot from outside the box.  Japanese international Hidetoshi Nakata might be playing his last few games for the Lancashire side, but he has shown an appetite for the flair side of the game here.  He has a red card to his name, so he is no lightweight, but it is more to his liking to be orchestrating the play with his wide range of passing and prompting from midfield.  With young Englander Kevin Nolan next to him, he gives a solid base for Nakata to play.  Nolan has been touted as an outside bet to go to Germany with England, but I think he is some way behind a number of players already in the squad.  He is a good midfielder for the Premiership and matches his work-rate with his finishing and skill.  The club's top scorer, he will be a danger from set-pieces too.  As will Nigerian magician Jay-Jay Okocha.  He can do things with a football to make you gasp, but he has frustrated Allardyce and Bolton fans alike, so has not been a regular in the starting line-up this season, although his ability has been recognised a bit more since Christmas. 

In attack, the players come from all over the world with Mexican Jared Borgetti, English striker Kevin Davies and Matt Jansen, the Dane Henrik Pedersen and Portuguese front-man Ricardo Vaz Te.  Vaz Te is a pacy striker, who is getting more exposure and he is relishing the game-play, cracking in one goal from distance in his 29 appearances, 22 from the subs bench.  It is more likely that Allardyce will go with the tried and trusted pairing of Pedersen and Davies.  Both keep going, despite their age, with their harassing being a thorn in the side of opposition defenders.  Davies is possibly the more mobile and both have the experience to be in the right place at the right time to score goals for their side.  Matt Jansen was brought in to add some depth to the strike force, but he has played only six times this season since joining from Blackburn.  That leaves Borgetti, who has been a bit hit and miss, with him moaning about not getting a game and wanting to leave, through to two UEFA Cup goals, one in the FA Cup, one in the Carling Cup and two in the league.  Not bad for someone who is 32 and has started 11 games and made another 18 appearances from the bench.  However, he will be facing a lithe partnership in the Spurs defence and he will need to be mobile to pull them around.

Bolton's problem has been scoring goals ... well up until they hit four against Charlton.  The Addicks did look inept at the back that day, so hopefully, by posing them with problems of their own and the lack of forward momentum, Spurs might go on to win this match for a vital three points.

The lack of Davids' inspiration in midfield will be a miss, but his lack of stamina over the ninety minutes might be superseded by Tainio's effort and we need Danny Murphy to be at his flowing best.  The provision of supply to our front two will be crucial, as the Bolton midfield will be packed and it will be difficult to break through.  Having got past the Arsenal defence last week on a number of occasions, there must be hope for the same success against Bolton.

With Keane in good scoring form and Defoe due a goal or two, if the midfield clicks I predict Spurs to run out winners by ...

PREDICTION : -  Tottenham Hotspur  2    Bolton Wanderers  0

For more information on the opponents and their history, including full result history of matches between the two teams, click here.

TV :  
Sky Sports 1 - live coverage
Match of the Day 2   22.30-23.20 (highlights)
For coverage in all parts of the world, check here and here.

Radio :  
BBC LONDON Digital Radio and 94.9FM (live coverage - London area only) & Sky Channel 0152
BBC Radio Five Live (live coverage)  606/939 MW

If available on BBC radio, it can be heard in these countries on these stations ...
Australia (Melbourne) SEN  -  116 AM  Live Transmissions: TWI, Saturday. 12.45 & 1500 matches
Australia (Syndey)  Radio 2  -  1611AM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 12.45 Match
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South Africa  SABC (Radio 2000)  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
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North America (USA, Canada, Mexico, Carribean)  Sirius Satellite Radio  Live transmission: Saturday - 12.45, 15.00 (TWI) & 17.15 (BBC) Sunday - 14.00 & 16.05 (BBC) Mon, Tue, Wed - Various times (BBC)

Internet :
www.spurs.co.uk   Live webcast  - subscribers only
Planet football - http://play.www.planetfootball.servecast.net/downloads/sky/spurs-pl04-kean0.ram (free - only available when match is on) ... link has not been working in recent weeks and therefore no guarantee it will operate.

Robinson

Stalteri
Dawson
Gardner
Lee

Murphy (Davenport 87)
Tainio
Carrick
Lennon

Keane (c) (Barnard 46)
Defoe (Reid 79)

Unused subs: 
Cerny
Huddlestone

Jaaskelainen

Hunt
Ben Haim
Campo
Gardner (c)

Speed (Pedersen 83)
Giannakopoulos
Nakata (Okocha 63)
Faye

Davies
Borgetti (Vaz Te 52)

Unused subs: 
Walker
Jaidi

Lennon 60

None

   
Barnard (dissent ??) 88



 

   
Ben Haim (foul) 3
Davies (foul) 31
Hunt (foul) 72
Gardner (foul)
Campo (dissent) 90     

Bolton started time-wasting as early as the eighteenth minute and their tactics are always the same under Sam Allardyce when they come here (and play elsewhere for all I know).  Get stuck in hard, make cynical fouls and waste time.  Heaven forbid this man becomes England manager.  For all his "English" credentials, the sight of four forwards all piling onto long balls into the box at the end was nothing more than an extreme Wimbledon of old ... and you know how much stick they got.  Route One for England might see them taking the first route out of major competitions.

But the major competition Tottenham are going for remains within our power to finish in a qualifying place.  Only UEFA's ruling can deprive us of a Champions League place should we finish fourth and lose out.  This 1-0 win was hard to come by, but again, Martin Jol just about got his tactics right.  The first half saw our midfield out-played and the defenders had trouble with the way Bolton got the ball into the area.  Kevin Davies was detailed to play on Lee and when the high diagonal ball came in, he was always odds on to win it.  On the other side of the pitch a combination of pressure and loose control and passing saw Stalteri lose the ball or get beaten by the opponent, who played on him.  With Carrick's early space closed down and Murphy not getting in the game, Spurs struggled to hold onto the ball.

In the first attack, Carrick glided past a couple of Trotters players and only a hugely cynical foul by Ben Haim brought him down a couple of yards outside the box, as it looked like he might be through on goal with just two minutes gone.  Yellow was shown but red might have been more appropriate but it would not have been the case that early in the game.  With Spurs getting no benefit from the free-kick, the visitors started to put their game together and when a ball into Borghetti was played into Nakata's path, the Japanese international smashed a shot with a lot of power, but little direction and it left the goal frame vibrating as it rebounded off the post.  This signalled a spell of pressure from Bolton, which Spurs struggled to get a grip of.  As the ball was played in high, Robinson and the defenders had problems coping with the height that Bolton could call upon to bring into the box.

After a foul was called by the ref, Carrick showed his awareness and took it quickly, playing it down the line to Lennon and his low ball into the box was taken by Jaaskelainen just before it got through to Keane coming in behind him.  For Spurs, they were not so lucky, as Speed's long throw was flicked on by Davies and Campo came in to get on the end of it, but could only sky his effort over the bar.  Speed was influential, when he put in a cross just after the half hour and it went all the way through to Robbo, but a touch from Borghetti might have seen the ball deflect past the Spurs keeper.  Bolton came even closer five minutes before the break, but Stelios hit a shot that looked to have Robinson beaten and Michael Dawson popped up to make contact with the ball.  From where I was sitting, it looked as though it was going in, but it came out to our relief.

The half time whistle came as a welcome relief too.  It wasn't just the on pitch appearance of Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles (back together for the 25th anniversary re-union of the 1981 FA Cup winning side), but it broke Bolton's rhythm.  When the teams re-appeared, Spurs did so without Robbie Keane, which surprised many of the crowd.  It transpired that he turned an ankle, but it gave Lee Barnard another chance to impress, leading the line.

After the re-start, there immediately seemed a bit more space for Tottenham in midfield.  Tainio had been toiling away without much luck in the first period, but out of nothing, he turned to find a huge expanse of space in front of him and he moved into it to hit a shot that was blocked out for a corner.  From the 47th minute corner, which Carrick hit it long to the far post, Gardner and Dawson went up for it and the ball dropped to the floor with Daws the first to react.  He poked a shot goalwards and only Gardner's presence on the line kept it out.  Straight away the ball came back in and was cleared out to Danny Murphy, who calmly struck a half-volley a foot wide.

Spurs also started to bring Aaron Lennon into the game more.  His first attack of the second half saw him skin Ricardo Gardner and as Abdoulaye Faye closed in, he skipped away, but could not keep his shot down.  Aaron's next effort on the hour was to be more decisive.  Murphy played a ball out to the right to Lennon and he fed Carrick, who went on a now familiar run past a few players.  He looked to be running into a blind alley, but looked up to find then little winger on the edge of the box and he jinked past a defender before firing a low shot across Jaaskelainen and into the net.  It was a neat finish that showed how Lennon is developing into a better all-round player.

The goal sparked a change from Allardyce with Nakata, who had done little apart from hit the post, being substituted by Jay Jay Okocha.  He is a tricky customer and has great skill, but would this be a day when he turned it on or just flitted around the periphery ?

Heart were in mouths, when with fifteen minutes left, Michael Dawson challenged Stelios in the area just as the Greek was about to shoot and he crashed to the floor.  "Penalty !" was the cry from the Bolton followers, but the ref, who had given little to Spurs all afternoon, waved play on.  it was a crucial intervention by the Spurs central defender and his performance in front of Sven Goran Eriksson surely did not go unmissed.  Anthony Gardner was penalised for a push on Davies on the edge of the Tottenham penalty box and when Okocha stepped up to take the kick, it was met with a hushed anticipation from the Tottenham crowd.  There was an out-rushing of breath when the ball hit the wall, but Okocha was on it again and hit a powerful drive that saw Robinson prove his worth by diving long and upward to catch the Nigerian midfielder's effort and preserve his clean sheet.

Jol made a substitution with Andy Reid coming on for Jermain Defoe, who had little chance today against two hulking central defenders, but it was fellow winger Lennon, who had the crowd on their feet.  His ability to create a yard out of nothing made a cross that few across the six-yard box, just begging for a touch to take it in, but it missed everyone and when Lee picked it up at the far post, he tried to curl a shot in, but it went too high and wide.  Aaron linked well with Stalteri, who looked more solid in the second half, providing the Canadian s hooting opportunity that he took early, but hit on the rise to fail to trouble Jaaskelainen. 

Bolton were reduced to hoisting Hail Mary's into the area and one had snow on it when it dropped and with Davies impeding Robinson, we all expected a free-kick to be given, but once more Wiley played on leaving Bolton a great chance to equalise.  Luckily, the ball fell to Campo and he dragged his shot well wide.  With Lee Barnard left up front, he battled for every ball and chased down the defenders to hassle them when they had the ball.  He got a yellow card, which mystified everyone in the ground, when he lost a header to Ben Haim and Spurs got a throw-in.  Necx thing ... yellow card for Barnard.  ?????????  Answers on a postcard please as we can only think he said something to the ref.

With Pedersen introduced for Speed, Spurs countered with Davenport entering the play for the injured knee victim Murphy.  Calum's height was a help to counter the Wanderers' tactics, but aside from a Pedersen header low and straight at Robinson and a yellow card for Campo's theatrics, the four minutes of added time were mainly uneventful.  The final whistle was greeted with a roar around the ground and it was agreed that while the match had not featured the best football Spurs had played this season, the progress continues with a ground-out win against doughty opponents.

The three points were heartily received by the Tottenham faithful, who had to sit through some nail-biting moments, but this leaves Spurs' destiny in their own hands with one match left ... against West Ham United a week before the FA Cup final.  If we approach it with vigour and effort, the Irons will not be willing to risk too much, for all their bitter, but unrequited, rivalry with us.

MEHSTG TOP MAN : -  LEE BARNARD

The Polyphant

Bolton are ugly. Every aspect of the club, from top to bottom, and everywhere in between, they personify ugliness. I'd happily say that to Amir Khan's face because it's true, plus I'm 6'4" and 15 stone. I don't sweat lightweights.

The first-half, reminiscent of our game at the Reebok, was dominated by the Trotters and their horrible brand of 'football'.  I watched the game at the old girls gaff and she said it was "just like watching Bobby Gould-era Wimbledon", and I'll be damned if she's wrong. Kevin Davies is the new John Fashanu, albeit a little shorter and not as well-tanned. It's very easy to see how Davies has held onto the title of dirtiest player in the Premiership, pretty much all season. Elbows everywhere, hands everywhere, well-timed kicks, and plenty of pushing and shoving behind the ref.

My favourite though is his constant backing into both Gardner and Dawson, Shearer-style, until the ref blew up, usually against us !!! A nasty little stain on the Premiership, as far as I see. Bolton came, not with the intention of playing football and beating us with football, but to just bully us out of the game. It nearly worked, but a resolute Spurs side, missing the magnificent Ledley King and the quietly effective Jenas, held out to the interval. Jol must've shoved a rocket up 'em, 'cos they improved massively in the second half.

Bolton were still bullying, still sending in long balls, only Gardner suddenly discovered how to head the ball, almost seven years after joining Tottenham. The ex-Port Vale man really looked the business as the game went on and ended up winning a difficult battle with Davies.

Dawson was again the rock in defence and led by example, inspiring Gardner and Lee into stepping up a gear. Again, the weak link proved to be Stalteri, who gave the ball away far too often and failed to support Lennon in attack. Stelios had a lot of fun against him, as did Okocha after his introduction. If not for him and Lee, I truly believe we could've taken second place this season. Why ever not? The bulk of points lost this season were thrown away, not taken, and the culprits have generally been Messrs Lee and Stalteri. Still, that's already been well-documented on this website.

Murphy took awhile to get out of first gear and never really ventured out of second, such was the pressure and aggressiveness from Bolton. Luckily, Carrick was in the mood and really put himself about, playing a big part in the Spurs goal. Lennon showed yet again that, if given the right service, he can destroy any side in the world. Too often, Spurs fail to bring the little fella into play and he stays on the periphery, as he's not a ball winner. Again, Stalteri must be blamed for this because he always seems to come into possession, dithers with it, until Lennon is surrounded and will give it to him anyway, resulting in the Yorkshireman being brushed off the ball. To their credit, Keane and Carrick know how to use him. It would be a great shame if we lost Carrick in the summer, as he's been a key player this season but Huddlestone is class and looks ready, so the Geordie mustn't mess the club about.

As for Keano, it was a great shame that he picked up a knock but didn't young Lee Barnard do well in his place. The lad was everywhere, chasing every ball and putting pressure on Jaaskelainen, something Defoe wasn't keen on doing. Barnard also looked strong on the ball, holding it up well, and he didn't waste a pass. I'm sure that he impressed the watching SGE more than Defoe, who turned in another lacklustre performance and, ominously, a lack of team-spirit. I wonder if anyone else noticed the slump of frame that greeted Lennon's goal, before joining other teammates in celebration. I've also seen newspaper pics of Lennon wheeling away in delight, while Defoe sulks in the background. Plus, he wasn't exactly the first one there to celebrate. Not quite the team player, is he? It wouldn't matter if he was scoring goals but he doesn't look like doing that anytime soon.

Oh well, at least there were other players that looked like they wanted to be there, not least Tainio. The flying Finn really put himself about and, after the early struggle, settled down well. Robbo was fantastic, as usual, especially with his distribution and handling. Davenport and Reid looked handy, coming off the bench.

I'm just glad that we won a very difficult game against the ugliest, most horrible side that I've ever witnessed in the 13 seasons of the Premiership and, in so doing, kept some rubbish out of Europe for another season or so. Such a shame we couldn't keep the scum out as well! We'll just have to settle for finishing above the arrogant twits and seeing them destroyed, humbled and humiliated by our new friends, the mighty FC Barcelona.

Sean Jackson

 

The ‘Lennon for England’ bandwagon gained momentum this weekend as the pint sized winger dazzled everyone at the Lane, capping  a fine display with the only goal of a tense, incident packed game. Our final home game of the season resulted in us collecting three more valuable points and leaves us needing just a win against a hopefully weakened West Ham to claim that coveted fourth spot.

Bolton will argue that they should have had two penalties (maybe one was a very close call) but after years of seeing Spurs screwed over by officials making dodgy decision I found it hard to feel too sorry for them. Our defensive qualities have become more and more impressive over recent weeks and Sunday’s display was up there as our best of the season. Bolton are a big, physical side who play the long ball up to Davies with great effect and Dawson and Gardner dealt with everything they had to offer as Dawson’s credentials continue to grow and even Gardner is beginning to look accomplished.

Seeing Keane hobble off at the end of  a frustrating first half where Bolton dominated and should have gone in a couple of goals up you could be forgiven to wonder if our chances of 4th where slipping away. The introduction of Lee Barnard showed just how impressive our young reserve side are as he was full of energy, and not afraid to get a foot in. With it looking like Keane could be out of the Hammers clash maybe Barnard will get a chance to show his attacking qualities too. Whatever Martin ‘the true special one’ Jol said at half time worked as we exploded into the second half and blew Bolton away as Lennon, Tainio and Carrick stepped up their game. A goal was inevitable and when it came it was another crisp move involving Carrick and the goal-scorer Lennon as he showed his blistering pace and a cool head to slip the ball past Jaaskalainen.

Spurs then battened down the hatchets and headed, Kicked and punched their way to victory. As the final whistle went it was party time at the Lane as our players of the season were announced and paraded in front of a packed White Hart Lane faithful. To be near the end of the season and still have something to play for is a refreshing change and lets just hope that’s its Europe’s top competition we are playing in next season. With UEFA changing their rules every five minutes we could find ourselves in a whole new competition come next August but whatever European cup we are playing for it is a great achievement for this young side and hopefully in the summer we will make a couple of needed signings (personally I hope for a new Left Back and Right Back).

Next up its West Ham, knowing the hammers they will put out their strongest side just to spite us such is their jealousy. But with the form we are in at the moment we will beat whatever side they choose to put out next Sunday.

Here’s hoping for three points at Upton Park and a Barca carnival in Paris !

JOE SAYERS