Match Thread Vs Swansea

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01/04/2012
Kick Off @ 1600hrs BST

i be there tommorow, so COYS.

Nice one Shear. Here's hoping the team continue the improvement of the last couple of games . . . . .

AND THE GOONS HAVE JUST LOST , THANKS RANGERS. GAME ON AGAIN

thatd be nice, lol

I'd just take a win. It will be a tough game made a little easier that caulker can't play against his parent clib

Massive game, in the scheme of things. A win is a must really, to continue a momentum and confidence build. Draw level with the goons and we put huge pressure on them, as well as negating any additional positivity Cheatski might possibly gain.

Swansea will make us earn these points, that is a given for me, and A itch needs to be on the ball here with his tactics as I'm pretty sure Rodgers will be.

TEAM NEWS


Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon is fit again after four matches out with a hamstring injury.



Defender Ledley King played the full 90 minutes of the midweek FA Cup quarter-final win over Bolton so may be rested.



Swansea will be without on-loan defender Steven
Caulker, who is ineligible to play against his parent club. Garry Monk
could deputise.



Winger Nathan Dyer is available after suspension but must dislodge Wayne Routledge from the starting line-up.






MATCH PREVIEW


Tottenham's Champions League rivals are all in action
before them this weekend - but however those teams fare, Spurs need to
get back to winning ways against Swansea or their task of reclaiming
third spot will become much harder.



Harry Redknapp's side have had a series of in-and-out
results - they didn't win in the Premier League in March but did get a
point at Chelsea last weekend and booked their place in the FA Cup
semi-finals in midweek.

Tottenham will be sweating on the fitness
of Aaron Lennon - the winger has started just four of the last 15
matches - and Spurs have missed him.



A team hosting Swansea earlier this season would have
felt the Welsh side were there for the taking. But since getting their
first-ever Premier League away win in January, Brendan Rodgers' side
have not looked back, and will come to White Hart Lane without any fear,
having won three of the last four on their travels.



With 39 points, I reckon Swansea are safe so it could
be argued that there is not as much at stake for them as there is for
Tottenham. But it's 29 years since they visited Tottenham for a
top-flight match - when a certain Garth Crooks scored the only goal of
the game - and Swansea fans would relish a more successful return.



In addition, a good result would boost their chances of
a top-10 finish in their first Premier League season, something few
would have predicted at the start of the campaign. What a position that
would be for Rodgers and his team.






MATCH FACTS


Head-to-head

• Tottenham have won both previous top-flight meetings at
  White Hart Lane between the clubs, the last of which was back in
  February 1983.
  
• Spurs also won the last time they hosted Swansea, beating
  the Welsh side 5-1 in the second round, second leg of the League Cup in
  1991. Gary Lineker was among the Tottenham scorers. Swansea finished
  19th in the old Division Three that season.
  

Tottenham

• FA Cup semi-finalists Tottenham have not won any of their last five Premier League matches (D2, L3).
  
• Tottenham's last league win was on 11 February, when they
  put five goals past Newcastle. They have only scored four in their five
  league matches since then, and have netted just twice in their last four
  league games.
  
• Spurs will welcome the beginning of April, having not won
  any of their four league matches in March, the second-worst form in the
  top flight.
  
• Emmanuel Adebayor has been caught offside 44 times in this season's Premier League, more than any other player.
  

Swansea

• Swansea have won three of their last four Premier League matches.
  
• The Swans did not win on the road in the league until January but have won three of their last four away from home.
  
• In contrast to Spurs, Swansea were one of the Premier
  League's form teams in March - only Manchester United and Arsenal earned
  more points.
  
• Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored five goals in the Swansea's
  last four Premier League away matches, including four in their last two.
  

LINE-UPSTottenham v Swansea (1600 BST)
Tottenham:
Friedel, Walker, Gallas, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Sandro, Parker, Modric,
Van der Vaart, Adebayor, Bale. Subs: Cudicini, Lennon, Saha, Defoe,
Rose, Livermore, Nelsen.

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams,
Taylor, Routledge, Britton, Sigurdsson, Allen, Sinclair, Graham. Subs:
Tremmel, Tate, Dyer, McEachran, Lita, Moore, Gower.

Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands)

yea first half was good. second half i thought harry should of changed things sooner as it looked like the game was going to end up 1 1

i thought kaboul and bale was our best players today

Emmanuel Adebayor's double helped reignite
Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League push with a dominant Premier League
win over Swansea City.



Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring, side footing a loose ball in from 20 yards, as Spurs looked to capitalise on

Arsenal's slip-up at QPR

.



Gylfi Sigurdsson's 25-yard stunner drew Swansea level before Adebayor headed Spurs ahead from van der Vaart's ball.



Adebayor sealed the win as he nodded in Aaron Lennon's deep cross late on.



The Spurs striker's two second-half headers ended a
five-match winless league run as Harry Redknapp's side move level on 58
points with north London rivals and third-placed Arsenal.



Tottenham had started unlike a team that had not won in
the league for seven weeks and Gareth Bale started like he meant to go
on as he tormented Swans right-back Angel Rangel.

And it was Bale that provided his ninth
assist this season as van der Vaart coolly side-footed his 11th goal of
the season past a Swansea's flatfooted keeper Michel Vorm.



Luka Modric' sublime pass cut out Rangel, Bale's cross
to Adebayor was blocked by Ashley Williams but van der Vaart punished
the visitors from the loose ball.



Williams could have made amends moments later but the
unmarked Wales international was not able to head Gylfi Sigurdsson's
corner goalwards.



But Swansea had Vorm, so often their hero this season,
to thank for keeping the out Younus Kaboul on the half-hour as the Dutch
goalkeeper tipped the Spurs defender's header around the post.



Bale fired just over twice while Modric narrowly missed a header as Spurs tried to turn their dominance into goals.



And Tottenham may have doubled their lead if Modric had
played in an unmarked Adebayor at the end of the first-half. Instead,
the Croatian playmaker's miss-hit shot dribbled wide.



Yet as much as Spurs were on top in a pulsating first-half, Swansea controlled the opening of the second period.



And Sigurdsson gave Tottenham a warning of what was to
come when the Iceland international brought the best out of Spurs
stopper Brad Friedel.



His stunning left-footed strike was flying into the top
corner but the veteran American keeper tipped the effort onto his
left-hand post and wide.



Within minutes, Sigurdsson has beaten Friedel with an equally beautiful effort.



Wayne Routledge teed him up after Joe Allen's shot had
been blocked and Sigurdsson's strike bounced under Kaboul and looped
wide of Friedel into the right-hand corner of the net.



The leveller inspired Tottenham back into life and only
another superb Vorm denied a near-post Adebayor header from Bale's
teasing left-wing cross.



And the same combination again almost combined as Spurs prized another opening.



But as Adebayor was ready to tap Bale's low left-wing
cross into an empty net, Williams' last-gasp challenge denied the hosts.



Adebayor, though, was not to be denied his 13th goal of
the season as he rose unmarked to head van der Vaart's pin-point
right-wing corner into the Swansea net.



Adebayor's 14th was similar as he guided Aaron Lennon's pin-point right-wing ball into the far corner of Vorm's net.

Thoroughly impressed with that performance, probably one of our most controlled games this season. Everything ticked today, the tactics were excellent and the players stuck with them throughout.
What really impressed me was that, on the whole, we controlled their movement rather than try to stifle it. We didn't try to win the ball off them, we forced them into trying lesser percentage play and it paid off. Very professional and a testament to the character of the players.

The difference, at the end of the day, for me was the quality on the pitch. Both teams played to their best today, IMO, but the quality told out. With all due respect to Swansea, we have the better team and they were on song today.

One dark shadow over the game though, how on earth did Disco not get a straight red? Whether he took the ball or not, it was a full blooded, two footed tackle that, had the Swansea player had his foot 6" to the right, would have broken his ankle. I love Benny to bits, but that was naughty and should have been punished, which could have cost us the game.

Now I played as a CH at a reasonable level and, can say with complete honesty, that I never put a two footed tackle in in my life. It's an unnatural movement to make so, really, can be seen as premeditated. He has a nasty streak, does Benny, and it has cost us in the past.

But not this time. Otherwise an excellent performance just when it was needed. We apply pressure whilst relieving our own a tad. Good weekend now, specially as the Scouse got turned over along with the goons.

vis if we had changed things sooner we might have scored sooner.
all iffs and buts though

[quote="Loughtonlegend"]vis if we had changed things sooner we might have scored sooner.

If's & but's indeed Lought but I thought Mt Aitch got everything spot-on today from tactics to subs and most of all the way he celebrated the goals on the touch-line. Wonder if Ing-Ger-Land is slipping from his mind ? Credit to him today for doing the managers job very well . . . . .

well i thought he should of made them sooner lol
and ye i saw sandro on the bench get happy when we scored

today he seemed differnt. like the newcastle game he seem to be on touchline a lot. and was harry when we got the 2dn
maybe he will stay

if i was him i wouldnt go but then someone hes age
less traveling more money desesions

Loughtonlegend wrote:today he seemed differnt. like the newcastle game he seem to be on touchline a lot. and was harry when we got the 2dn
maybe he will stay

if i was him i wouldnt go but then someone hes age
less traveling more money desesions

After his recent court case Lought, i dont think he need the dough!!

I think he would get bored sitting around for weeks on end twiddling his thumbs, all he would have to do would be to go to games to watch players and that will involve a lot of travelling anyway.