Match Thread Vs Società Sportiva Lazio S.p.A.

just need a goal to open the game up.
dempsey non stop working for the team
lennon been good

bale needs to get in the game

Well, what a weak, shocking ref, how many cynical fouls, how many wrong decisions, still mostly played the unbeaten Italian league leaders off the park. Lloris handling looks sharp.

Tottenham Hotspur started their Europa League campaign with a goalless draw after failing to force a breakthrough against a stubborn Lazio side.

Clint Dempsey had a first-half header ruled out in a marginal offside decision, while the visitors struck the bar through Alvaro Gonzalez's volley.

Aaron Lennon and Dempsey failed to convert a messy goalmouth scramble.

And Spurs were left frustrated when Steven Caulker's late header found the net but was disallowed for pushing.
In the first ever meeting of these sides the pre-match talk was dominated by their mutual links to Paul Gascoigne, who played for both clubs.

But, despite numerous chances, the game lacked the moment of magic the former England midfielder once produced with such frequency.

Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas had suggested his team would hold the Europa League in a higher regard than last season when, under Harry Redknapp, they failed to progress past the group stage.

And the Portuguese's line-up reflected that, with only three changes made to the team that beat Reading 3-1 in the Premier League at the weekend.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was handed his first start since joining from Lyon and would have been relieved to watch Senad Lulic's low cross elude Miroslav Klose by inches, when the slightest of touches would have given the visitors an early lead.

Tottenham responded but Lennon inexplicably opted to cross after Defoe's neat through ball looked to have put him in on goal.

Bale, having switched flanks with Lennon, then thought he had provided Dempsey with the opener.

The American, making his full Spurs debut, nodded in Bale's cross but the effort was ruled out in the tightest of offside calls.

Lazio, living up to the Italian reputation for defensive stubbornness, rode out a period of Spurs pressure and created legitimate chances on the counter.

Klose should have provided a more telling cross when he picked up Dembele's wayward pass, and the German international later uncharacteristically air-kicked at an opportunity on the edge of the Spurs box.

But the Rome side's finest moment came shortly before the break when Gonzalez latched onto Jan Vertonghen's headed clearance and struck a superb 20-yard volley against Lloris's crossbar.

Lennon and Dempsey were both denied at the start of a more open second half, with Lulic and keeper Federico Marchetti somehow managing to scramble the ball away as the Spurs pair failed to convert efforts from point-blank range.

And Villas-Boas made his frustration with the officials clear when Caulker, who put in a fine defensive display on only his second Spurs start, saw his header from Bale's corner ruled out for a push on Stefano Mauri.

Rather than urge the home side on, the decision sucked the energy out of the game and, an Andros Townsend effort aside, Lazio managed to stifle any Tottenham momentum to take a hard-earned point back to Rome.

stupid ref. they was so dirty.

anyway plus points caulker and jan looked good togeather

naughton done really well.
dembella dempsey lennon lorris.

i think its time to drop bale.......

Lloris 8. reminds me of thorsvedt lol

Walker 6.5 wish he wouldnt always jump in
Caulker 8
Vertonghen 8
Naughton 8

Sandro 7
Dembele 7

Lennon 7 - shoot ffs!
Dempsey 7
Bale 5 he only seems to have pace.

Defoe 6
you can see avb wants hes center backs to be comfy on the ball and to bring the ball out wich is prob why dawson not getting picked.

naughton doing so well if he keeps this up ekotto will find it hard to get back in the team.

i hope ade gets hes fitness back soon because althogu defoe not done anything wrong we need more precenc up front.

would of like to see the hudd come on .

overal a decent performance aganst an on form dirty lazio side.

andy towsend and clive was saying how good that lazio player is but was kept at bay by naughton

sorry caulker gets a 9
to come into the team aganst a team like lazio and play aswell as he did

time for galas to stay on the bench

I thought we looked calm and composed through out the game. It looked like a team that was begining to put it together.

It's a shame we didn't have a goal to show for it a top striker in the summer would have been all we needed, but it looks good for the season.

Lought I don't agree about dropping Bale he is a world class player and can win games for us. He will have indifferent games as all players do....except Messi...I don't think he plays so well in the middle. He needs to play out wide like he used to where he can terrify defences.

Mikey M

Well one thing is for certain Lloris wont be no 2 for long. We have been crying out for someone to claim the ball and one occassion he shouted so loud i thought he was in the front room with me!! He just oozes confidence and just seems a cut above, I know its tough on Brad, but i would get him in sooner rather than later.

Sums last night up perfectly and Lineker can f**k off

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/europa-league/9556085/Tottenham-Hotspur-0-Lazio-0-match-report.html

And now contrast respected football writer Henry winters piece with our friends from the Sun.


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4549020/Tottenham-0-0-Lazio-Match-report-and-pictures.html

I thought it was a very good game spoilt by the fact we were robbed by the ref. I think this was a game where we really missed Ade, he would have caused the Lazio defence all sorts of problems. You may not agree, but I am not sure about the way we play the ball out of our defence, the slow build up, to much passing of the ball in our half when I sometimes felt a more direct route would have been better, lost count of how many times the ball was passed back to Lloris when we could have played it forward. My marks for the players would be, Lloris 6, never had a chance to prove himself, Walker 6, Caulker 8, Vertonghen 5, I might be the only one who thinks this but he failed imo to make any impact on the game, Naughton 8, very good game, worked hard, Sandro 9, my man of the match, very solid performance, a work horse, Dembele 8, very good game, Lennon 8, good game but wish he would have a crack at goal more when he has a better opportunity to score than the player he passes to, Dempsey 6, except for his disallowed goal, did not think he really got going, Bale 6, Defoe 6, did not impress me and this is why I think the game cried out for Ade. This is jus my oppinion of the game, others might have seen it in a different light.

BazSpur wrote:

djfitzo wrote:And now contrast respected football writer Henry winters piece with our friends from the Sun.


http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4549020/Tottenham-0-0-Lazio-Match-report-and-pictures.html

Well, if it's in the Sun it must be true PMSL. Arry's media trolls sticking the boot into AVB again. Get a f*cking life.

Its so biased its untrue, it made it sound like we was lucky, they could
only dream of having a writer of the calibre of Henry Winter of the Telegraph.

bale is not world class. did anyone see hes ronaldo stance lol
I find it funny that Bale in his teens didn't mimic ronaldo and scored freekicks, now he's changed his run up and strike of the ball to look like ronaldo he can't get the ball over the wall.

Uefa starts investigation into Lazio fans' behaviour

Uefa has begun disciplinary proceedings against Lazio for "improper conduct" by the club's supporters during Thursday's Europa League tie against Tottenham.

The Control and Disciplinary Body will meet on 18 October to discuss the case.
Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend were reportedly subjected to monkey chants during the 0-0 draw.

European football's governing body charged the Rome club after receiving reports from referee Ovidiu Alin Hategan and delegate Adonis Procopiou.

A statement read: "UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Lazio for the improper conduct of the club's supporters (racist behaviour) during the UEFA Europa League group stage match on Thursday 20 September between Tottenham Hotspur FC and the Italian side."

If Lazio's fans are found guilty of racial abuse the club will be fined £16,000 and might be forced to play one or more of their games behind closed doors.

In an extreme case, the club could be deducted points or disqualified from the Europa League.

Uefa president Michel Platini was at White Hart Lane, where Defoe and his fellow England international Lennon and second-half substitute Andros Townsend were allegedly subject to racist abuse.

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said he did not hear the chants but Piara Powar - executive director of anti-discrimination group Football Against Racism in Europe - said its members were in the crowd and heard monkey chanting.

Powar said: "Uefa normally operate a 'three strikes and you're out' policy, and I think Lazio are at first base in that respect, but if Uefa really want to send out a strong message, I think they can do so regardless of whether it's a first or second offence.

"I therefore think that Uefa could move directly to something like a match behind closed doors.

"They could suspend that punishment, perhaps, and then if something happens further down the line, then they can trigger that.

"This punishment is one way of waking the club and the fans up to some of the problems that they face."

Some match stats

Possession - Spurs 59% Lazio 41%

Shots on target - Spurs 9 Lazio 1

Fouls - Spurs 7 Lazio 21


I thought we were up a decent no nonsense physical team who were happy to dish it out .
The referee and linesmen from Rumania had definetely taken a bung of some sort , giving most of
the marginals that mattered in Lazio's favour.

I did like the team but as Mickey Totty has said in his post, its a team in a progress . All is not perfect but it's early days ..

I was happy with our backline , nice to see Caulker and Verts as a pairing .

Loughtonlegend wrote:bale is not world class. did anyone see hes ronaldo stance lol
I find it funny that Bale in his teens didn't mimic ronaldo and scored freekicks, now he's changed his run up and strike of the ball to look like ronaldo he can't get the ball over the wall.

To be fair to Bale , didn't he supply both crosses for Dempsey and Caulker for their disallowed goals ?