After the weekend's draw away at Birmingham, Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to get back to winning ways in their final Champions' League Group A match when they travel to the Netherlands to take on FC Twente.
A win for the London side could see them top the group depending on goal difference, and Harry Redknapp believes it is vital for his side to finish first if they want avoid teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Spurs have already qualified for the last 16 knockout stages after previous wins against FC Twente at White Hart Lane and current European champions Inter Milan in a game where arguably Tottenham's most prized asset, and one of the most improved players in the Premier League over the past 18 months, Gareth Bale starred.
Bale has been instrumental in most of Tottenham's key play this season, scoring 13 goals and being regarded as the biggest threat in the side with his pace, strength and skill. The 21-year-old Welshman had a torrid time at the start of his Spurs career, failing to record a single win in 24 starts after signing from Southampton in 2007. But, he has turned his fortunes and last week received BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year 2010, succeeding fellow Welsh footballer Ryan Giggs in achieving the accolade.
Redknapp himself will be hoping his latest prize winner will be on top form to help spur his team on toward finishing top of Group A tonight in Holland.
The injury list at Tottenham continues to grow it seems. Despite the returning Jermaine Jenas being declared fit, Croatian playmaker Luka Modric is highly doubtful with illness. Rafael van der Vaart is still missing, along with defender Younes Kaboul.
Redknapp faces more long-term problems in his side though with Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King, Tom Huddlestone and Jamie O'Hara all facing lengthy spells on the sidelines, but it is expected Sebastien Bassong will start tonight alongside William Gallas after his goal at Brimingham, despite the return of influential defender Michael Dawson.
Even though Twente are out of the Champions' League, they have qualified for the Europa League so any hope of an easy ride for Tottenham will easily be overlooked as the Dutch champions will look to create some form when they head into another competition after Christmas. The presence of former Wigan Athletic midfielder Denny Landzaat will be key to Twente's push for form against Spurs, and highly-rated striker Luuk De Jong is expected to be in the squad.
The pressure of playing a big side like Barcelona or Milan so early after the group stages will be a path Redknapp wants to avoid. His side's inexperience playing at this level means he will want his side to finish top to learn and develop their European game.
Redknapp will not take Twente for granted. Despite a resounding win against the Dutch side at White Hart Lane earlier in the group stages, the manager knows the De Grosch Veste stadium is not the easiest place to come away with points. Having Bale in his side will be important for Redknapp, but after the lack of form in his strikers, the side's ambition for goals could prove essential.
Assistant Producer for beIN SPORTS based in Doha, Qatar. Editor of www.laliganews.tv and former Sports Editor of Winchester News Online
Showing posts with label Champions' League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Champions' League. Show all posts
Friday, 10 December 2010
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Gareth's only gone and Bale'd himself out of trouble
Talk about your ultimate turnarounds. Just a year and a half ago Gareth Bale couldn't get a win for Tottenham when he started, probably starting more times than Wayne Rooney scoring for Manchester United. Now the 21-year-old has become one of the Premier League's most dangerous left-sided players, and more importantly, Tottenham Hotspur's most prized asset.
Bale's displays in the past year have made in somewhate of a hit in England and across Europe. He's become so popular that a long list of clubs have been eyeing the Welshman as a transfer target in January. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United, Napoli, Bayern Munich are a
ll just a number of clubs who have been vying for his signature.
Just at the start of last season, Tottenham couldn't buy a win whenever Bale was in the starting line-up. He went a record 24 matches without a competitive win for Spurs when he started. You'd expect that from a side who play a different team, but everytime Bale played, they just could not win. That record was finally ended in late September 2009 when Spurs beat Burnley, this being two years after Bale signed for the North London side from Southampton. Bale missed the first few weeks of this season because of injury and endured a torrid time of "bench warming" when Benoit Assou Ekotto was enjoying a fantastic spell as Tottenham's first choice left-back.
In April this year, Bale starred in Tottenham's biggest clashes of the year, beating Arsenal, a game in which he scored, then just three days later scoring again to earn his side victory over my beloved Chelsea in a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane. His performance against the Blues earned him Man of the Match and impressive displays against Fulham in both the league and cup earned him Barclay's Premier League Player of the Month award.
This domestic season has seen Bale start where he left off. Two goals away to Stoke, including a cracking volley gave his side 3 points in a 2-1 win, and then 4 days later he created all four of Tottenham's goals in their 4-0 Champions League Qualifying Round match against Youngs Boys to put them through to the competition group stages.
Bale scored his first Champions' League goal in their 4-1 home win to FC Twente and in the same week he was named Welsh Footballer of the Year. However, what was to happen next would never be seen at all. Regardless of how well he's been playing, Bale, in my opinion thrives as an attacking left-sided player rather than a defender. He's good at left-back but is on numerous times caught out of position, and I feel having someone like assou-Ekotto behind him gives Bale the freedom to run forward then track back to help his defence when under pressure. Having the knowledge of two different positions gives the 21-year-old a maturity, a reponsibility and a knowledge of how to play the game.
This month is probably Bale's most recognisable. Julio Cesar is a superb keeper. He was officially named European goalkeeper of the Year thanks to his heroics in Inter's Champions' League winning season last year under the charismatic José Mourinho. It is very rare Cesar concedes 3 goals in one match, and when it does happen it is usually something special. So imagine this. Inter Milan are 4-0 up at half-time, at home, to a 10-man Tottenham Hotspur after keeper Heurelho Gomes was sent off after just 8 minutes of play.
I was at the university when this match was taking place. I was now expecting a drubbing and constantly texting my best mate Liam (a Spurs fan) about the potential thrashing his side were about to endure. Just 45 minutes later, Inter had failed to score and Gareth Bale had taken the game by the scruff of the neck and scored his first ever competitive hat-trick, two of these goals coming in the final minutes of the match.
The result was still a disappointment for Spurs, but even as a Chelsea supporter, I was full of admiration for the Welsh youngster. His recent performances in a Spurs shirt have given him well-deserved praise and respect. Even as a neutral though, and as much as I'd like to have a player of his potential at a club like Chelsea, the best thing for Gareth Bale is to resist temptation of a huge club and stay put with Spurs.
The fans love him, and he loves the club. He is only 21, and has years ahead of him to improve his game, score more goals and become known as the world's best left winger. In my opinion, a move now may well damage his career, and destroy all the work he has put in into becoming the player we all know him to be.
Bale's displays in the past year have made in somewhate of a hit in England and across Europe. He's become so popular that a long list of clubs have been eyeing the Welshman as a transfer target in January. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United, Napoli, Bayern Munich are a
ll just a number of clubs who have been vying for his signature.Just at the start of last season, Tottenham couldn't buy a win whenever Bale was in the starting line-up. He went a record 24 matches without a competitive win for Spurs when he started. You'd expect that from a side who play a different team, but everytime Bale played, they just could not win. That record was finally ended in late September 2009 when Spurs beat Burnley, this being two years after Bale signed for the North London side from Southampton. Bale missed the first few weeks of this season because of injury and endured a torrid time of "bench warming" when Benoit Assou Ekotto was enjoying a fantastic spell as Tottenham's first choice left-back.
In April this year, Bale starred in Tottenham's biggest clashes of the year, beating Arsenal, a game in which he scored, then just three days later scoring again to earn his side victory over my beloved Chelsea in a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane. His performance against the Blues earned him Man of the Match and impressive displays against Fulham in both the league and cup earned him Barclay's Premier League Player of the Month award.
This domestic season has seen Bale start where he left off. Two goals away to Stoke, including a cracking volley gave his side 3 points in a 2-1 win, and then 4 days later he created all four of Tottenham's goals in their 4-0 Champions League Qualifying Round match against Youngs Boys to put them through to the competition group stages.
Bale scored his first Champions' League goal in their 4-1 home win to FC Twente and in the same week he was named Welsh Footballer of the Year. However, what was to happen next would never be seen at all. Regardless of how well he's been playing, Bale, in my opinion thrives as an attacking left-sided player rather than a defender. He's good at left-back but is on numerous times caught out of position, and I feel having someone like assou-Ekotto behind him gives Bale the freedom to run forward then track back to help his defence when under pressure. Having the knowledge of two different positions gives the 21-year-old a maturity, a reponsibility and a knowledge of how to play the game.
This month is probably Bale's most recognisable. Julio Cesar is a superb keeper. He was officially named European goalkeeper of the Year thanks to his heroics in Inter's Champions' League winning season last year under the charismatic José Mourinho. It is very rare Cesar concedes 3 goals in one match, and when it does happen it is usually something special. So imagine this. Inter Milan are 4-0 up at half-time, at home, to a 10-man Tottenham Hotspur after keeper Heurelho Gomes was sent off after just 8 minutes of play.
I was at the university when this match was taking place. I was now expecting a drubbing and constantly texting my best mate Liam (a Spurs fan) about the potential thrashing his side were about to endure. Just 45 minutes later, Inter had failed to score and Gareth Bale had taken the game by the scruff of the neck and scored his first ever competitive hat-trick, two of these goals coming in the final minutes of the match.
The result was still a disappointment for Spurs, but even as a Chelsea supporter, I was full of admiration for the Welsh youngster. His recent performances in a Spurs shirt have given him well-deserved praise and respect. Even as a neutral though, and as much as I'd like to have a player of his potential at a club like Chelsea, the best thing for Gareth Bale is to resist temptation of a huge club and stay put with Spurs.
The fans love him, and he loves the club. He is only 21, and has years ahead of him to improve his game, score more goals and become known as the world's best left winger. In my opinion, a move now may well damage his career, and destroy all the work he has put in into becoming the player we all know him to be.
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