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OPPONENTS |
AFC Bournemouth |
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COMPETITION | Premier League | |||||||||||||||
DATE | Saturday 15th April 2017 | |||||||||||||||
VENUE | White Hart Lane | |||||||||||||||
AFC BOURNEMOUTH SQUAD | 1.
Artur BORUC 2. Simon FRANCIS 3. Steve COOK 4. Dan GOSLING 6. Andrew SURMAN 7. Marc PUGH 8. Harry ARTER 9. Benik AFOBE 10. Max GRADEL 11. Charlie DANIELS 13. Callum WILSON 14. Brad SMITH 15. Adam SMITH |
17. Joshua KING 18. Lewis COOK 19. Junior STANISLAS 21. Ryan ALLSOP 23. Adam FEDERICI 24. Ryan FRASER 26. Tyrone MINGS 29. Rhoys WIGGINS 31. Lys MOUSSET 32. Jack WILSHERE 33. Jordon IBE 38. Baily CARGILL |
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PREVIEW |
Since their third Round FA Cup exit at the hands of Millwall having
fielded a less than first choice team, Bournemouth's season has not
reflected the first half of the campaign. Eddie Howe was only
following perceived wisdom in sacrificing the FA Cup in the cause of
staying in the top flight, but that was the pre-cursor to a bad run
of league results, only halted by beating West Ham United London.
That was the first in a run of four unbeaten games, including a
point at Anfield, but they came crashing back down to earth with a
home defeat by Chelsea on Sunday. Howe has managed his group of players very well since returning to Dean Court and has played a fair bit of decent football into the bargain, but his squad is not the deepest and long term injuries have dogged the side following their ascent to the Premier League. Callum Wilson did a lot to get them there, but has had little playing time since, suffering two bas knee injuries, while Tyrone Mings and Max Gradel also missed large parts of last season and Mings has just served a long ban for an alleged stamp on Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In Wilson's place, Josh King has been knocking in some goals (11 actually), using a mixture of strength and pace, while behind him are the injured Wilson with six and then Junior Stanislas on four. Ex-Spur Charlie Daniels had got three, as have four others, but his game is as much about creating goals as scoring. His play on the left usually sees him bomb forward from full back to get dangerous crosses in and he does pop up in the box from time to time. His opposite number is also a former Tottenham player, Adam Smith, who plays a similar role on the right and likes to get shots off on goal, with a powerful right foot often working goalkeepers. Between them, Steve Cook and Simon Francis fill the centre half positions. Experienced and good in the air, their weakness may be on the floor, where the movement of Kane and the midfielders around the box could cause them problems. Tyrone Mings might fit in there somewhere, as he has served his suspension and is available to Howe again. The only other viable option is former Liverpool youngster Brad Smith, but he has been used sparsely this season. In midfield, Harry Arter is the main instigator. A ball winner and a useful passer, he gets the team going from a central position, covering a lot of ground during the 90 minutes. Jordon Ibe came into the Bournemouth squad as their record signing, but he has yet to justify the big fee they shelled out. A strong runner with the ball and able to deliver decent supply into the forwards, he needs to get some consistency into his game, but has time to, as he is still only 21. Lewis Cook was a star with Leeds before heading for the South Coast, but a lengthy ankle injury has caused his season to stutter. The same can be said for Max Gradel, a pacy winger, who has not featured much over the last two seasons, but on his day can be as effective for the Cherries as Mane is for Liverpool. Former West Ham United London youngster Junior Stanislas moved to Burnley and then Bournemouth, where he is in his third season, but again, he has had injury trouble and may return for this game, being another who likes to get up with the forwards. One bright spot for the Cherries has been the form of Ryan Fraser, a flighty winger, who has won more penalties this season than any other player in the Premier League. He is good on the ball and quick, so hopefully, he will have enough defensive duties to stop him thinking about going forward. An interesting player they have on loan is Jack Wilshere. Unwanted by Arsenal, he has been farmed out to get some playing time and he has completed a 90 minutes for the first time in two years. The cheers were heard as far away as Highcliff. It is a massive fall from grace and he looks certain to be on the way out from Highbury at the end of the season. I wonder what he will have to sing about this year ?? Former Everton and Newcastle midfielder Dan Gosling is at Dean Court and works hard in midfield, but his promise as a Goodison youngster has diminished with each move away from his first club, while Marc Pugh works wide positions and would be classed as a provider of chances. It will be interesting to
see how Howe lines his side up, having done well to shut us out at
their place, but also coming close to nicking the three points.
They can't really put out a weakened side hoping that the upcoming
games are more winnable, as they need points to extricate themselves
form the lower reaches of the table. They will be instructed
to not give Spurs time or space and that will make it difficult, but
as we have found in other recent games, patience and to keep playing
our game, will eventually see the opposition tire and that is when
Spurs can capitalise. |
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PREDICTION | Tottenham Hotspur 3 AFC Bournemouth 1 | |||||||||||||||
LAST SEASON'S MEETING | For a look back at the match report, click here. | |||||||||||||||
RESULTS HISTORY | Click here for results, match reports and facts on meetings with Bournemouth | |||||||||||||||
TOTTENHAM
HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : Spurs will be missing Danny Rose (knee), Harry Winks (ankle), Michel Vorm (knee) and Erik Lamela (hip). Cameron Carter-Vickers (knee) will face a late fitness test. |
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AFC BOURNEMOUTH TEAM NEWS : Andrew Surman's knee injury looks certain to rule him out, while Junior Stanislas has a groin problem that makes him a doubt, which is the same situation for Dan Gosling (knee). Definitively out are Rhoiys Wiggins, Callum Wilson and Adam Federici (all knee injuries). |
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COVERAGE :
TV For coverage in all parts of the world, check here and here.
Radio : If
available on BBC radio, it can supposedly be heard
in these countries on these stations ...
Internet : |
Tottenham Hotspur
4 (2)
Premier League Saturday 15th April 2017 White Hart Lane |
AFC Bournemouth
0 (0) Kick off 12:30 |
Goal-scorers | |
Dembele 15m 42s Son 18m 41s Kane 47m 05s Janssen 90+2m 00s |
None |
Cards | |
None
|
Fraser (foul on Davies) 70
|
Crowd : 31,943 | Weather : Warm, sunny |
Referee : Michael Oliver (Northumberland) | Assistant Referees : Mr. S. Bennett; Mr. S. Child |
Fourth Official : Paul Tierney | |
Spurs kicked off and played towards the Park Lane end in the first half. | |
Game time : - 90 + 5 minutes. |
Tottenham Hotspur : | kit | AFC Bournemouth : | kit |
1
Hugo LLORIS (c)
2
Kyle WALKER
15
Eric
DIER
7
Heung-Min SON
10
Harry KANE
Unused subs: |
1
Artur BORUC
15
Adam SMITH
Unused subs: |
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Manager : Mauricio Pochettino | Manager : Eddie Howe | ||
Sponsor : AIA | Shirt sponsor : JD | ||
Kit Supplier : Under Armour | Kit Supplier : Mansion | ||
Match report After Bournemouth had held Tottenham to a 0-0 draw at Dean Court earlier in the season, it looked like Spurs might struggle to break down teams, who set up against them to have two banks of four and put in a lot of energy into preventing them playing. What we have seen is a team who have evolved into an irresistible attacking force that is able to overcome most obstacles that opponents put in their way and they rolled out another 4-0 home win with ease against a Bournemouth side who have gone in the opposite direction. While Eddie Howe has shown he is a shrewd manager, this season there have been some occasions when he has mis-judged situations and the Cherries find themselves just seven points off the last relegation place. They should be safe, as the teams below them are the ones who will be looking at the drop, but the form going into the run-in is not great for his side. There was a return for Junior Stanislas and although Tyrone Mings was available after suspension, he only made the bench. Spurs brought in Kane in place of Janssen and Walker replaced Trippier at right back. The familiar Tottenham line-up set about Bournemouth from the kick-off. Toby hit an early diagonal ball into the area and while Charlie Daniels headed it out, it dropped to Harry Kane to fire a volley at goal, that a defender did well to block for a corner - the first of 13 to the Lilywhites in the game. That brought another corner and another, that produced a low cross from Eriksen, met by Kane at the near post, but he was offside. Spurs were soon working Boruc, who is either the man of the match or the fall guy. A move from left to right saw Walker pull a square pass into the path of Mousa Dembele, who hit it first time with his right foot, forcing the Cherries keeper to plunge down to his left to push the ball out for a corner. A hilarious incident in the 14th minute saw Arter nick the ball away from Dele Alli and as it ran towards the dead ball line, Bournemouth captain Simon Francis didn't set a good example by stepping over the ball. For some reason he thought it was going to be a goal-kick and was shocked when referee Oliver pointed to the corner flag. The ball was played in low to the near post from the left, where Alderweireld tried to flick it on and missed it, allowing the ball to travel to the far side of the six yard box. Cook ran off his marker and Arter ran away form Dembele, allowing Mousa the space to take a touch and then rifle home with his weaker foot, but the power he got behind the ball left no chance for the keeper or the cowering Pugh on the line. Mousa doesn't get as many goals as he perhaps should, as he has a good shot off either foot, but this breakthrough on the quarter hour mark set Tottenham up nicely. And Jack Wheelchair also set Spurs up nicely. Already having been involved in conceding possession for the corner that led to the first goal, he tried to play a pass out of defence that was picked off by Dier. It bounced through to Kane, who flicked it through his legs to Son outside him in the right hand channel of the penalty area. He raced by Steve Cook, who failed to make any sort of challenge, then drilled low at goal from a narrow angle, but found the gap between Boruc's legs to bury the ball in the net to make it 2-0 with only 19 minutes on the clock. It was a confident finish from a player who has grown into the team and shown he fits in seamlessly. A Bournemouth free-kick saw Spurs clear, but King was lurking behind Walker, as Stanislas crossed. Kyle got an important clearance on the ball, as the Cherries striker would have had a clear opportunity a few yards out had it got to him. From the corner Cook won a header, but it was always going over the bar. Stanislas put another good cross ball in later in the half, which Afobe was too slow to get to and it went straight across the face of goal. It was a brief respite for the Bournemouth defence, as Spurs were stringing long periods of passing together and that stretched the visitors, as they were trying a zonal marking system, but the movement of the Spurs players was rendering it pointless. That was shown when a straight ball was played long to Kane from Alderweireld and Harry's first time touch turned the ball round the corner for Eriksen to shoot. Unfortunately, the ball bounced high and while Eriksen had to pivot on one foot to get his shot away and try to keep it down, it meant he couldn't get a lot of power behind it. The effort still required Boruc to dive left and scramble the ball behind. When Bournemouth did break, their passing was wasteful, especially Wilshere's who looked like he was content to try and play the Hollywood pass, rather than opt for the effective one. As for Tottenham, their passing was much crisper and telling. When Wilshere launched a long pass forward it went only to Lloris. A sweeping move involving three more passes ended with Son, in the left hand corner of the penalty area, pulling the ball back low to Eriksen, who ran onto it, striking it first time with great power. He would have lived up to his new nickname of 'Golazo' if it had gone in, but it rose a foot above the bar with the keeper struggling to get anywhere near it. Christian soon returned the favour for Son to hit a shot straight at Boruc. Half-time guest Paul Allen gave his anecdotes about his experiences in his FA Cup finals with West Ham and Spurs, with the semi-final just a week away. Bournemouth could easily have gone into the break four down, but 2-0 meant that the next goal could be all important. It looked like Bournemouth might get it, but when King broke through early after the restart, Dier produced a fine tackle to rob him of the ball. Spurs showed them how to do it a minute later, when Walker moved forward with the ball in the opposition half, passing to Eriksen, then on to Dele moving wide. His dinked ball into the box went straight to Kane, but it looked like Simon Francis, tight to him, had knocked the ball away from his control. But Harry was strong enough to get his body between defender and the ball, turning him and turning to sweep a left foot shot from 12 yards out beyond Boruc's reach as he dived to his right. It was another fine finish, showing that Kane is becoming a striker who has an innate ability to score a variety of goals, but always knowing where the target is. However, not everything comes off for him, as a move around the edge of the Bournemouth box saw Cook intercept a pass by Eriksen, but the ball fell for the Danish midfielder and he disguised his pass to Kane sliding in behind the defence. Alone, he drove and early shot low, but lacked power and direction, allowing Boruc to fall behind it and make a reasonably easy save. It was an easier chance than his goal ! Kane's next effort brought an attempted tackle by Wilshere, but it left him in a heap and although he tried to hobble about a bit, it only drew derision from the Spurs support, as they showed what they thought of him (knowing what he thinks of Spurs). He made it to the bench where he collapsed and needed treatment, but that only gave him another minute, before he hit the ground again and brought on one of the most over-used phrases in modern football ... "And the substitute comes on as Jack Wilshere leaves the pitch injured". Everyone contributed today, even though Hugo had a quiet day, with Jan and Toby looking imperious at the back and Vertonghen had time to step out and set Son free. He laid the ball into Kane's run and his low shot was taken well by the keeper and Boruc was saved from coming into action again after another good move had a touch and a shot from Eric Dier in the area, but it was deflected wide for a corner. Davies got in the way of a Stanislas shot, but Spurs went straight down the other end where Christian drew a save from Boruc. Arter took Dele out from behind with his third bad foul of the match, having been spoken to for dissent in the first half too, but Oliver kept his card in his pocket. The free kick didn't result in a chance straight away, but the clearance fell to Dele, who fired it straight back at goal, only to see it smack into Charlie Daniels' face. Ryan Fraser, the tricky Scottish winger came on for Stanislas, but was chasing the ball as Spurs put Son through on the left, but his low shot was saved. Fraser's next involvement was a shockingly late tackle on Ben Davies' ankle which got him a yellow. Strange the referee's interpretation of other misdemeanours as opposed to the one-off bad tackle. Dele was furious with Son, when Walker dinked a ball into the area and he missed his first volley and was denied a second bite, as Son shot across goal and wide, having been in an offside position. But then it happened ! 73 minutes showed on the clock when former Spur Charlie Daniels struck a shot at goal from 22 yards out that Lloris was easily behind. Bournemouth's first effort on target by a former Tottenham man, but he failed to impose himself on the game, as he wasn't allowed to by the Spurs side, who were playing with the utmost confidence. Davies pinged a low shot at goal from 25 yards and it almost snuck under Boruc, but the keeper held it. King got a bit of space at the Spurs end and hit a shot over the bar as Afobe went off, another Gooner who has fallen a long way, as Kane was rested and Wanyama came back to get some playing time. Sissoko also entered the play for Dele, with Pochettino taking sensible decisions with next week's FA Cup semi-final looming. Son and Dele were both denied by last minute interventions as they shaped to shoot, before Moussa was almost put in by Mousa, but with players getting back behind the ball, he passed to Eriksen, whose shot was blocked. It was the last Christian did, as he was replaced by Vincent Janssen. The Dutch striker wasn't given long to make an impact, but he linked well on the left for Son to win a corner. From it, the ball was passed short to Son, who saw Davies running past him on the left wing. The Welsh defender's low ball back across the box was controlled by Janssen, turning Pugh as he did so. He unleashed a shot that was blocked on the line by Steve Cook. It looked like his bad luck would continue, but the ball popped up and he struck a half-volley with power that ripped past Boruc and Cook to wrap up a 4-0 victory that could have been so many more. You could see how the players were happy for Vincent and the celebrations were reflected in the terraces, although a number of people had gone home by then, keen to get home for Final Score, while ignoring the final score at the Lane. It was yet another confident display by Spurs that ended 4-0 at the Lane. It is becoming a bit of a thing and hopefully our final two games her in the Premier League can end with similar sized Tottenham wins !! Kane's leading of the line was outstanding today. He got one, missed about three more, but his first time lay-offs and his touch on the ball was very impressive. It allowed players to run beyond him, knowing that they would be played into dangerous positions. Linking with Dele and Eriksen, he provided chances for both of them and made Son's goal. Francis has been given the run-around by him previously, but this showed a more mature contribution by the Tottenham striker, making the number of goals he scores as significant as the inter-play he has with his colleagues, bamboozling the other side's defence. With Dele and Eriksen looking to show off their full repertoire of passing and tricks, they ripped apart the Bournemouth midfield, which was set up to stifle them, but they popped up all over the last third, causing the defence to leave holes for others and with Davies and Walker stretching the back four across the width of the pitch, gaps appeared for the Spurs players to operate in. Dembele bossed the midfield and however, the Bournemouth players tried to pull him about, he was just too strong on the ball to be deterred and Son was a persistent thorn in the side of the opposition and has developed into a very good striker for the club. Chelsea go to Man U tomorrow and the lead could be back to seven points if they win. If not, the race is on !! Steven Parsons |
PUB
FACT*
AFC Bournemouth were
previously named Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club and
the club went through some modernisation changes in 1972. They
changed their club kit to red and black stripes in tribute to the AC
Milan side who had own the European Cup a few years before and the
adaption of the club's name reflected their admiration of double
winners Arsenal Football Club. |
Match sponsors | - |
Match sponsors | - |
Match ball sponsors | - |
Match programme sponsors | - |
Match shirt sponsors | - |
What you thought | |
Sparky Marky | At
yesterday's match, one of my friends mentioned that the departing
Jack Wilshere had chocolate ankles.
Well, with it being Easter,
perhaps his future career could be producing football injury related
cocoa products !! |
Mick from Ripon |
What the hell was Jonathan Pearce on about on the MoTD commentary ?
Criticising Spurs fans for giving Wheelchair stick when he went off
injured. Unseemly ? Well, perhaps he should have
remembered why that was happening, with the "unseemly" singing when
the Goons won the FA Cup that Wheelchair led. You reap what
you sow and the fact that he injured himself trying to foul Kane,
after already having been involved in two dodgy tackles on Dier and
Dembele when he went in studs up, he perhaps ironically, did to
himself what he was trying to inflict on others. It wasn't the first time he has got "over-enthusiastic" against Spurs and knackered himself. Remember at their place a few years back when he tried to tackle in our box and did his ankle. Indeed, as the Tottenham fans reminded him, "It's Happening Again !" His major contribution to
the game had been two assists in Tottenham's goals. Not a bad
afternoon's work ... if only he had been on the other side !! |
Stan Chun |
What a player Son is becoming.
His contribution to the team is
not to be under-estimated. It is not only the number and
variety that shows he is vital to the team, but how does he remember
all those handshakes ?? |
Benny the Ball | I
agree with Mick. And Steve Cook should watch what he says.
If Wilshere is man enough to give it out, then he should be man
enough to take it. But he has left it to his team-mates to
have a pop at Spurs fans as he hasn't got the courage to do it
himself. Maybe Cook will be having a go at Alan Shearer as
well, as he is another who was unimpressed with the midfielder ? What did Cook mean when he said "It's very disappointing for him especially in this game to come off injured so hopefully it's fine" anyway ? "Especially in this game" ? So, it was more than him playing for Bournemouth then, implying that Wilshere's Arsenal connections still mean he is geed up against Spurs. Well, a fat lot of good it did him, with a shockingly bad performance and an injury. Sums up his fading career
doesn't it ? |
Steffan |
Steve Cook is probably seething, because when he got home, he Google
searched "Out-classed" and a video of today's game popped up !! |
- | -. |
Other scores during this week : | ||||
Crystal Palace | 2 | Leicester City | 2 | Saturday |
Everton | 3 | Burnley | 1 | Saturday |
Southampton | 0 | Manchester City | 3 | Saturday |
Stoke City | 3 | Hull City | 1 | Saturday |
Sunderland | 2 | West Ham United London | 2 | Saturday |
Watford | 1 | Swansea City | 0 | Saturday |
West Bromwich Albion | 0 | Liverpool | 1 | Sunday |
Manchester United | 2 | Chelsea | 0 | Sunday |
Middlesbrough | 1 | Arsenal | 2 | Monday |
League Table 2016-17 | |||||||||
P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD | ||
1 | Chelsea | 32 | 24 | 3 | 5 | 65 | 27 | 75 | +38 |
2 | TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 68 | 22 | 71 | +46 |
4 | Liverpool | 33 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 69 | 39 | 66 | +30 |
3 | Manchester City | 32 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 64 | 36 | 64 | +28 |
5 | Manchester United | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 47 | 23 | 59 | +24 |
6 | Arsenal | 31 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 63 | 40 | 57 | +23 |
7 | Everton | 32 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 59 | 36 | 56 | +23 |
8 | West Bromwich Albion | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 39 | 40 | 44 | -1 |
9 | Stoke City | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 48 | 39 | -11 |
10 | Southampton | 31 | 11 | 7 | 13 | 37 | 39 | 37 | -2 |
11 | West Ham United London | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 44 | 59 | 37 | -15 |
12 | Watford | 31 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 35 | 52 | 37 | -17 |
13 | Burnley | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 33 | 47 | 36 | -14 |
14 | Crystal Palace | 32 | 10 | 5 | 17 | 44 | 52 | 35 | -8 |
15 | Bournemouth | 33 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 45 | 63 | 35 | -18 |
16 | Leicester City | 31 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 39 | 53 | 34 | -14 |
17 | Hull City | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 34 | 67 | 30 | -33 |
18 | Swansea City | 33 | 8 | 4 | 21 | 37 | 68 | 28 | -31 |
19 | Middlesbrough | 32 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 23 | 39 | 24 | -16 |
20 | Sunderland | 31 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 56 | 21 | -30 |
Position before match : 2nd
Position after match : 2nd
Position after the weekend : 2nd
* Pub facts may not actually be true, but after a few pints everyone might think so.