Rick Rant - The Case for the Defense

No, this is not about Trump (as there is no defense in his case), but the stout, strong, heroic defending of the Spurs team against Wolves. What may surprise you, as it did me, was that the game was not actually as one sided as it appeared when watching the game live. Wolves had 58% possession (it seemed more) and 5 shots on target (the same number as we did). The appearance of dominance seemed to stem from where possession was lost. Wolves lost possession while attempting to score, where as we lost possession mostly in midfield and mostly through our own ineptitude.

Now, I don't want to sound like a broken record repeating the same rhetoric over and over again, but I'm afraid it has to be said again. Sissoko is a cult hero among fans but i'm sorry, hes bloody awful. I counted 6 giveaways in the first half alone. The attempted cross-field pass which he kicked out of bounds was diabolical. Now the argument can be made that he wasn't the only one to give the ball away but the problem with Sissoko is that often this is the rule for him, not the exception. Opposing players know that certain players (Sissoko) will panic and give up possession or assist in giving up possession. The good teams have no bad players in any position, and to have a player that the opposition can target is an unacceptable weakness.

The game itself was extremely frustrating to watch. Wolves are a very good team and have some quality players. They close down space very well when not in possession and spread the play when attacking. They also have the humongous Traore on the right wing who in reality should be playing Rugby due to his speed and power. A number of our players had to resort to fouling him and receiving yellow cards in an effort to stop him attacking. The man actually designated to mark him (Vertonghen) did not get a yellow, and for the most part kept him under control. God only knows what Traore would have done to Danny Rose.  

For all the faults we had playing the game, we must also be commended for the following:

1) Our tenacity in defending
2) Our strong mentality after conceding the equalizer
3) Our determination going forward
4) Our getting the winner in extra time.

In all honesty, this can be summed up easily as "The Mourinho Effect". I think we can all agree that if the previous regime was still in charge, we would not have won this game. We definitely rode our luck in this game, but in addition to the luck, was the determination, passion and enthusiasm of the players not to lose.

Rick - COYS