5 Things we learnt from Spurs v Leicester

5 things we learnt from Tottenham v Leicester

Pochettino has no plan B

Pochettino has been praised for his pressing style and free flowing style of play, but, when teams allow Spurs to attack them and they suck up the pressure and hit on the counter. This causes Spurs problems as their game plan gets stuck and unable to create meaningful chances.

At no point, during the game did Spurs change their approach and allow Janssen to get more service which he desperately needs.

This will need to change, when Spurs face sides who play the “park the bus” structure, they will struggle to get wins which is what they need to challenge for the title, which is their aim.

Leicester have become the new ‘Stoke’

Leicester won the title last season, playing with break neck pace on the wings and upfront in Vardy, they have gone to the old “Stoke” way of playing football, where they would pull the opposition players about and make cynical fouls all over the pitch to get under the opposition’s skin. They still play with the same pacey players but others like Huth, Morgan and Drinkwater were biting at Alli, Eriksen and Son all afternoon. It was surprising that Leicester ended the game with 11 players on the field.

Spurs have no killer threat

With the absence of last season’s top goal scorer Harry Kane, Pochettino has called to both Heung-Min Son and Vincent Janssen to fill his boots.

 Son seemed to answer questions at the start but as gone off of the boil recently and Janssen seems to be unable to score from open play, so Spurs have to find someone either already in the team or find a player in January who can come in and help Kane up front.

 Janssen scored his first Premier League goal of the season all bit in from the penalty spot, hopefully it’ll spur him onto a streak in the coming games.

Spurs stay unbeaten but look vulnerable ahead of the NLD

Today’s draw has made it 10 games unbeaten in the league but it also means 50% of their games have ended in draws. This is worrying ahead of the North London Derby, especially that Arsenal are in hot form after beating Ludogorets in the Champions League 6-0 and beating Sunderland today 4-1.

Spurs still have the best defence in the league but they also have the worst attack in the top six. This shows that if Arsenal are able to get ahead next Sunday then Spurs might struggle to get back into the game and this will worry fans.

Kane might be back for Wednesday’s Champions League match V Leverkusen and he might be fit for the game on Sunday but, may be too unfit to play up to his full potential.

Leicester stole a point

Leicester only managed one shot on target in the whole game which was their goal.

This is change to the team that was winning the league last season. They struggled to get a foot hold in the game and were struggling to provide service to the forwards even though there were three strikers on the field in Vardy, Musa and Okazaki and yet they didn’t trouble Lloris in net.

If it wasn’t for a defensive mix up from Spurs gifted Leicester an equaliser, they wouldn’t have gotten anything from the game. Their away day blues may have ended in terms of losing but they need to get back to the form that won them the league last season if they want a substantial reward at the end of the year.

Chesterfield v Scunthorpe match report

Scunthorpe strengthened their position at the top of League 1 table with a win against Chesterfield.

Scunthorpe were on top from the start, however Chesterfield had the first real opportunity of the game when Ched Evans had a shot from just outside the box which was easily gathered by Luke Daniels.

Evans also went close with a header that went just wide, from a Gboly Ariyibi in the 26th minute. Scunthorpe then had a great chance a few minutes later through Josh Morris who fired his shot just wide of the Chesterfield goal.

Ariyibi had another shot that was deflected wide in the 43rd minute, but Scunthorpe had the best chance of the half when Paddy Madden raced through onto goal only for his shot to be saved by Ryan Fulton in the goal.

it was all square going in to the break, but Scunthorpe should have easily been in front but were unlucky not to be.

They did, take the lead shortly after the break when Morris' free kick on the top of the box was able to avoid everyone and outwit the keeper and snuck into the Fulton's right post. They were then able to double their lead in the 60th minute when Van Veen broke into the penalty and his low drive was able to squeeze its way under the keeper's legs.

Scunthorpe were able to tie the game up in the 85th minute when substitute Mantom was played in by Van Veen and he easily beat Fulton.

Chesterfield rarely tested the Scunthorpe defence in the second half, and they really did show the differences in the teams as Scunthorpe showed why they are the league leaders, and Chesterfield showed why they will be facing a relegation battle this season as they rarely threatened this afternoon and gave their fans very little to cheer about.

The man of the match was clearly Scunthorpe’s Josh Morris, who clearly bossed the midfield, and his goal was a little lucky however he did deserve it. The only player who can come away from this game with their head a little higher, is Gboly Ariyibi, who looked dangerous when he was given any freedom down the wing but he was unable to provide much service to Ricky German and Ched Evans up front.

Sam Rush Visit

Sam Rush took time out of his busy schedule to talk to students at the University of Derby.

Sam was asked a number questions varying from his relationship with owner Mel Morris to what his thoughts are on current manager Steve Mclaren.

He wasn’t too happy about the fact that Derby have had five managers in the past 15 months, but is hoping now that Steve has returned from his stint at Newcastle and Sam believes that Steve was the reason for Derby’s resurgence in 2013, and that maybe this year will be a positive one. He wants “the season to last”, which obviously means that they are challenging the teams at the top end of the table rather than at the bottom which is where they currently occupy.

When asked whether or not the EFL Trophy will be beneficial to the clubs on both sides of the fence, he was in agreement that the competition is a great idea as it gives young players the game time that they need however the crowds have been disappointing and this is down to the structure of the competition in his opinion. Sam however, didn’t offer any concrete solutions as to how this can be rectified. He does praise the work of competition organisers of the football league and the premier league as he states that the Premier League 2 and other competitions have aided greatly with the development of Derby’s U23’s as they’ve played the big Premier League sides like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur as well as playing international sides like PSV Eindhoven and Benfica.

He feels that Derby will be a lot better following their win against Leeds on Saturday, and he seems to think that Steve’s return will energise the place and will bring back the ‘Derby’ style of football and he still thinks that Chris Powell will still have a big part to play in the club as he is greatly respected by the club and by Mel.

Finally, Sam wanted to thank Mel for all his work he’s done for the club and that he epitomises the local man who is giving back to his local club. He has done this by putting money back into the club for its development, for example he has invested money into the academy that It’s now a category one academy, one of the very few Championship clubs with this status.

Stoke V Sunderland match report

A Joe Allen double helped Stoke to their first win of the season against Sunderland.

Stoke finally put to bed their winless streak against fellow strugglers Sunderland, thanks to Joe Allen who continued his scoring streak from international duty as he doubled his tally for the season in an afternoon. There was worry though as Allen limped off injured towards the end of the game, but Hughes was quick to reassure fans “he has a high workload and sometimes that can affect his muscles but it’s nothing to be concerned about”.

Hughes was also quick to praise the performance of his players, he added “the performance has been coming, stemming from Hull in the cup. They were excellent from start to finish, hopefully now the noise around us can dissipate a bit”. Stoke really looked a changed team as they were defensively sounds and were able to keep the pressure on Sunderland, throughout and limited the service to Defoe.

The manager, was also impressed with how his players are performing really well after international duty especially Shaqiri and Arnautovic who he said look sharp and focused.

Stoke started brightly as they took the lead on the 7^th minute, as Shaqiri picked up on a poor clearance and fed Arnautovic who dinked in a cross for a simple header, for Allen to put away. Sunderland tried to get back into the game but Defoe could only get a single chance but it was easily blocked by Shawcross.

Just before the break Stoke and Allen added a second, when a corner was poorly cleared to Allen in on the edge of the box and his low drive wrong footed, Pickford in net. There was also a big injury concern for Patrick Van Aanholt who came off with a confirmed abductor injury, with an unconfirmed return date.

Stoke could have made it worse for Sunderland when Arnautovic put the ball in the back off the net when Adam had a shot which cannoned off of Arnautovic into the net but it was ruled out for offside.

Moyes remained upbeat after the defeat saying that if they manged to keep the score 1-0 at half-time then they would have had a chance to get something from the game as he felt that they played better than the score line suggested.

Moyes feels that it’s only a matter of time before they get the win they need. He stated that “we need a bit of momentum to get us going. The supporters never gave up on us today, that’s the lift the players should be using”.

Stoke can now kick on with this first win of the season and can now maybe push up the table and string some positive results together. On the other hand, Sunderland need to get that first win for the players to get their confidence up and fight in a relegation battle.

England U21 5-0 Bosnia U21

Tammy Abraham stars as England comfortably beat Bosnia 5-0 at Walsall.

England ended their qualification campaign with a flourish as they cruised to an easy victory over Bosnia. Bosnia on the other hand started brightly as they applied lots of early pressure and all they lacked was the killer through ball to finish the move.

England took the lead in incredible fashion just after the 15 minute mark, when John Swift picked up the ball on the edge of the box and let fly and exceptional strike which looped over the top the Bosnian keeper and found its way into the top corner.

England didn’t have to wait long for a second, as Joshua Onomah took the ball at the top of the box and his shot was easily saved by the keeper only for striker Tammy Abraham to tap home to double England’s lead just a couple minutes later. England went into the break 2-0 up and cruising as Bosnia hadn’t really troubled Walton in goal.

There was only one injury concern for England and Chelsea as Nathan Chalobah went off at half time to be replaced by Calum Chambers.

England added a third through debutant Joshua Onomah, who cut inside the box and let fly an excellent finish beyond the keeper. England scored a fourth when Jack Grealish, put an inch perfect through ball for winger Duncan Watmore who coolly slotted past the keeper to make it four for England.

Tammy Abraham completed the scoring, on 68 minutes when he ran through on goal and dinked the ball over the keeper to tie the game up for England and ending the qualification campaign on possibly as big as high as possible and gave Aidy Boothroyd a first home win in charge of the U21’s and maintained his 100% record as well.

Abraham probably stole all the headlines with his brace but there were impressive displays across the midfield with Onomah, Swift and Grealish all impressing in different ways with Onomah and Swift picking up goals and Grealish aiding in at least a couple of them, the man of the match decision was a hard one but it was given to Grealish as he probably made the biggest contribution to the game. Boothroyd probably is hoping that he’ll be in charge for Poland in 2017 but only time will tell what the FA will decide upon.

Enfield Town V Dulwich Hamlet match report

Crooks wheeling away in celebration after converting penalty

Match Report

Enfield Town 2-2 Dulwich Hamlet

LATE PENALTY SALVAGES A POINT

A late Billy Crook penalty salvaged a point against Dulwich Hamlet this afternoon at the QE2.

Town could not have wanted a better start, than scoring almost straight from the kick off when Harry Ottaway picked up the ball at the top of the Dulwich box and slotted the ball coolly past Preston Edwards into the bottom corner of the net to the delight of Town fans.

 Town continued to play the ball well, with quick short passes up the field and Mickey Parcell was getting joy down his side, the only thing lacking was a killer pass at the end. Town were really well organised at the back for the opening 20 minutes, with Mark Kirby able to neutralise Dulwich balls in the air and spray the ball out well to the wings.

As the first half continued, Dulwich kept trying to launch the long ball to little effect and the game had very few chances, until around the 30^th minute when the ball was whipped in from the left hand side towards the back post where Carter was waiting to place his header back across Nathan McDonald into the bottom right.

 The Dulwich goal opened the game right up and it became very much end to end stuff, as Town went close when Samir Bihmoutine had a volley which went just over the bar, Dulwich then had a great chance when centre-back Nathan Green, almost ran the entire length of the field to only have his shot blocked by Percy Kiangebeni. The half ended with a final chance for Town when Dernell Wynter was able to break into the box and hit a fierce shot that was saved well by the keeper.

Half-time: Enfield Town 1 Dulwich Hamlet 1

Sub at HT- Kier Dickson off Nigel Neita on

Town again started the half well again creating a chance straight away but was well saved by the keeper. Town then had a free kick not too far out from the Dulwich box which created a chance when it was headed back into the mix by Kirby caused confusion amongst the defenders but was eventually cleared up field.

Dulwich’s change of bringing on Alex Teniola for Daniel Carter seemed to be working a treat as they were creating a lot more chances. Next came a bit of controversy when the referee awarded a penalty to Dulwich, which was calmly converted by Carew slightly after the hour mark.

After this Town Brought on Tyler Campbell for Mickey Purcell which added some much needed pace down the right and Campbell almost made an immediate impact when he had shot which was turned out for a corner by Edwards. Town also took Daniel Wynter off and brought on Tony Mendy.

The game became scrappy after this which played slightly into Dulwich’s favour as it gave them the chance to get outside Town to get in crosses but to no avail.

Town then had a penalty of their own when Neita was brought down in the box almost in slow motion. Billy Crook stepped up to take the penalty in front of the Town fans behind the goal, and it was duly converted into the bottom right corner to set up an exciting finish.

Town had a great chance to win the game when Mendy was sent through on goal but unfortunately his tame finish was easily gathered in by Edwards. There also an excellent run by Campbell at the end but his shot was too weak to trouble Edwards in net.

Full-time: Enfield Town 2 Dulwich Hamlet 2

In a post-match interview with Ottaway, he stated how the team felt on the result saying “we see this as a point gained rather than two dropped as we have to look for the positive result rather than the negative”. This result also extends Town’s unbeaten run to six games and Ottaway stated that “Hopefully our six game unbeaten run can continue but we need to take every game as it comes”. Which is truly the only way to go into the next game thinking. Hopefully this run won’t end and Ottaway can keep scoring.