5 things we learnt from Arsenal v Tottenham U23s

Wayne Burnett took his Spurs U23's, down the road to the Emirates to take on Freddie Ljungberg's Arsenal. Unfortunately Spurs left the red half of North London with nothing as an early Joe Willock goal and a goal from Tyreece John-Jules mid way through the second half gave Arsenal all 3 points Spurs did pull a late goal back through Jaden Brown but it wasn't enough.Here are five things we learned about Burnett's side. 

Troy Parrott: Could he be the next Harry Kane or Robbie Keane?

The young Irish forward, caught everyones eye at the recent U17 European Championships held in this country. Particular attention was paid to that beauty of a free kick he scored against Bosnia. One that a certain Kieran Trippier would have been proud of. Parrott, obviously impressed Wayne Burnett enough to convince the board to extend the Irishman's contract back in May. Is it the case of people boarding the hype train, before the youngster has really proven himself at senior level. 

There have been calls, similar to those last year for Reo Griffiths, that Parrott should be promoted to being Harry Kane's understudy. This has been somewhat of poison chalice as all three strikers who have played this role, have either disappeared, ie Vincent Janssen or saw their careers damaged greatly, ie Fernando Llorente and Roberto Soldado. The other comparison that has been banded about is to fellow countryman and Spurs legend Robbie Keane. On the evidence tonight, it is way too early to even contemplate promoting the youngster, Parrott found chances at a premium, as Arsenal cut off his service completely.and the fact that he lost his temper late on in the game and got himself sent off after a bust up on the pitch. Lets see how he performs upon his return, especially in the upcoming Checktrade Trophy, which is whole lot more physical than PL2. Lets see how he performs in the coming weeks and especially in the upcoming Checktrade Trophy, which is whole lot more physical than PL2.

Should Danny Rose be looking over his shoulder

One player who did truly impress on the night was left back, Jaden Brown. Brown kept Arsenal attacks to a minimum down his side and like the senior players, Brown attempted to push on forward when he could and was rewarded right at the death as he was able to find a way into the Arsenal box and score to make it a tense last few minutes. After the moderate success Kyle Walker-Peters has found when he has been thrust into the first team, could Brown be the next youth player to be given a chance. Given all the uncertainty surrounding Rose throughout the summer could Pochettino be prepared to give Brown the chance to make his mark in the senior squad, maybe in cup competitions.

Oliver Skipp the linchpin

Having just signed a brand new contract, Oliver Skipp repaid the faith somewhat with a very assured performance at the Emirates. Skipp played the role similar to what Eric Dier does in the senior squad, which is to sit in front of the defence and link the two together. Skipp did however find it difficult to create much going forward, as previously mentioned Arsenal did a very good job of cutting of the service to the forwards. Skipp does look like a tidy little player and could be another one of the midfield gems coming out of Hotspur Way. 

Spurs found it hard to break Arsenal down

 As hinted at in previous parts, Spurs found it quite hard to break the Arsenal defence down and chances were really at a premium for Parrott and Shayon Harrison. As the season goes on, Spurs could be serious trouble near the foot of the PL2 table. The main problem is that the best of Spurs' youth seems to be shipped off on loan in the search for first team football or kept on the bench of the first team. This may sound like a good thing but what it does mean is that there is a lack of team cohesion due to the fact that the same players are not always together. If Spurs held onto the likes of Marcus Edwards and Conor Ogilvie then the youth squad might perform better. However, you just have to look at the youth setup at Chelsea, they always seem to perform well at this level but its rare to see any of those players in the first team. 

The Pochettino brand of football is alive and well

One major positive to take from the game is the style of play Spurs implemented. Burnett as got them playing a quick passing game and they tried to keep as much of the ball as they could. Pochettino has obviously made it a priority to get this style of football, played at all levels throughout the club. The only problem that Burnett has run into is for one the lack of team cohesion, as previously mentioned and a lack of older heads in there to really dictate the game. Having players like Edwards, Ogilvie and Anthony Georgiou who have been in an around the club for a few years can really help the others players' development. 

5 things i took away from Mansfield v Barnet

Mansfield showed why they are promotion candidates 
Mansfield in the end breezes past a spirited Barnet and really laid down a marker to those around them at the top end of League 2. They found it harder in the first half to break Barnet down but once MacDonald opened the scoring, the floodgate really opened. Mansfield turned the screw on Barnet and left the Bees with a very long trip home and a lot more work on Westley’s hands.


Akinde needs to start finding his feet again

Big John Akinde had his injury earlier this campaign and has seemed to return more muscular which I wasn’t sure was possible but you can tell he is no where near the same level he was last season, when he walked away with the golden boot. If Barnet are to stay up then the goals of Akinde and his strike partner Coulthirst need to start ramping up.


Westley has rejuvenated Barnet

Despite the result, former Enfield and Stevenage boss Graham Westley has got the players to find a sort of second wind. Curtis Weston and Ryan Watson looked very assured in the middle of the park, whilst Bover looked a threat down the wing. Clough and Santos looked more composed at the back, with Tutonda and Brindley being overall solid. Barnet need that confidence boost from a big win to maybe start the road to a great escape from the trap door out of the football league.


Barnet do look a side ready for the drop

Despite all the positives I saw from Barnet today, there is a real gulf in the quality on show. Mansfield were not at their best but had the quality in their side to grind the result out. Maybe relegation to the National League will do Barnet some good as they can rebuild like they did once before. Barnet have been treading water since their return and if wasn’t for the goals of Akinde it could have come sooner.

Alex MacDonald only scores bangers

MacDonald scores yet another beauty of a goal today. He seems to have the ability to hit absolute screamers as he also, scored a a wonderful strike away at Coventry, earlier this season. He is a very useful player to have in the squad as when thugs are ver drab and teams are hard to break down like today, then you have a chance to pull a rabbit out the hat. Once he did it made Barnet open up more and that’s when Mansfield’s quality shone through

What i took away from Luton v Peterborough

Jack Marriots's return

Posh striker Jack Marriot made his first appearance at Kenilworth Road since his move from Luton Town in the summer. He cut a frustrated figure throughout the first half and only managed two feeble attempts which didn't trouble Shea in the Luton net.

Marriot's frustrations grew in the second half with wayward effort after wayward effort.  He did however, link play up better and at times showed glimpses of the player that once graced the pitch at Kenilworth Road. Overall, Marriot had a very frustrating evening and will look to forget his return as quickly as possible.



Luton matched Peterborough pound for pound

Given how strong Luton's promotion chances look going into the New Year, their second string 11 more than matched Peterborough in every department. At times, the Hatters played excellent free flowing football and had the Posh defence all over the show.

What Luton lacked was a killer instinct in front of the net as a majority of their attempts went straight down the throat of keeper Jonathan Bond. Maybe Danny Hylton would've done better.


Luke Gambin's struggling season

Gambin had to go off the field after just 25 minutes to add to his woes this campaign. Gambin has
only seen through 90 minutes once in the league this season and only over 75 twice. The Maltese wingers best chances to shine are in these Checkatrade Trophy matches. Gambin played the full 90 in 3 of the 4 matches Luton have played this season. The extent of his injury isn't known, however this is yet another setback for the tricky winger.



Ruddock Mpanzu bossed the midfield

Mpanzu played at the heart of the Luton midfield this evening and was sensational throughout, his raw strength and power was in full effect. His ball rentention was brilliant given how much pressure
he was put under by Peterborough. The only thing lacking in his game tonight was that killer through ball to cut open the Posh defence. Will Luton have to fend off potential suitors for a player who doesn't get enough game time for a player of his ability.




Peterborough's start to the New Year

The Posh have started 2018 rather well with a New Year's day draw to Doncaster, followed up excellently with the scalp of Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.

Peterborough struggled tonight against a resilient Luton side who look to have been pushing on two fronts this season. The sides could only be separated by a penalty shoot out. Posh won it in the end to continue their solid 2018 start.

5 Talking points from Spurs v AFC Wimbledon

We see this every week

It seems to be a common theme, when lower sides come to Wembley, they seemingly park the bus. It
was more understandable in this instance as Wimbledon, don't have the same level of players as Spurs do. This style of play has worked for Burnley, West Brom and most recently West Ham. Spurs seem to struggle to break the wall down and the side to side passing seems to frustrate the fans within the ground.What happens when sides do this is that we pass from side to side and add build up play to build up play which is so frustrating to watch. Pochettino needs to find his effective plan B as Son is now a starter.



Sissoko had one of his better games

Moussa Sissoko has had a rough year and half at Spurs but Aurier's arrival makes him more competent on the ball. Today, was the first time i have seen him threaten going forward without Aurier there to back him up. In the first half, Spurs struggled to break through the resolute Wimbledon defence but the likes of Sissoko actually attacked them with some ferocity. He was rewarded with the assist for the opening goal of the game. He obviously saw this as his opportunity to prove to both Poch and fans that he can do a job without Serge to back him up.

Vorm looked timid in net

Vorm came in today for his start since the Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham back in October.
Gazzaniga will feel a little hard done by as he was excellent in his only appearance against Palace. Vorm was too cautious for the type of keeper, Spurs fans are used to. Whenever a loose ball came towards goal barring one situation, he stayed put on his line. This is worrying as if Lloris gets injured again then will Vorm get caught out by more high quality attackers.


How long has it been Super Jan

Jan Vertonghen scored his first goal since October 2013, which was against lowly Sheriff Tiraspol. Vertonghen has been one of Spurs' most consistent performers alongside Kane this season and it was a great sight to see him break that massive goal drought and it was brilliant to see him break out his trademark Superman celebration as well. He took his goal excellently and deserved the slice of luck of the deflection to put it into the Wimbledon net. It was obvious that the whole team were happy for Super Jan as they all tried to grab a piece of the Belgian.

Son's introduction was the difference 

Heung Min Son is proving that he is one of Spurs' players of the season. As i mentioned previously mentioned Spurs struggled to break down Wimbledon. This was when we played two up front but Llorente was well of the pace today and the side needed that spark. Son, 100% provided this and helped create more space for others, which led to us getting through the stubborn Wimbledon defence. Son is now a guaranteed name on the team sheet for Poch now which is a fantastic achievement for the South Korean.