Wigan Wipeout ...It's The Player Ratings
Saturday, 03 January 09, 12:14 AM · Comments (53)
The Home Crowd 2 'The Stand Up...' thing has hit TILT with me now. So desist, there's a good gang of unimaginative, spotty teenagers.
And just on the Ghaly thing, next time you see him or anyone else for that matter in the shirt, lead by example by showing some common courtesy for the badge ...and cheer. You that booed are probably the same that clapped to Campbell's name when it was read out. And he's not even a Tottenham player.
F*** me, catch up or shut up.
Or do we have to put a call into Levy's architects? 'Yeah, 60,000 is still good. But can you make more of them AWAY seats to accommodate our own fans? Cheers.'
Gomes 7 Fell asleep the same time the others did for the Wigan goal. Otherwise superb. Great throws.
Corluka 6.5 A good game, but is his shirt big enough?
Dawson 6 Neither wonderful nor too daft so a good shift had by all.
Woodgate 8 Quite simply - Mustard.
Bale 7 Far far better performance than we've seen in a long time. Well done.
Zokora 7 ...in Good Game Shock. Looked like a DM. Must be something wrong with the telly.
Modric 6 Didn't see nearly enough of the ball. Two questions. 1. Has Ricardo Rocha been coaching him on headers? 2. I sincerely wish to be rich. How do I get into this 'supplying footballers with hair products' business?
O'Hara 5 Busy busy busy but couldn't get into the game and a great opportunity for Ghaly went a begging.
Bentley 7 I do hope his haters are treated by their employers the way they treat him. Then they can become as expert in daytime TV as they are in football. Seems to need to be on the end of his own crosses.
Bent 5 Probably relieved to get off. It was looking like another one of those 'running around to no good purpose in the cold' jobs.
Pavlyuchenko 8 Blossomed with every touch. We actually saw him get an opportuity to play football opposed to endlessly leap for headers. I like my penalty takers cool. This guy was the breeze.
Campbell 6.6 Ironic that the referee who would give nothing then gave a penalty for a fall that would have made Jimmy Cagney blush....
Michael Brown 0 What a piece of dog muck made 'human' he is.
Like this blog? Help spread the word: 
53 Comments · Add yours
I don't post often, I may not be permitted to again but here goes....
I LIKE ZOKORA!
There I got it off my chest.
Chaps the derision of this man is, if nothing, OTT. Therefore here goes the argument for the defense.
As a DM he tackles well and is bursting with energy.
When he passes over five yards and tries not to overcomplicate things he keeps the play flowing and links defense, midfield and attack... after all, all he really needs to do is win the ball back and give it to those around him with more creative flair. When he does this his completed pass ratio is much better than some on here care to suggest.
Those lung bursting runs do get us out of sticky situations often and if Arry can get him playing the simple ball at the end of it (like tonight) they may become even more fruitful.
He is a fantastic utility man.
My criticism is his tendency to do something daft every now and again, usually by trying to do something clever. Zok keep it simple and ye shall prosper.
Oh, did I also forget to mention he has now also given his left testicle to the cause. Surely we can cut him some slack?
do do do didier zokora
P.S for all those about to lynch me try this on for size....
BRING BACK GHALY!!!!
Reply to Zok's jock strap:
Modric preformed much better than Bentley although bentley played 100 times better than he has all season but i guess hes getting used to the speed of the english preimer league for some reason everyone is extremely fast and he seems to run in slow motion and his inablilty to beat the one man wall was one favourite moment of 09. But he played intelligent and creative which spelt success against wigan. new year much better start for really everyone on the field wearing a tottenham shirt last night.
Go to your room junior, and don't come out until you can spell and use proper grammar.
'He is a fantastic utility man.'
We need more than just utility men. A handy squad player? Yes. First choice for the heart of our midfield? No.
Reply to Zok's jock strap:
I concur, Sir.
Yup! Looks like Pav is starting to blossom into the class forward we all hoped he'd be. He's penalty was "cool"...but so was the third goal...a classy twenty yarder. All he needs now is a pedigree strike partner....and I hope it's not Defoe, but judging by this morning's news it looks like 'arry has talked the chairman into upping the ante on his offer to Pompey.
Great performance by some ok others. Pav was superb as was Woodgate and Zakora. As for those idiots booing Ghaly one word....wankers! give the guy a chance
I nearly fell off my chair when Zok passed the ball to Pav who scored - first time in two and a half years! I still think he's a great guy to have around as a cheerleader, squad player, sub and occasional starter/cover but you still have to ask yourself the question - would manu, chelski, citeh etc etc be interested in buying him if he was for sale?
On Ghaly; Whilst I wouldn't personally boo him (as I believe you are coming down to his level), I have sympathy for those who did. You can't have it boht ways Harry. You say we must have respect for the badge, but did he show any respect for the badge when he threw his shirt at the bench?
Everyone deserves another chance (apart from judas) but you can't expect anyone to cheer a player who showed clear comtempt for the club.
Schoolboy, we cheer Bentley (an ex Goon) and may possibly find ourselves cheering Bellamy (a hateful little mutant but quite a good player) and Defoe who kept saying he wanted to stay but wouldnt wait for Berb's obvious departure and refused to sign a contract extension. Ghaly had one aberration and paid the price - maybe a polite round of applause then if not the sort of adoration reserved for Hoddle, Perryman, Ardiles etc. Its not a nice thought that the manager has to change the team he puts out because the crowd wont accept a player.
Reply to TheSchoolboy:
Schoolboy. If you throw something down in anger/disappointment it doesn't necessarily mean that your anger/disappointment is aimed at the item thrown. If that was the case in the past I have had anger issues with several mobile and land line phones, a computer mouse and a number of DIY tools not to mention a few games console controllers!
At worse Hossam made an error in his judgement. And it was only an error because of the sensitive nature of some fans/journos. I like my players a bit fiesty. I like 'em to show a bit of passion, to get bloody for the cause. To be at least a tad miffed when they are subbed (at no time should a Spurs player look relieved when being subbed).
Ghaly plays tough, sticks his head in where it hurts and has shown glimpses of a promising footballer in the past. I don't think he has done anything to be forgiven for but you might just consider our league position and wonder if others have!
Over and out!
COYS!
His performance against Chelsea a couple of seasons ago is enough to convince me he can do a job for us.
When Ghaly did that, he was a 24-year-old who got pissed off at being subbed for a sub, and made an error in judgement. Guess what, he's a human being and these things tend to happen. It was not meant as a direct insult towards the badge. I'm sure the people who booed were either pea-brained morons, or bored supporters who didn't get enough panto over the festive season. I was really disappointed to see him ready to come on and then get told to sit down again, would like to see what he can do.
Pav was great last night. Key was that he had someone next to him, so he was able to drop and collect the ball and get things going, then alternate and make the running. Case-in-point that we need 4-4-2.
Gomes 7 fab throws, nearly threw himself up the field at one point.
Corluka 7 liking this bloke more and more
Woodgate 7.5
Dawson 6.5
Bale 6.5
Zokora 7 worked hard and never got lost
Modric 8 great in 4-4-2. end of the road for JJ?
O'Hara 4 ineffective
Bentley 5
Pavlyuchenko 8
Campbell 6
Ghally 3 for being optimistic enough to think there's away back.
Ghaly?, I think the boos were aimed at the fact that the fans would have liked one of our prospects come on (namely Adel, after Harry had bigged him up).
I sincerely believe that Harry got them (Ghaly and Adel) mixed up and pointed and said "come on sunshine, put your mark on this game".
Anyway... feck Ghaly. What happened seemed an apt punishment, now we're square.
Agree with most of the marks given for the players. Thought Woody looked like a rock at the back (Daws was ok but did you see him jump and miss the ball! lucky their strikeforce was injured!). Zok played well again and thought Modric just has class written all over him, Pav also looked good.
JOH, Bentley, Bent - Poor
As for Ghaly I think most people on this site are happy for him to be given another chance, the spotty kids and pea brains at the ground think otherwise. As for Adel, the game was never won, if we were 3 - 0 with 30 mins to go he would have come on, 2- 0 with our history of giving away goals and the fact we'd taken our foot off the pedal meant he had to stay on the bench.
Reply to Zok's jock strap:
You're right. I was a big critic but he is much improved over the last 12 months and he capped it all last night with a 60 yard burst that actually ended in a decent pass !
You are spot on Harry.
It's odd that Wigan had a lot of the play but most of our players played well.
Woody is an awesome player and, it appears, a leader of men.
The Baler looked much better defensively, thought it was his best game this season.
Modders demonstrated he's class wherever he plays.
Pav demonstrated that he's a top drawer striker so where are all those who have been writing him off ?
I demand apologies from all of you or you'll be hearing from my solicitors : Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel.
Sorry HH, wrong on the ghaly front. Has everyone forgotten his comments post chucking the shirt on the gorund when he was on his loan spell? About how we were not a big enough club for him any way? Deserved to be booed and we should get rid, end of.
On a positive note...Gomes is a legend, a lot of men would have given up and gone home, showing now he is world class. I love him....in a manly way...!
Reply to Zok's jock strap:
i like zokora aswell....just from the bench...he is a useful squad man....covering midfield,full backs and if you are feeling brave centre back....i have watched him for over 2 seasons now and i can honestly say that hand on spurs heart he is not the man to boss our midfield....but i am not in charge so it's good that you like him as we see him nearly every game....maybe he will form a good central partnership with modric.....surely there is a bit of everything in those two....but will they get the chance...?
....but i like zokora too....he has a positive energy....
supposedly he cost £8million...i still don't want to believe that... but he sure can shift once a game...
admittedly i was watching from a laptop but i thought i saw him pointing and directing from the middle last night which made me laugh because i'm sure he hasn't got a clue what he is doing....
on ghaly...he is a soldier on the field ....but he's made his own bed...so now has to lie in it....throwing your shirt at big jols feet in front of a full white hart lane is asking for trouble and very stupid.....but personally i wouldn't boo anyone wearing a tottenham shirt....and surely harry made a mistake by not going through with bringing him on....but maybe not....is he showing ghaly who's boss down the lane....
I was obviously watching a different Modric to you Harry. The Telegraph's Henry Winter got it spot on for me - "Modric...excelled in a central-midfield role. The Croatian's intelligence and technique stood out. One of his first-time passes was sublime, the ball swept out from deep in central midfield to Bentley on the right". Too much to expect Dannyboy to admit that he's been misguided with his 'drop Modric for the good of the team' remarks.
Oh, and I'm glad my earlier comments about Pavlyuchenko have been vindicated. He's class, as you'd expect of a true international striker. Though no doubt one more game where he's starved of service will see the ridiculous slating resume here...
Modric and Woodgate were the two best players on the pitch.
Yeah, I think 20 months out and a loan spell at Derby is punishment enough for anyone. Joey Barton got less for braining a team mate and a random kid. I'm with the forgive crew on this one. After all, he had come on as a sub and then got taken off 20 or so minutes later. He just wanted to play... I like players with something to prove.
Typical fickle lot making us all look bad again. Feel sorry for Ghaly, as everyone has pointed out he did have his heart in it for us before, and showed mainly at that Chelsea game that he can do a job too. I think some of the boo boys should read the apology he made to the website after that Blackburn game - I would have thought it was enough, and that reasonable people would understand it was a general mistake.
Anyway, only news from the inside is that we're not done yet with Bellamy, Defoe and Downing, even though we did have initial bids/enquiries turned down for all of them. Portsmouth have pretty much stated that they are holding out for 20m in case Man City will match it. Therefore don't expect Defoe or either of the other 2 to arrive before the very end of the month, if at all.
not often i take issue with your ratings H.. but scoring Zokora higher than Modric is just outrageous..
aside from Pav, Mod was our best player going forward.. not once was he caught in possession and granted he could have been involved slightly more, the guy is the northern lights compared to the L.E.D that is Zokora..
Bentley made me so angry last night.. i'm not saying i hate him or anything... but why all the needless, almost Ronaldo-esque stepovers and flicks when it's patently clear that he cannot cross the ball.. even Pav showed he can cross the ball (for C*mpbell's chance)..
he played better last night than he has lately but i would suggest he shave his head, cut out the fancy stuff and concentrate on the fundementals of football.
oh and H... if you've rated the players based purely on their own individual standards then please ignore my demented ramblings..
A lot of the "Stand Up" and booing of Ghaly came from the north stands. Cant say I was particularly impressed. Hoping for a slightly more rousing and sensible display on Tuesday.
Also...Pav, although a better display is still not good enough at holding up the ball. He left or lost more balls to Titus Shambles than I could ever have imagined. However his passing is excellent and when he did occasionally manage to control the ball he generally knew what to do with it. Although he does seem to take too long in posession.
Overall it was a fairly mediocre display from all concerned, although obviously the second half was a lot brighter in terms of goals and passing.
Bale was no better than Ekotto but at least that isn't a bad thing in my opinion.
Oh and Bentley...if he could at least stay standing up with the ball for more than a minute that would be really f*cking handy. What a twat.
Finally...why the hell were the Wigan lot beating our guys to virtually every ball?!!!
harry, if the crowd wanna sing stand up if you hate arsenal, then good for them, if they wanna sing the okey okey, fine. if they wanna boo and hiss the baddie, thats their choice. paying 30 quid on a cold friday night to watch wigan gives them the right within reason to do whatever. we have one of the better grounds for atmosphere so if the acne ridden in the park lane get a bit distracted then so what.
its all well and good with the gift of wisdom and sobriety of late middle age, knocking these guys but its a football ground not the womens institute
michael brown, 10 for laughing at the tart bentley for falling to the floor at a slight brush, a ploy no doubt perfected down the road
also pav plays much better when hes washed his hair. if its gseasy and lank he is in for a bad game. they gotta get some timotei down there sharpish
Reply to PLN:
here, here - proper fighter for the cause.
Give the guy a second chance, he deserves another shot under 'Arry.
COYS!
Reply to summerspur:
No? ... Ok, I'll be good.
Love this Redknapp quote regarding the fans' negative reaction to Hossam Ghaly and Gilberto... "We've got two fit strikers and two players who can't play because the crowd don't like them. Apart from that we're not too bad."
With respect to Zokora, I too was pleased to finally see one of his epic dribbles end in a pass to a Spurs player!
Question: With Modric proving vs Wigan (and vs WBrom with 10 men) that he can play in an orthodox midfield role, what does this mean for the likes of JJ, Thudd and Zok? Who plays beside him? It would seem, for balance, a DM like Zok is required, but Harry has played Thudd whenever he's been healthy. Then there's JJ (I've never been a fan). What to do?
Reply to Hairy_Hotspur:
Get as much moolah as possible for Jenas, then exchange it for a 'proper' player.
Reply to summerspur:
"its a football ground not the womens institute"...
Consider your repeat order for Fig Conserve duly cancelled, young man
Reply to Hairy_Hotspur:
Well here's Harry's answer to that little problem...
"I started him [Modric] in a basic 4-4-2 as a central midfielder, which I hadn't done before," he said.
"It was a gamble but he showed enough against West Brom when we went down to 10 men.
"I dropped him into midfield and it worked well, so let's see if he can play in a two-man central midfield. (Didier) Zokora around you gives protection by covering ground.
"Modric is so good on the ball, I don't see any reason why he can't play for us."
So it looks like he sees Zok being the main man to do the DM job, though Thudd could I'm sure make a very good DM long-term. Big, strong and not half bad with a 30 yard pass...
HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA
I support Southend as well and have had a season ticket for the past few seasons
couldnt get to the Chelsea game today because Im on holiday, but was avidly following it on the internet.
Good to see they bollocked up and gave us a replay for a couple of weeks time!!
Anyway, I think the booing of Ghaly is just a bit pathetic. Its time to move on people.
Reply to HarryHotspur:
i hear the W I are doing a calendar with a difference. they asked several prem players to dress in womens clothes, all in good taste for charity. zOkOra was asked about miss march, he adopted that manic look that only he can and said "no problems, i to do miss january, miss february, miss april, miss may, indeed i miss all year "
Reply to TheSchoolboy:
are you for real?
Ghaly loves the club and was pissed off to be substituted....had fuck all to do with anything else....sympathy for fans.............my blood is boileth overeth
For those who booed Ghaly you can f*ck right off. He was probably busting a gut to play and he ain't that bad. Just imagine if he had gotten a cheer when he came on he would have run through brick walls for the team - which can't be said the same for some of them. A missed opportunity me thinks!
Reply to glenwasgod:
well said GWG
Reply to Blanchflower:
old fashioned view on life Blanchflower?
You ever done anything you regretted?...the answer is undoubtably YES and did it ever hang round your neck for an age.....c,mon mate think again, he is Spurs and until he aint he gets my support
I wonder what Graham Roberts opinion would be of Ghaly? I think he could be just the sort of player we need for those away day scraps!
Cos we need to give it some away from home.
Reply to WhiteyThomson:
..wHitey, why you still got Berbacock as your avatar?....oh and i take it you werent too impressed with us winning 3-1............have to say I,m confused
Bellamy or Ghaly?
We all know Bellamy is a serial ar*ehole.
Discuss...............
Reply to steve1987:
Ghaly I really could not cope with someone as repugnant as Bellamy getting the chance to play for our club
So, Galy had one bad day at the office in may 2007 and threw a fit. Who of us hasn't done that? I remember once sweeping everything off my desk (with my arm) in front of my boss and the whole office. I then told him very loudly to fuck off (as i recall he didn't seem to appreciate all of my extra effort on a particularly challenging project). It didn't mean that i hated the firm that i worked with....i just fucking hated him for those few rash minutes. I didn't get fired but i certainly wasn't his favorite employee for a while. I did "come back" however and my bad reaction wasn't held against me in the long term. You see, i was a "performer" for the firm and the boss new that i would channel that type of passion into my work.
Galy is a passionate player who was pissed off at Jol. He was not pissed off at the badge. He had a bad day and he has paid for it. He's been in purgatory ever since that fateful day. He deserves another chance guys. He can contribute and we should let him show us what he can to help us get out the shite that we find ourselves mired in.
Also, why is everyone on Bentley's back? He's supplying some fine touches and whipping in some beautiful cross balls.
We are sometimes too fucking fickle in my opinion.
Reply to Nick_The_Greek:
Any player who pulls on the famous lilywhite shirt will have my full support.
Steve1987 (comment 41) spot on, couldn't have put it better myself.
Reply to Ginge1:
So you will welcome back big Sol as emergancy defensive cover ?
Reply to steve1987:
Reply to Nick_The_Greek:
I think there is a difference here...
Cue witty remark... hmmmm, how about, twat?
Reply to toddspur:
Mainly because I can't be bothered to change the pic and because he looks like an absolute pscyhopath in the photo. That aside...
I was unimpressed because it was a very average display of football, with Wigan getting all the loose balls and diddling all of our players with the same sodding trick every time.
Albeit we won 3-1, the first was an iffy scuffed penalty and the third was only due to a second string keeper who quite frankly (and we would have noticed had we tested him more than 4 times throughout the game) was absolute shite.
Also I was slightly miffed that all the goals for our lot happened the wrong sodding end to me!