Vertonghen voted Man of the match on his debut
There were a lot of critical comments this week for Andre Villas-Boas and his chosen team against West Brom. The knives are currently being sharpened by a lot of Spurs fans, if not drawn as yet. A win is much needed on Saturday before the first International break of the season.
On the plus side, Jan Vertonghen was voted a clear choice for man of the match, being the only player to hit the 7 out of 10 mark. He didn't draw too many comments from the audience, but those who did talk about him agreed that he was a "very good player" and a "good asset". One comment even described him as "outstanding".
Outstanding is not a comment that many Spurs have ever made about poor old Jermaine Jenas, who was the subject of criticism for simply being Jenas, and whose presence also brought criticism about the head coach's selections and substitution policy.
It's those substitutions that have brough AVB's overall mark below 6 out of 10 (5.86), with people asking why we need two holding midfielders at home; why Sigurdsson did not start; and why was Defoe upfront with a 5 man midfield. I think Adebayor's lack of match fitness answers this point. Someone even said "I was hopeful with AVB. Now I am terried, as he is an idiot"! (My exclamation mark)
My good friend Matt Carr (from The States) says:- "I think AVB picks the best side available, with Ade only in for a week's training. My one concern is that to me it seems two weeks running that the opposition has made an adjustment at the half and come out the better side, and I don't think we've made any adjustments."
At this rate, it won't be long before those knives are drawn! Thanks for all the comments. I do read them all, and try to reflect the flavour in these match by match reviews.
· View this week's "Spursometer" in full
Results 25-26.08.12
Swansea 3-0 West Ham
A. Villa 1-3 Everton
Man Utd 3-2 Fulham
Norwich 1-1 QPR
S'hampton 0-2 Wigan
S'derland P Reading
Spurs 1-1 West Brom
Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle
Stoke 0-0 Arsenal
Liverpool 2-2 Man City
Barclays Premier League
P W D L F-A GD PTS
1. Chelsea 3 3 0 0 8-2 6 9
2. Swansea 2 2 0 0 8-0 8 6
3. Everton 2 2 0 0 4-1 3 6
4. West Brom 2 1 1 0 4-1 3 4
5. Man City 2 1 1 0 5-4 1 4
6. Fulham 2 1 0 1 7-3 4 3
7. Man Utd 2 1 0 1 3-3 0 3
8. Wigan 2 1 0 1 2-2 0 3
9. Newcastle 2 1 0 1 2-3 -1 3
10. West Ham 2 1 0 1 1-3 -2 3
11. Stoke 2 0 2 0 1-1 0 2
12. Arsenal 2 0 2 0 0-0 0 2
13. S'derland 1 0 1 0 0-0 0 1
14. Spurs 2 0 1 1 2-3 -1 1
15. Reading 2 0 1 1 3-5 -2 1
16. Liverpool 2 0 1 1 2-5 -3 1
17. Norwich 2 0 1 1 1-6 -5 1
18. QPR 2 0 1 1 1-6 -5 1
19. S'hampton 2 0 0 2 2-5 -3 0
20. A. Villa 2 0 0 2 1-4 -4 0
