Has Sandro played his last game of the season?
The news this week that our ace midfielder Sandro has had a knee operation comes as a severe blow to Spurs fans. Whilst the club is releasing as little information as possible, there is a very real fear that "The Beast" may have played his last game of the season.
If that is the case, then Sandro, who is a dynamic tackler, runner and passer, and who has such a positive effect upon the team in all areas, will be sorely missed. He is very close to leading the Spurs Odyssey player of the season vote so far, and he is our leading outfield player. Sandro had started 26 of our 31 games played so far, and all 22 of our Premier League games played. Only Aaron Lennon matches that record, having also started all Premier League games to date.
Scott Parker's return is therefore very welcome. Parker has looked sharper than ever, and I've noticed that his play has been more adventurous, getting forward more, rather than being given the responsibility of being a tiger protecting the back four. Sandro did miss 20 games last season, so perhaps Parker will benefit from playing beside someone like Dembele. Let's hope that both these players cane keep fit.
The Sandro situation means that any prospect of a loan move for Jake Livermore (to QPR) or Tom Huddlestone (to Fulham) has been put on hold, and there has been a suggestion that Spurs might make a move to secure the early transfer of Lewis Holtby, due to come in the summer. Any such move would involve a fee, which clearly the club was hoping to avoid, so we'll wait and see on that one!
Looking at the comments of voters in this week's post-match survey, there is no doubt that Spurs fans are "glass half-empty" types, with all the pessimism in the world expressed about our 0-0 draw at Loftus Road. Adebayor has become the most hated Spurs player this season, after being so important for us last year. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was voted the Spurs man of the match, and yet he hardly had a save to make! I struggle to understand that particular vote, I must admit, and Scott Parker was my particular choice, after he replaced Sandro after only 25 minutes.
Lloris is the man leading that player of the season vote (by a very small margin). Perhaps our record of 4 clean sheets in our current run of 6 Premier League games unbeaten has a lot to do with that. That makes 5 clean sheets in our last 8 Premier League games, as opposed to just the one in the first 14 games.
Spurs and Andre Villas-Boas are doing something right. They are currently established in the top four, and thanks to Southampton's fine effort last night at Stamford Bridge, only two points behind third placed Chelsea.
There is another big week-end this week, with Chelsea meeting Arsenal, and Manchester United visiting White Hart Lane. I hope for some positive thoughts after that game!
· See this week's Spursometer in full
Results 12-16.01.13
QPR 0-0 Spurs
A. Villa 0-1 S'hampton
Everton 0-0 Swansea
Fulham 1-1 Wigan
Norwich 0-0 Newcastle
Reading 3-2 West Brom
Stoke 0-4 Chelsea
S'derland 3-0 West Ham
Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool
Arsenal 0-2 Man City
Chelsea 2-2 S'hampton
Barclays Premier League
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Man Utd 22 18 1 3 56-29 27 55
2. Man City 22 14 6 2 43-19 24 48
3. Chelsea 22 12 6 4 45-21 24 42
4. Spurs 22 12 4 6 39-27 12 40
5. Everton 22 9 10 3 35-26 9 37
6. Arsenal 21 9 7 5 40-24 16 34
7. West Brom 22 10 3 9 31-30 1 33
8. Liverpool 22 8 7 7 35-28 7 31
9. Swansea 22 7 9 6 31-26 5 30
10. Stoke 22 6 11 5 21-24 -3 29
11. West Ham 21 7 5 9 24-27 -3 26
12. Norwich 22 6 8 8 24-34 -10 26
13. Fulham 22 6 7 9 33-38 -5 25
14. S'derland 22 6 7 9 24-29 -5 25
15. S'hampton 22 5 7 10 30-40 -10 22
16. Newcastle 22 5 6 11 27-39 -12 21
17. Wigan 22 5 4 13 23-40 -17 19
18. A. Villa 22 4 7 11 17-42 -25 19
19. Reading 22 3 7 12 26-42 -16 16
20. QPR 22 2 8 12 17-36 -19 14
