The Adebayor we love to see
The Adebayor who had been shut out by Andre Villas-Boas, with the singular exception of a second half appearance at his previous club in November has been re-instated by Tim Sherwood, who has now been confirmed as our Head Coach, with a contract until the end of the 2014-15 season. As many have observed, the existence of a contract does not mean that Sherwood will see out that time, but it does mean he will be paid that term, and it means Sherwood has got himself a good deal.
I'll judge Sherwood by his results, but his style has been all too evident from his first two games, and I guess we'll see more 3-2 wins than 1-0 wins in the future. That adventurous style should be rewarded this week with our Christmas home games against West Brom and Stoke, but when you talk about winnable games for Spurs, they are oh so easily losable too!
As for Adebayor, who with two goals and a dominating performance, he was voted the Spurs man of the match for the second game running which have been his only two starts this season. We did have hints of such form late last season against Everton and at Chelsea, but generally speaking, Adebayor's 2012-13 form was poor.
Sunday's performance was one which was typical of his first (loan) season at Spurs. At his best, which I believe we have seen in these two games, Adebayor is fast, powerful, skilful and simply a player who strikes fear into the heart of opponents. Southampton's defence (which was missing key players) looked so vulnerable, particularly in the second half, when Spurs charged at them, and looked capable of scoring two or three more goals.
There are still plenty of negative views around about Adebayor, partly because of his Arsenal history; partly because of his form, attitude and perceived lack of application and commitment to the Spurs cause, but if he can carry on playing as he has over the last week, we will love this Adebayor, and we will see more goals.
Sherwood will be judged on his results, not on his apparent love of the team down the road, nor on his need for one more coaching badge which will be addressed in March. After West Brom and Stoke (and less than 6 points will be deemed unsatisfactory), we have difficult away games against Man Utd and Arsenal. Now those games will be a test of the ability of a Sherwood team to show resolve in the face of such strong attacks.
I enjoyed myself on Sunday. Yes, I still suffered tension because of our one-goal lead, and defensive frailty, but the 3-2 win was so much more fun than a 1-0. I'll be giving Adebayor and Sherwood a chance to prove themselves in the second half of the season, and I think the home crowd will be happy too.
· See the Spursometer for this game in full.
Results 21-23.12.13
Liverpool 3-1 Cardiff
C.Palace 0-3 Newcastle
Fulham 2-4 Man City
Man Utd 3-1 West Ham
Stoke 2-1 A. Villa
S'derland 0-0 Norwich
West Brom 1-1 Hull
S'hampton 2-3 Spurs
Swansea 1-2 Everton
Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea
Barclays Premier League
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Liverpool 17 11 3 3 42-19 23 36
2. Arsenal 17 11 3 3 33-17 16 36
3. Man City 17 11 2 4 51-20 31 35
4. Chelsea 17 10 4 3 32-18 14 34
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5. Everton 17 9 7 1 29-16 13 34
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6. Newcastle 17 9 3 5 24-22 2 30
7. Spurs 17 9 3 5 18-23 -5 30
8. Man Utd 17 8 4 5 28-20 8 28
9. S'hampton 17 6 6 5 22-18 4 24
10. Stoke 17 5 6 6 17-21 -4 21
11. Swansea 17 5 5 7 23-23 0 20
12. Hull 17 5 5 7 14-20 -6 20
13. A. Villa 17 5 4 8 17-23 -6 19
14. Norwich 17 5 4 8 15-29 -14 19
15. Cardiff 17 4 5 8 13-25 -12 17
16. West Brom 17 3 7 7 18-23 -5 16
17. West Ham 17 3 5 9 14-22 -8 14
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18. C. Palace 17 4 1 12 11-27 -16 13
19. Fulham 17 4 1 12 17-34 -17 13
20. S'derland 17 2 4 11 12-30 -18 10
