| S |
|
62.5% |
| P |
|
66.25% |
| U |
|
55% |
| R |
|
56.25% |
| S |
|
58.75% |
| = |
|
59.75% |
Form Guide April
P W D L F-A GD Pts
4 2 0 2 5-7 -2 6
Pos:- 10th
· March 2009 figures
· Last year's figures
April/May 2008
Still plenty to play for!
We started the month of April in 11th place, virtually assured of our Premier League status, thanks to the good run that had culminated in those wins at Villa Park and at home to Chelsea. Elimination from Europe at the end of February led to the ability for Harry Redknapp to field a settled side and that trend continued in April, in which three of our four matches were on a Saturday! Only one of our four games this month was a 3 p.m. kick off though.
Now Spurs were able to forget about relegation and start to focus on the previously unlikely aspiration of once again qualifying for Europe by reaching 7th place. If it hadn't been for a couple of refereeing decisions, perhaps we would already be sitting pretty in that position. Mind you, the way Harry Redknapp seems to regard Europe makes you wonder if it would be worth Spurs getting there. Personally, we fans have had some great experiences over the last three seasons on our travels, and we'd very much like to go again please.
The first of those dodgy refereeing moments came in our first game of the month at Blackburn, where Spurs had clearly been in control of the game until Palacios was unfairly sent off for a second yellow with ten minutes remaining. Palacios's percceived offence was worthy of a second yellow card, but referee Peter Walton did not have the benefit of TV replays which showed he pulled out of his challenge against David Dunn, whose rather spectacular fall caught the official's eye. With Samba engaged as an emergency striker by Sam Allardyce, the Spurs heads dropped and Rovers grabbed two late goals to give them hope for survival, whilst those of us of a Spurs persuasion wondered how we had managed to lose.
I don't need to write much here about the Howard Webb decision that turned last Saturday's game at Old Trafford, but it is significant how Spurs' heads dropped after another soul-destroying decision.
In between these two away defeats, we made rather heavy weather of beating West Ham and Newcastle at home, both of which were 1-0 wins. Pavlyuchenko scored within minutes of coming on against West Ham in his only team appearance of the month with a cleverly executed goal laid on by the excellent Luka Modric, whose consistency this season has really only been matched by Aaron Lennon. Lennon is the Spurs Odyssey members' nomination for Player of the season, but Luka would run him very close if the poll was taken at the end of the season. The two of them are very close together in the accumulated grades you can see below this article.
Darren Bent scored the Spurs goal against Newcastle and has scored two this month to retain his top-scorer of the season status with 17 goals in all - 12 in the Premier League. That's not a bad record from only 28 starts in all 50 of our games.
Ledley has played in three of the four games in April, and once again the side has been very settled with 18 players appearing, and just 13 of those making starts. The Robbie Keane/Darren Bent combination has been Harry's choice, but with Defoe and Pavlyuchenko fit again, perhaps we will see some changes in May. Robbie's form seems to have dipped a little since that 6 match unbeaten run after his return, but as skipper, I do not see him making way.
With two difficult away games to come in May, the pattern of win at home, and lose away may continue, which would not be enough to take us to seventh. On the other hand, Everton will have half an eye on the Cup Final, and they have already lost Jagielka to injury. Liverpool may have nothing to play for on the last day. Mind you, we have the inconsistent Man City at home, and next week face relegation-battling West Brom, who beat Sunderland 3-0 last week-end. We should not count any chickens regarding those two games.
Spurs have a clean-sheet record to chase (at home), and with the Europa Cup still a possibility, there is plenty to play for and enjoy in May!
Don't forget to check out the cumulative appearances and grades for the squad below.
...if you want to remind yourself of the matches played during this month, then See the Fixtures page here. By working your way back through the previous month's figures, you can review the performances over the last 9 years!
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