Pos:- 8TH
· February 2005 figures
· Last year's figures
March 2004
March was a month that started brightly, with a 3-0 win in the FA Cup 5th Round replay at The City Ground, Nottingham, but went downhill after that, with three successive defeats, then at last a somewhat scraped win at home against Manchester City.
Spurs failed to score in those 3 defeats, and it is perhaps a surprising statistic, that despite the array of striking talent at Martin Jol's disposal, we have failed to hit the net in 9 previous matches this season. In fairness, two of those occasions were creditable draws at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford.
Robbie Keane has popped up more than once this season to score a vital winner (at Blackburn, then at home against Brighton and Manchester City), and for that reason is featured in the picture on the right. Keane has scored a total of 15 goals so far this season, compared to Jermain Defoe's total of 21. Jermain has had the advantage of more starts, and Robbie is on target to beat his total of 16 last season for Spurs, despite spending more time on the bench. Robbie's attitude to the new-found rotation system at Tottenham has been commendable.
As for the team performance, this has once again been disappointing, with more in the "6 out of 10" bracket. We must accept however, that Spurs are a developing team, with plenty of promise for the future, and still more players to come and join the Arnesen-Jol inspired enterprise. (don't forget that Derby's under-21 International Tom Huddlestone and Finland's Teemu Tainio are already signed up to join the club this summer.
This time last year, Spurs were 12th in the league with 37 points. We went on to flirt (albeit briefly) with relegation, and to get just 8 more points from them last 8 games. Now we have 42 points, are 8th, and do have a realistic chance of UEFA qualification, as that could go to 7th place this year. April will be crucial to this hope, as we have to face Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal, along with Birmingham and West Bromwich Albion. Let's hope that at the end of the month, we are still in that qualification race!
...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 4 years!
