Bale drives Spurs’ ambition

Published on October 31, 2011 by mod1   ·   No Comments

Raising the level of expectation around a football club can be something of a dangerous policy for a manager to pursue, yet Harry Redknapp seems to have found the perfect balance during his three-year tenure as Tottenham boss.

For so long the bridesmaids of London football, a damaging inferiority complex held back a club who had the supporter base and tradition to usurp many of the teams that were finishing ahead of them in the Premier League standings every season.

A truly appalling record in matches against the top sides in English football confirmed that Spurs didn’t believe they were good enough to unsettle the best, yet Redknapp’s straight talking approach has produced a stunning transformation that could just end with Spurs finishing as London’s top club next May.

From the moment he arrived at Tottenham, Redknapp set out to alter a negative mentality that he blamed for the club’s failure to realise its potential and, after he delivered Champions League football for the first time last season, it seems as if he has succeeded in resetting the targets for a team used to being condemned as merely the ‘third best’ in their city.

Finishing ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal has been a fantasy rather than an ambition for Tottenham over the last decade, but there is genuine evidence to suggest the side that saw off a gallant Queens Park Rangers 3-1 at White Hart Lane are the third best side in the Premier League.

Their first half performance in this game was as scintillating as any side has produced this season and, in truth, Spurs should have scored more than the two goals they managed before the break as they carved QPR apart with thrilling ease.

The opener was a masterful work of art, as the impressive Rafael van der Vaart combined with Aaron Lennon who set flying winger Gareth Bale up for a goal that was finished with sublime ease in a manner similar to those of his finest hour against Inter.

Twelve minutes later, Van der Vaart doubled Spurs’ lead as he produced a clinical finish when a deflected shot fell into his path in the box. Yet it was not just the goals that helped to promote the growing aura developing around this speedy, talented Spurs side.

QPR came into this game on the back of a fine win against Chelsea last weekend, yet they looked intimidated as Spurs ran rings around them, with their flowing passing complemented by a superb work ethic from Redknapp’s team. The midfield industry of Scott Parker inspires those around him to chase down every ball and reclaim possession (on the rare occasions QPR had it) and, as Howard Webb signalled the end of the opening 45 minutes, the standing ovation that followed from another sell-out crowd was more than justified.

It seemed as if the one-sided pattern of this game was to continue as Van der Vaart so nearly added a third goal at the start of the second half, yet a lull in the home side’s intensity coincided with QPR’s improved effort and, when Jay Bothroyd scored a rare Premier League goal after some sloppy Spurs defending from a corner after 62 minutes, the gasps of delight that echoed around the stadium earlier in the afternoon was replaced by a hum of concern.

Joey Barton’s move from a wide position into the central midfield he revels in gave QPR some forward momentum, yet Spurs supporters need not have worried. With the quality of attacking talent they have at their disposal, their third goal was not long in coming as Lennon and Bale combined effectively on the edge of the box before the latter applied another sumptuous finish to confirm the victory.

“We played some fantastic stuff in the first half, the movement and passing was absolutely incredible,” beamed Redknapp. “We could have been five ahead at half-time and even though they had a little bit of a spell in the second half, Gareth’s second goal finished it off for us.

“I think we have a really good team here at the moment with a hell of a lot of quality throughout the squad. I’ve just been reminded that I’ve been at this club for three years now and it really doesn’t seem that long ago since I came here and we were bottom of the league. This club is thinking very differently now that it was then and that bodes very well for us. We want to get back in the top four at least this season and I’m convinced we can do that.”

QPR boss Neil Warnock admitted his side ‘showed their opponents too much respect’ in the first half, before admitting his side were always likely to finish this game as losers. “Tottenham have a collection of great, great players here and it looked as if we might get overrun in the first half,” he conceded. “We gave them a bit of game in the second half, but when you see that third goal from Bale, you have to start clapping don’t you. What a strike that was. What a pity that lad isn’t English, eh?”

Whether Spurs can succeed over the whole season with so many attacking players in their starting line-up is a question that still hovers over them – with the evidence of Manchester City’s 5-1 win here just two months ago a sober reminder of the chasm in class that has been created between the Manchester clubs and the rest.

Yet on current form, Luka Modric, Bale, Van der Vaart and the persistently impressive Parker would stroll into any rival Premier League side and with the gifted Sando waiting in reserve to bolster the midfield when required, a top three finish should be in their sights this season. Such a lofty target would hardly seem unreasonable for a club now believing they are worthy members of the game’s elite.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Scott Parker. Harry Redknapp’s flair players caught the eye, but the football connoisseurs will appreciate that Parker’s tireless efforts all over the park gave them their foundation. He has yet to have a bad game in Tottenham colours.

FASHION VICTIM: Spurs full-back Benoit Assou Ekotto played this game with a white boot on one foot and a light blue version on the other. Clearly he could do with a mirror when Santa comes calling in a few weeks’ time.

DEFOE DESPAIR: Third choice striker Jermain Defoe cut a miserable figure as he warmed the bench once again a matter of feet away from the press box, yet the reality is he is not nearly good enough to get into this classy Spurs side.

QPR VERDICT: A much improved second half showing gave Warnock’s men something to feel satisfied about on an afternoon when they could have been blown away. It’s safe to assume boss Warnock ripped into his under-performing players at the break.

SPURS VERDICT: Level on points with Chelsea and with a game in hand, Spurs look more inventive and defensively secure than their chief rivals in the race to finish third in the Premier League. However, their second half dip in this game suggests they are not the finished article just yet.

Credit: http://soccernet.espn.go.com

Tags: Gareth Bale, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham 3-1 QPR, Tottenham Hotspur