Matt Wright's Recent Posts

Spurs starlet has emerged from the shadows to prove his doubters wrong

Matt Wright — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:12:52 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Wright looks at the Spurs youngster, who is finally proving his doubters wrong.

They say life is never easy being a Spurs fan and this season has certainly proved no different. A car crash of an opening has already deflated even the most positive of Spur and we are all left to look ahead in the hope that Harry Redknapp can help us salvage something from our sorry start. We never make life easy, but could Spurs fans imagine life any other way?

This season in truth has been a nightmare and the only thing it has shown is that the majority of modern day footballers only look out for No.1. Their dislike of Juande Ramos and his methods caused many of them to shut down mentally, which subsequently saw half hearted displays and we supporters, who happily pay their wages, had to endure abysmal performances week after week - it's a disgrace in all honesty, but when have players ever given a toss about supporters.

I don't want to go into the negatives and pinpoint the worst culprits because we at Spurs know who they are, but instead focus on the positive performances of a youngster who I have to admit I was once highly critical of.

Aaron Lennon has been a breath of fresh air; that has risen to the challenge and is undoubtedly our player of the season. Galvanised by the summer arrivals of Dos Santos and Bentley, Lennon was clearly determined to prove his worth and his selfless running, heart and passion have put his teammates to shame as he continually works for the shirt. Unlike some of his colleagues, Lennon didn't need the arrival of Harry Redknapp to start showing a high level of commitment or effort and even though he has been used out on the left, or inexplicably left on the bench in preference to David Bentley, he has remained fully focused - I never thought he had it in him and I'm delighted to have been proved wrong.

I'll be honest I was one of those who doubted the kid last season and felt he was nothing more than a flash in the pan that we have seen so many times before. There was a huge lobby last season, who suggested that it may be time to cash in on Lennon this summer and I doubt many would have shed a tear had he actually moved on. It is fair to say that Aaron was always non committal at any suggestion of a move away and was determined to show Spurs fans that he could recreate the player that burst onto the scene two years ago; it's fair to say he is succeeding and is finally starting to get the rave reviews and looks every bit the top class winger we always thought he could be.

Harry should look to his £10m old boys to solve Spurs' injury woe

Matt Wright — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:53:29 +0000

Given the ever growing injury crisis at WHL, Football FanCast columnist Matt Wright feels it is vital that the board give Harry the resources he needs to strengthen the squad.

If there is one thing that you have to respect about Harry Redknapp is that he doesn't mince his words.

I found it somewhat refreshing that Harry came out and said it how it is, when asked the question about the quality of the Spurs squad and I don't think there is a supporter around who wouldn't nod his head in agreement at his assessment. We all know it's not good enough and we can only hope that the board will back up his viewpoint.

I understand the clubs concerns about the economic climate, but let's be honest here we didn't spend in the summer and finished with a net profit. We still receive our Sky money, plus another instalment of our sponsorship deals, so why are we adopting a prudent approach in January. Surely this is the time to take advantage of clubs financial uncertainty and plunder some of their talent as we look to improve our squad; there are plenty in a vulnerable state and I struggle to understand the logic to sit tight - maybe that is Harry's thinking also.

One thing that is for certain is that whether Harry is given £5m or £25m in January then defenders will have to be high on the priority list. With Alan Hutton out, fears that Woody's injury could see him out for months and King availability about as reliable as a train back home to Broxbourne on match days, mean that a huge chunk of his budget will go on trying to replace them. Dawson and Zokora is certainly not the answer at centre back and you can guarantee that Harry knows that.

The two players that spring to mind straight away for me and arguably in our price bracket, even if a constraint is in place, is a raid on Harry's former club Portsmouth for Sylvan Distin and Glen Johnson. We all know the attributes of Distin and what his great strengths are but I just feel that the arrival of a quality full back like Johnson will free up Vedran Corluka to play in his best position and that is centre half. For all Corluka's abilities defensively at full back he hardly has the pace to provide a great attacking threat going forward and provide that overlap for either Aaron Lennon or David Bentley and subsequently we look predictable going forward. We wouldn't have that problem with Johnson who is certainly one of the best attacking full backs in the league.

There is no doubting that Portsmouth, as much as they like to convince otherwise are in financial trouble and will need to sell players in January. Distin only has 18 months in his contract remaining and only a few weeks ago expressed concerns about his future due to the growing uncertainty around the club. He certainly would cost us any great fortunes, given his age. Glen Johnson again is another one of Harry's old boys who he nurtured through the ranks at West Ham and was able to convince him to quit Stamford Bridge for Fratton Park some 18 months ago. It has been widely reported by many papers in the past weeks that the player is craving a return to his London roots and the prospect of reuniting with his former manager greatly appeals. I genuinely hope that to be the case and would love to see Distin be tempted to move to WHL as well. The pair wouldn't cost anymore than £10m and I really feel that will be a small price to pay considering what they will bring.

We are in no position to try and paper over our cracks by bringing in youngsters or playing players out of positions to fill the voids. We need established players and that is why it's vital that Harry is given the resources to bring them in.

Do Spurs fans agree with Matt that the Pompey duo will be ideal recruitments in the January window?

£8m risk that Spurs boss should no longer contemplate

Matt Wright — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:30:05 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Wright feels that Heurelho Gomes has become a liability and a risk that Harry Redknapp can no longer take.

Top class keepers are few and far between and if you find one, keep them, because they are just as important as a top striker. Unfortunately we haven't really be blessed with one since the days of Clemence and subsequently we have had to endure an array of inconsistent keepers that continually fail to install any confidence or belief in our defence - I had hoped Gomes was to finally prove the long term answer, but to say I am losing patience is something of an understatement.

I don't want to be too unkind to the Brazilian, because he does possess good attributes like shot stopping, but the kamikaze way he tries to gather crosses and set pieces is causing complete and utter disarray. If the recent balls up against Udinese, Arsenal and Liverpool wasn't bad enough, then today's spill was even worse and the time must surely have come for Harry Redknapp to concede that enough is enough and install Cesar as No.1.

In all honesty I was surprise that Redknapp played Gomes, after his debacle in midweek and equally shocked that he didn't replace him at half time today. The problem with a goalkeeper is that there is no hiding place and when your keeper's confidence is shot to pieces - it does little but unsettle the back four, not to mention lift the opposition to try their luck at set pieces. For weeks Gomes has got away with it, as results have gone in our favour, but now we have suffered a defeat the enormity of his howlers starts to surface. The Brazilian has become a liability and a risk that Harry should no longer take.

Harry is a shrewd football manager and he has been round the game long enough, I hope, to realise that you cannot persist with a keeper in the hope they turn it around. We did it with Paul Robinson last season and it only went to exasperate the situation and went to drain his confidence even further. It's time to put Gomes and the Spurs backline out of their misery and give the experienced Cesar his chance to shine - let's be honest, he can't be any worse.

So am I being too quick to write off Gomes, or do you agree that he is a liability we can do without?

Spurs braced for the most unlikely of ram-raids - bring it on!

Matt Wright — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:08:19 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Wright reacts to an unlikely Ram-raid on Tottenham Hotspur.

You may love or loathe Didier Zokora but you will always respect him. He doesn't have the passing ability of Hoddle, I accept that he doesn't have the shooting abilities of a Lampard or a Gerrard, but what he gives the football club is 110% effort every week; something that certainly cannot be said for the rest of his teammates over the past year.

I will be honest that I'm no great fan of Didier Zokora and really feel we are better off without him due to his lack of discipline on the pitch. I look at the Ivorian and I see a player who could potentially be the answer to our prayers as he shares all the attributes needed to play the Makelele role in he is quick, strong and tackles well; but the problem is he just continually seems to get ideas above his station and you see him going on these surging runs or get's himself out wide. His indiscipline leaves us totally unbalanced and more worryingly exposes our defence.

The only time that I have had any great liking for the player is when Zokora has played in defence, when he suddenly remembers his responsibilities on the pitch and doesn't seem such a liability. I know there are a lot of supporters that feel that he has shown improvement under Harry Redknapp, but I think that has had more to do with the fact he has gone unnoticed in a midfield five and his mistakes aren't as noticeable as once was.

There is no doubt in my mind that a holding midfielder has to be Harry's main priority in the January window and I personally wouldn't think twice at cashing in on the player if a bid was forthcoming. Juande Ramos came out today and claimed that "The player that impressed me most was Zokora"; throughout his time at Tottenham and reports in the Daily Mail suggest that the Spaniard will look to bring in Zokora to replace the injured Diarra. Quite how Juande came to that conclusion is a mystery to me and is maybe an indictment of why he struggled to see the deficiencies in our team time after time, but if he wants him at the Bernabeu then bring it on, because in my eyes it will be no great loss.

Would Spurs fans be happy to cash in on Zokora if Real Madrid come calling?

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Spurs boss facing up to a possible £8m dilemma

Matt Wright — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:29:59 +0000

Football FanCast columnist Matt Wright feels that someone has to get hold of Gomes, and quick, to stop this run of form from spiralling out of control.

The media certainly love to jump on the bandwagon and the having a pop at Huerelho Gomes is seemingly the order of the day. High profile mistakes in the past week has seemingly made the Brazilian the finger of ridicule and subsequently they are already lining up replacements as they suggest that Harry Redknapp has already lost faith in the former PSV stopper.

I honestly think that the criticisms of Gomes have been somewhat harsh and despite the three errors against Villa, Udinese and last night against Arsenal has been excellent and has kept Spurs in a lot of games this season. It is clear that he is having a bad week at the office, but how many other players have had them over the past two months and been devoid of criticism.

The problem with goalkeepers, like Robinson found out last year, is that once a couple of mistakes kick in then the media's reaction does little but exasperate the situation. Already the pundits are on Gomes back, the media as mentioned are continually trying to drive a wedge between Harry and the Brazilian, by touting transfer targets, and subsequently it is all down to Gomes to see if he is strong enough mentally to overcome all these added pressures. The attention and spotlight destroyed every ounce of confidence that Paul Robinson had, so we will only know in the coming weeks if it has had such an effect on Gomes and whether he will subsequently become a liability.

So what do Spurs fans feel about Gomes and do you believe the criticism to be justified or a little harsh on the Brazilian this season? There was no question that Harry Redknapp in his post match interview was scornful of the defending at set plays, but is a lot of those problems down to the defence having little confidence in their keeper? Gomes certainly likes to be commanding of his penalty box and, as Corluka found to his cost, doesn't care who gets in his way and you just wonder if the indecision as to who will take crosses is playing on their minds. It is clear that Harry or the keeping coach will have to get hold of the Brazilian to stop it spiralling out of control in the same way it did Robbo, otherwise changes will have to be made come January. I personally feel we have a top class keeper, but once mistakes creep in then it tends to provide the most slippery of slopes and one that subsequently is difficult to climb.