MANSION

Friday, December 08, 2006

Charlton Preview

Spurs actually have a home game on a Saturday at 3pm tomorrow which makes a refreshing change, but some things are always the same, and that is the injury list at Spurs Lodge. Robbie Keane is out for five to six weeks after damaging a ligament in his knee, Jermaine Jenas is out for four weeks, Gardner is still out, so is Davids by the look of it, and now to add to the misery Zokora is suspended for three games as well. On the plus side our Egyptian twosome Mido and Ghaly are back from injury and suspension respectively to bolster the squad.

Its bottom club Charlton that we entertain tomorrow, and the game on paper looks like a home banker – so that means Spurs will make hard work of it. That is just the Spurs way, but it won’t be helped by Charlton going the same route as Boro and coming for the draw, whilst Spurs, if and when they take the lead, will sit back and defend. We may as well just keep both sets of players in their own halves and have a staring contest for all the fun it’ll be.

So with the defence picking itself now that Lee has ousted BAE, and Keane’s injury allowing Defoe a nice little run in the side along side Berbatov, its really only the midfield where things are unclear. Tom Huddlestone has been in good form in recent weeks, and should be a cert for the holding role; likewise, if Lennon is fit he plays. Presumably, Malbranque will continue his rehabilitation on the left flank, leaving the main question as who will partner Thudd in the middle? Ghaly has to be a good shout as he was playing constantly before his red card at Blackburn, but then Jol went for Tainio against the Gooners. It should come down to one of those two, unless he thinks Murphy is worth a go against his old club.

Three points are a must against dross like Charlton, but we will need to keep an eye on old boy Andy Reid who is proving that he is not a left winger by playing well in the middle and earning rave reviews. Darren Bent is also one to watch as he is on the edges of the England squad and lethal finisher. An eye also needs to be kept on the fixture list as we are now entering the busy period, and with injuries to key men such as Keane and Jenas already, some careful rotation will be the order of the day, if not tomorrow then shortly. It will be interesting to see how Jol picks the team that plays Dinamo Bucharest on Thursday as he balances the health of the squad with the need to entertain the fans who have paid category A prices to watch a largely irrelevant game. Tomorrow is the third of ten games in thirty days and we’ve already had three casualties (Keane, Jenas and Zokora), so we could do with coming away unscathed tomorrow.

Come On You Spurs!

The Waddler.