Spurs victory: a few thoughts

• Tottenham’s goal was seriously disappointing. Corluka’s lapse of judgement, and failure to sprint back for it were not very impressive. Talented footballer that he is, his concentration is sometimes suspect. Keane’s goal reminded me of the third we conceded at Craven Cottage: when Corluka missed an easy header, Danny Murphy stole in behind him and scored. Sometimes I think that Richards and Corluka ought to switch positions (so they could each play in the positions they do for their countries), but moments like today teach caution.
  

• Abandoning a second striker might be playing dividends. We’ve been doing it for quite a while: I couldn’t put a date on it but I think the Christmas period. It’s the natural response to having Gary Speed/Michael Brown types ‘doing a job’ on Elano and gives us a more diverse attacking edge. Today both the tight central three (Gelson, Johnson, Ireland) did very well and the three man front line (Castillo, Benjani, Elano) was generally threatening. Until an obvious solution shows up to the Elano quandary (lots of gym work?) this Chelsea type system seems to be the way forward.
  

• We missed Hamann. No surprise: he’s been our most consistent performer this season. Without him we lacked the necessary composure once we’d won possession. The number of times we’d win the ball and then give it straight back was infuriating. Our midfield three did very well, but ideally we’d have Didi in there making sure they were fully switched on. My admiration for Gelson is no secret, but I don’t think he reads the game well enough to be given that role yet.
  

• The return of Martin Petrov gives us a ‘welcome selection headache’. Stupid as his red card was, he comes back in on football grounds, and would fit well into the new 4-3-3. Which of Castillo and Elano comes out: I’m not sure. On today’s performance I’d keep Castillo on the right – and move Elano inside. But that might contradict what I said above about 4-3-3: I’m not sure he’s got the willingness to graft for it playing central midfield. So I’m not sure. And this only gets harder when Hamann comes back.