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Bullet points – a look back at Swansea and forward to QPR
– Those last two minutes in the game against Swansea were vital. After exiting the Europa League and losing the League Cup final, all in the space of four days, a win was important to keep Spurs' season alive. After dominating the game for so long, a draw would have been a huge blow, both in terms of morale and losing touch with the other Champions' League pretenders.
– Kyle Walker's performance generated a lot of arguments after the match. Overall I thought he did well. He and Rose were great going forward, providing us with width and pace. With 3 key passes, 5 crosses and more touches than any other player on the field (95), the Spurs right back certainly made an impression offensively.
– Walker did struggle at the end, after the dangerous Montero came on. The assist for Swansea's second came from the Ecuadorian winger, and he also made the cross that almost cost Spurs right at the finish. Lloris saved the day with another fantastic stop.
– Rose was very good again, providing an inviting cross for Chadli's opener.
– At last Ryan Mason scored in the league. He may be playing in a withdrawn role of late but in his youth team days he was a prolific number 10. After 33 shots this term he was due a goal. Let's hope this is the first of many.
– It was good to see Mason and Townsend get on the scoresheet. Tottenham have been over reliant on Kane and Eriksen for goals.
– I'm not usually one to complain when we've sold players who have generally underwhelmed but in Sigurdsson's case I'll make an exception. He never really found a consistent run of form at Tottenham but he has a different set of skills to our legion of competent but uninspiring midfielders. His intelligent passing is only really matched by Christian Eriksen. Eriksen has looked tired of late and it would have been useful to have had a backup for the Dane.
– Despite the wobble at the end, it was a deserved win. We had 61% possession and out-shot our opponents 20 to 10.
– This is the first of two old coach derbies coming up, as we face Chris Ramsey's QPR. Given the lack of direction at the end of last season and general turmoil under Sherwood, Ferdinand and Ramsey, it's a mystery to me that two Premier League Chairmen decided that's what they needed at their club.
– With only 1 win in their last 11 game and lying in 18th place in the league, Ramsey's team are in deep trouble.
– QPR actually take quite a lot of shots – sixth in the league averaging 14.5 per game. Their problems come in converting those opportunities – they only lie 14th for goals scored – and at the back where they have allowed the second most shots – 16.1 per game.
– Spurs are fairly strong favourites with the bookmakers, at 1.87 to win. This is a match we have to win to give us any chance of finishing in the top four.
Prediction: QPR 0 Spurs 3
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Why not listen to me on the ByTheMinSpurs podcast where we discuss the cup final and Tottenham's prospects for the rest of the season
Do you think Spurs can still come fourth? Will we beat QPR today? Let me know your opinions in the comments below.
This entry was posted in Match Previews, Match Reports and tagged Kyle Walker, Premier League, QPR, Ryan Mason, Spurs, Swansea, Tottenham Hotspur on March 7, 2015 by Jon @ AnythingButPenalties.
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2 thoughts on "Bullet points – a look back at Swansea and forward to QPR"
JOHN ADAM March 7, 2015 at 2:17 pm
We have a defensive problem, for instance, leaving Siggurdson totally unmarked and we continue making individual errors which has been the main cause of our failure to win matches. We are conceding too many goals through poor defence. In our match against QPR, Charlie Austin is the man to watch..
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