Monday, March 16, 2009

Happy Days at the Lane Again?

I think we all can agree that yesterday's victory was a sweet, and that the team are on a good run of form. The major problem that we've had all season is inconsistency, once Harry took over we popped up for a bit and then struggled again. You were never sure which Spurs side you were going to get.

But I am going out on a limb and saying that things have changed. With 11 points from our last 5 games, we are starting to show the form that we were all expecting at the beginning of the season. I was especially happy with yesterday's performance, Villa have been in the place that I think we all expected to be in, and we showed our class against them.

The midfield is starting to come together, and I know that Jenas is still a sacrificial lamb for most of the supporters, I am finding his performances to be better and more like they were in the 05/06 season. Palacios is providing that bite we needed in the midfield, and Lennon and Modric are providing that creative spark.

The defense is solid, and I agree with Harry when he says that when together, King and Woodgate are as good a center back pairing as there is in the Premiership. King oozes class, and it honestly hurts me to watch him play, you can see the talent he has, and the injuries just cripple and limit him. You wish you could go back to that game at Newcastle three years ago and pull him off before he hurt his knee, maybe things would be different then.

I think one of the biggest reasons for our turnaround is the return of the prodigal son, Robbie Keane. He was always a talisman when he was here before, and since he has come back we have been productive, and flashing more creativity. He's netted a couple of goals for us, but I think his contribution is more psychological than anything else. It's as if the lads believe that he can take the opportunities that are presented, they know they have a first-class striker up top, which is improving play throughout the side.

Now that we're a few months out from Harry's first transfer period, I say the returns are pretty good. Keane and Palacios are automatic first-choices for the side, and Defoe will be competing for a spot when he regains his fitness. Cudicini might not be playing, but he is challenging Gomes and making Gomes perform better. The only dud for me would be Chimbonda, but I didn't like him on the first go round with the club either.

So, I don't want to jinx the lads, but it looks like we are finally starting to look like the team we were expecting, and it should make for an exciting last couple of months to the season.

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