Posts Tagged ‘Martin O Neill’

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Aston Villa 1-1 Tottenham

The lesson here for Spurs was not that they cannot play Wigan every week, they knew that already, but rather that their luck will not be in every week. Considering they were away against a team only one place below them, this was a Tottenham performance almost as impressive as last week’s cloud nine, yet they came close to getting nothing for it.

The difference was Brad Friedel, some dogged Villa defending and, until Michael Dawson’s late intervention, a complete lack of a friendly bounce or a fortunate break for Spurs. Villa were comfortably outplayed, yet held a lead until 13 minutes from the end, despite the visitors creating almost as many clear-cut chances as in the Wigan game. It was not even a case of poor finishing, it was more like watching the law of averages in action after last week’s glut. Even after Dawson’s equaliser, Emile Heskey headed inches over at the end, although Villa did not deserve to get that lucky.

“We were hanging on towards the end,” Martin O’Neill said. “Tottenham are a very fine side and we just couldn’t get out of our own half.” The goalscorer Dawson was not about to disagree. “We made loads of chances and had lots of shots,” he said. “We showed what a good team we are.”

Indeed they did. Yet after Niko Kranjcar brought the first of many saves from Friedel with a shot from the edge of the box, Spurs found themselves behind after 10 minutes through clumsy defending of a set piece. First, Carlos Cuéllar was allowed a free header from James Milner’s corner, and although a combination of Heurelho Gomes and Benoît Assou-Ekotto managed to stop it by the post – possibly illegally as the full-back appeared to use an arm– the ball was not cleared and Gabriel Agbonlahor forced it inelegantly over the line.

The visitors’ efforts to get back into the game were hampered by Wilson Palacios giving the ball away in midfield and Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe operating too far ahead of the rest of their team-mates, and the closest they came to an equaliser in the first half also came from a set piece. After Tom Huddlestone’s effort from a free-kick was blocked by the wall, Defoe’s shot on the turn was beaten out by Friedel, and when Dawson seemed certain to score from the follow-up, his drive was blocked on the line by Cuéllar.

Villa dropped back deeper and deeper and invited Spurs to come at them as Richard Dunne and his defenders were initially having few problems dealing with attacks down the middle. Harry Redknapp occasionally appeared in his technical area pointing meaningfully to the under-utilised Aaron Lennon, mostly to no avail, although when Lennon did get involved on the stroke of the interval, a cross from the right produced a chance for Crouch, only to be met by a poor header.

Kranjcar began the second half as he had begun the first, with an even better shot from Crouch’s lay-off, which brought an even better save from Friedel. The Croatian was also denied by a brave block from the busy Cuéllar after an hour, although bizarrely Villa could have been two up by then had John Carew showed his usual awareness in front of goal from Ashley Young’s cross. Instead he missed the target, which was turning into the story of Villa’s evening.

Embarrassingly for the home side, the game’s stats flashed up on the giant screen at that point to show that Spurs had had seven attempts on target to Villa’s one. It would double by the end. Spurs were even denied a penalty after 70 minutes when another wayward header by Crouch caused the ball to fly off Luke Young’s boot and hit him on the arm. The referee did not appear to see it and may not have felt like awarding it anyway, although Phil Dowd did redeem himself a couple of minutes later by spotting Defoe had handled the ball before bundling it into the net after Friedel had once more rescued Villa, this time with a save from Huddlestone.

Finally, after Crouch had seen an effort blocked on the line, an equaliser arrived when Dawson was given a second chance by a rare error from Dunne, and crashed a shot into the roof of the net that even Friedel could do nothing about. It was no more than Spurs and their captain deserved, and after spending almost all of the second half on the back foot, Villa could have no complaints. They almost lost at the death when Defoe went desperately close. “I think 14 attempts on target says it all,” Redknapp said. “It was one-way traffic in the second half.”

THE FANS’ PLAYER RATINGS AND VERDICT

Jonathan Pritchard, Observer reader We played quite well in the first half and I think we shaded it. But in the second half we were overrun. We were far too defensive. At home you should not be playing with one up front. O’Neill should have played two strikers. We are probably the seventh or eighth best side in the country and we are deluding ourselves that we can get into the Champions League. It was good to see Reo-Coker back but I don’t think he has a future at the club. We need to buy a striker in January.

The fan’s player ratings Friedel 6; Beye 8, Dunne 7, Cuellar 8, L Young 7; Milner 6, Petrov 7, Reo-Coker 7 (Sidwell n/a), A Young 6; Agbonlahor 6, Carew 6 (Heskey 75 n/a)

Dave Mason, Observer reader You can’t score nine every week but we had enough chances to do that here. Our performance in the second half was staggering. It was one-way traffic and I don’t know how we didn’t win the game. We were away from home but completely controlling the game. But when Defoe’s had a goal disallowed, I knew it wasn’t going to be our day. Friedel was brilliant. He was their best player. Our goalie on the other hand had absolutely nothing to do.

The fan’s player ratings Gomes 7; Corluka 7, Bassong 8, Dawson 8, Assou-Ekotto 8; Lennon 7, Palacios 7 (Jenas 66 7), Huddlestone 6, Kranjcar 9 (Keane 78 7); Crouch 7, Defoe 7

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Young turns down England … for good

• Fabio Capello left with only Wes Brown for the role
• Richards and Neville no longer regulars for their clubs

Fabio Capello’s lack of options at right-back has been exposed after Luke Young rejected the chance to join the England squad for Saturday’s friendly against Brazil. The Football Association contacted the Aston Villa defender after Glen Johnson pulled out of the squad, only for Young to reiterate that he does not want to be considered for the national team.

Johnson’s withdrawal with a calf strain leaves Capello with only Wes Brown – currently playing centre-half at Manchester United – to fill in on the right on Saturday. However, Young declined the chance to return to the set-up as he rates his own chances of making the cut for the World Cup squad as slim and has grown frustrated with life on the periphery.

Young, 30, has gained seven caps in the past four years and was last selected for the England friendly against Spain in Seville in February, only to withdraw with a toe injury. He subsequently wrote to the FA saying that he did not wish to be considered for future games and would, instead, be concentrating his efforts on Aston Villa. His club manager, Martin O’Neill, is understood to have been enthusiastic about the thought of Young returning for the Brazil game, but he will support the player’s‑decision.

The fact that Capello sanctioned an inquiry over Young’s potential availability – the defender did not reject a formal call-up for the match in Qatar, and the FA accepted his decision – is revealing given that Young has only just returned to the Villa senior team after persistent thigh problems. He made his first appearance of the season from the bench in last week’s defeat at West Ham and started Saturday’s 5-1 drubbing of Bolton Wanderers, though his pursuit of match sharpness still has a way to go.

Yet with Johnson injured and neither Micah Richards nor Gary Neville regulars at Manchester City or United respectively, Capello was willing to assess the Villa full-back’s credentials. He will now probably start with Brown, impressive in the centre in the defeat at Chelsea on Sunday, with the versatile James Milner a potential alternative at some stage.

An FA spokesman said: “The England management were aware of Luke Young’s position but yesterday sought to clarify that it was still the case.”

The future, then, remains with club rather than country for Young, an Essex-born player who has had to deal with trauma after the death of his half brother Andre in the summer. “I came back in pre-season looking forward to the new campaign,” he said recently. “I felt I could improve on my performances of the previous season. I had the bit between my teeth – a real determination to succeed.

“I then picked up niggling thigh injuries that I couldn’t get rid of and then, obviously, the family bereavement which was difficult to get over. But I am ready to concentrate on football now and I’m looking forward to playing. In the first few weeks after what happened I didn’t really want to do anything. It was really tough early on.”

Capello has all but discounted Richards’s chances of breaking into his squad for the World Cup on the grounds that he and the coaching staff have serious misgivings about the attitude of the City player. Richards was a regular in the England side under Steve McClaren but he has not figured since the Italian took the job. The England management team have received critical reports about what is perceived to be the player’s party lifestyle.

The phrase “too much, too young” has been used to describe a defender who has now reverted to playing for the England Under-21s and whose attitude has also been a source of frustration to the City manager, Mark Hughes.

Having been regarded as one of the brightest young talents in the English game, attracting interest from Manchester United and Chelsea, Richards’s reputation has been damaged by a series of off-field issues.

The coaching staff at City have already come to regard the 21-year-old as a poor trainer and someone who does not take on board information easily, and that view has fed through to Capello, who has told associates he does not regard Richards as being close to his thoughts for next summer.

Redknapp keen for Old Firm to go south

• Tottenham manager backs plan to admit Rangers and Celtic
• ‘They are great clubs … it would be good for the English game’

The Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has become the latest Premier League manager to back the Old Firm’s bid to join England’s top flight.

Everton’s David Moyes and Aston Villa’s Martin O’Neill last week endorsed the Bolton chairman Phil Gartside’s plan for Celtic and Rangers to be included in a new two-tier top flight. Gartside’s proposal is expected to be discussed at a meeting of Premier League clubs this week and Redknapp has become the first English manager to publicly back the concept.

“Absolutely, I would welcome Celtic and Rangers to English football if they wanted to play down here. No doubt about it. I’m sure they would be good for the English game,” he told the Daily Record.

“We are talking about two huge football clubs and if they were to join our league you would be looking at great games in great stadiums. I was up in Scotland only a couple of months ago to watch Celtic play Arsenal in the Champions League qualifiers and the atmosphere was out of this world.

“It was incredible and I’d love to see games like that on a more regular basis. The one worry I would have is what happens to the rest of Scottish football if the two of them are allowed to leave but only the people up there know the answer to that. If you’re asking me if it would be good for the English game then the answer is yes.”

Former Celtic player Moyes and ex-Parkhead manager O’Neill have emotional ties to their former club but Redknapp is a more dispassionate observer. Despite acknowledging the Old Firm could become a threat to Spurs, he would still welcome them.

“It’s true, with the extra money they would get down here the two of them probably would end up challenging clubs such as ourselves for European places but that’s nothing something we should be scared of,” he said. “We are talking here about two great clubs and it would be fantastic to compete against them. It would only make the game in this country stronger if we had two clubs with their tradition operating in our league.”