Spurs-Reds: Carling Cup 11/12/08
Goddamn I love L.A in the Fall. Makes me never want to leave.
Midweek action tomorrow and that means only one thing: what excuse shall I use for taking a long lunch?
Time to unleash some fury. We saw glimpses of it in the 3-0 thrashing of West Brom last weekend but it didn't quite wash out the bitterness from our first defeat of the season, that frustrating 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane in the 90th minute, a game we certainly deserved a point out of, if not the full three.
We look tired. Yes, top of the table, but Albert Riera hasn't gotten a rest since his flight in from Barcelona. Dirk Kuyt runs in his sleep but even he needs a break at some point. Carra's played every meaningful minute this year and needs a rest (Exhibit A: his performance against Spurs).
We've got more young talent than the Shutterbugs client list - why not blood guys like Damien Plessis, Emiliano Insua, and Nabil El-Zhar against Spurs? They're hungry and immensely talented, and while they might be fringe players at the moment, several have played crucial minutes for the first-team and could challenge for some decent minutes over the course of the rest of the season.
El-Zhar is the player that excites me the most. He scored that 25-yard screamer last year in this very competition and has made instant impact as a late-game sub, creating Riera's 80-minute equalizer against Wigan and sparking our eventual comeback.
Insua is another player we need to see more of. Aurelio is as fragile as an Arsene Wenger signing and though Dossena's been okay, he clearly needs time to adapt to the English game. We need to get Insua on the field to see what he's got in case he's forced into action later in the year. The Argentine U-20 is clearly talented (he looked great in the Olympics), and has featured in some ten first-team games for us, but he's still unproven.
And what better team to bring out the pups?
Spurs are in good form - hey, some day soon they might get off the bottom of the table. They're buyin' what 'Arry's sellin' and gave Dinamo Zagreb a thorough beating mid-week last week in the NIT. Good for them - we will need them to help pick off points from our title rivals and what would the NIT, er, UEFA Cup, be without Tottenham? I shudder at the thought.
I anticipate, as holders of the Careless Cup, they will want to retain it, and Redknapp will play mostly a first-XI so as to not throw off their form and sharpness. Certainly Bent will be on the field from the get-go, given his goal-scoring record of late.
It would be fun to field mostly reserves and demoralize them with a two-goal lead. I think Rafa will agree, to an extent, and with far more important fixtures looming, Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Kuyt, Riera, Keane, Mascherano, and Xabi should all get full rest. Put El Nino out there with Yossi, Babel, Agger, and the kids and tell the young players that this is their shot - keep winning in the Careless and you'll continue to get minutes. We've got the depth to do it and I really would love nothing more than an insult-to-injury win over those pesky North Londoners:
-------------------Cavalieri--------------------
Degen--------Agger---Sami--------Insua
-----------------------Plessis-------------------
El-Zhar-------------Lucas-----------Babel
---------------Yossi---------------------------
------------------------------Torres-------------
Midweek action tomorrow and that means only one thing: what excuse shall I use for taking a long lunch?
Time to unleash some fury. We saw glimpses of it in the 3-0 thrashing of West Brom last weekend but it didn't quite wash out the bitterness from our first defeat of the season, that frustrating 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane in the 90th minute, a game we certainly deserved a point out of, if not the full three.
We look tired. Yes, top of the table, but Albert Riera hasn't gotten a rest since his flight in from Barcelona. Dirk Kuyt runs in his sleep but even he needs a break at some point. Carra's played every meaningful minute this year and needs a rest (Exhibit A: his performance against Spurs).
We've got more young talent than the Shutterbugs client list - why not blood guys like Damien Plessis, Emiliano Insua, and Nabil El-Zhar against Spurs? They're hungry and immensely talented, and while they might be fringe players at the moment, several have played crucial minutes for the first-team and could challenge for some decent minutes over the course of the rest of the season.
El-Zhar is the player that excites me the most. He scored that 25-yard screamer last year in this very competition and has made instant impact as a late-game sub, creating Riera's 80-minute equalizer against Wigan and sparking our eventual comeback.
Insua is another player we need to see more of. Aurelio is as fragile as an Arsene Wenger signing and though Dossena's been okay, he clearly needs time to adapt to the English game. We need to get Insua on the field to see what he's got in case he's forced into action later in the year. The Argentine U-20 is clearly talented (he looked great in the Olympics), and has featured in some ten first-team games for us, but he's still unproven.
And what better team to bring out the pups?
Spurs are in good form - hey, some day soon they might get off the bottom of the table. They're buyin' what 'Arry's sellin' and gave Dinamo Zagreb a thorough beating mid-week last week in the NIT. Good for them - we will need them to help pick off points from our title rivals and what would the NIT, er, UEFA Cup, be without Tottenham? I shudder at the thought.
I anticipate, as holders of the Careless Cup, they will want to retain it, and Redknapp will play mostly a first-XI so as to not throw off their form and sharpness. Certainly Bent will be on the field from the get-go, given his goal-scoring record of late.
It would be fun to field mostly reserves and demoralize them with a two-goal lead. I think Rafa will agree, to an extent, and with far more important fixtures looming, Gerrard, Carragher, Reina, Kuyt, Riera, Keane, Mascherano, and Xabi should all get full rest. Put El Nino out there with Yossi, Babel, Agger, and the kids and tell the young players that this is their shot - keep winning in the Careless and you'll continue to get minutes. We've got the depth to do it and I really would love nothing more than an insult-to-injury win over those pesky North Londoners:
-------------------Cavalieri--------------------
Degen--------Agger---Sami--------Insua
-----------------------Plessis-------------------
El-Zhar-------------Lucas-----------Babel
---------------Yossi---------------------------
------------------------------Torres-------------
posted by stephen at 11:22 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home