More Than Half A Page Of Scribbled Lines

In a sense, to put my impressions down on yesterdays match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would be a waste of time and effort. In the main that's down to the fact that I've done it all before. Anyone that happens upon it and reads it will have read it all before, even if they've never seen anything written by me and certainly anyone that was there or watched it by whatever means they were able to, would have seen it all before. Ipswich arrived at the game having aquitted themselves quite well so far for a newly promoted team that two seasons ago were playing in League One, without actually picking up a victory that would be their first in the top division for twenty two years. Having checked on the fixtures and league standings on Sunday morning I realised that a home win plus a victory for Newcastle at Forest (not completely out of the question) and a draw in the Chelsea v Arsenal game (quite likely) would mean Spurs going into the International break remarkably in third

Going to the RAMS stadium in Istanbul to face Galatasaray in a European competition is always a tricky ask of any side, let alone a Spurs side short of half a dozen players that could possibly have started the match. This however doesn't completely excuse the first half display which being kind could be described as disjointed. Some of the social media reaction at half-time would be a lot more cutting and direct. Ange was in a difficult position selection-wise for several reasons. Not least the mounting injury list, but also the close proximity of the next Premier League fixture against Ipswich. For once, the International break which follows immediately after is quite welcome with regard to this. He went with Forster in the nets, a back four with just one first choice Porro. Dragusin, Davies and Gray made up the quartet. Bissouma was the only remotely defensive midfield selection, sat in behind Burgvall and Maddison who both turned out to be equally ineffective. Captain Son and Jo

When in the ninety-sixth minute James Maddison bent a free kick around the Aston Villa wall into the net that left keeper Emi Martinez rooted to the middle of the goal to put Spurs 4-1 up yesterday manager Ange Postecoglu stood on the touchline and politely clapped. This applause was similar in its manner to the way that you might as a teacher clap as the Headmaster introduced a local councillor to open the School Fete. Maddison makes it 4-1 This was by no means a slight on Maddison, who he cuddled father-like at the end of the game. He'd actually applauded in the same way when Solanke had made it 2-1 with a sublime finish following some beautiful build up play starting with Ben Davies and going through Pape Sarr, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski. It was more to me that a week after watching the side do basically exactly the opposite of what he'd asked them to do, this week his message had got across and they'd carried out his half-time instructions to the tee. Solanke