Pompey v Spurs U-21

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Earl Grey
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Pompey v Spurs U-21

Post by Earl Grey »

Two of the best free kicks I've seen for a while judging by the short highlights on the OS.
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Re: Pompey v Spurs U-21

Post by streetrifle »

My summing up of a generally mediocre game which picked up after the interval

McGee
Poor kicking, I felt he could have done better with the first goal, not quick enough off his line. Otherwise had little to do.
Walkes
Was OK partnering Burgess in centre of defence, quite comfortable , but his distribution not too good at times.
Burgess
Towering presence as you would expect, too strong for young teenage Spurs team
Haunstrup
Disappointing, positionally not good, distribution erratic, and his crossing was not great
Mnoga
Showed good touches and was strong in the tackle. Was exposed at times by the extreme pace of the Spurs front men
Rose
Dominant in midfield, hard tackling, energetic, and good range of passing. Up to his best and looked well capable of challenging for first team place.
Dennis
Played as a No 10 but was disappointing and made little impression, just flitting in and out of the game
Green
Scored a simple goal, but showed little sign that he could come in any way near to competing with Curtis for the left wing spot.
Wheeler
Didn't really impress , only in brief flashes, but didn't see enough of the ball, one good cross for the goal for Hawkins
Lethbridge
Found it difficult to get into the game, worked hard and ran about to little effect
Evans (sub)
Immediately made a big difference, scoring and creating other chances. Class act.
Hawkins (sub)
Troubled the young Spurs back line with his physicality, and took his goal well showing good anticipation and timing to get on the end of the cross from Wheeler
Clarke
Up to his usual high standard, but not sure why Jackett put him on and risked him getting injured in such a meaningless game
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Selsey Bill
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Re: Pompey v Spurs U-21

Post by Selsey Bill »

Thank you for this. Interesting to read. Disappointed to see that the three players I was interested in, namely Green, Dennis and Wheeler, all failed to impress by the sounds of it.
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Re: Pompey v Spurs U-21

Post by Locky_McLockface »

Was Ben Close so bad that he didn't even warrant a mention?????

It's always interesting to read various poeple's viewpoints. Regarding Louis Dennis, you say he was disappointing, whereas the Snooze said he was MoM.
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Re: Pompey v Spurs U-21

Post by Berkshire Blue »

Selsey Bill wrote: Wed Nov 14, 2018 12:18 pm Thank you for this. Interesting to read. Disappointed to see that the three players I was interested in, namely Green, Dennis and Wheeler, all failed to impress by the sounds of it.
I watched the game on TV last night, because I wanted to have a look at the second strings/younger players, and I have to say that I didn't see it as the previous poster.

We were disjointed for the first part of the match, which was hardly surprising as the team were nearly all short of game time and unused to playing together. When Spurs were given time they looked good and put some nice moves together, and their first goal was a lovely move, although slightly fortunate at the end after McGhee semi blocked the shot. We improved as the half went on and started putting nice moves together.

After half time we took control of the match, didn't allow Spurs any time, and were good value for the win.

As to the players, McGhee wasn't over busy, but a few moments made me realise why I am glad that McGiilivray is with us.
Mnoga did well for a youngster and can tackle well. A bit impetuous at times, but I think that he has a bright future.
I thought that Walkes was not impressive at centre back and looked much more comfortable and effective when he switched to right back. Burgess was okay, although he does make me a bit nervous sometimes. He seemed much happier after Clarke came on and played some lovely long cross field passes to the left wing (he was playing right CB last night).
I like Haunstrup as a player, but I thought he had a bad game last night.
Rose was poor early on, but to be fair he got a lot better in the second half, and Close was his usual industrious self.
Wheeler started very poorly but improved markedly as the game went on and was building up a nice understanding with Dennis, which led to at least one goal.
Dennis also started slowly but after a while became the conduit for most of the good things we did going forward, and wasn't afraid to dribble at their defence, which led to the free kick from which Gareth Evans scored with a beauty. MOM just ahead of Wheeler for me, and must be pressing Gareth Evans hard for the attacking centre midfield spot.
Green lasted 65 minutes and can certainly beat his man and deliver crosses. Whether he can take the spot from Curtis is another matter.
Lethbridge gave 100 percent, and it will have been excellent experience for him as he is still very young.
Clarke Evans and Hawkins noticeably strengthened things when they came on, and by then Spurs were tiring so we eased to a comfortable victory.

As a postscript. Spurs second goal from a free kick just outside the box was an absolute belter - a thing of beauty that gave McGhee no chance.
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Re: Pompey v Spurs U-21

Post by Milton End »

Thanks for the interesting feedback above.

Just to add a couple of points made by Guy Whittingham on the BBC Radio commentary: first, he was very critical of McGee at various times throughout the match. Second, he judged that Wheeler did well and could be a contender for a first team place at some time.
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