Spurs-Reading: The Paul Robinson Dilemma

Steven Knaggs — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 21:27:46 -0500

Paul Robinson’s transfer to Spurs in the summer of 2004 can only be described as a steal—one which only came about due to a fire sale at Leeds United.

Fans were understandably happy at the prospect of having a potential England No. 1 in net. I had personally watched Robbo on a number of occasions during the U-21 Championships in 2002, and felt even then that he should have gone to Japan/Korea ahead of the legendary but over-the-hill David Seaman.

Robinson was a rock immediately after joining Spurs, posting match-winning performances and rightfully claiming the England No. 1 jersey after Seaman’s departure.

But lately he's been in an unbreakable funk.

The turning point for Robinson seems to have come during the forgettable away loss to Croatia in the Euro qualifiers back in 2006—namely on the infamous Gary Neville own-goal.

I and most people with an ounce of common sense could see that Robinson wasn't to blame—the ball had flicked up off a divot on the pitch and over his foot.

Sh#t happens, right?

The media, though, were less than sympathetic to Robinson, as seems to be the norm with any player underperforming in and England shirt.

And I'm not sure Robbo ever recovered.

When the dust settled, Robinson continued his fine displays for Spurs even while dropping a few howlers for the national team. His club form was unaffected—something which perhaps mirrored the differences in fan support.

Robbo is well liked at the Lane, whereas at international level he sees that support disappear—with many fans calling for his head.

After Robinson was dropped for the crucial return game against Croatia, it seems his confidence has ebbed entirely away. Now he's starting to make those same howlers for Spurs he used reserve for England.

Martin Jol, to his credit, kept faith in Robbo. Up to this point, Juande Ramos hasn't had a real reason to consider his goalkeeping options—until now, that is.

The Spurs-Reading game was as ridiculous as it was entertaining. It's not every day you see your team win 6-4, with one player picking up four of the goals.

The first two Reading goals were dreadful from a goalkeeping point of view. The first saw some unconvincing punching and poor positioning from Robinson lead to an easy finish.
The second saw a header off a corner somehow bamboozle Robinson to such an extent that he ended up flapping at thin air on what should have been a routine stop.

You may say, “Well you won the game, so it doesn’t matter,” but imagine if Robinson had made those mistakes against Arsenal or Manchester Unitd. Even the most devout Spurs fan will concede that we're not going to put six past those two...even on our best day.

As I see it, it's time to give the up-and-coming Ben Alnwick a run in goal. It can’t be doing him any good to watch Robinson put in a performance like that and stay in the team.

As much as I like him and wish for him to play well, Robinson needs to be shown he's droppable—and now seems as good a time as ever.

Spurs-Fulham: The King of White Hart Lane Returns

Steven Knaggs — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 23:17:30 -0500

A goal-fest at White Hart Lane produced a dominating 5-1 victory for Tottenham—the perfect tonic for an away defeat to Arsenal as the crucial Christmas period gets into full swing.

Ledley King made a welcome return to the starting 11, and showed all the class that has been lacking in the Spurs back line this term. Jamie O’Hara was rewarded for a fine display at the Emirates, keeping his place in the centre of the park.

The game started off fairly slowly, with Spurs monopolizing possession but achieving no end result.

On 27 minutes, Steed Malbranque hit the post with a great strike, and Robbie Keane was on hand to mop up for his first score of the game.

The match stalled again after that, with the visitors holding out against the home attack, and even managing to create some chances of their own.

Tottenham looked to seal the game just before halftime, as a neat lay-off from Dimitar Berbatov allowed Tom Huddlestone to smash a 20-yard effort past the helpless Fulham keeper on 47 minutes.

Spurs started the second half playing possession football and applying pressure to the opposition, but never really looked to be on top of their game. The Cottagers threatened to put a spanner in the works on the hour, as Clint Dempsey scored against the run of play.

As it turned out, though, the goal was small consolation for what was to follow.

Berbatov again turned creator as a nodded down corner provided another tap-in for Keane on 62 minutes—almost straight from the restart. Huddlestone added a fourth goal on 71 minutes with another fantastic shot, continuing the form he showed on a superb half-volley at Manchester City.

King departed shortly thereafter to generous applause. Malbranque had a fantastic game, and was the catalyst in Moritz Volz’ late sending-off, which summed up the visitors' afternoon.

Huddlestone had a chance for a hat-trick in stoppage time, but instead set up substitute Jermain Defoe for Spurs' fifth and final tally.

Reading are the next visitors—or perhaps victims—at the Lane. Judging by Reading's away form this term, Spurs look set to avenge an earlier defeat and carry their momentum into the New Year.

Come on you Spurs!

Bleacher Report - Articles by Steven Knaggs

Spurs-Reading: The Paul Robinson Dilemma

Spurs-Fulham: The King of White Hart Lane Returns