Mental Mistakes

When it comes to sports, no player is ever perfect.  No matter how good an athlete you are, there are balls you can't reach, attackers you can't catch, shots you can't reach, etc.  It's physics, it's reality, and much as we wish it wouldn't, it sometimes intrudes on our little world.  However, these are physical mistakes.  Everybody is going to make physical mistakes, and these are easily forgiven.

Mental mistakes on the other hand, are an entirely different animal.  Most mental mistakes are avoidable, and usually pretty easily so.  Flying into a challenge with both feet off the ground 80 yards from goal in the first ten minutes of a Champions League match is certainly avoidable.  Doing so twice, in the first leg of the biggest match in your club's history, is downright stupid.  As Peter Crouch trudged off the pitch today, the fans at the Bernabeu Stadium chanted, "Tonto, Tonto!"  This means, "Stupid, stupid!"  I see no reason to argue with them.

Champions League Star Peter Crouch?

The goal was really made by Aaron Lennon, and his run was so good that even he couldn't screw up the cross.  AC Milan really did not look a threat.  Zlatan Ibrahimovic created a few chances late, but for most of the match you would have thought Tottenham were the home team.

In my humble opinion, AC Milan are a spent force, and their current position perched atop Serie A only speaks further to the steep decline in the quality of that league.  It's hard to see anything but a fairly easy home win for Spurs in the second leg of this tie.

As for Tuesday's other match, Schalke have an away goal and Valencia are not known for traveling well, especially to Germany.  It's hard to see anything other than the German side advancing to the last 8.

The Boys a bit special...

Daniel Sturridge debuted with a goal, giving Bolton a deserved win over Wolves at The Reebok.

What will be interesting to see is the starting XI for this weekend's away match against Tottenham.  A lot of Bolton supporters are calling on Owen Coyle to play Sturridge from the start.  The funny thing is they are split almost down the middle on who to drop to the bench from the current forwards, Johann Elmander or Kevin Davies.

The truth is that Coyle, much like Gary Megson, Sammy Lee, and Sam Allardye before him, will never drop Kevin Davies of his own accord.  That means the only way Sturridge starts is if Elmander drops to the bench.  Elmander has 10 goals this season, but has not been scoring a lot recently.

Tom Huddlestone

There is no questioning this players raw physical abilities, and he has been touted as the next big thing, especially by Spurs fans, for a while now.  He is still only 23 (24 next month), but I am beginning to wonder if it will happen for him.  I think he is as well, because more signs of frustration have been finding their way into his game.

The latest came yesterday, when he maliciously, and very late, chose to stamp on Johann Elmander's crotch as Elmander was laying prostrate and nowhere near the ball.  It was a disgraceful act (I don't see how you can even call it a challenge) and if the referee had seen it he would have been sent off.  But because the referee didn't see it, the Football Association will have jurisdiction.  I can't see anything less than a three match ban, and Huddlestone might deserve more.

Gareth who???

Bolton Wanderers picked the perfect time to make a statement to the rest of the league.  On ESPN for the lunch time kickoff in England (Breakfast in the US), with everybody watching (including Fabio Capello), Owen Coyle's men looked magnificent.

Spurs defenders did not know what to do with Kevin Davies, who was dominant in scoring two goals while creating a third, but I want to focus on another player, Matt Taylor (pictured, right).

Taylor was making only his second start of the season in the league, and he looked very similar to what we saw from him last season.  No one is ever going to mistake him for a defensive stalwart, but he covers a lot of ground on the left side, and he did a good job tracking back to defend because, let's face it, Paul Robinson needs all the help he can get.

Champion's League a Distraction???

This coming Tuesday and Wednesday mark the triumphant return of the group stages of the UEFA Champion's League, always a glorious and wonderful thing.  At least until clubs like AC Milan and Liverpool decide that boring 0-0 draws are the best way to advance.  Wait, you mean they weren't doing that on purpose?  Ohhhhhhhhh.

Anyway, for some clubs, it seems that the World's biggest club competition may have led to subpar performances this weekend.  Barcelona lost to, and to be fair, were soundly beaten by, newly promoted Hercules.  AC Milan also lost to a new member of Serie A.  AS Roma drew on Saturday, and I think we all know (and took immense pleasure from) what happened to Manchester United.

Most of the clubs in European competition, at least this European competition, are pretty much guaranteed to be dwelling in the upper echelons of their domestic league table, so they often put an almost irrational emphasis on the Champion's League.  Given the prestige involved, as well as the financial benefits, it is hard to blame them.

Champions League Hopefuls (Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City)

This match was a good opener to the season. Really end-to-end attacking stuff, especially early on.

Tottenham looked the much better side on the first half, and really should have gotten a goal, but Man City's defense held firm. This may not have been very surprising, as Roberto Mancini chose to play three holding midfielders in a very defensive formation. His tactics owed very much to the "We don't want to lose" school of management.

I think these clubs will both finish in the top five, and one of them could even push up into the top three. Here is what I took from their performance yesterday though. In their first match of the season, at home, against a big rival for fourth place, Spurs came out on fire, which they really should do. But they couldn't convert that into three points. Man City, on the other hand, were composed, withstood the early siege, grew more into the match as the second half went on, and got a good point away from home against an important rival, and they nearly stole all three points late, thanks to the ability to bring sheer quality such as Emanuel Adebayor and Adam Johnson off the bench.

As far as the managers go, I think Roberto Mancini has it all over Harry Redknapp tactically, although when it comes to motivating players for one match, 'arry probably has the edge.

To sum up, Spurs gave a quality performance fitting for a club whose ambitions include Champion's League football. Man City gave a composed and gritty performance, fitting for a club who might be ready to challenge for the Premier League title.

Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers

Spurs have everything to play for (As in the brave new world of the Premier League, 4th place is everything) and Wanderers have nothing to play for (Hard to see the lads getting fired up to finish 14th as opposed to 16th).

This match could go one of two ways. Spurs could start like a house on fire and quickly establish their dominance against an indifferent Bolton team already thinking about summer holidays, or a loose and confident Bolton squad freed from the pressure of a relegation fight could spring a surprise. The former is far more likely. And the home team almost always wins this match-up.

Last week Owen Coyle gave Ivan Klasnic and Vladimir Weiss a chance to show what they can do. They responded by leading the team to a 2-0 halftime lead. The lead did not last, but it seems likely that those 2 players will get another chance from the beginning. I'd like to see some other fringe players given the opportunity to show what they can do in these final few matches.

I think this may be a very exciting, very attacking game. I am going for a 2-2 draw.

Wanderers Earn Replay

Bolton dominated the first half, but squandered several chances and were only up 1-0 at the half. Spurs really came into the match in the second half, although Bolton still created some chances. Sam Ricketts, again playing centre-half, gave away a stupid penalty, raising his arms over his head and blocking a pass in the box. Luckily, Huddlestone took the penalty quite poorly for Spurs and Jussi Jaaskelainen was able to save it. Overall, a draw was probably a fair result, and they will do it all over again at White Heart Lane.

As for individual players, a few stood out. Zat Knight played very well before going with some sort of injury, which has to be a huge concern for Owen Coyle.

Johann Elmander was outstanding in every aspect of the game except finishing, which is still a problem. He held the ball up well, ran at the defence when he could, and created chances for himself and others. In fact, his quick one-two with Lee Chung-Yong and excellent cutback set up Kevin Davies for Bolton's goal. This just showed that when he is able to play off another striker in a true 4-4-2 setup, he is a very dangerous player.

Fabrice Muamba was great in midfield, winning ball after ball and harassing Tottenham's creative players into mistake after mistake. His finishing was also poor, but he is still young, and if he can improve himself technically over the next year or two, he will really turn into a top class player. We have already seen him improve his passing this season through maturity. He doesn't panic as much, plays the simple pass, and gives the ball away far less than he did a year ago.

Paul Robinson was poor again. Nothing more to add really.

Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs are looking really short on defenders, and don't have a great record at the Reebok, so there could be an upset brewing here. Given that Harry Redknapp may be planning an escape to a tax shelter in the Caribbean Sea, those chances are increasing every minute.

Owen Coyle claims he will put out his strongest team, but I am hoping to see a few squad players get an opportunity to show what they can do.

Stuart Holden may finally be fit enough to make his Wanderers debut, although I doubt he will feature from the start. As far as the rest of the attackers go, I would be pleased if Riga and Vaz Te were given a chance to do some damage. Lee Chung-Yong and Kevin Davies are both starting to look a little tired, I would like to see them rested as well.

I am not really optimistic though, chances are Coyle will make few changes. Here is my prediction of his starting XI on Sunday;

Jussi Jaaskelainen GK: I would like to see Al-Habsi get a start, and he well might.

Gretar Steinsson RB, Jlloyd Samuel LB: Please no Paul Robinson, please!!!

Zat Knight CB, Andy O'Brien CB: Not a lot of other options here, and Knight has been brilliant since Coyle arrived.

Fabrice Muamba CM, Chris Basham CM: This is a soft prediction, as it may well be Tamir Cohen with Basham, but I think Coyle might try a Liverpool style 4-2-3-1, and I would like to see Basham in the holding role, as his passing would complement Muamba's ball-winning.

Matt Taylor, LM, Ricardo Gardner RM, Mark Davies CM: As I mentioned earlier, I would like to see a bit more adventure in attack, but I don't think Coyle will take too many chances.

Johann Elmander F: I think Kevin Davies needs a rest, physically and mentally. Also, it will be really interesting to see how Coyle's system works without the hulking centre-forward present to give the ball away.