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Tottenham drew with Middlesbrough in the 27th round of the Premier League and only scored one point at home, leaving a 13-point gap between them and league leader Arsenal. Tottenham players were naturally extremely disappointed with this result.
After all, before the start of this game, Tottenham players originally wanted to make a last-ditch effort for the league championship. And now, after four consecutive draws in the league, Tottenham players have completely given up their thoughts on competing for the Premier League championship, and instead set their goal to keep the top four in the league, while trying to improve their ranking in the standings as much as possible, and strive to get a direct Qualification to participate in the Champions League next season.
At the same time, after seeing Tottenham only get a draw in this league make-up match, whether it was Wenger, Ferguson or Ranieri, they couldn't help but let out a long sigh in their hearts. The league has reached this stage, and they don't want to have another competitor.
Unlike Ferguson and others who breathed a sigh of relief, the two coaches, Houllier and Robson Sr., seemed quite depressed at this time. Because even if Tottenham only got a draw in this make-up match, it would be enough for Tottenham to further expand its lead with Newcastle and Liverpool!
Therefore, after learning the news of Tottenham's draw with Middlesbrough, Newcastle had to put all their hopes of reaching the top four in the Premier League's 28th round, scheduled to arrive four days later. . Because this weekend, the Magpies are going to White Hart Lane to start a battle with Tottenham Hotspur!
Therefore, if Newcastle can defeat Tottenham Hotspur led by George in this head-to-head confrontation, the point gap between them and Tottenham will be reduced to seven points. In this way, the "Magpies" can still retain a glimmer of hope of entering the Champions League next season. And if Newcastle loses this round, then Robson really can only consider saving a place for the Magpies in the UEFA Cup next season.
However, although Newcastle players and Robson himself take this game very seriously, Magpies fans have a different view. In their view, the possibility of their team defeating Tottenham in this confrontation is still quite high. The source of the confidence of these fans is not only because Robson has a deep and detailed understanding of George's disciple's tactical thinking and knows what to do to better restrain the opponent on both offense and defense, but also because of the inherent differences between both sides. In the first meeting of the season, Newcastle won the final victory at St. James' Park. Therefore, in the eyes of Magpies fans, Newcastle also has a high chance of winning this game against Tottenham Hotspur this time!
Regarding this argument, Robson couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart. Because the coach knows very well that Newcastle was able to defeat Tottenham last time, and there was a considerable factor of luck involved. For example, Bellamy and Bowyer, the two major thorns in the game, did not cause any trouble in that game. The referee's care for Shearer, coupled with Tottenham's bad luck that day, missed many opportunities to equalize the score. This led to Tottenham's eventual loss in the away game.
And this time, although Tottenham officially announced that many main players will be absent from this game, Robson still dare not underestimate this opponent. In his view, Tottenham Hotspur, with George at the helm, is rising at an alarming rate, and there is great hope that it will grow to a level comparable to Manchester United and Arsenal in the next one or two years. It is far from the beginning. Downhill Newcastle can contend.
What's more, Tottenham's substitute players are not bad at all in terms of strength. Old Robson is sure that if Newcastle players dare to underestimate Tottenham because of this, Newcastle will definitely suffer a big loss in the weekend game!
Regarding this, Arsenal can be said to have the most say. At that time, the Gunners were eliminated from the League Cup by Tottenham, who played all substitutes. Therefore, those who think that Tottenham's strength will be greatly damaged by the absence of the main players can take a rest, because these players have proven their value and ability with actual actions!
On March 14, the head-to-head clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United started on time at White Hart Lane. But before that, George received a Valentine's Day gift in return from Elizabeth. After receiving this gift, George's mood remained at a very good level until he walked out of the player tunnel.
"George, you seem to be in a good mood today." During the handshake ceremony before the game, Old Robson, who had seen some clues, took this opportunity to have a brief exchange with George, "Why, could it be said that the Hood family Is that little girl really captured by you? She actually smiles so, well, it makes people feel uncomfortable?"
"Hey, old man, have you seen it?" George smiled, with a happy expression on his face that could make singles furious, "It was Adele who pulled the string from Elizabeth. She is now in the VIP room specially prepared by me. I’m watching this game from the box. I want to give her a victory as a gift, old man, would you like to do me this little favor?”
"Tsk, George, you can really have your whims, and you want me to give you a victory for nothing? If you have the ability, just take it yourself!" Old Robson curled his lips disdainfully at George's blatant act of showing off his happiness. He retorted decisively, "You better be careful, kid. If Tottenham loses the game because you are too distracted by Elizabeth's affairs, then you will lose face in front of the girl. Don't I blame the old man for being merciless."
"Just don't worry, old man." George replied with a smile, still wearing the expression that made people feel extremely unbeatable, "I don't think the current Newcastle team has the ability to defeat Tottenham. Besides, even if I lost this game, and Tottenham can lead your Newcastle by seven points in the standings. Although this point difference is not big, with Newcastle's competitive state this season, they still want to recover this seven-point gap. ? I think it’s more realistic, old man, for you to think about how to lead the team to compete in the UEFA Cup."
Although George's words may sound a bit harsh, what he said to Robson Sr. is indeed George's truest opinion of Newcastle at this time - after winning third place in the Premier League last season, Newcastle players seemed to have lost their aggressive spirit. , only knowing how to rest on their laurels and put more energy into the never-ending struggle for power, which greatly affected Newcastle's record this season. Otherwise, Newcastle's player configuration is enough to rank among the top four in the standings and compete with Tottenham, and there is no way it will be reduced to the current situation.
Now here is an introduction to the starting lineups of the two teams tonight. Let’s talk about Newcastle first. The old Robson, whose goal is to win with all his strength, sent out the strongest lineup at hand in this game without reservation: Irish national goalkeeper Shay Given sat in front of the goal. In front of him, Aaron Hughes, Wood The four defenders of Gate, O'Brien and Bernard are lined up, the midfielder is a combination of Lee Bowyer, Jenas, Dyer and Laurent Robert. On the forward line, Alan Shearer and Ame The two high center forwards Obi formed a twin front tower, charging at the front for the Magpies!
On Tottenham's side, Ledley King and Stephen Carr are absent due to injuries, and Speed, Heinze and Bielovka are also suspended due to yellow cards received in the previous game. , Therefore, in this game, George can only choose to make full use of existing resources to ensure that Tottenham's combat effectiveness does not decline too much.
The starting goalkeeper position naturally belongs to Cech. After the arrival of the Czech goalkeeper, Tottenham's defensive quality is much higher than last season, so last season's main goalkeeper Casey Keller can only sit on the bench and wait for opportunities.
On the defense, since Karl and Heinze were both absent, George had to send Phil Neville and Matthew Taylor as the starting full-backs. As for the central defender position, Vidic and Vermaelen started together. Dawson is currently in a serious mood of self-blame because he made a low-level mistake in the last game against Middlesbrough, which caused the team to lose three points. Many fans and media also criticized Dawson for that time. So to protect Dawson, George sent Vermaelen in this game and put Dawson on the bench.
In the midfield, veterans Speed and Kompany formed a double midfielder. The former's rich experience can just make up for the latter's lack of game experience, while the latter's physical strength can help Speed solve the problem of insufficient defensive coverage. Coupled with Michael Carrick up front, Tottenham's midfield trio is enough to provide sufficient protection for the defense. The only flaw is that this combination lacks support for the team on the offensive end.
On the forward line, Bierovka is on the left, Cristiano Ronaldo is on the right, and Luca Toni replaced Drogba as Tottenham's starting center for this game. After all, compared to Drogba, who has a huge running range and is active in defense but has poor shooting skills, Tony, as a traditional center, is obviously more suitable to be at the front and help Tottenham attack the city.
Seeing that the players from both sides were already in their respective half-courts, Graham Ball, who was the referee of this game, decisively blew his whistle, announcing that this key battle related to the fourth place in the Premier League this season. Now it officially begins!
