Now that the policy of strategically giving up the League Cup has been set, it is naturally impossible for George to waste the precious physical energy of the first-team players in this game with Wigan Athletic.
In fact, after making up his mind to get Tottenham out of the League Cup as soon as possible, George included many youth team players on the roster for this game. On the one hand, this is because this can save the first team's consumption to the greatest extent, allowing them to allocate their limited energy and physical fitness to more important games; on the other hand, George's doing this can also make these young players in the youth team better Accumulate game experience to prepare yourself mentally for representing the adult team in future games.
Casey Keller, Gary Speed, Aaron Lennon and Henrik Larsson, these are the only four first-team players in the starting list submitted by George. The remaining seven players are all young players that George temporarily transferred from the youth team!
Looking back at Wigan Athletic. Although this season's biggest dark horse in the Premier League has exposed its true level in the previous devilish schedule, the league ranking has also dropped to sixth place, and was defeated by Tottenham, which is still playing, but it has been initially completed. Having achieved the goals set at the beginning of the season, they now have higher pursuits. That is to work harder in the League Cup and strive for a European spot next season!
After nearly half a season of actual combat testing and careful observation, Wigan Athletic coach Jewell has a relatively clear judgment on the team's true level. Not being dazzled by the team's outstanding performance in the first half of the season, he clearly realized that Wigan Athletic's strength is currently only at the mid-table level of the Premier League. Jewell knew very well that the reason why Wigan Athletic was able to reach the top three in the standings in the first half of the league was, on the one hand, because the players' collective condition was so good that they just raised the team's combat effectiveness by a whole level; on the other hand, because It's because the opponent is not familiar enough with his own tactics and personnel characteristics. As time goes by, the players' competitive state is bound to decline, and at the same time, Premier League teams that have adapted to Wigan Athletic's style of play will also adopt more targeted arrangements in the game. As a result, Wigan Athletic's journey in the second half of the league with limited manpower will undoubtedly be much more difficult than before!
Not to mention Tottenham and Chelsea, whose battle for the top spot has entered a fierce stage, and Manchester United, which is recovering from the wave of injuries. Even Arsenal and Liverpool, whose dead camels are bigger than horses, are definitely not comparable to Wigan Athletic. of. Even if they succeed for a while, with extremely limited bench depth, it will be difficult for them to maintain their current ranking in the long league journey until the end of the season!
In this case, why not take a chance and seize the opportunity when the strong teams are focusing on the league battlefield to focus on the League Cup where the weak teams have a relatively high chance of being upset, and use this as a breakthrough to win a ticket for the European War next season?
Therefore, contrary to Tottenham who sent a large number of youth team players to make up the numbers, Jewell sent all the main players in this game. His intention is extremely obvious, that is, to seize the opportunity when Tottenham are exhausted from the Club World Cup and defeat the opponent, thereby advancing to the League Cup semi-finals!
Facing Wigan Athletic, who were at home and dispatched all their main players, Tottenham unsurprisingly fell into a tough battle. Although the youth team players who were put into the starting lineup by George are not ordinary players, they include future stars such as Huddlestone, Gareth Bale, and Chris Smalling, and their performance on the court is also impressive. It's remarkable, but unfortunately, they don't have enough ability to cope with the adult team competition at this time. At least in terms of physical fitness and use of technology, they will be thrown several blocks away by their opponents!
Although Larsson, who is still young, scored two goals with his head and kick in the game, twice helping Tottenham equalize the score, Wigan Athletic, which has stronger overall strength and has home advantage, is still better in the end. In the 76th minute, Chimbanda forced a pass from the right. Casey Keller hit the ball out of the penalty area with both fists. Damien Francis did not stop the ball and volleyed directly from the outside of the penalty area. The ball was in the penalty area. After hitting Huddlestone's body, it was refracted into the net, three to two!
Francis' goal made Tottenham's youngsters impatient. At this time, Wigan Athletic, who had grasped the psychological state of the Tottenham players, deliberately shrunk their defense after the game restarted, actively luring the opponent to attack and creating an opportunity for their own team to quickly counterattack, and Kamara kicked off the game on the 85th The goal that sealed the victory was scored in the minute!
In this way, after ninety minutes of fierce battle, the slightly inferior Tottenham finally lost to Wigan Athletic 2-4, causing the biggest upset in this round of the League Cup!
Of course, it's not entirely correct to say it's unpopular. In fact, when seeing the starting list announced by Tottenham, fans with some brains will know that the possibility of Tottenham advancing to the League Cup semi-finals is absolutely slim!
Although Tottenham were eliminated by Wigan Athletic, the performance of Huddlestone and other young players received unanimous praise from the media and fans - they were not massacred by Wigan Athletic, who had exhausted their main force, but were in the top 70 For minutes, they were locked in a battle with the home team. It was not until the final stage that they were defeated by their opponents due to lack of game experience and poor self-regulation ability. To be able to achieve this level, these players fully deserve these praises!
Bell's wing breakthrough, Huddlestone's overall view and long-passing ability, and Smalling's close defense all left a deep impression on people. So, after this game, people began to pay attention to the Tottenham youth team, which has always been shrouded in the halo of the first team and is inconspicuous!
You know, Wigan Athletic is currently the sixth-highest team in the Premier League standings. Being able to only lose 2 to 4 when playing against such a team is enough to prove how powerful the football talents and potential of these minors are!
After being eliminated by Wigan Athletic, Tottenham faced Middlesbrough in the 17th round of the Premier League make-up match on December 23. Since Chelsea had previously defeated Arsenal 2-0 and surpassed Tottenham by one point in the standings with one more game, for Tottenham, this game must not be missed!
On the other hand, McLaren, who believes that Tottenham have become a tired team after participating in the Club World Cup, is full of confidence and is ready to take this opportunity to score points from Tottenham to save his poor team performance. A handsome position that is not as good as expected and is shaky!
Facing Middlesbrough, who was trying to take advantage of the situation, Tottenham players who got enough rest time defeated the home team with practical actions at the Riverside Stadium - Klose scored twice, and Robben, who returned from injury, passed a pass The shot helped Tottenham beat Middlesbrough with three goals in the away game and regained the top spot in the standings from the Blues!
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