Andy Reid and Stephen Kelly score for Spurs

[TerryPhelan]

Mahatma Gandhi Reid scores an absolute cracker from 25 yards and Kelly scores the 5th in the last minute. Robbie starts but is substituted...

Rampant Tottenham kept their European hopes very much alive with a 5-1 victory over clueless Aston Villa at White Hart Lane.

Spurs raced into a three-goal lead in the opening half with Mali striker Fredi Kanoute hitting a double either side of skipper Ledley King's 18th-minute effort.

Villa grabbed a lifeline when Gareth Barry converted a spot-kick in the closing stages of the first half but Andy Reid unleashed a stunning 25-yard shot in the 66th minute for the fourth and Stephen Kelly put Spurs seventh in the Barclays Premiership with a fifth in the last minute.

Tottenham had almost stunned their visitors inside the first two minutes when King forced Stefan Postma into a fine save.

The Spurs skipper met Reid's inswinging corner from the right and planted a firm header goalwards which Postma did well to palm away.

Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson had also been forced into an early save as Steve Davis burst through to unleash a right-foot drive that the England man did well to save low to his right.

Villa were furious they were not awarded a penalty in the fifth minute when Erik Edman appeared to foul Mark Delaney inside the box, but within seconds Spurs capitalised on their good fortune by taking the lead.

Robinson quickly collected the ball and punted it high towards Kanoute. The Mali international got the better of Liam Ridgewell and fired home via the inside of the right-hand post to the fury of the Villa players.

Villa goalkeeper Postma was so incensed that referee Mark Clattenburg had failed to award Villa a spot-kick that he chased the official to the centre circle. He was duly booked for his protest.

Spurs, needing a victory to keep their slim UEFA Cup hopes alive, were without England striker Jermain Defoe. He had been left on the bench by coach Martin Jol in favour of Kanoute and Robbie Keane in attack.

Tottenham were two up in the 18th minute through skipper King. Reid's 20-yard shot through a crowded penalty area rebounded off Villa's left-hand post and when Sean Davis failed to take advantage of the loose ball, King tapped home from six yards.

Davis forced Postma into another fine save at his near post when the former Fulham midfielder got on the end of a Kanoute cross.

But it did not matter because Spurs increased their lead in the 26th minute when Villa failed to clear the subsequent corner.

Keane's attempted turn and shot fell to kindly to Kanoute and the Mali man struck his second of the game by firing high into the top corner from the angle of the six-yard box.

In the 43rd minute Villa got back into the game when Michael Dawson was adjudged to have handled a shot by Juan Pablo Angel.

Barry gave Robinson no chance by firing the spot-kick powerfully down the middle and into the roof of the net.

However, in the 50th minute, Villa almost reduced the deficit still further when Darius Vassell burst into the penalty area and forced Robinson into a one-handed save with a powerful shot.

On the hour, Robinson and Vassell were hurt when they collided inside the penalty area and both players required treatment before they could continue.

Robinson was clearly struggling and Spurs took no chances by substituting the England goalkeeper for understudy Radek Cerny.

The Spurs number one looked to have hurt his right knee in the collision with Vassell and was warmly applauded as he limped around the perimeter of the pitch.

In the 66th minute, Reid put the game beyond Villa's reach with a tremendous 25-yard strike.

The Spurs winger broke clear and as the Villa defence backed off, Reid left fly with a superb left-foot drive that cannoned into the net off the underside of the crossbar.

In the 75th minute Spurs coach Jol opted to introduce Defoe and Egyptian forward Mido into the action as replacements for Kanoute and Keane.

The changes almost brought Spurs a fifth in the 83rd minute when Defoe's 18-yard effort was deflected on to the top of the crossbar.

The striker was then thwarted by Postma three minutes from time as Spurs cut through the Villa defence with ease.

Kelly added a fifth for Spurs in the final minute.

(football365)

[tricky_colour]

Reid shines in Spurs rout

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=273654&lid=2&cpid=8&title=Reid+shines+in+Spurs+rout&channel=Football_Home

[livehead1]

some player reid is. showing his forest form now, he would try at least 3 of them shots he scored 2day when he was with the mighty reds. hes only gonna get better and better now and i dont think that it matters a damn about his weight. hes just well built

[Donal81]

I missed the poxy goals. I was away all day and at a gig last night so missed Match of the Day 2 (for the best, I suppose). If anyone has a link to the footage, I'd be much obliged. I heard Reid's was a corker.

[Metrostars]

Very nice goal for Reid. Probably about 23ish yards out. The funny part was that he barely celebrated, just turned and kept on running. He also hit the post in the first half.

[thejollyrodger]

Reid seems to be turning into a decent player. great goal. He is a great crosser and can score himself. just what we need out of him

I was worried about him before, he seemed to get very fustrated when thing didnt go right and he would huff and puff. By this time next season he should have improved a lot for the WC !! :D

[tetsujin1979]

The host of MOTD 2 made the point that Andy looked a little overweight, Dennis Wise was one of the pundits, and said he's played against him, and it's all muscle, extremely solid. he's just built that way.

[eirebhoy]

I'm still actually shocked that people think he is overweight. He's been like that 2 years now and hasn't changed so its obviously his build.

Good performance by the 3 Irish yesterday.

Thread on Stephen Kelly:
http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=9102

[aido_b]

A friend of mines father used to coach reid at Cherry Orchard. He said that he's always been like that and that he was one fo the strongest players he's ever seen to come through cherry orchard. Hes just stocky like Cantona was ...

[tricky_colour]

I think that is Kelly's second goal in 11 starts?
He seems to be pretty useful in front of goal, I remember thinking he
took his first one well like a typical striker, I though he took his
second goal too very well too, holding off a defender and prodding the
ball past the keeper from close range, the sort of goal you would expect
Van Nistleroy to be scoring.

Reidy's goal was typical of the stuff he was doing when he was at Forest
(yes those back to back European Cup winners now playing in the third tier
of Engliah football :eek: ).

I made it 25 yards out as the grass stripes were 3 meters apart and I
counted 8 and a half of them and no he's not fat, he's just big-boned :D

[Stuttgart88]

I'm still actually shocked that people think he is overweight. He's been like that 2 years now and hasn't changed so its obviously his build.

Good performance by the 3 Irish yesterday.

Thread on Stephen Kelly:
http://www.spurscommunity.co.uk/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=9102

Good to see him doing well but I think none of those Spurs fans is aware of Steve Finnan! They're pretty bitter towards Carr. No way is Kelly ready for the Irish side yet.

I think O'Shea played right-back for MUFC on Saturday, which is where he looks most comfortable IMHO. Anyone see how he did?

[dancinpants]

he's just big-boned :D

Weird - I heard it was glandular.

[brine3]

What does Mahatma Gandhi have to do with it?

[FarBeag]

Quote.. brine3 ...... What does Mahatma Gandhi have to do with it?


Good question..I was just about to ask the same thing???

[Stuttgart88]

It rhymes with...

[TerryPhelan]

Quote.. brine3 ...... What does Mahatma Gandhi have to do with it?


Good question..I was just about to ask the same thing???

Thanks Stuttgart88... Rhymes with Andy (Reid)... Just a joke I have with my mates, thought it needed to be shared... :D

[jimbob117]

No way is Kelly ready for the Irish side yet.

I think O'Shea played right-back for MUFC on Saturday, which is where he looks most comfortable IMHO. Anyone see how he did?


How is Kelly not ready for the irish side? I have watched him play, and apart from a nightmare in the 1st half against arsenal last week, he has done well. And with carr out of the isreal game, he should get a taste of the squad albeit as cover.
as for o'shea, he didnt have a whole lot to do, charlton were rubbish and only had one attack of note during the whole game, and that was in the first few minutes.But at least he got the whole 90mins, and that may give him some confidence.

[Stuttgart88]

Because he's still only a rookie and we have better options at RB at the moment. The next 5 games are absolutely crucial & I wouldn't select Kelly unless we absolutely had to. Great prospect for the not-too-distant future definitely but not now. I'm not sure it'd be fair on him either.

O'Shea looked very comfortable when he played RB against Poland, much more so than he does at LB in my opinion. I think he also played a meaningless Unity Cup game at RB. On another thread (Harte related I think) I just mentioned why I'd prefer to see O'Shea replaced at left back by KK.

[FarBeag]

Quote...Jimbob117....How is Kelly not ready for the irish side?

1) He has no experience playing at international level.
2) Has not been a regular at Spurs for long.
3).As you said, had a nightmare 1st half against Arsenal.
4) We have Finnan ,Carr ,and O'Shea ahead of him to cover that role.

Saying this he is a good player and one for the future.

[jimbob117]

Quote...Jimbob117....How is Kelly not ready for the irish side?

1) He has no experience playing at international level.
2) Has not been a regular at Spurs for long.
3).As you said, had a nightmare 1st half against Arsenal.
4) We have Finnan ,Carr ,and O'Shea ahead of him to cover that role.

Saying this he is a good player and one for the future.


1) how is he going to get experience if hes not called up
2) How regular do you need to be to get in the squad? i dont believe miller
has played in a while, and morrison hasnt been a regular since xmas
3) one nightmare 1st half against arsenal in 12 games isnt bad, how many bad
games has o'brien or carr had recently
4)Carr is suspended for the isreal game thats why i said bring him in.

[Donal81]

Quote...Jimbob117....How is Kelly not ready for the irish side?

1) He has no experience playing at international level.
2) Has not been a regular at Spurs for long.
3).As you said, had a nightmare 1st half against Arsenal.
4) We have Finnan ,Carr ,and O'Shea ahead of him to cover that role.

Saying this he is a good player and one for the future.

Jimbob only suggested bringing him in as cover. I can't see the harm in that, especially as Carr is suspended and O'Shea will most likely start on the left.

[FarBeag]

Maybe ......Stuttgart88... answered your query better than I did.

Kelly needs time to adjust to International Football,therefore needs to play in some friendlies before you could even consider playing him, especially now as we have such important games coming up.....

Morrison/Miller have been in the International scene for a while now and know what it's all about,i agree that they are not playing regular at present but both particulary Morrison are very important to our further progression.

As I say Kelly has great potential for the future and when we get over these vital upcoming games then give him a chance to go prove himself which I am sure he will do without a problem.

[jimbob117]

Maybe ......Stuttgart88... answered your query better than I did.

Kelly needs time to adjust to International Football,therefore needs to play in some friendlies before you could even consider playing him, especially now as we have such important games coming up.....

Morrison/Miller have been in the International scene for a while now and know what it's all about,i agree that they are not playing regular at present but both particulary Morrison are very important to our further progression.

As I say Kelly has great potential for the future and when we get over these vital upcoming games then give him a chance to go prove himself which I am sure he will do without a problem.

I still disagree with ya, what if finnan or o'shea get injured during the isreal match or before it?(with carr suspended) i know id rather have a recent premiership regular in kelly than a recent division 1 regular in maybury. Granted he has no experience but no better way to earn it, and after all, its not as if we are playing france, its faroes or isreal, hardly world beaters

[FarBeag]

Ok..We will agree to disagree on this one shall we..BTW Israel like ourselves may not be world beaters but they are not a bad side either.

[jimbob117]

Ok..We will agree to disagree on this one shall we..BTW Israel like ourselves may not be world beaters but they are not a bad side either.

Guess we'll disagree on that aswell, i dont think isreal are any great shakes, only that we didnt go for the victory and france arent up to scratch at the moment they would be nowhere near qualifying and still think they'll come 4th. anyway, thats another days work :o

[eirebhoy]

Israel outplayed France for the most of it a couple of months ago. They were the much better team against Switzerland and without a doubt deserved the win. They are an excellent team and still very much underrated among the Irish because of the way they set out against us.

[FarBeag]

Quote..Eirebhoy....Israel outplayed France for the most of it a couple of months ago. They were the much better team against Switzerland and without a doubt deserved the win. They are an excellent team and still very much underrated among the Irish because of the way they set out against us.


Well said that man...This is coming from someone that knows their football,I totally agree with you.Israel were terrified of Ireland and did not play to their full potential and if we beat them at home by a fluke goal i will be more than delighted.

[Closed Account 2]

Maybe ......Stuttgart88... answered your query better than I did.

Kelly needs time to adjust to International Football,therefore needs to play in some friendlies before you could even consider playing him, especially now as we have such important games coming up.....

Morrison/Miller have been in the International scene for a while now and know what it's all about,i agree that they are not playing regular at present but both particulary Morrison are very important to our further progression.

As I say Kelly has great potential for the future and when we get over these vital upcoming games then give him a chance to go prove himself which I am sure he will do without a problem.

I agree with you about Clinton, but Miller ?!?! Ive yet to see him do much at all for us, and even if we had a fair few injuries/suspensions I think (well hope) others would be in ahead of him. I think time has run out for Miller, he really has to move on from Man Utd - Fletcher, Phillip Neville and now Keleberson (after Charlton match) all seem to be picked ahead of him. And next season you can add Richardson to that as he has done well on loan at WBA... Miller has been poor all season long - eg he was out fought by Exeter City's midfield in both cup games, he needs regular football or else his career will stagnate to the point of collapse.

[Stuttgart88]

The Independent this morning is saying that Miller may go to Norwich (yes, Norwich!) on a full season loan next year. Oh dear...

[Donal81]

Israel outplayed France for the most of it a couple of months ago. They were the much better team against Switzerland and without a doubt deserved the win. They are an excellent team and still very much underrated among the Irish because of the way they set out against us.

I'll disagree with you there Eirebhoy. I don't think they're excellent but capitalised on our failings and French failings. They have a lot of momentum now but I've seen little that impressed me.

[tetsujin1979]

The Independent this morning is saying that Miller may go to Norwich (yes, Norwich!) on a full season loan next year. Oh dear...

He can keep Doc company in the reserve games!

[eirebhoy]

They have a lot of momentum now but I've seen little that impressed me.
I think its only the way they played against us that is making people feel that way. Did you see them against the Swiss? They cut them open like nothing an Irish team has done in years. Their passing against the French was sublime, with the exception of a spell of French dominance you could have mistaken Israel for any of the top teams. Only one team has won in Russia in the last 8 years, that was Israel. They actually forced Russia's coach to resign because of that result. :)

Benayoun scored a hatrick in against Deportivo last week and while he's their best player, they certainly don't rely on him. Don't see many Irish midfielders coming up with hattricks in a top league. :)

Israel actually remind me of AZ. A quality team but don't get the credit because the names on the backs of their shirts. AZ would beat any team in Europe on their day by playing fabulous football. It rarely isn't their day though. :)

[Stuttgart88]

They actually forced Russia's coach to resign because of that result. :)

I know, 4 weeks before we played Russia in Dublin. The new coach brought back all their best players. We'd probably have beaten them otherwise. Thanks for nothing Israel:)

[Donal81]

I think its only the way they played against us that is making people feel that way. Did you see them against the Swiss? They cut them open like nothing an Irish team has done in years. Their passing against the French was sublime, with the exception of a spell of French dominance you could have mistaken Israel for any of the top teams. Only one team has won in Russia in the last 8 years, that was Israel. They actually forced Russia's coach to resign because of that result. :)

Benayoun scored a hatrick in against Deportivo last week and while he's their best player, they certainly don't rely on him. Don't see many Irish midfielders coming up with hattricks in a top league. :)

Israel actually remind me of AZ. A quality team but don't get the credit because the names on the backs of their shirts. AZ would beat any team in Europe on their day by playing fabulous football. It rarely isn't their day though. :)

Fair play to them for the result against the Swiss but there's something a bit off about this group: we can play a whole lot better than we've played so far, with the exception of the French game. We've never really gotten into top gear. The French are very, very weak. The Swiss are a poor side who have been lucky with their last two groups. Israel also find themselves in a group where the main teams just aren't motoring properly. Maybe I'm naiive here but I thought we were much better than Israel although we should have killed off the game. If we had gotten a second goal, they weren't coming back from it. Benayoun, their playmaker, did very little against us. Maybe this just proves your point that they were worried by us, though.

Remember, this is the same team that went 1-0 down to Cyprus at home before getting a winner 15 minutes from time...They were also about five minutes from drawing with Cyprus away before getting a goal. We saw Cyprus at home and, if anything, they're even worse than they were in the 2002 campaign, a reallly awful side.

Put that beside their goals against us and the French. As Jimbob said, if they hadn't got an injury time goal against us and a goal in the last ten minutes against a 10-man French team, they would be dead and buried. Lucky in many ways? Absolutely. Excellent? I disagree, sir. :)

However, everyone needs luck and the group is as it is. What I'm saying is that I don't think they're the dark horses people make them out to be but jammy b*stards waiting to be found out! :)

[Donal81]

Also, when we played them, their only defensive tactic was to boot Duff off the ball whenever he came near them. We had free-kick after free-kick that we wasted but it shows how much he unnerved them. They played that at home, see how far that gets them when they're not in their home ground...

[Stuttgart88]

I'm nervous about Cyprus away. I think they were unusually bad in Dublin.

I think Israel are a half decent side who have to be treated with respect. Especially because they're well coached and have one really class player. But I see Ireland as being better than that & we should look to beat teams like Israel. Let's face it, if we drew Israel in a finals we'd be delighted.

I've seen teams defend narrow leads deeply quite a number of times since Tel Aviv and when I compare the success of this strategy against our outcome against Israel I see one common factor: luck! How close did Gudjohnssen come to scoring at Anfield? If Rangers had scored after 80 mins instead of 87 mins would Celtic have won at Ibrox? Should Robbie have scored at Highbury? Let's face it, there were flaws in our performance in Israel, but they got lucky with that guy's career best shot.

It's a thin line between being lauded for a tactically astute performance and losing 2 points.

[Stuttgart88]

see how far that gets them when they're not in their home ground...

Their home pitch was ridiculously narrow too. We'll see how their 3 CB's cope with width in Dublin, even without Duff.

[Donal81]

I'm nervous about Cyprus away. I think they were unusually bad in Dublin.

I think Israel are a half decent side who have to be treated with respect. Especially because they're well coached and have one really class player. But I see Ireland as being better than that & we should look to beat teams like Israel. Let's face it, if we drew Israel in a finals we'd be delighted.

I've seen teams defend narrow leads deeply quite a number of times since Tel Aviv and when I compare the success of this strategy against our outcome against Israel I see one common factor: luck! How close did Gudjohnssen come to scoring at Anfield? If Rangers had scored after 80 mins instead of 87 mins would Celtic have won at Ibrox? Should Robbie have scored at Highbury? Let's face it, there were flaws in our performance in Israel, but they got lucky with that guy's career best shot.

It's a thin line between being lauded for a tactically astute performance and losing 2 points.

I said on this forum after the Israel game that we were a few minutes away from what everyone would have considered a great defensive performance. I don't like defensive football and playing on a 1-0 lead is just foolish but it can be done when luck is there as well.

With three very late goals against Cyprus (twice) and the French, and the last minute goal against us, Israel have eight points that they're riding their luck on. Obviously, if they were rubbish, they wouldn't have been within one goal of ourselves and France. They must be treated with respect but let's not stand off them. I don't think they're particularly creative and have a couple of tough boys at the back that will be caught out in Lansdowne.

Again, I might be really naiive but I think the next 6 months will be the making of this team and Kerr. We can do the Israelis and the Swiss at home, I'm sure of it, and there is nothing about either of these teams that we have to fear. It's ourselves we should worry about.

[Stuttgart88]

Again, I might be really naiive but I think the next 6 months will be the making of this team and Kerr. We can do the Israelis and the Swiss at home, I'm sure of it, and there is nothing about either of these teams that we have to fear. It's ourselves we should worry about.

Absolutely. Tel Aviv was a big "coming of age" opportunity lost, as well as 2 points. If Ireland plays to their best then we'll go through.

[FarBeag]

Quote Donal81...The French are very, very weak.


Sorry but I don't agree.How can the French team go from being the best team in the world to be so dire in the last 18 mths or so??They are being badly managed and have no self belief at the present and look at their individuals players.They will come good.They still top the table and even if they are grinding out results(like ourselves) does not make them weak by any stretch of the imagination.

Israel are no world beaters i know but either were Greece before they wont the big one in Portugal.They are a good team and with the capabilities to beat us in Landsdowne and have the self confidence that they can.Therefore in my view this makes them very very dangerous.I have much more confidence in beating the Swiss at home although this will not be easy either judging by our previous record against them.
I am as optimistic as the next man and i do hope we win the group.If we dont we can not blame anyone other than ourselves no matter how good or bad we think they are.

[jimbob117]

Quote Donal81...The French are very, very weak.


Sorry but I don't agree.How can the French team go from being the best team in the world to be so dire in the last 18 mths or so??They are being badly managed and have no self belief at the present and look at their individuals players.They will come good.They still top the table and even if they are grinding out results(like ourselves) does not make them weak by any stretch of the imagination.

Israel are no world beaters i know but either were Greece before they wont the big one in Portugal.They are a good team and with the capabilities to beat us in Landsdowne and have the self confidence that they can.Therefore in my view this makes them very very dangerous.I have much more confidence in beating the Swiss at home although this will not be easy either judging by our previous record against them.


The French are relatively weak compared to their W/C and Euro Champs winning teams. This is because they lost zidane, thuaram, makelele and lizarazu, all world class players.. so thats how they have disappointed in the last 18 months or so, any team would miss them.
As for isreal being dangerous? i think they will be like the proverbial fish out of water over here. I think if we go at them from the start, we will beat them comfortably, and i know they got as good a result as us in france but i just dont think they have the quality to continue that form. like donal said, they have momentum but we can stop them and if/when we beat them, i reckon they'll struggle for the rest of their games thus ruling them out of contention.

[jimbob117]

I'm nervous about Cyprus away. I think they were unusually bad in Dublin.



Dont be, they ARE bad.