The Beer and the Bubbly
For the first time this season, we’ve ground out a home win without a lot of the Champagne football we’ve become accustomed to recently. Hamstrung by the absence of our wide men, losing the sparkle of Defoe and missing the powerful presence of Kaboul at the back, a potentially tough game – against a Sunderland side working hard for their new boss – was suddenly all the tougher. It was close, it was hard-fought and at times it was untidy, but that’s no bad thing. After all, you don’t need Champagne to get hammered.
It was all very flat at half time. Starting without Bale was enough of a blow, but losing the dangerous Lennon left us lacking in ideas as well as width. At the same time, Sunderland were growing in confidence. But we really upped things after the break. There was an urgency and determination in our play, and no small amount of doggedness. We started to force the issue. Once we got in front, we should have got more. Good possession allowed us to control the game, preventing Sunderland from applying concerted pressure.
While the most important thing when you’re missing players and heading into a busy period is to get that result under your belts, the win wasn’t the only positive. We know Kyle Walker’s dynamite going forward, but he also showed that he’s learning a few things defensively. It looked like he might have a few problems when O’Neill threw on the tricky McClean, but Walker quickly got tight to the young winger and prevented him from making an impact, while still providing an attacking outlet on the right. Beni did the same on the left, although his crosses were either scuffed or skyward. Rafa became more influential, getting on the ball and picking out passes, slipping Pav through for the goal and creating a similar chance for Ade before Luka contrived to blast over. Big Manu suddenly sprang into action, taking on defenders and forcing the keeper into the kinds of saves he didn’t have to make in the first half. Parker started to wrestle control of the midfield, winning the ball back and surging through the middle, most notably for the goal. But the crucial passage of play was started by Rafa’s harrying further up the pitch, allowing Parker to nip in and do his thing. Ledley and Willie G kept it cool at the back, especially when things got a bit frantic towards the end. While it’s always disappointing to have people missing, Bale’s absence gave another chance to Sandro, the brawn from Brazil, to impress us with his strength and workrate. The more he plays, the less likely he is to move on. Then again, the more people see how good he is, the more Europe’s vultures might try to snap him up…..
As for Pav, the game-winner…..well, he did what Pav does. Every touch seemed laboured, a first half sitter went a-begging.....and then, he popped up to fizz one in He might sometimes not show the control, the desire or the strength needed to keep us moving, but he does get on the end of things from time to time. Thank goodness he did yesterday.
We’re at that time of year when you seem to scrap your way through a lot of your games, patching up the side for the next challenge while the bruises from the previous one are still fresh. Yep, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Unfortunately, Lennon suffered a lot worse than bruises today, with his torn hamstring likely to keep him out for a few weeks. Our game relies heavily on width – particularly at home – and the blow comes just as he was getting back to his best. While he’ll no doubt be missed, our options are good. Harry can stick a reluctant Rafa out there and start Defoe – whose niggle hopefully isn’t too bad – with Ade. Or we could see Kranjcar or Pienaar getting a run on the right. Neither will offer Lennon’s searing pace, but both have a point to prove. We’re just going to have to adapt our game ever so slightly to make the most of whoever will be playing there.
Maybe you can’t have Champagne every week, maybe beer can be just as good as bubbly – but we’ll need to show a good deal more quality on Thursday. We’ll also need to show at least as much determination, at least as much desire – because sides like Chelsea give you nothing. If the boys can keep this up, we’ll all be having a few tipples this Christmas.