Swansea 1 – Tottenham 1: Player Ratings

The game acted out much like I thought it would closely resembling the Norwich match earlier in the week. Spurs got off to a slow start and were disjointed as the two sides looked to figure each other out. Van der Vaart put in a goal late in the first half and I thought the second half would be off to the races just like it was on Tuesday. Tottenham couldn’t find that spark though and were surprisingly dominated in the midfield especially in the second half. This lack of possession allowed the Swans to build up play and put home a late goal to draw level off the foot of Scott Sinclair. It was a bad last day of 2011 at the office but the lads still came home with one point. Now on to the ratings!

Friedel 6: Made a very uncharacteristic mistake on the Swansea goal but honestly wasn’t given much help on that play by Benny, Gallas or Kaboul. He will bounce back from this no doubt as unlike Gomes he does not let his confidence waiver.

Walker 6.5: Was not allowed to contribute much offensively as an outlet on the right flank but did a solid job defensively with 3 tackles and interceptions.

Kaboul 7: For a second straight game Kaboul looked like the centerback we all know he can be. He was tops in the squad in both interceptions and clearances and continued from last game rampaging forward with the ball when given the opportunity.

Gallas 6: The Frenchman did make a few key tackles and interceptions while passing the ball very well but for some reason he isn’t passing my eye test right now. As I have said before he looks a step slow and indecisive at times.

BAE 6.5: Watching the match I thought he played poor but his statistics say otherwise with five tackles, five interceptions, and a 90% passing rate to his credit. It obviously tired though as could be seen with his effort on the Swansea goal.

Sandro 7: The Brazilian had another good game sitting in front of the back four. Can be easily dispossessed of the ball at times but he’s still growing and learning with a massive amount of potential he can reach.

Van der Vaart 7.5 (MOTM): Was the best player in a Spurs shirt yesterday with a goal, some fine passing and a very solid defensive effort. Should not have been subbed out for Defoe, Parker should have been the one to be swapped out.

Parker 6.5: Parker was not bad at all but you can tell he is not playing at the same high level that he was earlier in the season. He is no spring chicken and Harry needs to give him a rest from time to time to keep Scotty fresh so he can have the same high impact in the second half of the season.

 Modric 7: Played his usual workman like high passing percentage game but failed to make any key passes in the final third. Cleared a ball off the line defensively.

Bale 6: After a brace earlier in the week Bale was merely average on Saturday and if he wants to be a world class player he needs to be more consistent. Some of this could be due to injury (his ankle looked to be bothering him) or the tactics of letting him roam but before he is allowed to do so Redknapp should insist that he establish himself as a threat on the left flank first.

Adebayor 6.5: Worked hard most of the match but sometimes I don’t see the level of effort that is required up top. Did do some good work on the left side though as Bale drifted into the middle.

Subs-

Defoe 6: After coming on in the 71st minute only had 11 touches of the ball and had very little impact on the game.

Livermore 6: Jake came on just after JD and worked hard but truthfully isn’t a good enough player to merit playing time at this level yet. I look forward to the possible return of Huddlestone in February.