Leeds -vs- Tottenham (1-3) fa cup video highlights
Tottenham Hotspur Vs Leeds United.
The last and only time Leeds beat us in the FA Cup was way back in 1971/72 and in that year they went on to win it, beating Arsenal in the final at a time when the FA Cup enthralled the nation…
How things have Changed for the competition and Leeds, then one of the best and certainly most feared sides in the game. Now they lie in the third tier of the English game. Though seemingly on the way back towards the big time where they perhaps belong. Any win would now be seen as a giant killing as with their last victory over Man Utd, but as much as I imagine they would love to see Jermaine Beckford emulate Alan Clarke from 72, It is also likely that their priorities are more about gaining promotion than a place in the 5th round draw.
Two defeats and draw since the win over United, could be down to anything, from just a bad run to taking their eye off of the prize, but you would expect them to come to White Hart Lane totally up for the tie. A narrow Carling Cup loss against Liverpool, will give them the feeling that they are worthy of competing with Spurs and it could be a game where we have to win the battle`s to win the war, something we failed to do on Wednesday.
I would imagine that both sides will have an eye in next Tuesday and league games, possibly deemed more important. Neither side will want to field weakened sides and get embarrassed, but at the same time there won`t be too many risks taken with players not quite fit and an eye to keep the players fresh for mid-week.
All the talk with Leeds is perhaps rightly directed at Jermaine Beckford, but I have been very impressed with Robert Snodgrass, Jonny Howson and Bradley Johnson for Leeds, with Snodgrass for me possibly looking more likely than Beckford to be the stand out player in the long term and he could be the man to cause Gareth Bale a few problems tomorrow..
Spurs will again be without, Aaron Lennon, who misses the chance to face his old club, as of course does Jonathan Woodgate. Also missing will be Ledley King, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Carlo Cudicini and Tom Huddlestone.
It is difficult to know whether Harry will look to play a side very near to his strongest or use this as an opportunity to give a few squad players a chance. In truth if we consider that he might want to avoid playing the likes of Roman Pavlyuchenko, David Bentley and Jamie O`Hara to avoid them being cup tied, he may have to play a very strong line up as he has little other option when you add the list of injured to the others. Personally I want to see us make a couple of changes and certainly give Giovani dos Santos a start as well as Danny Rose and if in the mood and Harry is inclined, Roman Pavlyuchenko.
I wrote in an earlier article that I would play Vedran Corluka in central defence, to allow Alan Hutton or even Kyle Naughton a rare start and rest one of our two fit CBs. Also we need to see what he can do in the centre, as realistically he is the best and possibly only sensible alternative in the absence of King, Woody and Huddlestone.
I would like to see a side something like this, but I remain flexible and would also like to see a few tactical changes in the 2nd half. Gomes, Hutton, Corluka, Bassong, Bale, Gio, Jenas, O`Hara, Rose, Pav and Defoe. I like the idea of trying Pav and Defoe in attack, and in truth both Keane and Crouch simply don`t seem to fit with the Russian, so at least we may gain something from a halves experiment.
For Spurs to win we have to be far more focused and prepared to battle that we were on Wednesday. Leeds may be two league below us, but they will come for the battle and certainly roll up their sleeves for another day in front of the TV cameras, where they feel they belong.
I wonder if Simon Grayson look to attack Spurs and hope to catch us off guard or not prepared for the fight, alternatively, take a leaf out of the likes of Stoke, Wolves and Hull and look to frustrate us, with a 4-5-1 and strangle our midfield, which has caused us so many problems this season. I hope not as this could potentially be a great game and advert for the new Leeds United under Grayson.
For full match see the video highlights below,
