Finally someone in professional football has slammed Harry Redknapp for his constant violation of transfer policy.

This blog has previously pondered the question of why 'Arry does not get slammed despite always, and I mean always, telling the press of the identities of the players he wants to sign. When Real Madrid did this with Ronaldo, the press went bonkers on the Spaniards. When 'Arry does this on everyone, the latest being Robbie Keane, all keep quiet.

Well, Rafa has had his say, criticizing the Spurs manager for comments on signing unsettled forward Robbie Keane. Finally!

Soccer Statistics would like to recommend Chalkboard from the Guardian. What is Chalkboard? The newspaper describes the tool,

The Guardian's Interactive Chalkboards offer player analytics that until now have only been available to top managers and coaches. The chalkboard plots every action of every player in every Premier League match and lets the user analyse that data however they see fit. There are more than 2,500 actions recorded in an average game and every action on the ball is analysed – passes, shots, blocks, tackles and more.

The problem with this program is that compound stats are not offered, so I still recommend the Daily Telegraph for player statistics.

A response to Job?

Man City, after failing to capture Kaka, have now been linked with a mammoth swoop for Werder Bremen star Diego.

Twenty-three year old Diego has been one of the outstanding performers in the Bundesliga for the past three seasons, spearheading his team into the Champions League and marking himself as a star talent in world football.

In the last two and a half seasons, the Brazilian has recorded 34 goals and and 25 assists in 75 league games, the highest return of any Bundesliga player in that time. This season alone, Diego has scored 8 and assisted on 2 in only 12 games. He has immaculate ball-control, superb vision and an ability to assert his presence on any game.

So what could possibly be risky about a young guy who has recorded more goals and assists than any other player in the recent Bundesliga history, who has the ball control to make 99% of players jealous? More pointedly, why is Diego still playing for Bremen despite showing himself to be the outstanding player in one of the best leagues in the world?

I've watched Diego several times and am always impressed with his ball-control. The problem with him is that he has not yet asserted his stamp on the global stage. In 12 Champions League games for Werder Bremen, Diego has recorded just 2 goals and 2 assists, far from the expected return of a "world-class" talent. He is not physically strong and can be knocked off the ball too easily, while he has a tendency to drift in and out of games.

In the fast-paced and physical EPL, there is a risk that Diego will be unable to assert his authority on games. He will come into the league as a player with enormous upside, a player blessed with the ball control of the select few and who offers the two-edged sword of goals and assists. Yet he will also come into the league as a player who will need to adapt to the speed and technical level of the EPL, an this will take time or fail.

So, is Diego worth the risk?

I say yes if Man City are willing to lose money on him.

"We denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. ”** Fail and the consequence of your action will no doubt raise its ugly head and stare you in the eyes. Unfortunately for Tottenham players and fans, this head takes the shape of Championship football and the eyes Wednesday night trips to Blackpool (and unless you've convinced yourself that you're a nineteenth century Prole in need of a little holiday, you'd prefer European trips to Seville and the like).

Last season, as this website recorded, Tottenham Hotspur were a team of immense talent riddled by an attitude toward success that can only be described as pathologically ambivalent. To clarify for Soccer Statistics virgins, the team lost more points than any other team in EPL history, meaning it was talented enough time and again to take the lead in games and unmotivated enough to lose that lead more times than any other team in the history of the league. So, now past the midway point of 2008/09, is the condition of Spurs better? Sorry, let me rephrase. How much worse is the condition of Spurs now than last year?

As of today, January 15 2009, Spurs' league record makes for reading that for Tottenham fans is more depressing than the December sales report at General Motors is for Rick Wagoner or than the fate of all the guys with names in this scene is for people who don't like awesomeness.

Played: 21 Won: 5 Drawn: 5 Lost: 11 Points: 20 League Position: 18/20 Consequence: Relegation

Let's do some mathematics and see what Spurs are on pace to achieve over 38 games.

Played: 38 Won: 9 Drawn: 9 Lost: 20 Points: 36 League Position: 18/20 Consequence: Relegation

This sits well with neither Tottenham fans nor fans of clubs who spend tons of money on players who shrink from unity and toil.

Let us examine Spurs' status in greater depth. In 21 games thus far this season, Spurs have scored 20 (EPL rank: 15/20) – 7 at home, 13 away - and conceded 26 (EPL rank: 8/20) – 7 at home, 19 away. Viewed within the context of 38 games, Spurs are on course to score 38 and concede 49. In ten home games, Spurs have won 3, tied 3 and lost 4 for 12 points. Away from home, Spurs' record read: won 2, tied 2, lost 7.

Spurs have scored in 13 of 21 games (62%), failing to score in 8 games (38%). Five of the games in which the team has been unable to score were at home. They have failed to score more than one goal in 16 of 21 games (76%). Spurs have scored two or more in only 5 games. Overall, Spurs are on pace to score 28 fewer goals this season compared to 2007/08 and concede 12 fewer.

What does this information tell us? Spurs' defense, though far from sublime, appears to be performing considerably better than last season. It is on pace to concede 12 fewer goals than last season, a hefty number in a 38 game season. However, when we examine the numbers closely, depressing news arises. The team has limited its opponents to one goal or less in only 11 games (52%), while it has kept 6 clean sheets (28%). These numbers are hardly an improvement on last season (Spurs conceded one goal or less in 55% of games and kept clean sheets in 24% of games). So, you ask, where are Spurs conceding less goals than last season? Spurs are conceding less goals in high scoring games. In short, rather than conceding three in a game, this season they concede two.

Why is this information depressing for Spurs fans? To answer, let us first examine Spurs' attack. The collapse of Spurs' attack has resembled the recent change in value of the Pound Sterling. I'll write again: Spurs are on pace to score 28 fewer goals this season compared to last season. Over the course of 38 games, Spurs are missing one goal on average each 122 minutes.

Last season, we explained that Spurs' forward line was the team's greatest strength, providing 40 goals and 18 assists and, before the final month of the season, which meant nothing to Tottenham, ranked third in the EPL, only behind Man Utd and Arsenal. Berbatov, one of the best players around in his position, led that line, scoring 15 alongside 9 assists. As I wrote in a column at the end of last season, “If Berbatov really wants to leave, it will hamper this offense. An equal replacement will not be found. Tottenham will score less goals and be less rounded in the set-up of goals.” Berbatov is so remarkably effective because he is so well-rounded in his ability and so defenders must always be attentive to his wherabouts. If he is left unmarked 30 yards out, he has the ability to break open a defense, which means a defender must be close to him and so space opens up further up the pitch for his teammates to penetrate. His mere presence on the pitch grants his teammates space in the offensive zone. Goals from Spurs' midfielders have dried up. Meanwhile, if Berbatov is left open in the penalty area, he has the ability to score. Well, he left...and his 15 goal, 5 assist strike-partner departed to Liverpool. And Spurs' attack dissipated.

In relation to the team's defense (the age old question about whether offense effect defense comes to mind now), teams this season have no need to score three goals versus Spurs simply because, minus Berbatov (and Keane), Spurs have shown themselves unable to score. So rather than pursuing extra goals, Spurs' opponents this season are sitting back and taking it easy against their whipping boy opponents. To summarize: it is unfair to say Spurs' defense is performing better than last season; it is more accurate to say Spurs' offense has declined to such as extent that opponents can relax once they've score a couple of goals against the menacing Lillywhites. The departure of Berbatov (and Keane) rightly altered the strategy teams use against Tottenham.

While last season, Spurs lost more points than any other team in EPL history, Spurs this season rank second in the EPL in points lost. Why? Because they are not taking the lead in games. A team can only lose points if they have an offense that enjoys scoring and is indifferent to conceding. Spurs this season no longer are capable of scoring and so there have been few points to lose.

Moreover, we noted last season that Spurs' Goals-Against-Average (GAA) versus bottom half teams was almost identical to its GAA versus top half teams, distinguishing the team from every other EPL team. While most teams perform better versus worse teams, Spurs did not, indicating that Spurs' defense was probably unmotivated to play to potential versus bad teams. Well, this season, things are worse. Guess which team currently ranks 20/20 versus bottom half EPL teams? Yep, you guessed right. Spurs are playing worse against their relegation rivals than they are against with which they are not in serious competition. Once again the message is identifiable: Spurs are good enough to win against top EPL teams, as was demonstrated versus Liverpool (how many games have Spurs lost this season against Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal combined?), but the team will not labour to victories against the minnows of the division.

Spurs changed their manager at the end of October 2008. Juande Ramos was manager before this point, while 'Arry Redknapp took the helm of the team on October 26.

Under the Spaniard, Spurs had a record of 0 wins, 2 draws and 6 losses for a pathetic two points (10% of points in 38% of games). For 'Arry, the team has won 5, drawn 3 and lost 5 for eighteen points (90% of points in 62% of games). Clearly the team has been more motivated to perform under the tutelage of the Englishman than the current Real Madrid coach. Indeed weighed according to a 38 game season, Spurs under Redknapp would appear to be on course to attain 52 points, good enough for tenth place according to last season's numbers.

But these numbers under Redknapp are a little deceiving. You see, Tottenham have not won an EPL game since December 8, 2008, thirty-nine days ago. Between October 26 and December 9 2008, Spurs won 5, drew 1 and lost 2 of eight EPL fixtures. Since that time, Spurs have won 0, tied 2 and lost 3. In other words, since early December, Spurs' results have resembled the results the team achieved during the first two months of the season under Juande Ramos.

What does this tell us? The Spurs dressing-room is comprised of a brittle group of players. It is extraordinary for a team to achieve what Spurs are so valiantly accomplishing. This team had a streak in which it won 0 of 8 games before winning 5 of 8 and now the team is in another streak, having won 0 of 5 games. Individually, Spurs players have a significant skill advantage versus the majority of their EPL opponents. When confidence is high, as it was between the end of October and early December, the team will translate its skill advantage into results. However, when the team is losing, do not expect a sudden turnaround. Instead, expect the team to mail in the losses because the players probably will not show up to endure toil to victory. Let me clarify that remark, if al-Qaeda terrorists challenged Spurs to a match on the condition that if Spurs win they would enter decent, respectable professions ('Osama's Bagel Bakery'?) then Spurs would probably mail in the game with a giant second-class stamp. This team clearly will not let the hopes of a devoted fan-base get in the way of maintaining weakness of will. If Roy Keane were Spurs' manager, second-degree murder charges would have already been filed.

"A good solution applied with vigor is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later."***This team is clearly in need of a burst in confidence and the staff and players do not seem able to apply it themselves. The players have shown themselves capable of matching up against the biggies of the league, but they have not so far demonstrated anywhere near a willingness to give their all versus anyone else. I hope that efforts can be made to encourage the players to put some energy into their games and fans should do their best to take on this responsibility. The squad will not change in the middle of the season and so Spurs must do the best with what they have. Spurs cannot worry about next season now. They must tackle the here and now with vigor and spirit.

Spurs fans. A shout is due. Get behind your team at the next home game! Force them to seize the opportunity to play for you, for their teammates and for the proud tradition of their club!

*This refers to the story of Henry 'Hotspur Percy
**Cicero
*** General George S. Patton

Earlier today, Manchester United played Chelsea in the EPL. This comes at the end of a week in which Man Utd star Cristiano Ronaldo crashed his sports car in a tunnel.

From the Telegraph,

At the end of a week during which he crashed his Ferrari, Ronaldo’s brilliance was a wonderful retort to the sick chant emanating from the away enclosure of "you should have died in the tunnel’’.

What kind of sick people would say such a thing?

Shame on whomever participated in this.