Spurs - Off The Shelf - Tottenham take on Wolves at the Lane
Published: 16 September 2010
by DAN CARRIER
SPURS face Wolves at White Hart Lane on Saturday and must now work to get their domestic season on track.
After the thrills of Tuesday's impressive Champions League debut, which saw the team race into a two-goal lead before being pegged back by Werder Bremen, Harry Redknapp has to carefully choose a side that will secure the team's first home win of the season.
Out of favour Jermaine Jenas put in a strong 90 minutes in Germany, and with both Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart carrying knocks, could get an extended run in the team. Sebastien Bassong and William Gallas are battling it out for a starting place alongside Ledley King, while Robbie Keane's second half appearance against Werder Bremen showed the striker is be back at full fitness. With Redknapp likely to want two up front, the Irishman could make his first start this season alongside Peter Crouch.
Van der Vaart was subbed early in the second half with a slight calf problem, but before then the Dutchman showed why he could be the steal of the season with a polished display that put his team-mates in the driving seat.
Petri Pasanen's own-goal, forced by a barnstorming run and cross by Gareth Bale, and then a towering Peter Crouch header gave Spurs a dream start on Tuesday. But a terrible pass by Benoit Assou-Ekotto at the end of the first period saw the German team pull a goal back through Hugo Almeida, before levelling the scores a minute after the interval courtesy of a 20-yard shot from Marko Marin.
After the match, Redknapp told the club's official website: "I thought we were fantastic in the first half.
"We came out, completely controlled the game and for 43 minutes we passed the ball unbelievably. It could have been more than 2-0 and if we were three or four goals up it would have been a fair reflection of the play.
"We then conceded a goal just before half-time and it gave them a lifeline. From nothing, suddenly they found themselves at 2-1 and with something to go for. A goal like that changes attitudes. At 2-0, if we score next it's game over but at 2-1, it's game on. They got that goal when they were struggling to live with us and it gave them a massive lift.
"We're all disappointed to have gone 2-0 up and not won, but we played exactly as I wanted us to play. We were much, much better than them in the first half. We passed the ball and they didn't get near us. The first half was as good as you could wish to see from us and if we play like that every game we won't go far wrong."