EYEWITNESS: Kaboul stars as Spurs thrash Werder Bremen

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP STAGES: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 WERDER BREMEN 0

EYEWITNESS report by DAN CARRIER

From WHITE HART LANE

WHEN YOUNES Kaboul first signed for Spurs, Martin Jol had high hopes for him, and because we trusted Jol, so did everyone connected with Spurs. 

A highly fancied new French centre back costing ￡8m, a regular at cup winners Auxerre, a product of the country whose players had shone in the Premiership in recent years?

We'll have some of that, was the general consensus up the High Road.

I recall his debut, though not because of his performance, rather for the simple reason I drove all the way to to see Sunderland with my then three and a half year old son Luc in the back of our rickety, 20-year-old banger. I had grand plans for that season: Jol was a favourite with the fans, Berbatov had stayed on, and we had come as close as we had in years in May to breaking into the top four. Forget the disappointment of Lasagnegate, the previous term had been immensely good fun, so I thought, right, let's do a dad and boy road trip and kick off with the August opener, my boy's first ever game, with a proper away schlep up north.

Kaboul was paired alongside Anthony Gardner, and it wasn't the best introduction to life in white for Kaboul, or Luc, for that matter. It weas a poor game, were Berbatov spent much of it standing around with his hands on his hips,  and we eventually lost to a late goal, leaving me with the task of driving all the way back down the A1 with a confused toddler in the back, trying to explain to him that he had a lifetime of such pain and punishment to look forward to, but it was all ok, really, and wasn't that fun?

In Kaboul's next few games, there were three obvious points that arose. Firstly, he was strong, and confident on the deck as well as in the air. But while this bode well for the future, the other points that emerged where not so nice to admit... Secondly, he was playing in a Spurs team without a midfield enforcer in front of him, meaning he was required to step forward into the middle of the park with worrying frequency, and it made him look poor in terms of his positional sense. Thirdly, he was being thrust in to the hustle and bustle of the Premier league because of injuries to Ledley King and Michael Dawson, thrown in alongside a player in Gardner who was not quite up to it, and not allowed to be gently blooded. All this at the age of 20, with no English to speak of, in a new city, a new job, and the eyes of the nation on you... A tough break, you'll agree.

However, I soon took a shine to him, despite him getting stick from the harsher critics on the terraces. He scored a wonderful goal in an away tie at Fulham, and a last gasp equaliser in the four-all thriller against Villa in the game that celebrated the club's 125th anniversary. But Spurs were struggling, throwing away leads and looking second rate defensively. Kaboul took more than his fair share of the blame. He had an ankle injury that put him out of action for some time, and then when Jol went and was replaced by Sergio Ramos, Kaboul was clearly unfancied and just a year after being heralded as a key figure for the future, he was packed off to a safe haven offered on the South Coast by the then Portsmouth manager, a certain Harry Redknapp.

It always felt a little harsh on the young man, and I was delighted Redknapp raided his old club to bring him back to the Lane last January, though with the likes of King, Woodgate, Dawson, Gallas and Bassong playing in his position, he had his work cut out to get games. But instead of moaning, he has simply bided his time, and with all of our centre backs seemingly prone to battlefield injuries, he is currently enjoying an extended spell in the first team.

Jol was right - while not the finished article, the 24-year-old has bags of strength, ability and commitment. Furthermore, his spell at Portsmouth, where he got plenty of Premiership starts, has made him confident, and gave him valuable minutes in a team that had to do it's fair share of defending. We are reaping the rewards as injuries decimate his rivals for the centre back spots.

We saw it on Saturday when he worked tirelessly to keep Arsenal at bay, and then wrote himself into Spurs folklore with the winner - and then he started tonight in the Champions League game against Werder Bremen where he had left off, with a strong volley on five to put Spurs in the lead.

He didn't let a poor Bremen side get anywhere near Gomes and the Spurs goal, and at times in the first half he was so causal and composed he looked as if he was on a training ground. An example: a lofted ball forward by the Bremen midfield could have caused problems. Instead Kaboul read it inch perfect, sold the scampering attacker a dummy with a body swerve before the ball had even got near the pair of them, chested it into space and then pinged forward a ball down the flank for Lennon to chase.

Those around him took note and Spurs were always comfortable. It was two just before half time when a flowing move saw Gareth Bale released down the left and his cross was nodded back by Peter Crouch. Luka Modric chested it down, shimmied a little to throw his marker off balance, and then fired home from around the penalty spot.

Peter Crouch bagged the third on 78, after Bale had missed a penalty early in the second period, and the Lane faithful were further cheered by the return of Jermain Defoe, who came on on 58 to make his long awaited Champions League debut.

So Spurs are through to the knock out stages with a game in hand, and we can start day dreaming of balmy Spring nights in Madrid or Barcelona, all with our supposed first choice defenders not yet available: we're enjoying this Champions League adventure so far - and with Kaboul looking comfy at this level, you can't but help think we've got the squad to progress even further, no matter how congested our fixture list becomes.

SPURS PLAYER RATINGS

Gomes, 7: Didn't have a save to make, but gets a seven for his intelligent distribution. 

Hutton, 7: Clearly enjoying life: playing with a smile, and offering an attacking outlet out right. His pacey break on 68 was Bale-esque.

Bale, 7: Boy wonder is human after all, shock! The Welsh genius missed a penalty, which in a way is a relief, as it proves he is only 99.99 per cent perfect in every way.

Kaboul, 7: Lovely opening goal. Another side to his game: he is happy to clip balls forward accurately, as Dawson does when fit.

Lennon, 8: Had plenty of space and gambolled around in it like the Lennon of old.

Jenas, 5: Only lasted long enough to slice a shot horribly before limping off to be replaced by Palacios on 19.

Pavlyuchenko, 6: The Russian war horse huffed, puffed and scuffed. Not a pretty performance but it would be harsh to be too critical. Much prefers playing off Defoe than Crouch. Sub: Defoe, 57. One vicious effort from the edge of the box reminds us of the goal scorers eye, and then another jinking run into the box deserved a goal. 

Gallas, 7: Another calm and solid performance from our new hero.

Modric, 8: Pass me the dictionary, I am running out of superlatives to describe our Croatian marvel. How does he do this week in, week out? Scored a beauty and has a fierce approach to ball winning that any midfield hardman would admire.

Crouch, 7: Showed his worth with knock down after knock down after knock down. Hit the third on 78. Could've scored a couple more, though.

Assou-Ekotto, 7: Some twisting runs that caught the eye, but tended to get over confident against poor opposition and try to spray passes when it would have been better to look for the simple things.

 

Subs

Cudicini

Keane

Palacios

Defoe

Bassong

Kranjcar

Corluka