Game in a sentence

Thanks to a Jermain Defoe brace AVB can breathe again as his side thoroughly dismantles a poor Reading team at Madjeski stadium.

Observations

• Every year speculation regarding who will go down is rampant. It didn’t take a genius to guess Blackburn and Wolves would find themselves in the Championship after a few weeks of play. Unfortunately I’m getting that same feeling with this Reading side. There is a dearth in quality that’s hard to underestimate – defensively the team rivals Southampton’s incompetence. Two sides that celebrated a promotion a few weeks ago will most likely head back down – it’s a cruel sport.
• As a big Jermain Defoe fan – class on and off the pitch – it was nice to see him put in an excellent 90 minute performance for his beleaguered manager. Defoe’s 18th minute strike was the product of some fantastic play from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Aaron Lennon. After taking some time – three weeks isn’t very long to be frank – Sigurdsson has found his game with Spurs. This was easily his best performance of the season.
• Lennon’s case is an intriguing one. Blessed with incredible foot speed, the winger has the tools to be a player of top flight caliber. What he must fix – it’s a process – is the mistake prone play that detracts from the skills he possesses. Though Spurs were the dominant side in this match you got the sense there was a lack of cohesion amongst the forwards on Tottenham.
• Reading began to turn things around at the one hour mark, but that brief flash of promise quickly turned into despair when Gareth Bale added to the scoreline in the 71st minute. Kyle Walker waltzed past two Reading defenders to set up the goal. Let’s hope Roy was watching.
• Slagging the new guy is a right of passage we should probably do away with. Though I’m a cynical person curmudgeon, it was nice to see AVB react to Bale’s goal with unbridled joy. Whether he is the right man for the job is still unclear, but the pressure that’s been placed on him and Brendan Rodgers so early into the season is a tad ridiculous. I’m guilty of doing it myself, but hopefully today’s result gives the former Chelsea boss a reprieve.
• I’m an unabashed member of #TeamFriedel, thus it was somewhat troubling to see the ‘old man’ allow a late Reading goal that will surely get the rumor mills going. I am mostly kidding of course, but the Friedel-Loris dynamic going forward will be something to watch. I’m still sort of stunned Loris joined the Spurs in the first place.

Very urprised that McDermott took Karacan off as he was the Reading midfielder actually getting on the ball. Can’t get worse, though.

— Michael Cox (@Zonal_Marking) September 16, 2012

• For a team that clearly struggles in the creative aspect of the game this decision made zero sense.

• One final note from the only EPL fixture of the day: The Spurs away kit is sort of ridiculous, right? I can’t be the only one.

Three Stars

1. Jermain Defoe

2. Kyle Walker

3. Gylfi Sigurdsson