What has happened to Ebanks-Blake?

March 2, 2010 By

With the England friendly at Wembley tomorrow, it reminded me of the summer rumour that Slyvan might be getting an England call-up. Games like this one against Egypt, would have been an ideal chance for him to show what he can do at the very highest level and I just wonder whether he’ll be sitting at home, watching the match on the box and thinking what might have been.

As well all know, good old SEB has had trouble even proving his worth to Mick, let alone Fabio.

SEB - Struggling

After a stunning Championship season, in which his goals undoubtedly gained us promotion as champions, he has failed to make even the smallest dent on the Premiership.

His eye for goal, great work ethic and tasty first touch really looked the business in the Fizzy, but we haven’t seen even the smallest hint of this since entering the Greed League.

Disappointment is an understatement.

We all have a soft spot for the guy and we cheered his name and sang his praises practically every match last season. Even now when he makes a cameo appearance, there are still sections of the crowd that sing his name with the heart and gusto of times not long past. But if we’re being honest, with all personal feelings put to one side, SEB has been an utter flop this season.

It’s got to the stage where just getting on the field is an achievement.

I don’t think the guy has lost any ability and I don’t believe he’s incapable of performing at this level, but it just isn’t working for him this season. Why is that?

A lot has been made of his ‘extra baggage’ and although I’m not quite sure if this is true, he does seem to have lost that speed and anticipation that made Championship defenders quake in their boots when we were sniffing around their goal.

Injury has also blighted our beloved number 9 and he’s just never seemed sharp enough to take the opportunities when they came his way. Uncharacteristic horror misses have worryingly crept into his game too. That meek toe-poke against Wigan with the goal at his mercy will haunt my thoughts for many years to come.

The introduction of Kevin Doyle has also highlighted inadequacies in his game.

That boy runs all night, has a great eye for goal, beautiful touch and the ability to hold up the ball and bring players into the game. Essentially, he does everything SEB does and more. I salivated at the thought of seeing those two tearing up defences together, but now the Irishman seems more effective doing it on his own. Sad times indeed.

You could argue that SEB has been unlucky and had it not been for the width of a post and some great saves, he might well have had quite a few more to add to his meager tally of 1 (pen).

And despite all the disappointment so far this season, I’m not ready to give up on him  just yet.

I just don’t believe that the ability he so obviously possesses has disappeared. I really hope Mick keeps hold of him and tries to get his confidence up and back to playing like the days of old.

The Premiership has so far made him look like an old mare but mark my words, SEB isn’t ready to be put out to pasture just yet.

Unbelievable: Tottenham 0 Wolves 1

December 12, 2009 By

Wow. What a game. What a result. What a performance.

We all said that any points from our next 3 away games would be a bonus but Burnley at home was what we had to concentrate on. However Mick and the boys had other ideas, and yesterday we left White Hart Lane with a well earned 3 points.

Kevin Doyle got the faintest of touches to open the scoring

Kevin Doyle got the faintest of touches for his goal

The team were so keen to make a good start that I was still going through the turnstiles when I heard an almighty roar. Not quite that of thirty thousand but impressive none the less. A soft free kick given away by Spurs was expertly crossed in my Milijas and Doyle got the faintest of touches to put it into the bottom corner. For the second consecutive game we took the fight to the opposition straight away and it obviously unsettled Spurs, as for the next 97 minutes (including the extra time that never seemed to end) they could not find a way through a determined wolves side.

The team was the same as the game against Bolton and every player worked their socks off to get the result. Milijas again was excellent. Whatever Mick has said to him has obviously had a profound effect as he was vital in the middle of the park. He tracked back, tackled hard and constantly had his head up looking for the perfect pass. Henry did a good job as well, picking up loose balls and giving it to Milijas or Jarvis in order to get a break going. He was also really vocal and kept the tempo up when we looked tired.

We defended quite deeply and were sometimes a little slow to close down the space but we always seemed to do just enough to nullify any threat. Ward had the problem of Lennon on the left wing but after 30 minutes of blocking and good tackles he swapped wings in order to try and create something. Edwards and Stearman worked well together however to prevent him creating his usual darting and dangerous runs and in the end he had no luck on either side. When any balls did come into the box however Craddock and Berra threw them selves at it or refused Defoe or Keane enough space to get a decent shot away.

The second half was a pure counter attacking display. We couldn’t get as much of the ball and when we did it was often wasted or cleared down field but on several occasions we could have finished the game with a second goal. SEB definitely looked a little slow but had two excellent chances to find the net, one he fired straight at Gomes while Gomes pulled off an excellent save to tip another shot late in the game just past the post. Jarvis also had a few chances but looked reluctant to run at the defence and before he had chance to do anything else Lennon was on him.

Mid way through the second half Mick took Milijas off for Mancienne. This seemed a little bizarre to me at the time as he was often creating our best chances but in the end it was inspired. He sat between the defence and midfield and would not let anyone have time on the ball. He closed them down and put in a few crunching tackles that disrupted any build up play. Macienne was that extra layer of defence that kept Spurs at bay.

Edwards fell awkwardly in the second half and had to be substituted for Foley and Stearman was taken off for Big Chris with 15 minutes to go. Big Chris and SEB went up front with Doyle moving to the right wing. This again was inspired as Doyle used his pace to help us break out of defence while Big Chris held up the ball and used his height to cause the Spurs defence some more headaches. For the whole match Doyle was excellent. Even if he didn’t always get the ball his vision and running was brilliant and he often ran the Spurs defence and later midfield inside out. With a few more goals he could definitely be the difference between staying up or relegation. But I can’t take away from the rest of the team. It was a tenacious, disciplined and in a way stifling display but it showed a real passion and drive I haven’t seen for a long time.

The fans also deserve a mention as they really were the 12th man. From the moment we scored we cheered, shouted and sung our way through the match. I was shocked at how quiet WHL was and they never seemed to get behind the team other than when they had one good shot on goal that Hahnemann expertly diverted away. It was one of those ‘you had to be there’ moments but the support was literally incredible. It was nicely acknowledged by the team after the final whistle by coming over and applauding. Hahnemann won more support, not only by keeping a clean sheet, but running the length of the pitch throwing his jersey into the crowd and hugging most of the people by the corner flag.

The record books were against us in this match. No win in London since 1976, haven’t won consecutive games in the Premier League for 30 odd years and all this against a spurs team that is pushing to break the top four. This then makes the achievements of Saturday all the more impressive.

It wasn’t a beautiful game by any means but it was a game that for me proved the clubs heart and desire to stay in the premier league with Mick firmly at the head of the old gold ship.