This writer predicted lots of goals on the basis of Gareth Bale going up against Daniel Sturridge and Jose Bosingwa, and Didier Drogba bullying William Gallas and Younes Kaboul. Instead, Ramires has played on the right of Chelsea's midfield, successfully neutralizing Gareth Bale. Harry Redknapp's tactics seem to consist of telling his attacking players to have free roles, or "F[redacted] Run About A Bit". For most of the first half, while attacking, they haven't had a right winger, and haven't threatened Petr Cech.
Chelsea Vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 2012 Premier League: Halftime, Scoreless Game Lacks Quality
Chelsea haven't been better; the one moment of incident coming when Frank Lampard ran onto Juan Mata's throughball, but failed to control it and collided with Gallas in the penalty box. Martin Atkinson, sensibly, didn't give a penalty.
The passing from both teams has been dreadful, with final balls from Adebayor, Sturridge and Mata all lacking quality. The one time Spurs did get their final ball right, they should've scored. In the final seconds of the first half, Gareth Bale slipped Luka Modric in to the byline, who cut back for van der Vaart in the middle. With the whole goal open, the Dutchman shot straight at Petr Cech, and then Ashley Cole blocked the follow up, before Adebayor headed over. It was the most exciting part of a first half that has been tense and lacking in quality. Spurs have defended fairly well, as have Chelsea, but both teams will want an improvement in the second half.
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