Is Pleat aware that he was close to his best midfield?

As supporters, we all think we know the best team to play on the day, better even than the man who is paid to do so. There are times when 30,000 supporters all agree with the same team selection, but the manager disagrees. Last night, David Pleat rested Gus Poyet and said that Darren Anderton had failed a fitness test. There were no disgruntled fans on hearing that news. Experience is a crucial thing in a football team, but you don't have to be old and behind the pace to be labelled 'experienced'. The midfield of Ricketts, Dalmat, King and Konchesky while not having played together a great deal offers more than a midfield with Anderton and Poyet.

Neither of the latter named members of the squad are hard, leg-biting ball winners and while Anderton still shows sparks of creativity that leave defenders chasing the backs of centre-forwards, his ability shines through too infrequently. As for Poyet, Spurs fans were warned by their Chelsea counterparts that he would have this amazing ability to hide for eighty-nine minutes and pop up with a crucial goal. He has done this for Spurs, but more often than not he does too much of the hiding. They have both been important players in recent years but it is time for Spurs to move forward, and the players that were on show last night are the ones that can help us do so. In more ways than one. They all have the ability to move past players and are only thinking one way, and that is the way to the opponents goal.

Football has changed, there is no place for midfielders who like to have an age on the ball, to pick a pass at will. It is a real shame when players like Darren Anderton and Gus Poyet have the game catch up on them, but it has, in fact, it might have just gone right past them.