Spurs 3-0 Werder Bremen

How surreal. If there were a worry prior to kick-off it was that following the euphoria of Saturday our heroes might be a little too complacent, and simply stroll through this one. And in truth, they were indeed a tad complacent and most certainly did stroll through – yet it was of little consequence. Can anyone remember a match of such magnitude being so mind-bogglingly easy for Spurs? To see Spurs cruising through in such untroubled fashion was almost ineffably peculiar, and the attitude of the Germans simply added to the confusion. Only if the heavens had opened and the players been soaked to the skin could Bremen have looked more forlorn and less motivated.

There have not been too many occasions on which I have lamented the fact that Jenas has been forced to depart early, yet he has been in relatively steady form in recent weeks and made an eye-catchingly positive start last night, so I rather felt for the chap when he limped off. Moreover, with Hudd off radar for a few months we can ill-afford to lose another central midfielder for any length of time.

That said, this was one of the best days Sergeant Wilson has had in months. Every tackle seemed perfectly-executed, and (almost) every pass distributed simply and accurately. Further curiosity was to be had in the serenading of William Gallas as he effortlessly outmuscled the German mob. In so many respect things are a-changing at the Lane these days.

There was wonderful stuff from Modders, and not only because he found time to try out his Van der Vaart impression in front of goal (and to good effect too). If he missed his regular chums, Hudd and VDV, he gave no indication of it, merrily collecting the ball from defence, slaloming around challenges at will, picking out team-mates. That said, it was the usual scintillating stuff from young Master Bale, who added a Cruyff-turn to his super-human repertoire. Personally I am convinced that he was actually aiming for the cross-bar with that second-half free-kick, for the very best players set themselves those sorts of challenges, and as for the penalty...like forearm tattoos and the pre-match huddle, missing from the spot is just a trend amongst the current crop of heroes in lilywhite..

All things considered however this was probably as serene a Tottenham victory as I can remember. It may not prove the most thrilling but it is probably worth simply for the variety of features thrown in – a clean sheet, a sprightly Aaron Lennon, a Kranjcar cameo and, taken in its entirety, a Tottenham performance that was just about the epitome of professionalism. Admittedly Bremen were woeful, but we threw away a two-goal lead against them before, and conceding at any point until we scored our third (the 80^th minute) would have made for a nervy finish. Instead we were dominant and efficient from start to finish – I frankly cannot remember the last time I ever saw that from Spurs.

A North London Victory: Arsenal 2-3 Spurs

Fully aware that we had failed to win away at the top four since the last Ice Age, ‘Arry ordered our heroes to adopt The Comeback Approach that has served us fairly well on a couple of occasions this season on our travels in the Champions League. Accordingly, our lot just did not bother in the first half when things began at 0-0, instead opting for the challenge of overturning a multi-goal second half deficit, against a ticking clock and away from home, because it’s just much more fun that way. With the second half comeback in mind, the central midfield of Jenas and Modric diligently avoided doing anything that might be interpreted as gaining a semblance of control of the game in its opening 45 minutes, and also surreptitiously made their excuses whenever the back-four needed help in that lamentable first half.

All of which set things up nicely for the latest chapter in the ongoing 4-4-2 vs 4-5-1 debate. How easy it is to forget how at the start of the season ‘Arry was derided for the gung-ho 4-4-2 away to Young Boys. No two ways about it, on Saturday the half-time switch to 4-4-2 helped to prompt the about-turn. Amidst all the excitement and nerves, from my lofty perch I must confess that I rather ignored some of the subtler tactical nuances of the game, and opted instead for the more Neanderthalic approach of screaming and cursing at the TV. Nevertheless, on reflection it did seem that the addition of Defoe made the world of difference, not least by giving the Arsenal back-four reason to break sweat; while our 4-4-2 featured a distinctly narrow midfield four, which mightily effectively nullified the other lot.

Van Der Vaart

VDV remains convinced that the boundaries of the pitch are marked by electric fences rather than white paint, and consequently spent his time as a right-winger ploughing straight up and down the centre of the pitch – but given that he created/scored all three of our goals, I think he earned the right to sit down on the centre-spot and smoke Amsterdam’s finest for the rest of the game if that is what he wanted. His technical mastery and love of the game was epitomised in his assist for the first goal, when I’m pretty sure he actually kissed the ball as it dropped from the sky, before letting it roll down his chest and flicking on to Bale.

Bale

A propos Bale, the slick manner in which he collected the ball without breaking stride was worth a goal in itself, at least in terms of downright awesomeness. As luck would have it, the equally slick manner in which he then flicked the ball past Fabianski was worth a goal in the more commonly-recognised literal manner. Aside from the magnitude of the occasion, in terms of pure quality, it was a cracking little effort – as most of his goals tend to be.

Gallas 

However, while VDV and Bale did the glamorous stuff, the hero of the hour and a half was back at the other end of the pitch. In recent weeks on this very corner of the interweb the commitment of Gallas to the lilywhite cause has been under great scrutiny, with suspicion rife that while picking up his pay-cheque from Daniel Levy he still packs his sandwiches in an Arsenal lunch-box. Yesterday however, Gallas turned in the performance of a man possessed by the spirit of an indomitable blue and white cockerel. In the first half in particular, while his lilywhite chums fell over themselves to let Arsenal do whatever they jolly well pleased, Gallas shook a clenched fist and did his damnedest to keep those rotters at bay, with all manner of crunching tackles.

Some Words on Our Vanquished Opponents

We tend not usually to bother with the opposition around these parts – ‘tis a Spurs blog after all – but having watched the game in the company of a couple of gooner chums the sweet smell of Victory has been wafting through the corridors all weekend. Sometimes a memorable win is marked by a performance practically perfect in ever way. This time however, I’m happy to accept that we were awful in the first half, and hardly vintage Tottenham Hotspur in the second. It was not so much a game that had me beating my chest with pride as crying with laughter come the final whistle, for the glory glory of this occasion was to be found in the quite magnificent manner in which Arsenal imploded. Within spitting distance of the top of the table they completely lost the plot, with their handshakes and handballs and whatnot. To nab game, set and match, from two-nil down, and on their own patch – it was just too much fun.

While our heroes no doubt charged off to celebrate, ‘Arry ensured that everyone associated with the club kept their feet on the ground by talking up our title prospects. It is possible for sure, mathematically and all that, but do not go grab your latest pay-cheque and charge down to the bookmakers just yet.

As with Saturday’s win, success this season seems likely to be aided as much by the shortcomings of others as by our own good work. One startling feature of this campaign has been the fact that every five minutes one of the genuine title-challengers is losing to a non-descript team from somewhere in that grey mid-table area. One or two good wins by any of the top five and over-excited types start making breathless noises about winning the title – which is actually a Man City reference. Opportunity certainly knocks for someone or other, and for all our dropped points against Wigan and West Ham, another top four finish remains very much within our grasp.

Still, even if the season ends in the ignominy of failure to win the Premiership, we have already ticked off more boxes than I would have dreamed possible a few months back. Wins at home to Arsenal and Chelsea last year; and sealing our top-four spot; and beating Young Boys; and beating Inter; and beating Arsenal on their own pitch – in isolation all of these are just commemorative DVDs, but add them together and our heroes are trundling along in the right direction, make no mistake.

Derby Preview: Arsenal vs Spurs

Having ended an unenviable streak against our rivals at the close of last season, Spurs look to be somewhat confident ahead of the first league encounter of the North London derby. However, with a long injury list with the likes of Daws, Hudd, King, Keane and lonterm absentee Woodgate, Arsenal may be the stronger side atleast on paper. Spurs will be energized by news that Jermaine Defoe is back in training and that our flying winger, Aaron Lennon could also feature.

If it bleeds, we can kill it: Spurs 3 Inter 1

I may just pop from the sheer excitement of it all. Prior to a trip to a slightly below-par Man Utd I could not for the life of me envisage a three-point haul; and yet ahead of the visit of European Champs Inter I bound around in gaily optimism and this proved to be one of the most famous nights in our history.

Another five minutes and goodness how things would have panned out back in Milan. The Bale hat-trick certainly papered over a few defensive cracks and general all-round timidity, but we at least had conclusive proof that Inter are vulnerable. As Arnold Schwarzenegger so sagely opined in Predator, “If it bleeds, we can kill it.”

I was crestfallen when Vaart hobbled off at the weekend, and the prospect loomed of taking on Inter with a midfield bereft of both him and Huddlestone; a midfield which would therefore presumably comprise Jenas and Palacios, with Modric in the hole. Joy then that Vaart is actually a bit of a drama queen when it comes to niggles and strains. It seems that the suspected hamstrung twang was no such thing, and with Huddlestone back were be able to field a midfield high on technique and vision. Bale-Modric-VDV-Huddlestone-Lennon did not exactly offer the back-four much protection, but meant for some high-tempo madcap attacking from the off.

As ever with Redknapp, the tactics were simple and clear. The team were set out 4-4-1-1 with Van der Vaart and Modric given relative freedom and both wingers, Bale and Lennon, told to isolate the Inter full backs.

It was a thrillingly effective ploy as Spurs again and again exposed Inter down the flanks, with Bale again having a storming game and both Tom Huddlestone and Luka Modric showing their aptitude for Champions League football by retaining the ball intelligently. Luka Modric was the creator of the first goal with a clever sleight of foot on the edge of the area before playing in Van der Vaart, who emphatically beat Inter keeper Luca Castellazzi with a low drive.

For such a good player Maicon was shocking, utterly dominated by Bale. The young Welshman had produced a performance of the very highest calibre in the first tie and Inter once again had to bow to his burgeoning talent when he set up the second goal Spurs deserved just after the hour. He simply ran the right side of Inter's rearguard into the ground before playing in Crouch, who made no mistake this time as he slid in six yards out.

Eto'o was a constant threat, and he suddenly injected real tension with a fine goal, struck past Cudicini from an angle after he dummied Hutton. Bale was in no mood to let the win slip away though, and in a moment that characterised his display, Younes Kaboul broke up play on the edge of our box and fed Gareth midway in our half. He charged forward, pushed the ball past Lucio and raced onto it before squaring for Roman Pavlyuchenko to tap home the clincher. Billed as a key battle before the game, it was simply a no contest as Gareth blasted past Maicon - voted best defender in the Champions League last season - time and time again.

Three points against the holders, top of the group and a display of the highest quality. Never mind a DVD, this will be turned into a surround-sound, home cinema, 3-D, HD, blu-ray. 

The Clattenburg Report: United 2 Spurs 0

In the first half in particular Modric and Vaart were afforded more space than was entirely wise by the United mob, who came within a post’s width of paying, but life became a darned sight trickier in the second as United tightened up. The disappointing truth is that when we needed to increase our urgency levels we were simply unable to, and while we defended well enough on the whole it is difficult to remember our forward line ever actually penetrating the sacred environs of the United penalty  area. The deployment of Vaart in a 4-5-1 certainly gives our midfield a healthy glow, but brings with it the problem of a lack of presence in attack, and it hardly a personal criticism of Robbie Keane to note that he is not the man for a 4-5-1. Lennon started fairly brightly, but diligently pinged his final ball straight into the first man in red time and time again, and retreated back into his shell thereafter. Out on the left Bale was shackled fairly effectively, although a frisson of excitement did work its magic occasionally. The counter-balance to any excitement engendered by Bale is the feeling somewhere in between apathy and rage generated by Jenas, who seemingly deployed in a holding role, was his usual fairly anonymous self.

Rather a shame that our lot collectively drifted off for the free-kick that brought about the opening goal, for that aside we traded blows fairly evenly which is no mean feat at Old Trafford. It was of course all overshadowed by the farce of the final few minutes, but for all the incredulity and expletives I would much rather we receive that sort of decision away to Man Utd, in a fixture from which we never really expect much anyway, than from a fixture against rivals for fourth spot. Whatever the conclusions, this moment, rather than the Clattenberg farce, was crucial..

Manchester United vs Tottenham Preview

A clash of the titans would be an understatement when it comes to this fixture.  Although the hosts have registered more wins against their opponents in recent times, it could be argued that United have never faced a more stronger Spurs side and more so at a time when Alex Ferguson’s men are suffering from their worst run of form since before I care to remember. In light of scandals and injuries both of which have robbed them of their precious Rooney who, if you pay attention to most quarters, may not be missed. Chicharito, the little Mexican, is fast becoming a fan favourite among the Old Trafford faithful and with two goals at Stoke last weekend, in him, they possess an inform striker. Rooney however, has always been on hand to punish the defensive shortcomings of Tottenham in recent years and he would have relished the opportunity to exploit Harry Redknapp’s 18^th different centre back pairing since the season started which has resulted in only two cleansheets so far. Tottenham export, Dimitar Berbatov is looking more and more mortal, a mere shadow of the class he once possessed and this will indeed please those who were sorry to see him leave.

In Van der Vaart, Spurs have finally found a Berbatov replacement, a player who has the ability to pick the option marked ‘Genius’ when lesser players would cave under the pressure. With Defoe and the entire defense still huddled up in the treatment room, Redknapp will be forced to play the same formation that he used in the Everton game employing a 4-5-1 approach. Gallas and Kaboul may again be called upon at the back with Hutton and Ekotto in support. Tom Huddlestone who missed out at Everton, should start in midfield supporting Modric and Van der Vaart, a combination which is sure to provide a brilliant passing game. Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon are hitting the form of their lives and no doubt United fullbacks will be caving in their boots at the possibility. The lone structure of the gangly one, Peter Crouch should be seen at the front scaring the bejesus out of Vidic and Ferdinand.

All in all, United have been reenergized by the news that Wayne Rooney has committed himself to the club, at least for the time being and with home advantage and on the back of a good win at Stoke, they will be hard to break down. On the other hand, Tottenham will be looking to take all three points from possibly the weakest United side they have faced so far and end a history of dismal performances against the side from Manchester.

Spurs 1 Everton 1

With four of our starting defensive options still huddled up in the treatment room, Harry Redknapp opted to make his 18th different central defensive pairing this season. The results of this gamble have been evident in the fact that Tottenham have only kept two cleansheets in all games played so far this season. Kaboul who just recovered from an injury was given the nod ahead of Bassong to pair William Gallas in defence following our recent midweek 'great' loss at Milan in the Champions league. Huddlestone was also missing from the llineup, perhaps recovering from fatigue after an almost forgettable trip to Italy and this meant that Palacios would make his first start for Spurs in the league this season. Harry opted for a 4-5-1 play with Modric and Vaart playing just behind the gangly one Crouch. Bale and Lennon would provide our width with Ekotto and Hutton in support.

At the outset, Redknapp's tactics were clear, to concede as little as possible without being too overzealous in our attack thus allowing the possibility of a narrow win against an ever resurgent Everton, confident on the back of a derby victory against Liverpool. With no European committments, Everton looked the fitter side strengthened by the return of Piennar and Saha to the squad. The burly frame of Yakubu was given the nod in attack with Cahill in support no doubt with the clear aim of exploiting our defensive shortcomings. 

White Hart Lane is always happy hunting ground for the hosts but the first few minutes of this exchange were dominated by the visitors but with Palacios' prescence, there was no clear threat on Heurelho Gomes' domain. 

However, when it came time for Tottenham to attack, the visitors were clearly under constant threat from Lennon or Vaart at any point they had the ball at their feet. some vibrant attacking football at White Hart Lane.

The visitors took a 17th-minute lead against the run of play thanks to Leighton Baines's brilliant free-kick.

But Spurs levelled three minutes later as Everton keeper Tim Howard flapped at a cross which Peter Crouch bundled back for Rafael Van der Vaart to crash home.

The hosts went for a winner but were unable to break Everton down in a second half which ended in frustration.

Ultimately, Spurs continued to enhance the reputation they are fast building as one of the most entertaining teams in the Premier League as their posse of creative midfielders lit up a riveting first half.

Van Der Vaart Magic

Having bossed games in recent weeks, a relatively mundane showing from Van der Vaart is often sprinkled with magnificence. And so it was that VDV’s quiet day at Fulham still brought about the game’s best piece of skill and a game-changing moment. One-on-one with the ‘keeper from 12 yards out, most mere mortals would have closed their eyes and thumped the thing towards the corner. VDV, naturally, instead took the option marked “Genius” with a chip so impertinent it ought not to have been legal. Pav was a touch shameless in celebrating the goal that was all of VDV’s making, but credit to the Russian for being on his toes while the Fulham defenders were standing around picking their noses.

Van der Vaart actually reminds me of Dimitar Berbatov. Not for his sulky, dastardly personality you realise, nor physical appearance nor playing position; but in terms of being an addition to the ranks who is so clearly head and shoulders above his peers. Not since the days of Berba have we had a player whose technique is simply a class above, a player who does the outrageously difficult and makes it seem like second-nature. The sort of things you or I occasionally tried (and failed) when no-one was watching. VDV, like Berba before him, instinctively does those things in the middle of a high-octance, competitive game, and makes them look easy. As with the goal against Twente, there was plenty of room for error. 

The goal against Aston Villa was beautiful, awkward height, awkward angle, onrushing defender; but not a problem for a blinking football genius.

Inter 4 Spurs 3

Now, given the stage of the Champions League, it is a rather cheery thought that all across Europe a whole new audience rub their eyes in disbelief at the madness that is Tottenham Hotspur. I must admit that the thought of an in-form Inter meeting a mediocre Hotspur is very scary. However, after the first few minutes, I was convinced that we would be going down hammer and tongs and end up at the wrong side of a nine goal thriller. The worst start of any Spurs match I have ever seen. In just under two minutes, the scoreline had already changed against us and not too long after, the unthinkable, Gomes gets sent off for an innocuous foul on Jonathan Biabiany. Eto'o converts the penalty and its 2-0. Now, at this point, if I had been any less of a fan, I would have called it a night and waited for the worst in the morning, but it takes a lot of heart to be a Spurtan, so I persevered. Before long, 14 minutes to be precise, I was on the verge of tears as Stankovic slotted a third past Cudicini. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong as we sank 4-0 by half-time.

Our brilliant Welshman's second half hat-trick gave the final scoreline of this group match more than a touch of respectability after we had looked dead and buried in 15 minutes. Bale took over the San Siro in the last few minutes beating Zanetti and firing past Maicon and Julio Cesar for what looked like our consolation. With just five minutes left, Bale scored another in the same fashion to make the score 4-2. Finally, in the dying minutes, Lennon teed up Bale who completed his hat trick but time was over as we went down heroically to a 4-3 scoreline.

Fulham 1 Tottenham 2

Tottenham produced a marvelous comeback at Craven Cottage to end Fulham's unbeaten streak and seal a third successive win in all competitions. The homeside drew first blood when Clint Dempsey moved neatly past a couple of our defenders to then slide it into the path of an oncoming Kamara for an easy finish. However, the equaliser came straight from kick off. Huddlestone sent the ball to Bale who crossed to Van der Vaart who then produced two neat left footed touches, turning Aaron Hughes followed up by a shot past and over the keeper which found the post, the rebound fell for Pav who tapped in the equaliser.

Second half was hard fought but the winning goal came from a corner that found Huddlestone who drilled the winner from the middle of the park, past Schwarzer albeit controversially as Gallas who was running offside tried to get a foot in thus putting off the keeper.

The win sees Spurs retain fifth spot but drawing level on points with Arsenal and United.

Our next fixtures see us travel to Italy to face Champions league holders Inter and then a visit from Everton followed by a visit to troubled United.

Spurs 2 Villa 1

I love it when Spurs wins and even more so against Aston Villa. Gone are the days when the boys from Birmingham would have ran amok at The Lane and left with all three points in the bag. Now, on the back of a fantastic Champions league midweek win, Spurs were looking to get back on form after a dismal League camapign thus far. A win would go a long way in cementing our place among the big boys a void left by the ever dissapointing Liverpool who lie 18th a relegation in the offing and with City registering some massive wins, the field was set. Prior to the match, Aston Villa were in 5th position with the Spurtans placed 8th after a dissapointing loss to West Ham. Villa boss Gerard Houllier remained unbeaten since taking charge of the side and last season has seen all points shared in both legs. 

The first half saw a defensive error by Bassong punished when Allbright stole the ball on the wing to cross it for Heskey to bundle it in for the opening goal. The score remained 1-0 by halftime and in the second half a Peter Crouch headed pass was headed in by an inspired Van der Vaart to draw level. In the 75th minute another Crouch Van der Vaart combination saw the latter produce a fantastic finish to seal the win and claim his fifth goal for Tottenham in just five matches having scored two in our Champions league midweek fixture.

Spurs 4 Twente 1

Our first-ever group stage match at the Lane had everything - five goals, three penalties, a sending off, great saves, goalmouth action galore and, of course, a 4-1 final scoreline in our favour.

Bad times for Spurs

The following took place between last week and this week. A mediocre draw at Werder Bremen in the champions league, A lucky victory over Wolves, A loss to Arsenal in the carling cup followed by another loss to West Ham in the league. Bad times are upon us.
Champions league night and a debut to remember in many ways. For our first outing, we travel to Germany where we face Champions league hardened Bremen. Half an hour in and things are looking up, an own goal by Werder Bremen followed by a customary headed goal by Crouch, 2-0 up, good stuff. Then its down stream from there, 2-1 by halftime, and 2-2 by the fulltime whistle. Spurs will be kicking themselves for not bagging the three points on offer.
In the league we have Wolves at the Lane, memories of a 1-0 home and away defeat to them in last seasons campaign are still fresh on our minds. Its halftime and again we are 1-0 down. It takes the effort of Van de Vaart from the spot and two late goals by Hutton and Bale to salvage this one. Not a comfortable victory if I may say so.
Its Tuesday night and an epic Carling cup tie is in store. Tottenham vs Arsenal at the Lane. Everything seems to be on our side; playing at home, a minimum quarter final exit in our past 7 year campaign, the mindset of a manager (Wenger) who does not acknowledge the importance of the cup and a better looking bench with sergeant Wilson, Keane, Pav, Kranjcar and Sandro all set to feature. Morale is high at the Lane expacting Arsenal to field a team that the most diehard of supporters would struggle with. Shock and behold it is Redknapp who fields a team that the most diehard of supporters would struggle with; Steve Caulker and Bassong in centre back, Naughton at the left, Livermore in mid, Giovani, Bentley, Sandro all start. Arsenal however are with Chamakh, Nasri, Denilson, Koscielny, Eboue and Gibbs. 1-1 to send the tie into extra time. Two penalties inside six minutes to put the game beyond us and a final Arshavin strike to seal it at 4-1. Awful.
Come the weekend and West Ham are upon us and as usual we have the heroics of Robert Green to thank for denying Modric, Vaart and Huddlestone misses after going clear and rounding a helpless Green. The result is that we lose 1-0.
Lets hope Wednesdays game against FC Twente goes better.

Good News and Bad News

The bad news is, we lost 1-0 to Wigan at home, the good news 'the great one' Rafael Van der Vaart is coming to Tottenham Hotspur. The deal was completed on the last day of the transfer window when Real Madrid reduced his price from 18mil to 8mil and Redknapp did not miss that.

Spurs 4-0 BSC Young Boys: Glory nights are back

What a way to overturn what Redknapp termed as a great defeat in the first leg. He of the gangly frame saved our bacon. A hattrick from Peter Crouch and a fantastic though controversial Defoe strike gave us a 4-0 win over the boys from Berne at White Hart Lane. Crouchy started of the festivities with a header after a beautiful Bale cross inside of 5minutes. Defoe then finished beautifully after he appeared to touch the ball with his hand before slotting it past the keeper. Crouch then headed a third in the second half from a corner and then completed his hattrick from the penalty spot after Gareth Bale had been brought down in the area.

Harry seemed to have had the right idea, castigated by some quarters over an overadventurous mentality in the first leg, the tagline tonight was "swarm all over them." The absence of Modric did not exactly aid the cause which meant that Wilson started beside Huddlestone. While my admittedly sparse medical knowledge had me querying the wisdom in starting Defoe ahead of his upcoming surgery, I was proven completely wrong in the first half. Ledley's return to the lineup was a breath of relief and may have directly resulted in our cleansheet. It wasnt all joy with Gomes a casualty for the night substituted at half time with an injury.

Glory nights at the Lane are back!

Stoke City 1 - 2 Spurs

The fall-out from Tuesday suggests that our lot have just returned from Afghanistan rather than Berne. Defoe, Keane, Pav, Modric and Giovani all apparently ended up amongst the bodies strewn across the turf, and as a result the Crouchy One had to work alone. The backs-to-the-wall finale means that this probably deserves to be filed under the “Winning Ugly”, We did though, also churn out some eye-pleasing stuff in the first half, as exemplified by the build-up to both goals. With Crouch on his own in attack the success of our 4-5-1 depended on Lennon and Bale attacking the area, and Jenas making the occasional lollop forward in support. In the first half in particular this approach met with a degree of success. Bales brace proved decisive in the end with only a disallowed goal by Stoke proving a subject for discussion concerning a need for goal-line technology.

Crash at Berne

Young Boys 3-2 Spurs. In our first ever European Cup tie, back in 1962, Blanchflower, Mackayet al travelled to Poland to play Gornik, under the auspices of Bill Nick, and promptly found themselves 4-0 down at half-time, before scoring two late goals. Back at the Lane in the return leg we won 8-1.

So that, ladies and gents, is the Champions League, Tottenham style. Despite the fact that players, management, fans, pundits and just about anyone remotely connected with the club had spent the entire summer banging on about the Champions League, our lot looked to be taken completely by surprise by the whole experience. Everywhere we looked players were discovering new and exciting forms of ineptitude. Daws and Bassong spent the first half hour diligently practising their Corluka-running impressions, and by half-time had given some near-perfect examples of that running-through-quicksand look. If there is a physical opposite to Velcro, Pav appeared to have wrapped himself in it in the first half, as the ball flew several yards away from him every time he tried to control it. And so on. Giovani looked lively in the opening stages, but the rest of them ought to have worn sixes and sevens on the back of their shirts.

And yet, even despite the sudden presence of Larry, Curly and Moe in the Tottenham defence, the feeling around these parts persisted that we would at some point sneak an away goal or two and have plenty to play for in the second leg. From the outset, although our hosts were merrily waltzing through our back line, there were some fairly straightforward indications their own defence was far from watertight, with Giovani and Defoe spurning a couple of early opportunities. A more seasoned CL outfit may well have slammed the door in our faces and lobbed the key into the Rhine; instead, for all the euphoria of their early blitz Young Boys seemed oblivious to the fact that in European competition a miserly defence at home is paramount.

Presumably much will be made of the plastic pitch, but from the comfort of the AANP armchair it is difficult to know quite how great an impact that had. It may have had a psychological effect, or it may have meant that any pass over 20 yards fizzed off the surface and away, but whatever the reason, the introduction of Hudd, and the short passing he brought with him, certainly seemed to aid our recovery. Passes under 10 yards looked like they were easier to control, and for a period either side of half-time the players appeared to warm to the task.

By and large however, they made it look like they were running across a minefield rather than an artificial pitch. Ought not these chaps, whose entire lives have been geared towards mastering the dark arts of a size 5 football, have been capable of adjusting to Astroturf pronto? Perhaps, but AANP is reluctant to chastise our lot on this account until I’ve walked a mile in their astro boots. Moreover, injuries sustained by Defoe and Modders suggests that beneath those artificial fibres lurked some malevolent daemon of terra firma. No doubt our heroes will be a darned sight happier on the green, green grass of home.

It was as big a night for ‘Arry as the rest of us, and even prior to kick-off he made a few eye-catching calls. Having confidently predicted a near-unchanged line-up from the weekend AANP’s knowledge of the beautiful game was exposed for the sham that it is, as our glorious leader omitted Hudd and Aaron Lennon, presumably for surface-related reasons. There’s nothing like an early three goal deficit to test a manager’s mettle, and after his head briefly threatened to roll right off his neck with all that twitching he made the proactive decision to replace BAE with Hudd, a smart move, and all the more so as it was done in the first half, rather than waiting for half-time.

An inauspicious start then, but better things should await in the second leg. No doubt we rode our luck yesterday, as Young Boys could have hit five or six but for some schoolboy (sorry, couldn’t resist) finishing. Nevertheless with Ledley quite possibly to be restored to offer some almost motherly reassurance and organisation at the back, plus Aaron Lennon waiting in the wings, and Gareth Bale yet to make an impact on the tie, I sense that our opponents have blown a good opportunity to give themselves a much more imposing lead.

So, unusually, panic is nowhere to be seen at AANP Towers. If we hit a level remotely near the standards of last season I back us to cruise through, particularly at a throbbing, floodlit White Hart Lane. It may of course all go pear-shaped again (recall ye our UEFA Quarter Final home leg to Sevilla, a few years back, when after an encouraging 2-1 away leg defeat we cunningly conceded twice in the first ten minutes at the Lane to set ourselves a Herculean task), but I personally draw inspiration from the class of ’62, and their christening of Tottenham’s European adventures with the concession of four first-half goals, before proceeding to a 10-5 aggregate victory. Gifting the opposition an early lead, and generally doing everything in our powers to complicate the uncomplicated is a peculiarly Tottenham trait, as proudly displayed today as five decades ago. One-nil may suffice next week, but I suspect that our lot will find a vastly more complicated means of progressing.

An article from AANP

All Action No Plot, Spurs meet City

I half expect that if City’s owners find out that I write a football blog they’ll make a bid for me too, as their spending spree is verging on the ludicrous, but to be honest if some billionaire foreign sort offered to swan into White Hart Lane and invested several hundred million on new players I’m not sure too many Park Lane punters would object. However, for all City’s spending they can only stick eleven on the pitch at any given time, and mano e mano our heroes are certainly capable of holding their ground as they proved on Saturday.

Consistency? At Tottenham Hotspur FC? Madness.

The first talking-points of the season were settled in rather straightforward manner prior to kick-off, as ‘Arry simply recycled his teamsheet from last season. Defoe started alongside he of the gangly frame, but with the potentially gruelling fixture-list ahead Messrs Keane and Pav ought to receive plenty of game time in the coming weeks. Other noteworthy selections were the omission of Sergeant Wilson, use of Bale on left midfield rather than left-back, and appearance of Giovani on the subs’ bench – each of which seemed sensible enough.

The lack of transfer activity has caused a degree of disquiet in some quarters – including these, I must confess – but the benefits of a summer bereft of transfer activity could be witnessed from the off yesterday. While the City team assembled at a cost of approximately several million billion trillion pounds looked every inch a bunch of strangers newly-introduced, as they struggled to get a touch of the ball for the first 45 minutes, our lot gave an interesting tutorial in the benefits of consistency (not an adjective bandied around these parts too often in recent years).

The starting XI bore just the one change (Corluka for Kaboul) from the team that beat City at Eastlands last May, and as Bale and Lennon set about harassing the City full-backs (if that was Micah Richards’ audition for a White Hart Lane move I’d rather we politely discontinue our interest) it really was as if last season had not ended. None of that business of new management needing to dish out name badges, or a whole platoon of new faces needing to gel – our current lot should know each other’s deepest darkest secrets by now, and they set about their business on the green stuff looking accordingly square pegs in appropriately-shaped holes.

Last season, there were a number of games in which we created umpteen chances. Sometimes it seemed that just about all of them flew in (Wigan springing obviously to mind); on other occasions we came up against a goalkeeper turning in the performance of his career (Hull City, and that darned Boaz Myhill). Yesterday fell into the latter category, but we are consoling ourselves around these parts that more often than not our heroes will be rewarded for such performances with three points and shiny gold stars.

Champions League Qualifying Draw

Remember when we finished fourth last season (ofcourse you do) and by doing so ensured qualification for the champions league but to actually get into the group stage we have to go through one qualifying round with another European team. So, even when celebrating a victory at Eastlands side which bagged us fourth place, at the back of the minds of many fans was the sneaking realization that we may not get past the qualifying round given the type of talent that graces such an event. The previous season, Arsenal only barely managed to get or dive past Celtic, this season we had Bremen, Sampdoria, Auxerre or even Celtic as a possible play off opponent.

The draw is complete and we drew, drum roll please.......Swiss side BSC Young Boys Berne (never had of them either). I dare not say I was happy, relieved would be a better word. But you never know what the Swiss will bring and knowing how unpredictable our team can be, we can only hope to bring our best on that day. But all in all that was a favourable draw and we look forward to qualifying. As long as Mr. Redknapp does not underestimate the Young Boys from Switzerland, we shall be duelling with the big boys of Europe in the group stage of the Champions league. To Dare Is To Do, last season we dared, this season we shall be doing.

Opening game of the new season: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

Post-match blogging

Preseason News

Preseason continues and I will start with the good news first. Benfica 0-1 Tottenham, how about that. The giants from Lisbon came undone thanks to a solitary goal from Gareth Bale assisted by Giovani dos Santos which ensured that we went home with the Eusebio cup (dont ask me) which has been previously won by Inter Milan and the hosts Benfica.

Now for the bad news, Villareal passed us to death at White Hart Lane and ended up crushing us 4-1 in a preseason friendly. A hattrick from former Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossi did the trick even after Giovani had pulled a goal back after the break. Substitute Ruben then converted the fourth with five minutes left to seal a victory that was well deserved.

More news, and Fiorentina paid White Hart Lane a visit and we sent them back to Italy defeated. We came back from a 0-1 and 1-2 deficit to win 3-2 with a goal from Pav and two fantastic finishes from Keane who is having a marvelous pre-season. Gilardino scored for the visitors and somebody else also scored. I have always maintained, dont sell Keane someone may have started listening.

Autonomy: Spurs jerseys for the 2010/11 season

Click to enlarge

Pre-season and no signings

Tottenham hotspur is in the U.S for their customary preseason tour and cup competition. The participants are NY Red Bulls who are the hosts, Manchester City, Sporting Lisbon and us. Normally I would ignore this bit but New York Red bulls had Thierry Henry, our old foe in their starting lineup and I was curious. Our world cup stars were in absentia recouperating on an extended vacation. So, with our squad stretched to its limit and a lineup even the most diehard of Tottenham supporters would struggle with, mediocrity was expected if not deserved. Inspite of all this we performed marvelously, NY Red Bulls went down 2-1; Henry scored on his debut but we staged a comeback with goals from Keane and Bale. We then drew 2-2 with Lisbon who had earlier beaten City 2-0 which meant they took the trophy by goal difference, no complaints. City lost all their games which will definitely put a smile on one or two Spurtans considering their big money transfers. Manchester United are also in the U.S and they also lost (smile) to Kansas City Stars. Robbie Keane was named the player of the tournament with two goals and an assist which is a good sign considering that no money has been spent so far in this transfer window. Im glad to say that I witnessed such great depth and talent in our squad with players I havent normally paid much attention to putting on impressive performances, they include: Jonathan Obika, Danny Rose, Andros Townsend, Adel Taarabt and the Kyles.

The best thing about the World Cup

My Transfer Two Cents

Lets talk transfers. The media has decided to label Spurs and Manchester City the benchmark when it comes to big-money transfers. Understandably, with City the resources are there with a 60million pound spree already to acquire talents like Jerome Boateng, Yaya Toure and David Silva and I bet you they aren't done yet. And get this, Yaya will receive a cool 220,000 pounds a week, permission to say Goddamn! When it comes to Spurs, we arent going match that on our best day, Real Madrid would be hard pressed to beat that, perhaps.
Seriously, Redknapp only has about 40million quid to spend which may seem a lot if you are a Liverpool fan (no pun intended) but City are planning a major revolution and make no mistake, there will be casualties. Our current squad, as it is, may only just be good enough for a top 7 finish, that is if Harry gets his tactics right (see Capello 2010 disaster) but with our new European commitments we may be looking at a relegation battle on the onset of our customary injuries. Be that as it may, we are doing much better depth wise than the likes of Liverpool.
Problem is, not many players want to play at White hart Lane which is a marvelous atmosphere but not quite like Anfield (even in the face of administartion) and Old Trafford. To create such an atmosphere requires an inherent predisposition to some kind of Champions league success which im hopeful we can achieve in a couple of years.
Therefore, in seeking to bolster our current squad I have come up with some key areas which require reinforcement: CB, RB, Left wing, Playmaking and Attack.
Ledley King is a demigod albeit an injured one who qyualifies for a titanium knee transplant, Woodgate has been injured since before Obama was president and Bassong isnt proven at a higher level. What im looking for here is a new partner in defence for Michael Dawson that will make us the most feared defence in all of Europe.
My buy: Simon Kjaer (Palermo and Denmark, 21) cost: 9million
In right back, Vedran Corluka has never been my favourite and Kaboul does not fit into that position very well. The Kyles are still inexperienced so I would go for a more confident and established player in that position.
Micah Richards may be heading for the City door soon and we had better be waiting on the other end. Curtis Davies (Aston Villa) is also up for consideration.
Giovani dos Santos did well for Mexico, im not sure whether he prefers the left or right wing but regardless, his loan period is over and we want him at White Hart Lane. O'hara can still play there but im looking for excessive proven skill....Ladies and Gentlemen I give you, Joe Cole, 28 available on a free transfer but his wage may prove to be a significant barrier.
Playmaker: Michael Carrick.
And finally, Eidur Gudjohnsen on a permanent deal.
Sell:
Woodgate, Jenas, Kaboul, O'hara, Keane.
Note: If we sell Pav, we had better replace him with a like-for-like striker. Ipswich's Connor Wickham at only 16, Edinson Cavani or Diego Forlan.

My starting line up: Gomes, King, Dawson, Bale, Corluka, Cole, Carrick, Huddlestone, Modric, Lennon, Defoe. Subs: Cudicini, Richards, Ekotto, Palacios, Kranjcar, Crouch, Gudjohnsen, Pav.

...my two cents. Spurtan out!

Tottenham Hotspur Home Jersey for 2010-11 Season: Leak!

A new photo of Tottenham’s new jersey for the 2010-11 season has been leaked on the Internet. Designed and manufactured by Puma, the new Tottenham home shirt features a retro design with navy trim. Exquisitely designed, the new Spurs shirt has thankfully dropped the yellow from last season.
Overall, I love the design. It’s classy, retro and – to be frank – perfect. We’ll have to wait to see how the sponsor’s name looks on the shirt and whether it complements the design.
This is definitely UEFA Champions League fashion.

Our resident peeps in 2010 South Africa

Congratulations boys!

England: Lennon, King, Dawson, Crouch and Defoe.
Cameroon: Benoit Assou Ekotto and Sebastian Bassong.
Mexico: Giovani Dos Santos
Brazil: Gomes.
Honduras: Wilson Palacios.

May the force be with you all.

Superleague Formula

I found an interesting sport recently, they call it Superleague Formula which essentially combines football and formula one. Not at the same time ofcourse, that would probably be dangerous. Its like this, football clubs have their own formula one type racing cars and they compete on the racing track. Not all clubs you know are in it but the reason im posting this here is because Tottenham iss. Others include Liverpool, AC Milan, Olympiakos etc. And as at the date I publish this post, guess who tops the board. Yeah, its Tottenham.

The official website puts it like this: Superleague Formula (SF) is a global motorsport Championship that connects two of the most popular sports in the world: football and motor racing.

Superleague Formula features 18 cars competing against one another, with each one carrying the colours and livery of major football clubs from Europe and around the world. Fans invest their support, ready to embrace the symbiosis of pure racing with their football club. Taking motor sport back to its roots, all cars and engines are identical, thereby putting an emphasis on the drivers’ skills and abilities.

The guy who drives the Tottenham Hotspur car is a guy named Craig Dolby who is like the Schmacher of this sport, he tops the table with 250pts the next guy is at 196. Awesome stuff, you should check it out (just click on the links in this blog)

Perhaps they should now consider coming up with a sport that combines pole dancing (its a sport) and golf; Tiger Woods would love that...

New Stadium: Northumberland Development Project

Now that the 09/10 season is over, lets talk future plans for Tottenham and ofcourse what im talking about here is the plan for a new stadium.
The proposed new Stadium which has also been included as a potential host venue for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid looks absolutely incredible. The existing 36,000 capacity stadium has remained unchanged for over a decade and the Club is currently in the position of having over 70,000 registered club members and a waiting list for season tickets of more than 23,000 people.

The Northumberland Development Project (as they call it) would represent an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds into North Tottenham, creating new jobs, bringing more spend into the local community and delivering new community facilities including a world class new public square..blablabla. I just want a chance to laugh in the face of those of us who think the Emirates stadium is cool.

I hope the naming rights go to a company with a cool name like our sponsors mansioncasino.com then they would call it The Mansion.

Champions League and a great season, all hail Redknapp

From relegation favourites to finally breaking into the top four, what a season. We did it Spurtans! Details, you ask? Well, there we were in fifth spot with six games left to go before the season came to a close and of those six, four were visits by Chelsea and Arsenal and trips to Manchester to face both United and City. Sounds like a nightmare? You bet it was. No one expected us to survive without the worlds greatest losses. After losing to Sunderland and then being dumped out of the FA semi by Pompey, we looked in serious trouble as Arsenal paid us a visit, and history wasnt on our side either with a record no win over Arsenal in 10years. They came and with Van Persie staging a comeback, things could not get worse but it was not to be, for them. We took them out, I mean we outplayed, outclassed and outscored both Arsenal and title contenders Chelsea with Gareth Bale, a demon in left wing scoring in both ties. Not to forget Danny Rose's at only 19yrs of age, 40yard goal of the season against Arsenal.
Next up, Man United, brimming in confidence after taking down Chelsea we thought we could pull a fast one on Fergies men but not this time. Sir Alex always has a way of getting one over us, better him than Wenger, right? 3-1 loss but worth to mention a Ledley header that brought the game to 1-1 upto like the 80th min, the rest is too painful to write. Now, brought back to reality by Ferguson we hosted Bolton at the Lane, tough nut to crack those boys but a Huddlestone screamer did the job. Current position, fourth place and only a point above Manchester City with two games left. The next fixture...
You guessed it, Manchester City at the City stadium where many have fallen Chelsea, Arsenal and etc few have been victorious. Having got a 3-0 win over them at White Hart lane, they were out for blood and Champions league qualification money. The atmosphere, terrifying if you are a Spurs fan, well I wasnt there but I could tell...can we get on with the story? thanks. Anyway, first half was murder on Spurs, defensive football at its best Gomes was there again being awesome, deflections, screamers the lot, he had them covered. King was on Tevez, Dawson was everywhere, Adebayor and Bellamy were terrorizing but it remained 0-0. Second half, Redknapp must have said some stuff to the boys, he always does. All of a sudden its end to end stuff, beautiful stuff if you came to be entertained, but we werent, we were there to do business. Bale, Lennon(Bentley), Modric, Crouch...the terror squad. Defoe one on one saved, Crouch heads on to the post, King goal ruled out for pushing, no matter, its an all out attack. Blood and guts spilled everywhere, screams of pain, its so close the battle is at its peak oh my God I cant watch (slap). Anyway, Crouch got an 80th minute header onto goal and its in. Oh joy! screams, shouts and yes the game was won and we had cemented fourth place.
Some say that on the final game of the season, we were so confident that we lost to Burnley 4-2. On this, I have no comment

FA Triumphs

Gareth Bale was deservedly name the FA player of the month for April. Congratulations are in order Mr. Bale.

Season Review to sometime in March

Here's the story, we won some, we lost some. Bad news first, the most disappointing loss both home and away came from Wolverhampton Wanderers of all teams 1-0 in both ties. I hope they survive relegation so we can wipe them from the face of the premier league next season. Also, we were unable to complete the double over Liverpool which is surprising considering the absence of Gerrard, Torres and Benayoun but the workaholic Kuyt went goal crazy on us, 2-0 loss. Other insignificant losses occurred at Chelsea and Arsenal, I dont really want to talk about it.
Wins: Most notably, the rich boys from Manchester City 3-0. Everton 2-1.
All in all it has been good, we've managed to make a serious challenge for the fourth spot with Liverpool, City and Villa hot on our trail. We'll keep you posted.