Different era...

Sad to mark the death of Ralph Coates. I was lucky
enough to have met him earlier this year and can
only say what a really great, genuine guy he was.
I was there in 1973 when he scored that goal and
exposed my young ears to the Spurs roar at Wembley.
One of the great things about him was that there
was no way that he could be described as looking
like a sporting god, but boy what a footballer.
Quite apt that we were drawn v AC Milan today,
as of course Ralph was part of the side that beat
them in 1971/72
Rest in peace Ralph. Great hair for an angel!

Win win?

I've been busy. No make that I've been
very, very busy and have managed to
neglect my blog. I'm starting to think
that I'm not cut out for the dedication
needed to blog all the time. Where do
they find the time? It's Twitter all the
way for me at the moment. Sort of like
fast food blogging.
Anyhow met a really nice Chelsea fan the
other day, who went to his first match
in 1959. He has been a season ticket
holder for a long, long time and was
telling me that every time they play
Spurs he feels like taking out some space
in the programme which says simply...
"I was here when we were shit!"
I fully expect us to win 17-0, but even
if we manage not to then at least those
travellers from Woolwich will be off the
top. COYS

Glory, glory nights...

After the drama and effort of The Emirates
it's all hands to the Champions League tonight
at The Lane. I hope that 'Raymond' VdV is fit,
as his very presence seems to make a difference.
It's nice that Sir H of Sandbanks will have a
selection problem up front. One thing is for
sure, Robbie Keane can get his feckin tracksuit
on now.
I'm starting to think that there are signs that
the Spurs fragile mentality is on the way out
and really hope that it's not another false dawn.
If we could learn to defend properly I would be
even more confident, however if we could defend
then we wouldn't be Tottenham Hotspur!
I'm really looking forward to The CL theme tune
ringing around WHL tonight, and I'm starting
to think that it suits us!
COYS

What reasons do you need?

I know it's his job, but Sir H of Sandbanks
is quoted in today's press as saying that
it's not impossible for us to challenge for
the Premiership this season. We are 9 points
off after 13 games, and let's just see what
happens this lunchtime...To that end, I've
decided to sacrifice my own 'enjoyment' in
order that you should all gain.
I'm going to see if the fact that we've not
won away at any of the top 4 (as was) since
H was a boy is in any way to do with me.
Therefore I shall be taking my kids to
either the cinema or for some retail therapy.
The things we do!
In this world I think that you are only as strong
as the weakest link, and unless we are 100%
on it I fear the worst (or the usual!) COYS prove
me wrong...

Look into my eyes, not around the eyes...

I thought yesterday that it was a bit daft
of Sir H of Sandbanks to have a go at the
crowd. To be juvenile, I don't quite seem
to be able to remember the number of
Championships that he has won? I'm
inclined to think that the crowd were booing
Webb, and probably not the players or the
management.
What should be noted however is that we
find it very, very difficult to break certain
teams down. There also seems to be a
lack of energy and pace against these sides.
We seem to flog an idea to death, last season
Lennon, or long ball to Crouchino, or The Bale.
I think there needs to be a bit more invention,
more freedom of expression and less coaching.
I would chuck out Sir Les and Sherwood and
replace them with Derren
Brown...

0-4, and we won 6-5...

Well, well, well, it's nights like that which make
me realise what a weird, weird world we live in.
It seems like decades ago I was sitting in the San
Siro after about 35 minutes thinking 'why do we
always do this?' Total Tottingham.
Each and every one managed to play a part and made
me know exactly how proud Lord H of Sandbanks felt
after the game...All 36,000 of us should stand up
(oh, you were!), and take a bow.
I loved listening to the recording of the 2nd goal(?)
on Radio 5 live, Alan Green was going ballistic.
COYS.

A bit more than an 'otdog...

I tweeted yesterday about the Gomes/
Clutternberg incident, and how I felt
the whole thing was a really useful
smokescreen for Sir Arold of Sandbanks
to mask the fact that he got the team
at OT wrong.
I'm not sure how he thought Feckin Keano
was going to cause Rio and Vidic problems,
and I'm not convinced that Little Azza was
the right choice.
Anyway we will continue to lose to top sides
if we don't turn up, roll up our sleeves and
give it a go.
I'm interested to see which Spurs turn up
this evening, and also which Milan. On the
strength of the first half at the San Siro, I
can see us getting beaten. However I have
a suspicion that H is on a large bonus to
get us into the last 16...
Know what I mean?

La bella figura

Off to Italia in the morning. Managed to
get a ticket somehow...now got to sneak
past those Italian policemen.
Really excited as I guess that's why I put
up with watching the likes of Iversen, Sinton,
Armstrong, and Stuart Nethercott to name but
a few. Pay day.
I hope that we manage to 'turn up' for the
occasion, and wonder how much we will miss
VdV? I think that Sir H should bring back Wilson
P for this game, although I'm not sure about
the free kick count. I'm wondering why Sandro
was not in the CL squad? Or is he?
Anyhow I've packed my sharp suit, sunglasses,
and some tea bags, and with the immortal words
of Bob Hoskins rattling round my brain, 'the mafia-
i've sh*t em.'
Ciao, ciao...

Dedication...

In all the excitement I forget to mention how
pleased I was last weekend when Manchester
City beat Chelsea. Every year I get worried that
some motley bunch of 'Superstars' will break the
11 straight wins which was set by the Double
side 50 years ago. I've got neither the time nor
the inclination to check it out but my instinct
tells me that there are very few, if any, sporting
records that are still around after 50 years...
I'm off to phone Ross and Norris McWhirter, I'll
kep you posted!

Me and Bill

I really enjoyed the CL match last night. I'm
still firmly in the H is a lucky manager camp,
and against a really good side, with another set
of officials things might not have gone so well.
R VdV is a different class of player and even
makes Luca look invisible. Tom was lucky
to still be on the pitch, and he was actually much
better when we went down to 10 men.
Still did not understand the subs. Crouch is
always good for defending at set pieces and better
at holding up the ball than Pav. Also why Lennon
when I would have bought Wilson on to defend.
My theory on Keano is that it somehow was in
his contract, but he still looks like a pub player.
Saving himself for Milan...
Bloody hell, Champions League. Bring on the San Siro!

I don't geddit!

There are certain things in life that I
will never understand, as you get older
this becomes easier to accept.
I'm still bemused by some of the things
that 'arold does, and for the life of me
will never understand some of them.
Firstly throw some kids into the car
crash that was the Carling Cup farce,
then loan two of them out to Ipswich and
Bristol City for the rest of the season!
Talk about building them up then knocking
them down...Surely Sir 'arold of Sandbanks
knows more about psychology than me?
This is on the same day he declares that
only Charlie and Bassong are our only fit
"centre halves"? Answers on a postcard
please...

Positives?

There really were not all that many. It
was a horrible place to be, three seats
away from the Gloating Scum. It's the
sort of thing that Levy and Sir H should
be made to witness.
I was pleased to see some of the kids
before they go 'out on loan' forever.
I think what it proved is that their
2nd tier is stronger than ours, and
also that with dodgy keepers they will
win *@*K All. Here's hoping...

Trapped

Dan the man has just gone on record as
saying that The Champions League is "not
a goldmine." I've read this about 4 minutes
after being fleeced for a ticket for the CL
home game against FC Twente. It's a 'Class
A' match so £44.00, (I only want to watch the
thing not play in it!). I then did a quick sum
on the back of the nearest fag packet: average
ticket £53.00 x 36,000 = 1,908,000.
I feel trapped,trapped in the goldmine!

COYS

Stop,start,stop,start, I just can't seem
to get going with this new season lark.
If we can't beat West Brom then I'm
going home. Billy G could be captain,
which probably says something about
the other lot in the changing room.
All I keep thinking of is when he was
shown sitting down at the end of an
Arse match (possibly at Birmingham)
like a sulky schoolboy.
If you sulked when playing for Les
Arse, then you're in for a shock!

Can you tell what it is?

Hair is early Tiger

Eyes and brows are Sampras

Face hair Rolf Harris

He's here though!

Van the man...

In the last Euro's Martha, my daughter, kept getting
lots and lots of Van der Vaart Panini stickers. For some
reason she found, and indeed still does, humour value
in the name...Now I know very little about the dark
art of buying footballers, however I would expect it
to entail a little bit more than a phone call from the
Chairman at 16:00, to say that so-and -so is for
sale at so much. In my mind I have an image of Kev,
Jo and H standing around at the training ground. H
has just removed the alloys from his BMW, whilst
shuffling a pack of playing cards for another hand
of gin rummy...(Wheeler, dealer?) "You've got who?
For how much? Yeah alright we'll have im. Oh any
news on Ryan Babel?"
Our actions in the transfer market seem to reflect
our actions as a club. No clear plan, no style...

Kerrching

£66.00 for a ticket in the Upper East Stand?
Mr Levy you're having a laugh...
Is Gallas the best solution. It's like having a
collection of beautiful, old classic cars which
are always going to break down. Ledders,
Woodgate, this issue should have been sorted
months and months ago. Bring in a kid!
There are 70+ teams in the lower leagues
who will all have between 2/3 centre backs
on their books, that's roughly 150 to pick
from? No, it's not that he's an Ex-Gooner, it's
just more lazy management.
And another thing, Sky Sports News gone from
Freeview!

Aloha

Last Saturday myself, and my family had the
fantastic pleasure of being Guest(s) of Honour
at Alloa v East Fife. For me the whole experience
reminded me what football should be all about.
The entire club exuded a warmth, and they could
not have been any more welcoming. It felt like
coming home, especially if your family is slightly
quirky.
The Wasps won 3-2 in a thrilling encounter, and
I got to present the MOM award on the pitch at
the end of the match.
Oh yes, they have a plastic pitch,like many of the
lower league teams in Scotland, and as far as I'm
aware they don't have any players that don't fancy
the surface too much!
Notice that I did not comment on watching Spurs(?)
v Young Boys with Mike Leigh and Phil Cornwell in a
pub in Edinburgh, totally surreal experience!
Is Gallas the best that we can do H?

Thought...

Sir H of R to be out of here by Xmas?
That drive from Sandbanks everyday
listening to Bondy's stories, same old
coffee and pee break at Fleet services,
walnut whip and a copy of the Sun, endlesss
Talk Sport and for what?
I tell you, sometimes I tell my Sandra, I
must be crazy doing all of this, and what
thanks do I get. People should remember
when I got here they had 2 points from 8
games...
It's just a thought in this crazy, crazy world.

International Rescue

Can't say that I was at all bothered until
I started to realise how much it would
upset The Wammers. Sounds like the boy
wants to move up in the world...

There was a time...

when pre season meant Spurs never being
off the back pages. Now it just seems Sir H
of Redknapp is just asked about any player
who might be for sale, and usually replies
that of course he is a triffic player, but way
out of our league, silly money, the game's
gone crazy, etc, etc, etc...
Maybe my mistake, but I thought that the
Champions League would have the stars
of Pig Bladder kicking, and their agents,
beating a path with shitty sticks down to
Sandbanks and falling at the feet of Sir H
of R?
Apparently, and remember you heard it here
first, Ledley may not be fit for the start of
the season, and neither may Woodgate.
Come on Levy, get your Champions League
wallet out!

World wide Webb...

"A World Cup final deserves great refereeing
and, above all, deserves a referee who dares
to do everything it means to be a judge."
I think that if Howard Webb came from
another country, then our press would have
strung him up... He should have had the
courage to send off De Jong or Van Bommel
in the first half, which would have allowed
the Spanish to play football. Mr Webb played
a major part in spoiling what should have
been a great game. It would never have
happened if Hugh Dallas had been in charge!
The quote, by the way, is from Cruyff.

Tippy v Tappy

I've always quite liked the Dutch,
Orange kit, total football, Cruyff,
Edam, the Smurfs. What's not to
like? Oh yes, Robin Van Persie.
I've always quite liked the Spanish
despite losing a few quid having
backed them in every tournament
except the last Euro's and this
World Cup. What's not to like?
Oh yes, Fabregas.
So we are left with Hobson's
choice, but with a marginal leaning
to the Spanish, as he's on the subs
bench. Which is the same position he
will play at Barca.
I've got a feeling that it's going to
penalties, so the Dutch have no
chance!

Be careful what you wish for...

Football is a human game, where mistakes
like life happen.It teaches us that things are
not fair, but that by and large things even
themselves out. If we open the Pandora's
Box of video officials where do we stop?
We should start by asking coaches and players
to be more honest, and to not breed a culture of
cheating.
In the Brazil v Chile match (28/06) there were
a couple of instances where I can see problems
with Video technology. One was a dive by the Brazilian
right back which led to them getting a corner from which
he subsequently crossed the ball for Juan to score the
opening goal. Could Chile ask for the video ref to look
at the dive by Maicon?
One of the things that I love about football is that it
is not an exact science, and leads us to still be talking
about things like the Geoff Hurst 'goal' nearly 50 years
on.
It must also be remembered that no matter what Bill
Shankly said, it is only a game, albeit the most beautiful
one!

Loyalty points?

Nice to see Lord H of Redknapp throwing his hat
into the ring..Must have seen the size of Fabio's
contract...I did tell you all, he said when he joined
us that he would like a go at the Engerland Job.
Job's for Les, Tim, and Jamie as well, maybe that's
why he is back on the Beeb.

Listen Carefully I shall say this only once...

It's a funny old game Charlie Brown!

Maybe it's a game plan to confuse The Yanks?

Being Frank

Alan Rough, Jim Leighton, both Andy Goram's
and maybe (just maybe) dear old Frank Haffey
would have saved that.

Let's hear nothing more on Scottish goalies.

Never.

Ever.

Hands across the ocean

It's nothing to do with me, but if I was Capello my
team talk would be along the lines of: What I'm looking
for is someone who can contribute to what England has
given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius.
A little bit more than an 'ot dog, know what I mean?

The immortal words of Harold Shand...

If anyone is interested I'm having a pony, or a monkey
on the Argies!

Soccer Ball World Series

Can't seem to see any of Scotland's matches
on any wallcharts, maybe they just go into
the second phase like the Europa Cup?
Had a heated debate in t'pub last night over
Engerlands chances. My stance is that they
have got 1 and two half world class players,
and the rest can be good, bad or just ugly.
Ask yourself honestly how many of the first
choice players would get into one of the top
sides? Spain, Holland, Argentina, Brazil, and
even Germany?
The best that they can hope for is a bit of team
spirit and some results to create momentum and
belief. They don't like it up 'em.

The future's bright, the future's

TANGERINE!

Quite an amazing contrast between the Play Off
final, and the Carling Cup or F.A Semi atmosphere.
It felt like it really meant something to these people.
If you can imagine a stag/hen party with about
37,000 people, none of whom would win a beauty
contest, then you would have some idea of The Pool
Army.It should also be remembered that the age
range was from about 6 months to 1104 months
(that's 92 years).
I'm unsure as to how long they will last in the
Premier Ship, but you can rest assured that they
will have a damn good time, and bruise some ego's.
For those of you out there who love Mottyisms, the
motto on the Blackpool crest simply says 'PROGRESS',
and I was there to witness progress on Saturday.

Tommy White's Tangerine Army...

I'm off to the Twin Towers and hallowed
turf on Saturday to see Blackpool v Cardiff,
which is The Play Off Final. I've always had
a soft spot for The Seasiders, mainly due
to Uncle Tommy being a player, director,
and caretaker manager at various times
in his life. It's a crazy, crazy place is Blackpool,
a real hint of twin peaks about it. It should also
be remembered that Holland changed their kit
to tangerine after watching old newsreel footage
of Stanley Matthews in the 1953 Cup Final.
So let's hear it for the Tangerine Army, because
someone has got to protect us from those Scum
Bags at Cardiff!
Lastly anyone who accuses the FA of being money
grabbing so and so's should be interested to learn
that my ticket is £66!!!

Too much

I'm soooo over football.

When does the World Cup start again?

VOTE 'ARRY

I can hear it already "When I took over this country we
'ad an £175 billion deficit, nearly 18% of our GDP..."
I told you that it was never in doubt, for all my slating
of H this season he got it spot on last night. I seem
to remember offering to take Ledley to a glue factory
back at the end of last year. I was wrong. Very wrong.
Can't wait to see Alan Hansen on MOTD on Sunday, and
guess what...no matter what they do, those Whammers
can't stop us now.
Loved seeing Bentley, in his Superman pants, getting his
gang together to drench H in ice cold water. Could have
been another Jock Stein moment there, dodgy ticker
and all that...
Also didn't Levy look and sound like some over-
whelmed schoolboy. Fantastic stuff, we well and truly
stuffed them...One of the teams that stuck in my vision
in the qualifying games was Ajax...
This leaves Mr Wenger,not for the first time looking
nervously over his shoulder,
They couldn't could they? Happy days friends...

Hang on a minute...

Come on let's all believe...Just a thought!

You need...

Hands of course. They seem to be dominating things:
"It's in our own ......", Citeeh being allowed a set of hired
....., He's Spurs and he knows he is!
Whatever happens I think that it's quite amazing how
well we have managed to do this season, but I really
don't want to contemplate the last day scenario again.
How much would the Wammers like to mess things up
for us? Zola and Mancini? A few bits of gold for Meester
Gold? It could happen! COYS

Ch,Ch,Ch,Changes?

It's a wonderful thing hindsight...I think that we were
too Tottenham. Showed SurAlex too much respect.
No Rooney, no Rio, no points.
At 1-1 with 10 minutes left, Old Trafford is not really
the place to try and hang on.
We had too many changes from the last couple of games.
A&E is not a right back, and before he got injured earlier
in the season was probably our best defender. Wilson is
a great midfielder, but has got to learn more about where
and when to tackle/foul. The balance of the side looked
awkward, and we should have looked to unleash Bale more.
He is much better going forward, and there has to be a really
good case for him playing in midfield. Bentley was wasteful
and Huddlestone yet again did not step up to the plate...
Still looking for positives, I really think that with a little bit
more self belief, we could have got at least a point, and we
are still 4th!

Triffic headache

So Levy is taking his precious, shiny things to
Yanited. It seems that Lennon and Jenas might
be on the bus, World Cup round the corner, funny
that. Anyhow, I'm fascinated to see whether Bale,
A&E and Lennon can play in the same side. I guess
it's not really my problem. I hope that we have a
real go at them, but can already hear..." If someone
had offered me 6 points from these 3
games, I would have bitten their hand off..." COYS.

Better or Best?

I'm actually still not sure. I managed
to crawl off of my sick bed on Saturday,
and was so glad that I did. We not only
beat them, we absolutely thumped them.
On monday, somebody asked me which one
was better Chelsea or The Arse? It took me
a long time, and a fair bit of philosophical
reasoning over what is meant by better
and best, but when all is said and done it
has to be The Arse. It's almost a shame
that the season is coming to an end, though
lets wait until we've been to Old Trafford.
Would it be too much to ask those footballing
gods? COYS...Thanks Harry.

St Hotspur Day

You have no idea the things that I have promised
the Footballing Gods in return for last night. Never
you mind it was worth it all, everything, every last
little bit.
Modders, Bale, and Gomes were outstanding, as
were the crowd. Stand up and take a bow, you've
earned it.
It's a shame that there is a two day break until the
next big one, as I reckon they could have just bought
Chelski on and we would have taught them a lesson
as well!
The highlight of my evening was walking out into
Park Lane afterwards and seeing a very scary but
happy Spurs fan screaming into a Sky Sports camera,
"Ave some of that in 3D!"

Finger pointing...

We had 4 days to laugh at Ar*enal, 3 days to
snigger at Man U, and now the fickle fingers
of football followers are pointing at Us, and
laughing their rocks off. Oh, to be a Spurs fan.
To anyone who is still in love with Sir H, I present
exhibit A, the whole miserable day at Wemberlee
when we yet again matched up to the World's
expectation of Tottingham. I'm actually off to
look in the Oxford English to check on the
definition. I'm sure that somewhere in there will
be the phrase...'they'll always let you down!'
Still looking on the bright side only Ars*nal,
Chelski, and Man Utd on the horizon. Get those
wagon trains in a circle!

Twin towers

'No player,manager,director or fan who understands
football,either through his intellect or his nerve ends,
ever repeats that piece of nonsense trotted out mind-
lessly by the fearful every now and again which pleads:
'After all, it's only a game.' Sadly, not my words but
those of Arthur Hopcraft in his splendid book, written
in the late sixties, 'The Football Man'...These words will
be ringing round my brain this afternoon on my way
up to Wemberlee, wemberlee. If they are not in your
brain then you should not be going!
I think that it will be a real classic for the neutral, and
bearing in mind the fact that we have drawn 3 times in
this cup run already, I see a high scoring game going to
extra time, with us just nicking it...
COYS...

Life's not so bad...

The Barca display last night, bought back to
my mind something that I touched on after
the game at The Emirates. It's also something
that I've been on about all season. The Premiership
is NOT all that! There I've said it. If The Arse can
get outplayed like that, then what would happen
to Burnley, Hull and most of the other teams?
As Chris said to me in the pub last night, if
Messi was in the Premiership he would be in
plaster by this point in the season. And as for
the Sky Sports guys, they want to take a good
long hard look at themselves for some of the
gibberish that they were spouting! But then I
guess they've got SuperSunday's to sell.

Be careful what you wish for...

The remaining teams in The CL look damn good.
I only saw highlights last night, but you can't help
but wonder how we would fare.
I think that UEFA have managed to ruin what was
a great competition by expanding it, all in the name
of filthy money.
It would be a great opportunity to watch Spurs at
such a level, and of course a steep learning curve
for our players, and one that we will hopefully be
witnessing next season!
Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, I've got me
tickets for Wemberlee...etc, etc.
What chance of getting Chas and Dave to re-unite
if we do get to the final?
Rabbit, rabbit, yap, yap, bunny, bunny....

Thought for the day?

Did Crackerjack ever tour Argentina?

Hypotheticals

Would I seriously take a victory in the Cup Final
over a place in Theleagueofchampions? That's
what I've been asking myself? Following some
logic would I take a beating from those Skint
South Coast Bell Ringers today in return for a
clear passage in the semi? (oh er missus!)...
I guess it all comes down to the fact that it
matters not on jot as we should really be able
to 'cut and paste' them on both occasions.
Oh, and by the way I love Sir Harry of Redknapp,
not sure that he loves me though? Also I'm pretty
sure that it's a few more than 1% who were booing
at half time. It's such a shame when the few spoil
things for the majority? I don't think I'm the only
one who would like to know what else in SHoR's
Top drawer, also behind his wardrobe, and under
the mattress.
COYS, we can do this!

Not a lot of people know this but...

...we had 2 points from 8 games when he arrived.
Arise Sir Harry football genius. What I really loved
about last night was the 'rope-a-dope' tactics
borrowed from Ali. It was smashing to see the way
he cleverly allowed Wilson to do the work of four
men, and allowed A&E to re-live his form of two
seasons ago.
I think it's safe to say that H had a good 35,672
people fooled at half time. Not to mention the
millions watching at home...
The icing on the cake was of course managing to
ensure that Charlie got whacked by Simon Davies,
who was I assume in on the plan, which meant the
launch of SuperPav.
The Football Genius that is Sir H of R, did of course
put the wheels in motion for this outrageous plan
back in the Jan transfer window, by fooling the football
world into thinking that he wanted shot of SuperPav
and Bentley. Oh no you fools, all part of his masterplan.
Who's sorry now?

Flaam

I see this one going to penalties after a 2-2 drama
filled game, and then I woke up and it was 0-0 again!
However, whichever way it goes, bearing in mind how
many of them have played for us then it might just
come down to the first one to score from the spot!
I'm pleased to see Fulham doing well, and was just
wishing that they became amazingly rich and went
round buying players like Frank Ribery, Ronaldo,
Ronaldinho, just to hear Woy's post match conference.
If only life worked that way...

Football Genius?

I think that it was Caesar or The Short French One,
who did not want good generals, he just wanted
lucky ones. H has obviously been watching Jose at
the bridge, and done his homework this week.
No Defoe, Lennon, Wilson, Hudd and only a brief showing
from Super Pav left me switching off Sky Sports News,
and going for a walk to calm my nerves.
From what I saw later on MOTD it looked like a well
deserved 3 points, and even Hansen is starting to give
Champions League serious thought, although we all
probably agree with his assessment that 'they will
always let you down in the end...' COYS, we can do this!

If anyone wants a clue to the visual, Steve Marriott and 30
Days in The Hole...It's as close as I get to an apology H!

Rovers Return

I spent a wonderful couple of hours down
at WHL yesterday interviewing the Great
Cliff Jones. He really is a special person,
and one who is still very humble. At one
point in the early 60's Juve were willing to
part with £120,000 for him. Bill Nick told
Cliff to "tell them to come back in 4 years!!"
So tomorrow we welcome another set of
Northern cloggers, sometimes I forget who
Fat Sam is managing. My money is on Robbo
getting all excited again, and letting us have
a couple of soft ones. Can't see them scoring.
Me, I'd still rather spend 90 minutes listening
to Cliffy....Happy days!

Champions? League...

Call me naive, call me Al. I was just sitting
there the other day listening to la favorit
Frenchman, go on about the miracle of beating
Porto, and reaching the quarter finals of the
CL. A light bulb went on in my head, so I
checked, guess what most of the teams that
are going to be in the quarter finals feature
in the ten richest football clubs in the
world....Go figure

Hindsight...

I would have risked Defoe from the start. I will
admit that I liked the idea of Bale on the left of
midfield, but I think that it meant that Modders
was sort of out of position. I also think in a strange
way Bale looks better coming forward from much
deeper. It's those 60 yard gallops that scare the
bjesus out of the opposition.
All in all a fair result, and another money spinner
for Mr Levy...Bad news is the semi does not go to
a replay

Come the revolution...

I was supposed to be going to The Cottage today, but my
Spurs 'mate' did a Redknapp with the loyalty points! Only
joking Jerry.
We are looking light in midfield, although they have a doubt
about Danny Murphy. I like the idea of Bale on the left of midfield
with Modders and Wilson in the middle. I think that if you look
at the bench it may give a clue as to our strength in depth.
Two attacking teams, it's got 2-2 written all over it...Let's get in
the hat....

You rang?

We know that I'm not a massive fan of 'The Crouch',
but a thought occurred to me watching Engerland
huff and puff v Egypt last night. At no point did I
see or hear Don Capello telling his boys to launch
it route one to the big feller. As those stats prove,
El Crouchio has a great goal getting record for his
country. Maybe it would be worth H having a look
at how he is deployed by Don Capello, or maybe
just keep lumping the ball up to him? We did have
2 points from 8 games....
For the record, if Engerland play anything like they
did in the first half against a decent side at the World
Cup then football will most definitely be coming home.
Early doors!

Central Line

Great result on Sunday. We played some good
football, and really should have had it wrapped
up by half time...As soon as Everton scored, (well
scored is pushing it), then everyone around me
started to get nervous which translated onto the
pitch. Stay positive!
I'm bemused as ever by something H said about
our central midfield. Tom is out, Jenas is due to
have an operation (life threatening we hope!), and
Wilson has picked up 9 bookings. All 3 of these things
were likely to happen at some point in a season,
so I'm keen to know what plan B is? Kabul? Never
fear I'm sure H will have something up his sleeve.

Sick and tired

Not me. Just an outbreak of sickness at the
training ground, seems that Charlie and Wilson
were both reported to be down, which suggests
it was nothing to do with the chicken nuggets and
chips that the English lads probably had.
Everton at home tomorrow, should be quite a
good game, they were very poor when we beat
them in the Carling Cup, though they are on a bit
of a roll. However they lost in Europe on Thursday
so let's hope they have returned to patchy.
It's going to be interesting to see if H keeps faith
with Bale, as Benny is fit, however he may be saved
this dilemma if Charlie is still shipping it at either end!
Spurs win 2-1

Arry, Arry, give us a Pav...

Something happened last night. We were not
great, still too much possession given away
which would have been punished by better
teams, but we played some football.
At last the message seems to have grudgingly
got through. The fans have taken to Pav, simply
because he is one of us. It's not Crouch's fault
that he's several metres tall, and the guy does
try, but when you watch a footballer and have
a desire to shout "Freak!" then something is
clearly not right.
Crouch is an impact player, someone to wheel
on for the last 15 minutes, a novelty act to scare
the peasants!
Now all we need to do is try and convince Bassong
that he can play football, and things will start to
look even better...

Bolton at Home...

Sometimes it's all too easy, and sometimes there is
a reason for it not being easy.
So here we are again thanks to Tommy, Tommy,
Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Huddlecan'takeapenalty!
I think that the replay in the EON sponsored FA
Cup will be a tough one to call. We should have
plenty, but we are Tottenham, super Tottenham.
Put some money on it going all the way to extra
time and penalties.
Me, I'm going to watch it all from the comfort of
The Legends Suite with my good old friend Peter
Baker. I think I'll order a blanket and some cocoa!!

Chosen Few...

"They love him. He has got ability and WHEN
he WANTS to play and WANTS to work he's
great."
I was under some sort of impression
that the role of a manager was to manage
players, not wait for them to decide that they
want to play. Yet again this has shown that
man management is not the strongest of H's
personality traits...
The look on his face when Pav's second goal went
in was as if the taxman and the vatman had
turned up at his front door.
That said it was nice to see him making some
effective substitutions, and the difference that
a quality player like Modric made. He'll be off...
I think that with Defoe and Crouch, although
they can be effective, they can also be quite
predictable...

Il l'a vu alors...He saw it then!

I know that it is very juvenile of me,
but it's so good to watch AW getting
all righteous about something that
Henry did a few years back...Nice to
see Sol involved too.
Things seem quiet down at the Lane
probably all busy practising penalties.
Yeah right.

Paying the penalty...

There is a great book by Andrew Anthony called
'On Penalties'. In it he looks at every aspect of
the art of penalties and highlights 3 national
teams who seem crap at taking them. England,
Italy and Holland. What it all seems to boil down
to is a positive mental attitude, and some proper
practice. I would imagine that Huddlestone.T.
was a name that Fabio might have scrubbed off
of his 'possibles' list. Bolton should have had us
beaten by half time, and we showed some good
spirit to get back in touch, and probably did enough
to win the thing.
In the end Daniel Levy was probably the most
satisfied with the result...If we play like we did in
the second half we'll beat them in the replay, let's
hope it doesn't go to penalties!

Bolton away...

So the magic of the cup, Peter Kay and all
that. Put big money on Jussi Jaaskelainen
'avin a 'triffic game. There is apparently
no truth in the rumour that Ladbrokes in
Sandbanks paid out on Wolves to beat Spurs
twice in a season...Could be the game that
we need to get the season going, or could
be the end of season. It's up to Little and
Large to start finding the back of the net
instead of hitting the ball straight at the
keeper. Let's hope for a massacre!! Valentines,
geddit?

Fit and Proper?

After watching the highlights on MOTD
last night, and drawing inspiration from
our players, I was not going to bother
blogging today! I suspect that Hansen
has been reading my blog..."Spurs will
always let you down..", poor old Gary
has even started to believe him...My
thoughts are that either H was thinking
about going before the Beak, or he agrees
with me and has looked at the FA Cup to
get the freedom of Haringey...Did he really
think that the mob he sent out in the first
half were going to win? Anyhow don't get
me started!!! Nice to see Jenas back though!

3rd?

As we slip down to 6th, H is quoted as saying
that we can reach 3rd, or some such nonsense.
Let's hope that the show gets on the road tonight
as in my opinion we have been going nowhere
standing still in the last month.
There are lots of royal "We" in his statement, where
he talks about 10 possible points that "we" have
dropped.I guess that's his job. COYS...

The hoof, the whole hoof, and nothing but...

As funny as it might have been, I'm with Brad
Friedel on this one. Okay we lumped it up field
slightly less, but we had Crouch they had Carew.
We were at home, they were away.
A couple of things: Firstly, I think that when we
beat Wigan 9-1 we upset the footballing gods,
as ever since there has been a series of other
wordly goalkeeping displays against us.
Secondly: We dream abaat it, we fantasise abaat
it, we can't wait for it...the thought of H making
some sort of substitution that changes a game.
Call me a romantic but the game was crying out
for 15 minutes of Eidur (down!) at the Lane.
Ah, the beauty of hindsight.

Whatever...

My favourite Frenchman has been talking to
Le Media again."If you win the League Cup
you cannot say you win trophies for me..."
He goes on and on (and on) about how reaching
the knockout phase of the CL is the most
important thing. Having been at The Emirates
to see them get stuffed by ManYoo, I'm not
sure that the 'bums on seats' would agree.
Vivant dans deni. At the moment I would trade
4th (or 3rd) place for a lovely sunny win at
Wemberlee in May!!! Crazy I know, but most of
my best Spurs memories are based around
winning cups.
Sorry Arsene I think you are missing the point
in being a supporter. It's about winning things,
great occasions and not profit and loss.

Testing times...

Great result at Leeds, although we seemed
to make hard work of it. The joys of being
a Spurs fan!
Tough test against Villa on Saturday, and a
real strange one to call. I've got a feeling that
we will win, maybe the odd goal in 3.
H is up before the court next week, so will be
packing his overnight bag and polishing his
toothbrush just in case.

Magic of the Cup

Glad to see the weather is a bit warmer as
our brave lads make their way Up T'North
to face the dirty Leeds. Good thing that H
managed to buy all those players who were
cup-tied.
Took part in The Spurs Show last night which
was good fun, you can catch it on:
http://www.facebook.com/l/8f36f;bit.ly/transfers
I think that we should win tonight, but that it
might be a close run thing, which will depend
on how H manages to gee the lads up...Let's
hope it does not go to penalties!!!

Loans and moans

So it seems that the 'Loan Window'
was a bit of a non event, mildly
spiced up by Keano fulfilling yet
another boyhood dream. Most of my
boyhood dreams revolved around Farah
Fawcett and the girl off of the flake ad,
but that's another story.
I was slightly miffed to hear H say that
"Robbie Keane is too good a player not to
be starting.It will be difficult to guarantee
him a starting place..."as we all thought
there was indeed some sort of guarantee
from H to Keano.
H also seems to reckon that we can do without
any cover at right back, so we shall see.
I'm off to record The Spurs Show this
evening, and will hopefully be able to
enlighten the faithful, with my grumpy
insight into all things Rob White...

I guess that's why they call it the Blues...

I was away this weekend so only saw the
highlights. From what I saw, read and heard
it was probably a fair result, although the
manner of another last minute goal was yet
more fuel for my 'fragile Spurs' mentality
argument.
Things were put into perspective yesterday
afternoon when I was offered a ticket to go
and watch Le Scum v Man Utd.It was lovely to
sit surrounded by moaning, unhappy fans
(just like being at WHL!) No keeper, no forwards,
and no bite in midfield, maybe H could flog
them Jenas, Keano, and Cudicini (slightly damaged!).
If we had beaten Stoke, Wolves or Hull and not
let in last minute goals at Everton (or missed
a penalty!), and Brum then we would be in 3rd
place...Then again if my aunt had balls she would
be my uncle!

Let's hear it for the boy...

Like it or not for the time being Bentley is one
of ours. He played okay last night,had nice hair,
hit some free kicks on target and played in some
quality balls.
Bale managed to get that monkey's head off of
his shoulders at last, and all round it was a solid
3 points.
I wish H was a bit more cheerful.I'm doing the Spurs
show podcast next Tuesday, and want to thank you
all for being you...One day I will post about writing
this book!

wound and wound...

the wagged wock the wagged wascal wan. So let's hear
a big Spurs welcome for Woy Hodgson and his wabble...
If someone offered to swap H for Woy would you?
Should be interesting to see if there is any reaction
from recent results. H says quite rightly that 1 defeat
in 10 matches is no cause to panic, and we've never 'ad
it so good.
Those strange 'laws' of football mean two things
will happen tonight, we will get a penalty, and one of
our old boys will get a goal (Murphy's Law?). Spurs to
win by the odd goal!
Oh yes, and it will be v.cold so let's wrap up warm!

They **** you up!

To paraphrase Philip Larkin if your Mum and Dad don't
do the job then your football team most certainly will.
Especially if it happens to be Tottingham Hotspurs.
The sad thing is that even as I enter my 47th year it
seems that nothing really changes. I'm saying it for
the last time...LOSE THE VICTIM MENTALITY.
Something stuck in my brain the other day...I'm sure
there is some relevance 'Fool me once, shame on you;
fool me twice, shame on me.' We've got too many fools
floating around N17. Get it sorted. Leeds away, Bolton
away, a good chance to show a bit of character...

As if I care...

I'm not going to be at the Lane this saturday.
As part of my 46thbirthday celebrations I'm
off to stay in a Youth Hostel in the Isle of Wight.
Doesn't get much better!
Anyhow I expect a nasty atmosphere, lots of
Yorkshire men drinking all afternoon in London
for their cup final. I can almost hear H already
"Make no mistake these are a triffic side, it won't
be long til they're back in the big time, they're a
real big club and a lot of the players out there had
a lot to prove to a lot of people." Not sure about the
result but I think we might hang on for a draw...

Plus Ca Change...

If only everything in life was as reliable as Spurs. Laid low by a bout of 'man flu',
the closest that I got to the action was Sky Sports news with that git Merson. To
anyone who lost money on Spurs last night all I can say is more fool you. Our record
against the top four from last season is now bordering on pathetic.No, it's actually
bought some land and looking for planning permission on Pathetic! I've just read that
we have failed to beat any of the top four sides away for 16 years...Sorry, but there is
something fundamentally wrong. The only good thing about getting beaten is that I
don't actually want to look at the league table

No S**T Sherlock!

I've just read in the Telegraph (don't ask) H said "I'm not being disrespectful
to Robbie but when Crouch came on (against Hull) we suddenly looked more
dangerous." How much money does this guy get paid? More importantly where
is his bank account?
So it's Crouch and Defoe to start at Anfield. Still looking on the bright side,Gomes
has only got to keep a clean sheet for 66 more minutes to beat our record of 602
minutes...Maybe Rafa would take Keano on loan for the evening?

1 step forward, 2 steps back.

There is a theory that it's best to sleep on things, and look at them in
the cold light of day. The fact is that we've now played Stoke, Wolves
and Hull at home, failed to score against all 3, and taken 1 point from
9. These things happen, if they happen once okay, but three times is not
acceptable. 270 minutes of football + injury time!
H has already been on saying that the only thing that we did wrong was
not beating the goalkeeper. It's a fundamental part of the game H. We
really do struggle against teams that come to WHL and play football that
way, however a really good manager can change the style of play and adapt.
It's easy to have a dig at Keano, (all I want is a bench of Robbie Keane's!) but
he's not the guy who picks the team and decides the tactics.
H, we need to be more ruthless and change the Tottenham 'victim' mentality.
Sometimes I wonder whether we are making progress?

Henry James Redknapp...

You'll never take me alive copper...I ain't done nuffing,

it's all been a triffic misunderstanding...Funnily there is

no mention of the charges on the Spurs website. As H

would say "it's one million per cent not a problem." Sort

of shows a basic lack of mathematic ability though...

The Book

At one point last week it looked like the publication date for

The Ghost might have moved to April 2011, which would not

have been the end of the world...Now it looks like we are going to

stick to the original schedule and it will be August 2010! I saw a

dummy copy of the front cover yesterday, which looks really cool.

It's one of my favourite images of my dad at WHL...The project

goes through these little stages where little by little it starts to take

shape, and really come to life.

Normal service...

Is it just me or does January seem to be moving bloody slowly?

I'll bear that in mind in December when I'm stood around saying

"it makes you wonder where the year has gone..." What exactly is

the point of the January transfer window? It's sort of like the January

Sales with most of the stuff being utter shite that you don't really need,

still that's never stopped us before! You know how H loves a bargain.

Bring on the Tigers on Saturday...GGGRRRRR!

Frozen

The transfer window seems to be locked tight at the moment.

Just read an interesting statistic on Bentley, with wages and fee

he will cost us somewhere in the region of £20 million. So far he

has started 21 games and scored the one goal...yes that goal. He

was of course signed before H arrived, but I was also looking at

a comment by a Pompy fan who wondered what the common thread

was between Bournemouth, Southampton, West Ham and Pompey.

They all seem to be suffering from whatever the opposite of the

Midas touch is, maybe just a coincidence? I'm so sick of Jamie and

Louise rubbing our noses in this bloody weather...

Suunland Hotspurs

Bernard Cribbins look-a-like Steve Bruce is said to be considering a

but one get one free deal on Bentley and Hutton. It will be a shame to

see Hutton go as he had promised great things, but then got injured and

apparently re-discovered the ancient Scottish art of the 'liquid lunch and

a quick fight with the nearest relative.' Bentley should have been a contender

instead of which looks more like a bartender...Shame really as I do think

that there is a decent player in there. I guess time will tell.

No, No, No...

Not Kenwynne Jones...that's all.

Dirty Leeds

They should be more of a threat than Peterborough, not that

I will be there as I will be in The Isle of Wight celebrating another

birthday. Not quite the same league as Jamie and Louise. Speaking

of which there is quite a nice little bit on The Guardian transfer

rumours today...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/04/football-transfer-rumours-heskey-chelsea

Made me smile anyway, which seems quite hard at the moment!

Easy,easy,..

easy to keep my 'don't slag off Jenas' New Year resolution, mainly due to him
not even being on the bench. Hopefully he was being shown round some
ground far, far away...
The Posh game was like some strange training exercise. I thought yet again
Huddlestone was poor when he should have been running the show. He should
have put that Hoddle DVD on his Christmas list. Tis a shame that Bale can't really
defend as his service into the box is great. Ditto Hutton except his service is not
all that either! The real Robbie Keane will one day be found bound and gagged in
the boot room at Anfield, as the Fecker that pretends to be him is clearly a janitor
with a Keano mask on...We love you Gomes, and Dawson is looking good, although
I do have a problem with him running in the cocky style of John Terry, thumbs out
and all that...
Lastly it makes you wonder why Pompey are in so much strife, this a club who sold
us Niko for £2.5m, and bought KP'The Ghetto Kid'Boateng for around £4m?
Nuff said really...Come, on, you Spurs are on their way to wherever...

Resolution...

Oh yes, forgot to mention that I'm hoping to break another NY resolution
today...'Do not slag off Jenas'. Why are they always so hard to keep?

Something in the air...

That magic moment which follows on from Xmas and the New Year...the
3rd round proper of the F.A.Cup. Peterborough at home should in theory
be an easy enough fixture, but I've supported Spurs for long enough to
know better. I've just had a glance at The Posh web site and there seems
to be a lot of "Who are you, who are you, who are you?".
What is quite interesting is that with 'H' and Barry Fry in the same stadium
I would not be surprised to see the Fraud Squad and Inland Revenue vans
parked outside the West Stand...
Also keen to see who 'H' manages to avoid picking, which will give us some
clues to those players in the bargain bin at WHL. Enjoy.