It’s excruciatingly tight. Defeat for us, a point for City and a minute one point lead, not to mention a goal difference of just one between us. This weekend didn’t go as smooth sailing as last time and it only served as further proof that this fourth place contest is meandering its way ever so slowly to a titanic clash between Manchester City and ourselves on May 5th. Hold on to your seats now. It’s about to get extremely exciting.
The Man Utd game? Immaterial. Hardly worth discussing. But since we do generally discuss games on this blog, we’re obligated to give it at least a fleeting mention. We held our own for most of it. Our defence was extremely solid, save for a few full back indiscretions (from BOTH sides). The fact that two of their goals were penalties is testament to this. King was simply magnificent. Out of this world. How the man keeps producing such class is a modern mystery. But as a team we offered nothing by way of going forward. Our midfield was good. Modric was very, very good. Almost as if he was putting on a show for Sir Alex. Palacios played nicely once he had settled in and when the boy Lennon returned we looked sharp and dangerous once more.
But Defoe and Pav up top were completely anonymous. The one chance they almost fashioned resulted in a comedy of badly timed touches and inadvertent flicks. Needless to say, the one or two shots we managed on goal were as threatening as a white flag. We didn’t necessarily bow down and let United win. But we lacked the aggressive flair from last week. Bale, shunted back to left back, couldn’t dominate the left flank in the way he would have liked and didn’t attempt as many runs as he normally would. Put simply, we had no cutting edge, even after the introduction of Gudjohnsen, who actually found space for a shooting chance but wanted another touch.
Its harsh to say we played badly but we didn’t really raise our game, something you need to do at Old Trafford. The long wait for a victory there will have to continue but for now, let’s salivate over this upcoming Man City game. Consider the variables: we face Bolton at White Hart Lane next week, a game in which we should really be thinking about romping home in. Without wishing to get carried away, let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that we win. City face Aston Villa, a side with their own, however realistic, designs on fourth place. It’ll be no walk in the park for them and one wouldn’t rule out a Villa win. Should they lose that and we go up to Manchester and win as well then fourth place would be secured for us with a game to spare. Easy peasy.
But we all know it won’t be so smooth sailing. Let us assume City beat Villa or even get a point. With our (fingers crossed) win over Bolton, we’d still be just a small number of points ahead. That would leave the game on May 5th to place on team in the driving seat going into the final game of the season. We’ve got Burnley, they’ve got West Ham. Both teams could and should win those games. So, after all permutations and calculations have been figured out and all the mathematics have been double checked, it’s pretty much going to be the game at the City of Manchester Stadium that goes the furthest way in determining who gets fourth.
Who’s going to win that game then? We’ve got a good record against Man City in recent years, both home and away. Lest anyone forget the 3-0 demolition we handed out to them in December, when we looked far and away the better side. That victory came about via the wizardry of Aaron Lennon and with the impish winger looking just a little bit tasty, if perhaps a bit rusty, when he came on today, the signs are present that he could have another crucial say in things. It’d be nice to have him anyway. The prospect of Lennon on one flank and Bale on the other is one that Roberto Mancini is probably dreading.
Bale’s best position, for now, is certainly on the left of midfield. Pushing him to left back nullifies his attacking threat and whether he has long terms designs on the left back slot or not, for now his services are needed on the wing. It poses the problem of who should play out of Modric, Huddlestone and Palacios but that’s a problem for Harry to sort out. This blog just poses problems, it doesn’t have to actually sort them out. If Corluka is still unavailable, consideration could be given to Palacios in the right back slot, instead of Younes Kaboul. But it would be something like sticking a round peg in a square hole and it remains something of a risk.
So, to Manchester it is then. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we still have to knock over Bolton first. It’s the kind of game we’re nailed on to win and, subsequently, the kind of game we should be wary of. Think Stoke, Wolves, Hull, etc. If Harry is stupid, he’ll allow his players to get complacent about this game. But he’s proved himself in the past to be wiser than that. Spurs need to deal professionally and ruthlessly with the Bolton threat and three points are an absolute necessity. Imagine coming all this way and then throwing it away by losing at home to Bolton. Sickening.
Time to get those good luck charms out again, Tottenham fans. It’s the culmination of a long, hard but mostly brilliant season and it’s time to find out if all the perseverance was for nothing. Three games to go, every one of them a cup final. Time to believe. The players deserve that from us, if nothing else.
Oh, and Assou Ekotto’s tackle for their first penalty? Muppet.
24 April 2010
23 April 2010
D-Day - Part Four
After three massive games were crammed into last week, the wait for this match up has been something close to an anticlimax. But fear not, worried readers: the Spurs are back in business this weekend. And it's the final part of our three game fixture hell that has seen us incredibly steal six points from the first two games. Chances of three more tomorrow? Still rather bleak. Let us not forget this is Man United away. A fixture we just don't win. But, they said that about Arsenal. And look what happened there, Mr Wenger.
Harry's boys have achieved so much in the last week, even defeat tomorrow would still have in it some faint echo of glory - unless we're smashed 4-0. United may be buoyed by their last gasp defeating of Manchester City last weekend but they'll certainly be wary of us. We may not have had much (any) success up there in recent times but that won't matter one bit to Sir Alex. He'll be quietly hoping our purple patch comes to an abrupt end tomorrow.
But, as if the good news wasn't flowing from Tottenham news outlets recently, we've got yet another bit of fortune. Aaron Lennon is, in Harry's words not mine, back in the side. He won't start but Redknapp has claimed we'll be able to call on him from the bench should we need to at some point. This blog has been clamouring for Lennon's return to fitness for months now and it seems our wish is ever-so-close to being granted.
Harry's boys have achieved so much in the last week, even defeat tomorrow would still have in it some faint echo of glory - unless we're smashed 4-0. United may be buoyed by their last gasp defeating of Manchester City last weekend but they'll certainly be wary of us. We may not have had much (any) success up there in recent times but that won't matter one bit to Sir Alex. He'll be quietly hoping our purple patch comes to an abrupt end tomorrow.
But, as if the good news wasn't flowing from Tottenham news outlets recently, we've got yet another bit of fortune. Aaron Lennon is, in Harry's words not mine, back in the side. He won't start but Redknapp has claimed we'll be able to call on him from the bench should we need to at some point. This blog has been clamouring for Lennon's return to fitness for months now and it seems our wish is ever-so-close to being granted.
This much we know for sure: Lennon back, Palacios back, Jenas possibly back (thank God). Ledley potentially in the side. Defoe playing but not entirely match fit at present. Still no Corluka. Bale to make a fool of Gary Neville a couple of times. It's a team that is certainly capable of heading north and pulling off the mother of all upsets. Any team that can take on Arsenal and Chelsea in consecutive games and beat them both is capable of a great deal. United will be aware that we never win at their place and there's a tiny chance they might just underestimate us.
It's another pivotal weekend in the race for fourth place. The title? No-one's interested. Man City head to Arsenal, where one suspects they'd lose. Still, you wouldn't put it past Arsenal to lose the game and shake things up completely. Logically, both Spurs and City will lose, leaving us right where we are right now come the end of the weekend. But we all know it's highly unlikely to be so easy to predict. If last week has taught us anything, it's to expect the unexpected.
Predictions? After forecasting a heavy defeat to Arsenal and then backing a 2-2 draw with Chelsea (with Defoe and Bale to score!), it's clear this blog ranges from the useless to the Nostradamus. This week points to a Man Utd win, unfortunately, even if romance is telling us something else. 3-1 to United. Crouch to score our consolation. As with last week, all we can do is sit back and wait for another miracle to unfold.
COYS.
18 April 2010
Team of the week
Garth Crooks, Tottenham hero of yesteryear and BBC pundit, has selected his team of the week:
4-4-2 -
Gomes
Zubar
Vidic
Dawson
Evra
N'Zogbia
Scholes
Taylor
Bale
Yakubu
Campbell
He's got it just a tad wrong. Here's this blog's own version:
4-4-2 -
Gomes
Kaboul
Dawson
Bassong
Assou Ekotto
Bentley
Huddlestone
Modric
Bale
Defoe
Pavlyuchenko
Subs: Scholes.
Simple.
4-4-2 -
Gomes
Zubar
Vidic
Dawson
Evra
N'Zogbia
Scholes
Taylor
Bale
Yakubu
Campbell
He's got it just a tad wrong. Here's this blog's own version:
4-4-2 -
Gomes
Kaboul
Dawson
Bassong
Assou Ekotto
Bentley
Huddlestone
Modric
Bale
Defoe
Pavlyuchenko
Subs: Scholes.
Simple.
17 April 2010
Fortune favours the bold
They’re making it happen out there. This assorted collection of expensive, highly-paid, highly pampered sportsmen are making in-your-face realities out of the wildest dreams of optimistic Tottenham followers. And isn’t it one of the most enthralling things you’ve ever seen in your life?
We deserve this fourth spot, we really do. Because we’ve been the front runners all season. Because we won our first four games of the season and went top of the league. Because we’ve beaten Liverpool and Man City and outperformed Aston Villa (twice). Because we came away from a predictably rigorous trip to Stoke with a stirring 2-1 win. Because we crunched out 5 wins in a row at a crucial point in the season. And because we’ve been faced with a devilish three fixtures in our run in - Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Fixtures that observers gave us no chance of collecting a single point from. Three games that began in the wake of a painfully traumatic FA Cup semi final exit. And what have we done? We’ve confounded critics, form and logic itself to deliver two excellent and credential defining victories. No team has a divine right to lay claim on that fourth place but, damn it, we’ve worked our socks off for this. If there is a footballing God up there, then please take heed.
Today, we were beyond sublime. Sparkling, exuberant football flowed from Tottenham boots and the final scoreline of 2-1 is an injustice to the level of dominance we enjoyed. From the off, it was the Lilywhites who were in charge. Bale was magnificent. Modric was incredible. Dawson was, yet again, a phenomenal presence at the back. Huddlestone played a brilliant, unnoticed role. As on Wednesday, every player was exceptional, even Kaboul.
Bale. There are no more words to describe him. Whilst his performances in the side since he recall have been nothing short of heroic, a goal or two had eluded him until his Arsenal strike. And in true London bus style, so came another goal this afternoon. And what an absolute corker it proved to be. He tormented Paulo Ferreira for the entire first half, very much in the manner that Aaron Lennon tormented full backs before his injury. Surprising everyone by cutting in on his right foot instead of going on his favoured left, he moved inside the space generously afforded to him by the aging Chelsea full back and fired an unstoppable right footed drive into the tiniest of gaps in the goal. Brilliant.
That made it 2-0. Defoe’s earlier penalty had put us ahead. The decision to award us a penalty may have been a touch harsh but the decision to deny us one seconds earlier was equally callous and the heavens evened things up. Defoe, guilty of some terrible penalty attempts this season and nursing a dreadful recent run from the spot, manfully took on the responsibility of putting the ball away from 12 yards. And there was to be no elaborate run up or cute finish this time. He blasted the ball, not entirely, into the corner but with enough force for it not to matter even if Petr Cech had gone the right way. It was an emphatic and glorious way to open the scoring and it immediately set the cat amongst the pigeons - Chelsea were rattled by our lightning start and we started to believe a second miraculous victory in two games was possible.
Once those goals had gone in, there was hardly a Chelsea response. Lampard forced a brilliant save out of Gomes and Malouda had a goal correctly ruled out for offside but it was all us. Drogba’s injury right at the start of the second half left them almost a man down, having already made their three changes. And John Terry’s sending off did remove them of a player and opened up a huge gap in defence. Terry’s red card was completely deserved. His first tackle on Pavlyuchenko was careless and when he careened into the marauding Bale, he could have no complaints at a second yellow - even if he did have a word with Bale on the way off. Let’s be honest, he was never going to just walk off without a complaint.
We looked in another world more comfortable than we did against Arsenal. We stroked the ball around expertly and created yet more chances. Bale was everywhere and got in behind the Chelsea defence more times that one could remember. He could and perhaps should have scored another. Defoe went through on goal but his fierce shot was saved. Bentley attempted a delightful lob, after a free kick had been charged down, that was just tipped over by Cech. Pavlyuchenko was guilty of some of the games most glaring misses: Bale’s cross found him unmarked but he made pitiful contact with his attempted volley. And, after Lampard’s goal back for the away side and with Chelsea pouring forward, Pav somehow contrived to fail to put the finishing touches on a move that saw him, Bale and Assou Ekotto attacking the lone figure of Branislav Ivanovic. Pav roared his frustrations to the White Hart Lane crowd but his mood was instantly lifted by the ref’s final whistle - a short, sharp sound signalling a second London derby victory in two, a third victory at the Lane against supposed top four opposition all season and another giant leap towards fourth spot.
With Man City losing earlier in the day, we jumped back into the drivers seat. Tough tests still await for both sides. Whilst we travel to City’s neighbours next weekend, they go to ours. For once it may not be the worst thing in the world if the Gooners win next week, especially if we fail to complete the impossible and win at Old Trafford. After that, City still have to face Aston Villa, a team once considered to be in this race also. Assuming we beat Bolton and we had bloody better, it’ll surely come down to a winner takes all, no holds barred clash between City and ourselves in Manchester on May 5th. A game so impossibly crucial that every minute will be dangling on a knife edge. 90 minutes, winner takes fourth. Who wants it?
But that will come in time. For now, bask in yet another glorious result and yet another club DVD (probably). No Spurs fan could have seen this coming. A simply outstanding four days for this club and, with any luck, a four days that could define our season. If anything, they’ve provided us with hope, pride and more memories from what has to have been our finest season in ages, what with the cup run and 9-1 and all that. The only left for Spurs to provide is the finishing touches.
If this carries on, there’ll be no need for a player of the season award. It’ll be the whole damn team.
We deserve this fourth spot, we really do. Because we’ve been the front runners all season. Because we won our first four games of the season and went top of the league. Because we’ve beaten Liverpool and Man City and outperformed Aston Villa (twice). Because we came away from a predictably rigorous trip to Stoke with a stirring 2-1 win. Because we crunched out 5 wins in a row at a crucial point in the season. And because we’ve been faced with a devilish three fixtures in our run in - Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. Fixtures that observers gave us no chance of collecting a single point from. Three games that began in the wake of a painfully traumatic FA Cup semi final exit. And what have we done? We’ve confounded critics, form and logic itself to deliver two excellent and credential defining victories. No team has a divine right to lay claim on that fourth place but, damn it, we’ve worked our socks off for this. If there is a footballing God up there, then please take heed.
Today, we were beyond sublime. Sparkling, exuberant football flowed from Tottenham boots and the final scoreline of 2-1 is an injustice to the level of dominance we enjoyed. From the off, it was the Lilywhites who were in charge. Bale was magnificent. Modric was incredible. Dawson was, yet again, a phenomenal presence at the back. Huddlestone played a brilliant, unnoticed role. As on Wednesday, every player was exceptional, even Kaboul.
Bale. There are no more words to describe him. Whilst his performances in the side since he recall have been nothing short of heroic, a goal or two had eluded him until his Arsenal strike. And in true London bus style, so came another goal this afternoon. And what an absolute corker it proved to be. He tormented Paulo Ferreira for the entire first half, very much in the manner that Aaron Lennon tormented full backs before his injury. Surprising everyone by cutting in on his right foot instead of going on his favoured left, he moved inside the space generously afforded to him by the aging Chelsea full back and fired an unstoppable right footed drive into the tiniest of gaps in the goal. Brilliant.
That made it 2-0. Defoe’s earlier penalty had put us ahead. The decision to award us a penalty may have been a touch harsh but the decision to deny us one seconds earlier was equally callous and the heavens evened things up. Defoe, guilty of some terrible penalty attempts this season and nursing a dreadful recent run from the spot, manfully took on the responsibility of putting the ball away from 12 yards. And there was to be no elaborate run up or cute finish this time. He blasted the ball, not entirely, into the corner but with enough force for it not to matter even if Petr Cech had gone the right way. It was an emphatic and glorious way to open the scoring and it immediately set the cat amongst the pigeons - Chelsea were rattled by our lightning start and we started to believe a second miraculous victory in two games was possible.
Once those goals had gone in, there was hardly a Chelsea response. Lampard forced a brilliant save out of Gomes and Malouda had a goal correctly ruled out for offside but it was all us. Drogba’s injury right at the start of the second half left them almost a man down, having already made their three changes. And John Terry’s sending off did remove them of a player and opened up a huge gap in defence. Terry’s red card was completely deserved. His first tackle on Pavlyuchenko was careless and when he careened into the marauding Bale, he could have no complaints at a second yellow - even if he did have a word with Bale on the way off. Let’s be honest, he was never going to just walk off without a complaint.
We looked in another world more comfortable than we did against Arsenal. We stroked the ball around expertly and created yet more chances. Bale was everywhere and got in behind the Chelsea defence more times that one could remember. He could and perhaps should have scored another. Defoe went through on goal but his fierce shot was saved. Bentley attempted a delightful lob, after a free kick had been charged down, that was just tipped over by Cech. Pavlyuchenko was guilty of some of the games most glaring misses: Bale’s cross found him unmarked but he made pitiful contact with his attempted volley. And, after Lampard’s goal back for the away side and with Chelsea pouring forward, Pav somehow contrived to fail to put the finishing touches on a move that saw him, Bale and Assou Ekotto attacking the lone figure of Branislav Ivanovic. Pav roared his frustrations to the White Hart Lane crowd but his mood was instantly lifted by the ref’s final whistle - a short, sharp sound signalling a second London derby victory in two, a third victory at the Lane against supposed top four opposition all season and another giant leap towards fourth spot.
With Man City losing earlier in the day, we jumped back into the drivers seat. Tough tests still await for both sides. Whilst we travel to City’s neighbours next weekend, they go to ours. For once it may not be the worst thing in the world if the Gooners win next week, especially if we fail to complete the impossible and win at Old Trafford. After that, City still have to face Aston Villa, a team once considered to be in this race also. Assuming we beat Bolton and we had bloody better, it’ll surely come down to a winner takes all, no holds barred clash between City and ourselves in Manchester on May 5th. A game so impossibly crucial that every minute will be dangling on a knife edge. 90 minutes, winner takes fourth. Who wants it?
But that will come in time. For now, bask in yet another glorious result and yet another club DVD (probably). No Spurs fan could have seen this coming. A simply outstanding four days for this club and, with any luck, a four days that could define our season. If anything, they’ve provided us with hope, pride and more memories from what has to have been our finest season in ages, what with the cup run and 9-1 and all that. The only left for Spurs to provide is the finishing touches.
If this carries on, there’ll be no need for a player of the season award. It’ll be the whole damn team.
16 April 2010
D-Day - Part Three
What a difference a day makes.
Or days, rather. Just a matter of sunsets after FA Cup misery, Tottenham roused themselves to deliver a famous victory over rivals Arsenal and haul themselves back into contention for fourth place. The road for ahead for Spurs is just as rocky, however, as league leaders Chelsea come to the Lane, intent on securing a first Premier League title since 2006. It's Totenham's third humdinger of a game in as many matches and has earned itself a place in this blog's Sky Sport-inspired 'D-Day' series of postings. In the months leading up to these games it was expected that a couple of points would be the best we could hope for. The Arsenal victory has turned everything on it's head.
Just a point behind current occupants of that coveted 4th spot Manchester City and with money-laden Mancunians set to face neighbours United, the stage is set for Tottenham to dramatically snatch back the position they have fiercely protected all season. It'll take a performance of equal substance and even more quality than that of the Arsenal game however. Jamie Dunn's Goal.com match preview claims Chelsea are 'playing like a team scorned and with a point to prove.' And, frankly, it's tough to disagree. With five wins in five games (a run not dissimilar with our own pre-Sunderland streak), the Blues will be desperate to take another step towards domestic supremacy against a team they used to enjoy consistent success against.
In recent years, Spurs have had the odd moment to cherish against their West London neighbours. Last season's Luka Modric-inspired 1-0 win was used as evidence to support Harry Redknapp's transformation of the team and, the season before, the sides played out an epic 4-4 thriller weeks after Tottenham's glorious Carling Cup final victory. And, of course, the previous season brought the famous 2-1 Spurs triumph, a win that ended one of the most one sided winning undefeated streaks in Premier League history. Spurs haven't got the Indian sign over Chelsea quite yet but the Lane is a ground that Chelsea haven't won at since 2005 and this game is one that Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti won't be relishing.
Onto the team then and with Tottenham's squad being savaged by injuries in the second half of the season, it's tough to predict a starting lineup one game after another. It's doubtful Redknapp will enforce too many changes to the victorious side from Wednesday night but wonder-goal hero Danny Rose may miss the game after picking up an injury at half time. Ledley King is doubtful to play a game so soon after his superlative display on Wednesday so expect Sebastien Bassong to deputise as he has done most of this season. Gareth Bale will reprise his starring role on the left hand side and will hope to have some joy against superior defences.
Up front and Jermain Defoe will be looking to get back on the goal trail having gone off the boil in recent weeks due to injury. JD hasn't quite hit the heights of his early season form yet and will be desperate to bang in a few goals in the coming weeks to remind Fabio Capello of his England pedigree. Picking his partner is anyone's guess - Roman Pavlyuchenko got the nod against Arsenal and looked lively without scoring whereas Peter Crouch has been in the goals recently when started. This blog would like to see Pav given the nod - one senses that he just carries more goal threat that Crouchie.
Whilst it would be blase to expect a victory from Tottenham, you do sense this may be an excellent opportunity. With City playing earlier in the day, Spurs will be aware of the result before they kick off and a City defeat could provide the perfect lift. Overcoming a strong Chelsea side will require another miraculous performance but, as Wednesday night proved, nothing is impossible. If any team is capable of surprising the odds, it's Tottenham.
Predictions? Heart says fighting draw, head says fighting defeat. So we'll go with 2-2. Defoe and Bale to score. Why not.
COYS.
Or days, rather. Just a matter of sunsets after FA Cup misery, Tottenham roused themselves to deliver a famous victory over rivals Arsenal and haul themselves back into contention for fourth place. The road for ahead for Spurs is just as rocky, however, as league leaders Chelsea come to the Lane, intent on securing a first Premier League title since 2006. It's Totenham's third humdinger of a game in as many matches and has earned itself a place in this blog's Sky Sport-inspired 'D-Day' series of postings. In the months leading up to these games it was expected that a couple of points would be the best we could hope for. The Arsenal victory has turned everything on it's head.
Just a point behind current occupants of that coveted 4th spot Manchester City and with money-laden Mancunians set to face neighbours United, the stage is set for Tottenham to dramatically snatch back the position they have fiercely protected all season. It'll take a performance of equal substance and even more quality than that of the Arsenal game however. Jamie Dunn's Goal.com match preview claims Chelsea are 'playing like a team scorned and with a point to prove.' And, frankly, it's tough to disagree. With five wins in five games (a run not dissimilar with our own pre-Sunderland streak), the Blues will be desperate to take another step towards domestic supremacy against a team they used to enjoy consistent success against.
In recent years, Spurs have had the odd moment to cherish against their West London neighbours. Last season's Luka Modric-inspired 1-0 win was used as evidence to support Harry Redknapp's transformation of the team and, the season before, the sides played out an epic 4-4 thriller weeks after Tottenham's glorious Carling Cup final victory. And, of course, the previous season brought the famous 2-1 Spurs triumph, a win that ended one of the most one sided winning undefeated streaks in Premier League history. Spurs haven't got the Indian sign over Chelsea quite yet but the Lane is a ground that Chelsea haven't won at since 2005 and this game is one that Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti won't be relishing.
Onto the team then and with Tottenham's squad being savaged by injuries in the second half of the season, it's tough to predict a starting lineup one game after another. It's doubtful Redknapp will enforce too many changes to the victorious side from Wednesday night but wonder-goal hero Danny Rose may miss the game after picking up an injury at half time. Ledley King is doubtful to play a game so soon after his superlative display on Wednesday so expect Sebastien Bassong to deputise as he has done most of this season. Gareth Bale will reprise his starring role on the left hand side and will hope to have some joy against superior defences.
Up front and Jermain Defoe will be looking to get back on the goal trail having gone off the boil in recent weeks due to injury. JD hasn't quite hit the heights of his early season form yet and will be desperate to bang in a few goals in the coming weeks to remind Fabio Capello of his England pedigree. Picking his partner is anyone's guess - Roman Pavlyuchenko got the nod against Arsenal and looked lively without scoring whereas Peter Crouch has been in the goals recently when started. This blog would like to see Pav given the nod - one senses that he just carries more goal threat that Crouchie.
Whilst it would be blase to expect a victory from Tottenham, you do sense this may be an excellent opportunity. With City playing earlier in the day, Spurs will be aware of the result before they kick off and a City defeat could provide the perfect lift. Overcoming a strong Chelsea side will require another miraculous performance but, as Wednesday night proved, nothing is impossible. If any team is capable of surprising the odds, it's Tottenham.
Predictions? Heart says fighting draw, head says fighting defeat. So we'll go with 2-2. Defoe and Bale to score. Why not.
COYS.
15 April 2010
And the Spurs go marching on
When the dust settles on this season in about a months time and the experts and scribes have had their say, the magnificence of last night will still be fresh in the mind of Tottenham fans all over the world, burning like an omnipresent memory. Whether we’re able to finish in fourth this season or whether we’re ever able to come good on the constant promise and potential, last nights spell binding win over Arsenal has already ensured that this season will be remembered fondly.
It makes one wonder. The pain after Sunday’s FA Cup semi final defeat was such that it was difficult to see an instant Spurs fight back. The players looked weary, the fans looked defeated and the general air of the club was one of begrudging resignation. We’ve tried our best this year but it’s just not going to be enough. Last night, the collective soul of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club was stirred brilliantly into action and the team delivered a performance so full of bravery and spirit that in amongst the euphoric celebrations, one had to wonder why it couldn’t be done on a more regular basis. But it’s impossible to complain on a day like today.
We beat Arsenal 2-1. And removed an eleven year monkey that had been perched annoyingly on our back the whole time.
Arsenal fans will possibly point to their lack of a fit Cesc Fabregas or other players in their search for an excuse. Tottenham fans would have doubtless done the same in the situation. But, even so, though both teams were lacking their finer players for the occasion (Fabregas, Lennon, etc) the majesty of the occasion was no less grand. From the off, both teams looked hungry. Players were snapping and biting in the tackle and showing blatant and obvious commitment to the cause. It was as if both side’s respective seasons were resting on every kick and it made for a fine game.
Tottenham looked as if they had collectively decided to go out all guns blazing. Ledley King and Michael Dawson were simply outstanding at the heart of defence, reprising their famous partnership and proving impenetrable to Arsenal’s fancy passing on the edge of the box. Tom Huddlestone, in the absence of midfield partner Wilson Palacios, threw himself into the game, tackling with incredible intent and showing excellent and intelligent positional sense - when Walcott was starting to pose problems for Assou Ekotto, Hudds made a point of moving out to the left to throw his weight around and impose himself on the Arsenal winger.
In midfield, Modric produced a performance far superior to what he offered at Wembley. He was able to move the ball in tight spaces far more effectively that most players on the pitch and could have scored twice had he been a little quicker. Gareth Bale offered yet another superlative display, tormenting Sagna on the left and providing much of the attacking impetus we needed to show. No-one deserved a goal more than he did. Up front, Defoe and Pavlyuchenko were hard working and dangerous even if they didn’t get the goal they both would have liked. Every Spurs player performed. Even Kaboul. Especially Gomes. Brilliant, amazing, exceptional Gomes whose world class triple saves late on won us the game, no doubt. The reflexes he showed in keeping out a rampant Robin Van Persie were truly staggering. It was a goalkeeping performance so brilliant it almost brought a tear to the eye, made even better by the fact that he’d had little to do for most of the game.
There’s much to be thankful for: Redknapp’s apparent genius move to stick Danny Rose out on the right of midfield, even if his mesmeric goal came from his left foot. Rose, a youngster raw with pace and energy, didn’t actually do much on the night but rarely has it mattered so little. Almunia’s punch was solid but being one handed it never looked that convincing. Rose demonstrated staggering technique to half cushion/half bludgeon the ball beautifully into the back of the net from a full 30 yards out and take the glorious acclaim from the disbelieving home fans. If the goal had a touch of fluke about it, so be it. It was one of the most glorious strikes you’ll ever see, made even sweeter by the fact that Rose was a Premier League debutant, playing his first game against our most bitterest of rivals.
Rose’s strike set the tone of the game and in the first half we applied ourselves manfully. Arsenal’s possession was superior but they hardly looked like scoring and Wenger’s vitriol at half time would have been fierce. What Tottenham needed was more of the ball or maybe even an early strike in the second half. A strike that was provided instantly. Defoe showcased his playmaking skills in midfield and played a delightful ball through the entire Arsenal defence. Unfortunately, it was Sol Campbell’s fault (he played exceptionally, if we‘re forced to admit it) but Bale was at hand to sweep the ball home and give us a more secure 2-0 lead. Bale, who is a shoe-in for our young player of the season, has deserved a goal for months now and rightfully lapped up the celebrations from the home crowd. It was a moment Spurs fans had rarely enjoyed and was only soured by the realisation that we’d be defending for an entire 45 minutes.
And defend we did. The introduction of Walcott and Van Persie forced us back and it was a painful, nerve-wracking experience. We looked dangerous on the break but find me a Spurs fan who enjoyed that last 20 minutes and I’ll eat my hat. RVP tried, Gomes denied. Arsenal pressed, King and Dawson held firm. King was simply incredible in his first game for ages, defying injury and ill fitness to show why he’s the best centre half that should have been. With the magnificent Dawson to partner him, Spurs had a brilliant backline, supplemented by the world class Gomes. If Dawson doesn’t go to the World cup, it’ll be a travesty.
Bendtner’s goal made things uncomfortable and for a while we looked as if we’d implode. But the Spurs heartbeat was strong on this occasion, stronger than it has been for a long while. We held on, almost impossibly at times. After an unexplainable four minutes of injury time, it was confirmed. It was over. Cue delirium.
Arsenal’s title chase? Over. Our top four chase? Tentatively back on. 11 years of hurt? Over.
Redknapp deserves much of the credit, if only for getting the players geared up for the game. The pain of the Pompey defeat has been instantly erased and Daniel Levy has another club DVD to market. The result may not be that significant in terms of the power struggle in North London but it will give Tottenham the belief that they can beat Arsenal. For years the problem has been the lack of conviction. It was as if we didn’t think we could beat them. But this group of players now has that knowledge. And in a similar manner to our gradual progression against Chelsea, so a couple of wins against Arsenal may follow in the coming years.
It was a night that perfectly encapsulated this famous old club. The atmosphere at White Hart Lane was white hot, the commitment of the players was second to none and the result was perfect. It also gave new life to our push for fourth place. Just a point behind Man City and with a trip to Eastlands coming up in May, we’re right back in it. Games with Chelsea and Man Utd may still have a say but we’re certainly not out of the race yet.
The morning headlines have been superb: ‘Guns ‘n’ Roses’ (Daily Mirror), ‘Tottenham torch Arsenal’s title dream’ (The Guardian). Whilst it may be easy to get carried away in this instance, it’s important for us not to and to not indulge in any debates about the torch being passed to us. It’ll take a bit more consistent success for us to be considered challengers to them. But make no mistake, they are worried. The overreaction from a number of their fans after the 3-0 defeat in October showed just how seriously they were taking us and the predictable bleating after last night is further testament to this. It may still take a while but they are not taking us lightly anymore.
All of a sudden, it’s a wonderful day to be a Tottenham fan. The hurt, the pain, the disappointment - all the emotions one normally associates with supporting Spurs - are all worth it on an occasion like this. It’s time to embrace new heroes and to believe that moments like this are possible. As for our season, we may still be one a hiding to nothing. But at least it’ll be fun.
COYS.
It makes one wonder. The pain after Sunday’s FA Cup semi final defeat was such that it was difficult to see an instant Spurs fight back. The players looked weary, the fans looked defeated and the general air of the club was one of begrudging resignation. We’ve tried our best this year but it’s just not going to be enough. Last night, the collective soul of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club was stirred brilliantly into action and the team delivered a performance so full of bravery and spirit that in amongst the euphoric celebrations, one had to wonder why it couldn’t be done on a more regular basis. But it’s impossible to complain on a day like today.
We beat Arsenal 2-1. And removed an eleven year monkey that had been perched annoyingly on our back the whole time.
Arsenal fans will possibly point to their lack of a fit Cesc Fabregas or other players in their search for an excuse. Tottenham fans would have doubtless done the same in the situation. But, even so, though both teams were lacking their finer players for the occasion (Fabregas, Lennon, etc) the majesty of the occasion was no less grand. From the off, both teams looked hungry. Players were snapping and biting in the tackle and showing blatant and obvious commitment to the cause. It was as if both side’s respective seasons were resting on every kick and it made for a fine game.
Tottenham looked as if they had collectively decided to go out all guns blazing. Ledley King and Michael Dawson were simply outstanding at the heart of defence, reprising their famous partnership and proving impenetrable to Arsenal’s fancy passing on the edge of the box. Tom Huddlestone, in the absence of midfield partner Wilson Palacios, threw himself into the game, tackling with incredible intent and showing excellent and intelligent positional sense - when Walcott was starting to pose problems for Assou Ekotto, Hudds made a point of moving out to the left to throw his weight around and impose himself on the Arsenal winger.
In midfield, Modric produced a performance far superior to what he offered at Wembley. He was able to move the ball in tight spaces far more effectively that most players on the pitch and could have scored twice had he been a little quicker. Gareth Bale offered yet another superlative display, tormenting Sagna on the left and providing much of the attacking impetus we needed to show. No-one deserved a goal more than he did. Up front, Defoe and Pavlyuchenko were hard working and dangerous even if they didn’t get the goal they both would have liked. Every Spurs player performed. Even Kaboul. Especially Gomes. Brilliant, amazing, exceptional Gomes whose world class triple saves late on won us the game, no doubt. The reflexes he showed in keeping out a rampant Robin Van Persie were truly staggering. It was a goalkeeping performance so brilliant it almost brought a tear to the eye, made even better by the fact that he’d had little to do for most of the game.
There’s much to be thankful for: Redknapp’s apparent genius move to stick Danny Rose out on the right of midfield, even if his mesmeric goal came from his left foot. Rose, a youngster raw with pace and energy, didn’t actually do much on the night but rarely has it mattered so little. Almunia’s punch was solid but being one handed it never looked that convincing. Rose demonstrated staggering technique to half cushion/half bludgeon the ball beautifully into the back of the net from a full 30 yards out and take the glorious acclaim from the disbelieving home fans. If the goal had a touch of fluke about it, so be it. It was one of the most glorious strikes you’ll ever see, made even sweeter by the fact that Rose was a Premier League debutant, playing his first game against our most bitterest of rivals.
Rose’s strike set the tone of the game and in the first half we applied ourselves manfully. Arsenal’s possession was superior but they hardly looked like scoring and Wenger’s vitriol at half time would have been fierce. What Tottenham needed was more of the ball or maybe even an early strike in the second half. A strike that was provided instantly. Defoe showcased his playmaking skills in midfield and played a delightful ball through the entire Arsenal defence. Unfortunately, it was Sol Campbell’s fault (he played exceptionally, if we‘re forced to admit it) but Bale was at hand to sweep the ball home and give us a more secure 2-0 lead. Bale, who is a shoe-in for our young player of the season, has deserved a goal for months now and rightfully lapped up the celebrations from the home crowd. It was a moment Spurs fans had rarely enjoyed and was only soured by the realisation that we’d be defending for an entire 45 minutes.
And defend we did. The introduction of Walcott and Van Persie forced us back and it was a painful, nerve-wracking experience. We looked dangerous on the break but find me a Spurs fan who enjoyed that last 20 minutes and I’ll eat my hat. RVP tried, Gomes denied. Arsenal pressed, King and Dawson held firm. King was simply incredible in his first game for ages, defying injury and ill fitness to show why he’s the best centre half that should have been. With the magnificent Dawson to partner him, Spurs had a brilliant backline, supplemented by the world class Gomes. If Dawson doesn’t go to the World cup, it’ll be a travesty.
Bendtner’s goal made things uncomfortable and for a while we looked as if we’d implode. But the Spurs heartbeat was strong on this occasion, stronger than it has been for a long while. We held on, almost impossibly at times. After an unexplainable four minutes of injury time, it was confirmed. It was over. Cue delirium.
Arsenal’s title chase? Over. Our top four chase? Tentatively back on. 11 years of hurt? Over.
Redknapp deserves much of the credit, if only for getting the players geared up for the game. The pain of the Pompey defeat has been instantly erased and Daniel Levy has another club DVD to market. The result may not be that significant in terms of the power struggle in North London but it will give Tottenham the belief that they can beat Arsenal. For years the problem has been the lack of conviction. It was as if we didn’t think we could beat them. But this group of players now has that knowledge. And in a similar manner to our gradual progression against Chelsea, so a couple of wins against Arsenal may follow in the coming years.
It was a night that perfectly encapsulated this famous old club. The atmosphere at White Hart Lane was white hot, the commitment of the players was second to none and the result was perfect. It also gave new life to our push for fourth place. Just a point behind Man City and with a trip to Eastlands coming up in May, we’re right back in it. Games with Chelsea and Man Utd may still have a say but we’re certainly not out of the race yet.
The morning headlines have been superb: ‘Guns ‘n’ Roses’ (Daily Mirror), ‘Tottenham torch Arsenal’s title dream’ (The Guardian). Whilst it may be easy to get carried away in this instance, it’s important for us not to and to not indulge in any debates about the torch being passed to us. It’ll take a bit more consistent success for us to be considered challengers to them. But make no mistake, they are worried. The overreaction from a number of their fans after the 3-0 defeat in October showed just how seriously they were taking us and the predictable bleating after last night is further testament to this. It may still take a while but they are not taking us lightly anymore.
All of a sudden, it’s a wonderful day to be a Tottenham fan. The hurt, the pain, the disappointment - all the emotions one normally associates with supporting Spurs - are all worth it on an occasion like this. It’s time to embrace new heroes and to believe that moments like this are possible. As for our season, we may still be one a hiding to nothing. But at least it’ll be fun.
COYS.
Kiss from a Rose
Never in the history of mankind has one blog been so happy to have been proved wrong.
http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2010/04/danny-roses-wonder-goal.html
Incredible feeling.
http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2010/04/danny-roses-wonder-goal.html
Incredible feeling.
14 April 2010
D-Day - Part Two
The Gooners are coming to town tonight and this blog isn't keen. Sunday's slapstick comedy has left a dark, overriding feeling of crushing negativity and it's tough to see anything other than another morale-sapping defeat. And when it's at the hands of the old enemy, it's not going to be easy to stomach.
Let's examine the facts. No Palacios. No Lennon. A team of flagging spirits and weary minds with the prospect of the top four looking miles away. Against a team bolstered by the return of Robin Van Persie (he will DEFINITELY score tonight). Arguably still chasing the title. A team that's not lost to us in donkeys years and probably doesn't fear us at all.
Had victory been secured on Sunday in the cup, there'd be more room for optimism. But the players will no doubt be nursing a prolonged sense of disappointment or perhaps injustice and, with this game being only a matter of days since that Wembley failure, not enough time has passed to mentally recover. Without wanting to sound completely Doomsday-ish, it's set up to be a painful 90 minutes viewing.
You never know, however, with Spurs. There's a chance, albeit a miniscule one, that the Arse may get complacent and we might just get ourselves up for it. If so, you'd have to think that our key men will need to be firing on what ever cylinders they have operational. Defoe will need his shooting boots on. Modric will need to have an actual go instead of playing too deep. Crouch will need to... well, keep winning high balls. It's a long shot but, in spite of our recent slump, we're still a competant team and to have any chance at all, we simply have to believe it.
It's another game that'll have crucial ramifications on our season, even if Man City's late charge is threatening to blow us out of the water completely. Defeat and we'll be further away from the promised land and with Chelsea and Man Utd up next, there's even less reason to be hopeful. A point would be welcome, of course, and don't rule out the home fans whipping up an atmosphere fervent enough to inspire us to some kind of positive result. But we've been flagging ever since Sunderland and a rampant Arsenal is simply the worst kind of game we could hope for.
Hope, as ever, springs eternal. Let's at least give Judas Campbell a nice welcome.
COYS.
Let's examine the facts. No Palacios. No Lennon. A team of flagging spirits and weary minds with the prospect of the top four looking miles away. Against a team bolstered by the return of Robin Van Persie (he will DEFINITELY score tonight). Arguably still chasing the title. A team that's not lost to us in donkeys years and probably doesn't fear us at all.
Had victory been secured on Sunday in the cup, there'd be more room for optimism. But the players will no doubt be nursing a prolonged sense of disappointment or perhaps injustice and, with this game being only a matter of days since that Wembley failure, not enough time has passed to mentally recover. Without wanting to sound completely Doomsday-ish, it's set up to be a painful 90 minutes viewing.
You never know, however, with Spurs. There's a chance, albeit a miniscule one, that the Arse may get complacent and we might just get ourselves up for it. If so, you'd have to think that our key men will need to be firing on what ever cylinders they have operational. Defoe will need his shooting boots on. Modric will need to have an actual go instead of playing too deep. Crouch will need to... well, keep winning high balls. It's a long shot but, in spite of our recent slump, we're still a competant team and to have any chance at all, we simply have to believe it.
It's another game that'll have crucial ramifications on our season, even if Man City's late charge is threatening to blow us out of the water completely. Defeat and we'll be further away from the promised land and with Chelsea and Man Utd up next, there's even less reason to be hopeful. A point would be welcome, of course, and don't rule out the home fans whipping up an atmosphere fervent enough to inspire us to some kind of positive result. But we've been flagging ever since Sunderland and a rampant Arsenal is simply the worst kind of game we could hope for.
Hope, as ever, springs eternal. Let's at least give Judas Campbell a nice welcome.
COYS.
12 April 2010
All good things must come to an end
Choke.
With a heavy heart, we are forced to sit down on this warm Spring evening and contemplate this latest Tottenham failing, a disappointment so fierce that it’s difficult to foresee a happy ending. Rest assured, this one hurts. It’s up there with last year’s Carling Cup final defeat, the 3-0 thrashing at the Emirates earlier this season and maybe even 2006 and Lasagne-gate. For a host of reasons, this is a defeat that’s not that easy to comprehend and one that’ll stay in the minds of fans for a painfully long while.
Post mortem time. Our FA Cup hopes are dead and buried - hopes that, up until a mere 7 or 8 hours ago, had fuelled our excellent late season form and enlivened even the most pessimistic of Tottenham fans. This blog sounded notes of cautious optimism during the wins over Leeds, Bolton and Fulham but this was the game that really got us hopeful. Or at least it was supposed to. The most galling aspect of our defeat this afternoon was that this was the greatest opportunity we’d had at reaching the cup final in a long time. This was no Arsenal in 2001 or Newcastle in 1999 (when Newcastle were a team to be feared). This was bottom of the league Portsmouth. We had avoided Chelsea and Aston Villa, two teams that we’d doubtless be made underdogs against, and we’d secured the luck of the draw. Yet, on the grand Wembley stage, we fluffed our lines and Pompey will instead make their final bow at the big show in May.
There’s a number of avenues one can take in reflection of our loss. We can blame the ref, or the pitch or a combination of both. Or we can suggest that we should made more of the superior possession we enjoyed. Or we can simply accept that Lady Luck was simply wearing a Portsmouth shirt and had carelessly left her Tottenham jersey at home.
Let’s face it, things did not go our way. Not one jot. Our efforts on goal were hardly clear cut but they were efforts nonetheless. Yet, time and again, the ball would be kept out by a combination of Portsmouth player and/or goal post. Pompey had their chances too but they were few and far between. We dominated the majority of the contest and were the better team. But being the better team gets you nothing unless you have the guile to create chances. And we simply couldn’t break them down. Put simply, our boys weren’t all at their lethal best.
Gareth Bale, as if further hyperbole were needed for the kid, was simply magnificent as he bombed down the left, showcasing his exceptional touch and turn of pace. He got to the byline more times than the phrase ‘FA Cup romance’ was used by apparent Pompey-philes Peter Drury and Jim Beglin on ITV. He was the one player who continuously gave his everything for the cause. The rest looked good in patches but failed to convince. Modric gave a strange performance - one minute he was brilliantly dashing past two players but the next he was giving the ball away or being too defensive in possession. Bentley whipped in a partially dangerous cross or two but was largely anonymous. Huddlestone looked unfit and clumsy. Defoe was up for it but starved of possession. Crouch was winning balls in the air but just wasn’t linking with Defoe.
Extra time was unwelcome for those of a Tottenham persuasion but a great result for Portsmouth. And soon into the dreaded extra half hour, the pitch, which had been misbehaving all game, finally picked a side to root for and intervened. Players had been sliding and slipping all over the surface for most of the game and when a Pompey high ball came in and dropped in front of goal, Michael Dawson, who had led the team superbly, fell victim to the appalling state of the turf. He slipped at the crucial moment and the gates were open for Frederic Piquionne to slide home the easiest chance of his career. To say the goal was lucky is an understatement so casual it’s almost offensive. And in the blink of an eye, all the possession and the slowly building pressure we may have had was vanquished. The players were shell-shocked. The fans were just as disbelieving. And poor Michael Dawson will never want to play at Wembley ever again.
The best way to respond would have been through a goal and we duly got one. Or so we thought. This was a disallowed goal that will infuriate almost as much as Pedro Mendes’ strike at Old Trafford in 2005. Bale’s cross was fumbled by David James and Crouch slammed home the rebound. But Alan Wiley had instantly blown his whistle for a foul by Kranjcar on the keeper. A foul that replay after replay showed was nonexistent. It was almost as if Wiley was desperate for minimal contact with the goalkeeper so he could give the foul. The smug, knowing smile of the guilty James was caught by the cameras and suggested he knew he was in the wrong. Why people want him as England’s number one is an absolute mystery. The goal should have stood. And if the players weren’t deflated before, they certainly were now.
With minutes to go, we piled forward to no avail, they broke down the pitch and Palacios put in a tackle where he won the ball. Yet, Wiley gave a penalty. Of course he did. It was always going to be a penalty. It doesn’t matter if, under the rules of the game, winning the ball absolves you of foul play in the tackle. Wiley was nailed on, desperate for any kind of excuse to hand Pompey a spot kick and complete their ’fairytale’ journey to the final. KP Boateng (how the painfully disappointing have, well, risen?) slotted home the penalty and ITV’s commentary team passed out with elation.
No luck. No luck whatsoever. Palacios was booked for his ’foul’ and will now miss the Arsenal and Chelsea games this week. Cheers, Mr Wiley. You’ve not only helped end our cup campaign but you’ve done your best at mugging us for 4th as well (I‘ll regret saying that in the morning - we‘ve mugged ourselves out of 4th. But I‘m venting for now so let‘s move on). To win a cup - hell, even to get to the final of a cup - you need luck on your side and we have not had it. From the 96th minute penalty against Leeds to Huddlestone’s missed spot kick at Bolton to the whole 120 minutes at Wembley, we’ve had precious little fortune. That’s just the way it can be sometimes. There’s no point making a big fuss over it, better to just accept it. But it still hurts.
So it won’t be the London derby final that looked so attractive this morning. Instead, Chelsea will romp their way to a regulation victory to add to their possible Premier League title win. How nice for them. Portsmouth will get another day out at Wembley. Good for them, too. Congratulations must be offered to them - in the midst of a club crisis they’ve got something to unite the fans. But it’s hard to be too happy for them when they spent the majority of the first half kicking, shoving and elbowing our players and then moaning to the ref that they’d done nowt. Michael Brown, a former Spurs man, had turned into a nasty little thug, even holding on to Modric so he couldn’t get up off the ground at one point near the end. You were 2-0 up, Michael?
And a quick word on Jamie O’Hara, a pundit in the ITV studios. O’Hara, via his Twitter feed, had made public his desire for Pompey to win so he could play at Wembley in the final. Fair enough. He still claimed he was a big Spurs fan but he simply wanted the team he played for to make the final. Yet, his demeanour on television and the way he went on about being desperate for Pompey to win was irritating. O’Hara’s popularity at Spurs is down to him being a Tottenham fan but no true Yid makes that public his desires for them to lose. He could have behaved so much more diplomatically. But instead of using the opportunity as a chance to appease both sets of fans, he went for the selfish option - to back himself. Don’t be surprised if he’s not afforded the best reception back at the Lane.
This blog worried yesterday that, in the wake of the Sunderland defeat, our players had choked at the crucial part of the season. And, painfully, it’s starting to look that way. It could be a bleak few weeks too. Man City’s thumping 5-1 win over Birmingham today took them four points clear of us in 4th. We have a game in hand… but it’s against Arsenal this Wednesday (a team we always win against, no?). And with Chelsea and Manchester United coming after that, don’t expect a plethora of points. What a depressing day and a potentially depressing way to end the season.
It’ll take a while to recover from this one and even longer once the inevitable derby disappointment occurs come Wednesday and Saturday. Apologies for the negativity but if you want happy words, head to the Pompey blogs. Harry needs to employ his much hyped man management skills in order to get the players out of this mental slump or it could be a highly unsatisfactory end to the season. Now is the time Dawson and hopefully Ledley King can really earn their corn. As senior figures, they can have a big role to play in lifting the players and leading by example on this pitch (if Ledley ever plays football again).
So there it is. Out of the cup in a rather embarrassing manner. Possibly crashing out of the top four in a more acceptable but no less disappointing manner. How very Tottenham. Did we deserve anything out of today’s game? Perhaps. But there’s little point in having the ball at your feet if your not going to stick it in the net. Portsmouth came to Wembley to defend and counter attack and they pulled it off. We were the victims.
The ref may have played his part in robbing us. The pitch may have cost us at the most crucial time. But in years to come these facts will be overlooked and the inability of the team that’s inhabited 4th place all season to score a single goal past the team that’s been 20th over the same period will be all that’s left. And won’t that be a depressing day.
Newcastle ‘99. Arsenal ‘01. Portsmouth ‘10.
Bring on 2011, where the year actually ends in one.
With a heavy heart, we are forced to sit down on this warm Spring evening and contemplate this latest Tottenham failing, a disappointment so fierce that it’s difficult to foresee a happy ending. Rest assured, this one hurts. It’s up there with last year’s Carling Cup final defeat, the 3-0 thrashing at the Emirates earlier this season and maybe even 2006 and Lasagne-gate. For a host of reasons, this is a defeat that’s not that easy to comprehend and one that’ll stay in the minds of fans for a painfully long while.
Post mortem time. Our FA Cup hopes are dead and buried - hopes that, up until a mere 7 or 8 hours ago, had fuelled our excellent late season form and enlivened even the most pessimistic of Tottenham fans. This blog sounded notes of cautious optimism during the wins over Leeds, Bolton and Fulham but this was the game that really got us hopeful. Or at least it was supposed to. The most galling aspect of our defeat this afternoon was that this was the greatest opportunity we’d had at reaching the cup final in a long time. This was no Arsenal in 2001 or Newcastle in 1999 (when Newcastle were a team to be feared). This was bottom of the league Portsmouth. We had avoided Chelsea and Aston Villa, two teams that we’d doubtless be made underdogs against, and we’d secured the luck of the draw. Yet, on the grand Wembley stage, we fluffed our lines and Pompey will instead make their final bow at the big show in May.
There’s a number of avenues one can take in reflection of our loss. We can blame the ref, or the pitch or a combination of both. Or we can suggest that we should made more of the superior possession we enjoyed. Or we can simply accept that Lady Luck was simply wearing a Portsmouth shirt and had carelessly left her Tottenham jersey at home.
Let’s face it, things did not go our way. Not one jot. Our efforts on goal were hardly clear cut but they were efforts nonetheless. Yet, time and again, the ball would be kept out by a combination of Portsmouth player and/or goal post. Pompey had their chances too but they were few and far between. We dominated the majority of the contest and were the better team. But being the better team gets you nothing unless you have the guile to create chances. And we simply couldn’t break them down. Put simply, our boys weren’t all at their lethal best.
Gareth Bale, as if further hyperbole were needed for the kid, was simply magnificent as he bombed down the left, showcasing his exceptional touch and turn of pace. He got to the byline more times than the phrase ‘FA Cup romance’ was used by apparent Pompey-philes Peter Drury and Jim Beglin on ITV. He was the one player who continuously gave his everything for the cause. The rest looked good in patches but failed to convince. Modric gave a strange performance - one minute he was brilliantly dashing past two players but the next he was giving the ball away or being too defensive in possession. Bentley whipped in a partially dangerous cross or two but was largely anonymous. Huddlestone looked unfit and clumsy. Defoe was up for it but starved of possession. Crouch was winning balls in the air but just wasn’t linking with Defoe.
Extra time was unwelcome for those of a Tottenham persuasion but a great result for Portsmouth. And soon into the dreaded extra half hour, the pitch, which had been misbehaving all game, finally picked a side to root for and intervened. Players had been sliding and slipping all over the surface for most of the game and when a Pompey high ball came in and dropped in front of goal, Michael Dawson, who had led the team superbly, fell victim to the appalling state of the turf. He slipped at the crucial moment and the gates were open for Frederic Piquionne to slide home the easiest chance of his career. To say the goal was lucky is an understatement so casual it’s almost offensive. And in the blink of an eye, all the possession and the slowly building pressure we may have had was vanquished. The players were shell-shocked. The fans were just as disbelieving. And poor Michael Dawson will never want to play at Wembley ever again.
The best way to respond would have been through a goal and we duly got one. Or so we thought. This was a disallowed goal that will infuriate almost as much as Pedro Mendes’ strike at Old Trafford in 2005. Bale’s cross was fumbled by David James and Crouch slammed home the rebound. But Alan Wiley had instantly blown his whistle for a foul by Kranjcar on the keeper. A foul that replay after replay showed was nonexistent. It was almost as if Wiley was desperate for minimal contact with the goalkeeper so he could give the foul. The smug, knowing smile of the guilty James was caught by the cameras and suggested he knew he was in the wrong. Why people want him as England’s number one is an absolute mystery. The goal should have stood. And if the players weren’t deflated before, they certainly were now.
With minutes to go, we piled forward to no avail, they broke down the pitch and Palacios put in a tackle where he won the ball. Yet, Wiley gave a penalty. Of course he did. It was always going to be a penalty. It doesn’t matter if, under the rules of the game, winning the ball absolves you of foul play in the tackle. Wiley was nailed on, desperate for any kind of excuse to hand Pompey a spot kick and complete their ’fairytale’ journey to the final. KP Boateng (how the painfully disappointing have, well, risen?) slotted home the penalty and ITV’s commentary team passed out with elation.
No luck. No luck whatsoever. Palacios was booked for his ’foul’ and will now miss the Arsenal and Chelsea games this week. Cheers, Mr Wiley. You’ve not only helped end our cup campaign but you’ve done your best at mugging us for 4th as well (I‘ll regret saying that in the morning - we‘ve mugged ourselves out of 4th. But I‘m venting for now so let‘s move on). To win a cup - hell, even to get to the final of a cup - you need luck on your side and we have not had it. From the 96th minute penalty against Leeds to Huddlestone’s missed spot kick at Bolton to the whole 120 minutes at Wembley, we’ve had precious little fortune. That’s just the way it can be sometimes. There’s no point making a big fuss over it, better to just accept it. But it still hurts.
So it won’t be the London derby final that looked so attractive this morning. Instead, Chelsea will romp their way to a regulation victory to add to their possible Premier League title win. How nice for them. Portsmouth will get another day out at Wembley. Good for them, too. Congratulations must be offered to them - in the midst of a club crisis they’ve got something to unite the fans. But it’s hard to be too happy for them when they spent the majority of the first half kicking, shoving and elbowing our players and then moaning to the ref that they’d done nowt. Michael Brown, a former Spurs man, had turned into a nasty little thug, even holding on to Modric so he couldn’t get up off the ground at one point near the end. You were 2-0 up, Michael?
And a quick word on Jamie O’Hara, a pundit in the ITV studios. O’Hara, via his Twitter feed, had made public his desire for Pompey to win so he could play at Wembley in the final. Fair enough. He still claimed he was a big Spurs fan but he simply wanted the team he played for to make the final. Yet, his demeanour on television and the way he went on about being desperate for Pompey to win was irritating. O’Hara’s popularity at Spurs is down to him being a Tottenham fan but no true Yid makes that public his desires for them to lose. He could have behaved so much more diplomatically. But instead of using the opportunity as a chance to appease both sets of fans, he went for the selfish option - to back himself. Don’t be surprised if he’s not afforded the best reception back at the Lane.
This blog worried yesterday that, in the wake of the Sunderland defeat, our players had choked at the crucial part of the season. And, painfully, it’s starting to look that way. It could be a bleak few weeks too. Man City’s thumping 5-1 win over Birmingham today took them four points clear of us in 4th. We have a game in hand… but it’s against Arsenal this Wednesday (a team we always win against, no?). And with Chelsea and Manchester United coming after that, don’t expect a plethora of points. What a depressing day and a potentially depressing way to end the season.
It’ll take a while to recover from this one and even longer once the inevitable derby disappointment occurs come Wednesday and Saturday. Apologies for the negativity but if you want happy words, head to the Pompey blogs. Harry needs to employ his much hyped man management skills in order to get the players out of this mental slump or it could be a highly unsatisfactory end to the season. Now is the time Dawson and hopefully Ledley King can really earn their corn. As senior figures, they can have a big role to play in lifting the players and leading by example on this pitch (if Ledley ever plays football again).
So there it is. Out of the cup in a rather embarrassing manner. Possibly crashing out of the top four in a more acceptable but no less disappointing manner. How very Tottenham. Did we deserve anything out of today’s game? Perhaps. But there’s little point in having the ball at your feet if your not going to stick it in the net. Portsmouth came to Wembley to defend and counter attack and they pulled it off. We were the victims.
The ref may have played his part in robbing us. The pitch may have cost us at the most crucial time. But in years to come these facts will be overlooked and the inability of the team that’s inhabited 4th place all season to score a single goal past the team that’s been 20th over the same period will be all that’s left. And won’t that be a depressing day.
Newcastle ‘99. Arsenal ‘01. Portsmouth ‘10.
Bring on 2011, where the year actually ends in one.
11 April 2010
God is not a Tottenham fan
Numb. Will write something more substantial later. Until then, relive the key, gut-wrenching moments of injustice from our daylight robbery at Wembley.
1751: How have Spurs not scored? Gareth Bale fires over another cross from the left that Peter Crouch diverts goalwards and David James gets enough on it to divert it away.
1807: GOAL Tottenham 0-1 Portsmouth
Pompey goal: Whatever you do, don't show Spurs captain Michael Dawson a replay of that. A hopeful free-kick is punted into the Tottenham box and flicked on and Dawson slips on the rubbish surface to allow Frederic Piquionne to shoot under Heurelho Gomes from eight yards. It's incredible, the FA Cup.
1808: Almost a leveller for Spurs as Peter Crouch manages to get one of his long legs to the ball at an angle inside the Pompey box and his shot cannons against the post.
1810: Should be 1-1. Gareth Bale does really well down the left and David James fumbles the ball in a challenge with Niko Kranjcar - as it drops, Peter Crouch smacks into the empty net, but Alan Wiley has already blown for a foul on James. No way - should have stood.
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley: “Maybe they (Pompey) just feel the fates are with them after all their troubles. So tough on Michael Dawson to slip at the vital moment for Frederic Piquionne's goal. Sorry to go on - but this Wembley pitch is simply not fit for games of this magnitude."
Pompey goal: This is truly one of the stories of the season. Aruna Dindane races with pace against a weary Spurs backline and as he gets into the area he falls under a challenge from Wilson Palacios, who is promptly booked. Kevin-Prince Boateng steps up and slots coolly into the corner.
1830: Harry Redknapp looks like he's just found out someone has played the biggest practical joke of all time on him and he is about to knock the perpetrator out.
1832: We're into injury time and these extra seconds are like a dagger through the heart of every Tottenham fan inside Wembley stadium.
1835: Full-time in extra-time Spurs 0-2 Portsmouth
(words courtesy of BBC Sport and Jonathan Stevenson)
1751: How have Spurs not scored? Gareth Bale fires over another cross from the left that Peter Crouch diverts goalwards and David James gets enough on it to divert it away.
1807: GOAL Tottenham 0-1 Portsmouth
Pompey goal: Whatever you do, don't show Spurs captain Michael Dawson a replay of that. A hopeful free-kick is punted into the Tottenham box and flicked on and Dawson slips on the rubbish surface to allow Frederic Piquionne to shoot under Heurelho Gomes from eight yards. It's incredible, the FA Cup.
1808: Almost a leveller for Spurs as Peter Crouch manages to get one of his long legs to the ball at an angle inside the Pompey box and his shot cannons against the post.
1810: Should be 1-1. Gareth Bale does really well down the left and David James fumbles the ball in a challenge with Niko Kranjcar - as it drops, Peter Crouch smacks into the empty net, but Alan Wiley has already blown for a foul on James. No way - should have stood.
BBC Sport's Phil McNulty at Wembley: “Maybe they (Pompey) just feel the fates are with them after all their troubles. So tough on Michael Dawson to slip at the vital moment for Frederic Piquionne's goal. Sorry to go on - but this Wembley pitch is simply not fit for games of this magnitude."
1829: GOAL Tottenham 0-2 Portsmouth
Pompey goal: This is truly one of the stories of the season. Aruna Dindane races with pace against a weary Spurs backline and as he gets into the area he falls under a challenge from Wilson Palacios, who is promptly booked. Kevin-Prince Boateng steps up and slots coolly into the corner.
1830: Harry Redknapp looks like he's just found out someone has played the biggest practical joke of all time on him and he is about to knock the perpetrator out.
1832: We're into injury time and these extra seconds are like a dagger through the heart of every Tottenham fan inside Wembley stadium.
1835: Full-time in extra-time Spurs 0-2 Portsmouth
(words courtesy of BBC Sport and Jonathan Stevenson)
10 April 2010
D-Day - Part One
Right then. Time to get serious.
The biggest game of our season thus far? It could well be, yes. Defeat and the weeks of endless battling stalemates and glorious replay wins will have been for nothing. We'll have been dumped out of the cup at the penultimate hurdle by a team so far at the bottom of the Premier League that 19th place is a distant blur to them. Put simply, it'll be an embarrassment.
Should that be all the motivation we need? To avoid embarrassment? Well, it should come into play but the truth of the matter is if we can't gee ourselves up for an FA Cup semi final at Wembley then what can do it for? Still, it's harsh to be so, erm, harsh. If it weren't for the banana skin at Sunderland last weekend, we'd all be in fine voice, proclaiming a regulation win. Lest we forget the Midas touch form we were in pre-defeat. Pompey are sure to be fired up for us but we've surely got the capabilities to handle such plucky tenacity.
Harry will surely be keen to instill in his players that overconfidence is not an option. As a man with close Portsmouth ties, he'll understand exactly how they'll be approaching the game and this could be used to our advantage.
A regular part of every pre-game preview for the last few months is an injury update so, in keeping with that theme, here goes: Lennon probably won't make it back to start but don't rule him out of a surprise appearance on the bench. He joined the squad for first team training in a special event at the Lane in front of the fans last week but probably won't be risked from the start. Might be worth waiting until Wednesday night perhaps with this one. Defoe and Dawson face late checks - two vital players. Dawson is the heart and soul of the team and we'd simply be lost without him (see Sunderland 3 Tottenham 1). Defoe's had a torrid bit of luck with Wembley over the last few years. He left us and missed us winning the Carling Cup weeks later. The same year he couldn't play in his new team's FA Cup final because he was cuptied. The next season he couldn't play in our Carling Cup final because, once again, he was cuptied. Ouch. He'll certainly be chomping at the bit to get a gig tomorrow and get his side to the real deal of the final.
We'll know who our potential final opponents will be by the time we kick off, what with Chelsea and Aston Villa playing today. Should we overcome Pompey, my heart wants a Spurs-Chelsea final as a throwback to 1967 and 2008. A London derby in the cup final is a difficult occasion to match and it wouldn't be the Chelsea walkover some would predict. Spurs-Villa would have a similar level of hype towards it - two teams who battled (and failed?) in the top four race - and you could argue we'd have more chance of winning the thing. Frankly, it's naive to be thinking about who'd we'd prefer to play. This blog would rather just see us get there. Full stop.
So 4 pm tomorrow and one can expect Spurs fans across the nation to be shifting uncomfortably from the off. Should we soak up the inevitable pressure and hit them on the break? Should we attack from the start, stamping our influence on the game but leaving ourselves susceptible in defence? Should we let Pompey determine the tempo of the game and respond in kind? These are all questions we should be thankful we don't have to face. That's your job, Harry. Good luck with it.
Big game, Spurs fans. Here's hoping our season won't be ruined come the end of it. Prediction? Would rather not but since you've twisted my arm.
A nerve-wracking, heart-stopping 2-1 to Spurs. Defoe and Kranjcar.
COYS.
The biggest game of our season thus far? It could well be, yes. Defeat and the weeks of endless battling stalemates and glorious replay wins will have been for nothing. We'll have been dumped out of the cup at the penultimate hurdle by a team so far at the bottom of the Premier League that 19th place is a distant blur to them. Put simply, it'll be an embarrassment.
Should that be all the motivation we need? To avoid embarrassment? Well, it should come into play but the truth of the matter is if we can't gee ourselves up for an FA Cup semi final at Wembley then what can do it for? Still, it's harsh to be so, erm, harsh. If it weren't for the banana skin at Sunderland last weekend, we'd all be in fine voice, proclaiming a regulation win. Lest we forget the Midas touch form we were in pre-defeat. Pompey are sure to be fired up for us but we've surely got the capabilities to handle such plucky tenacity.
Harry will surely be keen to instill in his players that overconfidence is not an option. As a man with close Portsmouth ties, he'll understand exactly how they'll be approaching the game and this could be used to our advantage.
A regular part of every pre-game preview for the last few months is an injury update so, in keeping with that theme, here goes: Lennon probably won't make it back to start but don't rule him out of a surprise appearance on the bench. He joined the squad for first team training in a special event at the Lane in front of the fans last week but probably won't be risked from the start. Might be worth waiting until Wednesday night perhaps with this one. Defoe and Dawson face late checks - two vital players. Dawson is the heart and soul of the team and we'd simply be lost without him (see Sunderland 3 Tottenham 1). Defoe's had a torrid bit of luck with Wembley over the last few years. He left us and missed us winning the Carling Cup weeks later. The same year he couldn't play in his new team's FA Cup final because he was cuptied. The next season he couldn't play in our Carling Cup final because, once again, he was cuptied. Ouch. He'll certainly be chomping at the bit to get a gig tomorrow and get his side to the real deal of the final.
We'll know who our potential final opponents will be by the time we kick off, what with Chelsea and Aston Villa playing today. Should we overcome Pompey, my heart wants a Spurs-Chelsea final as a throwback to 1967 and 2008. A London derby in the cup final is a difficult occasion to match and it wouldn't be the Chelsea walkover some would predict. Spurs-Villa would have a similar level of hype towards it - two teams who battled (and failed?) in the top four race - and you could argue we'd have more chance of winning the thing. Frankly, it's naive to be thinking about who'd we'd prefer to play. This blog would rather just see us get there. Full stop.
So 4 pm tomorrow and one can expect Spurs fans across the nation to be shifting uncomfortably from the off. Should we soak up the inevitable pressure and hit them on the break? Should we attack from the start, stamping our influence on the game but leaving ourselves susceptible in defence? Should we let Pompey determine the tempo of the game and respond in kind? These are all questions we should be thankful we don't have to face. That's your job, Harry. Good luck with it.
Big game, Spurs fans. Here's hoping our season won't be ruined come the end of it. Prediction? Would rather not but since you've twisted my arm.
A nerve-wracking, heart-stopping 2-1 to Spurs. Defoe and Kranjcar.
COYS.
8 April 2010
Please please please let me get what I want
It can't be understated how gargantuan this coming week could be in relation to our season. Need anyone be reminded? Sunday: FA Cup semi final. Wednesday: North London Derby. Saturday: Chelsea at the Lane. Sounds easy, right?
Saturday's defeat to Sunderland was a right royal slap in the face to our top four pretensions and has doubtless removed us from the driving seat. With this insanely tough run in coming up, it was of utmost importance that all possible points be picked up. And despite Heurelho Gomes' most heroic efforts (if it wasn't before, his redemption is now 100% complete), we succumbed at a ground where we really should have known better.
The writing was on the wall when we lined up with a defensive pairing of Younes Kaboul and Seb Bassong. No Dawson equals no hope these days and if there was a touch of fortune about Darren Bent's first two goals (a scuffed tap in and a penalty), even the most ardent of Spurs fans couldn't have argued against the fact that we weren't really in it.
Gomes' dual penalty saves from Bent brought a touch of humour to a game that had precious little else to be cheerful about. For all Tottenham's own penalty tribulations this season, Bent alone has missed three penalties against us over the course of two games. Snigger. The answer to England's prayers, he is not. Gomes' efforts inspired Peter Crouch to pull one back and give us that typical glimmer of hope. But, alas, it was in vain.
What do you expect? Conceding a penalty is daft but forgivable. Conceding two is foolish and requires a slap on the wrists. Conceding three is little more than a joke. Have the players lost their nerve at this crucial stage in the season? Collective Tottenham prayers must hope they haven't, what with the prospect of a Wembley final still on the horizon. And despite relinquishing fourth place to those cash-laden bastards in Manchester, we're still in the race. A lucky result or two in the next three games and we'll still be in the mix, keeping our heads just above water. That trip to the City of Manchester Stadium in May has the potential to be jaw-droppingly huge.
Prospects for Wembley on Sunday must remain good, even if nerves will be slightly more strained the longer we go without scoring. Don't even think about what'll happen should they score first. The papers are rife (take this word lightly - the papers don't really care about life outside the top four that much) with speculation that forgotten child Aaron Lennon is set to make a dramatic and surprise return to the side, if not in time for Sunday then perhaps for the Arse on Wednesday. Cometh the hour, cometh the man? Provided he can turn it on straight away, his return could be a freaking Godsend.
This blog wants so badly for Spurs to achieve at least one of their goals, be it the Cup final or the top four. Mainly just so we can look back at the naysayers and critics and point a great big middle finger their way. In typical Spurs fashion, the potential remains for abject failure. But they've come this far and we've been behind them all the way. And that's not likely to change anytime soon. It's time to cross fingers, throw salt over the shoulder and avoid black cats (ironic?) - all the superstitions and good luck rituals must now be harnessed in union to get us over the finishing line. It's squeaky bum time, as Sir Alex once coined.
And we're desperate.
Saturday's defeat to Sunderland was a right royal slap in the face to our top four pretensions and has doubtless removed us from the driving seat. With this insanely tough run in coming up, it was of utmost importance that all possible points be picked up. And despite Heurelho Gomes' most heroic efforts (if it wasn't before, his redemption is now 100% complete), we succumbed at a ground where we really should have known better.
The writing was on the wall when we lined up with a defensive pairing of Younes Kaboul and Seb Bassong. No Dawson equals no hope these days and if there was a touch of fortune about Darren Bent's first two goals (a scuffed tap in and a penalty), even the most ardent of Spurs fans couldn't have argued against the fact that we weren't really in it.
Gomes' dual penalty saves from Bent brought a touch of humour to a game that had precious little else to be cheerful about. For all Tottenham's own penalty tribulations this season, Bent alone has missed three penalties against us over the course of two games. Snigger. The answer to England's prayers, he is not. Gomes' efforts inspired Peter Crouch to pull one back and give us that typical glimmer of hope. But, alas, it was in vain.
What do you expect? Conceding a penalty is daft but forgivable. Conceding two is foolish and requires a slap on the wrists. Conceding three is little more than a joke. Have the players lost their nerve at this crucial stage in the season? Collective Tottenham prayers must hope they haven't, what with the prospect of a Wembley final still on the horizon. And despite relinquishing fourth place to those cash-laden bastards in Manchester, we're still in the race. A lucky result or two in the next three games and we'll still be in the mix, keeping our heads just above water. That trip to the City of Manchester Stadium in May has the potential to be jaw-droppingly huge.
Prospects for Wembley on Sunday must remain good, even if nerves will be slightly more strained the longer we go without scoring. Don't even think about what'll happen should they score first. The papers are rife (take this word lightly - the papers don't really care about life outside the top four that much) with speculation that forgotten child Aaron Lennon is set to make a dramatic and surprise return to the side, if not in time for Sunday then perhaps for the Arse on Wednesday. Cometh the hour, cometh the man? Provided he can turn it on straight away, his return could be a freaking Godsend.
This blog wants so badly for Spurs to achieve at least one of their goals, be it the Cup final or the top four. Mainly just so we can look back at the naysayers and critics and point a great big middle finger their way. In typical Spurs fashion, the potential remains for abject failure. But they've come this far and we've been behind them all the way. And that's not likely to change anytime soon. It's time to cross fingers, throw salt over the shoulder and avoid black cats (ironic?) - all the superstitions and good luck rituals must now be harnessed in union to get us over the finishing line. It's squeaky bum time, as Sir Alex once coined.
And we're desperate.
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