Admit Defeat?

It’s been a while since I last blogged. It might appear that I was only keen to do so when Spurs were doing so well, which would be fairly ironic as it was in a competition that in the past I had openly mocked. The champions’ league was a cash-cow I would say, just there for the big European clubs to cream off as much money as possible, shutting out the other teams in their respective leagues, yet another ploy by UEFA to stop a breakaway European Super League.
Why would I want my team to play in it? Well this season has proved why. It’s a chance to sit at the big table to play against some of the best teams and players in Europe, and might I add, to show that your team and your players are on a par with them.

But, as Engelbert Humperdink once sang on the Last Waltz, it’s all over now. With it looking more and more likely for Spurs that next season’s European football will be for other teams.
With another draw at the weekend, only three wins out of the next three games will give Spurs a chance to sit at the big table again next year. It’s a very small chance mind, as Manchester City would have to lose at least two games as well.
With Liverpool taking Fulham apart on Monday night 5-2 then even a Europa league place might be slipping away as well.

Still for all the European nights, it’s a quiet, slightly sad end to the season for my team. Not even Arsenal’s demise is that much consolation except maybe for the hilarity in which Birmingham beat in them in the Carling Cup final.
Manchester United look like they will be lifting the league title next weekend, much to many people’s chagrin. I suppose I should not really care that much about this and should really hate Chelsea just as much. But most Chelsea supporters I know I genuinely like and can talk about football with. Whereas Man Utd supporters are usually just glory hunters who come from just about anywhere but Lancashire, so it would have been good to see them slip up right at the end.

So I suppose its roll on next season for when Gareth Bale will be back and the push for the Champions league starts a fresh. Unless of course something quite extraordinary happens tomorrow night……..

The Progression

I should have blogged yesterday or maybe the night before but I was still buzzing, buzzing from the events at White Hart Lane. There were no doubt, many hangovers after the event who knows maybe even a baby was conceived. What is all the excitement I hear you say? Just that Spurs have reached the champions league quarter finals that’s all.

It still feels unreal and maybe it will for a while yet. In their first season in the champions league Spurs have not only seen off one but two of the biggest teams in Italy to reach this stage.
It wasn’t a case of scraping through either. Four impressible performances and victory secured in one of the legs in each game has ensured progression in the competition.
It all seems a million miles away from when it first started back in Bern in August. Against a team called young boys. It looked like maybe it was all too soon for Spurs, like they were out of their depth. Prompting the usual round of crap jokes and remarks. But what a difference a few months makes and don’t hear quite so many of them now as Spurs have grown very much into the champions league and the rest of Europe is sitting up to listen.

It’s almost kind of funny in a way to me, as for a while I was one of the main dissenting voices against the Champions league. Berating it as just a cash cow for the big clubs, maybe it was jealousy that my team weren’t in it back then or maybe in my defence I just couldn’t see its attraction.
But that has certainly all changed now, and I can clearly see why it is so important and special to be playing in it just for nights like Wednesday’s home tie against AC Milan.

How far it will go for Spurs only time will tell but right now I’m just enjoying every minute of it.


Oh yeah did I mention that Spurs progressed further than Arsenal?

Dean Richards (1974 –2011)

The sad news today of the death of Dean Richards at the young age of 36 hangs a cloud of mourning over football ahead of next weekends Spurs game against Wolves at Molineux.

Playing for both clubs, Dean Richards would no doubt hold more memories for Wolves supporters than for those at White Hart Lane.
Even though I saw him play on a number of occasions during his four years at Spurs, where he made 73 appearances scoring just four goals, I can really only say that I remember him putting in sturdy strong performances at centre half.
Unfortunately he was a player that at Spurs never quite fulfilled the potential that was expected when he was signed, but this was due to persistent injuries ending in his retirement from football in 2005 upon discovering his illness.

He is probably more remembered at Spurs for the drawn out furore over his signing. A lengthy affair that dragged out over a few months, with a war of words erupting between Rupert Lowe at Southampton and the Spurs board.
It initial spark had been ignited much earlier when Glenn Hoddle left Southampton to manage Spurs and when he then intended to take Dean Richards with him, the drawn out battle began.
Eventually however, even though Richards had signed a new contract at Southampton only a few months earlier, they accepted £8.1 million from Spurs in 2001. Quite a high fee at the time for a player who had yet to play internationally.
His international career unfortunately never happened, along with a premature end to his career.
I’m sure that next weekend at Molineux both Wolves and Spurs supporters will join in remembering him and his contribution to both clubs.

Moving The Goalposts

It went quiet for a while. Well, about a week to be exact. Must have been the record breaking premiership goal fest last weekend. However, its now back in the news. I speak of none other than the continuing saga of the Olympic stadium bid. I, of course as a Spurs supporter have a vested interest, and I would like to state first up that I am opposed to any move to Stratford no matter what form it takes.

Today, Daniel Levy once again reiterated that the new all purpose stadium that was planned to be built on land behind White Hart Lane, was not viable. Although, just a few years ago a lot of work was put into The Northumberland Park Development Project supported by local MPs David Lammy and Andy Love. There was an unveiling of the plans for the new stadium, where as usual a scale model was shown.
So how come that between then and now things have changed and now it is seen as being too costly and not workable but, that a move to Stratford to a stadium that will be demolished and then re-built will be?

It doesn't seem to make much sense. Daniel Levy has said that many Spurs supporters backed a move away from our current home. Although, judging by the amount of protests and pressure groups against it he is either not listening or is speaking to Spurs supporters who don’t seem to be reported anywhere else.
He did however say this move may not necessary be outside of the borough so that’s something.

Gary and Robbie

"However, it comes to us all and it's knowing when that time is and for me that time is now"

These words yesterday signalled the end of the playing career of Gary Neville. It seems almost a bit premature really at the age of 35, when there have been quite a few players more recently that have played on past this age, Teddy Sheringham and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank to name but two. But, the last few years of Neville's career have been blighted by long lay offs due to injury, so maybe it was a need to bow out at the top rather than move down through the leagues.
He did undoubtedly have a very successful career winning every thing possible at Manchester United as well as being the most capped right back for England, managing to find, unlike his brother Phil a permanent role in both teams.

However, before you hear all the stories of the dedicated model professional etc etc. Let’s not forget what the majority of us all really thought of Gary Neville. That he was boring. He was David Beckham's mate, the kind of geeky friend that you have around because hey you like them, they make you laugh and you've known them a while. But still the kind of mate that you don't always invite along to parties where your other cooler friends are. The type of mate that if you go to a nightclub with them they are usually the one who goes to sort out a cab home, that is if they are not driving.
The type of mate you would always stick up for when girls make fun of him, after all he may make a pratt of himself but he's still your friend all the same.

I couldn’t and wouldn’t ever try to take anything away from Gary Neville the player. His contribution to both Manchester United and England were immense and would always stand up to any scrutiny.
But using the title of this blog as a comparison, Neville fits very much into the Gary Barlow Take That role. Talented but not quite as cool as his mates.

I don’t know quite what it is but I think I will always have a soft spot for Robbie Keane. Obviously it’s largely because of his Spurs connection but even when he went briefly to Liverpool last season and his loan spell last season at Celtic I couldn’t quite bring myself to dislike him.

You would think that it would be easier to now considering that he’s on loan at West(S)ham but even that doesn’t seem to have made any difference. I still couldn’t stop myself smiling when I watched him scoring for them on match of the day last night.
I think it’s largely because he arrived at Spurs when we most needed a new striker and he has always been a committed, dedicated player for Spurs and always seemed like one of our own. He’s never been an out and out front man and you wouldn’t really want him playing upfront on his own but he will as the saying goes ‘always get you goals’.

The January Transference

The january transfer window closed its doors late last night and featured some high profile transfers. Not since the Dimitar Berbatov joining Manchester United saga has there been a night of such last minute intrigue.Fernando Torres's protracted move out of Anfield to Chelsea finally being completed before the 12 o'clock deadline for a record breaking 50 million.

I can't say i'm really suprised that he has left Liverpool, his performances of late have at best been lacklustre. It seems that since arriving back from the World Cup in the summer Fernando took a look around and thought that this wasn't the quite the same scene that would be greeting his Spainish teammates when they returned to Barcalona.
Back to a team who since have continued to struggle to gain a foothold in the top four and this season seemed to be pleased to have made it to just seventh in the table. That of course coupled with managerial and ownership upheavel all played out in the press like some form of soap opera.

But in these recession hit times isn't 50 million just a bit excessive? maybe Chelsea don't think so but what have they got for their money?
No denying Torres's talent but his Liverpool career was beset by injuries which on occasion cost them dear as they relied on him so much. He also wasn't exactly the shining light for Spain at the world cup. That honour feel to David Villa. But he will give Chelsea, or so they believe that extra push towards Abramovich's main goal, winning the Champions League.

In response to this Liverpool have moved to sign two unproven premiership strikers, all be it one who has shown promise in the premiership, using some of the income from the torres sale to secure the services of Andy Carroll from Newcastle and Luis Suarez from Ajax.
But is the signing of Carroll really just a case of selling the real article and buying a player who may become the real article. Sure Carroll may have scored 31 goals for Newcastle but many of those were in the championship.
Luis Suarez may be a better proposition having scored 91 goals in Dutch football and been a principal figure in Uruguay's success at the world cup, but again he hasn't played in the premiership before.

Only time will tell who has taken the biggest gamble Chelsea or Liverpool.

Another one of the much debated transfer targets never happened although it came close.
Blackpool's Charlie McAdam nearly made a move to Spurs, the deal apparantly was on the table, but the paperwork couldn't be completed in time. Because and here's the reason, Daniel Levy couldn't get in touch with all the share holders. What? in these days of newer and clever technology am I too believe the chairman of Spurs uses carrier pigeons to contact the board?

Is The Magic Still There?

This weekend was the fourth round of the FA cup. The next round after that potential banana skin third round, you know when you’ve draw a non-league side and struggled to see them off. There are still a few sides in it from all over the leagues but its now only 5 games to the final.

But, the question still often pops up has the magic of the FA cup gone? Is it really the cup of dreams for clubs from all over the country or just a competition where it will be the same old teams at the final in May?

Well, the answer is really yes and no. Chelsea will have to replay Everton, but both Manchester United and Arsenal went through, although both had a few shaky moments.

Big-money club Manchester City nearly fell at Notts County only scoring near the end to earn a replay and my club Spurs received a sound thrashing at Fulham, totally deserved by the cottagers.

In fact so emphatic was their victory that I even considered contacting ESPN to see if I could get my money back, after all they did advertise a football match and Spurs didn't show any signs of playing football.

But it was further down the fixtures that the sparkle of the FA cup shone brightest. With the tie of the round undoubtedly being Torquay United against Crawley Town.

A cup game that sparked memories of old. A full on affair with a dodgy looking pitch, tackles sliding in and end to end football. The game also boasted two dismissals, and two missed penalties.

It reminded me of those cup ties of old when even the big teams rolled up their sleeves and went for it.

So even though sometimes it may just seem that the FA cup has turned into just another big corporate event for the TV media if you look hard enough there are often enough great games along the way to ensure the magic never really goes away.