The Great Tottenham Hotspur Loyalty Point Swindle

I wrote this for the Bleacher Report last week.

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after an absence of 49 seasons is now available to buy for £4.27 (inc VAT) on Amazon and Smashwords. It recalls the Glory Nights at the San Siro, the North London Derby Comeback, Peter Crouch's winner at Manchester City, putting Inter to the sword at White Hart Lane and Diego Maradona's one appearance in a Spurs shirt. It ends with an epilogue at the end of 2012 season, the day after another season of Europa League was confirmed. Further details and photos here.

Guest Blog: Spurs in the USA (July 2012)

In a guest post for 'Glory Nights', Tottenham Fan, North London ex-pat residing in New Zealand and Goalkeeper for Metro FC, Paul Ruscoe, writes about his trip to LA to see Spurs in the States.

 

Living in New Zealand, there is not much point in holding hope that one day, my beloved Tottenham Hotspur will tour The Land of The Long White Cloud to take on the Wellington Phoenix in preparation for a gruelling Premier League campaign. Maybe one day, years into the future when technological developments make the long flight feasible, we may see European teams visit Australia to take on A-League opposition. But even in Oz, the standard of football is still 5-10 years behind even the MLS. Depressingly, that gap is widening with the increasing influx of ‘designated players’ into the North America’s top flight. So lets face it, it’s not likely we’ll see the Europeans here any time soon, and that was justification enough for me to part with $2,000 to watch the mighty Spurs in LA.

So, with no likelihood of seeing Spurs in NZ, when they announced they were to undertake a second US tour in three years, I leapt at the chance to snap up tickets to see the Lilywhites take on Robbie Keane’s LA Galaxy. After all, it’s only a 12 hour flight away. (It takes 8 hours to drive to Wellington to see the Phoenix.) The game not only gave me the rare opportunity to see Tottenham (probably the only thing I miss about London, since I emigrated) but also to reconnect with acquaintances and fans I spent the summer of 2010 with, when embarking on my journey to see Spurs’ previous west coast encounter in San Jose.

I arrived in San Francisco on the Saturday, to meet up with an old friend, comic and of course, Spurs fan, Trevor Hill. We were both excited to see the Spurs, while enjoying a few other perks of being on vacation. (Namely the ability to consume copious amounts of alcohol on a school night, without having to feel guilty about it.) After two days well spent in the Haight Street bars, we dragged ourselves out of bed at 7am on Monday morning, to catch a flight to Long Beach from where we would ride the train into Hollywood.

The Cat and Fiddle, a fine boozer and home of the Los Angeles Tottenham supporters club, would be our next stop. Upon arrival, a huge navy and white banner greeted us, with ‘Pride of North London’ emblazoned upon it. Meanwhile, sat in the beer garden were some familiar faces from the San Jose escapade of 2010. Staunch ‘Yiddo’, Graeme Rudge, welcomed Trevor and I to the pub. Graeme is a colourful character. One would describe him distinctly ‘old school’, and we were soon reminiscing and looking forward to the evening’s events. He had the previous day, been evicted from Tottenham’s open training session on the tour. This was not a surprise to any of us, but we knew with Graeme around, we would definitely have a good laugh.

Graeme had brought with him a number of prostitutes to provide ‘entertainment’, should they be required. In truth, I was more excited at the prospect of meeting Steffen Freund and Tony Parks, both of whom were expected to arrive at the Cat and Fiddle at any time. 

The LA Spurs had created a stage from which Freund and Parks would take questions from an anticipant crowd. Indeed, as Freund took the microphone, we welcomed him as only we would know how, with chants of ‘Yiddo’ interspersed with shouts of “SHOOOOOOOOOOOT!”

The pair spoke eloquently, and professionally, while also dropping subtle hints of another imminent signing for Andre Villas-Boas’ new look Tottenham. However, the undisputed highlight has to have been when Parks’ joined us in our sing song that went late into night, even as we danced to the “let’s all do the Gomes” tune. I’m not so sure if Parks or Freund were as keen to let our Brazilian Goalkeeper spend the night with their wives as us Spurs fans were though.

As the early hours were upon us, we had been joined by a couple of well-known Hollywood porn stars. Freund and Parks were still enjoying themselves with a few beers, and Graeme’s prostitutes had disappeared, obviously having found some company. The LA Spurs group, the San Fran Spurs group and the New York fans that had travelled were in good voice, as was the sole Kiwi supporter among the crowd. As the night drew to a conclusion, I smiled. Sun, Spurs, beer, porn stars, prostitutes and good friends. It doesn’t get much better than this!

We returned to the scene of the crime on Tuesday afternoon. Match day. Time for a few beers prior to our departure, with the buses set to leave at 5pm to escort us to the Home Depot Center. After a merry old sing song on the bus, Graeme and I marched into a local Galaxy pub with tens of fans following us in singing “This boozer is ours, this boozer is ours! Tottenham Hotspur are here! This boozer is ours!” I’m not sure the local Galaxy fans really knew what to expect!

I’ve been to a number of sporting events in the US over the years, including a number MLS matches. Indeed, American sports generate a unique atmosphere, but lack the intensity of European football stadia. The MLS clubs try, but the support still doesn’t feel organic like it is at the Lane. The atmosphere in the MLS is a little plastic, a little forced, and still a little too ‘American’. However, that wasn’t the case last Tuesday night. 

The hardcore LA fans behind the goal were in good voice, although lacking the wit to really challenge the local and travelling Tottenham support that comprised mainly of expats based around the US (and of course, New Zealand!). It was these Spurs fans, all craving the camaraderie felt when they once stood on the terraces at White Hart Lane that shone. Singing for 90 minutes non stop and enjoying one of the few opportunities they would have to see their idols.

Bale, Walker and Van der Vaart all started for Tottenham. The latter of whom was withdrawn halfway through the first half. However, it was LA, and Robbie Keane who created the better of the chances, despite going behind to a fine Gareth Bale header. Defensively, Tottenham didn’t cover themselves in glory and there was an air of inevitability about the Galaxy equaliser, coming just 13 minutes after the opener. The second half saw Tottenham grow into the game, and new signing Gylffi Sigurdsson had a golden opportunity to give Tottenham the lead, but he shot wide when it looked easier to score. Chances continued to flow at either end, as both sides sought to exploit each other’s defensive frailties, but ultimately the game ended in a tie. A fair result.

The result was not important. After all, this was merely a pre-season fixture for Spurs. And LA, without Beckham and Donovan (who were both on All-Star duty), have important league games in the coming weeks. 

However ‘meaningless’ this fixture may have been, what is clear that even 52 years after our last League title, there is mystique about Tottenham Hotspur that intrigues football fans across the globe. To the Spurs fans with whom I shared this experience, some relatively new, others who remember the great successes of the 1960’s through to the 1980s, it is clear that the glory of the past, and even the glorious failures, the history, the passion, the fairytales that come with following this great club mean so much to them. There is something about Tottenham Hotspur that no other club has and yet it is so difficult to pinpoint. It’s the glamour, the unwavering belief even at our lowest ebb, the noise of the Park Lane end that some of these fans remember fondly. 

When they reminisce about the great players they have witnessed prior to moving Stateside, you can see the glint in their eyes, for those eyes have most certainly seen the glory.

Paul Ruscoe

Mel Gomes' e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after an absence of 49 seasons is now available to buy for £4.27 (inc VAT) on Amazon and Smashwords. It captures the flavour of travelling overseas to follow football and recalls the Glory Nights at the San Siro, the North London Derby Comeback, Peter Crouch's winner at Manchester City, putting Inter to the sword at White Hart Lane and Diego Maradona's one appearance in a Spurs shirt. It ends with an epilogue at the end of 2012 season, the day after another season of Europa League was confirmed. Further details and photos here.

Let’s Push Things Forward

As indicated when I concluded the 2011-12 end-of-season blog, Yesterday’s Papers, which was written when Harry Redknapp was still Manager, I thought the time was right for Tottenham to look to a long-term plan. 

In the last twenty years, only five clubs have won the Premier League. Two, Manchester United and Arsenal, have enjoyed success as part of long-term approach. Although Arsene Wenger won the League in his first full-season, the model that brought three Championships, including two doubles, was based on building a foundation. The same has of course been true at Manchester United, with a Manager in place for a long-term tenure.

The other three clubs, Blackburn, Chelsea and Manchester City, have all benefited from a large injection of cash. But even if Tottenham were to suddenly find themselves flush with greater financial resource from new investors, it is the first model that is the way forward.

Harry Redknapp’s departure was inevitable due to the specifics of the situation, the reasons of which I expanded on in this piece for The Football Project. But the aim of the change was not just another hit on the fruit machine in an effort to strike lucky on a new Manager to bring greater success: it is part of the development a long-term plan where the relative progress of the last three years is built upon.

That is why the new man, Andre Villas–Boas, is not the new Manager, but the Head Coach. It is the structure that is key, with a Head Coach who believes in playing passing, moving and attacking football, and developing technical ability and footballing intelligence. This 2009 interview with Daniel Sousa, who is now our opposition scout, in which Villa-Boas talks about his time working at Chelsea under Jose Mourinho, suggests he has those attributes. (It is a fascinating read, although if he thinks Drogba has a bad first touch, his orange hair may turn grey if he sees Adebayor try and trap a ball).

While clearly a student of the game, Villas-Boas’ return to Chelsea raised doubts about the way he man-managed players he already knew and the way he handled the press and the pressure. Which is why it was pleasing to hear him say yesterday he knew he had made mistakes last season yet still found it a very gratifying experience from which he has learned. Though Chelsea finished sixth in the League last season, their decline started under Carlo Ancholetti the previous season, as I wrote in ‘Glory Nights: From Wankdorf to Wembley’ ahead of a potential 2010/11 Champions League Quarter-Final.

The experience of understanding one-size doesn’t fit all, when it comes to both man-management and tactics is crucial. If Villas-Boas work experience in West London has taught him that, it has been time well spent from which we will hopefully benefit. Double training sessions won’t work for every player, just as having a tactical approach is fine, as long as recognizing formations depend on the talent at your disposal. Even Pep Guardiola adjusted Barcelona’s formation last season to suit both his players and the situation, while still maintaining his principles. Not having the ability to adapt, and being insistent on one formation, is asking for trouble.

All-in-all it was a positive first public appearance for the new Head Coach yesterday. He spoke about “us”, he wasn’t shy to talk about challenging for silverware and he even spoke about “Harry”, although he hadn’t got the measure of how to drop the ‘aitch.

The references to Redknapp’s legacy were on the money though. In the few minutes of answers Villa-Boas gave the mics, voice recorders and mobile phones stuck under his chin against the sleek looking backdrop of our new training ground yesterday, it was good to hear his wish to build upon the excellent foundations in the first-team squad already there. 

With Juande Ramos’ first-full season fresh in the memory, The Board will surely have made clear that while progression is important, it is no good throwing the baby out with the bath water. At the start of 2008-09 the majority of the first-team was replaced - experience and goals gone, the talent of Aaron Lennon bizarrely excluded for David Bentley, one of eight new first-team players who struggled to cope with the burden of expectation in a formation that wasn’t getting the best of out of them. Ramos should have played 4-2-3-1, with Lennon, Modric and Dos Santos playing behind Pavlechcnko, in a position he excelled in just weeks earlier in Euro 2008. 

Four years on, success is within reach for this Tottenham side if Villas-Boas makes the most out of the very good squad he has. And the leadership, experience and footballing qualities of Scott Parker and Rafa van der Vaart could be as crucial as the players who developed so well last year, like Walker and Kaboul. Combined with the new signings, that would include a top class striker, and the squad is as strong as any in the country other than Manchester City. So, Villa-Boas was right to talk about “titles”, with respect to both winning cups and challenging for the League.

The start will be important. With a pro-Redknapp press looking for mistakes, the pressure of a bad start could affect the confidence of the players. But it is clear the Board are more concerned about the structure, and having a system in place that will continue even if any of the new appointments don’t work out. The choice of Steffan Freund, a player who always showed his commitment on the pitch but looked like he could spend extra–time on the training ground working on his crosses from the right and his shooting, shows the Board have appointed not only an up and coming coach with a loyalty to Tottenham, but a pair of eyes and ears in the dressing room of someone they trust. And it makes sense in what is a new managerial team in a developing structure.

As is to be expected, all the noises in Week One of Training are positive, with every player seemingly being given a clean slate. Even Bentley has said he is eager to show the new Coach what he has to offer. Let’s hope he doesn’t think that means he should start kicking balls into a skip again.

However well training is going, the aim now should be for the club to complete its transfer business by the end of July.

MG

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after an absence of 49 seasons is now available to buy for £4.27 (inc VAT) on Amazon and Smashwords. It recalls the Glory Nights at the San Siro, the North London Derby Comeback, Peter Crouch's winner at Manchester City, putting Inter to the sword at White Hart Lane and Diego Maradona's one appearance in a Spurs shirt. It ends with an epilogue at the end of 2012 season, the day after another season of Europa League was confirmed. Further details and photos here.

The End of The Affair

On Friday I wrote a little piece for The Football Project about Harry Redknapp's departure from Tottenham. It is up on their site now - http://thefootballproject.net/2012/06/17/harry-redknapp-the-end-of-the-affair/

The blog on the direction of the club will be coming soon on this site.

Yesterday's Papers

Tottenham Hotspur 2011-12 

At the end of the eighties Manchester band James released a song called ‘Sit Down’ which later became an anthem in student bars in the nineties, with more substance in the ‘pound-a-pint’ plastic glasses rather than a fairly flimsy song that is not representative of their best work. It did though contain the line “if I hadn’t seen such riches, I could live with being poor”, words that go some way to summing up why the under-achievement of a Tottenham season that contained some scintillating football at times, is such a big disappointment.

A more lasting memory from the eighties rather than sing-along-guitar-based-pop was a Tottenham side that not only played football with flair, but won things. It had stated ambitions to challenge for the title. And it was proud of a history that we should all know, and which includes these words from Bill Nicolson that are always worth remembering in any end-of-season analysis:

“It’s better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of Glory”. 

Having seen a lot of football over the last thirty years, I knew that going into January 2012, Tottenham had a decent chance of winning the title. And I was pleased with some of the words at the time from players, the coaching staff, the Manager and the Chairman, which also echoed those ambitions. 

Not only were we playing football as good as any side in the country, we had shown signs of a strong winning mentality, and just as importantly, none of our competitors had a significant advantage over us, either in points or on paper. Manchester City had the strongest squad, but with all the expectation on them, no track record of success and a first-team set-up that looked like it could implode, we would have been in with a chance at the death if we kept in striking distance. Manchester United meanwhile were picking up points, but looked far from invincible in any game they played, both in the League and in all other competitions, suffering defeats that would have been shocks against past United sides of recent seasons.

And at that point it was just three-horse race. But I always expected us to be in the top three once we completed our summer transfer business. Anyone who saw Chelsea’s struggles since before Christmas 2010, looked at how Liverpool had spent their millions or even observed Arsenal closely, would have smelt those shovelling shit from the bag labelled “We'll be lucky to finish in the top four” a mile off.

We were worth our place in the top three, aiming high and playing great football. Everything about the club was positive. So far, so good.  In fact up until January there were only a couple of regrets.

Not for the first time we didn’t do our transfer business quickly enough in the summer. The unsettling of Luka Modric was handled superbly by Daniel Levy, and there is nothing we could do about the end of the window occurring after the season was under-way, with as far as keeping Modric’s mind on the job. Levy’s comments out of his car window, telling us how Modric had “understood” the situation, were as welcome as any other interview from a vehicle with the engine running outside a Tottenham Car Park. 

The problem instead was with the incoming players. As previous readers of this blog and my e-book of our Champions League Campaign 2010-11 will know, I had been in favour of signing Scott Parker for a long-time. (Back in the days when he was at Charlton originally, to be precise). Why that wasn’t done before the start of the season was never made clear, and the delay meant we were without him for two crucial games against the Manchester clubs, both of which should be recognised as six-pointers, because even following the defeat at City in January, would have meant the gap was minimal had we perhaps even drawn at White Hart Lane in August. We started that delayed first home game of the season well, Bale looking dangerous, but with Crouch rather than Adebayor being on the end of chances in the penalty area. But eventually City’s fluid attack found it easy to play behind our lightweight central partnership of Modric and Kranjcar, a midfield they already out-numbered anyway, and we lost by four goals, following a three goal defeat at Old Trafford. 

After the window was closed, and our business done we were excellent in the League, and even the points we dropped – draws at Newcastle and Swansea and at home to Chelsea as well as the loss to Stoke where diabolical refereeing decided the game – all contained positive signs in their own way. We should have been more clinical in the first half against Chelsea and in the second half at St James Park, but we were well placed.

In the League Cup and the Europa League the Manager rightly gave some squad players games, while still picking teams that were, on paper, strong enough to win the games they needed to comfortably. The crucial defeat in Europe, to PAOK Salonika at White Hart Lane, highlighted performances that were either lacklustre or not good enough from players including Corluka, Rose, Bassong and Kane, the first three of whom were supposed to be able to step-in as replacements at anytime.

However, we produced so much good football before the defeat at the Etihad in January, it would be wrong to not also mention some of those highlights before moving on.

The win at home to Bolton in early December delivered, for me, our goal of the season by Aaron Lennon, who finished a sweeping move that was started by Kyle Walker, and finished beautifully by Lennon himself, as once again he stretched an opposition with a starting position from wide on the left, coming inside to score a significant goal. 

Bale’s goal second goal at home to Queens Park Rangers, from a central starting position that involved an interchange of passes with Lennon (again from the left), was also full of style, drawing comparisons with Barcelona from observers, although also bringing back memories of Tottenham of old, when passing and movement underpinned many of our greatest days.

And the flexibility in tactics and fluidity of movement were often a key part of that our success in the first half-of-the-season. Lennon, once again from the left, scored another wonderful goal at Fulham, in a team performance that showed a combination of quality and real mettle. 

Arguably the best team performance of the season came away at Norwich, when unlike in the great display that followed at home to Newcastle in February, we didn’t get an early goal, but continued to play football in our efforts to win the game. A fluid front three of Bale, Adebayor and Van Der Vaart all had licence to roam and Bale’s two goals in the second-half that evening, including a great run and finish from deep, were a reminder of his constant ability to win matches.

Alongside Bale and Lennon, Rafa VanDer Vaart is our other genuine match-winner, with a consistent ability to turn games. He showed it with the vital run he went on, scoring in consecutive games in our unbeaten sequence, which included a couple of crackers away at Blackburn and the opener in the North London Derby win. But as well as goals he offers more, with a combination of technique, football intelligence and desire. When we have struggled to break teams down, his ability to play between the lines, such as in the second-half at home to Everton when he played at the front of the diamond, has allowed him to change games in less obvious ways.

The versatility for the team to switch between systems including 4-4-1-1, a diamond, 4-3-3, and three at the back, boded well at the turn of the year, and even in the second-half fight-back at Manchester City it was the movement of Bale and Lennon that caused City the most problems as we piled on the pressure.

The decisive moment was of course Defoe just failing to convert the chance that would surely have won the game and killed City off from Bale’s cross in that game. Not only was it a six-pointer that would have closed the gap, it would have been City’s first home defeat in the League of the season, and caused serious doubts to side that had only won one trophy in 25 years at that point, and who following their pre-Christmas exit from the Champions League had been knocked out of both domestic cup competitions that month. They had a long way to fall after their early season promise, and Defoe scoring may have caused them to look down with four months still remaining.

But instead that let-off, which they capitialised on by going up the other end and nicking it, caused a psychological blow for us from which we never recovered. We stumbled along in the FA Cup, and produced one last sparkle in the League, against Newcastle, following a couple of early goals in a Saturday early-kick-off at White Hart Lane that boosted the well oiled crowd that after three days of incessant media coverage had almost convinced itself we had the Messiah running the show.

We unwisely took the same team in to the North London Derby the following week, perhaps gambling in an effort to pressurise a suspect Arsenal defence with two big strikers, and arguably our hand forced by injuries. We had a good opening ten minutes, but were soon outnumbered by a team who for all their faults, know how to keep possession; though we got the second goal that always looked likely from a break, we were overrun, and rather than ending Arsenal’s season, we gave them the biggest boost of all.

Tactical errors followed in other games as well; we temporarily got away with 4-4-2 at home to Manchester United because they played the same shape for the forty-five minutes. But a silly foul at the end of the first half gifted them a set-piece, from which they scored, and they were able to re-jig at half-time, as our injury depleted XI looked too weak to fight back. At Everton Van Der Vaart was left on the bench while 4-4-2 failed again. His introduction later wasn’t enough to overturn a lead the home side already had, and were happy to defend deep, and in numbers. 

Van Der Vaart considers himself an attacking midfielder, which is exactly what he is, and he is far more potent a goal threat than Luka Modric when Spurs decide to play with a midfielder behind two strikers, whereas Modric’s greatest strength is dictating the pace of play centrally from deep. For all the fluidity of our play at times in the first half of the season, too many times in the second half, players were not deployed where they could be most effective. And Van Der Vaart is always more effective on the pitch, than on the bench.

Things out of our control also didn’t go our way. Adebayor’s goals that had previously been wrongly ruled out against Stoke, Wolves, Chelsea and Manchester United started to grate more, the worse our latter performances and results became. Even the lost day of training ahead of the midweek home game against Stoke, as the players understandably had to cope after seeing a fellow professional stop breathing in front of them, could be considered a factor when looking into the minute detail of where points were dropped in the season.

The ghost goal in the FA CupSemi-Final, a crucial decision that affected the game was typical of the season’s disappointments, and a growing sense of injustice, which continued to the last day, when Arsenal benefited from Martin Fulop’s shocking display to stop us going third, and then beyond, when the most negative of displays was still enough for Chelsea to stop us getting even a Champions League qualifier.

But for all of that, it should never have come down to little elements of luck. Even with the last two league games left, we knew two wins against inferior opposition would secure a top three finish, which was all we had left to fight for, and the least we should have expected this season. Yet, bizarrely, Scott Parker, apparently struggling with an achilles injury, was brought on for the injured Van Der Vaart instead of Dos Santos, Defoe or Saha, when we needed a goal at the death at Villa Park. The previous week, the insistence to keep the injured Lennon on against Blackburn for an extra ten minutes, despite having a goal-lead and knowing his importance in the coming games, was also worrying. And finally, sending out the injured Kyle Walker for the second-half on the last day, again despite being in the lead and having two alternate options at right-back, was a final sign of erratic decision making from the Manager.

It has been a hard season for Redknapp. He had a heart operation, then the culmination of a Court Case which has been a cloud hanging over him for years. The day that ended he was immediately under pressure again, as the England job became vacant ahead of time. He was always going to be a contender, and it was long expected 2011-12 would be his last as Tottenham Manager, but the very public distraction as he was touted for the Office he has always openly courted didn’t help him or the players, as results started to slide. 

At the time we were riding high and he could have committed to Tottenham in the knowledge if he was offered the England job he could have done it on a one-off basis with public backing for the summer - without the hassle of qualifying, with no worry of blame, fulfilling his ambition while challenging for a major international tournament with nothing to lose. And as I wrote at the time, he could then have returned to work with better players at his club, and the knowledge they were as likely to win the Champions League at Wembley in 2013, as England were to win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Chelsea’s win has emphasised how achievable that would have been, as they won the Cup on foreign soil with an inferior team to ours. But Redknapp didn’t commit, and after over three and a half years in charge, is also solely responsible for us not guaranteeing qualification next season.

For the players, as the results got worse, and the season neared to the end, the uncertainty of Redknapp’s position, and their own situations, helped no one. While the long-standing doubts over Redknapp’s future, which were there before February, have no doubt been a factor in the lack of activity in the transfer market in the last two windows. 

It is clear where we need to improve in the squad. Watching Ledley King struggle this season has been painful, and a centre-back is imperative. A left-back that can challenge Ekotto is also essential, as is cover for Walker, and strong back-up players who can come-in to the team and turn games, like Krancjar used to be able to do in the past. And for all Adebayor’s contributions, for the money reportedly involved in the deal, it is likely there could be a better options available – ideally someone who has a good first touch and can consistently time his runs, as well as being always motivated and clinical in front of goal.

The Club has made good transfers in Redknapp's reign without much involvement of the Manager, notably Van Der Vaart, Sandro and Pienaar, the last of whom is now only fully appreciated under a different Manager (which is maybe how Dos Santos will finally be viewed positively). But the limbo, now recognised by all, is not helpful. It is a loose end must be tied one way or the other.

It is why “just one more year” won’t work in this circumstance. This is not Pep Guardiola on a rolling-contract at Barcelona, with a footballing philosophy behind it, and an orderly succession in place from the backroom staff. If the decision is to wait for Guardiola himself, who may well fancy a job in London after a year’s break and who, reports suggest, will consider clubs not involved in the Champions League, it is understandable, though from the outside it looks like a massive gamble, unless he signs a pre-agreement. 

Either way, something should be happening behind the scenes and I will expand on long-term solutions in my next Spurs blog, coming soon.

MG

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup in 2010-11 is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Glory Nights: From Wankdorf to Wembley

My e-book about Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after an absence of 49 Seasons, is now available to buy for £4.27 including VAT from Amazon and Smashwords. It documents Glory Nights when Spurs put the then European Champions Inter to the sword at White Hart Lane and the famous win at the San Siro, as well as past recollections, including Deigo Maradona's one appearance in a Spurs shirt at White Hart Lane. From the qualifier on the plastic pitch in Berne through until I ended up in the front row at Wembley as Barcelona won the Final, via an epic series of El Clasicos, it captures football at the highest level, as well as the Glory and Escape of travelling to matches over land and sea.

Underneath the Arch

After yesterday's FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley, I have written this - http://thesubstantive.com/2012/04/underneath-the-arch/ 

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup for the first time in 49 Seasons is now available on Amazon and Smashwords.

Street Spirit

Further to the events at White Hart Lane on Saturday, I wrote this Football Column for The Substantive on Monday (19 March 2012) - http://thesubstantive.com/2012/03/street-spirit/

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after an absence of 49 seasons is now available to buy for £4.27 (inc VAT) on Amazon and Smashwords.

Wide Open Space

In the board game 'Operation' a buzzing sound would go of when you failed to cleanly remove a part from the patient. Recently, selecting the Tottenham team has been like a board game where the jigsaw pieces haven't slotted perfectly into place and a 'Family Fortunes' wrong answer sound has greeted the team sheet, with an imaginary cross flashing in our heads followed by frustration on the pitch.

Ahead of last Saturday's game at Everton there were certain factors to consider, which would be part of a formula if we were inputting this into a computer to help us:

* Aaron Lennon was out injured.
* Jermain Defoe was bang in form.
* In the preceding game at Stevenage, Rafa Van Der Vaart came back from injury and ran the second-half from a central midfield position, playing behind two strikers.
* Louis Saha had been injured but was fit to return to his former club.

* Everton have a narrow pitch.
* Everton would most likely play 4-4-1-1.
* Tottenham had lost their last two league games, being dominated in the first half away at Arsenal by playing a 4-4-2 v a 4-3-3 but playing well at home to Man Utd when both teams played a 4-4-2 and Spurs pressed high up the pitch.

Further to that, there are the more general factors about the current Tottenham Squad that were relevant to Saturday’s selection:

* In the absence of Lennon, with Pienaar on loan, there is no player in the squad who would naturally hold onto a wide right position without drifting inside, including Kranjcar, Bale and Modric. (Kyle Walker could do it theoretically, but it would be a change to suit a system, rather than a system to suit the players).
* While Modric has done well from the left, including the previous week v Manchester Utd, he is at his most influential playing centrally.
* Van Der Vaart is technically the best player at the club - he can control the ball in any situation, with his back to goal and under pressure, or distribute the ball from deep, spreading the play or dictating the tempo through intelligent ball circulation. Also, he has the vision and technique to play killer balls. And of course he scores vital goals.
* With King, Kabul and Gallas, we have centre-backs who are comfortable on the ball, and can join the play.
* And then there is the position of Gareth Bale to consider....

When Bale was signed from Southampton he was an attacking left-wing back, with a good record from set-pieces. His Tottenham debut, away at Old Trafford in August 2007, was a good performance on the left-side of midfield, with much of the game played in the middle section of the pitch. Due to injury and Managerial changes, apart from an excellent free-kick against Arsenal, and some success in League Cup games, Bale’s career at Tottenham didn’t really kick start at Tottenham until Harry Redknapp finally gave him a chance at left-back in the absence of the injured Beniot Assou-Ekotto at home to Peterborough in the FA Cup 3^rd Round in January 2010.

With Nico Kranjcar going inside at every opportunity from his nominal starting position in front of him, Bale was influential in that game as well at the matches against Liverpool, Leeds, Fulham and Birmingham that month, by running from deep, overlapping and adding width on the left. Bale continued affecting the game from left-back in February, with assists home and away in the FA Cup against Bolton, and it wasn’t until the FA Cup 6^th Round goalless draw away at Fulham in March, when Assou-Ekotto returned, that Bale started on the left-side of midfield. Bale went back to left-back for the home league game against Portsmouth a few weeks later and again got another assist and created more great chances, but since then, has largely started higher up the pitch and so not burdened with defensive responsibilities that would detract from his game.

Looking back at his best performances playing in an advanced role on the left since, many of them have come when Tottenham as a team have had a deeper starting position in the game; against Chelsea in the run-in 2010, and at home to Internationale in the Champions League he was virtually unplayable, running from deep with pace and technique. Likewise, away against Inter at the San Siro his first two wonderful individual goals started from runs in his own half. (His third excellent strike was after Lennon run inside, where he was also in a more central position).

This season, his best efforts on the left, at home to Chelsea to cross for Adebayor, came where he ran into space. When Spurs have had to play against teams who have defended deep, and in numbers, such as at home to Everton last season, Bale has found it difficult to influence the game, with not only three men on him, but nowhere to go when he got the ball. Which is why is given the license to roam.

Even in the 2010 run-in, his goal at home to Arsenal came from the inside right position, and last season his goal glut pre-Christmas came when he was given more freedom in the final third, including his lovely goal that began our comeback at The Emirates. When he played in a 4-3-3 away at Stoke, and playing-off the right in that system from the bench against Wolves last term, he has looked devastating, with wide open space to run into.

Aaron Lennon also prospered, when like Bale he came off the bench at Wolves last season, and with just one striker, was able to cut-in on his favoured foot will as well as go down the line. Lennon also looks dangerous when he switches on the left in a 4-4-2, because as a natural winger he stretches play, as is evident by him creating our best chance against Manchester United two weeks ago as soon as he swapped, and with his excellent goals against QPR and Fulham this season, both goals showing he has the ability to go either side with his dribbling.

The inverted winger is nothing new, not even to Spurs, with Chris Waddle and Cliff Jones examples of World-Class players who were both footed, and could come inside or go down the flank. Bale though, he is a different style of player, and like Cristino Ronaldo who started as a right-winger, can do more damage centrally. That game against QPR were Lennon swapped was also another where Bale prospered inside, as he did in his best performance of the season, away at Norwich in a fluid 4-3-3. Even in recent games where he has been criticized, he won the penalty at the Emirates through his run through the middle, and could have stolen the game at Anfield when he tried to score through the keeper’s legs.

Bale looked to be back on form against Stevenage with all three assists – one from an excellent long pass from the left-back position, one from winning the penalty from a run from the right wing, and one from a throw-in. But he did look good throughout the second half from the left.

He obviously wouldn’t get that space away at Goodison on the left wing, but the problem with playing him on the right against Everton was with two strikers and a narrow pitch - while he could still threaten by going down the line, as he did a couple of times in the first half, there was less space for him to go inside. So, without the injured Lennon and the desire to include Defoe as one of two strikers, Redknapp could have played 3-5-2, with Assou-Ekotto one of three defenders, in the knowledge Everton would start with one striker. That would have given Bale space to run into, and mean we weren’t outnumbered in the middle, as we were in the first half, which was too scrappy and too open. And, of course, it would have meant Van Der Vaart and Modric could both influence the game from the middle.

The second half was better possession wise, but with Everton defending deep and in numbers, and with a lead to hold onto, space was limited; despite two excellent killer balls by Van Der Vaart and Assou-Ekotto respectively, we didn’t score, and now have lost three leagues in succession.

When Redknapp said Bale played on the right for Wales in interviews afterwards, it was slightly misleading, as he does, but not in a 4-4-2. Redknapp clearly understands the benefits of giving Bale the license to do damage, and in the amount of different formations he has played this season, has shown he has the ability to be flexible. But he didn’t do it on Saturday. If everyone is fit and on form, a 4-5-1, with Bale and Lennon able to swap and roam, and Van Der Vaart and Modric able to influence the game from the middle, is our best bet, whatever the opposition. When that is not the case, sometimes a bit of thinking outside the box is required.

MG

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup for the first time in 49 Seasons is now available to buy on Amazon and Smashwords.

Badhead

There was a lot of rubbish talked before yesterday’s North London Derby, including that this was the first time going into the fixture this century that Tottenham had a better side than Arsenal, and that Tottenham were certainties to win.

On the first point, people have short memories. In 2006, with three games left of the season, Tottenham went to the last North London Derby at Highbury above Arsenal in the league, and battered them for the best part of 90 minutes. Arsenal salvaged an undeserved draw with a late equalizer, but Martin Jol’s side were clearly the better footballing team.

Secondly, there are no certainties, and anything can happen in derbies.

The Tottenham team news when it came through before the walk to the ground was a surprise. It was the same team that produced the best performance of the season against Newcastle two weeks earlier and was probably picked with the idea that two strikers, Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha, would unsettle a vulnerable Arsenal defence, that has had problems throughout the season, home and away, from Blackburn to Milan.

In the home fixture earlier this season Harry Redknapp got the tactics wrong, playing Jermain Defoe up front with Adebayor, and with Rafa Van Der Vaart out on the right, leading to Spurs being outnumbered in the middle, until Sandro came on in the second half. Despite that, we won, and still had four one-on-ones in the game, created mainly through the vision and skill of Van Der Vaart.

This season, when playing a diamond in the second-half at home to Everton and in the cup at Watford, and three at the back in at Stevenage and in the second-half against Stoke Redknapp has tried formations where Spurs could play two-up-front and not get outnumbered. Both formations rely on the width coming from full-backs/wing-backs and yesterday, with Niko Kranjcar tucking inside, and Bale fluid, it looked at time this might need to be the case.

We started off well, playing a very high line, compressing the space, with Scott Parker and Luka Modric excellent in midfield, and we soon created, and scored, when Adebayor and Saha linked well after great work from Kyle Walker. Arsenal soon got to grips with the game, retaining possession well, and pushing Spurs back. It always looked though, that we would score a second goal on the break, so big were the spaces Arsenal were leaving. 

Walker twice broke before Modric put Gareth Bale in, who from a central position powered into the box and won a penalty. Adebayor, after a long wait, took a fantastic penalty, totally different from the poor kick he took at West Brom. Minutes later Bale this time had a run on the inside left, but rather than playing the ball across the face of goal, where Adebayor was in the box, chose to shoot at the near post. The right decision and a third goal then could have shattered Arsenal.

As it was, even at 2-0, Arsenal still had confidence on the ball, and the first goal in the second half was always going to be vital. Before then though, Arsenal made their spell of possession count, pulling their first goal back which got their crowd behind them for the first time after 40 minutes, and then gaining all the momentum in the game with equalizer two minutes later.

At half time Michael Dawson had an extensive warm-up, suggesting Ledley King may come off, or less likely, Redknapp would take Benoit Assou-Ekotto off (who was back from a minor operation and whose weak clearance preceded Arsenal’s equalizer), and go to a back three, allowing Van Der Vaart, who was also going through his paces, to come on for Kranjcar, and play behind the two strikers.

Dawson didn’t come on, but Van Der Vaart did, for Saha, with Sandro on for Kranjcar, so beefing up the midfield that was once again outnumbered and overrun, and reverting to the 4-3-3 that worked so well at Norwich, with a fluid front three of Bale, Adebayor and Van Der Vaart.

But the Dawson’s warm-up was the big clue. Ledley King was struggling, as he has done more this season than ever before, and all of Arsenal’s three second-half goals came in the channel between him and Ekotto.

When we were 3-2 down we look composed on the two rare occassions when we had the ball, having the confidence to pass when under pressure, and moving the ball around well. But we never created a chance and then opened up too quickly, when there was still time to get back the game. Arsenal exploited the space at the back, and unlike a few other away defeats we have suffered in North London Derbies in the last few years, they were deserved winners. They kept possession well on the day, moved well of the ball, created chances, and scored five goals. It was their Cup Final, and they were due to win a final eventually.

We have a wealth of talent, and apart from Van Persie no Arsenal player would get in the Spurs team, and few would get on the bench. The trick is getting the selection right. 

While there was a logic in playing two-up-front, in games against a team whose game is based on possession, it was dangerous to go into the game without three in the middle, and led to us being dominated. Also, a couple of key factors when trying to work out the winning formula: our team is ALWAYS improved when a fit Aaron Lennon plays, and Rafa Van Der Vaart adds something to the team no-one else at the club does, through a combination of personality, footballing intelligence and technical class. 

Which suggests that the 4-5-1 we all expected should have been the starting line-up.

If everyone is fit that will surely be the team that starts against Manchester United next Sunday, with Sandro in for the suspended Parker, and Lennon and Van Der Vaart back in the team. And maybe the one upfront could be Saha against his old club. We could do with the comeback that we showed when we lost against Portsmouth 22 months ago. It’s about time we beat United, and about time we won a six-pointer. We are more than capable of going on another good run.

MG

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup for the first time in 49 seasons is available to buy for £4.27 (inc VAT) on Amazon and Smashwords.

 

Harry Redknapp: Spurs & England

My piece on Harry Redknapp and his options regarding the England job, and Tottenham, from earlier this week on The Substantive -  http://thesubstantive.com/2012/02/nothing-to-lose

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup for the first time in 49 season is available to buy from Amazon and Smashwords.

Ghosts in the Eyes

For our journey to Manchester on Sunday morning I made a Bruce Springsteen compilation CD for the car that was driving us up there. The CD started with Thunder Road, a majestic song that looks ahead to reaching the Promised Land after a lifetime of past disappointments. Setting the scene for the story in the song, it contains the line “Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays”. The following morning I doubt I was the only one whose first vision when they woke to their own radio alarm was a yellow ball rolling across the goal, Joe Hart stranded, and Jermain Defoe poised to come onto to it...

I have seen enough football to know that vision may stay with me for a long time.

Losing that match dramatically at the Etihad has given some air for pundits who despise Tottenham to talk about a title challenge now over and self-hating Spurs fans who want justification for their ignorant and cynical belief that a title challenge was a delusional idea. Yet stoppage time on Sunday showed the swings and roundabouts in sport, the tight margins involved, and gave a perfect example of the term ‘six-pointer’.

We went to City on the back of a disappointing result at home to Wolves, where a few individual performances dropped below the high standards set this season. It is wrong to say that title talk in the preceding days caused that slight dip; there was no problem with the mentality, though it did look a case of one too many games after a hectic period, having also played an extra game three days earlier, with the game in hand against Everton.

Both Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon, starting their third games in a week after coming back from injury, struggled, while tiredness also seemed to effect others, including Younes Kaboul, who as with the Everton game, began shakily and with errors. The atmosphere inside the ground to begin with was good though, with the expectancy raising the volume to start with, rather then inducing nervousness, which sometimes can happen.

But there were three stoppages in the first fifteen minutes, we never really got the up-tempo start we would have liked and we soon ended up chasing the game, as Wolves suddenly had something to hold onto. Perhaps through inexperience, Kyle Walker, cheaply gave away possession via a throw-in in our own half. He seemed to recover well enough to see the ball out for a goal-kick but a bad decision by the officials led to a Wolves corner and an opening goal.

Despite a concerted effort we failed to equalize before half-time as another vital decision went against Adebayor (although the fact he is offside so many times suggests he didn’t know he was being played on when he converted the Gareth Bale shot that looked goal-ward bound). But there were still 40 mins to go when we equalized. The goal came from fantastic movement again by Rafa Van Der Vaart, taking up a position in the box before using great technique to engineer room to pass to Bale, whose who lay-off in turn set up Luka Modric, who finally hit the target with one of a number of shots from him on the day from the edge of the area. That was the time to go on and make the pressure tell.  A second goal then and Wolves would have buckled. But they saw that period out, and we dropped two points.

Teams will drop points in the second half of the season. The key is making sure that when we don’t win, we don’t let it affect us, and get straight back on another winning run. Sunday was more than just another game though.

We started off well enough at the Etihad with a five man midfield and playing a large portion of the first fifteen minutes in their half. We continued to be comfortable until half-time, with Sergio Auguero’s individual ability the only threat, and masking Man City’s general play, which was decidedly average.

City started the second half off the better though before we countered four times, Van Der Vaart and Bale both looking to get in advanced positions without creating a clear-cut chance: Bale slipping the one time he could have had a strike on goal. Within two minutes City took the lead, Nasri’s movement and clinical finish doing justice to Silva’s killer ball. From nowhere, it was 2-0, Lescott given a free run to bundle home from a corner, the second soft goal we have conceded from a corner in two games.

Fortunately we were back in the game straight away. Jermain Defoe expertly capitalised on Savic’s error, finishing coolly and naturally, giving us a springboard for a comeback.  Lennon stretched City on the left after combining with Bale and Van Der Vaart before coming inside and, as so many times for us, providing a vital assist, this time to Bale, who proved how dangerous he is from the centre with a wonderful first time shot.

Whatever followed later, seeing the ball hit the back of the net, and the ensuring celebrations that had me hugging all and sundry and took me out dancing onto the concourse behind me, produced a few endorphins. And reports of an unusually animated and excited press box at the Emirates as Bale scored, was another example of the potential significance of the goal. As League games go, this was the biggest since our visit to City in May 2010, and while a positive result could only be judged in hindsight, that equalizer meant everything was possible.

We tightened up in midfield with Livermore on for Van Der Vaart, shortly after City brought on Balotelli for Dzeko. Lennon swapped again, Ekotto providing the width on the left, with Bale again dangerous with his movement from the centre.

City were there for the taking. On the back of two home defeats in cup competitions, without Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany, and now under pressure against a better team. We pressed them high up the pitch looking to score the next goal. There is no doubting the resilient qualities of this Tottenham team, with second-half fight backs away at Inter and Arsenal last season, and a winning mentality that has been evident for three seasons now.

We had half chances, but no clear cut opportunity until the first minute of stoppage time and the aforementioned chance for Defoe. Livermore put Bale in, and his run and ball were perfect, taking all the defenders and Hart out of the equation. Defoe held his run so not to get offside but just failed to make sufficient contact.

Fine margins that could leave ghosts in our eyes.

Pienaar was close to putting Defoe in again before City then had a spell with the ball, while their fans were leaving in droves. All our men were behind the ball, and we eventually won the ball back, but a long ball from Ekotto gave it straight back. They then hit a long ball of their own and got behind us.

The one player in the world you would want defending in that situation is Ledley King. I have been lucky enough to see Baresi, Blanc, Hierro and Maldini play in the flesh, and Ledley is as good as any of them. It was a cruel way to end his personal record of 11 wins in a row and such a rare occurrence that he has mistimed a tackle his foul will be as memorable for that fact, let alone the significance and timing of the occasion.

But having seen all but one of the competitive games Ledley has played at White Hart Lane in his career, plus a fair few away and on international duty, he has noticeably found it harder this season. It is evident in the physical pain he clearly has when he is on the pitch and inevitable with his injuries. He would still be in my team every time if fit to play, but those days will sadly be rarer.

Television pictures later showed that Balotelli, who won the penalty and then scored it in stoppage time caused by prolonged treatment to Scott Parker, whom he petulantly but dangerously attempted to stamp, shouldn’t have been on the pitch. And neither should have Lescott, who was shown to have forearm smashed Kaboul.

Howard Webb, who has given us so many atrocious decisions in the past but appeared to have an okay game, apparently ignored Balotelli’s stamp, claiming he didn’t see it, which looks implausible from the pictures. It’s more credible he missed Lescott’s foul, but beyond belief that he has said yesterday Lescott would have only received a booking, meaning that City are fortunate in the extreme that Savic is not their only available natural centre back for their next league game.

And we shouldn’t lose sight of City yet. Technically we are now bang in the middle of a top five – five points ahead of fourth place Chelsea, five points behind second place United; eight points of the top and nine points above fifth place Arsenal.  But we still need to keep on City’s tail.

On paper they have a winnable run of games coming up and importantly the momentum is now with them. But history suggests points will be dropped. Conversely, considering the top three placings, the Man United win later that on Sunday afternoon may benefit Tottenham, as it keeps pressure on City, and everything suggests it will be pressure, if anything, that means City don’t go on and win the League this season.

Also strangely, a good parallel for Tottenham at this stage is Arsenal, who won the title in 1998 from being 9 points behind United as late as March. It was their first title for seven years and they were outsiders for most of the season, but were the form team, and won the double at a canter in the end, with a comparatively small squad. They had games in hand, and importantly won their six-pointer away, which we didn’t do on Sunday, but United then had pedigree City don’t have.

City could yet buckle, but all Tottenham can do now is get on another good run. As Springsteen also wrote in Thunder Road “You can hide ‘neath your covers and study your pain”, but feeling sorry for yourself is not an option.

We are as good as any team in the League, we need to pull out of Manchester and start winning again, forget the disappointment of Sunday, and blind out the distractions from Southwark Crown Court. It is a strong group of players and if they play to potential there is an outside chance Defoe’s miss will not be the definitive moment of our league season.

MG

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup after an absence of 49 seasons is now available to buy on Amazon and Smashwords.

Nite Moves

In the pub after the cup win against Cheltenham, conversation turned to football superstition. As someone who justifies arguments with logic, reason, science and facts, there was a bit of surprise with the news that I have made an effort to drink out of my Spurs mug on matchdays since we have embarked on our fabulous run since winning at Wolves in September. I like to do my bit.

I do recognise fortune. The fortune of being born in the First World and the greatest City in the World; the fortune of good health; and the fortune of seeing a Spurs team in the eighties that played magnificent football. I was also fortunate that my first game was up in the Paxton Upper Tier, where as well as a good atmosphere (the banging of the wooden seats is still unforgettable now), it was also a great view of a great team, both then and now.

And last night, once again from the Paxton, I had a wonderful view of the artist Rafa Van Der Vaart.

I like art generally, having been to Picasso museums in Malaga and Barcelona, Van Gogh and Rijksmuseums in Amsterdam, as well as countless other exhibitions in places including Budapest, Dublin, Stockholm, Manchester and Madrid amongst others, often while my primary reason for travelling there in the first place was for football. Yet just as easy on the eye and stimulating to the mind is watching Van Der Vaart play.

In the second-half last night, as in the second-half against West Brom the previous week, his movement from a starting position in the centre of the pitch was wonderful. As was his touch, technique, intelligence and vision.  

Spurs started the second-half with a 4-3-3, used so effectively at Norwich in particular, recently. This time though Van Der Vaart was part of the three man midfield, alongside Jake Livermore and Luka Modric, rather than in the front three, where instead Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale were fluid alongside Emmanuel Adebayor, at times Lennon hugging the touchline to stretch the width of the pitch while sometimes moving inside and letting the full-back overlap. A week earlier Van Der Vaart was playing behind a front two of Adebayor and Jermain Defoe in a diamond in the second half, and as like last night he ran the half.

His movement was similar to how Jari Litmanen used to play at Ajax in the mid-nineties in a shape which Terry Venables successfully adopted for England in Euro’96, with Teddy Sheringham at times picking up the ball alongside the centre back, while moments later in the same move being the furthest man forward in the opposition six-yard box. Van Der Vaart’s intelligence and personality, which I have written about before, makes him the perfect exponent of this.

He always plays the right ball, and had Xavi or Paul Scholes played as well as Van Der Vaart has in midfield in the second-half of Tottenham’s last two league games, it is likely his performances would have received more coverage. And as has been shown at times when playing from deep, most notably with two left-foot passes, one on the half-volley, out to Beniot Assou-Ekotto against Sunderland (when he also played in a diamond in the second half), he has the technique to execute difficult skills while spreading the play. I previously compared that half-volley to Hoddle, and with every game he plays he plays, Van Der Vaart looks to be the best player we have had since then.

His love of Tottenham is clear, as is the respect he has to all his previous clubs and their fans. And in style as well as attitude, he is what I would call, having grown up with the wonderful teams of the eighties, a typical Tottenham player.

He was central to the winner in the tight game against West Brom with his movement, a game when his great reading of the game was also vital when he was when he was defending 12 yards from his own by-line when we were momentarily down to nine men because of head injuries. And his attitude is key to our success.

His experience and leadership on the pitch last season contributed to a winning mentality that triumphed in the San Siro, got long overdue wins at the Emirates and Anfield, put Inter to the sword at White Hart Lane, and on four occasions won games in which we had missed penalty kicks. And as I wrote in a football column about the two Manchester clubs this week, mentality, pressure and confidence will be crucial in the title race.

It is no secret to anyone I have spoken to since the first week of October, or to anyone who has read things I have written about Spurs this season, that I think we can win the League. I have always thought the players and the manager have believed that as well. Other people seem to be coming round to the idea now as well. And as the manager inferred last night, we are beautiful to watch in the process.

MG

My e-book on Tottenham Hotspur's return to the European Cup for the first time in 49 seasons is available to buy from Amazon and Smashwords.