Hello once again from me (hehe). Sorry for the lack of postage this week (i feel like a postman in the middle of a strike!!). So it's been a very mixed bag for Spurs this week with a fantastic win midweek in the Carling Cup to take us to the verge of our second consecutive final in the tournament and a gutting last minute loss to Wigan today in the league which after yesterday's results leaves us languishing in the bottom three.
So back to Tuesday and the win over Burnley. I must admit at half-time when we were losing 1-0 I was dreading the second half as we were not playing very well. But the next 45 minutes were incredible as we ran in 4 goals without reply to almodt guarantee our place in the final.
What followed on the Wednesday also raised a smile to not only me but many of my work colleagues as Manchester United fell to a humiliating defeat at the hands of Derby who last season got relegated with the lowest total of points ever in a season. The reason it was so much fun at work was one of the other people who work there took it very personally and was in a foul mood all the following day hehe.
However, today was disappointing as we beat the same team quite comfortably in the Cup last weekend only to get beat by them today and lose ground on the teams around because most of them picked up atleast a point from their games and it leaves us in the bottom three.
The Carling Cup would be good to win because it's a route into European competition next season but i would swap it straight away for definite premiership survival at the end of the year.
To secure this though I think Harry is moving in the right direction with the acquisition of Jermain Defoe albeit for over double what we got for him less than 12 months ago. Also, the news that Stephen Appiah is having a trial with us this week was also good to hear as he would add some much needed grit to our midfield which has certainly been lacking a bit of bite so far this term.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
4th round draw and transfer speculation
The 4th round draw for the FA Cup was made yesterday afternoon and surprise, surprise Tottenham drew Manchester United at Old Trafford. I said to my wife, Em, in the morning "I'd like to draw Kettering or Torquay at home but I bet we draw Man United at Old Trafford", and alas this is what happens. I would like to have seen the odds on this draw as I think I would have come into quite a large amount if I was a betting man.
As it turns out Torquay drew Coventry at home and Kettering will entertain Fulham. As for the giantkillers of this round, Hartlepool have been rewarded with another Premiership team at home in the shape of West Ham and Nottingham Forest have an all East Midlands clash with local rivals Derby.
It's shaping up to be an interesting competition for the big teams as well with Chelsea struggling in this round too, although, if they do get through they have a relatively easy tie at home against Ipswich awaiting them. While the other two big teams, Liverpool and Arsenal, have tough games with Everton and Cardiff respectively.
And so, we move on to the transfer speculation. It was no surprise to see that the majority of column inches in the sports sections of the national press would appear to be packed with Spurs-orientated stuff. Stewart Downing has handed in a transfer request at Middlesbrough today which, if you believe what you read will put us on red alert!!
However, a deal between us and Portsmouth to bring Spurs' old boy Jermain Defoe back would appear to have hit the skids as the two clubs cannot agree on a fee for him with Pompey pushing for something near to the £20m mark and Spurs looking more at around £15m at the most.
In other news, an awesome display of darts from Phil Taylor won him his 12th PDC championship trophy as he absolutely tonked Raymond van Barneveld 7-1!!
Also, across the pond, San Diego, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Arizona all confirmed their spots in the next round of the American Football playoffs which is great news for the sport as both Batimore and Arizona haven't qualified for the postseason for a while so it brings something fresh to this late stage.
As it turns out Torquay drew Coventry at home and Kettering will entertain Fulham. As for the giantkillers of this round, Hartlepool have been rewarded with another Premiership team at home in the shape of West Ham and Nottingham Forest have an all East Midlands clash with local rivals Derby.
It's shaping up to be an interesting competition for the big teams as well with Chelsea struggling in this round too, although, if they do get through they have a relatively easy tie at home against Ipswich awaiting them. While the other two big teams, Liverpool and Arsenal, have tough games with Everton and Cardiff respectively.
And so, we move on to the transfer speculation. It was no surprise to see that the majority of column inches in the sports sections of the national press would appear to be packed with Spurs-orientated stuff. Stewart Downing has handed in a transfer request at Middlesbrough today which, if you believe what you read will put us on red alert!!
However, a deal between us and Portsmouth to bring Spurs' old boy Jermain Defoe back would appear to have hit the skids as the two clubs cannot agree on a fee for him with Pompey pushing for something near to the £20m mark and Spurs looking more at around £15m at the most.
In other news, an awesome display of darts from Phil Taylor won him his 12th PDC championship trophy as he absolutely tonked Raymond van Barneveld 7-1!!
Also, across the pond, San Diego, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Arizona all confirmed their spots in the next round of the American Football playoffs which is great news for the sport as both Batimore and Arizona haven't qualified for the postseason for a while so it brings something fresh to this late stage.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The day of the underdog
Today, for all those people that don't know, was FA Cup 3rd round day. To many people, as I found out at work, this doesn't mean very much but I love it!! It's the chance for all the small clubs to test themselves against the Premiership clubs and the potential for the underdogs to become victorious.
Today was no different. The first game of the day was between Hartlepool of League One and Stoke from the Premiership but the form guide was thrown right out of the window as the lower league team won 2-0. That was not the only upset as Nottingham Forest also claimed a famous scalp as they beat mega-rich Manchester City 3-0. And not quite the same because it wasn't a win but Southend managed to hold Chelsea at Stamford Bridge which means a replay and an extra fixture for Scolari's men.
The thing about Manchester City's loss today was that it was so much more than a defeat in the FA Cup because the result of this could be that Mark Hughes loses his job as manager. The owner and the chairman have both been very vocal in their support of him but how long can this go on when they fall at the first hurdle in the Cup and hold a position in the league that sees them closer to the bottom three than the top four?
This is important because the wealthy owners have set the club the target of obtaining a Champion's League place by the end of next season. This seems as far away as it ever was for a team that has massive funding and big expectations on their shoulders and at the end of the day if the club falls short in the short-term then the manager is where the blame has to lie in today's game.
By the way, Tottenham got a great win yesterday. Pavlyuchenko had a massive game for us and delivered 2 goals in a 3-1 win against an in-form Wigan side albeit without their main strikeforce of Zaki and Heskey. This puts us in the fourth round draw which is tomorrow and ideally I would like someone like Kidderminster or Torquay at home. This might be wishful thinking as normally we end up getting Manchester United at Old Trafford but I live in hope this year as with every year. I shall keep you posted tomorrow with who we get and what I think about the serious issues pertaining to life i.e. Spurs activity in the transfer market.
Today was no different. The first game of the day was between Hartlepool of League One and Stoke from the Premiership but the form guide was thrown right out of the window as the lower league team won 2-0. That was not the only upset as Nottingham Forest also claimed a famous scalp as they beat mega-rich Manchester City 3-0. And not quite the same because it wasn't a win but Southend managed to hold Chelsea at Stamford Bridge which means a replay and an extra fixture for Scolari's men.
The thing about Manchester City's loss today was that it was so much more than a defeat in the FA Cup because the result of this could be that Mark Hughes loses his job as manager. The owner and the chairman have both been very vocal in their support of him but how long can this go on when they fall at the first hurdle in the Cup and hold a position in the league that sees them closer to the bottom three than the top four?
This is important because the wealthy owners have set the club the target of obtaining a Champion's League place by the end of next season. This seems as far away as it ever was for a team that has massive funding and big expectations on their shoulders and at the end of the day if the club falls short in the short-term then the manager is where the blame has to lie in today's game.
By the way, Tottenham got a great win yesterday. Pavlyuchenko had a massive game for us and delivered 2 goals in a 3-1 win against an in-form Wigan side albeit without their main strikeforce of Zaki and Heskey. This puts us in the fourth round draw which is tomorrow and ideally I would like someone like Kidderminster or Torquay at home. This might be wishful thinking as normally we end up getting Manchester United at Old Trafford but I live in hope this year as with every year. I shall keep you posted tomorrow with who we get and what I think about the serious issues pertaining to life i.e. Spurs activity in the transfer market.
Friday, January 2, 2009
The FA Cup 3rd round
So, this weekend ushers in not only the first weekend of football in 2009 but also the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Ilove this weekend because there are still numerous smaller teams left in that could potentially cause a massive upset. You only have to look at Monday night's fixture which pits Blyth Spartans of the Blue Square North Division at home against Blackburn Rovers of the Premiership.
I love watching the results come in purely for that reason. There is a big part of me that wants the smaller teams to win (unless they play Spurs). I guess it's for two reasons. Firstly, it would make Spurs run to the Final easier if all the underdogs won the other fixtures and secondly, I love watching Chelsea and Liverpool and the other big teams suffer at the hands of teams like Barnsley and Burnley like some of them have over the past few years.
Now, on to Spurs. We have a tough home tie against Wigan Athletic tonight kicking off at 8. My heart says I think Spurs will prevail 2-1 but my head says that we may lose due to the fact we haven't scored in more than two games and Wigan seem to be playing quite well right now. Even Heskey is on the radar of the big four clubs, for goodness sake!!!
So I will be watching with interest on the BBC live update webpage because I will be at work until 9 to see whether Spurs progress or not.
I love watching the results come in purely for that reason. There is a big part of me that wants the smaller teams to win (unless they play Spurs). I guess it's for two reasons. Firstly, it would make Spurs run to the Final easier if all the underdogs won the other fixtures and secondly, I love watching Chelsea and Liverpool and the other big teams suffer at the hands of teams like Barnsley and Burnley like some of them have over the past few years.
Now, on to Spurs. We have a tough home tie against Wigan Athletic tonight kicking off at 8. My heart says I think Spurs will prevail 2-1 but my head says that we may lose due to the fact we haven't scored in more than two games and Wigan seem to be playing quite well right now. Even Heskey is on the radar of the big four clubs, for goodness sake!!!
So I will be watching with interest on the BBC live update webpage because I will be at work until 9 to see whether Spurs progress or not.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The transfer window opens
So with today being the 1st of January it brings with it a massive opportunity for Spurs to bolster their squad to help stave off the all to real threat of a relegation scrap to steer clear of the drop to the Championship through the use of the transfer window.
It's turned out to be a very distinct possibility as the season has developed that Spurs flirtation with the drop zone is not merely a fleeting one but one that has continued to hang around like a bad smell until today. But now comes Harry Redknapp's first chance to make his mark on the squad since he arrived at the end of 2008.
In my opinion he needs a striker, as this is where we are really struggling at the moment with only Bent, Campbell and Pavlyuchenko who has played a full Russian season, Euro 2008 and the Premiership season as well. He could also do with another centre back as I don't think Dawson can cut it at the top level consistently and King and Woodgate can't seem to stay fit.
We could also do with another 'keeper because although Redknapp seems to have cured Gomes of his inability to catch anything including a cold for the time being, it would still be good to have an insurance policy in the form of a decent second choice stopper.
Players that have been linked by the BBC website (this means every person who has pulled on a football shirt anywhere in the last three months) include Bellamy, Defoe, Given, Glen Johnson, Crouch and Green.
All of these would be welcome additions to the team for me except Bellamy because the guy is a liability in terms of his behaviour. The only thing that you can rely on him to do is disrupt things, wherever he has played he has caused trouble in one way or another.
So, in conclusion, I think we certainly need to be relatively active in the next month without going too far. We still need stability and that only comes through consistency of selection but a few well chosen purchases wouldn't go amiss. So I look forward to see what wheeling and dealing the guy who sounds like a second-hand car salesman will do!!
It's turned out to be a very distinct possibility as the season has developed that Spurs flirtation with the drop zone is not merely a fleeting one but one that has continued to hang around like a bad smell until today. But now comes Harry Redknapp's first chance to make his mark on the squad since he arrived at the end of 2008.
In my opinion he needs a striker, as this is where we are really struggling at the moment with only Bent, Campbell and Pavlyuchenko who has played a full Russian season, Euro 2008 and the Premiership season as well. He could also do with another centre back as I don't think Dawson can cut it at the top level consistently and King and Woodgate can't seem to stay fit.
We could also do with another 'keeper because although Redknapp seems to have cured Gomes of his inability to catch anything including a cold for the time being, it would still be good to have an insurance policy in the form of a decent second choice stopper.
Players that have been linked by the BBC website (this means every person who has pulled on a football shirt anywhere in the last three months) include Bellamy, Defoe, Given, Glen Johnson, Crouch and Green.
All of these would be welcome additions to the team for me except Bellamy because the guy is a liability in terms of his behaviour. The only thing that you can rely on him to do is disrupt things, wherever he has played he has caused trouble in one way or another.
So, in conclusion, I think we certainly need to be relatively active in the next month without going too far. We still need stability and that only comes through consistency of selection but a few well chosen purchases wouldn't go amiss. So I look forward to see what wheeling and dealing the guy who sounds like a second-hand car salesman will do!!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
the end of 2008!!
Where to start for this year?? Chris Hoy's 3 gold medals? Lewis Hamilton's first F1 championship win? Tottenham's Carling Cup win and subsequent freefall from grace? Or even Cristiano Ronaldo's continually seamless move from the sport of diving to football pitches all over England and Europe?
You see, I think it would be impossible to pinpoint one success this year as it is has been one achievement after another for British sport. It was no surprise to read all the sportsmen and women in the New Year's Honours list but I still find myself questioning some of the decisions.
Personally, I think recognition should be based on more than achievements and also on personal character and the way that a person carries him or herself. I find Hamilton's arrogance rather grates on me for example and don't think it's an example kids should follow as humility is a far superior quality to have, just take a look at the way Sir Bobby Charlton took his lifetime achievement award at SPOTY 2008, he was genuinely shocked at the decision.
Looking further afield, I also love American sports having lived in Colorado for a year. Not a particularly strong year for Denver's teams to sing about but there were some highlights. The Nuggets reaching the NBA playoffs taking top spot but the Giants stealing the Super Bowl from the Patriots was another spectacle that should not have been missed.
From a personal perspective I am looking forward to 2009 with a great deal of expectation. My favourite sport is football, although that has not been obvious so far, and my team is Tottenham Hotspur (don't laugh!!).
I think Tottenham will pull out of their current predicament but I don't see us finishing in the top half this year even though it is still very tight from the bottom all the way to 8th. Ramos screwed us up at the start for whatever reason but 'Arry's reign has started very positively if you disregard the Christmas period.
My predictions for the season are:
Premier League champions: Liverpool
Relegated: West Brom, Stoke, Sunderland
FA Cup: Chelsea
Carling Cup: Manchester Utd
Champion's League: Arsenal
Uefa Cup: AC Milan
You see, I think it would be impossible to pinpoint one success this year as it is has been one achievement after another for British sport. It was no surprise to read all the sportsmen and women in the New Year's Honours list but I still find myself questioning some of the decisions.
Personally, I think recognition should be based on more than achievements and also on personal character and the way that a person carries him or herself. I find Hamilton's arrogance rather grates on me for example and don't think it's an example kids should follow as humility is a far superior quality to have, just take a look at the way Sir Bobby Charlton took his lifetime achievement award at SPOTY 2008, he was genuinely shocked at the decision.
Looking further afield, I also love American sports having lived in Colorado for a year. Not a particularly strong year for Denver's teams to sing about but there were some highlights. The Nuggets reaching the NBA playoffs taking top spot but the Giants stealing the Super Bowl from the Patriots was another spectacle that should not have been missed.
From a personal perspective I am looking forward to 2009 with a great deal of expectation. My favourite sport is football, although that has not been obvious so far, and my team is Tottenham Hotspur (don't laugh!!).
I think Tottenham will pull out of their current predicament but I don't see us finishing in the top half this year even though it is still very tight from the bottom all the way to 8th. Ramos screwed us up at the start for whatever reason but 'Arry's reign has started very positively if you disregard the Christmas period.
My predictions for the season are:
Premier League champions: Liverpool
Relegated: West Brom, Stoke, Sunderland
FA Cup: Chelsea
Carling Cup: Manchester Utd
Champion's League: Arsenal
Uefa Cup: AC Milan
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