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Palacios in “Better Than Huddlestone” Shocker

November 29th, 2010 Posted in Articles
Nov, 29 2010
44 Comments »

Much has been said about the treatment Wilson Palacios received on Sunday against Liverpool when his passing let him down once again. We’ve all seen his form suffer since the death of his brother, whether that’s coincidence is debatable but there’s no questioning his commitment to the cause and no player in a Spurs shirt deserves to be ridiculed in front of 36,000 fans like he was for a short period of time. Thankfully there were enough sensible fans out there to chant his name once the sarcastic cheers started for which I’m sure he would be grateful. I’m yet to hear someone say they were one of those who partook in the cheers, so quite who those people were I don’t know. It’s like when the team gets booed off the field, no-one ever seems to admit doing it.

I was no different to anyone else when I was watching him misplace pass after pass. I was moaning and groaning with every misplaced pass as I’m sure we all were. Then I decided to look into just how badly he had played. Personally I thought he had a shocker in the first half and had we not already had to make two substitutions due to injury I think he would’ve been taken off, but he got his game together and played well in the second half just as he had done against Arsenal a week earlier when Jenas got injured.

Football is a game based on statistics. Maybe not to the extend a sport like cricket is but they’re being used more by clubs, journalists and fans alike, all for differing reasons. There’s the simple stats that we all know, like top goal scorer and top assists, plus goals against and for, and then there are the stats that look at individual player performances. How many times have we heard this season about Bale’s work rate and how far he runs each game and at what speed. There are hugely successful companies who specialise in it. Who’d heard of Opta a decade ago? As someone on twitter so eloquently put, stats schmats! Statistics can be viewed in different ways. For example I could say Palacios had a higher success rate with his passing than Gareth Bale on Sunday. I wouldn’t be lying, but I’d be bending the truth somewhat and not explaining the stats correctly. Obviously a lot of Bale’s passes were actually crosses so it’s hardly surprising that his success rate was nearly 17% less than Palacios’s who will often spend most of his time passing 5-10 yards.

So to gauge just how bad Wilson was on Sunday we need to compare him to another central midfield player who will often spend large proportions of the game in similar positions to him. Modric is an option, especially as he played in the same game but he doesn’t play in the same position, preferring instead to play a more advanced role. So the only fair player to compare him with is Tommy Huddlestone. Regarded by most Spurs fans and non Spurs fans as one of England’s finest passers of the ball. Unfortunately because Wilson was his (and Jenas’s) replacement it’s impossible to compare in the same game but it is possible to take a look at recent games. The chalkboard below is the closest I can get to compare the two, with Liverpool and Sunderland being a similar team and both games being played in November. It’s also the closest the two become with regards to a pass success rate, both being around 80%. For the record the most recent game Jenas played a full 90 was in November too, in the recent 4-2 win against Blackburn and his success rate was only 75% in a game we largely dominated.


by Guardian Chalkboards

As you can see, both Palacios and Huddlestone play in a similar position and most of their passing is done in and around the centre circle, Palacios is slightly deeper i general but that’s probably more to do with Liverpool’s more offensive style compared to Sunderland who offered very little going foward. The main difference is the direction in which the passes are attempted. Palacios tends to pass sideways and backwards with the occasional forward pass but rarely a long ball, whereas THud looks to keep the ball with simple side and back passes mixed in with defence splitting forward passes, in particular long diagonal balls to the left, where I presume Bale is waiting.

Against Manchester City, Wolves and Aston Villa, the only other home games Tommy’s played he had a worse than 80% passing success rate. Only Wigan at home where he had a brilliant 87% was he better than Palacios was on Sunday. At least with regards to successfully completing the pass. It’s obvious to all that Huddlestone attempts far more advanced passes, passes that have the potential to stretch the opposition. I’m not saying his passing is worse than Palacios’s, far from it, but a long pass that doesn’t find a man in lilywhite is as equally wasteful as a short one isn’t it and is there a possibility that because we view Palacios as a poor passer of the ball, when he does fail in an attempt it’s more obvious than when Huddlestone does the same?

I think we would all agree that passing isn’t really Sgt Wilson’s forté but from what I’ve seen, albeit over a small selection of statistics (approx 5-6 games) it’s not quite as bad as we might think. Yes, he doesn’t look to spray balls from one side of the pitch to the other but then do we expect him to? The problem is the passes he fails to make are one’s we look at and think, “I could pass that” and therefore think it’s easy and should always been made. He’s the midfield enforcer we were crying for for years. His form has dropped admittedly which has seen him go from being the first name on the team sheet to being the 4th choice central midfielder and rightly so. Unfortunately he’s no longer good enough for what we as a team want to achieve and while his form has suffered, others have improved. There’s one more thing I want to look at though only because as I said, passing isn’t what he’s known for. His job is to win the ball back and pass it, if possible, to the technically better players around him. I’ll look at the same games as I did for the passing so it’s at least a fair assessment.


by Guardian Chalkboards

Again, there are different ways to look at the above stats. You could say, during the Sunderland game, Tommy didn’t have many tackles to make because they didn’t show much adventure going forward, whereas Liverpool played with 2 strikers and pushed men forward so the fact Palacios attempted more tackles, winning 5 of them, compared to THud’s two isn’t surprising. You could also say, Palacios is more likely to get into positions where he’ll be able to attempt a tackle and in today’s fast paced league football 5 out of 8 is quite a good return. Of course 2 out of 2 is pretty good, especially if they were the only times Tommy was called into action but when we look at other games throughout the season we notice THud doesn’t actually make that many tackles. Against Man City he made 4, winning 3. Wigan at home saw him attempt 2 tackles compared to Palacios’s 5. There were 2 once again against Wolves, when Jenas who was partnering him this time made 5, winning 2. Against Villa he made 3, winning 2 compared to Modric’s 9 attempts winning 4. This is not a coincidence. Huddlestone doesn’t attempt many tackles, even when playing in a deep position as Palacios does.

This doesn’t make Palacios better than Huddlestone. The title of this piece is obviously tongue firmly in cheek, and as I’ve pointed out, stats can be viewed in many different ways. For the record, Palacios also makes more interceptions, blocks and clearances than Tommy, but then that’s what we should expect because they’re very different players. Palacios will never be able to do what THud does and I don’t expect THud to improve his marking, tackling etc to one day be a tough tackling midfielder. You wouldn’t play THud as a defensive holding midfielder. When he plays, the “ugly” side of the game tends to be shared more with his partner, although so far this season his partner, whoever that may be, has been the one to do the majority of it.

Huddlestone is without doubt one of our first 11 when fit, but we shouldn’t compare the likes of Palacios to him when they play in his place. We know what to expect from Wilson and as annoying as his misplaced passes are they don’t occur more often than others produce the same mistakes, we just notice it more with him. So next time he makes a saving tackle on the edge of the area and runs away with the ball only to pass it straight back to the opposition lets give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s been through things hopefully none of us will ever have to and he wears the cockerel on his chest with the same pride we would. His talent has waned but he’s not as bad as some (including me) may think.

COYS

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“The Entertainers” Close in on Fourth

November 29th, 2010 Posted in Match Reports, Premier League
Nov, 29 2010
5 Comments »

Another Monday morning and another working day not spent worrying about the Spurs result at the weekend, I could get used to this. Three league win’s on the bounce, with a comfortable champions league victory sandwiched in between. 12 goals scored and 5 conceded, Spurs are now officially the most entertaining football team in the country. Are we gradually turning into Newcastle circa 1995/96? Everyone’s second team? Or at least the highest grossing television audiences? One things guaranteed when the Spurs come to town and that’s goals, controversy, entertainment and missed penalties.

Yesterday was another must win game, by my reckoning it was at least the 100th must win of the season. It’s just been one of those so far hasn’t it and we’re not even in December yet! With Man City dropping points it was imperative we some how managed to grab all 3 to close the gap to only a solitary point, and manage it we did, although far from convincingly. That’s the great thing with us though, so far we haven’t really done anything convincingly. There’s been the odd game, like Blackburn a couple of weeks ago where we cruised to 4-0 but then let them have 2 goals as a thank you for making the trip down south. We’re nice like that.

Liverpool for their part played the game exactly right and I do have to laugh at some of their fans complaining Hodgson got it wrong and played too defensively. If there’s one way to beat us it’s probably by attacking and if their strikers weren’t so low on confidence they should’ve held a 2-0 half time lead. Of course that would’ve only meant us winning 3-2 because that’s how we roll in N17. Maxi Rodríguez looked dangerous in the first half, drifting into the hole behind the strikers where are defence and midfield weren’t picking him up. Thankfully, the guy’s got no idea how to finish, much like Torres at the moment and Ngog’s always had. They’ll claim after we scored they went a little defensive and tried to hit us on the counter but that was the right thing to do, after all we were throwing men forward and leaving gaps all over the place. Hodgson will say it worked against Chelsea, which it did, but didn’t come off against us. Does that mean we’re now better than Chelsea? I guess we’ll find out in a couple of weeks. ;)

If I had any problems with yesterday’s game it’s the fact we went behind again. It’s starting to annoy me. 12 times in 23 games this season we’ve fallen behind, but managed to turn things around more often than not, gaining something like 16 points from those positions. Just think where we’d be if we could defend. The only upside to it is the fact it’s happened so often now that at no point yesterday did I feel downbeat. One goal and the game would probably be ours, although I didn’t think we’d leave it as late as we did. It also feels like we’re almost playing with the opposition. Giving them false hope only to silence their early celebrations with a dramatic come back. That’s all fine and dandy but at some point it’s going to cost us and quite frankly I don’t want to have to put up with that until May. Please take the lead, build on the lead and win comfortably. I don’t think that’s too much to ask is it?

Then there’s the penalty missing. I heard yesterday that we’ve been awarded 9 penalties so far this season, which itself is a massive number, especially when you consider both Bentley and Modric have been booked for “diving” in recent weeks when they were actually mercilessly hacked down in the area. So that should be 11 penalties. That’s almost a penalty every other game. Did anyone else celebrate getting the penalty yesterday? I didn’t. After Bale’s miss in midweek I have decided to leave the celebrating until after we hit the back of the net, and by that I don’t mean the ball ricocheting off some poor granny in the Paxton into the back of net. Having added JD to my fantasy team on Friday his miss was doubly annoying for me but definitely not surprising. van der Vaart, Bale, Pav and now Defoe have all missed penalties this season. All international footballers, one regarded as the player of the season so far and the other on his way to young player of the year awards from all over Europe. Do we practice these things or not? Liverpool did the right thing here again, making Defoe wait as long as they could. Something we rarely do. We’re too nice and play by the rules. That’ll only happen more and more from now on so whoever wants to take penalties will have to deal with that. My vote goes to Kaboul if he’s playing. Put your foot through it and dare the keeper to get in the way on these cold winter days.

Something I despise is booing of players, not just our players either. I’ve never understood booing an opposition player. It only serves to lift their game if they think they’re performing well enough to warrant abuse from supporters. Booing your own team is unforgivable though. Ok, so Wilson Palacios wasn’t booed yesterday, but he was subjected to groans followed by sarcastic cheers when a pass found a team-mate. As shocking as he was in the first half, passing wise, there’s no need for that. It won’t make a player who has gone from first name on the team sheet to 3rd or 4th in line for a central midfield role play any better. I fully understand the frustration his play results in, winning the ball with a perfectly timed tackle only to panic and give it straight back again. What’s the point in winning the ball in the first place? However, he managed to pick himself up and turn in a much better performance in the second half, winning tackles AND passing to a man in white.

Speaking of the injuries I’m going to put a positive spin on them. Two of our better players this season have been Kaboul and vdV so losing them both so early on was an ominous sign but we coped well enough and have learnt how to do so with the amount of injuries we’ve had this season. I don’t see that changing and not only do I not see it changing I think we could be better for it. Strange thing to say I know. Obviously I don’t want to be without players, especially ones as exceptional as vdV but of all the times to get injured this isn’t the worse. With Dawson and Defoe returning we’ve got ready made replacements and one less team selection headache for Redknapp. I’ve said before how much I dislike the 4-4-1-1 formation and having seen us revert back to 4-4-2 in recent weeks and start scoring goals again for fun I was disappointed for see the way we lined up, but not surprised. When everyone’s fit it’s going to be hard, if not impossible to play 4-4-2 without leaving one of the “big” names out. Lennon’s playing well at the moment, highlighted by his excellently taken winner yesterday so he’s got to play on the right. Modric, Bale, THud and vdV must play when fit which means only 1 striker. Something that resulted in 14 goals in 12 league games opposed to the 9 in the last 3 when we’ve played with 2 strikers for the majority of the game.

So, now vdV looks to be injured for 3-4 weeks with a torn hamstring, which is obviously bad news, but it does mean we’ll be playing 4-4-2 in most if not all of our games for the foreseeable future, and a partnership of Gallas and Dawson could quite possibly be outstanding, especially with Gallas’s current form. So bad news on the injury front, but the returning players will now see their chance to walk straight back into the team and hopefully play well enough to cement their places once again. As far as Redknapp goes I bet he’s thankful he can put off what are going to be near impossible team selections for a little while longer. Again, before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, I’m not saying vdV and Kaboul being injured is a good thing, I’m just putting a positive slant on the situation.

Lets have some player ratings shall we?

Gomes (7) – Didn’t really have a lot to do. Managed to stay calm at Maxi’s feet and punched the ball clear well in the second half but also almost let a shot slide under his arms in the first. Still to find his best form this season and isn’t comfortable kicking the ball since his injury.

Hutton (7) – Good to see him getting a prolonged run in the team. We all know his defending needs to improve and it showed at times yesterday but he is getting better in that department and offers us much more going forward than Charlie ever did.

Gallas (9) – My man of the match for the second game running. Making me eat my words. Maybe his poor performances were simply a lack of fitness or it’s the armband? Whatever it is I hope it continues.

Kaboul (6) – Did nothing wrong while he was on the pitch. He will be missed and over the last 8-9 months has banished the “oh God, Kaboul is playing” feelings many Spurs fans had. Now a reliable, strong and fast improving player.

Ekotto (7) – Some wayward passes in the first half but he wasn’t alone in that. Had a fairly solid game otherwise. I felt he looked for the long diagonal ball to Crouch way too much in the second half but it was that which led to our winner so what do I know.

Lennon (8) – Looked like he was going to murder Konchesky early on but faded in the first half. Second half was much better although there were still a few occasions when he sould’ve been looking to run behind when Hutton had the ball but stayed wide. Excellent run and finish for yet another last minute winner from Azza.

Palacios (6.5) – Based on the first half we’d be looking at a 5. Made some decent tackles but his passing was very poor. Picked himself up well in the second after some of the crowd had ridiculed him. Looked far more assured, won the majority of his tackles and passed well. Good turn around by Sgt Wilson.

Modric (8.5) – Close run thing with Gallas for MotM for me. In recent weeks he’s been outstanding. The first half he wasn’t quite on fire but the second it was he who grabbed the team by the scruff and got them back into the game much like vdV has done in past games. The run and turn of pace that led to our equaliser was world class.

Bale (7) – As always looked dangerous at times. Could’ve had a couple of goals, having one shot cleared off the line. Typically, as I put him back into the fantasy team, he doesn’t score or assist. Gets so much more room when we play 2 strikers and doesn’t waste that room either.

van der Vaart (6) – Like Kaboul, only a low score because of the 11 minutes he spent on the pitch. Did nothing wrong and much of how we do in the coming month will be how we react to him being out.

Crouch (7) – I’m not a Crouch hater and can see what he offers the team. I can also see why people dislike him. Too many long hopeful balls up to him in the second half that’s not his fault and he did well with what he got. Managed to flick on the ball to Lennon for the winner and should’ve had a penalty when Konchesky barged into him. Still the best player we’ve got in the squad to hold the ball up.

Defoe (7.5) – Great to see the little man back, but seeing him back reminds me of how frustrating watching him can sometimes be. The reason he’s great is because he’s only got eye’s for the goal and just smacks it. The reason he’s annoying is because he’s only got eye’s for the goal and just smacks it. Make sense? Looks hungry and could’ve easily had 2 goals, having had one cleared off the line (lift it JD), a penalty missed and a goal ruled out for offside. Look out everyone, JD is back.

Bassong (8) – Made some fantastic challenges, especially two on Torres who gave him the chance to get back but he still had to time them to perfection. Very underrated player who won’t let us down if called upon.

So there you have it. Tottenham Hotspur doing it the Tottenham way. Entertainment first, results second but at the moment they’re both what the spurs faithful want. Redknapp says we’re in the title race and only being 6 points behind with 15 games played who can argue with him? Birmingham away next up, a very tough place to go and win but so are Fulham and Stoke. Turn this 3 game winning run into a 6, 7 or 8 game run and we could go into the new year sitting in the top positions looking to make history in a year that ends in 1.

COYS

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Spurs v Liverpool – The Scouse View

November 26th, 2010 Posted in Match Previews, Premier League
Nov, 26 2010
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Today’s match preview takes a slightly different look at our upcoming game with Liverpool to the one I’d normally take. Instead of reading my views on tactics and team selection, or the clubs recent announcements of Bale being short listed for the Ballon d’Or and our ground staff being nominated for gardeners of the year I thought it would be interesting to get the views of a Liverpool fan. It’ll at least give you something to read while you wait for the club to announce they’ve now withdrawn their bid for the Olympic Stadium ;)

Hello Sarah. Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat to me. Tell us a bit about yourself.

A bit about me? Well, I’m a Liverpool fan. I was born in Warrington, but I now live in a small village in Cheshire, about halfway between Manchester and Liverpool. I live with my boyfriend, Matt, who is also a Liverpool fan and his insane cat, who has no real preference about football teams. I’ve been a model since I was 18, and now I’ve reached 25, I’ve started a couple of business’s to see me through my old age. One is an on-line lingerie business and one is based around venue dressing.

How did you become a Liverpool fan?

I guess that is my Dad’s fault, he was born in Liverpool and has been a life long supporter. His memories go back to the Shankly era in the early 1970′s, he’s been a season ticket holder, although he gave it up during Houllier’s tenure. He took me to my first match at Anfield when I was around ten, along with my elder brother Jamie. I just started following the team since then. I suppose it’s in the blood, and yes, being half Scouse, I love Liverpool as a city, it’s vibrant and it’s alive, and it’s got a fantastic atmosphere.

If you didn’t support Liverpool who would you support and why?

I don’t know the answer to that, because I’ve never contemplated alternatives. You choose a team for an unknown reason, a feeling you have, and that’s it, for life. I guess if I was to support my local team I would be watching Macclesfield Town. I’m about 10 miles from Manchester, and although Manchester is a great place for a night out, I don’t feel any affinity to the city or to it’s football clubs. I can’t imagine watching or supporting any other team. It’s too deep, so I’m Liverpool til I die. (a real football fans answer)

Last season wasn’t the best for your lot, but what were your views on Rafa?

As you know, I supported Rafa, and we had a few conversations about him during last season. To be honest, my thoughts on Rafa are mixed. I liked him as a person, I thought he was genuine in his love of our club, the supporters and the city. However, some of his tactics were at times odd. I think he lost the dressing room with his aloof personality, and I also believe his attitude lost us some great players. But when talking about Rafa, you have to take into account the turmoil behind the scenes. The wrangles with co-owners Hicks and Gillett and with Rick Parry who didn’t back him in signing Gareth Barry from Villa, and Parry brought us Robbie Keane instead. So, we lost Alonso and had no Barry. Lack of funding had a lot to do with how Rafa had to deal in the market place, selling players to buy players, so in my opinion Rafa did the best he could with what he had.

Rafa’s position really became untenable during the last season, and many supporters say he stayed one season too long. Personally, I thought it was a sad day when he left, the supporters lost an ally. However, he’s gone, and it’s pointless looking back, we have to move forward. Rafa is still, and always will be seen as “One of Us”. Despite all the arguments about tactics and lost dressing rooms, Rafa was a great manager.

As we’ve spoken about your ex manager, how about a little sound bite on Roy.

Roy Hodgson. I don’t know one Liverpool supporter who wanted him as manager. Now the whole support is split between those who think we should give him more time, and those, like me, who think he’s a waste of space. I guess every other football fan must think that we are just a bunch of moaning Scousers. First of all we wanted to get rid of our owners. They were the main problem, as the debt they accrued was going to bankrupt the club. They borrowed money and couldn’t afford the repayments. In fact the company, “Kop Holdings”, was technically banrupt, thankfully, the bank, RBS, gave us more time, and didn’t call in the loan.

Once Hicks and Gillett left, we seemed to turn on our manager. The reasons behind this are, Roy Hodgson seems to have a small club mentality, and at times, he seems at a loss about what to do when we aren’t playing well. There are those who say we don’t have a strong enough squad, and I guess that is true, but we do have a good enough team to beat the likes Blackpool and Northampton. It’s not so much the results, no team deserves a win every week, but the problem is in the performances. Being beaten when you’ve given 100% is a lot different than looking totally lost.

I believe Roy Hodgson is out of his depth, he’s also stubborn and unwilling to make any changes in his own training methods. He also makes comments which are totally out of context to the matches we all watch. Yes, losing to Everton was a defining point. It’s bad enough to be beaten by your local rivals, but when your manager says you played well, when we all saw that we didn’t, it makes you wonder about his credibility. He’s just not right for this club, and for those reasons I believe he should go.

We’ve read so much this season about you being a club in crisis and that Hodgson hasn’t got a clue but you’re only 3 points behind us. What are your expectations for the rest of the season?

I don’t think we are a club in crisis any more. It’s more like we need a leader and a motivator. I think the days of crisis are behind us, now we have new owners in place, hopefully we can stabilise and move forward. This season, the vast majority of fans would be happy with a mid table finish. 7th would be acceptable. As long as we play well, and give 100% there isn’t any reason why that shouldn’t be possible. I don’t think any Liverpool fan is looking at a top four finish, and based on recent past form it looks unlikely.

The fact that we are only 3 points behind Spurs at the time of writing, says more about your own form, than it does about ours, and maybe that is true of the other clubs around us too.

If this season is one of consolidation do you think next summer you’ll have money to spend and the new owners will help get you back into the Champions League or will they be no different to the last lot?

Personally I have great faith in our new owners. John Henry comes across as a very honest guy who is forming a plan for the future. Unlike the previous owners, he hasn’t made any rash and stupid promises, and the group NESV, haven’t borrowed any money. From what has been said, Henry wants to model Liverpool on the Arsenal ideal of bringing young players through the academy. He’s also looking at local talent too. That’s a long term aim though.

In the short term we need to add some strength and depth to the squad, and we have been told that little, or no money, will be spent during January. They prefer to sit the season out and buy during the Summer. It looks like there will be no short term fix. In a way, I can go with that concept, as throwing money at a problem isn’t always the answer. Buying in January may mean we miss out on better players during the Summer break. I don’t think it’s lack of money, it’s more of a long term re-design, so no fans have kicked up a fuss. Roy will possibly have to motivate the players we have. Hence the reason why a low target has been set for this seasons finish.

What are your thoughts on the current Spurs team and do you think they could challenge for the title in the next few seasons?

Spurs play very entertaining football, and there’s no doubting that the team seems to play well as a unit. You’re goalkeeper Gomes swings between genius and pure comedy at times though. Like us, you have dropped points this season. Losses against Wigan, West Ham, Bolton and Manchester United explain why we are only three points apart. A great result against Arsenal, yet Arsenal beat you at WHL in the Carling Cup. So, you have a worrying problem with consistency, pretty much like we do.

Redknapp seems to have his mind set on doing well in the Champions League, and has taken his eye off the ball when it comes to the domestic league. If you are going to challenge for the title, you need to be consistent. Dropping 3 points to the likes of West Ham, Wigan and Bolton isn’t champions form. Traditionally, Man United and Chelsea, have done well in both domestic and European matches. So maybe you need more depth to compete, and more consistency before thinking of winning the domestic title.

It would be nice if someone could break the mould soon, we are all hoping that Man United and Chelsea slip up, and Chelsea certainly aren’t on form this season, a few chinks in there armour are showing up. So it’s not impossible, you just need to stop dropping points and leaking goals.

Redknapp for England?

Well ‘Arry certainly want’s the job if it becomes available. Funny because Inter Milan are not happy with Rafa and have shown interest in Postman Pat. If he leaves the England job, both Redknapp and Hodgson are interested. Perhaps they could job share and do us both a favour?

Personally I would prefer England to be managed by an English manager, I find it hard to believe that a Swede or an Italian have the passion to lead our countries team. So, ‘Arry for England, which leaves you looking for a manager. Or possibly us?

If you could have one current Spurs player in the Liverpool team who would that be?

Gareth Bale!

Joe Cole chose your boys over ours in the summer. Do you think that was down to money or ambition and in hindsight would you have preferred to get van der Vaart? ;)

I was really surprised that Joe Cole chose us over Spurs. Being a Cockney and all. But I’ve always liked Joe Cole, he’s one of those players who can change a match. Sadly he’s under performed since joining us. He had a ban though getting a red card, and he’s been injured. I’m told he will be back for the Spurs match.

Despite his lack of form, Liverpool fans love Joe Cole, and we all hope that he shows us what he can really do very soon. So, no regrets in signing him and we all give him 100% backing.

As to why he joined us, rather than Spurs, maybe a combination of wages and the promises of success. Perhaps a chance to play alongside Gerrard. No one is ever going to know the full story, so we are just glad he opted for the red shirt.

And finally what’s your prediction for the game?

Our away form is very poor, Roy tends to play a very defensive game. Taking into account your up and down results. Wigan beat you at WHL and you’ve had a draw or two as well. Man City, Everton and Sunderland. Taking that into account I’m going to go for Spurs 1-1 Liverpool. I hope we turn you over though.

Ok, now onto the quick fire round:

Meat or Vegetable?

Is that a rude question? Meat!

Lightning Seeds or Chas’n'Dave?

Lightning Seeds

Stephen Fry or Alan Davies?

Stephen Fry

Torres or Gerrard?

Gerrard

Rafa or Hodgson?

Rafa

Spurs or Arsenal (be careful)?

Well, if I was born in North London, I’d be a Spurs fan. I’ve been to WHL twice and I’ve been to Anfield when you’ve been visitors. Always entertaining and a great set of fans.

So there you have it. A Liverpool fan who prefers the Lightning Seeds to Chas’n'Dave but likes a bit of meat. I guess you can’t have it all.

If you’re stuck for things to get your other half at Christmas or just like wearing underwear when you’re alone please visit Sarah’s website, although as it’s an underwear website it’s probably best not to look at work, but it’s definitely worth a look ;) : Twilight Temptation

COYS

Join our forum HERE. We won’t ban you for discussing the possible Stratford move like others. If Carling made forums.

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Planning Application Granted

November 25th, 2010 Posted in Articles, New Stadium
Nov, 25 2010
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Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London to you and me has today put the rubber stamp on our planning application for the redevelopment of White Hart Lane. Haringey Council had already given the go ahead last month but Johnson had the power to veto everything that the club have done so far.

This news will be greatly received by us fans who want to stay in Tottenham. Whether it means an end to the possible Olympic Stadium move is another matter. The club are yet to make an official statement and when they do I’d expect similar delight from the board at the news but wouldn’t expect a categorical removal of their bid for E15. This is where groups like We Are N17 will come into their own because the club have stated from day one that the Stratford bid was purely a second choice, not wanting to put all their eggs in one basket as it were.

Very good business sense, as we have come to expect from Daniel Levy et al and a decision which few were outraged about, seeing it as a bargaining tool to get the N17 project up and running. In recent weeks however the board appear to have backtracked slightly on what they have said with regards to both projects, in particular financial constraints, and the Stratford move has looked more likely.

Now there’s no hiding place. If Tottenham Hotspur PLC want to remain in Tottenham I presume the bid for the Olympic Stadium will be withdrawn. Will that happen? No. Should it happen? Again, I’m sitting on the fence. If, and this is a big IF, the whole point of the Stratford bid was to make sure they got their own way in N17 then why stop now? Is there the possibility of some public funding on the project? Reports suggest while Levy has said there isn’t any, he hasn’t actually even applied for it. By keeping the OS bid alive could he wrangler £50m out of the Government purses to help?

Over the coming days and weeks we’ll find out what the plan is, or we may have to wait until March when the OS decision is made. At least we’re one step closer to getting that nice, big, shiny stadium. Possibly. Maybe.

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Champions League is Easy!

November 25th, 2010 Posted in Champions League, Match Reports
Nov, 25 2010
4 Comments »

“It’s been a long time since an English team were this much better than a German one” ~ Alan Smith

Sometimes in life you’re faced with two choices, a crossroads if you will. These can be about what sort of career you want, what house you can afford, which car you want or as simple as what shirt will give you the best chance of pulling this weekend. The toughest of all the possible crossroads you can face in life though is the club v partner one. I’m lucky that my wife’s a spurs fan too, although not quite as fanatical as me, but she understands there are two loves in my life. My personal crossroads last night was witness Spurs attempt to get into the knock out stages of the champions league or spend the evening with my wife on her birthday watching John Bishop. In all fairness I didn’t really get the choice. The wife and John Bishop it was.

So, I recorded the game and did what any self respecting football fan does and tried to avoid any likelihood of hearing the score. That latest approximately 8 minutes after kick off when I found out Kaboul had scored. I did manage to let that be the only information I found out until I turned the game on at 11.30pm, curled up on the sofa and prepared to be entertained.

The problem is I wasn’t. Well, I was and I wasn’t, if that makes sense? Why did Bremen bother coming? If they’d have boycotted the game they would’ve been given a 3-0 defeat and they could’ve saved their travelling support the trip. That’s the problem with football clubs nowadays, no consideration for the fans.

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed a more abject performance from any team, let along a German one. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Spurs side cruise to a 3-0 win without ever really getting out of first gear. I was going to say second gear but I think that would be giving them too much credit. It was like a stroll in the park. Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from disappointed and the lads played terrifically but this is the champions league after all. Werder Bremen were a disgrace to themselves. Spurs at the same time were a majestic, swaggering masterpiece of a football team. Sexy football from start to finish.

Top goal scorers so far in this seasons “elite” club competition. Three more than Barcelona, 4 more than Real Madrid and 9 more than United. UEFA should’ve let us play at this level years ago. Guaranteed a spot in the knock out stages and everyone in Europe must be hoping they don’t get drawn against us and every neutral must be hoping we go even further than we already have. Match Inter’s result in match day 6 and we’ll even top the group. TOP THE GROUP!! Amazing stuff.

“Spurs have more points in the Champions League than West Ham have in the Premier League” ~ Kevin Jones

So as I sat there, watching the first half tick by, wondering if our opposition were going to turn up and whether we’d have to start all that tiresome running about we sometimes have to do to get a victory, I had an epiphany (word of the day toilet roll), the Champions League is easy!! All these years us and other clubs have strived and spent fortunes to get into it thinking it’s the biggest test of them all and it’s all rubbish.

Only recently the “special one” said it was of a higher standard of football than the world cup. If that’s the case I assume we’re Brazil at the moment? Let’s look at the facts. I’m not going to include the qualifying stage because I’m tired of coming up in search engine results when strange people type the name of that club from Switzerland we beat. It worries me. Anyway, so three home games played. One against the champions of Holland, a country that reached the world cup final last summer, one against the current champions of Europe who lets not forget beat Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich less than 9 months previous and then last nights victory against a German team who have qualified for the Champions League in 6 of the last 7 seasons and reached the UEFA Cup final 2 years ago.

No matter what anyone says these are 3 teams of quality and experience. Arguably even FC Twente have more experience than us, and we’ve not just beaten them all at White Hart Lane, we’ve completely battered them. We’ve played each and every one of them off the park. We should’ve done the same in Bremen but our inexperience showed as it did away to Inter but even though we only got 1 point out of those away games we learnt so much more. We learnt we belong. As a team, as a football club and as a set of fans, we belong at the top table of European football.

Onto the game in a little more detail and in particular my favourite little troll lookalike, Luka Modric. I’ve made no secret of my man love towards him since he joined. For the majority of the time I could sit back and watch him play football for hours. He’s a magician. He may not get the limelight like Bale or vdV but he’s equally important. Those who know me will know I’m happy to say when he’s not playing quite as well as he can, although I do it through gritted teeth, but last night he was incredible. Absolutely brilliant. He controlled the game and tempo for the entire 90 minutes. He ran from box to box, making perfectly timed tackles, created at will and scored a blinder. A lot of what he does goes unnoticed but when he’s on fire like that he stands head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch.

We had the normal European Bale show. I’m almost becoming blasé about the whole thing. I really hope now Defoe is back we play with two up top more often. It’s no coincidence that Bale’s been getting more space and exploiting it since we reverted back to 4-4-2. We had the obligatory penalty miss which didn’t make any difference other than the fact I no longer celebrate getting awarded one until we actually put it away.

Two things I noticed last night though that haven’t happened in a very long time. So long in fact I was starting to wonder if they’d ever happen again. The first was the clean sheet. Not only was it a clean sheet but instead of being at the theatre I could’ve been between the sticks and played throw and catch like Gomes had to last night. What a job. The other anomaly that’s even more mind boggling is the performance of Wilson Palacios. Sure he made the odd wayward pass but he wasn’t the only one and very few players don’t do a couple during a game but he actually played well. Like the old Sgt Wilson, he was winning tackles most of the time, playing the simple ball and sometimes not so simple ball to a team-mate and looking like the linchpin that brought everything together. A one off? Probably, but when it happens it’s nice to be appreciated. So, for what it’s worth Wilson, well played.

That’s about it. There were other performance of note, both Kaboul and Gallas played well. Gallas in particular and for the second game in succession with the armband. Hutton got forward to good effect when he could and didn’t let the excellent Marin cause him too many problems. He’s some player though isn’t he? Wouldn’t mind Marin in a Spurs shirt, although quite where he’d play I have no idea. Lennon looked bright again and it looks like the coaching staff have reminded him of what they taught him last season, get to the byline, cut it back to the penalty spot and one of the strikers will do the rest. Simple. Finally, great to see JD back. He looks sharp, hungry and just what we need. It’s time he went into my fantasy team I think. I can smell the goals.

So, the overriding conclusion from last night’s game and the Champions League so far is it’s easy and without us it would be boring. It’s been a great week so far, but there’s one thing that could make it all the more sweeter. 3 points on Sunday.

COYS

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We Are N17 Goes Live

November 24th, 2010 Posted in Articles, New Stadium
Nov, 24 2010
24 Comments »

We Are N17 Website Online Petition Facebook Group Twitter Page

Much has been said over the last week or so about where we’re going to play our football in the future. Whether that remains in Tottenham or requires a move to the Olympic stadium in Stratford.

For once on this blog I will state my preference because I feel it’s time to do exactly that. No longer can we straddle the fence debating what’s best for the club. Both options have there pro’s and con’s, many of which are financial and in today’s footballing climate unfortunately for you and me, as fans, that’s the main concern for football clubs.

I want to stay in Tottenham. I know it’s a run down hole of a place and I know we won’t be playing in a stadium called White Hart Lane any more. I also know if we were to move people would get over it pretty quickly. I understand the potential financial constraints redeveloping the area and building a new stadium would cause the team and I don’t care. Of course I want us to be successful and of course I want a nice, shiny new stadium with some of the best players in the world. I don’t want to lose players like Gareth Bale to subsidise the building of that stadium and I don’t want us to have to choose a stadium or success. The fact is we MUST have a new stadium to compete.

From polls I’ve seen and from speaking to fans I think the split of those who want a new stadium in Tottenham and those who are happy to move to Stratford is about 70/30 in favour of staying where we are.

I could go into stories about the first time I went to White Hart Lane as a young boy, on my own in London, walking up the high road, wondering if I’d make it to the ground alive or not. Or the first time I made my way up the steps and looked upon that hallowed turf but what would be the point? We’ve all got stories and feelings like that. Those who have no problem with moving have the same feelings I’m sure.

I’m not here to say whether you’re right or wrong. I’m not even going to suggest what option Daniel Levy and the board would prefer. If you want us to move to Stratford that’s fine, it’s called freedom of speech. If you don’t, there is something you can do about it.

You may have seen in the press of late a group of fans have come together to campaign against the move. The group is called We Are N17 and the website has just launched. www.wearen17.co.uk is the place to visit if you want to show your support to stay in Tottenham. Amongst other things the website briefly describes what the group is about and what they aim to do as well as describing what you can do to help. There will be more added over the next week or so including pre-prepared letters you can send to the club itself if you’re not sure on what’s best to write or just don’t have the time but want to help. The group are in constant contact with the club as well as local politicians and any demonstrations will be peaceful. Flyers and posters will be strewn across Tottenham shortly, with local businesses keen to show their support.

If you want to know more visit the website and try to listen into TalkSPORT this afternoon at approximately 3.20pm when a member of We Are N17 will be talking to Hawksbee and Jacobs.

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Another Shakespearian Night?

November 24th, 2010 Posted in Champions League, Match Previews
Nov, 24 2010
7 Comments »

As Shakespeare once said, “the champions league has cometh once again”. I think that was Henry IV Part I but don’t quote me. This season has been a lot like a Shakespearian play though don’t you think? More ups and downs than Katie Price when she was trying to make it big and I can only presume Gillian McKeith (of jungle fame) is a spurs fan and keeps fainting because someone’s feeding her our scorelines, results and injury list. Just a quick preview today. I’m not at the game tonight and I’ll have to settle for watching the recorded game at about 10.30pm because instead I’ll be watching John Bishop (I’m told he’s a comedian) with the wife as it’s her birthday. I did ask if she would mind waiting until tomorrow but apparently I have my priorities wrong. I don’t see her point.

Anyway, tonight we could book our place in the knock out stages of the champions league with one game to spare. Not many fans or “experts” thought that was possible, but here we are, 4 games into our European adventure and only 1 disappointing defeat which almost felt like a victory thanks to Bales hat-trick. I was lucky enough to be at the Bremen away game and I went there expecting a defeat but to have a good time anyway. That’s pretty much how it’s been this season. Surprises around every corner, some good and some bad. The leading character who you thought was the murderer turning out to risk his life to save the damsel in distress in the final scene. Not sure why, but Jenas just popped into my head.

That’s why tonight we should be ready for anything. Bremen aren’t having a good season but know if they’ve got any chance of progressing in Europe they have to win their last 2 games. Like us they can’t defend either so expect them to come at us, which hopefully will play right into our hands. If there’s one thing we’ve learnt from this season so far we’re excellent on the break.

The final home midweek glory night, at least until the next one. There’s a chance we could still finish bottom of our group amazingly. Here’s the unlikely scenario, we lose to Bremen and Inter beat Twente, then we lose to Twente and Bremen beat Inter.  Let’s be more realistic though, we’ll be in Europe come the new year, more than likely in the Champions League but if we do what we know we’re capable of it could be that Europa League Cup thingy-ma-bob. Let’s not think of that though. We’ve scored 11 goals in 3 home games so far and only conceded 2 goals, looking like world beaters in the process. We’ve completely hammered the current champions of Europe, taught those young boys a lesson they’ll never forget and stuck 4 past Twente.

It’ll all be fine tonight, won’t it? Yeah, of course it will. The team isn’t dumb enough to take this result for granted just because of what’s happened in the past or their oppositions current form are they? Redknapp wouldn’t allow that to happen. I mean after beating the enemy on Saturday we’re on a roll now, it’ll be easy pickings, right? Just like after our other big wins this season, like Young Boys at home. Hmm, Wigan followed that. Ok, how about Inter at home? Bolton away. :( Of course I’m only concentrating on the times we’ve had a shocking performance, we did follow the Twente win with back to back wins against Villa and Fulham. It does highlight though that we can’t take anything for granted with this beloved team of ours. It’s what being a Spurs fan is all about.

Bremen aren’t a bad team, although current form would suggest otherwise. As we saw in the away game they’ve got some very good players, in particular Marko Marin, who gave Corluka in particular a very tough time in the second half. One which the Croatian hasn’t really got over yet this season. If Bremen want to get something out of this game they’ll want to attack Hutton as often as possible especially if Rafa is on the right of midfield, offering very little cover.

That’s of course is vdV is fit. Both he and Bale are doubts although I would expect one of them if not both to start. Preferably Bale, as we can get away without vdV in a 4-4-2 formation with JD spearheading the team once again. Emotionally the team will be drained from the NLD but should be on a huge high knowing a win will secure our place in the next stage. Redknapp will undoubtedly send his team out to attack at will and try to outscore Bremen like he has done in our previous home games. Expect goals and lots of them, whether they’re all in one end is a possibility although unlikely. It won’t be an easy game but one we should expect to win.

In a week where we’ve ended our terrible run in away NLD’s wouldn’t it be nice to qualify for the next stage before our much better, more experienced French neighbours do? Oh yes, Lord Hotspur, how that would be sweet.

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N17 or E15?

November 23rd, 2010 Posted in Articles, New Stadium
Nov, 23 2010
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We all know about the Northumberland Redevelopment Project in Tottenham and we all know about the possibility of moving to the Olympic Stadium. The one thing that’s certain is Tottenham Hotspur as a football club need and will be moving to a new stadium at some point in the next 5 years.

There are online petitions to stay in N17 and the group “We Are N17″ has been set up by some of the more influential spurs fans to ensure the club know they would prefer to stay in Tottenham. There are facebook groups for both staying in Tottenham and moving to Stratford.

This seems a subject that splits large groups of Spurs fans right down the middle. On this blog alone have been some very strong opinions voiced in the comments section for moving but I know a lot of people who would stop going to games if the club moved from their current location. So I thought it would be interesting to have a simple poll to gauge people’s opinions. I’ve disabled the comments on this update because we all know the pro’s and con’s for both possibilities so don’t need to go over them again. Just choose which you would prefer, to stay in N17 or move to E15?

Where Do You Want Tottenham's New Stadium?

View Results

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North London Derby: The Fall Out

November 23rd, 2010 Posted in Articles
Nov, 23 2010
5 Comments »

We’ve had 60 hours or so now to let Saturday’s excellent result sink into the subconscious and come to terms with not having to hear about what an awful record we have away from home against our rivals and the other members of the Sky hierarchy. Thanks to the goings on at Chelsea we didn’t really have the normal press coverage that the result and manner in which it came would’ve got but there was still enough to warrant some comments.

Spurs Can Win the League

That’s one of the main things the press seem to have picked up on. Now I don’t know about you but I never heard Redknapp say that. What he said was there’s no reason why with the addition of a few quality players we couldn’t compete for it in a couple of seasons time. All he was doing was echoing his comments from pre-season. He was on TalkSPORT last night saying the same thing, although when asked if we could compete this season his response was, “why not?”, which I guess is an honest assessment seeing how no-one really seems to want to put a string of results together, including us.

But can we really win the league this season? No chance. I don’t think that’s me being negative, it’s just realistic. We’ll probably end up about 20 points behind whoever does eventually win it. Any closer than that and we’ll be laughing. Can we at least challenge in the coming reasons? As Redknapp says, why not. We’ve got the core of a very good team who are gaining belief in their own abilities with every game, or at least every positive game. Even Redknapp seems to be slowly learning how to effect games for the better. Keep hold of those players, add some more in key positions and who knows.

Gallas as Captain

An interesting one this. The one thing Harry does well is man management. He has his moments of madness, like comparing Darren Bent to his wife but who’s to say that wouldn’t have worked with some players? It just didn’t with Bent. I remember travelling to West Brom and hearing the potential news that Gallas might be made captain and the various comments that echoed there way through the train weren’t complimentary. I’m sure the same was said before kick off on Saturday but it worked.

Gallas showed a side of him and a performance he hadn’t shown previously in a spurs shirt. One which had it been King, the press and fans alike would’ve been raving about. Whether it was the armband, his ex club or just time he put it in is yet to be seen. The one thing I don’t think Redknapp likes to do is swap his captain much so I would expect to see Gallas retain the armband until Dawson or King return from injury.

Does he deserve it? I’m not sure. Personally I’d prefer vdV to have it but I don’t think he needs it to be a leader. That’s just his natural persona. Maybe Gallas does need it and if by having it he performs like he did in every game I’m happy to swallow my pride for the sake of the team, at least for the time being.

Goons Go on the Attack

It’s been hugely entertaining listening to the various radio show phone ins and watching Sky Sports News since about 3pm on Saturday. Here was me thinking they didn’t care about the derby and their really big games were against United and Chelsea. Seems like a strange reaction for a bunch of people who don’t really care.

Wenger is an idiot and it’s time he’s booted out. That’s been the general opinion. I know only the idiots ring into these shows, much the same as the Spurs equivalent who ring up saying Defoe should be sold because he misses too many chances etc, but it’s not just those idiots who are saying it. I believe the vast majority don’t feel this way but it’s certainly a growing theme within the many hospitality boxes at the Emirates.

My opinion is he’s doing a good job. ;) They do play some fantastic football at times and are only a few points off the top. Will they win the league? They’ve got a better chance than we have but no. Like us they’re missing a few players in key positions, which of course will be one more next summer when Cesc leaves.

The one thing we should take notice of is the money they’ve had to spend since moving into their new stadium. Whether it’s in Tottenham (it will be) or somewhere else, it’s a venture we’re not far from embarking on and one we need to realise will impact on player funding. Would Redknapp be able to keep us in the top 5/6 for half a decade without much financial support to the playing staff?

So there you have it. On Friday we were struggling, they were about to challenge for the title and Man City were boring and needed to sack their manager. Half a week and 1 round of matches later, we’re title contenders, they’re on a slippery slop to mid-table and City have already won the league. It’s a funny old game.

COYS

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Great Result, Now to Move On

November 21st, 2010 Posted in Match Reports, Premier League
Nov, 21 2010
8 Comments »

Dido, Johnny Rotten, Aled Jones, Rachel Stevens, Alan Davies, Colin Firth, Barbara Windsor, Kevin Costner, Piers Morgan, Nick Hornby, Jeremy Beadle, Lisa Rogers, Thierry Henry, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Audley Harrison, Tony Adams, Ian Wright, Ian Poulter, John Goti, Ronnie Biggs, Charlie Kray and Osama Bin Laden. Can you hear me? Your boys took one helluva beating.

Over the top? Yeah I guess so. A Beating? Not really, but the record books show a 3-2 defeat to their nearest rivals, the mighty Spurs. This time last season we hadn’t beaten them at home in the league for 11 years and away for 16. Now, with the home record righted in April and the away record crushed yesterday it’s time to move on. No longer can Sky bring up that terrible record of not winning away at their favourite clubs. Results like yesterday, no matter how it came about brings, or should do, confidence and belief.

Half time came with us once again not performing in a NLD and an early kick off. Tactically we had it terribly wrong with the 4-4-1-1 formation that just doesn’t work with the players we’ve got. I thought after the Blackburn game, when we went back to 4-4-2 and performed the way we know we can that quite possibly we’d seen the last of that formation in league football but at 12.45pm we were back using it again. Completely outclassed and way too much space in the middle of the park for players that will and did punish us if you allow them that time and space. The way to beat them, as I said on Thursday is to limit that central space and make them play wider. They don’t like doing that and players who are meant to play wide will always look to cut inside where possible. In the first half we played right into their hands.

Credit where it’s due though, I’ve often criticised Redknapp’s tactics and inability to change things, but he did exactly the right thing yesterday. If you believe match of the day you’ll think it was because Defoe came on and gave us the ability to play balls behind which is partly true but not the reason for the turnaround. It’s always good to have the ability to play balls behind the defence, whether that’s with a long ball or a ball passed, firmly along the ground, but by playing 2 up front and Rafa on the right it meant we kept the defence more occupied and more importantly played a very narrow formation. That resulted in less time and space for the goon and gave us the ability to break quickly which is what we do best and what we should always look to do away from home.

Both vdV and Bale were playing as inside forwards opposed to wide midfielders. Bale’s goal was testament to that. Or at least the position he was in to support Defoe and vdV was. The goal is testament to one of the most talented 21 year olds I’ve ever seen. The first touch was world class. Not just good or good for an top player, it was world class. Not many players could use the outside of their foot while sprinting and touch the ball so deftly and take the shot so early and so calmly in that situation. In the first half Bale wouldn’t have been in that position. vdV would’ve possibly because he had been playing centrally but he had very little support resulting in Fabregas controlling the game.

The further forward we can get Bale the better. I think most people have no come to the conclusion that he’s not a left back, although it took a lot a long time to realise that and if you believe Redknapp he’s still not sure. Personally I think it’s time to see if we can somehow push him even further forward. I want to see him in a Ronaldo role, not as a striker but the more times he gets the ball in the final third, whether that’s on the left, right or centrally the more goals we’ll score.

Anyway, so credit to Redknapp for making the change. Lennon had been fairly quiet and had made a few wrong decisions when he had the ball, one which eventually led to their second goal. We must from now on play 2 strikers with Rafa on the right whenever possible. If the goon had enough quality in wide positions they would’ve taken full advantage of the fact Rafa moves inside more often that not leaving Hutton exposed but with the likes of Jenas playing as well as he did in the second half we should have enough to cover that area, especially against the “weaker” teams.

We weren’t awesome yesterday and a draw was probably a fair result but we showed character and I guess it was just our time. Wenger did his usual moaning at full time, claiming we hardly produced anything, which at half time was right but not at the final whistle. In fact it was probably about even with chances created. At 2-2 they should’ve taken the lead and all could’ve been so different but that’s ifs, buts and maybes. We took our chances, they didn’t. It’s been the other way around way too many times for my liking so it’s about time we saw him storming off down the tunnel in that stupidly long padded coat he wears in the winter.

I haven’t changed my mind on William Gallas. I didn’t want him because I didn’t think he was good enough. I don’t care who he used to play for. So far this season he’s made a lot of mistakes that have led to goals. Mistakes that if others made they wouldn’t be playing, but yesterday he was immense. Was my man of the match by a country mile and was surprised to see Bale get it but not disappointed. Whether it was the captaincy or the fact he was trying to prove a point, whatever it was he did what he had to do and played out of his skin. If that’d been Ledley King everyone would be crowing about him today. Forget who he used to play for, if he performs like that all the time I’ll happily say I was wrong and he was a good signing. One game doesn’t make a season and there were still times when he didn’t trust those around him when he should’ve but everyone deserves to be praised when they put in a good performance. So well done Gallas.

Still problems at the back which haven’t changed, and just go to show we need to go out looking to outscore the opposition. Bremen in midweek, Liverpool next weekend. Two home games and two tough home games but two games we should be looking to win. Enjoy yesterday for what it was. A great win against our local rivals and 3 points to add to our total. 2 wins on the trot but it’s now time to turn that into 5-6 wins on the trot. It’s so important for the future of the club that we get back into the champions league this season and only performing against our rivals won’t do it. Performing against every team will. Have a great weekend, watch replays on Match of the Day, Goals on Sunday and Match of the Day 2, but come Monday (ok, maybe Tuesday ;) ) it’s time to concentrate on the next match and make sure we win that one too.

COYS

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