So here it is. Last day of the season and the all important game that could decide a variety of issues as we go into the summer. Manager, players in and out and if we are dining at the big boys table next season. To be honest, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this thinking, I’m truly disappointed that 3rd place isn’t signed, sealed and confirmed already and this game being the celebration of that for the Spurs faithful. That’s just not our way though is it? What we are left with is a nervous 90 minutes for a must win game and praying for favours elsewhere.

The manager’s position probably isn’t an issue any more either, as even if we don’t finish 4th I would be very surprised if Daniel Levy will be sacking Harry Redknapp anyway due to the financial implications that come with doing so. That means we are stuck with him for another season at least, cheers the FA! Let’s hope there is a modicum of a relationship between the 2 left and Mr Levy finally let’s Harry at some of the money we must have in reserve which was waiting, most likely, for the new manager most thought we were going to have next season.  In regards to the player situation, for both in and out, well that will depend on if we have Champions League football or not. Bale and Modric being 2 examples of that already and more recently Assou-Ekotto pipping up as well.  I wish players would just keep quiet until the end of the season to see what position the club and themselves are in, unfortunately that’s not the modern way. It’s not like they had the chance to change the final outcome anyway is it?

On to the vital match against a side having one of their best seasons in the Premiership under the stewardship of the fantastic loveable man and one of our former favourite manager’s Martin Jol. He has Fulham playing some great, exciting football and they are a very dangerous side, one I would prefer not to have played in this situation. On the plus side they have nothing left to play for this season but as we all know Jol’s team don’t play that way as he loves to win. We also know how he left the club and while he wouldn’t want to do us harm, he certainly will set up his team to make it hard for us.

Spurs have played beautiful, flowing football at times this season and have won many plaudits for doing so but on Sunday it’s not about how we play, it’s just about one thing, 3 points. That’s all that matters.

We are also reliant on a favour from the new England managers team West Bromich Albion. If they can pull off a win or even draw against Arsenal and we can claim victory at the Lane, we finish 3rd. Then we don’t have to be biting our nails on the 19th May hoping for a Bayern Munich win over Chelsea. That would be left for our North London rivals. Surely we must be due something over the England debacle seeing on how debilitating it impacted our season?

I’d imagine the game itself will be quite an open one as Fulham like to attack and that will suit us with our pace. Most of their play will be through the impressive Moussa Dembele and Captain America Clint Dempsey, both of whom we have a supposed interest in bring to the club in the summer. Dembele is a clever player who links up play well and while he should score more, he certainly is a threat. Dempsey is just having an immense year with 17 league goals and 7 assists. By far the best in Fulham’s history, the American was very unlucky not to have been in the nominations for player of the year and in the team of the year also. He caries all kinds of threat, with his movement, late runs in the box and vision, the Spurs defence will need to marshall him closely to keep him out.

In defence man mountain Brede Hangeland will have to moved around and out of position so we can exploit the space behind him, a job Adebayor is more then capable of.

Kyle Walker will be tested by the runs of John Arne Riise and Damien Duff and will need the back up of Aaron Lennon to help out, while Pavel Pobregnyak has already proved he knows where the goal is in his short time in the league.  Martin Jol has some very impressive youngsters he is giving a chance to also, most notably Kerim Frei, who seems like a livewire and Alexander Kacaniklic.  Make no bones about it, this will be a tough match.

For Spurs the only real problem is at left back, with Assou-Ekotto out and Danny Rose suspended after his stupid lunge at Alan Hutton last week. Will Redkanpp go for the Martinez’s Wigan 3-4-3 formation or one similar. I would be very surprised given the magnitude of the situation and the fact that Sir Ledley is unlikely to be fit for the match. News also broke yesterday that he will require more surgery in the summer on his troublesome knee.  That leaves us with shoe holing someone into the left back position. Redkanpp isn’t quite sure what he is going to do yet himself as he said at his pre match press conference that it’s a problem and they have a couple of ideas but they will see where they go with it. That doesn’t fill me with confidence!

The rest of the side will be the same as it has been for the last 3 games, especially with King and Parker doubts. I’m not sure either would have been able to force themselves into the team anyway, such has the form been of the beast Sandro and the solid partnership of Gallas and Kaboul.

Possible Line up:

Friedel; Walker, King, Kaboul, Gallas; Lennon, Modric, Sandro, Bale; Van Der Vaart; Adebayor

This match is all about us. If we win, we are definitely 4th, possibly 3rd if results go our way and that must of been the objective at the start of season. We cannot change other factors around us. A view reiterated by assistant manager Kevin Bond “We need to do the job we need to do and then at least no-one can stop us from finishing fourth. That’s what we have to focus on. If we get help from elsewhere, that’s a bonus, but we have to make sure we win our game first.”

Prediction:

Whatever your own personal views of how the season has turned out and on the manager and players as well, we all have to push them to one side until 4.45pm on Sunday. Then we can have our say and how we think the club can progress and go forward. The Fulham game is all that matters for the time being. We all know we have the team capable of doing what we need to do and the players will certainly be motivated for the game as victory could bring them the Champions League football they crave. With this in mind I’m going for a 2-1 victory and praying the Baggies help us out the Hawthornes.

Sing loud and proud for the boys: We are Tottenham, Super Tottenham, Super Tottenham from the Lane and make some noise!

TO DARE IS TO DO

COYS

Rob

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

The season is nearly over and as we go into our penultimate game of the season the Champions League qualification spot is still up for grabs as is 3rd place! THFC1882 is pleased have Mike Hooley back to preview the game.

Following a very encouraging 4-1 victory on Wednesday night away at Bolton, which itself came hot on the heels of a home win against Wanderers’ fellow Lancashire relegation candidates Blackburn, Spurs face a third team threatened with relegation on Sunday afternoon.

The atmosphere and outlook at White Hart Lane is suddenly significantly more positive, coinciding with the FA taking everyone by surprise in choosing Roy Hodgson for the England manager job instead of overwhelming favourite, our own gaffer Harry Redknapp. Spurs now have a decent chance of securing fourth spot, sitting four points clear of Chelsea in sixth and thanks to a vastly superior goal difference over a Newcastle side which finish with two very tough games, at home to Manchester City and away at Everton.

There is even the slim and somewhat incredible chance to reclaim third, but this will realistically mean Spurs need to win both their remaining games while hoping arch-rivals Arsenal don’t – and almost certainly requiring a favour from a certain Mr Hodgson on the season’s final day, because surely Norwich won’t record a famous North London double this Saturday. Third place of course secures Champions League football next season, while whoever finishes fourth will be left hoping Chelsea don’t snatch it away by beating Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Whichever way you look at it, at least one of these London rivals will be left very disappointed.

Spurs have a good chance to record a vital victory away at Aston Villa on Sunday, a team who haven’t won since beating Fulham on 10March and are in danger of being relegated, though three more points will almost certainly guarantee their survival. Villa are this campaign’s draw specialists, having drawn a whopping 16 times so far this season. Ten of those draws though have been recorded away from home, while at Villa Park they have won just four times, losing on eight occasions.

It is Villa’s wretched home from and lack of confidence, allied to Spurs’ re-found self-belief, that points to an away win. In addition, the chasm between the sides in the 2-0 in at White Hart Lane back in November ought to bode well for Spurs. Football is seldom a simple as that of course, but there’s no doubt the Lilywhites have a great chance to finish the season in style.

Villa have had a number of injuries this season, perhaps having little choice but to blood a few too many youngsters when experience heads were called for. But beleaguered manager Alex McLeish – desperately hoping to avoid a second successive relegation after taking Birmingham down last season – should have captain Richard Dunne available, along with first-choice full-backs Stephen Warnock and ex-Spur Alan Hutton, a fine keeper in Shay Given and a decent if currently goal-shy striker in Gabriel Agbonlahor.  Charles N’Zogbia is also likely to play but has largely flattered to deceive this season.

I am writing before any team news is released, but most Spurs fans will be wondering whether Redknapp will stick with the same team for a third game running – and even though my player of the season Scott Parker is likely to be available again after injury, I expect and would like to see an unchanged line-up. Sandro has performed excellently in Parker’s stead, and it would be very harsh to swap him out for Parker. It would also make little sense in changing the team shape at this stage, with the players having just recorded two morale-boosting wins.

Van der Vaart looks like he’s back on form, and he’s sure to start along with Adebayor, fresh from his brace at the Reebok Stadium. Assuming Sandro overcomes a knock, he should start with Modric, flanked by flying wingers Bale & Lennon – it’s great to see the right-winger back fit and on form. At the back, providing Gallas and Walker are fit, the defence should also remain the same, with the French veteran starting ahead of King to partner the now first-choice Kaboul, and Walker hopefully celebrating his new contract extension. With Assou-Ekotto out for the season, Rose is sure to play at left-back.

Possible line-ups (pre-team news)

Friedel; Walker, Rose, Gallas, Kaboul; Sandro; Modric, Lennon, Bale; Van der Vaart; Adebayor

Prediction

Having predicted a Bolton win in midweek you may want to pay little attention to my prediction, but, after a fine performance and those four well-taken goals on Wednesday night, and assuming we go with the same team, I would expect us to prevail by 1 or 2 goals – I’ll go for Villa 1 Spurs 2.

COYS

Mike (@mjhooley on Twitter )

The Villa fan in the opposing corner for this game is Matt Bye.

I’m from Derby but have been an Aston Villa fan since I was about 8 when I wanted to copy my best friend. Regrettably I have never been a season ticket holder, a life of working in retail has prevented this. I have always tried to get to the games I can, normally about 10 a season.

When it comes to my favourite players, I always look back at the mid-late 90s with rose tinted glasses. My first thought when it comes to a favourite player comes to Tommy Johnson. Always considered an odd choice, but I thought he was great. Unlucky to come under the likes of Yorke and Milosevic, but he stepped up to the mark when required. Also off the pitch, he was a great character, I remember watching my old VHS season reviews and him always being the centre of the laughs! Andy Townsend is another old favourite of mine, absolutely solid on the pitch and he signed my school bag in JD Sports! Olaf Mellberg and Martin Laursen were always my favourite CB pair. I remember seeing Laursen play for the first time and his skill and ability to read the game blew me away.

Current favourites in the team are Agbonlahor, Bent, Petrov, Cueller and Given, definitely solid choices for us, but I am really proud of our young players coming through; Clark, Lichaj, Baker, Lowry, Albrighton, Bannan, Gardner, Herd and Weimann are real future stars for the future. It is unfortunate that they have been thrust head first into the deep end, but they are doing themselves proud.

Lastly, it’s impossible for a villa fan to talk about favourite players without mentioning M’Lord Paul McGrath!

Season so far

There’s no hiding it, this hasn’t been a season to remember for the Holte End. Controversial management, lack of transfers, falling gates and lack of results and performances have left Villa fans feeling down, as low as our league table position.

Home form has been terrible, we have nearly had more draws than any other team in Premiership history and a massive loss of points from winning positions. A lot of Villa fans have been very vocal in their disapproval of McLeish. Whilst he wasn’t my first choice as a manager, I have always stuck to the point that I support the club and as such back McLeish. I don’t like the style of play we have adopted under him, I feel we have been far too defensive which has stifled players such as Bent, who given the service, will bang in goals for fun. But the lack of width and anything through the middle has left him isolated and a very disappointing performance this season.

Again for players like N’Zogbia and Ireland, young players like Albrighton and Bannan havent fulfilled their promise but I do think this has been more down to our tactics rather than the players. I feel sorry for our defensive line ups too, they have taken a lot of abusive from sections of Villa Park, but when we are inviting opponents onto us constantly for a game, then they are bound to get through.

My players of the season have been Agbonlahor and Given. Gabby has full of passion all season. Chasing every ball, running all over the pitch and really leading by example. Given has been a hero in goal, we would be in an even worse position with a lesser keeper in the goal. But a mention to Guzan too, who stood up tremendously in Given’s absence.

Team News

Richard Dunne returned to the team against West Brom and had a fantastic game and will certainly feature against Spurs. Eric Lichaj has also had some great performances in the starting XI and is looking to continue his great run and stop Spurs’ wing attacks.

Possible line up

Given/Hutton/Lichaj/Dunne/Cueller/N’Zogbia/Warnock/Ireland/Albrighton/Agbonlahor/Weimann

Going with a flat back four, with N’Zogbia and Albrighton running up and down the wings, Ireland in a attacking role which Warnock sits the whole a little. Agbonlahor playing just behind Weimann

Prediction

Tottenham will be in a good mood after battering Bolton at The Reebok, but Villa really need the win to seal their premiership status. I can see us going into this really wanting the win, but doubts remain on us both in front of goal and defending set pieces. Spurs obviously have ambitions for the top three too, so it’s all to play for! Going to be hopeful and go for 2-1 Villa. Villa to take a 1-0 lead, Spurs come back quickly and then Weimann grabbing a scruffy late goal against the run of play!

Matt ( @MattB88 on Twitter )

#Pray4Petrov

Many thanks to Mike and Matt for spending time in previewing the game for us.

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

A trademark performance from 2 months ago leaves Tottenham Hotspur right in the hunt for Champions League football still. 2 wins down, 2 to go. Adam Nathan reflects on the match from last night.

Let’s take a vote. At 1-1 last night, was there anyone who thought that Spurs, our Spurs, with two wins in ten miserable outings, would pick themselves up, transform into the players we all know they can be and dismantle a spirited Bolton on a ground that we had never recorded a league win? No, I didn’t think so. What an outstanding half an hour of proper, organized football. After looking absolute certainties to go behind as a result of Bolton’s rejuvenation after equalizing through Nigel Reo-Coker, a few touches of class, a couple of rousing words and a realization of their own quality saw the team completely turn the match on its head. Two wonderful goals in the space of three minutes were capped by another flowing team move, and before anyone had time to fully grasp what had just happened, a team who had shown practically nothing for three months had trampled all over their opponents to record an outstanding victory. To be clear, yes, Bolton are in the relegation zone, but clichés exist for a reason, and the old caper that we struggle against teams like that is only continually used because we do usually crumble against battling opposition, a sad fact that made our turnaround all the more unexpected, but most importantly thrilling.

In terms of the game itself, a bright start from Spurs didn’t look like it was going to reap rewards until Modric unleashed a thunderbolt from twenty-five yards that swerved viciously into Bogdan’s top left corner. It was one of those strikes, as with his stunning goal against Liverpool, that was in from the moment it left his foot. I’m happy to admit that my reaction to the shot and goal was, ‘oh do me a favour LukaaaAAAAAAAAA!’ such has been his wayward finishing this year, but had it not been for Cisse’s stunning goal at Stamford Bridge, we may have had a real contender for goal of the season. Despite a couple of lapses in concentration at the back, most notably from Rose, we looked fairly in control of the match, and fully capable of forcing matters a touch more should it have been necessary. Credit to the Trotters however, who, perhaps buoyed by the fabulous return to the Reebok of Fabrice Muamba, started the second half with tremendous purpose, pinning the visiting defence deep into their box, and eventually equalizing as Reo-Coker slammed home after a clever flick by Ngog. The eighty-nine minutes around that goal save Modric from any real criticism of losing his man, although it should be noted that this is not the first time the Croatian has been guilty of switching off from set-pieces this season; thankfully he would repay us later on in droves.

At this stage it really was panic stations for Spurs, and it should come as no surprise that the first moment of relaxed play by a visiting attacker led to our second goal. With the ball fizzed in to Van Der Vaart on the half way line, he showed his class with a calm chested pass to release Bale on the left hand side. As the Welshman sprinted towards the Bolton box, Rafa made a trademark late run which was perfectly found by Bale’s low cross. If there was one foot in the side you would want that ball to fall to it was the Dutchman’s left and he made no mistake in guiding it past Bogdan to restore our advantage. Before the celebrations had halted the lead had been doubled, as a wonderful pass from Modric found Lennon who had run in behind Sam Ricketts. With Adebayor open in the middle, the England international rolled the ball across the box for the striker score his 14^th of the season; his first real contribution to the match after an anonymous first sixty-five minutes. That goal signalled the end of Bolton’s resistance and the Spurs forwards punished their tiring opponents with a fourth goal. After Bale and Van Der Vaart had exchanged passes, the Welshman sped into the space vacated by the Bolton midfield before releasing Adebayor to round Bogdan and slide home. A wonderful team goal, although the celebration left a lot to be desired! The last twenty minutes were played out at a far slower pace, although good work on a couple of occasions by the Sandro and the imperious Kaboul kept the lead, and our heart-rates at a comfortable level.

In terms of the team overall, a couple things should definitely be raised:-

Sandro’s return-To be clear, Scott Parker has been a brilliant signing for us, from a leadership and performance point of view. However, the last two games, whilst against poor opposition, have seen us look far more balanced in attack and defence, a fact which largely revolves around the Brazilian’s return to his natural position in front of the back four. As well as probably having a touch more invention than Parker, Sandro is much quicker at winning the ball back, which, with four attackers in front of him, allows us to recycle possession far quicker and advance against a defence who haven’t had time to get as many men behind the ball as they would like. The amount of space afforded to us in the first half was great evidence for this; with Sandro turning the ball over quicker and higher up the pitch we had more space to attack into on the break. In addition, his freshness through not playing that many games allows him to cover much more ground than Parker. This subsequently frees up Modric to join the forwards and create opportunities as opposed to sitting deep to fulfil defensive duties. It was another excellent performance from the Brazilian, who will no doubt be a crucial player next season.

Bale and Lennon-Firstly, it really is a joy to see both of those players on song and in their correct positions. Bolton’s 442 formation had no answer to our stretching of the play out wide whilst maintaining solidity through the middle, and one can only think how many more points we may have picked up had we played with more width in the past two months. In addition to their positioning, their willingness to run in behind their full backs last night made such a difference, and should really be a pre-requisite of them every time they are on the pitch. I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of Barcelona live recently, and one thing that always amazes me about their play is that every time one of the midfield three has the ball the wingers ALL run in behind, irrespective of whether they have been released once or ten times in the game so far. Lennon’s run for our third goal is a movement that he really should be making twenty or thirty times a game, safe in the knowledge that on 90% of those occasions he won’t get it, but that in the precious remaining 10% in which he does receive possession we will have a great chance to score. Last night was a great throwback to the unbeaten run in the first half of the season where our wingers relentless work off the ball caused the opposition all kinds of problems and made us a very difficult side to play against with threats coming from the central and wide positions.

In conclusion, it really was a great win last night. With two games to go we have put ourselves in a great position to finish in the top four or even third, and to throw it away now would perhaps be more upsetting than it may have felt with six points less on Sunday morning. People will naturally not be able to relax until the Champions League Final in Munich, but ultimately that is out of our hands; all we can do is show the levels of maturity on display last night and enter our final games with the same desire as yesterday. It was a great sight to see the players rejoice like fans on the final whistle, and hopefully we will all be able to join together for some fantastic celebrations at White Hart Lane next Sunday.

Come on you Spurs

Adan (@adamdnathan on Twitter )

You can follow this blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom )

Bolton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur, Wednesday 2nd May, Reebok Stadium, 8pm kick off, SSHD1 & SS1

Another game, another win a must. No letting up now. Adam Nathan is back for the preview and some other thoughts.

Another quiet week at the Lane. If only! After the fairly dull win over Blackburn on Sunday afternoon, most Spurs fans will have focussed their attention on three things; the Premier League table, the remaining fixtures of our rivals and the crucial game at the Reebok against struggling Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night. The decision of the FA to announce Roy Hodgson as their number one candidate for the England job of course changed all that, and as the dust settles on the new national team coach’s press conference, the game against Owen Coyle’s men draws quickly upon us. For what it’s worth, I am fully behind the FA’s decision from an England fan’s perspective to appoint Roy Hodgson, even though the Spurs fan in me is disappointed at the prospect of another season under Harry Redknapp. Many will argue that Harry’s apparent ability to get the most out of his players would have seen him prosper in the international arena, but in truth, these summer tournaments are becoming less and less about the individual stars and more about the ability of a manager to turn his array of talent into a cohesive unit. Whilst nations like Spain, Germany and the Netherlands undoubtedly have a wealth of world class players, it is unlikely that they would have succeeded to the levels they have done without being extremely well organized; for evidence, read the relative failings of Argentina, France and Brazil in recent competitions. In my opinion this suits Hodgson’s drill-mentality to a tee, and whilst Harry’s England may have had a couple of rousing Wembley victories in qualifiers, I doubt that he would have the nous or tactical interest to lead a country to glory.

As a result, we find ourselves in a position that no one expected. He’s going to stay, unless we take the decision to get rid of him. Now is not the time to go into why I think Harry should go, but the match against Bolton ties very nicely in with many of my reservations. Tomorrow night, we face an opposition with very little to lose, and an awful lot to gain, just like Queens Park Rangers last Saturday. With three games remaining, the Trotters will see the match as an opportunity to win some bonus points before their make-or-break last week of the season;  take points off Spurs and we’re all but there will undoubtedly be the sentiment of Owen Coyle’s team talk as he sends his side into battle.

Battle. Probably the most important word in the Premier League dictionary as sides enter into the month of May with their hopes for next season up for grabs. It’s also the word that we have shown least of since commencing our disastrous slide in February. We all know the facts; from third in the league and ten points clear, we have capitulated to the extent where not only do we have to win our last three games, we might well be reliant on the mother of all favours from Bayern Munich to secure Champions League football.  Can we do it? If you base it on talent, of course we can. Will we do it? That is a completely different question, and one that will be answered by the skill of two groups. We will be reliant on the manager and coaches’ competence in picking the right team for each game and the players, who not only owe it to themselves to succeed this year but to the supporters who have suffered most through their heroes’ inability to show the required fight to succeed at this level.

Sunday’s game against Blackburn showed signs of recovery, and no incident was more indicative of the way we will succeed than the first goal. As the ball bobbled around outside the box, the imperious Sandro cleaned up the mess and swept the ball out to Lennon, on the right hand side. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Lennon dropped his shoulder, beat his man and stood a cross up to the far post where Bale was situated, on the left. As his header looped towards goal, it was cleared off the line and fell to the reliable left foot of Van Der Vaart, who forced the ball over the line, from the middle. It really is as easy as that. Fans are often made to feel stupid by ex-players and journalists, who scoff at the idea that unless you have played or worked in the abhorrent world of football, you haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about. Well let’s get one thing clear. We are not idiots. We watch our team play week in, week out (unlike the number of journalists who turn up once a month, see Ekotto dally on a ball and label him a clown) and as a result, I’d like to think we know what we are talking about. All year, we have craved balance. The forums, twitter, the chat on the terrace, all of it has been about playing with a balanced team that has its best players in their best positions, the most important of these being Gareth Bale wide from the left. If we persist with a team similar to that which played on Sunday, we will have every chance of achieving our goals, and salvaging what looked like an unavoidable train wreck into a season where our targets in August are met in May.

In terms of selection tomorrow, it will be interesting to see what midfield we line up with should Parker return from injury. I make no secret of the fact that as a defensive midfielder, I don’t think there are many better players than Sandro in this country. As he showed on Sunday, when his role simply revolves around getting the ball, giving it to more creative players and winning it, we play much better football. Personally, I’d play him in his best position in every game and accommodate others around him as opposed to some recent games that have seen the Brazilian shoved out wide, and tomorrow night I would be amazed if he didn’t start next to either Modric or the recovered Parker. If Parker doesn’t make it then Lennon will of course start but should it be the latter, I would probably play Luka narrow from the right hand side, giving Walker licence to get around the outside as he did with such success in the first half of the season, as it is imperative that Van Der Vaart plays behind Adebayor. It may seem harsh on Lennon to leave him out, and to be honest I would have no qualms in playing him instead of Modric, but I’m still not convinced by his partnership with Walker. Providing that the full back can overlap when we attack we remain a balanced side with Modric in the team, whilst Lennon becomes an attractive option off the bench against a tiring opposition in the second half should we need him.

On the left, well, you don’t need me to tell you who should be there. Whether he is or not will have to be seen, but it is classic black comedy that not only has his team suffered since he decided to play in a freer role but so has his image across the league. He has probably lost 20% of the fear factor he once had, and for his and our sake, I hope that either he or the coaching staff pull their head out of the sand and realize what has to be done with regard to his positioning. Again, we aren’t idiots, and if everyone watching can see it, it seems fairly obvious what needs to be done to remedy Bale’s poor second half of the season. At the back, I would expect us to be as we were on Sunday afternoon, when it really was wonderful to see Kaboul, my player of the season, back steadying the ship again.

In conclusion, I don’t mean to be negative. It gives me absolutely no pleasure to be unenthusiastic about the team I adore. All I want is for the players to look like it means half as much to them as it does to us. That isn’t the case with all of our players of course; Parker, Kaboul and Van Der Vaart have been consistently good all season and have never shirked responsibility, and we will be reliant on that attitude to carry us over the line in our crucial next ten days. We can do it. We have the talent to do it. All we can do now is get behind them to the best of our abilities and hope that for the first time in a long while our undying support is repaid in points.

Come on you Spurs

*PS-it is being reported that Fabrice Muamba may be in attendance tomorrow night. If so, I’m sure he will be received with a spine-chilling reception, and on behalf of us all, it will be great to see him back in a football stadium after the horrors many of us witnessed a few weeks ago. It’s good to have you back Fabrice.

Adam ( @adamdnathan on Twitter )

THFC1882 is delighted to welcome back our Bolton friend Dominic Walsh to the opposing teams corner for his take on a vital game for the trotters in their bid for Premiership safety.

Bolton and Spurs meet for the 3^rd time in just over 6 weeks at the Reebok. Both teams are needing the points for their respected quests in the Premier League, but obviously I think we need them more!

News that Fabrice Muamba will be in attendance at the Reebok should serve as a great source of inspiration for Bolton after the very traumatic events of the past few weeks. Bolton and Spurs fans forged a bond that will live for a long time after the events of that awful game in March.

However, the game in question tomorrow night is going to be another roller coaster of nerves and emotion from the outset. Bolton have been in fairly decent form. A win and two draws in our last three games has seen us keep pace with the teams ahead but sees us still in the drop zone courtesy of our inferior goal difference.

At the weekend Kevin Davies seemed to be back to his old self. Bullying defenders and showcasing his under rated finishing skills. He put in a true skippers performance on Saturday. I think he will keep his place on Wednesday evening due to his recent better form, but he also seems to have a little bit of the ‘midas touch’ when it comes to playing Spurs. He scored in the FA Cup replay last month, and has a good record over the years.

As for the rest of the team line up, Martin Petrov has to start. His form has been great over the past few months. Whether he is playing for a new contract or really has grown to love and care for the club, I don’t know. Whichever way it’s fantastic to see him grafting and supplying crosses for the forwards.

In midfield, Bolton are a little thin on the ground and we seem to be scrimping to get to the end of the season. 18 year old Josh Vela replaced Nigel Reo Coker at the weekend and may be in the reckoning. If he is not in the first XI, he will be on the bench.

At the back, Tim Ream and David Wheater seem to have struck an ‘ok’ partnership, flanked by Sam Ricketts (who has had a slight dip in form) and Gretar Steinsson (although Dedryk Boyata started at the weekend).

I am finding it hard to predict the score for the game tomorrow. I am firmly behind Owen Coyle and believe he is the right man for Bolton Wanderers. I think we are going in the right direction, so I am going to go for a 2-1 Bolton win that will nearly get us over the finish line and lead to a good summer of rebuilding and the start of something great for Bolton.

Dom ( @bwfcDom83 on Twitter )

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One win down, 3 to go. Do we have our Tottenham Hotspur back?  Kenny Palmer reviews Sunday’s game.

A restorative performance and win against an abject Blackburn lifted Tottenham back to the coveted 4^th place in the league.

Tottenham welcomed back Younes Kaboul and Emmanuel Adebayor from injury while Sandro came in for the injured Scott Parker as Harry Redknapp setup the team in the favoured 4-4-1-1 formation which has produced Spurs best displays this season.

Sandro’s prodigious midfield performance was the catalyst to the victory, putting in one of the best central midfield displays seen at White Hart Lane this season. The Brazilian international won 11 tackles the most by a premier league player since Mascherano against Wigan in March 2010.

After being humiliated in the FA Cup Semi Final and putting in another dismal display against QPR it was important for the team to put in a performance for the fans.

The team duly obliged with the best performance since the victory against Swansea. Spurs started brightly with Aaron Lennon unlucky not to connect cleanly from a Modric cross in the opening minutes.

The diminutive winger started the game well and was the instigator of some of Spurs best moves early on.

Sandro who played like a man possessed was at the centre of a lot of Spurs good play. A surging run from midfield finished with a pile driver which didn’t trouble Pau Robinson.

Gareth Bale was having one of his ineffectual games and the first chants of “Gareth Bale he plays on the left” emanated around the 13 minute mark from the South Stand.

The Lilywhites were unlucky not to take the lead on 15 minutes when Lennon broke through onto goal from the left but his effort was a shot come cross.

The breakthrough came on 22 minutes Gareth Bale headed onto the bar and Rafael Van Der Vaart dispatched the rebound into the net. The referee having to consult with the linesman before giving the goal.

Lennon was unfortunate not to extend the lead after an excellent run from deep on 22 minutes shooting wide.

The first half closed with Friedel not having to make a single save with Spurs totally dominant in possession.

Spurs started the 2^nd half like the first with a crunching tackle by Sandro greeted by voluble cheers from theWhite Hart Lane faithful.

For a side fighting for their premiership survival Blackburn showed little commitment and determination to get back into the game. The pattern of play followed the first half with Spurs dominating possession with it being a matter of time before the Lilywhites added to their lead.

The identity of the scorer of Tottenham’s second was somewhat surprising. Spurs got a free kick 35 yards out from Paul Robinson’s goal. The usual taker Van Der Vaart acceded to Kyle Walkers request to take it. The PFA’s young player of the year produced a stunning curler around the wall leaving Robinson stranded. Just reward for the young full back who put in another excellent performance defensively and going forward.

Lennon who was excellent hobbled off with an injury late in the game Redknapp inexplicably delaying substituting him despite the wingers request to be replaced.

With 85 minutes on the clock Sandro went off to a standing ovation, equally good defensively as well as in possession going forward. Even if Scott Parker recovers from injury Sandro has to retain his place in the team against Bolton.

Blackburn ended the game with the unique distinction of not having a single shot on goal. A consummate team performance from the Lilywhites notable for Kabouls dominant performance in defence, the effervesce of Kyle Walker at fullback, Sandro superb in midfield and Lennon back to his best on the wing.

A footnote to Sunday game was the breaking news that Roy Hodgson is to be the new England manager the FA snubbing Redknapp who was championed for the position by the press. How he responds from what he may perceive as a slight as he was not even interviewed for the position may impact the remaining games of the season. He now has to focus solely on the job admitting that being linked with England may have been a distraction even showing some humility and admitting managing Spurs is a great job. What now seems likely is that minimum requirement for Redknapp to keep his job managing Spurs is to finish in the top four and that may not be enough!

Wednesday’s game againstBoltongives Spurs the opportunity to close the gap on Arsenal in third to one point. All to play for with three games remaining!

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

Tottenham Hotspur vs Blackburn Rovers, Sunday 29th April, White Hart Lane, 4pm kick off, SSHD1 & SS1

4 games left, 4 wins required. Kenny Palmer steps up to the mike to preview the match.

Sunday’s game against Blackburn is the first of the four matches which will ultimately define Harry Redknapps four year tenure as Tottenham manager.

The wretched performance against QPR and the subsequent fallout has proved to be a watershed moment for theEnglandelect manager.

Ironic chants of “Redknapp forEngland” from the travelling away Tottenham support was confirmation if any were needed that any lingering bond between Redknapp and the fans has been irrevocably severed.

The performance by the players was bordering on abject as it was devoid of conviction, desire and heart giving credence to the stories circulating on the internet that Redknapp has lost the dressing room following a bust up some senior players, with other reports stating players  complained to chairman Daniel Levy about Redknapps poor tactics and match preparation.

Even Vedran Corluka, on loan at Bayer Leverkusen waded in stating the club will miss out on Champions League qualification, because of lack of squad rotation by Redknapp.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished sixth,” he told BBC Sport

It’s some achievement to lose the fans and players in one fell swoop! Triffic!

Another revealing development this week has been the number of journalists from the national press like Tony Evans of the Times and Matt Law of the Express breaking rank and writing critical pieces on the outgoing Spurs manager.

Steve Kean the Blackburn manager finds himself in the unusual position of facing a manager more reviled by his own fans than he usually is. Blackburn in the middle of a relegation battle come toWhite Hart Lanebuoyed by a victory last week againstNorwichwhich arrested a run of five successive defeats. Although they have still lost five of their last six away matches in the Premier League which should give Spurs encouragement.

Steve Kean is likely to stick with the same starting line-up that beat Norwich 2-0 last week at Ewood Park. They will play a 4-4-1-1 formation with their main danger men being the forward duo of Yakubu and Junior Hoillett. The Nigerian international has had an excellent goal return this season and the Spurs centre back pairing will have to be on their toes to keep him out. Junior Hoillett a transfer target of Spurs in January will look to create openings with his direct dribbling and also poses a real goal threat which his excellent goal atNorwichhighlighted.

In all likelihood Tottenham will go into the game against Blackburnsitting sixth in the league meaning anything less than a win will more or less will end any lingering hopes the Lilywhites have of finishing 4^th and the coveted Champions League position.

Spurs go into the game depleted at the back. Younes Kaboul is out for this game and possibly for the season with a knee injury. He is joined on the treatment table by Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who seems to be suffering from burnout after a long and tiring season, in which the left-back played in all four competitions for Spurs. Danny Rose who has impressed when ever called upon this season will step in.

The creaking pair of Gallas & King appear to be the only fit centre backs as it doesn’t appear that the former Blackburn Rovers reserve Ryan Nelsen has recovered from injury and Redknapp evidently has no confidence in Bongani Khumalo (remember him?) derisively dismissing him when talking about Gallas and King:” If one of those got injured and I was bang in trouble and would have had to use Bongani Khumalo, who has been on loan at Reading this season and didn’t get in their side.” Ouch! The great motivator has spoken!

If Spurs want to get anything out of this game they will need to go back to basics with the 4-4-1-1 formation in which Spurs have played their best football. The in vogue 4-2-3-1 formation which a lot of supporters have clamoured for hasn’t got the best of the team. In the last 3 away games against Chelsea,Sunderland and QPR, playing this way Spurs have not only not won a single game they have also not musterd a single goal! Against QPR despite having 2 overplaying fullbacks and Gareth Bale in the side the team was bereft of width.

The other major doubt for Sunday is Emmanuel Adebayor who depending on who you believe is recovering from an injury or was dropped by Redknapp after a training ground bust up last week. If fit he has to start as he is crucial to how the team play.

Probable line-up:

Freidel-Walker, Gallas, King, Rose- Lennon, Modric, Parker, Bale-Van Der Vaart-Adebayor (4-4-1-1)

Prediction

Spurs are in a dreadful run of 1 win in 9 playing without confidence and conviction. They will be up against a determinedBlackburnfighting for their premiership status giving their all for Steve Kean. I have long dispensed with looking at Spurs through rose tinted glasses. Successive defeats against promoted Norwich and QPR and the teams collapse in 2012 would suggest to me that the team is done for the season. I expect nothing but a Blackburn victory on Sunday. 2-1 toBlackburn.

A footnote to the QPR game, before kick-off Loftus Road’s giant screen showed Al Pacino’s famous motivational speech from the film Any Given Sunday which seemed to inspire the home team. Tottenham are currently a rudderless ship with no captain at the helm heading towards the precipice. With seemingly no leadership they couldn’t do worse than show Tottenham Hotspur – The club that Bill made  on the giant screen to inspire the fans and the team.

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

After another disappointing performance and outcome for Tottenham Hotspur Ciaran Griggs steps up to give THFC1882 his report and thoughts.

Sigh. We can’t go on like this.

Spurs continued their alarming run of form with a dismal 1-0 defeat to QPR. Coming into the match, Spurs were expected to arrest their slide against one of the Premier League’s new boys. QPR haven’t always found life in the PL easy but were coming into the match on the back of some very solid home form, having beaten top 4 sides at their ground this season. On the other hand, Spurs are yet to win away in 2012, a shocking record given the talent available to Harry.

The omens weren’t good for Spurs when the pre-match team news came out. Nelsen was injured, along with Saha and Adebayor, both of whom failed late fitness tests. That means that Spurs entered the match with King and Gallas at centre-half, with Bongani Khumalo on the bench. At least there was cover in that position though. Defoe was named up front and there was no recognised cover on the bench – we ARE a side challenging for the top 4, right? There is a danger that, with such a lack of options in the team, that the players try to force the game and become tense. Playing, knowing that there is no alternative for you must give you tired legs before the whistle has even blown.

So the full-team as it lined up;

Friedel

Walker – King – Gallas – Assou-Ekotto

van der Vaart – Parker – Modric – Sandro – Bale

Defoe

Looking at the rest of the team, we again played our first choice full-backs, who’ve had little or no rest this season. To counteract QPR’s more combative style, Harry selected 2 defensive midfielders, the idea being that Parker and Sandro could both destroy and hold whilst Modric sought to release Bale, van der Vaart and Defoe.

As the game started, Spurs were initially on the upper foot, with our midfield controlling the game. The pattern continued for much of the first half, with QPR having sporadic attacks. Of the opposing team, Mackie looked the brightest talent, with a couple of foraging runs down the right wing. Taarabt was disciplined, tracking back which helped QPR to keep their shape. Our main threat came in the shape of a Bale header from a corner which was tapped over by Kenny. Not long after that, Kenny was again called into action as a van der Vaart drive flew at the QPR goal.

In keeping with current Spurs patterns however, QPR took the load towards the end of the first half. Sandro went into a 50-50 challenge and as the two players went down, his hand inadvertently brushed the ball. Referee Clattenburg (Yes, we remember Mendes) gave a free-kick from a middle distance. Friedel setup his wall but despite that, Taarabt dinked an effort over it into the corner, as we watched poor positioning from our goalkeeper and poor jumping from our wall. Friedel has saved us far more times than let them down this season though, so we can forgive him that one. Half-time came at 1-0, the home side far the happier.

At half-time, Harry made a rare early substitution, swapping the largely ineffective van der Vaart for the more attack-minded Lennon. Unfortunately for Spurs however, the change yielded little benefit as Lennon and Bale spent the entire second half trying to fill in the van der Vaart role and tightening Spurs up completely. Our lack of width goes completely against the joyful, attacking Spurs of late 2011. Spurs enjoyed the majority of the possession in the second half, but failed to find any type of penetration against a resolute QPR side. QPR were determined to win this, Spurs were fatigued, bereft of ideas and bereft of options. Taarabt even did his maverick best to assist his old club by picking up a thoughtless second yellow card for kicking the ball away, with a little over 10 minutes remaining of the match.

The match drew to a close at 1-0. QPR celebrated, Spurs trudged off the pitch. Memories of 3^rd place are now long gone and Spurs face a desparate fight for 4^th place, with Chelsea and Newcastle both hitting their stride. Spurs lack of investment in strikers, and centre-halves, along with the asset stripping that occurred to our squad in January, have led to a threadbare squad, demoralised and tired.

Where do we go from here? 5 wins in the last 6 became 4 wins in the last 5. 4 wins in the last 5 has become 4 from 4. All the time, our manager is “100% confident” that we can achieve it. Title challengers to Europe league hopefuls in the space of 3 months…Is it all over? Not quite, I say. The fat lady is dressed and she’s back stage waiting for Ant and Dec to beckon her on. IF Kaboul and Adebayor can return to fitness and IF Bale and Lennon can re-discover their ability to stay wide,we can still do it!

COYS

Ciaran (@LordFIMM on Twitter)

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

Queens Park Rangers vs Tottenham Hotspur, Saturday 21st  April, Loftus Road, 530pm kick off ESPN 1 & HD

THFC1882 is very thankful to Ciaran Griggs who has the unenviable task after last Sunday’s game, of previewing the massively important QPR match this Saturday evening.

1. Climbing Mount Everest
2. Running a marathon
3. Winning a Pro Golf tournament

What do the above tasks have in common? All of them are hard. Unfortunately for me, none of them are harder than trying to inject this preview with a sincere level of optimism. For weeks now, Spurs fans have been approaching each match as the one to turn things around, the pivot, the catalyst to kick on and rescue our season. After Sunday’s match, the only chance Spurs have of a successful season is qualification for the Champion’s League. Financial nirvana, though understandably not as palatable to some fans as the glory associated with winning a cup.

So what crumbs of comfort can we salvage from the rain-soaked picnic that our season has become? Well, for one thing, QPR are very realistic candidates to be relegated from the Premier League. There are two schools of thought. Some say it’s harder to play the lower-placed sides as they are fighting for their place in the league, that they will be fired up from the get go. Were I a Spurs player approaching the fixture, I would take the opposing view. QPR are not a good side who are unfortunate to find themselves in relegation trouble. They are a poor side, and man for man, they are not as good as the Spurs side. The question is, can Harry inspire the latter view into the side, a knack that he appears to have lost in recent weeks with a series of abject, lacklustre performances.

Given that QPR are at home, I expect a fast start to the match with QPR seeking to rough up their more fashionable opponents, to try and destroy their rhythm. To counteract this, Harry HAS to play 2 DMs to allow us to build from a strong base. Those 2 DMs in turn should allow our skilful players to have more influence, Bale, Van der Vaart and Lennon attacking the space behind Ade, leading the front line ably, as he has done for most of the season. “WHAT” I hear you cry, “NO MODRIC?”. Luka has had a very poor couple of months and perhaps it’s time to park him for this match and let Rafa run the attacking moves for us. QPR do not have the attacking flair of Swansea or the organisation of Norwich so there should be space in that area of the pitch for VDV, Bale and Lennon to attck. At the back, we clearly struggled against Chelsea’s power with Gallas having a relatively poor match against a player currently in a rich vein of form in the ever controversial Drogba. We clearly have very limited options at the back however and we have to be wary of QPR’s attacking threat with Cisse, Zamora and Taarabt all being very capable players. Taraabt in particular should be highly motivated to prove himself against the club that decided him not good enough for long term first team honours in the Premier League. As for the rest of the defence, BAE and Walker both look extremely tired, having played almost every match in the league season so far. Coupled with Ledley’s recent shaky form, there will be nervy moments on Saturday and heart-rates will increase each time QPR enter the attacking third. At least we can expect a reversal of the ludicrous decision to drop our most consistent player of the season on Sunday. Brad Friedel has been an excellent addition to our side and with him between the sticks, the players have to be more confident than they were on Sunday night.

Lastly for this preview, it’s worth a quick mention on both the managers. Matches at the end of football seasons tend to be decided by motivation as tired legs and tired minds can easily cause mistakes to occur. Harry has a reasonably poor record over the last two seasons in bringing the team home. Mark Hughes is not a shy manager and will spend the majority of the match in the technical area. For Spurs to be able to impose themselves on the game, we need our manager to do the same, so that the players can see that he shares the passion that we all do for this club. 4th (or 3^rd) place is now everything to Spurs and the players and manager have to show that they want it as much as the fans undoubtedly do.

Prediction

Whilst this is a tough away match for Spurs and form going into the match is poor, the players must be motivated by Arsenal’s defeat to Wigan slightly opening the door for 3rd place. Coupled with the fact that QPR are a relegation-threatened team, I’d expect the lads to eke out a hard-fought, ugly 2-1 victory.

COYS

Ciaran (@LordFIMM on Twitter)

THFC1882 is very pleased to have Tony and Lee from the Lofty Heights Blog to preview the game in the opposing fans section this week.

Welcome to our preview of this Saturday’s game between Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur. Firstly, I will bore you with a brief introduction from us. Lofty Heights is basically an informal blog about all things QPR. It is run by myself (Lofty) and Lee who are both mad QPR fans who travel up and down the country, week in, week out following our team and we strive to bring you something a bit different to the norm – trying to capture the entire match day experience, rather than just the report of the game.

It was started as a try it and see how it goes experiment in 2006, but the brevity of the reporting gave it huge popularity and it continues to this day. Unfortunately, due to performances on the pitch and a change in my personal life, my enthusiasm drifted somewhat and in January 2009, Lee stepped in and basically saved the blog and his dedication and persuasion, brought me back to the fold a year or so later. Over the years, Lofty Heights has gone from strength to strength and from a hard core of followers, we now receive a global audience, helped along the way by plenty of social networking through Facebook and Twitter. There is no money involved, it is simply a labour of love for our Club, Queens Park Rangers.

That’s enough about us, we look forward to Saturday’s game and make no mistake about it, we are in it up to our necks. Back in the Premiership has certainly had its ups and downs, but it seems that the lack of a good pre-season may well cost us dearly. With Mr Ecclestone and Mr Briatore trying to sell the club in the Summer, there was an understandable lack of spending and Neil Warnock had to basically work with the squad that got us promoted. We did however secure the services of DJ Campbell, Kieron Dyer, Danny Gabbidon and Jay Bothroyd.

The Tony Fernandes takeover was complete in late August. Tony would be working alongside the Mittal Family and Amit Bhatia was swiftly re-instated to the fold. With the transfer window about to close, backing was given to Neil Warnock to bring in Joey Barton, Luke Young, Anton Ferdinand, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Arnand Traore. The lack of firepower was certainly a concern but the form of Heidar Helguson was a shining light. Bobby Zamora and Djibrel Cisse were added to the squad at the end of the January window.

Mixed results and a dramatic slide down the table, saw the board make a brave decision of relieving Neil Warnock of his duties. This led to mixed reactions from the supporters and Mark Hughes was appointed mid January. It was hoped that his experience would give us what we needed to stay in the Premier League, but with just 4 Premier League wins in 15 games, the R’s are left with a nervous end to the season.

Notable highlights were obviously the win over Chelsea, which AVB continued to whinge about almost right up to the day he was sacked and the recent wins over Liverpool, Arsenal and Swansea will live long in the memory. If the worst was to happen, the home form will have to take the blame, up until the last 3 that is. But what has become a pattern, is that Rangers certainly like playing the bigger teams and with the run in including Spurs, Chelsea and Man City. It doesn’t get much bigger.

To this day, I still insist that Tottenham are the best team I have seen this year. The football played in the 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane was a joy to watch. After being 2-0 down and completely outplayed in the first half, it was pleasing to see Rangers have a go, rather than lay down for a heavy defeat. Bothroyd pulled a goal back before an absolutely stunning goal from Bale killed the game off and Spurs ran out 3-1 winners.

Our record against the big teams will give the R’s confidence ahead of Saturday’s game, in which Rangers must look for another big performance and as Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea will testify, we are certainly capable of pulling of another surprise. But with Tottenham having plenty to play for themselves, it promises to be quite a game. I will hand you over to Lee now for his look at tactics and key players….

Tactics

Since Mark Hughes and the transfer window passed us by in January with the inclusion of Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora to our attacking options, we now play a 4-4-2 formation. Well that is when Cisse isn’t suspended!!

During the last four games we have adopted a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Zamora being the workhorse up front whilst he waits for everyone to join him in support.

I would widely expect us to line up with a 4-4-2 with Cisse being drafted straight back into the attack with Zamora just behind him.

Our defence has been more settled as of late with Paddy Kenny showing the kind of form that helped him keep 25 clean sheets last year.

Kenny now has a settled back four in front of him now with Nedum Onuoha playing at right back, Taye Taiwo at left back with Anton Ferdinand and Clint Hill as the centre back pairing.

Onuoha has been more consistent recently now that he is at right back, he looked nervous when playing in the centre against Sunderland so moving him back to the right where he is solid defensively and also knows when it’s the right time to attack and when to stay back and defend.

Taiwo is a tank and loves to get forward down the left hand side. Taiwo’s crossing is superb and he has provided several assists since his arrival from AC Milan.

Ferdinand and Hill at the back has been a great partnership with Hill seemingly being the organiser and helping our back line organising themselves and this has seen us leak fewer goals in recent months. In the only game Hill missed, we conceded three goals that pretty much sums up how important Clint Hill is to our defence.

In midfield we will have Jamie Mackie on the right, former Spur Adel Taarabt on the left and in the centre will be Joey Barton and Samba Diakete.

In Jamie Mackie you are guaranteed no less than 110% effort. Mackie will run at defences and chase them down throughout the duration of the game, whilst also drifting inside and finding himself in goal scoring positions more often than a normal right winger.

Which Adel Taarabt turns up to games is a mystery to everyone, but when he turns in a performance it’s a joy to watch. With that in mind, Adel is likely to drift in and out of the game and if you were to target a side to attack you would choose that side. Adel is prone to the odd mistake defensively, having said that he is just as likely to hurt defences, as like he did against Arsenal a few weeks ago.

Joey Barton has come back into form after being booed off against Liverpool and has hit back at his critics not through the usual twitter path, but through his performances on the pitch. Joey has been leading the team like a true captain and he has been an inspirational character as he ends the season strongly.

Samba Diakete had a disastrous start to his R’s career when he was sent off in the first half an hour against Fulham for persistent fouling. Since then the Mali International has shown his quality and has put in some fantastic performances. Diakete loves the physical side of the game whilst also being very technical and loves to get forward when he has won his midfield battle.

Up front we have former Spur Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse. You will all know that Zamora can either be great or woeful, he will either hit the target or hit row Z. Bobby’s hold up play and has won many physical battles during his time with the R’s, however his lack of goals has been his only downfall. Djibril Cisse is probably one of the best strikers to pull on a hooped shirt in many a year, however his discipline has been a major let down for us. Cisse looks so threatening and his

movement, power and pace gives defences a lot to consider when he is there and if we can keep him on the pitch for the remaining games this season then we have a great chance of staying in this division.

Key Players

The key defensively for us is Clint Hill, if he can organise the defence and help us stay tight then we have a great chance of keeping clean sheets. The game against Swansea produced our first Premier League clean sheet since the 23rd October…… against our hated rivals Chelsea!!

Adel Taarabt is our creative key, one moment of magic and Adel can unlock any defence he wants to.

Up front, if Djibril Cisse stays on the pitch he will score, the man is a work horse and will punish any mistake made by any defence.

Finally, our predictions and Lee has gone with a 1-0 R’s triumph. Myself, my head says a cracker, 2-2, but my heart is going for a 2-1 win and another 3 points towards safety.

You can follow Lofty on Twitter (@LoftyQPR ) Lee (@qprleeroy ) and the Lofty Heights Blog, which is well worth a read at  lofty-heights06@blogspot.com

Many thanks to Ciaran and the guys at Lofty Heights for previewing the game for us.

COYS

You can follow this blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom ) and Lofty Heights is on Twitter too ( @loftyheights70 )

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea, Sunday 15th April, Wembley Stadium, 6pm kick off, ITV1

THFC1882 asks Kenny Palmer for his preview and thoughts on the match that could dictate the rest of Tottenham’s season.

To misquote the lyrics of Ossie’s dream Spurs are on their way to Wembley their knees have gone all trembley, could be referring to the teams recent performances in a dreadful run of 1 win in 8 as they come into Sunday’s pivotal game.

A season that started with such promise is in danger of unravelling and ending with huge disappointment. Who other than Tottenham could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? We undoubtedly have our Tottenham back!

A London Derby at Wembley is the perfect opportunity for the team to resurrect the season and build up some momentum as the season comes to a close. A fact not lost on the players as Emmanuel Adebayor said on the Spurs website: “This is a big London derby and we have to do it for our fans.”

Mondays deserved defeat against newly promoted Norwich still lingers on many fans minds. It was an unconvincing listless performance in which only Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe emerged from the game with any credit. What was disconcerting was the ease with which Aaron Wilbraham and Grant Holt hardly stellar strikers unsettled the Spurs back line in what was Ledley Kings worse game of the season.

Harry Redknapp as is his want did not take responsibility for the part he played in the defeat but referred to an unspecified “they” in his decision to play 4-4-2 which he stated contributed to the team’s downfall, claiming there were calls to play 4-4-2. This is strange as in the preceding week he said 4-4-2 doesn’t work anymore.

It is the first of 3 big games Chelsea will play in the week who will undoubtedly have one eye on Wednesday upcoming game against Barcelona in the champion’s league.

This will mean Roberto Di Matteo is unlikely to field his strongest team. John Terry who is recovering from cracked ribs will likely sit out the game. A big boost for Spurs is the news that Chelsea’s best right back Branislav Ivanovic lost his appeal against an FA charge for violent conduct and will miss the game. His likely replacement Bosingwa hasn’t the defensive ability to contain Gareth Bale, assuming Bale has the inclination to play on the left!  If they decide to play Paulo Ferreira instead that shouldn’t unduly worry the Welshman as he has “owned”   Ferreira in the past on the pitch most notably in the game at White Hart Lane in the 2009-10 season.

Juan Mata and the improving Fernando Torres will be the main danger men for Chelsea. The Spurs backline will have to put in a significantly improved performance than the shambolic display against Norwich to keep them out.

Tottenham’s only but big injury doubt is Younnes Kaboul who limped off in the 1^st half against Norwich. With Ledley King unlikely to be able to play 2 games in a week and doubts about William Gallas’s fitness it leaves Spurs short in central defence.

This highlights the folly of Redknapps decision to let experienced campaigners Sebastian Bassong and Vedran Corluka go out on loan in the January transfer window. It now looks like Spurs may have to hang their hat on the former Blackburn Rovers reserve Ryan Nelsen!

How Redknapp sets up the team is crucial to the outcome of the match. 4-2-3-1 seems to be in vogue but apart from wins against Bolton in the cup and against newly promoted Swansea and Norwich how many games have Spurs won playing this formation? It undoubtedly gives the team a defensive platform but leaves the team bereft of width in attack if the 3 are Bale, Modric and Van Der Vaart. Playing this formation at Stamford Bridge Spurs drew but offered very little from an attacking perspective particularly in the 1^st half.

All that has been good about the Lilywhites in the 1^st half of the season has been playing 4-4-1-1 which I believe Redknapp will go with on Sunday.

Natural width in Bale on the left and Lennon on the right, Parker shielding the back four, Modric creating centrally, assisted by Van Der Vaart playing between the lines with Adebayor the pivot in attack. It will be a dereliction of duty if Lennon and particularly Bale do not exploit the open spaces out wide.

Tottenham and particularly Bale will be missing a trick if they don’t exploit Boswinga or Ferreira down Chelsea’s right. Bale is the key if he gets chalk on his boots and stays out wide on the left it will prove decisive. The team and fans have missed his marauding runs powering down the left wing!

Probable line-up:

Prediction

Chelsea will have one eye on their Champions League game against Barcelona on Wednesday which Spurs should look to capitalize on. Tottenham are due are a really big performance. I believe we will see it on Sunday in a game which will define the season. A swaggering 3-1 win to Spurs!

To finish on a Bill Nicholson quote: ‘It is 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.’

Spurs are on their way Wembley Tottenham going to do it again!

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

The opponents view this week comes from Junaid Hussain.

I’m a blogger for 1amsports where we cover all the major American sports i.e NFL, NHL and so on, currently reside in Nottingham. I have been a Chelsea fan over 12 years now and my favourite player will always be Gianfranco Zola. He summed the game of football up with always playing with a smile, plus his skill level was superb and would have me on occasions saying “how did he do that?”

Chelsea face Tottenham on Sunday, where they battle to represent London in the FA Cup final. It’s been an odd season for Chelsea, as it was meant to be a year of change and out with the old guard and in with the young when Andres Villas Boas took over as the Chelsea manager.  He had a 5 year plan and vision for the club but only lasted less than 10 months as the manager. The beginning of the end began when he took some major decisions and decided to sell Alex and Anelka, after they became unhappy being on the bench and not getting enough playing time. Major problems arose between the senior players and the manager when the likes of Lampard and Drogba were not getting into the team regularly and being continually left out for the major games against the likes of Man United, Tottenham and Arsenal, appearing only as substitutes.

In January it became clear that AVB didn’t have much time left as the manager with the Chelsea team splitting into two, the AVB camp or Seniors camp. His final game came against West Brom and after losing 1-0 to them as well as losing 3-1 to Napoli in the Champions League in midweek, Roman Abramovich had seen enough and wielded the axe, replacing him with Roberto Di Matteo as the temporary manager for the remainder of the season.

Sunday’s game is a massive game for Chelsea, even with the Barcelona game on the following Wednesday night, as this is most likely the last hurrah for Drogba, Malouda and Lampard who are expected to leave in the summer as Chelsea try to go younger and remove player power within the team.

RDM time as the manager has been inconsistent but his biggest win came against Napoli winning 5-4 aggregate and progressing through to the Champion’s League Semi Final where they will face the mighty Barcelona.  RDM has some decisions to make on Sunday when they go against Spurs with Barcelona waiting for them in midweek, with which big stars will he rest if any at all? John Terry is recovering from broken ribs, Luiz has gradually improved in his game especially defensively and Cahill has finally settled down since his January move from Bolton. I expect Chelsea to go with Cahill and Luiz. I don’t expect Lampard to start on Sunday with the CL game on Wednesday with Raul Meireles, Mikel and Essien making up the midfield. Upfront will be the biggest decision for RDM does he go with Torres who has really getting into form now he is playing regularly or Drogba who can switch it on anytime?  I think Drogba will start after being rested on Monday against Fulham with Sturridge, Malouda making the front 3.

Prediction:

Chelsea must settle quickly as they have been quite poor upfront, have struggled to put teams away when on top and allowed them to get back into the game. One of Chelsea’s major issues this season has been against corners and set pieces. Spurs have the talents of Bale, Modric and Van Der Vaart, who can deliver balls into the box for Adebayor and King to get on the end of them and see if they can use this weakness to their advantage.  I expect Tottenham to pile on the pressure early on but Chelsea have to score first if they want to win this game. Unfortunately I’m going to say 2-1 Tottenham with Chelsea having one eye on the Champions League game against Barcelona.

You can follow me on twitter @j_hussain

Many thanks for Kenny and Junaid spending the time to preview the game for us.

COYS

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

The Easter programme didn’t bring much joy to most Tottenham Hotspur supporters as we only managed to get 1 point from the 6 that were on offer. We have now let the surprise package of the season Newcastle Utd catch us with Chelsea laying in wait for any further mistakes in the race for Champions League qualification.  Of course Arsenal are above us all in third with a chance to extend their advantage when they play their game in hand tonight against a poor Wolves side.

We are in our worst form of the season at the crunch time. Unfortunately this seems a re-occurring scenario seeing as  we had the very same 12 months ago.  Everyone talks about the fact that we have the easiest run in of all our rivals but we still have to get the points and put in the performances to do that. After all Norwich at home should have been a definite 3 points. We are certainly not out of the top 4 race but we have to rely on others dropping points now along the way and get some form back to finish the job off that we have worked so hard for.

The Sunderland game on Saturday wasn’t a great game. We kept our shape well and put in a workman like performance until Harry Redknapp changed the shape and went for the win with the introductions of Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, a tad late for me, but the intention was there for all to see.

There were few clear cut chances for both sides during the game as Sunderland held firm and Spurs even with a lot of the dominance and possession couldn’t break them down.

Sunderland was always going to be a hard place to go and gaining a point, even though we didn’t play well and should have stamped our authority on them, wasn’t the worst result in the world.  Easter Monday was something else entirely.

THFC1882 now gives Adam Nathan the floor with his match report for the game against Norwich.

After the Swansea game last week, I mentioned to a friend that we are in fact one of the most predictable teams in the League; when you see our starting line-up, you can be fairly certain how the game will pan out, and what the outcome of the match will be. Sadly, this theory was not banished Monday, as a poorly constructed first eleven, only worsened by a strange substitution or two, succumbed to not only a damaging defeat, but to a truly shocking performance. After a drab showing in the North East, a win was absolutely essential at home to Norwich on Monday. As so often happens in games like these however, a supposedly weaker opponent was greeted to the joys of lining up against a Spurs team playing 442 and with a complacent mindset that the game was won before it started, a combination of factors that so often ends disastrously in N17. As the Canaries began picking numerous holes in the Spurs midfield and defence, it soon became clear that the afternoon was going to be far trickier than anticipated. Ultimately, the final score was not only a deserved one but also flattering to Harry Redknapp’s men who should have been two goals and one man down before Defoe’s goal gave the home crowd a brief moment of hope. Spurs now find themselves on a run of one win in eight, a slump that must be stopped this weekend at Wembley and cannot rear it’s head again if the Lillywhites are to dine at Europe’s top table next season.

In terms of the match itself, the visitors started the game brightly, clearly buoyed by the extra space they were afforded in midfield by the absence of Parker and Sandro and rewarded for their efforts with what can only be described as a shambles of a goal. After Kaboul under hit a clearance, the ball pin-balled around the spurs box, hit the hapless Ledley King on the shin and bounced perfectly into the path of Anthony Pilkington, who swept home. Spurs hit back soon after as Livermore’s defence splitting pass found Jermain Defoe, who chipped Ruddy to bring the score back on terms. In truth, the game should have been over by then, as Grant Holt was extremely unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty after being hauled down by King, which would have seen the captain dismissed had it been given. A half time change of Adebayor for Saha promised to reap rewards as Spurs improved in the early stages of the second period, but a combination of apathetic players, a poor shape and long ball football saw us lose our way, and were rightly punished when Bennett thrashed the ball into the far corner from twenty yards. It was a wonderful strike, and emblematic of the excellent team performance of our visitors, who were able to repel our lacklustre attacks without problem and hold on for an excellent three points.

Any of us could quite happily write a dissertation on what went wrong on Monday, so to do so here seems fairly futile. However there is obviously a key issue from the game that needs to be touched on as the main reason for our failings not only against Norwich, but since February.

The change in formation, namely to a 442 since the destruction of an under-strength Newcastle, has seemed to be the key stumbling block in our quest for London supremacy. As football progresses as a sport, it almost seems like England’s traditional formation has become the most difficult to perfect, and one of the easiest to play against, such is the demand on two powerful and ball-playing midfielders and a functioning strike partnership. Not only do we not have the players to suit this formation, we also quite obviously play better football, at a higher tempo and with better results with a 4231. To offer a comparison, the two games this season against Monday’s opponents provides a classic case study. At Carrow Road in December, we played what many would argue to be our best eleven, kept the ball on the floor for the duration of the game and carved out numerous opportunities through patient, wonderful football. On Monday however, in what many would see as a ‘more attacking shape,’ we once again created less chances than we would have done with 5 in midfield  and played in a far more direct manner, a tactic that suited our opponents to a tee with their tall, bulky centre halves quite happy to clear long balls away all day. Whilst selection was of course a problem, and we would have been far better off with Parker and Adebayor starting, Monday was an indication of what life would be like with Defoe as a starter for us in the 442 that many have called for in home games; more direct, and far less effective as an overall unit.

Sadly, the decision to change shape on Monday is utterly inexcusable. After playing with two strikers and gaining one point from 12, the shift back to our more natural formation seemed to be suiting us well, as we not only gave up far fewer opportunities, we also looked like a better side going forward. Even using the Sunderland game as an example, we actually created less and played the game further away from the Black Cats goal after making supposedly ‘attacking’ substitutions. It’s difficult to explain why this happens, and everyone will have their opinions. For me, I strongly believe that the quicker you can win the ball back, the more chances you will create if you have excellent attacking players, which we undoubtedly do. With Modric and Livermore in midfield for the Norwich game, we were practically impotent in midfield in terms of turning the ball over. As a result, our chances to hit Norwich on the counter attack were limited, as we were winning possession in defence or from the ball leaving the field, rather than in the middle of the pitch.

Do we have more problems than simply formation issues? Of course we do. We aren’t well organized enough defensively, we have been unlucky with players carrying niggly injuries and we have let too many players go out on loan which is left the squad stretched. However, I don’t think that these issues would have led to such a slump, even combined, if we played with our best formation and stuck to it religiously. Even in his previous interviews, Harry has alluded to the fact that it suits us better, only to concede that, to paraphrase, he was encouraged to shift to a 442 against Norwich even though he knew it would leave us open. To be honest, as appalled as I should be with that comment, I find it easier to stomach than the claims that we’ve ‘battered opposition’ when we haven’t, were unlucky when we weren’t, or that the fans are ungrateful idiots when we aren’t. A vague acceptance of blame serves as a breath of fresh air after some of the rubbish we have been subjected to in post match interviews, and the hope now is that our remaining six, or hopefully seven games see us go back to what we do best, take control of games in midfield and return to playing the kind of football that we have been fortunate to see on many occasions this season.

All is by no means lost yet, and it would be a grave error to believe it to be so just yet. There is still the framework in place for this to be a memorable season, and all we can hope is that the players personal pride kicks in now and refuses to destroy six months fantastic work with three disastrous ones. Roll on Wembley, let’s go and bring the glory back to White Hart Lane.

COYS

Adam ( @adamdnathan on Twitter )

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich City, Monday 9th April, White Hart Lane, 3pm kick off

THFC1882 is pleased to welcome back Ciaran Griggs for his preview of the game against Norwich.

I’m going to start this preview by reminiscing. For those who recall, the reverse leg of this fixture against Norwich in December was held in a happier, more enjoyable time in Spurs’ season. It was the start of the “Bale Experiment”. Gareth, in his pomp, roamed across the pitch, terrifying defenders and midfielders alike as we eased to a 2-0 victory (it should have been more). Who needs positions and defined roles? We were unstoppable, we were rampant, we were TITLE CHALLENGERS. “MIND THE GAP!!” was screamed from the stands, it was plastered all over Twitter and Facebook. Let’s stop the season now, there’s no chance that we can be caught…

…So as we approach the return leg, at home to Norwich on Monday afternoon, on the back of a dismal March, only just ahead in the race for 3^rd place, with our expectations only slightly raised by the 3-1 home victory over Swansea and a 0-0 draw away to Sunderland in April. Largely, the feeling is that our season is teetering, that we stand at the precipice. On one side stands 3^rd place, the FA Cup and glory. On the other stands 5^th place and an(other) average season. Which way do we go? Newcastle, Chelsea and Arsenal are all breathing down our necks. Where do we go from here?

A quick analysis of our opponent’s position offers us hope. Norwich are 12^th with 40 points achieved in their first season back in the Premiership. They have acquitted themselves well in that first season with Paul Lambert receiving many plaudits for their style of play. As with all teams in their first season though, now that safety is achieved, there should be a tendency towards some complacency, with results dipping and a lack of concentration. In their last outing, they managed to fight back to 2-2 after twice being behind to a strong Everton team. The team performance however, was a bit behind the result, with individual ability rather than strong team play leading to their goals. Their front line, as usual, was led capably by Grant Holt. A man full of effort and determination, Holt typifies the concept of someone making 100% use of what ability they have been given, supplemented with hard work. Their players are less glamorous, less high profile than our own, so should the team spark be lost, they have less to fall back on. This is not to take away from what is a great team ethic and style of play that Lambert has built. It is merely to point out that their personnel dictates that they have less in their locker than an established team like Tottenham.

What do Spurs have to bring to the table? Should we be optimistic? Yes, I think. The Swansea game was a very good performance and only the Manchester teams have more points in the PL than Sunderland since MON took over. Gareth has, largely, returned to his berth on the left-hand side, and we look more solid through the centre of the pitch, whether we are playing Modric + 1 DM or 2 DM in the 4-2-3-1 formation. Given this will be our 2^nd game in 2 days, we should see some changes from the team that played on Saturday. I expect that VdV will be dropped and we will switch to a 4-4-2 formation. Lennon is returning to match fitness and this game represents the perfect opportunity to give him a start. I’m not the only Spurs fan, surely, who will relish the prospect of seeing our “wing wizards” start a game together for the first time in a long time. This is only enhanced by the fact that Norwich’s first choice right-back, our very own Kyle Naughton, is ineligible to play due to PL loan rules. My hope is that with 2 wingers, we go big with 2 strikers, Ade and Defoe for this writer, but I expect that Harry fancies Saha to pair with Ade at the moment. We should look to overwhelm them, and quickly. Our central midfield pairing will need to take control of the game quickly, so that we can feed the wingers and thus create opportunities for the strikers. Sandro did not have the best of matches against Sunderland and Parker has looked tired as the season has dragged on. I think that Jake can do a job against opposition like this. He’s been a vastly improved player this season and has worked hard on the defensive side of his game. Allied with that, he has a range of passing that is beyond what most expect of a player in that role. The key word in that sentence is passing. One noticeable feature of our downturn in form is the number of passes that have gone awry in key moments. I don’t have a pass completion stat for you, because they are generally fairly meaningless as no weighting is given to the area / type of pass. Suffice to say, I think our key pass % would be vastly reduced compared to Nov – Feb this season. If we can get our passing improved, deliver balls from wide areas to a strong front two with their shooting boots on, we should have a Bank Holiday Monday to celebrate.

Prediction

I can’t see anything other than a replica of the match from December, so 2-0 to Spurs. I’m going to eschew the traditional practise of predicting goalscorers. What I will predict though is that our wingers will play a key part in both roles, with pace and guile confusing some static canaries.

COYS

Ciaran (@LordFIMM on Twitter)

Today’s Opponent view is from Sam Jermy.

Sam is a journalism student at Sunderland University who is from the East coast of Norfolk. He has been a Norwich City fan for nearly 15 years. His favourite players in that time include the gap-toothed Welsh centre forward Iwan Roberts and the electrifyingly quick attacker Darren Huckerby. They both helped Norwich storm the nationwide division one title in 2004 and even though Norwich lost out on penalties, Sam counts seeing Roberts score at the Millennium stadium at Cardiff in 2002 as special. He has always admired the consistency of Adam Drury in his 11yrs service at the club and says he is still Norwich City’s best left-back. A testimonial at home to Scottish champions Celtic is well deserved. Last but not least, the current number 9 Grant Holt is fast becoming a cult hero amidst his 70-odd goals in a Norwich shirt. Hop on Twitter and give him a follow @SamJermy

Easter Monday will see Tottenham Hotspur entertain Norwich City at the Lane and with the away side all but mathematically safe they can afford to turn up to North London and enjoy themselves. I know the loyal fans in the ‘Yellow Army’ will really savour the day, as many will remember we were losing away at Tranmere Rovers just two years ago. After a great battling point against Everton on Saturday the Canaries have reached that magical 40 point mark and it would not be too dramatic to say our season is virtually over as we have already achieved the one and only target of premiership survival and another year at footballs top table.

The onus will certainly be on Spurs to turn up, perform, and collect the three points. I am guessing that is what many Tottenham supporters will be expecting more than hoping as the race for a Champions League place and the North London bragging rights are still very much at stake.

However, these circumstances could well mix together and conspire against Harry Redknapp’s men. Norwich have performed admirably against the ‘big’ teams so far this season but aside from beating Newcastle and draws against Liverpool and Chelsea they haven’t really got that one eye-catching result that invariably happens throughout a rigorous campaign. By rights Spurs should comfortably beat us but if we get to half time without a mountain to climb I would fancy City to grab a result.

A lot has been made of Grant Holt this season and I know that he polarises opinion throughout the countries pundits and supporters. All I will say is that in the three seasons he has been a canary he hasn’t stop scoring and with 15 goals to his name in 2011/12 coupled with Rooney and Bent ruled out of the first Euro 2012 games then he has to be considered for a call-up. That is testament to how far Holt has come as it was only 3 years ago he led Shrewsbury to the League 2 play-offs! A Swedish TV station brilliantly described him as a “Strength of a Buffalo with the touch of a ballerina” recently and I am glad that some people can see he is more than a burly Cumbrian who wins free-kicks and penalties. He can finish and he can also run all day…he is a very fit lad despite the doubters. If Paul Lambert keeps Holt in the side and resists the temptation to make wholesale changes then the Spurs defence could be in for an uncomfortable afternoon.

Another consistent star performer this season has been John Ruddy. He has been a big player for Norwich, with a string of fines saves and important stops winning us many valuable points. The one game that sticks out in my mind is when Ruddy stopped just about everything against Liverpool at Anfield. At the relatively young age of 25, he is a future England goalkeeper, and some may argue he should be one of the three men who go to Euro 2012. Watch this space.

Many thanks for Ciaran and Sam for spending the time to do the preview’s for us.

COYS

You can follow this blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom )

Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur, Saturday 7th April, Stadium of Light, 12.45pm kick off, SS2 &HD2

Tottenham travel up to Wearside for a Saturday lunch time game off the back of 2 very impressive performances against Bolton and Swansea.  We looked back to the form we were displaying earlier in the season before we had our mini blip. The passing and movement was superb against Bolton and the pressing against a good footballing Swansea side on Sunday was vital and the key to the victory.  Add to that Rafa Van Der Vaart finally seems fully fit, having his best game of the year against the Swans and the class we have in the side, it seems we are in prime position to finish the season in a vastly different manor then we did last year. Van Der Vaart isn’t the only key to making us tick but he certainly helps for me and when he is on song, like he was on Sunday, we look a better side.

Since Sunderland appointed Martin O’Neill in early December they have had an upturn in fortunes and have made their home a fortress with winning 6 games out of the 8 they have played there, including wins against Manchester City and Liverpool. Their only loss being to Arsenal.  They have also only conceded 5 goals during this period. Make no bones about it, this will be a very difficult game for Spurs and our hardest one left away from home this season. Sunderland will be looking to reverse the loss they had at White Hart Lane earlier in season when a Roman Pavlyuchenko goal beat them.   The Northern Irishman really is a miracle worker as he has done a remarkable job for the Black Cats with basically the same players Steve Bruce had at his disposal but the enthusiasm, man management and good feel factor he brings to a club is second to none.

One of the first things O’Neill did was install young Northern Irish winger James McClean in the team, someone who Bruce completely overlooked. He has been a sensation and brings a new dimension to Sunderland’s attacking play. I would not be surprised to see his name on the Young Player of the Year awards nominations when they are announced.  With Sebastian Larsson, the skillful and quality playmaker Stephane Sessegnon, a player I wouldn’t mind having at the Lane actually, and O’Neill even getting the best out of Arsenal loanee Nicklas Bendtner, Sunderland are a dangerous attacking force that Spurs will have to be at their best to keep out.

They also play at a fast tempo and are direct so there will be no hiding place for Spurs on Saturday.

Spurs will pick from the same squad they used against Swansea but Harry Redknapp has already stated that Aaron Lennon will only participate in one of the games over the Easter period to ease the workload on the winger and to make sure he doesn’t injure himself again so soon after coming back.  This is good to hear as Lennon really makes a difference to our side and gives us balance. The game definitely changed when he came on at the weekend and there was a real buzz. Having speed on both wings creates space for Modric and Van Der Vaart to work their magic and opportunities for the team.  I would personally use him on Saturday, maybe from the bench again though, as without being disrespectful to Norwich we will probably have enough without him to beat them, although I see a tough game against them too.

The same situation for Lennon applies to Sir Ledley as well, as his knee problem won’t stand up to both games. There is, in fact, a good case for him to be saved for the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea as Kaboul and Gallas have been immense in recent weeks, very solid and really have shown they have a good understanding. A lot of the Spurs faithful now believing this combination is our number one pairing.  I still expect King to play on Saturday and then rest for the following weekend with Gallas the unlucky one to make way.

The rest of the team will most likely be the same as against Swansea, in the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Sandro and Super Scotty Parker in front of the back 4 to make us more secure and snub out the creativity of the Sunderland team, well in theory anyway! Adebayor will once again be very important for the link up play and bringing others into the game and it is important that he doesn’t get isolated.

Probable line up:

Prediction:

This is a tough away game for sure and with Arsenal playing Manchester City it is very vital that we get something out of it.  We have some form again and are looking good and while Sunderland are very good at home and the atmosphere will be electric I expect us to achieve a fighting 2-1 win and keep the pressure up on all our rivals for the top 4 finish and throw the challenge down for 3rd.

COYS

Rob

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

Kenny Palmer gives THFC1882 his match report on Tottenham Hotspur’s great display yesterday.

A headed brace by Emmanuel Adebayor and an excellent side footed opener by Rafael Van Der Vaart helped Spurs back to winning ways with a victory against Brendan Rodgers impressive Swansea.

The win takes the Lilywhites onto the same points as Arsenal and crucially maintained the 5 point lead over Chelsea and Newcastle in the race for the coveted top 4 places.

In a compliment to Swansea Harry Redknapp setup the team in a 4-3-2-1 formation which he has used successfully in away games this season but rarely at home. With Sandro, the excellent Scott Parker and Modric in the midfield and Bale and Van Der Vaart nominally on the left and right respectively behind Adebayor.

As auditions for jobs go Brendan Rodgers put himself on top of the list of candidates to replace Redknapp when he takes up the England job if Levy decides to go down the British route.

Swansea opened the game playing some attractive possession football. Their good approach play undone by not having a quality forward to cause a threat in the final third. Bar a good effort from Wayne Routledge Brad Friedel was rarely tested in the first half.

Scott Parker back to his best after some sluggish performances set the tempo how Spurs were to play thundering into tackles tigerishly and pressing at every opportunity. The other players followed his lead pressing high up the pitch at every opportunity disrupting Swansea’s attempts to get their passing game going.

Gareth Bale looked very sharp in the opening stages of the match breaking dangerously down the left often. Spurs took the lead against the run of play from this position on 19 minutes. Released down the left wing from an excellent pass by Modric the Welshman flashed a cross across the box which came to Van Der Vaart who nonchantly clipped it into the net with a superb side footed effort.

Repeatedly in the first half Bale made surging runs down the left putting in excellent crosses. The Welshman was unlucky with a shot from outside the box on 33 minutes followed by another good effort coming inside from the left on 38 minutes.

Luka Modric who has found himself in good shooting positions in recent games had the last effort in the first half shooting wide from outside the box where he could have fed Adebayor who was in a better position

Swansea started the 2^nd half brightly and the Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson was unlucky not to level the scores on 50 minutes when Friedel pulled off an outstanding save pushing his effort wide. The equaliser came when Sigurdsson finished well when the ball fell to him outside the box.

Tottenham were always a threat when going forward and deservedly went 2-1 ahead from an excellent Van Der Vaart corner, Adebayor rose above the Swansea defenders and headed past Vorm. Remarkably this was Spurs 2^nd goal from a corner in successive games and the1st goal from the last 133 corners in the league!

Van Der Vaart was excellent against the Swans always available for a pass and a real danger in the final third. His confidence illustrated by an impudent piece of skill in the 2^nd half: on the touchline on the right wing he held off 2 defenders then improbably flicked the ball with his left foot past his right foot to a Spurs team mate taking out 2 Swansea players out with the pass.

Aaron Lennon entered the fray to the delight of the White Hart Lane faithful and Spurs switched to the 4-4-1-1 formation which has served Spurs well this season with Bale on the left and Lennon on the right and Van Der Vaart playing off Adebayor. It didn’t take Lennon long to show us want he can do and what the team has been missing delivering a fantastic cross from the right wing for Adebayor to head home on 86 minutes and wrap up the points.

From back to front Spurs were excellent, when called upon Friedel made some crucial saves, Younnes Kaboul put in a prodigious central defensive display putting in block after block in the 2^nd half, Scott Parker back to his best charging into challenges and Gareth Bale a constant threat on the left with his surging runs, accurate crosses and powerful shooting assisted by Van Der Vaart who had his best game of 2012 and Adebayor who took his premiership goals tally to 13 goals.

With Arsenal to face Manchester City on Sunday Spurs have the opportunity to leapfrog them into 3^rd when they take on Martin O’Neill’s Sunderland Saturday lunchtime.

Out of the teams chasing the Champion League places Spurs have the more favourably run in not having to face a team in the top 8. With 7 games remaining Spurs look favourites to finish in a top 4 spot!

To use the catch phrase of the Spurs half time guest the actor Lesley Philips, “Ding Dong” Spurs are back!

COYS!

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

You can follow this blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom )

Tottenham Hotspur vs Swansea City, Sunday 1st April 2012, White Hart Lane, 4pm kick off, SS1 &HD1

THFC1882 has Kenny Palmer give us his preview for the upcoming league visit of Swansea to the Lane

Boosted by Tuesdays win against Bolton in the FA Cup, booking a Semi Final date against Chelsea, Spurs go into Sundays game against newly promoted Swansea with renewed confidence.

Although not a stellar performance the team is slowly playing its way back into their early season form. The team created a catalogue of chances and the tie should have been done and dusted by half time but for some wayward finishing and an outstanding goalkeeping performance from Bolton’s Adam Bogdan.

The breakthrough came from an unlikely source the former Blackburn Rovers reserve Ryan Nelsen and just as surprisingly it was a headed goal from a corner! The win cannot disguise Spurs profligacy in front of goal which could prove costly as the season draws to a close, with the forwards missing countless chances, Rafael Van Der Vaart guilty of missing a sitter for the 2^nd successive game. Which makes it all the more surprising the team’s most clinical striker Jermain Defoe was warming the bench.

Brendan Rodgers the Swansea manager comes into the game on the back of being installed as the new favourite to take over from Harry Redknapp in the Spurs hot seat when Redknapp departs to takes the England job.

If the reports are to be believed this would be an excellent appointment by the chairman Daniel Levy. Rodgers has guided Swansea to 10th place by playing some of the most attractive football in the Premier League.  In the game at the Liberty Stadium earlier in the season Swansea were outstanding and outplayed Spurs for large parts of the game with the Lilywhites fortuitous to get a draw. Rodgers Swansea’s style of football fits in well with Tottenham’s philosophy. Rodgers also carries himself with professionalism, decorum and class diametrically opposed to the current incumbent managing Spurs! Tottenham’s next managerial appointment needs to be long term to build something with the club.

Swansea are in a good run of form winning 3 of their last 4 games, a notable scalp being the then league leaders Manchester City. They have also won 4 of their last 6 away games in the league so this will prove to be a tough game for Spurs.

The impressive Steven Caulker will sit out the game against his parent club. The experience he has gained this season will bode well for Spurs next season where it is hoped he will be integrated into the 1^st team squad.  Swansea will play a fluid 4-2-3-1. Their main danger men will be Leon Britton who will look to dictate the play from midfield, the tricky winger Nathan Dyer who returns from suspension and the goal scoring midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson who has been outstanding in his loan spell scoring 5 goals in 5 appearances. Michel Vorm is one to watch as well as he has been outstanding in goal for the Swans. With Friedel the wrong side of 40 and Cudicini in his late 30’s Vorm should be a summer target as a long term replacement in goal for Spurs.

Spurs have recovered from their dip and were unlucky not to get all 3 points at Stamford Bridge last Saturday. Sunday’s game gives the team an excellent opportunity to get the win which will help cement a top 4 position.

The big injury news is that Aaron Lennon is fit and is available for selection. The absence of the tricky winger has affected the team badly to the extent that Redknapp felt the need to play the teams 2 best and influential players Luka Modric and Gareth Bale out of position.  Although not match fit as we enter the business end of the season he has to start.

The other main selection dilemma for Redknapp is who to partner Emmanuel Adebayor with in attack. The Togolese international is pivotal to the team with his all-round forward play. Rafael Van Der Vaart’s poor return of 3 goals in 20 games is not good enough and shouldn’t warrant a place in the starting line-up. When the Dutchman plays he plays far too deep picking the ball off the Centre Backs toes leaving Adebayor isolated in attack. Spurs two best performances this season the 4-0 win against Liverpool and the 5-0 demolition over Newcastle the Dutchman didn’t start, not a coincidence in my opinion. He flatters to deceive in too many games of late.

I’d expect Defoe to be restored to the starting line-up to partner Adebayor with the team going back to a 4-4-2 system. Despite starting mainly on the bench he is the team’s top scorer and is the only forward who is always a genuine goal threat.

With only 8 league games left sufficiently rotated all the strikers will make goals contribution now till end of season.

Probable line-up:

Prediction:

Spurs have an excellent home record undefeated in 30 of their last 32 home matches in Premier League. With the FA Cup Final to look forward they can concentrate on consolidating a top 4^th spot. With Lennon back the manager can select the 1^st choice starting 11. I expect a confident performance in front of the White Hart Lane faithful and back to winning ways 3-1

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

Tottenham Hotspur are on their way to Wembley again for the FA Cup semi-Final against Chelsea after battling past an inspired Adam Bogdan Bolton side on an emotional night at the Lane.

The night started with  both sets of players warming up in T-shirts which read “Uniting for Fabrice” on the front and “thank you for your support for Fabrice” on the back.  The match was also preceded by a warm minute of applause with chants of Fabrice Muamba heard around the ground.  The playing shirts from last nights game were to be signed by the players and auctioned off, with all proceeds to be split between the London Chest Hospital and three heart charities. The match programme also featured messages of thanks to the medical teams from both clubs and the global football community from Bolton manager Owen Coyle, Muamba’s father Marcel and his fiancee Shauna Magunda. It’s such great news that Muamba is on the road to recovery even though there is a long way to go still.

After an impressive display at Chelsea at the weekend seemingly giving back confidence to the players and playing with our best formation and system (4-2-3-1), Spurs were dominant and back to the type of football that has been so admired by many this season.  Harry Redknapp made four changes from the weekend with Cudicini, Nelsen, King surprisingly and Livermore coming into the team. King’s inclusion was the most baffling for me as surely that will rule him out of the home game against Swansea at the weekend.

Tottenham’s passing was back to it’s best and our pace, purpose and movement was creating holes in the Bolton defence and it was only Bogdan’s brilliance under siege that kept the match goalless for so long otherwise this cup tie would have been over by half time.

Bogdan was equal to Gareth Bale’s powerful early drive before pulling off the first of two top-class double saves, to deny Livermore and Modric from close range.

Kyle Walker, who had a outstanding game, was causing all sorts of problems down the right and Adebyaor had opportunities to open the scoring. Firstly from a Van Der Vaart corner when he should have done better followed by Bogdan saving a low drive after he was released down the left by Assou-Ekotto and he cut in towards goal. Bogdan completed another double save when he blocked Bale’s follow up shot.

Spurs continued to pepper the Bolton goal when Bale hit the side netting and Parker had a shot well saved. Bolton offered nothing in the first half and I’m sure they were relieved to get into the dressing room on equal terms. The Tottenham faithful were left wondering how we weren’t ahead and although totally outclassing our opponents was it going to be one of those nights.

Spurs continued the onslaught in the second half with Van Der Vaart beating Bogdan but not the woodwork from a 25 yard free-kick and then both he and Adebayor had chances when put through on goal but couldn’t finish off the move. This was sandwiched in-between a couple of against the run of play chances for Bolton through Reo-Coker, who was superbly tackled by Nelsen after he was clear on goal and a Chris Eagles shot that was deflected wide.

Ryan Nelsen, who had a good game last night, I felt was unfairly treated by some Spurs supporters before the game when the teamsheet was announced. Yes, he wasn’t the high profile signing we expected or wanted during the January transfer window but he is a New Zealand International and a good solid back-up for us. Harry Redknapp has in fact said today that  he wants to keep him for next season as well, probably because we don’t quite know how long Sir Ledley will be carrying on for. Although next season I expect Steven Caulker to be inter-grated into our first team plans after his impressive displays and the experience he has gained for Swansea this season.

It was, in fact, Nelsen who finally got us the break through and from a corner no less. Just to make it clear and if you missed it SPURS FINALLY SCORED FROM A SET PIECE. Van Der Vaart delivered from the right and Nelsen rose at the far post to head the ball back across goal into the top corner after Bogdan didn’t reach the corner. Spurs then set about Bolton to finally kill off the game and they didn’t have to wait long before they did exactly that.

Jermain Defoe, who surely is one of the best impact substitutes in the Premiership, had already stung Bogdan’s hands just before the opening goal, led the counter attack as Bolton pressed for the equaliser. He fed Bale who was motoring up the right flank, who cut inside to set it up on his favoured and trusty left foot and he dispatched it into the bottom right hand corner. Just reward for us and finally some breathing space.

Of course, Spurs being Spurs, conceded a late undeserved consolation goal when Klasnic crossed for Kevin Davies, who always manages to score against us, slid in to put it in the back of Cudicini’s net.  No nerve jangerling  minutes to hold on this time though as Louis Saha collected a pass from Assou-Ekotto, spun his man and despatched a right footed shot past Bogdan with the final kick off the game.

Some final thoughts from the match.  Jake Livermore was once again superb last night and his development this season has come on leaps and bounds, Harry Redknapp deserves some credit as his tactical changes were spot on last night and he gets enough criticism for it when he gets it wrong so only right he should get praise when he gets it right and what a top bloke Owen Coyle is as he made sure he shaked hands with all the Tottenham players at the end of the match.

Spurs richly deserved their win and the scoreline could of been a lot worse for Bolton, who now put their attention back to staying in the league. As for us, we are once again creating some much needed forward momentum  for the run in with chasing down Arsenal for third place and a FA Cup semi final place to look forward to.

Altogether now Spurs are on their way to Wembley……..

COYS

Rob

You can follow the blog on Twitter (@THFC1882dotcom )

Kenny Palmer gives THFC1882 his match report from Saturday’s game against Chelsea.

An impressively earned point for Spurs at Stamford Bridge built on a professional away performance maintained the Lilywhites 5 point lead over Chelsea in the hunt for a Champions League place.

Harry Redknapp surprised the White Hart Lane faithful, by after weeks of baffling team selections, picking the team and formation most fans would have picked thereby putting the team on the front foot from the start.

The England elect manager setup the team with a solid midfield 3 of Modric, Parker and Sandro with Gareth Bale and Rafael Van Der Vaart playing in free roles behind the excellent Emmanuel Adebayor. Why on earth did he not use this line-up and formation in the tough away games lost to Arsenal and Everton?

The Togo international Adebayor was outstanding on his return from injury. Often toiling without help from the other forwards he put in a superb exhibition of playing the lone striker role with his industry, hold- up and link play. It cannot be underestimated what he offers and his importance to the team. He is the only player in the Premier League so far this season with double figures for goals 11 & assists 11!

Spurs performance was a repeat of the away game to Liverpool at the start of February which the team managed to earn a draw with a clean sheet.

An undistinguished first half, unusually devoid of high tempo and pressing for a London Derby was characterized by Spurs defending deep conceding possession to Roberto Di Matteo’s team. An unimpressive Chelsea didn’t have the guile, creativity or imagination to break through a disciplined back four with Parker and Sandro offering an additional shield to the defence.

From an attacking perspective Tottenham offered nothing.  Adebayor had a good run from on the break on 32 minutes but had no support. Not long after Kyle Walker in a good position outside the box hit his effort over the bar.

Spurs should have been in the lead going into the break when the Rafael Van Der Vaart inexplicably missed a golden opportunity 5 yards inside the box even given 2 opportunities to convert. The Dutch international despite his goal against Stoke on Wednesday has made negligible contribution since returning from injury and needs to contribute more to the team to retain his place in the starting line-up.

Tottenham’s approach in the 2^nd half was far better Kyle Walker was unlucky with a shot on 52 minutes which flashed wide as was Adebayor who miss hit a shot in the box on 57 minutes.

Tottenham were far more threatening in attack with Gallas heading over the bar from a corner   and should have taken the lead on 78 minutes when Adebayor rounded the keeper but his goal bound effort was cleared by Gary Cahill.

As the game drew to a close Spurs could have wrapped up the points when Bale hit the bar with a header from a corner and Peter Cech made a good save from the Welshman’s free kick in injury time. Over the 90 minutes Spurs were the better team and were unlucky not to win.

The impressive point cannot disguise the fact that it is still 6 games since Spurs last won a premiership match which was is February against Newcastle at the lane and you have to go back to December 27 against promoted Norwich when Spurs last won an away match a run of 6 game without an away win.

Tottenham have also taken just 5 points from the 8 Premier League matches this season against other clubs in the Premier League top 5!

Another poor statistic is that Spurs have not won a Premier League match in March since beating Portsmouth 2-0 two years ago!

The poor run has coincided with Arsenal going on a run of 7 successive wins making them firm favourites to take 3^rd spot and an automatic place into the group stages of the champions’ league.

With Chelsea having the more difficult run-in amongst the London rivals for a top 4 place, still having to play Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool while Spurs do not have to play any team in the top 7 you would fancy Tottenham to be favourites to secure 4^th.

The performance against Chelsea which the players will have taken confidence from their display is an excellent platform in which to play out the remaining league games.

Tuesday s game at the Lane against Bolton in the FA Cup gives the team an excellent opportunity to book a place in the Semi Finals at Wembley. That is followed by what should an attractive game against Brendan Rodgers  entertaining newly promoted Swansea giving the team the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways in the league. A game which Aaron Lennon tweeted he will be fit and available for selection for.

The key to Spurs ending the season well is getting as many of the key players: King, Bale, Parker, Modric, Adebayor and Lennon on the pitch together in the remaining 8 games.

As we enter the business end of the season there is much to play for Tottenham Hotspur, 3^rd spot and a FA Cup final!

COYS!

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea, Saturday 24th March 2012, Stamford Bridge, 12.45pm kick off, SS2 & HD2 and in 3D

THFC1882 is once again delighted to welcome back Kenny Palmer for his preview of the important game on Saturday.

Saturdays visit to Stamford Bridge against Roberto Di Matteo’s revitalized Chelsea takes on even greater importance after an injury time goal by Rafael Van der Vaart salvaged a draw for Spurs on Wednesday night and ended the teams run of 3 defeats on the bounce but extended the run without a win in the league to 5 games.

The draw was compounded by Arsenal’s victory against Everton which means Spurs slip to 4^th in the chase for a Champions League place. Wasn’t this Arsenal team meant to be the worst  in the Wenger era and as Redknapp keeps telling the media the best Spurs team in many a year? Looks like the gap has been breached!

Tottenham held a 10-point lead over Arsenal before the north London derby at the Emirates on February 26 – but less than a month later they are now behind Arsenal.

Wednesday s unconvincing performance against Stoke was characterised by sloppy and misplaced passing, bluntness in front of goal and ineptness in dead situations. The OtaJoe stats highlight what all Spurs fans already know: Tottenham haven’t scored from a Premier League free kick since 1 January 2011 and you have to go back to 26 January 2010 since the Lilywhites last scored from a direct free kick shot. As countless corners fail to pass the first man it comes as no surprise that Spurs have taken 121 corners since they last scored from one!

Its common knowledge that Redknapp does not do any coaching but the fact that his lieutenants Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan haven’t addressed Spurs poor execution of dead ball situations on the training field reflects badly on them.

The teams’ early season form and attractive winning football has evaporated and the team now has no belief and conviction in their play. What is disconcerting is that Redknapp, the England elect manager, seems to have no solutions on how to halt this dip in form. He has nothing in the way of tactical adjustments or team selection. Even his somewhat overstated motivations skills seems to have deserted him as he admitted after Wednesdays game he tried a ruse of telling the players that both Arsenal and Chelsea were ahead when the players went in for the half time break to try to spark them into action.

Saturday s hosts   Chelsea have Spurs firmly in their sights chasing down that 4^th position in the league. Since the departure of the sacked AVB and the reintroduction of the senior players they seem to be playing with a lot more belief and confidence.

They will be buoyed by the fact that they have never lost a Premier League game at home to Tottenham, winning 13 and drawing 6 of the matches. The players seem to be somewhat over confident that they will get a result against Spurs with Peter Cech and Gary Cahill coming out in the press that Tottenham are there for the taking. This cockiness should serve as motivation for Redknapp and the Spurs players.

John Terry who sat out the defeat against Manchester City will likely return to the team as will the Ivorian international Didier Drogba who was on the bench. Ivanovic picked up a knock in the game and is a major doubt. It is hoped he does not recover as his likely replacement Bosingwa hasn’t the defensive ability to contain Gareth Bale!

Juan Mata, Daniel Sturridge and Didier Drogba will be the main danger men for Chelsea. The Spurs backline will have to be at their best to contain them.

It is imperative for a stuttering Spurs that they keep some daylight between themselves and Chelsea in 5^th with the points gap 5 points. Harry Redknapps men have only won 2 of the last 9 premier league games which is a dreadful run.

The 2 main injury doubts for the Spurs are Emmanuel Adebayor and Aaron Lennon. Lennon still recovering from a hamstring injury will probably start on the bench. It is hoped that Adebayor fully recovers for the game. He is crucial for the way Spurs play whether in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation his all-round forward play, leading the line, hold up and link play has been excellent, his absence in the team has been greatly missed.

As a draw would be a good result in the context for a top 4 berth I expect Redknapp to dispense with playing 2 strikers which he has done in the previous away games to no success and go with a 4-3-2-1 formation which he used against Norwich with a midfield three of Sandro, Parker and Modric with Bale and Van Der Vaart in free roles behind Adebayor, when out of possession the team will drop to a more solid 4-5-1. That performance in December was Spurs last away win.

Probable line-up:

Prediction

Spurs record at Stamford Bridge is abysmal Chelsea are undefeated in their last 14 home matches against the team from White Hart Lane in all competitions winning 4 out of the last 5 matches, while Tottenham have failed to win their last 5 away matches in the league.

Chelsea will have one eye on their away Champions League fixture to Benfica on Tuesday which Spurs should capitalize on. It will be an evenly contested London Derby but I expect Spurs will be good enough to earn a draw 1-1!

COYS

Kenny ( @KennyPalmer on Twitter )

The opposing fans view this week comes from youngster Josh Robinson. He has supported Chelsea for all of his 16 years as it’s in his blood and his favourite past players include Robben, Carvalho and Crespo. Present day hero’s include Lampard, Terry, Mata, Ramires and Ivanovic. He is is take on tomorrow’s game:

What a game this potentially could be. Previous games between the ‘top teams’ have had goals galore and the neutrals will be hoping for the same again. We go into the game with confidence installed from interim manager Di Matteo, whilst Tottenham have been on a less impressive run in recent weeks. Chelsea, under RDM, have got the results but we haven’t been totally convincing at all (bar the Napoli game). Stoke at home was very unprofessional after we scored the goal and against Leicester, after we went 3-0 up, there was also a high level of unprofessionalism by some of the players. The Stoke game in the last 20 minutes was quite unbelievable, it was like our game plan was ‘Stoke are dangerous with set pieces so let’s give them as many as we can by giving away needless and silly fouls’.

Drogba put in a great performance (2nd half and onwards) against Napoli last Wednesday and Torres scored two and assisted two against Leicester in the FA Cup quarter final on Sunday. Torres put in a solid and more confident display against Man City on Wednesday too. I would start Torres, especially against Spurs’ tall centre backs who would be required to keep an eye on Torres’ clever runs on the shoulder- we won’t pick out Torres with those runs due to our lack of creative spark, of course. It is unknown whether John Terry will be fit for the match but we have options of Cahill and Luiz if he is not but the sad potential absence is Branislav Ivanovic; this is because Bosingwa is a nailed on cert’ to start at right-back if Brana is not fit. Bale vs Bosingwa, what could possibly go wrong? Sturridge didn’t take part at all against City (in my opinion he should have came on instead of Essien) and so will be fresh, ready and hopefully hungry, for the game ahead.

This game is now massive for Chelsea; pretty vital for Spurs too. We lost against City in poor style and with Arsenal continuing their good run of form, this game is now a ‘must win’ for a top 4 finish. Big game, hopefully our big players turn up. I read a stat yesterday that we, joint with QPR, have lost the most points from winning positions this season- that speaks a thousand words.

I always predict 2-0 in any Chelsea game when anyone asks me. It’s not just sheer arrogance, it’s just a safe scoreline to go for. I’m quite the pessimist.

My starting XI:
Cech;
Bosingwa, Terry, Luiz, Cole;
Ramires, Romeu;
Sturridge, Mata, Kalou;
Torres (4-2-3-1)

My Prediction for likely starting XI:
Cech;
Bosingwa, Terry, Luiz, Cole;
Ramires, Lampard;
Sturridge, Mata, Kalou;
Drogba (4-2-3-1)

‘Big game’. ‘Must win’. ‘Got to turn our attention on the next game’. ‘We’re taking it game by game’. Cliches galore; let’s hope there is goals galore… but just for Chels. We can only hope.

Josh ( @Robboandsports on Twitter )

Many thanks to Kenny and Josh for giving their time to preview the game.

Massive game which we need to get something out of or our end of season form is beginning to look a lot like last season.

COYS

Rob

You can follow this blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

THFC is delighted to welcome back Bolton fan Dominic Walsh who reflects on the distressing events of Saturday and asked to write this article as a thank you to the Spurs supporters.

After what has happened over the past few days I just wanted to write a few words echoing many sentiments that have already been shared but more than anything to say thank you to the fans of  Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

I joined twitter a couple of years ago and began following several Spurs fans. I have done ever since. They have been great follows and are completely passionate about their football club. In addition to this they have shown to me in this time that they are excellent people. A few of them have let me write for their websites and blog sites and I am more than happy. It is an absolute pleasure to share football with fans who are only interested in watching the sport that we love.

On Saturday when the world was witnessing the tragic events regarding Fabrice Muamba unfold I had Spurs fans tweeting me offering their support to me and our club and our player. This really touched me. Within minutes, Twitter was awash with well wishes from the football community for Fabrice and messages of sadness, anxiety, anguish and grief from Bolton fans.

I garnered much reaction to the horrific events at White Hart Lane via Twitter as I wasn’t at the stadium on Saturday, but it is plainly obvious that every single man, woman and child in attendance at White Hart Lane on Saturday was truly incredible. Shared grief, chants and comfort were all shared. The actions of all the medical staff within the ground have given Fabrice Muamba a fighting chance of survival.

Phil Gartside, Owen Coyle and Kevin Davies have been truly incredible over the past few days. They have carried themselves incredibly well and spoken with grace and dignity. I feel Tottenham fans should be mentioned in the same breath as these men that have made me feel so proud to be a Bolton fan.

What the long term future holds for Fabrice is yet to be seen, however, the mutual bond and respect between Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur will forever run deep after the weekend events.

Thank you to you all.

Dom ( @bwfcdom83 on Twitter )

We greatly appreciate the thoughts of Dominic and of course wish Fabrice Muamba a full and speedy recovery.

Rob

Tottenham Hotspur vs Stoke City, 21st March 2012, White Hart Lane, 7.45pm kick off

Stoke travel to North London on Wednesday night with football still in the shadow of the horrific and distressing scenes that occurred at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

It’s encouraging news that Fabrice Muamba is stable, his heart is working without the aid of medicine, there has been movement in his arms and legs and he has been coherent and talking to friends and family.  Of course, the situation is still very critical and all of football pray that he makes a full recovery. Full credit and admiration go to the medical staff of both Tottenham and Bolton for the quick response and life saving work they did and that was continued by the London Chest Hospital.

This does truly put into focus the need for footballer heart scanning with our very own Spurs supporting heart rhythm specialist Steve Robinson (@robbo4479 on Twitter ) highlighting and working hard to raise awareness along with C-R-Y, of exactly this happening. More information can be found on the C-R-Y website www.c-r-y.org.uk. The Spurs players might actually have taken the first steps in actioning this as the entire squad have now requested heart checks.

The Tottenham players now have to try and get their minds back on footballing matters rather then the upsetting scenes they witnessed on the pitch on Saturday. Jermain Defoe and Rafael Van Der Vaart visibly seemed the most affected. This, I’m sure, will be hard to achieve completely in what is actually a very important week for Tottenham in terms of their season. We will get our chance again at some point to get our place at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final, which will be against Chelsea, if we beat Bolton in the rearranged game.  Now it is essential to get our league form back on track after 3 straight defeats and Arsenal breathing down our necks for 3rd place.

Stoke won’t be an easy game. They have already beaten us twice this season, both at the Brittania. In the Carling Cup in September when we lost on penalties, although we didn’t have a full strength team out and the priority was clearly not on the fixture and in the league game in December, they beat us 2-1 to end our 11 game unbeaten run since the 2 Manchester defeats at the start of the season. Stoke are rugged, in your face and never stop running. The type of team Spurs would normally struggle against in seasons past and might do again on Wednesday since we are a tad disjointed at present.

Tottenham will have the same squad they used on Saturday available as long as all the players can turn their attention fully to the game.  Harry Redknapp has already stated that they can have all the time they need to ensure they are mentally prepared.  Sir Ledley could be available but I doubt he will be risked anyway with Chelsea to play on Saturday and Kaboul will most definitely be back alongside Gallas.  Brad Freidel will be back in goal. The rest of the team I expect to be the same with Van Der Vaart being played out of position on the right with Lennon still out injured, meaning Kyle Walker will have a busy game keeping Matthew Etherington under wraps along with the full back. Saha and Defoe will probably be up front as Emmanuel Adebayor is again doubtful.  Michael Dawson and Tom Huddlestone are, of course, out for the rest of the season.

Predicted line up:

Stoke will line up in their tried and tested 4-4-2 formation with emphasis on the wingers and full backs delivery crosses into the box. They will be very dangerous from set pieces and our defence will have to be their best to keep them out.  We will be looking for Walker and Assou-Ekottu shutting down Spurs old boy Etherington and former Gunner Pennant or Shotton.  Peter Crouch and William Palacious will also be back at the Lane and I’m sure they will get a warm reception.  Stoke are sitting in 14th place in the Premiership with 36 points and they battle for every single point they earn.

Prediction:

This a vital and must win game for Spurs and we must gain the 3 points to start some forward momentum towards the end of the season run. With this in mind I expect us to put the harrowing few days behind us for the time being and gain the victory we need by a 2-1 scoreline.

Rob

You can follow the blog on Twitter ( @THFC1882dotcom )

Tottenham Hotspur vs Bolton Wanderers, Saturday 17th March 2012, White Hart Lane, 5.30pm kick off, ESPN & ESPN HD

THFC1882 is pleased to welcome back Adam Nathan for his preview of the FA Cup Quarter-Final game, a game that could prove to be a pivotal point for the rest of Tottenham’s season.

Bolton Wanderers arrive at the Lane on Saturday evening to take on a Tottenham side who have had one of their worst months in recent memory. Banishing thoughts of a disastrous period in the Premier League in order to focus on the cup is an absolute must, but as the thousands of Spurs fans arrive in N17 at the weekend, they would be forgiven for having more than one eye on the absolutely crucial league fixture against Stoke on Wednesday night. That is not to diminish the importance of the cup by one iota. The FA Cup is a bastion of footballing tradition across the globe, and we would celebrate a victory at Wembley on the 5^th of May with unbridled joy, but even Chas and Dave would forgive the Spurs faithful if their celebrations of a (hopeful) win on Saturday were slightly clipped, with the memory of three awful weekends still fresh in the mind.

Everyone has had their say on the past three games, so further analysis would be futile. Whether the focus of your anger is aimed at the manager, players, coaching staff or the new evil Chirpy, what is clear is that something has gone very wrong, and the sooner we can get ourselves back on track the better. My personal opinion is that everyone at the club has seemed to take their eye off the ball by a few crucial percent (well, perhaps not the mascot), and as a result, the whole club has struggled. The England job issues have done us no favours whatsoever, but as a nation we should be used to utter ineptitude from the FA and be looking to ignore it at all costs.  Naturally that is a very utopian view of the situation, but if we continue to let the issue cast a dark cloud over the club, we will continue on our downward spiral.

Therefore, whilst the league may be firmly on all of our minds, the game this weekend could hopefully provide a bit of respite and allow the players to get back to doing what they do best; playing top quality football. With Bolton embroiled in a tussle at the bottom, they should provide a perfect opposition for us to get back on track. That is not to say that it will be an easy game, far from it, but I would certainly expect the Trotters to sit back, allow us plenty of possession and invite us to break them down, just the kind of opposition that we enjoyed so much success against in the early stages of the season. Saturday’s game represents a real opportunity to get our best players back on the ball for long periods of the game, return to a slick passing game and get some confidence pumping through our battered veins once again.

With regard to selection, I would hope to see a very strong team striding out of the tunnel at 5:25. Some may argue that resting players for Wednesday would be wise, but I think that would be a bad move; we have never been particularly eye-catching in FA cup ties under Harry for whatever reason, and labouring to a hard-fought victory with half a side would only raise more doubts about the Stoke and Chelsea games to follow. We need a return to the style that so dismantled Newcastle in early February to breathe life and optimism into the club again, and to do that we need a full team out.

Whether or not that happens of course is a completely different matter, and as usual, the Van Der Vaart or Defoe debate will no doubt rear it’s ugly head again. The Dutchman has his doubters of course, but I would hope that many of them were forced to reconsider their opinions after his substitute appearance against Everton last week. That was the performance of a true winner and a true professional. The way in which he demanded the ball and almost moved the whole game twenty yards closer to the opposition goal was a joy to watch, and whilst Bale and Modric are probably better players than Rafa, they don’t even come close to his mentality and level of professionalism when the chips are down. Defoe on the other hand has actually been very good when called upon this year. He looks stronger and more of a threat against better opposition, especially at home, and his two goals against Stevenage would give him a strong case to continue his good FA Cup form. Starting the two of them will be a difficult one to manage unless Van Der Vaart begins the game from wide right (well, at least it won’t be Bale), but I’d be inclined to return to a team as close to the one that was so devastating between September and December. The right side of midfield presents a problem, but I’d like to see us set up with Bale, Modric and Van Der Vaart behind Adebayor and Parker and Sandro sitting in midfield. That formation doesn’t have to be defensive, as we showed away to Norwich and Wigan, and I think it is the best way to solve the issue of Lennon being injured. In terms of what the team will be however, I would not be surprised to see Adebayor and Defoe start up front with a midfield four of Van Der Vaart, Modric, Livermore and Bale. At the back I’d expect to see Walker, Nelsen, Kaboul and Ekotto protecting the goal of Carlo Cudicini.

Probable line up:

As for Bolton, you will have to forgive me for not offering a predicted line-up as I have seen very little of them in the cup this year, but  I’d expect the dangerous Klasnic to return to the side in place of David N’gog after his goalscoring appearance last weekend. Mark Davies will certainly give the defence problems if allowed time and space, and we will have to watch out for the blistering pace of Arsenal loanee Ryo Miyachi who has had an excellent start to his Premier League career in the North West.

Prediction:

Overall, I desperately hope that we use Saturday’s game as a launch pad for the rest of the season. The last three weeks have made for painful viewing, and a home game in the cup with the prospect of a Wembley appearance should be more than enough to get White Hart Lane rocking again and our beloved team back on track. If we start the game as we did against Newcastle then I’d expect us to run out comfortable winners, especially with Bolton having to focus primarily on staying the division, so I’m going to plump for a 4-1 Spurs win. A result and performance like that would give the whole club a huge boost and do wonders in our quest for Champions League football again next year.

Come on you Spurs

Adam   ( @adamdnathan on Twitter )

The opposing fan’s view this week comes from Dominic Walsh and I’ll let him introduce himself.

My name is Dominic Walsh and I’ve been following Bolton for around 24 years. I have seen many ups and downs in that time. The ups have largely outweighed the downs though. When I was younger I used to love going to the game to watch John McGinlay and Andy Walker score goals for fun. It was also great being the team that upset the bigger teams in the cup for a few years. Between 1993 and 1994 we beat Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Aston Villa andNorwichas a team lower in the league. This era was a major turning point for Bolton. We got our first promotion to the Premier League in 1995 and reached the Coca Cola Cup Final.

In recent years, Sam Allardyce brought arguably some of the greatest players in world football to the Reebok. Seeing Jay Jay Okocha run around in a Bolton shirt alongside Youri Djorkaeff was truly amazing for a lad like me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen after some of the gloomy afternoons as part of small crowds at Burnden Park watching us play in division 3.

Under Sam Allardyce we enjoyed some of our greatest moments. Following his departure we have struggled an awful lot but under Owen Coyle last season things seemed to be looking up.

This time last year Bolton were riding the crest of a wave in the league and looking forward to a quarter final trip to Birmingham. That day ended being many Bolton fan’s favourite game of last season. Lee Chung Yong dispensing a 90^th minute winner at the away end in front of a 5000 strong away following was truly incredible. Unfortunately, our season and fortunes took a severe downward turn not to long after.

At the same stage this season we are fighting a relegation battle and showing extreme inconsistency in performance in addition to missing some of the great players that helped us defeat Birmingham last year at this stage.

Team News:

In recent weeks Bolton have been lining up with a 4-5-1 formation with David N’Gog leading the line as Kevin Davies has fallen a little out of favour due to a poor first half of the season. Down the flanks, Arsenal loanee Ryo Miyaichi has shown some great touches of brilliance and some stunning pace. I think he could provide us with plenty of chances in this game as well as in the rest of the games in the end of season run in. On the flipside, Chris Eagles has been Mr Inconsistency; one great game to three or four not so great. Martin Petrov has a great ability to deliver a killer ball into the box but again hasn’t shown it on a regular basis.

In the centre, Owen Coyle has been prone to chopping and changing quite a bit. Mark Davies has grown in confidence this year and is finally showing some of the promise that made, the now unemployed again, Gary Megson sign him from Wolves. He has been one of our main attacking threats. Fabrice Muamba and Darren Pratley seem to be rotating a fair bit alongside the ‘stand in’ captain and largely ever present, Nigel Reo-Coker.

At the back, we have had Tim Ream in our ranks for a few weeks since Gary Cahill joined Chelsea. He joined us from New York Red Bulls in January. He has been paired with Zat Knight or David Wheater and they have been assisted in the full back positions by Gretar Steinsson and Sam Ricketts.

I think we will keep the 4-5-1 formation for the game with the two wide players making a forward 3 in attack. Who Owen Coyle will start with will be tricky. He may choose to rest a few ‘key’ players with a view to ensuring Premier League survival. Tuncay may come into the fold in the attacking line along with Marcos Alonso making a return from injury in defence at left back. I would expect to see Kevin Davies and Ivan Klasnic at some point during the game to. It would be nice to progress with a win and build some momentum going into the last few games of the season.

Prediction:

As much as I would love to see us get something from the game, I can’t see us getting the win. In all honesty, I want to ensure we stay in the countries top division this year. I think we will and I think we will build well next season. If I was to predict a score I’d go for the home win. Maybe 3-1. This being the cup though, I guess anything can happen!

Dominic ( @bwfcdom83 on Twitter )

Many thanks to both Adam and Dominic for previewing the game for us.

So Spurs go into the game as favourites but both teams you could say have other things on their mind at present. This is the FA Cup though and Wembley is calling!

COYS

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