How do you solve a problem like Luka?

Modric scoring against Weder Bremen in happier times

As Spurs fans we’re gluttons for punishment, we’re used to having our hearts broken, used to watching matches against lower opposition when we underwhelm and under impress – “same old Spurs”. One thing we’re used to is falling in collective love with a player, baptising him the new Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter or Neo of White Heart Lane.

He loves us. We love him. Simples.

Then, they decide to move on – Teddy Sheringham, Sol Campbell, Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov – to name a few. One sign I remember vividly from the apocalyptic fallout of our home grown stalwart Sol leaving us to move to the other side, you know, the dark side, they who must not be named, the machines, on a FREE, a bloody free transfer no less, was one that read “We hate you so much because we loved you so much.”

Keane became the new talisman, he could do no wrong but after the Carling Cup win in 2008 he moved to his “boyhood club”, Liverpool. It all went tits up and he came back a damaged player – he’s never been the same.

Berbatov sulked, striked and moaned his way out of White Hart Lane to Manchester United in a move that was horribly handled despite the massive fee.

We hate you so much because we loved you so much.

Luka Modric was supposed to be different. He was the real McCoy,  a grounded human being, superb footballer, no airs and graces – a triffic lad. Harry Redknapp didn’t do himself any favours by frequently suggesting that “Luka could play in any team in the world.” We all knew he could but we were sure he was happy with us – helping us to build future etc etc.

I went to the last game of the season against Birmingham when Modric was riding on the crest of a wave of professional and fan adulation. Many pundits had him down as the player of the season despite being unceremoniously omitted from the PFA awards shortlists. Kenny Daglish when asked who he would have voted for said,

“The PFA Player of the Year has seven worthy nominees. But the player I would vote for isn’t among them.

With apologies to Samir Nasri, Nemanja Vidic, Scott Parker, Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart, Charlie Adam and Carlos Tevez, the best player I’ve seen this season is Luka Modric at Tottenham.

He is the driving force behind a Spurs team who have had another great season in the Premier League and Champions League. The little Croat can spot a pass, run with the ball and just keep the team ticking along.”

He won the Spurs fans player of the season award and looked completely nonplussed on the jumbo screens after the match. A contrast from when he scored against Stoke a few weeks earlier and fans on a Spurs forum had said:

“That celebration of his goal said a lot to me, he loves it here Ive no doubt, also he always seems to score cracking goals.” ctw01

“After the game when he ws driving out of the car park and saw the amount of fans waiting there, he had such a big grin, loved it.” Smithy

I said to a friend of mine at the time that I had a horrible feeling that it was the last time we’d seem him at White Hart Lane as a Spurs player. My friend responded by reminding me of the new five year deal he had signed the previous year. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Except, you see, Luka doesn’t seem to value contracts the same way I or you do and he doesn’t seem to be the pixie-faced innocent little angel we all believed he was. Sky Sports News have done their very best to engineer a move for Modric elsewhere this summer but it was the Daily Mail who beat them to it for an exclusive interview with the Croat. Luka quoted on a boat abroad as saying he’d love to move to Chelsea as it’s a big club and he’d like to depart Spurs as friends. The sound of a man who doesn’t seem to interested in honouring his five year deal.  

Forums trembled, imploring Daniel Levy to make a big bold statement like “he’s not for sale at any price.” Well, he did just that. I hoped that was the end of the matter but when asked by Croatian TV if he could still move to Chelsea, he said “anything is possible.” Once more, as Spurs fans, we got worried. Only for Daniel Levy to uncharacteristically come out all guns blazing after a meeting with Luka saying:

“Its not about money, we’re not selling our best players”

“He understands the clubs position”

“I’m sure when he sees his teammates again he’ll be fine”

Daniel Levy in pensive mood

That seemed to be that. End of story. Modric started training with the boys and Rafael Van der Vaart did his best to lighten the mood by saying:

"I think he's happy here and he also told me that he likes to play with us again and train with us.

"So we're happy that he's staying."

So, matter sorted, he’s a professional and he’ll be grounded enough and enough of a traffic lad to buckle down and play with us for another season.

That is when the issue started to get quite messy and demoralizing. Luka Modric, darling of White Hart Lane, fan favourite, top professional, traffic lad, now says that Levy threatened him, told him he’d rot in the stands. Well, good on Levy. You sign a deal like that, you make a commitment – you certainly don’t ask to leave the very next year. Not content with saying that Levy’s version of events was “twisted” he has today kindly added that he will hand in a transfer request if we continue to block his move, which we will, I’m sure, do.

We hate you so much because we loved you so much.

Little twinkle toes, the chosen one, Neo, now a snarling, money-grabbing glory hunter who wants to move to one of our most hated rivals. How things change.

What do we do now?

Well, we have the power, he signed a long term deal and legally amongst other things he is contracted to play for us. He talks about a gentleman’s agreement with Levy to consider any offer from a top club if its in mutual interest. I hardly believe this was ever discussed as a whole host of top clubs would naturally come knocking on our door looking for Luka, so why would Daniel Levy offer him such an easy get out clause. The second bit is most relevant though – mutual interest. Luka Modric moving away from Tottenham does bugger all for Tottenham, its not in our interest at all. An offer of £22 million for player worth much, much more in an inflated transfer market is not in our interest at all either.

Some fans are already saying, that “his head is turned, sell him.” They don’t factor in that Levy has committed himself to manager, fans, players and press to keep Modric – to sell would be to go back on all the pre-season rhetoric about not being a selling club, pushing on and keeping our best players.

To sell also sends a disastrous message to other top players, namely Rafael Van der Vaart and Gareth Bale. They’ll be looking to this saga to see how the land lies at the new “high achieving” Tottenham Hotspur. Sell Modric and they’ll see no drive to improve and may ask to leave sooner rather than later. They’ll know that after a bit of politicking they can beat Daniel “the pushover” Levy and move to bigger and more ambitious things. Keep Modric and the squad sits up and takes notice, they know they can’t beat Daniel “Hardball” Levy at his own game and will have to honour their contracts (Gareth Bale’s six-year deal offering up many Modric parallels). They’ll also know that the club does want to keep their best players, push on and achieve more.

How would I sort the problem? I’d sign two top, top players. Send a tangible message to Mr Modric that the club means what it says, we are pushing on and we do want to get back into that top four. If (when) Modric hands in a transfer request – something he said he would NEVER do – then he gets left on the bench or in the stands. His international career before Euro 2012 may suffer so hopefully he can fight his way back into the team and play out of his socks for us and either he helps us get back into the Champions League or he increases his value and he is sold on.

If we sell a player we all naively thought was that little bit different, whom we all loved and who brought us so much joy then we remain a selling club for the next decade and must prepare for an exodus of players and a sharp drop in the quality of players who would want to play for us.

If he leaves, I’ll hate him, simply because I loved him so much. He masqueraded as an honorable noveau footballer but has come out smelling rank, integrity shot to pieces. If he is there against Everton for the first game of the season then I’ll be the first to forget, the first to cheer when his name is read out – the first to start up the eh eh eh Luka Modric song. But, if like your girlfriend shagging your best mate despite your recent engagement, he forces his way out of White Hart Lane, then he’ll have done more damage that Sol, Dimitar or Robbie ever did.

How do you solve a problem like Luka? Easy, lock him in the changing rooms until the first game of the season.

Over to you Levy.    

The Road Well Travelled

Dress rehearsal against Inter Milan. First night on Tuesday against AC Milan.

Tottenham Hotspur made the first hugely positive steps towards the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League when they had conceded four goals and had Heurelho Gomes sent off before the first half of the match against Inter Milan was over. The side took an even bigger step towards conquering AC Milan by coming back to 4-3 against the blue and black rivals of the red and white Italians in the cauldron of the San Siro.

A great loss, as Harry Redknapp would say.

AC Milan aren’t a team easily scared, but Gareth Bale, who tore Inter Milan apart over two legs, surely strikes terror into red and black hearts – simply because he has literally been there and done that (three times). Bale won’t start against AC because of a troublesome back problem but he’s already done his bit for the team. You see, 11 players walked onto the pitch against Inter Milan at the San Siro, probably in awe, full of nerves, aware of the expectation but raring to go. 35 minutes later they were 10 broken men, wanting the ground to open up and the cameras to stop rolling. After a half time rollicking and a spectacular one-man hat trick, 10 men walked of the pitch proud, triumphant, relieved and probably thought “I wish we could do that again”. Tuesday night is their chance.

I’m sure that the players will relish going back to venue of one of their greatest comebacks, a wholly unique attempt at a “take two” in the Champions League because of the Inter / AC ground-share. I’ve had every part of my body crossed for Gareth Bale’s back but this is more for the aforementioned scare-factor he would bring and in the cold light of (to)day I’d rather start will a fully fit, back to his best, firing on all cylinders, right footed, left footed, wanting to prove a point Niko Krancjar over a struggling to be fit Bale, saving the latter for a Glory Glory night at White Hart Lane.

What miffs me slightly about accounts of our 4-3 triumphant loss against Inter Milan is the way it was described as a one man fight back. Naturally the plaudits should go to Gareth Bale for a heroic, running on empty and then some, hat trick but lets not forget the other players. There was Gomes who…. Oh. Bad place to start. Cudicini and his back four stemmed an almighty tide in the second half, letting in 0 goals as opposed to 4. Surely they deserve some mention for proving they can defend. Then there were our wingers: Bale, well we know about him, but I thought Lennon was utterly fantastic and I really feel he is key to any attacking success on Tuesday night. Whereas Bale has probably been sussed out by Europe now (and therein lies the biggest compliment), Lennon is still a shadowy enigma. We know what he can do, especially when he cuts in field as he has done recently in the premier league and when he did so against Inter to set up Bale’s third goal. Crouch still bamboozles defences, Defoe’s pace is unsettling and surely Pav is due a cracker of a game? (He seems to relish the big stage…).

No Luka Modric tomorrow?!? What?! I couldn’t care less really – he only played 8 minutes against Inter (people forget) before being sacrificed to make way for Cudicini. We’ve done it without one of our most talismanic figures before, we can do it again. If Modric is magically fit then it’s a total bonus for the team but we can handle AC without him.

I remember being deeply depressed that Rafael Van Der Vaart was suspended for the Inter Milan game (yes we did it without him too) and in any case he only played the first half of the win against White Hart Lane. So again, it’ll be a huge huge bonus if, and it seems he will, VDV starts – he will no doubt relish the biggest stage once more.

We lost brilliantly without captain fantastic Michael Dawson, remember that? Yep, he was absent through injury at the San Siro. All Spurs fans were gutted for him and at the time we no doubt argued that we played the game without Defoe (also injured at the last leg), Dawson, VDV – our best players! Well now we have them back, we have a second chance and most importantly of all – that Cauldron of a stadium holds absolutely no fear for our team.

So who starts the game? Well, based on the latest medical reports I would suggest the following:

(4-4-1-1)

Gomes

Corluka                        Gallas                                                Dawson                        BAE

Lennon                        Sandro                                    Piennar                        Krancjar

                                    VDV

                                                            Crouch (if fit) or Pav

Why?

The back four writes itself and has done well recently together (assuming none of them have to change their boots or has a crazy moment (I don’t think Corluka knows what the word crazy means actually….)). Lennon starts on the right and AC will probably commit two men to contain him. Krancjar starts on the left and likes to cut inside – both him and Lennon will narrow and stretch the width of the game at will and both can swap wings with ease – confusing eh?! Well that’s the idea! Piennar is tenacious, like Wilson Palacios in his prime but with a fantastic passing vision and attacking verve. He is a disciplined player and I think he’ll need to be at his best to control the AC Milan midfield. Sandro is a player I have always liked and now he’s played a full game he goes into my team. He grew in stature against Sunderland and not only made excellent tackles and defensive blocks all over the pitch (huge work rate) but his attacking runs were also fairly fruitful, and one led to Krancjar’s winner. Sandro will need to be very disciplined as he is still inexperienced and UEFA referees are notoriously mental when it comes to ridiculous yellow cards (poor Jermaine Jenas) but I think the continental (slightly less pacy) style of football played by AC Milan will be more of what he was used to when he played in Brazil. Van Der Vaart has to start, we need someone of his guile to unlock the AC midfield and defence. If VDV starts then he will need Crouch for his knock-downs if he’s fit. If Crouch’s back isn’t up to it then Pav has a chance to shine.

Prediciton?

I don’t want to guess. A one goal deficit is realistic but perhaps a score-draw like  2-2 isn’t out of the question. All I ask is that the tie is still very much alive for a cracking return leg at White Hart Lane.

As if you needed any more to hearten you then look at this video from ITV of the Inter game. Watch the start, experience the crushing loss and then witness the (nearly) great escape:

http://www.itv.com/sport/football/championsleague/news/toptenuefachampionsleaguegames2010-2011top503284/ (select Inter v Spurs)

The game against AC Milan will be a long and very, very tough road, but its one well travelled for our team and one to look forward to, not fear. I’m sure we’ll bring our unique brand of attacking football to the table and play without fear. For all those going to the game – make some noise!

Audere est Facere – and we do like to dare!

COYS!

Charlton, a new star (again) and a 25 man what?

Will he play or will he go?

First things first, I haven’t “blogged” in a while for various reasons and had instead treated myself to watching as much Spurs as I could get my hands on during December, leaving it, rather lazily, to the other excellent Spurs bloggers to sum things up (triffictottenham.co.uk, youllwinnothingwithyids.com and tottenbloghotspur.blogspot.com) – thanks guys for keep my Spurs fluids drip topped up!

I was at the Charlton game on Sunday and it was a game of two typical facets of Spurs’ method of football. The first half was a subdued midday home match atmosphere, very little Spurs chanting (I, too, was part of that problem for once) and little cutting edge or invention in the Spurs attack save for the excellent Andros Townsend. The first half ticked by without much excitement but Townsend looked incredibly pacey, full of attacking intent and played without fear or abandon. Particularly impressive I thought was his likeness to Gareth Bale in that he is more than happy to knock the ball past a player (left or right as he kicks with both) and run after it and deliver a killer ball. He also displayed a strong physical presence, only losing out a couple of times in 50/50 challenges. Young Andros could offer an alternative to Lennon in that whereas we are used to Lennon running into the box, hugging the touchline all the way and then gaining a yard from standing still to knock balls along the ground, Townsend can have the defender playing catching up, Maicon-style, from further down the pitch and can deliver arcing balls – many of which could have done with Peter Crouch on the field – not the lacklustre Pav.

I told my old man at the interval that Spurs needed a goal – Charlton or otherwise to give ourselves a kick up the arse. I suggested the hauling off of Wilson Palacios whose first touch had totally deserted him, as had his passing radar (giving it to Charlton players on several occasions) for Luka Modric. Harry Redknapp made the change at the interval and immediately White Hart Lane was treated to a master class in how to run a football game. Modric popped up all over the pitch, dictating the speed (often set to ‘Bale’) of our attack. His link up play was very good with Niko Kranjar (a man who looked poor in the first half and for this season in fact but had a better second period with his fellow Croat in tow. It didn’t take long for the deadlock to be broken. Townsend, who continued to be excellent throughout the second half and who seemed to relish playing with Modric took the ball, ghosted past a challenge and drilled the ball low into the net from 20-odd years – just desserts for an excellent debut performance. The lively Jermain Defoe, livelier since the introduction of Luka and his penetrating balls (come on now!) through the back four, scored two goals in quick succession, the first an excellently timed run and the second a reward for doggedly chasing about three rebounds in the Charlton box! An excellent second half was just the right performance ahead of a huge game against Manchester United when Bale, Van Der Vaart, Gallas and others should return to give the Red Devils a run for their money.

Although talk before and after the match has been dominated by the arrival (for training or otherwise) of David Beckham, it is heartening to learn that the players coming through out youth system are starting to deliver at the highest level – I just wonder when they will ever get a start. Another thing that I was made aware of today (something I had forgotten) was that David Beckham would have to fit into our 25 man Premier League squad, as would, say, Andros Townsend. Whereas he would be an excellent addition to our team against AC Milan, Beckham would play a limited number of matches in the league but take up a place for the rest of the season. It got me thinking about who would be in my 25 man premier league squad – here’s my run-down:

Goalkeepers

Gomes

Cudicini (who was excellent against Charlton)

Pletikosa

Defenders

Dawson

Gallas

Kaboul

Hutton

BAE

Corluka

Bassong

Woodgate

Bongani

Midfielders

Bale

Lennon

Jenas

Huddlestone

Sandro

Modric

Van der Vaart

Kranjar

BECKHAM???

Strikers

Defoe

Pav

Crouch

Suarez/Tevez/Kaka/ etc etc (a new striker please)

That’s my attempt at incorporating Becks and I’ve also made room for Woodgate assuming he can get fit but with so many centre-backs now available, he might make way for another midfielder like Townsend or even Palacios.

I am firmly in the “Beckham could be good for Spurs” camp. Our team has excellent team spirit about it – even BAE seems to enjoy playing with his “workmates”  - and I can only see Becks adding to that atmosphere. His experience against AC Milan would be very important and he is surely born to cross onto Crouch’s head to nod now to VDV or Defoe.

On the back of a good win against Charlton, some tough games await – whether Beckham plays or not.

COYS!

Jenas the key to Derby and Weder Bremen success

Jenas' value against Weder Bremen will be in restricting midfield creatvity

I haven’t written since before the stunning 3-2 comeback win at Arsenal, probably because I’ve been unable to string a coherent sentence together since out of pure joy. I had to run straight from watching the final whistle to a concert on the Saturday and I must have looked like a right idiot on the tube. I wasn’t just grinning, I was smiling, beaming ear-to-ear, replaying the match over in my head, giggling to myself, drawing uncomfortable looks from the visitors to our glorious isle from Heathrow terminal 1,2,3,4 & 5 on the tube from South Ealing. I just did not care. I was giddy all day and I’ve watched the match over several times since. How can Spurs be so insipid in the first half and then so inspired in the second? I don’t know, maybe because its Spurs and we don’t like doing things easily. I think a large part of it is not just the rollicking ‘Arry would have given the boys at half time but as Andy Gray said just before Bale’s fantastically taken goal, “if Spurs get a goal now then the whole atmosphere in this stadium changes.” The atmosphere did indeed change, Spurs sniffing blood and Arsenal and their fans feeling uneasy. It always strikes me how little chanting Arsenal fans do, certainly watching on TV anyway. Their most inspired chant seemed to be “ARSE-NAL”. Um… yeah. No witty songs about a Brazillian goalkeeper shagging your wife, no rousing rendition of “Oh when the Arsenal go marching in”, nada. As soon as Gareth Bale stuck that ball in the back of the net the place was silent except for some typically boisterous yiddos. But then again, 2-1 does that to any team. Just look at the nerves when Eto’o scored at White Hart Lane or when we held on to win at Fulham: 2-1 makes players and fans nervy.

Atmosphere aside, I had suggested before the game that Jenas would be the perfect replacement for Tom Huddlestone and he proved his worth yet again. I still don’t understand why he is so maligned by some fans. In my opinion he has pace and intelligence, the ability to spot a pass just as well as Luka Modric and in the second half he got in Fabregas’ face, pressuring as if his life depended on it. I feel that he really stepped up to the plate at the Emirates. I actually thought that Bale had a quiet game aside from a well taken goal and that Van Der Vaart despite scoring and setting up the other two didn’t have a huge impact on the game either. William Gallas was my man of the match. If there was ever a performance to sway undecided fans about his worth then it was as he captained us to a first win over his old side away in 17 years. He was imperious at the back, putting his body on the line, clearing balls, running forward. I don’t think he was just trying to win us over, I think he was showing Arsenal what they let go in the mould of Tevez going back to Man Utd. In winding Arsenal up, he delighted many Spurs fans. If Gareth Bale looked like a man totally spent and exhausted for the Spurs cause after our loss at the San Siro then Gallas looked similar at the Emirates, limping into the centre circle and falling to his knees at a job bloody well done. I for one have absolutely no problem in him remaining captain in Michael Dawson’s absence.

So, to the game tonight against Weder Bremen. It’s a tough one as most people expect us to walk it, therefore being Spurs it would only be apt if we were to really struggle. Saying that, it was sloppy mistakes away from home that gave Bremen two goals to draw the match and I think that with the White Hart Lane atmosphere and a squad pumped after beating our biggest rivals it should really be a victory. The key for me is Jenas again as if he can get in their faces all night then it leaves very little for the emerging partnership of Gallas and Kaboul to sweep up. I have a sneaky feeling that depending on Gallas’ fitness levels we might see Bassong start in his stead but we’ll see. A note on Kaboul: he set up our win over Man City at the end of last year and has been a real revelation. He can thump free kicks, defend with force and composure in equal measure and he can head the ball well – I expect him to become a mainstay of the team. I don’t think Rafael Van Der Vaart will be risked following an ankle knock so Crouch and Defoe will start up front with Lennon given another chance to utilise his speed against European opponents on the right flank. I have put cheeky silly bets on 4-0, 5-0 and 6-0 which means this will probably be a less open game so I’ll predict a 4-1 scoreline.

Tempo is all important against European teams and with that in mind here is the team I expect to start:

                                                            Gomes

Hutton                        Gallas (c)                                        Kaboul                        BAE

Lennon                        Jenas                                                Modric                        Bale

                                    Crouch                                    Defoe

I’ll be at the lane tonight for my first taste of Champions League action and I hope its another Glory Glory night so if you see a ginger at the front of block 33, South Lower, then say hello!

COYS!

How to lose with dignity

As the Arsenal fans famously sang: "Theres only one team in London". Wenger is annoyed it isn't his lot. 

Please refer to picture above...

Nothing like a North London Derby

Spurs will need a "kiss from a Rose" on Saturday

There is absolutely nothing like a North London Derby. The Glasgow derby comes close in terms of sheer vitriol between sets of supporters but the red/blue Manchester matches are often dull affairs (and nearly always one-sided) whilst the Merseyside derby is a tepid affair as most households in Liverpool are split between red and blue anyway.

Tottenham v Arsenal will always be a huge match, whatever state either team is in. When both teams were excellent in the 80’s and 90’s, it was one to watch and even in Spurs’ darkest moments in the league, it has given a chance for players to really give it a go. I’ve been a Spurs fan all my short life, but in terms of knowing every player, formations, going to matches regularly and, strongly disliking Arsenal, its only been about 8 years of pure devotion to the temple of White Hart Lane. In that time, I have witnessed some truly astonishing matches at the Lane, the library and the new death star. Who can forget Martin Jol screaming at Spurs to play on when an Arsenal player had tripped over his own laces resulting in a Robbie Keane goal and Arsene Wenger unconvincingly squaring up to the big Dutchman, only for us to lose, again because of Henry’s brilliance. Or the occasion when Jermaine Jenas scored a stoppage time equalizer at the Lane for us? How about the time when we first went to the Emirates and outplayed arsenal? Robbie Keane won a penalty but Almunia saved excellently and Arsenal ran down the other end and scored to win? How about one night at the Lane when against all expectations, Spurs dismantled a less experienced Arsenal side in the Carling Cup 5-1? I remember that night as the commentator on Sky said as Jenas got the ball: “Time for one last attack perhaps, oh and its Jenas who passes to… MALBRANQUE! There’s the icing on the cake – Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur!” Whenever I needed a pick up, I stuck that match on my Sky+ box and still feel elated!

In more recent times, the North London Derby has produced some stellar games. In Harry Redknapp’s second game in charge, we went ahead at the Emirates thanks to an unbelievably classy goal from David Bentley (“Take a bow son, take a bow” said Andy Gray). Arsenal pulled it back to 2-1 before dominating the game, outplaying us. Then they scored a third and it all looked a lost hope. Then Darren “how much?!” Bent scored to give us a chance but it all looked dead and buried when Hutton inadvertently set up Arsenal to smash a fourth in. Cue my friend telling me to turn it off “You won’t win now, lets watch Family Guy.” I was not for moving. Then Jenas scored a cracker of a goal to give renewed hope to Spurs fans – I was on my knees at this point. I remember Andy Gray saying, “Arsene Wenger will be furious, just keep the ball, run it into the corner.” Gomes lumped a ball down into the Arsenal half, Huddlestone knocked it to (and here’s the commentary because I have watched it 200 times since) “Modric, hits the post… LENNON! FOUR FOUR!” Andy Grey then took over “Well would you believe it? What an advert for this game we love. Harry’s team should be out of this, Harry’s team should be going home with nothing having done quite well – but they’re going home with a point in the most extraordinary of circumstances and Arsene Wenger will be furious. This ball takes a big deflection from Modric’s strike as it hits the post and you think they’ve got away with it but no: Little Aaron Lennon, alert, bright, aware, is there to stick it into the back of the net.” Apologies for any inaccuracies in the commentary there but I’m fairly sure that was it all. What a match eh?! Well, we looked to do it again last year at the Emirates but Arsenal took a goal in the 42^nd minute and after 41 minutes of dogged defending and whilst the replay of the first goal was still going on, Arsenal score another, straight from the re-start and Spurs fall apart. Arsenal dominated that game and Spurs didn’t even come close.

The most remarkable night of my Spurs life, was probably not Inter Milan at White Hart Lane (if I had been there then it probably would have been) but a cold night in April earlier this year. I was in Jersey where my girlfriend is from and she had booked us a Spa day and night at a very swanky club. I had however insisted that we do any day but the Wednesday but sods law, the club only had space on the Wednesday. So, Alice being the utter star that she is and understanding the other love in my life, let me go to a local pub to watch the match. I sat at the bar before the game in a relatively empty pub feeling very nervous indeed but also buzzing with excitement. For my company I had three pissed locals although one was a Liverpool fan. I was perplexed as to why Danny Rose was starting but I thought it might be a wildcard and that hopefully Harry Redknapp knew something I didn’t.  In the 9^th minute something remarkable happened. A David Bentley corner was punched away buy Almunia and as it fell from the sky like a meteorite from outer space, Danny Rose, on his full Spurs debut struck the ball with his left foot, before it had a chance to touch the ground. The ball scorched through the air at unbelievable velocity and ferocity and nearly burnt a hole in the goal net. I was in disbelief, I screamed to an empty pub, White Hart Lane didn’t just rock, it exploded.  Martin Tyler shouted, “Oh what a goal! Its Danny Rose on his Premier League debute with a memorable strike! Can you believe it!”

Here it is in all its glory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r0clOtSRlo&feature=related

 As my pissed companions game back from a smoking break I was shouting “Rose has scored an unbelievable goal, best goal I’ve ever seen, look… look!” One of them responded that he’d believe it when he saw it. When they saw it one said, “bloody hell, fourth place is yours now I’d say fella. What. A. Goal.” Danny Rose ran around the pitch, a man possessed, on fire, screaming. The Liverpool fan next to me said, “they’ll have to take him off now, he’s lost his head after a goal like that!” We went on to win that game thanks to a wonderful Bale goal created by Jermain Defoe’s excellent ball. Gomes deserved plaudits for having made three exceptional world-class saves in as many minutes right at the end of the game as we held on to win 2-1. I have no shame in admitting that I literally skipped back to the hotel and bought drinks all night for my lovely girlfriend and me. I was horribly hung-over the next day but still made time to buy all the newspapers. What a wonderful night.

For my little story there are thousands upon thousands more remarkable and special, for both sets of supporters about different North London Derby’s throughout the ages. It is the first date that both fans look for when the fixtures list is released and the game all fans want to be at. I feel that tomorrow will be a very open game with fragile defences and attack-minded midfields on both teams. One would expect Gallas to want to prove a point so he should be good at the back. The key for me is not Defoe, but Van Der Vaart and Crouch’s new partnership. I feel that with a ropey defence and goalkeeper, the knock down combination could be a rich source of potential to score a goal. At the other end, our defence has been cut to ribbons by lesser teams so will need real spatial awareness to keep messyrs Arsahrvin, Fabregas and the resurgent Nasri quiet. I wouldn’t like to predict the score but I do think both teams will score. I would take a draw here and now despite Newcastle and West Brom winning at the Emirates this year. Arsenal are an excellent team and I am always first to acknowledge when they have outplayed us when updating Facebook after a game – I hope that tomorrow, I won’t have to.

Audere est Facere!

Square pegs for round holes? How to replace Huddlestone.

I think we all know where that ball will end up...

The news that Tom Huddlestone will be out for three months with an ankle injury is a crushing blow for Spurs fans and a management team who were daring to believe that they would soon have a team back to near 100% fitness. The revolving door to the physios room sees Huddlestone going in and Defoe and Lennon coming out.

There was a time when Huddlestone couldn’t buy a game in a white shirt, often overlooked for underwhelming speed and tenacity for a player of such physical stature. However, under Harry Redknapp (as with most of the current crop of Spurs players!) he has truly blossomed into a true battleaxe of a midfielder. He crossed with his left or right foot, both come equally naturally to him, to pinpoint targets all over the field of play. His little backlift when striking the ball underlines a knack for hitting the sweet spot and scoring some excellent long range goals in the process. Couple with these talent normally more suited to a small agile attacking midfielder, he has greatly improved his tackling, can shepherd the ball around the pitch and boss the tempo of a match. His introduction against Young Boys at 3-0 whilst we stared Champions League embarrassment in the face changed the course of the game.

So the point of this article? How does a Spurs team which has been so reliant on Huddlestone cope without him? Well, quite easily actually. The proof was in the pudding on Saturday when an arguably lightweight midfield of Modric, Jenas, Van Der Vaart and Bale zipped the ball around the pitch admirably with only errors by the defence preventing a first clean sheet since the opening day of the season.  I run against the grain when I say that I have called for Jenas to play a lot more in the league since his excellent appearances in the Champions league for us. He set up an excellent opportunity early in the first half against Blackburn and I thought that the dark haired played searing down the left wing to deliver a pinpoint cross must have been Gareth Bale but it was JJ. Luka Moric has enjoyed a renaissance in the last few matches and proved his versatility by playing off Huddlestone or equally with attacking flair alongside Jenas or behind Van Der Vaart. How do we replace Huddlestone against Arsenal? Stick with the same midfield.

Well, sort of. Whilst we have the luxury of lots of round pegs for round holes in our field, with Krancjar being the only glaring huge square peg in our team at the moment (don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten how good he was last season), we will need some form of defensive midfielder to guard against Arsenal’s pace in midfield. I would suggest Palacios but he has been off his best this season, so for me Sandro should start. He made a glaring mistake against Bolton to gift them their first goal but his aggression, tenacity and ability to move with the ball makes him the perfect fit for a Huddelstone replacement for me. He also has great experience of hugely passionate and intimidating atmospheres from derby games in Brazil so if anything the North London Derby will fire him up.

The Spurs team of late has seen attack as the best form of defence and I think that with the speed and skill of both Tottenham and Arsenal’s midfield’s at the moment, we are in for quite an unusually open game on Saturday. Huddlestone will be missed but his place will be ably filled by a pacier midfield anchored by Sandro, leaving VDV, Bale and the likes to try and find ways through the Arsenal defence. I think that Aresnal fans won’t be too worried about us or this game but that they will be slightly nervous of what Van Der Vaart and Bale have done to other teams this season and so they could be the men to do it for us.

I hope the revolving door at the physio’s room closes soon but until Tom Huddlestone recovers (get well soon Tom), I am sure that we can cope.