Hope, potential and the mindnumbing elusiveness of Kevin N’koudou

As the elusive Georges-Kevin N’koudou continues the longest medical ever to be undertaken at Hotspur Way, the mystifying sea of garbage relating to summer transfers continues it’s race through the gutter that is the British tabloid press.

Zlatan signs for United, Batshuayi pens for Chelsea and some chap called Grant forgot his self esteem and in his darkest hour, jumped in Arsene Wenger’s ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’-esque child catching van and made his way to Woolwich to sit with the omni-injured Jack Wilshere in the Emirates’ physio room.

Meanwhile, down under, a lilywhite army devoid of it’s Euro punished star attractions sent their untested young guns out for a pre-season workout to face two European titans in the form of Juventus and Atletico Madrid.

All teams taking part in the token Australian pre-season ‘cup’ tournament fielded weakened teams, running the rule over potential stars from their youth setups and were having a look at their recent signings in a competitive environment.

Despite losing both games, there were some more than promising performances from our academy prospects, with Marcus Edwards, Anton Walkes, Will Miller, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kyle Walker Peters, Harry Winks, Josh Onomah, Shayon Harrison and even DeAndre Yedlin all successfully giving an account of themselves that means any of them could step in as back up if needed this season, I really hope we get to see them play together again and that they get a run out early on in our league and FA cup campaigns. There is reason for optimism from what I saw in those games.

Special mention goes to Marcus Edwards, as his close control runs and apparent  shining confidence far outweighed his miniature 17 year old frame in terms of effectiveness. I’m certainly not going to tout him as the next Lionel Messi/Dele Alli, but there is a slim chance he might just be something a bit special if handled right. The rumours regarding his awkward contract negotiations doesn’t bode incredibly well, but he is signed up for the next year at least with the promise of game time as a clause. He could be magnificent, he could be another Giovanni Dos Santos, either way, with Poch present to nurture and mentor, there is no reason not to hope for the best with this young talent’s development. I for one am excited to see what happens either way.

We did get to have a look at our new striker signing from Holland, the Kane framed Vincent Jannsen. His arrival accompanied the frenzied circulation of his youtube highlight reel on social media, which as all highlight reels, showed us the best bits of a big powerful striker banging in net busters from all angles.

If he can live up to his exploits in the Eridivise last year, we could have a very useful goal scorer on our hands. My main concern is that he appears to be very, very similar in style to Harry Kane. It may just be the longing for a second coming of Jermain Defoe, but I cant help but feel we need a smaller, quicker, skillful player to compliment Harry and that having another player of the same style is missing a trick when we still lack a speed merchant to lead the line. I truly hope to be proved wrong and have full faith in the choices of Paul Mitchell and Poch, but until he shows something more than what I saw in the albeit meaningless games in Oz, I am yet to be excited by what he can bring to the team. Hopefully with a full compliment of our strongest starting lineup behind him, he can show us something special.

Erik Lamela provided for me, the highlight of the games. His transformation from initial injury ridden obscurity and ineffectiveness when he first arrived to skillful, industrious, goal scoring workhorse seems to be complete. Over the last couple of seasons he has gone from strength to strength, with the odd flash of world class magnificence displayed in a random rabona goal and the skillful ankle breaking destruction of an opponent flanked by the odd ineffective performance and petulant reaction to refereeing decisions. The negative attributes have become less and the positives more, resulting in a hungry, strong, passionate player who despite looking a bit like a transvestite, has a real bite and tenacity about him. He appears to love playing for our club and manager and I get a real sense that he could go on to be a monstrous asset this coming season. It was awesome to see him enter the frey at halftime against Juventus and inspire the younger players around him, providing a level of effort and ability that far outweighed any player on the field from either side, capping off his performance with a goal. With the introduction of harsher punishment this season against players abusing the referee, he will have to keep his temper in check when pulled up over strong challenges. That said, if Chelsea decide to act the twat and poke the bear this year, I will forgive him in advance if he decides to put his studs on Fabregas’ hand again.

The ever inconsistent Christian Eriksen is currently in contractual negotiations with the club, demanding more than the 30k a week he currently receives. To be fair, in the current market he is worth at least double that and I hope Levy gets it done so he can concentrate on improving his game. When he’s good, he’s superb, but when he’s bad, he may as well not be on the field. His brief appearance in Oz was a performance of the latter, but he was recovering from an illness and it was just a preseason run around so he gets the full benefit of the doubt. I just hope he can progress this season, with a higher set piece conversion rate and a greater level of consistency. As we all know, when he gets his set pieces right they are unstoppable, world class even. He just needs to get it right more often.

Victor Wanyama looks like an astute bit of business. Big, powerful, athletic and reliable, we knew what we were getting following his performances for Southampton and Celtic respectively. He can slot in next to any of our current defensive midfield stalwarts and provide a presence and ability that can improve the team if required. Whether or not he should be picked ahead of Dier or Dembele is certainly up for debate but at least we know he is there if needed, as far as backup goes, they don’t come much better. He gave a good account of himself in Oz, helping the youngsters and bossing his section of the field. He could prove to be important for us this year, if steel is needed, he will provide it.

In terms of outgoings, anything could happen. I expect us to finally seal a move for Fazio to Roma and a few fringe players will probably head out, Alex Pritchard, Clinton Njie and Bentaleb leading the pack according to the press but nothing has been confirmed yet so pointless to speculate.

At the time of writing this, there are 11 days to go until the season begins again. It truly can’t come soon enough. Lets see off White Hart Lane this season achieving something spectacular, it certainly would appear we’ve got the tools with which to do so.

Oh, and lets not forget Champions bloody league football at Wembley Stadium. Bring on that lilywhite chorus singing into the Wembley night sky, ‘Ohh when the Spurs….’

Come On You Spurs.

 

 

 

 

A time for calm in the eye of a lilywhite storm

As the dust settles over Stamford Bridge, sensationalist journalism and agenda driven media aggressively revert to type by talking up the negative narrative so regularly, shamefully and unjustifiably angled at our beloved club.

Open any tabloid or tune in to Sky Sports today and the majority of coverage is rightly focussed on the incredible achievement of Leicester City claiming the Premier League title against all the odds, doing so with hard work, dignity and consistency in the face of a professional community within which they were considered a financially inferior ‘also ran’ club at the dawn of the 15/16 season. Congratulations to them on a well executed and deserved campaign. The write ups on the game that determined the title winners has been, on the whole, focussing in on a singular aspect that paints our lads in a bad light.

The coverage of last nights full blooded clash in which a Spurs team once labelled as a soft touch locking horns with a grossly underperforming financial titan in the form of Chelsea is however, wholly focussed on the over enthused aggressive actions of a few of our players and it there are so many other factors at play that were worthy of note before righting off our lads.

On a calm, clear head, I rewatched the game and found a lot more to be proud of than disappointed with.

Clattenburg had numerous opportunities in the first half to stamp his authority and take control of the game. To say he was lenient towards the Chelsea players in the first half is a massive understatement, challenges utilising body on body collisions to gain possession occurred at a rate of nearly every minute and the blatant simulation executed by the Chelsea players occurred frequently, Diego Costa an obvious perpetrator. On another day there would have been a precedent set early on that would’ve indicated a zero tolerance policy towards over aggressive challenges and simulation. Both teams were guilty of over enthused engagements but the only penalised situations seemed to fall in Chelsea’s favour, cause and effect dictating a growing resentment from our lads, the fruits of which reared its ugly head with Kyle Walker’s petulant flick out at Pedro. further discretions escalated and followed throughout the game, culminating in an embarrassing melee at the end that was completely unnecessary.

With the negatives out of the way, in brief summary, the blame for the discretions lie with both sets of players and in my opinion, massively with Mark Clattenburg who failed to control the match from start to finish. For our lad’s part, I expect and hope that they will accept responsibility for any charges with a dignity and calm that we would wish to associate with our club.

Our attacking play in the first half was as good as we’ve come to expect, Harry Kane’s wonderful take round and tap in against Begovic following a beautifully crafted passing phase was nothing short of world class, as was Son’s second, one touch passing leading Lamela to provide the perfect assist. At 2-0 up, we looked completely in control. The fact that we conceded two in the second half is hard to swallow, but that is football and 2-2 at Stamford Bridge in any other context is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

The more than silver lining

Our season has been fantastic, exceptional, sensational and a solid reason to be proud of our relationship by association (as supporters) of the mighty Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

A shining example of how getting knocked back can lead to picking yourself up and achieving a better result the next time you try. Knocking on the door until you burst through it, refusing to lie down and whinge or capitulate into poor form (see Chelsea Football Club), but instead getting on with the task at hand in order to achieve a desired result, embodying the club motto- To Dare is To Do.

Before the 15/16 season started, the general feeling was that a fifth place finish would be acceptable as our mercurial manager further inseminated his philosophy and tactics into our team for the future. Top four would have been a welcome bonus but challenging for the title was a rare consideration, held only by those of us that enter every campaign with a starry eyed ignorance of fact in hope of pulling something magnificent out of the bag. With two games left, we sit second in the league having chased and pushed the Leicester anomaly all the way, to the point of holding their destiny in our hands, our result at Chelsea providing the final determination of success.

There is an element of falsity doing the rounds that in failing to overcome Chelsea we have somehow ‘bottled it’. What a crock of steaming horseshit that is. It is purely the last bastion of hope realised in jealousy for the failing teams below us. If we have somehow ‘bottled it’ by achieving what could be our greatest finish since the Premier League started, concreting our position as group stage qualifiers for the Champions League next season, then every single team below us has ‘bottled it’ to a much further extent. Chelsea wont even see European competition next season, as a result their ridiculous wage bill will be felt heavily, even with the Russian money behind them. Woolwich sit 3 points behind us and are likely to do no better than 3rd meaning North London for this year, is most certainly lilywhite. The two Manchester giants languish in 4th and 5th respectively, the loser of that particular face off will also feel the burden of excessive wage structure relieved of Champions League TV revenue.

Our squad of young charges have exceeded expectation, producing arguably the greatest football in the country and has been driven by a spine of young English talent, an anomaly in itself in this modern era of foreign imports dictating the drive of other teams.

We stand alone in the league as a team who’s success has been long in the making, done without ludicrous financial backing or favourable decisions from officials. Our success has been born of hard work, intelligent tactical nouse and hunger that can only be nurtured from an experience of failing to live up to expectation. In Harry Kane, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and the Belgian contingent we have a group of athletes that have continually improved all season and show no signs of plateau any time soon.

We will continue to improve, engaging in an assault on Europe next season with the tools in place to take down anyone, no doubt with a few carefully selected editions singled out by Paul Mitchell and the scouting staff from outside the club and within, a number of promising youngsters ready to enter the fray, their skills honed in the world class training facilities we hold.

The future is indeed, incredibly bright and we have a huge number of elements to take pride from in our wonderful club.

With two games to go, we can see out the season holding our heads high and reflecting on a season in which men became boys, expectation was exceeded and we challenged for the title. Something we haven’t been able to honestly say for a long, long time. I am unbelievably proud of our club, and you should be too.

Come On You Spurs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the Spurs went marching in to Berlin..

 

Berlin, 26th March, 2016.

Four young athletes swapped the cockerel on their chests for the three lions and the honour of representing their country in battle against an old, highly skilled and dangerous enemy.

The omni-abrasive ‘friendly’ fixture of England against Germany was afoot….

As they exited the changing rooms to cross the white line and enter the arena of international football, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane didn’t just take their skills onto the pitch, they took with them an attitude and work ethic born and cultured in a lilywhite corner of North London.

Graft, teamwork, self belief and never, ever say die are staple attributes of these men now, which is something we can and should be incredibly proud of.

As the whistle blew and the game ensued, the pride of young lions acquitted themselves well, executing some nice tidy phases of play and looking a more than worthy prospect against a strong and familiar foe.

As the game progressed, our boys shined. Dier was strong, precise and dependable in defensive midfield.

Rose was always a threat down the left wing with his pace and some threatening cut back passes.

Kane did what he does best, holding up the ball with strength and probing the German defence for weakness with clever movement and strong support play.

Our 19 year old prodigy Dele Alli was showing further glimpses of absolute footballing genius, something we have seen in the Premiership all season long, except now he was doing it on the world stage against the highest level of opposition; and he looked reassuringly comfortable in doing so.

Against the run of play but perhaps unsurprisingly against a team of the Germans’ pedigree, by the 57th minute, England were 2-0 down.

In previous fixtures against the Germans, you would be forgiven for fearing the worst as the tabloid journalists rubbed their greasy hands together, preparing to fill the morning news with the same old stories of an international team that had no character, no potential and no chance of doing anything by the time Euro 16 begins….

But this team had something a bit different.

Something a bit Spurs…

As has happened many times this season, as the scoreline went against them and things got rough, the Spurs boys pulled their shoulders back, lifted their chins and lifted their performances.

Our lads don’t give up.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and that man, is Harry Kane.

 

In a week where the footballing world lost one of its greatest ever players in the form of Johan Cruyff, only two days after his passing Harry Kane would pay him the greatest compliment with an exquisite Cruyff turn that sent two German defenders flying the wrong way, before firing a pin point finish through the legs of another to nestle the ball in the corner of the net across a helpless Manuel Neuer.

2-1. Game on….

Jamie Vardy contributed with an incredible finish to make it 2-2, as our boys continued to inspire others with a tenacity and drive that laid down a benchmark for the other players to aspire to.

Dele Alli was magnificent throughout. He can be easily forgiven for missing an open goal that would have amplified his man of the match performance as he was nothing short of superb. What a player this 19 year old is and will become.

 

In the 91st minute another of our young contingent rose above all others to smash in a magnificent header from a Henderson corner to win the game. Step forward Eric Dier.

 

Dier performed well throughout, never looking out of place amongst world class teammates and opposition. His game displays a maturity beyond his years and in the same vein as the rest of our young players, he will only improve with time.

Final score 3-2 to England.

I may have watched the game through lilywhite tinted spectacles, but it was pretty clear to me that the fighting, ‘never say die attitude’ that dragged England to a comeback victory over Germany was inspired by the performances of our Tottenham lads. They have fought back from losing positions to win games several times this season in the league and it is an attitude that I believe can carry us through to do great, great things in the seasons to come.

Our boys doing well on the international stage is always satisfying, regardless of whether they represent England, Belgium, France, Argentina, Denmark, Austria or South Korea.

As their experience and self belief increases, cultured masterfully by Mauricio Pochettino, I believe we can push on over the next few years to become a truly world class team, challenging absolutely anyone that is put in front of us.

We face Liverpool in the league this Saturday in the first of seven finals taking us to a potentially massive climactic end of the season. If we finish second, it will have been a huge achievement of which to be proud and a priceless experience for our young team as they get ready for an assault on the Champions League next season.

If we finish as champions however, it will truly have been one of the greatest campaigns the club has ever known.

For now though, Liverpool on Saturday is as far as we need to focus our support. One game at a time. We might just win them all…..

Come On You Spurs.

 

 

Somewhere in North London, the lilywhite FA Cup giant stirs….

Tottenham Hotspur; our great club is for me, the standout sleeping giant with a waking eye on the FA Cup.

On two occasions we have won back to back, consecutive cups, 1961/1962 and 1981/1982.

In all, we have ruled this competition 8 times.

The last of our 8 claims on the fabled cup came in 1991, following a standout performance in the semi finals against the old enemy from Woolwich, Gazza providing the freekick that would forever go down in Spurs folklore.

That was 25 years ago. Now is the time for the lilywhite giant to wake up and stamp its feet.

We welcome a foe to the fortress Lane on Sunday that we have famously fought in this competition several times before, one of those occasions being the 6th May 1961 in the final at an old Wembley no less… That day we took the honours home having already secured the league title, chasing the first double since 1897, storming it successfully with a 2-0 victory over this Sundays’ opponent; Leicester City.

We faced Leicester at this stage in the competition last year, on that day the outcome was not a good result, going down 2-1 on our home turf.

So here we are again, the Fighting Cocks face the Foxes in a mouth-watering encounter in the competition famous for producing unpredictable results, our troops looking for revenge over last years surprise result. This year, Leicester’s ability to dominate supposed greater opponents will certainly not come as a surprise and certainly won’t be underestimated.

I predict a pit-fight.

Leicester are without their talismanic ‘rags to riches’ super striker, Jamie Vardy. No true follower of the beautiful game can deny the incredible rise and phenomenal performances of Vardy this season; and he will surely be missed by the Foxes. That said, Leicester have been the surprise package within the top tier and they have other players that are more than capable of stepping up to help fill the Vardy hole.

They play in a hardworking, pressing fashion with complete disregard for their opponents’ past achievements that few other teams have found the ability to match.

One team that has been able to match the Foxes for graft, determination and team spirit is our very own band of lilywhite warriors, achieving a 1-1 draw in the Premier League fixture played on the 22nd August earlier this season in the Foxes’ back yard, at the King Power stadium.

This time round it’s at our battleground, with our boys continuing a good run of 4 games without a loss since the brief lapse of the wake up call against Newcastle, 3 wins and one draw is our record since then, Leicesters’ is 1 win in the last 4, losing the last 3….

We are without Moussa Dembele and long term absentees Clinton N’jie and Alex Pritchard.

Since Dembele’s departure from the starting lineup through injury, Tom Carroll has stepped into the gliding strong man’s shoes, providing an able deputisation and putting in a solid passing performance in the away draw at Everton. He received some criticism from a few of our supporters following the game, he is after all, a completely different animal to our Belgian powerhouse, but all he is lacking in my opinion is a bit of muscle, he gets knocked off the ball too easily at the moment but when he is pinging smooth, creative passes upfield, he brings an element of unpredictability to our attacking play that is always an asset and he possesses an undeniable ability to exhibit skilful turns and dribbles that have made the difference already this season with his incredible goal against Monaco.

I think we should also be excited to see if the prodigious monster talent that is Dele Alli wishes to stamp his mark on the FA Cup competition. He is the type of player that has historically made a habit of producing something magnificent on stages such as this and following the incredible chest to volley goal against Everton last week, I am practically shaking with excitement to see what he is going to do next.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man and I expect him to deliver again against Leicester.

What can be said about our very own Harry Kane that hasn’t already been said? Mercurial, deadly, consistent, outstanding.

He is in my opinion the best striker in the Premier League and the best we’ve had since Sheringham, Klinsmann or Lineker. He is the spearhead to our attack and is on the verge of his 50th goal for our club with 49 in the bag already. He too could pull something magnificent out the bag when he gets the chance.

I expect a cameo from our promising young talent Josh Onomah at some point too, there is definitely something brewing there that is waiting to be unleashed against our opponents, he’s young and it may take time but I cant help feeling that any day now he will become a talking point…..

The FA Cup is renowned the world over for creating moments of magic, brilliance and astonishment. If we’re lucky we may just get some of our own at the Lane tomorrow……

As night falls and the morning awaits, the lilywhite FA Cup giant is shaking and stirring somewhere in North London, one eye open and the other on the Foxes, preparing to stand tall above White Hart Lane, ready to crush all before him on a charge to the cup………

Love your club, love the FA Cup.

Come On You Spurs.

 

Fighting for FA Cup glory

At Hotspur Way, Enfield, General Pochettino issues the orders to our troops, with the final preparations being made for battle in the pantheon of British footballing glory that is the FA Cup.

On Sunday, 10th January, we face a fresh, somewhat admirable foe in the shape of Claudio Ranieri’s unapologetic, overachieving grafters, Leicester City.

In a welcome break from the already tiresome, rumour scourged nonsense that is the January transfer window, we once again grace the hallowed turf of White Hart Lane to make our assault on the world famous cup that we have claimed on no less than 8 occasions. Ours is a club that should shine and be exhibited on the grandest of stages, and in the footballing world one of those stages, surely has to be the FA cup.

Few, if any, cup competitions have a history and pedigree as revered and respected as this one. ‘Giant’ killings, incredible goals and memorable performances from all walks of footballing life make the FA cup competition an essential love interest of any serious football supporter, no matter where they reside on the planet. Our fan base is worldwide and as such our Yid Army will be sitting down to watch the game and support our boys across the globe, in locations such as Singapore, Guatemala, Australia, South Africa, USA and many, many more. They should be watching with expectant, excited demeanours, as we have a very, very good chance of bringing this cup home.

The last time we brought the cup back to Tottenham in 1991, our raiding party could boast of true footballing titans. The masterful defending of Gary Mabbutt MBE, the enigmatic, footballing midfield genius of Paul Gascoigne and the ruthless, dedicated striking efforts of Gary Lineker provided an exceptional spine to a team that saw off the Woolwich Goon scum 3-1 in a semi final played at the old Wembley. On that day, 5 minutes in, Paul Gascoigne did this:

Absolute bliss.

Gary Lineker followed up with two more goals that day, sending us through to the final, where we went down 1-0 to a strong Nottingham Forest side, only to rally and come back fighting to take the game 2-1. Victory, an 8th FA cup win (the first team to do so) and eternal glory.

Our current line up boasts a spine optimistically comparable to the glory boys of 91. With Hugo, Toby and Jan at the back, Alli, Dier and Eriksen through the middle and our home-grown warrior Harry Kane spearheading the attack, we have more than a good chance of victory to take us through to the fourth round against a tough opponent on Sunday.

If our boys realise their potential and show the hunger for victory that they have on more than one occasion this season, the FA cup could be ours.

They just have to want, need and chase the glory; as legendary Tottenham FA Cup winner Danny Blanchflower famously once said, “The game is about glory”

I don’t think you can argue with that. Bring on Sunday.

Come On You Spurs.

Positives in Parity

 

As Michael Oliver’s whistle sounded off inside Goodison Park, the action began with an Everton kick off, Tom Carroll deputising for the injured Moussa Dembele in the Spurs’ engine room.

Within 90 seconds we had claimed possession of the ball and introduced a steady tempo of calm, controlled passing play that quickly led to a sublime low whipped cross from Walker firing its way towards Dele Alli’s toe 5 yards from the Everton goal line. Seaumus Coleman did incredibly well to slide in and disrupt the pass, preventing an Alli tap in on just 4 minutes.

On 8 minutes Harry Kane fired in a thunderbolt from distance that smashed into the Everton upright, threatening to hit the inside and find its way in, but instead it painfully ricocheted back across the face of the goal.

We dominated.

At 13 minutes we had maintained 61% of the possession as the travelling Yid Army belted out chorus’ of “is this the Emirates?”, doing themselves, the club and their fellow supporters proud once again, driving the team and providing the atmosphere at a usually raucous Goodison, the home fans all but silenced by our stranglehold on the game.

We continued to dominate, but our attacks dissipated on final balls or blocked shots with our pressing game still acting powerfully, claiming back the ball at any giveaway.

Walker played a slow pass to Eriksen who didn’t have time to make a clean reception, finding himself immediately pressed by Leighton Baines and Tom Cleverley, losing the ball.

Cleverley played a looping pass into the box that Lukaku headed down to a former Spurs favourite that up until this point, had made no impact on the game at all.

On the 21st minute the ball bounced up to Aaron Lennon, who smashed a driving half volley into the back of our net.

It was a magnificent volley but he had the decency to mute his celebration, showing respect to the club he had served for 10 years before signing with Everton. Fair play Aaron, great finish.

1-0 Everton.

The Everton goal was completely against the run of play.

Such is our beautiful game.

Everton gained a brief spell of confidence from their goal and began to pose more of a threat, Lennon nutmegging Ben Davies in a charge on goal, denied by Super Jan as we regained possession, driving upfield and creating a strong effort from outside the box by Christian Eriksen, his shot deflected away for a corner.

On 26 minutes Lamela gave away a freekick with a mistimed slide tackle, then showed total focus on winning the ball back, immediately snapping at the heels of Coleman before sliding in again, this time winning the ball back and creating a chance for Davies, who fired in a shot like an exocet missile that crashed against the crossbar, had it been 6 inches lower it would’ve been 1-1.

At 31 minutes we were still dominating, having maintained our possession level at 61%.

Throughout the game so far, Dele Alli has continually found pockets of space to receive the ball, playing his part in some great passing phases and posing a threat with runs in behind the line, even finding space for a shot that was blocked in the 11th minute.

On the 45th minute, he would find himself in a lethal position.

Toby Alderweireld glanced upfield before dropping his head and firing a signature pin point long ball from his own half deep into Everton territory. It found a charging Dele Alli, who in Zidane-esque fashion cushioned the long ball with his chest, allowing it to drop in front of him as he continued to travel at pace. He left his feet with a sideways flying volley before the ball could hit the ground, smashing it into the back of the Everton net, threatening to rip it from the sticks. Dele Alli is a very, very special player.

Everton 1 – Tottenham 1

Chants of ‘DELE ALLI’ boomed out across Goodison from the exceptional travelling support following the goal, merging into ‘When the Spurs go marching in’ as the whistle blew for halftime.

The singing continued as the players left the field, our stadium representatives standing proud and waving our colours in the blue corner of Liverpool.

At halftime, our possession had increased, levelling out at 65%.

The second half started with the home side doing their best to cause us more problems, with attacking play switching sides up and down the field, our press still looking strong.

On 51 minutes, our imposing midfield enforcer Eric Dier; who has put in another strong performance, intercepted a ball from Lennon and shot a quick pass out to Davies, who charged purposefully up the wing at pace before dropping in a precise cross to Alli, who popped his chest out to the ball, putting in a cushioned pass to Harry Kane. Kane opted to wait a millisecond too long before unleashing his shot, giving John Stones just enough time to slide in and prevent it. Kane fired wide.

Everton subbed in Delaufaue and Besic for Lennon and Kone, Lennon leaves the field to applause from both sets of supporters.

Delaufaue provides an immediate threat, with slick passing and good movement. Everton fight back, creating more phases of attacking play but nothing our boys couldn’t deal with.

The back four have looked strong today, Davies performing well in the absence of Danny Rose and the regular first choice trio of Walker, Toby and Jan all putting in a good shift.

Special mention for Alderweireld who has looked unbreakable throughout, putting in some fantastic interceptions and tackles, snubbing out enemy attacks and providing great ammunition for the forwards with exquisite, precise lob passes upfield.

On 78 minutes, Everton’s Besic fired in an outrageous booming volley from the edge of the box, it was going straight in the top corner until Hugo lloris put in a world-class save, springing dynamically into the air to parry it over the crossbar. He hasn’t had much to do, but when he has acted he’s done so as we have come to expect; professionally and effectively.

On 82 minutes Alli leaves the field to chants of ‘Dele Alli’ and rapturous applause from our supporters as he is replaced by Nacer Chadli.

That was pretty much it for the talking points in the game, disappointing not to get the win but a very, very good away point earned.

The Positives:

Our travelling support was outstanding.

The performance was excellent and had it not have been for an exceptionally rare bit of quality finishing from former player Aaron Lennon, we most likely would have taken the 3 points.

We missed Dembele today and Tom Carroll will take some stick for that because he isn’t as effective as the big man, but he carried himself well and his passing stats for the game were actually pretty good. He needs more muscle and defensive effect if he’s going to be a viable option, I would’ve liked to see Mason or Bentaleb get a run out in his place, but the boss knows far better than me or any other person that doesn’t see the lads day in, day out.

In Poch we trust.

Alli has been superb today, putting in a well deserved man of the match performance, at 19 years of age if he continues to develop at the rate he currently is, we could have a potentially world class superstar on our hands.

Wouldn’t that be good to see in a few years… Dele Alli bossing Champions League games in our shiny new state of the art stadium?

We sit fourth in the table, 6 points off the top spot.

Come On You Spurs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hunting down the Toffeemen

As the new year dawns, our campaign resumes following a gutsy fight at the end of 2015 against Watford, concluded by an exquisite moment of poetic improvisation from Heung Min son that provided a well deserved victory.

Forging forward into 2016, as the clock strikes 16.00 on Sunday 3rd January, we face Everton at Goodison park in the hardest fought, most unpredictable league in the world.

Everton have stumbled into a run of 5 games without a victory, winning only 3 of their last 12 games and as such go into the new year a wounded animal in their own back yard, ready to bite back in resilience, or crumble under further punishment.

The animal has teeth, in the form of powerful man mountain striker Romelu Lukaku and skilful street fighter Ross Barkley, both having proved the difference in the games Everton have succeeded in; Lukaku scoring in 5 of his last games played at Goodison and Barkley scoring 6 and assisting 7 so far this season, more than his previous 4 premier league seasons combined (10).

Everton’s mercurial manager Roberto Martinez has stated in the press in the last couple of days that he believes Tottenham have the capability of winning the league this season, with the possible intention of either causing some complacency within the lilywhite ranks, or laying an apologetic foundation in anticipation of a loss to a team he can refer to at a later date as potential champions. Option C of course, is that he just gave an honest answer to a question that anyone following Tottenham this season couldn’t deny…

We are, after all, a serious threat to all of our opponents as the steady progression of our young, dynamic squad continues to snowball as potential becomes end product. The togetherness of the squad is there for all to see and our flair players are showing more and more glimpses of sheer brilliance as Dele Alli nutmegs all-comers, Son mid-air back heels winning goals and Erik Lamela has made strides towards fulfilling the large price tag he was signed for.

Most importantly though, our defence has been consistently tough to break down this season with a steely back five and the mighty Eric Dier intercepting and shutting teams down at the back, whilst the attacking players have pressed and hunted down the opposition like men possessed up and down the field, causing mistakes, give aways and confusion for our lads to capitalise on.

I expect our lads to continue back into the valley they have carved so far this season, charging back into the fray against Everton with a solid, controlled passing display and a frenetic pressing ethos to ensure the away victory.

Last season, 16 of Harry Kanes’ 21 premier league goals came after the new year and I expect him to do even better this time round. It is no great secret that we need to sign a player suitable to back up our very own wonder striker, but for the time being, if he keeps putting in the performances he has thus far this season, I think he will do us just fine.

If our centre back pairing of Toby and Super Jan bring their best games, I see no reason why Lukaku will get much of a chance to hurt us, they both know him well from the Belgian national team setup and should therefore be prepared to deal with him come matchday.

Team News:

We go into Sundays game with the in form Moussa Dembele and soon to breakthrough attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard unavailable for selection due to injuries, with Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Tom Carroll all available for selection if necessary. All bring there own brand of ability to the table and although Dembele’s shoes are going to be tough to fill following a run of stellar performances, all three are more than capable of bringing a high work rate and passionate attitude to the game. Clinton N’jie is still out of contention with a long term injury recently sustained.

Everton are without their workhorse James McCarthy (hip injury), with Tom Cleverly looking doubtful due to an Achilles issue. Phil Jagielka, former albeit brief stint Spurs man Steven Piennar and Brian Oviedo are all possible to feature in the game as they return to fitness following respective injuries.

As touched on earlier, when Everton boss Martinez was asked whether he believed Tottenham were capable of mounting a serious title challenge this season his response was positive for Tottenham:

‘Why not? If anything this season is about consistency and whichever team is able to be consistent in the second half of the season will have a great opportunity to achieve a really, really good ending to the campaign.’

‘Spurs have a strong squad, a large squad, they’re competing in Europe. They’ve got a strong mentality as a group and I don’t see them losing any sort of energy or focus over the next few months.’

‘It’s not surprising to me how consistent they’ve been and how difficult they are to play against. I expect Tottenham to have a stronger second half of the campaign, that’s why we’ll have to be at our best.’

Our own masterful leader, Mauricio Pochettino, opted to avoid any in depth discussion of Everton’s chances, instead concentrating on how important the next run of games will be in our quest for a great finish this season:

‘We need to arrive in the last ten games with the possibility to fight for the objectives.’

‘The next nine, ten games will maybe mark the possibility of how we can finish in the table.’

‘We are very quiet, we believe in ourselves, we are very confident and in football a lot can happen. We believe.’

‘The only way we cannot achieve all that we can in football is if we stop working hard.’

Predicted line up

I would expect our boys to line up against Everton as follows:

Lloris(c)

Walker

Alderweireld

Vertonghen

Rose

Dier

Alli

Lamela

Eriksen

Son

Kane

In conclusion, I expect our boys to hunt down the ball up and down the field and launch regular, blistering attacks to shatter and eventually destroy the Toffee men of Everton.

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a bit excited about Sunday and our exceptional squad of lilywhite warriors’ first game of 2016, because I see it as the beginning of a year where we might actually do something incredible…..

Come On You Spurs!

 

The standing man behind our steel curtain

 

Professionalism; quiet, steady confidence and the ability to keep his head when all others about him are losing theirs. In Hugo Lloris we have a world class keeper of brilliant, talismanic proportions.

The task of instigating a concrete backbone to a notoriously leaky defence was gargantuan. Not since the days of the legendary Bill Nicholson lilywhites have our side had a reputation as a gritty, balls to the wall physical side with a defence ready to throw themselves on grenades for the good of the team.

To instil this attitude in our defenders, a keeper with the ability to lead by example was essential. Bill Nic had Bill Brown, a hard-man keeper that helped us to a famous double in 61′ and the European Cup winners Cup in 63′; he may have had protection from gladiatorial monsters that earned most of the plaudits such as Dave Mackay and Danny Blanchflower, but Brown still provided the steely, trustworthy platform from which these men could fight.

Many years would follow in which we touched on greatness between the sticks with the likes of Pat Jennings and Ray Clemence, and in more recent times a couple of personal favourites for me were Ian Walker and Paul Robinson, but its fair to say neither were contenders in their time for the top few spots in the world.

In order to lay the foundations for a strong backline, an elite performer was essential between the sticks. As much as I took immense pleasure in some of the football played by Redknapp’s side in our incredible Champions League run of 10/11, there was always an irrepressible concern for the occasionally sublime but consistently disappointing Heurelho Gomes as our last line of defense. I will never forget the shame I felt as he melted in the face of Adebayor, Di Maria and Christiano Ronaldo to concede what I still believe were 4 soft goals that effectively ended our Champions League run; and who could forget the goal he conceded in the home leg:

 

Shameful.

Hope came in 2012 with a signing that would prove to be the igniting spark in a tinder box of untapped potential, begging to be unleashed on the Premier League. Step forward, Hugo Lloris.

Born in Nice, 1986, the son of a lawyer and a banker, Hugo showed an early aptitude for sporting excellence in tennis and football; luckily for us, aged 13 he opted to focus his talents on excelling in the beautiful game.

In 2008, whilst playing for his local side Nice, Hugos’ mother sadly passed away and just two days after her death, he gained national respect and recognition across France for his refusal of offered bereavement leave to play in a league game, in which he performed admirably. This is a shining example of the man we are dealing with, a focussed, professional, committed sportsman.

Following a spell at Lyon, Hugo signed for the mighty Tottenham Hotspur in August 2012 on deadline day, for ten million euros with a five million euro variable. In todays market, an absolute bargain for one of the best goalkeepers on the planet.

He endured a tough first two seasons with the club, experiencing the Tottenham manager merry go round and failing of Champions League qualifications, a competition he deserves to be playing in, but he went through it in a manner befitting of a true professional. He didn’t publicly whinge or hint at wanting a move despite being courted by several heavily bankrolled champions league teams. He knuckled down, performed at a consistently elite level and showed loyalty in the face of adversity, setting a perfect, inspirational example to the players around him.

Some of his performances have provided  moments of ecstatic, fanboy, fantasy bliss, making reflex driven saves that stiffened the sinew and skipped the heart beat, more than often providing the difference between winning and losing. A keeper of his ability is arguably just as, if not more important to the teams progression than a 30 goal a season striker.

 

In the 14/15 season, Hugo had his chance to shine on many occasions due to a struggling, often disjointed backline that consistently managed to leak driving runs and through balls that demanded he was on top form. You would often see him display the attributes of a strong leader, screaming instruction and motivation when needed, or shooting a knowing glance of disappointment towards the culprit of a failed defensive stand, usually towards one of the no longer present ‘deadwood’ players such as Younes Kaboul. That said, recently renewed players such as Super Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker were also guilty at times during the 14/15 campaign.

As Pochettino’s philosophy and tactical high pressing needs were gradually adhered to, you could see a shift in the way our team went about their defensive duties, and with the introduction of stellar signing Toby Alderweireld and the emergence of Eric Dier as a defensive midfield enforcer, a once leaky defence has become an often impenetrable curtain of steel, a curtain that is in my opinion only executable due to the confidence our back four has in our stoic keeper, providing as Bill Brown once did, the foundation from which they can fight.

In a movie I recently saw there was a great line in which the protagonist is described as ‘the standing man’. The quote is as follows:

“And I watched this man. Every time they hit him, he stood back up again. Soldier hit him harder, still he got back up to his feet. I think because of this they stopped the beating and let him live. “Stoikiy muzhik”. Which sort of means like a “standing man”. Standing man.”

As obviously dramatic as this may be, referring to a war situation and not a game of football, I like to think of Hugo within our system in a similar, if albeit less dramatic way.

A man that has taken the uncertainty of who will be managing the club at times, a failure to qualify for the competition a player of his ability should be showcasing his talents in; and a man that stayed loyal to our club when the vultures were circling with the ability to double his wages but stood loyal, performed to the best of his abilities and consistently appears to do his best to encourage the very best out of those around him. His elite performance inspires others and in doing so, I strongly believe he raises the level at which our defence plays at and aspires to.

Thank you Hugo, for your service to our club thus far and for everything you will do for us in the coming seasons. For me, Hugo Lloris is our ‘standing man’. A man you can rely on to get back up and show total resilience in the face of adversity.

Hugo Lloris, the standing man behind our defensive steel curtain.

Come on you Spurs.

Wheels that won’t fall off

As Son Heung-Min  sprang into the air, the subtle magnificence of a stud impacting mid air back-heel sent the pigskin through the legs of one time Tottenham flop Heurelho Gomes and victoriously into the back of the net.

The cross from Trippier had been perfectly placed for the improvisation of Son to capitalise on and time stood briefly still as the realisation of a winning goal kicked in before the lilywhite soldiers accelerated forward as one entity towards the away fans in exhilarating celebration.

I couldn’t contain my pride and delight as this all unfolded, a somewhat ‘typically Spurs’ performance against a strong Watford side playing at home on a second rate pitch had seen us take the lead through a beautifully disguised Erik Lamela goal, only to concede to an in form Nigerian nightmare wrecking-ball in the form of Watford striker Ighalo, who had gone through the human wall of Eric Dier like he wasn’t there to strike the ball home past our world class keeper Hugo Lloris.

An unquestionable sending off of Watford player Ake followed, for his Cantona-esque stud led kung fu kick of lamela’s left quadricep, the resulting all too familiar resurgence of a ten man team with their backs against the wall threatening to overcome our lads with frenetic phases of play that held the potential to sway the tide completely in Watford’s favour all the way up to the 89th minute…..

Then came the surge of players unwilling to settle for a draw, fighting with passion to get shots and crosses in, playing with a determination not always prevalent in Tottenham sides of old. The result was a winning goal, born of an exquisite piece of improvisation to finish a determined drive at the opposition goal, the spoils a well deserved three points taking us to third in the league and safely into the top four with a four point buffer against fifth placed over achievers Crystal Palace.

There has been a certain change in mentality and philosophy at Tottenham Hotspur that can only be accounted to the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, a man who’s apparent honest, hardworking, tactically sound work ethic has filtered down into the players, who seem willing to claw and fight for victory until the bitter end, navigating difficult fixtures to ensure that if not a win, then at least a draw is achieved in situations where previously we would have crumbled.

With the scene set for an exciting post Christmas battle in the upper echelons of the Premier League, anything truly can happen. Top four was the misty eyed ambition for us at the beginning of the season but there is no reason at all to doubt the possibility of this young Spurs squad pushing on to claim the league title, a thought that only a few short years ago would have been met with justifiable ridicule.

Santini, Jol, Ramos, Redknapp, Villas-Boas; none in previous years have been able to impact Spurs to the point of consistently challenging for the top four positions whilst improving the essential infrastructure of backroom staff, the youth setup, a recruitment policy befitting of a financially disciplined club or in providing a philosophy that can be felt and seen throughout the club.

In Pochettino, we can now boast all of this and more. He seems to have provided the Tottenham Hotspur machine with wheels, that for the first time in recent history, won’t fall off.

COYS