Today sees my first visit to White Hart Lane, after writing this article I’ll get the tube to Liverpool Street, meet my mates and then get the train to Tottenham. Pre Match boozing at Rudolphs and catching up with mates aplenty before settling down in block 32 to cheer the Spurs on as we meet our annual whipping boys, Manchester City. Except the last bit probably won’t work like that.
Because the club which for so long we regarded as a joke, who’s biggest achievement was finishing runners-up to Spurs in the most famous FA Cup final of all time have now overtaken us and how…we have resorted to begging them to pay half the wages for one of their unwanted players. Don’t get me wrong Adebayor is a class act, and is just what we need. But we are Tottenham Fucking Hotspur, are we so down on our luck that we have to beg a bunch of plastic Northern Lottery Winners for players. It’s utterly pathetic. Added to that if rumours are to believed our utter buffoon of a manager allegedly wants players of the calibre Bellamy, Joe Cole and Scott Parker. Whilst the last of this trio is vaguely palatable the other two are absolute no nos for a club like Tottenham Hotspur. However we are stuck with an incompetent clown who is unable to operate at the level the club requires.
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That summer evening in May 2010 when I was on my way back from the City of Manchester Stadium after we had consolidated fourth was one of my brightest moments as an adult Spurs fan. Whilst I’m still quite old school in that it actually pains me to see finishing fourth in the premiership meaning more than winning a trophy, we are in the money age of football where cash talks. Hopefully this will change at some point but at the moment we as fans have to grin and bear this awful period for the beautiful game, where tinpot plastic clubs like Chelsea and City have more clout than a true giant of the game like Tottenham Hotspur. But from that summer night who would have thought we would fall so low now that we really totally lack direction.
Onto today’s game, I didn’t even bother to watch the Hearts game preferring a bit of post work City boozing such was my anger after the capitulation against Yoo-Nigh-Ted. We now move onto the team that Fergie called “Noisy Neighbours”. Man City are a bit of an oddity,as a Londoner for most of their rather unremarkable existence they haven’t really been on my radar, apart from our annual mauling of them. However times have now changed, they are quite possibly the most powerful club in English Football .
The team they have on paper is truly scary and they go into today’s match as firm favourites. How can Spurs win this game?
Well with a bit of luck and good use of the wings. Lennon and Bale have to be on top of their game, in Adebayor’s absence Defoe has to be upto the lone striking role (unlikely I know). It will be interesting to see if Modric starts today, hopefully his “head is right”, but more important than Modric is a fit and firing Huddlestone, however unfortunately he looked highly off the pace on Monday night.
Will it happen, unfortunately I think its unlikely, more than anything I sense a real feeling of a crisis at Spurs. The Modric saga has overwhelmed our pre-season, it hasn’t been handled well. Redknapp’s public outpourings should have been stifled from the start. It’s this rather than an actual lack of quality that is holding us back. If a team as mediocre as Liverpool can be talked of as title contenders, it shows what a pathetic situation has been allowed to develop at Spurs.
It seems the geriatric Yank has now usurped Gomes as our number one. This is a real shame, and shows that buffoon Redknapp has caved into the media and internet fan boys rather than trust his own judgement.
At right back I’d bring Corluka in for his experience, Walker will be our right back for years to come I hope but he’s a little raw defensively and against a team as strong as City(how weird does that actually sound) he could be found out
Benny as ever at left back and I guess Dawson and Kaboul will be our central defenders (although the sooner we get King and Gallas back the better)
Lennon and Bale on the wings, with hopefully Huddlestone and Modric in the centre will give us a strong midfield.
Van Der Vaart has to perform today, and link up well with Defoe, otherwise it could be a painful ninety minutes.
Unfortunately I still predict a defeat for Spurs, and I predict the final score
Spurs 0 Man City 2
Before I go and depress you all even more , here’s a you tube video that has been doing the rounds that makes you proud of this great club and make s you realise whilst clubs like Chelsea and City may have money they can never buy the class we have. It actually bought a tear to my eye.
Ladies and Gentleman I bring you Tottenham Hotspur the club that Bill Made.
Come on You Spurs!
This post originally appeared on my Spurs blog The Glory Game
