Tottenham expects
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 10:59PM And we're back. Back to the football once more. Sort of.
We've got a game that will no doubt be dominated by the vocals of the home support singing the name of Harry Redknapp. It would have been all about the not guilty verdict but it's shifted a little thanks to that little matter of the England job and it's availability. In today's press conference Harry handled himself very well. The media present lapped it all up (the joke about losing the England job before he's even got it went down a storm). That's Harry. Entertaining. Gives them the sound-bites they demand. Whether he can keep everyone onside a year or two into looking after the national side is up for debate. The press, they will always turn on you. Even a favourite will be built up because the sound of the thud made when he falls is too much for them not to crave. Perhaps Harry is the chosen one the media will worship no matter what.
/tumbleweed
Other footnotes from the conference include safe and respectful answers to questions relating to England and that other thing, whatisface...oh yeah, Tottenham Hotspur. The club he's currently contracted with. It's hard to work out exactly what Harry might do next. You would expect him to want the national job but he hinted its something he'd have to consider with his family (managing England can seriously damage your health). He's focused on Spurs he says. Which is what we expect from him until circumstances change. Hopefully if the FA ask for permission then they along with Redknapp agree its best to wait until the summer to make anything official. That way, everyone is content.
We've still got plenty of work to do this season. It would help if something happens quickly either way. I can't be alone in being completely bored of all the (rival) managers and players and their constant approvals for Redknapp for England. This is also quite beneficial to our 'opponents'. Bless their concerned hearts. We need more Chelsea/Utd/City players telling us what the FA should do. I do know they get asked the question by journalists so they are obliged to comment on it. Would still like to see a memo fired out to the ones that frequent Twitter stating they should stick to discussing Nandos than stating the bleeding obvious. Shock horror <insert name of English footballer here> would like Harry as the next manager. Really? How unexpected. Shame no one dared to be more original, if anything just to cause a nice distraction to the mundane. Warnock for England trending would have made my day.
But then that's the nature of the game. Tabloids and Sky will make sure they ask a dozen people for their opinions to continue generating the hype to fuel their 24 hour coverage of an hours worth of news.
I know people say it's akin to tapping up. It's not (not really) but its still amusing how dismissive everyone appears to be of Spurs in all this whilst we are told by various ex-pros and pundits along with current Top Four opponents that the FA just have to give him the job. Don't ever believe that the media perceive us the darlings of the Prem. It's Harry they adore. We just lucked out. The patronising is grating but we're big and bad enough to ignore it, right? We've had to deal with a lot worse down the years.
So, to the football then. Newcastle United at the Lane. No van der Vaart which means no deep moving link-up play with the midfield. This could result with one up front with that one looking more like a zero, all alone and isolated. Perhaps not as extreme as what we witnessed away to Liverpool. However, this being a home game we'll more likely to move the ball with better fluidity and create chances even with a single body working the box. Then we have the return of Aaron Lennon and his probable inclusion giving us complete width from the right to the left. Would be rude to dismiss the shift Niko put in last Monday, so he's in with a shout to retain his place if Harry prefers to introduce Lennon off the bench.
One up front? You've got to fancy a more traditional 442 for this one. We got away with it at Liverpool because of the restraints on selection. We can dare to achieve a little more at the Lane.
It's Newcastle United. They're going to give it a go and they'll be sparky up front, not afraid to attack. So best we look to dominate as the home side should do and keep them busy at the back. Something that will work better if we start with two forwards. Radical stuff.
Defoe is back. So Adebayor will have a partner unless JD isn't quite 100% and Saha is preferred. King should be available (to partner Dawson) but Sandro and Kaboul are doubts. Shame about Sandro as we could do with being very competitive in the midfield (although his inclusion would not quite fit into a 442 - and there's always Livermore for backup). Control the middle and you'll control the game. The onus is on us so we simply can't afford to be bullied.
Effective possession. Something the likes of our two key players are more than capable of doing. Parker patrolling the park and Modric making magic. Got to be confident with that. They've got to be equally pumped up when White Hart Lane will be positively bouncing with energy and noise. I also hate to see Alan Pardew smile.
It's another big game for us. When do we ever involve ourselves with anything less? It's a good time to be Spurs. Harry has done a grand job for us. I remember the start of this season well. The despondency based on the back end of last season and the suggestions that he had taken the side as far as he could. Proved everyone wrong again. He makes a habit of surprising people. If he moves on we'll remain a fantastic proposition for the next man to come in and take the helm. That's still neither here or there for the moment.
All that matters is the next game. Anfield was a test, one that had us display a master-class of grit and defending in containment. On Saturday we have to defend our proud home record by attacking. The lucky ones going will sing their hearts out and we'll endeavour to go marching on.
COYS.
Love the shirt.
Reader Comments (22)
I hate saying what he says after he says it, but yup, what Spooky said!!
Cant see the Toon leaving the Lane without a goal, but with added width and 4-4-2 I rekon we can outscore em. 2-1 Spurs!
Still cant quite get my head around who will replace 'Arry. Surely he will take the England job in the Summer.
Would chance Kranc behing the striker for this one. He can hit a ball better than most (except Bale) and his movement is getting good having had some game time. I would bring Defoe off the bench, if Kranc doesn't click.
look mate ...its all blx .....
I think Niko can fill VDV role. He has skill vision and has a shot which he is not afraid to try anytime. He could be the perfect stand-in.
harry has already showed his card by saying he will do whats right for his family! that means not doing the 4hr journey to spurs every day and back! hes gone, simple as that! i just hope bale, modric, sandro, kabul, bae and vdv dont follow him out the door. be prepared for at least 1 or 2 of them to do this! we could be back to where we were 3 years ago worse case!
showing ambition would be to replace him with a big expensive name like morinhio. but i fear for a relationship between him and levy. ive gotta admit im feeling gloomy now and so are alot of the team too! i just hope it doesnt carry to the pitch tomorrow! we will see!!
we have to sing our hearts out for redknapp to make his mind up for him, and the players too! COYS
I expect this line up:
Friedel
Walker Dawson King BAE
Lennon Parker Modric Bale
Ade Defoe
With Saha coming on in the second half.
It wont be easy today but that spine has served us well.
Key is to get Lennon on the ball and Walker at RB is his natural feeder. The ball to his feet is often wasted. But if he plays it into the space in front of Azza to run on to he can create chaos in their back line. We will get fun each time we do that because Lennon is unplayable with the ball in front of him.
2-0 Ade/Defoe
flippin' eck Tucker, someone hide the pills from muaythai! We've known for 18 months that Redknapp would take the England job after the euros. Nothing's changed, no need for depression. I'm a big fan of Redknapp and hope he can turn the shit show of England around (though his dismal record with penalty shoot outs fills me with dread). He's done a great job for us but will move on. It happens. We have plenty of time to plan for it, no need for Ramos/gross knee jerk appointments. Of course, the times Levy has had time to plan a replacement haven't led to good appointments (santini, hoddle), but he's a smart guy and must have a fighting chance of not fucking it up again. In any case the idea that - in the age of agents and filth lucre - players will walk cos 'Arry leaves are naive in the extreme.
I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but part of me hopes the goons fire the best manager they've had in their history, and he joins us out of spite. There, I've lit the blue touch paper...
Any win today please boys. Defoe and Lennon must start, we are very bland without pace. Noticed how benign Modric becomes without pace either side of him? While modders is clearly the better player, the only midfielder we have who can truly thread the needle through the middle is big Tom, and I'm starting to think that he actually died sometime in 2010 and the club haven't got around to doing his obit. Where the hell is he?
I'm going for a slightly fortuitous 3-1. Against all my better judgement, I'm going to the game in the full knowledge that it will be colder than the ice of the Antarctic. Still at least I get to go up to the loft to get all my ski gear out.
I'm really looking forward to watching the game today (TV in Portugak), but I just wanted to say this about the off-field distractions churning on & on since Wednesday.
A sign of the times, maybe. And much to do with all Harry's years of cozy friendly media relations, the weekly/daily rent-a-quotes ,dressed in his loveable cockney exterior & voice.
As SAF said yesterday, "You press boys have already decided! How can the FA dare go against you press boys?".
Players, ex-players, managers, ex-managers all in unison "Super-Harry's the only man alive on the planet who can save Ingerland now!!!"
And naturally, the only current players who remain silent (with dignity/respect/fear of contrevening their contracts?) are OUR players, other than being gutted Fab's gone, 'cos he gave them their first chance in the England set-up (Walker). Some of our boys must be shitting it, though.
Sure, the incredible coincidence of the 2 events on Weds - 'Arry, innocent, so green light for love-in on front pages; Fab, "JT's innocent till proven guilty, quindi, voglio fare fanculo ("...so I'm gonna fuck off back to Italy"), so triple green light for love-in on every page and wall-to-wall coverage for days of "breaking news" and "speculation live from Chigwell, Bournemouth and Hounslow on Sky News (by this morning, even Lorna the presenter was dropping the "H" and talking fondly of cuddly "'Arry") has been like a manna from heaven blockbuster bestseller & movie.
But SHIT. Shit, fuckit and bollox. I've seen every change of England manager since Walter Winterbottom finally gave up and Alf Ramsey arrived, in 1962. Never have I seen anything so disgusting, disrespectful, OTT and pathetic as this media frenzy.
You reap what you sow. Don't you, 'Arry?
You just make sure you keep your eyes and heart firmly on the ball, OUR ball and get at least one job done!!
Anyway, a reality-check on England's prospects scream out that it's Mission Impossible & your media bedfellows are bound to chew you up and spit you out sooner or later.
And if our superb season now starts to implode, well it's typical Spurs, innit? Masters at cooking up a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, same old, same old.
I even saw a comment in a Guardian Online 'discussion' yesterday from a gooner, saying "anyone wanna join campaign, "Gooners for Harry for England?".
Now why would he be so much in favour, I wonder?
All this is why todays game against the barcodes is so important. I wanna see us really turn it on, all of it and sink 'em outta sight. Nothing against them, but it just feels like us against the whole fucking world.
Sorry to take so much space, Spooky. But I'm alone here, with nobody to talk it out with. So I just had to expressi it somewhere.
After all, we're all kind of brothers-in-arms, right?
COYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
The key to all this is why dd Capello leave? I suspect he saw the writing on the wall that the current English squad are mediochre and would perform at the Euros rather like they did in South Africa. If it happened again it would be unlikely that he would find another set of imbeciles--the FA-- to give him a 6 million contract. If Harry were to step into this mess he would be stupid. The wholeFA/England scene needs to be sorted out first.
Teams:
Friedel; Walker, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto; Kranjcar, Modric, Parker, Bale; Adebayor, Saha.
Krul; Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon; Obertan, Guthrie, Perch, Gutierrez; Ba, Cisse
We lose some pace without Lennon/Defoe but both have had knocks so maybe we are playing it safe. Niko was class at Anfield and Saha, if he fancies it and once he clicks with Ade, they could score a hatful. Setup to be a good game. COYS!
Stunning result. COYS.
That first half was the sex.
Adebayor was the sex.
I'm purrrrring like a f'cking Persian cat!!! Not the Anfield Cat.
Sex.....Fairy tales.....Ade!!!! Saha!!!! Everyone!!!!! A real Spurs love fest!!
Can one of you guys help us here? We want to know what you were singing to the tune of Sloop John B. We just couldn't make it out on the tv.
Ta!
Top drawer all round from front to back.
Somebody obviously likes having a quality strike partner :)
Ade was unplayable today. Might be a while before we see 4-4-1-1 again.
Yes! Fantastic result!!!!!
Got to hand it to Harry r.e. Saha. Looks like Parker redux.
Trust. In. Harry.
Now can we please keep him to ourselves and tell your FA to love off?
Lisbon, the song was 'we want you to stay, we want you to stay (ay ay), Harry Redknapp, we want you to stay'. no doubt the Harry haters who populate this site would have been sickened.
Needless to say the Geordies retorted with 'we want you to pay, we want you to pay, Harry pay your taxes, we want you to pay'...
But then , as there we're only about 100 Geordies there, it didn't matter too much. For the record, worst Newcastle away following I can ever recall. And they were 5th in the league! The recession is finally hitting football
@ Paul f, many thanks for the explanation:-)) Grateful.
Now I've got something new to teach my mates to sing here!
Oh & BTW, must tell you all that I've recently heard the FC Porto ultras singing our battle hymn of "Oh When the Spurs, Go Marchin in...etc" (obviously changing the business part of the lyric to fit theirs, LOL). Exactly the same way, with the slow, slow then quick!!.
Amazing! The power of television. I take it as a supreme compliment.
Maybe next they can try & take up "Yiddo! Yiddo! Yiddo!"
I've already got FCP-supporting mates up there who sign off every e-mail to me with COYSSSS!
Cheers & COYSSSSS!!
@ OnlyLivingYidinLisbon
This one was sung too:
Adebayor, Adebayor, this is the best team you'll ever play for
Really like this and yesterday, it felt like it was 100% true too.
@Deadly, thanks again. I could make out the Adebayor, Adebayor bit, but not the rest. It is a good one, and perfectly true too.
Thanks for hosting this Q&A, Spooky! Great service.
A couple of hours ago, I was watching that NUFC-Spurs 7-1 on ESPN Classic.
Sobering experience? Not a bit of it! Besides the reminder of just how unbelievably bad we were, I couldn't stop smiling thinking back to yesterday, like it's a galaxy away.
That was then and this is NOW!!!!!