Venables hits out

Bless El Tel for standing up for us with regards to Berbatov and the fulfilment of his United dream, spitting out a tirade of criticism at the sulky Bulgarian.

Greedy. Selfish. Poisonous.

Words that could be used to describe our chairman.

Players, in modern day football, are more important than any club outside the Top 4. Maybe, just maybe, one day, a club like Spurs will sign a player like Berbatov, and a team like Utd will attempt to buy him. And that player will say no, and honour his contract – resulting with the team prospering.

Now that’s fantasy football.

Judas

I do not have time for Sol Campbell. In any shape or form. Apart from this blog entry. Everyone knows what type of person he is – in a football sense, relating to loyalty and honour. He lied, and lied and lied. Then left. And then had the audacity to believe he did nothing wrong. All this from the self-named Mr Tottenham.

Let’s not go over old ground. He did what he did. Football fans don’t tend to forget. And although the abuse the likes of Lampard gets from West Ham fans is more tongue in cheek, believe it or not – Spurs fans sing what they do because they know it annoys the hell out of Campbell. I’ve seen more venom for the Chelsea players than I’ve seen for this man.

I don’t think the lunacy song that is sang is particularly clever. It’s distasteful and without any class. It’s not racist. To suggest it is because of the word ‘hanging’ (yeah, I’m aware of its historical context with regards to lynching) is trying to make this an altogether bigger deal than it is. But I do agree it’s an embarrassment of a chant sang by a minority. Much like the Adebayor song, which is, by the way, is racist. Even Ian Wright (Arsenal legend) said that all the abuse Campbell gets is directly because of the impact of the decision he made when he left White Hart Lane.

The Lunacy song is far from new. It’s just been updated to cover off a couple of things about his personal life. The colour of his skin has nothing to do with anything. To suggest so is just as bad as the song itself.

The homophobic chants are the main crux of the issue here. For the record, homophobic chants are common place in football. I don’t condone them, but let’s not lie to each other. It happens. And singing ‘Does your boyfriend know your here?’ to Brighton fans, raises a laugh with everyone, even though technically, it’s homophobic. But there’s a difference between that chant and one wishing AIDS on someone. Again, Liverpool and Utd are infamous for one or two chants also. The football terrace is the birthplace of many amusing songs and songs of bad taste.

I think we do ourselves injustice by singing this particular one.

Now maybe, Spurs fans think that if they stopped chanting, then Campbell might think this is in some way forgiveness. I personally think, be done with it, and ignore him.

But if any Lilywhite out there wants to scream and shout at him, I won’t be raising an eyebrow. But stick with ‘Judas’. It has a certain ring about it.

101 things I never want to see again

Number #1

Ekotto & Gilberto: Our left-wing dynamos.

EPIC FAIL.

Ramos speaks (via a ghost writer)

Official site posted an interview with Ramos the other day. Help calm us down was the point of the piece, I'm sure. Here it is, with some comments from myself.

The interview (click on the link above if you want to see it on the Spurs site) has the heading 'Its down to us'. Hmm. Some one over at THFC HQ is a genius.

Q) What is your opinion on our start to the season and the position we find ourselves in?

A) Juande Ramos: We had such a good pre-season, we played well, we were confident but now we've started the season with disappointing scorelines and it's a situation we need to change quickly.

After every match we need to change quickly. But we appear to be quickly doing nothing about it. It’s the same performance replayed for our unified misery. Players performing well in pre-season simply means that mentality they can swagger around the pitch in nothing games, but do nothing in games that actually matter. The mental strength of that Carling Cup run has never materialised in the league. Why?

Q) How do you feel when people tell you it is the worst start Spurs have made for 53 years?

A) JR: I don't like it and we have to work hard to change the situation and myself, the coaches and the players are prepared to do that.

To dare is to do, right? Well, how about stepping up? There’s this argument, that no matter the standard of players, if effort and spirit is evident in abundance they can overcome better teams. It’s what happens in giant killing moments in Cup football. Or when smaller unfancied teams turn over the likes of Utd. So surely, Spurs, a team of players earning staggering amounts in wages – surely on any given Saturday or Sunday they can play their hearts out. Because if they did, we wouldn’t mind so much if we kept losing.

Well, we would, but the effort would not go unnoticed. Instead, all we see is a team under performing to the point of dire mediocre levels. So, is this team, this squad of players, so disjointed and uneven that they fail to ignite any type of spark? Or is it a tactical failure? Being prepared to help get ourselves out of this mess is a consequence of not being prepared when we kick started our season at Boro.

On paper, there have been a dozen or so worse teams that Spurs in the past 53 years, who haven’t started this poorly. Time Ramos took a risk with his selection. Time the players stopped talking about ‘top 4’ and ‘Champions League’ and started to accept they are bottom because they are playing shit.

Q) What is being done to change the situation?

A) JR: It's only possible if we work very hard, have confidence in our ability and the team is together. This is the principal way to change the situation.

Work hard. Have confidence. Togetherness. Every time I watch MotD I see these basic, fundamentals in every other Prem club. Sure, some are lowly because of their lack of true quality as footballers. And others are just Newcastle (thank God for them). So it’s a worry that when all the media and pundits had as down as a dead cert for 5th spot, the players, still don’t look like they have the will to get things started. Waiting for that first win to kick start our rise up, is fine, but if it still hasn’t arrived in 5 games time, then that confidence will never see the light of day and the sheer expectation and pressure might have us buried come Christmas.

I don’t believe that it will happen. 3 or 4 wins and it will be back to mid-table happiness. But if the principal way is fruitless after next Sunday, and we lose – then the players are not reacting to Ramos and Poyet. Arguing whether that is the fault of Ramos or the players is something Spurs fans could argue about for days on end.

Q) Given the position we find ourselves in, what is your message to the supporters?

A) JR: At this difficult time we have to be positive and optimistic. I know it's difficult, but this is when the team needs the supporters. Conversely, when we're winning three or four-nil, we don't need the support as much. We have young players but players with quality and I have every confidence in the team. However, they are young, the pressure is on and it's possible the confidence is low. I'm sure when we win two or three matches that situation will change.

The fans are frustrated. Spurs supporters do not demand success to claim we should be 4th because we are Tottenham and we deserve it. This is the popular misconception, a myth. We just our ambitions as fans to be played out by the team out on the pitch. We were once the London fashion gurus. The iconic swaggering Tottenham Hotspur. Flair all around. Arsenal have that mantle now when it comes to style of football, and Chelsea have done their very best to buy up some history. Wanting something we once had isn’t a bad thing, considering we are rich, still in the Prem and spend shedloads of money.

Having the media and players bang on about our ambitions and where we should be, simply magnifies the fact that it’s all very much hype.

We have improved as a club, tenfold in the past 5 or so years. Those two Jol seasons gave hope. And maybe we should be laughed at for not seeing that it will come a cropper soon enough, like always. False dawns and all that jazz.

That’s why some fans boo. That’s why some of the home games have had a flat atmosphere. Away support is always fantastic. So yeah, I agree that Tottenham should repeat that amazing support that made a cameo in parts during the Wigan game. But if that fails to inspire the players, then believe me, people who have spent £700 on a season ticket have a God given right to boo.

Q) What was the mood in the dressing like after the match yesterday?

A) First, they were sad and logically they were angry as well. They are waiting to win. On the coach on the way home they started to think about the next match, Wisla Krakow in the UEFA Cup on Thursday. We need to win that game, we need to get through to the next round and I think we will see the best of the players.

Honestly, I will eat my hat if we beat Krakow. This season just has a feeling of it getting worse before it gets better, but I’d rather get knocked out of Europe and then climb the table into a UEFA Cup spot than get knocked out in the Q-F’s and not make Europe.

Q) What is the atmosphere at the club like at the moment?

A) JR: At this moment everyone wants to help but only the professionals on the pitch can do it. All the people want to help but I repeat, only the players and management can change this situation.

Again, players and management – you need to step up. Listening to how we need to step up after every defeat is making it worse.

Q) Do you understand the frustrations of the supporters?

A) JR: Of course - it's the same for us. I can promise everyone we are doing everything to change this situation. In football, sometimes things are difficult to explain but I'm sure we'll have fantastic support from the fans and the rest we have to do on the pitch.

If it’s the same for the players, then why do I not see any difference? Maybe every game, one player stands out, but as a team – as a unit – nothing.

Q) You chose not to play your most attacking formation against Portsmouth, why was this?

A) JR: The match was very even and the penalty against us changed the situation. In the second half a similar incident arrived and it was a possible penalty and then it was possible to draw. It's difficult. The confidence is down and we need to play with nil goals against. We are having problems scoring goals and therefore we need that security.

So basically, one up front, so we can defend more because we can’t score goals, so need that extra security. But surely we are not scoring goals because we have one up front? Very politicianesque styled answer from Ramos this one.

I thought Pompey were poor. A confident Spurs side would have beaten them. But this current Spurs lot didn’t get close. And yeah, we ain’t getting the decisions – much like many teams that struggle don’t. Enough with the feeling sorry for ourselves and the circumstance we are in. Grab the fucking game by the neck. Sweat blood. Take that risk.

Q) You have changed your formation from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 recently- is this your preferred formation with this team or are you still trying to settle into something you are happy with?

A) JR: I prefer 4-4-2 but as I have explained before, it's possible to change. I prefer 4-4-2 but sometimes you have to look at the situation. It's always the same though. If the team is losing then people say ‘he's not changing players, how is that possible, if you are losing then change the players'. It is always about results, that is always most important.

But it’s not working is it? Changing from one to two upfront. So either stick with one formation and let them build up some kind of understanding or change the key personnel. Consistency, Christ that word, consistency is the key. Consistency losing appears to be because of uncertainty that the players manifest when the game kicks off.

Q) What is your reasoning behind rotating the players for every match? Does this destabilise the squad?

A) JR: Pavlyuchenko and Corluka can't play in Europe, Ledley King can't play in every match, Gareth Bale is injured, we have small injuries each week and I need to change three or four players every match. It's impossible to play the same players if you play every three days. We need to find the solutions. If we were winning, people would say 'perfect, he's using the squad'.

We should never have sold TT or Steed. Sure, TT is injured often himself, but there are one or two players who have left that should have been part of a squad – a stronger squad than what we have. The fact these players left and were (arguably) replaced, we still needed more cover. The forward line-up is weak. Bent gets injured, and who exactly plays Europe? The King situation is one that warrants its own blog entry. Generally speaking, I feel for Ramos here. A club that wishes to be in a certain position, needs to make those wishes a reality with impact-making transfers. Not media-friendly transfers.

Q) So the message is ‘stick together'.

A) JR: As this moment it's the most important thing - the fans need to understand that the first people who want to change the situation are the players, the management and all the people in the club. This is when we all need to work together. It's a difficult time and we all hope to change the situation.

Ok, whatever. I doubt this interview was anything more than the usual panic-station Levy propaganda piece to help appease the fans. Too much talk, not enough action.

Time to shut the fuck up, and EARN those points. Earn respect.

Ramos and Poyet, two peas in a pod

I had a conversation with a fellow Spurs fan a week before the season kicked off. He said it was IMPERATIVE we won at Boro. I agreed. Confidence wise, to win opening day, away from home, and collect 3 points would see us start on a positive. Confidence wise we would have continued on a high. But the reality was it went to shit, and got worse.

Playing one up front is OK when you play Chelsea away, but at Pompey, it's almost felt like Ramos was telling the board, "Here you go....here's the team you have built for me".

Its a mess. Which would mean the DoF isn't working the way it's meant to, because Levy stated Comolli wanted Ramos, because they could 'work' together on transfer targets.

The final 15 mins or so of the game at Portsmouth saw Ramos and Poyet sitting down, with the look of disillusion. If you wanted to be a conspiracy theorist about it, you could argue Poyet's insistent repeated post-match 'complaint' of Pav and Bent being the same type of player, thus they can't play together being a subtle hint at how unhappy management are.

Reading between the lines is all you can do until something gives.

Klinsmann 'linked'

By linked I obviously mean the tabloids are making it up. Jurgen, with the best squad of players in Germany, is struggling to ignite a title challenge. Bayern Munich are 'aving a 'mare whilst Jol's Hamburg are still top. So if anyone is thinking of running with this story, apply some logic to the situation. Spurs legends do not work as managers: Ardiles, Hoddle.

And if Jurgen can't work out why Munich are not clicking, then what chance does he have with our inept lot?

Open letter sent to the chairman, via SSN

Not exactly a masterpiece this one, just a summary of recent blogs. It's also very tv-friendly. The chaps on SSN have been reading extracts from this all morning. I know. I feel dirty using SKY to get my message across, but Daniel never answers my correspondence so I was left with no choice but to use the pure unadulterated evil that is Murdoch's propaganda machine.

Dear Mr Levy,

We are football supporters, and not appreciators of accountancy. You might be good at keeping the clubs finances healthy, but in pure footballing matters you lack the edge that is required to help push the club forward. Too many times in your reign you have failed to step up when it mattered most. When we sat 4th in the table for four months, you failed to strengthen the side that surely would have helped cement Champions League football long before the final game of the season at Upton Park.

You and Comolli have never truly replaced Carrick or sought to finally end the left-wing draught with a genuine left-wing purchase. Look at all the top clubs that compete for honours. They have grafters, generals and grit. We have Jermaine Jenas and Didier Zokora. Why do you always feel the need to buy superfluous players like Bentley when what we need so desperately is a defensive midfielder? Your handling of the Berbatov saga was the final nail in the coffin.

You always knew he would be sold, it was a dead cert, but rather than setting a deadline and price at the start of the summer you preferred to wait until the final seconds. Resulting in us taking a Utd kid on loan. The irony must be lost on you.

As for Pavlyuchenko. £14M for a player who can't speak the language. Has already played several months of Russian league football and doesn't even look 75% fit. He's cup-tied for the UEFA Cup and....this is the bit that takes the biscuit.....he is a similar type of player to Darren Bent which is why we are playing with one up-front.

How exactly is this NOT a panic buy? The lad, on form, will score goals - but was he the signing we needed to replace either Keane or Berbatov? Much like there was no reason to buy Bent when we did. And no reason to sell Defoe. The decision making is criminal.

You've created a mess that Laurel and Hardy would be proud of.

Please have a word with Joe Lewis (who owns ENIC) and stick the club up for sale.

Yours Sincerely,

Spooky

Midnight Epiphany

I've had enough. Of Jenas. Ramos. The lot of them. We couldn't score in a brothel were all the women were knocked out from ryhypnol and tied up, bums in air, with us on a Viagra buzz. We'd still somehow, inexplicably, find our way to the cold shower and stand under it until our dicks shrivelled.

A chain reaction is required. If we lose to Hull, then Ramos should go. Taking with him the extra £5M (severance pay) and a bit that Levy got from Man Utd for Berbatov's inflated price. As much as I beat the drums for patience, if the player's can't perform for the manager next Sunday, then the fact this dismal league run stretches back to March of this year is enough for me to call time on the waiting game.

I'm being a typical fickle Spurs fan, swaying from one opinion to the next. But with Ramos (possibly, impending) departure, comes the sacking of Comolli. And possibly the surrender of the DoF concept. Expecting Levy to walk away is a bit too much at this point.

Cowbell 2 Spurs 0, nothing, narda, zilch

Pompey were not all that great. The fact they won so easily is testament to just how fucking shit we are.

We never play our strongest line-up when it matters. With each game and variance to the selection, the end result is always the same. Abject failure. We are a team so passive in spirit and passion that winning a game is a concept so far fetched, it will only ever happen in Imagination Land.

No pace (Lennon on the bench) and no creativity (no Gio, O'Hara as chief playmaker). One up-front and King rested/injured (is there a difference nowadays?). Modric - our spark - currently looking too fragile for the mess we find ourselves in. Yeah sure, we should have had a penalty. But we can't sit around waiting for our luck to change. We have to be responsible and determined to graft out a victory from open play. From wanting it.

So do we blame the manager? Or Levy and Comolli? Yes, here we are again. Wasn't that long ago we all snuggled up to discuss a similar situation when Martin Jol was at the helm. And we all why that imploded.

Who to blame then?

Ramos, if disappointed with the summer dealings, should still be able to muster some kind of consistency with the team and the players he has. I can't believe motivation/inspiration and tactical nous is suddenly a blind spot for him. Yet our Prem record continues to degrade further. We might be missing a DM, but can you imagine if - for the sake of argument - Martin O'Neill was our manager? Would players give very little with him in the dug-out?

Something has to give. But if Levy has his finger on the panic button, which might result with a textbook self-destruct sacking, then it's roll-back time again. Another transition, and more pro-longed uncertainty. No wonder El Tel said no to the Newcastle job.

But that (Ramos management) isn't really the root of our problems, is it? Ramos can't be blamed for loss of Keane and Berbatov. Although harping on about it so much is also getting boring. And yes, I get the irony, because here I am again talking about the terrible twosome. It's a broken record this, but it's the heart of the issue. I might have 'celebrated' the way Levy fleeced both Utd and Liverpool for the cash, but with hindsight, it's been nothing short of shambloic.

Daniel Levy utterly spit-roasted the club's progression by fucking up the football side of things because he was too busy looking after the business side, pulling panties down and bending over.

Berbatov to United. Keane to his boyhood club. All we get is long-winded rants on the official site explaining how our players have been tapped up and illegally approached this and unfair that. And in the end, rather than do what Aston Villa did with Gareth Barry, we fail to set a deadline and a price with Berbatov, and instead, wait till the final seconds to sell him when we were always going to sell him. With Keane, we simply didn't spend the money profited on the type of player we desperately needed. All this income, along with increased season ticket prices - because Levy requires this extra dosh to help the club buy quality players.

Studs-Up.com

How about buying the right type of players? Ones with leadership qualities. Backbones. Grafters. The type of players this club has desperately lacked for years and years. It's not difficult. Other clubs manage to do it. Even Hull and Stoke appear to have some fight in them. But no, we buy luxury players - who are all well and good - but only if you have the grafters doing the donkey work for them.

We never truly replaced Carrick. We've never come close to buying a left-winger. And when we did, we didn't want to pay him the money he wanted (Petrov, if you believe the stories).

Instead, we buy Pavlyuchenko. £14M for a player who can't speak the language. Has already played several months of Russian league football and doesn't even look 75% fit. He's cup-tied for the UEFA Cup and....this is the bit that takes the biscuit.....he is a similar type of player to Darren Bent which is why we are playing with one up-front.

How exactly is this NOT a panic buy? The lad, on form, will score goals - but there was no reason to buy him. Much like there was no reason to buy Bent when we did.

Keeping the club's bank balance in the black is all well and good, but it's not what defines a club. We are supporters, not appreciators of accountancy. And in the age of the Billionaire's playground, it's criminal to be wasting the money, no matter how much we make from selling our players.

If Ramos played a part in the transfer dealing this summer, then shame on him. If he did then he can stop complaining about the loss of Berba and Keane and take responsibility for what he is has. And Levy can take responsibility for Ramos.

If Ramos was promised but did not receive from Comolli, then his uncertainty and disappointment is being channelled through the players he selects.

But who cares? Who cares about any of the crap I've just written? Why bother trying to justify the reasons why we find ourselves rock bottom? It's happened. And depending on your perception and opinion, you either rate Levy for his handling of the club, or blame him. And you either want Ramos to remain and drag us out from this ugly pit we find ourselves trapped in or you want him sacked and replaced with yet another messiah.

Thursday will no doubt be another low in a season of constant lows.

Sunday will be yet another heart-wrenching must-win against.......Hull City.

You couldn't make this shit up. Just support Tottenham. We own the copyright.

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League Obituary

Will be published on this blog if Spurs lose their next league game at home to Hull City on the 5th October.

Pompey v Spurs

I've pulled the following stats from the Beebs preview of today's away game at Pompey:

Negatives:

• This is Juande Ramos' 50th game in charge of Tottenham
• Spurs have made their worst start to a league season in 53 years; since gaining just one point from the first six outings of the 1955-56 top-flight season.
• Tottenham are the only club without a Premier League victory this season.
• Gained just two points out of 18 this season.
• On the longest current run in the Premier League of 12 matches without scoring more than a single goal in a game, since the 2-0 home win over Portsmouth on 22 March.
• Yet to take the lead in a Premier League game this season.
• Won 10 of 32 Premier League games under Juande Ramos.
• Won one of the last seven away league matches (at Reading).

Positives:

• Tottenham hold a seven-match unbeaten Premier League record against Portsmouth of six wins and one draw, including the double over them last season.

Grim. Defoe apparently wants a hattrick. The greedy git. With Pompey having been whipped in recent weeks, including that 6-0 lose at Eastlands, I'm sure 'all guns blazing' will be their mentality while we stand there with empty water pistols with no triggers.

Prediction? If Pompey play poorly then we might just snatch a point. Otherwise, home win. The odds on us actually putting in a solid performance? Don't bet on it. What's scary is Hull winning at Arsenal, and us facing them soon. Whatever happened to dead certs and no easy games?

We've become the dead cert.

Of course, Pompey do have about 6 ex-Spurs player in their squad, so they could well shut-down again. Which would be welcomed.

tumbleweed

Last week, Alan Smith, the ex-Arsenal striker and current Sky Sports commentator - was at Waterstones in London signing books. Or at least that was the intention. For a good ten minutes, he sat there on his own looking glum and staring at the walls and shelves - with a pile of his unsold books at his side.

Seems the modern day gooners memory only stretches back 10 years. No matter what you say about George Graham's boring side, they still won the title twice. At least with Alan, he had some class about him as a player - on and off the pitch. Unlike some of the recent Arsenal players, who are more front and ego.