Plan B, not pretty, but it works

Liverpool 0 Tottenham 0

All things considered, a good point at Anfield.

Tottenham’s Plan A is one of majesty, pace and devastation when applied with pomp and confidence. A full strength Spurs side is arguably the best footballing side in the country, and by virtue of the quality we possess it means we can compete with anyone. Sometimes, it falters a little, we make hard work of it which can result in a bit of a grind to churn out the three points. Every team has its off day, but truly aspiring teams with tough mental strength and spine can still win when playing below par. We still prefer the occasions when the swagger is wonderful and the opposition mesmerised. But you can’t always be at full strength.When we’re not, we’ve got Plan B.

It’s not really a Plan B though, is it? It’s more of a damage limitation exercise. Actually, that’s unfair. Scrap that. It’s more of an emergency restructure. It’s usually something we witness when we lack width (either one or both of our flankers). But Plan B is good for the soul, if not beauty to behold when watching it unfold on the pitch. When you’re not at your most effective and can’t attain full pelt, you dig deep. Its more slow brooding and stop-start. Depending on the opposing side, this can be a test of fortitude and concentration.

I’ve written about our squad depth a number of times this season. The fact we are so finely tuned that a key player missing here or there weakens us with far greater impact because of how much we rely so heavily on our system. I said in the preview for the Liverpool game that this is a testing period, every game is now massive in terms of retaining momentum. Every point vital as we aim to consolidate third or better.

If we trip and fall, I have no qualms about our ability to stand up, dust off and continue the march.

We didn’t trip and fall at Anfield on Monday night. We got pushed about a little by a side that likes to impact games with their physicality. In response we simply defended resolutely. We displayed grit and courage and even though the game as a spectacle was poor (boring at times - edit: need to elborate on this, what I'm refering to is the expectancy of say how we performed away to City in the second half in comparison to soaking in pressure at Anfield) we played with professionalism and gained an important point in doing so – momentum intact.

Several players unavailable (Lennon, Defoe, Sandro, Kaboul, van der Vaart) which meant others deputising with the usual team responsibilities. The bench consisted of the following outfield players: Nelson, Khumalo, Rose, Luongo, Lancaster, Saha. Illustrating again how strong our first team is but how we lack the same ‘replacement’ quality when they are missing and have to make do with youth and oldies.

Luka in the Rafa role, an example of the deputising, pushing more forward offensively rather than staring in his more natural deeper position. We shaped up in a 433 with Livermore, Parker and Modric in the centre and Bale/Niko behind Adebayor. Bale is obviously going to be contained on the left with no concern for the right with Lennon missing – which is why Bale once more ventured into the middle (to help out our lone striker). It’s not perfect, but there was no criminal negligence in terms of lack of discipline.

Slow starts for one or two others (Livermore’s positioning was tricky to work out early on), but the midfield trio worked their socks off across the 90 minutes. Parker outstanding in the second half making up for one or two mistakes in the first. Modric again imperious in terms of pass production and close control and perhaps understated by some who seek more dynamic creativity from him. Can’t be expected in every game. The way he retains and recycles possession should never be scoffed at. Sometimes we simply need to match and attempt to better our opponents to make sure we don’t lose the midfield. Its also apparent how important van der Vaart is, dropping deep and linking play.

Dawson another stand out player at the back, no coincidence with King by his side. Friedel alert when called into the game to shot-stop. But alas, the match lacked end to end clear cut chances. Adebayor mostly isolated up front and when in possession not able to keep it or use it’s efficiently. Walker also struggled a little to get past Johnson but got himself involved in terms of defending.

There was no disputing a solid first half of football. Liverpool don’t lose at home (don’t win many either) and although I was confident of a win pre-match – changing my mind after the injury news – I was more than content with how the game was playing out. We were not being bullied or struggling under pressure. There was no pressure. No mistakes either. Containment with the added bonus of perhaps a cheeky counter-attacking winner. The key here was to get Bale into the game or for Bale to get himself into the game more and for us to support Adebayor and for him to hold the ball up.

No Harry Redknapp at the game. Insert joke about the Anfield Cat being Harry’s next bank account. Nothing Kevin Bond couldn't handle (team talk, not the cat). We looked to continue the consistency in the second half. Which came to life when Bale was fouled and got up and pushed Agger, then got a yellow card for it.

By fouled I meant dived. Have not a clue what was going through his head. Only part of his game I disapprove of, it’s not clever and it’s not Tottenham. We don’t cheat and we don’t dive. Well, unless you’re Bale. He’s done that twice and got booked twice for simulation this season. I know there are some stats that show Bale v Ronaldo and how Bale has scored more and assisted more at this point in his career than Ronaldo has. But please Gareth, don’t try to own the play-acting stat too. Lucky not to get a red. Perhaps frustration was getting the better of him. Another learning curve to navigate.

However (there’s always a however). Being critical of the player, it doesn’t sit well with me. I want him to develop and to continue to progress and improve to truly world class stature. But I don’t want to spend my time bemoaning the kid whilst he wears the Lilywhite. Remember when he was a left-back that couldn’t win a game? He’s come a long way, he’s picked up a few bad habits. We’ll have them ironed out of him in time. He didn't quite manage to fulfil my half-time wish to get into the game more. He's not always going to have the space. He'll learn how to manipulate it from one game to the next, from one class of opposition to the next. Neo couldn't leap from a building or stop a bullet in the early days. So let's hope Redknapp does a good Morpheus impersonation.

For now, enjoy while you can. And be patient.

Bale could have won it for us late on (86^th min). A rare fluff in a one on one. Carroll equally wasteful for them, so no complaints. And Suarez more so (87^th min) with a free header.

Saha made his début, a like for like replacement for Adebayor, isolated and difficult for him to get into the game. Parker shot blocking a Gerrard effort and was also assaulted twice by Suarez. Niko – we are quick to be critical of him when he doesn’t perform, so best to give him credit for his work, especially his defensive shift.

That’s twice I’ve mentioned the returning hero (Suarez) in what Sky Sports were building up to be a fairytale return for the lad. A standing ovation no less from the home support and salivation from the commentators. What a guy. No fairytale ending though. He'll have to make do with the banners.

In the end, goal-less. We passed our test. Emphasis more so on defending than attacking. King always glues the back four together and everyone played their part. Collectively, as a unit – they all played a part in making sure we took that point.

Liverpool, in form, could not break us down or get any clear stranglehold on the game. It’s frustrating in some ways that we could not play what we are accustomed to seeing. Liverpool are Stoke but less effective. Plenty of dirtiness, little class. On and off the pitch. Skrtel on Bale. An occasion where Gareth is well within his rights to stay down. Off the pitch, can I mention Suarez once final time and the embarrassing siege mentality of Dalglish? An ugly football team, an ugly club. Happy to see them sat in the pot along with one or two other sides that can’t quite get the better of us these days.

Football cycles. You live through them. You deny it's happening to you, whilst others embrace the change. Soon enough, all you have is a turn of your head whilst you look back and remember the past. Then there are those busy with looking forward, making the future theirs. We are still living through it. Nothing has yet to be set in stone.

Proud as ever to be Spurs. Hope we get the core (first team starters) of the missing players back for Newcastle. That’s going to be a massive three points. Like every other game.

COYS

Love the shirt.

This is Tottenham

Upcoming:

Liverpool.
Newcastle.
Arsenal.
Utd.

Followed by:

Everton.
Stoke.
Chelsea.

A magnificent seven games in what will be a defining seven weeks of football. This is not quite the run-in but it qualifies as the business end of the season (the business end being every game until we cement Champions League). We might have to dig deep, get lucky but the emphasis as ever has to be on retaining momentum. Suggestions the court case is affecting the teams focus. Opinion that we are so finely tuned that a key player missing here or there weakens us with far greater impact because of how much we rely on a very specific style of play. It’s a testing period, every game massive. Every point vital. If we trip and fall, I have no qualms about our ability to stand up, dust off and continue the march.

I’m buzzing. This pressure and at times anxiety is what football at the top is all about. There’s an edge to it because of what’s at stake. But I’m still managing to maintain some dignity and haven’t quite begun to feast on my nails. You know you’re doing something right when you go into every game echoing its importance.

Defeat isn’t something I’m entertaining in any of the above matches although the odds suggest it’s probable. But considering we’ve yet to truly disappoint in defeat this season (excluding the opening two games) I’m confident that the team can fight and perform well. It resonates, the belief. We’re going to need to be exceptional across the next four games and if we are then we might no longer feel the need to look behind (if you’re that way inclined - some prefer to still look upwards).

If you work out the points ratio to games and the fact that everybody is still prone to slipping up, we only have to continue our form (points accumulation) to retain our position. I’d rather not though. I’d rather play like we need to make up a ten point gap. I’d rather we continue to chase the impossible dream, if only to hold onto a standard that will practically guarantee a top three finish. Can’t settle with what we have, we need to always be better than our last game.

Forgetting all future fixtures, the only one that matters at the moment is Liverpool away. Two morale boosting wins against the two Manchester clubs (one over two legs) but their home form is still erratic. Traditionally a tough place to visit, much like last season when we travelled north and faced a resurgent home side to then return home with all three points. Mental strength in abundance these days and we’ll need it on Monday evening. They won’t have forgotten the spanking we dished out at the Lane. The indignity (for them) more so in the fact we could have scored double the goals we got had we not ease off and slowed the pace down to simply possession play. They’re going to want to put that right. As you would expect.

I’m not going to dwell on the past too much. It’s easy to remember their dominant cycle during the 70s and 80s and more recently their consistency in finishing top four and winning cup competitions. There’s no doubting their pedigree. But they’re in transition. They’re going to cite the past to aid in fuelling their motion forward to reclaim those past glories; it counts for very little until they’ve actually achieved it. Much like the position we’re in. For both clubs it’s wise to remember that football owes us nothing. Liverpool are still in transition. We’re several steps ahead of them. The onus is on us to prove that. Both clubs have to fulfil their immediate ambitions. For us, it’s finishing as high as possible in the league and to qualify for the CL. For them?  Consistency to lay claim towards challenging for a top place finish again.

A win for us would be demoralising for a fair few clubs inside that top seven. It really is a strong position to be in. One we are still becoming accustomed to. Several steps ahead but still on that learning curve and still earning that experience. You look at how Utd came back against Chelsea. This being a Utd side that might lack the depth of quality of previous revisions but still retain that sense of all-consuming belief, that never-say-die attitude that only Champions can possesses. We’re in there, we continue to compete, contend. We’ve got to really want it and show that desire in games like this.

As for Liverpool, their style. I can never shake off the feeling that they are quite workman like, nothing overly fancy but still well drilled with a caveat to being susceptible to lethargic performances. Their form is much like the form of older Spurs teams. Bit all over the place. Dare I say they are similar to us when we began to rebuild (for the umpteenth time), trying hard to find a cohesive pattern. Things can change quickly, so it’s best we do our utmost to widen that gap further.

Do they have players that can hurt us? For sure. I still worry about defending set-pieces (that’s if Downing manages to get a cross in successfully). A certain returning player from a lengthy ban might be making a comeback appearance. So all eyes (and lip-reading) on him. Do we have players that can hurt them? Let me think about that one. Yeah, one or two. You do get the impression that Dalglish’s men will try to take us on, bring the game to us and attack. Which should suit us fine (hoping we’ve learnt lessons re: Stoke and Swansea away). An open game means if we keep it controlled and composed at the back then we’ll have plenty of opportunity to go forward with intent.

How do we win? We win by owning the midfield. Might be an idea to play Sandro and Parker, match their work rate ethic (which  is far more one dimensional than ours) and get Modric on the ball as often as possible. Width key (as ever). Bale should do his best to stretch them to the left and only look to cut inside if the passage of play invites him to do so. Structure and discipline essential. I do hope for once Adebayor does more than bring others into play. Needs to start scoring again. Would be perfect timing if he rediscovered his touch in front of goal and went on a little run of games. Would accept arrogant, bullish displays of ruthlessness. Alternatively, Saha might have to do. Defoe (along with Lennon) not available (if you refer to official team news updates). That’s hardly been his trademark for a while. Would prance around like a character out of Glee if he was to rediscover that instinct one chance one goal state of mind. Hoping we are careful with where we give away free-kicks. They have players who can do damage by way of a dead ball.

As ever, Tottenham need to keep it Tottenham in terms of approach. We are hardly the most tactically astute side and that tends to benefit us when we go out and look to retain possession and attack/counter-attack. We play the Tottenham way, we swashbuckle but with a spine and strength that isn’t too dissimilar to Liverpool sides of yesteryear.

If we play like the second half at Eastlands or in fact if we match our almost destructive nature from the White Hart Lane 4-0, then when thinking of Anfield, you’ll most like to reply...'This is three points'. Couldn’t care less for comparisons of silverware and history. Very few clubs can come out looking better than Liverpool in terms of titles and cups. All I care about is the present and living in it. With any luck, enjoying it too.

COYS.

Love the shirt.

Midfield majesty from magical Modric

Spurs 4 Liverpool 0

What a fantastic performance. I'm of course referring to club chairman Daniel Levy retaining wantaway Luka Modric (who should perhaps take note of Fernando Torres and his diminishing stature) who held firm with his summer transfer stance. If you wanted evidence that the Croatian deep-lying Worzel Gummidge had finally stuck his head on the right way, then our spanking of Kenny's ordinary boys is the perfect illustration of how important it was to say 'no' and laugh off the derisory bids. Attempting to imagine a Spurs side without Modric is admittance of languishing outside a top four challenge. Such is the importance of his forward-thinking industry and inter-play. He remains paramount to us contending for CL qualification, in a season that will perhaps end with defining conclusion in how we set-up to enter the summer period before the 2013 campaign.

Wasn't just Luka who majestically roamed the midfield with supreme confidence. Scott Parker worked to perfection alongside him in the middle to break up play and dig deep doing the less glamorous work required for us to dominate possession and thus create in the final third.

You can cite Liverpool's lack of quality, their inability to place us under any pressure and their implosion as further reasons for the comfortable win but then it was a win that was never in doubt. They lacked shape and ideas and only excelled in petulance and off-field delusion. Work in progress for sure.

In my match preview I asked Spurs to 'Release the Kraken'. Wasn't quite a Kraken. More of a baby Godzilla learning it's trade in the Tokyo suburbs before heading towards the skyscrapers. From the opening exchanges, we placed down a clear marker stating 'we're going to win'. This alone made me gleeful. We looked hungry, we played with urgency and the only frustration (be it one we all clearly lived with without complaint) was that it remained 1-0 for so long. Unlike in other games (oh so many) I had no ominous feeling we'd be dragged back to 1-1 at any given point during proceedings.

When we took the lead early on with the scorching effort from Modric, I lost myself momentarily in his celebration. That wasn't a fake smile or pretend joy from the little man.  He looked genuinely happy and wanted to share it with the fans. Stopped short of kissing the badge (thank God). And that's all it takes. A moment. Just a single moment. In this case a superb goal and an equally imperious performance to lay to rest all the disgruntlement in a bed of fickle and apology. We sort of forgot about the Chelsea saga in the seconds that followed the goal and will give him the benefit of the doubt that he will kick on from here and give us the ilk of loyalty that screams 104 passes, 92% pass completion.

As mentioned, never felt Liverpool threatened us. We oozed belief and determination. Bale gave Skrtel a torrid time. Parker (as mentioned) worked his socks off and Adebayor led the line in the manner that was desperately missing so many times last season. Walker was admirable going forward. Kaboul made up for some lacklustre early season disasters. Who was in goal for us? I don't remember him having much to do. As for the four-four-two formation - it won the day heaping embarrassment on the Anfield club. Worth mentioning two on the trot for Ledley, who was impressive. Let's make sure that knee is willing and able for the NLD.

Without wishing to get too carried away, feet firmly on the ground.

Liverpool fans will argue they were woeful. I'd still argue we simply never gave them a chance to get any type of grip on the game. The two red cards (be it claims of inconsistency from the ref) pretty much summed them up. Untidy and frustrating. What's important is we looked up for it, wanted to win and won. It's always strange how we manage to look better when up against eleven men but we persevered in the end to give the score-line a dominant feel to it (and claw back some of that negative goal difference). Ade displaying simplicity in front of goal with great technique and link up play. And a brace. JD with a lovely finish. Can I use my favourite word about the side being galvanised? Confidence really does breed success.

Criticisms? Set-pieces still in desperate need for a re-boot.

It's just one game, just three points. But its testament to the fact that unlike the visitors we are not in the midst of a rebuild. We stagnated last season and now need to reclaim that guile we are capable of and push on from there. It's hardly implausible to aim for 4th or even 3rd. You have to believe, otherwise just call it a day.

Lennon. Huddlestone. Sandro. Gallas...all still to return. Rafa already back (he's always back earlier than he should be). Sandro and Gallas might be available to start against Stoke in the cup. Bit of positivity makes everything looks so much brighter, doesn't it?

Well done Spurs.

-

thefightingcock.co.uk

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Love the shirt.

Smash 'em up

Battle for fourth? Unlike say in the season when we actually captured that position, this year its pretty much a certainty that anyone who dares to show some consistency and hunger for it will romp home. Utd, City and Chelsea will finish in the top three placements. Us, Arsenal and Liverpool will be fighting it out for fourth. Hardly rocket science but what remains a mystery is just how much of a fight it will turn out to be.

Take our neighbours up the Seven Sisters road. Still with the pretty football but with plenty of Keystone  defending making them a red and white version of a variety of Spurs sides from recent seasons that flattered to deceive and always made sure they heaped misery on their fans. State of flux, wobble, crisis - whatever you wish to tag that particular mess with, they are very much vulnerable and weak in key areas although still pack a punch but one that is unlikely to knock you out.

Liverpool are in the midst of rejuvenation and are thus being re-built. Okay so its all a little excitable and exaggerated because it's Liverpool and its Dalglish and the media seem to be sacrificing credibility to beckon the Phoenix from the flames. There's no doubt, as much of the ordinary and average soundbites you wish to chuck their way, they are better for it since the summer. Hardly perfect but they retain a busy work ethic and have players that can produce effectively. They also have a player up front that many still believe could have worked a treat in Lilywhite but somebody apparently didn't fancy taking the chance.

The question is not so much 'how good are Liverpool?' or 'how good can Liverpool be?'. It's more the case of 'how good to you need to be to claim that fourth spot?'. Looking around, with so many unanswered questions you'd probably agree that you don't need to be all that special. So its a dangerous game to discount this Liverpool side just because they are hardly fitting of older variants in comparison. Same with with Arsenal.

Apart from the near spectacular starts to the season the two Manc sides have displayed you could argue that not even Chelsea have impressed (but let's not get carried away here, they should still comfortably find enough of what's required to compete for 2nd spot with City).

So what of THFC? How much fight do we have in us? We'll find out when we face up to the scousers. It's still very early in the season but its pretty vital we start to rock and roll over opponents because the form of our competitors is completely out of our control other than when we play them. Defeating Liverpool then Arsenal (Wigan in-between) would create momentum and with that comes confidence and renewed belief and all the other hype that manager and players seem to feed off. Adds focus to their deficiencies also. Defeat, and the emphasis is back on us.

If anything should be taken from last season is that every regrettable dropped point will come back to haunt you.

At the moment, we don't seem to have any urgency and appear comfortably numb in posture. We showed some authority away at Wolves and plenty of industry thanks to our new signings. Need a little more from other quarters.

This season. It's simply too much of a good opportunity to pass by. Champions League qualification is a tangible target. We need to crow. We need to fight. We need to use our spur and leave the competition bloody on the floor.

It's going to be a tough game if Liverpool play as good as they can. If they don't then that's their problem and our prerogative to take advantage. Failing to turn up tomorrow will just leave that culture of underachievement festering in the psyche of the players meaning we then move onto the next game seeking redemption. Beating Wolves was a start. Beating Liverpool needs to be a necessity.

Release the Kraken Tottenham.

I've checked and Perseus doesn't play for Liverpool and the next best thing to the Medusa is Karren Brady and she will most definitely not be present.

-

thefightingcock.co.uk

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Love the shirt.

4 wins. 99 years.

Spurs win at Anfield. Arsenal lose again. 10,000 travelling claret and blue fans watch West Ham United get relegated. Oh and what’s this? Jessica Alba naked in my bedroom, seductively requesting I join her for frivolous antics between the bed sheets. What a sensational weekend. Almost makes you want to daydream about the performance against City with an alternative ending. What if, what if. Such a fine line between loving/hating the gaffer these days. But at least we've got ourselves a pocket of pride after a painful run that's lacked it in abundance.

From a CL play-off to a Europa League variant at the home of the best tannoy system in the land (not working on Sunday, hence the lack of home support vocals). Post-match Harry has admitted scaring the team to victory, reminding them the passage into Europe via Fair Play would mean a very early start to pre-season. Shame a similar ploy wasn't used pro-actively during the past couple of months to inspire avoidance of the far from sexy Europa League. You live and learn.

Immaculate performances of beastly awesomeness from the likes of Sandro, Modric and Rose. And Ledley King. Seven months out and he basically owned the pitch. Such was the comfort of his display. Okay, perhaps he wasn’t 100% slick and styled but seven months people...seven months! He has not right, surely?

Of course he has the right. He's the King, he can do whatever he likes.

There’s no doubting the fact that if Ledley did not suffer from the degradation of his knee he would be one of the world’s best. He’s still one of the world’s best if you wish to take note of his performance by games played ratio.

He hardly plays. When he does, he oozes unparalleled ability. Little surprise then that he also brings the best out of Dawson (to the right of King in central defence). The man is a colossus. And a conundrum. We don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors and whether he’s finally been advised to consider retirement. King himself is looking forward with positivity, as ever. He never wants to give into his reoccuring plight. What his performance does illustrate is the importance of having some of his quality at the back throughout the season.

Stats tell us that we’ve conceded 66 goals in the 44 games that Ledley has not been present. That equates to an average of 1.5 goals conceded per game. Compared to the six conceded in the eight games he’s started, which is an average of 0.75 per game.

As much as we all bang on about needing a forward we equally need to do some hefty work to sign someone of similar ilk to King. Not an easy task. I’m thinking long term here (Gallas has another season with us at the very least and wont be ever present next term through-out all comps). Steven Caulker might be the answer. We’ll know more post-summer transfer window (that’s a hope rather than a prediction).

So, what of the game?

I was surprised Liverpool were so limp in terms of offensive pressure. Granted, they had chances. Wasted ones. Carroll doing his best to appease my disappointment we didn't sign anyone back in Jan. And any of the pre-match hullabaloo about not signing Suarez was washed away thanks to a rather inept performance by the player who spent most of the game reminding us of those other qualities. The ones Howard Webb preferred to ignore. I bet if that was Daws kicking Suarez, the Uruguayan would still be rolling around now with Daws reflecting on a red card. Suarez probably would have rolled all the way to Albert Docks. Regardless, Dawson had him comfortably set to ineffectual. All that was left for him and his mate Maxi was to periodically dive their way through the ninety minutes.

Webb’s inconsistency did however award us a rather soft penalty. Not sure, are we allowed to accept such generosity in the back garden of one of the original Sky Sports Top 4 clubs? Feels dirty. The penalty made it 2-0. The first goal was a wonderful effort (aided by deflection) by van der Vaart who kissed his badge in celebration. A sure sign he’s had a contract offer delivered via Old Trafford. Good solid performance from the Dutchman before going off injured.

Rose, again impressive in another left-back cover-role. Kid might have a future as BAE's understudy. Based on three games. No, no. I'm certain we're onto something here and we are not an over-excitable bunch of fans who will not turn on him when he eventually does make a mistake. Which he will. Human, after all.

We didn’t create too much else in clear cut chances (Crouch and Defoe up front). We didn’t over-power Liverpool. We simply contained them and played out the game in relative comfort. Clean sheet people, clean sheet.

Sandro (got a yellow when others in red shirts deserved them more but got away with it) proving our scouts can get it right. The perfect partner for Modric in the middle, who continues to make us tick (70 out of 74 passes completed, that’s 95% accuracy - destroy all carrier-pigeons leaving Manchester and heading towards N17).

For those taking notes, that’s also another hoodoo beaten by Redknapp (Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge the only two battle fields left to conquer). First win there for 18 years. First double over Liverpool since ’87. But then I’m sure you’ll counter it by reminding everyone that Liverpool are still in a state of flux (be it in a good state currently), requiring additional new blood to improve to even consider competing for a top four place. Our away form continues to impress. Our home form is where we’ve stuttered. I'd still be looking up at City and the rest rather than looking down at Liverpool and...nobody else.

Liverpool finishing below us might hinder them in the transfer window or it might not. Europa football not as appealing as that other competition. Guess it comes down to whether we are far more decisive in the transfer window than Comolli is who will no doubt spearhead the project at hand (the enticement of history on their side, see Joe Cole for example).

It's a fine line, regardless of what you might think of Harry and his mouth and the other issues of potential transfer targets (please no West Ham rejects please) – we’re still in good health. I’m right, am I not?

For all his contradictions and his relentless protection of his ego and the half-truths, his record still remains impressive. Just not as impressive as it could have been. And he knows it. And he's not doing a good job managing the fallout. Although it will no doubt be forgotten about with the summer almost upon us and Harry will want to prove the doubters wrong with yet another positive twist. Perhaps top four and a cup. Come on, it's hardly the moon on a stick.

Will be interesting to see if we start next season as the underdogs or he comes out and states clearly and without confusion: Top 4 is the target. Aim high Tottenham.

Talking of the summer, Harry according to Harry, has already started to scout (he was recently in France). I'm sure you'll all be inspired by this gem in reference to strikers: "It's very difficult finding better than what you've already got"

Oh crap, Jessica’s head is morphing into Harry’s ala Aphex Twin ‘Windowlicker’ video. I knew this was too good to be true.

One game left. 5^th spot, in our hands to lose. Much like 4th spot was. Onwards. To dare is to get three points at home in the final game of the season and continue the 'run' into the 2012 season.

COYS.

"Broadcast was in the public interest," declares SKY

Football pundits and journalists were up in arms this morning after SKY Sports 'carelessly and irresponsibly jeopardised the World Cup bid' by broadcasting Liverpool losing 2-1 to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The 18 time league winners and holders of 5 European cups have recently fallen from grace, having their Champions League place usurped by a resurgent Spurs and suffering a poor run of form that sees them struggling to maintain a place in the top 10 of the Premier League and playing Paul Konchesky at left back.

However, many feel that their dreadful form should have been hidden from the prying eyes of FIFA and certainly not broadcast live only days before the World Cup vote.

Ian Ridley of the Mail on Sunday said, "Liverpool Football Club are a national treasure and their image as one of the best teams in the world ever is vital to England winning the rights to host the World Cup in 2018. FIFA don't care about small clubs like Spurs, Everton and Aston Villa. They want to see the usual top 4 winning all the time just like they do in other European countries. SKY have shown a blatant disregard for football fans all over the country by airing this defeat."

Phil Thompson, a SKY pundit who happens to also support Liverpool, added, "I have handed in my resignation to SKY. The World Cup is far more important that their petty agenda to increase viewing figures. By all means show the game, but at least edit out the last 5 minutes and any footage of Paul Konchesky. Or just arrange the fixture for after the vote. Any FIFA executives that saw that on Sunday will be outraged."

SKY's actions have even prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to issue an apology to FIFA via the Downing Street Twitter feed. The PM wrote:

@FIFA_Committee Because we support free media we could not prevent this broadcast. However if you re-watch the game you will see that Spurs got lucky lmao. Everyone in England is working hard to make sure Liverpool are back in the top 4 by 2018 #youllneverwalkalone

In order to limit the damage caused by the broadcast the FA have dispatched an envoy to FIFA HQ led by Prince William and Gerry and the Pacemakers who will be handing out signed Liverpool shirts DVDs of 'that' European Cup Final in 2005.

by guest-blogger, Fox Mulder

-

For the Spurs v Liverpool match report 'So how do you beat Spurs exactly?', please click here.

So how exactly do you beat Spurs?

Spurs 2 Liverpool 1

How do you make sure of beating Spurs? Well for starters perhaps try to score 5 to 6 goals in the first half then park the bus to stop them from mounting a sustained comeback. Because a one or two goal head start won't be enough. 

Choke? Capitulations? Catastrophe? Thanks but no thanks. We no longer own the copyright.

Comeback Kings. Tag us up. A new era is upon us.

We've now notched up 16 points from a losing position - which illustrates the strength of character and belief this side has. Again, it’s scary to start theorising about how good we might be if we played with relentless intent from the opening whistle. Would like to see us take a lead, go two up and then kill the game off, perhaps with another to make it comfortable. Show some wit and guile by stopping the opposition from playing and dictating tempo at will.

Hey – it’s Christmas so the moon on a stick in my stocking is not a far-fetched request for Santa to deliver. I can’t help but flirt with the idea of the next step we need to be taking.

Beating Liverpool in the manner we did was not a vintage Spurs performance. Actually it was going by this season’s template. No need to play well across the full 90 minutes. Dangerous heart-in-mouth game plan. The consequence of no clipboard.

But that's fine because we're not degrading in terms of momentum and we'll surely continue to improve, especially if we manage to consolidate in the Jan transfer window.

Had it ended in defeat or a draw we would have spent a few days knee-jerking about what’s wrong with the team, struggling to cope with injuries and cohesiveness, losing out to a Liverpool side that have hardly been expansive with their football away from home this season. They looked up for it, attacked with a degree of on the deck directness and were combative in centre midfield. Torres could have punished us and brought us crashing back down to earth after our NLD win and qualification into the knock-out stages of the Champions League. But the Spaniard deciding against pulling the trigger when it was the easiest option to take probably because, I don’t know, he didn’t want to hurt our push for Top 4 what with his imminent transfer to N17.

/tumble-weed

Not quite moon on a stick that, more Andromeda galaxy on a stick. Grateful he didn’t leave us flat on our backs looking at the stars.

Liverpool squandered one or two chances. We did too, Defoe should have lifted the ball into the goal rather than just hit it low, Carragher blocking. And then in the second half, a fairly poor penalty. I’m sure you know the stats with pens off by heart now. Five out of nine missed or something. Bale also had an effort cleared off the line.

Open game that it was (Spurs do not do cautious well) we had to overcome a few in-game obstacles. van der Vaart pulling up early on, subbed, and probably out for a month. Kaboul also going off with a muscle problem – Bassong on as his replacement. Harry’s arms tied behind his back in the dugout. But if there is something we‘ve learnt time and time again this season is Houdini is capable of an escape or two. Never doubt our spirit, or do so at your own risk. Backs against the wall – we’ll just turn around, smash it down and walk straight through it. Granted not always with a bulldozer, just a one or two explosives expertly positioned. That will always do the job.

Liverpool just about deserved their goal, not much we could have done about it other than better man-marking – but it happens. Scrappy opener and the Reds could have doubled/tripled their lead either side of half-time. Torres brilliantly playing in Rodriguez who scoffed his shot, and Bassong superbly getting to the ball leaving Torres frustrated...again. Good to see him looking sharp and with Dawson a week or so away, at least our defence won’t be completely decimated – what with Gallas forging a decent partnership with the rampant Kabul.

Found myself frustrated by many things during  the game and before the final moments.

BAE’s posturing. Wilson’s distribution of the ball. Defoe still rusty. The fact Lucas was running tings in midfield speaks volumes about our inability to take a stranglehold of the game. It was all a bit lazy. Give the ball to Bale even though Bale has two men on him most of the time. Hoof balls forward for the knock-downs. Palacios is not even half the player he once was and losing vdV and not having anyone else to slot into the midfield (with JJ out), makes it all the more tricky if the opposition – no matter their depth of quality – put in a good shift.

Having said that, Liverpool were not quite head and shoulders above us.

One penalty miss, one not given (yes, Liverpool might have had a shout for one too), two off the line. We still looked for a way back in. When we did eventually score it was the excellent dinking Modric running through Liverpool’s back-line with ease and playing it across the six yard box, Skrtel forced to make contact with the ball (having scored for the 1-0) making it 1-1, otherwise Crouch would have. Luka is only just getting started IMO. He’s going to be vital over the next two months where that fabled marker just has to be placed down as we look to get ourselves into the top four  - and stay there.

The winner was direct (now there’s a shocker), BAE long, header on by Crouch (knock him if you like but was that another assist?) and Lennon rushing past probably the worst Liverpool defender in their recent history (not saying much) to score in injury time. Fully deserved for the ickle man who is regaining form. He’s got his spark back.

The opposition not so much mugged, but leaving their wallet on a table to be snatched with comparative ease. In the end an out of sorts Spurs side pushed aside a plucky Liverpool side. Oh my how things have changed.

We’re still not at full pelt but neither is the Premier League – and we’re six points off the top. Aim high(er), right? Three successive league wins. Four in all comps. Five games unbeaten. Momentum, dear old friend, is back with us.

Kudos to Harry, if anything for another half-time team talk and holding on till late to bring on Sandro (a substitution he could not have made earlier in the game due to the injuries). Not sure we can spend too much time being concerned with the way we don’t quite own the full 90 minutes. But then this might just be a consequence of the injuries and the related tinkering – and it’s something we need to muddle through until the dawn of 2011.

The big news I guess in the aftermath is the injury to Rafa van der Vaart. Possibly out for a month which is a massive disappointment considering his talismanic qualities and White Hot Lane goals. There is no discounting his influence. But like I’ve said – we need to be able to win without him. Kaboul also out (not sure for how long) - so it's biting of the nails time as another two men go down on the battle field. Time for the spirit of 2010. Dig deep.

One final footnote - the crowd getting on Palacios back – f*ck off idiots.

Yes he’s not the defensive destroyer he was when he first signed for us and although I’m quite happy to agree that he might need to placed aside or leave if he fails to recover from his crisis of confidence (Paul Robinson anyone?) there is no need for prawn sandwich booing and sarcastic cheering. Groan and moan it’s your right – but ease off trying to apply extra unnecessary pressure on the guy by making a point of singling him out in this manner. Support him. Some of his work wasn’t that far off decent. His passing is woeful I know. Harry hug and perhaps a gentle slap in the face required to perk him back up. It’s a massive concern because he’s not shown any signs of recovery so far. Not the same player since losing his brother. And is unlikely to be if some of you make the decision to hate on him before you even turn up at the Lane.

Slagging players off on blogs and forums, probably the best place for it because it’s unlikely they give a sh*t about something they won’t be reading. In the ground – it’s not. Jog on to the Emirates if you want to act the c*nt.

Anyways, you’re meant to reserve your disgruntled energy for when Jenas is back in the side.

j/k

Loving my JJ fix at the minute. Oh we are such a fickle bunch.

To end on a positive. Credit to all concerned, we’re not going to let go of our top four entry easily.

COYS.

Onwards.



Exercise or play sport regularly? Join Spurs legend Graham Roberts and tell Arthritis Research UK about your experiences of sports pain or injuries: painoutofsport.org

We all agree, vdV is better than Cole

Bale out on the left, plays it to Huddlestone, Hudd to Cole, Cole step-over, loses the ball...

One two between BAE and Bale, Bale cuts in, drags ball back, plays it to Cole, Cole skips and dances around with the ball, loses possession...

Cole on the ball, fancy footwork, tricky trick, comes to nothing...

Imagine that.

In another parallel universe what you just read is playing out to a disgruntled White Hart Lane, every other week whilst Rafael van der Vaart is galvanising some other club with his superb work rate and excellent goals to games ratio. It’s a disturbing reality, I know. But shake off the concerns and be content that it’s not you experiencing it. Just another version of you. A depressive mess of a version. The poor bastard. Having to live with the misery of his club signing Joe Cole and not the Dutch maestro with the magical mojo.

Now we might be the ones living in the universe where Arsenal moved from Woolwich to North London (in that other one their bribes fell on deaf ears and they were never handed promotion to the first division post-war, just about survived financial melt-down and are currently third division – West Ham United are considered our main rivals...it’s a pretty f*cked up dimension for sure) but at least we’re not living in the one where Harry knocked back the chance to sign the Real Madrid ‘reject’.

For all of Joe Cole’s vision and touch there was always something dodgy about him for me. Five years back, the exact type of player we would have moved the earth to sign and fans would have been more than happy with it – but times have changed. We need something more than a luxury. Sure, he’s talented and on his day he can spark life into a team, but like most of the Tottenham teams in my generation, he’s inconsistent. Not the type of player who can play badly but still impact the game. Something Rafa can and has done for us.

Cole is a marquee player and in a side where everything clicks, he can get away with it. World class? Not quite. Doubt he ever had any intention of joining us and I do appreciate we got lucky with the vdV signing in that although the player was one we apparently looked at – he obviously wasn’t first choice.

Harry’s magic hug might have rubbed off positively on Cole in Lilywhite, we’ll never know. Not unless you happened to open up a worm hole and slide into that other universe where he stars for us in midfield along with Anton Ferdinand, rock in central defence and Andy Reid out on the left...because we can’t move him off the left he’s so f*cking fat. Doesn’t matter what universe you visit, there is no slim version.

At the time of writing, Rafa is 50/50 for the game against Liverpool and Cole is probably going to start on the bench. I think van der Vaart is still four weeks away from his best form for us. Couple of more pounds to lose, more work on stamina/fitness to be had. He’s doing everything he’s doing on 70%. Salivating at the prospect of him being fully fit in terms of physicality.

Regardless of my discounting of Cole and the fact that I genuinely believe that a full strength Spurs side with a new midfielder and striker (and go on then, a backup for the left-back position) would not be far off from something special – I still think we have one major bugbear to overcome.

Consistency.

We need it in abundance. Discount Cole, but discounting Liverpool would be dangerous. Shadow of the side from a couple of years back, but regardless of their ordinary workman type style, they still have one or two players of genuine quality. You know who. And we need to remember we’ve come unstuck against sides of lesser quality overall who have out worked us to claim the points.

Still, you know if Mark Lawernson isn’t backing his club this week, it’s not quite right at Anfield. I’ll be massively disappointed if we lose. vdV or no vdV I would like a DVD type performance, except with no actual release in the club shop on Monday week, because that would be unbecoming.

City are doing their best to encourage ourselves and Boltonlona. Time to place down that marker. If there has ever been a time to swagger and swashbuckle, this is it.

Hodgson might well set his team out to frustrate us. We have to show belief. I know, it's tiresome the amount of times we refer back to this belief thing, but if the players actually took time out - just for a moment - to grasp the fact they're actually pretty damn good we might see sustained confidence which will breed sustained consistency which would turn into mighty momentum.

Dawson not far off from returning. Lennon rediscovering lost form. Defoe back. Timing is perfect if we can make it count with points leading into the new year.

vdV is also, obviously, important to us. Winning without him in the side equally so.

Show some spirit and intent Tottenham.

Go for the jugular.

COYS, please.

Religion of the deluded?

With thanks to Spanish Spur for bringing this article to my attention over at the Guardian. Martin Kettle, the author of said article, cites Liverpool's current financial plight as a means to place football into perspective. No sympathy in fact for something birthed from the 90s in terms of this explosion of football we have practically drowned in during the past couple of decades. He's critical of the monster that has grown in our quaint English garden and shrugs at one of it's falling limbs.

Read it, worth a look. Found this paragraph of interest, and just taking it out of the context of the actual article itself, wonder what you might think of it's sentiments.

Football is a game. Football is entertainment. Yes, it's a really good game. Yes, it's exciting entertainment. Yes, it is hugely enjoyable – or can be – to follow your own team through thick and thin. But that's all. Football is not more than that. It's not the reason we exist. It's not a way of life. It's not even a religion, except inasmuch as it is a comforting delusion. Football doesn't prove anything at all about anything. It certainly does not validate the worth of the disturbingly large number of people, still almost all male, who appear to think that it does. Great footballers are nothing more than great footballers.

He states that you follow your team through thick and and thin - but that's all you do. There is nothing more to it. Just how do you quantify this in terms of emotional attachment? Okay so let's say someone in your family is ill or you have a newborn baby, it's going to take priority. In comparison, there is no comparison. But surely life is made up of building blocks, each as important as the next when handled separately. Why would you compare each block? You well do if say you have to choose between two things, but usually it's just a compromise (I guess this is very subjective).

I have felt physically sick to the depths of my gut when we've lost certain games. I've felt equally sick (if I look back to my teenage years) and one or two girlfriend related heart-breaks. Both incomparable, both with equal measures of impact on my life. Although I got over the females and moved on, but some football results will never be forgotten.

Football not a religion? In this world we (I) live in, you spend most of it filling it up with stuff to get you through one day to the next. TV, music, sex, travel, work (sadly) and hundreds of other activities - some of a necessity others of interest.

It's not the reason I exist, but it's f**king good way to spend some part of my life obsessing over. It doesn't need me to tag it with philosophical reasoning about it's tribal elements or any other form of justification. It's not a way of life, but it's part of our way of life. But it's a huge part of my life, and it runs in the blood, so perhaps there is part of me holding back, not admitting that it's far more important than I wish to believe.

So yeah, just a musing or two here. Agree, disagree? Are we (all of us no matter the club of our choice) just deluding ourselves with one hell of an epic waste of time?

Discuss it amongst yourselves if you want.

A spoon full of Sugar makes the Venables go down

#3

The news of the moment is Liverpool (I'm going to choose to ignore Stratford and Gullivan for the time being). Board shenanigans, Yanks, take-over bids, humiliation on the pitch, continued embarrassment off it. Their dirty laundry aired in public for all to see. It's almost like someone has rummaged through our bins and plucked out from the rubbish our discarded tag as the never-ending media circus and stuck it on the back of the Anfield club.

Once upon a time Liverpool conducted their business with complete discretion. The football did the talking. Not even a whisper from the chairman and owner in terms of bickering or disharmony. All focus was on the pitch. Modern times are now all very public, messy, contradictory and soul-destroying for the upside down flag waving regulars of the Kop. Since the Americans bought in. Hardly surprising.

Brings me onto an article I read online (Daily Express) that had me grabbing the nearest piece of upstanding furniture, to aid in supporting me from falling to the floor, all faint and dramatic and struggling to catch my breath. A cup of tea got me sorted, lost deep in a flashback to the early 90s.

Ah yes, the 1990s. Mostly forgettable for the complete lack of direction and progression - and that was just me bumming around doing very little. Don't even get me started on Tottenham.

It was a good decade in parts. Mostly for discovering Jenna Jameson (in the later part of the era) and dating a girl who looked like Jenna (if you've seen the 'artistic movie' The Kiss - that particular incarnation of Jameson). I also got myself a proper job in the IT industry which was practically in its infant days, back when only the lucky ones had dial-up modems that made connecting to the internet not too dissimilar a task than attempting to load a game on a Spectrum 48k.

There were also many pivotal moments in our clubs history that took place during the decade of Brit Pop. We had some great players and great escapes and a League Cup final win to end it on a high. Personally, looking back, it was mostly about the players we had. We got our pleasure and satisfaction from our side from individuals rather than from the collective.

Christ, we had some fantastic players. Players deserving of fantastic teams. Except we also churned out some pretty pathetic transfer signings and managerial appointments. It really was quite shit. But not all of it. Sort of started well, bit in the middle was crap, and sort of ended well. But we muddled through and being Spurs, we always entertained.

1991 was emotional. Off the pitch, we were at deaths door. Financial meltdown, the reminisce of Irving Scholar coming back to bite a massive chunk out of our backside. Keith got it so right.

I get the feeling nowadays, it's all quite under-stated when looking back. Not sure how many of the younger ones amongst us appreciate how big a mess the club was in. It truly felt at the time that we had to win the FA Cup. They all said it, win it to save yourselves. That's how it played out in my head and in the heads of the shelf-side (my original home at the Lane) mob. Either that or I'm holding onto distant memories of back page headlines from The Sun.

If we wanted a buyer we had to at least offer something in the way of a reason for them to even look in our direction. I'd hate to think that we'd have been left to go under. It was grim and it hardly looked positive.

I was ever-present in our FA Cup run that season. Went to the home league games to collect all the necessary vouchers to apply for a semi-final ticket. By apply, that's stand in a queue that finished at the ticket office on the Park Lane and wrapped itself around the corner all the way down to Northumberland Rd where I stood for hours at the arse end of it. Worth it, of course. The day of the Wembley game against the scum is something I've written about before. They were coasting the league. This was the defensive beast of a machine, the Arsenal, boring beyond belief yet practically unbeatable, against the Tottenham in turmoil.

For them, the double was just two sets of 90 minutes away. For us, lose this, and end of days. Both league games finished 0-0 that season.

The journey to the game however did not reflect the potentiality of depression that could have befallen us that day had things turned out differently. I lived in Walthamstow at the time and made my connecting journey to Wembley and found our lot to be the more vocal of the two sets of fans. The gooners appeared reserved. A good friend of mine who also went to the game (a scummer) said that behind a lot of his pre-match bravado, on the day itself, he had a gut feeling about it going in our favour. The odds staked so high in their favour, it made him nervous, because everyone, well most, couldn't see how we could beat them.

My personal highlight was a gooner telling his mate on the train "If we lose, I'm going to hang myself from a tree on the Seven Sisters road". I think, regardless of colours, we all had the same thought.

It's a NLD, it's going to be intense regardless, but this game was beyond anything I had experienced. Well, I guess since the '87 League Cup semi-final trilogy. Which hurt. Badly. Both needing, wanting to win for completely different reasons. One for glory, the other for survival.

At the Twin Towers we had the privilege of welcoming the Arsenal coach and players. We greeted them with a gentle hand wave and cheeky wink. All very pleasant and gay. They smiled and waved back. Post-game rumours suggested they had already recorded a cup final song only made our waving that much stronger.

Why would anyone other than Chas'n'Dave record a Cup final song when the year ends in one?

As for the game.

What I witnessed that day was comic book fantasy. The very definition of wtf  is happening mind-blowing unreality sexed up ripping of shreds football. It was both the most unexpected and greatest opening 10 minutes of any game I had or have witnessed. Quite simply breathtaking.

The urgency, the desire. That free-kick. The sheer cheek of scoring twice. It was shaping up to be a monumental upset. Smith scoring before the end of the second half to give them hope. I can remember thinking how could we possibly hold out. You always knee-jerk to the worst scenario you can think off. It's your subconscious tuning you up for protection from the despair you'll experience if it happens.

Spurs face up to Arsenal in the 1991 Wembley FA Cup semi-final

The second half was equally immense in a different type of way, digging deep and then that counter (Mabbutt, fed it well, Nayim to his left and Samways up ahead, but Lineker uses him by not using him, good try, he scored, and David Seaman will be very disappointed about that it seemed to go through his fingers) and the ecstasy of being 3-1 up. We stopped them, double dream dead, and we breathed life back into our bodies as we marched onwards, and of course, won the cup against Forest in the final.

3-1, we beat the scum 3-1.

Venables, in our eyes, saved the club off the pitch too by bringing in Alan Sugar who had the clout to plug the draining black-hole where our money once sat.

Dream team. Or not.

Fast forward to 1993 and it had all gone sour. El Tel sacked, boardroom struggles, high court dates. It's easy (and yet quite uncomfortable) to look back now and accept that Venables was not exactly in the right. He was fairly left to the right. By some distance. It's not quite the same as the Liverpool situation, but the one parallel is the uproar from the fans in support for what they believed in. Again, not the same thing and arguably its far more black and white for them than it was for us.

I was at the High Court, I'm pretty certain, on most if not all of the days. Standing outside with an assortment of Spurs fans, all varying age groups, all with pretty much nothing else to do when everyone else was at work. All of us some what blinded by the details and simply there to support the footballing man over the business man. Back in those days, we didn't have the safety net of internet message boards. It's was all terrace and pub talk and what the hacks are scribbling. It was spent the only way we could have spent it back then. Standing around singing songs and smashing up Amstrad computers.

In the end Sugar won and his decision to sack the manager was validated by the courts.

We moved on. Tel was no saint and that became apparent later on. Our loyalties completely clouded, not really wanting to accept any level of betrayal. Of course, regardless of the facts, the alleged sub-plots, the suggestion Venables never had the £3M investment he was going to stake in the club and that Sugar  then had to cover it when purchasing Spurs…I still never took to our bearded saviour, the one with the cash that saved the club. Even though some argue that it was still Venables who actually got him to do the saving by getting him involved. I can’t think of any other suitors at the time who would have stepped in had Sugar nodded a no and walked away.

From a philosophical perspective, it was always doomed from the start when considering the colourful and differing backgrounds of both Sugar and Venables.

I guess looking back now it was probably the best thing to happen to the club in our recent history because of the structure and balance Sugar instilled at the Lane (be it he cocked up several times in matters of a footballing nature) but he gave us a backbone in terms of how we managed ourselves off the pitch.

And of course selling up to ENIC and a certain Mr Levy has birthed a new chapter which is doing its best to drown out most of the misery from the 1990s. It's taken us this long to get back into the game. A very long and winding road of recovery.

As for Lord S, bless him for his honesty in retrospect relating to Klinsmann and the t-shirt in the bin incident, George Graham and the admittance of one or two other related matters concerning his loudmouth presence and conduct when he was at Spurs in the capacity of chairman.

Liverpool fans, don't despair too much. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Well, unless you're Leeds Utd, but then when you spend a fortune on a fish tank and offer extortionate wages to Seth Johnson, you deserve relegation twice over.

And as for days outside the High Court…hands up if you were there. That might have been me you were standing next to when dancing around the smashed up pieces of a home computer.

You've been reading the third part of Spooky's International Break diary journals.

Part one can be read here.

Part two here.

Next time. Maybe.

Total football and the deafening noise from the Kop defeated us this evening. Back in our box we go. That was dogshit. This is one DVD the club has to commission, not for the Spurs Shop but for our inept players. That's if the club can find them to hand over the match highlights, considering a few went missing tonight.

This was proper eunuch running around in a brothel football. Plenty of movement but not where it matters. The limp lilywhite curse strikes again. Make it 66 games without victory away to a Top 4 club. Even if this particular club was meant to be struggling and without confidence. We simply failed to take the initiative, never recovering from that early sucker-punch of a goal. It wasn't something that surprised me.

Tactically, not good enough. Over to you Harry for that. Did I spot some hoofing out there? Also not enough leadership and not a whimper of the scruff-of-the-neck determination required to change the tempo of the game to suit us. Sure, we had plenty of possession, but the lot of it was powder-puff in the final third. Liverpool had the better efforts. That just about sums it up.

This isn't a knee-jerk by the way. I said in my match preview that this game would not define anything in the long run, although based on the performance its probably telling us we most definitely lack that extra bit of class. Which we know already. When we lose Lennon as an outlet we weaken far too much. Its tragic how we simply fail to adapt. Shame we don't have another right-winger who can came in and do a job for us.

And if we have aspirations we have to adapt. Yes, it's one game, but the only statement we made out there tonight was taken from the usual script and we did nothing to prove to anyone (the players proving it to themselves) that they want to step up a level.

Mental strength. Where art thou.

As mentioned, too many of our 'key' players on the pitch failed to turn up. Not sure I understood the logic behind the subs tonight either.

Overall disappointing. Wasteful. I laughed at the Defoe goal being disallowed. The agenda is alive and well there. The penalty, no complaints. Webb would have collapsed and fainted had he not been given the chance to point to the spot at least once in the course of the game.

We are lacking edge. We sort of know it deep down but go along for the ride and hope they surprise us. But until we get hold of someone in midfield who can push forward and dominate in offensive positions I think we'll continue to flirt with 4th spot but never quite pull her panties down.

It's getting boring now, all the epic fails and facepalms away from home. It was a good opportunity to get something out of this game. Nut sadly, not enough craft, guile or belief.

Onwards. Dirty Leeds up next, then Fulham at home.

Heads up, plenty more twists to come.

Liverpool v Spurs: End it

16 years. 65 games, 21 draws, 44 defeats.

Our staggeringly limp and pathetic away record to the 'top four' sides. Unlike other clubs who achieve moderate success on their travels, sometimes providing a shock - we seem to suffer from a self-inflicted psychological problem that stops us from ever getting further than a shared point. We choke and disappoint. I've never been certain of the exact cause. Is it over-confidence? Is it mis-placed belief? Do we perceive ourselves us equals when we should play like underdogs? Should we be more bullish perhaps, more tactically astute? Or should we go for the kill, with no room for respect? Maybe it's simply a curse that relates to fan expectation that somehow causes fragility of the players akin to a big egg falling off a wall, beyond repair. On top of the underlying issue, year upon year of disappointment in these games is going to have a continuing detrimental effect that compounds it further. Although the same could be said of the 16 years of hurt in games against Chelsea until we found the testicular fortitude to turn it around and have since vastly improved our standard against them. As it should be.

One thing is for certain. There must never be fear. Or uncertainty. Big ask that, knowing how powder-puff we can be. A winners mentality is of course birthed from winning.

You know what, I'm sick to death with all the defeatism (i.e. the above paragraph and the fact it had to be mentioned) and also the unnecessary war cry or two that we tend to hear pre-match (remember Robbie Keane's before the game at the Emirates?) I know they're just sound-bites, the type that all players dish out, but it always seems to work against us. A clue perhaps that our players are trying to talk themselves into believing they can.

Liverpool are wounded. Not quite dead and more than able to sit up in a position where a sudden jolt forward and jump up is not beyond the realms of possibility as they land a surprise punch square in our face. But they are still wounded and any crafty movement can be telegraphed if we know what to look for. Their performances lack their usual combination of guile and quality. Instead, they remain fragmented thanks mostly to the gradual drain of confidence and the pressures on their manager. But they've proved more than capable in the past when playing without Gerrard or Torres. Granted, they had Alonso too back then. The fact is, who cares? Sod 'em. Kick 'em when they're down.

This still shouldn't be perceived as 'easy' and we must earn the right from kick-off to own the field, ignoring the predictions of others. Considering the various sub-plots at play it will be (hopefully) highly entertaining.

So simply this; from our perspective we must get at them. Pressure and chase the ball when not in possession and bloody well be ruthless when presented with an opportunity in front of goal (you hear that JJ?). Their fans will no doubt be making ear-bleeding noise. Lap it up. Play like the home side, make them worry about us. Attack them. Destroy them. I want to see Rafa cry.

No Huddlestone this evening, which means Jenas has to use his pace. If there's a game that is crying out for one of his rare uber-performances, this is it. Box to box devastation please (stop laughing).

Still no Lennon (could be out a little longer than expected) and we'll have to wait whether its Crouch up front with Defoe or if Robbie gets his chance against his boyhood team. The defence need to keep an eye on Kuyt and the flanks.

We are 4th. We have dropped important points at home. Points that might have had us comfortably in 3rd. We are now at that point in the season where we must be making strides forwards, the type that aids the mentality of the team in a positive manner and turns hope into something quantifiable. No more talk, plenty of action.

I want to believe.

But I wont be able to personally influence the outcome of the game. Not unless someone emails me the hotel Howard Webb is staying in. It's up to the players. The faith they have in themselves. Either they prove to us they're good enough or they can settle for the status quo. I'm not suggesting this is the be all and end all of our season. Rather it being an opportunity, a stage, to make a statement. One that screams 'we don't give a fucking shit about anything other than the three points'.

90 minutes and a bit of injury time and we'll all know.

COYS.