Chimbonda gone - Was he ever 'here'?

Pascal Chimbonda has joined Blackburn Rovers for around £2M (according to the SSN ticker). Re-signed by us as cover, he hardly got a look in which does make me question the ethics of the transfer in the first place. He's a right-back than can play centre-back and at a push (a big push) can also slot into the left-back position (just not that well). And yet we hardly saw anything of him when he made his return from Sunderland.

I guess he was cover (insurance) that we didn't actually ever have to use. And we have Gareth Bale, Kyle Naughton and if need be O'Hara and Corluka (and even Bassong) to cover if need be in an emergency so he's quite obviously surplus to requirements. Even more so then when he signed for us a second time.

Some of you may even remember the rumour that did the rounds concerning how Sunderland still owed us the transfer money (or part of it) from signing Shimbo and that we then wrote it off by taking the player back for nothing. Regardless, it's proved to be a massive waste of time.

Good luck up there. Do try and turn up for Big Sam's training sessions.

Elsewhere, Osman Chávez is on trial. Honduran centre/fullback that our very own Wilson rates (and suggested we take a look at). He's 25 years old, has played for his country (20 caps) and his nicknamed 'El Tierno' (which translates as 'The Tender'). I'm guessing that's one of those ironic nicknames, much like us christening Palacios as 'The Gentle'. Might turn out to be shrewd signing this (with Kings long standing knee troubles and Woody/Dawson both on the sidelines). Of course, it's dependent on how impressive he is during the trial. Fingers crossed.

Other bit of news concerns an alleged bid for Internacional defensive midfielder Sandro Ranieri. Not heard of him? He's the U-20 Brazil captain and meant to be pretty tasty. Solid with the tackles and strong with great technique - he might be that extra bit of steel required. No idea how good his creative skills are. If true, then it looks like we've given up on Sissoko.

Under a week to go now before the window closes. Looks like we should expect 2 players at the very least to join. Possibly a 3rd if you fancy taking Pav's words concerning his want for a transfer away at face value. I'm taking it with a pinch of salt mainly because we are treated with Roman's moans every other month. Still, will he actually get a sustained run in the team to prove himself a £14M player? You can understand why he would want to leave if he's going to sit on the bench unless a key player picks up an injury. Does mean we need to look at a 'back up player' for that 4th striker place.

Any ideas?

Hold on. Need more salt.

'1-0 in your Cup (semi) final'

I know I said we should not read too much into pre-season friendlies, and we should definitely not get too excited about reaching the final of the Asia Cup (cough) but there are still plenty of positives to be taken from the uber-comfortable 1-0 win against a very inept West Ham United. Compared to the way we played against Celtic, it was nice to see some sustained effort from all players present.

O'Hara was industrious. Palacios commanding, which is nothing less than expected from him. Jamie might just have a place in the squad as decent cover. The pair of them in central midfield actually allowed for more creative freedom from other areas of the side, although I'd much prefer a slightly more creative partner for Wilson in the middle. Jenas, absent due to injury. We'll have to wait a little longer to see the return of a Palacios-JJ combo.

Pav looked sharp, far better movement and touch than for long periods last season and should have scored if it wasn't for the pesky post getting in the way. And he worked well alongside Defoe, who should have scored a brace.

Having Keane on in the second half alongside JD sort of proved that the reason these two struggle to play well together is because they appear to bring out the greed in each other, shooting when passing is the better option.

Naughton continues to impress. Has some great qualities about him (calm and versatile and very quick).

Modric was Modric. The usual class act. He will be VITAL for us this season.

Huddlestone wasn't too shabby either, although he's no centre-back. Talking of which, we need to sign one between now and the start of the season as Dawson and Woodgate look set to miss the big kick-off and Ledley is, well, he's Ledley...so we can't assume he'll be 100% for the Liverpool game.

As for Livermore, I like the cut of his job. Very confident on the ball. We might see quite a bit of this lad this season. More so than Bostock and Rose. Finally might be able to celebrate a break-through player from the academy. Rejoice!

As for lickle West Ham, they looked a mess. Unfit and disorganised and lacking any bite up front. Flattered them the final score really. Still, 1-0 (a little credit shared by Rob Green) does once more suggest that we don't take our chances during periods of dominance. Bit more composure and luck in front of goal required.

Still, let's not read too much into it, right?

Chimbo, Pav and Bent: Love them. Hate them.

Morning. More DML awards celebrating the end of the 2009 season. Enjoy.

Most Confusing Transfer

Imagine buying something from a shop. Second hand, but it's in decent nick. You try to get the best out of the item but it leaves you feeling a little empty. And as time goes by you actually get a little annoyed with having it laying around the house, unused. So, you stick it on eBay and not long after you've sold it for a tidy sum. You replace the item with one or two new ones which you are more than happy with and you get on with your life. Then, not long after, you get back on eBay and buy the original item back. No real reason. It was just there. Available. It's back in your ownership. Only to then leave it laying around the house once more unused.

Welcome to the Pascal Chimbonda Show. A transfer shenanigan too far. I'm not going to mention Willie McKay and his ties to Harry and the fact he is Pascal's agent. Apart from just then. Let's move on.

In pure footballing terms I attempted to justify the return of Chimbo by telling myself that we have got him back to do a specific job. Utility Man. He's a right-back but he can play on the left (not that well) and as a centre-back (not too shabby) so we have plenty of cover if need be and considering our plight at the time, we needed some cover and strength. I'm probably wrong, but I can only remember one appearance made since he re-signed. He might have made more. But I'm struggling to even remember the appearance that I do remember, well sort of remember. Corluka has slotted into the centre-back position when required. Before his injury, Dawson helped out if King was unavailable. Hutton - who has been lost to injury for an absolute age and prior to it was having a nightmare season on the pitch, has found himself back in the first team ahead of Pascal. Although there might be an element of 'shop window' with that - who knows. As for the left-side, that belongs to BAE.

Honestly, why did we re-sign this bloke if he never plays? Answers, postcard…etc.


The Honorary Rebrov Award for Patience

He's tired. Unfit. Russian. Can't speak the language. New to the country. New to English culture. Living in a hotel (until recently). Spotted in Waltham Abbey Tesco with a man-bag. Played a full Russian season and the European Championships. Did I mention he's tired?

Roman Pavlyuchenko was signed for £14M as a Robbie Keane replacement. Or was he meant to be a Berbatov replacement? Or was he meant to be a brand new type of forward altogether? His own man.

He turned up all smiles (a vast improvement on the sulky Bulgarian) but failed to make the same type of impact, leaving us with frowns. Once more, much like Bentley, several sound-bites started to do the rounds about how (as mentioned already) Roman was tired and unfit and possibly injured. Rushed into playing for Spurs and thus making things more difficult for him to adapt. Not his fault we were desperate to have someone who could help get us out of the bottom of the table, but typical Spurs that we would force the issue with a brand new signing in this manner. Even more typical Spurs that we would sign Roman in the first place. For the money we did. All things considered, when you've just lost two big players in Keane and Berbatov you need to make sure that the money spent is for a can-hit-the-ground-running type of forward. Berba took his time to adapt and get into the swing of things, but you could tell he oozed class and was doing everything else fine. Then the goals flowed.

With Roman, you want to believe he will have something to offer when he is completely refreshed and content with life in England. But at the moment, all we see is a player with that apologetic Bambi look about him, failing to control the ball with his first touch and always ballooning it over the bar when he has time to look up and shoot. He can stick them away ok when in front of goal. Poaching isn't a problem for him. And he can hold the ball up fairly well. But there is no obvious stand-out vision or that little spark of world-class about him. For an extra £6M or so we could have signed Arshavin (or possibly not considering that Zenit were/are a pain the backside to deal with). But you get my point. £14M for someone who isn't 100% is a massive massive gamble especially when it all feels like the second prize in a raffle.

Shades of when we signed Armstrong and Arsenal signed Bergkamp.

I've been a stern defender of Roman from the start. Ask "the bloke who stands next to me with all the sound-bites" at the Lane. He thinks the player is f**king shit. And many others think we've spunked a ton of money (again) on the wrong type of striker.

Interpreter running up and down the training field translating instructions, whispers of a transfer away and and struggle to learn English - one or two are expecting him to move on (escape) shortly. Others would prefer to see how he performs after a summers rest and decent pre-season. He could still turn out to be great. But that would mean that what we've seen so far (all the negative stuff) is down to circumstances fitness and that he can actually shoot on target from distance and does have a silky first touch.

One positive, and it's a big one I guess, is that regardless of the criticism, he's still notched up several goals. So he can't be that bad, can he?

Which brings me onto...


Much Maligned Player of the Season

He's our top goal scorer. And yet he is perceived as the most likely to be sold in the summer months. Here's a player that at one point wasn't considered as good as Harry Redknapps wife. A player that many Spurs fans believe is not right for our side. Too one-dimensional. Can only really play to full effect if we take up a Charltonesque style of counter-attacking football. Type of tactic that works away from home, where Bent has has plenty of success. In any other type of formation he struggles. He struggles because he doesn't offer that much in the way of team play. It's a running joke, counting the amount of times he touches the ball in a game. He can disappear for long periods and appear isolated. He doesn't come deep or bring others into the game. He just floats around. Goal-hangs if you will.

So what does Darren Bent to exactly?

He scores. Whether it flies off his ankle or hits his bum, Darren Bent sticks the ball into the onion bag.

So, why do we not rate him again?

The argument in support of Bent usually sounds like this: ''Well he scores goals, so what else do you want? Isn't the point of a forward to score goals? Does it matter how he scores them as long as he does?"

It's a good point isn't it? But would you say he is as consistent as a Gary Lineker? Or offers more to us than Jermain Defoe? People who do not rate him will be quite vocal in the fact that - for example - a partnership of Keane and Berbatov will offer an abundance more than a partnership of Keane and Bent. So for £16M you'd expect to have a player who can create and craft and generally offer a lot more than just, well, scoring.

I know, I know. It's sort of a paradox. But the point is - we could have someone in there who is overall a more all-round type of forward.

The irony is, we are linked with the likes of Jones (Heskey clone) and already have Pavlyuchenko.

Better the devil you know? I'm wondering, if he does end up going, whether we end up regretting it.

I'm going to gamble and say: No. No we won't.

More awards on their way.

For the full list, including the previous DML Award articles, just click here. Or use the tag below this post.

Spurs 2 City 1 - Sunshiiiiiiiiiine in North London for the Lilywhites

Quintessential game of two halves this. First forty-five we were irresistible. Huddlestone in sublime form, pinging the ball around majestically, getting stuck in and giving us a subtle nod that selling him in the summer might be a regretful action. The formation (not the expected 3-5-2 that sort of worked for a point up at Everton) was working a treat at the Lane. Pav and JD upfront, Keane out ‘the wing’ as a Lennon understudy. Hudd and JJ in the middle of the park. No Bale and Hutton. A 4-4-2 that morphed into a 4-3-3 with Keane pushing forwards from the right.

Defoe had an effort smartly saved by Given. A Pav shot from the edge of the box came close. City had nothing in the way of a response as Huddlestone marshalled the midfield in that wonderful chest pumped out manner that he treats us to now and again. So no surprise that JD scored from a Tommy assist. Wonderful cross, exactly where Defoe wanted it, and he aptly finished with a cheeky back-heel. 1-0.

It was at this point I noticed a Liam Gallagher look-a-like in one of the executive boxes, offering out the Spurs fans in the Shelf-side, which turned out to be.....well, Liam Gallagher, obviously. Cue five minutes or so of some first class banter including a chorus of ‘Can we write a song for you’  and 'You’re just a shit Chas’n’Dave’. Liam took it well, laughing and applauding. I still think the moment, at the start of it all, where he stood there in a Jesus pose and signing to one fan ‘I’ll see you outside’ and then doing the same thing to around 10,000 Lilywhites was hilarious. Although he managed to piss off a fan in the exec box to the right of him and was told off in the second half when he re-appeared from inside the exec box to goad everyone when City made it 1-1.

Talking of which, what a disappointing second half.

I guess at 1-0, it’s not that much of a difficult task for Mark Hughes to bollock his players and have them start the second forty-five with a little more urgency and energy. When do we ever score a second killer goal at the Lane? There was a fine moment in the first half that saw the impressive Huddlestone dink the ball into the box for Keane to brilliantly control it, but then fail to connect. Something he did a few times in the course of the game. The “bloke who sits next to me with loads of sound-bites” noted that Robbie has the look of a player that can’t wait for the summer months to kick in. A player with a broken heart having seen his Anfield dream implode rather quietly. He does work hard, and it’s something many of us seem to miss or just ignore, because his final product isn’t the Keane of old. Re-energising is the name of the game for our Robbie. Defoe was lively, and Pav was...well, I’ll come back to Roman later.

The point is, we didn’t get a second goal which might have made things far more comfortable in the second half. Corluka took over at centre-back with Woodgate off, and Hutton coming on into the right-back position. Our shape was lost.

We were gradually over-run by City’s midfield and there was no great surprise when Benjani headed down for Bojinov to fire home the equaliser, sending the City fans and Liam wild.

Ominous stuff. Where was the tactical change from Redknapp? Why was it not enforced earlier in the game? Bugbear for many Spurs fans is that Harry doesn’t change things quickly, and lingers on for a bit. When the changes did happen (Zokora came on for JJ and Campbell on for Pav) things changed for the good.

Roman is a player I’ve defended on several occasions this season. He’s tired/not fully fit/struggling to settle in England is the usual commentary you’ll get from me and others. But sadly, maybe this is all wishful thinking that he will somehow improve next season. It has that air or Rebrovesque doom about it.

He scores goals. Not as many as Bent does, who is almost certainly on his way. But other than that, he’s a bit of a soft touch. Apologetic with his mannerisms. Falls over far too easily, has a worrying first touch and as illustrated by the easy chance he had in the second half (which then led to his substitution) which he fluffed wide, Roman seems to be more average than a player who is out of form. Maybe I’ve been infected by a knee-jerk virus, but I heard the name ‘Raziak’ mentioned half a dozen times on Saturday and have noticed other bloggers use the not so endearing term to describe our £14M striker.

Best move of the game was his sulk down the tunnel, which Harry joked about post-match. Bent and Pav out? Could see us make Campbell a permanent signing if he’s far cheaper than the £7M Wigan were set to pay. The fourth striker should be a young and hungry kid who is willing to sit on the bench. Which means, we just need another forward to come in to give us a more than decent trio (that will obviously include Keane and JD).

I’m sure it will all take shape in the next few months. Let’s not forget our young player of the year Jonathan Obika. It’s time academy players got their chance to shine for the first team.

Ok, side-tracked, back to the game. Campbell’s relentlessly running resulted with Micah Richards falling over him and bringing him down for a penalty that Robbie Keane had no problem slotting away to win it for us with around 4 minutes of normal time left. Liam nowhere to be seen. City fans heading for the exit, something that's a tradition in recent years when visiting the Lane for a league match.

No second goal from open play then, but who cares. We probably deserved all three points for that first half display.

Our home form has been stunning.

P22 W15 D6 L1 F41 A18

Sixteen games unbeaten in all competitions (Everton the last team to win at the Lane back in late November). And to add to that, the fewest league goals we’ve ever conceded at the Lane, in a season. Boring boring Tottenham.

It's not perfect, but credit to Harry and his management. White Hart Lane is no soft touch.

Fulham look set for the Europa League, which they might struggle with considering it’s an additional 17 games or so. We’ll have to concentrate on the Prem, which isn’t too bad of a priority. And leaves us with no room for excuses.

So that’s it. Players waved their goodbyes. Ledley King didn’t look too impressed when the home fans sang ‘If Ledley’s going clubbing, so am I....’ . Lennon won our player of the year award, which he is more than worthy for after a blistering return to form.

Will Gomes still be here next season? Can we swap Jenas for Ireland? Will Harry sign Barton? Why does Bentley never get a game for us even though he's fit and scoring goals for the reserves? Is the first-half Huddlestone worth keeping when compared to the second-half version? Where was Arsenal fan Noel? Questions, questions...

Onwards to Anfield now. Might stick a few bob on Keane scoring the winner in front of the Kop.

Spurs 1 WBA 0 - Another one-nil, another three points

What a pulsating 45 minutes. Exhilarating stuff. Had me on the edge of my seat, salivating. I was truly memorised. But enough about my journey home from the game sat opposite a gorgeous twenty-something brunette with eyes that would melt the heavens. A couple of hours earlier I found myself witnessing a frustrating afternoon’s football in our penultimate home game of the season.

It was an awkward, average, lacklustre performance. Little movement, plenty of backs to the ball moments. But still good enough to see off WBA who for all their attempted efforts to play tidy looking football lacked any punch and only had chances when we were more than inclined to allow them to bypass our defence. They did come close to scoring on more than one occassion. Thankfully Gomes (and the woodwork) was on top form to help us to a 6^th successive home clean sheet (boring or what?).

This is the type of game (against a club fighting for its top flight life) that could have been tricky and although we were not exactly on-song, we were not exactly under any real prolonged threat. Team cohesion was a mess at the best of times. But to win, 1-0, and not play great is something I will quite happily take. Although during the course of the game I did find myself momentarily infected by the despondency and knee-jerking that was spreading around WHL faster than swine flu in a Mexican pig farm. Shame on me.

Pav started up front with Robbie Keane and it seems that with Darren Bent out and possibly on his way out, we have a new recruit to the School of the Much Maligned. In parts, he did ok. Not £14M’s worth of ok. But still ok. He holds up the ball, shields it and lays it off very well. Perfect foil for a player of Defoe’s ilk. It’s a shame JD was on the bench for most of it.

Pav does still struggle when he has time and has to aim and shoot at goal. As the chap next to me (he's a paragon of soundbites which I'm happy to plagiarise) pointed out - why does Jenas not have a crack anymore when it comes to free-kicks? We all know it’s one of the things he’s pretty useful at. Pav’s effort was poor considering the gap in the wall that was begging for a toe-poke thunderbolt. Our Russian star also had another effort ballooned over. But at least he gave it a go and I know we are all hoping that the excuses concerning the fact he is rusty/injured/tired prove to be the case when we see a fully refreshed Roman blitz the Prem next season.

Robbie Keane on the other hand needs to spend 90 minutes on the bench as he’s lost a little fire from the belly. Although kudos to his undeniable method-acting abilities, showed off when an awful first touch saw the ball leave the field of play by about 5 inches but still we all had to endure Robbie giving us all a confused look, surveying all before him pondering how and why the throw was given to the opposition. Marvellous disassociation.

Did you hear the booing when Roman was subbed late on for Defoe and the follow-up song in support of the Russian? Seems one or two would have preferred to see Robbie Keane taken off. Moody atmosphere all round today, with loads of complaints and shrugs of disappointment. We had below par performances from some of the players, but ffs, get a grip. It happens.

Talking of which, Keano was out done by a virtuoso humdinger by Corluka who at one point in the second half seemed to waddle* forward like an escapee from a fat farm. Damn it, I just can’t help being hypocritical. I’m conflicted. Still, he did charge forward in the first half, laying off a pass that Jenas lapped up for our goal. And that's all that matters, right?

Out of interest, feel free to contact me if you have a clue why Pascal Chimbonda was re-signed. Honestly, if you have photographic evidence that he’s actually still in the country I’m willing to pay a tidy sum for it. Someone emailed me a photo of a man in a bar in Goa who might or might not be Pascal. Need something more conclusive tbh.

Another player who had an off-day was BAE. Ok, that’s unfair. He recovered after a shabby first half, but not to the standard he’s spoilt us with in recent months. Not quite an off-day, more like a half-day. But it’s all forgivable because it was against a WBA who really had to win and give it their all. We let them push forward with intent too often. And it didn't help that our players got in each other’s way (almost colliding on occasions), but we created enough chances to win the game by a far greater margin. But like most home games in recent months, 1-0 will do.

I would have much preferred us to swagger and swoon around the pitch giving the fans and our special guests (Mackay, Jones, Smith and co) something to crow about at the final whistle. It’s forgivable because if it was a quality side we might have suffered. But then against quality sides we tend to up the tempo by default.

Even so the game did have its moments and there were some great touches and moments of vision, just not polished enough with the final ball. Modric was (rub your eyes and scratch your head!) a little off-key with some of his passing, but was still one of our better players. Lennon was menacing. Once (if) he gets his composure sorted in front of goal, he’s going to be some player. I hope the club can see the potential in Aaron and goal-scoring. He could easily get us 15 or more if he learns when to shoot and where to aim. He can score, we’ve seen him place some wonderful shots, but he seems to suffer a little when he has to much time to think about where exactly he needs to place the ball.

Well done to that man Gomes and his reflexes. Couple of belting saves. Worst keeper in the Prem ever, hey Hansen?

Palacios was the man though, blink and you see him on the right, blink again and he's over on the left. He was practically everywhere, biting and niggling away, winning tackles. He showed the type of tenacity the rest of the side should have had. Wilson also knows when to commit yellow-card fouls that benefit the team, although it’s a dangerous game to play. But I’m not complaining. No really, three points another clean sheet. I’ll take this for now as we continue to push forward after half a season spent walking backwards.

The goal that won it was the first effort that was placed with precision and pace towards goal. JJ the man of the moment. JD also scored in the second half, but it was deemed offside. Which it wasn’t. Which was a shame.

As for Jenas, it was another one of those Marmite days out for him. He's still a curious conundrum that remains unsolved.

WBA now look doomed. And with City (superior goal difference) and West Ham winning, and Wigan and Fulham still in the mix – I don’t think 7^th will happen based on the final three games of the season. Think West Ham will make it. We’ll have to all move to Mars if that happen.

/rolls eyes so hard they pop out of my head.

Additional: My Spurs/Barca double won through. What a game at the Bernabeu. Madrid spanked out of the title race by a stunning away day decimation from the Catalans. Liquid football.

*Stolen from the chap who stands next to me

Hello Goodbye - In comes Defoe, out goes Bent

So is it really goodbye Darren Bent? Out injured for two weeks, it’s doubtful we’ll see him again this season which means next time we do, he’ll be holding up a shirt for his new club and smiling to the cameras. Much maligned Bent© has been in useful form with the odd ball in the onion bag trickery in recent weeks. Let’s not go over old ground relating to goal-ratio V what does he do with regards to team-play? argument, as it’s more than obvious that Harry has already decided he will be one of the players moving on.

Whether David Bentley is another casualty remains to be seen. He’s also been cited by Harry in his pre-match interview. Suggestions that Lennon and Modric are ahead of him in the selection process. Suggesting the bloody obvious or what. Although if David’s nightmare has been because of personal problems (as he stated) then he should buckle up and prove himself rather than scarper off to another club. Wasn’t it his dream to play for his boyhood club? Well, one of them. I think pro-footballers tend to have around 3-4 boyhood clubs they dream of representing. If little Aaron got injured, then who would cover him? Keep the Bentley. Just needs a wash and polish to sparkle again.

If you can’t tell, Harry has been busy with various sound-bites and a key one is the suggestion that Roman is very much in his plans. Something Pav’s agent has also confirmed by stating that it’s unlikely the Russian will be moving on. But then again, when do we ever believe football agents? Not sure whether we’ll see Pav tomorrow or not. He’s in the squad but so is Jermain Defoe who’s had a more than difficult time recently on a personal level. Could be quite emotional for the lad on Saturday if he plays and scores. I’m glad we have him back and I’m sure he’ll get another rapturous reception.

After the dramatics of last weekend, I’m looking forward to a more simplistic outcome tomorrow. If we don’t concede it will be a sixth successive clean sheet at White Hart Lane. I’m hoping we do the business offensively, rack up that goal advantage and just try to reclaim a little bit of that buzz we had when we were 2-0 up at Old Trafford.

Are you bothered with Europe? I can't decide whether the extra 16 (or whatever it is) games will distract us from the league (which has to be the priority next season - I wouldn't mind seeing an attempt at pushing for 5th spot) or whether playing in the Europa League/Uefa Cup will allow Harry to 'play the kids'. Although it's not an impossible competition to win. But taking it seriously means we need a strong squad. Stronger. If Champions League clubs can fight for the title and the CL then (on a lesser level) I guess we could do the same with 5th spot and the Uefa Cup (can't get use to Europa). I think I just bothered myself into being pro-Europe.

Regardless, there is still a matter of mathematics and if we want the bonus of Europe we need to beat WBA and City at home and do more than well at Everton and Liverpool. Over to you Harry and the boys. Hopefully we can turn it on.

Talking of turning it on, Juande Ramos (just one league defeat since taking the helm at Real Madrid) is looking for a win in El Classico to close the gap with Barca to just one point. Could be some game that. Love a bit of La Liga. It’s been a stunning managerial performance from the ex-Spurs man, one that might just earn him the job on a permanent basis. See – this is what happens when you apply yourself, give it 100% and select players in their right positions and have clear tactics. Us over here in N17 might not have the ‘superstar’ players, but we had more than enough for Ramos to assert his authority and style of play on the team. Our squad wasn't (isn't) exactly below average in terms of ability. And although there was much made of the signings being a mish-mashed selection of players reminiscent of different pieces from various jigsaw puzzels - it should not have ended in tears in the manner it did.

Which means he failed because he struggled with England and the EPL, or his methods didn’t quite get through to our players. You don’t need to point towards the difference in class of some of our players in comparison to the not-so-Galactico-but-still-sublime Madrid squad. Fact is, Harry has the same group of players (with additions) than Ramos had for the best part of last season, the pre-season and the opening eight games of this season. Maybe he tried too much too quickly and confused the fuck out of everyone.

Eight games. Two points.

And let's remember, Madrid were in a God awful slump before Ramos turned up there and changed things around. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Seems Harry and Juande aided the re-discovery of confidence for  their respective clubs. The only thing that's been proved wrong is the suggestion that Ramos could replicate his La Liga form at a club outside of Spain.

Not that Ramos is suggesting anything himself. It’s more a case of the tabloids doing that thing they do with words. But the suggestion made is we made a mistake in sacking him. But we all know that’s a little daft. The mistake was offering him that dizzying contract in the first place. Although at the time some (including me) felt it might work based on what he had achieved at Sevilla. And that’s the crux of it. To reiterate, he’s obviously far batter over there than he is over here. And the underlining feeling I get is that he is a little more bothered by his current job than he was when he looked like a lost kitten in Battersea Dogs when employed by Daniel Levy.

I’m sticking £10 on a Spurs/Barca double tomorrow.

Roman holiday a nightmare according to the oracle Oleg

So I'm sitting here wondering whether it's worth blogging today as it's not quite time to preview the WBA game just yet (tomorrow is more suitable) and the assortment of current transfer stories doing the rounds are not worthy of a second glance, as they are the usual textbook agent-tabloid hybrid of half truths that are there to serve the purpose of cluttering up the sports pages to give it a more busy appearance.

(Sid....in 3...2...1 to point out I'm doing the exact same thing with this article).

Michel Bastos (the Lille midfielder) is the current 'target' mentioned in the press if you fancy you-tubing him. It's been doing the gossip rounds for a couple of days now, so I'm sure you've already checked out examples of the 'hardest left-foot in the French league'. Maybe we can sign him just so he can aim his boot at David Bentleys arse.

Elsewhere, one of our youth players broke the legs of an Arsenal youth player. Not outside a pub or anything equally distressing but in a league game for their respective loan clubs. Other than the FA writing to Jenas to explain himself over his comments about Howard Webb, there's not much else going on. Although there's always Harry and his mouth.

Harry has spoken about how Spurs are a big club and breaking the Top 4 is a huge task. He then goes and mentions the two scary words that seem to always plight our progression: Champions League.

Let's not talk about 'C' 'L' or refer to it. Considering that Ramos was meant to be the key to the elite door I think it's a little early to be hoping Harry has had a replacement cut. And as we all know that using a credit card to unlock the door doesn't work, breaking in by smashing the back window is highly unlikely as we don't quite have the bottle for that at present. With the right tools....perhaps?

One step at a time.

But yeah, other than that. Nowt to talk about. Yes, I'm lagging behind on recent news items and thus lacking anything to comment on. That was until I ventured over to Harry Hotspur's blog and read this. Something else I managed to miss first time round.

So, Mr Oleg Romantsev apparently thinks we play kick-and-run football with the not so sassy stylistics of physical play and an abundance of battling qualities. Such is the simplistic standard of these tactics that they deserve to exist at an amateur level. Oleg's words.

Maybe Levy can move the Tottenham franchise to Russia.

Oleg then educates us further with his insight, informing us that Pav prefers more technical football and that Arshavin was far luckier in signing for Arsenal (who apparently play in the Spartak style which is made up of technical play with plenty of short passes and running and unorthodox moves).

Right firstly, Arshavin was lucky in signing for Arsenal because they were the only club that wanted to talk to Zenit. He is also (hate to say it) far far far more technical than Pav is. So I doubt very much that them lot over there would have ever considered a bid for Pav. As for Spartak playing football like the scum, well, there's a bunch of kids at the bottom of my road who kick the football around and they too attempt to play short passing football wearing yellow Samba shirts - that doesn’t mean they're any fucking good, does it?

As for unorthodox moves, does that involve spitting? Need clarification on whether Spartak play the Arsenal way to the finest detail.

With the greatest respect, the Russian league can not be compared with the English PL. As for Arshavin, he would have fitted into the Spurs team just fine. A bit like that other bloke. The Bulgarian. He wasn't too shabby with the technical stuff, and seemed to play fine in a team famed for their amateurish physical battling style. Except for the fact that we are not Bolton Wanderers.

We might not be technically outstanding, but we remain a side that always attempts to play the ball on the floor, whether its short passing movements or cross field balls to feet. We are easy on the eye, and when we turn it on, we look mightly impressive.

Which makes me wonder whether Oleg is simply making stuff up and acting as some kind of transfer beacon for Pav who might well be looking at a quick summer getaway.

If Roman and Spurs are happy in their relationship, then the only thing to say is....Oleg mate, lay off the vodka.

Spurs Soccer Wednesday – midweek round-up

The aftermath of a West Ham game is always (usually) a joy. If I applied myself I could probably write up a dissertation on the complexities of opposing football fan rivalry. Especially the one that exists between Spurs and the Hammers. We claim the game is their Cup final and that they are obsessed with us. They claim that we are so self-important that we believe in the misconception that we think they are obsessed with us. I’m not going to go down this road again as it’s long been drowned in a sea of stereotypes. But will note it’s nice to listen to all their excuses including the gem about not having the luxury of removing a £16M forward and replacing him with a £14M international. Shame on us.

Talking of widely expensive players, remember David Bentley? Scored a brace for the reserves against Arsenal the other night. Perhaps we need to replace goals with skips for when he runs out for the first team?

As for goals, Pavlychenko has had to wait patiently for an opportunity in recent games, coming off the bench to score the winner against the Irons. Fighting talk from the Russian (in Russian) about self belief and getting himself back into the fold. Pav’s interpreter still apparently runs up and down the sidelines barking out translations. Harry, not missing a trick, told the press he (the interpreter) even scored a goal in training. That Redknapp cracks me up. I know if an English player moved to Russia he’d perhaps struggle to learn Russian, but no doubt he’d muddle through thanks to the fact that English is used so widely the world over. If he still can’t speak it at the start of next season, or at least speak enough to get him by, then sympathy will be non-existent from me. Pav, Keane, Defoe with an additional ‘young player’ as the 4th option (with Bent sold) will do the trick. But I get this nagging feeling that if Sunderland go down, Jones will sign which means Pav will be moved on. Just a feeling. Can't see Harry 'not tinkering' here and there.

One player going nowhere is Aaron Lennon. Congratulations to the lad for being nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year. He’s up against Agbonglahor, Evans, Ireland, Rafael and Young. Has a decent chance IMO, but reckon Young or Ireland will get the nod. Aaron and Spurs are at the same cross-road they found themselves at a couple of years back. Not quite a flat tire this time round, just stalled. Harry has talked about the stagnation of Lennon’s progress and that previous coaches have failed to develop him. He's taking the credit for it but improving end product has to be the continuing priority along with some additional smarts, like telling him to run into midfield and attack centrally when he finds himself isolated or trapped out on the wing. There is still plenty of work to be done. I’m not concerned too much by his drop of form. It’s been a long season and he’s been fairly consistent. He’s bound to tire out at some point.

Next.

Two points, eight games.

Cough.

Huddlestone has been linked to a move away from the club. Again. I touched on this in the match report for the West Ham game. Prior to that game Harry was telling everyone that Tom is a decent player and blah blah blah. Tom then starts the game and after the victory dust settles we are treated to countless reports that Tom ‘might need to look elsewhere for first team football’. An almost perfectly orchestrated transfer shop window advert. Fulham was one club I heard linked in the midst of the tabloid tatter. Probably wouldn’t be that bad of a move for him. He needs a club that will accommodate his strengths and compensate for his weakness. In other words, build a team around him. He needs to be loved.

Which brings me onto Jamie O’Hara. Jamie, Jamie, Jaime. Tut tut tut. Is he the 5th or 6th professional footballer that Danielle Lloyd has now bagged? Is there a shortage of women in the capital? Do footballers always opt for high maintance reality tv celebs for girlfriends because nice ordinary girls next door simply wouldn’t venture out to Faces or China White? Defoe has already been there. I guess Lloyd’s pocket-money from O’Hara won’t be as substantial as what JD could offer but she’s keeping it in the family, so no need to fret where the next Gucci shopping trip will come from. I’m guessing the cash she gets from posing for Nuts Magazine only covers the Jimmy Choo bill.

That’s it for the moment. Thanks for your patience, the blog has gone through some transformations over the Easter weekend. Apparently some of you prefer the old blue background and white text over the all white background. I reckon you’ll get use to it. I will however play around with the colours and see if a blue background works just as well on this template as it did on the previous host.

Ta.

Spurs 1 West Ham 0 - 'Tottenham Relegation Party' officially binned

For a London Derby this was more drib-drab than ding-dong. Pretty football in places, but otherwise no real intensity or tempo to the game. It was 'Safe from relegation' v 'Happy with a point'. Was actually bored an hour into it. Still, deserved to win on the basis of having more shots on goal. Apart from a tame second-half Di Michele shot (more composure and he would have scored), and couple of efforts in the first half...there wasn't much in the way of a threat from Zola's men.

And up until the Pav for Bent substitution we didn't really carve out much ourselves. No Palacios, and if there was ever a better advert that Spurs need to fork out for a young understudy with the same type of DM qualities, then this was it. Jenas appeared to be exposed, with no Wilson by the side of him. Almost like a young lad at the fairground having lost his father in the crowd. He seemed uncertain where and what to do without assured protection and confidence. No rollercoaster ride for Jermaine today.

What also lacked in abundance was dictation of tempo. Huddlestone started the game in the middle of the park. I should have guessed he'd be preferred to Zokora after Harry's comments to the press, complimenting Hudds 'quarterback' qualities. This was an opportunity for Tom to shine. Or if you're more cynical, the perfect 'shop window/increase value' showcase with the summer edging that little bit closer.

It was no Superbowl performance. But it wasn’t a bad effort. Tom's superb passing was evident as always along with his sweet strike of the ball. And he got forward more in the second half after Zokora replaced Jenas. Zoko's work rate allowed Huddlestone to roam a little more. Not sure if this was a tactical decision or one forced by injury to JJ, but either way - it worked a treat.

Hudd wasn't that shabby himself with defensive duties either and although it was no masterclass he showed enough to warrant a start alongside Palacios. He'll never cover more ground than Jenas does, but with Wilson protecting him he might find himself with far more time to ping balls and disguise passes to his heart’s content. We’ll have to wait and see if he gets the opportunity.

Bent, having performed admirable in recent games was back to his comfort zone, touching the ball once every twenty minutes. He came close with a header, but did little else. But that’s his game. Don’t get involved, but have a chance or two and sometimes score.

Lennon was also ineffective. Loads of running but no final ball and should have scored late on. It’s difficult to assess this. Has he been found out again? Much like two seasons back when he was tightly marked out of games? Or has his form simply dipped a little? Which happens, which is why I refuse to go all knee-jerky and suggest his England performance has gone to his head or that he’s been ‘found out’. He got himself into decent positions yesterday, maybe didn’t turn and run into space for Corluka to play him in as often as previous games but on an afternoon when the skies were grey and dark – so were one or two performances down on the pitch.

Keane spent most of the match deeper than Linda Lovelace. He was poor. And there was no moneyshot forthcoming.

The two obvious positive stand-outs were Gomes and Modric. No surprise with the latter - he oozes class. By no means a vintage performance, and took a while to settle in what was an untidy game early on. Created, always involved and hardly wasteful. Also set the goal up for Roman. Gomes was assured and confident. And didn’t falter when coming for crosses.

Prior to the introduction of Pav, I had this unnerving feeling that we would not score. ‘Just one of those afternoons’. And the longer the game goes on the more ominous it begins to feel. Then on came our Russian forward and the difference in class between him and Bent was evident almost immediately. Thanks to Guss for his kind midweek words.

Just a little touch of class was needed and it come with a wonderful finish. He actually looked good holding up the ball and linked well with the midfield. He got involved. Which is what you want from your forwards to do. It was a committed performance and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t start next weekend against Newcastle.

Even though the game was drib-drab in parts and lacked the usual blood and thunder of games of this ilk, I can’t complain about Harry’s tactics and selection or the performance as a whole. We were not bang on it by any stretch of the imagination, but you never felt West Ham (apart from one or two moments) ever had the capacity to brush us aside. Pretty passing, but also clumsy at times. Was impressed with Collins at the back and Noble in midfield. They were however, very much missing the touch of Carlton Cole up front (who would believe that sentence would ever make an appearance in a match analysis?).

Zola and Clarke should be applauded for the job they’ve done at Upton Park. Considering the players sold, they’ve not done too bad with the players they’ve been left with. As for Europe, Man City probably have the best chance to finish 7th based on the fixture list. We have to win our remaining home games, as the away days left are just a tad daunting. How would West Ham cope with the Prem and Europe if they managed to sneak it depends on how much money they have to spend on players in the summer. It could be too much for them. As for us, I wouldn’t say no to Europe, but then will probably change my mind again tomorrow. Would like the Prem to be a priority next season. Would be nice to spend it in 6-5th place from the start rather than struggle with another mess like this one.

Before the game kicked-off I told the chap next to me that I expected us to win. He agreed. When you have multi-million pound players in your starting line-up against a side that has to field a loanee and a Bosman with an academy player coming off the bench, you have to fancy your chances.

The day was complete when Redknapp reminded everyone about Two Points, Eight Games© in the post-match interview. Delighted. Our home record has been rather outstanding. Sure we haven't quite hit the giddy heights of last seasons ridiculous goal frenzy, but we are not conceding many at the Lane. Fortress WHL? We can only hope.

Something else that should not go without a mention was the penalty shout in the first half from the home support when it looked like a Claret and Blue defender handled in the area. Cries of handball rang out around the Lane and the West Ham fans lapped it up, shouting ‘Handball!’ every time a player touched the ball (something that began at Man City). It's the type of cheek you can’t help but smile at, even if it’s coming from the Green St lot. If it wasn’t enough that we went 1-0 up, the footballing Gods decided to stick a cherry on top and late on when there was a similar incident in the Spurs area and West Ham fans screamed ‘Handball!’ in desperation – a cue for us to spend the remainder of the game dishing it back at every given opportunity. There were still shouts after the game, in the streets outside and on the train’s home.

Triffic.

Do you rate Pavlyuchenko?

Pavlyuchenko apparently requires surgery for a groin injury. You'll have noticed he hasn't played a part in our recent games and the last thing I can remember from him (other than a missed penalty in a reserve match) was some quotes based around a complaint that he is struggling to learn English. This is largely thanks to his every day routine of hotel - breakfast - training - hotel - dinner - bed. Gruelling work schedule taking its toll there for Roman.

It's been pointed out that the club should be doing far more to make sure he develops his linguistic skills. The player still 'thinks' in Russian which means he has to attempt to translate what he wants to relay to his team-mates from Russian into English. Which, according to the player, is time consuming.

I'm miffed. Just call out the players name. You're not exactly gonna find the need to stand on the edge of the box and scream, 'Hey Aaron, Aaron, please strike the ball with the outside of your foot and lay it into my path. I'm going to sweetly strike it to the left of the goal'.

A simple yelp will suffice.

Pedanticisms aside, he is probably referring to the aftermath of a broken down attack when he needs to explain to the player who passed the ball to the right when he (Pav) was running to the left what space he intends to run into next time round. Again, arguably, all he has to do is point and wave his arms about and even speak his disgruntledness in Russian. The likelihood is his team-mate will understand the complaint far more clearly than anything coming out of Robbie Keanes mouth.

There's a lot that hasn't gone right for Pav since his move to the UK. Arguably, the guy is tired having playing several months of football in Russia in the snow before the Prem had kicked-off. He hasn't done too shabby considering the start of the season we've had (two points, eight games), but although he has scored himself into double figures - he hasn't scored that many in the league. He's a bit slow, and sometimes his first touch isn't great and his long shot efforts are poor - but he seems to find himself in the right place at the right time and unlike Darren Bent, he contributes far more and appears to be more adaptable to Harry's tactics. He's a decent goal-scorer. Maybe not one worth £14M on current showing, but we always pay far more than what the player is truly worth. Problem, arguably, is he doesn't quite excel in anything in particular and can't be defined in the same terms of importance in the same way Keane or Defoe can (with what they can offer on the pitch).

Is he over-rated? Guess we can't really judge him until 10 games into next season. Although even a 'tired' player should be showing us a little bit more in the way of ability. But at the minute, the tired excuse and the injury issue saves him from the knee-jerk 'Get rid of him!' brigade.

I like Pav. He's comes across as a bit daft (maybe something is lost in translation) in interviews, but he plays with a smile on his face. You just get this impression he's only playing at around the 60% mark.

Arshavin is fairly fluent in English, but then he's also probably fluent in Spanish, German and Italian as right up to the end of the transfer window he probably wasn't that sure where his final destination would be.

So, I guess it's down to what Harry thinks and what he plans to do with Keane, Defoe, Bent and Roman when the season draws to a close and the summer months transfer merry-go-round kicks off again.

Surely Spurs can keep him behind an hour or so after training every day for a lesson in the fine art of speaking the Queens English? Just lock him in a room and stick a Only Fools and Horses VHS in the video player, and he'll be fine as dandy in a month.

Based on what you've seen and in comparison to our other forwards - and taking into account we have 4 players who strive to be first-team players - should he stay or should he go? In your opinion, has he shown us enough?

If anyone happens to bump into him in the Waltham Abbey Tescos - say hello. And compliment him on his choice of Louis Vuitton manbag........in English. If he shrugs and mutters something in Russian spank his bottom and state 'NO! Bad £14M forward who hasn't settled in England yet'. Give him a stern look and shake your head, before slowly walking away with a despondent swagger.

That ought to tell him.

Defoe, Hutton, Pav and Silver: Some random thoughts

I was complaining earlier that there is currently a lull in newsworthy items to comment on. I was wrong. Found another three. Just like the buses, eh? Actually, make it four. Just thought of another one.

Defoe is on his way back to regaining full fitness, which will prove to be interesting with regards to how he'll fit into the team with Robbie Keane (captain) reclaiming his place as darling of the Lane. JD is exactly what we need in the run-in. He'll be hungry and determined to pick up where he left off. But does he partner Robbie up front? Can he partner Robbie? Does Keane go wide and Defoe partner Pav up front? Can anyone say 'here we go again'?

I'd like to see Robbie and JD play together, at least once or twice so we can find out once and for all if its workable. If by some miraculous miracle they'll connect on a different level to the limp ineffective Hobbitesque attempt of yesteryear - then happy days. Don't quite see how it will and also doubt Keane drifting from the wings would work either. As for the idea being laughed about concerning Keane taking a role in midfield and replacing Modric......behave yourselves.

Then there's Pav. He's stated that he's happy at Spurs and doesn't want to move. It's all dependent really on what Harry decides in the summer, but I guess Roman is reacting to one of the daily churned out quoteless made up stories which always seemed to be based on very little of anything. Personally believe we should stick with him. Hasn't scored a lot in the Prem (4 in about 22 I think) which is disappointing, but then it's not like he has been swaggering in a team of swaggering players. Berbatov took a while to adjust. Pav is not of the same quality as the Bulgarian but to dismiss him after a debut season is criminal. It's not like he's struggling ala Rebrov.

I say judge him based on next season. He's a team player, not the strongest or fastest on current assessment, but his movement is good and his finishing in front of goal more than decent. His finishing from further out and some of his decision making (lack of composure too) is where the concern begins to creep in. £14M, Russian International.....surely these qualities should be more apparent? Can I refer to the textbook response of 'he's tired/played 5 months in Russian league before joining us/can't speak the language/still adapting to English culture' etc etc? Which is why we need to be patient and see how he performs next term.

Now some of you are probably picking up a shitty stick and poking me with it along with accompanying eerie chanting:

"Darren Bent...Darren Bent...Darren Bent..."

Yes, yes. Top scorer. But of all the forward players we have, it's practically a certainty he will be the one to leave the club in the summer. Unless we start playing like Charlton, he won't be a success here - even with his decent goal ratio. We saw it, a very simplistic example, against Boro. Pav went off, Bent came on, Spurs struggled with their forward play. The flow disappeared. He doesn't fit in. Scoring goals apologetically is in no way a foundation to build on. Because if there has to be a plan B, he has no way of fitting into it. One dimensional football to appease his selection might produce a tasty goal ratio across several games, but stats aside - it doesn't breed quality team football.

Alan Hutton is also not far off from his return from a long injury lay off. He has a foot injury. Prefer not to dwell on any whispers being made to suggest otherwise. And when he is fit and able (and hopefully not as nervy as he was when he played in the Arsenal away game way back) it will mean we have him, Chimbonda and Gunter for the right back positions. And Corulka. Gunter is out on loan. Corluka works well on the right hand side with Lennon. Pascal has yet to reclaim any decent past form for us and was always a little suspect defensively - but is more than decent offensively. Although you could argue that when he does wonder forward he does so with little regard for the player who is then meant to cover him. Both Shimbo and Charlie can also play central along with King, Woodgate, Dawson. Hutton can only play right-back, the lazy git. You following this so far?

We have substantial cover at the back. There is no doubting that. Over on the left hand side BAE has been very consistent for us and Gareth Bale will hopefully find his way back onto the ladder of progress soon enough and begin to climb it with the hoodoo laying flat on its face at the bottom as the Welsh kid looks down from the top all smiles. Ideally then we could have a back four of:

Hutton - Woody - King - BAE

Or

Hutton - Dawson - Corluka - BAE

Or

Chimbonda - Woody - King - Bale

Or

Corluka - Woody - King - BAE

Or

Hutton - Woody - Corluka - Gunter

I can be doing this musical chairs routine all day long. Best way to just summarise it:

- Chimbonda can not play left-back and should either start at RB or cover a centre-back position if we are desperate

- Corluka is a right-back, but might be the answer in slotting into CB when King is unavailable

- A flying Hutton is a better option than Chimbonda out the right side IMO

- Woody will always start as long as he is 100%

- Gunter is one for the 'future' and will get his chance because Pascal will be due a transfer request a year from now

- BAE is not world-class but has acquired an edge to his game (also don't you just love the way he turns to go one way then turns and runs in the opposite direction? Its the most telegraphed move in football yet works every bleeding time!), and until Bale re-discovers his bite he does a more than decent job for us

Hold up. Oh Christ. I've forgotten to include you know who.

Hutton. Chimbonda. Corluka. Gunter......and Zokora. Add another one to the list. Didier is a better RB than he is a midfielder. Unless someone can define what type of midfielder Zoko actually is, I'll stand by my word. So that makes '5' players who can slot into the spoilt position of the right hand corner of our defence. Insane depth for a bread and butter team position. Seems that every part of the team has either far too much of one thing or too little of the other. I'll get to our midfield issues in another blog article.

Finally, let's finish with Dan Silver. Works for the Daily Mirror. Read this. Insightful stuff. I thought some of my work lacked substance but I do this for free so the standard of content varies depending on alcohol levels. Shame on you Mr Silver. Shame on your editor. Out of interest, who do you support? Let me guess...

Ding dong, Spurs are on song

Smoggie, Tranporter Bridge, James Cook, Paul Daniels, drug dealers, Roy Chubby Brown, youths with no front teeth, town not a city, the Parmo, Chris Rea - can you hear me, Chris Rea! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys took one hell of beating!

Four goals. Clean sheet. Some more than decent passing and movement. Lennon (still) on fire. Modric pulling the strings. Keane off the mark. Pulling away from the drop zone. Three wins from a UEFA Cup spot. Knighthood on the cards for Redknapp. Opus available for £19.99 at the club shop. Bent playing down the middle of the pitch. Daniel Levy retires from football.

Ok, getting a little carried away. Back to reality.

4-0 win. Excellent response from the players. With so many games sandwiched together this past 2 weeks, Boro (much like Sunderland on Saturday) probably fancied their chances against a half-tired Spurs team welcoming back the 'rested' Keane and Palacios (Woody also declared fit for duty). Even though Boro started brightly anytime Lennon got hold of the ball and whizzed forward you sensed we'd be scoring goals and it was simply a case of how many based on how many we would concede in order to come out on top, because we are bound to concede, right? Well no, wrong.

Tuncay had opportunities and a disallowed goal. Downing, very early on, gave it a go to no avail. It was soon apparent that Boro's victory over Liverpool had more to do with Rafas men being outstandingly poor rather than Southgate masterminding a genius result.

We went one up thanks to Keane being left unmarked at the far post and after the disallowed Tuncay let-off, made it two with Modric (ooh that dummy!) laying it on for Pav and then three before half-time with Lennon notching his first after a wonderful passing move that included some great possession football.

Obviously, Boro being shit isn't enough of a guarantee for us to simply show up to claim the points. We're a soft touch at the best of times. In games like this we need to turn up and turn it on. And we did just that. Got lucky at the back a couple of times, but there was confident football on display, and a bit of hunger and desire going forward. Wasn't by any stretch of the imagination a dominating victory but it was a reminder of the quality we do possess and what happens when we knock it around with a little bit of swagger. And yes, it was still Boro and up and coming opposition won't be this easy to pull apart.

But a win was required and a win is what the players and management gave us, so well done to all.

Sunderland away up next (which no doubt will be a bruising encounter) is where we need to show another side to our digging deep ethos. An ethos missing for the best part of the season from one week to the next. Harry, who is much maligned for his soundbites, is probably quietly aiming for us to finish as high as possible, but will continue to downplay it for greater effect. As long as the players know that beating Boro was simply one step in the right direction.

What makes this season a complete mockery is that as mediocre as we've been on so many many occasions, we are still a handful of points adrift of West Ham who have only won 3 more games than us all season. And they're meant to be having a good one. And yet two defeats might see us pulled back into the mire at the bottom. A fully confident swashbuckling Spurs side wouldn't have a single Spurs fan worried about the relegation scrap. Half a swashbuckling side will see us right. We've got more than half at the minute. Harry has to make sure the expectation level is just about right to see us through to the final game.

The fact we didn't disgrace ourselves at Wembley proves we can still muster up the big day occasion too, and even though we have some tricky opposition ahead of us, I'm certain we'll compete and pick up some unexpected points. It was nice to see us compete against the lesser opposition last night. Bread and butter.

Back to the game, Boro came back in the second half with us a just a little on the back foot, but still didn't stop us notching up a 4th. Happy days.

Lennon's burst of pace and his trademark mazy runs. Modric's dummy for the Pav goal. Both stuck smiles back on the faces of the faithful.

BAE continues to impress. Pavyluchenko's work ethic is also under-rated (he'll be twice the player once he's 100% after the summer). Darren Bent however just doesn't do it for me. I'm not the only person to note he's always wondering to wide positions. Jenas was quiet, Palacios good but not great (saving that extra bit of energy for the games ahead) and Keane showing us a glimpse of what we've been missing. All in all, some individuals excelled, whilst others didn't have to bother.

Well done. We needed that. We need it again on Saturday.