Strength. Width. Tempo.

Stoke, under the lights. I'm sure once I get to N17, walk down the Seven Sisters, have a beer or two and take my standing place in the Park Lane Lower I'll find myself edging back towards the necessity of us acquiring all three points. I remain fairly detached still from the pressures of finishing in the top four and retaining third place ahead of the two other London clubs below us.

Fabrice Muamba remains in our thoughts. It's great news that he's no longer critical and is in a stable condition, progressing well. Life goes on and so will football, even if for the moment it still feels some what unimportant in comparison. I wasn't at the Bolton cup game. I'll be there this evening (a rare occasion post-fatherhood) and I guess I wont know until the game kicks off how subdued the atmosphere will be. Hopefully it wont be. Harry said no player will be selected if they're not in the right frame of mind. If anything, we'll honour the lad as he continues to fight on and off the pitch. I'm positive all players will want to participate and do so with utmost professionalism.

I think the manner in which we played in the abandoned cup tie (aside from the openness in defence) would be a good starting point to continue with this evening. That means Bale out wide on the left in a more traditional flank role. Modric in the middle and van der Vaart free to roam from the right. It's a must-win game. Doesn't feel like it is but placing everything aside and taking the game in isolation - we can't afford to drop points at home. Not just in this game but all our remaining fixtures at White Hart Lane. Chelsea away to City, Arsenal away to Everton. It wouldn't be that surprising (considering the roller-coaster nature of this season) if the home sides falter. Ironic that for the best part of the season I've always cited how other results are of no interest to us. However now, the interest in what happens elsewhere is of a slightly more keen nature. It would be nice if our rivals came unstuck.

We need plenty of spirit and desire and complete focus at the task at hand. We're up against a side that has already beaten us twice this season. Make no mistake it's a tricky fixture under normal circumstances let alone following what happened in our last one. They are physical and dangerous from set-pieces. We need to grip the midfield and play our game and let them worry about attempting to contain us. Got to be organised when defending from high balls. We've also got to be wise to them breaking up our play so we might need to be patient in some of our build up play.

Strength. Width. Tempo.

Life does go on and we should embrace the positives and do them justice.

COYS

Glory doesn't come in half-measures

No matter where I look, where I turn...I'm surrounded. There's no way out. I must conceded defeat. No escape. I have to accept my fate. Fate being the positivity from the media which is almost as consistent as Tottenham's on field results.

Zombies would have made that opening a little more exciting, I know. Maybe next time.

Whether it's the broadsheets or the tabloids or the journos on Twitter, everyone loves a bit of Spurs. Phil Thompson and Alan Hansen were so giddy in their compliments, I'd imagine they shared a booty call at some point last week just to get it all out of their system.

There has been plenty of title talk from the press. More shocking is that probably for the first time in recorded history (since the very early 80s and 60s) when a Lilywhite speaks the words 'title challenge' when in amongst a group he's not mocked and forced to paint his face in clown colours and waltz up and down the road with everyone pointing and laughing. It might not be possible due to a certain Mancunian project but a challenge is hardly improbable thanks mainly to the continued transitional form of the other former Sky Sports greats. In fact, we're almost beyond that point now when discussing such matters. Rather than 'can we win it?' it's a far more complex conundrum that poses the more relevant question; what do we need to be able to win it?

Probably £100M, and that isn't going to happen.

I'm sort of half jesting anyway. My opinion on this is to aim for top spot because anything directly below it (2nd, 3rd, 4th) will be dancing in the street acceptable. At the start of the season I would have taken fourth. At the start of the season we all thought it would be another long hard struggle. I would have accepted another hard fought, almost nigh impossible bare bone must win every game journey to the final day of the season this time out too. Yet all the early season disarray we struggled with (i.e. that transfer saga) switched on that in-built mechanism we posses to always consider the worst case scenario first, resulting with many knee-jerking away. More so after the opening two results.

I can also remember plenty of 'Has Harry taken us as far as he can?' light-bulbs blinking away in unison. That being the result of our form at the back end of last season which was hardly inspiring. Hindsight tells us the reason was simply due the side requiring new blood. Consolidation. This season has proved that to be correct. More so that with every step taken, further consolidation is required.

We got us the engine room. We got us the complete forward. Wanting to improve further is a sign that the culture of comfort is without air, six foot under.

The most important element of all is most definitely the fact that we held onto our key players. All that belief since Bale's hat-trick in Milan, all the momentum birthed going back further in time to Crouch nodding in the goal at Eastlands...it hasn't been wasted with another blue screen of death and reboot.

What have we won? Well, nothing. But what relevance does that have when we've been achieving something for more important in the long term? We've had to rebuild and this time with not a cowboy in sight.

Doesn't matter, honestly hand on heart, it matters not at all if we/they/them think we can win the title.

What matters is whether the players believe they can. Even if its a day dream or a gentle whispering voice in the back of their heads, it's enough. It's enough for us to challenge at the top. Misplaced, delusional...sure, fives years ago. These days, it seems to be up for grabs. It's not just us with an invitation, there's one or two other clubs out there and their fans who are nowhere near as strong as they once were but could put up a similar argument that its not impossible.

There is nothing to be embarrassed about, displaying ambition. Wanting glory. Neither is acceptable in half-measures. You can't sort of want to oh go on then challenge for anything. You either believe in yourself or you don't.

Fives years ago simply no longer matters other than looking back to it as a reminder of where we once stood. Neither does last season. Even yesterday is history. All focus has to be on tomorrow. The next day. The day after that. And so on.

We don't quite have that experience of the pressures that come with being in a position far more lofty than challenging for 4th whilst looking up from 5th. The winning mentality is fledgling but its one that has many (non-Spurs including) licking their lips with admiration and a little green-eyed jealously. Our opponents might be able to cite that much sought after experience but they gained much of it in days when they only had three other clubs to concern themselves with. Pressure, it doesn't just exist for us. It exists for them too, finding themselves in a place they are accustomed to.

Everyone is fighting each other and having to fight their demons within.

Champions League qualification will no doubt elevate this club to the next level once more, with a solid chance of retaining it the following season (along with retaining those key players that everyone enjoys wanting to link with moves away). That's the target, but this being Spurs, a club that had dreamt for so long...it would be rude not to aim higher. We would dream of CL when we were nothing more than a mid-table side. Now we have a look of a top four side, it's only fair we revel in our confidence.

If we stumble, if we fall...I have complete faith we'll get right back up again, dust ourselves off and continue marching. That's the big test so many of our recent admirers are adding as a caveat in small print embedded subtly alongside their kind words about us. Not that I'm wishing such a thing (the 'L' word) just yet.

Beyond Stoke, beyond the New Year. I can only repeat myself. Sure, we have the best midfield in the country (pound for pound) but regardless of whether we believe our squad depth is sufficient enough say if we did lose a key player or two, we can not take that chance if that chance equates to struggling.

We have to be shrewd and take no prisoners. On the pitch and off it once the transfer window opens. What we've shown is we can grind out results, play without a key player or two. Now just imagine if we strengthen an already very strong first team eleven.

We should not care less about the rest and their problems because they won't care too much about us. As for those kind words. Be certain they will gladly ram it down our throats if we stumbled and failed to get up.

The marker is down.

But having said all this, let's not allow things to bog us down with serious faces and ample chin scratching. Enjoy it for what it is. Tottenham Hotspur playing with style and industry and desire.

Love the shirt.

Pav the Disney villain as we wave goodbye to Mickey Mouse

I applaud you, you the faithful that travelled up to Stoke.

I spent yesterday evening recording episode nine of The Fighting Cock podcast. Was still 0-0 when I left North London to travel back into the depths of Epping Forest and had to make do with watching the penalty shout-out on Twitter. Struggling to understand how we lost if Pav scored two points for his conversion. To think I thought we played a fairly experienced side (in part) and yet no goals in 120 minutes of play?

Pens are always a lottery although more a formality for the opposition when up against us. I should be despondent with us getting knocked out so early (a cup run is a cup run after all and Wembley is still Wembley) but I guess I've finally being turned by Champions League qualification. It's the way she lifts her skirt up and reveals her panties. Gets me every time. I've been seduced and therefore do not feel anything other than numb frustration we couldn't score.

I guess Harry has validated his pre-match soundbiting that he never wanted to get rid of Crouch of Palacios. We would have won if we had them both #footielogic.

I'm told Gomes was 'alright' but along with Gio and Pav, almost disinterested in terms of tangible effort. Just players going through the motions. Not sure why people wish to slate him (Gomes) for not saving a single penalty. I know he's a shot-stopper, but pens are always down to how good the pen is when taken.

Roman has more or less cemented his Jan move away if you happened to listen to the commentary on the radio or worst still, been there to witness it - he was apparently shocking. Body language was oozing negativity and his play was abysmal. I guess the lad is still trying to settle in England and learn the language, bless. And perhaps people will finally let go of the dos Santos in good Spurs performance dream once and for all as he was equally poor.

Carroll played well. Beef him up a bit I reckon. He'll be some player when he finally reaches 12 years of age. Townsend also looked bright. Not sure what a Lluongo is exactly, but chin up lad and well done for having a go.

All this is the consensus by the way, not opinion. If anyone at the game disagrees, then please share.

Positives? Four clean sheets on the trot (DVD?). Sandro and Gallas are back playing and Rafa gets to push on towards full fitness (if that's even possible with him).

I guess its disappointing we're out but the yoof players still have Europa to accumulate those precious minutes of experience. In the end, patched up side of first teamers, benchers and kids not creative enough and without cutting edge to progress.

That's all I've got.

Onwards to Wigan.

Seven games left, three points 'adrift'

Spurs 3 Stoke 2

That wasn’t too shabby, was it? Finally rediscovering a little bit of that confident Spurs swashbuckle and swagger. Refreshing. Probably go as far as saying that minus the defensive lapses of concentration, it was an assured 'dominant' first half. Sure, we didn’t steam-roll them or stamp down our authority with brutality. We let them back in a couple of times (dominant with flaws). But we did turn up, turn it on and turn them over in good olde (the proper good) Tottenham fashion. Effortless in some ways, as a unit and individually, just easing into a rhythm without those pesky complications that had previously seen us in the midst of a goal drought.

Movement, busy buzzy players and an urgency to attack. I liked it.

Okay, so the lapses were wholly unnecessary (be it two good Stoke goals – but both birthed in errors from possession we lost). But even that was still a good test of our resolve. Didn’t buckle. Probably let them have too much of the ball in the second half, but overall – exactly what was required was achieved.

Goals for. A win. Three points.

Huddlestone and Kaboul back in the side, van der Vaart playing a full ninety minutes (and working hard be it without glamour) and Peter Crouch with some redemption for his red mist in Madrid with two smart goals and a tongue in cheek **** off to the crowd, caught on camera, but alas it’s not quite a Wayne Rooney incident offering out the public.

Not the same thing is it? Although the camera has nothing to do with it, what with Wazza being charged for swearing with no mention of said camera. Perhaps Peter was too far away from the camera and wasn't directing it at the camera. Then again, as mentioned, the camera has nothing to do with the charge against Rooney. Even though Rooney had his face in it. I guess the FA don’t really grasp the concept of consistency and knee-jerk to the parasitic lust of the media and this country and its culture of hate. Even though Rooney is angry and dislikeable. If he got charged for swearing then surely every game would result in...hold up a second.

Pause.

Okay, so, I won’t get side tracked and go off on a tangent. Back on topic then...

Home support reaction to Crouchie, overwhelmingly heartfelt. I guess blog comment and message board disdain does not translate too good out in the real world. Although Corluka was forced to respond to one fan, calling him an idiot for complaining rather than being supportive of the team. Alan Hutton obviously with too much time on his hands at the minute.

Special mention to another maligned forward (do we have anything else at Spurs?) Roman Pavlyuchenko. Linked up superbly well with the midfield leading the front-line and assisting twice. His disallowed goal should have stood. Looks sharp. Hopefully he can bag one on Wednesday.

Luka was again full of silks and style. Really, no nomination for PFA player of the year? Scandalous. Perhaps it’s because of his tally of two league goals that he’s been overlooked. I don’t know. Don’t actually care too much as long as he continues to drive us in the right direction. Up. By a minimum of one spot. Excellent goal and looks even more comfortable and free to roam with big Tommy by his side. Having Hudd back for the run in might just prove to be imperative to our chances of unlocking one or two of the tougher teams we’ve got to face in our attempt for a second successive CL.

A sumptuous passer of the ball is big Tom. The manner in which he caresses it...Mmmmm. Playing a disguised pass is very much like making love to a beautiful woman. You undress the space ahead of you, proceed to move hips hypnotically and then push forwards with sublime penetration releasing it as quickly as you can blink. Oh yes. Just like making love.

Bale, quiet by the standard we expect him to play at, but then when you’re doubled up on all the time it’s not going to be an over-night transition to work out how best to escape the unwanted attention. Patient, learning curve...don’t care about all the ‘he doesn’t do it in the Prem, does it’ sound-bites. He played well considering (ignoring mistake) and having players chase him means there’s always room for other players to run into open space because of it.

Regarding that mistake (that led to Jones cracking goal), Kaboul partly responsible for the initial pass to Bale. But how great is it to have the big lad back? Power at the back to go alongside cool. BAE and Corluka also played well. Dawson commanding and Gomes hardly at fault for the two conceded.

Credit to Harry? Or did he just wing it again?

Overall – happy days. Good solid performance, dealt with the pockets of pressure. Probably should have got a fourth. Didn't, but held on even with the quintessential 'final 10 minutes' of hearts in mouths.

Unfortunately we are at that stage where we do have to look at others to do us favours. Hopefully Liverpool can do just that against City.

It's fair to say, we've got a monumental task ahead of us if you dare to look at the fixture list.

Seven games left, three points adrift. Mathmatically, it's not exactly end of days just yet. So I suggest you superglue your hat on.

Is this another one of those 'must win' games?

All games are must win. Although our lot appear to have forgotten how to go about winning. For starters, we're not going to pick up three points unless we score.

This match preview wont be winning any awards, I'm completely snowed under today and for all the analytical, tactical and selectional discussions that can be had - well, they've all been had already. Countless times throughout the course of the season in fact, as we await for our team to swagger and find it's elusive groove. Handful of games left now. Leaving it a tad late. Again.

We've kept in touch. Everyone's kept in touch at the top, writing polite letters of apology to each other with nobody wanting to use the pen for a Dear John and cut them off completley and run away leaving them dejected and alone. But we're at that point now where all relationships are strained and rather than pretend it's all just dandy, rather than perhaps behind closed doors wipe tears away and shake heads - this is the point where we either stand up or just shut up. Once and for all.

So Spurs, Harry and the players. Get a grip of yourselves and breath life back into this comatose motionless body. I want to see some booty shaking.

We want our Tottenham back. For 90 minutes. So don't be shy. Show us what you're made of. Otherwise, night night. And go back to dreaming.

4 points, 2 games

Stoke 1 Spurs 2

Was it over the line? I guess it doesn't matter. Them the breaks Top 4 sides get, innit?

Nah, let's not sell-out just yet with that one.

I guess lady luck continues to hump our leg, be it frantically (is there a better way?) and I for one will just shrug and patronisingly point out how unfortunate Stoke were not to share the points today. But that's just me being diplomatic.

I'm all for clubs like Stoke, fighting tooth and nail, bullying and hassling opposition - especially opposition that in the past had a habit of crumbling and falling apart. Why should they pay respect to visitors? But we are made of sterner stuff these days, as witnessed by our sitting-back-and-taking-it-like-a-man performance in the second half. Much like last seasons visit, we did enough. And at this point in the season, before true form is found, I'll happily take three points at places like the Britannia. Shaky moments and everything.

I'm going to hazard a guess and say the 3-2 loss v Young Boy and the manner in which we went 3-0 down has hurt our mental strength some what. Panic, not quite of the catastrophic ilk, has crept back into our play. The sooner we get this play-off out of the way (and win it) the quicker Harry can settle with some consistency with his selection, and focus from the players on our immediate target: EPL points. So, I'm made up we left Stoke with all three points. King rested, Crouch the only available 'fit' forward, Kaboul in for Bassong, no Modric and the return of Jenas. 4-5-1. Crouch the lone man (Keane injured or dropped?). Depth. Even if we might be critical of the likes of JJ and Kaboul, I applaud their shift today. Can't really fault the team performance or Harry's selection.

The first half was decent enough. Azza slowly beginning to reclaim some of that lost end product. The opener, a clearance off the line, hitting Bale in the chest, and ending up in the net. 1-1, Gomes all dizzy in the box. But not too worry, 2-1, Bale again, and this time with a goal that you could watch endlessly. Giggesque, volley from the heavens. Lennon provider. Let's not be forgetting this won us the three points. Well, that and the officials reluctance to signal a Stoke equaliser in the second half.

First half though had us easily winning the possession percentages, passing the ball around with much confidence. And JJ could have made it three, unlucky not to.

So Bale sublime, all good, no complaints no massive concerns. Even though I couldn't help but think our defence was still susceptible to collapsing if pressure was applied. So I guess I did have concerns. I was wrong. But only just.

Second half, Stoke had a right go at us. I don't really want to bang on about the fact that we let them have a right go at us, because for me, defensive frailties and all, we still survived. We battled. Even Jenas got stuck in and worked hard off the ball. Tuncay asked a few questions. Gomes answered them by placing his hands over his ears and shouting 'lalalalalalalala'. Have to say though, that on closer inspection, our mad Brazilian was at times tripped and impeded (first goal anyone?). It wasn't an easy afternoon for him. But he seemed to experience a re-lapse with dealing with crosses. And if I take my blinkers off, I have to admit that Gomes was nowhere near being dominant in his area, and thus, sort of brought it on himself, falling over people and flapping.

Back to what I mentioned early, re: credit to clubs who might lack depth in quality by making it difficult for the likes of us to settle down and play. And although I have no intention of going all Wenger with the complaints, I did find Stoke tiresome, especially Shawcross, the dirty cheating bastard, kicking out petulantly at times. Gomes made a fine fine save from Tuncay, tipping over the bar. Stoke continued with their physicality, we continued to weather the storm. Harry makes a tactical switch (Walker on, Lennon off) and then its OMG time when a header is saved onto the underside of the crossbar, is then headed back in and appears to go over the line, hitting Crouch (chest? arm?) before being cleared off the line.

BLATTER?? WHERE IS THE GOAL LINE TECHNOLOGY?

It's not required. Well, not required until the same thing happens to us. Karma, that's what I'm going to go with here, what with Stoke's WWE tactics. We might have made hard work of it, but we stuck in there. We dug deep. I got it wrong pre-match, but I don't care. Swashbuckling can be left for Wednesday.

Loved Phil Thompson's remark about how the foul on Gomes in the build up to the 'goal' was not relevant because the referee did not give it, and yet talked up about how Stoke should have been awarded the goal and taken a point from the game. But the ref didn't give that either. So using Phil-logic™, is it not equally irrelevant also for the same reason?

It all sort of fixed itself up, one mistake following another, cancelling each other out. Discussions that will no doubt continue into the new week. Let's hope that's that, and we don't have any controversy in the play-off.

Being tested like this is fairly invaluable at this early stage. A reminder that new-look Spurs of 2010 is sticking around for 2011. I'm hoping now, with three points up on the board, the players can relax and look forward to the game that will truly define the next few weeks and months.

Tottenham, not quite brilliant, definitely resilient.

Rule Britannia: Spurs v Stoke

Domestic bread and butter first up before we return to the caviar of Champions League. Hoping we're not left with an egg and humble pie combo by the time next Wednesday closes shop and Thursday greets us when we walk into work dejected devastated delighted.

Stoke away. Never easy, wasn't last season, but the game was a perfect illustration of the guile and tenacity we became very much accustomed too on our travels. We had injuries, we battled hard and dug deep and showed some rather tasty moments of class (Iceman, where aut thou?). It will be no exaggeration, and no disrespect meant to our hosts, that I will be rather upset if we lose all three points. I might even knee-jerk in the aftermath. I don't want any deep digging this time round. I want us to win comfortably. I'm that frigging greedy.

Pushing on is what the Spurs directive should be for this 2011 season. I know that comparing results like-for-like from one season to the next is a redundant exercise, but there are certain games I would tag with a massive 'three points ta very much' label and this is one of them. It's a banana skin game only if we believe it is. So the players have to firstly forget about Wednesday and get our season kick-started, with hopefully a firework or two, by displaying the very same qualities that have made us want for more.

Over-achieved they say. Not a chance. We've got more left in the tank. Last season was no fluke.

Harry will no doubt make changes again, a tweak here or there, with Wednesday in mind. So, I guess the Young Boys return leg is nigh impossible to completely isolate in the back of the players minds. But they should do their best to momentarily forget.

We all know that confidence breeds results which breed form which means if you play well and win one game, you go into the next with a buzz.

The crux here is mentality. Last season, many of us were probably nervous about going away to Stoke. In fact, we tend to be nervous away full stop as fans - purely from an analysis and pre-match perspective (our away support is altogether a different kettle of fish, flying fish, with brass band and sopranos bursting the ear drums of native folk for miles around). We once upon a time had woeful away form, have made some improvements, but finally can say we should be far happier travelling than we once was.

Oh Noes ! Stoke away ! Yes, Stoke. It's Stoke. It's not Manchester United. We went there last term and were superbly professional, dispatching them, be it not always pretty. It's beyond just believing, it should now be expectancy and delivery of said expectants. The players frame of mind should be 'we're going to win because that's what teams like us do to teams like them'. Rather than worry about their long throw-ins and physicality, and their own brand of loud support etc etc

Arrogant? Nope. It's not about being big headed or thinking 'look at us, the mighty Spurs, we deserve to be beating the ickle teams'. It's nothing of the sort. We only deserve what we get based on what we do on the day. And the likes of Stoke and one or two others (think of the teams we battered and lost to at home last season) have to be brushed aside with confidence and swagger, and if in the away games (like the one we face this Saturday) it turns ugly then we adapt, remain composed and take the game by the scruff, allowing for our quality to shine through the brutal tackles and infuriating hassling.

If we lose games like this, then there's a chink in the armour that will cost us dearly in the long run. Again, this is no disrespect to Stoke. It's about us and our ambitions and responsbilities to continue to progress and better ourselves.

Making a statement by proving we are above the level we sat in 2 years ago. And above the level we were in last season. The fact I have to blog about this actually does prove (oh how ironic) that its still something that plays on our minds. I doubt Chelsea, Arsenal, Utd fans 'worry' about Stoke (although again with the irony, even the seasoned elite clubs slip on skins now and again). Not to say that's an excuse for us if we happen to land on our bums.

There's no major deep tactical ploys, selection questions or formations I want to discuss. Spurs, the Spurs that took us into 4th with that never-say-die attitude is the Spurs I want to see on Saturday and the very same I want to see on Wednesday. Whether it's Stoke or Man Utd. Our backs are not quite on the wall, it is only game number two of course, but if we treated every game like it was a must-win at Eastlands...well, you get the picture.

Three is the magic number for me. Three on Saturday, three on Wednesday.

If you're not at the game, stick on Absolute Radio for the Rock 'N' Roll Football Live show (they've got exclusive rights to a ton of Prem games so worth checking out there rota for the weeks ahead) and tune into the full match coverage of the Stoke v Spurs game (on 1215AM, online or on DAB Digital Radio). Click on this for more info. 

Russ Williams with the pre-match and build-up, Jim Proudfoot commentating and Ian Wright for post-match (yeah, Ian Wright, don't let that put you off, he's harmless these days).

COYS

Anthony Lozano

Morning.

Quick post, couple of things. Firstly, Kenwyne Jones. £8M to Stoke City. Absolutely no dis-respect meant to the Potters but lolololol at this. Sunderland's Drogba on the cheap. You have to really look back and facepalm when we allegedly bid for him and they wanted £20M+. Players of the moment are just that. In the moment, form of their life, until they level out and settle at their true playing standard. In this case, decent at times but mostly inconsistent. £15M burnt on Bentley stops me from going any further with this.

Second thing is this:

Anthony Lozano. Honduran. 17 years old. On a 10 day trial in N17. The Promise of new Honduran soccer, apparently. Obviously our recent track record with kids hasn't exactly been great. What with dos Santos and his attitude, Adel and his delusions etc. Let's say he impresses and we sign him. Any ideas if he's 'one for the future' thus, we wont see him in the first team for untold years if ever? Or does he play a part early on? Bostock is out on loan to Hull. So this kid has to be special special special for it to mean anything for the immediate future.

We live in hope.

Down to the wire

Three points away to Stoke. With Kaboul in midfield. And Pav off injured.

Sheeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiit.

Now that’s what I call digging deep. Was not a perfect performance by any stretch of the imagination. And even though we lived dangerously at times, we deserved it in the end. Crawl, walk and then run.

Massive selection gamble but one that Harry was forced into thanks to Wilson Palacios and his collection of yellow cards. Younes Kaboul slotting into central midfield. And it worked. Wouldn’t want to see it that often but with no other obvious options, YK did a job and did it just better than okay without it being exceptional. Less said about his shooting boots the better.

With each game, we seem to lose a player and yet we continue to overcome.

Losing Pav early on (having lost Defoe to injury in the week) has me thinking that somewhere in the upper regions of the stands hides a sniper, with a rifle armed with bullets forged with disdain for our beloved club. Fired by a crack marksman from a clandestine organisation. His mission objective? To shot down Tottenham players to aid the retention of the Sky Sports Four. So enter the Iceman, Eidur Gudjohnsen. Bullet-proof. And once more, we overcome.

First half was a little non-descript. Delap throwing the ball in from distance. Gomes dealing with most of them by scrambling them away (cue missed heart-beats) which made the game a tad more exciting - although quite clearly the wrong type of excitement. Bale had a decent run at goal, defended well by Stoke (Faye getting the tackle in). I can’t say I remember any other worthy goal mouth incident for us. It was crying out for some sort of breakthrough to kick-start the game. It was physical, as expected. Just needed to see us do more than what we were doing. Which at half-time was simply dealing with the home side. Stoke were textbook, set pieces their main weapon.

Second half, different story. 20 seconds in and Eidur thumps the ball in having received it from a Crouch assist (yes, Peter Crouch, don't playa hate) showing strength to make it 1-0. Fantastic effort. That was the breakthrough moment.

Inspired we changed gear and tormented Stoke, piling on the pressure. Whitehead goes off for a second yellow and we continue to dominate play. This is more like it. Playing the game to OUR tempo. Eidur in the hole, looking the part. Modric showing similar guile and influence in the middle that we are usually accustomed to seeing from the left. It was now quality V effort and we were destroying them.

Then a commercial break interrupted proceedings.

Corluka has words with BAE, something about leaving his defensive duties behind whilst going forward. There’s a few expletives exchanged, and Benny pushes Charlie in the stomach. Obviously not accepting the criticism/advice from the Croatian. A man must have a code. Assou-Ekotto’s is ‘don’t mess with me’.

Thankfully it ended there. Well actually no. Seems it was still playing out in Bennys head. Having failed to take down Corluka,  BAE decides to go one better soon after, giving away a clumsy penalty by climbing all over Kitson. Obviously our left-back was in need for more touchy-feely action. The ref points to the spot. It's a balls-up, Spurs style.

Up steps Etherington (the git), and it’s 1-1. Having absolutely battered them since going one up we're pegged back. ‘We’re gonna throw this away’, the collective thought of thousands of Spurs fans no doubt. I had such fuckin’ hopes for us.

                                                        'It's all in the game'

Here is where there is still room for improvement. Call it a crisis of leadership. We – the fans – can see the quality of the players we possess in the side, injuries or no injuries. Add to it the fact that even at 1-1 we were the better team, so composure was required. Take the ball back and control the game. I just think we're still missing a player of the ilk of a true captain. Someone to just shake the players up a bit and get them to react instantly, rather than perhaps live on the edge for a bit before finally (sometimes) rediscovering the stamp of authority to win through.

Better than Stoke and yet it could have been 2-1 to them had Ricardo Fuller scored. Don’t care how he managed to spoon the ball over from six yards out, but well done that man. The 10 men started to look the ones more likely to edge ahead. So much for that extra bit of quality in our side, another obvious collective thought shared amongst plenty.

And then, as if by magic. 2-1 Spurs. And the game changes again. BAE released by Bale, crossing it in and the superb Gudjonsen, full of Viking strength and smarts, steps over the ball allowing Niko Kranjcar to smash it into the goal. Happy now, bitch? No idea if Benny shared a smile with his team-mates, but I wasn’t alone in punching the air and grinning from ear to ear. Don’t matter how many times you get burnt, you just keep doin’ the same. Faith, patience. It pays off in the end. Right?

So into the final 10 minutes we go. Tuncay on for the home side. And I’m begging Spurs to play intelligent keep-the-ball football. Instead we give free-kicks away in and around the box. Defended well – how great was Crouch in stopping the bombardment through-out the game? – but we still managed to almost fuck it up again. Sidibe failing to get to the ball before Gomes, Dawson and Bassong the culprits who seemed to forget the art of defending in what could have been a soul-destroying few seconds. The Gods will not save you. But at least on Saturday they smiled in our direction.

2-1, full time. Three points. GTFI.

There was character and heart and some tasty football – as a unit of players and from individuals. And we rode our luck, as you need to on occasions. That’s now four wins on the trot with around five or so guaranteed first team players out. Credit where it’s due. Well done to Harry and the players. I’m proud and you should be too. If I hear music, I’m gonna dance.

I did enjoy seeing the players celebrate at the end. They knew how important it was and how tricky the Stoke away fixture is. The big plus was Gudjohnsen. We finally got to see why he was signed. And just how effective he can be, dropping back and allowing the midfield to push forward. The clever interchanging of passes between Eidur and the midfield adds an important dimension to our play. He's like a refined version of Robbie Keane without the countless boyhood clubs and pointy shouty antics.

Going by Harry’s points-required-total, we now need 13 from the remaining 8 games. Four wins and a draw. Let’s just round that off to five wins then.

It’s a thin line between heaven and here. Liverpool lost, Villa stuttered. Tottenham, still 4^th. Two points ahead of 5^th spot City (winners today at Fulham) who have a game in hand and are probably considered the favourites to claim fourth. No doubt, with each passing week - it will keep on changing. Pressure on them. Pressure on us. Pressure on us all.

Dope on the damn table.

Time to recall Robbie Keane (cough)

If we lose because we fail to defend a Delap throw and a Stoke player headers/bundles the ball in…I'll be gutted. If Palacios and Modric don't soak up the physicality and in-yer-face tempo of their midfield and fail to control and boss the park…I'll be gutted. If Roman fails to make a goal-scoring impact and wastes glorious chance after chance…I'll be gutted. If Bale isn't destroying the flank, powering past opponents…I'll be gutted.

0 points? Gutted. 1 point? Gutted.

Three points? Gutted. Yes, gutted. I want us to not just beat Stoke but to beat them so badly, so emphatically, we're awarded an extra two points just to back away from their bloody broken body. I want them decimated. Smashed up. Ruined.

Wolves. 6 points lost. Stoke. 6 points lost? No thank you very much, no sir, no way.

This isn't a personal thing against Stoke. I actually don't mind them. They don’t annoy me, not really. It was more our fault than there's that we failed to break them down at the Lane earlier this season. Can't expect sides to just play open football because we do. Yeah sure, they've got that cheeky long throw tactic, but they can sometimes play a bit too. Teams with lesser quality always seem to be able to produce massive dollops of effort that can sometimes cause sticky moments for the opposing team visiting their humble home. Opposing teams, regardless of their superior quality on paper, sometimes fail to match the tenacity of the effort a Stoke City possess.

i.e. Tottenham.

People cite our erratic away form. Like the oracle of football predictions, Mark Lawrenson, who has us pegged down to lose 2-1 because he is not convinced by our travels, even though we are 4th and have gained 20 points away from home. Still plenty of improvement can be had, which I suppose can be roughly translated as Spurs being a tad inconsistent. And there are some who are nervous about tomorrow because Stoke will show us no respect and go for our jugular, expecting and forcing a text-book powder-puff collapse from us. Because it's happened before. Wolves away, which was the type of depressing performance that is detrimental to all the positive progression we've made this season.

But as we enter the final 9 games, there is no room for these negatives. These ready-made excuses.

So screw Lawro and stick it up your bollocks if you're not ripping the shirt of your back and slow-clapping 'Oh when the Spurs go marching in…' come Saturday afternoon.

What's that? Defoe has torn his hamstring? Out for a few weeks? Er...oh…fuck. Really? Injured? Christ. Those sonsofbitches footballing Gods have hit the target again. They aim for the most important, most vital of Spurs players and strike them down. Gomes, Woodgate, Modric, Lennon, Huddlestone and now Defoe. Backbone players. All with spells out this term. Add King who can only ever play the equivalent of half a season anyway, and it's enough to bring on an epic twitch spasm.

No idea where the Jenas injury fits in with the above. What's that? A voice in my head? Calling out for JJ? Sad sad times.

And yet we've somehow managed to dig deep and get through it all. But is this now one injury too far? A cruel twist so close to seasons end.

Roman, Crouch, Eidur (yes really)…your time is now. Take down Stoke. Decimate. Smash up. Ruin.

Sigh.

Who am I kidding?

If we score in the 93rd minute, deflected shot off someone's bum having been dominated for 92 minutes, and win it 1-0, I'll gleefully accept the undeserved/lucky three points and move on. One game at a time.

Time to recall Robbie Keane then.

What? He can't be recalled? Celtic have his registration? Bless 'em. At least there's some good news that's come out of today.

COYS