Andre Villas-Intheknowas

Amazing how much you can do with one quote, slightly out of context with emphasis on the answer itself rather than the question posed and no further commentary other than to craft out an inciting headline.

Andre Villas-Boas, according to various news sources, has 'rejected Spurs lies'. All very dramatic. There is nothing, it is all lies, he stated in a Portuguese interview. Apparently the question was directly referring to whether he had put pen to paper and had accepted the offer to manager Spurs. But I can't confirm that for certain as I have not seen the original interview and tradition deems that football journalism is the leading innovator in subjective reporting where ambiguity reigns supreme. Sensationalist soundbites generate click-throughs, so why bother investigating deeper.

The Telegraph have reported another quote (this taken from their article here):

Yesterday Villas-Boas denied he had been offered the Spurs job and he is anxious not to be seen to be pushing the club. He said: “There have been contacts with various clubs but it’s important for me to meet people, know their ideas, share mine and see if a common idea can be agreed.”

Slightly more encouraging, but there's no stand-out head turner in there. It's far less chaotic and doesn't fit into the more comfortably category of calamity that allows people to vent their anger and confusion. Good news isn't great news, bad news is better news. Which is why we've not seen this shared anywhere (at the time of writing).

In addition to all this, something I've yet to see reported on (so I can't substantiate it in any way, which possibly places me on par with the hacks) is that AVB is purposely distancing himself due a contractual obligation he has (had) with Chelsea. It's already been shared on Twitter publicly that the 1st of July is the date that any official agreement can be shared by club and prospective new Spurs boss if such a deal is in the making.

The reality is, there's nothing we can influence. We have no idea of the work going on behind the scenes. We don't know whether Levy is working through a short-list or not. None of that information will be known at any point, until the club make their statement and announce a press conference. All fairly simple and obvious. Yet complicated to **** because we're all so desperate to know something before it's about to happen. Hence the guess work and rumours and people taking every single thing as a literal transparent describition of what is transpiring.

Although most want this sorted as soon as possible and many believed Levy would only have sacked Redknapp if he had a full proof contingency outlined in preparation, that doesn't mean the decision should be rushed. It has to work both ways. We might need to attract someone or perhaps we need to choose from a selection of managers that want to take the hot seat. Levy might have made his mind up and then found himself curious to listen to another candidate that has express interest.

Have I covered off a fair few scenarios there?

Do they pose further shrugs and question marks? If I worked for a newspaper I could quote 'an inside source' and run with an exclusive about how our chairman is dithering and uncertain. Or perhaps not and instead talk about how he waited for the right time to make sure Redknapp wasn't in the running to take over at another 'top' Premier League club when let go by Spurs. Shrewd and calculated and in control.

I could go on.

My point? I know about us much as you do and about us much as anyone in the press knows. Nothing. What will be will be, which means if you remained awake between now and when we appoint someone or slept all the way up the announcement, it won't make a blind bit of difference either way.

Options

The BBC are saying it's barely credible that Harry has lost his job and yet still cite the fact that the relationship between him and Levy was broken beyond repair. They don't appear to be the only ones in the media struggling to come to terms with this announcement. There's a consensus, a controlled outrage that this decision is one they are refusing to accept. What with that other relationship, the one between Harry and the tabloid/broadsheets/Sky, being of far greater importance to their every day existence. It's akin to them losing one of their own. How dare Daniel Levy do this.

Yes, in terms of financial clout and stature you can argue that Spurs were in some ways punching above their weight. I don't believe that myself but some will point towards Man City and one or two others and suggest we have no right to finish above them because of the money they can and have spent. As I mentioned last night on the blog, nobody is going to argue (well some of you might) against the fact that Harry has achieved some measurable success at Spurs. But it seems the crux of it is being completely ignored. It should have been solely about the football. If it was just about the football Harry might have kept his job (although the media seem to be punching very lightly on our end of season form when referencing it) but there's no way a chairman can continue to work with his appointed manager if their relationship appears to have less spark than David Bentley's Spurs career.

The irony of 'Harry to England' and the impact it had on Spurs season completely and utterly lost on our bestest friends in the tabloids and beyond. The moment Harry got Paul Stretford involved you knew it was end of days and it was only a matter of days.

It will be interesting to see whether Harry remains as gracious as he has with words shared in the official club announcement.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Spurs and am proud of my achievements. I have had a fantastic four years with the Club, at times the football has been breathtaking. I am sad to be leaving but wish to thank the players, staff and fans for their terrific support during my time there."

It's been good fun, let's not deny that.

So, what are the options? Names that I can think of that might have some ilk of feasibility to be linked with us (some perhaps in reality more tenuous than others):

Moyes

Capello

Benitez

Deschamps

AVB

Martinez

Blanc

Sherwood

Any more for any more? Would like to mention Klopp and Low. Bilic has already accepted a contract in Russia apparently. I added in Sherwood for laughs. I won't even mention Pep. Oops.

Summer transfer fun: The calm before the...er...storm?

Sandro Arrival Date

Won’t be arriving to N17 until after Internacional get knocked out (or go all the way) in the Libertadores Cup. The next game being played is the second leg of the quarter final (20^th May). They won the first leg. The semi-final second leg gets played on the 2^nd August. So he’s potentially a fair distance away (literally)  from joining. Not forgetting he’ll need to squeeze in a summer’s holiday before training at the Lodge.

So, should take him a few months to climatise to the EPL and life in England and in the mean time we’ll find out whether Harry will continue to start Modric and Huddlestone in the middle or tinker depending on opponent. Sandro, the squad player, at the very least in his first season at the Lane. What we do with the centre of the park and Wilson/Luka/Tommy is a renewed conundrum that will need resolving.

Pav

On his way? The suggestion is that Lokomotiv are looking to approach Spurs again for the Russian forward. No shocker here. Roman had a fantastic mini-spell for us scoring plenty, but perhaps it was inspired with this move in mind, rather than any inspirational man-management from Harry. We do need to make some room in our attack for new blood and Crouch and Defoe offer our gaffer something tangible in comparison to the fragile Roman (Crouch – mad skillz for a tall person / Defoe – destroys the offside trap).

Oleg Artemov (Pav’s agent) is at it again. Says that the player has adapted to the EPL and that he has remained because of the trust shown in him and his performances (oh and the little matter of 4^th spot) but then states there will be negotiations. Add to it the quotes coming out of the Russian media from Nikolai Naumov (Lokomotiv president) and we might be looking at reclaiming the money spent in the first place. Which means...

New striker

We need one. We need a talismanic forward. A next-level forward. And now we have the promised land of CL group stages in our sight, money has to be spent on someone who can smash in 25-30 goals and bring the type of dimension witnessed in Berbatov’s debut EPL season. Asking for the moon on a stick, aren’t I? I can’t think of anyone domestically who fits the bill. As for the continent? Edin Dzeko is a name being touted about. He’s a Bosnian who plays his football in Germany for Wolfsburg. Cracking little player, and expect bigger badder clubs to be interested in his signature. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility, but his wage demands might be (I guess, with 4^th spot claimed, does Levy review the wage structure at the club?). Then again, is all this newspaper talk or forum talk? I forget. The reality of the situation is, unlike Berbatov prior to us signing him, Dzeko is being chased by seasoned CL sides who are serious about signing him.

King

New contract. Says a lot this. He deserves it for the shift he put in this season. Yes, he’s a cameo player but when he does play he’s on a completely different planet to everyone else. Has massive pockets in his shorts where opposing forwards, with thumb in mouth, sleep for prolonged periods during games. Only got one knee, and yet here he is. Still Tottenham. Still a freak of nature. And his 4 games on the trot run at the end of the season should be enough to prove he is ready to answer the call for England.

O'Hara

I've lost count of the interviews and headlines this guy is generating at the minute. Current one is that he's thinking of changing his international allegiance to Ireland. Okay. I think England might survive that bombshell. Just about. If he is being genuine about fighting for a place at Spurs (he's got no chance of being a starter) he should shut up, enjoy his summer hols then buckle down for some hard grafting at the start of the 2011 season. If he's simply using all this to indirectly advertise his availability, then for once, I hope he quits this constant sob story airing and simply asks his agent to get to work behind the scenes and spare us from this daily torture.

ITK (in the know) update

Can’t say there is one. Plenty of the usual BS floating around in the basin of tabloids. I see Robert Green is linked. Riiiiiiight. Harry claims all deals will be done BEFORE the World Cup, but then why should he give anything away? Perhaps all our targets are not involved down in South Africa and he’s agreed with Levy we only need one or two players. Doubtful. We’ve got plenty of deadwood that needs to be transformed into sterling and if we are serious about stepping up to the next level that new striker is required along with CB cover and perhaps another midfield.

Arda Turan is another name the papers are citing. A starlet of Turkish football. Scores a few goals. Tasty. But where would he fit in? And don’t you dare even think the ‘he’s a Modric replacement’ thought.

So, CB. Another central midfielder. A back-up goalkeeper (preferably a decent young keeper). I’m not that fussed about our usual intake of young players, mainly because I’m still waiting to see how we handle the likes of Bostock re: development along with a few other academy stars who are meant to be highly rated. Inglethorpe has his hands full there. What we need is to improve our squad (obviously) and perhaps a couple of cheeky ‘experienced’ signings might aid us (if) we get into the CL group stage. Along with, of course, that CB, CM and Forward.

If we’re going down the route of expected ‘targets’ (targets being the players the tabloids and ITK forum dwellers will be latching onto) then expect the following domestic players to be mentioned countless times:

Micah Richards

Joe Cole

Craig Bellamy (handshake innit)

Steven Pienaar

Ashley Young

Scary thing is I can see us inquiring on a couple of them. And I wouldn’t say no to one of them at the very least. The less about the usual ITK favs said, the better (Diarra, Sissoko, Muntari). Been there done that.

As for Robbie Keane’s return. Soz. No. It’s what you get for following your boyhood dream to the gates of Anfield.

il Potenziale

by guest-blogger Fox Mulder

According to the Sunday Mirror yesterday, one Jermaine Jenas has begun taking Italian lessons to prepare for a move to Inter Milan in the Summer. The papers really don't want to let this one lie and for anyone who has witnessed the man himself this season it is nothing short of baffling. 

Look at the two parties - Inter Milan are one of the most decorated teams in Italian football and have won Serie A the last three seasons on the spin. Jermaine Jenas has a Carling Cup medal and won the Soccer AM crossbar challenge.

Reading this story again I considered several options:

1. This whole story is one of those big media 'in-jokes' perpetuated by cheeky Arsenal and Chelsea supporting journalists. The scoundrels.

2. It's true and Jose Mourinho is such a genius he can see something in the player that a good majority of Spurs fans can not.

3. It's true and Jose Mourinho's malevolent ego has become so powerful that it has seized control of his conscious mind and is seeking to destroy him.

4. The story is completely made up - just putting it out there guys...

The man they call JJ has polarised more opinions at White Hart Lane than I've had false dawns and I don't intend to defend or attack him here. Sometimes he's great and sometimes he's awful, a couple of screamers against Arsenal prolonging the fading hope that there is a world class player in that slim, chiselled frame just bursting to get out. In fact, much like a few of our players (Hudd, Pav, Crouch) you can even be found arguing with yourself on a game by game and sometimes minute by minute basis. "He's got a good engine, but he's too soft. He can beat players in the midfield, but he's a confidence player. He's good at set pieces. he's shit at set pieces. This game needs Jenas. For God's sake sub him off." He's like Yin and Yang, it is in his essence to be simultaenously both shite and brilliant, caught in a delicate and timeless footballing paradox. By the time I've finished the 10 minute, post-match walk to my car I'm practically a quivering, schitzophrenic wreck.

But let's say he packed his designer luggage and headed for Milan. How would our boy fair in a city that is known for fashion, food and football? What impact would he have on fans who have seen their midfield strings pulled by some of the true greats of the game?

The last English midfielder that wore the nerazzuri shirt was Paul Ince, and he is till fondly remembered in Inter folklore. After a slow start, his tough tackling, whole hearted displays coupled with a good range of passing a vicious shot were a revelation at the San Siro. His sheer enthusiasm and toughness made him exactly what the Inter fans expected when they signed an English midfield general. 

So far not so good then for JJ.

But of course there already is an English midfielder playing in Milan. One who is known more for his creativity than his brutality. He's not got the legs anymore but he can put a set piece where it's meant to be. And Italians bloody love a set piece. Mr Beckham is a world star playing for Inter's fiercest rivals. Jenas would be only the 2nd Englishman currently playing in Italy, in the same city and the same stadium no less. Comparisons would instantly be drawn and I'm struggling to remember many goals scored from an expertly delivered Jenas dead ball.

2-0 to the doubters then.

However, the Italian league is less physical, more tactical and players get a lot more time on the ball. Compared to many opponents in Serie A, Jenas would probably look like he has the work rate of Wayne Rooney. He's also actually pretty bright. Word from the Lodge is that he's one of, if not THE most intellectual of our current flock. Any time there is an education initiative he's front of the queue. That's not saying much though as he's probably the only one that can even spell queue, or his name for that matter.

I for one think more English players should get out there and play abroad. We have the so-called best league in the world but foreign clubs rarely try to buy our English players. He is still young enough to develop his game to perhaps even make a decent shout for England at Euro 2012. He could be an absolute revelation and having Mourinho there would be a massive advantage for him.

He may finally find fans that really love him. He may even get his first ever proper chant - less hilarious things rhyme with Jenas in Italian than they do in English.

Love or loathe him, I'd say it's pretty universally accepted that Jermaine is not going to push on a level at Spurs, and we won't up our level with him in the team.

If he does move then I wish him the best of luck. He may not have set our world alight but he's played under about 50 managers, never moaned to the press to force a transfer and yes, he did score some blinders against the goons. 

Europeans love to give their players little nicknames. In Italy Jenas would be il potenziale - the potential. If he joins Inter this Summer I'd love to see him finally realise it.

We're all in agreement, Azza is better than Theo...

Remember the days when Lennon was accused of being all pace, no end product or composure and pretty much someone who was tagged as a one-trick pony with a limited shelf-life (thanks to defenders quickly working out how to stop him in his tracks)? He had that one single season, that one blip, where he struggled for ideas, lost his way a little. But his progression returned the following year and he continues to improve - in all areas. Not the finished article by a long shot, but a key first team player and one that is a sure fire inclusion for the World Cup, as long as he recovers from his injury. He can score, cross and has a more than decent first touch and is excellent at nicking the ball off opposition players, skipping around them and running off with the leather at his feet. Off the bench for England, he's the definitive impact player. They'll try to hack him down, cards all over the place from the ref.

Theo Walcott on the other hand has done little in the way of anything in the past few seasons. Once you place the hype aside and box it back up and then take the ridiculous decision to take him to the last WC and flush that down the toilet, he's basically a player with plenty of pace - but nothing else. He's a blindfolded Lennon.

Okay, so he's been plagued with injuries - but if this kid played for anyone else, he'd be nowhere near the England team. Even Arsenal fans have run out of patience.

He runs but shows no crafty clever movements and his touch is abysmal for a player much cited as some sort of Henry prototype (see what tabloid hype does and how detrimental it can be?)

Yet our esteemed English tabloids continue to perpetuate fantasy. As though they are attempting to force the issue that surely a young English player at Arsenal HAS to be good and good enough for England. Sven took him to the WC ffs!!!111

Re: tabloids, I'm referring to The Sun and Steven Howard. Which brings me onto today's 'Forum Post of the Day'. Even though its not even 11am (at time of writing), I read this nailed-on reaction to Howard's match report of England's 3-1 win last night which included two gems. One stating Carrick made no impact and the other rewarding Theo a healthy 7 out of 10 for his performance when 4 or 3 would have been far more justified. Considering what SWP did when he came on, the gulf between the two is massive, let alone when comparing TW to Lennon or even David Beckham. Or even David bleeding Bentley.

It would be great if this guy could perform to the level most people remember (the hat trick v Croatia) but that appears to have been one spike in a land of blips. This is a bit like waiting on Jenas to excel because he smashed up Arsenal that one time. It's not happening. It's not going to happen. It's The Happening directed by M. Night Shyamalan. A strange, horrible and unprecedented crisis begins at the Emirates and transcends across to Wembley. The mysterious neurotoxin causes any Sun reporters coming into contact with it to commit common sense suicide. This all started several years back when our young protagonist, playing for Southampton at the time, run down the wing and chipped it in. Have you not see the video of that chip? That goal when he chips it in? Haven't you seen the chip? He chips it. Sky Sports News played that one clip all the time at the time. Over and over and over again. It's the chip. The goal where he chips it over the keeper and into the goal. The kid had chipability. He chips the ball in against some team and scores.

I'm just bitter he rejected us and went to them because of the number 14 factor. Bitter until Gareth Bale pulled himself out of an almighty lull to regain the potential we always prayed he had.

Others are not quite infected by the tiresome hype.

Waddle nailed it on 5 Live: "I've been analysing Walcott's wing play and I've come to the conclusion he does not understand the game".

Fact.

So, thanks to Markysimmo04 over at GG.co.uk and his e-mail to Steven Howard which wins today's 'Forum Post of the Day':

My work colleagues and I were wondering if you actually watched the game last night or maybe was in the bar during the whole of it..
 
How on earth can you give Walcott a 7, apart from one run in the first minute he once again looked like a little boy lost on the pitch and somebody who is only in the squad because he plays for one of the sky / media top 4 cartel, 67 games in 5 seasons for the trophy-less Arsenal shows he isn't even good enough for the premier league let alone international football
 
Or maybe your an Arsenal fan or one of Monsieur Wenger's disciples who hang on every biased comment he makes as the comment about Carrick not making an impression, he had a very good 20 mins or so and made the team tick a lot more than with Lampard on
 
Anyhow your ratings have made for much merriment in our office this morning and we are looking forward to seeing more one eyed clueless reporting in the upcoming weeks and months leading to the world cup 

Well in Mark. I do appreciate a good letter.

Update on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 1:42PM by spooky

Looks like Steven Howard has replied to Mark's e-mail. Have to say, if this is geninue, he has slightly (ever so slightly) gone up in my estimation. Single notch mind. Nothing more.

I'm afraid I didn't do the player ratings. These were done by my colleague Ian McGarry. Sadly, as they sometimes do, they missed outhis by-line. So, once again, I'm made to look a mug. I can do this quite easily on my own without anyone else's help!

Yrs Steve H

Excellent.

Keane's Sixteen - "Are You In Or Out?"

So according to The Sun (via 606 and rehashed on various blogs before the lazy red top hacks decided to latch onto anything anti-Spurs post-City thrashing) sixteen first team players have 'heaped shame on the club' by having a secret party in Dublin behind the back of Harry.

Tabloid gold,  jumping all over this because Harry 'cancelled' Xmas stating there would be no festive party for the players as football and football only would take priority. The Dublin trip happened prior to that statement. A golfing trip (that Redknapp was aware of) that was actually spent in a bar and nightclub thanks to party organiser Robbie Keane who took £2000 a piece to fix things up. Maybe that's why he stood by the tunnel shaking the hands of the players as they run out for the second half. A sort of guard of honour moment for Keane's Keyser Söze bluff with the usual suspects guilty of leaving Spurs shamed, so shamed, so very very shamed.

< tumble-weed >

Visit The Sun's website to see the photos. Yes, there are photos on The Suns website. That's the photos of the bar and club. Taken at some random point in time during the day. There's also a photo of a private jet flying through the sky. Not the actual private jet used by some of the players but a good likeness for it. It's damning evidence.

If the players trained brilliantly the day later, then if the 16 did go out on the lash (if anyone in Dublin has mobile pics of the players or perhaps the Dublin newspapers covered the story and the paparazzi took snaps of drunken dentist chair action - then feel free to link/share) they didn't appear to show it the next day in training. And losing 1-0 to Wolves had more to do with football than hangovers.

If you want to be all Mulder about it and claim that players did get smashed out their heads and the matter was dealt with behind closed doors (hence Harry's 'no Xmas party' statement 48 hours after Dublin) then that's fine. It's all been confirmed by a Spurs insider, so its practically fact. And if the club punished players, then we'd have heard something about it no doubt.

So in conclusion, it sounds like they went to Ireland, played some golf (or didn't) and then went to a bar and a club before travelling back in time for training the next morning and showing no sign of drink fatigue.

It was apparently a 'audacious plot planned with military precision'. What was? Travelling to Dublin for a couple of drinks and then travelling back home again? Ooh. That must have taken some serious blue-printing to get it organised. Keane's 16. It's a little bit like Oceans but with no casino. No females either. Gio and Bale didn't travel, apparently preferring to stay home and wash their hair.

Additional footnote; the story remained on ice until after Spurs beat City.

GTFI.

Next...

Aston Villa away. 1-0 will do me just fine.

I've been off-line for a couple of days, returning to find the usual assortment of tabloid delights and a Made in Tottenham gem that will have your head shaking despondently.

Villa. Away. It's a biggie. Not just because we smashed Wigan 9-1 last week but also because a win would put us cushion-clear of MON's men and considering their impressive home record, would no doubt go a long way towards cementing our ambitions to remain Top 4 into the new year. Which isn't proving too tricky a task at the moment, even with the odd blip we manage to make room for. All eyes on Harry. With one single request from myself (and possibly all other Lilywhites):

Keep the same line-up.

That's right. Robbie, keep the bench warm son, you did a great job there last time out. No point messing with confidence and consistency. Right? We'll see. It wouldn't shock me if Harry did change it, because it's Villa and because it's away. Redknappology works in mysterious ways. But I'm going to wager he keeps it as it was (even if he's suggesting otherwise). Fuck it. I have no idea what he does, but no doubt if he changes it and we win, he's a genius, if he doesn't then cue tactical heartache and waving fists via message boards and blogs.

Rumours suggest (thanks to Archie over at SO) that BAE will play his last game for a while as he shoots off to France for treatment on a nagging stomach/groin issue. Which means we may be on the verge of the return of Gareth Bale to first team action, on a more semi-permanent basis (rather than the odd cameo). I rate Bale and unfortunately for the lad a mixture of the usual mis-management and shit form of his team mates + injuries was the catalyst for some pretty devastating confidence evaporation that was so bad at one point, he was linked with a move to Birmingham every other week (it's still happening). With us doing okay at the moment, I think a fully fit Bale can do a job for us if asked to slot into the left back position (if BAE is - as cited - going to be sidelined for a few games). If he's going to be a long term solution to the LB position then we need him to play Prem games consistently to find out if he does have true potential, rather than not. So this might work out to be a necessary experiment. We paid a lot of money for Gareth, there's something there. Let's not Blondel him into oblivion. Of course, same say he's better used as a LW. But we'll leave that for another time.

As for the game, pressure is on. Players talking about competing for the Top 4 once again on the back of that game against Wigan (you know the one), so best to avoid egg on face and swagger it all across the pitch once more with intent and end product. Although I don't actually care too much about performance. Yes, would love to see us play the sexy football and trounce Villa, but I'll happily see us battle, spill guts and blood and win with a deflected goal off a Villa defenders backside. 1-0. Three points. That will do me. Anything more and the club might start releasing a DVD every weekend.

Rumours also (keep those fingers and toes crossed for this one) that a certain little Croatian is fully fit and ready for a return although from the bench rather than a starting position. That's from the ITK's. Harry is a little more misty with return dates suggesting that he'll back soon rather than 8 weeks from now (as reported recently). It will be like having a brand spanking new £14M signing coming into the side, one that already knows how to dictate tempo and one that will galvanise all around him.

This is massive for us. Hold on for a sec...removing my heart from my chest and placing it on my sleeve. We could change gear and move up a level - which on current Prem form would suggest monopoly-destroying jigs for the WHL faithful (I'll regret this over the weekend, no doubt when we all start talking post-match about how the Europa League isn't too bad a second option). Move northwards, Tottenham, to avoid the temple of doom.

Elsewhere, we've signed (according to The Sun) another defender from Glasgow Rangers. Yeah, of course we have. Richards also re-linked. Has he been any good since he was...good?

And the club have done it again, this time with a 'I was there' framed collectable. Baby Jesus is not just weeping, he's having one. Toys and myrrh out of pram, the lot.  I understand that people involved in the clubs merchandising department are thinking first with their money-heads and second as Spurs fans because it's their job to come up with as many ways to take the fans money as possible. And I also think that if people are going to easily part with their money for such products they deserve to have their wallet lightened as often as possible because no doubt their world would fall apart if they didn't spend all their cash at the Spurs Shop. And if they're in there, they're nowhere near me. But for the love of God, there is no class or dare I say understatement about selling silliness on the back of what was a heavy win in our favour against...Wigan.

Yes, if you're aged 3-9 years then it's fine because kids don't know any better and it's a nice thing for them to associate the begining of their love affair with Spurs (which will no doubt see their youth ravaged in no time at all). Yes, freak result, and possibly the only recent occasion where a DVD of the game is 'okay' to make but this item is just a little bit sickly for my tastes.

If Paul Barber is reading this, I'm just stating opinion. It's not derogatory to the club (just in case I get a an email telling me it's in my terms and conditions to behave myself and promote nothing but goodness). Oh and Paul - good luck chief with your move across to the MLS. Big move. Big money. Don't go introducing unwanted colour streaks in their kits though, not for a couple of years at least. You know, get some good in before the bad.

FA Cup draw on Sunday. Expect us to get a Sky Sports Elite Top 4 side away.

COYS

More later...

I wonder how much press coverage this will get?

You'll have seen this already on one or two message boards and a few blogs. It deserves all the coverage it can get. Remember the Spurs fans who had their faces plastered all over the press and Crimestoppers for allegedly singing indecent chants at the Pompey v Spurs game?

The likes of the Daily Mail and other tabloids had no qualms about going to town in true sensationalist tabloid hack fashion (with obvious support from the police). The assumption being they must surely all be guilty so plaster their faces all over the front page and villianise them before they have a chance of proving otherwise.

Well done to Ian Trow for standing his ground:

9 months to the day, the CCTV images of 16 Spurs supporters were distributed by the police to all national media, and these images were placed in all papers, and on front page of Crimestoppers next to the likes of murderers and drug dealers.

For the first time in the 9 months since I woke up in a hotel in Germany and saw my face and that of my 13 year old son on the TV screen we can now hold our heads up high, having been proved innocent of all charges.

I cannot go into full detail, as we will be bringing civil action (certainly on behalf of Lewis, as I can get all costs covered under Legal Aid) against the police / CPS for the damages their total negligence and lack of due care caused.

In summary though

In December 11 of the 16 people identified themselves to the police (including a 13 and 2 15 year old boys), and were all charged with engaging in racist or indecent chanting.

In February 4 of these people pleaded guilty the other 7 not guilty. The difference is the 4 were singing the Sol Sol song which certainly is indecent. The other 7 were singing songs such as "We've got Ledley at the back".

These 7 people were then banned by Tottenham under the premise that we had been arrested and that contravened the terms of our season ticket (the fact that we had not been found guilty was irrelevant).

Early May all 7 people were offered cautions, as they had not been singing indecent songs, 5 took what I would call the easy route out and accepted the caution, I decided to uphold my principles and decided I have done nothing wrong so why should me and my son admit any form of guilt (which in effect is what a caution does). The police then offered to drop all charges against me if I would get my son to accept a reprimand (they were obviously scared of future repercussions by my son) I rejected this out of principal as well.

Middle of May, the 2 of us went to trial at Portsmouth Magistrates Court and despite there being no evidence to support the charge brought against us we were found guilty basically by association of singing indecent songs, i.e. we can prove bad songs were sung, we can prove you were at the ground, therefore we assume you were singing these songs.
My legal counsel advised me afterwards that this was always going to be the case, it was purely a show trial, in front of national media (invited by the Police). We were given a 3 year Football Banning Order.

Yesterday we had a full re-trial at Portsmouth Crown Court in front of the most senior judge in Hampshire, but I was quite surprised no media was present. The prosecution showed their evidence, to which the judge said "Is that it". We asked for immediate dismissal of the case (before we even had the chance to put our defence case) and after 2 minutes of deliberation the judge that came back and said, "Not guilty, no case to answer and that is totally unanimous of us all and you can tell by the time it it took it was not a hard decision". The judge then ripped into the CPS that this had been brought into his courtroom, and even been tried in the first case.

All costs have been awarded to me, football banning orders lifted etc.

I have been in touch with the club and expect to hear early next week that the season tickets will be returned.

I would like to thank my family, friends, fellow supporters who have supported me in this, and also the Tottenham Trust who gave some invaluable advise and have been in contact with Spurs during the whole scenario.

I am writing this with a sore head (as you can imagine I celebrated hard last night) and with a big :) on my face. I will be going into Tottenham for a few (or maybe more than a few) drinks today, as I am now allowed back into the borough of Haringey on match-days, although I do not have ticket for match.

Thanks for the support
Ian Trow

COYS

Hopefully the club will have a few words of support on this matter too. The whole sorry affair proves how superficial the media are (we all know how they work and what sells papers so it's no real shock), how easily influenced the police are and how the complaintent's quest for what he perceived as undeniable justice can be steam-rolled into a witch-hunt just to appease his ego.

Afternoon tea Spursistics

Vieira stats. He made 10 apperances last season for Inter. Nine of which he was either a sub or subbed. Spent force? Probably. Based on the past year or so, you'd think so. I guess when I wished we would look at someone as an understudy for Palacios, I didn't think the understudy would be older than him. Still time for a twist. There's a secondary rumour that its not Vieira (did someone say 'smokescreen'?) and that Flamini is the real target.

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My favourite ESPN columnist has broken his silence on his decision to choose Spurs as his EPL team and has claimed it was a mistake, citing that Liverpool is the club he is now leaning towards because they are '…like the Boston Red Sox'. Stick with baseball buddy because the experiment hasn't worked. Not because of selecting Spurs, but because it was an half-arsed attempt at looking across the pond in an attempt to educate Americans about the beautiful game. No doubt, Simmons has lost out on the opportunity to entertain his public. No idea if it has to do with the lack of coverage over in the States at the time or if the prolonged process of selecting a EPL team had resulted in his interest evaporating faster than Tottenham's 4th spot dream. But Mr Simmons is wrong to think he made the wrong choice. If I was a clueless American (who is interested in soccer) or an MLS fan, I'd much prefer reading about the rollercoaster that is Spurs than the blandness of Anfield with their banners and scarf's. And title push and Champions League football and…

Oh. I get it now.

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David Bentley, sat in a restaurant, gets punched in the face by some absolute **** who had given him a bit of stick before landing one on him. I read somewhere that David was lucky he didn't throw a punch back, because he'd have been nicked. If someone attacked me, for no reason at all other than the fact that he's a mindless jealous ****, and I was sat there with my pregnant girlfriend/wife - I'd have picked up a chair and smashed it across the fuckers face before dragging him outside and throwing him into the nearest gutter. The other guy started it, right? Just me. Hate it when people disturb my consumption of food. David is alright though. Decent in training today. Good lad.

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Boateng. The Prince. He's back in the squad listings. I guess this means Harry is having a look at him, thanks to nobody willing to take a punt in signing him for the over-inflated fee we've tagged him with. You never know. Harry might manage (where others have failed) to get something out of his boots in the way of productivity or creation. Boateng been nothing but talk so far and didn't impress out on loan and with Adel still screaming for an escape away from WHL, we can do with having at least one wildcard in our ranks.

Slating Spurs

For people who dislike blogs for being inane and irreverent and unprofessional, feel free to ignore our ilk and make do with real journalists who get paid to write insightful editorials.

I suggest you follow Brian Reade of the Daily Mirror. Never a word out of place.

What a guy.

The truth is never out there (David Bentley)

Thought I'd share this because it serves a purpose in never quite believing what you read, even when they print quotes from the player in question. In this case, David Bentley. The interview in question is the one The Sun published yesterday where David allegedly told the journalist that he was in talks with Aston Villa.

Complete fabrication. At least according to a good friend of DB who has no reason to fib. Unlike the tabloids who do nothing but.

I accept we'll be seeing one of those two sentence apologies hidden away in the corner of the page soon.

Still, would be ironic if Villa do end up bidding for him and he does go.

Truth will out in time.

Don't believe the hype

Hype. It’s a wonderful thing. Grow some moody facial hair on it and it practically begs for attention. I’m not dismissing Theo Walcott’s talent. But let’s not kid ourselves. If he played for anyone other than Arsenal, he wouldn’t be flirting so much with the England first team. Is he any better than SWP at the best of times?

There’s no doubting his pace. Electrifying. But thanks to Wenger and his undeniable ability of turning players into insufferable ****, Theo already thinks he is some type of Henry-Lite prototype. Blame David Dein’s octopus arms and Sven's acceptance resulting with the kids unwarranted inclusion in the World Cup squad in 2006.

Since then we've had three goals away to Croatia which has only added to the expectations a country has for one of their players.

Shame our Aaron is recovering at the moment because even the stats tell us there’s no doubting our shaved eyebrow wing wizard is currently ahead of his Woolwich counterpart in a claim for the spot on the right-wing for the Three Lions. Aaron has actually matured this season. We all know he has some fine-tuning to work on with decision making and finishing, but he’s no longer a kid with boots made out of greased lightning. He’s a young man who has proved his worth through determination and hard work and belief. With greased lightning boots.

Consistency the key.

Proving tricky writing this article and playing a violin at the same time. But that’s me. Multi-skilled. Much like our Player of the Year. Our Aaron has claimed more assists. More cross completions. May not have had as many shots on goal but gets more on target. Far more. And thus scores more for the effort.

Oh but Theo was injured and out of action for a while. Well that’s dandy. Aaron spent last year drowning in his own hype from the year before. Unable to keep his head above the water of expectation. He’s not quite walking on it yet. He’s on a jet-ski. Which is good enough. Theo is somewhat behind. Sat in a canoe with Wenger barking frenzied instructions. Most of which relate to avoiding international duty which Theo chooses to ignore.

The point is, for all the superlatives and the repeated footage of a run that’s akin to something Lennon does all the time is not a purposeful testament to progression. In fact he hasn’t stepped it up quite yet, but who cares as long as he’s with his pretty girlfriend and surrounded by sound-bites about the heir to the throne Thierry left behind. Enough with the poses and the arrogant swagger. It's positively boring.

Not that I want him to play well for Arsenal, but I guess he has to if he's going to be an integral part of the England squad.

Maybe it’s more subtle and people outside of the Emirates can’t quite grasp the improvement he’s made. I welcome any Arsenal input over this. To me he just appears to be inconsistent. Bursts of buzzing energy and then very little. Much like the Lennon of two years ago. Some gooner mates agree with me. Others don't and simply cite the injury as the reason for his stop-start form.

Last time out, our lad ended up believing the hype and paid the price for it. If Aaron has to continue to develop his game in the shadows whilst Walcott gets all the media attention then so be it.

Club before country.