Final word on the Nani goal

Referees and assistant referees get things wrong. All the time it seems, and they enjoy doing so in Spurs games for and against us if you read what others wish to share as evidence.

United fans have cited the Palacios tackle which he should have been sent off for last season at OT early in the game. Webb didn't but did award a penalty that never was. It's swings and roundabouts. Or something.

Also cited, the Huddlestone goal against Fulham (wasn't Gallas not interfering any ways?) and the Stoke goal that never was.

The point being (as made by the right honourable Rio Ferdinand who knows everything about how to make the most of an ambiguous situation) that we looked the other way at both Fulham and Stoke and didn't ask questions, so what difference with Nani and his cheeky punt of ball under hapless body of Gomes goal?

Not sure how the decisions we don't get against United (when added up) can be explained in terms of annoyance and why they continue to happen - but regardless of the injustice any club of any colour experiences the end result is this:

Accept the mistake made, if its in your advantage or against you because the law of averages would deem that karma will set things right in another game. Even if you tally 'em up and find yourself counting the good on one hand and the bad requiring the hands of twenty.

It's fair they all say. And to keep crying victim is unbecoming of us (the scousers have copyright, I've checked).

However, the Hudd goal at Fulham. The Stoke goal not given. Are these really comparable to the Mendas 'goal', the Webb penalty decision and couple of other hugely contentious incidents? It's not exactly offside and let's have goal line technology please, is it? I guess yellow cards dished out for tackles for one team but ignored for tackles for the opposing side, time and time again, is also contentious. But then that's also a very regular pattern in the game, the country over.

Re: That Mendes 'goal' - I know the lino had his head down and never saw the ball cross the line, but surely when he lifted his head up and looked across to the goal - something a certain ref also supposedly did if he was concentrating and doing his job - considering Carroll got himself out of the goal from behind the line in a mental scramble wouldn't logic suggest the ball must have also been behind the line for the keeper to have been behind the line?

Oh Christ, I'm going to go off on a tangent here. Let's not. It's part of football legend now. Discussed to death. And it would seem, accepted in the realms of the upper tier.

So no more playing the victim. It hasn't helped us and it hasn't changed things. Them the breaks, and if it happens to your advantage you should lap it up. It's part and parcel. The mistakes. Delivered with ample consistent incompetence by the officials time and time again. Why even bother bothering?

I guess you might well ask how exactly can we manage to dig out for ourselves something like the Nani goal to our advantage in a game (for the last time, THE GOAL AGAINST STOKE DOES NOT COMPARE) is easily answered. It's whether the question is being asked inside our beloved club amongst management and players. It's whether we want to be asking it.

The answer would be to simply start c**ting off the opposition. Yep, lose a bit of class and become a winner. You'll still need support. Play in red, and you'll get it every time.

Or, I don't know, perhaps, ya know, if we grew some b*llocks and followed through on our motto and took control of the destiny of the game placing it beyond the man in black with the whistle in his hand and the opposition's gleeful handling of said delivered parcel of love.

Mental strength, hey? If only we could sign up some of that in the Jan transfer window. Because ref's are out of our league, for now at least.

So let's give Cluttenburg and Webb and every other ref that has dicked as or helped us by way of comedy a massive round of applause.

Start clapping in 3...2...1...

As for Spurs, heads up, we're playing some lovely stuff, we have some fantastic players. We're not far off from getting it right. Honestly, have faith. I'm not drunk.

The Comeback Kid

The young puggy looking lad started the day much like most other days. He broke a mirror in the bedroom and spent approximately ten minutes clearing up the glass. He then processed to have four shredded wheat in the hope this would give him super-strength. He then spent approximately two hours fixing his hair. This was a time consuming task, of much pleasure, acquiring an assortment of shampoo, conditioner, hairspray and gel. Once complete, a tracksuit is fitted on. Done and dusted. With at least 10 minutes to spare before being picked up by his best mate. Time to practice some skills outside until he arrives.

Using a ladder carefully placed by the side of the house the young lad dribbles the ball around it with sublime ease. It gets a little more tricky when his pet cat starts running across his path, with the lad having to dink the ball over the pesky fur-ball. The black feline always hisses in disagreement when the lad mis-times and kicks the ball into its slender elastic body.

Carpool time. The lads best mate is here. He always knows around 20 seconds before he pulls up outside in his car because his best mate loves to show-off a bit. He kicks the ball out of the sun-roof and it travels with pace, hitting the doorbell. Expert precision and casually effortless as you like.

Ding dong.

They hug and both agree today will be the day.

The old decrepit spinster opposite, peering from her window disagrees and holds tightly to the effigy in her hand. She curses to herself as she begins to look around for a needle.

When the two bestest friends arrive, the lad gets ready for what will be ninety career-defining minutes. But his best mate is glum. There is no place for him other than cheering on from the sidelines. He consoles himself by recreating a  happier moment, star-jumping at the entrance. Except its not quite the same without a camera zooming in on him. He wipes a single tear from his eye and kicks an empty can, hands in pockets, sighing.

90 minutes later. With a 3-2 score, it's all smiles for the puggy looking kid.

"We won", he spurts out gleefully.
"Great", says his subdued best mate.
"We won and I played the full ninety minutes"
"That's great mate. Look, can we drive about a bit. I heard there was some work being done on a house about a mile from here. Reckon they'll have a skip outside and I want to try this trick where I…"
"I played ninety minutes and I tasted victory"
"It was a friendly behind closed doors against Championship opposition. I doesn't count"
"I won"
"Gio even got a start"
"I won"
"It was QPR at the Lodge with a bunch of kids playing"
"I won"

The puggy kid was happy. If rainbows had endings, you'd find his smile there, positively beaming.

"The jinx. It's over. Life is good"

Elsewhere, the old decrepit spinster, arm stretched under the sofa, picks up a lost needle with her fingers.

"There you are my precious"

Gareth Bales out of Spurs pre-season

Gareth Bale in all probability won't be fit for the start of next season. He faces a race to recover from knee surgery for a medial meniscal tear. Which means by the time he's back in full training, he'll be lagging behind for a place in the first team.

He's never had it great at Spurs.

Six months out with an ankle injury, comes into a Spurs side that is utterly shite and incapable of winning and has yet to taste victory in the Prem as a consequence leading to loss of confidence and keeping another victim of hard luck David Bentley (cough) company on the bench. He just doesn't get a look in, possibly because Harry doesn't rate him. But probably because there hasn't been much on offer since his arrival. If Gareth was in his late twenties, then I wouldn't expect Harry to be so patient.

The only positive out of all this is that we are unlikely to sell the kid now. Harry has to be paitent, all things taken into consideration, Bale is only 20 years old. There is no doubting he has talent. It's there, it's been hiding behind the footballing sofa except now it's having to lay on it, feet up with little to do but wait.

But as we've seen time and time again, it doesn't always come together at the first time of asking. In Gareth's case, it's all down to that first injury.

It's frustrating for all concerned.

His talent isn't quite defined, and coming to Spurs was meant to be the next step in his development to evolve into a more complete all round player. He's great coming forward, and arguably better at his offensive duties than his defensive ones.

Now he's back to square one, again. As long as he is not rushed back and starts playing in a winning side, then I'm certain he will be a success. Confidence breeds confidence which breeds smiles all round.

Talking of square one (or should that be ground zero?) Kevin Prince Boateng is back at Spurs having been told Dortmund can't afford to sign him. Which translated simply means he didn't do enough to impress the German club to sign him full time. It's difficult to gauge if KPB has anything in his locker to make it in the EPL, considering he failed to impress first time round. And tbh, I'd rather we push Adel Taraabt than the 'never won the German Young Player of the Year award no matter how many times the tabloids and broadsheets tell you he did' midfielder.

He's the perfect illustration of an unnecessary Comolli signing. Hyped potential, all tattoos and no substance. My advice to Levy and Harry? Lower your asking price.

Then again Harry did sign Kaboul when he was at Pompey, so never quite know what's in store...