Want it

Writing a match preview can be a tricky most of the time because you simply look to share an opinion on team selection and tactics and then dress it all up with statistics about recent form in the league and history against the opposition then wrap it up with a concluding expectancy of how the game will (hopefully) pan out. I prefer to delve into the analysis mostly in the match review post-result and stick to a battle cry in the lead up to it. Today is no different.

We are currently uncertain of the staring first eleven that will take to the pitch against Chelsea.

No Lennon, Defoe, King, Bale, Adebayor = bare bones, backs to wall, mission improbable. Any team would struggle if you remove that many key players.

Lennon is a non-starter for certain. Defoe, rumoured to be missing too. Then we have the usual kidology and ambiguity concerning King, Bale and Adebayor. We all know it takes several days for Ledley’s knee to return to normal (as normal gets) but can’t imagine us playing him against Sunderland and thus risking him for tonight’s game. Adebayor will also play. Mainly because I refuse to believe the footballing Gods would be so cruel as to unbalance what should be a good solid tight game by depleting us and handing over advantage before the whistle is blown. As for Bale. It’s just a hunch, but I think he’ll start too.

If I’m wrong on Gareth, then the second half against Sunderland is the reminder we need to look back on as to avoid playing so narrow and allow both Luka and Rafa to drift into central positions to be effective. We need to be astute tactically with covering space left open by such marauding and push from full backs to wings. Goes without say that the industry we have to display in the middle of the park, in the war zone, has to be relentless. Parker hasn’t been completely on top form recently but then his level of performance was bound to dip ever so slightly. Sandro might have a role to play.

I wouldn’t scoff at a more traditional 442, knowing full well that this will mean van der Vaart playing alongside Adebayor which means he’ll play behind him, which then means he’ll drop deep and wander meaning it will turn back to a 4411. Discipline is what will take precedence, or at least it’s what should take precedence. Discipline and focus. We need to get at them and retain concentration at the back (Sturridge for me is key to them having any success in advanced positions).

Fact is simply this. We can’t play our trademark game if we don’t have the pace down the flanks. So we have to adapt and do so with minimal sacrifice in terms of style and more importantly ambition. We have to look to win this game. Go for their jugular.

It’s vital we get it right through the middle and overlap to mix it up a little. Width is how we damage, how we counter. If Bale plays, we retain some of that style. If he doesn’t, we have to up the work ethic and aim for fluidity as a unit (players playing for each other).

Chelsea, unbelievably, are probably the ones tagged with the underdog label. Plucky and resourceful, they’ve pulled a few results out of the bag when one or two were expecting more implosions. They still slip up (as seen at Wigan). But they have more than enough quality to hurt anyone. This being the game that it is – a derby and one that comes with a possible festive divide within the top four, there is no way of ignoring that it’s going to be defined with more than just team selection and formations.

This game is worth several points in the mental strength stakes. The three points are what matter but equally so does the statement made when acquiring them.

All eyes on Terry (if he starts). He doesn't mind this ilk of game, he tends to thrive on it such is his self-importance and arrogance. All eyes on Luka too. A chance to dictate tempo and control the game, a gentle nod towards the opposition. You can look but you can't touch. I'll only consider the irony of a Spurs win post-game and what opinion his agent might have of it.

Our record against them lot at the Lane remains impressive in recent years. Our home support is more than capable of being the 12^th man (as long as Howard Webb doesn’t take that mantle at any given moment in the game).

That buzz you’re feeling, tingling in your bones. It’s the type of buzz I want to be feeling week in week out from now until the end of the season. Points ratio suggests we’ll be in amongst it and if we keep up our strong home record then we’re going to be anchored to the very top tier. This game gives us another opportunity to show that there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Upright blue ones included.

Guile, tenacity and decisive quality please Tottenham. This won’t be easy. Sing your hearts out. As ever, aim high.

Love the shirt.

Spurs don't need to wing it to win it through the middle

Spurs 1 Sunderland 0

It was hardly a quintessential new look Spurs home performance. A distinct lack of shape with that controlled cohesiveness in the middle of the park and that pulsating pace down the flanks MIA. We suffered a little watching the game unfold like a scrunched up piece of paper with a game plan scribbled across it. Except, well, it doesn’t unfold too well. You can sort of make out what the point being made is but its mostly indistinguishable. Thankfully, a second copy was printed out in time for the second half on glossy colour paper.

So what was this game in terms of form and formation?

The first half was untidy. Bale unavailable due to an injury he sustained in training. Lennon leaving the field of play with an injury that might keep him out a while. King (25 pts from 27 pts) was fit and started. Players playing out of position meant Luka and Rafa struggled to find  tempo. It looked ominous. It smelt ominous. You sort of watched and scratched your head and pondered that this might be one of those days where the team fail to adjust accordingly and can’t quite dig deep enough.

You. Not I. Well perhaps I’m not in a minority with this but I hardly knee-jerked to the tune of ‘we’ve got our Tottenham back, you know the one, the rubbish one’. The word patience bounced around my head, even with Roman on the pitch.

This season, placing aside the entertaining uber-confident football we know we’re capable of when at full strength, we’ve managed to almost contain ourselves from an anti-climatic scenario. Never quite peaking, always looking to aspire for more and when it doesn’t quite go according to plan...we grind it out. Multi-facet Tottenham. We can win any which way we wish. We battle through at times and even when we impress there is always room for improvements. That’s a fairly healthy position to be in.

The untidiness saw plenty of misplaced passing, average to poor ball distribution and not so positive positioning. No attacking outlet with the missing wingers/insider forwards which let’s face it, is Plan A (attack, counter-attack with pace). Plan B is sort of, well, what is it exactly? It’s not what we witnessed in the first forty-five minutes.

The despondency some felt is natural. When you become accustomed to something that plays out at a high level of expectancy, if it drops, when it drops – everything gets the microscopic treatment, with critics at the game or on the sofa moaning and head shaking. We’ve been spoilt, of course we have. You can’t party every weekend. And the come down is never going to be pleasant. Days like this are equally just as important as the ones where the swagger has us dancing with joy.

The  winning mentality is built on persevering and pulling together. Okay, so it was only Sunderland and perhaps (again) it proves we need perhaps extra quality in the squad to compensate for long term injuries if they happen. But it turned out nice again, didn’t it?

We were the better side at the break but still the second half needed impetus and structure. Cue Harry, cue whatever it is he does in the dressing room at half-time. I imagine it’s not the hair-dryer. Probably gets all the players to jump in to a giant-size snuggle blanket and sings gently the tactics in the form of a soothing lullaby as he hugs his way through the first eleven before shaking them all awake with a fatherly pat on the back. Go get ‘em.

All players entering the field of play for the second half more focused, with intent primed and ready to damage the opposition and once prove to everyone the old Tottenham (that rubbish one) no longer exists. We’ve just got a new one that has worked its way through puberty, voice broken, ready to growl and spit and have a ruck if need be.

Luka and Rafa far more central in the second half with Parker pushing further forward and Sandro The Bricklayer building a wall to stand guard over like an over-keen gardener who doesn’t want any silly children playing ball on his lawn.  

Disciplined.

Rafa was the completely opposite of his ineffectual first forty-five ghost, giving it one of those Neo from the Matrix performances. Stand out moments that delicious pass to Benny, enough to make you fantasise about it (sorry Sylvie babe) and quite obviously the reverse ball to Pavlyuchenko who finished it for the 1-0. The Russian, quick to point out his name on the back of his shirt. Yes mate, we know it all too well. It says ‘lazy half arsed footballer with sublime technical ability but frustratingly poor with all the other things a complete forward is meant to have’. Costs a fair bit to have that printed on a replica.

If we could perhaps take Pav and Adebayor and fuse them we’d have a player with work ethic, movement, team-work and hunger (Adebayor) with one that can finish with pomp (Pav)...or perhaps not and we end up with a hybrid gone wrong who can’t talk English but smiles broadly when he misses a sitter.

The goal was enough. Modric could have made it two but preferred not to score and keep it for when Chelsea visit. Walker and BAE worked tirelessly down the wings (thus allowing Luka and Rafa to mix it up where they mix it up best – down the middle).

Still hardly at full pelt, but we displayed the grit and tenacity which will always lead to that moment of sublime skill to carve open a goal scoring opportunity. Brad also busy between the sticks when called upon. We got through it. It’s what we do when it’s called upon us. Sandro was admirable, got to love the way players bounce off him as he moves forward with the ball leaving them devastated on the ground.

Parker survived the yellow card that could have ruled him out of Thursday’s game. King ‘should’ play. Kaboul will be back. Bale? We hope will be fine and there’s a little kidology going on.

Start to worry if we’re playing like this and winning like this every single week. Then we might need to discuss a lack of spark and ingenuity. But that won’t happen. Also no point discussing the Jan transfer window until it happens. Only thing that matters it the next game.

We played without two key players, instrumental to the style everyone associates with us. Narrow, congested football doesn’t quite work if it doesn’t have its outlets. Harry worked it out in time for the second half. We need to work it out before we whistle is blown on Thursday to kick-off.

442? Patient possession play? Decisions, decisions. Will say this much though...this game is not as pivotal as its being written up to be. Okay sure it is if we win but we all know it only then takes two or three not so smart results in the aftermath to change things around. If we lose it will hardly be the early Xmas present we’ve asked for but we’re hardly going to have our hopes crushed for the season. However, that attitude is firmly one that sits on the fence.

Smash’em to pieces is therefore the only conceivable option. No matter the players, no matter the formation.

Chelsea are no mugs. But we’re hardly in the shadow of a beast.

I want us to go for their jugular. We play best when we play the Tottenham way.

Momentum.

COYS.

Love the shirt.

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.

There is no Doomsday. Just All-Stars.

One of my favourite scenes from Superman II is the diner fight. Both of them in fact. A powerless Clark Kent gets bullied and knocked out by a truck driver. Clark means well, but deep down it's all bravado. He knows this but gallantly attempts to blag it. The truck driver humiliates him, leaving Clark bloody and beaten.

It's like the 1990s and early 2000s in constant loop. Spurs turn up, look the part, but everyone can see right through them and can't quite believe they want to go toe to toe and proceed to get brushed aside. The victor arrogantly show-boating whilst Spurs pathetically fail. Teaching someone manners has to be backed up with a good slap. We were limp and no amount of fronting was going work.

Not pleasant viewing. Disillusioned and confused, we were lost whilst those around us grow stronger and more powerful. There was no competition for them and just survival for us. Going through the motions with no apparent evidence that a shift in power would ever occur.

Sure, we had powers in the past. Okay so the metaphor doesn't quite stretch to us giving them up for the love of a woman but we may as well have considering how we turned into a parody of ourselves. An empty shell. I wasn't alone in my Fortress of Solitude either during those dark times. Had one or two fellow Spurs fans sharing the despair, head in hands, shaking despondently at another beating.

So what changed exactly?

The powerful ones got complacent thanks to greed and comfort. We got fed up kneeling down. We switched it. We did it to them. Well, not unequivocally. We still need to crush the hand of Zod and throw him into the depths. Zod being Man Utd in this part of the metaphor...just keep humouring me until the end of the article. Those that want to work with me, you can take Man City to be Lex Luthor and Arsenal can be Non (figure it out).

We're no longer that weak Kent asking the bully to step outside. Rather a supremely confident Kent preferring to tease jokingly about the past then swagger on in. Belief all-consuming.

Come and get it. Oh how we've done just that.

So when Bolton visit us at the Lane, much like so many teams have done in recent times, they will possibly look to trap us in the Phantom Zone. Frustrate, break up play, populate the midfield with physicality to leave us trapped in a perpetual state. One or two might be expecting that slip, that off day, that defeat. Others are preferring to bask in the positives and await a DVD spectacular. Directors cut.

I am neither concerned nor am I giddy. Simply fulfilled.

This Spurs team is not quite at the stage of being able to fly around the earth and turn back time to avoid Louis Lane's death (the 1990s happened, deal with it, history can't be changed). But we can still fly around with our underpants over our trousers with arms upright and clenched fists. I mean literally underpants over trousers. If we keep winning I'm going to have to take 'shrooms just to sober up and attempt to anchor myself to reality.

Reality is also over-rated for some. Many that surround us might wish to believe otherwise but there is nothing to fear. Other than ones self-doubt. So many citations to the past from those desperate to cling to it when in the past we had to endure a desolate future. Times are changing. If you don't care to admit it you're either blind or covering your eyes with your hands. Be blessed if you have x-ray vision.

Reality can also be many more things.

If we lose a game, this team is hardly going to fall apart because of it. In fact the team is more than likely to taste it and accept it as part of the learning curve and move onwards. Backbone is a quality that was mostly missing from those darker times. Defeat, when it hurts, when it should truly hurt, is when it's in isolation rather than being part of consistent inconsistency.

Let's also not forget that loving to win is one thing, learning to hate defeat is another - but equally as important. Whether it's against a trucker or a megalomaniacal Kryptonian.

These days, I quite fancy us against either. Super Spurs. They've been...working out.

An echo of glory

W.B.A 1 Spurs 3

Twenty eight out of a possible thirty points. Five away wins this season already (seven in total last time out). Is this the thing they call consistency? Of course it is. We've been accustomed to it for a while now. Don't pretend otherwise. Spurs have gradually gained said consistency across a season since Martin Jol almost lead us to the promised land. Since then, its been consolidated under Harry Redknapp (we'll ignore the blip that was Ramos). We continue to build up the defences at Fortress Lane. We've only been ransacked on rare occasions by canny thieves and barbarian armies. Away from home we conquer territory, sometimes with sheer perseverance and stubbornness, knowing we have the ability to attack and kill and leave the battlefield victorious.

The uncertainty, it no longer troubles us. It's now a routine. Sometimes expertly choreographed. Sometimes with a smile from the Gods.

A winning mentality, is not possessed over night. We've got one. It's fledgling and its in our hands (and heads and feet) just how well we nurture it.

This is not false hope. This isn't Spurs of old. Win a few games, then resort back to mediocrity. You have to be foolish to think that based on the fact we have some irresistibly slick players in our squad and the team, as a unit, has an organic progression to it. Last season was considered a failure because we finished 5th. That speaks volumes to how far we've come from those dark perpetually transitional periods in the 90s and early 00s.

When we have a full strength team arguably we have one of the best midfield's in the land. Robust, intelligent and exhilarating. Players like Luka, Rafa and Gareth...dream targets for the competition.

When I found out Luka Modric was also out of the game against W.B.A. (along with Rafa van der Vaart) I found myself scratching head contemplating this would go a long way to displaying the fortitude of manager + players. We don't get much at the Hawthorns so to turn up there with two key players missing means you're going to instantly knee-jerk and resort to questioning the depth in squad, or lack of. Then you might start to panic about what would happen if say Adebayor picked up a knock. It's all valid concern and I'd like to see us consolidate in January by signing two more top class players to really push this home and retain a top three placement.

So two players out, Defoe and Sandro in. Further maturity gained for club. What we got was yet another piece of striking evidence that this Spurs side is strong, physically and mentally.

First half, we struggled to adjust and our defending was neither tidy/organised. But at no point did I think here we go again because we've not actually gone there for an absolute age. Even if the side lacked a cohesive flow to it we have such an abundance of quality (see move that led to Lennon being fouled and awarded the penalty) that we can soak up pressure but always retain that potential to hit back. Regarding the penalty, scuffed shot for the kick, but Adebayor followed up to knock it in for the equaliser. Redemption for the team for the manner in which we conceded the easy opening goal W.B.A scored.

Second half was a bit more like it. Parker more aggressive in forward positions, team possession and passing improved (still the odd lapse and loose ball). Was nowhere the perfection we witnessed against Villa but again our quality gives us an edge that clubs like our hosts will always struggle to defend against. The flick to JD and his subsequent run and shot...brilliant. Adebayor scuffed again (Christ only knows what he'll be capable of once he finds himself in sharp form) for a third. Could have had more. Seven goal, six assists for our loan star so far.

W.B.A might argue they created a chance or two. Chances don't equate to points.

No nerves. Plenty of patience. Some luck.

Kaboul might have had the shakes, but there were more positives from the game than negatives. Adebayor continues to prove the virtues of having a complete forward who works relentlessly for his team mates. Lennon's renaissance continues. Even on the left-hand side. Defoe made an impact you can hardly ignore. Sandro, beastly as per usual, even if dangerously close to seeing red.

There's an air of confidence that allows the team to play without finger hovering above the panic button. In fact, where is the panic button? Once upon a time it was big enough for one of our players to simply head butt it to signal a capitulation. It's been a long time coming but it's nice to know that these days its more likely to be pressed by the opposing side.

When we play well, we are unplayable. Sometimes we can do just about enough to get through ninety minutes and secure the three points, almost like it was never in doubt even if there were moments when it was.

That, ladies and gentlemen is the mark of a proper team.

Well done. Again.

Still, early days. Not even Christmas yet. Long may the run continue, but all we've done thus far is set the foundations for what might be a superb season.

We are still growing and adapting to obstacles (of a selection type) that challenge us. If we're still involved at the top come 2012, which I'm sure we will be, then the transfer window will be imperative for us because to make this side even stronger by adding two or three players into the fold could be the difference between Top four or Top two.

Oh look at me getting all giddy and excitable. What do I care, heart on sleeve, I'm enjoying this as much as you. I refuse to be nervous and I refuse to hide behind negative what ifs. As improbable as a title challenge might appear to be, you'll never know just how good you are or just how good you can be if you don't aim high.

So aim high Spurs. Aim high. What will be will be.

Spurs facts. Click here.

We eat Uruk-hai for breakfast

W.B.A away. It's hardly the Mines of Moria. You won't find Orcs but you'll probably stumble over Lilywhite skeletons of fallen soldiers. As for confronting a Balrog and falling into an abyss? No time for such improbable mourning. We've already lost and made our brilliant white return. Fleeing the Hawthorns however with grim faces will be no victory. Unless the precious points are gripped in our hand. It's going to be tricky. When is it ever anything less? Would hardly be an adventure if it was only made up of a skip and a song in a field. Dead Marshes aplenty up ahead for our Fellowship.

This journey was never going to be an easy one. We continue to fight against our insecurities and question whether we have the perseverance to last. Even with our good form, I ask myself what if we lose say one or two to injury? Or if we're beaten, how will we react? Same old same old? Defaulting to in-fighting and disarray? Bare bones, backs to wall, Helms Deep? Sometimes you need that reminder to dig that deeper and against the odds claim the win.

W.B.A away. It's not Helms Deep. It's more like The Shire with the odd scary firework display. No epic battle expected.

Still, we don't have the best of records there. If that isn't inspiration enough to turn up, turn on and turn them inside out I don't know what is. This is another test of our resolve. Of our patience. Every battle we face in the coming weeks, regardless of how comfortable it may look in the build up, should be faced with the same tenacity we'd show to a more powerful enemy. Regardless of the opposition, a win equates to a trilogy. Every battle should retain the same level of importance as the last. Even if some are more final than others. We've still got Mordor to contend with and their Army of the Dead. But that's still a while off.

For now, focus. No complacency. Take nothing for granted. Display desire.

There is no hiding place. You wont find any Eagles to hitch a ride with either.

Believe.

Best. Spurs side. Ever. (well, since the 1980s)

Lilywhites 2 Aston Villa 0

I don't much care for the sound bites telling me that the visitors to the Lane lacked adventure and desire. Sure, it was an abject display if taken out of context. Any team that shapes up with four right-backs and seventeen centre-backs and then proceeds to park the bus will hardly be applauded for their (lack of) efforts. In context, Villa were not just playing away from home. They were playing against Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

I know you know that, but if there was ever a more perfect illustration that an away team knew that too it was Monday evening in N17. They pretty much lost the game before the whistle was blown to kick off. It's good thing that a mid-table side comes to the Lane and shapes up to defend for a draw (at best), damage limitation all that's on their mind. They don't consider how they could perhaps win the game, rather how can they stop us from winning it. Sure, it's gutless. QPR at least gave it a go when they visited. But its still of no true significance to me. They're the opposition. We need to win. Whether they decide to turn up and fight or pull their body back into the ropes, that's their concern. Their tactic might have been to counter. Soak in the pressure, turn the midfield into a battleground, stop start play. Frustrate. They got TKO'ed in minutes.

The fact is simply this: It didn't really matter what Villa wanted to do and attempted to do, they never stood a chance. It reminds me of how so many teams in the past would travel to 'them lot down the road' and not even bother to attack, almost accepting the inevitable. Very few teams get lucky at the Lane these days. Hardly anyone turns up thinking they will win. It's something we've built up over the past few seasons and it will continue to strength this sides belief.

This was as comprehensive a 2-0 win you'll ever see. It's a shame it wasn't 5-0 or 6-0 but nobody will scoff at the 70% or so possession and the stunning statistics concerning the likes of Parker and Modric who both recycled possession and out-manoeuvred their counter-parts to oblivion with mid-90 percentages in completed passes. With Harry Redknapp back in the dugout, practically from the opening few minutes we bossed the game. I've been banging on about the necessity to dominate football matches, more so when we take the lead and especially at home where expectancy is always high. We did just that.

Tempo was controlled by the brilliant Luka Modric who gave us a sublime game of how to play make from deep, complimented by Scott Parker who at times appeared to be in three/four places at once. He's like that mutant from X-Men that can duplicate himself, he's practically guarding every blade of grass on the pitch. The level of his focus is something to behold. Honestly, hand on heart, was he this good at Chelsea/Newcastle/West Ham United? I know I had blinkers on and gladly accept that, but he's astonishing. If he's human (no evidence to suggest that currently) then I'd like to see Sandro deputise more, just so that he doesn't run out of fuel once we're into the second half of the season.

What was wonderful about this performance was this: Well, two things. The first, the line-up. You only have to think back to the years in mid table mediocrity wilderness during the 90s and early 00s then open them, glance at the line up and dance David Brent style as your brain bubbles with delight. We're strong. We have powerful pacey players. Creative ones, some more subtle than others. Pulsating marauders and dynamic destroyers. All over the pitch, this team, it works. Physically and creatively, we can compete. If we continue to press and pass in the manner we did last night against any one that shows up at the Lane then it's going to be a solid season.

I underplayed it there.

It's going to be a frigging amazing season. Again, so what if Villa were diabolical in spirit. We still have to dispose of them.

All this glorious rhetoric isn't just based on this one result. Sure, we are capable of switching off on occasions (like any other team out there, aside perhaps from the two Mancs). But when you can still pull it out the bag half switched off, something is right. More so if you can play against the opposing side without ever requiring a shift in gear. Ask Villa about that.

Adebayor should have scored more than the three he could have got. A brace in the end and although you might start listening to the whispers about his composure/concentration I'm hardly going to worry if he needs four or so chances before scoring because we're likely to give him ample opportunity to make amends quickly. Against stronger opposition, he'll have to be as strong in mind as he is in body.

Loved Kaboul. He's had shaky moments in the past but he's developing into a beast of a player. I still remember when we signed him and how the plan was not to throw him into the deep end (which we did). Another player with potential we almost ruined, so I'm thankful we re-signed him. It's an all-time great comeback and as long as he's involved and playing he'll continue to grow and claim a role as a key player. Interesting to see he was all about the surging forward with the tackling whilst King played the father figure standing guard, watching his apprentice take it by the scruff of the neck.

BAE (with afro is teh win) and Walker made up the back four and both we're comfortable in defending and running into forward positions. Benny, brilliant as an outlet for turning defence into attack with a single progressive pass. Walker, a nuisance to the visitors, a tidy reminder of what they're missing. I mentioned pace before, we have it in abundance on the flanks, at the back, in the middle and up top.

Luka and Scott, excelled. The perfect centre-mid pairing. One conducts and dictates the game, the other bites into anything not wearing Lilywhite with relentless energy allowing possession to be reclaimed and protected. Meaning more touches from Luka leading to more movement from the Spurs. We're slick and fluid. All parts fit, everything works.

Lennon, gradually, is looking every bit the player we need him to be. He's knocking the ball past full-backs and beating them. 'Terrorising' - it's a word I've missed tagging him with. When someone like Aaron is at full pelt, he's...drum roll...unplayable. I don't mind talking up our midfield as being damn near perfect (when firing on all cylinders) and the little man is all about the big impact if he has defenders running scared, not a clue which way he's going to twist and turn. Bale on the opposite side is most definitely back to consistent form, assisting twice and looking every bit like Godzilla on roller-skates. Unstoppable at times. Unless he was stopped with the fouling. Those pesky cheaters cheating us out of seeing a Bale goal.

With so much pace, it hardly matters that Rafa doesn't have any. Class positioning, movement and always in amongst it. Parker compliments Modric who in turn compliments Rafa. The most sexy of triangles you're ever likely to see. Ade up top with his non-stop work ethic, working the channels, in and around the box waiting for that delivery/cross/disguised pass. As I stated earlier, shame it wasn't 5-0.

Perhaps those of more analytical tactical astuteness can shed light on why our passing faded when the Dutch maestro was substituted? Perhaps it's easily explained when remembering we play with one up front and that Rafa links the midfield with the attack (Ade). A dimension is always lost when he's not involved. Hindrance they called him, how we laughed. When you possess players of his quality you play to his strengths as long as the team remains functional and balanced. Which it did against Villa. I'd say, come January, we look to sign a player that can play the 'Rafa-role'. One up top works for me just fine.

Not a clue of Friedel played. I blinked early on in the second half so can't confirm if he had a save to make. Ade took his two goals well. Freedom of the park for the first, tap in for the second. Soon, we'll be mass producing another 9-1 dvd. Some one is going 'to get it' when visiting the Lane in the not so distant future.

I spoke about the challenge of competing for the Top Four in my match preview for the Villa game. Top three is hardly an impossibility. A title push isn't either, although that's far more improbable. The big test is how we react to losing a game and if not how we behave with the more points accumulated. We have to remain grounded. Nothing wrong in confidence and bravado. A winning mentality has to contain a few arrogant strands. Complacency is the enemy as ever. The fixture list ahead is hardly daunting, but I guarantee it will be defining. WBA away next. That usually doesn't go well to us. Looking forward to the test.

This is the best Spurs side I've seen since the 1980s. I'd be damned if I'm not going to strut down the street like Travolta. Can you imagine if Aston Villa were really really good and we still beat them 2-0? I'd be found stark naked running up and down outside the Emirates screaming 'you can't touch this'. Or something.

In conclusion. We smashed them two-nil. Rejoice. 3rd. Stunning form. Kudos to Harry. Believe.

COYS.

Love the shirt.