Spurs
Spurs - An Epic Trilogy
An Epic trilogy
By Spoony
March 12 2007
After what everyone acknowledged was a huge week for Spurs I think it’s a good time to reflect and take stock on the epic trilogy of games that unfolded.
After what everyone acknowledged was a huge week for Spurs I think it’s a good time to reflect and take stock on the epic trilogy of games that unfolded.
The league game against West Ham assumed huge importance. We needed to keep our decent run going in order to stay in the running for European qualification, and it was also important to avenge the unsavoury gloating that went on after the final game last season. West Ham showed then that despite being a bunch of flash Bentley Boys you cannot buy class & the fact this result will almost certainly see them destined for the Championship made victory even sweeter.
On reflection these things have a way of balancing out and despite being hugely disappointed last season I’d probably say the 3 points gained this season were about as important. Yes, it would have been fantastic to have stopped Arsenal qualifying for the Champion’s League – but they are now out of that competition in any case, much like we would probably have been had we qualified. Add to that the fact that the Goons would have had a great chance of winning the UEFA Cup had they qualified for that last season and you begin to see how I think every cloud has a silver lining.
Which brings me nicely on to the UEFA Cup. Jol resisted calls to play a weaker side in our match with Braga – perhaps indicating that he feels this is our best chance of silverware this season. And in my opinion Jol’s decision was proved to be the correct one as despite dominating the game, a combination of our strikers being put off by the sight of a goalkeeper dressed for a night out at Heaven, and some dodgy decision making by the ref ended up with us just doing enough to secure the win. At our best Braga showed they are no match for us – but had we played the kind of second string side that struggled against the likes of Port Vale and Southend the Portuguese side showed enough to suggest we might have been facing an uphill struggle to complete the job at the Lane on Wednesday. As things stand we will be facing this return leg with tired limbs and may be missing a few players due to knocks – but the three away goals should be enough to carry us through.
So onto the final instalment in the trilogy – Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea undefeated by a domestic side throughout his 3 year tenure at Stamford Bridge. Who gave us any chance – certainly I was not expecting us to give them probably the sternest test Mourinho has faced in those 3 years – but that’s exactly how it panned out. "Gutted and relieved" sums up my emotions after this match: gutted that we couldn’t take one of the gilt edged chances that we had to finally vanquish Chelsea in their own back yard; relieved that we managed to hold on despite noticeably running out of steam in the last 20 minutes of what proved to be a pulsating match. As Alan Hansen said after the match – Jol’s tactics were magnificent. Hopefully this will put to bed once and for all the myth that BMJ is tactically naïve – he has twice out-thought “the special one” this season, and yes we might sometimes struggle against the more physical sides in the league – but even the “genius” that is Wenger seems to struggle for answers when confronted by the likes of Bolton.
In terms of specifics the usual inquest seems to be raging looking for a scapegoat as to why we lost. Mido? He has said himself it takes him 20 minutes to get into a game & so why were people surprised he struggled after coming on. I suspect Jol knew that Berbatov would not be able to complete 90 minutes so soon after the Braga match & had little option but to put Mido on the bench. Mido did well in his last start against Fulham so if he’s fit I’d start him on Wednesday with Berbatov on the bench in case of emergencies. Defoe? OK he let a couple of glorious chances go to waste – but due to Keane’s excellent form he’s not been playing much lately and it’s a big ask for anyone to step into the side and be fully match sharp. Gardner? While he’s done a good job of late you always get the impression he’s teetering on the brink of disaster – unfortunately he picked the worst possible moment to blunder. Nothing new – it comes with the territory.
For me such nit-picking is missing the point. We gave Chelsea the fright of their lives and if we approach next Monday’s game with the same positive attitude we will have an excellent chance of progressing to the semi finals.
So hat’s off to Martin Jol and the players. Out of three tough away matches in a week we managed 2 wins and a draw scoring 10 goals and conceding 8 – which suggests that whilst we could certainly improve defensively there is no team playing more entertaining football than Tottenham at the moment. The recent calls for Jol’s head now seem laughable and it’s great being a Spurs fan once again – long may it continue. COYS!
The league game against West Ham assumed huge importance. We needed to keep our decent run going in order to stay in the running for European qualification, and it was also important to avenge the unsavoury gloating that went on after the final game last season. West Ham showed then that despite being a bunch of flash Bentley Boys you cannot buy class & the fact this result will almost certainly see them destined for the Championship made victory even sweeter.
On reflection these things have a way of balancing out and despite being hugely disappointed last season I’d probably say the 3 points gained this season were about as important. Yes, it would have been fantastic to have stopped Arsenal qualifying for the Champion’s League – but they are now out of that competition in any case, much like we would probably have been had we qualified. Add to that the fact that the Goons would have had a great chance of winning the UEFA Cup had they qualified for that last season and you begin to see how I think every cloud has a silver lining.
Which brings me nicely on to the UEFA Cup. Jol resisted calls to play a weaker side in our match with Braga – perhaps indicating that he feels this is our best chance of silverware this season. And in my opinion Jol’s decision was proved to be the correct one as despite dominating the game, a combination of our strikers being put off by the sight of a goalkeeper dressed for a night out at Heaven, and some dodgy decision making by the ref ended up with us just doing enough to secure the win. At our best Braga showed they are no match for us – but had we played the kind of second string side that struggled against the likes of Port Vale and Southend the Portuguese side showed enough to suggest we might have been facing an uphill struggle to complete the job at the Lane on Wednesday. As things stand we will be facing this return leg with tired limbs and may be missing a few players due to knocks – but the three away goals should be enough to carry us through.
So onto the final instalment in the trilogy – Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea undefeated by a domestic side throughout his 3 year tenure at Stamford Bridge. Who gave us any chance – certainly I was not expecting us to give them probably the sternest test Mourinho has faced in those 3 years – but that’s exactly how it panned out. "Gutted and relieved" sums up my emotions after this match: gutted that we couldn’t take one of the gilt edged chances that we had to finally vanquish Chelsea in their own back yard; relieved that we managed to hold on despite noticeably running out of steam in the last 20 minutes of what proved to be a pulsating match. As Alan Hansen said after the match – Jol’s tactics were magnificent. Hopefully this will put to bed once and for all the myth that BMJ is tactically naïve – he has twice out-thought “the special one” this season, and yes we might sometimes struggle against the more physical sides in the league – but even the “genius” that is Wenger seems to struggle for answers when confronted by the likes of Bolton.
In terms of specifics the usual inquest seems to be raging looking for a scapegoat as to why we lost. Mido? He has said himself it takes him 20 minutes to get into a game & so why were people surprised he struggled after coming on. I suspect Jol knew that Berbatov would not be able to complete 90 minutes so soon after the Braga match & had little option but to put Mido on the bench. Mido did well in his last start against Fulham so if he’s fit I’d start him on Wednesday with Berbatov on the bench in case of emergencies. Defoe? OK he let a couple of glorious chances go to waste – but due to Keane’s excellent form he’s not been playing much lately and it’s a big ask for anyone to step into the side and be fully match sharp. Gardner? While he’s done a good job of late you always get the impression he’s teetering on the brink of disaster – unfortunately he picked the worst possible moment to blunder. Nothing new – it comes with the territory.
For me such nit-picking is missing the point. We gave Chelsea the fright of their lives and if we approach next Monday’s game with the same positive attitude we will have an excellent chance of progressing to the semi finals.
So hat’s off to Martin Jol and the players. Out of three tough away matches in a week we managed 2 wins and a draw scoring 10 goals and conceding 8 – which suggests that whilst we could certainly improve defensively there is no team playing more entertaining football than Tottenham at the moment. The recent calls for Jol’s head now seem laughable and it’s great being a Spurs fan once again – long may it continue. COYS!
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