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May 202013
 

Those who forget history are bound to repeat it…but we sort of tried to ignore it, so does it count or not?

As I write this, I am seething at a whole year’s hard work undone by one result. Whichever result it is, argue amongst yourselves as I haven’t got the energy to argue after Sunday’s events in the local pub. My guess is the Liverpool away game Spurs had control of until they stupidly backpassed (practically into their own net). If they had won that one as the complexion of the game suggested, I wouldn’t be worrying about this afternoon so much.
This season has been a white hot pain in the…well, you get the picture.
 
Have Spurs improved at all? – Yes AND No. Impartiality is my speciality… 

NO:

Case and point – Spurs failed to finish above Arsenal’. A syndrome which has been enraging the blue and white half of North London for 18 years. Gets straight to the point doesn’t it. League position has reached a glass ceiling with Arsenal’s large…erm…a**e sitting on top of it for those 18 years. Not an improvement. Hence why any Spurs fan saying ‘Mind the Gap’ halfway through a season should be banned from wherever they uttered it. Two years in a row, Spurs fans including the level-headed amongst us have been made to look even sillier as a fanbase by counting chickens before they hatch. There has been no gap and if there was, Arsenal were the ones ahead by that gap.

For anyone sharpening a knife for anyone at the club, manager or player [or chairman], put it away. It’s not worth it and won’t turn back the clock. But if it mattered, I would blame one or two players for either letting a game slip away against Liverpool when we were up 2-1 or one who didn’t start scoring until it was too late. I could even attribute the lack of goals to not getting in a top striker but at the end of the day, it was about the players already on the pitch rather than the dream-inducing potential signings several hundred miles away from it. There have once again been games where Spurs have been in total control and still thrown away by the final whistle, and to opposition which weren’t exactly challenging Lloris until the one single counter attack gets lucky.

For two seasons in a row, Wigan have beaten Spurs 1-0 at home despite taking what is known in the UK as ‘a battering’. Although, it must be said Wigan are better than they used to be and it is a shame to see them go down to the Championship after the highs of winning a cup against all odds. I think their secret was Martinez – before each game against Spurs – playing them the 9-1 hammering they received at White Hart Lane on DVD to fire them all up.
The improvement has not been in the form of killing off games against less-favourited opposition.
Arsenal usually kill games off against the same opposition. The mentality issue still needs to be knocked out of this team a bit more before they can make a beneficial points gap and maintain it for the whole season, rather than let it slip two months before the end.
 

YES:

Spurs still gave it their best overall. They ended on their highest ever Premier League points tally and in Andre Villas Boas’ first season as manager, it’s at the least a sign that he knew what he was doing all along and should NEVER have been doubted. He didn’t deserve to be bombarded with reminders that his time at the managerial abbatoir known as Chelsea was not the best.
AVB has managed to get some kind of never-say-die mentality into the team and he has made more intelligent subs than duff ones to impact the game. The never-say-die mentality improvement came to fruition for me when Bale nicked a vital winner away to West Ham to make it 3-2 to Spurs in the dying seconds. Hugs all round for AVB and Bale who shared a man-love moment together.
Some games two years ago we would have lost 1-0 late on if the opposition played a defensive game we have managed to win 1-0 instead after peppering the goal with shots. 
Some of the football under his tactics and Steffen Freund’s system of ‘ARBEIT-ing’ has been nothing short of amazing to watch. The 4-0 win against Aston Villa on Boxing Day was just out of this world and the sign of a team who deserved better prizes at the end than they got for it.
A sense of team spirit and willingness from the players to take on AVB’s philosophy was vital to improvement. Chelsea didn’t ‘play ball’ and it showed. Spurs took straight to AVB’s methods and it showed.
Tie in a fourth-place finish, an away win against Man United (after nearly 20 years!) and you have what was on its own – a better-than-decent season. It’s a shame that today’s events have mutated it, making it look more terrible than it is. *Takes rose-tinted spectacles off to prevent eye-strain*
 
Generally, I think Spurs have improved because of the players being willing to take on the methods of a manager who won a treble in his first season at a previous club. You don’t win a treble by doing nothing with a team. I’m an AVB-liever and have been since he got here.
Removing all the fluff about trying to finish above those pesky red guys from down the road is all we as fans can do to numb this pain. Supporting the ‘English contingent’ in the Champions League regardless is a whole separate ball game, but I don’t tend to play that. As it really would be nothing but a play (false). Club rivalry conquers all. You only have to look at Yesterday for that. Until next season, Auf Wiedersehen.

May 162013
 

Firstly I don’t think there is anyway Daniel Levy would shell out £12m for a player who is almost 32 years old in David Villa however I do think there may be some truth in the rumor but I am sure he will get us a better deal than £12m if true. It’s not the usual Levy deal as he likes them young just like Wenger.

villaDavid Villa I could take it or leave it purely because of his age although a player who still excites me at the prospect of seeing him in a Spurs shirt. I would take him because the alternative scares me, if we turn our noses up at Villa because he might not be great value for money at his age then we could end up with another Saha like signing and I for one have had just about enough of them.

A Spanish legend Villa from his days at Valencia where he was the main man for his country and his club and a player who would have walked into any team in the world. The rumors of Barcelona selling Villa to Spurs are really doing the rounds, with the Spanish press claiming a deal is done.

We will believe it when we see it, we have been here too many times before, most recently Damiao and Moutinho, the deal isn’t done until I see the above image, credit to whoever made it by the way because it wasn’t me I was too busy watching Celebrity Juice.

 

 Posted by at 23:10
May 142013
 

Wigan fans, oh yes we are, well for tonight anyway. We will be hoping The Latics can get a result at The Emirates just like last season and leave us firmly in pole position going into the final day on Sunday.

Just 2pts ahead of Arsenal so anything other than an Arsenal win will do the trick. Doesn’t look like we can count that much on Newcastle putting in much effort on Sunday so this is the one, anything other than a Wigan win will see them finally relegated but we all know they are capable of causing an upset as they play great football on their day and always give us a tricky ride.

The biggest game of the season for us and we aren’t even playing. Many haunting memories over the season of silly dropped points has meant that it’s gone to the wire and we are all too worried of that sickening feeling we are all to familiar with.

So it’s bound to be nail biting stuff, I can’t see Arsenal losing to be honest as we don’t get lucky like that but fingers crossed anyway and tonight Matthew I am a Wigan fan.

Predictions?

COYW!!!

 Posted by at 17:04
May 132013
 

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has started to backtrack on yesterday’s comments when he said that he didn’t care if Arsenal beat his Newcastle 4-0 next Sunday after The Magpies secured their survival against QPR. Much to the anger of Spurs fans and no doubt the FA had picked up on his comments the Newcastle boss has been forced to make another statement.

Pardew today said:

I was only joking when I said I didn’t care about Arsenal result
I know people will have picked up on my comments about not caring about the result against Arsenal, which were of course a joke.
‘It is definitely not the case that I would be happy for us to lose 4-0 against Arsenal on Sunday. I simply want our players and fans to be able to enjoy the game without looking over their shoulders.
‘Even though we are now safe we will be putting in the same effort that we would for any other Premier League game.
‘Our last two results at St James’ Park – against Sunderland and Liverpool – have been nowhere near good enough, and Sunday gives us the chance to put that right.
‘We want to end the season on a positive, to finish in as high a position as possible and to give the fans something to cheer about on the final day of what has been a frustrating season.
‘Arsenal will be doing everything they can to try to achieve a Champions League spot and we won’t make it easy for them, make no mistake about that.’

So The Toon are safe and to be honest I don’t blame them for thinking like that just because we need them to win, but the professional thing to do would be for Pardew to put out his strongest team and try to end their season as high as possible.

Pardew backtracking to escape the wrath of The FA if he puts out a weaker team and loses? Or was he simply caught up in the euphoria of yesterday’s win against QPR which I can sort of understand?

For now however we remain Wigan fans before we turn to The Toon.

 Posted by at 21:06
May 122013
 

We done well to beat a resilient Stoke today at the Britannia Stadium but it could all be in vain unless Wigan can pull off another shock result as it doesn’t look like we can rely on Newcastle.

Once I saw Newcastle and Norwich win today I knew that was bad news for us as it appeared Arsenal would have a tough match against Newcastle on the final day but after their win today confirming their survival it looks as though Wigan may be our best bet as the only team left who need to win against Arsenal.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew confirmed my suspicions when I saw his post match comments basically saying he don’t give a sh*t now about the Arsenal match, a message that will surely filter through to his players. Pardew is likely to play a weaker team also now, I find it a bit surprising because he’s had a poor season and he could make it looks a bit more respectful with a higher league position but after the QPR win today he had this to say:

“I don’t really care if Arsenal win 4-0 [next weekend], If I’m honest, I’m sure Spurs will – but I only care that our fans enjoy themselves.”

Don’t expect any favours from The Toon next Sunday, I just hope their players and fans still want to win and don’t let that Pardew message filter through, I don’t really blame him for thinking like that as I am sure we would in their position but as the manager I don’t think he should say it aloud.

Come on Wigan!

 Posted by at 21:43
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