Gazza

There's a DVD being released this week, it's the story of - for those Spurs fans of a certain age our last great player.
Gareth Bale may have shone on the pitch in recent years but this man attracted more adulation and genuine love from a White Hart Lane crowd like no one seen before or since.
Arguably the greatest talent to come out of the British Isles since George Best, Gascoigne had the advantage of playing for England. Meaning a place on the world stage eventually beckoned and it was @ Italia '90 that he came of age, with him England's dreaming almost became a reality, close but no cigar. But it was in his failure and resulting tears for souvenirs that Gazzamania was truly launched, scenes reminiscent of a boy band concert at White Hart Lane the following season were witnessed and he was everywhere from chat shows to Top of The Pops.
From the streets of Newcastle - and eventually starring for his boyhood team, he played the game with the same schoolboy enthusiasm throughout his career moving on the Tottenham after being scouted by the legendary Bill Nicholson. He could have gone elsewhere as recent stories reveal but a promise of a house and a car for him and his family* saw Gazza head down south and whisked away from that man Fergie's sweaty grasp.
From then on, we all know how it ended. He took us single handedly (or should that be footed?) to the FA Cup Final of 1991, providing us with tears of both joy and sadness along the journey and helped enable the club that we all love to survive - a movie script ending sacrificing himself so that others may live.
Though his career briefly peaked with a trip North of the Border @ Rangers and proved to be the Scots undoing with that goal @ Euro '96, from then on it was the decline, less appearances for lower teams, eventually lower leagues as well as abroad, someone really should have had a word with him.
It was obvious he was having trouble walking away from playing the sport he loved.
With his demons off the pitch that we couldn't possibly try to go into or solve on this blog, we see him now as a shadow of his former self with a tinge of regret of what might have been, but with hope that he is at last happy in himself that although he can no longer entertain on the pitch he can at least try to off of it as a pundit and storyteller.

*remember this was the pre-Levy years!

Is it just me?...... I don't love Stefan Freund

Jimmy Greaves, Dave Mackay, Danny Blanchflower, Gary Mabbutt...............all Tottenham Legends through and through.
Stefan Freund? Not so much.......not in my opinion, now I'm all for Cult Heroes and we have plenty of them but how Mr Freund ever got inducted into our Hall of Fame before true heroes such as our record appearance holder and twice trophy lifter Steve Perryman is beyond me.

Is it a sad indictment of our own club that a player who really didn't achieve much with/or for us should be so revered?

My memories of him mainly involve him running around the midfield like a headless chicken, bottling it when it really mattered against Roy Keane and not scoring in any competitive games for us.....oh and nearly being strangled by Duncan Ferguson (but that was for Leicester....but still made me chuckle!)

Does he really deserve that song when there are far  more important members of the Spurs set up going without?
Even poor Ledders had to make do with a song that mentions that scumbag John Terry!
The original song of course was first sang to Martin Jol, who I did incidentally love - albeit in a big fat dutch clown uncle type of way.

But Freund, I'm sure he's a pleasant chap and seems to be a bit of a laugh......but love?? That's a bit too much of a leap for me.

Hot Shot Tottenham...........

With our first round proper tie against Coventry coming up in the New Year we thought we'd take a look back to the season of '87, when The Mighty Spurs hit the road to Wembley once more........

In these days of Champions League Football and top half table finishes it's easy to forget that we weren't always doing so well. For every piece of silverware in the Eighties there was the doldrums of the Gross/Francis/Hoddle era. Arguable our last great team with a chance of glory before the days of Jol and Redknapp was in '87, under David Pleat.

Pleat had worked wonders @ lowly Luton Town bringing through a batch of young English talent who played attacking, attractive football.
And while people have been quick to criticise AVB for his one up front policy Pleat's masterstroke was to have Clive Allen as the lone ranger with Hoddle & Waddle pulling the strings in a five man midfield he was supplied with a constant stream of balls which he banged into the old onion bag with relish.

At the back we had an England goalie between the sticks in Ray Clemence and in front of him a promising back two of Gary Mabbutt & Richard Gough - Gough had all the hallmarks of becoming another great for Spurs in defence in the mould of Dave Mackay, the team had makings of title contenders - and were fighting on all three fronts......... right up until March at least.

In the run up to the Final Clive Allen had beaten Jimmy Greaves' scoring record for a season with a couple against Watford's one time bar owner and stand in keeper for the day Gary Plumley, while Hoddle had signed off in the League with a superb solo effort against Oxford United.

Inevitably for Spurs it was a season of what could have beens - knocked out of the League Cup in the Semi by the Scum and fading in the League itself all hopes rested on the FA Cup Final.
Back when Wembley basked in sunshine for these occasions and the result really mattered, the '87 was one of the best of recent times. It'll be remembered though for a mix up of sponsored shirts, Keith Houchen's diving header and Gary Mabbutt's Knee......

Where are they now?

Richard Gough - Could have been one of our greatest defenders of all time when he came in from Dundee United but homesickness (his wife's apparently) saw him move back North of the border after just the one season and have a hugely successful career with Rangers. Homesickness cured, a few years later he came back down South with Everton.

Glenn Hoddle - Left for Monaco @ the end of the season to ply his trade in Europe (English Teams were banned), played under a manager that would come back to haunt Spurs on a number of occasions a fact made even worse with the revelation that Hoddle after becoming England manager recommended the Frenchman to David Dein!

Gary Mabbutt - The term Legend may be overused but for Mabbutt - a diabetes sufferer, it couldn't have been more apt. The deflected goal from his knee and disappointment that followed would be redeemed in the '91 Final which saw Mabbs lift the trophy. To have played @  a top club for sixteen years performing at the highest level week in week out as well as gaining England caps is a testament to the man - a model professional.

Early doors.......

Never to go about things the easy way we @ Spurs have had to deal with another upheaval this Summer.

Harry's departure had happened and fans had had plenty of time for it to sink in, whether AVB was wanted or not by most fans was irrelevant he was installed and after all we support the team and don't necessary have to agree with appointments made by the club.

So we expected a few comings and goings in the transfer window at least, the Modric saga had reared it's ugly rat faced head again and would surely be done with enough time to spend some of that filthy lucre on a replacement............right?

A couple of fans favourites had also been touted for the off, Huddlestone on his way back from injury looked to be on his way to Stoke on loan (which made sense to me) and Micheal Dawson had been in talks with QPR after AVB now said he wasn't part of his plans (which didn't), Dawson was club captain with the imminent retirement of Ledders and played with an enthusiasm unmatched by no one else in the side, but in the cold light of day was he good enough to help Spurs go to the next level?

Of course this is Spurs so and it rumbled on and still wasn't resolved by the time our away game @ The Toon took place.
This game for me was witnessed via ESPN and we looked pretty solid I thought, maybe a lack of creativity, but the line up and formation worked away from home, we could be disappointed not to come away with a point. If there were any more cause for concern it would have been no Dawson at all not even the bench and VDV not starting or new signing Vertognhan

Obviously things would be different back @ The Lane......

West Bromwich Albion - 25th August

A proper Spurs fan will always approach a new season with caution, even when things are going well it's better to expect the worst, after all it's happened so many times in the past. And so the rumblings and murmurs around the pub beer garden were of the norm I guess on the verge of a new season @ WHL.
But this was only West Brom, a nice easy start, we should get a few today! Yeah they thrashed Liverpool the week before but that was fluke...........or so we hoped.
So as AVB, Ade, Siggurdson and Vertognhan were paraded on the pitch before the start, there was an apprehensive optimism.
As the game went on, we looked disjointed, not flowing as we had done before, five in the middle meant we were in danger of having to pay a congestion charge in midfield! We had chances, maybe not clear cut but we were on top, but when Benny's goal went in it was more of a relief than celebration.
We all know how it ended, one of AVB's old guard came back to haunt him (maybe we should have tried cheeky bid for Lukaku?). We've had games like this before, we are Spurs after all and not much changes. Should we panic? Blame the manager, the players or the Chairman. This was one game @ home, it's still early doors........

Norwich - 1st September

Okay, so we'd decided not to panic, but we did have a damn good moan on messageboards and social networks up and down the internet.
Everyone's an armchair manager, whether that chair is inside the ground or @ home in front of the box, we all know what needs doing and we're not afraid to share our wealth of footballing knowledge gleaned from Championship Manager whether you want to listen or not!
Like every loyal masochistic fan, we take the punishment week in, week out and come back begging for more, so another trip to The Lane was on the cards.
But there were added murmurs over a pre game Carlsberg this time round though, Luka had finally gone and we'd managed to squeeze blood out of the proverbial stone that is our Chairman and actually buy a few more players! Ok, maybe not all the players we originally set out to buy but still, it was a start.
So there I was, sat in front of some bloke who insisted on coaching the team throughout the game from his seat in the North Upper as it all unfolded again.
Friedal kept us in it early on and with the threat of an incoming Lloris looked to be staking his claim to keep up his consecutive appearance record. But still we played five in midfield! Yes it worked under David Pleat but we had arguably the most creative midfield in the league @ that time, why were we playing two defensive midfielders..........at home!
Bale was our main outlet but elsewhere we weren't exploiting the width of the pitch with neither full back getting forward much. Livermore who I thought played a nice simple game last time out had suddenly turned into Vinny Sideways!
It came down to one of our new boys to get us ahead, Dembele livened things up and with his first attack put Spurs one up. Now the floodgates could open...........but of course they didn't and again the game ended in frustration and an equaliser. Two games @ home two draws, maybe not the start we'd hoped for.

Maybe Reading away will give us that first win we crave?



Through the Spurs window.......

So with our new boss confirmed and some signings begining to come in it's an ideal time to look forward to next season. Here we present our hopes for The Mighty Spurs under AVB......

With so many 'squad' players unable to gain any playing time under 'Arry, theres a good chance that they've forgotten how to tie there boot laces let alone kick a size 5 football! It would be good to see the likes of Bentley, Gio, Rose and Kane given a chance. After all we learnt last season that squad rotation is important

How about attempting to win the Europa League*? We started on a vicious circle of not wanting to be in the thing so not really bothering only to qualify for it again! What about setting out to win the thing? Get another trophy on the honours list and give our players the chance to actually feel like champions........it's a start in the right direction.

*or any trophy for that matter

It would be nice to hit the ground running for a change! We always seem to start the season terrible and end up having to play catch up! Just think if we had took just a point from our opening two games we would of ended up 3rd!

Consistancy - from our players and manager. Ok so we all have off days but how many times have we struggled in games that on paper we should have dominated and won.........Norwich, Swansea, Wolves anyone?? Some straight talking from the boss would also be nice, let's hope AVB doesn't attempt mind games with all the others and just get's on with the job in hand.

A 30 goal a season striker, AVB why not go for a cheeky bid for RVP? Defoe hasn't been up to scratch for a long time now! with Ade expected to sign and VDV expecting to move on, nows the time to get a top notch striker in.

Plan B, or even C or D. If things aren't working on the pitch.......change 'em! Having said that, let other teams worry about us, let's not pander to them and while we're at it let's not roll over @ home to Man U like we do every season!


Let's not change our support though eh? The best in the country, get behind the team @ WHL or on the road we out sing them all!

Dave Mackay - True Tottenham Legend

There isn't much (if at all anything) that Spurs can thank the Woolwich Wanderers for........but maybe one thing that we could give them the ever so slightest wafer thin slice of credit for is the signing of Tottenham legend Dave Mackay. The story goes that back in the day Bill Nicholson had his eye on a young welsh centre half called Mel Charles, but with the Scum stepping in to seal the deal our manager was left to look elsewhere for a new signing and that's exactly where Dave Mackay fitted in.

And what a stroke of luck that was.

The term legend is banded about far too easily these days and in my opinion it should only be used looking back on a career on a player who has left legacy through success and performance. In Spurs history Dave Mackay is one such player, he'd already had a successful stint in Scotland with home town team Heart of Midlothian (where he won every trophy going) before the bright lights of London came calling. Sir Bill would later maintain that he wanted Mackay all along, but either way he came to epitomise a Spurs side made up of grit and flare.

The iconic image of him grabbing Billy Bremner by the throat* (an image that Dave himself disliked) has given Mackay the hard man reputation in that great team of '61 but he had so much more to his game - threading passes through the midfield and scoring the odd hat-trick here and there he was in no way just a clogger he had class.

His presence and aura inspired his team mates, willing them on with a never say die unflinching will to win. Back in the days when tackling was still allowed in football George Best was quoted as calling Mackay "The hardest man I have ever played against – and certainly the bravest" and Old Big 'ead himself said that Dave was "Tottenham Hotspur's greatest player" and he should know after signing him for Derby County where the success story continued from player into manager.

Comparisons are inevitable in football, with a youngster coming through or a new signing arriving there are those that will hark back to a former player that the new acquisition is similar to just to add an extra burden on their shoulders. But while we look at today's team for a inspiration or a link back to our greatest ever team through Scott Parker I truly believe we will never see the like of Dave Mackay again @ White Hart Lane......

*The story behind that photo is that Mackay had just came back from his second broken leg (something that would have finished the career of today's lesser mortals) and was quite justifiably miffed with the little ginger tosser. Incidentally Sir Alex Ferguson has the exact same image hanging on the wall of his office, maybe the secret behind his success right there?

The Rise & Fall of Paul William Robinson

England's number one, so went the not most complicated of chants. Spurs history of 'keepers has been a slightly chequered one, from the greats of Ditchburn and Jennings through to the lesser well remembered Mimms & Keller.
Since possibly Ray Clemence Tottenham never again had a solid reliable stopper between the posts, this coupled with our then legendary dodgy and ever changing defence hardly helped matters.
If anything our goalies have been.....well....just above average....what they lacked in ability they made up for in crowd interaction (Erik the Viking) or an of the time trendy middle parting (Ian Walker)
Sure Walker was England's number one briefly but the way he smiled to himself every time he let a goal in didn't help but make him less than convincing.
Every top club had a top 'keeper, 'build from the back' is the saying isn't it? But it wasn't until the signing of Robbo that we felt at last we had found our missing piece.

I remember hearing of Robbo early on, Nigel Martyn was number one @ Leeds Utd at the time and was considered to be up there with David Seaman as far as goalkeepers went (he was even voted Leeds Utd's Best Goalkeeper of All Time by the fans), but some midweek cup heroics started to get Robinson noticed and when Martyn upset the then Leeds Boss El Tel  he stepped up and never looked back.

Robinson's last season up North wasn't the best - after all Leeds were relegated, but Spurs had obviously been keeping tabs on him, for the sometime maligned David Pleat was quick enough to snap him up for just £1.5m pounds.

Being between the sticks @ White Hart Lane makes a player the closest relation to the hard core support - both emotionally & geographically, we ask him the score, to give us a wave even, he throws his gloves into the crowd & a bond is built - I was there when the Park Lane faithful sang 'Happy Birthday' to him even unfurling a banner in his honour (sad but true!)
To have a decent 'keeper again was a novelty as a Spurs fan and how good was it to sing to any travelling set of supporters that we had "England's Number One" in goal?

Inevitably though confidence plays a huge part on a player's form and goalkeeper is a position where every mistake is magnified and analysed. Robbo just never recovered from his mishaps and it was a shame to see his decline. In a world of 'If onlys' a Paul Robinson in his prime could have given us that extra push we needed when Harry first took over and with our new number one Brad Friedel still going strong in his forties, who's to say we won't see Robbo's return?

A Sunday classic @ The Cottage

Our Sunday league run continues this weekend with a trip along the Thames to The Cottage. I'm sure in the old days we used to play on Saturdays too!

In our recent league meetings against The Cottagers, it's fair to say they haven't lit the world alight. But with the added spice of Big Martin Jol coming up against us, its got the making of a classic written all over it! 

BMJ is an iconic figure to most Spurs fans. From touch line fighting against the scum, to some fantastic league results, Jol helped turn the club around giving us the platform for what we see in front of us now. Every Spurs fan agrees the way ENIC treated BMJ was dreadful! Without reflecting on to much negativity before the game, would any Spurs fan begrudge Martin Jol walking away with a cheeky win against his old employers? 

On form

Another game, another win! Never one to grumble about back to back wins! the performance this weekend of the team, was iconic! From defence to attack every man played his part in yesterdays win over QPR. Scott Parker has made a massive difference in the center of the field, an old skool type of player, reads the game with ease! It's a shame we didn't have him on board last season......

After a slow start for our PFA player of the year, Bale is starting to kick into gear, 2 fantastic finishes yesterday should hopefully kick start his goal scoring this season! The only worrying point from yesterday was that of our big man up top Adebayor. After a great start to his Spurs career 'Ade' has gone on a bit of a mini goal drought! Although he does offer an outlet for the long ball, he's final touch has been a bit off of late. With 'Arry claiming that Defoe looks like a 'world beater' in training, could we see the little man replace 'Ade' up top if this lack of form continues?

With King & Gallas back from injuries our defensive options are looking strong again. For me personally seeing King on the team sheet is a massive plus for us, he reads the game as well as any of the current defenders in the world, exploring every option, and like a classic defender follows the golden rule 'If in doubt kick it out!'

If King can stay fit for @ least 20 odd games this season, it could be the difference between top 4 or top 6. With Dawson facing a long layoff, theres no doubt we will need King's experience.

Our recent run has almost gone unnoticed amongst the press, and long may that continue, 6 wins from 7 is no easy feat in the top flight, Although the likes of City and United are a few points in front of us, this season could see a surprise package rise from the depths of North London.

On the eve of 'Arrys' 3 year anniversary @ The Lane, could we be celebrating in style come May?

Super Pav?

"I feel very much adapted and comfortable at Tottenham,"

After a range of mixed performances since The Big Russian joined from Spartak Moscow, Pavlyuchenko feels his finally @ his best ahead of the new season. Pav's scoring record in cup games is amazing, 18 goals in 25 games, now before some bright spark throws a curve ball, this also includes champions league games! It's in the league where Pav has struggled for consistency. A return of 19 goals in 73 appearances works out a goal just under every 4 games! Hardly as prolific as many of us feel he should be! The fact that the Russian hasn't really got to grips with our language must be part of the reason, as 'Arry's mentioned many times before that the interpreter gets more of the ball in training than Pav!

But if we flash back to the end of last season, against Birmingham everything Pav did was magical, two fantastic long range efforts secured 5th spot and sent us in to Europe. Many of us were left frustrated, because if Pav could of shown that kinda form in front of goal earlier on in the season we may have finished in the top 4!

Personally i feel he needs an arm around his shoulder followed by a trip to the local for a few pints and plate of pie & mash! If we can get him firing on all cylinders then there's no need to go out and spend mega bucks on a new striker.

Recently Pav's agent has said that he wants to stay @ The Lane and fire us back into The Champions League next season, but after seeing us linked with every striker out there, he is unsure if fits in to 'Arry's plans for the coming campaign.



"Obviously, someone is going to be either sold or sent on loan.

"There is no news about my contract yet, so all we have to do now is to wait and see."

My solution......?

I feel Pav should be given a fair crack of the whip next season. A good run of games to get the confidence running through the veins would be a start. You only have to look @ his scoring record while playing for Spartak Moscow, it was amazing. For Russia he averages a goal every other game and for us in the cup's he bang's them in for fun. So Mr Redknapp as much as you have legendary status in my eyes, i would say give Pav one last chance to unlock that potential. If he falls flat on his face there's always Harry Kane that could come in and do a job!

Potential is a funny thing, it's finding away to unlock it thats the challenge.