Parker for England

Tonight saw another outstanding performance by our 'old school' central midfielder Scott Parker, throwing his body on the line, covering the centre backs, along with some last ditch sliding tackles! This pint size likeable fella has been a revelation since putting on that Lillywhite jersey of the mighty Spurs! A key figure of the England set up and with that knobhead Terry stripped of the captains armband for country, would it not be fitting for a true gentleman in Scott Parker to be named next England captain? Respected by pundits and fellow professions Parker would be my choice all day long! Mopping up anything that gets through, he is one of the most consistent performers in the top flight of the English league! So that's my quick shout @ why Parker should be the next England captain! COYS!

The futures bright

It's been a few days since the transfer window shut, and I know most of us felt a little disappointed with the comings and goings @ The Lane. After a few cups of tea and time to reflect, maybe we have missed the bigger picture? We all know that we are in the midst of developing The Lane, it's taken a hell of a lot longer than many expected, but there's no doubt it's gonna cost a few hundred million! The last thing Levy wants to do is put the club in debt, so maybe the message is that all funds need to be ploughed into the redevelopment of The Lane? In the summer Scott Parker ( who has been our best player this season) cost a modest £6 million! The summer window before that Rafa was snapped up for less than we sold Pav for! So maybe the signings of Saha & Nelsen are a sight of the times ahead!

Now before we go all doom and gloom and start reading too much into other theories the question we should be asking is 'who could we of signed that would have made a difference to the team?' Tevez would have disrupted the harmony of the squad, Ba wouldn't of worked in the formation we play and I really can't thing of anyone else that we could of got in that would be happy to warm the bench?

With the likes of Smith, Kane, Townsend & Mason out on loan in the championship, there's only so many players we can fit into the squad! When they return in the summer, they will want to be part of the set up again, so maybe the fact we ain't going out and buying up the likes of Kaka or Lampard breeds hope for the younger players!

So with us currently sitting third in the league and with a good chance of Making it to the final of the F.A cup the future is looking bright @ The Lane. With talk that 'Arry could be heading to either Jail or filling the void that Fab will be leaving behind as England boss, my only concern is that the guy that Levy wants to bring in will undo all the hard work the cockney sparrow has done!

So with that in mind and the fact that you can never really predict anything in football! Make sure u mind the gap! COYS!

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?

Almost half way

With the winter blues grabbing most of us sat @ work, the one thing that keeps us smiling is the fact we are sitting pretty amongst the crop @ the top of the tree! With many predicting a bleak out look after the walloping we got @ The Lane in our first home game of the new season. 'Arry and the gang have turned it around and along the way we have convincingly hammered Liverpool and yet again beat the scum! Thrown into the mix have been some tough battling away wins @ Fulham, Blackburn & WBA! the WBA game being a prime example how we have developed since last season, as in the past we would have only managed to take a point back to The Lane!

Last season Sandro looked like the player we had been missing, hard tackling, no nonsense type of player add in that Brazilian flair and things were looking good in the middle of the park! Many including myself questioned the signing of Parker this season, but the player has been a revolution since pulling on the famous Lilly White jersey, I do feel for Sandro, as the guy has been limited to just a handful of appearances since Parkers arrival, but the facts dont lie, since Parker joined, we have yet to taste defeat in the League! How long will Sandro be happy warming the bench is another topic in itself!

Another key feature of our team this season, which was missing last season is the resurrection of Jermain Defoe! With 10 goals in all competitions already, its a vast improvement, With JD & VDV fighting it out for the right to partner Ade, Both players need to perform week in week out, to get their name on the team sheet!   What a fantastic situation to have! The only downside to this is that Defoe is having a bit of an issue with playing time ahead of next summers Euros, lets hope 'Arry can talk the player round!

@ the back we have finally found the right back we had been craving for! Kyle Walker has come on leaps and bounds since he first signed for us from Sheffield United. Lightning quick and doesn't mind sticking a foot in and who can forget that winner against the scum that alone has certainly cemented his status as a Cult hero!

So as we head into the 2nd part of the season, it's been two thumbs up so far!, but with games coming thick and fast can we continue on this winning run, and can we keep the squad fit? And the one big question is, what can this team achieve? The league? The F.A Cup or even the Double?

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?

Jermain Defoe he's a ..............

After a stop start season things looked a bit worrying for Defoe over the summer, speculation that he was on the move, that him & 'Arry had fallen out with each other & that the players confidence had been shot to pieces.

@ The start of the new season things seemed to be going well, Defoe looked as sharp as ever against Hearts in the Europa league playoff game as well as in the early season games against Wolves & Liverpool.

Then came a bit of a bomb shell from fans idol VDV. After picking up another win against the scum VDV claimed that he only likes playing behind the striker and not on the wings........

'Arry had a choice to make, With Adebayor the main man up top it was between VDV & JD for the 'second' striker role.

Unfortunately for Defoe, 'Arry went with the Dutchman.... and well VDV true to his word plays better behind the big man up top! Banging in 3 goals in his last 2 games!

During the Newcastle game Defoe came on for a cameo appearance for VDV and scored a cracker! But it seems 'Arry can't leave out VDV and so what does the future hold for Jermain Defoe?