Tuesday 19 October 2010

Inter at the San Siro - OMG

First of all, apologies for the lack of posting recently, a combination of being away, an excruciatingly dull international break and a spot of writers block has conspired to slow this blog down. Fingers crossed, we are back up and running.

Inter. San Siro. Champions League. These are the games that I dreamt of as a young boy in the mid to late-90s watching men like Paolo Tramezzani and Jason Dozzell pretending to be footballers. We've come a long way since then and we deserve this stage. There is no better time or opportunity to announce to the giants of Europe that Tottenham Hotspur has arrived.

If we aren't up for this game then my idea of professional football is badly skewed. Am I naive to think that footballers these days dream of playing in games like this? Or is it all Rolexes, Bentleys and prostitutes? If standing in front of 80,000 people at the San Siro as the Champions League music rings out doesn't raise the hairs on the back of every single player in Lilywhite's necks, then that is a very sad thing indeed. I play in a weekly Powerleague team and was amazed when during a routine bit of handbags on the pitch next to us prompted one of the players involved to rush to his bag behind the goal and produce a knife with a 6 inch blade. What sort of mentality is this? 'Off to play football tonight, have I got everything? Boots, shinpads, knife. Yep, good to go.' I want to be reassured tomorrow night that for our young team, a game like this still means everything and should be the pinnacle of a number of careers so far. 'Arry shouldn't have to say a word to pump them up. Setting and opposition should be all they need.

So what can we expect from the game tomorrow night? I think there isn't a sane Spurs fan out there that wouldn't take a point now if offered it. But can we take all 3 points? Why not? An advantage Spurs have in this year's Champions League is the mystery factor. Teams aren't sure what to expect from us. The Werder Bremen director dismissed our threat out of hand and we played Bremen off the park for 45 minutes in Bremen and should have won the game. We will threaten Inter and we will create chances. It's how we cope at the back that will define tomorrow's game. Make the mistakes we made against Bremen and quality like Sneijder and Eto'o will massacre us. If Bassong does his rabbit in the headlights impression that he did against Young Boys then Inter will show no mercy. Defend solidly and we will have a chance. Inter are not as scary as they were last season. Rafa Benitez was comically bad with last season with his hilarious 'guarantee' of 4th place. If Mourinho were still in charge then I would be much more worried. Admittedly, playing a team containing the European goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and striker of the year doesn't bode well. But I hear rumours from Italy that midfield hardman Esteban Cambiasso and European striker of the year Diego Milito are out of the game. Of course there is strength in depth and of course the likes of Maicon, Sneijder and Eto'o are all available, but I guess I'm just trying to stress that this isn't a foregone conclusion. Inter will be nervous of us too.

So what from Spurs? Big performances from each and every one if you please. I think what I'll do is go through my ideal XI and have a think about their roles:

Gomes: More experience at this level than most in our team. Will certainly have work to do tomorrow. More word-class saves and less rolling about crying when a stiff breeze goes by. Gomes needs a Snickers-wielding Mr.T to roll onto the pitch in a tank to tell him to stop acting like a crazy fool.

Hutton/Corluka: Tricky one this. Hutton's attacking instincts could be useful but is defensively a bit suspect and is slow on the turn. Corluka badly out of form and was poor at Bremen but could be a safer option at the San Siro. I'd be tempted to be bold and go for Hutton.

Bassong: Needs to take a deep breath, focus and listen to Gallas next to him. No playing silly buggers at the back. If in doubt, hoof it out. If Heskey can outfox you, so can Samuel Eto'o.

Gallas: Needs all his experience at this level. Take charge of our defence and keep talking to Bassong. A key night for him.

BAE: Such an underrated cog in our machine IMO. Quick, calm, solid at the back and can support Bale in attack. Will need to be at his best against the marauding Maicon.

Lennon: Signs against Fulham that he may be coming back into form? With VdV out, Azza needs to step up and be a key attacking outlet again.

Huddlestone: Same old same old from Thudd. Needs to get his foot on the ball and use it. Needs to be a calming influence if Inter start to get on top.

Jenas: I'm not a fan of Jenas. He annoys the hell out of me on a Saturday. But in VdV's absence he could be useful at the San Siro. Needs to impose himself and use his athleticism to get up and down the pitch and ensure we don't get overrun in the midfield.

Bale: What can you say? Surely the man Inter fears most. If Bale has a good game, Spurs have a good game. His threat may also force Maicon to abandon his surges forward which could be crucial.

Modric: By his own admittance not at this best at the moment but with VdV out, I expect him to be sitting in the hole behind the striker. We know how good he is. He is a genius. The return of Moddle tonight please.

Crouch: Maybe slightly unfair on Pav as he is a better goalscorer. But there is something about Europe that, like England duty, tends to bring the best out in Crouchie. Maybe continental defences don't know what to do with him. Will need to have this thinking cap on because he won't get much change out of Lucio and Samuel otherwise.

We should be full of confidence. We have players that can hurt any side in the world. I'm not saying we will win, but I'm saying that Inter will have to be at their best to beat us. They will underestimate us at their peril. Maybe, just maybe, an upset could be on the cards.

To the Spurs fans who will be there. We want to hear you drowning out the Inter fans. A lovely, long 'Oh When the Spurs' ringing out at the San Siro. This is what we wanted. Let's make some history.

COYS.

Friday 1 October 2010

New Stadium or Olympic Stadium: What's going on?

There seems to be a lot of confusion this morning as to where we are planning to spend our long-term future. Are we building our new stadium after Haringey council unanimously approved our plans, or are we doing the unthinkable and moving to East London and the Olympic Stadium after 2012, possibly changing our name to Stratford Hotspur in the meantime?

I for one think this is very sound and sensible planning from Daniel Levy. Obviously, priority number one is a brand spanking new stadium on our current White Hart Lane site. I don't for a minute think Levy would ever consider moving us to East London. There would be uproar and revolt. But there are still plenty of hoops for us to jump through before we can start building our new home. There are plenty of things to trip us up. Furthermore, the new stadium will cost a hell of a lot of money. We don't want to cripple ourselves financially for the future trying to pay for it. Levy says we were told that if we did not put in a bid for the Olympic Stadium now, we wouldn't get another chance. It would be stupid not to, right?

I don't think anyone can deny that Daniel Levy is a) an excellent businessman and b) a Spurs man. The Financial Times was the first to announce that our bid for the Olympic Stadium will be a joint bid with the entertainment and facilities management company AEG and that it is with a view to leasing out the stadium. I believe our involvement with the Olympic Stadium may be a money-making scheme to either help pay for our new stadium construction or as an additional income should we be forced to stay at White Hart Lane if our new stadium plans fall through. I don't think actually moving to the Olympic Stadium ourselves is a serious consideration to Levy. It couldn't be, could it? Please, no. Just. No.

Screwing over the Hammers is an additional perk in this process. I for one think it would be fun to buy West Ham's 'spiritual home' as David Gold has called it and then lease it back to them. We could charge them extortionate amounts or evict them midway through the season or other fun things like that. Seriously though, I think this move is a sound business move from Mr. Levy. It would be silly to put all our eggs in our new stadium basket when there is still much work to be done. Putting in an application to the Olympic Stadium when there is no commitment to go through with it makes a lot of sense. It could make us money in the long-run and it has pissed off the Hammers. Win-win.

In Levy we trust. Many say he is a business man first and just wants to make money. But you don't buy a football club to make money. He has Spurs at heart and wants what is best for the club. Believe in him.