We did it! That’s right. Broke the old home defence record. So in a season where we had one of our worst starts in the history of this football club, we also managed to concede the least amount of goals at WHL- ever. It is quite fitting that, in a season of inconsistencies, we can create such a paradoxical truth.

We were lucky to beat Man City. The first half, yes we should have scored a few more, but we did not- it should have got us punished considering their second half display. And if you think Pav and Keane missed sitters, how about Benjani’s in the dying seconds. It was a terrible miss. Thanks to Richards’s clumsy push on Campbell we remain in the frame for seventh, though it is highly unlikely with the way Fulham are playing at the moment. Their recent form is as good as ours and I quite like Hodgson. He comes across as shining knight of morals in world of corruptible boards desperate for instant gratification. Sort of.

I feel sorry for Wenger currently. That’s right.

No trophy in 4 years is not good enough for Arsenal, but he knows that. He’s hardly had the cash we’ve had, or the squad Chelsea and United have had. Yet most of the time, Arsenal have remained in the fight, despite being a clearly unfinished article. What is it with fans picking on managers? Hill-Wood is too right with his analysis. Even members of his own board, blinded by a desire for short term reward, are failing to see the bigger picture. It’s hardly Wenger’s mistakes which are the problem, more the massive development of the other three clubs in the last 4 or 5 years. Those attacking him need to jump on a self help programme and realise instant gratification is no substitute for long term success, which is what Wenger is trying to bring. Personally, I might be rather gleeful to see Wenger leave and Arsenal fall into the inevitable disarray but he is a servant to that club and he will stick it out.

Tomorrow brings a near impossible task. We are required to beat Liverpool at Anfield, a feat we have only achieved once before in the history of the premier league, and for Fulham to lose to an Everton team at home who, quite frankly, have little left to play for. And then my fellow Spurs enthusiasts, we have an entire summer of ITK jargon, irrepressible transfer rumours and probably a few mildly disappointing transfer dealings courtesy of Knappers. On that note, bloody good job Harry. You’ve saved us and made us almost respectable again. Despite the criticism still be aimed at you from some of our fans, I hope you manage for us many seasons to come.

I think my favourite team this season has been Everton. Look what they’ve done with remarkably little in the way of finances. And some of the players Moyes have brought in are top quality, Cahill, Arteta, Fellaini, Lescott. These boys know how to play in the premier league and they know how to win, no matter what. I like that about them a lot. We could learn a lot from what Everton have achieved as a club. And yet the season’s about to be over.

I do not want this season to end, not when it seems Spurs are making real progress as a team. We now need consistency. We need roughly the same team, training and playing together for a few seasons, and perhaps something special might happen. Can you see this team remaining together for the end of next year? Just look at the average changes a Spurs team makes. Last summer we lost Berbatov, Keane, Malbranque, Tainio, Chimbonda, Robinson and a few more. And our team two years ago is frankly unrecognisable to one it is today. And this is a problem. A tiresome and highly predictable problem. We might lose a few of our best players this season. We might replace them with utter flops. And then we could well be back to square one. Such is the life of a premier league team outside the top four. Or is it?

Can you see players leaving Man City? Despite their average season, no I can’t. Perhaps Robinho, but the lad thought he was going to the Red Devils in the first place, let’s be honest. The main reason is money. They’ve got a good fan base, a stadium and backing. Soon enough we will have a stadium to match our fan base and considerable financial backing. Perhaps then, when Man United come calling to take our next lynchpin, our next Berbatov or Carrick, he might politely ask them to stick it. Because by then, he might be a superstar in a team capable of challenging the big boys. I talk like this is a realistic target, but it remains a series of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ and probably needs to be without the jowly face of Redknapp at the helm. I’m prepared for everything next season. Everything and nothing at all.

As much as I talk of the future, there is no point worrying too much about it. It will come round soon enough. For now, we have the present to focus on and a tough task of 3 points required at Anfield. Good Luck to the Boys.

KL

We currently have the tightest home defence in the league. No mean feat. But oddly, we have scored 13 more goals away from home than at the Lane. This paints the picture of WHL as a fortress this season, a resolute beacon of defensive stability and hard fought 1-0 victories. Teams have come and often been conquered. The only teams to topple us at home have been Sunderland, Villa, Hull and Everton, the last of those coming on the 30^th of November. Interesting that. Very interesting.

Minus the United second half disaster, we haven’t lost by more than one goal to anyone except West bloody Brom. So what have we learnt my dear friends? That Tottenham have remained defensively consistent all season. That Wooders and King are one of the best centre back pairings in the league. Whisper it, but one might go so far to venture that our defence is already ready for the assault for fifth place next season. I say fifth because I don’t want to say fourth. The word is cursed. Anytime a team outside the money laundering filth bags who usually reside there goes for ‘fourth’, they are cut down by a bout of poor form, injuries or dodgy lasagne. Villa have been this season’s example. Let’s hope we’re not next season’s.

Hang on. What am I on about? How dare I delve into the dreamland of fourth place! We’re currently mid table and to some, lucky to be there. We owe a lot to Knappers who fought bravely against the Franco Spanish invasion to bring Tottenham down from within. But our form in the second half of this season has been of a very high standard and if we can maintain that for the entirety of next season, well then we might have something worthy of a party on our hands. A family friends only gathering of course, let’s not get too carried away.

The Everton game ended in a fair result. I was convinced we would concede late on, but so often these days, our back four proved me wrong (they did this rather annoyingly in reverse at Old T). We attacked well in the first half and defended well in the second. That’s about all there is to it. The Bale curse continues. Hutton played enjoyably well in a rather unusual formation. Keane was worryingly poor again. I want to give him a break because class speaks louder than form. But this is a new class Robbie and you better get with it soon, because there are three other strikers at this club who are good enough to stick you on the bench. I can’t believe I’m saying that after being so happy to have him back from the Scousers. But football is a cruel world.

Talking of cruel worlds, I’ve got exams at the moment. What a waste of time. Judging intelligence based on timed paper which does little more than test your ability to write quickly and cram random facts into your head. I’m a firm believer in coursework. Timed work negates creativity to such a degree I think I might not turn up in protest.

I won’t do that. I’m too much a product of the system. And I quite like my degree. Sigh.

I tell you what guys it just feels nice to see a Tottenham team with a backbone at the moment. I think that’s what we have. If not, then it’s some sort of very, very strong body armour protecting our jellied core because we are not an easy team to beat. And at the start of the season we were giving out points for free. Even if we get beat in these last two games, we’ve done well to reach the top ten and regain a bit of credibility. I stand by the fact that we may not be ready for Europe, but I will be naturally disappointed if we don’t get 7^th. That’d be good after the start we had. Apparently we only got 2 points in….8 games was it? I can’t quite remember.

KL

To concede 5 goals to Manchester United in 45 minutes tells a tale of woe and destruction which is often associated with those that take a severe beating from the reigning champions. We’ve been there before of course. And the fact remains that we did concede 5 goals. Did we take a beating? Not in the slightest. We were blitzkrieg-ed for twenty minutes in the second half. Who gave the order? Well our Hitler for the day was Howard Webb. He took the match by the scruff of the neck and cried out ‘United, you’re not playing well and that’s not what I’m about. I’m about the Red Devils taking the title because I’ve just a deposit on a villa in the Algarve. Now get to it.’ Down goes Carrick and up go Manchester United.

Yes that decision was horrendous. Yes it was the turning point in the game. Yes it gave United the impetuous to pour forward. No it did not force our players to sit back and take it. No it did not force our defence into a shambles. And no it certainly was not the be all and end all of the game. It was a terrible decision but they happen. Sometimes they go in your favour and sometimes they don’t. In most cases, by the end of season, you end up about where you started. We conceded the penalty and there was nothing we could do about that. We could have upped our game, kept on scrapping and fighting for every ball and kept on playing with the pace and tenacity that had given us the two goal lead. But we didn’t. We let those golden boys, Ronnie and Roonie, smash and grab their way to victory. I can’t imagine what the likes of Woodgate were thinking. He’s supposed to be a nutcase in a pair of football boots, so why didn’t he stand up and stop them? It wasn’t just him. It was all of them and more.

The first half was something special. It was subtle and slyly done. It took me about 20 minutes to dare say to my mate, ‘we’re playing really well here,’ and then the delirium of the double whammy came and suddenly we had it cracked. We’d slipped in under United’s radar and done them over playing better football. If only we could have stopped there. Sherwood had it right at half time. ‘We’ve still got problems in the second half.’ I wish he’d buggered off to the changing room and told the boys in there rather than spout that rather dismal message to those of us unlucky enough to be watching Setanta. It set the tone for the rest of the game. We had problems and we got beat.

I’d give all the players a 9/10 for their performance first half, but I can’t follow through in the second half for obvious reasons. That’s what’s disappointing. Webb made a mistake but he didn’t give United the four goals after that. What’s more unsatisfying is that had we nicked three points, or even the one, the title race would have just got tasty.

I wrote in my previous instalment that it was an important test of character to beat Newcastle. We did. We should have ripped them apart of course, but the win counted all the same. Huddlestone was marvellous. We have to keep hold of him this summer. He is fast becoming one of my favourite Tottenham players. His passing is absolutely superb and I’ve never seen anyone shoot like him either. The way he hits that ball, well, you just can’t take your eyes off him when he’s around the penalty area. He could be part of something special next year.

I’ve noticed that, bar the second half against United, we seem to have played well in almost every game since January. We haven’t always got the points we deserve, and there were some games in which a moment of panic has cost us, but on the whole I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the team since the turn of the year. This is of course mostly down to the work of Redknapp. He has saved us from relegation and could still salvage something from what has been an unforgettable season.

West Brom have just won their first game in 3.5 billion years (January) and probably fancy themselves on the uppers. Welcome to White Hart Lane boys. I’m still fuming over our 2-0 loss to them at Hawthorns. I mean, heavens above, what happened there? We need to make that right and get a win because the three games coming up after that are going to be a darn-sight harder and I want to finish in the top ten at the very least. At least then I won’t feel this season has been a complete shambles.

Did you know only Fulham currently have fewer players injured than us? They have zero and we have just Defoe who will be back soon according to physioroom.com, though I doubt they cater for slightly niggling injuries. I would very much like to see Jermain out on the field again, perhaps as a sub on Sunday. Keane hasn’t exactly been the king of goals recently, though I cannot take away from the positive effect his return has had on the team as a whole. And if Pavvy can do what he did against the Wham on the regular, it doesn’t really matter. Though I remember thinking the Pav and Defoe could have made an exciting combo before the little blighter got injured.

The commentators on the feed I was watching the West Ham game on were babbling about the quality of our bench during the game. And it made me realise that they were actually talking some sense, which only tells me our squad is well balanced at the moment. I almost feel personally associated with David Bentley. If ever there was a moment or transfer deal to pipe up and claim to be an ITK, his move to Spurs was certainly my biggest claim of being ‘in the know.’ By chance, one of my good friends’ relatives is engaged to the guy and as my mate is a big Spurs fan too we knew about this move weeks before it was officially announced. And so he came and we were very happy to have acquired him.

Then something terrible happened to Bentley and he sort of became this icon at Tottenham for everything that went wrong with Ramos and co. He didn’t quite recover. But I remember his face in the interview after the 4-4 draw at the Arse and his wonder goal. And I’ve realised I actually still like him. He’s toiled this season but he’s worked hard and by my humble knowledge on the matter, has not complained. He deserves another shot.

I was reminded of his ability by those two excellent strikes for the reserves against the Arse. At a time where perhaps Lennon may be in need of a rest, or at least a half time sub, Bentley seems the perfect replacement. Well that is obvious. At the same time, if he comes on with a gruff arrogance and plays poorly, it could well be last chance saloon for him already. But he hasn’t had a chance to play for a Tottenham team in form, so this could be his chance to show the doubters he has the ability.

I’ve heard Jenas is a doubt for Newcastle. This seems to be the perfect opportunity to give Huddles a run out playing in front of Palacios and show us all he is a worthy playmaker. This is a Newcastle team in a shit load of trouble and just because they have Shearer in management does little other than boost those fans with his ‘star factor.’ Well being a star doesn’t make you a good manager and from what I’ve seen from Shearer in punditry, he is certainly nothing special. That will mean little to the team though, who need every point they can get to survive and they still have quality in their ranks. I haven’t even mentioned that they seem to beat us home and away in the premier league whenever they want, in fact if they win again this will be their third consecutive double over us.

Well fuck that for a laugh. We’re at home, we’re vastly superior and we should win this game. Then again it’s another team from the North East, the land where our softies from the Lane often leave humiliated. This is a massive test the more I think about it actually. I’m a lot more worried than I was against the Spammers. More because I would hate losing to a club in such disarray and kick start their quest for survival.

The Tottenham we knew under Ramos would bend over backwards to let Newcastle beat the crap out of us and take the 3 points and if this hasn’t changed under Harry I don’t want to see us in Europe. Why? Well because next season we will need to solve that problem, and I don’t want to see us in the Europa Cup until our team has the necessary qualities to win the damn thing. Otherwise it will be a waste of time, like it was this season, to have the sapping games away in Eastern Europe while getting turned over by the newly promoted boys on the weekend.

How could you do that to me Tottenham? I was naively expecting all 3 points after watching the first eighty minutes. We weren’t at our best, but we were outclassing Blackburn and cruising. Then Dunn goes swimming and the rest is history.

We played quite well though. I say quite. It never really does the job the word ‘quite’. It’s sort of says nearly there but not… quite. Well it wasn’t good enough in the end. Though you would have thought had Big Will stayed on the pitch we would have landed the 3 pointer.

The referee was a bit of a monkey, but both sides could feel aggrieved by his decisions, so I can’t complain with too much of a case. Knappers couldn’t believe we hadn’t won judging by his post match ramble, but such and such happens in football. I’m over it now, and it’s time for the Whammers.

Despite my initial distaste at everything West Ham represent, their recent form has been nearly as good as ours and they’ve had a more consistent approach to picking up points ever since we nuked them 2-0 at their place in early December. They will bring such objections with them to the Lane and it’s up to us to send them packing. I’m under the quite pathetic assumption that Palacios will not be available due to his red card, though any old geezer with their level one reffing badge would know it should be rescinded. Despite this, I am confident we can beat them if whoever sits in that DM role bloody well sits there and tackles like a champion. It’ll be Zokora won’t it, and if so, all hope of that will be lost.

A draw wouldn’t be a disaster, but we haven’t lost at home in any competition since Everton at the end of November. That makes me confident of victory. There’s something I can’t place about Zola though. Firstly, I suppose it’s how the hell he is doing so well. And secondly, the man has stayed under the radar to such an extent that his team are taking the plaudits. He has a relatively young squad bouncing around at the moment and we can’t be complacent. I’ve heard Boa Morte’s back on form, that Italian relic Tristan is a bit of a menace and if Parker’s back this team will have something about them.

The best thing about the Spam fam is that they will want to get the ball down and play it, which funnily enough is often how us Spurs boys like to play the game too. Watching the anti-football of Blackburn made me sick, and it should be good to watch two teams going all out for victory without using throw ins as an aerial assault. Our attack is superior to theirs if on form and if that’s the case we can expect a very good game. I predict at 2-1 win to the good guys.

KL

It’s typical of Tottenham that we remain unbeaten against the top four premiership teams this season. We’ve collected 4 points off Chelsea, 2 off Arsenal and have managed a cheeky four points against Yanited and the Pool as well. It’s typical not because we have been that good this season, but because we have also lost to all three of bottom teams as well. I remember thinking under Jol that once the big man was able to ‘crack the code’ against the big boys then that would be our ticket to a regular 4^th spot and perhaps even higher. He never had much luck against the top four did he?

So this season we haven’t just cracked the code, we’ve picked up points against every single one of the top four teams we’ve faced. Strange that isn’t it? Unbeaten against the best teams in the league. We’re also now doing the same as, if not better, than we were under Ramos last year and apparently Redknapp has gained us 33 points from a possible 63. It’s mid table, it’s not that enjoyable, but we can now say with some confidence at least, that Spurs are safe for this season. I hope I’m not speaking too soon.

The game was fantastic to watch. Much like the Villa game, we seemed to be playing as a cohesive unit both in defence and attack and we made Chelsea pay. I like that. Making Russian thugs with more money than sense actually pay. And it’s not like they can complain, we deserved to win, they had no key player injured (Carvalho would have got sent off I imagine) and their manager was on a 6 game winning streak. We took them down in their prime.

Modric is top quality stuff and dare I say it, the new Berbatov. Not in playing style or personality, but in the fact that he may be too good for us to hold on to. I’m worried about that right now, I’m focussing on Harry hopefully keeping these same 11 players fit and in form for the last part of the season. We have some tough games coming up and some easier ones too and I can’t help but indulge myself into thinking a few more key wins could see us push for Europe. If we want to keep our best players (Modric, Lennon and perhaps even Woodgate could be subjected to transfer rumours this summer) we need an incentive like the Europa cup (which sounds like some cheesy TV show off Bravo). And if we want better players to replace those that leave, we almost certainly need to be in Europe.

In my last blog I labelled those thinking European football next year was a possibility as mad. But then if you’d told we’d take a deserved 6 points off Villa and Chelsea, I would have told you were mad as well.

So I heard in the old press that ‘Knappers has been saying Lennon never learnt how to play fuseball.

“He has that pace and skill but I don’t think he has really been taught how to receive the ball and get the ball,” Redknapp said.

So…erm…what has he been up to the last three years then? Come to think of it, all those times he hesitantly collected the ball out right and turned towards the defender, ran a little, stopped, ran a little, stopped, ran a little quicker, tried to cross…well sometimes he did look like he didn’t know what he was doing. It seemed to work quite well though.

I remember being at a game against Sunderland the season before last at the Lane, the score was 2-2 and Lennon had the ball in a promising position out wide. A guy behind me screamed, ‘skin ‘em both Aaron, they’re both shit…’ And I think the little lad duly obliged. We went on to win 3-2 thanks to a Carrick winner. (No I mustn’t say his name anymore, it makes me all wistful and silly.) Back to Lennon, is Harry now claiming responsibility for his spectacular form of late? That’s a bit cheeky, but with a 6 game unbeaten run sitting nicely under his belt, I can’t say I’m complaining.

I was relieved to see Ledders drop out of the England squad this week. What did they expect? He’s got a crocked knee and he can’t play more than once a week, it was a waste of time and petrol taking him over to the training camp to find out the same thing our physios could have told Fabio weeks back. I read in the paper that Capello may rate him as the best defender in the country. I sense some fabrication but even so, he can never play in regular tournament unless he gets a bionic knee and there’s probably a rule against that somewhere.

So the rest of the team have a nice break before an away day to Blackburn. We stole one of their best players, made him shit and stuck him on the bench. What have we got to fear? Well Big Sam will be playing ‘no back pass’ football so we can expect an aerial bombardment and Roberts and McCarthy are a real handful upfront. After that brings Wham and Newcastle to the Lane. We have more than the ability to win all three but I predict 4 points here. However if Harry can really keep this run going, we could be in for a real treat. It feels nice saying that.

KL