Winning run comes to an end.

Spurs 5 game winning run came to an end against Crystal Palace on Tuesday. The game finished 1-1 with Defoe opening the scoring before Johnsen equalised with 11 minutes remaining.

Although it was a disappointing result it was a fair one to be honest. Spurs never got going in the first half and if it wasn't for Robinson making a fantastic save would of gone in 1-0 down at half time. Spurs were much improved second half and after a few minutes of pressure Spurs took the lead through Defoe, Spurs player of the year 2004. However they never really put Palace under anymore pressure after that. We needed another goal and got caught out with a hit and hope from Johnsen that snuck in.

Positives to take from the game were the excellent contribution that Mendes made when he came on turning the game on its head. However they were a few more negatives today. Ricketts was very poor and Arnesen must go out and pick up a good right winger as it's the position where we are lacking. Routledge of Palace is not the answer looking like a poor mans Ruel Fox today. Kanoute was also either knackered or lazy for the last 20 minutes. He played well beforehand but all of a sudden did not track back or put Palace under any pressure. Keane should of been on earlier but that's life.

Overall disapointing but we didn't loose. Everton coming up next who have just lost to Charlton 2-0. Lets hope we can do the same on Saturday.

Happy New year everyone - Next update will be Jan 4th.

The Shelf.

COYS

Tottenham Hotspur Vs. Crystal Palace.

Can we make it six wins from six? I hope so as we play another one of the Premiership kicking boys Crystal Palace tomorrow at WHL. The only thing that worries me is that our derby record is rubbish with one point from derby games this season. Not good enough but we should be able to improve on that tomorrow.

After the impressive win against Norwich the only doubt from the starting eleven is Atouba. Davies and Davis are both long term still so I expect only two changes from the team that won on Boxing Day. Ziegler will start on the left with Defoe back in the starting eleven. Who he plays with his anyone's guess. It could be Keane as he scored or it could be Kanoute as Defoe and him played so well together against Southampton. The other players will remain the same although there is a chance that Gardner could come in for Naybet but unless he has a knock I doubt this will happen.

This game could be a bit spicy after Jol and Dowie's "bust up" earlier in the season but I expect this was the usual tabloid scum making a mountain out of a mole hill. Andy Johnsen also seems to have forgotten where the goal is which is only good news for Spurs as they don't score much from other areas. We can also get a look at Routledge to see if he is good enough to grace the new look Spurs.

It should be a easy three points tomorrow but lets just make sure we continue wearing our lucky pants, socks, hats and so on just in case!

COYS!

Five on the bounce!

Spurs saw off Norwich on Boxing Day to record 5 wins on the bounce for the first time for 11 years. Robbie Keane and Michael Brown ensured I headed down the A12 with a smile on my face.

Norwich stared brightly and the pace of Huckerby was causing problems down our right wing with Brown bringing him down on the very edge of our area. He also caught Naybet out a couple of times but was not able to make a decent chance from it. Naybet's weakness is the lack of pace but I still feel he more than makes up for it with his reading and organizational skills at the back. Norwich proceeded to hit the post from Bentley with Robinson stranded but luckily it bounced out but Naybet hesitated and Norwich won a corner. Jol was pacing the touchline clearly worried by our slow start. Spurs had a couple of chances with Kanoute and Carrick but nothing to worry Green in front of the excellent Norwich fans. It was good to have some banter between the Spurs and Norwich fans instead of the normal dead home fans we have to face on our travels. The chant about Delia's pies being shit was quite funny although I really liked her Christmas pie!

Spurs were much improved in the second half. This is promising because it shows that Jol can read a game and make the necessary changes. We closed down the midfield more and denied Norwich space. However our marking at corners was poor and McKenzie had two free headers, one hitting the bar and one sailing just over. Ginger Pele also had an effort that went just wide so I hope Jol and the backroom staff look at this when hey have the time. From one of these headed efforts Spurs had an excellent counter attack with Keane and Kanoute storming forward running Norwich ragged. However Keane's final ball was awful, which he acknowledge,l wasting an excellent chance.

Spurs did eventually take the lead through a bit of luck. Spurs won a corner which never was and Ziegler whipped the ball cross. A Norwich defender did Naybet's job for him by heading back across his own goal. The goal line clearance was awful and fell straight to Keane who lashed the ball into the net. A lucky goal but you make your own and it was what we deserved after our pressurized performance in the 2nd half. Norwich always looked like they could hit back and it was important for Spurs got their second. It was an absolute screamer. Brown worked his way forward and the run of Defoe opened up space in front of him. From about 30 yards he let rip with an unstoppable bullet ensuring the points were coming back home.

Overall the performance wasn't great and a better side (Chelsea, Man U coming up) would of punished us with the way we played in the first half. However we rode our luck and deserverdly took the points. Norwich will point to hitting the post and bar but it makes no difference unless they go in. Jol was also able to rotate the squad resting Ziegler and Defoe who came on as subs but will probably start against Palace tomorrow. The form of Brown is also excellent and Jol was delighted with his goal.

COYS!

Gutter press make up rubbish again.

This time the Daily Mail is at. Usually The Sun, Star or Mirror are kings of bullshvt stories but not this time.

The Daily Mail claims that Ledley King is fishing for a move to fulfill his ambitions which cannot be met at Spurs. It also claims that he wants more cash even though he only recently signed a new deal.

What is good is that King and his agent have both come out and said that the Mail have completely misquoted them and it's absolute rubbish.

Ledley said "I was amazed to read that article because it is just not true.

"Tottenham will always be my first love and I am very happy here.

"I only signed a new contract in the summer and am not interested in going anywhere else."

His agent Jonathan Barnett, quoted in that article, added: "My words have been taken out of context. As far as I am concerned Ledley loves being a Spurs player and there are no problems."

Why can't the tabloid scum / filth etc. actually have some proper journalism and write about things that are actually true. First they tried to stir it up with Defoe and now they are trying it on with Ledley. It just proves that journalists in general are low life filth who probably all support the Scum. The tabloid papers are not worth the paper they are printed on.

Transfer news round up

Jol has finally come out and said that none of his three strikers would be leaving. He stated that he needs all three of them still and would actually like a fourth striker as extra back up.
Jol said: "Jermain Defoe is not for sale. He doesn't want to leave, we want him here, he's a terrific player. He's one of the best strikers, I think, in England, maybe in the future in Europe, so why should we sell him."

"I am very happy that I have three strikers of such quality."

Jol continued: "A lot of clubs have four strikers and, in fact, I could probably do with another young forward who is happy to sit on the bench. "But if we had four of the quality we already have, it becomes difficult to keep them all happy as they can't all play every week."

What we need now is Arnesen to come out and say that even "Ridiculous offers" will be rejected. Spurs don't need the money in the bank they need the players on the pitch. The finances are good at WHL and it's players of Defoe, Keane's and Kanoute's quality that put points on the board, not having £30 million in the bank.

Meanwhile Christian Wilhelmsson is still fishing for a transfer. He said he really wants to come a play for Spurs in the Premier League. However, Jol has stated today that Spurs have made no bid for the Swedish international. Watch this space as this story looks like it will continue to develop.

Finally Johnnie Jackson has gone on loan to Watford. Hopefully he can impress down there so we can offload him at the end of the transfer window. Jackson is a decent enough lad but his total inablility to beat anyone leaves him short on quality for the Premiership.

COYS!

Norwich Vs. Spurs

Win on Boxing day and we will have our best run since 1993. How long can this run continue? Until the new year at least and anything but a Spurs win against a Norwich side recently stuffed by Chelsea will be a big disappointment.

Naybet and Edman are now both fit and should return into the line up in place of Gardner and Atouba. Expect Atouba to drop to the bench as Ziegler should continue on the left wing. Ricketts will start right as this is still our only option that side and Jol likes the team to use lots of width. Carrick and Brown will make up the central pairing. Defoe and Kanoute are likely to start as they clearly hit it off against SCBC last Saturday. However Jol has hinted he will use a rotation policy for his front three so expect changes in the future. The other members will be the excellent King, Robinson and Pamarot.

The major improvement this season has been the away form. I believe we have now equaled the same amount of away victories this season as we did in the whole of the last one. Norwich will be without striker Svensson which will blunt their attacking potential but Spurs will still have to careful. Huckerby showed what pace can do against Naybet at WHL earlier in the season and will be looking to exploit that avenue once again. However Spurs should be too strong for Norwich and will hopefully take all three points down the A12 come 5pm on Boxing Day.

Hark, now hear the Tottenham Sing, The Arsenal run away, as we shall fight forever more because of Boxing Day!

COYS!

Merry Christmas from The Shelf - Have a present!

It's the season of goodwill blah blah.

Anyhow "The Shelf" has decided to give out a early Christmas present to its readers. Now the present is Firefox and Thunderbird. Look at the top of the page and you will see two buttons. Click on them and download the browser and email client straight away. Not only does Firefox allow you to browse the internet in a far more secure way than Internet Explorer has ever done it is also Open Source. In other words there are many people writing different themes and applications for Firefox right now that can be downloaded for free. The list grows everyday and the best part about Firefox is that it costs you nothing!

Thunderbird is a rival to Outlook. More stable and secure with the added extensions and themes as found in Firefox, Thunderbird is the way forward for managing email and newsgroups. Enjoy your early Christmas present right now. Click the buttons above and give Firefox and Thunderbird a try today.

Don't believe me about how good they really are? Follow this link:

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/style/homegarden/s_282211.html

COYS!

Defoe rips pathetic Southampton apart.

Brilliant win and a good performance shoved Spurs up to seventh in the Premier League this weekend. It finally looks like Spurs will have a succssful Christmas period, almost unheard of.

Spurs did what they hadn't done in recent weeks and finsih teams off. Against Citeh and Blackburn Spurs took all the points but at 1-0 a team can always sneak something. At 5-1 Southampton never had a hope in hell of taking the points and that was the most pleasing aspect of the performance.

After the 'Boro game I wrote about how important it was to do well in the string of fixtures up to January 1st. The teams are all the rubbish in the Premier League and failure to take points form them would have seen Spurs in big trouble right now. However, I never imagined four wins on the bounce especially with difficult away fixtures which we always seem to screw up in. Four straight wins is our best run since 1995 and has really turned the season around. Full credit must be given to Jol especially as we have had a few difficult injries to Ziegler and Edman. Jol has really began to motivate the team is a style similar to Martin O'Neil. I was ridiculled by a few supporters back then but now even the press are making the link.

Kanoute's confidence is sky high, Brown is playing some of the best football in his career and even Carrick is starting to make a contribution. In fact, and you won't see me write this often, Kanoute and Carrick were a revalation for Tottenham yesterday and long may it continue. When I make the trip to Norwich come Boxing Day I will be quite happy if Kanoute partners Defoe with Carrick pulling the strings in the middle if they produce a similar performance as they did against SCBC.

However, we must not get carried away yet. Hopefully by Jan 1st Spurs will have seen off Norwich and Palace for 6 straight wins which is probably the best run since the double! Then it gets tough. Everton at home, Manchester United away and the Chelsea at the lane. We finsih January with an away trip to Palace and Spurs could be with one win in four so I'll hold off judgement on our progress until then. We will also see if Defoe and King are still at the Lane. I firmally believe they will be but remarks by Arnesen today could suggest otherwise. Chelsea could easily put in a "ridiculous offer" to prize Defoe away. Whether he would want to go and warm the bench is another matter but Spurs should be coming out and saying Sod Off to any offer, ridiculous or otherwise. If we are to make progress we should hold onto key assets whatever the cost. Money is all well and good but the replacememnts need to of the same quality and it's highly unlikely we would be able to get them and have money to spare to stregthen other areas. It makes no sense to sell any of our key players and if January ends with one or both gone then Spurs will never be great again.

Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy new Year from "The Shelf".

COYS!

Spurs Vs. Southampton.

What a turn around. No clean sheets, 6 straight losses have become 3 straight wins and no goal conceded in 303 minutes of football and all the stats say that this should continue on Saturday. However, Stats mean nothing as we all know.

Southampton travel to WHL with no away wins this season and only two wins in total. Only WBA have a lower amount of victories. Southampton also haven't won in four and let a two goal lead slip last week with only 4 minutes, including stoppage time, remaining. Spurs on the other hand have played well even when on our losing streak but the home form isn't great. However this should (crosses fingers) be a comfortable game. Redknapp claims that apart from upfront they can match us all over the pitch. Rubbish in my opinion. SCBC have been punching above there weight when Strachen was there and their performances with Sturrock were more of the caliber they are capable of. Redknapp will motivate the team though and will be tougher to play against than if we had played them three or four weeks ago.

Spurs will have Pamarot, Gardner, King and Atouba across the back four. The midfield will consist of Ziegler who is likely to be recalled on the left and probably Ricketts on the right. Brown, who seems to be light years away from the player he was under Santini and Pleat will be in the centre with hopefully Mendes. However Jol has been singing Carrick's praises this week claiming he deserves an England call up. I'm sorry but I just haven't seen anything near an England performance from Dozzell, whoops Carrick, but maybe I'm missing something. Mendes will probably be on the right in a position where he is wasted. Defoe will be recalled with a tough choice between Keane and Kanoute. I haven't a clue who he will pick but I'd prefer Keane as he works hard for the team.

Anyhow a fourth straight win would be good as it will give us another three points, we can climb further up the table to maybe 7th and boosts the confidence even higher. After Christmas we have Everton, Manchester United and Chelsea so we need to make sure we pick up the points against the crap in the Premier League to absorb any tricky results in January.

COYS!

Hoddle denies Spurs interest.

Glenn Hoddle finally denied that he had spoken to a consortium about buying Spurs and sacking the whole management structure today. Hoddle said "I can assure you I have never sat down with any consortium." Thank goodness to be honest as the last thing we need at Spurs is more upheaval. If you look at the successful clubs in the Premier league (and not just the ones who have won it but have been in the top six say) they all have had managers who have been around for a long time. Wenger at Arsenal, Fergerson, Chelsea have Moaninhio but stuck with Raneri for a while. Houllier was at Liverpool for a few seasons and although didn't win the Premier League won three trophies in one season and finished in a Champions League place. This is what Spurs need, a manager who is actually given the time he needs. Obviously removing some managers in the past was the right decision such as Ardiles who was definelty on a downer and Hoddle if reports were true that he had lost the dressing room. George Graham's sacking though was a ridiculous PR stunt as Enic would never of been able to get rid of him had he won the FA cup and we can go right back to the days of Pleat where we were so close the winning the triple then rumors about his private life led to his dismissal.

So, Jol and Frank need time and lots of it. Next season could be another mid table nothing job but we should avoid the temptation to try something else again. I believe that only with time can Spurs be great once again.

The only thing that now irritates me about this whole affair is why did Glenn take so long to deny the story?

Spurs sale denied.

Taken from the official site.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, has responded to recent press speculation, both today and over the last two weeks about the future of the Club. Certain newspapers have carried columns suggesting that the Club is for sale, that David Sullivan may want to buy it or, the latest today, that Glenn Hoddle is part of a consortium to bid for the Club.


"Let’s be absolutely clear about this. ENIC owns 51% of Tottenham Hotspur. Its commitment is evidenced by the fact that during the summer ENIC was wholly prepared to underwrite the full fund raising requirement. We have never put up a 'For Sale' sign at this Club and we are not about to do so. I, personally, have invested time, energy and money in getting this Club in the shape it is now financially, both as a player in the transfer window and as a club with a future,” said Daniel Levy.


"We are a PLC - as such we have a duty to our shareholders to consider seriously any approaches for the Club from bona fide buyers, but we have not had any such negotiations or discussions and we have no intention of selling. And for the hundreth time I want to re-iterate that we never received any proposal, let alone offer, from Roman Abramovich."


He continued, "This kind of irresponsible, inaccurate speculation is irritating only because I do not want our fans, players, staff and shareholders to take it seriously and am keen that they simply ignore it."

Get lost Hoddle.

Don't get me wrong Hoddle was a fantastic player and a Spurs legend in the 80s but is an average manager at best. His time at Spurs was a mixed bag. Originally brought in as a PR exercise after George Graham was sacked three weeks before the clubs biggest game of the season. (That's another story all together but don't get me started). His ego then allowed our record signing to loose so much confidence he eventually moved to West Ham for FREE! Now I'm sorry but you don't become a bad player overnight and the way Rebrov was treated was a disgrace. Spurs did play some entertaining football but were soft looking. The dressing room was divided and Hoddle was eventually sacked after a terrible start to last season. It was the right decision then and continues to be the right decision.

But why this sudden tirade against the former King of WHL? Well according to lots of the press, with quotes from Hoddle, he is trying to buy the club with friends so he can be put back in charge. I really hope this is complete rubbish as it clearly didn't work when he was here before and there is no reason why it would work again.

Hoddle is quoted as saying:
"My contacts have already put in two bids but (current Spurs chairman) Daniel Levy won't budge at the moment," said Hoddle.

"I think Joe Lewis wants to get out, he wants to move on, but he won't undermine Daniel at the moment and I think Daniel is saying 'Give me one more chance here'."

"These guys are millionaires," said Hoddle, who said Levy wants £90m for the club.

"Daniel is having his last little go at it but if the pressure comes on then he'll run one day.

"I really do believe there is a chance of it happening if the team continue to struggle.

"Hopefully they would say 'Glenn, you run the football side'. The way they do it at the moment is amateurish.

So there you have the quotes. Apparently the way most of the clubs in Europe are run, including Real Madrid, Barcelona (the list is endless) is "Amateurish". Arnesen clearly is rubbish if you look at the things he did with PSV and what Spurs need is ANOTHER start. Give me a break. How many managers have we had since the Premier league was formed? Is sacking everyone, again, and bringing in a whole new board, backroom staff and then a failed manager really going to help Spurs. Nope, we will become even more of a laughing stock than we already have become in the last few years. What Spurs need is continuity. We need to stick with someone for more than five minutes. Jol has shown he can turn around the team and has now madeit three wins on the bounce AND three clean sheets. Ok, this doesn't make a season but the two back to back away wins were more than Hoddle could manage in his whole time at Spurs.

I really hope this is all just paper talk and Hoddle has been misquoted. Actually he would have had to have been seriously misquoted so I suspect there may be some element of truth in this story. If there is all I can say is, Hoddle you've lost the plot. Concentrate on sorting Wolves out and leave us alone. You had your chance and blew it and I hope most Spurs fans can see past your former player glories to say that your managerial record at Spurs was poor and that the last thing we need is another massive upheaval.

Excellent victory.

Tottenham's 1-0 victory at Manchester City made it 3 wins on the bounce and our first back to back away games win for 5 years. Kanoute's goal was the star of the show with a marvelous left footed strike from the edge of the area leaving calamity with no chance.

Citeh started the brighter with Spurs struggling to get out of their own half for at least the first 15 minutes. Manchester City failed to take advantage and it let Spurs back in. Ricketts had a good run beating two Citeh players before rolling his shot just wide with James beaten. Keane also found himself one on one with Calamity after a superb through ball by Mendes but he put wide as well. To be fair James did everything he could do and forced Keane to shoot wide more than Keane making a mistake.

The second half was much improved. Mendes and Naybet were both replaced, due to slight knocks, by Kelly and Gardner. This allowed Atouba to move up into left wing. Kelly had another assured performance apart from one reckless challenge where he could of broken Wright-Phillips' leg but luckily he didn't. Spurs were able to push on more and create plenty of goal scoring opportunities. Brown set up Kanoute's excellent goal and Keane could of had at least two. The first he had to go wide and Dunn was able to clear the ball off his line for a corner. After reading the message boards (see links) you would think the goal was at Keane's total mercy but from the angle he was at he did his best. The second effort he should of scored though. Brown broke down the right and played a superb ball into Keane who missed from two yards. The ball did bobble but it was one Keane should of buried. In the end it didn't matter and Keane still worked extremely hard for the team.

Although I only saw the 55 minutes of highlights shown on Sky's Match Choice it did appear that Carrick did absolutely nothing whatsoever. Maybe he did loads in the bits Sky and the BBC chose not to show but judging on what I did see today he looks more and more lost back in the Premiership.

Overall a great win against a fellow under performer which sets us up nicely for Redknapp to bring SCBC to Spurs next Saturday. Another win at home then will put us well on the way to a much improved league position.

Citeh Vs. Spurs

Tricky one this. Win it and it's the first back to back away wins since 1999. Loose it and we slip back down towards trouble.

Spurs must look to take at least a point from this one but hopefully will have all 3 by 5pm Saturday. Defoe is suspended for his shirt removing antics and now Keane is doubtful leaving Kanoute and A. N. Other - probably Da Silva or Yeates to fill the striking role. I personally think Keane will just about make it. We will stick to 4-4-2. Atouba will move forward to left wing allowing Edman to return with any luck. With Atouba further away from our goal we should see less passes and throws across our own box. I hope Kelly keeps his place at right back as he has looked solid there and is a better bet than Pamarot who can be brilliant but can also be appalling. The other parts of the team pick themselves really. Expect Davies to return on the right (hopefully with a bit more form) allowing Mendes to go back to the middle where he is far mor effective. Next to him will be Carrick. Let's hope he turns up on Saturday unlike previous weeks.

Anyway, good luck lads, a point please at the very least.

COYS!

Gutter Press

Just logged onto News Now and saw two pathetic articles from the lazy journalists who get paid a wedge of cash to dream up complete rubbish! The Sunday People have rehashed an old story as they have sod all else to do about Defoe to Chelsea. Moaninhio has already stated he doesn't want him and Defoe has said he is happy to stay at Spurs. According to the "news" story Defoe was shocked that Keane was on more than him when we all know it was SPURS not Defoe who had started talking to him about upping his wages.

Fans FC are then at it today. Keane stated he wasn't happy that he was being subbed a lot but when Fans FC quoted him they missed out the bit about him saying that what mattered was the result not whether he comes off or not. However, Fans FC have now decided that this is a hint that he wants away from Spurs. WALOB! I will be mightily surprised if ANY of our strikers are sold, let alone Keane or Defoe.

Does anyone else find this lazy, poor, crap journalism infuriating?

Two league wins on the Bounce for Spurs

Spurs continued to move in the right direction with a well earned victory at Blackburn. Robbie Keane hit the winner for his first goal in a while.

The first half was pretty even possession wise but Spurs had the better of the chances with Defoe going close twice. Blackburn rarely threatened and the only thing Dickov did was to earn himself a booking. In my opinion Dickov is a dirty disgrace and obviously paid a lot of attention while at the gooners.

In the second half Blackburn came out quickly and Robinson made a smart save from Gallagher. Spurs then picked up the pace a little and got going again. The goal came from a superb piece of work by Brown. He picked up the ball in our own half and ran through three challenges before finding himself to the left of the Blackburn area. He then played the perfect ball across for the incoming Robbie Keane to hit home for the first away goal in over 6 hours of football. It was a great move and Brown deserves a lot of credit for it. A bit later Keane went off which was disappointing as he worked tirelessly and was a clear Man of the Match for me. Hopefully this will give him a bit more confidence for the coming games.

Atouba continued to worry at left back. Many times I was hoping for a hoof away as things were looking dodgy but not with Atouba. At times what he did was very good but he was caught out at least twice and a better team than Blackburn would of punished us. Mendes looked wasted on the right and had a quiet game. Ziegler looked tired and gave the ball away too many times. Redknapp also came on for his first game in a few weeks and looked ok. Carrick failed to impress often watching the play go around him. He did play one great ball into Defoe but can we afford to play him for 90 minutes for one good pass?

Spurs decided to defend their lead for the last 15 minutes which was a little worrying as we haven't been good at defending anything in recent weeks. We gave Blackburn a lot of possession but the defense were able to clear any chances Blackburn created for themselves. There was one scary moment right at the end where Naybet gave away a free kick which was then moved to the edge of the area for decent. Luckily the free kick hit the wall and the whistle then blew.

So, Spurs achieve two wins on the bounce against a fellow struggler. It moves us away from trouble and towards a nice safe mid table position. We can't relax yet though as we have to make sure this winning run continue against the other rubbish in the Premiership like Manchester City next week.

COYS!

Blackburn Vs. Spurs

The Premiership is now back in focus after the disappointment of midweek. With a clutch of fixtures including relegation battlers such as Norwich, Southampton and Manchester City coming up Spurs need to view this period up to January as all very winable games. In fact Spurs HAVE to take something from all of them if we are not to be in a relegation battle for the remainder of the season.

I expect Jol to revert to a full strength side for the battle at Ewood Park. Robinson in goal with Atouba, Naybet Pamarot and hopefully King. If he doesn't make it I'd bring in Davenport but Gardner will probably get the nod as he is now fully fit. I hope Jol reminds Atouba that throwing / passing across your own area is just asking for trouble and we see no more of it.

Ricketts looked much better on Wednesday but after refusing to acknowledge the crowd as he walked round the pitch when subbed just sums up his lousy attitude and I look forward to the day he leaves. However, Davies is out because of his appalling form so is the only real option. This then allows Mendes to play in the centre. Partnering him is bound to be Jason Dozzell, oh sorry I mean Carrick. More forward passes please from him and some tackles as he looks too light weight for the holding player he is supposed to be. Come back Sean Davis, and quick! On the left will be the excellent Ziegler.

Up front will be Keane and Defoe. I'd take Keane's workrate any day over flashes of brilliance followed by mindless handballs and other useless rubbish from Kanoute. He will be on the bench.

I don't really care how Spurs play - pretty or ugly - but they must take at least a point to continue on the road to recovery. Three would be nice but with Blackburn unbeaten in five it will be tough.

COYS!!!!

Penalty Nightmare strikes again.

Still too annoyed to write much. Let's just say that the team line up was a surprise but for the first 45 minutes we played them off the pitch possession wise but didn't create loads. Even so we should of been at least 2-0 up. Second half was a bit different as Liverpool came into it more. Extra time was a disgrace as we became progressively worse and we demonstrated once again that we cannot defend a lead very well. Kanoute, who had played reasionable well lost his mind and gave away a ridiculous penalty with only FOUR minutes left. He then missed a penalty. He was obviously not up for the penalty shoot out - his body language told the whole story and shouldn't of been taking one in the first place. Brown's penalty was appalling - not even getting it on target and sums him up for me.

A great route into Europe for Spurs screwed up by idiotic play and not doing the basics while on top. In reality the game was lost in the first half when we failed to take our chances, again. I really think we need a new striker to partner Defoe. Keane works hard every game but doesn't seem to be able to hit any form with Defoe and Kanoute can be brilliant in one moment and a disgrace in another.

Carrick - was he always this crap at West Ham? Atouba - Please never throw or play the ball across our own box ever again - you got away with it tonight but will get caught out in the end - It's basic defending!!!!

Crap, cold night overall. Lets hope we are better on Saturday.