Looking for a Man City - Spurs draw now. A City win would be ok. Sorry, can’t support Spurs to win here.*
*Or really, you know, ever. 
To the chagrin of wives and girlfriends everywhere, it’s a big day of Premier League football today with the top four teams all playing each other - Leicester visit Arsenal, while Manchester City host Tottenham.
It’s incredible seeing Leicester playing in a “six-pointer” match against a league title rival - a match that, when the points are tallied at the end of the season could have the potential to make them champions. A year ago, the newly-promoted Leicester were bottom of the league and seemed certain to be doomed to relegation. If the fairytale were to come true and they were to win the league, it would be one of the greatest stories in the history of not just English football or football, but sport itself.
There are already plans to make a movie about Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who four years ago was playing non-League football and now finds himself as the top-scorer in the highest league in the land, scoring some great goals that can cause people’s teeth to fall out.
If Leicester were to win the league, surely it would only be a matter of time before they got their own movie. Nigel Pearson, Leicester’s manager last year would make a great on-screen villain, with his confrontational and bullying style - his “you are an ostrich” speech to a reporter and subsequent being taken to task by a BBC journalist would make great dramatic set-pieces. Pearson did fantastically in the second half of last season to rally his team and eventually guide them to safety from relegation. It was his sacking, for his general confrontational style and his son’s “racist sex tape”, that lead to the appointment of Italian Claudio Ranieri as manager. Ranieri’s sunny, friendly and laid-back disposition looks to have liberated his new charges, allowing them to play with freedom and joy. They also have Riyad Mahrez, who has burst onto the scene to become the most exciting player in the league and leading contender for the Player of the Season award.
Arsenal will be hoping to recover from the blip they’ve had in recent weeks and, historically, they tend to finish seasons strongly. Mesut Ozil has really stepped up this season to become the player Arsenal fans had been hoping to see since his arrival three years ago. With 16 assists already this season, he looks set to smash the Premier League assists record of 20, set by Thierry Henry in the 2002/03 season. Let’s hope it’s “ya, Gunners, ya” for the rest of the season.
Despite being an Arsenal fan, I’m neutral about all other teams, including Spurs, so it’s refreshing to see how they, along with Leicester, have shaken up the top four this season. It’s the best time to be a Spurs fan for decades - they’ve got a quality team and excellent manager, all young and with the potential to improve further. While in the past, Spurs have been forced to sell to better teams the best players they’ve developed, the solid football platform they have at the club now, and position in the league, means they might be able to keep them and establish themselves as a major force over the next few years.
Manchester City have not been been that impressive this season, despite the £150 million or so spent on new players. Injuries to key players like Aguero and Kompany haven’t helped. Still, they should be doing better - something that is sure to change with next season’s arrival of Pep Guardiola, probably the most coveted manager ever, to take charge of the team. True to his modus operandi, Guardiola has picked the best car/horse for his foray into British football, with the quality of Man City’s squad and their unequalled financial clout meaning he should be able to achieve success straight away.
One manager who won’t be achieving success straight away is Jurgen Klopp. While Guardiola has stepped into a modern state-of-the-art sports car, Klopp, has acquired a rusty old banger which, while it may have won races decades ago, needs almost all parts replaced. It was seen as a brave move by the German manager to take on the enormous task of bringing Liverpool back to football’s top table, when he could have waited a few months and had his pick of some of the very top European clubs. Perhaps it isn’t a surprise that Klopp, with his reputation as football’s “hipster” manager, has taken the unorthodox choice. When he took over at Liverpool a few months ago, it looked as though the German manager would have a great chance at getting Liverpool back into the top four Champions League positions, but results haven’t been going as Liverpool fans had hoped, and Kloppmania has well and truly fizzled out. I saw a stat showing that after their first x number of games (I forget how many), the three most recent Liverpool managers - Hodgson, Rodgers, Klopp - had/have all achieved 22 points.* Plus ça change…*
The other big Premier League story doing the rounds, is the potential return of Mourinho next season as Manchester United manager. There are serious misgivings among a section of Manchester United fans that Mourinho is not a “Manchester United-style manager”: his toxic, confrontational “scorched earth” approach to management, which tends to see him eventually fall out with everyone, is not seen as appropriate by many for a club of United’s standing. Also counting against him are his tendency to produce functional, pragmatic teams over the attractive, free-flowing and adventurous styles of football United fans have become accustomed to over the years. Still, with Manchester United’s decline showing no sign of abating, they would probably do well to take the gamble.
ETA: Arsenal 2 - 1 Leicester City. Injury-time winner by the returning Danny Welbeck. Wahoo!
A tasty win!
Aston Villa in a complete meltdown against Liverpool. Liverpool up 5-0 at the 66 minute mark. Aston Villa has looked like Brazil’s World Cup squad the last 5 minutes
Absolutely brutal.
I was just coming in to comment on that. What the hell happened? Aston Villa’s been a fixture in the Premier League. This is a total collapse. They’ll be lucky not to drop to the third division.
Ends Villa 0-6 Liverpool. Ouch.
Ok, City and Spurs! Tie it up! Don’t be afraid to earn multiple red cards! End it all in a tangle!
Come on you spurs!!!
City 1 - Spurs 2
Spurs keep second in the table!
And the Spurs go marching on!!
Dodgiest penalty in history for us. Musn’t grumble though. 
Clattenberg owed us one anyway…
I don’t really begrudge that result (City v. Spurs), even though it puts Arsenal back in third. It was fair result, dodgy penalty or no.
In the end, it turns out I really can’t help but be glad to see gains being made over those Manchester teams. >Ritually spits<
I’m sure Tottenham will stumble back into mediocrity in due time.
May you live a long and happy life, and may that be carved on your tombstone.
You might as well carve it on Mertesacker, he’s got the mobility of a tombstone.
Bob Marley supported Spurs.
Osama Bin Laden supported Arsenal.
I think that says it all…
People cast aspersions on him, but in truth his “slowness” is overstated. What he does do very well involves terrific positional awareness. He always seems to know where to stand, either to get in the numerous crucial tackles, or two create danger in the box on a set piece.
You could say that about the likes of Paul McGrath, Steve Bruce and even our own Gary Mabbutt. but, in the case of Mertresacker, setting club allegiences aside, he always seems to look like a liabity. It’s a weak spot that other teams are taking advantage of (Oh boo hoo hoo, I’m really upset:D).
As for the Citeh match… It reminded me of the match against you lot earlier in the season. Bossing the game and then suddenly trying to hang on to it. Eriksson’s goal was a welcome surprise, at that stage in the match probably against the run of play.
I started supporting Spurs in the 1960/61 season, when we did the double. 
Since then, apart from a few Cup wins, it’s been one disappointment after another.
At last we have a team with many young English players who play attractive football.
Could this finally be a season when we finish above Arsenal?
As John Cleese said “It’s not the despair - I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand…”
I know what you mean. 3 - 0 up in stoppage time and I’m thinking “We might get a draw”
Spurs: The triumph of hope over experience.
That said, I reckon we’ve got a reasonable chance of finishing in the top ten this year.
Pearson put that side together. He wasn’t willing to castigate his son in public. Although I reckon he would have had The Mother Of All Bollockings in private.
[QUOTE]
Despite being an Arsenal fan, I’m neutral about all other teams, including Spurs, so it’s refreshing to see how they, along with Leicester, have shaken up the top four this season. It’s the best time to be a Spurs fan for decades - they’ve got a quality team and excellent manager, all young and with the potential to improve further. While in the past, Spurs have been forced to sell to better teams the best players they’ve developed, the solid football platform they have at the club now, and position in the league, means they might be able to keep them and establish themselves as a major force over the next few years.
[QUOTE]
I’m Spurs, although I know plenty of you interlopers frrom Sarf Lahndun… I’m not daring to dream though…
Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Titles on a plate. It’ll be to see how he does.
It’s been a difficult start, but I’ve got a feeling he will do well. Ask a Geordie…
[QUOTE#l
The other big Premier League story doing the rounds, is the potential return of Mourinho next season as Manchester United manager. There are serious misgivings among a section of Manchester United fans that Mourinho is not a “Manchester United-style manager”: his toxic, confrontational “scorched earth” approach to management…[/QUOTE]
I made a proper bollocks of that one. Attack is the best form of defence…