As a Liverpool fan I have to aggree with London_Calling, something must be done about this alarming change of fortunes. Although, all credit to Tottenham who played their respective asses off, and Johnny Jackson (Isn’t that the Tottenham guy? Or is it Justin?) looked really good after replacing Dalmat. Not that he looked bad on the bench, I just didn’t notice him that much. Houllier isn’t even making his famed excuses anymore - something is up, and I hope it is his time at the helm.
BTW do any of you live in Liverpool (or preferably Widnes)? I’m going back there in a couple of months, hopefully, and I really can’t be bothered to buy tickets for a small fortune outside the ground on matchday like last time (can´t barter while hung over and while travelling I usally have a hangover of interstellar proportions), so I could use a ticket contact…
Yep, Johnnie Jackson; also played a blinder at left-back against Brum (esp. vs. Clint Morrison). A genuinely excellent left-footed prospect; very composed and confident, a clever player - I was glad Sven was there when Jackson came on at half-time.
He’s actually the first of several prospects that are starting to come on stream (Jacko, Kelly, Hughes, Ifil and Yeates come to mind, but there are others). Plus, the Pleat role as Director of Football produced Saturday’s central defence (Gardner and Doc) and half the midfield (Davies and Brown) – all for loose change from the Nationwide.
With the injured now coming back, the squad is loking quite impressive, imho.
Contrary to what I’d been led to believe by a bloke down the pub, A Carling Cup final involving Arsenal WILL NOT result in an automatic UEFA qualification for the loser (assuming a Gunners win). Instead the spare place goes to the highest placed league side who has not qualified for Europe by other means.
What’s the world coming to when you can’t trust blokes down the boozer for tidbits of footballing info???
That’s brilliant news for Levy’s wallet, and possibly/probably good news for the club.
My priority list:
Dalmat + shrink (we need to be pretty certain about his ‘stability’)
Defensive midfielder (preferably Butt)
‘keeper (bargain shopping in Yorkshire, anyone ?)
everything else can wait a while
I see Redknapp is back and due a run out with the reserves next week. Ziege is almost fit, as is Richards . . . I’m getting excited ! Wanderers - That’s great news for Spurs! Hmmm, but maybe not so great for you . . . never know, though !
Did you ever have one of those days where you drive for four and a half hours through the UK’s busiest motorway network to watch your side play a team nearly two whole divisions below you in the semi-final of a cup competition that nobody takes seriously until the semi-final stage. And then this team, nearly bottom of the entire football league, who even lost to Doncaster Rovers on Saturday, beat you four-nil?
I did. Yesterday. Oh, it was horrible.
But it’s OK. I spent the early hours of this morning beating bloody Southend on FIFA 2004. Just to show that it I could do it, why couldn’t QPR?
What a Game!! 3-0 up in 16 minutes (that shut the away fans up I’ll tell you) but then Villa bring it back to 3-2 and it all starts looking a bit pear shaped, but the boys dug deep and stamped down the opposition with 2 more goals. What a game. The only mar on the evening was the poor turn out of home fans.
Marney, I’m afraid, has been the square root of useless. He’s hardly made an impression - payers run right past him with ease - oftentimes it’s as though he’s not even there (Hey! Marney’s ghost! Geddit…? Awww shurrup).
In fairness, though, he’s only had one and a half games, and his first half-a-game was the day after he landed at training. Fair enough. And everyone was awful on Tuesday night, so it’s unfair to single him out.
He’s a young lad, very highly rated, so I hope he just needs a bit of time to settle in. But he’s better get a wriggle on - he’s only here for a month! That, and our midfield injusry crisis means he must improve pretty sharpish. Olly’s never usually wrong on his loan signings - we’ll see.
And yes, we do have Danny Shittu, formerly of Charlton, the hoofmeister. Number six (but I wish he was our number two!)…
Last season we also had Mbombo Doudou. Shittu and Doudou. No wonder we were crap (wa-hey!). You’d see these kids running around with Doudou on their backs.
Well, thats what you get for playing in goal on Hammersmith Park. (Ba-doom, tish).
Funny one, Dean Marney; I think everyone at the club believes he’s just about there (for the Prem) and could really kick on to be an important player, but they want to see a little more generally and quite a lot more in terms of consistency – consistency is the main thing, I think.
Still, these loan-out deals only tend to happen when the player is on the verge and they (Pleat and the coaches) want something more competitive for the player than reserve matches – you’ll recall that from Stephen Kelly who’s got on the pitch a couple of times this year, including one start when Carr was suspended.
Sorry he’s not come up to proof yet; might still do, though. And you may even have him for longer than a month if we pick up a couple before this window closes (as we surely will).
Sure - Kelly was outstanding for us. I’m pleased he’s getting some games. Olly’s usually pretty good with his loan signings - Lee Cook of Watford, Kevin McLeod of Everton (now one of ours), Kelly…
Maybe there was a hint of Billy Big-Time in his game on Tuesday - a Premiership player playing at Roots Hall? Pah! - which, while not excusable, is certainly understandable. His new team mates will soon knock that out of him. I’m sure he’ll come good - just in time for us to storm past Plymouth Argyle to the top of the league!
If they’d only stop winning 8-0 every bloody game.
Shittu’s always looked decent to me (Oldham Athletic fan). Doudou has just signed for my second team (Farnborough Town) until the end of the season (non-contract).
Apparently one of our lads, Danny Hall, has been linked with Blackburn and Bolton. God knows why. He’s decent, but not that good.
Want to post this (before I forget) about Bobby Convey – the American kid Spurs were desperate to sign in the summer but who wasn’t entitled, at that point, to a Work Permit:
opps!
Yet another heroic performance on the rain-sodden steppes of south London yesterday from my boys in the Ryman’s League Div One South. They dished out an awesome 2-1 thrashing to Croydon not-terribly Athletic; can you hear me Ken Livingstone, your boys took a hell of a beating . . . marvellous spirit, good travelling support. Wonderful stuff!
Spurs and my home town boys, both bottom three at the years turn, both unbeaten in the league in 2004 after three wins each.
ruadh - by saying watching I imagine it’s a teevee show . . . I feel increasingly like the judge who asked what is a discotheque ? And old.
I have no idea what caused Pleat to put out the midfield he did in the first half yesterday, but I do hope there were reasons behind it other than it seemed like a good idea. It was never going to be a good idea, especially against a team we really needed to go at straight from the start.
Unfortunately, before the game Pleat spoke of a fluid and flexible midfield so he did have a plan, and it went horribly wrong; Spurs lacked purpose, balance, organisation – whatever Pleat said, the players couldn’t deliver. Having Brown and King duplicating one role and having Sharon two yards too slow out right wasn’t ever going to work.
And poor old Ledley, Pleat plays him everywhere except where he’s international class.
I feel confident about the reply at the Lane; we’ll have a better gameplan and Freddi will be back.
tickets for the replay are on sale now - £20 and £25, which is a refreshing change.
In non-league news: The FA vase match between AFC Wimbledon and Colne Valley turned into a punch up after one of the Colne players “allegedly” said something racist to that MC Harvey So Solid bloke.
Judging by the way he fights the So Solid Crew are a bunch of pansies.
I am at least certain of regularly watching at least one championship winning team this year. Unfortunately it’s the South London one (not Arsenal).
I suspect, the half empty stadium and Spurs only taking 4,000 of our 6,00 allocation on Sunday tends to point to the reason why ticket prices aren’t too high for the replay.
I think I’d be more excited about the FA Cup if the BBC didn’t keep selling it likes it’s going out of fashion (which, in my view, it’s too late for anyway); kind of like with women, the hard sell puts me off.
I can’t help being an old-fashioned country boy.
Even at those prices, I suspect I won’t be going to the replay
A reason that the full allocation wasn’t taken up (at least by people I know - who usually go to away games) is that it was completely impossible on public transport (there is no train from Lahdahn to Manchester that arrives early enough) which would have meant staying the night - a major extra expense.
I’ll go to the replay - although I am dreading the prospect of extra time and penalties and a very long tube ride home.
