On Andros Townsend

After Andros Townsend came onto the scene for AVB's Tottenham at the start of the 2013/14 season, several articles were published under the headline "Is Andros Townsend the next Gareth Bale?". Feel free to copy and paste that into Google; you'll find like I did a bunch of articles written in 2013 discussing that prospect.

And blimey, what a prospect it was for us Spurs fans! We sold our hero, our talisman, arguably the best to play for Spurs in many years. And in an instant, we could have found a successor. Not one bought, but one of our own! One fast, attacking, goal-hungry, distance-striking winger replacing another. It was glorious. It dared us to dream of thirty-yard screamers, last minute winners, attacking football again. And with thoughts on what that could do for a national team so devoid of flare, so lacking in actual impact players, every English football fan was caught up in the furore of Andros Townsend.

It breaks my heart, therefore, to have to say this, but I think everyone knows it's true. He's one of our own, after all, that's what we sung - but so has many failed Tottenham prospects. Andros Townsend will never amount to the player we want him to be. Furthermore, Townsend barely justifies any more a seat on Tottenham's bench, let alone a starring role.

Allow me to explain. Townsend has many attributes that I adore from a modern-day winger: the ability to take on the defender; the willingness to take a dig at goal from outside box; the sheer velocity to belt it down the flanks. I look at defenders when he has the ball and they look startled into action, frantic to defend and stop him from making a difference in the final third. There's no denying that Townsend could fit the mould perfectly to play in our first team - hell, to play in any Spurs team over the years.

Well, then - why isn't he playing in the first team? Why has Pochettino confined him to the benches this season, using him in the league as no more than a second-half impact player? If he does indeed have all these attributes, shouldn't he easily waltz into the starting eleven ahead of Erik Lamela, ahead of Mousa Dembele, ahead of Nacer Chadli?

The answer is end product. Shots on goal. Creating chances. The difference between foreplay and fuck. Townsend has absolutely no end product, both as a midfielder and as an attacker. He has the foreplay of a pornstar but the penetration of a pubescent twit. He will take on the man; he will dribble down the the flanks; he will get into creative positions to set up and maybe even score. And he will bottle it almost every time. It's fun to watch him mess with defenders, but it is infuriating to watch the terrible crosses, the missed passes, but most of all, the constant, constant attempts on goal,

Scenario: a player gets the ball - teammates are in the box - a player cuts inside - a player looks up - teammates lose their marker - a player decides Fuck it, I'm scoring the winner - a ball goes cannoning into Row Z - possession lost, chance wasted.

Now picture that same scenario when you're watching your team, and it's every single game, and it's every single appearance, and it's every single season. I present you Andros Towsnend.

And the stats do not favour Andros at all. I've dusted off my old calculator, done a bit of division, nearly had an aneurysm, and discovered some shocking statistics about Townsend's end product. This was shocking despite the experience of watching him play for the past few seasons. Brace yourselves, people.

Across the last three seasons in the league and in Europe, Andros Townsend has played for Tottenham 58 times, shot at goal 102 times, and found the net 2 times. Two. That's a shot conversion rate of 1.9%. To put that in perspective, Spurs fans are like to see one goal out of every fifty Andros Townsend shots... ONE GOAL - FIFTY SHOTS. To put this in an even worse perspective for Andros, we'd be likely to get seven goals from Nacer Chadli in as many shots since 2013.

The fun doesn't end there, guys. Oh no. More of the stats that we so eagerly like to read say that Spurs fans see Andros create a single chance per 113 minutes of football. To compare with the a much maligned (and frankly, by many Spurs fans, still despised) rival to the right-wing spot, Erik Lamela will on average create a chance every 38 minutes of football, as well as the 12 assists compared to Townsend's 3 amongst his chances. If I were crude, I would say Lamela is statistically three times as creative as Andros Townsend on the football pitch.

So why exactly might Pochettino bench this young, talented footballer? Well, not only do the other young talented footballers in the squad - Kane, Lamela, Dier, Alli, (at a push) Mason - clearly make better impacts on matches than Townsend, these players are also improving at a far better rate since first playing for Spurs than Townsend. Whilst only the most hypercritical cynic would dispute the fact that Erik Lamela has improved since arriving at Spurs from Roma, Townsend is exactly the same player as he was when he burst onto the scene that same year. There's even an argument to suggest Townsend has gotten worse since first starting for Spurs in 2013; good defenders are more aware of his party tricks and can show him onto his weaker right-foot, which has even less of an impact than his left foot. With the likes of Alex Pritchard and Joshua Onomah jumping up and down to play for Spurs, I honestly wonder how Townsend is even on the bench under Pochettino.

Imagining a Townsend performance is much like Orwell's imagination of the future in Ninety Eighty-Four. I paraphrase: There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment in the process of attacking football. All possible chances to score will be destroyed. Always will there be the intoxication of taking shots, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of shooting from thirty-yards out, the sensation of trampling on a goal-scoring opportunity that is helpless. If you want a picture of Andros Townsend, imagine a boot stamping on Mauricio Pochettino's face - for ever.

Perhaps I'm being a tad harsh in likening Andros Townsend to totalitarianism. My main point is that I hold very little hope for Townsend as a top-half Premier League player. He is void of all end product, merely possessing the threat of it. He has all the attributes of an impact player without the decision-making skills to consistently do anything useful with them. At aged 24, there's still a few more years potentially there for improvement, and I'd love to see him replicate for Tottenham what he seems to do invariably for England. Sadly, with injury problems looming and better options already available and playing for Pochettino, I see a struggle for Townsend to hold onto his future at Tottenham.

The British tabloids have an excruciatingly painful tendency to hype up young, English footballers and announce them to be the next superstar in order to create interest. It wouldn't bother me if it didn't leave such a mark on these young players' careers. Tottenham and England fans alike will always struggle to discard the idea that Townsend could one day score goals, change games, bring glory like Gareth Bale did season after season in Lilywhite. But it's time we put it next to our other hopeless dreams for English football. I'd say that glory fades for Andros - this time, I doubt the glory was ever there to begin with.

Are Spurs set to surprise a few this season?

Nobody at Tottenham Hotspur expected anything coming into the new season. They had a new manager with new ideas (or should I say “philosophies”?) on how the team should play. They were set to start a recovery, a plan to repair the broken squad of the 2013/14 season, and, having learnt the price of an itchy trigger-finger, most Spurs fans were prepared to wait patiently during this season of transition.

That was the mood in August, before a ball was kicked or a game was played. It is now January and the Premier League has surpassed the halfway point. Spurs sit in sixth, three points off fourth place, two points off bitter rivals Arsenal, two points above Liverpool. They are still fighting in all cup competitions: fourth round of the FA Cup, last 32 of the Europa League, semi final of the League Cup. Suddenly, the mood at Spurs has shifted to snowballing optimism.

You may be asking many questions. How have Spurs season turned out this way? Can Tottenham seriously get into the top four? Can they even win silverware?

I might as well attempt to tackle a few of these.

How?

Having watched Southampton excel last season, I had some sort of expectation as to what Tottenham under Pochettino would be like: high-pressing, possession-based attacking football. But what precisely is the substance of the team? What lies beyond the tactics?

Man-management. Both the previous two managers, Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood, had been charged with lacking in man-management skills. Whilst perhaps this criticism has been contested here and there, there is no denying that Pochettino has communicated superbly with the Tottenham players, particularly the youth. Names like Bentaleb, Kane and Mason were inherited from the previous management as prospects (credit where it’s due) and Pochettino has turned these squad players into starting players. That’s actually an understatement – they are now pivotal to the team! Bentaleb has conducted our build-up play perfectly in midfield. Mason has injected the energy and commitment long absent in defensive midfield at Spurs. Kane is currently Tottenham’s highest scorer in all competitions this season. A Spurs striker that scores goals?! It defies logic.

The cohesion of the squad is another area that has thoroughly improved as well this season. The absence of high-profile, big-money, big-expectation signings in August has allowed the current squad to attempt to prove themselves.  Some of these players have risen to the plate: Chadli, Eriksen, Lamela, Vertonghen and Rose spring to mind. Some have not and question marks remain: Soldado, Adebayor, Kaboul and Capoue have disappointed fans, the saddest one being Kaboul, the supposed skipper. Lloris is… well, Lloris – he was always going to be godlike between the posts.

The success of Tottenham this year has derived from a young, vibrant squad still in status of transition.

Top four? 

At the start of the year, not a single fan would have entertained the idea of a top four challenge, let alone a place. What has emerged this year, most surprisingly, is the failings and disappointments of the other top clubs. Manchester United, despite hammering open the multi-million pound piggy-bank in the summer, have been edgy. Arsenal are imitating the Spurs of 2012/13 and are being carried by their world-class talisman in the form of Alexis Sanchez. Liverpool are imitating the Spurs of 2013/14 and are suffering the loss of their world-class talent in the form of Luis Suarez. Everton are nowhere to be seen. This has paved the way for teams like West Ham and Southampton to cement themselves in the top half, and they don’t look like going away in a hurry.

What this means is that, to use a Sky Sports-style cliché, the race for the top four is completely wide open (*cue dramatic music*). Chelsea and Manchester City have first and second, but third and fourth belongs to whom? There is nothing that suggests to me that Spurs are incapable of challenging, despite whatever challenge surely being based on fragility.

Silverware? 

It is annoying and insipid to constantly having to listen to Sky Sports proclaim Champions League football as the be-all and end-all of a season. At Tottenham, silverware is their manifestation of glory in football, and every season, there burns a hope in Spurs fans’ hearts that they can claim this glory again.

As mentioned before, Spurs are still competing in all the cup competitions. Most immediately, Spurs take on Sheffield United in the League Cup Semi Final, and optimism is naturally high that the club will have another Wembley Final. Absolutely anything can happen in a cup final, so it would be foolish of me to make predictions. Needless to say, though, it would be the best opportunity for a trophy this season for Spurs.

The Europa League is a long and arduous journey from now till May if a club wants to reach the final. Previous seasons have despicably proved that it is the Champions League failures that succeed in the Europa League. Given the right sustenance and management, however, it is possible for Tottenham to endure a European challenge. The FA Cup is still a long way off completion, but Spurs face Leicester in the Fourth Round this Saturday, so it will be interesting is our progress furthers.

Tottenham are far from any sense of a finished article. Their defence has often been suspect. There has been a heavy reliance on last-minute victories to sustain periods of form. However, if progress during transition is to be suspected, is it so foolish to dream that Spurs can only get better from here on in?

Probably. Still, at least it’ll be fun to watch.

What Does The Future Hold For Erik Lamela?

Erik Lamela's first season at Spurs, in parallel with this season as a whole, has been one of great disappointment. Signed from Roma in August, Lamela seems to represent the plentiful nature of young talent in our squad without there being any great, world-class specimen. He has featured rarely, and his absence has become a great source of pain for Spurs fans. As we begin to hunger for a new start, I begin to question where exactly does the Argentinian go from here?

Let me give you the skinny. 21-year-old Erik Lamela, one of the top (if not the top) young talents in Serie A, signed for Spurs for £25.8million in August. He, together with Christian Eriksen, came to replace the departed Gareth Bale, last year's Player Of The Year. The two players potentially and logically had what Bale possessed together: goals from midfield, flair, creativity and an eye for set pieces. The eyes of Spurs fans passively looked to Lamela for guidance.

I felt euphoric when I first saw this photo. How times change.

With the weight of expectation on his shoulders, a burden shared by all of the summer signings, he was not planted straight into the first team, but eased in by Andre Villas-Boas, kept out by the bright but inconsistent Andros Townsend. Lamela and Spurs fans alike waited and waited and did a bit more waiting to see a performance from him. The wait briefly ended on November 7^th against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League – a goal, an assist and a match-winning performance. This would be, arguably, the one and only time we saw Lamela at his maximum.

The Spurs fans were once again left starved of Lamela and starved of his talent. When AVB was sacked in December, some began to speculate that he could get his chance, get his moment he and we had craved. Sadly not. Either by injury or (allegedly) through Tim Sherwood's over-zealous repression, Lamela has not featured in the first team since December 4^th.

I have too waited and, like this season, nothing” is the cry from many a fan. “What a waste of money!” some would even say. The outrage and knife-wielding cries of our fanbase forms a clear, Machiavellin-esque purging of our squad, such a purging that even Stalin could be proud. Out the signings. Out the deadwood. Out Tim Sherwood. New man comes in. Chuck in a few expletives and that's the gist of it, anyway.

I have become tired in my disappointment. “Thirty-million pound and

This may just be me – speaking as someone who has brooded over this season in a melancholic state for four months since we sacked Villas-Boas – but I once again will state that the worst thing for this squad would be a purging. In that case, I believe Lamela stays. But what do I expect from the young winger? Bale-esque glory? 30-yard screamers? 90^th minute winners?

I knew in my depths of my heart when we signed him that we were unlikely to get a top quality player in his first season in England. Across the road at Arsenal, the signing of Mesut Ozil has proved as inconsistent as any of Spurs' signings, has it not? We took the gamble of signing Eriksen and Lamela, two young foreign players to replace Bale. One has flourished. The other has not. This is the cold, disappointing truth.

Lamela gets his leg up against Tromso in the Europa League

However, it is not ludicrous to state that Lamela has a chance to flourish next season. At Roma, he rightly rose to prominence in the team, labelled by many of their fans as 'the next Totti'. He was versatile, operating both on the right as an inverted winger, and as a creative No. 10 on many occasions. He scored 15 goals and assisted five times in his last season in Serie A. Quite simply, you never gain a reputation as one of the best young talents in Europe unless you are really talented. Quite simply, there is no smoke without fire.

Erik Lamela has been absent in his debut season, both in his minute appearances on the pitch, and in his long time out of the Tottenham squad. A disappointment and a dead cert on many 'Worst Transfers of the Season' lists. It is my belief, however, that what will come of Lamela in his Spurs career will be no disappointment; he may even become extraordinary.

Last December, Lamela said in an interview to the Standard a telling quote: “I feel I need a bit of time. My moment will come and I will make the difference.” Let's hope so too.

Roberto Soldado: How Spurs' Spaniard hit rock-bottom

Roberto Soldado's career has hit an almighty low, plunging into a pit of indecision and anxiety. A signing that promised a feast has left Spurs fans hungry for more. The Spanish striker has gone from one of the most clinical in Europe to an object of ridicule, condemnation and even pity.

The question on many's lips is how. How can such a potent striker fall so far? How can we have expected so much but see so little? How can Soldado hope to revive his career again?

Let's start where it all began for Spurs and Soldado.

Summer arrived. It is in no way hyperbolic to say that Spurs fans were gagging for a world-class striker, a classic number 9, the player who had been missing for so long from White Hart Lane. This clearly was on the mind of Andre Villas-Boas, who set Franco Baldini the task of finding this golden player. Rumour after rumour of courting strikers went by. Panic began to set in amongst the fanbase. Would our saviour arrive?

Rumours of Soldado to Spurs began after the failure to sign David Villa at the start of July. Roberto Soldado, a Spanish striker praised by their media, featuring in their national team and much revered for his consistency. More than 20 goals a season for the past four seasons in Spain. He fit the bill, the model striker, the marquee signing. '#SignSoldado' trended on twitter, and Baldini was set on a mission to secure Roberto's signature.

Roberto Soldado signed for Spurs on the 1st August, the North London club's third signing of the summer after Paulinho and Nacer Chadli in July. The fee was £26million, more than any spent on a Spurs player at the time. I felt the wave of optimism and excitement on his first match against Espanyol. Everyone wanted a glimpse of Soldado; this sacred figure burst onto the pitch and everyone saw the talent there. He scored a penalty and his all-round play was pure energy. It was a delight. Optimism. Expectation. That's what Soldado took with him from Spain.

Soldado's first goal for Spurs against Espanyol

It all went downhill from there.

At the first, he had many chances, both in the league and in the cups. His movement both in and outside the box was professional. He came so close so many times. He opened his tally through penalties in the league and standard goals in the Europa League. The talent was there, and Andre Villas-Boas was prepared to let that talent find its feet in the league. Expectation was still high.

October came. Soldado was struggling to get find that first goal from open play. Never had I heard the term 'open-play goal' more often since the Spaniard signed for us. Such scrutiny from the press. 'FLOP', declares the Daily Chip-wrap, 'Jermain Defoe is better', 'Let Defoe play for his England chances'. The pressure got to AVB and he dropped Soldado for Defoe in the league for the first time. Tottenham lost 3-0 to West Ham that day. Lesson learned. Back to you, Robbie.

A week later, Soldado scored his first goal from open-play in the league against Aston Villa, and that remains his only goal of that manner in the league this season. I see it over and over and over again, Vine after Vine, and it looks sexy and succinct; one touch - BANG - goal. This was the player we signed, I thought, Roberto Soldado — classic number 9! This goal was the first of many, I thought.

Soldado scores his first league goal from open play against Villa. What a mouthful.

I thought.

The weeks and the games went by quicker and quicker, and each like a painful dagger to Soldado torso. Expectation grew on Soldado more and more. Hull at home — penalty. Everton — no goals. Newcastle — no goals, loss. Manchester City — no goals, thrashed. A team of flops, they said. £100million down the drain! Soldado and the team broke under the scrutiny of the press and the expectation of the fans.

Things go from bad to worse for Soldado, now off-the-pitch. Soldado's wife suffered a miscarriage and his heart was as broken as his game. Amongst this tragedy, Soldado found a brave and outstanding strength and scored a hat-trick against Anzhi in the Europa League. I was there that game. I could see the energy and the movement I saw in August. We screamed and sung his name from first minute to last. He embraced our passion, and at last, I thought, at last Soldado has found his feet.

Hat-trick against Anzhi. A glimmer of hope.

Three days later, Liverpool came to the Lane and thrashed Tottenham 5-0. The humiliation. The depression. The sacking of Andre Villas-Boas. The inexperienced gamble of Sherwood filled the void. You know the story, I needn't elaborate.

Like after the City thrashing, there was a response from the players. Soldado partnered Adebayor upfront and they fed off each other. Hopes of a new partnership were conceived in the minds of Spurs fans that these two could feed off each other's play, in the same way that Liverpool and Man City had prospered in attack. It soon became apparent though that Adebayor's form exceeded that of Soldado's immensely, and Sherwood dropped the Spaniard and left Adebayor as the lone striker.

Soldado has made a few sub appearances since then, but has looked very disappointing in front of goal. Outside the box, he produces tricks and flicks that create chances and opens up play; inside the box, he has no confidence and no composure. His much maligned and ridiculed misses against Dnipro and Norwich serves as examples to Soldado's fall from grace. He is a shadow of the man I saw in August, a pitiful figure, and one fears for his career.

Despair

So, that's where he is right now: football despair. Many have decided his flop is permanent, his pitfall leaves no means of escape. Many have called for his departure and replacement with a talent much younger. However, I do not.

Whilst some Spurs fans laments at the signing, 'why couldn't we have signed Negredo/Benteke/Remy?', I state simply this: we have Soldado. Behind the mask of incompetence Soldado dons lies the free-scoring, consistent, lethal striker of La Liga, up with the highest echelons of Europe's strikers. It may take a matter of games for that mask to fall off. It may take months. It may even take till next season, under a new manager and a new system. But my faith is there: he will return.

Soldado's Spurs career has been poor and unhappy. It started so bright on that August day, the sun shining on Soldado and White Hart Lane, hope and expectation showering on all Spurs fans. Now, like the miserable British weather, his career has been flooded and saturated, broken, with the fear it may never return to its former light.

An Echo of Glory

I could preach to you about backing the team (again). I could tell you that the only way to succeed is if we believe we can as fans. I could tell you that the people that slag off players are twats etc. etc.

Truth is, it's not worth it.

You see, we will always have yids that like to abuse certain players. A lot of the time, they are just scapegoating them to ease their frustration. But most of the time, they are just being cunts.

Last night, I think I may have experienced every emotion a fan can have. Joy. Elation. Hope. Shock. Frustration. Dispair. But as ever, it all ends the same way: sadness.

Basel away, lads. Who would've thought it would turn out this way? 

He felt it more than any of us

Whatever I think, it's the players, though, that are much more important than anything we say.

They didn't just put in 100%. They put in that and more, more than any fan expected of them. The manager too. AVB wanted it more than anyone did; he believed in this competition. Just the image of him praising the players for their efforts with a tear in his eye brings tears to mine. Sad? Pathetic? Perhaps, but that's football.

Basel won't go on to win it, as much as I want them to for their equally impressive performance. It'll be the only club left who couldn't give a fuck what happened. A club that cares more about league positions than silverware. A club that- oh you know the rest. 

It makes me think though. The passion shown by players that many fans have discarded, deemed unfit and unworthy. Walker, Hudllestone, Sigurdsson, Dempsey! The promise of Carroll and Holtby. The leadership of Dawson, our rock in the team. It gives me hope. 

After Dempsey's equalizer, we all though we could do it.

Hope for what? Champions League? Yeah sure, why not? It is, as of recently, our main objective. But, guys, remember our ultimate objective, one that has been engraved into our history:

'The game is about glory. It is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.'

I don't like defeat. Defeat shows weakness, an inability to compete with a greater opponent. On that basis though, I don't think we were defeated, merely lost the tie. We were strong and firm when we easily could've rolled over and conceded. We caused them problems, creating just as many chances as they did for 120 minutes. 

Nevertheless, we're out. Gone till next year. The positive is, we were not outclassed.

Last 6 games. The final hurdle. City will be tough. The other games with be just as difficult  Whatever happens, promise me this guys:

Be proud of our players.

To finish this post off nicely, some words from the great Bill Nicholson, without whom, Tottenham Hotspur wouldn't be.

'It is better to fail aiming high than to succeed aiming low. And we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory.' 

It all ends in tears. But aren't you proud of them?

Friedel or Lloris?

One of AVB's selection issues that has garnered a lot of issues this season is Friedel or Lloris. In one corner, we have the 41-year-old veteran keeper, one of the most consistent in the league, who has saved us on multiple occasions this season and last. In the other corner, we have a young, energetic keeper, experienced in all levels of football, with a massive reputation worldwide and our star signing of the summer.

At the start of the season, the favoured keeper was Brad, who started 10 of our first 11 league games. Despite the loud criticism of the decision by football fans, Friedel didn't actually do anything wrong. However, since then, he has not started in 20 of the last 21 games in the league, replaced by Lloris. The media seemed to have chosen to criticize AVB for that selection, zooming in on Hugo Lloris's minor mistakes. Despite this, AVB didn't break and intends to start Lloris in every league game till the end of the season, leaving Friedel benched.

Lloris one-bangs Michu. Fucking brilliant.

Lloris had started the Europa League games, a seemingly odd decision for many as a signing of his magnitude should have been showed off. The Lazio away game was Hugo's big highlight: a world class display of keeping. I'm adamant no keeper in the world could've kept us in that game. Stunning. That performance contributed to his replacement of Friedel in the first team, as no manager could deny its quality. Lloris has made mistakes, sure. Recently, against Everton, he should've caught the ball off the corner, seeing as it was quite close to his line. But he has also kept us in many games, winning matches for us, as world class keeper ought to. He is a gem in our team.

Friedel starts the Europa League matches now. It seems any appearance of Brad in the team angers the Spurs faithful, some saying it contradicts AVB's value of the competition. Friedel is slow going out of the ball and is always tentative about going off his line. He relies on a deeper defensive line than Lloris due to his lack of speed. His distribution is occasionally off.

Friedel saves. He never gives less than 100%

But apart from that, I can't see nothing wrong with him. He has shown many times this season he still has the reflexes, so rare for a man of his age. He is a leader in the team, a mentor to many players. I feel that AVB keeps him in the team so the players don't lose that figure of experience, always needed in tough situations. It is probably why he insists on starting Gallas, although that decision does not please me so much.

It could also be a lesson learnt by AVB in his Chelsea tenure. The leaders of that team turned on him and was one of the factors that lead to his humiliating sacking. He fears that similar actions against the veterans of the team would lead to the same at Tottenham. I personally feel that the players or fans wouldn't give a flying fuck if Gallas never played again, but that might just be me.

Either way, Friedel is here to stay. He will start cup matches. He will be our second choice. Not many teams could boast about having two keepers of the quality we have in our squad. AVB backed his decision from Day 1, never tracking back. Now we, as fans, are expected to do the same.

The best keeper combination in the league.

Reviewing our fans

So I went to White Hart Lane on Thursday to watch our match against Basel. It was the first time I've been to the Lane in quite some time. I enjoyed the day very much, great day, even if the result wasn't ideal.

I had high hopes for the Basel match and, as a result, I massively underestimated their team, thinking we'd get a strong result. Streller, Stocker, Salah and Serey Die were amazing for Basel; they played out of their skins. It was a surprise, but it shouldn't have been looking at their season. Looking at our performance, I thought we were lucky to get the draw. We were poor to say the least.

But this isn't a match review. This is a fan review

The Basel fans were in the stadium at 7pm and were going at it from then on. Singing, jumping, lighting flares, waving flags. Meanwhile, there were about a classroom of Yids in the stadium. Of course, we couldn't respond being so few, so I studied their antics for an hour.

The players names were read out. They not only cheered at the player's name; they repeated it, screamed it aloud. Meanwhile, the Spurs faithful lightly cheered at our players' names. Worrying reports say that fans actually booed Adebayor and Gallas when the teams were read out. Now I personally didn't hear anything malicious, but I could certainly imagine a few disgruntled fans booing the ex-gooners.

Siggo smashes in the equalizer, benefiting from a cheeky deflection

At times, we were loud. Waves of 'yid army' and 'come on you spurs' were heard, along with a few faint-hearted renditions of 'Oh when the Spurs', not strong though to make an impact. Jan Vertonghen's song and Lewis Holtby's song were heard in the first half. We stopped singing when Basel applied themselves. The Basel fans didn't stop. Not from the moment they entered the ground. That's the difference for me.

I talked before the match about our old anthem 'Can't smile without you' and questioned its absence from WHL in recent years. Th
e answer I got was that we replaced it with 'Oh when the Spurs', which not every Spurs fans sung too loudly. I question you now. Why don't we have an anthem? Before the match, I imagine players walking out to CSWY on the loudspeakers, with fans singing with them. The speakers would stop near the end, leaving us singing loud and proud. Can't this happen? I know 'Bubbles' is a stupid excuse for a song, but when they sing it, I always feel a little awe at their singing, only because I want that at the Lane. It's a small piece of identity, if nothing else.

Ade makes it 2-1. Very athletic finish.

I'd say the last 20 minutes, our reaction as fans was poor. Instead of trying to spur the team on (ha, pun), we just sat and stared at Basel pressing our team further and further into our own half. It was upsetting. With just a bit of spectator-input, the team could've had a few more chances.

It wasn't great as a fan watching us fall silent in shock, angry at a mis-touch or whatever trivial indiscretion occurred. I even heard a few dickheads on TalkSport criticize AVB's decisions! He's been excellent all season round, and should have earned more respect.

We have a responsible as fans, to stand up and support our team through thick and thin, through success and failure. Because if we do not support our team through hard times, nobody will.

Basel: The Journey Continues

At the start of the season, I had the attitude to the Europa League that everyone shared: it's a distraction from our league objective. More games to play. More chance of injury. Travelling. It didn't seem worthwhile. Well, it certainly didn't seem worthwhile when Redknapp was playing second teams in the group stages.

Thankfully, AVB does not share my former attitude. He values the competition for what it really is: a European competition. A good run would boost morale and a trophy would leave the fans elated. He won the competition with Porto, along with the unbeaten league title. Therefore, he has approached the competition with the  respect it deserves but not always gains.

Attitude

Whether or not the players value the competition is a different kettle of fish. We have not one away in the competition this year, with draws against Panathinaikos, Maribor, Lazio and Lyon and a horrific 4-1 loss against Inter Milan at the San Siro. Thankfully, that has been our only loss in Europe this season.

What is clear, though, is that it's time for the players to step up their attitude. All 7 of the other teams have to have been good to get to this position, and we are fully aware of the likes of Lazio and Chelsea. We have been VERY LUCKY to even get this far, despite the quality in our squad. Late goals have got us past Lyon and Inter. Late goals will not be good enough again.

Home Fortress

The late away goal at Inter. I hope to God we don't need this again

Our home performances, however, have been very positive. With 4 wins out of 5 at home, we should be very happy with that side of the competition, notably thrashing Inter at the Lane last month (that was probably one of our best performances all season). On paper, therefore, we should look at Basel and think we should try to settle the tie in one leg, not two.

That's never the case though.

All we needed is one away goal at the San Siro to finish Inter off. It took a fortunate Ade tap-in in extra time to win us the tie. In contrast to the game a week before, that was the worst performance of the season.

Basel, NOT BASLE

Marco Streller, carrying the team.

Basel sit on top of the Swiss league table, only losing 3 games all season and none at home. Their top scorer in the Europa League has been their prolific captain 31-year-old Marco Streller, who averages almost a goal every two games for Basel. They have only lost one in their last six.

However, I don't like saying it but someone has to: they are only Basel. I'm sorry. I had to say it. Apart from Alexander Frei and Streller, there are no stand out names on team list. Even Frei is on his way out of football, after saying he'll leave Basel at the end of the season.

What should be noted is that they did knock out Man United last year in the group stages of the Champions League, with strong performances in the competition last year. However, that was with their star talisman Xherdan Shaqiri, who is now making his trade at Bayern Munich.

After knocking out big-money Zenit in the last 16, I think they are feeling as fortunate as us to be in this position.

The Journey Continues

The Europa League has turned out to be an important competition and  an outlet for us this season, a break from the stress of the Premier League. At Spurs, we have a little motto, words spoken by Danny Blanchflower years ago: the game is about glory. And guys, what is more glorious than European silverware?

The journey continues. I'll be at the Lane on Thursday and whether you are there with me or watching the tele, I am sure you'll be cheering us on. COYS!