Incredibale

I remember the first time I watched Bale play. It was a pre-season match some time ago in 2007 against a random team I'd never heard of. That was the year he signed the Spurs, still a teenager at 17. I didn't think much of him, apart from the fact he looked pretty quick in that position. After that, my attention towards Bale was scarce to say the least, certainly not like Giovani Dos Santos, a young player I would always be eager to see (never did happen for him, did it?)

Bale in 2009/10. The oddest No.3 there ever was.

About half way through the legendary 2009/10 season, BAE got injured and  was replaced by this young player I had heard so little of in the two years since his arrival. Bale became a player to watch, bombing up the left flank on a regular basis, making things happen, even scoring goals. From then on, a Tottenham team was incomplete without the name 'Bale' on it.

His Champions League exploits in 2010/11 made Bale a player to watch in England, including the unbelievable hat-trick at the San Siro and the reverse fixture at the Lane, memories that all Spurs fans cherish. He won PFA Player of the Year that season and signed a new contract with us, ensuring there would be more of these memories to come. And boy did they come.

Over the past two seasons, Bale has shown us how versatile he is, how much of a threat he can be in the middle, on the wings, on the counter attack or even on free kicks. There were times last season where the team didn't quite look right, probably due to some spontaneous tactics by former manager Harry Redknapp. He was still without doubt the star of our team, even with bad egg Luka Modric wanted by Real Madrid.

Nothing like mugging off the Champions of Europe.

This season under Villas-Boas, however, Bale has excelled, becoming the third highest goalscorer in the league and more than just a defensive nightmare. I can't understate how influential AVB has been to Bale's form this season. When he moved into the middle, he wasn't just told to free roam around the midfield like last season, but has been played in a specific role behind the striker. He is no longer leaving large gaps on that left wing, now replaced by technical and supplying midfielders.

There is no player in the world that gives me more excitement when I see them play than Bale. When he has the ball, an air of expectation and excitement rises in the hearts of every yid. The best of players, the most memorable, the most legendary, do not need to be studied, analysed or backed up by stats: you watch them and you know they're good. Only a handful of players have that kind of quality.

I want Bale to stay at Tottenham, not just to benefit the club, but to benefit the league. Why should a player feel the need to move abroad to fulfill his ambitions? Bale can become a Premier League legend, as well as a Tottenham one, if he sticks around. I have said many times that I want him to stay at Spurs so he can become a legend like Hoddle, Greaves, Villa, Ardiles, King...

Wherever his future may life, I am confident Gareth Bale will continue to show the footballing world what a young lad from Cardiff can do.

 

BRING ON THE ACID

I said yesterday how Spurs needed the confidence of LSD users to get passed City today. Whether or not AVB slipped a few blots of acid in their water-bottles at half time is debatable, but all I know for sure is that that confidence and ability were in abundance today.

What a win. I mean what - a - win. When that final whistle blew, I was in a state of shock. What the fuck did I just see? We beat one of the best teams in England IN APRIL. How anti-Spurs, I thought.

The first half was very naff, I'm not gonna lie. We started alright but the goal completely knocked the shit out of us; nobody could believe it. It was a really well worked goal, very little blame attached on the players, but it's still disappointing to concede so early on. Lesbian vampire killer and ex-gooner Samir Nasri should've got his second after some nifty passing. We didn't really pick up our passing after that apart from a few chances  here and there.

What was that? Come on Spurs. This is our season here.

60 minutes in and we really weren't going anywhere. I said that City have one of the best back fours in the Prem. I thought a draw would do, if I'm honest, but it wouldn't come naturally, maybe a fluke goal or a free kick.

Great moment in our season. Cherish it.

Then AVB brought on Holtby, Huddlestone and Defoe, and I was delightfully proven wrong.

The passing improved. We kept possession really well. Players made runs. Chances were coming. Bale gets the ball in the box in acres of space, crosses it with the outside of his foot straight into Deuce's path. He's a big game player, Dempsey, and definitely knows how to score.

Moments later, Holtby picks up the ball on the half way line, dribbles it a bit and puts in a gorgeous through ball into Defoe. Puts it on his right. Buries it. That's the Defoe I loved at the start of the season.

City's heads start to drop and somehow Big Tom 'bursts' into their half, takes his time and delivers a pass that splits up the City defense. Bale, of course, finishes his dinner. He may have the energy of a diabetic American, but there's very few better passers than him.

We've won this match and we've won it well.

Big shout out to the genius, the tactician, the pro that is Andre Villas Boas. He doesn't stop thinking, that bloke, and pondered his Plan B from the minute City scored. He's got sheer balls of steel, and the ability to change the game from his technical area. I'm so happy he's our manager.

Winning this game is vital to our season. Chelsea dropping points again gives us a lifeline that we were
desperate for. This result, I hope, gives the players the belief and the confidence to win our next 5 games, including Chelsea away, who must be a little more frightened at this Spurs team.

I wish I was there, living in that moment. One of the best matches of the season.

It's a celebration

Sex, Drugs and Tottenham Hotspur

We've had ten days to mull over many things about our season: collapse, disappointment, passion, success, failure, and all the implications they bring. I've been wondering and pondering this pretty much all season, even when we were seven points clear. 

Do you remember that? Do you remember how much joy and confidence we had? Players, good all season, became stars. Other players, normally absent, stepped up, and boy did they step up. And Bale, our talisman, was failing on all cylinders. We looked like we wouldn't lose another game all season. It was like sex in football boots.

Seven weeks later. Defeats at Fulham and Liverpool. Four points out of twelve. Out of Europe. Fans nationwide call this the 'Tottenham collapse' but I just call this an unfortunate turn of luck (if you believe such thing exists). It all levels itself out in the end, even for a club like ours where nothing ever happens the easy way. We've had strokes of luck this season; a couple of one-nillers here and there kept our form going. We seem deprived of such moments now, but like Dan Louw says after every Away Days, 'it's all swings and roundabouts'.

More on the game tomorrow. We have key players back, players we don't seem to function well without. Whether or not they'll be match fit is a different matter, but half fit or full fit, Bale and Lennon can rip teams apart, even Man City. 

Whatever happens, yids: stay away from Beachy Head

City, despite their somewhat disappointing season, have a strong team and are in a strong position. Their defensive four is one of the best in the league (Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy). World class midfielders in Silva and Yes Yes Conservative (not Milner though, never Milner). And Aguero, Tevez and Dzeko as their strikers are enough to make you where adult diapers either in excitement or fear.

This is the most important match of the season. Note: I will probably repeat this phrase frequently till the end of the season. But it is though. This match could completely change the momentum of our season. A win would give the squad a confidence boost like an LSD trip. Suddenly, they'll think they can fly off Beachy Head and get to White Castle. If we could beat City, we could beat anyone...

Don't end up like poor Chris Whelpdale with your ballsack split
in two

ON THE OTHER HAND, a loss would damage our squad like a scrotal tearing. Nothing will be in our hands for the rest of the season. 

It's never as simple as that, I know, but it sounds like the right plotline in this bipolar soap opera of a season. It's all down to the team though. They'll need hallucinogenics to get through this.

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.

The Government's response to safe standing

I posted a blog entry, showing the contents of an email I sent to Damian Green MP regarding safe standing at football grounds. Today, I got a reply from the man personally. Below is the contents of that reply.

So the attitude towards safe standing appears to still be rejection from the government. What we all know, though, is that the Bundesliga have a lot of standing terraces, and Mr Green mentions this in his reply.

I'd like to think there will be some discussion about this as standing terraces is VERY IMPORTANT to the game and its history. Probably will take a lot to convince them though. 

I sent another email to Tottenham's MP David Lammy, so hopefully I'll get a reply from him as well.

Safe Standing at White Hart Lane

Here is a copy of the email I sent to my MP Damien Green, requesting a change of law over standing terraces at football ground. A change in legislation is the ONLY WAY we can get Safe Standing at the Lane, or any other ground, so I urge you to send an email to your MP of a similar kind.

'Dear Mr. Green, 

I am writing to propose to you an idea that many people have discussed in my social groups, involving seating at football grounds.

As you may be aware, one of the knee-jerk reactions to the tragic Hillsborough disaster in 1989 was the implication of all-seater stadia, focusing on Premier League stadia. Even though standing areas was only one of a number of factors that resulted in the disaster, laws were passed to make standing terraces almost illegal.

As a football fan, I have watched, as have many, the demise of our sport to what us fans call 'Modern Football'. This is a combination of many factors, including the Sky Sports takeover of the premier league, the inflation of ticket prices, brand clubs, Multi-millionaire takeovers and the transition of football as a spectator sport, like Tennis or Rugby. I do not like what Modern Football has done to fans, prejudging them as vicious and cult, when the majority of us only wish to express passion for our teams.

In Europe, there are terraces known as 'Safe Standing' areas, which have been proven to be beneficial for fans, manageable and efficient. A survey conducted by The Fighting Cock Podcast, popular among Spurs fans, which questioned over 2000 fans about Tottenham Hotspur, receiving very positive reactions to the proposal of safe standing at White Hart Lane, our football ground. The club responded to the survey saying that they couldn't implement safe-standing due to 'prevailing legislation', however they did say that if the 'legislation was repealed or amended', they would consider trials at White Hart Lane. 

As a well respected Member of Parliament, I urge to propose the idea of repealing or amending legislation on standing terraces at football grounds. Other clubs like West Ham, Aston Villa and Arsenal have all stated they would be positive to safe standing at football grounds, as they too wish to benefit fans and their clubs. 

The majority of fans are no longer violent and partisan towards rivals as they used to be many years ago. My Dad told me the reason he became disillusioned by visiting White Hart Lane. He told me how Millwall fans used to chuck bricks over the metal fence dividing the home fans and the away fans. One of his friends was seriously injured by these assaults. A small minority of fans wish to tarnish the reputation of football fans, resulting in the prejudice towards us.

All I want to do is improve the experiences of English fans supporting Premier League clubs. I see images and videos of European games, where the fans do not stop singing for all the 90 minutes, and the unity and passion expressed at games are like no other. Modern Football has seen the decline of these experiences in Britain. However, with a change in legislation, you can bring Premier League football back to its former glory and respect.  

Please consider my request in your busy schedule. I would be very grateful.

Yours sincerely,

Jonathan Walczak. 

(Link to The Fighting Cock Safe Standing Survey: http://www.thefightingcock.co.uk/2013/03/safe-standing-survey-results/ )'