Good News, Not So Good News Week For Tottenham
By Alan Hill
Alan’s 201-14 Season Diary
continued
Good News
Fiona Hamilton, the crime correspondent for the Times writes that after a senior-level review at the CPS, criminal charges gave been dropped against the 3 Spurs fans accused of using the word “Yid” at matches. The review concluded that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. They have now decided that it did not after all meet the criteria for being threatening abusive or intimidating. The whole thing was a misjudged publicity-seeking waste of time in the first place.
I always said they didn’t have a leg to stand on and there’s the proof of the matter. It does make you wonder just how senior-level an officer has to be these days before he can arrive at a reasonable and fair common sense conclusion. The sort my Granddad would have made day to day when he pounded the beat on the Portobello Road between the wars. After all, the misguided officer making the PR disaster TV appearances threatening Spurs supporters was a Chief Superintendent! It makes you wonder when they are going to stop damaging their reputation in the eyes of the law-abiding public. Plebgate, Steven Lawrence, Yids. Let’s hope they’ll at least leave that subject alone now, when Spurs supporters are using it as a badge of honour, having reclaimed it from anti-Semites and celebrating support for their team. Just as the Prime Minister requested in the first place.
Tuesday 11th March
Good news.
As I predicted, Spurs‘appeal against Kaboul’s red card was successful. It has been rescinded and he is available for the north London derby. It won’t get us the points back from the Chelsea game though.
As expected, Bayern Munich are strong enough to see off Arsenal in the Champions League last 16. Arsenal pick up an injury to Ozil. They are paying yet again for only buying one top class player last summer and relying on him too much. Ozil has wilted under the pressure. They, like us are staggering towards Sunday’s derby a shadow of their potential best. They will be without Ozil, Wilshere and Walcott but have two extra days to recover. That will probably still be enough as we have not even played Benfica yet as I type this.
It would be typical of our luck if against all odds we managed to scrape through to the final and win the Europa League this season because this season the winners don’t qualify for the Champions League. They will next season, though.
Not So Good News…
Thursday 13th March
Well that’s not looking likely now is it? Benfica have just beaten us 3 – 1 at home. Comfortably, to be honest. They did look to be a better team. Their manager on the other hand is clearly a complete Ar**hole. He might be called Jesus but there is nothing Christian about him. No class. What was all that about, waving 3 fingers in Tim Sherwood’s face? I can’t see us turning the fixture around but I don’t see his personal prospects improving long term.
Saturday 15th March
How others see us; a few home truths.
It makes for uncomfortable reading. Oliver Kay, the Chief Football correspondent of the Times has written a full page article about Spurs with the approach of the 30th anniversary of our UEFA Cup victory. It is entitled “Tottenham continue to be a soft touch”. Here are the salient points strung together.
“Three trophies in 30 years. It isn’t much is it?…It makes the last 8 seasons look like a purple patch…Tottenham are perhaps the only leading Barclays Premier League club where a coach of Sherwood’s limited experience would a.) be put in charge of the team and b.) appear to be doomed from the very start…Tottenham have been characterised once again by the softness that Harry Redknapp, Villas–Boas’s predecessor used to complain about after he arrived at the club in 2008…the feeling in the dressing room is that even if this manager does not fancy you, there will be another one along soon enough…Tottenham cannot hope to position themselves as Champions League regulars if the plan is simply to go from one Levy whim to another”.
Sunday 15th March
Done over by Arsenal again. 1 – 0. Rosicky scored in the second minute. What a cracker. Our summer signings fell short again. Nacer Chadli failed to take chance after chance that fell at his feet. Emmanuel Adebayor worked hard but has just gone off the boil.
Sky produced several rows of stats showing that Spurs dominated the game, the amount of possession, the number of shots and the number of passes… just like they used to when AVB was in charge. But we lost again. Jose Mourinho’s comment from last week keep coming back to haunt me.
"They are a team with great control in possession but they don’t hurt people."
It hurts me all right. Every time we lose.
It looks like our season will have the final nail put in its coffin on Thursday then.
Monday 17th March
Sky Sports News reduces sports coverage
Anybody else disappointed that Sky Sports have decided to replace a major portion of their sports news with reports of a murder trial in South Africa? The killer is a sportsman but it’s not sports news. They have a separate Sky News channel and that’s where they should leave the Pistorius trial. I am wearing the mute button out and then missing the real sports news items that follow the court reports. It’s cheap TV and it’s not sport.
Tuesday 18th March
Chelsea through to the last 8 of Champions League reasonably comfortably. David Moyes talking the talk at his latest press conference. We will see on Wednesday whether they can finally walk the walk…
Wednesday 19th March
…and they did! Ryan Giggs turned back the years with a great display. Robin Van Persie hat-trick. Saves by De Gea. Wayward shooting from their opponents. All the luck that deserted them so far this season returned in one go – and who would begrudge them that? I was surprised to find myself rooting for them. Even Rooney’s cross for Van Persie’s second came after he fluffed the first attempt and it bounced back to him off the defender’s legs. If they grab this chance with both hands it could change United’s season and their whole future. They could conceivably win the Champions League as underdogs, just like Chelsea in 2012 and take the Champions League place from the 4th placed team.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if that was Arsenal?