Comment On Tottenham, England, Roy Hodgson And More

A look back at the past week with comment on Tottenham, transfers, England, Roy Hodgson and more in Alan’s 2014-15 season diary.

Alan’s 2014-15 Season Diary No. 2

Monday 1 September

Well here we are, transfer deadline day again.

Stambouli

Record sums have been spent in this window. Manchester United rob Falcao out from under Arsenal’s nose and Arsenal do the same to us with Danny Welbeck. We continue with our policy of signing Disney sound-alikes. We already had Pinocchio as coach and now we have signed Stromboli (Stambouli) from the same movie as a holding midfielder.

Stambouli and Pochettino

Let’s hope it shows that Daniel Levy has got no strings on him and does not mean we are turning into a Mickey mouse outfit.

International Friendlies

Just like after the 2010 South Africa World Cup finals, love my country as I do, I am not going to be suckered in to watching us stumbling through friendlies and qualifying games.

Good luck to Roy Hodgson in trying to develop a successful side from a bunch of Premier League squad players with an allegedly reformed captain. Clearly most England fans feel the same, with the lowest crowd so far at the new Wembley.

Instead I opted for the Germany vs Argentina game on BT. 6 goals, a surprise 4 – 2 win for Argentina and a peach of a goal from the rejuvenated Eric Lamela. Even allowing for Germany’s poor defending, the team clearly suffering from the retirement of a World Cup winning star and injury, the attacking play from both teams was on a different level to what we have been seeing from England. It was clearly no different tonight. England just beat Norway 1 – 0 with a penalty from Captain Rooney.

Wednesday 3 September

Oh dear. Roy Hodgson got really tetchy in response to fairly innocuous questioning at the post match press conference. He has fallen into the trap like so many predecessors at international and club level of letting his emotions get out of control and annoying fans and journalists alike. I thought he was too wise and long in the tooth for that. He has damaged himself and the team by reacting in that way.

Most of us are on his side and understand the difficulties he faces in these days of England’s best being only Premiership clubs reserves. As Jan Aage Fjortoft said in Steven Howard’s article in the Sun,

"The way England have been let down by the Premier League is a national disgrace."

#454553226 / gettyimages.com

Related Article: Roy Hodgson and England’s Problems – Read more

Let’s hope Roy and the team can redeem themselves on Monday.

Saturday 7 September

Last week I welcomed back Karen Brady’s diary in the Sun but did not feel that she was doing justice to her exalted position as a lady and top businesswoman by retaining the tittle tattle gossip about the sex lives of players and directors. I am sure it is just a coincidence that this week such trivia is conspicuous by its absence but the standard of the other entries is excellent. Controversial perhaps but she hits the target time and time again.

On Monday she points out the potential trouble the judge has invited by letting off with a fine and no ban the drunk who ran on the Upton Park pitch to take a free kick against West Ham. It has given the green light for copycats. I might even give it a go myself. Keep your eye open at the Arsenal game next March…

In Monday’s entry she points out that the saddest thing about the England game is that no one is watching it (see above). She writes that Wayne Rooney is as dynamic as a waxwork and that only when Danny Welbeck replaces him do England come alive again.

All through last season’s speculation about Sam Allardyce’s future and criticism credited to West Ham’s owners Karen Brady refrained from adding to it in her diary. Monday’s entry this week though, said,

"Our performance against Southampton today is nowhere near in tune with what we all want and expect."

Now I think he really does have reason to fear for his job.

On Thursday she comments on the fact that Danny Welbeck says he dreamed of playing for Arsenal and says,

"But not I suspect as much as he dreamed of playing regularly for Manchester United."

Also referring to Micah Richard’s move to Fiorentina she says,

"They were both at clubs they will love until they die – and that’s a real shame isn’t it?"

Putting your Disappointment in Context – Again

This is hard to believe I know but I swear it is the gospel truth. I have had my difficulties health-wise in the last few years and now all my time is spent visiting my wife who has been in hospital for 3 weeks out of the last four with serious gall bladder and kidney problems. I think we have both remained positive in the circumstances but something happened on the day of her most recent admission that will haunt me for as long as I live. Remember this when the latest defeat for your favourite football team seems like the end of the world and you are tempted toward violence or sending in abuse to a website like HotspurHQ.

More from Tottenham News

As I was sitting by my wife’s bedside in Bournemouth General Hospital, the staff came and pulled the curtains around the bed opposite containing a woman with a man sitting by her side. They then pulled the curtains around my wife’s bed. We heard a woman introduce herself to the patient opposite as being the registrar to the specialist responsible for her treatment.

The gist of what she said went something like this, “I have come to let you know that your cancer has spread from your stomach to your bowel and other organs”. She explained there was no hope whatsoever of survival and said something like, “So we are going to send you home with drugs to help you manage until you…pass” She ended with, “Do you have any questions for me? I couldn’t quite hear the patient’s response but then the curtains were swept back and the registrar left them staring into space.

Heart-breaking. I didn’t know where to look but pretended to be in conversation with my wife, trying to block out the quiet sobs I could hear from across the room. How they thought that drawing two sets of curtains was going provide any privacy or that was an acceptable way to tell someone they were about to be sent home to die, God only knows.

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