- Jun 5, 2004
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The curse of Sky eh? I'll keep this bit brief as we all want to read about the juiciness of Sunday's events but I feel as though I should explain that I was feeling totally disenchanted with the whole Spurs thing and that is why I didn't write a piece following the farcical Stoke game. So I'll give you an extract of my thoughts from that very game:
- Bale sent off after 15. Penalty. Converted. Bugger. Typical Spurs.
- Resurgent Spurs grab an equaliser through the plucky Bent. Woah, wait a minute; that's not in the "Typical Spurs" script.
- Look like we could go on to get the win, with some neat passing and commitment from the 10 men. The script's getting torn up.
- Half time. Should have probably scored another. That sounds more like it.
- Start slowly; ah, they've found the script again.
- Long-throw-boy scores. Hearts and heads sink; mine too.
- Gomes injures everybody; they're obviously selling the script to Late Night Channel 5.
- Dawson off for stupid challenge. Muppet.
- Final whistle, after 101 minutes on the clock. Farcical.
And breathe.
The less said, the better – and it only would have been more negative and more wallowy. So now, with the help of three little stars, we fast-forward a week.
***
As I hungoverly turned in for the night after watching X-Factor (I know, shocking), I couldn't help but breathe a deep sigh of foreboding about what was to come the next day. Well it was either that, or I had forgotten to get a drink of water. Meh, phone on silent; go to sleep.
I wake up to a barrage of text messages. Not only had I woken up and forgotten about the clocks going back, it seemed that I'd also woken up in a different dimension. Ramos, Comolli, Poyet and Alvarez OUT. Redknapp IN. I immediately phoned anyone and everyone to sing Harry Redknapp's Blue & White Army – in a million years I couldn't have imagined a) singing that, and b) being so happy about singing that!
There was a new sense of optimism in the crowd on Sunday. I was at Juande's first game in the Cup, and although a midweek fixture, that atmosphere was nothing compared to the Bolton game. It took just 20 seconds of the game for us to sing Harry Redknapp's Blue & White Army, which is (as I've said ad nauseum) a f***-load easier to sing than Juande Ramos's Blue & White Army (it also saves you spitting all over the person in front of you).
For the first time in months, the crowd agreed with the line-up. Bentley on the right. Good. Pavlyuchenko up top. Good. Modric in behind with the licence to roam. Great! Huddlestone restored to anchor the midfield. Lovely. And Ledley King playing 2 games in a row. Perfect.
King and Corluka looked like they they have played 150 games with each other, such was their understanding. I really think we benefit from having centre-halves that "can play a bit" - football clichés aside. And who was that left back? I mean, he had Benoit Assou-Ekotto's shirt on, but surely a comfortable, chilled, dutiful left back is not something you'd associate with Ol' Benny? Remarkable.
Bentley's ball to Super Pav was inch perfect. He lined it up and Beckhamly curled the ball atop the Russian's mop and he in turn guided it in past another JJ in the Bolton goal. Cue relief. Cue hugs. Cue lungs suffering. I expect many of the stadium attendees sacrificed a couple of years from their lives by screaming so loudly. I know I owe my lungs a day off or two.
Possession then came and went, Gomes' coolness seemed to also come and go as with the wind. Catching some crosses effortlessly, incredibly punching nowhere near others. Had it not been for Ledley King's reading of the game, we could have been 1-1 if not 1-2. So there was still something in there to keep Bolton at least half-interested.
The half-time whistle came as I returned to my seat after a cheeky BeatTheQueuesWiddle™ and we were leading. Mr talkshowhost86 who has the pleasure of sitting next to me for most Lane encounters then said "that's the first time we've been leading in a League game this season". And he was right. How could we get to October (almost November) without getting to that landmark? I expect we'll find out, Juan-de.
The half-time pitch entertainment included Paul Miller saying that "it's good that we've got a proper manager now". And I think he summed up what a lot of people had been feeling of late. Yes Ramos guided us to the Cup on the back of Jol's legacy, and yes he masterminded the Chelsea 4-4, and of course the spectacular 5-1 (again in the Cup) but this season in particular, I've never been quite sure of him (easier to say now, I suppose). And I always worried about language barriers, especially if he is as technical as we are led to believe, then the last thing you want is someone fumbling about in a language trying to explain something a tad complicated.
I digress (for a change). We needed to start the second half as we'd finished the first, and to our credit we came out looking for a second goal. Modric was zipping about everywhere, even jumping for headers. I liked the way JJ was roaming around too, intercepting, giving the ball here and there, and generally trying to run the game. Doing that is his forte. He is not Steven Gerrard, he will never be Steven Gerrard, but that doesn't mean to say that on his day he isn't a really good player. And yesterday he showed highlights of exactly why we need him on song and trying to run games.
McCann ridiculously trod on Huddlestone in mid-air and that sent him packing. 4 red cards in 3 games involving Spurs. We're definitely not short of drama!
Bent eventually came on, and was put through brilliantly by Modric, only for Jussi to get his head in the way – he knew absolutely nothing about the shot that ended up being a corner. Lennon was introduced for the puffing O'Hara, who had run out of steam quite clearly and was probably 5 minutes away from an O'Hara Tackle – two of which we saw against Udinese within a minute!
Lennon breathed new counter-attacking life into us, and we were threatening again, and he should have done better when the ball broke to him with the goal begging to be violated – that was after a Huddlestone low bender [remember those?]. Then came a moment of delightful invention from Modric, as the ball was flicked up, he volleyed straight and true and Jussi could only parry. Bent, reading the situation, sped in, nipped the ball away and was hauled down by a protesting Jaaskelainen. Penalty to Spurs.
The crowd quietened.
Arms went round shoulders of neighbours.
Fingernails were bitten.
There was even a deadly hush for a fraction of a second ...
… before the ball blistered into the back of net. Cue more relief; more hugs and the collection of 3 points for the first time in what seems like a Millennium. We couldn't throw it away from here – and we didn't. We held out strongly, resolutely and closed out the game against a 10 man Bolton team that were really quite periphery in the context of the day. By the end of the game the Park Lane were even singing: I Love Harry Redknapp, Harry Redknapp Loves Me!
Sunday was Tottenham Hotspur's Day. The headlines were always going to be dominated by us, it was made for our first victory and it breathed new life into the supporters, the club and the pubs post-match. As I write this at work now, I can honestly say I haven't had this good a start to a week since the day we nicked a point of Chelsea.
Bring on the Scum!!
The zing is back at the Lane :hump:
