Views from Jim Duggan season ticket holder, White Hart Lane resident and supporter since a toddler in the early 1970s.
(Sept 29th -Pre Leeds trip)
After Gooner George and the Black Knight saying there is no money about, we have agreed terms for Ugo Egiogu - great just what we need another central defender! , at least he isn’t from Wimbledon.
As usual my pre-match optimism knows no bounds and I'm hoping rather than expecting a 2-1 win 16/1, with either Leo 20/1or Mad Ramon 50/1 for the first goal. No goalscorer (the same as 0-0 with own goals thrown in) is also an option at 9/1. My logical head states that we won't score or keep a clean sheet, so even a point looks out of the question.
(Sept 27th)
Anderton played a full 90 minutes in a reserve game last night, and while this should/is good news, I just worry that he has come back from injury very quickly in the past, only to be injured again soon after. Did Lazarus come rush back for the Leeds game or the Germany game?
Tottenham have drawn Birmingham City in the next round of the League cup, and while it won't be easy, it could have been a lot worse on our march to the final for the year ending in 1.
(Sept 26th - Gooner George going on about Arsenal/Beavis)
Just when you thought, Gooner George could not possibly go on about Arsenal, the club that sacked him in disgrace, anymore, he comes out with the following (amongst other guff about how good Donkey Adams is) under the title "Graham pays tribute to leader Adams"
"One great moment for him was his headed goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham........."
One better moment was the cunt lying on the ground in despair two years earlier - Graham fails to mention the foul on Anderton when thro on goal that should have put his bunch of criminals down to 10 men and probably out of the cup to a Tottenham team that out played his misfits.
And some Spurs supporters still think he is the man to lead us to the Promised Land
Some other dimwit suggested that we go after Beavis Bergkamp - Bergkamp was the worst player of the year ever - he had two reasonable months in a season where United could n’t be arsed
Can you imagine how bad this clapped out pudding would be? He's not exactly a goalscoring forward, and we seem to have far to many non-goal scoring forwards at the moment. And what is his motivation - does he want to stay at Scumbury to win another championship or make himself a couple of million in wages?
When will they understand - No more faaaaaaaaaaaaakin clapped out past it goons at the lane
(Sept 26th - Tottenham 2-0 Brentford)
Just got back from another thrill a minute roller coaster at the Lane!! One-dimensional attacking was held at bay with ease by a well-organised Bees side. Lethargic Spurs booed off at half time. More half hearted crap in the second half, which thankfully included some goals. No one stood out tonight, Leo and Freund had their usual solid games, Rebrov looked very good when he got in the game, but Thatcher was truly terrible, Trammenzani without bells
Just after halftime, Freund was through on goal but poor control allowed the keeper to smother his shot which rebounded off the great space invader and was only just cleared off the line - it'll be better than last years new year celebrations when he finally scores. A moment of Vega madness lets a Brentford player in and thankfully he shoots over the bar
51mins Sherwood won a header just inside the centre circle of
their half, Brentford player goes to head it, it skims off his
head and Leo run on to it (god forbid any of our forwards show
this sort of anticipation), and despite having his shirt tugged
slotted home a low shot 
Tottenham substitution: Dominguez comes on for Ferdinand - huge applause for the little man every time he touched the ball - which should ensure that Graham never picks him again, esp. as someone else signed him
81Mins. A good pass up the inside right position for Leo to run on to, cut inside a produce a decent shot, which the keeper palmed across the six yard box to Iversen to bobble home I spend the rest of the game praying for no more goals - which was pretty assured despite a Carr screamer that went over - as the best part of the match for me was backing Leo for the first goal at 9/1, having 2-0 at 8/1 and having Leo and 2-0 at 50/1 - (after Campbell at 33/1 against West Ham, Vega oh so nearly at 40/1 against City) - a walk home with a full wallet which will be emptied by the trip to Elland Road - Train £41, ticket £27 and hotel £19 (only the best digs for me)
(Sept 26th - Brentford preview)
We must win tonight! Surely not even Gooner George could get out of anything other than a two clear goal win. Lets hope that Brentford don't score within a minute as they did on their last visit two years ago. Here's hoping for a 2-0 (8/1) with possibly Ramon (14/1) or Leo (9/1) for the first goal on the march to the 2001/2002 UEFA cup final, via another League cup win while the year ends in 1.
(Sept 26th - Graham becoming Francis)
Someone suggested that GG is becoming like Mullethead - tales of how unlucky we are every match despite not winning or playing well, banging on about achievements at former clubs, a good start that has faded away to nothing, losing our best players to be replaced by average "team" men or worse. Two men stuck in 1988 tactically (although GF's mullet will always be 1974) while the game, at the top level, zooms a light speed in another direction.
(Sept 25th)
Nothing much on today. Went to the ticket office to get some Leeds tickets (Tottenham pervert - the worse we play the more I want to go). With the usual efficiency at the ticket office, there was only one person on at lunchtime! I asked for a seat high up she said I couldn’t tell because they have letters and not numbers on the row. And we wonder we're where we are at the moment!!
(Sept 24th - the return of Glennda?)
Glennda as the Next Spurs Manager - the old chestnut has been on my mind lately, and while I am well aware of former players returning to be useless managers, I'm sure Hoddle with Gorman could make a success of the Tottenham job, with Success being defined as playing good football, good players, a decent league position and good cup runs. Who else could take over?
Still celebrating my 29/1 winner yesterday - West Ham to win 7/4, Derby Leeds draw 9/4 & Aston Villa draw 9/4 and nearly got all the correct scores with 0-2 12/1, 1-1 11/2 & 0-0 7/1 - I also had a quid on Vega at 40/1 for the first goal, and was in shock as he hit the bar at the start of the second half
(Sept 23rd)
Tottenham 0-0 Manchester City
Another day of Glory for George at the Lane. For an in-depth report on the ins and outs, see Paul Smith's excellent site http://www.spursodyssey.co.uk/. Again tactically one dimensional and easy to defend against. The ball is either given to Carr who is instructed to carry our only threat with width (as well as defend) or it is passed about from defender to defender without actually moving the ball forward. The forwards are as much to blame, with the exception of Rebrov, statically waiting for something to happen.
On the plus side, Vega had a good match, along with Rebrov who again looked sharp but isolated, Ferdinand who played the holdup man well without carrying a goal threat and Sullivan who looked assured in goal. Negatives included a poor match from Leo on his unfavoured left hand side, Iversen who pulled the con trick of the centaury to get another contract at Tottenham, and Sherwood who looks really out of sorts.
We should have won our last two matches if we'd have taken our chances and that would have put us on top of the league! - The premier league, the world's greatest con
(Sept 22nd- Before Man City)
I'm not sure of my thoughts about the City game - we have a fine record against them in recent seasons p10 won 8 drew 1 and lost 1, but with the wobble of the last week and the loss of Sol coupled with Anderton's continued absence means that this will be more tricky than the guaranteed three points that it should be on paper, player for player.
Still despite all that, I'm opting for a 2-0 (7/1) win with Rebrov (5/1) or Mad Ramon at (40/1) for the first goal, and just a reminder of why we love Ramon
Still the only Spurs player to play blow football on EuroTrash! Ron Noades the well known Racist and owner/manager is reported to have said "you know you've got a chance when you see Ramon Vega come on". Lets hope Ramon sticks one on him in the return leg. Ron Noades, C U Next Tuesday I believe
(Sept 20th)
Not much on today - discussion as to whether Sullivan should have been sent off (it looked a fair if unfortunate decision to me) and the treatment of dislocations in days gone by. I'm sure in the old days, a dislocated shoulder was a look the other way and snap back in, but these days it seems a lot more serious and Sol will be out for around 6 weeks
(Sept 19th - League cup trail starts at Griffin Park)
BRENTFORD 0 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0
Captain Sol Campbell off injured with a shoulder problem late in the first half - replaced by Mad Ramon. Sullivan sent off for bringing down Martin Rowlands outside the penalty box, with .Ian Walker is on for Matthew Etherington
Tottenham Team: Sullivan, Carr, Perry, Campbell (Vega), Thatcher, Leonhardsen, Freund, Clemence, Etherington (Walker), Rebrov (Ferdinand), Iversen subs: Sherwood, Davies
Sounds a bit of a disaster - Campbell injured (Shoulder, hopefully not the same injury as that animal Ferguson gave him at Goodison during Gross' first game) and Sullivan sent off. This will mean a ban and our mate "laughing boy" Walker getting the number one jersey for at least one game. What if he breaks the habit of a career and has a blinder, keeping a clean sheet at Elland Road for example - it'll make it a very difficult decision for the miserable Jock.
At least the Brentford result makes the second leg interesting!
(Sept 18th - Walker spits his dummy)
Ian Walker launched a scathing attack on George Graham last
night and accused the Tottenham manager of treating him "like
crap". Walker is furious at being dropped in favour of new
signing Neil Sullivan and feels Graham has betrayed him. "The
way everything has been done has been really crap," he said.
"I went through a period of being really angry and down.
"If someone can't tell you to your face that you're not
playing and you read about it in a paper, you're not going to be
happy. "That's what happened to me before the first game of
this season. I would have expected better than that from the
manager. "Anybody would have, not least because I've been
here a long time and shown the club loyalty all the time I've
been here. "The manager just told me to keep working hard
and get back up there. But I've been doing that in and around the
first team for nine years."
Walker has been complaining in the press about his treatment by
Gooner George, saying he never told him face to face etc - a
familiar pattern in GGG management and its a wonder he gets any
team spirit at all
(Sept 18th - Tottenham records since 1980)
Just to put Graham's performance in perspective, here is the complete record of THFC since 1980/81 season and while his home record is better than the 90's average, its nothing special and his away record is terrible. So much for his claim of saving us from relegation year in year out
Since season 80/81 - total P803 W314 D211 L278 - all league
matches
Since season 80/81 P401 W120 D113 L168 - all away matches a
healthy 30% win
ratio and 1.18pts per match
Since season 80/81 P402 W194 D98 L110 - all home matches - 48% 1.69pts
per
match
During the 1980's - away from home P194 W63 D53 L78 32%
& 1.24pts per match
During the 1990's - away from home P207 W57 D60 L90 27%
1.11pts per match
Under George - away from home P37 W7 D12 L18 19% 0.89pts per
match
During the 1980's - Home P212 W114 D48 L50 53% 1.83pts per
match
During the 1990's - Home P190 W80 D50 L60 42% 1.52pts per
match
Under George - Home P37 W19 D9 L9 51% 1.78pts per match
His record against the much maligned Gross is also interesting,
with only a marginal improvement with a better squad. Overall
records of our two managers shows quite clearly that we have
turned the corner - no more relegation seasons like the one
with Gross, its onwards and upwards with Gooner George - or not!
Gertcha Gross - P26 W9 D7 L10 - 34% - 1.30pts per game
Gooner George - P74 W26 D21 L27 - 35% - 1.33pts per game
both have lost more than they have won!!
The era's of George -
Gooner George - pre Euston 98/99 - P22 W6 D10 L6 27%
1.27pts per game
Gooner George - post Euston 98/99 P8 W2 D2 L4 25% 1.00pts per
game
Gooner George - 1999 99/00 P19 W9 D4 L6 47%, 1.63pts per game
Gooner George - All 2000 P25 W9 D5 L11 36% 1.28pts per game
So there you have it our league form in 2000 is below what Gross
achieved with the Mulleted rubbish Francis left us - he's a
genius, how does he get away with it
(Sept 17th - Gooner George's away record)
Just been working out our League away record under Gooner George and its shocking
P 37 W7 D12 L18 - 19% wins and less than a point a game
Of those magnificent 7 away wins 3 have come against teams that were relegated that season and only one has come against a top half side (Leicester, and we won't mention who got the last minute winner cos Euston forgot to sub him)
(Sept 17th - Rebrov)
"The manager convinced that this club was going to be challenging for trophies. That's what I want - and I want it soon. If I can't then I will be unhappy." Rebrov has spoken about the disappointment with the Charlton defeat and suggested that unless Spurs match the "progressive club" promises he was given by those custodians of the truth Graham and Sugar he would consider his position at the end of the season.
Interesting stuff - some of the pro Graham brigade on the Spurs list suggest that we should be happy with being 5th in the league while Sergei is suggesting that we are not good enough. God help us when we finally take on a top 6 team
(Sept 16th - after the Charlton match)
Just got back from the Valley - a mixture of mostly disappointment mixed in with a bit of anger. Disappointment as they tried hard and deserved to get at least a point and anger that we leave another soft three points behind due primarily a lack of class that cannot be replaced by effort alone (and some bizarre substitutions).
The whole atmosphere reminded me of a tricky away 3rd round of the cup game at a lower league team - poxy ground with corrugated panels, grass where terraces used to be and the majority of the Charlton fans applauding when Tottenham were welcomed to the stadium. Spurs played the same formation that eventually secured the points against West Ham, with Vega coming in for Young and Perry one of the subs (call me old fashioned, but did we really need both Perry and Thatcher as sub?, with no recognised forward)
Both team started brightly - Charlton looking dangerous whenever they attacked with Mad Ramon giving everyone the jitters. Sullivan had another good match with good saves at the start of the first half and an excellent save at the end of the match. One fruit cake, tried to start a "save Ian Walker" song and found only ridicule
Spurs managed to force some early corners with some good moves mostly going through Rebrov. The Ukrainian turned sharply to force Keily to save with his legs and had another effort deflected just over the bar. Iversen had a deft near post flick expertly saved by the excellent Keily from the resultant corner. The Spurs midfield managed to get on top as the first half developed and Sherwood also came close to scoring with a looping header and seemed to have a decent shout for a penalty after being felled at waist height in the box. The best chance of the half fell to Taricco who rattled the bar with a well-taken shot from the edge of the area after a knock down by Iversen, who was better than the abysmal performances of recent weeks although guilty of missing a sitter later on.
Disaster struck soon after, seemingly out of nothing Graham "Diamond Geezer" Stuart dummied a through ball that confused his marker Campbell, who let the ball go through/under his legs and it ran on to Johansson who was in acres of space as Ramon had decided to step up for a poorly judged offside. The young Finnish striker ran slipped the ball under the advancing Sullivan for a smart goal. The 39th minute lead was against the run of play but on review was an excellently worked manoeuvre. I did n't feel too worried at the time, we were far from brilliant but had enough to suggest that we should get back into the game with over half the match still to play.
Spurs had most of the second half and pressed forward with enthusiasm but lacked guile and a bit of luck. Ferdinand had a great opening and his fierce shot produced a great save from Keily and later had a header straight at the Republic of Ireland number one who also managed to save Iversen's goalbound volleyed rebound. Keily was correctly elected man of the match by Gooner George but was aided by Iversen managed to miss the target from about 6 yards with a soppy header shortly after. These proved to be the best of our chances and despite pressing to the final whistle it seemed like it was going to be one of those days
Not satisfied with taking us to another away defeat, the goons wanted to make sure with the most peculiar substitution. A goal down and a highly rated left winger on the bench seemed a perfect opportunity to lose Iversen or Les (or anyone), switch Leo to the right and bring on Etherington on the left and go back to 4-4-2.
But no - our goons decided the two midfielders most likely to get in the box and score Sherwood & Leo had to go for Perry and Clemence. So we push Vega up front and use Clemence wide on the left, er no - play 3 centre backs, push Carr and Treacle into official wing backs (they were pretty advanced anyway, so there was virtually no difference) and play Clemence in the middle to right. This took the steam out of our attack and virtually ended our chances. Thanks a lot and f*ck off
Sullivan 7/10 some excellent saves and a good all round performance Carr 6/10 a solid performance, always an option for the crablike midfield, but less end product than of recent weeks. Also sported a mean shaven head for the first time, which should make him even more awesome. Taricco 7/10 Solid defensively and a good offensive game, although he's very right footed for a left back. Sol 6/10 surprisingly let the ball go thro his legs twice, the first time setting up Charlton's goal but did ok otherwise. Vega 5/10 not at his best, but gave 100% and is always excellent in the air
Leo - 6/10 summed the team up, proud of his effort, just lacked a little bit of magic. Freund 6/10 another solid game in the middle but no shots to laugh at. Sherwood 6/10 still well off his best, but tried hard
Rebrov 7/10 looked good whenever he got into the match, which was n't enough. I wonder if George knows what to do with him, as he plays to deep for a conventional striker and is not a midfielder. I'd also like to see him take players on and shoot more. Iversen 6/10 played better, but missed an easy header. Sir Les 6/10 is playing better these days, but he's hardly a goal threat. Somebody amongst the forwards needs to take responsibility for putting the ball in the net
Charlton
Kiely, Powell, Stuart, Rufus,Kinsella, Hunt, Robinson, Brown, Konchest, Jensen, Johanson
Tottenham
Sullivan, Carr, Campbell, Vega , Treacle, Leo, Sherwood,
Freund, Iversen, Rebrov, Ferdinand
Subs: Walker, Etherington, Perry, Thatcher, Clemence
(Sept 16th - before the Charlton match)
As ever I go to the match expecting us to win. Tottenham are point for point on my pre season results prediction, and despite not being the most convincing Spurs side, we have a good record at the Valley and should have too much in all departments for them. Spurs to win 1-0 (as its a George Tottenham away team) or 2-1/3-1 with someone like Mad Ramon or Sol again getting the first goal
(Sept 15th)
Walker has had his transfer request "reluctantly" accepted by the club. Another chorus of what shrewd tacticians the goons are? - another classic from the Will Hay School more like
Sell the best keeper, sign a decent keeper and piss off a shite one and then agree to listen to offers for the shite one without any recognised cover What about all this "we need competition for all places in the team and is n’t it great to have two (sic) goalkeepers"
And if they don't rate Walker, why did n't they give EB his chance last year? Another hatful in his net at Newcastle was the perfect opportunity. Even Gross could see the merits of the two keepers, with his last desperate act to axe Walker for the clean sheet win at Goodison
(Sept 14th)
Not short of a few self-enhancing words in the press to cultivate his hard winner image that survives from the early 1990's, Graham issued this as his "NO" to Chelsea - "I can't comment on what can only be speculation, but really it is all irrelevant," . I'd be delighted to see the back of the no good goon, especially if he enjoyed similar success at Chelsea to the trophies he's won since his bung ban
Injury worries in the Goons favourite position of central defence with Perry, Young and King all injured - luckily Mad Ramon will be available to step in and keep us all entertained at the Valley
(Sept 13th)
Not much on today - hopefully Gooner George and Muppet Euston have been having secret talks with Papa Smurf about the vacant Chelsea job - we can dream on!
(Sept 12th)
Vialli has been given the elbow by nutter Bates at Chelsea, which throws up all sorts of interesting permutations for Graham who has been repeatedly mentioned as a potential successor, especially if his over blown image as a "winner" is lurking in Bates' mind. Hope he takes Euston with him.
Interesting to hear the views of West Ham fans on their own team and the few words they had for us were quite revealing - "could n't pass" & "only looked dangerous from set pieces" we home truth's
(Sept 11th - Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 0 West Ham United)
An excellent win with another strong performance in the second half, capped with a fine goal by Sol.
On a very muggy evening a full contingent of our East London cousins made for an excellent atmosphere in the Lane .West Ham started the more fluently with Di Canio enjoying too much space and using the ball very well. Slag me as much as you want, but I would love to see him at Tottenham and he is by far my favourite non-Tottenham player in the premiership. West Ham had lots of young talent on display Cole, Carrick, Ferdinand and Lampard and look in a false but amusing position in the Premiership.
Spurs played with a Christmas tree formation with 4-3-2-1, with Iversen and Rebrov playing behind Les. This was a brave and positive strategy by the Goon, which did not always pay off mainly because Iversen played like the fairy on top of the tree and we were often 3 against 5 across the midfield, with Sinclair in particular having lots of space against Treacle. But, credit where credit is due, this was a positive move to find Rebrov his best position (although he did not help matters by having an ordinary game)
Spurs played a better first half than against Everton, but still were not fluent and West Ham probably edged the first half. After the break, Young who'd played proficiently in place of the injured? Perry was clattered from behind and had to be taken off. This heralded the return of "Darth" Vega who galloped on to the pitch with all the enthusiasm of a child playing with his newly opened present. Vega as ever was n't foot perfect but played a very positive game and is useful to have around the squad
Spurs dominated much of the second half and were well worth
the goal when it came. Leo swung in a corner and Sol rose 
majestically
to power in a header off the underside of the bar. Sol Campbell -
top man
Freund who earlier managed his trademark shot which went miles over (to Graham's utter disgust, which had the crowd laughing) hit a thunderous volley, which smacked against the angle of post and crossbar with Hislop beaten. Inept passing at the end managed to give us all heart failure towards the end as Spurs would lose the ball and you'd look at the back to find it was 3 against 3
All in all a good win which puts us in 5th place with another soft 6pts up for grabs in the next fortnight
Sullivan - 7/10 - made some good saves during the early West Ham pressure
Carr - 6/10 - made some uncharacteristic errors but recovered to have a solid game Young - 6/10 - played well although looked to have conceded a penalty with a clumsy challenge at the end of the first half. Injured early in the second and replaced by Vega Sol - 7/10 - played a fine match and scored the winning goal - a captain's performance. Treacle - 6/10 - offered more in the way off attacking threat than Thatcher, but was often exposed against Sinclair due to lack of cover in the midfield. Injured in the second half and replaced by Thatcher
Leo - 7/10 - a fine match non-stop running tackling. Sherwood - 6/10 - a good header and free kick in the first half and drove the team forward, but his passing lacked accuracy Freund - 7/10 - another fine match from Nutter, good tackling and a fine shot which would belatedly opened his account
Iversen - 5/10 - very poor - no commitment, bad passing - he needs to be dropped or bollocked to get him back the player he promised to be this time last year. Rebrov - 6/10 - intelligent passes from a more withdrawn role, but not have the impact of previous matches
Ferdinand - 6/10 - tried hard against his namesake and battled for the cause without ever looking like scoring
Subs. Vega - 6/10 - a Cruff turn in the area and some fine heading mixed up with his usual errors - its difficult not to love him. Thatcher - 6/10 - not have much to do, but managed it without any cock-ups
> GINOLA EYES CHANGE OF POSITION - Aston Villa winger David Ginola says he wants to end his career as a sweeper
I'd rather have Ginola bring the ball out of defence than some of the defenders we have doing this at the moment. This will probably be laughed at but I remember similar surprise when non-tackling Glennda decided to do the same and was a success as was Ruud Guillit.
(Sept 10th)
Steve Carr today announced that he would consider his future at the Club, if they allow Sol to leave. He stated that this would confirm the lack of ambition. Surely Steve Carr must know that George is proven winner and will turn Tottenham into winners with or without Campbell. This may be wishful thinking, but with Carr's comments, Sol's no comment and Sugar making sure George got the rightful blame for Ginola's exit I wonder if there is a rift growing between some of the players/Sugar and the Goons.
Not sure about the West Ham game, they are due a win and have some good players which will rip us apart if we play like we did against Everton in the first half, but I think we might just sneak it with an improved performance 2-1
(Sept 9th)
From the Scum newspaper - Ginola vents his feeling about the Kaiserslautern debacle last season. While told through rosy specs with no comment from the no-good Goon, it makes very interesting reading.
"David Ginola was warned not to get sucked into the mind games played by manager George Graham. The blunt message came from White Hart Lane Chairman (shite he does n't own the road does he!) Alan Sugar, who wanted to head off a possible bust up between the two. Sugar acted after he felt humiliated at the way Graham axed him from Tottenham's short-lived Euro campaign last season. Ginola, who insists that Graham forced him out of White Hart Lane following a long battle of wills, hit the lowest point of his Spurs career when he was ditched from the UEFA cup second round second leg tie with Kaiserslautern Even the German club's players could not believe it. Ginola had run the ragged in the first leg in London (read: won a penalty and hit the bar) and they branded Graham a crazy, kamikaze manager
"Shortly after the game in Germany, I received a telephone call from Tottenham chairman Alan Sugar. Sugar told me 'one thing I want you to know is that you must n't fall into any of George Graham's psychological traps ....... don't get caught out by his mind games.
Sugar was always the first to say to me,' David, we are delighted with you on and off the pitch. The image you project of the club is fantastic. You are a symbol of Tottenham Hotspur around the world. But finally, I was pushed out of White Hart Lane, forced to leave by George Graham. When negotiations with Aston Villa were going on , Graham said he did not want me to leave, but that was nonsense"
Ginola also reckons that no one could make any sense of Graham's actions when he was axed against Kaiserslautern, and hinted that the real reason for his omission could have been because he was late for a team stroll around the town when the alarm did n’t go off. Usually Graham announces the team at a leisurely pace, but this time he dropped a bombshell as he raced through the 11 names. It was almost as if he was hoping it would n't sink in that my name wasn't among them. Maybe he was nervous about the reaction he would get. I was surprised and most of the others looked at me for a reaction. I did n't move, I did n’t want to show any emotion. I just sat there and accepted it. Deep down I was n't pleased as I knew I could help the team.
I played something like 25 games for PSG in Europe so I had experience on foreign soil so I could n’t fathom why Graham was thinking the opposite. I did n’t want to unsettle the other lads before such a big game. Maybe I might have in the past, but now, I saw it as unhelpful. I kept my cool because it was the right thing to do but I wanted to stand up and say ' what is going on. Hey Mr. Graham, can you tell me why you are doing this'
"I tried to think of a motive for leaving me out of the team. My form was good, I had trained hard and had frightened the Germans in the first leg and surely my European experience was invaluable
There was one thing that I had done wrong but surely Graham would n’t have been so petty to have made that the reason for dropping me - that would be cutting off his nose to spite his face. I had arrived a few minutes late for the team walk round the town together. I was sharing a room with Jose Dominguez and the booked alarm call never came. We rushed to catch up with the team but they had already set off
But Ginola insisted that there had been occasions in the past when someone had been late and had n't been dropped as punishment. I can only think that Graham wanted to try something different - only Europe is not the place to experiment. I wondered if it was personal but if he was doing something like that for a big game he was not being very smart
"There was more drama at the stadium. When Kaiserslautern handed in their team sheet they named an extra defender to man mark me as a way of reducing the threat I showed in the first leg. When the Germans saw our team sheet they changed their line up and put on an extra attacking midfielder
A UEFA official came to out dressing room to ask the manager if he wanted to make changes but he unhappily declined. Spurs complained about the German action, but they had broken no rules, only the spirit of the game.
During the warm up, I was taunted by Kaiserslautern players who heard I was a sub. Defender Sforza asked in French "What's going on? Your manager is crazy. He must be a kamikaze. He's made a big mistake leaving you out. Say goodbye to the cup now. Even as I walked off a German journalist asked if it was some kind of joke Spurs were playing on them
"I never had and explanation as I never asked. There was no point going to see Graham because I would never get a true answer"
(Sept 7th)
Not much on today - the Goons need money from Granada TV to facilitate their move to Ashburton Grove. Selling their ass to move to a rubbish tip - you could n't make it up! I don't suppose that it will need a change of planning purpose when they arrive
(Sept 6th)
Fairly active on the SpursList today - the "we love George" brigade are mercifully quiet and a few of the mugs are rising to Gooner George's press baiting of Campbell and his contract situation. The more moronic were calling for him to be dropped while others doubted his commitment, oblivious to the fact it was very nearly Sol and not Rebrov that scored the first two last night. MotorMouth Graham also asked us what more could we expect after last nights win - well, if yer listening - playing good football where the players pass the ball to each other with the passes going forwards, dominating games with fluent football and winning convincingly and not having shite Wimbledon rejects costing us goals.
(Sept 5th - before the Everton game) Another win against Everton, who are looking doomed to defeat against us in much the same way we are against Chelsea.
We nearly had a goal after 30 seconds when Carr missed an open goal after good work by Leo. Spurs spent most of the rest of the half descending into a less than comical mess. The problem was that we relied on the least best passers of the ball Sullivan and the defenders to distribute the ball - this meant the midfielders receiving the ball with their backs to the oppo goal an more often than not passing it back to another defender for the whole thing to start all over again. We need somebody with better passing or to carry the ball out of defence to mix up this so it's not too predictable.
In the ineptness - the £5m uncapped pile of toss called Thatcher gifted Wingnut Ears Jeffers an easy chance with a shite back pass - he really added "steel" to the defence!. Fortunately he was not long for the game and Treacle came on and played well and must start against the Hammers. Sullivan proved he is Wa*ker's equal by letting in a relatively tame shot from the edge of the area and we were lucky not to have conceded another when Jeffers missed an easy chance from 8 yards before the goals.
Fortunately we scored on half time. Campbell deflected a freekick against the post and after Perry flicked the rebound on, Rebrov appeared and stroked it into the net with his left foot. Everton failed to kill the game when in front and Spurs pressed with more cohesion in the second half. Sherwood took a bit of stick as not everything he attempted came off, but he was everywhere prompting and motivating. The equalizer came after a goalmouth scramble and Graveson handballed before Campbell ran the ball in the net. Knobber the ref gave the penalty without any form of caution and Rebrov coolly put it to the keepers left at the Paxton End (3 home games & 3 converted penalties after a couple of years without any). Within a minute or so we were in front. With a record of 14 goals in 13 games against Everton before tonight, Ferdinand must love playing against the Toffees and hooked the ball home after Sherwood had headed back across the box We could have added more via Rebrov and Leo but Everton did n't really threaten too much after we took the lead and we all went home a lot happier than at just before half time.
I give Graham and Euston a lot of credit for this win as they made Spurs play so poorly that they lulled Everton into a false sense of security ;-). We were all heard singing "and now you're going to believe us, we're going to win the league" on the way home - not.
4-4-2, Goalkeeper - Sullivan 5/10 - ordinary for the first goal and poor for the second. Difference from Walker? Baardsen with another clean sheet for Watford tonight
Defenders - Carr 8/10 - excellent in both attack and defence - should have scored but was out main attacking option as we clawed our way into the match. Thatcher 3/10 - very poor back pass cost us a goal. poor passing and ordinary defending before being subbed. This years Trammenzani? Sol - 6/10 - Not vintage but good enough. Perry - 7/10 handled Hughes very well and had his usual solid match.
Midfield - Anderton 6/10 - played well before picking up another injury. Sherwood - 7/10 - not perfect but very important in getting us back in the match. Freund - 7/10 - a good game both in terms of ball winning and distribution (and managed a shot on target). Leo - 7/10 - a typical solid game from Leo who played better when returned to the right
Forwards - Ferdinand 5/10 - gave his all but too old and slow these days. Rebrov 7/10 - good vision and a couple of goals. George needs to organise his attack around his non standard play - Rebrov was very often behind both Sherwood and Leo but we can look forward to some flair up front
Subs - Clemence - 5/10 A quiet match on the left with most Spurs attacks going through Carr on the right. Would have been better to have had Ginola there! Treacle - 6/10 - Played a lot better than Thatcher and did enough to deserve his place back. Iversen - got a minute or so at the end after being dropped/rested for Ferdinand
A quick word on Gazza - he behaved like a complete arse tonight - aided and abetted by his social worker, the Ref, who refused to book or send him off for a number of offences including rash tackles and pulling Taricco to the ground by his dodgy locks. I still remember all the great stuff he did at the club, but tonight I thought he let himself down by his behaviour rather than the football.
I should n't as it only encourages them, but I will, the referee. Following in a long line of Premiership pillocks, was awful - after refusing to book Gazza he missed an obvious 2 Freund penalty appeal and missed the big slap head of Graveson handballing for the penalty - although being Mr. Liberal he would probably have only given him a talking to
(Sept 5th - before the Everton game). The Everton games of recent seasons have been guaranteed points, irrespective of how Spurs were playing at the time (the semi-final disaster at Elland Road in 1995 is not to be mentioned). With no injury worries Spurs should register a win to clean sheet tonight despite the revival of Everton's fortunes since the arrival of Walter Smith and Bill Kenwright and the departure of Peter Johnson. It will be good to Gazza back at the lane (although we have yet to beat a team he has returned with - which is a slight worry) but an injury ridden Everton defence should provide an excellent opportunity for new hero Sergei Rebrov to open his premiership account. Wingnut Jeffers should get a bit of stick after conning two penalties in the corresponding game last season.. My prediction is a 2-0 win, with Rebrov on the scoresheet, along with possibly Sherwood. Thinking about it, we should be 12 points from 12 in the next four games with an away game at Charlton sandwiched between home games against West Ham and Manchester City after tonight. I wonder how they will contrive to balls it up and whom No-good Gooner George will blame.