29^th August 2010 – Knee Jerk Let's take the positives first. Right that's that sorted. What about the negatives. How long have you got? In brief we were awful and were lucky to get away with a 1-0 defeat. Now of course it might be just a blip, a bad day at the office after a sensational midweek brain storming seminar that might alter the course of history for the firm, the country and indeed the Universe. It's not the End of the World is it? We're still spinning away in the wastes of space. An apt phrase in some ways you might think. We hoped that this sort of performance was behind us but actually we knew deep down that it wasn't. Not that deep down either. No-one can accuse Harry of being a tinkerman. He doesn't really do rotation. Find your best eleven and your most effective set up and stick with it. The only changes today were forced by injuries to Gomes and Corluka. Generally speaking it has worked but it didn't today,. Nor did the 442 in the first leg at Young Boys. I think that he is going to have to be a little more flexible with squads and tactics for the rest of this season. Fighting on four fronts without some kind of variation of team and set-up is unlikely to succeed. Kranjcar, Gio or Keane, Pavlyuchenko and Jenas could all have started this game.Fresh legs, fresh minds, squad players with something to prove. We were too impatient today and played the ball forward too quickly. Dawson as usual was the worst offender and he does it because he can whether it's effective or not. Nobody dropped short to link up with Huddlestone and faced with a hard-working defence that closed us down and got men behind the ball we were not inventive enough in and around the box to break them down. The same problem then as last year; dominant but failing to defeat. In truth we didn't even dominate that well. We had early warnings: Ekotto twice played himself into trouble and Gohouri hit the bar unmarked in the six yard box. At the end they could have scored three. The goal that won it should have been saved but the back four melted away for the last 15 minutes like the Polar ice caps.. Crouch was ineffective as he often is under close scrutiny, Lennon and Bale were closely marked, Palacios wandered about without focus and Tom lacking any support in midfield joined him. Credit Wigan, they came to try to erase the memories of last year and having conceded 10 goals in their first two games could not have been looking forward to their trip down Bad Memory Lane. They did this with gritty defending and their on loan keeper Al- Habsi replacing the no doubt demoralised Kirkland played very well and we gave up three points that most fans had already banked to a late goal. Harry got his retaliation in first by reminding the fans that they should be grateful for what he had brought them. This in response to a hypothetical question about the fans' response by a reporter. No-one is calling for his head, certainly not me but I am disappointed, unhappy, even angry and a little depressed, though not clinically. By midweek I will have rationalised it all, got it in perspective and be up for the next game. This time the qualifiers break will give me and the boys time to regroup and reflect. The problem is only time will tell whether this is indeed just a temporary setback. Last week all that could be heard was the popping of champagne corks and bubbles, now the sounds are deeper and more ominous, more like the bursting and deflating of balloons. Supporting Spurs has been a lifelong passion for me and I make no excuse for being temporarily irrational in my response to the highs and lows. I feel it: its ridiculous for a more than grown man and I will soon recover. It is a heady mixture of geography, family history, the success in the sixties and identification with a club that embodies an ethos and way of life to me, a belief system that transcends individual managers, chairman, and players, no-matter how gifted. The history the tradition, the achievements all add up to something that goes beyond the actual game. Wives will be apologised to, pets stroked, children smiled at again and no actual suicides have been reported. But it is surely understandable that we moan, whinge and lash out. It's more than a game otherwise we wouldn't bother following a particular team. The fans are in it for the long haul and if they don't feel it they wouldn't bother. The performance was bad on a collective and individual basis, only Kranjcar brought some late spark on with him. Was it the after effects of Wednesday? Over confidence and underestimation of our opponents? Was it a one off, a temporary aberration? Was it, sorry Harry, some of this must be down to you, poor team selection and formation? One, some or none of the above. Was it the wake up call we need? Should we just shrug and move on, or rant and get depressed? Some of these questions will be answered by the next game and some will take a little longer. I'm going to try a little ranting and then some shrugging. I hope that someone in a position to actually affect things does some critical analysis before they do their hopeless gesturing. It's not a matter of life and death as we all know but for a few hours it certainly feels like it.

http://jimmyg2.blogspot.com/

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22^nd August 2010 – Winning Ugly

We hear a lot these days about Tottenham having to learn to ' win ugly'. Apparently all the best clubs do it. Well I saw the future at Stoke and I think we've got it, by jove we've got it. We played a little bit ugly too but don't let's confuse the two. Winning ugly is about getting the run of the ball; the luck of the draw; the rub of the green; the benefit of the doubt, the lucky deflection, and most of all winning when you are not playing well.Its not what you set out to do. Playing ugly is what Stoke do and I hope we never succumb to that temptation.

We rode our luck at both ends of the pitch and with a little help from our friends in black secured the three points. There's not much else on offer at Stoke and we came away with a win that sort of compensates for last week.

We played proper football in the first half. We had a stroke of luck following Crouch's brave knock back into the goal mouth, the goal line clearance hitting Bale and going in. No luck about the second goal though: set up by Lennon again looking more like his old self, and a superb volley by Bale into the far corner. I forecast that he would be our highest scoring midfielder even if he played at full back. At this rate he will be our highest scorer: full stop.

The second half was straight out of the nightmare I had assumed was in the past. Up and under from Stoke and kick it anywhere from us as we got deeper and deeper in defence. We enjoyed the fruits of our top four status when the referee disallowed a reasonable claim for a goal and probably a handball on the line.

You thought refs. were biased towards the Champions' league elite? Now we have seen it with our own eyes. Mmm Champions' League Elite. Not that you would have recognised us as the team that finished last season. But as on Wednesday we showed a new grit and determination which is a vital addition to out armoury. Winning ugly? No problem.

Crouch was our one remaining striker after the 'Curse of the Plastic Peril' for one night only at the 'Berne Horrordrome' and we relied on the wide men to support him. When we managed to get the ball down and pass it to Huddle stone as against Young Boys the game took on the appearance of a Premiership football match: but not that often in the second half. Stoke have players that can hurt you, Etherington, Fuller and Tuncay for a start but they rarely stopped lofting the ball forward and Harry had stationed Kaboul alongside Dawson to repel all comers and it just about worked.

Those of you that don't have first hand experience of the London Blitz will have got a good idea from the aerial bombardment suffered by the Spurs defence in the second half. Picture Harry in a fawn duffel coat with binoculars staring out from a watchtower. 'Stand by number one, its going to be a close run thing'. But London stood firm as the doodlebugs rained down.

Persistent fouling in the penalty area on Gomes was ignored and he was clearly auditioning for Jekyll and and Hyde at the Rio de Janeiro Gaumont next Christmas. In the end we got away with it but I don't think they will be rushing out the DVD. Credit to everyone for surviving, they all worked hard but some were more ineffectual than others. Crouch was more useful in defense against Delap's long throws than he was up front today.

Harry seems to have discovered his inner Mother Theresa, attempting to round up the football world's anger management challenged and forming them into a 'Cuckoo's Nest X1. First Bellamy and now Gallas. Jack Nicholson will play up front, with Harry as Nurse Ratched on the touchline.

Where a player comes from is of no interest to me whatsoever. You are not born at a club . You arrive there by a set of accidents. My objection to Gallas and more so Bellamy is in terms of personality, or personality disorder in his case, temperament and character. They are both more than decent footballers but what else do they bring to the club? Will they be an example to our young squad? Gallas may well bring leadership but where will he lead them to? Hopefully not to the centre circle at the end of a game.

My fear is that he will be more trouble to Harry than he is worth.

'Here you are Gio just watch this highlights video of key moments of the career of William Gallas and learn how top professionals behave.'

Perhaps he's mature enough to ignore it: Giovani not Gallas. We have recaptured our Tottenham style but need to preserve our Tottenham attitude to the game and the spirit in which it is played.

Once he signs however he will have my support as does everyone who pulls on the shirt. But we'll be watching William: Bill, Danny and me; we'll be watching.

12^th August 2010 - Season Preview

OK let's see: good pre-season; bad start; result, mid table mediocrity. Bad pre-season; good start; result,Champions' League. Simple innit? I've gone from the depths of depression after the runaround administered by Villarreal and on to Cloud 10 after an impressive performance against Benfica so I should be back on an even keel by the time I post this. It doesn't make any sense to base the season's prediction on whatever happened in the last game but I'm afraid that's as scientific as it gets following Spurs.

But pre-season matches, I'm reliably informed, are just training ground games that they charge fans to watch. Not if you win they're not. They are another milestone on the road to ultimate world domination. They don't matter if you lose perhaps but against Benfica we won the Eusabio Cup, don't ask, and played well, which will give everyone a boost. Such are the scraps we have to feed on. Fiorentina was a game of two halves and is difficult to base much on except that Huddlestone looks a class apart. It was the right result in the end and Keane, calmer, and better for it, might not be leaving us after all.

The highlights of the summer season have been new kits, sponsorship and medical updates on Woodgate's groin and Ledley's knee which will be posted on the railings at Buckingham Palace in future. No signings apart from Sandro who will come to us like Pavlyuchenko without a break and will probably not surface until nearer Xmas. No sales either apart from the new Zidane pioneering a new route to Madrid via QPR. As soon as I post this there will no doubt be a flurry of signings.

However there are sensible footballing grounds to think that a settled squad under a stable management automatically improves by continuing to play together. Add on youngsters making the move up and the possible emergence at last of Giovani and you have a squad that can at least maintain last year's levels of performance and achievement.

Liverpool are desperately trying to convince themselves that they are not going into free-fall under Roy Hodgson. Man. City will probably implode under the stress of all those egos. Aston Villa are slowly falling apart. Man.Utd are a waning force with an aging squad whose hour has passed. Everton are strapped for cash and won't be able to mount a serious challenge. Arsenal have kept their key man and could be in with a shout.

So there you have it; real value for money here. Chelsea to win the league, Spurs or Arsenal for second. Man. Utd or Man.City for fourth and and Liverpool or Everton for sixth. This has a pleasing city symmetry about it. They don't call me the ITK's ITK for nothing.

On the other hand with a jet-lagged, heat exhausted squad already suffering from injuries to Modric, Pavlyuchenko, Jenas, Keane, Defoe and Bentley at various times we could find by the end of August that our season is over: out of the Champions' League, floundering in the Premiership, Harry in prison, new stadium blocked and Autonomy in receivership: what they call the 'post Villarreal trauma effect'. However a kindly draw in the play-offs should ensure that the first of these bear traps is avoided, apart from the AstroTurf and the fact that Young Boys knocked out Fenerbache.

I've re-read all of last year's Vox Pop ( You live your lives and I'll live mine thank you) and being hard-bitten Spurs supporters we were a very cautious lot. Only Greg Meyer and his troop of Mummers and Morris Men at the Kent Pub correctly predicted a 4^th place finish. I believe that Jim sent them a firkin of good ale as a prize. Since then we have proved we have the ability,confidence and determination to make the step up, much to everyone's delight and most people's surprise.

So taking a leaf out of Greg's book I'm erring on the optimistic side this year. no bet hedging, fudging or double talk. This is known as the 'Eusabio Cup exhilaration effect'. We will qualify for Champions' League proper; we will come 4^th at least in the Premiership; throw in a Cup run; Harry will still be manager this time next year and I can put two fingers up once again to those who believe in keeping a low profile in case optimism, not to say over confidence, upsets the Gods. The Gods don't read 'Topspurs': fact.

So sit back and hold on very tightly; keep your hands inside the car and remain seated at all times. Remember this is JimmyG2, the columnist that's not always wrong.

25^th July 2010 - Miscellany: a mixture; a medley. Medley: a mixture, a miscellany.

So there you have it, that's what this is. It's a word they use especially at Xmas to describe a book which is a rag-bag, a hotch potch, of unrelated topics with no theme or organisation. A weasel word that covers a multitude of sins. It's the odds and sods left over but too good to throw away. It's how stuffing, gravy and mince pies came to be invented.

'Not much different to any of your other offerings Jimbo' I hear you mumble unkindly. Well don't blame the messenger love, there's bugger all happening. And so to prove you wrong firstly I'm going to put all these tit-bits into alphabetical order, ever the poor man's thematic structure, and secondly, I'm going to rank them in order of likelihood; the bookmaker's configuration. Actually it's impossible to do both at once so I'm going for the second option.

Keane to Celtic or Aston Villa. Odds on racing certainty. Bet your house, wife and kids on it. If you haven't got any kids adopt some. 1/10

Gudjohnsen to return to England but not to Spurs. Very probable. Evens

Spurs to make marquee striker signing. Suarez probably. Now I don't know what a marquee signing actually is unless its so newsworthy that you have to put up a big tent to accommodate the press. Almost certain. 2/1

Pavluchenko, Defoe , Crouch and at the very least a Wigwam or a Yurt signing to be our starting strike force. Pretty probable 3/1

Bellamy to sign for Spurs. Unfortunately very likely. Harry likes a challenge. 5/1

Including Sandro Spurs to sign 3 or less senior squad players despite Harry's wheeler dealer reputation. Looking likely thank god. 6/1

Gareth the Bale to be our top scoring midfielder even if he plays at full back. 8/1

Torres and Joe Cole to get into double figures for appearances together next season. Probably get well acquainted in the physio room but unlikely on the pitch. 10/1

. Autonomy to go down the tubes before they cough up for their shirt deal. Their share price has plunged more than 10% this week. In Daniel we trust. 50/1

Daniel Levy keeping a straight face when they banned the vuvuzela on 'safety grounds' No chance 100/1

Raul to sign for Spurs He's more likely to sign for Barcelona than Spurs or become Real Madrid Manager, or Spain's Prime Minister. Extremely highly unlikely. 200/1

Joe Cole's agent keeping a straight face when he told Joe that at nearly 30 after two seasons disrupted by injury he'd negotiated a 4yr. Contract on £90,00 a week. Absolutely no chance 500/1

Spurs totally blowing it in the first month of the season, falling out of the Champions League and sacking Harry who is in prison anyway by then. Nah, no chance. !000/1

How do I arrive at this accurate and precise analysis of the ongoing Tottenham situation?

A heady cocktail of ITK forensic analysis based on my network of contacts within the Tottenham organisation (cleaners, kitchen staff, decorators and groundsmen mainly). I also have a birthday card signed by Ledley King which I hold horizontally in front of me and absorb the vibe; a copy of the Daily Mail whose predictions I reverse, but in the main guesswork pure and simple.

But it seems to work. Remember that prices can go down as well as up and that past performance is no guarantee of future success. Which brings us neatly to Tottenham's prospects for the coming season. Man city are going to be a hybrid assembled from bits falling off other vehicles and probably won't start first go. Liverpool are desperately talking up the signing of Joe ”football reasons”Cole as the key to preventing total meltdown and Spurs are waiting patiently on the rails for their moment to strike.

We had another Stateside workout in which we came from behind to win. Keane had plenty of chances and managed to put one away. But until pre-season takes shape with the return of our World Cup heroes and some actual signings I am holding fire with the chrystal ball, chucking the tea leaves straight into the compost bin and have put the Tarot cards away in a locked drawer. Harry and Ossy say we can challenge for, and even win, the league but I would put this as unlikely: 50/1. Remember friends I'm not always wrong.

Disclaimer: Please note the words on this page are the opinion of the topspurs columnist and are just that, opinions, not facts and are nothing to do with Tottenham Hotspur Football club PLC. Just a supporter having his say nothing more nothing less. Any commentary on betting is meant for discussion purposes only and does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation.