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1st June 2007 - 'Tis the season to make yourself feel better... It is odd to see Arsenal fans clutching at straws but clutching indeed they are. Mindful of their clubs massive debt and inability to spend on any quality players this summer Gooner faithful writers had to jump on a quote by a Tottenham target, Kaboul. Signing on for Tottenham shortly, apparently, for an amount of GBP 8million or so the Kaboul midfielder described Arsenal os some time ago as a "dream team", the days when they were still able to compliment their flowing style with an adequate defence and being able to put the ball in the back of the opposition net. It is no wonder they need a distraction as a club scoring 22 points less than just 3 years ago has found itself in the intermediate years being rejected by their own stars like Viera and Reyes. Pires, too, left unwilling to accept an offer of a 1 year contract extension. Arsenal are left with a feeling of emptiness and a lack of stars and experience. No wonder their fans are looking elsewhere for anything that might be considered good news. www.spursfans.co.za - a place for south african spurs fans to make contact |
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Columnist Profile – The
Midnight Jester Column Midnightjester has a master’s degree in football tactics and a bachelor’s degree in sports psychology. He can also navigate in complete darkness by echolocation and has been known to save small animals from burning buildings largely in order to appear heroic and get laid. Sometimes he finds it necessary to set fire to a building as there just aren’t as many competent arsonists as there used to be… He currently writes for: www.sportingo.com, www.pushandrun.com, sportscheat.org, as well as on, midnightjester.wordpress.com, midnightjester.co.za, dictum.wordpress.com (and of course we’re very proud to have him at www.topspurs.com) and is suspected of having no life whatsoever. New site for South African Tottenham fans to make contact: www.spursfans.co.za |
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18 May 2007 - What next... part two: Should I stay or
should I go? We have a decent sized squad and a couple of players out on loan. There are quite a few "also rans" in the squad which is okay- every squad needs them. There are, however, also some "never rans" lying around either because they're out of favour, injured too often or... how do I put this tactfully... a bit crap, really. I'm not going to bother with the Berbatovs, Keanes and Kings of the world (ma!), as any one who wants them to leave Spurs is a Gooner or mad or been hit over the head with an angry dwarf for three days whilst listening to the Jerry Springer Show and is therefore feeling more than a tad disoriented. His name is Dave. Radek Cerny. An international goalkeeper who looked good when called upon and has stated he doesn't mind being there to compete with Robinson and keep him honest. A keeper. Literally. Pascal Chimbonda. Oh yes, oh yes, indeedy. Keep him and then train him how to leave the ground and defend on the far post and you have the best right back in the league. YPL. I liked Wipey from day one. Has that Far- East- Dedication- Grasshopper thing going. You could not hope for a harder worker. Even if you found someone better you use him as cover and give him 15-20 starts for the season. Stay. Stalteri. A hard working right back who cannot defend to save his life. If he does stay I suggest Spurs use him as a Clown- O- Gram and loan him out for children's parties. Should go. Huddlestone. Good? Bad? An immovable object? Worth hanging on to to see what happens next. Anthony Gardner. It has been fun seeing ol' smiley hunting down the left flank and I always root for him. I just wish he was better. Can be kept as a mascot or a backup but should probably leave to get first team football at this time in his carreer. Should leave with the best wishes of all Spurs fans. Benoit Essou Ekotto. The Incredible Sulk is one of those "jury out" situations. Sometimes he looks like he might be something special. At other times he looks like he's lost in a maze at a stately home hunting for the little people (the same height as him) at the end of the garden. Stay. Ricardo Rocha. Who knows? Really? Looks like a footballer, dresses like a footballer, defends like a duck. Sometimes. Stay to see what happens. Zokora, Jenas, Malbranque, Tainio. Good midfielders who need a classy holding midfielder to tie the whole thing together. Excellent squad players and Zokora could well turn out to be a star. Stay. Steed Malbranque. I thought he would have done more for us this season than he has. I would like to see him for another season but if he doesn't get better I would rather keep the four mentioned above. Come on Steed! Stay. Danny Murphy. Go. Really. Just go. Charlton (the big club) needs you. Hossam Ghaly. I thought he might well turn out to be decent and I like his commitment on the pitch. Would have liked to see him in the center a bit more with Jenas on the right but what do I know. A damn hard worker but the man wants to be a starter (not a crime). I hear Jermain Defoe. All the reports of "not enough football" are bollocks. Only 2 starts less than Keane and 7 more sub appearances than Keane. Admittedly Keane got given the big games but, hell, he was on better form. Why would he want to leave? I suspect, though, that Jol will want 3 experienced strikers with one or two coming up through the youth ranks and will not want 2 of those strikers ineffective in the air. I would like him to stay but I suspect Jol will replace him with a Dirk Kuijt sort of player. Mido. Real gone kid. Liked him but suspect he will leave to open his own McDonalds franchise. Routledge. Who? Out. Toby Ziegler. Liked him. Thought there was serious potential. Would have like to see mre but I suspect he is out. Six out, I suspect, probably net about 10-12mil from them. No idea who will be brought in to replace them. I suspect that, with Champions League a real possibility, the club will splash out 20-30mil this season and sign two expensive players. One holding midfielder and one left winger. COYS!!! 17 May 2007 - What next... part one: Where do Spurs find
extra points? From 2003 to 2007 the finishing points for fourth place have been 67,
60, 61, 67 and 68 respectively. Our 65 points last year would have been
enough to get Champions League football in 2004 and 2005. Let us assume, as a point of reference, that Champions League football
is achievable with 70 points meaning we have to find 10 next year if we are to
get fourth. Personally I think we should be happy with 60+ points and UEFA
Cup football for a third year before stepping up and competing with the top four. With Allardyce at Fulham (home) draw 0-0... win +2 Everton (home) lost 0-2... win +3 Arsenal (home) draw 2-2... win +2 ... 14points There are 14 gettable points there, all at home and in order of
difficulty. Assuming we do a little better away from home we wouldn't have to
pick up all of them. It will be important, though, to win against either Villa (away) draw 1-1... win +2 Fulham (away) draw 1-1... win +2 Sheff Utd replacement (away) loss 1-2... win +3 ... 14points Also 14 gettable points and 28 in total. Not an impossible dream by
any stretch of the imagination, especially when you consider that we only
beat one of the top 4 home and away (Chelsea at home) so there aren't many
points we did bank that would be difficult to check again. All in all it looks rather promising. COYS!!! 8th May 2007 -
The Midnightjester challenge... Another decent performance at the front and shambolic defence at Charlton as Ledley starts to find his way back to fitness. Dimitar with beautiful touches, Keane working his arse off and a grinning Gardner whooping it up for his cameo at left back. You would swear he had never been in the opposition half in open play... it may well be the case. If we win our last two matches and Arsenal lose to Portsmouth we finish just 5 points behind them I challenge Jim Duggan to remain positive about whether we will keep Lennon and Berbatov throughout the off- season. Consider it a sportsman's bet. Regardless of whether we get those final results we lose either of them I will write a grovelling article about Jim's greatness and bow down to him as a God- and he has to remain positive through at least the first half of next season NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS if I win... Deal Jim? No, As always
I’ll let my intellect and events at Spurs dictate my THFC disposition.
I’ve never understood the need for self delusion and repression of
feeling in the face of facts to the contrary, esp. with something like a
hobby such as Spurs. It always comes across as the first steps of the sort of
fanaticism which always strikes me as slightly bizarre. As such, I’ll
leave the need for pre-determined rosy outlook to the “always
positive” brigade who can wear it as a badge of “I’m a
better supporter than you as I am always smiling” pride while enjoying
the ups and downs with Spurs. Keep up the good work on the column Jim 4th May 2007 - Premiership run-in, update On the 21st of last
month I had a look at the run in and in my indomitable style completely
failed in my predictions of non-Spurs results. Reading and Everton
were kind enough to go along with my predictions but ol'
Harry over at Portsmouth slapped Liverpool nicely but still don't look like
finishing within the UEFA places unless they can do the same to Liverpool's neighbours. Go Harry. Tottenham 62pts ‘Boro (a) win
... Spurs win 3-2 Charlton (a) win West Ham (a) loss Villa (h) win Reading 57pts Everton 55pts Man Utd (h) loss ...
Everton lose 2-4 Liverpool (h) loss
... Everton (a) draw Arsenal (h) draw www.spursfans.co.za
- a place for spurs fans to find each other 25th April 2007
- midnightjester strikes back! In defence of Jol
round 2. First of all to anyone reading: Chris Biggs and I agreed to do this back and forth for a laugh. No meanness is intended on either side. So Chris thinks Jol and the board are to go and I think they should stay. I am sure Jim will provide any new readers with the necessary links.(See Chris Biggs pieces on Jol The initial case against Martin Jol & the follow up published today which contains links to Jesters reply to the first piece) Come on Biggsy, I backed my argument of a 2 season net spend of GBP 4million* with facts and figures for the unbelieving. The sale of Carrick does not 'distort' things as you say. The amount we got is the amount we got and we would have done better in the league with him, Carrick, a holding player. I still say cashing in on a player like Carrick for double his value was the right move. Not the same for Berbatov and I will hire the hit man to take out the board myself if they do. I have to say that my statement: "Jol has done more with less than any other manager" plus it's context "since 2001." If you like you can add "for Spurs" as that was my reference, seems to bear out under scrutiny. How you come up with "Jol has done less? with more?" is quite beyond my brain. Please explain.done less...? best points-per-game for Spurs in the premier league's historywith more...? net spend of 4 million You're 'aving a laugh. Comparison of Jol with other managers. I
stand by my statement that Jol is only bettered by Wenger and I say there is no-one else better in The Premier League because of the others being average, rather than Jol being in any way brilliant. He should be given time to prove his worth, either way, since we are not in a position to attract better. Chris also pushes Allardyce
into the frame as classier than Jol, citing his work to bring up a stable As for Steve Coppell, a lot of teams who
have come up have a run in their first season. Chris then does down Hoddle and Graham and
how they are useless comparisons (I cannot defend Pleat) as they aren't
quality but Graham won the league with Arsenal and built them up without any
major budget, albeit on boring football, and Hoddle was the Manager of
England and actually had them playing decent football for a while- a lot
better than the crap that's being served up nowadays. He also was Ghod at Jol, however you spin it, is doing better than a Premiership winner, an England National Manager and a French National Manager on a low net spend. What more do you want in the short term? Tactics I agree and have never said otherwise that I think Jol lacks tactical nous. If you look at the Eeredivisie you will note that his tactical ideas are solid there, where he did very well, and he seems to be a slow learner when it comes to revising them. I think he has yet to show if he can adapt and take us into the Top 4 but on current performance and the lack of a better alternative I say lay off and give the man a chance. Recently, though, he has us playing good,
attacking, attractive if inconsistent football. Yet I would remind you that What The Team Lacks I also agree with Chris here. We need a strong central midfielder with presence. A Roy Keane or a Patrick Viera type to also drive the team on when they lose focus on the field. i do not think we have a complete package yet. We also, I agree, need a naturally left- sided midfielder and backup but should not buy on a knee- jerk basis. I vaguely remember that Da marcus Beasley was meant to come over for us before the foreign office got stuck in a few years ago (could have been another American, to be honest (Bobby Convey – eds)). The board and Jol are, intelligently, willing to wait for the right player. Downing is not worth GBP 14mill and Joe Cole isn't available. They will have to look abroad. This board only ever knee-jerk spends on backup players if you look at their record. Players who won't make too much of a loss on sale if they do not work out. The Future Chris, it seems, wants Jol out and the
board gone. Right Away. A board that has done so well to turn around Spurs, build up a fairly formidable team and get us into Who, honestly, could have done better? I don't want an oligarch investor at Spurs using it as a toy till he gets bored 23rd April 2007
- The Jim, our resident pessimist and all-round voice of doom (surely realist - eds), created, unfortunately, by a long history of broken promises and evil chairmen has again been the voice of dissent. Myself, at a sprightly 34 and of a "refuse to get jaded" attitude thought I might offer the other side of our tarnished coin to his recent piece. Albeit in a really appalling point- like form. First: though I agree with Jim about Jol.
The man's anti-tactics a goal up are more befitting Second: Carrick was a must-sell at GBP 18mil, regardless of what it does to the team. I totally agreed with the management's sale of him even though our entire team was built around the man and that sale, along with no royalty in defence, destroyed our early season. I have seen too many expensive purchases sold for 1% or less of their initial buy in my time destroy the clubs finances. The bet: there is no, and I mean no, price that anyone can pay that is worth selling Berbatov and the board, even if offered GBP 40mil, will not cash in as with him and a left winger we can and probably will take 4th next year. My fear is over Lennon who I think a savvy team might go for and twist the board's arm but I still rate it as unlikely. Should berbs be sold I may well hire the hit man myself. Third: Despite the sale of Carrick, King out and Defoe lost in a green wilderness unable to hit anything net- like for most of the season we are, with our run-in, likely to finish just 2-4 points behind where we did last year. We went from one of the tightest defences in the league with King there last season to one of the most free- scoring sides in the Premiership this season. My only doubt is whether Jol will keep the attacking mentality once the defence is competent again. Fourth: I agree with the gap in
expectations vs performance currently exceeded only
by Fifth: Late goals on bad performances are something every team in the entire league has suffered. We have had plenty of bum luck when we played well this season and should have gotten points/ advancement to the next round. So I accept points and good luck as deserved in the games which we don't play well. Sixth: The lack of drive amongst the team
seems to have co-incided with less chastising of
the team from Keane and Berbatov which is sad. Teams need to be driven by
either strong management ( In conclusion: The future is bright, the future is, if not Lilywhite, then still rather bright, nonetheless. Perhaps there is Rose tint here, but this is my reality and I'm happy living in it. As an entrepreneur my mind tends to live in a bright future rather than a tainted past, that's just the way I am built. Midnightjester 21st April 2007
- The UEFA race... the Premiership run in! A typical Spurs weekend in some respects and disappointing in others. I would have liked to see more guile from Tottenham in the second half against the Arse, but I also would like to have sex with Cameron Diaz and I'm unlikely to get that either. But we live in hope. Other than that we were the same side I have seen recently, great going forward and abysmal in defence. I don't think Ledders and Dawson will "find" each other before the season closes so it's up to Keane and Berbs to lead the line and bang em in to get us 5th. And 5th, I do believe, is what we will get, despite our lousy form at the back. 62 points, just 3 less than last year, I reckon will be our haul- imagine what it could have been if we had had a King on the field... the thoughts- they just take me higher than weed and further than alcohol. Everton's run-in will kill them, Tottenham 62pts 'Boro (a) win Charlton (a) win man city (h) win Reading 57pts (ahead on goal difference) < |