tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70824572824784391592024-03-25T10:21:43.014-07:00My Blogging travels with Tottenham Hotspur FCMy travels (Glenn Renshaw) with Spurs, home, away and abroad. This blog also features Don Scully's articles on SpursGlenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.comBlogger823125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-70293097034445602412024-03-25T10:21:00.000-07:002024-03-25T10:21:12.366-07:00Match Report (Fulham) & Preview (Luton Town – and back to winning ways – hopefully!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0k4jprP_c3unwMBvmb7Zkk6y20byohDMXehkauRO2AGU6SJ5TeDlwgComblfT4MJ2rsdMXAqCECZih2DUjlbBbG62D-q6Qa99E8i_vSOI9gJcOEqGYJMFJy-RMTpAN2iDgCPP53YUvOb3HyFPMnAh7JMhm49BuD2udODwJWnhUmzpHmngGBZmvCQZKg/s521/Match%20report%20(Fulham)%20&%20Preview%20(Luton%20Town).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="521" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX0k4jprP_c3unwMBvmb7Zkk6y20byohDMXehkauRO2AGU6SJ5TeDlwgComblfT4MJ2rsdMXAqCECZih2DUjlbBbG62D-q6Qa99E8i_vSOI9gJcOEqGYJMFJy-RMTpAN2iDgCPP53YUvOb3HyFPMnAh7JMhm49BuD2udODwJWnhUmzpHmngGBZmvCQZKg/w640-h480/Match%20report%20(Fulham)%20&%20Preview%20(Luton%20Town).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p> <b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Report
(Fulham) & Preview (Luton Town – and back to winning ways – hopefully!)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Report<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fulham 3
Spurs 0<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After we thrashed
Villa on their own ground—a match everybody thought we would lose—we next met
Fulham at Craven Cottage (a match everybody thought we would win). So, let us
start with the good news…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">…Spammers 1 Villa 1, yes,
the Spammers, who had two goals disallowed, managed to contain Villa (who are
12 points above them), which means between us and Villa, there is just a three
points difference, and we’ve got a game in hand. Plus, there is only a goal
difference between both teams… so we went into the international weekend in a
good position, even though we lost to Fulham. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, we missed the
chance to move into the Premier League top four as Rodrigo Muniz scored two
more goals to fire Fulham to an impressive victory at Craven Cottage. Muniz scored
either side of Sasa Lukic's first strike for the Cottagers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With victory, we
would have gone above fourth-placed Aston Villa, but we were so lacklustre from
the outset that we crumbled in front of our supporters' eyes. We could have gone
behind earlier without Radu Dragusin and Cristian Romero's blocks to deny
Andreas Pereira, while Guglielmo Vicario also saved well from Lukic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">James Maddison shot
narrowly wide in the first half, and Timo Werner failed to convert, with the
goal gaping in the second half, as we could not back up impressive wins over
Crystal Palace and Villa in the previous two games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Meanwhile, Fulham
remains 12th but is only five points behind the Hammers in seventh place. We’ll
leave that there… Now for some Spurs nostalgia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One
hundred and 21 years ago (30<sup>th</sup> March 1903). <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Victory over Queens
Park Rangers in the London League ensures we win the title, finishing four
points above the Spammers. The triumph was confirmed thanks to goals from David
Copeland, Ted Hughes and Chalmers. This was the last time our first team played
in this competition, as it was used as a reserve league in the years to come. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">White
Hart Lane<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In 1899, the club
moved to a piece of land owned by the brewery company Charringtons to the east
of Tottenham High Road behind the White Hart pub. This became the White Hart
Lane ground. We were there until 14 May 2017 and moved into our current stadium
on 2 April 2019 (in between, our temporary home was at Wembley).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">1908<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham Hotspur was
eventually admitted to the English Football League's Second Division in 1908. We
earned promotion to the First Division after the 1908–09 season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Preview Spurs v Luton Town<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Now… to Saturday, the
30th of March, when we face relegation fodder Luton Town. Their position won’t
make any difference on the day, as they will come out fighting… as every
relegated threatened team has done when they face us. Luton is currently above
the relegation zone by 22 points, just one point above Forest. As it stands
now, any three clubs, from Sheffield United, Burnley, Forest, Luton, and
Everton, could go down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Date: 30/03/2023<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kick-off time: 15:00<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Luton is outside the
relegation zone by Nottingham Forest’s point deduction and needs a win to put
some more breathing room between them and the drop zone. We, however, will be
looking to get back to the race for Champions League football after the
international break.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We currently sit
fifth in the Premier League after 28 games. We have 16 wins, five draws and seven
losses, leaving us on 53 points, six points ahead of Manchester United but
three points behind Aston Villa in fourth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This season, we have
been amongst the goals, scoring 59 in 28 games, giving us an average of 2.11
goals a game. However, we have been average at the other end of the pitch,
conceding 42 goals and keeping six clean sheets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Luton, on the other
hand, is 17th in the Premier League. In 29 games, The Hatters have five wins,
seven draws, and 17 losses, which leaves them on 22 points, one point above the
relegation zone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Hatters have
performed far better in attack than their league placement would suggest. In 29
games, Luton has scored 42 goals, an average of 1.45 goals a game. Defensively,
however, The Hatters have struggled. Luton conceded 60 goals and kept just two
clean sheets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Both clubs have met
81 times in our histories, with the first meeting in the FA Cup in 1894. We
have the better record in the fixture, with 34 wins, compared to Luton’s 22
wins. A draw is more common in this fixture than a win for The Hatters,
happening on 25 occasions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Other than the
meeting earlier in the season, where we won 1 - 0, we haven’t played each other
since 1992; however, before that, Luton hadn’t beaten us since 1987.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">TEAM NEWS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham
Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We will be without Ryan Sessegnon,
Fraser Forster, and Manor Solomon this weekend, but Micky van de Ven can
return.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
predicted Spurs possible starting lineup:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vicario; Royal, Pedro, Van de Ven,
Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlson.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Prediction<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">4-0 to us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That is it, folks… we
(Mel and I) are off (Tuesday/ 26<sup>th</sup>) to the Tottenham stadium to see
the Belgium/ England game (televised live), including food and drinks, plus
Glenn Hoddle in a Question-and-Answer chat. Janette and our friend Janet will
be with us. Parking under the stadium. Hopefully, it will be a good evening…
whatever the England result… and maybe some photos with Glenn Hoddle.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the
Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHudT554tuSDHiN0hhnF5Bp8sK2wMbR8WKRni2XVF-SV95pEsvZQk-BIlhb1BV0HfErJSnLBvORMS9Cl6xiGo9evYFvNMXCrW1tzKROQqPK-Uil1Ef1xrArND-yJl6C7SyFCvNGDYt-Hgy8WVx_a_uNWizCiJEryKlUJ1BelLZS70AriFew3BHJP445k/s4032/Glenn%20Hoddle%20and%20myself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHudT554tuSDHiN0hhnF5Bp8sK2wMbR8WKRni2XVF-SV95pEsvZQk-BIlhb1BV0HfErJSnLBvORMS9Cl6xiGo9evYFvNMXCrW1tzKROQqPK-Uil1Ef1xrArND-yJl6C7SyFCvNGDYt-Hgy8WVx_a_uNWizCiJEryKlUJ1BelLZS70AriFew3BHJP445k/w200-h150/Glenn%20Hoddle%20and%20myself.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-91346065733028311302024-03-13T05:15:00.000-07:002024-03-13T05:15:36.529-07:00Match Preview: Fulham v Spurs (it is coming back together again)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhTQ2auk97zmxCNgjD0M8ULhSEdculOdVgclq7nj24hw3DG4F78HG7zLdHxqw6njPaa5tjL6qoSpDYnekNHOw7Fuw2rK5CN3IBPEUQrCV0MHuorsyKbkShYjzEwyD73glDgzH1HqhA7cJnxsHcaBE8GaeIR_lxRVm2ZwOuTOFcmJ8zTjaJQuww-62BEc/s549/Fulham%20v%20Spurs%20picture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="429" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhTQ2auk97zmxCNgjD0M8ULhSEdculOdVgclq7nj24hw3DG4F78HG7zLdHxqw6njPaa5tjL6qoSpDYnekNHOw7Fuw2rK5CN3IBPEUQrCV0MHuorsyKbkShYjzEwyD73glDgzH1HqhA7cJnxsHcaBE8GaeIR_lxRVm2ZwOuTOFcmJ8zTjaJQuww-62BEc/w500-h640/Fulham%20v%20Spurs%20picture.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
Match Preview: Fulham v Spurs (it is coming back together again)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It has taken a long
time, but we are finally back to where we were at the start of the season. That
long undefeated run made many pundits stretch their rubber necks a bit harder
and look at us as possible challengers for the title. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, our critical
components of that tremendous, swashbuckling start to the season have all
finally returned and are working together as one unit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It all fell apart
when we faced Chelsea: key absentees since that extraordinary night when it
seemed dozens of things went wrong. James Maddison and Micky van de Ven have
now returned from those bad injuries and are once again outstanding players.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">To add insult to
misery, Son, Sarr, and Bissouma travelled to their respective countries to
fight in meaningless competitions, thus depriving us of our important
ingredients. But they are now back and have become—once again—hugely
influential members of Ange Postecoglu's ball-busting team.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The last two pieces
in Ange’s puzzle are full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, whose analytical
importance to us only really becomes evident when they are not there. For
the first time since we beat Brighton on 10 February, they were both included
and the team looked balanced and formidable at our game against Villa.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We mustn’t forget Brennan
Johnson and Timo Werner, who are starting to find their feet in Richarlison's
absence. We really do look like a side capable of finishing the season as
strongly as we started it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that injuries are
kept to a bare minimum. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fulham v Spurs<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The late Saturday
kick-off in the Premier League sees us take on our London rivals Fulham. We
look to close in on Champions League football, whereas Fulham aim to grab a
spot in the top half of the table.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kick-off
time: 17:30<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Location:
Craven Cottage<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The mid-table has
gotten tight, and a win for Fulham could bring them into the top half of the
table. However, after the game against Villa, we are two points away from
Champions League football and hope to continue our run.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fulham currently sit
12th in the Premier League after 28 games. The Cottagers have ten wins, five
draws, and 13 losses, leaving them at 35 points, five points from the top half
of the table. They have been in good form in front of goal this season, scoring
40 goals in 28 games, giving them an average of 1.43 goals a game. Fulham have
been better defensively, conceding 44 goals and keeping seven clean sheets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We, on the other hand,
currently sit fifth in the Premier League. In 27 games, we have had 16 wins,
five draws, and six losses, which leaves us 53 points ahead of Manchester
United and two points from Champions League football.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have scored 55
goals in 27 games, an average of 2.12 goals a game. Nevertheless, we have been
less consistent at the other end of the pitch, conceding 39 goals and keeping
just five clean sheets.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Both clubs have met
104 times, with the first meeting coming all the way back in 1903. We have
dominated this fixture with 55 wins compared to Fulham's 19 wins. In fact, a
draw is more common than a Fulham win, happening on 30 occasions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the last five
games in the fixture, we have won on four occasions. The other game, a League
Cup tie, ended in a 1 - 1 draw, but Fulham won on penalties. Also, there have
only been two instances of both teams being on the scoresheet in the last five
games, but the defensive records of both teams suggest this might change.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">TEAM NEWS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fulham Team
News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Marco Silva will have
a fully fit squad this weekend, with Raul Jimenez set to be fit again after his
thigh injury.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We will be without
Manor Solomon, Fraser Forster, and Ryan Sessegnon this weekend, but Richarlison
may be able to rejoin the squad. If he does, he will be on the bench.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
predicted Spurs possible starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vicario; Royal, Romero, Van de Ven<b>**</b>,
Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Johnson.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">** I’ve
added Van de Ven, as I’ve heard that his injury may have been minor and that he
could be back for Saturday. If he doesn’t play, I’ll go for Substitute for
Dragusin.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Prediction<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I am going for a
Spurs win: 0-4. And why not? If we can beat Villa by four goals, then I am sure
that we can put four past the Cottagers. I did predict that we would beat Villa
2-1, but that prediction was blown out of the water in the second half at Villa
Park. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Come on,
you Spamming Munchers!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On Sunday, Villa takes
on the Spamming Munchers at their Meccano stadium in Stratford. So, for this
one game, “UP the Spamming Munchers,” do us proud and help us leapfrog Villa
into fourth place. Then, you can continue spiralling downwards into the abyss
of relegation battles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the
day we face Fulham (16<sup>th</sup>), but 39 years ago, we faced Liverpool.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Before Saturday, 16<sup>th</sup>
March 1985, there used to be a saying: “The last time we beat Liverpool at
Anfield was the day the Titanic went down” (1912). No more: -<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It had been 73 years
since we had recorded a victory at Anfield, so it came as something of a shock
when a Garth Crookes goal was enough to get all three points. What was even
more remarkable was that it was <b>EXACTLY</b> 73 years to the day since we
beat them on their ground. Yes, it was a remarkable day: I was there, and we
went crazy in the stands when Crooke’s goal came in. It was like we had just
won the league. In fact, that season (1984/85), we finished third. Liverpool,
who finished second, had the same number of points as us (77) but a slightly
better goal difference. Everton that season won the League.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Hopefully, this
season is a precursor for next season’s trophy challenge - and winning - Ange
Postecoglou’s ball-busting Glory, Glory team. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the
Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMP14fY2jeb3r2Htb58CVfUJQ1nKTH_jwmR_g4wA9xAefwEUhJdryDIbjKIYlEG15N28i1TW0NLg1L9vm9j9cvm94nHGXuErdP4ReluxMVq5qThZ-Yy9oiQVsgWTKDH_7YuSfI6LsvMGA3oI2JbFh_6SDyeddBpa0AmLcyRNcZza94OrpmgcF2UCLco4/s2048/Me%20with%20Steve%20Perryman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMP14fY2jeb3r2Htb58CVfUJQ1nKTH_jwmR_g4wA9xAefwEUhJdryDIbjKIYlEG15N28i1TW0NLg1L9vm9j9cvm94nHGXuErdP4ReluxMVq5qThZ-Yy9oiQVsgWTKDH_7YuSfI6LsvMGA3oI2JbFh_6SDyeddBpa0AmLcyRNcZza94OrpmgcF2UCLco4/w150-h200/Me%20with%20Steve%20Perryman.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Steve Perryman</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b></p><p>
</p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-2232370056613349932024-03-11T07:20:00.000-07:002024-03-11T07:20:27.885-07:00Match Result: Villa 0 Spurs 4 (brilliant result)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE8QI3tWo7J4s0kJ6dWtdM5HBcphk1hgxG5Q4fGQlDRVkRpgie8ImlDcL6-iLaJj1tJ2J8JG8B6_sm7Il-HjirJyHnW3rcg_v69Ll3fAalWsUMBK3cVKUC8ApTmZ_r6Nwj3VFdUTZX5iPIk_DwBmVqZtgQDwNj_NtLzdG4jLUX6yX6JFxzMutaFIpEsI/s548/Villa%200%20Spurs%204%20Publisher.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="548" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqE8QI3tWo7J4s0kJ6dWtdM5HBcphk1hgxG5Q4fGQlDRVkRpgie8ImlDcL6-iLaJj1tJ2J8JG8B6_sm7Il-HjirJyHnW3rcg_v69Ll3fAalWsUMBK3cVKUC8ApTmZ_r6Nwj3VFdUTZX5iPIk_DwBmVqZtgQDwNj_NtLzdG4jLUX6yX6JFxzMutaFIpEsI/w640-h472/Villa%200%20Spurs%204%20Publisher.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Result: Villa 0 Spurs 4 (brilliant result)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What a ring-dinger of
a result; well, in the second half, it was. The first half was a sort of repeat
of the first half of the Palace game (but slightly better). Ange seems to see
the lie of the land in the first half and then rearranges things for a winning way
forward for the second half. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">When we last played
Villa – on our ground – we were a better side, but they walked away with all
the points. This time, we showed them who was the superior team and would be
challenging for that illustrious fourth position. I am not saying it is beyond
us to challenge Arsenic, the Bin-dippers or City, but it is very unlikely. City,
are in third place, a point behind the other two, while we are 10 points below
them. It would take some going to catch them up, and they will also have to
have a bad run-in; it is very unlikely that the three will suddenly fall on
their swords. Nevertheless, fourth place seems to be the position we will fight
for until the end of the season. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have a game in
hand over fourth-place Villa (and a two-point difference—and a better goal
difference, well, at least we do now, after yesterday!).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Anyway, we boosted our
hopes of a top-four Premier League finish with an emphatic victory over 10-man
Aston Villa at Villa Park (our first two goals were against an 11-man team).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This was an encounter
billed as pivotal in the race for a spot in next season's Champions League; early
second-half goals from James Maddison and Brennan Johnson set us on our way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Some will argue that
a leg-weary Villa side, who played at Ajax on Thursday evening, rarely looked
capable of clawing their way back into the contest because of that game. I say
bollocks… as we were a better side last time we met – but unfortunately, we
lost - and an even better side this time around, irrespective of what other
games Villa had or didn’t have before our game. People will always use excuses
to dent what was a superior moment. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We were in complete
control throughout the game; stoppage-time goals from Son and Timo Werner only
served to rub salt into Villa's wounds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Villa remain in
fourth spot, but now they are only two points above us, and as I said, we have
a game in hand. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQrNnZLC1Fz-YQFdxDtcRLWC4ANJeWxa4QC2rOu-AAwc8mEW97HIht02xfVWfHDfOiYR3llo1nmlzUj-WDT0q4oSDHwRHa8mmfuUV4ymCMg2GIhr8yjY706qBXJeifm25dnATrC8cwW6ByLqJYKTMFD3Xv4hSdc2j6xgq70v9QDd1UVsAOvkQVFqFgG8/s4032/IMG_1080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbQrNnZLC1Fz-YQFdxDtcRLWC4ANJeWxa4QC2rOu-AAwc8mEW97HIht02xfVWfHDfOiYR3llo1nmlzUj-WDT0q4oSDHwRHa8mmfuUV4ymCMg2GIhr8yjY706qBXJeifm25dnATrC8cwW6ByLqJYKTMFD3Xv4hSdc2j6xgq70v9QDd1UVsAOvkQVFqFgG8/w240-h320/IMG_1080.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">An underwhelming
first period saw the teams cancel each other out, with Johnson's low attempted
cross from the left easily gathered by home goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, the
closest thing to resembling a shot on target.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pape Matar Sarr's
superb cross from the right which saw Maddison prod in shortly after the break.
When home defender Ezri Konsa carelessly gave possession away deep in his own
half, Johnson collected Son's pass to double our lead.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As we watched the
game, we couldn’t help noticing that the home stands were already emptying
early in the ten added minutes; so much for loyalty and support. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Son swept home his
159th goal, providing Werner with an opportunity. His close-range shot found
the right corner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With Villa aiming to
reach Europe's elite club competition for the first time since they were
defending champions in 1982-83, skipper McGinn labelled their meeting with us
"the most important game in the club's recent history" prior to
kick-off.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the first half,
Villa continuously attempted to play on the counter-attack, but there were
already signs that a fourth consecutive league victory might not be forthcoming
for them. While they showed plenty of application, there was very little in the
way of quality in the final third, and they were not helped by Ollie Watkins
struggling off the back of an early kick from Micky van de Ven.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Granted, we enjoyed
the benefit of a full week to prepare, but sharpness and greater intensity told
after the break.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Sarr's willingness to
run beyond a high Villa defensive line to brilliantly supply Maddison sparked us
into life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Villa’s Konsa's
careless pass towards Youri Tielemans provided a further helping hand, as did
McGinn's red card, which told in the later stages, allowing us to pick Villa
off to conclude a brilliant second-half display.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">If we had won the games
we should have won, we would be up there, challenging for the league title.
Alas, fate stepped in and kicked us in the bollocks when we were having our
good run at the beginning of the season. It was the Chelsea game – injuries and
sending-offs – that put a dent into our hopes. Then, being removed from both
the League and FA Cup competitions didn’t help either. Now, there is only a fourth
spot to fight for, and I believe we can do it. Villa will have to make do with
a Europa League place unless the 5<sup>th</sup> spot is given to the Champions
League competition, but they are not our concern… but saying that, full credit
though to Unai “Dick” Emery for entertaining us all those years ago… even
though he has been dead once he seems to have managed to revitalise his bones
into an even better comedian; I did love his Mandy character – “Oh, you are awful,
but I like you!”. Enough of this frivolity!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our next couple of
games—Fulham, Luton, and the Spammers—are all winnable. They are games we must
win if we want to be taken seriously as challengers for that important fourth spot.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">All that said, it was a rainy, drenched day. Our walk from the car to the stadium saw us getting drenched. The walk back to our car after the game was better and more cheerful. A win always makes our journey back more delightful. Even though Mel (and Janet) were good company, you can't beat a spanking good result to cheer one up! On the other side of the coin, we noticed the miserable faces of the Villa supporters. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdSVIzjx-sX7q-nFvTIH3rrgmZLOUCiaZTPZUuHw8N4JSOxY7Zoo0Qb_dVQ4CBpduArcmq0A9TRCITaUePN3mhz3dTmTP2YIXqa7tsQFMQaqjP6Io4qZh89KsXQBoNilNZlgOGKDdHh0yPCn2kypAY4QwBJ5UoKPKR0xkTzNUdo3FJEG63xkOrezriDE/s1600/XDXY3155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdSVIzjx-sX7q-nFvTIH3rrgmZLOUCiaZTPZUuHw8N4JSOxY7Zoo0Qb_dVQ4CBpduArcmq0A9TRCITaUePN3mhz3dTmTP2YIXqa7tsQFMQaqjP6Io4qZh89KsXQBoNilNZlgOGKDdHh0yPCn2kypAY4QwBJ5UoKPKR0xkTzNUdo3FJEG63xkOrezriDE/w200-h150/XDXY3155.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friends and I enjoying the atmosphere <br />before the game at Villa Park</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-76129626465206476962024-03-03T10:25:00.000-08:002024-03-03T13:07:21.535-08:00Match Result: Spurs 3 Palace 1 & Preview of the Villa game at Villa Park<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMN7_pxK6dWa50Sq-uy42TbRqnFxFQEZHBEzmKznGJ3y_-HqtBaYSUK_cQYlZeuQZ8LZgZMzgdtd45luQJ7wfddBlIbulVE8erVCUzrYPeQQH7NdPzu6FjFmXZIoQfjbKnPWU3c_eLRnIfTOfRIJGR4XULVSFYwI_CFK_yO6vQ7-Bx7PpjO5RsuAW7SVY/s543/Spurs%203%20Palace%201%20Preview%20of%20the%20Villa%20game.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="543" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMN7_pxK6dWa50Sq-uy42TbRqnFxFQEZHBEzmKznGJ3y_-HqtBaYSUK_cQYlZeuQZ8LZgZMzgdtd45luQJ7wfddBlIbulVE8erVCUzrYPeQQH7NdPzu6FjFmXZIoQfjbKnPWU3c_eLRnIfTOfRIJGR4XULVSFYwI_CFK_yO6vQ7-Bx7PpjO5RsuAW7SVY/w640-h478/Spurs%203%20Palace%201%20Preview%20of%20the%20Villa%20game.JPG" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Result: Spurs 3 Palace 1 & Preview of the Villa game at Villa Park<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It ended up a good win,
but going by the first half, I thought this would either end in a draw or they
would sneak a result; we couldn’t get near their goal mouth. Palace came to defend,
and they did. But in the second half, all changed… and it changed when they
scored first. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My new companion/next-door
neighbour returned to his normal seat after being sent somewhere else because
his seat had already been sold. So, thumbs up to Simon. And it is a great
relief for me as you just didn’t know who was going to sit next to you (whether
they could speak English or even wanted to communicate). Tottenham is a home
away from home, so it is important to know who your neighbours are. I’ve even
had a few non-Spurs supporters sitting next to me in the past, and it isn’t comfortable.
Tourists are the worst as they are only going to Spurs, as if it is a theatre
outing (“Good show ol’ boy – or gal! In the break we shall have a Gin and Tonic
to wet our enthusiasm” or something like that) ...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I should also mention
that I predicted 3-1 and 3-1 it was. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSpsuA4m9uIxuxaoCfrnOLwMQmh3agWtAVazX9MR8BTYdcTFm5jJ_YWZRCgMRj5dq_SP5w-Oue5u6l0g7Pw5QdQb-xFQjkTkZH_8KBOfshQ5VLuuHeYustjGzUhql9OqZefXnd5frulyMGTvsJ41oleh4AASFTh32aYPq2rJZdSQ6LleOH5S2QuzEvVA/s1350/IMG_0826.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSpsuA4m9uIxuxaoCfrnOLwMQmh3agWtAVazX9MR8BTYdcTFm5jJ_YWZRCgMRj5dq_SP5w-Oue5u6l0g7Pw5QdQb-xFQjkTkZH_8KBOfshQ5VLuuHeYustjGzUhql9OqZefXnd5frulyMGTvsJ41oleh4AASFTh32aYPq2rJZdSQ6LleOH5S2QuzEvVA/w160-h200/IMG_0826.JPG" width="160" /></a></div><br /><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
match…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Timo Werner scored
his first goal for us, sparking our comeback. He was making his sixth
appearance since joining on loan from RB Leipzig in January; he scored our
equaliser as we scored three times in the final 13 minutes to win and boost our
hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the first half,
Werner had failed to convert when he was played clean through in a forgettable
first half, and our woes deepened when Eberechi Eze opened the scoring with a
59th-minute free-kick (a player, it seems, we are looking at, as a possible
Summer signing… but then again, according to the papers we are looking at every
Tom, Dick (especially Dick) or Harry).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The German tapped in
Brennan Johnson's cross in the 77th minute, after which Cristian Romero headed
in James Maddison's cross, and captain Son finished off Place by sweeping home
to steal three points to inflict a first loss on Palace’s new manager Oliver
Glasner.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzDO6DIvp6MQ8rkZ77blqekXCRDEa1fqDOjboXnkKSMhGdmF4pr4t3GFiG3BrLAb7AqUiujGnIkR-DjBLgQDbeJBZiHOWcmCWacI09Z-o4TNq6fcXPQlfaEje5Zh3M9Mt45Cn64usP6RnDP5s8Ne0Hlm70fBYfbrRGjOdW5Z51eF4Phl-7rU6LKzsRjM/s4032/IMG_0889.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMzDO6DIvp6MQ8rkZ77blqekXCRDEa1fqDOjboXnkKSMhGdmF4pr4t3GFiG3BrLAb7AqUiujGnIkR-DjBLgQDbeJBZiHOWcmCWacI09Z-o4TNq6fcXPQlfaEje5Zh3M9Mt45Cn64usP6RnDP5s8Ne0Hlm70fBYfbrRGjOdW5Z51eF4Phl-7rU6LKzsRjM/w150-h200/IMG_0889.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br /><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This victory moved us
within two points of fourth-placed Aston Villa, although Unai “Dick” Emery's
side regained their five-point cushion with a dramatic 3-2 win at Luton later
on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We should have won
more comfortably, I thought, and this was later echoed by Postecoglou (great
minds think alike).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Had we been beaten,
we would have been in danger of petering out, given we are already out of all
cup competitions. If we can beat Villa at Villa Park, then I think it will go down
the wire… we’ve also got a game in hand over the others (we still have to play
Pochettino’s wayward strugglers).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Werner was handed a
fifth league start since joining us with Richarlison out injured, but his lack
of confidence showed when he opted to round goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and then
fluffed his lines. But he could not miss
when substitute Johnson, who proved the catalyst, beating Joachim Andersen and
Jefferson Lerma on the right and squared to the back post to leave the goal
gaping.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It was Werner's first
goal since scoring for Leipzig on 28 October.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A comment
on Brennan Johnson, who gets a lot of stick from Spurs supporters:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">He now has the same or more assists
as:<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">- Martin Odegaard<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">- Bruno Fernandes<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">- Jeremy Doku<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">- Trent Alexander Arnold<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">- Lucas Paqueta<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">- Morgan Gibbs White<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">To name a few.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4XhI_IrTeBR1rOIJuxenp8csQyMcYi6mPabhXxhQx1OB5TdGvGJd-ltRHxMsI3HhA0YyizSUJh8tLum7Oo1pIRqonOcKekAViWNmQQx7P0vGgrRZn09g0N6riHL5y7a4R1aKuJcCKkB-ebZ4_H9hvaquW6w9ydxsLtRDESVHIWgh4SXf9Obf5k5oi6A/s4032/IMG_0890.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4XhI_IrTeBR1rOIJuxenp8csQyMcYi6mPabhXxhQx1OB5TdGvGJd-ltRHxMsI3HhA0YyizSUJh8tLum7Oo1pIRqonOcKekAViWNmQQx7P0vGgrRZn09g0N6riHL5y7a4R1aKuJcCKkB-ebZ4_H9hvaquW6w9ydxsLtRDESVHIWgh4SXf9Obf5k5oi6A/w150-h200/IMG_0890.JPG" width="150" /></a></i></div><i><br /><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">So, that is that and
a good happy ride home with a cheerful conversation with Mel. I got home at 7 pm,
while Mel had another hour's drive to his Bristol home. We both travel such
distances to support our beloved team; nothing, no obstacle, gets in our way…
our attitude is to do or die. Hopefully – under Ange Postecoglou – it will be
payback time (i.e. he showers us with plenty of trophies and challenges for the
Premier League title in the coming years). Since the 60-61 double, we haven’t
really had a sniff at the League title… plenty of League, FA and European cups,
but – sadly – no league titles… <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Next year we will –
hopefully – have a stronger squad, challenge for all Cup competitions, and be a
thorn in the side of City and Liverpool… as for Arsenic and Old Lace, they will
be just like a stray leaf… floating everywhere and nowhere and being blown
about by strong elements that surround them, the same could be said – again,
hopefully, for United… as for the rest… they will be there to make up the
numbers and make our Premier League an interesting viewing spectacular for home
consumption as well as for the eyes that watch from around the world. In the meantime,…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
preview: Aston Villa v Spurs at Villa Park.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have drawn more
away games than any other side in the Premier League this season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">All nine of Douglas
Luiz’s Premier League goals this season have come at Villa Park.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have scored in
every Premier League game this season but have kept just one clean sheet in our
last seven on the road.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Will Villa make it
four in a row?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After a rivalry that we
mainly dominated through the years (we won eight of the nine meetings between
our sides between 2015 and 2022), Villa have had the best of the last three
Premier League meetings by winning each. It’s the first time they have recorded
three consecutive victories over us since 1996, and with their impressive home
form under Dick Emery, they will hope to make it four.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">However, we have been
difficult to beat away from home, losing the joint fewest matches on the road
of any Premier League side this term (2). We have won five and drawn five of
our other ten away games, with three of our last five finishing level – taking
a point at the Etihad, Old Trafford and Goodison Park.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Both sides are
looking for a place in the top four this season; this game may go some way in
helping decide which of these two teams will be playing in Europe’s top
competition next term. Although if Villa were to qualify for the Europa League,
they would at least have a good chance of winning the competition with a Dick
in charge, and not many clubs can say that…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts
and predictions<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After winning each of
the last three games, Aston Villa go into this match as slight favourites.
Still, Villa Park isn’t as formidable as it once was, with Dick Emery’s side
losing three of their previous four home games across all competitions. Each of
the Spurs’ last two games has finished as a draw.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Villa 1 Spurs 2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
Team News…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Out or doubtful<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ryan Sessegnon,
Fraser Forster/ Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie & Richarlson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As it stands, Ryan
Sessegnon and Fraser Forster are our only confirmed absentees, with a host of
players returning to first-team action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Top Scorer: Son (12)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Assist Ace: Pedro
Porro (7)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
predicted Spurs possible starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Vicario; Royal, Romero, Van de Ven,
Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Werner<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Villa vs
Spurs head-to-head record<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">26 Nov 2023 – Tottenham 1-2 Aston
Villa – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">13 May 2023 – Aston Villa 2-1
Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">01 Jan 2023 – Tottenham 0-2 Aston
Villa – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">09 Apr 2022 – Aston Villa 0-4
Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">03 Oct 2021 – Tottenham 2-1 Aston
Villa – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnr24RszoLAbCubgwwsy8DVdILNPz3jKgEa3hauUwftt7a3q4lOidJtB5iRPll23bx6dudUiiyHJSFrCwRLtUXhBnZ5Wk8Ng7-aL8bKzLW7EuhPKsHS9IAdTPJYpcdVUZEwugMi1JXUFEY8TR7ZONcrddLyPBrqO7N06gdpBH2uHfPv5gEqcm3Jp1zbIY/s827/Old%20white%20hart%20lane.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="827" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnr24RszoLAbCubgwwsy8DVdILNPz3jKgEa3hauUwftt7a3q4lOidJtB5iRPll23bx6dudUiiyHJSFrCwRLtUXhBnZ5Wk8Ng7-aL8bKzLW7EuhPKsHS9IAdTPJYpcdVUZEwugMi1JXUFEY8TR7ZONcrddLyPBrqO7N06gdpBH2uHfPv5gEqcm3Jp1zbIY/s320/Old%20white%20hart%20lane.JPG" width="320" /></a></i></div><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One
interesting piece of information about the 10<sup>th</sup> March – on the day when
we face Villa. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It was 105 years ago
(on a Monday) that Arsenic and Old Lace confirmed their place as our
neighbours; yes, they pitched up their tent in North London and squatted down
to become our nemesis. They had moved
from Woolwich to make us their geographical rivals. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With the football
league looking to re-start after the end of World War 1, the Gooners managed to
take our place in the first Division, causing outrage at White Hart Lane, and
ultimately forming a bitter rivalry that is strong today as it was when it
first began. Bastards! They’ve claimed squatter’s rights and ever since created
a bad smell that often wafted towards our kingdom and home. Fans today who
don’t look at our history will just think that they are just a pathetic attempt
to be an imitation without realising there is more to it than being a pathetic facsimile…
that the truth goes much deeper, as I have shown. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">[On the note of Arsenic taking our
place in the league; we finished bottom of the First Division, however when
they extended the League table, we still got relegated, but Arsenic who were in
fifth jumped more qualified teams to take our place. It was all done by a sleight
of hand between the Gooners chairman and the Football league; i.e. they never
earned their place in the top flight, as other teams have].<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That is it, folks!
Hopefully another pleasant day next Sunday with the result we need.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZTs9LKZEZydm-VW_-5EJI5aMcuD9DXcBicSUkHtFMBScrd_qIjVNrAKrwbm3OikW-jf59CDS8-q07ARNuumo5jtMzdulPbrwLkTIRh0qRkQbVZXGSCRwtVcUlljSjP2Wk3biQz5OJ8h1Bd4qkidGYH4Kjogm37bpTS_SSxWdLGbNI8GRHZk9cfmwcws/s4032/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZTs9LKZEZydm-VW_-5EJI5aMcuD9DXcBicSUkHtFMBScrd_qIjVNrAKrwbm3OikW-jf59CDS8-q07ARNuumo5jtMzdulPbrwLkTIRh0qRkQbVZXGSCRwtVcUlljSjP2Wk3biQz5OJ8h1Bd4qkidGYH4Kjogm37bpTS_SSxWdLGbNI8GRHZk9cfmwcws/w150-h200/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">/With Paul Coyte</td></tr></tbody></table><b><br /><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-6227455378072015402024-02-29T09:09:00.000-08:002024-02-29T09:09:21.022-08:00 Match Preview: Spurs v Palace (a game we need to win if we want to challenge for a top 4 spot)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbm03jNjHYWJo9YIJACbpFvJlFxeiSILZd5khG6EHWU69TbSIc3-lERqBijX1hvkORdGpyO7CU1ok_ipOKHEK4qs5G4thpr24D-0FJeBsEgVD6Xa4cSCwB9TR10hw2p2fItH6ePtejlCp87heQE5Vj2KFNFU8RBsoyhBFUjJz-7r0_WM7Ijpe4BlglV6k/s520/Spurs%20v%20Palace.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="520" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbm03jNjHYWJo9YIJACbpFvJlFxeiSILZd5khG6EHWU69TbSIc3-lERqBijX1hvkORdGpyO7CU1ok_ipOKHEK4qs5G4thpr24D-0FJeBsEgVD6Xa4cSCwB9TR10hw2p2fItH6ePtejlCp87heQE5Vj2KFNFU8RBsoyhBFUjJz-7r0_WM7Ijpe4BlglV6k/w640-h480/Spurs%20v%20Palace.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
Match Preview: Spurs v Palace (a game we need to win if we want to challenge
for a top 4 spot)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After our defeat
against Wolves, I thought we had blown any chance of getting into the top four.
But looking at the table, we’ve got a game over the other top four teams.
Nevertheless, we must beat Palace and defeat Villa at their own ground to get a
Champions League spot (or hope they slip up). I think the fight for fourth
position is between us, Villa and maybe United. If we can’t manage a Champions
League place, it is Europa League for us next season (which I believe we should
achieve if a top-four spot goes wonky).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Following a rare
fortnight with no football, we are finally back on track with an encounter
against Crystal Palace in a capital derby.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Previously, we went
down 2-1 to Wolves two weeks ago, while the Oliver Glasner era at Selhurst Park
began with a 3-0 stampede of Burnley last weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The reason there was
no football last weekend was we had to endure watching (or not watching)
Pochettino’s men get humiliated by the Bin-dippers (this was in the League Cup
final). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">WDWDWL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham
Hotspur form (all competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">DLWDWL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Crystal
Palace Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">LWLLDW<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We were dealt two
crushing defensive blows before the loss to Wolves, as after Pedro Porro and
Destiny Udogie sat out an open training session at the Tottenham Hotspur
Stadium, both missed the tie due to strain and knee issues, respectively.</span><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic", "sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Udogie's problem is
expected to clear up in time for the London derby. However, a question mark is
still hanging over Porro's head, and fellow wide man Ryan Sessegnon could now
miss the rest of the season after another cruel hamstring blow; the Englishman
has undergone surgery after hurting himself in Under-21s action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fraser Forster (foot)
and Manor Solomon (knee) welcome the luckless Sessegnon back into the treatment
room, and Udogie's expected recall should see Ben Davies drop back down to his
usual place on the bench.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
predicted Spurs possible starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Vicario; Royal,
Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bissouma, Sarr; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son;
Richarlison<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Prediction<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I say a 3-1 to us<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Each of our last nine
Premier League home matches has seen us fail to keep a clean sheet, and a
re-energised Palace boosted by the anticipated return of Eze should be expected
to prolong our miserable defensive streak on our patch. Nevertheless, the two-week
recuperation period is just what the doctor ordered for a side who appeared a
little leggy, and while it may not be pretty, I expect our free-scoring boys to
return to conquering ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On this
date (when we meet Palace, March 1st), we faced Southampton in an FA Cup tie (1995).<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ronny Rosenthal is
best remembered for his quick-fire hat trick that turned our tie against
Southampton on its head. We had found ourselves two goals down by halftime, but
our manager Gerry Francis brought Rosenthal on, and the game changed
completely. He scored twice to take the match to extra time, where Sheringham,
Barmby, and Anderton scored to give us a 6-2 victory to complete an incredible
comeback. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ronny Rosenthal is
often seen in the Premium Lounge. I’ve often chatted to him about his time at
Spurs—he is a very nice man. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3TYVYkrwPOdzcZ3wJMbK1Phqmo8BS3QtEyiSEc-SkAjYnk8mdCmdWIR-wDdMD4mzG69y_JgXFeIQxQf_BHD9DUBLtO2Fk313x8nsEJ0Ker5wObnybgW0iZvm8GZB3rNmh45rQgq2Z-fomJ-7P_f0J82bCkMvtl6zZu_-20XytjCn4KfkAmzEoI_THQg/s606/Ronny%20R.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="452" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3TYVYkrwPOdzcZ3wJMbK1Phqmo8BS3QtEyiSEc-SkAjYnk8mdCmdWIR-wDdMD4mzG69y_JgXFeIQxQf_BHD9DUBLtO2Fk313x8nsEJ0Ker5wObnybgW0iZvm8GZB3rNmh45rQgq2Z-fomJ-7P_f0J82bCkMvtl6zZu_-20XytjCn4KfkAmzEoI_THQg/s320/Ronny%20R.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Ronny Rosenthal</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I was going to say
there are other games to look out for, but only United have a challenging game
this weekend (against City); the others should breeze through the weekend as
they have lower opposition (strugglers, in fact).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><br /><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-62459798283448445442024-02-19T07:32:00.000-08:002024-02-19T07:32:35.875-08:00Match Report: Spurs 1 Wolves 2 – and some booed!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOt5VJUL2wHfguLqasKK6QA14LhrfnkkKovOeHjv-B0HyY_JpNCC6LkwZyfdz4ALC0aGT0lBNbbpWfm5hmdWFSLKr-OpgGE-4ccbDy8PXBe3_OwvU9EeI20PGFVlO_eQCMVuhLA0lEiTsQTVFuAFQ2C2q8__cVZaI_uJMCmtbjbocM81KW_6N8OCkrwY/s617/Spurs%201%20Wolves%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="617" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOt5VJUL2wHfguLqasKK6QA14LhrfnkkKovOeHjv-B0HyY_JpNCC6LkwZyfdz4ALC0aGT0lBNbbpWfm5hmdWFSLKr-OpgGE-4ccbDy8PXBe3_OwvU9EeI20PGFVlO_eQCMVuhLA0lEiTsQTVFuAFQ2C2q8__cVZaI_uJMCmtbjbocM81KW_6N8OCkrwY/w640-h476/Spurs%201%20Wolves%202.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Report: Spurs 1 Wolves 2 – and some booed!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Is the tide starting
to turn against Ange? I noticed that some booed inside the stadium, and not
just from where I was sitting… You will always get one or two dissenters, but
Ange has only been on the job for just over six months. When Alex Furguson was
in the job for five years and winning nothing, there were calls for him to go;
in fact, they said he was a game away from getting the boot… he ended up
becoming the greatest manager United ever had. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We need to show our
support for Ange, not chastise him. Early days yet!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But saying all that,
our Australian manager still has a long way to go. A good example is Sheffield
United; clubs like Brighton, Villa, Arsenic and Old Lace and Newcastle all put
a large number of goals past them… we, who have aspirations (I hope!),
struggled to defeat them at our ground, only scoring in the dying minutes. Our
goal tally needs work if we wish to have any hope of challenging for major
trophies and even being in the European Champions League. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Concerning goals,
yes, we did beat Burnley 5-2, but that seems to just have been a blip.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Out of the top five
clubs, we have the lowest goal average. I think it was Ange who said, <i>“It is
not important if we concede so long as we score more goals than our opponents”</i>.
If we were on equal points as City, Arsenic and Liverpool and fighting for the
Premier League, we would lose out on goal difference. Goal tally is important,
it is not just about winning, but winning comfortably. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">When the summer
transfer window comes, we need to bulk up our team and let go of a lot of the
deadwood. By the start of next season, we should be showing the fruits of
Levy’s and Postecoglou’s transfer purchases. This will no doubt make a huge
difference for our prospects next season. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The trip to Tottenham
on Saturday was even earlier than normal as we (Janette and I) started off
before our usual 9 am start. This gave us some extra time to shop in the Spurs
shop. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Once we got inside
the stadium, the talk was about cementing our position in fourth spot, holding
off Villa, and creeping up United. I predicted a 3-0 win, others similar. Some
even had us conceding a goal (against Wolves, ridiculous!). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the end the Wolves
manager Gary O'Neil ended up praising his side's "almost perfect"
performance as Joao Gomes' double sank us, nudging us out of the Premier
League's top four in the process. Yes, we were humiliated by a team languishing
in mid-table with no prospects of glory other than survival from the drop. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Wolves went ahead
just before half-time when Gomes was left unmarked eight yards out and rose
well to head home Pablo Sarabia's right-wing corner powerfully. We made it 1-1
after only 34 seconds of the second half. We – the crowd – thought things were
going to turn, and it did, but for Wolves, who were going to have the last
laugh… Our trip home was a sombre one. And It rattled our weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Wolves failed to
clear our throw-in, and Dejan Kulusevski ran past Craig Dawson and prodded the
ball through Jose Sa's legs. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We fought back after
conceding the first goal to beat Brentford and Brighton in our past two home
games, and Kulusevski had two chances to put us in front this time. However, Sa
made an excellent save low to his left, and Nelson Semedo blocked a goal-bound
effort to keep it level.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our squandered
chances proved significant as Wolves sprang a quick counter-attack with Pedro
Neto pulling the ball back for Gomes to side-foot home, which proved to be the
winning goal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We pushed for a late
leveller, but Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies missed chances late on as Wolves
held on for the victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We began the day in
fourth place, but Aston Villa's 2-1 win at Fulham saw them move above us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This game against
Wolves also meant that they completed a double over us, having beaten us 2-1 at
their Molineux stadium in November, and briefly moved up to 10th in the table,
only to drop back to 11th when Chelsea drew 1-1 at Manchester City in the late
kick-off.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Even though we
welcomed Son back into our starting line-up for the first time since he
represented South Korea at the Asian Cup, he did make an impact as a substitute
when setting up Brennan Johnson's stoppage-time winner in the 2-1 win over
Brighton last weekend, so his selection was expected. But against the Wolves,
he didn’t look that inspiring. Another one that wasn’t up to the mark was
Maddison, who was substituted for Hojbjerg in the 8th minute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As things stand now,
the fight for the Premier title is between the Scousers and
Dick-a-dum-dum-Arsenic and Old Lace. The Gooners are 2 points behind Liverpool.
City are two points behind the Arsenic-Gooners, while in fourth place is Villa.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The fight for fourth
place and Champions League football will be between United and Villa, with us
trying to get a look in. Whatever happens, we will get some sort of European
runout unless something really bad rocks our boat. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have a week's
break before returning to our Tottenham stadium and seeing if Palace will
humiliate us further or if Ange manages to turn things around. In the meantime,
we hope that Forest beat Villa, Newcastle piss off Arsenic in their attempt to challenge for the league title and Liverpool gets a knocking
from Luton Town this Wednesday (unlikely, but strange things can happen… after
all, they nearly beat us on the 7<sup>th</sup> October at their place!!! Oh, we
laughed!!!!). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5aTQMrUcst_TObJV4oMr-WR6tB-j4MOAE0qY6T1UcAnve8xOMLdYiqDAdznSwjZDGL-XS-5lvg7DsFT-RCqVR5EWhRZAzZl-_aPxoQRG8w9GTwHEAZdJo7o9Tc8Phd_HzprGbs7vVnyxEr6IEVtxnfmfuvIUGittIHLWce_mpkw4QSwz9Qzq-1w33H4/s5712/IMG_0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5712" data-original-width="4284" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5aTQMrUcst_TObJV4oMr-WR6tB-j4MOAE0qY6T1UcAnve8xOMLdYiqDAdznSwjZDGL-XS-5lvg7DsFT-RCqVR5EWhRZAzZl-_aPxoQRG8w9GTwHEAZdJo7o9Tc8Phd_HzprGbs7vVnyxEr6IEVtxnfmfuvIUGittIHLWce_mpkw4QSwz9Qzq-1w33H4/w150-h200/IMG_0755.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janette & I at half-time. <br />We smile with expectation <br />on our faces <br />(that we can turn it around and win... and guess what!!!!).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-89971735191471115302024-02-16T07:01:00.000-08:002024-02-16T07:01:28.452-08:00 Match Preview: Spurs v Wolves – another thrilling win?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNexSI2XkLmAy1NU4SFemdVNqSz5aSxJwj7PPVNdHZPy68ON2oMYSdyuU8MU2_S7_462-kGpFo2TSyBn8kusPiwrtxqzpIbGj5tfO_vM14yT70bdF43r-KhE_olZoz893ExZTG6mptMuv8116KZOnwc4jlmzb0v3TP6qiJ5GdtfdAcdnEZ5fnzNrrgzm0/s487/Match%20preview%20Spurs%20v%20Wolves.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="487" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNexSI2XkLmAy1NU4SFemdVNqSz5aSxJwj7PPVNdHZPy68ON2oMYSdyuU8MU2_S7_462-kGpFo2TSyBn8kusPiwrtxqzpIbGj5tfO_vM14yT70bdF43r-KhE_olZoz893ExZTG6mptMuv8116KZOnwc4jlmzb0v3TP6qiJ5GdtfdAcdnEZ5fnzNrrgzm0/w640-h476/Match%20preview%20Spurs%20v%20Wolves.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
Match Preview: Spurs v Wolves – another thrilling win?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We face Wolves at
Spurs at our spanking new stadium the same day – but 125 years earlier – that
John Cameron was appointed Spurs manager. Even though he was manager, he still
played for the club. In his time as manager, he won the Southern League for us,
but more importantly, he became the only manager to take a non-league club and
reach the FA Cup final and win it. So, something to think about when we sit
comfortably at our new stadium to watch – hopefully – Spurs thrashing Wolves.
And the stadium he played at (and the men he worked under; yes, the owners) had
nothing like the comforts of the stadium and money-spinning sharks as they do
now. It is all about money, with football coming second. Then it was about
football, and anything else wasn’t insignificant. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As we are talking
about nostalgia, I want to return to the day I was there, on the 17<sup>th</sup>
of February, 1962. That was a cup tie against WBA, which we won 4-2. Yes, I was
six years old. I mainly remember this because of the treats I got, then popping
in to see my gran and grandad before the game, then moving onto the stadium and watching Jimmy Greaves outside in the car park, having a kickabout with the
kids that were hanging around. But enough of that, to the game this Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Preview:
prediction, team news, lineups etc.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We are on the hunt
for our sixth successive League home victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We earned a dramatic
2-1 comeback win over Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, while Wolves were
defeated 2-0 by Brentford.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
preview<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Just past the hour
mark in our match against Brighton, Pape Sarr finished from a tight angle to get
us back on level terms, and after Brighton looked the more likely to nick a win
in the dying embers, Son - making his first appearance since jetting off to the
Asian Cup - squared for Brennan Johnson to score with the last attack of the
game in injury time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Johnson's finish at
the back post led to unrestrained mayhem inside the Stadium, as we leapfrogged
Aston Villa back into fourth place in the Premier League table.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Wolves' trip to the
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in August 2022 ended in a 1-0 loss. Still, they have
since marched to two consecutive wins over us at Molineux and are just 90
minutes away from beating us in three league games in a row for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spurs Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LWDWDW<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Spurs form (all competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">WDLWDW<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wolves Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">WWDLWL<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wolves form (all competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">WDWLWL<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Barring cramps for
Destiny Udogie - which will surely settle down in time for Saturday - we picked
up no new injury concerns against Brighton, and we are undoubtedly in the best
shape it has been in for several months.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Only Manor Solomon
(knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) are absent from this weekend's game, and
Saturday could also see the return of Giovani Lo Celso, who was back in team
training from a thigh problem before the Brighton beating but ultimately failed
to cut.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">International
returnees Son and Yves Bissouma were only considered for substitute roles last
weekend, but Rodrigo Bentancur and Timo Werner are now certainly at risk of
making way for the pair; whether Johnson's winner is enough to earn him a start
over Dejan Kulusevski remains to be seen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
possible starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven,
Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My Prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I am going for a 3-0
win.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our treatment room is
slowly emptying. Postecoglou could put out a full-strength XI for the first
time in months, and a first-choice selection will surely prove too hot for the Wolves
to handle.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdfX1CVyq2J0HvWwIr-8x_WaO333OO8Kk68AzlJCbFnX4D2zv-wzdp87LX5GQQfrFyZBQqJ8i6_B3-1rv0hbp-jnG4Vv6TM-MeNLR1EaIqk_ofhV6qq6Arv17JOcSON6LHDBac0EEIlNJbIqRAs9Wr5KSDdYMo7eiz5Ct9ttgy1q6nFjQPTr6V8kS6JI/s4032/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdfX1CVyq2J0HvWwIr-8x_WaO333OO8Kk68AzlJCbFnX4D2zv-wzdp87LX5GQQfrFyZBQqJ8i6_B3-1rv0hbp-jnG4Vv6TM-MeNLR1EaIqk_ofhV6qq6Arv17JOcSON6LHDBac0EEIlNJbIqRAs9Wr5KSDdYMo7eiz5Ct9ttgy1q6nFjQPTr6V8kS6JI/w150-h200/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">with Paul Coyte</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-84468668539333446272024-02-12T07:02:00.000-08:002024-02-12T07:02:20.667-08:00Match Report: Spurs 2 Brighton 1, and Son was back<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignyRSfDbn5qLf81tdxvgVbKcBk7Y30_1lOVu8vUJeImHm49CKHT89l2zyDBPqoDX9V7x78fQeMdGSozCMnNShwi2GFMPL-LdwVqhIIgS3-s2TbWDfwhEXqb059PLmCK932ZNLU3kby3m4jidqrdkf2hKjb924VIXva1Un62riQJbzWZrWlQ4k-Cgb6XI/s5712/IMG_0684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4284" data-original-width="5712" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEignyRSfDbn5qLf81tdxvgVbKcBk7Y30_1lOVu8vUJeImHm49CKHT89l2zyDBPqoDX9V7x78fQeMdGSozCMnNShwi2GFMPL-LdwVqhIIgS3-s2TbWDfwhEXqb059PLmCK932ZNLU3kby3m4jidqrdkf2hKjb924VIXva1Un62riQJbzWZrWlQ4k-Cgb6XI/w640-h480/IMG_0684.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
Match Report: Spurs 2 Brighton 1, and Son was back<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, Son was back
from international duty and apart from one or two injuries, we were basically
back to normal strength, and it showed with a victory over a very good Brighton side. In
fact, Brighton beat an injury-ravaged Spurs team 4-2 before Christmas (at their
home ground). If they had beaten us at our stadium, they would have won the double
over us for the first time in their history. So, another record Ange kept for
us. But it wasn’t all one-sided.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Like all home games,
the start of the fixture was introduced by a trumpet-blowing Spurs supporter
while we – the crowd – joined in with our perfect pitch. And that is some sound
echoing throughout the stadium. The Brighton supporters tried to fight back
vocally but were intimidated by our unique vocals and just submitted to a
superior sound boom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Before Johnson’s goal
went in, there was much criticism of him, both in the ground and on social
media… but once the ball went in, people quickly changed their tune. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, Brennan Johnson
scored deep into additional time to deliver a stunning goal to give us victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Brighton's Pascal
Gross opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Danny Welbeck had been
fouled by Micky van de Ven, sending Guglielmo Vicario the wrong way. We then
had to wait for the second half to equalise. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We didn’t like
falling behind and responded well to their goal, even though we couldn’t find
the back of the net. We created many chances; however, their Jason Stelle made
serval good saves to deny the in-form Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski, while
James Maddison curled narrowly wide.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the second half,
Rodrigo Bentancur, Maddison and Timo Werner attempted efforts at goal as the
majority of the action took place deep in Brighton territory. We continued to
probe, and that pressure eventually told when Sarr latched on to a lovely
through ball from Kulusevski before finishing on the second attempt after his
initial shot was deflected onto the post. The fans went wild, jumping up and
down, back-slapping, kissing, jumping on each other… and even a few choruses of
#The Seagulls are dropping shit on you… so stand up if you hate Arsenal…# Don’t
ask…!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Then, there was
another round of hysteria from the South Korean contingent of Son supporters
when it was finally his big moment to come on after being away for a couple of
weeks. I can’t quote what they were singing, but it felt like a lot of straining was involved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, it was just
after the equaliser that Son made his first appearance of 2024 for us after
returning from duty with South Korea at the Asian Cup, and he had a major hand
in the winning goal as he laid the ball across the goal for Johnson to convert.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It's fair to say that
we are still a work in progress, but we had a world-class player in Son, who
makes the most difficult ball look simple to set up for Brendan Johnson. It was
a great finish.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This win moves us up
to fourth and above Villa, who got beaten by United 2-1 on Sunday. We face
Villa in the battle for the fourth spot in a couple of weeks. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ironically, we have
to go back to before Christmas – 28<sup>th</sup> December – when we were last
beaten, and that was away against, yes, you’ve guessed it, Brighton. The last
time we were beaten at home was against the Spammers 2-1, who ironically were
thrashed by Arsenic and Old Lace 6-0 this weekend. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Brighton stay 8th in
the Premier League after succumbing to us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I can’t see
Liverpool, City, or Arsenic getting replaced from their top three spots.
However, I believe the battle for the fourth spot will be between us, Villa,
and United.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We’ve got a strong
and healthy squad available for the first time in a while, with the likes of
Son, Sarr, and Yves Bissouma returning from international commitments at the
Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations. Van de Ven made his fifth successive
appearance after a 10-game absence due to injury.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We conceded our sixth
penalty of the season - the most of any team in the league.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We were well clear on
the shot count at half-time but lacked a clinical edge. We managed to correct
this after the break, as Sarr and Johnson initially got the job done to keep
the pressure on Villa in the race for a Champions League place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Brighton was without
manager Roberto de Zerbi for the game. He was suspended after being shown his
third yellow card of the season and opted not to travel after dental surgery
this week, so assistant Andrea Maldera was deputising.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After the final
whistle, it was a mad rush to get out, with people crisscrossing each other to
get to their destination. I saw a few people knocked over in the rush. There
was no coordination, just Skittles diplomacy. A couple of people crashed into
me, even though I had my walking stick… no apologies, just “fuck off and get
out of the way you doughnut”. I remember the days when if you accidentally got
knocked over, there was a mad rush to help pick you up, dust you down and check
if you were ok. But not now… ladies are not even treated differently… as
somebody so cruelly said, if they want equality, they must accept the bruises
as well. My response was that manners trump ignorance and brute power, no
matter what sex you are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Finally, Mel and I
got to my car and out the back way, and a smooth journey home. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The true supporters
are dying out, but corporate financiers and rich supporters can buy themselves
a seat, which trumps loyalty. The owners of football clubs want money, and
loyalty is way down the list for them. So long as somebody’s cheeks are on their
seats and cash is deposited in their tills… then we [they] are ok, Jack! As for the staff, they treat everybody with
respect and are true gentlemen and ladies, serving your interests with
kindness. Anyway, next up is Wolves at home, and I’ll have Janette with me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHN8T5tLbrVdu4bb3_BIVj15JR3NrbKfn6_rqGRg3ZtNjFe6ktLZ9koP4hbtIJVpUkphXpzII8KTwbca4H3_XOyu7QVZdc4CAWwNDXZNCXB2U-UqXhyphenhyphenExrsHS6M3bvMvTwSw-fRfu25rOw2sXWPTe21NM9ZMflYBHyd0yZY4rWwUIsOeNgTZy3J-WfXwM/s4032/IMG_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHN8T5tLbrVdu4bb3_BIVj15JR3NrbKfn6_rqGRg3ZtNjFe6ktLZ9koP4hbtIJVpUkphXpzII8KTwbca4H3_XOyu7QVZdc4CAWwNDXZNCXB2U-UqXhyphenhyphenExrsHS6M3bvMvTwSw-fRfu25rOw2sXWPTe21NM9ZMflYBHyd0yZY4rWwUIsOeNgTZy3J-WfXwM/w200-h150/IMG_0683.JPG" width="200" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-44742027011362939912024-02-06T05:49:00.000-08:002024-02-06T05:49:37.151-08:00Match Report: Brentford & Everton Match Preview Brighton<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7jW7d2Cxr-cYIGqlqUTL5Og1hppe71NHhFtR0XIY13xjxMBvS4t7tu_3IMioelMzHEh-GlpoV31bITlZNMxBS8MwIDvE_oGsLBCBioPbY4RamhwXam6FTiRX_e-maxHc0n9nvKeYlsSasS9RgcmMU7rxCUSYytkYgJICkR3_lJ0TfS_Cf0I9TaOlljc/s545/Match%20report%20Brentford%20Everton%20and%20Brighton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="545" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7jW7d2Cxr-cYIGqlqUTL5Og1hppe71NHhFtR0XIY13xjxMBvS4t7tu_3IMioelMzHEh-GlpoV31bITlZNMxBS8MwIDvE_oGsLBCBioPbY4RamhwXam6FTiRX_e-maxHc0n9nvKeYlsSasS9RgcmMU7rxCUSYytkYgJICkR3_lJ0TfS_Cf0I9TaOlljc/w640-h476/Match%20report%20Brentford%20Everton%20and%20Brighton.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
Match Report: Brentford & Everton Match Preview Brighton<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It has been a roller
coaster ride since being knocked out of the FA Cup by City (my last report/
Blog). Since then, we’ve come away with two mixed results against two teams that
are struggling to stay above the relegation spot that will eventually sink somebody
down and into the abyss. One of the teams already had 10 points deducted and
find for their unsportsmanlike financial irregularities. And guess who we were
playing next? Yes, the 10-point deductors. Easy pickings we thought… but you
know what thought did? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, the bluer half
of Liverpool had 10 points deducted for misappropriation of monies. While
Manchester City, seemingly doing a lot worse, smiles prettily near the top of
the Premier League. All’s fair in love, football, hate and power. But that is a
story for later… now we’ve got to be content with Brentford.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Everything seemed fine
before the journey to the Tottenham stadium. Janette was looking forward to
savouring the finer arts (Ange’s football) with us. We entered the Spurs shop
and purchased some goods after parking up. Then we hung around for a while… Before
being let in, we chatted with those who always get there early and stand in the
queue (first come, better table… this is near the tunnel club).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Once in our booths,
we got our food, and a good friend (Melvyn) popped around to say hello and chat.
I always look forward to seeing him. We remember the old days when Tottenham
fought for everything and took home many trophies, those were truly the days. Janet also popped around as usual. Drinks and
food all around were the merriment of the evening.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We all speculated
what the score would be… I predicted 3-0 if I remember rightly. Three was
correct. The opposition added the other two goals to puncture my prediction. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Before the game, there was a light display
using the Spurs app on our mobiles; such enthusiasm by our supporters and the
atmosphere dictated that we would win. We did, but made a bit of a pig's ear of
it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With a thrilling, if
at times chaotic, home victory over our London neighbours, we moved back into
the Premier League top four. The Bumble Bees managed to get the first kick in…
as they left at half-time with one goal up. It was a terrible first half; we
didn’t deserve anything. However, the second half was a different kettle of
fish. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The second half saw
us off the track in minutes. Yes, we blitzed the Bees with three goals eight
minutes after the interval through Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson, and
Richarlison. Richarlison seems to be getting his mojo back. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ivan Toney pulled one
back following a dreadful Udogie back pass, but we held on to win and move back
into the top four for the first time in 2024.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It was a feverish game
with 28 shots across both teams. We were drawn into disputes with Brentford
during the first half before pulling away in the second with an early onslaught.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Manchester City
defeat showed that we have a long way to go, but under the master, we are
getting there. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison has
scored seven goals in his past seven league appearances, one more than he
managed in his 47 top-flight outings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We allowed Brentford
back in the game in ludicrous circumstances, with Udogie playing a back pass
straight to Toney, who calmly slipped the ball past Vicario for his second goal
in as many matches since returning from his eight-month ban for betting
offences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Much of the focus
before the game was on James Maddison, who made his first start since 6
November following his return from injury off the bench against Manchester
City.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As always, Maddison
was crucial in our amazing early-season form. His last start before injury came
against Chelsea at home - our first league defeat of the season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our supporters hoped
the England midfielder could inspire them back into the top four, and a jinking
run through the defence after 10 minutes - before being crowded out in the area
- gave hope he could make the difference in attack.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Maddison did find
himself in the area to inadvertently assist our third, the shape change allowed
Werner and Johnson to flourish out wide.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our fast start to the
second half extends our club-record run of now scoring in 34 successive league
matches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Apart from the missed
Udogie back pass, it was a good victory. Still, it didn’t stop our fans from singing,
" How much is that Udogie in the window? " And whatever price it was,
it was well worth paying; he has turned out to be a good little player (still
has a lot to learn, though). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We got ourselves back
into the top four and were ready to take on Everton; it was only a few days
away—an early kick-off- but we were ready (or we thought we were) to show who
the masters were.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Everton 2
Spurs 2<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I had to get up at
6.30 and was picked up by Mel for a 3-hour journey to Everton’s ground. We
parked in our normal parking spot, a stone's throw away from their ground
(literally). I think I predicted a two or 3-nil win.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Before the game, we wandered
over to Everton’s high street to get a taste of their luxury cuisine, which was
a downmarket £5 take-it-or-leave-it breakfast (which tells you everything you
need to know about the state of the Everton environment). According to rumour
the down and outs move to the richer pickings of their neighbours Liverpool to
scrounge for morsel treats, but we were starving and desperate after a long
drive, ideal pickings for the Everton high street. Then, we return to the stadium
for some fireworks… the fireworks being let off by us, was the plan… but the
last laugh wasn’t going to go our away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Let the
Everton game commence…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After all the hopes,
cheers, and fingers crossed – we were off but ended up shooting ourselves in
the foot - Jarrad Branthwaite scored a dramatic equaliser deep into injury
time, following Richarlison's double, to salvage a Premier League point for
Everton.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Toffees looked
like they were heading for a deflating defeat, but despair turned to joy when
defender Branthwaite converted at the back post in the 94th minute. Before that
late leveller, it looked like in-form Richarlison had returned to haunt his
former side with a delightful double in front of the Gwladys Street End.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It took us just four
minutes to prise open the Toffees' backline. Destiny Udogie pulled the ball
back for Richarlison to guide home a lovely volley from eight yards out. After
the hosts drew level, he curled in a sumptuous second from the edge of the box.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Everton had improved
in between those goals, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin nodded over the crossbar
before the striker's header from close range flicked in off Jack Harrison for
the leveller.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That was it… we could
have cemented our top-four spot. Instead, Villa leapt frogged us by stuffing
Sheffield United away 5-0. I can tell you, we went home pissed. With Arsenic
and Old Lace thrashing Liverpool’s arse 3-1, it wasn’t a good weekend. The only
good news was that Wolves beat Chelsea 4-2 and United beat the Spammers 3-0. This
means we ended the weekend in 5<sup>th</sup> place, two points behind Villa and
5 points behind second place Arsenic. I think it will be a fight between us and
Villa for fourth spot. I can’t see Liverpool, the Gooners, or even City budging
from the top three. As for United, Spammers, Brighton, Chelski and Newcastle,
they must battle it our for a European placing. At the worst, for us, we will
be in the Europa League. It was a long journey back home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
preview of our up-and-coming battle with Brighton at the Tottenham stadium.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Brighton travel to
London in what will be an important match for both sides as they fight for a
European place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We hope to get back
to winning ways as we look to make our way back into the top four of the
Premier League table. Brighton need three points to maintain their position in
the top eight and potentially close the gap on the teams above them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Both sides play great
offensive football, with plenty of goals. With 49 goals scored, we boast the
league’s third-best attack, whilst Brighton are not too far behind with 42.
Though top scorer Son is still away at the Asia Cup, the recent return of James
Maddison has provided a huge boost. Richarlison has also emerged as a serious
threat, with the Brazilian scoring nine goals in his last eight league games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our defences may take
a back seat in this one, as the two sides have kept a combined three clean
sheets since the beginning of December. We conceded at least two goals in our
last three games. Roberto De Zerbi hopes Joao Pedro can add to his tally of
eight goals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Since Brighton were
promoted in 2017, they have faced us 14 times, in which they have won three.
One of those victories was the reverse fixture earlier this season, a 4-2 win
at the AMEX. The final score flattered us, as the hosts took a 4-0 lead before
late strikes from Alejo Veliz and Ben Davies threatened a comeback. Pedro
scored a brace from the penalty spot, adding to goals by Jack Hinshelwood and
Pervis Estupinan.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham
Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Heung Min-Son is
still away at the Asia Cup. After several injuries earlier in the season, we are
close to getting a fully fit squad with no fresh concerns from last weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our
possible starting lineup<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Vicario, Porro, Romero,
van de ven, Udogie, Sarr, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison, Werner and
Richarlson.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">3-1</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMYjJlvy2m07zxPDEEsmg-6QCB2BFdWkqs8Yku305rr-QeFhCZ1gI2MMp_Lt2KkBZ5-Rc0Ap6MufiMDUp3jQqOolmQsED2Vo5JK3xLn3OPbtDw1GK6fp9vJwxDLNVSXhGQ12vUUt8RKQthe5LIeOUgx8gnzFfUemOu4lrLL3_wa_rHxYsM2PCdRTK5Vc/s4032/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMYjJlvy2m07zxPDEEsmg-6QCB2BFdWkqs8Yku305rr-QeFhCZ1gI2MMp_Lt2KkBZ5-Rc0Ap6MufiMDUp3jQqOolmQsED2Vo5JK3xLn3OPbtDw1GK6fp9vJwxDLNVSXhGQ12vUUt8RKQthe5LIeOUgx8gnzFfUemOu4lrLL3_wa_rHxYsM2PCdRTK5Vc/s320/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Paul Coyte</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-66478281564507640332024-01-27T11:26:00.000-08:002024-01-27T11:26:45.786-08:00Match Report: City (FA Cup) & Preview Brentford & Everton (Premier League).<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieghamfiz8PyQ-_1Yi1HjvkzdWNCXBYO5ZP1DjGtYElyXfAJCFMFT85PYnb8t4A4Rie2NEOf_grehK-Io-a1HROAEOe_vt47UqjgplB5VQld3tvRi05odOlBUYHkOO80dgdIqM05MIyc0kzFtJ-MNDtARAnvjVKqJYqvipbkUg_J0zfIAoM9AfyF-bO-A/s514/Spurs%20v%20City%20Brentford%20and%20Everton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="514" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieghamfiz8PyQ-_1Yi1HjvkzdWNCXBYO5ZP1DjGtYElyXfAJCFMFT85PYnb8t4A4Rie2NEOf_grehK-Io-a1HROAEOe_vt47UqjgplB5VQld3tvRi05odOlBUYHkOO80dgdIqM05MIyc0kzFtJ-MNDtARAnvjVKqJYqvipbkUg_J0zfIAoM9AfyF-bO-A/w640-h484/Spurs%20v%20City%20Brentford%20and%20Everton.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Report: City (FA Cup) & Preview Brentford & Everton (Premier
League).</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After 16 years of
waiting for a cup, another year has now passed us by with nothing again to put in our trophy cabinet. We've been knocked out of the League Cup by Fulham because we fielded a weak side. And now the FA Cup because of injury problems, plus three
of our top players have had to report for international duty. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Now, all our hopes
are focused on a top-four place… and if that fails, maybe we might be able to
dip our toes into the Europa League competition, or if we fall even further,
the Europa Conference league will be waiting to try to humiliate us even more…
and if that also fails, back to the drawing board and starting all over again,
as we did this season. But with Ange, we
have faith (and patience). That is if Ange isn’t whizzed off to Liverpool
because he believes we are a lost cause under Levy. You never know with this mad world of football and the workings of Daniel’s penny-pinching mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Daniel’s 24-year
reign is synonymous with one trophy and a brand-new spanking, money-creating
stadium. But let us be bit generous here (not too much); either this will be
the start of a new era under Levy and Ange or the beginning of the end of
Daniel Levy. Yes, you can tell I am pissed off after yesterday’s game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pep Guardiola was
asked a while back what his next challenge after winning his treble would be,
and his reply was to score a goal at Tottenham. He has never done that at our
new stadium (that is before our FA Cup clash) … Yesterday, in the fourth round
of the FA Cup, he achieved that wish and, in the process, knocked us out of the
competition. In Ange, we believe!! A work in progress, we should put it down
to.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">To the
goal that knocked us out of this year's last remaining competition.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, Nathan Ake's
late goal gave City their first victory in six visits to our Tottenham Hotspur
Stadium and a place in the FA Cup fifth round. We applauded our team after the
final whistle, bowed our heads, and walked out of the stadium. Those who could
– in the Premium seats and above- collected their piece or pieces of cake (depending
on how many they could carry) and walked out of the stadium munching. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">City looked likely to
have to settle for a replay after missing a succession of chances before Ake scored
their first goal at this stadium after five successive defeats and with two
minutes left as our keeper Guglielmo Vicario failed to hold Kevin de Bruyne's
corner under pressure from Ruben Dias.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">To say it was a
bitter blow is an understatement. City were the better side, still, they missed
many opportunities that had come their way before Ake bundled home from close
range. We barely registered an attacking threat, while City had an early Oscar
Bobb strike ruled out for offside. Vicario also saved well from Bernardo Silva.
De Bruyne was uncharacteristically wasteful with a golden opportunity after
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had gifted possession to Phil Foden.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With a few minutes to
go and a replay looking certain, Ake sparked wild scenes of celebration among
the 9,000 City fans who had made the journey to north London. We just stood and
stared in eye-watering numbness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Micky van de Ven was
outstanding in defence, while Vicario was secure until he could not hold on to
De Bruyne's corner, giving Ake the chance to pounce. We hoped in vain that the
video assistant referee might detect a foul by Dias on Vicario, but the
decision stood.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With that over, we
must focus on staying in touch with the Premier League's leading pack of wolves.
We are currently fifth. However, the return of our hero James Maddison as a
substitute after being out with an ankle injury since November will boost that
effort, but this loss has upset us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On another note,
since my next-door-sitting-neighbour at the Tottenham stadium gave up his seat
at the end of last season, I’ve had nothing but one-offs sitting next to me…
and they always asked me to give up my seat so that their partner/ sister/
mother or any Tom, Dick and Harry can have my seat… No! But now I’ve got
somebody who has bought the seat outright and will be at least my partner for
three years (the amount of time he signed up for). So, some good news (we
exchanged numbers).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Mel and I got out
quickly, rushing home. Then we got caught on the M4 (accident) and sat in the
car for over half an hour, staring into the abyss… hoping things would speed up
and we would be back on our way home. Finally, gone midnight, we started
moving.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
preview: Spurs v Brentford this Wednesday (31<sup>st</sup>).<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Lucky for us,
Brentford are no City… but that doesn’t mean it is a done deal. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Brentford are sitting
14<sup>th</sup> in the league, having lost ten games. They are six points ahead
of relegation fodder Luton Town. However, if you remember, this was Ange’s
first game in the Premier League for us, and we only managed a draw on that hot
sunny day. I remember the game well. Hopefully, we can go one step further and
spank their arses this time around. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Janette will accompany
us. She is excited about attending the match (I take all credit… as I am sure
she will want me to!). Mel will also be by my side… just like two Laurel and
Hardy lookalikes who were rejected for a comedian competition on board the
Titanic… We all know what happened to that ship, but away from this frivolity
and back to serious business.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I predict we will
bounce back from the City defeat and wallop Brentford 3-0.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What
about injuries and absentees?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pape Sarr and Yves
Bissouma remain absent from the lineup for now, as does Son due to Asian Cup
commitments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ryan Sessegnon
(thigh), Alejo Veliz (knee), Manor Solomon (knee) and Giovani Lo Celso (thigh)
remain sidelined too. Still, James Maddison seems fit now – even though he got
a token run out against City, he will probably start on the bench again. Ben Davies (thigh) and Dane Scarlett
(unspecified) are back in training, too, and even managed to get a look in
against City.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our possible
lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Vicario; Porro,
Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Bentancur; Johnson, Kulusevski, Werner;
Richarlison, with Maddison again on the bench. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We should have a
formidable team once Son and the other players return from their international kickaround.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Once this game is
completed, we are off to Everton on Saturday for a 12.30 kick-off. Like the
London buses, nothing comes for ages, and then two come at once. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Preview
Spurs v Everton.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">2-1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for the team lineup,
similar to the City one, with probably Maddison starting. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx6bUFodxVyPFXgofjphc1ZNt2rUGv7865Zrfu9zRuNWtREB35cAIZUzuLcWm_13UQzoKTZozGV9bi0vAAT9R98p-dmYXYQMthhGuujYPz2WPIE5r8Y4UcH61a1cI5skl3zKf32t-r7hG3CJqEPLJGzuPTV9BQr6tk3C4N3D7YKyZ71kWLo7vtJns1YEE/s4032/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx6bUFodxVyPFXgofjphc1ZNt2rUGv7865Zrfu9zRuNWtREB35cAIZUzuLcWm_13UQzoKTZozGV9bi0vAAT9R98p-dmYXYQMthhGuujYPz2WPIE5r8Y4UcH61a1cI5skl3zKf32t-r7hG3CJqEPLJGzuPTV9BQr6tk3C4N3D7YKyZ71kWLo7vtJns1YEE/w150-h200/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Paul Coyte</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-67779764919121542412024-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:002024-01-15T06:43:01.794-08:00Match Report: Man United 2 Spurs 2 (we could have won it, should have won it!).<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_-Ucoak_iQqiSC6HFUtEJ7ebli1QggrjysZXzYveOdRdQkpHm9J9GZPJh2-YOwXpJiNAm2Wioa2XAL79UEam6XX59wXNghldkPqoSCvVSHQ7Z5_m7Dp4109ZgJYOJ4ZPEQXNcr0tM8RNMyoHYc8DF9j4XXdQRnsYChDUXgVDTPBGPJOduCjFq27DUl4/s4032/IMG_0457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH_-Ucoak_iQqiSC6HFUtEJ7ebli1QggrjysZXzYveOdRdQkpHm9J9GZPJh2-YOwXpJiNAm2Wioa2XAL79UEam6XX59wXNghldkPqoSCvVSHQ7Z5_m7Dp4109ZgJYOJ4ZPEQXNcr0tM8RNMyoHYc8DF9j4XXdQRnsYChDUXgVDTPBGPJOduCjFq27DUl4/w640-h480/IMG_0457.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
Match Report: Man United 2 Spurs 2 (we could have won it, should have won it!).<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Considering our
injury list and suspensions, we did well and were unlucky only to get a draw at
Old Trafford. The match showed you how well Ange is keeping us in a good
position to challenge for a top-four place. But to be fair, United were dire.
They won’t be finishing the season in the top four. Their whole club is in a
mess… but that isn’t our concern; what is important is the brilliant job Ange is
doing at Tottenham. Other clubs are starting to tremble when they know they are
going to have to face us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We came back from
behind twice against Manchester United in front of their new co-owner, Sir Jim
Ratcliffe. Yes, Ratcliffe, attending his first game since a proposed 25%
purchase of his boyhood club, was confirmed on Christmas Eve, witnessed the
appalling problems at United while under the powerful gaze of the Glaziers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ratcliffe's pre-match
assertion that United "normally do well against Spurs" wasn't quite
borne out here. So; they’ve not only got a new investor joining United, but at
the same time an asshole. Nothing changes at United. Since City became
Manchester's kingpins, United have been digging their grave. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison levelled
with his sixth goal; we were without three top players, including captain Son -
away with South Korea at the Asian Cup. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Marcus Rashford put the
poor-quality United ahead before the break. Still, Rodrigo Bentancur wiped out
the advantage a minute after the restart with a blistering shot, his first goal
since April. During that time, he recovered from a cruciate knee ligament
injury and an ankle problem.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The rest of the game
would have been an education for Ratcliffe, who sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson
in the directors' box. United had less than 40% possession, nine shots against our
16 and only a third of the six on target.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A draw did not take us
above Arsenic and Old Lace and into the top four. But the draw did allow us to
maintain an eight-point advantage over United, who could drop to 10th before
they are next in action against Wolves on 1 February.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our manager, pundits,
and fans thought we should have won.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Betancur had an
eventful day as he worked his way back from the ankle injury that followed a
month after his recovery from cruciate surgery. He had an early effort cleared
off the line by Dalot and then earned himself a caution for kicking the ball
away after a flag had gone up for offside, arguing he was giving it back to
United when he had sent it yards away from where it needed to be. That’s our
boy! No flies on him. Anyway, his first goal was an excellent effort since the
day he suffered his injury. Debutant Timo Werner (our first January signing)
provided the pass, after that, Bentancur steadied himself before belting a
drive past Andre Onana at his near post.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A draw was the least we
deserved, as the £25m new arrival Radu Dragusin debuted as a late substitute.
However, we will hope the injury that forced off Micky van de Ven near the end
is nothing more than fatigue-related, given he was returning after a two-month
absence with a hamstring injury.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After the game, Ange
Postecoglou praised the players as he revealed that some of the squad had
struggled with illness during the week. Dejan Kulusevski was one of those who
missed out because he had been unwell; Skippy [Oliver Skipp], Destiny [Udogie],
and three others also had struggled this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Two new players in so
far, and I am hoping for a creative midfield to add to the squad before the
January transfer window closes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The game proves we
will be untouchable once our squad fully returns to fitness. Many of the fans
thought – at the beginning of the season – we would find ourselves battling in
the relegation zone… but Ange was having none of it… he has given the team
confidence. We have faith in Ange, and Levy better take note… if he doesn’t
back his man, he might find somebody who will. And if that happens, watch the
shit hit the fan. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Now we’ve got nearly
a two-week winter break, then back to face City at our Tottenham stadium in the
fourth round of the FA Cup. Hopefully, by then, we’ll have most of our players
back. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With Ange in charge,
our hearts are beating a little bit faster. You can almost smell the success
waiting for us at the end of that magic rainbow. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">One other quick note
about the day: it was blistering cold, and we had to wear extra layers of
clothing. On the day a quick stop at Birmingham to pick up two friends (Steff
& Janet) at the train station – and on to Manchester. Mel had picked me up
at 9.30 that morning. After the game and taking Janet & Steff back to
Birmingham station, I finally arrived in Cheltenham at 10.30 pm. Janette had a
hot Ovaltine waiting for me. We then watched MOTD together. All good stuff… a happy
ending to a nearly perfect day!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Happy New
Year.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIWqqBTpVr3W3kYDFbM9PqUzAxTYZyfQfMbtO6oRvhLMRpTINApoZxVZW3EtnRpnD4MSIN-caltkBnusJOASqVNYw5WQjfGIxvGmbD4_StMERj62ivQNlnJ4Xfr_oyCjAwYUvX8eRTLY1JY6Q7CZkG-RyW978qGHS9MVAYS-sbTc5E9tdZZIACBo-4yI/s170/Me.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="167" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIWqqBTpVr3W3kYDFbM9PqUzAxTYZyfQfMbtO6oRvhLMRpTINApoZxVZW3EtnRpnD4MSIN-caltkBnusJOASqVNYw5WQjfGIxvGmbD4_StMERj62ivQNlnJ4Xfr_oyCjAwYUvX8eRTLY1JY6Q7CZkG-RyW978qGHS9MVAYS-sbTc5E9tdZZIACBo-4yI/s1600/Me.JPG" width="167" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-80352744207233322182024-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:002024-01-06T08:46:53.175-08:00 Match Report: Spurs 1 Burnley 0 FA Cup 3rd Round. We are through to the next round...<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpsAGpk5XJW6ZuasYK57DfXiecboefwd5WsptUc4HV1LjmFR5wi6mEmlwKVEwTS8Q8erObCLC-a6PVRplR6AExggkFIpMMtIB-uIUW8JBe96ADldzSsE7Lq6RST7PGnSOH_DgZsEZy60UTB0sNMTsv1OmYjPE1s615nMmBXJZdzoehtrGA4QD9k-ksgY/s4032/IMG_0382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpsAGpk5XJW6ZuasYK57DfXiecboefwd5WsptUc4HV1LjmFR5wi6mEmlwKVEwTS8Q8erObCLC-a6PVRplR6AExggkFIpMMtIB-uIUW8JBe96ADldzSsE7Lq6RST7PGnSOH_DgZsEZy60UTB0sNMTsv1OmYjPE1s615nMmBXJZdzoehtrGA4QD9k-ksgY/w640-h480/IMG_0382.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
Match Report: Spurs 1 Burnley 0 FA Cup 3rd Round. We are through to the next round...<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Janette went to the
game, and as she said – as most Spurs fans also said – it was a poor game… but
in the FA Cup, it doesn’t matter, flawed or brilliant, one goal or a thousand,
the whole point of the cup matches is to get through to the next round… and we
did it with a brilliant Porro goal. End of!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, Janette, Mel,
and I travelled to our Tottenham Hotspur stadium in the hope of a win and no
draw. One goal was all that mattered… apart from that; we had a nice evening
meeting old friends and new ones while it pelted with rain outside the stadium.
But it wasn’t a cold evening. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Around me wasn’t the
usual crowd… for some reason, some of our fans don’t consider the earlier
rounds of the cup draw important, so stayed away. I haven’t missed a home, away
or abroad game in over 40 years, including testimonials, friendlies, etc. But
then again, I am a Spurs supporter… You don’t follow your team for over 60
years without making sacrifices. Luckily for me, Janette buys into my madness,
and even some of that madness has rubbed off on her (now… when is that
appointment to see the psychiatrist? I want to arrange another appointment for her!!!!!!).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Now… to
the serious matter of one FA Cup round to get through… and guess what…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Without club captain
Son, we failed to convert several chances before a breakthrough in the 78th
minute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Burnley goalkeeper
Arijanet Muric threw the ball out. Still, Porro won a challenge and then
arrowed a superb shot into the top corner from 25 yards out for what proved to
be a wonderful first goal of the season since his permanent arrival from
Sporting Lisbon. And it was over!!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Burnley’s best chance
fell to Zeki Amdouni in the first half when it was goalless, but he could only
shoot over from a central position inside the penalty area. In a thrilling
finish, Muric twice went up for Burnley corners and from the second one, in the
seventh minute of added time, won a near-post flick-on, and his header fell to
an unmarked Amdouni, who could not hit the target from six yards with a volley
on the turn.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That defeat, their
fifth in seven matches in all competitions, leaves them to focus on trying to
avoid relegation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The draw for the
fourth round of the FA Cup will take place at 19:50 GMT on Monday, 8 January,
before the Wigan Athletic v Manchester United match. Come on Wigan, you can do
it!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ange Postecoglou led
Celtic to the treble of Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup and Scottish League
Cup last season; this was his first experience of the FA Cup. What he didn’t do
was make the same mistake as he did in the League Cup, and that was to make
nine unwanted changes. He picked his strongest squad… even though we had half a
team out plus suspensions. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Angie has got it,
showing how important the competition was to our fans - without a trophy since
winning the League Cup in 2008 - as he named his strongest possible side.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There were only two
changes from the team that won 3-1 against Bournemouth on New Year's Eve to
leave them fifth in the Premier League. Both were forced upon him, with forward
Son at the Asian Cup and midfielder Pape Matar Sarr joining up with Senegal
before the Africa Cup of Nations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We will be without
the pair and Mali Yves Bissouma for up to six matches - with the trio possibly
away with their countries until mid-February.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pedro Porro's goal
was his fourth for us, but first this season<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Son, the top scorer
with 12 goals this season, was understandably missed as we spurned several good
opportunities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison twice
failed to score with left-footed efforts, while the dangerous Brennan Johnson
had two shots saved by back-up keeper Muric. Giovani lo Celso also missed two
opportunities, and stand-in captain Rodrigo Bentancur fired another attempt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs eventually made
their pressure count with Porro's strike - after Muric hurried a throw - and
survived the late scare to go through. That is all that matters…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">… next up will be
Manchester United, away in the League in 9 days time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Happy New
Year.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SThsD1_ysa7QUu89p4W6yTF7FxRQCr7cur_ElIGkfDoMwwM1HlojNNxIXQq6tuMq9vfUQ2sDybkwVtGRvzORj9jvjn9xuOLPqxZ6E2-0ITMBsUvaqDik0olZfPO8Wux3PrLnldTdcTCw60ycBnNKm-Qwu_kADm_SZ3ICgefTGfrjNXRn3SWMtIvYDGE/s4032/IMG_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SThsD1_ysa7QUu89p4W6yTF7FxRQCr7cur_ElIGkfDoMwwM1HlojNNxIXQq6tuMq9vfUQ2sDybkwVtGRvzORj9jvjn9xuOLPqxZ6E2-0ITMBsUvaqDik0olZfPO8Wux3PrLnldTdcTCw60ycBnNKm-Qwu_kADm_SZ3ICgefTGfrjNXRn3SWMtIvYDGE/s320/IMG_0116.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas with the legends: Micky Hazard & Marc Falco</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-28368862499615951162024-01-02T06:46:00.000-08:002024-01-02T06:46:19.349-08:00Christmas Match Reports plus FA Cup tie against Burnley<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxByLOhak_KQ1epKTyyr6PsYx2XAW-NzUN8Y3v8yREoA7loahNKrcO0_3k8bCo3OnI5dJB21GYjVD-MBmj7UPFMHjYSN-IOa7BJWQbrDgmhY_-uxNTlu2gi_WFc3p9FZBviqlEb6OcRK8sG_JUgov-QkEwHEfhEZDJJH07-sYvaEmDZuOr9C9yHXvm2kQ/s544/Christmas%201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="447" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxByLOhak_KQ1epKTyyr6PsYx2XAW-NzUN8Y3v8yREoA7loahNKrcO0_3k8bCo3OnI5dJB21GYjVD-MBmj7UPFMHjYSN-IOa7BJWQbrDgmhY_-uxNTlu2gi_WFc3p9FZBviqlEb6OcRK8sG_JUgov-QkEwHEfhEZDJJH07-sYvaEmDZuOr9C9yHXvm2kQ/w526-h640/Christmas%201.JPG" width="526" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br />
Christmas Match Reports plus FA Cup tie against Burnley<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Christmas has been
very tough for me: five Christmas dinners; Wednesday, we (Janette and I) went
out for a meal with Mel and his wife Liz, then on Thursday morning, Christmas
with Santa… that is, taking the grandchildren to see Santa for a Christmas
morning breakfast. Adults got to colour in pictures and put on stupid things.
Saturday, our Tottenham group booked a restaurant in the Tottenham stadium for
a Christmas dinner… Then, on Christmas Eve, a family Christmas get-together (8
of us), then on the day itself, another dinner (with JJ, Janette’s son and
myself)… and on Boxing Day, Christmas dinner with Janette’s parents in Cheltenham…
but before all that, on the Saturday before Christmas, we faced Everton…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">…Everton
have been doing well up until this point. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, we moved into
the Premier League top four after beating Everton in a thrilling encounter. Richarlison
opened the scoring against his former club with his fourth goal in three
matches before Son doubled our advantage soon after.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Everton managed to
pull a goal back through Andre Gomes in his first Premier League game since May
2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We move above
Manchester City - absent from league action due to the Club World Cup - into
fourth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That defeat for
Everton ended a four-match winning run, leaving them just four points above the
relegation zone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That was it for the
time being… we then over ate over Christmas to be ready for Thursday 28<sup>th</sup>
(no Boxing Day football for us, for the first time in years). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the 28<sup>th,</sup>
we (Mel & I) met up with Kevin and Janet at a pub for a Christmas meal.
Then, onto Brighton’s ground (courtesy of a lift from Kevin). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We had high hopes
that we would get a good victory over Brighton to continue our battle for a top-four
place… sadly…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A good display from Brighton,
between two excellent and strong challengers from us, but it wasn’t good enough
to overcome Brighton at the Amex Stadium.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We dominated the
early possession, but the Seagulls took control when teenager Jack Hinshelwood
fired into the roof of the net after Joao Pedro was allowed to drift across the
length of the 18-yard line. Pedro then doubled the hosts lead from the penalty
spot after Dejan Kulusevski had pulled back Danny Welbeck in the area.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Brighton continued to
press, with James Milner hitting the post and Facundo Buonanotte having a goal
disallowed for offside before Richarlison clipped the woodwork.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We failed to have a
shot on target in the first half but improved in the second period, with
Richarlison twice seeing efforts ruled out for offside. Nevertheless, Brighton
made sure of the three points less than a minute after when Pervis Estupinan
fired a 25-yard dipping effort into the top corner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pedro added a fourth
goal when he sent Guglielmo Vicario the wrong way from the spot again after
Evan Ferguson was bundled over in the area.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We threatened a
comeback after Alejo Veliz and Ben Davies pulled two back, but we could not
convert a string of other late chances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the same day as
our defeat to Brighton, the Arse-wipes and nose blowers were throttled by the
Spamming Bubble-blowing pie and mash eaters by two goals. At least we had
something to smile about… then a couple of days after on to the Tottenham stadium to face Bournemouth,
while the Arsenics and Old Lace took on Fulham at Craven Cottage. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">To summarise, we finished
2023 on a high with victory over Bournemouth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pape Sarr opened the
scoring when Rodrigo Bentancur latched on to Neto's casual pass out from the
back, and the ball broke for Sarr, who drilled it into the far corner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Stinging from a 4-2
loss to Brighton in midweek, our injury-hit team watched as Bournemouth enjoyed
plenty of chances and looked likely to level. But they lacked a clinical edge
in the final third, and Son doubled our lead with a superb left-footed strike,
which went in off a post before Richarlison swept home to wrap up the points
for Ange Postecoglou's side.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Their Alex Scott
steered home a consolation goal but the Cherries are likely to wonder how they
allowed the scoreline to get away from them and leave our stadium empty-handed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It marked a first
defeat in eight games for Bournemouth as their three-match scoring streak came
to an end.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We remain fifth in
the table - six points off top spot and one behind Arsenic and Old Lace in
fourth, who again were beatem (2-1 by Fulham).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After a strong start
to the season under Postecoglou, we had lost five of our past nine games and
continued to battle with injuries. The surprise return of Bentancur to the
starting XI was a welcome sight for us after he recovered from an ankle injury
earlier than anticipated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We got off to the
perfect start with Sarr's slotted finish but had to hang in there as
Bournemouth were on top for large periods.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After that game, we
all made our way to the buses and to Kevin’s car, where he took us back to the
pub so we could pick up our cars and home. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">FA Cup
Third round (preview) against Burnley, at the Tottenham stadium. <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After our disastrous
League Cup exit at the hands of Fulham last year, I am sure that Ange hopes to
redeem himself by putting out a stronger squad (that is if he can after our
injury and suspension crisis). That sounds like a cruel twist of fate. Nevertheless,
we’ve got what we’ve got and must make the best of what we can in a bad
situation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">So, role
on Burnley…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The stats for Spurs
vs Burnley predictions:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Burnley haven’t won
away against us since 1983.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison has
scored four goals in his last three Tottenham appearances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We have won seven of our last 10
games against Burnley.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We have conceded in their past five
home games.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We haven’t failed to make it past
the third round of the FA Cup since 2013/14.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A few weeks ago, we were
extremely worried at the prospect of losing Son to the Asian Cup. And while he will
still be missed, Richarlison has found goalscoring form at the right time. He
has scored four goals in his last three games for us, netting a brace against
Newcastle before also bagging wins over Nottingham Forest and Everton.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have started life
well under Ange Postecoglou, even when you include our rocky patch in November
and the start of December, nevertheless, we will be hoping that we can end the
season with at least one piece of silverware. The EFL Cup has come and gone,
and there is another cup waiting for us. Eight-time winners of the FA Cup, we
last won the competition in 1991 and haven’t reached the final since. We have
had four fifth-round exits in the past four years, and we haven’t failed to
make it past the third round since 2013/14 when Arsenic beat us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Burnley, meanwhile,
will have the Premier League relegation battle as their main priority this
season, but a good cup run could be good for their morale and momentum. You
have to go back to 1962 for the last time Burnley were in the FA Cup final (we
beat them in that final) and pre-World War One for their sole victory, with the
Clarets beating Liverpool 1-0 just a couple of months before the assassination
of Austria-Hungary’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Burnley did make it to the
quarter-finals last season, having been knocked out of the third round the year
before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham
team news<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Out & Doubtful<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ivan Perisic, Micky
van de Ven, James Maddison, Ryan Sessegnon, Yves Bissouma, Manor Solomon, Pape
Matar Sarr –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yves Bissouma’s red
card suspension also includes the FA Cup, so he’ll sit this game out, too –
though he may already be with Mali for the Africa Cup of Nations, with Pape
Matar Sarr now injured. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Manor Solomon, James
Maddison, Ryan Sessegnon and Micky van de Ven are all expected back in mid-January,
but this game will be far too soon. Ivan Perisic is a long-term absentee. Son will
miss this game too, expected to travel to meet up with South Korea at the end of
2023, ahead of the Asian Cup.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs vs
Burnley head-to-head record<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">2 September 2023 – Burnley 2-5
Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">15 May 2022 – Tottenham 1-0 Burnley
– Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">23 February 2022 – Burnley 1-0
Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">27 October 2021 – Burnley 0-1
Tottenham – EFL Cup<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">28 February 2021 – Tottenham 4-0
Burnley – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A 1-0 win for Burnley
in February 2022 is the Clarets’ sole victory over us in their last eight
meetings. With one draw, we have won six, including a 5-2 league victory at
Turf Moor earlier this season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There is not much
point making a guess team selection as this is the first round of the FA Cup
and we’ve got so many injuries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">2-1 to us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Happy New
Year.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEVIAPsR2ihhxT2s1YyOp_kNmMwC3Z5ENUoeQlzLlrGBfUKUoBc_Apfn8mKUZ7a7tnNC_meW8zwjlO9YsKoJ29Cr1fqlNYu0YKpu1HY_1ArMAzNgmEuO_CfpXLNRKq3dMVI5-5c_MP2uvnifFveDqbAuH9izbLszA1w5j-FlDeXMN3bqt4fhghbV6V84/s4032/IMG_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEVIAPsR2ihhxT2s1YyOp_kNmMwC3Z5ENUoeQlzLlrGBfUKUoBc_Apfn8mKUZ7a7tnNC_meW8zwjlO9YsKoJ29Cr1fqlNYu0YKpu1HY_1ArMAzNgmEuO_CfpXLNRKq3dMVI5-5c_MP2uvnifFveDqbAuH9izbLszA1w5j-FlDeXMN3bqt4fhghbV6V84/s320/IMG_0116.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having Christmas dinner with Micky Hazard and Marc Falco</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-29955866235237651592023-12-18T08:48:00.000-08:002023-12-18T08:48:21.792-08:00Match Report (Forest) & Preview (Everton) Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GeH1NGXBOpwzcwLGQ_t7wjvblrS7iHTB2PHoykCGWnHd04MR5SeJ9gvE0BYdtoWkmi_6mS1uHX7m6pg_ghLCTA_K5r54YR-rkt8U4bfVeByrr7QmdT5-bu1Kiz0h9EaEX2GtioVUm-wMEQ8Xjcg-1aNECabm3RUxoCg8KiNB4gUk2gAm2806_C47w2s/s817/Spurs%20v%20Everton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="817" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GeH1NGXBOpwzcwLGQ_t7wjvblrS7iHTB2PHoykCGWnHd04MR5SeJ9gvE0BYdtoWkmi_6mS1uHX7m6pg_ghLCTA_K5r54YR-rkt8U4bfVeByrr7QmdT5-bu1Kiz0h9EaEX2GtioVUm-wMEQ8Xjcg-1aNECabm3RUxoCg8KiNB4gUk2gAm2806_C47w2s/w640-h382/Spurs%20v%20Everton.JPG" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Report (Forest) & Preview (Everton)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Merry
Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It was a good victory
against Forest; the only downside was that Yves Bissouma was given a red card
and will now miss the next four games. On top of that, Udogie got a yellow card
and will miss our game against Everton. A game, I fear. Everton have been on
the up lately and getting some good results. If it weren’t for their 10-point
deduction, they would be sitting in 10th place with 23 points—ten points behind
us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our ten-man team
condemned Nottingham Forest to a fifth Premier League defeat in six games as we
emphasised our top-four ambitions at the City Ground.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison's third
goal in two games set us on our way, with the outstanding Dejan Kulusevski
sealing victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This result moves us
to fifth place. We are a point behind City, who drew against Palace over the
weekend. We are six points behind Arsenic and Old Lace, who are top of the
league. Teams in between City and the League leaders are Liverpool and Villa. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for Forest, they
sit 16th in the table, five points clear of the bottom three, have now won just
once in their previous 13 matches in the English top flight, and the outcome of
this contest is only likely to increase the pressure on boss Steve Cooper.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We controlled much of
the first period, in which we lost Brennan Johnson to a head injury, and
deservedly went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Richarlison nodded in
from Kulusevski's superb cross from the right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Two errors from
goalkeeper Matt Turner sealed their fate, with a passing clearance straight to
Kulusevski before allowing his powerful drive to beat him at the near post. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">While Son played a productive
role for us, thrashing of Newcastle last Sunday, Kulusevski was our inspiration
at the City Ground this time around. He was a constant source of danger and
excelled after switching to the right flank, with Johnson going off with a cut
to the head after a nasty clash with his former teammate Boly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Dejan Kulusevski has
been great for us. He started in the middle and looked dangerous, then when
Brennan Johnson went off, he went back out wide and had the quality of delivery.
Brilliant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for Bissouma, Ange
will be far from happy about an impending four-match suspension for the second
time this season for an almost knee-high tackle on Ryan Yates.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Preview: Spurs v Everton<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We find ourselves in
fifth place after winning nine of our opening 16 games. Recently, we endured a
five-game winless run (four losses and one draw) before ending that streak by
running out 4-1 winners over Newcastle and a 2-0 victory over Forest (A). As
for Everton, they are currently having a good run. They won four on the bounce
while tasting one defeat across their last seven Premier League outings (five
wins and one draw).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The stats
behind our Spurs vs Everton:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Both teams have
scored in each of their last four Premier League home games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We won five of our previous
eight Premier League home matches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Everton are on a four-game
unbeaten run away from home (four wins).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We opened the scoring
in each of our last six Premier League home games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our previous four
Premier League home games have seen over 2.5 goals scored in them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
team news…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ivan Perisic, Rodrigo
Bentancur, Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon,
Alfie Whiteman & Eric Dier are still out.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yves Bissouma and
Udogie are both suspended.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham
vs Everton head-to-head record<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">03 Apr 2023 – Everton
1-1 Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">15 Oct 2022 –
Tottenham 2-0 Everton – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">07 Mar 2022 –
Tottenham 5-0 Everton – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">07 Nov 2021 – Everton
0-0 Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">16 Apr 2021 – Everton
2-2 Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham are
unbeaten in their last five matches with Everton (two wins and three draws).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This is a tough one. I
shall go for a 2-1 win. Hopefully, we will score more, but considering our
suspensions and injuries, I’ll be happy with this score. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That is
it, folks,<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYI5g5TvJh9ZFBcQ7BVBG8F3Pq7Tqun9oWPFbn9rPqlgd63E50jTBdituPKT3CVD1jUonCiJbkhZT4h-ZA0jPYkRwqNJORG6wPR9ewU-naM5ekeHFNyJRB0GkVRFvUJ4V2Lu1mYnQYlEsnFyOJS8LnvwRLchS26LegOXP0FLR7XEM0pIAChIchJg9cEs/s2048/Me%20on%20holiday%20again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDYI5g5TvJh9ZFBcQ7BVBG8F3Pq7Tqun9oWPFbn9rPqlgd63E50jTBdituPKT3CVD1jUonCiJbkhZT4h-ZA0jPYkRwqNJORG6wPR9ewU-naM5ekeHFNyJRB0GkVRFvUJ4V2Lu1mYnQYlEsnFyOJS8LnvwRLchS26LegOXP0FLR7XEM0pIAChIchJg9cEs/w150-h200/Me%20on%20holiday%20again.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-38433208631443444622023-12-12T05:19:00.000-08:002023-12-12T05:19:03.829-08:00Match Report (Newcastle) & Preview (Forest)<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODtFN5JFxEH2JNPGiWcFRd8SKF6DrQytvu4W2gvxIMopA8Dx20CnRH1uYEBMssqsUoQGTSo8xfybxqPQcmCagqVV_18myx9sPxU8RVjj0_-ni8tG68yPtvWUoqHz1mTCQdD-3z28fq7lIruJhks0Myp7darwXuz8nT3Dtet9LwRgl-AsJliiD4v5mWrw/s300/Nottingham%20Forest%20V%20Spurs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODtFN5JFxEH2JNPGiWcFRd8SKF6DrQytvu4W2gvxIMopA8Dx20CnRH1uYEBMssqsUoQGTSo8xfybxqPQcmCagqVV_18myx9sPxU8RVjj0_-ni8tG68yPtvWUoqHz1mTCQdD-3z28fq7lIruJhks0Myp7darwXuz8nT3Dtet9LwRgl-AsJliiD4v5mWrw/w640-h358/Nottingham%20Forest%20V%20Spurs.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Report
(Newcastle) & Preview (Forest)</span></b></p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FwqPia782cThsCTYFjQqaphwowjQ559FeyqhVBAm5eepcxpwO9xsf_mEkERHduR_qlLPZlthgnVKZAM2i0U42fCEpEzrd8jOGjXVY8Sglp5pLTqZX__BcFodmW4ppkfrcytD3RkMa0zMqAK_lMKWj5SERehptObvdoVd775FAmYS746-E-w_i6p3oqo/s4032/IMG_9940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FwqPia782cThsCTYFjQqaphwowjQ559FeyqhVBAm5eepcxpwO9xsf_mEkERHduR_qlLPZlthgnVKZAM2i0U42fCEpEzrd8jOGjXVY8Sglp5pLTqZX__BcFodmW4ppkfrcytD3RkMa0zMqAK_lMKWj5SERehptObvdoVd775FAmYS746-E-w_i6p3oqo/s320/IMG_9940.JPG" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Going to the game
against Newcastle, we felt optimistic. Even though we lost four games,
nevertheless, we felt we were on the right track with our coach, Ange. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the car trip up to
the Spurs ground – besides Mel (and me, of course) – was his son (Eliot) and
Eliot’s girlfriend (Abi). We got to the ground late as there were holdups on
the M4. I phoned Janet beforehand so she could get me a programme (just in
case). Priorities… priorities!!!!! Is the name of the game… After all, I am a
collector and have been since my dad helped me start my collection all those
years ago… before time immemorial, even! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">When we got to the
ground and our allotted place, Janet was there, keeping our place warm at our
regular booth. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Eliot & Abi
weren’t with us as they were in the seats in the East Stand. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">To the
match…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We ended our slump in
style as we convincingly overpowered a leg-weary and depleted Newcastle United
team.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, we had lost four
of our previous five games and had not won since the victory at Crystal Palace
on 27 October, but once Destiny Udogie put us ahead from Son’s pass, there would
only be one winner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And… yes, … it was a day
of joy for Richarlison, who has struggled to find consistency and impetus in
his career with us but was the spearhead here with a goal either side of
half-time as Newcastle wilted in the face of some sparkling attacking play. Richarlison
had scored only five goals in his previous 48 appearances for us but was on the
mark from Son's excellent delivery, which effectively sealed all three points
after controlling Pedro Porro's long pass.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for Son, he got the
goal his performance deserved, scoring from the spot after Newcastle keeper
Martin Dubravka had dragged him down.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Newcastle got a goal
back because of a lack of concentration on our behalf. However, they only
threatened us sporadically, with Miguel Almiron failing to convert a great
chance when they trailed by a goal.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for Newcastle; Eddie
Howe's squad, like us, was injury-hit. Now, they must regroup and re-energise
quickly before Wednesday night's decisive final Champions League group game at
home to AC Milan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyeLRqoi6aJs4jPRxcCQm9xHjjGBJUwXVrhLZmO--eONFhtVMz7HFmlRzt3pXuTZ5jJlqW4MfgPZYwS3b1ORg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div> Video courtesy of Abi Lamb<br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Are we
back to winning ways?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have been
stuttering recently after an outstanding start under Ange. This was not helped
by a succession of injuries, particularly to key new signings James Maddison
and Micky van de Ven; the battling draw at Manchester City demonstrated our
new-found spirit, and our attacking quality was back.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison took much
of the acclaim for his two goals, and we showed our delight for him, who is
admired for his sheer effort despite a mixed career at the club so far. The
goals that came with Richarlison's endeavour were a deserved reward.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Full credit to our
supporters, who revelled in the all-out attacking approach under Postecoglou,
which could have yielded more goals. However, this was a result and performance
designed to blow away the dust of three successive home defeats.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We, fans, are happy
to accept that there may be bumps in the road playing in this fashion while
warmly embracing Postecoglou's footballing philosophy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Player of
the match<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Son.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Even though we won this
match, we are still in 5<sup>th</sup> place. Our next two games will be against
Forest (A) and Everton at home. Out of the two, I fear Everton the most as
they’ve done brilliantly lately… more so considering that they’ve had 10 points
deducted. Apart from us, the two most outstanding teams in the Premier League
(or, I should say, have done well) are Villa and Everton. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Other good results
this weekend include Villa beating Arsenic and Old Lace, United being thrashed
by Bournemouth and Everton humiliating Pochettino’s Blue Boy wanderers. This
leads me to our game this Friday…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Preview: Forest v Spurs<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Forest…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Nottingham Forest
will play in this fixture after a 1-1 Premier League draw against Wolves. In
that game, Nottingham Forest had 32% possession and eight attempts at goal,
with 2 of them on target. The scorer for Forest was Harry Toffolo (14').
Wolverhampton W. had ten shots at goal, with four on target. Matheus Cunha
(32') scored for Wolves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Forest have not
registered a win against us in their last four league matches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Forest's last six results: WLLLLD<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our last six results: LLLDLW<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We enter this match
following a 4-1 Premier League win as we beat Newcastle United in our previous
fixture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In our game against Newcastle
United, we had 57% possession and 23 attempts on goal with 12 on target. Our
goals were scored by Destiny Udogie (26'), Richarlison (38', 60') and Son
(85'). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In our last six
clashes, we have bagged 11 goals. We have also scored in every single one of
those games. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Nottingham Forest
hasn't beaten us when we played them away from home in the previous two league
matches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have not had an
away win for the past two league matches.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
team news…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ashley Phillips
(Ankle injury), Manor Solomon (Meniscus injury), Rodrigo Bentancur (Torn ankle
ligaments), Ivan Perisic (Cruciate ligament tear), Ryan Sessegnon (surgery),
Alfie Whiteman (Ankle injury) and Micky van de Ven (Hamstring injury) are those
who can’t be considered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think Ange will elect
a 4-2-3-1 formation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
possible team to play Forest is</span></b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <i>Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Ben Davies,
Destiny Udogie, Yves Bissouma, Pape Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson,
Richarlison and Heung-Min Son.<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
Prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think Forest will
create enough chances to get a goal against us, but one goal may not be enough
to prevent defeat. Therefore, I am going for a 1-4 victory. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">So, there you have
it…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the
Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ8P05JxWMhqPV1jcd_x4rvdf3iweK5wlzCOhzSR22cd3whcIYGU_SP9HZXiCtuj2atqPSFVto_N8bFQudNbHJkIbRlupOlAuhZCEzo9lR5_9ASJh2pFjLYq5-xHHIRuf73smPdRdbafrmBCcZH2RMEJ1NV5SojyR42-Kb_ysZs2iBdMbthy-lwIl5fo/s2048/Me%20with.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSQ8P05JxWMhqPV1jcd_x4rvdf3iweK5wlzCOhzSR22cd3whcIYGU_SP9HZXiCtuj2atqPSFVto_N8bFQudNbHJkIbRlupOlAuhZCEzo9lR5_9ASJh2pFjLYq5-xHHIRuf73smPdRdbafrmBCcZH2RMEJ1NV5SojyR42-Kb_ysZs2iBdMbthy-lwIl5fo/s320/Me%20with.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Martin Chivers</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-70093016912318248622023-12-08T07:53:00.000-08:002023-12-08T07:53:58.919-08:00Match Report (Spammers) & Preview (Newcastle)<p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi525Uwn0PPNhbHASdVy6KToHoO8dNwU3j5FhiryfnMd3KdlYKerbxfeZJKaav7CvDtXZDKi5Q9_f2HkiGm6OJMVGK0cGB4kwQwqcPcDuORDPv4tgwFkqHSzvrZ9yAvUAZTQwpGlqTqd1Md5EL5a7t-5FIknwYdZa-hp0j2I_R8P31ZOlpPyypHbKnEFYA/s600/Spurs%20v%20Newcastle%20United.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi525Uwn0PPNhbHASdVy6KToHoO8dNwU3j5FhiryfnMd3KdlYKerbxfeZJKaav7CvDtXZDKi5Q9_f2HkiGm6OJMVGK0cGB4kwQwqcPcDuORDPv4tgwFkqHSzvrZ9yAvUAZTQwpGlqTqd1Md5EL5a7t-5FIknwYdZa-hp0j2I_R8P31ZOlpPyypHbKnEFYA/w640-h426/Spurs%20v%20Newcastle%20United.jpg" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br />Match Report
(Spammers) & Preview (Newcastle)</b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Spammers joystick
manager David Moyes called his side's comeback at our ground "one of the
biggest wins I've had in football". Great for him, just not for us
Tottenham supporters. That is our fourth defeat under Ange. Where do we go from
here? We’ve still got our injury list, and our next games – before Xmas – are
Newcastle this Sunday, followed by Forest away and then Everton… the same
Everton that thrashed Newcastle at home 3-0. I don’t know if that is good news
for us, seeing as we will face both in the next couple of weeks. But before all
that…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfrZMCSjMTbynQGSSU7MivMhXnCYUFl1PQZmmqDH4V3LEdU81R3S3I-QVxwtoI4jKxUpl5ScuafFONybqUAYFjZt0is1WKGyjkKCZ8XkeB5sen8WmJcf9FXMem5o-U4S68PaL5EoMU73pjtbck_liDD786NXOHelTqKvhMcu_mZ5-X9QJrO7pU0s5ogw/s4032/IMG_9908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfrZMCSjMTbynQGSSU7MivMhXnCYUFl1PQZmmqDH4V3LEdU81R3S3I-QVxwtoI4jKxUpl5ScuafFONybqUAYFjZt0is1WKGyjkKCZ8XkeB5sen8WmJcf9FXMem5o-U4S68PaL5EoMU73pjtbck_liDD786NXOHelTqKvhMcu_mZ5-X9QJrO7pU0s5ogw/s320/IMG_9908.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I said to Mel, let us
do some Christmas shopping in the Spurs shop and leave early… we did. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I’ve been going to
the Spurs shop since it was a little shack/ store all those years ago. And
every year, they decked it out when Christmas came along. Not this time… there
was no Christmas feeling in the shop… in fact, they had very little in the way
of Christmas gifts. Just meagre display cases. No A4 size diaries, Christmas
crackers…or basically anything else that resembled Christmas. For Christ's
sake, it is Christmas… the time of year that shops screw their customers. But
the Spurs shop had nothing. I moaned to the manager, and he agreed… end of! I
think they’ve missed a trick here. Mugs like me should be rich pickings when
Xmas comes along… but nothing… I hardly bought anything. Where is their
Christmas spirit? “Christmas is the time of year to screw the customers to the
ground and make the owners rich. Anyway, that is my moan over. No doubt I’ll
find other channels to throw my money at. Oh, and it was not just me moaning;
everybody I talked to, inside and outside the club shop, said the same. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for the game, Cristian
Romero's early header had given us a deserved opener in the 11th minute as he
nodded in Pedro Porro's corner with a looping effort. But Jarrod Bowen hit back
for the Spammers, latching on to a loose ball in the penalty area and firing in
a 52nd-minute equaliser. Then, after a poor back pass from Destiny Udogie,
James Ward-Prowse side-footed an effort against the post before knocking in the
rebound to complete the Milky Bar Kids turnaround in the 74th minute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Milky Spammers
have won five of their past six fixtures across all competitions, while we
suffered our fourth defeat in five and have dropped points from a winning
position for a fifth consecutive game. Let us end it here and move on to
something more, hopefully, positive; yes, the Newcastle game this Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06PXOa_xiViFNElkRgISlLQ60fivQ3_72YzaG7J4NdUDeneU1zxh7kfV_-2nORaByzR0ZN6jZOgTyKmz3GRloHoh3QqgZ3UucYV1U31nerJ11ASvTB68hTt99gc_jaRzGXrlQP3PJqEg0eMlh7cLPaoUivl6oodjc1I2U3XhhtBGY-3QIQhjoHt71WBk/s4032/IMG_9887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06PXOa_xiViFNElkRgISlLQ60fivQ3_72YzaG7J4NdUDeneU1zxh7kfV_-2nORaByzR0ZN6jZOgTyKmz3GRloHoh3QqgZ3UucYV1U31nerJ11ASvTB68hTt99gc_jaRzGXrlQP3PJqEg0eMlh7cLPaoUivl6oodjc1I2U3XhhtBGY-3QIQhjoHt71WBk/w150-h200/IMG_9887.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Met Sir Trevor Brooking at the <br />Tottenham Stadium (at the Spammers game)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Preview: Spurs v Newcastle United - prediction, team news, lineup etc.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Both teams will try
to rectify their midweek mistakes in this Sunday's Premier League showdown in
North London.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We lost a 2-1 home
defeat to the claret smudgers on Thursday evening, while Newcastle lost 3-0 by
relegation-battling Everton.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our
Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">WLLLDL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Newcastle
United Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">DWLWWL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Newcastle
United form (all competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">LLWDWL<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ivan Perisic (knee),
Manor Solomon (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), James Maddison (ankle), Micky
van de Ven (thigh), Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle), Ashley Phillips (ankle), Eric
Dier (groin) or Alfie Whiteman (ankle) will not return just yet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pape Sarr earned a
few minutes off the bench after recovering from a knock and is now in
contention to displace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, while Richarlison could threaten
Brennan Johnson's place in the XI, too.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My possible
starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Vicario; Porro,
Romero, Davies, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Lo Celso, Richarlison; Son<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
prediction.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">If Everton hadn’t
beaten Newcastle 3-0, I would be going for a Newcastle win, however, they did
lose, so, therefore, I shall go for a 2-1 win. Wishful thinking or a talent for
predicting Tottenham results (or not!).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We lacked
ruthlessness against the Fudgers, but there was little that Postecoglou could
have done about a double deflection or poor Udogie back pass for both of the
Spammer's goals, and the hosts have a golden opportunity to reignite their
attacking fire this weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As the injuries pile
up for a Newcastle side who have not travelled well all season - nine goals
shipped in their last four road contests; we can lift our home gloom and
hopefully get revenge for last season's beatings at the hands of the Magpies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLoIFY1sTcIDH5oMsqeIgkkeCyjqUx_6Nco8tqqgI8kRKzBbooDyktTf5iHu-dN2zPWBTjGUStyYn_UPQFIAcmbjNFvkFos1FZFKU-RFJTbO7mvObl0WNCrkKUEW0MCAeDUTwOarwr63OFMoBYKbWRtN1NudrJFciWgpftC6so5Qd_IGoTHG920SbqJs/s2048/Me%20with%20Steve%20Perryman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLoIFY1sTcIDH5oMsqeIgkkeCyjqUx_6Nco8tqqgI8kRKzBbooDyktTf5iHu-dN2zPWBTjGUStyYn_UPQFIAcmbjNFvkFos1FZFKU-RFJTbO7mvObl0WNCrkKUEW0MCAeDUTwOarwr63OFMoBYKbWRtN1NudrJFciWgpftC6so5Qd_IGoTHG920SbqJs/s320/Me%20with%20Steve%20Perryman.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Steve Perryman</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-33113925130724179922023-12-06T06:44:00.000-08:002023-12-06T06:44:30.004-08:00Match Preview Spurs v The Spammers – back on track?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilrsfSY4vtXN9iX9yQZpJAWlpbWr0aG85c1DeuduSDLOrRyj88guIbqc64kR4stZKD6lfOqbk3O3KqpGN31wZmKFrabl7by0flZjVa4nEoLJLkMPjEe_C1elqHRFIadUpqFx7FPpTKzHas6_WZzoZ0SVtB3p-ueXzm93dmjYbpWG2nkRlWW5PlsDbMTqQ/s310/Spurs%20v%20West%20ham%20united.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="163" data-original-width="310" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilrsfSY4vtXN9iX9yQZpJAWlpbWr0aG85c1DeuduSDLOrRyj88guIbqc64kR4stZKD6lfOqbk3O3KqpGN31wZmKFrabl7by0flZjVa4nEoLJLkMPjEe_C1elqHRFIadUpqFx7FPpTKzHas6_WZzoZ0SVtB3p-ueXzm93dmjYbpWG2nkRlWW5PlsDbMTqQ/w640-h337/Spurs%20v%20West%20ham%20united.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Preview
Spurs v The Spammers – back on track?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After our disastrous
defeat against Chelski, because two men were sent off, plus injuries to two key
players, we saw an injury-hit Spurs suffer two more losses after that game. That is until we
faced the Premier League and European Champions, where our bad luck was
expected to continue. Miraculously, we held them to a draw and on their ground.
Now, we face the Spammers on our turf… and we are ready and waiting…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My prediction,
team news, lineups etc.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, we return to our
Tottenham Stadium buzzing, fresh from our six-goal fest at the Etihad Stadium
last weekend. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for the chocolate
fudger Spammers, they also come to us on the back of a draw against Palace (not
the same, admittedly, as their game was more of a mid-to-low table clash). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
preview<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Before our game, many
journalists asked whether an injury-ravaged Tottenham would have the
credentials to compete away against reigning Premier League champions City. And
the answer was yes. Our injury-slashed team held their own and salvaged a point
in an entertaining 3-3 draw.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With such an injury-ravaged
team taking on such Champions, nobody expected us to have any chance of getting
anything other than a spanking… but Ange showed us what he could do with such a
sticky-taped team. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But that was then,
this is now… and I am sure that that victory (and it felt like a victory) will
be the boost that will give us the momentum to bulldoze us through Christmas to
the January transfer window, and our injured are back in the bosom of Ange’s
revolution. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our
Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">WWLLLD<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Chocolate-fudged Spammers
Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">LLLWWD<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Chocolate-fudged-Spammers
form (all competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">LWWWWD<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our treatment room
includes Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle), James Maddison (ankle), Micky van de Ven
(hamstring), Pape Matar Sarr (muscle), Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic
(knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh), Ashley Phillips (ankle) and Alfie Whiteman
(ankle). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">At the same time,
Eric Dier is doubtful after missing the draw with Man City due to a muscle
problem sustained in training.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the plus side, Cristian
Romero is available for selection after serving a three-match suspension; he is
expected to go straight back into the defence at the expense of Emerson Royal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I think Postecoglou
is unlikely to make too many changes to his first XI.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison is back
after undergoing groin surgery. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
possible starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Vicario; Porro,
Romero, Davies, Udogie; Bissouma, Lo Celso; Johnson, Kulusevski, Gil; Son<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for my
Prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In my previous
prediction against City, I predicted a loss; we got a draw. As one wag said,
maybe I should predict a failure against the Chocolate Fudger Spammers so that
we will win… I am not going to do that… but a nice try. So, I feel we are on
the upturn, and I predict a 3-1 victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Considering that we
have seen at least three goals scored each of the last five games involving us
and that of the Fudgers, who have found the net in 10 of their previous 11
meetings with us, I expect goals.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As we have shown the
world, we can battle with the best despite our extensive injury list, and while
the Spammers should not be taken lightly, we should do enough to outscore our
opponents en route to claiming our first three points since October 27.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">So… that said, I am
looking forward to an exciting game where I see us building on our “victory”
(ok, draw) against possible points deducted, the City rule-fiddlers. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShsa9F5nd5e9X-DJ6lNc029Wk391pL61YWnHL1_kcUDJMQMCOXaXw_Vxy362spR8US3CSEmMrHAuAmFmV2hxu7-AuFBqRk8apvrzSRxJKXGziEN9CliLbFUOqlNP42Cyvnl3ONdQtbMa3c27FWoHclEKjCIPbWmsQ75DW52qcuxau4b7pNV7i5OCQv0A/s320/Me%20at%20the%20Champions%20league%20final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShsa9F5nd5e9X-DJ6lNc029Wk391pL61YWnHL1_kcUDJMQMCOXaXw_Vxy362spR8US3CSEmMrHAuAmFmV2hxu7-AuFBqRk8apvrzSRxJKXGziEN9CliLbFUOqlNP42Cyvnl3ONdQtbMa3c27FWoHclEKjCIPbWmsQ75DW52qcuxau4b7pNV7i5OCQv0A/w150-h200/Me%20at%20the%20Champions%20league%20final.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at the Champions League final against Liverpool</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-41844331388376991932023-12-04T08:58:00.000-08:002023-12-04T08:58:31.942-08:00Match Report: City 3 Spurs 3 – what a game!<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJkCn_r_R36TRg1bsfYCSqynMvZL2uZgMK6k6mzyjnEod1j1dM7H6gHuh6umtmU6Fy_L-EuSz03DgYex7LblVdMI-U5sKr-Q6eVRshT0FDZ2Qwz6mn2ybupWok0Wmicyj8yAUJXtFkU8DEI0xZIvlY6ZRjaXSuVe9b-jT45bV9FgRcjtQVD8xFQof0eI/s4032/IMG_9861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkJkCn_r_R36TRg1bsfYCSqynMvZL2uZgMK6k6mzyjnEod1j1dM7H6gHuh6umtmU6Fy_L-EuSz03DgYex7LblVdMI-U5sKr-Q6eVRshT0FDZ2Qwz6mn2ybupWok0Wmicyj8yAUJXtFkU8DEI0xZIvlY6ZRjaXSuVe9b-jT45bV9FgRcjtQVD8xFQof0eI/w640-h480/IMG_9861.JPG" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Report:
City 3 Spurs 3 – what a game!</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The trip up to
Manchester was a very cold one (luckily, cars are equipped with heating
controls to keep us warm… it is just when we leave the car our cheeks start to
get to that frozen-tinged image). Suffice to say it was bloody cold up north. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Once parked up, we
made our way to the ground and waited outside, talking to other Spurs
supporters. Once the allotted time was here, we made our way in, up the stairs;
upon Janet seeing us, she bought us (Mel and I) a nice cup of coffee each to
warm us, the old codgers, up. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I did predict we
would lose 2-1. After our defeats against Chelski, Wolves and Villa, I couldn’t
see us beating the League and European Champions. But as Jimmy Greaves used to
say, “Football is a funny old game”. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After 6 minutes we
were delighted, we scored… then three minutes after that, they equalised… our
heads quickly dropped. It was going to be one of those days… our fourth defeat
looked like it was going to stare us in the face. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, we led early as
Son scored the first, only for our South Korean Captain to divert Julian
Alvarez's cross into his own net three minutes later. Then Phil Foden finished
off to put City in front at the break. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Before the break,
they were 2-1 up, and we just stood there shivering. Wondering what sort of
talk Ange would give his team and how they would come out in the second half in
a precarious position.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Second
half…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Not to worry, Giovani
Lo Celso pulled us level with an excellent curling effort from the edge of the
area midway through the second half, but Yves Bissouma was soon punished for
losing possession close to our area.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Foden fed Haaland,
who delivered the low cross for Grealish to convert. Our heads dropped… but, Kulusevski's
late intervention, a mix of head and shoulder sending the ball in off the bar,
ensured we avoided a fourth successive Premier League defeat. We ended the game
in fifth position and on 27 points, three behind Champions City, who drop to
third. To us, it felt like a victory. It was an exciting game. A game that was
needed to give that uplifting boost ahead of our games against the Spammers,
Newcastle, Forest and Everton. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We were ecstatic as
we left City’s lair… and strangely enough, we didn’t feel cold anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We got a point from a
match that ended in controversy as referee Simon Hooper blew for a foul on
Erling Haaland, who had already shrugged off the effects of Emerson Royal's
tackle and chipped a pass to Grealish, which seemed to set the England man
clear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Haaland was still
complaining long after the final whistle and responded to something said from our
bench before furiously marching down the tunnel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I don’t think there
were any complaints from both sets of fans about the excitement value of a
contest that pitted together two attacking sides.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">By half-time, the
tally stood at three goals, two shots that hit the woodwork, 14 shots and 10
corners. At the final whistle, there had been six goals, 26 shots, 18 corners
and no one left complaining about a lack of entertainment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">From our side, we all
thought it was a brilliant game, with both sides at their most vulnerable when
they were attacking their opponents' goals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The technical
quality, attacking invention and simple desire to score goals in this contest was
a sight to be held by our supporters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As fans, we knew that
they would not dominate possession, but even under the most severe pressure, we
tried to play quickly out from the back.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">To us, we won a great
game… even though it was a draw. They had a full complement, while we had 10
out. The future under Ange looks bright. The fans love him… even the media dot
over him. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Next up will be the
Spammers… all I can say is, bring it on!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMjxxM4TqzMQRCmX_Z6IQNFLWs9Y4MBY4TZmBrdfXVQ9E-7HVDbNrajyAZ5dQORYLXMzowVg0OJuNWQIKG0KO_qsF9g1IuoQ1K6X4oda9pEPNPIhhiHEx1xwhLSqcZuueSOE_4pnY8_pIhoLRsn0KYKaMipIleF4jiNexOZ2L6QGTL8ho9UjUGzkLDVM/s2048/Me%20with%20Steve%20Perryman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMjxxM4TqzMQRCmX_Z6IQNFLWs9Y4MBY4TZmBrdfXVQ9E-7HVDbNrajyAZ5dQORYLXMzowVg0OJuNWQIKG0KO_qsF9g1IuoQ1K6X4oda9pEPNPIhhiHEx1xwhLSqcZuueSOE_4pnY8_pIhoLRsn0KYKaMipIleF4jiNexOZ2L6QGTL8ho9UjUGzkLDVM/w150-h200/Me%20with%20Steve%20Perryman.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-21982161007999875032023-11-29T03:23:00.000-08:002023-11-29T03:23:58.253-08:00Match Preview: Manchester City v Spurs – fingers crossed for a good result.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhuGSyXAsLIQBIZ9FPXDMOu9k5MXEJNKvcPmSNiTYhsn4H_EvDbpQFxW2G47THuhc8mXtRmctOGmi7a51tbGEVDJJBv1K13RJpiUVVWLYnDg8T_hYC9JL5CesMq3y4rS6IGxMY-z5pKNd274ojpTqtWBaB3Hl0Kh5fIvaOUae19ap3aTj6uPL9cXuJk7A/s835/Manchester%20City%20v%20Spurs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="835" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhuGSyXAsLIQBIZ9FPXDMOu9k5MXEJNKvcPmSNiTYhsn4H_EvDbpQFxW2G47THuhc8mXtRmctOGmi7a51tbGEVDJJBv1K13RJpiUVVWLYnDg8T_hYC9JL5CesMq3y4rS6IGxMY-z5pKNd274ojpTqtWBaB3Hl0Kh5fIvaOUae19ap3aTj6uPL9cXuJk7A/w640-h384/Manchester%20City%20v%20Spurs.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Preview:
Manchester City v Spurs – fingers crossed for a good result.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After three straight
defeats, we could do with a turnaround of fortunes; unfortunately, that turnaround
– if it happens – will be against City on their own turf. And, yes, pigs might
fly… as they often do when the Gooners travel abroad. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Premier League
champions Manchester City find themselves in second place, a point behind Arsenic and Old Lace. Pep Guardiola’s
side won nine of their opening 12 matches which includes two losses. Before the
recent international break, they played out an entertaining 1-1 draw against Liverpool
at home. Erling Haaland was once again on the scoresheet as he extended his
efforts for this season to 14 goals. We, on the other hand, have faltered after
winning four on the bounce. A crazy 4-1 loss to Pochettino’s Blue Boys at home,
which saw two of our players sent off, which was followed up by a 2-1 at Wolves.
With those results, it was enough to see Ange Postecoglou’s men surrender their
championship lead. Then on Sunday just gone we lost to Villa at home. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Man City are on a
15-game winning streak at home in the Premier League.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Both teams have
scored in three of Man City’s last four Premier League home matches.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Man City scored at
least two goals in 13 of their previous 15 home league games.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We have netted in
each of their previous 13 league road games.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Man City opened the
scoring in each of their last 10 home Premier League outings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Team News<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Bentancur is out for
three months, and on top of that we still haven’t got Ivan Perisic, Micky van
de Ven, James Maddison, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, Richarlison, Cristian
Romero, Alfie Whiteman, they are all out.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Man City
vs Tottenham head-to-head record<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">05 Feb 2023 – Tottenham
1-0 Man City – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">19 Jan 2023 – Man
City 4-2 Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">19 Feb 2022 – Man
City 2-3 Tottenham – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">15 Aug 2021 –
Tottenham 1-0 Man City – Premier League<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">25 Apr 2021 –
Tottenham 0-1 Man City – League Cup<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Tottenham won three
of their last four meetings against Man City (one loss).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
possible starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Vicario; Porro, Dier,
Davies, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Bissouma, Lo Celso; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
Prediction.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Unless a miracle
happens, I can’t see past a 3-1 defeat. I am just hoping I am wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With the players we
got out, we are going to need a miracle. Some of the names Ange had on the
bench I’ve never even heard of (youth), that shows you how desperate we are. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But miracles do happen,
and, no doubt, all Spurs fans… including the manager and team, will be praying
for one. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsiTiXKsU9S0oP3ayrhj75VdIY01sfYOCRxqUyaJBGpN83IzFThufh0ojsQx3ymnzXrbCtbHQYP229XYnU4GTKV3OqHuTDkgVsvZIoPR0RyKR3gQR4Wo2u5RxwUs7pjIhyphenhypheng4bQ9tyIuV6hZS_KLLYZtEn7InpUSbLTpRvihBQ8Jq9COsonQNaaNAjF4/s1979/Me%20and%20Ray%20Clemence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1979" data-original-width="1433" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PsiTiXKsU9S0oP3ayrhj75VdIY01sfYOCRxqUyaJBGpN83IzFThufh0ojsQx3ymnzXrbCtbHQYP229XYnU4GTKV3OqHuTDkgVsvZIoPR0RyKR3gQR4Wo2u5RxwUs7pjIhyphenhypheng4bQ9tyIuV6hZS_KLLYZtEn7InpUSbLTpRvihBQ8Jq9COsonQNaaNAjF4/s320/Me%20and%20Ray%20Clemence.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-41540454782686629252023-11-28T05:56:00.000-08:002023-11-28T05:56:54.504-08:00Match Report: Spurs 1 Villa 2<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxe5HJAXd25ofayHt6zOoitMfY8yAu2YzFyRTobRN3026hg8D7hLHEoOR68_0MuNtIh_WNBZY_KTSc_XaCfPOBUhZIGcsxbrZYuAZrp3BPyeCIm8mUQo2H4J3PdhsqYjGWBKg-qX8NgYiLV8rxN-KBbamcOOoK1epche40SEml37qcRASz2A-M1_7VNc/s4032/IMG_9815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXxe5HJAXd25ofayHt6zOoitMfY8yAu2YzFyRTobRN3026hg8D7hLHEoOR68_0MuNtIh_WNBZY_KTSc_XaCfPOBUhZIGcsxbrZYuAZrp3BPyeCIm8mUQo2H4J3PdhsqYjGWBKg-qX8NgYiLV8rxN-KBbamcOOoK1epche40SEml37qcRASz2A-M1_7VNc/w480-h640/IMG_9815.JPG" width="480" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Report:
Spurs 1 Villa 2</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After the Chelski
game, our team was devastated by injuries and sending-offs. The next two games
left us with ten players down, so considering… I thought we did pretty well
against Wolves and Villa. We could have been winners in both games if we had
taken our chances, but, alas, it wasn’t to be… what we did take away from both
matches was that there is hope and a future with Ange Postecoglou in charge. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We were all over Villa
in the first 20 minutes and could have scored four or five. Even though we left
our third game with no points, optimism was still in the air. And Ange did say
that it would take a few years before building the team he wants. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But
before all that… Venables.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Before the game, we
held a minute’s applause in memory of Terry Venables, our former player and
manager… he was also the manager of the England football team. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We learned about his
death on our way to the game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Once in the ground,
Terry Venables's image was displayed on the big screen and in the lounge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We won just two major
honours since Venables led us to the FA Cup in 1991, but a positive start to
Ange Postecoglou's spell in charge has raised hopes of ending our 15-year
trophy drought.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Venables was an innovative,
attack-minded coach; he would no doubt have been impressed by our attacking
play under Postecoglou, and despite losing our last two matches, that
philosophy continued against Villa.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
match…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We scored after 22
minutes, but Villa came from behind to beat us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Giovani lo Celso's
deflected opener looked to have got us back on track after our unbeaten start ended
with back-to-back defeats before the international break by Pochettino’s Blue
Boys and Wolves.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the Villa game,
Pau Torres levelled with a header deep into the first half of added time before
Ollie Watkins slotted in his 12th goal of the season to seal Villa's
turnaround. We pushed for an equaliser but could not avoid a third straight
loss.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ange made four
changes to his side, some of them enforced, and one of the players (Lo Celso)
came into the side and opened the scoring after a lively start.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Lo Celso hit a fierce
effort from the edge of the box from a Pedro Porro corner, and its slight
deflection off Diego Carlos wrong-footed Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez,
and it went in the net. At this point, we were on fire…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It was Lo Celso’s first
goal for us since September 2021, having had two spells on loan at Villarreal
and only his second in the Premier League.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Destiny Udogie fired
over earlier, Dejan Kulusevski struck a post, and Son turned Brennan Johnson's
square ball over the bar.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">After Lo Celso's
opener, Kulusevski curled a shot narrowly wide, and Son had three goals
disallowed for offside. Then, as we pressed forward late on, Ben Davies headed
narrowly over, and Martinez denied Brennan Johnson, but we were still
encouraged by our depleted side's performance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our style and
football were as good as they have been since Ange took over. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Of course, it all
changed once Bentancur was brought down, and he had to go off. With ten
injuries and Villa not being a pushover, we did well, considering. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Next up is City,
followed by the Spammers, Newcastle United, Forest and Everton… as they say… it
doesn’t rain, but it pours. With such injuries, I am glad it is Ange in charge more
than any of the other managers under Levy… including Pochettino. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkj7q1TSBrShr-GbN6D-ec8-veeVqCdcaUNV1G4VrYv6l4x9w2R6k6cUcp5GAlsil6lBAaesFgSwKeXg-nQv3uEdBm1fseAZvwFObzh6nzSnTc6LolaUZjHiTBFji4Y7qRNvMcwwnDCzI44nHOmCaHkplxOlSbRhzu23_sTUJe7LjkR9_OTx_Ee1a84J0/s2048/with%20a%20glass%20of%20wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkj7q1TSBrShr-GbN6D-ec8-veeVqCdcaUNV1G4VrYv6l4x9w2R6k6cUcp5GAlsil6lBAaesFgSwKeXg-nQv3uEdBm1fseAZvwFObzh6nzSnTc6LolaUZjHiTBFji4Y7qRNvMcwwnDCzI44nHOmCaHkplxOlSbRhzu23_sTUJe7LjkR9_OTx_Ee1a84J0/w150-h200/with%20a%20glass%20of%20wine.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-94847206096720752023-11-24T12:46:00.000-08:002023-11-24T12:46:57.213-08:00Match Preview: Spurs v Aston Villa - team news: Injury, suspension list, prediction, thoughts etc.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uAQa-UT8ztYvvMzsqeiVPgmdblCtECBVltrySmj0l2R2L-9KGIfYbwKU7AoR04RVGjdMn0oPnkkuPW0Z_uZ8UiKq_k_GTR9riZ9F49TB1Cq5XaK_XKcquVjbGEshw-oG4YWN49VdzOGPSd72kezsjfulApE51gTu0zmVuMDxRH2JcAzABmYcVTUSGvo/s963/Spurs%20v%20Aston%20Villa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="963" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uAQa-UT8ztYvvMzsqeiVPgmdblCtECBVltrySmj0l2R2L-9KGIfYbwKU7AoR04RVGjdMn0oPnkkuPW0Z_uZ8UiKq_k_GTR9riZ9F49TB1Cq5XaK_XKcquVjbGEshw-oG4YWN49VdzOGPSd72kezsjfulApE51gTu0zmVuMDxRH2JcAzABmYcVTUSGvo/w640-h386/Spurs%20v%20Aston%20Villa.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Preview:
Spurs v Aston Villa - team news: Injury, suspension list, prediction, thoughts
etc.</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Because of injuries
and suspensions, we’ve lost two in a row. This third match will be difficult to
predict, however…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">… Postecoglou will
try to avoid a third successive defeat. Anyway, we won’t go into analysing
those two defeats… as we don’t need to be depressed going into Sunday’s game. I
will say, though, that we’ve gone somewhat adrift of our rivals, where we are
currently sitting fourth in the table, two points worse off than City. As for
Liverpool, Arsenic, and Old Lace, they are one point ahead. It's not a great canyon
to leap, but we must start returning to winning ways. Otherwise, we could find
ourselves up shit’s creek.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This weekend sees
City v Liverpool, Brentford v Arsenic and Old Lace, while Newcastle take on
Pochettino’s Blue Boys. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I am hoping that City
either draw or beat Liverpool while Brentford get one over the Gooners. As for
Newcastle, a win would do nicely!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">TEAM NEWS<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Destiny Udogie
returns for Spurs after injury and suspension, but Cristian Romero and Yves
Bissouma are banned.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pape Matar Sarr
sustained an unspecified injury while playing for Senegal and will be assessed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our Premier
League form:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">WWWWLL<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Aston Villa Premier
League form:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">WDWWLW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Aston Villa form (all
competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">WWWLWW<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My possible
starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Vicario; Porro, Dier,
Davies, Udogie; Hojbjerg, Skipp, Bentancur; Kulusevski, Son, Johnson<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
Prediction.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Considering all
injuries and suspensions, I think this one is hard to predict. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My first thoughts
(which were all over the place) were 1-1; then I jumped to 1-2 to Villa… now I
am more sure-footed and going for a 3-1 win. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The onus will be on Johnson
and Dejan Kulusevski to provide the team with a creative spark in the absence
of Maddison and Perisic. We should experience some joy against a Villa side that
often falls short at away games. The trouble is that we don’t know what our
manager has planned for Villa; hopefully, it will be something that will stun
them into submission. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What more can I say? The
wait has been too long since the last game… but now we are ready and waiting…
or at least I am. I hope we come away from the Tottenham stadium in good
spirits. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZqCatY_xiT-yWcEz991k2DDhZ3mU6pqE3V-9y_Scx-No2QXaPwy9M-SdCrmFgSDvFvFnB4LOk86NBJCApOft1ECgXUtARWYvB3DlEk8tu171jEsJ48Qxb5eDm97QkcJ6v634WjPVYDtQOt95VVsqniOFXiL2O2D5IIFlbxQ9M5n8FSOHb4xol18CQK4/s170/Me.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="170" data-original-width="167" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZqCatY_xiT-yWcEz991k2DDhZ3mU6pqE3V-9y_Scx-No2QXaPwy9M-SdCrmFgSDvFvFnB4LOk86NBJCApOft1ECgXUtARWYvB3DlEk8tu171jEsJ48Qxb5eDm97QkcJ6v634WjPVYDtQOt95VVsqniOFXiL2O2D5IIFlbxQ9M5n8FSOHb4xol18CQK4/s1600/Me.JPG" width="167" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-31336451958027659432023-11-13T06:48:00.000-08:002023-11-13T06:48:20.659-08:00Match Report: Spurs 1 Wolves 2: has the bubble burst?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcg3gLxr1dsJqSudJWbCI6UAzZSOUvalLKhHWFbZdRZsh7NrknUeFJmNY3DqkdkZselkAhbYEe5tMHx9nHrxVNx9wRSah-WkeQmABlzilLuYTx4O5YfB3-_YDjZ_T5MoaBm4lKgFPtkaIU19uBc8IFfvLC2us8aYOlVamS-DeMZFUxWQvabcD_znniz7Y/s4032/IMG_9640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcg3gLxr1dsJqSudJWbCI6UAzZSOUvalLKhHWFbZdRZsh7NrknUeFJmNY3DqkdkZselkAhbYEe5tMHx9nHrxVNx9wRSah-WkeQmABlzilLuYTx4O5YfB3-_YDjZ_T5MoaBm4lKgFPtkaIU19uBc8IFfvLC2us8aYOlVamS-DeMZFUxWQvabcD_znniz7Y/w640-h480/IMG_9640.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Report:
Spurs 1 Wolves 2: has the bubble burst?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Thoughts…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In my match report, I
said I was looking forward to this game as we could see what Ange Postecoglou
has hidden away once the main cogs (two injuries and two suspensions) have been
tampered with and put out of action. And it wasn’t, sadly, that much. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Maybe it's too early
to say, but if we struggle against Villa and City, then the bubble has burst.
It also seems that when the January window opens, we won’t be doing that much
purchasing as we’ve already spent a great chunk of our transfer budget,
including Kane’s money. If that means we have to limp through the season, the
fans could again turn against the Pied Pipper (Levy) for nobbling Postecoglou;
putting him in a weak position. Of course, that assumption could be totally
wrong, and Levy will find the resources to build on our poor squad (outside the
main eleven). At the moment, we don’t have a strong squad to continue our fight
for a top-four place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With Liverpool, City,
Arsenic and Old Lace having stronger squads, we might be playing second fiddle
to those three better-equipped teams. That is without mentioning Villa, United,
Newcastle and Pochettino’s Blue Council renters coming up on the inside. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My next two
predictions will be very cautious. At this point in time, I can’t see us
overcoming our next two opponents. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
match…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Wolves' results have
been mixed of late, but they have now beaten Manchester City and us and drew
with Newcastle United last month. On the other hand, we have come from a
fantastic run against lower opponents, apart from Arsenic and Old Lace, who we
drew against and a Liverpool side, who we only managed to beat because they
were reduced to nine men. Then, a disastrous game against Pochettino’s Blue
Boys culminated in our defeat, followed – a few days later – by embarrassment against
Wolves on their ground. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Wolves lacked potency
in the final third on Saturday, but introducing 86th-minute substitute Sarabia
changed their fortunes with his expert eye in front of goal. The rest is Saturday’s
history. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As for
us…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">A collection of
enforced changes presented issues for Ange Postecoglou, whose makeshift side
failed to cope with the relentless Wolves pressure. Cristian Romero and Destiny
Udogie began suspensions after receiving red cards on Monday. At the same time,
Micky van de Ven and James Maddison have picked up injuries, but because of our
weak squad, we didn’t have the tools that more powerful teams have. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Eric Dier, making his
first start of the season, had to contest a continual onslaught of Wolves
attacks with Ben Davies, who returned after an ankle injury, and they could not
maintain their defensive strength for the whole game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ange’s comments after
the game were, <b><i>“The second half was a bit better, but there are a lot of
players having their first start, and we were never going to get the same
fluency."</i> </b>Really! Not with the squad he partly inherited, he
won’t… which doesn’t look that bright anytime before January.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We couldn’t get the
most out of getting an early advantage, with our lack of potency in the final
third leading to just one more shot on target.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Defeat was only the
eighth time a Premier League side lost after leading in the 90th minute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Postecoglou added, <b><i>"It
is disappointing that the goals are going in so late. We worked hard up until
that point."</i></b> There was no real mention of his make-shift defence
other than they had less than a week to train together. Really!!! What about
before Pochettino’s challenge? Didn’t they think of possibilities of disruption
and that they better think of a makeshift back four?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On top of all that,
Wolves Hwang and Kalajdzic's misses were glaring errors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I might be a bit
harsh, and when we come back after the international break, we might see a
better – stronger – more united back four that we saw against Wolves… and pigs
might fly… but as I keep saying, Arsenic and Old Lace do… and if they can…
strange possibilities are open for everybody else. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ending on
a good note…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We are only two
points behind City, and one point behind the Scousers and the Gooners. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Man City —9-1-2 — 32-12 — +20 —28<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Liverpool — 8-3-1 — 27-10 — +17 — 27<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Arsenal — 8-3-1 — 26-10 — +16 — 27<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tottenham — 8-2-2 — 24-15 — +9 — 26<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our
next games against Villa, City, the Spammers, and Newcastle might put a stop to
our ambitions for this season… then again, there is the FA Cup… Nine changes,
anybody?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnciaz6JdskMfiKqKU_kS8Sqj7OI1j-xkZHyJZM2KWOeJYIraKoyWgGm1nLrD5f1xaMGbaQVRKsN1ha5iP4YLMZcKs1WnNpmls_EbU8Qiha8YScfHZom7lU6LelPq3BR8x3ICiQeZN3rxbSuo_O646hiHDk9HLsSK3OxJiKCmgqdvxC8Rf71PI7g08B4/s4032/IMG_9633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnciaz6JdskMfiKqKU_kS8Sqj7OI1j-xkZHyJZM2KWOeJYIraKoyWgGm1nLrD5f1xaMGbaQVRKsN1ha5iP4YLMZcKs1WnNpmls_EbU8Qiha8YScfHZom7lU6LelPq3BR8x3ICiQeZN3rxbSuo_O646hiHDk9HLsSK3OxJiKCmgqdvxC8Rf71PI7g08B4/w150-h200/IMG_9633.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-19447709565474845182023-11-09T07:53:00.000-08:002023-11-09T07:53:34.336-08:00Match Preview: Wolves v Spurs; prediction, lineup, thoughts, team news and much more…<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlRzEEU93ytgYdFcdha-c_SHKLPFeJI-LkpdxCzeqQwyVdD4hK_32S42Fi-W9bhgblMr9MeVJBPdUccXcjmzd88iRACQo6xdlqyBVQVMZR9nRVeTTqchRXwgG4J6wHec02hqR3jvlv2ZcoFCSR6uFdc3RcnsyVomPJcEqV3zzLhudz52CvwuOk3XOXck/s825/Wolves%20v%20Spurs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="825" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlRzEEU93ytgYdFcdha-c_SHKLPFeJI-LkpdxCzeqQwyVdD4hK_32S42Fi-W9bhgblMr9MeVJBPdUccXcjmzd88iRACQo6xdlqyBVQVMZR9nRVeTTqchRXwgG4J6wHec02hqR3jvlv2ZcoFCSR6uFdc3RcnsyVomPJcEqV3zzLhudz52CvwuOk3XOXck/w640-h384/Wolves%20v%20Spurs.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match Preview:
Wolves v Spurs; prediction, lineup, thoughts, team news and much more…</span></b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In my match report
against Chelski, I said, <b><i>“I am actually looking forward to Saturday’s
game against Wolves. Yes, our back four has been decimated. However, our midfield
was intact (hopefully, Maddison’s problem was minor), and our striking force
was unharmed. The question now is, what can Ange Postecoglou do to resurrect us
or at least our back four? If Conte were still manager, my head would sink into
my hands… but he has gone, and we’ve got something better organising the team.”<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, I feel confident,
and I am sure everybody else is satisfied with Ange in charge. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Having lost to
Pochettino’s young Tykes in remarkable circumstances, we now attempt to enter
the international break on a high when we face Wolves this Saturday. And, of
course, if we should win – and I believe we can win - then we go back to the
top of the Premier League table (that is until the other teams get into action,
nevertheless, if we win only City can go above us). <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Our nine-man team were
beaten 4-1 with another contentious VAR call.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
preview<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Wolves…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Last weekend, Wolves fell
victim to a controversial call that went against his side at Bramall Lane,
where newly-promoted Sheffield United clinched their first top-flight win of
the season at the 11th attempt. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> Since VAR was introduced, it seems more about
that than the football on the pitch. Premier League football has become a
laughing stock. I wonder what VAR will bring us in calamity terms this weekend?
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">On the subject of
VAR, we could boast the last unbeaten record standing in the 2023-24 Premier
League season, having witnessed the Gooners fall victim to another dose of VAR
controversy in their 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United (that is within 48 hours).
But we move on…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">… and we move on without
Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero, as they were both made to take the walk of embarrassment
on a nightmare evening for our nine-man team.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Extending our
unbeaten run on the road to eight games would be brilliant, and I believe we
can. Nevertheless, we have been beaten in two of our last three Premier League
clashes with Wolves, most recently going down 1-0 at Molineux in March courtesy
of an Adama Traore effort.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier
League form:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">DWDWDL<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all
competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">LWDWDL<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tottenham Hotspur Premier League
form:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">DWWWWL<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
team news<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Udogie will serve his
one-game ban because of his red card versus the Blue Boys, while Romero will
begin a three-match suspension, which will also see him sit-out meetings with Villa
and City in the coming weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Micky van de Ven
pulled up with what appeared to be a serious hamstring problem on Monday, while
James Maddison was withdrawn owing to a blow to the ankle, but he should
hopefully shake off his affliction in time for Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Manor Solomon (knee),
Ivan Perisic (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) and Alfie Whiteman (ankle) will be out.
If Ben Davies cannot recover from his ankle issue, Postecoglou may have no
choice but to throw 18-year-old Ashley Phillips in the mix.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Richarlison has also
announced that he will soon undergo surgery on a pelvic problem, but it is
unclear whether that imminent operation will impact his participation at
Molineux.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
possible starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Vicario; Porro, Dier, Phillips,
Royal; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson; Son<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Confidence!! That is
what Ange has installed into the players and the fans. So, being optimistic, I
shall go for a 1-2 win. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Some have applauded
us for the way we arranged our game against Pochettino’s lame ducks; others
have criticised us for allowing three goals in the final minutes of the game.
You can’t win them all, but Ange is getting there. For Christ’s sake! It was 11
against nine men, so… considering, we did well. The two games this season we
lost were, first, against Fulham, where we scored both goals in a draw and then
lost on a penalty shootout, and our game on Monday, where we were winning and
then got two men sent off… giving Pochettino’s Blues a chance to capitalise on
our misfortunes. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVgN0UXHlnjNPC79Gi3atbihcupx4kWnP80orIZYlzjaBwnQ7vH9JU7taoYhYB0HiVW_9EJUVkbQcyWY6f3xsAVK91ki2a6ptNCUTVmF1gQmqYFI1B0GcnMDYGpx17jpkvDCw4xigAu3p4kbQIlvPl0Aj8cch3oT2MWs5zx5zqyB20S9DTTJ_6Qq0CiM/s2048/Me%20with%20Cliff%20Jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVgN0UXHlnjNPC79Gi3atbihcupx4kWnP80orIZYlzjaBwnQ7vH9JU7taoYhYB0HiVW_9EJUVkbQcyWY6f3xsAVK91ki2a6ptNCUTVmF1gQmqYFI1B0GcnMDYGpx17jpkvDCw4xigAu3p4kbQIlvPl0Aj8cch3oT2MWs5zx5zqyB20S9DTTJ_6Qq0CiM/s320/Me%20with%20Cliff%20Jones.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with Cliff Jones, the great double<br />of 1960/1961</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-90985460165555416182023-11-07T06:34:00.003-08:002023-11-07T09:38:47.163-08:00Match Report: Spurs 1 Lucky Pochettino’s Chelsea 4 (and they were lucky).<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NZTiNo49FpsbO0rIFVc4vSxCRjyrakkaUeF-b8k9_NmdfacwZNw9atcIzHs990iB9y4QjYcY_S2uixPPnYEpdxDfyv0gFVLQdmLFP0DtF5gto0FJ1dC0xZqv3LTHWyn9cPxErNAAIMj8xkNN8t3FT3V2NI7L_iGTOQgO0F2vDKUQz4gklcdhslyKLeg/s4032/Spurs%201%20Chelsea%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NZTiNo49FpsbO0rIFVc4vSxCRjyrakkaUeF-b8k9_NmdfacwZNw9atcIzHs990iB9y4QjYcY_S2uixPPnYEpdxDfyv0gFVLQdmLFP0DtF5gto0FJ1dC0xZqv3LTHWyn9cPxErNAAIMj8xkNN8t3FT3V2NI7L_iGTOQgO0F2vDKUQz4gklcdhslyKLeg/w640-h480/Spurs%201%20Chelsea%204.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Report: Spurs 1 Lucky Pochettino’s Chelsea 4 (and they were lucky).<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">You can understand
our defeat better if a superior side had beaten us and on a level playing
field, but with two players sent off, goals disallowed, and poor referee
decisions, there could only be one winner, and it was never going to be us. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, Mauricio
Pochettino made a winning return to Tottenham with his
Humpty-Dumpty-Chelsea-laugh-a-minute team as we were reduced to nine men on a
night of chaos and controversy. There were five goals, a further five
disallowed, two red cards, and a hatful of VAR decisions in one of the Premier
League's most frenetic ever games.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We started
brilliantly against a poor Pochettino laugh-a-minute team. We deservedly went
ahead when Dejan Kulusevski's sixth-minute shot deflected in off Chelsea
defender Levi Colwill before Son had an effort narrowly ruled out for offside
as we looked to exploit our early dominance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Chelsea had two goals
of their own disallowed, one each from Raheem Sterling and Moises Caicedo; they
were ruled out for handball and offside, respectively. Nevertheless, after that
VAR joke was sorted, another VAR decision resulted in a penalty for a challenge
by Romero on his fellow compatriot Enzo Fernandez, and then he was sent off in
the aftermath.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Cole Palmer scored
the resulting spot-kick to level the match before we were also further
handicapped by what looked like a serious hamstring injury for Micky van de
Ven. Then, an ankle problem for James Maddison added to our calamitous night.
Both players were substituted before the interval.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Destiny Udogie was
sent off ten minutes after the break for a tackle on Sterling, which brought a
second yellow card from referee Michael Oliver.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">If all that wasn’t
bad enough, Ange Postecoglou also received a yellow card amid the mayhem that
was going on on the field. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Chelsea broke through
our high-line defence and finally broke our resistance with 15 minutes left;
Raheem Sterling broke clear to set up Nicolas Jackson to finish.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Still… we continued
to push forward, and we came close to securing a stunning draw as Eric Dier had
a superb finish ruled out for a narrow offside decision. Rodrigo Bentancur
headed just wide after beating Chelsea's defensive line at a late free-kick.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Chelsea’s Jackson
scored twice more in stoppage time to secure a late hat-trick and render the
scoreline far more comfortable than the evening had been for Pochettino’s team.
<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">With seconds and
minutes ticking by, it was all over bar the shouting. We finally went down to
our first Premier League defeat of the season. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What started as hope
and expectations turned into a miserable evening. Even the ride home was
shitty, with most of the exits on the M25 closed. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Full credit to
Guglielmo Vicario, who ended up as our hero; he acted as an emergency sweeper
on several occasions, but just as Chelsea started to look frustrated, we were
finally broken, and Jackson cashed in.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Things to
come…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We now face long-term
consequences from the chaos, not just with suspensions for Romero and Udogie
but those injuries to Van de Ven and Maddison.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Saying all that… I am
actually looking forward to Saturday’s game against Wolves. Yes, our back four
has been decimated. However, our midfield is intact (hopefully, Maddison’s
problem was minor), and our striking force was unharmed. The question now is,
what can Ange Postecoglou do to resurrect us or at least our back four? If
Conte were still manager, my head would sink into my hands… but he has gone, and
we’ve got something better organising our team. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And
finally…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We are still second
in the Premier League, a point behind City and 2 points in front of Liverpool
and Arsenic and Old Lace; the scousers drew against Luton over the weekend,
while the Gooners were humiliated by Newcastle United. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This weekend, we face
Wolves away. While Arsenic face Burnley at home and Pochettino’s Cowboys face
City on their ground. Still all to play for. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It seems if teams
want to beat us, they must employ or get the referee to use unprincipled means.
The record books will show a 4-1 defeat, but those who were there or watched it
on TV will know what a fiasco the whole game turned into, thus allowing our
nemesis to sneak an unfair advantage. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfW6aIZZlsD2wF9VDNOLP-UcbXx2aKM5WeAkulrGtBWP6IgKQsOewIJ2tf0FKG6TOhziQvCJ5DoFv7fAMomQQ2MKd-5hjq1dB5Xh0qp7mWy4PprpgViDICsPYn2infVvv57CVjcspQ9CWedLB_uJkmBOfkHOjJye4kGSA7GxS-0gDTuCOG9Sg6UDEovs/s4032/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfW6aIZZlsD2wF9VDNOLP-UcbXx2aKM5WeAkulrGtBWP6IgKQsOewIJ2tf0FKG6TOhziQvCJ5DoFv7fAMomQQ2MKd-5hjq1dB5Xh0qp7mWy4PprpgViDICsPYn2infVvv57CVjcspQ9CWedLB_uJkmBOfkHOjJye4kGSA7GxS-0gDTuCOG9Sg6UDEovs/s320/Paul%20Coyte%20and%20me.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Paul Coyte "Up the Spurs!"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span face=""Century Gothic","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7082457282478439159.post-23835251121082442932023-11-04T06:14:00.000-07:002023-11-04T06:14:19.102-07:00 Match Preview: Spurs v Pochettino's Chelski; my prediction, team news, lineup, etc<p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzslHmIMJ6W3gd5n5wKZI3_2jiP7MqX7i2sirgEsv7-HaZvPRfHRFHwyujIjsENY1AkP3FPa5gX0fXYkPSc53ydxK0r1p2w-nIaMJUieRgK6tD8x416WQEnmyFIzrqS7cYltDQUvZIV58gdwo0DYMroW9cItJVFU3pocfsKCzeXc1D9UDhKvgF7rnOK0/s805/Spurs%20v%20Chelsea.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="805" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzslHmIMJ6W3gd5n5wKZI3_2jiP7MqX7i2sirgEsv7-HaZvPRfHRFHwyujIjsENY1AkP3FPa5gX0fXYkPSc53ydxK0r1p2w-nIaMJUieRgK6tD8x416WQEnmyFIzrqS7cYltDQUvZIV58gdwo0DYMroW9cItJVFU3pocfsKCzeXc1D9UDhKvgF7rnOK0/w640-h376/Spurs%20v%20Chelsea.JPG" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
Preview: Spurs v Pochettino's Chelski; my prediction, team news, lineup, etc</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Even though
Pochettino’s Chelski have had a bad start to the season, we shouldn’t take
anything for granted. In this London derby, both teams are going to be up for
it. If anything will motivate the Blue Boys, it will be getting one over on
their superior London neighbours. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Yes, this
long-awaited London derby is a sort of homecoming for Mauricio Pochettino.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see how the Argentinian will be
welcomed this Monday evening by our fans. Normally, spit and hate are directed
at the players (and still will be) and their manager… but he was a very popular
manager at Tottenham, even though Levy sacked him. I suspect he will get a warm welcome. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We maintained our
first-placed position by seeing off Crystal Palace 2-1 two Fridays ago, while
the Blues overcame Blackburn Rovers 2-0 in midweek to reach the EFL Cup
quarter-finals, even though they were thrashed by Brentford on their home turf
2-0 in the league last weekend. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Match
preview<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Crystal Palace at
Selhurst Park often proves a troublesome occasion for many a team, and we could
not unlock their backline throughout the first 45 minutes. Still, an
unfortunate Joel Ward's own goal set the wheels in motion before Son increased
our advantage. Jordan Ayew's last-gasp volley proved nothing more than a
consolation as we achieved a feat that none of Ange’s Premier League managerial
predecessors managed, taking 26 points from his first ten games in the
competition.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Even though we are
two points clear at the top for the time, victories for the Gunners, City and
the Scousers over the weekend could bump us down to fourth spot by Monday. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Postecoglou will seek
to become just the third Premier League head coach to go undefeated in his
first 11 games unbeaten after Frank Clark and Maurizio Sarri.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pochettino’s
Russian Rasputin’s<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I suppose Chelski can
take some comfort in that their side have taken seven points from their last
three top-flight fixtures on the road, albeit against a trio of bottom-half
teams in Fulham, Bournemouth and newly-promoted Burnley. Still, anything is
possible when the two enemies meet (both with new managers). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
Premier League form:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%;">WDWWWW<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Pochettino’s team Premier League
form:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%;">DLWWDL<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%;">All form (all competitions):<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%;">WWWDLW<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spurs
team news<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Destiny Udogie sat
out our win over Palace with the knock he sustained against Fulham, while his
replacement - Ben Davies - came off at half time with a blow to the ankle.
Davies is unlikely to make it, but Udogie is at least progressing in his
recovery and has a fighting chance of being involved; Emerson Royal should fill
in as a makeshift left-back if neither man passes their late fitness tests.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ivan Perisic (knee),
Manor Solomon (knee), Alfie Whiteman (ankle) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring)
remain on the treatment table as they recuperate from surgery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> In attack, Brennan Johnson set up Son's strike
against Palace only two minutes after replacing Richarlison. I think many fans
would love to see Johnson replace the hapless Richarlison. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Pochettino’s
side<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Ben Chilwell will
spend a few more weeks recuperating from a thigh concern. Romeo Lavia (ankle),
Wesley Fofana (knee), Christopher Nkunku (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh) and
Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) will miss out too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Mykhaylo Mudryk will
shake off his minor affliction in time to be involved. However, Pochettino has
conceded that Armando Broja (knee) should only make the bench at best despite
having a few days' worth of training.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There is caution over
Reece James, who completed 61 minutes of the win over Blackburn, so Axel Disasi
could potentially be deployed at right-back as Badiashile holds his central
spot alongside the returning Thiago Silva.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My possible
Spurs starting lineup:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven,
Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Johnson; Son<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My
prediction…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%;">Let us have a pit of fantasy
football and then go to a more realistic prediction. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Fantasy…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Son to get a
hattrick, while Johnson scores two and another from Maddison…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Reality…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Spur 3-1 Pochettino’s
hapless team (fingers crossed, not at them scoring a goal, but our victory)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I do not doubt that
some of Chelski’s blue housing renter boys wish to see Pochettino ending our
unbeaten run on Monday night. Still, with the mighty Spurs sweeping aside
almost every team standing before us, Postecoglou should spoil their party.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">We normally would be
relied upon to make our opponent's net shake more than once on home soil, and
we will also have a few points to prove against our former manager, whose
reunion with us will likely turn out to be a miserable one. Well, I hope so!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Whatever way you look
at it, it should be a good game and a few goals thrown into the bargain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Up the Spurs!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">COYS!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Glenn<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVkPHFheTmUDcs8-q3b39Efy9KZegOp4c56-ngBa4k7SkYv_ysj2KZ4OBeaW6YExDORXfNmSrNOoal_qdWk1Hj8Rsc4vAoKSZ9FqxpfwgtGKt4uQcbzlt7v9wmkvHUTsN5y0uaMRBRRkuOsjw_tFZYzwEilhtxMvJjjlEyYAQKdSgRkaWJHIk_hAkgao/s2048/with%20a%20glass%20of%20wine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVkPHFheTmUDcs8-q3b39Efy9KZegOp4c56-ngBa4k7SkYv_ysj2KZ4OBeaW6YExDORXfNmSrNOoal_qdWk1Hj8Rsc4vAoKSZ9FqxpfwgtGKt4uQcbzlt7v9wmkvHUTsN5y0uaMRBRRkuOsjw_tFZYzwEilhtxMvJjjlEyYAQKdSgRkaWJHIk_hAkgao/w150-h200/with%20a%20glass%20of%20wine.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Century Gothic","sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 106%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span><p></p>Glenn M Renshawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893827812279620547noreply@blogger.com0