| The Spur, a Tottenham Hotspur webzine, since '99. March 2010. |
Spurs on US TV
FA Cup: Quarterfinal
Sat, March 6
Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur
"Spurs are on their way to Wembley
"We're the famous Tottenham 'Otspur
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
Full-time. 2-1 win to Tottenham. The final Spurs match to be watched live on Setanta Online as they bow out and leave the rest of their Prem schedule to Fox, who will offer the Setanta-I fare on a new TV channel launching March 1 already slotted into satelite, but not necessarily any given local cable provider. But what about online? Good news, according to EPL Talk (great research as always guys) it's gonna be happening!
A very cool goal from Super Pav in about the twelfth minute, from a pinpoint Defoe cross, puts Spurs ahead.
Gomes looking uncomfortable in the Tottenham goal, but without Landon Donovan, The Toffees seems a little blunt up front.
Around the 27th minute an even better goal than the first, this time Luka Modric nabbing his first goal of 2010, superbly struck to dip over the groping American keeper Tim Howard.
Considering how strong Everton have been in recent matches, including victories over both Chelsea and Manchester United, it was more than pleasantly surprising to see how relatively ineffective they seemed against us.
They glaringly lack fire-power and evn when Landon Donovan came on, he was having an off-day and missed a sitter that could have turned this result upside down.
Some solid performances by individual home players but above all, a good, if not specatcular, team performance. Top teams may not always dazzle, but they consistently do a little bit more than the other guys on the day, which Spurs did.
Sat., Feb 6. Premiership:
In the second half Tottenham Hotspur threw everything at Villa. The good news is we can get very aggressive at home and lay seige to the opposition goal. The bad news is that visitors, if armed with a decent keeper and a tight defensive strategy, have figured out how to shut us out. And we don't know, unlike say Man United, how to unlock that situation.
Sat., Jan 29th. English Premier League:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A well-updated link to English Premier League matches on US TV is via "EPL Talk homepage" and go to TV schedule. A great way to find out when the must see matches are on.
For all futbol on USTV LiveSoccerTV is worth a look.
Spurs in the League Cup this season
Spurs ease past Everton 2:0 in League Cup
Tottenham Hotspur coasted to victory over Everton in their second League Cup match of the season (the fourth round, so Spurs are in the quarter finals), and although the match was overshadowed by the upcoming clash with Arsenal in the league, it was great to see Tottenham's "second team" looking good, albeit playing a severely weakened injury hit Everton outfit.
Players like Gareth Bale, Jason Bentley, and Alan Hutton all looked good, and first team regular Robbie Keane, working hard and scoring the second, seems to be on his way out of a slump.
But out of favour striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has lost all confidence and looks sadly to become our latest version of Sergei Rebrov! Hope not.
Spurs win 1:5 at Preston in League Cup debut
Spurs led 0:2 by the half with goals from Crouch and Defoe, and Crouch claimed a second to put the Londoners in a commanding lead.
The Lancashire side, three down, pulled back a late goal but the game had been sewn up by then, and indeed Spurs were to strike twice more.
An intelligent Huddlestone feed to Robbie Keane, who duly netted with his outstep, made it 1:4. Then Peter Crouch claimed his hat-trick with a nifty backheel from a wonderful Lennon asssist, to make this, in truth, a thrashing.
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
It looked to be a very nervy ten minutes to go until a sensational Jermain Defoe goal finally gave us the desperately needed second goal which came in the 81st minute.
The move had started with Wilson Palacios getting stuck in and dispossesing a Hammer just outside own own box. A string of quick forward passes ensued with Palacious to Modric to Lennon, who as usual turned on the jets to cover midfield in a second, in turn feeding Defoe on the left. Beating two players as he ran inside,
Great goal, and Defoe ran towards to the East Stand paddock to hugs and adulation from the ecstatic Lilywhite faithful. That a player gets booked for such a moment of pure joyous celebration beggars belief and is one more reason why I'd like to see that moron Sep Blatter dunked mercilessly until further notice.
West Ham had come out stronger after the break following an abject showing by the east London side in the first period. But when Tom Huddlestone's explosive shot hit the Paxton upright it was a clear statement that Spurs intended to continue to dictate, and the crowd chanted their appproval.
Spurs dominated possession and created far more chances but just could not kill off the game, yet West Ham showed few signs of capitalizing.
Luka Modric had scored in the 11th minute from a dazzling run by Aaron Lennon towards the Park Lane goal. Indeed England's World Cup hope from Yorkshire was running rampant.
A few days earlier Fulham managed to lock down the marauding wing-half but West Ham, already with two hamstring injuries early in the game, were on their heels as Spurs surged forward, whether via Lennon, Palacios, and even Corluka on the right, or Modric everywhere else.
The Hammers came off a win at home to Portsmouth but in the first half they showed almost nothing and their fans must be in shock at such a lame performance in what for them is their biggest London derby rival. For us, it's just a game against a small team in Millwall!
A beautiful display of football from Spurs with the only wish being that we could finish more often. But to complain after the way Spurs scored two top shelf goals would, in the end, be churlish.
Very good victory in the end and overall a good run for Spurs: ten points from four games, and four consecutive clean sheets.
Corluka
Lennon
Crouch
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
An exhilirating match to watch and proud to support Tottenham Hotspur with a performance like this. It was like being at the Lane, such was the atmosphere conveyed through the screen's audio and video. You've read the reviews, and it was a night of pure celebration.
Shortly after, however, a potential problem looms with the players going off to party in Scotland, uh oh, it turned out to be Dublin Ireland, in contravention of Harry's Xmas party and alcohol ban! However our ensuing win at Rovers seems to indicate that the manager has it all under control, now he can work on his tax returns!
2-4pm (Pacific time) Fox Soccer Ch.
Same day delay
Tottn'm's gonna do it again
They can't stop 'em
The boys from Tottenham
The boys from White Hart Lane!"
And we're going to Wemberlee
Wemberlee Wemberlee
We're the famous Tottenham 'Otspur
And we're going to Wemberlee!
Pav and Modric net for Spurs
Revived Toffeemen meet their match
Feb 28, 2010 (Ssn 2009/10)
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Everton 1
Live on Setanta-I (USA)
Harry started Super Pav! 
East Yidlands
Tottenham H. 0:0 Aston Villa 
Match was live, Fox Soccer Ch.
No score during the first half with the White Hart Lane crowd chanting "boring boring Villa" for their uninspiring long ball approach. Hang on a tick, aren't we the team with Peter Crouch?
Birmingham City 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1 
@ 7-9am [Pacific time], Fox Soccer Ch.
After an abject first half which had many of us questioning the meaning of life, Tottenham Hotspur took the lead in the 69th minute from a superb combination attack from Peter Crouch and the goalscorer Jermain Defoe. Worth the preceding stalemate just for that. Unfortunately Tottenham's propensity to give up the advantage proved true once again with an injury time equalizer form Liam Ridgewell after Spurs had dominated the game once their lead had been secured. Two points thrown away is the only way to look at this. But credit Dawson with an amazing headed clearance near the end, and, amazingly, a solid display from prodigal son David Bentley.
On Tuesday, Dec 1st Spurs played in the quarter-finals of the League Cup. The result was Manchester Utd. 2, Tottenham H. 0, eliminating the Lilywhites from the tournament. Previously.....
Preston North End are off to a solid start in the Championship, and it would be nice to see them regain their ancient glory in the top flight next season, but this encounter only underlined the chasm between a good second tier side and a good Premiership team resting many of their first-choice players.
Festive cheer for Tottenham
Defoe hammers home Spurs superiority
December 28, 2009 (Ssn 2009/10)
Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2
West Ham (0) 0
Rob Francis watched on Fox Soccer Ch.
Jermain's first strike was a scorcher and all Robert Greene could do was to parry right back to the England marksman, who buried it at the second time of asking.
Gomes
Dawson King A-Ekotto
Huddlestone Palacios Modric
Defoe
Pride of London
Magnificent Spurs
Adebayor, what's the score?
December 16, 2009 (Ssn 2009/10)
Tottenham Hotspur 3
Manchester City 0
White Hart Lane
Spurs in the FA Cup this season
Sat., March 6. FA Cup, Quarterfinal:
Line-up: Gomes; Vedran Corluka, Dawson, Sebastian Bassong, B. A-Ekotto; Niko Kranjcar, Palacios, Luka Modric, Bale; Super Pav, Crouch.
Wed., Feb 24. FA Cup, 5th round replay:
Sun., Feb 14. FA Cup fifth rund:
Wed., Feb 3rd. FA Cup fourth round replay:
Tottenham went ahead and Leeds United bounced back. 1-1 half time.
A superb build-up by Spurs afforded Jermain Defoe the opportunity to rip the net with about 23 minutes to go, but the replay showed the raised flag was right, offside.
Didn't take long for Defoe to bury it again, however. Still the pattern was working out the same as the first encounter. This is where the pattern must surely stop.
It did. Dawson made up for his blunder in the first match with a big boot to Defoe, who also wanted to make ammends for that first match penalty miss, he broke away from his marker, raced goalward, and thumped in the killer goal.
Some quality goals from Defoe, and we won't miss Robbie Keane too much (no disrespect to the talented Irishman) if he keeps this level up, but it was a League Two side we have to remember.
The atmosphere was amazing, both sets of supporters in full voice. Elland Road one of the few places these days where the home fans still create a tremendous atmosphere for most of the game.
Spurs line-up: Gomes; Corluka, Dawson, Bassong, Bale; Bentley, Huddlestone, Jenas, Krancjar; Crouch, Defoe.
Spurs 2 Leeds 2
FA Cup, 4th round. Last gasp Beckford spot kick ties it.
Not an easy first half. Defoe missed a penalty in the ninth minute. But in the 42nd minute Peter Crouch poached on a rebound off the Leeds keeper from Niko Krancjar's first-time shot, set up by a fine Gareth Bale cross, to break Tottenham's scoring drought. An unmemorable but gratefully accepted goal.
Leeds srike ace Beckford replied with two dangerous attempts on goal, the second of which showed that Spurs keeper Huerelho Gomes is still in top form.
First half shots on goal 9:4 in favour of the Lilywhites.
Tottenham didn't feel Beckford was such a threat, however, that he was worth marking from a corner in the 52nd minute, and he duly bundled the ball home to nab a Leeds equalizer.
Well I criticized Harry's sub choices up at Liverpool midweek, but this time his selection was inspired. Two subs, Wilson Palacios and "Tottenham's forgotten man" as the commentator put it, namely Russian striker Roman Pavluychenko, combined to score the first good looking goal of the match to give Spurs the 2:1 lead. "Super Pav" chants finally drowned out the amazing Leeds vocal support.
Spurs could have easily seen this out but Dawson conceded a penalty some five minutes into added time and Leeds take the tie back to Elland road thanks to a successful spot kick from, you guessed it, Jermain Beckford!
Pre-match: In the previous round Spurs thrashed Portsmouth 4:0 at home, while the Yorkshire whites caused one of the biggest upsets in recent times by beating Manchester United at Old Trafford.
This match is live on US TV courtesy Fox Soccer Channel.
Check back for build up and reactions to our FA Cup home match with Leeds United here.
Somehow I sense a display of pure quality from the Lilywhites including free flowing football as befits the mighty Tottenham Hotspur. Uh, yes....
The FA Cup run continues....!
--- Rob Francis
|
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes; Corluka, Dawson, King, Bale; Bentley, Huddlestone, Palacios, Krancjar; Defoe, Crouch.
Feel free to gloat, or commiserate, depending on what happened, as you already know the final score and this site is going to reflect the situation as it unfolds on US TV on delay, plus I got to watch it even later, like about now.
Remember how we beat them 9:1 at home earlier this season for a record Spurs top flight win? Well one thing for sure, it ain't happening again in a hurry as Spurs can't score to save their lives these days.
Harry's pride won't allow him to play Super Pav from the get-go and grab a hat trick, so we're in for another grinding two hours no doubt.
OK, I am wrong. No problem. A goal out of the "how to play traditional soccer" textbook puts us ahead.
Two quick passes out from midfield to the left with Bale overlapping on the wing, the Welshman crossing low and accurately for Defoe to run at goal and blast home from a few yards. Whether the England striker timed his run exactly right to stay onside is a point some in the Wigan camp may well dispute.
How come nobody read the book before? I stick by my guns, bring on Super Pav anyway!
Harry listens to the fans, and lo and behold Roman Pavlyuchenko enters stage left. Only goes and scores two goals, his first in 84th minute, beautifully created by fellow sub Luka Modric who beat two men and found the perfectly positioned forgotten Russian of Spurs.
Then in added time Super Pav punctuated his dramatic entrance with another finely taken goal. His header from a free kick was stopped with a superb reflex save from the Wigan keeper, but Pav doesn't give up, eventually winning the duel to possess the rebound, and chipping it into the net from a tough angle.
The man is class. What is happening that he is rumoured to be on his way out?
After all the frustration of previous games this year so far, this was almost scripted to perfection. Made my day.
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
Wolves: Hahnemann; Zubar, Craddock, Berra, Ward; Foley, Guedioura, Henry, Jones, Jarvis; Doyle.
Tottenham Hotspur: Gomes; Kaboul, Dawson, Bassong, Bale; Bentley, Huddlestone, Jenas, Krancjar; Defoe, Gudjohnsen.
Interesting to see some line-up novelties: Kaboul is back from Pompey, and new signing Eidur Gudjohnsen, intercepted on his way to the Hammers, takes the place of Peter Crouch.
Right off the bat Spurs have a stab at goal with David Bentley beat his man to unwind a tight angled rasper from the right hand side that had American keeper Marcus Hahnemann tipping over, with the home side playing from right to left.
Wolves recovered to have a few goes themselves on this ice cold night, causing Huddlestone to commit a bad tackle in the 11th minute but amazingly the ref kept the card in his pocket.
By the 14th minute the Spurs support have found its voice, mostly as a way of passing the time as the energy level started to peter out for a while. Unlike the rollicking, raucous Stoke fans to the north, the Wolves fans seem surprisingly quiet.
20th minute. Beautiful build-up from Spurs, involving the two people we were talking about in the line-up, Kaboul and Gudjohnsen, to give Krancjar a golden goalscoring opportunity that he failed to bury.
Seconds later Krancjar gets dispossessed and Wolves surged forward, lobbing forward to Guedioura. With the Spurs off-side trap sprung, the Wolves midfielder centered but Jenas beat Doyle to push the ball behind for a corner. That was their best chance so far.
27th minute Wolves score with a Jarvis cross from the right and a fine finish from David Jones, moving the ball from foot to foot and picking his spot.
29th minute Dawson, you guessed it, hacks down a defender in the box, but the ref, who seems to like us, said no. Dawson is way too much of a liability. At two down we would be effectively dead after just half an hour, we don't have the grit or guile to get back from two down, away from home.
Wilson Palacios replaces Jermaine Jenas to start the second segment.
Weak Spurs start to the second half. Even Peter Crouch and the long ball would be better than this choss.
Finally we come to life in th 55th minute with some fluid build-up work, but the shots on goal are not happening.
60th minute. Whistling dixie. Anybody know any jokes, apart form Spurs?
Nothing else happened. Peter Crouch came on. The long ball didn't work. Bale tried hard on the left overlap but in the end the American keeper just rose for the long balls and Spurs went off to pick up their pay cheques.
Scuba diving anyone?
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
This is great news because now Fulham cannot hang about and we should relish the space that they will have to concede as they search for an equalizer. Lovely news for a damp afternoon in Spurland viewerdom.
Spurs have dominated this match and it pays off with a security goal in the 59th minute from a David Bentley free-kick that deflected off a Fulham head leaving FFC keeper Mark Schwarzer stranded.
Pre-match: OK so I got busy and I'm watching it delayed by a couple of hours. You have the gloating knowledge of knowing what happened no doubt. Did Spurs win? I'm about to find out.
Huerelho was the hero for our away version of this match-up not so long ago, but we are at home so he should not be so busy. We want their guy in the sticks to be busy, right? Mark Schwarzer innit?
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
A scorching first time shot by Jermaine Jenas in the 59th minute gave a glimmer of hope that Spurs could get back a goal, but the cutting edge that we had shown in our previous game against Hull, despite its 0:0 result, was almost completely absent at Anfield.
Our vaunted strike force is in a slump. Peter Crouch was okay, Defoe was out of sorts, and Keane came on and fizzled out! So one okay striker at Anfield isn't going to be enough.
Harry's substitutions seemed odd and they didn't work. Alan Hutton came on and showed how not to cross a ball, Bassong's inane challenge in the box gave up the second goal from the penalty spot, and Robbie Keane, though bright and bubbly as usual, made little impact for all his honesty.
Worse, we could not exploit Liverpool's defence, who in recent games such as against Reading and Stoke looked unbelievably frail. True, they tightened up and closed down effectively for the first time this season: it always happens like that against us.
They wanted this win more, which is not a great reflection on our side, and they took the steps to get it, including dominating the midfield, more thoughtful build-ups, and better passing.
Losing at Anfield in itself is nothing new or alarming, it was more the way in which we sank. Liverpool, nervous and desperately lacking in confidence in previous games, seemed to know we posed no threat and grew in confidence and swagger with each passing minute.
It's as if opposition dressing rooms still see us as "soft Spurs" and on this night we duly obliged.
Sat., Jan 16th:
The Spur's FA Cup 2009/10: Third round
Last time Tottenham Hotspur played Peterborough United in the Cup we laboured to two 1:1 draws before winning a penalty shoot-out. Under Harry it was a very different scenario. We were expected to win easily, and that's exactly what happened.
In their previous fixture, the Posh had clambered back from four down against Cardiff but there was no way they could do it again. In fact, the four-nil scoreline is flattering to a shambolic east Midlands aggregation that is in disarray both on and off the pitch. Which is a shame for their loyal fans, but for our superb support, selling out the Lane against opposition not quite up to par with Inter or City, this was a great way to start the new year.
Niko Kranjcar was back on form and PUFC had no answer to a player of his calibre as he took THFC ahead at the break.
Gareth Bale was making a rare appearance for the home side and his cut back set up Kranjcar's second. He was also instrumental in the third goal, deftly scored by Defoe, and finally Keane netted from the spot after Danny Rose, making his debut appearance for the first team, was fouled in the box.
In fairness to Peterborough, Heurelho Gomes did have to make a couple of class saves, but the gulf between these two sides was too wide to be bridged. Not even close.
Pre-match: Under Darren Ferguson, Peterborough achieved great things, culminating in their rise to England's second tier, the Championship, this season. Unsurprisingly, it would be a struggle for them to survive in that brutally competitive league this season, and impatetient owenership foolishly pulled the plug on Alex Ferguson's son and.... lo and behold, they're doing even worse: rock bottom of the table.
The blustery, colourful owner Barry Fry has piped down a bit and taken a backseat at the Posh to the great relief of all, with a new younger exec-looking dude taking over the day to day ops, and he has shown precious little of the acumen required to run a football club. Their best player has handed in a transfer request. Morale appears to be very low. Poor old Posh, they truly are pish.
They're ripe for the taking having failed to get a single win in their last twelve away games. In fact they've only won one in the last eleven games home and away. Ouch.
You have to feel sorry for a club that's put its fans through shuch bull over the years, despite their recent promotion. We've been through similar lows, but now we are entering what looks to be a golden era, whilst Peterborough, who should be excelling in a growing and thriving community that would love to get behind its all too unlovable club, are looking a bit shabby these days.
They did beat Watford 2-1 at their atmospheric London Road ground three games ago. Bullies! Then they lost 2-0 up at WBA. Their most recent match was a 4:4 home draw with Cardiff. An amazing turnaround occurred when, four goals down at the break, the Posh came back to tie the score with the equalizer coming in the final minute of regulation time. Their current manager seems a nice bloke so good for him.
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
Acrobatic saves at both ends, and for the all the criticism leveled at his punches, the fact is that Heurelho Gomes is up there with our legendary goalie of yore Pat Jennings when it comes to reflex saves and I would be the last person to bandy about that kind of statement lightly.
Breathtaking stops to deny Damien Duff and Bobby Zamora were two that spring to mind before watching the highlights again, but you'll see plenty more where those came from, in just one game.
If it had not been for our Gomes and their man in the gloves Mark Schwarzer this would have been a festival of goals.
But it was far from a vintage performance from Spurs and there is no question that when you consider Fulham's motley collection of discards from "bigger" clubs, including former Spur midfielder Danny Murphy, who was the first to force Gomes into a fine save in the 11th minute, their manager Roy Hodgson has done a spectacular job in organizing the Thameside outfit. They outplayed us for much of the game, just like they did with Man United and Liverpool.
For example, the way they basically shut Aaron Lennon out of the game. They also zipped the ball around beautifully at times and we seldom showed that kind of flair, although our build-up to Peter Crouch's crackerjack shot in the 82nd minute was a joy to behold, with the introduction of Luka Modric onto the field making a big contribution, in addition to a superb first touch feed from Jermaine Jenas.
Spurs actually put the ball in the back of the Hammersmith End net, but the ref had already blown for a Lilywhites free kick. Thems the breaks sometimes.
Minutes later a superb free kick from American Clint Dempsey slammed onto the crossbar as Fulham, initially taken aback by a strong and confident Spurs start, began to assert themselves towards the half hour mark and thereafter always looked the more likely to nick it.
Unfortunately for Tottenham our hero of the previous game Niko Kranjcar was disappointing, and indeed most of our players were having an average day. Again, credit to the hosts for closing down the midnight-blue shirts at every opportunity.
So an away point these days at Craven Cottage is not a bad result at all, and if we can beat the Hammers at home it will be a satisfying holiday weekend for the resurgent Tottenham Hotspur.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR LINE-UP. Gomes; Corluka, Bassong, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Jenas, Palacios, Kranjcar; Keane, Crouch.
Next league game -- West Ham (h) Dec 28, live on US TV.
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
Peter Crouch scored a brace to give Spurs victory at Ewood Park with goals in injury time in the first half and at around the 83rd minute. Not a pretty game to watch (it was my first match watched on Setanta Online, looked great on my Mac, an easy channel to become addicted to, methinks) and as the age-old saying goes, sometimes you gotta just grind 'em out.
This result is a huge relief after the media reports of bingeing players and the concern that Harry was losing control of player discipline, despite the excellent victory at home to Manchester City.
In fact unless Harry really does have the players reined in, they've now got another reason to mega-binge and celebrate this victory, no doubt pulling a few, in more than one sense, in Manchester or Brum en route to home.
Harry's patience will be, er, taxed even further if the lads don't sober up in time to take on Fulham at Craven Cottgae, coz the Whites from Thameside just did the Champions of England 3:0!
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR LINE-UP. Gomes; Corluka, Bassong, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Kranjcar; Crouch, Defoe.
Next league game -- Dec 26: Fulham (a) Live on US TV.
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10
A sensational goal from Tom Huddlestone finally finished off the Black Cats who had outplayed the hosts who seemed to be suffering from a post north London derby hangover.
Spurs had already taken the lead with a goal bundled in by Robbie Keane from a rebound of Peter Crouch's realtively weak header from an Assou-Ekotto cross. The whole move started in midfield when Huddlestone, who was to play an even bigger role in the second goal, stole the ball from a Sunderland player and slipped it left to Palacios who in turn played out to A-E on the left wing.
Nice move from Spurs, but it was against the run of play and the Wearsiders were creating chance after chance. By contrast, we scored on out first, and one of very few, first half attacks.
Only profligate finishing from the visitors and the now famous luck of 'Arry, which has returned to the Lane, kept the Londoners hanging on. How can a side be hanging on when they are a goal up after about twelve minutes? Well, we managed to do it! Weird.
The sluggishness of the Lilywhites was at times alarming, and the supporters in the stands were palpably nervous until Tottenham's second goal. And what a stunner it was: held up, and then teed up, supremely by Jermain Defoe for Huddlestone, barreling toward the edge of the dee, to lash the ball upward and in off the underside of the Paxton Road crossbar. An edgy Lane finally erupted in a mixture of glee and relief.
It's brilliant that we broke our two goal losing streak, but on any other day we could have been beaten by a wide margin with what was largely an insipid Lilywhite showing.
We have a raft of star players and a manager who has already made a huge impact at the club. The issue that many of us are debating is along this line: "so, after a very promising start to the season, why do we seem to have gone so flat?"
Strong contenders for best explanation include....
Luka Modric missing. Too much dependence on feeding the giraffe-like Peter Crouch. A midfield that looks unbalanced. Off days for key players. For example, Vedran Corluka, usually such a highly rated player, looked very dodgy at times today. Then again, he may not have fully recovered from an earier flu-like ailment.
On a final note: we played poorly, but Sunderland have been playing well lately, and although unlikely, they could give Arsenal enough of a run for their money to snag a point, or even win, at the Stadium of Light.
The Spur's Premiership 2009/10 It was an edge of the seat, nailbiting encounter that lived up to the ridiculous UK media hype based around 'orrible 'Arry's 'omecomin'.
The biggest crowd of the season at Portsmouth Football Club, including a vociferous traveling London contingent, assembled to witness Spurs go two goals up by half-time. Yes I know this reaction is late but owing to delay in US TV coverage, and other stuff, so I only got around to watching it late, late, late.
Towering above the fray, a truly commanding header from the King of White Hart Lane Ledley nodded Tottenham Hotpsur ahead from a corner on the half hour mark to make the visiting Spurs supporters go beserk inside a lively and noisy Fratton Park.
In the 45th minute, Jermaine Jenas' visionary pass sets up Jermain Defoe to give us the insurance goal that we yearned for.
So the second half would be a lot more relaxing to watch now that we're two up.
Or would it.........
Suddenly this fiery match gets turned on its head. Thuggish ex-Spur Kevin Prince-Boateng gets an equalizer as he beats unpredictable Spurs keeper Gomes on his near post, and Defoe, in a moment of madness hopefully never to be repeated, gets sent off! Game back on, unfortunately. Here we go. Any nails left?
Mainly thanks to the inability of Portsmouth's forwards to finish, one of their attackers by the name of Ding Dong or Dildo or something, managed to miss two sitters, and between them the rest of their side managed to miss two more.
Against the likes of Manure or, nirvana forbid, the Arse, we would have got buried in this game.
But we won, a man down for a significant part of the game, until ex-Spur Brown got his marching orders to even things out, so that's all that matters. After all, a truly successful side is a team who can win.... ugly, and with a lot of help from the opposition, if that's what it takes.
Pre-match: It never fails, does it! A team like Pompey who have sucked all season and looked like collapsing, suddenly sort out all their problems on and off the field and win their first match, just in time for an encounter with..... us. Stroll aboard.
Regarding the PFC crisis, the current Spurs gaffer tried to assist during their moment of despair. "Former boss Redknapp has admitted that he tried to speak to some wealthy friends in an attempt to help his old club out," says Come on Spurs. But now it looks like Portsmouth are bouncing back and if they can win their last game without a pay check.....
Tune back for all the thrilling build up that you know The Spur may or may not provide leading up to this game.
Super Pav Wastes Wigan
Rob Francis watched on delay
Feb 21, 2010 (Ssn 2009/10)
Wigan 0
Tottenham Hotspur 3
Wigan, Lancashire
US TV same day del: Fox Soccer Ch.
I stick by my guns, bring on Super Pav
Rob Francis
Wolves devour Spurs
Wanderers gain double over THFC
Feb 10, 2010 (Ssn 2009/10)
Wolves 1
Tottenham Hotspur 0
Molineux, Wolverhampton
US TV same day del: Fox Soccer Ch.
We should clobber this lot
E. Pinion
Spurs back in gear
Final: Spurs 2:0 Fulham
January 26, 2010 (Ssn 2009/10)
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Fulham 0
Rob Francis watching on Fox Soccer Ch.
Get in there! Around the 28th minute Peter Crouch puts us ahead. Credit to Modric for having the fight to keep the ball in play and get the ball back into the danger zone, leaving Crouch to poach the openning goal.
Harry Sub Par
Substitutions only made things worse
Jan 20, 2010 (Ssn 2009/10)
Liverpool 2
Tottenham Hotspur 0
Tottenham Hotspur 0, Hull City 0 
White Hart Lane, London N17
Tottenham Hotspur threw the kitchen sink at Hull but the visitors used a three pronged strategy to foil us: time wasting which began early in the second half (!), parking their bus in front of their goal, and above all, a flawless and inspired goalkeeping display. All this prevented the Lilywhites from scoring. It could have been a six or seven goal win on another day. Disappointing, but not the fault of Spurs. Just that Hull came with a plan that, on this particular day, succeeded. Would Chelsea have broken them down at home on their performance today? Probably. Most other sides? Probably not.
Posh celebrate promotion. It's been all downhill since.
Pish Posh
Peterborough a club in turmoil
Jan 2, 2010 (Ssn 2009/10)
Tottenham Hotspur 4
Peterborough Utd. 0
Goals here
MAN OF THE MATCH: Niko for most people, but what about Gareth Bale? Just when he seemed like becoming a Spurs super-flop, he starts to fly. Could the young Welshman play a key role in the team's future?
He's a Heuro
Brazilian stopper saves point for Spurs
December 26, 2009 (Ssn 2009/10)
Fulham 0
Tottenham Hotspur 0
Rob Francis watched on Fox Soccer Ch.
Heurelho Gomes
Heurelho
Heurelho Gomes
Heurelho
Heurelho Gomes
Heurelho
We got the best goalkeeper in the ******* land!
"When the ball
hits row zed
it's Zamora!"
Spurs still swinging
No hangover for partying Spurs
December 19, 2009 (Ssn 2009/10)
Blackburn Rovers 0
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Rob Francis watched on Setanta Online
"Feed the
giraffe and he
will score!"
That's Tom, Cats
Huddlestone scorcher sinks Sunderland
November 7, 2009 (Ssn 2009/10)
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Sunderland 0
After a very promising start to the season, why do we seem to have gone so flat? 
MAN OF THE MATCH: Heurelho Gomes made some "trific" saves as Harry pointed out, including a dodgily awarded spot-kick from Darren Bent.
Spurs hang on for precious win
Pompey create, but fluff, so many chances
Oct 17, 2009 (Ssn 2009/10)
Portsmouth 1
Tottenham H. 2
Fratton Park, Portsmouth, Hants.
Rob Francis gets excited
Gomes saved us from a draw or even defeat possibly. He proved that he is really our no.1 goalkeeper.
John Adam
The CAATS page still exists with a recent update for north American based fans. Sorry it's been away for so long, partly due to the fact it was "held hostage" by a rogue hosting service for a while! It will stay on the web for posterity but The Spur -- this page -- is where future updates will occur.