Finding a cure for the Bernabeu Blues

Scared to look at the papers today? You bet! And with good reason. Peter Crouch will wish he had pulled an Aaron Lennon and chickened out before kick-off because the cut-throat wordsmiths all have their pen-knives out and the logically challenged striker gets a deserved verbal kicking.

I don't blame Crouch exclusively for what happened last night. In fact, his sending off forced us to play with the ball on the ground and build from the back, rather than just lumping the ball forward. The way we dealt with the remainder of the first half was admirable but with only 10 men, fatigue was bound to set in and, for that, Crouch has to shoulder some responsibility.

The morning after the night before, and our recent results can no longer be twisted into having one eye on a glory, glory night; now they just look like a bad run. Sky Sports continues to play that advert for the road to the Champions League Final at Wembley but suddenly the feeling of involvement has all but evaporated. The season goes on regardless, and we need an almighty dusting down session before the Stoke game at the Lane on Saturday.

Games thick and fast, that's what suits Spurs best, right? Ten-day breaks between games certainly haven't seemed to work. We do relish our chances as the underdogs, however, and after this rotten run of results we are certainly underdogs to get back into the Top 4.

The European adventure has felt all along like we were flying by the seat of our pants; prevailing despite injuries and unfamiliar gameplans and still proving our worth on countless occasions. When you live on the edge, sometimes you fall off with a bump.

The rest of the season is now going to be about character; what's done is done and it is up to those who have played badly or made mistakes to dig in and find that something extra. I wouldn't say that the Champions League is a total lost cause - if any Spurs team can overturn this sort of deficit, it's this one - but it's unlikely. Very unlikely.

For now, we're going to have to put up with the sneers and the jibes. Men versus boys, finally found out, simply not good enough; you know, that sort of thing. The best tonic is a good performance and more importantly now a good result.

But there is another cure for the Bernabeu Blues:

On opening a Christmas card from my girlfriend, what should fall out but a copy of Spurs v Inter Milan. Immediately I stuck in it the DVD player and rewatched the game in its entirety. I then watched the highlights and then homed in on what I've come to call Bale's goal, watching it over and over. I watched it again last night.

Of course, we all know it wasn't Bale who applied the finishing touch but that third goal against the Champions League holders is as much the Welshman's as anyone else's.

From Younes Kaboul's interception, the touch to Bale, the quick thinking as he knocks the ball past Maicon and the audible gasp of crowd anticipation as he gives chase, the perfect ball across the box, again the crowd volume soars as 35,000 realise we're actually going to beat Inter Milan, Oh When The Spurs Go Marching In and Andy Gray stating "I have never, ever, seen a player do what he does." The whole thing constitutes a wonderful moment that sums up our season in Europe.

Nobody realistically expected us to win at the Bernabeu, yet everybody knew we might just get hammered. Next time you see an advert for the Wembley final, or a negative newspaper column, don't look back to last night, because it's not the sum total of what we've achieved along the way.

True glory may be out of our reach for the time being but being a football fan is as much about glorious moments as glory itself, so before you turn your attentions to Stoke and our end of season run-in, take some time to reflect on what we've done along the way. You won't be disappointed.

Some sort of perspective

I've had to wait a day before writing about the Wolves game. If I hadn't, you'd probably just be reading a four-letter diatribe of 'Why?' this and 'Why?' that.

Now that the nerves have settled and my blood has stopped boiling, I can take a proper look at the situation - how Harry Redknapp manages to immediately compose himself and do a post-match interview is beyond me.

The man's got nerves of steel, and he has an uncanny ability to put the whole thing in some sort of perspective. We're all sat there, head in hands, concerned that our wonderful journey is at an end, and 'Arry comes out and says "That's football", then points out that Wolves have beaten Man United, Chelsea and Man City at Molineux and suddenly we all feel that little bit better about things.

Make no mistake, our last two results have made a Top 4 finish an uphill struggle, but Spurs have never made things easy for themselves and, the result aside, there were a lot of encouraging signs to come from yesterday.

Obviously, the sight of Gareth Bale careering down the flank is a timely boost as we look towards another difficult run-in. And, never mind Kolo Toure, I want some of whatever Jermain Defoe's been having, as both those goals were not only out of the top drawer, but completely out of nothing - and that surprise element is something we've been badly missing.

Defoe is famed for slamming the ball home from 18 yards with no regard for the keeper's positioning, but both strikes yesterday were placed carefully out of Wayne Hennessey's reach. Now, if he can just learn to take it round the keeper in a one-on-one situation… one step at a time.

It was nice to see Roman Pavlyuchenko on the scoresheet, you have to go back to November for the last time two of our strikers scored in the same game. But for me, he puts very little into his off-the-ball game. Countless times yesterday he gave up the moment he was dispossessed, in stark contrast, Jermain Defoe harried and chased down every ball, highlighting the lack of effort from the man alongside him, and maybe that's the reason Redknapp is hesitant to give Pav a run in the side.

Sandro had a much better game on Sunday and is starting to look like he's getting to grips with the Premier League. He's got a good awareness, he seems to know when to get stuck in or pile forward and when to hold off, protect the space behind. Even if his development isn't as meteroic as Bale's last season, in future seasons he could prove to be the solid general midfielder we've been craving for so long.

Chelsea may have beaten Blackpool last night but then their following Premier League game is against Man City, so someone is guaranteed to drop points. Our next three games are West Ham, Wigan and Stoke so finger crossed we can make up some ground.

If all that's not enough, then we still have to play both Chelsea and Man City so, whilst recent results have not been what we'd hoped for, the situation is still very much in our hands.

Waiting for Wolves - Day 10

In the last seven days Man City's Kolo Toure has been banned for failing a drugs test, Chelsea's training ground became a shooting range, Man United's manager was charged with misconduct and Arsenal missed out on yet another trophy to add to their six-year dry spell.

Who would have thought I've just described the Top Four? Yes, the current cream of the crop in the English Premier League are all plunging themselves into turmoil at a vital point in the season. But, having had 10 days without a game, us Spurs fans have speculated over everything possible, so in an effort not to tempt fate before Sunday's game, I'm just going to attempt to make Friday a bit of fun.

Here is my very own Top Four... Spurs-related Youtube vids, that is.

In fourth, a Spurs ball boy becomes an instant hero with the Shelf Side, picking out Loumpoutis' weak spot in our 6-1 victory over Anorthosis Famagusta in September 2007.



At three, 'Arry reacts in style as he's asked a stupid question at a press conference.. It was a close run between this and the Wheeler Dealer reaction.



In second place, there are a host of these Hitler skits, but this is a translation of his reaction to our Champions League Last-16 draw against Milan.



Worthy first place goes to this brilliant account of two Spurs fans' trip to Milan last month. A few further clicks will take you to a series of "Away Day" videos, all of which are brilliant.

Canning the winter-break worm

Alex Ferguson reopened the can of worms that is the 'winter break' last weekend and Sunderland gaffer Steve Bruce yesterday stuck his waders on and paddled into the argument in support his one-time mentor.

The proposed break has been a subject of debate for years and, whilst it would be no doubt be nice for players to get some time off and recharge the batteries, I just cannot see how it would work.

This isn't one of those "they get paid a lot, they can work for it" rants. I'm aware of the problem as much as anyone else, but I'm not sure how the Premier League are meant to just magic time up out of nowhere without help from external factors.

Sir Alex suggested we do "like the German league" and have a three-week break over Christmas, reconvening with the FA Cup in January. I'm sorry Alex, but where exactly is your working? In the two weeks over Christmas, most teams play four or five games, so how are these lost games going to fit back into an already-crowded spring fixture list?

What you would end up with is a sort of phantom rest period as players return refreshed only to run themselves into the ground over the following weeks. Players would have to keep training properly to remain match-fit and retain form, so why not play matches rather than waste the time?

What Sir Alex seems to be missing is that in Germany, as in Spain (where they have a two-week break), there is only have one domestic cup competition running throughout the whole season. We shoehorn two cups into our calendar, one of which doesn't start until the New Year.

The evidence suggests that, for a winter break to be a success, something has to give. The most obvious option, don't bite my head off, is to lose the League Cup.

It had become an ideal way for the big clubs to bleed young talent, and give teams like Middlesbrough (2004) and Blackburn (2002) the chance to snatch some silverware. But more and more these days, as the big clubs progress in the competition, they smell silverware and the big names reappear on the team sheet, making it a pointless and predictable exercise bringing a handful of teams' seasons to a false summit.

Without the League Cup, maybe the FA Cup could be restructured to start in October/November to spread it over the season and still give time for replays, which I believe are a vital ingredient in keeping the lower league clubs interested in the competition. Just to please supporters of both competitions, maybe it could be sold as merging the two! The Football League FA Cup!

Ultimately, a winter break is suggested so that players are not burned out when entering major tournaments. It's not just England who suffer from exhausted players, the whole of the South Africa 2010 World Cup was plagued by defensive football and underperforming superstars (Messi, Rooney, Torres, Kaka, Ronaldo), so it is in FIFA and UEFA's interests to lend a hand in sorting the situation.

The Champions League is clearly where the money is, so shortening it is never likely to be an option. But Manchester City have played 10 games in the UEFA cup already, are in the latter stages and are still having to play home and away games against sides like Aris, who finished fourth in the Greek Superleague last season.

I'm not trying to undermine City in any way, but they don't need to be playing these sides at this stage of the season - the Europa League needs stripping back. Not only would it ease the stress on teams' schedules but it may even raise the competition's profile in the process (but that's another story).

Interestingly enough, Spurs went out of the League and FA Cups early on and, as a result, they have only three games in the whole month of March, and that includes a 10 day break after facing West Ham on March 9 and a further 12-day break until Wigan on April 2.

Obviously, teams want to challenge for as many trophies as possible but they have to accept that in doing so, their players will tire out and, until the governing bodies wake up and make big changes to help everyone, then it's just a case of clubs deciding what competitions matter most and picking their fights wisely. Then, by default, they'll get their mid-season break.

Redknapp - The long-term solution?

Writing yesterday, I questioned how anyone could have any doubt that Harry Redknapp is the right man to lead spurs but a few people rightly pointed out that, like him or not, he might not be in the job long-term.

If it's not his summer court case that tears him from our grasp, then it could well be the England job. Redknapp himself is quick to admit that he would love a crack at managing the national side and, whilst he can play the Press like a fiddle, who could blame him for wanting a go?

The flailing international outfit seems bereft of motivation in recent years, so who better for the job than the great motivator himself? And, from his point of view, if he is the missing ingredient to drag a bunch of highly paid toerags into line, then a World Cup campaign could prove a beautiful swansong to his career.

I'm not wishing his Spurs tenure away or anything. Where Tottenham Hotspur is at stake, I couldn't care less for the national side, but I need to write about something from day to day. So while the subject is hot, if Harry was to move on, who could continue his work without us falling off the pace again?

David Moyes emerged this week as a serious option. Well, when I say "serious", I mean the Press have started throwing his name about.

Popular opinion is that he has worked wonders with Everton on a shoestring budget and, given the backing of a club like Spurs, could develop into a real contender as a big-name manager.

Moyes demands respect and has no time for egos. However, given the gap that has recently opened up between Spurs and Everton, I'm not convinced that he could slot straight in and impress himself upon a bunch of lads who are all rapidly growing in fame quality and stature.

This group of players are starting to realise their massive potential and the ball needs to keep rolling. Everton as a club is vastly different from Spurs and Moyes has spent the best part of a decade doing things their way - too much of a transitional period could see our big names look elsewhere.

Mourinho's name is starting to be thrown around by the more fanciful of Spurs fans. Whilst it would instantly brand us with the tag "Massive Club". He is probably too big for us and, if not, then he probably sees himself as too big. I can't help think that Mourinho is playing time out around Europe until the Manchester United job comes up.

In the past, I always liked the idea of Martin Jol coming back in if Harry leaves in 2012, but I would have liked to see him stay at Ajax and give Europe a real go, or have a few years at another big club in-between. The fact he's fallen quiet indicates that maybe his priorities lie away from football in the long-term.

If we want to protect our style of football, however, and continue to build on the great strength of character currently developing, then in my mind the only factor against Bolton's Owen Coyle is that it might be just too early for him.

The most important thing in any new manager is that they are strong-minded enough to stand firm over Daniel Levy's principles. Whilst the chairman is now doing a great job running the club I don't trust that, given the chance, he won't attempt a return to the director of football system that we know he so adores.

It has been mooted that Harry has the press wrapped around his little finger, and that by registering his interest in the England job, he knows he'll be able to negotiate a better contract that could keep him at Spurs until he retires.

If that proves to be the case, then let's hope his charms work just as well in a court of law over summer.

How long can the anti-Harry brigade hold out?

Tottenham travel to Blackpool tomorrow sitting in fourth place, two points in front of Chelsea and two points behind Man City in third having played one game less.

Whatever happens at Bloomfield Road, it is a formidable position to be in and yet still some people find reason to question the manager and his methods.

Last week I read people commenting that he should rotate the squad more to avoid so many injuries, others that he needs better strikers and some have even suggested that Harry Redknapp lacks what we need to get to the "next level".

Sorry, but just how many levels do we need to rise, and what more does he need to do before everyone is convinced that Redknapp is one of the best managers we've ever had? Certainly in recent history at the very least.

I would never do disservice to Martin Jol because his consecutive Top 5 finishes after a decade of chopping through the mid-table wilderness, continually cutting ourselves free of the thorny undergrowth further down, were a massive achievement.

Even though Redknapp often trumpets the PR line that he took over "a team bottom of the table, with two points from eight games", it has to be admitted that the side was, in general, upwardly mobile before the Ramos saga ground to such an embarrassing halt.

But Redknapp's influence was instant and has been long-lasting. Under Jol, our record against the big teams was appalling and we lacked both the fitness and character for long seasons and massive European nights.

Jol's manner in front of the cameras after a bad result told us that he didn't know what went wrong and, at times, that football wasn't the be all and end all of things. Redknapp knows that even good teams lose and he isn't prepared to dampen the team spirit just because we've played well but couldn't find the net.

Everyone knows that Redknapp is a motivator and a man-manager, but he has proven so much more. Tottenham can now go to Stoke and Blackburn and 'win ugly'. We can grind out results when we aren't on top form, we can dig out a priceless touch of genius in the 92nd minute and we can seemingly now adapt our tactics to mix it with the best sides in Europe.

Redknapp has not only had an influence over the way we play, but also the way the club is run. Before him, Daniel Levy was soldiering on with the director of football system, which just wasn't working for us. It was undermining managers and confusing everyone.

Martin Jol fell foul of the system, performing brilliantly but never really having the board's full backing, they only begrudgingly gave him the job after Jacques Santini quit, leaving Levy's great vision of a director/manager/coach was absolutely in tatters. Juande Ramos was its next victim.

Redknapp came in and said: "Do it my way, or not at all." He coaches, he picks the team and he has a first-hand input in the players we acquire.

In the past, Tottenham made cock-up after cock-up in the running of a football team. Obviously, that's easy to say in hindsight. But I used to look enviously across at Arsenal who had passing football, a long-term manager they believed in and top-to-bottom organisation and think, "S***. that's how to run a football team."

Nowadays, I'm immensely proud of the way the team is run. We play great football, the whole of Europe is watching us with bated breath and, when I tell people I'm a spurs fan, their eyes light up and they love to talk about it.

I don't think it's going too far to say that when Levy fired Ramos and his staff, and brought in Redknapp, it changed everything. He has already taken us to the "next level" and, if you can't see that with your own eyes, then you're missing out on a fantastic time to be a Spurs fan.

Does 'Arry really need a bit more front?

Many football fans will have been disappointed that Harry Redknapp didn't engineer another smash'n'grab, last-minute swag deal on transfer deadline day. 

If reports are to be believed, the window slammed shut on our gaffer's fingers as he was failing to negotiate deals for forwards Sergio Aguero, Giuseppe Rossi, Diego Forlan and others. Since then, there has been a flurry of debate over whether our current striking options have enough in their tank to see us step up a level.

While Liverpool and Chelsea made huge signings, there seems to be a bit of fear among Spurs fans that we missed our chance and we could get left behind.

On BBC's 606, Kentspur says: "Suarez or Carroll would have been good… As has been said for a long time, we need a marquee striker purchase. Sad that 'Pool made two in the window."

Of our current crop, Jermain Defoe is struggling to find his form this season, Peter Crouch blows hot and cold and Roman Pavlyuchenko can't hold down a first team spot long enough to run on to a through ball. The goals are still coming, just from other areas of the pitch as Aaron Lennon, Rafa Van Der Vaart and lately Niko Kranjcar have provided the goods.

Everyone knows the dangers in bringing a big name in to a settled side but Spurs fans seem to be in agreement that we need something extra up front.

Also on BBC 606, Macdonaldo says: "It definitely needs freshening up. It's the difference between scrapping for 4th and challenging for titles."

But would adding a lethal finisher up front upset the balance of the team? The old adage says "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If we continue to field a team with such quality all over the pitch then why do the goals need to come from strikers? 

If other players are finding themselves in goalscoring positions more and more often, then that must be testament to our style of play and proof of just how good and varied our movement is. I would hate for a "goal machine" to come in and grab 20 goals a season only for our style of play to change and our passing to focus towards him. That's how teams end up relying too much on one player. In the past few weeks we have coped brilliantly with big players injured because our goals can literally come from anywhere.

My main gripe is with the chances that go begging game in, game out due to either a lack of accuracy or composure and I never feel confident that any of our strikers can score a one-on-one or a penalty. So I'm all for a change but it's a delicate situation so as not to disrupt the harmony we have and the success we are enjoying. 

On Planetspurs.com, Bracknellyid says: "I think the majority of us Spurs want a big-name striker brought in. The fact we threw stupid money around Spain 48 hours before the January window shut tells me the manager and board also feel that way."

Harry and Daniel Levy do seem to be very much in the market for a striker and the summer could be very interesting. It would have to someone without a big ego and who can slot in to our style of play, not to mention having to meet our wage structure and then still provide the goals. 

It's a strict criteria and a decision that needs not to be taken lightly. Personally, I'm happy that the transfer window came and went and that the decision won't now be rushed. It's not like we're doing too badly as it is and I now have much more faith that we'll end up with the right man.