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.

The grand scheme of things

It didn't feel right writing anything else without mentioning the late Dean Richards, I'm in no position to write an obituary or anything, so I'm speaking only as a football fan and the effect it had on me...




Logging onto the BBC website on Saturday, the words 'Ex-defender Richards dies aged 36', struck an immediate cord. Hardly an uncommon surname but, immediately I knew it would be ex-Tottenham, Wolves and Southampton defender Dean Richards, such were the troubles he had at the close of his career. 

Richards' death hits home hard because, although he never played a starring role at White Hart Lane, it is the first loss of a team that I grew up watching. 

Now and again, days come along when one of football's old boys passes away and it's sad but you know they had a great career. 

I'm approaching my 30s and, sad as it is to say, I have always dreaded the day that Gazza became the first big tragedy from my Spurs-supporting life. 

The fact that it's Dean Richards severely upsets any natural order and, all of a sudden, the fact that he was so young and the cause was ultimately undiagnosed, makes a generation of everyday football fans feel all that more vulnerable.

Over time, you learn to deal with certain hardships as a football fan. Inititally, as a youngster, seeing your favourite player leave your football team leaves you in tears, convinced for a short while that life can never be the same.

Then there's that dented pride as players younger than you get called up for England and you realise that the dream of scoring the winner in the World Cup final has once and for all passed you by.

News of Richards' passing takes these hardships to a new level and caused a lump in my throat. 

I never knew the man himself, so could never do justice to him with a tribute, but on a personal level it's a reminder that life's moved on from the days when seeing the ball hit the back of the net was the only thing that mattered. It's another rung of the long ladder of growing up and it's a reminder to make the most of what you have while you have it.

From what I've read in the past few days, Richards certainly made the most of what he had and never gave up his involvement in something that he loved dearly. For that, he, his family and anyone who knew him should be very proud.