If we were still at Primary School you fancy Spurs to win about 12-1 this weekend as Wigan beat Villa 3-1 on the opening day and we put 9 past them last Sunday. But we’re not and despite all our euphoria we’re going to have to put in a decent shift to get something from the game tomorrow.

The good news is that we have no further injury concerns so I’d expect an unchanged side the bad news is Carew is fit and he is a handful. Dawson may need to take him as he is more powerful in the air than Woodgate. This is a good test for our centre back pairing and I hope to see them acquit themselves well.  Gomes will certainly be busier and he needs to be careful with his distribution as giving Villa the ball may cause more problems than giving it to Wigan last week.

This is the sort of game we need points from to cement a real challenge and going forward I expect to see some good counter attacking play. Lennon will certainly be double teamed unless Kranjcar can free him by being a nuisance. If the balance I called for last week continues that gives us more of an edge and a greater degree of options. Palacios will be key in the centre of the park and it is up to the others to close down, hassle and tackle to keep him in position and not resorting to ambitious tackles.

This is where Lennon has improved so much. Not only has his crossing improved but his desire to get back and challenge has made us so much more difficult to break down from the opposition’s left flank. We can expect Azza and JD to go flying if they show a clean pair of heels and I hope that we continue to play football on the deck rather than go straight to Crouchy up front with the long ball.

My line up: Those that started last week.

Prediction: Despite being told by colleagues “you’ll win 3-1” I’m more cautious and thinking more the draw.

Being a Spurs fan, it seems that chronic paranoia is an incurable condition. You see, one second Spurs are the adoring puppets of the media frenzy with video clips showcasing the fans shouting “we want ten!”… and the next, we could possibly be paraded as the league’s titanic.

The away match at Villa may very well be the most important fixture of the season. Why? We’ve just come off a paramount win which the media will do everything within its power to theatrically pump up and suck it dry (if we lose).

I tend to say this before every match (chronic paranoia is a bitch) but Villa will be tough. Very tough. Going into this game, Villa are the underdogs playing at home. They tied against Burnley last week so they’ll have a lot to prove in front of their home supporters. Spurs on the other hand have just come off the second highest scoring match in Premier League history. It should be a great thing, but could be the worst thing. Obviously, we’ll see how that pans out tomorrow. Spurs are 4th and Villa are 5th separated by a single win which should make for some very interesting footy.

But I look at all the positives. If the squad remains the same (cue the song above), we have 4 players at the front who are pure assault weapons. The former Portsmouth trio and Lennon are all creative in their own right. Each one possesses a totally different physique and skill set from the other which in the end balances out quite nicely. To add to this, we are the 3rd highest scoring team in the Prem. Technically that should mean that we will come to your town, and yes, we will score.

Concerns? The defensive mistakes. Villa are an attacking team and they will try to expose our trend of crumbling under siege. But they also tend to break under pressure. This game will be won by the side that attacks right from the start, continuing all the way through.

‘Arry could possibly play Keane on the left again (please, please, please… ‘Arry don’t do it). Should we start the same team who played Wigan? I think yes. We looked balanced and creatively in control. Mind you, it was to an awful Wigan side (that day) but we were mentally in control. This will be crucial to taking 3 points out of an injured Arsenal side playing Chelsea this week, and crucial for us in securing 3 points to hold onto 4th.

COYS!

I’m sure most Spurs fans were delighted to see their club put nine goals past Wigan Athletic. It’s an event that hasn’t occurred in league football since the early days of free scoring Barnet in the Football League. It’s also the first 9-1 result this century! I feel that an interesting way of looking at it, is how did the club get on in their next match? Does a 9-1 win lead onto a good performance in the next match? The results are intriguing..

As you glance through the results below you may notice an interesting trend, rather than 9-1 leading onto bigger things, it (quite bizarrely) actually makes a club less likely to win their next game! Throughout all time the record of the next match that clubs play in after winning 9-1 stands as follows.

Won: 13, Drew 4, Lost 16

Tottenham face Aston Villa next Saturday (28th November). I suggest you plough your life savings on a Villa win.

The results are as follows [result of next league match follows immediately after].

29/09/1888 – Aston Villa 9 Notts County 1
06/10/1888 – Everton 2 Aston Villa 0

16/11/1889 – Blackburn Rovers 9 Notts County 1
23/11/1889 – Blackburn Rovers 3 Accrington (old) 2

07/12/1889 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 9 Burnley 1
14/12/1889 – Notts County 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2

17/02/1894 – Notts County 9 Crewe Alexandra 1
12/03/1894 – Walsall 2 Notts County 1

05/01/1895 – Blackburn Rovers 9 Birmingham City 1
12/01/1895 – Burnley 2 Blackburn Rovers 1

05/01/1895 – Leicester City 9 Walsall 1
07/01/1895 – Leicester City 3 Arsenal 1

03/09/1906 – Everton 9 Manchester City 1
08/09/1906 – Everton 1 Preston North End 0

05/12/1908 – Newcastle United 1 Sunderland 9
12/12/1908 – Sunderland 0 Bristol City 2

27/12/1909 – Leicester City 9 Gainsborough Trinity 1
28/12/1909 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 Leicester City 1

28/08/1920 – Swindon Town 9 Luton Town 1
30/08/1920 – Southampton 4 Swindon Town 0

03/03/1923 – Wigan Borough 9 Lincoln City 1
10/03/1923 – Lincoln City 2 Wigan Borough 1

06/11/1926 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 9 Barnsley 1
13/11/1926 – Manchester City 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

09/04/1927 – Portsmouth 9 Notts County 1
15/04/1927 – Portsmouth 1 Barnsley 2

29/08/1927 – Millwall 9 Torquay United 1
03/09/1927 – Millwall 5 Southend United 1

12/11/1927 – Bradford City 9 Nelson 1
19/11/1927 – Rochdale 3 Bradford City 3

19/11/1927 – Millwall 9 Coventry City 1
03/12/1927 – Millwall 7 Walsall 1

13/12/1930 – Sheffield Wednesday 9 Birmingham City 1
20/12/1930 – Blackburn Rovers 5 Sheffield Wednesday 2

27/12/1930 – Everton 9 Plymouth Argyle 1
01/01/1931 – Everton 3 Bury 2

28/01/1931 – Arsenal 9 Grimsby Town 1
31/01/1931 – Arsenal 1 Birmingham City 1

25/12/1931 – Tranmere Rovers 9 Rochdale 1
26/12/1931 – Rochdale 3 Tranmere Rovers 6

02/01/1932 – Bradford City 9 Barnsley 1
16/01/1932 – Notts County 1 Bradford City 1

16/01/1932 – Lincoln City 9 Halifax Town 1
23/01/1932 – Walsall 0 Lincoln City 3

24/09/1932 – Port Vale 9 Chesterfield 1
01/10/1932 – Bradford City 7 Port Vale 0

10/04/1937 – Blackburn Rovers 9 Nottingham Forest 1
17/04/1937 – Plymouth Argyle 2 Blackburn Rovers 0

03/03/1951 – Lincoln City 9 Accrington Stanley 1
10/03/1951 – Bradford Park Avenue 2 Lincoln City 1

18/04/1951 – Brighton & Hove Albion 9 Newport County (old) 1
21/04/1951 – Leyton Orient 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1

11/12/1954 – Birmingham City 9 Liverpool 1
18/12/1954 – Birmingham City 2 Stoke City 0

03/09/1955 – Cardiff City 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 9
10/09/1955 – Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 Huddersfield Town 0

02/02/1957 – York City 9 Southport 1
09/02/1957 – Chesterfield 3 York City 4

30/12/1961 – Colchester United 9 Bradford City 1
15/01/1962 – Mansfield Town 4 Colchester United 0

21/03/1964 – Stoke City 9 Ipswich Town 1
27/03/1964 – West Ham United 4 Stoke City 1

27/11/1965 – Brighton & Hove Albion 9 Southend United 1
11/12/1965 – Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Shrewsbury Town 1

05/09/1998 – Barnet 1 Peterborough United 9
08/09/1998 – Peterborough United 3 Chester City 0

liquid awesome

When we went out of our way to make a move for Niko at the end of the summer window; most people saw the purchase as a shrewd move in backing up lynchpin Luka. However despite the absence of Modric, Kranjcar has found very limited time on the pitch despite being a perfect ‘fit’ for the role.

Much can be made of the suggestion that Redknapp values Robbie’s influence on the pitch so much that he overlooked Kranjcar for the time being. On his performance against Wigan, (despite the other distractions that game had to offer) you can’t help but feel that playing Robbie in his position is somewhat shortsighted when you consider that Niko can simply do it better; and with another avenue to explore in attack the confidence that is installed in the players at the moment is certainly something we should be looking to maintain.

However, this weekend could very well see the return of Modric himself which could mean one of two things; firstly that Kranjcar returns to the bench for the time being; (which I believe personally is pretty unlikely), or we’ll have to rejig the system to incorporate both talented Croatians. Whether this would mean a fluid role for both, switching from wingplay to attacking midfield, (I’m hoping in the absence of Jenas) could really be something that would excite the Spurs faithful. If this is the case; then Huddlestone also finds himself in a bit of a quandary as it’s fair to say that when looking at the team sheet, he’ll find himself hard pressed to usurp Palacios, Lennon, or Crouch/Keane for a place.

If only we were allowed 12 players! For me though, Krancjar seriously has to get more game time, as his quality is something which I always tend to find myself comparing to Berbatov, which is a joy that we’ve repressed since his acrimonious departure to Manchester.

In other assorted newsy bits. It’s all gone a bit quiet on the western front in relation to Joe Jordan’s possible move to take over as the Scotland manager. Whilst some of you might say; ‘who?’, this fiery scot is one of the member of backroom staff which for me is invaluable in our recent turn of fortunes as he seems like a seriously ‘to the point’ kind of guy. Fingers crossed he won’t be heading anywhere, but the lack of any official statement to suggest that he would shy away from a move might be an indictment of his possible plan.

The transfer wagon has also started rolling again and whilst at this stage any links without specific insider knowledge backing them up are indicative of lazy hacks with a penchant for annoying us yids, I’ll be taking a closer look at some proposed targets in the near future to give you the low down.

Here’s some light viewing to keep you occupied.

What a slow day for sports in California. There is not one game on tonight that interests me in the slightest and I am a pretty big sports fan in general. On the bright side, I did watch the DVR’d match between Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic and whoa boy what a game for Spurs! Nine to one is some sort of outcome, great performance all around and glad it was on Fox Soccer Channel so I got to watch it.

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In football, the saying, to the winner go the spoils couldn’t be more true. The minute a footballer scores a few goals, he is immediately put in the same league as the greats of the game. And God forbid, if he makes a mistake in the heat of the moment, all his past greatness is forgotten and he is immediately an overrated talentless footballer. The headlines in the past week have been dominated by two individual footballers, Thierry Henry and Jermaine Defoe. Thierry Henry had his moment and could have become a hero cherished by millions (minus the French) for eternity or he could have fallen from grace for millions. Unfortunately for Henry, in the heat of the moment he didn’t think selfishly enough and now he is being termed a cheat, a liar, a shame, a no-gooder, an unethical person and a villain of the worst kind, an overrated footballer who was never really good enough. It seems everyone is trying hard to forget the magic of Arsenal’s all-time leading goal scorer with 226 goals in all competitions, the two time winner of PFA Players’ Player of the Year and three time winner of the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year - Theirry Henry. Ironic, how almost all football journalists now seem to want to remember Henry only by the recent mistake that he made.

As is true of life, when a hero falls, a replacement is quickly sought. Jermaine Defoe’s 5 goals in the second half of the, 9-1 thriller between Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic couldn’t have come at a better time. Defoe’s horrible stamp on Aaron Mokoena in his return match against his old employers at Portsmouth which earned him a three match ban has been long forgotten and he is enjoying his sudden rise from a villain who manager Harry Rednapp had been absolutely livid with for the misdemeanor to a hero who manager Harry Rednapp is now busy hailing as the “best finisher” in the English game. His captain for the day, Jonathan Woodgate was even more generous with his praise saying, “I think he’s the sharpest striker not only in the Premier League but probably in the world. He’s that sharp he simply doesn’t miss, in training or in matches.”

The winner takes it all and I can’t begin to imagine what praise would have been directed the strikers way had he got a Premier League record sixth goal of the afternoon. On the other hand, Wigan Athletic players who suffered their worst result  in club’s 31-year league history, making them the first English Premier League team to concede nine goals in a single match since Ipswich Town in 1995 have decided to refund the money to supporters who travelled to White Hart Lane on Sunday (November 22) to watch their team get so completely thrashed in the humiliating 9-1 loss. Jermaine Defoe’s 5 goals were added to by goals from Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon, Niko Kranjcar and a  painful Chris Kirkland own goal.

Wigan Athletic Captain Mario Melchiot said the players had “badly let down” their travelling supporter and will therefore provide a full refund of the match ticket price. ”This is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty,” the Latics captain added.

Also, possibly related to the shameful result, Wigan Athletic today postponed the planned official opening of their new club store in the town. A spokesperson said: “The club apologises for any inconvenience caused to its supporters but stresses that the event will go ahead in the very near future, as soon as a new date can be arranged.” In the beautiful game, the winner is entitled to it all and then some, while the loser waits for his time to shine, good thing that it doesn’t take much to be a winner, a couple of goals can get you there.

Premier League side Wigan Athletic did their level best to enter the record books on Sunday – but for all the wrong reasons, writes Fingertips’ Daniel Shane.

The decision of Wigan Athletic’s starting 11 to refund ticket prices to their fans was the least they could do for the suffering legions who made the 400 mile roundtrip from Lancashire to White Hart Lane on Sunday.

While Roberto Martinez’s side’s 9 – 1 crushing by Tottenham Hotspur was by no means the most one-sided result in sports history, it was unique in that few teams have conspired to capitulate so spectacularly in such a short period of play.

Following a not insurmountable 1 – 0 deficit at the break, the boys in blue and white hit the self-destruct button and shipped eight goals in little over 40 minutes.

While Martinez says he will now concentrate on dusting off his battered troops and preparing them for next weekend, he should be concerned.

Wigan aren’t exactly in great company when it comes to these kind of score lines.

In 1995, Andy Cole spearheaded a rampant Manchester United attack and helped himself to five goals when his team lined up against Premier League stragglers Ipswich Town.

His teammates pitched in with another four to help destroy the Tractor Boys 9 – 0.

A couple of years later, Ron Atkinson’s Nottingham Forest leaked eight against the same side at the City Ground. Alan Rogers’ sixth minute strike provided scant, scant consolation for Big Ron and the Forest faithful.

Like Ipswich, Nottingham Forest were dumped out of the division that May and have been yo-yo-ing between the Championship and League One ever since.

A beleaguered Sheffield Wednesday were the next victims of a relentless drubbing – this time at the hands of a Sir Bobby Robson inspired Newcastle United. In his first home game at the helm of his new charges, a rampant Alan Shearer struck five times in an 8 – 0 victory to send the Owls spiraling towards oblivion.

Poor old Sheffield Wednesday haven’t been seen since in the Premier League.

While this all adds up to grim prediction over Wigan’s future in the division, Martinez and his side can take some comfort from impressive wins against runaway leaders Chelsea and Aston Villa earlier this year.

The fact that the season is still young gives Wigan plenty of time to steady the ship, while the general wretchedness of Portsmouth and Hull will also ensure that there is plenty more fight in this relegation battle.

For all the latest news and views on sport check out Fingertips.net

What you missed while perusing the jellyfish family album…

• Russian fans have started an online petition to convince Guus Hiddink to stay on as national team manager.
• Qatar would like to host a World Cup in spite of daily temperatures around the 104°F mark in June and July.
• Sevilla striker Arouna Kone will miss today’s match against Unirea Urziceni to be with his six year old daughter who fell down the stairs and has a serious head injury.
• David Beckham’s had asthma since he was a kid. That’s not really news, but everyone just found out, it’s a David Beckham story, and we have quotas to hit.
• Ryan Babel wants out of Liverpool because he’s not playing enough games.
• New Zealand spent the $10 million they received for making the World Cup on Foster’s and shrimp for the barby youth coaches.
• It’s looking more and more likely that Bayern Munich boss Louis van Gaal will be sacked over Germany’s winter break; Bayern needs to win tomorrow to have any hope of advancing in the Champions League.
• Spurs defender Vedran Corluka isn’t moving to Juventus.
• Cristiano Ronaldo will make his triumphant return for Real Madrid against FC Zürich tomorrow.

En el momento de recoger las bufandas de su equipo, el Wigan Athletic, los aficionados de este club de Gran Manchester acudían como cualquier día de fútbol al campo -en este caso, como visitantes- a ver jugar a su equipo. Con pasión, arraigo y sin reservas. Como son los ingleses. El partido concluyó con un 9-1 a favor de los locales, el Tottenham Hotspur, liderados por Jermain Defoe, quien marcara cinco goles. Todo ellos en al segunda parte. Una segunda mitad desastrosa, en la que el Wigan encajó la nada despreciable cifra de ocho chicharros. Ocho goles como ocho soles en 45 minutos.

El jugador inglés y, por extensión, los cuerpos técnicos y directivos, suelen tener un sentido del honor y el respeto muy agudo. Siendo fieles a la historia que el deporte del fútbol tiene en las islas, todo aquello que gira en torno a esta él, es casi religión. Afición. Actitud en el campo. Respeto al contrario y al árbitro. Respeto por el trabajo. Siempre existe la posibilidad de fallar en alguna faceta pero, si se falla, se trata de subsanar.

Los jugadores del Wigan Athletic, en conjunto y por decisión unánime, han decidido pagar la entrada a cada uno de los aficionados que fueron a ver el partido y así lo quieran. Porque piensan que no se merecen menos. El capitán de los Latics, Mario Melchiot, así lo expresó el día después del partido. “Sentimos que como grupo de jugadores fallamos a nuestros aficionados, y éste es un gesto que tenemos que hacer para devolverles su enorme lealtad”.

¿Os imagináis que todo fuera así? ¿Que toda actitud deshonrrosa hacia alguien que te paga fuera devuelta en el mismo sentido? ¿Que toda mala acción fuera devuelta de alguna manera?

Pues eso, votantes y militantes del PSOE, exigid vuestro voto.

Pues eso, votantes y militantes del PP -de Valencia sobre todo-, exigid vuestra cuota.

Pues eso, sindicalistas, seguid exigiendo. Como siempre.

As the original intention of this blog was a footballing discussion between an Arsenal and Spurs fan, I felt it was only appropiate that I posted this goal and asked the question: Bad defending or brilliant individual goal?

I’m also aware how annoying posting this video must be too any Spurs fan, but hey, I’m gonna gloat a bit while I can.  Particulary as certain Tottenham fans won’t stop talking about the 9-1 demolition of Wigan on Sunday for months.

But still, what a goal from Cesc. 

James

El Wigan fue el equipo encargado de quitarle el invicto al Chelsea hace varias fechas, sin embargo es uno de esos equipos de grandes partidos y otros que son una verdadera pesadilla para sus aficionados. Esta vez les tocó sufrir una dolorosa derrota en su visita al Tottenham Hotspur por 9-1 y recibiendo ocho tantos en la segunda parte. Jermain Defoe marcó cinco goles (51’, 54’, 58’, 69’ y 87’) igualando el récord de Andy Cole y Allan Shearer. Los demás goles fueron de Crouch al 9’, Lennon al 64’, Kirkland al 88’ (autogol) y Kranjcar al 90’. El gol de la honra lo anotó Scharner al 57’.

En otros juegos importantes destacan las victorias de Chelsea 4-0 sobre Wolverhampton y Manchester United 3-0 versus Everton, destacando un golazo impresionante de Fletcher para los red devils colocando el balón en el puro ángulo.

RESULTADOS

   With over a third of the Premier League campaign already played, it has become clear that the 09/10 season is going to present a genuine opportunity for the so called challengers to break the stranglehold of the ‘Big Four’ in terms of occupying the Champions League places come the end of the season. The transfer activity of the summer has left a rather unique situation whereby Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal arguably saw more quality players leave their clubs than arrive. Most notable were the exits of Xabi Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo from Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, but not to be forgotten also were the departures of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal.  Of the clubs in the chasing pack trying to take advantage; it would seem that Tottenham Hotspur, are the ones to have nailed on the correct strategy for doing just that.

  The last few seasons have been marked by an undeniable trend, whereby the teams finishing just outside of the top four places in the Premier League have seen their key players snapped up by the bigger clubs. After finishing 5^th in 2006 and 2007, Tottenham Hotspur sold their best midfielder – Michael Carrick and then later their best striker – Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United and subsequently their league form slumped.  Another example is Bolton Wanderers, who finished 7^th in 2007 and later sold Nicholas Anelka to Chelsea, cue relegation struggles forthwith. This summer saw Everton sell Joleon Lescott to Manchester City and since then their defence has looked nothing short of dire. And whilst Aston Villa’s form has just about maintained so far this season, I would strongly suggest that the recent sale of their best player Gareth Barry, is going to have a negative impact on their long term prospects.  However, when Liverpool came knocking on the door with a big money bid for Aaron Lennon this summer, Tottenham said no. And what a decision that has proved to be. Tottenham’s exploits on the pitch this season have them currently lying in 4^th place in the league, and their good form has been based hugely on the performances of long standing squad members; Huddlestone, Lennon, King (and despite brief hiatuses) Defoe and Keane. Solid from the back four right up to the front two, Tottenham are a legitimate bet for finishing in the top four this season and if they do, it won’t be through a barrage of big money spending, but rather by keeping hold of their prized assets.  

  Inevitably the argument will be put forward that clubs like Everton, Aston Villa and Tottenham are forced to sell their star players because of the huge transfer fees they can command in conjunction with the financial pressures of Premier League football. And of course it is the very money that comes part and parcel with competing in the Champion’s League, which elevates the ‘Big Four’ above the rest of the Premier League teams in their financial might, thus aiding them to their consolidation of the same four positions every year. But let’s explore the situation with Tottenham; they received approximately £50 million for the transfers of Carrick and Berbatov, yet in the period 2006 – 2008, they spent over that amount on the transfers of Roman Pavlyuchenko, David Bentley, Younes Kaboul, Gareth Bale and Kevin Prince Boateng and its fair to say that not one of these players has had a significant impact on the fortunes of the team. Which of course begs the question of why sell the star players in the first place? Well, many would argue that a manager should not stand in the way of a player given the opportunity to play for one of the ‘Big Four’. This argument of course shoots itself in the foot when the likes of Robbie Keane and Sean Wright Phillips move on to bigger clubs, only to later return with their tails between their legs. Since taking the reigns at Tottenham, Harry Redknapp has certainly been astute enough to keep hold of his best players amidst rising external pressures and his Tottenham side are currently reaping the rewards for it. It would be the ultimate vindication for Redknapp and Tottenham if they were able to finish the season  amongst the Champions League spots, and I would suggest that amongst the current challengers they seem the most likely to end the monopoly at the top.

Footballers are increasingly perceived as being removed from the ‘real world’, and countless post-match interviews see players (and indeed managers) making excuses for poor performances. Supporters pay good money to watch bad football, often with no explanation or apology from those concerned afterwards.

Wigan Athletic’s 9-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur yesterday was obviously a very different beast. The best spin doctor in the world couldn’t squirm out of that one.

But even so, the Wigan players have responded in a creditable fashion today. Club captain, Mario Melchiot, announced that Wigan’s players would pay out refunds to each and very Wigan supporter who had made their way down to London yesterday to watch their team.

The statement read, “We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters yesterday, and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty.”

How wonderful and novel would it be if all sportsmen responded to bad defeats in this fashion? I’m not suggesting that every team that has a shocker should refund their fans, but it would be refreshing if more sporting professionals took responsibility for a poor performance and apologised to their (often long-suffering) fans. Who, less we forget, pay their wages.

So, what sporting performance would you have liked a refund, or at least an apology, for?

And outside the sporting sphere, do you think we hear the word “sorry” enough?

Scarface’s choice of weapon: the M16A1 machine gun.

Spurs’ choice of weapon: 2 short fellows by the names of Lennon & Defoe.

Was anyone else in complete shock last night? I’m actually still in shock now. I don’t even know where to begin. So I won’t. I’m going to keep this short and sweet. I don’t want to waste this high I’m on.

9-1.

9-1… really? Is this for real?

Is it possible that we could have two of the best English strikers in Crouch and Defoe? Is it possible that we might have England’s best winger in our squad? Is it possible we have 3 Croatian gems in our squad? Is it possible that Hudd has started every single game this season? Is it possible that we have just entered the history books with the 2nd highest scoring match in Premier League history? I can keep going but I will only come to one conclusion in the end. Yes!

It’s a proud moment for us all. Please take the time to enjoy it. COYS!

Jermain Is Ready... Is England Willing?

Tottenham Hotspur routed Wigan Athletic today 9-1 in a Premiership match that really didn’t get started until the second half of play. This stunning victory has kept Tottenham level with North London rivals Arsenal, as both teams sit tied for third with 25 points. While the Spurs’  team play was admirable, it was Jermain Defoe who separated the wheat from the chaff. After being used only sparingly in the qualification run up to the 2010 World Cup, Defoe has made his case for being included in the England squad that travels to South Africa next summer. Defoe, already having a solid season with 7 goals in 13 starts entering this afternoon’s clash with Wigan, managed to add 5 (count them… 5) to that tally, all coming in the second 45 minutes of play. Notably his goals equaled the Premiership record for most scored by an individual in a regular season match. Defoe will now share this record with Newcastle and England legend Alan Shearer as well as retired Manchester United striker Andy Cole. Moreover, what is perhaps even more impressive is that the prospective Spurs forward  managed to help himself to three of his five goals in under 7 minutes of play, a feat never before achieved in the EPL.

Highlights Part 1

Highlights Part 2

While all of this praise should be somewhat tempered by the fact that Defoe’s record setting afternoon came at the expense of Wigan Athletic. A performance such as this one begs the question: Can Fabio Capello keep Jermain Defoe off of his World Cup team come final selection time? And perhaps even more importantly, if not… can Capello find a way to fit both Defoe and his Spurs team mate, and midfield catalyst, Aaron Lennon into the same starting XI? Should these two players continue to develop on already outstanding chemistry? The answer would have to be emphatically no. Kudos Jermain, on a job well done…  I look forward to seeing if he can maintain his deadly form next week as the team travels to Villa Park in Birmingham to take on an Aston Villa team that sits only three points back of them in the table.

For more footy news stay tuned to cheddarbomb.wordpress.com, or follow us via RSS feed to get up to the minute info and insight on the world of sport.

We’ve already seen Robbie Keane score 4 goals this season against Burnley so to expect to see someone score more in a game would have been more than a little bit greedy. But we got it and what’s more all in the space of 45 minutes for he wasn’t breaking the offside trap in the first.

Firstly the team. I called for width and balance and got it. Keane was rested and I bet he enjoyed his drive home tonight – Not! Lennon on the other hand will be enjoying his having returned to the side and putting in a devastating shift which provided goals for firstly Crouch, then Defoe before helping himself to one and Kranjcar put in a superb performance carrying on from where he left off against Sunderland. His vicious shot which became the ninth goal was really deserved to round off his best performance in a Spurs shirt.

And really in the second half they were all outstanding passing it around at will and taking the game by the scruff of its neck and forcing home the advantage. Had we played like that throughout, instead of allowing Wigan back into the game in the latter stages of the first half we would have broken the Premier League highest score record. Granted we did not keep a clean sheet and as it was a hand ball goal a West Ham friend of mine has already texted suggesting the game should be replayed but a momentary lapse could not detract from the sort of performance all football fans dream of.

In my preview I did suggest that if we got the show on the road we could score more than my 2-0. I said to G before the start this could be good today having seen the team sheet and so it proved. After a quick start which saw long balls floated in for Lennon to attack and deliver deadly crosses which produced an early goal for Crouch and a second near miss.

Then there was a quick corner which saw a ball laid across the face of goal for Tommy to hit a powerful shot which was unstoppable and just wide. Palacios took a ball and carried it before hitting another powerful drive that Kirkland acrobatically saved at his top corner.

At the other end Wigan were also attacking and Gomes was made to take crosses and make saves one from a long throw out of his own that was picked off and driven low to his left corner.

At half time we questioned why we had let go of our early grip and could we pick up our play once more to get the second goal. G felt a rocket from Harry would put it right and as usual he was on the button! After the second goal the game burst into life with a flurry of Defoe goals running onto through balls and finishing in style. And that was history of the second half. From the Paxton Road you thought on occasions he had gone too wide only for him to rifle it into the far corner.

Lennon left the proceedings to much deserved applause and Bentley came on scoring an excellent goal from 25 yards from a free kick which we understand is credited to Kirkland as it came back onto his back from the crossbar.

Can it get any better? Probably not. You don’t want to criticise on such a day but we did give the ball away too easily in the first half which might have been punished by a stronger opponent but you can only beat what has been put in front of you and those sloppy passes were made in an effort to provide the type of entertainment that Harry knows Spurs fans expect to see. I’ve seen 10 in a game before at White Hart Lane but that was 6-4 against Reading. I didn’t see the 9 against Bristol Rovers when we were in Division 2 as it was then so this is the pinnacle in scoring on my many visits. I loved it and congratulate the team for delivering a result far beyond any of our expectations at the kick off.

So what now for Robbie; how doe he get back into the side? And Jenas and what about Modric who we understand is nearing fitness? Performance is the answer, they may have to wait but they will know that none of those who performed so well today can be dropped without good reason for the next game. This team looked miles better than the starting line up for Sunderland and got the result in confident fashion. That’s what this game is about. Come on You Spurs!

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See what all the fuss was about here.

Read about it here.

It’s fair to say that what we’ve all just witnessed was the kind of performance we’ve been looking from spurs this season especially the second half performance anyway. The game took shape after Lennon’s first touch on the ball, at which point he displayed that time off the pitch doesn’t necessarily mean that he wouldn’t improve his game. On the contrary he looked far more inventive today than we’ve seen him in a long time, with a variety of firecrackers in his box of tricks. Crouch looked sharp as a target man upfront trying to latch onto service from our midfield; scoring a goal from a bobbling Lennon ball at the 13th minute in the game. At this point it looked as if we’d definitely bossed the game and would roll on to secure our position before the break. However; the usual signs of a Spurs capitulation came into the fore as we found ourselves a bit bereft of ideas, and the physicality of Wigan’s players somewhat getting themselves back into the game. The half time whistle went and Harry had a few words to say.

…

From the off in the second half we were looking to get a goal to sure things up; but I doubt many of you would have put a punt down on 8 goals to follow. The first, another incisive run from Lennon, who drew his cross early into the path of Defoe who smashed the ball into the roof of the net with great reflexive skill. Once two up; sitting back suddenly was not an option and we found ourselves committing more, which brought the reward of Defoe’s second,  a searching through ball from Palacios allowed him to run onto and cleanly put the ball past Kirkland.

Wigan then scored a goal by cheating. In an strange homage to Thierry Henry, Paul Scharner latched onto Rodellega’s ball and patted it down with his hand to blast the ball past Gomes. (3-1) Another clear cut example for FIFA to think about; whilst keeping the game human is one thing. allowing unsportsmanship like this and Thierry’s £100m apologetic chance is probably not the best precedent to set.

Anyway; Defoe shirked off this mild distraction by scoring a goal straight from the off, to neutralize any threat that Wigan were trying to pose. Lennon once again with a cheeky ball to Defoe who’s finish made it look as if he couldn’t miss anything today. At this point Lennon was a bit tired of providing for everyone else, and after good play from Kranjcar took the ball and drilled it home from the right hand side of the box. Defoe then scored from Corluka, to take his tally to four; he decided to show up Erik Edman by taking his fifth from a defensive mistake. At this point the score was 7-1, and with about 15 minutes to go, no betting man would have bet against any more finding their way past Chris Kirkland. Lennon left the field to a standing ovation to be replaced by Bentley who would surely have to prove his worth for a starting berth. He did this by smashing a freekick cooly into the top right hand corner, making it’s way into the net via the post and the back of Kirkland’s head.

At 8-1 the game was finished. Nearly. Kranjcar decided he had something to say about Modric’s position and through some silky midfield play found a position outside of the box to crack home a shot past a now witless Kirkland. Final score, Spurs 9 Wigan 1.

These kind of scorelines are only really seen when you have the winning team playing sublime, in comparison to underperforming underdog. It’s safe to say that this is what happened today, as all of our players put in a strong shift whereas Wigan looked beleaguered from the outset. Needless to say though; hopefully this game will provide the inspiration the squad to push on with the coming fixtures and consolidate their place in the table.

Player ratings;

Gomes – 7.1 – Didn’t have too much to do today, but did what he had to well. At one point rushed his distribution today and could have paid for it.

Assou Ekotto – 7.2 – Solid today and allowed the midfield to head forwards without worrying about a counter attack. Goes to show how well he can play with a solid left sided player in front of him.

Woodgate – 7.0 – Tenacious; along with Dawson caused Rodellega and Scotland to think twice about bossing it in the final centre third of the pitch.

Dawson – 7.0-  Great to see Dawson returning to form; as someone who has always rated him he seems to be developing really well.

Corluka – 7.1- A good assist today and looks pretty good going forward for a slow chap. Still not the revelation he was when we bought him, but great worth today.

Kranjcar – 8.5- Creative midfeild dynamo. Sound familiar? Modric and Kranjcar together could create the football that Spurs fans always hark on about. For me, has to play more as his languid qualities are reminiscent of a certain Bulgarian who despite being awful now, if we’re honest we all miss a little bit.

Huddlestone. 7.2- Where do you want the ball? OK. Forget about kicking football into skips, muffintop could kick a golf ball into a packet of skips blindfolded. Looks great when backed up by Palacios.

Palacios – 8.2 – May have lost the ball a few times, but each time battled to get it back again. Protected Huddlestone aswell as offered a short passing threat going forwards. Very good today at pushing Wigan back and putting the frighteners on them.

Lennon* – 9.5 – Sublime today. It’s scary to say that he looks twice the player that limped off a few weeks ago. Has obviously been putting alot into his game when he was on the sidelines, and obviously was very hungry today. New contract please.

Crouch – 7.6 – Good target man today. Always looked dangerous in the box and was great at holding up the play bringing in Defoe and Lennon into proceedings.

Defoe* – 9.5 – Doesn’t really get much better than five goals. Through a double hatt-rick would have been unprecedented in the premier league. Absolutely lethal today.

Subs:

Bentley – 7.5 -Great freekick looked a bit like the guy we bought, but with Lennon playing as well as he did today, you really have to feel for the lad who is known to have a great attitude.

Bassong – n/a – Came on for Benoit at the end of the game as he had taken a knock. Will be interesting to see how our four centre-backs fit in as they all seem to be playing at a very high level.

Jenas – n/a – Unluckily for Jenas it seems he was late to the party and was unable to really make his mark today.

Next up: Aston Villa Away.

Why do I always type a little blurb here? It never really says anything; I just feel weird diving straight into the match results themselves without any preamble. It’s too… impersonal that way. So hello, hi, here we are, so let’s get down to it:

Calcio:

AS Roma Totti 3-1 Bari – Romanisti always repeat one thing when Er Pupone is sidelined: No Totti, no Party. But sometimes we get so caught up in our own negativity that we forget the flip-side of that equation: Totti = party. Er Capitano made his return today against Bari, back from over a month out after going into knee surgery earlier in the season. And just to remind us why we miss him when he’s gone, he scored a hattrick. In the first half hour. The first came on 7′ – a spot kick after Jean-François Gillet downed Mirko Vucinic in the area. Then, only 7 minutes later, Totti launched a searing free-kick into the back of the net to make it 2-0. On 28′, he scored a world-class – and seemingly impossible – goal, beating Bari’s defense, Gillet and firing an acute-angle shot into the far corner. Beauty. Roma did their usual thing in the second half, sitting comfortably back on their large lead and letting i Galletti tire themselves out. However, the visitors finally pulled one back when youngster Marco Andreolli nodded the ball into his own net on 73′. A bit of a blemish, but a pretty good party nonetheless. To Gillet’s credit, he was outstanding for most of the match (those stretches when Totti was not destroying his self esteem), as was Julio Sergio, who was very solid behind the Roman back four. Mirko Vucinic was phenomenal, back to his old self again, while the only real black spot for Roma was Nicolas Burdisso, who was an absolute horrorshow at right-back. Also, the own goal was unfortunate. But all in all, a very good party with Er Capitano back at the helm. I can’t wait until we get Danielino back – then we can really party.

Inter 3-1  Bologna – The Inter Offside webpage referred to this match as a ‘Mortadella Speedbump’ — that pretty much sums it up for me. The reigning champions probably felt as if they could simply stroll into the Stadio Dall’Ara and come back out with three easy points, and their hosts failed to prove them wrong. There was a bit of tension early in the match; Diego Milito put Inter ahead on 22′ off of a corner from Maicon, only for Marcelo Zalayeta to equalize within 60 seconds, smashing the ball past Julio Cesar and into the top corner. The next 20 minutes saw both teams get really into the game, but Mario Balotelli should have put his side ahead when he beat the Bologna backline and dummied ‘keeper Emiliano Viviano – only to waste enough time that Viviano was able to get up and rob him of his much belated shot. One could see Jose Mourinho rise from his bench, flailing in anger. However, Supermario was able to atone for his sins just before the half; another Maicon corner saw the young striker rise powerfully in the air and head home to make it 2-1 for the Nerazzurri. He picked up a knock in the process, however, and was subbed off for Samuel Eto’o, who made a rare start on the bench. The visitors would make their lead more comfortable midway through the second half, with Esteban Cambiasso, who was in excellent form, burying a left-foot strike on 72′. To be honest, the hosts never looked like they were going to get back into the game, and Inter cruised to a comfortable win over the Emiliani.

AC Milan 4-3 Cagliari – It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride in the San Siro this afternoon, but i Rossoneri came out on top. Clarence Seedorf gave the home side an early lead on 5′, but gli Isolani weren’t interested in falling behind and Alessandro Matri equalized just 3 minutes later. The visitors would take the lead on 30′ when Andrea Lazzari found himself completely unmarked at Milan’s back post and gave his side a 2-1 lead. This time though, it was Milan’s turn to come from behind, as Marco Borriello and Alexandre Pato bagged a pair of goals in quick succession to put their side up 3-2 by the 39th minute. Pato’s goal was particularly nice, a rocket-powered blast into the top shelf which sent the San Siro crowd into an uproar. Milan would further consolidate their lead after the break, with Ronaldinho stepping up to the spot after Borriello had been felled in the area and burying it, sending Federico Marchetti the wrong way. He seems to score all of his goals that way, doesn’t he? More on him later. Cagliari was able to reduce Milan’s lead to a single goal when Nenê beat Dida on 68′, but Milan would hold onto their rather precarious lead and edge their visitors 4-3 in what turned out to be an exciting goalfest. Now, Ronaldinho. He was quite possibly – I’d almost say easily – the man of the match; back to his Barcelona form and full of tricks and flicks. That he only got onto the scoresheet via PK is misleading, as he was the creative force behind Milan’s devastating offense all night. That being said, their defending was quite shoddy, and against a better team (no offense, Cagliari, I like you guys) they might have come away with a rather different result. That being said, an excellent high-scoring match to put il Diavolo into 3rd place. Who says Serie A is boring?

Juventus 1-0 Udinese – Oh that’s right, Juventini say Serie A is boring. Because Juve is boring. I Bianconeri edged, well, i Bianconeri in Turin to keep their Scudetto hopes alive tonight. After the kickoff, it was all Juventus; Diego and Mauro Camoranesi both came close in the first quarter of an hour. After that though, the game went into a bit of a lull, and neither side looked dangerous (or did anything important) before the halftime break – unless you count a Udinese goal rightly disallowed for offside. After the restart, it was once again Juventus who set the pace, and this time it paid off. Summer signing Martin Cácares set up summer signing Fabio Grosso, who beat Samir Handanovic with ease to put the home side up 1-0 on 51′. Udinese fought hard throughout the remainder of the half, and both Handanovic and Gigi Buffon were called upon to make class saves, but ultimately the most exciting thing to happen before the fulltime whistle was Alessandro Del Piero’s appearance as a substitute. Juventino or not, you gotta love that guy.

Football:

A hattrick? No, that was just a warm-up.

Tottenham Hotspur 9-1 Wigan Athletic – Stop the press! What in God’s name do they put in the water in Tottenham? The Spurs recorded the second-biggest Premiership blowout in history at White Hart Lane over a hapless Wigan Athletic, with Jermain Defoe grabbing 5 himself in the second half. Peter Crouch opened the scoring for the home side on 9′, and believe it or not, that was it for the first half. Defoe got started right away after the break though, netting on 51′ and 54′, before Paul Scharner (who may have also pulled a Thierry Henry) pulled one back for the Latics to make it 3-1 on 57′. Defoe wasn’t done yet though, and to complete his hattrick restored the Spurs 3-goal margin just seconds later. Aaron Lennon got in on the action with a goal of his own on 64′, and then Jermain Defoe topped off his hattrick with a brace on 69′ and 87′. Chris Kirkland put the ball into his own net on 88′ to make it 8-1, and then Niko Kranjcar scored in the 4th minute of stoppage time to make the scoreline a whopping 9-1. To put this into perspective, didn’t table-toppers Chelsea lose to Wigan this season? Holy shit, dude.

Chelsea 4-0 Wolverhampton – Speaking of Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti’s men took part in a rout of their own this weekend, though it seems rather paltry in comparison with their London neighbours’ rather excessive beatdown. The Wolves simply had no chance at Stamford Bridge, and with Florent Malouda opening the scoring with a 25-yard strike on 5′, it seemed a cricket score was imminent. Michael Essien furthered that notion, bagging a brace within a 10 minute span by finding the back of the Wolves’ net on 12′ and 22′. The visitors simply had no response to the dominant Chelsea play, and their ill-advised 2-5-3 formation left plenty of gaps for the Blues to exploit. The teams went into the half with the score 3-0, but not before Sylvain Ebanks-Blake forced a class save from Petr Cech. As the game progressed, Wolverhampton reverted to a more solid 4-4-2, it was not enough to stop Joe Cole from scoring his first Premiership goal in over a year, making the score 4-0. Another quite impressive blowout/shutout from Ancelotti’s men, but until they score 9 goals I think they’ll feel that their crosstown rivals have the upper hand. Then again, they’re leading the league, so who cares about the Spurs?

Liverpool 2-2- Manchester City – Every time a Koppite cries, and angel get its wings. Or so I’ve been led to believe. Either way, both the Reds and the Blues (no, no, other Reds. Other Blues too.) dropped points and further away from the top 4 with a 4-goal draw at Anfield on Saturday. Martin Skrtel gave the home side the lead on 50′, only for Emmanuel Adebayor and Stephen Ireland to respond on 69′ and 76′ respectively to give the Citizens a 2-1 lead. A loss at this stage in the competition would have meant disaster for the Scousers, but luckily Yossi Benayoun cut any Mancunian celebrations short by responding with a goal of his own on 77′ to equalize and make it 2-2. And 2-2 the score would remain. This result is neither a complete disaster for Mark Hughes or Rafa Benitez, but you gotta think that the two of them, and their grossly underperforming squads, have gotta be feeling a little uncomfortable right now.

Manchester Utd 3-0 Everton – As for the other Reds and Blues of Manchester and Liverpool, a draw was not in the cards. The Red Devils trounced the Toffeemakers at Old Trafford to stay within five points of Chelsea in the table. Darren Fletcher opened the scoring for the homeside on 35′ with a beautiful goal that has been compared (somewhat hyperbolically) to the work of Zinedine Zidane. After the half Michael Carrick and Luis Antonio Valencia would add a goal each, while David Moyes’ men could do little but keep the scoreline respectable. I gotta say, the Merseyside derby is going to be downright depressing this year…

Pictured: Arsenal player not fit for today's match.

Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal – Oh, Arsenal. The Gooners had gone over a dozen games without a loss, but as usual Arsene Wenger’s men got a little too close to the sun and their wings simply burned up. Also, they had a lot of injuries. The Londoners put in an unfocused and ramshackle performance against a determined Sunderland side who clearly wanted the result more. And they got it. Sunderland simply rode out wave after wave of potent Arsenal attacking play, though admittedly, it didn’t seem like the Gunners wanted to do much other than controlling the ball in midfield. On 71′, the home side finally got their chance and Darren Bent buried it to make the score 1-0 for the Black Cats. Wenger’s men had simply no will to get back into the game (perhaps their minds were occupied with thoughts of next week’s clash against Chelsea) and ultimately fell to a steely Sunderland side. This is the second time this year that the Black Cats have beaten a top 4 side – and this time it can’t even be blamed on a beach ball.

Futbol:

Real Madrid 1-0 Racing Santander – Well, Los Galacticos are still without their biggest star – Cristiano Ronaldo – and they’re still not playing as ‘Galacticos’ perhaps should, but they’re finally where Galacticos should be: on top. Gonzalo Higuaín provided the difference that Manuel Pellegrini’s men needed to take down mid-table residents Racing Santander, with a strike from close range on 22′. Both sides had second-half goals disallowed for offsides, with both Karim Benzema and Sergio Canales putting the ball into the back of the net only to be notified by the referee that they need not celebrate. As has been the norm this year, Madrid did not completely convince, but their narrow victory was nevertheless enough to see them go top of the table for the first time this season after Barcelona picked up a similarly unconvincing result in Bilbao.

Because Bear Country is more frightening than Basque Country.

Barcelona 1-1 Athletic Bilbao – Treble Champions they may be, but at times this season Barcelona have failed to look the part. They faltered again in their title race during this weekend’s trip to Basque Country. Though many of their starting 11, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were out with knocks, one could still expect Barcelona to produce a result against midtable opponents such as Bilbao. Early in the match, Los Leones put pressure on their visitors, peppering them with corners and free kicks, while Barca looked simply content to play on the counter. Soon however, Barca wrested control of possession from their hosts, and began to look like the side to score, though when it came to finishing they came up empty – at least in the first half. However, after the restart the Blaugrana got off on the right foot, with Daniel Alves running on to the end of a perfect throughball from Xavi and finding the back of Bilbao’s net. Athletic immediately responded by bringing Toquero into the game; a move that would prove very effective as the substitute would equalize for the home side within 10 minutes of coming onto the pitch, running onto a long ball and smashing it home. All that was left to do for Bilbao was to park the bus and ride out the waves of Barcelona attacks – which they did – in order to gain a point and drop the reigning champions down to second place. What has happened to Pep Guardiola’s men?

Fußball:

Bayern München 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen – Well, Die Roten haven’t sunk any further into their slump, but they haven’t de-slumped either, achieving a draw against league-leading Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz-Arena this weekend. Mario Gomez and Stephan Kießling each netted for their respective sides early on in the match; both goals came within the first 15 minutes of play. Bayern started off energetically, with their aggressive attack leading to Mario Gomez’s opener on 8′, which he sidefooted in on an advantage play after Miroslav Klose was fouled. However, their visitors soon caught up to them in pace and were able to exploit the home side’s defensive weaknesses; Kießling easily beat the offside trap and slotted the ball coolly past Hans-Jörg Butt to make it all square on 14′. Each team had spells of pacy and bright looking attack, but neither could capitalize during those stretches; Leverkusen keeper Rene Adler saved his side time and time again with world class saves to prevent Bayern from getting out in front. Even Thomas Müller, who has so often been Bayern’s ace-in-the-hole this season proved ineffectual, and was subbed in the second half for Ivica Olic, returning from a lengthy injury layoff. The chances petered out towards the end of the game, and a 1-1 draw it would remain – a result that sees Bayer reclaim 1st and Bayern languish in 7th.

Werder Bremen 6-0 SC Freiburg – Poor Freiburg. On more than a few occasions this season they have found themselvesin situations where they are simply out of their depth. The home side suffered a humbling defeat to Die Grün-Weißen in their own Badenova-Stadion, falling 6-0 in an all-out slaughter. Hugo Almeida opened the scoring for the visitors on 33′, Marko Marin added a second on 55′, Almeida doubled his money on 57′, Mesut Özil netted on 67′, Naldo on 73′ and substitute Markus Rosenberg made it 6-0 with 8 minutes left to play. Freiburg once again made a case for having the worst defense in the Bundesliga (they have the highest number of goals against; 30) and sit 13th in the league table, while this victory propels Werder Bremen to second, just a point behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. I guess the English aren’t the only ones who know how to have a good blowout!