Spurs v Chelsea

It was actually a really good game. Both teams played some great football; it was exciting; and the atmosphere at White Hart Lane was the best it has been all season - for most of the second half anyway. Sure we missed Bale (expectant father) and Dembele (midweek injury), but we played well, mostly. Both sides missed chances. The 2 - 4 result was definitely harsh though, not to say frustrating. It could all have been so different. One goal behind coming out after half time (a scorcher from Cahill),  two goals from Gallas and Defoe (his 200th club goal) in the space of the first 10 minutes put us in front. Not for too long unfortunately: Juan Mata then scored twice in 5 minutes. Livermore replaced Huddleston (why?) and Adebayor came on for Dempsey (who hadn't looked comfortable in Bale's position). Tottenham continued to fight, but then Mata took the ball from Walker out on the touchline and his pass to Sturridge gave Chelsea their fourth goal in the 89th minute. Game over.


Agatha loves being at the Lane when it's LOUD. And it was for much of the second half. (Mildred couldn't make it today). It's great feeling the crowd getting behind the team. Sadly, there was evidence on Twitter after the match of some "fans" not getting behind individual players. Kyle Walker was excoriated for his mistake towards the end, and such was the tone of it that he closed his Twitter account. Seems a bit extreme. Ignore the idiots, Kyle. But this does again raise the question of "fans" v "supporters". Walker has been a great presence in defence, really solid for Spurs. He doesn't deserve the vitriol that was being directed at him.

Not only were we without Bale and Dembele today -  as we've said before, we are also still missing Parker, Kaboul and Assou Ekotto. We have  top class players. Agatha and Mildred have high hopes for the season, and they are supporting our boys 100%.

Agatha and Mildred

Football memories

International break. Time for Agatha to come clean: she's not an England supporter. So Bale 2 - Scotland 1 brought mixed emotions last night. What a corker of a goal from Bale. (She doesn't want to get into a discussion about the penalty, being more upset about Fletcher's disallowed goal). Expecting similar mixed emotions on Tuesday too, when Scotland meets Belgium, assuming Vertonghen and Dembele will be appearing for their country.  In truth, she doesn't really follow Scottish football much these days, and World Cup qualifiers are always painful for Scots. But it has got her reminiscing about the (really) old days ...

Photo:Neil Carnegie

This is where it all started - Ardrossan Winton Rovers. Winton Park shared a wall with my first primary school (that's it in the photo). Watching games on Saturdays, wandering freely around the ground to get different vantage points, swinging on the rails, out in the elements, squashing into the enclosure when it was really pouring. (The Stand was for the posh folk). Me, my sister, and the girl cousins watching the first half of the game from Cannon Hill next to the ground, and getting in for free at half time. (The boy cousins' entry paid for? I don't recall. Hrrumph). My Uncle Jackie cut the grass and helped count the takings. Loved the action - the closeness and immediacy of it - and the sense of attachment and belonging. And going about with my dad and the grown ups.

Moving to the newly built primary school up the road, I was asked in the playground "Who do you support - Rangers or Celtic?" "Winton Rovers" says I proudly. "Naw. That disnae count. Rangers or Celtic? You've got to say". I didn't know the answer, so asked my dad. "Just say you support Kilmarnock". Somehow that did count, or at least the boys stopped bothering me in the playground about it. It wasn't until years later that I understood what the question was all about and appreciated the wisdom of my dad's suggested response. I really hope that question is not asked any more in playgrounds in the West of Scotland. It's an embarrassment we've lived with for too long.

Later still, in my teens and having moved to Glasgow, I would have responded to the playground question with a different answer  - Partick Thistle. Or, should I say: Partick Thistle FC. (As Billy Connolly rightly points out - you have to give them their full title otherwise folk think they're called "Partick Thistle Nil").  One Boxing Day, we took the young daughter of a friend to Firhill for her first football match. It was a 5 goal thriller against Motherwell, 2 goals scored from the penalty spot. Come on you Jags! We had to explain the nickname: Partick Thistle, thistles are jaggy - the Jags! Back home, recounting the excitement of the experience she told her mum - "And they've got a nickname ... emmm ..." [thinks] "... the Pricks!"

Having defected south of the Border in the 1980s, and pitching up initially south of the Thames, I skirted with Wimbledon for a while. Then, in 1990, visiting White Hart Lane for the first time (with new boyfriend Norman) I witnessed close up from the lower tier of the West Stand the genius of Paul Gascoigne and the skill of Gary Lineker.  I remember the frisson to this day. Smitten.

What are your early football memories?

Agatha and Mildred

Happy Returns!

Many happy returns to Jermain Defoe, birthday boy today!

And continuing our happy return to top form, winning 2-0 against Aston Villa!


Today's view at The Lane
 

Agatha and Mildred were happy to return to White Hart Lane, hoping for good things at home after last week's triumph at Old Trafford, and notwithstanding a disappointing midweek performance against Panathinaikos. Also returning to the West Stand for the first time this season, down near the pitch, towards the Park Lane end. Agatha likes it down there: you get a real sense of how fast and physical the game is, although you do miss out a bit on the overall shape of the match (and on a decent view of any goals at the other end). So, sadly, we missed a close-up view of Tottenham's two second-half goals - but we're not complaining!

Great game today. We are looking good! Lots of clever play from the lads - Dembele and Vertonghen are undoubtedly superb signings. Bale and Lennon did what Bale and Lennon, respectively, do so well. Lennon worked so hard throughout the whole game; he deserved his goal (and his place in the England squad).  Gallas and Walker were solid in defence, as was Caulker, who is looking really promising. He even contrived to get in the way of Defoe's shot to score his first goal for Spurs. Sandro was class, mostly, but a bit inconsistent today, Agatha thought. And Dempsey wasn't quite as sharp as he had been in previous games; Sigurdsson came on to replace him in the second half. But again, both good signings on the evidence of their performances to date. Adebayor also came on in the second half to replace Defoe. All in all, a really talented squad. And remember, we still have the return of Kaboul, Parker and Assou-Ekotto to look forward to. Spoilt for choice!

Hugo Lloris at White Hart Lane

The big news today, however, was the first league appearance of Hugo Lloris in Spurs' goal. Agatha and Mildred are both great fans of Brad Friedel, who has been brilliant for us at Tottenham. As Amy Lawrence wrote in the Observer today, Friedel has had an unbroken run in the premier league for 8 seasons, being picked by whichever team he was with, playing in 310 consecutive matches. What a record. Respect! Amy assumed that he woud be playing today (as did many of us given his fine form of late), but the rumours that started circulating shortly before the match proved right - Lloris  got his first league game for Spurs. He acquitted himself admirably, as you would expect of France's No. 1 keeper, reading the game well and making some great saves. It will be interesting to see what happens now - Brad and Hugo both proving they are a safe pair of hands. Maybe a smart move on AVB's (and Brad's) part: introduce Lloris while Brad's performance and reputation are at a high.

Bring on Chelsea!

Agatha and Mildred

P.S. Euan the Octopus could so easily have been right - and more!

Man oh Man (U)

Yesterday morning, looking forward to the big game against Manchester United, Agatha enjoyed reading Daniel Taylor's (@DTguardian) Saturday interview with Gareth Bale. Further cheer was to be found in an article on Villas-Boas's support for Jermain Defoe. Norman (Agatha's other half) has long felt that Jermain has been underappreciated, and didn't get played as often as he should. On the other hand, you can always rely on  The Sun and The Daily Mail to pen spurious reports, this time on supposed dissent in the Tottenham team and the players' dissatisfaction with Villas-Boas. No sources or quotes, just general sniping. (The #DailyFail also picked up the Bale interview and ran with a ridiculous headline about Bale wanting to leave Spurs to play abroad).

What better way to counter such mendacious reports than to go to Old Trafford and play a blinder! From the opening goal two minutes in - Vertonghen's first for Spurs - it was sizzling! Agatha loves to see Bale outrun players like a wee boy at school sports day; he left Ferdinand standing to slip a second goal away. Half-time whistle came and we were still 2-0 up! Man U were always going to come out fighting after Fergie's half-time bollocking. Three further goals in 2 minutes kept the excitement up. Lovely to see Dempsey also get his first goal for Spurs. And then the lads dug in, and stood up magnificently to the relentless pressure from United. It was a long nail-biting half, and then the 4 extra minutes on top (isn't Ferguson a laugh? denying teams time to win!). Amazing result. We were brilliant! So chuffed. Happy, happy Lilywhites! We have such talent in individual players - old and new; the team is really shaping up fabulously.

Vertonghen Chant
Agatha and Mildred, we do like our chants. Interestingly, the "Super Jan" chant appears to have been supplanted, as foreshadowed on Twitter. Altogether now (to the tune of Volare):
Vertonghen, Oh-oh
Vertonghen, Oh-oh-oh-oh
He came from Amsterdam
To play for Tottenham

Mildred is now joining in the tweeting - follow us on @TheGirlsFromWHL

Euan the Octopus
And finally, watching the game with Agatha and Norman on ESPN yesterday was the son of friends, six year old Euan (a Chelsea supporter - we blame the parents). Before the game started he had predicted 3-2 to Spurs. Apparently he had a pretty good run predicting scores last season. So if you fancy a flutter, he reckons 3-0 for Spurs against Aston Villa on 7 October.

Agatha

Dembélé Debut

The White Hart Lane crowd gave Mousa Dembélé a warm welcome when he made his first appearance in the second half line up in our game against Norwich City today. He looked eager for the ball, and obliged with a lovely goal in the 68th minute. However – again – we couldn’t hang onto the lead; within 10 minutes Snodgrass had scored the equaliser, and we had to make do with 1 point.

As well as Dembélé, Brad Friedel and Jan Vertonghen both had great games, in Agatha’s humble opinion. She’s still not sure about Bale’s roaming role, but she did like Sandro playing deeper. Adebayor coming on in the second half also injected some spark into the play. It has been a bit of a frantic transfer window week, and it is going to take some time for our new manager to shape his team. Remember, we’ve lost Van der Vaart and Modric, Leldley has gone, and Scott Parker and Younes Kaboul are both out with injury.

Agatha felt uncomfortable at the match today, but it wasn’t the action on the field that was the problem. Don’t you hate it when you are sat next to so called fans, who complain loudly throughout the match about how effing useless their own players are? Substituting Huddleston for Defoe did seem an ill-judged decision, and Villas Boas sure got a lot a lot of stick for that from Mouth Man and mates (after the equaliser went in). And the referee and one linesman did make some dubious decisions. But booing at the end of the game? Not in my name, please. All that negativity floating around – so wearing. What's the betting that when our season tickets (eventually) come up, we’ll be sat next to them …

Agatha and Mildred

Good Luck Luka!

We couldn’t let the signing of Luka Modric to Real Madrid go by without saying a few words of fond farewell. This is only Mildred’s third season as a Spurs’ fan, but she saw that the skill and mastery of Modric was special, and marked him out as a class player. His midfield role was crucial in the team; so what if he didn’t score many goals himself?

‏@EPLStatman: Luka Modric created 96 chances for Spurs last season - this was more than any other Spurs player #THFC #RMFC

There are lots of writings (and puns) floating around today about the diminutive Croatian, who has been a giant of a player in the team. We have collected together a few of the good ones that appeared in our Twitter stream this morning.

ITV (@itvfootball) gives you all the facts on the player’s history – Factfile: Get the Lowdown on Luka Modric

Paul Smith (@SpursOdessey) looked back over his time at Spurs – The Last of the Croatians

@Lustdoctor wrote this piece – Luka Modric: A Strange Goodbye - raising the question of the "partnership".

Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) to Sky Sports News praised Levy for making a shrewd deal and negotiating the partnership - Modric Move "Smart".

There’s been a bit of discussion over what the partnership agreement means. The official Club announcement  says “The partnership agreement will see the two Clubs working together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships.”   Even Gary Lineker and Lord Sugar had a Twitter exchange about it. We'll see.

Anyway, what was noticeable on Twitter was the good feeling among fans toward Modric. (Agatha’s Norman always thought he was a bit moody). Here's a selection of some of the wishes winging their way over to Spain via the Twittersphere -

‏@VanDerWard: I know there are a lot of trollers, but seriously. All the best to Modric at RM, class player going to a triffic club.

‏@bghayward: My favourite Modric moment: assist for VDV in 3-1 CL win over Inter at White Hart Lane. Wonderful.

‏@SamVasserG: Gutted to wake up to the news that my beloved Luka Modric has signed for Real Madrid. The best player I've ever seen in a #thfc shirt.

‏@AntPlas: weve all known its been coming for a while, so im genuinely suprised i feel this gutted. Modric is an unbelievable player. he will be missed

‏@LiamHoughton128: I'll miss watching Luka Modric play in the Premier League, he's a fantastic player.

@morgoroth106: Thank you and goodbye Luka Modric, you have been world class for us as you will be for Madrid, All the best Modders!

‏@TheGirlsFromWHL: RT @realmadriden: Luka Modric already in Madrid! http://twitpic.com/ao8b4a  Good luck Luka! We had a ball!

@AmAnVaJa: Good luck to Luka Modric! You will be missed at the lane! All the best at your new club! Now its time to spend Mr Levy!

‏@jase7t2: Well looks like #Luka is finally going to #realmadrid but I'm not bitter, Thank you for some good memories & good luck‏

@Ali0Fawaz: Luka Modric thanks for everything & hope you all the best with Real Madrid

And finally, one last rendition of Luka’s chant (although Agatha couldn't understand why “My name is Luka …”- you know, Suzanne Vega - never caught on):

Na na na na, Na na na na, Hey he-ey, Luka Modric!

Buena suerte, Luka!

Agatha and Mildred

 

Bitter, bitter sweet

Far more bitter than sweet. Drawing 1-1 at home against West Bromwich Albion in the second game of the season, having outplayed them throughout. Hitting the back of the net three times, twice disallowed. Conceding the equaliser in extra time after a goalmouth shambles (what was Friedel doing just standing on the goal-line?). And Agatha lost her new glasses in the East Stand.

Sweet was Ledley’s reception at half-time, and Benoit’s corker of a goal in the second half. (Have we mentioned that Agatha has a bit of a crush? She likes to call him by his first name.)



A brief few moments of sunshine today

Mildred couldn’t make it to the match today, but we are both still hopeful for the new season. Livermore is growing in confidence and linking up well with Walker. Sandro was solid (mostly), and Friedel, aforementioned shambles apart, was otherwise safe.  Vertonghen was a bit shaky at the start and got turned a couple of times by Lukaku, but he looked pretty tidy overall.  We like Bale playing wide, and he had a good game today.

And anyway, we’re usually here or hereabouts at this stage. Sigh. Onwards and upwards.

Agatha