Assuming we win our game in hand - else its just semantics anyway. Personally I reckon we got a good shout. We have been crap away from home all season and were lucky to get a point at the Lane earlier this year. Only a rally in the second half saced us there. However our home form has been championship winning, having only dropped 10 points with 2 losses and 2 draws. I fancy our chances eh
often, but not always. and thanks, by the way, for providing me with the chuckle that memories of west ham at highbury always seem to invoke.
Who have we got that can play truly wide on the left? Davids is a central player and doesnt exploit the wide space, relying too much on Lee to overlap. Murphy also is a central midfielder, tho I'de like to see him in the starting lineup. Jol has got to work with this defence and get them organised and disciplined. Davenport deserves to keep his spot. The midfield have got to start releasing the ball forward earlier instead of waiting for the opposition defence to get set. How often do u see out strikers running onto a ball in space behind the defence? we can win this one with the type of determination we showed against MU but we must be better disiplined and not allow them (Arsenal) to run unchallenged into space in our red zone, not like we did on Saturday.
Reid's fit, or should i say fat? Really, just hoping for some slight muscle strains tonight for henry et al. The added rest will be very important for us should Villareal give the goons a game. They need to be stretched tonight for us to have a decent chance at highbury. If it's of interest i've completely hedged my emotions. Two bets: one on arsenal to win the CL and another on them coming 4th in the prem. At least if spurs don't see CL footie next year i'll be quids in......unless blackburn come 4th of course but i'm not betting on them for obvious reasons. ausspur, what on earth is 'our red zone'? Is it that area on the left of our box where ping pong panics?
This might be a 'hide behind the sofa' day. It looks like i'll be able to watch it on my own, preferred method for big games. It means i don't get irritated by people talking over the game or distracting me. Fingers crossed that Villarreal's argie crowd nobble some frenchies tonight
This may be a 'hide behind the sofa' game. It looks like i'll be able to watch this game on my own, which is great. No interruptions or distractions. I hate it when people come in and go "who's playing?...... what's the score?" when it's at the top of the screen and i'm clearly watching it. I find it very hard to be polite. Hopefully some Villarreal Argies will nobble some Evil Frenchies tonight
Man, I hope the Ar5e are well beaten today. But whatever the scoreline, a hamstring strain to Henry and a recurrence of Fabregas' injury would be my preferred result... Either way, we have to make our additional freshness count at the Library. And the only way to do that is to play all out attacking football like we did in the first half against them at the Lane. Despite his expanding waistline, this is one game I'd start Mido if he's fit. And even though he's been sub-par recently, the same goes for Davids. He's a great player and will raise his game to the level required for this match. At the back, I don't know what Jol will do, given that Ledley was our only Henry specialist. Shudder though I might at the thought, he might have to consider playing Gardner along with Dawson, because the lanky one is the only central defender we have left with some pace. Carrick should also probably play deeper than usual in order to stop any crazy runs before they happen. The result of this game will basically depend on how our sub-standard players perform. We all know that we can expect a spirited performance from Keano, Carrick, Lennon, Dawson and Robbo. But the others have to rise to their level too. I expect Mido to give his all (if he's played from the start) as I do Davids. Hopefully Lee's mistake against Man U will inspire him to a better game this time. Stalteri will try hard as always, but that has never been his main fault. Hopefully he will not feck up either. For me, the keys to victory are Jenas, Gardner, Lee and possibly Defoe (if he plays). If those four put in their best performance of the season, we can win it. If not, then we will have to score early and hope to hold on for a draw. My prediction: 1-1.
Actually I remember Gardner's best game for us was against Henry, he usually does well against him as it's pace vs pace. It's aggressive and hard working players who give him the biggest problems. In every big game so far there has been a crucial mistake which has cost us. Stalteri has done ok the past few games but may be due one.
Yup, I remember that too. And the more I think about it, the more certain I am that Gardner will play - which is a shame for Daveport (since he did so well) - but he'll just have to be Dawson's backup. If I were Gardner, I'd be thinking about this as my last chance to prove all my doubters wrong, and to possibly salvage my Spurs career.
Gardner's just not that good. He didn't particularly shine a couple of seasons ago when our squad was average at best, his only saving grace being his left foot. Personally I think Defoe should flirt outrageously with Judas, effectively taking the horny homo out of the game.
I really don't like Carrick and Jenas in the centre, in the Man Utd game they didn't seem to get stuck in but then Edgar Davids shifted in more centrally then he showed how it is done. I would also play Mido and Keane, i don't think Defoe would be much use against Kolo Toure as Toure is both powerfull and quick. Aaron Lennon against Flamini, i like Lennon's chances, he must get the ball more than he did against Man Utd.
....personally, I think as always we give to much respect to them lot. We're more than good enough to get a result at the Library, other than Lee being a spaz United were matched by us. Like in most games if we don't make stupid mistakes we have a good chance. I think we will be put to the sword if we don't go out to win, we need to be playing the game in their end, ie get it out of defense to our mf as soon as possible....use lennon and have Jenas getting into the box to try and get a goal. I want to see Teemu in as well, but I am sure Davids will be there and Tottenham will start with the same team as Monday. Sure they have Henry, great player etc....but other than that the rest of the team imo matches pretty well with us....and in some cases I think we come out on top, Lennon and Carrick. Its simple if we want to get into the CL, and if that's the case play in the group stages, you need to go to places and win....or at the least get a draw. But at this stage 3 pts against the scum should propel us to an unlikely dream. I thought Dawson and Davenport played pretty damn well for a first game together and have no fear it they start. They were not at fault for either of Uniteds goals, and defended well, when needed.....lee on the other hand... kick the fecking ball into row z.
wheres HOSSAM GHALI?! i dont think hes going to play this season right? anyway, spurs defense better be up to saturday, its gonna be a crazy game
He has been playing in the reserves to get his fitness back, if we were playing nothing games, like we have been use to at this stage of the season, i'm sure we would have seen him.
Slow steady start. looked very very good in his last reserve game. I'm looking forward to seeing him finally play. Helped set up a goal.
whispers circulating about yiddos buying up seats all over highbury. would be awesome to have the scum surrounded.
Result I wanted...almost. [result]I was hoping for a 1-1 draw, but a 1-0 victory will do[/result]. This means they will still have to work hard to advance. So they have that on their minds, in addition to Saturday's match. A step in the right direction...
Realistically, a draw. 1-1. Any more goals than that and I think we'll lose. Sod's law though, we get 4th and the scum'll probably win the European Cup. Jammy scumbags.
And if we don't get 4th they probably won't win the champions league, could be a no win situation for us.
How depressing. I'd actually rather we missed 4th than have Arsenal win the cup. We'd never live that down.
The red zone is the box and adjacent to it. The defence has to remain vigilant and disciplined. we CAN win this one. And as somebody said earlier, Spurs won the first game at Highbury - lets win our last one there. Unlike some of the Millwall supporters masquarading as Spurs supporters on this board, I dont want any of the Arsenal players put out. I want the pleasure of beating a full strength side.