Rip Gordon or Champions League/FA Cup?

So what went wrong on Saturday? The first thing was the absence of a ton of key players and just a poor team selection. I wanted to see Bale at left back and Modric in the left midfield. BAE just seems to be a liability right now. Every time someone gets in behind him, I hold my breath because it looks like he is going to trip them up everytime. He reminds me of Silvestre in that respect. What a terrible player Silvestre was and still is. I can't think of a more overrated player. In the middle, I wanted Krancjar and Palacios with Crouch and Pav up front. The team put out in that first half played terribly and were severely outplayed.

Many people have been asking who Walker is. Harry bought him in the summer from Sheffield United and then loaned him back to the club for the first half of the season. I felt he has put in respectable performances for being thrust right into the starting lineup after the loss of Corluka to injury. The boy tries to get forward and works hard getting back. You can tell that he isn't comfortable yet though. Corluka's positioning is what Walker needs to learn. I'm going to reserve more judgment on him until he gets a few more games in. He was awfully unfortunate to give up that penalty by the way. Can't fault him for being unlucky.

I have a theory on why Tottenham lost this past weekend that doesn't involve the actual team, but rather my own brother, Rip Gordon. He has spent the past month and a half in the Orient helping train other squadrons for their upcoming deployment. Anyway...his departure was aligned with a run of good performances that doesn't come around very often. He arrived back in the States on Friday afternoon just in time to be fresh for the Saturday match against Sunderland. After five straight league wins, what happened? A loss, and not just a little loss. It was a loss in which we were badly outplayed. Coincidence? I think not. I don't know what kind of negative mojo he has, but when he couldn't follow Spurs, the club couldn't perform better. He returns, and the team gets demolished. This situation puts me in a very awkward position. Do I insist on him leaving again? After thinking it over for the past day and a half, the answer is yes, at least until the end of the season. All I'm asking for is a month and a half. A month and a half and we would have a Champions League spot next year and the FA Cup title. Don't be selfish Rip, do the right thing. Take Becky on a long vacation and I'll let you know when you can come back.

Right Back Questions and Answers

Yesterday, I was shocked to discover Spurs had loaned out Kyle Naughton (21 years old) after loaning out Alan Hutton. I had initially said Naughton would be Corluka's cover the rest of the season, but that apparently isn't the case. Some of my questions were answered and others raised today though when Redknapp recalled Kyle Walker (19 years old) from Sheffield United. He has made 28 appearances in the Championship and FA Cup this season at right back and will now slot into the backup role. We bought Walker and Naughton together from United, but then turned around and immediately loaned Walker right back to them. Naughton on the other hand played a couple games for us, but didn't do enough to see more time especially with the quality players ahead of him. Sheffield United had wanted us to loan Naughton back to them all season since he was riding the pine, but in the closing minutes of the transfer market, we turned around and loaned him to Middlesbrough. Not only that, but then we exercised our option to recall Walker back for the second half of the season 50 minutes before the deadline. It certainly sounds like a slap in the face to Sheffield. They end up losing out on both Naughton and Walker.

I obviously haven't seen much of Walker, but I am thoroughly confused by Harry's dealings. Naughton is listed as an attacking right back but can also play centrally. It could be a case of Walker being a more natural right back and with the addition of Kaboul, Naughton would be pushed down the center back pecking order. It could be that Harry wants to see Walker's talent mix in with our current squad or that Naughton's progress was being hampered by not seeing first team action. The logical thing from my standpoint would be to retain Naughton and let Walker finish out the season with Sheffield United. I would love to start a rumor that Kevin Blackwell (United's manager) lost a bet to Redknapp, won't pay up, so Harry has begun retribution. Harry has taken both of their prize defensive prospects away from them to end their push for promotion to the Premiership. Is it really that far fetched?