An Engagement and a Prophecy

I know this might seem like a crazy thing to say 2 hours before kickoff, but Wilson Palacios will score this afternoon against Aston Villa. I had this epiphany three days ago but I didn't know whether to release it to the world or not. After getting a call late last night from my cousin Will announcing his engagement, I now know my hunch is a certainty. Palacios will know about this engagement because he is one of my biggest readers and also knows he will be letting me down if he doesn't deliver. Palacios always delivers...

I am actively trying to bring cousin Will on board to make some guest posts. This is my first mention of him on the blog, so I will give a quick introduction. He was a former starlet of the Richmond Strikers, who opted to play other sports instead of focusing on soccer around age 13. He is famous within the family for producing a moment of magic during Christmas 2008 with the "Knuckler Heard Around the World." It is common for our family to break out a volleyball before Christmas dinner and fire set pieces at each other. I don't remember the exact buildup because I was the victimized goalie but I do know the ferociousness of the drive. It was pretty much a carbon copy of Benoit Assou Ekotto's strike against Liverpool earlier this season. The strike was a glimpse of the type of player he could've been had he stayed focused on the beautiful game. Will currently resides in DC supporting Fulham in the Premiership, Reading in the Championship, Charlton in League One, Macclesfield in League Two, and VT-22 in La Liga Kingsville. I am now expecting a guest post within the next two days Will...

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?

Thoughts on Birmingham and Huge Moves

I've taken the necessary amount of time to cool off and give some game analysis. I was extremely disappointed at throwing away two points in stoppage time. The biggest difference between Tottenham and the Chelskis and Manures is the fact that those teams grind out the wins and put scrappy teams like Birmingham away. I have a lot of trouble watching Birmingham play with their organized, compact defensive style. I hate them, but Goddamnit do I respect them. Alex McLeish knows the team and has them play to their strengths. Their league standing is not a fluke. If you can be sound defensively, you can stay in games and scrap points against anyone especially with the pace of their two strikers in Chucho and Cameron Jerome. Mark my words, if Chucho finds some sort of scoring touch, he could become a hell of a striker. His nickname in his home country is Chunky which I love even more. Keep eating those Shepards Pies fatty. As for our squad, Gareth Bale was again the most impressive player on the pitch. He helped create the goal and his runs down the left caused trouble all day. Bentley and Palacios worked hard and played well. Our goal was vintage Defoe. He sees the ball, he smashes the ball. He didn't do shit for 68 minutes and then pops up to blast one home.

There was a lot of moaning from a certain family member of mine about Harry's substitutions. I will counter his view. Bringing on Keane for Defoe was the right move. Defoe had already picked up a yellow card and has a penchant for losing his mind. Keano works harder defensively and adds more grit to the team. We didn't need another goal. We needed possession and hard work up top which Robbie always brings. You can say what you want about his form lately, but you can never question his work ethic on the pitch. As for Jenas, I would have liked to have seen young Danny Rose come on instead. The kid is quicker than snot and would be pumped to run around for ten minutes. Jenas is pissed coming off the bench. The youngster would do everything in his power to show Harry he was an asset. Just watching Jenas lately, it looks like he has already checked out of a Spurs uniform.

For the first time in a while, I actually agreed with the commentator's reasons for giving up the goal. Fact is, we sat too deep, invited them in, and then paid a cruel price for it. We lost two points and now teeter on the brink of a Champions League spot.

Onto the future....Keano is gone for the rest of the season on loan to Celtic. I had mentioned last week that I had been tipped off about a possible Robbie move, but I am still surprised. What does this mean? It could very well mean Pav stays. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing more of him. His finish in the Leeds game last week and the finish against West Ham last year showed his quality. I think Harry felt obligated to play Keane at times this season. It's obvious Harry doesn't have that problem with Pav. We knew one striker would head out with the acquisition of Gudjohnsen but it wasn't the one I expected.

Tottenham also sent Alan Hutton on loan to Sunderland. One thing Harry doesn't appreciate is boozers. By getting rid of Hutton and Keane, our alcohol consumption has been cut by 83%. Of the 83%, Hutton was responsible for 75%. This was the same guy who got plastered with his family in a pub in Scotland, got into a verbal altercation with his father, and then proceeded to punch his father in the face while his father was wearing glasses. If Sunderland wants a psycho, they got it. We have another young right back to fill his back up spot in Kyle Naughton, so its not a big loss. Corluka will remain our first choice.

We picked up Kaboul again. It seems like we get rid of players only to buy them back at a higher price. It's not exactly what we call good business tactics, but fuck it, its Tottenham, and normal doesn't apply to us. My brother is furious with this, but I'm not so downtrodden. Woodgate is out for another decade. King has a left knee that looks like a 36C cup after a game. We don't have any consistently healthy center backs except Dawson and Bassong (knock on wood). If one of them went down, we are proper fucked. We paid a high price for insurance essentially. Shitty insurance to be exact, but it still plugs a necessary hole. I don't want to see Corluka or Huddlestone at center back again. You see my point.

If any other transfer moves go down, I'll be sure to keep you posted. As always....COYS.

Guest Blogger

I want to introduce everyone to a new guest blogger who has written his first post today, my very own brother, LT Rip Gordon. He is six years older than I am and is the reason I became a Hotspur supporter in the first place. He taught me everything I know about the game. Unfortunately my brother has real life obligations with a wife and a new house so he can't devote as much time to the rumors and gossip as I can, but his passion runs deep and I am honored to have his input as he finds the time. As you will see, his first post is somewhat depressing, which is the same way every Tottenham man felt this morning, but I assure you he normally views the glass half full. I am going to wait a day to give my insight so my anger and frustration does not get the better of me. Enjoy his post below.....

Why I am Depressed

A Guest post by my own brother and fellow Hotspur fan, Royal P. Gordon IV:

The woes of being a Tottenham supporter are well documented but I feel compelled to explain why life seems a little bleaker after today. Birmingham are dirt. Nuff said. Birmingham is the Hillary Clinton of the Premier League...uglier than sin and for some reason people still seem to like them. Now lets discuss ole' Arry. I liked the starting 11. Very fluid with many attacking options. The game was going very well and I liked our style of play. It all went to hell when Harry subs out Defoe and throws out Robbie "Geritol" Keane. He has no legs anymore, he can't play in the midfield much less up top, and just bitches at the referee. He would be a good fit at Burnley right now. Jermaine was feeling it...don't ever sub Jermaine when he is feeling it! Why would you also sub Bentley when he is playing the game of his life? He hasn't played like that since he arrived and I think he has a decent chance of giving Aaron Lennon a run for his money! Harry, please don't ever use Jenas as a sub ever again! He is not a game changer.

Now let's discuss old Eidur Gudjohnsen. He is one lazy mother and we already have too many strikers. I have no idea what we are thinking. Gylfi...you know I speak the truth. Here is another piece of madness: Younes Kaboul!!! Sure he is doing OK at Portsmouth but that is because he is king of the retards there. We have more kick ass defenders right now than we know what to do with (even though they love to give up goals in f'ing stoppage time!). Younes can't attack either.

Hmmm, Tottenham has me down and it is snowing like a Head and Shoulders commercial outside. I am going to get drunk. I had a couple of glasses of wine with lunch and it felt European and quite relaxing. My wife gave me a weird look but she is cool with it...I think. If it ain't broke, don't fix it I say so I will try to ride the buzz out till the snow stops. This is what Spurs does to me. I like to treat depression the old fashioned way...no Zoloft or Cymbalta for me, just a couple of fingers of bourbon sprinkled over 3 or 4 rocks (doctor's orders). One more talking point...I think bourbon gives me IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). I really love bourbon but am I willing to struggle on the john for it. I'm out. Come on you Spurs!!!

Iceland's Greatest Export at Tottenham

We have been hearing the rumors swirling on the internet about the move for Eidur Gudjohnsen for about a week. My own good Icelandic friend Gylfi Gylfason even gave me the heads up on it. By good friend, I mean he left me to rot in an Icelandic jail overnight a couple years ago, but that's neither here nor there. I digress. I didn't put much thought into the move, but now it has come out we have landed him on loan until the end of the season. We managed to beat out West Ham, who is apparently steaming over our late involvement. Two nights ago, it looked certain Gudjohnsen was heading to the Hammers. He even went in for a medical, but wily ole Harry swooped in to steal them. This is a huge blow for an underwhelming team in a huge need of offensive creativity. You can always count on Harry making a sly transfer move during January. Here are his comments on Gudjohnsen:

"I just thought he's a good player and he can play several positions for us, he can play in a midfield or attacking-midfield role if we want to change our system. We've lost Aaron Lennon [to injury] so we haven't got a great deal of width. We can play a diamond formation if we want to and he can be a big player in that system. So, yes, we took him on loan until the end of the season to see how it goes."

I remember watching Eidur when he was at Chelsea and his creativity on the ball was mesmerizing. The other thing I remember was how absolutely lazy he was. After my last ode to Palacios, Eidur is pretty much exactly the opposite. It will be very interesting to see if he actually gets time and how he will fit in with the rest of the team. I just hope to see a little more hustle out of him. Despite the laziness, I like the move for a proven, decorated club player. The last couple of seasons he hasn't seen much time for his clubs, so he also has a great incentive to make an impression and prove the doubters wrong that he isn't over the hill. This move could very well signal the end of Pav's time at the Lane. It is rumored he is heading to Birmingham. This would signal Birmingham's intention to try and really make a full push for a European spot. Pav is not heading out on the cheap so Birmingham would be making a statement that they want continued success.

There is a strong rumor out there that Spurs are shopping Robbie Keane. I caught wind of it on a Spurs podcast I listen to and the source said he got it from someone on the inside. Oh how I love the January transfer proceedings and ridiculous rumors!

Ode to Wilson

One of my many readers thought this could be a tribute to Edgar Davids (pretty good memory by the way). In a way it is, Sam. Wilson Palacios plays the game much like the Dutch bulldog. It's unfortunate we caught Davids so late in his career, because he was a true terror in his youth. As for Palacios, we have him in his prime, and I've never had so much respect and admiration for a Spurs player as I do him.

Palacios is a Honduran international who was bought by Harry Redknapp from Wigan shortly after Redknapp was appointed manager. At first I couldn't believe the transfer fee of around 14 million pounds, but it has been money very well spent. Despite being about the size of Jermaine Defoe, Wilson has become one of the most feared hardmen in the game. If you gave me an odds on bet whether he would get a yellow card in any given game, I'd take it. He never even receives a yellow for dissent, but purely for mistimed challenges, repeated fouling, or professional fouls. His work ethic has rubbed off on everyone and even has big Tom Huddlestone working his socks off. Not an easy feat mind you. If you watch him just casually, you will notice he often gives the ball away. If you pay closer attention, watch how he hustles his ass off to win the ball back. That is a true teammate and work horse. It has been said that Tottenham has not had a true hardman in recent times. We do now.

There was a play against Fulham where someone gave possession away in a really bad spot. The Fulham attacker was running full bore down at our two central defenders and out of no where Palacios came in with a perfect slide tackle to dispossess him from behind. It was a play that won't show up on a highlight reel or receive much attention from the pundits, but it typified Wilson and the kind of all out effort he gives every match regardless of the score. I remember my good ole playing days. I can't tell you how many times I watch Stephen Berlucchi get stuck in within the first five minutes of a match. Immediately the intensity of the entire team would spike up a couple of notches and get everyone in the mood to give full effort. I imagine the same feeling must run through the Spurs team watching Wilson track down any attacker no matter how far away. They must think, "If he is giving maximum effort, then I must as well." At least that was what ran through my mind back then. Again, watch Hudd runs his fat ass up and down the pitch and close down defensively with Wilson around. Go back and watch Hudd when he was paired with Jenas and you can see the difference clear as night and day. You can't put that mentality and motivation on a score sheet, but it is priceless.

Palacios became an immortal Spurs hero in my mind after this story last year. His younger brother was taken hostage in Honduras and there was a ransom put on the brother's head. Wilson ended up paying up the ransom, but the attackers still killed the boy. At 1 a.m. the night before a big Premiership match, Palacios was informed that the police had found his brother's body. I think most people would just pack up their things and head for home, right? Instead, he waited up all night so he could personally tell Redknapp he needed to leave in the morning. He has so much respect for his coach that he didn't want to disturb his sleep. It's absolutely unbelievable. It is a sad personal tragedy, but even in his toughest personal moment, he still put others above himself. That quality is easily seen on the pitch.

Tottenham went from relegation all the way up to eighth this season. That change happened when Redknapp and Palacios both arrived. A coincidence? I think not. His unselfish nature and work ethic has rubbed off on the entire team. The hardman we once craved for is finally here in Wilson Palacios. I will end this with a quote from the gipper that accurately sums up my favorite player:

"Palacios has made a massive difference to this club. He gets on with it, he's strong, he's aggressive - he's what Spurs haven't had. You get a little group who have seen Palacios come in, work his socks off and close down opponents, and it rubs off on people. He's not a big-time Charlie, you need people like that to be successful." Spurs boss Harry Redknapp

Back on Top of Fourth

Recently, the Navy has been very kind of my support of Tottenham and today was no exception. It was one of the few times I was pleased to be off the flight schedule. Spurs battled Fulham at the Lane and two somewhat fortunate goals saw us take fourth place in the Premiership outright. The Little Engine that Could (Luka Modric) somehow out hustled Riise from Fulham to send a half volley into the Beanstalk (Peter Crouch) who nicked it past Schwarzer for the first. It was the type of hustle goal we needed badly after being held scoreless in the last two League fixtures. We dominated the half hour and Fulham was lucky not to be down more than one at the half. Our second goal came from the most unlikely of sources in David Bentley. A set piece deflection off of Riise's head saw the ball go past a helpless Schwarzer. The last half hour was largely uneventful as we cruised to a 2-0 win.

"I couldn't more surprised if my head was sewn into the carpet." That famous quote in Christmas Vacation pretty much sums up my thoughts on seeing Bentley in the starting eleven and then actually scoring a goal. Bentley has been a primadonna off the field and every time he seems to be on the cusp of breaking into the lineup, he ends up pissing off Redknapp. With an injury to Lennon and Krancjar sick, the bastard actually took his chance. Am I happy that he scored? Hell yes! Was I even more excited that everyone rubbed his head and tried to mess up the silly haircut he's carrying? Yes I was. The past four days have seen two members of the squad who seemed to be out the door actually deliver for the Lily whites. First Pav, now Bentley. They both could be saying farewell, or they could be gaining some favor in Harry's eyes. The next fifteen or so days will likely determine their futures.

Tomorrow, I will be writing an ode to a player I feel has been the most responsible for the turnaround at Tottenham. We went from the depths of relegation to challenging for a Premiership place. Who can it be? I'll leave you guessing....

Thoughts on Leeds

I woke up just in time to catch the Leeds game this past Saturday. At the end of the game, I was pretty morbid. Giving away a last second penalty to offer Leeds a lifeline in a replay hit me almost as hard as the previous night's bourbon. I spent a day of reflection however to give my honest thoughts.

First of all, Gareth Bale is an exceptional talent. His attacking prowess as a left back is unbelievable. I would keep Benoit Assou-Ekotto as the first choice back, but I would give serious contemplation towards moving Bale into the left midfield slot. He runs at defenders fearlessly and the balls he whips in are top class. His defending is still slack at times which is why he doesn't play ahead of BAE.

Another thing that shocked me was how Roman Pavlyuchenko somehow produced a moment of brilliance in the first minute he was on the pitch. How sweet that must have felt for him! Pav has been an afterthought all season long with rumors constantly swirling about him moving on to another club during this January transfer window, yet he still has that striker's instinct. It was a lovely step-over and classy finish. It really makes me wonder if we should be shopping him around so vigorously with Keano's dip in form.

Leeds' striker Jermaine Beckford is the real deal. I didn't buy into the hype surrounding him after the Man U game, but he proved me wrong. He was putting himself into great positions and harassed our center backs all game long. Why in the world did Dawson have to lunge at Beckford in box in the last minute? Stay on your feet son. It almost reminded me of the Australia-Italy World Cup game in 2006 when the Australian defender left his feet to make a challenge and ended their World Cup dream. It was a clumsy challenge by our young captain, but you have to tip your hat to Beckford. He played a great game and his penalty showed the confidence he has. I think it is safe to say that we will see this youngster in the Premiership sooner rather than later.

On Tuesday, Spurs play Fulham at White Hart Lane in what I consider a must-win. Fulham is missing Zamora and Dempsey, so their attack is severly crippled. Now is the time to jump on them and get back to our winning ways. My prediction: 3-1 Spurs. Come on you Spurs.....

Why I am a Tottenham Supporter

My brother once asked me why in the world we were Hotspur supporters. It is so much easier to be a fan of a team that has had prolonged success or a team that has low expectations. If you support Manure, Chelski, ARSEnal, or Liverpool, you have become too accustomed to winning. You no longer appreciate the wins over the Birminghams and Boltons or battling Aston Villa or Everton away and getting a point. It is expected to do well anytime you play, home or away. Now, as a Spurs supporter, you take nothing for granted. The beauty is that we spend a ton of money, just as much as the Woolwich Wanderers (Arsenal), and yet can't seem to regain the glory of the past. It creates so much promise and hope at the beginning of each season to spend the money on big name players, and then so much despair when we can't rise to that promise. As a result, I end up appreciating every win and taking nothing cheaply. I want to watch every game because I don't expect any result against any team, but I long for success. The club will never be held down by low supporter expectations or giving up on the dream of Champions League qualification. What fun is constant success? Even after the terrible result against a weakened Liverpool today, I still have a craving to watch the FA Cup game this Saturday at noon against Leeds. We had a great opportunity to end Liverpool's season and couldn't take advantage. Such is the life of a Tottenham supporter. I will continue on...Come on you Spurs!

There is good news for the other team I support though. The United States has seemingly dodged a huge bullet in regards to Clint Dempsey's injury. It looks like he won't need surgery on that knee and could possibly return to play again this season for Fulham. Even Oguchi Onyewu gave positive news concerning his injury. I am still holding my breath, but for now, the outlook for our stars is positive. I'll take the positive news about the United States injury report for the loss to Liverpool. I'm an American before a Spur supporter. Country over club and never the other way around.