Having dried his tears and collected the assorted toys from outside his pram, a l’Arse-supporting chum earlier this week sent a message my way, the gist of which was that he was scratching his head in bewilderment trying for the life of him to remember the last time Spurs had enjoyed a week of quite so much good news. The man has a point. The derby win was followed by Champions League knock-out qualification, which was followed by an approving nod for a new Tottenham-based stadium, which has been followed by news that Michael Dawson is back in training, and even the rumour that Ledley is gingerly lifting himself from his wheelchair, sellotape and blu-tac duly applied to his balsawood limbs.There is talk in some quarters that our heroes really have turned the corner, and that those mentioning Spurs as potential Premiership or Champions League winners ought not necessarily to be thrown into a dusty spot of land and given a damn good thrashing for crimes against reason and common sense. A cautionary note echoes around the walls of AANP Towers for sure, as there remains a strong chance that we will finish the season not only empty-handed but also trapped in the arid and unforgiving wasteland that is the Europa League. As such, the policy around these parts is not to speculate too wildly about how the world might look come May 2011, but simply to wring every last drop of enjoyment from the present moment.
The abacus has been dusted down, and all manner of rigorous arithmetic drills undertaken, the upshot of which is that AANP can confirm that in all competitions it is now three wins and counting for our lot – and in a spirit of bonny, blithe and gay optimism I am rather inclined to think we will have our fourth come Sunday evening. The danger after a good Champions League win is that the next pre-match huddle actually consists of the players patting one another on the backs for a midweek job well done, rather than spitting, snarling and straining at the leash in preparation for the forthcoming 90 minutes. No such danger this Sunday I would hazard. The time for complacency was probably Wednesday night, with the memory of the Emirates still fresh, but Liverpool at home represents a bigger kettle of fish, the importance of which is unlikely to be underestimated.
Team News
VDV may again miss out, and the list of other absentees remains longer than a gangly limb of Peter Crouch, but there is positive news in both the return to fitness of young Master Defoe, and the sparkling efforts of Aaron Lennon on Wednesday night. If both he and Bale could hit top form simultaneously cracks would probably appear in the High Road N17 as Mother Earth struggles to cope with the thrill of it all. The bubble will burst eventually, but I have faith in our heroes to maintain the winning habit for at least one further week.
8 replies on “Spurs – Liverpool Preview (II): The Bubble Will Burst… But Not This Weekend”
AANP. Lads i would back Spurs to beat Liverpool without Gerrard a lot easier than if he was playing ,but and this is not based on there squad but what i no can happen when things look bleak and injury’s mount. They have not got a good bench and without the Tigerish Mascherano and Gerrard they look there for the taking . The one area they can cause us trouble is the Energy will be very High and with Carragher Skrytl four lungs Kuyt and the extra thin Roy follower Kanchelsky Mad Joe the dirty tackler running chasing blocking Raina saving energised Liverpool free of Dept. That’s if you believe the lies they will be hoping to out run us and justify there nickname the Duracell Bunnies . This is where Harry needs to play this team if we want to win Gomes Corluka Bassong Gallas Bale Lennon Kaboul Van Modric Crouch Defoe. Coys win
I agree, enjoy the ride as you never know quite where the Tottenham bus will end up.
A win on Sunday will make this the best week for…..well since the last month of last season.
Good point Dspurs. I agree with your idea that Midfield will be the place where this match is won or lost. I should say that I fancy the creativity of VdV and Modric against the graft of Lucas or Poulsen. If we so need we can always fill the space before our defenders with the concrete of Palacios. I’m thinking a 4-4-2 for liverpool with Torres and Ngog playing up front. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if Woy clogs the midfield with bodies, and plays with Torres alone, with Kuyt just behind him on the right. That wouldn’t bother me, though, because we have some great plumbers in Defoe, and recently Kaboul (??), Mods, VdV, Bale etc . . .
Interesting line up Dav. It could work with Kaboul covering the defence..
If Palacios brings the same quality displayed against Bremen, the Liverpool midfield will be broken down. They are quite slow; break them early and counter-attack the living daylights out of them.
Injury woes continue. Still as long as Defoe can score as good as he brags then we can expect a bucketload of goals tomorrow. I am sure Roy is preparing to bore us to death (which tbf is the best way to play against us). Every hack is preparing to release their (already written) “Another False Dawn Crushes Spurs Fans” stories in the press and TV.
Can we prove them wrong?
I predict our defence will deal with them and our midfield will set up lots chances and Crouch will repeatedly nod the ball down to his fellow striker and leaving him an open goal and… and then the picture gets a little fuzzy 🙂
OK, it’s getting weid now. We seem to be getting better. Alright they could have had one or two more but we could have had FIVE more! Brilliant.
Curses upon the real world – and specifically the day-job – for impinging upon my time thus. Will attempt to lob over a gentle AANP match report within 24 hours…