The Prisoner.
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Madrid still at it.
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Bale > King Canute
Read MoreBale. Bale. Bale. Literally, a hattrick.
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Bale double at the PFA awards. You've come a long way baby.
The Stupendous Adventures of Gareth Bale. Brand new and box fresh.
The Nerazzurri arrived in N17. They run out onto the pitch. Then they we're dismantled, boxed up and sent packing to Italy faster than you can say Gareth Bale. Black and blue, indeed. This was easier than getting behind Arsenal's back four. The Italian club disinterested from start to finish. That's not to say Spurs we're not emphatic across the 90 minutes. No cruise control from us. Assured desire to win the game and put the tie to bed. Dismissing the possibility of a crazy night next week away, it looks like the job is done. And dusted.
Read MoreDoesn't take much to sit back and daydream about Gareth Bale's astonishing hattrick away to Inter and his demolition in the second leg at the Lane. He came of age. The potential positively simmering in a cauldron of pulsating pace and complete lack of fear. Arguably he was an unknown entity for most of the continent. The Premier League, in time, was wise to the fact that if you want to stop him you're going to have to double mark him. Sometimes treble mark him. Foul him. Hack him.
Read MoreWhat's that tag-line about bad news being the only good news worth reporting? It wasn't too long ago that Tottenham Hotspur we're accused of a variety of dysfunctions. A lack of concentration and heart late on in games that subjected us to many lost points. The much maligned personality clashes that painted a dark image that Andre Villas-Boas was fast losing the dressing room, unable to motivate.
Read MoreSo, Wenger is apparently happy with history and signing Theo Walcott instead of Gareth Bale. Not sure why. Considering it's modern day Arsenal policy to sell their best players rather than allow average ones to hold them to ransom for 100K + wages.
Bale's progression and his development is far more tangible than Walcott's.
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The iconic career of David Bentley.
Lyon,
not as good as they once were but also not as ordinary as I believed they
would be (based on recent form and one or two journalists reporting a
lack of spark with their football). I under estimated them. Spurs side
selected was fairly strong too. Pre-match concerns about too much
potential rotation dismissed out of hand even though we
witnessed five changes (mostly a defensive reshuffle).
Gareth Frank Bale is not world
class. Reasons cited include the lack of honours won and consistency.
The latter comes attached with longevity. There's probably another half a
dozen caveats that need to be approved before he can be rubber stamped
as better than his most esteemed fellow professionals in the Premier
League.
To be honest, the term world class is overused and has lost it's clarity thanks to the difficulty in quantifying the variables (and caveats) to determine a defining conclusion. It's an abstract tag. Is it truly about longevity at the very top? Does it still count if you're playing for a lesser side? If you're not winning silverware? Blow hot and cold?
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We're a one man team. Funny that. Last time I looked I could see eleven players in Lilywhite with a fair few sitting on the bench.
We'd never win any games if it wasn't for Bale. Really? You mean, hold on, let me think about this for a second. Are you saying that if you took away Tottenham's best players...say, practically all of them, we'd not be very good? Same logic if you plucked out just the one then? That's a shocking indictment at the state of depth at the club. Whatever next? If Tottenham's players were blindfolded we'd be relegated? Read MoreI'm happy with the performance. No need to start theorising about how the second half would have played out had Popov not spat at Walker. You could however wish to spend a whimsical moment or two wondering what might have been had we been successful with signing Leandro Damaio (as it appears Spurs were involved throughout January in another futile attempt to sign the player). I think it's perhaps time we focused on a different tier of player, say someone like Romelu Lukaku - cheaper, potential, not necessarily someone who would demand constant first team appearances allowing for rotation with our other two strikers.
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I'll spare you any detailed analysis of last nights performance on account of it not being that much of a performance. A continuation of sorts from the Leeds cup match. No cohesiveness from the back-line into central midfield and further onto the final third of the pitch. Fluidity has been lacklustre. Sure, we're missing Sandro immensely. The intensity he offers allows for so much more structure than we currently have. Parker is either not back to 100% match fitness (understandably considering his injury lay-off) or he's lost a little bite due to his age and the general burn out he suffered and lost time.
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"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...Oh what fun it is to see Bale score a hat-trick in a superb second half dismantlement on Boxing day against the Villa away..."
I need to work on that ditty. The only thing Spurs need to work on is the January transfer window to sign that special type of player that can find space to aid with unlocking deep defending sides. This game was a wonderful illustration of so many different things.
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