White Hart Pain
May 8, 2006 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized
Forgive my mood today if I descend into rant-mode on a few occasions. I’m being serious when I say only a Tottenham fan could truly understand the magnitude of what happened yesterday and feel that another little part of the love we feel for the game has been chipped away.
There are so many questions to ask and have answered that I don’t know where to start. For those who haven’t been following then I’ll give a brief rundown.
Spurs and Arsenal were sitting 4th and 5th with one point separating them going into the last game of the season. Spurs were playing West Ham United at Upton Park in London, Arsenal were at home to Wigan Athletic in their last game ever at Highbury before moving to their new Emirates Stadium. And so the scene is set.
For Spurs this was the biggest game we’d faced since the 1991 FA Cup Final, undoubtedly our greatest challenge especially since it was the scumbags from down the road who were breathing down our necks. Double inspiration to succeed you might say. On Saturday evening the Spurs squad stayed together at a hotel on the Isle of Dogs. During the night ten of the first team squad and staff were up vomiting and experiencing diarrhoea as the result of food poisoning. I will repeat that last bit. On the eve of Spurs biggest game in nearly two decades, with a Champion’s League potential bounty of £30m riding on it, TEN of the first team squad and staff were struck down with food poisoning.
Anyone who has had food poisoning will understand the debilitating effects it has on you, now imagine having to play the hardest 90 minutes of football in your career. When the club reported the serious problem to the F.A. Premier League and West Ham they were met with understanding from their opponents and complete indiference from the governing body.
Tottenham requested a 24 hour postponement of the game to give the players time to recover a little and get some fluids and food back into their systems but were denied even a four hour delay by the Metropolitan Police who didn’t want to let the fans stay in the pubs around the ground that long.
Now here comes the murky bit. Spurs big local rivals are Arsenal. Arsenal’s chief executive is David Dein. The same David Dein who is one of the top power brokers in the Football Association which runs the English game. Richard Scudamore is the head of the F.A. Premier League and a close friend of David Dein. Richard Scudamore was at Highbury yesterday with his close friend Mr Dein when the call from Spurs came to him to allow a 24 hour postponement of the game. Without making the relatively short journey from North London to East London to assess the obviously serious situation Mr. Scudamore decided to deny Spurs their request and told them that if they didn’t fulfil the fixture yesterday at the agreed time then they would be fined and docked points.
Add this to the facts of a 5 star hotel giving food poisoning to ten Spurs players and staff on the eve of the game and another fact that NO other guests of the exclusive hotel were poisoned. Sound fishy to you?
Add in the £30m of Champion’s League money that would be rather important to a certain red and white North London club who are moving to a new stadium which has already emptied their coffers and you have a mystery that the old bird from Murder, She Wrote would love to sink her dentures into.
I’m not saying that anything did go on but looking at it objectively, it’s not anywhere beyond the bounds of possibility. When large amounts of money are involved there will always be corruption. Whether it’s an Arsenal supporting chef at a hotel or two old friends who give each other the nod and wink to stand firm on certain issues, it is al corruption. It destroys our game and sometimes it breaks people’s hearts.
If you had spent the time on the Spurs messageboards that I have then you’d see what yesterday’s circus means to us. The players put themselves in physical danger by playing, some heroes like Edgar Davids ran themselves into the ground for the cause and we’ll never forget that but my question is this: why did they have to?
When players are collapsing on the pitch in the warm up and vomiting in the tunnel before the game. When they can barely walk never mind run, is this a fair situation for a game to go ahead? When the Premier League have the power to use common sense but instead rely on the old boys network and keep their closed shop closed, is it a sport anymore or is it sports entertainment like WWF wrestling?
Most of all, is there anyone left at the top level who really cares more about the ideals of football then they do about a collection of notes with the Queen’s head on them?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
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i bet your all feeling sick as a dog
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
happygooner
Best article I’ve read on the matter.
People seem to think that because they played, they were automatically fit enough to play.
I was there yesterday and near to where the players were warming up and they looked jaded and pasty; almost hungover.
Anyway, we just have to sit tight and wait for the results of the food tests – due to be released 48 hours after the samples were collected, whenever that was.
P.S. I’d be interested to know where you got your information from; some of it is golddust.
I’d be interested to see the reaction if England somehow got to the semi-final of the WC against Argentina, for example, and 10 English players were struck down and had to play on…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
You got what you deserved, a second rate competition for a second rate team!!
I would like to know who the chef was, he deserves a drink!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
You Pikeys all know how easy it is for me to delete your comments don’t you? The only reason I’m leaving them on is to show you all up for the pathetic little sacks of sh1t that you are.
If poisoning players and getting your boss to fiddle things at the FA are the way your club does things then enjoy it. What a great moral victory for you all.
The table doesn’t lie. You lost. Deal with it – you’d have been knocked out in the qualifiers for the CL anyway!!!
Even Sherringham couldn’t deny that again – as in every Premiership season to date – you finished in your rightful place. BELOW ARSENAL.
Losers.
Say bye to your midfield too
Lol your calling me pathetic! LOL You think Arsene Wenger sent some to give your team foot poisoning! Or that David Dein decided not to give you an extension!!!! Whos the pathetic one?!
You dont deserve to be in the champions league, you would only be a waste of space like everton this year. So get over it! You are in the UEFA cup for the first time in HOW LONG?! So i guess now i have to go a few more years of listening to how your a top club in europe!
What’s “foot poisoning”? I think it’s plainly obvious that there is a massive conflict of interest between David Dein’s role at the FA and his role at Arsenal. Need I explain it further for you or can you join the dots yourself?
Unbelievable! With this kind of logic you could prove every conspiracy theory that existed.
I think the bigger question is why TS look such a lacklustre penalty – now lets apply your twisted logic to that..
Sick or not I still think WH would sill have beat you.
Twisted logic? Deny it all you want but if this had happened to your lot then we’d never hear the end of it. This won’t be swept under the carpet.
Teddy placed his penalty to the bottom corner, Robbo made a great save. Teddy has not much love left for Spurs you’ll find.
West Ham beat us 2-1 with most of our side nobbled, hardly a great advertisment for them is it?
guys guys guys, im an avid gunner fan, my whole life. but the debacles of yesterday were absolutely pathetic, as great as our game was at our home ground for 93 years, if there is some sinister plot to thwart our bitter rivals, i think that someone should be lined up and shot, at our old ground, even in the case of someone so powerful like the 2…
seriously, the 90 mins played by spurs was impressive to say the least, and they did look out of sorts, however, give credit were it is due, you held that fourth spot tightly for 6months and we did come back and win 3 on the trot with 10 goals, and on the day, you had to match our result to keep that spot!
i admit, im paranoid, im a conspiracy theorists at the worst, someone does look as though they ‘engineered’ this, but from the start? i doubt that? on saturday night when all the guys go for a drink up, before like you said, the biggest game in a long time! what were the gunners doin at that time on sat night? bet you bottom dollar, there were not lapping in luxury… so whos fault is all this? professionalism? your right, our game is goin in the moulds… what if Jol couldnt hack the pressure, and someone buckled to get themselves more time…? either way, sorry you lost it, but dont scar our final game at our home ground for 93 years! we done what we needed to do, thats all… no one could have ‘bought’ the scorelines, you did score 1 brill goal, and had fair few chances,… just couldnt put it away…
Don’t scar your last game at the Library? Are you serious mate?
You’ve completely glossed over everything that went on but then it suits your agenda to do that, much like the mainstream media and Sky TV.
Spurs players weren’t out on the drink on the Saturday night, they were at a team get together at a top hotel to relax them and keep them away from any distractions before the game. I’m told the Goons were the same. They had a meal and went to bed. The meal was poisoned, whether intentionally or otherwise and our players were the only ones who paid the price. Suspicious? Conspiracy theory?
David Dein and Richard Scudamore together at the Library and declining our request for 24 hours to get our players off their sick beds? Don’t try and pretend this is some stalling tactic by Jol, you discredited your post with that rubbish.
Wake up and smell the coffee, the game is rotten from the core. If you’re not part of the solution then you’ve got your head in the sand and are part of the problem. The problem starts with the conflict of interest between David Dein, the FA and Arsenal FC.
Alan,
Deleting peoples replies wont change results.
Grow up.
Its over – you lost again.
BUT – you had a good year…. for the poorer half of north London.
So well done. Pleased for you. Enjoy the plastic cup next year. Ta ra.
I haven’t deleted any Mitchell, was just a warning to keep it clean as I make clear on any threads which have the potential to get heated.
It is over, we did have a good season but it’s the manner of our defeat and the circumstances surrounding it that rankle with us.
We want answers to the questions I posted. End of.
Why would west ham want to play a day later, there season isnt finished yet!
You can moan all you want, you can moan until next season for all i care! Your still in the UEFA cup!
Alan
Spurs had been in the 4th spot for months and had plenty of chances to pull away from the Arsenal but we’d pegged you back. The league table doesn’t lie and when it came down to it you just weren’t good enough to clinch it.
As for ‘the love we feel for the game being chipped away’, does that include incidents such as teams taking advantage of a couple of their opponents being down injured to playing on to score a barely contasted tap in? Who’d do such a thing? Surely not a team so steadfasty occupying the moral high ground.
Get over it. Each team took its chances during the season and one came out on top. To suggest it’s all a big conspiracy is just riduculous and shows you up as the sore looser you obviously are. See you next season.
I know we had plenty of chances to finsih the race for 4th off before the last day, still doesn’t answer the questions I want answered about what went on yesterday. I’ll keep repeating this as my main point until it hits home with you all. Arsenal finished the season in unstoppable form which is undeniable. I wish we’d shown the same clinical attitude in a lot of games.
Otherwise we’ve had a fine season, our best in years and still I’m left with a bad taste in my mouth (so to speak). What I want clarification on is unconnected to a disputed goal at Highbury where the referee waved play on and Spurs went on to score. To say it was barely contested is ridiculous. If Arsene’s sight hadn’t magically been repaired for that incident then none of you would have even mentioned it. It’s completely unconnected so stop changing the subject and tell me your views on David Dein’s role at the FA and how it’s a conflict of interest with his role at Arsenal.
So far the silence on that issue has been deafening.
What David Dein got to do with you losing?! Was David Dein on the pitch no?! Did he hamper your training NO! How does david dein being on the board make you a shit team?!
David Dein is such a big issue for you but i how did he make you lose your games this season?!
I’m glad you have a bad taste in your mouth! Your still not the best team in north london! You will always be the rejects, and it will be a long time before you will be any good!
Jol is a great manager, but he needs to be at a better club. Newcastle are looking for someone.
No argument, no ideas, no sense. Exactly what I expected from you LOL.
Kindly move along now young man, your trolling has become tiresome. Can any Arsenal fan with half an ounce of sense get involved in this discussion about David Dein’s nefarious influence on the English game?
Any takers at all?
Lol your getting pissed off cant explain how david dein made you finish 5th!
You Yids arent that smart, you try to find any excuse except for we are better than you! What a dummy!
You didnt finish above us last season, or the season before that, or the season before that and on and on and on! So was that David Dein fault too?!
Was David Dein doing something behind the scenes that no one knows but you that made you finish below us?!
Getting bored with you LOL, all I’m talking about is yesterday and the potential involvement of the top man at the FA in deciding that our game shouldn’t be postponed for 24 hours despite 10 players being struck down with severe food poisoning in order to give an advantage to his own club.
You’re talking about last year and as usual completely missing the point. Get on topic or move along.
OK, Ok you win. There was a conspiricy. David Dein sent all Arsenal fans a letter last week letting us know it was all in the bag and not to worry. He didn’t want to spoil the Highbury party so had hired some private caterers to supply a certain function on the Isle of Dogs.
Do you really think one man within the FA can make these sort of things happen? Or are you suggesting the everyone on the FA board are Arsenal fans? Surely the fact he does have a tie with Arsenal means he has to be obviously impartial amongst his FA colleagues? The precedent for games being postponed was set years ago by Middlesborough so had nothing to do with Spurs yesterday. Jol was actually told it was up to him whether he fielded a team or not, but a postponement couldn’t be sanctioned beforehand, so it was a risk he’d have to take. Presumably he could have asked to be allowed to change his squad due to illness and call up some reserves yet he chose not to and played on with who he had.
Surely Spurs fans should be asking the question: ‘with diets and excersie so closely monitored by clubs these days how is it possible that there could be any doubt about what was being eaten the night before your biggest game in 15 years? Just a thought.
You know what Alan, i actually agree with you that David Dein shouldnt be on the board, cause i actually dont think its fair to other clubs. And yes of course any chairman or director that is on the FA board will have there clubs best interests at heart. I do belief that he should be off or they should make some structure where they have a person from every team on the board.
But i dont belief it would of made any difference if he wasnt on the board they would still of played the game.
Even I can’t attribute the food poisoning bit directly to Arsenal but it’s a hell of a coincedence isn’t it? Either a massive coincedence or a Goon fan in the kitchen who’s about to get himself into a world of bother but I couldn’t see it being directed from the marble halls.
The influence of Dein stretches far and wide though it’s plain for all to see how much influence the big clubs have when it comes to getting decisions within the English and European game. With £30m riding on the line (and possibly more if the debts mount up over Ashburton Grove without Champion’s League football) are you telling me that there is 0% of a chance that the big business interests that run football couldn’t use the position of David Dein to bend the rules on certain issues to suit the G14 and their own interests?
A few years ago who would have thought that Far Eastern betting syndicates would be able to buy referees in Europe’s top leagues but it’s happened in Germany.
Nothing in football surprises me anymore.
Well said LOL, thanks for coming back in with some sense.
Surely it’s the most obvious thing in the world that the football governing body should be separate from the owners of the top clubs. If Dein wasn’t on the FA board then I wouldn’t have to worry about conspiracies.
Now who’s changing the subject? But if you want to go down that route – fine.
Since sport became big business in itself it has always been open to corruption and i’m not in the least surprised that referees get tapped up for a few decisions when there are millions of pounds worth of bets riding on it.
I agree that there is a potential conflict of interests in David Deins’ position and that it is up to him to ensure that he stays well clear of any scandal. It was important for Arsenal, as a club, to be in the champions league next season but more because it’s what fans want and expect than for financial reasons. We’ve already earned millions more than expected this year due to our run to the final and that would have made up for some of the lost revenue if we hadn’t qualified plus we’d have had the UEFA cup funds so probably not much worse off.
I’m not saying there’s 0% chance of some big business influence here but I think it’s unlikely as too many people would have to be involved and they can’t all have Arsenal’s interests at heart. You’re just going to have to face the fact that you missed out because you weren’t good enough in the end. Arsenal’s class came through in the end.
Complete and utter rubbish mate.
A few of points to elaborate on:
1) 10 members of the first team and staff? There were two first team players affected and the rest were part of the ’staff’. This came from a reliable source.
2) It wasn’t food poisoning. If any one would have got food poisoning then they would have been laid up for days, let alone make 50 minutes of a football match. A stomach upset is what it really was, with dehydration.
3) £30 million bounty? I don’t think so. To receive this amount of money Spurs would have had to WIN the Champions League, and the games I have seen them play I doubt very much they would have got through to the qualification stages let alone the group games.
4) Spurs have a first team squad of 32 so why even ask for a postponement, we only had 8 of our first team squad playing.
5) If it’s a relatively short journey from white hart lane to upton park why spend the night in a docklands hotel in the first place? – mugs.
6) Maybe the other guests of the hotel didn’t have the same things on the menu as the Spurs staff. How does this clown know what they ate?
7) I’m surprised that the likes of Ardiles, Villa, Gazza and co are not mentioned in the web article – same old, same old, always thinking that you are something better than you really are. How does it go “glory glory Chas and Dave….” Pathetic.
I don’t normally rant, but I’d like to have seen the stories had you won…
By the way, we’ve got another game next week.
Here’s to next season then – Champions League? You really are having a laugh.
What the fuck!!! DEFOE ISNT IN THE ENGLAND SQUAD BUT WALCOTT IS!!!
Now i’m an arsenal fan but i’m also a england fan! This makes no sense!
Wham in the house. You one of the mugs singing and celebrating about Arsenal yesterday mate? Your own side not playing or just not worth worrying about?
Bingo club mentality as usual from West Ham. Your “facts” above are incorrect. IF you are going to post facts than make them factual, not made up rubbish that you’re trying to pass of as the truth.
Stomach bug caused by food poisoning. One leads to the other.
First team squad of 32, much of which is players only a year up from the youth team. What’s more competitive: youth team or sick players?
“What’s more competitive: youth team or sick players?”
I think you will find we have made the Champions League Final with our youth team!!
At the end of the day, it was farcical that you think you could postpone the game anyway.
Spurs did nothing to say you were a Champions League team yesterday. Well out of depth against a load of Spurs rejects.
Up the Hammers
Strange how you didn’t question the ‘facts’ that you lot always think that you are bigger and better than you really are. More competitive would have been your youth team of course, but as there was only two affected, Carrick and Tiny’o, why would you need a youth team?
And yes, I was one of the mugs cheering for Arsenal yesterday, because coincidentally it was at the same time that WE BEAT YOU! Muppet.
LOL – hope you beat Barca with the youth team players as well.
Your lot did more singing when the Goons scored than when your own players did, small time attitude shines through every time.
There were ten in the squad afflicted including Carrick, Tainio, Davids, Dawson, Keane, Lennon and a few others. Where do you get your info mate because it’s extremely bad. Back page of The Sun or some other rag?
As I said above, you beat a team struck down with food poisoning 2-1 at home. Must be like winning a trophy for you. Wouldn’t beat on taking a real one home next weekend against the Scousers either, not unless you feed them some dodgy jellied eels before the match…
Winning a trophey. Don’t you have to be in a cup final to do that.
Oh yeah, we are.
Bye Bye Spurs, See you in the UEFA Cup
Facts come from one of the Spurs staff actually who I know very well, and that is the truth.
The victory yesterday was almost as enjoyable as getting the last minute equaliser against your fully fit first team squat at the lane (and no, squat is not a typo!).
West Ham know are exactly who we are. We don’t pretend to be something we’re not, we don’t attract small time players that want to play for a ‘big club’ and still not make the World Cup, we don’t even harp on about the last time we won the FA Cup or any other trophy, even though it was 26 years ago. 1991, and you lot still harp on as if it was yesterday. If you asked 30 thousand west ham fans yesterday before the game what they think the result would be and most of them would have said “I don’t give a t*ss because we have a cup final next week and we don’t even care if we don’t win that”. If the same questiuon would have been asked to your measly muppets you probably would have said “we’re going to give this lot a hiding and we’re going to win the Champions League. Just like we won the FA Cup in blah de blah de blah, Ricky Villa, Ardiles, Hoddle, blah de blah de blah….” BORING.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Typical Yids bleating on about how hard done by they are, u really are a bunch of mugs. Your so quick to dispell everyone else’s facts as false but have no proof of ur own apart from what ur mugging little club tell u. 10 players effected, were u in the toilet with them, no, so how do u know.
Anyway well done on having the shortest premiership season ever.
We’re all going to cardiff la la la la !!!
I hear the epidemic spread all around spurs yesterday, 3000 people leaving the academy of football looked sick!
Good luck to Arsenal on Wednesday as well! Just to put the final nail in that 1960’s coffin
As a gooner i would just like to say well done the irons and good luck in the cup hope u win it
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
still laughing 24 hours after
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
karma karma karma
play,play,play
Arsenal played games this years with eleven or twelve of their first-team out. What’s so special about Tottenham having to play with three or four guys out and a couple more playing through pain?
It’s obviously hard luck to get food poisoning the day before the biggest game of your life but it’s part of the game. There’s not way it should have been postponed, sad as it was. Fortune, good and bad, is part of the game, and you have to deal with it.
We took our eighth choich left back to the CL Final. That’s dealing with adversity. (obviously a lot easier for the Arse with our resources then for you guys, but beating West Ham was a lot wasier than reaching the CL Final)
Good luck next year in UEFA.
Tottenham seem quiet?
“Arsenal played games this years with eleven or twelve of their first-team out.”
Who exactly? List me their names – all 12 of them.
“It’s obviously hard luck …but it’s part of the game.”
You’re right; many, many teams have had food poisoning before a game including the likes of Harchester United.
“There’s not way it should have been postponed, sad as it was. Fortune, good and bad, is part of the game, and you have to deal with it.”
As long as you benefit from someone else’s bad luck, it’s ok then, right?
“We took our eighth choich left back to the CL Final.”
Please do list your 7 other left backs…or is it just you exaggerating the truth to support your argument?
Alan, no point listening to these pieces of sh1t. To the west ham fans, this jus typifies to me how much a bunch of w@nkers you lot truly are, it must of been the happiest day of ur insignifacnt little lives to beat spurs at home, a spurs who im surprised could run about for 90 minutes yet alone play a football match and score, if thats wot makes you happy, i really do pity you, i fink the whole of london would appreciate it if you all fcuked off bak to ur shity place in east london!!!!!
and to arsenal fans, u lot r a bunch of pricks too, the fact they we did actually play, and score also against a team whose real cup final was yesterday is something you should b jealous of. u say that david dein doesn influence anything, then look back to portsmouth u pricks… a bit of rain on the pitch and its called off!!!! funny that considerin it meant u had a ten day rest b4 a CL game, but i guess theres notin fishy there either!!!
FORCA BARCA AND COME ON U SCOUSERS
Lessee… We started with Ashley Cole at left back, then we had Gaël Clichy, then Pascal Cygan, then Lauren, then Philippe Senderos, then Sebastian Larsson and I think Kerrea Gilbert had a game somewhere in there too before he went down injured. That’s the seven left backs who played before Flamini, our eight-choice left back who is by training a right-sided central midfielder and had never played defense in his life, got his chance.
How’s that for bad luck?
If you want to talk about right back, we were down to our fifth choice there as well, though some of them are the same names as for left back.
Anyway, concerning the food poisoning, as Martin Jol said himself during a certain North London derby… “Play! Play! Play!” I guess the FA agreed with him. Doesn’t matter if the guys are down on the ground or pants down in the toilet.
Karma comes back to bite you in the ass, mates.
But seriously, congrats on the great season. You guys are on the up and the rivalry could actually have a point again now that you have a real coach.
“Lessee… We started with Ashley Cole at left back, then we had Gaël Clichy, then Pascal Cygan, then Lauren, then Philippe Senderos, then Sebastian Larsson and I think Kerrea Gilbert had a game somewhere in there too before he went down injured. That’s the seven left backs who played before Flamini, our eight-choice left back who is by training a right-sided central midfielder and had never played defense in his life, got his chance.”
About half of those players played a bit-part in one again so try again.
Additionally, u can vouch for injuries which spread themselves across the course of the season. You cannot vouch for 10 players being struck down the day of a game.
You can’t compare the two.
“Anyway, concerning the food poisoning, as Martin Jol said himself during a certain North London derby… “Play! Play! Play!” I guess the FA agreed with him. Doesn’t matter if the guys are down on the ground or pants down in the toilet.”
Of course not, especially when you benefit from it
as you did.
Furthermore are you telling me that Arsenal would have put the ball out considering the ref waved play on? Carrick saw one of the players get up. Eboue was up and running before the restart.
“Karma comes back to bite you in the ass, mates.”
Absolutely. Both events are completely proportional…
lets not forget when arsenal did the exact same thing we did in the fa cup semi final against sheffield united at old trafford, although they must not rememba that coz they probably werent fans back then!!! and as wenger said, the ref waved play on, so why should we kick the ball out…..i guess it must be ddifferent for spurs then
Eighth-choice means he was the eighth to be picked. I don’t know what other definition you have of it but it seems pretty clear to me.
And when I talk of ten out of the squad, I do mean at the same time. If we are talking over the course of the season, everyone from Henry on down missed significant amounts of time. Van Persie missed a couple of months, Lauren, Cole, Clichy and Campbell all missed three to six months, Hleb missed two or three months…Those are just the most notable, I’m not even mentioning guys like Cygan and Gilbert who were the backup and also out for three or four months.
Three-quarters of our starting defense missed more than half of the season. We had games with two midfielders with no previous defensive experience playing fullback (Larsson and Flamini) with our third and fifth choice central defenders in the middle(Senderos and Djourou). At the same time, mind you. With an average age of about 20.
So a measly little “ten” guys feeling sick but still being able to play doesn’t seem all that unlucky to me, no. And not a legitimate reason to postpone a game.
Still, congrats again on the great season and I hope you do as well next year. Or even make the Champion’s League, we will be there to await you.
Why, oh why were spurs staying at a hotel in east london? Surely its not much further for the players to travel than a trip to WHL?
We’ve partly got ourselves to blame (Sunderaland and the first West Ham fixture): minimum of 2 easy points lost in the dying seconds of those games!
So, lets build on this season, take out West Ham in the Uefa Cup next season, and laugh our arses off when Henry leaves for Barcelona – impending champions of Europe!
“Eighth-choice means he was the eighth to be picked.”
So you know how Arsene Wenger picks his team, do you?
“And when I talk of ten out of the squad, I do mean at the same time. If we are talking over the course of the season, everyone from Henry on down missed significant amounts of time. Van Persie missed a couple of months, Lauren, Cole, Clichy and Campbell all missed three to six months, Hleb missed two or three months…Those are just the most notable, I’m not even mentioning guys like Cygan and Gilbert who were the backup and also out for three or four months.”
So, a few players miss a few games and that suddenly amounts to fielding your reserves for the whole season? Superb marshalling of the facts to support your thesis.
“Three-quarters of our starting defense missed more than half of the season. We had games with two midfielders with no previous defensive experience playing fullback (Larsson and Flamini) with our third and fifth choice central defenders in the middle(Senderos and Djourou). At the same time, mind you. With an average age of about 20.”
I like the way you say “three-quaters” as if it’s some huge amount. 3/4 of 4 = 3 players = nothing to moan about.
Additionally, having a few youngsters doesn’t quantify “an average age of about 20″…
“So a measly little “ten” guys feeling sick but still being able to play doesn’t seem all that unlucky to me, no. And not a legitimate reason to postpone a game.”
I think your attempt at satire has backfired; your whole post has been about how a mammoth “3/4 of (our) defenders” and how at one point 10 players were out – with previous knowledge of their absence – and how unlucky you were, yet you say we weren’t unlucky when 10 of our players went down completely unexpectedly before a game.
They weren’t “still able to play” they were forced to play because Scudamore is in Dein’s backpocket. They could have kicked up a fuss and gone down on the pitch but are players aren’t like Eboue (though even if they did go down they wouldn’t be like him because they were genuinely ill and not simulating an injury to try and gain an advantage i.e. cheating).
When you can’t debate facts, you delete posts…
I will repost what I wrote before before it was deleted…(minus two bad words)…
Sad article mate. Since you don’t post any of your sources of info it leads me to conclude that you are making things up.
Yeah right, Dein is the mastermind behind it all. You must have had spies at Highbury to spot Dein when Scudamore got the call..
Of course, the best one is that ‘No one else in the Hotel got food poisoning’. Where did you get that info, Detective?
Overall, a sad rant with no basis in reality. Yeah it’s tough luck, but be satisfied that you set a goal of UEFA (Jol’s goal) at the beginning of the year and achieved it. Also, you have an ace winger in Lennon.