Liverpool set to lose

I really can't see anything but a Spurs win today. Fair enough, we may be without Rafa (Harry rates his chances of playing 50/50), but against Bremen, the side showed that he wasn't missed at all. You could make the argument that the Champions League differs from the Premier League and that Werder Bremen made the tie an easy one, but the facts show that we have come a long way.

The facts also show that we are the only side to have taken 13 points from our second half displays, which means two things. One, that Harry is great at making the necessary changes in order for us to go on and win the match and two, that Harry isn't the best at picking a starting eleven.

Either way, with Liverpool missing Gerrard, and coupled with their atrociously poor away form, it looks as though a home win awaits us, especially if we can emulate the form shown by us in the Champions League.

THBN Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Liverpool

Represent Spurs when we take on Blackpool!
The club is looking for a brave fan to take on a Blackpool supporter in the half-time Wonga Cash Dash, when the teams meet at Bloomfield Road on Sunday, December 19th, 2010.

Win £250!

The Cash Dash is a race in two giant zorb balls, across the Bloomfield turf, between one home and one away supporter. The winner will be the fan who crosses the finishing line first, and will earn themselves £250. There will also a £250 donation to Blackpool’s Trinity Hospice.

So if you fancy representing Spurs, register your details HERE.

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Big Chiv: My Goals in Life - Get it now!

"Spurs don't stand a chance!"

That was the remark from the Arsenal contingent in the office today in relation to tomorrow's impending North London Derby.

The truth is that we've not won there for such a long time and according to the Arsenal fans I know, it will be an even longer period of time before we win there again.

Their theory is that the psychology behind tomorrow's game may be too much to handle for our lads. Thing is, before this season had kicked off, I would have quietly agreed with them. Unfortunately for Arsenal, we have two elements they don't have, Rafa van der Vaart and Gareth Bale. I suppose the late possible introduction of Jermain Defoe could also add a spiced up cheer in the changing room, but for now, Van der Vaart and Bale could be the key to our first away win at the Emirates.

I've had the unfortunate misgiving of having to sit through the latest X-Files film, "I Want To Believe". It was beyond dreadful, although the title of the film has got me thinking. I want to believe that we have got enough gusto to beat Arsenal tomorrow. I want to believe that each and every player wearing the lilywhite of Tottenham Hotspur can stand up and be counted.

THBN Prediction: Arsenal 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

PS. If you haven't watched I Want To Believe, stay well away from it.

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Jekyll and Hyde Spurs

How pathetic are we? There, I've said it. I have called Tottenham Hotspur "pathetic". Am I wrong in my assumption? If so, please let me know, although I think the majority will agree with me.

First off, why did Harry Redknapp decide to rest a lot of the players that played so well against Inter on Tuesday? Did Harry forget that we haven't beaten Bolton away since 1996? If he wanted to rest players, why not rest them on Tuesday when Sunderland come to White Hart Lane? I can understand having to rest Van der Vaart and Lennon, but why rest Huddlestone and why start with a striker that hasn't scored a goal in the Premier League for 10 matches? Yes, I am talking about Peter Crouch. We all know that Bolton are a hard lot, therefore, why decide to start with a player that has zero upper body strength?

Adding to the team selection policy on Saturday, why oh why did Harry decide to start with Niko Kranjčar on the right wing, when David Bentley was sat comfortably on the bench?

Secondly, what happened to the players? I can't blame just Redknapp for Saturday's debacle. There's no point naming which players didn't turn up, as they were all naff. You would have thought that after beating the European Champions, the players psyche would have shifted a bit?

Who am I trying to fool? We are Tottenham Hotspur. This thing has happened right from the off. Here's for hoping that it doesn't continue, for we need to make matters right against Sunderland on Tuesday, or else we can forget about Champions League football next season.

Talking about Champions League football, if you were Gareth Bale and Rafa van der Vaart, would you want to be at a club that wasn't in the competition? I think not. Harry needs to get his priorities in order and fast if we are to start climbing the Premier League table once again.

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Big Chiv: My Goals in Life - Get it now!

Can we start to believe?

Do the players believe?

After our superb win on Tuesday, BBC Fivelive commentator and presenter, Darren Fletcher, made the following statement:

"I truly believe that after tonight's amazing win against the European Champions, these Tottenham Hotspur players can begin to believe that they are good enough, not only in progressing further in the Champions League, but also believing in themselves so as to take this form into their Premier League fixtures. These players have come of age."

I do hope he's right. The word "hope" has to come into it, for as all die hard Spurs fans know and realise, our beloved club has a way of coming back and biting us in the unmentionables.

Fortunately, Luka Modric doesn't see it my way.

"They will look at us more seriously than before. Maybe they didn’t take us so seriously before. But after the games against Inter Milan and FC Twente I think they have to look at us differently. I said after Twente that we can play with anyone in Europe and we showed that against the champions. We need to be proud but also need to keep going like this and progress in our game and we should be fine. Our main target before was to go through in the group and we are close to that now."

Being Spurs through and through, I have always believed, much to the entertainment of my fellow Arsenal loving friends. When we signed Jurgen Klinsmann, I believed. Before 'Lasagna-Gate', I believed. When we beat City up at Eastlands last season, I still believed.

Thing is, Darren Fletcher has hit the nail on the head. It doesn't matter if we, as supporters, believe. It's the belief of the players that counts. I hope they can take a step back and say to themselves, "We have just beaten the Champions League holders. We can accomplish anything".

Talking about Tuesday's game, I think we shouldn't get too carried away. Gareth Bale played amazingly well, but instead of giving him all the credit, I think some has to go to Rafael Benitez. The Spanish waiter experienced what Bale had done to them in the previous game, therefore, one would have thought that Benitez, apparently being a statistic guru, would have prepared his side so as not to grant Gareth the time and space needed for him to flourish. Fortunately for us, that never happened. Forget there being a taxi for the apparent amazing Brazilian right-back, Hasan's Tottenham Minicab Service would have been sufficient for Maicon.

Next up; Bolton away at the Reebok on Saturday. Can we wear the Investec shirts for that one guv?

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Big Chiv: My Goals in Life - Get it now!