World Cup Qualifiers - Time for Change in Europe?

So another round of World Cup qualifiers took place over the last week and the same subject airs once again. Yes the question of the lower rank teams and their place in the World Cup Qualifier. San Marino, Liechtenstein, Faroe Isles, Malta, Luxembourg, Andorra all find themselves finishing bottom of their respective qualifying groups.

What does a nation gain from playing against Malta apart from improving the goal difference and guaranteeing themselves 3 points from the home and away ties to add needless injury possibilities? The answer is nothing. The bigger nations aren’t tested and therefore apart from the minnows getting a bit of extra cash and tv coverage they wouldn’t get, the only thing they really see is a severely negative goal difference.

There is no real reason for the smaller sides in the European qualification zone not to have to go through qualifiers to take their place. Fifa place other smaller nations in prelim qualifiers around the world, so why should low rating European minnows be exempt. I’m sure Club managers would be rather happier knowing that their players would be playing two less meaningless international games during the season. There are 53 member nations that take place in the draw and in reality that should be down to 45 who take part in the qualifiers for the World Cup. This could see the lowest 10 nations in UEFA playing to qualify for two places in the qualifiers.

If this were to happen,  come the next UEFA qualifying draw we would see the following nations taking part in a qualifying round.

Azerbaijan

Moldova

Cyprus

Kazakhstan

Malta

Luxembourg

Faroe Isle

Liechtenstein

Andorra

Monaco.

Some people may say that this would penalize the part time nations as we know they would not be good enough, but at the end of the day we want matches and tests, we don’t want walkovers and three guaranteed points. It may also change the face of qualifying and make things a little more interesting without the teams who supply nothing but goal difference bonuses. Admittedly this is something that I cant see happen, but we can always hope.

Time for the final egg-citement!

Bad punny headlines aside, the arrival of the recent England World Cup qualifiers proved to be a major distraction from the weekly race for Premier League achievement.

Of course the issue now is one of a race to the finish, and FA Cup semi finals an European competition (for Spurs, Newcastle and Chelsea fans alone) the only distraction, this weekend could prove to be a vital one in the last leg of the 2012/2013 season.

For Spurs, the challenge is on to bounce back from three straight defeats and capture Jermaine Defoe's goal scoring form for club. Admittedly Swansea are rather better than San Marino, but the way I see it - a goal is a goal, and if confidence is the problem for our misfiring marksman, then this may be the spark that he needed.

I don't like to predict (mainly because I predicted we would beat both Liverpool and Fulham) but with only the unpredictable trio of Manchester City, Everton and Chelsea to come among some 'winnable' games, the run in SHOULD be not too challenging for Spurs.

However having watched Spurs for more than 25 years and with memories still fresh from last season's end, something had better go right this time.

Ok so we don't have a manager whose head is being turned by a possible international job, but we also don't have the talismanic midfielders in the shape of Modric and Van Der Vaart, and the likes of Dempsey, Sigurdsson and Parker really do have step up and drag is through the next eight games. Because we cannot end up reliant on other results like last year.

A fond ‘farewell’, to the ground where it’s always downhill second half

An Easter treat from the wonderful Victoria Sharkey, Arsenal season ticket holder and Barnet Bees fan. Victoria is a great friend and the wife of our Spurs correspondent Mr Dan Raywood. I hope you enjoy and I hope there is more to come

Barnet Football Club, currently in another battle against the drop at the bottom of League 2, move from Underhill at the end of the season.  Their home since 1907, the club must move due to primarily to the local council refusing permission to develop to the standards now required of a league club.  The Bees will be moving to The Hive, currently their training ground, situated in Edgware… controversially not within the borough of Barnet.  Many hope that one day the situation will change and that we will at least be able to move back to the Borough at some point in the future, perhaps even to Underhill.  It would really only need a more progressive and supportive council, and a small injection of cash; at the moment, the former looks unlikely to happen.  But the latter is a real possibility.

Barnet have featured in both the sporting and the mainstream press this season mainly due to the shock signing of former Dutch international Edgar Davids.  (And yes, the idea of Davids at Barnet still makes me think I am in some strange parallel universe!)  Davids, whose previous clubs include Spurs, Juventus and Ajax, joined the Bees in October in a move which most of us thought strange to say the least.  He was also appointed joint coach alongside Mark Robson, although Robson left the club in December.

As time went on, a few rumours were heard as to why Davids had made this bold move.  He and his family had remained living in North London after he left Spurs, so whatever he did next was likely to involve staying in the area.  When spotted shopping in Cockfosters, most thought that this would mean a return to Spurs in a coaching capacity, but we then heard that he wanted to get into club ownership, rather than simply management or coaching.  We heard that he had spoken to Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthos about taking over the Bees, and this was acknowledged by Kleanthos in the press.  So it suddenly made sense; Davids wants to own a football club, but he wants to own a league club rather than a conference club, and so he is playing and coaching at Barnet without receiving a salary in order to keep us in the league…after which, he will buy the club from Kleanthos.

The future is bright for Barnet, as long as we survive this current relegation battle.  Looking at the clubs in the fight with us, I’d say we are a good bet for staying up.   Davids can then take the club into a new era, with a new ground, new ownership, and can perhaps work some of his Ajax magic into a side who have suffered over the years from poor attendances and an inability to keep hold of our best players (Puncheon, Sinclair, Bailey, I’m looking at you!).

But, what of Underhill?  What of our past?

As a result of my required attendance at a Hen weekend on April 20^th, I won’t be able to attend the last home game, so this Friday in the game against Dagenham & Redbridge will be my last match on the glorious East Terrace.

I first went to Underhill in 1993.  Having just changed schools, I was dragged along by one of my new friends.  I can’t recall the fixture, but I remember standing on the covered South terrace, swapping ends at half time, and as a Gooner who had just seen her beloved North Bank knocked down to make way for seating, I loved the madness of the terrace.  I’ve loved the Bees, and our poxy little ground, ever since.

I made life changing friendships there, went on dates there, had the worst corporate hospitality imaginable, took non-footballing friends there, and of course met star striker (and scourge of Newcastle United fans) Guiliano Grazioli there (and them named my cat after him).  I sang ‘Twist and Shout’, ‘Do you take it up the arse, Martin Allen’, and my all-time favourite football song ‘Hit ‘im on the head with the Barnet Press’.  Most importantly, Underhill is where I met and fell in love with Dan, my now husband (2-1 v Notts County, Ian Hendon with two from the spot, in case you were wondering). 

There has been highs and lows, but winning promotion to the football league (with a 3-1 victory against Halifax that gave us the title) and beating Swindon on penalties in the FA Cup rate amongst the footballing highlights of my life.  I will love the Bees until the day I die…and that is about as long as I will continue to hate Brian Coleman.

Underhill.  I will miss your beautiful slopes.  Thanks for all the memories.

Perhaps, one day, the Black and Amber will play on your hallowed turf once more...?

The Worst XI - Chelsea

Well we all know that it's easy to pick our all time best XI line ups, but some of us footy fans like to go that step further and look at the more difficult challenges called the Worst XI. So last week, fellow football fan and not amused Chelsea fan James Page came up with his Worst Chelsea XI. It's quite an interesting one featuring Chelsea players past and present. Some you'll remember and some you would have rather have forgotten.

Worst Chelsea XI

Goalkeeper: Frode Grodas

Had a name like a hobbit and played like one. Even struggled to make the Spurs team when we sold him.

Right Back: Gareth Hall

Truly useless. Went to Sunderland and a Sunderland supporting work colleague always held me personally responsible for every mistake he made there.

Left Back: Scott Minto

I think he has already made the worst West Ham XI and I guess any Benfica fan would put him in their worst XI too.

Centre-Back: Winston Bogarde

One minute our players were told to attack him as Barcelona's weakest link - the next we signed him and stuck him in the reserves on 40 grand a week.

Centre-Back: Frank Sinclair

A bit harsh as Frank always gave his all but his eye for an own goal and knack for giving away crucial penalties gets him in.

Midfield: David Hopkin

Couldn't pass, shoot or stand up. Seemed to improve a bit after we sold him which happened with alarming regularity in those days.

Midfield: Sasa Jokanovic

Came on as sub and got booked a lot for nothing. It was the only way you could tell the Joke was on the pitch.

Right Midfield: Mark Nicholls

A token failed 'Hot Prospect' from the days of Paul Hughes, Andy Myers etc.

Left Wing: Gabriele Ambrosetti

Labelled as the Italian Ryan Giggs. Turned out to be the Italian Lee Sharpe.

Forward: Robert Fleck

Great at Norwich but terrible at Chelsea, his awful (non) goalscoring record just edges out Paul Furlong, who was crap but at least managed the occasional goal.

Forward: Tony Cascarino

Another awful signing who couldn't even score in Scotland for Celtic.

Subs:

Graham Wilkins 

Looked a bit like Ray, possessed precisely none of his footballing ability but still played nearly 150 games for Chelsea.

Gary Locke

Wholehearted in the style of Frank Sinclair but with less of Frank’s composure. I once saw him stop a free kick with his unguarded testicles followed by being walked round the old running track at half time in an attempt to revive him for the second half. Probably would’ve been better with 10.

Fernando Torres - 

??????

Chris Sutton

Big fee, small goals return. What is it about expensive centre forwards at Chelsea? Quite good as a centre back though.

Mario Stanic

Came with a big reputation but seemed to have an aversion to making sure any of his passes got to a player in blue. Scored a 35 yarder on his debut, it was all downhill from there.

Notably there's some names that I remember and some that I dont or some that I would rather not.  If you think you can come with an even more abysmal one feel free to contribute.

If you would like to contribute with your worst XI email me at Strictly442@hotmail.com

Spurs seem to lose when I dont watch - Dan Raywood's conundrum

In the last week I have had to ensure the once super Spurs fall from the cockerels perch to three successive defeats.

Although Spurs have not actually dropped any places in the league, what they have done is dropped points that has seen us lose ground to the chasing blues and gooners and miss out on closing the gap to second place City.

What the problem is seems to be what was blessing us a matter of weeks ago, notably TV coverage (and me watching in particular) and of course, goals.

For example, it was Mother's Day and I watched England v Ireland in the six nations rather than the defeat to my fellow blogger Matt's beloved Liverpool. I was then at a conference in Belfast while Raj and I watched the 4-1 courtesy of BBC text updates and the fotmob app. Finally Spurs' defeat to Fulham was not on TV and I am not techy enough to search for live streams, besides my full time job as an IT security journalist has scared me off the dark corners of the Internet.

So is the problem me and my not watching Spurs? Well when I did watch we won, when I didn't, we lost! Admittedly the problem is greater than me not sitting on the sofa and Sky/ESPN/ITV not showing the coverage, but there is a wierd correlation here.

Sadly if only things were so easily solved, Mr Levy would undoubtedly have offered me a free ticket to every game to ensure the results go our way. Instead the problem seems to be in front  of goal, instead of 'the one man team' we are now missing something key from both Defoe and Adebayor, who have both become goal-shy in these games.

I was one of many calling for spurs to bolster the attacking line during the transfer window and while there are memories of Gregorz Rasiak, picking up a decent striker on loan would have been the sensible option. Instead we find ourselves with Defoe, Adebayor and Dempsey missing the target or short of confidence along with a lack of penetration from either wing due to Lennon's injury, Townsend's loan to QPR and Bale's move to the middle.

Now with a two week break ahead of the next game away at Swansea, I would suggest looking at moving Bale back to the left wing, moving the emerging  Siggurdsson to the centre and if he doesn't work out, give Lewis Holtby a run out.

Spurs have a great attacking line and we can be thankful that the defence is holding up (not counting 4 goals conceded against Inter) and while I appreciate the changes and desire to play Bale in a more central role to make the maximum impact, sometimes you have to stick with what is comfortable and familiar as that is what works.

After all, we were in a similar position last year and we never thought history would repeat in a positive fashion - but it has, and we cannot let Champions League football slip from between our fingers.

Another one bites the dust - McDermott sacked

Brian McDermott bites the dust at Reading as the board takes action in regards to the struggle at the bottom end of the table. The total of five wins from 28 games was never going to be enough, but was it really the right time to sack the manager? Whilst they languish second from bottom, their last eight games saw them take ten points which is just three less than Arsenal. Not quite something to complain about. The issue notably their away form. Whilst they had a home record of W4 D6 L5 F23 A 29, their travels away were much to be desired only one win and a record that was W1 D2 L11 F12 A 27. Notably they have notched up more goals at home in the league than high flying Tottenham. Away from home they have struggled to score but another interesting note is that Reading away from home in Premier League had only conceded 27 goals away from home which is 5 more than Tottenham. Amazing that such such small margins could make such a difference. McDermott's Premier League record was as follows. 

 P   W   D    L    F    A    PTS

66  15    14  38  76 122 59

Scandalously though the players were informed via text message. Whilst many shouldn't be surprised in this day and age by the method it is not professional for players to be informed by that manner. It will be interesting to see how they cope with whoever takes over. It is not going to be easy for whoever takes over. The next two games are Arsenal and Man Utd. Would another manager turn the club around in such a short space of time and with 9 games left.

Interestingly whilst McDermott gets the sack, Roberto Martinez manages to survive on the Premier League journey.  How does this work out? surely his time must be running out. Yes there is such thing as loyalty, but then there is what is best for the club.  Im quite relieved that he was never appointed as Liverpool manager, he was never someone who was good enough to take the reigns at Anfield.

Two wins in a week for the one man team?

In my last blog I dared to suggest that Spurs were not a one man team. This was a point stressed by the Spurs Show podcast who highlighted the importance and good form of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Aaron Lennon and the returning Benoit Assou-Ekotto. I didn't expect my blog to be embraced by the unconverted, but it does seem that while there is some Bale love, my views were not agreed with.

On Facebook, it was suggested that Spurs were a one man team but it was ‘better to be a one man team than a no man team’, while on Twitter I received acclaim from Spurs fans and criticism from others, with one accusing my two cents of being ‘one cent’ and another saying that ‘without those other players around him, Bale would not be able to do what he does’.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course and the whole point of blogging is to stress an opinion and allow others to respond and if you actually responded at all, I thank you for making the effort.

In recent weeks I have watched Spurs win twice against West Ham and Arsenal and in both games, Bale has proved to be a key part of the side. But a one man team? I don't think so.

I was in San Francisco for a work conference the previous week, meaning that I watched the West Ham game in a sports bar accompanied by buffalo chicken tenders and Lagunitas Dogtown ale. I was only able to see the second half but by all accounts, this was the half to see, as I saw excellent finishes by Sigurdsson and Bale, yes him again. There were some definite defensive errors and Joe Cole's goal was a pure example of that, but even though it was 2-2 with seconds to go, I knew it wasn't over yet.

I had the pleasure to attend the last game, the north London derby, and I don't think Bale ran the game at all. What we did do was show how we could play as a unit, especially when Defoe came on for Adebayor, with a solid defence and midfield combining attack and defence.

So I am aware that Bale has scored in both of these games and this does taint my defence somewhat, but I still stand by my word that we could operate without Gareth Bale.

Evidence may come in this week's Europa league game against Inter Milan. There were calls on this week's Spurs Show for Bale to be rested ahead of this weekend's away match at Liverpool, and while he does remain our main attacking threat, I would be in favour of this.

Burning players out is the biggest danger with a talent such as this - Arsenal saw this 10 years ago with Thierry Henry and signed Silvain Wiltord as a back-up. Sadly the most natural back-up for Bale, Andros Townsend, is currently on loan at QPR, so we don't have a like-for-like replacement, but in his current form, would Andros get many games anyway? 

Hopefully this Thursday will see an opportunity for Lewis Holtby, Tom Carroll, Jake Livermore and a returning Clint Dempsey (or a combination of them) to start and give the magical Bale and Lennon a break. I also wonder if with a more attacking midfield pairing of Carroll and Holtby might give some service to Adebayor, unleashing the Togolese giant to increase on his four goals this season?

Aside from that, I hope the 11 starting and 25 man team of Spurs can maintain this form, as with Champions League football beckoning next season, to see this team against Europe's finest would be a delight.