The British North American Blog

A couple of years back, Oasis were in Winnipeg for a concert and a very happy Noel Gallagher was in rabbiting on about Manchester City all night. That day, the Citizens had been bought by some wealthy Arabs and had just bought Robinho by telling him he was coming to Chelsea. The Oasis guitarist opined that he was sick of everyone loving Man City as their second favourite club. Now, he said, maybe might start hating Man City as much as they do Man U.
Well, you have you wish Noel. Everyone now hates Man City.
Roberto Mancini has managed to build an extremely expensive, overpaid team of wankers in the Italian mould. Skilful up front with goons at the back and with an almost Manchester-United-like ability to blind referees.
It might be looked back at this year and deemed that the Premiership was decided by an inch. If Defoe had been an inch closer and had scored from that Bale cross in extra time, Manchester City would have been just two points up on Spurs and in some type of crisis. As it is they are eight clear and on their way.
Or, as is more likely, this is a season being increasingly decided by bad calls.
Both Balotelli and Lescot should have been sent off for the respective head stamping and the elbowing incidents. But, as is too often the case, poor officiating missed both offenses and rather than taking an early bath, Balotelli was stepping up to score the winning penalty four minutes into extra time.
In the last few Spurs games, a referee missed a blatant handball on the goal line which could have resulted in a penalty which could have tied the game against Stoke, mistakenly awarded a corner from which Wolves scored an unlikely goal from their only attack in the game, and Balotelli avoided sending off and then forced a penalty and scored. In the last few games then, potentially four or more points dropped on clanger officiating and given the swing yesterday that might be enough to take Spurs top.
I don’t think it fair to criticize the refs – the game is so much faster now and the level of cheating and poor gamesmanship much higher. But there has to be a change made by the FA or Fifa — either video technology or a second referee. Ice hockey has done this and it has worked out well. American football uses technology all the time. You don’t need to keep interrupting the game, as you can limit challenges. But something has to give. So many games are now being decided by officials. I watched the end of the two American football games yesterday and they were decided on the field by the players and the one bad call was overturned by video replay.
Truth be told, Tottenham were second best yesterday. They were good for the point because of the fight back but they really didn’t have a good first half and too many players didn’t show up for the first hour.
It seems so tantalizing, and it is a cliché, but Spurs are so close and maybe this time for real one or two signings — especially for a superstar striker – they could actually win it all.

For the first time I can remember – and I have been a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur for a long time – the Lillywhites are finally in a position to challenge for the league title. At the half way point of the season, Tottenham are just three points behind Manchester United with a game in hand and six behind the leaders….again with the game in hand. There is no guarantee Spurs will overcome Everton tonight for that game in hand and it is pretty arrogant to assume so, but it is a pretty good opportunity.
No one is really giving Spurs much chance, and watching the pundit wankers on Football Today write Spurs off is annoying in the extreme. But for all the challenges why not Spurs?
You would be a mug to ever write off a Ferguson-led team, but Man U do look as vulnerable as they have for years.
Man City have issues with key players leaving for the African Nations Cup and there is always the suspicion that a spot of diversity will cause all manner of dissention. That may not happen, Mancini may step it up and they have ridiculous amounts of cash, but they are untested.
All of the top teams, except Spurs, are involved in Europe and that have some bearing.
The big issue for Spurs is injuries. The first eleven can compete with anyone. But the recent spate of injuries, including King this week, means that Redknapp will have to be a lot more creative and tactically astute. The let Modric, Bale and VDV roam anywhere strategy is an interesting idea, but I am not sold it will work with disciplined teams. Without Lennon, the team lacks width on the right. Now with Parker and Sandro out, Spurs again look dangerously light in the midfield. At the back, Gallas and King are out for a while leaving only Kaboul, Bassong and the recently returned Dawson as centre backs. It is time to dig deep and pull out the sort of wins that Spurs showed a week ago against West Brom.
Most improved player
Almost all of the team has stepped up and almost all are improved. So a hard call, but I am going with Younes Kaboul. During his first stint with the team he was awful, erratic and downright dangerous. But Redknapp saw something in him, took him to Portsmouth and then back to Spurs and he has blossomed into a solid centre back – strong in the air, able to bring the ball out of defence, a goal scorer and above all free of mistakes.
Now is the time to say goodbye
Govanni Dos Santos must have done something to Reknapp’s daughter because he can’t make the team no matter what he does. He will be gone this month and he will probably turn into another Kevin Prince Boatang – useless for Spurs, brilliant for someone else. I still don’t know why Steve Peinaar is with the team, he isn’t used much even when we are missing wingers and he is just sitting on the bench wasting wages. I don’t think he will move on but he should. Bassong is a fine defender but is tired of being fifth on the list and would be a first choice for many teams. It isn’t good to have people who want to get out so he should go despite the paucity of choices currently. I also think Pavlyuchenko will be off come January and quite possibly the strangely unfit Krancjar.
Who Spurs need this January
Spurs should only pick up players who make the team better. Centre back Chris Samba would do that, especially if he is a replacement for Bassong and will be a mid-term replacement for Gallas and King. There is talk of French striker Loic Remy coming in. Again as an immediate replacement for Pav it would be an improvement and a he would be a mid-term replacement for Defoe. More on him later. If Spurs could pick up a world class winger, it would allow Redknapp to keep the team shape if Spurs lose Lennon or Bale to injury.
Most under-rated player
I am going to say Friedel. A lot of stuff has been written about the great midfield, the solid defence and Adebayor. But the American goalkeeper has been solid and consistent. He does his thing without fanfare or a lot of flash, but he manages his area and gives the defence the confidence to do their thing. He can also make the solid save when he needs to.
Most over-rated
Jermaine Defoe. He tapped in a Dos Santos goal-bound shot from a yard out on the weekend, denying the Mexican his first goal of the year. It says everything about Defoe. It is hard to criticize a player who scores such key goals and on such a regular basis. But his selfishness is so annoying and you have to think that a less selfish striker may offer more. There are so many instances that a pass would create a goal scoring opportunity but it is spurned for a selfish strike from an impossible angle. I think if a Remy came in, Defoe would stay in the team to see how they do and if they excel he would be gone in the summer.
Best Buy/Most valuable player
A tough one. But my choice is Scott Parker. Drive, energy, spark, and above all a relentless determination mark Tottenham’s best player. And this is a team with Modric and Bale. Parker gives cover the defence and turns defence into attack, breaks up the opposition and keeps them on the back foot. He dictates the pace of the game and while not a big scorer is often the start of the moves that end in goals. Currently out, his absence is a huge loss.

Spurs are the Rodney Dangerfield of football.

They don’t get any respect.

Tottenham’s boss muses about winning the Premier League and cue polite smiles and smirks and polite laughter. Tottenham? Hardly.

I watched last weekend’s game against Stoke. I should say 13-man Stoke. Eleven on the pitch, the twelfth man in the stands and the referee. Apparently, blatant handballs on the goal line, disallowing goals when people are two yards onside, and sending players off for….er not quite sure what….is de rigueur these days. I guess it all works out because last year the same ref…Chris Foy….in the same fixture Stoke v Spurs….didn’t give a goal to Stoke when Peter Crouch used both hands and probably someone else’s, two feet behind the goal line to push the ball out.

Except it doesn’t really work out.

Those decisions arguably prevented a tie, at least. Spurs would have gained on Man City and kept ahead of Chelsea.

Those two teams played the following day and a really poor call at one end and a missed one at the other resulted in that game effectively being decided by the ref too.

With the top the table so tight and indeed the relegation battle so tight these days too, these poor decisions are the difference between champions league football and nothing between continued premiership football and the second division. And these outcomes and mean millions in either gained or lost revenue.

So whither television technology ala the NHL or the NFL. You get one chance per team  per game to question a decision and get a video replay. Is that disrupting the flow of the game any more than Luis Suarez rolling around for ten minutes after every semi tackle?

One thing that really irritated me about the Chelsea Man City game were the commentators who were essentially saying these two, along with Man U are the title contenders. The commentator also mentioned in passing that Spurs are “up there too.”

In fact, Spurs at the time were third. Two points behind Manchester United with a game in hand. And three up on Chelsea, again with a game in hand. Spurs and Man City had the best record in the league in November. Prior to the loss at Stoke, Spurs had won ten and drawn one.

Yet, no respect. The general consensus is, if they are even discussed at all, Spurs can not possibly win the title. It is only a matter of time before they drop off. Only a matter of time before the natural order is restored. I mean, here come Arsenal and Chelsea and Liverpool. Spurs, like Newcastle, we begin to wilt and will be duking it out for a Europa League spot come May. This run of wins, which admittedly included wins against Arsenal and Liverpool, is just some bizarre fluke. It will all come to an end and they can pat Spurs’ supporters on the head and say, nice run there but come on, I know you think you are a big club with a big history but honestly? Pretenders. Dilettantes. Interlopers. Not a real challenger. Insert cliché re cold nights in Bolton in February.

Talk about no respect.

I would pit Tottenham’s midfield against any in the league. They had the second longest run of consecutive games with two or more goals scored for in the history of the premiership, so their strikers are not too bad either. Their defence is solid. And they have depth on the bench. Not many teams could keep Jermaine Defoe on the bench.

Bale, Modric, Van Der Vaart, Adebayor, Parker and King would be on the first team sheets of any team in the league bar Man City. Lennon, Walker, Ekotto, Kaboul on almost everyone’s bar Chelsea and the Manchesters.

Let’s see how ManU cope without Vidic, how Man City cope after losing their first game and ballsing up the Champions League and how Chelsea continue if they lose their next game. And Arsenal are a one man team…a Dutchman made of balsawood no less…so let’s not get carried away with them just yet either.

I hope Spurs do win the League this year, if only to shut those pundits up.

Of course it means that Redknapp will never shut up ever again. So be careful what you wish for eh?

I was about to write credit where credit is due but then I read about the balls up with PAOK Salonika at White Hart Lane.

Spurs are effectively out of the Europa Cup at the group stage, a group that Spurs should have blown through easily. This is not particularly good and it is this sort of loss that can affect the mentality of a team. A loss on the weekend to Bolton and suddenly it’s “Spurs on losing skid.”

I must keep to the mantra that the Premier League is the big prize and Champions League football the goal. But it sure doesn’t cast the youngsters and fringe players in a good light. If you can’t handle the third or fourth best team in Greece, and a team down to ten men at that, then there is something wrong. It seems as though Corluka and Pienaar were woeful. And this is a team that had Modric and Defoe in it and Walker and Bale for the last half hour. Shocking.

Well onto the original planned post. I was going to say credit where credit is due to Harry Redknapp. Lord knows I have been critical of his managerial choices sometimes. I still (as do many) find it irritating that he cannot walk by a microphone without blabbing about this that and the other. I am also consistently annoyed at his inability to come up with Plan B.

But that said, Spurs are third in the table, two points behind Manchester United with a game in hand at the one third way mark of the season. And this after an incredibly tough opening group of matches. Spurs have beaten Arsenal and Liverpool and are unbeaten in ten games. So much credit must go to Redknapp for this remarkable run.

So why does he deserve credit? A few reasons.

Deadline deals. I don’t know how much Redknapp pushed Levy, but the deal to get Scott Parker at the end of the trade deadline is the main reason the team has done so well. Parker has been the outstanding player this year — providing backbone, drive and skill. The old team needed some grit and Parker provides it in spades. He also doesn’t panic and does his job without a lot of fuss.  Adebayor has also provided the team with a world class striker who offers options and is a proven winner. And while is wasnt at the deadline, getting Friedel has provided a solid, reliable and steadying force between the sticks.

Consistent squad selection. The first team picks itself.  Friedel, Assou-Ekotto, Walker, King, Kaboul,  Bale, Lennon, Parker, Modric, VDV and Adebayor. As long as this eleven remains healthy there is no reason the team can’t challenge for the title. But that is a big ask. King is having a remarkable run but you wouldn’t bet your house on him staying healthy. VDV is fairly injury prone as is Lennon. And as the balls up tonight showed, perhaps those squad players need to step it up a bit.

 Solving the VDV issue. Redknapp tried playing Van Der Vaart out right. VDV was terrible and whinged in the media. Rather than getting all stroppy, Redknapp made the hard decision of dropping Defoe and moving VDV in behind Adebayor. It has paid off in spades.

Letting them play. When Redknapp sends out the starting eleven in 4-5-1 everything is hunky-dory. When he starts tinkering it is a mess. Witness this weekend when he sent out Sandro and Parker to basically do the same job and it was a mess. Once Sandro was pulled and Livermore played where Modric would have played, the team seemed more settled and got the two goals.

So keep up the good work Harry. And pray King’s knees hold up.

They call football the beautiful game. And if you watch Lional Messi and the rest of Barcelona, or even Tottenham on a good day, you understand why.

It is a game that is played around the world – from the slums of Rio to asphalt parking lots behind Russian tower blocks to dusty fields in Cameroon to the terrace house lined streets of Manchester. It is the one truly global sport played by both men and women, by people of every race and creed and in every place on Earth.

So how is it that the governance of the sport is so ugly?

Sepp Blatter came out this week with this thoughts on racism in the game. Or lack thereof. Essentially saying it really wasn’t an issue and some people…ie black players….should get over it and resolve everything with a jolly old handshake at the end of the match. No hard feelings eh? Perhaps they do this in Switzerland, but to mangle and paraphrase James Joyce, “there is no racism in Switzerland because we never let anyone else in.”

To deny obvious racism is a form of racism.

Sepp Blatter is the head of FIFA and surrounds himself with a cadre of corrupt, expense account toadies. His chiefs include people who have been caught demanding cash in brown paper bags, and another who has been quoted uttering the most disgusting anti-Semitic bile. And these people are not thrown out on their ears but are promoted. As with so many international organizations, membership is often a cushy payoff to some corrupt apparatchik from an equally corrupt regime.

Blatter has been quoted as suggesting women’s soccer would get better ratings if they wore shorter shorts. He made some homophobic comments about stopping players touching at the upcoming Qatar world cup. And now his crap about the lack of racism.

I see lots of banners at stadiums demanding that this owner or that manager be thrown out. Perhaps there need to be banners demanding Blatter out. Not that a venal, Chasselais sipping, fat-arsed, expense account bureaucrat like Blatter would care or notice. I am sure he barely watches a game. When was the last time you ever saw him in a football stand?

Blatter issued an apology of sorts. “My comments have been misunderstood. What I wanted to express is that, as football players, during a match, you have ‘battles’ with your opponents, and sometimes things are done which are wrong. But, normally, at the end of the match, you apologise to your opponent if you had a confrontation during the match, you shake hands, and when the game is over, it is over. Anyone who has played a football match, or a match in any sport, knows that this is the case.”

So that rules you out then, Sepp. Sorry, but this is too lame.

I know players say things and do things to throw off their opponents. The whole “that’s what your sister said” line that got Zidane sent off in the 2006 World Cup final is one example. But surely some things are out of bounds. And racism from players or fans has to be the one thing we can agree on should be outlawed.

Is Blatter a racist, sexist homophobe? Probably not. But by his thoughtless ignorant witterings he tarnishes the entire sport. Frankly, I don’t think he is fit to run a shop let alone an international organization. Would anyone who opines as ridiculously at this clown be allowed to run your company?

Despite his promises for more transparency and openness he delivers neither. He refuses to even look at goal line technology. So add incompetence to his list of credentials.

One country has to take a stand and demand change at FIFA. I know this issue doesn’t get much play outside of England, but maybe it should. Perhaps England does need show the way and show that racism and sexism and homophobia are not acceptable and that civilized countries won’t stand for it. And if that means pulling out of or getting tossed from FIFA, maybe that is what is needed. And what better country than the one the invented the bloody game.