Van Der Vaart arrives

Interesting week.

First up a thrashing of the Young Boys…which, however you say it makes Spurs sound like flat track bullies. Unless it is in Switzerland where “Grasshoppers Thrash Young Boys” just sounds odd. I digress.

The loss to Wigan on Saturday was a bit embarrassing, given that they are the worst team in the league and last year Spurs pasted then 9-1. But then I think the emotion was drained out of the team after the Young Boys game. Tottenham looked tired and a little sloppy. Redknapp should have seen that and given the second team a bit of a run out. They might have been hungrier. Still, I think he thought a break was coming up and the team would walk all over the Latics. Wrong.

Last week’s win over the Swiss, overturning a near disaster in the opening leg, was as important a win as the club has had for a number of years. It really does mean the team can move on to bigger and better things. Spurs may not make it out of the group into the knockout stages this year, but at least there will be top notch football at the Lane for half the year. And with that comes money and experience. I think it is up in the air. Milan have to be favourites to win the group. Tottenham should get the better of FC Twente, although they are a banana skin. The real battle should be between Spurs and Werder Bremen for second. Once into the knockout stages who knows.

Getting into the Group Stages also allows a team to pull off the sort of signing that Redknapp and Levy pulled out of the hat at the last minute last night with the signing of Rafael Van Der Vaart.

A lot of comments were made by pundits that Spurs screwed up during this trade window. Spurs were in desperate need of a world class striker, a back up goalie and a right back and a centre back. They also had a lot of dead wood to move on too.

Well no one moved on. And in addition to VDV, Spurs landed Sandro, a Brazilian defensive midfielder, Gallas a workhorse central defender and a backup goalie. And while there is no new striker, the ones that remain will get much better service courtesy of Van Der Vaart.

Spurs already had a plethora of midfielders but apart from Modric lack a real solid central playmaker. The Dutchman may turn out to be a brilliant move.

I certainly am looking forward to a game which features a backline of Corluka, Dawson King and Bale, a midfield of Huddlestone, Sandro, Modric, VanderVaart and Lennon, and Pav or Crouch up front. Actually, quite frightening isn’t it.

My attempts at harpooning lunch. Live from Tuktoyaktuk.

I was down at the University of Winnipeg the other day and it was nice to see that Winnipeg is actually capable of some interesting and attractive development.

The buildings, environment and general architecture is very nice. Nothing earth shattering, but certainly a pleasant and appealing little quarter. So much better than the 1960s style monstrosity it was back when i was there…not in the sixties i may add…they just never updated.

It goes to show that if left to do the work, Winnipeg is quite capable of doing development well.

In the area i work too, there are a number of interesting buildings going up in the U of M Smartpark. It is such a pity that work could not be done downtown. How interesting our downtown would look if some of that development was directed to North Portage….blow up a few of the dives and get that sort of business down there. But, with the sort of crap that is going on downtown now and the general perception of seediness the downtown is starting to exude it would be a hard sell.

Although it is time to start making that case and taking the steps to make it happen. As has happened so many time before, the downtown is at a tipping point…either work to attract the sort of investment and development dollars that are clearly out there or let the downtown continue downward. To fail to do so will ensure Winnipeg will become a mildly attractive doughnut around a depressed, slimy and corrupted empty core.

Today, there was a report that the old garage on Market Square may be turned into a patio as part of the Republic nightclub. I have always thought the space could be refurbished and there was talk of a cafe going in there back when I owned a business in the district. With a glass roof and the front glassed in it could be an awesome space. Not sure about it as an extension of a night club, but as a cafe, restaurant or coffee place it would be a great addition to the area.

Of course, as soon as it was announced as a possible project everyone who has a condo in the area was out complaining about the possible noise. On one level these people may have a point. But it has gotten to the point where I don’t even want to give people the benefit of the doubt. The constant bitching about everything is too much. It has to be said that living downtown, any downtown, is going to involve a certain amount of noise. A vibrant area is better for everyone and every piece of development is going to improve the area and make it more attractive.

And I dont know how noisy it is really going to be. I dont think any condos actually back on to the garage or even overlook it. I just think the people are whinging about the potential for people to be wandering around at 2. am half pissed. Well, move to Whyte Ridge then. Nice and quiet out there.

Bring on the development and let’s hope this isn’t another false announcement that will fizzle.

Plastic pitch, bad line up, over confidence, too much cheese and chocolate. Whatever the excuse, Tottenham’s desire to make the group stages of the Champions League took a huge leap backwards last night in a thirty minute nightmare as Young Boys handed Spurs their collective arses in a hat.

I distinctly got the impression that Harry and the lads approached this game as if they were playing Southend in the League Cup. They learned very quickly that there are no easy games in the Champions League and very nearly saw all their work of last year melt like a wheel of racelette in front of the fire.

Harry deserves a lot of the blame for this cock up. Really, it is his job to get the team prepared. They clearly were not. And he picked an incredibly light weight team. A midfield of Santos, Modric and Bale was going to get shoved all over the place. And they were. One wonders if Jenas had been fit if Harry had thrown in him too to lighten things up even more.

To his credit, after Spurs were down three nil after 28 minutes he hauled off the aweful Assou-Ekotto, moved Bale back to left back and brought on Huddlestone. Thudd immediately settled the team down, made Palacios happier and started doing those boring things needed – like keeping the ball and passing to team mates. He even tackled the opposition a couple of times. The result was that the tide turned and Spurs clawed back a couple of goals. With two away goals, Tottenham now have a good chance to win the return fixture and progress.

But it was a close run thing. It could have easily been four one.

In many ways, this near screw up could be a good thing. Just like losing the FA Cup semi final last year resulted in wins against Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City in the subsequent weeks, this could be a very early wake up call for Tottenham.

For the team, it might make them a little less cocky. It might scare the crap out of Harry and make him realize that playing 4-4-2 away in Europe is not going to work. And sending out such a lightweight side is going to get you killed. And Levy will now see that getting a solid centre back and a striker who can play in a 4-5-1 system is a serious priority.

If Spurs fail to learn from this, then I think it will be a quick exit from Europe and a long slog of a season.

A couple of other questions. What the hell is wrong with Modric? He has been pretty anonymous through preseason and the two games so far. And why is Pavlyuchenko so inconsistent? He farts around for 83 minutes doing nothing and then scores the highlight reel goal to keep Spurs in the tie.

But i am still dry

Perhaps someone can explain this to me. Now, before anyone gets all huffy and all Canadian about this, let me be the first the say that the English have yet to figure out how showers work….so sit back down there Captain Canuck.

But here we go. The Romans had this thing called the Cloaca Maxima. Pliny the Elder called this the greatest engineering achievement of the Romans. It was started 500 years BC and was added to for a few hundred years. The Romans exported the technology and everyone, with perhaps the exception of the French, adopted this wonderful innovation wholeheartedly. Even the English, especially those Victorians, managed to expand and refine the technology.

The technology?

Drains and sewers.

Bet you thought I was going to say stadiums (stadia?)

So how come Winnipeg hasn’t learnt about this great leap forward? How is that after every rainfall that exceeds a damp sprinkle,  half of the city is brought to a standstill. Underpasses are flooded and main arteries grind to a halt. The local media inevitably feature a picture of some sap running into the flooded underpass to “save” some dolt who thought that “while the Jeep Cherokee ahead of me got stuck in Lake Jubilee, my Chevette couldn’t possibly flood.”

The drain and the sewer are pretty simple things to engineer but Winnipeg seems a little lost by the concept.

And it is not as if we don’t get rain here. It is not like England or Vancouver, we don’t get that constant drizzle, but when it does rain, it is like a monsoon. It is not a global warming thing either. I think it has always been like this. We also get the massive spring thaw. So again, why haven’t we figured how how to deal with a little excess water?

Big hole and a tube. Really that is it. Maybe if we called it a Lite Water Transit System, we could find the funding to get them put in.

I am just asking. Now, to get my chevette out of this lake.

Tottenham's new old kit

And so it begins again.
Tottenham Hotspur take to the field on Saturday with the weight of a new level of expectation on their young shoulders. Spurs fans are notorious for their high expectations and the team is notorious for dashing those hopes.
This year has to be different.
Finishing fourth in any other sports league in the world would be met with a big “so what?” But in the Premier League, which has been beholden, for the most part, to a Big Four for the last decade, anyone who can crash the party must have done something right. It was a massive achievement last year, cemented by a win over Man City in a game for all the marbles. Or at least fourth place marbles. It now offers the opportunity to get in on the European Champions League riches and cement Spurs’ claim to the top four.
It is a little distressing that Spurs have not signed many new players. The Brazilian Sandro being the only one. Surprising given Redknapp’s reputation as a big wheeler dealer. The transfer window is still open and there is a feeling that the Milner deal from Villa to Man City will suddenly start a domino effect of transfers.
I am a big fan of the idea of keeping a good team together. And if the team was good enough for fourth last year, why not fourth again this year or even better? The team is young. We had a lot of injuries last year and other players picked up the pace toward the end. The squad is deep. More experienced and hopefully fitter. Some are improved, which can be almost like adding a new player.
On the other hand, Tottenham can’t expect Liverpool to have another bad year, and Man City are spending like drunken North Korean sailors at a Vegas strip joint. So, this year should, on paper, be tougher.
The good news for Spurs is that if they can get through their Champions League qualifying against Young Boys of Bern and beat Man City at home on Saturday, then they have a run of easier fixtures against the likes of Wolves, West Brom, Stoke and West Ham. Although it was the “easier” fixtures last year that cost Spurs all the points.
A lot of pundits have Spurs finishing 6th to 8th. Last year was an over-achieving anomaly and all will return to normal with the Big Four back in charge. Everton, Villa and Man City will all overtake Spurs too apparently.
I don’t see it, frankly. Man City will have a hard time keeping all those galacticos happy and bringing the United Nations into a new league with all those languages, styles and attitudes is going to be hard to manage. It might work itself out ala Chelsea of a few years ago, but I think a few early loses and the knives will be out for Mancini. Everton had a bad year, but they haven’t improved their squad much either. Villa are going to have a hard time without O’Neill and may lose some of their best players.
Last year my predictions were a tad off. “Winners – Liverpool. Second: Chelsea. Third: Man U. Fourth: Everton. Fifth: Spurs. Sixth: Arse. Seventh: Man City. Down will go Brum, Hull and Burnley.”
Juuuuuust outside! then.
So at the risk of looking a total pratt here I go again:
Chelsea will win again. Their squad is strong and relatively settled and healthy. Man U will be second but a bit further back this year as they are getting older and their habit of flukey, lucky wins and dodgy penalty calls has to run out soon. I think Arsenal and Spurs will battle it out for third. Spurs have their first Champs League to deal with and it might be a big distraction. Arsenal are title winners going forward, but they are so thin in defence and in goal it is scary. But Wenger is the best manager in the league and always seems to drag lacklustre teams up a couple of notches. Liverpool only because of the new manager, clinch fifth. Man City sixth. Everton, Villa and Fulham battle for seventh.
Going down? I got two out of three last year. This year is tougher. I think Blackpool and West Brown for sure. Although I wish it were Newcastle, I think Wigan has run its luck a little too long and they will be joining the Championship.

My Company, Canadian Redevelopment And Procurement (TSX:CRAP) will be building a new retail, apartment, condo, executive habitation space in downtown Winnipeg. Leveraging new tax incentives and pulling financing from Manitoba’s Investment And Redevelopment Subsidy Exchange (MI ARSE) the company will build on land yet to be determined – but somewhere downtown. Ish. An infill project to revitalize downtown, increasing safety and supporting the city’s new redevelopment plan, which we haven’t really read yet but it has a nice cover and the exective summary was a good read. The project will feature a 75-storey building made of Manitoba limestone, glass, steel and magical dreams, designed by a very famous architect, or my friend Ron, depending on financing. Around the building will be water-colour trees and couples strolling along broad streets holding hands and lattes.

Cost is estimated at ten beellion dollars and work will begin soon. Very soon. Honest. No, really, it will.

Now, just to get one of those awesome executive photos of me half sitting on the edge of my desk clutching important papers, looking serious. Then get a quote from the local development agency hailing this development as the most significant in the last millennium. “This will be to Winnipeg what the Sydney Opera house is to Melbourne.”

I am as happy as anyone to see those cranes pushing up the Human Rights Museum, which looks much bigger than I thought it was going to be. And they look like they are actually hauling out the tons of pigeon poop from the Union Tower finally in preparation for the RRC cooking school. mmmm…insert own joke here. But the Winnipeg skyline is hardly Dubai during the boom. Although you would expect that if you keep reading all the mega projects that are being announced almost weekly.

I am growing mighty tired of projects being trumpetted with big spreads in the paper never to be heard of again. There was another announcement yesterday for a huge in-fill development to go behind Jubilee Avenue to tie in with the rapid transit, or is that light train, corridor…big announcement, ubiquitous shot of developer on desk hailing the mega project. Appropriate burblings from agencies and city hall. Well, excuse me if I am a little underwhelmed. I really will believe it when I see it.

Why so cynical? Well, what of the odd looking medical building on Assiniboine, the huge hi-rise apartment on Assiniboine, the Fort Garry museum, the infill housing on Taylor, the tall apartment building in Kildonan, the rock and roll museum, the St. Charles hotel, the Albert hotel, the 25 lakeview hotel projects downtown, the bigger convention centre, the first nations centre, the Avenue building. And this is just the last year or so.

What’s the other thing still missing?….oh yeah, the stadium. Still no diggers out here at the south end. Just a nice grassy field. Perhaps that is the plan. Play the games on the field and just have us all crowd around the pitch ala Wembley in 1928. Just need a cop on a white horse and a taser to keep us all back.

That whole stadium thing is long on photo ops and vague promises and really short on actual numbers, designs, plans and budgets. Apparently, it is going to cost way more than originally envisioned. Really, I did not see that coming at all. So, either we pay more money to get what we want or scale things back. Nice choice. I can see where that is going. Enjoy those wooden benches chaps and look out for the rain.

Whenever someone comes up with these sort of development ideas, can we just all scream, “Show me the freakin’ money!” No money — no playee. No shovel — no executive photo. I recommend that, in future, we don’t publicise any new developments until there is a shovel in the ground or better yet until the roof guys actually show up with buckets of tar.

Rooney has trouble with German defence

To continue the Great Escape theme, yesterday England were Richard Attenborough and Gordon Jackson. After they get out of the German truck.

It is better, I find, to blog from a place of relative zen-like calm than in the throes of apoplectic rage. So, a day after the calamity in South Africa I put pen to paper in a somewhat coherent state that wont get me sued by someone like John Terry. What is there to say except that yesterday’s loss to the dreaded Boche was as humiliating game as I have ever seen. And I saw England lose to Scotland once.

The team out there in red yesterday was not much of a team, and quite frankly were amateurish. Defenders getting pulled out of position, invisible strikers, absent and uncreative midfielders—it could well have been more than four. If Lampard’s goal had counted, then Germany may have been back on their heels and who knows we might all be crowing this morning about the “great” 4-2 victory. But that would have hidden the truth. As it is, Englishmen must hang their heads in shame.

Lots of people are calling for Capello’s head this morning and the FA are taking a couple of weeks before deciding on his fate, which is probably the best idea. And they are right in saying that Capello took a dejected crap team and made them winners again, albeit in qualifying, so let’s not rush to judgment.

Now, Capello made some very odd choices. This whole Heskey bizarreness, the Gerrard/Lampard thing, the benching of Lennon and Cole. It wasn’t his fault that he had injuries to some key players and a bad choice of goalies. But his record of winning things speaks for itself. So, while he shares some of the blame for this cock-up, he shouldn’t shoulder it all.

Most of the blame should fall on the shoulders of those who failed to show up . Terry, Lampard, Gerrard, Ashley Cole, and Rooney – the core of the team and the best players and leaders – where absent for all four games. They did not lead, provide inspiration, do anything to justify their price tags and were mostly anonymous. The one man player revolt was a farce, the bitching at fans a joke and the performances a tragedy.

Capello would do himself a favour by picking a team of eager under-24 year-olds and melding them into a team for the next two tournaments. That means dumping the big names, but so what? This golden generation have largely been complete and utter crap anyway.

This lot have had three managers and have failed to do anything with any of them. Quarterfinal loss in the last World Cup, didn’t even get to Euro 2008 and now this. All managers with success under their belts so methinks it might be the players at fault.

Or maybe the league they play in. The guys who are making this World Cup hum don’t play in the English Premier League. It is interesting to note that the stars of the English league who are at this World Cup are on the bench or are playing injured – Drogba, Torres, Fabregas, Van Persie, Deco — and a couple like Ferdinand and Ballack are not even there due to injury. And England’s team frankly looked knackered. I have always said that the 1970 Double winning Arsenal side played way more games than any team does today and did that with eleven regulars and about four subs for the entire year. But it is a faster and harder game now and maybe the workload for English teams today is too much. Maybe a shorter schedule or England should just stay home. World Cups are much more enjoyable once that lot are gone anyway.

Before we all run around kissing one another and playing another stirring rendition of “The Great Escape” theme and going on about how it was the same in 1966 and all that consider this…if England had won their group yesterday instead of finishing second they would be in a pool with Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana. From that pool would be one semi-finalist.

As it is, we are now in a pool with Germany, Mexico and Argentina. Now, to win the World Cup you have to beat the best at some point, but if I had a choice I think I would plumb for the former group rather than the latter.

But perhaps meeting a couple of nemeses in Germany and Argentina is a good thing…there should be no issue with motivation. But to paraphrase another wag, England always play this way at big tournaments – play, crap, play crap, play crap—go through; play well—go through; play brilliant—go out. Of course there is alos the very real possibility that Argentina get caught out by Mexico…. There is also something to be said for England’s defence which has only let in one goal, and a dumb-arse goalie mistake it was, so perhaps having teams that attack England — like an Argentina – will allow England to defend well and hit on the counter attack, as breaking down tough teams eager for draws is proving difficult for the likes of Gerrard, Lampard and Rooney. Perhaps it is in counter attack that they and Lennon and the Coles can prove effective.

This World Cup is a weird one. Predicting winners is a mug’s game at the best of times. No one would have predicted a France Italy final last time out. And I bet no one predicted both of them would be out at the first round this year. While Brazil and Argentina have played well and now have to be favourites, England, Spain, Germany have all had their off games. Portugal had that one big win but let’s see how they are against a real team. (They don’t have the internet in North Korea so I feel safe in saying that.)

There have been upsets and weird wins. New Zealand almost going through. Australia winning. Chile and Paraguay looking like good bets to go a long way. African teams not doing so well. And Ivory Coast looked like the best of the bunch but got stuck in the group of death and so I think are out barring some goal difference calamity. Good grief, if Canada had made it to this World Cup they might have even scored a goal. (They don’t have the internet in Canada either I am reliably told.)

England did not play that well yesterday, but ground out the needed result. I loved John Terry doing his whale impersonation as he tried to horizontally head out that ball that eventually cannoned off Glen Johnson’s foot and missed.

Trust a Tottenham player to save everyone’s bacon. It also vindicated what everyone was saying. Play strikers who can score – sit down Emile.

Is Capello a genius again? Let’s see him beat Germany first. He has made decisions and changed things up and got England through to the last round. As Winston Churchill once said of the United States “You can always trust the Americans to do the right thing — but only after they have exhausted all other possibilities.” Here is hoping Don Fabio is the same.

I was trying to think of something pithy or witty to start this blog off (why start now I hear the comments) but I just don’t have it in me.

Today’s game, without a doubt, was the worst performance by an England team I have ever seen. Absolute rubbish. Shockingly so. I really am at a loss for words.

Or not apparently.

As he walked off the pitch in Cape Town this evening, Wayne Rooney is seen to say “Nice to see your home fans booing you.” Really,Wayne? Really?

The fact that someone didn’t run onto the pitch and shove a vuvuzala, or what ever those bloody annoying horns are called, up your hairy arse is probably down to the fact that nobody could be bothered to get up and do it after that shocking performance.

And maybe the arrogant little scouser should think about the hard working stiffs that ponyed up a lot of money to travel to South Africa to see him jump around like a Springbok with a tranquiliser dart in its arse. Instead of getting angry at them and slamming your Aston Martin door really hard, Wayne, just try and imagine why someone would want to boo you. (OK I was booing and i wasn’t in SA. But I am in solidarity with the booers…or is that boers? )

Before the tournament, Rooney was being mentioned in the same breath as Messi, Kaka and David Villa as guys to watch. Well, he certainly is Kaka. And watch? I rather put lotion on my bunions and watch that dry.

How do you tie Algeria? How can you not score against a team as bereft of talent as that with a dodgy goal keeper to boot? Usually the standard line is “with all due respect to team X, and they did play well, but…” But they didn’t play well. They played terribly. They didn’t get a shot on goal for f’s sake. They played as you would expect Algeria to play at this level. A team that Slovenia beat handily.

I hate to be one of those self-loathing English people who pee all over the coach after a bad result. I tried to be somewhat restrained after the last cock-up and at least try to see to positives somewhat. But what could you draw from this? Whatever you can say about Sven-Goren Erickson’s sides, England were never this crap.

Five years ago, journalists, bloggers and most other people said that Gerrard and Lampard can’t play together and that Heskey is a donkey who can’s score, shoot or run. So, here we are at another World Cup, five years later and Capello still seems to think this will somehow work now. Hey look kids, he will say, this is more or less the same team that beat Croatia 5-1 in qualifying. Really? This is the team that couldn’t beat Algeria at the World Cup, so let’s bury that history nonsense.

This is really down to the coach. All plaudits to him in qualifying, and he was lauded as the saviour for the work he did. And you know what, he could still win the world cup.But after these two games, I think he needs to look in the mirror and recalibrate because something is going terribly wrong.

The team is not playing as a unit. That’s the coach’s fault.

The team has no structure or form or tactical set up. Coach.

Players seem unmotivated or lost, clueless and slow. Coach.

Bone head substitutions. Coach.

I saw assistant manager Stuart Pearce tell Capello so substitute Barry. Maybe “Psycho” should be promoted and Capello benched.

How can a team with this level of talent, be so awful?

Germany lost today and looked five times better than England. Ditto Spain. People have bad results but at least they perform.

Here is my idea for the Slovenia game. Clearly the team is falling apart, and almost everyone tonight was complete and utter cra,p and while it is probably wrong to make wholesale panic changes at this point my choice for next eleven goes like this – James in goal; Johnson and Ashley Cole full backs. Dawson and Terry central defence; Central midfield Barry and Lampard. Wings Joe Cole and Lennon. Forwards Defoe and Crouch. Yes, it is very Spurs and Chelsea heavy but at least they know how to play with one another. And do you think they would be any worse than that lot out there today? How could they possibly be? Capello has a reputation as being bold and ruthless. Well, here is an idea –bench Rooney, Gerrard and Heskey. England won the world cup after losing their best player in Jimmy Greaves…maybe that same dynamic will work here.