Spurs Thoroughbred

Its Champion’s Day

Can only start with the world’s best racehorse , no horse has ever gripped the imagination like him.

My strong view is he is unbeatable ( even by the fish roe from Oz) over any distance 6f- 10f. I would love him to blast off choke out over a sprint, they wouldnt catch him

All things being equal and with the defection of Strong Suit backing Frankel at 2/5 in the Lockinge is like buying money. I like not to bet and just enjoy . A magnificent win will undoutedly bring a tear to many an eye, including mine

Next on the agenda is the Champion’s League final. I have never supported any German team in my life , but tonight I will be cheering on the boys from Bayern as much as I was cheering on the mighty Spurs last week during the first half at the Lane ( What an atmosphere!)

This all thanks to a totally inept goalkeeping performance by Marton Fulop , Arsenal’s player of the season, we now have to rely on Chelsea losing, which is not a given …unfortunately,

Finally its Greyhound Derby semi final time later tonight, and Razyldazyl JFK is a chamipon hound , well king of Wimbledon anyway , his style of running wide berthed , blistering early is is ideal. Dogs not turning in the 1st 2 rarely get a look in and so this has been proven. He is 11/10 tonight

I am having a sneaky treble on Frankel , Bayern and JFK

What a day

Ps Tangerine anyone?

Dont Hang Sir Harold

So the FA have snubbed Harry, let’s make sure we don’t do the same!

With the appointment of Roy Hodgson as England manager for the next 4 years, it draws a veil over the recent speculation that has hung over our club and our manager since Fabio Capello resigned the national post on 8th February

Spurs have been on a downhill run since then and the FA, who as ever couldn’t organise a piss up in the brewery, have a lot to answer for, by faffing around for three months. If as we are to believe Hodgson was the only candidate why wait so long with West Brom sitting in mid-table obscurity?

The truth is that Sir Harold was probably first choice, but Spurs’ £10m compensation needs must have had a bearing on their decision. I am approaching the appointment with an open mind and hope Hodgson does well , making the right team choices for the Euros and then building for the next World Cup by blooding some promising youngsters ( such as Walker) when the qualifiers start.

Now to Sir Harold. Too many Spurs’ supporters have short memories.

He has taken us from the carnage left by Ramos and 2 points from a possible 24 to the last eight of the Champion’s League. Our squad was the envy of many and earlier in the season our football was the best brand in the Premiere league. Don’t forget our ground is small and this has all been financed by just 36000 paying patrons

Up to the 8th Feb we were title contenders, no Spurs fan can be unimpressed by that surely.

Undoubtedly things have gone off the boil since then, although actually I think we have only played badly in 3 games, the FA Cup Semi, Norwich at home and most recently QPR away and luck has deserted us just when we need it in many of the other games. The battering we gave Everton at Goodison without winning, will long live in the memory

Some of Sir Harold’s tactics and team selections have riled me but I am now ready to forgive and forget and let him do for the last 3 games, what he does best, MOTIVATE.

Starting tonight lets all get back behind our team and Harry for a final push for Champion’s League qualification.

Greyhound Derby Pricewise

The greatest greyhound show on earth starts today at Wmbledon with heats 1 -11 of the 22 heats.

In my younger days I would be there watching everysingle one and follow the event right through to the final night.

Now my enthusiasm is a bit dappened , mainly because since the Stow has closed I have not been involved in ownership and this year because there is no value in the betting for me.

You must have early pace to win the Derby because of the tightness of the bends and if you are a wide runner even better. I can look past the handsome chap pictured, Razldazyl Jayfkay. He has it all and demonstrated his well-being with a sparking 28.20 trialstake win over the course last time out. Best price for him at present is 9/1 , so I have added a couple more to my portfolio to see if I can trade out further down the line……..

1) Blonde Snapper has just won the Golden Sprint and was 14/1 at this satge last year. he can be backed at a massive 80/1 with Bet365 ( you might get a fiver on with them)

2) Judicial Ruling has early to burn and a dark “horse” from Ireland and is a stand out 66/1 with Paddy Power ( the Magic Sign are more careful and go just 25/1)

3)Castlebridge Dan trained like the Snapper by Mark Wallace is a silly 200/1 with most. He boasts good sprinting speed at Romford and as he is just out of the puppy stage and must improve on his 28.72 clocking in a recent trial stake

Will update next week…..

For Pete’s Sake

It’s not a picture of me and no I am not coming out.

This is a picture of the one and only Pete, because it’s all gone Pete Tong for my beloved Spurs.

“The cup semi final left us all very low“ according to Sir Harold. Well too bloody true!!Notwithstanding the dodgy refereeing, I was disappointed with a few things in the game:

1. No Brad. Defence looked shaky and in the back of my mind I am convinced Brad would have saved Lampard’s free kick and killer goal

2. JD came on too soon, Spurs reverting to the same 4-4-2 that was over-run by Norwich. Chelsea’s 5- man midfield thought all their birthday’s had come in one and made more hay than the Suffolk farmers I will be having a beer with later.

3. Gareth Bale skinned Boswinga twice ….. that was it for him in game. Why?

Following from last weekend’s debacle then;we have another important game tomorrow though and we face relegation fodder. In fact 4 of our last 5 games are against relegation fodder. But wait, the relegation fodder is not fodder any more, ask the Goons, who suffered a welcome defeat at home by the mighty Wigan!

So away to QPR fills me with trepidation fuelled by our inability to win in our last 7 away games and our inability to even score in the last 3. When Capello was sacked we were 5 points behind United and challenging for the title, now we are 23 points behind them and challenging potentially for the Europa.To me these facts are not coincidence. Sir Harold is a man motivator not a master tactician, if he isn’t doing the former we are in the serious brown stuff.

QPR were truly awful earlier in the season but have added Liverpool and Ar5enal scalps in recent games at Loftus Road. Bobby Zamora will be rubbing his hands at facing our 2 old boys in defence and here again I throw some blame at Sir Harold. At the start of the season I tweeted tmany times that we should not let Caulker go, how we need him now!

Kyle Walker looks knack (tired) and Modric is showing signs of being disinterested, the whole team seems devoid of confidence so the bottom line is I don’t think we will get the win that would undoubtedly kick start our Champion’s League challenge

On the brightside my predictions are cack at the moment ……….

Grand National -Get the Pins Out

Despite changes to the course this is still one of the most gruelling races for 40 brave horses and 40 brave jockeys

It is the race where apparently every man and his dog have a bet.

I used to work in a betting shop on a Saturday just to take in the atmosphere, and the independent bookies used to pay for their annual holiday from the takings just on this day

That is because the race is still a lottery and in reality picking a horse by name, number or colour is the order of the day for most

We “serious” punters like to use a bit more science; I like to look for the following:

1. A runner in the handicap but not carrying 11st or over.
2. Horses must be aged 9 or 10
3. It must never have fallen or unseated rider

Next eliminators:

1. Course form is a positive
2. A win over 3m 4f
3. Be ridden by a top jockey

Of the intended runners at this stage there are 31 runners in the right weight range and 17 are too old or too young, so we have 14 horses to sift through.

Only 3 horses out of the remaining 14 have never fallen or unseated:

West End Rocker (Best Price 16/1)
Le Beau Bai (40/1)
Midnight Haze (40/1)

There is some merit in backing all 3 each way, but based on course form and the likelihood that Choc will be up I think West End Rocker is a great bet

If the going comes up heavy I may switch to Le Beau Bai and if good or better back Midnight and West End

Good Luck all

Just another day in the Office

Its becoming a cliche, but it seems to be the norm these days. Today is another huge must win game against Swansea.

You could be forgiven to thinking it was an April fools joke when you opened up the Sunday rag and read QPR had beat the Goons, but it was true, a dire Rangers had indeed beaten Ar5enal which means a 4-0 win for us will move us back into third.

Chelsea as expected beat Villa to close the race for 3rd right up and Ladbrokes latest odds for third has Ar5enal at 8/11, Spurs at 6/4 and Chelsea at 13/2.

Nothing less than a win will do and our chances have improved with Aaron Lennon tweeting earlier in the week that he is fully fit and ready to play. Azza gives us much needed balance on the right and his pace will be needed against the likes of Sinclair and Dyer who returns today from a 3 match ban

Despite the best efforts of the Bolton carrot, Bogdan the terrible ( pictured above) there were some signs( that after a terrible March….Spurs have won none of their last five Premier League games ), that the Spurs’ mojo was coming back. Total domination, corners missing the first man and we nearly scored from a free-kick, a magnificent effort from Rafa cracking the bar at the Paxton End.

We should be able to field a first choice team, with balance and pace but we have to work hard against Swansea and not let them pass us to death. Scotty Parker has made 99 tackles this season, more than any other player in the top flight so Leon Britton wont be able to do his Xavi impression today.

As usual I am as biased but expect a comfortable Spurs’ win and if we score early expect the 4 we need to move into third as Swansea are no bus parkers!

Likely team: Freidel,Walker,Gallas, Kaboul, BAE,Lennon,Modric,Parker ( Capt), Bale, Adebayor, VDV

It’s Squeaky Bum Time

Newcastle’s comfortable away win aginst a sub-standard West Brom has moved them to joint 5th with Chlesea closed the gap between 3rd and 6th to just 8 points . The race for coveted Champon’s League places has never been hotter.

After our total annihilation of Newcastle a few weeks ago at the Lane it would surely be a travesty if they leap-frogged us in the league . Our well deserved draw at the Bridge on Saturday has however put Spurs in pole position for a minimum of 4th and I still firmly believe we will end up 3rd

This belief is underpinned by the fact that on paper our run in is by far the easier of all 4 teams.

Ar5enal still have 3 very tricky games against City, Chelsea and Stoke.

For the Bar Codes the situation is even worse , a wounded Liverpool this week, Man City and 2 very trick away trips at Chelsea and in the last game of the season they must go to Goodison

Looking at Chelsea , you can tell from above they still have to play the Goons and Newcastle. Additionally they must go Liverpool , have 2 more SW London derbies to play and are still faffing around in The Champion’s League.

By contrast our run in should be straight forward with no top 7 teams to play. The hardest game we apparently have is away at 8th place Sunderland!

With Lennon returning soon and hopefully no other long term injuries to key players we are in the prime position to make a return to the top table of European football.

Keep the faith boys and girls.