Player Ratings for the Carling Cup Final

Paul Robinson - Looked horrible on the free kick. Hesitates when it’s time to come to the ball. Did make a few nice saves though. 6

Pascal Chimbonda – Didn’t look half bad. Had to come off so we could commit to getting the equalizer then acted like a bitch. 6.5

Alan Hutton – Almost made a bad tackle on the edge of the area late but looks every bit the 9 mill we spent. Already starting to grow on me as a favorite. 7.5

Ledley King – If he could play every week alongside Woody it would be a really special pairing. Something wonderful about a guy who, as we all know, is going through a difficult time physically but can still play his ass off for 120 minutes. A Spurs legend. Gotta love him! 9

Jonathan Woodgate – Not much I could say here…. just amazing. He left his heart and soul on the pitch. He’s been worth every penny we spent just going on yesterday’s performance alone. 9

Aaron Lennon – Caused problems with his speed, as always. Defended well too. Crosses didn’t have much effect though. 7

Jermaine Jenas – Wasn’t able to push the ball up much. Did, however, play smart. Defended well and showed desire and courage that, to be honest, I would never have thought he had in him just a few months ago. Wasn’t too bad on a few set pieces. 7.5

Didier Zokora – I was pulling for him to score. Would have been nice to see him score his first in such a massive game. He doesn’t always make the most intelligent choices but you can never question his effort. Alongside Jenas they neutralized Chelsea’s super talented midfield. 7.5

Steed Malbranque – Quality hustle each and every time out. Much of the same yesterday. Quite an underrated part of the squad. 7

Dimitar Berbatov – He’s not going anywhere. Stuck the penalty kick and almost won it for us late. Chelsea tried to smother him to no avail. His touch is something to behold. 8.5

Robbie Keane – He needed this so bad. Along with Leders, one of the guys you just wanted to see raise a cup to cement their legacy with the club. Class act, we’re lucky he wears the shirt. 8

Tom Huddlestone – Came in for Chimbonda to provide a bit more going forward. Sure has been fun to watch him grow under Juande. Another one of my favorites. 6

Teemu Tainio – Does what’s asked of him. Provided a bit more cover at the back once we drew even. 6

Younes Kaboul – Not bad. Made a pass late that was on the sloppy side. Not that it mattered in the end. Would have been Dawson out there if not for his injury. 5.5

Juande Ramos – The battle of Juande v. Avram Grant proved to be one sided in the end. I’ve heard something along these lines before, and mind you, I’m paraphrasing: ‘If Ramos has seen you play just once, that’s it. He has the strategic advantage.’ I think we’ve seen that hold true here. Bravo Mr. Ramos and thank you! 10

COYS!!

Ah, what a game the lads played yesterday! There was a sense of urgency right off the bat from Tottenham. Their passes were crisp and creative and it was obvious that our intent was to come forward and take an early lead. Chelsea weathered the storm though and tried to get themselves into possition for a few set pieces with the hopes of taking advantage of Spurs most glaring weakness. Sure enough after a handful of opportunities the strategy worked. Didier Drogba started the scoring with a free kick from about 20-yards out that Paul Robinson didn’t even make an effort to stop. Bad positioning by Robinson brought question to the decision to return the former England No. 1 to the starting eleven. Though Spurs outplayed Chelsea the score at half told a different story. 1-0 Blues.

The second half was perhaps a bit more even in terms of overall play. Real scoring opportunities were a rare occurrence and it seemed that Spurs had fallen right into the style of game that would benefit Chelsea. Chelsea’s defense did the job until the 70th minute when Spurs were given an opportunity to pull even. Aaron Lennon had pestered the Chelsea defense throughout and while trying to get by Wayne Bridge he gave the Spurs a penalty as the ball hit Bridge on his left hand. Dimitar Berbatov calmly and coolly scored the penalty and Spurs were back on even ground. Zokora and Berbatov had the opportunity to end it prior to extra time but some superb goalkeeping from Cech meant free football for the folks at Wembley.

As the first 90 came to a close and extra time began it became apparent that there was little difference between the two sides on the pitch. Sure, Chelsea are without a doubt a collection of some of the finest players in the world, but Tottenham Hotspur are talented and hungry. Extra time, I have to admit, became a bit of a blur for me. Spurs took the lead four minutes in as Woodgate’s header of a Jermaine Jenas free kick rolled into the goal. (My friend’s father actually said during the game that he thought we’d win on a Jenas kick headed in by Woodgate. So help me.) I spent the rest of the time doing a lot more praying then I would normally do. Every clearance made me pay more attention to time remaining in the game then anything that was actually happening on the pitch. As time expired and we watched Ledley King, Robbie Keane and the rest of the team make their way up to claim their trophy and medals it was finally time to celebrate! What a ride.

If anyone happens to be reading this little blog of mine and you’re not a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, well, I feel for you. There is very little in the world of sports that can compare to the emotional roller coaster that is the life of a Tottenham supporter. It’s a wonderful thing. COYS!!

So Spurs avoided a possible pitfall v. Slavia Prauge. For those who didn’t see the 1-1 draw it was really one of those games that could have ended in favor of either team. With Berbatov, Keane, Lennon, Malbranque and Jenas all playing only a portion of Thursdays tie Spurs were able to advance in the UEFA cup without overworking too many of their key players. I’d imagine the five players mentioned above all figure to feature in Juande Ramos cup final squad on Sunday. Not a bad bit of management by Mr. Ramos. No one is left to get rusty and no one is too overworked, but most importantly we’ve advanced and booked a spot against PSV Eindhoven.

Now that Spurs have Chelsea, Wembley, the cup and everything else that comes along with Sunday’s final set in their cross-hairs Spurs fans can also get a bit excited for the event without the worry of being unceremoniously dumped out of the UEFA cup prior. I’m looking for Juande’s lineup to look something like this: Cerny in goal (Robinson still scares the shit out of me; I pray Cerny is in goal), Hutton, Woodgate, King and Chimbonda, if his knee is okay, Lennon, Jenas, Malbranque and ???? (O’Hara, Huddlestone, Zokora?) with Berba and Keano up front. I just hope we can crack their defense. With or without John Terry, Chelsea will be stout. Spurs will need to take advantage of their opportunities. Too many shots off the bar just won’t due.

Come on you Spurs fans!! Let’s hope the boys give us something to be proud of. Beating Arsenal in the semifinals and Chelsea in the finals is about as good as it could get! COYS!!!

I remember hearing Martin Jol sing the praises of Jermaine Jenas all the time during the his time with Spurs. It always occurred to me that either one or all of these points must be true of the Midfielder:

A.) He’s a God in practice
B.) Jol is trying to boost his confidence in hopes of getting something more out of him
C.) We want to sell him and are hoping to recoup the fee we paid Newcastle a few years back plus a little extra for our trouble

Jol compared Jenas to Steven Gerrard on more then a few occasions. I always felt that Jol looked like a moron when he said things like that so the above list manifested….

Now under Juande Ramos it seems we’re seeing Jenas do the things that Martin Jol claimed he was capable of. I hope he becomes the well rounded midfielder that Spurs fans have been wanting on the team. I know I’ve been bitching for sometime “we need a GOOD midfielder!” and my opinion of Jenas has been more along the lines of “Jenas is shit!” but to me when a young player is groomed by the team and struggles, then starts to get it, then starts to thrive it feels a lot better to cheer for that player. Anyway, I notice that I’m cheering a lot more for Jermaine Jenas and reserving my swearing for other players. Keep it up JJ!!

One last thing, did you headbutt your own teammate Emmanuel Adebayor? Reports are running rampant that Emmanuel Adebayor gave a headbutt to Nicklas Bendtner while setting up for a set piece late in the game yesterday. If so, good job. Way to show team unity when things are going rough Emmanuel. I never really liked him anyway since he scores for fun when playing Spurs but I had no idea he was also a f’n prick. I’m glad we snapped his little ‘Arse win when Adebayor scores’ streak….. Though his goal was nice! Anyway, till next time. COME ON YOU SPURS!

Tottenham Hotspur have booked a trip to Wembley for the Carling Cup final after beating bitter rivals Arsenal 5-1 at White Hart Lane Tuesday night. What a game! Spurs fans everywhere deserve this one! It’s been too long since we’ve beat the Gunners and to finally do it is one thing, but to do it in 5-1 fashion just has me spinning!

I watched the second half during my lunch hour at a local pub and to hear the Arse fans making excuses “well, this isn’t our first choice team” or “well, they were bound to beat us one of these years” just brought a smile to my face. Finally, it’s not about making excuses! It’s about 5-1! It’s about winning a cup tie to go to a final! It’s about going to Wembley! COME ON YOU SPURS!! TO DARE IS TO DO!!!