Spurs fans can be forgiven for being a little apprehensive ahead of Saturday’s clash with Arsenal, despite the return of whiz kid Aaron Lennon from a knee injury, and a pumped-up Darren Bent.
Before the season kicked off, every man and his dog had Martin Jol’s young side down as likely fourth place finishers ahead of their North London rivals. A lot of people have changed their opinions sharply, with Arsenal in second and Tottenham down in 14th with just one win in their opening five.
For Arsenal, the departure of Thierry Henry seems to have helped liberate young talents like Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and the superb Tomas Rosicky.
So will Arsenal bury Spurs heads further into the sand at White Hart Lane on Saturday? On current form they will be favourites but derby games are hard to predict, and in any case, have Spurs been playing as badly as their league position suggests?
Push and Run have a piece bristling with optimism, arguing that it’s “through bad luck more than design” that they’re so far down the table, while Jim Duggan at Hotspurs agrees it’s not time for doom and gloom. He writes:
“Before you dust off the old Leonard Cohen albums and reach for absinthe, its at times like these when character is needed to be blended to the skill to produce something special.”
Do Spurs have that character? We’ll see on Saturday…
Tom Spaven, London
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6 comments so far
Spurs haven’t beaten Arsenal since 1999, and I don’t think that things will change this season. Spurs did spend big before the start of the season, but their problem is many good players who fail to combine to form a strong team.
The boys of Arsenal meanwhile seem to have been liberated since the departure of Henry and have had a solid start to their Premisership campaign.
Though North London derbies like the one scheduled this saturday are always competitive and exciting, I believe the momentum will continue to be with Arsenal and they will come out trumps again, against their fierce rivals.
- Posted by Nachiket KelkarLeonard Cohen? Does that make Martin Jol Yesterday’s Man?
- Posted by LondonI’ll get me coat…
well its not the amount of money you spend but the quality of the manager and trainers coupled with skills allied to a systym it appears that ever since “El Tel” left White Hart Lane they seem to be chasing the dream of catching us although they pull out all the stops when the play us I do hope they get 4th place BUT ONLY IF WE FINISH 3rd or above still when was the last time they won the league? 45yrs maybe next century before they will win it again
- Posted by oldgooner[...] Martin Jol have? Time is running out for the Dutch manager and I am sure he will be out very soon. Not all doom and gloom for Spurs? Better think [...]
- Posted by Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 3 Arsenal: Time is running out at Squaretan.comer, yes it is… 3-1!
- Posted by London“We should have killed them off, but we didn’t take our chances,” Martin Jol said after the match. Well, I guess things just got from bad to worse for Spurs, after their loss to Arsenal left Spurs struggling at 17 in the premier league standings with just 4 points so far.
I won’t be surprised, if heads roll at Spurs, soon.
But a much deserved win for Arsenal boys, who are now at the top. They surely have had a terrific start to their first season, post Henry.
- Posted by Nachiket