Tottenham v West Ham: A pitchside view

I have not made it to White Hart Lane as much as I would have liked this season. I along with 24,000+ other fans have sat patiently on the season ticket waiting list for time immemorial; every season shuffling up to Master Levy, the foreman of the workhouse, thrusting my grubby hands forward grasping a cheque for 1000 shillings and, head bowed, hopefully pleading 'Please sir, can we have some more?'.

I am reliably informed that yesterday was a 'London derby' and the very fact that we scoff at this shows just how far we have come as a team. The atmosphere was decent but not electric, it was only the Hammers fans who (as we consistently reminded them), treated it like a cup final. Fair play to them as well, they sung all the way through and apart from the moronic abuse thrown at 'Arry and Defoe it was good value. The same cannot be said of their team. Even before the injuries they looked weak and afterwards they were utterly toothless. The last time I watched a team that poor at the Lane it was Newcastle and we all know how that ended. You had to spare a thought for Diamanti who seemed to be trying to play us himself. Always sad to see an established team drop but come the end of the season I have no doubt they will be in the desperate scrap to stay up.

Tottenham did not deliver a 3-0 Man City-esque performance; at times it was lethargic and staler than Arsenal's trophy cabinet. However, from start to finish we had the game completely under control, and never looked like throwing it away. Huddlestone and Palacios were embarrassingly dominant in midfield in the abscence of Parker and it was little surprise to see the Hudd given man of the match. When given time and space there are few better, he pinged balls out faster and more accurately than some of the uniquely talented ladies I have watched on late night Japanese television. For once he actually seemed to be employing his formidable physical strength, bumping players off the ball with ease. When Huddlestone is good he is a joy to watch and probably deserved a goal. That said, the lad has a turning circle matched only by the Titanic and when pressurised by a more tenacious midfield has a tendency to go quiet. Palacios was not back to his best and his distribution was erratic but he cleared up well and put in some challenges worthy of the Colosseum. It is difficult to express how important he is to us and, if we are going to push on next year, 'Arry has to put an arm round his shoulder. Lennon was excellent and there were genuine media reports that Ilunga had suffered friction burns to his leg trying to stop him. Every time he got the ball he skinned his man and put a ball in; must surely have booked himself a ticket to SA. Modric, apart from his goal, was not at his best and ran out of steam towards the end. He may have the face and the physical strength of a 15 year old girl but its fantastic to have our little Croatian locksmith back. In truth, we looked quicker and more creative when Krancjar bounded off the bench, long hair rippling in the December breeze, the slightest hint of stubble clinging to his sculpted jawline, eyes like pools of ink, luxurious lashes teasing the lane with their delicate flutters...aherm...anyway *slowly takes tissue and dabs on lap*, after so many years of makeshift wingers (Thimothee Atouba anyone??), 'Arry now has a lovely problem out on that left hand side.

Up front Crouchy and Defoe were quiet. Crouchy has a fantastic ability to stand 6 foot 7 and jump 5 foot nothing, getting beaten for headers all afternoon. His aerial ability is useful for set-pieces but otherwise he can shift those feet quicker than Keano doing his Riverdance tribute so why we can't just play it to him on the ground baffles me!?! Defoe drifted in and out of the game but the result was typical of him. After a silent twenty minutes his characteristic pop shot was parried and he lashed the rebound past a startled Green, almost ripping the net clean in the process. Defensively we had very little to do. BAE overlapped well whilst Charlie continued to demonstrate his almost telepathic understanding with Lennon. I imagine 'Arry forcing them to cuddle in the dressing room; little Lennon lying in foetal position on Charlie's bearded lap as he growls out Croatian lullabies, rocking him ever so gently. Absolutely fantastic seeing King Ledley back. He didn't put a foot wrong all game and more encouragingly managed to play the whole 90. Dawson, with the exception of Huddlestone, was the stand out performer. Impeccable in the air, threw himself into every tackle and passed intelligently. It was incredible watching him screaming at King to get back in position and marshalling the backline like a true Lillywhite captain.

A fully fit squad (almost), confidence high and sitting in 4th place with half the season gone...

InArryWeTrust