Tears of a Clown

Just finished watching Tottenham Vs Liverpool with my Spurs supporting father. The Redknapp Regime rumbles on apace, as the Lily Whites comfortably outplayed a second string scouse outfit that really looked like they couldn't be bothered playing in the lowly league cup. Perhaps they were distracted by the fact that someone could be burgling their houses, the unlucky Lucas the latest in a long line of Liverpool players to have their valuables pillaged whilst they were representing their club ; the unfortunate Brazilian having had his Olympic Bronze medal pinched during the Atletico Madrid game. I can imagine the thought that some scally may be nicking your 308 inch plasma screen TV whilst simultaneously scoffing at your performance on it must be quite off-putting.

Redknapp rung the changes, but perhaps most surprisingly, was the decision not to rotate the woeful Heurelho Gomes out of the side and give veteran Cesar a chance to show what he can do. In a tale of two Brazilian keepers, Liverpool reserve Diego Cavalieri managed to make a couple of crucial saves to keep the scoreline respectable whereas Gomes, who had bugger all to do all game, came out for 2 corners like a retarded kitten trying to swipe at a butterfly. Both set pieces led to goals and Gomes, one of the Premier Leagues most expensive ever keepers, looked so sheepish, that if he can sing, he may get a role on the Co-op adverts should his football career not pan out. I laughed at the first howler and then cracked out the da da da-da-da-da circus music (last heard aimed in my general direction by "Mofty" following my decision to wear ill fitting canoe like shoes in Bristol the other day) before the second corner was taken and couldn't believe it when old Heurelho performed the same trick twice.

Later on, possibly in desperation to prove himself, Gomes bravely dived at the feet of Phillipp Degen and in the process managed to crock himself and get stretchered off which is a blessing in disguise for Redknapp who now has the perfect excuse to give Cesar, a calm & competent veteran by all accounts, a run in the team.

With Liverpool and Chelsea now out whilst Man Utd and Arsenal will stick to (albeit very good) second strings, the combination of last seasons FA Cup winning manager and League Cup winning club should ensure that the bookies don't give Tottenham very long odds on possibly retaining the trophy.

As a final point and its a complete digression from the rest of the article, but given all the current palava about the respect campaign I feel the need to include it. Frazier Campbell scored his first goal for his new club, went over to hug some fans and was promptly booked for over celebration. I'm sure if I were to consult a rulebook, that the letter of the law would state that some infringement occurred that warrants him incurring a yellow, but really, what a load of nonsense. A lot is said about the the gulf in wealth and attitude between the common man and the pampered premiership playboy, so surely occasional examples of player/fan bonding should help the games image, but instead, a young guy is booked for going over and sharing his delight with his own supporters. In contrast, i'm pretty sure that neither Wayne Rooney or Joey Barton got booked for their inciteful badge kissing antics recently, so apparently the FA considers goading opposing crowds to be perfectly acceptable. I think there is certainly a discrepancy in the rules here that the big-wigs at Soho Square should look at, because if they want people to respect their referees then maybe these officials should refrain from making pedantic decisions and stop bottling the big incidents.