The Perfect Draw - Part 1
“Number 1 Chelsea, will play number 8, Tottenham Hotspur.”
Could there have been sweeter words spoken on Monday afternoon at FA HQ? Yes, you say? No, no I tell you. The bigger the scalp the greater the honour. We don’t won to win this cup with gift after gift as we sneak our way through the knockout backdoor via Plymouth, Watford and West Brom. Bring it the fuck on.
They’re comparing us with the Cup winning side of ‘91? Let’s really give them something to write in the history books. Let’s really show them what a legendary Spurs team is all about. Let’s do this thing in style. No non top four side has one this thing since 1995. So on the great competition’s return to the home of football, let’s bring back that great cup magic too. Chelsea away in the quarters, United and the semis and the hun themselves at Wembley. Even Hansen’s behind us, well not not behind us anyway:
“Chelsea, who are at home once again, will be favourites to beat Tottenham.”
“But if Martin Jol can field his best XI, Spurs are a match for any side - including Chelsea, who they beat earlier in the season.
“They also played very well in Sunday’s victory over Fulham, so I expect Spurs to at least present Chelsea with their first real test of the competition.”
We’ve got momentum behind us. Keano’s looks like he may have hit is groove. Robbos flying around the net. The whole team is looking buoyed and this time we’ve got a secret weapon. This time we’ve got ourselves a Berbatov. I say bring on Chelsea and we’ll make sure it’s them left with the West London blues.
But we’ve an altogether different team of the same colour to face tonight and as you will have seen, The Bagel cannot be there in his bready person to have a good shout at the Mickey Mousers and take Goodison as they did the Lane earlier this season but whether I’m there or not, Tottenham Hotspur will have its satisfaction; father of a murdered Yiddo, husband to a Yiddo’s wife and we will have our vengeance.
This of course all relies on that team that showed up at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon taking that next step in belief and being strong away from home and confident in their ability and going up to Goodison and drag those points back down south, kicking and screaming all the way down the M6 if they have to. Perhaps the FA Cup has turned up in just the right moment for us to do just that and even if it hasn’t, it feels great to be full of that Spurs belief again, doesn’t it? That idea that on our day, we can beat anyone, and we can.
While we sit and wait for the evening’s adventure to build, we may as well ponder the fair old bit of transfer flotsam and jetsam floating on the surface of the football sea. Bend close now, for The Bagel needs your ear…
Rumour has it that a deal has been struck to grab January target Giles Barnes by the short and curlies and into the White Hart dressing room, where join up once more with old Derby County friend Tom Huddlestone but more to the point add some more size, strength and thunderbolt shots to a midfield that’s yet to find its perfect combination. As we seen before, Barnes is a young lad at just 18 and even if he doesn’t go straight into first team action (which he wont) he’ll defintitely be an excellent option for a Yiddo of the future.
So far this has only been mooted by the New of the World but it’s rare for a paper to claim this has been all done for sure without any sign of a get out clause, unless they’re relying such classics as ‘Oh, we meant another Giles Barnes’ or ‘My dog ate my homework.’ It appears to have been the £3m that had been guessed all along, which sounds good to me. So all there is to do is sit and wait for word from the Lane itself.
Now one more nugget before I leave you for part 1 of the day and that’s the sort of nugget you may find clinging stubbornly to your bottom fluff as you tear at the hairs to separate its filth from your sanctuary. Some bright old report has said that not only are Mido and Routledge on their way come the summer time but now JJ’s going with them too and all I can say is ‘Balls.’ Nothing is certain about Mido. We all know that. Routledge has had plenty of offers to leave and MJ & Comolli have been in no mood to let this happen yet. They’re not going to invest all that time in the still young player if they’re ready to let him go and as for Jenas…well maybe he’ll go on day but right now, MJ loves him and we’ve not got enough, if any, better.
Bagel you back in a bit.
The Bagel.