Premier League: Hull City 0 - 3 Chelsea

Another near perfect away performance to continue our 100% record. If only it were so easy at home.

GOOD:
1. Lamps - Another majestic performance. He had gone AWOL for the past 2 games as the team seemed determined to only pass to Deco, but tonight he was the engine of our midfield. He's wanted that chipped strike all season and on any other day it would have been a goal of the season contender, only for Bentley to steal his thunder. I asked a few weeks ago if Lamps could be an outside bet for the Ballon D'or and on this form, he's definitely on a par with the rest of Europe's best.
2. Performance - We are away day specialists and the team is set up perfectly to counter attack. Hull, being at home, were forced to attack and we exploited the space left to us with ruthless efficiency. If we win all our away games and draw most of our home games, then we're Champions. That at the moment is how you would sum up our form, as at home we seem frustrated at having to continually try to break down teams who've parked the bus. But away from home we can express ourselves to further boost our goal difference.
3. Anelka - Looked lively, got another goal and seems perfect for these away day trips where he can use his pace and movement. I know he's annoyingly sulky and sometimes too weak, but when on form, his pace is something Didier can't even offer us.
4. Mikel - Despite being ill, another Rolls-Royce performance. If only he could shoot properly.
5. Cech - Another clean sheet!

BAD
1. Hull - They huffed and puffed but their abundence of Championship talent was exposed and i fear for them at Old Trafford.
2. Injuries - 2 games unscathed, so we all knew our luck would run out. A bad hamstring injury to Ricky means Alex will come in to battle Kenwyne Jones but i fear for a backline of JT and Alex having to fight his and possibly Cisse's pace. Add to that Cole's knock and we're back down to the bare bones.

Cont...

3. Finishing - We had 27 attempts on goal of which 6 were on target! In the high pressure games, such as Liverpool or Utd, when you only get 1 or 2 chances, this profligacy will cost us badly come May. If Malouda knew that to score you have to kick it BETWEEN the two posts then he'd be into double figures this season for goals. A poor showing as i was hoping we would massacre them like we did to Boro.
4. Kalou - May only have had a run-around but his uncanny ability to run down cul-de-sacs, constantly give away the ball and never shoot with any power is starting to anger me. Only Henry made a career out of passing it into the net, and Kalou certainly isn't as good as him. He needs to learn to calm down a bit and start using his head. Still Kalouless.
5. Arsenal - Fabregas said that Spurs couldn't beat Arsenal's ladies and those comments certainaly came back to bite him. Wenger's kids marshalled by Smokey Joe Gallas like to call themselves title contenders but we all know they're just an academy who's stars are beginning to realise that to win anything, you have to leave Wenger's kindergarten.
6. Liverpool - Scraped by with another pen. When will their luck run out?

So overall a comfortable evening in which we asserted our dominance and quality over a plucky but frankly poor Hull side. We'll beat Sunderland at home, but it still won't solve the conundrum of how we break down good sides who come to the Bridge for a point. But 3 more goals, 3 more points and only 1 away from Lamps bringing up another ton.

KTBFFH

Only saw the first half, but the performance looked strong and comfortable.

Hull had their moments and were well in the game, for the 45 mins I saw.

Lampard was pulling the strings, and contrary to Hnrey's predictions, Deco again played 2nd fiddle.

Only downside on the night, was the late penalty winner for the Dippers... surely their luck has to come to an end at some stage!

Lampard's goal- sublime.

I had to watch it quite a few times, but there is no way it is a bad cross. No one is poised to make a run, and the GK is significantly off his line. He saw it, and chipped it.

That's what actually makes the goal so special- not is it only such a sublime piece of finishing, but it is chip in a rather unexpected situation, a goal created only through his impeccable awareness of the field. It was a chip from a loose ball! Truly impressive.

Also, I like Phil Brown. From what I saw Hull played pretty good football for a newly promoted side. His post match interview was exactly the right tone for a man who expects big thing from his team. I thought he was respectful of Chelsea, he didn't moan about the referee, he didn't moan about the result, but he took positives from his team's performance and didn't appear cowed or humbled at all.

I like his attitude, and I think it bodes well for Hull this year, and for Brown in the future. He's even taken the perennially underachieving Giovanni and turned him into a team-first dynamo. I do hope they play spoilers and take a few more points from the big 4 and really go for it in the cups.

I just have two questions;

1. Did Papa Bouba Diop have a significant ammount of money on with William Hill on a 1-0 win for Liverpool?

And the age old question......

2. Can we really rely on Rottenham to do us a favour this weekend against Liverpool?

@ Clive....

2. I'm a bit more confident about the Spuds v Liverpool than I was last week!

Unfortunately it probably means our Melbourne based Tottenham Relegation party will be on hold!

We have good players but the strikers need to be checked becouse we have poor finishing scolary need to focus on this otherwise we will not make it to the finasls
thanks Lawrence from Uganda

@ Clive

Diop's handball was as crazy as anything I've seen. Liverpool are certainly getting some luck but from what I saw on MOTD they did have plenty of chances. Damn them.


In answer to number 2.

No

Routine win in the end.

I think, in fairness, Hull have maybe over-achieved a little bit so far this season, I was never apprehensive about facing them after Sunday (although the way the game was being built up, I had assumed our club had been subject to a massacre or something - not just losing one game of football).

Lampard is just a bit too good at the moment. Which is good, because Deco is just a bit too average. Maybe all he ever had in his tank were those goals against Pompey and Wigan - is what we're seeing now the real Deco?

Damn our continued ability to pick up injuries - why only us? There must be a reason, is it the training regime, are the players more fatigued than before?

It'll still be the same 4 at the end of the season. Might be a bit closer than I'd have thought, but it'd be bloody lovely to beat the Scousers to it on goal difference - for once we've got a healthy total.

Good stuff.

Lampard's been trying that chip all season, ever since he nabbed one in pre-season.

Liverpool won't keep this up, the weight of expectation will get to them in the end.

We must be getting close to a club record for consecutive away wins - anybody know?

Arsenal aren't going to finish among the medals this season, which might make their carcass ripe for the plucking - I doubt Fabregas will go anywhere but Spain, but a big money bid for Van Persie or Adeboyer might bear fruit...

Yet again Liverpoo survived in the dying minutes of the game. I believe they should ran out of luck at some point, better sooner than later.

Now back to our performance. In spite of the win I am not happy with our in front of the goal performance, as Big Phil mentioned yesterday me might not have so many chances in some games. Liverpool and Roma games were very unhappy examples of our limping in front of the goal. I know we are missing too many players, but still we should be more clinical in front of the goal!!!

@Haberdases
You are a very confused bloke.

Please read you comments to myself under the reviews on the Liverpool game prior to your posting here under 2.

DO you really like yourself?

@ The Rest
It was not the kind of game I expected...Lovely goal by Lampard though brilliant touch...

Morning all,

Good response after last Sunday; Hull weren't without chances but overall the game seemed to confirm that their current league position is rather unrepresentative. They're unlikely to get any change out of United, but it'll be interesting to how they react. Do like Phil Brown though - always pretty honest and straightforward in interviews, has them playing some decent football so good luck to him.

Some great football elsewhere last night; North London derby was stormer - he was hardly Mr. Smiley when he was here, but has Gallas ever really looked happy at Arsenal? Seems to permanently have the look of a man who has put his finger through the toilet paper. Top bottling by the Gooners though - hopefully Spurs can make use of their new found confidence against Liverpool...

Any news on the Cole / Carvalho injuries yet?

JD,

LINK=1/newsid=768258.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index

Not the usual source for injury updates, but it appears to be a minimum of 3 weeks out for Riccy, while Joe was withdrawn 'as a precaution'. Hope he's o.k, we've got more strength in depth at the back to cover Riccy than we have in the creative / attacking department.

Bit mystified as to why Sinclair wasn't even on the bench last night, despite coming on as a sub on Sunday. Would have seemed the ideal opportunity to give him and Di Santo a bit of game time, instead of sticking with Malouda who can't hit the proverbial bovines behind with a string instrument.

Hopefully will see more of one or both of them Saturday - I dont foresee to many problems at home to Keano's Sunderland.

Time to lay the foundations for a new home record.

"Seems to permanently have the look of a man who has put his finger through the toilet paper" LOL!

this has to be most accurate description ever of william gallas since he left chelsea.

kudos.

agree on the sinclair and di santo vs. malouda and co issue. it is quite annoying this pollicy of sticking to players that don't deliver, just as to justify big money splashed on them instead of giving youngsters the chance. what better time to let them play then now when our options are limited. besides, di santo resembles a young ronaldinho...who knows...:)

PS bring us back the edit option, please.

It was a comfortable game, and an enjoyable one to watch because I knew the scoreline (it was shown delayed in the US). What struck me (not for the first time, but it was fully on display yesterday) was just how sublime our midfield passing is: unhurried, precise, fast. In the tightest corners, the players would string together a handful of passes to create space, and then attack. There was one sequence around the 80th minute that was ruthless in the way each pass carved its way through the Hull defense. Mikel, Lampard and Bosingwa look as though they have played together all their lives. Deco has much of the same quality, but his passes were less purposeful; they don't move the ball forward so much as demonstrate that he has great touch.

There is no other team on the planet right now that has this kind of midfield control of ball and space. It is the very definition of the beautiful game.

Thanks Mark, cogent and to the point.

Having listened to the match via the good offices of BBC Radio London and in honour of the deep sea fishing traditions of our worthy opponents, I thought it appropriate to offer my reflections on tonight’s performance through the medium of a soundscape based around the Shipping Forecast.

(Authors Note: To enjoy the full tonal effect of this work, it should be read at dictation speed in Received Pronunciation, preferably while wearing a bow tie, dinner jacket, spectacles and greased down hair cf. the BBC circa 1950)

Chelsea XI

Peter Chech Humber 6 to 7 moderate occasionally poor
Boswinga North Utsire 7 to 7.5 moderate rising to good
Ashley Cole South Utsire 7 to 7.5 moderate becoming good
Terry Viking – 7.5 veering to 8 good
Carvalho Dogger – 7.5 veering to 8 good not expected Sunderland Saturday
Mikel Forties – 8 good and rising
Lampard Fastnet – 7.5 to 8 good and rising
Deco Biscay – 7 moderate backing to poor
Joe Cole Lundy - 7 moderate, deepening not expected Sunderland Saturday
Malouda – Faeroes – 6 to 7.5 moderate veering to poor, rising to good
Anelka – Sole – 7.5 moderate, occasionally good

Subs:
Belletti – Hebridies – 7 moderate
Kalou – Fair Isle – 7 moderate backing to 6 becoming poor
Ivanovic – Portland – 7 Moderate

Manager:
LFS – Cromarty – 7.5 Moderate rising to good

Biggest regret of the evening – the absence of Ballack means no mention of German Bight

Hull’s reward for an honest evening’s toil – Rockall

And finally the forecast for the sea area Emirates…….

Attacking 1 rising to 4, defending moderate veering to poor, severe whinging 8 occasionally 9, moderate chuckling occasionally gales of laughter backing to feelings of shame later.

That is the end of the shipping forecast. – I thank you.

O.k, so Riccy will miss 3 weeks minimum. Let's give him until 30th November when the Gooners visit the Bridge.

He'll miss home league games against Sunderland and Newcastle, away games at Blackburn and West Brom, Burnley in the Fizzy Pop cup and Champs League trips to Roma and Bordeaux.

Roma apart, I think we should be able to cope without him. And if we can't / don't then we have serious issues with the quality of replacements. I'm just praying we dont lose JT.

Ivanovic came on last night, and we have Alex to play centre back as well. Mancienne has joined Wolves on loan so it's a straight fight between them two. I'd go for Ivanovic, Alex is too similar to JT.

@ BB - genius sir.

I would remove my hat, if I had put one on.

Carvalho Dogger

So that's how he did his hamstring?

@ BB, cap duly doffed in your direction, sir.

i think everyone is too harsh on malouda. yes, his finishing is poor but he sets up a lot of the attacks in midfield and has added a high work rate to his game. he is going to be an important player for us this season i feel.

BlueBayou will like this.

LINK

This could be the start of Arsenal's exodus:

LINK

He'll most likely end up at Barca to form a scary midfield 3 with Xavi and Iniesta but as Petew said, come the summer i'd quite like to poach Adebayor (possible long term replacement for injury prone Didier), Van Persie (he may be arrogant but he's a lot like the legend that is JFH. He has the same power as Jimmy, is a free-kcik specialist and can play anywhere in a 4-3-3) and possibly Walcott (a much better prospect than Kalou).

It's all just speculation but i did predict at the start of this season that this will be Wenger's last. He can't keep clinging on to the fact he's a great developer of young players because his sides are weak, a shambles in defence and have failed to win anything in recent years.

I'm looking forward to next summer already. We could be champions, City's owners would have left by then as Mark Hughes steers them to a bottom half finish and Arsenal begin to implode :)

KTBFFH

@ PeteW #25

Oh very very good. Way out of my league.

There is a version slightly easier on the ear version where he is filmed singing in the studio with Danny Baker and he seems more in tune.

I've always liked Danny Baker, I think he does speech radio better than anyone. I know some find his "chirpy cockney" persona a bit irritating and I ignore his chelsea hating millwall fan nonsense, but be it football or his every day radio schtick he's always good value and your ordinary 606 / talk radio type phone in would never unearth this kind of gem.

Baker and Kelly Up Front was the only fan's phone-in worth listening to regularly because it encouraged people to reflect the "off the wall" side of the game as we all experience it and never failed to make me laugh.

Rant Over

btw that led me to the one where the Dundee Utd Fan rings up about the time he asked his dad to make him a a bow tie....classic.

@BlueBayou - Brilliant. As somebody who listens to the shipping forecast most days (I find it therapeutic - and nostalgic: it reminds me of tea times at my grandparents' house as a kid. I don't feel the same way about The Archers though).

The shipping forecast: LINK
'Shipping Forecast's 'baffling' legacy': LINK
One of Blur's finest moments - This Is a Low: LINK+Is+a+Low

Right, it's time to listen to the shipping forecast on Radio 4 longwave and have my tea. :)

Damn it, I didn't finish the sentence: As somebody who listens to the shipping forecast ... I think your comment is up there with Damon Albarn's This Is a Low. :)

---

@Biggs @Dezmond et al - Thanks for the links to live match streaming in the last post's comments. I've bookmarked them for the future.

@Nick

'This Is a Low' - indeed one of Blur's finest; should have been their first number one instead of the ghastly 'Country House'...

@ Nick

Glad to have brought such joy. Thanks for helping me with my musical education. I need to get up to date with some of these young beat combos.

@ JKII #23

While my impressionistic soundscape is there for everyone tograft on their own interpretations and experiences, I am saddened that you of all people should have gone down that particular road. I'm not sure Nick will be able to enjoy his tea and shipping forecast in the same way again.

Couldn't agree more with JT and Phil about how great Lamps is for us:

LINK

At this rate he could stop Ronaldo claiming a clean sweep for the big awards. It's very unlikely but there's still a possibility. More likely, as many journos have been saying, is that Frank deserves to win the PFA player of the Year award if he carries on this form.

There's a bit on the Times website today about how we'll have to sell players if we want to buy in January, but what really caught my eye was this :

"Scolari hopes that Michael Essien will have recovered from knee ligament damage to be available in January, the midfield player having returned to training earlier than expected"

Back in training already? Part of me is really excited that he's ahead of schedule, while the other part is a bit apprehensive. It seems a bit soon to be back in training when his knee only fell off a few months ago.

@ BB - re Danny Baker. I got horrendously pissed with him a few years back when he was a stalwart of the old 6 'o' Clock show broadcast by LWT. Ironically the producer of that programme went on to produce Essex Boys and several Robson Greene based drama's whilst I fell into corporate middle management obscurity. The other person who got caned with us was Fred Housego and I've rarely had such an entertaining or funny night whilst watching famous people constantly pop by for pre/post programme drinks. It was in the LWT bar after all.

As a broadcaster he is very talented and the original 606 which was his baby was required listening , a fascinatingly eclectic mix of post match phone in and punditry and offbeat views on the eccentric world of football. 606 is still quite listenable on the way home from a game, but I rarely listen if I haven't been to SB. Nowadays it is bogged down by po-faced pomposity and presenter safeness demanded by the apparently easily offended Great British Public, the majority of whom seem to be mentally stuck at 8 years old crying because someone said something nasty, as demonstrated by the ridiculously overblown Ross/Brand row.

Highlights for me of the old Baker/Kelly 606 were the reading of the scores by shirt sponsor instead of club name, the lady who could play the scores in the style of James Alexander Gordon on her trumpet, the Chinese menu numbers instead of player names (todays striker at number 9 is Crispy Peking Duck), the potential FA Cup final where Barry would play Keith, the stories of mad sports teachers (particularly the guy who would referee the game from the halfway line his car by using his horn and indicators) and the stories of what people ave had confiscated at matches by police /stewards (asthma inhalers and white sticks included! I hear he's now back on Tuesday nights so I might have to give it a whirl. Unless of course he's offended someone and the Daily Mail have decided to crusade that as well.

@ Fiftee - agreed

Whilst I'm on the 606 thing - the other main problem with it are these words said by every presenter (barring DB who I doubt would ever say this having listened to his marvellous Euro 606 shows)

"We want to get through as many of your calls as possibly tonight"

The ultimate statement of quantity ahead of quality.

I loved the show when Baker asked readers to phone up and tell him about layers they knew were homosexual. 'we won't read it out, we're just curious.'

Absolute genius of radio broadcasting. Really brought the fanzine culture into the mainstream and 606 has never recovered from when he left - can you imagine Alan Green doing anything so imaginative?

I kind of blame Chelsea for this, you know. 606 with Baker was never about moaning about referees or crap players, but after a game at Highbury when we were robbed by referee Alf Buksh, Andy Townsend, our then captain, called up 606 to complain about the decision! After that, everybody wanted to do it.

Buksh was an awful ref. He nearly got lynched at a Palace-Chelsea game on Boxing Day by both sets of supporters. It was Graeme Le Saux's debut and he scored a last minute equaliser - i got his autograph in the players bar afterwards, and also got to hold kevin mcallister's pint while my programme was being signed.

ironically, Buksh was later hounded out of the game by Arsenal manager George Graham, who criticised him for sending off Ian Wright after Wright decked Tottenham's Steve Sedgley.

Why do I remember this stuff?

I've just found Tuesdays DB 606

LINK

12 mins in and I'm crying with laughter on the game abandoned after 8 minutes and DB's view that the referee should have called for a show of hands from the crowd on whether to abandon the game and the game of football played in a corridor using a prosthetic testicle ....yes... a prosthetic bollock!

I've included the link for any of those who've never heard the original spirit of the football phone in as embodied by DB's 606.

@ ChelseaTony

LWT's loss was our gain.

As your highlights show, the key to the 606 Baker Kelly thing is that they gave joe (masculine or feminine) public an inclusive outlet on which to display their quirky talents, regale us with humourous stories and generally prove that while we are perhaps a little too obsessed with the game, it is so much part of the weft and weave of our everyday lives that it invests nearly everything we do, think and feel. (that should be good enough for Pseuds Corner in Private Eye don't you think?)

Your average phone-in gives the impression of the football fan as gloating, angry, generally humourless, bitter, hopelessly parochial, cliched, predictable and ultimately quite boring. Just like other news related phone-ins they don't want informed conversation or even reasoned argument. As you point out Tony, the unseemly hurry to get people off the line, particularly if they have a good counter argument to the received opinion of the presenter makes me wonder what the point of the whole excercise is in the first place.

@PeteW #36

Obviously Andy had realised early doors that his future lay in the media...

As to why you remember this stuff? I am currently working on the relationship between psychoanalysis and football as a cultural construct. It will be the ideal Christmas present, a bargain at £75 (hardback in tooled calfskin)and should provide the answer and if it doesn't will double as a handy doorstop and draft excluder. (Only availbale on Bid-Up TV)

It's an unfortunate fact of life that the mad people with the shoutiest voices are always heard above everyone else; the web hasn't helped - the stuff I see on other Chelsea sites when a former player from X club does something as innocuous as tip them to beat Chelsea; the foaming at the mouth rage and general insanity displayed by some of the less reasonable folk is actually quite worrying.

Favourite Danny Baker moment was seeing him interviewed by some terribly earnest BBC hack or other outside the Millenium Stadium when Millwall got to the cup final against the Mancs a few years back; terribly earnest BBC hack asks very seriously "So Danny, how do you rate your chances today?". Baker burst out laughing and said "Don't be bloody daft - we've aleady won - we're here, aren't we?!"

@Pete - I think us like-minded folk who have too much trivia floating around their grey matter should form some kind of Useless Information Alliance; all that needs to happen then is for someone to delete the internet and we'd be THE place to come for trivia recollection...

@BB - sorry about the Shipping Forecast thing; it was crass, unnecessary and I apologise unreservedly (and hope the Daily Mail don't get hold of it, call it Doggergate and insist that I'm suspended for 3 months...)

I remember Baker when he was on the radio in the early nineties at 6am (what BBC station was it?? It wasn't 5). He used to have me in stitches especially as he wasn't always sober

TONY @ 37 .................

Just listening to that link and like you, I am laughing my head off!!

Playing footie through the corridors pmsl

I see Billy Gallas is doing his bit in the midst of the 'credit crunch'.

LINK

Saving a bit of money, he's decided that Arsenal dont need physio's and he's taken the decision himself that he's not fit enough to face an aerial bombardment against Stoke.

I did miss him when he first left, but his behaviour at Birmingham last season, and the 'diva' strop down the tunnel on Wednesday make me realise we picked up the lesser of two evils.

I was getting more and more annoyed at the increasing arrogance of each goal celebration against Spurs - the forth one lasted so long I wondered if I was watching an early Xmas pantomime. But the way he strolled off at the final whistle, muttering to himself, made him look like a kid who'd chucked his toys out of the pram. Again.

@ CT #38

Bless you Big T I didn't realise he was back doing a regular slot.

@ The Bear #40

He did breakfast shows for Radio 5 in the 90's he was also back on Radio London for Breakfast in the early part of this century and now does a turn in the afternoon.

The official site is reporting both Joe Cole and Drogba are in the squad for tomorrow.

Thing is, do I pick a fully fit Anelka, or semi-fit Drogba for my fantasy team for the games against Sunderland and Roma?

More on Danny Baker

This link outlines the story about the car based referee, or as I now know was in fact the laziest teacher in the world.

LINK

There are several hundred similar clips from DB on this site and most of them have had me laughing like a lunatic in an open plan office listening through headphones.

Not exactly great to hear from Phil that we're one dimensional, only have one style of play and are suffering from not getting a player who can do something different:

LINK

well, i guess my earlier observation was not entirely true. we can win 5:0 against teams that come to defend, too.
hopefully anelka will start delivering in the big games.

feel sorry for arse wanker, though...

Well, well, well. Quite a day. I've not seen any football but listened to the Spurs/Liverpool game on the radio. Apparently the Scousers were robbed. Makes a change. I'm waiting for Match of the Day to see all the goals.

Top of the league on goal difference (plus 23 after just 11 games). Nice.

Tony's doing the report but it won't be up until tomorrow. He's partying tonight, celebrating Liverpool's demise. Or Guy Fawkes'. One or the other. Or both.

Liverpool 1 - Tothenham 2!!!... well done mighty harry.to liverpool - Fear no one hah?

This board starts to look like Mother Teresa society! One is sorry for Arse-Anal the other one cheering Spuds! Hmmmmm, we have become very magnanimous!!!

@Tony
I bet you're glad that you got my question no.2 completely wrong, as am I.
If only Hull could have got a late equaliser the day would have been superb.
Anyway fingers crossed that Lewis can finish the job tomorrow and become world champion, and then the weekend will be perfect.

@ Everyone - like Nick said I'm having a firework beano tonight but yes, some celebration of Liverpools demise was mentioned!

Michael Essien does not expect to play for Chelsea’s again before March, as the midfielder needs more time to recover from knee damage.

Ghana megastar Essien picked up a nasty knee injury during the World Cup qualifier against Libya in September, and has not appeared since.

Blues’ boss Luiz Felipe Scolari was hopeful his key player would be back on track for the New Year, but the man himself has revealed he does not feel capable of playing before March.

The 25-year-old is currently rehabilitating in France and told the domestic FA’s official website: "It's the surgeon who operated on me who recommended to me to come to Clairefontaine. It's the first time in my career that I have been so seriously injured.

"It's difficult for the moment to fix a date for my return. But I know that my recovery period will last a total of four to six months.

"At the moment I'm not thinking about it much. I'm following the treatment calmly. Everything's going well.

"It's actually the third time I've come to the Clairefontaine. I'm very well looked after and the club doctor and physiotherapist have visited me.

"This weekend I will return to London but it's possible that I'll then come back to Clairefontaine. Chelsea play in Rome next week in the Champions League.

"Being immobilised, I can't do anything but follow the match on television, but the team have the assets to bring back the three points from the trip.

great result - but will Anelka score a goal that is not a tap in?

@ Clive - Yep, I'm so glad I got that wrong. The downside is a resurgent Spurs and I think Harry will get them going quite well.

@Tony
Yes I think you're spot on with that, he seems to have the midas touch and certainly gets players to perform. I think he deserves more praise and recognition than he actually gets, in general people tend to associate his managerial skills to wheeling and dealing, there's a lot more to him than that.