The Local Derby – A Million Miles Away

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Brisbane. Alarm clock 5 am. Few things could inspire me to wake up at this time. Hit snooze. Second alarm clock on phone- luckily a ring tone of “Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur” jogs my memory. Ah- North London Derby! And thankfully I did wake up because at approximately 5.09am I was waking up the rest of the house as Danny Rose thundered in THAT unbelievable strike! I think the lad got the right idea in going off at half time- he should probably retire after that volley as nothing in his career will come close to topping that!

Well it was a fantastic morning here in Brisbane as Modric fought against the odds, Bale flew down the left and Kaboul booted another ball into touch! We were also witness to personally what was the greatest save I have ever seen. The slow motion replay defies belief. Everything about that strike from Van Persie suggested top corner, game over, and extend the losing streak till 11 years. But then the hand of our 10 foot Brazilian Octopus palms it over- simply unbelievable reflexes, I don’t know another keep in the world who could do the same. And let’s not forget that it wasn’t a one off; remember last season at the lane a similar save from Ryan Giggs was almost as spectacular. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V_Y6HyktxY) We’ll be needing Gomes at his enigmatic best if we are to get some points off the big four!

It seems as if Redknapp is the right man to inspire an underdog spirit in the team. I guess from his days with West Ham and Portsmouth he has acquired the skills to inspire his teams to victories over stronger opposition- particularly with Portsmouth I remember them often beating United. It could also explain our slip ups this season, seeming to come against lowly opposition who we should beat; see Portsmouth, Stoke and Wolves. Perhaps Redknapp still is not used to being a manager who can break down these teams that set out to defend for 90 minutes, but instead from his time with other clubs knows how to set up to face the bigger clubs. This, coupled with a few more octopus saves and the occasional wonder strike could see us take another three points against Chelsea on Saturday (Sunday morning here) Our record since ending the hoodoo against Chelsea is good against a big four club- 3 wins, 3 losses and two draws (including the Carling Cup final win) so signs are optimistic and hopefully Spurs with Redknapp galvanizing them can perform once again as inspired underdogs!

By Matthew Pavli

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