SBNation.com User Blog: a01chtra

What's Holding Up Baldini's Appointment?

a01chtra — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:23:44 -0000

This isn't going to be a detailed FanPost; rather a space for discussion of a niggling concern. Where the hell is Franco Baldini, and if he isn't in North London... why isn't he, and where is he? A the time of writing, it's about 16:00GMT on 15th June2013.

He's been a free agent since 5th June 2013, so he's had time.

He's recently been in London on business, so he's had opportunity.

He's been linked to us for some time, so presumably some details have been discussed?

What's the hold up? It's delaying all our transfer business, it would seem. This is concerning to me. I'm coming up blank on googling, so if anyone has any reliable ITK, that would be well received.

All I can hope is that this post speeds the process up. Come on, Daniel. If it's happening, make it happen! If it's not... then I guess there have been a lot of weird coincidences lately and we're really dragging our heels in the transfer market, again.

  
  One in, one out?

He's been a free agent since 5th June 2013, so he's had time.

He's recently been in London on business, so he's had opportunity.

He's been linked to us for some time, so presumably some details have been discussed?

What's the hold up? It's delaying all our transfer business, it would seem. This is concerning to me. I'm coming up blank on googling, so if anyone has any reliable ITK, that would be well received.

  
  One in, one out?

Poll

Is Franco Baldini coming to Spurs?

Behind The Parker Stats: A Theory of AVB

a01chtra — Sun, 26 May 2013 11:49:45 -0000

Hey all, A1 here. Quickly becoming the site's Parker-apologist, after having slated him in the early season...

Context

So MCofA recently did an analysis of the Parkerbele pivot and a number of users registered surprise that it outperformed the non-Parkerbele pivot systems when they were tried.

I'd like to firstly point out that I don't think the difference is quite as significant as the stats might imply because the "Other" subset will have suffered from a lack of Dembele. There are doubtless numerous other confounds. That said, the Parkerbele seemed statistically comparable with the Sandrobele or Moosebeast pivot. Why could this possibly be the case? Was it anomalous?

Damning counterevidence

Brett Rainbow took a further look at the stats and found that our goal difference (so not just goals scored - the balance of goals scored versus conceded) with Parker on the field came out at 0, and our goal difference when he was subsequently removed (presumably for Thudd/Holtby/Siggy/Carroll etc.) was +15. This remarkable statistic seems completely at odds with the findings from MCofA's power analysis and with the notion that Scott Parker should still be playing professional football...

Theory

However, I'd like to explain how both MCofA and Brett Rainbow can be right, and hopefully explain why AVB isn't totally crazy to keep playing someone who so obviously should be substituted in every game.

To do this, I'm going to use some hand made graphs.

Analysis

They'll look like this. "Performance" will be used to denote the performance of the team in quite a fluid way, and you'll have to forgive that if this is going to make my point at all. The broad interpretation and use of graphs is really only trying to make conceptual points easier to see, and I fully admit that the simplistic crayon view of performance is not one which stands up to much scrutiny; there will be a trillion confounds and it may not even match up to actual stat data measuring performance as a result. The principles though, I hope, do stand up to scrutiny. So, I guess I'm saying... suspend your skepticism for a bit.

So here I'm representing basically performance in a vacuum and as a function only of energy levels. Again, this isn't the only factor obviously, but because fitness is quite important to the point I'm making, I hope you can allow me to run with it. Bit of a boost at half time, otherwise a gradual tailing off. Improved stamina will shallow the gradient and start you from a higher position. This will be my basic slope.

Another major factor influencing performance is the attacking impetus. We've speculated about teams with nothing to play for (affecting the whole game performance; lowering the entire graph) but there's also a big question of mentality. Man United historically and Spurs recently have both had a knack of scoring "big late goals". I put it to you that this is less about how great the clubs are than it is about how both the impetus of the side needing a goal and the psychology of the situation affect the game.

We saw that there were games earlier in the season where Spurs had a lead against inferior opposition but sat back to prioritise defence and eventually (inevitably?) conceded. It's something England have always been criticised for too. It's almost a narrative-drive, and it disproportionately affects teams (or people in general) more as they get closer to the (a) deadline, as one side totally prioritises attack and the other totally defence. The threat of the counter disappears - and in the Premier League more often than not the attacks involved are good enough to stick one away. So this is a big deal.

Subs (even by terrible managers) inevitably give some kind of boost because they're fitter than the players they replace. This is one part of the Longkaku Effect.

The effect of the timing of the substitution is also clearly key. The later it is, the bigger the disparity in fitness but also the smaller the amount of time to have an effect. AVB clearly thinks of 70 minutes as being the ideal point, and honestly I think having seen the impact of our late shows this year, I'm inclined to agree. I'll come back to this later.

More subsitutions, more offensive substitutions (striker for midfielder, midfielder for defender), and a situation-dependent change of system (switch to 3 at the back etc) magnify this effect further. We saw against Arsenal - in what the history books record as a convincing 5-2 loss but memory recalls as a surprisingly close game - that the impact of a change of system can be very dramatic. AVB has taken a switch from what I'm going to call "Control Mode" to "Creative Mode" as being very important. We've seen it a number of times, particularly effective against City where Control Mode was leading to a tight, edgy game and then suddenly City were blown away in about 10 sensational minutes.

I would argue at this point that it is crucial to include Control Mode in our gameplan in order to enable us to win games, though. Against City under HR, we were forced to use Creative Mode from the outset due to a number of injuries and suspensions. We ran them close but ultimately we lost 4-3, conceding a late goal in a bizarre game that could have ended 10-0 to us or to them. It's not a system that produces reliable results over 90 minutes, even if it smacks of Spurs' commendable attitude toward echoes of glory in failure and 5-4 defeats and 4-4 draws and all that kind of shenanigans. We haven't seen those this year at all (although we also haven't seen Liverpool-style high-scoring demolitions of poor opposition) and we've not once been beaten soundly. This is a direct consequence of the Control Mode.

It's also worth saying that the key part isn't just the wiggly line, it's fundamentally the area underneath the graph. So the gradients and the starting point and the size of the "70 minute change" gap and all of these things have important parts to play and ultimately the real crux is what the total coloured area ends up being.

So this is how I'd represent our system this year. The initial performance I've taken down quite significantly, reflecting Brett Rainbow'sstats regarding the difference between Parker and post-Parker.

This is how I'd represent the changes between the "Control Mode-Creative Mode Transition System" versus the "Creative Mode System" where we start without a Sandro or a Parker and relentlessly try to break down an opponent. I'm using "system" here to describe a whole-game approach, where a team can have several Modes within a System. The darker line is Creative System and the paler line is the Control-Creative Transition System. The red area is where the Creative System would be more effective (expect better goal difference) and the blue is where Creative-Control System would be better.

As can be visualised, we could still make an effective 70 minute substitution for a boost (though this boost is clearly less major than switching from a more containing system to a more rampant attacking system) and it's entirely conceivable that either system could be better, depending on the difference in sizes between the blue and the red areas. MCofA's stats suggest that this year the blue area won out.

Why?

My theory is that the key is that the post-70 minute area is significantly more important psychologically than the pre-70 minute area. Remember that the opposition will tend to hang on in these periods, multiplying any attacking change's effectiveness. Think late Javier Hernandez subs, or Aguero's last minute title winner for City, or... every goal Bale has scored this year. Or the late goals Defoe scored. The probability of the team needing a goal scoring in this period is significantly higher than at any other point. It categorically is not luck that has found us scoring a lot of goals late on, resulting in the goal difference discrepancy Brett Rainbow identified between our Control Mode and Creative Mode. It is by design, as part of a system which is more reliable than all-out attack from the outset.

The fact that the Control-Creative Transition System selectively targets our strongest personnel at their fittest against the opposition's tired defence makes it a more effective system than the Creative System.

Thus, Parker (or Sandro, who would raise the pre-70 minute level higher) should start, and both MCofA and Brett Rainbow's stats are consistent with this.

If you're still not convinced, then I refer you back here.

Thanks for reading!

Hey all, A1 here. Quickly becoming the site's Parker-apologist, after having slated him in the early season...

Context

So MCofA recently did an analysis of the Parkerbele pivot and a number of users registered surprise that it outperformed the non-Parkerbele pivot systems when they were tried.

Damning counterevidence

Theory

To do this, I'm going to use some hand made graphs.

Analysis

Subs (even by terrible managers) inevitably give some kind of boost because they're fitter than the players they replace. This is one part of the Longkaku Effect.

Why?

Thus, Parker (or Sandro, who would raise the pre-70 minute level higher) should start, and both MCofA and Brett Rainbow's stats are consistent with this.

If you're still not convinced, then I refer you back here.

Thanks for reading!

Poll

Are you convinced by my "Control-Creative System" vs "Creative System" theory?

Yes! That makes so much sense, now I don't hate AVB. #AVBIN!

8 votes

No, this doesn't explain something specific I'd like to raise in the comments. #AVBOUT

3 votes

HULK CRUSH PUNY HUMAN WHO ASK A1 TO INCLUDE BACON OPTION

12 votes

23 votes | Poll has closed

Spurs Background Archive & Requests 3

a01chtra — Sat, 25 May 2013 22:17:38 -0000

Link to Archive 1:

(Please vote on which were best if you have time)

Link to Archive 2:

(Please vote!)

Same set up as previously; requests for any backgrounds or edits below, I'll do them as soon as I can. Please as a general rule either be specific (i.e. give me example images or explicit instructions) or let me know that you're happy for me to interpret as I see fit. That way, it should happen quickly and in a way that is hopefully ace for you. Backgrounds will be listed numbered below, edits of lower resolution in comments only. Note that sbnation's image importer means that the backgrounds will be lower resolution here than in the original imgur uploads, which I'll link to in the comments.

Request away!

Unfortunately, I'll be watermarking from now on (unless I forget). If you'd prefer me not to, let me know why or make me an offer (doesn't have to be monetary).

The reason for this is that my work has popped up on different sites uncredited and people seem to be pretty crap about correcting that.

Link to Archive 1:

(Please vote on which were best if you have time)

Link to Archive 2:

(Please vote!)

Request away!

Unfortunately, I'll be watermarking from now on (unless I forget). If you'd prefer me not to, let me know why or make me an offer (doesn't have to be monetary).

The reason for this is that my work has popped up on different sites uncredited and people seem to be pretty crap about correcting that.

Spurs Background Archive & Requests 2

a01chtra — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:47:16 -0000

Link to Archive 1:

(Please vote on which were best if you have time)

I've been notified that comments have expired on my previous post... tarnation. So, until somebody suggests another better way of doing this - I'll just do a second one and so on.

Same set up as previously; requests for any backgrounds or edits below, I'll do them as soon as I can. Please as a general rule either be specific (i.e. give me example images or explicit instructions) or let me know that you're happy for me to interpret as I see fit. That way, it should happen quickly and in a way that is hopefully ace for you. Backgrounds will be listed numbered below, edits of lower resolution in comments only. Note that sbnation's image importer means that the backgrounds will be lower resolution here than in the original imgur uploads, which I'll link to in the comments.

Request away!

EDIT 29/4: I shouldn't really have to say it, but if you're going to use my stuff elsewhere, please namecheck me and/or link here. I don't watermark because I want people to use them as backgrounds, don't make me ruin the damn images, guys. It's just politeness.

Link to Archive 1:

(Please vote on which were best if you have time)

I've been notified that comments have expired on my previous post... tarnation. So, until somebody suggests another better way of doing this - I'll just do a second one and so on.

Request away!

Poll

0 votes

7 votes | Poll has closed

A Q&A Session With Takura Mtandari

a01chtra — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:00:07 -0000

Heya Cartilage Free!

A1 here, hope you're all well.

So, my news:

A friend of mine from primary school, Takura "Tak" Mtandari (links: 1 2 3), was snapped up into the Spurs academy at a young age and remained with them for several years, getting a professional contract under Ramos and then unfortunately being released by Redknapp. He was a phenomenal talent at primary school for what it's worth, you literally couldn't tackle him. I was fortunate that he was in my class/year so I never had to play against him, and he's probably I guess part of the reason why I enjoy football so much to this day. He's subsequently spent time at Norwich and had a trial for PSV. Right now, he's just back from the US, and is looking for a club. Hopefully, signs are that he'll be picked up by a good side in a good league, as the interest from PSV indicates.

Maybe some of you followed his progress a few years back as I obviously did. I'm sure that all of you wish him as well as I do, he's a really nice guy and even at school he kept his feet on the ground despite his undoubted skill and just played to enjoy the game. I've good memories of a fine partnership in one Kwik Cricket game with him that I'm certain he'll have forgotten by now. For me, crowning glory. Guy was so cool! He's always tended to do well in my FM games, put it that way.

Q&A

Aaaanyway, long story short, I got in touch with him the other day and asked him if he'd be up for doing a Q&A session. He said yes, and that he still had a lot of friends at the club who might be better equipped to answer some of the questions (this is the approximate age group of being early 20s so think people like Danny Rose, Steven Caulker, Andros Townsend, Tom Carroll). He's said he's happy to pass on any questions(/I guess messages?) you have and see to which they'll be happy to respond.

I hope this goes as well as I think it could.

OBVIOUS CAVEAT:

Please be duly respectful and - as Tak has requested specifically - don't ask questions which could get the players in trouble. I've suggested that Kevin vet the questions and that we then email them on to Tak. That aside, knock yourselves out, guys. Questions and messages for consideration/filtering in the comments below, hopefully the Q&A itself will happen in a couple of weeks (allowing more people a chance to see the post and contribute).

  Thanks, Takura!

Heya Cartilage Free!

A1 here, hope you're all well.

So, my news:

Q&A

I hope this goes as well as I think it could.

OBVIOUS CAVEAT:

  Thanks, Takura!

Sports Balls Replaced With Cats (Tumblr)

a01chtra — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:27:17 -0000

Sports Balls Replaced With Cats (Tumblr)

Does what it says.

Spurs & Football Manager: Discussion and Nostalgia

a01chtra — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:30:58 -0000

Ahoy again, my manifold internet friends and acquaintances. Welcome!

I'd like to create a space to talk about Football Manager, specifically with a view to players and stories to do with Spurs. The reason I'm thinking about this is that right now I'm playing a game of FM11 which has extended to 2040, in which Spurs have created a real legacy. I'll share my story, in the hope that others will also share theirs. My guess is that a lot of us (demographic: Spurs fans, technologically competent, tactically aware) probably either currently play Football Manager, have played it in the past or are thinking about playing it in the future.

Any stories welcome, especially with screenshots. I'll see if I can upload videos of some special goals to YouTube, but I've not had success trying to do that before... If you can, do. For me, the thing that really makes FM a great franchise is the emotional connection you develop with players and members of staff. Seeing a 15 year old potential wonderkid develop into a true worldbeater is a thing of joy and satisfaction. To start with though, as promised, here's my current story... If you don't like Football Manager, you can choose to ignore this whole thing. If you're vaguely interested, dip in. Please try to hold back from starting an anti-Football Manager crusade or overly negative view. It's a bit of fun.

a01chtra's FM11 Spurs Side Story

The lowdown

So, I'm not going to waffle too much, but I am going to waffle. If you're not interested, keep on scrolling and then add your stories below! My format for discussing players is a picture of the face if available, a back story, career stats including a highlighted best season (numbers for selected season will appear at the bottom of the shot) and my memories.

I'm going to skip past the early years, before the NewGens (i.e. those players who the simulator generates) really kicked in. Suffice to say, Alexis Sanchez, Gareth Bale, and Edinson Cavani all had major parts to play in my early success, and I brought in Messi in 2016 on a free and Ronaldo at the age of 36 and I feel privileged and lucky to have done so. Cavani set some records, many of which lasted for decades after his retirement. One is still standing (he scored 48 goals for us in 2018/9, a season where he was essentially undroppable). He was our top scorer between 2013/14 and 2019/20, notching 30 goals or more in his last 5 consecutive seasons. Jimmy Greaves' outrageous 37 league goals in a season and 220 league goals for the club are also still standing.

My focus has always been on developing excellent youth prospects, and feeding them to the national side, who I used to manage. We play a 4-2-3-1 with two inside forwards and a player behind the striker who is variously either a Ronaldo/Bale or Messi/Modric type. Always have a THE up front.

Significant NewGens: Rowe, Vincent, Alexandre, Carballo, Lee

Now's the interesting part, at least for me. The story that takes itself forward, once the real players have moved on. The guys who took up the baton for the club as Cavani, Bale and Sanchez moved on were Chris Rowe, Steve Vincent and Alexandre.

Chris Rowe
Regrettably, I don't have any remaining information on Chris Rowe except that he's a recognised club legend, and was basically in the vein of Aaron Lennon. He didn't really finish chances, but he was an exceptional talent, and born in North London, reared through our academy. Never stole too many headlines (although he did win World Player of the Year in 2024), but always an important player. Vincent and Alexandre though... well, they were a class apart.

Steve Vincent

Steve Vincent was born in Brighouse, Watford on 27th October 1994. A product of Watford's academy, he broke into the Watford team in his first season at the age of 17, but only made 1 sub-standard appearance before he was snapped up into the Spurs academy for £2.5m on the first day of 2012. Not much fanfare, but he had potential. He was quick, he had a good finish on him. He was a left sided natural winger though, and there wasn't too much call for that in my side at that time because of a certain Welshman. So I trained him as in inside forward, almost a... Defoe from behind the striker. He flourished. Over time, he became one of the best players of all time, spearheading a quick and incisive Spurs side almost always playing a 4-2-3-1, playing either as an inside forward on the left, behind the main striker or as an advanced forward leading the line. He captained both England and Spurs for several years, and became the all-time highest international goalscorer with 90 goals from 153 caps. When he finally hung up his boots on 7th August 2031, he took up a post as my Assistant Manager of England, before taking on a coaching job at Birmingham (a recent powerhouse) and then finally rejoining Spurs in September of 2032, with a coaching post he's held to this day.

Alexandre

Alexandre da Costa's career was rather less straightforward. I regard him as the Brazilian THE that we almost missed out on. We certainly missed out on several of his best years. Alexandre da Costa started out life on 14th August 1999 in Cidade Ocidental (GO), at the club Atletico Goianiense. Scouted by Corinthians, he was picked up for £180k and stuck straight into the first team despite never having played a game. He was awful, and found himself farmed out to Goias on loan, where he was marginally less awful but still pretty poor. He came back to Corinthians, was poor again and was sold to Porto for £425k. Unsurprisingly, he was poor again, and earnt himself a loan bizarrely out to the German second (or third?) division with FC Augsburg, where he scored 15 goals and contributed 6 assists in 23 games. This didn't convince Porto, who sold him for £5m to FC Zurich in Switzerland. He stayed there for four seasons and steadily scored about once in every two games, before heading back to Germany with HSV for £5.25m. Here, his form improved still further, and in the second of his two seasons at HSV, he managed an impressive 7 goals in 10 games.

Porto had clearly not given up on Alexandre, though, and they took the punt for £10.5m and bought him back. It really, really paid off. He scored 48 goals and contributed 13 assists in just 52 appearances over two seasons for Porto in his second stint, winning them a bunch of silverware and getting his first Brazilian caps and goals - and at that point, in 2025/6, we crossed paths by chance in the Champions' League. My scouts hadn't reported anything about him, but he looked unplayable, and I glanced at his stats and his records and resolved to take him to Spurs. I doubled Porto's money (£21m) and took him home to White Hart Lane. He scored 135 goals in 231 games in 11 years at his final footballing home. After retiring, he took a couple of coaching jobs elsewhere before joining us again last year. During his career, he won the World Golden Ball twice, was twice runner-up World Player of the Year, and twice English Players' Player of the Year. He scored 88 goals for Brazil in 112 caps, including once 12 in a year, making him both their all time and single-year top goalscorer. He is also both Brazil and Spurs' oldest goalscorer, playing at the top level until he was 37. He was also a huge, huge influence on Kevin Sylla, who we'll see later.

Steve Lee
Again, unfortunately I have no game record remaining of the now-retired Steve Lee, but he was poached from United's academy. Short, weak and technical, he had the makings of a decent little player. As he developed at our academy, he became on of our key players, playing in either deep midfield (when we had more experienced players playing "in behind") or later playing behind the striker, running the game. I thought of him as the English Messi, and that's pretty much what he was. He won the World Golden Ball once, World Player of the Year twice and basically consistently ran the show for Spurs between 2019 when we lost Messi and 2031 by which time Alex Southern (see later) had really come of age.

Alvaro Carballo

Alvaro Carballo was born on March 27th 1999 in Sevilla, and joined their roster in 2015/6. Before making any appearances, he was poached by Spurs for £625k. He finally broke into the first team in 2019/20, though with Vincent, Rowe, Cavani and co. enjoying such excellent seasons, he had few starts. His absurd average rating though meant I had to make space for him, and within two years he'd become possibly Spurs' best player, in one season scoring 42 goals and contributing 18 assists with 15 man of the match awards in just 45 starts and 6 substitute appearances, ignoring his 5 goals and 3 MOTMs from 8 international caps that season... He stayed at the club throughout his career, always keeping his head down and working hard for the side, playing the Vincent role of inside/left side forward, driving forward behind the striker and/or complete striker up front. His lethal pace was never overshadowed by even his quickest colleagues, who variously included Bale, Vincent, Cavani, Southern, Rowe and other such terrifying speedsters. In 2033/34, his place on the roster was under threat and he left on a free to Stuttgart, where he scored 19 goals in 33 appearances before retiring and taking up a coaching post at Spurs 5 years ago.

My Favourite NewGens: Southern and Sylla

There are those who would argue that by 2040, I should have moved on from this game. I've already bought FM13, and Coulibaly is coming along nicely. But I can't leave this game. Why? Alex Southern and Kevin Sylla.

Alex Southern

Alex Southern is, in my opinion, the greatest footballer ever to have... lived(?) He's currently 32 years old, and his stats even now look like this:

Born in Kendal in September of 2007, he was rapidly pinched by the Spurs academy. Under the tuition of Steve Vincent, Alvaro Carballo and Alexandre, he developed and developed - from a position of immediately coming into our first team and scoring 6 goals at the age of 17. Over the last 16 years, he has dribbled past players he has no right to beat, picked passes even I don't predict with my bird's eye view and knowledge of the match engine, scored outrageous wondergoals and... well, just basically taken my breath away. He's a leader, a genius, a real Tottenham legend. The kind of guy who takes a game by the scruff of the neck and absolutely does whatever he wants with it. The kind of guy everyone, but EVERYONE pays to see.

He has collected 92 competition wins and counting, including three World Cups, plus an English Player's Player of the Year, English Footballer of the Year, three-time World Golden Ball, five-time World Player of the Year, and seven time European Midfielder of the Year among dozens of other personal awards. I can't describe how good this player is, or what a genuine joy it is to watch him do the things he does. It's why I love the Football Manager game so much. In amongst all the details and the processing that go into it, you just get these... incredible stories, and in this case - the best player I have ever seen. He's just... magical. I love you, Alex Southern, you imaginary god.

Kevin Sylla

Kevin Sylla is THE. Born in Chatham in 2008, he's a half-English half-Ivorian who I gave a debut to as the then England manager (I now manage Italy, having resigned out of boredom and unsuccessfully reapplied out of regret).

He was mostly influenced by Alexandre, although some credit must go to the stolen Barcelona centre-forward Juan Carlos, whose stats were magnificent and whose Barca record was phenomenal; but who never quite made it at Spurs. Between those two, Sylla developed into essentially the all-round complete forward. A bit of a late bloomer by my academy's standards, he made the his breakthrough into the England team and Spurs team simultaneously in 2028/29 at the age of 20. He has since scored 101 goals in 126 appearances for England, and 208 goals in 349 league appearances for Spurs - though he's scored 382 for us in all competitions in 12 seasons, of which the current is unfinished... Bear in mind that his 208 league goals put him just 12 behind Jimmy Greaves' all time record for Spurs. With this season still yet to finish and surely another couple to come, I wouldn't bet against it. It would be fitting, too, for such an outstanding player. Twice named the English Players' Player of the Year and English Footballer of the Year, he's been the Premier League Golden Boot three times, Champions League Golden Boot three times, European (all competitions) Golden Boot once, the European Striker of the Year a whopping six times and has won both the World Golden Ball and World Player of the Year once.

His pace, directness and outstanding composure under pressure in addition to his high-power bending long-range free-kicks, devastating long shots and phenomenal movement off the ball make Sylla impossible to mark out of a game. If you stand off him, he'll blast a shot past you. If you come too tight, he spins off you and fires a shot in from close range. Both are frequently deadly. He's good in the air as his mentor Alexandre was, and has been as quick as it's possible to be. Even now at the age of 31, he's one of the quickest players in the world, with a great burst of acceleration. He almost never disappears out of a game, and is often the game changer, scoring a ridiculous goal out of nothing in a tight spot. If it weren't for Southern, I'd say Sylla was the best player of all time. A kind of English Drogba with the pace, long shots and freekicks of Cristiano Ronaldo/Bale, the unerring finishing of Luis Ronaldo in his prime, and the leadership qualities and calm head of Ledley King. A real beast. The real THE.

Quirky story:

Perhapsthe oddest character story from my game was that of David Milner, a 2011 Man United NewGen. After a barely noticeable start to his career, and a quietly successful loan to Burnley in the Championship, Milner was released on a free to Lazio in 2018, where he immediately became one of the greatest midfielders in world football. After three phenomenal seasons (the last of which: 33 appearances, 22 goals, 19 assists, 12 MOTM, 8.34 AvR) I signed him for £27.5m. He had a moderately good first season, but didn't quite fit my high-pace style, being more of a glorious pass-machine than a dribble-merchant. He won World Golden Ball without breaking much of a sweat or being the best player even on my team, then had a dreadful second season (0 goals, 6 assists) and was sold to none other than his boyhood rejectors Manchester United.

For £51m.

He won the World Golden Ball again, and a World Player of the Year, notched a number of impressive goals and assist tallies, then ended his career by rejoining Spurs on a free and never playing (i.e. tutoring the youth). He's now the Assistant Manager at Bristol City.

So, there it is!

I hope you enjoyed these obscure references and stories, and that when you have some time, you can put your stories in the comments below! Thanks for your time, guys, and thanks in anticipation of your fascinating (to me at least) FM stories. Way excited. COYimaginaryS!

Imgur originals (better resolution: http://imgur.com/a/ZbpVL)

Ahoy again, my manifold internet friends and acquaintances. Welcome!

a01chtra's FM11 Spurs Side Story

The lowdown

Significant NewGens: Rowe, Vincent, Alexandre, Carballo, Lee

Steve Vincent

Alexandre

Alvaro Carballo

My Favourite NewGens: Southern and Sylla

Alex Southern

Alex Southern is, in my opinion, the greatest footballer ever to have... lived(?) He's currently 32 years old, and his stats even now look like this:

Kevin Sylla

Quirky story:

For £51m.

So, there it is!

Imgur originals (better resolution: http://imgur.com/a/ZbpVL)

Spurs Background Archive & Requests

a01chtra — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:24:18 -0000

Edit 23/04/13: comments are closed, post is an archive. Please check my profile for latest requests thread. Please vote below to give me an indication of successful and unsuccessful edits/backgrounds. Many thanks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, so this is going to be a formalised space where I'll post any backgrounds that people might want to use. Requests in comments, please.

These will only be images that I've done as dedicated backgrounds, but if you remember a particular image from the past and would like it background quality (1280x720p) then let me know, I might be able to work something out.

Do let me know by the way if you end up using any of these, I only do it for the joy. Please note that the SBNation import has compressed these images, so ask me for the imgur original if you can't find it in the comments.

Alright, so this is going to be a formalised space where I'll post any backgrounds that people might want to use. Requests in comments, please.

School Report - Sporting Spotlight: Ledley King

a01chtra — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:42:37 -0000

School Report - Sporting Spotlight: Ledley King

Ledley on BBC Sporting Spotlight

What It's Like To Go To A Spurs Game at White Hart Lane!

a01chtra — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:44:49 -0000

Ok, so first I'm going to qualify this post by apologising for the terrible video quality. For whatever reason, my phone was set to a quality that basically makes having recorded anything an irrelevance. But it has sound, so I've uploaded it to YouTube anyway and you can take a look. But the images give you hopefully a bit of an experience. That was my aim, anyway.

Getting To The Ground

So, my first step was getting there. As I live in North London anyway, I could have walked it. As it goes though, my dad drove me most of the way there, (past the Gilpin's Bell and Bricklayer's and that where you might want to hang out before a match) and then briefly pulled in at a bus stop and I near enough jumped out of the car and he drove off. What I'm saying there subtly is that bus lanes are not for cars stopping in, and don't be a jerk if you do get a lift down to the stadium. Also worth nothing is that you absolutely can't get anywhere near the stadium by car on a matchday, and that your phone will stop working within maybe 5 minutes' walk of the stadium, so meet up outside of that radius and walk together. Hence, Gilpin's Bell pub etc. That's the classic arrangement. Anyway, for me: lift from my dad. You can see the streets filled with people milling along getting to the stadium, mostly wearing nondescript stuff. I've been to a few Sunderland games, and truthfully the experience is totally different there. There's a massive bridge to walk across, and it's just... red and white everywhere. It's a real phenomenon. Anyway, so I've just gotten out of the car and I think to myself "Cartilage Free might be interested from this point?" so I, a 22 year old, bravely get out my phone in public in North London and start taking photos to illustrate this walkthrough. Text underneath sometimes.

...getting closer...

Right, time to cross over the road. No worries about traffic, basically at a standstill.

Here we are, one of the entrances coming up.

Taking a look back. It really is North London, isn't it? Christ. This is why the NDP is such a big deal, and why we mustn't move away. I've volunteered at a project at Northumberland Park School in the past, and Spurs funded it for a year. Lee Young-Pyo came along for a kickabout with the members once, it was super sweet. Never forget the roots of this club, or the real work they do in the community.

Getting to my seat

This isn't my photo, but this is what the queues for the turnstyles look like.

Next, up a whole bunch of stairs to my seat...

The view

...and here we are. Living the dream.

Who's that near the players?

He's got... a tail?

....

OH GOD IT'S FLAPJACK

Players! Super exciting.

This was probably as good as it got for Spurs.

The match (not much to see here and I couldn't move much, so I didn't upload any photos)

Half time, pathetic fallacy provided free of charge by ominous yet boring clouds.

Maybe it was the pitch's fault we were so bad in the first half?

Best stab it a lot.

At half time, Pat Jennings came out and did an interview and they showed footage of him at his peak on screen. It was nice.

Panorama

Terrible panorama courtesy of Photaf gives some idea of view.

Terrible videos

Here's Daws playing kickabout with presumably one of the mascots on the day. What a nice guy!

And finally...

...SOON.

Conclusions

Well, I hope this has given you guys a taste of the matchday experience. Only for you, guys.

All the AVBalehearts, ever your a01chtra.

Getting To The Ground

...getting closer...

Right, time to cross over the road. No worries about traffic, basically at a standstill.

Here we are, one of the entrances coming up.

Getting to my seat

This isn't my photo, but this is what the queues for the turnstyles look like.

Next, up a whole bunch of stairs to my seat...

The view

...and here we are. Living the dream.

Who's that near the players?

He's got... a tail?

....

OH GOD IT'S FLAPJACK

Players! Super exciting.

This was probably as good as it got for Spurs.

The match (not much to see here and I couldn't move much, so I didn't upload any photos)

Half time, pathetic fallacy provided free of charge by ominous yet boring clouds.

Maybe it was the pitch's fault we were so bad in the first half?

Best stab it a lot.

At half time, Pat Jennings came out and did an interview and they showed footage of him at his peak on screen. It was nice.

Panorama

Terrible panorama courtesy of Photaf gives some idea of view.

Terrible videos

Here's Daws playing kickabout with presumably one of the mascots on the day. What a nice guy!

And finally...

...SOON.

Conclusions

Well, I hope this has given you guys a taste of the matchday experience. Only for you, guys.

All the AVBalehearts, ever your a01chtra.

If ever she starts up again: Sabsab in a Spurs shirt

a01chtra — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:04:52 -0000

Promised Land Ahoy! The End Of Season Run In Post

a01chtra — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:04:10 -0000

Ahoy hoy!

Yo beans, it's theme-posting GIMP-editing EUPD guy a01chtra here. More analytical than Phil Neville, sexier than Suarez, and just too good to be engaged to Sab. Willkommen, as our stratospherically inclined assistant manager might say, zur Frühstück.

Today I'm going to be looking at the big ass news that we should be focusing on in the wake of our ~~inevitable defeat~~ victory (is it too late to jinx that now - can I say we won or will we have a points deduction?) against Woolwich Wanderers.

Theme this week will be nautical, because we are obviously looking at unbelievably easy "plain sailing" to our traditional 16th placed finish. Haaa.

Thrown in the brig:

Everton's Maoam Fellaini shares a beer and a chinwag with his ear-biting racist buddy Damian "The Omen" Suarez.

I think that it's probably now safe to say that Everton (9 point gap; Spurs Arsenal, City, Lolpool and Chelsea still to play) and Lolpool (11 point gap; Spurs, Chelsea, Neufchateaux and Everton still to play) have run out of games to catch the teams ahead of them. Either side would require to make up points on all three of the London clubs even if Spurs manage to Spurs it up, and I just can't see all three London clubs Spursing it up at this stage. So, while I won't stretch as far as to say that they're both definitely mathematically out of the CL race, they are sufficiently dark horses that I can't see them when it's a bit dark outside and they have consequently escaped from my... ?ship stables? of analysis and drowned overboard like that scene in the Ring (a film which changed the careers of both Naomi Watts and a young gorilla who worked on The Ring as a consultant for the screenplay, but subsequently went on to star alongside Watts in King Kong). Basically, unless the Premier League implodes, they're done for this year. Not enough points in Davy Jones' locker.

Man City are 5 points clear of Spurs, and patently too good not to finish in the Top 4. While they might be caught by one of the other Top 4 sides if they royally Spurs it up, they'll be in the CL next season. It's overwhelmingly likely they'll be the owners of the (Long John) Silver medals this year. So they'll be following the horses in walking the plank and... not being... included in this post.

What News From The Crow's Nest, Lad? What Do You See?

That's right, Tom the cabin boy! You really do have excellent vision.

via BBC Football

So we have the fixtures, looming up ahead in the distance. Two of our ships are going to make it and plunder and pillage and get all the treasures and Damiaos we can carry. One of us though is going to fall short, and possibly - in the long term - sink, under siege from pirates and plunderers and Krakens and that. This would be particularly hazardous for Arteta, Parker and Lampard since pirates are fond of "pieces of 8". Which pieces they would lose is not yet clear, but judging from Lampard's contract negotiations and the black spot on Parker at present, I'm guessing it's not going to end well.

Now, my view is this: I think that Spurs and Arsenal will fall out of the Europa League/CL in their respective ties this week and next. Inter are a good side, and Spurs are preoccupied. Arsenal are also - forgive me for becoming over-technical here - not good at football, which significantly hinders their hopes of overturning a two goal deficit to last year's Champions League winners. Chelsea won't lose to Steaua because I'm pretty sure the domestic-reigning Romaniacs have more consecutive vowels than they have world class players. Fortunately, even if Chelsea win the Europa League, they don't knock 4th place out of the CL, so the only impact is in glory and in fixture congestion.

With that in mind, I think that Chelsea (still in FA Cup, Europa League) have the toughest run of fixtures. Next I think is Spurs (still in Europa League) and then Arsenal (whose trophy hunt is finally ceremonially ended tomorrow, having been over since they drew at home to Sunderland in their first competitive fixture in mid-August). I think all three clubs will drop points, and probably quite a few (n.b. this is also true of the Mersey-sides).

Chelsea: 12-23 points, most likely 19 (5W, 4D / 6W 1D 2L / similar).
Spurs: 14-24 points, most likely 18 (5W, 3D, 1L or 6W 3L / similar).
Arsenal: 7-25 points, most likely 19 (5W, 4D / 6W 1D 2L / similar)

This gives a possible spread of points of:

Chelsea: 64-75 points, most likely 71
Spurs: 68-78 points, most likely 72
Arsenal: 54 - 72 points, most likely 66

On reflection, I think the narrower distribution of Chelsea (11) and Spurs (10)'s possible point-gain relative to Arsenal's (18) pretty massive one is a reflection of the inconsistency of Arsenal's performances this season. It's hard to predict how the impacts of the cup defeats, CL exit and Spurs defeat will impact them - or whether they turn it around against Bayern and the subsequent impact on morale/fixture congestion. A lot of the teams they're coming up to play will fancy their chances while they wobble a bit, and most have a lot to play for. I think QPR and Fulham will turn up against Arsenal because they have such strong Spurs cores and ex-Spurs managers. Too much to prove there. Fulham when they do turn up are an excellent side, as we saw in the reverse fixture. Totally different side to the one that routinely turns up against most teams.

I'd have to say therefore that I think Spurs are "most likely" to finish 3rd this season of the three sides, with Chelsea coming in 4th depending on results. This prediction allows for Spurs-ups leading to Arsenal finishing 4th on 72 and Spurs 5th on 68 but also interestingly for Chelsea to finish on 64 points and Arsenal and Spurs both to qualify. To some extent, it comes down to luck of the draw. If Spurs beat Chelsea, I think we take 3rd. That said, if you don't put away the easier sides, we might find ourselves all at sea. We are, after all, mast-ers of Spursing it up. It's also possible that Chelsea's petroroubels have been rigging the league all along and only Roman is controlling our emotions. It would explain all that Benitez Torres nonsense. That or scurvy.

Didn't even use a Bale-out pun.

So, who do you think will finish outside of the CL spaces? Has AVB finally shored up our leaky vessel? How do you pi-rate our chances? Cast your votes while I fish for comments as I'd like to sea what you have to say - but this reporter thinks that while we didn't qualify for the CL last season... this season we ARRRR!

(going to qualify, probably)

Peace, love etc., will take any image requests within reason in comments. I hope you enjoyed this post!

Ahoy hoy!

Theme this week will be nautical, because we are obviously looking at unbelievably easy "plain sailing" to our traditional 16th placed finish. Haaa.

Thrown in the brig:

Everton's Maoam Fellaini shares a beer and a chinwag with his ear-biting racist buddy Damian "The Omen" Suarez.

What News From The Crow's Nest, Lad? What Do You See?

That's right, Tom the cabin boy! You really do have excellent vision.

via BBC Football

Chelsea: 12-23 points, most likely 19 (5W, 4D / 6W 1D 2L / similar).
Spurs: 14-24 points, most likely 18 (5W, 3D, 1L or 6W 3L / similar).
Arsenal: 7-25 points, most likely 19 (5W, 4D / 6W 1D 2L / similar)

This gives a possible spread of points of:

Chelsea: 64-75 points, most likely 71
Spurs: 68-78 points, most likely 72
Arsenal: 54 - 72 points, most likely 66

Didn't even use a Bale-out pun.

(going to qualify, probably)

Peace, love etc., will take any image requests within reason in comments. I hope you enjoyed this post!

Poll

Whose ship will fall short of Champions League Island this yearr?

Arrsenal

35 votes

Cap'n Benitez' ChelSea Explorers

10 votes

Tottenham Hotsparrs

1 votes

Manchestarr City

0 votes

46 votes | Poll has closed

Parker: A Chillout Post With A Lot Of Visual Pun Image Edits And Muzak

a01chtra — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 01:17:06 -0000

HEYAROONEY FRIENDAREENOS.

Let's all just take a solid dose of Class A chill the fuck out and laugh at these visual puns until Sandro comes back from injury.

Any time you feel bad or good about a Parker performance, just come back here and take a good hard look at some of these images.

N55th Vin has also written an intervention for Parker that's well worth a look.

Chill, lay on some of this laidback muzak.

Thanks, that's really settled the mood nicely. Now, walk with me through this gallery of different types of Parker. Any requests in comments, will do them as soon as I see them. This is a cartilage free CHILL THE FUCK OUT zone, there will be no anger here in the house of a01chtra.

Who's that up in the sky?! Oh, it's just Scott Parkour.
I wonder why he's climbing those buildings? Perhaps he's in a hurry to visit his friend, Scott Parka?
As I recall, they own a lovely pet Stoat Parker
Here, he attends his workplace as a valet; Scott Park-er
What a lovely guy. He's almost as lovely as this Scottiedog Parker
I'm not sure what this is, but it's certainly Not Parker
Who might this world-weary fellow be, parked in front of the slot machine? Well, if it isn't Slot Parker!
I
- I hope everyone feels much more chilled now. Request some more Parkers in the comments below!

HEYAROONEY FRIENDAREENOS.

Let's all just take a solid dose of Class A chill the fuck out and laugh at these visual puns until Sandro comes back from injury.

Any time you feel bad or good about a Parker performance, just come back here and take a good hard look at some of these images.

N55th Vin has also written an intervention for Parker that's well worth a look.

Chill, lay on some of this laidback muzak.

Who's that up in the sky?! Oh, it's just Scott Parkour.
I wonder why he's climbing those buildings? Perhaps he's in a hurry to visit his friend, Scott Parka?
As I recall, they own a lovely pet Stoat Parker
Here, he attends his workplace as a valet; Scott Park-er
What a lovely guy. He's almost as lovely as this Scottiedog Parker
I'm not sure what this is, but it's certainly Not Parker
Who might this world-weary fellow be, parked in front of the slot machine? Well, if it isn't Slot Parker!
I
- I hope everyone feels much more chilled now. Request some more Parkers in the comments below!

Totally groundless HULK POST. HULK CRUSH PESSIMISM.

a01chtra — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:55:03 -0000

What's that you can hear, Hulk? The sound of not enough Hulk to Spurs speculation..?

Hey, everyone! Stop freaking out about Ade and Defoe and how Leandro's clearly already signed a pre-contract with Arsenal and is just fucking with us as an envoy of the enemy! Don't even bother to freak out about Bale going up front and that for some reason not working like it obviously will! I also advise against freaking out about the possibility of Siggy, the deep-lying through-ball/long-shot wizard going up front and the opportunity cost of all the serious freaking out you otherwise wouldn't be able to do! Why?

HULK IS GOING TO COME TO SPURS!

Now, ok, this is impossible financially and there's been no speculation about it for months, but wouldn't it be lovely? Besides, it's better than being constantly linked with the same unattainable player. We're nothing like reaching our unattainable 5-a-day batshit striker links. What sanity is this?! Time to rectify with some chiropteric defecation of the highest order. If no so called "respectable" "news" "outlets" are going to link us with him anymore, then DAMNED IF I'M GOING TO LET THIS PASS.

A while back, this happened:

via hashonomy.com

Look how they smile! Is AVB leaning on a cow? WHO CARES IT'S HULK AND AVB and some less famous guys in the background. I just want to pause for a moment and point out that no similar photo of Damiao and AVB exists, and that Damiao has never played under AVB before. Just let that sink in. This is more credible than the Damiao rumour. Given that Damiao is definitely coming in the summer, just imagine our fucking strikeforce! We'll be playing literally 10 strikers!

Also adding to the heavyweight reliability of this rumour: the news probably future Spurs player and notable former AVB protégée Hulk is being racially abused in Russia by a hardcore sub-group of the Zenit fans (sorry, Aslan, but it happens there more than here and it's nasty). I'm not going to make any jokes about that, because any racism is unacceptable.

Further pushing up the percentage likelihood, his prima-donna-isms have caused ructions with his less-well-paid colleagues. Let us be clear: if he did come to Spurs, this absolutely wouldn't happen. Levy wouldn't sign him on absurd wages, it'd be a big up front fee like with Ade. Also, nobody's going to piss off a player of his quality. He'd like London a lot more than I imagine he's enjoyed Russia, too. Primadonnas tend to settle quite nicely in London without kicking up any fuss, and our handling of notorious trouble-maker Adebayor suggests we really wouldn't have any problems, even ignoring AVB's obvious personal link to the player.

The thing which makes this obviously extremely likely transfer slightly less likely is this:

I decided to go to Zenit because I had won almost every competition at Porto and I like new challenges in my career. I hope I can carry on winning like that in the near future," Hulk told O Estado de Sao Paolo.

"I am getting used to my new home. Now I need to focus on football. The biggest challenge in Russia was the cold weather at first but after playing games at minus 12 (degrees), I think I am settling down quickly.

"We will fight for the title in the Russian league and try to win the Europa League."

Zenit captain Igor Denisov publicly criticised the decision to spend huge sums on the Brazil attacker and midfielder Axel Witsel, but Hulk insisted such issues are now firmly in the past.

"He (Denisov) never said anything to me. They talked among themselves and the board did not like it because it became public. But that is in the past," Hulk said.

"Today we have a good relationship. All this was overcome. We have no more problems.

On the other hand, AVB was once pictured with Hulk, and they both seemed pretty happy about being in the same place, and Spurs have been saving up for a striker, so spending say £50m on Hulk seems pretty likely. Also, look how unhappy Hulk was at being substituted this one time!

Another key factor to consider is that Hulk couldn't play for another team in January as he's already played for two teams this season. To phrase this another way, a team that is going to sign Hulk would not have bidded in January. Spurs did not bid in January. Now, I don't want to jump the gun, but does that seem like coincidence to you? It doesn't seem like coincidence to this reporter, especially in the context of this article from a reputable source written in the last few months. Also, this one. Maybe we should buy the shirts in readiness? They'll be cheaper now, before he actually signs.

In conclusion, this transfer makes overwhelming sense and is so likely to happen that it now surprises me I bothered to put a poll in at the bottom.

HULK CRUSH.

(If interested: other recent articles with better image-editery here Adebayor Huddlestone, and full size Hulk image in comments)

What's that you can hear, Hulk? The sound of not enough Hulk to Spurs speculation..?

HULK IS GOING TO COME TO SPURS!

A while back, this happened:

via hashonomy.com

The thing which makes this obviously extremely likely transfer slightly less likely is this:

I decided to go to Zenit because I had won almost every competition at Porto and I like new challenges in my career. I hope I can carry on winning like that in the near future," Hulk told O Estado de Sao Paolo.

"I am getting used to my new home. Now I need to focus on football. The biggest challenge in Russia was the cold weather at first but after playing games at minus 12 (degrees), I think I am settling down quickly.

"We will fight for the title in the Russian league and try to win the Europa League."

Zenit captain Igor Denisov publicly criticised the decision to spend huge sums on the Brazil attacker and midfielder Axel Witsel, but Hulk insisted such issues are now firmly in the past.

"He (Denisov) never said anything to me. They talked among themselves and the board did not like it because it became public. But that is in the past," Hulk said.

"Today we have a good relationship. All this was overcome. We have no more problems.

In conclusion, this transfer makes overwhelming sense and is so likely to happen that it now surprises me I bothered to put a poll in at the bottom.

HULK CRUSH.

(If interested: other recent articles with better image-editery here Adebayor Huddlestone, and full size Hulk image in comments)

Poll

Is Hulk going to come to Spurs in the summer?

Yes, obviously. Why are you asking this question?

8 votes

I am a terrible person and therefore I don't think so, but I acknowledge I'm a delusional person probably addicted to illegal drugs.

5 votes

HULK CRUSH PEOPLE WHO ASK VEGETARIAN TO INCLUDE BACON SANDWICH AS AN OPTION

11 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed

Just in case you thought the saga was over

a01chtra — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:35:54 -0000

Just in case you thought the saga was over

I can't even tell if this is good news or bad news. I think Leandro's saying nice things and being a professional, but the press makes it seem like he's flicking us all manner of aviary creatures.

So, Faso: Good! Or, return of the prodigal striker.

a01chtra — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:51:28 -0000

In the beginning, there were goals. And the goals were good.

Dipping my toe back in the water of writing for Cartilage after a confidence-dip-induced hiatus. Easy on the new kid, please. My theme last time out on my Huddlestone bit (link if you missed it and are interested) was crime. This week, I've gone for the less controversial... massive amounts of blasphemy.

Please give me some recs, I'm definitely going to hell for this GIMPage. Best viewed fullscreen.

So, Burkina Faso, the mighty Stallions, have sent the puny Sparrow Hawks of Togo home with their sad little beaks between their legs. Come on you stallions! A moment's reflection suggests that Spurs' maverick African centre-forward Emmanuel Adebayor is probably commiserating with his less illustrious teammates as the kind of protector and sometime financeer/out-bailer of the group in the face of an awful disorganised Togolese FA. Where Togo are mean-ass Samaritans walking past their players, Ade's rocking up in his helicopter and paying for everyone's meals. He's a good guy, Ade, carrying the hopes of a nation - and the exit will have hurt him.

But it won't have hurt Spurs.

Last year, Ade finished up as our top scorer and with a respectable 18 from 37 (versus 16 from 38 from the ever impressive goal machine Jermain). He played well up top, holding up the ball, winning headers, linking play and generally looking very dangerous and improving the side before exploding inevitably against Arsenal (we've all been there).

The crucifixion of the Ade

It's been levelled at Ade at various points in his career that he only plays well when he's new to a team. Well, I understand that. Leaving Arsenal was a pretty miserable affair, as if just playing for them wasn't ordeal enough. Van Persie shamelessly headed Ade's boot in a game against City, almost killing him, while the baying Gooners called him a silver-chasing Judas. Pastures new beckoned, and he had a good year at City. But then City froze him out and refused to let him leave without stringing him along for a long while waiting for a bid that would never come. He took a parting financial swipe/grab at them as he left and - following a brief and successful spell at Spurs' Spanish feeder club - he settled beautifully in at Spurs, rocking no boats.

Following an excellent first season with us, he's tailed off a bit and everyone's crowing that he's dead here and wasn't it all bollocks about him being the messiah and not just a naughty boy. He's just here to turn money into whine, they say.

The passion of the Ade

But here's the thing. I don't think Ade needs to be under threat, or just fresh into a club, to pull off miracles. I think he needs to feel valued; just as Berba and Defoe and Lennon are confidence players, so too is Ade. With Jermain out, he knows he's the big dog. The HarryKane is still probably only a blustery day rather than a genuine storm and Dempsey is never going to be a striker no matter how many goals he scored from two yards for Fulham last year. Sorry, Deuce.

So it's likely that Ade, inevitably given all the up-top responsibility in this side for a few weeks, and given Andre's sweet sweet loving arms around the shoulder, will come back as a buzzy happy player.

Genesis (of a sweet partnership)

Plus, he now gets to link up with someone he's never played with before: Lewis "Fuckincredible" Holtby.

Another of Ade's typical detractions is that he's had some trouble in striking barn doors with banjos. But can he possibly miss the kind of chances that Holtby creates? Can anyone?

Psalm down dear, he can do a different Job

Another crucial thing to bear in mind at this point is that Spurs are a marked card this season. Sides see the pace of Bale and Lennon and refuse to give them the space to run into. Defoe's chief non-shooting attribute is his pace, and unfortunately that's sod all use against a back line that's two yards out from their goalkeeper. But what is useful against that sort of defence is an aerial threat. Sit deep against Ade and we can ping in some useful crosses. We've got an out ball from the keeper that isn't just a desperate cry for help. We've got a Plan B when Bale can't run the entire length of the pitch off a Holtby flick and score, or Lennon can't put a sitter on a plate for Deuce. We've, in short, just Go-morr-ah(f) a threat in front of goal. Ahem.

Conclusions as dictated by a vision of a torrid bush:

Levy clearly took a massive gamble hoping that our current strikers would be enough to haul us over the line for 3rd/4th in a very competitive league. He brought in the Biblically-named Ezekiel Fryers, and God's gift to Spurs the Holtby himself. But Everton, Chelski, Arsenal and possibly even Lolpool and Newbcastle could legitimately have hope of putting a good run together and shooting up past us. If Togo had stayed in AND Jermain had limped off, we'd be pretty screwed. 4-6-YOLOs everywhere, sodomy and fire and who knows what else. But I fully believe that Ade's second coming may see Levy's gamble pay off - and if we do make it into the CL this year, with a full complement of untouched money to spend on a top class striker, well... Jesus, man.

In the beginning, there were goals. And the goals were good.

Please give me some recs, I'm definitely going to hell for this GIMPage. Best viewed fullscreen.

But it won't have hurt Spurs.

The crucifixion of the Ade

The passion of the Ade

Genesis (of a sweet partnership)

Plus, he now gets to link up with someone he's never played with before: Lewis "Fuckincredible" Holtby.

Another of Ade's typical detractions is that he's had some trouble in striking barn doors with banjos. But can he possibly miss the kind of chances that Holtby creates? Can anyone?

Psalm down dear, he can do a different Job

Conclusions as dictated by a vision of a torrid bush:

Guys, cheer up. Here is at least one chuckle, FREE.

a01chtra — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:50:43 -0000

Sketch

My convictions on Huddlestone

a01chtra — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 13:29:46 -0000

Dear ladies and gentleman of the jury, in the present case the Court is called upon to make a decision regarding the possibility of retaining the services of midfielder, and nominated successor to Glenn Hoddle, defendant Thomas "Thudd" Huddlestone in the long-term; and further, to decide if necessary upon which club he would otherwise likely be sentenced to serve.

It seems to me that people have very little faith in Thudd, and consequently in light of the unquestionably devastating injury to our stand out player of the year Sandro, a little panic has set in alongside a few suggestions we should be buying in a midfielder for decent cover. Maybe even that nice Moutinho, such a success at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and now unsettled at Real Madrid. He is surely the answer to our eternal midfield question "what's the most expensive transfer Spurs will never pull off?"

While everyone was initially very surprised when news leaked that we were looking to sell him at the start of the season alongside stalwart body-on-the-line centre-back Mikey "Daws" Dawson, I think it's reasonable to state that as the year has progressed we've become more accepting of the news of his probable departure as his "criminally" poor defensive work has been exposed in the new pivot/destroyer roles operating in midfield.

But why on Earth is this suddenly the case? Was that year when he and Modric blossomed together and brought us to the neck of Europe a mirage? Was it luck? I'm going to present a view that marries together his excellent performances then and his mediocre to poor performances now without recourse to "run of games" namby-pamby apologistery. I'll "tackle" the following questions, your Honour.

Was Huddlestone's previous form a mirage?
Is Huddlestone suddenly bad?
Is it fair to sell him?
To whom?

Regarding question 1 (on previous form)...

Well, first question up, my answer is no. Huddlestone was one of our key players that season, producing outrageous long range passing and a couple of decent strikes alongside a good keep-it-ticking-over ball possession style. His quiet performance against Inter (below) is pretty representative of what was a fabulous player's importance to the team's style.

He played 43 games for us across that season, and popped up with 4 goals and 3 assists; similarly to Modders though much of his role was in releasing wingers for assists. With Thudd in the side, we had a far stronger case on the counter, pinging a ball out to release Bale or Lennon with a pitch to run into in front of them, and his accuracy and reliability was pretty staggering at times. I always had a soft spot for the big guy, and was very happy he was getting a chance to shine.

Regarding question 2 (on current capability)...

Again, my answer is no. Huddlestone hasn't changed as a player dramatically since his injury. You could probably argue that he's lost a bit of confidence to try longer range passes and shots, but you'd most likely ultimately lose that argument. You could also postulate that Thudd has lost a bit of mobility, but that was never really his game and he's not out of shape. This is his normal shape and his normal pace, and his magic is in his vision.

The fact is, Spurs are a marked team. Where teams in the past would come to White Hart Lane expecting easy points and slack defences, they now come to a Champions League challenger and tend to hang back and wait for a counter-attacking opportunity. And that just doesn't suit Thudd. There's no advantage to excellent long range passing when you're camped in an opposition half. If the ball breaks loose, he doesn't have the pace of Sandro or Dembele to get back and cover. With so many defenders around, he doesn't have the same time available to pick a shot out, so his accuracy isn't quite where it was. All his best points are designed for sides playing in a lot of space; that is to say, sides with crappy defences and quick counters. We just aren't that side anymore.

When we're winning, and the opposition come out a bit to play, certainly there's a place for him. But we tend to have a seige going and on average we break through in around the 60th minute. Until then, I'm sorry to say he's a hindrance more than a help. And late on, we tend to need defenders because we come under a bit of long-ball pressure as teams panic in the last few minutes, and again Thudd's skillset is totally mismatched there. So...

Regarding question 3 (on fairness of sale)...

Yes, I think we should sell (one of my favourite Spurs players and a Derby-thefted Spurs youth success story - compare to Bostock etc., we did something right with this boy) Tommy. I think we'd get a lot of money, and that he'd go to a decent club and do very well. He just doesn't work in the system we have. Sandro and Parker and probably Livermore until we sell him (sorry, Kevin, agree to disagree) fit as the destroyers, while Dembele, soon Holtby and exciting youth product Carroll all work in the pivot/more creative role. It needs a little more subtlety of incisive pass or a little more defensive capability than Tommy H has got going for him.

And finally (on destination)...

The fact is, he'll go to Fulham. Jol needs midfielders desperately, and he's worked with Thudd before to immense success. He'll link up with Berba and play in a team with a suspect defence and an intelligent striker up top and he'll be special again. But I won't regret it, because he just doesn't suit Spurs anymore. We've grown apart. It's sad, I sometimes sniff his jumper, but it's over.

If you're as downbeat as I feel after writing that, take a look at some gif I picked up on Reddit.

Case closed.

Was Huddlestone's previous form a mirage?
Is Huddlestone suddenly bad?
Is it fair to sell him?
To whom?

Regarding question 1 (on previous form)...

Regarding question 2 (on current capability)...

Regarding question 3 (on fairness of sale)...

And finally (on destination)...

If you're as downbeat as I feel after writing that, take a look at some gif I picked up on Reddit.

Case closed.

Hate Redknapp, Hate QPR.

a01chtra — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:49:10 -0000

Hate Redknapp, Hate QPR.

On Sneijder Rumours, From A Squad-Happy Fan

a01chtra — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 14:52:55 -0000

I <3 this. Fronted. -Kevin

So, the boy Sneijder.

This guy is pissing off Galatasaray even as we speak. Inter can't wait to be rid of his excessive wages as they stumble blindly toward FPP. Liverpool are openly disinterested, and Spurs for some reason keep being linked by every major news outlet along with our Liverpudlian supposed rivals. No news on interest from clubs abroad like PSG or anything, so it looks like either we take him or he rots on an Italian bench or settles into obscure uneasy Turkish mediocrity.

Injuries have hovered over him like a cloud; some several-month cruciate injury in a friendly against Arsenal a few years back, and then a string of niggly muscle injuries. Probably a dodgy calf, probably putting everyone off.

Our squad, as I've said before, is totally fine. I don't really want us to sign anyone, except maybe someone like missing piece Leandro "THE" Damiao.

But I really do want us to sign Sneijder and bind him into lilywhite history. Here's why:

Sneijder is Dutch, and I love the Dutch. So do Spurs. After all, our club and that of the Netherlands have a lot in common. We're talented but wildly unlucky, thus more familiar to semi-finals than finals. We aspire to greatness with fluid total-football (none of this tiki-tacky pass around crap, sweeping moves and dribbling and everyone chipping in with goals and real ambition to sweep aside opposition often to the detriment of cold hard results), and we both used to play Van Der Vaart and Edgar Davids occasionally because why the hell not that's why.
Sneijder is a maverick beset by injury and therefore a Spurs player by default. Our King, and the inspiration behind this site was I believe rumoured to have some sort of leg injury; also Woodgate, Van Der Vaart, Anderton, Gazza and co. were all also pretty keen on being out with injuries for long periods but are all established icons at the club. Our physio table is where world class players belong.
Make no mistake, Sneijder has been and therefore potentially is one of the very best players in the world. He's not so old nor so dependent on pace that this should vanish overnight. His game is about vision and magic.
He used to play for Real, and we're apparently endeavouring to be Real-lite where Arsenal are Barca-lite. Our star is more Ronaldo than Messi, and they play in lilywhites. Press-dividing Portuguese tacticians at the helm, pace and power everywhere etc. etc.

Want. Wantwantwant.

I'd accept him expensively bench-warming for maybe even 8 games of the remaining season for him to limp out and do some ridiculous match-changing batsh*t Dutch-ery in the other matches. It might just push us over the finishing line for this season, and let Holtby come in next season to gradually bed in as his understudy and get match time as cover for other positions. It just looks perfect to me, and he's actually a year younger than VdV, who only left to save his marriage in Germany.

So, opinions welcome but I'd have him in a split-second heartbeat. Maverick world-class Dutch injury-prone genius stolen from another angry club at the last minute has "Spurs transfer" written all over it.

COYS!

I <3 this. Fronted. -Kevin

So, the boy Sneijder.

Our squad, as I've said before, is totally fine. I don't really want us to sign anyone, except maybe someone like missing piece Leandro "THE" Damiao.

But I really do want us to sign Sneijder and bind him into lilywhite history. Here's why:

Sneijder is Dutch, and I love the Dutch. So do Spurs. After all, our club and that of the Netherlands have a lot in common. We're talented but wildly unlucky, thus more familiar to semi-finals than finals. We aspire to greatness with fluid total-football (none of this tiki-tacky pass around crap, sweeping moves and dribbling and everyone chipping in with goals and real ambition to sweep aside opposition often to the detriment of cold hard results), and we both used to play Van Der Vaart and Edgar Davids occasionally because why the hell not that's why.
Sneijder is a maverick beset by injury and therefore a Spurs player by default. Our King, and the inspiration behind this site was I believe rumoured to have some sort of leg injury; also Woodgate, Van Der Vaart, Anderton, Gazza and co. were all also pretty keen on being out with injuries for long periods but are all established icons at the club. Our physio table is where world class players belong.
Make no mistake, Sneijder has been and therefore potentially is one of the very best players in the world. He's not so old nor so dependent on pace that this should vanish overnight. His game is about vision and magic.
He used to play for Real, and we're apparently endeavouring to be Real-lite where Arsenal are Barca-lite. Our star is more Ronaldo than Messi, and they play in lilywhites. Press-dividing Portuguese tacticians at the helm, pace and power everywhere etc. etc.

Want. Wantwantwant.

COYS!

London Club Identity Swapsies: Two Questions Edition

a01chtra — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:01:15 -0000

Only my second ever Cartilage-Free post, and I pose a double question quandary that will surely shake the very foundations of your current understanding of foot-ball. If you would prefer to keep your stereotyped views of the London clubs intact, look away now. If not, best read it quickly before the mods take it down for being so GOD DAMNED CONTROVERSIAL.

Question 1: Are Chelsea the new Arsenal?

IT'S OK, BREATHE. WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER. Let me explain.

Well, Chelsea have now signed every attacking midfielder that they could possibly have signed. On their books, they now have Benayoun, Marin, Hazard, Lampard, Malouda, Moses, Mata, Ramires and Oscar. They've even had to loan out a Belgian (only De Bruyne, but still) along with Gael "who?" Kakuta, and Joe-Cole-of-the-future, Josh McEachran. Recent scientific research found that to accommodate these players "in the hole", Chelsea would have to dig up their entire pitch to a depth of over 28 feet.

Just like the Arsenal of old, most of these lightweight playmakers are pretty poor, but just by virtue of signing a thousand of them, some are actually pretty excellent. Hazard, Oscar and Marin were all even heavily linked with Spurs before Robben cost us our rightful CL spot. But I've already been (briefly) bitter about that in my last post.

Anyway, this new Chelsenal side also had - until signing Ba - absolutely no reliable cutting edge in front of goal. You could argue that Chelsea have taken apart a couple of teams this season, but Arsenal always did that on occasion, some team forgets to play a holding midfielder and doesn't bother to turn up defensively. Torres (read: Reyes, Baptista, Giroud, Chamakh) couldn't score even if you scored a sensational goal for him and begged him not to disallow it by interfering with play from an offside position, 0 yards out.

Sure, Ba might well end that problem, but there's always hope. Besides, looking at the most recent Chelski game - against current European Champions Swansea City Football Club - it seems like the curse of the Arsenal striker may have struck. Marginally offside disallowed goal at the death, wrongly booked for diving - but crucially, in the end without goals. Ok, he only played for half a second, but nonetheless a positive sign the curse may have settled.

Besides which, that Swansea match brings up the second way in which Chelski have become Arsenal. They absolutely melted under the pressure in a big game. They passed and passed and passed, producing more unadventurous play-it-safe balls than a chlamydia awareness campaign - and just like that campaign's results: limited penetration despite obvious desire. A couple of stupid defensive lapses later, and they've probably fallen at realistically the final hurdle in the League Cup (Aston Villa or Bradford? Yeech.) Just as they fell to Corinthians in the Club World Cup Final. Sure, a relatively meaningless trophy, but nonetheless they lacked the mentality to see it through and just screwed it up. It was like a re-run of Arsenal vs Birmingham in the League Cup Final.

Question 2: Are Arsenal the new Spurs?

GASP, you say? Don't hate me, bro/bro-ette. Take a pause, dull those pointy pitchforks and take a swig of this muthafunking truthjuice. We've been identity-thiefed by our nearest and dearest. Did you get a sense of deja vu while this happened? If yes, you had good reason - remember this?

Arsenal are suddenly a team of pacy wingers without end product, promising but ultimately crappy strikers, decent English prospects who will never make it to the top (Jenkinson, Gibbs = O'Hara, Livermore) and whose undoubted star strikers are sold following a single excellent season at fabulous profit to Manchester United, rendering their North London club entirely toothless for the following campaign. Need I explain further?

Warning: deeply obvious comparisons may result in trans-European homoeroticism.

So, that's my view on Arsenal and Chelski's budding identity crises.

Meanwhile, Spurs have been tootling along quite happily, transformed from a midtable wannabe to a professional outfit capable of bringing in your Llorises, Dembeles and Holtbys. It's been a quiet transformation, but... dude, sometimes you have to take a moment to step back and soak it in.

It's like playing an instrument. You're always focused on the people better than you and not on how much less you seem like a tw*t than you did when you started out. You don't have to think that far back to recall that feeling of dread when we had an Arsenal, Chelsea or United fixture coming up. I mean, I still get through a good few pairs of pants watching those games, but I also have a sneaky dribbly stain of conviction that we should be picking up maximum points more often than not.

So, for the second consecutive of my posts, I guess I'm going to conclude by saying that Spurs are looking pretty solid right now, even before we sign THE Damiao. Plus, if Chelsea and Arsenal are indeed Arsenal-Classic and Spurs-Classic respectively in disguise, that puts them... 4th and 5th-with-food-poisoning respectively? I'll take that 3rd spot.

The end.

Also, I might start throwing in some tenuous internet links because I pretty much enjoy the internet. So, with a cap-doff to lasagnegate, check out this excellent instructional YouTube channel and relax. Hope you enjoyed this post and weren't too shocked by its outrageous controversy.

Question 1: Are Chelsea the new Arsenal?

IT'S OK, BREATHE. WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER. Let me explain.

Question 2: Are Arsenal the new Spurs?

Warning: deeply obvious comparisons may result in trans-European homoeroticism.

So, that's my view on Arsenal and Chelski's budding identity crises.

The end.

January 2013 Transfer Window: What's Really Important?

a01chtra — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:31:24 -0000

Ok, so pretty much every post I've seen in recent weeks suggests we're desperate to sign players, because glamour signings are excellent fun and because of purported flaws in our team and, more desperately, because YOLO. Can fingers spit? Think my fingers are spitting on that acronym.

Truthfully, though, I just don't see it. I'd agree in almost every other window that our squad was crying out for an improvement, and usually at center forward where Defoe was sputtering, Pav only scores ridiculous goals he has no right to and... Mido? Rebrov? POSTIGA?!

NOW DON'T FREAK OUT ON ME FOR SAYING ALL THE CRAZY WORDS but I think actually this time around, our squad is fine. You add a Damiao maybe, but that's it. We had a lot of injuries in the early season, but look at our actual squad for this season, crudely graphically rendered below. I've also taken the liberty of putting some ratings down for players in positions based on my subjective interpretation of their form up to this point (as an afterthought in a childish mouse-scribbled style).

Now, I'm not going to argue that a 10 up front isn't the difference between United and Chelsea, because it is. I'm not going to argue that going back in time and getting the (German) top scorer and goal machine Mario Gomes to take that b*stard penalty instead of the (Dutch) ex-Chelskite Arjen Robben, triggering a chain of events that brings Eden Hazard to play in the hole and Marko Marin to provide cover, rest and genuine alternative for Bale and Lennon wouldn't drastically improve the Spurs team, because it would. If any of you reading this can do that, you should really be on that by now. Be careful not to bang your own mother and/or distract her from banging your dad before you come back to the future. If you tried and were lost that way, then... damn it all, Martyspur! YOU HAD ONE JOB.

But truthfully, this is the best Spurs team I've ever seen, competing in probably the best EPL in terms of competitive teams I've ever seen (I am 22, but please don't hate me, I'm trying to get older). It can be argued that without Ronaldo and co we've lost something, but to be frank there are a lot of teams that now exist that would comfortably have ousted a couple of the "Big Four" a few seasons ago, and maybe won the title. Fellaini and co in particular are suddenly a terrifying outfit with (Neville excluded) no obvious weakness. I also think this Spurs team might have won the league last season (given another random dice-roll on injuries for MUN, MAC, CHE & SPU). Michu and Pablo Hernandes are midtable! Even the relegation battler XI this season would include Johnson, Sessegnon, Benteke, Granero, Cesar, Kone, Maloney... There aren't really any bad sides. Apart from QPR, who should drown in the jowl-sweat of their money-grabbing wheeler-dealing disloyal tax-evading self-satisfied manager. Ahem.

Anyway, I put it to you, Spursians, that the most important thing to happen in this window - excluding avoiding injury to any of the 10s in my above image, which would make Baby Jesus weep - is that our rivals don't pick up team-strengthening players.

If Arsenal realise that all their strikers are sh*t and buy someone decent, they might start looking a threat. Although it's more likely they'll lose Walcott and whoever their current captain is. It's Vermaelen's turn, is it?
If Chelsea pick up Falcao (to add to Ba... damn it all) and start scoring the myriad chances they create, we're well behind them. Uncatchable, probably. Worse still...
...United bring in (the curious case of) Wesley Sneijder to provide some genuine creativity behind Rooney/RvP, the title's sewn up and we'll probably never see United again for the next three or four years...

The key thing to note is that those are frightening potential signings because they fix screaming barn door weaknesses. We just don't have those same barn doors anymore. Our barn doors are small Swedish, and better run than they used to be. And they train in a lovely facility. We used to have glaring weaknesses (at keeper and at striker) but you're a mean and possibly racist guy if you can call Ade and Defoe anything lower than a decent pair of strikers. We go deep now, and we go hard. There's no space for Moutinho (10) anymore, I'm afraid. We've also fixed our creative problem for next year, with Holtby (I'm hoping an 8 to start with, pushing to a 10 over the next few years) playing in any of the three slots behind the front man or sitting deep when Dembele's hip falls off.

Gomes will leave in the summer (yeah, he's still here, check out the Christmas videos), and a young keeper (Butland? 6?) will come in for the development squad. Fryers, signed cheaply from United with a warm SAF handshake, will provide competition at left back and spare Naughton the indignity of learning his trade at a top 4 club out of position. Carroll hopefully will go out on loan to Swansea and to light up the league, ready to come back and provide strong competition in 2014/5. Some striker might come in and complete the squad forever, but to be honest... this might well be it, and I'd take quite a few of these players in a Premier League 11, and certainly in the 25.

The future's bright, lads & ma'ams. Stop asking for (non-Damiao) signings, we're set. COYS!

If Arsenal realise that all their strikers are sh*t and buy someone decent, they might start looking a threat. Although it's more likely they'll lose Walcott and whoever their current captain is. It's Vermaelen's turn, is it?
If Chelsea pick up Falcao (to add to Ba... damn it all) and start scoring the myriad chances they create, we're well behind them. Uncatchable, probably. Worse still...
...United bring in (the curious case of) Wesley Sneijder to provide some genuine creativity behind Rooney/RvP, the title's sewn up and we'll probably never see United again for the next three or four years...

The future's bright, lads & ma'ams. Stop asking for (non-Damiao) signings, we're set. COYS!

SBNation.com User Blog: a01chtra

What's Holding Up Baldini's Appointment?

Is Franco Baldini coming to Spurs?

Behind The Parker Stats: A Theory of AVB

Context

Damning counterevidence

Theory

Analysis

Why?

Thanks for reading!

Context

Damning counterevidence

Theory

Analysis

Why?

Thanks for reading!

Are you convinced by my "Control-Creative System" vs "Creative System" theory?

Yes! That makes so much sense, now I don't hate AVB. #AVBIN!

No, this doesn't explain something specific I'd like to raise in the comments. #AVBOUT

HULK CRUSH PUNY HUMAN WHO ASK A1 TO INCLUDE BACON OPTION

Spurs Background Archive & Requests 3

Link to Archive 1:

Link to Archive 2:

Link to Archive 1:

Link to Archive 2:

Spurs Background Archive & Requests 2

Link to Archive 1:

Link to Archive 1:

Which was your favourite edit?

1 AVBale Hug

2 Arsenal Trophy Poster

3 Sandrobeast

4 Bale Awards

5 Levy Mind Tricks

6 Stevebeards

7 2/10 Chelsea Fan

8 Huddlefro Turkeys

9 Goalkeepers of Thrones

10 Circle of Kicks

11 Traction Engine

12 Szczpelling Bee

13 Boardroom Meme

14 Carroll Phone Home

15 Holtby City

A Q&A Session With Takura Mtandari

Heya Cartilage Free!

So, my news:

Q&A

OBVIOUS CAVEAT:

Heya Cartilage Free!

So, my news:

Q&A

OBVIOUS CAVEAT:

Sports Balls Replaced With Cats (Tumblr)

Sports Balls Replaced With Cats (Tumblr)

Spurs & Football Manager: Discussion and Nostalgia

Ahoy again, my manifold internet friends and acquaintances. Welcome!

a01chtra's FM11 Spurs Side Story

The lowdown

Significant NewGens: Rowe, Vincent, Alexandre, Carballo, Lee

My Favourite NewGens: Southern and Sylla

Quirky story:

So, there it is!

Ahoy again, my manifold internet friends and acquaintances. Welcome!

a01chtra's FM11 Spurs Side Story

The lowdown

Significant NewGens: Rowe, Vincent, Alexandre, Carballo, Lee

My Favourite NewGens: Southern and Sylla

Quirky story:

So, there it is!

Spurs Background Archive & Requests

Which is your favourite background/edit?

School Report - Sporting Spotlight: Ledley King

School Report - Sporting Spotlight: Ledley King

What It's Like To Go To A Spurs Game at White Hart Lane!

Getting To The Ground

Getting to my seat

The view

The match (not much to see here and I couldn't move much, so I didn't upload any photos)

Panorama