A reflection on Newcastle 2 – Spurs 2

THFC1882 present Gareth Johnson’s reflections on Spurs draw at Newcastle:

They say time is a healer, hence me writing this review having had a small period of reflection. We nearly had them. It was nearly the perfect victory. It nearly made me smug. It just about devastated me. While before the game I would have taken a point, to lose a goal in the dying minutes to Shola Ameobi just devastated me. Shola said after the match it was a “1 in 50″ shot .. He was being kind to himself, it was a 1 in 500 at least!

I must admit, as the teams took to the pitch, I didn’t think this purple strip would be a strip that would go down in memory as a winning shirt. I have loved all the shirts we have worn in victory at SJP but this didn’t have the same fuzzy feeling. So it proved. In the end it was probably a fair result .. But who said results had to be fair? Certainly not us three Geordies sitting high in the stand a SJP. Indeed, I was in row Y, there was, quite literally, nee one behind me. That’s a bit of Geordie for you, “nee”! The cockney also present, it wasn’t fair on him either.

To the game and the briefest of reviews. Rafa scored. So did Ba. Defoe scored. So did Ameobi. 2-2. We may have lost. We didn’t. Onward and upwards.

On my thoughts, should you desire them, I worried from the start. I sat next two equally nervous Geordies and one cockney who was so confused that he was in the away end, at SJP, with three Geordies next to him, he moved. I was even more worried when Gareth Bale lined up on the right. It may be a radical idea Mr Redknapp .. But playing a player in their natural position may actually benefit the team. Possibly. Then Luka on the left. Now OK, we may have used him there in the past, but alongside Parker in the centre, he has looked unstoppable. So, when on form, move him. Great work. Rafa and Ade rated 50/50 for the game. Now I thought that usually meant they were doubtful but clearly, Harry does sums and 50/50 is 100%. So they were guaranteed to play and so they did. And here was me starting to like the bloke.

To be fair to the team, injuries disrupted them, Bale got a kick early doors and Ledley departed from his farewell tour after 30 mins. If only a music mogul could reform Ledley’s knee in the same way they have reformed Steps, The Stone Roses and Backstreet boys the world would be a better place. So as I sat, telling all that would listen, “I can see my office from here” in the style of an Aussie drinking beer, I prayed to God for a victory. To be fair, one is so high up in the away end at SJP that you do not need to look to the heavens, just over to the right a bit will do.  To be fair to the big man, it was a ludicrous prayer and not worthy of his attention but he did bless me with a draw and a chance to go to White Hart Lane and trash the Geordies when their good form eventually drops off a cliff.

Of much encouragement was the fact that, once again, we didn’t played brilliantly but got a result. I thought we failed to get out of second gear against Arsenal and we did the same against Newcastle. Those games yielded four points. A good sign picking up points when not playing particularly well and something that will serve us well over the course of a season. With Blackburn away and QPR at home next in the league, I would like to get to the end of October with around the 17-19 point mark. That would be progress and our poor start to the season out of the way. I would like us to blast some of these teams away as goal difference will be important, but chugging along picking up points is never a bad thing.

Of much interest in the next few games is Rafa v Defoe. There is also likely to be more on Harry to England .. Stayed tuned to this website for more musing on those subjects in the come weeks.

Auf wiedersen pet .. As us Geordies says aal the time, like.

COYS

Gareth Johnson ( @GMMJohnson on Twitter )

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