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'was up? A belated blog. I've got to be honest, I wasn't that inspired to write a thousand words and some on the Crystal Palace game. Here's the thing about football; perception is dominated by the result regardless of the performance. You graft and churn out the three points and you can run with an assortment of narratives, mainly how 'we can grind it out' when not playing well.
The game could have easily been a draw or a defeat with the exact same performance level we gave. A game of inches, right? We had a keeper in goal on his debut (third choice) making vital saves whilst Palace choked upfront and failed to capitalise. An off day? Yes, but not because of some psychological dip that presides over Wembley. This was still a European hangover, emotionally and physically drained from the Madrid dramatics with some daft passing and lacklustre composure. Dele Alli with a hamstring injury, joined the grand list of absentees. Both Winks and Kane have since skipped international duty which is majestic news, what with the NLD in the not so distant future. Talking of which...
I really dislike how we are favourites to go to the swamp and drown them in their own filth. Even their fans are prepared for defeat whilst they admit Spurs are comfortably the better side. It's unnerving. To hear them be so honest, such is the depth of their crisis of identity. Of course, Spurs isn't the team of old which routinely choked when ahead (against them lot) because they didn't truly believe in themselves. However, much like West Ham raise their game, the gooners will no doubt do the exact same thing. If anything, a win would give them superficial relief from their misery before they go lose the following week.
Hand on heart, I want us to...I need us to smash them. Destroy them. Humiliate them. Break them. I've got Arsenal supporting mates telling me I'm insane for even doubting how the game will play out. That's far too ominous a vibe to accept. I think it's our nature (as Tottenham supporters) to not be the arrogant gloating type and to commit to a result that hasn't happened yet. Of course, we always feel like this but our reality is different (we hardly come unstuck compared to the 'good' olde days).
Enjoy the international break. I'm off to lay a wreath for Twitter after they pushed their 140 character limit to 280.