The good thing about never winning any trophies, ever, is that you re-align your personal goals. You adjust your aspirations. So that getting a little piece of silverware does NOT become the defining feature of the entire season. Otherwise fans of teams who never win anything would be in a state of constant depression and gloom whilst those horrible teams from North West England would alone have reason for celebration, along with a few other, minor, laundered-money-funded and terrorist-backed clubs from elsewhere.

So ‘here’ at Spurs, we’ve long since abandoned all hope of ever winning anything which anyone else might want, made of silver. Our cupboard is famously bare and don’t look like filling up any week soon. Therefore we’ve not necessarily ‘lowered our sights’ but collectively and unconsciously set ourselves new goals and targets as to what might constitute a ‘good season’; something to celebrate. And that is two-fold. One is to finish in the top 4. To gain access to the prestige, the challenge and… oh yeah, the vast amount of money, for entering the Champions’ League. And the other, less financially beneficial and of precious little value outside of North London, is to finish above Arsenal.

I’m sure that Everton would love to finish above Liverpool. If they can avoid relegation. And similarly the two Manchesters probably put great stock in relative table position, even though for both of them, if it ain’t ‘top’, it ain’t nuffink. Though Manchester United’s assumed place at the top table has been tragically diminished by City’s ability to ‘just buy results, at any cost’, since the Abu Dhabi takeover and the continued inability of any footballing authority to try and stop them.

But really, no-one cares what happens in Liverpool and Manchester. No-one in my house anyway. And yesterday a dream occurred. Spurs not only came back from being a goal down against Newcastle to absolutely demolish them, 5-1, but in doing so overtook Arsenal AND entered forth place in the League. I was driving home from Birmingham (don’t ask), listening to it on the radio, enjoying every mile of the enforced 60 mph, ‘average speed check camera’ zone, like never before.

And that will last at least until tonight when Arsenal play against old-boy Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace. So all I can say is:

COME ON PALACE!!!!!!

Happy Monday

A xxxx