‘There’s everything to play for’, as the much over-used footballing expression goes. So overused in football-land, where pundits roam as a protected species, that only possibly ‘at da enna da day’ exceeds it as an exercise in wasted words and cliché. Even when Spurs were 6-1 down on Sunday, there was arguably ‘everything to play for’. Not victory, that became unviable 50 minutes beforehand. But perhaps pride? Respect? A duty to the fans? Even practicing for the next match.

Daniel Levy has offered Spurs traveling fans a full refund on their tickets for Sunday’s match. He sacked the manager who was in charge, but the fans still hate Daniel. So throw some cash at them. That’ll stop the inevitable protests and calls for his death, when the fans gather on Thursday night. Buy their support for 25 quid. (Away tickets are always cheap. Next season at Fulham they’ll probably charge 25 quid for the stewards to show fans to their seats.) But its a gesture. A realisation, not that Daniel wouldn’t have known beforehand, that the fans exist, they breathe and they ARE his football club. And they desperately wanted Mauricio Pochettino back in charge, but he’s going to Chelsea. We’ll have to take Sam Allardyce and be grateful.

But its the sharp end of the season. We dropped from 5th to 6th in the table last night when Villa won. If Liverpool beat West Ham tonight it’ll be 7th. Not disgraceful but so far below expectations and aspirations that it actually gives me irritable brain syndrome.

Yet tonight I cannot but be drawn to events at the (normally-)hateful Etihad stadium. For that rarest of spectacles: a title fight. It isn’t mathematically, but as you’re useless at maths (according to Rishi Sunak), who cares about that. This is the nearest to a ‘winner takes all’ as you’re going to get. So all us Man City fans are gearing up, getting the beers in and practising speaking really badly and northern for the event.

Because that’s what my season has become. I’m not proud, it is what it is.

Happy Wednesday

A xxxx