| Spurs fly high |
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| Jack Biantan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 28 February 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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LONDON - MY neighbor, the Tottenham Hotspurs, finally nailed their first title in many years after nipping Chelsea 2-1 in the final of the Carling Cup at the Wembley stadium. I wanted to watch the final but the cold weather stopped me from going to the Wembley and throwing away valuable sterlings. Since I am not yet a Spurs season ticket holder, a decent ticket to the match could have cost me a fortune in the black market. Last year, a ticket for the Charity Shield also in Wembley cost me £125 pounds, which is around P10,000, in Philippine money. That was only an exhibition match. How much more the Carling Cup, the first title at stake in the English football this season. Since the organizer announced earlier that they will show the highlights at night TV I just decided to keep my money and waited. But then, I could not wait. Luckily there was a live coverage over at yahoo.co.uk. Then, there I was checking on the results every minute. Chelsea got the upper hand. Here we go again.... Drogba put Chelsea ahead with six minutes before halftime. He hit a strong free kick that went through the left side of the defensive wall. Spur's goalkeeper Paul Robinson could do nothing but just look at the ball as it hit the back of the net. It was excruciating at halftime. Chelsea was leading 1-0 and I was not sure what would happen in the next 45 minutes. But then in the second half the Spurs were like a house on fire as they pushed for an equalizer. Then Wayne Bridge gifted them with a penalty 20 minutes into the second half. The Spurs were alive as star striker Dimitar Berbatov calmly booted in the equalizer. D-I-M-I-T-A-R B-E-R-B-A-T-O-v half of Wembley cried. Half were also silent. Overtime was another Spurs time. It was `Woody's' time. The often wounded Jonathan Woodgate gifted coach Juande Ramos trust in him by heading the winning goal. Woodgate, an £8 million buy from Middlesborough, headed the ball from a free kick of Jermain Genas. Chelsea keeper Peter Chech punched the ball after Woodgate's initial header. The football however bounced on Woodgate's head and rolled to the the open goal. It was a massive victory for the Spurs but manager Juande Ramos ruled out an open bus parade as of the moment as they are still busy preparing for the Premiership and the UEFA Cup. Ramos ordered that the parade around the borough of Haringey where Tottenham is located can wait when the season ends. CHELSEA IN TROUBLE After their 2-1 defeat to Spurs in the Carling Cup, Chelsea players have blamed the coaching staff for their lack of preparations in the final. According to London's top tabloid newspaper, the Sun, one of Chelsea's coaches Dutchman Henk Ten Cate has a bust up with Chelsea skipper John Terry during training the day after their defeat to Spurs. The Sun said that the pair had to be pulled apart by other players just 24 hours after their Sunday defeat to Spurs. The report also said that the coach has to put up with Terry's opposite views and one of them could be out of Chelsea. If this will happen then do not expect team owner Abramovich will get rid of the England captain. LEAN MACHINES Back at the White Heart Lane, Sunday's victory was Juande Ramos' second success this season according to the report of Antony Kastrinakis of the Sun. Ramos first victory was turning his players into lean fighting machines. If you noticed during the match last Sunday, the once flabby Spurs goalkeeper Paul Robinson is now back on his deadly form. Ramos axed Robinson from the starting lineup when he took over Martin Jol late last year for having extra body loads. The axing cost Robinson his England place. The former Seville manager introduced to his struggling and overweight Spurs stars strict diet and intensive fitness program. He banned all fattening junk food in the Spurs canteen including ketchup, Coca Cola, mayonnaise and sweets. Ramos then signed up Spanish nutritionist Dr. Antonio Escribano to revolutionize the players diet. Escribano is known for introducing his patients to baby food to maintain a healthy body. Escribano did great wonder to the Spurs as their fitness improved and their game moved forward. The Spurs are now out of the relegation zone and are doing very well in the UEFA Cup and in the Premiership. They capped their sterling performance with a victory over Chelsea in the Carling Cup final. BERBATOV WANTS TO STAY Star striker Dimitar Berbatov wants to stay with Spurs and wants to extend his contract until 2012. However he wants a raise on his £40,000 a week salary. He wants his pay to level with current Spurs highest paid player Jonathan Woodgate, who is getting a £60,00 weekly wage. A £10.9M snatch from Bayer Leverkusen in 2006, Berbatov wanted to move out from Spurs under Martin Jol. Now that they have won the Carling Cup and are doing well in the UEFA Cup and the Premiership, Berbatov has decided to stay. Chelsea and Man United are chasing for Berbatov's signature but with his change of heart, thousands of Spurs fans including a number of Filipinos in our area here in Edmonton have breathe a sigh of relief. CFA ELECTION As of this writing, there is no fix date yet for the stalled Cebu Football Association (CFA) elections. But there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel as concerned coaches and football loving person in the Queen City of the South have been tasked by the CFA to from the guidelines for the coming election. Appointed to perform this task are San Roque Football Club (SRFC) official Eleazar Toledo and Queen City United coach Richard Montayre. According to Toledo in a long distance call to this writer, they do not want to rush the election so that people who really love football and who are really involved in football should make up the board not just any Tom, Dick or Harry. They said that they will recommend individuals to the board so that the board can elect the officers. The CFA by laws states that only the board can elect the officers. He also added that before the elections they will hold a general assembly for the Cebu football community to chose the board members. He is also pushing for a one club one vote to select the board members. The CFA without prior notice to the Cebu football community tried to hold an election last week. But some coaches and football loving Cebuanos gate crashed the meeting and demanded a proper selection of the board members. A committee was then formed to finalize the guidelines and organize the election. This development has injected lots of hope to the development of Cebu football. GOD BLESS Email the author
Alex Ryan
said:
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| "Take that, Chelski! Barnsley for the win this weekend!" WOOHOO!!!!!! You heard it here first! |
jackbiantan
said:
| Reddevil They celebrated too much. After the win over Chelsea the Spurs now have two straight defeats. An one very importan one against PSV. |
Reddevil
said:
| Hi Jack. I'd expect you would be in seventh heaven after that win. Ramos has done a great job witht the Spurs, a team that definitely should be among the top 6 or 7 teams in the league. I thought they should have never sacked Jol who is an excellent coach and one of the best technical managers around. But unfortunately they went thru that bad spell and they had to make a decision. But Ramos deserves the credit with this win and if they progress in the UEFA cup. Congrats again to all Spurs fans. Dino, I think you should check with your local post office. When Jack sent me the package, I wasnt around and they will not leave it at your residence if the receiver will not take it personally. It took around 2 weeks from the time Jack sent it out. |
Alex Ryan
said:
| I'm glad Berbatov decided to stay at White Hart Lane, he's been brilliant all season & is essential to their success. Congrats to the Spurs, I wouldn't have thought they'd have any silverware this season! Take that, Chelski! Barnsley for the win this weekend! I thought the little quip about banning fatty foods was funny. I figure it would be a given to to restrict pie consumption from the players' diets. I wonder if ales were included on that list? LOL, that'd be too much to ask. |
totot
said:
| me and my friend dave was very happy when the hotspur won the carling cup..he is a toottenham fan just like me (tottenham is my team to watch in england)...beating chelsea 2-1.. CFA elections no comment |
JOSHUEY
said:
| DINO: ITīS GOOD IF U GO TO YOUR LOCAL P-OFFICE and ask for d package! T HAPPENED OFTETIMES THAT local MAIL-OFFICES DON`T TRANSPORT PACHAGES TO PEOPLE. THEY ARE WAITNG THAT SOMEONE WILL PIK IT UP, OTHERWISE (AFTER SOME MONTHS ) THEY WILL TAKE IT FOR THEMSELF. |
dino
said:
| uhm...thing is, i haven't received it yet. i replied to your email about that, i'm worried. |
jackbiantan
said:
| Dino, Have your received your jersey with a surprise package? Please I need your foto wearing the shirt ASAP. Jack |
dino
said:
| hahaha, I'll share in the celebration. I just don't really like Chelski, glad the Spurs had one up off em. |
