{"id":8393,"date":"2023-09-23T17:53:08","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T16:53:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8393"},"modified":"2023-09-24T22:12:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T21:12:23","slug":"here-come-the-muppets-kane-sale-funds-new-tottenham-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8393","title":{"rendered":"Here Come The Muppets &#8211; Kane Sale Funds New Tottenham Squad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"638\" height=\"358\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screen-Shot-2023-09-23-at-17.33.25.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screen-Shot-2023-09-23-at-17.33.25.png 638w, https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screen-Shot-2023-09-23-at-17.33.25-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screen-Shot-2023-09-23-at-17.33.25-75x42.png 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 638px) 100vw, 638px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Prologue<\/strong><br>On Sunday Kermit, Fozzy, Stadtler, Waldorf<em> et al<\/em> will trundle into the Emirates Stadium for the 208th game between the two clubs, dating all the way back to 9th November, 1896.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>We were treated to some great pieces on this blog over the summer from United States based fans, Lonestar Gooner and scruzgooner on what supporting Arsenal has meant to them, and I thought it might be interesting for the rest of us readers and writers to share in the \u2018drinks\u2019 what this London Derby fixture actually means to us &#8211; local or otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>For me, this fixture goes right back to junior school days &#8211; being in a small minority of Arsenal fans, and hugely outnumbered by Spurs fans. That was more to do with chronology than geography &#8211; I didn\u2019t live in a particularly Spurs supporting area, it was just Tottenham\u2019s era and I hated it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>the first Christmas present I can really remember was my first Arsenal shirt, in the style of what would become the 1971 classic, as worn by Dave the first time I met him at The Tollie.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>there were three of us Arsenal fans in my class at junior school and we always stuck together in playground games of football, played with a tennis ball and invariably spiced with an Arsenal v Spurs element.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>my first live North London Derby was at Highbury on 16th September 1967. My two aforementioned school mates and I had earned ourselves seats in East Lower by handing out Arsenal Bingo leaflets before the game. We arrived at the ground around 12.00 noon, for the 3.00pm kick off, and were picked out of the queue for our little job by former keeper Jack Kelsey. Handing out my share of those leaflets didn\u2019t take too long as Spurs fans were taking handfuls and throwing them straight on the ground as the prizes were tickets to Arsenal games. George Graham was playing for us that day. He got married that morning and his best man was Terry Venables who was playing for Tottenham in that same match. George\u2019s wedding present was a 4-0 victory.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>I remember that going to White Hart Lane always felt like taking your life in your hands, which almost happened to the victim of a stabbing behind us as we won the league there in 1971 &#8211; the first leg of our double. Finally, no more \u201cSpurs double\u201d to be rammed down our throats.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>I remember some inter club transfers we seemed to do quite well in &#8211; Pat Jennings arrived in goal and we swapped our winger David Jenkins for theirs, Jimmy Robertson.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>North London Derby day is a horrible experience until it\u2019s over and we\u2019ve won and the nerves and tension can be released for another few months. But win, lose or draw the rivalry should always be fun. We can hate Tottenham as a club, we can mock their fans and players, but violence should never become a part of that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To emphasise the importance of his first North London Derby to their new manager, Tottenham have arranged a special pre-match dinner, the menu for which has been leaked to me as follows:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Manager\u2019s hash<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Roasted cockerel<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Roasted spuds<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Benta-cured fricassee of mixed vegetables and tripe<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Cowardy custard Brazilian tart with a Kane based sweet sauce and sour grapes (withdrawn as it has gone off)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">*<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Tea and coffee served in Tottenham mugs as no cups have been seen near White Hart Lane for over 15 years<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In other news, new signing James Maddison has been told to stop turning up to training at Tottenham in a red car and so will have to find something in a more appropriate hue as he arrives at White Hart Lane which, incidentally, now falls within London\u2019s new Ultra Low Expectations Zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The opposition (serious part)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking at a fans\u2019 forum this week, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy admitted that Tottenham made \u201cmistakes\u201d in appointing big name managers such as Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, while hailing new head coach Ange Postecoglou as a \u201cbreath of fresh air\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Levy said, \u201cThere was a lot of pressure on me to bring in somebody that was a big name. I just wanted somebody who understood our DNA, would play attacking football, that would give young players a chance, believe in the academy, would build a relationship with the fans and understand the resources we have and be part of a team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">***** and they still went for Mourinho and Conte! *****<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">\u201cAnge is a breath of fresh air. We\u2019ve got our Tottenham back. We\u2019re seeing football that we used to see and that\u2019s all that we want. I had gone through a period where we\u2019d almost won. With Mauricio Pochettino we went through some very good times. We came very close and we had a change in strategy. The strategy was \u2018let\u2019s bring in a trophy manager\u2019. We did it twice and you have to learn from your mistakes. They\u2019re great managers but maybe not for this club. We want to play in a certain way and if that means it has to take a little longer to win, maybe it\u2019s the right thing for us. That\u2019s why bringing Ange in was the right decision\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not sure his fans would agree but thank God he\u2019s not in charge of us !<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since we last played them, Tottenham have spent around \u00a3150m in bringing in nine new players including Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Micky van de Ven and converting Kulusevski\u2019s loan to a permanent move. They have shipped out thirteen, most of whom I\u2019ve never heard of, but including Lucas Maura, Harry Winks and, of course, want-away, one-of-their-own, skipper Harry Kane. No, it\u2019s true! It hasn\u2019t been mentioned in the media or anything but he\u2019s gone. Oh, and he lost Bayern Munich a cup final in his very first appearance. Oh, my aching sides !<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m not going to pretend to know much about them all and, frankly, I don\u2019t care until they line up on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s game against PSV Eindhoven saw our new look team and squad really beginning to gel for the first time this season. PSV had not lost in their last 26 matches and we made them look very ordinary and defensively, to be honest, a bit &#8216;all at sea&#8217;. They seemed to play a high line and leave a lot of room on the flanks for the superb Saka, White and Trossard to exploit. That way of playing is, I hear, one out of the Postecoglou playbook and one that he is promising to continue with at the Emirates &#8211; \u201cWe\u2019ll Scare Them To Death\u201d he is claiming!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The focus of much attention is clearly going to be on our goalkeeping situation. I have to say David Raya has been the epitome of calm in his two appearances. He is possibly a bit less hurried with his short passing than Aaron Ramsdale, but both are great long passers. Also in Raya\u2019s favour is the fact that he claimed most crosses in the league last season &#8211; 51 &#8211; while Aaron was a way behind with 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You do get the feeling that Mikel Arteta has already decided that Raya is his number one and, if he is better than Aaron, that\u2019s how it should be. I do really feel for Aaron though. He is a great keeper, has done a lot to get us where we are, is a very likeable character and has been brilliant in acknowledging and connecting with the fans. He is far too good to be a number two and I hope he can find a role that keeps him happy for as long as he is with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Declan Rice already looks at home in midfield and Kai Havertz grew into the game against PSV quite nicely after what I thought was a quiet start, although I know some thought his first half was fine too. Trossard just continues to produce and impress, while Gabriel Jesus gives us something we otherwise just don\u2019t have. Someone we are going to have for another 5 years is Martin \u00d8degaard who has just signed a new contract. (Reportedly, Martin was set to join Tottenham at one stage until Zinedine Zidane stepped in and put the young man straight.) But it\u2019s great news and huge credit to the club which has now secured the long term futures of almost all the key players until 2027. We are now a destination club rather than a stepping stone to better things and the best players now seem convinced that the biggest trophies are within our potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Mo Elneny remain out for Sunday &#8211; there are no reports of any other new afflictions but the good news is that Gabriel Martinelli is being assessed ahead of the game which suggests his hamstring may not be as serious as perhaps feared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So who will play? While I\u2019m not at all convinced the manager will share my opinion &#8211; let\u2019s face it, he will never even know my opinion &#8211; I would like to see Tomiyasu at left back to defend against Kulusevski, with Zinchenko moving further forward to link with Trossard and Jesus. But anyone\u2019s guess is as good as mine:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Raya; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">\u00d8degaard, Rice, Zinchenko; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Saka, Jes\u00fas, Trossard<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Officials<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The referee for this one is Rob Jones, fourth official is Michael Salisbury, VAR is Paul Tierney. Fingers crossed that they all do an absolutely faultless job. What?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Holic Pound<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are odds on favourites with the bookies, typically 4\/6 to win, with 17\/5 on the draw and a Spurs win is 15\/4 against. If you are tempted to bet, Bukayo Saka to score the first goal at 13\/2 might be more interesting, Leo Trossard is at 15\/2, or a score cast of 3-1 to the Arsenal can be had at 12\/1. Were I a betting man, that\u2019s where my hard earned would be going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kickoff is at 14.00 hrs on Sunday 24th September with TV coverage on Sky Sports. If you are lucky enough to be going, enjoy and sing up loud and proud!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The PrologueOn Sunday Kermit, Fozzy, Stadtler, Waldorf et al will trundle into the Emirates Stadium for the 208th game between the two clubs, dating all the way back to 9th November, 1896. We were treated to some great pieces on this blog over the summer from United States based fans, Lonestar Gooner and scruzgooner on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8393"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8393"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8399,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8393\/revisions\/8399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}