The Spurs Pies 2007/08 Season Review: October
If there was one month that encapsulated everything about Spurs' 2007/08 season, then October was that month. Seven games that produced 26 goals and more highs and lows than most teams experience in a decade.
Monday 1st October
Premier League - Spurs 4 Aston Villa 4
In any other season, this match would have been by far and away the most ridiculous, remembered for years to come as a crazy one-off match that could never be repeated. As it turned out, Spurs not only managed to produce another 4-4 draw, but went one better with a 6-4 victory before the season was out.
However, our 125th anniversary celebrations will still live long in the memory, and that fact has very little to do with the flags and commemorative kit. With Martin Jol's future very much hanging by a thread, a defeat did not bear thinking about. 3-1 down at half-time though, and suddenly it was all anyone could think about.
The Aston Villa fans taunting us with a chorus of Happy Birthday was one of the highlights certainly, and who could blame them when they went 4-1 up with just half an hour to go. It's sad to think that our eventual comeback only delayed the inevitable for Martin Jol, and the glee we all felt as Younes Kaboul of all people fired home an injury-time equaliser now seems almost in vain, but nonetheless, this was a classic game, a classic fightback and the first of the season's true highlights.
Thursday 4th October
UEFA Cup - Anorthosis Famagusta 1 Spurs 1
The most nothing of nothing games, this match was so overlooked that the most exciting thing to come from it was the debut of summer signing Kevin-Prince Boateng, complete with the obligatory ridiculous haircut. It would soon emerge that his haircut was just about the only exciting thing about him, and that Anorthosis was just about the right level for the German misfit midfielder.
Sunday 7th October
Premier League - Liverpool 2 Spurs 2
This should've been the game that put paid to at least some of the increasing number of naysayers queuing up to take a cheap shot at Jol. His record against the top four was the subject of much consternation, and when Fernando Torres cruelly snatched victory from Jol's grasp, it was undeserved and unjust.
Having gone behind early on, the travelling support feared the worst, but the team rallied round and an inspirational performance from captain Robbie Keane saw us turn a game around for the second time in a week. Alas, this time an injury-time equaliser was the source of our misery rather than our opponents', and, without wishing to conform to lazy stereotypes, I walked away from Anfield feeling very much like I'd been robbed.
Tuesday 9th October
Jol linked with vacant Ajax post
As Chelsea appointed Henk Ten Cate as assistant to new manager Avram Grant, speculation grew that Jol was the man being lined up to take over from his fellow countryman. In the end, it was not to be, but it indicated just how highly Europe's top clubs thought of Jol, and his subsequent appointment by German club Hamburg only served to reinforce this.
Sunday 14th October
Jurgen Klinsmann latest name linked with Jol's job
By this point, various sports editors were clearly tired of typing the words 'Juande' and 'Ramos', and so decided to the take the story to its logical conclusion and link a Spurs legend with the soon-to-be vacant Spurs manager's job. The likelihood of Klinsmann succeeding Jol was always remote to say the least, but it gave everyone a chance to imagine life under the German genius.
Wednesday 17th October
Robinson clanger seemingly dooms England
After a fairly feeble first few weeks of the season, Paul Robinson cemented his place in English footballing ignominy with a glaring error that seemed to have put paid to England's chances of reaching Euro 2008. Robinson took the lion share of the blame for the result, and though Israel later handed Steve McClaren's men a reprieve, Robinson's replacement Scott Carson ensured that Leeds' reputation for producing international quality goalkeepers would never recover.
Monday 22nd October
Premier League - Newcastle 3 Spurs 1
In what would prove to be Jol's final league game, his players well and truly deserted him, and made sure everyone knew all about it. If the on-field performance wasn't bad enough, then the downright disgraceful off-field behaviour of Berbatov was the icing on a particularly distasteful cake. Berbatov's sulking and initial refusal to warm up when instructed betrayed a lack of respect and discipline that was symptomatic of the unrest caused by Jol's supposed superiors. We made a Newcastle side suffering from their own managerial issues look like Brazil circa 1970, and that just ain't right.
Thursday 25th October
UEFA Cup - Spurs 1 Getafe 2
Jol leaves
The single most surreal moment in Spurs history, as Jol suffered the final humiliation of being the last person in the stadium to learn of his fate. The extremely poor result was completely overshadowed by the board's final act of indignity. Only the second ever home European defeat and no one cared a jot. Later reports suggested players were receiving text messages quite literally behind Jol's back, yet no one had the balls to pass the message on. In the second half Jol sat slumped in his seat, beaten but unbowed.
Friday 26th October
Ramos leaves Sevilla
And so the circus came to town, as the press lapped up every minute of Spurs' latest shameful episode. Juande Ramos left Sevilla instantly, leaving no further room for any speculation, and boarded the first available flight to London, stopping only, we hoped, to pack his winning mentality and tactical acumen.
Saturday 27th October
Ramos appointed
The worst kept secret in football was revealed the very next day, though conveniently the board chose to let Ramos skip the potential banana skin of Blackburn at home as his first game in charge, and instead left Clive Allen to mind the stall.
Sunday 28th October
Premier League - Spurs 1 Blackburn Rovers 2
Poor old Clive eh? Early in the second half, it looked as if he might be the managerial genius we had been looking for all this time, as we led 1-0 through a Robbie Keane penalty, but alas, things are never that easy, and a spirited Blackburn fightback was completed with yet another injury-time goal. The watching Ramos was made immediately aware of just how much work he had to do.
Monday 29th October
Poyet appointed
Perhaps the most crucial and shrewd decision the board made in this saga was to ensure that Ramos had a Spanish speaking, ex-Spurs player with a genuine understanding of English football at the highest level. Gus Poyet's role in our subsequent successes has often been overlooked, but there is no doubting that he has played a huge part in our resurgence.
Wednesday 31st October
Carling Cup - Spurs 2 Blackpool 0
When Ramos' first game did finally arrive, it served as an omen of what was to come. A Carling Cup victory, though not quite in the glorious manner of our subsequent wins over Arsenal and Chelsea. This was fairly routine stuff as we outplayed a Blackpool side not particularly interested in ruining Juande's big day.
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