aka Dus

If they qualify they can play. It's their attitude while playing that I judge, and plenty of 100% home grown little Paddys have shown a distinct lack of being bothered over the last few years.

Possibly, and Martin is a total flip flopper in these situations (as the manner of him taking other jobsin the past have shown) but he most likely 'definitively' said no and they took his word for it. They'd be strung up for waiting and not getting him otherwise. They can't win.

So he meant to score. But not hit the 18th square of net, 7 squares inside the rear left stanchion? The lucky bollix.

f*** them all Anders. I'm with ya lad. 2-0 to us, pulling away. The rest of these old pantomime dames simply don't believe....

Got this email from a totally football-phobic/clueless friend. She sent it to all her friends so it must be doing the rounds somewhat. Made me smile. 1981 In Review: 1. Prince Charles got married. 2. Liverpoolcrowned soccer Champions of Europe. 3. Australialost the Ashes tournament. 4. Pope died. 2005 In Review: 1. Prince Charles got married. 2. Liverpoolcrowned soccer Champions of Europe. 3. Australialost the Ashes tournament. 4. Pope died. In the future, if Prince Charles decides to remarry, someone please warn the Pope.

As far as I know, Smith is suspended too. Possibility that Rafa might use Kromkamp on Rooney after the job he did on him for Villareal and holland but God knows who he would drop. I expect a niggly crap game but I am optimistic we'll win it.

No, the idea of an advisor was Stan's own as far as I know. What I am 'pro' is a realistic appraisal of the situation, a realistic course of action with a long term view and a realistic candidate being appointed. If Stan doesn't work out, then it's a bad appointment but since the FAI couldn't wait for O'Neill any longer they had to appoint someone and there weren't any better options.

They didn't leak it. The Sunday Tribune did. And the source wasn't in the FAI. He asked several of his old team mates for advice on who might be suitable candidates in the 'advisory' role.

Hard to know for sure without a close up replay but his foot is not positioned correctly to send the ball to the man behind him (who had a defender too close to him in any event) He span around to his right to sell a dummy and send his man the wrong way to buy Van Bommel (on the right) time.

Stan thought he needed Bobby to make himself a more attractive candidate for the FAI. He didn't have to, but he might not have gotten offered the job if he hadn't. The FAI had f ck all to choose from and Stan made himself the best choice by adding value to the proposition of choosing him. Otherwise we'd be talking Phillip Troussier, Terry Venables or other luminaries from the world of yesterday's men.

If Ronaldinko (typo intended) hit that shot to get that goal in this year's World Cup nobody would bat an eyelid. He has now established himself as the game's most creative player. We almost expect that from him. At the time, people were stunned by the impudence and the sheer skill. The subsequent years have proven Ronaldinho to be eminently capable of making a mockery of a team by such flashes of brilliance.

I'd still like to see some kind of comparison between the amount of deflected shots that have gone wide and the amount of deflected shots that have gone in. They are still being extremely lucky. If they were winning games by cricket scores I would buy the early shooting = more deflected goals theory a lot more readily. But as it stands they are winning a lot of games by deflected goals. It's not as if 1 of their 3 or 4 goals are routinely deflected. There's a disparity between their goal count and the quality of their goals which the 'early shooting' theory doesn't explain and that I don't have the statistical analysis to breakdown.

It was a fluke. Ask Cobs.

Cobs, you've made a mockery of yourself in this thread.

They don't HAVE to do anything. They have to work out an arrangement that suits the coachign staff. People really need to strp off their high horse and get a good kick of reality up their holes. Staunton ready for 'chance of a lifetime' 16/01/2006 - 11:21:53 Steve Staunton has spoken of his determination to repeat the success he enjoyed as a player for the Republic of Ireland after taking over as manager. Staunton, who will take charge with Sir Bobby Robson acting as International Football Consultant, was a member of the famous side who beat Italy at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. And after the national team failed to qualify for the forthcoming World Cup in Germany under Brian Kerr, Staunton knows the size of the task he faces. ?To play for and captain your country is an honour and I was fortunate to do both ? but to manage them is the ultimate honour,? he told a news conference. ?It is clearly the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I am fully aware of the responsibility placed on my shoulders by the footballing community and I understand the expectations that go with that. ?I know how much football means to the people of this country, we have the greatest fans in the world bar none ? I have witnessed it. I was so lucky to have soldiered with them over the years. ?Everyone associated knows the experience of the Giants Stadium against Italy. They are not just memories, they are huge moments in people?s lives, mine included. ?We have the same aims ? we want success and more of those Giants Stadium experiences. ?We may be a small country but we have had our experiences, we?ve been to three World Cups and have achieved a lot through hard graft and a bit of luck." Robson, who described the appointment as a ``great thrill'', is determined not to spend too much time raking over the failure to qualify for the World Cup. ?That?s history,? he added. ?We must not look back, we must look forward. And I?m going to give Stan everything I?ve got to help him succeed. ?There?s nothing we won?t do to try to bring success in Irish football.? Staunton hopes to profit from 72-year-old Robson?s vast experience. He said: ?You can?t look any further for me (than Robson). ?He?s done everything in the game. He?s played at the highest level, coached at the highest level and managed at the highest level. ?If I can?t learn something from this man, then I?m not the right man. ?His experience is going to be vital for me as regards the media ? this is my first job outside of playing. ?And he?s got more enthusiasm than some of the 18-year-olds I?ve trained with recently.? Staunton was clear about Robson's role within the new set-up. He added: ?I?m the boss. I?m the gaffer. At the end of the day what I say goes, the buck stops with me. I will use Bobby in whatever role I see fit. He has a huge role to play, he?s there for me all the time. I?ve got a very good coach alongside me (Kevin MacDonald) and I will put my trust and faith in him and that is why I got this team together. ?I know in my heart we can do it and work together. ?We are here to achieve success, our aim is to qualify for the European Championships and World Cups. First and foremost that is our aim, we want to blood new talent and we have got new talent coming through. ?We have to get the team up and running again, get the fans behind us and to give hope to the fans and show them we are heading in the right direction.? Staunton also revealed some of that ?new blood? would be recruited from within Irish football. He added: ?I want someone within the eircom League scouting for me, keeping an eye on things. They will be looking at individuals and I will be coming over to see games under the recommendation of a trustworthy source over here. ?I am looking at the next four years. It will be tough going for the Europeans but we?ll give it our best shot.?

That menu does sound utterly fanatastic.

No easy cure when you're all bunged-up ADVERTISEMENT THAT WAS THE WEEK DION FANNING 'THERE are good agents and bad agents," Rafael Benitez said last week as the bung controversy reappeared and, as usual, he was right. There are good managers and bad managers, good property developers and bad property developers, good politicians and corrupt, venal, lying politicians. It takes two to make a really successful bung and while the agents who are outraged about Luton manager Mike Newell's comments are trying to defend a slimy profession, they should at least acknowledge that there are others, usually managers, but chairmen, club secretaries too, who need to play along if an agent wants to bung. But few are playing along with Newell who hasn't been overwhelmed by messages of support since he made the comment that he has been offered bungs. Managers tend to take a position similar to a Melville seaman, "Aye, I've heard tales but nobody can say for sure what goes on." From the whispered stories around football, it would appear that bungs take place at every level of the game and those who do not participate still need to keep those agents and managers who do involved in their business. Because even the agents who bung can be very good at their job. Rune Hauge, the man who handed George Graham a bag full of money in the only case of proven payments, was reckoned by Alex Ferguson to have an outstanding eye for a player and somebody he would listen to when he said he'd found some talent. Ferguson did nothing wrong by listening to Hauge, but his conundrum illustrates the problem: nobody in football can live in isolation from the people who make their money in a darker way. In a conversation with Arsene Wenger, an agent wondered why the Frenchman had problems with people in his profession; after all they were both making money from the game. "Yes, but if the money disappeared, you would be gone," Wenger said, "but I would still be here." This is true of Wenger, but others have grown accustomed to the opportunities that football brings. Up until recently, a number of Premiership managers held shares in Paul Stretford's sports agency. It was not illegal, but it was as clear a conflict of interest as there can be. They would benefit financially from his profits, so they may have had reason to ensure that business came his way. There was no suggestion they ever did. It was not illegal, but it was as clear a conflict of interest as there can be The problem for agents is that nobody expects anything from them. Every player should have an agent who ensures he isn't screwed financially by the clubs who would love to do just that, but they could do without an agent who tries to run their lives, acting as bill-payer, media guru and life coach. Managers, however, are expected to be kindly, worldly men who have a deep love of the game, which may be as fantastical an idea as a football world free of bungs. There are plenty of stories in football of players who have been signed by clubs solely because of the financial inducements given to a manager and of world-class players who have not been signed because managers wanted sweeteners and the agents wouldn't get involved. One well-known former manager of a top club is suspected of profiting from a number of transfers when a series of players arrived from abroad and consequently failed to perform in a manner commensurate with their transfer fees. His only punishment in the end was failure, but why he should expect any more in a world where only George Graham has been punished and the sighs from the FA as news of Mike Newell's words came through were almost audible? In unrelated news, it was good to see that Harry Redknapp took his market stall approach to football management and football transfers to its logical conclusion by buying a job lot of footballers from Tottenham last week. Harry, of course, is back in business, not just with the money from a son of a Russian billionaire, but with the transfer window open and Spurs seemingly slashing prices and offering three for two offers on some of their unwanted players. It is the kind of deal Harry loves, reeking as it does of a bargain and an opportunity to make sweeping changes to his team. Harry likes a bet, they say, but it's clear that the device he uses to relieve the stress of management is retail therapy.

Applications due as this phase closes tonight at midnight...

Heh heh, sorry about that Patrick. Good article in d'Sindo today. Giant leap that may not be a fruitless gamble ADVERTISEMENT WHEN he arrives in Dublin tomorrow, Steve Staunton knows he won't be greeted as if he is the coming of a great national saviour. On his way to being unveiled as Ireland manager he will probably pass by what currently stands as the Shelbourne Hotel, boarded up and undergoing restoration, just like Brian Kerr's dreams. The ceremony will be short on razzmatazz and emotion and Staunton, you know, would want it no other way. He will start from a lowly place. In appointing a manager who has no experience and few, if any, coaching qualifications, the FAI have taken what - on the surface at least - looks little more than a hopeful punt. On Wednesday the RTE reporter Tony O'Donoghue asked Paul Merson if he thought it represented a big step-up for Staunton. The Walsall manager looked at him quizzically. "Step-up," he said. "More like a giant leap." The FAI obviously sees something that has eluded a lot of respected figures in football for the best part of two decades. Time will tell if they are right. At least you can't accuse the association of taking the populist approach as they did three years ago. The decision to opt for Kerr was equally fraught with risk though such was the outpouring of joy at the time it was heresy to suggest it. In many ways Staunton is the antithesis of his predecessor. Hence, perhaps, his appointment. He possesses neither Kerr's natural exuberance nor his craving to be liked. Staunton simply doesn't care. He's a Garda's son from Dundalk and a confessed grump with a well-charted disdain for reporters which will serve him well. On a good day he will refer to them as "you people." On other days they are simply "you lot." To understand the difference between Staunton and his predecessor, look at their first official statements. On his first day Kerr spoke about instilling an enhanced sense of professionalism, a goal that read better in print than it worked in reality. Staunton mentioned different things: pride, passion, commitment. Values that were said to have been diluted with Kerr's finicky approach. Staunton won't promise sophistication, nor will he complicate things, and the players will like him for it. That's his first step. One of Kerr's first acts was to dispense with Tony Hickey, the stiff-necked security guard who was popular among the players. One of Staunton's has been to bring him back. It is not difficult to imagine the likes of Stephen Carr and Gary Kelly reversing their decisions to retire. The problem for Staunton is that such moves might make him seem old-school and out of touch. Kerr, to his credit, made valiant efforts to rid the Ireland set-up of the drinking culture that had grown alarmingly over the previous decade. Staunton, for all the dourness of his image, has rarely been far from the centre of a good old Irish knees-up. Niall Quinn tells the story of a night out in the spring of 2002 when Ireland's two senior players boarded an early morning train for Waterford so they could continue drinking. You read Quinn's accounts of such escapades and his description of the infamous session in the Beefeater Bar in Saipan as "legless bonding" and it is hard to imagine him as a senior international manager. Not Staunton, though. Staunton, you imagine, is alert to the dangers posed by a culture so celebrated by Quinn on players who earned more in a few years than their generation made during their entire careers. The task facing the manager is the same as that which Kerr failed to cope with, namely finding the right balance between the old ways of Charlton and McCarthy and the need to inject a more methodical approach. Staunton's back-to-basics approach may please his players but he must be careful not to overdo it. If strength of character is the defining quality, you'd give him a fighting chance of pulling it off. Staunton made his Liverpool debut in September 1986 and played his last game in the top flight 17 years later. In between he played, uniquely for an Irishman, in three World Cup finals and did so in three different positions: versatile as well as durable. Hanging your hat on a player from Ireland's most successful era, how many would you pick above Staunton? He was an antidote to the culture of greed that was seeping uncontrollably into the game in the mid-1990s. A talented Gaelic footballer, Staunton was once sent off in an under-16 club game and suspended for a month. It was a lesson he heeded. In 20 years as a professional footballer he was never once sent off. For Ireland, whether he was a callow teenager telling Liam Brady to f*** off or boiling under the raging sun of Orlando in 1994 or willing one last big day out of his ageing legs in 2002, there was always something defiantly heroic about him. Even if his elevation seems grossly premature, imagine you were to hang your hat on a former player from Ireland's most successful era. How many would you pick above Staunton? Only McCarthy and David O'Leary have managed to carve out successful careers in management, an odd statistic from a team that was never short of strong, intelligent characters. There is another story told by Quinn. Staunton was playing for Aston Villa when Dean Saunders fired a shot over the crossbar. "Stan ran up the pitch and went to Dean," said Quinn. "'Keep your head down Dean, keep your head down'. Then he sprinted 60 yards back to his position. But that's Stan. I'd be worried if he was quiet." Because he was reticent and stern-faced it was easy to under-estimate just how fiercely determined he was. In Saipan, Staunton was said by friends to be furious with Roy Keane yet he never displayed his anger in public. "I'm not going there," was his stock response anytime the topic of Keane was raised. Nearly four years on he has never spoken at any length about the feud and he probably never will. Such discretion bodes well enough for his future. It may turn out to be another fruitless FAI gamble, but there is enough about Staunton to make you glad you are not the one laying the odds. High hopes and good intentions JUST before lunchtime on Thursday, a white taxi pulled up outside the main door of the Bescot Stadium in Walsall. John Delaney and his media adviser Declan Conroy emerged and went inside. Their main business of the day was already done. Earlier that morning at Steve Staunton's home on the other side of Birmingham, the most-capped player in Irish football history became the third manager of the national side in less than four years. Compensation had been agreed with Walsall and Delaney and Conroy now paid a courtesy call on Roy Whalley, the Walsall chief executive, who met them in the lobby and brought them upstairs for tea. "This will be your first visit to the Bescot Stadium I'd imagine?" Whalley asked as they climbed the staircase. He was right. It is not the kind of place you go in search of an international football manager. When the search began for Brian Kerr's successor, the FAI hoped that their new manager could be found on the golf courses of Buckinghamshire, not at a League One side in the industrial midlands. At the meeting to discuss Brian Kerr's successor, the word was sent out to the leading candidate. "It is a short list, he's the only name on it," was the message the FAI wanted passed on. That candidate was not Steve Staunton. The FAI's pursuit of Martin O'Neill was unlikely to succeed and never progressed beyond contact with contacts. Yet the FAI persisted, even though their sensitivity to O'Neill's wife's illness ensured they never had a clear idea of their main target's intentions. "Martin is a very hard man to pin down, especially if he knows you want something from him, he's a difficult person at the best of times," said one friend. His eccentricities and the understandable need to care for his wife and make that a priority left the FAI in an awkward situation. O'Neill was reluctant to commit, even to a meeting, and the FAI would not rush him. "Normally John's style would have ensured that he would have got to the point and contacted O'Neill straight away," says a friend of Delaney's, "but they felt it was inappropriate in this case." O'Neill had insisted when he left Celtic that he was taking a year out of the game to care for his wife and the FAI felt that if he indicated his willingness to take the Irish job they could work to that timetable. But they needed some assurances. Last December, Mickey Walsh was a guest of the FAI's at the Cup Final in Lansdowne Road. Walsh played golf with O'Neill and Niall Sloane, a friend of O'Neill's. Walsh would attempt to put the FAI's case to O'Neill and arrange a meeting, but it continued to prove difficult. The FAI had taken encouragement from O'Neill's comments last year when, on a visit to Dublin, he had insisted that his plans hadn't changed, but talked about the Irish job as an attractive proposition. At that stage the FAI decided to wait for O'Neill, feeling he was interested in the job, something they were hearing second or third hand as well. The FAI decided the gamble of waiting for O'Neill was too great - they would consider another punt instead When O'Neill agreed to meet with the FAI, the Association were confident of getting their main target, but upon agreeing, O'Neill immediately changed his mind. The meeting was cancelled. At that stage, the FAI decided the gamble of waiting was too great - they would consider another punt instead. When Delaney and Conroy left the Bescot Stadium on Thursday, less than 15 minutes after their arrival, the courtesies had been observed. Walsall had received £20,000, less than the reported figure, or, in the cutting words of one FAI insider, "about the cost of chartering a plane for Brian Kerr to fly and watch France play the Faroe Islands." Those costs were part of the unprecedented backing given to Kerr, whose attention to detail did could not guarantee the most important detail of all: results or, increasingly, good performances. The FAI expect Staunton's regime to be more austere. "Stan will emphasise the merits of playing for the shirt," said one FAI source and Staunton was enthusing all who dealt with him as he contacted members of his backroom staff on Friday. While they waited to hear from O'Neill, the FAI began to make contact with other candidates. Last November, the sub-committee met with Staunton and formed a favourable impression. Staunton wanted the Irish to play with a club spirit but as a man with ambitions of a career in management, he will know that there will need to be more than simply resorting to the fighting Irish spirit. That Kerr could not combine the studied approach with the spirit that made Ireland a force, particularly at Lansdowne Road, was a fact commented upon by even the most unemotional and rational members of the Irish squad. "We used to have something that made us a little different, that went a bit beyond the norm, that's gone," says one source close to the squad. Times have changed. Staunton enjoyed his time with Ireland, but he never found his picture in the paper on leaving a Dublin nightclub. But Staunton will need to deliver on his promise and he has more potential than simply getting his players to fight for the shirt, which has been the norm with an Irish side. Kerr's time was an exception. Staunton knows what he wants, something the FAI noted, and he will not be influenced by the media. His career has been an epic one for club and country. He was on the pitch at Hillsborough, a youngster blossoming in a Liverpool team comprised of men and his World Cup experiences ensure that players will listen when he talks. Staunton left the meeting in November believing he needed more than 102 caps if he was to manage Ireland. It is believed he called upon a number of former Irish team-mates as he attempted to put a package together. Andy Townsend contacted Terry Venables, who had already been indirectly approached about the senior job by the FAI. Staunton made it clear he would not work under Venables and the idea of that partnership foundered. But another team-mate and drinking buddy, Niall Quinn, was also making approaches. Quinn knew Bobby Robson from his time at Sunderland when Robson was at Newcastle. Contact was made last December with Quinn acting as intermediary. "The vibes were good from Robson," says a source close to the negotiations. Staunton soon had a team which he thought was appealing to the FA. It remains to be seen if it will make a difference. Once the FAI had given up on O'Neill, they moved fast. Staunton, already close to John Delaney, was now the only viable candidate. Venables had been discarded; Philippe Troussier was never in contention this time. For their own reasons, the FAI set up meetings with John Aldridge and Frank Stapleton. Last Sunday, the sub-committee travelled to Birmingham to meet Staunton and Robson for the first time. They were left in no doubt who was in charge, but Robson's ego has been soothed by the corporate title of International Team Consultant rather than assistant manager. Robson's enthusiasm has not been diminished by his role. He spent much of the meeting discussing formations in the classic fashion, using the salt and pepper shakers on the table. Staunton's role may be more fundamental. "He'll nail a player against the wall if he isn't playing for the shirt," says one admiring figure within the FAI. But he will also have to be the leader. Significantly, the FAI team that travels to Montreux for the European Championship draw will not include Robson. "Staunton is the manager," say the FAI, but there is also a feeling that Robson would be a more familiar figure to many of Europe's football people and it would have been to him rather than to Staunton that they would have gravitated. Staunton and Robson will not be a partnership like, say, the doomed relationship between Gerard Houllier and Roy Evans Staunton and Robson will not be a partnership like, say, the doomed relationship between Gerard Houllier and Roy Evans that began as Staunton returned to Anfield in 1998. Staunton may prefer an earlier example from his old club. In 1985, Kenny Dalglish was appointed player-manager and Bob Paisley, the most successful manger in English football, became his adviser. The system worked well, Liverpool won the double in the first season, except, as one Liverpool insider puts it, "Kenny never asked Bob anything. He did it himself. Bob sat on the bench and travelled on the coach, but that was it." Brian Kerr's time in the Irish job emphasised the eternal football truth that all will be revealed on the football pitch. Kerr brought Chris Hughton into his team to compensate for a weakness in international experience, but nobody was pointing to Hughton's strengths in the end. It was Kerr who was responsible, who was exposed for being isolated from the players, a poor communicator and an ineffective leader. If Staunton has weaknesses they will be exposed no matter what the strengths of the coaching staff, especially if they are only window-dressing. If the reaction to his prospective employment last week told us anything, it is that the new manager will be judged more harshly than any other. But Staunton is reported to be treating the prospective media spotlight with indifference. Kerr believed himself to be media-aware and yet it became the biggest torment in his job. The reaction over the past six days to Staunton's appointment, and in particular the partnership with Robson, suggests that he will need to impress from the beginning. Crucially, however, Staunton needs time. The players can no longer hide. Reaction from the players to Staunton's appointment has been positive. As a player, he had their respect and as a man who has little time for most people in the media, he will please the players who believed that Kerr was a PR man, obsessed with the press's opinion. Staunton's education at Liverpool ensured he treated each question as a potential assault and he has not changed. "He appears deeply distrustful of the media," says one journalist who covered Staunton's brief time at Walsall. If former Irish players such as Stapleton and Aldridge were upset, at Walsall, Paul Merson was reportedly feeling let down that, with Staunton unofficially announced in the job and Robson's contract signed, he had heard nothing from either the FAI or Staunton until Tuesday. Merson also appeared to be startled by the appointment. Staunton was not, as reported, Merson's assistant. "He might take training if there was nobody else around, but he wasn't heavily involved in the coaching side," a local journalist remarked. Staunton's most significant contribution to Walsall might have been the compensation cheque from the FAI, but a couple of hours before Delaney and Conroy arrived to complete the deal, Merson outlined Staunton's strengths. "He's got great enthusiasm, he's a legend and the younger lads are going to listen to him. A lot of the older ones have retired, so I think that will work in his favour. And he's got good people around him." Did he have that respect in Merson's dressing room? "My lads are even younger, they don't know who me and Stan are," Merson joked. "But he talks well." The taxi was waiting for Delaney and Conroy as they left Roy Whalley and returned to Staunton's house in Sutton Coldfield where Alan Kelly and Kevin MacDonald's contracts would be finalised. Robson's deal had been completed earlier in the week, but despite the media storm that had taken the FAI by surprise, they were not going to be rushed, fearing that if they went into negotiations with Staunton and his adviser Michael Kennedy, stressing their eagerness, the Association would have no negotiating position. As a result, Staunton and Robson faced critical headlines and disbelief before they were officially confirmed in their positions. Last Thursday night, Staunton drove to London with Delaney and Conroy. At a hotel near Heathrow Airport, they met with Robson. The contracts were signed. Staunton would be paid ?400,000 a year, Robson exactly half that. Staunton, like every manager before him, begins with high hopes and good intentions. The hysteria of three years ago in the Shelbourne Hotel may not be repeated at the Mansion House tomorrow morning. But Irish football now feels entitled to the good times, even if some are now a distant memory. Steve Staunton was there for most of them. His recall of those days may be the most important experience of all.

Yes. Just to annoy all you (unts here.

Crisp, clinical, powerful and precise. Loved it.

I really thought Harry could have stayed up. Replays didn't persuade me otherwise.

Have to admit feeling frustrated at Kewell when I thought he could have stayed up and gone through. Think Sissoko is doing a little too much at times when on the ball. Nice to think that there's another 15% or more in the tank by recent standards. And another 10% after that to where Rafa probably wants us to be this season.

Not his 'rampaging' self in some respects and nothing overly hollywood for the less subtle observers to get carried away with. However, he had Davids in his pocket. Completely wrapped him up and toyed wth him. Maybe Davids was carrying an injury (wasn't he out for a bit) but it wouldn't be the first time this season that a Spurs fan would say that when Davids isn't in the game Spurs "aren't at their best" (ie win). So what was interesting is that Stevie can do the quiet, not always noticed simple work and without being the big man in the middle, do more to win the game than anyone else. Excellent to see this aspect of his game I thought. Essential contribution to a hard working display from the team in which they were superior in every aspect IMO. We didn't blow them away but there was a difference in class today.

We were much the better team. Spurs controlled th game for 10 minutes at the start of the second half. After our goal I thought they lost their bite tbh. Spurs can play a little. I thought we put in a very good performance.