IT’S REALLY REAL!!! (and a game against West Ham tomorrow)

After putting up a rubbish façade of coolness, I’d even fooled myself into believing it’s not possible for a grown man to cheer a cup draw. However, at the sight of Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur appearing under Gary’s beautiful little face, I regressed and cheered like a small boy being taken to Disney World (or somewhere, you know, better).

It wasn’t Barca, but you know what, I’m not disappointed. This competition has been glitz and glamour all the way for us, and you don’t get much more glitzy and glamorous than a trip to 9 time champions Real Madrid. Often brilliant, but beatable. Match winners all over the pitch. I’m talking about us both.

Giving it the barry, I say I’m already looking at the Barca semi-final. Trying to put on a neutral hat, it’ll be a great tie. If we can be ‘ACMilanawayish’ in the first leg and be better than we were at home in the second, where we’ll almost certainly need to score, I really don’t see why we can’t go on to play Barca. The fact that the second leg is at home is huge. I’ll be putting my ticket application in for this one and I’ll let you know how I get on.

Aaaaaaaaand, back in the room. Sorry to poop the party, but let us not forget that if we want to have another crack at going through all that again next year, we’d jolly well better start winning some of these bothersome league fixtures, starting with West Ham at home.

The away trip was all sorts of bleugh for our chaps. I remember Benny picking up some sort of bed hair trauma and being unable to play, so Bale was moved to left-back. All stories that start this way usually end up being rubbish. And so it was that one of their lot (Cole?) scored an unmemorable bundler of a goal to win the thing. I’d like to say we spent the rest of the game laying siege to their goal, but I can’t because I didn’t see it and couldn’t face reading about a performance so abject, we gave the caravan club their first 3 points of the season. A bad day at the office was all it turned out to be though, as 4 days later we beat Tchventay 4-1 at home in the UCL and the memory was largely buried (it was Piquionne that scored, just saw when looking for that next game stat- ever the professional).

After looking Championship bound for most of the season, the Olympic Bubblers have claimed 7 points from 9 in the Prem’ with convincing home wins over Stoke and Liverpool. Their 1 came away at West Brom when they were 3 down and, in true Tottenham style, pulled it back for a point, so ‘spirit’ and ‘fight’ might be words you’d use when looking at that little run. They won’t be the easy proposition they might have been a couple of months back. Having subsequently been beaten by Stoke in an actual cup last weekend, their annual trip to our gaff has ‘cup final’ billing for them once more, and my big hope is that our players haven’t gone too loopy over this mornings draw. That’s our job, you lot win games of footers please.

Willy make it? Reports of a month out for Gallas and his hammy were calmed by the club site after saying he might even be fit for tomorrow. Same back 5 as Milan then. Elsewhere, I can see a Bale-Jenas-Mods-Lennon with a Pav-Defoe up front. Rafa to rest his calf. Mind you, I’ve had a stinker in predicting Harry’s line ups so expect it to be anything but that. I’d be tempted to get Sandro on to look after Parker and let Defoe do the running around up front on his own. He likes a goal against the Spammers.

Prediction? 2-0.