Don’t Stop Believin’

A later reaction than Gareth Bale in a penalty box, but the important thing is, this literary tumble has finally appeared. And it’s probably best that it’s been a few days since Saturday’s disappointment, because I’d hate for it to come across as an embarrassing attempt at cheerleading on the deck of a sinking ship.

At 1-1, I said it had 2-1 written all over it. When the fourth of four excellent finishes appeared, fourth place was effectively done fo(u)r, and we’re now four points behind. No sooner had we wrested the initiative back with a point over the goonies, than we go and hand it straight back. Annoying.

Despite the dropped points, I was strangely unconcerned. My ‘both teams to score’ acca came in, so that could be blamed for drowning out the sound of the death knell momentarily, but that evening, the next day, and even after City’s win last night which, if you believe the twitteratti, was supposedly the final nail in our coffin, I’m still not filled with doom and gloom of defeat. Perhaps I’m kidding myself in thinking that we’re still going to do it, but that equaliser was pure theatre. Pure Tottenham.

To start, we weren’t that bad. Not spectacular by any means, but not too bad. We’ve played worse and won. We’re also not Manchester United, capable of unfussyily grabbing 3 points from a largely forgettable encounter 9 times out of 10. Don’t be too down hearted, we’re not at their level yet. What we are is a largely well run club with several on field personnel that can still make us a fourth placed team. Micro-analysis of dropped points aside, I honestly still believe we’re still a club moving forward.

When have we ever done anything the easy way? I don’t mean this to come across as a submissive lament; how a besotted guardian will shake their head at a naughty puppy, smiling all the while with a giggle in their tone, but as a straight-faced statement of it being exactly the way we roll. To counter the doom mongers, when has every predicted result ever come in? If it was that easy to predict with certainty and with 5 games to go (some Nostradami have had us written off since March or earlier), who ourselves and Manchester City will be beating or getting beaten by, I wouldn’t be getting excited about a one-off acca win. I’d quit my job and be a professional gambler, leaving a string of broken bookmakers in my wake.

I’m not saying I have an unwavering belief that we’ll finish fourth. We’ve thrown away enough points to make it almost inconceivable that we could even still consider finishing in the top four a possibility. But so it remains, and if we were chasing down any of the more established sides, I’d make us rank outsiders for turning around a 4 point deficit with 5 games to go, but we’re chasing down Manchester City. Manchester bloody City! A side that have never had this kind of pressure thrust upon them, and a team that will be relying on Dzeko and Balotelli to score the requisite number of goals from now until the end of the season to keep them there. Such has been their ‘impact’, I wouldn’t bank on them bringing the requisite number of boots into training.

I am of course basing all hope, like every Tottenham fan, on our ability to go up to MiddleEastlands and turn in a repeat performance of last year, without which we certainly will be rank outsiders. If we then assume that we will succeed, we’ve got a one point swing to deal with- we’ll say 2, what with the goal difference. 2 points to turn around and you’d think we were facing an ascent of Everest in shorts and t-shirt, such is the hopelessness of our prospects. Or maybe it’s self preservation? Write us off and wash your hands of all supporting responsibility? Not on my watch, and while there’s a very realistic chance we can still return to the top table, I’ll still believe we can do it.

Tottenham are 9/1 to finish fourth. I’m in!