THFC1882 present Ciaran Griggs guest report:
"When is a win not a win?"
So yet another Sunday afternoon Spurs fixture and yet another fixture that 12 months ago would
have struck fear into the heart of any Spurs fan. This particular writer has been accused of being
overly optimistic towards Spurs results and performances this season.
Portuguese clubs did not fair well this week in European competitions with none of the five clubs
in action coming away with a victory. Benfica opened the week of drawing 2-2 with Dutch club Twente
and will be looking to advance to the Champions League group stage at home this coming week. In
Europe League action, Sporting, Braga and Nacional all played to scoreless draws against
Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
The final playoff round of the UEFA Europa League is set to get underway on Thursday, and up to
a dozen Americans could be in action as a result.
Carlos Bocanegra is one of the players who may see playing time as Rangers is hoping to field
him in the first leg of its series against NK Maribor.
Two fierce London rivals, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs continue their rivalry outside of the
pitch as reports suggested that the two are currently in a bidding war to get FC Porto's prolific
striker, Radamel Falcao.
Reports also speculated that both Spurs and the Gunners are willing to splash out around 30
million pound for the striker who successfully scored 17 goals in the Europa League this season,
which helped Porto ending that competition as a winner.
Whether we're still reeling from the departure of Fernando 'Freckles' Torres, mourning the
absence of sofa-bound and groin strained Stevie G or we're simply so shallow that we only
concentrate on teams that look pretty and are doing well (the very thought!), we must confess that
haven't been paying much attention to Liverpool FC of late.
Liverpool's improvement in the second part of the season has really brought their credibility
back again as they can lift themselves up to fifth place at the moment and still have a slim shot
at getting into the final Champions League spot.
However, acknowledging the difficulty of acquiring the CL ticket, the Reds' midfielder, Maxi
Rodriguez, is realistically content if the club managed to end the season with just another Europe
League passage.
Having successfully opening his account in the Premier League with Manchester City in the club's
latest match against Blackburn Rovers, last Monday, Edin Dzeko believes that it would be the start
of many for him in the future.
Dzeko admitted that it's been difficult start for him, especially considering he just arrived at
the club this winter, but the Bosnian international stated that his condition is understandable
considering there are others that facing the same problem, naming Chelsea's Fernando Torres as one
of them.
Flair and skill the trick for the Kop ?
When asking supporters the reason behind their teams ‘misfortune' this season, most Liverpool
fans will angrily mutter one man's name, Rafael Benitez. The reaction is one connoting such anger
and distain, anyone overhearing the conversation unaware of who this ‘Benitez' was, would
naturally assume he was either the banker responsible for the recession or the man guilty of
helping to conceive Justin Bieber.
