Worth it?

Nothing breathtaking to report here, but thought I'd share. My brother-in-law is a cab driver, and like all cab drivers, tends to pick up a host of famous people in central London. He picked up Steve Gibson (Boro chairman) last week and got chatting to him about football (obviously). Like I said, nothing new here, but Gibson was very open about his hatred for Liverpool saying he would never do business with them. Hates Rick Parry. Explained how they saved Ziege from hell in Milan (after threats over the own goal in the Milan derby) and how Liverpool went on to tap the player up.

"Whatever I'm telling you isn't anything the papers / people don't know already", he said.

Gibson asked the cabbie what he thought of Woodgate and then said, "You wont think he's great a year from now" and rolled out the olde classic about Woody missing a training session because he had a hair appointment and another story about Woody again missing training because of an in-growing toe nail (when in fact all the player had done was cut his nails too deep and caused an irritation).

"He's only interested in the money"

Cabbie then asked him about Mido, to which he said over Christmas the player was injured and managed to put on a stone and a half in a few days Laughing , "He only has to look at food to put weight on"

Was apparently very friendly.....or bitter, depending on how you look at it.

Dry them

It's simple. To any Spurs fans reading this (all three of you). Don't get your knickers in a twist about anything going on at the minute. Not until December. Then you can start your gloating or your crying, depending on circumstance. Until then, save your heart from unnecessary stress and just laugh at the calamity that burns your eyes. By listening to the critics and believing the hype birthed from those pockets of victories that falsely pass for progression you lot get a little too confused and with hearts on sleeves jump off a cliff like a lemming believing it will sprout wings.

In the past Spurs have failed to turn up when it mattered, and this season we've managed to turn up a number of times. Enough to win something. But the swagger has only made brief (if brilliant) appearances and has completely strayed away from travelling to the continent. Ton up and some with goals scored for and against at the Lane hasn't put us into a situation any better than a year or two years ago, has it? There's something there, something decent, something that could be even better. But at the minute its like searching for a diamond ring up King Kongs pile-infested crack.

Ramos has given us smiles and joy with a route to Europe, in the midst of him inheriting a side that basically, has over-achieved. Not under-achieved like you all wish to believe. Our group of players are only capable of producing the goods as a whole unit 10 times per season rather than 38 times. Yes, we can on occasions live with the best teams in the country, but so can West Ham United, and they manage to take more points off them.

So forget what Martin Jol did for us. Because it has no relevance to the present. The true impact of Ramos this season, having joined with the season already written off, has been to lay the foundations on the training field and in the kitchen. He'll salvage one or two players from the current lot, and then we'll sit back and watch Levy and Comolli spend another £50M in the summer. It's after this point that you can start analysing performance and tactics and all the other things you waste hours of your life posting about in message boards like 'In the know' info about how we are signing the new Zokora.

Two years from now, if we are not beginning another transitional period, then I'll open a bottle of twenty year old rum and have a quiet drink celebrating the progress made. If we are, I'll be shaking my fist in the general direction of Levy's seat in the directors box on match day with much veiny anger and a few choice words said under my breath before telling everyone I've only spent nearly £700 on a season ticket so I have the right to complain.