Wenger's Words of wisdom???
feck off..... its all about 'Tims Teamtalk'
The days leading up to the third round fa cup tie had been a mixture of emotions for Tim Sherwood, Head Coach of Tottenham Hotspur. He had allowed himself no more and no less the evening of the Old Trafford triumph to thoroughly enjoy a satisfying victory over Manchester United. The coach journey back to the hotel from the theatre of dreams had been particulary memorable, The squad was in great form and they virtually laughed the whole way, shouting themselves hoarse in the process. What was pleasing for Tim was that players like Christian Eriksen who had seemed such a shy and reserved lad seemed to be breaking out of his shell,no doubt buzzing from the invidual contribution he had made to the win. Christian had walked right up to where Tim was sitting up with Les and asked in a loud carrying voice: 'Boss, you want us to win on Saturday?.....Walker says you are Arsenal fan...and have tattoo but he doesnt know where!' at this Tim stood up hand on hips looking young Mr Eriksen straight in the eye with a grin on his face, 'Does he now' said Tim in a booming voice' the coach suddenly became deathly silent, Tim continued 'Well you can tell that little pri*k that my tattoo is very close to my ars*ho*e! and if he wants a close look then I am more than happy to shove it in his face!' Tim sat back down to find Les Ferdinand grinning at him, the rest of the squad had erupted in laughter. Yes team spirit was on a high, the squad was enjoying each others company and this was all part of what Tim wanted to achieve,he wanted them to express themselves on and off the pitch, the early signs were promising, the only difficulty was coaxing young Erik Lamela, who didnt need a wonderful grasp of English, Tim knew that he was bitterly disapointed not to have been involved, Tim was sympathetic and ensured Erik that his day would come.
Tim spent quality time in the hotel with his coaching staff going over the finer aspects of the game, they couldnt help but laugh after seeing David Moyes post match referee rant, the fear and madness that Tim had suspected on meeting him in that corridor had come to fruition, his eyes looked a little mad, again he confided with his coaches his thoughts that David would always struggle while Sir Alex Ferguson cast such a large shadow over proceedings. After much debate regarding a potential first team for Saturday it was time to call it a day and head home. Tim said his goodbyes to his coaching staff (the players had long departed) and he had a nice long drive to go over all of the finer aspects of a great day,he enjoyed a quiet drink at home with his wife having a period of time not discussing or thinking about football was a welcome break from a mad day. Later on he got into bed and closed his eyes savouring again a satisfying win, he told himself that when he woke up the game would be forgotten as the next battle needed careful planning and he needed to focus,there was still much to be done.
Thursday came and Tim arrived at Spurs lodge nice and early, the squad was due to discuss the game and then go through a recovery session. Tim spent most of the day worrying about Emmanuel Adebayor and whether he would be fit for Saturday, he was also alarmed that some of the squad seemed to have let off even more steam on the night of the victory, there was too many blearey eyed players struggling to pay attention for his liking, the one good thing about Thursday was that he received positive news regarding Jan Vertonghen and Sandro they would be ready to train from next week and had a good chance of being ready for the Crystal Palace fixture.
Friday the squad trained in the morning and the plans for potential success over their North London rivals had been explained to the players. Tim had stressed the importance of focus and concentration and of working hard to try and complete a memorable week. The afternoon was all about the press conference where again Tim spoke of the efforts of the squad and of his desire for his squad to remain focused for a challenging FA cup tie.
And so Saturday came and once again Tim found himself standing before his players determined to say the right words to get the best out of his troops. Earlier that day Tim had resisted the temptation to headbutt the annoying Arsenal Mascot. The man in the ridculous green dinosaur costume had mimed punching him shortly after exiting the coach, he had also met Monsieur Wenger and noted the difference between him and David, Arsene had been very polite and had oozed confidence, Tim was not overawed but he respected Arsene Wenger for his achievements and obviously for how well and consistent his team had been. Tim was determined to beat him, if he pulled off a win here he would be exactly in the position that he had wanted to be in the day he had been confirmed as Head Coach by Daniel Levy, everything was geared to establishing himself and leaving Daniel with no option other than to back him.
The team was ready, tracksuit tops on, sitting on benches looking up expectantly at Tim........
'Lads you have done us all proud with your efforts over the Christmas Period!' It seems unfair of us to keep demanding more from you when you have already been excellent proffesionals and given us everything you have in the last few weeks' 'But life isnt fair and I must ask you all to give me and my coaching staff, the fans of this club another fuc*ing peformance today'. 'Wednesday was amazing but top sides only dwell on their achievements for five minutes before focusing on the next game whilst having a burning passion to prove themselves all over again'
Tim sat down facing his players the palms of his hands face down on the bench beside him.
'You all know what you have to do, what you have to give! go out and prove that you are not fuc*ing bothered by their cauldron of hate' 'Go and show them we are a team that fights for each other'
The signal was given and the squad of Tottenham Hotspur fc walked to the matchday tunnel ready to do battle and entertain the world in a famous FA Cup Third round Tie.