Spoooky Spurs

I’ve never been much for Halloween, ghosts and spirits. It’s always seemed a bit too based in superstition and nonsense for my brain’s logical liking, but this year my mind might have been changed by Spurs!!

I didn’t think Spurs could convince me of anything, except that they are the biggest banter club in the history of the beautiful game, but these last few weeks have been so spookily incredible for them that the only explanation is that they have made a deal with the devil, or vampires, or witches.

Spooky Spurs have played 3 Premier League matches in the past 12 days and have only gone and won all 3!!!

To put that into context they had failed to win any of their previous 6 this season and had only scored 3 goals whilst conceding 9 and though they had grabbed a point from a visit to Old Trafford that was still against Man United, so hardly a difficult point to get these days.

Combined with 2 seasons of relegation battles leading into this one and only the most optimistic of Spurs supporters would have predicted them getting more than maybe 4 points from hosting Coventry City and Crystal Palace either side of a trip to Stamford Bridge… they got all 9…

Hosting Coventry seemed to be the biggest opportunity to break their winning duck so far this season and so it proved as they found their shooting boots in a major way, doubling their tally for the season and moving above their visitors on goal difference to the dizzying heights of 16th.

Many predicted they would be brought back down to earth in their next game though as they crossed London to Stamford Bridge, a ground they hadn’t won at in 8 years, only for the North Londoner’s to lift that curse with a 2-0 victory over Xabi Alonso’s side as their hosts self destructed in the final 15.

First Chelsea’s keeper punched into his own net in the 77th minute as he came to clear a corner, then Cole Palmer got a quick fire brace of yellow cards for two petulant acts in a loss of discipline worse than that notorious episode on the HMS Bounty.

Spurs then did the spookiest and least Spursy thing ever of capitalising on their advantages and securing victory through Mathys Tel’s virtuoso strike from 30 yards out 3 minutes from time.

Now up-to the heady heights of 12th place it was time for Spurs to come back home to face The Eagles not knowing that the best was yet to come and on Halloween itself no less.

Palace haven’t been in the greatest run of form themselves as they juggle European football with a league campaign where they have only 2 wins and they did themselves no favours today by becoming Spurs’ second opponents in a week to end the match with 10-men.

Jean-Phillipe Mateta was the dismissed player this time, for a rash double tackle that took out both Micky Van De Ven and Jan Paul Van Hecke in one slide with studs showing, and from there it was smooth sailing for Spurs as they soared all the way up to 8th place and just 4 points off the top 4.

If such an incredible turn around in the form of such a previously dreadful team doesn’t convince you that Halloween is real then perhaps this will… in the same week Spurs scored a double of London derby wins their true enemies, Premier League Champions no less, lost on penalties against a League Two team in the League Cup, how spooky is that?

Whatever the parameters of their deal with the devil Spurs will have to hope it extends past Halloween itself and through visits to Leeds and Wearside in November either side of a visit from The Tractor Boys.