Jim Dugan's view on Derby & the 39th game

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The less said about the Derby game the better but alls well that ends well. I’m sure managers, owners and shareholders (and all those who did not have to sit through it) were delighted with a second away win with a decisive margin but it was such a dismal spectacle as entertainment. The people who want to proclaim instant Ramos will point to the facts that Spurs scored three goals after some substitutions but in reality Spurs did not get any better but a very poor Derby side with just one win all season just ran out of ideas and confidence.

Perhaps we should not read too much into the performance as it’s always difficult to look good against a poor side (just as it’s always easy to look credible against a better side) and in the context of the month it will be quickly forgotten as the least important game.

Or will it. This time last year Spurs slipped to a 1-2 defeat to Sheffield United and sat mid-table with a record of: P26 W9 D6 L11 F30 A38 Pts 33.

While the Spurs world looks a different place this time round with a Cup final coming up, the facts of the matter are Spurs are only a point behind where they were last season.

Spurs won 9 of the last 12 and with this lot coming up: Home – Noocarsul, Liverpool, Chelsea, Bolton, West Ham, Pompey, and Boro. Away - Reading, Wigan, Man City, Blackburn & Birmingham

Surely new and improved Spurs can go on a similar run? After all, they showed against Man U it’s not just Jol’s side who can fail to build on a 1-0 lead, take Lennon off and succumb to a late equalizer from a corner, so perhaps it Ramos with the same players can do the something similar.

Sorry, I'm having problems cutting and pasting it, here it is: http://www.topspurs.com/jmdview.htm

I like this sentence:

"If you think you have to be in the stadium for every Spurs match, quite frankly you are nuts and are wasting your life."