I hadn't really wanted to blog so soon after, but a comment from Martin Jol, the beleaguered Spurs boss, has riled me much. He must be under so much stress that he's put his mouth where his arse is and starting sprouting words from there.

Newcastle not in the same league as Tottenham? Come on, we all know that Newcastle has always been at the same odds as Spurs until last season, where Aston Villa under Martin O'Neill and more recently Man City under Sven Goran are catching up. No European competition for the last 2 years? If I recall correctly we were through to the round of 16 in last season's UEFA cup. So get your facts right. We don't have any this season, and that's a fact. But definitely not last season.

In fact, why focus on the past 2 years? You could stretch out to the last 5 years, and see that Newcastle is a more consistent attendee in European. In fact, Newcastle has twice tasted Champions League football since 2000, something which I'm sure Martin Jol would love to achieve. Based on pedigree, history. finances, support, expectations, bookmaker odds, I don't see why Spurs deserve to be in a class of their own while at the same time clumping the likes of Everon, Newcastle, Man City and Aston Villa together as the ones fighting for the 6th spot. It's like saying that Spurs are guaranteed 5th place and are pushing for 4th.

It doesn't seem like a top club to me when it is selling its better players, like Michael Carrick. Newcastle doesn't sell up, as far as I can recall, Jonathan Woodgate was the only one in recent history, and that was due to his injury prone status. Players that Newcastle sell usually don't go on to better things, they either stay the same or go down. Look at where Bellamy ended up anyway, a season at Liverpool, then back to the reserve Newcastle team they call West Ham along with Dyer Parker and Solano. Not that the latter 3 deserve it, they were great players.

I think perhaps that's why Martin Jol's so in the running for the boot. He seems to think a big deal of a 5th place finish, where in actual fact, a 5th place finish would be disappointing to any of the top 4 teams. In the Bobby Robson era, a 5th place finish is also disappointing. So rather than trying to lord over other teams of a similiar calibre, maybe Martin Jol should start acting like 5th place is an embarassment, not an achievement. Because otherwise, I'll be glad to see him go.

I really hope for a Newcastle win tonight. It'll so shove the boot back in his mouth. It'll be nice to perhaps do a 3-0 or a 4-0, something that would trigger the sack-hammer. He should go and stop being so high-headed about his achievements. 5th place acceptable to Newcastle, but top 4 is where teams like Newcastle aspire to. Can't wait for the match tonight. It seems that the team has yet to gel together perfect, and the wins so far involve a fair bit of luck. Play Taylor if possible though, he's the best product to come through the ranks so far.

2-1 to Newcastle, please.