What would be the equivalent today of Clough getting the sack at Derby and getting hired by Brighton? Roberto Mancini signing on to manage Crawley Town?

Surely you don't need to look further than Sven-Göran's career arc for an example.

Arsenal and Chelsea are in crisis

Chelsea's crisis has been more high-profile, but at least they're still in 3rd. Arsenal are in 10th at the moment (although only 5 points off a Champions League place).

Chelsea's crisis has been more high-profile, but at least they're still in 3rd. Arsenal are in 10th at the moment (although only 5 points off a Champions League place).

I don't actually think either club is in crisis. Most likely they'll both be top 4 at the end of the season. I think it's silly how if things aren't easy for these clubs the media and their fans panic. It's not supposed to be easy!

I don't actually think either club is in crisis. Most likely they'll both be top 4 at the end of the season. I think it's silly how if things aren't easy for these clubs the media and their fans panic. It's not supposed to be easy!

That was our issue with the RDM firing. Not a person came into this season thinking that Chelsea was poised to run away with the league. We had great early success, but our squad has structural issues (no reliable CF, depth in MF) that were going to expose us at some point. Roman's panic move has made us look desperate, when we were simply reverting back to the mean a bit. We will likely still salvage a CL spot when we actually have some CF (Lukaku, Falcoa, etc) and MF (McEacheran) depth in the January window, but our team isn't ready for veteran ManU & City clubs yet. It was never going to be as easy when Mata, Hazard and Ocar were devouring Prem team early on.

I don't know what Martin O'Neill said at the half, but Sunderland look a different team right now after looking like #### in the first half.

I don't know what Martin O'Neill said at the half, but Sunderland look a different team right now after looking like #### in the first half.

I was just about to say the same thing. Kilgallon with a Miss of the Season contender too. Should be level.

I was just about to say the same thing. Kilgallon with a Miss of the Season contender too. Should be level.

I liked how after the shot came off the post and then Kilgallon inexplicably missed the sitter, Bassong thought it appropriate to give the prone keeper a high five. Good job Keep!

So, if Millwall and Crystal Palace get promoted and QPR miraculously stays up, will that be a record # of London clubs in the top flight?

Danny Rose trying to recreate his winner against Arsenal.

Danny Rose should patent that volley.

I really like the two little No. 10s in this game. Hoolahan and Sessegnon are a lot of fun to watch, and both must be about 5'3".

More evidence that AVB is a terrible man manager and Spurs are in crisis:

Harry brought me over, so I’m going to appreciate him. Of course I was sad to see him leave but to me it wasn’t very strange, that’s what I’m used to.

With Harry, I didn’t speak much because of the language barrier. But with Andre it is totally different. You can see when we are on the pitch I go to the bench to talk to him. I like to give my opinion.

I am always aware what is going on during the game. I can see gaps here or somebody’s doing something wrong there, so now I feel more confident. I want to be involved. My English is improving so I can be more vocal, tell the players off.

--Sandro

Okay, but that's obviously just on account of the Portuguese connection.

Away from football, as a person, he is a top guy, a really nice guy. After every session he will come into the changing room or treatment room and go to every player to see if you are OK. 'How do you feel? How's your legs?' General chit chat. He will do it with every player, every day. Even when I was away with England he will send me a message sometimes – 'Good luck. How's the game?' Stuff like that. When you have got a manager like that you want to play for him and do well.

In pre-season obviously there was a lot of speculation about me and whether I was going to stay or leave, and I had a meeting with him and he said: 'I want you to stay. Last season you should have played a lot more than you did. I was watching the games, the goals you scored. A player of your quality, I need you at the club.' For me that was such a big thing.

It's always difficult for a manager coming into such a big club. Obviously it's difficult for André because he was at Chelsea and things weren't great there. He's come to Tottenham and everybody's looking at him. Even before the season started a lot of people were doubting him, which was harsh. You've got to give everybody an opportunity. What he has done so far has been brilliant. All the lads love him. He's got great ideas. He's really organised.

--Jermain Defoe

Tottenham has a really likable group of players and AVB seems likable as well. Chelsea has a rotten core of players and I truthfully feel they cannot win the league without a significant overhaul of their team. I think leaving Chelsea for Tottenham will ultimately go down as a blessing in disguise.

Also, I'm quite annoyed that Dembele isn't still at Fulham. I guess it's a nice silver lining that a team like Fulham even got to have a player like that for a few years. But he's up their with Schweinsteiger, IMO, as one of the best box to box players in the world.

Yeah, I'm starting to realize that I massively underrated Dembele when he was at Fulham even though I saw him score an excellent solo goal* in person during their demolition of Spurs in the FA Cup a couple years ago. I hope AVB does eventually shape the Tottenham squad into one capable of playing 4-3-3 so Dembele can get the ball in more advanced positions a little more often. He's so dangerous in that area from about 30 yards out up to the edge of the box, but the way Spurs are set up now he tends to receive the ball deeper for the most part.

* Last one in this painful highlight reel. Watch him cruise past Seb Bassong like he's not even there.

Spurs get Coventry City again. West Ham v Man U appears to be the best game along with Swansea and Arsenal, a game Arsene probably doesn't fancy...

Southampton v Chelsea is potentially interesting too, insofar as there's the prospect Rafa will get canned if they don't win (assuming he makes it that far).

What was the saying? He won't be drinking the eggnog?

Gotta love Barney Ronay in full flight:

"Sepp Blatter, trembling as ever with magisterial condescension, a man who with each passing year increasingly resembles the World Cup itself: gleaming, burnished, perfectly rounded, palms raised in a cartoon of glazed and perma-tanned personal wonderfulness..."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/nov/30/ballon-dor-ronaldo-messi

So, if Millwall and Crystal Palace get promoted and QPR miraculously stays up, will that be a record # of London clubs in the top flight?

There were seven London clubs in the old First Division in 88-89, the last time Millwall were up (Arsenal, Spurs, QPR, Millwall, Wimbledon, Charlton and West Ham). In the next season, there were eight, as West Ham went down, but Chelsea and Crystal Palace both came up. Millwall and Palace both went down in 89-90, and I don't think the high water mark was ever reached again.

God, I hope Milwall doesn't get promoted. It's looking pretty decent--KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK on wood--for the Hammers to stay up, so having to put up with this foolishness again is utterly unappealing.

December thread is live.