I think it’s fair to say that Spurs supporters would have enjoyed 2010. Great form in the league, some decent cup runs and a team that got stronger with every match. Wins over Chelsea, Arsenal (twice), and Liverpool helped make 2010 a stand out year.

February started with Spurs finishing the job against Leeds United with Defoe scoring a superb hat trick. Villa proved stubborn opponents at the Lane coming away with a point from a 0-0 draw which they hardly deserved. The following match saw Spurs put in one of the worst performances of the season. Away at a snowy and cold Molineaux Wolves defeated Spurs 1-0. Probably the lowlight of the entire year. The next match saw Spurs take on Bolton at the Reebok in an FA Cup 5^th round tie. Despite being outplayed for much of the match, and Tom Huddlestone missing a penalty (penalty misses being a feature of 2010) Spurs earned themselves a replay thanks to a header from Corluka. Wigan were despatched next with a fine 3-0 away win before Spurs finished off the job against Bolton with a fine 4-0 home win. A win that saw the opposition score twice but both at the wrong end. Everton were then defeated at the Lane ending the month on a high.

Next up at the start of March was a visit to The Cottage to take on Fulham in the FA Cup sixth round. True to form this match was also drawn meaning that all of our FA Cup ties had gone to replays so far. This match finished 0-0 in a dour affair on a bitterly cold day. Back to league action and Spurs continued their assault on 4^th place with a 3-1 win at home to Blackburn before Kranjcar and Gudjohnsen scored to complete a memorable win over Stoke City at the Brittania Stadium. The FA cup replay against Fulham was finished in comfortable style as the host ran out 3-1 winners to secure a semi final match against bottom club Portsmouth. Interestingly Pompey were the next visitors to The Lane in a dress rehearsal for that semi final. On this occasion Spurs triumphed 2-0.

April started with a disappoint away defeat to Sunderland. Although Spurs lost 3-1 to The Black Cats it could have been much worse as Gomes saved two penalties from Darren Bent in a match that saw three awarded, Bent scoring the first of the three. Spurs looked to bounce back from that defeat by securing a place in last seasons FA Cup Final. Spurs were odds on favourites to beat the relegation haunted south coast team but as so often happens the form book was turned on it’s head. With neither team able to break the deadlock in the 90 minutes the match went to extra time. The pitch had been criticized before the game and it was the much maligned pitch that was to play a major part in the match. A free kick had been swung into the Spurs box and Michael Dawson looked to easily clear. Suddenly the turf gave way, Dawson crashed to ground, and Pompey were 1-0 up. Still more controversy saw Spurs have a perfectly good goal disallowed shortly after. Pompey wrapped the match up with a penalty and Tottenham’s cup dreams were over for another season. With our season hanging by a thread the next three games were going to be crucial. Unfortunately they were against the best three teams in the country. Three days after the semi final defeat Spurs picked themselves and their supporters up by destroying Arsenal 2-1. A spectacular volley from Danny Rose on his league debut, and a wonderfully crafted breakaway going from Bale saw Spurs take all three points. Next up at the Lane were Chelsea. Again Tottenham proved far superior to their London neighbours running out 2-1 winners again. 4^th place was back on! Sadly the run could not be maintained and a 1-3 defeat to Man United at Old Trafford followed.

Into May and a crucial two matches were to determine the course of the season and possibly many seasons to come. First up it was Bolton at White Hart Lane. Despite dominating Tottenham had to settle for a 1-0 win with the goal being a superbly struck shot from Huddlestone. The stage was now set for the 4^th place play off between Manchester City and Spurs at Eastlands. If Spurs were to win then they would have taken fourth. A win for City and Spurs would need to match City’s result on the last day of the season. A draw and it would all be there to play for on the final day. Spurs dominated their hosts. Crouch had the match of his life but still Spurs could not score the crucial goal. With time running out Crouch finally got the breakthrough in the 81^st minute to send the gathered Spurs support behind that goal into raptures. Champions League here we come! The final game of the season was something of a damp squib. Despite being 2-0 up at the break Spurs managed to contrive a 2-4 defeat to relegated Burnley.

After a long summer break and a disappointing World Cup the Premier League opened with a clash of the titans with Spurs entertaining Manchester City at White Hart Lane in August. Despite dominating City in the first half Spurs could not make the break through. City were much better in the second half and on reflection deserved their point. Next up was the game we had all been waiting for, the Champions League qualifying match to BSC Young Boys. We started disastrously finding ourselves 3-0 before Bassong and Pavlyuchenko got us a foot hold in the match.

The Following match saw Spurs defeat Stoke away from home. Gareth Bale scoring both in a banner year for the young man. The first with his face from a yard out but the second was scored with a sublime volley. Next up was those darned pests, BSC Young Boys. This time Spurs made no mistakes and despatched the Swiss comfortably 4-0, Peter Crouch scoring a hat trick, to make it to the group stages and the Champions League ‘proper’. After the pride of qualifying for the Champions League came the fall as Spurs succumbed to a stoic Wigan at the Lane.

September opened with two draws for Spurs. First at The Hawthorns where Modric gave us the lead and then At Werder Bremen where and own goal and a Crouch header gave us a two nil lead in our first ever Champions League group match. Despite drawing 2-2 from a winning position of 2-0 is was decided that this was a ‘good’ result for Spurs. That is until we found out how shit Bremen actually are and then realised we through it away. A regulation 3-1 win over Wolves at home was followed by a 1-4 reverse to the team that shan’t be named in the Mickey Mouse cup. What followed was arguably worse as Spurs capitulated to the worst West Ham side seen this side of 2005 0-1 at Upton Park. The month finished with our first ever win in the Champions League proper as Spurs beat FC Twente 4-1 in an entertaining match that saw Van der Vaart miss a penalty, score a goal, and then get sent off.

October started as September finished as Van der Vaart scored a double against Villa and then Spurs secured a slightly lucky win away at Fulham 2-1 with a highly controversial Tom Huddlestone goal. Next up was our much awaited trip to the San Siro to take on the reigning European Champions. Things could not have got worse after an opening 45 minutes that saw Spurs reduced to 10 men with the sending off of Gomes and being 0-4 down. The second half announced the arrival (if you had not been paying attention) of the star status of Gareth Bale as the Welshman tore Inter apart in the second half to score a hat trick and give some sort of semblance to the score line. Following the defeat in Italy Spurs drew at home to Everton 1-1 and then lost, in controversial circumstances, to Manchester United 0-2. Our Refs…Best in the World.

November started with a match that will be remembered for many, many years as Spurs, and Gareth Bale in particular ripped Inter Milan to shreds in a 3-1 win which remains one of the two best games played in 2010. Following that monumental match Spurs were brought down to Earth with a bump as they were outplayed by a resurgent Bolton Wanderers team 2-4. The only consolation of that result is that it would be the last time Spurs would lose in 2010. Back at the Lane for the next match saw Spurs draw, somewhat disappointingly, with Sunderland before despatching Blackburn 3-1 in a comfortable home win. Next came arguably the match of the year. Having not won an away match at Arsenal since 1993 things looked bleak before the match and much worse after 45 minutes. Spurs, being 0-2, had nothing to gain but to try and restore some pride in the second half. I won’t go into details as any Spurs supporter worth his/her salt will know that goals from Bale, Rafa and Kaboul secured a famous and unlikely win at the home of the scum. We followed this astounding result up with a comfortable 3-0 win in the Champions League over Bremen at The Lane and then beat Liverpool with a late, late winner from Lennon.

December saw us draw the first three matches on the trot. Birmingham 1-1, FC Twente 3-3 in our final group stage match that saw us top the table, and a 1-1 with Chelsea. Our final two matches of 2010 were notable for the fact that in both we won with ten men. At Villa Park Spurs played for over an hour with a man less after Defoe was harshly sent off and yet still managed to score one of the goals of the season. Against Newcastle Spurs again managed to double their lead despite having Kaboul sent off to end the year on a high.

If you attended a Spurs match during 2010 you would have had a 50% chance of seeing them win. I find that statistic hugely encouraging. Having played 54 matches in the year Spurs won 27, drew 14 and lost 13. During that time the team emerged as one of the most entertaining teams in the country, if not Europe. It’s at this time of year that we often say “Out with the old and in with the new.” It was Kranjcar who opened the scoring back in January with a goal against Peterborough United and this January could see Niko moving on. Conversely our last goal of 2010 was scored by Gareth Bale, the new shining star at White Hart Lane.

New Years Eve is a time for looking back and now, here, we have done that. The football served up has been, at times, sublime, sensational, devastating and sometimes disappointing, but never dull. But this time of the year is also about looking forward. The future looks bright at White Hart Lane (or wherever we end up). So I ask you to charge your glasses at midnight tonight, raise them high and give thanks and wish ‘Arry and the boys a very, very happy new year.

Thanks chaps. More of the same please.