A St Totteringham's Day Diary.
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Mostly written by Mike Pitt. You can contact me by email on mike-stt@einval.com. Nice
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Original material © Mike Pitt 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023,
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St Totteringham's Day was the day when Arsenal fans celebrate the fact that Tottenham can no longer catch Arsenal in the League. It is a movable feast, but usually falls in March, April or May. It was the day to collect on bets made by over-optimistic Spurs fans in the close season who think that "this is the year".
See the links on the left for more information.
Mon, 28 Apr 2014
Nineteen years in a row: 28th April 2014
There are no teenage fans of Tottenham who were alive last time Spurs finished
above Arsenal. There are no Spurs fans below about 24 who will really remember
when they last finished above Arsenal (and if they do then they'll
remember how many trophies we won that year!).
Time to collect on the bets. Again.
Anyway the table showing the final calculation:
| Games | Points | GD | Points behind | (games left) | (max points) | |
| Arsenal | 36 | 73 | +24 | |||
| Spurs | 36 | 66 | +3 | 7 | (2) | (72) |
An April St Totteringham's is the earliest we've had since 2008/9, and 36 games comes as a welcome relief after two successive final day St Ts. We only needed 35 in 2010/11 despite it being on May 7.
A £1 bet invested at double-or-quits started in 1995/1996 would now need a payment of £262,144. Almost buy a season ticket with that...
As well as all that we still have two things to play for: we need another three points to be sure of 4th place, and there is the small matter of the FA Cup Final!
Last season at this stage I said Spurs are improving. I was wrong.
ENJOY ST TOTTERINGHAM'S DAY 2014!
Arsenal 3 Newcastle 0: Happy St Totteringham's day
The race is over. Spurs, for the nineteenth season in a row, will finish
below Arsenal.
St Totteringham's 2014 is 28th April
Full post to follow...
Sat, 26 Apr 2014
Stoke fail to deliver St Totteringham's day
On any other day I think every Arsenal fan would be pleased to hear of a
Stoke City loss which included Shawcross being sent off. However today was
the exception, the one day we wanted Stoke to win.
On the plus side the good result at Southampton will help the hunt for fourth place.
Overall the situation remains the same: we need a win or a Spurs loss. The first chance for that is against Newcastle on Monday.
Will it be today?
A reminder: if Stoke City beat Spurs today it will be St Totteringham's
for 2014.
Look for a full update at about 5pm!
Sun, 20 Apr 2014
Poldi is a STILL a superstar, but not yet St Totteringham's day
Two great finishes from Lukas Podolski, and one from Rambo today. Seems
strangely close to the start of my last post, but Spurs managed a result
this weekend. That leaves us...
| Games | Points | GD | Points behind | (games left) | (max points) | |
| Arsenal | 35 | 70 | +20 | |||
| Spurs | 35 | 63 | +2 | 7 | (3) | (72) |
Arsenal need just 3 points from three games to beat Spurs. So if we win or Spurs lose next weekend it is all over. Similarly if both teams draw. To avoid St T's Spurs need to do better than Arsenal next week.
Moreover the huge goal difference advantage is probably effectively worth a point, but of course that doesn't change St T's. That is only declared when it is certain!
The run-in, including Everton (who are currently playing Utd as I type)...
| Date | Arsenal | Spurs | Everton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 26 April | Stoke City (A) | Southampton (A) | |
| Mon 28 April | Newcastle Utd (H) | ||
| Sat 3 May | West Ham United (A) | Manchester City (H) | |
| Sun 4 May | West Bromwich Albion (H) | ||
| Sat 11 May | Norwich City (A) | Aston Villa (H) | Hull City (A) |
| Key (position 16:00 20/4/14) |
|---|
| top 4 |
| 43-49 points |
| 32-37 points |
| relegation zone |
I think it will be settled either at Stoke on Saturday, or at Arsenal on the Monday of next week.
Fourth place also looks a lot more plausible. A lot hangs on two Manchester clubs though, which doesn't half leave me feeling dirty!
Tue, 15 Apr 2014
Poldi is a superstar!
Two great finishes from Lukas Podolski, and one from Giroud tonight
completed quite a good weekend for the pursuit of St Totteringham's day.
Spurs failure to win whilst we were otherwise engaged (reaching an FA Cup Final the hard way) leaves the gap between us enhanced after today's result:
| Games | Points | GD | Points behind | (games left) | (max points) | |
| Arsenal | 34 | 67 | +18 | |||
| Spurs | 34 | 60 | 0 | 7 | (4) | (72) |
Arsenal need just 6 points from four games to beat Spurs
In fact it could happen this weekend if Spurs lose on Saturday lunchtime, and Arsenal win at Hull the next day. So I shall be cheering on Fulham!
| Date | Arsenal | Spurs | Everton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 16 April | Crystal Palace (H) | ||
| Sat 19 April | Fulham (H) | ||
| Sun 20 April | Hull City (A) | Manchester United (H) | |
| Sat 26 April | Stoke City (A) | Southampton (A) | |
| Mon 28 April | Newcastle Utd (H) | ||
| Sat 3 May | West Ham United (A) | Manchester City (H) | |
| Sun 4 May | West Bromwich Albion (H) | ||
| Sat 11 May | Norwich City (A) | Aston Villa (H) | Hull City (A) |
| Key (position 9/4/14) |
|---|
| top 4 |
| Over 50 points |
| 40-49 points |
| 30-39 points |
| relegation zone |
It looks more likely to go beyond this weekend though: somehow I think Fulham won't be doing us a favour. I live in hope though. I think it should be settled before the end of April this year.
Wed, 09 Apr 2014
A quick look at the run in...
I am not going to comment on Arsenal's record against teams in the top 5
this season.
The run in is definitely upon us, and with five games to play we are five points ahead of Spurs. This means Spurs need to get a point a game on us, or to put it anotherway 2 wins when we lose, or a win when we lose and win when we draw, or 3 wins when we draw. Thats a big ask over five games.
Another (simpler!) way to put it is to say we need 11 points from five games: four wins will see us safe, as would three wins and two draws.
There are of course complications if Spurs drop points. I've also added Everton to the analysis for the infamous fourth place trophy...
| Date | Arsenal | Spurs | Everton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 12 April | West Bromwich Albion (A) | Sunderland (A) | |
| Tue 15 April | West Ham Utd (H) | ||
| Wed 16 April | Crystal Palace (H) | ||
| Sat 19 April | Hull City (A) | Fulham (H) | |
| Sun 20 April | Manchester United (H) | ||
| Sat 26 April | Stoke City (A) | Southampton (A) | |
| Mon 28 April | Newcastle Utd (H) | ||
| Sat 3 May | West Ham United (A) | Manchester City (H) | |
| Sun 4 May | West Bromwich Albion (H) | ||
| Sat 11 May | Norwich City (A) | Aston Villa (H) | Hull City (A) |
| Key (position 9/4/14) |
|---|
| top 4 |
| Over 50 points |
| 40-49 points |
| 30-39 points |
| relegation zone |
To me there is little to chose between Spurs and Arsenal's games. Most of them are against teams in the 30-something point scrap. They all need a few more points to make themselves safe.
The Stoke and Newcastle matches look tricky. As could be both the West Ham games. Only Fulham stand out, and a team fighting for survival can spring shocks. Don't think they will though.
So matching up the games: we both play West Ham and West Brom. We play Newcastle when they play Stoke. Hull and Villa are next to each other in the table. Norwich are the club immediately above the drop and go with Fulham.
Nothing between them. It will be down to form, and frankly both teams are capable of messing up.
Fantasy time: the earliest date would be 19 April if we beat the Hammers and Hull, and Spurs lose to the Baggies and Fulham. Seems unlikely!
I put Everton in as well for the 4th place trophy. It doesn't look good. On paper we have a MUCH easier run in, but they are on form and we aren't. If the title race is still alive on May 3 then I can't see City losing, but if it is over then City will drop and Everton might do it.
My gut prediction is that we won't hang on to 4th: based on us picking up 12 points, Spurs 10, and Everton 13. It'd be down to goal difference if I am right.
But I am confident St T's will be earlier this year than last!
Sun, 16 Mar 2014
One Nil to the Arsenal
Is that the end of Spurs' season?
If it is or not it's an excellent result. Puts Arsenal back in touch in the title race (though we're still long shots, as I've said before, it's fun whilst it lasts!) and could be significant for St T's day purposes.
The end is still a way off, but nine points is a big gap:
66 Chelsea (+33) 65 64 63 62 Liverpool (1 in hand; +41) Arsenal (1; +25) 61 60 Man City (3; +44) 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 Spurs (0; -1)
| Games | Points | GD | Points behind | (games left) | (max points) | |
| Arsenal | 29 | 62 | +25 | |||
| Spurs | 30 | 53 | -1 | 9 | (8) | (77) |
If Spurs get themselves together there is still a way to go, and we have some really tricky matches. For now however: 1-0. Deserved. Battling win with a superb goal. Lets enjoy that!
Sun, 29 Dec 2013
Season's Greetings...
So far a reasonable Christmas has seen a point off Chelsea and good wins
at West Ham and Newcastle. I said earlier that I was surprised at our
being top of the league, and I am still on. Still think it is great.
Playing pretty badly away from home against a contender for the top four
and getting a 1-0 win is very pleasing indeed.
As I write this Spurs are yet to play today and so have a game in hand, however a quick update:
| Games | Points | GD | Points behind | (games left) | (max points) | |
| Arsenal | 19 | 42 | +19 | |||
| Spurs | 18 | 31 | -5 | 11 | (20) | (91) |
Still 11 behind.
Happy new year to all Gooners!
Sat, 30 Nov 2013
As autumn turns into winter...
Well I didn't expect us to be top as we enter December, but I am
overjoyed that we are. It has been a superb season and the first goal
at Cardiff today sums up the season: Özil crossing to Rambo. The
men of our season so far... Credit to Cardiff fans for the reception
they gave him too. Reminded me of the reaction of the Arsenal fans to
Eduardo's goal against us.
Even better is Spurs stuttering start. The early penalty wins flattered them it'd appear, and I am sure most readers took great glee in the drubbing that City gave them recently.
However we must remember how early in the season it is. This time last year Spurs were two points ahead, and the year before by the end of November they had a three point lead. So don't get too confident at a mere 11 point lead. Especially as they have a game in hand.
The situation in summary:
| Games | Points | GD | Points behind | (games left) | (max points) | |
| Arsenal | 13 | 31 | +17 | |||
| Spurs | 12 | 20 | -3 | 11 | (tonnes) | (enough) |
And a rather elongated Cann table extract is needed to get Spurs and Arsenal both in...
31 Arsenal 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 Liverpool (1 game in hand), Chelsea (1), Everton 23 22 Man City (1), Southampton (1) 21 Man Utd (1) 20 Newcastle Utd (1), Tottenham Hotspur (1)
That is a heck of a gap, but Arsenal need to keep slogging away and winning. But who saw this back in July?
Admin update: I've added a 2013/14 link and a link back to the home page to the bar on the left hand side of the page.