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Here are the results of matches played between 1st and 4th May, 2004, with the corresponding league table:-
Arsenal 0-0 B'mingham
Blackburn 1-0 Man Utd
Charlton 2-2 Leicester
Chelsea 4-0 S'hampton
Man City 1-0 Newcastle
P'tsmouth 1-1 Fulham
Wolves 2-1 Everton
Bolton 4-1 Leeds
A. Villa 1-0 Spurs
Liverpool 2-0 M'brough
P'tsmouth 1-1 Arsenal
FA Barclaycard Premiership
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
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1 Arsenal 36 24 12 0 70 25 45 84 C
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2 Chelsea 36 23 6 7 65 29 36 75
3 Man United 36 22 5 9 61 34 27 71
4 Liverpool 36 15 11 10 51 36 15 56
5 A. Villa 36 15 10 11 47 41 6 55
6 Newcastle 35 13 14 8 47 35 12 53
7 Bolton 36 13 11 12 46 53 -7 50
8 Fulham 36 13 10 13 50 45 5 49
9 Charlton 36 13 10 13 46 47 -1 49
10 B'mingham 36 12 13 11 42 44 -2 49
11 S'hampton 35 12 9 14 39 39 0 45
12 M'brough 36 12 9 15 41 46 -5 45
13 Blackburn 36 12 7 17 50 57 -7 43
14 P'tsmouth 36 11 9 16 41 50 -9 42
15 Everton 36 9 12 15 43 50 -7 39
16 Spurs 36 11 6 19 44 57 -13 39
17 Man City 36 8 14 14 49 51 -2 38
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18 Wolves 36 7 11 18 37 74 -37 32 R
19 Leeds 36 8 8 20 37 75 -39 32 R
20 Leicester 36 5 15 16 44 62 -18 30 R
The following includes personal comment, and should not necessarily be construed as an opinion of the Board of the Spurs Trust, of which I am a member
David Pleat says that Spurs deserve to be a Premiership club. I say that the Board of THFC has been guilty of arrogance on the following counts:-
1. Arrogant to think that after such a badly timed and ill-thought out sacking of Glenn Hoddle, their Director of Football could hold sway in the dressing room for the whole season. Despite the money earnt by Professional Footballers, the game is still an "Upstairs - Downstairs" environment, and for too long, David Pleat has been in the board room. Bearing in mind the obvious lack of motivation seen on the pitch most of the season, I think there is a desperate need for a "players' manager".
2. Arrogant to expect their loyal fans to renew their season tickets as early as April, when even the club's Premiership status was still in doubt,and especially when no-one knows who the new manager will be. (At the time of writing a promising rumour regarding an announcement on Wednesday has surfaced, but Spurs fans have seen too many false dawns to be given hope without evidence)
3. Arrogant not to admit to being in a relegation fight until the Arsenal game, when properly motivated players might have got results that secured Premiership status before the ante-penultimate game of the season. Spurs even announced pre-season Friendlies with the Big Two in Scotland, when they were not out of the relegation mire, and the second match would have been after an opening Nationwide fixture.
4. Arrogant to dismiss the Spurs Trust's legitimate concerns with a curt and dismissive response.
Here is an extract of an early review of the season that I have written for "The Observer":-
How was your season?
As I write, Spurs have just 39 points, and risk finishing with their lowest ever Premiership points tally, and placing. In summary, it has gone from bad to worse, with a disastrous start under Hoddle, a poorly planned sacking by the Board, and a caretaker manager who has not had the respect of the dressing room, leading to a second consecutive forgettable season. It seems that everyone connected with the club has been in limbo, waiting for the mysterious new manager who is going to capture hearts and minds. Chairman Daniel Levy's early season gamble has failed, and he is lucky there is still a Premiership outfit to be managed. It is hard to believe that we can expect a man of proven calibre to put us back onto the glory trail.
Luckily, Spurs do not have to rebuild from a Nationwide perspective like Leeds, but after another year of dross, many Spurs fans will give up on their team, and most season ticket holders will need early persuasion to renew. That means the club must earn the respect of their fanbase, NOT ASSUME IT!
· This week last year
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