There was a spoof Brendan Rodgers quote doing the rounds on social media post-game that was so ridiculous in content that everyone believed it to be factual. I never saw the original tweet but did see several people discussing it (so the error was to believe it was from an official source - an error often made on Twitter). The quote cited how possession was more important than goals. An apologetic deflection citing 65% of the ball in Liverpool's favour, the suggestion being the better football team is the team that passed and held the ball longer. Rodgers never said that. Although he did bemoan penalties that were not given and diving and whatever else he could think of to hide the fact that sticking the ball into the back of the net is how teams win games.

Liverpool at the Lane, under the floodlights. This won't be as comfortable as the West Ham game. For starters, the visitors are more likely to hold onto the ball and use it more effectively. Brendan Rodgers side is also a work in progress. They might not have the quality we do but they still retain enough quality to cause us a problem. The reason for a more evident style probably has more to do with the fact that Rodgers has enough key players in his team to project his footballing vision. Be it one with plenty of quirks.

Morning. How's everyone feeling? Aside from freezing cold (if you're unlucky to be living in Blightly). We're about to hit the minus temps apparently. Everyone going to the Lane this evening, don't forget your long-johns. I wont be there but will be present for the Europa League 'decider' next Thursday, somewhere in block 32 (where 1882 has been allocated) to see us hopefully not just beat the Greeks but also match their relentless support from start to finish. As for tonight, I'll be watching from the comfort of an illegal stream, hoping for more of the same offensive intent against a side that will be far better than the pish West Ham managed to display on Sunday.

A poem that debuted on The Fighting Cock podcast to promote CALM (campaign against living miserably) has been brilliantly animated by October Jones.

"The link between the appalling incidents in Rome and the "Y" word chanting is obvious. The chanting of the word simply legitimises anti-Semitic abuse by other fans."

I was talking to a West Ham supporter over the weekend who told me he hates Spurs fans (what a shocker) because we always want more than what we have. He cited how many of us didn't want Harry Redknapp and after the progressive success he achieved with our rise to Champions League football we wanted him out and replaced with a better more advanced coach (well some of us did). I asked him what he meant and why desiring something more was such an irritation to him.

"You didn't have it before, he gave you it, and you cry over something that was out of your reach".

Lloris displayed mad skillz. Dembele is back. We had (yet another) perfectly legitimate goal disallowed for offside. Carroll's vision and pass to find Bale for that goal was sensational. He was also tidy in possession and focused with other key responsibilities such as tracking and tackling. We were in control in the early part of the game, aside from a blistering Ledesma effort. We did make it count (that disallowed goal) so it didn't actually count and then Lazio got a stranglehold and asked all the questions from that point onwards, especially throughout the second half. We held out thanks to a defining shift between the sticks from the keeper that isn't Brad. We need to beat the Greeks at the Lane (or draw) to qualify.

Was going to write a shot preview of today's game against Lazio, only to wake up to read that  ten Spurs fans were attacked standing outside a pub last night, two of which were stabbed and one is in critical condition. Arrests made, but no more news at the moment. Variety of rumours about CS gas and baseball bats and 'jews'. Apparently the attackers were masked. I like how the media are referring to it as an altercation. Probably considered a normal incident out in Rome, sitting alongside corruption and match-fixing.

The Champions League adventure. As far as cameos are considered we packed more balls than Larry Blackmon. Our first appearance in the competition for 49 long long years. Spurs we're not just back in Europe, but also back in amongst the continents elite. Word up.

We all know there is no easy way with Spurs. The heartbreak and the nearly years and relentless dreaming. It's usually an emotional journey that sees us miss the last train. On this occasion we didn't. And once at our destination, everyone took full advantage of it - on the pitch and in the stands, THFC embraced it with the type of passion it fully deserved. After a hiccup away to Young Boys, just to tease everyone into thinking Spurs we're about to botch it up again, we began an iconic run into the quarter-finals.

I'm deeply philosophical about this. Belly full of rum. We go one up, we get a man sent off, we re-shape and somehow with it hold onto hope until we give it all away before half time. We re-shape again for the second half and once again look more than the sum of our parts, but its still too big a task for us.

North London derby reaction in meme form.

Another week, another cracking book. This one from Julie Welch (Those Glory, Glory nights and The Ghost of White Hart Lane) which chronicles our illustrious history in the form of 'The Biography of Tottenham Hotspur' defining what makes Tottenham the club it is and what has shaped our traditions and our identity.

I've always believed we are the perfect club. I would say that being a Spurs fan. What I mean is, we have that right amount of balance between tangible success and emotional upheaval that allows us to appreciate what we had, what we've got and always feel that there is something more to dream for.

Last seasons derby match at the Emirates proved to be pivotal. Had we won the match, we'd have probably continued on with our march to consolidating 3rd spot and travelling the London Underground would not be littered with constant reminders of our implosion. Instead the day served to illustrate that not all was well and that tactically we lacked any shrewdness and astuteness and invited Arsenal to rejuvenate a season that some of their fans had already given up on, leaving long before half time.

The game was a catalyst. It sent them one way and us in the opposite direction.

Villas-Boas template for the 'new' Tottenham has stuttered due to the injury of Dembele meaning our midfield presence has been halved, with Sandro left alone to carry the weight but with no one to share it with. Dembele a signing that looked the part from the moment he played and one that has taken to the role given to him. He's quality is such, that he simply slotted in effortlessly. Then we lost him.

We do not have a midfield creative outlet.

We do not have cohesion in the middle because players selected are there because there is no direct alternative.

Our form, was always likely to dip, considering our form was never outstanding to start of with. Was it avoidable? Could Villas-Boas have handled it differently?

City 2 Spurs 1

This morning I received a review copy of 'The Biography of Tottenham Hotspur' by Julie Welch (via Vision Sports Publishing). Can't wait to get stuck into it. I've only had time to read the press release info where I found one or two things staring back at me with a heavy hint of irony.

'...the club has a proud tradition of ambition, excellence and of playing football the right way, 'the Spurs way'. It is an unspoken but implicit prerequisite that means that the teams who pull on the famous lilywhite shirts will always endeavour to entertain and exhilarate the club's fans with fast, quick-passing, attacking football. "The game," as the great Spurs captain Danny Blanchflower so succinctly put it, "is about glory"...'

It's part of our character, our tradition. It's also been part of the problem, forever trying to emulate a period of time that will never be emulated, simply because football is not the same game it was back then. Spurs, under Arthur Rowe and later on Bill Nicholson, innovated. Created styles, iconic moments in history. Defined what it means to be Tottenham Hotspur.

In these modern times we desire a restoration of a classic when we should be attempting to paint an original. Our current predicament finds our painter with a variety of missing colours from his palette. Both ears still on his head, but I'd hardly blame him for cutting one of them off.

Interviewed by Typical City in their 'Inside the Opposition' series which you can find here. Also shared below.