Interview: Paul Smith of Spurs Odyssey

We asked Paul Smith, who runs the Spurs Odyssey website (http://www.spursodyssey.com/), for his views on Tottenham's season so far and to give his predictions for how the match will play out tomorrow. Cheers Paul.

What do you make of the season so far for Spurs?
Pre-season we (and many pundits) had Spurs marked down as the best bet to break the current top four cartel. Personally, i think that our poor commitment in the first two games has blown that idea out of the water, and we already have a battle to match the last two years of reaching fifth place. We improved and beat Derby emphatically, and despite the loss at Old Trafford, our performance was one to restore some of our hopes for the season ahead.

What's your view on the Martin Jol situation?
I would have been calling for his head, had we lost against Derby. That didn't happen and he did make adjustments to the team and playing style that were not just dictated by the injuries. This led to an early rush of goals, and a thoroughly relaxing game for Spurs fans to watch, which is still a rare commodity, despite our second successive qualification for Europe through the League.

Martin Jol is a sincere, humble, honest and amiable guy, who in my view (and that of countless Spurs fans) has not deserved the degree of pressure that has been put upon him by the club's board, and the resulting media coverage. The board are entitled to make contingency plans, but failed to keep their activities quiet, and then when faced with press exposure also failed to reduce the resulting furore with weak explanations.

In conclusion, in my view, Martin Jol should be given more time this season to match the ambition of the fans and the club's board. Some fans will be happy if we manage to win a trophy or again make the UEFA Cup, but I must admit, I want Spurs in that top four!

Who should we be fearing the most on Saturday?
Berbatov hasn't hit his greatest form yet, but hopefully any transfer speculation will be truly out of the way, and he can give us one of his stylish and enthralling performances. He showed a flash of such quality at Old Trafford, with a pull-down of a high ball, control, turn and curling shot that had Van Der Sar beaten, but went just over the stanchion.

Gareth Bale made his debut last Sunday and was Spurs' man of the match, playing most of the game in front of Young-Pyo Lee on the left.

You saw in the FA Cup last season how players such as Robbie Keane can show great class, and if Spurs produce that sort of football again, you should be very scared!

What's your impression of Fulham this season?
I haven't seen too much of your team, but the results clearly indicate close calls, and of course you suffered through a referee's decision (or should that be lack of decision) in your game against Middlesbrough. Shame you didn't hold on against the gooners!
Lawrie Sanchez looks like being a breath of fresh air for you, and I fancy there might be a touch of the Northern Ireland v England spirit this Saturday.

What do you reckon the score on Saturday will be?
We always have to ask "Which Spurs side will turn up?" Equating this to Fulham and our poor record in recent away league games against you, will it be the side that scraped a 1-1 draw in the League, or the one that demolished you 4-0 in the FA Cup? I think it could be somewhere in between and I'll take Spurs to win a hard-fought game 2-1. It could go either way though!