In the first game since the surprise departure of Jaques Santini, Spurs managed to do what the failed to achieve in the 11 League games under his control - score twice.

Unfortunately poor defending had already gifted Charlton a 3 goal start so the comeback merely served to preserve a bit of pride rather than gain any points.

Martin Jol opted to bring Redknapp and Kanoute into the starting line up at the expense of Brown and the injured Davis.

Keane was forced into playing on the left side of midfield, a position he is not suited to and his natural tendency to drift inside allowed Charlton plenty of room on their right and also meant we were lacking any natural width as Simon Davies is not a natural right winger either. Keane was more effective when he came inside but no player seemed inclined to fill in for him and Bunje was not willing to provide any kind of offensive threat.

Charlton were 2-0 up at the break thanks to a brace from Shaun Bartlett. For his first he got in front of his man and swept home Thomas' cross. The second, 5 minutes before the break saw him head home a deep cross from ex-Spur Luke Young.

Those were Charlton's only 2 chances in the entire 1st half but they made them count. In contrast, Spurs created a few good openings but each time either the final ball was poor or the shot was wayward.

Jol's response was to whip off Davies at halftime and send on Reto Ziegler to play on the left. The other midfielders were all shuffled across to accommodate this and we started to look like we had a better shape.

At this point, too many Spurs players stood off Jerome Thomas and allowed him to get in a shot which deflected off King and past the unlucky Robinson who had no chance with any of the goals. Spurs suddenly came to life with Kiely saving from Keane and Kanoute's 25 yard drive beating Kiely but slamming back off the post.

The introduction of Carrick for Redknapp was pivotal. Almost instantly we had a midfielder able to get forward and link up play with the forwards. His 1st run saw him go past 2 Charlton players and feed Defoe who shot just over when a return ball to Carrick could have presented a better chance.

Halfway through the 2nd half and Spurs' renewed effort paid dividends. Kiely failed to claim a cross and Ziegler fired in a goalbound shot which Bartlett palmed away. Bartlett saw red and Keane's penalty was too good for Kiely.

No clear cut chances came our way for the next 10 minutes or so but the pressure was starting to tell on Charlton. Eventually their skipper Holland underhit a pass which Keane snapped up and then played a lovely weighted ball to Defoe who swivelled and fired past Kiely.

Charlton sub Euell had a chance to settle it for the visitors when he sprung the offside trap. Robbo raced out to meet him but he lifted the ball over him only to see it drift wide. From then until the final whistle it was constant attacking from Spurs but they were unable to snatch that vital 3rd goal.

All in all a disappointing result but we can take heart from the last half hour and particularly the impact Carrick had once on as a sub. Surely he must start against the Gooners next week. We did look better going forward although shakier at the back - Edman can't recover from his concussion soon enough. If we can play for a full 90 minutes and further improve the standard of supply to the front men then we will get back to winning ways soon.

MOTM:- Carrick. Provided the catalyst for the comeback with good passing and movement. Showed that he is the quality player we hoped we were getting.

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
12	Tottenham	12	3	4	5	8	11	13

Statement from the official site:

"The Club tonight announced that its Head Coach, Jacques Santini, will leave White Hart Lane. Santini, who joined the Club at the start of the season, requested the move after deciding to return to France for personal reasons. Martin Jol, First Assistant Coach, will take charge of the team for tomorrow’s game against Charlton Athletic and a further announcement will be made on Monday 8 November, 2004."

This has come as a complete bolt from the blue. Jaques had been getting criticisms from some corners recently regarding his lack of comment following Bill Nick's death, recent results and the general lack of attacking play from his team

But surely none of these things would have driven him to quit? I'm not going to speculate on the cause(s) of his resignation as I'm sure the tabloids will be doing just that over the next few days.

Hopefully the players won't let it affect them too much and will go out and win tomorrow to get our season back on track.

Au revoir Jaques.

Bill Nicholson 1919 - 2004

It was announced yesterday the Bill Nicholson, President of Tottenham Hostpur Football Club had passed away aged 85.

Bill Nick was the most successful manager the club has ever had and altogether gave almost 70 years service to the club, starting on the groundstaff at the age of 16.

He made over 400 appearances for the club, winning the Second and First Division titles in successives season as part of the 'Push and Run' side at the start of the Fifties.

He became manager in 1958 and in the 60-61 season guided Spurs to the first League and Cup double of the 20th century.

The FA Cup was retained the following year giving Spurs the chance to become the first British club to win a European trophy, which they duly did by winning the Cup Winners' Cup.

The FA Cup was secured again in 1967 and then at the start of the Seventies a UEFA Cup triumph was sandwiched between two League Cups.

Bill left the club as manager in 1974 but returned as a consultant and scout in 1976 before being appointed club President in 1991.

Throughout his managerial career Nicholson stuck to his beliefs with the emphasis on style and players encouraged to show their skills.

Bill gave us those Glory, Glory Days and for that as a Spurs fan I will be forever grateful.

RIP Bill Nick

A Yakubu header was enough to end Spurs unbeaten record on their travels this season.

The big frontman along with Lua Lua had caused problems all evening as Pompey counterattacked at speed.

Spurs, despite again putting in an organised performance at the back, struggled to break down the Portsmouth back line.

Pompey dominated overall but the goal came against the run of play as Spurs were just starting to get into their stride with Gardner heading against the post from a corner and Defoe's follow up being blocked.

Paul Robinson had a busier night than he would have hoped for and showed once again what an asset he is to the club. His reflexes and bravery were key in seeing us go in level at the break.

For the majority of the first half Spurs were restricted to poor long range efforts and our best chance of the half came just before the interval but Stefanovic nipped the ball away from Keane as he set himself for a shot.

After the break Defoe had a shot tipped over and then fired over either side of the set piece which saw us hit the woodwork.

But the sting in the tail came as Lua Lua put in a good cross from the right and Yakubu couldn't miss.

After the goal it got a bit scrappy as Spurs looked to get themselves back on level terms. Carrick got a hostile reception from the Fratton Park faithful having snubbed the South Coast club in the Summer in favour of a move to White Hart Lane. The travelling Spurs fans did their best to reassure him he'd made the right choice but to be honest he never really got into the game during the 20 minutes he had after replacing Brown.

Kanoute came on for Gardner at the same time but again made little impact and failed to hold the ball up well for his strike partners.

Atouba was stretchered away with 10 minutes to go - looks like ligament damage. The Cameroon international had not had his most effective night but the same can be said for most of the midfield. Pedro Mendes was tidy enough and gritty in the tackle but unable to produce a killer ball. Simon Davies still needs to recreate his form from a couple of seasons back. Brown gave 100% as always but made little headway.

Home to Bolton on Saturday and a return to winning ways is needed to ensure that the bright start we had to the season doesn't go to waste

MOTM: Robinson - Another top showing from the England number one and unlucky not to get another clean sheet after continually putting himself in harm's way

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
9	Tottenham	9	2	3	0	5	4	13

Had just written a massive essay on the last 5 weeks of my life but then Outlook decided to commandeer the Explorer window to show another web site so it's all gone.

Very brief summary

Laid floor, moved house. Had housewarming. Only 1 spillage and 1 breakage. House still standing so all in all a good result. Copious amounts of booze left over but more than enough evidence of liver abuse.

Dishwasher and washing machine arrived. Leak. Still leak. Finally fixed leak.

Cycled to work twice. Barsteward hills on the way there + Very unfit = Not good.

Same job for a couple more weeks. Basically swapping roles with another girl at work.

Should be watching Goodbye Lenin on DVD tonight. Missus opted for House Doctor instead. No accounting for taste.

Should be going to the cinema tomorrow then afternoon of watching football on Sunday. Should be doing some studying really

Have Wednesday off to study next week. Will actually have to spend it studying as serious lack of motivation recently with the holiday and moving and generally finding better things to do than read about organistational culture and stuff.

Spurs were unable to break down a stubborn Norwich defence ably assisted by keeper Rob Green. It was a match we should have won but at the same time we could have lost it.

Only a fantastic block from Ledley King prevented Darren Huckerby from rolling the ball into an empty net after Robinson had committed himself when the offside trap failed.

That would have been harsh considering Spurs had dominated most of the game although Norwich did look to snatch a winner as the second half wore on. Jermain Defoe continued his rich vein of form but the post, a goal line clearance and Green combined to thwart him today.

Kanoute put in a lot more effort today but the end product was still lacking. He had a couple of chances but failed to cause Green too many problems. Redknapp managed to burst into the box 10 minutes before the break but having forced Defoe out of the way he failed to direct his effort on target. Jamie is still struggling to live with the pace of the Premiership these days and I'm sure once Davis and Carrick are back from injury he'll find himself out of the starting line up

Mendes' workrate in the centre of the park was superb - as was his ability to constantly foul the on loan Bentley, borrowed from our North London neighbours and the recipient of a typical White Hart Lane welcome for 'one of them'.

The decision to put Naybet up against the pacy Huckerby whilst King was left to deal with the Ginger Pele was quite baffling. Naybet struggled today and Huckerby turned out to be their main threat forcing Robbo into a couple of good saves. Edman looked solid again and Pamarot seems to be settling but he still seems to be curbing his attacking instincts which made life difficult for Michael Brown at times as there was often no overlap available to him.

Simon Davies made his return from injury with 25 minutes to go and he added a bit of creative spark. Once he's match fit I think it will really help the team by giving it some more natural width on the right combined with his ability to go past players.

Santini gave Robbie Keane 20 minutes in place of Kanoute but he was unable to come up with any magic that would secure the 3 points as Green was up to the task once again.

Still unbeaten under Santini but we need to be picking up points against the teams who are likely to struggle this season if we are going to push for a good league finish this year. Bogey team Chelsea are our next opponents so don't expect any miracles or too many points there and then we've got Man U at home who don't seem quite the force they once were so hopefully we can take something from that game

MOTM: King. Aside from the key block from Huckerby which was celebrated as loudly as a Spurs goal, Ledley remained calm whenever those around him started to decend into panic.

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
6	Tottenham	5	2	3	0	4	2	9

The holiday was very enjoyable despite the fact that I came back with virtually no colour to show for the glorious weather I'd sat through. Was overly cautious for the first part of the week but then got to the stage where I was pleading with the sun to burn me. Didn't work though but at least there's no peeling going on.

Met 2 of the new intake of graduates on Tuesday. Quite scary that I've been doing my job for 11 months now.

Have been preparing the front room of the new house ready for laying laminate flooring. Had great fun ripping up all the carpet grips even if I did manage to slice the palm of my hand open on the crowbar.

Ordered all the kitchen appliances from Argos online on Wednesday. Got a phone call yesterday to arrange delivery. They said they could do next Wednesday. I said that it had to be a Monday as the missus is off work then. Finally sorted it for a fortnight's time. Said that the morning was probably best so the missus didn't have to wait in all day.

Just as I get off the phone the missus gets back from work and tells me she has a dentist appointment that day and also has to go into work briefly to sort some stuff out. Ring Argos again.

Explain they had just rung me but I needed to change it slightly. Got told it was booked for delivery next Wednesday.

"But I just changed that because Wednesday's no good for us"

"Well it's booked for that day now so we can't change it"

Tried to be polite but firm "But you colleague just changed it about 10 minutes ago"

"Oh, well, I'll have to send a note to the delivery people but it's at their discretion whether they change it. Thank you for ringing Argos Direct. Good bye"

Planning to ring again early next week to see what they've done with it. Why bother ringing people to arrange a delivery date if you're just going to deliver it whenever you feel like it anyway?

Just had my usual Saturday morning fix of SoccerAM and I'll be off to the house this afternoon to hopefully get most of the flooring done. Football tomorrow and got to go and buy a bike for getting to work once I move. This is likely to be the death of me due to my abstinence from exercise for the last year or so. But it's cheaper than running a car or faffing around getting trains and minibuses.

My boss is off on her hols for the next 2 weeks so I'm holding the fort. Hoping for a relatively tranquil fortnight but I've been left with a list of tasks and been told to expect random queries at some point.