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If we win, do we get a shiny trophy? Do we have to take penalty kicks if the game ends tied? I'll be honest, I have absolutely no idea what the procedure is for the final preseason game in Tottenham Hotspur's South African escapade, but I do know that there's going to be a game that includes at least 90 minutes of football. Some first team players will play. They will be expected to not suck.
Our last preseason game was also against Orlando Pirates, and our performance was entirely average. Rafael van der Vaart scored a nice free kick to open the scoring, but some herp derp from Bongani Khumalo and Brad Friedel allowed our opponents to equalize just before halftime. The second half of the game was absurdly boring.
I don't know about you guys, but all I'm looking for in this match is some improvement. We were dreadful in the first match against Kaizer Chiefs and we were slightly improved against Orlando Pirates. All I ask is that we get "slightly improved" yet again. If that comes in a loss, I really don't care as long as our strikers, Kyle Walker, Tom Huddlestone, Rafael van der Vaart, Luka Modric, and some others show some improvement from the previous game.
That's what I ask of the players.
What I ask of Harry is something that resembles a lineup that Spurs might realistically have to play at some point this season. Obviously there will be some exceptions, like Bentley starting at right midfield (at least I hope that's not realistic for a real game), but I want to see something that looks real.
We might learn more from the upcoming games against Brighton and Athletic Bilbao than we will from this one, but it's still important to improve a bit with every performance. Though, the good news is that Everton looked like crap this week against the Philadelphia Union.
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Orlando Pirates
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
Time: 9:00 am ET, 2:00 pm BST, 3:00 pm local
Where to watch: Spurs TV, ESPN UK
Totally nonsense projected Tottenham Hotspur lineup: Friedel; Bale, Dawson, Kaboul, Walker; Rose, Modric, Huddlestone, Bentley; van der Vaart; Crouch
We'll have a match thread up with lineups about 30 minutes prior to kickoff, so please join us for the fun over there. Also, if you didn't see, you should go drop your entries into the Friday Night GIF Party. Judging goes through the weekend.