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We continue our Tottenham-centric March Madness bracket today, moving on to the "You'll Have to Ask the Chairman" bracket in our Tottenham Hotspur Best Twitter Arguments tournament. If you've missed the explanation of what the heck this is, check out the full bracket reveal and the first two rounds of the Chirpy Region.
Round One
#1 Play with two strikers up top vs. #16 We didn't deserve Gareth Bale
Oh, the English two-striker formation. Completely anachronistic in today's modern game. Fun to watch. But can be absolutely destroyed by a 4-2-3-1 due to the midfield disadvantage. And yet it's amazing how many football fans still crave this. ("Imagine a Kane-Lukaku strike partnership, m8!") Meanwhile, the Gareth Bale argument is just dumb. Sorry (not sorry).
Winner: #1 Play with two strikers up top
#8 We need more width in the side vs. #9 If Kevin-Prince Boateng just got a chance...
Setting up a tasty second round match-up against "Two strikers," More Width is the casual fan's panacea against anything bad that happens tactically. Our central midfield getting trucked? JUST NEED A TRUE WINGER, M8. Its opponent laments that KPB only got good once we sold him, which sucks, but he didn't really get good until he went to Italy and there isn't much evidence he would've succeeded in England.
Winner: #8 We need more width in the side
#5 Ledley King would've been the GOAT if not for Delap vs. #12 Play for the shirt
So much to unpack here. Ledley would've been incredible if he hadn't been injured by Rory Delap on his debut, destroying his knees in the process. However, if that had not happened, it's very possible that Ledley would've eventually been sold to United or Real Madrid and we wouldn't be arguing about it. Meanwhile, the idea of "playing for the shirt" is one of those tightly held arguments that many fans hold if they're still stuck in 1988. It's pick 'em, but for this one I'm going with the upset.
Winner: #12 Play for the shirt
#4 We should've kept Rafael van der Vaart vs. #13 Selling Steven Caulker was a mistake
Fans cried when we sold Rafa, a fan favorite even though he could never go farther than 75 minutes in a Harry Redknapp side. Fans also cried when we sold Steven Caulker (aka Ledley 2.0) even though he was terrible at Cardiff and QPR and is now an emergency CB loan at (lol) Liverpool. Caulker's demonstrably bad now, but it's still hard to convince some people that Rafa was already past his prime when we sold him.
Winner: #4 We should've kept Rafael van der Vaart
#6 David Bentley was actually good vs. #11 "Yiddo" is racist
Bentley is the Arizona of this bracket: vastly overseeded and going up against a very good and underseeded opponent. David Bentley was actually good... when he played for Blackburn. Meanwhile, there are very very good reasons why Spurs fans should have a long, open conversation about the appropriation of the term "yiddo" by a fanbase that really isn't all that Jewish as a whole. (It's one reason why we don't use it much on Carty-Free. Sorry to get all serious on you.)
Winner: #11 "Yiddo is racist"
#3 Joe Lewis should spend more money vs. #14 The Olympic Stadium is fine because it screws West Ham
JOE LEWIS IS A BILLIONAIRE M8 HE'S GOT ALL THE MONEY M8 WTF WHY DON'T WE JUST GO OUT AND BUY MESSI FFS #ENICOUT!!!!!!!!11!!!!ONE (And besides, does anyone REALLY want to play in the Olympic Stadium?)
Winner: #3 Joe Lewis should spend more money
#7 Emmanuel Adebayor was misunderstood vs. #10 Tom Huddlestone would destroy Serie A
As much as I am sympathetic to Ade and will always be due to his awful and out of control personal life, I love the Tom Huddlestone argument more than just about anything that has arisen on Cartilage Free Captain over the past few years. Fat Pirlo forever.
Winner: #10 Tom Huddlestone would destroy Serie A
#2 Ryan Mason is good/bad vs. #15 Kyle Walker is very bad
This might be the toughest pick of the first round. On paper, Ryan Mason comes in as the huge favorites, based on the length of the argument and the volume of the takes on both sides. But the thing is, the Ryan Mason argument has validity on both sides of the issue (he is good at some things and is terrible at others). Kyle Walker being bad is a sneaky zombie meme that should've been fully debunked years ago. And yet there are still Spurs fans that think he's the same derpy brain-dead gaffe machine that he was about four seasons ago and regularly end up in my timeline and mentions. It boggles the mind. I'm going with the big upset by Zombie Brain-Dead Walker on a buzzer-beating three point shot.
Winner: #15 Kyle Walker is very bad
Second Round
#1 Play with two strikers up top vs. #8 We need more width in the side
Tough match-up. The width argument is still trotted out as a reason why we shouldn't have sold Aaron Lennon, but the two-strikers-up-top argument has been around as long as I've been a Spurs fan and has been used to justify not only spurs running the dang 4-4-2 but also its cousin, "a 3-5-2 with Chadli and Lamela as wingbacks." It's also why many Spurs fans still want us to buy a better striker than Harry Kane.
Winner: #1 Play with two strikers up top
#12 Play for the shirt vs. #4 We should've kept Rafael van der Vaart
Rafa's great, great lad, total Yiddo, loved Tottenham. Scored lots of goals but you got the feeling he really loved the club. Didn't he kiss the badge? I think he kissed the badge. We gotta get more players that aren't in it for the money and will play for the shir... oh, I think I just proved the other argument.
Winner: #12 Play for the shirt
#11 "Yiddo" is racist vs. #3 Joe Lewis should spend more money
A serious issue versus a total red herring. Though they should, Spurs fans aren't really ready for a serious conversation about language and anti-Semitism. However, mention the name "Joe Lewis" on Twitter and you'll get vitriol and accusations of him being an "absentee owner." Easy choice.
Winner: #3 Joe Lewis should spend more money
#10 Tom Huddlestone would destroy Serie A vs. #15 Kyle Walker is very bad
Two very bad opinions going head to head. Both have validity (or do I mean the opposite of that? I'm so confused). In the end I'm continuing the Cinderella run for Kyle Walker is very bad, because while Pirlostone was most definitely a thing, most people aren't saying that much anymore now that he's been at Hull for a couple of years.
Winner: #15 Kyle Walker is very bad