It's happened.

Dear God no

Freestyle.

The bad times are upon us.

Waiting for him to step up. 

What if?

Back when we played Arsenal away I stated the game could be a catalyst much like it was last season when they never looked back and we fell all the way back. This seasons fixture was not quite a a pivotal moment in the season however our reaction since that defeat has been superb.

The game, tomorrow, it's not half as big or important as some would have you believe. It's a side in form against a side that has no form.

We are the side in form, spirited away from home. A side full of quality and sitting 3rd in the league with ambitions to consolidate that position. QPR are in a dogfight they rarely turn up for. Disjointed, erratic. An anomaly of a win against Chelsea has given them hope, but they remain brittle.

If you strip away all the narrative and the glossed over sound-bites and superfluous attempts at creating headlines in the build up to this - what are you left with?

With hefty irony,  when we don't play well and lose it's AVB's fault. When we play well but still lose or draw, it's AVB's fault. When we win, even if we win a couple on the trot, there is still something in amongst the result to pin blame on AVB. The manner in which we've performed, not becoming to a particular expectation or trait of tradition.

Another day, another Spurs win totalling seven with two draws and one defeat in our last ten (all comps). It's been a solid December. A strong festive period. Plenty to shout about and the usual assortment of reminders that fixes are still required as we look to bid farewell to 2012 and welcome what will hopefully be a fulfilling 2013 with big goofy smiles on our faces.

If Tottenham was pornography it would be the type that you find on digital subscriber channels. Hardcore edited to soft to escape slapped wrists (and personal injury) from broadcast regulators. Nothing explicit and no money-shot. You know it's happening you just can't see all the graphic details but there's enough there to leave you satisfied. It's sort of sexy in the same way a Victorian man would tremble at the sight of a naked ankle.

If only games finished at the 80th minute mark. If only games lasted long enough for Spurs to win them. In the blink of an eye we saw three points evaporate to nothing. Blink of an eye, lapse of a defence...same difference. Both take a split second to occur. This is Tottenham after all. Never without drama, never without heart break. Am I disappointed? Of course I am. But that's football. It slaps you in the face the moment you dare to look away.  In a less philosophical conclusion you'd  analyse tactics and find yourself agreeing that some games turn on moments that could so easily have turned out to be inconsequential when played back differently in your mind.

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?