The Crow/The Wroe - It was a great decade for our clubs... No, really it was – and here’s why

SO that’s the end of the decade. What happened to north London’s two teams?
Tottenham won nothing meaningful in the Noughties. They claimed glory for a Rumbelows Cup win, or something like that, but there was no important trophy for them.
They repeatedly failed to qualify for the Champions League despite telling everyone they were a top four club. They lost to Grimsby. They zipped through seven managers in the 10 years: anybody remember Jacques Santini?
And in the chopping and changing they slipped from being generally regarded as London’s number two team to being rated as the third best. Behind Chelsea.
In comparison, Arsenal won two league titles in the Noughties. They did it in style, going through one season without losing a single league match.
There were three FA Cups as well. They had the same manager throughout and Arsene Wenger has laid the foundations for a footballing force for the future. The club’s new stadium is the envy of the Premier League and Arsenal became the first English team ever to beat Real Madrid in the Bernabeu and AC Milan in the San Siro.
If the Teenies – or whatever the new decade will be called – are as fun as the Noughties, the Gunners won’t be doing so bad.
RICHARD OSLEY

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SO as Spurs step forward into an undoubtedly prosperous 2010, and potentially the most successful decade in the club’s history, we can look back on the Noughties as a triumph of sorts.
Our Bassett hound of a manager has many a reason to smile beneath those jowls. The signing of Wilson Palacios has added a steel to the growing flair, and Aaron Lennon’s improvement is the stuff of nightmares for the country’s left backs.
Having regained our rightful place in the chasing pack, our tactician guides us unflinchingly to the spot of dreams. Fourth.
After the ludicrous but effective decision to resign three of our former strikers, Spurs have rekindled the free-scoring form of our 07/08 campaign. And we’ve done it without the attempts to concede as many as we score, a tactical masterstroke. We must of course thank Juande Ramos for telling Tom Huddlestone to lose weight fast because without such blunt advice his renaissance might never have occurred.
Other than that, this year’s turnaround is Harry Redknapp’s to savour and improve upon.
As the Grinch down the road spreads his seasonal gloom, false promises and unrealistic expectations, Spurs score nine goals and throw a party.
Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come.
PIP WROE