Peace of Mind

And if all you've got to do today is find peace of mind
Come here, you can take a piece of mine.
You could be taking it easy on yourself
You should be making it easy on yourself

- Catatonia, Road Rage

Tottenham have sacked Juande Ramos, and replaced him with Harry Redknapp. They also sacked first team coaches Gus Poyet and Marcelo Alvarez, and director of football Damien Comolli. They don't do things by half-measures, do they? And this is Daniel Levy's explanation for all his machinations. 

Redknapp is a very good manager, but one who's better known for saving relegation-bound sides than for creating championship-winning sides. I suppose it's recognition that Tottenham should shelve those "Top 4" plans, at least for a year, and concentrate on staying in the Premiership. And I can just imagine Redknapp rubbing his hands with glee at the amount of horse flesh he gets to trade in January. 

Sorry, got a bit side-tracked there. 

I've been in Budapest for a couple of days now. It looks surprisingly old for a city that only boomed in the late 19th century. It takes a while to appreciate it, especially after you've been in well-scrubbed places like Vienna and Prague, but it's interesting. There's a "lived-in" kind of feeling to it, from the faded neon signs and the graffiti on the buildings, to the way the grime and soot covers everything from elaborate fin de siecle facades to Stalinist Lego block buildings.

There are a lot of things to do in Budapest. There are caves under the hills of Buda, limestone caves that are the most extensive in Europe. The Turks extended the ones under the palace to turned them into a labyrinth of cellars and dungeons. There's a room in the castle with a fountain than gushes wine. There's this thermal bath near Heroes Square. There're bars and cafes and bakeries that are cheap, and a pub crawl that offers unlimited shots for around $12AUS. 

But I'm exhausted. It's quite worrying how tired I'm been since Berlin. I think I'm going to have to take a leaf out of Cerys Matthews's book and step down, sit back and try and find my peace of mind. We're playing West Ham in a few hours. In a little while, I'm going to step out and find a pub to watch it. And a train ticket to Brasov for tomorrow. 

A Mixed Bag

"I want to write something good on Sunday or Monday. Something that nobody else would write."

- Myles Palmer, Arsenal News Review

Myles Palmer is now blogging about what he's going to blog about in three or four days' time. 

It's a novel idea, and one I wish I'd thought of myself. Which, I guess, shows the difference between a top, top Arsenal blogger and one that's struggling at Conference level. Here I am, struggling to think of something Arsenal-related to write about, and there's Myles, bold as brass, boasting about how it's so easy that he'll whip out something profound and unique in under an hour. 

Well, it's half an hour later, and I'm still no where closer to an Arsenal topic. There are a number of tantalising tidbits, but nothing to devote a post to. And I'm too tired to spin things. So it's going to be a mixed bag today. 

There's this piece where Wenger said that Senderos' move to AC Milan showed that there's a lack of top-class centre-backs in the world. It's a bit of a slap in the face to poor Senderos, and I would've thought that any blame for big Phil's arrested development should be laid at Wenger's feet. 

And this piece from the Arsenal website. Apparently, Wenger wants to win the Premier League - this year - and won't rule out making a signing in January if needed. It's always nice to know. I think a defensive midfielder and a centre-back would be nice. Apparently, Blaise Matuidi thinks he fits the bill. 

And finally, I'm about halfway through Persuasion, by Jane Austen. It's one of those "classics repackaged as chick-lit" books, and it's bound in pink and lavender. I felt a bit self-conscious reading it on the train to Budapest, but I can't really complain - my blog's decorated in the same girlish colours, after all. 

It's an interesting read, but more with regards to the subtext than anything that actually happens in the book. It's Jane Austen's last work, written in the autumn of her life, and you can almost see her pausing mid-sentence to think about all those things she'd change in her life, if only she had her time over. It lacks the sparkle of Pride and Prejudice, but it more than makes up for it in emotional honesty. I mean, Captain Wentworth just screams Tom Lefroy, doesn't he? 

I really should get out of the hostel and take a look around Budapest. Maybe have a goulash across the road. But I should use the bathroom first - that kebab's doing strange things inside me.