January transfer window, should we be looking to the future?

There has been as usual much talk about the January transfer window and players we have been linked with. I always believe that we must look at players we need immediately to improve the squad, but also look at players who we would consider an investment in the future.

The balance of our squad always never seems to be right. We do tend to pick the same fourteen or so players and we have a large proportion of players out on loan. I think we should have a first team squad of around 20 and a development squad of around 12.

The difficulty is of course knowing when to give players who aren't first choice a run in the first team. At the moment we have a small group of players who have either not delivered for Spurs or have not shown the desire to succeed. One thing I do not like is the player who uses the media to vent his frustration at not playing, maybe if they concentrated this energy on the pitch, then they may be playing more regularly.

So I would like to put our players in three categories. The first one is players who have shown they can do a job, the second one is players who do not have a future at present, the third is the players who may feature in the future.

Squad one                   Squad two                        Squad three
Gomes                         Bale                                 Naughton
Corluka                      Bentley                            Walker
Hutton                        Pavyluchenko                 Bostock
King                           Dos Santos                      Obika
Woodgate                  Dervitte                            Townsend
Dawson                     Taarabt                            Parrett
Bassong                     Pekhart                           Livermore
Assou-Ekotto                                                      Caulker
Lennon                                                                Rose
Huddlestone                                                       Smith
Palacios                                                              Mason
Jenas
O'Hara
Modric
Krancjar
Defoe
Crouch
Keane

Of course there is room for manouevre between these squads, but I hope that Harry Redknapp would look at the squad in this way. There is a story around today that Robbie Keane will be moved on after organising that Christmas Party, but I think this would be very unlikely given that Pavyluchenko is likely to go in January.

So who would I bring in? The first priority is the immediate future and considering we will be losing Bassong and Assou-Ekotto to the African Nations Cup, we should be looking in bringing one or two new defenders. A couple of players I ave in mind are Matthew Upson, who would easily fill the central role, the other player I would like is Jack Rodwell. I know the rumours are that Manchester United are interested in him, and maybe Everton are not willing to sell at a price we can afford, but I think he would be a good investment for us for now and in the future. We really cannot rely on King and Woodgate and we needto make plans for the long term for Tottenham.

One other player that I like the sound of is Moses of Crystal Palace, if in the event of us selling Bentley he would be an ideal back up to Lennon and I don't think he would be so frustrated to sit on the bench.

The other position we are vulnerable is central midfield. We have so far coped with Palacios, Jenas and Huddlestone, but if we get an injury to any one of these players long term, then we will sufer, though we do have the altenative of playing Kranjcar or Modric there. Another option would be to recall O'Hara or Livermore.

There has also been much talk of Sandro coming, with Redknapp almost confirming that Levy has been havng discussions with Internacional. So watch this space.

I think it is really important to get this balance right between the present and future. We need to give our young players time to develop but also the opportunity by giving them time on the pitch. I suppose the crucial point is how much can we get for the payers most likely to leave in January.

This is not the time to take risks

What an important week for Spurs. Three away games at Villa Park, Old Trafford ad Goodison Park. Well the Villa games gone, I think it was job done, so now to the United game. The dilemma here is who are we going to select. That will depend on who we are going to play against Everton next weekend. We really can't afford lose Defoe, Lennon, Palacios, Bassong, Corluka and Gomes to injury. I expect these players to be rested. My team for tomorrow then would be:

Walker; Hutton, Dawson, Dervitte, Bale; Bentley, Jenas, Huddlestone, Kranjcar; Pavyluchenko, Keane.

The problem with having so many players out on loan is we can't bring many in. This would have been a great opportunity for players such as O'hara, Taarabt, Bostock, Obika, Livermore and Townsend to come in.

I for one always want Spurs to win no matter what the competition. If this was the final I would say should pick our best side. But we are three games from Wembley and I don't think we should risk geting our best players injured which cold seriously affect our Champions League challenge. But having said that, the side I have suggested is more than capable of dong the job at Old Trafford.

So what to do with the fringe?

Well the January transfer window is fast approaching and there are many rumours flying around. Most are probably rubbish but the truth is bound to be out there.

I think the biggest decision that needs to be made by Harry is whether he should move on the firnge players and the perennial benchwarmers. Lets look at the list:

David Bentley.
Here is the problem. David Bentley's deadball ability is probably the best at Spurs, unfortunately his play has not lived up to his price tag. There must be a way for Bentley to make that breakthrough but unfortunately it would mean changing the way we play. For now Bentley has no chance of playing for England with Lennon, Walcott, Wright-Phillips and Beckham ahead of him, so only he knows what he needs to do to reignite his career.

Roman Pavyluchenko
I am really sick and tired of this guy moaning that he is not getting a game. If he was good enough, he would be in the side. He has ability, I have seen this on a few occasions, but he needs to play well consistently. I am sure that had he shown enough desire in training then he would be playing more regularly. I would say that if he thinks he is good enough then knuckle and wait for his chance, if he is not happy to work for his place, then I am sure he knows where the door is.

Gareth Bale
Well I can't really make up my mind with this kid. Last season he was very poor, I was sure he was going to be moved on in the summer. I was at the carling Cup game against Everton and I thought he was our best player. I think this kid has a big future in football, the question is whether Gareth Bale and Tottenham have the patience to make sure it is at White Hart Lane.

Giovani Dos Santos
I saw this guy playing at Barcelona and I was very excited with the prospect of him playing at Spurs. For one reason or another it just has not happened for him. The problem now is that he has Kranjcar and Modric in front of him. Maybe there is a chance of Giovani to play as a striker but with Redknapp's desire to keep playing Keane when he is providing little, well his future seems to lie away from Tottenham.

Adel Taarabt
The new Zidane has also failed to live up to his billing. He is a very gifted player but not good enough at the moment to play regular first team football. Taarabt needs to learn the team game, he still suffers at QPR from a lack of team ethic. I understand he was offered a contract extention but turned it down as he doesn't think he will get a run at Spurs. Yet another player who think that by right he should be picked. I don't think anyone is in that category. be nice to hang on to him for another couple of season to see if he will develop but not very likely.

Jamie O'Hara
I was really suprised when he went out on loan. I understand he needed regular football. I don't think there would be a single Spurs supporter who doubted his commitment. To me I thought he would develop into a defensive midfielder or left back. He has never let us down and I hope he will return to Spurs.

This is a very intersting time for Spurs. We don't have a very obvious weakness and the only players that need to be brought in are perhaps to strengthen the squad. There could be an arguement for another central midfielder and maybe another central defender to give the current players a rest, but not really a neccesity.

Any of the five could be sold but perhaps only Pavyluchenko and maybe Bentley to go in January to bring in one ore two others. There is a certain settled feel to this squad which is pretty unusual.

Good performance lads.

I was rather subdued coming into this match. I am usually quite uptight in such an important game. My long term prediction for this game was a draw and I was correct in that. On the game though I felt we didn't know what we were quite doing in the first half. But for all of Villa's energy and tight marking, other than the goal, which I am still convinced was an own goal, Villa didn't really create much. Their strength was from set pieces but we knew that coming into this game. I thought we defended them reasonably well.

Defoe was brought down to earth as I expected he would be, but he did manage to carve out several chances for himself but his accuracy was not to the standard as against Wigan.

The second half was a completely different story and given the strength of the opposition was probably the best 45 minutes I have seen from Spurs this season. We outbustled, out passed and outplayed Villa. The fact we only came away with one point was due to some very dogged Villa defending. Kranjcar I thought was outstanding and I am relishing Modric returning because I think these two will play off each other brilliantly. The attacking trio of Lennon, Kranjcar and Modric will give opposition teams a hell of a lot of trouble.

I for one don't want to get carried away at the moment, we are on target for 70+ points, but we must make sure we capatilize on these dominant displays. With no Chelsea, Arsenal and man utd until April we should not accept losing to anyone from now until then, but you know we will at some point.

More of these types of performances should see us get by Everton and Man City in the next few weeks, so lets hope it's this Spurs that will show up.

Ledley King should only be offered pay as you play contract

In the aftermath of a disappointing couple of weeks, it is clear that we are still shortof where we need to be. I went to the Carling cup game against Everton and i thought offensivley it was as good as we have been all season, but defensively we were very shaky. the fact is that spurs have not been able to put out the same back 4 from one week to the next. bassong is out for a month, I don't know what the state of Woodgate is but  doubt he is going to make an impact this season. Currently we have Michael Dawson available and Huddlestone and Corluka as back up. Ledley King plays when he is able, but this is not good enough if we are to qualify for the Champions League.

Harry Redknapp must now decide on a settled back four. Ledley King cannot be a part of that, if he cannot train, how can he have a good understanding with his fellow defenders. I understand his deal ends this season and now Daniel Levy must make the coice of whether to renew his contract as it is, offer something different or release him. The question here is how can you justify putting king on a three year £50k plus contract when he will only play 20 games a season. This is not fair with the rest of the squad.

Personally I would say to King to go on a pay as you play deal or be released. Now he would probably get a deal elsewhere, but if we are to compete with utd, Chelsea and Arsenal, we can't be seen to carry players. Ledley King has been a terrific servant toSpurs and is a quality player who if he didn't have these injury problems would probably be the best central defender in England, however as a football club we need to move on.

Why Spurs won't finish top 4

I am never one to run down Spurs, but after our failure to win at Bolton demonstrated why we wont get that coveted Champions League spot. I said at the start of the seaon that we need to win against 10 teams home and away to have a chance. Bolton is one of those ten. We now need to get back those two points which means winning against one of our top four rivals at the very least.

The other reason is Harry Redknapps team selection. To me Cudiccini is not the keeper he was a few years ago and his mistakes in the last 4 games have highlighted this. I also cant understand why Huddlestone is played at centre back when Dawson is sitting on the bench, surely he is fit enough now to play 90 minutes?

These are minor points but they all add up at the end of the season.

Spurs 1 United 3

Well not suprisingly it has taken me several days to recover from this loss. I always see things a different way to most and I feel this was a game we could have maybe should have won. Yes Manchester United controlled much of the game, but apart from the goals they scored how many other clear cut chances did they have. The question is what would have happened had we not been penalised for Berbatov's dive, had we been given a penalty for the foul on Crocuh in the penalty box, had Vidic been sent off for the many fouls he commited, I point to the deliberate trip on Lennon which the referee missed and the elbow in the face. There was also the headbutt from Evra on Corluka which was also missed.

Peter Crouch had two relatively free headers which one went just wide and the other came off the crossbar. Robbie Keane also had a near certain goal blocked, so this was hardly a game we did not have the chances to win.

I don't like to criticise Harry Redknapp too much, because he has done a great job since taking over, but bringing on Hutton has ultimately cost us. His defending is poor is a tight situation and to leave him to not only join in the attacks but also to mark Wayne Rooney was a pretty bad decision. He is only our third best right back and I certainly hope that Kyle Naughton will be given the chance soon to prove that he should be in front of Hutton in the pecking order.

What I don't understand is why we always struggle to impose ourselves when we have the man advantage. This happens so often to us, we should have walked over Arsenal last year when they had a player sent off and likewise with United.

I am still in the mindset that we are a match for anyone and we must still believe we can mount a challenge this season. It was encouraging to see Jenas fit, there should now be some competiition in the middle. Woodgate will also be a key returnee now he is back in training hopefully he will  make his return in the coming weeks.

So chin up boys, it's a long season.

COYS!

Tottenham V Manchester United

The Chelsea decision.

Well this is a little off base but I thought I would put my two pence in. I am sure there alot of Chelsea fans that feel victimised, but I am all for this ruling. It is well time that Clubs were held accountable for their flagrant abuse of the rules.

So what is it all about? Chelsea were found guilty of enticing a player, Gael Kakuta, to break his contract with his club, Lens, back in 2007. The player has been fined £682,000 of which Chelsea are also liable for and banned for four months. Chelsea have also been banned from any transfer dealing in the next two transfer windows. They have also been fined £114,000.

On Sky Sports News there have been many claims that this was tapping up and that it happens all the time. There are also alot of fans who think that Chelsea are being targeted, there was also a claim that this is unprecedented. Well this is not unprecedented. FC Sion have had the same judgement against them for enticing goalkeeper Essam El Hadary in 2008 before his deal with Al-Ahly had expired. Interestingly this has been appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a ruling will be given later this year. Chelsea should be in a better position to know their fate after that ruling is made.

I don't know the full details of what happened and what the nature of breach of contract was. Facts are facts though and that Chelsea had approached the player before he was 16. Kakuta had been contracted to Lens since he was eight years old. This had amounted to a serious investment in the player. Lens are obvioulsy not happy as I am sure a large amount of their business model will include the ability to train and nuture young players to promote to their first team or selling to other clubs. There is also a moral issue as his club are unable to protect the player from the advances of richer clubs.

Seb Blatter and Michel Platini have given their concerns recently to what amounts to trading of minors. Now I am sure the player had been happy to make the move but what sort of advice was given to him by his legal representatives, his club and his family. I think though that the morality of whether clubs are able to approach youngsters is a little off base.

If we are able to look at the tapping up issue in isolation, then Chelsea have a degree of culpbility as do many clubs. Chelsea have not exactly been the most Scrupulous of clubs in the past. I can vaugely remember their very public pursuit of Didier Drogba a few years ago and their approach to Frank Arnesen. But of course Chelsea aren't the only guilty party by playing out this process in the media. There was the Manchester City pursuit of Lescott, Real Madrid's chase for Ronaldo, Barcelona trying to grab Fabregas, Manchester United's attempts to get Berbatov and recently Tottenham's pursuit of Downing and to a lesser extent Defoe and Crouch.

The ruling bodies must define the rules and enforce them. There is no longer the sanctity of contract as they only stand until a better offer comes along. Club chairmen are no saints as they seem to sack managers these days for virtually no reason. All these things involved in the administartion of the game only help to devalue this great game we love.

Now that the dust has settled.

It was a very intersesting transfer window and very much unlike the most recent transfer windows. The weak pound, the 50% tax rate and worries about overstretching club finances forced most clubs to only sell to finance purchases. Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal all look weaker now than they were at the end of May.

Perhaps this is now the time for Spurs to take advantage of the stagnation of the top clubs. Tottenham have made some very good signings and at the same time managed to move on some players who were not of the standard we require.

First team players Darren Bent, Pascal Chimbonda, Kevin Prince Boeteng and Didier Zokora were sold for a combined fee of around £25 million, while we brought in Sebastien Bassong, Peter Crouch, Niko Kranjcar, Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton for a combined fee of around £28 million.

Bassong has already looked a good signing and he will provide very good support in central defence to the number one pairing of Woodgate and King. There was a story that he was up for the challenge with his first team place not guaranteed, but with the injury record of Woodgate and King, I would be very suprised if he doesn't start at least 25 games this season.

Peter Crouch returns to Spurs more than a decade after he left for QPR. He was a member of a successful youth team at Spurs that featured both Carr and King. He looked very dangerous against Brmingham last Saturday and I think he should get the start ahead of Keane if Keane is not playing in Modric's role.

Full backs Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker were signed from Sheffield United with the latter returning on loan. Naughton played a half against Barcelona and looked quite impressive. It will be tough for him to get a look in this season with Hutton and Corluka ahead of him in the pecking order. He looks a better defender than Hutton for me and I wouldn't be suprised if Hutton is moved on as soon as Naughton moves ahead of him.

Finally on deadline day we secured the services of Niko Kranjcar from Portsmouth. It's remakable the amount of business that has happened between Portsmouth and Spurs over the last few years. It appears Kranjcar comes as back up to Modric, though he would deny this.

It will be interesting if we do get a full squad to choose from how exactly we will line up. Kranjcar would probably appear with Modric in a five man midfield, or maybe against a weaker team with Modric taking a more central role, this would be unlikely though unless things are going wrong for us.

Some other departures from Spurs last season included Chris Gunter, Ricardo Rocha and Gilberto. There are also a number of players gone out on loan with the most notable: Jamie O'Hara, Adel Taarabt, Jake Livermore, Andros Townsend, Steven Caulker, Ryan Mason and John Obika. I would hve liked us to keep hold of Livermore and O'Hara because central midfield is where we are at our weakest, however I think the loan moves with benefit both players and club in the long term.

The two players who remain at Spurs of which I am most suprised are David Bentley and Giovanni Dos Santos. These guys have four months now to show to Harry why they have a future at Spurs, I for one will not be unhappy if they can force their way into the reckoning as I believe both are very gifted players.

Overall we have done well and the stability of the team has been maintained. There is good competiton for places in almost every position which should bode well for our challenge this season.

COYS!

Kranjcar in, Bentley not going.

The summer transfer window has been relatively quiet for Spurs this year with a few to come and go, although the last few days have been frantic for us. Much of this has been due to the injury to Modric. 

Last Friday we saw Kevin Prince Boeteng move to Portsmouth and also O'Hara going on loan to the south coast club. O'Hara was looking for more first team football, which you can't blame him for that. I would just wonder about the thinking there as we are very short in midefield with only Huddlestone, Palacios and the injured Jenas being the only senior players available. At this time it doesn't look like we are bringing in another central midfielder, so no Muntari, Sandros, Sissoko or Veloso.

All the talk on Monday was around Kranjcar, James and Petrov coming in and Bentley leaving to go to Manchester City. I was expecting Giovani to leave but nothing has materialsed as yet. It seems the only done and dusted deal is Kranjcar coming in and Bentley is now not going to Manchester City on a season long loan. There may be the possibility of Petrov coming the other way as it has been alleged he spent last night in a London hotel.

I am really hoping there will be a late deal to bring a defender in, we desperately need cover as we are down to the bare bones with only Corluka and Bassong fit and if we were to lose to suspension or injury, well it would mean Huddlestone at the back! I was hoping we would hijack Villa's move for Dunne, but not very likely.

So this window we have seen the end of Zokora and Bent. I wish Zokora all the best of luck at Sevilla, he served us well in is three years. As for Bent, I have nothing but contempt for him after his Twitter outburst. Good riddance. We also saw the end of Chimbonda after a short return he is off to Blackburn. Other's to go include: Gunter to Nottingham Forest and the release of Rocha and Gilberto, none of these players had any real impact at the club, but I wish them well.

There are a number of players loaned out to the lower divisons and I will watch them with interest. I have seen Jake Livermore and Andros Townsend recently in action and I have very impressed with them in particular.

So we come to the end and we will have to make do with the players we have until January. We have a very good squad, so lest see how everyone beds in.

COYS!

Will we cope without Modric?

What a blow for Modric. He has been very good for us so far this season and the player must be gutted. But we have a game against Manchester United ,that we must be ready for and with King also doubtful, there are a few worries ahead for Harry Redknapp. Playing Corluka alongside Bassong does not fill me with confidence, but what are the choices. The question over he left side of midfield is also a concern. I would expect that Keane will be given a run there which would allow Defoe to play alongside either Crouch or Pavyluchenko. The other option is to give Bentley or Giovani their chance. I would doubt this would be risked against Chelse or Man Utd but maybe against Burnley.

Outside of these options, can we recall O'Hara? Danny Rose played a few games for us pre season, but he doesn't look quited ready. Jake Livermore may also be an option but he is also on loan. We have some youngsters around but I don't think Townsend, Bostock or Parrett are ready for the step up.

The only other option is to dip into the transfer markey, but panic buys have never worked for us in the past and I don't expect they would now. One thing we can't afford is more injuries. We now have: Jenas,
Modric, Bale, King, Woodgate, Dawson, Gomes all out, not even Chelsea could afford this amount of players injured.

So lets keep our fingers crossed that this is the end of our injury jinx.

Spurs 2 Birmingham 1

In this game we saw the best and worst of Spurs but still we managed to keep our 100% record intact. The game began very much as you would expect with Spurs very muh in control. There was a chance for Robbie Keane which was blocked enough to allow the ball to fall harmlessley to Hart. Huddlestone drove the ball into the box that was just inches away from a Defoe tap in. Modric then took the ball outwide and tricked his way past the Birmingham defence which was again inches away from Defoe and Lennon had another shot blocked. Birmingham had their chances as well with larsson lashing the ball wide. Huddlestone then played in Defoe who didn't see Keane to his left and put his shot wide. Spurs kept pressing with Defoe surging forward but unable to get bast the Birmigham defensive wall and Modric attempting to curl the ball in which went just wide.

Ledley King suffered a groin injury during a Birmingham attack and was replaced by Hutton at half time and when Modric was kicked in the calf by Lee Bowyer, Peter Crouch came on. Lee Carsley had an early chance in the second half to put Birmingham in front from a Birmingham corner. As Spurs were making attempts at gaining a foothold in the second half Kenae crossed the ball in for Defoe who completely fluffed his chance. This was quickly followed by a McFadden dive in the box with no punishment. A wonderful cross from hutton resulted in a header fro Crouch which forced a save from hart. The effet of bringing Crouch on was coming to the fore with Johnson cleaing off the line from a Crouch header, Crouch was soon to have a header to come off the crossbar, followed by a header cleared off the line which many believ ahd crossed the line. The breakthrough finanly came when a foul on Lennon left Huddlestone to take a free kick which Crouch duly rose to head into the back of the net. Barely only a few minutes later A terrible mix up between Hutton and Cuddicini allows Bowyer to equalise. From this point on Birmingham were very much the better side.

Tottenham then replaced the very ordinary Defoe with Pavyluchenko who came on to warm applause. I felt that Birmingham were very cynical throughout the game. Carr's foul on Lennon summed it up for me. Birmingham seemed to target certain players, Modric and Lennon in particluar and there was some obvious time wasting with an injury time substitution and what apeared an eternity for Larsson to leave the field. Five minutes into stopppage time and a Carr slip allows Pavyluchenko to slide the ball across to Lennon who fires in for the winner.

This was a result that Spurs deserved but some poor defending put the three points in jeopardy. I think that Harry needs to get another defender in to cover King's absence at the moment. Dawson and Woodgate don't look like returning in the near future and Corluka has looked poor at centre back.

Still I will take the three points. Roll on United.

Please Harry, don't sell Bentley!

Again the most unreliable of sources, The Daily Mail, has said that Everton want to sign David Bentley. Again I may be in the minority, but I would implore Spurs not to sell him. I have faith that he has the ability to be a very good player for us. He has the ability to ping in some lovely crosses and has a great touch. It should only be a matter of unlocking this potential. I didn't see the game against Doncaster midewwek but I gather he was in the middle of some veyr good moves and I sincerely hope he has reached the turning point in his career.

Daniel Levy, credit where credit is due

Today Spurs announced the link up with Brazilian club, Internacional. This follows up with other deals to link up clubs. It coud work well with us as we may be able to get first look at some exciting Brazilian talent. This may mean Sandros potentially coming to us.

I believe it was 2001 when ENIC took over at Spurs and saw Alan Sugar leave the club. Daniel Levy has certainly had hgis critics and the whole Ramos/Jol affair was certainly a low point in is stewardship.

So what has Levy done for us? Well look at the previous decade under Alan Sugar to compare. Our highest finish post 91' was 6th under Gerry Francis and the only trophy was the 99' Legaue Cup. We endured some humiliating losses, the 6-1 to Chelsea and 6-1 to Newcastle were two that spring to mind. We lost ground with Arsenal by a big margin when we were on the same level as them back in 91'. Then there is the manager merry-go-round.

I am probably in the minority but I believe that Glenn Hoddle was badly treated as manager. He was undermined by David Pleat in the board room, remeber he stopped us from signing Samuel E'to, and he had to endured several big named charlies in the dressing room, particularly Teddy Sherringham and Tim Sherwood. Although this was the early days of ENIC.

If you look at the last eight years and what we have achieved both on the field and off, it makes for better reading. Ok we still have only one League Cup in the trophy cabinet, but two fifth place finishes and a much helathier player investment look much better.

We still have a long way to go because I believe we should be competing with Europe's elite. We wont be able to spend like Real madrid or Manchester City, but as a business and a big one at that, we should be avle to be a top 4 club in a financial sense and hopefully a footballing sense. Tottenham Hotspur is a worldwide brand and in England we have supporters throughout the country that keeps Spurs as one of the top supported clubs in the country.

Facts are facts and we have spent in the vicinity of £200 million on players in the last four years. Daniel levy has done well to be able to raise this sort of money. Of course the Coup-de-Gras will be the new stadium. I can't wait to be one of 58,000 to see Spurs play their first game there for which I believe will herald a new successful era for Spurs. I certainly hope Daniel Levy will be given his due credit for this.

Doncaster 1 Spurs 5

Four games 14 goals reads well. I am not one of those who jumps at every win and says we are going to be top4 like so many seem to be doing at the moment. Tonights result was very encouraging for a few reasons. First of all it featured starts for Giovani and Bentley. These two players are ones who I believe have stacks of ability and for one reason or another have not delivered at Spurs. I am hoping that some much needed stability at Tottenham will be the perfect platform for these guys to show exactly why we brought them to White Hart Lane.

The other encourgement here is goals for Pav and Crouch. Our Russian friend has expressed he is unhappy to be on the bench. Well I hope he is becuase when he is given his chance, I hope he will be hungry. When he played against Olypiacos he looked very sharp, I am little suprised that Redknapp has gone for defoe and Keane as I would have preferred Pavyluchenko and Defoe.

Well unfortuantely I couldn't see tonights game with no tv coverage so I am hoping to get some highlights sooner or later as I am always keen to see how our fringe players are doing.

I will be at the lane on Saturday and hope to see five in a row!

COYS!

West Ham 1 Spurs 2

Well it is difficult to not get carried away with this start to the season. I would never have thought we would have started with three wins particularly with having to play Liverpool at home and West Ham away.

This was more of a gritty performance. Not helped by referee Mark Clattenberg allowing some poor tackling going unpunished on both sides. Scott Parker was very lucky to be on the pitch. It did allow for a very well contested derby.

This was a match dominated by the defence of both teams with ironically Spurs early chances coming form a Ledley King header which came off the back of his head to it the cross bar and a Bassong chance which he scuffed wide.

Carlton Cole always looked a threat and he opedned the scoring with a lovely turn with his back to the goal he turned and fired out from just outside the penalty area. he soon turned into a villian with a thirty yard back pass playing Defoe in who scored his fourth for the season.

It was now game on and there were chances at eaither end until Lennon conjured up a winner after gaining possesion just inside the penalty box and firing in a winner on his left.

Again later on tempers flared when Faubert lashed out at Defoe and may have seen red on another occasion but again Clattenberg was lenient and issued just a yellow.

Spurs held on for a hard fought three points. Next up is a home game against Birmingham and a chance for Spurs to cement thier top 4 credentials. So well done Spurs!

Hull 1 Spurs 5, feet on the ground time!

Well I cant remember the last time we put in such a good away performance and I hope this is the shape of things to come. I am sure we have all seen the goals and read all the reports so I wont add to much to that commentary. Overall there was some very encouraging signs in this game and some interesting points.

First of all though, well done to Defoe for a great hatrick. He seems to be the most inform England striker at the moment, contrast Defoe with Owen who seems to be struggling to score even at United.

Well done to Palacios for his first goal for Spurs and I hope the first of many. So far his partnership with Huddlestone is working out very well for us and it will be interesting to see what Harry does when Jenas is fit.

We will have far bigger tests than Hull proved. Hull did have periods of good possesions and a few chances but were never really in the game. The main worry was the nature of the goal as both Bassong and Corluka misjudged the flight of the ball and Cudiccini seemed rooted to the spot. As with last season we seem vulnerable on set pieces, particularly given our lack of height.

David Bentley had a run in the last 5 minutes and he had a hand in the play that lead to Defoe's final goal. I hope for his sake and ours he can recapture some of his Blackburn form. I think Redknapp has in mind to get him on with Crouch and Pavyluchenko.

Well it has been a good start, but let's not net carried away, it is a marathon not a sprint. We must build on this with the three points against West Ham on Sunday.

COYS!

Spurs in for Gerrard and Torres!

Ok that was a complete lie. Interestingly it doesn't look like we are likely to be making anymore signings as it stands. Apparently we were scouting Simeon Jackson? Why on earth? There is also the Scott Brown story being recycled, if there was a Celtic player we were to but, I think McGeady would be more likely. We do still need to sell before we buy and Redknapp has as good as ruled out Bentley and Jenas so who else will we move on that has any value. The only other options there may be: Gareth Bale who I still think is unlikely to be let go, Giovani Dos Santos, Kevin Prince Boeteng and maybe Alan Hutton.

I think Daniel Levy may take a wait and see approach. Palacios and Huddlestone looked settled against Liverpool and with Jenas and O'hara as back up Harry Redknapp may think we are ok for now. It may be that if we were able to get some like Sneijder or Van Der Vaart they may consider. We have still to sign a left sided player, was it five years since Etherington and Jackson left? If Modric is injured it may be that Danny Rose or even Giovani may play there.

I wouldn't be suprised that we stick with what we have got and see where we are come January. Maybe Spurs have learnt from the last few years that having a settled squad is likely to bring us success.

COYS!

I know you won't believe it, we're gonna win the league!

Last Tuesday night I was at a Conference South game Woking v Chelmsford. Woking had just gone ahead and the fans started singing "we're gonna win the league". Now call me silly but barely 2 hours into a new season seems to me a little early to be singing that one.

I was scouring through some articles today and there were one or two that suggested Spurs were now a genuine threat to the top 4 and Liverpool didn't have what it takes etc. Again one game doesn't make a season does it? Liverpool could well go on a thirty match unbeaten run and Spurs could go on at lose at Hull, Burnley and Portsmouth.

Where Liverpool will rely heavily on Gerrard and Torres, I think we need Modric and Palacios to be fit and firing for us this season. I am still worried about our defence with King and Woodgate being injury prone. This is a squad game and to rely on one or two will leave us and any other team at a serious disadvantage.

Still I am very happy with how we played against Liverpool, there is still room for improvement, particularly finishing, but an encouraging display. Let's hope we will get all three points against Hull this week.

COYS!

Tottenham 2 Liverpool 1

Tottenham 2 Liverpool 1

In a game that Spurs should have scored 4 or 5 we had to settle! for a 2 -1 win. I thought we played well throughout and to be fair our goal was not threatened too much throughout the game. Bassong started his first Premier League game for us and played well. Our first goal came from a set piece. Huddlestone cannoned the ball into the Liverpool wall with Bennoit Assou - Ekotto picking up the rebound and rifling in his shot from outside the penalty box on his left.

It may have seemed earlier that we may have missed our chance with Keane aiming a free header straight at the Liverpool goalkeeper and again spurning an opportunity when breaking into the box and a third when he found himself in space only to blaze over.

The second half started poorly when a searing run from Liverpool new boy, Glen Johnson's surging run into the penalty box earnt him a penalty when Gomes brought him down. I felt this was disappointing defending when Huddlestone had allowed hi to cut passed him goalside and also the needless challenge from Gomes.

Our lead was soon restored when Bassong rose above the Liverpool defence to meet a free kick and head Spurs back into the lead. Liverpool had the best of the game from that point on apart from a quick break from Lennon almost lead to a Spurs goal but Lennon missed his chance to play in Defoe.

There were penalty shouts by both sides in the last few moments but both were waved away. Tottenham held on for a well deserved win. Next up is Hull next Wednesday, lets hope we can repeat the 3-0 from a couple of weeks ago.

COYS!

Tottenham v Liverpool preview

So we finally get to the first game of the season. At home to Liverpool is not the easiest of starts but at least we will know where we are. So we saw the last of Zokora, Bent, Rocha and Gilberto and we welcome Naughton, Bassong and Crouch. Not exactly the clearout we were expecting but I think that is a good thing.

The selection this week looks pretty straight forward. The major fight will be who plays at right back and who will partner Defoe. I expect Corluka and Crouch to get the nod.

So the starting 11 should be:

Gomes: Corluka, Bassong, King, Assou-Ekotto: Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Modric: Defoe, Crouch.

I expect we will be giving Liverpool alot of possesion here and will need the likes of Palacios and Huddlestone to closely mark in central midfield giving as much protetion to the defence as possible. Counter attacking through Lennon and Modric will be the order of the day. Defoe looked very good for England on Wednesday and I hope he will carry that through for Spurs.

Obviously the main threat will come through Torres and Gerrard and our ability to contain these players will be key to the outcome. My prediction for this one is a 1-1 draw.

COYS!

My prediction for the new season.

Well it is impossible really to make a good prediction until at least we know who is going where and also how certain teams will adjust to new managers. There should be three battles this season: the 3 way fight for the title, the 5 way fight for 4th spot and then the relegation scrap.

Relegation
I think it will be the easiest year for survival this year purely because of the number of teams on an equal footing. As usual the three going up, Wolves, Birmingham, and Burnley, will find it tough. The other candidates will number from: Portsmouth, Hull, Wigan and Stoke. I do think this will be close but I think Burnley will find it tough despite the new signings they have made. Usually a side that has poor form toward the back end of the previous season usually start poorly and struggle the following season so I expect Hull to fall into this category. For the final spot, this will go down to form, injuries and luck, here I am trying to toss up between Wolves and Portsmouth. Wolves weren't all that impressive in gaining promotion but I feel Portsmouth with the uncertainty over their takeover and the fact that they have had to sell so many players has left them vulnerable so with a toss of a coin I am opting for them.

4th Spot
Well this should be an interesting fight between Arsenal, Man City, Spurs, Everton and Aston Villa. I would first of all like to rule out Everton as they don't have the finances to properly strengthen their squad and as good a manager as David Moyes is, he can't perform miracles. The second one to rule out is Aston Villa, their loss of Gareth Barry will be huge and some of their key players such as Heskey and carew are a year older. Having said that i was envious of their signing of Delph who will be a good player for Villa in the future. Just not enough strength in depth. Man City are really an unknown factor but I think they are a year away from top 4. They will struggle to compete in the middle of the pitch even with the Barry signing and will need someone to partner Toure in defence as well as needing time to gel. Spurs to me are still not quite there. There will need to be a partner for Palacios in defence and there needs to be another option on the left. Whcih just leaves the incumbent Arsenal. The loss of Toure will be felt more than Adebeyor. They need a bit of luck with injuries and seem to be relying alot on Arshavin. Despite this though I think they will just hang on in front of Spurs.

The title
I am hoping this will be tight again. Manchester United may struggle to cope without Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Tevez and may be relying on Owen and Rooney. Liverpool on the other hand will have to live without Alonso and his replacement Aquillano seems to be injury prone. They will need Gerrard and Torres to stay injury free. I think Chelsea look the strongest especially after Terry rejected Man city's advances. They are a settled and experienced side and look the safest bet.

My team to watch are Sunderland. They have spent big in the summer with Cattermole and Bent amongst their major signings and it will be interesting to see how Steve Bruce settles in with what is now the North East's premier club.

My Predicted Table
1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Spurs
6. Manchester City
7. Aston Villa
8. Everton
9. Sunderland
10.Fulham
11.Blackburn
12.Bolton
13.West Ham
14.Birmingham
15.Wigan
16.Stoke
17.Wolves
18.Portsmouth
19.Hull
20.Burnley

Well lets see come May!

David Bentley, what is wrong with you?

There have been many comments about Mr Bentley over the last few years, many disparaging. I had no real opinion of him for a long time until he refused to participate with the under 21s a few years ago. I felt this was a completely selfish act.

On the pitch he had gone from Arsenal to Norwich to Blackburn Rovers without too much fuss. He was slowly establishing himself in the premier league. Then last summer the rumours of an imminent move with Aston Villa keen to sign him and then the Tottenham rumours started. I must say I was completely ambivalent to the move.

He was unfortunately a central figure in our poor start to last season, there was however that goal at the Emirates, but other than that he never really lived up to the price tag. David Bentley did not help himself and is seen as a bit of a prima dona with more faith in his abilities than he has thus far demonstrated.

His actions this week seem to be a new low and perhaps make Bentley unsellable this transfer window. Seeing his display against Olympiacos, I couldn't see anyone clamouring for his signature.

Only David Bentley can get himself out of his mire. I really do hope he can, not just for Spurs but also for England's sake. He obviously has ability, but he needs to become the model professional and show the football world why David Bentley has so much faith in himself.

Sissoko to Spurs?

Well that is the view of the tabloids, at least a new Spurs bid. This one has been running for a while. His club Toulouse, when it was suggested recently that a £12 million bid from Spurs was imminent said it would take twice that to prise him away. I can't see Daniel Levy paying £10 million plus for an untried player with potential without some very favourable terms. The other point here is that we will still have to sell one or two to finance this. There are some suggestions that Gareth Bale is looking at a move to Milan, that would help but what about left back? I suppose we would have to move players who really are surplus and I think that Giovanni Dos Santos, Kevin Prince Boeteng and Adel Taraabt are not getting a look in with the latter returning to QPR on loan. There is also Jenas but the noise coming from player and club is that he is unlikely to move. That then leaves us with Bentley, well I couldn't see us getting anything more than a mini metro for him, sorry about that.

We clearly need someone to play alongside Palacios, I really don't see Spurs paying big money for anyone which is why we were chasing Viera. I could be proven wrong so watch this space!

Is Bassong available?

There seems to be some confusion over whether our new signing, Sebastion Bassong, is available this week. When interviewed this weekend, Harry Redknapp suggested he was available this weekend, but he should have been serving a ban after his sending off for Newcastle last season. It has been suggested that his registration was delayed to his ban was spent with Newcastle playing their first Championship game this season. I hope this is the case.

Just after I posted this story, Spurs official website conformed he will be availble.

http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/sebreadyforliverpool100809.html

Livermore to Derby County

Jake Livermore has been signed by Derby on an initial one months loan. The young midfielder has impressed in pre season which included a late equaliser against Barcelona in the Wembley Cup. This should be good for Jake as we are not prticipating in the reserve league this seaon at this move should further aid his development.

Derby County Manager said on the clubs website: "He is a big, powerful, energetic midfielder and someone we believe can do an important job for us.
"He is only young and still learning the game, which is why Tottenham are prepared to let him come out on loan to us. We want to keep him until Christmas at least and see how it works out for both parties.
"The midfield is definitely an area where we need an extra body and we are happy to have concluded this deal."

Tottenham 3 Olympiacos 0

In our final warm up game before the start of the season in front of 26,000 fans, Spurs faced Greek side Olympiacos. This was certainly a game of 2 halves. Featuring for Spurs in the starting lineup were new recruits Kykle Naughton, Sebsation Bassong and Peter Crouch. There were also starts here for youngster Danny Rose and David Bentley. For the latter this may have been the last chance to show what he is capable of. A substitution on the 61st minute mark and a stroppy walk up the tunnel may have shown to us all that his time will soon be up. Although later comments from Redknapp may show that he wants some decent crossing to crouch as in his Blackburn days. Watch this space.

Spurs were mostly dissapointing in the first half, though the pairing of Keane and Crouch looked promising at times. Very few chances were created in a very dull 45 minutes of football. Bassong teamed up well with Ledley King, he should fit in well this season, I expect him to play more with Woodgate though. Danny Rose was used on the left wing and although he tried hard was never really involved to any great degree. I am not sure if he would be used if Modric wasn't available, I would want to see more from him.

There was a number of changes at half time bringing on Lennon, Defoe, Pavyluchenko, Modric, Corluka, Chimbonda and Cuddicini and it was a much improved performance. There were a number of shots on goal following some very crisp pass and movement. Modric was looking extremely good again. He put a lovely ball to play Lennon in on the left who cut the ball back for Pavyluchenko to score. The second a rare header from Corluka following a flick on from Bassong and the third a lovely individual effort from Defoe just a moment after he was refused a very obvious penalty.

In the second half we had a rare appearance from Kevin Prince Boeteng and another show for Jake Livermore, who for me looks ready for the premiership. I only wonder where on earth is Giovanni Dos Santos?

Well I am not getting carried away after the last two seasons, but we looked settled in the second half which was closer to the side we should play against Liverpool. I am not sure who is fit for next week but I am expecting Crouch and Defoe to start up front, Corluka and King at the back and I wouldn't be surprised to see Naughton to get the nod ahead of Hutton. Either Jenas or Huddelstone should partner Palacios.

I am not making any prediction on where we will finish until the end of the transfer window, but I am looking forward to the season and I hope we can start well with the 3 points against Liverpool.

Darren bent, his rant and mine.

Now I am sure we have all had enough of this story, but I thought I would add my all to this. Apparently Mr Bent thinks he was so very hard done by. Yes he was top goalscorer, but surely a striker should be? The worst 2 years of his career, well the giddy heights he reached with Charlton and Ipswich must have left him completely satisfied. All said and done, the worst thing that hapened to him was Harry Redknapp saying his missus would have scored that absolute sitter. Did he watch the replay? A free header from what six yards out, how could anyone miss? Remember that Acimovic miss against Fulham a few years ago and where his career went from there.

Darrent Bent was a good player I would say that much and I am probably being a bit charitable there. He was very good from two feet. Yes he had pace, but unfortunately he didn't carry the ball with him too often. I think a team that likes to play long would suit Bent but not a team that likes to pass the ball around. He was always going to be behind Keane and Defoe.

Whatever Darren Bent's footballing shortcomings are, his personal opinions are ones which I simply cannot accept. He has made his own frustrations public, which is personally insulting to me as a fan and is completely disrespectful. He is unfortunately though not unlike many footballers of this day and age who want to be treated like gods. They are not and should appreciate the very privileged lives they lead.

Any new targets?

This has been a strange summer as unlike in recent years we have not brought the busload of new recruits in, I for one think this has been good, though I think this has more to do with finance than anything else. From what I have seen of Kyle Naughton he looks a good player and I hope he will get his chance to prove himself. As for Peter Crouch, well I am in the no camp their but I am very happy to be proven wrong. Had we been able to get Huntelaar I would have been much happier. Sebastian Bassong should be a good buy and I hope he will form a good partnerwhip at the back with Woodgate. I fear this will be Ledley King's final season as I cant see for one Spurs keep paying him for playing only half the season, and I don't think he will want to continue being a part time footballer in the toughest league in the world.



So where to now for new targets. Well it would seem that Harry Redknapp prefers the two holding midfielders and two attacking wide players. The rumours had us going for Sissoko but we wont be paying the £26 million his club are asking for so other players will be sought. Veloso is one player that was mentioned, I think his Buyout clause is in the £11 million range, we may even go local with Lee Cattermole mentioned.



Whatever happens it doesn't look like we are going to be getting that left midfielder we have been searching for. I expect to see Modric in this role for the majority of games. Danny Rose has played their pre season so he may get a run as well as Gareth Bale if he is with us.



There are still question marks over a few players including: Bentley, Giovanni, Huddlestone etc, but I think it would take a decent bid to move these guys on and I think with the injuries to woodgate and Dawson it may have saved Huddlestone at least until January.



I was hoping to see more of our youngsters pre season, though Jake Livermore has had a good run and he may get a few games this season if we don't add to the midfield. John Bostock may also get his chance this season. Dervitte on the other hand looked comepletely out of his depth against Celtic so another loan is likely this season. I haven't heard about any loan move as yet for John Obika as yet, though I would expect this. Another interesting youngster is Dean Parrett, I saw him in the Academy final against Arsenal and he looks a very good player, and a natural leader. Perhaps another year to go for him until he starts getting some game time, a loan to a championship or League 1 club might serve him well. I understand Townsend and Smith have gone out on loan, there is nothing like competitive games to hone those skills. I like Townsend and he may have a future on the left for us.



Well I have gone on a little long with this, but this is my first blog, I hope you found it interesting.



Cheers guys.



COYS!