Thursday 31 May 2012

In Defence of the Defence

So far I've looked at the centre of our midfield, our wide options and our goalkeeping situation and in an ideal world I've brought in Cabaye (depending on Modric's desire to leave), Hoilett and Kasper Schmeichel.

In terms of whoever starts the season in front of whoever our goalkeeper is, well your guess is as good as mine. There is still so many questions to be answered. Will Ledley King stay another year? The general consensus in the papers currently is yes. Will William Gallas head off to sunnier climes for a final swan song before he wraps up his career? All that talk has gone quiet, so that remains to be seen. He was hardly seen until late this season, and he was solid when called upon. But the pace he once had has left him and he was, at times, exposed because of this.

My gut feeling is that King will stay another season, as well as Gallas. But for me, I'm not keen on seeing either again. Ledley has been unbelievable for us all throughout his career. But playing with the injury he was alleged to have this year, as well as his knee problem has led to many fans calling for him to retire before he tarnishes the fine image every Spurs supporter has of him.

I can't imagine Gallas being happy to sit on the bench for very long, assuming he can keep himself fit. And he has a strong personality in the squad and won't be afraid to voice his feelings if he's unhappy. Harry's refusal to rotate at the appropriate times means he'll once again pick his favourites and they will play until they, inevitably, get injured. Those in reserve will then come in, and like Bassong this season, look way of the pace and be exposed and then ridiculed for it if they make a mistake.

Ryan Nelsen, despite Harry's comments to the contrary, is likely to be gone. He was an unusual signing, probably one the Club thought they could get away with because he would come in and be happy to sit on the bench for four or five months.

Kaboul has been our stand out player in defence, and arguably the whole team, all season. He's matured massively and lead from the back when he can't have been sure who he would be partnering come the weekend. I've said on a few forums and on twitter that if Harry had the bravery, or even the sense, to stop chopping and changing our defence every week and stick with Kaboul and Bassong, (best friends off the pitch) we'd have looked more comfortable at the back.

As I've mentioned, when Bassong was brought in, be it in the Europa League, or his rare excursions in the Premier League, he was not match fit and lacked that sharpness that comes with a run of games. If Bassong had been given that run, instead of hoping the swelling in Ledley's knee has gone down, or that Gallas could manage ninety minutes, he would have regained that, and probably looked as good as he did when he played a lot of games on our way to fourth in 09/10.

Playing Bassong allows Kaboul to play as the right of the two central defenders, where he is clearly more comfortable and would let him build an understanding with Kyle Walker at right back, instead of switching from left to right, depending on who was fit to partner him. Bassong, when really on his game, is strong, quick and good on the ball, something we haven't seen in two seasons.

Rumour has it that Jan Vertonghen, of Ajax, will have his medical today before signing on the dotted line. While I'm delighted to see us trying to do some early business, it makes me wonder what will happen to the four centre backs I have already mentioned, assuming Kaboul will still be first choice.

I think we all can see Bassong leaving, along with Nelsen, those two are almost certain to leave. Question marks hang over King and Gallas. But there's still another two central defenders soon to be reporting for pre-season training; Michael Dawson and Steven Caulker.

Dawson has had an awful couple of seasons with injury, but knowing the fighter he is, you wouldn't bet against him returning and battling back to the player he was. Daws' has always been a favourite of mine because of the passion he brings when he plays. He's a Nottingham boy, but if you cut him open he would probably bleed lillywhite. He loves playing for Spurs and does so for every one of us that will never be good enough. He's spoken about the honour he feels when he plays for our great Club and when he captains the team. I would hate to see him fit and not playing because of new signings or because of the old timers overstaying their welcome.

Caulker has had a superb season and the Swansea fans have nothing but nice things to say about him. See Peter Thomas' superb article on our young pretender here. He comes back to Spurs eager to make a mark on the first team in the way Kyle Walker did this year after impressing at Q.P.R. and Aston Villa respectively. He has all the talent to become a legend at Tottenham. His composure on the ball and his reading of the game off it have drawn comparisons to the one and only Ledley King, and rightly so.

Brendan Rodgers seems, annoyingly so, destined for Liverpool. This could throw into doubt a return to Swansea next season on loan. But also open up the possibility of a move to Merseyside for Caulker himself, who Rodgers has waxed lyrical about since his loan to Wales. This would frustrate me massively because it's obvious what a talent he is, but could be another to slip through our net because of mismanagement or an unwillingness to trust youthful talent.

Kyle Naughton is another returning to Spurs with something to prove. When he was signed along with Walker from Sheffield United, he was the more established of the two young full backs. Roles has reversed however and Walker is now once of our most important players.

Naughton impressed on loan at Norwich, not quite to the same extent as Caulker at Swansea, but enough for the Canaeries' fans to want him back next season. He has covered both right and left back this season and been solid in both positions. He's clearly more comfortable on the right, but that versatility should see him earn a place in our squad as cover. Whether he'll be satisfied with that remains to be seen.

Vedran Corluka is likely to leave too, admitting he would prefer to make his loan move to Bayer Leverkusen permanent. 'Charlie' is a player I see as badly treated by Spurs and another example of what happens when the squad isn't properly rotated. Kyle Walker suffered late in the season from fatigue and this surely must have been considered when allowing Corluka to leave, but leave he did and Walker played the last few weeks with a broken toe and went on to miss out of a place in England's Euro 2012 squad.

Danny Rose could leave during the summer too, either on loan or permanently. Ideally I'd like to see Rose join a Premier League team on loan and then we can judge him. Ian Harte can't go on forever for Reading and if Brian McDermott is willing to rotate then that could be a good move for Danny.

Ideally I'd like to see us start next season with a back four of Walker, Kaboul, Vertonghen, and Assou-Ekotto (who I haven't even mentioned as he continues to go from strength to strength at left back for us and will hopefully be here for years to come). With our luck with defensive injuries, if Caulker remains at the Club he is still likely to play up to thirty games in all competitions, which hopefully would be enough for him to stay.

Dawson and Caulker, if retained, MUST play consistently, not just the odd Thursday night excursion. Naughton too, he can cover both sides and can attack and defend with composure. If at least one of King and Gallas are retained, it can only be as fifth choice, they can't continue to be dropped into the team when deemed fit enough.

I'm hoping Harry can change his ways, although rumour has it that he's off before the weekend. Rodgers seems to be off to Anfield, while Martinez has pledged his future to Wigan. I can't see Harry going without a replacement already lined up, but who does that leave us with? AVB? I have my reservations.



It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Saturday 26 May 2012

Between the Sticks

So, in an ideal world, for me anway, we've got Cabaye (depending on a certain Croatians desire to leave) and Hoilett. For me, early business is a must this summer. If we leave it late, again, we will end up priced out of moves for the players we really want, and end up with uninspiring alternatives. Nelsen anyone?

The next area of the team/squad I want to consider is between the sticks; our goalkeeping situation. Despite Harry's recent comments regarding Heurelho Gomes possibly having a future at the Club, I don't see that as a possibility.

He's taken a lot of abuse from a lot of people, including the majority of the media and our own fans. In truth, a lot of it is deserved. He's made a lot of high profile errors and has cost us points at crucial times. It could be that he's just not made for such a high profile league and struggled with the pressure and constant persecution after every game.

He seems destined for a move back to PSV in Holland where was seen as a hero. This could be another apparent flaw in Harry's world famous 'man management'. An 'arm around the shoulder' could have worked wonders with Gomes. Maybe it came, and had no effect, or maybe Harry pulled another Darren Bent and the Brazilians confidence is shattered beyond repair, in England at least.

With Gomes on his way out, that leaves two; first choice Brad Friedel and his able deputy Carlo Cudicini. With a combined age of 79, they can't go on forever. Take nothing away from Friedel though, he's been a great signing and provided our ever changing defence with a sense of confidence in the man behind them, which is invaluable. He kept 14 clean sheets, our highest since 1986/87. He's had some criticism for staying on his line, but when he has the likes of Kaboul, King and Dawson in front of him who can blame him, you would expect our centre backs to be able to deal with any aerial threat. It certainly makes a difference knowing it's their responsibility, and in Kaboul's case, he doesn't have to worry about Gomes coming for every ball, including the ones he will never reach, and risk being knocked out by the Brazilians obscure style. Remember Stoke away a few seasons ago?

So will this be the window that we go looking for a new, young goalkeeper to take up the mantle of our number one?

There's already been media speculation, with a few names mentioned. Tim Krul, Ben Foster and Michel Vorm are just some of the 'keepers we've already been linked to. Krul is a superb shot stopper and at 6'4" has the potential to be commanding in the air, something our current roster of goalkeepers lack.

Foster has improved a massive amount since leaving Manchester United, seeming to react better when there isn't quite the same amount of pressure. I don't think he's quite at the standard we need. He's close to Friedel and Cudicini; he's solid if unspectacular.

Vorm really got the eye this season. He was relatively unknown outside of Holland before Brendan Rodgers snapped him up for Swansea last summer. He was a mainstay on Match of the Day this season as he continued to impressive for the Welsh side and pulled off one spectacular save after another. He also caught the eye of those football purists, who watched him perform like a veteran midfielder when in possession of the ball. He was used as a third defender when Swansea had the ball, which was the majority of the game, and set the free flowing side on their way, passing out from the back.

It remains to be seen whether he's just had a good season, or if he's the real deal, much like the rest of his team. My personal choice hasn't been spoken about an awful lot, just the odd murmuring. His dad, Peter, was voted the best goalkeeper in the Premier League recently, and his son has bags of potential.

Kasper Schmeichel has become somewhat of a journeyman goalkeeper. He joined his dads old club Manchester City in 2004 and went out to no fewer than six clubs on loan. His former City manager Sven Goran Eriksson brought him to Notts. County in August '09. The Danish stopper only conceded 29 goals in 43 games during his spell with the Magpies and kept an impressive 24 clean sheets.

Financial difficulties saw him agree to leave the club and forgo his wages in a gesture to the club, something well received by everyone involved with County. A year with Leeds United followed and he stood out once again, particularly during the Third round clashes with Arsenal in the FA Cup which saw him named as player of the round after helping Leeds to draw 1-1 at the Emirates before losing the home replay 3-1.

Sven once again called on his services when he took over at Leicester City and again I was shocked to see him, not only become available, but be overlooked by all the Premier League clubs. A minimal fee, believed to be around £1 million, acquired his signature. A out of character red card featured in his first month but he quickly reverted to what he knew best, frustrating opposition forwards.

An impressive 17 clean sheets, in a struggling team, and four penalty saves earned him the clubs player of the season as well as the award from his Leicester team mates.

Eriksson has gone on record as saying that when he was at City he couldn't split Joe Hart and Kasper in terms of their ability. Hart has gone from strength to strength, whereas Kasper has had to drop down the leagues and earn the respect he now commands.

Every time I've seen him I've been impressed. He's big, strong, commanding and incredibly agile for such a powerful man. Given the fee he was signed for, I wouldn't expect Leicester to ask for a ridiculous amount extra and he could be a fine investment. If Friedel is to be first choice again this season, Schmeichel could blend in to the team in the Carling Cup and Europa League fixtures and be kept fit should he be called upon for the Premier League games.

At 25 he still has at least 10 years at the top of his game, and we all know most 'keepers don't hit their peak until they reach their thirties. He will continue to improve and impress, I just hope he's doing it at White Hart Lane.

My girlfriend, in one of our Spurs conversations I force upon her, summed it up perfectly. 'Gomes isn't very good. Friedel's old. And so is Cudicini.'

'Nuff said. Daniel, sign him up.



It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Waiting in the Wings

So Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye was my choice as a possible replacement for Luka Modric should Daniel Levy give in to his almost inevitable transfer request.

Gareth Bale is another possible departure, but is a lot less likely to try and force through a move. We tend to forget he's still just 22. Still a relative youngster with, injury permitting, a solid thirteen or fourteen years left in the tank.

But I've said before that he, and other first choice winger Aaron Lennon, need some competition. In a perfect world, Harry would have properly utilised Stephen Pienaar and Niko Kranjcar's talents, and to some degree, Andros Townsend's and we wouldn't have to worry about this. But he didn't.

Kranjcar is a favourite of mine. Enough to get his name and number on the back of my Investec home shirt this season. Which was just as well as his best performances were saved for the cup competitions, notably the third round of the FA Cup against Cheltenham at White Hart Lane. And who played alongside him that day? Mr Pienaar.

Both are similar players, most at home cutting in from the left wing on to their favoured foot and adding a creative spark. Pienaar was shipped back off to Everton in January, a move questioned by the majority of the Spurs community, which left us very short of midfield cover.

His signing was an odd one, wreaking of Daniel Levy's joy at buying a proven Premier League player on the cheap, with the potential to make a profit on him. Kranjcar, similar player as I've said, was already at the club, and was already hardly getting a look in. Despite a recent showing when he came off the bench in consecutive games to score the winning goal.

We did look like we had got value for our money though on that glorious night at the San Siro, when AC Milan were dispatched 1-0 and Pienaar worked tirelessly down the left wing in place of the returning from injury Gareth Bale.

Pienaar is said to be keen on making his loan to Everton permanent after not enjoying his time in London. It's worth noting the significant improvement in the South Africans form since returning to Merseyside, playing the sort of football Spurs could have benefitted from during our sticky patch from February onwards.

I can't see Pienaar being a Spurs player next season and there will again be doubts over Kranjcars future. Young winger Andros Townsend, who impressed on loan at Birmingham City in the latter stages of the season, is another who has featured on both wings for Tottenham.

His pace and ability to cross without breaking stride have drawn comparisons with Bale, while his versatility has seen some call for his inclusion in our squad. He showed in glimpses during our half-hearted Europa League campaign of his potential, as well as with a man of the match performance against Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup in January 2011.

He is likely to feature heavily again in next seasons Europa League, though hopefully not at left back, or experience another loan spell. The latter is the best option in my opinion, hopefully a loan with a Premier League team, much in the same way Steven Caulker did this season.

This way we could quickly discover if he is capable of playing at a higher level, or whether he will ultimately be deemed not good enough.

David Bentley is likely to be shown the door again, whether permanently or on loan because no one is willing to take a risk on a player whose career has stagnated. I had hoped he still had a part to play, given that he's a Spurs fan, but given Harry's reluctance to show any faith in him has all but sealed his fate.

Strengthening is a priority in my eyes. Ideally, we want someone who is versatile, with pace, and that won't just be joining as back up, but as serious competition. Though that will of course depend on Harry's willingness to rotate next season, something we all know we suffered from a lack of this season.

He's been touted by plenty already, but I'm very keen for us to sign up Junior Hoilett from recently relegated Blackburn Rovers. The Canadian attacker is out of contract next month and is already comfortable in the Premier League in a variety of positions.

This season alone he has played on both the left and right wings, often with a licence to roam, and behind the main striker. Straight away you have cover/competition for Bale, Lennon and van der Vaart with just one signing.

He has pace to burn, ability to beat a man and a lethal shot. I was at Ewood Park this season to witness our 2-1 victory and Hoilett really stood out. Those around me collectively gulped any time he picked up the ball and started running at our fragile defence. One of his biggest assets is the questions he poses for a defender when running at them due to his ability to beat him on the outside or cut back inside. This causes defenders to second guess and often leave themselves wide open to one or the other.

Similar to Demba Ba's transfer to Newcastle, on a Bosman, the deal offers little in the way of risk, an attraction no doubt to Mr Levy, as well as the possibility of a hefty sell on fee. He's proven in the league, and still has bags of potential.

It's a move already picked up by the papers, but the Canadian international has had plenty of admiring glances this season and is likely to look for the best financial package, as well as a guarantee of first team football, before deciding where his football future lies.

Hopefully, it'll be at White Hart Lane.



It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Monday 21 May 2012

Replacing the Irreplaceable

Kwadwo Asamoah. Who? That was my first question too. Never heard of him. Ghanaian apparently. Box-to-box midfielder in the Essien mould. Or should that be Jenas?

Asamoah is the latest on a long list to be linked with Tottenham and we are in good company, with Manchester United and Juventus also touted as admirers.

I'll be honest, I know nothing about him, and with the midfield talent we have at the club already (including Jenas?), I doubt this deal will happen. Unless there is a sudden raft of departures from our engine room of course, which I hope doesn't happen.

To me our midfield, the centre anyway, doesn't need touching. Modric, Sandro, Parker, Livermore and the returning Huddlestone leave us very strong with a lot of options. Even Kranjcar, in my eyes anyway, can do a job in there. Possibly in the Europa League alongside Livermore or Sandro doing the donkey work. Then there's Jenas. What will become of the man once seen as one of England's future stars? Jordan Henderson has a bit of the Jenas' about him. A club like Sunderland, or a return to Villa is the best JJ is likely to hope for. But we could easily forget how often he featured in our Champions League run in 10/11. He could be a favourite of Harry's, but I doubt he'll be a Tottenham player come September (though most likely he will be until 23:59 August 31st).

Unless of course Luka Modric is desperate to leave again. The more I go over the situation in my head, the more likely it appears. My hope, like most people have been saying today, is that he goes abroad. We're led to believe Daniel Levy rejected offers from Chelsea last summer of up to £40 million for our midfield maestro. Similar offers from Europe are much more likely to tempt Mr Levy into selling. If he's not happy, then I would let him go. He was superb at times last season, but in other games the desire and creativity we are used to seeing from him was lacking.

Who could replace him? One of the best midfielders in Europe. Long gone are the days of him playing on the left wing (mostly) and being told he's not big enough for the Premier League. He's grown into a world class midfielder, can we really criticise him for wanting to play in the Champions League? As I've said in a previous post, a bit more commitment from him and a few others could have got us an extra couple of points and I wouldn't need to consider replacing him.

In my eyes, there aren't many players capable of filling his boots, even fewer within our price range. One man the stands out for me, and for my girlfriends Newcastle supporting father I'm sure, is Yohan Cabaye.

The Frenchman took a huge gamble leaving French champions Lille last summer to join a Premier League team expected to accomplish little this season. But he was an entegral cog in Alan Pardews well oiled machine and was a creative force in midfield alongside Tiote, the destroyer.

Cabaye has similar vision and skill about him to Modric. He can hit the ball sweetly from a set piece, corners and free kicks (see his goal vs Man. Utd), something we lack and chips in with the odd goal. His debut season couldn't have gone much better and I'm sure he has earned more than a few admirers on the back of his impressive performances.

He may not be at the same level of Modric at the minute, but he's a mainstay in the French national team midfield already, and will surely only go from strength to strength the longer he plays in the PL. He's another example of how fine a scouting system they have up at Newcastle and how they've bought serious quality for a minimalistic fee, believed to be around £4.3 million.

This small, by modern standards, fee, could see him be available for a price not out of our range, and not inflated to ridiculous proportions. Mike Ashley, Levy's Newcastle counterpart, is a business man, and he's shown before he's willing to sell if the price is right. Spurs haven't spent an awful lot in the last couple of seasons, Sandro, van der Vaart and Parker our only purchases of note that commanded a substantial fee, so you would hope the money is there to do some business. Hopefully, some early business.

In what is a pure guess, I think Cabaye could be available for somewhere in the region of £10-14 million. But a decent showing at Euro 2012 could see his stock soar, so if he's a target, and Luka wants out, lets get it done.

Alternatively, should Cabaye not be in our sights, Gylfi Sigurdsson, who spent the second half of this season on loan at Swansea, would be a fine acquisition too. Again he offers a threat from set pieces and is lethal from long range as many PL teams fell victim to his shooting ability.

Parent club Hoffenhein are believed to be looking for a hefty fee, after his fine five month spell in Wales earned him attention from Europe's bigger clubs.

I will be looking at possible targets for the wings in the near future, not that I think Bale will leave. But I think we could definitely do with some competition for right and left, especially with Steven Pienaar looking more and more likely never to return to Spurs.



It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Sunday 20 May 2012

Small Margins

So there you have it. Chelsea beat Bayern on penalties in the Champions League Final and every Tottenham supporter died a little inside.

Not only did we have to watch one of most hated opponents, and the abomination that is John Terry, lift the famous trophy, but we lost our place in the 2012/13 tournament.

We all know that it shouldn't have come to this though. It was a ridiculous situation to find ourselves in; our most important game of the season, and it didn't even involve our team. The truth is we have no one to blame but ourselves. Letting the lead we had over Arsenal slip in the manner that we did is inexcusable.

The sad part for Spurs fans, is that the players that failed to perform in our run of poor form are likely to look for a way out of the Club now. We can expect to have a summer of speculation over the future's of Modric, Bale, Sandro possibly even Walker. Those four players could strengthen any team in the world. They will have plenty of admirers.

Modric and Bale are likely to make the most noise. Chelsea may look at Modric again, Manchester City and United could both attempt a move too. Trying to look at this objectively, i think the Croat would be a perfect fit for Sir Alex's team. He's in the Scholes mould; he can dictate the tempo of a game and make a team tick. Scholes can't go on forever, he's the perfect replacement.

Daniel Levy, as we all know, is a tough negotiator. If our chairman says he's staying, I think he will. But two seasons without Champions League football is not good enough for a world class player, so I can understand his frustration. But I hope he realises that had his own form been better, we might have got the extra couple of points we needed to get third place.

Bale has allegedly been a target for Spain's big two; Real Madrid and Barcelona. Despite his own desire to come inside and become a more complete player, I think he's a long way from being good enough to play in the Barca team. Madrid could be a better fit for him, as they are more likely to play with an orthodox winger. But how long before Mourinho became frustrated with his constant drifting, which with the exception of the Norwich away game, has been a failed experiment. An experiment that has gone on for far too long.

Sandro, in my opinion, has the potential to be one of the best players in the world. His desire and passion are unrivalled. He reminds me a bit of a dog chasing a car when he's closing down opponents; I wonder if he'll know what to do with the ball once he gets it. He does though, he has the ability to beat a man and burst into the penalty area. He showed against Chelsea last season that he has a mean shot on him too. One to watch for sure. I hope he'll go on to become a Spurs legend and play hundreds of games for our great club. But modern football doesn't contain much loyalty or passion from players anymore, so he's likely to stay at least one more season, hopefully playing a much bigger part, and possibly be off next summer or the following one.

Kyle Walker has gone from strength to strength since joining Tottenham. Loan spells at old club Sheffield United, Q.P.R. and Aston Villa saw him develop massively and he slotted into the team with ease last August. His pace and desire to overlap down the right wing has been a joy to watch this season. He's missed out on an England place thanks to an injury, which could be a blessing in disguise for Spurs. A string of fine performances at the Euros could have seen his stock continue to rise and his suitors would have been swarming around him.

Hopefully, having signed another contract extension, Kyle will be sticking around for a few years yet. When he's spoken in interviews he's seemed a grounded young man with a desire to learn and improve. He even spoke about playing 'The Tottenham Way' in a recent sound bite. His goal against Arsenal and his free kick against Blackburn have been individual highlights, alongside his rampaging performance down our right side at Ewood Park earlier in the season. I hope Kyle is here next season, alongside his namesake Naughton, to provide competition and be rotated with Walker to avoid a repeat of this seasons injury due to burnout.

I'll be doing another blog about transfer targets, or even replacements for those players who could be on their way out, in the next few days. But I'll leave you wondering what could have been. Had we got the result we deserved at Chelsea. Or at Stoke. Or had Defoe reached Bale's cross at the Etihad.

Small margins. Story of our lives.



It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

It's all over. Or is it?

So there you have it, the season is finished, technically. We all know there’s the small matter of a Champions League final still to be played, that due to our own failings, will decide a massive amount of how this summer will feel for everyone associated with Tottenham Hotspur.

How I long to be writing a similar sentence this time next season, with the small exception of our great club being one of the teams in the final. I can dream eh?
So, Fulham, Martin Jol, a banana skin. It wasn’t to be for my favourite manager of my years supporting Spurs. Comfortable, is that the word? Routine, maybe a better one.
We knew we had to do our job, and hope for a favour from West Brom. Adebayor got us off to the best possible start, playing a great one-two with van der Vaart and passing coolly under Mark Schwarzer after less than two minutes.

From there I hoped we would go on and really put on a show. We didn’t. We consolidated, held on, and Jermain Defoe came off the bench in the second half to guarantee the win.

Events at The Hawthornes were much more gripping. Arsenal match our early lead, but then get pegged back. Now they’re behind.  Could it be, will we reclaim third place? No. At 2-2 we’re still in pole position, but they force a third blunder from Martin Fulop, yes, ex-Tottenham goalkeeper Martin Fulop, and take the lead. So close, no cigar.
It was an odd end to the season, knowing Arsenal were winning, there was nothing else we could do, except get injured apparently. Younes Kaboul went down with a knee injury, which we’re led to believe is quite serious, and Younes now misses Euro 2012. It’s a big blow for Kaboul who, when most others have fallen around him, has been the picture of consistency in the centre of defence.

Kyle Walker also hobbled off, Ryan Nelsen his replacement, which was odd. Adam Smith got his debut eventually, after Kaboul was forced off too. Smith looked solid, and his teammates were keen to get him on the ball to make him comfortable, which led me to wonder, if his teammates trust him, why doesn’t Harry? Your right back is injured, bring on another right back, no? No. Bring on a centre back and shift the defence around. Only to have to shift around again after Kaboul’s injury again.

We’ll learn today if Walker misses Euro 2012 too, and possibly Scott Parker who missed our season finale. I’m torn. I’m not English, but I’ll support them in these tournaments. But as a Spurs fan, I don’t mind our players getting the summer off.

I saw someone on twitter mention the Fulham game as an audition/trail for Moussa Dembele and also saw a great comparison made; a mobile Huddlestone. I’m a big Tom Huddlestone fan, he’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Hoddle in my life time, and I think those that question his mobility are unfair. He’s 6’3”, around 15 stone, he plays sport for a living, how immobile could he be?

Dembele is a talent, no doubt about that. Would he fit in at Spurs? Would he be happy playing second or third fiddle to Modric and van der Vaart? Then again, we wake this morning to questions over Modric’s future. Surely we can’t be set for another 3 and a half months of the media trying to sell our Croatian magician to every club with a bigger stadium than White Hart Lane?

Vertonghen, we are led to believe, was at The Lane on Sunday. Terms have been agreed, allegedly, but the fee is yet to be.

Remy, at the training ground yesterday? Apparently so. But he’s waiting to see the result of the Champions League final. Understandable.
I’m a bit pessimistic. Spurs don’t do business early. I’ll read all the hype but won’t believe it until they’re holding the new kit with Harry.

Speaking of the new kit, the ‘leaked’ images have gone into over drive the past few days. Some nice, some not so nice. The latest, showing all three kits has good points and bad points. I’m not a fan of the collar on the home kit. Not a fan of any collar on a kit. This years collar was horrible and floppy and ruined a very nice, plain, simple kit.
The away kit seems to be most people’s favourite. I agree, simple, navy, no baby blue or lilac, two colours that wouldn’t strike fear into many home teams. The third kit has got a bit of stick. I’m a fan. Not sure who we’ll wear it against though. We’ll only wear our navy kit against a few teams, and of those, only Newcastle would clash with both home and away kits. But the third kit is black and white. Confused? You bet.

I’m planning a few more blogs over the next few days. Reviews of the season, individual player ratings, transfer comings and goings, those sorts of things.
I’ll leave you with a haunting possibility, another season on Channel 5 and itv4. Horrible I know.

Come on Bayern!


It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Saturday 12 May 2012

The Time Has Come

So this is what it’s come to. 90 minutes at White Hart Lane. Win and we’re guaranteed fourth. Anything less and we’re hoping Newcastle don’t win at Everton. But we could draw, Arsenal and Newcastle could lose, and we could finish third. If we lose, well that’s just not an option.

Martin Jol will be back in the dugout at The Lane for the first time since he was sacked in October 2007. It’s horribly ironic that the man standing in our way of Champions League qualification should be our ex-manager, who was ninety minutes away from guiding us to a first top four finish in May ’06. Jol will come with an almighty will to prove Daniel Levy wrong. Could that be our downfall?

Arsenal, a point ahead of us in third, with a goal difference just one better than our own, travel to The Hawthornes to face Roy Hodgson’s West Bromwich Albion. It’ll be Roy’s last game before he takes the reins with the England national team and every Spurs supporter will be hoping that WBA give him a send off to remember and win their last game of the season.

I’m not sure whether they have the ability to win, but the astonishing stat that Arsenal haven’t won without Mikel Arteta in the team this season gives us hope. I think they’ll manage a draw, 2-2, with a late West Brom goal breaking Arsenal hearts everywhere.

Newcastle have the tough task of needing a result at Goodison Park against Everton to stand a chance of finishing in the top four. My girlfriend’s dad is a Magpie, so I’ve seen quite a lot of their games the past two seasons. The improvement this year has been astonishing. I didn’t predict it, and he certainly didn’t.

Mike Ashley gets a lot of stick, but he has to get credit for how he has run the club since their relegation. Everybody questioned his decisions to let Carroll, Nolan and Barton go. But the players he’s brought in; Ba, Cisse, Cabaye and going back a bit earlier, Tiote, have all been great successes.
I don’t think they’ll get a result at Goodison. And I think that’s better for the club in the long term than qualifying for the Champions League. The squad lacks depth and they probably will get more from playing in the Europa League, reacquainting themselves with European football and building a strong Premier League team again for next season.

I was interested to read Pardew say this week they might struggle to keep their best players. Ba was someone I wanted to see Spurs go for last summer. There was doubts over his knee, but we seem to have mastered something similar before. On a free transfer it was a gamble that was worth taking, and it’s worked for them. £7m was the free touted by Redknapp earlier this season.
Cisse is a conundrum to me. Or at least how he came to the PL is. He was on plenty of clubs radars. How he was not picked up by one of the ‘top four’ is beyond me.
Tiote I like a lot. But think he is too similar, and in all honesty, slightly inferior to both Scott Parker and Sandro. His usual midfield partner, Yohan Cabaye, is someone I would like us to look at if Modric wants to leave again this summer. Having thought more about this in the past few days, with Defoe telling the red tops he’s hoping for a move away from the club.

I love Tottenham. I like the players. I don’t like players that don’t want to play for my club. If anyone wants to leave, and I mean anyone, let them. If they don’t want to wear our shirt, don’t let them.

Jermain Defoe loves the club, allegedly. He lets us know often enough. He’s had to sit on the bench a lot this season. He’s complained about it. Not always in an obvious way. There’s been the occasional snide comment on twitter. But it’s hard to sympathise with him. When he’s on the pitch, he’s the definition of frustrating.

He spends the majority of the game being caught offside, shooting when it’s clearly the wrong option, or complaining at the rest of the team. But then, there’s the odd moment of magic. He’ll shoot when we’re begging him not to, and the ball will almost burst the net as he beats the ‘keeper.
Adebayor has been the perfect foil for van der Vaart this season. He works hard for the team, holds the ball up, and scores goals. Defoe has had to be patient. He’s worked hard with fitness coaches so he can’t say he’s not fresh. But when he’s had his opportunity, like at QPR, he hasn’t taken it. To me, he’s an excellent impact player. But nothing more for a club with ambitions like ours. If he wants to go, so be it. Thanks for the memories JD. All the best.
I’m a big fan of Louise Saha. He’s got a lot of stick since he signed but I think he’s a better, more rounded player than Defoe. He can hold the ball up, head it, shoot from distance, link play, and score inside the box. I’m one of the few that hopes he’s still at the Club next season.
So, Fulham. I went to see them play in Belfast against Crusaders in July. Being a big Martin Jol fan it was a chance to see him, and not many Premier League teams travel to Northern Ireland for pre-season. I wonder why.
They’re a far different side than they were that day. Ruiz, Dembele and Pogrebnyak are three of my favourite PL players. Dempsey too, but he’s been confirmed as missing the game. As I’ve said before, Jol has a point to prove and we’re without a left back. Jol’s coming back, should we call for Lee Young-Pyo?

Parker is likely to miss the game, so I’ll have to change my prediction of Redknapp moving Modric to the left. He still could, and play Jake Livermore in CM with Sandro, but I don’t think he will. I’m going to guess William Gallas will play there, despite his own hesitation to do so. Meaning Ryan Nelsen, or if fit, Ledley King will play alongside Younes Kaboul in the centre of defence.

Could this be King’s final appearance in the famous lilywhite shirt? As much as it pains me to say so, I think it will be. We’ve all seen him digress to the shell of a player we’ve seen in recent weeks. It’s been hard to watch one of the true greats struggle like he has. My hope is that he’ll be part of the coaching staff next season. He’s a defensively knowledgeable as anyone at the Club given the amount of time he’s spent watching other teams and players when he’s been injured and had to adapt his game.

Okay, predictions. Fulham will start strongly, take the lead and we’ll all panic. We’ll score before half-time and take them by storm in the second half. 4-1 Tottenham. Given my prediction that Arsenal will only draw and Newcastle will lose; Spurs take third. Arsenal fourth. Newcastle fifth.

I’m also going to predict Chelsea will beat Bayern next week. I don’t want them to, but I think they’ll fluke it, possibly on penalties.

It won’t matter if we get third. That’s the aim. Bring it home boys.

Come on you Spurs.



It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Spoke too soon.

It seems I may have been tempting fate when I titled my last blog 'Back on Track?'. As once again, in typical Spurs fashion some might say, we went from looking like the free flowing team that was tearing all in front of us apart earlier in the season, to looking completely clueless when it came to breaking down a team with one of the worst home records in the league, in less than a week.

Aston Villa, Sundays opponents, offered little going forward, and we looked unusually comfortable in defence. Their goal, a deflected long-range strike from Ciaran Clark, was more than avoidable and the only time they really threatened. There was no real attempt to close Clark down, other than a late scramble from Sandro, while our defence seemed reluctant to leave the dangerous Heskey unmarked.

This combined with a lack of options from his own teammates, saw the Irishman try his luck from an unlikely scoring distance. William Gallas, in what I can only imagine was an attempt to protect his rugged good looks, did as much as he could to get out of the way without looking like he was completely petrified of blocking the shot, and the ball cannoned off the Frenchman and caught a flat footed Brad Friedel off guard to give them an undeserved lead.

An unfortunate, but deserved, red card for Danny Rose didn't do us any favours shortly after half time. But our obvious class continued to shine through, as even a man short, we dominated a truly awful Villa side.

Sandro continued his fine end to the season and won the penalty which Adebayor coolly dispatched to draw us level before we looked for a winning goal which, sadly, never came.

Three points would have put us in the driving seat in the race for third after our North London rivals Arsenal slipped up the day before at home to Norwich, drawing 3-3. But a lack of conviction and ruthlessness cost us dearly and we face a nervy final day of the season when we welcome Martin Jol back to The Lane with his Fulham side.

In what can definitely be described as typical of Tottenham this season, we had countless attempts on goal, an overwhelming majority of possession and an almost unwatchable number of pointless corners, yet we scored just one goal, from a penalty.

There's been plenty of calls for a 'world class' striker to be signed for numerous transfer windows, and on reflection, we've probably never replaced Berbatov. Remy, Huntelaar, Llorente and Damiao are the names mentioned most, but we have no idea whether they could be the next Berbatov, or the next Postiga. There is always an incredible risk when buying forwards from abroad with no experience of the Premier League.

The speed and physicality of the BPL are always mentioned by players shortly after their introduction, and despite all their attributes in their own leagues, we still can't be sure  if any of the names mentioned will flourish here.

I'm a big fan of Adebayor, and think he's been just what we've been looking for since the Bulgarian headed north to Manchester. His record, despite a poor run mid-season, is 16 goals in 31 Premier League starts and one substitute appearance. Not too shabby.

If he wants to stay, as he has said he would, he will have to take a considerable pay cut. I can't see Levy offering more than what our top earners receive currently, with possibly a bit more on top. Which would no doubt be matched for the likes of Modric and Bale shortly after.

I do however, think the fee City will want for him will ultimately determine how his contract pans out. Should they be happy to take the hit and let us have him for say, £8m, then I can see Ade receiving a large signing on bonus and be happy to be on par with Luka and Gareth wage-wise. But, if the Mancunians look for that bit extra for a forward with a strike rate of a goal every other game this season, which they are well within their right to do, and ask for something in the region of £12-15m, I can see the contract negotiations being a lot tougher, or ultimately a stumbling block or deal breaker.

Harry Redknapp, once again showed his tactical naivety and lack of imagination, as the dangerous Jermain Defoe, and the unpredictable Louis Saha were not called upon to try and break the deadlock. Instead, Harry removed van der Vaart, one of our most creative and threatening players, and replaced him with consistent, but uninspiring, in an attacking sense anyway, Scott Parker. Who, at one point this season, when he found himself beyond the oppositions back line, ran towards the touchline with the ball, and straight out of play.

It was very un-Tottenham like, settling for a point, which on paper, with 10 men, is a fine result, from the manager. Where was the bravery? The confidence? The risk? The sheer arrogance to say, 'we're going to win this game, 10 men or not, we're going to go for it, attack them, claim third and stay there'? It was stuck on the bench.

The quote that inspired this blog (see below), sums up how 99% of Spurs supporters want to see us play. You score 3? Fine, we'll score 4.

Harry is far from being a Tottenham fan, and despite bringing up each and every player he can think of from our past to defend his lack of rotation, didn't seem keen on remembering that piece of history on Sunday.

Danny Rose's dismissal at Villa Park has left many wondering how we will approach the Fulham game on Sunday, something I will look at in another blog closer to the weekend.

There's plenty of other unanswered questions too. Ajax's Belgian central defender Jan Vertonghen, has issued a blatant come-and-get-me plea to Mr Levy, which as far as we can tell, has been ignored, officially anyway. Is he the player we need?

Could Vertonghen be a replacement for Ledley King? Not if you believe the rumours today that King is set to be offered a new deal.

But then, we all know better than to believe what we read in the papers. Don't we?


It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Thursday 3 May 2012

Back on Track?

Last night Spurs looked like they'd returned to something close to their best. The two goals scored in quick succession by van der Vaart and Adebayor had us thinking back to our pre-New Year form.

It could have been a different story last night though, as Bolton replied quickly after the break when Nigel Reo-Coker wasn't tracked by the otherwise majestic Luka Modric to level the scores after Modric himself had put Tottenham ahead in spectacular style.

Spurs had started the second half poorly, and even after their goal Bolton continued to look the more threatening. But then, Gareth Bale did something that I, as I'm sure every other Spurs fan watching the game, had been screaming at him to do. He knocked the ball past his marker, pinned his monkey-like ears back and headed for the touchline before cutting the ball back perfectly so van der Vaart didn't need to break stride to cushion the ball into the far bottom corner.

The third goal was a thing of beauty. Modric sent Aaron Lennon away down the right with an exquisite pass, the pace of one of our wingers again being used to devastating effect, and Lennon crossed for Adebayor to tap home before taking up his celebratory stance on the advertising hoarding behind the goal.

There was one more to come however, and one of Bale's frequent forays into the middle saw his pace take him away from a couple of would be tacklers before Adebayor broke the offside trap, received the pass, rounded Bogdan and slotted coolly into the empty net.

The pace and fluidity Tottenham played with after conceding last night was so refreshing after months of watching the team struggle to break teams down and look devoid of ideas.

Sandro, for a second game running, bossed the midfield and looked a lot more dangerous in possession than Scott Parker does when he breaks from midfield. He seems to be growing with every game, and while many may see the current England captain as his superior, I think our Brazilian is the perfect foil for Modric and would hope he will see a lot more game time next season.

Danny Rose grew into the game and, unsurprisingly, looked a much better player when we started playing at the tempo we did after our second goal when confidence was high. He received a lot of, in my opinion, unfair criticism both during and after the game.

He's not the same quality as Benoit Assou-Ekotto, but I think he's a very reliable back-up, and though his recent comments to the media might not have done him any favours with the management, I hope he's still at the club next season, and given proper game time, rotated with Benoit suitably, or sent out on loan if Harry sees Kyle Naughton as a more able deputy for Walker and Assou-Ekotto.

Spurs now have two games left, away to Aston Villa and at home to Martin Jol's Fulham, to consolidate fourth position, or hope Arsenal slip up and nab third to guarantee Champions League football next season.

Villa have been worse than awful of late, and could be dragged into a rather uncomfortable final day of the season should we take all three points from Villa Park. If our tails are up following our second half performance at the Reebok, we should be able to comfortably win, and possibly improve our goal difference a decent amount. But if Villa decide to turn up and our heads drop again, we could be in for a tricky afternoon.

Provided everyone is fit and ready, I would keep faith with the same XI that defeated Blackburn and Bolton comprehensively. I'm glad to see Harry giving the defence some continuity by playing Gallas and Kaboul in consecutive games. Ledley is/was a great player, but I'm fed up of him being dropped into the team when we should be keeping faith with those who are fit.

Modric and Sandro look good together, and Bale and Lennon, when they stayed wide, looked back to their devastating best. I also saw a stat on twitter that we had only lost one game in 22 (correct me if I'm wrong) when van der Vaart has started behind Adebayor. The game in question being our 2-1 'defeat' away to Stoke in December. And we all know what sort of day that was.

It was also announced today and Kyle Walker has signed another contract extension, to 2017, which is great news for everyone at the Club. After only signing his previous extension at the end of last season, I imagine his agent has wrangled the wage bump that his season probably merits

Walker still leaves something to be desired defensively, but can be breath taking when he overlaps down the right wing. I've questioned several times this season whether, long term, he could do a Gareth Bale and be moved further forward to play as a right winger. He's learning every game though from a defensive point of view and it would be great to see him bursting down the wing under the lights in the Champions League next season in his lilywhite shirt.


It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.

Tuesday 1 May 2012

About the Author. A longer than intended introduction.

I have supported the glorious Tottenham Hotspur Football Club since the glory days of late in the 2000/01 season. I was just turning 10 at the time and the association with the club came from my dad, who has supported Spurs since the late sixties, and enjoyed better times than I.

My dad is a point of frustration for me. He’s one of these guys, not unlike our current manager, who has one opinion one week, then changes it the next if it’s blatantly obvious his previous view was wrong. Sound familiar? He's likely to feature in several of my ramblings, as he sleeps most of the time and it seems unfair to take my frustrations out on him.
The only real memory I have from those early days, is what is in fact, our last win over Manchester United. A 3-1 win after they had already sewn up the league title and Willem Korsten bagged a brace.
The 01/02 season is when my support of the club really kicked into life. Glenn Hoddle, one of dad’s favourites, was firmly at the helm, and we embarked on what was to be one of many false dawns I have endured in my ten or so years.

A cup run to the final of the Worthington Cup was a highlight; the tears that followed our 2-1 defeat a low.
That season Christian Ziege etched his place in my heart forever. He was a real favourite of mine, and when we switched to Kappa kits the following season, ZIEGE 23 was on the back of my painted on away kit.

Supporting Spurs hasn’t always been easy. False dawns are something I’ve stupidly always believed in 100%. Hoddle, Santini, Jol, Ramos, Redknapp. There’s been a few.
Season 04/05 was the first time I believed we could be on the verge of something special, and we were, 9th that season, following Jacques Santini’s sudden departure and Martin Jol’s taking over.
Paul Robinson would become a mainstay in goal, until the England incident ruined him for us (Someone I would love us to re-sign should Blackburn find themselves relegated).
There was an overhaul of the playing staff it seemed; Mendes, Davis, Pamarot, Atouba, Naybet to name a few.
Martin Jol was a big favourite of mine and I was distraught when he was sacked. The manner in which his dismissal was handled still doesn’t sit well with me. Watching us lose to Getafe on ITV4 was bad enough, but to hear at half time that Uncle Jol was being sacked, horrible.
Ramos was never going to be accepted by me personally as a result, and despite our Carling Cup win in 2008, I was adamant that the team would have won it with Jol in charge too.
The following summer excited me. We got more access and information to the clubs plans for the first time. Daily training updates from our pre-season training camp in Spain and a diary from our fitness coach Marcos Alvarez on what was being done with the players. The pictures being provided of the players really getting stuck in pleased me most, and the young players being integrated with the squad.
As we know though, that season started awful, 2 points 8 games eh Harry?
When Harry did join, I was pleased. I liked him at Portsmouth and I thought he was what we needed to help us out of our slump.
From early on though, the signs were there. We were force fed quotes on his man management, how good he was at making players feel like world beaters, even when they obviously weren’t, and putting an arm round the players’ shoulders.
Darren Bent was ruined in one quote. Whether Harry meant it to be such a personal attack on Bent only he knows. Though the look on Harry’s face on the bench as Bent headed wide from around a yard from goal after a cross from David Bentley might make you think he knew exactly how the player would take it.
From then, no amount of arms round the shoulder or anything Harry had in his little black book of ‘Making players play good’ could help Bent.
The White Hart Lane faithful never took to Bent, or in fact fellow Spurs fan Bentley. But both were favourites of mine. Bent scored goals, and to me, provides more to the team than a Jermain Defoe. Who other than scoring reasonably consistently, does little else than throw his arms up in the air, shoot when he could pass to a better placed team mate, or of course, stand offside.
I watched Bent score a hat-trick against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup that season and thought we had someone who could go on to break into our list of top scorers. He didn’t.
Redknapp’s reign has been hard to watch at times. Admittedly he has given me some my best days as a Spurs fan; the game at Eastlands in May 2010 was absolutely fantastic. Watching Kaboul burst down the line and cross for Crouch time seemed to stand still. And seeing Bentley and co soak Redknapp during his post match interview still makes me chuckle to myself.
Then the Champions League nights, beating Inter and AC, stuff dreams are made of. But it's not all rosy. No pun intended. Well, maybe a small one.
My problem with Harry has been his failure to learn from his mistakes. He’s bought players for the short term, or bought players we all thought could be part of our present and future and discarded them, or worse, let them rot and decay only to be forced to call upon them and watch them underperform before we, the fans crucify them, despite knowing that they shouldn’t be expected to perform when they’re well short of match fitness and unable to blend into the team when they’ve been training with a different coloured bib for the last few months.
He’s also tactically naive. His recent insistence on playing 4-4-2, despite saying in the media that we shouldn’t because it leaves us too open, really makes me twitch.
No plan B either. Sacrifice a midfielder and put Defoe on. That’s as far as it goes with Harry. No tactical bit of magic to see us crack an otherwise stubborn defence. Usually it results in us throwing away the game, because we then get overrun in midfield, which he's happy to admit, but doesn't seem to work a way around it.
It’s all too familiar. We could excuse it happening on occasion, but it’s a regular thing with us for the past few seasons.
It now seems we're stuck with him. Roy Hodgson is about to be confirmed as the England manager, and suddenly it's not White Hart Lane singing 'We want you to stay', it's Harry singing that he wants to stay.
Deep down, I'm resigned to the fact that he'll probably still be here at the start of next season, even if we fail to make the Champions League. I'm not convinced finishing outside the top four, or even fourth but missing out thanks to Chelsea winning the Champions League would be enough of a failure, despite the advantage we had over Arsenal, for Mr Levy to get rid, as much as we may want him to.
However, I don't expect him to be offered a new contract, and a poor start to the season or another failure to crack the top four will see Harry gone, and my pick to replace him....Roberto Martinez.

It is better to fail aiming high than succeeding aiming low. And we at Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory” Bill Nicholson.