In a continuing story, the newest rumor is that Harry Redknapp is going to buy Stewart Downing from Gareth Southgate's Middlesbrough club for £4 million, midfielder Jamie O'Hara and defender Gareth Bale. This move would be, quite simply, the worst transfer that Spurs could make in this window.
1. Downing really isn't that good. Yes, Downing has skill and yes he's fast, but Tottenham already has Aaron Lennon and David Bentley to man its wings. It would be nice to give one of them a break, but adding Downing to the side isn't absolutely essential, and overpaying for him is dead wrong.
2. O'Hara has been finding his form as of late. The young midfielder was one of four Spurs players who played well against Spartak Moscow on Thursday, creating chances and holding the ball well. If he is allowed to mature in a midfield next to Tom Huddlestone and Lennon, Spurs could be set in three positions for a long time to come.
3. Bale, when healthy, is one of the best prospects in the Premier League. For six matches at the start of the 2007/2008 season, Bale stood out. Then he suffered a bad injury that he is still trying to recover from. When he regains his form, Bale is going to once again be a very important part on the left side of Tottenham's defense. Plus his corners and free kicks are better than Bentley's right now.
Basically, this rumor (which is probably rubbish anyways) means that Spurs would be trading two major parts of their future for one solid player right now. And that would be a huge mistake
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
All Sorts of Rumors
The rumor mill has certainly been churning in recent days as all of the papers prepare for the January transfer window to open and, like usual, Spurs are at the center of it all.
The most important news may come from the south coast, as Portsmouth defender Lauren said that the team is going to be dismantled in the winter transfer window and that a large part of that will involve Jermaine Defoe and Glen Johnson following Harry Redknapp to north London. Defoe would be a hugely welcome (returning) addition to the club, as Spurs never should have sold the striker in the first place. Possessing a pace that neither Darren Bent nor Roman Pavyluchenko have, Defoe is the perfect strike partner for either one of the two. Unfortunately, he may be cup tied since he appeared for Portsmouth already, but he will be a hugely welcome addition in the Premiership.
Johnson has also been linked with Liverpool, but would be an excellent addition to Spurs' back line, particularly if the injury bug continues to hit as hard as it has lately.
Tottenham has been linked with Zenit St. Petersburg's Andrei Arshavin since the summer, when it appeared as if the striker would be coming to Spurs at the close of the transfer window in a deal that never quite materialized. Now, the star of Euro 2008 has been given permission to seek out a move and, as such, was recently in London for two days discussing a transfer with a Premier League club. Alas, that team was probably Chelsea, not Spurs, as Zenit manager Dick Advocaat told the press that he believes that Spurs are beneath Arshavin. Also, there are the Russian ties with Roman Abramovich, who would surely want to sign the mother country's most well-known player. The whole situation can get more confusing, however, when one considers that Chelsea supposedly don't have money to spend in this transfer window and Advocaat found it necessary to make his comments. Perhaps Arshavin was meeting with Spurs? We won't know until January. (For what it's worth, Spurs already have two players who fill the same role that Arshavin does in Luka Modric and Giovani dos Santos.)
Harry Redknapp is also believed to be looking at Espanyol defender Steve Finnan in a loan deal, as the former Liverpool man has only had four starts in Spain and could be looking for a return to England. Finnan would be an excellent solution to the defensive issues, as he is a proven performer who would come cheap. I approve.
The most bizarre rumor of the day came out early, as it was reported that Redknapp was willing to offer £3 million for Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant, but that Rafa Benitez had countered with a bid for Aaron Lennon that would bring £7 million and Pennant to White Hart Lane. That transaction would be ridiculously stupid for Spurs, as Lennon has been one of the most consistent offensive performers since Redknapp came over and seems to finally be living up to some of his potential. Hopefully this rumor is only that and there is nothing to it.
Ghanian midfielder Anthony Annan has been linked with Tottenham, and he would come relatively cheaply at £4.3 million from Norwegian club Rosenborg. The only issue is that his agents came out yesterday and said that Annan is happy in Norway and that no negotiations have taken place, seemingly dousing those rumors.
In one final piece of news, Wigan manager Steve Bruce moved to clean up a rumor from yesterday, stating that he wants to keep winger Antonio Valencia with the Lactics and that Valencia would certainly cost more than the £7 million tag that is currently being named. Of course, whether he's just trying to up the price (probably not) or is actually telling the truth (probably) remains to be seen.
That's all for now, but I'm sure there will be tons more tomorrow.
The most important news may come from the south coast, as Portsmouth defender Lauren said that the team is going to be dismantled in the winter transfer window and that a large part of that will involve Jermaine Defoe and Glen Johnson following Harry Redknapp to north London. Defoe would be a hugely welcome (returning) addition to the club, as Spurs never should have sold the striker in the first place. Possessing a pace that neither Darren Bent nor Roman Pavyluchenko have, Defoe is the perfect strike partner for either one of the two. Unfortunately, he may be cup tied since he appeared for Portsmouth already, but he will be a hugely welcome addition in the Premiership.
Johnson has also been linked with Liverpool, but would be an excellent addition to Spurs' back line, particularly if the injury bug continues to hit as hard as it has lately.
Tottenham has been linked with Zenit St. Petersburg's Andrei Arshavin since the summer, when it appeared as if the striker would be coming to Spurs at the close of the transfer window in a deal that never quite materialized. Now, the star of Euro 2008 has been given permission to seek out a move and, as such, was recently in London for two days discussing a transfer with a Premier League club. Alas, that team was probably Chelsea, not Spurs, as Zenit manager Dick Advocaat told the press that he believes that Spurs are beneath Arshavin. Also, there are the Russian ties with Roman Abramovich, who would surely want to sign the mother country's most well-known player. The whole situation can get more confusing, however, when one considers that Chelsea supposedly don't have money to spend in this transfer window and Advocaat found it necessary to make his comments. Perhaps Arshavin was meeting with Spurs? We won't know until January. (For what it's worth, Spurs already have two players who fill the same role that Arshavin does in Luka Modric and Giovani dos Santos.)
Harry Redknapp is also believed to be looking at Espanyol defender Steve Finnan in a loan deal, as the former Liverpool man has only had four starts in Spain and could be looking for a return to England. Finnan would be an excellent solution to the defensive issues, as he is a proven performer who would come cheap. I approve.
The most bizarre rumor of the day came out early, as it was reported that Redknapp was willing to offer £3 million for Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant, but that Rafa Benitez had countered with a bid for Aaron Lennon that would bring £7 million and Pennant to White Hart Lane. That transaction would be ridiculously stupid for Spurs, as Lennon has been one of the most consistent offensive performers since Redknapp came over and seems to finally be living up to some of his potential. Hopefully this rumor is only that and there is nothing to it.
Ghanian midfielder Anthony Annan has been linked with Tottenham, and he would come relatively cheaply at £4.3 million from Norwegian club Rosenborg. The only issue is that his agents came out yesterday and said that Annan is happy in Norway and that no negotiations have taken place, seemingly dousing those rumors.
In one final piece of news, Wigan manager Steve Bruce moved to clean up a rumor from yesterday, stating that he wants to keep winger Antonio Valencia with the Lactics and that Valencia would certainly cost more than the £7 million tag that is currently being named. Of course, whether he's just trying to up the price (probably not) or is actually telling the truth (probably) remains to be seen.
That's all for now, but I'm sure there will be tons more tomorrow.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Eking into the Knockout Stage
An injury-ridden Tottenham squad looked tentative for the first half of today's UEFA Cup match against Spartak Moscow and then, around the time NEC Nijmegen took a 2-0 lead against Udinese, woke up.
The first goal of the game came off of a terrible mistake by defender Gilberto who was receiving his first start since Harry Redknapp took the club over. Gilberto went to play the ball back to Heurelho Gomes and then hesitated, seemingly sensing a player over his shoulder but not taking notice of the player in front of him. Gomes then attempted to come out to take the ball only to have Artem Dziuba snatch it from under his nose and stick it in the back of the net.
Things only got worse from there, as Dziuba dribbled around Gomes for another goal in the 33rd minute, putting Spurs down 2-0 and making it seem as if the lilywhites may not make it through to the next round. The offense, however, would not allow the Russians' lead to hold in the second half.
Redknapp demonstrated that his team needed to become more offensive in the second half by bringing speedy midfielder Aaron Lennon into the game at halftime, removing Gilberto. (On a related note, Redknapp said that Gilberto would never play for Tottenham again after today's embarrassing performance.)
Lennon instantly added another dimension to the Tottenham attack, which had mostly featured Luka Modric and Jamie O'Hara in the first half, creating opportunities and excitement every time he touched the ball. The first Spurs goal came as the result of a Lennon run down the right, which he pulled up from suddenly, slotting the ball through to Modric who was standing unmarked in front of the Spartak call and scored, ensuring that the hosts would get through if NEC only won by one goal. (The goal was somehow Modric's first in a Tottenham uniform, but one had to sense that it was a long time coming, as Modric has had chance after chance in the most recent run of games, creating two very good opportunities against Manchester United last weekend and just missing out on a header earlier in today's game.)
The second goal, which ensured safety,came as the result of a Gareth Bale cross. Bale played a pretty solid offensive game, but looked a little weak on defense. His cross to Tom Huddlestone in the 74th minute, however, and the subsequent header, left no doubts as to the players' talent. Bale came in off the left and sent a nice cross in to a waiting Huddlestone who used his height to rifle the ball into the back of the net and help Spurs reach the knockout stage.
Two of the three major negatives (not including Gilberto's gaffe) were not surprising, as David Bentley again looked ineffective on crosses and corners, and Frazier Campbell's finishing skills looked absolutely dreadful.
Bentley has been doing quick corners lately where he looks for someone like Modric, standing about 10 yards off of the ball, and will just put it into him quick and hope that something happens off of that as opposed to actually lining up and taking a solid corner. This is a ridiculous strategy, as Spurs had two very tall players in the lineup today in the form of Huddlestone and Michael Dawson, both of whom could have scored off of any given corner if Bentley had only taken the chance. Maybe Bentley is being ordered to take those quick corners by the bench. I certainly hope so, because if he isn't, he will not be on Harry's good side for too long.
The larger concern was Campbell's lack of form, as the on-loan striker had several chances to completely put the game away towards the end, slipping on one opportunity and failing to beat defenders on a couple of others. Now, making mistakes is a part of the maturation process and Campbell would work significantly better in a two striker system than one where he is the lone man up top, but his mistakes looked absolutely terrible today and Spurs will need to count on him if they are going to advance in the UEFA Cup (particularly with Roman Pavlyuchenko cup-tied and Darren Bent going through an injured stretch, if you call tonsillitis an injury).
Spurs needed at least one point to guarantee that they would make it through and, as it turned out, managed exactly that. They will find out their next round's fate on Friday.
The first goal of the game came off of a terrible mistake by defender Gilberto who was receiving his first start since Harry Redknapp took the club over. Gilberto went to play the ball back to Heurelho Gomes and then hesitated, seemingly sensing a player over his shoulder but not taking notice of the player in front of him. Gomes then attempted to come out to take the ball only to have Artem Dziuba snatch it from under his nose and stick it in the back of the net.
Things only got worse from there, as Dziuba dribbled around Gomes for another goal in the 33rd minute, putting Spurs down 2-0 and making it seem as if the lilywhites may not make it through to the next round. The offense, however, would not allow the Russians' lead to hold in the second half.
Redknapp demonstrated that his team needed to become more offensive in the second half by bringing speedy midfielder Aaron Lennon into the game at halftime, removing Gilberto. (On a related note, Redknapp said that Gilberto would never play for Tottenham again after today's embarrassing performance.)
Lennon instantly added another dimension to the Tottenham attack, which had mostly featured Luka Modric and Jamie O'Hara in the first half, creating opportunities and excitement every time he touched the ball. The first Spurs goal came as the result of a Lennon run down the right, which he pulled up from suddenly, slotting the ball through to Modric who was standing unmarked in front of the Spartak call and scored, ensuring that the hosts would get through if NEC only won by one goal. (The goal was somehow Modric's first in a Tottenham uniform, but one had to sense that it was a long time coming, as Modric has had chance after chance in the most recent run of games, creating two very good opportunities against Manchester United last weekend and just missing out on a header earlier in today's game.)
The second goal, which ensured safety,came as the result of a Gareth Bale cross. Bale played a pretty solid offensive game, but looked a little weak on defense. His cross to Tom Huddlestone in the 74th minute, however, and the subsequent header, left no doubts as to the players' talent. Bale came in off the left and sent a nice cross in to a waiting Huddlestone who used his height to rifle the ball into the back of the net and help Spurs reach the knockout stage.
Two of the three major negatives (not including Gilberto's gaffe) were not surprising, as David Bentley again looked ineffective on crosses and corners, and Frazier Campbell's finishing skills looked absolutely dreadful.
Bentley has been doing quick corners lately where he looks for someone like Modric, standing about 10 yards off of the ball, and will just put it into him quick and hope that something happens off of that as opposed to actually lining up and taking a solid corner. This is a ridiculous strategy, as Spurs had two very tall players in the lineup today in the form of Huddlestone and Michael Dawson, both of whom could have scored off of any given corner if Bentley had only taken the chance. Maybe Bentley is being ordered to take those quick corners by the bench. I certainly hope so, because if he isn't, he will not be on Harry's good side for too long.
The larger concern was Campbell's lack of form, as the on-loan striker had several chances to completely put the game away towards the end, slipping on one opportunity and failing to beat defenders on a couple of others. Now, making mistakes is a part of the maturation process and Campbell would work significantly better in a two striker system than one where he is the lone man up top, but his mistakes looked absolutely terrible today and Spurs will need to count on him if they are going to advance in the UEFA Cup (particularly with Roman Pavlyuchenko cup-tied and Darren Bent going through an injured stretch, if you call tonsillitis an injury).
Spurs needed at least one point to guarantee that they would make it through and, as it turned out, managed exactly that. They will find out their next round's fate on Friday.
Valencia, Ashton, Johnson, Keane and the Keeper Situation
News from White Hart Lane was kind of slow the past few days, but Tottenham has been linked with a few more players, most notably to Antonio Valencia and (again) to Dean Ashton.
Wigan's Valencia is another winger, giving hints that Redknapp may not be satisfied with the recent of David Bentley. The Ecuadorian international is a favorite of Steve Bruce's, but could probably be had for £7 million. Valencia could be a very solid addition to the current Spurs squad.
The other recent rumor, which has really been around since the end of summer (along with the Emile Heskey and Michael Owen ones) is that Tottenham is interested in West Ham's Dean Ashton. The interesting part about that, besides the striker's rather prolific injury record, is that Spurs are also supposedly interested in West Ham defender Matthew Upson and keeper Robert Green. Like Owen, Ashton is a very good player if he can remain healthy, but he doesn't do that very often. If Harry Redknapp can purchase him at a discount value (which he may not be because Aston Villa and Manchester City reportedly want him, too), he would be a good buy. Otherwise, I would advise against it.
Redknapp has also been linked with Glen Johnson, who he coached at Portsmouth, as a potential target. Johnson is a very solid player who would be a good target and may be able to be had at reasonable value, as Redknapp's relationship with Portsmouth still appears to be good.
As far as the goalkeeper search goes, Tottenham may have some competition for the services of Carlos Kameni, as both Fullham and Newcastle are reportedly interested in the Espanyol keeper. Why Newcastle is interested is very unclear, as they already have Shay Given and Steve Harper, but a bidding war for a player who would probably be a backup keeper is not advisable.
Redknapp also spoke about Ben Foster, saying that he is very expensive right now and that if Spurs bought him, he wouldn't be a backup for them. He also said that he couldn't see Alex Ferguson selling Foster anytime soon.
As far as the Robbie Keane rumors go, it appears as if there are rules in English football that prevent a player from being sold back to his former club in a 12 month window, meaning that the striker will not be returning to White Hart Lane until at least the summer transfer window.
Wigan's Valencia is another winger, giving hints that Redknapp may not be satisfied with the recent of David Bentley. The Ecuadorian international is a favorite of Steve Bruce's, but could probably be had for £7 million. Valencia could be a very solid addition to the current Spurs squad.
The other recent rumor, which has really been around since the end of summer (along with the Emile Heskey and Michael Owen ones) is that Tottenham is interested in West Ham's Dean Ashton. The interesting part about that, besides the striker's rather prolific injury record, is that Spurs are also supposedly interested in West Ham defender Matthew Upson and keeper Robert Green. Like Owen, Ashton is a very good player if he can remain healthy, but he doesn't do that very often. If Harry Redknapp can purchase him at a discount value (which he may not be because Aston Villa and Manchester City reportedly want him, too), he would be a good buy. Otherwise, I would advise against it.
Redknapp has also been linked with Glen Johnson, who he coached at Portsmouth, as a potential target. Johnson is a very solid player who would be a good target and may be able to be had at reasonable value, as Redknapp's relationship with Portsmouth still appears to be good.
As far as the goalkeeper search goes, Tottenham may have some competition for the services of Carlos Kameni, as both Fullham and Newcastle are reportedly interested in the Espanyol keeper. Why Newcastle is interested is very unclear, as they already have Shay Given and Steve Harper, but a bidding war for a player who would probably be a backup keeper is not advisable.
Redknapp also spoke about Ben Foster, saying that he is very expensive right now and that if Spurs bought him, he wouldn't be a backup for them. He also said that he couldn't see Alex Ferguson selling Foster anytime soon.
As far as the Robbie Keane rumors go, it appears as if there are rules in English football that prevent a player from being sold back to his former club in a 12 month window, meaning that the striker will not be returning to White Hart Lane until at least the summer transfer window.
Monday, December 15, 2008
New striker links, Bale for Downey and some bluntness from Harry
Monday found Tottenham linked to a slew of strikers, some who are quickly becoming familiar to Spurs fans and others who are new names in the ever-expanding hunt for goals. Also, Harry Redknapp bluntly said that his team simply isn't good enough to break into the top five, at least as it is currently made up.
Starting with the strikers, the link to Bordeaux's Fernando Cavenghi, who is currently priced at £8 million, was linked with Tottenham again. The Argentinean striker's 10 goals are good for the most in Ligue 1, in front of such luminaries as Karim Benzema, Jimmy Briand and Hatem Ben Arfa. Cavenghi would be an excellent addition to the Spurs' strike corps and should definitely be a January target for Harry.
The other interesting striker link of the day was to Salzburg's Marc Janko, who is currently leading Europe in goals, with 27 in 17 games played. Janko, who seems desperate for a move to England, said that Tottenham are his favorite club. Interestingly, Janko may be able to play the game on the European stage as he has performed well in international friendlies for Austria this year, netting goals against both Serbia and France. If Janko could be brought in as kind of a second-option striker in order to let him adapt to the Prem with the idea of him becoming a legitimate option next season, the move could be an excellent one. He is definitely worth the risk, especially if the price isn't particularly high and White Hart Lane is where he wants to ply his trade.
Redknapp was also linked with a bid for Liverpool's Ryan Babel, as the Dutch striker is believed to have asked for a loan move in the January window. Spurs will possibly bid between 7 or 8 million pounds for the frustrated forward, who has only started six times this season, in an effort to take advantage of Tom Hicks' and George Gillet's financial difficulties. This move probably won't happen, as Rafa Benitez won't want to sell a potential star, but Babel is definitely worth a bid.
The Michael Owen saga also continued on Monday, as Newcastle will reportedly offer their striker a contract extension that could drop his weekly pay as much as £25,000. Owen, who makes £80,000 right now, may not take well to this, thereby making it more likely for him to move on. This one merits following, still, even though it seems as if there are cheaper, younger options at striker than the injury-prone Owen out there.
The most interesting rumor of the day involved Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing, a transfer target of Redknapp's. Reportedly, Gareth Southgate would ask for £15 million as well as youngster Gareth Bale for the winger. If Redknapp did that, it would be an astronomical overpay, as the English international is worth nothing more than £10 million and certainly not Bale, a defender/winger who was on his way to being a star until an injury last season that he is still struggling to come back from. If he manages to find his way, the young Welshman will be a more valuable player than Downing is. Hopefully, Redknapp realizes this and chooses to wait until Southgate's demands come down. (Of course, the report comes from The Daily Mirror, so it is probably more valuable as toilet paper than newsprint, just like the next rumor.)
David Bentley also took up a spot in the potentially leaving category, this time as a possibly target for Mark Hughes' Manchester City. Bentley has been a more-or-less disappointment at White Hart Lane thus far, but he has seemed to find some degree of his form under Redknapp and has one or two dangerous crosses a game. If City want to pay more for him than Spurs did (meaning overpay more than Spurs did), it could be a decent move, but I'd prefer for Bentley to find his form for Spurs.
Redknapp certainly stirred the pot a bit on Monday with several sets of comments. First, he spoke about how Spurs are having serious injury troubles for Thursday's bout with Spartak Moscow, as Frazier Campbell has a torn calf muscle and won't be ready for action, leaving Tottenham with Darren Bent as the only healthy or non-cup tied striker. According to Redknapp, winger John Bostock, 16, and defender Dean Parrett, 17, can expect to be called up from reserves, with Bostock likely receiving a start for the lilywhites. Fortunately, Spurs are likely to go through to the knockout stage no matter what their result is on Thursday as long as they don't drop the game 4-0.
In a fit of bluntness, Redknapp said that he doesn't believe that Arsenal can win the Premiership this year, something that is quickly becoming obvious as Arsenal drops further and further down the table and Chelsea and Manchester United continue to climb the table.
More interestingly, though, is what Redknapp said when asked about the state of the squad at a shareholders meeting on Monday. "It depends where you want to go and finish. If you're talking about finishing fifth or in the top four, it's well short of that. I'm not going to stand up here and lie to you. So far we've got the best out of what we have here but the squad is still well short of the top four and not as good as Aston Villa's and other teams challenging to be up there. There's a lot of work to do if we are going to get where we want to be," said Redknapp.
This honesty, however rude it seems, may have been about getting money for the transfer window. Daniel Levy has stated that Spurs won't be spending in January after outlaying a ton of money in the summer, but Redknapp clearly wants the side to be his own and not Damian Commolli's/Juande Ramos', meaning that he will be looking to spend in the winter window. His comments may have been designed to get funds for then as much as to set realistic expectations for the team and, as such, were probably a huge step forward for the normally overly optimistic Spurs' fans. I approve.
Starting with the strikers, the link to Bordeaux's Fernando Cavenghi, who is currently priced at £8 million, was linked with Tottenham again. The Argentinean striker's 10 goals are good for the most in Ligue 1, in front of such luminaries as Karim Benzema, Jimmy Briand and Hatem Ben Arfa. Cavenghi would be an excellent addition to the Spurs' strike corps and should definitely be a January target for Harry.
The other interesting striker link of the day was to Salzburg's Marc Janko, who is currently leading Europe in goals, with 27 in 17 games played. Janko, who seems desperate for a move to England, said that Tottenham are his favorite club. Interestingly, Janko may be able to play the game on the European stage as he has performed well in international friendlies for Austria this year, netting goals against both Serbia and France. If Janko could be brought in as kind of a second-option striker in order to let him adapt to the Prem with the idea of him becoming a legitimate option next season, the move could be an excellent one. He is definitely worth the risk, especially if the price isn't particularly high and White Hart Lane is where he wants to ply his trade.
Redknapp was also linked with a bid for Liverpool's Ryan Babel, as the Dutch striker is believed to have asked for a loan move in the January window. Spurs will possibly bid between 7 or 8 million pounds for the frustrated forward, who has only started six times this season, in an effort to take advantage of Tom Hicks' and George Gillet's financial difficulties. This move probably won't happen, as Rafa Benitez won't want to sell a potential star, but Babel is definitely worth a bid.
The Michael Owen saga also continued on Monday, as Newcastle will reportedly offer their striker a contract extension that could drop his weekly pay as much as £25,000. Owen, who makes £80,000 right now, may not take well to this, thereby making it more likely for him to move on. This one merits following, still, even though it seems as if there are cheaper, younger options at striker than the injury-prone Owen out there.
The most interesting rumor of the day involved Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing, a transfer target of Redknapp's. Reportedly, Gareth Southgate would ask for £15 million as well as youngster Gareth Bale for the winger. If Redknapp did that, it would be an astronomical overpay, as the English international is worth nothing more than £10 million and certainly not Bale, a defender/winger who was on his way to being a star until an injury last season that he is still struggling to come back from. If he manages to find his way, the young Welshman will be a more valuable player than Downing is. Hopefully, Redknapp realizes this and chooses to wait until Southgate's demands come down. (Of course, the report comes from The Daily Mirror, so it is probably more valuable as toilet paper than newsprint, just like the next rumor.)
David Bentley also took up a spot in the potentially leaving category, this time as a possibly target for Mark Hughes' Manchester City. Bentley has been a more-or-less disappointment at White Hart Lane thus far, but he has seemed to find some degree of his form under Redknapp and has one or two dangerous crosses a game. If City want to pay more for him than Spurs did (meaning overpay more than Spurs did), it could be a decent move, but I'd prefer for Bentley to find his form for Spurs.
Redknapp certainly stirred the pot a bit on Monday with several sets of comments. First, he spoke about how Spurs are having serious injury troubles for Thursday's bout with Spartak Moscow, as Frazier Campbell has a torn calf muscle and won't be ready for action, leaving Tottenham with Darren Bent as the only healthy or non-cup tied striker. According to Redknapp, winger John Bostock, 16, and defender Dean Parrett, 17, can expect to be called up from reserves, with Bostock likely receiving a start for the lilywhites. Fortunately, Spurs are likely to go through to the knockout stage no matter what their result is on Thursday as long as they don't drop the game 4-0.
In a fit of bluntness, Redknapp said that he doesn't believe that Arsenal can win the Premiership this year, something that is quickly becoming obvious as Arsenal drops further and further down the table and Chelsea and Manchester United continue to climb the table.
More interestingly, though, is what Redknapp said when asked about the state of the squad at a shareholders meeting on Monday. "It depends where you want to go and finish. If you're talking about finishing fifth or in the top four, it's well short of that. I'm not going to stand up here and lie to you. So far we've got the best out of what we have here but the squad is still well short of the top four and not as good as Aston Villa's and other teams challenging to be up there. There's a lot of work to do if we are going to get where we want to be," said Redknapp.
This honesty, however rude it seems, may have been about getting money for the transfer window. Daniel Levy has stated that Spurs won't be spending in January after outlaying a ton of money in the summer, but Redknapp clearly wants the side to be his own and not Damian Commolli's/Juande Ramos', meaning that he will be looking to spend in the winter window. His comments may have been designed to get funds for then as much as to set realistic expectations for the team and, as such, were probably a huge step forward for the normally overly optimistic Spurs' fans. I approve.
Dealing with Weekend Rumors
This weekend was full of rumors, many of them disconcerting for Spurs fans, as the EPL prepares for the January transfer window. From Luka Modric to Heurelho Gomes to Roman Pavlyuchenko, it seems as if most of Tottenham's first team squad has been linked elsewhere, even as Harry Redknapp has been linked with players such as Joe Cole and Michael Owen to reinforce his squad.
Perhaps the most disturbing rumor, at least to me, was that Juventus' director Alessio Secco was in London, looking to initiate a swap in which Spurs would send Modric to the Old Lady for Vincenzo Iaquinta plus cash. This rumor would have seemed to carry more weight two months ago, as Modric struggled to adjust to the Premier League, but the Croatian seems to have found his way and gives Spurs' attack a completely different look when he is on the pitch. An Italian paper suggested that Modric was unhappy at White Hart Lane and enjoys the prospect of playing in Serie A, but then again, who benefits from spreading that rumor? (Answer: The Italian press, especially if Modric took his immense talents to Juventus.) To sell him in the window (after Redknapp said that he was going to build the team around him) would be a huge mistake. With that said, I'm not sure how much weight this rumor carries, but even so, it caused me with some unrest immediately before Saturday's fixture.
Keeper seems to be the most examined position at Spurs, as Gomes has come good recently, but that doesn't seem as if it will prevent Redknapp from seeking out some competition for the Brazilian in January, possibly in the form of Carlos Kameni. Kameni, who is reportedly unhappy at Espanyol, was linked with Tottenham in the summer, but chose to stay with the Spanish club at the time. Now, with Gomes suddenly looking as if he has adjusted to life in the Prem, Tottenham is again being linked with Kameni and Gomes is being linked with a move back to PSV Eindhoven, one that PSV's director has said Gomes wants. As with all rumors, I'm not sure how much to buy this, as Gomes seems very comfortable under Redknapp, and it may not be the best idea to bring in another highly rated keeper on top of Gomes.
A Gomes for Kameni "trade" would be a bad idea, as we all saw how difficult Gomes'adjustment period was, and Kameni would need to go through the same process until he was fully used to the Premiership. I wouldn't mind seeing them bring someone like Kameni in if Gomes really does want out, but I wouldn't think about selling Gomes at least until the summer.
In another rumor, Real Madrid and their new manager Juande Ramos were linked with a bid for Pavyluchenko, the Spurs striker who has been frustratingly inconsistent thus far. With Real heavily linked with Andrei Arshavin, it would only make sense for Ramos to buy Pavyluchenko, too, and complete the strike team that he reportedly wanted to put together for Spurs in the summer. I wouldn't mind seeing Pavyluchenko leave too much, as long as it meant that Redknapp had more money to spend on his type of players in the transfer window and he spent a fair portion of it on strikers.
Ramos has also been linked with bids for David Bentley (Yeah, right, the man hated playing under Ramos and has only sort of come good since Redknapp took over. He would never play for the Spaniard again.), Didier Zokora (Had the good sense to note that Spurs were linked with all of Sevilla's players when Ramos came here and none of them came and that this is only the same thing in reverse. He'll stay at Tottenham.) and Aaron Lennon (Lennon is quickly becoming one of the faces of the team, but if Real really want to pay 22 million pounds for him, they are welcome to by all means.). I'd guess that none of them leave.
The weekend's final rumor, and the only one that involved players coming to White Hart Lane, involved Redknapp being interested in both Cole and Owen, two prominent English players. Tottenham's interest in Owen dates to the closing minutes of the summer transfer window, as Owen's name was one of the ones being thrown about in all of the post-Berbatov sale frenzy. Owen is reportedly unsettled at Newcastle and may be available for the right price, despite the insistence of manager Joe Kinnear that he will be staying at St. James Park. The oft-injured striker would fit in well at Tottenham, at least as a short term fix, but he's a bit too old to fit into any long-term vision of Harry Houdini.
As for Cole, while his addition would be wonderful from a Spurs' fan's point of view, it's not happening. Another rubbish rumor for News of the World.
Oh, and Kevin Prince-Boateng wants out. Surprise, surprise, even though I feel that the midfielder could improve greatly by moving back to his native Germany or anywhere else where he actually receives opportunities to play.
In the most comforting news, Redknapp discussed his transfer targets and said that he knows exactly who he wants for his squad, which is much more comforting than the helter skelter dealing that Ramos and Comolli partook in. Redknapp, unlike Comolli, has a concrete vision of who he wants to work with and where he wants to take the team, both extremely positive changes that should result in marked improvement in this transfer window.
Perhaps the most disturbing rumor, at least to me, was that Juventus' director Alessio Secco was in London, looking to initiate a swap in which Spurs would send Modric to the Old Lady for Vincenzo Iaquinta plus cash. This rumor would have seemed to carry more weight two months ago, as Modric struggled to adjust to the Premier League, but the Croatian seems to have found his way and gives Spurs' attack a completely different look when he is on the pitch. An Italian paper suggested that Modric was unhappy at White Hart Lane and enjoys the prospect of playing in Serie A, but then again, who benefits from spreading that rumor? (Answer: The Italian press, especially if Modric took his immense talents to Juventus.) To sell him in the window (after Redknapp said that he was going to build the team around him) would be a huge mistake. With that said, I'm not sure how much weight this rumor carries, but even so, it caused me with some unrest immediately before Saturday's fixture.
Keeper seems to be the most examined position at Spurs, as Gomes has come good recently, but that doesn't seem as if it will prevent Redknapp from seeking out some competition for the Brazilian in January, possibly in the form of Carlos Kameni. Kameni, who is reportedly unhappy at Espanyol, was linked with Tottenham in the summer, but chose to stay with the Spanish club at the time. Now, with Gomes suddenly looking as if he has adjusted to life in the Prem, Tottenham is again being linked with Kameni and Gomes is being linked with a move back to PSV Eindhoven, one that PSV's director has said Gomes wants. As with all rumors, I'm not sure how much to buy this, as Gomes seems very comfortable under Redknapp, and it may not be the best idea to bring in another highly rated keeper on top of Gomes.
A Gomes for Kameni "trade" would be a bad idea, as we all saw how difficult Gomes'adjustment period was, and Kameni would need to go through the same process until he was fully used to the Premiership. I wouldn't mind seeing them bring someone like Kameni in if Gomes really does want out, but I wouldn't think about selling Gomes at least until the summer.
In another rumor, Real Madrid and their new manager Juande Ramos were linked with a bid for Pavyluchenko, the Spurs striker who has been frustratingly inconsistent thus far. With Real heavily linked with Andrei Arshavin, it would only make sense for Ramos to buy Pavyluchenko, too, and complete the strike team that he reportedly wanted to put together for Spurs in the summer. I wouldn't mind seeing Pavyluchenko leave too much, as long as it meant that Redknapp had more money to spend on his type of players in the transfer window and he spent a fair portion of it on strikers.
Ramos has also been linked with bids for David Bentley (Yeah, right, the man hated playing under Ramos and has only sort of come good since Redknapp took over. He would never play for the Spaniard again.), Didier Zokora (Had the good sense to note that Spurs were linked with all of Sevilla's players when Ramos came here and none of them came and that this is only the same thing in reverse. He'll stay at Tottenham.) and Aaron Lennon (Lennon is quickly becoming one of the faces of the team, but if Real really want to pay 22 million pounds for him, they are welcome to by all means.). I'd guess that none of them leave.
The weekend's final rumor, and the only one that involved players coming to White Hart Lane, involved Redknapp being interested in both Cole and Owen, two prominent English players. Tottenham's interest in Owen dates to the closing minutes of the summer transfer window, as Owen's name was one of the ones being thrown about in all of the post-Berbatov sale frenzy. Owen is reportedly unsettled at Newcastle and may be available for the right price, despite the insistence of manager Joe Kinnear that he will be staying at St. James Park. The oft-injured striker would fit in well at Tottenham, at least as a short term fix, but he's a bit too old to fit into any long-term vision of Harry Houdini.
As for Cole, while his addition would be wonderful from a Spurs' fan's point of view, it's not happening. Another rubbish rumor for News of the World.
Oh, and Kevin Prince-Boateng wants out. Surprise, surprise, even though I feel that the midfielder could improve greatly by moving back to his native Germany or anywhere else where he actually receives opportunities to play.
In the most comforting news, Redknapp discussed his transfer targets and said that he knows exactly who he wants for his squad, which is much more comforting than the helter skelter dealing that Ramos and Comolli partook in. Redknapp, unlike Comolli, has a concrete vision of who he wants to work with and where he wants to take the team, both extremely positive changes that should result in marked improvement in this transfer window.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Spurs 0, Manchester United 0
The focus before the much awaited clash with Manchester United was on Spurs' fans potential abuse of ex-striker Dimitar Berbatov. That proved to not be too much of an issue, however, as Berbatov looked thoroughly unthrilling throughout Saturday's clash.
Instead, the story of the game has to be the superb play of Tottenham keeper Huerelho Gomes, who saved the day for the London-based club on at least four separate occasions including a wonderful save off of a Ryan Giggs free kick late in the game that was, of course, named the "Brilliant Play of the Match." The performance of Gomes, who has finally come good in recent weeks by keeping clean sheets in four of Spurs' last five matches, seems to make transfer rumors concerning potential targets such as Carlos Kameni and Robert Green moot.
Without Gomes, there is no doubt that Tottenham would have dropped a point and allowed United to creep ever closer towards the top of the table today. With Gomes, Spurs passed Manchester City (who lost 1-0 to Everton on a late Tim Cahill strike) for sole possession of 14th place in the Premier League, three points clear of the drop zone and three points from ninth place Wigan.
In other notes from the game, Jonathan Woodgate left in the 11th minute with an apparent back problem. Spurs fans can only hope that the central defender isn't out for particularly long, if at all, with this injury, as Woodgate as proven to be a vital cog in the Tottenham defense.
Luka Modric continued to adapt to play in the Prem, as the diminutive midfielder had another excellent game, continue his run of good form under Harry Redknapp. Modric had two excellent chances to score, one on a strike and another on a header which he just mishit. When the Croatian is in the lineup, the offense seems to have a little more life, but Modric hasn't yet scored a goal in a Tottenham uniform, which will be a knock on him until he does.
Aaron Lennon continued his string of impressive performances, beating defender Rafael for fouls on two separate occasions and later for a red card. Lennon even managed to have a few good passes and a cross today, further continuing his evolution into a (potentially) star player.
Tottenham's strikers proved borderline incompetent again today, as Roman Pavlyuchenko stood like a tree before he was substituted out for Darren Bent who simply failed to make any impact on the game. Harry Redknapp definitely needs to look into bringing in a couple of strikers in the transfer window, as Bent and Pavlyuchenko put up numbers, but seem to disappear more often than they have a positive impact on the game.
The glaring negative from today's game is the 14 corners that Spurs' defense conceded, a ridiculously high amount. (United only gave up 4.) Tottenham's defense clearly missed Ledley King and (after the 11th minute) Woodgate, but performed pretty well considering that Vedran Corluka was moved into central defense and Didier Zokora was dropped to an outside defending role.
With that taken into consideration, it's rather impressive that Manchester didn't score, particularly because they had Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and the ever-annoying Christiano Ronaldo playing for a good portion of the game.
Of course, that just means that more credit has to go to none other than Gomes for standing tall in goal and preserving the point for Spurs.
Up Tottenham!
Instead, the story of the game has to be the superb play of Tottenham keeper Huerelho Gomes, who saved the day for the London-based club on at least four separate occasions including a wonderful save off of a Ryan Giggs free kick late in the game that was, of course, named the "Brilliant Play of the Match." The performance of Gomes, who has finally come good in recent weeks by keeping clean sheets in four of Spurs' last five matches, seems to make transfer rumors concerning potential targets such as Carlos Kameni and Robert Green moot.
Without Gomes, there is no doubt that Tottenham would have dropped a point and allowed United to creep ever closer towards the top of the table today. With Gomes, Spurs passed Manchester City (who lost 1-0 to Everton on a late Tim Cahill strike) for sole possession of 14th place in the Premier League, three points clear of the drop zone and three points from ninth place Wigan.
In other notes from the game, Jonathan Woodgate left in the 11th minute with an apparent back problem. Spurs fans can only hope that the central defender isn't out for particularly long, if at all, with this injury, as Woodgate as proven to be a vital cog in the Tottenham defense.
Luka Modric continued to adapt to play in the Prem, as the diminutive midfielder had another excellent game, continue his run of good form under Harry Redknapp. Modric had two excellent chances to score, one on a strike and another on a header which he just mishit. When the Croatian is in the lineup, the offense seems to have a little more life, but Modric hasn't yet scored a goal in a Tottenham uniform, which will be a knock on him until he does.
Aaron Lennon continued his string of impressive performances, beating defender Rafael for fouls on two separate occasions and later for a red card. Lennon even managed to have a few good passes and a cross today, further continuing his evolution into a (potentially) star player.
Tottenham's strikers proved borderline incompetent again today, as Roman Pavlyuchenko stood like a tree before he was substituted out for Darren Bent who simply failed to make any impact on the game. Harry Redknapp definitely needs to look into bringing in a couple of strikers in the transfer window, as Bent and Pavlyuchenko put up numbers, but seem to disappear more often than they have a positive impact on the game.
The glaring negative from today's game is the 14 corners that Spurs' defense conceded, a ridiculously high amount. (United only gave up 4.) Tottenham's defense clearly missed Ledley King and (after the 11th minute) Woodgate, but performed pretty well considering that Vedran Corluka was moved into central defense and Didier Zokora was dropped to an outside defending role.
With that taken into consideration, it's rather impressive that Manchester didn't score, particularly because they had Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and the ever-annoying Christiano Ronaldo playing for a good portion of the game.
Of course, that just means that more credit has to go to none other than Gomes for standing tall in goal and preserving the point for Spurs.
Up Tottenham!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Introduction/Why I'm a Spurs Fan
My reasons for starting this blog are simple: As a new football (soccer) fan about three years ago, I desperately tried to find a way to relate to a sport that I knew essentially nothing about. Sure, I knew that there were 90 minutes in a game and that when the ball went into the back of the net, a goal a was scored and that when a player was issued a red card he was ejected. Outside of that, however, I knew little else. I didn't know who the star players were, how the transfer windows worked, or even who the game's legends were.
Now, however, I feel that I know enough about the game (and its players) to relate to an audience of people either like me three years ago, looking to become interested and involved in this sport that the whole world loves so much, or people who have followed the game considerably longer than I have.
In order to truly understand where I'm coming from, though, you must first know why I am a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, that perennially underachieving club that seems to constantly play third-fiddle in London and can't break the Top Four.
Growing up, I was a sports fanatic. I will follow pretty much any sport except for golf (for proof of this, see my other blog). I had not, however, ever been exposed to football because of an inability to watch the games (it's difficult to find a football game on TV over here). After the 2004 World Cup, however, I decided that I would become a football fan.
I knew that I didn't want to be a fan of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, the so-called Big Four. These teams already have entirely too many fans in the United States, many of whom have little to no reason to root for them outside of the fact that they win a lot. I felt that this would be the equivalent of a foreigner coming to America and deciding to be a Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers or Braves fan, and nobody likes a bandwagoner.
Plus, it's not fun to win all the time. Yes, the goal of every game is to win a championship, but those teams like Real Madrid (nine managers in 11 seasons?) where winning is simply expected are absolutely absurd. At the same time, though, it's not fun to root for a constant loser, either, particularly in the EPL where relegation is a reality.
There were also logistic problems with rooting for a team like Charlton or West Brom, as it's much more difficult to find a game in the League Championship on TV than it is to find a game from the Prem.
That basically left me with all of the so-called second tier EPL teams to pick from, including Aston Villa, Blackburn, Everton, Manchester City, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham. These teams are the ones competing for the fifth and sixth spots in the EPL every year and qualification in the UEFA Cup instead of the Champions League, meaning that any team that I picked would be competing for a spot in Europe every year.
I quickly eliminated Blackburn from my list of potential teams. They just didn't seem exciting enough (granted, that changed last season with Bentley and Santa Cruz), but in 2005 they weren't exciting. Their elimination was quickly followed by those of Everton, Newcastle, Manchester City, Newcastle and West Ham, all of whom just seemed too boring or unsuccessful in one way or another. That brought it down to Aston Villa or Tottenham, with Tottenham winning solely on the premise that it looked like they were going to be the team to break the Big Four.
Of course, I didn't know that this was the same year in and year out. Now, however, I have gone through the sale of Michael Carrick, the disastrous firing of Martin Jol, the false hope of the Ramos regime, the botched sale of Dimitar Berbatov and the most abysmal start to any season in the history of the franchise.
And of course, like any fan of any team, I still try to watch every single game, be it in the UEFA Cup, the Carling Cup or the EPL, which is more than some fans (AKA Bill Simmons, who picked Tottenham as his team two weeks after I did and never wrote another soccer article) can say.
As a new fan, however, this blog will sometimes have more than just Tottenham content on it, as I am interested in watching and writing about as much football as possible and not just the little bit of the football world that is Tottenham. With that said, I am devoted to my team (and to all of the make believe and real transfer rumors about that team) and, as such, will cover as many aspects of the club that I love as possible.
Now, however, I feel that I know enough about the game (and its players) to relate to an audience of people either like me three years ago, looking to become interested and involved in this sport that the whole world loves so much, or people who have followed the game considerably longer than I have.
In order to truly understand where I'm coming from, though, you must first know why I am a fan of Tottenham Hotspur, that perennially underachieving club that seems to constantly play third-fiddle in London and can't break the Top Four.
Growing up, I was a sports fanatic. I will follow pretty much any sport except for golf (for proof of this, see my other blog). I had not, however, ever been exposed to football because of an inability to watch the games (it's difficult to find a football game on TV over here). After the 2004 World Cup, however, I decided that I would become a football fan.
I knew that I didn't want to be a fan of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, the so-called Big Four. These teams already have entirely too many fans in the United States, many of whom have little to no reason to root for them outside of the fact that they win a lot. I felt that this would be the equivalent of a foreigner coming to America and deciding to be a Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers or Braves fan, and nobody likes a bandwagoner.
Plus, it's not fun to win all the time. Yes, the goal of every game is to win a championship, but those teams like Real Madrid (nine managers in 11 seasons?) where winning is simply expected are absolutely absurd. At the same time, though, it's not fun to root for a constant loser, either, particularly in the EPL where relegation is a reality.
There were also logistic problems with rooting for a team like Charlton or West Brom, as it's much more difficult to find a game in the League Championship on TV than it is to find a game from the Prem.
That basically left me with all of the so-called second tier EPL teams to pick from, including Aston Villa, Blackburn, Everton, Manchester City, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham. These teams are the ones competing for the fifth and sixth spots in the EPL every year and qualification in the UEFA Cup instead of the Champions League, meaning that any team that I picked would be competing for a spot in Europe every year.
I quickly eliminated Blackburn from my list of potential teams. They just didn't seem exciting enough (granted, that changed last season with Bentley and Santa Cruz), but in 2005 they weren't exciting. Their elimination was quickly followed by those of Everton, Newcastle, Manchester City, Newcastle and West Ham, all of whom just seemed too boring or unsuccessful in one way or another. That brought it down to Aston Villa or Tottenham, with Tottenham winning solely on the premise that it looked like they were going to be the team to break the Big Four.
Of course, I didn't know that this was the same year in and year out. Now, however, I have gone through the sale of Michael Carrick, the disastrous firing of Martin Jol, the false hope of the Ramos regime, the botched sale of Dimitar Berbatov and the most abysmal start to any season in the history of the franchise.
And of course, like any fan of any team, I still try to watch every single game, be it in the UEFA Cup, the Carling Cup or the EPL, which is more than some fans (AKA Bill Simmons, who picked Tottenham as his team two weeks after I did and never wrote another soccer article) can say.
As a new fan, however, this blog will sometimes have more than just Tottenham content on it, as I am interested in watching and writing about as much football as possible and not just the little bit of the football world that is Tottenham. With that said, I am devoted to my team (and to all of the make believe and real transfer rumors about that team) and, as such, will cover as many aspects of the club that I love as possible.
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