Manchester United and Bolton game thoughts

Posted by Stevio in Tottenham Hotspur on May 1st, 2010

Well last week’s trip to Manchester United was yet another disappointment after two cracking results against Arsenal and Chelsea.

I don’t know what it is, whether it’s a mental problem or not, but we just don’t seem to be able to get good results at places like that.

We have a decent enough team, we’ve been in great form, but whatever it is, it just isn’t enough.

Today though Bolton Wanderers come to the Lane. Last season we beat them 2-0 at home with Roman Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent scoring. If you remember they had Gavin McCann sent off.

Usually they’re a tough side to play against, but as we showed earlier this season in the FA Cup, we can beat them at home, with or without the help of a few own goals.

Bolton beat Stoke City away 2-1 a few weeks back and only lost by a goal at Chelsea recently, so looks like we might have to be patient to get on the score sheet.

They are safe from relegation, so only pride to play for, whereas we’re still in fourth position and have lots to play for.

I really hope we get a win today, we certainly need it, and with Jermain Defoe playing his 400th career game today, let’s hope he can top it off with a few goals and a win.

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Tottenham Hotspur 2009/10

Posted by Stevio in Tottenham Hotspur on July 19th, 2009

It has been quite some time since my last post, a lot has happened. The main thing is that Spurs managed to avoid relegation to remain a Premiership club.

Now it’s the close season and all the talk is about transfers. So far, the only signing is an ex-Arsenal youngster called Anton Blackwood. Ricardo Rocha has been released, and Didier Zokora has left for Sevilla.

At present there’s plenty of talk on who could be coming to the Lane. Ashley Young, Peter Crouch, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar are a few being bandied around.

There’s also a lot of talk on who will exit the club. Tom Huddlestone, Darren Bent, David Bentley to name a few.

I think the present squad is pretty good. We’ve got two very good goalkeepers. The defence is strong, although a new experienced centre-half would be a useful addition to act as cover with Michael Dawson. With Zokora’s departure, a new defensive midfielder would be a good idea, as we’ve only got Wilson Palacios who can play there. Of course, as always, a left winger would be great, but, well, let’s not hold our breaths. Upfront is an area which is up for much debate. We’ve got four quality strikers, however there’s question marks on whether they can play together.

I think with a few new additions we should be more than capable of qualifying for Europe next season, especially if we can maintain our excellent home form. That said, we must keep Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King fit, as without them, our defence becomes too vulnerable. Also I hope Aaron Lennon can continue improving his game, as he most certainly shone last season.

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The good, the bad and the ugly

Posted by Stevio in Tottenham Hotspur on January 17th, 2009

It has been quite a while since my last post, since then things have improved, sadly even with a new manager installed, the results and the performances have not been good enough.

With 21 league games played this season, we’ve won 5, drawn 5, and lost 11, scoring 20 and conceding 26. We’re currently third from bottom in the relegation zone.

Something positive is that we’re still in all the cups, and all being well, we can at least look forward to a League Cup final.

The performance in our latest game – the defeat at Wigan Athletic – wasn’t our worst this season, however, it was far from our best.

Even though manager Harry Redknapp had made changes to compete with a physical Wigan side, many of our players failed to perform, most notably Gareth Bale.

In recent months there have been some positives, defender Michael Dawson has once again found his form and has been a rock at centre half, also Heurelho Gomes has overcome a spell of uncertainly to show that he’s more than a capable ‘keeper.

Upfront we’ve seen Darren Bent struggle despite scoring 12 goals this season, while fellow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has improved of late with goals in the FA Cup and League Cup against Wigan and Burnley respectively.

Since the transfer window opened Jermain Defoe has returned to White Hart Lane in a big money move from Portsmouth. He scored 15 goals in 31 appearances for Pompey, fingers crossed he can keep the same 1 goal in 2 games ratio up at Spurs.

I have faith in Harry Redknapp to turn it around, however, the problems at Spurs are chronic, and I’m unsure whether the team’s problems can be solved in time to prevent relegation.

Harry needs to build a new team. The current one is so fragmented, sometimes it’s like watching a team of eleven strangers. You’d think after training and playing together the players would be able work together and know each other’s game – sadly not.

If it’s true that the club are splashing out tens of millions on players in a desperate bid to avoid relegation then I fear we may find out it’s a big mistake, as sadly I doubt a big turnover of players during this transfer window will save us from heading down into the Championship.

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Middlesbrough 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Posted by Stevio in Tottenham Hotspur on August 17th, 2008

Another opening day away, another defeat.

With the new additions to the squad, the same old problems – we can’t defend.

Playing Didier Zokora at right-back was a strange one when he was needed in the centre of midfield, as I don’t see Jermaine Jenas or Luka Modric as ‘defensive’.

Also Dimitar Berbatov on the bench? He’s our best player regardless of whether he’s been tapped up or not, therefore he should have started alongside Darren Bent.

Ledley King and Gareth Bale were on the bench too. The latter did make an appearance, my only guess is that both players are being brought back into the team slowly after injuries.

Both of ‘Boro’s goals came from crosses.

David Wheater was on hand to get on the end of a saved Afonso Alves shot in the 71th minute following a cross from Stewart Downing.

In the 86th minute, ex-Spurs striker Mido managed to deflect a cross from Didier Digard into the back of the net.

Spurs got one back from a Bentley free-kick, that was headed home by Robert Huth.

Next up is Sunderland at home on the 23rd of August, where five ex-Spurs players return to White Hart Lane. It’ll be interesting to see if there’ll be any improvement – and new signings.

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Ferdinand on Bent

Posted by Stevio in Tottenham Hotspur on August 16th, 2008

Former Spurs striker Les Ferdinand reckons Darren Bent will help Tottenham break into the top four by playing upfront on his own.

Ferdinand said: “Darren just needed a little bit of time.

“He was Charlton’s top striker but at Tottenham he found himself behind Berbatov, Keane and probably Jermain Defoe too.

“Darren needs some loving, he needs an arm put round him and to be told he’s No1.

“That’s what’s happened now and we’ve seen the results during pre-season.

“Tottenham have got the right manager in Juande Ramos and they’ve got a good team.

“If Berbatov leaves, they’ll need another striker, but they’ve definitely got an opportunity to break in – especially as Darren’s used to playing up front on his own.

“He did it at Ipswich and he played that way for a long time at Charlton.

“Darren can definitely do the job for Tottenham, it’s just a case of having the right players around him.

“As long as they’ve got someone else in the team who can add goals – and Jermaine Jenas and Luka Modric will definitely score a few – I think Spurs are in good stead.”

On other recent signings, he added: “I’ve seen him at close quarters and Modric has really impressed me.

“A lot of people said he would be too lightweight for the Premier League but I’ve seen him take a few knocks during pre-season and he’s got up and got on with it.

“He looks like he’ll be a good acquisition for the season.

“Bentley’s also a quality player and Blackburn’s loss is definitely Tottenham’s gain.

“He wants to prove himself and become an England regular, so I’m expecting good things from him.”

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Bent set for England call up?

Posted by Stevio in England on August 12th, 2008

England national manager Fabio Capello says he could call up striker Darren Bent for next Wednesday’s friendly against the Czech Republic.

The Italian said: “It’s possible he’ll be in but you will have to wait a few more days.

“Two years ago, Bent was a very important player and Spurs spent a lot of money on him.

“He only played at the end of last year but my assistant Franco Baldini saw him on Sunday and told me Bent played very well.”

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Spurs 5 – 0 AS Roma

Posted by Stevio in Videos on August 11th, 2008

Spurs had a very good 5-0 pre-season win over AS Roma at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Darren Bent and David Bentley scored twice to beat the Italians.

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Sir Les worried over striker departures

Posted by Stevio in Transfers on July 26th, 2008

Les Ferdinand has revealed his concern about Spurs’ possible lack of goalscoring this season.

The former Spurs striker said: “As a former player and a fan it worries me because all we hear about is the big players like the Berbatovs and the Keanes perhaps leaving and we are not hearing about replacements.

“I don’t think they can afford to sell both of them. If they both leave then Spurs are left with Darren Bent. I do think Darren is a good player but his career hasn’t started off well at Spurs.

“If you lose those two players you are losing 40-odd goals a season. How do you replace that? We don’t even know who Ramos is thinking about.

“I do like the new manager and I think he has some great ideas but it just worries me at this stage that there is not more positivity coming out of Spurs instead of negativity.

“He may have some strong ideas and may need the Keane and the Berbatov money to be able to go out and get who he wants but they won’t be proven in the Premier League when these two are.”

He added: “I have got to be honest, I would prefer to see the two front boys not go rather than bringing in anyone else because anyone that comes in will need that settling in period.

“We know how tough the Premier League is. There haven’t been that many strikers who have come in and hit the ground running. Fernando Torres did it, and Ruud van Nistelrooy did it but Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez needed time as did Dennis Bergkamp. There is no guarantee they will hit the ground running.”

Les, now 41, said of Spurs’ chances of success this coming season: “They could definitely do well in the Champions League straight away.

“Berbatov is a class act and hit the ground running when he first came here. And I have always said about Robbie Keane since he came to Tottenham that he is one of the players I would happily pay to watch.”

On Spurs new boy, Luka Modric, he said: “He looks a really good player but he is 5ft 6ins or 5ft 7ins and he is coming into the toughest league in the world so I would like to see how well he copes with that.

“That is always the question when you bring in foreign players.”

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Sunday transfer rumours

Posted by Stevio in Rumours on June 1st, 2008

A round-up of Sunday’s transfer rumours.

According to the Sunday Times, the fee for midfielder John Bostock will most likely go to tribunal.

The Sunday People say we could offer Aaron Lennon and Hossam Ghaly and £7m cash for Blackburn Rovers winger David Bentley.

Also in the Sunday People, they report if Dimitar Berbatov leaves, we could turn to Real Zaragoza striker Diego Milito.

Same paper say Spurs and also Aston Villa are interested in Sampdoria defender Hugo Campagnaro.

In the Sunday Mirror, Queens Park Rangers could make a move for defender Anthony Gardner.

Again in the same newspaper, there could be a huge clearout with Darren Bent, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Gilberto, Younnes Kaboul, Jamie O’Hara, Paul Robinson and Adel Taarbet leaving.

O’Hara being axed wouldn’t make much sense, as he’s just signed a new deal, also Gilberto was only signed in January.

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Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 West Ham United

Posted by Stevio in Tottenham Hotspur on March 10th, 2008

Since my last post one or two things have happened – of course, the marvellous League Cup final win over Chelsea stands out! :)

Things haven’t been going so smoothly since picking up the silverware, losses to both Birmingham City and PSV. Obviously the latter defeat in the UEFA Cup was the most important, as now we have to win over in Holland.

I think with our 4-0 thrashing today of West Ham, that should hold us in good stead for the key game against PSV on Wednesday. I’m hoping we can carry the performance over and get the result we so desperately need.

Below are the goals from today’s game. Wonderful headers by Bebatov, and good to see Gilberto having a smile on his face after his disastrous hiccup on Thursday night. Nice too to see Darren Bent get on the score sheet!

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