http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/ en-us Copyright 2009 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:30:20 +0530 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Harry Redknapp and the Spurs fans were looking for a positive reaction from the team following the defeat at the Emirates but, in the event, all they witnessed was another poor performance. It can't be often that the home team is booed off at half-time while in the lead but that’s exactly what happened against Sunderland. To say that the final 2 - 0 scoreline flattered Spurs is something of an understatement, as the manager recognized: http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/11/winning_ugly.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/11/winning_ugly.php Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:30:20 +0530 "If you look at the last four or five years, Arsenal have always got ahead of us slightly. But now I think it's certainly even and if you look at the squads, I think that our bench is probably a little bit stronger than theirs at the moment ... We want to get into the Champions League and certainly the players have that feeling. If we want to achieve that aim of getting into the top four, these are the games that you want to be winning. " In light of the 3-0 drubbing at the hands of that other team from North London, Robbie Keane's pre-match pronouncements now look more than a little foolish. Although Harry Redknapp has tried to put a brave face on the performance and the result, Spurs were, frankly, fortunate not to lose by a bigger margin - a fact not lost on the Arsenal boss. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/11/derby_disappointment.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/11/derby_disappointment.php Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:18:42 +0530 Harry Redknapp felt that Spurs were hit by a "sucker punch" from Stoke on Saturday, and it is true that the visitors capitalized on one of very few meaningful attempts on goal. The fact remains, however, that this is the kind of fixture from which Spurs must take maximum points if they have aspirations to challenge for a place in the top four. The late Glenn Whelan strike gave Stoke their first away win of the season and, especially outwith the Britannia Stadium, they are little more than a workmanlike side. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/10/sucker_punch.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/10/sucker_punch.php Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:53:18 +0530 Saturday's visit to Portsmouth was remarkable in that each side fielded three players who were facing a former club. Most of the media hype had, of course, focused on Harry Redknapp's return to Fratton Park but in the event the manager got a relatively easy ride from the home fans, at least partially as a result of his having said all the right things prior to the match. Defoe, Kranjcar and Crouch (who suffered added abuse as an ex-Southampton forward) were not let off so lightly but, like the three former Spurs players in the Portsmouth line-up, all had a role to play in what was an exciting if not entirely comfortable victory. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/10/familiar_faces.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/10/familiar_faces.php Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:29:40 +0530 Spurs moved up to third in the Premier League with a point from the game against Bolton at the Reebok Stadium. This is a ground where Spurs have never won and, in truth, a draw was about as much as could be hoped for on Saturday’s display. Bolton dominated the first half and Spurs were fortunate to go in at the break on level terms. The second half was better but if Spurs hope to maintain a place in the top six - never mind the top four - then this is the kind of fixture where anything less than a win must be regarded as a disappointment. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/10/bolton_2_-_tottenham_hotspur_2.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/10/bolton_2_-_tottenham_hotspur_2.php Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:14:22 +0530 Robbie Keane has come in for some criticism in recent weeks - not least here - but he answered his critics in the best possible way on Saturday, with four goals at White Hart Lane. In fairness to the player, his most ineffective performances have been when he has been deployed on the left hand side of midfield, which is clearly not his natural position. Against Burnley, Niko Kranjcar started for once, played well and freed Keane up to do what he does best - score goals. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/harrys_dilemma.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/harrys_dilemma.php Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:38:57 +0530 Two games in a row against the "big four", two defeats. Like Man Utd, Chelsea are another team against whom Spurs have an appalling record, having failed to win at the Bridge in almost two decades. Chelsea went into the game on Saturday on top of the table and in top form, and yet for the first twenty minutes or so, Spurs created the better chances. The game seemed to turn on the injury to Ledley King and a hotly disputed penalty decision. Chelsea eventually ran out easy winners. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/two_in_a_row.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/two_in_a_row.php Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:33:30 +0530 All good things must come to an end. And it was no surprise that the winning run ended against Man. Utd., a team that Spurs haven’t beaten in the league since 2001. For all of the early media misgivings about the post-Ronaldo United following the blip at Burnley, this is still a side that have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League games. Their victory at White Hart Lane was well-deserved http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/sooner_or_later.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/sooner_or_later.php Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:49:34 +0530 Despite a fourth successive league win, Spurs relinquished their place at the top of the table to London rivals Chelsea on goal difference. The loss of top spot pales into insignificance, however, in light of the broken leg suffered by Luka Modric following a tussle with Birmingham’s Lee Bowyer. The influential midfielder will now be out for at least six weeks and so will miss important games with Chelsea and Man United, as well as Croatia’s World Cup qualifier against England. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/unlucky_break.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/09/unlucky_break.php Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:25:11 +0530 Top of the table. Nine goals scored by six different players within a settled side. Maximum points from the first three games - the first time Spurs have ever achieved this in the Premier League. In fact, the last time Spurs opened a campaign with three wins, they went on to win the Double in the 1960/61 season. An omen perhaps? http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/08/top_of_the_table.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/08/top_of_the_table.php Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:34:48 +0530 Spurs won their opening fixture of the new season in convincing style, outplaying a Liverpool side that has aspirations of winning the Premier League title. In the aftermath of the 2-1 victory, a lot of the attention has focused on Liverpool’s failings, and the loss of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. This does scant justice to a Spurs display that was full of creativity and commitment. The opening half hour highlighted that latter quality, with Spurs closing down their Liverpool counterparts and denying them time to settle on the ball. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/08/rant_rafa_rant.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/08/rant_rafa_rant.php Match Reports Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:19:46 +0530 During the January transfer window, it seemed that Harry Redknapp's unique approach was to try to bring back all of the players who had left the club in the previous twelve months. Now in the summer he has accomplished what was clearly his real ambition - building a team that includes both the tallest and the shortest player in the Premier League. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/08/tottenham_transfer_talk_iii.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/08/tottenham_transfer_talk_iii.php Spurs musings Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:04:00 +0530 Harry Redknapp has finally dipped his toe into the transfer market with the signing of Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker from Sheffield United. While many of the Spurs fans were no doubt looking for a bigger splash, the acquisition of the two young full backs seems like a reasonable bit of business. Naughton in particular looks like a good buy, able to play at both left and right back and has been capped at under-21 level. He also won a spot in the PFA's Championship team of the season, no small feat given the competitiveness of that league. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/07/tottenham_transfer_talk_ii.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/07/tottenham_transfer_talk_ii.php Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:53:44 +0530 As someone whose name is synonymous with wheeling and dealing in the transfer market, Harry Redknapp has been unusually quiet in the weeks following the end of the season. Nevertheless, rumors abound as to who might be leaving and who might be joining the club: David Bentley/Ashley Young - Surely the mostly likely departure is David Bentley, who has been given clear indications by the manager that he has no future at White Hart Lane. Bentley has been an abject failure at Spurs and, given the amount of money shelled out for him, must rate as one of the worst signings in the club's recent history. Aston Villa are the favorites to take him, although reportedly for less than half the sum that Spurs handed over to Blackburn Rovers for his "services". There is also talk of Bentley and Jermaine Jenas being offered in a swap deal for Ashley Young. Young is far from being the finished article, despite being talked up to a ludicrous degree by Martin O'Neill. That said, a minority of the Spurs fans would be sorry to see the back of either Bentley or Jenas. http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/06/tottenham_transfer_talk.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/06/tottenham_transfer_talk.php Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:20:40 +0530 A strange sort of season for Spurs came to a subdued end at Liverpool. After the first eight games of the campaign, the fans might have looked ahead to this fixture and imagined the possibility of needing to win it to stave off relegation. The arrival of Harry Redknapp, his reinvigoration of the team, and his signings in the January transfer window ensured that that scenario did not come to pass. And yet this was a game that did need to be won, if Spurs were to cap a marvelous turnaround in their fortunes with qualification for the Europa League. Admittedly Anfield has not been a happy hunting ground for the club, but even so, the match was played out - on Spurs' part at least - as if it were meaningless. Even the manager described it afterwards as "a typical end of season game". http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/05/not_with_a_bang_.php http://blogs.soccernet.com/tottenhamhotspur/archives/2009/05/not_with_a_bang_.php Redknapp Spurs Tottenham Hotspur Tue, 26 May 2009 07:53:57 +0530