The Sunday spontaneous trip to WHL

What with my late run on Saturday evening, the plan was to have a lay in, get some housework done and then put the feet up and watch the football on the TV before meeting up with my mate Rich W later in the day for the Sunday 9 o'clock club.

Originally I was booked on a Leadership in Running Coach course in Sevenoaks but ended up having to swap to a course later in the year, more on that in the upcoming months.

So much for the lay in.  Wide awake at 7:30am.  Not good.

By 9:30am, I'd already had breakfast, showered, caught up with what I needed to admin-wise so made a start with the housework.  By 12 noon, I'd pretty much done my flat from top to bottom and it was looking good.  I hate housework but there's nothing quite like looking at your house/flat once the housework is done.  Such satisfaction.  Not like running a long run or anything like that but you know where I'm coming from.  You feel cleansed.  Tidy house, tidy mind and all that.

Anyhow, I put some soup on and made a sandwich.

As I was eating and watching the end of the Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports 1, my phone bleeped.  It was my mate Nav.

"Bored?  Missing Izzy?  Want to watch Spurs?  I've got a spare..."

Just at that point, Sky had just advertised the afternoon TV game.  Villa v Norwich.  Jeez, assuming all the games were kicking off at 4:30pm today because of the COC Final (Capital One Cup for those of you thinking I'm being rude!), I'd automatically assumed that it would be the Spurs game on.

There was no other thing for it.

Within 45 mins, I was on the train from Welling to Cannon St.  A quick walk to Liverpool St and jumped on the first train to Hertford East, stopping at Seven Sisters and White Hart Lane.  When I text Nav to say I was on my way back out of London, he said he'd met his friend in a pub called the "Elbow Room" at Bruce Grove, smack bang between Seven Sisters and WHL, on the Tottenham High Road.  Typically, the train wasnt going to stop at Bruce Grove, so I made my way up the High Road from Seven Sisters.

I think it would have made more sense for the pub to be called "Not even Elbow Room to move".  It was rammed.  As are most of the pubs around WHL on match day.  Met Nav and his mate, we watched the end of the COC Final then walked down to WHL.

We got in the ground just as we'd kicked off.  For some reason these days, which I wont go into here, the atmosphere at WHL is flat.  The expectation levels have increased in recent years, the pressure of top 4 qualification has increase, the Police/FA stance on the usage of the "Y-word" which I'm not going to go into here, all of which has had a major impact on the atmosphere.  Also, most importantly, the football has got a lot to do with it too.  Does Sherwood know his best side yet?  I'm not convinced nor is anyone else.  Ok, his hands are tied by the current injury list but this has to go down as one of the worst games of football I've seen at the Lane in well over a decade.  It really was that bad.  I can count on one hand the number of saves both keepers had to make.

Thankfully, the one effort that did count was from dear old Bobby Soldado, our mis-firing £26.5m centre-forward who hasnt been able to hit the back end of a donkey with a banjo in recent times.

He took his goal excellently in front of the adoring Park Lane end.  Adebayor played it into him, he took one touch to kill it and set himself then in the same movement, he flicked the ball beyond the reach of the 'keeper.

The look on his face said it all...

 

...the relief.  He'd finally scored a goal from open play in the league for the first time since Boxing Day.

Dear old Bobby.  His attitude speaks for itself and a lot of pro's can learn a lot from him in terms of attitude and application.  If anyone deserved a goal, it was him.  He's been working his socks off for the team and was getting little reward for his efforts.

He ran to the Park Lane to celebrate and the fans went pretty mental, the only occasion in the 90 mins where the atmosphere lived up a little.

Not a great performance but the 1-0 win keeps Spurs in touch with the top 4.  With Chelsea, Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool to come in March, we're quickly reaching the business end of the season.  If we're still in touch after the next 4 league games then we could be in business again :)

Cheers for the ticket btw Nav!

After the game, we made our way back to Welling and I headed straight for the 9 o'clock club with Rich.  It was a good day.

Spurs 1-0 Swansea, Ars*nal 1-0 Spurs and transfer window round up

Blimey.

Where on earth do I start?  The last couple of weeks have been manic for Tottenham and it has been hard to keep track of it all.  I made comment about Bale leaving last week.  I wish him all the best but I'll break everything else down below...

The Transfer Window

I think that was the transfer windows to end all transfer windows as far as Spurs fans are concerned.  Levy and Baldini worked their genius to get some real quality into the club and got rid of a lot of the deadwood.

Here's a quick run down of the deals...

Ins:
Paulinho (£17m, Corinthians)
Nacer Chadli (£7m, FC Twente)
Roberto Soldado (£26m, Valencia)
Etienne Capoue (£9.4m, Toulouse)
Vlad Chiriches (£8m, Steaua Bucharest)
Erik Lamela (£30m, Roma)
Christian Eriksen (£11.5m, Ajax)
Total £108.9m

Outs:
Jack Barthram, David Bentley, William Gallas, Jack Munns, Jake Nicholson (released) Massimo Luongo, Grant Hall, Ryan Mason (loan, Swindon)
John Bostock (free, Royal Antwerp)
Tomislav Gomelt (loan, Royal Antwerp)
Adam Smith (loan, Derby)
Bongani Khumalo (loan, Doncaster)
Steven Caulker (£8m, Cardiff City)
Clint Dempsey (£6m, Seattle Sounders)
Tom Huddlestone (£5m, Hull City)
Jake Livermore (loan, Hull City)
Scott Parker (£4m, Fulham)
Gareth Bale (£85.3m, Real Madrid)
Massimo Luongo (£400,000, Swindon)
Tom Carroll and Benoit Assou-Ekotto (loan, QPR).
Total £108.7m

Net spend £0.2m

Of course, its a massive blow to lose Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world record £85.3m but it really has allowed Baldini free reign to recruit some of Europe's best young talent and again we're operating within budget.

With Bale going, our net spend equates to £200k.  It doesnt get better than that, does it?  We've brought in the exciting winger/inside forward Erik Lamela from Roma for £30m and we've brought in Ajax playmaker, Eriksen for £11.5m.  Presumably both will play behind Soldado with either Lennon, Chadli or Townsend with two holding midfielders behind.

This brings me to the two games Spurs have played since I last updated on Spurs... 

Spurs 1-0 Swansea 

Izzy's first ever Premier League game in the Park Lane end and she loved it.  Soldado's penalty being the difference between the two sides.  Spurs dominated for long periods but struggled for a cutting edge.

Spurs 3-0 Dynamo Tblisi

A Defoe brace and a barnstormer from Holtby from outside the box saw Spurs comfortable winners, through 8-0 on aggregate and into the group stage of the Europa League.  Holtby was my MOTM, run the game like a dream just behind Defoe.  Good to see the lad back after injury and hopefully he'll motor on this season now and will provide good competition for Eriksen.  Sandro was magnificent on his first full competitive ninety minutes since returning from injury.

Ars*nal 1-0 Spurs 

First defeat of the season inflicted by a first half-winner from Olivier Giroud.  Again, Spurs had long periods of possession but were left to rue no cutting edge in the side, highlighted by AVBs selection of three holding midfield players in Dembele, Paulinho and Capoue, instead of playing a recognised attacking midfielder of the likes of Sigurdsson or Holtby.  Dembele is not the answer to play in an attacking role.  At this stage of the season, it is not a disasterous defeat.  It will take the guys time to gel but we have got time to recover.  We're still ahead of where we were at this stage last season.  Absolutely no question we got we deserved from the game though.  Nothing...

...the lack of cutting edge in both games was clear for all to see.  Its a huge worry even at this early stage of the season.  Hopefully Lamela and Eriksen will make the difference.

A few observations to make from the three PL games this season...

• Capoue (pronounced Ka-poo!) is an absolute beast in the middle.  Was excellent against Palace when he came on as a late substitute and fully warranted his start against Swansea and he was magnificent.
• Chadli looks tidy.  Will need time to settle.
• Paulinho looks good as you would expect him too.
• Great to see Sandro back.
• If Soldado is going to profit, he needs service.  He just hasnt got that in the first three PL games this season (am excluding the inferior opposition of Dynamo Tblisi in the Europa League).  Playing three defensive midfielders is not going to help.  Why on earth did AVB go with Dembele instead of Holtby or Sigudsson?  No idea.  Ok, Holtby played 70 mins on Thursday night but surely he was worth a go with 20 minutes to go and we were chasing the game.
• Lloris is by far the best goalkeeper we've had at Spurs since Ray Clemmence and Big Pat Jennings.
• Dawson, for all his heart, shouldnt be first choice at the back.  If Kaboul is fit, he needs to be first name on the team sheet alongside Vertonghen.
• I've got major question marks against both full backs, Rose and Walker.  I think both are fortunate that they are blessed with electric pace which will help them out of difficulties time and time again.

All in all, apart from the actual result against Ars*nal, it has been one hell of a couple of weeks to be a Tottenham supporter.  

Palace 0 - 1 Spurs

1/1 for Roberto Soldado

A potential banana-skin of a game against Ian Holloway's newly-promoted Crystal Palace was dealt with in efficient fashion by Spurs.  With Spurs lining up 4-5-1, with fit-again Vertonghen returning alongside skipper Dawson, debutant Paulinho anchoring a 5 man midfield with Dembele, the attacking trio made up of new boy Chadli alongside Lennon and Sigurdsson with £26m Roberto Soldado up front on his own.

A game of few chances but Spurs bossed the possession.  Dembele and Paulinho set the tempo excellently, the midfield attacking trio linked up well with Soldado and it was good to see the full-backs Walker and Rose over-lapping and getting beyond the midfielders.

Chadli missed a far post header in 1st half injury time, Sigurdsson's stinging drive brought a save out of Palace's keeper Spironi and Dembele shaved the cross-bar from distance but Spurs were by far the busier team.

Spurs started the second half brightly.  One penalty appeal turned down but then the Palace left-back handled Lennon's cross and referee Clattenburg righty pointed to the spot and Soldado put the penalty away with aplomb and wheeled away in delight towards the Spurs fans in the Arthur Wake stand.  Selhurst Park is a sh*t hole and always will be.

With 20 mins to go, Holloway prompted Palace into action with a triple change, bringing on veteran Kevin Phillips and new signed Chamakh (aka Ars*nal failure) and resorted to the long ball game but Dawson, Vertonghen and the returning beast of Kaboul, on for Danny Rose with 10 mins to go, held firm.  There was one last chance for Palace but it was hit straight at Lloris who in fairness had little to do throughout.

A great, workman-like win for Spurs.  The new boys Soldado, Paulinho, Chadli and Capoue [who came on for Dembele in the second half] looked at home and are now fully aware of the kind of thing that will be thrown at them on a cold Tuesday night in November or February up at somewhere like Hull or Stoke.

MOTM by a mile was Paulinho for me.  Hard to remember an occasion where he misplaced a pass.  I'm pretty sure he didnt all game.  Put himself about, made a couple of breaks forward.  Very promising indeed.  Strength in depth in that position is now excellent.  Dembele, Paulinho, Sandro and the impressive Capoue along with the likes of Holtby when he is fit, Spurs are clearly moving from strength to strength.

As for Palace, they worked hard but showed very little quality.  If throwing the kitchen sink for them means lumping the ball long to the likes of Chamakh and Phillips, they're going to have a very long season indeed.  My prediction is that they'll be relegated by Easter.

Next game up for Spurs, a little trip to Georgia, where we take on Dynamo Tblisi in the Europa Cup qualifying round on Thursday evening.

BBC Match report here

EDIT:  Check out the stat on the picture below...seems I didnt give Capoue as much credit as he deserved...

Capoue...The Beast Mk 2?

Spurs v Espanyol friendly at WHL...impressions and thoughts

Roberto Soldado scored his first Spurs goal at WHL from the spot...

Spurs finished their pre-season programme with a sell out at WHL against Espanyol.

The game finished 1-1.  Roberto Soldado opened his account for Spurs from the spot midway through the first half after Danny Rose was brought down in the box, although the replays showed it was a tad harsh on the Espanyol defender.

In typical Spurs fashion, Spurs failed to defend a near-post set piece, conceding just before half-time.  The second half turned into a feisty, scrappy affair but a draw was a fair result.

The biggest cheer of the day was on the 60 minute mark when Sandro "The Beast" Raniere made his first appearance this rupturing his knee ligaments in the QPR game back in January.  Kaboul played the full second half too and it was absolutely brilliant to see the two power-houses back in the side.  I certainly feel full of optimism with both of them back.

Without wanting to go into a full review of the game, I wanted to pick up on a few observations:

• Danny Rose - may have won the penalty and looked ok going forward but he is not a left-back.  Still far too much to learn.  I dont know what Disco Benny has done to upset AVB but surely BAE is the better option at left-back?  (As Chandra rightly pointed out in the Gym, both Vertonghen and Fryers can play the position so we do have cover there even without BAE anywhere near the starting XI.)  Talking BAE, comments he made on Twitter over the weekend seem to suggest he will be leaving sooner rather than later.  If this happens, I'll pay my personal tribute to him later.
• Soldado - only played 60 mins but if he works as hard as he did in very game for Spurs like he did in that 60 mins, we've got one hell of a centre-forward on our hands.  Looked sharp throughout, always looking to come off the shoulder of the last man, looked comfortable dropping deep to receive and lay off, looked good in the channels.  Impressed.
• Chadli - saw a bit of him last weekend against Monaco and he looked as though he was a little nervous and took a few touches too many at times but he looked much more composed.   Linked up well with Soldado, Dembele and Rose down the left, especially an excellent little flick around the corner for Rose.  Good work rate.  Impressed.
• Paulinho - looked very good.  Good use of the ball, good work rate, good link up with Dembele.  Scored with a header early in the first half but was incorrectly ruled out for off side.  Excellent 60 mins.
• Kaboul and Sandro - great to have them back in the side.  Fabulous.  Read AVBs thoughts on the returning pair here

Sandro...aka The Beast back in the side

Of course, the main TV footage by ITV concentrated on the one issue that we're all sick of right now.  Gareth Bale.  In the quick pre-match interview, AVB said Bale is still suffering from a sore foot.  You could tell he didnt mean it.  I'm assuming he's off.  To be quite honest, for anything in the region of £85m+ he can go with my blessing.

Spurs are looking good right now with or without him.

 

He was born to play for Spurs...oh and so was he...but he wasnt

The Marca headline...Levy wants £120m (€145m) for the Welsh Lionel Messi

I've kept fairly tight lipped over the stories coming out in the media during the last week.

The Real Madrid propaganda-machine has been in full war-mode, saying Bale want to go to the Bernebau and Levy has rejected a world record offer of in excess of £85m.  Yes, thats right, EIGHTY-FIVE MILLIONS POUNDS.  That is absolutely insane.  The Spanish economy is on its knees and one of the Prima Liga clubs is looking at spending the equivalent of 2 years budget of a small to medium-sized acute A&E hospital on a single footballer, one who is far from the finished article, only has a year on Champions League experience and still tends to drift in and out of games and doesnt take them by the scruff of the neck on a regular basis.  My opinion of course but even so, £85m is an insane amount of money.  If the ITK is to be believed, the official offer on the table is £90m + Madrid's left back Fábio Coentrão.  Some of the more reputable ITKers suggest that no such offer exists and Bale will be staying for at least one more season.

Spurs have remained quiet.  Classy.  Something Real Madrid could never in a million years understand. However, the silence coming out of WHL is deafening.  You only have to read the message boards to see that the Spurs fans are waivering in their support for Levy.

I think Oliver Holt's article in the Daily Mirror sums the situation up best.  Read it here.

At the end of the day, the way I see it, Spurs are in a win-win situation.  If Bale stays, we've got a great chance of doing something memorable this season.  If Levy decides to sell, all of a sudden AVB gets a huge war chest and the possibility of bringing in 2-3 world class players into an already talent-laden squad promises big things. With the return of Kaboul and Sandro into the squad, the squad is looking much healthier.

In the last 24 hours, there has also been significant transfer dealings going on behind the scenes.  Firstly, a surprise one, Stephen Caulker has been sold to newly promoted Cardiff City for around £8m.  Seemed to have come out of the blue this transfer but it appears that Caulker wasnt going to be first choice so he decided to move for regular first team football at this stage of his career and you cant deny him that.

The biggest news, however, is Spurs have finally formally announced the signing of Valencia hitman Roberto Soldado for a club record £25.8m, after Levy met his release clause.  Well thats what Valencia want everyone to believe but I'm led to believe the fee is around £22m.

Soldado:  11caps for Spain, 6 goals...

Hugely exciting times ahead.  Levy (with the help of Baldini) has finally brought a 20-30 goal-a-season man to Tottenham for the first time since the days of Clive Allen, Gary Lineker and Jurgen Klinsmann.

Welcome to THFC, Roberto.  All you need to do is smash a 5 min hat-trick against the Gooners in the Cameldome and you'll become a hero forever more.  Not much to ask.

Best wishes to Stephen Caulker too.  Always gave his all for Spurs in the few games he had.

Now we patiently await formal word from Levy and Spurs re: Bale.  I've got a feeling this one will run and run until the end of the transfer window.

AVB & Baldini's search for a striker hots up

With AVB and the Spurs first team squad in Hong Kong for the Barclays Trophy (first game sees Spurs come up against Paolo Di Canio's Sunderland on Wednesday morning), the whereabouts of Tottenham's Technical Director has come into the spot light.

ITK has suggested he was in Spain.

As it appears, late last night, there was hard evidence to prove he was there...

Baldini in Spain...apparently with the President of Valencia

The guy behind the lens says Baldini was with the President of Valencia.  This would tie up with the ITK that Spurs are interested in Spain international centre-foward Roberto Soldado.  Obviously the ITK stuff needs to be taken with a huge sack-load of salt too but after missing out on Villa and Benteke, it is plainly obvious for all to see that Spurs need to make their move shortly.

Whilst in Hong Kong, AVB has confirmed Spurs' interest in Soldado...

"At the moment, he's just one of the players we are interested in...

It's not a lie to anybody that we've been looking for a striker to strengthen our squad and to have more strength in depth...

Roberto is one of the players we have been following and his career speaks for itself. He's a great striker...

But there isn't a deal being struck at the moment, it's just interest and conversations..."

So "conversations" pretty much confirm talks are in progress and the picture above.

Roberto Soldado...heading to WHL?

It is common knowledge that Valencia have huge financial problems at the moment and we all know that Levy does like to take advantage of a deal.  It is also common knowledge that Soldado has a €30m (£25.8m) buy out clause so Spurs would need to smash their transfer record, the sum of £17m which was paid for Brazilian international Paulinho only a few weeks ago.

The one alarm bell for this deal would be the fact that he is 28.  That rather goes against the grain of Levy's transfer policy of bringing in young players with a potential sell on value.  If Soldado signed a 4-5 year contract, that would take him to 32-33, the potential twilight of his career.  There is no way Spurs could ever recoup the £25.8m buy out clause but of course, it could be argued that if he scores 20+ goals in a season, it would put Spurs in a very good position for qualifying for the Champions League and could be seen as an astute investment.

Soldado's scoring record makes for interesting reading...

Soldado scoring record (Source: Wikipedia)

In the last 4 seasons he has scored 20, 25, 27 and 30 goals.  Thats impressive.

I have to say I personally dont know much about Soldado.  I think I'll do some research on You Tube very shortly.   However, first impressions are Soldado could be exactly what Spurs are looking for.  The key question for me is whether Levy is willing to meet the buy-out clause.