How do you solve a problem like Tottenham Hotspur?

I try to keep my blog football-free these days but something is beginning to bug me and it needs to be addressed.

How do you solve a problem like Tottenham Hotspur?

I've supported Spurs now for the best part of three decades.  In that 30 years, never have I felt so unmotivated about my Spurs.  I've blogged before that my relationship with Spurs is like a loveless marriage.  Been there, done that for real of course but it really feels like it, I dont love Spurs, Spurs dont love me yet we're stuck with each other.

I wont beat around the bush.  The football of the last two-to-three seasons has been beyond dire.  It really has.  The stunning form of Gareth Bale in the second half of the 2012/13 season kept us interested and papered over a lot of cracks which have existed since the days of Redknapp.  Teams would come to White Hart Lane, sit ten men behind the ball and play on the break and would allow Spurs the time and space to try and break them down.  Most will agree that Spurs look good on the eye at times but for all the possession, there was no cutting edge (Bale aside of course!)

To this day, Spurs have had this problem for the best part of four seasons now.  Plenty of posession but more and more teams would come to the Lane and shut up shop.  They know that if they can keep it tight for the first twenty minutes, then they'll be in with a real shout as the once vocal support goes very quiet.

The days of the deafening vocal support has long gone.  My last visit to the lane, a 1-0 victory over Cardiff last season was a real eye-opener and so typical of what I have described.  A tight affair and next to little support from the crowd.

Various Spurs forums and message boards have picked up on these issues and questioned who is to blame.

Spurs have been through three managers since Redknapp left by mutual consent at the end of the 2011/12 campaign.  First AVB, then Tim 'nice but dim' Sherwood and now the latest man at the helm, Pochettino.

With all three managers, there are three common denominators to consider:

• The playing squad
• Daniel Levy, the Chairman of THFC since 2001
• Franco Baldini, the Sporting Director

While the likes of Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea have been heavily investing in their playing squad, with massive net spends over the last three-to-four seasons, take a look at the performance of Spurs in the transfer market:

THFC Transfers 1991/1992 - 2014/2015 (data compiled by John Driscoll)

Despite Spurs being listed as the 13th richest football club on the planet (as per Deloitte's 2013/14 data), the net spend is a significant indicator.

Since qualifying for the Champions League in May 2010, Spurs have not made a net spend over the next nine transfer windows, making a net profit of £4.3m.  You have to look back as far as the start of the 2009/10 campaign to see Spurs registering a net spend of £3.2m.

At the start of the 2009 campaign, Spurs opened their new state-of-the-art £30m training centre in Enfield.  Meanwhile, Spurs had been acquiring the land (and businesses) required to clear the way for the new stadium to be built as part of the Northumberland Development Project (NDP).

Have these two key infrastructure developments restricted Spurs' actions in the transfer market?  Possibly.

After Glenn Hoddle was sacked in 2003 and David Pleat was kept in a caretaker manager role while Levy performed a back-to-basics investigation as to the performance of Spurs on and off the pitch, Daniel Levy concluded that there was only one way to run Spurs with a pretty simplistic business model.  Buy unproven young players as opposed to proven Premier League performers, develop them and then sell them on for a profit.  At the same time, he saw it essential that there was stability in the club.  This would come from a Director of Football/Sport who would work with both the Manager/First Team Coach and the Chairman to identify targets and build a stable squad.

In terms of making a profit, Levy cannot be faulted.  We have seen the likes of Carrick and Berbatov move on for significant profit and more recently, Modric and Bale have headed to sunnier climes.

However, from a footballing point of view, seeing the likes of Modric and Bale leave White Hart Lane has been pretty galling but even the most ardent supporter would accept that both went on to play for teams worthy of their talents.  Its part of the modern game.  Unless you have a hugely wealthy Arab or Russian owner, you cant compete with the upper echelons.

Wait a minute.  But Spurs do have a rich owner.  Joe Lewis.  Lewis' total wealth is estimated at $4.2 billion, and he is listed as the 308th richest person on Forbes’ List of billionaires (2013). Forbes reports that Lewis is the ninth wealthiest person in the UK.  Let's not forget, Spurs did compete with the upper echelons.  Qualified for the Champions League twice under Redknapp (albeit second time around, Chelsea winning the trophy put paid to a second campaign in Europe's Premier competition).  Spurs played Inter Milan off the park at White Hart Lane on a memorable run to the quarter-finals, taking down AC Milan in the San Siro in the process before being brought down to earth and being taught a lesson by Real Madrid.

The taste of finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League has given the supporters a taste of the big time.  We want to be playing with the big boys of Europe on a regular basis.  We want a team capable of competing with the top clubs in England.

That taste has made the current state of Tottenham Hotspur all the more unpalatable in the last few years.

The team is dire and shows no desire.  The players dont play for the club.  They play for themselves.  If they have a bad game, they dont care.  They just go home and share a picture of their new Ferrari on Instagram or of them taking another selfie in a restaurant where most of us wouldnt be able to afford to eat the starter let alone have dinner.

You only have to listen to the sound bites of Pochettino coming out of White Hart Lane.  Firstly he needed time to instill a winning mentality (now come on, these guys are footballers.  Surely they have some pride?  How hard is it not to have a winning mentality?)  Next, we see he's blaming the pitch (see the Guardian article here).  I kid you not. 

Have we heard the same from Ronald Koeman at Southampton?  No.  Despite having the heart and soul ripped out of St Mary's in the summer, the Saints are absolutely flying.  West Ham are too, despite integrating a large number of recruits in the summer.

Pochettino in AVB pose...

This week I heard Pochettino described as the Argentinian George Graham.  Yes, thats just about how exciting Spurs are to watch these days.  Plenty of no cutting-edge possession, no attacking thrust and guile and absolutely hopeless at the back.

To me, Pochettino is out of his depth.  The similarities to AVB before him are striking.  We're nearing the middle of November and despite being in post since June, he still doesnt know his best starting XI.  Granted the two Kyle's (Walker and Naughton have been injured and Dier has been found out at right back), but Pochettino has yet to settle on his first choice centre-back pairing.  Despite Kaboul and Vertonghen looking assured aside each other in the Arsenal and Southampton games, what on earth was he thinking in giving Fazio his Premier League debut against Man City?  There is absolutely no logical sense to that decision whatsoever.

Kane scoring a hat-trick in the Europa League and then not starting the next game?  The Lamela-Eriksen-Chadli axis not firing on any cylinder in the league, let alone all cylinders.  Surely something has to change.

Questions certainly have to be asked of Baldini & Levy.

Look at the signings Spurs made in the summer.  Vorm, Davies, Dier, Fazio, Yedlin and Stambouli.  Not one of them has made any real impression on the Premier League.  Not one.

Lets go back to the 2011/12 season, when Spurs were 10 points clear of Ars*nal in 3rd place in the league.  Perfect time to go out and get some reinforcements?  Surely we could rely on Levy to invest some money and common sense?  No.  We got Louis Saha and Ryan friggin' Nelsen.  

Yet again, the Spurs fans are facing yet another transitional season.  Excuse after excuse.

There are rumblings in the background.  The customer base is disgruntled and the natives are restless.  Of course, it would be absolutely ridiculous to sack Pochettino after only 11 games but the fact it is even being discussed in the forums as a possibility just goes to show how dysfunctional Tottenham Hotspur as a football club has become.

Enough is enough.  Its about managing expectations.

As much as I would like to see it, I will never see Spurs win the league in my lifetime.  Its highly unlikely I will see Spurs qualify for the Champions League in the foreseeable future.  Spurs cannot compete with the top 4.  The way things are going, if the new stadium doesnt get built, we're in severe danger of being overtaken by West Ham.  

Let's be very clear about one thing.  If Spurs keep their current form, then we'll be looking down the barrel of a relegation dog fight.

Levy and ENIC saved us from Lord Sugar but perhaps they really have taken the club as far as they can now.  Levy personally should be held to account for not backing his managers in the transfer market.  Redknapp, AVB and now Pochettino.  Back at the start of last season Garth Crooks described Spurs selling Bale and buying 7 players as "selling Elvis and buying The Beatles".  It hasnt quite worked out like that, has it?  AVB didnt get the players he wanted and nor now has Pochettino.  He wanted Morgan Schneiderlin and ended up getting Benjamin Stambouli.  Not one of the players bought in the last transfer window has made any impression on the first team.  Having said that, thats being quite unfair on Fazio.  He's quickly challenging Ramon Vega as the worst centre-half ever to have played for Spurs.

Daniel Levy should be held accountable...

I'd take winning a trophy, whether it be the League Cup, the FA Cup or even the Europa League over 4th place in the PL.  

Football should be about glory, not profit.

Seriously, how the hell do you solve a problem like Tottenham Hotspur???  I dont think you can.

Saturday Afternoon (Finally...catching up with my two besties)

On Saturday afternoon, I finally caught up with my two besties, Chandra and Yatin, in the same place at the same time.  The last time we were all together in one place was dinner at Chandra's, way back in September or October of last year.

I made my way to Chandra's at Abbey Wood to say hello to Chandra's wife Sophie and little Rhys.  Sadly, Rhys couldnt keep his eyes open long enough to see me, so I had to make do with Sophie lol.

Chandra and I headed for Canary Wharf.  Train to Charlton, bus to the O2 then one stop on the Jubilee Line to CW.  Even after all these years, I still dont know my way around CW very well and was glad Chandra was chief navigator.  We made our way to the Cat & Canary.  Met there at 4, Yatin walked in at 4:15 and we was there till about 8 I guess, before we made our way to the O2 and took up residence in the Slug & Lettuce.

Sadly, Spurs were beyond rubbish but it was good seeing the guys again.  I love them both to bits.

However, we didnt get around to eating when we were out.  So I was left stuffing my face around 11:30pm on Saturday evening, not ideal preparation for a 7:30am 20 mile run...

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.

What else has been happening on Planet JB?

What with being "stuck" in full marathon-training mode right now, my blog posts have been very fitness-focused recently, so I thought it was about time I let myself off the leash and share some of the stuff that has been going on.  None of it very exciting, mind you!

The first piece of "news" as such from 2014 is that the old man has finally had his knee-replacement op.  It was a full replacement, rather than part-replacement.  After many years of bone-on-bone movement due to a cartillage-free knee (removed after his knee locked when I was a young child, the criss-cross stitching I can still vividly see when I close my eyes and think of it still makes me feel sick!), he was in so much pain by just walking a few yards that we hope, given some time, that he makes a decent recovery and can actually walk around a bit more, just as much for my Mum's sake rather than just his.

He seems to be the world's worst patient but hey, he seems to be doing ok.  He's had the stitches out now but still needs to keep the dressing on for another 2 weeks before he can take it off.  I dread that day as I'll probably feint within a few seconds of seeing what's going on underneath but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Work has been pretty slow since returning from the Christmas break, apart from a few busy days.  However, a storm seems to be brewing.  The new CEO has announced a Professional Services Activity Census, where members of the Professional Services staff (Finance, IT, HR...all the non-academic departments basically) are expected to state what proportion of their time they devote to certain tasks.  Pretty much a time and effort analysis but the worry, of course, is what they will do with the data.

We've been told that teams may be asked to change the way they work and the word "change" appears a good few many times through the circular emails we've received so god knows, quite frankly.  I'm all up for change, change is a good thing but as long as I still have a job and I'm not made redundant as quite frankly, that is something I could really do without in so many ways.

I enjoy my job, I've got my work-life balance pretty much sussed and I've got minimal door-to-door travel.  It doesnt get much better.  I have absolutely no wish to start again.

Having said that, there's no point in worrying, what will be will be and all that.  Again, another bridge to cross if it ever comes up.

A few of you may have noticed there have been minimal Spurs posts recently.  Are you surprised?  Well you really shouldnt be.  Time and time again, in recent seasons, by Christmas, the interest levels just wain.  Tim S has done an ok job after taking the reigns from AVB but you just know that yet again, we're in a transitional period, a holding position until Levy finally replaces him with another manager at the end of the season.  Yes, Tim was given an 18 month contract but does anyone expect him to be there beyond 2013/14?  No.

Oh, one other thing.  I actually had a date.  A first date in almost 7 or 8 months I think.  Nice girl but not the one for me.  Of course, my girl friends instantly accuse me of being picky on the post-date de-brief but hey, you either know you're attracted to them or you're not, surely?  Sadly, I knew pretty much within the first 5 minutes but I had a nice time, so was a positive experience.

RIP Trigger (Roger Lloyd-Pack)

Desperately sad news today that dear old Trigger, one of the best comedy characters of all time passed away on Wednesday evening.

Only Fools & Horses is the best sit-com ever to grace this earth and will never be bettered.  Trigger was an integral part and was such an amazing character with dead-pan delivery.

Roger was also an ardent Tottenham Hotspur supporter so its always doubly sad when we lose one of our own.  I presume the club will pay their respects with a minutes applause at the next home game. 

In memory of Trigger, I thought it would be poignant to remember him by this too...

AVB gone

Going back to the end of November, I wrote about the weekend of sporting disaster, when Spurs were hammered 6-0 at Man City, see here for a refresher.

Spurs were hammered 5-0 at WHL by Liverpool yesterday.  That was the straw that finally broke the Camel's back.  THFC announced AVB was gone by mutual consent just after 11am this morning.

It wasnt a surprise.  I dont think any manager could survive two hammerings in quick succession like that.  As I predicted, another mauling at home and the deed would be done.

Part of me feels sorry for AVB.  He lost his best player in Bale, that would effect any team.  He's had to deal with a fairly serious injury list in the last 18 months since he took over (see Kaboul, see Sandro, see more recently Rose, Lennon, Kaboul again, Vertonghen, Chiriches etc).

The other part of me wants to slap him around the chops with a wet kipper.  The way he handled BAE and Adebayor has been laughable.  His persistence to play with a lone centre-forward when we've been struggling for goals defies belief.  His persistence to play with inverted wingers and not providing any service to our centre-forwards.

Should he have bene given more time?  A 5-0 hammering in your own back yard says no.

So what next for Levy and Spurs?

My initial reaction when the news was announced this morning would be that Technical Director and former Spurs midfielder Tim Sherwood would take the reigns temporarily until the club find a permanent successor.

Around 12:30pm today, ITK appeared from Ali Z, one of the more respected ITKers on COYS, who has confirmed links to the board...

After an afternoon of speculation, Spurs confirmed that Sherwood, Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsay would be taking temporary charge of the team until a replacement has been identified.  No time scales have been given but with the World Cup only six months away, maybe a short-term option is best given who could be potentially available after the World Cup.  Names that come to mind include Capello, currently in charge of Russia and Tottenham's favourite German son, Jurgen Klinsmann, the USA manager.

The Spurs forums have been going ballistic today and understandibly so.  Various names have been banded about.  Hoddle.  Jol.  Both are available.  Capello was seen at WHL with Baldini on Sunday.  Gianfranco Zola resigned as Watford manager today.  Steve Clarke, one of Hoddle's friends is available after being sacked by WBA.  Could Hoddle and Clarke be the new Spurs dream team?

Of course, the pundits have been giving Spurs a good kick in too.

Jamie Redknapp is a very bitter man.  He was quickly attacking Levy and the way Levy runs the club.  Alan Sugar called it amateur.  (Yes, says the man who employed Christian Gross...now that was amateur!)

So here we go again.  A period of transition.  Again.  Ha, Spurs have had more transition periods than I've had hot dinners.  As my favourite Spurs blogger describes it...

"Never a boring second with Spurs. It's like having fantastic sex with your partner but every so often she pulls out a whip and destroys you."

Spurs go straight back into battle at WHL on Wednesday night against our East London neighbours West Ham in the League Cup Quarter Final.  Even at this stage of the season, one could consider this a must win game as its realistically our only chance of silverware this season, bearind in mind we are drawn against the arch enemy, the Woolwich Nomads in the 3rd round of the FA Cup in January.

After the shock 0-3 defeat to the claret & blue jellied eel munching wet spammers in October, we certainly owe them big time.

Thanks for some good memories Andre.  I'll never forget when we finally won at Old Trafford for what seemed like a lifetime or the 3-2 win against West Ham with you celebrating with Bale on the touchline after his stunning injury time winner.  I so wish it could have worked out.  I genuinely wanted it to.  You're a top bloke, a gentlemen in fact but sadly you werent the manager we needed.  I wish you all the best for the future. 

AVB in happier times at Spurs

 

The Beast is back...

Most readers will know by now that I've got serious man love for the Beast from Brazil...

He was back to his very best yesterday and topped his performance off nicely with another stunning strike from outside the box...

He certainly doesnt score taps ins, does he? :)

3 goals now for Spurs, 3 absolute screamers...

A weekend of sporting disaster...

As sporting weekends go, it doesnt get much worse than the one just passed...

I'll start with Spurs.  A 6-0 (yes, SIX - NIL) defeat to Champions-elect Manchester City.  I know we've been struggling recently but I never in a million years saw a hammering coming.  If anyone had seen our last PL game against Newcastle, where we had 31 attempts at goal and the Bar Codes Goalkeeper Tim Krul has single-handedly kept them in the game, most of us Spurs fans were left thinking it was only a matter of time before Spurs finally clicked in front of goal and handed out a good old-fashioned seeing to.

AVB looking just a little shell-shocked in his post-match interview...

Spurs started brightly.  95% possession for around 14 seconds then it all went drastically wrong.  I could write an essay in response to the defeat but I just want to touch on 4 specific points which AVB needs to sort out sooner rather than later...

1. Assou-Ekotto MUST be called back from his loan spell at QPR.  Why is the best left-back on the club's books on-loan?  You may not like him AVB but the sooner you get over your stubborn streak, he needs to be back in the team pronto, so that our first choice centre-back Vertonghen, can marshall the defence.  A centre-back pairing of Dawson & Kaboul just doesnt work.  The last time they played together...Spurs lost 1-5 to Man City at home.  It doesnt take a genius to work that out, surely?
2. Again, put your stubborness to one side and pick Adebayor.  Ok, he's had his issues but he's the only forward at Spurs capable of holding the ball up and bringing others into play.
3. Soldado is struggling purely down to lack of service.  The inverted winger system needs to be trashed immediately.
4. Paulinho needs to be dropped.  Spurs played well last season when Dembele and Sandro were starting games together in the middle.  Paulinho seems to be starting every PL game ahead of Dembele and I'm afraid his performances just dont warrant being picked.  Dembele is excellent at setting the tempo, something Spurs havent played with all season.

Next up in the PL, Spurs play Man United at home on Sunday.  Another mauling at home may see Levy's patience finally run out.

Worringly, Spurs have got problems on a par with the England cricket team.

The notoriously slow tour starters were smashed by the small matter of 381 runs.  It was an absolute mauling.  Restricting the Aussies to 295 in the first innings seemed like an excellent effort from the England bowlers on what looked very much like a pitch where 400 runs plus would have been about par.  England capitulated to 136 all out in the final session of day 2 and by the end of stumps at day 3, the Aussie's had piled on another 401 runs before they declared and took the early scalps of Carberry and Trott, leaving England a hopeless task of trying to bat out 6 sessions.

The Aussie's were able to call on the explosive bowling of the rejuvenated Johnson and he rightly took away the man of the match award for taking 9 wickets and scoring 103 runs.  It was a remarkable turnaround for the bowler who was made the scapegoat of the last Ashes series in Australia.

This morning, England were rocked by the announcement that Jonathan Trott, England's number three batsman, was returning home because of a stress-related illness, invoking memories of Marcus Trescothick on an earlier Ashes tour.

 

Jonathan Trott is heading home from the Ashes tour...

David Warner described Trott as "poor and weak" following the first test in Brisbane, where Trott managed a paltry 19 runs in the two innings.  Warner has since released a statement to say his comments went too far.  As did Michael Clarke's sledging in my opinion, where he told Jimmy Anderson to prepare for his arm to be broken by Mitchell Johnson's bowling.  There's no disguising the Aussies are up for this Ashes series like no other before but they've crossed the line.  I hope and pray that that the England boys respond like they should and really comes at the Aussie's all guns blazing now.

There will be some serious needle in the second test.  With Trott heading home, surely England must now consider fighting fire with fire and bring in Finn or Rankin, who are both capable of bowling in excess of 90mph.

Most importantly, I'm sure every cricket fan will wish Trotty all the best and wish him a very speedy recovery.  Whether he is able to continue at the very top echelons of test cricket again is another matter but whether he does or doesnt, it hardly matters when his long term health is at stake.  He can be very proud of what he has achieved for England.

Sandwiched in between the Ashes and the Tottenham debacle was an absolutely cracking World Championship fight between WBA and IBF title holder Carl Froch and Londoner George Groves.

The build up had been hyped.  Froch had been accusing Groves of a lack of disrespect and Groves was saying all the right things.  It appeared that Groves had got inside Froch's head and the result was going to be a real grudge match.  The pre-fight comparisons to Eubank v Benn were laughable but you could see Eddie Hearn and Matchroom desperately trying t sell the fight to the public and they certainly caught the public's imagination.  The experts couldnt decide what way the fight would go, most agreeing that Groves was more than capable of causing Froch problems with his speed and work rate but Froch's pure strength would show through in the later rounds...

Froch v Groves: A stunning fight but marred by controversy

Groves was booed into the ring.  A few minutes later, Groves had dumped Froch on the canvas in the first.  It was a stunning start to the fight.  Froch somehow survived to the end of the first and so it appeared on a number of unofficial scorecards, Groves won the first round 10-8 and the next 5 10-9, so he was well clear.  Rounds 7 & 8 went to Froch, so  there was at least 4-5 rounds between them.

Froch was getting stronger and one punch caught Groves.  He looked in trouble, there's no denying that but the referee jumped in so quickly to stop the fight, it made a mockery of the contest.  As is turns out, two of the so-called judges had scored the fight 75-76 in favour of Groves so you have to wonder what fight they were watching.

I've watched the fight again since Saturday night and I'm still convinced that Groves would have recovered but Froch was getting stronger and I dont doubt that Froch would have gone on to win the fight at it neared its end.  Groves' lack of experience saw him work so hard in the earlier rounds, it appeared he'd hit the wall by midway through the 8th.

Didnt get the result I particularly wanted but at least I got my prediction right...

Prediction = spot on - Round 9.

The post-fight analysis by McCrory, Khan and Haye in the studio was spot on.  All three were appalled that the contest was ended like it was.  However, you can sort of accept why the referee did jump in when he did.  Its the culture nowadays.  No referee wants to have a Eubank v Watson or Benn v McClellan fight on their hands.  Although the refereeing could almost be excused, there can be no excuses for judges who seem to be more bent than a FIFA voting process.

Post-fight, I dont think I can ever say I've seen a boxer who was booed into an arena be cheered out of it at the end, like Groves was on Saturday night.  That was remarkable.  Froch was his usual arrogant self and done himself no favours whatsoever with his post-fight interview.  I hope that Eddie Hearn can somehow make a rematch but I dont see it can be of any interest to Froch now.  Froch will be running scared.  He knows, like the rest of us that the best boxer on the night lost.  Groves will have learnt a great deal from that fight and I have no doubts that he will go on to be a World Champion in the next few years.  Froch may now be thinking about retirement.  He's had some real big fights in the last couple of years and his age and speed is beginning to hinder him.

Groves: the boos turned to cheers...

Here's hoping next weekend brings some better luck...

My sporting highlight of the weekend is reserved for the awesome guys and girls of Plumstead Runners who put on one hell of a special KFL cross country race at Oxleas Woods yesterday and a huge well done to the Plums that completed the course because it looked truly horrific.  The course is hard enough during the summer months, let alone when there's mud everywhere.  Am really sorry I couldnt run yesterday and I could only make a flying visit...but I did manage to get some video footage...

Videos of Chiriches, Eriksen and Lamema

Not a lot of us would have seen anything of new signings Chiriches, Eriksen and Lamela so here's three excellent videos highlighting the new talent brought in by Levy and Baldini.

Chiriches
 



Eriksen
 



Lamela
 

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.  

The time has come to speak about Bale...

Time for me to open my trap about the Bale saga.

I've resisted temptation so far because quite frankly, I could have written a dissertation, a War & Peace-length epic about my thoughts on the subject.

As I've said time and time again, Spurs is run well by Levy and I trust Levy implicitly.

Let me be honest for a moment here.  Bale isnt worth what Real Madrid will end up paying for him.  I would have snapped your hand off the the £40-50m which was quoted for him at the end of last season.  Bale was world-class for the last six months.  Before that, was he?  No.  In my opinion he's still far too inconsistent.  He still spends a lot of time on the periphery of games, unlike Ronaldo and Messi.  He is nowhere near that standard, yet.

Therefore, as I've said before, Bale could go with my blessing as long as (i) Levy got the fee he wanted and (ii) that fee was used to get in replacements before and not after Bale was sold.

As it turns out, Levy has managed to bring in the likes of Chadli, Paulinho, Soldado and Capoue so it is business well done so far with maybe the likes of Lamela and Erikksen to come.  If selling Bale financed 5-6 players with potential later sell-on values coming in, then it is very good business indeed.

There is no sticking point here.  Bale has three years left of his contract.  The offer of a new contract was on the table to make him the highest earner in history at White Hart Lane but he chose not to sign it.  So there is absolutely no doubt that he was either going to be sold now or at the end of this season, otherwise Spurs would be sitting on another potential "Bosman", whereby he would be free to walk away at the end of his contract and Spurs wouldnt be entitled to a transfer fee.

So it was all down to Levy to squeeze every last penny out of Real Madrid.  It shouldnt go unnoted that Madrid still owe Levy & Spurs to the tune of £20m for the transfer of Luka Modric.  Had Bale been not for sale, the club would have made a statement.

Real Madrid have previous for the way they encourage their transfer targets to behave.  You only have to look at the Modric transfer for proof.

Real Madrid have been antagonising Levy with a presentation stage being built at the Bernebau, Bale shirts being sold in their club shops.  They've kept plugging away until Levy has snapped.

Spurs would have asked Bale to keep a dignified silence through the transfer dealings this summer otherwise it would potentially jeopardise Levy's negotiating position.  Until today, he has kept his side of the bargain.  Until today.

This morning, an unofficial statement leaked to SSN via his agent via Jim White, indicating that he had no intention of returning to the Tottenham training ground.  He has affection for the club and especially the fans but he hopes they understand his position.  Various reports indicated he had missed training for a second day and now AVB has confirmed that he has taken "unauthorised" leave from training.

So there we have it.  Bale is on strike to get his transfer.

Well Mr Bale, I've kept quiet until now. For the squeaky-clean "Brand Bale" image you're trying to create, for all that love you feel for Spurs and "especially the fans", by going on strike, you've basically stuck your middle finger up at THFC and the fans that have paid your wages.  A very sour note for you to end your career at Spurs, dont you think?

You've shown a total disrepect to the club, to AVB and to the fans.  I'm just so disappointed with you.  No one was going to begrudge you a world-record transfer to Madrid but this makes you no better than Modric or Berbatov.  A sulky footballer not getting what they want.  Fair play to you, you've served Spurs well but I'll give you two seasons in Spain at the most before you fail and end up back in the Premier League.  You're not in the same class as Messi and Ronaldo and you never will be.  By the way, whoever told you that pink t-shirt and baseball cap was a good look?  I'd consider sacking them if I were you.  But then again, if I were you, I'd be happy staying at Spurs playing for the team I love.

If Spurs wasnt run like a business and money didnt talk, I'd love to see Levy stick by his guns, refuse to sell you to Madrid and let you rot in the reserves.  Petchulant little f*cker.  

Bale...soon to be the only Welshman in Madrid.

Scott Parker

Scott Parker served Tottenham well...

Around tea-time tonight, it was announced that Scott Parker had completed a medical and signed a 3 year deal with Fulham.

I'd like to pay tribute to SP.  In the two seasons he was with us, he gave us his absolute all.  He never gave less than 100% and worked his socks off.

His no-nonsense action man-style saw him rightly win the fans Player of the Year award at the end of the 2011/12 season.  Although he was struggling with an Achilles injury going into Euro 2012, he still made the trip and played but was clearly struggling.  The injury required an op after the tournament and he ended up missing the first half of the 2012/13 season before making his first appearance of the season when coming on for the injured Sandro against QPR.

Whether the lack of a pre-season affected his fitness levels, he appeared to be labouring towards the end of the 2012/13 season and Spurs suffered as a result, when the team clearly missed the Dembele/Sandro axis in the middle.  Parker was the poor-man's Sandro when you compare the two partnerships used.  For all his energy levels, Parker just couldnt create the space and cover as much ground as Sandro.

With the arrival of Paulinho, Capoue, a fit again Sandro and the likes of Holtby and Carroll looking for starting places, Spurs have offloaded SP at exactly the right time.

Hopefully SP will go on to have another three good years at Fulham.  I wish him all the best.  I hope he starts by kicking lumps out of Ars*nal this coming weekend!

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?

Levy sniffing around Halilović again...

It appears that Levy and Baldini are again sniffing around the teenage Croatian wonder-kid Alen Halilović.  Only 17, this boy has got some serious talent.  It would be a huge coup for Spurs if we could pull this one off.



An attacking-midfielder, who apparently can play in behind a lone forward and on both flanks, he looks to have electric pace and a unlike his countryman Luka Modric, an eye for goal. 

ITK suggests the negotiations for him broke down earlier in the window but with his club desperate for cash, it looks possible the move could be well and truly back on now. Fingers crossed as he would be an excellent addition to the squad. Lets not forget, this "boy" has already made his first full start for the Croatian national team too, at the ripe old age of 16.

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.