Had to share this, mainly because I fell for the 'Liverpool sign Bent' headline and got all excited. Aren't some people clever?
27 June 2009
25 June 2009
Spurs Kit Launch 2009-2010
It's public now. The three shirts that we'll be fashioning next season have been revealed to the public, via a cool little microsite on the Spurs website. Who knew we had a 'club freestyler'?
Initial impressions? The shirts are, for lack of a better word... nice but, as has been discussed previously, the yellow stripes just look out of place. You can't help but feel someone designed a great shirt and then someone else decided it wasn't flash enough and tampered with it. Still, I'm certain it'll grow on most fans with time.
And when we're top of the league come Christmas no-one will be complaining. Have a look below.
Spurs Kit Launch 2009 2010
Initial impressions? The shirts are, for lack of a better word... nice but, as has been discussed previously, the yellow stripes just look out of place. You can't help but feel someone designed a great shirt and then someone else decided it wasn't flash enough and tampered with it. Still, I'm certain it'll grow on most fans with time.
And when we're top of the league come Christmas no-one will be complaining. Have a look below.
Spurs Kit Launch 2009 2010
24 June 2009
English Rose
Our under-21 England winger Danny Rose was on Sky Sports News earlier today, as England's young elite did some promotional work for the 2018 World Cup bid. Slightly odd that they picked Rose for their interview ahead of more established 'stars' such as Theo Walcott or Gabby Agbonlahor but it was a welcome sight nonetheless.
During the interview, Rose was targeted from above by a water balloon throwing assailant, later revealed to be none other than Frazier Campbell, once of Spurs (apparently). Frazier's proved himself to be a quite hilarious character - first 'Black Zorro', now this. When will the magic end?
Still, lets afford Rose his 30 seconds in the spotlight. He made his first start for the young lions in the dead rubber against Germany the other day and looked pretty tasty. Quick and a with a more than decent left foot, he could be one to hold on to. He even spoke of the possibility of being involved with the England side come said 2018 World Cup.
Watch this space.
During the interview, Rose was targeted from above by a water balloon throwing assailant, later revealed to be none other than Frazier Campbell, once of Spurs (apparently). Frazier's proved himself to be a quite hilarious character - first 'Black Zorro', now this. When will the magic end?
Still, lets afford Rose his 30 seconds in the spotlight. He made his first start for the young lions in the dead rubber against Germany the other day and looked pretty tasty. Quick and a with a more than decent left foot, he could be one to hold on to. He even spoke of the possibility of being involved with the England side come said 2018 World Cup.
Watch this space.
23 June 2009
Start as you mean to go on
Liverpool at home then. Any kind of optimism held in the hearts of Spurs fans over the summer break will be neatly and efficiently crushed by Stevie G and co. straight away. Our new signings will have their spirits broken, our existing players will want out, the papers will formulate some bollocks about Redknapp's position being under scrutiny and it'll be like last season all over again. And the season before that, for that matter. God, it's depressing.
Of course, that being said (cynicism always comes first on this blog), Liverpool rarely come flying out of the blocks. If memory serves, they struggled last year (against Sunderland, was it?) before being bailed out by Fernando Torres. and there was that extremely fortunate draw with Sheffield United a few years back, courtesy of a now trademark Gerrard dive and penalty.
Rafael Benitez's also-rans will most definitely not fancy the prospect of coming to the Lane on the first day of the season. As poor as we have been on recent opening days, we're an unpredictable bunch. For every 2-0 away win at Portsmouth in 2005, there's a 1-0 defeat at newly promoted Sunderland. For every battling point with Liverpool in 2004 (coincidentally, the last time we played them on the first day of the season at home), there's a sole-breaking 2-1 reverse at Middlesborough. Harry's reign has been a success thus far; whose to say he won't inspire the boys to a shock win?
On paper, it's not the easiest of starts. Especially when you throw in games with Chelsea and Manchester United not long afterwards. But, maybe a tough challenge is just what Tottenham need to inject some early momentum into their season. Poor starts have cost us badly in the last few campaigns and a good start really is quite an essential component in the recipe for an assault on the top five/six/half (circle where applicable).
Lessons must also be learned from the past. Please let there be no repeat of the unsettled squad debacle of last season - thankfully, we don't have a want-away Bulgarian sulking constantly on our bench (yet). Ideally, the majority of Harry's business will be conducted before that first game and he'll have a good idea of his preferred starting XI. A settled team equals a happy team and a happy Tottenham can achieve some seriously great things.
Should our worst nightmare's be confirmed in the time it takes to say "Torres once again beats Assou Ekotto with ease and finishes to notch his hat trick", the blow could be instantly comforted with winnable trips to Hull and West Ham and a visit from Birmingham. But, those points could be incomprehensibly vital when Sir Alex's Champions League chokers come to town after the international break. Even more so when we go to Chelski straight after that.
All in all, it's a mixed bag of opening fixtures. Potentially brilliant, potentially a horror show - there's a line that summed up our beloved Spurs if ever I heard one. Perhaps that best chances of long term success lie with a low key start. A couple of wins, a narrow defeat or two, maybe a point away. The last thing we need is to start making headlines for the wrong reasons again and to be facing up the table for the rest of the bloody season. Heaven knows, my nerves won't be able to handle it.
At least the end of the year is looking rosy. What's that? Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd in the space of three games, you say?
Ah.
Of course, that being said (cynicism always comes first on this blog), Liverpool rarely come flying out of the blocks. If memory serves, they struggled last year (against Sunderland, was it?) before being bailed out by Fernando Torres. and there was that extremely fortunate draw with Sheffield United a few years back, courtesy of a now trademark Gerrard dive and penalty.
Rafael Benitez's also-rans will most definitely not fancy the prospect of coming to the Lane on the first day of the season. As poor as we have been on recent opening days, we're an unpredictable bunch. For every 2-0 away win at Portsmouth in 2005, there's a 1-0 defeat at newly promoted Sunderland. For every battling point with Liverpool in 2004 (coincidentally, the last time we played them on the first day of the season at home), there's a sole-breaking 2-1 reverse at Middlesborough. Harry's reign has been a success thus far; whose to say he won't inspire the boys to a shock win?
On paper, it's not the easiest of starts. Especially when you throw in games with Chelsea and Manchester United not long afterwards. But, maybe a tough challenge is just what Tottenham need to inject some early momentum into their season. Poor starts have cost us badly in the last few campaigns and a good start really is quite an essential component in the recipe for an assault on the top five/six/half (circle where applicable).
Lessons must also be learned from the past. Please let there be no repeat of the unsettled squad debacle of last season - thankfully, we don't have a want-away Bulgarian sulking constantly on our bench (yet). Ideally, the majority of Harry's business will be conducted before that first game and he'll have a good idea of his preferred starting XI. A settled team equals a happy team and a happy Tottenham can achieve some seriously great things.
Should our worst nightmare's be confirmed in the time it takes to say "Torres once again beats Assou Ekotto with ease and finishes to notch his hat trick", the blow could be instantly comforted with winnable trips to Hull and West Ham and a visit from Birmingham. But, those points could be incomprehensibly vital when Sir Alex's Champions League chokers come to town after the international break. Even more so when we go to Chelski straight after that.
All in all, it's a mixed bag of opening fixtures. Potentially brilliant, potentially a horror show - there's a line that summed up our beloved Spurs if ever I heard one. Perhaps that best chances of long term success lie with a low key start. A couple of wins, a narrow defeat or two, maybe a point away. The last thing we need is to start making headlines for the wrong reasons again and to be facing up the table for the rest of the bloody season. Heaven knows, my nerves won't be able to handle it.
At least the end of the year is looking rosy. What's that? Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd in the space of three games, you say?
Ah.
14 June 2009
The new kit?
Cringe. There's been another leak of our new line of shirts for next season and, honestly, it ain't pretty. And this time it looks more convincing than the training top style image we were treated to a few weeks ago.
Have a look.
The yellow bits on the home shirt? Pointless and, frankly, quite ugly. Admittedly, yellow is in our history but it doesn't look normal with the white, if you ask me. In fact, it looks rather silly. The all yellow kit is quite nice and very Tottenham-esque but there's a smattering of needless yellow on the alternative navy blue shirt that, again, just doens't look proper.
It could just be another mock-up, fingers crossed. But I think the fact that Tottenham's finest are seen modelling it gives an official feel that could just mean this is our new kit for the next season. I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise.
Thoughts, comments?
Have a look.
The yellow bits on the home shirt? Pointless and, frankly, quite ugly. Admittedly, yellow is in our history but it doesn't look normal with the white, if you ask me. In fact, it looks rather silly. The all yellow kit is quite nice and very Tottenham-esque but there's a smattering of needless yellow on the alternative navy blue shirt that, again, just doens't look proper.
It could just be another mock-up, fingers crossed. But I think the fact that Tottenham's finest are seen modelling it gives an official feel that could just mean this is our new kit for the next season. I'm hoping for a pleasant surprise.
Thoughts, comments?
11 June 2009
JD in amongst them
Nice to see Jermain Defoe grabbing a couple of goals at Wembley last night. In his first spell at Tottenham, it seemed as if he couldn't hit the back of the net for his country no matter how hard he tried. As soon as he embarked on his secret loan mission to Portsmouth, that trick became somewhat easier. First team football has done it, they all cried. I suspected otherwise.
When he came on yesterday and dragged his first effort on goal agonisingly wide, I grimaced, thinking that his old Tottenham curse had come back to haunt him. A gentleman in the pub I was watching the game in chose to chime in with the intelligent input that Defoe was 'completely shite'.
How I wish I had been standing closer to him when our man JD rose to power home his first and England's fourth of the night. I don't know what surprised me more; Defoe scoring for England or Defoe scoring with his head. Either way, it was a quality header for such a vertically challenged man.
His second was pure luck. Or was it pure striker's instinct? You tell me. However, it matters little as Defoe had doubled his tally for the evening and silenced just a tiny number of his critics.
In my opinion, Defoe is twice the player Peter Crouch is. For that matter, he's better than most of England's striking resources. Think Carlton Cole, Dean Ashton, Andy Johnson and, dare I say it, Michael Owen. Yes, he and Crouch (and Heskey) are totally different players. One is a tall, target man that Wayne Rooney can thrive off at international level. The other is a good goalscorer but not the ideal partner for our Wayne.
In any case, assuming Heskey and Rooney are England's first choice pair, I see no reason why Defoe should not be the first option when considering a replacement. For the life of me, I cannot see what Crouch offers apart from an easy ball over the top on occasion that he'll inevitably fail to control. Defoe has touch, pace and penetration - he is more of a livewire and is, therefore, more likely to deliver goals than Crouch.
It'll take some convincing; Defoe will never be able to dispel all the cynics and annoying Crouchophiles who just can't see how bad the lanky forward is. But another good season with Tottenham and perhaps the occasional tap in for England here and there and Defoe should be on that plane to the World Cup in South Africa confident of at least a cameo appearance at some point.
When he came on yesterday and dragged his first effort on goal agonisingly wide, I grimaced, thinking that his old Tottenham curse had come back to haunt him. A gentleman in the pub I was watching the game in chose to chime in with the intelligent input that Defoe was 'completely shite'.
How I wish I had been standing closer to him when our man JD rose to power home his first and England's fourth of the night. I don't know what surprised me more; Defoe scoring for England or Defoe scoring with his head. Either way, it was a quality header for such a vertically challenged man.
His second was pure luck. Or was it pure striker's instinct? You tell me. However, it matters little as Defoe had doubled his tally for the evening and silenced just a tiny number of his critics.
In my opinion, Defoe is twice the player Peter Crouch is. For that matter, he's better than most of England's striking resources. Think Carlton Cole, Dean Ashton, Andy Johnson and, dare I say it, Michael Owen. Yes, he and Crouch (and Heskey) are totally different players. One is a tall, target man that Wayne Rooney can thrive off at international level. The other is a good goalscorer but not the ideal partner for our Wayne.
In any case, assuming Heskey and Rooney are England's first choice pair, I see no reason why Defoe should not be the first option when considering a replacement. For the life of me, I cannot see what Crouch offers apart from an easy ball over the top on occasion that he'll inevitably fail to control. Defoe has touch, pace and penetration - he is more of a livewire and is, therefore, more likely to deliver goals than Crouch.
It'll take some convincing; Defoe will never be able to dispel all the cynics and annoying Crouchophiles who just can't see how bad the lanky forward is. But another good season with Tottenham and perhaps the occasional tap in for England here and there and Defoe should be on that plane to the World Cup in South Africa confident of at least a cameo appearance at some point.
9 June 2009
The only place for transfer gossip and news
A friend of mine has started a new blog that I thought visitors of this site may possibly be interested in. And before you think it, he hasn't asked me to plug it. Honest.
It's called Transfer Watch - yep, you've guessed it, a Manchester City blog. No, I joke, I joke.
It covers the best and most interesting transfer rumours and completed deals and runs the mill over the legitimacy of such rumours. Seeing as there should be a section in all the major dailies devoted to Tottenham rumours, it's likely we'll feature prominently this summer.
If that hasn't convinced you, the writer is a die hard Spurs fan. That's right, we are a talented bunch for sure. Here's the link (it'll also be on the blog roll at the side of the page):
http://transferwatch.blogspot.com/
I urge you to check it out whenever you can.
It's called Transfer Watch - yep, you've guessed it, a Manchester City blog. No, I joke, I joke.
It covers the best and most interesting transfer rumours and completed deals and runs the mill over the legitimacy of such rumours. Seeing as there should be a section in all the major dailies devoted to Tottenham rumours, it's likely we'll feature prominently this summer.
If that hasn't convinced you, the writer is a die hard Spurs fan. That's right, we are a talented bunch for sure. Here's the link (it'll also be on the blog roll at the side of the page):
http://transferwatch.blogspot.com/
I urge you to check it out whenever you can.
8 June 2009
Ruud awakening
Black Zorro has left. And, if we're being brutally honest, he outstayed his welcome. I saw Frazier Campbell score twice against Liverpool in the Carling Cup back in November and thought he had some serious potential. Come the end of the season, he was fifth choice out of five strikers and lucky to get that.
As one ex-Man Utd striker walks out the door, could another be soon be coming through the opposite direction? It's the rumour that everyone's talking about and it's the one that's peaked my interest the most. Ruud van Nistelrooy, anyone? Apparently, Harry enquired as to his availability and was pleasantly informed that the big Dutch forward could be ours for the measly fee of just €1.5 million (roughly £1.3 million). Bargain? You bet your life it would be.
Having spent the majority of the last campaign injured, RVP has been told by Madrid President Florentino Perez that he is surplus to requirements. And with Spurs in apparent need for a striker, preferably a tall, skillful one to partner Robbie Keane or Jermain Defoe, it seems the ex-Man Utd front man could be number one on the list.
Would he be interested in a move? Admittedly, Real Madrid to Tottenham is a bit of a step down. But one has to consider his options. At 32, there wouldn't be as much top level demand for the striker as there would have been, say, two years ago. That isn't to say that we'd be the only team after him, but given the Redknapp revival, there's very much the sense that Tottenham are a club slowly but surely on the up. RVP could see it as an opportunity to have one last Premier League hurrah before his body inevitably gives out sooner rather than later.
With any luck, RVP and Spurs will be a perfect fit. At least he'd better than Frazier.
As one ex-Man Utd striker walks out the door, could another be soon be coming through the opposite direction? It's the rumour that everyone's talking about and it's the one that's peaked my interest the most. Ruud van Nistelrooy, anyone? Apparently, Harry enquired as to his availability and was pleasantly informed that the big Dutch forward could be ours for the measly fee of just €1.5 million (roughly £1.3 million). Bargain? You bet your life it would be.
Having spent the majority of the last campaign injured, RVP has been told by Madrid President Florentino Perez that he is surplus to requirements. And with Spurs in apparent need for a striker, preferably a tall, skillful one to partner Robbie Keane or Jermain Defoe, it seems the ex-Man Utd front man could be number one on the list.
Would he be interested in a move? Admittedly, Real Madrid to Tottenham is a bit of a step down. But one has to consider his options. At 32, there wouldn't be as much top level demand for the striker as there would have been, say, two years ago. That isn't to say that we'd be the only team after him, but given the Redknapp revival, there's very much the sense that Tottenham are a club slowly but surely on the up. RVP could see it as an opportunity to have one last Premier League hurrah before his body inevitably gives out sooner rather than later.
With any luck, RVP and Spurs will be a perfect fit. At least he'd better than Frazier.
6 June 2009
Modric and Corluka battling to keep up with England
Whilst most eyes will be on whether Jermain Defoe gets a game or indeed a goal for England tonight (he does love scoring against awful international teams), there's another eye-opening tie of interest for both Tottenham and England fans.
Croatia are lurking behind in 3rd place in Group 6, behind both England and tonight's opponents Ukraine and will be desperately hoping to make up ground on both. They may well be looking to Tottenham's Luka Modric to provide some creative spark and Modric will be supported by teammate and close friend Vedran Corluka.
If you're a Spurs fan primarily, you want them to do well. If you're an England fan primarily, you want them to struggle. Needless to say it'll be an interesting one; Modric is undoubtedly a standout player for us and he fulfills much the same role when playing for his country. Alongside Niko Kranjcar, Modric is key to Croatia's attack and represents their best chance of success.
Besides, anyone who remembers that shocking, rainy night at Wembley in November 2007 can attest to Modric's influence in the Croatia team.
Croatia are lurking behind in 3rd place in Group 6, behind both England and tonight's opponents Ukraine and will be desperately hoping to make up ground on both. They may well be looking to Tottenham's Luka Modric to provide some creative spark and Modric will be supported by teammate and close friend Vedran Corluka.
If you're a Spurs fan primarily, you want them to do well. If you're an England fan primarily, you want them to struggle. Needless to say it'll be an interesting one; Modric is undoubtedly a standout player for us and he fulfills much the same role when playing for his country. Alongside Niko Kranjcar, Modric is key to Croatia's attack and represents their best chance of success.
Besides, anyone who remembers that shocking, rainy night at Wembley in November 2007 can attest to Modric's influence in the Croatia team.
3 June 2009
Nonsensical and just a bit worrying
Djibril Cissé.
No no no no no no no. If you're reading this Harry, I desperately need you to get in contact with me somehow (Phone, e-mail, pigeon carrier, whatever. It's the 21st century, man, take your pick.) and set my worrying mind to rest - tell me this isn't actually happening.
Surely there's younger and simply better alternatives to our striking quandaries?
No no no no no no no. If you're reading this Harry, I desperately need you to get in contact with me somehow (Phone, e-mail, pigeon carrier, whatever. It's the 21st century, man, take your pick.) and set my worrying mind to rest - tell me this isn't actually happening.
Surely there's younger and simply better alternatives to our striking quandaries?
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