could you say no to this face?

Harry seems to have the steely constitution to do exactly that; and moreover on a weekly basis. Whilst it is expected of a shameless agent (and especially russian) to manufacture a move away from a club; quotes attributed straight to Pavlyuchenko himself seem to suggest that Levy will be getting his bargaining hat on again in time for January.

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Still reeling from the shock revelation that the word "gullible" had been removed from the dictionary, we at AANP Towers were sent scrambling to our official panic stations yesterday as news of ‘Arry's alleged departure spread like wildfire. The panic button was hit, the lights flashed and the stern lady kept announcing "This is not a drill".

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Curiously, our most emphatic win in recent years was achieved without us ever really hitting top gear. There were some moments at the end of the first half when we played true champagne football, and Defoe might have finished off a couple of moves so pleasing on the eye they ought to have been put on canvass and stuck in a gallery.

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And it had all begun quite encouragingly. Sitting back away from home and soaking up the pressure just isn't the Tottenham way, so right from the off we took the game to that lot, giving as good as we got in the first half. Jenas, Hudd and Palacios weren't far off with their long-range efforts, and there was a gorgeous through-ball from Sergeant Wilson to free up Defoe in the early stages.

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where am i? what year is it? who's the president?

Because I'm going to work tonight; this post will be a little different. More of a as it happens match report; could work amazingly, maybe not.

0 Looks like we're playing a 4-3-3, Jenas, Huddlestone and Palacios in the midfield trio and Lennon Keane and Defoe upfront.

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No-one does fickle quite like we do at Tottenham, yet despite this, the reaction to last week's defeat has by and large retained a sense of perspective. 12 points from 5 games still represents a ruddy good start to proceedings, and with forthcoming fixtures involving Burnley, Bolton, Portsmouth and Stoke we ought to be chugging along nicely by the time the clocks go back.

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Before beginning the gruesome business of the post-mortem I think it's worth doffing my cap towards Man Utd – they were a quality act yesterday. I demonstrated in my preview that mathematics is hardly the academic subject of choice at AANP Towers, but nevertheless it really did seem that being reduced to 10 men made them play as if they had 12.

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Where would Tottenham Hotspur's second XI finish in the Premier League? You be the judge. I've got: Cudicini - Naughton (or Hutton), Dawson, Woodgate, Bale - Bentley, Jenas, Bostock, Kranjcar - Pavlyuchenko, Crouch.

Is that better than Liverpool's second XI: Diego - Degen, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Fabio Aurelio - Lucas, Plessis - Benayoun, Voronin, Babel - N'Gog?

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We would have settled for a win by hook or by crook or by penalties, but another five-goal salvo does no harm. For some curious reason, I also beam with a vaguely paternal sort of pride at the fact that five different names were scrawled across the scoresheet. It's strangely wholesome.

It all went smoothly enough in the end, although that might have been a different story had Carlo Cudicini not been alert and sprightly from the off.

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Harry's come out and said that Pavlyuchenko isn't going to leave us. Thing is, I just can't believe that Pav is happy to be a bench warmer. Let's face the facts; Harry has gone with Defoe and Keane in every league game. He won't be dropping the team captain and unless Defoe's form drops drastically, I can't see him being replaced anytime soon either. Click to continue reading...

A win against a top-four team; a win away in a potential banana-skin of a game against relegation fodder; now a London derby - one way or another we are certainly having our credentials rigorously tested in these early days.

I desperately hope we win tomorrow. This has nothing to do with the whole issue of enmity with West Ham - as I have previously confessed, I am neither here nor there on that issue.

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When I found out the news that Harry Redknapp was preparing a £2 million bid for Portsmouth's David James, a sigh of inevitability passed through my lips. Was this as really as interesting as it's going to get at Tottenham?

Now I understand that Spurs must be a very well run club in order to make the sufficient profit that allows its numerous mangers to spend vast amounts of money on players, near enough every season.

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Well first up I think it's only right to indulge in a moment of smugness from this lofty perch atop the country's pile. While I don't think any of us are daft enough to make fanciful predictions after four days of the season, the cockerel is crowing, and the morning-after smugness in the office has proved particularly gratifying.

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An under strength FC Barcelona side was held to a 1-1 draw by Totenham in their first pre-season friendly in the Wembley Cup. Bojan Krikic gave FC Barcelona the lead in the 32nd minute but Totenham equalised in the 82nd minute through Livermore's header. Guardiola decided to rest majority of stars from the squad who made it to London. Click to continue reading...

Sami Hyypia starts on the bench today, hopefully to get a run out later on. Apparently Rafa's gunning for Robbie Keane's soul now that he's already owned his playing time...

Liverpool XI:
Reina
Carragher-Skrtel-Agger-Aurelio
Alonso Mascherano -
Kuyt Gerrard -Benayoun
Torres

Bench: Cavalieri, Degen, Ngog, Insua, Hyypia, Riera, Lucas

Tottenham XI:
Gomes -
Hutton-Corluka-King-Assou-Ekotto
Modric Zokora Jenas Bale
Keane Defoe -

Bench: Cudicini, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Bent, Gunter, Campbell, Chimbonda

Other miscellany:

Everyone's favorite red-headed good-time boy with another thunderbolt today.

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Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has refused to close the door on Heurelho Gomes after insisting he has yet to choose his No 1 goalkeeper. The Brazilian has endured a tough debut season in the Barclays Premier League since his £7.8m summer transfer from PSV Eindhoven. After taking over at Tottenham this season, Redknapp signed Carlo Cudicini in [. Click to continue reading...

What a curious three-point haul. It was neither outstandingly good nor egregiously bad, just blisteringly average. Once upon a time Spurs played in an all-action-no-plot style, attacking with free-flowing, gay abandon, scoring four and shipping in three. In a parallel universe this probably continues. Click to continue reading...

Believe it or not, back at the start of the transfer window most of the talk at the Lane was whether or not Stewart One-Trick Downing would dip his right shoulder, dart out to the left and pitch up in N17. Seems an age ago now, n'est-ce pas? And who would have possibly imagined back [...] Click to continue reading...

Tottenham have been one of the busiest Premier League sides in this current transfer window. It is no real surprise really, they're in a very precarious position in the league and have brought in a new manager who will want to reshape the side. There is one strange aspect though, a lot of [...] Click to continue reading...

Well it seems Tottenham are going to take a step in the right direction.. FINALLY! Word on the street is that they have just offered Chelsea a £1 million bid for their back up keeper Carlo Cudicini. With Heurelo "Hands of Bricks" Gomes not playing up to his level of talk in the beginning of the season. Click to continue reading...