The big news ahead of this evening's game is that Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon are back in contention and with Rafael van der Vaart ruled out, both could play from the start.

"Jermain has trained okay in the last couple of days and Aaron Lennon as well, he's coming back, he's looked sharp," said Harry on Friday.

While Harry continues to dominate the headlines there's the small matter of our Premiership fixture against Newcastle United on Saturday evening as Spurs prepare to welcome their boss back into the dugout.

Normally at this stage of proceedings we have an injury update and the club will be sweating on the fitness of a number of players including Jermain Defoe, Rafael van der Vaart, Younes Kaboul and Aaron Lennon.

OTP gazes into its crystal ball to see who might take to the pitch to face France on June 11. 1. Shaka Hislop [Bloody Trinidad and Tobago] David James 2. Pascal Chimbonda [Passport TBC - but he's already played for two international teams so shouldn't be a problem] 3. Julian Dicks 4. Izzy Iriekpen 5.

It's widely expected that Louis Saha will make his Spurs bow this evening as there are injury doubts concerning Jermain Defoe, Rafael van der Vaart and Emmanuel Adebayor. However, these are only doubts and as we've seen before this season, these worries have a habit of failing to materialise.

Poka, Pav
It has been one hell of a busy fortnight in the world of Tottenham Hotspur – and not a whisper of any of it from The Boys From White Hart Lane. For shame.
So, in a desperate attempt to catch up - and stay relevant – TBFWHL is taking a look back at 14 days in which Spurs stumbled into the fifth round of the FA Cup, re-entered the title race after a brief remission and brought in a couple of battle-hardened veterans at the expense of a cult hero.

Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur
6 February 2012
20.00 GMT
Anfield

History:
Total: 153
Liverpool Wins: 70
Tottenham Wins: 45
Draws: 38

Last Premier League Meeting: 18 September 2011 – Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool

Form:
Liverpool: The last three games have been perhaps the best run of three games Liverpool have had this season, advancing in both cups with first a 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the League Cup then a 2-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup, before pulverizing Wolves a weekend ago by a 3-0 scoreline.

Spurs assistant manager Kevin Bond revealed that Aaron Lennon and Jermain Defoe remain as major doubts for Monday night's clash with Liverpool. Both players have been struggling with hamstring injuries and while the timing of the game gives them an extra chance to recover, it looks as if both will miss out.

Following the conclusion of a loan deal to send full-back Vedran Corluka to Bayer Leverkusen for the remainder of the season, Tottenham Hotspur are set to live up to their expectations of making significant moves at the eleventh hour.

The 25-year old Corluka's work ethic has been consistently praised by Spurs boss Harry Redknapp but the Croatia international's playing time was limited this season by the emergence of youngster Kyle Walker.

In amongst all the transfer rumour chaos there's a Premier League game to be played tonight and according to Spurs' assistant Joe Jordan, there are a few injury worries ahead of the game with Wigan.

Jordan revealed new doubts over Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, both of whom have picked up fresh hamstring injuries in the last few days.

"Go on, touch it. I've put the safety on."Football on a Friday night? It's just not cricket. Perhaps that was the reason for Tottenham's utterly distasteful performance at Vicarage Road as they scraped past a plucky Watford. If you were to believe the general theme of the commentary and post-match media reports, you'd be forgiven for thinking Spurs arrived in north west London, rudely parked their giant team coach wherever they chose, shaped to headbutt anyone and everyone on their way in and spend the entire game cheating and coercing the ref into allowing them victory.

It's been such a flat start to the week after Sunday's defeat which was hard to take, followed by current Spurs headlines which are dominated by Harry's court case.

The season goes on however and at the club, Joe Jordan and Jermain Defoe are leading the voices that are ‘taking the positives' out of Sunday's game.

The great irony here being that if it was Peter Crouch, it 100% would have gone inFootball, the great reducing force in all our lives. If Jermain Defoe had stretched for that Bale cross just a millisecond earlier, we'd all be headed to work this morning without that overbearing sense of melancholy that you're probably still feeling.

The great irony here being that if it was Peter Crouch, it 100% would have gone inFootball, the great reducing force in all our lives. If Jermain Defoe had stretched for that Bale cross just a millisecond earlier, we'd all be headed to work this morning without that overbearing sense of melancholy that you're probably still feeling.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Those who woke up early on Sunday morning were treated to one of the best Premier League games of the season.

Manchester City used a last-minute penalty from Mario Balotelli to beat Tottenham 3-2 and go six points clear at the top of the table.

Harry Redknapp praised his players after yesterday's agonising defeat at Manchester City and at one point, the manager and his bench were convinced that Jermain Defoe had snatched a late winner.

"Gareth rolled the ball square to Jermain and we were all up on our feet ready for the ball to be put into the empty net," Harry said.

In the big two Sunday games in the Premier League, both Manchester City and Manchester United dealt big blows to North London rivals Spurs and Arsenal.

In the first game, Man City won a thrilling controversial 3-2 match thanks to Mario Balotelli's injury-time penalty.

The controversy is whether Balotelli should have been on the field to score the penalty as he appeared to stamp on Scott Parker's head.

In the big two Sunday games in the Premier League, both Manchester City and Manchester United dealt big blows to North London rivals Spurs and Arsenal.

In the first game, Man City won a thrilling controversial 3-2 match thanks to Mario Balotelli's injury-time penalty.

The controversy is whether Balotelli should have been on the field to score the penalty as he appeared to stamp on Scott Parker's head.

Manchester City maintain their lead at the top of table and also widen their gap with third place team, Tottenham Hotspurs after Roberto Mancini's team edged passed Harry Redknapp's boys this Sunday.

Controversial Italian striker, Mario Balotelli arrived as City's savior in the match after scoring the winning goal deep in injury time.

Man City vs Tottenham 3-2 Goals Highlights 2012 Nasri Lescott Defoe Bale Balotelli penalty Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Man City vs Tottenham 3-2 Goals Highlights 2012 Nasri Lescott Defoe Bale Balotelli penalty Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Manchester City vs Tottenham 2012 ( Man City vs Spurs video below) Final score and result:- Man City vs Tottenham 3-2 ( S.

Manchester City went six points clear at the Barclays Premier League summit after a late penalty conversion from Mario Balotelli ensured a thrilling 3-2 win over a resilient Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium.

After a slow first half, the hosts came alive at the beginning of the second, with goals from Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott creating a comfortable two-goal cushion.

Many are labelling this weekend's game as a grudge match with Spurs seeking revenge for the beating they received at White Hart Lane earlier in the season. According to a recent poll by Sky Sports, Spurs are also the favourites to win the league, no doubt partly due to the new-found hatred that City has acquired.

As we are all aware, Emmanuel Adebayor will be force to sit this one out but is it a simple case of bringing in Jermain Defoe as a straight replacement. Could Harry accommodate Pavlyuchenko in a 4-4-2 or even play five across the midfield tomorrow.

The other issue surrounds club captain Ledley King who may be a bigger doubt for the game than was suggested earlier in the week.

The transformation from Bruce Banner to the Incredible Hulk still isn't an easy process to watchHello? Is this thing still on? Oh good, you're still here.
Apologies for the delay in regular programming but, fret not, The Boys From White Hart Lane is back from it's Christmas hiatus and is ready to rock your socks off all over again in this new year.

It's been a frustrating period for Jermain Defoe whereby he has spent most of his time on the bench in recent weeks. Despite scoring some valuable goals when he has been on the pitch, the striker is a firm third in the White Hart Lane pecking order behind Adebayor and VDV.

JD will surely get his chance this weekend however as Adebayor is forced to sit out the game against his parent club and in his newspaper column, manager Harry Redknapp almost went overboard in praising his ‘back up' striker.

You know you've MADE IT in the Ballers Bitchy Books when even Rafael van der Vaart can't stop himself from laughing at you! Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened to Mario Balotelli before the City/Spurs kick-off last weekend he ignored every single human being on his way out of the players tunnel.

We've gone past the mid-way point in this winter's transfer window and as yet there's little sign of movement into or out of White Hart Lane. It's looking like it could be a repeat of last year's quiet January and for now, rumours linking two of Tottenham's fringe squad have been denied.

Vedran Corluka has hardly featured for the first team all season yet when asked if the Croatian would be sold in this window, Harry Redknapp answered with an emphatic ‘no'.

Former Newcastle and West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop believes that Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe would be the perfect strike-partner for Luis Suarez, but expects Liverpool to have a tough time convincing Harry Redknapp to let him go. Analysing Liverpool's goalscoring problems on ESPN yesterday, Hislop enthused:"I think Jermain Defoe would make a fantastic partner for Suarez when he comes back.

While Loic Remy may not be available until the end of the season, if you believe PSG's new manager Carlo Ancelotti, there are a number of options this month in the striking department for Spurs to consider.

Big spending PSG attract a lot of attention at the moment and when quizzed about possible targets, Ancelotti gave reporters a list of names that are supposedly being touted around clubs by their agents.

Reports doing the rounds suggest that Liverpool are in the market looking to buy a striker to bloster their attack. The Reds have been linked with Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe who Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is willing to offer £10 million to acquire.

However a tug of war is emerging between Tottenham and Defoe with Redknapp set on keeping him at White Hart Lane while Defoe is bent on leaving after already telling his agent that he wants to move in this transfer window.

We've seen the rumours linking Jermain Defoe with a move away from Spurs before but while the stories surrounding a move to Arsenal in the summer seemed unlikely, could today's Liverpool link be more plausible?

The story seems to have broken in The Daily Mirror and may just have come from adding up a sequence of possible events: JD has a new agent with supposed ties to Liverpool who in turn might be looking to offload Andy Carroll while needing to cover the loss of Luis Suarez.

Liverpool is on the verge of signing a new striker, according to legendary goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.
Liverpool struggled to hit the net again this weekend with a 0-0 draw at home to Stoke and have scored just eight goals in their last nine Premier League games. With Luis Suarez suspended for eight games, strikers Dirk Kuyt and Andy Carroll have come under pressure to perform but Carroll has only scored twice this season, while Kuyt has yet to break his drought.

Liverpool is on the verge of signing a new striker, according to legendary goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar.
Liverpool struggled to hit the net again this weekend with a 0-0 draw at home to Stoke and have scored just eight goals in their last nine Premier League games. With Luis Suarez suspended for eight games, strikers Dirk Kuyt and Andy Carroll have come under pressure to perform but Carroll has only scored twice this season, while Kuyt has yet to break his drought.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is said to be monitoring the situation around Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe after news emerged that his agent told the club that the striker wants to leave in this transfer window in order to get more regular starts.
Dalglish is said to be considering a number of players to bolster his attacking options due to Luis Suarez's suspension and Andy Caroll's prolonged struggle for form.

As we saw against Stoke earlier today, Liverpool are still crying out for a 'fox in the box' goal-poacher; a Robbie Fowler-type player with a knack for scoring goals regularly. With that in mind, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp confirmed today that several clubs are interested in Jermain Defoe, who is 'disappointed' with the way things are going for him at Spurs.

Tottenham vs Wolves 1-1 Highlights Video Goals Fletcher Modric 2012 is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Tottenham vs Wolves 1-1 Highlights Video Goals Fletcher Modric 2012 is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Tottenham vs Wolves 2012 ( Spurs v Wolves 2012 video below) Final score and result:- Tottenham vs Wolves 1-1 ( Modric/ Fletcher) White Hart Lane, London- 14th January, 2012- Saturday-15.

Tottenham vs Everton 2-0 Highlights 2012 Lennon Assou-Ekotto Goals Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Tottenham vs Everton 2-0 Highlights 2012 Lennon Assou-Ekotto Goals Video is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Tottenham vs Everton 2012 ( Spurs v Everton 2012 video below) Final score and result:- Tottenham vs Everton 2-0 ( Aaron Lennon, Benoit-Assou Ekotto) White Hart Lane, London- 11 January, 2011- Wednesday- 19.

Jermain Defoe will be hoping that his recent performances have earned him a place in Tottenham's starting XI tonight and if he does take to the pitch against Everton, the striker will hope that Spurs can be more ruthless in finishing off their opponents tonight.

In cementing third place and opening up a five point gap over Chelsea, it's hard to say that the club has been stuttering but fans would hope to see recent 1-0 wins turned into more comfortable victories and that will be down to the strikers in the main.

The big news to come out of White Hart Lane this week surrounds Scott Parker who remains extremely doubtful for tonight's clash. Speaking yesterday at his press conference, manager Harry Redknapp said,

"Scott is struggling," said Harry. "He's doubtful, in fact, he's very doubtful.

"We've one or two injuries.

Spurs enjoyed a comfortable enough win over Cheltenham in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday and manager Harry Redknapp was quick to praise many members of the side. While Aaron Lennon and Michael Dawson returned from injury, Niko Kranjcar impressed in a rare start and Jake Livermore also caught the boss's eye as he filled in at right back.

Tottenham vs Cheltenham Highlights 3-0 FA Cup Goals Video 2012 Defoe Dos Santos Pavlyuchenko is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Tottenham vs Cheltenham Highlights 3-0 FA Cup Goals Video 2012 Defoe Dos Santos Pavlyuchenko is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Tottenham vs Cheltenham 2012 ( Tottenham Cheltenham FA Cup video below) Final score and result:- Tottenham vs Cheltenham 3-0 ( Defoe, Pavlyuchenko, Dos Santos) White Hart Lane, 7th January, 2012- [.