Firstly credit to Stoke. They work on a shoestring budget in comparison to us and they are consolidating their position as solid Premier League side. Unfortunately, the result did nothing for Spurs chances of consolidating their position in the top 4!

I don't think you can criticise Harry's tactics or the Tottenham performance as a whole.

Harry Redknapp gave Jermain Defoe a dressing down in front of his team mates after his sending off against Pompey on Saturday. Nothing wrong with that as far as I'm concerned, especially when he already warned him to cool it at half time.

Redknapp said: "Yes. He's sorry for what's done.

After seven games, things all look very rosy. I certainly would have taken 15pts and 4th place in the table at this stage if you had asked me at the start of the season. We can't stop scoring and our only defeats have been to arguably the best two sides in the country. We are certainly improving and very much going the right way under Harry but for me there are still five teams in the league that are better than us and I don't see what we can do about that.

It seems like we are reverting back to the Spurs of a few years ago with awful luck where players getting injured is concerned. After losing Bassong and Ledley on Sunday, our defence is literally in pieces. Woodgate has no imminent return date and although Dawson isn't too far away now, him leading the line is something I don't want to think about.

It's a shame but it's not the end of the world. We were beaten by a better side on the day. While I would have hoped we could cope with Utd at the Lane the fact is we couldn't on Saturday. It doesn't mean we can't.

It's easy for me to make comment after the game and I'm not criticising Harry's tactics but I was a little puzzled by his decision to shuffle the side and start Keane out of position rather than bring Kranjcar in as a like for like swap for Modric.

Tottenham are probably better equipped to beat Manchester United tomorrow than they have been at any point in the last ten years. I have no doubt Spurs are more than capable of beating Utd at White Hart Lane on Saturday and I think they just might.

Personnel aside, the difference between the current Tottenham squad and those of years gone by is belief.

With a number of players not returning to training until Friday, it means we only have one day to prepare for Saturday's crunch clash with Manchester United. Harry Redknapp isn't happy about this situation;

"I have no idea in my head of what team I will be able to play against United because of these internationals and because many of them won't be back at the club until next Friday.

As our currently absent Miss Spur alluded to some time ago, Niko Kranjcar finally completed his move to Spurs yesterday. It's a Croatian to replace a Croatian by the looks of things after Luka Modric picked up a significant injury at the weekend.

After being linked with a number of targets on deadline day, some good and some worryingly bad, we ended up with just the one signing and probably the best of the bunch at that.

The Tottenham team has pretty much been picking itself in the league since the opening game of season, but after some good performances from the fringe players at Doncaster on Wednesday, do any of them deserve to start at the Lane against Birmingham tomorrow?

It's a hard one for Harry Redknapp because on paper, Birmingham at home should be an easy 3 points.

I thought this might be interesting, feel free to get involved. If it works I'll make it a regular thing during games.

Teams
Spurs
1. Heurelho Gomes
2. Alan Hutton
22. Vedran Corluka
19. Sebastien Bassong
32. Benoit Assou-Ekotto
7.

I wasn't too interested in last night's International so went and played some golf very badly in a thunderstorm instead. I wished I'd stayed at home to see little Defoe's brace. From the highlights, it looked as though England made some silly mistakes but showed very good fight and team spirit to pull it back and come out the game with a 2-2 draw.

There are reports circulating today that Jermaine Jenas has submitted a transfer request. He has been linked with a move to Inter for a while after Jose Mourinho voiced his admiration for the player earlier in the summer. I wouldn't be that surprised to see JJ go. I get the impression he probably thinks he's a bit better than Tottenham and probably also expected to have moved on to a bigger club before now although his performances for us haven't demonstrated that he's worthy of such a move.

It looks like all our defensive responsibilities are being pinned on Ledley King for the big kick off against Liverpool at the Lane in two Sundays time. Considering last week Harry was saying our hero was yet to kick a ball this pre season, I'm a little concerned.

What concerns me more is the fact Levy has authorised an £8m deal for a centre back.

With the arrival of Peter Crouch, Tottenham now have four top strikers at what should be the peak of their football careers. In this day and age, Premiership clubs need to have a depth of talent in all areas of their squads but this means some players are likely to miss out. If all our strikers can keep themselves fit for the majority of the season, how will Harry keep them happy?

I went to see Spurs take on the mighty Barcelona on Friday night and paid £60 for the privilege. In reality, the ticket was probably worth no more than 60p.

After being forced to queue for nearly an hour to collect the tickets, we just about made it into the stadium as the game was kicking off.

It's half way through July now and we are yet to see any fresh faces at the Lane. I really thought Harry would have brought in one or two players before next weeks Wembley Cup but it's not looking very likely at the moment.

The thought of Patrick Vieira makes me very sad. I thought Arsenal did the right thing cashing in on him in 2005.

There have been noises over the last few days about David Beckham becoming a Spurs player. I'd be surprised if the club managed to pull this off but after the money we got for Zokora, anything is possible!

Personally, I'd see this as a great move and massive step forward for Tottenham. David Beckham can still play to a decent standard, his marketing value is second to none and just his presence at the club would likely give everyone a massive boost.

As there is still a distinct lack of solid activity on the transfer front, and with the rumours getting more and more desperate, I thought it might be a good chance to analyse those players that Spurs would probably be happy to offload this summer.

We are still quite heavy on the Team Comolli front but I'm slightly concerned that we won't even be able to give a couple of those superstars away.

For me, this is a great time of year to be a Spurs fan. I love all the stories about who we are going to sign that never come to fruition but year on year people still fall for the same old bullshit. If you think of all the big names we have been linked with in the last five years or so, how many have we actually signed?

Robbie Keane might have been struggling for form since arriving back from Liverpool but I'm confident he'll be back to his best next season. He didn't play much football whilst there and coming straight back into the Spurs side playing every week has probably been more difficult for him to adjust to than we all thought it would.

I've refrained from commenting on the Ledley King fiasco until now but another day of bullshit from The Sun and Daily Mail has compelled me to. All these magical quotes and new witnesses that are appearing day after day are quite astounding.

Most people I know would retaliate if a fat head bouncer grappled them into some kind of full nelson on a night out.

When I suggested Tottenham had an outside chance of securing European football next season through our league position, I was laughed at and only had Glenn Hoddle for support. With three games to go, we only one point away from a spot in next season's Europa League.

I'd expect us to beat Man City at home in two weeks time but either side of that match are games at both the Premiership teams from Merseyside.

It was more hard work than it needed to be, but victory over Newcastle has really cemented Tottenham's position and kept us on course for 7th place.

Darren Bent's slightly scrappy goal was the difference as far as the score line was concerned, but there was a definite gulf in quality and Spurs should have killed the game off in the first half.

I did something similar on the Goons over at North London Divide last night and I thought it would be interesting to see who people thought was our player of the season.

I don't want to dwell on this too much but Arsenal are in a position where they can still win a trophy this season so their player of the season could change if someone drives them to FA Cup or Champions league glory (unlikely I know), but our season is pretty much over other than the battle for 7th place and UEFA Cup football next season.