Today's announcement at Southwark Crown Court means that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is free to
resume full duties at White Hart Lane. We are therefore unlikely to see a repeat of Monday's game
at Liverpool where Harry was absent due to transport problems and it's likely that all the players
will be happy to see his familiar face in the dugout.
Outside of Harry's court case, the issues surrounding John Terry and the England captaincy have
been firmly in the media spotlight this week and while the attention is currently on manager Fabio
Capello, two of Tottenham's England internationals could be set to profit from the affair.
Scott Parker emerged last season to command a regular place in the England side and since his
move to White Hart Lane, our outstanding midfielder must surely be one of the first names on
Capello's team sheet.
szólj hozzá: Liverpool Tottenham HIGHLIGHTS
Who let the cat out? A tabby provided the most excitement in the Liverpool vs Spurs match, a
cagey affair. Luis Suarez came on in the 66th minute after his nine match ban and promptly plonked
Scott Parker on the abdomen with a scything foot, an accident more than anything else, but with
Suarez the line is finely drawn.
Since the transfer window came into force during the 2002-03 season, Spurs have been one of the
most active clubs in terms of players arriving at and leaving White Hart Lane.
After a fairly quiet window by their standards – signing trio Yago Falque, Louis Saha and Ryan
Nelsen all on free transfers, let's take a look at seven players signed for big money during the
January period.
After nine matches away, El Pistolero was back in the Liverpool line up. The Uruguayan had been
watching in the stands as the mighty Reds gained excellent results against Manchester City and
Manchester United without him. Suarez came on as a substitute and could not inspire Liverpool
against a weakened Spurs team.
Sky TV were quick to give the champagne to Scott Parker last night and while it's hard to argue
with that assessment, were there other, more worthy candidates at the heart of Spurs defence?
Speaking after the game, TV pundit Gary Neville pointed to a previous ‘soft centre' in the
Tottenham side which would have seen us lose a match like that in the past and that's why he agreed
with the Parker decision.
Liverpool were presented with a golden chance of going within 2 points of 4th place after
Chelsea were held to another draw on the weekend against Manchester United.
But it was not to be as Liverpool were held to their eighth league draw at Anfield by a
determined Spurs outfit.
Andy Carroll went close to opening the scoring early on after Steven Gerrard sent through an
inch perfect pass to Carroll who was stopped by an inch perfect tackle by Michael Dawson.
Luis Suarez made his return from his eight-match suspension but their was no fairy tale ending
as Liverpool and Spurs played to a goalless draw at Anfield.
Suarez started the game on the bench and he watched his teammates come flying out of the blocks
with Gerrard slipping a delightful through ball to Andy Carroll only for Michael Dawson to make a
goal-saving fifth-minute challenge.
THFC1882 welcomes back guest writer Kenny Palmer with a preview of Tottenham
Hotspur versus Wigan.
A week is a long time in football, as Spurs two contrasting performances highlighted. Heroic in
defeat against Manchester City earning plaudits for the character they showed in coming back from
2-0 down to level the scores before losing to an injury time penalty.
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.
THFC 1882 present Kenny Palmer with a report on Tottenham Hotspurs latest
match.
After Wednesday's victory against Everton which propelled Spurs to just three points behind
leaders Manchester City the team went into the game with expectations of going joint top with a
victory over Wolves.
Benoît Pierre David Assou-Ekotto, or Mr Consistency to a growing number of Spurs fans always
scores well in our polls but did his performance last night finally secure our man of the match
award?
BAE's most telling influences on the game came in attack with the raking diagonal ball that set up
Aaron Lennon and the pile-driving second half strike that doubled his tally in a Spurs shirt.
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.
Michael Dawson declared that he was delighted to be back in the fold after his contribution
helped Spurs to a 3-0 win over Cheltenham at the weekend. However the news was tempered with
reports that club captain Ledley King has suffered yet another injury setback.
"It was great to be out there playing again," said Dawson after the match.
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.
THFC1882 returns from it's Christmas and New Year break. Whilst we were off,
Tottenham Hotspur collected 7 points from Norwich, Swansea and West Brom, happy days. Today, the FA
Cup 3rd round was the focus and we have a special guest reporter for you. Here's Danny
Carrier from the Camden New Journal with his report:
This was the chance for Harry Redknapp's fringe players to step up to the plate and show what
they could do as well as give Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon some much needed game time to get
their match fitness back.
It's a depleted side that will step out on the park to face Cheltenham in the FA Cup tomorrow
but we do know that Michael Dawson and Aaron Lennon will play at least.
Elsewhere, injuries and loan departures mean that Harry will pick from whoever is available,
while looking for a chance to rest some of his more influential players
It's great to have Michael coming back, he's been out quite a while now," said Harry Redknapp
about tomorrow's likely skipper.
Spurs were already in the midst of an injury crisis when Brazilian midfielder Sandro limped out
of action on the half hour mark of yesterday's win over West Brom. The news got worse as Sandro's
replacement Jake Livermore left proceedings after a clash of heads with Younes Kaboul.
The situation has left the club with few right sided options in midfield with Scott Parker
nursing a knee injury and Tom Huddlestone a long term absentee.
Several senior Spurs players are currently struggling with hamstring injuries and that could
lead to an early move in the transfer market when the window opens next month.
Ledley King, Younes Kaboul, Aaron Lennon, Rafael van der Vaart and Jermain Defoe all have
similar problems and after enjoying a settled side for so long, Harry now has a major selection
headache ahead of the festive period.
Harry Redknapp has hinted at another quiet January for Spurs fans but is this just a smokescreen
or will the dealings at White Hart Lane next month really mirror those of 2011?
In goal, there are no immediate problems but if Heurelho Gomes does leave, it may make sense to
look for a permanent replacement for Brad Friedel now, rather than later.
It's a mixed bag of news this morning with regards to the three players who suffered injuries
over the weekend as they battle to be fit for the Chelsea game on Thursday.
Speaking on Talksport, assistant manager Kevin Bond insisted that neither Bale nor Defoe would
be risked if they weren't fully fit while it seems that Aaron Lennon can definitely be ruled out
after suffering his hamstring tear.
THFC1882 welcomes another guest writer on board. This time it's Glen Bocking.
Glen is an Essex boy but now lives in Stoke so is handily placed to attend this game. Glen's first
Spurs memories are the '91 FA Cup semi and final! Great start to his Spurs watching!
Absolute Radio have live commentary of West Brom v Spurs today. I'll be on with Ian Wright
sometime after 5pm to talk about the game. Here is an exclusive of an interesting interview they
did with Harry Redknapp that will be going out later today.
Int: So, Harry, tough trip on Saturday, how's the squad looking?
After we suggested that William Gallas would walk straight back into the side for Monday night's
game against Aston Villa, it was obvious, following Younes Kaboul's performance in the match that
the younger French defender has become one of the first names on Harry Redknapp's team sheet.
Harry himself hailed Kaboul after the match,
"Younes Kaboul's heading was incredible, he dominated," said Harry, before going on to claim
that the centre half is finally beginning to realise his potential.
With the 2012 olympics drawing ever closer we thought It would be great to explain a few of the
rules before picking the squad we would take to the games. So first some of the rules
explained to you via ticket company Get Me In Separate nations The Welsh, Scottish and Irish [...]
Related posts:
- England vs Wales: Euro 2012 Qualifier Preview
- International week, Ultimate Team and its impending doom.
Having just defeated the World Cup holders, Spain, and then Sweden, their bete noire (Sweden
were undefeated against England for almost half a century, until Tuesday evening), England have
gone nine matches without defeat. Fortunes are good, expectations are up, possibilities are
endless. England beat Spain without Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Steven Gerrard and
then they beat Sweden with Bobby Zamora, Stewart Downing and Theo Walcott in attack and Jack
Rodwell and Phil Jones in midfield.
Manager Harry Redknapp said last month that an operation on Michael Dawson's troublesome
Achilles would be a ‘last resort', but as we learned yesterday, that has become a reality and
will keep the England defender out until January at least.
A statement on the club website reads: 'Michael Dawson has today undergone surgery to his right
Achilles tendon to assist with his recovery.
Tottenham have more immediate concerns than the Europa League. Their manager Harry Redknapp's
health, usurping Arsenal and Chelsea as the top team in London and qualifying for next season's
Champions League. Why, though, is the Europa League so far down their list of priorities?
Having stumbled to a victory against Rubin Kazan at White Hart Lane, despite resting the
majority of their first team players and consequently playing poorly, Tottenham decided to rest
even more players for the away fixture against Rubin Kazan.
William was fooling no-one with his 'steady hand' display.
By Jamie
DunnThe Europa League may not be at the forefront of everyone's thinking at White Hart Lane this
season, but while Harry Redknapp is unable to attend Thursday's game against Rubin Kazan due to his
recovery from minor heart surgery, William Gallas has presented him and the Tottenham faithful with
reason to watch events in Russia with added interest.
William was fooling no-one with his 'steady hand' display.
By Jamie
DunnThe Europa League may not be at the forefront of everyone's thinking at White Hart Lane this
season, but while Harry Redknapp is unable to attend Thursday's game against Rubin Kazan due to his
recovery from minor heart surgery, William Gallas has presented him and the Tottenham faithful with
reason to watch events in Russia with added interest.
Speculation may continue about possible transfer targets for Spurs this January but manager
Harry Redknapp has indicated today that it could be another quiet winter at the Lane.
Speaking on Talksport, Harry did highlight the defensive injury problems that Spurs have
suffered since the start of the season.
An injury crisis stripped the club of William Gallas, Michael Dawson, Ledley King and Vedran
Corluka leaving us to field what was practically our only available back four yesterday, but
two-goal Rafael van der Vaart was quick to praise our defence's contribution.
"When you score you're always in the headlines, but I think the defenders were amazing
today.
Spurs appear to be happy with the development of their summer signing Cristian Ceballos and
reports today are suggesting that they could head back to Barcelona in an attempt to solve their
centre half problems.
With Ledley King, Michael Dawson and William Gallas all out injured, the need for cover is
evident and the names of Marc Batra and Martin Montoya are being suggested as long term
answers.
This season Harry Redknapp seems to have his first squad at Tottenham Hotspur that he is
completely happy with. With the Europa League campaign potentially hindering our chances of
grasping a spot in the top four of the Premier League, depth in key positions is vital. The
signings of Brad Friedel, Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor have massively boosted our chances in
repeating the feat of reaching the Champions League group stages as we did in 2009/2010.
While Emmanuel Adebayor remains a major doubt for Spurs ahead of this weekend's match at
Newcastle, there was more bad news today with reports that Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar both
picked up knocks while on duty for Croatia in the week.
Both are doubtful for this Sunday's game and while they weren't necessarily expected to play
from the start, the Spurs bench is starting to look a bit thin.
All the team news, key facts and stats ahead of the Premier League clash at White Hart Lane.
TEAM NEWS
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will revert to his first-choice line-up for the derby,
meaning Emmanuel Adebayor is in line to face his former club Arsenal at White Hart Lane.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is facing what could be his biggest selection dilemma of the season
so far with the return to fitness of William Gallas.
With Ledley King's return, Tottenham have kept two clean sheets at the back as our club captain
forged a partnership with Younes Kaboul and some fans are already saying that the absence of
Michael Dawson has led to what they believe to be our first choice pairing at the back.
Tottenham play host to Liverpool on Sunday with both sides looking to enhance their top four
aspirations.
Both sides will be aiming for a UEFA Champions League finish come the end of the season and they
will be hoping to gain an early psychological edge with victory at White Hart Lane.
The hosts go into the game buoyed by their first win of the season over Wolves last weekend, while
Liverpool will be seeking to bounce back from their defeat at Stoke last time.
Tottenham play host to Liverpool on Sunday with both sides looking to enhance their top four
aspirations.
Both sides will be aiming for a UEFA Champions League finish come the end of the season and they
will be hoping to gain an early psychological edge with victory at White Hart Lane.
The hosts go into the game buoyed by their first win of the season over Wolves last weekend, while
Liverpool will be seeking to bounce back from their defeat at Stoke last time.
Preview: Tottenham v Liverpool
Liverpool travel to White Hart Lane for Sunday's early afternoon kick-off against Tottenham
Hotspur and The Reds will be wary not to make too many assumptions about how the game might pan
out. Watch Spurs v Liverpool live > > Looking at the league table it's 17th v 6th with the
home side having just got back from a trip to Greece for their Europa League match against PAOK
Salonica.