Casual lobotomy is one of my less typical weekend pursuits, but I'm willing to hazard that were
one to pluck out the respective brains of BAE and Scott Parker, the two would be as dissimilar as
medically possible. At one point in the second half yesterday I'm fairly sure Benny executed a
scorpion kick, seemingly just to pass the time.
Tottenham vs Newcastle Goals 5-0 Highlights 2012 Adebayor Saha Kranjcar Assou-Ekotto Video is a
post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
Tottenham vs Newcastle Goals 5-0 Highlights 2012 Adebayor Saha Kranjcar Assou-Ekotto Video is a
post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Tottenham vs Newcastle 2012 ( Spurs
Newcastle Video Below) Final score and result:- Tottenham vs Newcastle 5-0 ( B.
So finally this much-vaunted "Game in Hand" is upon us. Truth be told, I will be a little sad to
see it go. It has practically become part of the family, like a scruffy, uncouth urchin discovered
in the wreckage of the summer riots, and adopted by the cheery folk of White Hart Lane. And let's
face it, this Game in Hand has proved more useful than the Sword of Omens when it comes to
pointless bickering with fans of l'Arse, Chelski, Liverpool and the like.
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has called on his players to fight for their spots in his side.
Talented players like Steven Pienaar and Niko Kranjcar have seen limited action for Spurs this
season, but Redknapp insists that the second half of the season will give them ample opportunities
to impress both him and fans.
In truth, there have been relatively few rumours linking Spurs players into or away from the
club and this has been a relatively quiet window so far. However, it seems that Harry Redknapp has
spent most of his time deflecting attention away from the majority of players already in the
squad.
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.
Crunch time. This one could not be much bigger if it were written in size 72 font, stretched in
a rack and then injected with muscle-steroid-type-things by that Russian giant of a chap David Haye
beat a couple of years back. It's not just the three points, which would give us a five-point
platform from which to wave down at Chelski, with a game in hand.
When Aaron Lennon limped out of yesterday's action on 27 minutes, it must have been tempting for
manager Harry Redknapp to look at the midfield alternatives he had waiting on the bench.
Either Niko Kranjcar or Steven Pienaar could have been a more obvious choice but Harry's
positive move of putting Roman Pavlyuchenko on the pitch was to eventually pay off.
"The measure of greatness is not how many you win, but how you react to defeat". Or something
along those lines. In fact, AANP may have invented that just now.
Anyway, the point is that the epithet has been fairly redundant for as far back as I can
remember, as we would generally fail to win in the first place, and then react to defeat with
another defeat, or a two-goal lead thrown away late on, or whatever.
Injuries and suspension at the centre of defence could force Harry Redknapp to bring back Ledley
King for Sunday's game against Martin O'Neill's side. Harry reports that Ledley is struggling but
we've been in this position before where the club captain makes an unexpected return to the line
up.
The Europa League has given some good opportunities for some of our younger players to gain some
experience and the group games have probably been influential in the new contracts earned by Tom
Carroll and Jake Livermore last week.
It has also given some of our fringe players a rare chance to operate in the first team but with
European elimination looking likely, this could be the last chance for some of them to shine.
After a disappointing campaign in 2010-11, the season started on a more positive note for Niko
Kranjcar as he stepped into the breach when fellow Croatian Luka Modric endured an unsettled
August. The player's performance against Hearts even drew praise from manager Harry Redknapp,
"I thought Niko Kranjcar was outstanding in midfield," said Harry at the time.
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.
Michael Regan/Getty Images(Bleacher Report) This morning Caughtoffside has reported that Liverpool
are still in spending mode as they have been in contact with Tottenham Hotspur about both Niko
Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka.
Both could be set for Anfield with a total combined fee of £15 million int he works.
Michael Regan/Getty Images(Bleacher Report) This morning Caughtoffside has reported that Liverpool
are still in spending mode as they have been in contact with Tottenham Hotspur about both Niko
Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka.
Both could be set for Anfield with a total combined fee of £15 million int he works.
Largely thanks to injuries and the issue of Luka Modric's head, fellow Croatian Niko Kranjcar
has played a full part in Spurs' early season campaign.
While many thought his time at White Hart Lane was up, there was a distinct lack of rumours
linking Niko with a move this summer and after the transfer window passed, the player is looking
forward to being more involved this season.
As 11pm came on Wednesday there was a palpable sigh of relief from many Spurs fans. Finally all
the press speculation about who was on their way in and out of the club could be put to bed and now
the focus would be on the football. At least until December, just before the next window
opened.
At the end of last season it seemed that Niko Kranjcar's time at Spurs was at an end. After
winning goals against Bolton and Sunderland he was consigned, in the main, to the subs' bench and
after highlighting his lack of first team action, it seemed almost certain that he would be moving
on.
Liverpool are reportedly considering a move to snap up Tottenham pair Vedran Corluka and Niko
Kranjcar as Kenny Dalglish looks to continue his summer spending spree. Harry Redknapp is keen to
bring in funds from the sale of squad players to help finance White Hart Lane additions and may
consider offers from the Anfield side for the duo.
Optimism to follow, but it would be remiss to begin proceedings with anything other than the
nasty business of a post-mortem...
The Arnie Approach
In the absence of our recognised midfield enforcers, our glorious leader adopted the cunning
tactical ploy of leaving the back-four without any protection to handle a City front-line so shiny
and expensive they had Tevez on the bench, while the rest of our team was crammed with attacking
types .
An early preview, as I'm off gallivanting for the weekend, and for the second time in a week
this all looks rather ominous. City's charming social experiment into whether money can indeed buy
you everything has turned them into something approaching the equal of the United side that so
emphatically dismantled us last week.
Supporters' etiquette dictates that we ought to be mightily supportive of the emergence of
home-bred talent into the first team, but here at AANP Towers constructive criticism of the various
whippersnappers is obscured by outrage at how unfeasibly young they all are. With their trendy
haircuts and no doubt listening to music that would simply sound like noise to the bastions of AANP
Towers, Townsend, Fredericks and Kane appeared to have been plucked from the fresh-faced crowds
milling around collecting their GCSE results earlier in the day.
My, this is embarrassing. We wait three months – plus those tortuous extra 9 days – for our
season to begin, then promptly find ourselves nestled amongst the bottom one teams in the table
after being torn apart by a bunch of blasted kids. Thank heavens for the fixture-list and its
remaining 37 entries.
Another season, another defeat at Old Trafford. The experience might be familiar, but we did
learn a few new things last night (or at least had our memories jogged).
1. Age is merely a concept
The most pleasing aspect of last night's game was the performance of our geriatric goalie Brad
Friedel.
Rejoice, all ye fellow lilywhites. Admittedly it is also with a degree of trepidation (Old
Trafford will do that to a Spurs fan) but goodness me it is wonderful finally to be able to look
forward to Spurs in Premiership action tonight. ‘Tis with delight therefore that I invite you to
gather round and peruse with me the permutations of team selection for the evening's
festivities.
Old hat it may be for everyone else, but here at AANP Towers we bounce around the walls like
toddlers on a strict diet of fizzy drinks and E-numbers as we await the start of our Premiership
season. Still, rather than pacing the corridors, rubbing hands together in feverish anticipation
until tomorrow night, it occurred to me that the time is rather ripe for making public the various
musings that have echoed around the walls of AANP Towers all summer.
Five goals away from home, five different scorers, clean sheet, no injuries (I think) and
run-outs for squad members and kids alike – long may this continue. It could be that Hearts are
actually awesome, and we are in fact better than Brazil 1970, but a win that comfortable inevitably
points to abysmal opposition.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is targeting multiple signings after conceding that
Luka Modric's long-drawn transfer saga could soon be concluded.
Modric has drawn strong interest from Chelsea throughout the summer and the lure of joining a
bigger club has already proved to be a major distraction for the Croatian.
Niko Kranjcar has featured reasonably heavily in Tottenham's pre-season. While the player has
been very quiet about his future in this transfer window, it remains to be seen whether Harry
Redknapp's view of the Croatian has changed and it has emerged today that Sunderland are keen to
take Niko on a season long loan.
According to the Daily Star, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is lining up a move for
wantaway Tottenham midfielder Niko Kranjcar. The Croatian has been unsettled at White Hart Lane for
months now, and Bruce is reportedly aiming to sign the midfielder before this weekend's opener.
The report also indicated that the move could be a season-long loan, which would give Kranjcar
the chance to impress before securing a long-term move.
While most of the newspapers pick up on the fact that Roman Pavlyuchenko scored twice as a
strong Spurs XI beat MK Dons 5-3 last night, young striker Harry Kane notched a double of his own
while Niko Kranjcar was involved in four of the five goals on the night.
Pav's double saw Spurs take a 2-0 lead into the break before the Dons hit back to level the
scores by the 75th minute.
The transfer saga starring Luka Modric has quite rightly angered many Tottenham fans. How dare a
player that Spurs have given the opportunity to showcase his skills to the world, and just a year
ago signed a 6(!!) year contract demand to leave.
Unfortunately in recent years we have seen this situation before, and in the 3 high profile
cases (Carrick, Keane, and Berbatov) it has always concluded with the player getting their way and
leaving.
Finally, I am writing about a football match. Not a good match but a match nevertheless.
Tottenham's pre-season tour of South Africa, under the guidance of Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan,
started with defeat as George Lebese's stoppage-time goal earned a 1-0 win for Kaizer Chiefs.
If it's true that we are going to have to sell before we buy, maybe we should be looking at the
prices on some of our players' heads.
That's the opinion of Niko Kranjcar anyway who states that he is ‘shocked' at the £10m
transfer fee that Tottenham are looking for.
"I'm shocked about the transfer fee set for me.
With about two months left in the transfer market, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will need to
show some life in making additional changes to the squad. So far there has not been much movement
in the acquiring of new players. The lone player to arrive at White Hart Lane is Brad Friedel, the
veteran goal keeper from Aston Villa on a free transfer.
Harry Redknapp's use of Niko Kranjcar last season was a little puzzling for most Spurs fans and
his attitude towards the player was emphasised at the start of the year. After scoring winning
goals against Bolton and Sunderland, Niko was despatched to the bench and continued his role as a
bit part player.
Liverpool will attempt to lure Tottenham playmaker Niko Kranjcar as the Merseyside club looks to
turn their attention away from Blackpool star Charlie Adam to the Croatian international.
Anfield director of football Damien Comolli has earmarked a move for the 26 year old who looks set
to leave White Hart Lane after failing to convince boss Harry Redknapp that he is worthy of a
regular starting spot.
With Jamie O'Hara on his way out of White Hart Lane, could Niko Kranjcar be set to follow him?
There have been rumours over Niko for some time and while there has been little movement up to now,
there are strong suggestions over a concrete approach from Dinamo Kiev.
The Ukrainian Club's President Igor Surkis had this to say on the issue: "We are negotiating for
Kranjcar," he said.
Big loveable One Michael Dawson popped up on Spurs TV this week to spout the line that he and
everyone else pattering away with bibs and cones within the confines of Spurs Lodge are dead
confident, honest, of making the Top Four this season. I suspect that anyone viewing the footage
particularly closely would be struck by the sight of his nose growing longer and longer with each
diphthong uttered, but bless him, who amongst us has not had to tow the company line from time to
time?
