Regarding Pavlyuchenko, Redknapp has been quoted as saying, “when he wants to play and wants to work he’s great.” He has been a bit more positive about the striker since those comments but I still feel like it’s painful for the Spurs boss to say anything complimentary where Pav is concerned.

I don’t know what’s gone on during training, maybe he is lazy, but generally when Pavlychenko has been given a chance to play, he has scored. While I’m a bit unsure about the rest of his game, you can’t argue with a striker that gets in good positions and puts the ball in the back of the net.

I think you can understand the reasons why Pav would have got disheartened and perhaps a little lazy since Harry’s arrival. When a player signs for that type of money, he would expect to be getting regular football. Not even making it onto the Tottenham bench at times must have hurt. Maybe he didn’t handle himself in the best possible way but a lot of this can be put down to his agent and them trying to get a move away from the Lane during the transfer window.

It must have been even more frustrating seeing Robbie Keane be allowed out on loan as well as Eidur Gudjohnsen’s arrival. Pav probably thought that he would be in the exact same position before the transfer window opened, sitting on the bench if he was lucky. With no World Cup to showcase his talents in, it was looking like being an awful season for the Russian.

Luckily, he took the opportunity of a twenty minute window against Wigan to turn things around. His sudden appearance in the team has made the season more interesting at a time when it was becoming a bit stale and will hopefully give our other strikers something to think about.

I’m not totally convinced by Pav’s overall play but he’s scoring for fun and you can’t help but love him! Why doesn’t Harry?

A few weeks ago I said Harry’s tax issues could have an adverse affect on our season. Thus far, you couldn’t say this ongoing issue has been bothering the players at all. It does however put the club in the press for all the wrong reasons. Personally, I don’t really care what he did elsewhere but it’s obviously not a positive thing having his boat on the front page of the tabloids every other day for non football reasons.

I don’t know what the process is from here, if it’s just a case of paying back what he owes or if there is a possible prison term but we can well do without any of it now Man City have a new manager who has managed to teach them how to defend a bit in a matter of weeks. Our top four push is looking a lot tougher now so we need the manager to be able to focus fully on doing some decent business in the transfer window, not stuck in meetings with his brief.

As for our old friend Sol, it’s so nice to see him back at Arsenal. I’m very much keeping my fingers crossed for the lad in the hope he doesn’t have a nervous breakdown during a match this time around. It’s sad that we are no longer treated to pictures of Sol in the tabloids with various females and I find it disgusting that anyone would suggest this has anything to do with the fact he could no longer afford to weigh out Max Clifford. All the best for the season Sol.

David Bentley was meant to be the man to take Spurs to the next level. Arguably the best right sided player in the Premier League at the time of his arrival at White Hart Lane in July 2008, he was expected to oust Aaron Lennon and become Spurs’ star man. Unfortunately for Bentley and fortunately for Tottenham, neither scenario materialised.

Rumoured to be on around 60k a week, a Bentleyless wage bill would certainly be a good thing for Tottenham Hotspur. It’s unlikely we will recoup anything like the £15-£17m paid for his services, but I’d imagine someone will take a punt on him for around £7 or £8m in the January transfer window.

While Bentley’s goal against Arsenal was probably worth a couple of million to Spurs fans, we more than paid them back with the chunk of the transfer fee they got from Blackburn.

David Bentley will be best remember for kicking a ball off a roof into a skip and his drink driving charge than anything he contributed during his time on the pitch whilst a Tottenham Hotspur player. I hope he can mature a bit and get his career back on track elsewhere but I have the feeling he will go down in the history books as a player that never managed to fulfil his potential.

What I think is a problem is when our players pick up the tabloids and find yet another Harry exclusive. His reputation has always been a little bit shady but his likeable personality and good managerial record has allowed him to get away with it over the years.

Today is meant to be telling off time for the naughty Christmas party boys. Robbie Keane and company were very stupid and ended up being caught out by The Sun but I’d imagine it’s difficult for Harry to give them too much of a dressing down when he’s in the papers more than them.

Redknapp’s current tax problems may be unrelated to his position as Spurs manager but it still undermines his authority. A bit of rule bending isn’t a bad thing but this is the second scandal he’s been a part of in recent times. There are also unanswered questions about the betting coup landed when he left Southampton for Portsmouth.

While I believe Harry will be whiter than white during his reign as Spurs boss, I hope his previous indiscretions don’t upset our season.

The defeat to Stoke was one of those days, getting turned over by a second string Utd in the Cup was a shame, dropping two points at Everton from a strong position was very disappointing but losing at home to Wolves is unacceptable. It’s no going putting nine past Wigan if we can’t break down teams like Wolves and Stoke. On a more positive note, it was nice to see Modric back and hopefully he’ll be back in the starting line up before too long.

Wednesday’s match against City now takes on extra significance. I think a draw is the most likely outcome but we really can’t afford to lose another home game. Slightly worrying is the fact I’m sure it was a Wednesday night I was sitting with my Granddad watching a Tottenham v Man City game where Tottenham were 3-0 up at half time but still lost. Anybody remember that one?!

For me, the top four dream is looking less and less likely as the season goes on. I know we are still in touch but can you imagine us going to Old Trafford and winning 1-0 like Villa did? I can’t see it happening anytime soon personally. I don’t want to sound too downbeat because I’m quite happy with a top 6 finish which I think is our realistic target this season. We don’t yet have the mental toughness to match the big sides in the Premiership and until we do, a Champions League place will have to wait.

As much time as I have for Everton, our class should have been enough to win yesterday’s game. They were missing a number of players and also had to travel abroad during the week. While it was a very entertaining encounter, we had numerous chances and far to much quality for a second string Everton side.

To be two goals to the good with only twelve minutes to go in the game and not win is simply not good enough. All credit to Everton for a battling performance but we cannot afford to drop points like that if we are to have even a remote chance of a top four finish.

I wasn’t too bothered about our Carling Cup exit. Although a victory over Man Utd at Old Trafford would have been great, Spurs have been there, done that as far as the trophy is concerned. I’m not saying we are better than the competition, but a place in the Champions League would mean so much more both from a reputation as well as a financial point of view. Most of the top teams use the League Cup as an opportunity to give their reserve and youth players some first team action. Maybe Tottenham should be doing the same now.

Not getting beat after going to both Villa and Goodison Park should make Spurs fans very happy, outplaying both sides and not winning either game will not.

As difficult as it must have been for Wigan fans to swallow, I hope they give Martinez time to finish the good job he’s started. I know they have been on the end of a few hidings but they play attractive football. The Premier League would be very boring if all the lesser sides played like Stoke. He’s a good young manager and comes across very well.

As for Tottenham, maybe we still have a mental block when it comes to the big teams. We cannot continue to put on scintillating performances against the majority of opponents at the Lane and then give limp displays like we did against Arsenal, Man Utd and Chelsea. I know two of those games were away from home and injuries played a part but the contrast is too great.

Harry has done wonders since his arrival but his previous sides have always been able to turn over the likes of Utd and Arsenal, sides that had no where near the strength in depth the current Spurs squad has. Maybe things will look different come the end of the season.

With Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Villa all dropping points this past weekend, our top 4 push is still going along nicely and the 9-1 win will have done wonders for both confidence and morale. It couldn’t have come at a better time with 3 away games on the trot coming up, all against tough sides. I’d take 1 win, 1 draw and 1 defeat if I’m honest, as long as the win is against Utd!

It’s another one of those games that on paper, you’d fully expect Tottenham to win. Wigan are a good side who try and play the right way, but I’d imagine that will play into our hands. The home games where Spurs have struggled have generally been against teams that keep it tight. Allow our players space and time at the Lane and they will deliver.

The League table makes for interesting reading at the moment. I feel like we have been on a bad run of results of late but we still sit in 4th. If you’d have told me that after 12 games we would be just 3pts behind Man Utd, I would have been more than happy. Just as long as you hadn’t told me how well Arsenal would be playing!

Admittedly, Villa, Man City and Liverpool are all snapping at our heels but there is 5pts between us and the side that lie in 8th place, Sunderland. With Liverpool and Man City facing each other and Villa having to go to the fortress at Burnley, a win against Wigan will likely give us a bit of breathing space.

I’m going for an exciting encounter with lots of goals. I’ll plump for 4-2 Spurs with a Titus Bramble brace, one goal for each side.

Spurs have went through a complete rebuilding process of the team, and have spent £150 million in transfers over the last 16 months meaning that they have out spent the whole of the Premiership, including the top 4, apart from big spending Manchester City.

Even with this huge financial outlay Spurs were still able to announce a pre-tax profit for the year ending in June 2009, largely due to the sale of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov.

It is clear that this is a huge amount of money but Spurs have signed a lot of players for the money and strengthened key positions for the team including the strike force with Crouch and Defoe being two of the top strikers in the Premiership just now. Robbie Keane was also resigned for the club and although we have yet to see him at his best he is still a top player and one of the key players in a Spurs football shirt.

Spurs at the moment are reaping the rewards of their financial expenditure as they are currently sitting 4th in the Premiership and in line to get a Champions League spot but there is along way to go in the season yet.

After the announcement of pre-tax profits Daniel Levy not only showed his delight at the quality of players that Spurs have at the club but also on the future plans for the team.

“We have made significant progress in delivering on our long-term vision for the club.

“We have always had three key priorities and you will have heard them oft repeated – investment in the first team, a new training centre and an increased capacity, state-of-the-art new stadium.

“We have assembled what we believe to be one of the most talented squads we have had during our time in the Premier League, the ground is being turned and pitches laid for the new training centre at Bulls Cross in Enfield and we have submitted a planning application for a stunning new stadium on a site next to our existing stadium.”

Everything is looking bright at the moment and if we can maintain the form we have shown in the early part of the season then we will have Champions League football to look forward to next season.

Written by Kampanart Wong, a sports editor who blogs about cheap football jerseys

Pavlyuchenko cost £14m just over a year ago, that’s serious money in today’s market for a player that isn’t English. Pav has seen his chances limited under Harry but when he has played, he’s done nothing to justify that huge price tag. We’d be lucky to get £4m for him at the moment.

Other players that immediately come to mind are;

Hélder Postiga, the supposed Portuguese Superstar who turned out to be anything but.

Sergei Rebrov, cost a lot of money but amounted to little.

Kevin-Prince Boateng, a Comolli special, £5.4m of fake royal rubbish.

Who are your biggest Spurs flops?