Jermain Defoe Blonde

Even the bookies are starting to take our league form seriously as you can now see quotes as short as 8/1 for Tottenham to win this season’s title. I still personally think we have to much to do to overhaul Man City and I’m sure Utd will bounce back after two straight defeats but what has really impressed me this season is our winning mentality. The game against West Brom this past Tuesday night really illustrates that fact. Roy Hodgson had a few injuries to key players and basically set up his team to take a point. They were very hard to break down and until Sisqo scored, it was looking like being one of those nights. In season’s gone by, that is the sort of game we would have ended up losing through a lack of concentration or determination but Harry now appears to have the players instilled with a belief that they can win every game, no matter the circumstances.

Some fans were saying the point against Swansea was a disappointing result but I definitely would have taken a draw before the game. Only one team has managed to go to the Liberty Stadium and win this season and when you consider it was our third game in quick succession, avoiding defeat was a good result. The performance against Norwich was sublime and Gareth Bale showed once again why he is one of the very best players in the Premier League. While one of the positives of us not being involved in the Champions League this season is our excellent domestic form, Bale not being able to show what he is capable of against the European elite is certainly a negative.

Now the January transfer window is upon us, I expect to see Spurs linked with the usual infinite fictional targets. Samba and Cahill are the most realistic names for me but with Dawson apparently set to start against Cheltenham, our centre back injury problems are easing slightly. A number of my close friends are Millwall fans, so it’s nice to see a couple of our younger players being loaned to the Lions. Hopefully it will be a win win situation, with Ryan Mason and Harry Kane getting some much needed first team action, while also helping Millwall stay in the Championship.

This could well be the key month as far as our title hopes are concerned. Homes games against Everton, Wolves and Wigan with a trip to Man City in there for good measure. City have tough Cup games against Man Utd and Liverpool which could well work in our favour. Is January 2012 going to be the month when Tottenham actually sit on top the Premier League? I bloody hope so!

£27m would be a decent offer for Luka Modric. The fact is they are not, and that sort of price still isn’t enough for our top commodity. It might seem foolish to call any player priceless, but that’s what Modric is to most Tottenham Hotspur fans. Harry Redknapp described the earlier £22m offer as a joke. I didn’t find it all that amusing and the improved one is still not making me laugh very much.

I understand why he’s tempted by the move to West London. Chelsea are very likely to be challenging in both the Premier League and the Champions League next season. Spurs definitely won’t be doing one of those and are unlikely to be doing the other either. The problem biggest problem I have with this situation is selling your best player to a team you are trying to close the gap on is a massive mistake. The fact the Premier League is now arguably the biggest league in the world means these sorts of transfers will happen more and more often. We have already seen how Arsenal are struggling to hold onto their stars even though they did qualify for the Champions League.

With the reports of Michael Essien being unavailable for up to six months due to a knee injury, Chelsea are even more likely to keep coming back until they get their man. Modric is probably going to official request a transfer soon enough and that will make the club’s position pretty impossible. I like that we are showing resolve and not just rolling over but when a player decides they want to move, it’s pretty pointless trying to force them to stay.

At what is likely to be the peak of his career, a player like Luka Modric should be competing at the highest level possible and winning major honours. It’s just unfortunate for us Spurs fans that he probably won’t be able to do that while playing at the Lane.

So, the dream has become a reality and Spurs have made it to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League. After being three nil down against those pesky Young Boys in the first qualifying round, Harry Redknapp and his European soldiers are now just four games away from the final of Europe’s biggest football competition.

While the away leg at the San Siro was an assured professional performance the likes I haven’t seen from a Tottenham side before, Wednesday’s home game was an uncomfortable ninety minutes where our players dug in, defended well and secured their passage into the last eight.

Jermain Defoe’s big talk at the start of the season about Tottenham progressing further than the Gunners in the Champions League no longer sounds so stupid. The question now is can they fare any better than Arsenal against the Catalan Giants? Should we draw them in the quarter finals, I won’t be too despondent. While I think it will be a near impossible task over two legs against Barca, anything is possible in football. We have the players to hit them on the break with better effect than Arsenal could manage. Lennon and Bale give us an outlet that Arsenal didn’t have.

While avoiding Barcelona in the next round would be preferable, no side left in the competition is going to be an easy touch. Admittedly Milan aren’t as good as they once were but they are no mugs. Spurs have proven they can mix it with the best sides in European football and appear to have the confidence to take on any team. Our league form may have suffered a little as the results against Blackpool and Wolves illustrate but I’m willing to swallow it if it means this European adventure can continue for a bit longer…

Absolute
I’ll be on Ian Wright’s show on Absolute Radio sometime between five and six tomorrow if anyone wants to hear me talk more nonsense about Spurs!

Sorry about the lack of updates recently. I’ve been living in a parallel universe where Tottenham win almost all the time. They beat Arsenal at the Emirates in the Premier League and qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League with a game to spare. Instead of gifting the opposition late goals and having no luck, Spurs now snatch victories from the jaws of defeat and make their own luck. It’s a shame I’ve had to return from this place but we all have to come back to reality sooner or later.

Another strange thing happened to me while I was there. I chatted to Ian Wright following the scintillating win against Arsenal on his Absolute Radio show and was followed by Wrighty from the Wrighty7 Arsenal Blog. Listening to those two Goons discussing where it all went wrong is even more entertaining than my bit. It starts at around 38 minutes after Teddy Sheringham is interviewed. You can download the podcast at the link below.

Ian Wright Podcast with Mabbs and Wrighty7

As things have been going so well recently, there hasn’t been much pain for me to cover. Hopefully things will continue in this vain and you will just hear from me sporadically!

I’m a little bit confused this morning. I went to a local pub to watch the game last night. It wasn’t particularly busy but more than average for a week night. As far as I could see, there wasn’t anyone wearing a Spurs shirt, but there were a good few patrons in Chelsea colours.

I didn’t think much of it but once the match got underway, it became clear they were all staunch Werder Bremen supporters for the night. It wasn’t just cheering and booing from this crowd though, there was actually screeching accompanying each Werder chance as though they had just climaxed.

There are a few teams I don’t particularly like, but I’d never go out with the sole intention of supporting another team for the night because of it. All I’ve been hearing from Chelsea supporters for the last few weeks is how Tottenham won’t be able to cut it in the Champions League and we will be dumped out in the group stages. Well if that’s the case, I don’t understand the need for them to get so excited when Spurs are playing.

Admittedly, a few of these boys were holding hands and also having a bit of a kiss when they thought nobody else was looking. One of them even had a Gok Wan rocks my world t-shirt on. If I could be sure this was a meeting of Chelsea’s homosexual supporters community, then I’d be a little more understanding. I know they have a large gay following and on a personal level, the luck I have with women, I’m starting to see the appeal. Obviously taking their shoes off at West Ham last weekend was some kind of fashion statement.

The Champions League is the one thing Abramovich’s money hasn’t been able to buy yet. Maybe the reason Chelsea supporters are so upset about Tottenham being in the Champions League is because we have a habit of beating them. I’m sure watching us come away with a point against one of the best sides Germany has to offer won’t have done much to make them feel better…

So, no players want to sign for us on a permanent basis then! The fact we can’t tie any of our top transfer targets down is a little disheartening but it’s probably also an indication that Harry Redknapp isn’t prepared to buy second rate players just to bring in bodies. He seems very much of the opinion that if the price isn’t right, we should just move on.

Redknapp has been quoted in the press today saying loan deals are probably the way forward for Tottenham in the current transfer market;

“I can see loans happening. I’ve got three players in mind that would not cost a lot of money.

“People are going to loan players from all over the world, there will be loads because clubs are struggling to pay the wages. There will be high earners they have to loan out.”

I’m not really sure how I feel about loan deals. Part of me thinks it’s a good thing. You get the player in for the season just paying wages and if it doesn’t work out, you don’t have to retain their services. Often, these players are looking to put themselves in the shop window and put in decent performances throughout the season.

Usually where loans are concerned, it’s players from the top clubs going to smaller outfits. A side in the Champions League having to bolster their squad with loanees seems a little ridiculous. However, with the new rules regarding squad sizes, times may be changing. The wealthiest clubs are going to have a number of players surplus to requirements and loan deal may be the only viable financial option.

The only issue I can see is whether these big name stars are going to have enough hunger coming to Spurs on a temporary basis. Will they just rest on their laurels? If you take Jamie O’Hara’s spell at Portsmouth as an example; he worked his socks off week in week out. I can’t see many of those on the fringes of the Manchester City squad doing the same for Tottenham. Only time will tell I suppose. I’d imagine some business will be done one way or another this week.

Other news;

I’m going to be the Spurs contact for Ian Wright’s Saturday football show on Absolute Radio.

I’ve been asked to share this Arsenal story with you all;
Arsenal Celebrations

You can join our Fantasy League for this season below
2010/11 Fantasy Football

Once you have chosen your team, click on leagues then enter the following code to join the EBA League:
163104-47048

And finally, you can follow me on Twitter here
Mabbs on Twitter

So where are these summer signings then?! I expected Tottenham to be very active in the transfer market by now but it just hasn’t happened. It sounds like Harry expected to get Joe Cole but I still thought we’d have three or four new squad members by now. Our boss was quoted in the press today talking about Man City’s resources, claiming fans would not care if ‘Saddam Hussein’ owned their club so long as he was pumping ridiculous amounts of money into it.

City’s spending power is incredible and eventually, I’m sure they will manage to buy the Premier League title and possible even the Champions League, but I believe we still have another season or two before the Abu Dhabi United Group complete their mission! Although it must be exciting times for City fans, I’d imagine it must also be a little tedious being able to basically go out and get anyone. As a fan you want success, but just buying it in that way makes very little appeal to me personally. If Spurs paid the type of transfer fee and wages that are being quoted for James Milner, I’d feel more than a little sick!

‘There’s still value in the transfer market, but you’ve got to be a genius. You’ve got to go and find somebody, but top players, they want top wages. That’s your problem.’

While Redknapp does have a point with regard to the transfer market being a tougher place to unearth bargains than it has been in years gone by, it’s not impossible. If anyone can come up with a couple of gems for fair money, it’s Harry. I think wages are an issue but there is a balance you have to find where that issue is concerned. The club have that balance about right at
the moment.

It just doesn’t feel normal being a Spurs fan this Summer. Champions League football and not being linked with every player under the sun while buying and selling lots of others. Maybe this is the new Tottenham, a more settled and stable one hopefully. That being said, two or three new faces before we kick off our campaign proper would be very welcome.

A few days ago, I wrote an article discussing the online betting for next season’s Premier League title. I found it puzzling that Liverpool were a significantly shorter price than Tottenham going on last season’s form, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding the future of their star players. Gerrard was to be joining Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid and Torres was also allegedly keen to move, that is if anyone is brave enough to risk millions of pounds on a player that looks to have serious issues if his World Cup performances are anything to go by.

I genuinely thought Joe Cole would end up at Tottenham this summer. If the internet and newspapers are to believed, Spurs offer of wages was the lowest of his suitors, and significantly lower than those Liverpool where willing to pay. The way I see it, Liverpool were willing to pay over the odds for a player like Joe Cole as a statement of intent. They are not in the Champions League currently, have appointed a very talented but arguably low profile manager and looked like a club in serious regression last season. Cole’s signing not only shows they are still able to attract players of world class

All this being said, I don’t think it’s the end of the world that Spurs missed out on Cole. We already have a wealth of talent in midfield and paying 100k a week or more for a player in his late 20s who has a very poor injury record probably wasn’t the right move for us in hindsight. I think he was a lot more important for Liverpool than he was for Tottenham.

Do I think Cole’s move to Liverpool will propel them to mount a challenge for the Premier League title this coming season? Not a chance. Do I think he will tip the balance in their favour over Spurs where the battle for a top 4 spot is concerned? I doubt it, but I fully expect them to be better than last season. The only problem for them is, Spurs will be too!

I was having a look at the betting for next season’s Premier League today and although the bookies normally aren’t far wrong, I feel the prices are a little off the mark. While I don’t for a second expect Tottenham to be winning the league, I am confused as to how they can be 40/1 shots with Man City as short as 9/2 and Liverpool as short as 11/1.

Man City’s spending power is phenomenal and they have added some serious talent to their squad this summer with the likes of Boateng, Toure and Silva joining an already excellent group of players. The problem for them is I don’t see Mancini as the man to get these players to gel or control their egos and settle the unrest when their start to the campaign isn’t as phenomenal as everyone is expecting. I think they could well end up in a similar position to last season.

Are Liverpool suddenly going to be a successful side under Roy Hodgson? They looked awful at times last season and it’s going to take them time to rebuild. Torres appears to be in a very bad way if the world cup is anything to go by. Carragher isn’t half the player he was a few years ago and Gerrard turns it on when he’s in the mood. This is assuming Torres and Gerrard are staying.

Now onto the 40/1 outsiders! Admittedly, one good season does not a great club make, but there is just as much reason to believe we can continue our progression under Harry Redknapp as there is we will resume the battle for 7th and 8th place. I don’t feel like last season was a fluke. Our home form has been solid for a number of years now and we have finally mastered the art of picking up points on the road. The possibility of a Champions League campaign will test the squad, but we have the strength in depth now to be able to change the personnel from game to game and still be a force in the Premiership.

The betting for the top 4 sees us 6th best behind Chelsea, Utd, City, Arsenal and Liverpool. I seem to remember us being given a similar chance at the start of last season. History has a habit of repeating itself…

For the best part of two weeks, every Arsenal fan I know has been very keen to tell me that Joe Cole has agreed a deal to join the Gunners. I did find it slightly hard to believe, I just couldn’t see him wanting to go there. Not solely for footballing reasons but I just can’t imagine him fitting in very well there. He strikes me as a guy who needs to have a laugh and a bit of banter and I don’t think Wenger and co are going to provide any of that. Maybe now he’s got a kid he’s his thinking is different but I can see no reason why he’d want to go there rather than come and work with familiar faces at Tottenham.

When Harry Redknapp said last week it looked like Cole had already agreed a deal with a club, I started to think that maybe the Arsenal rumours were true. The fact Redknapp has done a U-Turn in the last couple of days and declared his interest in signing the Chelsea and England star makes things very different. Something must have happened to make Redknapp change his position so dramatically. Last week he basically said there was no chance, he’d been told Cole was off the market but now he’s made his intentions very clear.

The only negative I can see from Cole’s point of view where a move to Spurs is concerned is the fact we still have to qualify for the Champions League proper. Also, the fact we aren’t Champions League regulars and it’s going to be no easy task to repeat the feat next season would mean his contract would likely contain a lot of conditions, but I don’t really see any problem with that. Being one of the most desirable free agents in recent years, his wage demands will be huge but there are ways around this with signing on fees, bonuses etc so we wouldn’t necessarily have to destroy our wage structure!

A good World Cup for Cole may create new interest from abroad for his signature but from a neutral point of view, I honestly believe Tottenham to be his most likely destination. Obviously I’m also hoping that is the case but the lure of working with Redknapp again coupled with the fact he would feel very much at home with a number of friends and England team mates at the club must make Tottenham a very attractive proposition.