After a difficult summer in the transfer market and nightmare start to the season Tottenham are threatening to hit their stride again as they prepare to welcome QPR to White Hart Lane this Sunday.

Overview

Ahhh bless little old Tottenham eh? I bet the pesky scamps are really looking forward to this London derby. Means a lot to them this one does you know, QPR being in town and all that. Of course to the experienced and obviously superior visiting team it’s just another game, and will be approached as such – Shaun Derry and the boys will almost certainly be slicing through the home side with a cruel steel blade of ruthless efficiency come 4pm on Sunday.

Ahem, I apologise, I appear to have drifted off into a parallel universe where I am actually part of the writing team of three (three) who put together the match previews for the official Chelsea website. As such a course of events would send me scampering off to the bathroom for a swig of bleach I’m very pleased to find that I’m actually where I always am on a Thursday night, parked in the corner at LoftforWords Towers attempting to put together a somewhat less patronising and antagonising pre-match build up than the paid media professionals at Stamford Bridge managed this time last week.

But let’s stick with Chelsea for a moment here. Our opponents this weekend Spurs managed to cling onto their prized midfield asset Luka Modric by the skin of their teeth this summer after Chelsea 's very public interest in the player helped an all too familiar train of events pick up a head of steam. Spurs have seen this with Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov and plenty of others in recent years where they have taken a chance on an up and coming player only for a bigger club to turn up and throw money at them, and him, when he actually turns out to be quite good. That seemed certain to be the case again in the summer when Chelsea came knocking for Modric but on this occasion he stayed – perhaps Spurs’ recent foray into the Champions League has made them a more attractive proposition (and payer) for players.

Harry Redknapp made much of the fact that his club simply cannot compete financially with that horrible lot in blue on the other side of the capital but let’s not forget that Spurs spent £12.7m on players last summer, more than £30m the year before and £76m in the summer before the 2008/09 season when Chelsea only spent a measly £8m on Deco. The purse strings aren’t exactly tight in this part of the world – although a rather more modest £5m outlay this summer perhaps hints that they might be thinking a little more prudently these days. Anyway if transfer fees guaranteed success then Newcastle wouldn’t be without a domestic trophy since the last ice age would they? It’s wages that attract players and I’m sure Chelsea pay a good deal more than Spurs.

The key to keeping players and bringing in new ones who can improve Tottenham's already very decent team, apart from wages, is clearly is Champions League football. Tottenham got their first taste of the competition in its modern form last term and were an absolute breath of fresh air for the neutral viewers – ignoring the received wisdom of keeping it tight and a draw always being a good result that Man City have taken to so sleep inducingly well so far this season and just going for it. The Champions League group stages are barely even worth checking the results from normally, never mind sitting down to watch, because even on the rare occasions there is an upset it doesn’t matter greatly as another five games ensure that 14 of the same 16 teams get through every year. Spurs were one of the two wildcards last season and looked good until they hit self destruct in the away leg of the quarter final at Real Madrid.

Not being in the Champions League makes the club far less attractive to players and less able to pay big money for and to them – last summer they signed Rafael van der Vaat, this summer they signed Scott Parker. That's a totally unfair comparison but you get what I’m saying. It’s rare that a spot opens up in the top four because the more you qualify to sit at Europe’s top table the more money gets pushed your way and the further you get away from the chasing pack. But the farcical goings on at Arsenal, and undoubted weakening of the Gunners’ team, means there may be a spot available once again. Liverpool have spent big this summer to try and go for it but Spurs brushed them aside with consummate ease in the first meeting this season and after a rough start, that highlighted how far they’ve sunk behind a Man City side they pipped to fourth two years ago, they’ve started to put something together.

They must maintain form until January when I’ve no doubt another centre back, probably Gary Cahill, and a striker to play with the impressive Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermine Defoe, who seems to be rediscovering his touch again, will be signed. They look a good bet for fourth as it stands.

Interview

LoftforWords’ man for the Tottenham news is journalist and White Hart Lane regular Michael Pickard who is unfortunate enough to sit across the desk from me at work five days a week. Pity him for that as you read his take on Spurs’ start to the season.

Tottenham seemed to have a bit of a horrendous summer in the transfer market and then started with two big defeats. This is normally Harry Redknapp's strong point, what went wrong?

At the end of last season, our squad was in decent shape and a complete overhaul – as Spurs seem to do most summers – wasn't necessary. Some bit-part players were rightly moved on, such as Jermaine Jenas and Alan Hutton to Aston Villa, and while Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios (both moved to Stoke) were not surplus to requirements, they have not been missed. Despite the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor, another striker is still a priority, while another centre back would have been useful. As expected, the will-he-won't-he leave saga surrounding Luka Modric dominated the transfer window, with mixed messages coming from Harry Redknapp about whether he would go to Chelsea after chairman Daniel Levy's firm dismissal of any transfer. Once a player declares he wants to leave, it's usually in the club's interests to move them on quickly to avoid disrupting the squad so the situation became more uneasy as the window neared closure. Modric's presence was certainly missed in the defeat against Manchester United, though since the transfer deadline passed, he has been one of our best players, with no sign of unrest. Whether the saga will re-emerge in January remains to be seen. A player staying can sometimes be as good as a new signing and this seems to be the case with Modric so far. Losing him would have been a massive blow to our Champions League ambitions, with no obvious replacement in sight.

What have you made of the opening eight games overall, Spurs really seem to have picked up after those early beatings?

After the postponement of our first match – at home against Everton – due to the riots, we opened our season away at Manchester United and at home to Manchester City . Tottenham have a well-documented poor record at Old Trafford (we haven't won there since 1989) and despite holding them to 0-0 at half-time, they stepped up a gear to seal a 3-0 victory. It wasn't unexpected and early enough in the season that it wasn't something to worry about. However, we would have expected at least a draw against Man City but the 5-1 defeat took me by surprise. After another summer of big money signings, it was certainly a statement of intent from City, as repeated by their result at Old Trafford last weekend. Since then, Spurs have gone six unbeaten, including a spell of four wins in a row. The home wins against Liverpool (4-0) and Arsenal (2-1) show we're the best of those chasing fourth place. Now we just have to make sure we get results against the lower sides – something we didn't do enough last season.

Do you think Redknapp will be the England boss by this time next year? Do you think he should be? Who would you want to replace him?

After the FA ruled out another foreign manager and barring any repercussions from his on-going legal troubles, Harry Redknapp should be England manager this time next year. His ambition for the top job is not something he has been shy about talking up and he would certainly be a different choice for the FA, who would be opting for a man-manager rather than the so-called tactical geniuses they have previously stumped for. His no-nonsense, straight-talking attitude would bring a refreshing change to the England job. As for replacements at Spurs, unemployed Carlo Ancelotti is looking for another job in English football and his credentials, particularly winning the Premier League, certainly make him stand out from other managers. With our ambitions to be in the top four come May, it's unlikely Levy would opt for a manager currently in charge of a lower-placed club, though David Moyes would be an interesting choice. Owen Coyle's struggles this season at Bolton may rule him out.

Given what happened in the summer, is there a sense that Spurs are simply waiting for the window to open so they can go after the likes of Cahill again? Who do you want to see come in in January? Where does the team need strengthening?

There was a sense of uncompleted business in the transfer window this summer, if only from the fact that Spurs have a reputation of being among the biggest spenders on deadline day. However, keeping Modric overshadowed any plans to bring in new blood, with a squad already in decent shape. However, with current injuries meaning we have only two fit centre backs, a defender is a priority, with Cahill likely to be the main target. We also need another striker, someone likely to get 20 goals a season.

How is Kyle Walker playing for you guys? He was very highly rated by everybody at QPR while we had him.

Kyle Walker isn't a player Spurs fans have seen a lot of since he joined in 2009, except when playing for other clubs. He was immediately loaned back to Sheffield United after we signed him, then spent the first half of last season at Loftus Road before joining Villa. His impressive performances away from White Hart Lane have clearly caught the attention of Redknapp and his team, though, and he has come into the side this year in impressive form. Clearly an attacking full-back, he has linked up well with Van Der Vaart and Lennon when playing behind them and shown his willingness to get forward and put crosses into the box. He has already become etched in Tottenham history with his long-range winner against Arsenal earlier this month.

What do you make of the Olympic Stadium farce? Do you want Tottenham to move there?

I'm certainly among the majority who did not want Tottenham to move to Stratford . It seems everyone is in agreement we do need a bigger stadium and the club drew up fantastic plans for a new ground close to the current ground. Then suddenly we were bidding for the Olympic Stadium, which might have been fine as a back-up option but when it started to gain momentum, it upset a lot of fans, leading to petitions and protests. Off the pitch, Spurs is an integral part of the local community and to remove that would cause considerable damage, particularly in the wake of the riots. New funding from the government and the Mayor of London seems to have put the Northumberland Park plan back on track, with buildings surrounding White Hart Lane already being demolished. Though there would have been significant commercial reasons to move to Stratford , it would not have been enough to convince those on the terraces it was in the club's best interests.

Who is the star man, the weak link, the unsung hero and the up and coming rising star we might not have heard about in the Spurs squad?

Star men for Tottenham this weekend will certainly be Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. Modric's passing and awareness takes the team to another level, while he has proven his ability to get amongst the goals himself, particularly with his 18-yard strike against Liverpool . Bale is no longer our secret weapon but that hasn't stopped him from destroying defenders as they struggle to keep pace with his runs. With our current injury list, our centre backs are likely to be Sebastien Bassong and Younes Kaboul, not one of our first choice pairings but are both good enough to form a solid partnership, particularly backed by Brad Friedel in goal.

Where we have also struggled in the past is up front, though Adebayor and Jermain Defoe look like they are building a good understanding and this could help us break down defences where we struggled last season. Much has already been said about Scott Parker's influence on the team, bringing a steady hand to centre midfield to allow Bale, Modric, Van Der Vaart and Lennon to push forward in attack. He can't receive the plaudits after every match so it is likely he will be pushed into the background, though he is likely to be the unsung hero that dictates the style and tempo of the match on Sunday. As for rising stars, Spurs have a good crop of youngsters currently picking up playing time in the Europa League, as Redknapp's preference is to focus on the league. Jake Livermore, Danny Rose, and Harry Kane have been given much needed experience, though after an impressive outing against Rubin Kazan last week, midfielder Tom Carroll looks like one to watch.

Manager

If you ever tire of QPR's taste for farce and PR disasters, there's always the Football Association to turn to for your fix. When the two organisations combine, you end up with the ludicrous end to the Championship season we all endured in May.

One thing the FA has a real penchant for is making a complete cock up of appointing a manager for the national team. They pay vastly more than any other association in world football and yet almost always seem to get it wrong. Even when they get it right, and I don't recall too many objections to Fabio Capello's appointment after the Steve McLaren debacle, they then find a way of turning it into a problem by, say, awarding an even more lucrative and long term contract before, rather than after, an international tournament rendering the boss unsackable.

Now this is all a result of many, many contributing factors but if I was forced to pick out two I would go for the misapprehension that England labours under that we should be doing better than we are, and too much consideration given to non-football issues because of the feeding frenzy our national press likes to engage in with the national team. Whatever measure you take – population, youth training, historical results – England are performing on par by making it to international tournaments more often than not and getting to the last 16 or quarter finals. It is not a coincidence that this keeps happening regardless of who is in charge. On the rare occasions we do get a good manager (Bobby Robson, Terry Venables) it improves us by one round, but the insistence that England should be winning tournaments flies in the face of facts and history.

The non-football matters issue is the only thing that could prevent Harry Redknapp assuming control of the national team after the forthcoming European Championships. On the field his results over the past decade with Portsmouth and Spurs speak for themselves – he took a First Division mainstay and turned it into an established Premiership club and FA Cup winners, then took perennial midtable finishers Spurs into the Champions League for the first time. His man management is second to none, his football is geared towards attack, he's English and he wants the job.

The FA has, typically, backed itself into a corner by saying that it will definitely appoint an English manager this time around – that's conveniently undermining the current incumbent and narrowing the field for his replacement down to about four people in one fell swoop. They should be congratulated for such crass incompetence. Say Jose Mourinho turned up and threw himself at the FA's feet and begged for the job, what then?

But the FA has been down the Redknapp road before with Terry Venables – for me the last really great manager England had, the last manager they had who united the country behind the team, the last manager to take us beyond the quarter finals of anything. Venables left the job far, far too early because of his notoriously dodgy off the field issues and with a tax investigation hanging over Redknapp the FA would be letting themselves in for more of the same if they went for him. Personally I don't think they should care.

The safe option is Roy Hodgson – vastly experienced at club and international level. But Hodgson's monotonous training and rigid team structure didn't appeal to the supposedly bigger names (and egos) at Liverpool as much as the smaller underdogs at Fulham and West Brom .

It's got to be Redknapp. We all know that while Hodgson hangs suits in his closet Redknapp stacks skeletons but this obsession with PR has already lumbered us with Steve McLaren and his new teeth so let's not make that mistake again. The gutter press in this country will rip the England manager and team apart for any misdemeanours whoever they are and whatever they've done. If they appoint Hodgson The Sun will quickly find some woman or other who accused him or touching her arse as he squeezed past her on the bus 30 years ago so why worry about it?

If Redknapp wants it then get him in, get all his cards laid out on the table of what might come out in the press, and then let him get on with the job. Adopt a press position that 'Redknapp is dodgy' is about as good a story as 'bears shit in woods' and push the football reasons for him having the job. The country needs to unite again behind its national team in a way it hasn't done since 1996 and Redknapp is the only man who can achieve that.

Scout Report

The arrival of Scott Parker at White Hart Lane was just about the worst kept secret in football this summer. From the moment West Ham were relegated it seemed certain that last season’s Football Writers Player of the Year would be moving across London and although he started the season in the Championship with the Hammers with Davids Gold and Sullivan insisting he would stay unless their asking price was met the move did of course go through eventually.

I have always been a massive fan of Scott Parker since he first came onto the scene as part of Alan Curbishley’s impressive Charlton side. He’s one of those all heart, commitment, professional, level headed guys that everybody wants to have in their team and he can attack and defend with equal ability – although his goals per game ratio has often been lacking somewhat. However, when I saw Parker play for West Ham on the opening day of this season against Cardiff and then again a couple of weeks later against Leeds something was very badly wrong.

Parker looked heavy legged and disinterested, the games passed him by somewhat -particularly against Leeds who played young midfielders Johnny Howson and Adam Clayton against him to great effect in a 2-2 draw. By the time he did move to Spurs I wasn’t convinced that he was actually that good a signing after all. But the results since his arrival at White Hart Lane speak for themselves – Tottenham lost their first two games conceding eight goals in the process, since Parker arrived they’re unbeaten in all six games he has played in. When I watched Spurs at Newcastle recently Parker was certainly much more like his old self – another Redknapp triumph in the transfer market. A late Shola Ameobi goal in that one prevented Spurs registering three consecutive away wins in the league for the first time since 2004.

The Parker saga in the summer proved to be merely a sideshow to the quest by Chelsea and others to haul Luka Modric away for big money. Spurs hung on to the Croatian in the end, but the player was reluctant to remain and that can often disrupt a squad. It didn’t help that the ‘will he won’t he’ episode delayed Tottenham’s other transfer activity so they missed out on Gary Cahill from Bolton which, having allowed Jonathan Woodgate to leave for Stoke, leaves them short at centre half. William Gallas might be fit this weekend but Ledley King is unlikely to play leaving them to field Younes Kaboul and seemingly QPR-bound Sebastien Bassong together.

I like Bassong and hope we sign him but those two together don’t inspire confidence and that’s a rare weak point in this Spurs side that we could have a crack at on Sunday. At St James’ Park they looked vulnerable to early, direct balls. Whenever Newcastle keeper Tim Krul got hold of the ball he was clearly under instructions to get it down the field quickly because Spurs were almost always short handed back there in that situation – and neither centre half coped adequately with Leon Best.

The Ledley King situation is certainly a unique one. He can’t play two games in a week, and hardly trains at all, but Spurs keep faith with him because he can perform on the big stage. They are yet to lose with him in the team this season and lost only one of the nine games he played in last term as well.

Anyway Modric seems to have settled right back down to the form he was in last season since the transfer window closed and the only thing that remains to be seen now is whether his suitors return in January. When they dismantled Liverpool in September Modric scored a stunning goal and turned in a man of the match performance at the heart of the midfield. I found it somewhat strange therefore to see him used more in wide areas at Newcastle where I thought he was quite poor.

Against the Magpies he started on the left while the left footed Gareth Bale started on the right to little effect. Bale was better when the pair swapped but Modric didn’t improve much, and his lack of defensive ability in those wide areas shone through with Kyle Walker frequently left two v one in defence and the first Newcastle goal coming down their side. We know that Walker likes to bomb on himself but with Modric unable or unwilling to do a lot of hard work ahead of him Guittierez had them exposed down that side time and again. It's likely to be Walker and Lennon down that side this Sunday I expect and you'd struggle to find a quicker pair. I'd play Traore and Shaun Wright Phillips against them – SWP's willingness to track back was highlighted again against Chelsea and the pair of them have the pace to cope in defence and to trouble them going forwards as well. This game will be won and lost down that flank and by the defensive midfielders in the QPR set up who must be able to keep Modric quiet assuming he returns to the centre.

In attack against Newcastle Spurs started with Adebayor as a lone striker and Rafael van der Vaat behind him before bringing Jermaine Defoe on to form a more obvious partnership – he scored with one of his first touches. Van der Vaat is in fine form, scoring twice in the win at Blackburn last weekend, but the key this season will be whether he keeps it up in the second half of the season. He seemed to fade badly in the spring last year and many people pointed to the busy Christmas period, which he has never experienced before, as a reason for that. The Dutchman took Spurs’ penalty at St James’ Park – low and to the keeper’s right for the record. He has 92 caps for Holland and 21 goals in 46 Spurs appearances.

After the Chelsea game, if QPR are hoping to continue picking up points from the division’s bigger clubs by waiting for them to have players sent off then they may be disappointed this weekend. Spurs have not had a red card in the Premiership since December last year when Kaboul was sent off against Newcastle for headbutting Cheik Tiote – to be fair, we'd probably all like to have a go at that.

Links >>> Official Website >>> Travel Guide >>> Tottenham Hotspurs TV forum >>> The Tottenham Blog >>> Glory Glory forum

Photo: Action Images

N12Hoop added 20:51 - Oct 28 If Traore isn't fit we could end up with Lennon and Walker running past Hill. That's a bit concerning to say the least. One thing I've noticed is that even though Redknapp has turned them into an attractive, top 4 challenging outfit i can barely find a Spurs fan willing to eulogise about him and most seem indifferent about him getting the England job or going to jail. They seem to think they should be doing better than they are.

0

NorwayRanger16 added 22:02 - Oct 28 "Adopt a press position that 'Redknapp is dodgy' is about as good a story as 'bears shit in woods' " you're one liners are as always splendid :-) Who can forget Harry getting hit by the ball, LOL! as to which he replies "no wonder he's in the ****ing reserves" a legend and a real step up for England. And that's from someone who supports Germany ;-)
0

Antti_Heinola added 22:41 - Oct 28 Great article Clive, but heavily disagree about Redknapp. Yes he took Pompey to the Prem, but he also bankrupted them, as he had done similarly at West Ham. He was dreadful at Southampton, while Spurs were not perennial mid-tablers, Jol would have got them to the CL if it wasn't for food poisoning. Unfortunately, HR is incredibly good at PR. He's widely credited with his great management of Bale - except he was desperate to sell him when he arrived and was only persuaded not to by his coaches. Personally, I can't stand him and think he is a stain on the game. However, I would absolutely love him to get the England job. He will fail spectacularly and when he does, the press will finally turn their guns on him. At that point there will be fireworks. That's also why I'm far from convinced he'll take the job.

0

Northernr added 00:25 - Oct 29 Antti, pleased I've fired you up on this one. The bankrupting Portsmouth thing is often levelled at him, but somebody somewhere gave him that money. If a chairman says to a manager you can have £12m to buy Jermaine Defoe he's not going to say no is he? He took over Portsmouth in the First Division, promoted them and kept them up. As soon as he left it all went to cock, he then came back in and saved them from relegation before leading them onto a cup win and high league placings. As soon as he left again it all went to cock again. And I'm growing increasingly skeptical of the Martin Jol love-in. He's hardly tearing up any trees at Fulham is he, with a side that both Roy Hodgson and Martin Jol got into the top eight. Redknapp is very dodgy and generally bad news, but he's a good football manager - modern day Venables.

0

Antti_Heinola added 11:31 - Oct 29 Fair enough Clive. But Venables won things. Redknapp was in his 60s when he won his one and only trophy, and he was lucky that he got Cardiff in the final. Even Joe Royle got teams to cup finals, as did McClaren. And Bryan Robson! Yes, Redknapp may have returned and saved Pompey, but in the meantime he relegated Southampton. I'm no massive lover of Jol, but I was pointing out that Spurs were already a good team when Redknapp got there, they just had a bad start and were extremely unfortunate not to get into the CL as I said. I have no doubt he did a good job at Pompey, but I can't really go into why I think he has to bear some responsibility for their present fate due to libel laws. I'm sure you can guess, though. It's pretty obvious when you realise that Daniel Levy only allowed him to be Spurs boss as long as he had nothing to do with transfers. He is simply nothing like Venables. Venables was tactically an excellent manager who could motivate players. Redknapp is nowhere close to being tactically as good as Venables and is nowhere close to having his influence on the training pitch. Joe Jordan is the real brains in that team. There's a big myth that players love him too - yes, some do, but a lot hate him. Sorry norf, some of this is personal. I know someone very well who has worked with him in the past and the stories are just shocking about the way he treats people. So as I said, I hope he gets the England job, because then the relationship with the press will fracture and with luck we'll find out the truth about good old 'Arry.

0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Norwich City Polls