The waiting is over... It's all systems go!

This time last year who would have predicted what happened to Spurs in 2007-08? Certainly not me. I genuinely felt BMJ was the least likely Premier League manager to leave his post that season, and yet by the end of October he was gone. But enough of that, my predictions for what the season had in store were equally as diabolical as Levy's handling of Jol-gate, so I won't be trying anything like that this time around.

How do I expect Tottenham to do in the new league campaign? Well I'm not sure to be honest. Spurs have a habit of blowing very hot or very cold and I can see two equally likely scenarios play out.

On the one hand we can argue that qualifying for the Champions League might finally happen. The new signings are superb players and seem to have settled well already. We have a very able manager, respected throughout Europe, who has the experience of taking Sevilla to the Champions League. And we've had a great pre-season where we've been banging in goals for fun and we've made some pretty good teams look pretty average. All valid reasons why a fourth place finish in this season's Premier League is attainable.

However, equally I wouldn't be surprised if it was another season of not quite delivering. The uncertainty around Berba heading into the new campaign and the lack of depth upfront is a cause for concern. Yes we could rectify this before the transfer window closes, but as I said earlier this week, the timing is all pretty unfortunate. Most experts would argue that it takes time for new signings to really bed in, and with so many comings and goings this summer, it might be a while before the new-look Spurs are firing on all cylinders. And then again there is Ramos' post Carling Cup team to remember. The last three months of the previous season were awful, and although some people argue there were valid excuses, it was one of the lowest periods in a few years I can remember. So based on those factors, another mid-table finish wouldn't be a huge surprise.

Personally, I think it will be somewhere in between. I think we will finish in the top six and set things up nicely for a real run at qualifying for the Champions League the year after. I know that's typical Spurs - a season of transition/consolidation/preparation - but it's just the way I see it. Failure to qualify for at least the UEFA Cup though would be a huge disaster not worth contemplating.

So assuming we finish in the top six, I won't be too despondent. However, I do think there is another slight risk. Dare I even say this, but Ramos' loyalty is a potential issue. He's never spent long in any job to date, and if we fail to qualify for Europe's top competition, might he jump ship next summer if a better opportunity presents itself to him? I think there is a similarity with the Berbatov situation, just a year behind. We all knew 12 months ago that if we didn't break into the top four in 2007-08, Berba would be off. Will the same happen to Ramos?

I think it's ironic that the manager and the players are the ones affecting how successful a team is. We, as fans, might be the "twelfth man", but we can't do anymore than create a great atmosphere during the 90 minutes of a match. Whereas the coaching and playing staff are those that have the real influence. But if we don't finish where we want to, they're the ones that have the option of moving on, whilst we remain the single constant factor.

Enough of my doom and gloom surrounding the wider state of English football today. I am really excited that the new season is finally upon us and relishing tomorrow's trip up north. Not only will Middlesbrough away be tricky in its own right, but our opening match statistics do not make pleasant reading. In the last ten seasons, we've kicked off away from home on seven occasions, losing four, drawing one and winning just two. That said, following our impressive pre-season form I think we can take all three points tomorrow. I'm not sure whether Berba will figure or not, but with Bent supported by five midfielders, I'm confident we can get off to a winning start.

Just when things were going well...

An unbeaten pre-season that included beating the Scottish champions and thrashing the Serie A runners-up, the signing of some exciting new players, a striker who literally cannot stop scoring... it even looked like we were going to hang on to Berba until at least the next transfer window. Everything seemed to be going so well, but then with less than a week to go before the league season commences, one or two problems have appeared.

But first, just let me provide a brief update on some of the events at WHL since my last post:

• On Wednesday the club announced that we will become the first Premier League team to join the football-themed motor racing championship, Superleague Formula. Not quite sure what all this means, but I guess full credit to the commercial department for doing what they can to grow our brand.


• On Friday there was action with a couple of our reserve team players. Captain Troy Archibald-Henville joined Norwich for the season, and Leigh Mills, who recently returned from a loan spell at Brentford, has joined Gillingham for a month.


• Two days later we witnessed the WHL debuts of Gomes, Modric, Bentley and Gio as we spanked Roma 5-0, with Darren Bent and David Bentley getting a brace each. The perfect end to what has been a pretty good pre-season.


• The rumours may have been going on since before the last season finished, but Younes Kaboul finally completed his move to Portsmouth yesterday. On last season's form he won't be missed, but many Spurs fans are worried we may have let someone go who has the potential to turn into a future star. Still if he isn't in Ramos' plans and doesn't have the discipline to keep his mouth shut, I fully support off-loading him.


• And earlier today the club announced the signing of 36-year-old Spanish goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez from Real Zaragoza, who should be a decent and experienced deputy for Gomes.

So a pretty busy week with plenty of good news stories. However, it hasn't all been going our way as the press have picked up on a few events this week that are cause for concern.

Firstly, it seems that Berba is indeed off. Levy may have crushed the advances of Old Red Nose last month, but ManUre haven't given up. According to recent reports, Berba has told friends he expects to be joining the Premier League champions by the end of the week.

Obviously the timing is not great. We have known for ages he would be leaving, but for him to leave so late in pre-season does not give the club long to sign and then bed in a new player. I'm sure Ramos/Comolli/Levy are working hard on bringing in a replacement, but with our first match just four days away it's frustrating news. As for who the replacement might be, I don't think we're any closer to knowing as the press are still enjoying the silly season of linking several new names each day.

It is not yet clear whether the Vedran Ćorluka episode will work out well for Spurs or not. But what is already clear is that football is definitely the loser here, or more precisely, Man City fans. If there is just an ounce of fact in any of the recent stories, it's clear that the club have a very uncertain short term future. An unnamed Man City executive posted a rather alarming message on a number of football websites in the last couple of days:

I'm sorry to say this, as a life long fan and - for the last few (for me at least) unforgettable months - employee, MCFC as we know it is finished. Here are the FACTS, for those who really want to know. Thaksin is, as of midnight 10th August, 2008, an international fugitive.

The Ćorluka affair is the last straw - I personally worked on the deal and can assure anyone interested that he has already been transferred to Spurs. Spurs have this evening started legal action, and he will be barred from playing for City following an injunction in the courts tomorrow.

He now has to be found guilty of corruption in Thailand in his absence, offering no defence. Extradition requests will surely follow. The PL will then have to find him short of the fit and proper ownership rules (and believe me, the pressure for that from fellow 'members' has been growing since June).

Thaksin is trying to palm off City onto whoever will now take it, an insolvent mess of a business, completely incapable of sustaining itself. The truth is that the only interested party (until recently) - Wardle - is not now able to bail City out now , he can't come close on his own and no partners have been found. The wage bill and commitments due on the last two years' transfers have spiralled out of control.

Personally I expect Hughes to then resign on principal (he has no choice now, he is on record as saying that he will have final say on all transfers). Many wont believe any of this, but a few will. I am very close to this situation (readers will never know who I am or how close - a few would know my name but it isn't appropriate to for me to come 'out') - trust me, I am close enough to know what has happened in the last fortnight, I am pissed off with it (as a fan, and as someone who has worked hard for the club during the last 18 months or so) and it must be said, a little drunk.

I am posting this message on a few sites - apologies for those that keep reading it, but I want City fans to know what is happening. The sad truth is we are finished, and that as a result, the PL will be facing its biggest challenge since inception within two weeks of now."

Ooh err, all sounds very worrying and it sounds like an affair that might run and run. In the meantime, will Ćorluka become a Spurs player? I hope so, as I think he's a very able defender who can play anywhere across the back four. Will he be a Spurs player by the weekend? Not likely.

And talking of defenders that brings me on to the last point. Captain Ledley has been hanging out at his favourite establishment once again and has been snapped by the paps with his trousers falling down in a rather sorry state. C'mon Ledders, we know you've got worrying injury problems and your future is uncertain, but you're the club captain and therefore an ambassador. We all need to let our hair down from time to time, but the privileged position you find yourself in means that when you want to do so, you need to use a lot more discretion.

The Carling Cup celebratory antics were perfectly acceptable. But to be thrown out of a club when you're too unfit to play in the fist team isn't great news. For a similar escapade to be repeated on the eve of the new season is pretty silly. Sort it out boss. You're much loved at WHL and we'll continue to support you, but don't go and do stupid things that others can use to shoot you down and cause you more problems.

Should we replace Keane? If so, who with?

There’s no point harping on about Mr Tottenham turning his back on us to join the car thieves in Merseyside. It’s water under the bridge now and therefore time to move on. As the 'second striker' Keano had a key role to play in the way Spurs sides have lined up for the last few years. As well as a decent strike rate, he was also instrumental in setting up a huge number of our goals.

So, assuming Ramos wants us to keep playing the same way, we will need to bring in a new deep-lying forward. But more of that in a minute. In many of this summer’s pre-season friendlies we have lined up without two forwards. Whether you call it a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 or 4-1-3-1-1 or whatever other concoction you choose to use is open to debate… the fact is we have operated on more than one occasion with Darren Bent as the ‘lone’ striker. With a midfield packed full of creative attacking players this is certainly an option, and the likes of dos Santos (or should we be calling him Giovani?), Bentley and Modrić all seem to be settling well. Personally I also like to mention the FA Cup quarter-final at Stamford Bridge a year or so ago when Lennon played for some of the game in the middle and looked pretty impressive. We certainly have options.

However, I’m a traditionalist at heart and would naturally favour a 4-4-2 formation, with one of the central midfielders a little more attack-minded than the other, and one of the forwards more likely to drop-off (á la Keane) than the other. Therefore I do advocate replacing Liverpool’s newest scally.

Spurs have been linked to more players than I care to remember this summer, but two names have regularly been mentioned who I would describe as second strikers: David Villa of Valencia and Andrei Arshavin of Zenit St Petersburg. Both are undoubtedly great players who won many more pundits after an impressive Euro 2008. Neither will be cheap and neither are dead certs, but if we could choose one of them, which one would it be?

As the Golden Boot winner of this summer’s tournament, Villa has the pick of teams to choose from. Although initially it sounded like he was keen to stay in Spain, the rumours linking him with Tottenham continue to increase. I think if he was to become a Spurs player it would be a huge surprise to many, but with the Spanish connection through Ramos you just never know. Since joining Valencia in 2005, Villa has notched up 70 goals in 130 appearances. His international strike rate is as impressive: 18 goals in 35 games. I rate Villa as one of the hottest players in Europe at the moment, and at just 26 he is likely to keep improving. Would he choose Spurs over a club playing in the Champions League? I can’t see it myself, only dream it.

So if securing David Villa is just a pipedream, what about the Russian maestro? Andrei Arshavin is also young (he’s just six months older than Villa) and is also in demand. There were rumours linking the 2006 Russian Footballer of the Year with Barcelona earlier this summer, but the Spanish giants apparently ruled out making a bid. He is allegedly keen to leave his homeland and the Premier League seems a likely destination. The latest round of rumours would suggest that Arshavin has agreed personal terms with Tottenham, but since the two clubs can’t agree on a fee the transfer is currently in limbo. On the pitch there are few doubts surrounding his playmaking ability and vision, but his strike rate is nowhere near as impressive as Villa’s. But then again, Arshavin is perhaps more versatile as he can play out wide or even as an attacking central midfielder. To date he’s notched up 13 international goals in 37 appearances, and 47 league goals in 217 games for Zenit.

Either player would be great news for Spurs fans, but I’d favour the Spaniard. Would he join us though, I’d be tempted to say “pigs might fly”, but then maybe I underestimate Ramos’ ability to talk the talk. The next problem is that if one of these deals was to come off, we’d be talking a transfer fee north of £18 million. To fund that I’d expect Levy would rely on selling Berbatov, and that would then leave us with just Bent as the out-and-out striker in the first team squad. Any problems with injuries or suspensions, and we could be left pretty threadbare.

I think we need two centre forwards and two second strikers. If we keep hold of Berba, then he and Bent fit into the first category. Should the Bulgarian depart then Roman Pavlyuchenko would be a great replacement and would hopefully cost no more than £12 million. With Villa or Arshavin as the preferred second striker, we’d then have Giovani dos Santos as decent cover. Not cheap, but a mouth-watering attack for the new season.

Is it all finally coming together?

So not only did Martin Jol win a trophy at the Emirates this weekend, but we picked up some more silverware in the form of the Feyenoord Jubilee Tournament Trophy. I don’t think I’ve been this excited since we won the 2005 Peace Cup! I watched our victories over Celtic and Borussia Dortmund and was pretty pleased with what I witnessed (other than the German’s constant fouling).

After feeling pretty miserable with the end of our last season and then the shenanigans involving both Robbie Keane and the ManUre mafia putting pressure on a Scandinavian website, I haven’t felt particularly excited about the new season. We’ve had a lot of comings and goings, but there always seems to be a lot more changes still required… and we now have only 12 days to go until we kick things off at the Riverside.

So since my last post, Tottenham have signed Bentley (which we all knew was going to happen), Liverpool have signed Keano (again not unexpected, but a huge loss nevertheless), Sunderland have signed Malbranque (a big shame in my opinion, but it was Ramos’ decision), Blackburn have signed Robbo (good luck son) and Kaboul is still close to a move away (it seems that Pompey are now the only ones left in the running, but this has dragged on longer than the ManUre-Madrid-Ronaldo soap opera).

And on the pitch, Bent has been unable to stop scoring, which has ensured several good pre-season results – let’s just hope the Midas touch can continue when the real business starts. Zokora has started at right-back a couple of times, which suggests that Ramos may well prefer him in Hutton’s absence as opposed to giving Gunter a run in the side. Bale and Jenas have looked pretty good. Gomes, Modric, Bentley and dos Santos all seem to have started very well. And so the hard graft at the Spanish training camp is beginning to pay off, as we all get excited about the new season and Ramos’ new-look Spurs side.

The media are once again making big predictions about a top four finish, and some people are even imagining that Berbatov will still be a Spurs player when the transfer window closes at the end of the month. I’d obviously be delighted to see both predictions come true, but personally I think the optimism is misplaced.

Yes we seem to be playing pretty attractive football so far. Yes we’re certainly getting the sorts of results we want. Yes we have some exciting new talent in our ranks and a potential of new crowd favourites.

However, we still don’t have enough strength in depth in defence, we still miss a true left winger, we don’t yet have a strong enough defensive midfielder and we lack any depth upfront. Maybe if the current squad stay fit and suspension-free we could do well… but from the other perspective, we’d only need one or two injuries to key players and we’ll have a very tough season ahead.

With the best part of a month still to go, I expect to see yet more new faces. It will obviously be frustrating that players joining the club in August won’t have had a full pre-season with the rest of the squad, but it will be better to get them in now than not at all.

On the whole I am encouraged by the signings Ramos has made and although I don’t necessarily agree with all of those that he’s letting leave, it’s clear he’s in control. Other than the unfortunate saga of Keano, Ramos has actively made the decision to move the others on. With Levy supporting him in the transfer market, you have to feel they have a plan and the building blocks are coming together as they’ve envisaged.

And despite the gaps that still exist, I’m feeling more positive than I have done all summer as we seem to be playing decent football. The new signings are all creative types with decent distribution. Couple that with the fact that Ramos likes players to be able to play in more than one position, and you get the impression that he’s building a talented, fluid, versatile, attractive team.

So my pre-season verdict to date? So far so good.

38 days to go and five signings needed

Another summer at Spurs and as usual it means months of speculation. As a well-supported and wealthy club it means we’re linked with everyone from my gran to Pele (or so it seems at times). With 38 days remaining until the transfer window closes, I thought it was time to run through how our squad is currently shaping up for the new season.

Goalkeepers

Our first choice will obviously be new signing Heurelho Gomes, now that his work permit has been approved; with Ben Alnwick and Oscar Jansson vying for the deputy slot. Cerny left at the end of the season when his loan deal expired (and has since signed for QPR), Forecast joined Southampton, and Robbo looks to be heading up to Blackburn imminently.

Verdict: No real experience if Gomes gets injured, but having a confident stopper will be an improvement on last season.

Defenders

We’ve got Alan Hutton and Chris Gunter on the right, although the Scotsman has apparently done his ankle and will be missing until early-mid October. On the left we have Gareth Bale, who we’re all excited to see again (let’s just hope he has better luck with injuries), and Gilberto as his deputy. It seems that Young-Pyo Lee is sticking around after a return to PSV didn't materialise, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave if the club receive a semi-decent bid. Although I expected Stalteri to leave, Ramos may opt to hang on to him for a bit longer with the news about Hutton. But then again, if a firm offer came in I’m sure Ramos would rather opt to take the cash to help him fund further transfers.

In the middle we have Ledders and Woody, with Daws backing up. Since the first two are injury prone, and Daws had a bad season last time around, I expect we may see some further strengthening here, although not sure who we’re likely to buy.

Chimbonda has signed for Sunderland, Kaboul is close to joining Villa, Gardner is off to Hull (initially on loan), and it seems that Assou-Ekotto and Rocha will be off as soon as someone expresses an interest.

Verdict: Our first choice back four looks superb, although buying another central defender would be a wise move if we want to concede fewer goals than last season.

Midfielders

Wow, where do we start? The signing of Modric and dos Santos has definitely strengthened this area, and with the club signing up Huddlestone and O’Hara on improved deals, as well as issuing a hands-off statement regarding Lennon, we have plenty of options.

Let’s start with those leaving. Tainio has signed for Sunderland and Malbranque is pretty likely to. Personally I think this would be a tragedy as he was my player of the season last term. However, if Ramos has told him he has no future at Spurs then I don’t blame and will wish him well. Ramos is no fan of Boateng so I would expect him to be offloaded before the season starts. With Ghaly injured it might be tricky to get rid of him before the window shuts, but we all know he has no future at Tottenham.

With the arrival of David Bentley expected soon, I guess we’ll see him and Lennon competing to start on the right. I guess dos Santos or Jamie O’Hara could occupy the left flank, although I’d like us to sign a proper winger in the mould of Capel. In the middle there is Modric, Jenas, Zokora and Huddlestone. And then there’s always the exciting Adel Taarabt who could play on the left or in the middle, just soon as he learns that there are 10 other players on his team and if he was to sometimes pass the ball he might be more effective. With the talent ahead of him in the pecking order he would be better off going out on loan for a few months.

There is talk of Ramos playing a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 formation this season, which would presumably give more chances to the names listed above. The other slight controversy is who we use as our holding midfielder. I like Zokora and Huddlestone, but wouldn’t describe either as the perfect solution. Our defensive record was atrocious last season, so I think strengthening this position is key.

Verdict: With such a wealth of talent, the big question is what Ramos’ first choice line-up will be. To fill the gaps, a left winger and holding midfielder would be useful acquisitions.

Strikers

Now I’m not sure if the idea of Ramos wanting to play 4-5-1/4-3-3 came about because of the rumours linking all of our main forwards with moves away or if it his preferred way of playing. Nevertheless, upfront is proving to be a problem area for us at present. Keane’s head has been turned and is likely to be playing for the car thieves by the end of the weekend, and we all know Berba has been waiting for a move for the last year.

Despite rumours earlier in the summer linking Darren Bent with the exit door, I think he’ll now be staying put. If we’re slow to fill the gaps caused by the Keane and Berbatov departures, he could blossom next season.

However, whatever formation we intend to play, I still think we need to replace the two who are leaving. Arshavin has been linked as a potential second striker, but I think he is over-priced and over-rated. David Villa would be an amazing coup, but I don’t think he’d ever join Spurs. As for the Berbatov replacement, a new name seems to be linked everyday. Personally I’d quite like to see Diego Milito sign.

And as for backup, the young Tomas Pekhart looks like a great prospect and will hopefully get a few opportunities this season.

Verdict: A problem area at present, but if we can sign two decent forwards before the end of August we can hopefully enjoy another season with a great, but different, forward-line.

Hypocrites and the state of football today

Fresh from Daniel Levy publicly declaring Alex Ferguson's antics as "unbelievably hypocritical... and disgraceful", another football club boss has been exposed for what he really is.

Simon Jordan, the man with the flowing golden locks who failed as a professional footballer, has spent the summer on a one-man mission to discredit Spurs after we appeared to land Palace's teenage sensation John Bostock for a snip. Palace rated Bostock in the region of £5 million, so when the transfer tribunal apparently ruled that we would have to pay just £700,000, Jordan branded the tribunal "a panel of halfwits".

However, in a letter seen by the London Evening Standard it is clear that the £700,000 is merely a down payment, and the fee could rise significantly if Bostock is successful at Tottenham.

If the London Evening Standard's claims are accurate, the actual deal looks like this: £700k upfront, plus £250k payments when Bostock makes five first-team starts and again after 10, 20, 30 and 40 appearances. If the player represents his country then Palace will get a further £200k taking the total to £2.15 million. On top of that, Palace will take 15% of a future transfer fee. So assuming Bostock makes the grade and is moderately successful and then one day we sell him, Palace's total package could easily be worth £3-6 million.

Now admittedly there are a number of 'ifs' there, but then Jordan's pre-tribunal 'ask' wasn't dissimilar. He wanted £2 million upfront, a further £500k when Bostock signs professional forms and a further £2 million after 40 first-team appearances. Not quite so far away from the final verdict as the man who once said "If I see another David Gold interview on the poor East End Jewish boy done good I'll impale myself on one of his dildos" would have you believe.

A week after the tribunal ruled on Bostock, Jordan then spouted on about quitting football. Apparently he has become disillusioned with it because one of the best players his academy has produced in the last ten years has been sold for "a packet of crisps". That's life mate. For as long as I can remember young players have migrated towards bigger clubs to stretch themselves and prove they can cut it at the higher level. Bigger teams invest more in their academies and any ambitious footballer wants to reach the top, so it's a fact of life.

Now you could argue that the same is happening to us right now. Any decent footballer wants to play in the Champions League and so why shouldn't Berbatov and Keane want to move to ManUre and Liverpool?

I have no issues with Berba wanting to move on. Since about this time last year it has been pretty clear that any Spurs fan who expected to see him in a Tottenham shirt during 2008-09 is mad. We've known all along that he'd be departing for new pastures - so as long as we get a decent wedge for him (and ensure he goes abroad) I'll wish him well.

But Keane's different, if his sole motivation is to play Champions League football and better himself, why did he recently declare his love for Spurs? He said that knowing where we are in the league's pecking order. I've never heard Berba or Bostock pledging such strong allegiances to Spurs or Palace respectively.

So maybe Jordan is right to be disillusioned with football. But not because one of his young stars has left for a success-based transfer fee not dissimilar to what he was looking for. Oh no, there are more than enough reasons to feel disillusioned when someone with so-called unfaltering loyalty wants to jump ship as soon as a bigger club comes in for him.