N7teen

Now let’s get on with the football

2008-09-02T09:13:00.001+01:00

So the silly season is over for a few months and Sky Sports News’ audience figures will no doubt drop back down to more regular levels until late January. The transfer window has closed and surprise, surprise, Berba has joined ManUre. Although all Spurs fans will be disappointed, I think we can also feel relieved that the episode is finally over. But the Berba news is only part of the story from

New season, new ideas, but same old rubbish

2008-08-23T18:44:00.004+01:00

An opening day loss in the northeast against one of the Premier League’s weaker sides, followed by a home defeat to a team we've had a decent home record against in recent years. Déjà vu? This season has started in the same abject fashion for Tottenham as the previous one did. After last week’s poor start to the season, I bit my lip. We’d had a decent pre-season and a few new faces so we were

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

2008-08-15T11:11:00.001+01:00

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

Just when things were going well...

2008-08-12T15:39:00.001+01:00

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

Should we replace Keane? If so, who with?

2008-08-05T11:34:00.003+01:00

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

Is it all finally coming together?

2008-08-04T11:35:00.005+01:00

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

38 days to go and five signings needed

2008-07-25T11:14:00.002+01:00

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

Hypocrites and the state of football today

2008-07-22T11:44:00.004+01:00

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

Levy prepares fans for the worst

2008-07-18T20:06:00.005+01:00

Having returned from holiday earlier this week I was hoping to hear that that stories linking Keane with Liverpool had died down, that a foreign club had offered £30 million for Berba, that no-one other than the fringe players were being linked with moves away, and that we’d landed a few more big names. The holiday sun must have made me go crazy! Alas, it now seems clear, even more so following

Who will we have left to play up-front?!?!

2008-07-01T09:12:00.006+01:00

I was a little hung-over on Sunday morning when I read the News of the World, and was sure that I must have misread one of the sports stories, linking Robbie Keane with a move to Liverpool. I mean, please… Keano is a Spurs legend. He lives, breathes and sleeps Tottenham. He’s had six great years at the club, and despite regular rumours linking him with a transfer, for the past twelve months I’d

Who really is joining/leaving Spurs?

2008-06-24T12:00:00.004+01:00

Last week I estimated that Tottenham are linked to somewhere between 200 and 400 players a year. Since the domestic game is currently enjoying its summer break, and there was no Euro 2008 match last night to entertain us, the press attention on comings and goings at WHL has intensified once again. Now I don’t tend to comment a great deal on transfer rumours, just because I don’t think I can do

Surely ENIC wouldn't sell right now would they?

2008-06-18T11:24:00.001+01:00

According to today's Daily Mirror, Spurs could be sold to another Dubai-based investment syndicate (not DIC who tried to buy Liverpool, but the group that sniffed around Man City before Shinawatra got his hands on them). It is alleged that the group have already approached Joe Lewis, the ENIC mogul, who may be keen to sell as he has recently lost heavily following the collapse of Bear Stearns

Half the Tottenham squad to leave

2008-06-17T14:54:00.000+01:00

As regular readers know, I'm not one to spend much time discussing transfer rumours. A club of the stature of Tottenham is constantly being linked to potential new signings. In the last 12 months alone I would estimate we've been linked with 200-400 players. Trying to remain on top of that would give me a headache. I'd rather pass my judgement when the potential signings get a little closer to

Spurs fixture list: Friendly, league and cup matches

2008-06-16T10:25:00.001+01:00

The day all football fans love has arrived. Yes, earlier this morning the Premier League announced the league fixtures for the 2008-09 season. I have reproduced the full fixture list here and I've also included friendlies and potential cup dates to ensure the fixture list is as comprehensive as possible. Click here to see the full list and feel free to bookmark the page for future reference.

That's what I'm talking about!

2008-06-12T09:18:00.003+01:00

After twelve weeks of great television, the likeable Spurs fan Lee McQueen was last night confirmed as the winner of the fourth series of BBC's The Apprentice. Sir Alan Sugar, who I still haven't forgiven for telling Terry Venables, "You're fired!" back in 1993, told the popular yid from Buckinghamshire that he was hired. He joins Sugar's business empire on a £100,000 a year salary. Lee McQueen,

So how good is Giovani dos Santos?

2008-06-10T15:40:00.002+01:00

First Modrić, now Giovani dos Santos. I, like most Spurs fans, can have no complaints so far with Ramos’ recruitment drive. Earlier today Tottenham announced that Giovani has completed his move, for an initial fee of €6 million, potentially rising to €11 million depending on appearances. I also understand that Barcelona are entitled to 10% of any future transfer fee (or 20% if it is during the

Spurs fan’s guide to Euro 2008: Come on Croatia!

2008-06-05T08:23:00.002+01:00

Since only one of our (current) players will be appearing in the forthcoming European Championships, and bearing in mind none of the Home Nations qualified, it’s time Spurs fans became Croatia supporters. Our new signing, Luka Modrić, has been tipped by his national coach to become one of the stars of the tournament. So what do we need to know about Modrić on the international stage? Well, he’s

Get well soon Gazza, you’re a legend!

2008-06-03T12:51:00.001+01:00

As I’m sure everyone is aware, Paul Gascoigne was held under the Mental Health Act again on Sunday after reports he was acting strangely. There are more rumours in the press that he collapsed soon after his release and has voluntary signed himself back into medical care. Whatever is going on I don’t believe the press or paparazzi are helping. Gascoigne has battled addiction and depression for a

Don't you feel really sorry for John Terry?

2008-05-22T08:56:00.006+01:00

I imagine most Spurs fans were split last night. Do we support Manchester United and hope that they can win another European Cup fifty years after the Munich tragedy, or should we support our neighbours Chelsea and hope that they can bring European club football’s greatest prize to London for the first time? A tough decision that I expect all of us agonised long and hard over. Unlike many cup

We are the champions (again)!

2008-05-19T11:54:00.003+01:00

It’s not just the Carling Cup we’ve won this season folks, but also the FA Premier League Fair Play Table (for the second successive season). So what is the Fair Play Table? Many people assume it is simply a comparison of red and yellow cards accumulated during the season. Oh no, it’s far more complicated than that! There are six criteria that clubs are assessed on, and all competitive matches

What was Ramos’ impact on our league form?

2008-05-16T10:27:00.003+01:00

Juande Ramos is an undisputed cup expert, winning five trophies at Sevilla and obviously one with us (so far). We were knocked out of this season’s FA Cup by ManUre (at Old Trafford) and the UEFA Cup on penalties to PSV – neither of which could be described as embarrassing exits. Despite some of my recent doom and gloom, I am excited about what next season’s cup competitions have to offer. But

Season ticket prices increased by three times rate of inflation

2008-05-14T09:03:00.009+01:00

So after weeks of secrecy and a 'wait and see' approach, Tottenham have now announced the season ticket prices for the 2008-09 season. And boy is it a surprise they were kept a secret until the last possible moment? On average prices have risen 9.2% compared to last year, or £76 per person. The following table shows a simple comparison: These price increases translate to the equivalent of

Thank heavens the season is over

2008-05-12T11:59:00.001+01:00

Being an obsessive football fan for as long as I can remember has tended to mean that the close season is never a great time of the year for me. And with none of the Home Nations participating in this summer’s Euro 2008, I was contemplating other ways of fending off boredom. I have to say that in the last couple of months I’ve done an about-turn. Quite frankly I’m glad the season is over (bar

Pigs might fly

2008-05-08T08:58:00.002+01:00

In the last 24 hours there are stories all over the web suggesting that Thaksin Shinawatra is lining up a £32 million bid for Berba. Well, the idiotic Thai who doesn't know when he's onto a good thing or not can spend as much time as he likes lining up a bid. There is no way in a million years that Berba will want to go Eastlands. OK his mate Petrov is there, and no doubt he'll be offered bucket

Keane's on fire... and other Spurs news

2008-05-07T09:07:00.005+01:00

So despite my pre-match pessimism, Keane was on hand to score his 23rd goal of the season against Reading on Saturday to condemn them to even larger relegation worries. But rather than worrying about them I thought it fair to pay tribute to our stand-in captain who has had another terrific season at the club. This season’s goal haul of 23, one better than last season, was achieved in 53