Tottenham Hotspur Official Topic

[mobing]

he did well these days , in fact !

[mobing]

VDV needs good partners , i think it did not so well as he had done last season , star palyer is needed for Spurs !

[Guest Portuguese]

VDV

I remember the times when he was the King of Ajax but was always injured.

Ajax had the likes of Zlatan,VDM,Mido,Sneijder,Chivu etc etc but VDV was another level!

When he moved to HSV I lost respect for him I was sure he would move to England or Spain from Ajax

/

Never wanted him to leave Real(him and Robben besides he is half Spanish) because under Ramos he was our best player but he had to go to make room for Kaka.

One of Perez's many mistakes.

I have always said and will always say VDV>> Sneijder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKr1-JObdc8

[LS]

It's time for Spurs to build on success or we might end up like Villa

This is certainly the best Tottenham team during my time at the club and our aim has to be to qualify again for the Champions League.

We're stronger than last year and let's hope we're weaker than we will be next year - but there are other factors involved.

We're a good team who might be on the road to becoming great. If we want to become great, though, perhaps the club have to do certain things differently so as to match what the top teams do in a financial sense.

Since we qualified for the Champions League, we can say, yes, we have become a big team. Now, to become like Chelsea or Manchester United, we need to keep the same team for the next couple of years and make everyone happy to stay, rather than being in the situation we were with Luka Modric during the summer.

There's a lot to be excited about at Spurs now with the new training ground and maybe a new stadium. It feels like the future could be really good for the fans but if the players don't stay, we could end up like Aston Villa.

Not long ago, they were maybe two or three players away from becoming a top team. They didn't buy them and they didn't keep the ones who were already there and since that time, they have taken a few steps back.

Instead of being able to build on what they had, players ended up leaving Villa, so I hope Tottenham will make the right steps.

There was contact from Paris St-Germain about signing me during the summer but I didn't push it. I feel good in England, London and at Tottenham. But let me share a simple example. If a player is earning £3 somewhere and another club offers him £6, he will ask his current club to match that offer.

If they don't match it, he will move to another club, because he might feel undervalued. True, there are other things a player thinks about but the first thing a player speaks about when he is negotiating with a club is money.

When you're at Spurs, it's like you're with family. The players are very friendly, it's a cool place and as a team we will give our best but if the financial situation is not addressed, the players have careers to think about.

You wouldn't go looking elsewhere if you're happy where you are. But you will not always refuse to better your professional career and earnings because you like the "family" feeling.

It's the first of two consecutive derby matches for us this weekend as we're coming up against Queens Park Rangers at White Hart Lane. Although I haven't spoken to him for a little while, I know Adel Taarabt well as we were both at Lens in France and then he joined me at Tottenham in 2007.

I know that Adel has a certain reputation but I don't have the eyes of a manager, so for me, he is a cool man, not a difficult character.

I have known him since he was maybe 12 so it is interesting to see the man he is now, flying with his own wings.

But the problem with some talented footballers, in contrast to those who don't have as much natural talent, is that they use their head less when they face a difficult situation on the pitch.

Perhaps because they have so much talent, they don't feel they need to think their way out of tough situations on the field as they have the skills to usually get out of tight spots.

But I think if a player wants to play for one of the best clubs, it's not only about natural talent.

You can't sulk because you're taken off at half-time, or because another player is chosen ahead of you. If you're at a big club, you have to say, "Okay, I will work harder to show the manager that he made a mistake."

If a player behaves badly, then he won't evolve, because it is in the difficult moments when you recognise a great player. You need mental toughness in football.

Soon after I joined Spurs in 2006, I had a knee injury and I hardly played for 18 months. That was a really difficult period, because not only did I have to prove I could play again at the top level, I still needed to show I was good enough for Spurs.

That experience helped make me who I am today and this I can say is true: reaching the top in football is about so much more than doing an amazing dribble or a brilliant pass.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/football/article-24002951-its-time-for-spurs-to-build-on-success-or-we-might-end-up-like-villa.do

BAE article for the standard

[Rsonist]

Ended JJ

[Lens]

better he's not in the Europa squad than leave it to Harry's judgment to decide when to rest him

[CarltonLeach]

Do we have the funds to sign him and do you think he'll join us next year?

This partnership he's forming with Bale and Rafa is fucking awesome.

If we can get a CB in and another winger then who knows what we could acheive this season

[Eskay Jones]

can tell ur not a serious yido another winger? we have the most in the premiership

[Rsonist]

[Rsonist]

He's playing very well.

Holding the ball up, creating space, creating oppertunitys for others.

MASSIVE breath of fresh air leading the line compared to the days of Crouch's tyranny.

[Rsonist]

No wonder Tottenham fans have the blissed-out look of survivors from a 90s rave. Scott Parker is playing like a Footballer of the Year. Gareth Bale has re-emerged as a world beater. Rafa van der Vaart and Luka Modric are throwing more shapes than a disco diva.

And yet, to me, the symbol of Tottenham’s status, as top-three contenders, is an under-appreciated full back, who has the looks of a Cabbage Patch doll, and the instincts of an investment banker. Benoit Assou-Ekotto may be in it for the money, but he gives good value.

The Cameroon international has overtaken Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra as the Premier League’s most consistently effective left back. That’s some progress for a player who was in danger of becoming a victim of the brief, chaotic reign of Juande Ramos. He’s yet another example of Spurs boss Harry Redknapp’s man-management skills.

BAE, as he is known to all and sundry at Spurs, is the sort of high-maintenance character suited to the simplicity of Redknapp’s management style. His hissy fits are increasingly infrequent, even if he continues to defy convention, in highlighting the hypocrisy of his trade. Redknapp simply allows him to be himself.

Modern players are media trained to within an inch of their lives. In the worst case scenario, they turn to stone, or into an Alan Shearer clone. Yet BAE is loud and proud. Football is his job. A great job, but just a job. It is not his vocation, or his passion. He clocks in for training at 10.30am most days, and spends three hours, working at what appears to come naturally.

Then he’s off. A multi-millionaire who uses his Oyster card to traverse London on the tube network. He knows how close he came to being denied a career by a serious knee injury, and has eradicated the concentration problems which blighted his early appearances for Tottenham.

He has stamina, resilience, an eye for a pass and the composure required to deliver a telling final ball. Just don’t expect him to play the fame game – he can’t be bothered.

[DAT_YOUT_FROM_E15]

if he takes a wage cut then yes, otherwise no chance.

This and he's a top class cf made better wiv the Madrid experience

[Seth Rollins]

He's playing very well.

Holding the ball up, creating space, creating oppertunitys for others.

MASSIVE breath of fresh air leading the line compared to the days of Crouch's tyranny.

Your best striker in YEARS.

[Bruno Di Gradi]

Pulled up with a hammy for holland

kmt... i saw that happening.

[Posted November 13, 2011]

A number of players from Tim Sherwood's "Development Squad" (this name seems to be catching on across the football world!) have made their first team debuts this season, so it seems a good time to consider the progress of some of them.

Jake Livermore, 21

Livermore is proving me wrong. I had totally written him off as a Spurs player, and was surprised when Redknapp started to use him in the first team squad in pre-season. I always felt that in the U18s and reserves that he lacked technique and genuine footballing ability, and was primarily making faster progress than others due to his physical attributes. Whilst he is clearly not the best technically, he has shown that he is, at the very least, competent and reliable in his Premier League and Europa League appearances. He is keen to get on the ball when we have possession, but also not afraid of puting in a shift and doing his share of the dirty work.

His main strength is still probably his physicality - he's big, strong, and has good energy levels - but he has also shown good positional awareness and showed in

that he does have some footballing ability too! I still don't see him becoming a Spurs regular, but he should certainly be able to carve out a Premier League career for himself.

Tom Carroll, 19

There have been many comments from fans, the media and Harry Redknapp about him looking like a boy, but Carroll plays the game like a seasoned pro. His touch, movement and awareness are excellent - always looking to make himself available to receive the ball, and then quickly distributing it, before he again looks to find a suitable space. When he loses the ball (which has not been too often in his performances for the first team so far), he doesn't recklessly dive into a challenge - instead, he puts the maximum effort into getting back behind the ball and stopping the opposition from playing.

One criticism so far would be that he has perhaps kept it too simple - his passing range is such that he should perhaps look to be a little more ambitious at times but, on the other hand, it's totally understandable that he would look firstly to play himself into a game with simple passing, and secondly, look to impress the manager with his ability to keep the ball.

Whilst I rate Carroll as an excellent prospect, we must be patient with him - look at Manchester United's handling of Tom Cleverley (who is three years older than Carroll) as a comparison - he had lengthy loan spells before getting a chance in their first team.

Andros Townsend, 20

Having made a superb goal-scoring debut in the FA Cup match against Charlton last season, Townsend impressed on loan at Millwall and will certainly feel that he has earned his chance in our first team. He will be disappointed, however, that most of his opportunities have come at left-back, with Danny Rose out injured and Assou-Ekotto rested. However, he came on and really influenced the game when given his chance on the wing against Shamrock Rovers, getting an assist and generally looking lively.

I am not sure whether he will feel that he may have been better off going straight out on loan this season, or whether he will be pleased to have had first team football for Spurs in any position. There is plenty of the season left, so he should still get a loan move - hopefully to a lower-half Premier League team, or an upper-half Championship team - where he can continue to progress.

Ryan Fredericks, 19

Fredericks was on the bench for the first team in the 2009/10 season in the FA Cup Fourth Round replay against Leeds, but soon after he picked up a long-term injury, which meant him missing the majority of the 2010/11 season. To start against Hearts in the Europa League, then, must have come as quite a surprise - he was barely back to fitness! Fredericks is blessed with natural pace, and has good close control and crossing ability, although he didn't really get much of a chance to showcase much of his attacking play in his second start (against Rubin Kazan), which came at right back, a position that he has occasionally played for the Development Squad.

He will be looking for more involvement in the Europa League, before heading out on loan in order to get some league experience and to build up his strength and fitness.

Harry Kane, 18

The youngest of all of our players who have been involved with our first team squad this season - he only turned 18 at the end of July, a month before his first team debut. He did OK in his debut, although was left wondering what could have been, missing a penalty that he had won himself. In his second appearance he was very unfortunate not to win another penalty and was instead incorrectly shown a yellow card for simulation.

Kane has an ungainly style, but his touch is good and he has plenty of strength for one so young. He has scored goals at youth and reserve level, and also had a reasonable scoring record for League One side Leyton Orient last year. I think a lot of fans were expecting more from him in his Europa League showings, but it is important to remember that he is still very young and inexperienced - time is on his side.

Dean Parrett, 19

Parrett made his debut against Shakhtar in February 2009 - he put in a very tidy performance in that game and will feel a little unlucky that he has not seen more first team involvement, making just three further substitute appearances. Parrett will hopefully get a chance in the remaining Europa League matches, but the emergence of Livermore and Carroll, plus injury problems of his own, have meant that he has found himself (rightly or wrongly) a little way down the pecking order.

An all-action player, Parrett possesses great drive and no little technique, with good all-round football ability. He turns 20 soon, and will certainly be looking for first-team football this year, be it for us in the Europa League or on loan.

Ineligible Europa League players

A number of fans have been questioning why the likes of John Bostock, Massimo Luongo, Cristian Cellabos and Souleymane Coulibaly are not involved in the Europa League. In order to qualify for the UEFA "B List", a player must have been born after 1st January 1990 and have been registered with the club for two years since his 15th birthday. This obviously rules out the likes of Luongo, Ceballos and Coulibaly, all more recent signings, but also Bostock due to his loan spells away from the club. They could have been named in the main "A List" (as Iago Falqué, Giovani dos Santos and Jake Livermore were), but that would have to have been at the expense of first-team players. To illustrate, here is the squad list taken from the UEFA Europa League website.

To round-up, here is a line on the progress of each of our other young professionals (from the list on the official site):

Ben Alnwick, 24 - currently on loan at Leyton Orient as cover for the injured David Button. He has made five appearances so far.

Jordan Archer, 18 - on loan at Bishop's Stortford and performing well - he is also a recently call up to the Scotland U21 squad.

David Button, 22 - was having a good start to life on loan at Leyton Orient until he picked up a shoulder injury in September.

Oscar Jansson, 20 - playing on a near-weekly basis for the Spurs XI (reserve team) following the completion of his loan at Bradford.

Mirko Ranieri, 19 - on a season-long loan at Italian side FC Esperia Viareggio, presumably with one eye on a permanent move.

Nathan Byrne, 19 - had started to settle after a tough opening spell at Bournemouth, but suffered a serious ankle ligament injury and will miss a couple more months of football.

Steven Caulker, 19 - was playing consistently well for Swansea City prior to his knee cartilage injury, but is due back soon.

Bongani Khumalo, 24 - having initially been a regular starter at Reading, he has found himself down the pecking order of late, and is fighting to get his place back.

Kyle Naughton, 23 - a regular starter at right-back for Norwich, with a decent level of consistency to his performances.

Adam Smith, 20 - has been performing very well for MK Dons, and recently picked up three MOTM awards in a row (one having scored a superb goal). He has recently been called up to (and played for) England U21s.

John Bostock, 19 - has been playing in some of the NextGen Series and for the Spurs XI.

Cristian Ceballos, 18 - scored the opener in the 4-1 win over PSV in the NextGen Series and for the Spurs XI.

Yago Falqué, 21 - on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent, he has been heavily involved in the Europa League and has shown flashes of good play without ever really influencing a match.

Massimo Luongo, 19 - made his first-team debut, coming off the bench in the League Cup game against Stoke, and unfortunately missing a penalty. I think he will get more chances this season - an impressive player, and one to watch.

Ryan Mason, 20 - on loan at Doncaster although he has again seen his loan spell disrupted by injury problems. Doncaster have changed their manager (with Dean Saunders taking over) and so we need to wait and see whether he'll be involved in their first team on a regular basis.

Jake Nicholson, 19 - has played in NextGen Series matches, Spurs XI matches, and came off the bench in the Europa League - he will certainly be looking for a taste of league football this year.

Alex Pritchard, 18 - one of the stars of our NextGen Series team so far with some excellent performances, and he has also been an unused sub in two Europa League games.

Jesse Waller-Lassen, 18 - still getting over injury problems, although nearing full fitness - I'd expect that Jesse be given time to get up to speed with appearances for the Spurs XI.

Simon Dawkins, 23 - returned from a good spell with San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS - he finished an impressive 21st in the Castrol Index Player of the Season rankings (his team mate Chris Wondolowski was 1st, Thierry Henry was 3rd, Landon Donovan was 16th, Juan Pablo Angel was 25th, David Beckham was 69th).

Cameron Lancaster, 19 - scored a good goal for the Spurs XI last week, and was on the bench for the Europa League match with Rubin Kazan.

Jonathan Obika, 21 - still on loan at Yeovil, although just on his way back from injury.

Kudus Oyenuga, 18 - involved in some of the NextGen Series games, and some Spurs XI games, Kudus will be looking for more league experience after he only got a few brief appearances at Bury.

[mobing]

He's playing very well.

Holding the ball up, creating space, creating oppertunitys for others.

MASSIVE breath of fresh air leading the line compared to the days of Crouch's tyranny.

Your best striker in YEARS. since berbatov

the guy did well !

[Rsonist]

rafvdvaart Rafael van der Vaart

I will do my best to be back soon and hope to make the game against Aston Villa guys.

[Im Broke]

He will only be out for a couple weeks don't worry lads, not enough time for you to slip out of the top 10.

[Posted November 16, 2011]

Tottenham Hotspur have reported record annual revenue of over £160million and have revealed plans to de-list from the AIM stock market.

Full houses at White Hart Lane have helped to increase gate receipts and merchandising revenue, contributing to revenue of £163.5m for the year to 30th June - up from £119.8m in 2010.

Participation in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2010/11 helped to push the club's revenue up.

Announcing their financial results on Wednesday, the North London outfit have also put forward a proposal to help secure more cash for their stadium redevelopment plans.

Commenting on the proposed de-listing, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement published on the club's official website: "It is clear to us that increasing the capacity of the club's stadium is a key factor in the continued development and success of the club and will involve the company in considerable additional capital expenditure.

"Given this requirement, we believe that the AIM listing restricts our ability to secure funding for its future development.

Ambitious

"We are ambitious for the club and have always taken the steps that we believe to be in its best interests.

"In looking to move forward and continue to fulfil our ambitions as a club, particularly with respect to raising finance for capital expenditure projects, I can also announce that we are intending to propose to shareholders that the company be de-listed from trading on AIM and be re-registered as a private limited company."

Spurs have continued to invest in the strengthening of their squad, with the likes of Rafael van der Vaart, Sandro, William Gallas and Steven Pienaar drafted in over the course of the last year.

They realise they continued success on the field requires a regular injection of fresh faces and further signings were made over the summer in an effort to take the club forward.

Levy said: "We are benefiting now from our investment to date in the first-team squad.

"Our challenge is to accrue further benefits from our investment in capital projects in order to lay the strongest foundations for the future stability and prosperity of the club."

Tottenham are in discussions with local and national government about building a new 66,000-seater stadium on the ground adjacent to White Hart Lane.

The plan, known as the Northumberland Development Project (NDP), was launched in 2008, but was scrapped due to increased costs before being revived earlier this year.

London mayor Boris Johnson recently offered Spurs a "take-it-or-leave-it" £17m offer in a bid to help Tottenham pay for the NDP

Hope this allows us to start raising funds and developing the NDP asap.

[Rsonist]

De-listing also makes it easier for a rich overseas individual to buy a large controlling stake in the club.