Still no left winger, Still no prospects for left winger, Still no word about Appiah(who to me seems like a much better deal for a Mid than Palacios).

All of this craziness before the tie with Pompey this weekend, and coming off the tail-end of our defeat last week should make for an interesting tie at the Lane. Not to mention the vengeance that most Portsmouth fans will wish to inflict on Defoe and Redknapp, but we all knew that would be coming.

So what does this mean for Spurs? Have we signed Giovani Dos Santos as a forward or as an attacking mid? Though the Mexican wonder-kid could feature at either spot I’d say the latter is the more likely as Dos Santos has shown quite a knack for creating for his teammates as his performance at the U-17 Championships in 2005 showed.

The talent is undoubtedly there. How this is fostered under Junade Ramos is another question. If media reports leading up to the signing are to be believed it would seem that Ramos himself was the determining factor, as it was with Luka Modric. It will be interesting to see exactly what Ramos’ vision of our beloved THFC is going forward. Obviously the club looks to be stronger in the midfield, an area all Spurs fans were hoping would improve. That being said this still feels as if it’s only the tip of the iceberg for the Spaniard as more players will be going through the turnstile at N17 this summer. What do you think Yiddos?

The latest name to be banded around as possible Tottenham Hotspur suitor by the tabloids is Portsmouth central midfielder Sulley Muntari. It is reported the Ghanaian playmaker is valued at £14 million by Pompey boss Harry Redknapp. Is he having a laugh?

“Pompey now value him at double the fee after an outstanding debut season in England,” the Sunday People claimed. I fail to see what has been so outstanding about the African’s contribution to Portsmouth’s season. Maybe my opinion is misinformed but my view on the Premiership rookie does not concour.

He scored two stunners at Aston Villa, sure, but on the other occassions I have seen him in action, he has flattered to deceive to say the very. Perhaps I have just missed his better games, but even if I have I would not pay that kind of money for a therefore inconsistent performer.

And, if the Fratton Park side have been so impressed, maybe they should keep hold of him and deam the £7 million they paid for him last summer as a bargain.

I’d say a big ‘No’ for the signing of Muntari at that valuation.

The People reports Spurs chief Juande Ramos is eyeing up using wantaway centre-half Younes Kaboul plus cash to seal the deal. I would prefer to earn straight cash in the disposal in exchange for the services of the Frenchman.

And, after splashing £20 million on Luka Modric, I hardly feel an attacking central midfield player should be top of the Spaniard’s shopping list. But, maybe it isn’t. I hope anyway, that this deal, is just paper talk.

Elsewhere in the press today, former manager Martin Jol is apparently chasing the signature of Kevin-Prince Boeteng for his new Bundesliga side Hamburg. And, on that note I would like to take the chance to wish both MJ and ‘The Prince’ all the best for the future. Maybe, a meeting in the UEFA Cup next season would be a nice sentimental touch.

In other stories, with French custodian Coupet and Manchester City’s Joe Hart being linked with a move to the Lane over the last week, it has meant the potential deal for Cameroon keeper Carlos Kameni has gone rather quiet.

The Espanyol stopper has issued a ‘come and get me’ claim to Spurs it is reported, urging Ramos to trigger his £4.8 million sell-out clause in his contract.
With goalkeeper a definite arrival this summer, it looks as if we could be spoilt for choice with possible suitors.

The Whites are also supposed to be one of seven Premiership clubs in the race to sign Brazil midfielder Edu.

If the Sunday Mirror are confident the Valencia midfielder is set to move to England, they have certainly covered their options, claiming Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Everton, Portsmouth and Liverpool are all in the hunt.

So, the rumour mill is heating up as usual and expect to develop with Euro 2008 on the horizon.

Who knows who will sign onto the ‘Ramos Revolution’ this summer, but I can say one thing for sure – Muntari for £14 million, No Thanks!

#4 (Tie) – March 9, 2008 – SPURS 4, HAMMERS 0
Our derby day victory over West Ham saw two early goals by Dimitar Berbatov and two late goals, by Gilberto, his first for Spurs and Darren Bent. The lopsided score line left Spurs fans very happy after defeating yet another city rival. Spurs would end with 4 wins (one over each city rival) 4 draws and 3 loses in derby play during the 07/08 term.

#4 (Tie) – December 29, 2007 – SPURS 6, READING 4
The ten goal thriller saw 4 goals by Dimitar Berabtov and one each from Steed Malbranque and Jermain Defoe. Most impressive was the fact that 8 of the ten goals were scored in the second half. Perhaps not the sexiest of opponents or situations but the game did provide bushels of goals.

#3 – March 19, 2008 – SPURS 4, CHELSEA 4
A pair of 4-4 draws in Spurs top 5 games of the year? Well, when you draw in dramatic fashion, as Spurs do, a draw can be very special. The back and forth affair was highlighted by two late goals, one from Joe Cole with ten minutes to play that put Chelsea up 4-3 and another from Robbie Keane in the 88th minute to equalize in yet another entertaining game at the Lane. At the time many felt the draw wiped out any chance Chelsea had of winning the Premiership. While that may not be true it did play a part as Spurs stole points from their city rivals.

#2 – February 24, 2008 – SPURS 2, CHELSEA 1
Carling Cup Final
Wembley would be the site for the all London League Cup Final pitting Spurs against Chelsea. Spurs would dominate through most of the game in spite of falling behind 1-0 on a Didier Drogba free kick in the first half. As the second half ran it’s course Spurs would finally find an equalizer in the form of a Dimitar Berbatov penatly in the 70th minute. After 90 plus minutes the score remained at 1-1 and extra time would be needed to decide the winner. Jonathan Woodgate, just signed from Middlesbrough weeks earlier, would score the winner four minutes into extra time to win silverware for Spurs and send the team through to European play for the third year in a row in 08/09.

#1 – January 22, 2008 – SPURS 5, ARSENAL 1(Agg:6-2)
Carling Cup Semi-Final

The second leg of Spurs League Cup Semi-Final with Arsenal was one to remember. A nine year win-less drought against their North London rivals would come to an end as Spurs crushed the Gunners 5-1. Just three minutes into the action Jermaine Jenas would score the first of many on the day for Tottenham Hotspur as Robbie Keane, Aarron Lennon and Steed Malbranque, in stoppage time, would also find the goal on this memorable night at the Lane. To add insult to injury, or perhaps injury to insult, Nicklas Bendtner, who earlier scored an own goal in the first half, was headbutted by his own teammate Emmanuel Adebayor during a disagreement between the two in the second half, perhaps over Bendtner’s own goal from earlier. All in all it made for the most memorable game of the last year for Tottenham Hotspur. COYS!

*** I love the Gennaro Gattuso rumors that are swirling. I don’t see it happening because of salary issues but from my own personal point of view it sounds great. With Flamini signing a four year deal to play at the San Siro I think it’s safe to say that Rino could be on his way out of Milan, no suprise there. Our need of a defensive Midfielder makes him an obvious choice, but our need of fire, determination and true toughness makes Gattuso even more attractive. After all, if there’s one thing Spurs do lack it’s fire.

*** All the Berbatov out and Eto’o in rumors are getting stale. With Berba rejecting a 90,000 pound a week offer from Spurs in order to move to a team in the CL, Spurs will be looking to add another forward to the squad…. But is Eto’o the answer? I suppose it will really just depend upon his play should he make the move, but one thing is clear to me, should we bring in players with the experience of a Samuel Eto’o or a Rino Gattuso we would be bringing in proven winners at the highest level, something Spurs may well have been lacking over the past handful of seasons.

*** Why… WHY WHY WHY WHY are we ever linked to Anton Ferdinand? I think this makes it twice in the last two years that there have been at least some grumblings to the effect of Rio’s brother coming to the Lane. I can do without seeing that happen.

*** Gilberto looked very good Saturday. In fact he’s looked a little better each time he’s played… Of course his debut v. PSV started the bar very, very low for the Brazilian International.

*** I was hoping Spurs could secure the services of Lassana Diarra in January, though it was no surprise that Arsenal would prefer to deal with just about any other team on the planet before sending a player to Spurs. Now it appears we could once again make an effort to bring the Midfielder to the Lane. I’m sure Pompy would stand to make a profit on their January purchase since Arsenal sold the Frenchman at a cut rate. He could still stand to be a bargain for Juande Ramos as he’s both talented and young.

COYS!

There you have it Spurs fans, the 08/09 kits are here. The home kit has a similar cut to the 125th 07/08 shirt with the exception of a smaller Mansion logo and blue trim. The away will be light blue this year, with a cut similar to last years road shirt. And finally the third kit for 08/09 will be black!… I’m going for the third for myself. What do you think Spurs fans? COYS!

Is there even a shred of truth to what Younes Kaboul has said about his manager Juande Ramos over the past few days or does the entire thing just stink of ‘player upset over not being good enough to get first team football’?

Kaboul hasn’t appeared for the first team since Spurs were thrashed 4-1 away v. Birmingham. Let’s just say that again: Pissed player has not seen first team football since we lost 4-1 to a team we should realistically have a chance of beating on the road. With Kaboul and Dawson as the center back pair Spurs conceded goals left and right and looked unorganized during set pieces. Enter Jonathan Woodgate and exit Younes Kaboul and we suddenly allow less goals… and that’s without even mentioning how we have improved when defending set pieces, once our real Achilles heal.

Kaboul’s comments are just moronic and only serve to highlight his own ignorance. “I played the entire first half of the season but since the change of manager, I have not played.”…. Really? Does it even dawn upon him that it may well have been HIS play that made us a poor defending team? Here are a few more gems:

“Tactically it has changed a bit, perhaps,” said Kaboul. “But then, in terms of personality, Martin was a character. For us, he was a father-figure, whereas Ramos, it is just tactics and nothing else. In training, we do a lot of 11 v 0 and stuff on the blackboard to work on our progress with the ball. Ramos has brought us that, but nothing else. What has saved us this season is the Carling Cup. People say we won the Carling Cup because Ramos arrived at the club, but that has nothing to do with him. We would have won it with Martin Jol.” -Apparently Younes longs for some sort of father-son relationship. I can’t speak for what sort of programs are available in London but here in the States there are many big brother organizations for children that are fatherless. Perhaps Younes would be a prime candidate?

“I have had no explanation from him. He doesn’t talk, with anyone. Communication doesn’t exist with him. He isn’t playing me? That is his choice – I respect it, I am a professional.” -I was unaware that the term “professional” could be used to describe an unhappy employee who airs all his dirty laundry via the press. Great job here by Younes… Just hand in a transfer and do us all a favor. Spurs paid 8 million pounds for a defender that can’t defend, yet it’s the defender that is pissed?? Grow up please.

“Ramos has not really given me a chance. When a player doesn’t have the confidence of his coach, he can’t do much on the pitch. But when a coach has confidence in you, you take the handbrake off and you race away.” -Please… race far, far away.

I think it’s safe to say that we have a grade A flop of a signing on our hands. I think it’s also safe to say that Younes Kaboul will be playing elsewhere in 08/09. COYS!

Nothing like swooping in and grabbing the player you want right off the bat. If you missed it, Tottenham Hotspur have signed Dinamo Zagrab and Croatian Attacking Midfielder Luka Modric for a fee reported to be around 15.8 million on a five year deal, though many sources report the fee will climb a bit over the 20 million pound mark once a few clauses pay out.

So there you have it. We’ve begun to address the need for a few quality midfielders with Modric. He has the ability to play both on the left as he does with Dinamo Zagreb or in the middle as he does with Croatia. Odds are he will be playing in the middle for Spurs, where we need help desperately.

Modric pointed out Juande Ramos as the main factor for coming to Spurs. “I am very lucky and proud to be here in London at Tottenham. I am also happy that the coach Juande Ramos wanted me, it is the most important thing that the coach wants you as a player. I want to show that I have the quality for Tottenham and the English Premier League and help the club achieve big results.”

Spurs beat out Newcastle United for the signature of the 22 year old as well as a few other, as yet, unnamed teams (Chelsea?). ” It is right that many clubs in England were interested in taking me, but my favourite from the first meeting was Tottenham because I am a big fan of coach Ramos.”

There you have it. Spurs have yet again splashed the cash in hopes of breaking into the Champions League. Is Modric the answer? Well, he may be part of the answer as Spurs midfield is definitely the area of need. Now for a new tackling midfielder and left wing! COYS!

P.S. I’m not going to touch our fourth lackluster 1-1 draw in a row… Though I was upset with the play of Jenas in particular… Funny that news of Modric’s signing came the same day as yet another disappointing outing by Jenas…. hmmmmm

-The pitch at the JJB was just unacceptable Saturday. I have parks around the block from me that have a better quality playing surface. Still, Wigan have created a bit of a stronghold there making it surprisingly difficult for visiting teams to walk away with many points. I just wonder how much of that is created by their sub par pitch?

-Gus Poyet had made mention after the Middlesbrough draw a couple weeks ago that Spurs needed to take advantage of their chances and develop a bit of killer instinct when they are already up a goal. Well, they failed to add to the scoreline again Saturday. What ever happened to the team that couldn’t stop scoring but had a tough time stopping other teams? Remember the horrid defense on set pieces? Well, Juande, with some help from the arrival of Jonathan Woodgate and Alan Hutton, has remedied that ill. So why now are we struggling to put the ball in the back of the net with any regularity?

-Aaron Lennon looked great Saturday. It’s been awhile since he’s looked that confident and impressive overall. It seemed ridiculous that rumors of his departure had started circulating, after all, how many players are there (that Spurs could realistically acquire) that could be a drastic improvement?

-Spurs don’t have a single player (active/Gareth Bale) that can put a free kick on goal. The opportunities are wasted as soon as they’re given.

-Samuel Eto’o has been linked to Spurs… which means he’ll sign an extension to stay at the Nou Camp for four more years in a week or two.

COYS!

Saturday’s game at the Lane against Middlesbrough was somewhere in between. I like to look at it like this: was a 1-1 draw at the Lane a good result for Brough? Yes, I’d say it was. They came to the Lane, not the easiest place to play, went down a goal and walked out with a point. How about Spurs? Should we have taken all three points against a team below us on the table when we’re at home? Yes. Saturday’s draw showed yet again that this team is in cruise control. Here are a few issues I had:

- Was our goal a nice piece of work out of Berbatov, flicking the ball over his head and to the other side of the box where Lennon was waiting? Or simply a bit of luck as the pass fortuitously found Lennon who wasn’t even able to complete his intended pass to Keane. The ball found it’s way into the net but not in the most stylish of fashions. To me the goal was created just as much out of luck as it was skill.

- Opportunity would come here and there for Spurs who would be unable to capitalize on their chances for the rest of the game. Berbatov, upon failing to further Spurs lead more then once, would be all smiles. He doesn’t seem to care all that much at this point when he fails to take advantage of his chances, unlike earlier in the season. It got me to thinking: How many times has Berbatov spoiled wonderful chances this year, hitting the cross bar or post or perhaps just sending the ball over the goal all together, when Spurs have been in control with a lead, only to see that lead disappear? The team ends up with a draw, like Saturday, or a loss. He’ll be off somewhere this summer and, if the cash is right, it might not be a bad thing. He’s class, but his shots aren’t always as clinical as they should be.

- Still, it was the combined effort of Berbatov and Keane that allowed Spurs to attack Middlesbrough as the midfield looked terribly disappointing.
* Lennon caused some problems but still couldn’t complete a cross. Was subbed for Bent in an effort to claim 3 points.
* Malbranque was non existent all game (was there a shoot out going on?) then was subbed for Huddlestone who allowed Downing about 5-7 yards worth of space to shoot for the equalizer.
* Jenas got just enough of his head on that shot for it to carry into the goal and away from Cerny, and to be honest it was the only touch he had all game that was even marginally memorable.
* Zokora had a nice run that amounted to nothing but he did his part…. still trying to remember what that is exactly.

There was little life in the squad and, from my point of view, even less disappointment on the faces of the players after getting a result that should be considered less then positive. There’s no pressure on the players aside from playing for a spot on next years squad, so one would think that the overall play would improve. That just hasn’t been the case. The result was what the team deserved. Spurs controlled the first half, got a goal and then failed to add to their lead. Middlesbrough came out in the second half, and got the equalizer so to be honest the score was an accurate representation of the flow of play. That being said I suppose I’m just hoping for the flow of play to start going Spurs way a bit more often during this last month. COYS!