Tottenham Hotspur - Official thread

[Del Boy]

So the new season is nearly here, some good signings and no one good gone yet(Carrick will stay imo as will Defoe).

I think if we can lure Duff to the Lane then we'll finish top 3 with ease.

Mind you not all good news, Gardner signed a new deal.

[EJG1980]

Defoe is looking good in the friendlies we've had so far, three goals in three games. I reckon he's going to up his game and have a really outstanding season, maybe a reasonable dark horse for top scorer (especially if we have Lennon, Carrick and hopefully Duff setting him up).

I don't reckon Defoe or Carrick are going anywhere either, all the usual newspaper bull****! Every single year, we're signing everyone and we're selling our whole squad

I reckon if we can sign a really top class fullback (not quite convinced by Stalteri yet) that'd be the icing on the cake, but if we get Duff and no more then I won't complain. Not too many teams can go out and spend 30 million on new players, good to see the board backing Martin Jol with a nice bundle of cash.

[TonyDA]

If Duff signs, and we keep hold of Routledge (as opposed to loaning him out), then those two and Lennon should cover the wings. The implication when Assou-Ekotto signed was that he could play anywhere on the left, i.e. on the wing as well as at LB.

Maybe the thought is that Lee will play RB, as he does for South Korea. At least that will stop him checking inside to cross everytime he gets near the penalty box. Mind you, there was a rumour that we were after Juan Pablo Sorin, the Argentinian Captain, to play there. I quite like that rumour!

Then the key is to keep hold of Defoe, and Carrick - but only if he'll sign a longer contract, as he's got two years left and is stalling on a new deal. If he doesn't want to play for us, then we should take Man Yoo's ?12m-?15m.

But isn't this a great time to be a Spurs supporter? A decent team, being backed up with some serious fees/investment, and being regarded by more than just Spurs fans as a contender to break up the 'big four?"

[EJG1980]

Since I've been a supporter it's been nothing but false dawns, with every new manager looking promising at first but then gradually getting worse. I know he hasn't been there a huge amount of time, but Jol is the first manager we've had in a long while where there's been a marked improvement from one season to the next. Hopefully he can keep that up and we'll break into the top 4 this season! Plus a UEFA Cup win on the side wouldn't be bad too. No pressure 8)

Edit: That first sentence doesn't apply to Christian Gross

[NW2013]

It's disappointing that the Duff signing has fallen through, it looks like he's on the way to Newcastle. It's going to be insufferable up here, the crowing from the Newcastle fans has already started. I hope Lillestrom do me a favour tomorrow afternoon (unlikely!)

Anyway, anyone think Routledge and Lennon together would work? Both seem capable of switching flanks and have a lot of pace and beat men well, I'd like to see it given a shot. Hopefully Routledge will remain fit.

Anyone know when the new kit is going to be launched? I heard July but that's nearly over now and is it definitely the design we've been seeing so far? I've not actually seen it officially confirmed. The ladies are going to be so disappointed when the Kappa shirt goes into retirement, they won't be able to marvel at my "toned" physique anymore.

[EJG1980]

Duff would have been a good addition to the squad, and given us more strength in depth, but I don't know if he would have made a huge difference to where we end up at the end of the season. I'm very optimistic of a top four finish and hopefully a nice long run in the UEFA Cup, with or without Duff

[NW2013]

Who do you think will play in the central midfield positions? It seems likely that it'll be Carrick and Zokora but that means that Davids, Tainio, JJ and Murphy will be missing out. I hope Jol doesn't play Davids on the left again, he hasn't really got the pace for it although he always works hard.

[Del Boy]

I think Davids will leave tbh, cant see him getting many games this season.

I also dont rate Routledge.

We'll find out if Pav will be joining tomorrow, hope so as he is great, old but he still has it.

[EJG1980]

Tough choice, as we were already loaded up in the area even before we added Zokora! I love Tainio and think he's a really underrated player, so I wouldn't mind if we found a place for him in the side.

I really think Davids will start a lot less this season (if, as said above, he doesn't leave) perhaps coming on for Lennon when we want to defend a lead and shut up shop. Murphy could definitely play on the wing, so perhaps we'd have Lennon and Murphy on the wings with Carrick and Zokora / Jenas in the middle?

It'll be interesting to see how we line up for the opening match of the season, not only in midfield, but which two from Berbatov, Defoe and Keane will get the nod up front.

[PH]

Not to bothered about losing out on Duff to be honest. I'm not saying i didn't want him at WHL, far from it, but as soon as Newcastle had a bid accepted i knew that the lure of a massive wage would take him up North. I think i'm correct in saying that the top earners at Tottenham are on about ?45-50K a week. Well, if the reports on the internet are correct Newcastle will be paying Duff ?85K a week, more than he was earning at Chelsea!!! There is no way we could offer that amount. If we did the whole wage structure of the club would have to be ripped up. You can't have Duff on that much when more important players to the club (like Ledley for example) are earning ?40K a week less. There was a piece up on the Spurs website earlier today pretty much saying that they were looking for players who wanted to play for the club, probably (maybe obviously) aimed at Duff and his wage demands. Anyway, never mind.

More rumours, got to love those pre-season rumours. According to numerous reports on various Spurs forums Michael Carrick is defitnely staying with us this season. I hope that also means he will be signing a new contract. Levy would be mad to let him go into next season with only a year left on his current contract. Lets see. Another rumour, after failing to sort out our left-sided problem with Duff we are now supposed to be after Athletico Madrid's Martin Petrov.

Central Midfield. Providing everyone is still at the club it has to be Carrick and Zokora starting. I really hope Carrick stays because i'm convinced having Zokora alongside him will really take his game up another notch. Backing them up will be Jenas and Tainio (as someone else said underrated but a real favourite of mine as well.) We have so much cover here that Davids and Murphy and Huddlestone and Ghaly ... probably forgot another CM as well won't get much of a look in this year. I'm actually really surprised that Davids is still with us and i'm pretty certain that Jol wouldn't mind saying goodbye to Murphy. Also, maybe its an option that Jol will play 3 in the middle, Carrick, Zokora and Jenas. Did anyone read Jol's WC columns in The Times. He said more than once that he wasn't a fan of the standard 4-4-2 and he also said he could see Lennon as great No.10, just behind the front 2. It will be interesting to see how they setup over the first few games.

As for the strikers i have a hunch that Berbatov and Defoe might start up front at first. Defoe was supposedly on fire in the French friendlies last week.

Right, nearly finished, anyone think we are still going to sign a RB? Its funny because at the end of last season i'm certain if you asked Spurs supporters what our targets should be for next season they would say LM and RB and so far we haven't sorted either position out. I'm no Stalteri hater but i'm sure we could do a whole lot better.

[TonyDA]

For me, Stalteri is in a similar situation as Edman was this time year (yes, I know one was a LB, the other a RB! ) Edman looked a liability at times in his season with us, particularly in terms of giving away penalties; Stalteri last year was at fault for 4-5 important goals conceded. Now, is that due to them not being good enough, or needing time to adapt to the English game? Edman was replaced quickly, and I wonder if Stalteri's about to face the same fate.

As I said in my post above, Assou-Ekotto is being talked up by Jol and Connolli, so I wonder if he's earmarked for the LB spot, leaving Young-Pyo to play RB, as he did for Korea at the WC and PSV in his time there.

[PH]

I must admit i always quite liked Edman. Jol wanted to keep him at the club if i recall and wanted him to fight for the LB spot with Lee. Edman had other ideas and preferred guaranteed first team football in France. I suppose in the run-up to a WC year its not a good idea to be sitting on the bench.

Lee at RB? I guess its a possible. Will be interesting if Jol uses him there in any of the upcoming friendlies.

Stalteri? I get the feeling he just isn't quite good enough. He is a big man and sometimes he looks a little clumsy. In 1-on-1 situations he fills me with zero confidence. I think we can and should get an upgrade.

Maybe the Chimbonda deal will be resurected? I suppose it depends if Wigan will budge on their asking price. I can't see the player backing down from his transfer request and there is little point having a player at your club who doesn't want to be there. I just hope and pray we don't get Jonathan Zebina on a knock down price from Juve. He looked to have snail like pace against Arsenal in the Champions League.

[marcus]

Looks like you lost out on Duff boys.

[TonyDA]

Yep, a bit of a shame on Duff, as we need something different on the LW to what we already have. When the story first broke, I had my doubts that he'd come to us - feet sure he'd prefer to play somewhere "oop north" and that we wouldn't match Chelsea's wages, let alone better them. Once I heard that Newcastle and (alledgedly) Liverpool entered the race yesterday, I knew he wasn't bound for WHL.

PH - I'm with you on Stalteri. I think he'd be an OK second choice RB, and that we need to buy someone better. Sorin is allegedly available from Villareal, and Chimbonda must still be an option.

[Marmite]

Shame about Duff. Not like us to nearly sign someone!! Hopefully Martin has another transfer target up his sleeve though, as we do need a proper left winger.

On a plus note, Berbatov has scored twice already today against Birmingham. Hopefully he can carry on with the goals once the season starts proper.