|
They say in life you should never go back. Sometimes if
you return to your old stamping ground, particularly where you have enjoyed a
great deal of success the first time, then it can often be an anti-climax.
Spurs have recently brought players back to the club (and if the paper
rumours are true then Younes Kaboul could be the latest prodigal son
returning to the club). So how successful have the various players who've returned
to the Lane been? Going back some years, Micky Hazard came back, several
seasons after departing the club and having served Chelski and Swindon his
return was low key as he was still a decent player if not the same fresh
faced youngster who graced the midfield with Hoddle, Ossie etc in the early
1980's; Neil Ruddock played a few games for us as a youngster and then
returned via Millwall (I believe) and Southampton. His return was a
successful one, a popular player for his whole heartedness, around the time
of the Sugar and Venables squabbles, before he departed to Anfield after a too
short soujorn at the Lane. Sheringham too departed to win a few trophies at
Man U (including the Champions League) and came back to the Club under Glenn
and was a good signing second time round and a good influence on the younger
players at the Club, as he was an experienced head; Klinsmann's first season
was an exciting one for the club, albeit that some of the results were
indifferent, and his second spell personified by the four goal blast away at
Wimbledon helped the Club stay up when things had looked precarious before
his return. So some successes, some not so successful. Of the recent
returns to the club, again mixed fortunes have been seen. Although I am a big fan of Robbie Keane, I remember seeing
him score two goals for Wolves in a televised game years ago and thinking
what an excellent player he was, his second tenure at Spurs has been somewhat
low key. Bar his four goal display earlier in the season, he has not been as
prolific as before, but a player who has scored 100 plus goals for the side
and is a talisman and a good dressing room influence he is more than worth
his place in the squad. Chimbonda returned and left again without so much as
a ripple, Defoe has been awesome since coming back, his obvious finishing
strength has been implemented by the fact that Defoe has been working on his
upper body strength during the summer and doesn't get knocked off the ball by
defenders like he used to. And so possibly to Kaboul? Harry signed him for Pompey, so
he obviously rates him and we were told that when we signed him originally
that Kaboul was one of the most sought after young players in Europe and we
had beaten the likes of Chelsea and the Scum to his signature. Kaboul
certainly has the potential to be a top class player, and though I cannot claim
to having seen much of him since he went to Fratton Park, if he can cut out
the concentration problems and errors that blighted his first spell here,
then he could be a good asset. With question marks over King and Woodgate's
long term fitness, him and Bassong would be vying to partner the mighty Daws,
who I was very pleased to hear has signed a new five and half year deal with
Spurs. Should the Kaboul deal go through it will be interesting to see whether Harry opts for him or Bassong at the back, especially as Bassong and Dawson have looked a good partnership at the back. |
.. TOPSPURS COLUMNISTS
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
22
December 2009 – Arry slap
So Arry has given the
squad members who went away on the sojourn to Dublin a slap on the wrist with
the money imposed in fines to be made to a worthy charity. Keano and the boys
went away supposedly without Harry's blessing and although some schools of
thought may say they are highly paid athletes and so forth, at the end of the
day they are human beings and surely going away together will only build up
camaraderie in the squad (as long as the players don't go crazy and behave what's
the problem?). Some papers have stated that Arry would take the club
captaincy away from Keane, but let's look at the facts- sure Robbie was the
arranger of the trip but the other players didn't have to go along (as I
believe four of them, including Dos Santos and Palacios didn't?) I hardly
think Keano is a disruptive force in the squad, in fact even though he hasn't
been at his best since re-joining from Merseyside, he will always give 100%
and is one of the few players with leadership qualities that we have. 28th October 2009 – The Auld Enemy There are many local
derbies in world football that impact upon the respective fans bragging
rights in their school/workplace/local pub etc. Be it Milan v Inter, Celtic v
Rangers, Man United v Man City, Villa v Birmingham, Sheffield United v
Sheffield Wednesday, Arsenal v Spurs, all matches are of vital importance to
the respective sets of fans, as defeat will mean endless weeks of stick
should your side lose. 17th September 2009 – Chelsea Preview A good friend of mine dreads the Spurs v Chelsea fixture as her
husband is a staunch Blues fan and up until the recent past she has had to
put up with a fair amount of ribbing due to our somewhat dismal record
against them. Despite being buoyed by Lennon's winner in the 2-1 victory,
Modric's clincher last time out and the Woodgate inspired Carling Cup win
over our old adversaries, the mental scars are still there (though fainter
now) from the 6-1 debacle when they beat us at the Lane a few years back and
some large defeats we've had at the Bridge in the past. If the
Man United result was somewhat of a reality check, then this weekend's
fixture can show the rest of the League how we can bounce back and keep up
the terrific run we showed in the first four games. True, people will point
to Drogba's great form, Essien always being a driving force, Anelka, Ashley
Cole and all their other stars, but in my opinion, Harry has assembled a
pretty decent squad himself. Crouch and Defoe, having been strike partners in
their Pompey days and at times for England are a handful for any defence,
Palacios continues to grow as a force in midfield, Assou Ekotto has blossomed
into a very good player and many full backs will have nightmares after having
Aaron Lennon running at them for 90 minutes. Whereas
recent seasons at the Lane have seen us turn Chelski over a few times (I also
include the 5-1 drubbing we gave them in the League Cup semi) the win at
Stamford Bridge has eluded us since the pleasant chap who now resides on MOTD
with Messrs Hansen and Shearer was in his pomp. As a supporter, you want to
say you were there when we finally beat them again at the Bridge- and with
the armoury they have at their disposal it will be no mean task to achieve. The boys are capable of
defeating the old rivals as they have shown and it would be a big fillip to
the side's confidence if they can go there and take all the points on Sunday.
And Debbie may just have bragging rights in her house if the result goes our
way. COYS. 5th September 2009 – A time to reflect With the transfer window now
closed until January and the International break before our next Premiership
game against Man Ure, now is a good time to sit back and look at the season
so far. True we have only played four games in the league, but twelve points
is the best we could have hoped for and the signs look promising for a good
campaign. On the signings front, Kranjcar in from Harry's old stamping ground
on the south coast and he should prove a capable deputy while Modric recovers
from injury and a decent squad player once Luka returns to fitness. Bassong
has looked a sterling figure at the back and Crouch gives us a different
dimension up front, his obvious height complimented by his ability to hold
the ball up which will be beneficial away from home and he is a proven scorer
at this level. 13th August 2009 - New Season, Cause for
optimism. The new season is nearly upon us and the first game against
Following Arry steadying the boat last year after arriving at the club, and another final at Wembley (even if the result wasn’t what we wanted), we can definitely look at this season with a great deal of optimism. Modric and Corluka looked very settled into the team by the latter part of the season, Defoe is back in the fold, Woodgate has been a revelation at the back, and Assou Ekotto had a very solid season. In addition to last year’s successes, Pav can only benefit after his first season in English football, and if he gets regular games, I expect him to start scoring more regularly in the League (as a large number of his goals last season came in Cup games); Kyle Naughton looks a promising player after joining from Sheffield United and Crouch, a favourite of Arry’s, has returned to the Club where he was a Youth teamer many years ago. We have much to be optimistic about with Palacios giving us that bite in midfield that we have been lacking since, bless him, Steffen Freund was in the side. Fans are split on Robbie Keane returning to the club, but with Redknapp known to favour Defoe and Crouch as a partnership, could Keane be employed in a different, deeper role? Any negatives? Only a couple of things spring to mind. One being will Ledley’s knees hold up to another Premiership season? Perhaps if used sparingly and if Daws and Bassong are used to give Leds a rest here and there maybe he can be “nursed” through another campaign. That though remains to be seen. My other doubt? I have thought for a number of years that Lennon apart, our team does lack a fair amount of pace, though we like to pass the ball around, we are not, I think, known as being a quick counter attacking team. Lennon gives us an element of pace down the right but whether Modric or O’Hara or whoever is employed down the left we do not have the same balance on that side pacewise. Without being involved in Europe this season, I believe we will finish in 5th or 6th in the league, and will put my neck out and say we’ll get to the FA Cup final. 22 July 2009 – Transfer Tittle Tattle JimmyG2 makes a good point (click here)
in that should there not be too many changes to the squad during the summer
then these maye be to Spurs benefit. At the end of last season, there were
definite encouraging signs (the second half at Old Trafford apart) that the
team had started to gel and from a personal point of view, I can see the
likes of Modric and Pav, who will now both be in their second seasons in
English football, playing a far greater role in our performances from now on.
|
|
Disclaimer:
Please note the words on this page are the opinion of the topspurs columnist
and are just that, opinions, not facts and are nothing to do with Tottenham
Hotspur Football club PLC. Just a supporter having his say nothing more
nothing less. Any commentary on betting is meant for discussion purposes only
and does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation. |