The dream is over for Ricketts...again

50 Cent’s favourite MLS player has been released by Toronto FC having played only three games this season compared to the twenty-seven he appeared in last term. Once again, Ricketts is on his bike. Was meant to be one of the more skillful players across the pond but obviously doesn't do enough to warrant a first team place - so I’m waiting for him to update either his Twitter account or his blog (or his other blog) for a possible explanation as to why he’s failed to make the grade. Again. Apart from being an average team player with an attitude problem/off the field issues/lack of application. I don’t know. Choose one.

Talking of Twitter, this gem is from his Wikipedia entry:

Rohan is also a known user of social networking site Twitter, under the username rohanricketts. He was involved in a controversy, dubbed "Twitter-gate" by Toronto FC fans when statements of displeasure with the amount of playing time he was receiving were posted on his twitter account, he alleges that it was someone else who posted the messages.

He just can't help himself can he?

Last time I mentioned Ro-Ric one or two of you from across the pond had a bit of info to share about his general performance in the MLS, so please feel free to share any opinions or rumours about the termination of his contract.

As for 50 Cent. There's no accounting for taste.

Robben's dad is not the Real problem

There are moments, dark moments, when we Spurs fans get a little too giddy for our own good. We forget where we are momentarily and start to drool uncontrollably, talking in tongue, blacking out and awaking to find a tattoo of the latest transfer target on our backside. We become delirious, confused and say and do things we don't mean just to feed an addiction. Cold turkey is not an option. We just need a really big fix to sort us out.

And it's happening again at the moment thanks to the Real Madrid second coming of the Galacticos. Several Dutch players are apparently surplus to requirement which obviously automatically means that we are going to be interested regardless of whether we actually are or not but in all likelihood we will be, because that's us. People can point and laugh at Spurs fans claiming we are not a big club but outside of the Top 4 (and I guess Man City) we can show an interest in players of a certain quality because there is a chance they may consider joining. If Levy sells the idea of joining a non-Champions League side to the player (which is a difficult task considering how we are the perpetual 'next season' club) then they are quite willing to sign on. Players of the quality of Modric and Berbatov, for example, have no issues signing for us. Both probably won't go anywhere near the rest of the non-Top 4 clubs (except for that pesky Eastland's club) and as seen by Berbatov, when they move on they move upwards. Modric, no doubt will do the same if we stagnate again.

We do have pulling power. The question is whether the players we are currently courting are willing to take a hefty vanity hit. Even if they seem to ignore the fact that for pure footballing reasons if we are offering them first team football then its surely better than earning millions sitting on the bench. But the delusion we suffer is that we assume that just because a player is suddenly available then Spurs must be their only viable destination and how dare they not join. Usually we are simply used as a tool in the bidding war the agents orchestrate. We are forever ambitious and I hope we always are. Not everyone is going to feel comfortable joining a club in a state of continued flux. At least not the high-end players who believe they've already made it big.

Levy is (or was or still is) out in Spain. Ruud was the first target, apparently now pushed aside for the younger version (Huntelaar) and Henize (hasn't been any good for a few years now) has been added to the must have list according to the ITKs, message board slaves to transfer news and the trustworthy tabloids.

The 'target' that is making us break out in a cold sweat is Arjen Robben. His dad, informing all, that his son will almost certainly not be joining Tottenham. Injuries aside, on form, he's an immense talent. Which is why some fans are drooling. But if you can't remember allow me to remind you that the last time he played at WHL he spent most of his time diving and falling over and deservedly getting abused for it. A detestable, insufferable little man.

It's at this point you might find yourself asking - who cares if he's a hate figure? All the top sides have two or three (Chelsea have 11), although that's probably by virtue of being successful. But to be a winner, shouldn't we be signing winners? Regardless if they are c***s? But I guess the fundamental problem is, why would a winner join a team of losers? Which is what we are in their eyes.

Ironically, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him join Man City much in the same way he joined Chelsea. Both us and City want the same things, but we can't afford to offer anyone 100K + a week. Seems our history means little, with it sitting in the distant past of the early 80's and the almost mythical black and white 60's.

Robben's dad (and the player) will see Spurs as a downwards step. The challenge of being part of (yet another) re-vamped side that has a remote chance of making it into the Champs League is way too much effort for players who believe to be at the top of their game. You can't blame them. For the money they are on, why take a pay cut or a status-drop? Unless nobody else out there wants to take a gamble - which means that if Spurs are the only interested party then the player would need to decide on whether Madrid on the bench is still a better option than Spurs fighting for 5th spot. Fact is, players - in the modern game - are bigger than the clubs they play for. At least in their heads they are. It's a subjective argument this, but nobody can deny that in this day and age with football being fragmented the way it is, players have no patience. Why would they when they are offered riches to play for the biggest clubs in the world? Isn't that the whole point? People banged on about the G-14 and how it was going to have a detrimental effect on the game but the Champions League (what we all hope to get our feet in) has made it nigh impossible to challenge domestically, let alone bully our way into the monopoly.

Christ, it's depressing.

Money wise, we can’t compete, but I guess scrapping the reserve team allows Levy a little more room to manoeuvre on the bargaining table with more money now available. Robben's dad might be saying what he's saying just make sure Spurs come back with a more beefy offer.

But after a hot drink, and the giddy shakes under control, reality bites.

It's great we are in for players of this ilk, even if some of the players are completely unlikeable. Robben is no doubt one of the best left-wingers on the planet. He's had problems at Madrid, possibly of a disruptive nature in the dressing room as he appears to have fallen out with one or two of the players there. But considering his quality, he's not going to help out a side that wants to be challenging for the Top 4. He'll wait for a side big and bad enough for him to make a bid that already sits with the elite.

But don't fret. There's always Downing.

One thing being underlined by all these verbal shenanigans played out in the press is that the supposed club insiders only claim to know what's happening behind the scenes only react with information after a development has been made known in the newspapers first. It's almost July, and nobody knows nothing. No big fix in sight. Maybe cold turkey is the only option. I need a distraction that won't pull me apart emotionally and have me worried about what way we might turn as we attempt to build-up on swagger in time for the next challenge that awaits us.

When do The Ashes start?

Oh, and in case I was too subtle...it's time for a salary cap on player wages.

The truth is never out there (David Bentley)

Thought I'd share this because it serves a purpose in never quite believing what you read, even when they print quotes from the player in question. In this case, David Bentley. The interview in question is the one The Sun published yesterday where David allegedly told the journalist that he was in talks with Aston Villa.

Complete fabrication. At least according to a good friend of DB who has no reason to fib. Unlike the tabloids who do nothing but.

I accept we'll be seeing one of those two sentence apologies hidden away in the corner of the page soon.

Still, would be ironic if Villa do end up bidding for him and he does go.

Truth will out in time.

15 Points, 8 Games...please

What a crock. The one time the FA give us an opening day home fixture they give us Liverpool. Man Utd get a newly promoted side at OT. Chelsea get Hull at Stamford Bridge. We get Liverpool. Still, we managed to ride our luck last time out at WHL and steal all three points, so hopefully a balanced confident side should be able to compete. We hope. I'm only really complaining in jest. I'm grateful for it. We all at Tottenham would like to thank you (the FA) for the privilege. At least Arsenal have been sent up to Everton for their opener. It's a minor miracle. But alas one that is dashed when you glance at the scums first 5 home games. That pesky fixture list mainframe does it again!

Obviously I can't post the the list in it's entirety or in part here because of intellectual copyright reasons (ridiculous) but I'm sure you won't have trouble finding it on a site that can afford a license. Nice little earner that for the bigwigs at Soho Square.

Only games I'm interested in at the moment are the opening eight for the simple fact that I challenge Harry Redknapp to avoid a repeat of the Ramos collapse of last season. Two Points Eight Games© must never be repeated. Never, ever. And here's the super-eight that will have many sweating through the summer nights in anticipation for the big kick-off:

Home - Scousers (Elite Four)
Away - Tigers (Almost got relegated)
Away - Spammers
Home - Brummies (Newly Promoted)
Home - Champions (Elite Four)
Away - Russians (Elite Four)
Home - Suicide Squad (Newly Promoted)
Away - Megson's lot

So, we've got ourselves three of the top four sides in our opening eight games. Does David Dein still have security access to the FA Headquarters? The voice in my head is telling me something about us doing pretty well against the 'big' teams last term out. So maybe the games we should be more concerned about are the ones against Hull, West Ham, Birmingham, Burnley and Bolton - one side almost went down and two have just come up. If we have any true intention to push forward with intent then we need to be ruthless. Absolutely no bloody fuck ups.

Prediction time:

Lane - Scousers - D - 1 point
Away - Tigers - W - 3 points
Away - Spammers - W - 3 points
Lane - Brummies - W - 3 points
Lane - Champions - L - 0 point
Away - Russians - D - 1 point
Lane - Suicide Squad - W - 3 points
Away - Megson's lot - D - 1 points

15 Points, Eight Games. Lap that up Mr Ramos (I've had rum for breakfast). My prediction is based on the assumption that we start confidently, something we rarely do because of some in-built mental mechanism that automatically switches off the whole Spurs collective rendering them as soft as a lemon mousse (which ironically is what our new home kit will look like).

Worst (acceptable) case scenario is Chelsea dick us away from home and Bolton beat us (which they always manage to do). That would give us: 13 points. But it's all just impossible to really know at this point. Like last year I will not be getting carried away if we thrash Barcelona at Wembley (like we did to Roma at WHL).

Harry Redknapp has to buck the trend. It's that simple. No more believing the hype. It's time to create hype off the back of hard work, determination and spirit. We would like something back in the way of hope. It's been a while since the giddy heights of 2006.

As for the back end of the season? We've got Arsenal and Chelsea at the Lane and then Man Utd away followed by Bolton back home and finally Burnley away.

Brutal finish to go with the tricky start.

COYS.

JENAS: The goldfish needs a new bowl

A sense of dejua vu with this one. It's a question repeated countless times by the Tottenham faithful and one that I covered in detail here.

What should we do with Jermaine Jenas? If we get a tasty £10M offer for him do we bite their hands off?

I was actually, at various points this season, sympathetic towards the midfield enigma believing that with Redknapp at the club - and the dawn of another new dawn - with Palacios bossing the midfield, JJ might finally blossom into the player we all hope he would became. Alongside Wilson he showed us glimpses of a man who had suddenly found freedom after years of repression.

Jenas, some would say, is a luxury player in that he has to be in the right team with the right team balance to be capable of turning it on. Others will quickly state that a true 'top 4' midfielder wouldn't need to rely on the people around him in the same way JJ needs General Wilson. And someone at the back will whisper that we are not a top 4 club and compared to other teams outside of the elite, Jenas is possibly as good as anything they've got. Or is that another delusion?

Give him another chance, one more chance...is the groundhog day opinion that will not go away. Isn't it about time the day just ended and we woke up to a brand new one?

If Harry believes Modric should be played down the middle with a winger (Ashley Young perhaps?) taking responsibility on the left - Jenas would suddenly find himself benched long term, surplus to requirements downgraded to squad player rather than first team regular.

I'm not going to run through another in-depth analysis of the player (the conundrum series covered it in detail). Everything that's been said has been said. Fans are split and indifferent to the lads form and end product. Managers and coaches seem to rate him very very highly. Which means either fans can't see what the professionals do or Jenas is a criminal mastermind responsible for digging up dirt on everyone in the game in the greatest mass blackmailing in history.

I can only go on what I know and what I see. As I'm sure you too have an opinion on this.

When we speak of potential in a player, it's the hope - based on current abilities - that they can grow and develop and improve their game. It’s a question of finding that extra 10%, 20%, 40% or whatever from somewhere, usually from the experience of one season on top of the next. Jenas might have the ability. We see it when he is at his box-2-box best, but usually against lesser opposition. And it's here where we cite potential as the excuse. If he can destroy Hull or Derby and he can sometimes do it against Arsenal then the next stage of evolution would be to perform at that standard every week and show signs that his in-game weakness are gradually being eliminated. But he never quite grasps the opportunity or indicates that he has overcome his demons (the ones that suffocate his confidence).

The fact he is not performing at a high standard every week means its not so much 'he has the potential to do so' but more the case of 'he just isn't good enough to get there'.

Imagine if the lad had the same mental strength as Frank Lampard. He'd be very good. He'd be exceptional. And that's what we hang on to. That extra 20%, 30% or so that's required from him to finally make the grade. But what we ignore is that football is more than just the ability to play it physically. Composure, decision making...are also fundamentals, but if you're not 100% in the head then that can be the difference between being good and reaching world class status.

JJ doesn't have that arrogant swaggering belief that's required and his perpetual search for a heart, stuck on the yellow-brick road all alone and lost, is never-ending. There is no potential to come to the rescue. The Wizard has shut shop. 

Going back to the Lampard analogy, saying that if Jenas did have the mentality of the Chelsea midfielder he'd be outstanding is a bit like saying imagine if Joey Barton didn't have a temperament problem. Some people are built in a way that does not allow for change.

So I guess we either have to except this is it and that the player is as good as he will ever be and we simply compensate for his deficiencies because - for all that is frustrating about him - he's still a decent footballer. Or we except its time for him to move on and allow another club and manager to take the responsibility of being the Wizard.

I think it's time Jenas moved on.

And yet I find myself looking in the mirror and seeing M. Night Shyamalan staring back at me as I think to myself...I'd be gutted if we sold him.

Spurs at home first game of the season?

Arsenal? Playing away from home? On the opening day of the season? Are you mad? The FA would never allow that.

Apparently they would according to a Sky Sports News slip-up as seen in the above screencapture. Considering the fixture list isn't meant to be out yet it makes me think it's a fake. Unless Sky are privy to this sort of thing before the official release. Ooh.

If this is/was geninue, I trust the FA will fix it up. Probably give us the above fixture list.

Two points six games anyone?

Update: Bank Holiday dates are wrong based on the proposed programme of games the Prem League has lined-up, so this is not real. But don't fret. The ITK fraternity claim the scum are away to Everton and we do play at home....against West Ham United. Some of that please.

A short guide to understanding Tottenham in the transfer market

#23 Ashley Young


Spurs: We like the look of your boy Ashley.
Watford: You can have him for £1M.
Spurs: Hmm. Ok, well you know what. We like him, we do, but £1M for a kid who hasn't proven himself in top flight football? Listen, thanks, but no thanks.
Watford: You're declining?
Spurs: Yes, yeah…we'll be looking elsewhere. Just don't think he's worth that much.

-

Watford: Hello again.
Spurs: Hi. Your boy Ashley has progressed rather well.
Watford: Fancy him more do you now?
Spurs: Might do, might do.
Watford: Thinking of making a bid?
Spurs: Yes, perhaps.
Watford: How does £9M sound to you?
Spurs: Sorry...What? (laughing out loud)
Watford: £9M. He has proven talent.
Spurs: Yes, but Christ, really? £9M? That’s extortionate. I mean, come on, £9M? Nine million big ones?
Watford: You're not interested again, are you?
Spurs: Just don't think he's worth that much.

-

Villa: How can we help?
Spurs: Ashley Young. We want him.
Villa: Ok. We value Ashley at a price of £... (interrupted)
Spurs: £20M
Villa: Sorry?
Spurs: We want to pay £20M for the player.
Villa: Oh, ok, well I suppose...
Spurs: Credit card or cheque?
Villa: Well we've not had time to...
Spurs: Look, if you want something more than just money we can throw in Bentley and Huddlestone.
Villa: Didn't Bentley cost you £15M?
Spurs: And? Just take your pick. Bentley or Huddlestone. Or take both of them.
Villa: Can we think about it first?
Spurs: Great, no problem. Give me a call with one hour remaining in the summer transfer window and we’ll go about thrashing out a deal.

The End.

Is this really the new Spurs kit?

Dear God please let this be a mock-up. You'll remember a few weeks back a white and yellow-stripped shirt made an appearence on various message boards, where most dismissed it as a training top/blatant fake, but going on the PR blurb and the 'Glory comes in 3' tagline, I think it's time to put the kettle on and welcome in the colour yellow. And the red of Mansion also appears to be remaining with us for another season. So real or fake?

If the image linked above suddenly disappears then we'll take it as a real.

Unless of course, this is some sly clever dis-information perpetuated by the club who then go on to shock us all with an all-white home shirt.

Who am I kidding?

Is it too late for an intervention? I can be round to Daniel Levy's home within 30 minutes with a stern word or two.

Spurs have nothing in reserve but plenty going forward

So no more reserve football for the Spurs. At least not during the course of the 2010 season. In its place, the club looks set to loan out players and have the rest competing in tournaments and privately organised friendly fixtures. Reasoning behind this is that the club believe it offers a better 'alternative in meeting the changing requirements of our players'.

This might just work out for the best.

Reserve team football can be a little bit of a cemetery of apologetic performances whereas if a player is out on loan, he has to be on top of his game and willing and able to impress at a far more competitive level. I'm probably being a little harsh on reserve team football because for some it’s the only way for them to prove their worth. But scoring a couple of belters in front of an empty ground isn't exactly proving much. Other than fitness and sharpness. There is no true gauge of development for a youngster because the result doesn't really matter that much and the tempo is far off being close to a proper football match.

La Liga have the right idea with their B team structure in their second division. None of the B teams gain promotion, but get to compete with other clubs.

We've enjoyed plenty of success with the kids and second eleven over the past few seasons. It's got relatively easy. So loaning some of them out is a positive step. It worked well for Adel who is a player that has to learn about composure and decision making, something that is unlikely in reserve team football. For QPR, he gets to test out the show-pony skills and learn a harsh lesson that it's not always possible to swan around thinking you are Zidane. Gunter had a successful time at Forest and Troy Archibale-Henville was immense for Exeter City.

More of these kids playing in the Championship and beyond helps them to grow in stature and us in understanding if they can ever make the grade in the Premier league. If they can't then they've spent time in the shop-window and we can move them along with relative ease.

The kids not loaned out and the players who sit on the fringe of the first team will benefit from the games organised by the club which should have more of that extra bite than a typical reserve team game played out at Orient. And please, no trips to Crawley and Stevenage.

The academy boys have already experienced plenty of success in tournaments the world over, although having them size up against other English academy sides was a good measure of progression that I'll actually miss seeing. And now they will have more time to travel.

More trips to Europe and South America rather than Watford and Southampton. Freedom to do as we see fit without the constraints of a fixture list.

Although the article doesn't reveal much at the moment about proposed schedule, I can't believe the club would ever consider pushing ahead with this without knowing that we won't have players sitting around listening to their i-pods and texting while they wait for an organised game or tournament. It will be interesting to see who makes the cut for the loans and the academy/first team fringe places.

So, in essence we are replacing the reserve team with our academy players (without the requirement of playing in the reserve league) and the older players (players on the fringe of the first team or returning from injury and academy players that are best kept close than on loan - like Obika) will play in organised games rather than die of boredom at Brisbane Road.

The up and coming players will be loaned out. The likes of Bostock, Parrett Mason and Rose.

It's a brave new world and makes complete sense. I'm sure David Pleat once upon a time suggested we do this. If so, it won't take long for him to mention how it was his idea.

Win a trip to New York courtesy of Spurs fan and NBA star Steve Nash

If you are familiar with Steve Nash then you’ll know that he’s not just an NBA superstar for the Phoenix Suns but also a fanatical Tottenham fan. Yep, a basketball player who knows his football inside out and isn't too shabby with the ball at his feet.

Last year Steve was responsible for the ‘Showdown in Chinatown’ event which hosted the likes of Henry, Fowler, Kalou and several other players in a team-up with various NBA stars in a charity match in NYC’s Chinatown.

And now it’s time for another tussle of the beautiful game with an insane roster of stars from both the world of football and basketball running around on a small pitch in the Lower East Side in front of what will be no doubt hundreds of fans, hanging off a chain-link fence.

It's raw and it's energetic and it's a once in a life-time opportunity - although I can’t quite work out why Steve hasn’t invited David Bentley, considering he does his best work in the streets, you know, with skips and rooftops.

And here's your chance to be a part of it all as Football For Good is offering an all-expenses paid trip for two to New York to attend the event on June 24^th courtesy of Steve.

All you have to do is make a $5 donation to Steve’s Football for Good charity which aims to bring community-centred academy football to regions of Africa that have been ravaged by war.

Can’t argue with the cause or the prize so get on it for a chance to swap the Hackney Marshes for New Youk and fly across the Atlantic to rub shoulders with Alessandro Del Piero, Gennaro Gattuso, Kaka and co.

Competition ends on June 17^th, so visit the page and entry form here .

For more information on Steve Nash’s Football For Good, click here to visit the main site. So sign up for a chance to hang out with the great man as well as helping support a great project.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar 'linked' to Spurs

Here we go again. Well, it was bound to happen.

Apparently Levy is flying out to Madrid to negotiate the transfer of the Dutch striker, who Real spent £20M for last season.

Linkage to the story here.

Obviously I'm not dancing a jig of joy for two reasons. This may well be just some continental tabloid guess-work much like the work of the English red tops we laugh at every morning. With Madrid building a new version of the Galacticos there will be plenty of goings to help balance in the comings (ooh). Also, just how good is Klaas? He has hardly been given a chance and has only scored 8 goals in 20 apperances. With Villa on his way from Valencia, he may pushed further out of the running for a starting spot. Is he cut out for the EPL?

Interestingly, this has broken out in the press first rather than the seedy underbelly of a private membership Spurs message board, so lets see how long it takes for our pesky club insiders to update us with the latest on this particular piece of whorage. So no word just yet from the ITK grapevine yet, although many of them still believe Ruud is on his way to the Lane although the suggestions in the tabloids are we are unwilling to fork out 70K + per week. Snag hit there.

Huntelaar will be cheaper wage wise, although the fee will no doubt be steep. He cost Madrid a cool £20M.

Believable factor? I'd say about 70% we are interested or poking around with questions about his availability.

But wasn't he a player targeted by the likes of Manchester United prior to his move to La Liga? Linked to Utd, signs for Madrid, ends up at Tottenham.

Hmm. Believable factor dropping down into the sixties.

I have a 'man' out in Spain who supports the White Storm so have asked him if he knows anything about this and if there are any whispers out in Madrid about the players availability. Will update this blog post after I've spoken to him with any relevant update.

Loving these slow-news days, right? Makes a change to reading yet another 'Cisse to Spurs' headline I guess.

Modric to Utd?

Get a grip. It won't happen. Although one or two Spurs fans are worried that Fergie, rather than do the obvious and spend most of the Ronaldo windfall on a 'superstar' signing like Augero or Ribery or the lad from Lyon, Benzema - he'd prefer to spend a little less on proven Premiership quality such as Valencia and possibly Modric. More for your money sort of ethic rather than replacing one £80M player with a £60M one, which is what Ribery may cost, thanks to the mad mad footballing world we live in - completely detached from the reality of the economic crisis the world sits in.

Ironically, the dawn of the new Galacticos at Madrid means that every next best thing is going to be valued at an even more ridiculous price, leading to chaos and probable melt-down at a later date. Or maybe not.

Zidane was probably worth the £45M or so paid out by that zany Pérez. But even that was an incredible figure to part with but Real made the money back in silverware and shirt sales. Is Kaka worth £59M? Is Ronaldo worth more than both of them in a direct comparison? How much would Messi go for?

I guess these type of transfers will remain isolated in that it's always Madrid who do the buying, and in desperation are able to sign anyone for the most inflated of prices simply because they can.

So with the £80M set to burn a pretty hefty hole in his pocket (or sitting in a shoe box under the Glazers bed) one or two seem to suspect that Utd might look across to White Hart Lane once more to see what bargain they can pick up.

Modric and Lennon for £40M? <insert tumbleweed here>

The £30M spent on a certain moody Bulgarian has burnt Fergies fingers a little which will hopefully have him turning towards Germany and Ribery.

In all seriousness, our Modric isn't quite at the level that would have Utd knocking at our door. They've lost a superstar, so they need to draft in someone with the same sort of status.

Man Utd are one of the biggest clubs in the world with a small fortune at their mercy. The last place they're going to turn up at with a cheque book is N17. They want to win the league again, not finish 4th.

Fergie would do well in pinching Sneijder from Madrid. Quality player without the Hollywood hype.