New look Spurs, same old Gio

Gio

What a shocker. Apparently we've priced Gio out of a move to Sevilla. It's the story of every transfer window since the young Mexican signed for us. Beginning to think there is no way out of the club for him. Like Steve McQueen, he's caught in the barb-wire. Doesn't matter how many times you re-wind, he's never going to make it. We signed him for what, £4.7M? The Spanish club claim we want a exorbitant amount. Ten games, two goals. In four years. Levy mathematics deem him to have gained value rather than lose any. He's twenty-two. I've stuck a fiver on him finally making a move away by the time he makes his fifteenth appearance for us, at the grand age of forty two.

New Spurs site

Is it finished? Doesn't look finished, but it's live. Still propagating perhaps. Content looks the same, no revolutionary new features (I might have missed them) so it's pretty much a cosmetic touch up we've got. Plenty of white and player images as backdrops which is fine with me although could do with more consistency in how they're used. The new-look profiles (I guess that's revolutionary) gave me a scare when Bentley and Jenas stared back at me all proud in Lilywhite. Continuity error there. It is an improvement on the last site but it's a shame the club didn't look at perhaps truly redefining the platform in its entirety.

I guess the main crux for most will be the account management for season ticket holders and purchasing tickets on-line. Probably the main reasons for using the site. Best to wait until tomorrow whilst they sort out the problems with logging in (I can't seem to do so at the moment). Will say this, the more you browse around it, the better UI experience it is compared to the one it's replaced. But still, the layout is not as crisp and clean as it could be. Just don't expect to have your mind blown. There is also no Man City tunnel-cam feature, probably best to avoid the legalities and embarrassment that Chirpy will cause when he's caught smoking crack at half-time. Allegedly.

Gareth Bale

Fantastic player. Still a kid. But an absolute beast of a player. Enjoy whilst we have him playing in our colours rather than bemoan his evolution because you think football is straight forward and obvious. Just wanted to reiterate what I said in the post-City write up.

That's all I've got.

Job done

Never been a fan of radio commentary. Back in the day (when unable to get to the game) preferred the lottery of waiting for the page to refresh on Teletext. No live streams knocking around for today either as the game wasn't broadcasted live anywhere. Sounded pretty much like a walk in the park.

Starting eleven: Cudicini; Livermore, Bassong, Dawson, Rose; Lennon, Kranjcar, Pienaar, Giovani; Defoe, Pavlyuchenko.

Subs: Gomes, Kaboul, Bostock, Carroll, Falque, Parrett, van der Vaart.

Gomes not even fancied for a home banker. Bostock with an apperance off the bench (certain night out in Nandos on the cards after that).

Midfield made up of four wingers/wide players and no natural centre midfielders. But it hardly mattered. Was more than enough to brush Cheltenham aside. Niko with all the time in the world. Well, Town are hardly City. Key highlight was resting all our first eleven with Everton in mind. Job done then.

Defoe (stealing it from a certain chipped Gio goal), Pav (quality team goal) and Gio (deflection) all scoring. Official report here.

Keep an eye out on this video wall from Winkball for post-match reaction from fans who went to the Lane.

The Double is on.

What?

Gio dos Santos and Adel Taarabt walk into a pub...

The landlord looks up to see the two men approach the bar.

"What would you chaps like to drink?"

Gio surveys the bottles behind the bar and responds, "I'll start on the left and work my way through to the right".

The bar man nods, "And you sir?", he asks of Adel.

Adel pauses with thought, astonished by his surroundings, then responds.

"I don't understand this joke, where is it going? Why would I even partner up with Gio and even consider sharing a drink with him in a pub? This makes no sense to me. I should be enjoying a cup of expresso el fresco with the likes of Ronaldo and Messi".

Gio laughs out loud, "Ridiculous".

Adel looks across to him, "What? What is so ridiculous about that?"

"Share?", replies Gio, "I'm not sharing a single drop".

So goes the story.

Exactly how does one go about answering the questions posed by the young Mexican and his international form compared to his Premier League isolation? Is the wall between club and country one built solely on stubbornness and mismanagement? Are we walking straight into the same paradox that has come to passing since we sold Taarabt to QPR, who then led them to promotion, winning accolades and awards in the Championship. With subsequent self-promotion hoping to finally cement that move to a Champions League club. No international football for Adel to draw another parallel similar to the one Gio has. The Moroccan has retired on the basis of being too good for it.

Gio and Adel. Misunderstood by many and controlled by few.

Have to admit I'm not sure I'm the  best to answer this question in terms of game for game analysis of performances as I've seen very little of Gio's most recent loan spell at Racing Santander and only highlights and reviews of Adel's title winning season. If we intend to base our opinions on You Tube videos then someone fire up a compilation of Jermaine Jenas best bits.

However, taking into account what we have seen (in Lilywhite colours) and what we know of the players stints at our club...going with your gut instinct is probably enough in both cases based on the (lack of required) qualities in question outside of their audacious talent - with regards to Spurs. Even though you might debate Harry's agenda with both players. Did they get ample chances to impress? With both players he gave us a clear indication they we're given the opportunity to prove themselves at Spurs but both (for different reasons) were ultimately pushed away.

Gio

You have to question the application and effort of a player who seems to be focused and vibrant for his country and anything but for his club. Barcelona saw something in the lad to plunge him into their first team squad. Perhaps his playboy personality (birthed because of his Barca break?) was always going to work against him which is why he was sold. They didn't feel he was worth the extra work to keep hold of. Or maybe cruelly deemed surplus due to the players ahead of him at the club. At Tottenham, Harry cited weekend away trips back in Barca and resulting failure to turn up for training. Gio was not taking it seriously.

So goes the story.

Harry quotes aside, with the money spent on a Barca prodigy, you'd think the club would have worked to settle him in England. He settled so well he had no qualms with doing as he so wished.

What does it matter the skill you possess, the goals you can score if you don't want to stick in a shift and prove yourself to the team and the club? It's easy to always pin the responsibility on the manager.

Just going to randomly mention David Bentley here.

The very fact that Gio plays well for his country and not for us is not because they are managing him better or giving him a free role or building the team around him. It's because he gives a sh*t for them and doesn't for us.

Would a different coach have got the best out of him? Maybe, maybe not. I reckon we - Harry included - would have if dos Santos cared enough. What I do know about his La Liga loans is that he's had some sparkling performances mix in with the mundane. His performances for Spurs (last time of asking) we're hardly inspiring. Did well for Ipswich once or twice I seem to remember.

Pressures of breaking into the Barca team so early might have elevated his ego to the point of no return.

Would I love to see Harry take him back and work some man-management magic and instil some renewed confidence in the player 'domestically' back here in England? Sure. But Gio's profile back in La Liga means this is player the club won't struggle to sell - especially off the back of his performances in the Gold Cup. Copa America might add even more value.

He's too much of a risk to keep, not worth the gamble. Therefore easy money on the transfer market.

Adel

This one has yet to conclude as it's still on the march to a satisfying (or otherwise) finale. The opening three or so months of the new season will tells us whether we were right to get rid of him (that's if he's not been signed up by Jose).

Here's a lad called a genius by Redknapp then shifted out on loan, then sold. Sometimes, on occasions, players have to be sold on for them to truly find their place and develop and mature. Whether it's a reality kick in the teeth or simply the aid of a prolonged run of games (even if it's a league lower than where they started from) it's quite easy to say in hindsight 'we should have kept hold of him'. Had we, he might still be on the fringe of first team action or worse.

I can't comment on whether the club did enough when he was there because I wasn't on the training pitch or at the Lodge day in day out.

So what of this genius?

Pockets of plushness accompanied by playground posing. Tricks and step-overs aside, he was obviously too raw and immature. I always had this overbearing emotion that people who enjoyed watching him for us (in those cameos) smiled and laughed out of enjoyable embarrassment. Some of us loved him because of his sheer audacity to be so care-free and without an apparent air of awareness of where he actually was. The Prem and not the playground.

His loan spell was meant to fix that. He was meant to discover the art of grafting and improve that lack of self-awareness and find the right balance between tempo and team-work. But we still didn't see enough to retain his services (but just in case of an err we pencilled in a nice 40% sell-on clause) and allowed QPR to take him permanently. Championship Player of the Season later he still shows traits of self importance and priority of individuality on the pitch and plenty off it. But he's adapted well down there, just below us. He's now coming back up for his second chance.

Sustained form in the rough and tumble second tier from Adel, but whether he'll have time to stand on the ball and outwit the very top players is altogether a different question that will no doubt be unequivocally answered. One that we could not have possibly found out at THFC because he did not want to buckle down and prove his worth with us. This genius felt he had nothing to prove. You have to love the self-belief and arrogance. If Jenas had a tinge of it, he'd be < insert long-winded theory that Jenas is a confidence player here >.

Alas, this self-belief and arrogance appears to be far more self indulgent and deluded than it is Zidanesque. Actions speak louder than words but not for Adel. His words come with megaphone and neon lights.

I'm still not inclined to believe Harry 'didn't fancy him' because he was too flash. Bostock was also put in his place by Harry. Players being marginalised because of the gaffers ego? Don't all managers favour certain players and don't all managers look to move on players who have no future at the club? Hopefully Bostock will come good.

Granted all managers get it wrong from time to time.

Much like Gio, Adel has attitude and simply won't adjust it to accommodate the team and his manager. Unless that team is QPR and the manager is Neil Warnock. If you proclaim to be that good you can make it work anywhere. Even if it means waiting and fighting your way through into the first team. If you simply don't possess the patience to work alongside the skill then that's your problem, not ours. Help yourself to aid others to help you. He found the Championship more comfortable for him to bed into the English game. That's the path he choose, it's not one that could have involved us.

Gio and Adel talented? On both accounts, very much so. But you need your head in the right place. You also need to sacrifice some ego in the process. Adel has at the very least proved he does know how to get on it. The Championship is hardly forgiving, even though it's nowhere near the same level as the Prem.

Both players were reluctant to do so in our colours. Good luck to both, but it's their loss, not ours.

Curveball? Bale was famously almost loaned out/sold before he returned into the team. Sometimes fate takes hold of your destiny and forever changes it. But unlike Gareth, Gio has not been with us for a while now. He's already been cut loose. As for Adel, he will no doubt provide some entertainment next season.

In an ideal world I'd have both of them at Tottenham on the bench. Because both are capable of producing something crazy and magical. But their world is on a completely different axis.

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Tabloid exclusive: 'Germany invades Poland' - How Ruud

It’s Sunday which means regurgitated transfer news is once more vomited from the mouths of the media as we choke on yesterday’s food for thought. It's like Groundhog day with carrort chunks.

Apparently Harry is having a clear-out. No seriously, he is. Let’s disregard the fact that all clubs have clear-outs of varying magnitude from one season to the next or that Harry inherited a squad of players and that he is quite obviously not going to hold onto any deadwood because there’s no logical point to it as he wants to build a team of his own doing.

We’ve heard this gem about five times already since the end of the season. Along with the ones about Cisse, Santa Cruz and Gio. It’s almost like the journalists and editors of newspapers have some type of memory disorder, re-printing the same garbage week in and week out with complete impunity to criticism. And yet I can clearly see the irony of my good self once more shaking my fist vigorously towards them with blog article attack at the ready as I repeat my complaint.

The cycle can only be broken with an actual player signing for us.

Gio hasn’t impressed and doesn’t appear to have any future with us. Linking him away from the club is the most direct cause of action his agent can take but at least this time the rumours are being printed in Spain so we may see him escape back to La Liga. I'm sure he won't miss the English nightclubs.

Ruud van Nistleroy is being linked in a £1.25M bid. I think this one is brand spanking new (although we were linked a year or so back).

Another rumour that’s been knocking around for a few days relates to Paul Robinson returning to WHL.

Seriously, what next? A dead parrot?

Richard Dunne done the rounds back in January and I’m not alone in thinking this is would be a sideways signing.

But along with Ruud, you can see Harry doing some triffic bit of business with these two ‘experienced Premiership’ players, adding a bit of steel to the squad. Even though Ruud is likely to suffer from injury quirks and Dunne is no better than what we’ve got.

Ashley Young is a right-winger who players left-wing for Villa (I think he's naturally right-footed but please do correct me if I'm wrong) and a former target who we turned down the chance of signing first time round due to the excessive £7M (or whatever it was) fee. Back in again according to the red-tops for £8M + Bentley in the opposite direction. Chelsea the other interested club.

And did someone say Joe Cole?

I’m waiting for the Downing rumours to re-emerge (more so than they did last week with the story that Boro were finally willing to let him go) and conclude with an undisclosed fee to Spurs thanks to his broken bone.

Petrov and Babel are two former targets and tabloid favs of the transfer grapevine which will no doubt do the rounds (keep track and you’ll notice there’s a rota).

Young won’t join and I hope he doesn’t as I’m not convinced he’s half as good as people think he is. He’s decent but we can do better, unless we can’t, but even if we can’t he won’t come to us. He’ll want to step up to a Top 4 club. Which is ironic as he isn’t Top 4 quality. Which would then make him perfect for us.

And breathe.

Neither will Cole join – who I think was linked via the message boards. Not sure the press have picked up on this one quite yet. I doubt we’ll go anywhere near Santa Cruz (just not worth the transfer fee being quoted) and Cisse to Spurs is pure fantasy.

Robinson? Amazing journalism there. Someone got paid for that. They actually got paid sterling. No dis-respect to Robbo who was a personal fav of mine during his time at WHL, but he signed a long term contract at Spurs and then fluffed it along with the ball in practically every game. Shocking lack of management and loyalty saw him get worse and never better and eventually sold to Rovers. We then spend £9M on a replacement. Now, having him return while the replacement is sold on would quite simply be the most comical clusterf*ck ever. Let's be done with it and just re-sign Ian Walker.

Which then leaves us with Ruud. He has the pedigree but like I said, does have injury issues. He’s been out for ages at Madrid. But his form prior to that was ridiculously good. For £1.25M I’d snap him up. But then, how do I know this isn’t just another Sunday daydream from a monkey with a typewriter?

Once more, I turn to my precious bottle of twenty-three year old rum and search for the answer at the bottom of it.

Ledley crowned King of England.....long live the King?

Tuesday afternoon round-up of the past weeks highlights.

Spiffing weekend with the win against Chelsea. Feet firmly back on the ground, right? I say that because even I got a little giddy with our victory. It amuses me that the tables have turned a little in our advantage. The little club from West London, with history you can trace back a couple of years, don't much fancy playing us. Suddenly we are flirting with the possibility of Europe, which appears to be winking in our direction and playfully lifting her skirt up, teasing us with her continental cheek. This has got some Spurs fans trembling at the knees with excitement. And this is the exact reason why other fans hate us. Far too emotional for our own good. A month or so back, relegation was still a word people shared in worried conversations, scared to ask where the next three points might come from. A week in football is a long time blah blah blah.

It's great that the players have finally settled and we are playing with confidence. And it's equally great that such is the non-event in the way of difference between a team just above the bottom three and one just below 7th spot in the table, that we can go from relegation fodder to potential Europa glory in the space of two games. No point on dwelling on what could have been had we picked up more points in the opening eight games (refer to Harry Redknapp for further analysis on this). I'm happy with anything above 10th. And if we did qualify for the soon to be revised version of the UEFA Cup, I don't believe it would be a distraction to getting it right in the Prem (which should be the overwhelming priority next season). Sure, we can kiss goodbye again to Saturday 3pm kick-offs, but considering how weak the opposition teams appear to be in the early rounds of the competition, we could use it to blood some youth players and reserves. Never say no to Europe. Time they gave the competition an extra twist. Winners qualify for the Champions League. Considering there are more runners-up and 3rd, 4th placed teams than actual champions, I don't see what harm it would. Apart from making the rich richer.

Still unbeaten against the Sky Sports Top 4 this season in the Prem. Only defeats (overall) coming in both Cups against Man Utd. Villa (who spent some time in 4th place) also beat us at the Lane. Strange old season. All that's left is for Robbie Keane to score a last minute winner in front of the Kop on the final day of the season, handing Man Utd the title. Can he play in that game? Someone mentioned how the FA will not allow it due to 'conflicting interest' (being the fact that he can pick up a winners medal due to appearance made for Liverpool, if the Reds win the league). Cant believe he would be interested in doing so considering his experience up there.

Aaron Lennon has signed an extension. I touched on this briefly in the match review for the Chelsea game. The fact he has signed on for a further two years and has stated he is happy at the club means exactly that, and there is no conceivable way for him to leave the club this summer, regardless of any possible £20M bids from Rafa or anyone else. From a business sense, it's obvious that the extension means if the player is sold then we can get more money for him. From a football perspective, he has extended his contract which means he does not want to leave the club. Which means that the club must laugh in the direction of anyone who comes knocking. There is no Robbie Keane or Michael Carrick reasoning on Aaron being sold this summer or the next. Memo to Levy. The door isn't just closed. It's double locked.

Same applies with Modric.

Congrats also to Aaron on his England call-up. Well deserved. Sparkling form, the type that makes him undroppable for Spurs. The more he develops the more unplayable he'll be for the opposition. Good news for us. Good news for the 3 Lions.

Talking of business sense, we've announced record figures for the six months ending on the 31st December 2008 (so that doesn't include the outgoings in the Jan transfer window). Levy via the official site:

"In a period of global economic recession this is a considerable achievement and we acknowledge that both the strength of our business and the fantastic loyalty shown by our supporters have helped ensure that these results have not been materially affected. We have benefited from having a robust business that is well financed and has continued to be able to support investment in the first team."

Yes, all very good. Well done. But this doesn't exactly turn me on. It's grand that in these days of debt-ridden football clubs we are in very healthy nick. We'd be even richer if we didn't spunk our money on players with inflated transfer values. So arguably, as strong as we are off it, we haven't been equally strong on it. But that has more to do with the people employed by Levy than it has to do with him directly, although he is still responsible. I'm not attempting to dig for the sake of it, but considering how much the club charges for tickets, it's no bleeding surprise we're so strong financially. We have a loyal fan base and regardless of the recession the country is going through, we don't appear to be turning our backs on the club as fans. So as long as the new stadium plans push ahead and we double our capacity, we'll be even richer. Which means even more money to spend (waste) on players we don't need. I guess my point is, when you are running a club like Spurs there is no excuse for running it into the ground.

What Scholar did was criminal, and what happened at Leeds, laughable. My criticism of Levy has always been the way he appears to confuse business decisions with ones of a footballing nature. Decent figures for sure, that won't look as bright when you subtract the transfer deals and the money spent on other ventures that will benefit the club in the long run (i.e the training ground facility). Merchandising is also down (I guess the irony in buying a Spurs mug is too much for some in the current climate) leaving Sky TV revenue and season ticket sales the only constant any club can rely on.

Consistenty ON the pitch is now required, so all the smart accountancy can support the only real progression fans care about.

Nice to see Adel and Gio doing well at their respective clubs (on loan) in the Championship. Adel, notching a winning goal for QPR over the weekend, is getting rave reviews for his quick feet and clever play. Has to be part of our squad for next season. Gio is also a player that the club should hold onto. If anything because getting rid of him before he has had the chance to prove himself at Spurs in the Prem is harsh. But when you compare Adel's comments about wanting to return to Spurs to prove himself to Gio's who is far more ambiguous in where his future lies - you wonder if a decision has already been made on the latters future.

Hutton is on the way back. Looked good in his warm-up, which took place outside a pub with his dad.

King for England? Harry is furious. I can understand why. On paper you'd have to be concerned as a Spurs fan if King plays a part for England on the pitch. It would probably mean he can't play for Spurs the following week. Not sure what Capello wants out of this. If he took King to a major tournament, would he be there to cover? And if he did, it would still be a case of waiting for his knee to lose the swelling. Maybe I'm biased, but why Woodgate isn't in the squad as an alternative to Terry and Ferdinand is a complete mystery to me. As for King, if it wasn't for his dodgy knee he'd be number one choice. Brilliant player who deserves an international career, but will never have one of any real substance. Personally, I think having him part of the England squad is nice recognition to what he has achieved as a player who has 'retired' from full training. But if there is a chance he will play, Ledders will have to consider the risks. Spurs has to be his priority. Being his bread and butter. Which is probably the reason Harry is a little pissed off.

But alas, it's over before it's began and King is back at Spurs to continue his 'individual training programme'. So he won't be taking part in the friendly on Saturday. And will probably never be called up again. What England's medical staff and Fabio thought they could do with the lad is anyones guess considering how well known his problems with fitness are.

England can live without him. We can't.

Spurs.....leave those kids alone!

Adel Taarabt, Gio and Gunter (again) have all gone out on loan until the end of the season. Gunter I can understand as he won't get games considering the collection of far more experienced right backs we have for selection. The other two should be wild-cards off the bench for us, but considering both hardly figured all season it's no surprise they've been shifted out of the club, for now at least.

Gio going to Ipswich (wasn't long ago he was notching up a Nou Camp hat-trick) is possibly his departure lounge moment as I'm not sure he'll be with us come the start of next season. Harry blatantly doesn't rate the kid. Which means he hasn't made an impression in the reserves or in training to warrant more time on the first team bench and more cameo appearances. Unless of course it genuinely is a case of 'the kids can't be risked in a relegation scrap'. And if that's the case, then we need to start reviewing the point in purchasing some of this supposed talented youngsters when all we're going to do is stagnate their development. Both should have been loaned out far far earlier if that's the way we wish to progress them.

Yes, yes, I know. If Spurs were sitting pretty in the table we could afford these wild-cards and their development would be their involvement in Spurs games in the Premiership rather than the lower divisions. So I guess the club don't think it's the right thing to do mentally to the young lads. Which is understandable considering how Bale has struggled this season.

I hope Gio does impress, if anything for his self-confidence (if he has any left) and as a reminder that he might just possess something worth retaining. How much did we spend on him? £4M? £4.7M? Did we mug ourselves off? Because it sure feels like we're doing just that at the moment.

Adel will have loads of fun at QPR (who do like to play it around) and it's doubtful Spurs will be letting him go anytime soon in the way of a permanent transfer. It's still ridiculous that he has gone out on loan IMO. I don't see the problem with the tactic of having him come off the bench and nutmeg a player or two. He can impact the game late on with his mazy runs. Fact is we won't know how good he really is until he starts games from the start, and as that is unlikely to happen at the minute at WHL, then I can almost understand the logic with him going on loan. As much as I don't like it.

Far too many Blondel moments (in recent years) for my liking.

RAUL: The pasta was over-cooked and Juande spilt wine on his shirt

Raul admits to Tottenham interest
Spurs almost sign Raul
How I almost joined Tottenham
Almost a Spur

You’d think we nearly signed him if you don’t look beyond the overly dramatic headlines. Fact is all Raul did was have lunch with Ramos (whilst still Spurs boss) along with Gines Carvajal who is agent to both. Raul claims that they called him to discuss English football, as he was interested in hearing Juandes experience of Tottenham and the Premier League. Apparently he likes the English game. Hidden away in some of these reports (not all) is another Raul quote about ‘interpretations’ relating to the fact that Ramos was then sacked by Spurs and appointed Madrid boss. Sounds like Raul/Carvajal are trying to dismiss more local rumours (back in Spain) about Raul tapping up the then Spurs boss.

Here’s a better headline for this story: Nothing to see here, please move along, slow-news day.

Elsewhere, Darko Lazovic has had a successful trial at Spurs, impressing in the past month. The 18-year old playmaker is currently at FK Borac Cacak and is valued at a lowly 500k (expect imminent £15M offer soon then). Reports suggest he will sign for us, even though nothing is directly mentioned other than the player saying he is in no rush to make a decision.

We don’t have the greatest track record at the minute when purchasing hyped kids. Gio, Adel, Kevin Prince Boateng – all have been bit part players in their time at Spurs. KPB has gone back to Germany on loan. Gio is nowhere near the first team squad and rumours continue to persist about a summer departure (almost joined Pompey back in January). And as for Adel……great talent (was buzzing on international duty for Morocco mid-week) needs development on decision making. Harry fancies him a bit and we’ll probably see a lot more of his magic feet in the coming weeks (play him from the start in the UEFA Cup rather than a late cameo appearance where he tries to hard to impress). As for Gareth Bale (another kid), he’ll reclaim his past form for us (he looks class for Wales) soon enough. He just needs to find the voodoo doll and remove the last few remaining pins.

edit: Adel isn't in the UEFA Cup squad. Gutted. We'll have to stick with the cameos until next season then.

As for Darko, sign him up if the kid is a genuine talent rather than hype. Sounds like he might have enough about him to knock on the first team door sooner rather than later. ComolliVision no longer a concern.

And Spurs are doing something right at the moment with the academy team who are exceptional (thanks to Alex Inglethorpe). As long as the experienced first teamers get it together, bringing the younger players into the fold won’t be so daunting and morale crushing. Maybe the likes of Gio and KPB (who was never a Young German Player of the Year no matter how many times the newspapers tell you) were the wrong type of signings for us.

Not much else to report on at the moment. International week followed by Cup weekend has bored me to tears. UEFA Cup? Oh yeah. Not sure you can count the Shakhtar Donetsk game as important. I always want Spurs to win. But I can’t say this weeks UEFA Cup first leg in the Ukraine is something I’m excited about. We can’t win the competition with so many players cup-tied (Corluka, Keane, Pavlyuchenko) and not risked (King) along with the fact that we’re a bit shit. Three points in the next league match is the only priority for us - that and Wembley, I guess.

I’ll be watching the game on Thursday hoping to see some of the ‘kids’ perhaps get a baptism of fire (not so daunting and moral crushing if we lose as Shakhtar are no mugs and there is little expectation for this game). Won’t lost any sleep if it goes pear-shaped. Hull, sandwiched between the two legs (ooh matron), is the one to win. Don’t see us risking too many players considering that winning at Wembley would also be quite nice. I could do with a smile. We could all do with a smile. Doesn’t mean the players who are selected to play in the Ukraine don’t give it 110%. Even if the game is not a priority, they should still aim to impress.

Cheeky 2-1 win then to us?

And finally, Roman Pavyluchenko is struggling to come to terms with the English language, women and food. To be perfectly honest, it sounds like he’s settled in just fine. Welcome to England. You’re one of us now.