Written by Philip Batson on Feb 7 2008. Filed under
Soccer Fans.
Once billed as the most likely club to break the Premier League’s Big Four grasp atop English football, Tottenham Hotspur is currently floundering in 11th place.
Now Spurs are hoping the defensive signings of Alan Hutton and Jonathan Woodgate for a collective $32 million are the answer to their lost season.
It has been a season filled with disappointment after disappointment for the London club. The manager saga with Martin Jol and Juande Ramos, the consistently inconsistent play of goalie Paul Robinson and a record of 7-8-10 with four of the losses at home.
Spurs has great players in Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Darren Bent. Too bad they’re all strikers. Tottenham Hotspurs’ troubles can be traced back to the summer when its biggest signing, Bent for $32 million, was also its most unnecessary. The last thing Spurs needed was another forward. Look at its midfield and defensive corps, the signing of young Gareth Bale was nice and he may be a star one day, but he is injured now. Is there a world-class player anywhere to compete at the level of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool? No. Aaron Lennon has flashes of brilliance, but is also often injured and inconsistent. Ledley King can be a rock at the back when he’s not hurt and Michael Dawson is developing. Jermaine Jenas and Steed Malbranque are good midfielders, but neither totally infect a match with their will.
So now Tottenham Hotspur is doing what it should have done in the summer; spend its money on its weak spots. Now it all it needs is to splash a little cash for some creative and influential midfielders to make it the truly dangerous squad it can be.
It just doesn’t look like it will happen this season.
Written by John Conner on Feb 6 2008. Filed under
Soccer Fans.
The crowd is buzzing with anticipation. Three players dressed in white stand silently over the ball. The keeper sets his wall and settles in.
Then it happens.
Like a flash.
If you blinked, you missed it.
With one curling dagger sent through the hearts of Aston Villa supporters and players alike, Jimmy Bullard gave the beating heart of Fulham another lifeline.
After a hard fought game and three goals scored by Fulham, Aaron Hughes had a bit of a brain fart and sent one ball into his own net. The Fulham defense finally showed a bit of gumption as they battled the powerful Villa forwards, including Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was included in England manager Fabio Capello’s first 30-man squad list, until he suffered an injury in the game against Fulham.
It was interesting to note how much the Fulham supporters love the American players. Songs blaring Clint Dempsey’s name rang through the stadium as the pacey winger battled his entire time on the pitch and created a number of goal scoring opportunities. The supporters also sent cheers and songs ringing through the streets of West London at the return of long injured captain Brian McBride. McBride put in a stellar performance seeing as he has been injured for five months now. While his touch was a bit off, it will undoubtedly return after a bit more time in training. Another match or two and he will be back on track.
In a game that saw Fulham play as if they were competing for fourth place and a spot in Europe, it was Bullard’s stinging 25-yard free kick that gave Fulham the 2-1 comeback victory over Villa on Feb 3.
And what a victory it was.