Transfer madhouse - The Final Countdown

Final day of the transfer window in the past has always been eventful at Spurs. Talk of Kuyts and Torres' en route to Spurs Lodge, tempered with the reality of lanky Eastern European strikers arriving from the Championship at ten to midnight.


This is how the day unfolded as the rumours flew and the deals were done...

12:00am - The state of play as the final day begins is that Mido has been confirmed officially, meaning we now have our second most influential player last year in terms of both goals and assists back. Lee Young Pyo has changed his mind on a move to Roma and will stay at Spurs for the time being, meaning the deal for Pascal Chimbonda is now in doubt. It's unclear at this stage whether the club want both Lee and Chimbonda on their books. Steed Malbranque has reportedly completed a medical and his transfer from Fulham for £2.5million will be announced later today.

8:00am - The coup of the window is under way at Upton Park as Carlos Tevez confirms that both he and Javier Mascherano are to join West Ham on a season long loan from Corinthians. The Brazilian club are owned by the same company, Media Sports Investment, that attempted a takeover of West Ham last season and also 'own' the two Argentinian players. Roman Abramovich is also rumoured to have an involvment in the company, sparking the suggestion that West Ham are just holding them to allow them to adjust to London, England and the Premiership before joining Chelsea. Either way, it remains a sensational deal for West Ham.

9:30am - The club finally confirms that Rodrigo Defendi, the Brazilian defender who did not make an appearance for the first team in his two years at the club and spent the second half of last season on loan at Udinese, has joined Roma on loan. No mention of the option to buy for a nominal fee at the end of the loan that Roma themselves spoke of though.

11:00am - Villa will apparently have to meet Spurs' £15million asking price if they want Jermain Defoe. [JTG COYS]

12:00pm - Harry Kewell could be on his way from Liverpool as the search for a left sided midfield rumbles on into its fifteenth year. Spurs are also rumoured to be interested in Steve Finnan. [BEN FTL]

1:00pm - Official confirmation that Steed Malbranque has joined Spurs. Jol's comments that the 26 year old Frenchman can "cover the left, centre and right midfield positions" suggests that that ellusive left winger won't be arriving this window after all. Malbranque is currently injured, and the official site confirms that the Christmas decorations will be up before we are likely to see him in a Spurs shirt. Wayne Routledge has joined Fulham on loan for the season as part of the deal. Further evidence that Routledge was very much Arnesen's signing, and that Jol doesn't rate him.

1:30pm - Kewell has been spotted at Spurs Lodge where he is to have a medical. Given that physioroom.com reports that the Australian is out indefinitely with "septic arthritis", who knows what the chances of him passing said medical are? [BEN FTL]

2:30pm - That other great Spurs transfer saga (alongside Chimbonda's) could be back on as Levy has apparently not given up on pursuading Middlesborough to part company with Stewart Downing. There is an outside chance that the deal could be pushed through before the deadline after the two clubs resumed talks last night. [Dragon1 COYS]

3:15pm - Wigan have accepted Spurs' offer for Chimbonda and the deal should be completed in due course. As Wigan's official site says, the "transfer saga is finally over".

4:00pm - Further fuel to the Downing fire, with the player apparently having left England training early (along with Chelsea bound Ashley Cole), and conflicitng rumours as to whether Boro have or have not accepted Spurs' latest bid. [JTG COYS]

5:00pm - Chimbonda is reportedly at Spurs Lodge with a medical due at 6pm. The inevitable final day "big signing" rumour gathers pace, as it was bound to; Downing looks the most likely of the options, with Danny Murphy now a possible makeweight in the deal. Calum Davenport and Anthony Gardner could also find themselves touted around in the next few hours once the Chimbonda deal is completed. [Archibald SpursOdyssey]

5:15pm - West Ham manage to stun the world of football for the second time today by completing the sign of Argentinian duo Tevez and Mascherano, not on loan, but PERMANENT deals. The immediate, and frankly only logical, explanation is that MSI, who own the two Argentinians, have resumed their attempts to buy the London club.

5:40pm - We have a winner in the random rumour of the day stakes, with Lille's leftback Gregory Tafforeau linked with a £3.8million move to Spurs. Following West Ham's deadline day business how can anything come as a surprise? [spurs10 COYS]

6:00pm - The Downing transfer looks to be definitely OFF. Middlesborough Chief Executive Keith Lamb when questioned as to whether the England winger would be a Boro player come tomorrow morning replied, "absolutely".

8:00pm - It's all gone a bit quiet on the Spurs front, which means the flow of rubbish fills the void created by the lack of genuine information. This is exemplifed by the news that Simao Sabrosa and Curtis Davies are in negotiation with Spurs, with the latter deal dependent on Davenport and Stalteri agreeing to join West Brom. Elsewhere, Julio Baptista has apparently agreed to join Arsenal on loan in exchange for Jose Antonio Reyes, which brings the improbable scenario of "the Beast" joining Spurs to its logical conclsion.

8:20pm - Word from Spurs Lodge is that the Chimbonda deal will complete Spurs' business for this window. A major disappointment for those hoping that a genuine left sided wide player would eventually materialise. [BEN FTL]

9:15pm - With the deadline looming it seems the Spurs hierarchy may have realised that not signing a left sided player could come back to haunt them, and have reportedly begun a last ditch attempt to convince Fulham to allow Luis Boa Morte to follow Malbranque to White Hart Lane. [Noodles FTL]

9:30pm - Just to give us something to hold our interest for the final couple of hours, Hatem Ben Arfa, who has failed to warrant a mention amongst the rumours all day, could be back on the cards. A quick player, but probably asking a bit much for him to sprint to Spurs Lodge from Lyon within two hours. [JTG COYS]

10:25pm - Chimbonda's medical was apparently a success, but personal terms are still to be finalised. Two further deals are supposedly in the pipeline, one loan one permanent, with the loan being a central defender. The mind boggles. [Archibald SpursOdyssey]

12:00am - The window closes, and as expected the club announce Chimbonda's signing minutes before the deadline. Almost certainly the announcement was held back until the last minute to avoid an anti-climactic finale, as the photos taken much earlier in the day suggest. With the disappointment of the final day producing no shocks, nor the morale boosting left sided midfielder so many crave, it's east to overlook the good that was done ealier in the window.

Mido back, Hatem Ben Arfa on his way

What had always threatened to be a busy final week of the transfer window for Spurs looks very much like it could be over already. Two players who have been on the lips of those ITK for several weeks have now been confirmed as targets by those beyond the message boards and press. Egyptian national team coach Hassan Shehata told Egyptian television on Sunday that Mido would travel to London to complete a permanent transfer to Spurs on Monday before meeting up with the national team. Tuesday's English papers are now reporting a fee has been agreed with Roma, in the region of £3.5million, for Mido. Rodrigo Defendi, who was on loan at Udinese last season will join Roma as part of the deal.

Hatem Ben Arfa, pictured, the highly rated Lyon teenager is also rumoured to have completed his transfer yesterday. Last week, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, had confirmed that his club were in talks with Spurs over the tranfer of Ben Arfa, who has one year remaining on his contract with the French side. The fact that the player is leaving Lyon becuase of a lack of first team opportunities suggests to me that, contrary to what some have suggested, Ben Arfa is not joining to provide an option on the left behind another new left sided player, but is being signed as THE answer to that problem position.

Tottenham 0-2 Everton

------------------Robinson--------------------
Lee----Dawson----Davenport----A.Ekotto
-------------Jenas-------Davids---------------
--Lennon------------------------------Tainio--
------------Berbatov------Keane--------------

Tottenham: Robinson, Lee (Defoe 60), Dawson, Davenport, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Jenas, Davids, Tainio (Zokora 74), Berbatov, Keane.
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Stalteri, Gardner.

Booked: Dawson.

Everton: Howard, Neville, Yobo, Lescott (Weir 84), Naysmith, Osman, Carsley, Arteta, Kilbane, Cahill, Johnson.
Subs Not Used: Wright, Hibbert, Beattie, McFadden.

Sent Off: Kilbane (33).

Booked: Kilbane

Goals: Davenport own goal (53), Johnson (66).

Att: 35,540

Highlights link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swaiMbrdiY

Those Spurs fans who had assumed that the Sheffield United game marked the return to the real script for the season suffered a crushing blow at White Hart Lane. If anything the performance here was worse than against Bolton. Despite holding a one man advantage for an hour, following Kevin Kilbane's dismissal, Spurs failed to create a single clear chance from open play until the 89th minute.

Understandably, Jol stuck with the line up that had beaten Sheffield United convincingly in midweek. Less comprehensible was his decision to once again fill the bench with defensive players, leaving Defoe as the only attacking option. The decision backfired when, with Spurs chasing the game, jol was forced to throw Defoe on to play down the left flank in the hope of breaking a highly organised Everton side down. To add insult to injury, Defoe replaced Lee Young Pyo, who was one of the better players on the day, switching the anonymous Jenas to rightback.

Rather than explain why his side was unable to create any significant openiings against a team reduced to ten men who hadn't won at White Hart Lane for 21 years, Jol chose to break his own oft-spoken rule on discussing transfer targets to confirm the club were targetting Stewart Downing and had made a final bid for the player. An outrageous piece of attempted spin, from the usually media-savvy Dutchman, which showed a total lack of respect for Middlesborough, who responded by wittily declaring their own interest in Aaron Lennon.

Spurs' man of the match: Lee Young Pyo - An impossible task to pick a bright spot in such a poor performance, so the South Korean gets the dubious honour by default having managed to draw three fouls from Kilbane in quick succession to get the Everton player sent off.

UEFA Cup - Slavia Praha drawn

Slavia Praha of the Czech Republic represent the obstacle between Spurs and the group stages of the UEFA Cup following the draw for the competition's 1st Round. With the two most dangerous teams on paper, Bayer Leverkeusen and Club Brugge, avoided the draw has to be considered favourable, though it has raised some questions given ENIC's holdings in both Spurs and Slavia.

UEFA's regulations stipulate that two clubs cannot enter the same competition if a single indvidual or company holds more than a 50% share in both clubs. Despite their influence in both clubs (demonstrated by the two players that have moved between the two in recent years, Cerny and Pekhart, pictured), ENIC's share does not reach that mark in either case, and both clubs were admitted to the UEFA Cup.

Tottenham 2-0 Sheffield United

------------------Robinson--------------------
--Lee----Dawson----Davenport----A.Ekotto--
-------------Jenas-------Davids---------------
--Lennon------------------------------Tainio--
------------Berbatov------Keane--------------

Tottenham: Robinson, Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, Davenport, Lee, Lennon, Jenas, Tainio (Zokora 69), Davids, Berbatov, Keane (Defoe 82).
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Stalteri, Gardner.

Goals: Berbatov (7), Jenas (17).

Sheff Utd: Kenny, Sommeil (Montgomery 60), Bromby, Morgan, Unsworth (Nade 61), Gillespie (Alan Quinn 80), Jagielka, Tonge, Armstrong, Akinbiyi, Webber.
Subs Not Used: Kozluk, Leigertwood.

Booked: Bromby.

Att: 35,287

Highlights link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3khtpoJOfDk

With the pressure on, following the nature of the opening day defeat against Bolton, Spurs managed to almost entirely reverse the pattern of that game. A domineeering attacking performance was rewarded with a 2-0 victory and some fine individual performances.

On the back of the Bolton game, Jol decided to drop Zokora to accomodate the return of Teemu Tainio on the left of midfield. Those who have thus far overlooked the importance of the Finn to Jol’s Spurs will surely now realise how important he is in providing a link between midfield and attack. Always willing to go inside and outside, make runs into the box and back towards his own goal to protect his fullback, comfortable with the ball at his feet in the final third, he could play anywhere across the midfield, but his best games for Spurs have come playing from the left.

Davids was shifted to central midfield and duly produced a performance that recalled his glory years. Not quite the blast from the past of Zidane’s performance against Brazil in the World Cup, but surely enough to silence those who had questioned his ability to contribute in his second season at the club. There were wayward passes, as there have been throughout his career, but his drive both offensively and defensively were unmatched.

Elsewhere in the midfield, Jol’s reported kick up the backside for Lennon and Jenas got the right response, with both producing match winning performances. Jenas in particular can be assured that, were he to produce performances of that level week in week out, the skepticism he still endures from some fans would dissipate. Whilst obviously not flawless, it was the kind of performance that should be the minimum for a player of his clear talent.

Up front, Berbatov and Keane showed signs of forging an understanding akin to last season’s best pairing, which saw Mido alongside the Irishman. The two looked effective when Keane came deep and Berbatov played on the shoulder of the last defenders, as was proven when the two combined from those positions to set up Jenas’ goal. Berbatov’s movement, as I mentioned in preseason reports, is a joy to behold, particularly having spent the past few years watching players who either couldn’t read the game that way, Defoe, or weren’t mobile enough to carry it out, Mido.

As I was harsh on Jol post-Bolton, so I have to give him credit here. He switched the system and overcame the problems that his 4-3-3 had caused in the opener, and dropping Zokora was a brave, but ultimately correct, decision. As I said, several of the players played as if they had been told in no uncertain terms that their performance against Bolton had not been good enough. There was little triumphalism from Jol at the final whistle, he wore the look of a man who had seen his players do what he’d expected them to do from day one. I think every Spurs fan would empathise with him.

Spurs' man of the match: Edgar Davids – much like the Bolton game, this was hard to call, but for converse reasons. Keane was the best player on the pitch for the first thirty minutes and Berbatov was both effective and hard working. Davids, though, was excellent from first to last, both in defence and attack, and could have scored a deserved goal in the closing stages.

Bolton 2-0 Tottenham

-------------Robinson---------------
Lee--Dawson--Davenport--A.Ekotto
-----Jenas----Zokora----Davids-----
--Lennon------Berbatov----Defoe--------

Goals
Bolton: Davies (9), Campo (13)

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Nolan, Meite, Speed, Campo, Davies, Fortune, Vaz Te (Stelios, 86), Diouf, Ben Haim. Subs: Walker, Tal, Smith, Foult.

Spurs: Robinson, Lee (Huddlestone, 74), Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, Davenport, Lennon (Keane, 59), Jenas, Zokora, Davids, Berbatov, Defoe. Subs: Cerny, Gardner, Ziegler.

It was new season, same old story for Spurs in the Reebok stadium. Outmuscled and outorganised, it was a disappointing opening coming, as it did, on the back of a decent preseason. Despite the dubious nature of Bolton's first goal, where Meite clearly fouled Calum Davenport, and the fortuitousness of their second, Robinson completely misjuding Campo's 40 yard strike, it was nothing less than Bolton deserved.

Despite a squad that on paper is no match for our own, Allardyce always ensures, particularly at home, that his team are as effective as their talent will allow through tight organisation, a high pressing game and a system the players completely understand and are comfortable in. Sadly, the same cannot be said of Spurs, who whilst enjoying large peroids of possession, never looked like scoring our producing a coherent pattern of play.

The familiar problem of three central midfielders consistenly behind the ball when in possession was made all the more frustrating given that Spurs were chasing the game from the ninth minute. Lennon played in a more advanced role than he had done even at the tail end of last season, essentially as a third forward, and consequently saw little of the ball for large periods of the game as Bolton got men behind the ball and isolated the Spurs attack from the midfield. Jol's answer to this, rather than pulling Lennon deeper to provide a link between the two, was to take off Zokora and replace him with the returning Robbie Keane. It almost paid off immediately with Keane playing in Berbatov, who subsequently failed to take the ball around Jaaskelainen. Berbatov, like fellow debutant Assou-Ekotto faded as the game wore on, whereas Zokora appeared to be starting exert an influence just as Jol decided to bring the curtain down his debut. A harsh introduction to English football for the trio certainly.

A second substitution saw Huddlestone replace Lee and Jenas switch to right back, as Jol belated realised that starting an away game against Bolton with five or six players under 5'8" was not the brightest decision of his managerial career. By this time it was too late though, and a turgid game and Spurs performance spluttered to its inevitable conclusion.

Spurs' man of the match: Edgar Davids - Wasteful in possession but demonstrating a drive and determination that should have provided an example to his team mates. The pick of a poor bunch.

Reid to Charlton - the end of an error

Portly Irish winger Andy Reid has joined Charlton for a fee yet to be disclosed, rumoured to be in the region of £3million. The midfielder came with a massive reputation at Championship level, but failed to show any real evidence of being Premiership standard in the six months where he was a regular starter. Since then he has been restricted to sporadic first team appearances and reserve team turnouts in between a series of injuries. Hailed by all and sundry as the solution to the long standing left side problem when he arrived with Dawson in a joint £8million deal in January 2005, his threat on the left side diminished as his waistline grew.

Tottenham 2-1 Real Sociedad

-------------Robinson---------------
Lee--Dawson--Davenport--A.Ekotto
-----Jenas----Zokora----Davids-----
Lennon---------------------------------------
----------Berbatov------Defoe---------

Goals
Spurs: Defoe (27), Dawson (61)
Sociedad: Uranga (39)

Spurs: Robinson, Lee, Assou-Ekotto, Zokora, Dawson, Davenport, Lennon (Ghaly, 78), Jenas (Huddlestone, 78), Berbatov, Defoe (Murphy, 70), Davids (Ziegler, 78). Subs: Cerny, Stalteri, Gardner, Barnard.

Real Sociedad: Riesgo, Leon, Rivas, Gutierrez, Labaka, Kovacevic (Cerio, 73), Novo (Felicio, 61), Rekarte (Garrido, 81), Uranga (Aranburu, 67), Alonso, Prieto (Rossato, 84). Subs: Bravo, Stevanovic, Ansotegi, Cifuentes, Martinez.

The final preseason game ended with another Tottenham victory and an impressive unbeaten record intact, but some of the same niggling worries that plagued last season. With Keane injured and the World Cup players now very much back in the fold, Jol went with essentially the same system as he utilised for the majority of last season. A lopsided three man central midfield with Lennon pushed into a wing forward role. A key element of this system last term was Lee Young-Pyo playing as a wing back to provide width on the left, but with the defensively strong though apparently less attack minded Assou-Ekotto now taking that position it seems a lack of balance could characterise the opening of our season as it dominated last.

Up front, Defoe scored the kind of goal that he is renowned for, yet it remains to be seen if his preseason form will carry over to a Premiership whose defences have long discovered not to allow him time and space to get a shot away, a collective realisation that seemed to be the main cause of his problems last season.

On the basis of this game, Jenas looks like he could ease the burden on Zokora from theose expecting him to be like-for-like with Carrick by taking over some long offensive passing duties. Jenas pinged two excellent fifty yard passes to the flanks during the course of the game, demonstrating again that his technique is certainly beyond criticism. Alas, his short range passing was not of the same calibre, and as usual he seems to not be involved for long periods of the game. Zokora certainly is involved, and his pace means there will be a much more pressing game in midfield when Spurs are not in possession.

Davids, who had one of his better preseason games, once again brought graft, some skill and awful distribution, and the defence generally looked solid across the back four. Aaron Lennon showed flashes of quality, but still looks to me like a player who has had a busy summer and isn't really ready to be back playing. He lacks the sharpness, particularly in decision making and final ball, that had developed at the end of last season, and it may be a blessing that Steve McClaren has decided against throwing him straight into the England team to replace David Beckham.

Five in England squad

Steve McClaren's first England squad, for Wednesday's friendly against Greece, includes five Spurs players. Survivors of the World Cup squad Robinson, Jenas and Lennon are joined by Defoe and Michael Dawson, yet to be capped as a full International, who were both involved as standby players before the tournament. McClaren was complimentary about Defoe, saying that he had "lost his way at club level" last season, but was "back amongst the goals".

Former Spurs boss Terry Venables was confirmed as assistant to McClaren, who stated that David Beckham is not part of his plans for the England team. Everyone's favourite ex-player Sol Campbell and David James were also omitted, probably signaling the end of their International careers.

England Squad for Greece friendly: Robinson (Tottenham), Kirkland (Liverpool), Foster (Man Utd), Bridge (Chelsea), Brown (Man Utd), Carragher (Liverpool), A Cole (Arsenal), Dawson (Tottenham), Ferdinand (Man Utd), G Neville (Man Utd), P Neville (Everton), Terry (capt, Chelsea), Young (Charlton), Downing (Middlesbrough), Gerrard (Liverpool), Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jenas (Tottenham), Lampard (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Richardson (Man Utd), Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), Ashton (West Ham), Bent (Charlton), Crouch (Liverpool), Defoe (Tottenham).

Fulop changes tune

It seems Marton Fulop may have had a change of heart regarding his future at Spurs. Despite having taken several opportunites to express his desire to leave the club, with preference for a permanent switch to Coventry, in the past six months, it now seems Fulop is prepared to spend the next season at least vying with Radek Cerny for the number two spot behind Paul Robinson.

Only last week the Hungarian international spoke of his frustration at being denied a permanent move to Coventry. The management have apparently taken the decision that given the extra Uefa Cup games the club will hopefully be involved in this season they need a 3rd 'keeper with first team experience. Fulop suggests that the club have failed to find a suitable candidate from elsewhere and so have blocked his departure.

Today though, Fulop has stated his determination to push ahead at Spurs. Genuine sentiment or just a hastily arranged PR exercise following his previous comments, only time will tell.

Fulop on 4/8/06

"Spurs won't let me go to Coventry and I am bitterly disappointed. Tottenham are in Europe and they need three keepers.

"They have tried to get another one in over the summer, but been unable to do so, so I have to stay here to see out my last year of my contract.

"But I still want to go to Coventry and maybe if the gaffer is still interested in me, he can try to get me in the winter or next summer when my contract is up."

Fulop on 10/8/06
“My aim has to be to push Robbo and Radek all the way and I wouldn’t be a goalkeeper if I didn’t want to play,”

“I know Robbo and Radek are still in front of me. They are both great goalkeepers and I learn so much from them in training but I’m at an age now where I have to push them.

“Time is on my side - I’m 23 and that’s young for a goalkeeper but everyone wants to play. I will do my best to push up the ranks at Spurs.”

Dover Athletic 2-0 Spurs XI

-----------------Cerny----------------
-Stalteri------Lee-----Gardner------Ifil-
Routledge--O'Hara--Huddlestone--Ziegler
------------Barcham--Dixon------------

Goals
Dover: Dryden (81), Daniels o.g. (88)

Dover Athletic: Smith (Knight, 46), Browne, Rogers, Bourne, Cloke, Humphrey, Chapman (Tyne, 57), Spiller (Hogg, 73), Chase (Pame, 66), Spice (Dryden, 58), Walker (Hamshare, 75). Subs: Vallence.

Spurs XI: Cerny, Stalteri (Mills, 57), Ifil, Huddlestone (Lewis, 57), Lee, Gardner (Defendi, 57), Routledge (Riley, 46), O'Hara, Barcham, Dixon (Maghoma, 6), Ziegler (Daniels, 57). Subs: Stroud.

The First and Development teams' joint unbeaten record in preseason finally came to an end against Dover Athletic from the Isthmian League D1 South, essentially the 8th tier of English football.

Ahead of the First team's final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad on Saturday, those players who had not had a full run out against Dortmund were included in Clive Allen's Spurs XI side. Paul Stalteri made his first start following an ankle injury meaning Phil Ifil played at leftback. Despite the strong starting line up, Dover were the better team for the majority of the game, and indeed the Spurs side only began to play with any level of coherence once the first teamers had departed by the hour mark.

Terry Dixon, pictured, managed only six minutes before being withdrawn nursing a sore knee. It will be a blow for the sixteen year old who was once again named in Steve Staunton's Republic of Ireland squad for their friendly against Holland next Wednesday.

Mido returns?

Mido, pictured here in a recent Roma friendly, is currenty undergoing a medical at Spurs Lodge according to several sources. An unlikely return has been on the cards for the past week or so according to those 'ITK'.

Problems with his weight and a lax attitude to training attendance in the second half of last season mean many fans are skeptical as to the benefit of this move by the club. Whilst it is unclear at present whether this is a loan or pemanent move, my personal opinion is that it is fairly low risk. Mido will this season be one of four forward options, rather than three last season, and similarly will no longer be the sole target striker at the club. As such, it is a gamble worth taking given that he is effectively proven in the Premiership, certainly more so than existing options, e.g. Barnard, or previous targets, e.g. Carlton Cole. If it is a permanent move, the fee is likely to be under €5million which is reported to be the price that Blackburn agreed with Roma.

One of the best headers of the ball in world football, Mido has managed to maintain an approximate 1:2 goals to games ratio throughout his career, and was also second highest in the assists table for Spurs last season behind Carrick. It's worth noting that even post-ANC, when his fitness was clearly below acceptable levels, he still managed to cause problems against Premiership defences as a target man. Given Spurs' lack of a consistent coherent link between midfield and attack, the direct option is likely to be needed again, and if nothing else, Mido's return would save us the sight of Calum Davenport being thrown on with ten minutes to go to offer an aerial threat in the opposition box.

Mido at Spurs:

05/06
Apps: 27
Minutes: 2283
Goals: 11
Assists: 5

04/05
Apps: 9
Minutes: 401
Goals: 2
Assists: 0

Dortmund 1-1 Tottenham

----------------Robinson---------------
Lee---Dawson---Davenport---A.Ekotto
Lennon----Jenas----Zokora----Murphy
----------Keane-----Berbatov----------

Goals
Spurs: Berbatov (43)
Dortmund: Frei (36)

Spurs: Robinson, Lee (Stalteri 62), Assou-Ekotto, Zokora (Huddlestone 76), Dawson, Davenport, Lennon (Defoe 57), Jenas (Ghaly 62), Berbatov (Routledge 75), Keane, Murphy (Ziegler 57). Subs: Cerny, Gardner.

Dortmund: Weidenfeller, Brzenska, Kehl, Kringe, Valdez, Pienaar, Frei, Dede, Metzeldwe, Kruska, Degen. Subs: Meier, Amedick, Amoah, Odonkor, Smolarek, Ricken, Sahin.

Berbatov goal link:
http://rapidshare.de/files/28290368/BerbatovGoal.avi

The penultimate game of preseason was a drab affair which probably raised more problems than solutions with two weeks of preparation remaining before the big kick off. Furthermore, those quandaries were not, for the most part, new ones. The problem of Jenas' team contribution once you remove his goals is certainly a long standing problem, and whilst the fact that that goal threat was not forthcoming in this game can be put down to the fact that this was only his second game of preseason, his poor defensive positioning and general reading of the game surely can not.

The lack of width on the left handside remains a problem. Murphy was deployed on the left of midfield, and turned in a decent performance by his Spurs standards, but as you'd expect this came by drifting centrally. With, the otherwise excellent, Assou-Ekotto seemingly reluctant to get forward, the left side was devoid of penetration, whilst Lennon's contribution on the right was to expertly identify several blind alleys and proceed down them at pace. It says a lot for the progress that Lennon needs to make on his final ball, that Routledge managed to provide more quality service into the box in his 14 minutes than Lennon managed in 57. Defenders this season will be well prepared to counteract Lennon's pace on the ball, so it is imperative that he adds more to his game if he is to overcome the 'difficult second season syndrome'. Thankfully, Lennon himself has already acknowledged this.

Lennon's return to the first team lead to a switch back to last season's 4-4-2/3-4-3 hybrid, from the 4-3-1-2 than Jol had favoured in the previous preseason games. That return lasted some twenty minutes. With Dortmund dominating the midfield, admittedly with little penetration, Jol was forced to revert to 4-3-1-2, with Lennon playing in the hole. The change brought about a slight improvement, but were it not for a brilliant individual goal that drew applause from his team mates by Berbatov, Spurs would have deservedly been behind at the interval to Alexander Frei's excellent free kick.

The second half was disjointed through numerous substitutions, with both teams only managing to create a couple of half chances to win the game. Paul Stalteri made a return after a couple of weeks out injured, and looked much more comfortable at rightback than Lee. I doubt that will have been enough to discourage those clamouring for Lee to be given that role permanently though. Stalteri is a target for a number of fans now, and the fact that he is both a very capable rightback and improvement on his predecessors Pamarot and Kelly, has not been enough to convince them that he deserves the chance to build on his first season in the Premiership.

This week's developments in the transfer market will probably give a greater insight into the kind of season Spurs fans can expect than this match will have. Wit this in mind, positivity can be drawn from the fact that the three signings, Berbatov, Assou-Ekotto and Zokora, that constitute the bulk of the club's transfer dealings this summer looked far more assured against Dortmund than the veterans of last season. If the three players who are probably needed to balance out the squad can be obtained, at this calibre, we can surely expect a season of real success.

Carrick 'replacement' Tainio crocked

With two weeks to go until the big kick off, it comes as no surprise to find that our favourite Finn is struggling for fitness. An ankle injury sustained in training, and a likely two week recovery period means that Tainio may struggle to make the opener against Bolton. Disappointing not only for the player himself, but for everyone who may have considered him a possible 'replacement' for Carrick (including The Guardian whose match report on the Inter game made exactly that claim).

Whilst it may seem an unlikely proposition initially, when one examines the stats from last season it does not seem such an unreasonable claim, at least in terms of creativity. Carrick was Spurs' top assister last term, with six, whilst Tainio managed four. However, once you account for the time he missed through niggling injury problems, Tainio is revealed as the most productive assister in the squad (barring Murphy's contribution to Charlton's cause):

Tainio
Minutes: 1780
Assists: 4
Assist ratio: 1:445

Carrick
Minutes: 3295
Assists: 6
Assist ratio: 1:549

Mido
Minutes: 2283
Assists: 5
Assist ratio: 1:457

It won't come as much of a surprise to those who watched his performances closely. Two excellent assists for Carrick's two goals, and an excellent reverse pass for Mido's goal against Charlton demonstrate how effective he can be picking passes in the final third. Now if he could just stay fit...

Squad for the match against Borussia Dortmund: Robinson, Cerny, Lee, Dawson, Davenport, Gardner, Assou-Ekotto, Routledge, Lennon, Murphy, Jenas, Ghaly, Huddlestone, Zokora, Ziegler, Berbatov, Defoe, Keane.