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Season Previews

Jordinho

Jordinho

Ron Henry
Staff member
Tottenham

While the Gareth Bale saga drags on towards the season's curtain raiser this weekend, as keen as they are to avoid such a fate, Spurs have had to plan for the new campign expecting to be without their superstar. The Welshman dug them out time and again last season when they looked to be heading towards a stalemate, winning Tottenham an invaluable 24 points with his 21 strikes. What is more, most of his goals were of his own making when Spurs looked devoid of ideas or a creative spark, and he almost single-handedly saved them on numbers occasions.

Most often, that was when Spurs played teams who sat back against them and left no space for André Villas-Boas' side to get in behind. With the arrivals of Nacer Chadli, Paulinho and in particular Roberto Soldado, movement in and around the penalty area should be more inventive and mean they don't have to rely on Bale (if they still have him, of course). Soldado was the 9th highest goalscorer in Europe's top 5 leagues last season, with all 24 of his strikes coming from inside the penalty area. His arrival will thus force a change of tack for AVB against such defensive sides, when he'll need his midfielders to create chances for their lethal fox in the box.

Scoring goals wasn't a problem for Spurs, but doing so without Bale would be an issue, and they will need the likes of Aaron Lennon and Mousa Dembélé to chip in as well as the new arrivals. Chadli scored 31 goals in 109 appearances for FC Twente, whilst Paulinho is also capable of scoring, having netted twice in Brazil's recent victorious Confederations Cup campaign and the equaliser in a 2-2 friendly draw with England prior to the competition. A player that is key to Chelsea's Ramires missing out for the national team, Paulinho is an energetic midfielder who should also do much to strengthen Tottenham in a defensive sense.

Spurs conceded 9 more goals (46) than rivals Arsenal (37), who pipped them to the final Champions League spot. Playing as high a line as Villas-Boas insists, Tottenham allowed their opponents fewer shots (9.7 per game) than any other team in the top flight, but the quality of chance they were conceding was, often, better than other teams due to all that space behind the back four. Paulinho should help out in terms of preventing teams scything through the team too easily, whilst the returns from lengthy injury layoffs of Sandro and Younes Kaboul will further boost the side, particularly in a physical sense.

The sad fact of the matter for Tottenham, though, is that much of their hopes hinge on the future of Gareth Bale. If Daniel Levy gets his way and the Welshman stays in north London, Villas-Boas will need to motivate him into producing the same kind of performances as he did last season, rather than play a whole campaign with his heart and head elsewhere. With a performing Gareth Bale, this is arguably the best Spurs squad ever, but as they will likely be without him - at his best at least - and with history against them, it is hard to see past them failing to beat Arsenal to 4th spot once again.

Position Last Season: 5th

New signings (at time of writing): Paulinho (Corinthians), Nacer Chadli (Twente), Roberto Soldado (Valencia)

Possible Starting XI (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris; Kyle Walker, Michael Dawson, Younes Kaboul, Danny Rose; Paulinho, Sandro, Mousa Dembele; Aaron Lennon, Roberto Soldado, Nacer Chadli


Predicted finish (average of authors): 5th

2013%2f8%2fSpurs-Stats.jpg


http://www.whoscored.com/Blog/pfwgl-jbc0-xglqmhilfjq/Show/Team-Focus-Premier-League-Preview-Part-9-Swansea-and-Totenham
 
Tottenham

In: Roberto Soldado (Valencia, £26m), Paulinho (Corinthians, £17m), Nacer Chadli (FC Twente, £7m).

Out: Steven Caulker (Cardiff City, £7m), John Bostock (Royal Antwerp, Free), Jack Bartram, Nathan Byrne (both Swindon, Free), Grant Hall, Massimo Luongo, Alex Pritchard, Ryan Mason (all Swindon, Loan), Tomislav Gomelt (Royal Antwerp, Loan), Adam Smith (Derby, Loan), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders, Undisclosed).

Released: David Bentley, William Gallas, Jack Munns, Jake Nicholson.

Alan Smith’s key man: Roberto Soldado

Spurs, we all knew, badly needed a striker and now they must hope their capture can quickly adjust to the Premier League. If he can, and by that I mean get fairly close to the thirty goals he scored for Valencia last season, Andre Villas-Boas boasts a much stronger attack than the one previously stymied by Emmanuel Adebayor’s lethargy.

England should be looking at

Young, stylish left-footed central midfielder Tom Carroll has earned comparisons with Jack Wheelchair, although the signing of Paulinho may slow his development.

How will they spend the new TV money?

53% New answering machine to replace the one Real Madrid broke.
36% Some very important thing to be built a long time in the future.
11% Gareth’s leaving party.

Show your colours

The Tottenham Hotspur suspender belt. For the woman you love, but aren’t all that fussed about keeping.

spurs_2641620a.jpeg


Manager sack-race rating

AVB seems safe, but then Daniel Levy does like firing managers for no reason. 2/5

Smith's prediction 5th

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/10237196/Premier-League-201314-preview-how-will-Arsenal-Manchester-United-Liverpool-and-your-team-fare.html
 
Jordinho said:
Michael Owen: Spurs need to find the balance between adding to the squad and retaining the existing core. They are not shy of spending on new recruits but potentially more important is holding onto Gareth Bale among others and pushing on to the next level, which is securing a Champions League spot.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2391479/Chelsea-win-Premier-League-title-wont-Manchester-Citys-season-Liverpool-make--MICHAEL-OWEN.html

Insightful as always :lol:
Click to expand...

Why oh WHY do these people get paid for this sort of tripe?
 
GARY: Spurs have got to hold their nerve in the last two months of the season. In my two years working at Sky we've got to a point in March where you were thinking they were going to get into the Champions League - and to be fair they did it under Harry Redknapp the year before that - and it wouldn't be fair to say that they blew up, but they certainly lost a little bit of nerve. Last season they lost at home to Fulham and drew at home to Everton and those results cost them in the end. So they have to hold their nerve in the final two months and also keep their players fit. They lost Sandro in January last year and that proved to be a big miss for them.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11662/8869570/neville-and-carraghers-premier-league-guide-ii
 
In the summer of three sagas, the most depressing one for the Premier League is the one at Tottenham. Luis Suarez, 26, has as much baggage as ability; Wayne Rooney, 27, has made plenty of unfortunate headlines during a decade in the top flight; and in both cases their principal suitors are rival clubs in England. Gareth Bale at 24 is in his peak years, he is one of the world game's outstanding talents (even if the British eye exaggerates this) and until he sought a move away from Spurs the sole blemish was his inability to keep his feet. He is the kind of player that you want to pay to see, seemingly capable of anything.

Anything, that is, except getting Spurs that final step into the Champions League.

Two years ago Harry Redknapp's would have done enough but for Bayern Munich's fallibility from the penalty spot, and could have done it had they taken the chances to claim third and leave Arsenal sweating on Chelsea's fortunes. Last season, after the 2-1 win at Arsenal, successive defeats at Liverpool and Fulham - the only losses after 9 December - undid the good work and Andre Villas-Boas came up just short, to the agony of Spurs fans.

Bale wants them to suffer more, if he gets his way, and with Real Madrid the proposed destination (despite late interest from Manchester United) it would diminish the Premier League in multiple ways. First, it would take away one of its big draws. Second, it would be another signal that England is no longer where it's at. Third, if as expected it diminished Spurs' chances of challenging for a top-four spot then the division will be less competitive.

It is worth asking whether Bale's departure would diminish Spurs if there was time to spend in excess of £85m on reinforcements. Had Daniel Levy set out in, say, March, to sell his prize asset for £100m then the right targets could surely have enhanced the team. But that is not the situation and as it is Spurs have had money to spend: close to £60m on Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue and Nacer Chadli.

Soldado is a gamble at 28 because the resale value is not there but his scoring record in La Liga has been excellent. Not all Brazil midfielders prosper in England - consider World Cup winner Kleberson - but Paulinho and the Frenchman Etienne Capoue should add greatly to the side's central strength. Chadli is a 24-year-old Belgium winger with a good scoring record in the Netherlands. It is a surprise that Steven Caulker has been sold but if Bale stays this is an appreciably stronger team, as well as squad, with Clint Dempsey the other significant departure and Danny Rose brought back from Sunderland a better player. There has been a lot of spending in the division overall but Tottenham can certainly look at the team that pipped them for fourth and be comparatively happy with their summer. If...

And let's all acknowledge it is a huge if. But, presuming that Levy stands firm and Bale is still a Tottenham player on the morning of September 3 and gets over himself fairly quickly, then it will be for a side that have visited Crystal Palace, hosted Swansea - and then made the short journey to the Emirates. That was the scene last autumn of a 5-2 setback that followed losses at Emirates Marketing Project and at home to Wigan, a run that represented the low point of Villas-Boas's first season. One more win then - or even just a draw at Arsenal - and the finale could have been different.

That September 1 date is worth only three points but, like the Liverpool v Manchester United game the same afternoon, far more weight will be placed on it, not least because the window closes the next day and with it the last chance to fix any faults that emerge. But Spurs do not look to have too many faults, beyond a history of frustrating near-misses.

Bale signed a four-year contract a year ago, giving Levy a position of strength in his refusal to negotiate. There is a new stadium on the distant horizon and, while Bale will probably not be around to see it, Spurs need his departure to be on their terms. If they can reach an accommodation with the player now to give Villas-Boas a second season to reach the Champions League, then I fancy everyone concerned may be a winner in a year's time.


http://www.football365.com/f365-features/8868683/Tottenham-The-Biggest-If-In-The-World
 
It seems inevitable that Gareth Bale will leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer. Although like many fans I was originally hopeful that the Welsh star would condemn reports linking him with moves away to La Liga giants Real Madrid, the longer this particular transfer saga drags on it seemingly becomes a matter of when and not if. It is undeniable that the impending sale of Gareth Bale is a huge loss for the club. However, we must move on, look to the future and focus on the numerous benefits of his sale. I for one am extremely excited at the prospect of the season ahead and cannot wait for the first game at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

In the 2012/2013 season Tottenham amassed a club record 72-point haul in the Barclays Premier League. Unfortunately it was not enough to usurp long-standing rivals Arsenal for 4th place and the much-coveted Champions League berth. I was and still am a huge fan of the appointment of Andre Villas-Boas. Further to that, when I heard Steffen Freund would be joining him as assistant head coach last season I couldn’t help but be filled with enthusiasm. Although AVB’s playing style can be frustrating at times, you cannot argue with the results. 11 away wins (another club record), which include a first away win over Manchester United for 23 years, is a fantastic achievement. What many people forget however is the fact that AVB failed last season. Harry Redknapp was fired for not achieving Champions league qualification even after a 4th placed finish following Chelsea’s win in the competition. AVB was subsequently hired to bridge the gap between the top teams and cement the clubs position. Having failed to do so in a transitional first season at Spurs, AVB will be looking to finally put his numerous critics to bed in 2014.

Tottenham’s chances this season hang in the balance. The sale of Bale is pivotal. Should Bale stay, I believe the side will be extremely successful as a result of good signings this summer in Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Nacer Chadli and seemingly more to follow. Should Bale leave, it is a matter of whether Spurs have enough time to find further replacements. Many have guessed at the situation, but no one is sure about where a deal is at and even if it will happen. Looking at Spurs’ spending already this window, in my view they are actively spending the money that will eventually be received for Bale. The reason for this is that had Levy approved the sale for Bale earlier in the window, Tottenham would have struggled to adequately replace the player, as other clubs would push up prices due to our financial flushness. AVB is changing to a 4-3-3 this season rather than the 4-2-3-1 of last term, hence the addition of Brazilian international Paulinho. A midfield three of Sandro, Dembele and Paulinho is dynamic and could prove the best midfield in the league this season. Add to that the back up of Holtby, Siggurdsson and Capoue and you have a potent combination.

I have previously stated that the sale of Gareth Bale will actually improve the team. Too often last season the team looked to Bale for a moment of magic (with him supplying on numerous occasions). Bale regularly saved the teams blushes and proved the difference, generating no less than 26 points as a result of his goals. Bales performances paved over the cracks of what was actually an average side. Many made the joke of Tottenham’s ‘one man team’, but I have to admit they were right. Without Bale’s performances, Tottenham would have struggled to finish above 8th and AVB’s career, as a football manager could have been finished. Bale’s sale will afford Tottenham the opportunity to build a much more rounded side for the coming season and one that plays as a team, rather being reliant on a single player.

Acquisitions such as Jan Vertonghen, Hugo Lloris and Moussa Dembele were fantastic for the club last season. However, the team were severely lacking in numerous departments. The loss of Younes Kaboul and Sandro to injury was crucial, whilst Scott Parker and Michael Dawson lacked the quality to adequately replace them. Tottenham’s lack of a consistent striker was evident for all to see. Whilst the last minute signing of Clint Dempsey went some way to compensate, but he didn’t fit the profile of signings at the club and has subsequently been sold. Much lies on the shoulders of Roberto Soldado this season and should Bale leave, the pressure will be intense for him to fill the void. Assou Ekotto was an extremely weak link last season and it seems as though his time at the club may be up. Danny Rose may fill the slot for the time being. However with Carlo Ancelloti stating, "Coentrao is thinking about leaving”, a move for the player as part of the Bale deal would be more than welcome.

The transfer policy of buying young and proven internationals rather than ageing bargains under Harry Redknapp is particularly refreshing. The imminent sale of Scott Parker and Tom Huddlestone, along with the release of David Bentley and William Gallas goes to show the changing times at Spurs. Newly appointed technical director Franco Baldini is changing the DNA of the team. Hugo Lloris, Moussa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen, Paulinho, Gylfi Siggurdsson, Nacer Chadli, Soldado and Capoue are all in their 20’s whilst being extremely athletic, technically gifted and regular internationals. Tottenham are building a team capable of playing attractive football that could be involved in the side for years to come. As previously mentioned, we could see this list added to. Baldini is understood to be chasing the Argentine winger Erik Lamela, as a direct replacement for Bale and Coentrao may be a part of any deal of the Wales star. Add to that a centre back and Tottenham will be a genuine force in English football this season with the strongest squad I have seen as a fan.

The Premier league itself is in transition this season. New managers at Chelsea, Emirates Marketing Project and Manchester United will be under pressure to perform. Arsenal are yet to strengthen and Liverpool also face losing their star player. I believe Tottenham will capitalize on the situation and will achieve Champions League qualification this year. Roberto Soldado will be under pressure but he is an experienced player and will flourish whilst aiming for a place in the Spanish team for next years World Cup. Much will be asked of the diminutive midfield tri, but I believe they will prove to be the pick of the bunch in the league this season. In a World Cup Year, all will be looking to impress. Notably Tottenham’s diminishing English contingent. Don’t be surprised if Jermain Defoe contributes a healthy return from the bench this season.

Although the loss of Gareth Bale is a major dent in Tottenham’s hopes this season, the ability to create a more balanced side with the fee is extremely beneficial to the future of the club. Tottenham are slowly building a side that is not only capable of finally usurping Arsenal this season, but creating a genuine title challenge in the next two to three seasons. Add to that a brand new state of the art training facility and plans moving forward for a new stadium. Tottenham may lose their star player this summer, but the club is bigger than any one man and it seems the future is extremely bright.

http://www.sport.co.uk/football/tottenham-hotspur-season-preview-life-after-bale/4366501/
 
Paul Merson says Tottenham Hotspur won’t finish in the top four this season if Gareth Bale joins Real Madrid.

The Wales international has been linked with a world-record £105m switch to the La Liga runners-up after scoring 21 Premier League for Spurs goals last season.

The 24-year-old was unable to fire the north London side into the Champions League as Arsenal secured fourth spot, prompting talk of a move to Los Blancos.

And former Gunners midfielder Merson reckons Tottenham would be a significantly weakened side if Bale was to leave White Hart Lane in the current transfer window.

“I’m ruling Spurs out on the basis that if Gareth Bale goes then you’re taking half of Tottenham out of the equation,” Merson told Sky Sports.

“Where would they have been without his goals last season?”

And Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier also expects Spurs to struggle to dislodge Arsenal, especially if Bale leaves.

Le Tissier said: “I think it will be difficult for any of the other sides to break into that.

“Spurs will probably lose Gareth Bale and without him they won’t be quite as a strong, while Liverpool aren’t ready yet.

“I went for the Reds to finish sixth above Everton; I don’t think they’re quite good enough yet for the Champions League.”

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2013/08/paul-merson-tottenham-wont-finish-in-top-four-if-gareth-bale-leaves/
 
Such courage, such vision. Spokesmen for a world full of foregone conclusions.

How can one take this stuff seriously with a transfer deadline still over two weeks away? Especially when they're written by witless drunks like Merson or smug tacos like Smith. Ex-goons, to boot.
 
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Premier League preview No18: Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs have attacked the transfer market with decisiveness, but their season could rest on whether Gareth Bale stays or goes

Guardian writers' predicted position: 4th (NB: this is not necessarily David Hytner's prediction but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position: 5th

Odds to win the league: (via Oddschecker) 33-1

From a distance, it looked to the Tottenham Hotspur players like a mid-rise block of extremely exclusive apartments. Only when they got nearer did the full majesty dawn. It takes a particular level of wealth to draw the breath of a squad of Premier League footballers but it is safe to say that Joe Lewis and his super-yacht managed to do so.

It was the end of May and the manager, André Villas-Boas, and his players were in the Bahamas, ostensibly for an exhibition match against Jamaica but, really, for a bit of a wind-down. The season had just finished and, although it had brought a club-record Premier League points tally, the achievement was undermined by the narrow failure to qualify for the Champions League.

The heartache was temporarily forgotten. Under the Caribbean sun, the players enjoyed the hospitality on Lewis's floating paradise; they took photographs like schoolboys. It was new territory on several levels. Lewis, the billionaire businessman who owns Tottenham, is a Keyser Söze figure. He is never heard and rarely seen. Lewis has entrusted the running of the club to the chairman, Daniel Levy.

But here he was, treating Villas-Boas and the players to a holiday. He was visible, at last. More than anything, though, it was a statement and nobody could ignore it. The guy-behind-the-guy is a serious player. Whatever he wants, he can make happen such as, for example, big contracts. His credit is good. Seeing and meeting Lewis was impressive and reassuring.

Tottenham have made a series of statements over the past 12 months or so. The club's new training ground has become a reality – it is state-of-the-art and magnificent – and the new stadium is in the pipeline. There was also Emmanuel Adebayor's permanent signing last summer. The striker earned £170,000 a week at Emirates Marketing Project but Tottenham found a way to accommodate him. The wage ceiling has been raised and that makes players think. Perhaps, they can aspire to a top-level contract at White Hart Lane. Tottenham could be their destination club, as opposed to a stepping stone.

The encouragement has continued this summer. Villas-Boas, whose debut season was so nearly perfect and ended up as simply very good, turned down the chance to leave for Paris St-Germain. He has been conscious of the need to enter a second season at the same club for the first time in his short managerial career but the decision also reflected the faith that he has in the Tottenham project.

Then, there have been the signings. Twice, Levy has broken the club's transfer record, first for the £17m midfielder Paulinho from Corinthians and, more recently, for the £26m striker Roberto Soldado from Valencia. Both whetted the appetite of supporters with their debut performances in last Saturday's friendly against Espanyol. The club have also taken the winger Nacer Chadli from FC Twente for £7m while they have announced a £9.5m deal for the Toulouse defensive midfielder Etienne Capoue. Helped by the new technical director, Franco Baldini, they have attacked the market with a decisiveness that has not always been a Tottenham hallmark.

There is, however, the notion of the ultimate statement and it is one that conceivably holds the key to glory or otherwise. The Gareth Bale transfer saga has dominated the summer at Tottenham, with the triple player of the year from last season having set his heart on a proposed move to Real Madrid. The Spanish club have told Tottenham that they will pay €100m (£86m) for him and if the offer was not faxed on club-headed paper in the slightly arcane manner beloved of English clubs, it most assuredly has been made. The bid has been on the table for at least three weeks. Florentino Pérez, the Real president, also met Levy in Florida last week and he told him face-to-face that he was ready to pay €100m.

But Levy has stood his ground. He wants more – £100m or the cash-plus-player equivalent – and, right now, he is in a position to become the man that said no to world record money, who did not yield to the nine-times European champions.

Levy believes that with Bale and, possibly, a couple more decent buys, he could have a team to challenge for the title. He does not want to sell unless the proceeds can be translated into something that makes Tottenham collectively stronger before the closure of the transfer window. Not unusually, Levy feels that he can ask for the earth, despite having been offered several continents. He has pushed for the inclusion of the striker Alvaro Morata in the deal but Real do not want to lose their best young player.

Levy has form for grand resistance, most notably when he refused to sell Luka Modric to Chelsea in the summer of 2011; the west London club had offered a package worth £40m. Levy will surely remember how Modric was brilliant for Tottenham the following season, at least until March, when the whole team faded. He eventually sold him to Real last August for £33m. Levy also blocked the move that Dimitar Berbatov wanted to Manchester United in the summer of 2007 before he sanctioned it 12 months later for £30.75m.

It has been a tough time for Bale, who wonders whether the glamour move will materialise but Levy cares not for the 24-year-old's sensibilities. To him, Bale is a commodity and he would expect him to reapply himself after 2 September if he were to remain a Tottenham player. Given Bale's innate sense of duty, he probably would do.

It is fatuous to suggest that Bale has always wanted to wear the white of Real – he actually supported Arsenal as a boy – but, over the past few years, he has come to consider the Spanish club as the only one he wants to join. He has begun to learn Spanish and he is determined to seize the opportunity now. It is understandable that he may worry whether it would present itself again.

Bale has barely trained or played for Tottenham in pre-season, as he has carried minor injuries, albeit not ones that would threaten the completion of a Real medical and he does not want to risk exposing himself to any problem that could derail the move. It would be a surprise if Bale featured at all for Tottenham before the transfer deadline.

He finds himself stuck, unable to play or even to speak in public. It is an unedifying part of such situations that the player tends to feel the need to keep schtum, so as not to alienate the fans and sour his time at the club. Anybody, though, that still doubts Bale's desire to leave should consider this: if the daily reports about what he wanted to do were untrue, then either he or, more likely, Tottenham would have moved to set the record straight. Like many Premier League clubs, Tottenham are rarely slow to deny anything that they claim is wrong. They have said nothing.

And so the posturing goes on. Pérez, having gone in strong, is now doing the thing where he acts as though it is all a bit beneath him and he can no longer be bothered. He said last Thursday that €100m "seems a lot ... for anything." [Subtext: I'm not going any higher, Daniel.]

It has to be added that Levy usually drives his negotiating opponent from the table at some point, in a state of anger, exasperation and/or bewilderment. "To Levy, every pound's a prisoner," said Jamie Redknapp, the former Tottenham midfielder. This is, therefore, one hell of a hostage situation.

Villas-Boas has insisted that the affair has not distracted his players but he was tense as he predicted a frenetic round of trading in the final week of the window and the associated struggle to start the season with a settled team. There was a marked transition to his squad last summer, with a lot of the signings coming late and it was perhaps no coincidence that the club stuttered at the outset, losing once and drawing twice in the league. How they would come to rue the dropped points in the final analysis.

"This last week in the transfer window can be surprising," Villas-Boas said after the 1-1 home draw against Espanyol. "We still have lots of things to do. There will be more players to arrive; there will be more players that are going to leave so, at this time, we are still a team in prospect."

Villas-Boas released William Gallas upon the expiry of his contract but the decision to part with another central defender, Steven Caulker, came as a shock. He had been advanced, in various quarters last season, as the future of the club but Tottenham agreed his £9m sale to Cardiff City in what felt like the blink of an eye.

Caulker, desperate for regular football, had feared that he would struggle behind Younès Kaboul, Jan Vertonghen and Michael Dawson in the White Hart Lane pecking order. Zeki Fryers, who arrived in January from Standard Liège, has stepped up from the development squad to feature at centre-half during pre-season.

Villas-Boas has moved on the forward Clint Dempsey to the Seattle Sounders for £6m, only a year after he joined from Fulham for a similar fee while he has trimmed in midfield, selling Tom Huddlestone to Hull City for £5m and loaning Jake Livermore, also to Hull. Scott Parker is likely to be the next to leave, with Fulham and Queens Park Rangers tracking him. It will be interesting to see whether the 21-year-old Tom Carroll is granted an opportunity in midfield, having shown his technique and composure in flashes last season.

Villas-Boas would like an upgrade at left-back, where Benoît Assou-Ekotto has been overlooked in pre-season – Danny Rose is in possession of the shirt – and there has been the usual transfer talk over Jermain Defoe, despite his love of all things Tottenham and preference to stay. With Soldado set to lead the line, Defoe and Adebayor may wonder whether they will enjoy sufficient minutes. Adebayor, though, is fighting to come to terms with the death of his brother. His professional life has been placed into context.

Villas-Boas has reasons for optimism. He has arguably the league's best goalkeeper in Hugo Lloris; Kaboul and the midfielder Sandro are feeling their way back to fitness after long-term injuries; the signings thus far have been exciting and the likes of Mousa Dembélé, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Lewis Holtby will surely improve in their second seasons at the club. Holtby must first overcome a knee problem that has ruined his pre-season.

The coming two and a half weeks are likely to be intense. Tottenham will chase the stars, with exotic names like Willian of Shakhtar Donetsk, Roma's Erik Lamela and the 17-year-old Dynamo Zagreb midfield prodigy Alen Halilovic on the agenda. At the top of it, however, will be Bale.

Roberto-Soldado-infograph-001.jpg


http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/aug/15/premier-league-preview-tottenham-hotspur
 
This Guardian one is very good and balanced. The only thing wrong I can find with it is the stupid Redknapp Jr quote. Such an idiot.
 
David James has us finishing ........ 8th! Behind Swansea in 6th and Saudi Sportswashing Machine in 7th :lol:
 
Rossi22 said:
David James has us finishing ........ 8th! Behind Swansea in 6th and Saudi Sportswashing Machine in 7th :lol:
Click to expand...

I listened to an interview with him on the Second Captains podcast that someone recommended, and he came across as a bit odd... as if he's trying to be controversial and / or he thinks he has some sort of incredible insight... but he also came across as a bit needlessly pugnacious...
 
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