Official Tottenham Hotspur Thread

[Massimo]

[Baphomet]

Sounds very similar to what happened to Middlesborough fans back in the 05/06 season when Roma Ultras stabbed some of their fans. I understand fanatical support, but what is with all the crazies in Rome? It seems like some of these right wing groups use football as a guise for violence and racism pretty frequently. It's saddening to see but not at all surprising, unfortunately.

[and1GS]

Apparently we have a 20 mill pound transfer budget, who can we get with that? We seem to love Willian from Shaktar Donuts, and he seems to be a solid winger for depth but what we really need is some depth/starting caliber players on the back line.

There's some buzz of Christian Eriksen to Spurs, but I don't think there's anything to it. Frank De Boer himself said that it's getting increasingly difficult to keep him with the way he's been playing, and that he's shown interest in leaving for other clubs. I'd assume he'd be more interested in teams that are CL regulars, but who knows.

I'd be a lot happier with Eriksen than Willian. He addresses a more pressing concern of creativity in the midfield, something we've been sorely lacking since VDV and Modric left.

Eriksen is legit, I'd be much happier with him than Willian.

Bale transfer rumors flying, if he leaves we're absolutely done as a top 4-6 team.

At least we can beat West Ham? Lloris looked fantastic once again. And I think WH was in the top 6 or so, so we leapfrog them.

Last thing, just saw the Ade red...I'd say it was undeserved. Slide tackle from the front where he was obviously trying to get to the ball quickly. And he barely hit the opponent, and his boot was low. IDK seems like a weak call to me.

[Andre3822]

Apparently we have a 20 mill pound transfer budget, who can we get with that? We seem to love Willian from Shaktar Donuts, and he seems to be a solid winger for depth but what we really need is some depth/starting caliber players on the back line.

There's some buzz of Christian Eriksen to Spurs, but I don't think there's anything to it. Frank De Boer himself said that it's getting increasingly difficult to keep him with the way he's been playing, and that he's shown interest in leaving for other clubs. I'd assume he'd be more interested in teams that are CL regulars, but who knows.

I'd be a lot happier with Eriksen than Willian. He addresses a more pressing concern of creativity in the midfield, something we've been sorely lacking since VDV and Modric left.

Eriksen is legit, I'd be much happier with him than Willian.

Bale transfer rumors flying, if he leaves we're absolutely done as a top 4-6 team.

At least we can beat West Ham? Lloris looked fantastic once again. And I think WH was in the top 6 or so, so we leapfrog them.

Last thing, just saw the Ade red...I'd say it was undeserved. Slide tackle from the front where he was obviously trying to get to the ball quickly. And he barely hit the opponent, and his boot was low. IDK seems like a weak call to me.

I think it was a clear red, you simply aren't allowed to fly in with your foot so high...

[Baphomet]

Yeah, I have to agree with Andre there. I think it was a deserved sending off. Just a total lapse in concentration on Ade's part.

Nice to see us bounce back with a good performance against a solid West Ham team after that catastrophic derby game. Midweek we play Liverpool, and Everton and Arsenal play each other. If that game finishes in a draw and we win, we jump them both and return to 5th place.

Eriksen is a quality prospect but I feel like he'll have a lot of the same issues as Gylfi. Obviously the talent level is a lot higher, but he's not physically strong and I feel like he will struggle with the physicality of the EPL at first. That remains to be seen, but I do feel that Willian would have a more immediate impact. Still, this season is not about immediacy; I'd personally be happy with a top 6 EPL finish and a strong Europa/FA Cup push.

[Baphomet]

Also, now that 'arry's back in Premier League management at QPR, do you think he'll come knocking in January to pick up some of his old players?

My money's on him pursuing Dawson and Parker, cause they're both such 'triffic lads.

[Massimo]

I would get Willian in a heartbeat. Willian has so much CL's experience and that's what we need. His experience will be crucial in our team chemistry. Also, he plays at a better team than Eriksen which means the competition of to start is harder and that always makes him get better.

[and1GS]

Willian is definitely a better help right now though I feel he's near his ceiling.

[SunKing]

Finally Lloris is playing !

[and1GS]

Lloris is the man. I'm very happy with his distribution and leadership, two things often overlooked at the GK position.

[Slava]

Also, now that 'arry's back in Premier League management at QPR, do you think he'll come knocking in January to pick up some of his old players?

My money's on him pursuing Dawson and Parker, cause they're both such 'triffic lads.

Pretty sure he'll go in for Dawson and other than that he needs a striker before until he offloads some others from the team. QPR have a high wage bill and some garbage squad balance.

[and1GS]

Solid result against a good side.

I wouldn't mind if QPR ended up sealing the Dawson transfer this time around, he's barely even featured this season and when he has he's looked a step slow.

[Baphomet]

Eh, I think it's a stretch to call Liverpool a good side at this point. Suarez is their only upper-echelon player now that Gerrard is on the decline. The rest of the team is mediocre to bad. Sterling's a pretty promising youngster, but they need to get rid of the likes of Henderson and Downing, who are just wreckage from the Dalglish era.

But still, 3 points is 3 points. I'm glad we actually managed to defend a lead for once, albeit barely.

[and1GS]

Downing at left back...lol. The hell was that?

[Baphomet]

Downing playing anywhere is an utter disaster, let alone left back. He's godawful.

So... Dembele and Dempsey returning to Craven Cottage on Saturday. No doubt the crowd will boo the heck out of Dempsey, given the nature of his departure and supposed refusal to play. Will be a tough game, Fulham have always been solid at home.

[Baphomet]

3-0 away from home against a decent Fulham side, wow... that's a nice result. I didn't catch the game but I'll be watching that one on Football First tonight! So now we're back in 4th on goal difference, and if Chelsea keep their slide going we could easily leapfrog them for 3rd place. Given our injury list, I think AVB deserves a lot of credit for keeping the squad motivated and turning the poor form around.

Everton away will be a real test next week. However, they're not in the best form so it might be the best time to play them.

Also, for all the criticism I've levelled towards him in the past, Jermain Defoe is quickly becoming a legend this season. He's scoring for fun and looks absolutely lethal. This is a pretty interesting article about JD, with some nice tidbits about AVB's relationship with the players in there too: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012 ... CMP=twt_gu

[and1GS]

I'll need to watch that one too. Just saw the Europa game, great resolve to come back after letting in an equalizer. Horrible defense once again and Naughton looked woeful. Ade looks great and man is Defoe on form. But matches like this usually show me one thing: we're **** if Bale leaves. Barring some lucky/savvy transfer moves by Levy with the Bale money we're done as a contending CL team without Bale. And I fear that day is moving nearer.

Reading that article you posted now.

One last thing...Benoit and Scott Parker back for the Swansea match!!!

[Baphomet]

Naughton's coverage for that Panathinaikos goal was embarrassing, he just let the guy get in front of him for the open header, and you could tell from that point onwards, their gameplan became centered around long balls into that area of the pitch. Fortunately we recovered and got the win.

Definitely glad to have BAE and Parker returning. That's a lot of grit and depth coming back into the squad. Hopefully with Vertonghen moving back to CB full time and BAE covering that left flank, we'll be a little more shored up defensively.

[and1GS]

Watching this Everton match reinforces what I said earlier we go as Gareth Bale goes. Without him we can't beat a mid-table side away from home, but with him I believe we could beat any side any where. A lot of dependance on a player who's been injury prone and will continue to have transfer rumors swirling around him, but if we can just get that CL spot I'm confident we can lure some upper echelon talent to Tottenham.

Wasn't long ago that Hazard was choosing between Chelsea or Spurs, and while Levy's bargaining gives me heart attacks it tends to work more often than not.

And god our defense is awful. I understand Vertonghen is at LB due to a lack of options but come on now, Gallas at CB is almost the same as having Naughton at LB and Vertonghen at CB. We need defenders if we want to make a serious run at the CL, are there any out there for the next transfer window?

[and1GS]

That second Everton goal is just maddening. We had goalside position and backup behind the player, but poor reaction time led to not even making a play on the ball.