Man Utd 3-1 Spurs - One big game too far

I had the suspicion that this might prove to be one big game too far, after the amazing displays that saw us beat Arsenal and Chelsea last week. And so it proved, but while we can have no real complaints about the result or the way it came to be, there was certainly a period in this game when we were sniffing the possibility of another famous win.

We’ve had some rough decisions at Old Trafford in the past, but we couldn’t really argue with the two penalties that were given in this game. For the first Benoit Assou-Ekotto rashly dived in to bring down Patrice Evra; for the second, makeshift full back Wilson Palacios was clumsy in impeding Nani with four minutes left.

In between these two goals, converted by Ryan Giggs, was a headed equaliser by Ledley King, and a goal of real quality by Nani. That moment alone was fit to settle any game. The Spurs performance was a long way below the level that was achieved and maintained against Chelsea last week – a performance that sets a new benchmark for this team.

This week the midfield just didn’t function. Gareth Bale was unable to affect matters from left back as he has been doing from left midfield, and we were just too careless in possession, which is usually fatal at Old Trafford. Consequently, little service of note found its way to the front two. We were still pretty solid apart from those moments of carelessness, and Gomes certainly wasn’t being overworked.

I guess you’d say that overall Manchester United displayed the kind of stuff that wins titles. For Spurs, it was a setback certainly, but after great recent wins we’re still in the driving seat for fourth place. If we win our games, we’ll qualify for the Champions League play-off. It’s as simple as that.

Star man: Ledley King – the man is a sensation really. He’s got no knees but he’s still the best defender out there. Witness his brilliant block to thwart Dimitar Berbatov in the first half. Scored the goal too.

Worst performer: David Bentley or Benoit Assou-Ekotto – the former, slow in thought and action; the latter, played out of position, but made rash decisions.

Best moment: Ledley King’s equaliser and the period that followed it, until United scored their second. Up to that point we were fancying a possible win.

Tactics: Wilson Palacios returned after suspension, which saw Modric go to the left in front of Bale. Assou-Ekotto switched to right back – never a comforting thought!

Opposition fans: They seemed pretty happy with the way it turned out.
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Manchester United 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur

So the improbable hat-trick wasn’t to be and viewing from a pub in east London, it didn’t look as though there were many periods where it looked at all likely. Man United didn’t have to play very well to see us off yet again, our 14th defeat in 18 games against them.

After an even first twenty minutes of shadow boxing their pace down the flanks and Scholes’ know-how in the middle were the dominant influences as we struggled to keep possession and get the ball to our ‘big’ players in attacking positions. Modric, Bale, Pav, Bentley and Defoe were all anonymous going forward and there was a notable lack of quality about our delivery from almost every position. Having said all that, Gomes had few saves to make but Van der Sar had even less. It was a poor game.

Their goals game from Giggs’ penalties in the 58th and 86th minutes plus a cool finish from Nani in the 81st minute following Ledley’s 70th minute headed equaliser. Their pens were both down to poor challenges by players playing out of position at right back. Redknapp obviously hasn’t been happy with Kaboul playing there instead of Corluka and gambled with replacing him first with Assou-Ekotto and then Palacios, decisions which didn’t come off.

The only time we looked like our normal selves was when Lennon came on for Bentley and Bale was pushed forward on the left. We scored and then attacked fluently for a short while. It was only five or six minutes but it was a nice five or six minutes. United regained their composure and scored an easy goal in the 81st minute after Nani ran through from midfield untracked.

All a bit disappointing. Only Dawson, King, Gomes and possibly Huddlestone came out of the game with reputations intact. All the others need to wonder why they went missing for long periods (though the service to the front two was appalling so they might have plead mitigating circumstances).

Still, never mind. Six points from three games against the teams above us is a superb return and only a shock result in the City game (at the time of writing outcome unknown) puts us in a worse position than we were this morning.
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All about now - Harry

Harry Redknapp will discard the history books as we prepare to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

We haven't won at Old Trafford in the Premier League and you have to go back to 1989 for our last victory at the 'Theatre of Dreams'.

But those statistics mean nothing to Harry as we continue to bid for fourth place in the Premier League.

"That's years gone by," said the boss on Friday. "It's different teams, different players. I don't buy into all that.

"We hadn't beaten Arsenal for 11 years but beat them this season. We also drew with them twice last season. Chelsea very rarely got beaten, but we beat them again this season.

"It's all about now, not the past and those records count for nothing."

We're after a spectacular hat-trick of scalps in the space of 10 days having beaten title-contenders Arsenal and Chelsea at the Lane.

But Harry feels this is the toughest task of the lot against a United side just a point adrift of Chelsea in the race for the title.

"We've got to go to Old Trafford and play even better than we did against Arsenal and Chelsea to get something out of it," said Harry.

"United are a top, top team. I'm sure they would have beaten Bayern Munich in the Champions League but for that sending off. They got beaten by Chelsea, another great side, who went to Old Trafford and played well and then needed a result against City and scored in the last minute.

"That was real pressure game but they came through it and that's typical United.

"But we're playing well, we're full of confidence and we'll give it a real go."
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Pavlyuchenko wants to stay with Spurs

Roman Pavlyuchenko has issued a statement saying that any thoughts of leaving Tottenham are now a distant memory as he is more than happy at the club.

Prior to February, Pavlyuchenko had looked set to leave the club, seemingly out of favour with Harry Redknapp and unsettled with his lack of first-team action.

But he has battled his way into the team again, having moved ahead of Peter Crouch in the pecking order, and is now very happy with his role at Tottenham.

“When the team wins and I am constantly playing, the relations cannot be anything but good. Now I feel the manager’s trust and do my best not to let him down.

“I have dropped all my previous ideas about leaving Spurs in the summer and I am concentrated on one thought only - what we need to do to finish fourth.”

Pavlyuchenko has played a major role in the consecutive victories over Arsenal and Chelsea and accused the latter of over-confidence as Spurs impressed.

“During the whole game against Chelsea, it looked like us who were favourites for the title.

“I hadn’t expected that we would be so much stronger than them. Many Chelsea players were too confident of victory.

“I noticed during the warm-up that they looked too relaxed, while we were set for a serious battle.

“It was a successful game for us, and had we converted just half of our chances, we’d have won 6-1.”
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Gareth nominated

Gareth Bale has been nominated for the E.ON Player of the Round award for the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Our Wembley defeat at the hands of Portsmouth may not have been a memorable occasion but the Welshman was one of our outstanding performers on the day.

His familiar surges down the left flank were the basis of most of our attacking play and nearly resulted in an extra-time equaliser when his cross fell to Peter Crouch to ram home.

As we know, the goal was ruled out and Pompey were left celebrating at the final whistle, but did Gareth do enough to earn your vote?

He's up against Pompey heroes David James, Aaron Mokoena and Ricardo Rocha, as well as Chelsea's Didier Drogba, who starred in the Blues' win over Aston Villa in the other semi-final.

Gareth has already picked up one Player of the Round award this season for his Fifth Round performances against Bolton Wanderers.
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The dream derby double!

Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale completed a dream week in the Premier League as we deservedly beat Chelsea on Saturday.

After putting Arsenal to the sword on Wednesday, few pundits gave the lads a chance of repeating the trick against the leaders and title favourites.

But if anything, this was an even better display.

Bale's raids down the left immediately put Chelsea on the back foot and, just like against the Gunners, we struck the first blow when Defoe converted from the penalty spot after 15 minutes.

And again, just like Wednesday, we followed up with the second goal and it was Bale again, this time a right-foot strike from the edge of the box.

Defensively intact and marshalled superbly by Michael Dawson, Chelsea didn't seriously threaten in the second half and when John Terry was sent off for a second yellow card in the 67th minute, it was all Spurs.

It really could have been a cricket score but a combination of wayward finishing and the brilliance of Petr Cech kept it to 2-0.

Hearts were in mouths for a few moments when Frank Lampard slid home for 2-1 in the second minute of added time but, thankfully, we held on.

And with United beating City in the Manchester derby, it was the perfect day in terms of the fight for fourth place - we completed it in fourth, two points ahead of City.

Harry Redknapp made two changes from the win against Arsenal. Ledley King, hopeful of playing twice in a week, didn't make it so Sebastien Bassong was back to partner Dawson. Danny Rose, hero against the Gunners, was on the bench with David Bentley starting on the right.

Ferreira was soon on the backfoot as Bale took the fight to the leaders - the full-back would be replaced at half-time.

Gomes made the first save of the game to deny Malouda's stinging effort but we then enjoyed a purple patch.

Bale's teasing cross was slid away by Alex, Defoe almost broke through centrally and Bale beat the outrushing Cech to Assou-Ekotto's pass but Alex was there to clear.

We'd built up a head of steam and were rewarded in the 15th minute as referee Phil Dowd pointed to the spot when Bentley's cross appeared to strike Terry's arm.

Defoe had missed his last two spot kicks against Leeds and Everton but didn't shirk the responsibility - this time he went with power and almost took the net off for 1-0, a deserved lead.

Taking the lead lifted us. Cech had to be at his best to turn away Pavlyuchenko's 20-yarder in the 25th minute and then Modric ghosted past three players before pulling back for Bentley, his shot deflected wide by Terry.

Kaboul powered a free header at Cech from Bentley's corner but there was a warning soon after as Malouda slid home Zhirkov's cross, the goal ruled out by the assistant's flag.

The second goal was always going to be vital and Bale was there to deliver. This time, Pavlyuchenko played the perfect pass in behind Ferreira and Bale got onto the ball, cut inside the full-back and drilled home with his right foot.

Chelsea's best chance arrived a minute later as Zhirkov picked out Lampard who connected fully with his volley from 16 yards only for Gomes to produce a now trademark reaction save diving to his right.

Carlo Ancelotti responded with two changes at half-time. Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic came on for Joe Cole and Ferreira. Anelka went up front with Drogba, Ivanovic no doubt expected to try and put the brakes on Bale.

It could have been 3-0 within minutes of the restart, however, as Pavlyuchenko sent Defoe clean through on goal. The striker steadied himself and aimed for Cech's right - this time the keeper came out on top.

As Chelsea tried to get a foothold in the game, there was always the threat of a break and the game's next key moment came exactly that way as Bale was upended by Terry. The Chelsea skipper had just been booked and his second yellow meant an early bath, 67 minutes on the clock.

It was all Spurs from there as Cech stood between us and a runaway scoreline.

The keeper acrobatically tipped Kaboul's deflected cross over, backtracked just in time to turn Bentley's clever chip over and then saved one-on-one from Bale.

In-between, Ivanovic's shot skimmed the roof of the net and Dawson produced a goal-saving tackle to deny Drogba, but the 10 men could never build a head of steam - let alone stop the tide of Spurs attacks.

Kaboul sent Bale away one-on-one but his effort went agonsingly wide, Bale then set-up Pavlyuchenko, who missed the target.

Would the misses be costly? Surely not...but then, out of nowhere, Lampard slid in from close range in the second minute of five minutes of injury time.

Still we broke forward.

With four minutes of injury time gone, Gudjohnsen released Bale who had Assou-Ekotto and Pavlyuchenko in support - only for the Russian to miss the target from 12 yards.

Thankfully, it wasn't costly as we made it a derby double to remember.

Spurs: Gomes; Kaboul, Bassong, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Bentley, Huddlestone, Modric, Bale; Defoe (Gudjohnsen, 77), Pavlyuchenko. Subs: Alnwick, K Walker, Livermore, Rose, Townsend, Crouch.

Chelsea: Cech; Ferreira (Ivanovic, 46), Terry, Alex, Zhirkov; Malouda, Deco, Mikel (Ballack, 33), Lampard, J Cole (Anelka, 46); Drogba. Subs: Hilario, A Cole, Kalou, Sturridge.
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Lads 'outstanding' - Harry

Harry Redknapp paid tribute to the players after recording back-to-back wins against Arsenal and Chelsea and beamed: "I couldn't have asked for more."

It was the stuff of Spurs fans' dreams as the lads followed up Wednesday night's memorable win against the Gunners with arguably an even better performance and 2-1 win against title-favourites Chelsea.

To cap the day, United beat City 1-0 in the Manchester derby in the early kick-off so we moved back into fourth place in the Premier League, two points ahead of City.

Jermain Defoe hammered home a penalty, Gareth Bale struck a 20-yarder with his right foot for a 2-0 lead at half-time. We then missed a host of chances as Chelsea went down to 10 men - John Terry sent off - only for the Blues to grab a late goal through Frank Lampard. Thankfully, it was no more than a consolation.

"It's been an incredible week," said Harry. "To start the week with such a disappointment at Wembley but come back and show the character to beat Arsenal and Chelsea has been amazing.

"The lads have produced two fantastic performances and we thoroughly deserved to beat Chelsea, we created so many chances.

"I thought before the game we might be under the cosh because of the way we play. I could see them getting control of the game. Not many teams play with two men up now, United went to City and played with three in midfield and got control of the game that way.

"We play with two front men and that can be difficult (in midfield) but we got after them. When we lost possession one of our front men got around Mikel and did a job in there and that was important for us.

"In the first 30 minutes we got on top of them and were much the better team. Look at the chances we didn't score, we had so many opportunities.

"United did us a favour earlier in the day against City but we had to take advantage of that, we had to make sure we won to reap the benefit of that and it's a tough task to beat Chelsea, not many teams do it.

"We've lost so many key players but whoever has come into the team has stepped up and done the job. It's been a fantastic team effort.

"We're still in there, we've won seven out of the last eight league games and you can't ask for more than that."
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Fans to play key role - Harry

Harry Redknapp wants the fans to raise the roof again as we face Chelsea at the Lane tomorrow (Saturday, April 17, 5.30pm).

The manager described the atmosphere as 'amazing' in Wednesday night's North London derby win against Arsenal.

The fans clearly inspired the lads against the Gunners and Harry is now looking for a repeat performance as we face a third high-profile match in seven days.

And once again it's not just London pride at stake - we need the points as we continue to fight for fourth place in the Premier League while Chelsea are now seen as title favourites.

"The fans really made the difference against Arsenal and we need that again," said Harry.

"We'll have a lot of tired players out there. It's been a difficult week with 120 minutes at Wembley, then Arsenal and now the players have to go again.

"It was an unbelievable performance against Arsenal, to bounce back like that after Wembley. The work and the effort was amazing, more than I expected."

Saturday is a key day at the top of the Premier League with City facing United in the Manchester derby - kicking-off at 12.45pm - before our later kick-off.

"It's a big day and I'm sure things will look a bit clearer at the end of it," added Harry. "I don't think the title is all over yet but United need to beat City and we need to win to continue pushing for that fourth spot.

"It's all to play for but they don't come much tougher than Chelsea. They are the favourites for the title. They have a great squad of players and bags of ability, strength, pace, a tough side with a lot of 'men' in the team who are difficult to play against and difficult to beat.

"It's all to play for though. We're right in there and we want to keep going. It's an exciting end to the season."
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Redknap’s post match comments vs Arsenal

Harry Redknapp was delighted with how his players responded from their FA Cup exit by beating Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Goals from Danny Rose and Gareth Bale gave Tottenham a 2-1 win, and their first league victory over their fierce rivals in 11 years.

“It was a great result for us on the back of a big down on Sunday,” he said.

“It knocked us all for six. So to play like that after Sunday is fantastic.”

“The crowd want to beat Arsenal more than anybody,” Redknapp added. “They were right with us tonight.

“We hung in there late on and the keeper made some fantastic saves. He was superb tonight.

“Everybody worked hard and it was a great result.

“They started well and kept the ball but it was only late in the game the keeper came to our rescue. They had a lot of the ball but they had few clear-cut chances.”
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Tottenham Hotspur News - Redknapp’s post match comments following FA Cup defeat

Harry Redknapp criticised quality of the Wembley pitch and Tottenham’s failure to finish their chances after their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Portsmouth.

There’s no avoiding the fact that Tottenham were dismal and could have potentially blown their chance of European football next season - based on that performance.

“It’s disappointing obviously, a massive disappointment,” Redknapp told Sky Sports. “We had our chances, but couldn’t take one.

“We had enough opportunities, but either hit the keeper or missed them and you’ve got to stick them away when they come.

“Credit to Portsmouth. They kept going and were dangerous on the counter attack. They had pace up front.

“Unfortunately a costly slip by Dawson on a terrible pitch, which is a disgrace for anybody to play on, but that’s not an excuse for getting beat.

“Avram (Grant) did a good job. He set them up well and I wish them every success in the final.”
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Thousands watch training at the Lane

Fans turned out in their thousands for a unique chance to watch the First Team train at White Hart Lane as they prepared for Sunday's FA Cup Semi-Final against Portsmouth.

The sun was shining and the lads were in high spirits, making it a great day for all the family to enjoy during the Easter holidays.

All who attended got to watch their heroes put through their paces at close quarters, with Development Coach Clive Allen talking fans through the session on the loud speakers.

And no doubt many would have been pleasantly surprised to see Aaron Lennon join a session for the first time this year as he steps up his recovery from a groin injury.

Other highlights included face painting and football freestyler performances, while Spurs legend Ossie Ardiles was also the subject of a special live interview pitchside before training.

And some lucky young fans got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to ask Harry Redknapp a question, which were shown on the big screens after the session for the manager to answer live!

Overall, it was an excellent day out for all who attended with all profits from the event being donated to our official charity partner, SOS Childrens Villages.
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Tottenham Hotspur News - Juventus set to reignite Bale interest

Juventus have once again been linked with a move for Gareth Bale.

The Italian giants are rumoured to be looking to overhaul their ageing squad and are reportedly set to reignite their interest in the Welsh full-back.

Juve had been linked with a move last summer, with Bale out of the side on a regular basis.

However, since the turn of the year, Bale has established himself as a key member of the Tottenham side and Harry Redknapp is unlikely to be supportive of any move for him.

A price upwards of £14million has been mooted if Juventus are to make their interest more serious.
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Tottenham Hotspur News - Spurs linked with summer ‘keeper move

Tottenham have been linked with a move for Sergio Asenjo of Atletico Madrid.

The Spanish stopper joined Atletico for £4.5million last summer, but has recently lost his place to David De Gea.

Redknapp is reported to want the 20-year-old to provide back up for Heurelho Gomes.

Asenjo would cost in the region of £5million to bring the Spanish Under-21 to White Hart Lane, although Barcelona are also rumoured to be interested.

Should this deal fall apart, Spurs are also monitoring Kasper Schmeichel, currently at Notts County.

The Danish son of Peter would cost around £2million to take from the financially crippled League Two side, with competition being provided by Blackburn and Birmingham City.
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Amazing game - Harry

Harry Redknapp believed the comeback was on at Sunderland on Saturday - only for Bolo Zenden to finish it with 'one of the great volleys'.

Darren Bent's double including the opener inside a minute put Sunderland in the driving seat but having seen two penalties saved by Heurelho Gomes - Sunderland had three in total, Bent converting one - we struck backvwhen Peter Crouch headed home with 20 minutes remaining.

It wasn't to be though as a spectacular strike from Zenden five minutes from time consigned us to a 3-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light.

"We got off to a terrible start with the goal inside the first minute," said Harry.

"Sunderland were really up for it. They chased every ball, pressed, worked hard. I don't know if some of them felt they had a point to prove but they really put it all in.

"They had chances, we had chances, they kept getting penalties - it was an amazing game.

"We had a lot of players out and we looked an open team and it was always going to be an open game. It was almost a case of seeing if we could outscore them.

"We had good chances in the second half, Jermain went through a couple of times and if we'd stuck one of those away I'm sure they would have had a tough last 35 minutes.

"As it was, we got one goal back and even then I could see us getting another, but in the end their third goal was top-class and that finished it.

"Of course it was a disappointing result, but I felt we came back strongly. It wasn't through lack of effort, we were just a bit open and we were always open to a counter-attack and we got caught a few times.

"It must have been an exciting game for the neutral and credit to Sunderland, they played well.

"We have to pick ourselves up and getting going again for next week."

Our next stop is Wembley and next Sunday's (April 11) FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth.
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Tottenham Hotspur News - Mancini: It is going to be a battle with Liverpool and Tottenham

Roberto Mancini admits that Manchester City are now in a good position after they overtook Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place.

City capitalised on Tottenham’s defeat at Sunderland by demolishing Burnley 6-1 at Turf Moor and are now a point ahead of Spurs in the table.

He said: “It is a good position to be in and an important one. But it will be more important at the end of the season.

“We have some difficult games ahead and we need to show the kind of concentration we did today.

“If we do that we have a good chance as it is going to be a battle with Liverpool and Tottenham.

“We played very well today, especially in the first 25 minutes, and were focused as we wanted to win the game.

“We pressed high up the pitch and had a lot of ball in and around the box which gave us some chances.”
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Tottenham Hotspur News - Spurs hold interest in Pienaar

Spurs have been linked with a move for Steven Pienaar of Everton in the summer.

The South African winger has one year left on his contract at Goodison Park and will represent his country at the World Cup in his home country.

He is currently no closer to signing a new deal with the Toffees and Redknapp has sent scouts to keep tabs on the situation as he aims to bolster his wing options for next season.

Everton are expected to want around £10million for Pienaar, although this could drop depending on his attitude towards signing an extended contract.

If not, then Spurs will battle it out with Chelsea for his signiture, who have also been watching him.
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All to play for

Harry Redknapp is fascinated by how the finale to the Premier League season is shaping up - not least our own fight for a Champions League place.

His side have been in terrific form with five straight wins, taking us four points clear in the all-important fourth place before Manchester City's game with Wigan tonight [Monday].

But with simultaneous battles for both the title and the right to stay in the division also on-going, our manager feels there could be many twists and turns between here and May 9 with so many teams fighting for different reasons.

Harry can hardly hide his excitement, saying: "You couldn't ask for more than to be in a Cup semi-final and in with a chance of finishing fourth in the league at this stage of the season.

"I think if we get an average of two points per game we'll walk away. I was looking at the form guide with Kevin [Bond] - we've been in great form.

"We look at the form tables and the fixtures all the time but you never know, it's so hard. Everybody's scrapping for something.

"I think we've taken 17 points from a possible 24, but if you get an average of two points a game you're working miracles.

"Man United are top of the form table, with two and a half points a game, but we'll keep going and see what happens."

Our latest three points came on Saturday against Harry's former club Portsmouth at the Lane, in which young Kyle Walker came in for his debut at right-back.

On the 19-year-old defender signed from Sheffield United last summer, the gaffer added: "I was pleased for him. He was a bit nervous with it being his first game but he came in and did well.

"He's a bit like Gareth Bale because he can run all day and he's a good crosser, so we like him."
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Tottenham Hotspur News - Tottenham linked with £17million Real Madrid midfielder

Tottenham Hotspur are reported to be keeping tabs on Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra.

The former Arsenal and Chelsea player played under Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth before he joined the Spanish giants.

Diarra is said to have fallen out with coach Manuel Pellegrini, who would want to find a replacement before allowing the 25-year-old, who is valued at £17million to leave the Santiago Bernabéu.

Redknapp has already added to his midfield by bringing in Sandro, but there is speculation that Jermaine Jenas could be leaving White Hart Lane during the summer.
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Champion's League? You're Having a Laugh

I was involved in an interesting conversation with a few colleagues of mine this morning.

Included in the group of football wannabe pundits, were Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool, Villa and one recently baptised Manchester City fan. We were discussing the teams chasing the fourth, majestic Champion's League spot.

The majority of the office is confident that Spurs can finish in the top four, with Liverpool finishing the season in fifth and City in sixth.

What I did find interesting, wasn't the fact that the majority thought that we could make the Champion's League, but that Tottenham Hotspur could be on the verge of a one-time affair with the lucrative competition.

Let's face up to the facts. Sooner or later, Manchester City are going to get it right. With the money they've got, they can and will buy the league.

If we make the Champion's League and that's a mighty big "if", I believe that it will transform us as a club. We will be able to sign a calibre of player that wouldn't have been available to us previously. Therefore, if we are to cement our place in the Champion's League, year in, year out, we need to invest. Maybe investment isn't the only key ingredient? Hope that we can evolve faster than the chasing pack is also vital.

Everton's Champion's League exhibition didn't bode well for them. Instead of making a real go of it, they went out in the qualifying rounds; qualifying rounds that have somewhat become harder in recent seasons.

Whether or not they decided they had the squad to compete, or simply didn't have the funds to invest, is anyone's guess. What is fact is that the route they took proved that the team they had back then wasn't good enough to compete for the top four position year on year.

Manchester City isn’t the only club we should be worried about. We've also got Liverpool to think of too. They are a sleeping giant, one that, once fully awake, will cause damage.

As things stand, Liverpool need some heavy investment and that could take a while, especially with the internal problems that keep erupting in the boardroom. As well as a new team, as Torres keeps alluding to, they need a new stadium. If reports of them bringing in Jose Mourinho are to be trusted, they will need to fork out some serious dough. The man doesn't come cheap. He's reported to be on £9 million net at Inter Milan. If you take into account the 50% tax scheme that's about to come into play, we're talking £18 million a year! If you get him on a 5 year deal, that's £90 million (plus additional bonuses).

There's no doubting he'd want a few world-class players to, which could mean a further outlay. How much would a few world-class players cost? City spent over £200 million on a group of players that I personally wouldn't call all world-class. Then we come to the stadium issue. That's another £400+ million. All in all, Liverpool could need an investment of near on £1 billion. Football doesn't come cheap, does it?

Aston Villa is also a slumbering giant, one that with the right playing squad could be in the position we're currently in. For them to push on any further, they to would need drastic investment, which, their owner, Mr. Lerner has said won't be forthcoming any time soon.

Therefore, if we are going to make the Champion's League and stay there, we need to reassess some issues in relation to the playing staff. Let's hope the board is game.

Of course, we have to get there first. Who else will become a Wigan Athletic fan tonight? I know I will.
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PREMIER LEAGUE - SPURS v PORTSMOUTH BENTLEY ON COMEBACK GOALS AND BIZARRE INJURIES

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder David Bentley came off the bench to spark an impressive comeback in Spurs' 3-1 FA Cup quarter final win over Fulham on Wednesday night, and now he's looking forward to the semi final.

Speaking to the club's official website, Bentley, said: "The manager gave us a kick up the backside at half-time and told us to go back out and play with more tempo.

"It's good when you can come on and try to have an impact, and as a team we knew we had to improve after half-time, and that's what we did.

"We've got players with such great ability that sometimes the football will become a bit slow because we all want to get on the ball.

"Sometimes you've just got to put in the running and that's what we did second half, run about a bit, showed a bit more tempo, and then our quality showed through."

Bentley scored just minutes after coming off the bench, with his first touch of the game, before fellow sub Roman Pavlyuchenko and Ediur Gudjohnsen also getting their names on the scoresheet.

Bentley, said: "Now we're in the semi-final, which is great. We're going to go and play Portsmouth and it'll be a great day out for all the fans. And we'll be confident going into that game."

Bentley, like many of the Spurs squad was struggling with both injury and illness prior to the game.

He added: "I got myself back in the team but got a one-in-a-million injury, pulling some muscle nobody's ever heard of!

"Then I got back fit for last weekend but went down with a virus that put me out for four days.

"So I only had one training session before the game and it was difficult, but I managed to keep myself fit enough and it was all good on the night."

Spurs are now looking forward to taking on Harry's old club Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final, however first Spurs take on Pomepy in the Premier League this Saturday at 3pm.
www.comeonspurs.com

Crouch: Only a win will do

Peter Crouch has signalled the importance for Tottenham to get all three points against Portsmouth on Saturday.

With Manchester City and Aston Villa failing to win in midweek, the Spurs striker says that those results will mean nothing unless they can record a win aganst Pompey.

“We knew straight away, as soon as we got in the changing room,” he told the club’s official site. “You couldn’t fail to hear the cheers around the ground when the goals were going in and after the game we heard City had lost and Villa had drawn.

“It was fantastic for us but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.

“We’ve got to make sure we get the points on the board, otherwise those results mean nothing.

“It’s still down to us and that starts with Portsmouth on Saturday. We’ve got to pick up points and, certainly, with game at home against the team that is bottom of the table, we need to make sure we do a job and get a result.

“We’ve got some difficult games to play and I still think it will go right down to the wire.”
www.spurs-web.com

Pompey to ask Spurs for permission to play O’Hara

Portsmouth are to submit a request to Tottenham Hotspur to ask permission to play Jamie O’Hara when both sides meet in the FA Cup semi final.

The midfielder is currently on loan at Fratton Park and Avram Grant is hoping that Harry Redknapp will allow him to play at Wembley on April 11th.

“There is a clause in his contract and we need to accept that and respect it,” Grant said on Sky Sports News.

“But if you are not in a top team it is not often that you get to a semi-final at Wembley, especially at Portsmouth, and Jamie wants to play this semi-final very much.

“I can promise Tottenham that he will not score against them.”

He added: “Harry is a good friend of mine. I was here with him when we started the process at Portsmouth.

“We tried to do something different and I think the year that I spent working with him was a great year.”
www.spurs-web.com

Football transfer rumours: Thomas Hitzlsperger to Tottenham

One of the joys of The Mill's pitiful life is its daily 6am engagement with Sky's relentlessly cheerful Mike Wedderburn, rattling through his script and setting the agenda for the next 16 quarter-hour chunks of "he-said-she-said-what-does-this-mean-for-Manchester-United-and-Sir-Alex?-let's-ask-Steve-Curry".

He kicked off this morning with some footage of Steven Gerrard, the folds in his furrowed brow now so capacious he could easily accommodate an entire 30-strong tin of Caran d'Ache pencils in his forehead.

Over five minutes we'll never get back we learn that Gerrard is mildly disappointed with his form. Phil Thompson, however, thinks the Liverpool captain has a more pressing priority, telling him and Fernando Torres to man the barricades and bring down Tom Hicks and George Gillett or, as the Sun puts it: "smoke out the unpopular Yanks." They could do this, according to Pinocchio, by "giving them some ultimatums".

Tottenham, meanwhile, have problems of their own in the race for fourth. Harry Redknapp reveals he's been taking "heart pills" and that he's "restless the whole night through". Not quite as telling a phrase as Graham Taylor's after England lost to Holland in 1993, when he complained of "waking up in the usual wet pyjamas" but it will do. Spurs are also troubled by the retirement of Dave Peacock from Chas and Dave, fearing that the bass player's decision to hang up his Fender Precision rules out all prospects of a Cup final knees-up single. "Highly unlikely", says the Express. Given that Redknapp has a "pants-on-fire" history of ruling transfers out then doing them anyway, we'll take the fact that he hasn't denied it to suggest Spurs' snapping up of the former Villa player Thomas "the hammer" Hitzlsperger on a free transfer from Lazio in the summer won't happen. Or is that a double bluff?

Back on Aitch's old manor, it's not happy families at the 'Appy 'Ammers with David Sullivan, he of the Nat David smoking jacket, getting up the players' noses with his apology for West Ham's shellacking by Wolves. Matthew Upson has put his fingers in his ears and is refusing to listen to the bongo merchant while Gianfranco Zola has stopped him sitting in on a team meeting. Sullivan, however, is lining up Mark Hughes for Zola's job.

In further Irons news, an unnamed West Ham senior figure has told Charles Sale of the Mail that he was unimpressed to see Mido tucking into a large portion of fish and chips in Marylebone. In other odd culinary news, it transpires that Norwich fans' half-time snack of choice is a cauliflower cheese pie. Say it ain't so, Delia.

The ding-dong by the dug-out continues to rumble on with claims that Manchester City's Garry Cook had a millionaire Everton supporter given his marching orders from Eastlands after a "verbal spat" and that City are investigating whether Craig Bellamy may have made sympathetic comments about David Moyes' conduct that undermined Roberto "Masher" Mancini.

Having honed his attack, Mancini is now concentrating on his defence and will bolster it by keeping his guard up and then signing Hamburg's Jerome Boateng for £11m and Osasuna's Cesar Azpilicueta.

In a tale of two Taylors, Steven thinks it might be time to leave Newcastle, at least once his fractured jaw sets, and fancies Aston Villa or Everton to come in for him while the heavily tattooed Matt Taylor will hotfoot it from Bolton to Birmingham for £2m. Alex McLeish also wants Nantes' Jonathan Nanizayamo while Moyes is after Dinamo Zagreb's Mario Mandzukic to form a dream strike partnership with Leeds' Jermaine Beckford.

Arsenal are refusing to talk contracts with Sol Campbell, William Gallas and Mickaël Silvestre until the end of the season if at all but were happy to have a chat to Stuttgart over their 15-year-old goalkeeper Odessas Vlachidimos. They've been told to do one and come back with a better offer than the £1m they started with.

And finally, Mick McCarthy is ready to do business with Portsmouth who've kicked in the transfer window with the Premier League's permission. Aaron Mokoena and Tommy Smith will move to Molineux for £1.5m.
www.guardian.co.uk

Instant impact!

David Bentley knew he had to help us raise our level a notch or two when he came off the bench last night.

And that he certainly did, scoring with his first touch and sparking a comeback from a goal down to help us to a 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final replay victory over Fulham.

Now the midfielder, who just about made the squad for the game following injury and illness, is relishing our trip to Wembley to face Portsmouth in the semis.

He said: "The manager gave us a kick up the backside at half-time and told us to go back out and play with more tempo.

"It's good when you can come on and try to have an impact, and as a team we knew we had to improve after half-time, and that's what we did.

"We've got players with such great ability that sometimes the football will become a bit slow because we all want to get on the ball.

"Sometimes you've just got to put in the running and that's what we did second half, run about a bit, showed a bit more tempo, and then our quality showed through.

"Now we're in the semi-final, which is great. We're going to go and play Portsmouth and it'll be a great day out for all the fans. And we'll be confident going into that game."

The game marked David's return from a month out with a groin injury - an absence prolonged after he was hit by a virus before last weekend's league game at Stoke.

He added: "I got myself back in the team but got a one-in-a-million injury, pulling some muscle nobody's ever heard of!

"Then I got back fit for last weekend but went down with a virus that put me out for four days.

"So I only had one training session before the game and it was difficult, but I managed to keep myself fit enough and it was all good on the night."
www.tottenhamhotspur.com

Adriano interested in return to Europe

Brazilian striker Adriano is interested in a return to Europe, according to his agent.

The former Inter Milan striker was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur in December, before he joined Flamengo. He will decide on his future after the World Cup, but has ruled out a return to Italy and Serie A.

“The rumours that spread in Italy have given him trouble, these stories do not interest him,” His agent Gilmar Rinaldi told TMW. “With Flamengo, he is playing well, he scored two goals both yesterday and on Sunday.

“His future? He would like to return to Europe, before there was talk about December. For now, I have had no news. We will decide after the World Cup.”
www.spurs-web.com

Why Redknapp is the real manager of the year

HARRY REDKNAPP gambled and won in his bid to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.

Now the Tottenham manager is worth a punt to become the first Englishman to win the Barclays Premier League Manager of the Year award.

Several Scots, a Frenchman and a Portuguese have been voted as the best in the top flight since 1992.

But if Redknapp completes a 2010 version of a Tottenham double – winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League – he would be among the favourites even if the year doesn’t end in one. The announcement will be made on May 7.
Click here to find out more!

The Spurs boss inherited a team bottom of the Premier League in October 2008, took them to the Carling Cup final last season and into the top four now.

Although he has been allowed to spend big in the transfer market, the 63-year-old has certainly offered more value for money than Rafa Benitez or Manchester City’s lavish outlay. And all in an entertaining style in the best traditions of the North London club.

The victory over Fulham also dented the credentials of Roy Hodgson, another English manager enjoying a great season at home and abroad. After the second-half comeback against the Cottagers, Eidur Gudjohnsen described Redknapp’s replacement of the injured Vedran Corluka with Roman Pavlyuchenko as a “fantastic decision”.

On a night of unrelenting rain at White Hart Lane, the Russian striker immediately scored the second goal and Spurs were home and dry. “That’s the type of manager he is,” said Peter Crouch. “He’s extremely attacking and he wants to go out and win games rather than sit back and try and see the game out.”

Redknapp will now lead a team to Wembley for the fourth time in three years against his former club Portsmouth.

It will be friends reunited, if not for the Pompey fans. Backroom staff Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan followed Redknapp up the A3 to London to be followed by Crouch, Jermain Defoe and Niki Krancjar. While at Pompey, Ricardo Rocha, Michael Brown and Kevin Prince Boateng are all former Spurs, along with the ineligible loanee Jamie O’Hara.

“I joined after Portsmouth won the cup in 2008,” said Crouch. “The whole place was buzzing when they did it but they’ve had their turn. Hopefully it’s our turn this year.

“There’s quite a few players and staff here who came from Portsmouth but that’ll be a side issue.”

“I feel for Portsmouth, obviously, but there’s no sentiment. We want Tottenham Hotspur to get to the final and give the fans here something to cheer about.”

Crouch did win the FA Cup in 2006 with Liverpool, thanks to Steven Gerrard’s late equaliser against West Ham.

“I think winning it with Tottenham would probably be a bigger achievement,” said the England striker. But it was the highlight of my career so far. I loved it, it was a great feeling.

Crouch also revealed that the Premier League results on Wednesday – Manchester City lost and Aston Villa drew – were discussed “straight away” in the Spurs dressing room.

“You couldn’t fail to hear the cheers around the ground when the goals were going in,” he said.

“It’s a big boost for us. But we need to get the points on the board starting with Portsmouth on Saturday. We are in the driving seat now but I still think it’ll go right down to the wire.”
www.mirrorfootball.co.uk

Bale: It couldn’t have gone any better since January

Gareth Bale believes that the stability at Tottenham Hotspur has helped him to rediscover his form.

The 20-year-old was brought to White Hart Lane in May 2007 by Martin Jol and is now back in favour under Harry Redknapp after a long spell out injured.

“I think as you get older you become more experienced and more mature, and obviously confidence is a big thing,” he said.

“Inside, I knew what I could do, but it was just getting opportunities to show that. Since January I’ve had that chance and it couldn’t have gone any better.

“Obviously, I think you learn more quickly. There are tough times, but when you get your chance at a younger age you take so much on-board - that’s a good thing, it earns you sound experience which will shape the way you go on to play the game.

“Progressing from the youth-team to the first-team is a big step but I think if your temperament is right and you have quality people around you, then the rewards can be fantastic.

“What has helped is that the manager’s come in and there’s a bit of stability now,” Bale added.

“Everybody’s focused on what we’re doing on the pitch. Everyone’s enjoying the fact that we’re exceeding expectations in the Premier League; we just want to do as well as we can.”

“I’ve been working with all the coaching staff to help with my all-round game,” he added.

“Whenever the opportunity has arrived to play first-team football I’ve been trying my best and hopefully, in their eyes, have been playing well. Fine-tuning my defensive skills has been an important part of that.

“I’m an attacking full-back so that offensive side of my game comes naturally. Getting forward, that’s my game. I like to move up the pitch at every opportunity. I do think I needed to work at my defensive skills and I’ve done that now so hopefully I can just keep improving.

“Combining the two has, I hope, made the Gareth Bale package all the better. It has certainly been a very exciting time.

“I still feel I’m most comfortable at full-back but in recent matches I’ve been moved further forward. It’s another new challenge and, if the manager feels we are a better proposition as a result of it, then I am happy with that.”
www.spurs-web.com

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Fulham: Scintillating Spurs Secure FA Cup Semi-Final Spot

Superb second half display sets up Portsmouth tie…

Tottenham Hotspur booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals after running out 3-1 winners over Fulham at White Hart Lane on Wednesday night.

Bobby Zamora’s neat finish was cancelled out by second half goals from David Bentley, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Eidur Gudjohnsen to set up a clash with Portsmouth at Wembley on April 11.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp made two changes from the side that beat Stoke City 2-1 on Saturday with Eidur Gudjohnson partnering Peter Crouch up front in the place of Roman Pavlyuchenko, who dropped to the bench. Wilson Palacios also returned to the starting line-up, replacing the cup-tied Younes Kaboul in midfield.

Brede Hangeland missed Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City with a chest injury but he recovered in time to replace Chris Smalling, while Stephen Kelly was preferred to Chris Baird at right-back in Fulham’s only other change from the weekend.

Tottenham were almost presented with an opportunity in the opening minute. Bale got the better of Kelly on the left wing and cut inside past the Republic of Ireland international before breaking into the penalty area but as he shaped to drive the ball across the face of goal, he was stopped in his tracks by Hughes who put in a solid challenge before promptly clearing.

Fulham’s attacking play centred around the ever-impressive Zamora and he almost created a chance for Murphy on five minutes. The man hotly-tipped for an England call-up combined with Duff on the edge of the area to set up Murphy but the Cottagers captain could only fire the ball straight into the arms of Gomes from 25 yards out.

Palacios went close for the hosts shortly after when he fired just wide of Schwarzer’s left-hand post from 30 yards, but Fulham quickly responded with a chance of their own. Zamora was again involved, finding Davies in space midway through the Spurs half, and under pressure from Gudjohnsen, the Welshman unleashed a powerful strike towards the top right-hand corner but Gomes was again equal to it.

It was an open game in the first half hour with both sides creating plenty of chances and it was the visitors who struck first. Palacios and Bassong were slow in closing down Duff as he approached the Tottenham penalty area and the winger threaded the ball into the path of Zamora, who escaped his marker Dawson to neatly side-foot the ball past Gomes into the bottom left-hand corner.

There were claims for a penalty when Crouch controlled Bale’s long-throw into the penalty area. As the England striker tried to bring the ball under control, Kelly inadvertently handled the ball but referee Martin Atkinson didn’t judge the handball to be intentional and waved play on.

Tottenham were close to an equaliser moments later after Bale’s left wing cross found Gudjohnson, and the man on loan from Monaco used his chest to lay the ball off to Modric on the edge of the area but the Croatian’s left-footed snap shot was dragged a couple of yards wide of goal.

Both sides had chance from set-pieces towards the end of the first half. Bale’s looping delivery found Dawson just inside the Fulham penalty area but after his initial shot was blocked by Etuhu, his second effort was weak and the Cottagers cleared the danger. Moments later Duff’s corner found an unmarked Hangeland 12 yards out but his bullet header fizzed just over.

Fulham piled on the pressure in first half stoppage time and Zamora almost grabbed his second of the night when he met Gera’s cross at the far post, but he could only head over from an awkward angle as the Cottagers deservedly went into half-time a goal ahead.

Harry Redknapp clearly wasn’t happy with his side’s first half performance and responded by making two changes at half-time with Bentley and Huddlestone coming on for Kranjcar and Assou-Ekotto.

Bale moved to left-back in the place of the departed Assou-Ekotto and just like he did in the first half, raced down the left wing in the first minute of the half. The Welshman looked to skip past Kelly once again but was brought down and the Fulham defender picked up a booking.

With Bentley’s first touch since coming on as a substitute, from the resulting free-kick close to the touchline, he curled the ball right-footed into the crowded penalty area but nobody could get on the end of it and the ball landed in the far corner.

From the resulting free-kick, Bentley stepped up with his first touch since coming on as a substitute to curl the ball right-footed into the crowded penalty area but nobody could get a touch and the ball flew into the far corner past Schwarzer. Corluka looked in an offside position as he looked to get on the end of the delivery and the Croatian may have been adjudged to have been interfering with play but there were no protests from Roy Hodgson’s men.

Spurs were forced into a change on 53 minutes when Corluka hobbled off so Redknapp brought on Pavlyuchenko, who had been a doubt before the match, as his replacement, which meant Palacios had to cover at right-back with Gudjohnsen taking his place in midfield.

Just five minutes later, two of Redknapp’s substitute’s combined. Bentley was found on the right wing and he took a touch before delivering an excellent cross to the far post and Pavlyuchenko fired the ball left-footed past Schwarzer at his near post to give Spurs the lead.

Pavlyuchenko almost scored a second when he raced past Hangeland in the area to strike at goal but Schwarzer managed to palm the ball wide. Bentley’s corner was headed clear by Etuhu but only as far as Modric on the edge of the box who fired powerfully towards goal but Schwarzer did well to catch the ball under pressure.

Redknapp said last week that he would like to sign Gudjohnsen permanently next season and the Iceland international showed why with 25 minutes left on the clock. He started the move from deep in midfield by laying the ball off to Crouch, and he flicked the ball to Modric, who played a wonderful pass back to Gudjohnsen, who had raced into the penalty area, and he dinked the ball over Schwarzer, who had gone to ground, before casually slotting the ball into the back of the net.

Roy Hodgson responded to going 3-1 down by bringing on Dempsey for Kelly with Davies moving to right-back. Zamora will have impressed England manager Fabio Capello watching on from the stands but he was brought off shortly after with Okaka coming on in his place.

Gera looked to stage a late comeback for Fulham when his delivery from the left caused problems in the Spurs penalty area. Gomes flapped at the cross and after a scramble in the area, the ball landed at the feet of Duff on the edge of the box but he dragged his left-footed shot wide of Gomes’ left-hand post.

Fulham pushed players forward late on with Okaka causing panic in the Spurs defence in stoppage time but the Cottagers couldn’t find a way back into the game in the three minutes of time added on as Spurs held on to set up a tie against Harry Redknapp’s former club Portsmouth in the semi-final.
www.goal.com

Looking Gud!

Eidur Gudjohnsen won the praise of Harry Redknapp after opening his account in Saturday's fine win at Stoke City.

It was a goal to remember as Eidur chested the ball into Peter Crouch, got onto the return pass and held off Abdoulaye Faye before firing into the top corner.

The Icelandic striker entered the fray in the first half after Roman Pavlyuchenko picked up a hamstring injury and he was key to our second half performance.

As well as his goal, Eidur was involved in most of our attacking play and played a key role in the winning goal as he stepped over Benoit Assou-Ekotto's cross for Niko Kranjcar to blast home.

"Every day in training he's worth watching, believe me, he is a fantastic footballer," said Harry. "He really turned the game around with that goal. It was a fantastic goal.

"You don't play for Chelsea and Barcelona if you are not a great player.

"He is a fantastic footballer in my opinion and he has just been unlucky that Jermain Defoe has been scoring and Pavlyuchenko has come in and scored and Peter (Crouch) has done a great job.

"The lads like playing with him, the likes of Modric, Kranjcar, they all play in a similar way. Technically he is top, top drawer."
www.tottenhamhotspur.com

Big win - Harry

Harry Redknapp hailed a complete team performance after an impressive 2-1 win at Stoke on Saturday.

Goals from Eidur Gudjohnsen - his first for the club - and Niko Kranjcar secured a sixth away victory and maintained our fourth place in the Barclays Premier League.

The display had everything from defensive steel to combat Stoke's aerial threat, a mixture of scrapping it out in the midfield areas and spells of possession after the break and then the wonderfully executed goals.

Stoke underlined just why it's one of the toughest away trips around by fighting back from a goal down and being reduced to 10 men - Dean Whitehead sent off for two yellow card offences - inside the first five minutes of the second half to level from the penalty spot after 64 minutes.

But we clinched maximum points when Eidur dummied for Niko to hammer home the winner in the 77th minute.

"It was a tough game and there was nothing in it in the first half," reflected Harry at the Britannia Stadium. "I just felt we had to keep the ball a bit better because when we got the ball down and played we looked dangerous.

"I said to the lads at half-time that we just had to be braver and try to keep the ball because we looked like we could open them up and when we gave it away, we put ourselves under pressure.

"Someone said to me Villa 'only' got a point here last week, but any point here is a good point.

"It's such a difficult game and difficult place to play. They make it hard for you and never give up. You have to compete otherwise you'll get turned over.

"You have to defend well, particularly the set-pieces and Peter Crouch was fantastic for us in our box, heading away the long throws.

"It was an important game and a big win for us."
www.tottenhamhotspur.com

Deadly duo do it again!

Jermain Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko struck again as we beat Blackburn Rovers 3-1 at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

'JD' tucked away the opening goal in first half injury time while 'Pav' fired home from 20 yards 10 minutes into the second half before securing another valuable three points with the third goal five minutes from time.

Pavlyuchenko's double made it seven goals in his last five matches while Defoe now has 23 for the campaign - his best-ever for a season.

Blackburn, who came into the match in good form, kept fighting and gave us a fright when Christopher Samba headed home for 2-1 in the 80th minute. However, Pavlyuchenko made sure the points went to the right home as we were by far the better team over the 90 minutes.

The win made it 10 matches unbeaten in all competitions at the Lane and, most importantly, got the points on the board early as the battle for fourth spot continues in the Barclays Premier League.

Harry Redknapp made one change to last weekend's draw at Fulham with Defoe back up front alongside Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch dropping to the bench.

We were once again without the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas, Aaron Lennon and Ledley King so Luka Modric maintained his place in central midfield with Gareth Bale wide left and Benoit Assou-Ekotto at left-back.

The first half was all about Bale, who tormented former Real Madrid great Michel Salgado and created a host of chances.

Wilson Palacios and Sebastien Bassong made a couple of early blocks from Blackburn breaks before the first serious chance after 16 minutes. It came from our left, but this time Assou-Ekotto showed great persistence to get away from Salgado and drag the ball back for Pavlyuchenko, who fired just wide.

Bale soon left Selgado in his wake and cut the ball back for Pavlyuchenko again, but the Russian striker's radar was slightly off and the ball fizzed just wide.

Blackburn suffered a blow when ex-Spur and fans favourite Paul Robinson hobbled off injured with 25 minutes on the clock and he replaced in goal by Jason Brown.

Brown soon had the familiar sight of Bale bearing down on him and this time the Welsh international seemed caught between a shot and cross, zipping the ball across the face of goal.

Assou-Ekotto's cross was deflected just wide by Gael Givet and Brown did well to get down to a Defoe shot after he'd taken Modric's pass and shifted left of Christopher Samba.

The board went up for two minutes of added time as we won a corner on the left. Niko Kranjcar hit an inswinger, Vedran Corluka glanced on at the near post and Defoe was there to apply the finish a yard out. Perfect timing.

Rovers enjoyed decent possession at the start of the second half without really looking like breaking through and we caught them on the breakaway for the key second goal.

Modric led the break down the left and passed inside to Defoe, he rolled into the path of Pavlyuchenko who controlled and took aim - his 20-yarder flew through Brown and home, 55 minutes on the clock.

The next chance arrived after 64 minutes via a delicious pass from Palacios, who spotted Modric's dart from left of centre into the box and found him, but the Croatian fired wide.

Bale's next run forced Pedersen to dive in - contact was made, but loud penalty appeals were waved away.

Sam Allardyce made his third and final substitution to introduce striker Franco Di Santo for defender Givet and he soon carved out a chance for strike partner Nikola Kalinic, who got his angles all wrong 12 yards out.

Blackburn maintained a foothold in the game and got a goal back in the 80th minute when Samba climbed high at the far post to power home Pedersen's corner. It wasn't over yet.

Peter Crouch entered the fray for Defoe but, thankfully, any late nerves were settled by Pavlyuchenko, who was in the right place at the right time to slide home Bale's low cross with five minutes remaining.

He might have had a hat-trick as well as Crouch got above the advancing Brown and his header fell to Pavlyuchenko, who lobbed towards goal and was only denied by a spectacular clearance from Samba.

The final chance fittingly fell to Bale, who bombed into the box again and smashed a shot that Brown did well to beat away.

That would have been the icing on the cake for the 35,474 crowd, but three points and another fine display will no doubt suffice!

Spurs: Gomes; Corluka, Bassong, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Kranjcar, Palacios, Modric, Bale; Pavlyuchenko, Defoe (Crouch, 82). Subs: Alnwick, K Walker, Kaboul, Livermore, Rose, Gudjohnsen.

Blackburn Rovers: Robinson (Brown, 25); Salgado, Samba, Givet (Di Santo, 74), Chimbonda; Emerton (Andrews, 62), Dunn, Nzonzi, Olsson, Pedersen; Kalinic. Subs: Roberts, Diouf, Basturk, Hoilett.
www.tottenhamhotspur.com

Feeling good!

Harry Redknapp said he had a feeling that we were in for a tough test against Blackburn Rovers - making Saturday's 3-1 victory at White Hart Lane all the more satisfying.

Rovers arrived at the Lane on a run of four wins and a draw in seven matches in the Barclays Premier League but, after starting well, were pushed onto the back foot by Gareth Bale's raids down the left flank as we started to dictate.

Jermain Defoe crucially opened the scoring in first half injury time and Roman Pavlyuchenko doubled the lead five minutes into the second half.

Rovers' never-say-die attitude eventually saw them reply via Christopher Samba's header with 10 minutes remaining but any nerves were quickly settled by Pav's second goal - his seventh in five games - for 3-1 with five minutes left.

The victory moved us three points clear of Manchester City in fourth but City have two games in hand. They travel to Sunderland on Sunday, Villa drew at Stoke and Liverpool play Portsmouth at Anfield on Monday.

"It's a great win for us," said Harry. "You get a feelings about games and driving to the stadium this morning, I just felt it was going to be difficult day for us against Blackburn because they are so strong.

"We watched re-runs of their match against Liverpool and they gave them a lot of problems so to pick up the three points was great for us.

"I know their away form hasn't been that good but they are strong on set-plays and we knew we would have to do well to defend against that.

"They started well as well and for the first 10, 15 minutes they were on the front foot.

"We got on top in the last 25 minutes of the half, really dominated and the goal (at the end of the half) was the icing on the cake. To come in 1-0 up was a real boost for us.

"We felt that if we could get the ball down and play that we could cause them massive problems and it was a great result in the end.

"They are a good team and they will win plenty of games, so it's a great three points for us."
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One step at a time

Peter Crouch insists we can't look past Fulham in the FA Cup as fans start dreaming of another visit to Wembley.

We face the Cottagers in a quarter-final replay at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, March 24 after Saturday's initial tie finished goalless at Craven Cottage.

The winners of the replay are at Wembley for the semi-finals and will face Portsmouth for a place in the FA Cup Final in May.

If that seems straightforward, 'Crouchy' has this warning. "It's easy to say its all mapped up for us but the first hurdle is Fulham and all we must think about for now is getting the right result in the replay next week," he said.

"We knew it was going to be tough on Saturday and to be honest, we'd have taken the result (the draw) before the game.

"We're more than happy to get them back to White Hart Lane where we have beaten them already this season and we have to be confident.

"These are exciting times and if we can get past Fulham we've got a semi-final against Portsmouth to look forward to at Wembley with the chance of reaching the final.

"But as I said, we can't look further than Fulham, we don't want to look too far ahead."
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Bale can be one of best - Harry

Harry Redknapp heaped more praise on Gareth Bale after another eye-catching performance in a different role at Fulham.

Injuries in the midfield areas to Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas and David Bentley saw Gareth pushed further forward into left midfield in the FA Cup quarter-final at Craven Cottage.

The Welsh international was a constant threat as it ended goalless and we do it again in a replay at the Lane on Wednesday, March 24 for a semi-final against Portsmouth at Wembley.

Voted EON Player of the Round for his fifth round displays against Bolton - he's pictured below with that award - Gareth has been outstanding since his return to the side in January.

His form has not gone unnoticed. "Gareth is playing superbly, he's been in great form," said Harry. "I didn't want to shift him from the left-back position because he's been outstanding there but we didn't have many spare bodies at Fulham.

"He can play wide left or left back anyway, he can do both jobs and he was a real threat. He's in great form and is full of confidence.

"He's got bigger and stronger and people forget he's still only a young lad. He's toughened up a lot, his attitude is stronger, he's physically stronger, mentally stronger and he has terrific ability, pace, a great left foot - he's got everything.

"I think he will go on to be one of the best left-backs or left-sided players in the modern game."
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A tall story on World Book Day!

Peter Crouch celebrated World Book Day with over 100 Haringey schoolchildren at White Hart Lane on Thursday (March 4) at a special event hosted by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

Fresh from becoming the nation's hero with two goals for his country against Egypt at Wembley, the big man turned his attentions straight away to the world's biggest annual celebration of books and reading.

The Tottenham Hotspur Foundation invited author Dan Freedman to N17 to give a talk to Year 4 and 5 pupils from St Pauls & All Hallows and St Francis De Sales primary schools on his Jamie Johnson series of children's books.

Many of the schools are already fans of Dan's books as they are read in one of the Foundation's intervention programmes - To Care is To Do - which runs in 20 primary schools in Haringey promoting educational engagement with Year 4 & 5 students.

The Foundation in committed to finding innovative ways of promoting reading for pleasure and in addition to To Care is To Do, runs reading clubs in local schools, trains the club's academy players to deliver storytelling sessions in local libraries, and has even published its own book of fans' stories: Tottenham Til I Die.

The Jamie Johnson series follows the blossoming career of a young footballer trying to fulfil his dream of playing for his hometown club, and titles including ‘Born to Play', ‘The Kick Off' and ‘Golden Goal'.

Halfway through Freedman's talk, 'Crouchy' made a surprise appearance to join him for a question and answer session with the delighted guests, in which the former Liverpool frontman listed his favourite children's author as Roald Dahl and his favourite current read as Martina Cole's ‘The Runaway'.

And the afternoon ended with a short role-play from one of Freedman's books, involving two lucky children and 'Crouchy' himself.

The 29-year-old World Cup hopeful said: "It's great that the Foundation are able to promote a love of reading among young people by staging an event like this.

"I was happy to do my bit for World Book Day as I'm certainly someone who enjoys a read when I'm relaxing at home, in a hotel before a big game, and on a coach or plane on the way to a match.

"It's important that the same message is promoted to kids at a young age and that was what today was all about."

Grant Cornwell, Chief Executive of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, said: "A love of reading is one of the most powerful tools we can equip young people with. At Tottenham Hotspur Foundation we find creative and innovative ways to promote reading through the transforming power of sport, whether that is running reading programmes in schools or hosting author visits. We were delighted to support World Book Day and the celebration event at White Hart Lane for our local community."
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