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That’s the question I was asking as soon as the team news came out and we saw Harry Redknapp had moved Benoit Assou-Ekotto from left back to right back; Gareth Bale from left midfield to left back, and Luka Modric from center midfield to left midfield. &nbsp;All to accomodate the return to action of Wilson Palacios from a two game suspension, which left Younes Kaboul (who had been at right back for the last two matches) starting on the bench.
Aside from a great team spirit, Spurs had a wonderful balance in the side for the home matches against Arsenal and Chelsea; &nbsp;Bale marauding up and down the left hand side, helping out defensively while also serving as the main outlet in the attack. &nbsp;Modric and Tom Huddlestone providing calm on the ball in the center of the park; even though both are rather suspect defensively, the Spurs team defended wonderfully as a unit: from Gomes being in the form of his Spurs career at the back, to Michael Dawson dominating everything in the air and on the ground (get the man an England cap already!). &nbsp;Even Kaboul, though not first choice as a right back, performed adequately enough there, in a position he has a good amount of experience with from his Portsmouth days.
I see the point of adding Palacios away at Old Trafford, but Assou-Ekotto should have never been asked to play right back. &nbsp;It’s somewhat ironic to me as a Spurs fan, that a year ago we seemingly had 52 right backs on the roster, and today we went in starting with a converted left-back there, and ended with slotting in a defensive midfielder there (Palacios). &nbsp;Is it any wonder the two penalties Spurs gave away were both by the out-of-position right backs?
Obviously it’s easy to second guess after the fact, but I would’ve kept Bale and Assou-Ekotto down the left with Kaboul at RB. &nbsp;Bale at left back can work against lower sides which provide Spurs time and space to pick out passes, but you want Bale in midfield against the tougher teams, as then it greatly eases his defensive duties and allows him to get forward. &nbsp;It’s no wonder Spurs looked much more dangerous in the second half when Bale was moved back to midfield. &nbsp;If I had to start&nbsp;Palacios, I would’ve either put five in midfield, sacrificing either Jermain Defoe or Roman Pavlyuchenko, or left out David Bentley (hopefully with Lennon finally back we’ve seen the last of him for the season), and moved Modric to the right.
But ideally, I would’ve left Palacios on the bench to start, and used the same team shape that defeated Arsenal and Chelsea. &nbsp;After all, why change a winning side?

Man United v Spurs: Why Change a Winning Side? - World Soccer Talk

Man United v Spurs: Why Change a Winning Side?

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When I first started watching English football as a Yank six years ago, I was drawn to the best clubs and star players, like anyone would be. &nbsp;But then I quickly realized that being a fan of one of the Big 4 clubs is no fun. &nbsp; Since the ’02-’03 season, only once has an outsider beaten one of England’s Big 4 to a Top-4 finish (Everton in ’05, and even then they couldn’t keep Liverpool out of the Champs League). &nbsp;If you’re counting, that’s once in 24 chances.
In short, Liverpool finishing outside the Champions League places can only be good for English football, and is something every non-Liverpool fan should want. &nbsp;Just from a neutral perspective, if Spurs or Manchester City were to break the Big 4 cartel for this season at least, it should mean a changing of the guard at the top of the league for the near future. &nbsp;Spurs are on solid financial footing, with a new stadium in the pipeline, and finally a solid manager to go with all the flair players they’ve assembled over the last few years. &nbsp;City, being the richest club in the world, will surely at least be in the mix, even if they have to go through another couple managers to get there. &nbsp;And while Liverpool currently have deep financial problems, even if they miss out on the Champions League and lose Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, they’re still one of the world’s massive clubs and should easily be able to attract the investments needed to rebuild quickly.

While Aston Villa and Everton currently don’t have the financial clout or setup to challenge at the top of the league, they’re certainly solid enough to challenge for the 4th spot for the next few years if they can catch a few timely breaks. &nbsp;Both are well placed with solid squads and very good managers. &nbsp;As far as the rest of the league goes, massive infusions of cash will be necessary for any other club to vault from the ranks of the also-rans to a sustained run at the European places.
So in short, I’ll be rooting against Liverpool in the coming weeks, but not just for self-serving reasons (full disclosure, I’m a massive Spurs fan), as I’d still prefer Man City over the reds if I had to choose. &nbsp;I have nothing against Liverpool as a club, I just have a big problem with the structure as it currently stands in England.
So who are you rooting for to finish fourth?
[polldaddy poll=2994636]

Top 4 Anti-Bias - World Soccer Talk

Top 4 Anti-Bias

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Here are some of my favorite football stories from the day that you may have missed:
<ul>
<li>“<a href="http:\/\/www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={83A644F4-1A7E-48B9-AF95-4605613A9A18}&amp;redirectorid=news_story&amp;newsid=6627949" target="_blank">Your Chants To Help Charity</a>” (Man United Official Website). In addition to Carling allowing fans to <a href="http:\/\/www.carling.com/football/carlingcup/banners/" target="_blank">create their own banners for the pitch-side advertising</a> for this Sunday’s final, Carling has now come up a new, unique idea. Along with Sky Sports, Carling will have sound meters set up at both ends of Wembley. If the decibel level hits 110 dB, Carling will donate £20,000 to the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK. TV viewers will be able to see the “Fan-O-Meter” on live TV to see what the decibel levels are for the Man United and Spurs fans. What an excellent idea.</li>
<li>“<a href="http:\/\/www.spaotp.com/2009/02/cigarette-cards_25.html" target="_blank">Cigarette Cards</a>” (Some People Are On The Pitch). If you’re a collector of soccer memorabilia, one area that is often overlooked is cigarette cards. Panini stickers get so much attention but, long before there were stickers, there were cigarette cards. SPAOTP go through the history of cigarette cards as well as highlighting a few special cards.</li>
</ul>
In other news from around the leagues in the world via our new-and-improved sister sites:
<ul>
<li>“Streit Declares ‘To Hell With Jens, I Am The Biggest Douche Nozzle In The League&apos;” (Bundesliga Talk). Albert Streit, the Hamburger SV midfielder, is giving Jens Lehman a run for his money in Germany, according to writer Double Pivot.</li>
<li>“Champions League Mythbusters: The 5 Minute Rule” (Champions League Talk). How often are goals scored during the five minute rule? i.e. five minutes into a half, five minutes left in a half, and five minutes after a goal is scored. You may be very surprised after you read Scott Bennett’s research.</li>
<li>“Can Guzan Get The Job Done?” (Major League Soccer Talk). Kartik Krishnaiyer, who has been in the news quite often recently due to his uncensored opinions about David Beckham, tackles the topic of Brad Guzan and whether he will be able to successfully step in for the suspended Tim Howard in the next game for the US national team.</li>
<li>“Serie A Teams Disappoint In Champions League” (Serie A Talk). It wasn’t a good week for Italian sides. Roma lost to Arsenal. Juventus lost to Chelsea. Inter Milan were outplayed at home, but got a 0-0 draw against Man United. George Metellus examines the carnage.</li>
<li>“2009 Copa Libertadores Weekly Roundup” (World Cup Buzz). George Metellus tackles the topic of the latest games in the 2009 Copa Libertadores tournament on their way to earning a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.</li>
</ul>
If you’re new to EPL Talk, I highly recommend that you subscribe to <a href="http:\/\/www.google.com/reader/shared/08733526212611936811" target="_blank">EPL Talk’s Shared Items</a> from Google Reader. Each day we pick out some of the stories of interest. It’s impossible for us to cover all of the stories on EPL Talk, so the <a href="http:\/\/www.google.com/reader/shared/08733526212611936811" target="_blank">Shared Items</a> are a perfect complement to ensure you’re able to stay on top of the news.

Man United and Spurs Fans Prepare For A Face Off - World Soccer Talk

Man United and Spurs Fans Prepare For A Face Off

<a rel="attachment wp-att-232" href="http:\/\/www.championshiptalk.com/two-remain-in-the-hunt/231/232/" title="carling_cup_logo_large.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a rel="attachment wp-att-232" href="http:\/\/www.championshiptalk.com/two-remain-in-the-hunt/231/232/" title="carling_cup_logo_large.jpg"></a></figure></div>Two Championship sides remain in the hunt for the Carling Cup, Derby County thanks to an injury time penalty winner via Nathan Ellington over Stoke and Burnley 3-0 winners over Arsenal. Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are the other two clubs in the draw. The draw for the two legged semi-final will be held on Saturday December 6th on Sky Sports. Will Derby and Burnley face one another or will they have to overcome Premiership opposition for a shot at the Carling Cup and a spot in the UEFA Cup? We will find out on Saturday and the path to the Carling Cup will become somewhat clearer.

Two Remain In The Hunt - World Soccer Talk

Two Remain In The Hunt

This Sunday at 4pm UK time, Stoke City plays at home against Spurs. If Spurs lose this match, what should happen? Vote now.
 &amp;lt;a href=”http:\/\/answers.polldaddy.com/poll/1004140/” &amp;gt;If Spurs lose to Stoke on Sunday, who should be in charge of Tottenham?&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &amp;lt;span style=”font-size:9px;”&amp;gt; (&amp;lt;a href=”http:\/\/www.polldaddy.com”&amp;gt; surveys&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;)&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;

Poll: Who Should Be The Next Manager Of Tottenham Hotspur? - World Soccer Talk

Poll: Who Should Be The Next Manager Of Tottenham Hotspur?

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>It’s certainly been a busy summer at White Hart Lane this year as Juande Ramos begins to weed out the players he feels are holding Spurs back over the last few weeks and looks to bring in the kind of players he feels can bring more silverware Tottenham’s way. With the exception of Robbie Keane, Ramos has certainly been busy shipping out some of the dead wood and replacing them wholesale. There can be no doubt that come August 16th at Middlesborough, the Tottenham team that walks out at the Riverside will certainly be a team that Ramos has stamped his influence on in every area of the pitch.
Since he joined Spurs in October last year, Ramos has fetched in 9 new players and shipped out 13, trying to concentrate on quality rather than quantity which often seemed to be the key transfer policy at Tottenham since Santini’s ill fated tenure back in 2004. At some points during the last 4 years,&nbsp;it seemed that Spurs were applying to break some kind of recruitment drive record,&nbsp; since chairman Daniel Levy decided to try and pull the Premiership’s perennial under achievers back toward the top end of the table.&nbsp; Tottenham have&nbsp;brought in an amazing 48 players in the last four years and let another 37 leave, incredible figures and one that beggars the question, how on earth did they finish 5th in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, never mind win the Carling Cup last season.&nbsp;
Ramos took over a talented team in free-fall, identified the issues and has so far addressed most of them. A leaky defence has been tightened up with the acquisitions of Alan Hutton, Jonathan Woodgate and Heurelho&nbsp;Gomes replacing Robinson, Chimbonda, Rocha, Dawson&nbsp;and Gardner&nbsp;with&nbsp;Gareth Bale’s return to fitness like another new signing. The midfield has a new look too with the delightful Luka Modric and Giovanni Dos Santos’ flair coupled with David Bentley’s wicked right foot&nbsp;to add quality to a sometimes lightweight area but it is up front that Ramos will have it all to do. The loss of Robbie Keane was unfortunate, but there was no standing in the way of Keane once Liverpool had made contact with the player. <div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="200" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20080807_WST_2828_darren_bent.webp&amp;width=200&amp;height=256" height="256"></figure></div>The £20 million paycheck will certainly help but Ramos knows he needs a proven top quality striker to support Darren Bent and the continued speculation over Dimitar Berbatov’s future cannot help matters. He knows he definitely needs one striker but he’ll probably need two which doesn’t help matters at all. Bent’s form in preseason has been incredible, hitting 9 goals in the last 10 days and he needs to hit the ground running for Spurs. Last season saw the striker struggle, but Bent seems to have been reborn since Keane’s departure. 2 hours after Keane’s transfer had been announced, Bent was hitting his 4th goal against Norwich City in a 5-1 win, a more timely announcement could not have been better planned by the like-able lad.
The baggage of displacing Keane and the hefty price tag that accompanied him from Charlton seemed to weigh the young lad down last season but he can certainly match Keane’s 23 goals of last season. In his two seasons Bent hit 31 goals in 68 games, almost 1 every 2 games. Add to that the fact that his second season at Charlton saw him often played up front as a lone striker&nbsp;as&nbsp;Charlton struggled all year at the foot of the table and his figures become even better. Ramos knows the lad can be his ace in the pack but he needs some help to get the goals.
In my opinion, Ramos has yet to make a mistake in his acquisitions and he knows that the striker issue is key to Tottenham’s campaign in both Europe and the Premiership. He knows Dos Santos can play up front as well as the left hand side of midfield and Dos Santos himself feels his best position is as a front man, but Ramos will realise if Berbatov gets his transfer, they are very light upfront and need more quality to match his other transfers. He also knows that this team stands on the threshold of maintaining a consistent attempt to break into the sacred land of the Premiership’s top 4 and also push for the UEFA Cup and&nbsp;his next couple of signings will be key.
Spurs need another experienced centre half to support the quality but injury prone duo of King and Woodgate, a defensive midfielder to support Huddlestone and Zokora&nbsp;as well as&nbsp;a top notch striker such as Huntelaar, Arshavin or Pavlyuchenko, yet Ramos will not need anyone tell him what&nbsp;and who is&nbsp;required and I look forward to see just who joins the White Hart Lane revolution next. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a very exciting season for Spurs fans and fans of attacking football in general.

Ramos&#039; Revolution Can Pay Dividends - World Soccer Talk

Ramos' Revolution Can Pay Dividends

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Liverpool seem to have decided on a new transfer policy this summer which makes the same impact as&nbsp;Real Madrid’s lovelorn&nbsp;chase for&nbsp;Ronaldo. Liverpool seem to be using their local paper, The Echo, to release transfer target information into the public domain to unsettle players at other clubs. Gareth Barry became the first and now it seems that Liverpool are targeting Tottenham’s Robbie Keane in the same way. Whilst I know this kind of thing has gone on for years, Manchester United have been accused 19 times in the last 10 years of tapping up players, Liverpool seem determined to lose any face they have in British football by simply announcing which players they covet and seek to recruit them in this way.&nbsp;
What makes this situation worse is that Liverpool seem to be a little hard up and this new policy seems designed to get their targets to request to leave rather than match clubs valuations of players they desire. Stories began to be&nbsp;circulated yesterday that Keane had requested a transfer, which Tottenham and the players agent quickly denied.&nbsp;
<div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="280" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20080702_WST_2541_Gareth20Barry20villa20and.webp&amp;width=280&amp;height=380" height="380"></figure></div>Gareth Barry meanwhile&nbsp;has been fined and told to stay away from Villa Park &nbsp;after criticising Martin O’Neill and Aston Villa in an unauthorised interview.Barry is desperate to join Liverpool but I’d understood it more two years ago,&nbsp;Villa are in the best shape they’ve been for ages. If anything, Villa have more chance of winning the Premiership than Liverpool do at this current time, financially they’re far more robust and have a chairman that cannot put a foot wrong for me coupled with an exciting squad that has bags of potential.
The Barry saga hasn’t done the player’s reputation any favours though and I think it’s a shame that a lad who has spent his entire career at a club and rose to club captain at an early age should treat the fans who adore him&nbsp;like this. I think it’s a real shame, Villa have certainly made him feel special and given him everything he wanted but it’s still not enough.
Barry was quoted as saying“There’s no going back, it’s time for me to move on, I’m desperate to play Champions League football and that’s why I have to leave Villa. Villa kept saying they wanted me to stay but I have not heard from the manager for weeks. It’s seven weeks now since the season finished but while the gaffer’s found time to be a pundit at Euro 2008, he hasn’t found the time to speak to me. Have Villa offered me anything to try to persuade me my future is at Villa Park, not Anfield? Not a thing.”
Do we believe that? Can you see Randy Lerner and Martin O’Neill being like that and ignoring this stituation.&nbsp;No-one believes that at all.&nbsp;Why can’t Barry be honest with the Villa fans who used to idolise him? Why not simply say “I want to play with my best mate Stevie G, earn more money and go out with a clothes horse”? because everyone knows Gerrard will have played a major role in negotiations to get Barry to jump ship, it’s a fact that they are best mates and have been for nearly 10 years.&nbsp;Honestly, do we think they’ve not talked about it at all? O’ Neill, to his credit, has said Barry can leave as long as Liverpool pay the price tage they’ve set and not a penny more.
Good luck to Villa though, I hope they hold out for every last penny of the £18 million they’ve set as his price, Liverpool need to realise it’s not 1988, they’re not the best club in England and haven’t been for 18 seasons, teams can’t be bullied by them anymore and it bothers me far more than the Madrid/Ronaldo/United love triangle that they seem determined to destroy any good will opposing fans have for them. As for&nbsp;Keane,&nbsp;I’ll&nbsp;take Torres&nbsp;or £25 million, other than Rafa, you’re wasting your breath.

Benitez Burns His Bridges - World Soccer Talk

Benitez Burns His Bridges

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The Mexican winger Giovani Dos Santos has completed his £5million move to White Hart Lane from Barcelona&nbsp;this afternoon. Dos Santos has signed a 5 year contract and joins up with his team mates for pre-season training on July 7th. It was a signing we discussed last weekend here on EPLTalk.com.
Spurs had been in the running for his signature for the last couple of weeks, but had to fend off a late bid from Manchester City to complete&nbsp;the deal. Dos Santos has cited the main reason for joining Tottenham is coach Juande Ramos and the two will be hoping for a successful season, both domestically and in the UEFA Cup.
Dos Santos is Tottenhams 2nd major signing of what seems to be developing into a very busy summer of transfer activity for the North London club. Ramos has also made his feelings clear about signing Portsmouths French defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra as he looks to strenghten the squad. Everton have also indicated they are preparing a bid for Spurs’&nbsp;England Under 21&nbsp;International&nbsp;Tom Huddlestone, expected to be around £6 million

Dos Santos Confirms Tottenham Move - World Soccer Talk

Dos Santos Confirms Tottenham Move

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Birmingham 4 – Tottenham 1 Spurs tried on the big boy pants, only to end up wearing them around their ankles. They had a sick party last weekend. This weekend they were simply sick. The rear guard is rubbish. Robinson has evolved from awfully fat to just awful. They are closer to the relegation zone than to tenth place. Pop goes the bombastic balloon.
Arsenal 1 – Aston Villa 1 Arsenal added to a terrible two weeks with this stinker. Walcott was wonderful. Senderos was dreadful. None of the other players decided to show up. Only luck kept Villa from putting this one away with a second goal.&nbsp; The absence of goal minded players (Van Persie, Eduardo, Rosicky) has left the Arsenal attack impotent, with no one capitalizing upon their superb set-up play.
Bendtner’s substitution seemed quite odd.&nbsp; Personal issues aside, he and Adebayor cross paths on the pitch because they play the same role in the same position.&nbsp; This change also neutralized Walcott who had been Arsenal’s most dangerous player in the first sixty minutes.&nbsp; The crucial goal came from fortune, not inspired strategy.
Fulham 0 – Manchester United 3 United came up fruitful for the first time visiting London this season.&nbsp; The scoreline does not flatter Fulham, who acquitted themselves admirably.&nbsp; For a club out-manned, they needed all of the luck, but received none of it, left vacant after a cavalcade of close calls.&nbsp;&nbsp; Eddie Johnson has not yet earned the right to wear orange boots in the Premier League.
Everton 3 – Portsmouth 1 The Toffees kept the pressure on their cross-town rivals with this victory, keeping their 3 pt lead for a Champions League place.&nbsp; Yakubu was in the mood and Pompey got the business end of it.&nbsp; He was a far more prudent investment than Dirk Kuyt.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "spurs" - Page 5

General

Man United v Spurs: Why Change a Winning Side?

General

Top 4 Anti-Bias

General

Man United and Spurs Fans Prepare For A Face Off

Burnley

Two Remain In The Hunt

General

Poll: Who Should Be The Next Manager Of Tottenham Hotspur?

General

Ramos' Revolution Can Pay Dividends

General

Benitez Burns His Bridges

General

Dos Santos Confirms Tottenham Move

English Football

Premier League Odds and Sods 3 March 2008