They Played for Spurs and Liverpool

Robbie Keane is the last to join the collection of players who have played for both Spurs and Liverpool but he added another twist by returning to Tottenham within six months.  Technically, Jamie Redknapp, the son of the Spurs manager, also did a 'Keane' as he started as a schoolboy with Spurs before going to Bournemouth, was transferred to Liverpool and finally joined Spurs at the end of his career.

Ray Clemence

Surprisingly, the first player transfer between Tottenham and Liverpool took place only thirty years ago.  Spurs signed Ray Clemence in the summer of 1981 after twelve successful years at Anfield.  The England international goalkeeper helped Spurs to retain the FA Cup in 1982 but missed out on the UEFA Cup Final two years later due to injury.  On his retirement he took up a coaching role with the club and during the Terry Venables 'reign' was joint First team coach with Doug Livermore in season 1992-93.  Clemence was 33 years old when he joined Spurs who had been looking for a top class goalkeeper since the departure of Pat Jennings four years earlier when at the age of thirty two, Keith Burkinshaw deemed him to be past his best.  While Clemence had a successful time at White Hart Lane he will always be remembered, first and foremost, as a Liverpool player.

Prior to the Clemence transfer, only one player had played for both clubs.  Joe Brough, a half-back, had joined Spurs from Stoke City in July, 1908 following their election to the Football League.  Ill-health during his time with Spurs meant he only made three appearances before returning to his former club, Burslem Port Vale.

From Anfield to White Hart Lane

Paul Walsh had four years with Liverpool in the mid-eighties before joining Spurs in February, 1988 for £500,000 as Terry Venables first major signing.  He spent four seasons at White Hart Lane and made an appearance as a substitute in the 1991 FA Cup Final.  He made over 150 League and Cup appearances, scoring 21 goals.  In his final season at White Hart Lane he had a period on loan with QPR before joining Portsmouth for £500,000 in May, 1992 as part of the transfer agreement which brought Darren Anderton to Spurs.

Ronnie Rosenthal joined Spurs in January, 1994 for £250,000.  He had joined Liverpool, initially on loan, from Standard Liege in March, 1990.  He made 100 League and Cup appearances for Spurs, scoring 11 goals.  He is fondly remembered for his hat-trick in an FA Cup replay against Southampton in 1995 when his goals inspired a second half fightback from two goals down to win 6 - 2.  He joined Watford in August, 1997.

John Scales joined Spurs in 1996 after two seasons at Liverpool.  His career at Tottenham was hindered by injury so that he only made 33 appearances before joining Ipswich Town in 2000.  His only goal for Spurs was against Liverpool in a League Cup win at Anfield in 1998.

Oyvind Leonaardsen was signed by George Graham in the summer of 1999.  His career in England has started with Wimbledon where he spent four years before joining Liverpool for a season.  He spent three years with Spurs and made 54 League appearances but in 2002 he signed for Aston Villa.

Christian Ziege joined Liverpool from Middlesbrough in 2000.  The following year he joined Spurs and was a member of their losing Worthington Cup team in 2002, scoring Spurs only goal against Blackburn Rovers.  Injury restricted him to 47 League appearances and he returned to Germany in June, 2004 to play for Borussia Monchengladbach.

From Tottenham to Liverpool
Paul Stewart was the first player to move from Spurs to Liverpool.  He had joined Spurs from Manchester City as a striker but turned into quite a useful midfield player who helped scored the equalising goal in the 1991 FA Cup Final and went on to win three England caps.  He made 131 League appearances for Spurs but for family reasons asked to move back north and Liverpool signed hm in July, 1992 for £2.3 million.  Injuries hindered him during his time at Anfield and he only made 32 League appearances in four seasons, spending time out on loan.

Neil Ruddock had two spells with Spurs, signing for a second time in 1992 from Southampton.  At the end of the season, Ruddock demanded a transfer in the aftermath of the Terry Venables/Alan Sugar saga.  He was sold to Liverpool where he remained for five seasons but was rarely far away from controversy.

From White Hart Lane and Back
Robbie Keane has spent six years with Spurs and made almost two hundred League appearances, scoring 82 goals for the club as well as helping them win the 2008 Carling Cup Final when he was transferred to Liverpool for £20.3 million the following summer.  His stay at Anfield was brief and not a success, so Harry Redknapp resigned him the following January.  He played another 41 League games and scored 11 goals before joining La Galaxy in the summer of 2011.  His second spell with Tottenham was not as successful with him spending time on loan at Celtic and West Ham United.

Nineteen years earlier, Jamie Redknapp had made the similar journey, via Bournemouth.
Redknapp started as a youth player with Spurs but turned down their offer and decided to go to Bournemouth where his father was manager.  He later joined Liverpool where he made over 300 appearances, winning five major trophies.  Glenn Hoddle brought him to Spurs in 2002 but injury plagued his time in London.  He made only 48 League appearances before joined his father at Southampton in January, 2005.

They played for Tottenham and Liverpool

Nicky Barmby left Spurs for Middlesbrough in 1995 and joined Liverpool in 2000 after four seasons with Everton.  Barmby is one of only a few players to move directly across Stanley Park.

Danny Murphy spent seven years with Liverpool before joining Charlton Athletic.  He moved to Spurs in January, 2006 after two years at The Valley.  He made 23 League appearances for Spurs and eighteen months later signed for Fulham.

Graeme Souness made only one appearance for Spurs as a substitute in a UEFA Cup tie in Iceland in 1971.  Anxious to get into into first team football, he requested a move and reluctantly was allowed to sign for Middlesbrough.  He later joined Liverpool where he played our a very successful career.  Souness had been the 'new Dave Mackay' for whom Bill Nicholson had been searching but the with the impatience of youth, Souness was not prepared to wait for his time at Tottenham.

Brad Friedel started his career in England with Liverpool where he made 25 League appearances in three seasons.  He joined Blackburn Rovers and then Aston Villa and then signed for Spurs last summer.

Spurs' Record against Liverpool at Anfield

Last season Spurs ended Kenny Dalglish's unbeaten home run since his return to Anfield as Liverpool manager and that remains his only home defeat.  Liverpool have shown recent improved form with last weekend's home victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup and holding City in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg match.  Their Premier League home record for this season shows seven draws and only four wins in eleven matches so Spurs will be looking to add to last year's success.

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Up until 1985 Tottenham's annual trip to Anfield was associated with the sinking of the Titanic as Spurs had not won there since before that sad event.  This year, 15th April, 2012 marks the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.  A month earlier, Spurs had achieved their last win at Anfield on 16th March, 1912.

16th March, 1912  1st Div.  Won 2 - 1  Newman, Mason
Ahead of this game Spurs had won only twice since defeating Woolwich Arsenal 5 - 0 at White Hart Lane on Christmas Day.  There record included five defeats and four draws from eleven League and Cup games.  Spurs goals at Anfield were scored by Ernie Newman and Tom Mason.  This was Mason's only goal for Tottenham and neither player had lengthy careers with Spurs but events over the next 73 years finds them with a place in the Tottenham's history books. Spurs had taken a fifth minute lead with a header from Mason.  Newman added a second before half-time and although Liverpool scored early in the second half they couldn't get a second.  This was Spurs second success in three visits to Anfield, having won by the same score the previous season.

Seventy three years later, on the same date, 16th March, Spurs brought their terrible record at Anfield to an end.  During that time they had played 43 matches in League and Cup competitions, achieving 15 draws and 28 defeats.

16th March, 1985  1st Div.  Won 1 - 0  Crooks
Tottenham were challenging near the top of the 1st Division title but had lost in midweek at home to Manchester United.  It was actually their away record which was keeping them in the title race and they were undefeated in their previous 10 away League games with six victories.  They had lost at Anfield in the 4th Round of the FA Cup but on this occasion a garth Crooks goal with twenty minutes remaining earned them the three points.  Spurs finished the season in third place, level on points with Liverpool.

Over the next 27 years Tottenham have won at Anfield on another five occasions in League and Cup:

Premier League Record at Anfield

P  19  W  2  D  5  L  12  For  17  Ag  38

Last Season

May, 2011  PL  Won 2 - 0  Van der Vaart, Modric (pen)
Liverpool and Spurs were both in contention for a place in the Europa League with two matches tpo play at the end of the season.  Ledley King made a surprise return to the Tottenham defence having been absent since October and helped keep a clean sheet for the first time in ten games.  Rafael van der Vaart gave Spurs an early lead and Luka Modric's second half penalty helped secure the victory and Liverpool's first home defeat since Kenny Dalglish's return as manager.  This was only Spurs second Premier League win at Anfield.

Jan. 2010  PL  Lost 0 - 2
Dirk Kuyt gave Liverpool an early lead but the determining moment in the game came just after half-time when the referee, Howard Webb, who else, disallowed a Jermain Defoe goal for offside, a controversial decision.  A last minute penalty secured victory for the home side.

Oct. 2007  PL  Draw 2 - 2  Keane (2)
Liverpool scored early but Robbie Keane equalised right on half-time.  He then put Spurs ahead two minutes into the second half and looked to have secured the win until a last minute goal snatched it away.

April, 2005  PL  Draw 2 - 2  Edman, Keane
Erik Edman was the scorer of one of the best goals by a Spurs player at Anfield.  His early strike from almost forty yards giving the goalkeeper no chance.  Spurs held the lead until just before half-time but regained the advantage after ten minutes of the second half through Robbie Keane.  Liverpool were level eight minutes later.

Nov. 1998  LC  Won 3 - 1  Iversen, Scales, Nielsen
This victory enabled Spurs to continue on their Road to Wembley and success in the Final of the Worthington Cup against Leicester City.

Mar. 1995  FAC  Won 2 - 1  Sheringham, Klinsmann
Everyone was beginning to think that this was going to be Tottenham's year for the FA Cup.  they had shown great determination to win at Anfield with Jurgen Klinsmann's late goal.  Liverpool had taken the lead late in the first half but Teddy Sheringham brought them level just before the interval.  A draw was looking the most likely result when with two minutes remaining Sheringham put Klinsmann through to score the winner.  Sadly, Everton ended Spurs' Wembley dreams in the semi-final.

Aug. 1993  PL  Won 2 - 1  Sheringham (2) (1 pen)

Oct. 1986  1st Div.  Won 1 - 0  Allen, C.

Ledley King made his debut for Spurs at Anfield in May, 1999, coming on as a substitute in a 2 - 3 defeat.  A Jamie Carragher own goal and a Steffan Iversen gave Spurs the lead at the interval but Liverpool came back in the second half with Jamie Redknapp scoring their first from the penalty spot.
King had come on at half-time in place of Stephen Clemence.

Mar. 1973  1st Div.  Draw 1 - 1  GilzeanOne of the most memorable performances by a Spurs player at Anfield was in a 1 -1 draw in 1973 when Pat Jennings saved two penalties to deny Liverpool.

Keegan had seen the first saved, Jennings diving to his right to palm away.  Smith put the next one to Jennings's left, with similar results.  There is a photograph of Jennings springing up from his second penalty save, punching the air with one hand.  The referee looks on, grinning wildly in sheer disbelief.  On the turf, down on his knees, is Smith, hammering the ground with both fists in impotent rage.

Alan Gilzean had scored the opener, but Keegan eventually put the ball past Jennings with, of course, a mishit, deflected shot.

Spurs who defeated Liverpool by four goals at White Hart Lane in September will hope to reduce the gap on second placed Manchester United to three points with a win at Anfield and secure a second consecutive win at the ground, something they haven't achieved since those two seasons immediately before the sinking of the Titanic.

They Played for Spurs and Wolves

Jamie O'Hara was transferred from Spurs to Wolves last summer, having been on loan during last season.  Others have played for both clubs but the last player to join Spurs from the Midlands side was goalkeeper Hans Segers in 1996.

Robbie Keane (Wolves & Spurs)

Robbie Keane, Dean Richards and Paul Stewart are three of the nineteen former Spurs players who have played for Wolves none of them were inviolved in a direct transfer between the two clubs.

Jamie O'Hara who is currently injured spent part of last season on loan with Wolves and joined the Molineux club last summer for a fee of £5 million.  He had started his career with the Arsenal Academy before joining Tottenham.  He made 34 League appearances for Spurs and scored twice in six years with the club.  He had a period on loan with Portsmouth in 2010 and then a serious back injury required surgery at the start of the following season.  He went to Wolves on loan in January, 2011 and helped them avoid relegation and then joined the club in a permanent deal. 

Another player currently with Wolves started his career with Spurs but was released without making any senior appearances.  He went to non-League football before returning to League football with the Midlands club.  Michael Kightly was a schoolboy at Spurs but on being released worked his way back with Southend United and Gray's Athletic before joining Wolves in 2008 and helping them to promotion two years ago. 

The last player to sign for Spurs from Wolves was goalkeeper, Hans Segers who joined the club in 1998.  After a lengthy career with Nottingham Forest and Wimbledon, Segers joined Wolves as reserve in 1996.  He then went to Woking before returning to Wolves and made 11 appearances.  He joined Spurs as back-up and played one League game at Southampton in September, 1998.  He then became Spurs goalkeeping coach and was with the club until 2007 and the departure of Martin Jol.

Stefan Iversen moved from Spurs to Wolves in 2003 after seven years at White Hart Lane.  He had been part of the Worthington Cup winning team of 1999, scoring the semi-final goal against Wimbledon to secure Tottenham's place in the Final.  He scored 41 goals in 138 League appearances for Spurs and it was his powerful run and centre late in the Final against Leicester City which created the goal for Allan Nielsen.  One of his best Spurs' performances was at Sunderland when he scored a hat-trick in a 4 - 0 win in March, 1996.  He had a year with Wolves before returning to Norway.
 
Allan Nielsen was also with Wolves, joining them for a loan period in 2000.  He joined Spurs from Brondby in 1996 after the European championships.  He received the 'Man of the Match' award after his winning goal performance at Wembley.  After Euro 2000 he joined Watford for £2.5 million, having originally cost £1.65million.  He made 97 League appearances, scoring 12 goals for Spurs.

Andy Sinton who was a substitute for the Worthington Cup Final also moved to Wolves.  He had joined Spurs from Sheffield Wednesday in 1996, having also played for QPR.  In three seasons with Spurs he scored six goals in 83 League appearances.  He had three years with Wolves making 71 appearances.

Robbie Keane played for Wolves after arriving from Ireland.  After two seasons he moved on to Coventry City and a year later joined Inter Milan.  He scored 24 goals for Wolves in 73 League games.  After a year in Italy he joined Leeds United and was signed by Spurs in 2002.  In six years he 82 League goals from 197 League games.  He unexpectedly joined Liverpool in the summer of 2008 having helped Spurs defeat Chelsea in the 2008 Carling Cup Final.  An unsuccessful time at Anfield saw him return to Spurs in February, 2009.  He failed to re-ignite his career or find his goal scoring touch and after periods on loan with Celtic and West Ham United, he joined LA Galaxy in 2011.  In total Robbie Keane scored over 100 League and Cup goals for Spurs, including a hat-trick against his former club in 2003 and had many memorable goal scoring moments throughout his Tottenham career.

At last season's Premier League game at Molineux, both clubs and supporters paid a touching tribute  to the former player, the late Dean Richards, who had sadly passed away just prior to the match.  Richards had played over 100 matches for Wolves before his transfer to Southampton in 1999.  He had two seasons at the south coast club before his former manager, Glenn Hoddle, signed him for Spurs in August, 2001 for £8.1 million.  A central defender, Richards made a scoring debut against Manchester United at White Hart Lane.  Spurs were three ahead by half-time but United recovered to win 5 - 3.  Richards failed to reach his full potential at Spurs due to injury and illness.  He retired in 2005 and passed away at the age of 35 after a long illness. 

Gordon Smith who had joined Spurs from Aston Villa joined Wolves in 1982 after four seasons at White Hart Lane.  Injury prevented him from establishing himself at Tottenham and he then spent two seasons with Wolves, making 38 League appearances for both clubs but Wolves got the better value as he scored 3 goals for them but only managed one with Spurs.

Steve Sedgley, Paul Stewart, Vinny Samways and Mark Kendall all played for both clubs but were not involved in direst transfers between the clubs.

The first player to move from Wolves to Spurs was goalkeeper Tommy Lunn.  He spent six years with Wolves and joined Tottenham in April, 1910.  He had won the FA Cup with Wolves in 1908 and came to Spurs towards the end of their first season in the 1st Division as they battled against relegation.  He played in the final two games of the season, no transfer windows in those early days, which Spurs won and avoided the drop.  He was th eregular goalkeeper until November, 1912 and then lost his place to John 'Tiny' Joyce and joined Stockport in June, 1913.

Sammy Brooks had a long career with Wolves before and after the 1st World War before joining Spurs for two seasons in 1922.  Brooks played on the left wing and appeared in the 1921 FA Cup Final against Spurs and had a chance to equalise.  He failed to live up to expectations at Tottenham and was eventually sold to Southend United.

Harry Hargreaves was a forward who joined Spurs from in December, 1923 having previously spent eighteen months with Wolves.  He was released and went to play in Wales before joining Spurs.  He only made 34 League appearances, scoring 7 goals before moving to Burnley in March, 1926.

Harry Marshall, a forward, played only once for Spurs in 1932.  He had signed from Port Vale in March, 1930 after two seasons with Wolves.  He was released after two years at White Hart Lane.

Cyril Spiers spent five seasons with Spurs playing 158 games in goal for the club from 1927 to 1933.  He had previously been with Aston Villa but was released after a serious injury and it was thought he wouldn't be able to play again.  However, after recovering he had a trial with Spurs and was signed by them.  He was regular goalkeeper for the next four years and joined Wolves in September, 1933 and was later made assistant manager.

He Managed Both Clubs
Glenn Hoddle is a Spurs 'Legend' and  having made over 350 League appearances for the club and helped them to numerous successes in the early 1980s he returned as manager in 2001.  This proved less successful and he was sacked in 2003.  he later managed Wolves from 2004 to 2006.

Spurs v Wolves Preview

Tottenham play their fourth consecutive home match in twelve days.  To date all has gone well with progress in the FA Cup and victories over West Brom and Everton to lift Spurs to joint second in the Premier League, level on points with United and three points behind City.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will arrive at White Hart Lane with two objectives tomorrow afternoon - to avoid becoming the second club that Spurs have completed the 'double' over this season and to achieve what they managed on their last visit to north London, a draw against Arsenal at Christmas or even better to repeat their success of two seasons ago when they scored a goal after three minutes and frustrated Spurs for the rest of the game to take all three points in their first win at White Hart Lane since November, 1973.

Mick McCarthy will be hoping the players will respond in a positive way to the rather public utterings of the club owner, Steve Morgan who has let it be known that he is looking for an improvement in the second half of the season as he doesn't think that 17 points from 20 matches is good enough.  This has put added pressure on McCarthy to ensure that the players are focused and know exactly what they have to do.

This will, undoubtedly, be another game where Spurs will find themselves facing a packed defence with forwards expected to track back and help in midfield and defence as required and then make to most of any opportunities which provide themselves at the set-piece plays where tall defenders will pile forward in search of a goal.  To date, Spurs have shown a patience to work at breaking down such defences and with a little more awareness and control in the penalty area could have won previous matches by a greater margin.

Wolves are in 16th place in the Premier League, two places but only one point above the relegation zone.  From ten away games they have taken six points from three draws and one win.  They have scored 10 goals and conceded 18.  Their only win was on the opening day of the season when they defeated Blackburn Rovers 3 - 2 at Ewood Park.  They followed that with a draw at Aston Villa and their undefeated three match start to the season came to an end when Spurs visited Molineux in September.  After such an encouraging start to the season, taking seven points from the first three games they have found it more difficult to pick up points.

Last Saturday they played out a goalless draw at Birmingham City in the FA Cup and in their previous two away Premier League games they earned a point in each with 1 - 1 draws at Bolton and Arsenal.  In both of those matches they came from behind to equalise through Steven Fletcher.  These recent results on their travels have shown them to be difficult to break down awith a resilience as they battle to improve their position.  Their last away defeat was at Manchester United in mid-December (1 - 4).  Other away losses have been at the hands of Liverpool (1 - 2), WBA (0 - 2), Manchester City (1 - 3), Everton (1 - 2) and Chelsea (0 - 3).

Wolves don't appear to have too many injury problems although former Spurs player, Jamie O'Hara is out long term.  Others who had minor knocks are recovering and available for selection -
Fletcher and Roger Johnson picked up minor ankle problems last weekend but have recovered as has
Dave Edwards after a groin problem.  Nenad Milijas is also back after completing his suspension.

Steven Fletcher is Wolves' leading goal scorer with 8 goals in the League, five ahead of four players - Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Stephan Ward, Stephen Hunt and O'Hara.  Fletcher scored in last season's game at White Hart Lane and also in the 3 - 3 draw at Molineux where Kevin Doyle scored twice as well as getting the winner two seasons ago.  This season Doyle has scored two goals.

Wolves feel they have been unfortunate in recent weeks with decisions which have gone against them - in the home match against Chelsea where they lost to a last minute goal and the sending off of Milijas against Arsenal.  They will take encouragement from their performance at the Emirates and from other results in recent weeks - Blackburn's win at Old Trafford, Sunderland's defeat of Manchester City, Aston Villa winning at Chelsea - and see these as proof that the top teams can be beaten when the other team shows the application and belief that they can get a result.  Spurs will have to be wary of allowing such motives on the part of the visitors to get a control of the game.  While everyone in the media is talking up next weekend's meeting with City in Manchester the Spurs players are aware that the game against Wolves is the most important at the moment as a win would put them level on points with City who don't play until Monday evening and probably United who play Bolton on Saturday.  All three clubs could have 48 points by tea-time tomorrow.

League Record against Wolves at White Hart Lane

P  40  W  28  D  7  L  5  For 102  Ag  53

 
Home Premier League Record against Wolves

P  3  W  2  D  0  L  1  For  8  Ag  4

Last Season's Result

Sept. 2010  PL  Won  3 - 1 Van der Vaart (pen), Pavlyuchenko, Hutton

Wolves took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Fletcher in last season's match.  They held their lead in what was looking like a repeat of the previous season until thirteen minutes from time when Rafael Van der Vaart brought Spurs level from the penalty spot after a strong run into the area by Alan Hutton who was brought down by Ward.  Spurs then won the game in the final three minutes with two goals from Roman Pavlyuchenko and Hutton.

Memorable Matches against Wolves at the Lane

Dec. 2003  PL  Won 5 - 2  Keane (3), Kanoute, Dalmat

It was Wolves first game at White Hart Lane for twenty years and their first there in the Premier League.  Former Wolves player Robbie Keane, scored a hat-trick.  He put Spurs ahead after 29 minutes but Paul Ince equalised a minute later.  Early in the second half Fredi Kanoute restored Spurs lead and Keane completed his hat-trick by scoring in the 75th and 83rd minute.  Wolves pulled one back but in the final minute Stephane Dalmat scored the fifth for Spurs with a great strike. 

Feb. 1983  Div. 1 Won 6 - 1  Villa (3), Falco, Hoddle (pen), Crooks

This match marked the official opening of the new West Stand with the duties performed by Sir Stanley Rous, the former President of FIFA.  Spurs celebrated in grand style with an emphatic win over a poor Wolves side who were to be relegated at the end of the season. Ricky Villa rose to the occasion once again by scoring a hat-trick.  Glenn Hoddle scored Spurs' first goal from the penalty spot and then Villa got his first. Wolves scored just before half-time but in the second half Villa completed his hat-trick while Garth Crooks and Mark Falco also added to the scoring.

  

Mar. 1965  Div. 1  Won 7 - 4  Clayton, Allen, Gilzean (2), Jones (3)

An eleven goal thriller. The Spurs goals came from Eddie Clayton, Les Allen, Alan Gilzean (2) and Cliff Jones (3).

A number of interesting facts about this game:

• this was Les Allen’s last goal for Spurs
• Keith Weller a young forward made his debut and
• Jimmy Greaves was playing but surprisingly did not score.

Wolves had scored first but Spurs equalized and at half-time the score was 1-1.  With six minutes to go the score was 5-4 and then Jones scored two late goals for his hat-trick.

Spurs know that they must win this match as they continue to chase Manchester City and United but they are aware that Wolves will prove to be very awkward opponents who must be taken seriously.  A Spurs win over Wolves would make next week's match in Manchester very interesting as it could provide Spurs with an opportunity to move level on points with City having played the same number of matches.  But that's for next week, this weekend it's all about Wolves and the chase for a vital win.

   

Tottenham v West Bromwich Albion Preview

It was only five weeks ago that Spurs went to The Hawthorns and returned with three points from a 3 - 1 success.  With the Premier League at the half-way point, West Brom come to White Hart Lane for the first of the return fixtures.  This is the start of a very important period in the season for Tottenham with four home League games in January and only one away, at Manchester City.  By the end of the month  we will have a greater indication of what Tottenham's goals will be for the rest of the season. 

West Bromwich Albion arrive at Spurs for the first match of 2012 on the back of two contrasting home results.  They denied Manchester City a win in a well-drilled performance on Boxing Day but lost to a late goal from Everton on Sunday afternoon in what was reported to be a drab game to quickly erase from the memory bank.  Since losing to Spurs at the end of November, they have taken only one home point from three games but are undefeated on their travels.

West Brom have little over forty eight hours to recover from that game before taking to the White Hart Lane pitch but it is their away form which is keeping them in the relative mid-table security of 12th with 22 points.  They have earned 14 points on their travels from four wins, two draws and three defeats at Chelsea (1 - 2), Swansea (0 - 3) and Arsenal (0 - 3).  They have won their last two away matches at Newcastle (3 - 2) at the start of the holiday games and at Blackburn Rovers (2 - 1) four days earlier.
 
Their last visit to London at the beginning of December saw them take a point from a 1 - 1 draw with QPR.  All three of those games featured late West Brom goals to snatch the points - Shane Long scored in the 81st minute to earn the point at Loftus Road, Peter Odemwingie scored after 89 minutes against Blackburn and Paul Scharner's winner against Newcastle came five minutes from time.

A month earlier, their only away game in November saw them lose at the Emirates.  They also lost at Chelsea in their first away game of the season but followed that with a single goal successs at Norwich.  They then lost at Swansea but earned a point at Sunderland (2 - 2) and defeated Aston Villa 2 - 1 in the Midlands derby.

While West Brom have scored late goals in recent games, they have also scored the highest percentage of their goals in the first half - 63%, more than any other club.   Earlier in the season they scored at Chelsea after four minutes, scored the only goal at Norwich after three and were two up at Sunderland within five minutes.  Food for thought for Harry Redknapp as he prepares the team as West Brom are sure to be well organised and determined to deny Spurs space while still looking for a goal opportunity for themselves.  Team selection is always difficult to predict during the holiday games with injuries and squad rotation coming into play but Roy Hodgson is the master tactician in setting up his team to defend, deny and frustrate the opposition and Spurs can rest assured that whoever plays they will be fully committed to carry out the manager's plan.

Shane Long is the leading scorer with 5 goals while Peter Odemwingie has four.  Chris Brunt has two goals as has Scharner, Jerome Thomas, James Morrison and Marc-Antoine Fortune.

They Played for Spurs and West Brom: Read more

Spurs' Home League Record against WBA 

P  58  W  28  D  16  L  14  For  100  Ag  61 

Last Season's Match
23rd April, 2011  PL  Draw 2 - 2  Pavlyuchenko, Defoe
Spurs looked to have earned the three points until a late strike from Simon Cox, nine minutes from time.  It was his first Premier League goal and denied Spurs after Roman Pavlyuchenko had equalised Odemwingie's early goal, before half-time.  Jermain Defoe scored his 100th Spurs goal in the second half but Cox's spectacular strike cut short Tottenham's celebrations.

Previous PL Meetings at White Hart Lane
2nd May, 2009  PL  Won 1 - 0  Jenas 
A Jermaine Jenas goal, two minutes before half-time earned the three points for Spurs.  Heurelho Gomes, Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King played their part in the win by keeping a clean sheet with important saves and a good defensive display.

27th March, 2006  PL  Won 2 - 1  Keane (2) (1 pen)
West Brom had taken a first half lead and it wasn't until twenty minutes from time that Robbie Keane equalised.  The game looked to be heading for a draw until the final minute's drama when the visiting goalkeeper, Thomasz Kuszczak, messed up a clearance and then fouled Defoe as he tried to recover the situation.  Keane coolly put away the penalty with one minute remaining.  

20th April, 2005  PL  Draw 1 - 1 Keane
A first half goal from Gera puts the visitors ahead only for Keane to get a second half equaliser.

8th December, 2002  PL  Won 3 - 1  Ziege, Keane, Poyet
Chritian Ziege put Spurs ahead after three minutes from a free-kick on the edge of the area and Keane added a second after half an hour but West Brom were the better team in their first visit since 1986.  the visitors pulled a goal back in the second half but Gus Poyet made the points secure with ten minutes remaining.

The Previous Meeting
8th March, 1986  1st Div.  Won 5 - 0  Mabbutt, Falco (2), Galvin, Waddle

Earlier this Season
26th Nov.  PL  Won 3 - 1  Adebayor (2), Defoe  Match Report and Preview

Tottenham are looking to increase the pressure on the two Manchester clubs with their run of four Premier League home games this month.  They need to start with a win to build the momentum for a challenge on the top two clubs and to distance themselves from the pursuing pack.  It has been a hectic period for all clubs but with two away games following the high intensity of the local derby against Chelsea, it has been particularly draining on the Spurs players.  Clubs around them have slipped up at less obvious hurdles so Spurs will want to ensure maximum points from this match.

The results in the coming month will not determine Spurs' season but they will give an indication of their goals and what they will be competing for in the final four months of the season.

The Decline of Bassong at Tottenham

Sebastien Bassong apologised to his colleagues for the elementary error which led to the free-kick from which Rubin Kazan scored the only goal in the Europa League match on Thursday evening and saw Spurs lose their unbeaten record.  The defeat meant that Tottenham slipped from top of the Group A to third place and they will need to defeat the new leaders, PAOK Salonika, in their next match to give themselves a chance of qualification to the knock-out stages as winners of the group.

Sebastien Bassong Apologises for His Mistake

Sebastien Bassong

Ahead of the Europa League in Russia, there was a poignant headline in the London Evening Standard, 
'It Hurts that my Tottenham Career is nearly over.'   
 (Read the full story here)

The headline screamed all that has been wrong with Sebastien Bassong over the past year at Spurs.  He has lost confidence and has clearly given up.  It had all started so well at White Hart Lane for Bassong who joined Spurs in the summer of 2009, following Newcastle United's relegation.  Bassong had been one of the few players to come out of that season with some credit in what had been a terrible year for the club.  His centre back partner, Fabricio Coloccini, had been widely criticised but now as Bassong looks troubled, Coloccini is receiving the plaudits as Newcastle maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

Bassong made his Premier League debut for Tottenham in their opening day win over Liverpool at White Hart Lane, heading the winning goal from a corner and becoming the tenth Tottenham player to score on their debut in the Premier League.  That season he went on to make 28 League appearances and was comfortable in his partnership with the other centre backs, Michael Dawson, Ledley King and Younes Kaboul, as the team finally broke in to the top four and achieved their goal of Champions League football.  He was ahead of Kaboul and only lost his place when King returned for the final few games of the season.

The following year, King and Dawson started as first choice but when they were injured early in the new season, Bassong returned to the team and was involved in of the early part of the Champions League campaign, scoring the first goal in Berne as Spurs recovered from a three goal deficit in the Qualifying Round.  The arrival of William Gallas increased competition for places and Bassong was no longer guaranteed a starting place or of stepping in when someone was injured.  This uncertainty seemed to drain his confidence and when called upon it affected his performances and saw him more often among the substitutes as Dawson, Gallas and Kaboul claimed their places.  In his performance at Blackpool as Tottenham looked to push on towards a second successive Champions League place, his uncertainty was particularly evident as a poor team performance saw Spurs lose 1 - 3.  Returning to the side, Bassong gave away an early and unnecessary penalty to set Blackpool on their way.

Bassong's appearances had been greatly reduced in that second season and there was talk of a possible transfer away from White Hart Lane.  In fact, at the end of August, he appears to have been only a signature away from joining newly promoted Queen's Park Rangers but Tottenham's inability to reach agreement with Bolton Wanderers over the signing of Gary Cahill, saw them decide against his transfer and retain him as cover at Spurs.

Sebastien Bassong comes across as a genuine fellow, he's not brash and when he's relaxed he has a smile on his face and appears very pleasant.  However, on the pitch, he looks as if he's carrying all the cares of the world on his shoulders, he looks tense, nervous, unsure of what to do and so afraid of making a mistake that it affects his judgement and all round play.

Ironically, one of the positives surrounding the young players who have appeared in the Europa League team, has been their confidence and self-belief which belies their tender years.  They have not been phased by the thought that they are playing in the first team or that it's an important European competition or that they're playing with experienced Premier League players and internationals or that that their opponents are internationals.  They have set aside all such concerns and performed admirably with very satisfactory results.

However, Bassong has looked so on edge in his manner and in his play.  Even as captain, he seemed unsure what decision to take when he won the toss.  In the matches he's played, this has led to errors in his passing, putting team mates under pressure with a misdirected pass or one played too short.  Clearances have given the ball back to opponents and maintained the pressure on the Spurs defence. Even basic areas of his game have been affected - his first touch putting him under pressure as happened in the home game against Rubin Kazan.  As the visitors increased their attacking intent in the second half, a ball was passed back to him but he somehow stood on it and was immediately under pressure but managed to rescue the situation with the help of a colleague.

The inevitable mistake from which he couldn't recover occurred in Russia.  As the under-strength  team held out in the second half against the increasing threat of Rubin Kazan, Gallas managed to head a dangerous cross to Bassong who was alone in the centre of the Tottenham area.  He took a touch and then a second but this one was too strong, resulting in the ball getting away from him and as he dived in to retrieve the situation, he brought down the home player.  He was booked and Rubin Kazin scored the only goal from the free-kick.  It was a needless free-kick to concede and Spurs paid dearly for Basson's mistake.  After the game, Bassong apologised to the team but it has been a mistake waiting to happen for some time.  In his general play in Russia, playing beside the experienced Gallas, he had appeared more confident than on some previous occasions but his mistake took away from his overall performance as did a later misjudgement which played young Dean Parrett into trouble and could easily have led to another goal.

Bassong has taken on a persona similar to Heurelho Gomes when he is not playing well.  He seems to have accepted that his time with Spurs is over and is waiting to move on during the transfer window in January.  This attitude is having a telling affect on his play and for a player who started his career at Tottenham in such a positive manner, it is sad to see him so out of sorts with his football and so uncertain and lacking in confidence.  It would appear that Bassong is now among a number of players who have lost the confidence of the manager with little future for them at the club.  Some, like Alan Hutton and Robbie Keane have already moved on, others like David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas have gone out on loan while Bassong and Gomes remain, waiting for their time to come to depart through the door marked 'Exit'.

Van Der Vaart Scores in Five Successive Games

Rafael Van der Vaart's goal against Queen's Park Rangers at White Hart Lane was his sixth goal for Tottenham in the last five games.  Scoring for the fifth successive League game equals the club record for the Premier League era held by Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Keane who achieved it twice.  Van der Vaart will be looking to increase the record at Craven Cottage on Sunday against Fulham.

Rafael Van der Vaart's Record:

Five successive matches for Spurs since his early return from injury and Van der Vaart has scored six goals as Tottenham extend their unbeaten run.  Injured in the defeat to Manchester City at White Hart Lane, it was expected that Van der Vaart would be out for some considerable period of time.  This led to his omission from the Europa League squad, much to his annoyance, but at the time a quite reasonable decision as it appeared that he would miss most of the pre-Christmas campaign.  However, an unexpectedly early return to fitness following a visit to a specialist in Germany, saw Van der Vaart start the match against Wigan and an early goal from him set Tottenham on the road to victory.  He has since scored in the next five games and is playing with great confidence and composure.  It was only the exceptional performance of Paddy Kenny, the Queen's Park Rangers goalkeeper, which prevented him from scoring more than once on Sunday.  Kenny had to make a save in the opening minutes and made a number of saves in the second half.

Sept. 2011 PL v Wigan Athletic (a) Won 2 - 1  Van der Vaart, Bale
Scored after three minutes.

Oct. 2011 PL v Arsenal (h) Won 2 - 1  Van der Vaart, Walker
Scored opening goal after 40 minutes.

Oct. 2011 PL v Newcastle United (a) Draw 2 - 2  Van der Vaart (p), Defoe
Nerveless performance to score opening goal from the penalty spot after 40 minutes.

Oct. 2011 PL v Blackburn Rovers (a) Won 2 - 1  Van der Vaart (2)
For the fourth successive game he scored Tottenham's opening goal after 15 minutes.  Added a second in the 53rd minute after Rovers had equalised before the interval.

Oct. 2011 PL v QPR (h) Won 3 - 1  Bale (2), Van der Vaart 
Scored Tottenham's goal after 33 minutes, reacting quickly when a deflected shot came to him on the edge of penalty area. 

Robbie Keane's record: 

Robbie Keane managed to score in five successive League games on two occasions for Tottenham.  He first achieved it in January/February, 2004 and repeated the feat in February/April, 2007. 


Jan. 2004 PL v Birmingham City (h) Won 4 -1  Dalmat (2), Davies, Keane 

                 PL v Leeds United (a) Won 1 - 0  Keane
                 PL v Liverpool (h) Won 2- 1 Keane (p), Postiga 
                 PL v Fulham (a) Lost 1 - 2 Keane (p)
Feb. 2004 Pl v Portsmouth (h) Won 4 - 3  Defoe, Keane (2), Poyet  

Feb. 2007 PL v Bolton Wanderers (h) Won 4 - 1  Jenas, Lennon, Keane (2) 
Apr. 2007 PL v Reading (a) Won 1 - 0  Keane (p)
                 PL v Wigan Athletic (a) Draw 3 - 3  Berbatov, Keane (2) (1p)
                 PL v Arsenal (h) Draw 2 - 2  Keane, Jenas
                 PL v Middlesbrough (a) Won 3 - 2 Berbatov, Keane (2)

** Keane missed a number of matches with injury during this sequence so they are not five consecutive Tottenham matches but five successive games in which he played. 

Teddy Sheringham's Record:

In season 1993 - 94 Teddy Sheringham scored in five consecutive matches under manager Ossie Ardiles.  He sustained an injury in the next match at Manchester United which kept him out until near the end of the season.  The team then struggled against relegation and only survived following Sheringham's return in April when he scored another four goals to bring his total for the season to 13 from 17 (2) League appearances.

Sept. 1993 PL v Chelsea (h) Draw 1 - 1  Sheringham

                  PL v Sheffield United (a) Draw 2 - 2 Sheringham (2)

                  PL v Oldham Athletic (h) Won 5 - 0 Sheringham, Sedgley (2), Durie, Dozzell

                  PL v Ipswich Town (a) Draw 2 - 2 Sheringham (2)

Oct. 1993 PL v Everton (h) Won 3 - 2 Sheringham, Anderton, Caskey 

  ** Sheringham scored 9 of Tottenham's 17 goals in the opening 10 games of the season underlining his importance to the team

Pre-Premier League

Garth Crooks is the last Tottenham player to score in 6 consecutive games achieving that in season 1984 - 85, scoring six goals in matches played in December and January.

Other players to have achieved this feat in Tottenham's 129 year history are: 

Bobby Smith (Aug. - Sept. 1960) [12 goals] Div. 1 'Double' Season

Alfie Stokes (Jan. - Mar. 1957) [8 goals] Div. 1

Willie Evans (Dec. 1935 - Feb. 1936) [8 goals] Div. 2

Johnny Morrison (Oct. - Nov. 1935) [10 goals] Div. 2

Leading the way, however, is Jimmy Greaves who scored in 7 consecutive games at the start of season 1966 - 67.  He scored 8 goals in that sequence from August to October.

Greaves' longest scoring sequence is 9 games in February - April, 1962 when he scored 11 goals.  This was his debut season for Spurs having joined from AC Milan for £99,999.  He marked his debut in November, 1961 by scoring  a hat-trick against Blackpool at White Hart Lane as Spurs recorded a 5 - 2 victory.

Tottenham's Pre-Season in South Africa.

Saturday, 16th July: Tottenham 0 Kaiser Chiefs 1
Tuesday, 19th July:  Tottenham 1 Orlando Pirates 1

Gareth Bale a constant threat
fot Tottenham

The early pre-season games are all about players getting some match time and building up their fitness but Spurs first two matches in the Vodacom Challenge in South Africa have also shown that Tottenham's problems from last season have not gone away.

No Goal Strikers:
The strikers remain unable to score or even create a goal-scoring opportunity for themselves.  The performances of Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane, Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko have all been very poor - their first touch is heavy, they can neither beat a man with pace or skill, their link-up play is non-existantand and throughout the two games not one of them has looked like scoring a goal.  The nearest any of them has come to putting the ball in the net was Crouch's header that was well saved by the Kaiser Chief's goalkeeper.


Conceding Goals:
Once again Spurs have illustrated their inability to keep a clean sheet.  On Saturday, a late breakaway from a Spurs' corner saw them concede an injury time goal to lose the match.  In the second game Brad Friedel flapped at a shot with his right hand in Gomesesque style at the end of the first half and only succeeded in waving it into the net to present the Pirates with an equaliser. The rampaging fullback had hit a powerful shot but Friedel should have done so much better.  Spurs don't need another flapping goalkeeper.  On Saturday Cudicini didn't look overly confident or impressive in nets and we've Gomes to come on Saturday.

Reliant on VDV and Bale:
Both games, once again, clearly illustrated that without Bale and Van der Vaart this Spurs team would be lacking any attacking threat.  Bale was a threat on the left in both games, looking to score and also create for others.  Van der Vaart was less creative but scored the goal against the Pirates from a free kick on the edge to the penalty area, lifting the ball over the defensive wall and into the goal.  Without this threat Spurs would be toothless.  Modric, in spite of the transfer rumours, played with enthusiasm and show wonderful passing as he created space for others, changing the direction od the play.  He was captain for the game and showed no signs of being disinterested or not wanting to be involved.

Shop Window Players:
The players who are surplus to Spurs requirements and are in the transfer window haven'y done anything in the two games to attract buyers or to persuade Harry Redknapp that they deserve another chance to establish themselves at White Hart Lane.  The list is long - Robbie Keane, David Bentley, Alan Hutton, Niko Kranjcar, Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlychenko, Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios, Bassong and Jermain Jenas.  Not all of those players will be leaving but in order to create room for new signings in the 25-man Premier League squad, some of them will be off to new clubs before the beginning of September but on their preformances from last year and now in pre-season, it could be difficult to move them on.  Their performances have been lack-lustre and wouldn't be encouraging to any prospective buying club, their wages are high and Totenham are looking to recoup considerable fees for them - all of which is delaying the selling process.

Pre-season has not brought anything to encourage Spurs supporters - there has been no new signings to improve the quality in the squad and to rectify the obvious deficiencies in the team, transfer rumours persist about Luka Modric and the early games have not brought any joy.  The best performances have again come from Bale but others need to raise their game while Kyle Walker looked accomplished as he attacked from right back in the second half against the Pirates. 

It will be interesting to see who comes and who goes in the next four weeks leading up to the opening Premier League game against Everton at White Hart Lane on 13th August and most importantly who makes the team for that vital match.

Robbie Keane - 100 Goals for Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs Fans Salute Robbie Keane

http://www.topspurs.com/newsnow/thfc-keano190108.htm

(for a record of all Robbie Keane's goals at Spurs use the above link to Topspurs)

Deep into injury time as Spurs hang on against a determined Sunderland and second half substitute, Robbie Keane, steps up to score his 100th goal for Tottenham Hotspur and most importantly secure the win and the three points. The fans rise as one to salute Robbie Keane.

However, go back a few weeks to the last game of 2007 - six goals against Reading and the club’s leading scorer for the calendar year of 2007 doesn’t get on the score sheet, in fact, he misses a penalty at 4 – 4 but sees Jermain Defoe save his blushes as he heads in the rebound. He is then substituted as the team wins 6-4.

That sums up the enigma that is Robbie Keane. Love him or loathe him, as some Spurs fans do, you have to acknowledge that he has an instinct for goals and frequently goals of the spectacular variety.

He has been described as a scorer of great goals rather than a great goal scorer and while there is an element of truth in that he has over the past couple of seasons added greater consistency to his game and the ability to be in the right place to knock in simple, goal-poacher’s type of goal as well.

Robbie Keane joined Tottenham in August, 2002 from Leeds United for £7 million as his former club slipped into financial ruin. Only turned 22 years of age, Keane had also played for Wolves, Coventry and Inter Milan. At the time there was newspaper talk that the signing was controversial due to a difference in view between the manager, Glenn Hoddle, and the Director of Football, David Pleat. Pleat was reported to be in favour of the signing while Hoddle was opposed to it, a view which could be supported as the manager left his new signing on the bench for the next game at Fulham which they lost from a winning two goal position.

Keane made his debut in a 3-2 home win over West Ham United and scored his first goal for the club in an away win at Blackburn three weeks later. He has now scored 100 goals for Spurs in all competitions and his second goal against Fulham on Boxing Day was his 100th Premier League goal, making him the thirteenth player to achieve that milestone.

Keane has developed his game to become creator as well as goal scorer and has developed a great understanding with Dimitar Berbatov as shown on numerous occasions, including by the cross that led to the Bulgarian scoring the first goal against Reading. He also won the penalty which led to Spurs going ahead.

Until recently, Keane had been so reliable and consistent when taking a penalty. His record shows 14 successful strikes from seventeen penalties. He was so calm and showed such composure, able to focus on the task and exclude all distractions from the opposition. He had previously only missed one penalty for Spurs, saved by Spurs now reserve keeper, Ben Alnwick, when he was playing for Sunderland at White Hart Lane.

Keane has shown great commitment to Spurs and has been the leading scorer for a number of seasons and even when omitted from the team, he has battled back into contention and shown a willingness to play from the substitutes’ bench. Able to play a variety of roles he has also combined well with other strike partners, Teddy Sheringham, Fredi Kanoute and Defoe.

For the early part of last season, manager Martin Jol rotated Keane and Defoe with Berbatov but eventually sided with Keane who could provide greater support to midfield as he often came to collect the ball before moving forward in attack. On occasions this was a fault in his play as when Spurs were under pressure Keane came further and further back leaving Berbatov isolated and Spurs brought more pressure on themselves.

Keane has many memorable goals – hat-tricks against Wolves and Everton, his juggling goal against Blackburn Rovers and the super strikes against Fulham in the Cup and in Europe. One other memorable moment was his dribbling and bamboozling of the Chelsea full back, leaving him on the ground, as he tricked his way up the line to eventually set up Aaron Lennon for the winner at White Hart Lane in November, 2006.

Martin Jol showed great faith in Keane, making him vice-captain, and he has accepted the responsibility as he did when appointed captain for the Ireland team. He is now their leading international goal scorer.

Last calendar year, 2007, Robbie Keane scored 31 goals in all competitions, 19 of which were in the Premier League from 32 appearances, keeping him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (18 goals from 31 appearances) and other strikers including Benni McCarthy, Carlos Tevez, Yukubu, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.

Last year started slowly for Keane who didn’t start a game in January and his first League goals didn’t come until late February when he scored two against Bolton Wanderers but was then sent off before half-time for handling the ball on the line following a corner. In his final seven League games of the season he scored nine goals and after a slow start to this season he scored another ten, bringing his total to nineteen.

To date, Keane is the fifteenth player to have scored one hundred or more goals for Spurs. That elite group is headed by Jimmy Greaves and includes Teddy Sheringham, Martin Chivers, Alan Gilzean, Bobby Smith and Glenn Hoddle, all Spurs ‘Legends’. Given his age and continued good form and avoiding injury, Keane could very quickly move well up that list.

Hopefully, Robbie Keane will continue to head Spurs’ goal scoring lists as the club move forward to claim some long awaited silverware in the coming seasons.

‘There’s Only One Robbie Keane!’

Spurs v Reading FA Cup 3rd Round

Match Report: Spurs 2 Reading 2 (FA Cup 3rd Round)

A Day of Dodgy Decisions

A game that Spurs should have won comfortably but through individual errors and a casual approach Spurs didn’t take the goal scoring opportunities their play created. Spurs started brightly and Keane missed an early chance but then the game became rather mundane and only after Reading’s goal did Spurs immediately come to life again for Berbatov to equalise.

The match was dominated by a number of dodgy decisions from all sides.

1.Pre-match we heard from Dave Kitson that the FA Cup game meant nothing to him and he was backed by his manager who put out a team including eight reserve and squad players. They gave Spurs plenty of room centre pitch but played two tight lines of four in front of the penalty area to deny Spurs’ strikers any space in that vital area. They then broke quickly to put Spurs’ suspect defence under pressure although they didn’t cause too many alarms.

2.A hush fell over the ground when the referee awarded Reading a free-kick in a dangerous position. Everyone held their breath as Hunt mis-directed it straight to Robinson – a sigh of relief but then mayhem as the goalkeeper stepped back into the goal and the assistant referee awarded the goal. I don’t know if the ball did cross the line but from the television coverage and photographs there’s been no conclusive evidence. Why did I mention Mr Clattenberg and the ‘Mendes goal’ on Friday?

3.Early in the second half having spurned a number of chances from Keane and Jenas, Berbatov scored from a penalty after Keane had been brought down. Juande Ramos then decided to take off Keane and put on Taarabt. Defoe would have been a better choice because although Spurs had plenty of pressure and Berbatov should have made it 3-1 the team lost its shape and their attacking play lacked a cutting edge as they failed to force home their initiative.

4.A mistake by Malbranque allowed Reading to counter attack quickly and although Robinson parried the initial shot, Hunt was on hand to equalise.

5.Huddlestone immediately replaced Malbranque and lasted only four minutes being sent off for lowering his head in the direction of the smaller Convey as the referee took advice from his assistant.

For the last ten minutes it was frantic as Spurs held on for the replay. Spurs were too casual, lacked that winning mentality which has been missing all season and you can’t take liberties with Premier League teams, they’ll make you pay and that’s exactly what Reading did. They frustrated Spurs and struck when they were provided with the opportunity.

Ramos - Tactical Genius or Lucky Manager?

Finding his team a goal down early in the second half, Juande Ramos took off central defender Ledley King and replaced him with striker Jermain Defoe. For the next ten minutes Reading spurned numerous opportunities to add to Spurs’ grief as the home side’s makeshift three man defence struggled to come to terms with their manager’s new tactical plan. Many a manager would have seen his team go under but Spurs somehow survived the Reading onslaught and equalised with Berbatov’s second goal of the game.

More inept defending from a corner, that was three goals conceded from set-pieces, and Spurs were behind again. Almost immediately Berbatov completed his hat-trick to keep Spurs alive in the game, a lovely goal from a corner when he got between two defenders and turned and passed the ball into the net.

More mayhem in the Spurs defence as Reading counterattacked to take the lead for the third time. Surely, Spurs couldn’t make another comeback. This time Steed Malbranque provided the goal to the delight and amazement of every Spurs supporter.

Was it going to be another 4 – 4 draw like the Villa game? No – Defoe scored from the rebound after Robbie Keane, previously so composed and assured with penalties, missed his second penalty in a week.

Up steps the manager to remove Keane and replace him with Teemu Tainio and resort to a back four defensive formation again. Berbatov scored his fourth to make victory secure and Spurs moved ahead of Reading in the league table.

The players showed admirable fighting qualities and endeavour to come back in a game that at one point looked lost as the defence struggled with any Reading attack and especially their set piece play from free-kicks and corners.

Ledley King looked bemused when taken off and many fans were equally confused. It makes sense to treat King carefully as he returns from injury but taking off the club’s best defender when a goal down looked foolhardy and the next twenty minutes of defensive frailties only added to that opinion. However, Spurs striking qualities and Dimitar Berbatov kept Spurs going to eventually achieve victory.

Ramos has shown in earlier games that he is willing to make substitutions in an effort to turn a game around and it worked to admirable effect against Reading. In previous games it also had the desired result where a nervy Kaboul was replaced with a more attack minded player in order to take the game to the opposition.

Are such moves the ideas of a tactical genius or is he a lucky manager?

Whatever your views, Juande Ramos is a brave manager – he has been prepared to make changes in an effort to win games rather than settle for a draw. Such dramatic changes won’t be successful every week so Ramos and Gus Poyet will be only too aware that their first priority must be to strengthen and steady the defence. The transfer window will give them the opportunity to add to that area and from a sound defensive base Ramos will hope that Spurs’ attacking options will continue to flourish.

'There's Only One Robbie Keane!'

Robbie Keane – Top Scorer in 2007

Six goals against Reading and the club’s leading scorer for the calendar year of 2007 doesn’t get on the score sheet, in fact, he misses a penalty at 4 – 4 but sees Jermain Defoe save his blushes as he heads in the rebound. He is then substituted as the team wins 6-4.

That sums up the enigma that is Robbie Keane. Love him or loathe him, as some Spurs fans do, you have to acknowledge that he has an instinct for goals and frequently goals of the spectacular variety.

Robbie Keane joined Tottenham in August, 2002 from Leeds United for £7 million as his former club slipped into financial ruin. Only turned 22 years of age, Keane had also played for Wolves, Coventry and Inter Milan. At the time there was newspaper talk that the signing was controversial due to a difference in view between the manager, Glenn Hoddle, and the Director of Football, David Pleat. Pleat was reported to be in favour of the signing while Hoddle was opposed to it, a view which could be supported as the manager left his new signing on the bench for the next game at Fulham which they lost from a winning position.

Keane made his debut in a 3-2 home win over West Ham United and scored his first goal for the club in an away win at Blackburn three weeks later. He has now scored 98 goals for Spurs in all competitions and his second goal against Fulham on Boxing Day was his 100th Premier League goal, making him the thirteenth player to achieve that milestone.

Keane has developed his game to become creator as well as goal scorer and has developed a great understanding with Dimitar Berbatov as shown by the cross that led to the Bulgarian scoring the first goal against Reading. He also won the penalty which led to Spurs going ahead. Until the past week Keane had been so reliable and shown such composure when taking penalties, able to focus on the task and exclude all distractions from the opposition. He had previously only missed one penalty for Spurs, saved by Spurs now reserve keeper, Ben Alnwick, when he was playing for Sunderland at White Hart Lane.

Keane has shown great commitment to Spurs and has been the leading scorer for a number of seasons and even when omitted from the team, he has battled back into contention. Able to play a variety of roles he has also combined well with other strike partners, Teddy Sheringham, Fredi Kanoute and Defoe.

For the early part of last season, manager Martin Jol rotated Keane and Defoe with Berbatov but eventually sided with Keane who could provide greater support to midfield as he often came to collect the ball before moving forward in attack. On occasions this was a fault in his play as when Spurs were under pressure Keane came further and further back leaving Berbatov isolated and Spurs brought more pressure on themselves.

Keane has many memorable goals – hat-tricks against Wolves and Everton, his juggling goal against Blackburn Rovers and the super strikes against Fulham in the Cup and in Europe. One other memorable moment was his dribbling and bamboozling of the Chelsea full back, leaving him on the ground, as he tricked his way up the line to eventually set up Aaron Lennon for the winner at White Hart Lane in November, 2006.

Martin Jol showed great faith in Keane, making him vice-captain, and he has accepted the responsibility as he did when appointed captain for the Ireland team. He is now their leading international goal scorer.

This past year, 2007, has seen Robbie Keane score 31 goals in all competitions, 19 of which were in the Premier League from 32 appearances, keeping him ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (18 goals from 31 appearances) and other strikers including Benni McCarthy, Carlos Tevez, Yukubu, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.

Last year started slowly for Keane who didn’t start a game in January and his first League goals didn’t come until late February when he scored two against Bolton Wanderers but was then sent off before half-time for handling the ball on the line following a corner. In his final seven League games of the season he scored nine goals and after a slow start to this season he scored another ten, bringing his total to nineteen.

To date, fourteen players have scored one hundred or more goals for Spurs, Robbie Keane is about to join that elite group headed by Jimmy Greaves. Given his age and continued good form and avoiding injury, Keane could very quickly move well up that list.

Hopefully, Robbie Keane will continue to head Spurs’ goal scoring lists as the club move forward to claim some long awaited silverware.