Anyway, the FA Cup final looms, and I think it would be rude not to mention it. George Graham, free of his Tottenham links can concentrate on supporting the Scum. On the outcome of the match, he says that whoever scores the first goal will win. My prediction? 9-0 to Liverpool, and Barmby (a former favourite) scores all 9 of them. My real prediction? 1-0 to Liverpool, and it's an own goal, or a penalty or something like that. I also reckon/hope Vieira will get sent off.

                 Now any player should be ashamed of being dismissed for this kind of offence, but for these particular players, they should be even more determined to concentrate on letting their football do the talking. There's Ian Walker, who has moaned all season at not being given a fair crack of the whip, although Sullivan's form throughout the season gave George Graham no choice but to stick with the Scot. However, Walker still thinks that he should be the man between the sticks. This kind of behaviour will really not help him wrest the goalkeeper's jersey from Sullivan. He will be an absolute liability if he acts like this, especially added to the fact that he is prone to silly mistakes sometimes.

            And what about Etherington, an exciting young prospect signed from Peterborough along with Simon Davies. Since joining, Davies has broken into the first team squad whilst Etherington has only had a few cameo roles. Now, I cannot say that attitude has helped each player get to their respective status at Spurs, because I simply don't know, but it does seem interesting that the one sent off for abusive language was the one that has not got into the first team squad. Was it previous examples of this kind of behaviour from Etherington that has sidetracked him in his bid to get into the first team squad? It is not certain, and I am not saying that he has done anything like this before, but am suggesting that if he has, then it could have helped to deny him access to playing in the Premiership for Spurs.

                  Both will receive suspensions at the start of the season, which means that Walker won't be given a chance at the start of the season, because he himself has blown it and Etherington won't be allowed to be in the squad, when maybe, if he worked hard over the summer, he would have been allocated. I am sure that the suspension will make the pair learn their lesson. If they do continue to behave like this, they will never get a chance in the squad because of suspension and the gaffer's concerns that if he does use them, he will end up with 10 men on the field.

           Anyway, onto the first team, Chris Perry has become the latest person to offer his opinions on Sol Campbell. He says that Tottenham should break the bank to keep Campbell. Thanks, Chris we didn't think of that. 

            Barcelona and Chelsea, amongst other interested clubs can easily match or even beat whatever salary we offer Campbell, and the only way we can get him to stay is to convince him, as Perry also says, that his heart is at White Hart Lane. However, I think the key to this is cups, and Sol is no mug. He'll leave alright, so brace yourself.  He wants a side that can win silverware, and unfortunately, Tottenham are not good enough for honours yet. Maybe some shrewd summer signings from Hoddle can change that, but I think it is already too late to convince the defensive rock to stay. It'll be heartbreaking to see him leave, and I just hope we'll be able to plug the huge gap he'll leave behind.

             Arsene Wenger says he admires Campbell. Good, good. Not many Spurs players are admired by Arsenal. "But", says Arsene, "it is too early to decide whether I'll try to sign them". Mr. Wenger, do not even go there. Sol Campbell has been at Tottenham for a very long time now, and must have picked up on our feeling towards your club! I do think Campbell values the big fan-base he has at Spurs and would be loathe to risk it by moving to our most hated rivals. It is not too early to decide whether you should try to sign Campbell, Mr. Wenger. Make that decision now. Don't. I know that your defence is rapidly ageing and will crumble imminently, but don't try and get Campbell. You do not stand a hope in hell.

So, Sol's upset about how Tottenham have treated him?

       He's upset that we have made his wage demands public, and denies asking for anything like the amount that Spurs have said that he is asking for.

        If, like he claims, he is not money mad, then he will settle for a "paltry" £50,000 a week at Liverpool or Manchester United.  There, he will get Champions League football, which, of course, is why he is leaving.

        He makes a point of saying how loyal he has been to the club, but when asked if he is going to move to deadly rivals Arsenal, he says "I have not decided yet".  Not, "Having been a Spurs player for a decade, I would not consider moving to their arch rivals", but "I have not decided yet".  Besides, it was hardly loyal to keep the club guessing for two years as to whether he was going to stay or not.  I myself, had made my mind up at the start of this season that he was going to leave at the end of his contract, and I think that Campbell also knew that he was going to leave.  But, 
instead of telling us before so we could have offloaded him for a hefty price, he decided to wait, and wait, keeping us guessing, but always knowing what he would do in the end.

          So now, we are going to lose our best player, and easily one of the best centre halves in the country, for nothing.  He has hardly been loyal.  He has behaved disgracefully, and has lost the club a potential £10m+ sum.  If he does decide to go to Arsenal, which I am still hopeful that he will not do, he will have become Public Enemy Number One at the Lane, if he is not already that now, and would not enjoy 
an easy ride whenever he returned to the Lane.

           Let me make it clear that I do not begrudge Sol wanting to leave.  A defender of such quality deserves to play in Europe, and we have not been able to offer him European football, except for a brief period in 98-99 when we fell at the second hurdle, albeit in an extremely unlucky fashion.

           But what I do object to is the way he has gone about it.  Instead of mucking us about for so long, not saying anything about his future, he should have shown some loyalty and told the club he was going to leave, before his contract had expired.  I remember reading Spurs Monthly magazine about 6 months ago, and it featured an interview with him, in which he was asked directly if he was going to leave the club 
at the end of the season.

          However, he simply avoided the question totally.  In reply to a "Will you be leaving Spurs at the end of the season", he said "No one can deny that I have played my heart out for the club. " I'm sorry, did you not hear the question. Well, perhaps he misheard the question to such an extent that he heard it as "Can anyone deny that you have played your heart out for the club?"  Or perhaps not.  Perhaps he was just trying to string us faithful, adoring fans along, giving us a straw to clutch at, which he has mercilessly yanked out of our reach, and hurled to the dusty floor (A bit over-dramatic, but you get the gist of it).

           And, we don't need people like Darren Anderton condemning the club for not doing enough to keep Campbell.  Does he not think that his energy would be better spent trying to prove to the club that he is worthy of a place in the team than pushing his luck with a club that has remained so loyal and patient towards him during his injury nightmare.  He is a good player, and I think he can prove it this season, but we do not need someone talking before he is even walking. In other words, shut up and get fit.

          Anyway, on a lighter note, the signings of Sheringham and Poyet have been encouraging, Poyet in particular.  Sheringham is 35, but still has one of the shrewdest soccer brains in the business, and he even rejected a last minute plea from Fergie to come back to Spurs.  No one can deny that his time was better spent at United than wasting his prime at aimless Spurs, but it is good to see the clever striker back.  Although his role has been transformed at United from the goalscoring predator he was at Spurs to a chance creating attacker at United, he will come in very useful to us and should help Rebrov with his intelligent running and passing.

          Gustavo Poyet is just what we need, a creative, goal getting midfielder, to play in the centre.  I am sure Tim Sherwood and Steffen Freund have their attributes (!), but we really need some creative influence in the middle of the middle.  He gets a lot of goals, and really is a force coming forward.  I don't know what possessed Ranieri to freeze 
him out, (probably the same thing that possessed him to leave out sublimely skilful 
Dane Jesper Gronkjaer), but Poyet has been magic for Chelsea when he has played 
for them.  He is 33, but at a reported £1.25m, he is good business, especially when you consider that we sold 33 year old Ginola to Villa for £3m, and what a good piece of business that has been!  I always knew his natural position would be in the sweeper role!

          Hoddle is starting to shape the team the way he wants it, and so far, it looks good.  Hopefully we can shore up the hole that "mud" will leave, Anderton will stop whingeing and start crossing, and Rebrov, alongside Sheringham will fulfill his obvious potential. 

    Arsenal fans were left gutted on Sunday as a Rivaldo inspired Barcelona crushed rivals Valencia to secure qualification for the Champions League.  The world class Brazilian scored a hat-trick to ensure that they will be playing in Europe's top competition next season, and will have Sol Campbell on their books to bolster their campaign.

     He failed to turn up to a meeting that Liverpool had arranged privately for him to discuss the possibility of moving to the club. Then he tells Barcelona that he will only consider joining them if they qualify for the Champions League. Although when you consider that Liverpool beat Barcelona on their way to the UEFA Cup final, perhaps he would pick up more silverware at Anfield. But if Barcelona can offer more money, who cares about cups? That's not really what football is about. Football is about earning as much money as possible and making as many enemies as possible. 

      Though I don't really want to talk much about him any more. He doesn't really deserve any publicity, I will say this. Campbell is Tottenham's very own Nicolas Anelka. "Nicolas who?" I hear you all cry. Well, Nicolas Anelka was once an Arsenal striker, who demanded  an obscene amount of money to stay at Highbury. Wenger flatly refused, and sold him to Real Madrid for a cool £23m. I hate to admit it, but a shrewd piece of business by Wenger, who bought the troublesome frog for £500,000.  Anyway, Nicky obviously wasn't as good as he thought, and he failed to live up to expectations at the Bernabeu, and is now living a relatively low profile life at Paris SG, who finished mid table in the mediocre French League last season.

      With him gone, I think Poyet and Davies in the centre could be a potentially lethal combination, who will provide plenty of chances for Rebrov and Sheringham/Ferdinand upfront. You will see there is no place for either Steffen. Neither the dull German nor the dizzy Norwegian (ruled out for the whole of next season after a series of concussions) are good enough for Tottenham, and we must try to sell both of them.

         My message to Hoddle is, sign more players, and get rid of the deadwood.

If you agree or disagree with anything I have touched upon in this article, you can email me at Just_shaun@hotmail.com

We will kick off the season at home to John Gregory's Aston Villa, where we will finally see the new look Tottenham playing a competitive match under Glenn Hoddle. Villa, like Spurs, had a mediocre season, and like Spurs, will be looking to bolster their squad with a few decent summer signings. So far, former Spurs target Hassan Kachloul has been added to their side, and chairmen Doug Ellis promises there are more to come.

              I think that there will be a lot of new faces coming in and out before the big kick-off at both clubs, but it certainly won't be the easiest of games, although it is good that we start the season at the Lane. They are very resilient, and we drew 0-0 to them in the same fixture last season. 

           We then travel to Everton and Blackburn, both of whom will probably be fighting relegation next season. All in all, not too demanding an opener, and hopefully we can get off to a good start, which will give us confidence for the rest of the season. 

           But, before the start of next season, we need a few more players. Christian Ziege now admits talking to Glenn Hoddle about a possible move to Tottenham, and he says he was impressed, but had not decided his future yet because there were two other clubs trying to sign him. One of these two clubs is reportedly Bayern Munich, and to be honest, if I was in Christian's position, I think I'd opt for the best club in Europe. (And no, I don't mean Tottenham!) However, hopefully Hoddle can persuade the classy German to join, if only to keep Ben Thatcher out of the side. 

               Although David Buchler has promised that more big name signings will be on their way, at the moment there don't seem to be any more deals in process, and if there are, they have been kept top secret. But, there is no need to worry. The big kick-off is almost two months away, and there is plenty of time to strengthen the squad with at least 3 new signings, excluding Ziege. 

                        However, we do seem to have quite a good side at the moment. Sullivan is undoubtedly a quality keeper, whilst Carr, Doherty and Bunjevcevic are 3 very good defenders. Thatcher is a liability, but hopefully Ziege will have his position. If not, then we must look for another left back, or resort to Luke Young, although his best position is in the centre. 

            On the right wing, Anderton is getting himself fit, and I think he will get better as the season goes on. We probably need cover for him in the unlikely event that he gets injured (!), but if he stays fit, his passing and crossing is a real asset to us. On the left, Korsten still has to prove himself, but I think he may prove himself up to the challenge. After all, there was a time when Leeds were desperate to sign him., (although there was a time when they were desperate to sign Ramon Vega and John Scales!), so he must have some degree of ability.

                   I think that in the centre, we should have Poyet, whose class and experience must make him one of the first names on the team-sheet, especially regarding our total lack of creativity last year, and Davies, a fantastic young player who is destined for great things. Upfront, we should have Sheringham and Rebrov. Due to his age, we should probably rotate Teddy with Ferdinand. They both have their different assets, and it would be a healthy mix to rotate them sometimes. 

                 On the subs bench would be Ian Walker (still an OK shot stopper, although he looks extremely dodgy on crosses), Anthony Gardner (an exciting  young prospect, who can succeed Sol Campbell eventually), Ledley King (a tigerish young defensive player), Oyvind Leonhardsen (Sub-standard midfielder, but we don't have any better ones) and Les Ferdinand (or Sheringham, depending on rotation). 

                       Some players are just surplus to requirements. Chris Perry looked a great player at Wimbledon, but just looks out of his depth now. Perhaps he has been overawed at being at such a big club. Ben Thatcher is a thug, and doesn't deserve a place in any team. Besides, he can't defend anyway. Steffen Freund, for all of his determination, just can't play football. He can't pass, tackle, dribble or do anything that once made him a key player for Dortmund. The same goes for his English equivalent, Tim Sherwood. My analysis of him would be the same as the one for Freund, except replacing the word "Dortmund" with "Blackburn." Steffen Iversen, who says that he is actually not going to miss the whole of next season, and that he is going to pre-season training as normal, is just not really up to the Premiership. He misses too many chances, and never looks very lively. As I have said, we should have sold him when PSV came in for him. We rejected the bid though, and he has repaid our faith in him with.. endless mediocrity and concussions. And, Chris Armstrong, needs to go too. One of the biggest wastes of money at £4.5m, he was an OK player at Crystal Palace, scoring about nine goals for the Eagles when we signed him, so what one earth made us think that he would be any good for Spurs. Although he briefly made the critics eat their words with a goal spree, they quickly came spurting back out when he went back to appalling mediocrity.

                  If all of these players were sold, then we would get a hefty sum overall. Perhaps about £15m, or even higher, if some poor mug comes in with a high bid for Iversen. This money could be put to great use by Glenn Hoddle. Sell them, Glenn! And leave Sherwood to go to Wolves. When a club comes in with a bid for one of your worst players, do not reject the bid, offer him the captaincy and then promise to build the team around him! Just accept the bid! I think it was Buchler who did this, but hopefully Hoddle will decided to offload him, and the other seven people I have cited as surplus to requirements.

                We have got too much deadwood, and Hoddle needs to get rid of them just as much as he needs to sign new players. Go on Glenn. 

If you agree or disagree with anything I have touched upon in this article, you can email me at Just_shaun@hotmail.com

If you agree or disagree with anything I have touched upon in this article, you can email me at Just_shaun@hotmail.com

If you agree or disagree with anything I have touched upon in this article, you can email me at Just_shaun@hotmail.com

I have only just come back from Israel, the birthplace of the great Ronny Rosenthal, where Maccabi Tel-Aviv have won the League, and may be playing Liverpool in the next round of the Champions League Qualifying Round, and where on average, a bottle of coca-cola costs 12 shekels (£2). 

               Anyway, on arriving safely home in England, my first thought was... well never mind, but my second thought was Tottenham. In Israel, they don't have English newspapers, and infuriatingly, all BBC World in my hotel room would tell me, about football, anyway, was that "Valencia wasted little time in finding a replacement for Gaizka Mendieta by signing Someone or Other Dos Santos from Malaga for 9.2m". I almost know the damn thing by heart.

                   But anyway, a look at "White Hot Lines" and Teletext gave me some  of the information I so craved. It seems like a lot of things have been happening at Tottenham lately. I will include the things that interested me the most.

        First of all, Ziege. A great signing, and at last we have signed someone to keep Ben Thatcher out of the side. Not only that, but Ziege is an experienced international, who just lost his way a little at Liverpool. There can be little doubt, though that Ziege is a quality left back. His play resembles that of Carr, except of course, it is on the left. He's pretty handy with set pieces as well. If we have paid less than £4m for him, then I think it is a bargain, especially when you consider that we have sold Young for £3-4m.

               Young was a promising.. well, young, defender, but was never going to dislodge Carr at right back, and with Doherty, Bunjevcevic, King and Gardner all vying for centre back slots, it would have been pretty difficult to get a place there. I would have been happy for him to stay at Spurs, but the price we have got for him is a very good one. Young is a good defender, and I think he can form a formidable partnership with Richard Rufus at the Valley. He never gave us much trouble, and perhaps would have been a more integral figure to us had he not got injured. I wish him all the best. It is a good career move for him. Tord Grip, (S.G Eriksson's assistant), said that it is good for young English players to move to get regular first team football.

                 With that left back problem finally seen to, we now need a reserve  keeper. We have, reportedly, gone for Alan Kelly, and Matt Clarke. Given the choice of the two, I would plump for the latter, but it doesn't matter too much, as long as we don't pay over the odds. £2m is a bit steep for Bradford's reserve keeper. As long as we get a goalkeeper to deputise for Sullivan, it will be OK. If we get a really good goalkeeper, it is unlikely that he will want to play second fiddle to Neil. So, Alan Kelly would be fine. I think someone like Hedman would be too expensive, and he wouldn't settle for a place on the bench. As I have said, we just need any goalkeeper, really, because he won't play much. Sullivan missed only a few matches last season, and we can do without him for one or two matches. I don't think we should search high and wide for a goalkeeper. Just go for someone's reserve goalkeeper. Kelly,  Clarke, Arphexad, Myhre. Any of these 4 would be fine, but anything more than a million would be too steep.

              In front of the goalkeeper, we look to have quite a good back four. Ziege, Doherty, Bunjevcevic and Carr are all good players. Hoddle has said that there is still work to do on the defence, but you can understand that, since they have not played together once as a back four. Ziege is probably lacking match fitness after spending so long on the bench at Anfield, Doherty is still inexperienced and Bunjevcevic has just come from Eastern Europe, having never played in England, except against Leicester in Europe. Carr, of course, has a lot of experience in the Premiership, and I think must be considered for the captaincy.

                    All four are internationals, and Carr and Doherty play together for Eire, so I think they can gel. As Hoddle says, there probably is a bit of work to be done, but I am confident that they can gel as a quartet. 

                    I still think we need a striker who can score 20 goals a season, and Villareal's Victor Fernandez has been mentioned. I have never heard of the guy, but the price of £10m seems a lot. I wouldn't want a Juan goal wonder Pablo Angel in my side, but if he can score goals, then I think it would be money well spent. Does anyone know anything about him? Is he any good? How many goals did he score last season?

          As for our current crop of forwards, Sheringham has been saying how he wants to manage Spurs in the future. He has a coaching position reserved for him when he hangs up his boots, but lets stick with Hoddle for now as the gaffer. If Sheringham proves himself to be a decent coach, he could be a possibility, but he'd better not f*** off to Man United for a few years if he gets bored!

               Then there's Iversen, who is saying how much he is enjoying pre-season, and that he is scoring a lot of goals. Forgive me if I don't wet my pants in excitement. I recall last season that Spurs were sweeping all before them... in pre-season friendlies. I don't really think that it has any bearing on League form, and besides, if we are playing sides like Portsmouth, then we should be beating them comfortably. Iversen scored a hatful of goals last pre-season and then, inexplicably, didn't in the actual season. I still want him to leave, no matter how many pre-season goals he gets. He's not good enough. He misses too many chances, and I just don't think he should feature in the first team.

                Likewise Oyvind Leonhardsen. I have no vendetta against Norway, but really, we do seem to get crap Norwegians. There were reports that he was going to Southampton for a cool 1.5m, but they have denied it. I can only pray that the Saints change their minds and take this awful player away. If we don't manage to shift him, then we must keep him away from the first team. If we even put him in the first team squad, it would be an insult to players like Davies and Poyet to have to play with "Leo." 

                  Finally, Rebrov is reportedly unhappy at Tottenham's lack of trophies, and may want to move if they don't start spending. Hopefully, he will decide that we do have ambition, and will stay. He is a very talented player, and we need his creativity. I think that this season, he will really start to show the Premiership what Sergei Rebrov is all about. We must issue a hands off warning to the likes of Fiorentina and Valencia. Rebrov is going place with Spurs, and going nowhere else.