Monday
31.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
It has been announced that the fee for Manchester United to purchase
Michael Carrick has been agreed at £18.6 million, which is the
total, conditional on certain criteria being met.
It is believed that initially, the fee Spurs will
receive will be around £13m and the rest of the money will be paid on
conditions related to United's success, the number of the player's
international appearances and how long Carrick stays at the club.
West Ham United will be due a cut of the profit, because of a
sell-on condition when they sold the midfielder to Spurs.
Carrick completed his move after passing a medical in Manchester
today.
Rumour in the Daily Mirror suggests Spurs are unwilling to pay £6
million for Wigan Athletic defender Pascal Chimbonda, but they
are believed to be offering Andy Reid, Danny Murphy plus
cash for the French right-back. Which would seem to add up to
more than £6 million to me, but I suppose Spurs would save on wages.
Martin Jol refused to comment on the speculation when asked by
journalists today. Tottenham may be set to renew their interest
in 25 year-old Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry after he has
made it known that he wishes to leave the crisis club. A Spurs
spokesman has said that the club have not made an offer for
Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing, coming after some reports
that said Tottenham had offered £2 million for the England man.
Reports in the Italian press also link Spurs with a £12 million offer,
but this time for the Internazionale striker Obafemi Martins,
who scored yesterday for the Serie A champions.
Ledley King has undergone an operation on his knee ligaments
and will be out for up to eight weeks.
Much is being made in the Press about Tom Huddlestone taking
over Michael Carrick's mantle, but all the talk from the Spurs
management is that he is still developing and although he will be a
very good player in time, I think that Didier Zokora will most
likely be the one to fill Carrick's defensive midfield slot in the
short term.
Kyle Fraser-Allen started for England Under-17s in the
4-2 win over Sweden but was substituted after 54 minutes.
Adam Smith came on in the 76th minute as a substitute and scored a
late goal in the match.
OTHER
NEWS ... Wembley Stadium is even further behind schedule now and
may not be ready until September of this year ... ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Cristiano
Ronaldo had to return to training with Manchester United today with a
minder as he faced Wayne Rooney for the first time since the World
Cup. When he didn't turn up to escort the Portuguese winger, he
arrived after a quick phone call to the Winchester, where he was
working on a nice little earner (as Rooney is known).
Sunday
30.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs beat Internazionale of Milan 2-1 at White Hart Lane this
afternoon in a pre-season friendly. For a match report, click
here.
The Independent on Sunday reports that Spurs will escalate their chase
for Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing. The News of the
World have Spurs down as making a £4 million bid for Aston Villa's
want-away midfielder Gareth Barry and they believe that
Sunderland want to take Andy Reid and Calum Davenport to
the Stadium of Light. The Sunday People have a story claiming
Spurs are set to spend the bulk of the money they receive for
Michael Carrick (which the Sunday Express claim was to be £19
million, but Spurs had to accept £134 million) by buying
Internazionale's Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins for £12
million. The same paper reiterated previous stories about winger
Wayne Routledge being offered the opportunity to join Watford
or Charlton Athletic.
Spurs have announced the squad numbers for the coming season and these
are as follows : -
1 |
Paul Robinson |
3 |
Lee Young-Pyo |
4 |
Didier Zokora |
5 |
Edgar Davids |
6 |
Teemu Tainio |
7 |
Paul Statleri |
8 |
Jermaine Jenas |
9 |
Dimitar Berbatov |
10 |
Robbie Keane |
12 |
Radek Cerny |
13 |
Danny Murphy |
14 |
Hossam Ghaly |
16 |
Reto Ziegler |
17 |
Marton Fulop |
18 |
Jermain Defoe |
19 |
Andy Reid |
20 |
Michael Dawson |
21 |
Wayne Routledge |
22 |
Tom Huddlestone |
24 |
Jamie O'Hara |
25 |
Aaron Lennon |
26 |
Ledley King |
27 |
Calum Davenport |
28 |
Lee Barnard |
29 |
Phil Ifil |
30 |
Anthony Gardner |
32 |
Benoit Assou-Ekotto |
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Frank Lampard has said in his
auto-biography that Jermain Defoe should have gone with the England
squad to Germany and that he is keen to be England captain. With
insight like that, he should surely be the new England manager.
MEHSTG's
no-spin story 2 ... Alan Shearer will not take up a place in
the England
set-up as a striker coach, as he wishes to concentrate on his media
career ... because, from his World Cup analysis, he obviously needs
the practice.
Saturday
29.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
The
Spurs website has revealed that Ledley King will be out of
action for six to eight weeks with a cartilage injury picked up in
training. Can anyone remember the last time that Ledders started
a Premier League campaign ?
The Daily Mirror has revived the rumour of Tottenham's interest in
Ateltico Madrid's Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov, while
TeamTalk claim that Martin Jol will now intensify his pursuit of Wigan
Athletic's Pascal Chimbonda and Middlesbrough's Stewart
Downing with the money from Michael Carrick's sale.
A Spurs XI including Aaron Lennon, Didier Zokora and Young-Pyo Lee
beat Cambridge City away this afternoon, with goals from YP Lee and
Andy Barcham. The team that played was
Forecast, Riley, YP Lee (Daniels 46), Lewis, C Lee,
Defendi (Martin 61), Lennon, Zokora (Davis 46 [Hutton 66]), Dawkins,
O'Hara, Barcham with the unused substitutes being Stroud and Lake
The Victoria Line tube will be closed for engineering works between
Finsbury Park and Seven Sisters tomorrow, with a replacement bus
running between the two closed stations to take fans on their way to
the Internazionale match.
OTHER
NEWS ... Former Brazil boss Carlos Alberto Perreira has signed a
four year deal with South Africa to take them up to the end of the
2010 World Cup to be staged in their country ... ...
MEHSTG's spin story ...
Friday
28.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Michael Carrick looks set to join Manchester United next week
in a deal costing up to £18 million according to some reports, while
most quote £15 million. Transfer terms have supposedly been
agreed and Carrick will need to pass a medical and agree personal
terms with the Old Trafford club. West Ham United will receive
some fo the fee under a sell-on clause when Tottenham bought the
midfielder from Upton Park two years ago. The Independent reckon
that Spurs have played serious hard-ball in the dealings with United
and the initial offer of £7 million has been upped considerably, to a
point where the fee will almost reach the £20 million price tag
Tottenham put on his head. The Spurs website says that the deal
has been agreed after offering Carrick every opportunity to stay, but
he wanted the move away from White Hart Lane.
Sir Alex Ferguson did say that he is not interested in buying
Jermain Defoe to replace the departed Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Manchester United manager said, "He is the only Tottenham Hotspur
player we are interested in at the moment." Don't like the last
bit in that statement. The Sun claim that Spurs enquired about
Liverpool's Harry Kewell's availability, but were not willing
to meet his £50,000 a week wages and also that Sunderland would like
to sign winger Andy Reid. Spurs, Manchester City and
Newcastle United are watching the Shaun Wright-Phillips
situation at Chelsea, where he has been given until the start of the
season to prove he can cut it at Stamford Bridge. Two players
Spurs have been linked with recently have decided to stay at their
current clubs. Sunderland keeper Ben Alnwick and West
Bromwich Albion's Curtis Davies have taken action to remain in
the Championship with Alnwick withdrawing his transfer request and
Davies signing a new four year deal at the Hawthorns. Lomana
Lua Lua, who has also been rumoured to be a transfer target for
Spurs has signed a new three year contract at Portsmouth and
Daniele Bonera who was linked with a move to Tottenham last week
has been snapped up by AC Milan. Ex-Spur Mido has
impressed the new Roma coach, who is preparing a special programme to
allow him to join up with the rest of the squad.
The Guardian report that Tottenham are interested in moving into the
Olympic Stadium at Stratford after the 2012 Olympic Games are finished.
OTHER
NEWS ... Geraint Williams has been appointed as the new manager
of Colchester United ... ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Rafa
Benitez has laid down the law to new signings Craig Bellamy and
Jermaine Pennant, telling them they are in "the last chance saloon."
Bellamy was heard to say of this comment, "Mine's a pint of lager and
lime ... what are you having Jermaine ?"
Thursday
27.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs have lost two potential transfer targets. Pavel Nedved
has announced he will be staying with relegated Juventus and Ruud
van Nistelrooy, who was mooted as a part of a deal plus £10
million to take Michael Carrick to Old Trafford as reported in
The Sun, looks like he will be joining Real Madrid. The Sun also
reckon that Watford and Charlton Athletic are keen on signing winger
Wayne Routledge from Spurs. In the Daily Telegraph, it
claims that Spurs wanted Chelsea to pay the difference between the
wages Tottenham would have offered Damien Duff and his wage at
Stamford Bridge - believed to amount to £20,000 a week - after they
signed him. This was supposedly a similar deal to when Frank
Arnesen defected to Chelsea and Spurs wanted Scott Parker
and his wages paid as part of the arrangement. Parker
subsequently joined Newcastle United, as did Duff. I would have
thought it was a reasonable request, as Chelsea have shed-loads of
money, but it also appears that the Geordies have too. Nice try
though Daniel !!
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... When
told Manchester United had spurned Real Madrid's initial offer for
him, a reporter asked Ruud van Nistelrooy "Why the long face ?"
Wednesday
26.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Jermain Jenas and Aaron Lennon played as a Spurs XI beat
Bishops Stortford 8-1 at Woodside Park tonight thanks to goals from
Lee Barnard, Reto Ziegler, Andy Barcham 2, Aaron
Lennon and Simon Dawkins 3. The Spurs XI team was :
Fulop, Ifil, Ziegler, Jenas (Dawkins 46), Lee (Galitsios
46), Davenport, Lennon (Maghoma 46 [Riley 80]), Barcham (Daniels 62),
Barnard, Murphy, O'Hara. The unused substitutes were Forecast and
Riley.
The Guardian claim that Spurs' new contract offer of a reported
£45,000 a week to Michael Carrick has been rejected and that
the club are thought to be ready to accept he will join Manchester
United and that Spurs will replace him with Juventus midfielder
Pavel Nedved. With money from the impending sale of Ruud van
Nistelrooy, the fee could be as much as £17 million and that will give
Spurs considerable spending power. Carrick is believed to have
offered the reasons of Man U being in the Champions League and that
Manchester was nearer to his family home in Newcastle. United
are also believed to be ready to offer Tottenham £12 million for
Jermain Defoe after they were stymied in their offer for Atletico
Madrid striker Fernando Torres, the Star reckons. Meanwhile the
Sun have Spurs down as preparing another bid for Stewart Downing
of Middlesbrough and set the amount at £6 million this time, but
Football 365 have Tottenham down as going as high as £10 million for
the England winger. Wigan Athletic defender Pascal Chimbonda
still wants to leave the Lactics, but with Spurs being on of the
interested clubs who have not reached the price set for the French
full back, it is by no means certain he will get his wish. His
agent has hinted that he could make more money at the JJB stadium, but
he is keen to move to a bigger club and Tottenham is his choice.
For a match report of last night's friendly against Stevenage Borough,
click
here.
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
Tuesday
25.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs beat Stevenage Borough 3-0 in a pre-season friendly at Broadhall
Way tonight. Jermain Defoe put Spurs ahead in the first
half, while penalties in the last ten minutes from Dimitar Berbatov
and Defoe sealed the win. A match report will follow
tomorrow.
Damien Duff has revealed that he did not join Spurs out of
respect for Chelsea. Nothing to do with the money then ?
Spurs transfer target Micah Richards has signed a new four year
contract with Manchester City.
OTHER
NEWS ... The appeal against the sentences handed down to the
Italian match-fixing clubs has been announced.
Juventus who were sentenced to Serie B with
30-point penalty; are still in Serie B but now with a 17-point
deduction and their ground will be shut for three matches. AC
Milan had a
15-point penalty; now reduced to eight
points and they have been reinstated in the Champions League. They
will however, suffer a one-match stadium ban. Lazio were
relegated with a seven-point penalty; with the appeal putting
them back in Serie A with an 11-point deduction and their stadium shut
for two matches. Fiorentina were relegated to Serie B with a 12
point penalty; but will now play back in Serie A with a 19 point
penalty and their ground will be closed for three matches
... Niall Quinn has been named as the new manager of Sunderland ...
Monday
24.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs are linked with a further bid for Middlesbrough's England winger
Stewart Downing and also that they may try to bring in Italian
right-backs Daniele Bonera (25 years old) of Parma and 30 year
old Massimo Oddo of Lazio. Hull City may take striker
Mark Yeates on a season long loan if they can persuade Spurs to
let him go. Tigers Manager Phil Parkinson had Yeates on loan at
his previous club Colchester United last season.
It has been revealed today that Damien Duff signed for
Newcastle United for a fee of £5 million. This appears to be
less than Spurs offered, but obviously, his comments about talking to
Republic of Ireland team-mates and ex-Chelsea team-mate Scott Parker
might well have revolved around how much he could screw out of the
Geordie club.
The draw for the first round of the UEFA
Cup, when Spurs enter the competition, will take place on 25 August in
Monaco at 1200 BST, with the ties to be played on 14 September and 28
September.
The club website have revealed that our new Puma chocolate and gold
third kit will be on sale at the ground on Sunday for the
Internazionale friendly match and the team will wear the kit in that
game too. Nice.
OTHER
NEWS ... Dunga has been appointed as the new coach of the Brazil
team, even though he has no previous coaching experience ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Headline
of the Day ... "Bergkamp says has no interest in coaching." Perhaps
that why he remained a most unlikely player for Arsenal.
Sunday
23.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Alex Ferguson has said that although Manchester United have had a bid
for Michael Carrick turned down and Spurs have told him to
double their offer, his club have a set price they are willing to
offer for the midfielder and will not go above that, so will look
elsewhere if they need to. The News of the World has Tottenham
linked with Valencia striker Marco Di Vaio, who would cost £4
million and is also garnering interest from Charlton Athletic.
The paper also reports that Spurs will move for Grenoble's 19 year old
striker Chahir Belghazouani in a £700,000 deal, which will not
be completed until January because he has a tendon injury at the
moment. The France Under-20 international participated in the
Toulon tournament this summer for his country. The Daily Star
Sunday reckons Manchester United might turn to Jermain Defoe to
answer their striking problems if they fail to secure Fernando Torres
from Atletico Madrid and the fee for the Spurs forward would be £11
million. West Bromwich Albion's young defender Curtis Davies
is said to be ready to commit himself to the Baggies Championship
campaign rather than move to one of the many clubs chasing him, such
as Spurs. The Sunday Times contains a piece on transfer rumours
that links Everton with Calum Davenport, but has no more than
that on the matter.
We have had the following information from Stevenage Borough about
Tuesday night's friendly at Broadhall Way (kick off 8.00 p.m.) ...
As usual Spurs will bring their strongest
First Team squad to Broadhall Way and it will be a great opportunity
to see Spurs and Boro’s new signings Stevenage has confirmed that
3,000 tickets will be available on the turnstiles on Tuesday night for
the match. A club spokesperson said ''there won't be many seats
available but, as is our usual custom, we're putting over 3,000
terrace tickets on the turnstiles on the night. Gates will open at
6.15pm and we would recommend that supporters without tickets should
get to the ground as early as possible as we are expecting a near
capacity crowd'.'
OTHER
NEWS ... Some of Wayne Rooney's international cups and medals
were stolen on a burglary on his parents home in Liverpool ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Arsene
Wenger has refused to take part in an MUTV tribute to Sir Alex
Ferguson, the only Premiership manager to do so, with the Frenchman
claiming that as it was on MUTV, "no-one would see it."
Saturday
22.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Tottenham beat Birmingham City 2-0 at St. Andrews in a pre-season
friendly this afternoon. Both goals were scored by Dimitar
Berbatov in the 13th and 15th minutes. The second was a
stunning volley. The team that took part today was
Fulop, Routledge (Ifil 66), King (Davenport 66),
Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Huddlestone, Ghaly (Ziegler 57), Tainio, Defoe
(O'Hara 86), Keane (Murphy 64), Berbatov (Barnard 71). Unused
substitute : Cerny
Spurs have been linked with a number of transfers in the Daily
Mirror's Transfer Merry-Go-Round. The club are linked with
buying Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan Athletic), Jason Koumas
(West Bromwich Albion) and Matthew Taylor (Portsmouth).
Going out will be Michael Carrick to Manchester United and
Calum Davenport to Reading on loan according to the Mirror.
The paper also reports that Chimbonda will be offered a new
contract at Wigan as the club effects a turnaround in their attitude
to his transfer request. Following the failure to secure Damien
Duff, Spurs may have turned their attention to Bulgarian winger
Martin Petrov of Atletico Madrid as the acceptable alternative.
Reserve striker Mark Yeates has signed a new contract that will
keep him at White Hart Lane until 2008.
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
Friday
21.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
It appears from a report on the BBC website that Spurs have lost out
to Newcastle United in the chase for Chelsea winger Damien Duff.
The article claims that terms have been agreed for the move to St.
James Park, with Tottenham's two bids failing to reach Chelsea's
valuation of the Republic of Ireland international amidst rumour of
the club's concern over his injury record. The Daily Mirror
claim that Manchester United will offer defender Mikael Silvestre
as part of a deal to capture Michael Carrick. Sky Sports
website claims Villareal are willing to allow Argentine defender
Juan Pablo Sorin to leave the club, thus sparking rumours that
Spurs are interested.
OTHER
NEWS ... Mick McCarthy has been named as the new manager of
Wolverhampton Wanderers ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story 1 ... Plymouth Argyle lost 0-1 to a second half
penalty to Real Madrid in a pre-season friendly in Austria tonight.
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Darren Bent, the Charlton Athletic striker,
sliced into his hand while making a sandwich, the Daily Mirror
reports. "I had a kitchen accident. I
just cut it when I was making a sandwich. "I don't even know what kind
of sandwich it was. I didn't get to try it,"
the forward was quoted as saying.
Thursday
20.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has told Damien Duff that he can
leave Chelsea if he wishes to do so. This will alert Tottenham
who have been strongly linked with a move for him for a couple of
weeks now. The Daily Express reckon Tottenham will increase
their bid to £7 million. The Sun report that Spurs will have to
wait 48 hours to find out if Juventus' Czech international Pavel
Nedved will be joining them. The Daily Star claims that
Chelsea will make space for two new left-backs with the sale of
Wayne Bridge to Tottenham. Spurs transfer target Lilian
Thuram has signed for Barcelona. Spurs are reported to have
had representatives at the Lillestrom v Newcastle United InterToto Cup
match to watch 25 year old Slovenian international midfielder
Robert Koren.
Former Spurs defender Jamie Clapham has joined Wolverhampton
Wanderers on a week long trial after being released by Birmingham City.
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
CRIMEWATCH ... Zinedine
Zidane has been banned for three games and fined £3,000 for his head
but in the World Cup Final. As he has retired, the ban will be
transferred to Zidane working for FIFA for three days. Marco
Materazzi has been banned for two games and fined around £2,000 for
abusing the Frenchman ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-go no-spin story ... Dietmar Hamann turned down the chance
to play for Bolton Wanderers because he went to a chip shop and could
not understand what the owner was saying !!
MEHSTG's
no-go no-spin story 2 ... Diego Tristan of Deportivo La
Coruna has said he will not be joining Glasgow Rangers because
Scotland is too cold !!
Wednesday
19.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
On the hottest July day since records started, there was no hot
gossip about Tottenham's transfer dealings.
Former Spurs defender Luke Young has signed a new four year
deal with Charlton Athletic.
OTHER
NEWS ... David O'Deary has left Aston Villa by mutual consent ...
CRIMEWATCH ... Shaun
Newton of West Ham United has received a seven month ban for testing
positive for cocaine after the FA Cup semi-final ... echoing the
Mitchell brothers from EastEnders, Alan Pardew said that West' Am are
a famly club an' when one of ya famly is 'n
trouble, you look after 'em.
...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Headline of the Day from Sky Sports website
"Fergie hopeful over Dong"
Tuesday
18.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs won 2-0 against Celta Vigo tonight in Annecy, with Jermain
Defoe scoring twice after 51 and 53 minutes. The team was -
Cerny, Ghaly (Lee 85), Assou-Ekotto, Davids (Tainio
46), Davenport (Dawson 46), King (Huddlestone 46), Routledge (Ifil
65), Murphy (Defoe 46), Barnard (Berbatov 46), Keane (McKenna 70),
Ziegler (O'Hara 65). The unused substitutes were - Fulop and
Barcham
Alex Ferguson has revealed that he made a bid for Michael Carrick,
which was turned down by Tottenham. He said that Manchester
United were still looking for a central midfielder. The
Independent claim that Chelsea have rejected a £7 million offer from
Spurs for Damien Duff and want £11 million, while the Daily
Express thinks it was £5 million Tottenham offered and the Sun reckon
his club have offered him a two year extension to his contract.
The Spurs XI won 3-1 at Boreham Wood tonight thanks to goals from
Terry Dixon with a brace and Jacques Maghoma.
OTHER
NEWS ... the appeals against the Italian match-fixing punishments
will begin on July 22nd. No doubt when the final appeal decision
is known, then players will start to leave the clubs affected ... ...
Monday
17.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs are being heavily linked with an £11 million move for Chelsea
winger Damien Duff. The BBC rumour that he had a medical
at Tottenham on Sunday and will complete his move across London in the
next couple of days in a four-year £60,000 a week deal. Or for
£10 million at £45,000 a week if you read the Daily Mail, but they say
the money to take him to White Hart Lane will come from the sale of
Michael Carrick to Manchester United. The Mail also links Spurs
to moves for midfielder Pavel Nedved and defender Lilian
Thuram both of Juventus and also claim that John O'Shea of
Manchester United will be part of the Carrick transfer. 16
year old Spurs target and Welsh international Gareth Bale has
signed a two year professional contract with SCBC.
OTHER
NEWS ... Aston Villa will conduct an inquest into the "players
statement" that may never have been ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Arsene
Wenger told
The Guardian, "We still want to strengthen our squad at the
back." Same Old Arsenal.
Sunday
16.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Roberto Ayala might have moved a step nearer joining Spurs
according to the Star, who say that Valencia have said they are
willing to sell him. The News of the World reveal that Lucas
Neill, who has been linked with Spurs, has turned down a new deal
at Blackburn Rovers. The Sunday Mirror reckon Manchester United
have been given no encouragement in their attempt to sign Michael
Carrick by offering £10 million plus John O'Shea, who Spurs
are supposed to have had a previous bid for turned down.
Pascal Chimbonda, the Wigan Athletic defender, is set to be
offered a new £1 million a year deal to stop him joining Spurs.
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson is hoping to hold out for £15
million from Real Madrid for Ruud van Nistelrooy, so that he can
splash £11 million of it on Jermain Defoe, however other
reports link United with Spanish teenager Fernando Torres. In
the News of the World Martin Jol is being linked with a £15
million Spanish double swoop for Real Madrid's £2 million rated
midfielder Thomas Gravesen and also Villareal's Argentinian
defender Juan Pablo Sorin. Comforting news comes out of
the Valley, as Darren Bent seems set to sign a new deal at
Charlton Athletic to prevent joining a posse of interested clubs,
including Spurs, who were reported to have had a £10 million bid for
the striker turned down. This might be why the club are being
linked with Filippo Inzaghi of Juventus in the News of the
World, as he would be a much cheaper option, although hardly the
regular goal-scorer we need. In the wake of the Italian match
fixing scandal, 33-year old Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved's
agent has said that Spurs have made an offer for his client, along
with Monaco and sides from the Middle East.
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
Saturday
15.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
The Daily Mirror runs a story claiming that Manchester United have
made a £15 million offer for Jermain Defoe in an attempt to
take him to Old Trafford to replace the departing Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The same newspaper reckon that Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal will be
invited to enter into an auction with Spurs for Manchester City's 18
year old central defender Micah Richards to see how much the
Eastlands club can cash in on him. City are also said to be
negotiating with Oldham Athletic to buy out the sell-on clause that
was part of the deal that took him to Manchester. The chances of
him leaving are apparently heightened as the Daily Express writes that
he has turned down a lucrative new contract. The Sun reveal that
Tottenham are watching the situation involving Italian striker Luca
Toni of Fiorentina, although he had an undistinguished World Cup
for his country. The Daily Mail chip in with a story that says
Blackburn Rovers are trying to hold onto Australian World Cup
full-back Lucas Neill, as Spurs are showing interest in him.
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Ashley Cole has slammed Arsenal in the
promotional material for his new book, saying that they "hung him out
to dry" over the Chelsea tapping up incident and that he will open the
lid on Pandora's box by revealing who set him up within the club he
regarded as "family."
Friday
14.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Tottenham beat Nice 1-0 in a pre-season friendly at
the Stade
Municipal d'Evian in Evian.
The goal was scored by Lee Barnard from six yards out after Jamie
O'Hara pulled a cross back to him in the 43rd minute.
Marton Fulop had an outstanding game in goal to keep the Nice side
at bay.
The team that played was - Fulop, Stalteri,
Ziegler, Huddlestone, King (Murphy 72), Davenport, Routledge (Defoe
46), Ghaly, Barnard (McKenna 85), Tainio, O'Hara.
Unused Substitutes: Cerny, Defoe, Ifil, Lee, Barcham.
The Daily Mirror claims that Spurs have made a £5 million approach for
Manchester City defender Micah Richards. Damien Comolli
is believed to have put the offer to City chairman John Wardle and
City have hinted they would not want to sell their star youngster,
stating that they have not received an offer from any club.
Midfielder Dean Marney has left Spurs for Hull City for an
undisclosed fee on a three year contract.
A Spurs XI beat Enfield Town in their first pre-season friendly 7-1 at
Brimsdown Rovers FC. The goals were scored by Dorian Dervite,
Terry Dixon, Jacques Maghoma, Simon
Dawkins,
Jamie Davis 2 and
Jake Livermore after Tottenham went 0-1 down in the first five
minutes.
The team was - Button, Riley (Mtandari 50),
Martin, Mills, Dervite, Lewis, Daniels, Maghoma, Davis, Dawkins, Dixon
(Livermore 56).
OTHER
NEWS ... The Serie A sides implicated
in the match fixing scandal - Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina - have
been demoted to the second division, while AC Milan will stay in Serie
A, but have a 15 point deduction for the start of next season.
Juventus have been stripped of their last two Serie A titles and have
been handed a 30 point deduction, Lazio will start seven points behind
and Fiorentina 12 points. All have been barred from playing in
Europe, but have three days in which to appeal against their sentences
...
MEHSTG's spin story
... Aston Villa players have issued a statement criticising Doug Ellis
for his financial stricture at the club. Having said that the
club have cut a masseur from it's backroom staff the players told the
media that they are trawling the back pages of their local newspaper
to find a replacement.
Thursday
13.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs are reported in the Daily Star as being ready to bid £2 million
for French international Lilian Thuram of Juventus.
The first pre-season friendly saw Spurs beat Bordeaux 2-1 at the
Stade Olympique d'Albertville.
Murphy passed to the Jermain Defoe, who set himself up by making space
to hit a shot low past the Bordeaux keeper in the 36th minute.
Bordeaux equalised right on half-time when Micoud shot home from six
yards past Cerny. Tottenham had to wait until a minute from time
when Reto Ziegler crossed deep and McKenna drifted a header back over
the keeper to give Spurs the win.
The Spurs team consisted of Cerny, Ifil
(McKenna 79), Assou-Ekotto, Davids, Dawson, Gardner, Routledge
(Ziegler 60), Murphy (Lee 87), Berbatov (Barnard 79), Defoe (O'Hara
60), Reid.
Unused Substitutes: Fulop, Davenport, Huddlestone
OTHER
NEWS ... Italy have appointed Roberto Donadoni to succeed
Marcello Lippi as the national team manager...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Milan
Mandaric has denied the rumours that having sold Portsmouth he was
about to buy Wolves. With a huge pile of money from the sale of
his stake in the South Coast club, he said £He is not in talks to buy
Wolves with London Zoo."
Wednesday
12.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
The Times claim that Spurs are preparing a £7 million bid for Bolton
Wanderers midfielder Kevin Nolan and that West Bromwich Albion
have rejected a £5.5 million bid for central defender Curtis Davies,
who they rate at £10 million. The same paper says that
Manchester United will complete the £14 million transfer of Michael
Carrick when he returns form holiday next week to continue talks.
It is £15 million if you believe the Football 365 site.
Meanwhile the Mirror report that Spurs' £10 million offer for Charlton
Athletic forward Darren Bent has been knocked back, with the
Addicks wanting £16 million.
Former Spurs striker Jurgen Klinsmann has resigned as manager of the
German national team at the end of his two year contract.
OTHER
NEWS ... Greece's ban from international and European competition
has been removed after a change of heart by the national government ... Zinedine
Zidane has revealed that Marco Materazzi said "tough words" about his
mother and sister, which made him react as he took the comments twice
before head-butting the Italian defender. However, in Italy,
Materazzi has said that he did not call him an "Islamic terrorist" nor
mentioned his mother in the insult ...
Tuesday
11.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Tottenham have been warned off another move for Middlesbrough's winger
Stewart Downing by manager Gareth Southgate according to
the Guardian. Spurs and Newcastle United are linked with swap
moves for Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, while Portsmouth hope to
steal in with a £4.2 million bid which Villa might prefer.
Tottenham will face Spanish side Real Sociedad in a pre-season
friendly at White Hart Lane on Saturday August 12th with the kick off
at 3.00 p.m.
The Reserve fixture list has been announced today with the first three
games being Portsmouth away on Wednesday
30th August, with a home game against local rivals Arsenal on Monday
11th September and another London derby on Wednesday 20th September
20th against West Ham United.
Home games will kick off at 7.00 p.m. with entry for adults being £5
and children under-16 and OAPs £2.
The planning decision by Enfield Council on the new training and
Academy has been deferred until THFC have carried out an
ecological survey on some wildlife that is inhabiting the site.
The club have 13 weeks to carry out the survey.
OTHER
NEWS ... FIFA will investigate the circumstances surrounding
Zinedine Zidane's sending off in the World Cup Final ... ...
Monday
10.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
No transfer news involving Spurs today !!
The Spurs XI pre-season friendly programme will now include a match
against Fisher Athletic managed by old boy Justin Edinburgh. The
game will take place on
Wednesday August 2 with the
kick off at 7.45 p.m.
OTHER
NEWS ... Wolverhampton Wanderers' Chris Cornes has been given a
six month ban for testing positive for cocaine ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Italian defender Marco
Materazzi has said he did not call Zinedine Zidane
a "dirty terrorist." "It is absolutely not true, I did not call
him a terrorist," the Internazionale centre-back told the press. "I'm
ignorant. I don't even know what the word means."
MEHSTG's
no-spin story 2 ... Zinedine Zidane
was awarded the Golden Ball by FIFA for being the most valuable player
at this year's World Cup finals. Luckily for the Frenchman, the
vote by journalists took place at half-time in the final ... before he
received his red card.
Sunday
09.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs are being linked with a move for Juventus and Sweden striker
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who would cost them around £5 million
according to the Star and the Sunday Express . Manchester United
are said by the Sunday Mirror to be looking at midfield options,
including Owen Hargreaves, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, thus
indicating that they are not willing to go above £14 million for
Michael Carrick. The Star claims that Charlton Athletic will
be willing to sell Darren Bent to Spurs for £12 million once
they complete the signing of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
OTHER
NEWS ... Italy won the World Cup final 5-3 on penalties after the
game had finished 1-1 after extra time. Zinedine Zidane was sent
off for head butting Marco Materazzi in the chest ten minutes from the
end of extra time... ...
Saturday
08.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs have been linked with a failed £10 million bid for Charlton
Athletic striker Darren Bent, so the Star tells us.
Former Spurs transfer target Swedish midfielder Christian
Wilhelmsson of Anderlecht has signed for French club Nantes.
OTHER
NEWS ... Wayne Rooney has been handed a £2,400 fine and a two
match ban for the incident in which he was sent off in the World Cup
quarter final against Portugal ... Germany took third place in
the World Cup with a 3-1 win over Portugal ...
Friday
07.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Centre back Calum Davenport might be a £1.5 million target for
newly promoted Watford according tot he Daily Mirror, who also claim
that Chelsea's Geremi will disappoint Spurs and three other
Premiership sides in staying at Stamford Bridge to fight for his place
in the team. The Times reports that in their opinion, Newcastle
United do not have sufficient funds to buy Jermain Defoe from
Tottenham and Glenn Roeder has been told he will have to sell before
he makes any new purchases. Portsmouth and Spurs are chasing 22
year old Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida of FC Porto.
Former Spurs midfield transfer target, 20 year old David Silva,
who looked likely to sign up to stay at the Mestalla, now might be on
the move as he has not been able to agree wage terms with the La Liga
club.
Former loan striker Mido has turned down a move to Blackburn Rovers
after a £3 million fee had been agreed with AS Roma, as he said he is
not interested in playing for the Ewood Park club.
OTHER
NEWS ... FIFA are to amend their ranking system starting on
Monday after the World Cup finishes ... ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Bobby
Robson has been named as the Life President of Ipswich Town.
Former manager of the Suffolk club, Robby Bobson said "Norwich have
always meant a lot to me and
Thursday
06.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs are being linked with a move for 33 year old Valencia and
Argentina central defender Roberto Ayala. His contract is
up next summer and a local radio station in Spain is claiming that in
January 2007, Spurs would offer him a three-year deal to sign him on a
free transfer. It seems certain he will leave Valencia then, but
it is rumoured that Liverpool are also interested. Martin Jol is
said by the Daily Mirror to be preparing to increase his bid from
January to £7.5 million for Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing to
play on the Tottenham left wing. Jol might be making the bid in
vain, as new Boro boss Gareth Southgate has said he does not want to
sell his best players and with Downing having played in the World Cup,
he probably falls into that category.
The club website reports that the new signings - Benoit
Assou-Ekotto and Dimitar Berbatov reported for the first
day of pre-season training yesterday in good shape.
OTHER
NEWS ... ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Wigan Athletic bid of £5.5 million for
Emile Heskey accepted !!
Wednesday
05.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Alleged Spurs transfer target Carlton Cole has signed for West
Ham United, who are also reported as being ready to line up Preston
North End defender Tyrone Mears, who was linked with Tottenham
earlier in the week and have had a £4 million offer for Wigan Athletic
defender Pascal Chimbonda turned down - another player
Tottenham have expressed an interest in.
Aaron Lennon has said after initially finding it tough to
settle at Spurs, because he was homesick for Leeds, he loves it at the
club now and looks forward to pushing Tottenham on to challenging for
honours next season.
OTHER
NEWS ... France will face Italy in the World Cup final on Sunday
after beating the cheating Portuguese 1-0 ... ...
CRIME
WATCH ... Lee Bowyer has been fined £600 and ordered to pay
£1,000 costs in a court case where he was found guilty of using
threatening behaviour when he had a fight with team-mate Kieron Dyer
on the pitch in Newcastle United's home game against Aston Villa in
April 2005 ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... big case of pot and kettle situations, as
Chelski report Real Madrid for an illegal approach to Arjen Robben, as
the new Real chairman said he would be signing for the Spanish clubs
after they had talks.
Tuesday
04.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
In the Times, Spurs are reported as having upped their bid for West
Bromwich Albion central defender Curtis Davies to £5.5 million.
One time reported Spurs target - Matthew Taylor - has signed a
new four year deal with Portsmouth.
Reserves Charlie Daniels and Simon Dawkins have signed
contract extensions to stay at Tottenham.
A number of Spurs XI friendlies have been announced for pre-season.
They start at Enfield
on Friday July 14th (kick
off 7.45 p.m.), then continue at Boreham Wood on
Tuesday July 18th (kick off
7.30 p.m.). The team then move on to Bishops Stortford on
Wednesday July 26th (kick
off 7.45 p.m.), Cambridge City on
Saturday July 29th (kick off 3.00 p.m.), Dover Athletic
on Wednesday August 9th
(kick off 7.45 p.m.) and finally Canvey Island
on Monday August 14th (7.45
p.m.)
Former Spurs defender Chris Perry has joined West Bromwich
Albion after being released by Charlton Athletic.
OTHER
NEWS ... Two late extra time goals saw Italy beat Germany 2-0 in
the World Cup semi-final ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Peter Crouch has revealed that England were
not very good at penalties at the end of the World Cup quarter final
against Portugal because ... they were tired.
Monday
03.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs have confirmed some more pre-season friendlies - all on the
continent as the club prepare for their UEFA Cup campaign. Spurs
will play Bordeaux on 13th July and Nice the next day. Celta
Vigo on 18th July, with these three games part of a training camp.
Spurs then play Borussia Dortmund in Germany on 5th August with a 2.30
(UK time) kick off. For all the confirmed pre-season friendlies,
click here.
Relief all round on the transfer front as West Ham United manager Alan
Partridge has announced that Marlon Harewood is not for sale !!
Spurs had been linked with a move for the portly Iron.
OTHER
NEWS ... Greece have been banned from international and European
competition until further notice, because their government has made a
law interfering with football ... ...
Sunday
02.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Spurs are reported in the News of the World to be interested, along
with Portsmouth and Newcastle United, in £7.5 million rated West Ham
striker Marlon Harewood, who it is alleged, the club see as a
replacement for Mido (quite literally by the size of him). The
same newspaper reveals from a Chelsea insider that Damien Duff
will sign a two year extension to his contract to ward off interest
from Tottenham. Meanwhile the Mail on Sunday claims that Arsenal
will sell Ashley Cole for £20 million to raise the money to buy
Michael Carrick before Manchester United do, for £14 million in
the Sunday Times, £15 million according to the Sunday Express and £20
million if you believe the Mail on Sunday. The Daily Star Sunday
have Spurs buying Stewart Downing for £8 million.
Sven Goran Eriksson backed his choice of Theo Walcott to go to Germany
instead of Jermain Defoe by saying that he had seen Defoe 15-20
times last season and chose the players who would be best for
England's future. I thought that this World Cup
was our best chance to win it for years.
Didier Zokora has told the press that he turned down approaches
from Olympique Lyonnais, Arsenal and Manchester United as he was
impressed by Tottenham's ambition and he aims to take Spurs to the
next level. He had talks with Arsene Wenger, but decided that
Spurs offered more of a future for him and they first approached him
two months before the World Cup finals.
Ian Holloway is trying to tempt reserve midfielder Dean Marney
down to Plymouth Argyle as his first signing since taking over as
manager.
OTHER
NEWS ... David Beckham has quit as England captain ... ...
MEHSTG's
no-spin story ... Talking about retirement from the England
scene, Gary Neville said "I've always said
I'll never retire from international football. It's not Gary Neville's
right."
Saturday
01.07.2006 (For other Spurs history on this day click
here; For the current news on each player
in the squad, click
here)
Paul Robinson played the whole of England's 1-3 penalty shoot
out defeat against Portugal after keeping a clean sheet in the 120
minutes of match time in the World Cup quarter final. Aaron
Lennon was a substitute who came on in the 51st minute for David
Beckham, but was substituted himself in the 118th minute, while
Jermaine Jenas and Michael Carrick were unused substitutes.
The papers, especially the Mirror, seem to believe that Carrick
will now leave the club, as Spurs have secured the signing of
Didier Zokora. The Sun report that Feyenoord have set a
price of £14 million on the head of Dirk Kuyt, with Liverpool,
Spurs, Arsenal and Newcastle United interested in the Dutch striker.
Ukraine midfielder Anotoliy Tymoschuk is linked with Spurs,
Newcastle United, Arsenal, Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Middlesbrough
after a potential move to Internazionale might be delayed as they have
their full quota of non-EU players at the moment. The 27-year
old impressed in the World Cup where Ukraine reached the quarter
finals in their first qualification for the finals.
Former Spurs midfielder and manager Glenn Hoddle today resigned
as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, stating that the ambitions of
the club did not match his own after financial cuts were announced.
OTHER
NEWS ... France beat Brazil 1-0 in the other World Cup
quarter-final played today ... ...
MEHSTG's spin story ... Sepp
Blatter is fuming after yesterday's bust up after the match between
Argentina and Germany. The FIFA chairman said that it was far
more entertaining than the game and that it should never be allowed to
happen again.
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