White Hot Lines  

   Spurs striker Jermain Defoe has long  been linked with a move to MLS side Toronto FC and the Daily Mail claims this could happen in the next two weeks.
   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS :  -  Paulinho will miss the next four weeks thanks to a late tackle on his ankle in Sunday's game against Stoke City.  He joins Younes Kaboul (thigh), Jermain Defoe (hamstring), Andros Townsend (hamstring), Jan Vertonghen (ankle) and Sandro (calf) on the injured list.  Kyle Walker returns after a one match ban and Danny Rose might be fit to come back in at left back.
   MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS :  -   Wayne Rooney will face a late fitness test for Wednesday's match against Spurs, but Robin van Persie might not be ready to return, but this may be minds games by David Moyes.  Nani is ruled out with a hamstring injury, Rafael with a groin injury, Phil Jones with a knee injury and Marouane Fellaini after having surgery on his thumb.
   For a match preview of the game at Old Trafford, click here.

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   Tottenham will visit America again this summer to play two games scheduled at the moment, against Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on July 19th and the travel to play Chicago Fire on July 26th at Toyota Park.
   Paulinho could be out of action for four weeks with ankle ligament damage after a late tackle in the Stoke City game by some labourer who came onto the field for the visitors.
   Meanwhile, the Brazilian is being linked with interest from Real Madrid, who seem to think we have some of the best players in the world.  Paulinho is thought to be settled in London, but might have his head turned by so many before him once Real start leaking stories through their media machine.
   The Sun claim that QPR manager Harry Redknapp wants to take striker Harry Kane on loan until the end of the season.
   The Daily Mail claims Spurs have enquired about Manchester United left back Alexander Buttner, who David Moyes is willing to allow out on loan with a view to a permanent deal.  The same paper reckons Spurs may recall Benoit Assou-Ekotto from his loan at QPR if they cannot secure a deal for Real Madrid left back Fabio Coentrao.

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   Tottenham beat Stoke City 3-0 at White Hart Lane this afternoon.  Click here for a match report.
   The Mail on Sunday reports that Daniel Levy has had talks with Louis van Gaal about coming to Tottenham in some capacity in the summer, after ha has taken Holland to the World Cup finals in Brazil.  While Tim Sherwood is in charge on an 18 month contract, van Gaal may come in as manager or in another position alongside Sherwood.  The Sunday Mirror carries the same story.
   Meanwhile, the Sunday People reckon Tottenham will move for Jurgen Klinsmann if Tim Sherwood's appointment does not pay off.  The Daily Star put their money on Tottenham going for Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone should they need a new Head Coach.

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   The Daily Express claims that Tottenham, Barcelona and Arsenal are interested in taking Wolfsburg's Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo in the summer, as he looks set to leave the Bundesliga side.

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   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : -  Head Coach Tim Sherwood hopes that Aaron Lennon will be fit to join Paulinho, who is returning from the three match suspension he has just served for the game, to play against Stoke City on Sunday.  Mousa Dembele (ankle) and Jermain Defoe (hamstring) are doubtful for the match, while Jan Vertonghen (ankle), Younes Kaboul (thigh), Sandro (calf) and Andros Townsend (hamstring) are definitely out of contention.
   STOKE CITY TEAM NEWS : -  The Potters will be missing the pair sent off on Boxing Day - Glen Whelan and Marc Wilson, as well as Robert Huth (ankle), Amir Begovic (finger) and Matthew Etherington (back).
   For a preview of the Stoke City game, click here.
   The Metro claims Tim Sherwood will make a £5 million move for Bafetimbi Gomis of Olympique Lyonnais in the January transfer window, as his club look to cash in on him with his contract running down.
   The Daily Mirror claims that Internazionale want to take Erik Lamela on loan and that the player is keen on the move to play every week with the World Cup finals coming up.  Atletico Madrid are also said to be interested in a loan deal until the end of the season.
   In the Metro, they claim Spurs and Liverpool might be keen on signing left back Ashley Cole in the summer should he not stay at Chelsea.
   TalkSport reckon that Juventus might nip in ahead of Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal to sign Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria in the summer, as he has been squeezed out of the first team picture by the signing of Gareth Bale.
   Former Spurs Head Coach Andre Villas-Boas has said that he is sad that he did not win a trophy, as that was the aim this season, to repay the confidence of the fans.  He hinted that his next job may well be away from England.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Malky Mackay has unsurprisingly been sacked by the Cardiff City chairman ... 

   CRIME WATCH ... Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has been charged with improper conduct after being sent to he stands in yesterday's game at Newcastle United ... Brendan Rodgers has been asked to explain his comments that Lee Mason, a referee from Bolton, should not have officiated in the game between Manchester City and Liverpool ...

   Tottenham drew 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane this afternoon.  Click here for a match report.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Steve Lomas was sacked as Millwall manager after today's defeat by Watford ... 

   MERRY CHRISTMAS !!  Have a fun festive period from all at MEHSTG.
   For a preview of the West Bromwich Albion game on Boxing Day, click here.
   Former Spurs striker Clint Dempsey has joined Fulham on a two month loan from Seattle Sounders.

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   Travel note for Boxing Day.  There will be no trains running to White Hart Lane BR station and only a reduced Sunday service running to Northumberland Park BR station.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Russ Wilcox has been appointed as  manager of Scunthorpe United ... 

   A nice Christmas present for Tim Sherwood, as he is appointed as Spurs Head Coach until at least the end of the 2014-15 season.
   A Spurs XI drew 2-2 with Brighton and Hove Albion at Hotspur Way today, with goals from Darren McQueen and Ruben Lameiras.

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   CRIME WATCH ... West Ham United James Tomkins was arrested by Police for assault, resisting arrest and being drunk and disorderly after being refused entry to a venue in Brentwood  hours after his side lost at Old Trafford in the early hours on Sunday morning ... 

   Tottenham beat Southampton 3-2 at St. Mary's this afternoon.  Click here for a match report.
   The Sunday Telegraph reveals that Franco Baldini offered to resign on Monday when Andre Villas-Boas was sacked.  The Italian felt that his involvement in the transfer buys implicated in him in some of the blame for the club's current situation.
   The Sunday Mirror claims that number one on Tottenham's list to replace AVB is Louis van Gaal, but they have to persuade him that he can manage Spurs and the Dutch national team until after the World Cup Finals in the summer.

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   Not a great deal of Spurs news around today.
   For a match preview of tomorrow's game at Southampton, click here.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Aidy Boothroyd has been sacked as manager of bottom of League Two club Northampton Town ... Football and sports commentator David Coleman died today ...

   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : -  Tottenham's defence is still hit hard by injury, with Jan Vertonghen (ankle) and Younes Kaboul (thigh) out, but Michael Dawson is available again after serving a one match suspension.  Paulinho serves his second of a three match ban, Sandro is still out after leaving the Liverpool game early on and Harry Kane's stiff back making him unlikely to feature against Southampton on Sunday.
   Spurs Under-18s won 6-2 against USA Under-17s in the IMG Cup in Florida, with Nathan Oduwa 2, Roman Michael-Percil 2, Shayon Harrison and Alexander McQueen scoring the goals in the victory.
   The Daily Mirror claims that both Guus Hiddink and Frank de Boer have turned down the opportunity to manage Tottenham, but former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz, now managing the Iran national team, has said he would be interested in managing Spurs according to the Metro.  Tim Sherwood told a pre-match Press conference today that if it was up to him, he would give himself a 10 year contract in charge at Spurs.  Mauricio Pochettino has said he has not been contacted by Spurs about the job and Brendan Rodgers said he was glad he didn't take it when offered the chance to replace Harry Redknapp. 

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   The latest manager linked with the White Hart Lane job is Ajax's Frank de Boer, who could bring Dennis Bergkamp with him, should he get the post.
   Andros Townsend may miss the Christmas matches with a pulled hamstring.
   The Daily Star claims that Tottenham are one of a pack of clubs chasing Internazionale's 25 year old defender Andrea Ranocchi.
   The Daily Mail claims that Spurs Head Coach Andre Villas-Boas did not want four of the signings made in the summer, namely, Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela.  It is claimed that the players he would have preferred to have signed were Hulk, David Villa and Joao Moutinho.

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   CRIME WATCH ... Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshire has been given a two game ban for making an obscene gesture at Manchester City on Saturday ... Swansea City and Hull City were both fined £20,000 each for failing to control their players in a melee in their recent league match ...

   Tottenham lost 2-1 to West Ham United at White Hart Lane tonight in the League Cup.  For a match report, click here.

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   CRIME WATCH ... Southampton striker Dani Osvaldo and Newcastle United goalkeeping coach Andy Woodman have been charged over an incident in Saturday's game which resulted in a touchline bundle ...

   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : -  Vlad Chiriches may be back to bolster a defence without Michael Dawson (suspended), Younes Kaboul (thigh) and Jan Vertonghen (ankle).  Paulinho is also suspended and Harry Kane's back injury also rules him out.
   For a preview of the League Cup tie with West Ham United, click here.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Danny Wilson has been named as the new manager of Barnsley ... 

   CRIME WATCH ... Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshire has been charged with making an obscene gesture at Manchester City on Saturday ... 

   Andre Villas-Boas was removed from his post as Head Coach at the club today, by mutual consent.  His backroom staff - Jose Mario Rocha, Luis Martins and Daniel Sousa - have also left Tottenham.  Tony Parks and Steffen Freund will remain on the coaching staff.
   Technical Co-ordinator Tim Sherwood will take control of the team for Wednesday's League Cup tie with West Ham United, with Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey as his coaches.
   Newspaper speculation has linked Fabio Capello, Spurs Director of Football Franco Baldini, Guus Hiddink, Glenn Hoddle, Jurgen Klinsmann, Michael Laudrup, Gus Poyet, Frank de Boer of Ajax, FC Basel boss Murat Yakin, FSV Mainz 05 coach Thomas Tuchel and Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino with the job.
   Spurs have been drawn to play Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk of Ukraine in the Europa League Round of 32, with the second leg at home on February 27th, with the first leg the preceding Thursday 20th February.  If Spurs make it through this round, then they will play Benfica or PAOK Salonika in the Round of 16.
   Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Emmanuel Adebayor posted a photo of themselves on a social network, smiling and giving a five fingered salute after Tottenham's 0-5 defeat by Liverpool yesterday.
   Spurs are one of a number of clubs looking at FC Hoffenheim's young striker Kevin Volland according to the TalkSport website.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Watford Head Coach Gianfranco Zola resigned today ... 

   Tottenham lost 0-5 to Liverpool at White Hart Lane this afternoon.  For a match report, click here.

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   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : - Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen could be in contention for a place in the side after playing in the Europa League on Thursday.  Tottenham will hope Jan Vertonghen has recovered sufficiently to play in the match, as Younes Kaboul (quadriceps) keeps him out and Vlad Chiriches will face a late test on his knee.  Harry Kane's back still rules him out, while Emmanuel Adebayor is out of favour.
   LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS : -  Steven Gerrard is out of the match with a hamstring injury, but Daniel Agger and Jordan Henderson could return.  Striker Daniel Sturridge is still sidelined with a knee injury, as are Jose Enrique and Sebastian Coates.
   For a match preview of the Liverpool game, click here.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Steve Clarke was sacked tonight as manager of West Bromwich Albion ... 

   Spurs will travel across North London to play at Arsenal in the FA Cup Third Round on Saturday 4th January with the kick-off set for 17:15 for live TV coverage on ITV.
   Our  Youth team have been drawn at home in the Fourth Round of the FA Youth Cup against Fulham, with no date yet arranged for the game to be played.
   The Under-21s lost 3-5 to league leaders Fulham at Motspur Park tonight.  The Tottenham goals came from Dominic Ball, Kenneth McEvoy and Shaquile Coulthirst.
   There is an interesting article on Sandro on the BBC football website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25357542.
   The Daily Express claims that Spurs and Manchester United officials have met with the representatives of Colombian midfielder Fredy Guarin about leaving Internazionale, while the Metro claim United are favourites to sign the 27 year old.

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   Tottenham beat Anzhi Makhachkala 4-1 at White Hart Lane in the Europa Cup tonight.  For a match report, click here.

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   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : -  Spurs will be without Jan Vertonghen (ankle), Vlad Chiriches (knee), Younes Kaboul (quadriceps), Harry Kane (back) and  Emmanuel Adebayor (omitted from squad) for the Anzhi match, but Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen could return on the bench.  A number of development team players are included in the squad, who might be used to give them experience.

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   Spurs fear that Jan Vertonghen's ankle injury, picked up in the match with Fulham, might lead to him missing the whole of the Christmas programme of matches.
   Tottenham have had more games moved for live TV coverage.
         Our home game with Everton has been moved form Saturday 8th February to Sunday 9th February with a 13:30 kick off.
         Norwich City were due to host Spurs on Saturday 22nd February, but the game will now take place on Sunday 23rd February at 16:00.
   Cliff Jones has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement award in the Wales Sport awards given by BBC Cymru Wales and Sport Wales.
   For a preview of Thursday's match with Anzhi, click here.

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   No real news about Spurs today.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Portsmouth have named Richie Barker as their new manager and Steve Coppell will be their new Director of Football ... 

   Tottenham have been drawn away to Arsenal in the Third Round of the FA Cup with ties to be played over the weekend of January 4th/5th.

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   Tottenham beat Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light this evening.  Click here for a match report.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Wigan Athletic have announced that their new manager will be Uwe Rosler ... 

   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : - Christian Eriksen (ankle), Danny Rose (thigh), Harry Kane (back) and Emmanuel Adebayor (knee) are all out of Saturday's match at Sunderland, while Jan Vertonghen (knee) is also out. Mousa Dembele could return from suffering a thigh problem.
   For a preview of the Sunderland game, click here.
   The London Evening Standard claims that Andre Villas-Boas has seven games to save his Tottenham career.  The piece says that the board expect the team to be placed higher than sixth and to be playing better football after spending £110 million in the summer.
   The Sun have FC Porto as being keen to take AVB back if he does leave Spurs.
   Darren Baldwin has won the Institute of Groundsmanship Professional Football Groundsman of the Year award for 2013.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Two Whitehawk players from the Conference South have been sacked by the club after being charged with match fixing ... 

   Spurs, along with Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United and Liverpool are watching 23 year old Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Karl Darlow, according to Sky Sports.

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   Tottenham beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage tonight.  Click here for a match report.

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   TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TEAM NEWS : -  Emmanuel Adebayor picked up a knee injury in training yesterday and will miss the Fulham match along with long term injuries to Christian Eriksen (ankle), Danny Rose (foot) and Harry Kane (back).
   The Daily Express claim Spurs will make a £30 million bid to Fiorentina for former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Steve Cotterill has been appointed as the new manager of Bristol City ... John Gregory has been named as the new Crawley Town boss ...

   The Under-21 side lost 1-3 away at Wolverhampton Wanderers today with the Spurs goal put into the Wolves net by one of their own players.
   Spurs Under-18s beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at Brisbane Road in the FA Youth Cup tonight, with the goals both scored by Connor Ogilvie.
   For a preview of the game at Fulham on Wednesday, click here.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Owen Coyle has been left his post of manager of Wigan Athletic by mutual consent ... 

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   MEHSTG's spin story ... Hull City owner Assem Allam, who wants to change the name of the team to Hull Tigers has said that the fans of campaign group City 'Til I Die can die as soon as they like.  I imagine that they have the same thoughts about this seemingly objectionable character.

   Tottenham drew 2-2 with Manchester United this afternoon at White Hart Lane.  For a match report, click here.
   The Sunday Mirror claims that Andre Villas-Boas will be sacked if there is not an upturn in the club's results, with the Express saying that Michael Laudrup and Gus Poyet are on the list of replacements should AVB go.
   Former Spurs manager Martin Jol was sacked as manager of Fulham today, with assistant Rene Meulensteen taking over as the new boss.

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   OTHER NEWS ... Dave Jones was sacked as the manager of Sheffield Wednesday today ...