Luka set to return?

Portsmouth in Fratton tomorrow, on paper this should be and easy three points. In reality, yeah, it should also be a win in the south coast as well. In truth, it should be all smiles at Spurs lodge with Ledley and Daws available tomorrow and Jonny coming through a reserves game 'unscratched.' Good, finally.

But then the Honduran Government had to make things awkward. It seems as though ironically as it sounds, Sgt. Wilson has been told, in a nut shell, that he must party. The military junta has told he must attend a World Cup celebration so will not be in Portsmouth. That's a bugger.

That's a bad blow. Although, I do seem to recall Spurs saying that our Croatian maestro Luka Modric was intended to make his comeback tomorrow. Spurs report that he and Gio will 'continue rehabilitation.' I'm guessing that's a no to tomorrow then.

So, anyone who reckons they're''in the know' on the whole situation I ask you one thing. Any guesses as to how long until he will return?

Regards.

We have stolen Kranjcar

I found it hard to conceal my delight at reading this report. To get in a player of Niko Kranjcar's quality this late in the transfer window and for a reported £2.5m is, in my opinion, what you call an absolute steal.

Boy hasn't Levy turned his act around. He's realised his mistakes and now the club are just reaping the benefits of it. I think we should take a moment to praise the board and Harry for pulling off a 'triffic' signing.
I think I'll hit the ceiling when Niko first pops up on the Spurs site.

There's more. Of course there is, we're Spurs, being involved in just the one deal on deadline day is just not tradition in N17.
David Bentley is in talks with a few clubs including City and Everton. I don't know what to make of this really. On his day we all know David is one of the best deliverers of the ball and with Crouch now acquired in the striking department, maybe keeping hold of him wouldn't be the worst idea.

We've also enquired about Martin Petrov. There is the possibility of letting City have the 'privilege' of signing Bentley opening the door for us to bring in the Bulgarian left winger. Seems logical, doesn't it?

What do you make of our whole transfer deadline day deals and targets? Should we be letting Bentley go? 5pm's when the door is shut and locked on anymore transfers this calender year.

Regards.

Pompey look to Spurs to help them climb the league

I don't think I could survive a day in the life of a Pompey fan. We have all experienced the fear and the desperation of being at the foot of league. The anxiety and nerves that awaited us every match day. It's a nasty position to be in and hopefully one that won't ever come upon us again.

Pompey's position looked worse. To put it in a nut shell, Pompey's financial situations looked worse than a West Ham fan after a 'scuffle' with a Millwall bloke the other night. Yeah, that bad. Now big 'Al' seems to have fixed the structure of the club and a steady repair job on the current playing squad is under way.

This brings us to two familiar names. Kevin Prince Boateng and Jamie O'Hara. To put blunt, one can play and one needs to jump on the next flight back to Germany, quickly. No prizes for guessing which statement refers to which player. Reports coming out from Fratton Park are that the blue boys have agreed a fee for KP and want Jamie on loan.

To be frank, Levy has done well to even get a fee for the Prince of all flops. At a reported £4m as well, I'm sure Harry and Levy could barely keep a straight face between them. But what about Jamie? Harry referred to him as 'terrific' and was praising his performance after the Doncaster game, so whether we'd be ready to let him join the South Coast outfit for a season could be argued.

Should we loan out Jamie giving him more first team football or does he provide sufficient cover meaning we should keep hold of the bloke? IMO we should keep hold of the player. He works his socks off, plays for the badge on the shirt and is a great ambassador for Tottenham Hotspur. What do you think?

Regards.

Peter bleedin' Crouch

Yep, we expected it and any dreams of Huntelaar were, in truth, only dreams. We have signed relegation battlers Portsmouths' best player Peter Crouch. A split decision amongst us to say the least. Ok, so he's a 'proven' Premier League player, apparently, but in reality another mediocre player joins the ranks of overpaid and overrated players at Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

"We are sorry to see Peter go both as a player and a person and would like to thank him for playing a key role in keeping the club in the Premier League last season," said a club spokesman.

"His sale was necessitated by the club's commitment to repay scheduled debts while we are in a transitional period of completing the takeover.
"We will now be looking to add fresh faces to the first-team squad as soon as possible."

As you may have concluded I'm not the biggest fan of the bloke, I mean half his England goals have come against third world countries -such as Jamaica- and he only scrapped double figures for Premier League goals this season. But, my love for Spurs is greater than my dislike for the former Pompey boy and, reluctantly to say the least, I will give the guy a chance but at 29 his long legs won't be able to keep going forever.

What intrigues me more about this deal is how Pompey will survive after letting so many of their 'big names' depart for bigger clubs in Europe, and their manager saying they won't 'do a Citehh'; but that is for the seaside boys to write about.

Another striker has joined us, are we going to give this one more than one game before turning on him? The thing is, we have to pay the guys' wages. That hurts.

Regards,
Ben

Sunderland look Bent as Spurs set to Crouch down the table

I know, the title is a bad one but the news is much worse. A bad title for bad news, it works. It seems as though the reality that Peter Crouch could be at Tottenham within days is hitting down hard. As soon as it was obvious we were in the hunt for Crouch in truth it was really only a matter of days before we had him, there was no competition. Why oh why did we appoint Redknapp as manager?

"Obviously I'm disappointed to see Peter leave, but given the severe financial restraints in place here we had no choice but to accept an offer from Tottenham," Paul Hart told the Sunday Mirror.
"I think people need to realise that Pompey have been punching above their weight and could no longer sustain the level of spending that has gone on here over the last three years."

It's a shame Peter's coming but at £10m could probably be just about worth a punt, especially in today's market. The only way this move will work is if Crouch and Defoe play week in week out, so what will happen to £15m Robbie Keane and £14m Roman Pav? We'll just have to wait and see; maybe they'll be happy sitting on the Tottenham bench. Meanwhile, Steve Bruce has confirmed that Sunderland are in talks with Darren Bent.

"Darren Bent is another one where we are trying our utmost," said Bruce in the Sunday Sun.
"We have tried all summer for Peter Crouch and Darren Bent. Talks are ongoing as we speak at a high level.
"We hope we can do something with it, but as we have just experienced last week, we can get knocked back as well.
"We have to agree a fee - obviously it isn't done yet. But we are talking."

I think it be a shame to see Bent go and I'm not afraid to say it. I believe he will be hitting his peak within the next few seasons and, should we only get around £10-12m for him, we'd rue the day we let him jump up north.

It should be an interesting season. Either that or another horrendous one.

Regards,
Ben

Tottenham to be given points deduction

Tottenham could face a points deduction for the forth-coming season over the transfer of Jermaine Defoe to Portsmouth for an estimated £9m in January 2008; this is because of the apparent use of an unlicensed agent, according to the Daily Mirror.

Now I'm fairly naive of the depth of the enquiry but the accusations have been made by Defoe's former bad-man agent Sky Andrews, yes, the man that opened the door to the hatred and the deserving abuse given to Sol Campbell by switching him across London to the scum.
Sky's accusations are that Defoe used an unlicensed agent, after relieving Andrews of his job as Defoe's agent.

Now, this story is still sketchy around the edges and neither team nor Mr. Defoe have commented on the accusations. According to the Mirror though, should Sky Andrews succeed in his appeal, it will result in Spurs starting with a points deduction for the new season. Thanks mate.
Whether this is Andrew's trying to get himself back into the public eye by running to Britain's' most dignified paper is unknown to me- maybe he could do with the hefty payment apparently owed to him, should he be successful in his accusations.

All I am aware of is that this man is not the most popular person on one side of North London. He sent Sol Campbell to Arsenal, something that is unforgivable in itself, and is now looking to ensure that history repeats itself by making sure we are stuck in yet another relegation battle.

Let's just hope we don't do a Luton. I hear Mr Andrews has already fled the country, probably to get into the match-fixing business that is so popular and financially rewarding in Italy these days.

Regards,
Ben

Milan wants Redknapp

Milan Mandaric has today urged Pompey's new owners to make a dramatic move for our very own Harry Houdini. He said:

"Harry Redknapp is a fantastic manager,” he told The News.
“He knows and understands the game far better than most. He's a top manager and the right manager for Portsmouth. I rate him so highly.
“Managing people is his best quality. He's not perfect and sometimes he would drive me crazy, but that quality always prevails.

He ended the interview by saying
The club is the biggest thing and you have to do the best for it, even if it is a big decision.
“You've got to do the right thing and, if bringing Harry to the club is what he needs to do, that is what he has to do.”

Now, Milan Mandaric is Leicester boss at the moment and spreading that kind of speculation is not needed at the moment. As I'm sure, most of us hate reading such articles I am sure the majority take this sort of speculation as a pinch of salt and can rarely see any move for Redknapp progressing. After all, he'd already claimed he has taken South-coasters as far as he can and moving back to them is surely the most unlikely of moves.

But of course, I'm sure Pompey fans would welcome the return..

Regards,
Ben