Reality is a b*tch.

I awoke this morning to the unsightly words from a certain Mr. Aljai that Niko was in fact knocking on the door of Sunderland bright and early with the player close to agreeing a move to the Stadium of Light.

"Why are we selling Niko when we've still got bloody Jenas in our squad" A statement that I read rather frequently from some of you on Twitter this morning; one that makes sense. The reality is that, how do I put this, Kranjcar is class. He's divisions above JJ in ability. Despite spending the majority of the last season watching us fail to overcome the heavyweights of Blackpool, West Ham, Wigan and so on, he still turned up and saved us on a number of occasions, sticking in performances worthy of a start.

Here, we have a player with raw talent, a real eye for a pass and a hell of a strike on him but yet fails to make the side on a regular basis therefore queuing a vast interest in the Croatian where most, if not all, clubs can guarantee him a place in their first 11 i.e. Sunderland.

Then there's Jenas. Oh Jermaine, where did it all fall flat? His Spurs career is reminiscent of a certain Leeds United F.C, so much promise but it's ended in tears. I still remember believing that we'd made a real coup when we brought him down south from St. James'. A player that in his debut season for the club looked a magnificent signing. Since then, well, it hasn't quite worked out. A few goals against the scum have kept us persisting but, in the end, his position in the first team is met with more groans than cheers.

This sums up a classic Spurs situation. It's an easy feat to simply state 'sell the deadwood and get a few top top players in' but the reality is that no one wants our 'deadwood'. No one wants players that haven't performed to well for however long. We were lucky O'Hara really showed what he could do given half a chance otherwise he'd still be on the books. Jenas' inconsistency and demise down the pecking order at Spurs isn't without reason and everyone can see it. Seeing him captain us in Madrid still gives me nightmares.

The point is, as much as I don't want Niko to leave if it means we get a half decent fee and actually start pushing ahead in bringing in a forward and progressing then it's a deal that must be done. The boy himself doesn't deserve to finish another Premier League season with only 2 starts under his belt. No one wants a player that hasn't performed for a season or two and with Levy appearing to ask the Earth for some of them we're left in an impossible situation.

Onward and upward.

Regards.

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Harry, you're wrong

Harry came out yesterday and lamented the boo boys that were heard after a disappointing point against Sunderland. Like most of White Hart Lane, the frustration ran right the way throughout the club and the fans, with a spare few letting their frustrations known.

I'm not one to ever jeer off my football team but let's see where they were coming from. Thousands of fans would've paid upwards of £50 to go and see that game which is hardly an easy expense to pay in these times. On top of that there's the rushing from a long day at work plus the time and money spent to get to White Hart Lane.

Secondly, we haven't won a Premier League game since we took 3 points at Craven Cottage and have dropped points at home to Wigan, Everton and Sunderland whilst losing away to West Ham. These are just a select few of games that we picked up maximum points from last season.

We should never be booing our side off. We're Spurs fans and should be used to the frustrating emotions that come with supporting the team; but Harry should be more considerate. With a very congested league table points, picked up at home will prove vital. The season's only a third of the way through and with Dawson, King and Defoe back we can still make the top 4.

Now for Blackburn.

Regards.

A bad bad day

What can be best described as a sheer 'gutter blow,' a kick in the teeth and that same sick feeling that occurred when West Ham prevented us from Champions League football a few years back. We all know the difficulty of the fixture list and it brought about a response from many of us with the feeling that three points today and we would still be very much in the hunt for that 4th spot.

Sunderland. A side that had hit form of late especially at home, but a team that no doubt a win was an absolute must. A side that realistically had starved off the threat of relegation and any real ambition was that of making the top 10.

Criticism of Tottenham this season had been much more of a rarity and far less frequent than what it had been in previous season's, although today brought back memories of the past leaving a bitter feeling of disappointment and a large weight added to our grasp of 4th position.

With the top 3 sides still to play and a trip to Manchester City edging ever closer, it is understandable to see where points may be lost on the final stretch to 4th spot.

With Villa giving themselves an outside chance and City currently 2-0 up. It's hard to see us keep hold of the 4th spot. All we can do as fans is stay behind them team and cheer them for 90 minutes for the remainder of the season.

What do you make of our chances?

The infamous Beach Ball speaks out!

You've all seen it and we've all had a laugh. Too bad Rafa or any of the Kop couldn't see the funny side, maybe it's because Liverpool have now lost half of their games this year. Premier League? Your havin' a laugh.


I'm sure the fan that caused the wide spread controversy has had the back of his head clipped a couple of times and some very nasty letters have come through the post. I know I'd send a strongly worded letter of disapproval to the fan if Bent had scored that against us, and after I'd found out who the bloke is as well.


But anyway, I was flicking through the back pages of the NOTW this cold morning and came across what you may consider a 'unique' article and thought it may provide an interesting 2 minute read. So here it is below...

The title read: I was so pumped.
"After diverting Darren Bent's shot into his own net, the red Liverpool beach ball admitted: 'I feel a bit deflated and I think I may have blown our title chances. I've never felt as flat as this since I suffered a puncture on Southport beach. Someone told me afterwards that I have become the first beach ball to score in the North East since Mick Quinn but I'm still not happy. I was really pumped up for this game but when the goal went in I just wanted to bury my head in the sand.'

To make matters worse, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce named the beach ball as Man Of The Match. The ball added: 'I was really floating when I got the chance to go on the pitch but now all that talk of Liverpool winning the title looks like hot air. But there is an up-side to all this. After the game my agent rang to say City have made a £30m bid for me.'"

I must admit. I did chuckle once or twice.

On a more important note, well done to the boys yesterday. It was never going to be an easy game in Portsmouth but we played well with a touch of luck and grounded out the win. Now to get Jermain's ban overturned, somehow..

Regards.

Bent reacts to Twitter posts

Bent statement: "I appreciate that transfers are seldom straightforward and are often complex. However, after a long period of waiting following my withdrawal from the plane to China, I had become incredibly frustrated by the time these things take and I posted inappropriate comments on my Twitter site.
I allowed my emotions to get in the way of my better judgement. I regret my actions and did not intend to offend Daniel Levy or anyone with the nature or the content of my posting."

Seems this free speech act that was granted so long ago doesn't apply in the world of football, but I'm sure Darren has just saved himself a fine.

Do you think he's really sorry? Somehow, I don't think he is.

Regards.

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

Spurs after Sunderland reject- FACT

My 'Tottenham depression' reached a new level today when it came out that, not only could it be true that Spurs actually want Cisse, but the player wants the move himself. Is this the player that will fire Spurs into the Champions league? Surely Darren Bent would be preferred over Cisse, Bent scored 7 more goals than Cisse did last season and he's readily available. Yet, again, I cannot get my head around Redknapp's way of thinking for a club like Spurs; fair enough, Cisse could keep smaller clubs such as Sunderland and Portsmouth up and starve of relegation, but for a club optimistic in reaching the Champions League; Cisse is not the right player.

In comparison to Bent, I cannot see why we'd be better off with Cisse at all. He's older and his scoring record in the Premier League is very bleak, his first season only saw him net 11 goals in 49 games for Liverpool who were quick to shift him out on loan to Marseille- where he hardly re-established himself as a top European striker. He then returned to Sunderland to score 10 goals in a fairly dismal season that did eventually see them survive. Surely Spurs cannot judge Cisse a better player than our own Darren Bent, even the work rate isn't there with him.

I struggle to find reasons as to why this sort of signing may interest Redknapp bar the fact that on every debut Cisse has played in, he has scored against us, but is that worth a big wage packet? Bent knocked up 17 goals this season, despite early team performances and injuries and has recently stated how he'd he'd love to stay in North London claiming he could score more than 20 goals and fire us into the Champions League. It is clear his love for the club is there, so why not give him another season at it? Could we really expect the same with Cisse, ok, no question the passion would be there- at the start anyway- but could we really rely on him to knock up 20 goals in his debut season? I don't think so.

Cisse has scored 21 goals in English football in 2 and a half years. Please justify as to why Tottenham, and only Tottenham- suprise surprise,- want this deadwood when it is clear his best years are behind him. How I hate pre-season.

Regards,
Ben