Ghetto Kid signs for Spurs

Self proclaimed "Ghetto Kid" Kevin-Prince Boateng has today signed for Spurs.

At a supposed cost of around 5M Pounds, Jol rates him highly. "Kevin is a talented player who plays for the Under-21 side of his country," said the manager. "You could compare him with the likes of Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone in that he is an exciting player for now and the future.

"He is an attacking midfield player, very strong and that is one of his main assets.

"In Germany he is regarded as one of the biggest talents, we recognised this and went in for him."

A central midfielder, the 20-year-old arrives at the Lane having already played 42 games in Germany’s Bundesliga, scoring four goals. He has also made six appearances in the UEFA Cup.

Boateng progressed through the ranks at Hertha Berlin having initially played for the reserve team in the Regionalliga Nord, where he scored three goals in 18 games in the 2004-05 season aged just 17.

Capped by Germany at youth and Under-21 level, Boateng was awarded the prestigious Fritz Walter Gold Medal Award after being voted Best Young Player in Germany in July, 2006 and went on to contribute 14 assists towards Hertha's goal tally last season.

Been a while...Bent & Defoe

First up...Darren Bent. There's been a lot of discussion about how good Bent really is, whether he was worth 16.5M quid and if we really needed to strengthen there.

Any player who has a record of 37 goals in two Premier league seasons for a club that was fighting to avoid relegation deserves respect. When one of those seasons was curtailed through injury, add more respect.

A typical comment, attached to the stat that our pre-Bent forward line scored 60 goals between them last season, is "why buy Bent for 16.5M when the forwards Spurs have are so strong?" The simple answer is - progression. I cannot believe that there are Spurs "fans" out there criticising the club for not standing still. Two successful seasons in a row, both blighted by an inability to finish off teams and costing us valuable points. How many of them are aware that Bent outscored Defoe, Keane and Berbatov in the league last season, despite missing a vast chunk of it?

Spurs are in four competitions next season, with a realistic chance of winning two of them (the domestic cups). The League (as Jol commented) is out of our reach this season, but the top 4 isn't. The UEFA Cup must go to Bayern Munich this season after their unprecedented investment - they can now field 2 "A" teams. In order to compete on four fronts, you need a strong squad. Bent is a great addition, no question.

There is definitely money left, people always forget how rich Spurs actually are. There will still be additions. A centre back will arrive, more than likely in the form of Kaboul. There is no doubt that the midfield needs a bit more attention, certainly on the left and a creator in the middle...but I am sure that is coming.

I had to laugh the other day when I was reading the Football365.com Mailbox and saw some Gooners commenting on how we over spent on Bent. Twats, honestly, if they really believe that then the will surely believe that Da Silva will be a huge success! Henry is a 30 year old striker who relied on pace (aligned to his skill) to score. Barcelona if anything over paid...he is only going to get slower and more likely to pick up niggling injuries., Bent is 23, already a proven Premiership goalscorer and has his best years in front of him.


At the start of this now long and quite possibly rambling post, I mentioned Defoe. I read a quote on SkySports.com that he wants to say, those exact words are:

"I'm really excited about the new season and prospect of another campaign in Europe.

"We have made some good signings and our squad is now stronger and even better equipped to compete in all competitions.

"We have competition for places in all positions and that can only be good for the team."

At the end of the season I said that I wouldn't mind if he left. He is quite often greedy and doesn't convert his chances as often as Keane or Berbatov. Somehow the media affected my opinion of him and I considered him to be a negative whinger who wasn't happy on the bench. I was wrong. This quote could of course just be one to placate the fans while he looks for a move, but I believe he wants to be a part of something special at Spurs and I think, like us, he expects it to happen now too.

My 1964 Schwalbe is for Sale in Berlin

Anyone out there looking for a Simpson Schwalbe, or know anyone who is?





I just put mine on Ebay (check my Schwalbe out here) and it is sitting in Berlin waiting for a good owner.

It's a bit of a rarity as it is one of the first models and has a hand gear change, as opposed to the more popular and frequently seen foot change. Being from 1964 it is looking its age, but thats all the better. Why buy a shiny moped when you can have a touch of East German magic?

Let anyone you know, know.

Thanks, ZAREN14

Title Tilt?

Jol has without doubt transformed us from a mid table, some-time cup side into a top six regular. Now it seems that Jol is intent on landing us the title...which I'm not going to argue with!

Jold told the Sunday Mirror, "My hopes for next season are to compete for Europe again. Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal have probably got more resources than us, but it's not only about money.

"We've got younger players, hopefully we've got the vision and we want to compete for prizes in the cups.

"We want to be in Europe and we want to do well there, but we have to be in the top six to be in Europe.

"And hopefully, if we can get players like Dimitar Berbatov, if we can have the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Aaron Lennon, Michael Dawson develop into star players, we can go even further. My dream is to compete for the title in the next two to three years."

This is certainly not completely unrealistic, but sadly unlikely unless ENIC start to spend funds like ManYoo and Chelski. We seem to be developing some great youngsters and have picked up a few in the past seasons who look really special, but Jol's point about it not being all about money is not strictly true.

It will be extremely difficult to break into the top two as their spending power means they can secure the best players when they need them, without the need to develop them. Sure we have shown intent, Berbatov was an inspired signing, but we also let Carrick go. That's not top 2 business. I hope we do push for the title. We are not a million miles away, a few good players added to the side will help, but I fear they will be on a season by season basis, not all at once as is required.

What concerns me most for next season is Newcastle. I'm not worried about Arsenal, they are in decline and the longer that moaning twat Henry stays there, affecting moral, the better. But now Newcastle have a boss with nouce, cash, a decent side and probably the best back room team in the country, I can see them upsetting the top 5.

Wesley Sneijder to Spurs?

Will Wesley Sneijder be sold by Ajax? Ajax said yesterday that they are confident of keeping him, just remains to be seen if he is confident to stay.


Two weeks ago he seemed determined to leave after Ajax rejected a bid from Valencia. Spurs have been interested in him before, but you can't be sure it is not just papertalk given that Jol and Sneijder are both Dutch.

I had no idea how prolific he was last season for Ajax, he scored 18 in 33 league games. He also picked up 7 yellows though, so doesn't seem to mind getting stuck in. Either that, or he tackles like Scholes.

Been a while, so a short summary.

Time to get off my arse and write again. Since my last post, not too much has happened. Been the usual newspaper guff linking Spurs to a few players, but nothing exceptional - Figo, Smith, Bent...do they have no imagination?

The best piece of news last week though was Sugar's decision to sell up to ENIC. Nothing against the man, he did what he could for us, but this deal secures the future of the cöub against some random American no one has heard of making a franchise out of Spurs. ENIC will now own 66% of the club, and their decision to offer, but not pursue, to buy the remain shares, means that further investment can be targeted through share holders.

I for one am glad, it means my recent share purchase was not in vain.

Chimbonda off to Chelski?

Tottenham boss Martin Jol is believed to have turned down a £10million bid from London rivals Chelsea for right-back Pascal Chimbonda.

Blues chief Jose Mourinho has already been busy in the market since the end of the season, snapping up Steve Sidwell and Claudio Pizarro on free transfers.

And he is now trying to bolster his right-back options, as neither Geremi not Paulo Ferreira impressed in the role last season.

Glen Johnson, who was lured to Stamford Bridge by former boss Claudio Ranieri, spent the season on loan at Portsmouth and does not feature in Mourinho's long-term plans.

So the Portuguese coach approached Spurs in a bid to sign Chimbonda, but was swiftly knocked back, according to the News of the World.

Dutchman Jol only recruited the flamboyant Frenchman from Wigan for £5million last summer, and having landed Gareth Bale from Southampton now has his first-choice full-backs in place.

Mourinho is also a big fan of Manchester City's Micah Richards but knows he would cost more than Chimbonda and is aware he no longer has a blank cheque-book due to a frosty relationship with Blues owner Roman Abramovich.

Three Spurs Lions in U21 squad.

Ben Alnwick, Tom Huddlestone and Wayne Routledge have been named in the England squad for the European Under-21 Championships.

The tournament is being staged in Holland and begins on Sunday 10 June with England's opening fixture against the Czech Republic being played in Arnhem on Monday 11 June.

Squad: Alnwick, Carson, Hart, Baines, Cahill, Ferdinand, Hoyte, Onuoha, Rosenior, Taylor, Whittingham, Bentley, Huddlestone, Milner, Noble, Reo-Coker, Richardson, Routledge, Derbyshire, Lita, Nugent, Vaughan, Young. Print This Article Email a Friend