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Redknapp fuming with Balotelli

Jan 232012

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has revealed how unhappy he is with Mario Balotelli’s alleged stamp on Scott Parker in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester City.

Shortly after coming on as a substitute, those who bet in play note Balotelli’s foot landed on Parker, with many suggesting that it was an intentional stamp from the Italian. Shortly afterwards, he won and converted a penalty to win City the game of course.

This left Spurs devastated after playing so well to get themselves back into the game and Redknapp was clear about his thoughts on the Balotelli incident.

Speaking after the game, he said: “Having looked at it, I do think he should have been sent off. The first one could have been an accident, but on the second one he’s backheeled him straight in the head.”

“It is not the first time he has done that and I am sure it won’t be the last. I am the last person to talk about getting people sent off and what they sThould and shouldn’t do.”

“But it is blatant. He reacts to challenges like that at times. Scott has got a cut on his head.”

“I have got my own opinions but I don’t like people kicking other people in the head on football pitches. I don’t think it’s wrong to say that.”

“Why you should backheel someone in the head when they are lying on the floor is beyond me. It’s not a nice thing to do.”

It is of course an issue that has got people talking and from Manchester City, the man to come out and speak after the game was assistant manager David Platt who said he needs to see the incident again before giving his views.

The former England midfielder said: “I never saw anything live and there was nothing from the players live either. Until we have seen it we cannot really comment.”

“What we are aware of from the last month is that different TV angles can show different things.”

The BBC Football pundits have been having their say too with Lee Dixon and Alan Hansen offering differing views on the incident.

Dixon doesn’t think anyone can say for certain it was deliberate. He said: “I think you’ve got to give him the benefit of the doubt. He’s not looking at Parker. Looking at his left leg, it’s actually off the ground. I know it looks bad but no-one can possibly tell.”

Hansen is convinced that Balotelli showed some intent though, saying: “I think he stamps on him. When you hit the ground you don’t stamp and there’s a definite stamp there. The referee is five yards away. I think he should have given him a red card.”

In the end though, it matters for little as the game has gone. Balotelli will more than likely face further action from the FA, while Spurs have to move on.

Tottenham face trial by fire in title race

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Jan 192012

Following the win over Everton, national media and the internet buzzed with activity, all raising the single question on most people’s lips: are Tottenham genuine title contenders?

At the time it seemed like a prudent question for those studying mobile bookmakers; a win against Wolves would momentarily pull them and both Manchester clubs all level on points until City’s Monday fixture against Wigan, while upping the pressure on the mouth-watering tie between Spurs and City on Sunday.

However Tottenham evidently hadn’t read the script, and mustered an energy-less performance against Wolves that resulted in a draw – while they were unlucky with a few decisions there are few who could muster up a convincing enough argument for the home side to have taken all three points.

Now the chatter has quietened down somewhat, and a smattering of ‘Tottenham are bottlers’ intermingle with the title contenders chants from the previous week, but the question remains; just what can Tottenham do this season?

While every week brings with it an interview with Spurs boss Harry Redknapp discussing his side’s title hopes, the more important issue lingers just over their shoulders, or more pertinently, to the west of the capital.

Spurs created an eight point gap for themselves from the Blues in fourth place before last weekend’s round of fixtures, which was then cut to six with Chelsea’s win over Sunderland.

Now faced with the task of travelling to the Etihad Stadium and becoming the first side to take away all three points in over a year, Spurs face seeing that eight point gap being whittled down to three with Chelsea’s visit to Carrow Road to take on Norwich likely to yield maximum points.

It doesn’t get any easier after the City game either, a game which could see them fall back to eight points off the lead.

In the space of a month and a half between now and early March, Tottenham must play Liverpool, Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United while Chelsea at Stamford Bridge follows two weeks later.

They must face every single member of the top seven in the space of two months. These are the months which define title contenders, not the 11 game unbeaten run which begun the speculation in the first place.

If they can stay in touch with the top during this trial by fire, then make no mistakes about it, they are genuine, bona fide title challengers.

If they are unable to, then the primary objective of the season remains the same: Champions League qualification.

King – We cannot get carried away

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Jan 182012

Tottenham captain Ledley King has urged his team not to get too carried away by their Premier League title challenge.

Football betting pundits note how Spurs dropped points at home to Wolves at the weekend, but they are still well in the mix for 1st position, with a massive match against current league leaders Manchester City on Sunday.

King – who has been in and out of the team this year because of injury – admits that Tottenham have surprised a few people this year with their form, but wants to take one game at a time.

The former England international said: “We’re in a great position at the moment and have probably surprised a few people. At this stage of the season, to be talked about as still capable of winning the title is great for us.”

“We’re not getting too carried away at the moment, though. We’re just getting our heads down and grinding out results.”

“We look at the league table and we can see we’re in amongst it. That’s new to us and maybe people would expect us to fall away in the second half of the season but, as players, we believe in our ability and we believe we can keep getting results.”

“We’ve been in great form. We’ve lost just one in the last 19 and that’s great form. If we keep it up then we’re in with a chance.”

As mentioned, the next challenge for King and Spurs is a trip to Manchester City on Sunday. This really is a massive game. Victory would put them to within a point of City, while defeat would see them eight points away from the top of the table.

Even considering Tottenham’s excellent form, this would be a significant gap to make up. You can’t help feeling that if Harry Redknapp’s men are to challenge for the title this year, they need to get something this weekend.

Otherwise, they are relying on City and Manchester United losing two or three games.

Regardless though, a top three finish would be an excellent achievement, so Tottenham should keep a close eye on the gap between themselves and Chelsea too.

Elsewhere in Tottenham news, Jermaine Defoe has played down reports that he could be on his way out of White Hart Lane.

The England striker said: “At the end of the day it’s not a case of me saying I want to go here, I’m not playing, I want to leave the club.”

“I’ve been here six years, I’ve never said that once. I think the fans know that.”

“It’s just a case of me playing. I could understand if I was 19, 20 and I had time on my hands but I’m 29 now and, like I’ve always said, all I want to do is play football. It’s as simple as that.”

This is perfectly understandable of course, although many expect him to stay Tottenham beyond January, perhaps scoring the goals to help maintain a title challenge.

What should Harry do in January?

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Dec 292011

Tottenham will be able to look back on the first half of the season and consider it a job well done. There are few teams in the Premier League who are playing football as majestically as Harry Redknapp has got his side playing. Even those looking at the best casinos believe that Champions League qualification is there for them to grab hold of.

In their last game before Christmas, Spurs picked up a well-earned point in their game against Chelsea. While three points will undoubtedly have been their preference, by drawing they have managed to keep their London rivals at arms length still.

And that is a good thing, because it means Tottenham finished as the highest ranked London club in the whole of England. Why, they even finished as the highest ranked club anywhere outside of Manchester. If you offered them that as an end of season outcome now, Redknapp would surely snap your hand off.

But beware, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool have suddenly found the right gear, and after slow starts for each of them, they are on the march. If Tottenham were to finish in the top four, it would surely mean that no less than two of those teams would end up outside of the Champions League qualifying positions. That would be a huge shock.

So that can only mean one thing: Spurs have to spend in January.

That is not to say they should be breaking the bank – and even more importantly, they should not be looking to completely overhaul their team. What they have there already is a fantastic group of players, who by themselves may still even stand a chance of a top four finish.

A few minor additions is what they need.

Surely a striker has to be on the Tottenham radar. True, Emmanuel Adebayor is doing a terrific job, but they cannot pin all their hopes on him. Indeed, it must also be remembered that he is not their player – he is only on loan at White Hart Lane.

Another world class striker to compliment Adebayor is precisely what they need. It would be foolish to speculate about who that might be, but rest assured, there are plenty of players out there that would be thrilled by the opportunity to play regular football for a top club.

Perhaps another defender is important too. There are some decent options at the Lane, but Ledley King and Michael Dawson are injury prone. Kyle Walker is a youngster, as well.

Redknapp has said that Spurs can win the Premier League title. That will be a tough ask. They have a fair amount of ground to make up on the front-runners if they are to achieve that.

Of course, it is good to have high ambitions, and it will be of no harm to Tottenham if they aim for that title, but lets be honest, third place would be considered a truly wonderful achievement.

Stylish Spurs romp to win over QPR

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Oct 312011

Harry Redknapp could barely contain his delight at his side’s performance as Spurs swept to a 3-1 victory over QPR at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Spurs put in a performance full of verve and pace as they blew Neil Warnock’s out of the water in the first half in particular, and could have easily added to first half goals from Gareth Bale and Rafael Van Der Vaart, who scored for the 5^th consecutive game, were it not for the heroics of Hoops goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.

An early second half goal for Jay Bothroyd offered the visitors a lifeline as a reward for their best spell of possession in the game, only for Bale to grab his second of the match with a sublime sweeping move to give the pre-match football betting favourites the result their play deserved.

“It was a fantastic performance first half, we played some great football, moved the ball quickly, we had movement, the passing was absolutely incredible.” Redknapp said.

“You knew they would come back into it but we could have had three, four or five up in the first half.”

I’m sure Neil was pleased to only come in two down, but they changed how they played, they got the ball forward and played with more intensity second half and had a good little spell and got a goal back and you thought “well this is going to be interesting” and the keeper kept making saves when we did have chances.

“But certainly Gareth finished them off with a great goal. Overall I thought we were outstanding today.” He added.

Redknapp added that he warned against complacency in the second half, but was impressed with the strength QPR showed in making a game of it.

“They were looking to get back in it. We felt we should probably be home and hosed and that the game should be over but it wasn’t, suddenly they got a lifeline at 2-1 and it changed the game.” He commented.

“2-0 is a dangerous scoreline, 2-1 game on, 3-0 game over so that third goal was important. I said at half time what we mustn’t do it is relax second half, we have got to really go for them again because ok we could have been 3 4 or 5 up but we had to make sure we didn’t slack off.

“To be fair to them Neil must have got into them a little bit at half time and they came out and raised their game to give us a sterner second half than they did in the first.”

He added: “Scott Parker was just amazing. I haven’t seen many performances like that. You hesitate to mention him in the same breathe as Dave Mackay, who was one of best players who has ever played at this club, but it was right up there with Dave.”

Parker may have claimed the man of the match award for his typically rugged performance but Luka Modric, Van Der Vaart and both wide men Bale and Aaron Lennon were all excellent as Spurs moved level on points with Newcastle in 4^th with a game in hand.

Tottenham began the first half at speed and should have been ahead inside the first ten minutes as Van Der Vaart was denied by an excellent save by Kenny before the former Sheffield United shot-stopper saved smartly from a Bale flick off a vicious Van Der Vaart free kick.

That pattern continued as the first half progressed with Bale and Lennon making unabated progress down the wings, and before long the Welshman has his reward for his efforts, latching onto a Lennon pass across the face of the goal following good work from Van Der Vaart and Emmanuel Adebayor, lashing the ball past Kenny and into the far corner.

The second goal of the game was created by an unlikely source as Ledley King, returning to the side following another spell on the sidelines, picked up the ball outside the area and struck a sliced shot goalwards which inadvertently put Van Der Vaart through, with the Dutchman gleefully accepting the gift to become the third Spurs player to score in five consecutive games.

QPR boss Neil Warnock sent his side out for the second half with his words ringing in their ears, and it appeared to have worked as the visitors upped their tempo and pressure to establish a foothold in the game. With former Spurs player Adel Taarabt hauled off the pitch at half time QPR looked much more dangerous, and Bothroyd ensured their best spell of the game was rewarded as the former Arsenal man nodded in from a corner.

That goal changed the complexion of the game and set up an exciting final thirty minutes, but the home side went through the gears to re-establish their command of the game with the goal of the match. A neat one touch interchange involving Van Der Vaart, Modric and Lennon freed up space at the edge of the area to allow bale to curl home an exquisite finish and tie the match up.

QPR had the chance to make it a tense final ten minutes but ultimately couldn’t breach the Spurs back line once more to send the Sours faithful home full of confidence that Champions League football could be heading towards White Hart Lane once more.