Martin Lol

Read the thread? Nope.

I thought this thread had been resurrected as Cacapa is out for 5 weeks. Or at least that's what SSN are saying. (SSN are saying Cacapa is injured, not the injury is the reason for the thread being resurrected!!)

Scannell's decent enough and could be good for the future but I would have thought John Bostock would have been a more appealing target. He will be a seriously talented footballer in the not too distant future.

Ledley's expected to be fit and play and Woody's been practically injury free since he joined. If one or other was substituted, it would be more likely for the departing CB to be replaced by Bent and play 3-4-1-2 with Berbatov in the hole. Ramos has used that strategy a couple of times already, the thinking being that Hutton and Chimbonda are tall and quick enough to do the job respectably (Chimbo has been a CB before) whilst both Zokora and Huddlestone have both played CB before and can lend a hand if necessary. Ramos seems to have devised a lot more alternative options for different scenarios than Jol who always seemed limited when adapting to different situations as the game went on. I was joking man, you fanny I know you were, it was just mentioning a CB coming off reminded me of one of the options if the wheels did start to come off. Hutton often plays CB in training so I'm told to get him more in tune with Ramos's thinking. Hutton recently said that Ramos is the best manager he's played under, going into tactical detail that none of his previous managers have gone to.

Ledley's expected to be fit and play and Woody's been practically injury free since he joined. If one or other was substituted, it would be more likely for the departing CB to be replaced by Bent and play 3-4-1-2 with Berbatov in the hole. Ramos has used that strategy a couple of times already, the thinking being that Hutton and Chimbonda are tall and quick enough to do the job respectably (Chimbo has been a CB before) whilst both Zokora and Huddlestone have both played CB before and can lend a hand if necessary. Ramos seems to have devised a lot more alternative options for different scenarios than Jol who always seemed limited when adapting to different situations as the game went on.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=544449&in_page_id=1779&ito=newsnow Toon target Dawson could request Spurs move Last updated at 10:08am on 25th March 2008 Tottenham defender Michael Dawson could ask for a transfer this summer if he does not secure more first-team football. Dawson is currently third choice behind captain Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate but manager Juande Ramos is keen to sign a fourth centre back - Espanyol's Daniel Jarque. It was reported at the weekend that Newcastle are looking to make a bid and it is understood manager Kevin Keegan will be given the funds to sign Dawson if he keeps the club in the Premier League. Meanwhile Alan Hutton has said he is impressed with the work of Tottenham manager Juande Ramos and optimistic about the future of the White Hart Lane club. He said: "He is a great manager and has really big plans for Spurs. We may be mid-table right now but we didn't have the best start to the season and he is looking to build a new squad for next season. "He likes to go into tactics far more than other managers I've worked with. He wants everyone to know what they are doing on the park - when, where and how."

They all have much to play for. All the players have been told they are playing for the right to continue their Tottenham careers. There are some that Ramos just does not rate and others that will not fit comfortably in the system he wants to use. I can envisage a lot coming in and going out. I know what he is trying to say. What it means is that the players play without the usual level of pressure (avoiding relegation, going for that 4th CL spot etc). It leaves the players to relax a little bit more and generally improves their game. Much like what happened to us mid season when Glenn Roeder first took over. The relief of Souness going coupled with the fact we knew we werent going down released all the tensions form the players and we ended up finishing in a UEFA spot. Makes Spurs even more dangerous. I must admit I didn't read it like that, still don't tbh. I think the point you make about playing without tension is valid, but after the win against Fulham and the relief of getting KK's first win out of the way, you could easily argue the lack of tension for Newcastle as well. The threat of relegation is now all but gone and the players can now concentrate on impressing KK. In a funny way, Spurs don't really show tension as such in Premier League games since Ramos arrived, they start off with their passing game and don't show the signs of panic even when they went 2 goals behind against Chelsea last week. They look more unsettled when trying to preserve a 1-0 lead, maybe because they have been in that position so many times this season and let it slip. I think the transformation when Roeder took over had everything to do with Souness and the shackles on the team he provided going and Roeder giving them the freedom to express themselves. Without a detailed strategy for the future, the short term fix that Roeder employed was always going to hit the buffers as some stage.

They all have much to play for. All the players have been told they are playing for the right to continue their Tottenham careers. There are some that Ramos just does not rate and others that will not fit comfortably in the system he wants to use. I can envisage a lot coming in and going out.

Yous nabbed him off Leeds, how much did you get him for? £100k rising to £1m max if he plays for England. He hasn't played for the first team yet but has been on the bench twice. He was the one who blew the whistle on Chelsea when they tapped up Taiwo and Woods so he was a legend even before we signed him!

There's products from their Academy all over the place tbh. Hameur Bouazza at Fulham, Jamie O'Hara at Spurs, I'm not envious of the scum and their success but ironically I am envious of the ability to attract youngsters of good quality, develop them into Premiership standard players and then decide which they'll keep and which they move on. Just to finish the story of the Spurs kids in Germany, they got to the final where they lost 3-0 to Moscow. Danny Rose was named Player of the Tournament which could be argued is better than winning the competition, better to develop one or two really good youngsters rather than win with a team of players none of which are good enough to progress into the premiership.

I wouldn't have said there was good depth in Newcastle's first team squad. Your official site shows a squad of 28 which includes Rosehnal who's out on loan plus Ramage, Edgar, Forster, Troisi, Lua Lua, Carroll and Tozer. I'm not saying those I named are poor or not good enough, just (in the main) untested. In Spurs' first team squad of 43 there are 27 that have played for the first team this season. You'll know best how many of the 27 played because they're good enough. What I can say is that even as a casual observer of Spurs I could pretty accurately predict Ramos' selection on a week to week basis in terms of the sixteen; what's more you had to buy a defender in January who's already a regular. As you say sixteen of the Spurs squad haven't played at all in the Premier league and eleven have less than ten appearances (although in fairness this includes Bale, King and Woodgate). I stand by my original statement that the best of the rest (I include Spurs) are not blessed with quality in depth. Nor would I disagree with that, in fact, I would totally agree. Spurs' squad gets a little stronger, qualitywise and numerically each window, but it still comes far short of providing the depth and quality of the big 4, which tbf, is one of the reasons why they at the present time are so far ahead of the chasing pack. That said, every time a club changes a manager, there will be players who were untouchables according to the outgoing manager and now bordering on inept according to the new one. I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were 7 or 8 new signings for Spurs, some to fill obvious vacancies in the squad and others to replace current starters who Ramos rates far less than Jol.

Probably about right I would reckon although JR is losing patience with Lennon so he could possibly be replaced by JJ. King is expected to be fit so Daws to replace Kaboul on the bench. I've a hunch that Hudd will start and JJ will replace Tainio on the bench if he's not replacing Lennon. 2-0 to Spurs imo.

I wouldn't have said there was good depth in Newcastle's first team squad. Your official site shows a squad of 28 which includes Rosehnal who's out on loan plus Ramage, Edgar, Forster, Troisi, Lua Lua, Carroll and Tozer. I'm not saying those I named are poor or not good enough, just (in the main) untested. In Spurs' first team squad of 43 there are 27 that have played for the first team this season.

That can happen, it's good to get 1 youngster through to the first team squad, so there's no expectation that success in tournos means guaranteed progression to the first team for some. But the experience will be good for them, the matches are usually pretty entertaining to watch and if they don't progress, they can still be a saleable asset to a championship team or below. In Arsenal's case, those saleable assets included the likes of Bentley now at Blackburn, Owusu-Abeyie at Spartak Moscow and Larsson and Muamba at Brum. They did get the thick end of £10m for those players.

I know, that's why i said "or developing, at least" get them in, work on them. He's still miles from any sort of finished product, and very young, but we can make him better. He may be very raw but, as you say, he is still very young. I've seem him play maybe half a dozen times, mainly with the England kids and always looked to be one of the brighter sparks in the team. I know we were trying to get him as well but we got our own back when Spurs signed Dean Parrett, who was very much on your radar. It's all well and good having a successful Academy but there also has to be the desire to promote from the youth/development squads rather than go out and spend another couple of million on another Johnny Foreigner. Spurs traditionally have (though what they have brought through has been generally poor), Villa have and obviously the scum up the road, but generally speaking, I think there is a tendency to look abroad , presumably in the search for instant results. Anyway, I should be having a look at your kids next week as they visit us tomorrow week. It should be a good game, it was good in Brum earlier in the season when we lost 2-1. I never got to go in the end (never went to Derby either) but Spurs got revenge winning 2-1 in a cracking game by all accounts. Villa were by far the better in the first half, but by the end Spurs were good value for the win, making it 9 successive wins and 13 out of 15 going back to the beginning of October. A lot of credit is going to Alex Inglethorpe who is Head Coach for the Academy, though Comolli ought to get some recognition for giving him the quality of players to work with. Perhaps more pleasing is that we've got 2 players who'll be joining the first year of the Academy who had been destined to join the scum up the road but didn't think they would have a great future there as they're English! Spurs have got Port Vale on Wednesday in the Youth Cup, Chelsea await the winners in the semi-final. I'm hoping for a Spurs/Villa final, they would be well matched. Got to get past Port Vale first though!! Port Vale 1 Spurs 0 ............................ FFS though I did half guess that! Inglethorpe out. Youth Cup doesnt mean owt....only YC game Ive been to best player on the pitch was Boro reject Andrew Davies...and thats only cos he was the biggest/strongest and won everything in the air. Dont think football at that level is a results business at all when games can be swung on a physical factor that just isnt there when the same kids play against grown men. Success at youth level is measured in graduates, not sales or tin pots.... That said....COYB. Got Plymouth in the Quarter final. Tallest, strongest, fastest will always have an advantage due to age but skill and technical ability you hope will prevail irrespective of age. About half of the Spurs group would be eligible to play again next year, but for most their progress by that time will be in Spurs' development squad (reserves to most clubs but that's what Spurs call them) or elsewhere having been shipped out. Ours won 2-0 at Carlisle tonight. Delfouneso, Bannan and Forrester starring again. Delfouneso will play in the PL before too long, man of the match apparently. Port Vale or Chelsea in the semi finals. Incidentally, our youth team's league record = Played: 22 Won: 17 Drawn: 1 Lost: 4. Pretty impressive. Went to the semi final second leg tonight at Villa Park, finished Villa 2 - Chelsea 3, Chelsea through 3-4 on aggregate, they play Citeh in the final. Some quality players on show, though. From our side, Barry Bannan, Harry Forester and Nathan Delfouneso. From theirs Kakuta looks absolutely superb. Interesting though that barely an English kid in their side, and ours was mostly English. Some things don't change. 11,000 there, too. Youth football is really good. I'm going to start watching more of it. Couldn't agree more, I often watch the Spurs' Academy team play, especially as a lot of first team matches on a Sunday means there's not the mad rush to get from one to the other! Practically the entire Spurs youth squad is currently out in Germany playing in a good quality Youth Tourno. Group A Werder Bremen ................................ Spurs won 2-0 (Fraser-Allen, Mtandari) Dynamo Moscow ............................... Spurs won 2-1 (Obika, Mason) Sevilla ............................................... Spurs lost 2-0 Fortuna Dusseldorf ........................... Spurs won 1-0 (Rose) Spurs Group B Bv 04 Dusseldorf Bayer Leverkausen Barcelona Kaiserslautern PSV Eindhoven Semi finals being played early today FC Barcelona v Dynamo Moscow Tottenham Hotspur v Kaiserslautern Final and 3rd/4th playoff being played this afternoon. It's good experience for them (except for Dean Parrett and Andros Townsend who got called up for the England u17 squad) and I know Comolli is a firm believer in this type of european tourno. We're off to another in Spain next month and Comolli is trying to host one next season or the season after. I still can't believe that we still managed to lose against Port Vale in the Youth Cup though!

I'd be very encouraged if KK used the same formation against Spurs tbh.

I think this is an interesting question for the summer - I honestly think most people would agree that they'd like to see a ruthless cull of players next window...lets say money permitting we're talking about keeping (for example only) Owen, Martins, Zog, Taylor, Beye, Feye, Enrique, Given & Harper of the first team regulars... There aren't many other players in the squad any of us would say are good enough or haven't had chance to prove themselves good enough - we all know these players can't cut it and need to be replaced. Will KK be THAT ruthless this summer? Even if he has the funds to be do you think he would? Personally I reckon he'd keep the likes of Barton, Butt, Geremi and lord even Smith for their "experience". I think he'll see it as currently we don't have a couple of genuinely class players and by adding them to the team these players will improve with their addition, if you see what I mean? What I honestly think we'll get is more players being added to the current squad rather than the decimation of these wankers most of us actually want. A Man City in the summer just gone, if you will. I would keep most of these players, unless we get good offers for some of them, because we don't have the squad. He needs to bring in 3 or 4 quality players to push us back into the top 6 or thereabouts as soon as possible, adding to the current group of players. David Bentley's price is going to go up and up. I'd like to think we could at least have tried to buy him in january, if not then we should have done. This is the quality of player we need to bring into the club. I'm not interested in the cost of these players. If we want to get back up the league, we simply have to pay the price and if we don't show this desire to succeed then the club is letting its supporters down ie the size of our fanbase and crowds demand it. The only player I would let go is Ameobi. I'd sell him for 10 bob to be honest. Some others for the right price too, obviously. I think that Beye is the best right back at the club that we have had for a long time. Enrique is looking better all the time, I quite like him too. I think people are being unfair on Taylor, most players at the club have had a difficult season, it would be a mistake to sell him and if he is put up for sale there will be some good clubs interested in him. I think the club should strive to persuade zoggy see the club has a big future, and also players like Edgar should be made to see he has a future at the club too. Players such as Butt, Barton [good game yesterday] and Emre will stay until we have superior replacements. I think I would let Emre go for the right price. Maybe Duff if he continues to show he isn't going to be the player he was, but only when we get someone into the club to go straight into the team. I'm more convinced than ever, that if Keegan is backed properly by the owner he will succeed. I think you're spot on with most of that. Newcastle don't have any depth in their squad right now, so I wouldn't sell anyone in the summer window (when there are more players available) and offload the deadwood in January (when with less players available, you may get a better fee). The point I can't agree with is the need for 3 or 4 quality players to make a push for the top 6, I think it need more like half a dozen players or more deemed to be first team starters and, even then, I don't think the quality of the squad players would be good enough for the top 6. All of the top teams are continually improving their squads just to maintain their position and starting at such a low squad position, it will take Newcastle a lot more to make significant strides. Finally, when the players have been recruited, it could still take them up to a season to settle into their new surroundings and start performing to the anticipated level. I don't think Newcastle will be challenging for a top 6 position for 2 years, probably 3. I may well be wrong but that's how I see it right now.

Not as much as Joe Lewis who lost £500m buying up shares in Bear Stern. That won't affect Spurs, Ashley's loss won't affect Newcastle either imo. They can both afford to take a hit.

He's a diving, injury feigning little c***. Hopefully his leg falls off. Don't sit on the fence, what do you really think? Maybe you're a bit upset because you had a good goal chalked off. Nothing new, that often happens to the bingo club.

1 - True 2 - True 3 - Not now but maybe he will be able to in a few years time. Do I want to wait for that?? 4 - I have my fingers crossed! SGE is a big admirer, maybe he will get Petrov to show him how it's done............

If you're talking about the borough, I wouldn't argue with you. If Ken Livingstone lived in Haringey, something would get done about it. But he doesn't so it won't!

Strange one. Spurs started selling them on 19 March. Maybe Newcastle sent back what was left then put up the sold out sign, I don't know. A fella on a Spurs forum says that when he bought 2, he was told there were only a handful left. What the Ticket Office describe as a handful could mean anything, they are the biggest shower of sh*t on God's earth!

Bullshit, we've sold out our full allocation and could have sold many, many more, I suggest you look for another reason excuse if you don't sell out. http://tottenhamhotspur.com/tickets/ticket_office_today.html NEWCASTLE HOME, MARCH 30 Due to a number of tickets being returned by Newcastle United, there are now tickets available to Spurs supporters in the South Lower and Upper for the match at White Hart Lane on Sunday March 30. I'm told you've sent back around 500. There's no doubt they will all go. As I said, I'm surprised.

but what about the away matches where the fans are signing and cheering almost non stop, just to be humiliated by the players performances? Because there is only about on average 3000 of them perhaps? f*** me. Won't be at Spurs. I was surprised to see that you've returned loads of tickets as unsold. It's usual for Blackburn/Wigan/Bolton to send hundreds back, wasn't expecting it with Newcastle, even if you are doing poorly right now.

have to agree with pegasusbridge really. I don't think toon fans need to be winged at about how to behave or what role they have. Many fans, me included have put loads of support into the toon over the years, not to mentioned hard earned money. Fans will do want they want at the match and they are totally entitled to their opinions. I will give a lot of vocal support on Saturday, believe me, but I certainly wouldn't have a go at other fans. I understand your point, fans pay their money and if they get lousy entertainment, then they are entitled to boo jeer etc if they want to though I wouldn't do that personally, or alternatively just sit there in silence. But the team haven't been doing well recently and they're facing a match which will solve a lot of problems if they win it. Is Toonlass really asking too much for all the fans to get behind the team and give them some vocal support? I don't think so. It's not just the lift it gives to your team, it does also get the visiting team affected by the atmosphere too. Why has Anfield traditionally been a difficult place to go to? There may be a good team there but it is also an intimidating atmosphere. When the team needs support, the fans should be there supporting them. And I don't see any problem if someone starts a thread reminding people of that also.