Robster

I cant really say never having seen the pics of training when Sam was here but did Sam get involved in the training as much as Kevin appears to.

I will believe that when I see it. Dont want to get my hopes up. Still have to worry about the attacking threat though. Be great if Berbatov and Keane were out too

Keegan will replace him with Downing in the Summer

I tend to listen to Talksport even though in recent times its started to niggle at me. But for fucks sake. Today they have had "David Beckham Day". Playing loads of clips and interviewing various people from his past. They even had Ian Abrahams trawling around East London visiting his Junior school and some pub he once collected glasses at.

Are we believing a story in the Press here ?

I onyl had one eye on the match really but near the end there was a moment where Crouch got the ball played inside to him, about 20-25 yards out, in a bit of space. Perfect position for a good effort on goal but he just looked like he didnt have a clue what to do or where to go. For an International striker it was very very poor

Mind its a ridiculous time of the season to be playing an international friendly. How many of thos eplayers,s till competing for championships, CL etc were really busting a gut. No real way to gauge the team

I am sure Owen is looking forward to getting back to playing for newcastle and having some chances created for him. Who would have imagined eh ? No injury scares at least.

David Bentley has just done it and there was a point in the first half with Ashley Cole, when even my wife, who isnt interested in football at all, said " Should he be holding his arms out like that as if to say "What do you want me to do - where can I pass this"". Why is the support to the man in possesssion so poor ?

That makes him sound like some kind of dashing hero

Technically, and ability wise, I think we should be trying to aim for younger, quicker midfielders but from an attitude and personality perspective, he is exactly the type of player we should be looking for.

Because some old guy picks up a groin injury. Not interesting in the slightest. Fans upbeat, atmosphere better, more efforts on goal, Owen scoring, Martins looking up for it, Viduka fit again... interesting it all starts when Big Sam leaves.

Any chance he blew this instead of having to pay it to the Taxman instead. A lot of companies have parties and staff event days as a way of using profits and so as not to have to give it to the government (as capital gains tax? - dont ask me to explain, I am not that clued up about it)

Set pieces by England Under 21's have been absolutely abysmal. Poor quality all round really

Just seen the clip on the Sky News website when he goes into detail about getting the donations in and how it can be obtained. I loved it when he made the quip about getting donations from players "who have a few bob". The man still maintains his natual sense of humour. Amazing

Nah man, 4-5-1 with Smith, Geremi and Butt in midfield and Viduka up top on his own. Keep it tight, frustrate them, stop them from playing and then nick a goal from a set-piece. Clearly the way to approach this game. Don't think we're capable of doing that unfortunately. I was taking the piss you silly, silly man. Long day. When I saw Smith's name in your line up I was half reaching for the keyboard to type "Fuck Off" when I realised you werent being serious

Quite a knock back for both Gerrard and Terry

Bloody hell. Dont need any more major injuries at this stage. Thats Given and Cacapa both gone for the season

Was just going to post similar. Bobby just continues to be a great man

Dont worry Toonlass... its just more Daily Mail garbage. Note no direct quotes again... just more "understood" and "reported"

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. I think about 80% of the relegation fear has lifted. I think at the back of their minds, they and we know they still need another 2 wins to be certain but yes, I think we might come out of our shells a bit more now after the win against Fulham. All in all, it has all the potential for being a good game but to be fair to Spurs, all of their games recently seem to be goal laden, entertainment-fests. here's hoping for Spurs to take a 1-0 lead ( ) but in all honestly, I would happily take a point now if offered. A toon win is the least probable of the results

Nah its the jounalists. If Custis had any kind of jounalistic honour (?-just cant think of the right word... maybe integrity), he would clearly state from the outset that these are rumours and not facts. Instead he opens with a definitive statement and then just drop in the fact that its just idle gossip from City "sources", much later in the article

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.