Harry Redknapp's Joker in Steven Pienaar

With the ridiculously priced £3million accepted, Steven Pienaar's signature confirmed and enhanced Harry Redknapp's reputation as the premier wheeler dealer manager of the Barclays Premier League. Once again, Harry Redknapp effortlessly adds established stars to his Spurs squad. 'Arry just cannot resist a deal, can he?

Spurs is a club on the up and it is understandable that Pienaar would be excited to play for a side who can be a surprise Champions League winner. There is an inconsistency within Spurs and Pienaar will address that weakness. I believe Aaron Lennon's first team place could be in jeopardy with the arrival of the little South African.

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Gareth Bale, Spurs' Mr. Consistency

Ever since the start of this 2010/2011 season, I have been in awe of Spurs' quicksilver winger, Gareth Bale. Gareth Bale has been the leading light for Tottenham Hotspurs this season. It has been breathtaking watching the young Welsh wizard in full flight up to this point in the season. Those who were enjoying the holiday matches (or what was left of it) would have seen Bale at his best.

Against Newcastle, he was superb and his solo goal gave Spurs a hard fought three points. Against Fulham, his quick thinking and awareness of the goal allowed him to deflect an otherwise poor Rafael Van der Vaart freekick past Mark Schwarzer.

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Gareth Bale's Left Foot Strikes Against Inter Make Europe Drool

When Gareth Bale first burst onto the scene at Spurs, nobody was sure where to play this immensely talented youngster. He had the skills and ability to play at left back or left wing. Superbly athletic, incredibly quick and possessor of the best left foot in England, Bale is now enjoying life and football on the left flank of Tottenham Hotspur.

His performances have picked up since Redknapp started playing him on the left wing at the tail end of last season. He ended last season with three goals and five assists. This season, he has picked up from where he left off and has drawn much praise from his manager.

And when one looks at his goals against Stoke and now against Inter Milan, it is no wonder why he is garnering so much attention from admiring managers.

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Liverpool Fans Show Immense Support for Rafa Benitez and The Team

Liverpool have not been in the best of form lately and two days back, Tottenham Hotspur were relishing their visit to Anfield in search of what was to be their first win in a very very long time. Well, as it turned out, Spurs would have to wait a lot longer if the incredible fanatical support of Wednesday night continue to drive Liverpool Football Club on throughout the rest of the season.

Liverpool fans were determined to show that the 12th man effect was very much alive that evening and the atmosphere was so electric that it led Harry Redknapp to declare,

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp hailed the Kop as “the most amazing sight in football” after seeing his side beaten 2-0 by Liverpool last night.
The Spurs manager believes the Reds  were inspired by the red-hot atmosphere generated all around Anfield by a vociferous capacity crowd.
“You have to give credit where it’s due, Liverpool worked their socks off. They closed us down and pressed us,” Redknapp said.
"I have said before you never get an easy game here.
"You stand out there and hear the crowd sing - it's the most amazing sight in football, and it lifts the players.

Sammy Lee added this after a fabulous night in which Liverpool caught up to the clubs in the race for fourth place.

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Are Tottenham Hotspur Liverpool's Bogey Team?

An underachieving Liverpool team will face super-confident Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield this Wednesday. A match that should see Maxi Rodriquez and Alberto Aquilani in the starting lineup. But then again, who can read Rafa's mind?

After a great last season, Liverpool were looking to go one better than second and finally be Premiership champions. Spurs brought Liverpool crashing back to reality, beating the Rafa's men 2-1 in London. This setback pretty much set the stage for a turbulent season so far for Liverpool.

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South China FC Striker Gets Trial With Tottenham Hotspur

While filtering through the internet for English Premier League news, I came across this bit of article from AsiaOne Sports section.

HONG KONG - English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur have offered a trial to a Hong Kong international striker who scored against the London giants in a pre-season friendly, a news report said Wednesday. Chan Siu-ki, 24, will have 10 days to impress Spurs boss Harry Redknapp next month, the South China Morning Post said. The forward has scored 22 goals in 27 appearances for his club South China, the newspaper said, and netted with a long-distance volley against Spurs when the two teams met in Hong Kong in the summer. The Hong Kong champions and Tottenham on Tuesday agreed a "club partnership", the paper said, in an effort to boost the English side's profile in Asia.

This news came right after a club partnership deal between South China FC and Tottenham Hotspur on the 3rd November 2009. South China becomes the first club partner with Spurs in Asia. Besides planning in sharing of best practice in any areas of the technical and business sides of football, Tottenham Hotspur has the first option on South China players on all age levels. Hence South China's best player is off to try his luck in London. This is purely a commercial publicity exercise and a fulfilment of partnership obligations.



Nevertheless, it is always refreshing to read about footballers from South East Asia trying to succeed in Europe. My concern however is why choose the English football league, which is fast and physical. Though skillful, Asian footballers can't compete physically hence the chances of being successful are slim. Serious Asian footballers hoping for trials should opt for Dutch and Belgian leagues which are more conducive breeding grounds.

For those who have not seen him in action, here's a YouTube video highlights from scaaforever.




More articles on South East Asian footballers
Overseas Malaysians in football
The future of Singapore football

Barclays Premier League: The Big 4 Party Is About To Be Gatecrashed

Week 4 of the Barclays Premier League starts with a top of the table clash. The Big 4 Club is about to be gatecrashed by Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. This should be the weekend where Spurs and City prove that they can lay legitimate claim to an expansion of the Big 4 to a Super Six. Winning against Manchester United and Arsenal respectively will really make the football world sit up and take notice.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester United
This is the chance for Harry Redknapp to prove that he has the necessary credentials to be a winning manager. Capturing the FA Cup with Portsmouth have given him confidence that he is a winner. Spurs have become a team with resolve and spirit to play attractive football while also having the size for the physical side. A lot will depend on how well Manchester United defend against Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon. The pace and trickery of Lennon will be a test for Evra but the seasoned defender must have studied videos after videos on the England winger to put one over him for once. Manchester United have a few match winners but will Berbatov perform or will he wilt? The midfield weaknesses are yet to be resolved and this is an area that Spurs have the upper hand. A win for Spurs however will gee the players up in anticipation of another crunch match the following week, a trip to Chelsea. Luka Modric will be missed but the aquisition of Niko Kranjcar will mean that he won't be missed. A draw looks a likely result though.

Manchester City vs. Arsenal
The loss of Andrei Arshavin will be a significant one for Arsene Wenger, going into this game. Mark Hughes is a practical manager, he will try to stop Arsenal from playing their passing game. Adebayor will be keen to add to his 100% record of scoring in every game thus far. He also have a point to prove to the Arsenal fans. City's Tevez and Robinho came back from international duties with knocks and are doubtful for the match. Hughes will employ the spoiling tactics to try and disrupt the Gunners play. The contest between Gareth Barry and Cesc Fabregas will be an interesting one. The City defence will have their first real test against the movement and pace of Eduardo and Robin Van Persie. The mood in the City camp seem to suggest that Hughes have managed to keep egos and personalities in check. Adebayor and Tevez have both declared recently that they have felt love from the City fans. The main difference between the two clubs is the giant Togolese striker and he may prove to be the match winner in this match.

Elsewhere, Liverpool will gun for a home win against Burnley to close the gap over the teams at the top. A full strength Liverpool squad awaits giantkillers Burnley and nothing less than three points will be sufficient. Rafa Benitez must be wary of Owen Coyle's team since they brought about an embarassing FA Cup defeat in 2005. Super-confident Chelsea will travel to Stoke, looking to match Stoke's physicality and will expect to pick up all three points to go five straight matches undefeated.

Potentially explosive and similarly intriguing is the Midlands derby between Birmingham and Aston Villa. Both clubs are having a decent season thus far. Birmingham however need to find ways to score goals. ALex McLeish have yet to fully unleash the threat of Christian Benitez and it is hard to understand why. Barry Ferguson and James McFadden will naturally be competing in the middle of the park and that's where Birmingham could win it. Villa's midfield has been weakened as Martin O'Neill did not replace Gareth Barry adequately.

Another definitive round of weekend fixtures are in store. A weekend where we will find out if Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City can really shake up the established Big 4 and make this season all about the "Super Six". All will be revealed....so stay tuned!

West Ham United v. Tottenham Hotspur: Stopping Jermain Defoe is Key to Hammers Win

It's only the second match of the new season for the Hammers and already the London derby is upon us. Spurs have played superbly in their opening matches, beating Liverpool at home 2-1 and then putting on an attacking display against Hull City 5-1. A new Jermain Defoe has emerged from the summer break. A stronger and quicker Defoe is now on show and Harry Redknapp is raving about his improved performances on the pitch.

Defoe scoring the winner against West Ham at the Barclays Asia Trophy - Will he do it again?

West Ham have made a great start to the season, winning 2-0 against Wolves. However, that win has been marred by ongoing rumours of Matthew Upson leaving, Zola resigning and the board pushing Duxbury and Zola to sell West Ham's best players. It would seem that not all are rosy in the boardroom and so what better place to put things right than on the football pitch.

Jermain Defoe has firmly established himself as the first choice striker in the Spurs attack, having scored a stylish hattrick at the KC Stadium. Harry Redknapp believes that Defoe is in the best physical shape and form since he was 14 years old! His strength and pace at the start of this season are evident. This adds to Defoe's versatility as he can now be relied upon to play with his back against goal, potentially providing more assists than before. This extra dimension to Defoe's game meant that I cannot help but earmark him as the Spurs man to stop. A Hammers' win depends on it.

Cutting out the supply to Defoe has to be the solution and Scott Parker is perfect for the role of destroyer. Serving as the protective screen in front of the Hammers' defence, Parker will be counted upon for determined tackling and intelligent ball distribution.

Defending against Defoe can be difficult due to his quickness. As soon as he is on the ball, the West Ham central defenders must close him down and not give him any room to accelerate. If Danny Gabbidon is fit, his pace and excellent defensive abilities can be a perfect foil against Defoe.

The message is clear. Stop Defoe and Zola's boys will celebrate another three points. History indicates that it will be a tight match but I still think there will be lots of passion and determination in this game. It will surely be exciting.

Last six meetings (Premier League unless stated)

11 April 2009 - Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 West Ham United
8 December 2008 - West Ham United 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
9 March 2008 - Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 West Ham United
25 November 2007 - West Ham United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
4 March 2008 2007 - West Ham United 3-4 Tottenham Hotspur
22 October 2006 - Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 West Ham United

Overall record v Tottenham Hotspur (all competitions) W 43 D 34 L 55