A comparison of contrasts

Contrary to conventional wisdom, players' comments from Chelsea and Tottenham suggest that Spurs are the team most likely poised for sustained success in the Premier League.

One needs only compare the public comments of Spurs players to Chelsea's. The rumors are that England captain John Terry is set to follow Mourinho on the way out of Chelsea. Didier Drogba today proclaimed that:

"(Chelsea) know of my desire to leave. I won't go back on this decision... there's something broken with Chelsea."

- Guardian

'(Drogba) wanted to leave Stamford Bridge since the day he arrived'

- ESPN Soccernet

Contrast these statements with those of Tottenham players. You won't find an ill word spoken of Jol by any of the players. All of the teams leaders have publicly lined up behind the Spurs manager.

Both teams have plenty of talent on their rosters, but these player comments suggest that the two teams are headed in vastly different directions. All of the talent in the world won't amount to anything if the players don't want to win for the manager.

Robinson Out!

The Guardian is reporting that Paul Robinson is out for Monday's upcoming game at Newcastle. There are the obligatory words of support and references to a calf strain injury, but hopefully this marks a decent run in the first team for Radek Cerny.

When first joining Spurs from Leeds, Robinson was in top form, making incredible saves and winning games. Yet Robinson not only fails to deliver Tottenham those extra points anymore, his performance regularly costs the team points.

Gerrard offered some thinly veiled criticism of the Spurs keeper following last night's disappointing defeat to Russia. After not holding onto another long drive, the rebound of which resulted in an easy tap in, Gerrard suggested that, "Paul will feel disappointed with the second goal."

Plenty has been said about the quality of the Spurs defense and shortcomings in defensive midfield contributing to Robinson's difficulties. But some facts are unassailable. He has problems holding onto the ball and long range shots cause him more difficulties than they should. One wonders if he needs contact lenses.

Many have never seen Cerny between the posts, save for an odd Cup appearance in which he was seldom challenged. Monday's game against Newcastle should provide an idea of what our other options Spurs have in goal.

Transfer Rumors

Today's Euro qualifier between Russia and England may provide a glimpse of Tottenham's latest transfer target. Russia captain, and Zenit St Petersburg winger, Andrey Arshavin is apparently in transfer talks with Spurs. The attacking left sided player may have some fences to mend before coming to the Lane, though, as he had these words to say about Robinson before he was aware Spurs were tracking him:

Arshavin said: "I believe England do not have normal keepers. Robinson, putting it mildly, is not the strongest representative of his profession."

Here's a clip compilation of the Russian.

Defender Transfer News

Setanta Sports reports that Chimbonda feels he missed out on a "massive opportunity" to move to Chelsea over the summer transfer period. This piece comes amid reports that the right back is about to sign a contract extension with Spurs to increase his wages. The Daily Mail is also reporting that defender Ricardo Rocha may be on his way back to Benfica following a string of disappointing performances for Tottenham.

Klinsmann for Spurs?

Well, there's a lot of ground to cover, and this piece in the Guardian seems to hit most of the major points. While the headline is about Klinsmann's indication that he is willing to succeed Jol, the main issue here is the pending sale of Spurs. The board are seeking the new stadium, Champions League football, and a high profile coach to improve the value of the club.

A couple very interesting points in this article are worth highlighting. For starters, Klinsmann says he told Chelsea he would not work with Avram Grant when they sounded him out for Mourinho's replacement. Moreover, he went a step further stating that, "you are on a lost track already if the president chooses the players or you don't have that power." Of course, that would rule him out of working in Tottenham's continental system and put him in direct conflict with Comolli. So unless this quote is inaccurate, it would seem there is little chance that Klinsmann is really interested in becoming Spurs manager.

The article also discusses the profound disappointment among Chelsea players in the abilities of Avram Grant. Startlingly, it appears in the first match the Chelsea gaffer managed, he selected a side with ten players, explaining to the team that they were to play a 4-4-1. Frankly, it seems far more likely that an accent or language difficulty yielded this confusion, but with this story finding its way to the press suggests that the players or others on staff are actively seeking to undermine the manager. Apparently Tottenham is not unique to this problem.

Should Robinson Be Benched?

Yikes! Look at this poll in the Guardian. And this is for Tottenham not England. If you didn't see his howlers against Villa, highlights are here.

Villa Game Video

Contact me offline for the link to the Aston Villa game. I found it archived. I have yet to watch it, but the link includes the whole preview, the 125th Year Anniversary proceedings and the match itself.

Coming off the heals of the poor defending display against Villa comes news that Ledley might not play at all this year. While this shouldn't be a huge surprise, this comes as crushing news given our poor form at the back. Maybe that money spent on Bent might have prised away Micah Richards or Curtis Davies at the beginning of the season.

And the latest in the coaching rumors are that Spurs made an astounding salary offer to Ramos - 6.2M pounds annually. How he can turn that down is beyond me and maybe he hasn't. Although Tottenham dispute the offer, it seems to have been covered widely.

And finally this entry from the Overstating the Obvious category features the Daily Mail headline, It's official: Tottenham are the most stressful Premier League team to watch. No kidding.