Archive for the ‘Tottenham Hotspur’ Category
LONDON: Robbie Keane’s return to Tottenham Hotspur was not enough to prevent Sunday’s North London derby ending in a frustrating scoreless draw despite Arsenal being reduced to ten men following Emmanuel Eboue’s first half dismissal.
Ultimately Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was relieved his under-manned side managed to escape with a point but they now lie four points off fourth-placed Chelsea with growing doubts surrounding their hopes of Champions League qualification.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, meanwhile was left to contemplate a wasted opportunity for his team to drag themselves four points clear of the relegation zone.
Redknapp claims Keane’s arrival back at White Hart Lane from Liverpool has given his beleaguered squad an instant lift.
But that feel-good factor was almost immediately wiped out when Robin van Persie carved open Spurs’ suspect defence with a neat flick that allowed Eboue to race into the home box and deliver a teasing ball across the face of goal.
Had Emmanuel Adebayor been a yard further forward, Keane’s homecoming party would have been brought to an abrupt halt after just five minutes.
The Irishman’s enthusiasm was clearly having a galvanising effect on his team-mates and his powerful runs into the left hand channel threatened to create an opening for new strike-partner Roman Pavlyuchenko.
But it was Arsenal who managed to find the net first when Eboue finished from close range only to see the 13th minute effort disallowed for an innocuous foul on Jonathan Woodgate.
That was the first of a series of frustrations for the headstrong midfielder and four minutes later he was needlessly booked for failing to retreat at a free-kick.
And from that point Arsenal’s early dominance quickly began to fade as Spurs – and Luka Modric in particular – began to take control of the central areas of the pitch, forcing the visitors onto the back-foot.
Modric’s slight frame proved far too elusive for the Arsenal midfield and a combination of the Croatian’s vision together with a perfectly weighted pass freed Aaron Lennon inside the box only for the right winger to skew his left foot shot horribly wide.
Modric produced a much more effective effort when he went it alone moments later, forcing Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia into a hurried save with a skidding 20-yard drive.
Arsenal were looking increasingly ragged and the growing sense that this would not be their afternoon increased when Adebayor pulled up abruptly in the 34th minute with a hamstring injury that could keep him out for weeks.
But worse was to come three minutes later when Eboue became tangled with Modric and kicked out at the Spurs player to earn a second yellow card and with it a foolish dismissal.
The advantage had been handed emphatically to Tottenham but they showed few signs of possessing the composure needed to translate that into goals.
Chances went begging, with the guiltiest culprit being Pavlyuchenko who demonstrated a shocking lack of composure after easily cutting inside Kolo Toure, choosing to blast the ball over when three of his team-mates were better placed in front of goal.
And Keane came close to claiming the goal that would have capped his week when he connected with Aaron Lennon’s right wing cross, sending a header beyond Almunia and narrowly over the crossbar.
The striker came close again with a 71st minute shot but in between those efforts, the numerically disasdvantaged Gunners had the best chance of the afternoon to claim all three point when Alex Song evaded his marker and volleyed Van Persie’s corner wide from just six yards out.
Wenger’s hot new signing, Russian Andrei Arshavin, had his first taste of life in the Premier League but only as an unused substitute. – AFP/de
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LONDON: Robbie Keane returned to Tottenham Hotspur from Liverpool on Monday’s final day of the January transfer window.
But Arsenal were left waiting to tie up the loose ends on a deal to sign Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg.
Keane left Tottenham for Liverpool, the club he supported as a boy, in July in a 20 million pounds move yet struggled to convince manager Rafael Benitez he was worthy of a place in the team.
The Republic of Ireland striker sidelined at Anfield and wasn’t even in the squad for Sunday’s 2-0 win over Premier League title rivals Chelsea.
But on Monday the 28-year-old former Spurs captain followed Jermain Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda in returning to White Hart Lane during the January window and manager Harry Redknapp said: “They were all good players that the chairman didn’t want to lose in the first place. I think they are terrific signings for the club.
“Robbie will make a terrific impact, he is a boy who wants to win and you need that at the club,” Redknapp added.
The heavy snow-falls in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, which prevented some players travelling to sign for clubs, led officials at the Premier League to extend Monday’s 1730GMT deadline provided they had e-mail confirmation from both the buying and selling clubs that a deal had been agreed.
Arsenal sources told AFP that 27-year-old Russia international midfielder Arshavin, who starred at Euro 2008, had joined the Gunners till June 2012 for 12 million pounds (13.3 million euros).
But several hours after the deadline passed, there was still no formal confirmation of Arshavin’s transfer.
However, it appeared the hold-up was primarily to do with the difficulty the Premier League had in processing the sheer volume of late deadline day deals and that the move would go through on Tuesday.
Manchester City let Brazilian striker Jo move to Everton on loan on a day where their pursuit of Blackburn Rovers’ Roque Santa Cruz appeared to come to an end after the two teams failed to agree on a fee for the Paraguay forward.
Chelsea, looking for a lift after that loss to Liverpool left them five points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United, brought in Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma on loan from Inter Milan after he was left out of former Blues boss Jose Mourinho’s Champions League squad.
Charles N’Zogbia, insulted by manager Joe Kinnear’s failure to remember his name during a television interview last week, moved from Newcastle to Wigan with Ryan Taylor heading in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile striker Henri Camara, no longer a first-team regular at the JJB, stayed in the top flight after going on loan to Stoke City. Fulham signed the experienced Olivier Dacourt on loan from Inter.
Portsmouth, just one point above the relegation zone, signed Greece midfielder Angelos Bassinos from AEK Athens but decided against going ahead with a move to bring in Spurs’s Giovani dos Santos.
Sunderland’s Michael Chopra was loaned to Championship promotion contenders Cardiff City while basement club West Bromwich Albion made two signings in Youssouf Mulumbu and Juan Carlos Menseguez.
West Ham defender Calum Davenport moved from West Ham to Sunderland on loan and Tal Ben Haim also joined the Black Cats on loan, from Manchester City.
Sir Alex Ferguson saw Manchester United centre-back James Chester loaned to third-tier Peterborough, where the Scottish boss’s son Darren is the manager, on a one-month loan deal. – AFP/de
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LONDON: Robbie Keane returned to Tottenham Hotspur from Liverpool on Monday’s final day of the January transfer window.
But Arsenal were left waiting to tie up the loose ends on a deal to sign Andrei Arshavin from Zenit St Petersburg.
Keane left Tottenham for Liverpool, the club he supported as a boy, in July in a 20 million pounds move yet struggled to convince manager Rafael Benitez he was worthy of a place in the team.
The Republic of Ireland striker sidelined at Anfield and wasn’t even in the squad for Sunday’s 2-0 win over Premier League title rivals Chelsea.
But on Monday the 28-year-old former Spurs captain followed Jermain Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda in returning to White Hart Lane during the January window and manager Harry Redknapp said: “They were all good players that the chairman didn’t want to lose in the first place. I think they are terrific signings for the club.
“Robbie will make a terrific impact, he is a boy who wants to win and you need that at the club,” Redknapp added.
The heavy snow-falls in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, which prevented some players travelling to sign for clubs, led officials at the Premier League to extend Monday’s 1730GMT deadline provided they had e-mail confirmation from both the buying and selling clubs that a deal had been agreed.
Arsenal sources told AFP that 27-year-old Russia international midfielder Arshavin, who starred at Euro 2008, had joined the Gunners till June 2012 for 12 million pounds (13.3 million euros).
But several hours after the deadline passed, there was still no formal confirmation of Arshavin’s transfer.
However, it appeared the hold-up was primarily to do with the difficulty the Premier League had in processing the sheer volume of late deadline day deals and that the move would go through on Tuesday.
Manchester City let Brazilian striker Jo move to Everton on loan on a day where their pursuit of Blackburn Rovers’ Roque Santa Cruz appeared to come to an end after the two teams failed to agree on a fee for the Paraguay forward.
Chelsea, looking for a lift after that loss to Liverpool left them five points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United, brought in Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma on loan from Inter Milan after he was left out of former Blues boss Jose Mourinho’s Champions League squad.
Charles N’Zogbia, insulted by manager Joe Kinnear’s failure to remember his name during a television interview last week, moved from Newcastle to Wigan with Ryan Taylor heading in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile striker Henri Camara, no longer a first-team regular at the JJB, stayed in the top flight after going on loan to Stoke City. Fulham signed the experienced Olivier Dacourt on loan from Inter.
Portsmouth, just one point above the relegation zone, signed Greece midfielder Angelos Bassinos from AEK Athens but decided against going ahead with a move to bring in Spurs’s Giovani dos Santos.
Sunderland’s Michael Chopra was loaned to Championship promotion contenders Cardiff City while basement club West Bromwich Albion made two signings in Youssouf Mulumbu and Juan Carlos Menseguez.
West Ham defender Calum Davenport moved from West Ham to Sunderland on loan and Tal Ben Haim also joined the Black Cats on loan, from Manchester City.
Sir Alex Ferguson saw Manchester United centre-back James Chester loaned to third-tier Peterborough, where the Scottish boss’s son Darren is the manager, on a one-month loan deal. – AFP/de
Channel News Asia
LONDON: Liverpool confirmed on Monday they have allowed striker Robbie Keane to talk to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur about a possible return to White Hart Lane, just months after he moved to Anfield.
“We’ve allowed Robbie to talk to Spurs but we’ve not yet finalised a deal with them for the player,” a Liverpool spokesman said just hours ahead of Monday’s transfer window deadline of 1700GMT.
Keane was forced to watch from the stands while Fernando Torres scored twice in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Chelsea at Anfield as Liverpool reduced champions Manchester United’s lead at the top of the Premier League table to two points.
The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international has played just six minutes of Liverpool’s last three games and has now failed to feature in four of their last seven matches.
He has not completed a full 90 minutes for the club since the 3-1 Champions League victory in the Netherlands against PSV Eindhoven on December 12.
Keane, a boyhood Liverpool fan, cost 20 million pounds when he moved to Anfield from Tottenham in July but reports on Sunday suggested Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was ready to bring him back to White Hart Lane for a fee in the region of 15 million pounds. – AFP/de
Channel News Asia
LONDON: Liverpool confirmed on Monday they have allowed striker Robbie Keane to talk to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur about a possible return to White Hart Lane, just months after he moved to Anfield.
“We’ve allowed Robbie to talk to Spurs but we’ve not yet finalised a deal with them for the player,” a Liverpool spokesman said just hours ahead of Monday’s transfer window deadline of 1700GMT.
Keane was forced to watch from the stands while Fernando Torres scored twice in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Chelsea at Anfield as Liverpool reduced champions Manchester United’s lead at the top of the Premier League table to two points.
The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland international has played just six minutes of Liverpool’s last three games and has now failed to feature in four of their last seven matches.
He has not completed a full 90 minutes for the club since the 3-1 Champions League victory in the Netherlands against PSV Eindhoven on December 12.
Keane, a boyhood Liverpool fan, cost 20 million pounds when he moved to Anfield from Tottenham in July but reports on Sunday suggested Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was ready to bring him back to White Hart Lane for a fee in the region of 15 million pounds. – AFP/de
Channel News Asia
LONDON : Tottenham Hotspur re-signed Pascal Chimbonda from Premier League rivals Sunderland on Monday.
Chimbonda left White Hart Lane before this season began but didn’t settle with the north-east side and will now provide Spurs manager Harry Redknapp with an additional option across several defensive positions.
But the 29-year-old Frenchman will be unavailable for Tuesday’s home league clash between Spurs and Stoke – two of the five Premier League clubs all level on 21 points at the foot of the table.
“I’ve signed him and he’s coming here,” Redknapp said.
“The deal should have been done in the morning but it’s over-run the deadline for him to play against Stoke. It was done 15 minutes too late which was disappointing. Otherwise he would have been available.”
Earlier Monday, Tottenham signed goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a free transfer from Chelsea.
The Italian will make the journey across London from the Premier League title contenders to a Spurs side struggling to avoid relegation but short of an experienced rival to the error-prone Heurelho Gomes.
Cudicini, 35, had been at Stamford Bridge since 1999 and was Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper until Petr Cech joined the west London club in 2004.
“Chelsea can confirm Carlo Cudicini has today (Monday) signed for Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer,” said a statement on Chelsea’s website.
“The club would like to take this opportunity to thank Carlo for his years of service and wish him well.”
Cudicini, the son of a former AC Milan goalkeeper, originally joined Chelsea on a year-long loan from Castel di Sangro nearly 10 years ago and made his move permanent in 2000.
His time with Chelsea saw him help the Blues win two Premier League titles, two FA Cup and two League Cups.
Tottenham are one of five clubs at the foot of the table all on 21 points. But despite seeing the side spend most of the season in or around the drop zone neither Ben Alnwick nor Cesar Sanchez (released by Spurs last week) has been able to displace Gomes, a seven million pounds pre-season signing from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
– AFP /ls
Channel News Asia
LONDON : Tottenham Hotspur re-signed Pascal Chimbonda from Premier League rivals Sunderland on Monday.
Chimbonda left White Hart Lane before this season began but didn’t settle with the north-east side and will now provide Spurs manager Harry Redknapp with an additional option across several defensive positions.
But the 29-year-old Frenchman will be unavailable for Tuesday’s home league clash between Spurs and Stoke – two of the five Premier League clubs all level on 21 points at the foot of the table.
“I’ve signed him and he’s coming here,” Redknapp said.
“The deal should have been done in the morning but it’s over-run the deadline for him to play against Stoke. It was done 15 minutes too late which was disappointing. Otherwise he would have been available.”
Earlier Monday, Tottenham signed goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a free transfer from Chelsea.
The Italian will make the journey across London from the Premier League title contenders to a Spurs side struggling to avoid relegation but short of an experienced rival to the error-prone Heurelho Gomes.
Cudicini, 35, had been at Stamford Bridge since 1999 and was Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper until Petr Cech joined the west London club in 2004.
“Chelsea can confirm Carlo Cudicini has today (Monday) signed for Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer,” said a statement on Chelsea’s website.
“The club would like to take this opportunity to thank Carlo for his years of service and wish him well.”
Cudicini, the son of a former AC Milan goalkeeper, originally joined Chelsea on a year-long loan from Castel di Sangro nearly 10 years ago and made his move permanent in 2000.
His time with Chelsea saw him help the Blues win two Premier League titles, two FA Cup and two League Cups.
Tottenham are one of five clubs at the foot of the table all on 21 points. But despite seeing the side spend most of the season in or around the drop zone neither Ben Alnwick nor Cesar Sanchez (released by Spurs last week) has been able to displace Gomes, a seven million pounds pre-season signing from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
– AFP /ls
Channel News Asia
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur have signed goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a free transfer from Chelsea, the Blues said Monday.
The Italian will make the journey across London from the Premier League title contenders to a Spurs side struggling to avoid relegation but short of an experienced rival to the error-prone Heurelho Gomes.
Cudicini, 35, had been at Stamford Bridge since 1999 and was Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper until Petr Cech joined the west London club in 2004.
“Chelsea can confirm Carlo Cudicini has today (Monday) signed for Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer,” said a statement on Chelsea’s website.
“The club would like to take this opportunity to thank Carlo for his years of service and wish him well.”
Cudicini, the son of a former AC Milan goalkeeper, originally joined Chelsea on a year-long loan from Castel di Sangro nearly 10 years ago and made his move permanent in 2000.
His time with Chelsea saw him help the Blues win two Premier League titles, two FA Cup and two League Cups.
Tottenham are one of five clubs at the foot of the table all on 21 points. But despite seeing the side spend most of the season in or around the drop zone neither Ben Alnwick nor Cesar Sanchez (released by Spurs last week) has been able to displace Gomes, a seven million pounds pre-season signing from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
– AFP/yb
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BURNLEY, England – Strikers Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe scored deep into extra-time here on Wednesday to break Burnley hearts and ensure holders Tottenham Hotspur will face Manchester United in the League Cup final.
With under three minutes of extra-time left at Turf Moor, the second-tier Championship side were on course to go through to a March 1 meeting at Wembley with world champions United on the away goals rule.
At that stage the tie was all square at 4-4 on aggregate, with the Clarets 3-0 ahead in the second leg courtesy of goals from Robbie Blake, Chris McCann and Jay Rodridguez.
However, Pavlyuchenko edged Spurs in front overall before Defoe’s 120th minute effort made sure Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, who won the FA Cup with Portsmouth last season, would be heading back to Wembley after a dramatic 6-4 aggregate success.
Burnley, who’d already knocked Premier League sides Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal out of the League Cup this season, were 100-1 rank outsiders to go through before the second-leg kicked-off.
But on a windswept and rain-drenched evening in the north-west, Burnley, on the fringes of the race for promotion to the Premier League, made a mockery of those odds.
Ben Alnwick made his Spurs debut as first-choice keeper Heurelho Gomes was missing for the top-flight strugglers through injury along with Ledley King, Vedran Corluka and Aaron Lennon.
Meanwhile Pavyluchenko, who has now scored in every round of the competition, and Gareth Bale dropped to the bench.
The Clarets were themselves weakened by being without suspended captain Steven Caldwell and cup-tied striker Steve Thompson, Wade Elliott and Blake respectively filling in.
Spurs almost scored first when Jonathan Woodgate – one of just two survivors along with Didier Zakora from the Spurs side that beat Chelsea 2-1 in last year’s final – headed over from David Bentley’s corner.
But instead it was Burnley who broke the second leg deadlock.
They were awarded a free-kick after Woodgate’s foul on Joey Gudjohnsen and from fully 25 yards out Blake beat Alnwick at the keeper’s near post with a superb curling effort.
Clarets manager Owen Coyle had said beforehand his side would need “to scale Everest and beyond” to reach the final but now the summit was in sight.
Midway through the second-half, Spurs had the chance to draw level in the second leg when Defoe pounced on an error by Clarke Carlisle.
But Burnley keeper Brian Jensen moved smartly off his line to deny the England striker.
Burnley continued to press forward and in the 73rd minute a cross from Blake was turned in at the far post by McCann.
Spurs advantage was erased with two minutes of normal time left, after Alnwick fumbled Blake’s free-kick, substitute Rodriguez scored.
At the end of normal time, Martin Paterson’s first-leg goal for Burnley – which had seemed as if it would be a mere footnote – meant the Clarets were still in the tie.
Now, however, they had a position to defend and the character of the match changed with Spurs’s making the running in the first-half of extra-time.
But Burnley did not concede and were in sight of a first League Cup final appearance when Pavlyuchenko, who came on for Luka Modric midway through the second-half, scored from six yards in the 118th minute.
And moments later Defoe grabbed another goal, to make sure of an all top-flight clash with United, 4-3 aggregate winners over Derby on Tuesday.
-AFP /ls
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BURNLEY, England – Strikers Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe scored deep into extra-time here on Wednesday to break Burnley hearts and ensure holders Tottenham Hotspur will face Manchester United in the League Cup final.
With under three minutes of extra-time left at Turf Moor, the second-tier Championship side were on course to go through to a March 1 meeting at Wembley with world champions United on the away goals rule.
At that stage the tie was all square at 4-4 on aggregate, with the Clarets 3-0 ahead in the second leg courtesy of goals from Robbie Blake, Chris McCann and Jay Rodridguez.
However, Pavlyuchenko edged Spurs in front overall before Defoe’s 120th minute effort made sure Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, who won the FA Cup with Portsmouth last season, would be heading back to Wembley after a dramatic 6-4 aggregate success.
Burnley, who’d already knocked Premier League sides Fulham, Chelsea and Arsenal out of the League Cup this season, were 100-1 rank outsiders to go through before the second-leg kicked-off.
But on a windswept and rain-drenched evening in the north-west, Burnley, on the fringes of the race for promotion to the Premier League, made a mockery of those odds.
Ben Alnwick made his Spurs debut as first-choice keeper Heurelho Gomes was missing for the top-flight strugglers through injury along with Ledley King, Vedran Corluka and Aaron Lennon.
Meanwhile Pavyluchenko, who has now scored in every round of the competition, and Gareth Bale dropped to the bench.
The Clarets were themselves weakened by being without suspended captain Steven Caldwell and cup-tied striker Steve Thompson, Wade Elliott and Blake respectively filling in.
Spurs almost scored first when Jonathan Woodgate – one of just two survivors along with Didier Zakora from the Spurs side that beat Chelsea 2-1 in last year’s final – headed over from David Bentley’s corner.
But instead it was Burnley who broke the second leg deadlock.
They were awarded a free-kick after Woodgate’s foul on Joey Gudjohnsen and from fully 25 yards out Blake beat Alnwick at the keeper’s near post with a superb curling effort.
Clarets manager Owen Coyle had said beforehand his side would need “to scale Everest and beyond” to reach the final but now the summit was in sight.
Midway through the second-half, Spurs had the chance to draw level in the second leg when Defoe pounced on an error by Clarke Carlisle.
But Burnley keeper Brian Jensen moved smartly off his line to deny the England striker.
Burnley continued to press forward and in the 73rd minute a cross from Blake was turned in at the far post by McCann.
Spurs advantage was erased with two minutes of normal time left, after Alnwick fumbled Blake’s free-kick, substitute Rodriguez scored.
At the end of normal time, Martin Paterson’s first-leg goal for Burnley – which had seemed as if it would be a mere footnote – meant the Clarets were still in the tie.
Now, however, they had a position to defend and the character of the match changed with Spurs’s making the running in the first-half of extra-time.
But Burnley did not concede and were in sight of a first League Cup final appearance when Pavlyuchenko, who came on for Luka Modric midway through the second-half, scored from six yards in the 118th minute.
And moments later Defoe grabbed another goal, to make sure of an all top-flight clash with United, 4-3 aggregate winners over Derby on Tuesday.
-AFP /ls
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