The formal name of the club is Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, or Tottenham Hotspur FC. They are also referred to as the Spurs, or the Lilywhites. Founded in 1882 as Hotspur FC, the squad train at their home venue, at White Hart Lane, with its capacity of about 36,000. ENIC International Ltd. owns the squad whose chairman is Daniel Levy. Spurs are managed by Harry Redknapp, popularly known as just ‘Arry. The club enjoyed their best period in top flight English football between the 60’s and the 80’s, and became the first in the 20th century to win both the League and FA Cup, but they are yet to win the Premier League.
They finished fourth in the Premier League standings, last season, their best ever performance in the Premiership. In the three matches played so far in the ongoing season, Spurs have recorded a draw against Manchester City, and a win against Stoke city, both creditable efforts. However, they let themselves down, somewhat, losing 1-0 to relegation favourites Wigan.
Early Season Preview:
The last season saw Tottenham hit a high their fans had been predicting they would, for a long time. Although a top four finish seemed always on the cards, it still caused surprise when Spurs actually got there. The club went into a period of decline under the stewardship of Juande Ramos. So credit should justifiably go to Harry Redknapp for getting the squad back on the rails. The squad that played in the third match of the season against Wigan Athletic comprised: Cudicini, Kaboul, Bale, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, King, Lennon, Huddlestone, Crouch, Palacios, Defoe, Bassong, Kranjcar, Alnwick, Keane, Giovani, Jenas, and Pavlyuchenko.
In Jermaine Defoe, Spurs have a prolific scorer of goals, the most important ingredient in winning matches. Tottenham have never been short of big name players but have been outclassed where it matters most — in scoring goals. And Defoe is capable of changing that perception, as he proved last season. Last season was the first for winger Danny Rose and he made an immediate impact, with a early goal against Arsenal in the only match he played. This season, Rose should be in the news for Spurs more often than not.
Redknapp has been a little slow working the transfer market. A possible reason for that could be his preoccupation with James Milner’s impending departure for Manchester City. But that hasn’t stopped ‘Arry from acquiring Internacional’s Sandro for £6 mn. There is also talk about a late bid for Real Madrid’s Rafael van der Vaart, apart from a shock move for Arsenal striker Adebayor.
Things should become clearer in the coming days about the final composition of the squad, as the transfer window has shut, finally. In spite of their great 2009-10 season and the undoubted calibre of their squad, they could be trumped by the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, in their bid for a top four spot. Redknapp may also be hoping he has beaten the transfer window deadline with his late offers, as those players could have a bearing on how far Spurs can go the season.