The Spurs Blog

Spurs manager Martin Jol says more injuries to goalkeepers will occur if they are not better protected by officials.

When asked about the recent injuries to Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini Jol said: “How many times will that happen in a year? A couple of times.”

“We had two defenders (With head injuries this season), one had concussion and one had a broken nose, so it happens to all football players,”

“The keeper is a vulnerable position. He has to dive in for balls and go in where it hurts.

“I feel it can happen all the time.”

Spurs defender Calum Davenport is free to take part against West Ham this weekend after the Football Association decided to rescind the red card he got against Aston Villa.

The disciplinary group overturned the decision after reviewing footage of the incident and deciding that Davenport was not at fault.

Martin Jol is hoping the boisterous Turkish supporters will not influence the refereeing decisions when his side travels to face Besiktas this week.

He said: “The only worry I have is the fans will influence the referee because everyone can get carried away sometimes.”

Tottenham director Damien Comolli says “There is no way” the club are relocating to the new Olympic stadium.

He said: “There is no way we are looking to move there.

“All grounds with a track have a poor atmosphere, attendances are down and clubs say moving there was a mistake.”

He added: “We are looking at all possible options, including extending White Hart Lane, but we may go somewhere else.

“Whatever happens, it won’t affect the financial stability of the club or the ability to invest in players.

“The board are determined that doesn’t happen and we will be very careful about it.”

Martin Jol has expressed his frustration with the lack of goals his team are producing this season.

He said: “In the first half we controlled play and we should have scored. We didn’t and we were left with that awkward feeling again,”

“We did well against Liverpool and Manchester United in a similar way but we have to start putting the ball in the net.

“The second half was totally different. We had to reorganise twice at the back with Michael Dawson going off injured and Calum Davenport being sent off.

“They put us under pressure and we could have lost in the end but overall I can live with a point and that opening 45 minutes we looked a decent team again.”

We are apparently preparing another bid for West Bromwich Albion star Curtis Davies during the January transfer window.

The News of the World has reported that manager Martin Jol is still keen on the £10 million rated star.

Some might say we are fine in defence. What do you think?

Tottenham manager Martin Jol thinks goalkeeper Paul Robinson will bounce back from his bad week with the England team.

“He is a professional and he will be sick as a parrot, but he knows that can happen,” said Jol.

“The feeling will be worse if you make a mistake, but it wasn’t a mistake.

“If you judge him harshly you could say it was a silly situation, but it was a freak moment and you can’t let it stay on your mind all the time.

“We have a game against Aston Villa; he knows he is arguably the best keeper in England. You could see that before the incident because he made some great saves.

“It can happen to anyone; all the best players will tell you it has happened to them.

“He is a tough lad, he trains hard and he knows you need a tough mind to be the number one in England.

“You need great character, otherwise you can’t play at this level.”

On the goal that own goal that Robinson conceded during the match against Croatia Jol added: “They were already 1-0 down at the time, so I don’t think it cost them the game,”

“There were other reasons and everyone knows that, the coach said it after the game, so all you can do is feel for him and he will do better.”

Tottenham fans will be glad to hear that stars Aaron Lennon and Ledley King are both progressing well from their respective injuries.

Exciting flanker Lennon has returned to training and is well ahead of schedule following his injury earlier this season while England defender Ledley King should be fit to face Aston Villa this weekend.

Manager Martin Jol said: “He (Ledley King) had some fluid in his knee, they (England) decided to pull him out and I thank Steve McClaren for that because I felt if he had played we would have had a problem and everybody knows Ledley is important for us,” 

“He can’t train today, but hopefully he’ll train tomorrow and travel with us.”

Tottenham defender Michael Dawson says the club must aim for a Champions League this season.

He said: “I think we have got to be realistic and make sure we are in the Uefa Cup spot again,”
 
“It would be nice to go one better and make it into the Champions League, but there are a lot of good teams out there and we know it is going to be a tough test.”

“We have maybe not scored as many goals as we would have liked, but with the strikers we have got we will always score goals,” added Dawson.

“It was nice to get two last week and hopefully they will start flooding in now.”

Dimitar Berbatov looks set to be fined by the Bulgarian Football Union following comments he made regarding Vice President Iordan Lechkov.
 
Berbatov, who was responding to comments made by Lechkov regarding the effort of the players in a recent match said: “If he (Lechkov) thinks so, we should let him play.

Lechkov responded: “He will be fined for his remarks in accordance with the regulations.”