Over the weekend, Tottenham collected another three points against the Hammers and moved up to 9th on the table. A single strike from substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko secured the win. After the game, manager Harry Redknapp complimented, “Darren Bent’s been great for us lately and worked hard but I felt ‘let’s try something different’. So, we brought Pav on knowing he’s capable of turning a game with something special, and that’s what he did. His home form is very good and he’s scored some decent goals. That’s what he’s capable of. Technically, he’s a top-class player.
So, now Spurs sit rather comfortably away from relegation, in the top half of the table. Above them in 8th are Fulham, and just ahead of them, West Ham. On Sunday, Spurs will host at home a struggling Newcastle, who are 18th on the bottom of the table with 30 points. The last time these two teams were matched, Spurs held them at a score of 1-1 until about the last 10 minutes of regular time and a strike from Damien Duff concluded the game with a Newcastle victory. This time the points are more valuable as the season is coming to a close. A win for Spurs could take them as high as 7th, and a win for Newcastle could mean maybe getting out of the relegation zone.
Some great news from Tottenham is that Jermaine Defoe has returned from injury this week. Defoe returned to full training on Tuesday and is very excited to be back and playing. Harry Redknapp spoke about his return Wednesday morning saying, “He’s full of enthusiasm and he trained superbly on Tuesday, he looked really sharp and scored some fantastic goals. He’s back and that’s a big bonus for us. I’m sure there are a few more goals left in him before the end of the season.”
Some more exciting news from North London is the recent win for the Spurs reserve squad over the Arsenal reserves, in which David Bentley, Jamie O’Hara, Gareth Bale, Fraizer Campbell, and Pascal Chimbonda from the first team joined in their victory. David Bentley, having not played in a first team match in a while, scored both Spurs goals in the 2-1 win, proving he’s in good form. A spot on the field instead of the bench could be in order for him when they play Newcastle on Sunday.
With the whole Spurs squad in excellent form, they should have no problems overcoming Newcastle, despite the outcome earlier in the season.
Jill Guthrie
