League Report: Spurs 1 Newcastle 0

Courtesy of Official Site-

The heat is on!

Darren Bent's 16th goal of the season was the decisive factor as we defeated Newcastle United 1-0 at a sun-drenched White Hart Lane.

The result takes us level on points with eighth-placed Fulham and just one point behind West Ham in the all-important seventh spot, which will guarantee a place in next season's Europa League.

It was our first league win against the Magpies in seven attempts, and they find themselves still four points off safety with just five games of the season left.

Prior to kick off, White Hart Lane held a rousing one minute applause to celebrate the life of former player Jimmy Neighbour, who sadly died last weekend.

Jimmy made 156 senior appearances for the Club between 1966 and 1976, scoring 11 goals before a move to Norwich City. He later returned to serve as a youth team coach.

Manager Harry Redknapp made two changes to the side that defeated West Ham last week.

Wilson Palacios returned from suspension to take his place in midfield alongside Tom Huddlestone, with Jermaine Jenas out injured.

Meanwhile, persistent injury problems prevented Ledley King making his sixth consecutive start. As ever, the reliable Michael Dawson was on hand to fill the void.

We were dominant in the first half against a team desperately needing the points to ease their plight.

Our first sighting at goal came after 15 minutes when Huddlestone and Luka Modric worked a short corner to Bent, who hit his shot low at Steve Harper. But nine minutes later, the striker was on hand to give us the lead.

Modric attempted a throughball to Robbie Keane, and although that was cut out by Sebastien Bassong, the loose ball ran to our leading scorer.

Bent hit his first shot straight at Harper but tucked away the rebound from a tight angle to give us the goal we deserved.

It was his first goal in four games and keeps the manager's striking options healthy with Jermain Defoe also making a return to the squad in this game after nearly three months out through injury.

Redknapp's options in midfield are also looking strong at the moment, with Huddlestone making his second consecutive start and once again proving a valuable asset.

On 28 minutes, he hit a trademark searing drive goalwards from 25 yards, which Harper did extremely well to tip over the bar.

Huddlestone repeated this act four minutes before half-time with the same result. Prior to this, Modric had another goal-bound effort blocked by Bassong, although the defender knew little about it as the ball ricocheted safely into his goalkeeper's arms.

The only low point of the first half was when Dawson landed awkwardly on his left ankle after an aerial challenge with Andy Carroll on 34 minutes, and was subsequently stretchered off in some discomfort.

But once again, the strength of Redknapp's squad was displayed again when Alan Hutton came off the bench to make his first Spurs appearance since November having been out with a foot injury.

He took up his familiar right back role, with Vedran Corluka switching to centre-half in place of Dawson.

And the Scotsman was impressive on his return, bombing forward at every opportunity and crossing superbly to the back post on the stroke of half-time for Bent to head over when he really should have done better.

Into the second half and Newcastle went desperately searching for an equaliser without actually creating a great deal.

We could have doubled our lead on a number of occasions, first on the hour mark when Bassong did well to block Palacios' 12-yard shot after Bent's cross deflected into his path.

Nine minutes later Aaron Lennon, who prior to kick-off received his PFA Player of the Month award for March, nearly marked the occasion with a goal after cutting inside from the right and sending a low left foot shot inches past the post.

Defoe was indeed introduced to a grand ovation with 15 minutes remaining, and this helped us regain the initiative in the closing stages with Newcastle having much of the possession beforehand despite our chances.

Another chance fell to Jonathan Woodgate 11 minutes from time, when Harper parried away his powerful header after Modric's corner.

Huddlestone also had another run and shot which whistled past the post before Newcastle came as close to scoring as they had done all game on 87 minutes.

Ryan Taylor played a ball in from the right and Obafemi Martins got in behind Woodgate to latch on, before controlling on his chest and lashing a shot over the bar, much to the despair of the travelling support.

Overall it was a frustrating afternoon for them, but for us it keeps our good run of form going - it's our sixth win in eight league games.

Spurs (4-4-2): Gomes; Corluka, Dawson (A Hutton, 34), Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Modric; Bent (Defoe, 75), Keane
Subs not used: Cudicini, Bale, Zokora, Bentley, Campbell

Newcastle (3-5-2): Harper; Beye, S Taylor (Smith, 46), Bassong; R Taylor, Butt, Nolan (Viduka, 61), Gutierrez, Duff; Carroll (Martins, 61), Owen
Subs not used: Krul, Edgar, Guthrie, Ameobi

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League Report: Spurs 1 West Ham 0

Courtesy of Official Site-

Roman Pavlyuchenko came off the bench to take a vital three points in our quest for European football against London rivals West Ham at White Hart Lane.

The Russian struck his 14th goal of the season having been introduced for Darren Bent early in the second half.

It puts the disappointment of last week's defeat against Blackburn, and moves us into a season-high of eighth - just three points behind the Hammers in the seventh place which is likely to secure a spot in next season's Europa League.

Harry Redknapp made just one change to the side defeated at Ewood Park, with Tom Huddlestone replacing the suspended Wilson Palacios in midfield.

And despite not creating a great deal, we were dominant in the first half with three good penalty shouts turned down by referee Martin Atkinson.

The first, and perhaps the strongest claim, came on 21 minutes when Aaron Lennon's deep cross was volleyed into the flailing arms of defender James Tomkins by Robbie Keane for what appeared to be handball.

Nothing was given, as was the case two minutes later when Keane was knocked over in the box by Luis Boa Morte after beating Tomkins.

That could have been seen as a coming-together, as was David Di Michele's push on Vedran Corluka on 26 minutes.

It wasn't until the half-hour mark that we finally tested Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green, who was forced to turn a stinging 25-yard Huddlestone effort round the post.

Moments later, the England man looked far less comfortable in dealing with a Keane volley from the edge of the box, but managed to claw it to safety.

Bent also went close on 33 minutes when he climbed well to meet Benoit Assou-Ekotto's cross but headed just wide of the post.

Heurelho Gomes was forced into action for the first time 10 minutes before the break, doing well to keep out an arrowed volley from inside the box by Di Michele.

Going into half-time, however, things were certainly looking good for us, although it was clear we needed an extra dimension.

Enter Pavlyuchenko. The Russian came on as a 57th minute substitute for Bent and got himself straight into the thick of things.

Huddlestone's free-kick was flicked on goalwards by Jonathan Woodgate, and the rangy striker just failed to turn his header past Green.

From the resultant drop kick, we got lucky when Woodgate misjudged the flight of the ball, allowing Di Michele to get in behind and force Gomes into a good low save.

That only served as a wake-up call, and it was Green who was next called into action, again turning a decent Huddlestone effort around the post on 64 minutes.

A minute later, there was nothing the goalkeeper could do as we finally took the lead.

Corluka played a ball into the box to Luka Modric, who found Pavlyuchenko with his back to goal. In one movement, he turned his marker and found the bottom left-hand corner.

The form of Bent alongside Keane up-front in recent weeks has made it a frustrating time for the Russian, but he proved here the quality he possesses when called upon.

And with Jermain Defoe on his way back from injury, our striking options certainly look strong for the end-of-season run-in.

For the rest of this game, it was just going to be a case of holding onto the hard-earned lead, although we came close to doubling the lead on two occasions before the end.

Lennon curled one in from the left, and although only he will ever know whether it was an attempted cross or effort on goal, it certainly had Green back-tracking to keep it out of his top corner in the end.

Three minutes from time, Pavlyuchenko broke away and played in Lennon racing up alongside him. The winger carried it into the box and tried to go around Green. The goalkeeper timed his tackle well, but the loose ball fell to Keane who struck towards the empty net, with only covering defender James Collins on hand to keep it out.

Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola used up a wealth of attacking options he had on his bench in the hope of grabbing an unlikely equaliser, but it's fair to say it would have been undeserved.

Di Michele did force Gomes into another good save two minutes from time, but they had little else as our push for a top seven finish got back on track.

Spurs (4-4-2): Gomes; Corluka, Woodgate, King, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Huddlestone, Jenas (Zokora, 46), Modric; Keane, Bent (Pavlyuchenko, 57)
Subs not used: Cudicini, Chimbonda Dawson, Bale, Bentley

West Ham (4-4-2): Green; Tomkins (Savio, 81), Collins, Upson, Ilunga; Boa Morte (Dyer, 71), Neill, Noble, Stanislas; Di Michele, Tristan (Sears, 84)
Subs not used: Lastuvka, Payne, Lopez, N'Gala

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League Report: Blackburn 2 Spurs 1

Courtesy of Official Site-

Blackburn Rovers snatched an unlikely victory with two late goals after a Robbie Keane penalty saw us lead and proceed to dominate at Ewood Park.

It really was a case of defeat from the jaws of victory and leaving Lancashire without at least a point would have appeared impossible until the last ten minutes or so.

That's when Wilson Palacios was sent off after two quickfire yellow cards - the second decision somewhat harsh as he appeared to pull out of the tackle on David Dunn - and the home side, naturally lifted, turned the game around.

With the exception of Heurelho Gomes having to deal with a back pass of rather too much force from Jonathan Woodgate, the opening exchanges of this contest were not ones that really looked likely to generate any excitement in front of goal.

Hardly surprising maybe, given the AirMiles collected by many of the players from both sides over the last two weeks. One who wasn't on his travels, Paul Robinson, received his anticipated appreciation from the Spurs thousands behind his goal before his opposite number was given his second concern of the afternoon at the other end.

A cross from the left by Morten Gamst Pedersen was cleverly worked out by El Hadji Diouf, who ghosted in behind his marker and planted a header just beyond Gomes' right hand upright. Ledley King was next to call heads, stealing in at the near post to meet a Luka Modric corner, glancing across the face of Robinson's goal.

On 19 minutes, Palacios ventured forward and superbly picked out the run of Darren Bent behind the Blackburn defences. The striker drilled in a powerful drive that appeared to be arrowing into the bottom corner before Robinson reached out and brilliantly diverted.

A long throw from Pedersen then caused confusion when the ball landed in our area, Diouf was quickest to respond and his free hit on goal looked like rattling the net until a late intervention from Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Vedran Corluka was next to try his luck at opening the scoring, but this was duly achieved when, on 28 minutes, an Aaron Lennon cross struck the arm of Gael Givet and referee Mr Walton pointed to the penalty spot. There was the usual protest and delay, but eventually Keane was able to pit his wits against his former teammate and placed his kick with aplomb in the bottom left hand corner. Robbo guessed right but could not quite reach.

A bit of Modric magic could have made it two before the break after the little playmaker combined with Keane, but Blackburn employed safety in numbers and managed to crowd out the Croatian.

There was a Blackburn change at the break as Jason Roberts was withdrawn injured and the giant Chris Samba was deployed in attack, offering a fair guide to home intentions for the second half.

If Blackburn wanted to employ the order of the big boot, it was made all the more challenging by the men in black performing some intricate possession football which, while it didn't lead to much to overly concern Robinson, the home side were getting stretched and a little ragged.

A second goal, however, you suspected was needed and would certainly have been warranted.

The wily Tugay was introduced by Sam Allardyce in the 64th minute in an attempt to restore some order to the Rovers engine room, but he quickly lost the ball and it led to Assou-Ekotto flighting in a low cross that Darren Bent was unfortunate not to get more of a touch on.

Jermaine Jenas, a magnificent presence throughout with his industry and perhaps unnoted tenacity in the heart of midfield, measured a superb low cross along the front of goal that neither Bent or Keane could quite reach, the same with a Lennon centre moments after - one touch and Rovers would have been re-starting from the half-way line.

It could have been us doing just that though when Diouf teased a cross into the near post and Benni McCarthy plunged his head towards the ball. The South African could not provide any direction a rare threat passed.

Palacios was booked for two fouls in quick succession and there was no leeway from Mr Walton, who brandished red, leaving us to face the last 10 minutes with 10 men.

The deficit proved costly just moments later when Samba shrugged off Jonathan Woodgate and rolled the ball to where McCarthy was waiting to tap in right in front of goal on 82 minutes.

Gomes pulled off a stunning save from Stephen Warnock before a Diouf corner somehow squirted through a crowd of players at the near post and the substitute Andre Ooijer was in place to tap home in the final minute of normal time.

Blackburn and a crowd of 21,891 will probably not quite believe they snatched a victory from this one.

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Latest New Stadum Plans 3/31/2009

Courtesy of Official Site-

Club reveal next stage plans for Northumberland Development Project

- New Public Square for North Tottenham

• Spurs publish plans for a new public square on Tottenham High Road as part of its Northumberland Development Project.
• To include a dedicated space for community events, such as street markets, performers, ice rink or educational activities; and a second smaller, quieter space.
• New images released of the proposed Stadium and public square.
• Development now also includes a hotel to provide a further economic boost for the area.
• Architects tighten the stadium bowl to maximise atmosphere - spectators will be closer to pitch than at any other comparable stadium.
• Plans revealed at a new exhibition as part of a second public consultation, taking place from 2 to 7 April.

The Club has published detailed plans of its Northumberland Development Project, including an exceptional new public square designed by Martha Schwartz Partners, the widely acclaimed landscape architects behind some of the most exciting new public spaces in the world - including Grand Canal Square in Dublin, Exchange Square in Manchester, Nexus Kashi Housing Project, Fukuoka, Japan and the Jacob Javits Plaza in New York City.

The public square will contain two distinct but connected spaces - an active space for events and performances and a smaller, quieter space. Each space is defined by stepped landforms for seating, new planting and a ribbon of Astroturf that connects the landforms and provides softer places to sit. Together they provide places to watch events, read, meet up or just relax.

The Club will actively manage these spaces to promote their positive use, for example as a host for a street market, a temporary ice rink or musical performances as well as being used by local schools, churches and Haringey Council for events and activities.

Architects, KSS Group, has also reconfigured the stadium to create a tighter bowl and thereby maximise matchday atmosphere. Fans at the new stadium will be closer to the pitch than at any other comparable stadium in the UK.

The development now encompasses a vibrant mix of retail, leisure, restaurants, homes and a hotel - a mix of uses that will ensure visitors to the area 365 days a year, with all of the associated benefits that will bring to the local economy in the Borough.

Commenting on the improved plans, Daniel Levy, Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, said:

"We received an overwhelmingly positive response to our first exhibition and we have spent the past few months further developing our plans, adding new elements, responding to feedback and evolving the scheme to where it is now.

"Too often new stadiums are surrounded by empty, dead space and we did not want that in Tottenham. Instead, with these new plans for the public square and public space, we have embraced the opportunity to create something truly special for local people.

"I believe the result is a space which has endless possible uses, is both fun and practical and will also build on the work of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation which already touches the lives of tens of thousands of people of all ages and abilities in Haringey and across North London. It provides an ideal area to engage with the community in both educational and social activities.

"We have always had the very highest aspirations for the Northumberland Development Project and this space completes a development which has the potential to be a flagship for the wider regeneration of the area.

"In respect of the stadium, we have been urging our architects to push the boundaries on technical design aspects in order to create a tighter bowl and an unbeatable match-day atmosphere. We are currently well known for the fantastic support from the stands and we wanted to ensure that this was retained and prioritised at a new stadium."

Commenting on the fans proximity to the pitch, Team Captain, Robbie Keane, said:

"The atmosphere in the stadium and its impact on the players can never be underestimated. Having the fans right up close, on the edge of the action, can lift the team on the day when it matters most and make the stadium a fortress."

Martha Schwartz, landscape architect, said:

"Spurs has been at the centre of Tottenham life for over a hundred years and the local people are proud of this heritage, they are proud to be Tottenham. The public space around the new stadium is an opportunity to celebrate this connection and provide a catalyst for regeneration.

"Our challenge has been designing space that is safe and exciting on a match day but that also engages and energizes the local community on non-match days.

"Tottenham has a young and vibrant population, but the quality of public space is low, particularly along the High Road, and there are few places to hang out and play. For this reason a new public square is at the heart of the proposals and will provide a space for Spurs fantastic supporters to gather but also space for civic events, learning and play."

TO VIEW THE CLUB'S EMERGING PLANS, CLICK HERE... (pdf, 20mb)

As always we shall look to keep you, our supporters, along with the local community of Haringey, as informed and up-to-date as possible and the special section of the website - www.tottenhamhotspur.com/futureplans will carry the latest stories to keep you up to date on our emerging plans and to let us have your comments.

Linked here.