Tottenham Hotspur : Bent Will Sign In The Morning

Sources in North London expect Tottenham will at long last release images of new boy Darren Bent tomorrow morning.

The fee is thought to be around £13 plus payments for international appearances rising to possibly £15 million.

Newcastle were mentioned at a late stage, but Bent is thought to have ambition.

Life In The The Fast (White Hart) Lane

The close season opens its arms to speculation galore... at Tottenham Hotspur.

Southampton's failure to escape the grip of the Championship has left the departure of left-sided wonder kid Gareth Bale looking odds on. Manchester United were in the frame, but it is tipped in certain quarters that Spurs gave themselves the edge during preliminary talks held earlier in the season.

Heading toward fire doors marked 'EXIT' are the Egyptians Mido and Hossam Ghaly. Mido beat his battle with injuries but lost the war on his waistline. Ghaly has apologised for hurling his shirt to the floor, but it's very difficult to see how he's ever coming back...

Next man in could well be Darren Bent. As Charlton will be visiting a lot of new grounds next season, Bent is unlikely to share their wanderlust and is very likely to see Tottenham next season as a good place to build on his 12 Premiership goals this term.

Marvellous Milan

Tonight Milan demonstrated to all and sundry that they truly are an exceptional footballing force. This team is what the Champions League is all about.

Manchester United by contrast, failed flatly to gain access to the exclusive party that is the Champions League Final. They looked good coming back to beat Everton 4-2 on Saturday. But Everton ain't Kaka & Co.

The gulf was in the quality of ideas and their execution.

Ronaldo struggled, Rooney barely saw the ball and Giggs looked keen but ordinary. Carrick was invisible, Scholes found himself pressured, marginalised.

Gattuso was inspirational. Seedorf was simply extraordinary, schoolboy stuff. Kaka is what you call the real deal. No myth, no small talk, just pure talent and entertainment. A pleasure to watch.

Chelsea have been bleating over their exit.
Manchester United would do well to retain a dignified silence over theirs.
Athens awaits.

Joey Barton - Premiership Blues

There's only one Joey Barton and thank the sweet merciful Lord in all his resplendent mercies for that....

The boy Barton's latest is a training ground punch up that saw him target team mate Ousmane Dabo as his latest victim, with Dabo quite literally going home in an ambulance.

Despite his agent's protestation that Joey is being 'painted' as the villain of the piece, Barton's got form of course. His professional career is checkered with abuse both physical and verbal.

His suspension by Manchester City and the no loss of love between himself and manager Stuart Pearce signal that he will be transfer listed at dawn, if not sooner. The real question is to whom and just how much money does one pay for a Joey Barton?

Tottenham Director Won't Be Wooed

The way to conduct yourself when surrounded by speculation is to step out of the shadows and put the record straight. Today the club has done just that.

Arsenal have been desperately looking to restore order at The Emirates after the shock departure/expulsion of David Dein.

Damiem Comolli made a credible if not controversial contender to become Sporting Director at Arsenal. He had an excellent relationship with Wenger working as Arsenal's scout in France for several years before life in N17. Wenger made it clear after the game on Saturday that he would play a pivotal role in the new appointment.

Comolli announced today, “I’m in a great project here at Tottenham, building something for the future with fantastic support from the Chairman, the board and a great relationship with Martin Jol and I think we are very, very close to the top level of the Premiership so I don’t know why I would want to go somewhere else, especially as I’m enjoying it so much. What I’m doing at Spurs is with passion so, for me, it’s not even an issue.”

Well done Spurs for getting the statement out and getting rid of the speculation.

Robinson Under Fire - Again

England's so called Number One walked out of the JJB stadium having let in another 3 goals on Sunday.

The second goal in particular was of interest to many critics as he attempted to get his right hand to a ball that had already crossed his body and was surely easier to try and save with his left. From a technical perspective alone the attempted save was a mess.

Tottenham have become synonymous with a lousy defending this season. Ledley King's long term absence has played a large part in this. As Chelsea discovered this season when without John Terry, it is not only the loss of the man, but the captain that cripples a team.

But leaving aside being exposed by a weakened defense, Robinson does seem to have been plagued with successful pot shots all season.

Arsenal's Lehmann Keeps His Grip On Gooners

Soon to be 38 year old Lehmann will stay on at The Emirates.
The only stumbling block will be for how how long.

Jens is philosophical about his position.
"I am on a one-year contract right now, why should I really be disappointed about another year?"

The word at Arsenal is that he will seek a longer deal, but it is unrealistic that will happen. Lehman has been exceptional for Arsenal and it is thought that the package being put together for him will reflect his current value to the club.