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FANS COLUMNS |
Welcome to the Columns page! Basically, if you have a problem with Spurs, or just want to review something, point something out or whatever as long as it's connected in some way with Tottenham, then write a column and shout out about it here!
Warren will be writing columns for Spurs Update and Spurs2k! He is very dedicated and it's a pleasure to haev him here. He will also be writing Match Previews!
CAMPBELL THE STAR OF THE SHOW
Contrary to the mornings paper reviews which mostly consist of average reports concerning Sol Campbell's performance, he was in fact the star of the show against an under performing Ukraine side which displayed many Spurs fans their first view of our new £11m striker Sergei Rebrov.
Kevin Keegan announced his final 22 man squad for Euro 2000, with only one Spurs player included, Darren Anderton has dropped out through fear of injury, an injury sustained in the latter stages of the season also ruled out Tim Sherwood's chances of the making the squad, while keeper Ian Walker has had a particularly poor season and was never even near to making the squad. Rather surprisingly Chris Armstrong, as ludicrous as it seems, has a valid shout with being considered for the squad when viewing his goal to match ratio it is apparent that he has obtained a far better goalscoring record than recent Liverpool signing Emile Heskey!
So this leaves big Sol Campbell flying the flag for Spurs as the only Yiddo in the squad, and judging on last nights performance he will double his market value if he is anything like the way he played during the World Cup in France.
Campbell played on the left of a three man defence which was incorporating a wing back system with Phil Neville just in front of him and Tony Adams beside him. The two club rivals may be against each other in the Premiership but at international level they can work like a dream, and while facing the Ukraine they certainly fulfilled that dream. Although most of the tabloids gave Adams a higher rating than Campbell I feel that both were equal to each other and were instrumental in not letting the Ukraine conjure up chances as easily as usual. Adams did well to score his goal but Campbell's blistering forward runs from the back were a joy to watch. One such run during the first half took the Spurs captain right to the edge of the opposing box, but I think that was where Campbell just fell short, the ball rattled off a defender into his path but was then easily cleared as the ball bounced back from Campbell's shin.
Some world class tackles and intelligent interceptions rivaled David Beckham for the man of of the match award. But overall as the game progressed, Ukraine looked less dangerous when going forward, despite plenty of Ukraine possession, they seemed content to pass the ball around rather than push forward and probe the English defence. No England player had a bad game with the exception of Robbie Fowler whose only contribution came when he netted Alan Shearer's rebounded effort, match fitness was obviously lacking, which may explain his substitution at half time.
Sol will certainly be a major
part of England's tournament hopes for many years to come, with the Euro
Championships less than a fortnight away this
could be Campbell's chance to establish himself as Europe's top defender.
Unless Spurs continue to sign big name players then Sol will most certainly
leave the Lane at the end of next season, his future for the coming season has
is still to be confirmed by Campbell himself, as we have only to rely on
Pleat's comments concerning Sol's future. It would be a nightmare if Campbell
does leave following a successful stint with England. Can you see Sugar
turning down a £20m bid from the likes of Inter Milan and Manchester United
for the sake of one season, whereafter he could be away on a free. Spurs need
to sign big in the summer and need to perform like a big club to hang onto the
big man. Still we do have the excellent Ledley King who has been dubbed the
new Sol Campbell for years.
Finally I think former Spur
Nick Barmby deserves a mention for his fine performance after appearing as a
substitute halfway through the second half. He displayed confidence and skill
in abundance, an excellent ball played
through to Heskey should have resulted in a goal, but the otherwise dodgy
Ukraine keeper made a good save to deny him. Barmby's career certainly hasn't
been so good since he left Spurs after being part of Ardiles' infamous 5 man
attack, but some very impressive performances for Everton has alerted Keegan
to his potential which Venables saw roughly 8 years ago, you never know Barmby
could be the surprise package of Euro2000.
REBROV GETS A WEMBLEY WOW
Finally unveiled as a Spurs player following a successful work permit issue,
Sergei Rebrov lined up to face England at Wembley's penultimate game before
being ripped down for re-furbishment. While the broadcaster announced the line
up for the evening's game, each England player gets a healthy cheer with the
odd boo still for David Beckham, I shout particularly loud for Sol and am
pleased to hear some other Spurs fans embrace me in cheers for him. The
Wembley announcer then apologises beforehand for his inevitable poor
pronounciation of many of the Ukraine players.
As Shevchenko gets mixed
reactions from the crowd I wait for Rebrov to be
mentioned, you would have thought he was an England player as the cheers came
bellowing from a very large group of fans below me, I smile to myself and hope
the former Kiev hotshot scores as we still run out comfortable winners. But
this was not to be although the latter certainly occurred, I expected better
of Rebrov and the Ukraine team as a whole, but some very good touches and
intelligent play did enough to show that Spurs had made a wise investment.
I have been watching Rebrov and have had an interest in Ukrainian football for just over a year now having worked with a former resident of Ukraine, a good friend of mine is also a big Ukraine fan and being a football supporter I was slowly drawn into admiring the likes of Shevchenko and Rebrov.
Sergei/Serhi, who cares? The only thing that matters is that he does the business for Spurs come next term and going on previous statistics he certainly will. Hotly tipped by £15m Milan striker Andrei Shevchenko, Rebrov will set the Premiership alight and frighten defences with his blistering pace and quality finishing. Despite being a small bloke, Sergei is dubbed "King of the Air" in his home country and often achieves unimaginable leaps to outdo defenders not only in the Ukrainian league but also amongst Europe's elite while competing in the Champions League. And Rebrov is in no doubt that he will be playing back in Europe with Spurs in the not too distant future.
Things look on the up for Spurs for the first time in a long while, will this Kiev hero soon become our saviour? He certainly could be if Spurs attract other top players to the club, but success doesn't come overnight, don't expect Tottenham to become a top three club due to the signing of a world class player, remember top players need equally talented players around them to produce their best.
After the game Rebrov and Campbell exchanged shirts and the little man told the big man he was a Spurs player and will be on his side the next time they are on the same pitch, nice to know he has made a friend already eh?
Still at least Spurs are taking a step in the right direction, this summer could be our most important period period in a very long while. With our youth talent improving at an excellent rate and the likes of Steffen Iversen and Stephen Carr becoming their nations top players, White Hart Lane could be a much happier place come September.