http://tottenhamlive.com/blog/396-premiership-years-the-best-spurs-xi.html This blogger has made his. Few controversial inclusions (Friedel and Parker), and unsurprisingly a fair few of the current squad. Not really sure the midfield has any particular formation, he's just chosen his best 4 midfielders in general rather than a RM, LM and 2 CMs. Friedel Carr King Mabbutt Bale VDV Modric Parker Ginola Sheringham Klinsmann From the time I can remember, (post 2000) I'd go with: Robinson (pre. Croatia goal!) Carr King Dawson BAE Lennon(06-10) Modric Bale VDV Berbatov Sheringham Really tough! Defoe in because of his form until last season, same with Lennon.
Manager: Martin Jol Robinson Carr - Woodgate - King - BAE Anderton - Parker - Modric - Bale Keane - Berbatov Urgh I couldn't choose between Bale or Ginola. I was tempted to put one of them on the right tbh. Subs: Gomes, Ziege, Mabbutt, VDV, Ginola, Sheringham, Klinsmann.. FFS I want more subs too . I had Lennon there in all honesty but I can't leave Rafa out. You know what.. Manager: 'arry Redknapp Gomes Corluka (for now anyway, Walker's better) - Mabbutt - Gallas - Ziege Lennon - Davids - Ginola VDV Sheringham - Klinsmann. Those two can battle it out in a friendly.
Hmmm hard to pick, the current team is irrefutably the best weve had in the premier league era and you could stick alot of them in there. It is a bit early to stick Brad Friedel in goal but at the same time i understand why hes included him, because weve not always been that secure in that department and Friedel has been absolutely fautless thus far and when hes needed to be hes been brilliant. Hopefully we can put Friedel and indeed Parker in this team come the end of the season. My team anyway. Goalkeeper: Paul Robinson. Unbeleivable rapport with the crowd and he was superb for his first few seasons before his form sadly plummetted towards the end of his time as one of the darlings of the lane. Threw his gloves into the crowd after every game, started chants with the fans and even scored a ****ing goal for **** sake, the memories are too strong to not pick him. Was so thrilled that he was able to get his place in goal for the carling cup win at wembley, he deserved to be a part of such a special day. Stephen Carr- He was one of our best players when i was really falling in love with Spurs as a kid and he was capable of some lung busting runs forward. Will never forget that absolute screamer he scored against man united at the lane one of our best moments of the 90s. Shame he soured his relationshop with the fans and left for what he called a " bigger club" in Newcastle united. Turned out to be a massive mistake! Ledley King- Maybe the easiest choice to make. As a spurs fan ive seen an unbelievable about of ups and downs, twists and turns as ive buckled my heart on board the never ending rollercoaster of Tottenham Hotspur. But for pretty much all of it, theres been one calming constant and thats been Ledley King at the heart of our defence. Shame we have only been intermittenly blessed with his presence in recent years due to his heartbreaking injury problems but he will go down as a tottenham legend. We never needed Sol. Michael Dawson- Cant look past Micky Daws, hes grown into one of the most dependable centre backs weve ever had over the years and hes someone you cant help but love as a person and a player. Gives his all for the Tottenham cause and with his attitude on and off the pitch weve rarely had someone so worthy of the Tottenham captains armband in modern times. I met him after a game once and he was an absolute lad, stayed signign autopgaphs for a good 45 minutes and seemed genuinely pleased and happy to have a little chat with you. Will treasure my photo with him! BAE- This was another easy choice for me, after a slow start to his spurs career hes turned into one of the classiest and most accomplished defenders ive ever seen in a spurs shirt. Hes emerging as something of a cult figure at the lane,and while his continued brilliance on the pitch seems to go unoticed outside the lane, hes truly revered and loved as a footballer and as a character at spurs. If hes not got us on our feet applauding on the pitch, hes got us cracking up of the pitch, what a hero. Dont ya wish you full back was B- A-E! Darren Anderton- Cant count out Dazza after years of loyal service for this club. To dismiss him as sicknote is to completely devalue a player who showed conistent quality at times of real inconsitency for the club. Ive also met him aswell and hes a top fella too! Luka Modric- It has to be, on his day he might well be the best ive ever seen in my lifetime as a Spurs fan. When you hear all the tales of the glory glory years at spurs, of our ingrained famous ethos of attacking verve and style, of all the aesthetically superb players who have worn the spurs shirt, you cant help but feel Luka is the modern day embodiment of the fabric of Tottenham Hotspur. Nearly all went to shit with a move to Chelsea in the summer but weve kept hold of him and hopefully he'll stay long enough to be one of our best ever. David Ginola- I didnt have much to really be proud of when i was growing up as a yid but having David Ginolas artistry and skill light up the lane every week gave me something to hold on to. Maybe i include him because he came at a time when we really needed something to light things up for us but Ginola was a big part of making my early trips to the lane so addictive. Another player born to play for spurs! VDV- Im gonna give Rafa the nod over Gareth Bale, it was a close one and its probably a bit harsh on bale to miss out on this team, but ive gone for sentimental choices really. Hes not been here long but hes already giving me some unforgettable moments. The way he celebrates each goal with the passion of us yids in the stands, his glorious penchant for a goal against the scum and his overall absolute embracing of the club has had him firmly in our hearts forever. At times hes lazy, anonymous and petulant, and then he'll produce a moment of magic and you realise that hes worth every single bit of the baggage. Twice as good as bergkamp! Robbie Keane.- Ive gotta include Keano cos from 2002 up until his move to Liverpool he was the heartbeat of Tottenham Hotspur. At a time when the bleakness and mediocrity was seemingly set in stone for us he arrived with a workrate, dazzling skill and leadership that lifted this famous club off its knees. Ill never forget his debut against West Ham at the lane, the ball was launched over to him and he produced a moment of skill that had my jaw wide open, and won a penalty out of it. I cant explain it in words but he flicked the ball over a defenders head when most people wouldnt have been able to even control it and i knew then that we finally had someone capable of lifting our hearts again. My hero growing up, the cartwheel celebrations, the dancing celebration after beating the scum 5-1, being practically in tears when we won the cup at wembley. I still cant get my head around why people booed him after all those years of service when he moved to liverpool. Fair enough berbatov but to boo keane was a ****ing disgrace. will always be an untouchable legend for me. Teddy Sheringham- What can i say, two glorious spells at the lane and he was a pivotal part of the club. Had a wonderful footballing brain and was another ray of class and quality that this club needed in some of its darkest times. Forever etched in spurs foklore. Ive not included Jurgen Klinsmann and that is an absolute travesty, tbh i only really remember his second spell though and as ive said ive gone for personal sentiment! Undobubtedly though if were going on ability and impact alone Jurgen would be firmly in this team and possibly our greatest of XI all time aswell! SUBS: Gomes, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe, Aaron Lennon, Gareth Bale, Christian Ziege, Berbatov, Klinsmann
I only remember Klinsmann's second spell but I've always always credited him for single-handedly keeping us up that season he came back. I'm sure that wasn't the case but that's my memory of Jurgen. If he'd not played another game that season I'd still credit him responsible just for the 4 goals at Selhurst Park. Edit* It's ridiculous what sentiment does for you. I nearly included Allan Nielsen in my second team just because I've seen Modric, Parker, Rafa, Davids, Bale, Ginola etc.. Sure Nielsen is on their level
Yeh Jurgen was a saviour for this football club and you do wonder where we'd be today if he hadnt arrived tbh cos things were looking grim before he lifted the place - TWICE!
Asked a friend of mine, hers was more sentiment than necessarily best 11 but it brings up a couple of names I'd forgotten. Ian Walker Carr - Daws - Ledley - Taricco Anderton - Ginola - Freund - Bale Armstrong - Sheringham Bench: Robbo, Younes, Perry, Modric, Tainio, J.Redknapp, Ferdinand. I can't believe I forgot the german legend Taricco reminded me Poyet hasn't had a mention too. This team was obviously more out of sentiment, another Spurs fan growing up in the 90's though which is the only real inclusion for some of these I'd of thought.
Freund ahead of Modric made me laugh Also, was Taricco really that good? Armstrong scored the first ever goal I saw at the Lane (a 20+ yard scorcher to beat Liverpool 1-0 no less) - I'd just turned 6. And for that reason he will always be in my heart. Edit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/589440.stm That's the one. Great memories
Ah theres some great memories with those players! I remember as a kid i used to gel my hair back like Ian Walkers when i was at school used to take me about half an hour every morning and i looked like an idiot but in my head i was walker. And Mauricio Tarricco what a ****ing legend! there used to be this old geezer who used to watch my sunday league football team play and he was a spurs fan. I played full back for a few games and i wasnt very good defensively so i used to just hack and foul my way through the games. Anyway he used to shout tarrico everytime i had the ball after that, cos my no nonsense approach reminded me of him Looking back he may well have been a peadophile but great memories. Another story i seem to remember, dont know the ins and outs, but i remember when taricco left us he went to west ham i think. Got a big bumper deal there and then he got seriously injured in one of his first games. If my memory serves me right he ripped up his contract cos he didnt wanna take the money sitting on his arse every week while he couldnt play, ill have to look that up but if its true what a testament to the man. Steffen Fruend, well what can you say, the man who never scored but gave every last ounce of his being for us every single game. Another absolute hero. Chrissy armstrong brings back great memories, he scored a fair few goals for us to be fair to him. And i always loved teemu tainio, another player who like fruend gave his all for us patrolling the midfield. I remember in the carling cup final drogba was acting like the petulant twat he is and he told him in no uncertain terms to **** right off, what a legend! and yeh les ferdinand definitely deserves a shout, massive player for us in the prem era really and he plundered in a fair few goals for us. Gus Poyet likewise, ill never forget his celebrations when we beat chelsea 5-1 in that league cup semi years ago, that was pure class. Other players i loved- Steffen Iversen, Alan Nielsen ( the last minute header against leicester at wembley, remember seeing my dad cry at that!), Sergei Rebrov ( i know he goes down as a big flop but for some reason i loved him, i was just happy to see a big money signing i think), Steeeeed, Tim Sherwood, Simon Davies, Rohan Ricketts ( for some reason i really lvoed him, remember him getting a screamer against coventry and kissing the badge, thougth he was a hero after that!) Leonhardsen, Edgar Davids, Mido ( first spell), Didier Zokora ( bit of a fruend he never scored! used to love him as a character though, when he couldnt watch the berbatov penalty in the carling cup final, what a moment!), Stephane Dalmat ( loved him, why didnt we sign him pernamently!), and many many more!
As you say, the four goals against Wimbledon did keep us up and is one of the most incredible single game a player has had for us. But Klinsmann's second spell with us overall wasn't very good, it wasn't difficult to see he was coming towards the end of his career and that he wasn't the same player that left us two years earlier. His place in the team was even questioned, and there was a big debate about whether he had it in his contract that he was to play if fit.
XI and a 25 man squad: gk Thorstvedt, Friedel, Gomes rb Carr, Walker cb King, Campbell, Mabbutt, Woodgate lb Assou-Ekotto, Ziege rm Anderton, Lennon cm Modric, Parker, Carrick, Sandro, Popescu lm Ginola, Bale fw Klinsmann, Sheringham, Berbatov, van der Vaart, Keane Managed by Harry Redknapp I'm tempted to put either Bale or Ginola on the right to make room for them both, but then again Anderton do deserve to be there. VDV might play his way into the XI if he stay for a while, but it's way too early for him to claim a spot ahead of Sheringham. Stings to have Judas there, but I've considered quality far ahead of sentimentel reasons. Shame Naybet and Davids weren't with us at their peak.
*i think Rabbi keane has got it the closet which implies to me he is the oldest here. I'm gonna cave into my wims (unlike DD & rabbi) and put ginola on the RW and bale LW because i simply cant leave either of them out. -i'm gonna funk up my formation because as good as carr was i dont personally he or any RB has been soo soo great for us that they must be in the side and i think give it a few years and walker will overtake him. plus theres so many attacking players i dont want to leave out. my formation is 3-4-1-2 with ziege in a weird position in the back 3 (i choose him over BAE purely because of how good he was attacking and his amazing free-kicks). youv'e got a serious deadball specialist with him in the side. - like rabbi says i sadly have to put ******** along king at CB. at his very peak he was probably world class and i do believe we turned down 20M bids from some of the big clubs (man utd included) for him- which back then was astronomical for a CB. - managers gotta be harry purely for finishing 4th and the amazing CL adventure. obviously the sentimentalist vote goes to Jol. - alot of people seem to have left out poyet, i wouldnt have him in the first team but defo in the squad reckoning. scored loads and was great for us- and he came to us well into his 30s aswell. davids was WAY past it IMO! Robinson (04-06) king/ judas/ ziege Ginola/ Modric/ parker/ bale VDV Klinnsmann/ sheringham Manager: harry redknapp SQUAD: GK: Gomes, Walker, friedel (too early?) DEF: Dawson, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Carr, Walker (too early?) MID: Carrick, Sandro, Popescu, Anderton, Lennon, poyet ST: Berbatov, Keane, defoe, adebayor (too early?)
I remember being there for big Erik Thorstvedts debut for us against Forest, making that big cockup for their goal, yet throughout the match, I felt comfortable with him in goal. Was a great great keeper for us. I wouldn't change Rabbis team or squad to be honest. Was spot on. Had a look to see what other players we had but the ones rolling off my tongue were pre-premiership (Clive Allen, Chris Waddle, Paul Allen etc).
I would go with Rabbi's team (and probably squad) as well. Possibly swap Klinsmann for Berbatov and Parker for Popescu but that would be at a stretch. We have a great team today but players like Bale and VDV have not been at the Club long enough to be included in the first-team... yet, IMO.
