After a fairly quiet window by their standards – signing trio Yago Falque, Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen all on free transfers, let’s take a look at seven players signed for big money during the January period.

7. Andy Reid
Signed from Nottingham Forest for £4 million (2005)

After building a reputation as one of the most talented players outside the Premier League, Reid joined Spurs in a £4 million move in 2005. He impressed on his debut, a 3-1 victory against Portsmouth, but struggled to recapture the form that persuaded Martin Jol to sign him. He made just 26 appearances in 18 frustrating months at White Hart Lane, scoring once in a 5-1 victory against Aston Villa at the end of the 2004-05 campaign. Reid is now back at Forest after spells at Charlton Athletic, Sunderland, Sheffield United and Blackpool.

6. Michael Dawson
Signed from Nottingham Forest for £4 million (2005)

While Reid failed to make an impact at Spurs, Dawson, who joined at the same time, is now in his eighth season at the club. The defender has had mixed fortunes, playing a key role during the 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons but then finding himself out of favour when the likes of Jonathan Woodgate arrived in 2008-09 and again when Sebastien Bassong joined in 2009-10. But, it was that season where Dawson really made a name for himself. He found himself back in the side after Woodgate and Ledley King were injured and was named captain when Robbie Keane left for Celtic. He was part of the England’s World Cup squad and was named Spurs Player of the Year. Fast approaching 250 club appearances, Dawson could be remembered as an all-time great.

5. Younes Kaboul
Signed from Portsmouth for £9.5 million (2010)

The first of three players to have been signed, sold and re-signed by Spurs, Kaboul returned to White Hart Lane in 2010. He was said to be a “late developer” by manager Harry Redknapp and that he was “much improved” upon his return to the club. Kaboul was key in the winning goal against Manchester City which secured Champions League football for the first time for Spurs – he crossed in the ball that was parried into the path of scorer Peter Crouch. He later went on to score the winning goal against Arsenal after Spurs trailed 2-0 at half-time.

4. Alan Hutton
Signed from Rangers for £9 million (2008)

Hutton is an example of a big-money signing that didn’t really work out for the club. He was restricted to just 40 appearances during two years at White Hart Lane and was sent out on loan to Sunderland during the 2010 January window. The Black Cats were keen on a permanent deal but were not prepared to pay what Spurs were asking. Hutton joined Aston Villa last summer on a permanent transfer and linked up again with Alex McLeish, his manager at Rangers.

3. Wilson Palacios
Signed from Stoke City for £12 million (2009)

Palacios attracted plenty of attention during his time at Wigan Athletic and he sealed a big-money move during the 2009 transfer window, a period where Spurs were splashing the cash like a “hot tip” fuelled punter at a free bets website. He won Man of the Match in just his second appearance for the club following a battling display in the goalless draw against Arsenal and scored his first goal not just for Spurs, but in English football, against Hull City in August 2009. Palacios was a mainstay in the Spurs midfield during the 2009-10 season but was restricted to just 21 league appearances in the 2010-11 campaign – but made a big contribution to Spurs journey to the quarter finals of the Champions League. He joined Stoke City in a £6 million deal in August 2011.

2. Robbie Keane
Signed from Liverpool for £14 million (2009)

During his first spell at Spurs which lasted six season, Keane scored 107 goals in 254 appearances in all competitions. His move to Liverpool lasted just six months before he returned to White Hart Lane in January 2009. This move prompted an advertisement by Virgin Trains to use the slogan: “A Liverpool to London return faster than Robbie Keane”. He scored four goals in 15 Premier League appearances on his return, including a consolation against Liverpool and six in 20 during the first half of the 2009-10 campaign before joining Celtic on loan in the 2010 January window. Keane then joined West Ham United on loan during the 2011 January window and then Aston Villa on loan during the 2012 window – this time from Los Angeles Galaxy.

1. Jermaine Defoe
Signed from Portsmouth for £15.75 million (2009)
Signed from West Ham United for £7 million (2004)

Jermaine Defoe, Tottenham Hotspur and the January Transfer Window is an irresistible combination and saw big money moves in both the 2004 and 2009 windows. After arriving at White Hart Lane from West Ham United, Defoe scored 64 goals in 177 appearances in all competitions but was sold to Portsmouth during the 2008 January window for £6 million. After just one year at Fratton Park, Defoe rejoined Spurs in a £15.75 million deal and scored against his former employers in a 1-1 draw in 18 January. The striker netted three goals in his first four matches before injury meant for the for the second time under manager Harry Redknapp, Defoe would miss a Wembley final – the FA Cup in 2008 and Carling Cup in 2009. Now in his fourth season since his return, Defoe has scored 48 goals in 106 appearances in all competitions, taking his grand Spurs total to 112 goals in 283 games.

In stark contrast, Harry Redknapp’s reputation continues to thrive not only among Spurs fans, but also football enthusiasts around the globe. Bringing Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor to the club this season only added to what was already an excellent squad of players. Not only have Harry’s player purchases been very astute, he has also helped Gareth Bale become one of the best footballers in the world. He is able to instil a belief in players that Wenger cannot. Another great example of this is Benoit Assou-Ekotto. He was going nowhere fast at Tottenham but Redknapp spotted his potential and gave the former Lens man a chance. Ekotto is now one of the very best left backs the Premier League has to offer.

While the 5-1 cup victory in 2008 was a sign of things to come, the day when the power really shifted in North London was 20th November 2010. Spurs had not won at Arsenal for 17 years. Going 2-0 down before half time would have seen Tottenham sides of old throw the towel in, but this set of players were not prepared to lie down. Winning the game in such a manner gave Spurs a new found confidence and helped enforce the never say die attitude that has seen us become serious title contenders this season.

There are a couple of games during this campaign that really illustrate the difference between the two teams perfectly. Both were defeats, our 2-1 reverse away to Stoke, and Arsenal’s 3-2 loss at Swansea. Admittedly, the game at the Liberty Stadium was very entertaining and all credit to Swansea for playing some great football, but a number of the Arsenal players on that pitch looked like they did not want to be there. It ultimately ended with the man Arsenal fans were hailing as the King a few days earlier, a 34 year old Thierry Henry, turning on them for venting their frustrations.

At Stoke, Spurs were not at their best in the first half. Any team two goals behind at the Britannia Stadium would probably have resigned themselves to defeat. In the end, it was only one of the worst refereeing performances in Premier League history that cost us all three points. Every Spurs player gave their all in that second half to try and get something from the game and even though we lost the match, it is possibly my favourite Tottenham performance of the season. It goes a long way to showing why Tottenham are now the dominant team in North London and why you’d better mind that gap.

Jermain Defoe Blonde

Even the bookies are starting to take our league form seriously as you can now see quotes as short as 8/1 for Tottenham to win this season’s title. I still personally think we have to much to do to overhaul Man City and I’m sure Utd will bounce back after two straight defeats but what has really impressed me this season is our winning mentality. The game against West Brom this past Tuesday night really illustrates that fact. Roy Hodgson had a few injuries to key players and basically set up his team to take a point. They were very hard to break down and until Sisqo scored, it was looking like being one of those nights. In season’s gone by, that is the sort of game we would have ended up losing through a lack of concentration or determination but Harry now appears to have the players instilled with a belief that they can win every game, no matter the circumstances.

Some fans were saying the point against Swansea was a disappointing result but I definitely would have taken a draw before the game. Only one team has managed to go to the Liberty Stadium and win this season and when you consider it was our third game in quick succession, avoiding defeat was a good result. The performance against Norwich was sublime and Gareth Bale showed once again why he is one of the very best players in the Premier League. While one of the positives of us not being involved in the Champions League this season is our excellent domestic form, Bale not being able to show what he is capable of against the European elite is certainly a negative.

Now the January transfer window is upon us, I expect to see Spurs linked with the usual infinite fictional targets. Samba and Cahill are the most realistic names for me but with Dawson apparently set to start against Cheltenham, our centre back injury problems are easing slightly. A number of my close friends are Millwall fans, so it’s nice to see a couple of our younger players being loaned to the Lions. Hopefully it will be a win win situation, with Ryan Mason and Harry Kane getting some much needed first team action, while also helping Millwall stay in the Championship.

This could well be the key month as far as our title hopes are concerned. Homes games against Everton, Wolves and Wigan with a trip to Man City in there for good measure. City have tough Cup games against Man Utd and Liverpool which could well work in our favour. Is January 2012 going to be the month when Tottenham actually sit on top the Premier League? I bloody hope so!

I had to come up with three transfer targets for a piece I was writing for the Metro this week and while I found it hard to think of any players that would better what we already have at the club, a new left back was certainly not on my mind. Carlos Tevez was however and while I knew it was a massively long shot, I didn’t expect Milan to say they were having a nice little chat with him an hour later. I might have to re write that now eh?! Maybe we could do with a top class centre half the right side of 30 to cover our hugely talented but equally injury prone mob. Christopher Samba was my weapon of choice but Gary Cahill would suffice. Oh and I like the look of a chap by the name of Fernando Llorente. Scores for fun if you’re reading Harry, he’d be worth a little bid in Jan.

I’m doing the Paddy Power podcast tonight, it revolves around Spurs and betting, the only two things I know much about…arguably anyway. Spurs’ chances of winning the title is the theme I believe. I feel their quote of 16/1 is on the stingy side, but we are less than half the odds of Arsenal so maybe Paddy has got it about right.

You can listen to my Clive Allen interview at The Fighting Cock website. I couldn’t work out the uploading procedure properly. I will at some point learn how to do it, but at the time I was busy trying to volumise my hair to Assou-Ekotto proportions before visiting my local satay house….

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When I arrived at the ground, I met up with an Irish chap called Dave who was doing the PR for the event. Nice bloke who I got the distinct impression was a big Liam Gallagher fan. Along with Dave were Ricky and Flav who are two of the guys from the excellent Fighting Cock podcast. After a bit of small talk, we quickly bonded over our mutual love of Spurs, hatred of Arsenal, and childish sense of humours. Although to be honest, I think they were just were just interested in stealing the questions I’d prepared for Clive Allen as the only one they had come up with was ‘Clive, what do actually do at Spurs?’.

After some impressive keep ball from the Legends during the first ten minutes, Ivory FC took a shock lead. Rob Lee had the opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot but put the ball wide. At least I think it was Rob Lee, he looked a lot like Philip Schofield. You can see the video of that miss here. Although you might find the physique of the Ivory FC goalkeeper rather amusing, he made some cracking saves during the game and was arguably better than his opposite number Ian Walker, who still had blond curtains in case you’re interested.

Unfortunately, Clive Allen came off injured early in the first half but it did mean we were able to get out of the cold early in the second half and into a room full of sandwiches to fire questions at the former NFL Europe star. Before we got under-way, an issue arose about us not being able to ask Mr Allen any questions relating to the current Tottenham set up without clearance from the Spurs Press Office. Our super camp friend from Football Fancast completely ignored that and proceeded to ask him two completely unsuitable questions. I’m glad we let him go first because it made us seem much more professional and totally not gay. It turned out ‘The Press’ that I’d heard referred to all day was actually the four of us and considering we had to try and avoid anything too Tottenhamy, I think we did a bloody good job.

Other highlights included Terry Venables wandering round looking like a gangster, Ian Walker ghost handing everyone that wanted photo’s with him and a sense of relief when I arrived home to find out that former Norwich City manager Mike Walker was alive and well. Flav misinformed me that he was brown bread and while I was unsure, I wasn’t brave enough to ask Ian if his dad was still with us.

I was also on with Ian Wright on Saturday afternoon, the Podcast is available here. My excellent segment starts at around the 33 minute mark. It’s not actually that excellent, or an official segment. http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/podcasts/Ian-Wright-on-Absolute-Radio/2011-11-26/

I’m just waiting on the audio from the Clive Allen interview, I’ll post it shortly.

Should probably also mention the Legends lost 2-1. In their defence, I do think the Ivory FC keeper was wearing a fat suit and a few of their players were brought in by El Tel from Argentina or somewhere equally exotic.

Int: So, Harry, tough trip on Saturday, how’s the squad looking?

HR: Yeah, fine. Raffers, he’s the biggest doubt, he’s got a bit of a hamstring, he did it playing for Holland. Surprised us that he was fit to play the other day really, he did well to back fit enough to start, but after about 65 minutes he felt it, a couple of twinges. Felt he was okay, came back yesterday and felt it again yesterday, so he’s struggling a little bit. And Jermain has got a bit of a groin strain so we’ll have to see how he is.

Int: Tell us about the impact that Adebayor and Parker have had on this squad. Is this the best squad you’re had in your time here?

HR: Well it’s a good squad of players for sure, we’ve got some real… I think we’ve got some outstanding players, you know, it’s got a good balance to it. You know, the players we’ve signed in the last year or a couple of years, people like Walker’s come in now and really been looking a fantastic young right-back, you know. Kaboul is playing like the player that I felt he could be when I took him to -Portsmouth and then brought him back here, he’s in great form. Obviously Ledley’s been key at the back as well I think, you know, get Ledley back in. Lost Michael Dawson, who was fantastic for us, but lucky enough Ledley’s been fit. You’ve got people like Gallas waiting to play. It’s a good squad, you know, and it’s a good group of players. Sandro’s a fantastic player, can’t get in the team at the moment. So, you know, we’ve got Premier strength in depth.

Int: Do you have transfer plans for January, or is that too far away?

HR: Not really, I haven’t got anybody I could stand here and say ‘Yeah, we want to get him’. It’s so difficult, where do you play them? You’ve got people, like I say, like Sandro can’t get in the mid-field, he’s in the Brazilian team, so it’s not easy. There’s no one out there I could look at and say… I mean, there’s players but you’re not going to get them, the top players, but I don’t really see where I’m going to improve us too much with the players that might be available.

Int: Reports this morning of David Beckham possibly signing a deal with PSG, is that a player who you’d have like to bring to White Hart Lane?

HR: Well I enjoyed having David here, you know, when he came and trained, and he’s a fantastic professional, great buy, but again it would be difficult, I couldn’t bring David in and say ‘Well you’re going to play every week’ because it would be difficult, you know. I’ve got Aaron Lennon playing well, we’re not short there really, so it would be a problem. Listen, wherever David goes he’ll do well because he’s a top class bloke.

Int: Do you look at Chelsea and the way they’re struggling as a team that perhaps you could replace in the top four, or are they too strong to play this badly for this long?

HR: No, I think Chelsea will turn the corner, you know, they’ll get it right. They’ve got great characters there I think, you know, players that have been there and done it all, won it all, and it’s only a matter of time before they go on a run and pull themselves up the table. At the moment, for the first time in a good number of years, they’re struggling a bit, but I certainly wouldn’t write them off, and I think the young manager will sort it out there and get them going.

Int: Tottenham are priced at 100/1 to win the League, is that worth a few quid?

HR: No, I wouldn’t, no. No, I’d be quite happy for us just to win it, you know, but it would take it, that’s the odds, that’s a realistic figure, but we are probably, 66/1 or whatever the bookies make you, they’re not going to give you them odds if they really think that you’ve got a chance of taking their money. So it would be difficult, but, as I’ve said 10 times just now, it’s not impossible. It’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible.

Follow me on Twitter @therealmabbs

Nivea’s England Legends team boasts nearly 200 caps between them, and is made up of the following ex pros:

• Ian Walker
• Luther Blissett
• Nigel Winterburn
• Mark Wright
• Viv Anderson
• Ray Parlour
• Clive Allen
• Paul Walsh
• Alvin Martin
• Tony Woodcock
• Rob Jones

The game takes place this Sunday at Dagenham & Redbridge’s Victoria Ground (2pm kick off), where Ivory FC get to test how far they’ve really come against an England Legends XI. It’s fair to say the Legends will be wanting to put the Ivory boys back in their place! Although there are no betting sites that are covering this game, there is sure to be keen interest from fans at the Victoria Ground.

The Great Football Experiment has seen Nivea For Men provide a struggling Sunday league team with the kind of training, equipment and expert advice usually only afforded to top pros. With mentoring and training provided by the likes of Terry Venables, Ray Wilkins and Ray Clemence, previously struggling Ivory FC are now flying high at the top of the Brentwood Sunday Football League.

You can see more details about the Great Football Experiment here: www.niveaformen.co.uk/football
We are backing Clive for Man of the Match and if he’s selected, one lucky White Hart Pain reader will get a great bundle of Nivea For Men products. I’ll choose a winner from anyone who submits a question for Clive in the comments here.

Follow me on Twitter @therealmabbs

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While the Europa League is a significant step down from last season’s exciting run in the Champions League, it is a good source of revenue for the club and becomes a lot more interesting the further you progress. It has also given us the chance to blood the younger members of our squad and give some of the fringe players a run out. The fact Spurs have a squad with great strength in depth means competitions such as this are very useful. The Champions League does not allow you that luxury because it is far more competitive and you need your best players competing in every game. Should things go to plan this season in the Premier League, our squad players will benefit from the Europa League experience and be better equipped for a Champions League campaign in 2012-13.

If you are looking for a bet on sports in this particular match you could do worse than back Spurs to get a 1-0 victory. Tottenham have been very impressive in recent matches and although a few of our star players haven’t travelled to Russia, the returning big names such as Gallas and Pienaar will ensure we put in a good performance. The lads are likely to want to win for the game for Harry and it would be superb to reach the latter stages of this competition without really having to come out of first gear.

I understand why he’s tempted by the move to West London. Chelsea are very likely to be challenging in both the Premier League and the Champions League next season. Spurs definitely won’t be doing one of those and are unlikely to be doing the other either. The problem biggest problem I have with this situation is selling your best player to a team you are trying to close the gap on is a massive mistake. The fact the Premier League is now arguably the biggest league in the world means these sorts of transfers will happen more and more often. We have already seen how Arsenal are struggling to hold onto their stars even though they did qualify for the Champions League.

With the reports of Michael Essien being unavailable for up to six months due to a knee injury, Chelsea are even more likely to keep coming back until they get their man. Modric is probably going to official request a transfer soon enough and that will make the club’s position pretty impossible. I like that we are showing resolve and not just rolling over but when a player decides they want to move, it’s pretty pointless trying to force them to stay.

At what is likely to be the peak of his career, a player like Luka Modric should be competing at the highest level possible and winning major honours. It’s just unfortunate for us Spurs fans that he probably won’t be able to do that while playing at the Lane.

Maybe Dos Santos is an unfair comparison. For one thing, he only cost £5m and for another, he probably wasn’t in the same league as this kid ability wise. Although Bojan has failed to break into the first team on a full time basis, he has still managed to net 41 goals in 163 games for the Catalan giants since 2007. After winning the European U21 Championships with Spain recently, the young Spaniard will no doubt be looking to play first team football. Four years of being a fringe player, even at his relatively young age, is no good for any footballer’s career.

From Barcelona’s point of view, it looks to be a no lose situation. Bojan is highly unlikely to be able to break into their team due to the current abundance of talent at Pep Guardiola’s disposal and a big money transfer fee for a player that is basically surplus to requirements makes sense. Should Krkic turn out to be a superstar, Barca will no doubt be back to sign the player at some point and he would quite likely want to return to his boyhood club, as is the case with Cesc Febregas.

This is another example of a signing that Spurs can make without the lure of Champions League football. He’s undoubtedly a player of limitless potential who has superlative technique and would be a good addition to Tottenham’s front line options. On the negative side, he’s short, likely over priced, hasn’t played enough regular first team football at the highest level and might struggle in a very physically demanding Premier League.

North London Divide

If you’re a Spurs or Arsenal fan, be sure to pop over to the North London Divide and say hello. It’s basically a site where both Spurs and Arsenal fans can get together for some friendly banter. I write the Arsenal articles and Wrighty7 does the Spurs stuff.