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Liverpool + Tottenham signings provide interest
Written by Sawyer | 24th July 2006 | 14 Comment(s)
Tottenham Hotspur newcomer Dimitar Berbatov has spread some optimism among Spurs fans following his double against Birmingham over the weekend.
The striker has set himself a target of 15-20 goals for his first campaign in the English Premiership, which assuming he keeps clear of injury should be within his capabilities.
The 25-year-old Bulgaria international, who boasts 31 goals in 50 international appearances, left Bayer Leverkusen in May to head for North London in a €16 million transaction, and is around a 20-1 shot at most bookies for the ‘Golden Boot'.
Arsenal and Liverpool were among other sides that reportedly showed interest in the player with the latter contenting themselves with the capture of Craig Bellamy.
The Gunners' cooled their approaches after Thierry Henry confirmed his loyalty, but Arsene Wenger has usually proved to be an astute judge of a player and the fact he was heavily linked with Berbatov prior to his Captain staying should mean that Martin Jol was wise to secure his services at the earliest opportunity.
It will probably be too much to ask Berbatov to compete with Henry, Shevchenko and others for Premiership top scorer this season, but it will be interesting to see how he fares by comparison to Bellamy who Rafa Benitez has preferred to join his squad.
A lot will be expected of Bellamy as Liverpool look to challenge Chelsea, but a glance at the betting for the ‘Golden Boot' may provide a hint to how Benitez's team may fare this season.
As good a player as Bellamy may be the top three are Henry, Shevchenko and Wayne Rooney, who are all World stars and of course provide the focal point of the three teams expected to be Liverpool's immediate rivals.
Tottenham will be keen to break into that top four, and although much of the end-of-season focus surrounded their defeat at West Ham, it was really points lost in draws like the ones at Sunderland and at home to Aston Villa that cost them Champions League football: games that a striker like Berbatov could have won in a similar manner that Henry does for Arsenal.
It appears Berbatov hasn't taken long to be indoctrinated into the club judging by his comments on Spurs' near neighbours.
''I'll be happy to score against Arsenal.''
''It's not difficult to understand that they are our bitter rivals, everybody in the club is talking about it.''
Berbatov intelligently understands that he will have to acclimatize to the style of play in England.
''Football is different; I'll have to adjust to the new style of play. It was difficult during the first two pre-season matches but I received a welcome reception in the club and I don't think I'll have a problem to adapt.''
He concluded, ''Little by little I'm coming into my best form. Everything is new for me; even the training sessions are different. But training is varied and it makes it pleasant.''
Berbatov managed 69 goals in 154 matches during five seasons with Leverkusen, and Jol will undoubtedly be hoping that some of that potency will turn one point into three more often than not during the coming months.
The same could be said about Bellamy at Liverpool, who went through a horrible spell during the second half of last season when a rarity of goals eventually cost them an automatic Champions League place.
Bellamy, who scored for his new club at Wrexham last week, has the pace and trickery to ensure that doesn't hinder Liverpool this time around, but his consistency and temperament will come under the microscope during the campaign.
Bellamy is a 14-1 shot to be top scorer along with Everton new-boy Andrew Johnson, who potentially could fire The Toffees into a position to challenge for Europe.
David Moyes' team were glued to the starting blocks last time round, but a reasonable beginning and a few Johnson goals could see confidence flow through the blue half of Merseyside this time.
Newcastle is one of the bookies favourites to provide a challenge behind Tottenham, and although they have secured the services of Damien Duff for a cut-price £5 million they are still in search of strikers considering Michael Owen's enforced absence.
The fact that Chelsea was happy to sell Duff to Newcastle rather than Tottenham, who reportedly bid twice as much as the Geordies, or Liverpool probably shows what Jose Mourinho thinks about the threat posed by those three clubs.
A factor that would have appealed to Duff is the move offers him a chance to play every week, but Tottenham and Liverpool may not feel too aggrieved when considering his injury record.
Although an excellent player, Duff sometimes leaves a match with what looks to be a slight knock only to proceed to be unavailable for the next few months which is a situation Newcastle will hope doesn't occur; but probably will.
Of course there is still plenty of time for other players to join Premiership clubs, but assuming players remain free from injury we know Henry will help himself to his usual quota and the record Shevchenko brings with him suggests a fruitful campaign for the Ukrainian.
However the progress of Bellamy and Berbatov should provide some healthy interest as they look to impose themselves on Premiership defences.
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Comments
Comment by Your name here on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 11:39pm
Comment by SPURS2WIN on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 9:52pm
Lets hope we can end this season in top 4 but lets not worry about uniteds form lets knock the gooners out Berbatov to score about 23 goals by the end of season plus 6 in uefa cup
Comment by Yiddo Dan on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 8:36pm
Things really are looking up @ the lane this year. I've seen a compilation of Berbatov's goals and was very impressed. 15 - 20 goals is a good shout, and with the experience of Keano and Defoe... he should adjust to premiership life pretty quickly. Monty Jol has constructed a reasonably well balanced side in just 2 seasons. The sky is the limit for these boys. We've got cash, a quality manager and world class in most positions.... Go on the lilywhites! THFC 4 LIFE
Comment by Ballster on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 3:26pm
Ho hum usual overoptimistic Spurs fans on here blowing their trumpet because they've beaten Birmingham 2-0 in a friendly. Remember Rebrov you clowns.
Comment by badger_man on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 6:01am
i have seen berbatov over the past few years, he is a great player, much better than Mido. Defoe is going to Man Yoo, who are we going to bring in to replace him ???
Comment by brian cross on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 4:56am
As a life long Tottenham supporter,I look forward to this season with a lot more optimism then because of recent years and the subsequent failure to deliver one is also cautious.Never the less we certainly on paper do appear to have a lot stronger squad this time around.I certainly hope Carrick does stay with us,but 20mil.Would soften the blow and give us even more clout in the market.So in trhat sense all is positve
Comment by nat on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 4:41am
Berbatov is a top class striker and will have the advantage i think of being under estimated, much the same as robbie keane who is consistently brilliant but never rated as one of the best. lets just hope berby isnt another rebrov!!
Comment by Doublespur on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 4:48am
Have supported the boys since 1960/61 - and this is the best since then!!Not just the individuals but the team and the way the club is behaving. Here is an interesting thought - we can finish top 4, so which of the 4 clubs whop finished ahead of us last season will finish behind us? Difficult to forecast but look at MUFC and their current problems!! We will have to wait and see but COYS
Comment by Teddy S on Tuesday 25 July 2006 @ 1:34am
I hate it when people jump to far and the season has not started, YES! we have a brilliant youthful squad but NO we are not up there yet, we need the chelsea consistency and we also need the toughness shown to grind out gritty games. The new signings are very interesting, I still feel we are back to where we were last season with an abundence of midfielders. Things seem to be looking up, Champions league and the double over the Arse would be simply perfect!! Im Tottenham 'til I Die!!!!!!! COYS!!!
Comment by Dan on Monday 24 July 2006 @ 10:00pm
Like the article..Feel Berbatov will take a few games to adapt to the premiership pace. But after he has settled in, he will get the 15-20 goals he has promised us. think Jol has invested wisely again this season, from what i have read our lost signing 'Hossam Ghaly' is proving his worth by setting up both of Berbatovs goals against birmingham, would quite like to see he feature at some point this season. i am worried carrick will leave, but then again if it is for £20 mill then so be it, we have players that can step in. All in all its going to be another exciting season for spurs, no longer are we destined to finish mid-table! COYS!!!
Comment by Roger on Monday 24 July 2006 @ 10:40pm
nice article, interesting point on Chelsea not selling Duff to Liverpool or Spurs for more money, perhaps there is some truth in what you're suggesting & spurs are being watched as a potential threat.
Comment by rob on Monday 24 July 2006 @ 9:23pm
bellamy will fire in 18 league goals alone for liverpool in his first season
Comment by Chris Moriartyq on Monday 24 July 2006 @ 9:31pm
I think Berbatov will provide that cutting edge that Spurs lacked last year. We know that we have the players to create chances but too often we tried to pass it one more time, I don't think there is any danger of Berbi trying that. Defoe looks like he is in rich form too so the future is definately bright. With Zokora shoring up the midfield only the left wing looks like a weak area. We'll see what Jol has up his sleeve as I feel there is one more signing on the way. Either that or he will trust Zeigler. COYS
Comment by SPURS-2006 on Monday 24 July 2006 @ 9:26pm
Berbatov to score 15/20 goals and Defoe and Keane to scores another 30/40 goals and 20 goals to come from the rest of the team will give us around 80 goals scored and if the defence can be nearly as good as last season we are looking at top 4/5 again COYS
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