So, the past two months have been a bit...well, I've certainly had better periods in my life. As such, this site fell precipitously down my list of priorities. The last time I checked, it was nestled somewhere between 'Ignored' and 'Forgotten'. However, things have settled down recently. As a result of what's gone down I now have quite a bit of free time on my hands. What better to fill it with than the resuscitation of this site. My ambitions, though temporarily distracted, remain the same.

So, what's been going on in the soccer world while I've been away. Oh, look! Tottenham Hotspur sits at the foot of the Premier League table with two points to their name, while the New York Red Bulls teeter precariously on the edge of making or missing the playoffs. Wonderful. I couldn't even bring myself to watch Tottenham's match against Stoke City. My judgement proved sound, as it turned out. Spurs fell 2-1 to Stoke. Yeah. I couldn't find Stoke City on a map. I'm fairly adept at geography, for those wondering. At this point, I'm just looking for Spurs to avoid the drop and the Red Bulls to achieve their annual first-round defeat in the playoffs. Low expectations are more easily met, I find.

Alright, so I've just about recovered from my trip to Nevada Smiths for the first game of the English Premiership season. Adorned in my 2006/2007 Tottenham Hotspur jersey, I set out with my friend Fuz at 6 AM. We arrived without incident, walking into the bar just after the start of the Arsenal-West Bromwich Albion game. I realized quickly that I'd miscalculated in my choice of wardrobe and our arrival time. Nevada Smiths at the time was filled entirely with Arsenal fans, and I do mean entirely. There Fuz and I were, he in his Manchester United jersey and me in my Tottenham Hotspur jersey, in a bar filled with Arsenal supporters. The unspoken hostility was palpable. We stayed until halftime, whereupon the fatigue that comes with five hours sleep and a trip into the City hit us. We made our way out of the bar and spent the next forty-five minutes recovering on a stoop around the corner. When we returned, we found a much more diverse crowd for the next round of games. We settled in for the Spurs-Middlesbrough game. No, I don't want to talk about it. After the game, we again made our way outside. There we met a Liverpudlian Everton supporter who I can only describe as a thirty-year-old Harry Potter if he drank and smoked. After confessing to smoking a significant amount of marijuana before coming to Nevadas, he showed us an impressive scar that ran the length of the underside of his arm. Naturally, I asked him how he managed that. He confessed that he had gotten it in an altercation with Liverpool supporters back in England. A box cutter appeared and with it came a fourteen-inch gash. Interspersed throughout our conversation, he told any and all Liverpool supporters entering the bar to 'fuck off'. Truly a memorable character. We stayed for the Liverpool-Sunderland game out of a masochistic desire to see Robbie Keane playing for Liverpool. It was as painful as could be expected. He hasn't clicked with Torres the way he did with Berbatov and who knows if they will. Their partnership was truly something special. Our hunger for English football satiated, we found our way to Amore Pizza, just around the corner from Nevadas, where we satiated a different kind of hunger. We somehow wound up on a subway train to Queens, which is, unfortunately, in the opposite direction of our New Jersey homes, not realizing our mistake for several stops. We managed to rectify our error and found our way back to Hoboken and an NJ Transit train for home.

My Final Table Prediction
1 - Chelsea
2 - Manchester United
3 - Liverpool
4 - Arsenal
5 - Aston Villa
6 - Tottenham
7 - Everton
8 - Newcastle
9 - Man City
10 - Middlesbrough
11 - Portsmouth
12 - Sunderland
13 - West Ham
14 - Blackburn
15 - Bolton
16 - Wigan
17 - West Bromwich Albion
18 - Fulham
19 - Hull City
20 - Stoke City

Yes, Robbie Keane's back in England. Liverpool, specifically. Anfield, even more specifically. The transfer of Mr. Spurs to Liverpool is on the verge of completion. The deal appears to be just about done, with Keane agreeing to personal terms up at Anfield. Reports indicate a transfer fee of between £18 and £20 million.

I'm not going to beat around the bush, you can get the details of the transfer at any one of a billion news sites. This transfer sucks. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a big fan of Robbie Keane. I earlier espoused my doubt that Keane would leave Tottenham Hotspur. It didn't make sense to me. Especially after Keane had professed his love for the club and desire to finish his career at Spurs. Look, he actually said it: “There’s always speculation that I’m going here, there and everywhere but I’m very content with my life and with my time at Spurs, I will continue to play there for as long as I am happy and for as long as I am wanted. It’s good to have a summer off but then I look forward to going back to Spurs next season.” Way back on May 28th. My, how things have changed. We as fans tend to forget that football is a business and as much as we'd like to believe our club's players have the same dedication to the badge that we do, they quite simply do not. Robbie Keane made the mistake of leading Tottenham Hotspur's fans to believe he cared just as much as we did. As a result, it seems there are large elements of Spurs' fan base who want to vilify and demonize a player who gave Tottenham six seasons of faithful service. I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to do that. Instead, I'll remember the goals he scored and the way he'd hurtle around the pitch, refusing to give up. Keane went from being a third-choice striker at the club to an unquestioned starter and team leader. He was eventually given the job of Vice-Captain and wore the armband during Ledley King's frequent and lengthy trips to the Physio's table. Then, after achieving such a prominent position at the club, he leaves for greener pastures. Hmm. Keane's departure is a symptom of a larger problem in English football. Namely, the domination of the big four clubs. As I mentioned, playing football professionally is a job. Just as regular people would, in most cases, jump ship if a more successful company offering more money came calling, so too will professional footballers. Though Liverpool haven't won the league in eighteen years, they've won it eighteen times before that. Which is, approximately, sixteen more times than Tottenham Hotspur. In those eighteen years since their last league championship, however, Liverpool have been far from unsuccessful. They've won three FA Cups, three League Cups, and in just the last four years have made it to the Champions League Final twice and the semi-finals once. In that same time, Tottenham have won the League Cup twice, the FA Cup once, and have failed to make much noise in the UEFA Cup. To an employee without much attachment to his employers, the former certainly seems the more tempting option. I'd also like to make note of the caveat Keane added to his declaration of loyalty. Keane said, "I will continue to play there (Tottenham) for as long as I am happy and for as long as I am wanted." I think we may have to recognize the very real possibility that Robbie Keane was simply not a big part of Juande Ramos' plans at Tottenham Hotspur. It seems increasingly likely, given his pursuit of just about every young winger I can think of, that Ramos is looking to implement a five man midfield with with an emphasis on attacking with width. Robbie Keane cannot play as a lone striker. He just doesn't have the skillset. He wouldn't be a particularly effective wide midfielder, either as, 2006 embarrassment of Khalid Boulahrouz aside, he lacks the pace to make consistent forays down opponent's flanks. He would inevitably drift inside, failing to provide the width necessary for Ramos' system to be effective. There's simply no place for Keane in the system I believe Ramos is trying to bring to White Hart Lane. He wasn't wanted anymore.

Yes, he's gone. However, I won't minimize the impact he's had at Tottenham Hotspur. He was a tremendous player and leader at White Hart Lane and that's what we should remember about him. On the bright side of things, it appears that we've gotten the fee for Robbie Keane. A very nice one, at that.

I hate everything.

"I have absolutely no wish to sell either player and to date we have not accepted any offer for either. However, when a player's head is turned and their commitment is absent, particularly when they occupy key positions such as that of striker, they become a negative influence in a team dressing room in which they were once a positive addition and influence. This is the situation we now have on our hands, with both Dimitar and Robbie having made it clear that they wish to leave for Manchester Utd and Liverpool respectively.

"Irrespective of the outcome and futures of Robbie and Dimitar, we are continuing to seek to bring in quality, talented players for the future, who want to play in a Spurs shirt."

-Daniel Levy, Spurs Chairman

In what could hardly be considered a surprising move, Manchester United have bid £20 million pounds for Tottenham Hotspur striker Dimitar Berbatov. Sir Alex Ferguson has long been reported to be an admirer of Berbatov's, and really, who isn't? United will be looking to cover their bases in the event Cristiano Ronaldo is sold to Real Madrid. Berbatov would certainly help to recover a good portion of Ronaldo's forty goals should the winger leave. The Bulgarian striker would fill the currently absent role of target forward for the Premier League champions. His arrival would be of great benefit to forwards Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez. Both players prefer to play from deep positions, in similar fashion to Berbatov's current strike partner Robbie Keane. Berbatov could form a partnership with either player that could prove just as effective as the one he enjoys with Keane.

However, Tottenham will certainly reject the current offer, putting the transfer on hold for a little while longer. Spurs value Berbatov at around £30 million and will be determined to get full value for their talismanic striker if forced to sell. A factor that will also be at the forefront of Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy's mind will be the status of Cristiano Ronaldo. If Ronaldo is sold to Real Madrid for the extraordinary prices being bandied about in the papers, Spurs will smell blood in the water. The influx of cash at United from the Ronaldo deal will drive the Berbatov's price up even higher. Which is why United have placed their bid now. They'll hope that Berbatov pushes for the transfer to be completed, meaning that United will get him at closer to the £30 million price Tottenham have placed on him then in an inflated post-Ronaldo sale. Spurs, for their part, will try to hold out for a Ronaldo transfer.

Berbatov's departure could also speed the departure of Robbie Keane to Liverpool. The Irishman will be more likely to leave if the player with whom he has been described as having a 'telepathic' relationship has left for greener pastures. While the club will be hesitant to let both players leave, Keane's value to Juande Ramos will certainly be diminished if Berbatov leaves. Darren Bent has also been linked with a move to Roy Keane's Sunderland. Indeed, Tottenham's forward stable, formerly the club's strongest asset , could look strangely empty in the near future.

The BBC is reporting that Tottenham Hotspur is closing in on the signing of Espanyol forward Luis Garcia. To clarify, that's the Luis Garcia pictured above, not the former Liverpool player. He's bagged 24 goals in 79 appearances for the Spanish side and Juande Ramos apparently rates the the striker highly. You can see for yourself why he does here. Garcia's signing will do nothing to quiet rumors of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov departing Tottenham this off-season. While there have been no concrete rumors regarding Berbatov, speculation intensified over Robbie Keane's future after quotes from Rafa Benitez regarding Keane surfaced. Benitez acknowledged Liverpool's interest in Keane after admitting that Liverpool were unlikely to pry David Villa away from Spanish side Valencia. Benitez was quoted as saying, "I said the other day that he is one of the names we had on our list, but I can say at this moment that it is not an option for us...We know Villa is a very good player, we know the price and we know the players we have, so when you consider everything we decided he was one of the names, but at this moment, not our target...Keane is one of the other names and okay we are still working with other names. We were in contact and we will see now."

FIFA President and perennial buffoon Sepp Blatter has revealed that he has spoken to three different Football Associations about the possibility of hosting the 2010 World Cup if South Africa were to fall victim to a 'natural catastrophe'. The Football Associations in question confirmed they would be able to host the tournament on short notice, but would need a year to prepare. Now, everyone realizes that Sepp Blatter isn't talking about a natural catastrophe forcing the tournament out of South Africa. The concern is whether or not South Africa will be able to complete the stadiums and have the infrastructure in place necessary to host an event of the World Cup's magnitude. It has already been revealed that South Africa's Port Elizabeth stadium will not be ready in time for the 2009 Confederations Cup. This failure raises legitimate concerns over South Africa's ability to be fully prepared for the World Cup. These concerns make it necessary for FIFA to have a contingency plan in place, should South Africa not live up to its commitments. There are several countries Blatter could have spoken to about hosting the tournament on a year's notice. These include, but aren't limited to, the United States, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Australia. All of these countries have the stadiums and the infrastructure to host the World Cup. Who do I think Blatter spoke to? I would think he would have approached the United States, England and Spain. The US was home to the 1994 World Cup which, due to America's enormous stadiums, still holds the record for highest average per game attendance. If the US were to host the World Cup in 2010 it would surely shatter all attendance and revenue records due to the fact that the World Cup expanded from 24 teams to 32 teams in 1998, adding an additional twelve games. The fact that the World Cup was in Europe in 2006 will give the US a leg up on its European competitors. England, with its Premier League stadiums and public transportation system, would be able to host the World Cup. The fact that they haven't hosted the tournament since 1966 would also give them an advantage as well. Spain brings the same advantages as England and their recent victory at Euro 2008 will make them an attractive prospect. As for the other three possibilities, I don't think Blatter spoke to them for several reasons. Germany proved itself capable of pulling off a fantastic tournament in 2006, but it's highly unlikely FIFA would give it back to them just four years later. Italy certainly would be capable of hosting the tournament, but recent match-fixing scandals and incidents of fan violence make the home of the Azzuri something of an unattractive destination. Australia hosted the 2000 Olympics, but its far-flung location will hurt it.

In my opinion, however, all speculation on the subject is moot. I believe South Africa will get their act together in time and the World Cup will conquer another continent. Far too much money has been sunk into this endeavor just to abandon it because some FIFA bigwigs feel uncomfortable with South Africa hosting the tournament. If somehow the plug is pulled, I think the 2010 tournament goes to England and the US gets 2018.

In an example of absolutely flabbergasting greed, 30-year-old Frank Lampard has turned down a four-year, £140,000-a-week deal with Chelsea. Lampard claims he will not resign with Chelsea unless the contract is increased to five years, an unreasonable request from a thirty year old. Understandably, Chelsea have no desire to be paying a 35 year old such an exorbitant amount of money. Lampard seems to be posturing for a move to Italian club Inter Milan and a reunion with former manager Jose Mourinho. The new Inter manager is said to have stepped up the pressure on Chelsea to sell Lampard before his contract runs out next year by increasing his offer to £10 million. The situation was exacerbated by Luis Felipe Scolari's claim that Lampard had expressed a desire to remain at Stamford Bridge, even though no such conversation had taken place. Scolari's press conference allegedly led to a heated exchange between Lampard and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon. Chelsea will certainly be tempted to offload Lampard for £10 million now, rather than lose him to Mourinho for nothing next summer. It's likely we'll see Lampard in the blue and black of Inter before long.

A Football League tribunal has settled the dispute between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace over the transfer fee of sixteen-year-old John Bostock. The dispute began when Tottenham announced the signing of Bostock on the club's official website. Crystal Palace quickly issued a statement denying that any deal had been reached. Palace valued Bostock at around £2 million with the fee rising a further £2.5 million based on appearances for Tottenham. Basically, Crystal Palace were looking for £4.5 million for the player. Tottenham obviously disagreed with the Palace's valuation and the matter was brought before a Football League Tribunal.

Well, the matter has been resolved and Crystal Palace's chairman, Simon Jordan, is rightfully upset. The tribunal has set the fee for Bostock at just £700,000 which could rise to £1.25 million based on appearances. Simon Jordan has described the decision as 'scandalous' and who could blame him? I mean, Chelsea offered Crystal Palace £900,000 for Bostock when the player was 14 and the offer was turned down. Bostock went on to captain England's U-17 team and become the youngest player ever to appear for Crystal Palace. After these accomplishments his value somehow went down? What? That's absolute lunacy.

The most important aspect of this decision, though, is the dangerous precedent it sets for English football as a whole. England currently has a team that failed to qualify for the European Championships and the English Premier League is only made up of something like 35% English players. The teams in the lower leagues develop players like Bostock from scratch only to see them picked off by Premiership sides for bargain basement fees. The players are then put in Premiership reserve sides or loaned out if they're lucky while they could be seeing first-team minutes for their former club. Eventually, English teams are just going to say, "Why bother?" and stop investing in academy systems. I'd be absolutely livid if I were in Simon Jordan's shoes. He and Crystal Palace have been totally hard done by. The English Football Association is always talking about how it's such a problem that the Premier League is so dominated by foreign talent, suggesting ludicrous 'solutions' like English quotas, and then they turn around and make a decision like this. How about they do something productive and make it more difficult for Premiership sides like Tottenham to cherry-pick young, talented players like Bostock only to have them waste away on the reserve side before selling them back to a Championship side a couple years later for a marginal profit.

There have been some developments since I wrote about the possibility of Robbie Keane departing White Hart Lane. Thankfully, they seem to indicate that Keane will be staying. The first piece of information involves Peter's Crouch's apparently imminent transfer to Portsmouth. It had been rumored that a Liverpool bid for Keane's services would have included money and Peter Crouch. In Europe, a good rule of thumb is that any deal rumored to involve a player swap is merely media speculation. I don't think I've seen one player swap deal go through in the years I've been following European soccer. The second, and probably more relevant, development is Spurs assistant coach Gus Poyet's admission that Tottenham 'can't afford' to lose Keane.

It's not gospel, but it's encouraging.

Okay, it's time for full disclosure. I'm a big Tottenham Hotspur fan. This is despite the fact that I live in New Jersey and have never set foot in England. I've been a fan of the club since the 02-03 season. The 2002 World Cup had just ended and my 12-year-old self was on the lookout for more soccer. This was before I knew about Fox Soccer Channel or its ilk so a weekly highlights show on MSG called, I believe, Premier League Review had to suffice. My choice of club, having no actual links to England generally or North London specifically, came down to two factors. The first was that I didn't want to root for one of the big four clubs. Even at the tender age of twelve I desired the masochistic pain that comes with rooting for a club that flounders in perpetual mediocrity (I'm also a New York Red Bulls fan). I found Tottenham to be a sufficiently middling club: they finished ninth in the 2001-2002 season. The name itself may have given the club an advantage over its mid-table compatriots. Being an American, it's likely that I was preconditioned to prefer team names that resembled the American 'place'-'team name' formula. Tottenham followed that formula. The second factor had been born at the 2002 World Cup. I am entirely of Irish descent. Every branch of my family tree can somehow trace itself back to Ireland. So, I naturally had a soft spot for the Irish at the World Cup. The fact that the Irish and the Americans performed so well in Japan and South Korea is probably why it remains my favorite major tournament. In any case, I was spellbound by the play of Robbie Keane in Ireland's four games. From his late equalizer against eventual finalists Germany, to his spinning volley against Saudi Arabia, to his game-tying (all for naught) penalty against the Spanish in the Round of 16, to his manner of celebrating goals, the man played spectacularly. The fact that Tottenham had just signed one of my favorite players from the World Cup tipped the scales. I was hooked. Which is why I find the latest rumors about Keane asking to leave Tottenham for Liverpool to be particularly distressing, despite questionable veracity.

Perhaps it's denial, but I can't buy Keane leaving Tottenham. At least not for a few years. He's just about to turn 28 (in four days), undeniably in the prime of his career. At Spurs, Keane is already a legend and shares a magnificent partnership with Dimitar Berbatov. The pair of them form what is perhaps the only true, old-school style strike partnership in the Premier league. Keane has found stability at Spurs, something that eluded him when he was bouncing around from club to club before 2002. I doubt he'd want to leave just as the Juande Ramos revolution (fingers crossed) begins. Then there's the fact that Keane was on his honeymoon with new wife Claudine Palmer when the news broke. It's suspect that business such as transfer requests were at the forefront of his thoughts. In addition, Keane has reported for training for Spurs. Which is, incidentally, the last place you'll see former Aston Villa Captain and Liverpool target Gareth Barry. It's unlikely Keane would make the effort if he planned on leaving the club in the near future. Then there's the fact that the deal just doesn't make sense to me. What does Tottenham need a meager 5 million pounds and Peter Crouch for? They already have the far superior Berbatov to play the role of target forward, so unless Berbatov leaves (which I doubt will happen, despite relentless media links away from White Hart Lane), Spurs have no need of Peter Crouch. Keane also has to consider the fact that he would be relegated to the bench at Liverpool far more often than at Spurs in favor of a five man midfield with Fernando Torres by himself up top. I suppose you'd have to consider the unlikely (and horrifying) prospect that Robbie Keane simply does not figure in Juande Ramos' plans for the club. Ramos has many connections in the Spanish soccer world and if there's one thing Latin countries are good at producing it's creative withdrawn-forward, attacking-midfield players; precisely the role Keane plays for Tottenham. Yet, Ramos went to Croatia to find a central midfielder in Luka Modric to pull Tottenham's offensive strings.

All I know is, however unlikely the prospect, I may weep if this deal goes through.