Morning:
13°c
Doncaster 1-5 Tottenham
The cynics are waiting for top-of-the-table Tottenham's bubble to burst but this Carling Cup second-round demolition showed they may be in for a long wait.
Harry Redknapp made seven changes to the team that won at West Ham and while the Championship side impressed at times, the gulf in class was still evident.
Tottenham's inability to break into the
top four has, in the past, been due to a lack of depth and quality but Redknapp could afford to give Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane, Wilson Palacios, Aaron Lennon the night off and watch Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko, David Bentley and Alan Hutton stake their claims for a place in the starting XI instead.
He was rewarded with another five goals, which takes the club's tally for the season to 14 already, and means he will have more of a selection headache for the visit of Birmingham on Saturday.
Redknapp said: “Winning is a great habit. If we can beat Birmingham, we will go into the international break top of the League, which would be lovely.
“I managed to rest a few and we've got a strong squad so I could change the front two. Crouchie came in and scored which is great. Pavlyuchenko, Giovani Dos Santos and David Bentley got a chance to play in those wide positions and were lively and it was a good all-round performance.
“The added bonus is that people like Lennon, Keane, Luka Modric, Palacios and Defoe should all be ready for Saturday.”
England internationals who switch clubs for £9million don't normally have to wait four games to make their debut but Crouch has been kept waiting by the form of Keane and Defoe. He notched his first goal when he headed in Bentley's corner to give Spurs a
3-0 lead at half-time after Tom Huddlestone and Jamie O'Hara netted inside 12 minutes.
He said: “I'm really pleased to get my first goal and my first start. A few of us have not played much and hopefully we have given the manager something to think about.
“It was nice for me to get a full 90 minutes. I didn't have much of a pre-season and I feel fit and sharp now.”
Crouch told fellow scorer Pavlyuchenko, linked with a move back to Russia, to stop fretting about his World Cup place and fight for his future at Spurs. He said: “Roman's a fantastic player but if you want to be in a top side then you're going to have a lot of competition for places. We want him to stay because he is a great player.”
Goals from Bentley and Pavlyuchenko made the scoreline more emphatic, with the home side getting a consolation through a Martin Woods' penalty..
Reader views (8)
Ricky, I can but heartily agree.
Boateng was also the best signing ever, Bentley was definitely the new Beckham, Ramos was the man to lead you into the glory years again (when the year ends in, errr...), Pavlyuchenko was definitely the best striker signing ever, Dawson was the new Rio, Bent definitely showed West Ham what was what by joining Big Club (tm), Palacios is an amazing bargain at £14million, Gomes is the best keeper in the Premier, Malbranque was a snip, Zokora will DEFINITELY rule the midfield for years to come, Mido, Huddlestone, Kabout, Taarabt, Gilberto, Dos Santos...
The "legends" at Big Club tm are an INCREDIBLY hard act to follow.
- Stu, Beckton
"Same old story from Tottenham, a club and set of supporters second only to Liverpool in the 'it's gonna be our year' stakes."
Neil, who's saying that? Your post comes after three comments, none of which mention this being Spurs' year. On all the message boards I read I'm seeing Spurs supported remaining realistic but, at the same time enjoying a 100% start to the season (God knows it happens so rarely) which includes two 5-1 victories. If as a fan you can't enjoy times like these when will you ever enjoy following a team? So, please, stop with the self-fulfilling prophecies and actually read and listen to what's being said.
- Dave, London
Bale may be put out on loan to Newcastle.
- Captain Black Of The Mysterons, London, England
Mark, great shout, couldn't said it better myself...
Rick, i hope so, but great to see him playing Dos Santos (another Nayim).. He is our player to fill in on the left,move Luka in the middle...
We can have a great midfield diamond...
- Adrian, london
Same old story from Tottenham, a club and set of supporters second only to Liverpool in the 'it's gonna be our year' stakes.
Come October you'll have your usual mediocre run, go mid-table and you'll all be on 606 asking for Harry's head like you did with Martin Jol.
Still, and I never thought I'd say this, I'd like to be proved wrong and for you to leapfrog the scousers.
- Neil, Bedford, England
Bale and Jenas can stay injured if you ask me.....
- Mark, St Albans
Lets see where we are after Man Utd + Chelsea but going into the international break on top would grow the confidence still further. The squad looks strong and players are hungry to prove themselves so who knows what we can do. We are still awaiting Dawson, Woodgate, Bale and Jenas back from injury as well.
- Sd, WICKFORD
It's early in the season but I would argue that Harry Rednapp has all the makings of one of the greatest Spurs managers for a generation.
- Ricky, Hackney, London
