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LONDON (AP)—Tottenham’s focus on its biggest match in years has left Saturday’s Premier League game at Wigan looking like an unwelcome distraction for manager Harry Redknapp and his injury-hit squad.

Tottenham’s rivals for a top-four spot—Chelsea and Manchester City—are each expected to pick up three points each this weekend against Stoke and Sunderland respectively, so Tottenham is desperate to beat Wigan and maintain its fading attempt to finish in the Champions League places for a second straight season.

But Redknapp must weigh the risk of fielding those players he needs for Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal match at Real Madrid—the north London club’s biggest game since at least the 1984 UEFA Cup final.

While the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea play regularly in the Champions League, Tottenham may never get another chance after this season.

“You can’t start thinking about how we are going to beat Real Madrid because we have to play Wigan on Saturday,” Redknapp said. “It’s farcical. You play Saturday, you recover on Sunday. You’re not going to have your 11 ready on Sunday because you are going to have aches and pains and knocks.

“It’s going to be very difficult to prepare for Real Madrid because Wigan are in the way.”

Winger Gareth Bale is in doubt for both matches because of a hamstring injury, while Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong are the only fit central defenders since William Gallas has a knee problem, Ledley King is out for the rest of the season because he needs groin surgery, and Jonathan Woodgate and Younes Kaboul are injured.

Wigan is last in the Premier League but is the only side to have beaten Tottenham at White Hart Lane in this season’s Premier League.

“We started the year with six central defenders and now we have two,” Redknapp said. “It’s a nightmare.”

Tottenham trails fourth-place Manchester City by four points. Third-place Chelsea is a point further ahead and is at Stoke on Saturday.

The Blues also have the Champions League quarterfinals to prepare for, but have an extra day and no distance to travel before Wednesday’s European meeting with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s squad is also in better shape than Tottenham’s, with midfielder Yossi Benayoun on course to play his first game for the Blues in six months after making his comeback from an Achilles’ injury in Israel’s 1-0 win over Georgia on Tuesday.

City hosts Sunderland on Sunday, when Blackpool is at Fulham.

Manchester United, which leads second-place Arsenal by five points, resumes its bid for a record 19th English title by returning to West Ham and the scene of its biggest loss this season.

West Ham’s 4-0 win in November in the League Cup quarterfinals was one of only four losses for United this season.

Defenders Rio Ferdinand, Rafael da Silva, Jonny Evans and John O’Shea are all out, but United manager Alex Ferguson should be able to call upon Nemanja Vidic after the captain recovered from a calf problem.

“I grew up an Everton fan, so to be part of the team to overtake Liverpool’s record would be brilliant,” United striker Wayne Rooney said. “It would mean so much to us players as well as the fans.”

Also Saturday, Arsenal hosts Blackburn, Liverpool is at West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa is at Everton, Bolton is at Birmingham and Wolverhampton Wanderers is at Newcastle.

Labels: heads, Injuryhit, reluctantly, Tottenham, Wigan

Beckham trained with Spurs during Major League Soccer's off-season although a proposed loan move fell through.

Redknapp has no immediate plans to sign the 35-year-old when his MLS contract expires in November but a further training spell could be arranged.

"He's been great to have around, he's welcome back any time," Redknapp said.

Beckham had hoped to turn out for Spurs when he began his six week training spell with the club in January but negotiations between the Galaxy and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy broke down.

And speaking ahead of Tuesday's Premier League game against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road Redknapp admitted that there have yet to be any discussions about a potential return for the former England captain.

"I think he would like to see what the future holds for him," he reasoned.

"I've not looked into bringing him back in November.

"He can still play, he still pick a pass out. I've not looked into bringing him back in November - the chairman would need to look at that, I don't know what the financial side of it would be."

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder should feature in the Galaxy's season opener against Seattle Sounders on 15 March.

And commenting on Beckham's willingness to uproot to London for six weeks of training Redknapp said: "He's a busy lad, his life must be unbelievable, but when you get a lad who wants to come here and train every day when he could be sitting at home having a month's rest, it tells you everything about him."

Labels: Beckham, David, Hotspur, return, Sport, Tottenham

However, despite their recent problems, Redknapp insists Carlo Ancelotti’s side remain a threat in the league. “It would be a miracle if we did it,” said Redknapp. “People get carried away thinking Tottenham should be in the Champions League. Why should we be in the Champions League?

“We’d never been in the Champions League before, suddenly we do it and it’s: ‘Oh well, we should do it again.’ Look at Man City and Chelsea. Have a look at their wage bills. Have a look at the money they pay out. Why should we finish above them?

“If you asked me at the start of the year to put my life on who I’d go for [to qualify] – I think City with Tévez, Balotelli. Have a look at the strength they’ve got.

“Man United are nailed on, so are Arsenal. If we make the top four it will be a fantastic achievement for the players but it will be tough.”

Redknapp is without Rafael van der Vaart at Bloomfield Road after the forward damaged a calf in training on Sunday. But it is in defence that Spurs are short with Gareth Bale, Alan Hutton, Vedrun Coruka, Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King and Younes Kaboul all missing.

William Gallas is likely to have to play at right-back as Spurs look for a fourth straight Premier League win for the first time in 11 months.

For that reason, Redknapp remains cautious, adding: “Finishing above Chelsea this season would never have entered my mind. After 10 games we were all going to give the championship to Chelsea. They were walking away with it so it’s amazing how it’s turned.

“I still expect Chelsea to go on a run. They can still finish second anyway. They’ve got the players there, the strength. It’ll be tight.

“The top four is going to be difficult. But we’re right there at the moment, as we were last year. Even with the European campaign and the injuries we’ve had, we’re still in both competitions. It’s great.”

Spurs face AC Milan in a fortnight 1-0 up and 90 minutes from reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Redknapp said: “I see the Champions League as an amazing bonus, and people forget that. If we can do it two years running it will be great.”

Ian Holloway, the Blackpool manager, lent support to Redknapp’s case to replace Fabio Capello as England manager after Euro 2012. “I would love to see him in that chair,” said Holloway. “He can handle it and he’d get our players to play the way his clubs play – with a great deal of attacking prowess.”

Holloway is still looking for emergency cover for Richard Kingson, his only fit senior goalkeeper. “We’re not able to stack and rack four or five goalkeepers like most other people,” he said.

Labels: aposmiracleapos, champions, Harry, league, Qualify, Redknapp, Telegraphcouk, Tottenham

Gattuso claimed that the Scotsman, himself a former AC Milan player, had provoked him with racist slurs, after which the Italian international grabbed Jordan by the throat before later headbutting him.

Jordan has moved to rubbish claims, and speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: “To come up with something like that is pathetic. It is completely and utterly untrue and something so wildly inaccurate doesn't do him much credit.

“He clearly doesn't realise I consider playing for Milan the proudest time of my career, that my daughter lives and works in Italy and that I love the country and the people.”

Meanwhile, Gattuso is set to face Uefa disciplinary officials on Monday, with his club having prepared a dossier to help him avoid a long term ban.

AC Milan president Adriano Galliani said: “What Rino did was an unpleasant episode that was not good. But he has been deeply provoked and should not be criminalised.”

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Labels: coach, Gattuso, Gennaro, Goalcom, Jordan, Midfielder, Milan, Slams, Tottenham

MILAN (AP)—Tottenham Hotspur headed home from Italy with a valuable away goal, putting Spurs in decent position to reach the European Champions League quarterfinals.

Peter Crouch scored in the 80th minute after Aaron Lennon dashed through the defense on a counterattack for a 1-0 first leg win at AC Milan in the second round on Tuesday night.

“When I beat the first defender and saw Crouchy was free, I was always going to put it across to him,” Lennon said.

Crouch’s goal was his sixth in eight European games this season.

“I thought we limited them to not many chances and I think we were the better side,” Crouch said. “It’s a fantastic achievement.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic thought he scored to tie it in injury time, but his overhead kick was ruled out for a two-handed push into the back of Spurs captain Michael Dawson.

A heated second half ended at San Siro with Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso charging toward the Tottenham bench and headbutting assistant coach Joe Jordan. Gattuso was involved in an earlier altercation.

“They lost their heads a bit at the end,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said, also referring to a diving tackle by Mathieu Flamini on Vedran Corluka that led to the Tottenham player being stretchered off.

“How has he not got a red card for that?” Redknapp said of Flamini. “It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati had a busy first 15 minutes, then was taken off on a stretcher on the 18th after colliding with Crouch. Abbiati was replaced by Marco Amelia.

In the day’s other game, Raul Gonzalez’s record 71st goal in European competition gave Schalke a 1-1 tie at Valencia.

Returning to Spain for the first time since his summer move from Real Madrid, Raul held off David Navarro in the 64th minute and slotted past goalkeeper Vicente Guaita. He broke a tie for European goals with Milan’s Filippo Inzaghi.

Roberto Soldado had put Valencia ahead in the 17th when he redirected Jeremy Mathieu’s cross past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

The second leg of the total-goals series will be played on March 9.

Barcelona is at Arsenal on Wednesday in the round’s most-anticipated matchup, and Shakhtar Donetsk is at AS Roma.

First-leg matches next week have Chelsea at Copenhagen, and Real Madrid at Lyon on Tuesday, and Bayern Munich at defending champion Inter Milan and Manchester United at Marseille on Wednesday.

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP)—Aris held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in the second round of the second-tier Europa League, allowing the Greek team to maintain a 40-year unbeaten European home record.

Man City fielded Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli and David Silva, an attacking lineup that combined to cost more than $150 million.

City, which hasn’t won a major title since the 1976 League Cup, hosts Aris in the second leg on Feb. 24. The other 15 first-leg matches are on Thursday.

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP)—Newcastle won for the first time in six matches, with Peter Lovenkrands scoring in the second minute and Leon Best added a goal in the 50th for a 2-0 victory at Birmingham in the Premier League.

Jonas Gutierrez setup both goals in rainswept conditions as Newcastle won for the first time since star forward Andy Carroll joined Liverpool last month for 35 million pounds (then $56 million).

Newcastle (9-8-10) is ninth with 35 points. Birmingham (6-8-12) is 14th, three points above the relegation zone.

Labels: beats, Milan, Tottenham

19.40 It's Jeff Stelling on Sky for us tonight. From the sound of it, he's lost his voice a little. The teams are in the tunnel. William Gallas and Mathieu Flamini share a warm embrace in the tunnel. All right, lay off that.

19.35 What do we reckon? Can Tottenham pull this one out of the bag? Or will AC Milan - who have looked in impressive form of late in Serie A - pick them off? Do drop us a line.

19.15 Milan line up pretty much as expected, with Robinho preferred to Alexandre Pato. For Tottenham, Luka Modric misses the starting XI but makes the bench after being laid low by an appendix-related illness thing, Peter Crouch takes the lone striker role ahead of Jermain Defoe, and there's the heartening sight of Jonathan Woodgate on the bench. The last time he played for Tottenham, they won 9-1. I'm not sure that's strictly relevant, but, you know.

19.10 Hands up. When Tottenham were 3-0 down after half an hour against Young Boys, who thought we would see this moment? Tottenham's Champions League journey to this point has been the metaphorical topsy-turvy, up-and-down, never-dull, all-action, roller-coaster/thrill ride/soap opera/see-saw. It's the San Siro again for them, as they take on the mighty-but-not-quite-as-mighty-as-they-were AC Milan. Stricken by injuries (to his team, not himself), Harry Redknapp has pledged all-out attack, vowing to 'have a right go'. Of course, it might have been one of those Redknapp-esque, twinkle-in-the-eye quips (for which read: outright lie) for which he is becoming renowned. But if Tottenham do give it a go, it should be quite a contest. Right, let's get some team news before I break the hyphen key on my keyboard.

AC Milan (4-3-1-2): Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Yepes, Antonini; Gattuso, Thiago Silva, Flamini; Seedorf; Robinho, Ibrahimovic.

Subs: Amelia, Pato, Papastathopoulos, Oddo, Jankulovski, Merkel, Legrottaglie.

Tottenham (4-4-1-1): Gomes; Corluka, Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Palacios, Sandro, Pienaar; Van der Vaart; Crouch.

Subs: Cudicini, Pavlyuchenko, Modric, Defoe, Bassong, Kranjcar, Woodgate.

Referee: Stephane Lannoy (France)

Labels: Hotspur, Milan, Telegraphcouk, Tottenham

Prizes come in many forms. Tottenham Hotspur, above all, have a fine prospect of stepping into the last eight of the Champions League following this first-leg result. Beyond that there is the pride in overcoming a club of Milan's renown, although the current side fell far from the standards once expected of them. The second-half winner from Peter Crouch was merited for Spurs' showing over the span of the night.

Milan took it so badly that the midfielder Gennaro Gattuso seemed to butt the Tottenham coach Joe Jordan at full-time. There was real harm done earlier, however, by a terrible two-foot challenge from Mathieu Flamini that ended Vedran Corluka's night. He had done much to bring vitality to Tottenham's play by cutting loose on the right when the contest wasstill taking shape. The referee, Stéphane Lannoy,somehow saw fit merely to book Flamini.

Even with Corluka hurt so severely, there was cause for Tottenham to be encouraged as Jonathan Woodgate emerged to make his first appearance in a competitive game since injuries engulfed him last, in November 2009. Milan were right to be wary of a team on the rise who are seeing events run to their benefit. Nobody missed even the injured Gareth Bale, who had notched a hat-trick at this ground against Internazionale in October.

The Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri understood the risk he faced and was conservative in putting the Brazilian forward Pato initially among the substitutes. His strategies still malfunctioned as Clarence Seedorf, now 34, looked too venerable for attacking midfield duties and he was necessarily substituted. Tottenham had swagger and also a blend of talents, with Sandro and Wilson Palacios adding a crucial solidity to the midfield.

Luka Modric, a couple of weeks after having his appendix removed, came off the bench eventually, but the initial line-up probably suited Tottenham for this type of encounter.

They looked settled from the outset. Crouch could not make much of Corluka's cross in the fifth minute, but he settled the outcome eventually. The winner was slick as Aaron Lennon went past Mario Yepes to set up the goal.

Milan were off-balance throughout and had distractions such as the loss of the goalkeeper Christian Abbiati after he seemed to hurt his head while challenged by Crouch for a cross. Half an hour passed without his Spurs counterpart Heurelho Gomes being involved in a notable way.

The one frisson of alarm had come when Sandro felled Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 23rd minute, but the contact was just outside the area and the referee saw no offence in any case. The inconspicuous striker did not catch the eye until putting the ball in the net only after shoving Michael Dawson in stoppage time. They did not want to be drawn into an unstable, incident-strewn game. The potential consequences of such an evening had been illustrated in Tottenham's 4-3 defeat at San Siro in the group stage. It might as well have been Inter who had been beaten that night, however. They took full points from the match, but also carried an inferiority complex with them. Harry Redknapp's side qualified ahead of them for this phase of the competition.

There is supposed to be a prize for that in the encounter with a club that could only come second in its group. In Milan's case the situation is more complex since they had been gathering momentum until now in Allegri's first season. The manager seemed to feel that Tottenham would be toppled eventually in this tie because they are an unbalanced team. There was no indication of that.

Tottenham were still in the ascendant when, four minutes from half-time, the replacement goalkeeper Marco Amelia tipped over an effort from Rafael van der Vaart. As the away side, they had also taken some precautionary measures, but briefly made a greater effort to exploit Milan.

Gomes did well to reach a header by Yepes and put it behind for a corner. Tottenham were under stress and the centre-half Yepes caused alarm more than once with aerial prowess that called for superb reactions and agility from the goalkeeper. Having commanded at times, Redknapp's men showed they also knew how to cope and eventually to prosper.

The losers were desperate, with Ibrahimovic applying a very obvious shove to Dawson before netting in stoppage time.

There are various punishments ahead for Milan. Some will now see the club's position at the head of Serie A as an indictment of Italian football. That is too extreme a conclusion to draw from a single evening at San Siro. It is enough to say that Milan fared badly when compelled to meet a keen and rising force such as Tottenham.

Labels: breakaway, Crouch, Guardian, Hotspur, Milan, Peter, skids, Tottenham, under

Feb 15 (Reuters) - AC Milan 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - Champions League first knockout round (last 16), first leg latest:

At the San Siro

Referee: Stephane Lannoy (France)

(Editing by Tom Pilcher; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Labels: Hotspur, Latest, Milan, Reuters, Tottenham

By DANIEL CUTTS STATS European Football Writer=

LONDON (SE) - Niko Kranjcar’s superb late strike enabled Tottenham to beat Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday and take Harry Redknapp’s team into fourth place in the Premier League table.

Spurs went three points above Chelsea and if they win their match in hand can go into third place ahead of Manchester City.

Tottenham’s third win in succession came after a sloppy and disappointing first half at the end of which they were fortunate to be level.

Sunderland took an early lead but failed to hold on and slumped to their third defeat in a row without surrendering seventh spot in the table.

The Black Cats looked to be well on their way to a morale-boosting home win after taking the lead in the eleventh minute.

The Spurs defence was exposed while William Gallas was off the pitch changing his boots allowing Asamoah Gyan to stride through and beat Heurelho Gomes with a powerful low shot.

That goal woke up Tottenham and there was a new urgency about them which resulted in the equaliser in the 44th minute.

England defender Michael Dawson was unmarked when he headed goalwards and the presence of Gallas near the line forced goalkeeper Craig Gordon to allow the effort to go through his legs.

There was not much in the second half to excite home fans and the winner came in the 57th minute from Kranjcar for the second successive week.

Last week the Croatia international’s left foot strike earned a last-minute win over Bolton. His goal this time was not dissimilar and just as effective.

Sunderland defender John Mensah cleared a cross from Sandro to him and the midfield player volleyed the ball home from the edge of the area.

Sunderland did step up their play after Kranjcar’s goal but Gomes was not threatened although he and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko were booked for time-wasting.

Tottenham manager Redknapp was delighted by the result and the way his side had stormed back after such a sloppy start.

“We just did not get going for the first half an hour. It was just one mistake after another and it took a goal to wake us up,” said Redknapp. “I don’t know why we were like that because we have been playing so well lately.

“But once we got level I always we would go on and win.

“Niko is making a habit of scoring brilliant goals. His goal last week was absolutely fantastic and this was right up there with one.”

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce felt his side had wasted good possession and not made the most of their flying start.

“We were on top for the first half, got a goal and looked well set,” said Bruce. “But they got a goal just before the break against the run of play and that set us back.

“In the second half we were never the same force but even so it took an exceptional goal to beat us.

“I just felt that we did not kill them off when we had the chance. One goal is never enough to see off a team of Tottenham’s quality.”

Labels: fires, Kranjcar, SportsTicker, Tottenham, winner

Tottenham Hotspur FC today released the first image of the proposed 60,000 capacity football stadium that would sit in the heart of the Olympic Island site if Spurs /AEG become the successful bidder with the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

Daniel Levy, Chairman, Tottenham Hotspur FC said:

“We are proposing one of the most advanced, state-of-the-art stadiums in Europe that will deliver an exceptional spectator experience. Fans will be closer to the pitch than at any other comparable size stadium in the UK, while its acoustic design will ensure that the noise from spectators remains within the stadium.

“Our partner AEG would attract and manage a wide range of events for the stadium and surrounding public realm including world class sport, music, festivals, and exhibitions. Tottenham Hotspur would also commit tens of millions of pounds for local sports and community projects and our Foundation would work with relevant partners to bring these to life. Ensuring the stadium and the surrounding space is sustainable, exciting and viable 365 days a year is crucial to our proposal and to the whole future of the Olympic Park.

“Accusations that we would ‘demolish’ £500m of stadium are hugely inaccurate and highly irresponsible and I want to be very clear on this issue. Our proposal will retain around £420m worth of the Olympic Stadium, and we will re-use or recycle the £80m that will be dismantled with zero landfill. It is also important to remember that two thirds of the Olympic Stadium, under the original legacy plan, was to be dismantled – it was not designed to be a permanent structure. Recent scaremongering conveniently forgets this fact.”

As part of its bid to the OPLC, Tottenham Hotspur FC is also proposing the significant redevelopment of Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium that would see its capacity increase to 25,000, with the ability for it to be increased up to 40,000 for major championships.

Daniel Levy added:

“We would increase the current capacity of Crystal Palace by 9,500 to 25,000 and a new 4 lane warm up track and all weather hockey pitch would also be built. With these proposals, Crystal Palace would become a re-invigorated dedicated facility, bringing more activity to the area and be available to the athletics community every single day of the year.”

To view pictures of how Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium would look, please click the arrows at the top of the page...

Labels: 60000, capacity, Football, image, Olympic, proposed, releases, stadium, Tottenham

LONDON (AP)—Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp still wants to sign David Beckham and is prepared to wait until the former England captain’s contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy expires in November.

Redknapp’s attempt to sign Beckham on loan last month faltered and the midfielder only trained with the north London club. But Redknapp says he could try again, even though Beckham will be 36.

Redknapp says he loves the way Beckham plays.

Labels: Beckham, November, still, target, Tottenham

The Guardian

O'Hara joins Wolves on loan Tottenham Football Club Jamie O'Hara has joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan until the end of the season. The midfielder has made 56 appearances in our colours, scoring seven goals, and spent last season on loan at Portsmouth. Our provides our latest breaking news online ... O'Hara makes Molineux moveSkySports Tottenham's Jamie O'Hara joins Wolves on loanBBC Sport Jamie O'Hara - Wolves loan move sealed.Sportinglife.com The Sun -expressandstar.com -Sunday Mercury all 274 news articles »

Labels: Football, joins, OaposHara, Tottenham, Wolves

Eurosport.com ASIA

Keane in West Ham loan Tottenham Football Club Robbie Keane has joined West Ham United on loan until the end of the season with the transfer becoming permanent for an undisclosed fee should Avram Grant's side retain its Premier League status. The Republic of Ireland captain has made 62 appearances ... West Ham confirm loan deal for Tottenham's Robbie KeaneBBC News Hammers seal Keane dealSkySports Keane in Hammers switchThe Press Association Goal.com -The Guardian -Football News all 182 news articles »

Labels: Football, Keane, Tottenham

Labels: Dempsey, Fulhams, sparks, thrashing, Tottenham

Labels: Keane, loans, struggling, Tottenham

Labels: Keane, loans, struggling, Tottenham

Labels: Dempsey, Fulhams, sparks, thrashing, Tottenham