Like it really matters

Robbie Keane knows a thing or two about the bench, having of course parked himself on one at Liverpool for six months. So when he talks about them, thespoiler listens.

Having realised trying to claim Spurs have a better team, manager, ground, history or support than Arsenal was ludicrous, Robbie decided to attack the Gunners where it hurts - the all-important sub selection. Keane told the London Evening Standard:

“You look at the two squads and we’re definitely on a par. It will be judged at the end of the season but if you look at the bench we have, it is probably a little bit stronger than their bench.”

Indeed, the North London derby this Saturday should provide a perfect opportunity for Keane to test his theory, when with ten minutes left, and three goals ahead, Wenger turns to his bench to rest key players ahead of the midweek fixture.

But is Keano right? Here are the two benches for the most recent league games:

Tottenham’s bench v Stoke: Michael Dawson, Jermaine Jenas, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Alan Hutton, Carlo Cudicini, Gareth Bale, Kyle Naughton
Arsenal’s bench v West Ham: Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo, Manuel Almunia, Mikael Silvestre, Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs

Vote now:

With Berbatov bound for the exit, it looks like Ledley King - aka. Mr Tottenham - could be joining him.

The feeling is that Ramos is going to spend the summer refashioning the team that he inherited from Martin Jol. Rumours have been flying around that Lennon, Huddlestone and Jenas will all be surplus to requirements at the new look Spurs, and now, by not confirming King as next season’s skipper, it looks like the Ramos overhaul is going to be even more gigantic than expected.

And who could blame him?

The best spot kick showboating ever seen

Knocking a dead ball into the goal from twelve yards should be the easiest thing in the world for a professional footballer, but as Jenas, Chimbonda, Yakubu and Jagielka learned last night, it’s tough under pressure. Maybe they should have tried to emulate one of these classic efforts:

Johan Cruijff gets some help

Francesco Totti backheels it

Gonzalo Pineda pulls off a cheeky chip

(more after the jump)

Mr King celebrates the Carling win Essex-style

Despite instilling a strict dietary regime on his Spurs team, Juande Ramos sent his victorious lot off for a calorific tipple following yesterday’s Carling Cup win. Like flies to a closed window, booze-hungry Premier League stars including Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Hutton, Steed Malbranque, Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Jenas and Ledley King were drawn to Faces nightclub in Essex.