Spurs consider a Green choice

It has emerged that Tottenham Hotspur are looking into the possibility of signing West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green as a replacement for the ageing Brad Friedel; and they could get him for free.

The experienced Friedel, who turns 41 in May, has had an impressive debut season at Spurs as the club have forced their way into title contention, but being eight years younger, Green could be a more viable option in the long-term. Tottenham are looking to solidify their position amongst the English elite and therefore want to add to a group of players who can mature together over the next few years.

This could prove to be an attractive option for Green who has seen his former Hammers team-mate, Scott Parker make the same move and become a Tottenham favourite. Parker has been highly-praised for his performances this season, which have helped to make Spurs strong contenders to qualify for the Champions League, a meteoric rise considering he was playing in England’s second tier at the start of the season.

Although Green’s track-record suggests a strong loyalty, having only played for Norwich City and the Hammers, he may wish to test himself at the highest level before retirement. Green, unlike Ben Foster and Paul Robinson, has also expressed a desire to remain involved on the international stage and a move to White Hart Lane could only strengthen his cause. Since his infamous error against the USA at the World Cup, Green’s credibility as England’s keeper has greatly eroded, but whilst he is highly unlikely to displace Joe Hart, he could be a worthy understudy.

If these reasons for a move away were not enough, West Ham are playing hardball over a contract extension to the one which expires in the Summer. Determined not to make the same mistakes as previous regimes, David Sullivan and David Gold are hoping to secure promotion to the Premier League before offering one of their highest-earners a new deal.

Although this seems sensible at first-glance, it could risk losing one of West Ham’s best and long-serving players who would be invaluable to surviving relegation if they were to be promoted next season. Reliable goalkeepers are notoriously hard to identify, even Manchester United have struggled, and Green has certainly proved to be one of the talented few, despite his high-profile mistake.

Contract laws are such that Green could freely speak to Tottenham in the summer, or be offered a move by a European club from now with relation to a free transfer in July. With Monaco also apparently interested in Green, this possibility could not be out of the question.

However, a move to Tottenham seems to be much more likely as it would require little adjustment or relocation and would give Green the opportunity to play at the highest level of European football. Hammers’ fans will be hoping their owners decide to tie him down quickly or they will risk losing yet another star to their bitter rivals.

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A magnificent start with a desperate finish. Is the best still to come? It better be.

The first Saturday of the World Cup was a day of magnificent starts, encouragement and hope; only to see the excitement agonizingly fizzle out into a calm game of a cautious, tedious nature. Typical of an international exhibition match but not the World Cup.
The Korean Republic were rather impressive against an extremely poor Greece side with a distinct lack of ambition. As an organised unit the Koreans scored from a set-piece early on, which would’ve infuriated the Greek coach. They then became the first team of this world cup to kill a game off with regards to the scoring of their second goal. A weaving, speedy run from Manchester United’s Ji-Sung Park was completed with a neat finish. His creative threat throughout was a constant thorn in the sides of the Greeks and it’s possible Park has the potential to be a hero for his nation in this world cup. The likes of Georgios Samaras and Thomas Gekas up front for Greece showed little to suggest the European side could pull off another amazing tournament win, reminiscent of Euro 2004 and it was easy to tell why they’re struggling to sell tickets for games.
Argentina against Nigeria was probably the first game of the tournament that the neutral genuinely wanted to see, rather than simply being sucked in by world cup fever. Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi naturally impressed throughout but the Argentinean goal came early on from an unlikely source in the form of former Manchester United left-back Gabriel Heinze. Widely criticised throughout the qualifying campaign and resented by the Argentinean public for the omission of Champions League winners Zanetti and Cambiasso, Heinze began to defy the critics with a superb, diving header from a corner. Absence of marking and urgency from Nigeria practically gifted the opportunity to Heinze who couldn‘t believe his luck.
Nigeria’s poor performance in defence continued but Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain missed two superb opportunities which left Diego Maradonna rolling down the touchline in despair. Champions league final hero, Diego Milito eventually replaced Higuain but it was astounding to see a team sporting an advanced trio of Messi, Tevez and Higuain with the likes of Miltio, Martin Palermo and Sergio Aguero sitting on the bench fail to convert the second goal.
And then it was England’s much awaited, opening clash with the United States of America. Capello finally put a stop the infernal line-up speculation from the media by announcing Robert Green, James Milner and Emile Heskey would all start. England began in the best possible way, with Heskey displaying his link-up play to the audience in an attempt to justify his selection, he put Steven Gerrard, controversially starting next to Frank Lampard, through on goal who gracefully slotted the ball in the corner. The game looked as though it would practically die out in typically English fashion with the British scraping the 1-0 in a game involving nothing more than a few scares. Wrong. Clint Dempsey’s rather weak strike of desperation from 25-yards looked to be safely entering the grateful grasp of Robert Green when the West Ham keeper shockingly spilled the ball and scrambled in despair only to see it tortuously trickle over the line as a fortunate equaliser. As a West Ham fan, the feeling of Green’s embarrassment and incredible shame was shared by me. Like watching your son lose the relay for his team on sports day, I was met with a feeling of guilt and lust for the Earth to gobble Green up before he had the chance to re-show his face. However, I’m sure Green’s relaxed nature will mean he can bounce back from this and I hope Capello reselects him for the Algeria game so he has an opportunity to redeem himself.
James Milner’s hasty substitution on the half an hour mark heralding the introduction of Shaun Wright-Phillips must’ve been heart-breaking for the Manchester City target but his reckless fouling was a danger to England’s hopes and by displaying such indiscipline, as well as failing to assist Ashley Cole in dealing with Landon Donovan, perhaps it was the correct decision. The safety-net of Gareth Barry was missed by the defence and as Ledley King predictably left the field via injury a lethargic back two of Jamie Carragher and John Terry required his presence as they were continually skinned by the likes of Jozey Altidore. God knows what will happen when they’re up against the likes of Luis Fabiano, Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres rather than the former Hull City fringe player.
With immense pressure and focus placed on Wayne Rooney, he often found himself isolated by mass amounts of American defenders and had to come deep into midfield to collect the ball; meaning his new-found goal-scoring prowess for Manchester United this season was non-existent and he was relatively ineffectual. It’s worth arguing that with the opposition placing so much attention upon our young talisman it could open the way for other strikers to score. But when your other striker is Emile Heskey, what chance do you stand?
In fairness to Heskey he went someway to showing exactly why he is chosen but I stand by my theory that you need someone who will take your chances in the big match and by admiring Argentina’s awesome bench it’s obvious we don’t have the ammunition of our competition. However we do have a top manager in Fabio Capello who must do a better job than Diego Maradonna and despite a disappointing start on a national level, we can still go further in the tournament. Maybe the best is still to come.