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Video highlights of Spurs earlier in the season would have been filed in the Horror category, but their performances of late can be found under the Best Seller section, such is the way Tottenham are playing. Harry Redknapp has turned the side into world beaters especially after their convincing 4-0 win against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup.
Darren Bent emerged as an unlikely hero after working incredibly hard to score a hat trick. Luka Modric had a wonderful game right behind Bent in attack, and the pair created plenty of chances as did Aaron Lennon on the right and David Bentley on the left.
Other than the performance by Spurs, I was very impressed by the away support of Dinamo Zagreb, the Croatian side. For almost the entire 90 minutes, the away fans were louder than the home fans. They kept on singing loudly with an unmistakeable deep Croatian voice. In the first half, it sounded like they were singing a version of “Yellow Submarine.” And right before the first half whistle, I could have sworn they were chanting “3,000 nutcases” over and over again.
Three thousand nutcases they were as the Dinamo Zagreb fans literally set White Hart Lane on fire with flames that were thrown into the away section. Smoke from the flares swept across the pitch at times. Sure, it created a great atmosphere but the Tottenham officials must have been concerned about the safety of the away and home fans.
Here are the video highlights of Spurs 4, Dinamo Zagreb 0:
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Tottenham 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb: Video Highlights

Tottenham 4-0 Dinamo Zagreb: Video Highlights - World Soccer Talk

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It’s a joy to watch players evolve in the Premier League and become world-class footballers. A few examples include Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Theo Walcott. But for every starlet, there are also shining stars who seem to get worse each week and fail to live up to the promises they showed earlier on in their career.
Here are top 7 Premier League players who used to be brilliant, but now they’re crap:
<ul>
<li>Damien Duff (Newcastle United) – Under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Duff was a powerhouse down the left wing, cutting back and causing all sorts of havoc for defenders. Now the Irish winger is a shadow of himself at Newcastle.</li>
<li>Kieron Dyer (West Ham United) – Once recognized as one of the most promising England international players when he was at Ipswich and Newcastle, Dyer’s career has plummeted from worse to worse and has been hampered with injuries galore. He was signed by West Ham for £6 million more than a year ago, but has only made two appearances for the East London club.</li>
<li>Alan Smith (Newcastle United) – While at Leeds United, Smith played with a passion and energy that is rarely seen in the Premier League anymore. After Leeds were relegated, Smith’s career went from bad to worse at Manchester United and then Newcastle.</li>
<li>Lee Bowyer (West Ham United) – When Bowyer joined Leeds from Charlton, he was a record signing for a British teenager at that time. He went on to become a key figure in Leeds United reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and UEFA Cup, and was voted player of the year by supporters for two years. But despite playing his best football for Leeds, his career has been riddled with court cases, injuries and even an on-field brawl with fellow Kieron Dyer.</li>
<li>Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur) – Some would argue whether he was good in the first place, but the frustrating thing about the England midfielder is that he shows flashes of brilliance five percent of the time, but then is practically invisible the remaining portion of time.</li>
<li>Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur) – At Ipswich and Charlton, Bent was a goalscoring machine knocking in 121 at the East Anglia club and 68 for Alan Curbishley’s side. At Charlton, he was the highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League during the 2005/2006 season. But after joining Spurs for £16.5 million, his career has slumped and he’s only scored twice in the Premier League so far this season.</li>
<li>Sami Hyypia (Liverpool) – Believe it or not, but there was a time when Hyypia was a rock in the centre of defense for Liverpool. In the 2000-2001 season, when he was co-captain, he helped lead the club to a historic treble, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup. And he played a key role in helping Liverpool win the Champions League trophy in 2005. Since then, his performances have suffered and whenever the Finland international plays for the Reds, he appears to be a liability for the club.</li>
</ul>
Which players are we missing that should be on the list? Click the comments link below and let us know.

7 Premier League Players Who Used To Be Brilliant But Now They&#039;re Crap

7 Premier League Players Who Used To Be Brilliant But Now They&#039;re Crap - World Soccer Talk

7 Premier League Players Who Used To Be Brilliant But Now They're Crap

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In British newspaper match reports of Aston Villa’s 2-1 away win against Tottenham Hotspur, almost all of the stories lead with sentences similar to this one found in <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1692762.ece" target="_blank">The Sun</a>: “Calamity keeper Heurelho Gomes messed up to leave Spurs rooted at the foot of the table.”
True, yes, but it doesn’t provide a complete accurate picture of what really happened last night at White Hart Lane.
All of the blame should be placed on the players at Tottenham Hotspur, not on the shoulders of Gomes. One blunder by Gomes was the difference in this game, but the scoreline could have easily been 4-1 or even 5-1 to Aston Villa. Spurs were that awful.
The three things most missing from Tottenham are desire, confidence and rhythm. They’re not hungry to win. They look lacklustre when going in for 50/50 balls. They look beaten, partly due to a lack of confidence. And lastly, they’re having a lot of difficulty establishing a rhythm. Three or four passes in a row were a rarity for Spurs last night. Plus, the team weren’t getting into open spaces to provide options for Spurs players to pass to.
Spurs were completely outclassed by Aston Villa who were by far the better team last night. Villa had a much easier time creating goalscoring chances while it seemed like rocket science for Spurs. It was a fantastic team performance by Villa, who passed the ball around with ease and lots of one-touch passes. Plus, Villa had a lot more pace down the wings with Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor in tremendous form. Gareth Barry was incredible, too. In fact, it’s not fair to the rest of the team to single out just Barry, Young and Agbonlahor. The entire team performance was amazing. If they continue playing like this, they’ll soon be in the top three.
Most football supporters ignore the league tables for the first few weeks of the season. But, after four games, it’s no surprise that Tottenham are bottom. Juande Ramos has a ton of work to do with this team, but the first thing he needs to get them to do is to play with desire. Right now, they look like a confused team with no leader. Jonathan Woodgate was their captain last night, but he’s no John Terry. Spurs needs someone who can command respect and fear. Someone who can single handly change a game by taking control and setting an example for a team to play better.
Luka Modric still hasn’t come to grips with the English game and is making far too many mistakes. Debutant Roman Pavlyuchenko showed glimpses of brilliance but Villa’s defenders did a terrific job of limiting his chances in and around the penalty area.
Don’t forget that the one goal that Spurs scored in this game was a fluke rebound off Darren Bent. The striker had a terrible game with few clearcut chances, but when he did get a chance, he couldn’t score.
Also don’t forget that while the headlines victimize Gomes as the culprit who “lost” Spurs the game, it was Gomes who pulled off several herculean saves to prevent Villa from scoring.
In response to the defeat, Ramos told <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7617939.stm" target="_blank">BBC Sport</a> that “I’m not going to carry out an assessment after one game. Hopefully with calmness and experience we’ll get a positive result.”
To me, Ramos’s response is as passive as his Spurs team. This was another woeful performance from Tottenham. The third of the season thus far (the exception being against Chelsea where they played at a much higher level).
At this rate, with Ramos’s laissez faire atmosphere, Tottenham could be in for a very long season. After playing Wisla Krakow in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, they face a must-win match at home against Wigan on Sunday followed by a trip to Fratton Park to play Portsmouth the week after. Six points from the next two Premier League matches is a must for Juande Ramos. Otherwise, the Tottenham fans will start to turn on him.

Tottenham 1-2 Aston Villa: Don&#039;t Blame The Loss On Scapegoat Gomes

Tottenham 1-2 Aston Villa: Don&#039;t Blame The Loss On Scapegoat Gomes - World Soccer Talk

Tottenham 1-2 Aston Villa: Don't Blame The Loss On Scapegoat Gomes

<div><figure class="external-image"><img src="/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/roman-pavlyuchenko.jpg" alt="roman-pavlyuchenko.jpg" align="right" vspace="15" hspace="15"></figure></div>Tottenham Hotspur has announced that the club has reached an agreement with Spartak Moscow to sign Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko for a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/7589929.stm" target="_blank">transfer fee believed to be £14 million</a>.
The star striker who made a huge impression in Euro 2008 won’t be ready to play against Chelsea in the London derby today. His first match wearing a Spurs shirt will likely be the home game against Aston Villa on Monday, September 15.
While at Spartak Moscow, Pavlyuchenko scored 77 goals in 147 appearances, and has played 23 times for Russia scoring nine goals for his national side.
For many, Pavlyuchenko rose to prominence with his impressive displays at Euro 2008 including the goal he scored against Holland (see video clip below) and his thunderbolt shots from distance.
The 26-year old Pavlyuchenko joins a Spurs side alongside fellow strikers Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Bent.
To me, this is another massive signing by Spurs this summer after signing David Bentley, Giovanni Dos Santos and Luka Modric. The Russian striker was such a breath of fresh air this summer. He’s a born finisher who will take time to adapt to the English game. But in Pavlyuchenko, Spurs has signed one of the most promising players in Europe. Let’s hope he dazzles the Premier League viewers around the world.
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Tottenham Hotspur Signs Roman Pavlyuchenko For £14 Million

Tottenham Hotspur Signs Roman Pavlyuchenko For £14 Million - World Soccer Talk

<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="250" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/gavin_hamilton/11/06/coaches/p1_ramos_1106.jpg" height="310"></figure></div>It’s certainly been a busy summer at White Hart Lane this year as Juande Ramos begins to weed out the players he feels are holding Spurs back over the last few weeks and looks to bring in the kind of players he feels can bring more silverware Tottenham’s way. With the exception of Robbie Keane, Ramos has certainly been busy shipping out some of the dead wood and replacing them wholesale. There can be no doubt that come August 16th at Middlesborough, the Tottenham team that walks out at the Riverside will certainly be a team that Ramos has stamped his influence on in every area of the pitch.
Since he joined Spurs in October last year, Ramos has fetched in 9 new players and shipped out 13, trying to concentrate on quality rather than quantity which often seemed to be the key transfer policy at Tottenham since Santini’s ill fated tenure back in 2004. At some points during the last 4 years,&nbsp;it seemed that Spurs were applying to break some kind of recruitment drive record,&nbsp; since chairman Daniel Levy decided to try and pull the Premiership’s perennial under achievers back toward the top end of the table.&nbsp; Tottenham have&nbsp;brought in an amazing 48 players in the last four years and let another 37 leave, incredible figures and one that beggars the question, how on earth did they finish 5th in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, never mind win the Carling Cup last season.&nbsp;
Ramos took over a talented team in free-fall, identified the issues and has so far addressed most of them. A leaky defence has been tightened up with the acquisitions of Alan Hutton, Jonathan Woodgate and Heurelho&nbsp;Gomes replacing Robinson, Chimbonda, Rocha, Dawson&nbsp;and Gardner&nbsp;with&nbsp;Gareth Bale’s return to fitness like another new signing. The midfield has a new look too with the delightful Luka Modric and Giovanni Dos Santos’ flair coupled with David Bentley’s wicked right foot&nbsp;to add quality to a sometimes lightweight area but it is up front that Ramos will have it all to do. The loss of Robbie Keane was unfortunate, but there was no standing in the way of Keane once Liverpool had made contact with the player. <div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" align="right" width="200" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/uploads/i.a.cnn.net/media/00/03/97/darren_bent.jpg" height="256"></figure></div>The £20 million paycheck will certainly help but Ramos knows he needs a proven top quality striker to support Darren Bent and the continued speculation over Dimitar Berbatov’s future cannot help matters. He knows he definitely needs one striker but he’ll probably need two which doesn’t help matters at all. Bent’s form in preseason has been incredible, hitting 9 goals in the last 10 days and he needs to hit the ground running for Spurs. Last season saw the striker struggle, but Bent seems to have been reborn since Keane’s departure. 2 hours after Keane’s transfer had been announced, Bent was hitting his 4th goal against Norwich City in a 5-1 win, a more timely announcement could not have been better planned by the like-able lad.
The baggage of displacing Keane and the hefty price tag that accompanied him from Charlton seemed to weigh the young lad down last season but he can certainly match Keane’s 23 goals of last season. In his two seasons Bent hit 31 goals in 68 games, almost 1 every 2 games. Add to that the fact that his second season at Charlton saw him often played up front as a lone striker&nbsp;as&nbsp;Charlton struggled all year at the foot of the table and his figures become even better. Ramos knows the lad can be his ace in the pack but he needs some help to get the goals.
In my opinion, Ramos has yet to make a mistake in his acquisitions and he knows that the striker issue is key to Tottenham’s campaign in both Europe and the Premiership. He knows Dos Santos can play up front as well as the left hand side of midfield and Dos Santos himself feels his best position is as a front man, but Ramos will realise if Berbatov gets his transfer, they are very light upfront and need more quality to match his other transfers. He also knows that this team stands on the threshold of maintaining a consistent attempt to break into the sacred land of the Premiership’s top 4 and also push for the UEFA Cup and&nbsp;his next couple of signings will be key.
Spurs need another experienced centre half to support the quality but injury prone duo of King and Woodgate, a defensive midfielder to support Huddlestone and Zokora&nbsp;as well as&nbsp;a top notch striker such as Huntelaar, Arshavin or Pavlyuchenko, yet Ramos will not need anyone tell him what&nbsp;and who is&nbsp;required and I look forward to see just who joins the White Hart Lane revolution next. I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a very exciting season for Spurs fans and fans of attacking football in general.

Ramos&#039; Revolution Can Pay Dividends

Ramos&#039; Revolution Can Pay Dividends - World Soccer Talk

Ramos' Revolution Can Pay Dividends

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Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United
It’s difficult to argue with this one.&nbsp; Even if he does score a number of goals on penalties, he still produces a striker’s tally from midfield and, unlike Frank Lampard, he manages to look skillful while doing it.&nbsp; The scariest thing is that he is only going to get better.
Worst Player: Kevin Kilbane, Wigan Athletic
This was a difficult choice, as teammate Titus Bramble is equally incompetent.&nbsp; However, Bramble at least shows flashes of ability at times, while Zinedine Kilbane is 100% useless.&nbsp; Michael Ballack would have been in the running, but was disqualified due to two few appearances.
Best Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson, Manchester City
There are some worthy candidates, notably Arsene Wenger and Harry Redknapp.&nbsp; However, both had far better raw materials to begin the season.&nbsp; Sven had a squad that looked likely to be relegated and revitalized it into a Champions League contender in a matter of weeks, even without a striker.
Worst Manager (still standing): Alan Curbishley, West Ham
Consistently outclassed tactically, check.&nbsp; Bad signings, check.&nbsp; Inability to regognize/utilize talent, check.&nbsp; When is the last time that anyone has praised a brilliant decision made by Curbishley?&nbsp; West Ham are mid-table, but in spite of him rather than because of him.
Best Signing: Elano, Manchester City
Torres may be a better player, but Elano was 1/3 as expensive.&nbsp; No one, at least in the English media, knew who he was (despite him being a Brazilian International).&nbsp; City bought him for 8m GBP and could probably sell him for 3 times that now.&nbsp; A brilliant signing.
Worst Signing: Darren Bent, Tottenham Hotspur
Nothing against Darren Bent, he is a solid above average striker.&nbsp; But, he is certainly not worth 17m GBP.&nbsp; Particularly to Tottenham who already had Robbie Keane, Berbatov, and Defoe.&nbsp; The 17m GBP could have been redirected toward buying a few competent defenders.
Best Game: Tottenham 4 – West Ham 3
No particular reason that this was the best game, but it sticks in the memory.&nbsp; Carlos Tevez scored his first goal in this match.&nbsp; Berbatov had a nice free kick.&nbsp; It was edge of the seat action and entertainment.
Worst Game: Wigan Athletic (Entire Season)
Best Goal: Seb Larsson vs. Tottenham (Dec. 2)
Some other goals were flashier, but this strike was simply pure skill.
Most Overrated: John Terry, Chelsea
Throwing his personaltiy aside, John Terry is not a bad defender, but he is not a particularly great one either.&nbsp; He hasn’t been one for quite a while.&nbsp; Claims that he is a world-class elite defender are ridiculous.&nbsp; Just in the Top Four of the Premier League one would take Carvalho, Carragher, Vidic, Ferdinand, Gallas, and Toure over Terry at this point in time.
Most Underrated: Peter Crouch, Liverpool
Crouch does two things, he causes defenders to panic and he scores goals at a reasonably high rate.&nbsp; He may look like a jackass while doing it, but he is a solid player and definitively Liverpool’s 2nd best striker.

Premier League 2007 Awards (Traditional)

Premier League 2007 Awards (Traditional) - World Soccer Talk

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Ramos' Revolution Can Pay Dividends

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Premier League 2007 Awards (Traditional)