They lost on the opening day of the season to Middlesbrough, and they appear poised to lose Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United. It would be fair to say, this has not been a great week for Tottenham Hotspur. Despite spending over £40million (Dh280m) to sign David Bentley, Giovani dos Santos, Luka Modric and Heurelho Gomes, the Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos yesterday discovered the harsh truth that in football, money cannot buy you love. The club's leading striker Berbatov, 27, was not anywhere near London yesterday but his words from Bosnia, where his Bulgaria side are preparing for tomorrow's friendly, struck right at the core of White Hart Lane, where he is rumoured to have already put in his transfer request.
"I'm now in Tottenham, but no one can disagree with me wanting to follow my dream," he said. Emil Dantchev, the player's agent, added his voic, saying: "We have two more weeks until the end of the transfer window. I read Alex Ferguson's statement that he wants another striker, and I hope that this is Dimitar Berbatov." United stumbled to a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in the league on Sunday, and hope to fuel their defence of the Premier League and Champions League title with the aid of Berbatov 's nuances. With Cristiano Ronaldo injured, Carlos Tevez missing due to a bereavement and Wayne Rooney gasping as the match went on, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would be thankful for Berbatov.
A £20.5m bid for the Bulgaria captain was thrown out but Ferguson is likely to go back in. Where this would leave Spurs is unclear. They sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool for £20m, and while shedding Berbatov would leave them back at square on the balance books, they would be in debt to their key rivals in terms of potency. Thoughts of qualifying for the Uefa Cup, rather than the Champions League, would then seem to make more sense.
Obafemi Martins showed his firepower with a header to give Newcastle the lead at Old Trafford, but Darren Fletcher equalised for the home side moments later. "If a new signing happens, it happens," said Ferguson. "The squad we had last season is good enough. If we have to go with what we have, we will do." The evergreen Kevin Keegan, who once said "I will love it if we beat them" referring to Ferguson's team in a previous incarnation running Newcastle, clearly loved his draw at United, a venue where his club have suffered some heavy beatings over the years.
Ferguson, it seems, would just love to grab Berbatov. @Email:dkane@thenational.ae
