The purple is to make sure the extent of shock is clear. The girl is incidental. Really.

It was ok when Henry lumbered on against Leeds (don’t get all self-righteous-Arsenal fan on me now, you know he looked slower. And ‘chubbier’) and scored from the loveliest ball that Song must have played in his career. It was also ok when Scholes continued the Story of the Comebacks by turning up at the right place at the right time to break the deadlock against Bolton. That’s all awesome, two greats, two crucial goals, Hollywood is going ‘even we couldn’t come up with those’, fine. But… but… Robbie Keane??

This was a news that didn’t quite make as much headlines as the other two, of course, because Keane is no retuning hero. At last count, he had about 14.5 childhood clubs that he had always dreamed of playing for, and more different dresses in his wardrobe than Kim Kardashian (as is evident, we’re desperately trying to make this site more palatable for the fairer sex). So Aston Villa, finding no value in the transfer market, found Robbie Keane instead and convinced him to join his next boyhood club. Which is all fair and unshocking, till afore-mentioned Robbie Keane starts for aforer-mentioned Villa, and scores a brace from two bloody amazing hits. The man was facing away from goal when he started the motion for his first goal, ffs! Meanwhile in Norwich and Bolton, 85Million worth of talent conjured up new methods to toe-poke, glance, mis-pass and mis-control the ball everywhere but into the goal. Up in the pantheon of football gods, no one noticed the dial on the Irony-meter nearly exploding out of the gauge…

But we digress. This is about the match of the moment! Arsenal vs United, carrying on the great legacy of food throws, tunnel fights, screaming at penalty misses and everything else that will make it to Sky’s ‘Super Sunday’ promo reel. Following the promo-reel of the City-Spurs game before it. Someone’s been really quite clever up in Premier league headquarters, whenever they came up with the concept of Manchester vs North London. Play fierce derby rivals against fierce non-derby rivals so that, by some combination, everyone can always take consolation. You know, like the last time this happened. ‘Sure we lost 8-2, but Spurs lost 5-1. Ha ha ha ha’. There’s also the added benefit of cliched headlines that can follow such convenient matches, saving a lot of journalists from trawling Twitter (where you can follow us too!) for clever headlines and ending up getting into heated arguments with players instead. @rioferdy5, I’m not referring to you.

We are continuing to digress here, and should really get back to the match. Will Scholes or Henry play, probably not. Will Robbie Keane play, definitely not, but give him about a year and he’ll find that Arsenal was his childhood club after all. Based on the result of the match kicking off two hours before, both teams will be going into the game in quite different moods, and with different things at stake. In the interest of keeping the league interesting and really tight at the top, Spurs will pull one over the oligarchy, which will also be in their own interest of course. Manchester City will be left fuming at the red card that was not given in spite of all of Etihad waving their hands in unison as if brandishing a card. Because of course, only people closest to the referee can influence him. Poor Mancini, with only 26 or so full internationals left to pick from because of injuries, African Nations Cup and Tevez, will then sign Xavi and Iniesta as midfield cover.

City's panic signings

Inevitably, like every other paragraph opening, I have digressed once again. I’m trying hard to not get excited about the game, and wandering over everything else that’s happening in football. Screw that. It’s Arsenal-United, and I reserve the right to get all jittery about it! It has been the most unfailingly entertaining of fixtures among all of the big rivalries over time. Many a weekend of this match has been spent jumping, screaming, agonizing, cursing, punching (the air, relax) and most recently, shaking my head in disbelief. I’m totally ready for another roller-coaster. Bring it on I say!

Manchester City, and Chelsea have bee told by Napoli that they will only sell Edison Cavani for an extremely large sum of money.

Roberto Mancini has been a big fan of Cavani for some time, and would love to bring him to play in Manchester.

Napoli nowadays are a team on form, and going places so naturally they are focused on wining trophies which makes them reluctant to sell.

Cavani helped knock Manchester City out of the Champions League by scoring in their 1-1 draw which has led Mancini to want the 24-year-old play for City even more.

With Nicolas Anelka on his way out at Chelsea the Napoli striker would be a perfect replacement for the Frenchman. According to reports out of Italy Cavani’s representative has already been approached by Chelsea.

Aurelio De Laurentiis the Napoli president has already stated to the Premiership big boys if you want our star striker it is going to cost you an awful lot of money. The Uruguayan cavani is said to be worth around £50m.

“We are not willing to let go of our player,” De Laurentiis told Tuttosport. “We would only look at the issue if there was an outrageous offer.”

Manchester City, and Chelsea have bee told by Napoli that they will only sell Edison Cavani for an extremely large sum of money.

Roberto Mancini has been a big fan of Cavani for some time, and would love to bring him to play in Manchester.

Napoli nowadays are a team on form, and going places so naturally they are focused on wining trophies which makes them reluctant to sell.

Cavani helped knock Manchester City out of the Champions League by scoring in their 1-1 draw which has led Mancini to want the 24-year-old play for City even more.

With Nicolas Anelka on his way out at Chelsea the Napoli striker would be a perfect replacement for the Frenchman. According to reports out of Italy Cavani’s representative has already been approached by Chelsea.

Aurelio De Laurentiis the Napoli president has already stated to the Premiership big boys if you want our star striker it is going to cost you an awful lot of money. The Uruguayan cavani is said to be worth around £50m.

“We are not willing to let go of our player,” De Laurentiis told Tuttosport. “We would only look at the issue if there was an outrageous offer.”

Norwich’s manager Paul Lambert declared himself delighted of the point his team got out of the match against Chelsea even though the Blues had quite a few scoring chances.

Chelsea’s manager Andres Villas-Boas spoke about what happened in the match against Norwich and about why the Blues couldn’t pull more than a draw out of the game.

England Premier League video highlights: Norwich City – Chelsea 0-0

szólj hozzá: Norwich v Chelsea HIGHLIGHTS

Chelsea’s manager Andres Villas-Boas is delighted to have a full squad back in training and has declared that central defender Alex is going to have talks with QPR.

Chelsea’s new transfer Gary Cahill offered his first interview at the club after the presentation where himself and Andres Villas-Boas showed the jersey with the number 24 that the defender will be using.

Pazar, 22 Ocak 2012
15.30 Manchester City – Tottenham Hotspur
18.00 Arsenal – Manchester United

Hello? Is this thing still on? Oh good, you’re still here.

Apologies for the delay in regular programming but, fret not, The Boys From White Hart Lane is back from it’s Christmas hiatus and is ready to rock your socks off all over again in this new year. The dynamic duo behind this blog haven’t spend the entire month ignoring each other, mind – we picked each others brains regularly for nuggets of Spurs wisdom and, helpfully, the conversations have been kept for you to enjoy and muse over…

Mark: It’s January. Spurs are frightening close to the top of the table. We’ve got an absurdly healthy lead over the chasing pack. Before we discuss the past month’s happenings, I ask you now, sir: are we going to win the title!?

Jamie: Straight for the jugular eh?! At the moment, Spurs are in the title race and that can’t be disputed. If they were to do the unthinkable and beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, then you would really have to start thinking seriously about the possibility. But I find it hard to look past City, even if they have stuttered slightly lately.

MT: The one thing that concerns me greatly going into the next month or so is the proliferation of difficult away games at strong sides. Man City away, Arsenal away, Liverpool, etc. Going back to before Christmas, I genuinely thought that, with the form we were in and the state of that Chelsea side at the time, we’d walk all over them. Confident, sexy, swaggering football over tired, misfiring and in-fighting Chelsea. But we looked a bit overawed. Despite starting like the proverbial bat out of hell, we were a little bit unstuck and didn’t look anything like the all-singing, all-dancing side that we’ve been built up as since those painful defeats at the start of the season. Do we still suffer from a confidence problem against the bigger, reputable sides?

JD: Well, the list of away games still to come is fairly daunting, but this Spurs side has enough quality in it to avoid rolling over against the bigger sides, as the case has been in the past. It’s worth remembering that Chelsea had beat City prior to that game, and what’s encouraging is, despite falling flat after a strong opening salvo at White Hart Lane, Tottenham didn’t lose, and in fact could have stolen a win at the death, had John Terry not blocked Emmanuel Adebayor’s shot on the line.I felt that might be a chance missed at the time, but then the performance against Norwich in the following game quickly consigned the disappointment to the past. Do you think that sort of victory, two days after Christmas, was a mark of further progress?

MT: You know what, as much as that Chelsea draw disappointed me, I was equally thrilled with the way we came back at Norwich. It was a result and performance that, I reckon, could sum up our season so far. Beautiful passing, every player involved, confidence to try new things and a simply sumptuous second goal from the boy Bale. And, yes, I did mean to use three ‘s’ words in a row there.There’s something quite enchanting about Spurs in full flow, as we were that night. And what I also adore about this side is that you can see the delight and joy on the faces of each player when they score. It’s as if they’re genuinely over the moon for their team-mates when they’re the ones who get to score. I think that’s what separates us from them lot at Man City and Chelsea, where it’s fairly obvious they all despise each other. I’m fairly certain I even saw Gallas crack a smile at one point…

 JD: I find it hard to believe Gallas is ever anything other than stoney-faced.Spurs – and Spurs fans – have learned to be patient this season. At White Hart Lane, you can feel the anxiety beginning to set in if the goal doesn’t come early or at all in the first half. But at Carrow Road, Bale, Adebayor and Van der Vaart among others kept going and eventually broke down Norwich. The system was changed slightly in that game as well – it looked almost like a 4-3-3 at times.

MT: I have to admit that with the season of goodwill that seemed to surround us after that Norwich game, I was a bit deflated by the Swansea result and the West Brom performance. Getting a point at Swansea isn’t a terrible result but I was saddened that their equaliser came so late. And, expecting us to roll over West Brom, I was concerned that we struggled to break them down. It was as if those horrendous memories from last season of Crouch, Defoe and Pav aimlessly running into each other were manifesting themselves in 2012 Spurs. Now, you know that I’m a particularly nervous fan – the slightest hint of disharmony and I’ll be panicking faster than an England penalty taker. But was there a part of you that felt that we might just be about to hit a rough patch?

JD: I expected there to be a dip over Christmas, yes – who didn’t? Manchester United lost to Blackburn, Sunderland beat Manchester City, and Arsenal came undone against Fulham recently, so it happens. The fact that a point against a side that have only lost one home game all season represents the extent of Spurs’ blip is impressive.They didn’t light up the Lane against West Brom, no. It was a fairly flat performance, but Jermain Defoe gobbled up a half chance – he must be feeling enormously hard done by this season – and Spurs held on through a nervy end. But, going away from home with Roy Hodgson in charge, West Brom were only ever going to be tough to break down, rather than actually threaten, until those final ten minutes.

MT: Is it worth even mentioning the FA Cup game? We rested key players, gave the fringe boys a chance to impress, which some of them did, and we strolled to victory. I was a little bit irked by Defoe’s extremely naughty theft of a goal from Gio dos Santos in the first half. Call it ‘striker’s instinct’ all you like but that was Gio;s goal fair and square (and a delightful goal at that) and JD stole it. I like it when JD is greedy and takes his chances but something about this didn’t sit right with me. But, negativity aside, we’ve got Watford away next, a winnable game. I don’t know about you but I seriously fancy a little cup run this year.

JD: Despite it being prioritised well below the Premier League and the Champions League for those clubs still in it, I still think any team would love to take a serious run at the FA Cup. Particularly Spurs, who have such a history in the competition, with that semi-final defeat to Portsmouth and the humbling against Fulham still stinging. Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko played the role of flat track bullies against Cheltenham. Pavlyuchenko has an excellent record in cup competitions.And then there was Everton. Again, Spurs were not at their fluid, free-flowing best, but they dominated for long periods after surviving an early scare, and then Aaron Lennon got on the scoresheet, which I’m sure everyone would like to see him do more often.

MT: I’m shocked, nay, staggered that you haven’t taken the opportunity to wax lyrical about Benny’s goal. I mean, did you see that!? He was miles out!It was that Everton win that had the best and most astute sporting minds in the country proclaiming us to be ‘genuine title contenders’, ignoring the fact that we’ve been there or thereabouts for months previously. We’re playing their game now – every dropped point is scrutinised over and seen as a sign of incredible weakness, hence the ridiculous overreaction to the draw against Wolves. Yes, it was two points dropped and, yes, we could have gone joint top (temporarily) but the way some members of the press and our rival fans have reacted, you’d have thought we’d just been relegated.

JD: Assou-Ekotto’s goal took a big deflection. Not even I can ignore that.The Wolves game must have been a frustrating one. Much like the Everton and West Brom games, Spurs completely controlled without punishing Wolves early on, then failed to deal with a header and were punished.Adebayor had his second legitimate goal of the season chalked off for offside, but really, after Modric equalised, they should have gone on to win that game and it just didn’t happen. Lennon had a near-open goal but shot straight back at Wayne Hennessey too.Still, another game Spurs perhaps would have lost in the past after falling behind – I’m thinking Stoke, Wigan, West Ham – and while the chance to go joint top with Manchester City has gone, a victory at the Etihad would still be absolutely enormous.

MT: So, to the first of two big questions: can we and will we win at the Etihad? Our games up there over the last two seasons have taken on season-defining levels of significance and this could be yet another. A win would surely set the cat scurrying amongst the pigeons. But, seeing as they gave us the mother of all maulings at the Lane back in August, should we just aim for, at best, a draw?

JD: I’m not sure this Spurs side is capable of playing for a draw, or at least I don’t think I’ve ever seen Harry Redknapp set them up to play for a draw – possibly to tighten up at the back during a game but never to defend for the majority.City won’t have either Toure brother or Vincent Kompany, which is a huge bonus for Spurs, but Adebayor is of course ruled out due to the terms of his loan deal, so Defoe will lead the line. There was a gulf in quality at White Hart Lane; I don’t expect it to be the same again because Spurs have found form, and Scott Parker. It’s a monumental ask against a team with a 100 per cent home Premier League record, but to quote Redknapp himself: “It’s not impossible.”

MT: I agree. I still have a few doubts about the big game ability of the side, after they seemed to crumble against Chelsea last month but I’m sure they’ve got the belief that they can win. City aren’t exactly in a rut but they’ve proved to be a little bit vulnerable in recent weeks and I’m praying we can exploit that.So, to the second of those questions: who do we need to sign this January and who do you actually think we’ll get? I’m keen on Chris Samba – ridiculously keen. I’d also like some cover on the wing should Bale or Lennon suddenly have to miss out. That Hoillett at Blackburn looks a goer. But I agree with Harry when he says there’s no point signing people just for the sake of it – if they can’t benefit the side then there’s no point. We’ve already got enough players on the fringes that could do a job. Whether they’re worthy of a team being billed as title runners is another matter.

JD: I’m not sure there’ll be any high profile recruits over the rest of the month. Loic Remy has been scouted for a long time now, but he won’t be leaving Marseille until the summer it seems, and unless Defoe were to leave – he wants to play every week after all – I can’t see much changing. Only peripheral squad figures are likely to leave I would have thought.Samba would be a good signing, with Sebastien Bassong out of favour, Gallas leaving in 2013 and Ledley King surely unable to last much longer, but it’s worth remembering for the long term that Steven Caulker is a Spurs player and a fantastic prospect. I’d imagine another club in more need may outbid Daniel Levy, and the same applies for Hoilett, a player of great potential, but one I doubt the chairman would want to spend around £7m for, with his contract expiring in the summer.I don’t think the market is out there for someone who is going to come in and improve the squad, and represents value for money. The current setup is good enough to finish in the top four, barring a catastrophic injury crisis.

MT: Right, let’s square this off with a simple prediction competition: where will Spurs finish at the end of the season?I’m saying 3rd. Whoever’s furthest away buys the other man a pint (unless you say 3rd as well).

JD: Well, you’ve snaffled up third before I even had a chance. So to keep it interesting I’ll have to go fourth. Mine’s a Peroni (but other lagers are available).

Can the brave Hotspur topple the mighty Cash Machine FC? Find out from 1.30pm on Sunday.

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Cesar Azpilicueta, Marseilles young Spanish defender is talking down a move to Chelsea for £12 million.

The young player has said that he is quite content to stay in France, but a move to the Premiership would help his chances of getting into the Spain national team.

Azpilicueta moved to the French side in 2010 and despite playing well is having a hard time being selected to play for Spain, due to the amount of talent they have to choose from.

“For me, these are just rumours,” he told L’Equipe. “There has been no contact, and I am still bound to OM until 2014.

“Now, if the leaders of Chelsea want me, they should first discuss that with OM. If a proposal comes, I will think about it.
“It is more difficult to start in the national team when you do not play at a great club. You have to be at Real or Barcelona.
“But I feel good today at OM.”