Author Archives: isport

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has pledged to remain with the club amid interest in him from a number of top European sides. The Argentine has been linked with a move to Inter Milan but the coach asks fans not to worry as he remains fully committed to the club.

“There are many, many rumours, but I am committed with the club. There is no reason to leave,” the 45-year old said reassuringly.

Emmanuel Adebayor has started to enjoy life again at Tottenham Hotspur. He had gone out of favour when Andre Villas Boas was in charge, but, after the sacking of the Portuguese manager, things have turned around for him. All of a sudden, he is finding himself amongst the goals and he credits Tim Sherwood for all that.

According to the Togolese international, Sherwood gave him the freedom to play his natural game and that’s the reason why he managed to get back to his peak.

Since the departure of Villas-Boas, Adebayor has featured for the Spurs in 8 matches and has found the back of the net 6 times.

Tottenham’s 5-0 defeat against Liverpool was the last match that Andre Villas- Boas was in charge of the club as he was later sacked. On December 23 Tim Sherwood was confirmed as the new head coach of the squad.

His first match in charge of Tottenham saw them claiming a 3-2 triumph against Southampton in what was a hard fought battle as they played at the St.Mary’s Stadium and a spectacular performance from the Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor gave Tottenham the edge they needed to snatch all 3 points.

This was the first Premier League start of the season for Adebayor as he was facing some difficult times in Tottenham when Andre Villas-Boas was in charge but now things have taken a huge turn for the better.

Adebayor’s current season with Tottenham is not going anywhere near to the previous one when he managed to claim the top goal-scorer award during the season of 2011-12 for the team of Andre Villas-Boas.

His fantastic time on loan with Tottenham made him sign a permanent deal with the Togolese and a transfer fee of £5m things aren’t going as great as it used to. Having only made a limited number of appearances in this season for Tottenham and the arrival of Roberto Soldado has even lead Adebayor on being demoted to play with the youth squad on a number of occasions.

“I have tried to keep my belief but I cannot get any lower. If I am lower than this it means I am dead,” Adebayor told the Sun.

Turkish giants Besiktas will try to secure a move for Tottenham Hotspur’s Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor once the transfer window opens again in January, it has been revealed.

The Turkish club tried their best to lure the former Arsenal and Manchester City striker to the club this summer as well, but a breakdown in negotiations with the club along with the player’s unwillingness to move to Turkey made a deal impossible.

It was revealed that the striker was waiting for other offers to come his way before making a decision but with a lack of clubs keen to sign him, that waiting game backfired on him. He has since been reduced to a bit time player at the club following the arrival of Spanish striker Roberto Soldado and the presence of Jermain Defoe and it is this lack of playing time that might just prompt Emmanuel Adebayor to reconsider his options once again.

A source from the club also confirmed that they were interested in signing the striker in August and mentioned that they will try to sign him once again in January but also admitted that it is difficult for a club like them to sign such a marketable player. The source also mentioned that they are also looking at the prospect of signing legendary Brazilian forward Ronaldinho who currently plays for Atletico Mineiro back in his homeland.

But that signing will prove to be a huge gamble considering the player’s histrionics off the field and the money they will need to sign him and that leaves Emmanuel Adebayor as the most likely option that they have. And with star names such as Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder already plying their trade in Turkey, Adebayor might just consider swapping London for Istanbul come the January transfer window as well.

Turkish giants Besiktas are still hopeful of securing a deal for Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor before the summer transfer window slams shut on the 2nd of September. The Istanbul based side is still hopeful of persuading Spurs to sell the misfiring Togolese international.

However, the deal also hinges on the Turkish side managing to overturn a ban that sees unable to compete in the UEFA Europa League after being allegedly involved in a match fixing scandal at home. The future of the former Arsenal and Manchester City striker has been thrown into uncertainty this summer after a poor goal scoring campaign last summer and the club continually being linked with one striker after another.

Besiktas have registered their formal interest in the 29 year old but they fear their ban from European competitions will scupper any potential deal they might thrash out to land Emmanuel Adebayor. The club has already appealed for an overturn of their ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and is extremely confident that their ban will be revoked.

And if the club is successful in getting the ban revoked and manage to play in eruope next season, the club president Fikret Orman has promised to fly to London himself and try and persuade the player to join the side. Orman spoke to an English media outlet where he stated that the club is still interested in securing the services of Emmanuel Adebayor and added that there are still chances that the transfer could go ahead.

He mentioned that it is important for the player that the team plays in Europe and as soon as the club is cleared to play in Europe, he will travel to London and get the player to sign on with the club and lead them in the Europa League.

Turkish giants Besiktas have revealed that they are very close to pulling off the signing of Tottenham Hotspur outcast Emmanuel Adebayor with the club president admitting that they are confident of being able to lure the Togolese international from White Hart Lane.

The Turkish powerhouse have been chasing the signature of the former Arsenal and Manchester City striker, who is considered as surplus to requirements at Tottenham throughout the summer transfer window but have so far, been unable to strike a deal with the player over personal terms.

However, with the club now confident of revoking a ruling that is presently blocking them from taking part in European competitions for the new season, the officials of the club remain confident that it is only a matter of time before the deal will be clinched. According to Besiktas president Fikret Orman, the club is interested in signing Emmanuel Adebayor and the transfer could still go ahead.

According to sources close to the Togolese international and the Turkish club, the deal breaker in the move was whether the club would play in Europe next season and according to Orman, as soon as the club is cleared to play in Europe, he will travel down to London to complete the deal for the player. Besiktas finished third in the Turkish league last season but have been banned from playing in Europe this season for their alleged involvement in match fixing.

The Eagles have launched an appeal against the decision and await the decision which will be announced in the next few days. Emmanuel Adebayor is already said to have told Spurs he wants a move and manager Andre Villas Boas will not stand in his way with the club already accepting a £ 4 million deal from the Turkish club for the former Real Madrid man.

Tottenham have one very few trophies in the last few seasons, which makes it extremely difficult for them to hold onto stars like Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. The Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric, has already left the club, while Bale continues to be linked with all the major clubs around the world.

Midfielder Scott Parker believes that Tottenham can truly arrive at the big stage if they manage to win a major trophy, which could be in the form of the Europa league this season. Even though many managers consider the Europa league to be a distraction, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has said that he wants to win this trophy.

The club are currently in the quarter-finals of the competition where they will be facing the Swiss club FC Basel. Ahead of encounter, Parker believes that this is a great chance for Tottenham to join the best clubs in the world. Villas-Boas has had previous success in this competition. Further, Tottenham have been on a great run of form in recent months. They have made the Premier league club as one of the favourites to lift the title. The club has not managed to win a title since the League Cup success in 2008.

“As well as us as a squad, when I say that I obviously mean the fans as well. I can’t remember the last time we won a trophy. For the fans, it would be something very special – it would be something that shows the club is moving in the right direction and would be pleasing. We have gone on a very good run and it is a tough competition with good teams in it. We wouldn’t want to look too far ahead because obviously we have got two difficult games coming up,” said Parker ahead of the Europa league match.

Emmanuel Adebayor has criticized the pitch at Mbombela Stadium. It’s the same venue where Togo took on Tunisia on Wednesday. That match ended in a draw and with the help of that draw, Togo cruised into the quarterfinals of the African Cup of nations.
In the post match press conference, Adebayor looked disappointed with the nature of the pitch.

The Tottenham star said, “The nature of the pitch over here is quite poor. To be honest, I didn’t enjoy playing here. It was not a good pitch at all. There was uneven bounce and it was really difficult for the players to control the ball.”

“This tournament is being seen by people all over the world. Everyone would have seen how the pitch behaved today and people around the world would say that the matches in Africa are being played in Bush. We all belong to Africa and it’s embarrassing for all of us.”

“The stadium is fantastic; no doubt about that. But, the pitch is pretty sandy. The matches of such big tournaments can’t be played on this kind of pitch.”

Not only has Adebayor criticized the Mbombela pitch, the coaches of Zambia and Nigeria have also criticized it. The coach of the Zambia team, Herve Renard, had said that the nature of the pitch was the main reason why his team didn’t manage to reach the knockout stages.

Mbombela is an important venue. Togo will play its quarterfinal match here and then, one of the semi final matches will also be played here.

According to the reports, just a few days before the start of this competition, it rained heavily in the northern Nelspruit. So, the curators had to lay sand on the pitch and as a result, the nature of the pitch became poor.

The Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has said that the team will be punished if they do not attack against the Greek club Panathinaikos in the final group match of the Europa league. Tottenham and Lazio are the favourites to progress to the next stage of the competition.

Tottenham have already secured seven points from the opening five matches the group. Even though it is highly unlikely that they will be able to top the group ahead of Lazio, they need to progress to the next round of the competition. In order to do so, they should be prepared to attack Panathinaikos from the start according to the striker Adebayor.

In the reverse fixture, Tottenham only managed a 1-1 draw with the Greek club. Adebayor has said that they should not be taking their opponents lightly even though this match will be at White Hart Lane. Adebayor has said that if the team goes into the match against Panathinaikos with the mentality to get just a point, then they will not be able to do it. Instead, they should be going on with the mentality to win the match, which will at least give them an opportunity to finish top of group. Andre Villas-Boas has already said that Europa league is an important competition for him.

“Come on, let’s be honest — we’re not playing to draw against Panathinaikos at home. If we start thinking about getting a draw at home to Panathinaikos, then we shouldn’t have a place in the Europa League. I have a huge respect for Panathinaikos and I believe they’re a good side but we’re at home and in front of our own fans. We just have to play for the win. I can’t see why we would play to draw,” said Adebayor ahead of the match with Panathinaikos.