AVB RESTS REGULARS

The manager of Tottenham Hotspur, Andre Villas Boas, has decided to rest some of the regular first team players for the Capital One Cup match against Carlisle United which is going to be played on Wednesday, according to the Tottenham news website.

Due to this, many of the second choice players of Tottenham will get the opportunity to play in that match and the English midfielder Tom Huddlestone is one of them.

Huddlestone hasn’t been included in the first XI of Tottenham even once in the ongoing season. But, the English midfielder is expected to be given his first starting chance in Wednesday’s match.

The last season hadn’t gone well for Huddlestone at all. He got injured in the earlier part of the season and he had to miss the rest of the season. He managed to feature only four times for the Spurs in the last season.

Huddlestone regained 100% fitness at the start of the current season and he made his comeback by playing in the pre season friendly match against Stevenage.

He played his first match of the 2012-13 season against Norwich City. He had substituted Jermain Defoe in the 81st minute of that match.

Huddlestone hasn’t been able to grab the limited opportunities that he has got in the ongoing season so far. But, the Wednesday’s match against Carlisle is going to be a big match for him. He will have to prove that he deserves to be included in the starting line up more often than not.

When asked about Wednesday’s match, Huddlestone said, “If I get included in the first XI for Wednesday’s match, it will be a big opportunity for me. I haven’t got enough opportunities to play in the recent times and I desperately want to spend some time out there in the middle.

“If I get the starting opportunity against Carlisle, I will try to make the most out of that opportunity.”

BACK TO FULL FITNESS

Tom Huddlestone has said that he has recovered from his ankle injury completely and is desperately waiting for the upcoming season. Huddlestone played in a pre season friendly match against Angeles Galaxy. The match ended in a draw. After the match, Huddlestone said that it’s fantastic to play for Tottenham Hotspur again.

As per Huddlestone, the last season was a nightmare for him. He started the season well and played in four matches. But, after that, he discovered a serious ankle injury which ruled him out of the side for several months. Huddlestone has been with Tottenham since 2006. He played his first match for Tottenham in September 2006 in the UEFA Cup. His first goal for Tottenham was against Port Vale in a match of the League Cup.

Meanwhile, according to some reports, Fulham has shown interest in Huddlestone. On being asked about that, Huddlestone said that he has no plans of leaving Tottenham in the near future. He has enjoyed playing for the club till now. He has a great tuning with the players of the team and he wants to continue playing for Tottenham for many years.

Meanwhile, Andre Villas-Boas has been appointed as the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur. On being asked about the new manager, Huddlestone said that AVB has quite a lot of experience as a manager and he can help the players a lot. Andre Villas-Boas was terminated from the post of the manager of Chelsea a few months ago.

There have been reports that the senior players of Chelsea were not happy with AVB and they had talked to Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea, about the bizarre strategies of AVB. On being asked about the termination of AVB from the post of Chelsea’s manager, Huddlestone said that he doesn’t want to comment on that. But, he said that Tottenham Hotspur has a young squad and AVB would not have to face any problem in gelling with the players.

JOL WANTS HUDDLESTONE

Former Tottenham manager and the current Fulham manager Martin Jol is reportedly looking at the possibility of bringing Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone in the summer transfer window.

The 25-year-old only has a year left on his current deal with Tottenham, who finished the last season in the fourth position. However, they have failed to qualify for the Champions League this season as a result of Chelsea winning the trophy. This coupled with the exit of Harry Redknapp, who favoured Tom Huddlestone a lot, has meant that the future of the 25-year-old at Tottenham has become extremely doubtful.

It is thought that new Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas would be willing to sell the player in order to raise some cash much needed to bring in the Portuguese midfielder Moutinho. He is expected to cost around £ 32 million. As a result, Villas-Boas is left with no other options than to sell star names like Tom Huddlestone, with his former manager Martin Jol keen to be reunited with him at Craven cottage. Fulham have already lost an influential midfielder in the form of Danny Murphy, with other key names expected to leave the club in the summer. Tom Huddlestone could prove to be a key signing for Tottenham given his exceptional passing skills, which are very similar to Danny Murphy.

New Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has said that winning the title with his new club is his major ambitions. He is expected to have a transfer kitty of around £ 100 million if he is able to sell some of the star names like Tom Huddlestone and Luka Modric in the summer. The Croatian midfielder has been linked with a £ 35 million move to Real Madrid, although it is thought that Tottenham will not be willing to sell him for less than £ 50 million.

UEFA WILL REVIEW SPURS SITUATION

The European football regulation body UEFA has said that it will be reviewing the plan to allow only four clubs from England to qualify for the next season’s Champions League.

Tottenham finished in the fourth position in the league after the spectacular season, although they could have easily finished in the third position had it not been for a late-season wobble.

Chelsea, though, managed to qualify for the next season’s Champions League after having won the trophy itself for the first time in the history. Despite finishing only in the sixth position, Chelsea will be in the Champions League group stages next season as the defending champions. It would also mean that Tottenham would be relegated to the Europa league.

This is a major decision since being in the group stages of the Champions League is vastly different from being in the group stages of the Europa league. Even with the Europa league title in the hands, a club will not be able to make more than £ 10 million from revenue. However, just playing in the six group matches of the Champions League will provide the team with £ 35 million in revenue. Even more important is the fact that players will start to leave chasing Champions League football, which has led to manager Harry Redknapp branding the rule as unfair.

“We can always change the rules. We can always discuss the rules, but not during the competition. We have decided not to change the rules or regulations of the competition for three years. So in three years we can change, that means we will come back if you wish. Everything can be discussed, the rules, yellow cards, but not during the competition. Perhaps in the next executive committee we can speak about it. I can put that, but they may say no,” said UEFA President Michel Platini.

PAV SHOULD BE STAYING

Harry Redknapp has said that Tottenham will not be allowing the striker Roman Pavlyuchenko to leave in the January transfer window.

The striker scored the only goal of the game in the match against Sunderland to give Tottenham precious three points ahead of their crucial home game against Chelsea. Tottenham came into the match against Sunderland having lost against Stoke city. It looked to be an important match because it had Sunderland taken something from White Hart Lane, it would have totally destroyed the great start Spurs have made to the season. However, Roman Pavlyuchenko saved Harry Redknapp’s blushes and the manager has come out in support of his player.

He has said that Roman Pavlyuchenko would not be allowed to leave Tottenham under any conditions in the January transfer window. It Tottenham sold striker Peter Crouch to Stoke city only in the summer and the departure of Pavlyuchenko will only add to the lack of options for Harry Redknapp. Another striker, Jermain Defoe, has already been speaking about leaving Tottenham in the January transfer window if he does not get the opportunity to play regularly. Jermain Defoe has been in and out of the team in recent seasons, but it cannot be compared with Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Roman Pavlyuchenko has been unable to get any games for Tottenham recently. However, Harry Redknapp has said that the goal against Sunderland will make him in contention for a starting place against Chelsea. “He didn’t start the season great. He’s a fantastic player. He’s got real talent. He’s got great ability, I think. He’s got a good left foot, a good right foot and is a great finisher. He’s top drawer but he’s just been unlucky,” Redknapp said. Martin O’Neill is thought to have enquired about his services.