On Sunday, Tottenham will visit Eastlands for a tie that could shake up the title chase. City currently sit atop the table, three points clear of United and two more clear of Spurs. It was a shame to see Redknapp’s squad held by Wolves last week, because as Harry has said, “Spurs are doing it the right way.” Manchester City has built their squad solely on the bankroll of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and would be nowhere without buying players at absurd fees. On the other hand, Redknapp chairman Daniel Levy have managed Tottenham into the top three with smart roster moves and great financial management. Spurs biggest stars cost nothing compared to what has become City’s regular spending. Coincidentally, Spurs leading goal scorer, Adebayor, is on loan from Man City, another clever move that has sparked their title hopes. While Mancini juggles Aguero, Dzeko, and Balotelli (Tevez is still on officially on the roster) in on his over-talented front line, Redknapp has stuck with loanee Adebayor and Jermain Defoe and has still managed to boast 46 points and an impressive home record of 8-2-1. While Mancini’s squad has yet to face defeat at Eastlands this year, he also spent £82 million this season, while Spurs have actually gained £19 million from their transfer activity thus far this season.
One move that sticks out in recent Spurs transfer history is the signing of Rafael Van der Vaart. Quite the bargain at £8 million a year ago, managed 13 goals in his first year in the Premiership. Van der Vaart has 8 so far this season and certainly has more to come. He has been vital to the Spurs success this season, though he rarely plays 90 minutes, Van der Vaart is most times Defoe and rarely Pavlyuchenko will fill his place behind Adebayor before full time. But Rafa isn’t the most sought after talent on Spurs squad. Gareth Bale and Luka Modric have been in blistering form and there aren’t many big spending clubs without them on their radar. Redknapp values the pair like none other, saying Bale is worth £50 million and Modric is simply not for sale. There have been numerous reports and interest from rivals Chelsea and Manchester United for Modric, often refered to as a “genie” in midfield. Bale, the only Premier League player in last years UEFA team of the year, is said to be Barcelona’s number one target. Let’s hope the Spurs stay strong and hold on to their key components to fight off the more rich clubs, because it seems an abundance of riches can really take away form the sport. Spanish Premeira division has become a battle of two cash rich clubs, while Bayern tends to dominate Bundesliga while Serie A can tend to be more evenly matched lately. More rich owners in the Premier League can be a problem for the sport. Everyone should be pulling for Spurs if they enjoy the number one league in the world. (And the most likely one to card a player to trying to draw a card.)
Come around Sunday, we’ll see how Tottenham will match. Eastlands has been a fortress for Man City and Spurs were dominated 5-1 at home early this season by the Citizens. Since then Spurs have picked up momentum. An 11 game unbeaten streak was broken by Stoke mid December, and Tottenham haven’t posted a loss since. Emmanuel Adebayor will be unable to suit up with the premier league’s loan rules in effect, but Man City won’t will be missing some key players also. Kolo and Yaya Toure are currently on international duty for Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations, a trip Mancini wanted to postpone for a day for City’s FA Cup defeat to United. During that clash, Captain Vincent Kompany saw red controversially, so Man City's back line will be worn thin Sunday. – J. Hartnett
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