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Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

2007–08 season
Tottenham Hotspur players and fans celebrating their win the 2008 Football League Cup Final
Chairman	Daniel Levy
Manager	Martin Jol (until 25 October) Juande Ramos (from 27 October)
Premier League	11th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Winners
UEFA Cup	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane (15) All: Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane (23)
Highest home attendance	36,178 (vs. Chelsea, 19 March 2008)
Lowest home attendance	35,504 (vs. Wigan Athletic, 11 November 2007)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2006–072008–09 →

The 2007–08 Tottenham Hotspur season was the club's 16th season in the Premier League, their 29th successive season in the top division of the English football league system and their 125th year overall.

Spurs had finished fifth in the previous season's Premier League, thereby qualifying for the UEFA Cup. They then progressed to the last 16 of the competition to face PSV. After the two rounds and one away goal each, Spurs were finally eliminated 6–5 on penalties.

In the FA Cup, Spurs were eliminated by Manchester United in the fourth round, losing 3–1. This was also the season where Tottenham won the League Cup, beating Chelsea 2–1 at Wembley Stadium. Their victory remains the team's last official trophy, as of 2024, although they've been close to ending the drought, most notably in the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final.

Pre-season and friendlies

During the 2007 summer transfer period Tottenham added centre-back Younès Kaboul from Auxerre for £8 million, followed by striker Darren Bent for a club record fee of £16.5 million. This was also the season that Spurs acquired Gareth Bale from Southampton for £5 million. Additional signings included Danny Rose from Leeds United and Kevin-Prince Boateng from Hertha BSC.

Departing the club was Egyptian footballer Mido. He initially arrived on an 18-month loan deal from Roma in January 2005 and in 2006 signed a permanent deal; on 16 August 2007, he was sold to Middlesbrough for £6 million. Also departing was Reto Ziegler, who was loaned out to Sampdoria in Italy for the second half of the 2006–07 season. Sampdoria subsequently signed him permanently from Spurs for an undisclosed fee.

Friendlies

2007–08 season

Tottenham started off their Premier League campaign away at promoted Sunderland with a 1–0 loss. Three days later they travelled to Everton, losing 3–1, then back at White Hart Lane recorded their first win, 4–0 against Derby County. After that Tottenham recorded four draws and three defeats in the Premier League, which included a 3–3 draw away to Fulham and a 4–4 draw against Aston Villa. In the UEFA Cup first round Spurs won 6–1 against Cypriot club Anorthosis, then followed up with a 1–1 draw away in Cyprus. Manager Martin Jol's final Premier League game was on 22 October, a 3–1 away loss at Newcastle United. On 25 October, in the UEFA Cup, Spurs hosted Getafe, losing 2–1. Following the match, it was announced that Jol had been sacked.

After one match with Clive Allen and Alex Inglethorpe in charge, Juande Ramos was hired as Jol's replacement, having previously managed Sevilla. Alongside Ramos, Gus Poyet was handed the assistant head coaching role. Marcos Álvarez, who worked alongside Ramos at Sevilla, also joined the backroom staff, as fitness coach. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was widely criticised for his treatment of Jol following revelations that Ramos was approached to replace Jol during the summer, which many thought undermined his leadership and ruined his credibility as an authoritative figure.

Ramos' reign began with a 2–0 win over Blackpool in the League Cup. Immediately following Ramos' appointment, it was made clear in the public forum that he was very unhappy with the fitness of the team and instigated a new diet and fitness regime. Tottenham's league form began to improve and their progress in the League Cup began with a 2–0 win over Manchester City, which ended City's unbeaten home record.

On 27 January 2008, Spurs went out of the FA Cup in the fourth round to a 3–1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford. Tottenham took the lead through Robbie Keane but eventually lost to United to a goal from Carlos Tevez and two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, one of which was a penalty where Michael Dawson was sent off for a deliberate handball.

Tottenham's run in the League Cup continued with a semi-final first leg 1–1 draw against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium; a 5–1 win over Arsenal at White Hart Lane followed, resulting in a 6–2 Spurs aggregate victory. This booked a place in the final against Chelsea. Tottenham went on to win the match 2–1 thanks to a Jonathan Woodgate header in extra time, securing Tottenham's first trophy since 1999. It also guaranteed them UEFA Cup qualification for the third season running.

On 13 March 2008, Tottenham were eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the last 16 round by PSV. The first leg played at White Hart Lane was a 1–0 defeat for Spurs following a mistake from Gilberto. Dimitar Berbatov scored in the second leg away at the Philips Stadion to take the game to extra time and subsequently penalties. Here, Tottenham lost 6–5 when Pascal Chimbonda missed his kick.

On 22 March 2008, Spurs played Portsmouth, winning 2–0. Darren Bent struck the 100th goal of the 2007–08 Premier League campaign. Jamie O'Hara followed two minutes later with the club's 101st. BBC sport writer Ian Hughes noted that Tottenham have "an average of 3.63 goals in every Spurs game this season".

After earning a point on 19 April in a 1–1 draw against Wigan Athletic, Tottenham secured their safety in the Premier League after reaching 42 points. Berbatov's sixth-minute strike was Tottenham's 100th in all competitions that season, 64 in the Premier League and 36 in cup competitions. The season ended on 11 May 2008 with a 2–0 home defeat to Liverpool.

Premier League table

1. Manchester City qualified as the highest-ranked team not already qualified for European competitions of Premier League Fair Play Ranking by The Football Association, the top association among UEFA Fair Play ranking winners.
2. As League Cup winners

Season honours

League Cup: 2007–08

Team kit

The team kit for the 2007–08 season was produced by Puma. The main shirt sponsor was Mansion, an Internet gambling establishment. A special 125th anniversary commemorative kit was produced for a match against Aston Villa.

Home Kit

Away kit

Third kit

125 year anniversary kit

Alternate kit

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Previous Club	Cost
25 May 2007	Gareth Bale	Southampton	£5 million
29 June 2007	Darren Bent	Charlton Athletic	£16.5 million
5 July 2007	Younès Kaboul	Auxerre	£8 million
25 July 2007	Danny Rose	Leeds	Free
31 July 2007	Kevin-Prince Boateng	Hertha Berlin	£5.4 million
1 January 2008	Chris Gunter	Cardiff City	£3 million
28 January 2008	Jonathan Woodgate	Middlesbrough	£8 million
30 January 2008	Alan Hutton	Rangers	£9 million
31 January 2008	Gilberto	Hertha Berlin	£1.9 million
			Total
			£57.5 million

Out

Date	Player	New Club	Cost
3 July 2007	Reto Ziegler	Sampdoria	Undisclosed.
3 July 2007	Mark Yeates	Colchester United	Undisclosed.
5 July 2007	Emil Hallfreðsson	Lyn Oslo	Undisclosed.
16 August 2007	Mido	Middlesbrough	£6 million.
10 January 2008	Philip Ifil	Colchester United	Undisclosed.
25 January 2008	Lee Barnard	Southend United	Undisclosed.
30 January 2008	Wayne Routledge	Aston Villa	£1.5 million.
30 January 2008	Jermain Defoe	Portsmouth	£7 million.
			Total
			£14.5 million

Loaned out

Date	Player	Club	Loan Length
31 August 2007	Danny Murphy	Fulham	End of season
15 January 2008	Andy Barcham	Leyton Orient	End of season
7 January 2008	Ben Alnwick	Leicester City	End of season
11 January 2008	Hossam Ghaly	Derby County	End of 2007–08 season
30 January 2008	Paul Stalteri	Fulham	End of 2007–08 season
31 January 2008	Anthony Gardner	Everton	End of 2007–08 season
29 February 2008	Jake Livermore	Milton Keynes Dons	1 month

Squad list

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Paul Robinson 2 DF  FRA Pascal Chimbonda 3 DF  KOR Lee Young-pyo 4 MF  CIV Didier Zokora 5 DF  FRA Younès Kaboul 6 MF  FIN Teemu Tainio 8 MF  ENG Jermaine Jenas 9 FW  BUL Dimitar Berbatov 10 FW  IRL Robbie Keane (team captain) 11 DF  BRA Gilberto 12 GK  CZE Radek Černý (on loan from Slavia Prague) 15 MF  FRA Steed Malbranque 16 DF  WAL Gareth Bale 17 MF  GER Kevin-Prince Boateng 19 MF  FRA Adel Taarabt 20 DF  ENG Michael Dawson

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 MF  ENG Tom Huddlestone 23 FW  ENG Darren Bent 24 MF  ENG Jamie O'Hara 25 MF  ENG Aaron Lennon 26 DF  ENG Ledley King (club captain) 28 DF  SCO Alan Hutton 31 GK  ENG Tommy Forecast 32 DF  CMR Benoît Assou-Ekotto 33 DF  POR Ricardo Rocha 34 FW  ENG Andy Barcham 35 DF  FRA Dorian Dervite 36 FW  ENG Simon Dawkins 37 MF  ENG Danny Rose 38 DF  ENG Troy Archibald-Henville 39 DF  ENG Jonathan Woodgate 44 DF  WAL Chris Gunter

Injury list

Date	Player	Injury	Return date
January 2007	Dorian Dervite	Knee injury	4 December 2007
14 June 2007	Ledley King	Knee Surgery	4 December 2007
5 October 2007	Ricardo Rocha	Ankle injury	4 December 2007
30 November 2007	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	Knee Surgery	Start of 2008–09 season
10 December 2007	Gareth Bale	Ankle Ligament damage.	Start of 2008–09 season
3 April 2008	Ledley King	Knee Rehabilitation	Start of 2008–09 season.
April 2008	Jonathan Woodgate
April 2008	Pascal Chimbonda
May 2008	Dimitar Berbatov	Groin injury	Start of 2008–09 season.

Match results

Premier League

H/A = Home/Away Final updated: 11 May 2008

FA Cup

Eliminated

H/A = Home/Away

Final update: 27 February 2008

League Cup

Champions

H/A = Home/Away

Final update: 27 February 2008

UEFA Cup

First round and group stage

Group G final standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		GET	TOT	AND	AAB	HTA
1	Getafe	4	3	0	1	7	5	+2	9	Advance to knockout stage		—	—	2–1	—	1–2
2	Tottenham Hotspur	4	2	1	1	7	5	+2	7			1–2	—	—	3–2	—
3	Anderlecht	4	1	2	1	5	4	+1	5			—	1–1	—	—	2–0
4	AaB	4	1	1	2	7	7	0	4			1–2	—	1–1	—	—
5	Hapoel Tel Aviv	4	1	0	3	3	8	−5	3			—	0–2	—	1–3	—

Knockout rounds

Eliminated

H/A = Home/Away

Final update: 13 March 2008

Statistics

Appearances

Last updated: 26 July 2020.
Source: premierleague.com

No.	Pos.	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		UEFA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	Paul Robinson	25	0	1	0	4	0	7	0	37	0
12	GK	Radek Černý	13	0	2	0	2	0	3	0	20	0
Defenders
2	DF	Pascal Chimbonda	31+1	2	2	0	6	1	9	0	48+1	3
3	DF	Lee Young-Pyo	17+1	0	2	0	4	0	6	0	29+1	0
5	DF	Younes Kaboul	19+2	3	1	0	3+1	0	3	1	26+3	4
7	DF	Paul Stalteri	3	0	0+1	0	0	0	2+1	0	5+2	0
20	DF	Michael Dawson	26+1	1	3	0	4	0	5+1	1	38+2	2
26	DF	Ledley King	4	0	1	0	3	0	2	0	10	0
28	DF	Alan Hutton	14	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	15	0
30	DF	Anthony Gardner	4	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	6	1
32	DF	Benoît Assou-Ekotto	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
33	DF	Ricardo Rocha	4+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4+1	0
39	DF	Jonathan Woodgate	12	1	0	0	1	1	4	0	17	2
44	DF	Chris Gunter	1+1	0	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	2+2	0
Midfielders
4	MF	Didier Zokora	25+3	0	1	0	3+1	0	10	0	39+4	0
6	MF	Teemu Tainio	6+10	0	2	0	2+3	0	2+1	0	12+14	0
8	MF	Jermaine Jenas	28+1	4	3	0	6	2	6+1	0	43+2	6
11	MF	Gilberto	3+3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	4+3	1
15	MF	Steed Malbranque	35+2	4	3	0	5	2	9+1	1	52+3	7
16	MF	Gareth Bale	8	2	0	0	1	1	1+2	0	10+2	3
17	MF	Kevin-Prince Boateng	7+6	0	1+1	0	1+2	0	1+2	0	10+11	0
19	MF	Adel Taarabt	0+6	0	0+1	0	0	0	0+3	0	0+10	0
22	MF	Tom Huddlestone	18+10	3	1+1	0	1+3	1	7+2	0	27+16	4
24	MF	Jamie O'Hara	9+8	1	1+1	0	1+1	0	1+3	1	12+13	2
25	MF	Aaron Lennon	25+4	2	2+1	0	6	1	8+1	0	41+6	3
Forwards
9	FW	Dimitar Berbatov	33+3	15	2	2	6	1	7+1	5	48+4	23
10	FW	Robbie Keane	32+4	15	3	2	4+1	2	7+3	4	46+8	23
23	FW	Darren Bent	11+16	6	0	0	0+1	0	4+4	2	15+21	8
Players transferred out during the season
18	FW	Jermain Defoe	3+16	4	1+1	0	2+3	1	2+3	3	8+23	8
21	MF	Wayne Routledge	1+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1+1	0

Goal scorers

Last updated: 26 July 2020.
Source: premierleague.com

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup	UEFA Cup	Total
1	FW	9	Dimitar Berbatov	15	2	1	5	23
	FW	10	Robbie Keane	15	2	2	4	23
3	FW	18	Jermain Defoe	4	0	1	3	8
	FW	23	Darren Bent	6	0	0	2	8
5	MF	15	Steed Malbranque	4	0	2	1	7
6	MF	8	Jermaine Jenas	4	0	2	0	6
7	DF	5	Younes Kaboul	3	0	0	1	4
	MF	6	Tom Huddlestone	3	0	1	0	4
9	DF	2	Pascal Chimbonda	2	0	1	0	3
	MF	16	Gareth Bale	2	0	1	0	3
	MF	25	Aaron Lennon	2	0	1	0	3
12	DF	20	Michael Dawson	1	0	0	1	2
	MF	24	Jamie O'Hara	1	0	0	1	2
	DF	39	Jonathan Woodgate	1	0	1	0	2
15	MF	11	Gilberto	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	30	Anthony Gardner	1	0	0	0	1
TOTALS				65	4	13	18	100

Clean sheets

Last updated: 26 July 2020.
Source: premierleague.com

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.

Rnk	No.	Player	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup	UEFA Cup	Total
1	1	Paul Robinson	5	0	3	2	10
2	12	Radek Černý	4	1	0	0	5
TOTALS			9	1	3	2	15

Head coach statistics

Stats correct as of the end of the season

1. Win/Draw/Loss % based on all competitions
2. Includes one game after Jol had departed and prior to the appointment of Ramos

References

1. ^ "Jol sacked as Tottenham manager". BBC Sport. 25 October 2007.
2. ^ "Tottenham make Ramos head coach". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 27 October 2007.
3. ^ John Sinnott (12 March 2008). "PSV 0-1 Tottenham (1-1)". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
4. ^ Paresh Soni (27 January 2008). "Man Utd 3 - 1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. BBC.
5. ^ Jonathan Stevenson (24 February 2008). "Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
6. ^ "Kaboul makes White Hart Lane move". The Guardian. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
7. ^ "Bent make 16.5 Tottenham move". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 June 2007.
8. ^ "Tottenham complete Bale transfer". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 May 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
9. ^ "Tottenham snap up Leeds youngster". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 July 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
10. ^ "Tottenham sign midfielder Boateng". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 July 2007.
11. ^ "Middlesbrough finalise Mido move". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
12. ^ "Ziegler makes switch to Sampdoria". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
13. Andrew McKenzie (11 August 2007). "Sunderland 1-0 Tottenham". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
14. John Sinnott (20 September 2007). "Tottenham 6-1 A Famagusta". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
15. "Levy admits Jol mistakes". BBC Sport. 28 October 2007.
16. "Tottenham 2-0 Blackpool". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
17. Adam Michie (9 January 2008). "The Butcher of Seville: Juande Ramos Wields the Axe on Tottenham Squad". bleacherreport.com. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
18. "Man City 0-2 Tottenham". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 December 2007. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
19. Paul Fletcher (9 January 2008). "Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
20. Mandeep Sanghera (22 January 2008). "Tottenham 5-1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 25 March 2008.
21. Sam Lyon (6 March 2008). "Tottenham 0-1 PSV". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
22. Ian Hughes (22 March 2008). "Tottenham 2 - 0 Portsmouth". BBC Sport.
23. Aimee Lewis (19 April 2008). "Wigan 1-1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
24. "Ton Up, Again!". Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 21 April 2008.
25. Nabil Hassan (11 May 2008). "Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
26. "Tottenham confirm Gunter transfer". BBC Sport. BBC. 24 December 2007.
27. "Spurs win chase to sign Woodgate". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
28. "Spurs complete signing of Hutton". BBC Sport. 30 January 2008.
29. "Tottenham sign defender Gilberto". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 January 2008.
30. "Colchester sign Platt and Yeates". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
31. "Striker Hallfredsson leaves Spurs". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
32. "Colchester sign Tottenham fullback Ifil". tribalfootball.com. Tribal Football. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
33. "Barnard leaves Spurs for Southend". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
34. "Routledge completes Villa switch". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
35. "Redknapp delight at Defoe capture". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
36. "Fulham sign Murphy & Kuqi on loan". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
37. Steve Claridge (15 January 2008). "Scouting report: Andy Barcham, Leyton Orient". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
38. "Derby seal Ghaly loan switch". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
39. "Fulham bring in three new players". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
40. "Everton seal Gardner loan switch". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
41. "MK Dons land Spurs starlet". skysports.com. Sky Sports. 29 February 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
42. Malbranque was born in Mouscron, Belgium, but has represented France at U-21 level and has been called up for the senior squad, although he has not been capped.
43. Boateng was born in Wedding, Berlin, Germany (then West Germany), and has represented Germany at youth and U-21 level, but also qualified to represent Ghana internationally and would make his full international debut for Ghana in June 2010.
44. Taarabt was born in Fez, Morocco, but grew up in France and has represented France at youth level. He would later opt to represent the country of his birth and go on to make his full international debut for Morocco in February 2009.
45. Assou-Ekotto was born in Arras, France, but also qualified to represent Cameroon at international level and would make his full international debut for Cameroon in February 2009.
46. ^ "King makes return for Tottenham". BBC Sport. BBC. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
47. "Spurs star King to have operation". BBC Sport. BBC. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
48. Sean Gillen (5 October 2007). "Three-month injury lay-off for Rocha". portugoal.net. PortuGOAL.net. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
49. "Injured Bale out for three months". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
50. "Tottenham's King out for season". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
51. Sam Lyon (3 May 2008). "Reading 0-1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 28 March 2008.

• Tottenham Hotspur F.C. seasons
• 2007–08 Premier League by team