2006–07 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season
# 2006–07 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

The 2006–07 season was Tottenham Hotspur's 15th season in the Premier League and 29th successive season in the top division of the English football league system.

## Season summary

Expectations were high at the beginning of the season, after only a bout of food poisoning amongst the squad prevented Spurs from pipping arch-rivals Arsenal to fourth place in the Premiership and UEFA Champions League qualification at the end of the previous season. However, the season was marred by injuries, particularly in defense, with Ledley King, Paul Stalteri, Benoît Assou-Ekotto, Lee Young-pyo, Anthony Gardner, Jermaine Jenas, Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio all suffering long-term injuries, while Didier Zokora, Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon all suffered short-term injuries during the season, causing Martin Jol to rarely have a settled first XI to pick for extended periods.

Tottenham's Premiership form in the first half of the season was erratic, although there was a famous home win over reigning champions Chelsea in November amongst the mire of mediocre results. Away form was poor during the first half of the season, but a vast improvement in the second half saw just two away losses from January to the end of the season, including one (narrow) defeat in their final six away games, against Chelsea, just 36 hours after playing a UEFA Cup tie in Spain. The improvement in Spurs' away form, good home performances and an excellent end to the season lifted Spurs into fifth position in the final table and UEFA Cup qualification for the second year running. Tottenham played attractive and effective football as Martin Jol made his mark on the squad, reaching the FA Cup quarter-final before losing 1–2 to Chelsea, having drawn 3–3 away, and the League Cup semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Arsenal after drawing 2–2 at home and losing 3–1 away in extra time. In the UEFA Cup Tottenham progressed to the quarter-finals, where they faced holders and eventual winners Sevilla in the quarter-finals, but were eliminated from the competition 4–3 on aggregate.

On 17 March 2007, Paul Robinson became only the third goalkeeper in Premiership history to score a goal, following his 80-yard lob in the 3–1 victory over Watford.

The highly effective Dimitar Berbatov–Robbie Keane strike partnership was rewarded when they were named joint Player of the Month for April.

## Transfers

### In

| Date | Player | Previous club | Cost |
| - | - | - | - |
| June 2006 | Benoît Assou-Ekotto | Lens | £3,500,000 |
| July 2006 | Didier Zokora | Saint-Étienne | £8,600,000 |
| July 2006 | Dimitar Berbatov | Bayer Leverkusen | £10,900,000 |
| July 2006 | Tomáš Pekhart | Slavia Prague | Free |
| July 2006 | Dorian Dervite | Lille | Undisclosed |
| August 2006 | Mido | Roma | Undisclosed |
| August 2006 | Steed Malbranque | Fulham | £2,000,000 |
| August 2006 | Pascal Chimbonda | Wigan Athletic | £4,500,000 |
| January 2007 | Ben Alnwick | Sunderland | Player exchange |
| January 2007 | Adel Taarabt | Lens | Undisclosed |
| January 2007 | Ricardo Rocha | Benfica | £3,200,000 |
| | | | Total |
| | | | £32,700,000+ |

### Out

| Date | Player | New club | Cost |
| - | - | - | - |
| June 2006 | Marcel McKie | Released | Contract expiry |
| June 2006 | Noureddine Naybet | Released | Contract expiry |
| June 2006 | Goran Bunjevčević | Released | Contract expiry |
| June 2006 | Mounir El Hamdaoui | Willem II | Free |
| June 2006 | Dean Marney | Hull City | Undisclosed |
| June 2006 | Stephen Kelly | Birmingham City | £750,000 |
| June 2006 | Michael Carrick | Manchester United | £18,600,000 |
| August 2006 | Andy Reid | Charlton Athletic | £3,000,000 |
| January 2007 | Edgar Davids | Ajax | Free |
| January 2007 | Calum Davenport | West Ham United | £3,000,000 |
| January 2007 | Márton Fülöp | Sunderland | £500,000 |
| | | | £25,850,000 |

### Loaned out

| Date | Player | Club | Loan length |
| - | - | - | - |
| August 2006 | Wayne Routledge | Fulham | Season |
| August 2006 | Rodrigo Defendi | Roma | Season |
| August 2006 | Mark Yeates | Hull City | Season |
| November 2006 | Charlie Lee | Millwall | Eight months |
| January 2007 | Reto Ziegler | Sampdoria | Six months |
| January 2007 | Robert Burch | Barnet | Six months |
| March 2007 | Charlie Daniels | Chesterfield | One month |

## First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. 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 |
| 6 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio |
| 7 | MF | CAN | Paul Stalteri |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Jenas |
| 9 | FW | BUL | Dimitar Berbatov |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Robbie Keane |
| 11 | FW | EGY | Mido |
| 12 | GK | CZE | Radek Černý (on loan from Slavia Prague) |
| 13 | MF | ENG | Danny Murphy |
| 14 | MF | EGY | Hossam Ghaly |
| 15 | MF | FRA | Steed Malbranque |
| 16 | DF | SUI | Reto Ziegler |
| 17 | GK | ENG | Ben Alnwick |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | FRA | Adel Taarabt |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Michael Dawson |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Tom Huddlestone |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Jamie O'Hara |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Aaron Lennon |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Ledley King (captain) |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Lee Barnard |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Philip Ifil |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Anthony Gardner |
| 32 | DF | FRA | Benoît Assou-Ekotto |
| 33 | DF | POR | Ricardo Rocha |
| 35 | DF | FRA | Dorian Dervite |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Charlie Lee |
| 39 | FW | ENG | Andy Barcham |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Robert Burch |
| 45 | FW | ENG | Simon Dawkins |

### Left club during season

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

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 5 | MF | NED | Edgar Davids (to Ajax) |
| 17 | GK | HUN | Márton Fülöp (to Sunderland) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Wayne Routledge (on loan to Fulham) |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport (to West Ham United) |

## Competitions Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win % |
| Premier League | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 54 | 044.74 |
| FA Cup | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 050.00 |
| League Cup | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 060.00 |
| UEFA Cup | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 10 | 080.00 |
| Total | 59 | 31 | 13 | 15 | 104 | 75 | 052.54 |

## Results

### UEFA Cup

**Group Stage**

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | TOT | DB | LEV | BJK | BRU |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 3–1 | — | — | 3–1 |
| 2 | Dinamo București | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | — |
| 3 | Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage | 0–1 | — | — | 2–1 | — |
| 4 | Beşiktaş | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3 | | 0–2 | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| 5 | Club Brugge | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 2 | | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | — |

## Final Premier League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 27 | +30 | 68 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 63 | 35 | +28 | 68 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 57 | 54 | +3 | 60 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Everton | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 58 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 56 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |

* ↑ Since both finalists of the FA Cup (Manchester United and Chelsea) and the League Cup winners (Chelsea) were qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup spots were given to the 6th- and 7th-placed Premier League teams.

## Statistics

### Appearances

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

| No. | Pos. | Name | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Total | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | Paul Robinson | 38 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 54 | 1 |
| 12 | GK | Radek Černý | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | Pascal Chimbonda | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 49 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Lee Young-Pyo | 20+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30+1 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Paul Stalteri | 1+5 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 7+7 | 1 |
| 16 | DF | Reto Ziegler | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Michael Dawson | 37 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 57+1 | 1 |
| 26 | DF | Ledley King | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 29 | DF | Phil Ifil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Anthony Gardner | 6+2 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12+4 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Benoît Assou-Ekotto | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | Ricardo Rocha | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12+1 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | Dorian Dervite | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | Didier Zokora | 26+5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 42+5 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Teemu Tainio | 20+1 | 2 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 29+3 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | Jermaine Jenas | 24+1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 33+1 | 8 |
| 13 | MF | Danny Murphy | 5+7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 11+8 | 2 |
| 14 | MF | Hossam Ghaly | 17+4 | 1 | 2+2 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 3+3 | 1 | 24+10 | 3 |
| 15 | MF | Steed Malbranque | 18+7 | 2 | 4+2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4+2 | 2 | 30+11 | 5 |
| 19 | MF | Adel Taarabt | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Tom Huddlestone | 15+6 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 4+1 | 2 | 4+2 | 0 | 25+10 | 3 |
| 25 | MF | Aaron Lennon | 22+4 | 3 | 5+1 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 7+1 | 1 | 35+8 | 5 |
| Forwards |||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | Dimitar Berbatov | 30+3 | 12 | 4+1 | 3 | 1+2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 43+6 | 23 |
| 10 | FW | Robbie Keane | 18+9 | 11 | 4+1 | 5 | 1+2 | 1 | 8+1 | 5 | 31+13 | 22 |
| 11 | FW | Mido | 7+5 | 1 | 2+1 | 1 | 2+2 | 3 | 2+2 | 0 | 13+10 | 5 |
| 18 | FW | Jermain Defoe | 20+14 | 10 | 2+3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2+3 | 3 | 29+20 | 18 |
| 39 | FW | Andy Barcham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season |||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | Edgar Davids | 6+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 8+5 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Calum Davenport | 8+2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 12+3 | 1 |

### 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 | EFL Cup | UEFA Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Dimitar Berbatov | 12 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 23 |
| 2 | FW | 10 | Robbie Keane | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| 3 | FW | 18 | Jermain Defoe | 10 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 18 |
| 4 | MF | 8 | Jermaine Jenas | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 5 | FW | 11 | Mido | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | MF | 15 | Steed Malbranque | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | MF | 25 | Aaron Lennon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | MF | 14 | Hossam Ghaly | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | 22 | Tom Huddlestone | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | MF | 6 | Teemu Tainio | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | 13 | Danny Murphy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | GK | 1 | Paul Robinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 2 | Pascal Chimbonda | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 7 | Paul Stalteri | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 20 | Michael Dawson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 27 | Calum Davenport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 56 | 14 | 11 | 20 | 101 |

### 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 | EFL Cup | UEFA Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Paul Robinson | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| 2 | 12 | Radek Černý | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 15 |
