Spurs beat Bilbao: Tottenham fans happy to kiss and make up with maestro Modric

Tottenham need to avoid a depressing start to season by keeping hold of Luka Modric reports DAN CARRIER, after watching Spurs beat Athletico Bilbao 2-1 at White Hart Lane this afternoon.

SATURDAY AUGUST 6, 2011

THE big story since May hasn't been who Harry will buy and how he can improve the squad, but whether Spurs can hang on to Luka Modric. Today there were two Croatians in the starting XI, but neither were the dimunitive midfielder. Instead, they were his fellow internationals who, unlike Luka, could easily be shipped out: Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar were given a run out. Luka started this friendly by hiding sheepishly behind Joe Jordan on the bench.

Bilbao brought a good away support. I saw them play at the tail end of a La Liga season five years ago, in a game where only a victory would keep them up. Understandably, in this beautiful Basque city whose functional football stadium hosts a team which plays for regional pride, there was a humdinger of an atmosphere. While this was only a pre-season friendly, Atletico seemed determined from the off to reward those who had shown up with some fluent football that made Harry Redknapp's team look like they were still having lashings of sun tan lotion applied by their WAGs. The only player who looked interested in the first 15 minutes was Kranjcar.

It was interesting to note the big cheer Luka Modric's name received as the subs were announced, despite his flirtations with the west London roubles of Abromovich: but then again, this has been a hard issue to decipher, with it emerging that the much reported written transfer request actually never happened, and according to the gossip among club staff, his apparent argument with Daniel Levy was also a figment of a sports hack's over-active imagination, filling column inches on a day of close season dead calm.

Still, whatever the truth, the real worry is Chelsea will finally offer a figure Levy would be a mug to turn down and then we'll have very little time to get in a replacement of the required calibre. As the transfer window begins to close, prices go up and there is an air of desperation in the hunt for squad bolstering.

Luka's session of seat warming lasted all of 23 minutes. Steven Pienaar hobbled off and his number came onto the sub's board: suddenly the summer atmosphere on the pitch disappeared and his appearance geed both his team mates up and the crowd, too. Whatever has or has not been said over the past six weeks, the fans at the Lane very much want to kiss and make up, and judging by Luka's instant determination to have a proper work out, there can be no doubting his professionalism in what has clearly been a hard time for him.

Spurs fell behind through a free kick by full back Mikel San Jose on 23 and even after Modric came on and things improved slightly it was a disjointed first half performance with scrappy passing and sluggish movement the norm rather than the exception.

At half time, Harry replaced half the team and it worked immediately: on 49 Bale powered down the left and his cut back for Crouch was perfect, and though Crouch didn't get the cleanest of strikes, it found it's way to the bottom corner.

On the other flank, Harry gave this term's big hope Kyle Walker a run out and he showed amazing pace to get past his man on 52: his cross was poorly dealt with, the loose ball fell for Lennon, and Defoe was on hand to give Spurs the lead.

Further excitement was caused by Heurelho Gomes doing the Mexican wave (well, it was a friendly), Kranjcar missing a penalty on 70, followed by a half hearted pitch invasion by a confused Shelf-side fan who seemed to forget that streaking means taking your kit off, and that unless you do that, sauntering on the pitch fully clothed means you are letting down your fellow supporters and getting a ban for very little personal reward. 

With a week until points are there to be put on the board, and with a tricky start to the season with both Manchester clubs back to back before September begins, it's hard to tell from these games exactly what we can expect next term. However it pans out, the suspicion is losing Luka Modric would cast such a pall of depression over the Lane that it would derail the season before the leaves fall from the trees.