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Levy and the waiting game

 Random "Triffic" Blogs  21 Responses »
Aug 022011
 

We are now at the end of July and it is exactly 31 days until the end of the transfer window. Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and even Arsenal have strengthened their squads in key positions.

United have bought a winger, a centre half and a goalkeeper. Liverpool have bought a winger and a central midfielder. Manchester City have bought one of the worlds best players (again) and will probably buy another entire squad before the window closes just for the craic. Even notorious non-spenders Arsenal have bought a striker.

In the midst of all this Tottenham have signed a teenage striker (albeit a highly rated one) when it is clear that our squad needs more extensive strengthening and bloodletting.

For a start there is a considerable amount of deadwood that needs to be either cleared from the ranks or turned around. This group consists of David Bentley, Giovani Dos Santos, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas, Ben Alnwick and Bongani Khumalo. In my less-than-humble opinion I would sell them all except Dos Santos who I believe still has something to offer, he’s young, quick and has bags of technique. He just needs to get more first team opportunities.

Then there is the necessary strengthening. We need another centre half. Ledley King and William Gallas cannot be relied upon for an entire season meaning we essentially have two centre halves (Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong) and two half-centre halves. We also need a striker. We have three strikers in our first team squad but not one of them is a stand-out 20-25 goal a season striker. I think we should allow Roman Pavlyuchenko or Peter Crouch to move on and use the money to put towards a world class replacement.

I’m guessing here but I figure most Spurs fans would agree with the changes I’ve outlined above and must therefore conclude that Daniel Levy recognises the necessary changes. So why in the name of Great Oden’s Raven has he not done anything about it!?

I can only assume it’s because he’s doing what he always does. Playing the waiting game, looking for that last minute deal to get the best value player or get the best price for a squad member. It’s a tactic that has it’s advantages and Levy is very good at it. However it’s a risky business and I can’t escape the feeling that come midnight on August 31st we are going to have the same squad we do now (minus Luka Modric) and be a long way behind our competitors.

Premier League 25 Man Squads, As We Get Them

 Random "Triffic" Blogs  5 Responses »
Sep 012010
 

This page will be updated with new team squads as we get them.

Arsenal

Manuel Almunia, Andrey Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Gael Clichy, Denilson, Abou Diaby, Johan Djourou, Emmanuel Eboue, Lukasz Fabianski, Cesc Fabregas, Laurent Koscielny, Vito Mannone, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky, Bacary Sagna, Alexandre Song,

Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen, Sebastien Squillaci.

Aston Villa

Keepers: Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan.

Defenders: James Collins, Carlos Cuellar, Curtis Davies, Habib Beye, Richard Dunne, Eric Lichaj, Stephen Warnock, Luke Young.

Midfielders: Stewart Downing, Jonathan Hogg, Stephen Ireland, Isaiah Osbourne, Stiliyan Petrov, Nigel Reo-Coker, Moustapha Salifou, Steve Sidwell, Ashley Young.

Strikers: Gabriel Agbonlahor, John Carew, Emile Heskey.

Birmingham

Maik Taylor, Stephen Carr, David Murphy, Lee Bowyer, Roger Johnson, Liam Ridgewell, Sebastian Larsson, Craig Gardner, Kevin Phillips, Cameron Jerome, Garry O’Connor, Barry Ferguson, Colin Doyle, Matt Derbyshire, Scott Dann, James McFadden, Michel, Keith Fahy, Nikola Zigic, Stuart Parnaby, Alexander Hleb, Jean Beausejour, Ben Foster, Martin Jiranek, James O’Shea.

Blackburn

Paul Robinson, Martin Olsson, Chris Samba, Gael Givet, Ryan Nelsen, Brett Emerton, David Dunn, Nikola Kalinic, El-Hadji Diouf, Vince Grella, Morten Gamst Pedersen, Mark Bunn, Steven Nzonzi, Keith Andrews, Michel Salgado, Jason Brown, Frank Fielding, Pascal Chimbonda, Mame Biram Diouf, Jason Roberts, Benjani.

Blackpool

Charlie Adam, Alex John-Baptiste, Chris Basham, Stephen Crainey, Malaury Martin, Daniel Coid, Ishmael Demontagnac, Neal Eardley, Robert Edwards, Jaso Euell, Ian Evatt, Matthew Gilks, Elliot Grandin, Marlon Harewood, Dekel Keinan, Brett Ormerod, Keith Southern, Ludovic Sylvestre, Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Luke Varney, David Vaughan, DJ Campbell, David Carney.

Bolton

Robbie Blake, Adam Bogdan, Gary Cahill, Tamir Cohen, Kevin Davies, Mark Davies, Sean Davis, Johan Elmander, Ricardo Gardner, Stuart Holden, Jussi Jaaskalainen, Ivan Klasnic, Zat Knight, Chung Yong-lee, Fabrice Muamba, Andy O’Brien, Joey O’Brien, Martin Petrov, Sam Ricketts, Paul Robinson, Jlloyd Samuel, Gretar Steinsson, Matt Taylor, Al Al-Habsi.

Chelsea

Keepers: Petr Cech, Henrique Hilario, Ross Turnbull.

Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Jose Bowingwa, John Terry, Alex, Paulo Ferreria, Yury Zirkov.

Midfielders: John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien, Ramires, Frank Lampard, Yossi Benayoun, Florent Malouda.

Strikers: Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou.

Everton

Keepers: Tim Howard, Jan Mucka, Ian Turner.

Defenders: Sylvain Distin, Tony Hibbert, Seamus Coleman, Phil Jagielka, John Heitinga, Leighton Baines.

Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini, Leon Osman, Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Phil Neviile, Tim Cahill.

Strikers: Louis Saha, James Vaughan, Victor Anichebe, Yakubu, Jermaine Beckford.

Fulham

Keepers: Mark Schwarzer, David Stockdale.

Defenders: John Pantsil, Fredrik Stoor, Aaron Hughes, Rafik Halliche, Chris Baird, Brede Hangeland, Carlos Salcido, Stephen Kelly.

Midfielders: Zoltan Gera, Clint Dempsey, Bjorn Helge Riise, Dixon Etuhu, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Danny Murphy, Jonathan Greening, Simon Davies, Damien Duff.

Strikers: Andrew Johnson, Diomansy Kamara, Moussa Dembele, Bobby Zamora, David Elm, Eddie Johnson.

Liverpool

Keepers: Pepe Reina, Brad Jones.

Defenders: Stephen Darby, Jamie Carragher, Glen Johnson, Paul Konchesky, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Martin Skrtel.

Midfielders: Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Jay Spearing, Ryan Babel, Milan Jovanovic, Dirk Kuyt, Lucas, Raul Meireles, Christian Poulsen, Maxi Rodriguez.

Strikers: Fernando Torres.

Manchester City

Keepers: Shay Given, Joe Hart and Stuart Taylor.

Defenders: Jerome Boateng, Wayne Bridge, Aleksander Kolarov, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Shaleum Logan, Micah Richards, Kolo Toure and Pablo Zabaleta.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Nigel de Jong, Adam Johnson, Michael Johnson, James Milner, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Patrick Vieira an Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Emmanuel Adebayor, Jo, Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez.

Manchester United

Keepers: Edwin van der Sar and Tomasz Kuszczak.

Defenders: Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Nemanja Vidic, John O’Shea and Jonny Evans.

Midfielders: Owen Hargreaves, Anderson, Ji-Sung Park, Michael Carrick, Nani, Darren Fletcher, Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

Strikers: Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.

Newcastle

Keepers: Steve Harper, Fraser Forster, Tim Krul.

Defenders: Sol Campbell, Steven Taylor, Jose Enrique, Fabricio Coloccini, Danny Simpson, Mike Williamson, James Perch.

Midfielders: Joey Barton, Alan Smith, Danny Guthrie, Jonas Gutierrez, Kevin Nolan, Wayne Routledge, Ryan Taylor, Cheik Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa.

Strikers: Shola Ameobi, Peter Lovenkrands, Leon Best, Xisco.

Stoke

Asmir Begovic, Danny Collins, Rory Delap, Salif Diao, Matthew Etherington, Abdoulaye Faye, Ricardo Fuller, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Danny Higginbotham, Robert Huth, Kenwyne Jones, Carlo Nash, Jermaine Pennant, Danny Pugh, Ryan Shawcross, Thomas Sorensen, Tuncay Sanli, Ryan Shotton, Tom Soares, Michael Tonge, Jonathan Walters, Glenn Whelan, Dean Whitehead, Andy Wilkinson, Marc Wilson.

Sunderland

Keepers: Craig Gordon, Simon Mignolet and Trevor Carson

Defenders: Marcos Angeleri, Phil Bardsley, Titus Bramble, Anton Ferdinand, George McCartney, John Mensah, Paulo Da Silva and Michael Turner

Midfielders: Lee Cattermole, Nedum Onuoha, Andy Reid, Steed Malbranque, Kieran Richardson, Boudewijn Zenden, Cristian Riveros, Ahmed Elmohamady and Robbie Weir.

Strikers: Darren Bent, Fraizer Campbell, Asamoah Gyan and David Healy

Tottenham

Keepers: Heurelho Gomes, Stipe Pletikosa, Carlo Cudicini.

Defenders: William Gallas, Kyle Naughton (H), Ledley King (H), Michael Dawson (H), Sebastien Bassong, Younes Kaboul, Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Midfielders: Vedran Corluka, Alan Hutton, David Bentley (H), Tom Huddlestone (H), Jermaine Jenas (H), Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, Wilson Palacios, Rafael van der Vaart, Jamie O’Hara (H), Aaron Lennon (H).

Strikers: Peter Crouch (H), Jermain Defoe (H), Roman Pavlyuchenko, Robbie Keane (H).

West Brom

Keepers: Scott Carson, Dean Kiely, Boaz Myhill.

Defenders: Marek Cech, Pablo Ibanez, Gonzalo Jara, Abdoulaye Meite, Jonas Olsson, Nicky Shorey, Gabriel Tamas, Gianni Zuiverloon.

Midfielders: Giles Barnes, Chris Brunt, Graham Dorrans, James Morrison, Youssouf Mulumbu, Steven Reid, Paul Scharner, Somen Tchoyi, Jerome Thomas.

Strikers: Roman Bednar, Simon Cox, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Ishmael Miller, Peter Odemwingie.

West Ham

Keepers: Rob Green, Ruud Boffin.

Defenders: Tal Ben Haim, Manuel Da Costa, Danny Gabbidon, Herita Ilunga, Lars Jacobsen, Winston Reid, Jonathan Spector, Matthew Upson.

Midfielders: Luis Boa Morta, Valon Behrami, Jack Collison, Kieron Dyer, Julien Faubert, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Radoslav Kovac, Mark Noble, Scott Parker.

Forwards: Pablo Berrara, Carlton Cole, Zavon Hines, Fred Piquionne, VIctor Obinna, Benni McCarthy.

Wigan Athletic

Wolves

Keepers: Marcus Hahnemann, Wayne Hennessey, Carl Ikeme.

Defenders: Kevin Foley, Ronald Zubar, Richard Stearman, Jody Craddock, Christophe Berra, Steven Mouyokolo, George Elokobi, Stephen Ward, Jelle Van Damme.

Midfielders: Karl Henry, David Jones, Michael Mancienne, Dave Edwards, Greg Halford, Nenad Milijas, Adlene Guedioura, Matt Jarvis, Stephen Hunt.

Strikers: Kevin Doyle, Steven Fletcher, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Marcus Bent.

NOTES

  • Clubs must name squads containing at least eight homegrown players and no more than 25 players in total.
  • A homegrown player is defined as one who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Welsh Football Association for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).
  • In keeping with UEFA guidelines, an Under-21 player is defined as one who is under the age of 21 on January 1 in the year in which the season commences. For the 2010-11 campaign, Under-21 players will have been born on or after January 1, 1989.
  • Any players under 21 can be added to the squad, regardless of nationality.
  • – Rules apply only to Premier League matches, not European, FA Cup or League Cup action.

    • .
    .

    So no Woody in the Spurs 25, that doesn’t mean he is finished, the squad can be altered in January and he isn’t going to be fit by before then so this makes perfect sense. If his operation goes well and he makes a recovery then expect him to be included in the next squad.

    Harry Back In For Striker

     Transfer News  6 Responses »
    Aug 052010
     

    The Spurs boss is understood to have offered around £8million for the striker who snubbed him to join Manchester City from West Ham 18 months ago.

    The Price Is Right - Redknapp Back In For Craig

    Aston Villa are also after Bellamy. But sources close to the club believe Spurs have outbid their rivals and can also offer Champions League football.

    Redknapp wants Bellamy, 31, for his influence in the Tottenham dressing room – which he feels is too quiet – as much as his combative nature on the pitch.

    The Spurs chief said: “We need a couple of experienced players – a few men in the team.

    “Two or three would make a massive difference to us.

    “Inter Milan won the Champions League with men, they weren’t kids. I think it’s going to be important.”

    This is what the Sun is reporting today, again this one is resurfacing which makes me think that Harry really does want to add Bellamy to his squad, I really think he should try more around the £6 million mark as I am sure City would go lower. I fully expect Craig will be a Spurs player by the end of the month simply because this rumor simply won’t go away.

    Hotspur History – The Moment We All Believed

     Random "Triffic" Blogs  10 Responses »
    Jul 152010
     

    Last season was one hell of a rollercoaster ride but that is what makes being a Tottenham fan the best fans in the world, if Carlsberg done fans it would definately be Tottenham. I don’t know about most of you but for myself I enjoy supporting a team that doesn’t win every week and isn’t expected to win a trophy each season, to me this makes it all the more special when we do. Other teams might mock our enthusiasm but I put that down to fear or jelousy. I believe we are on the way up and its about time too.

    Boom Boom Boom Let Me Hear You Say Bale....

    Last season gave us so many high points and a few downers too, we beat some of the big teams and we let Wolves do the double over us. We beat Wigan 9-1 but we let the scum give us a bit of a footballing lesson at their gaff. Come the final game of the season I defy any other football fan to say that Spurs didn’t deserve to finish in 4th place having been in the top 4 for most of the season.

    We had what was to be a season defining couple of weeks in April. This run of games started with the FA Cup semi final agaisnt relgated Portsmouth, on paper it was to be a stroll in the park but we all know that the FA Cup was Pompey’s last hope of salvaging something from the season and we all know that they wanted it more than us which is why they won and we didn’t, it’s as simple as that. Oh plus the Wembley pitch was a disgrace!!

    Out of the FA Cup and disheartened and slipped down to 5th place in league after City jumped us due to our previous league defeat agaisnt Sunderland, was there a way back or was a Europa cup place looking like a good achievement? Well the Spurs players had other ideas and what was about to happen in the coming fixtures was beyond our wildest dreams. With Arsenal,Chelsea, United and City all to play in the space of a month did finishing 4th ever look likely? Now I am the ever optomistic Spurs fan but even I thought this run of games would prove too much for us, but take a look at the video below to see the moment that I and thousands of other Spurs fans thought that for once things might just be different….

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o947YBQoNog

    So we sent Arsenal and Chelsea packing and if after both of them amazing results if there was any justice and you believed in fate you just knew that we had to finish 4th. Who would have thought we would have come through the Arsenal,Chelsea and United run of games back in 4th? I will review more parts in the coming weeks before the start of the season to gear us up for another crack at it, the City game will be coming up so pop back for my review on that. For now however I leave you with our season defining moment, the moment we dared to dream, the moment Tottenham fans believed once again.

    Done forget to enter your Premier League dream team into the Triffic Tottenham league click >>HERE<< to enter

    New Signings?

     Random "Triffic" Blogs  32 Responses »
    Jul 102010
     

    Where are they? Manchester City are showing they mean business and personally I think they will break the top 4 this season which means we have got to start doing some business in the trasnfer window sooner rather than later. With only 5 weeks to go till the start of the Premiership and a Champions League qualifying game to worry about we need to get the new faces in and the dead wood out to give the team time to gel together do we not?

    I seem to remember Harry stating that he wanted to do all of his summer business early but so far nothing. I am confident we will get Joe Cole possibly some time next week but apart from that it’s been like any other summer, linked to every Tom,Dick and Harry but so far no action, it all has a rather all too familiar feel to it for my liking. What worries me the most is we get linked to some very tasty European players and then the next minute, like today, you hear we are trying to sign Craig Bellamy. Surely we can now afford to aim a bit higher than that?

    Action is needed on the players that are surplus to requirements, I have heard most fans and myself included think that it’s time for Jenas to move on. You then have to likes of Keane,Hutton,O’hara,and Pav, who could be on the way out. Two players tipped to move are Dos Santos and Bentley but personally I think Gio has shown he might be worth sticking with a bit longer and Bentley done a decent enough job when Lennon was injured towards the end of last season and has shown he might just be worth keeping.

    The worry is apart from possibly Joe Cole, just who else exactly is there to sign? who is available of real quality that will improve our squad? Surely the aim for the league next season has got to be to stay in the top 4 again but for that to happen we need to cash in on 3 or 4 of our squad and replace them sooner rather than later with some real quality. Even the scum down the road are spending money, which shows they are worried about the possible force Manchester City might be next season.

    With all of this in mind I still remain confident that Redknapp has a few players in the pipeline and I truely hope I am right, because if there was ever a time to attract bigger and better players and really show we mean business then that time is now. If we don’t stay in the top 4 then do we go back to being the same Tottenham Hotspur we have been for the last 20 years? So how much longer will we have to wait to see some action and when we do will it be signings that we have all dreamed of or is Harry still in Portsmouth and West Ham mode trying to pick up bargain rejects?

    Transfer Speculation

     Random "Triffic" Blogs  8 Responses »
    Jul 012010
     

    Sitting here watching Sky Sports News and was thinking who have we actually signed? All I see is more transfer speculation for us Spurs fans. I mean it seems to me like anyother closed season,we are linked with big name players but as of yet no action. I remember a few years ago being linked with the likes of Kluivert,Rivaldo,Adriano,Ronaldo (the fat one) etc, so it’s not like we have never been linked to big name players but is this year any different, will we actually deliver on the big names?

    Has qualifying for the Champions League really made much of a difference to the type of players we get linked with or are Tottenham getting used by other clubs to push up prices of their own players by claiming Spurs want them. One transfer I actually think will happen it’s just a matter of when is Joe Cole on a free. I’m sure Harry knows he can get cole to come to us and Cole recently said he will only come to a Champions League club, which rules out City and Liverpool. Apart from that has finishing 4th really made that much difference or is it just like any other closed season?

    With just over a month to go before the start of the new campaign we keep getting linked with the same players week in week out but nothing ever seems to develop. We know we have Brazilian Sandro to join the club but that deal was done some months ago. Harry needs to trim the squad but as of yet nobody has actually left the club either, we know we have to shift out the dead wood and replace them with 3 or 4 players of quality if we are to push on.

    I really hope i’m proved wrong in the next few weeks because if we are to push on it’s now or never. We have done the hard work by breaking into the top 4, we now have the means to attract bigger and better players. I expect Harry will bring in 2 or 3 players by August, however I hope he does not get sidetracked by England talk and focuses 100% on the future of Tottenham Hotspur.

    So this closed season is it really going to be any different? are we going to be linked to big name playersand end up signing Emile Heskey or for once will we deliver on all this speculation. I would like just one nice suprise in the transfer window by signing someone we have yet to be linked with out of the blue, kind of like Modric, not much was said about him when we actually signed him. My tips are Joe Cole and Micah Richards but I just hope Harry knows he can now aim higher than he has his whole career and can tell the difference between the quality of players he needs for Tottenham opposed to the players he signed at West Ham and Portsmouth.

    I owe Youn’ apology

     Random "Triffic" Blogs  Comments Off on I owe Youn’ apology
    Jun 162010
     

    Dear Younes Kaboul,

    Let me start off by admitting that – in your first spell at Spurs – I wasn’t particularly blown away by many of your performances when you first joined. They weren’t the best games of your career. Not much to say apart from maybe a sprinkling of decent games. But sadly not much else.

    Then you slinked off to Portsmouth without many of us noticing you were gone. However, you weren’t really gone because Portsmouth hadn’t actually paid the transfer fee. So Harry took you back into our arms claiming you had been something of a “late developer”. Boy, he wasn’t joking about that.

    Judging from past memories, I was feeling a little edgy about you being placed straight into the midfield against Everton in the thick of a serious top-four race, a pivotal time in our history. Some moves you made weren’t keeping me from colouring my pants a darker shade. But I have to say, your ability has now improved a lot more back at The Lane.
    Within weeks of that bumpy encounter, you’ve become a solid replacement for the injured Vedran Corluka at right-back, making some great tackles and strangely enough, you even set up Peter Crouch’s vital goal against Manchester City with a whipped cross to send Spurs into the Champions League.

    So with that, I apologise for being a harsh critic of you this year and rather prejudicial in your first season. As it turns out, I see you now as a blessing in disguise. Someone there when needed to step up. The 125th Anniversary game against Aston Villa in 2007 was actually well received by me. The goal you grabbed against Aston Villa on the 125th Anniversary of the club in the last minute, which was rather useful in making the occasion a happy one. Then you stepped up once more to help Spurs into the Champions’ League for the first time in years.

    I therefore doff my hat to you and hope you stay as you have just contributed to the writing of a shiny new chapter in our history, as well as yours.

    Thank You(-nes).

    Yours Sincerely,

    DaveYid (plus a few others I’m sure).

    Gomes Could Be Brazil No1

     Squad News  Comments Off on Gomes Could Be Brazil No1
    Jun 022010
     


    Brazillian first choice goalkeeper Julio Cesar picked up an injury during his side’s warm-up match against Zimbabwe , handing coach Dunga a scare just over a week before the World Cup kicks off.
    The Inter Milan star, considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the world, complained of a back injury and had to be replaced by Spurs star Heurelho Gomes after just 26 minutes in Harare.
    He was inspected by team doctor Jose Luis Runco after being floored by an incident in the 19th minute and deciding that he could not continue.

    Dunga’s second-choice is generally Roma’s inconsistent and out of favour keeper Doni. However, Tottenham Hotspur keeper Gomes was sent on and impressed with a series of excellent saves against a Zimbabwe side that boasted Manchester City striker Benjani.
    Brazil’s first match at the tournament is not until June 15, when they face North Korea in Johannesburg. The five-time champions also face Ivory Coast and Portugal in the tricky Group G and should  Julio Cesar not fully recover the in form Spurs stopper could get his chance between the posts.

    Harry Sets Sights On Richards

     Transfer News  Comments Off on Harry Sets Sights On Richards
    Jun 022010
     

    MANCHESTER CITY will give Tottenham the go ahead to launch a £8m move for 21 year old full back Micah Richards. With City boss Roberto Mancini close to drafting in highly rated Jerome Boateng (Hamburg), Richards has been deemed surplus to requirements at Eastlands and will be allowed to leave at the right price.&#8232;With Harry Redknapp looking to boost his squad ahead of their first Champions League campaign, Richards would fit the White Hart Lane clubs policy of buying young ,talented home grown players and his flexibility would no doubt be of use given the injury problems suffered by the Spurs back line in recent seasons.&#8232;The player himself is thought to be keen on a move south to get his career back on track.

    Richards would fit in well in our team because of his ability to play center back or right back. He is still young and can also get forward on the right hand flank for an extra dimension of attack.