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The signing of Edgar Davids on a free transfer from Inter Milan on
August 3rd 2005 rolled back the years for Tottenham Hotspur supporters,
who were once again able to celebrate the arrival of one of the biggest
names in world football. Despite concerns about his age and possible
commitment to the cause, the sight of possibly the most instantly
recognisable footballer of the past 20 years in a Tottenham shirt
certainly raised expectations for the up-coming season. This new found
optimism was clear for all to see as White Hart Lane sold out for a
pre-season friendly with Porto, many being there just to get a glimpse
of the dreadlocked, goggle-donning Dutchman. However, the Tottenham
faithful had to wait a further two weeks for Davids' first competitive
appearance for the club, in a 2-0 Premiership victory over
Middlesbrough. Within 60 seconds of his Tottenham career, he had dumped
former Arsenal star Ray Parlour on his backside in a midfield tussle;
'The Pitbull' had arrived.
Despite claims that he was there simply to
cash in on the lucrative Premiership wages, Davids, a self-proclaimed
Spurs fan, was influential in Tottenham's most successful campaign for
many a year. His experience, tenacity and winning-mentality, a trait
much admired by manager Martin Jol, was the perfect supplement to the
Tottenham squad that had been assembled with young, British talent. His
inclusion provided the midfield with some much-needed aggression, and in
doing so took away the soft-centred tag that had labelled so many
Tottenham teams over the previous 15 years.
The impact Davids made on
the team was epitomised in the hard-fought 2-1 victory over Wigan
Athletic at the JJB Stadium, the game in which he scored his one and
only goal for the club. Wigan at the time were sitting 2nd in the
Premiership due to some battling performances, but a Davids inspired
Tottenham stood up to the test and took all 3 points. Spurs had their
backs to the wall for the majority of the second half as Wigan searched
for an equaliser to Robbie Keane's opener, but in a rare break Davids
picked the ball up in his own half, drove through the Wigan defence
before drilling the ball past Mike Pollit and sending the away fans into
raptures. In the home match against Aston Villa in January 2006, Davids
suffered a hairline fracture to his fibula, and although this only kept
him out for a month, he was unable to rediscover his form from the
start of the season and his first year in English football petered out.
After much speculation, Edgar committed his immediate future to the
club, in doing so turning down an offer to rejoin the club he started
his career with, Ajax. However, first team opportunities in his second
season were limited due to the emergence of younger talent such as Tom
Huddlestone and Davids eventually returned to the Dutch giants on a free
transfer in January 2007. (Stephen Bradley)
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