# 2005–06 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

The 2005–06 season was Tottenham Hotspur's 14th season in the Premier League and 28th successive season in the top division of the English football league system.

## Season summary

During the 2005–06 English football season, Tottenham Hotspur participated in the English Premier League. The club had a mixed, short season, securing what was their highest place finish in the Premier league at the time, but exiting both cup competitions at the earliest possible stage against lower league opposition, therefore playing just 40 games.
In September Tottenham faced Grimsby Town in the League Cup, losing 1–0 at Blundell Park. Their FA cup draw pitted the team against Leicester City, but the side let a two-goal lead slip, and an injury time goal saw them defeated 3–2 at Walkers Stadium.
In the league Tottenham had occupied the crucial fourth place in the table for much of the latter half of the season. Their win in their penultimate game of the season against Bolton Wanderers on 30 April meant they were seven points ahead of their nearest rivals Arsenal in the race for possible Champions League qualification. Despite Arsenal winning their two games in hand, Tottenham only had to match their result in the final game of the season in order to secure fourth spot.
On the morning of the decisive match against West Ham United a number of Tottenham players were taken ill with suspected food poisoning, the players having stayed the night at the Marriott Hotel in Canary Wharf and eaten lasagne. The club appealed for the Premier League to delay the kick off, but the police would not allow a kick off any later than 5pm, due to crowd control concerns, so the club decided to play at the scheduled time. Despite the scoreline being 1–1 for much of the game, Tottenham looked set to clinch fourth spot due to Arsenal trailing 2–1 at Highbury against Wigan Athletic. But Arsenal went on to win their fixture 4–2, with a Thierry Henry hat-trick, meaning Tottenham also required a win. Their fate was sealed when Yossi Benayoun scored a winner for West Ham, meaning Tottenham fell to fifth place and therefore would only play in the following season's UEFA Cup.
Tottenham appealed to the Premier League to have the match against West Ham replayed, but this was rejected as no grounds were found for accepting the request. Club chairman Daniel Levy called in the police to investigate the Marriott Hotel and threatened to sue the hotel chain and Premier League over the incident, having wrongly suspected foul play. Tests by the Health Protection Agency on the food at the hotel soon proved to be negative for sources of food poisoning and instead players were identified as having norovirus.

## 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 | MAR | Noureddine Naybet |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Stephen Kelly |
| 5 | MF | NED | Edgar Davids |
| 6 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio |
| 7 | DF | CAN | Paul Stalteri |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Danny Murphy |
| 9 | FW | POL | Grzegorz Rasiak |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Robbie Keane |
| 12 | GK | CZE | Radek Černý (on loan from Slavia Prague) |
| 15 | FW | EGY | Mido (on loan from Roma) |
| 16 | DF | KOR | Lee Young-Pyo |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe |
| 19 | MF | IRL | Andy Reid |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Michael Dawson |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Tom Huddlestone |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Michael Carrick |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Aaron Lennon |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Ledley King (captain) |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Jenas |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Anthony Gardner |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Johnnie Jackson |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Lee Barnard |

### 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 |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Sean Davis (to Portsmouth) |
| 8 | MF | POR | Pedro Mendes (to Portsmouth) |
| 9 | FW | MLI | Frédéric Kanouté (to Sevilla) |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Michael Brown (to Fulham) |
| 13 | GK | HUN | Márton Fülöp (on loan to Coventry City) |
| 14 | DF | SWE | Erik Edman (to Rennes) |
| 16 | DF | SUI | Reto Ziegler (on loan to Wigan Athletic) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | FRA | Noé Pamarot (to Portsmouth) |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Wayne Routledge (on loan to Portsmouth) |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Philip Ifil (on loan to Millwall) |
| 36 | FW | MAR | Mounir El Hamdaoui (on loan to Derby County) |
| — | MF | ISL | Emil Hallfreðsson (on loan to Malmö) |
| — | DF | BRA | Rodrigo Defendi (on loan to Udinese) |

### Reserve 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 |
| 14 | MF | EGY | Hossam Ghaly |
| 24 | DF | SCG | Goran Bunjevčević |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Dean Marney |
| 35 | GK | ENG | Robert Burch |
| — | FW | ENG | Andy Barcham |
| — | DF | ENG | Charlie Daniels |
| — | FW | ENG | Simon Dawkins |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Charlie Lee |
| — | MF | ENG | Stuart Lewis |
| — | MF | COD | Jacques Maghoma |
| — | DF | ENG | Marcel McKie |
| — | DF | ENG | Leigh Mills |
| — | MF | ENG | Jamie O'Hara |

## Transfers
### In

* Tom Huddlestone – Derby County, undisclosed (est. £2,500,000)
* Paul Stalteri – Werder Bremen, 16 May, undisclosed
* Aaron Lennon – Leeds United, 15 June, £1,000,000
* Teemu Tainio – Auxerre, 1 July, free
* Wayne Routledge – Crystal Palace, 1 July, £1,250,000 (rising to £2,000,000)
* Edgar Davids – Inter Milan, 3 August, free
* Lee Young-Pyo – PSV, £1,350,000, 31 August
* Jermaine Jenas – Newcastle United, 31 August, £7,000,000
* Grzegorz Rasiak – Derby County, 31 August, undisclosed
* Hossam Ghaly – Feyenoord, 31 January, undisclosed
* Danny Murphy – Charlton Athletic, 31 January, £2,000,000

### Out

* Frédéric Kanouté - Sevilla, 18 August, £5,075,000
* Erik Edman - Rennes, 3 August, undisclosed
* Sean Davis, Noé Pamarot, Pedro Mendes – Portsmouth, 12 January, £7,500,000 combined
* Michael Brown – Fulham, 31 January, undisclosed
* Emil Hallfreðsson - Malmö, loan
* Rodrigo Defendi - Udinese, loan
    Transfers in: £15,100,000
    Transfers out: £12,575,000
    Total spending: £2,525,000

### Loans out

* Philip Ifil - Millwall, 13 September, three-month loan
* Mounir El Hamdaoui - Derby County, 16 September, three-month loan
* Johnnie Jackson - Derby County, 16 September, three-month loan
* Márton Fülöp - Coventry City, 28 October, three-month loan
* Philip Ifil - Millwall, 20 January, season-long loan
* Reto Ziegler – Wigan Athletic, 23 January, season-long loan
* Wayne Routledge – Portsmouth, 30 January, season-long loan

## Competitions Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win % |
| Premier League | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 38 | 047.37 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 000.00 |
| League Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 000.00 |
| Total | 40 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 55 | 42 | 045.00 |

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 57 | 25 | +32 | 82 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 68 | 31 | +37 | 67 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 51 | 42 | +9 | 63 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source: premierleague.com
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Paul Robinson | 40 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | MAR | Noureddine Naybet | 4 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Stephen Kelly | 10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | CAN | Paul Stalteri | 35 | 2 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | KOR | Lee Young-Pyo | 31 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Michael Dawson | 33 | 0 | 31+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Ledley King | 27 | 3 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Calum Davenport | 4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Anthony Gardner | 18 | 0 | 16+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | NED | Edgar Davids | 31 | 1 | 28+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | FIN | Teemu Tainio | 25 | 1 | 22+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Danny Murphy | 10 | 0 | 2+8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | IRL | Andy Reid | 14 | 0 | 7+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Tom Huddlestone | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Michael Carrick | 37 | 2 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Aaron Lennon | 29 | 2 | 21+6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Jermaine Jenas | 32 | 7 | 30 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Johnnie Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | POL | Grzegorz Rasiak | 9 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | IRL | Robbie Keane | 38 | 16 | 25+11 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | EGY | Mido | 27 | 11 | 24+3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Jermain Defoe | 38 | 9 | 23+13 | 9 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Lee Barnard | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | ENG | Sean Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | POR | Pedro Mendes | 6 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | MLI | Frédéric Kanouté | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Michael Brown | 11 | 0 | 2+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | SWE | Erik Edman | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | FRA | Noé Pamarot | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Wayne Routledge | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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 | EFL Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 10 | Robbie Keane | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 2 | FW | 15 | Mido | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 3 | FW | 18 | Jermain Defoe | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | MF | 28 | Jermaine Jenas | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | DF | 26 | Ledley King | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | DF | 7 | Paul Stalteri | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | MF | 23 | Michael Carrick | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | MF | 25 | Aaron Lennon | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | 5 | Edgar Davids | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | 6 | Teemu Tainio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 52 | 2 | 0 | 54 |

### Clean sheets

Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source: premierleague.com
| Rnk | No. | Player | Premier League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Total |
| 1 | 1 | Paul Robinson | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |