page_title: 2009–10 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season
section_title: August
hierarchical_section_title: 2009–10 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season / Season 2009–2010 / August
caption_attribution_description: English: Benoît Assou-Ekotto
context_page_description: The 2009–10 season was Tottenham Hotspur's 18th season in the Premier League. It was their 32nd successive season in the top division of the English football league system.
  Tottenham began the season under the stewardship of veteran manager Harry Redknapp in his first full season at the club. Relative to previous seasons, Tottenham's transfer dealings were limited, with only seven players brought in during the two transfer windows; 16 players left White Hart Lane over the course of the season.
  Tottenham achieved UEFA Champions League football for the first time in their history, having not participated in the top European competition since 1961–62, by finishing fourth, ensuring their highest ever Premier League standing. They accumulated 70 points and finished the season with an average attendance of 35,794 for the second season running, the ninth-highest in the Premier League.
context_section_description: Tottenham began the 2009–10 season with their first home start in five years against Liverpool. Spurs took the lead before half-time with a thunderbolt effort from unlikely goalscorer Benoît Assou-Ekotto. Liverpool equalised in the second half thanks to a penalty from Steven Gerrard but Tottenham won all three points with a header from Sébastien Bassong on his debut. Tottenham followed up on the Liverpool win with a 5–1 thrashing of Hull City at the KC Stadium. Spurs moved in front in just ten minutes with a strike from Jermain Defoe, followed soon after by Wilson Palacios, who scored his first league goal in English football to give Spurs a two-goal cushion. Further goals from Robbie Keane and another two Defoe goals – to earn his first hat-trick since 2004 – completed the scoring.
  Spurs then faced London rivals West Ham in a scrappy affair. West Ham took the lead through a Carlton Cole volley, however only minutes later, Cole mis-placed a pass directly into the path of Jermain Defoe to give Tottenham a way back into the game. Spurs then took all three points when Aaron Lennon cut in from the right to slam the ball past Robert Green late in the game. Three wins out the first three games produced Tottenham's most successful start to a season since the double-winning team of 1961 and left them topping the table after the first three games of the season.
  The League Cup then took centre stage as Tottenham took on Doncaster Rovers in the second round. Spurs eased their way to a 5–1 victory over their lower league counterparts, with Spurs having the added bonus of five different goal scorers; strikes from Tom Huddlestone, Jamie O'Hara, Peter Crouch, David Bentley and Roman Pavlyuchenko sealed the win and passage to the next round. In the ensuing draw, it was announced that Tottenham would face Preston North End in the third round of the cup.
  Tottenham's final game of August was against newly promoted Birmingham City. Spurs battled their way to a 2–1 win, with Crouch scoring his first league goal for spurs before a Lee Bowyer tap in made the game 1–1. The match looked to be heading for a draw before Aaron Lennon scored the winner in the fifth minute of injury time. The game was marred for Spurs, however, as it was confirmed that influential midfielder Luka Modrić had suffered a fracture to his fibula, forcing him to miss a number of weeks in the season.
  Nearing the end of August, two players left Spurs for new teams in the Premier League: French defender Pascal Chimbonda left to join Blackburn Rovers in £2 million deal, while German Kevin-Prince Boateng made a £4 million move to Portsmouth.
  Following Tottenham's 2–1 win over Birmingham in which Modrić suffered a broken leg, Spurs entered the transfer market on deadline day for a midfielder. In the final hours, confirmation was made of the signing of fellow Croatian Niko Kranjčar from Portsmouth for £2.5 million. This transfer was thought to signal the end of Tottenham's transfer movement until on 3 September, it was announced that Spurs had signed veteran goalkeeper Jimmy Walker. Walker was a free agent following his release from West Ham.
  Throughout the transfer window, a number of loans were negotiated. Early in the transfer window, youngsters Ryan Mason and Steven Caulker joined Yeovil Town on loan for six months, followed soon by Adel Taarabt returning to Queens Park Rangers for a season-long loan. The transfers continued, as Troy Archibald-Henville rejoined Exeter City until January 2010, and on the same day, it was revealed that goalkeeper Ben Alnwick would join newly relegated Norwich City for three months. After this, young Adam Smith joined Wycombe Wanderers for an initial one-month deal, subsequently followed by the development of the deal to send Andros Townsend to long-term affiliate Leyton Orient for a period of six months. After a good pre-season with Spurs, midfielder Jake Livermore signed for Derby County for a period of a month but later extended to six thanks to a series of good performances. Jon Obika joined his fellow Spurs loanees at Yeovil in mid-August, 
caption: Benoît Assou-Ekotto scored Tottenham's first goal of the season
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