Tag: Tottenham Hotspur

The ongoing pandemic has taken the world by storm, with various businesses heading towards a steep decline. Football Clubs across Europe are taking massive hits as far as the financial returns are concerned, with some even hanging on the verge bankruptcy.

To ease some pressure off of the management, players from various clubs have decided to forego a portion of their salaries. However, questions were justifiably raised upon big clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool with regards to the decision of their hierarchy to put half of the non-playing staff on temporary leave.

The move has been judged to be ominous exploitation of the government’s job retention scheme, which states that during such circumstances, the staff would receive 80% of their salaries and the rest shall be taken up by the club.

The decision was criticised by many, including the former Liverpool players Jamie Carragher and Stan Collymore, and seemingly, as a result, the club has taken a u-turn on their decision, issuing an apology for ‘getting it wrong’.

The protests are far from restricted from within the Merseyside, with Spurs faithful pushing the club to overturn their decision as well.

Adding to that, Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen has apparently joined in the fight.

The Belgian ‘liked’ a tweet reporting the reversal of the decision taken by the Liverpool owners, hoping for his own club to follow through.

Check out a screenshot of Vertonghen’s Twitter activity below –

The dark horse of last year’s Champions league were surely Ajax, surprising everyone as they went on to reach the semifinals of the competition.

Beating heavyweights like Real Madrid and Juventus on their way while playing an attractive brand of football, Ajax’s surprising run at the latter stages of the competition was one of the most exciting one in recent history.

Not surprisingly the squad contained plenty of young talents who were touted for big and bright things in their future and one of them was Frenkie de Jong.

After seeing him run the show from midfield at Ajax, Barcelona came calling and he secured a big money move to Catalunya last summer. 

He is considered as a generational talent and expected to run the show at Barcelona for many years. 

Frenkie gives a glimpse of his jersey collection

In a live video chat, Frenkie was asked if he has any jersey in his home in Amsterdam that he would like to show. He said he only had football tops of opponent players. One of them was Tottenham’s Brazilian winger Lucas Moura. 

Now who could forget THAT semi final between Ajax and Tottenham in last year’s Champions League. That jersey might have brought some extremely painful memories for Frenkie that probably he would have buried in some distant corner. 

Actually the top was from the first leg when Ajax went on to win 1-0 at Wembley stadium.

The second leg too started perfectly for Ajax as they scored in the first 5 minutes to take the lead, and added another in the 35th minute to take the aggregate scorecard to 3-0 at half time.

Ajax looked the favourites to advance into the finals for the first time after 1995 at halftime. But football has a funny way to remind us it’s not over until the final whistle.

Lucas Moura did exactly that as he scored two quickfire goals at 55th and 59th min to single handedly drag Tottenham out of the mud when they looked done and dusted and back into the match.

But they still needed one goal to win the tie on away goals. 90 minutes were over and the match was headed to extra time. Surely this was going to be the case of too close yet too far for Spurs.

But Lucas Moura had other plans as he came up clutch in the 96th minute to score and dump Ajax out of the Champions league.

No one could believe what had transpired right before them, but everything was real, although magical but surely real and Lucas Moura made it happen.

That moment pretty much secured Moura’s place in the heart of Spurs faithfuls forever as due to his heroics they reached the final of the competition for the very first time. 

The quarantine life has become a sort of monotony. With no football, the fans are running out of things to watch and chores to work upon. There has been little to no developments as far as the football community is concerned.

However, for the Spurs faithful, the day is going to be a tad more captivating than usual, as Tottenham’s home and away kit for the 2020/21 season has been leaked online.

Nike, Spurs kit sponsors since 2017, have opted for a slightly vibrant style to the traditional plain white shade of the home kit.

LEAKED: Tottenham Hotspur 2020/21 home and away kits have reportedly been leaked. #THFC pic.twitter.com/hZ8W0VFWbN

— Talking THFC (@TalkingTHFC) March 27, 2020

Tottenham fans online can’t seem to arrive at a unanimous decision as to whether the outfits look awesome or awful at best.

Fans are divided about the new home jersey which has the traditional white colour with shades of blue on the shoulder and collar along with a grey pattern all over white template.

The green away kit has received mostly negative reactions as most of the fans have refused to embrace it, leaving them frustrated and annoyed by the outfit presented by Nike.

Sometimes fans take a while to come around and accept the new club colors; and if these really are the kits that Spurs would be rocking next season, Nike better hope that is the case this time around as well.

No single event has brought down the entire world on its knees spontaneously like the outbreak of coronavirus. It has in some way impacted each and every aspect of our lives, and sportspersons are no exception.

People are leaving no stones unturned and rightly so to tackle the spread of deadly virus. It is rumored to believe that having no hair or less amount of hair on one’s head prevents the virus from spreading via exposed hair, and also makes it easier to put on and take off protective gear.

Taking this advice like fish to water, you may have seen people shaving their beard or even their head and footballers are following suit. Basically, in this case defence is the best form to attack ( right, Simeone 😉)

Recently Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen revealed a different hairstyle than his usual one, while in quarantine.

Fans were quick to point out the striking similarities between his new found look to Game of Thrones famous character Jamie Lannister.

Vertonghen also expressed his displeasure as some people were not taking government advice to remain indoors seriously with this tweet –

Vertonghen’s future is in the air since Mourinho took charge of the club, as the player who has till now featured heavily for the North London side has found playing time hard to come by this season. 

His private life also took a hit recently when his family was held at knifepoint as four armed men burgled his home while he was on Champions League duty with Tottenham when they faced Leipzig.

Safe to say, this season has not turned out to be the ideal one for him, but he is a  seasoned player who ranks 11 on the Premier League appearances for the club, and has surely seen ups and down throughout his career.

Although footballers betting amongst each other in the popular football simulation game is not a new thing, but one needs to be especially careful when the two players involved belong to the rival clubs.

West Ham United star Michail Antonio challenged Tottenham Hotspur youngster Ryan Sessegnon to take him on in FIFA, in order to decide the result of the clash between the two sides in-game after Friday’s game was postponed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Hence the rules were set: The loser will have to offer a full kit apology after the match.

Spurs ace Ryan Sessegnon decided to take on Antonio for the challenge and secured the victory for his side in the FIFA duel, winning 2-0 and seeing two penalties saved in a dominant victory.

Already put to the ground in FIFA, Antonio now had to face even more public embarrassment following his own bet as the Hammers forward posted a video on Twitter wearing the Spurs home kit.

Although he did try to save his blushes, scraping off the Tottenham jersey to unveil a West Ham kit, stating that wouldn’t let the rival kit touch his skin.

Nonetheless, it was all a light-hearted affair between the two which lead to a £1,000 donation to a mental health charity.

Check out the tweet from Antonio below –

A bet is a bet @RyanSessegnon 😡😡😡😡😡 Can’t take another loss like that, dunno whether I should step away from the controller or not???? #COYI pic.twitter.com/JUqHhdiD9d

— Michail Antonio (@Michailantonio) March 24, 2020

When people get some free time, away from their jobs and family, what they do with that time will tell you the kind of person they are.

And with the current situation where people are left scared and out of supplies amid the coronavirus outbreak, it takes a man of class to step up and help those in need.

Enter the Special One: Jose Mourinho. The football community might perceive him as an egoistic, self-driven character who gives little thoughts on other’s feelings.

Although we won’t completely deny his abrasive personality, the Tottenham Hotspur boss certainly has a soft side to him as well which was apparent as he was seen (via @MichaelBridge_) helping deliver food to the elderly –

Given the higher vulnerability to elders from the virus, the fact that Mourinho,57, is out on the streets at Enfield helping to deliver the essentials to the ones in need, is truly fantastic to see him.

Love him or hate him, he has truly led by example on this occasion and showing all the people that if we need to fight this crisis, we need to help each and everybody, as much as we can.

When everything around you is in a lockdown, and the world is going through a pandemic it has never experienced before, surely a simple video of a man training on a bike in his home wouldn’t be the source of much excitement, would it?

Perhaps, but not if you were a Tottenham Hotspur fan as star striker Harry Kane recently posted a video of him making progress in his recovery from the ruptured tendon he suffered in January.

Kane has been out since January 1^st, after suffering the injury against Southampton. He underwent surgery since then, after which he took some time off to give himself some rest.

He was initially ruled out for the season by Jose Mourinho. But, the optimism of his return grew, after he responded positively during rehabilitation.

This was good news for Gareth Southgate as well, as he would have recovered in time for Euro 2020. All that changed, when all football action was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

This meant that Euro 2020 was postponed for a year, while Premier League football was suspended until April 30^th.

The break has been a blessing in disguise for many injured players, and Kane is no different.

The Spurs talisman was seen putting his time in self-quarantine to good use as he posted a story on Instagram to provide fans with an update on what he was up to –

Kane getting closer to being fully fit? We really do love to see it. pic.twitter.com/GSoyZ7kMS0

— Joe (@JoeGTHFC) March 21, 2020

Football kits have become symbolic in nature and ignite a sense of emotion and pride in the hearts of the fans. The growing competence amongst the Premier League clubs means that the aspect of the kits now has more significance behind it than ever before. With mega-corporations such as Nike and Adidas thriving off the industry, fans expect them to deliver the best of kits to represent their favourite clubs.

Talking of Tottenham Hotspur, they’ve held up their plain white home kit ever since the dawn of the Premier League era. Because of the sheer monotonicity, Nike, Spurs’ kit sponsors since 2017, have opted to go for a new approach.

The leaked images via Footy Headlines showcases the possible 20-21 Tottenham strip, which comprises of some broad variations and designs, something which one rarely associates with a Spurs kit.

It pairs the traditional white base of the home kit with navy and yellow trim, and accompanied on the inside are lateral zig-zag templates that mirror the style.

Although eye-catching for a Spurs kit, the fans, fair to say, weren’t too impressed with the offering as Twitter expressed some polarizing views on the topic.

However, an alternative fan-made concept kit, which hit the internet soon after the leak, seems to be doing the “business” for the time being –

The new illustration replaces the yellow patches of the leaked kit with an overall navy and cyanic blue theme. It places the sponsorship logo over a graffiti-esque design with the inner zig-zag patterns substituted with basic harmonious outlines.

The concept kit also combines the traditional pristine white look with unique templates to breathe new life into the strip.

The re-imagination was duly appreciated by the fans but left them with much more to desire from their club’s outfits next season.

Tottenham Hotspur seem to have a bit of a rebuilding act going on at the moment.

While they did have a far-from-ideal beginning to the season, sliding all the way down to ninth place, Spurs have picked up some form since then and played some encouraging football under new manager Jose Mourinho.

However, their hopes of making a strong end to this season suffered a bit of a setback yesterday, when they had to accept a 1-0 loss against RB Leipzig at home in the Champions League round of sixteen first leg.

While their defence had a decent outing, Spurs were clearly outplayed in midfield by the faster German side, Dele Alli in particular being completely shut out of the game.

Their frontline, missing the likes of Kane and Son, did little to alleviate their troubles, completely stifled by a Leipzig defence playing out of its skin and refusing to be budged by anything that was thrown at it.

However, something that is gathering praise from fans all around is the rapidly improving attitude and work ethic of Spurs players.

This was reflected yesterday when keeper Hugo Lloris didn’t look like he wanted to accept his man of the match award, instead looking to improve himself.

One player that seems to have exemplified this attitude is young talent Ryan Sessegnon. The English left back, still only nineteen, was brought into Spurs as a certain future superstar after his fantastic performance for Fulham last year.

He is definitely what the club needs at present, being solid both in defence and as an attacking option down the wings. While he has had limited game time so far, the lad is a hard worker and has never been caught slacking.

And, on a night where Spurs fans were frustrated by Alli’s off-field antics after being taken off, Sessegnon showed the world what an ideal work ethic should be like despite not even being in the squad for the match.

On his Instagram, soon after the game was done, Ryan posted a story of himself in the gym, getting ready to pump it out.

Compare it with Alli throwing a tantrum and the difference between the two could not be clearer.

This sort of attitude will only help Tottenham, considering they have crucial league matches against Chelsea and Wolves in the next two weeks, and it is great to see a young player like Ryan setting an example.

Tottenham have had, by their own standards, a very sluggish season. Their campaign has been mired with false starts and encouraging wins that have only served as false dawns and failed to get the momentum going. This led to them being in the unfamiliar land that is the middle of the table, and ultimately became Pochettino’s downfall.

Now, while his replacement Jose Mourinho hasn’t exactly brought the team back to its best, the signs of recuperation are encouraging.

Spurs have now has consistently collected points in their past few matches, and yesterday’s thrilling match against Aston Villa will be a massive shot in the arm.

The match started off in the most horrendous fashion for Spurs, with defender Toby Alderweireld unfortunately conceding an own goal in the ninth minute.

However, the Belgian made up for it eighteen minutes later with a goal at the other side. Son Heung-min put them into the lead late in the first half, but Villa’s Bjorn Engels equalised early in the second. At that point the match was very evenly poised.

With pressure mounting on both sides, Spurs were searching desperately for a breakthrough. They needed a win here to even be in contention for the Champions League spot. And finally, deep into extra time, Son struck again, sending the packed away end at Villa Park into raptures.

As Tottenham players mobbed the South Korean near the away end, Serge Aurier, Spurs’ right back, got too involved with the celebrations and decided to jump into the stands.

This proved to be rather unfortunate for the stewards standing pitchside as they were simply pushed away by the player like they were nothing.

Check out the scenes below –

The most underrated aspect of sport, perhaps, lies in how it brings together folks from around the world, irrespective of their nationality amd creed.

And, of all sports known to mankind, it is safe to say that football is the most popular of them all. A truly global game, it is played at a national level in over a hundred and ninety countries, and the clubs at the playing at the highest level have highly dedicated fans in every nook and cranny.

One of those fans decided to make his loyalties very clear a few days ago. This caught a lot of attention because this man is quite famous and is a representative of another very famous sport in his home country, which has brought him a lot of fans.

We are, of course, talking about Josh Jacobs, star rookie for the American football team Las Vegas Raiders (also known as the Oakland Raiders) in the National Football League. The talented running back, who turned 22 on the eleventh of February, decided to show some love for his favourite football club – Tottenham Hotspur.

The lad wore a custom-made Spurs Nike home kit for the current season, with his surname and the number 28 (which otherwise belongs to Spurs’ Tanguy Ndombele) etched across the back. Having worn it on his birthday, it was clear the club meant a lot to him.

Of course, the Alabama native, whose state has a lot of Tottenham supporters, has a lot of good memories linked to the North London side, the most recent being a one off match between the Raiders and Chicago Bears in October last year at the new Tottenham stadium.

Jacobs played a starring role in the game, and that would only have made his experience as a Spurs supporter better.

Needless to say Spurs fans loved the display of support from one of the hottest properties in American football right now.

The Premier League might be head and shoulders beyond every other league in world football, but it cannot be denied that it has fallen behind on one aspect of the sport: the team kits.

At first glance, team kits might seem like a trivial facet of football: a novice might assume that it is what is done on the pitch that counts, and not what the players are wearing.

On the contrary, kits are the visual armour of a football team; they are known to make or break the support for a club. New/incoming fans are oftentimes attracted or driven away from a team based on how their jerseys turn out. And this is something the massive sportswear companies know very well.

Realizing that the Premier League is too much of a cash cow to risk experimenting with bold, thematic jerseys, they instead opt for boring kits that are changed only incrementally every year, putting out exciting new concepts only elsewhere, like South America and Africa.

Only the away and third kits show any hint of flavour (think Tottenham’s away attire from last season) and the results have been very mixed. At this point, the fans have had it with the lifeless efforts and have taken matters into their own hands.

In a semi-viral Reddit post with over two hundred upvotes, user loouie17 showcased a concept kit that he made for Tottenham, based off of Nigeria’s smashing 2020 kits. And as far as fan made concepts go, this one is right up there at the top.

Beautifully incorporating a larger version of the Spurs’ cockerel crest in the center, it has the same angular tribal patterns running on each side of the shirt as the Nigerian kit. Only, in this one, the colour has been switched from the dark green of the African super eagles to the familiar navy blue of the Londoners, with white accents. The simplistic patterns exude minimalism and the concept has been very neatly done.

All in all, it’s a solid effort, and looking at the comments, the Spurs faithful definitely approve.

Throughout all of footballing history, there has never been a truer cliche than this: a picture speaks more than a thousand ruddy words.

And boy, have Spurs fans been absolutely gutted by the photo we’re talking about.

The picture shows Jan Vertonghen, Tottenham’s talismanic defender, absolutely heartbroken and clutching his shirt while sitting on the bench.

Why was this man looking so forlorn, you ask?

He was brought off the game, seemingly for no apparent reason, against Southampton in the FA Cup fourth round replay. Not even an hour had elapsed in the match.

Yes, the man was a bit of a mess defensively, and made a few small blunders during the entirety of his time on the pitch. It hasn’t helped his case that he is clearly past his prime, no longer the “Super Jan” that fans came to adore.

He is no longer that centre-back who started off life in the Premier League with a goal against Manchester United, and is still a far cry from the imposing giant whose wonder goal kickstarted an incredible 3-0 demolition of Dortmund in the Champion’s League at Wembley.

Yet, he is by no means the only culprit. Tottenham have been lacking, especially in the left-back spot, the flak for which Jan has almost always caught, rather unfairly.

Recent form has made matters worse, with the mid field massively lacking in creativity following Eriksen’s departure. So why is Jan being singled out, fans wonder.

Now, for those of you confounded over why it’s such a big deal: Vertonghen is a top, top player who’s definitely been a massive part of his club for more than seven years now.

At the highest level of football, you no longer focus on your salary; it is the love of the beautiful game that fuels your successes.

And this substitution is a sign of something big, as Jan well knows. It’s a change of the old guard. Japhet Tanganga seems a more than capable replacement, while Vertonghen’s trusty lieutenant, Toby Alderweireld, seems to be coming into a class of his own.

They have even looked to plug the gaps at LB, with Sessegnon being a fantastic lad and one to watch for the future.

As hard as it is to stomach, Jan’s time as top dog in the club is coming to an end.

Quite understandable, really, that he would be so hard done by this, especially when he’s fit and raring to go.

Later, in the after-match presser, Jose admitted as much, that he had only thought of the change as a tactical one, as he believed Gedson would have been a better attacking fit.

He even went as far as to say that he felt for his Belgian centre-back, but then went on to justify his change, talking about other instances of players having been “sacrificed” for the team’s interests.

Yes, Southampton looked the better team in the first half. Yes, after Gedson came on, Tottenham were injected with a burst of energy and attacking prowess. And yes, Spurs managed an incredible 3-2 victory after twice having fallen behind to the visitors. All of this will still be little more than scant consolation to Jan.

The big game on Sunday witnessed a fierce battle between Manchester City, long lost in the title race against Liverpool, and Spurs, who are fighting for a spot in the top four.

The desperation of both the sides for the valuable three points made the match entertaining and eventful from the start to the last whistle.

Tottenham stole the match from City with the help of two late goals from Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-min after the hour mark, following City’s reduction to 10 men after Oleksandr Zinchenko was given his marching orders.

Spurs fans inside the stadium would have loved the way Harry Winks celebrated the red card received by Zinchenko in the 60th minute of the match.

The Ukrainian was fined for his shoulder challenge on Winks, who was in the midst of a classy run towards the goal. It was a not-so-serious tackle, but the referee showed a second yellow to the City man.

Winks, exalted by the occurrence, punched the air and celebrated it like a goal, just like any passionate Spurs fan would do.

Winks’ reaction to the red😌 pic.twitter.com/nJrfJqSh0S

— Ikey (@kanegoal) February 2, 2020

The red card became the turning point of the match as debutant Bergwijn scored after two minutes and Son struck the second for Spurs at the 71st minute.

The zealousness exhibited by Winks would have impressed the Spurs fans to a great extent as the moment brought to light his genuineness and dedication towards the club.

He was as passionate as any other Spurs supporter. Moreover, the sheer display of passion did not go to waste as Spurs struck their first blow of the match two minutes later. It was as if Winks foresaw the victory that was about to be theirs.