Wouldn’t you think Tottenham Hotspur/Tottenham/Spurs had enough to be thinking about after the start they’ve had to the season? You would.
You might recall that in early 2025, the club emailed Premier League broadcasters to inform them that after they had “remastered” their “brand identity”, they wanted the club to be referred to as “Tottenham Hotspur, with Spurs being the preferred short version”. “Tottenham Hotspur Football Club” and “THFC” were also acceptable, but “never refer to our club as ‘Tottenham’, ‘Tottenham Hotspur FC’ or ‘TH’.”
The club not wanting “Tottenham” to be used as a moniker left their supporters bamboozled, but The Athletic had good news for them last week: “The club has been keen to lean into the T-word again, recognising how much it means to fans. There is a clear desire to reassert the importance of this word, and this aspect of the club’s identity.”
In short, you can now call them anything you want (except “relegation contenders”).
Quote
“Honestly, I can’t describe it. It’s the closest thing to what I imagine drugs would be like.” – Conor McManus on a high after the Ireland under-21s beat England 3-1 on Tuesday.
The number of games PSG’s Fabián Ruiz has now played for Spain. How many has he lost? None (excluding a penalty shoot-out defeat to Portugal), putting him just five games off the world record. A decent run.
Word of Mouth
“I think that we will reach a conclusion but, being in my 60s, I will have to be lucky enough still to be here when the final verdict arrives. Now a ruling will come, then an appeal ... I’ll be 80.” – José Mourinho reckoning he’ll be antiquated by the time the whole Manchester City business is resolved.
“I know ... the weight [Cristiano] has in the world ... I made a mistake by putting someone of the stature of Pelé or Maradona on to warm up and then not putting him in the game.” – Part of the statement Cristiano Ronaldo, eh, instructed Portugal’s manager Jorge Jesus to read out at a press conference. Note the mention of Pelé and Maradona, but not Messi.
“I’ve lost my peace and tranquillity. I no longer have any privacy. There’s always someone who wants to take a photo with me or, worse, film me. If I was offered the life I have today or the life I had before, I’d choose the one I had before.” – Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, who sounds like a man regretful of becoming famous at the World Cup.
Trading blows
Riposte of the week? Well, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t pick up many accolades after his carry-on during the international break, so we’ll award him this gong as a consolation.
His cheerleader-in-chief Piers Morgan had a bit of a run-in with former Crystal Palace owner and current TalkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan over Ronaldo’s behaviour while on duty with Portugal, Jordan labelling Morgan as “sycophantic, biased, one-dimensional” who was “sucking up to Ronaldo because you think he’s your friend”.
Morgan subsequently sent a clip of the aggro to Ronaldo. His reply? “That blonde guy, tell him to stop with the Botox. He looks like an apple.” Oooh.
Wind-up fry-up
All we can hope is that Arsenal fan Stephen Power was jesting when he revealed how much he paid for his breakfast at the Emirates’ WM restaurant on Saturday morning ahead of their game against Leeds.
Incidentally, if you’re wondering what WM means, according to the interweb, it represents “the pioneering 3-2-2-3 (“WM”) formation introduced to Arsenal in the 1920s by manager Herbert Chapman. Your education is complete.
Any way, Stephen’s breakfast featured one fried egg, two semi-cooked sausages, one underdone rasher, one very sad mushroom, one mushy tomato, a teeny tub of beans, and what looks suspiciously like a bit of watercress.
The cost? “£50 fry-up with all the trimmings,” he said. So, that’s almost €60.
Among the replies: “Is there £35 change hidden inside the yolk?” “All what trimmings??? Do they come ‘round and cut your hair??” “£50 for a fry up? And it has salad on it? Game’s gone.” “That’s a bigger scam than Man City have pulled.” True.