The Guardian

‘“No. I’m afraid it’s an addiction or an obsession – whatever you want to call it,” smiles David Pleat. We’re sitting in a hotel just off the M1 motorway where the 79-year-old recalled that he sold the defender Matt Jackson to the Everton manager Howard Kendall back in 1991 for £600,000. “He’d only played nine games for us … that was one of my best bits of business.”

Pleat, whose long association with Tottenham came to an end only a few weeks ago when he left his role as consultant scout, has just been asked whether he has any other interests outside football. It later emerges that the former Luton, Spurs, Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday manager has already attended an astonishing 14 games this season despite it only starting a month ago, including a National League fixture at Wealdstone and an academy match at Watford.

“I will still be watching games,” says Pleat. “I’m not sure who I’m watching for and at what level. A couple of people have spoken to me and Tottenham won’t stop me because they know I want to work. I made that clear when I left.”

From becoming the youngest debutant in Football League history to score, in 1962, to leading unfashionable Luton to the old First Division, the story of his life has been dominated by what Pleat’s hero Bill Nicholson called “the greatest game of all”. Like the appropriate 90 minutes spent in his company, Just One Goal – a new book written by Pleat in conjunction with the journalist Tim Rich over the course of several years – is full of anecdotes from a long coaching career that began when he took his preliminary badges while still a teenager at Nottingham Forest.

Half the proceeds of the book will go to charities researching motor neurone disease after he was inspired by the work done by the rugby league stars Kevin Sinfield and Rob Burrow, the latter of whom died in June. “It’s so wonderful what they have done,” says Pleat, who lost his wife, Maureen, in 2020 to the disease. “It’s such a terrible thing when people aren’t able to communicate or do anything for themselves – it’s a sad deterioration.”

Peter Taylor, Brian Clough’s long-term assistant, took Pleat under his wing and arranged for him to take over at the non-league club Nuneaton Borough at 26 after he had suffered a broken leg following his move from Forest to Luton. That spell was ended after a 4-0 thrashing by a 34-year-old Ron Atkinson’s Kettering. Having spent three months selling lottery tickets while he waited for the role to become free, Luton’s Harry Haslam eventually made him an assistant at Kenilworth Road and the rest is history.

“I was certainly going in as a very young manager,” says Pleat of his appointment to the top job at the age of 33; only two years older than Brighton’s Fabian Hürzeler, who became the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history this season. “But they’d had me as a reserve coach for a few years so they knew what I was capable of. They obviously trusted me and hoped that I would do well. I might have been good, but I was so lucky.”

The ability to spot a player is a skill that Pleat mastered at Luton, plucking Brian Stein, Ricky Hill and Mal Donaghy from obscurity and turning them into stars. Our conversation is interrupted by a call from Paul Elliott – the former defender who is now vice-chairman of Charlton – who remembers being one of seven black players to feature for Luton in a League Cup tie against Leyton Orient in September 1984. “I just picked the team on merit – it really didn’t matter to me,” says Pleat, whose parents had been born in London’s East End after their families escaped the Jewish pogroms in Latvia and Poland. “Looking back, I’m very proud of that.”

Pleat recalls several instances of antisemitism throughout his career, including one occasion when he ignored a comment from one of his Luton players. “I let it go. You become a little bit immune to it over the years.”

But the memories of perhaps Pleat’s most famous day remain untarnished. He can still recall minute details about the buildup to the game against Manchester City in 1983 when Raddy Antic’s late winner led to his celebratory jig across the Maine Road turf.

“I ran on to the field like an Australian wallaby,” laughs Pleat. “It was really out of character because I never used to go crazy about a win. The wonderful thing about Man City was that we not only survived, we stayed up for eight more years on 10,000 gates.”

“I didn’t know him well,” says Pleat. “But he really empathised with me, as did a lot of other people. They told me to get it out of my head and said: ‘Whatever they’ve paid someone to say about you, you have to keep going.’ I was advised that I could win the [libel] case but I just wanted to get on with my life. It was a difficult thing to do because I lost my self-esteem and confidence. I had to start again.”

After a spell at Leicester and a return to Luton, Pleat’s last managerial post was at Sheffield Wednesday before he went back to Tottenham as the club’s first director of football in 1998. He describes Alan Sugar as a “visionary” for introducing the role that has since been adopted by most top clubs. “I remember some of the journalists questioning why they were needed when I was appointed,” he says. “It’s really important that they have a good relationship with the manager but I don’t think they should know them too well because one day you might have to make a difficult decision.”

After three spells as caretaker manager and a brief departure before returning as consultant scout in 2010 to help discover the likes of Dele Alli and Son Heung-min, that day finally came for Pleat at the end of July. Tottenham now rely on a more data-driven approach under the new Danish technical director, Johan Lange, and he was deemed surplus to requirements.

“It’s something I’ve come to terms with – I understand stats and data and how they can be useful,” Pleat insists. “But data can only assist eyes and ears. The more people you know in the game, then the more they will talk. The analysts I see at games now are all bright boys who have done dissertations and they can tell you this player and that player from around the world. They’ve got everything at their fingertips – how many runs they make, how many goals they score. But they don’t see everything.”

Pleat admits he will always have doubts over whether he stepped away from frontline management too soon. But asked whether he would have been successful managing a big team for a significant length of time after achieving a win ratio of 54.9% while in charge of Tottenham, he is less convinced. “That’s a very good question – I don’t know how I would have coped with that. I may have been better at speaking to slightly lesser players, rather than people who were held in awe. I consider myself an underdog from the Luton days. The joy I got from beating a great team – that was a great happiness for me.”

The Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged by the Football Association for an alleged misconduct breach for a remark made about his teammate Son Heung-min.

In June the Uruguay international was asked by the host of the Canal 10 show for a Spurs player’s shirt, to which he replied: “Sonny’s? It could be Sonny’s cousin too as they all look the same.”

The anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out said it had received a “significant number” of complaints. Bentancur apologised to the South Korea international and Spurs skipper, who said that his teammate had “made a mistake”.

A statement from the FA said: “Rodrigo Bentancur has been charged with an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct in relation to a media interview. It’s alleged that the Tottenham midfielder has breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute.

“It’s further alleged that this constitutes an ‘aggravated breach’ which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference, whether express or implied, to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin. Rodrigo Bentancur has until Thursday 19 September 2024 to provide a response to this charge.”

Arsenal are still waiting to discover the full extent of Martin Ødegaard’s ankle injury but their captain is expected to be unavailable for at least three weeks. This means he will miss Sunday’s north London derby and the trip to Manchester City on 22 September.

Ødegaard left the pitch in tears after a challenge from Christoph Baumgartner during Norway’s win over Austria on Monday and was pictured on crutches on Tuesday when he returned to Arsenal for more tests, with the Norwegian FA stating he had sustained “a bad ankle injury”. The 25-year-old is understood to have had a scan and will be assessed further by Arsenal’s medical staff as the bruising subsides.

But while Norway’s team doctor, Ola Sand, revealed that the initial MRI scan had ­indicated no fracture, he is still likely to be sidelined for at least the rest of September and would miss Arsenal’s opening Champions League game against Atalanta and the visit to City three days later.

“Such ankle injuries often take at least three weeks,” Sand told the Norwegian newspaper VG. “What we have so far obtained from the MRI examination in London is that there is probably no fracture in the ankle. It is always a bit difficult to interpret an MRI scan when you have had an old injury, but Arsenal are almost certain there is no breach, but this may still take some time.”

Ødegaard’s absence means Mikel Arteta will be without three key midfielders for the meeting with Tottenham. The new signing Mikel Merino is out for two months because of a shoulder fracture and Declan Rice is suspended after his red card against Brighton.

Jorginho – who signed a contract extension in May but has yet to feature this season – is expected to start alongside Thomas Partey, while Arteta also could opt to move the defenders Jurriën Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko or the striker Kai Havertz into midfield. The summer signing Riccardo Calafiori had to return early from international duty with Italy after colliding with France’s Ousmane Dembélé but is likely to be in contention against Spurs.

Arsenal will not be permitted to wear their home kit in the match for the first time since 1986 after Professional Game Match Officials Ltd ruled that it featured “too much white”. They will instead wear their black away kit with Tottenham also ­wearing different colours for the return fixture in February.

Meanwhile, the Premier League’s independent key match incidents panel has unanimously supported Chris Kavanagh’s decision to send off Rice against Brighton. The England midfielder was shown a second yellow card for delaying the restart of play.

Manchester United have signed the Norway forward Celin Bizet from Tottenham on a three-year contract. The fee is undisclosed but United are believed to have met her release clause, understood to be about £60,000.

Bizet travelled to Marbella with the rest of the United squad on Tuesday for their warm-weather, pre-season training camp after passing a medical on Sunday. The 22-year-old spent two seasons at Spurs after playing for Paris Saint-Germain. She scored four Women’s Super League goals last term in 20 appearances.

Bizet, who has 21 Norway caps, said: “I’m very excited to take this next step in my career, and sign for such a great club as Manchester United. I cannot wait to pull on the famous red shirt and create winning moments in front of these wonderful fans.”

She is United’s sixth summer signing, after the Canada midfielder Simi Awujo, the Netherlands defender Dominique Janssen, the France forward Melvine Malard, another Norway striker, Elisabeth Terland, and the Sweden full-back Anna Sandberg. It is believed the club are seeking a goalkeeper to replace Mary Earps.

For Tottenham, the sale of Bizet comes following their signing of the Australia winger Hayley Raso after her contract with Real Madrid ended.

United’s head coach, Marc Skinner, said: “Celin is an exciting, talented young player with lots and lots of potential. She suits exactly where we are trying to be as a team – we want young, hungry players, who can make a real difference.”

There are statements to be made in the transfer window or, if not, immediately after it. If much of the preface to this game concerned itself with Eddie Howe’s feelings on Newcastle’s summer of trading – or lack thereof – then Tottenham had their own questions to answer on this pilgrimage north. After this harsh defeat, doubts may linger in the mind for the length of an uncomfortable international break at least.

On surface level a relatively tidy Tottenham transfer window, bringing in players such as Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert – the latter the author of a bright cameo against Everton last week – had almost been forgotten. Giovani Lo Celso’s departure back to Real Betis on deadline day, curiously, cast a shadow over that work by harking back to the big window of summer 2019, with none of Tanguy Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon or Lo Celso working out (or recouping costs) after being recruited at considerable expense. Unfairly so, perhaps, but optics are everything especially with Jack Clarke – another of that summer’s eight-figure recruits – sold on by Sunderland to Ipswich in the later days of August for a healthy profit.

With the sense that, like their Sunday hosts, Spurs might find themselves trapped in a just-below-elite level netherworld in this season’s Premier League – too swelled with expectation to be satisfied with a Europa League spot, not quite proactive enough in the marketplace to push themselves back into the orbit of the Champions League – there was a response to be crafted. It was not a gung-ho riposte. If Ange Postecoglou is sometimes accused of tactical idealism, Tottenham always seemed keener to be resolute than ritzy.

With reason, perhaps. It is not easily forgotten that Spurs had lost by a margin of at least four goals on three of their past eight visits to St James’ Park, and by an aggregate of 10-1 in the past two seasons, the sort of results which prompt near existential crisis and make the away strips worn on the days in question consigned to the dustbin of club infamy. Bringing Pape Sarr into midfield as an extra layer of protection, with Dejan Kulusevski pushed further forward, was perhaps a nod to those recent horrible histories.

Postecoglou might have lamented not having more muscle on hand with no Solanke, no Richarlison and no Micky van de Ven at the back. As Radu Dragusin cut through Harvey Barnes to concede a corner in the first five minutes he rose to dust off his hands, it almost seemed to signal an acknowledgement that Spurs were ready for an afternoon of battening down the hatches though if either of Joelinton’s or Harvey Barnes’s early efforts had gone in, they might have been looking at being buried under another Geordie avalanche.

Yet it has not been unrelenting misery for visitors here from N17 in recent times. Spurs were also the first guests after the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund took over in October 2021, emerging with a comfier-than-the-score-suggests 3-2 win after conceding early to Callum Wilson, with Newcastle surfing on a tidal wave of local emotion. This time, with sporadic local concern of what the future may hold for the first time under the PIF, one wondered if the visitors could again capitalise with cold clarity.

While Spurs quelled the early storm well – “no noise from the Saudi boys” was the chant tumbling down from the visiting supporters on level 7 – this was not an adventurous first-half display and it ultimately did them little good when Barnes’s deliciously adroit finish put Newcastle in front against the run of play. The peak of that gradual visiting domination had been a pair of Sarr shots from distance blocked by Nick Pope, a lack of incision with which Howe must have been comfortable.

There is no point pretending to be what you’re not, and the more quintessential Postecoglou plan emerged with Spurs trailing, and Brennan Johnson replacing Sarr at half-time to reprise that lineup which ruthlessly rolled over Everton last weekend, save Dragusin standing in for Van de Ven.

The impact was immediate, Odobert poking over the top from ultra-close range after being found by Johnson’s deflected cross. At the heart of a Spurs flurry the equaliser was prompted by more foraging by the Wales forward, Dan Burn launching his cross-shot into the roof of his own net after Pope spilled a James Maddison effort.

Groundhog Day was on the way, though, and Joelinton cut out the Spurs defence far too easily with a simple pass to send substitute Jacob Murphy away to lay on a surprising winner for Alexander Isak.

Postecoglou might reflect on 45 minutes wasted given how hard his team were to handle for the second half. Then again, he might simply be pleased that Newcastle away is done and dusted for another season.

Newcastle’s chief executive has likened the task of reconstructing Newcastle to building a plane in mid-air and, after this, Eddie Howe will know precisely what Darren Eales meant.

There were moments when Tottenham proved so dominant here that Howe’s team did not merely seem to be running on one engine but with a wing close to falling off and the landing gear jammed.

Precisely how Newcastle ended up taxi-ing safely towards the final whistle with three points neatly stowed away is something that appears set to puzzle Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham staff for some considerable time to come.

As recently as Friday, Howe was warning about the need for his club to avoid “tearing ourselves apart” in the aftermath of an underwhelming transfer window. Perhaps heeding that message, Newcastle’s players began as if on a mission to rip Spurs to shreds. They could not sustain it but, just as Tottenham turned imperious, Howe’s team remembered how to counterattack and, against almost all available odds, found a way to win.

In some respects it all started as it finished. Indeed as, shortly after kick-off, Alexander Isak’s ambitious chip grazed the woodwork and Harvey Barnes sent a shot whistling inches wide, a Tottenham side lacking their injured defender Micky van de Ven looked a little overwhelmed.

Admittedly Pedro Porro’s header soon hit the back of Nick Pope’s net but Ange Postecoglou’s right-back was miles offside and that effort duly disallowed. Although Pape Sarr subsequently raised the visiting tone a little courtesy of a slightly deflected, fiendishly curving, 25-yard shot Pope did well to push around a post, there was plenty on view to reassure the watching Newcastle chairman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who had just flown in from Riyadh.

If the post match conversation between Al-Rumayyan, Howe and the club’s sporting director, Paul Mitchell, is unlikely to be have been dull, at least the tension surrounding Newcastle’s forlorn, month-long pursuit of Crystal Palace’s England centre-half Marc Guéhi, is likely to been partly assuaged by the initial strength of the home performance.

Barnes represented a key reason for Tottenham’s travails and never more so than when he connected with Lloyd Kelly’s left-wing cross and volleyed his side into a 37th-minute lead. Given the awkwardly swerving bounce of the ball as it reared up from a slick surface greased by sporadic rain showers, Barnes’s finish was exquisite.

Yet as Gallowgate Enders marvelled at such a sublime execution, Postecoglou’s glare suggested he might shortly be reminding his defence not only that Barnes was unmarked when he scored and James Maddison had lost concentration at the throw-in preceding the goal-creating cross but Kelly seemed to be finding it far too easy to contain the ineffective Wilson Odobert.

Tottenham’s resultant right-sided attacking struggle dictated that, despite, Postecoglou’s team recovering from their wobbly opening to create a series of half-chances and Joelinton needing to temper his midfield aggression after collecting a booking, Pope was rarely stretched to the absolute limit.

As much as Spurs began controlling the tempo and enjoying increased possession, their most menacing first-half shots came from outside the area. In an attempt to change that narrative, Postecoglou replaced Sarr with Brennan Johnson at the interval. With the impressive Johnson now wide on the right and Odobert looking infinitely happier on the left, the match’s entire topography had changed.

As the revamped visitors chased an equaliser only a last ditch sliding tackle from Radu Dragusin, deputising for Van de Ven, denied Alexander Isak a goal.

With Isak and Anthony Gordon ever more subdued and Maddison’s smart manoeuvring reminding everyone why Newcastle were so desperate to sign him last summer, Spurs rallied. Indeed their attacking onslaught left Dan Burn powerless to turn the ball into his own net after Pope had parried a Maddison shot into Johnson’s path and Burn’s attempted goal-line clearance became an own goal.

Considering that, just before that leveller, Heung-min Son had seen a menacing shot deflected and Porro had hit the crossbar, Newcastle’s swashbuckling start felt like a fast receding memory.

As his teammates struggled to exit their own half, Kieran Trippier, evidently hoping to come on as a substitute, interrupted his warmup routine to issue a volley of instructions from the touchline. Howe may have handed Trippier’s old captain’s armband to Bruno Guimarães but old habits clearly die hard.

Evidently unmoved, Howe left Trippier on the bench as he refreshed his team, with Sandro Tonali’s replacement of Sean Longstaff the most notable switch. It marked the Italy midfielder’s Premier League return following a 10-month suspension for breaches of betting regulations.

Yet as Spurs forced a blizzard of corners and Pope stretched every sinew to divert Maddison’s free-kick, Tonali had precious little chance to impose any sort of order on an increasingly bedraggled home midfield.

No matter; Jacob Murphy, on as a substitute, learned all about the art of counterattacking from the manager who brought him to Tyneside, Rafael Benítez. Accordingly he made the very most of Joelinton’s defence-bisecting pass, racing clear before squaring for Isak to complete a routine tap-in.

As Guglielmo Vicario, the visiting goalkeeper, struggled to comprehend what had just happened, Postecoglou shook his head in disbelief.

I’m not going to sit here and say it’s been a brilliant window. We haven’t had the window we wanted, there’s no denying that. I think when PIF [Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Newcastle’s majority owners] took over, the landscape was different. A lot has changed in terms of PSR and our need to comply with the rules to prevent a points deduction.

That impacts the ability to progress the club as quickly as maybe they wanted to. I don’t think the dream dies necessarily, it just takes longer. We have got to build our revenue streams, bring more money into the club. This is the biggest thing we need to focus on in the next 10 years. Whether I’m [going to be] lucky enough to see any of that, who knows. The dream is not over, it is just going to take a lot, lot, longer.

Tottenham have signed Hayley Raso on a two-year deal subject to international clearance and a work permit.

The Matildas forward joins Tottenham as a free agent having spent last season with the Liga F side Real Madrid, where she played 28 times and became the first-ever Australian to represent the Spanish side.

The 29-year-old has featured 82 times for Australia, scoring 19 goals and helped her country reach the Women’s World Cup semi-finals with three goals before they were knocked out by England.

Raso returns to the Women’s Super League after previous spells with Everton in 2020 and Manchester City in 2021, helping them lift the League Cup.

Raso will wear the No 8 shirt for Spurs who will be hoping to improve their sixth-placed finish last season.

The Australian could make her WSL debut when Tottenham play league newcomers Crystal Palace in their first game of the season on 22 September.

It is one of those things that never fails to warm the heart: the moment a young fan lays eyes on a player from their club. The reaction is almost always the same. A widening of the eyes, stunned incomprehension. Then delayed realisation and, after that, just giddy excitement.

When Guglielmo Vicario turns up at a training session run by Tottenham’s global football department at Richard Hale school in Hertford on Friday, the levels among the eight- to 13-year-olds immediately go up. “It’s Vicario,” they shout. Some of them wave. Others decide whether they want him to sign their boots or their gloves.

The Q&A at the end is fun because, as usual, the questions are great. Most dangerous opponent in the Premier League? (Mohamed Salah.) How about outside England? (Nico Williams.) Best player at Spurs? (Son Heung-min). Closest friend at the club? (Destiny Udogie).

Vicario is obviously cool with them because, at the risk of laying on the schmaltz, he oozes charisma. And yet not every kid in a Spurs shirt has enjoyed the same experience of late with the towering goalkeeper.

It was the 91st minute of the club’s opening game of the season when Lucas Bergvall, the 18-year-old debutant, lost the ball to Leicester’s Stephy Mavididi. He crossed for Wilfred Ndidi, who almost made it 2-1 with a header.

Vicario got up after making the save and rushed towards Bergvall, incandescent, channelling his inner hairdryer. Some saluted the passion of the man known as Venom, whereas others criticised him for laying into a youngster. For the record, Bergvall is not the kind of character to allow that – or anything – to affect him.

“I was too aggressive with him and I apologised,” Vicario says. “Maybe it was because we had dominated, then conceded [in the 57th minute] and I had a feeling in the last five minutes – by anything – that we could lose.

“So it’s just to understand where the game is leading us. But it was not the right way in terms of screaming at him.

“He will understand, he’s a good guy. And it’s part of football. I suffered this, too, when I was a teenager. We are men. We move forward. Maybe my acting at that moment was not the best but the message was for the right reasons and came from the right place.”

Vicario has form in this area. Remember his monstering of Ryan Sessegnon after January’s FA Cup win over Burnley? But the wider point concerns a shift in the dynamics at Spurs and the greater status Vicario now enjoys.

The squad has a younger feel after the transfer window, Bergvall having been joined by another couple of teenagers in Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert. It is as if the chairman, Daniel Levy, has gone back to the approach that once worked so well for him – the acquisition of young players with huge potential, who are likely to improve and increase in value.

Vicario is 27 and at the start of his second Spurs season but there are only a handful of players at the club older than him – Fraser Forster, Ben Davies, Yves Bissouma, Timo Werner and Son. Vicario discloses he has been given an unofficial leadership role by the manager, Ange Postecoglou, charged with supporting the captain, Son, and the vice-captains, Cristian Romero and James Maddison.

“I think it comes with age,” he says. “It’s not an official position. We speak between ourselves in the dressing room and I like to take this responsibility, especially with the young lads.

“Our commitment, discipline and focus has to be always at the top. And it’s to try to make sure our performances are always at the top. Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you don’t. But the right mindset during the week and during the game will help some of the young lads to develop. I’m very pleased by this new role.”

Vicario was excellent last season, posting eye-catching numbers, including with the ball at his feet. According to Opta, he had the most successful passes in the Premier League by a goalkeeper and was second in the keeper sweepings metric. There were numerous huge saves, some of them spectacular.

If there was a criticism, it was that he could be distracted by the dark arts from opponents on set pieces. It looked as though he was targeted over the second half of the season, with Ben White’s attempts to mess with his gloves on a corner during the derby against Arsenal attracting plenty of analysis, mainly because Spurs conceded.

“I didn’t realise it at the time … I only saw later that he tried to grab my gloves,” Vicario says. “We conceded but not for that reason. And it’s not about targeting. Everyone is targeted by every team. You just have to deal with it.”

Nor does Vicario want to dwell for too long on the 61 league goals Spurs conceded; a number that surely has to be reduced if they are to qualify for the Champions League this season.

“Aston Villa conceded 61 goals and they reached the Champions League by two points,” Vicario says. “Manchester United, Newcastle, Chelsea … everyone conceded about 60. Only Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool conceded around 30, 35, 40.

“It’s the way we play football in England, it exposes teams to concede more chances and goals. Here, it’s to score one more than the opponent rather than not to concede one less, which is the best way for the people who come to see the games. It’s more entertaining.

“I also like to play a good game … with the ball, to play in some situations where there is a lot of pressure from the opponents and with my work, we can overcome it, break some lines and score.”

Vicario will be out to settle a score at Newcastle on Sunday, where Spurs were beaten 4-0 last season, albeit an improvement on the 6-1 hammering they suffered there in 2022-23. It is when the Italian outlines his targets for the season that the emotion bubbles.

“It is to be a team until 25 May, to build a big team until 25 May,” he says. “But everyone wants to win and if we have the opportunity we will try until the end. We know if we do it at Tottenham, we will be remembered by our fans for life, for eternity.

“It would be one of the biggest things that could happen in your career, in your life. Also, maybe one day you could come back to the stadium and walk into the tunnel, into the corridor and see some pictures and say: ‘OK, maybe 40 years ago I did this.’

“If it’s me there on the pictures, it would be very nice. So we will try to do this.”

Aaron Lennon in his pomp was a joy to watch. Although the winger was never the most impressive crosser, he would glide past a marker effortlessly, carving open defences with ease. The final delivery was sometimes found wanting but he knew how to set a backline on edge and get bums off seats in the crowd. Since his departure from Tottenham in 2015, it’s feasible to suggest the club haven’t had a ball-carrier of his ilk.Until now, that is.

Wilson Odobert moved to Spurs in mid-August in a deal that blindsided even the most hardened of ITKs. The club were in the market for a direct winger to operate on the right or left but few, if any, predicted the Frenchman would swap Turf Moor for Tottenham.

And yet Spurs paid Burnley £25m for the teenager, who had quickly won a legion of admirers among the Clarets fanbase and moved with their blessing after a solitary season.

Odobert completed more dribbles (53) than any other teenager in the Premier League last season. He was the skilful winger that Ange Postecoglou craved and one that supporters are hoping will emulate, and better, Lennon in north London. Not many expected Odobert, though, to make his debut in Spurs’ 4-0 win over Everton last Saturday.

After Spurs’ disappointing opening 1-1 draw at Leicester, in a game they dominated, there was an air of trepidation as Postecoglou’s side welcomed Everton. Supporters needn’t have worried, however. The visitors did find a way to pressure the Spurs backline – they had 10 shots to their hosts’ 13 – yet the home side ultimately eased to victory.

The post-match discussion was dominated by arguments over whether Cristian Romero is the best centre-back in north London and by Micky van de Ven’s charging run for Son Heung-min’s second goal, and Spurs’ fourth, but when the teams were announced the inclusion of Odobert raised eyebrows. He had been at the club for just eight days, after all.

However, much of the reason behind Spurs’ dominance – they finished with a 70.5% possession share – was Postecoglou’s decision to start Odobert. From the outset Spurs had a player in the final third willing to push high and wide. This set Everton on the back foot. They were hesitant to leave space in behind and so would often drop closer to their goal, meaning Odobert had space to run into.

It’s no coincidence that Odobert had significantly more touches (58) than Brennan Johnson on the opposite flank (31), despite coming off midway through the second half to a standing ovation. Spurs would often look to get Odobert one-on-one with the Premier League debutant Roman Dixon and he attempted more dribbles (six) than any other player. Only 10 times has a Spurs player attempted more dribbles than Odobert in a Premier League match since the start of last season.

Granted, Odobert wasn’t always successful with his attempts to beat a marker – he was successful with only two dribbles – but his determination to run at a full-back in an attempt to make things happen in the final third is a welcome asset to Postecoglou. The absence of this was arguably one of the main reasons Spurs failed to secure a top-four finish last season. They scored the fewest goals (74) in the top seven as opponents were able to shut them down.

Now there is the added unpredictability of Odobert. Whether he starts when his fellow summer arrival Dominic Solanke is available remains to be seen, particularly with Son expected to feature from the left when the big-money. summer arrival from Bournemouth returns to fitness. The additional tactical flexibility afforded to Postecoglou, though, is a huge bonus as Spurs gear up for their return to European football.

Traditionally, it is in the second season where Postecoglou sides begin to take shape and blitz opponents. Although Spurs aren’t at the level of Manchester City, Arsenal or Liverpool, they now boast a winger who can turn a game against sides who sit deep.

Premier League team of the week