Hotspur HQ

As Tottenham prepare to face Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday, fans continue to speculate about the future of the boss.

Despite a 1-4 victory over Ipswich, Spurs remain at a crossroads regarding whether Ange Postecoglou will be replaced.

But before diving into that, let’s recap some key updates from this week.

Reports suggest that Spurs have opened initial talks with midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur over a new contract. The Uruguayan has had both impressive and challenging moments at the club, making his renewal a topic of interest.

Meanwhile, former Middlesbrough manager and mentor to Djed Spence has commented on the young defender’s recent performances and how much he has improved.

Now, back to Spurs' managerial situation—Paul Robinson has suggested that Postecoglou will remain in charge.

Ange Postecoglou deserves a fair chance at Spurs

Amid this uncertainty, former Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson has shared his thoughts on the Australian’s future.

Speaking to Tottenham News, Robinson stated that, despite the team’s struggles with consistency, there is no reason to make such a drastic managerial change.

Additionally, the former goalkeeper pointed out that during the last transfer window, Postecoglou was not given enough resources to strengthen the squad, making it more reasonable to focus on improving with the current players.

"I think he’s in the job until the end of the season in all honesty," said Robinson. "I think he deserves that opportunity, because there’s no managers available who would jump out and go, that’s the one for us."

"He’s had 12 players injured, probably eight of them would start every game if you like. So you look at how his hands have been tied. For me, he’s there until the end of the season," Robinson concluded.

The potential candidates to become Tottenham’s next manager

Of course, Tottenham’s injury crisis is no secret, and it would be unfair to place the blame solely on Postecoglou.

Despite ongoing rumours linking Spurs with a managerial change—potentially bringing in Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola—Postecoglou remains focused on leading the club forward.

Another candidate to replace Postecoglou, who has been strongly linked with Spurs, is Simone Inzaghi, the current Inter Milan manager.

Unlike Iraola, Inzaghi has been mentioned more frequently in reports.

But for now, with a crucial Europa League fixture just around the corner, the Australian manager must give his all in pursuit of silverware.

According to a report from journalist Sami Mokbel, Tottenham Hotspur have opened “preliminary talks” regarding the extension of midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s contract at the club.Â

Spurs begin preliminary talks with Rodrigo Bentancur over new contract

Although he is not out of contract this coming summer, his existing deal does expire in the summer of 2026, so with under 18 months remaining, we can expect something sooner rather than later. With twelve months remaining this summer, it feels like the club would want to either extend his contract, or cash in whilst they are still able to.Â

So far this season, Bentancur has played in 16 Premier League games, starting 13 of those. That number would have probably been more if not for the ban — you get the feeling that, when available, Ange trusts him as his pivot over Yves Bissouma.Â

The win over Manchester United last week probably summed up the midfielder well. On the ball he was cool and calm, often evading the United press. Off the ball, he was often overran, which contributed to Ruben Amorim’s side being able to create chances.Â

He is a good player, there is little doubt about that. However, he is not a defensive midfielder. It has been said so many times before, but Spurs desperately need a player in there who can put out fires. It is a player needed in any team, but particularly to balance things in a system as offensive minded as Spurs’.Â

Interestingly, Bissouma will also have 12 months remaining on his contract this summer. Again, another player who is not an out and out defensive midfielder. Will Spurs keep both players, whilst signing a natural fit on top? That wouldn’t be terrible, but is it realistic? Will one have to leave for it to happen? If one had to leave, it should be the Malian international.Â

Whilst Bentancur is not without faults of his own, Bissouma has shown time and time again that he cannot be trusted. He is 28-years old, the peak of his career, and skipper for his national team — yet Ange has not given him the armband once. That is pretty telling. This is not to attack the player, rather just objectively analysing the situation.Â

Overall verdict would be that this is fine, as long as it comes as well as the signing of a pure defensive midfielder, rather than instead of. If that is the case, then it is hard to have much issue. Don’t see why both an extension for Bentancur and the signing of a six can’t happen, but let’s see.

On Saturday afternoon, Tottenham Hotspur won 4-1 against Ipswich Town at Portman Road, to secure three consecutive Premier League wins for the first time this season, and since December 2023.

With it, there were plenty of top performances - but it is Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson - whom scored three of Spurs' four goals - that have been recognised with a place in Alan Shearer's official Premier League team of the week.

Two Tottenham Hotspur players in Alan Shearer's team of the week

The whole XI reads as (343); Alisson; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Spence, Oliver Scarles; Johnson, Dominik Szoboszlai, Marco Asensio, Georginio Rutter; Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, Jarrod Bowen. Aside from the two Spurs players, you would have to say that the three West Ham United players completely deserve their place. They picked up an impressive win somewhere, if memory serves.A

As for the two Spurs players, it is hard to argue with either selection. The goalscoring instinct from Johnson for his first goal in particular shows just what Spurs missed in his absence. Although Spurs did win two league games during his spell out, and still scored two in the defeat at Everton - that FA Cup defeat at Villa was surely where he was missed the most. Ange's side created a fair bit that day, and you feel with Johnson, may have at least forced extra-time.

This brace takes the Welshman to nine Premier League goals this season in 1587 minutes, which equates to 17.6 90's. In short, he is scoring a goal at a rate slightly better than one goal in two games, from the wing. You can say what you want about his general game, and all of that, but he is objectively one of Spurs' most productive players.

As for Spence, well he just continues to impress. The turnaround he has had has been nothing short of remarkable. After moving back to his more natural position of right-back for the first 65 minutes, he went back to left-back, where he has often played this season - when Pedro Porro came on. Within a quarter of an hour, he had scored his first goal in Spurs colours. Swiss army knife of a player.

To have a player this good both defensively, and on the ball, is a real weapon to have. Although the goal was perhaps a bit fortunate due to the deflection, he also had 71 touches of the ball, and completed 2/2 dribbles. Off the ball, he made one clearance, one interception, one tackle, won 5/7 ground duels, and was not dribbled past once.

Two very well deserved inclusions.

Seventeen years ago today, Tottenham Hotspur lifted what is now known as the Carabao Cup, and then the Carling Cup, when they defeated Chelsea, with a 2-1 win after extra time at Wembley. It was the last piece of silverware the club won - which is why the importance of this season's Europa League cannot be stressed enough.

Spurs overcome Chelsea at Wembley, on this day, all the way back in 2008

For the big game, Juande Ramos opted for a line up of; Paul Robinson; Alan Hutton, Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King, Pascal Chimbonda; Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Jenas, Didier Zokora, Steed Malbranque; Robbie Keane, and Dimitar Berbatov.

Just seconds into the game, Spurs had a chance to score, after a stray pass from a Chelsea defender, but Keane struck wide of the goal. Not long later, following a set piece, a Chimbona header struck the bar.

Despite a positive start to the game from Spurs, Chelsea would take the lead, just over five minutes before half-time, as Didier Drogba left Robinson completely flat footed from a free-kick. He had gone close from a free-kick minutes earlier, so the warning signs had been there.

With twenty minutes remaining, Wayne Bridge handled the ball in the area when tussling for the ball with substitute Tom Huddlestone, and a penalty was awarded. Up stepped Berbatov, the coolest man in the stadium, sending Petr Cech the wrong way to level the game.

In the closing minutes of the game, Zokora intercepted a Frank Lampard pass, playing the ball to Keane, whose return pass put the Ivorian through on goal. However, his shot was tame, and saved by Cech - before firing the rebound off target. Many people thought that would end up costing Spurs. That would be that for the 90 minutes, and we went into extra time.

Just a couple of minutes into the additional 30, Spurs were awarded a free-kick inside the Chelsea half. From there, Jenas whipped a ball into the box, with a Woodgate header hitting Cech, back onto the defender, and into the back of the net. Pretty poor goalkeeping, and defending, but a great ball in and a great header.

Minutes later in extra time, Lampard tried to catch out Robinson at his near post from a free kick, that most had assumed would have been a cross. Good way to redeem himself for being caught flat footed for the opener.

From there, Spurs saw the game out relatively comfortably - even though the fans would have felt anything but comfortable - and won what remains to this day the club's last trophy. How amazing would it be to have that feeling again, in Bilbao, at the end of May.

This weekend brought one of those treasured situations on the Tottenham side of North London: a win for Spurs and a defeat for our neighbors Arsenal.

West Ham got the surprise with a deserved win against a strangely flat (at least in the first half) Arsenal.

This season of course is long gone for any hope of Spurs catching Arsenal who now will find it very difficult themselves to catch Liverpool following their win at City.

No, our eyes are more towards the very mid of mid-table (though at least clear of the relegation places, which wasn't quite the case just a few weeks ago).

Spurs winning at Ipswich shouldn't count a shock, but I also did not have us as strong favorites at Portman Road.

Ipswich have been a little unlucky not to have more points this season, have already beaten us once, and could have been 3-0 up in the first 5 minutes.

Liam Delap could have had a hat trick before we even really got into the match. I don't think he can take a throw-in as well as Rory Delap could, but he was a threat all game, and is having a great season despite his team's league position.

As it turned out, the 85 minutes that followed were one of our stronger performances of recent weeks.

Even after conceding to let Ipswich back in the game, we kept our composure. Kevin Danso particularly had a solid game at the back.

So too Djed Spence. We still miss Van de Ven and Romero a lot, particularly Mickey's unrivaled pace, but Danso has started well after signing in January. It was good to see James Maddison play an effective role as well.

It was a very good weekend in general for away teams in the premier league. A lot of away wins by teams near to us in the table.

Chelsea dropped points again, though it still looks like a bit of a gap too far for us to catch them. With 12 games left, it seems we are pushing for top half at best, but you never know.

One question fans of Spurs and others could be asking of their club is if Marco Asensio was available in January, why didn't we try to sign him? I think Villa have made a great transfer there.

So, high importance for the rest of this season for the Europa League. With that in mind, our opponents AZ Alkmaar won 1-0 today and currently sit 4th in the Eredivisie.

Although we have already beaten AZ Alkmaar once in the Europa League this season, and I am glad we avoided Real Sociedad, Troy Parrott starting up front for our opponents is a potential concern when we play.

Or maybe I am worrying unencessarily? I mean, former players never come back to score or play blinders against Spurs, right?

As for any Diamond Lights re-release or a Hoddle & Waddle Greatest Hits tribute? No news today, but I'll be sure to cover it should either of those dream scenarios receive any updates.

Tottenham players can be certain that their achievements do not go unnoticed.

Especially when it comes to growth and improvement as footballers, the Spurs continue to develop, preparing themselves for each match. One player, in particular, recently caught the attention of Neil Warnock.

Before diving into that, let's recap some of the latest news surrounding the club.

It is believed that Tottenham’s rising star, Yang Min-Hyeok, may remain out on loan until next season, as the club feels he still needs time to adapt.

And speaking of young talents, rumours suggest that Spurs are interested in signing another promising youngster—this time from Corinthians.

Now, onto Neil Warnock, the former Middlesbrough manager, and his thoughts on Djed Spence, who previously played under him.

Neil Warnock shares his thoughts on Djed Spence's performance

Speaking on The Seaman Says Podcast, Warnock shared his opinion on Spence’s latest performances, admitting he feels proud of the player’s progress:

"Well, I watched Djed Spence and I thought, what a player, you know. Unfortunately for me, I'm hoping that some of the things I said to him at Middlesbrough might have come through. Because he wasn’t a nice lad."

"He had a few problems, I thought, at Middlesbrough. And he had to sort himself out. But last night, when you looked at him on the pitch last night, I even thought, I bet he’s done all right off the pitch now," Warnock explained.

He also clarified that, despite not being fond of Spence as a person, he never doubted his abilities, "He’s learnt so quickly, hasn’t he?" Warnock said.

Furthermore, he suggested that former Tottenham manager Antonio Conte didn’t truly want to sign Spence but was simply looking to bring in an English player.

"I don't think Conte wanted him, if I'm honest. But, and you'll give him a chance. And I looked at it, I thought he was refreshing me. That's nice. Everything he did, I thought, that'll do for me."

Spence is living the dream at Tottenham

According to reports, Spence had a reality check during his loan spell, which motivated him to push himself to the highest level.

He has shown that he has learned from past mistakes and matured to meet the high standards expected at Tottenham.

The truth is, Spence has been given more opportunities within the first team, allowing him to showcase his talent.

He arrived at the club as a young boy with a dream, and now, he is finally making it a reality.

Last summer, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison was left out of Gareth Southgate's final squad as England manager for the European Championships - after struggling to discover form upon his return from injury last season, something he even noted himself.

After Southgate put an end to his eight year stint as England manager, just two days after the tournament. Subsequently, U21 manager Lee Carsley was appointed interim manager, with the remit of three camps, and six nations league games. Despite numerous drop outs in that time - Maddison was not included in any of the squads.

However, with Thomas Tuchel since appointed manager - you would assume that everybody has a clean slate. So the question is - has the Spurs midfielder done enough to be named in his first squad next month?

Has Spurs midfielder James Maddison done enough for an England recall next month?

This season - perhaps quietly - Maddison has scored nine goals in the Premier League. The only English midfielder that can better that is Cole Palmer - with 14. Even then, three of those goals were penalties, and that is with over 800 more minutes than the Spurs midfielder.

The only other English players to score more than the 28-year old are Ollie Watkins and Liam Delap - two strikers - and he has more non penalty goals than Delap. He has also scored two more league goals than Jude Bellingham.

On top of these goals, he also has five assists - the latest of which came against Ipswich Town on Saturday, where he showed absolutely sublime footwork before assisting Djed Spence - showing a player really high on confidence.

Sure, stats aren't everything - and there are other things to consider in football. England also have a lot of depth in midfield areas, with a lot of quality players. However, how many players would you have above Maddison at the moment?

Form is not the only thing to consider. It's actually a pet hate when people think it is. For example, Argentina wouldn't have ever started an in form Maxi Rodriguez over an out of form Lionel Messi. You do have to look at a player's general level too.

That being said - aside from Jude Bellingham, whom feels like a non negotiable - are there any other attacking midfielders that could be above Maddison, regardless of form? Wouldn't say so when it comes to Phil Foden. Morgan Rogers is very talented, an exceptional ball carrier - but not him either.

The same applies for Morgan Gibbs-White, then who else is there? Although a different type of player, wouldn't have Conor Gallagher over Maddison. The consistently linked to Spurs, Angel Gomes, is better deeper.

This excellent season from the midfielder has also come whilst being tasked to play deeper, with more responsibility both in build up and defensively, yet it has has no negative impact on him, and in fact, has seemed to make him even better.

So, the overall verdict feels pretty clear - Maddison definitely deserves an England call up next month. As we often say, from a selfish point of view, you'd be happy for him to get two weeks of rest - but a call would definitely be merited, and we know he is a confidence player - so may well do him a lot of good.

Tottenham Hotspur are more than ready to put on a strong performance in their upcoming clash against Manchester City.

After what was shaping up to be a rather disappointing season, Spurs seem to be regaining confidence following their recent 1-4 victory over Ipswich last Saturday.

Let’s not forget they also secured a win against Manchester United before that.

Now, rumours are circulating that a new leader is emerging within the team—and it's none other than a defender. But before diving into that, here are some recent updates on the club.

Reports from a few days ago suggest that Tottenham have set their sights on midfielder Pablo Barrios and are willing to make a 'large investment' to secure the young talent.

Additionally, Dr Ben Rosenblatt, an expert in athlete health and biomechanics, has explained the possible reason behind Micky van de Ven’s recurring hamstring injuries.

Kevin Danso looks right at home at Tottenham

Now, back to the leadership talk within Spurs. The player in question is Austrian defender Kevin Danso.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Darren Ambrose (ex-pro and Tottenham fan) expressed his admiration for Danso’s leadership qualities:

"In terms of Kevin Danso coming into the team, the biggest compliment you can give him is he’s looked like he’s been there for years," he explained.

"He's come in, he looks assured. He's done a recovery tackle last Sunday on Hojlund, who’s not slow, by the way, which was fantastic on Sunday. So yeah, it doesn’t look like a new signing and he looks like he’s a leader."

Kevin Danso brings experience and stability to Spurs

Despite being a recent arrival at the club, Danso's experience is already proving invaluable. With Tottenham still battling a lengthy injury list, his presence brings much-needed stability to the squad.

Hopefully, he will get more game time in the future, as he has only featured twice since joining the club.

Meanwhile, Spurs are still dealing with defensive absences, including Cristian Romero, who remains sidelined with a quadriceps injury and is yet to return to training.

Micky van de Ven has also been out since November, with the coaching staff taking a cautious approach to his recovery.

Given Danso’s physicality and commanding presence on the pitch, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him become a true leader during matches.

And when Romero returns, they could form a formidable and aggressive defensive partnership.

So far this weekend, we have already covered how things went for Spurs loanees in the Championship, as well as for George Abbott and Notts County in League Two. Here is a review of how the rest of the weekend went for the current loanees.

Looking at the action for the rest of Tottenham Hotspur's loanees

In League One, there was action for Josh Keeley, Jamie Donley, and their Leyton Orient side – as they looked to build on an impressive win over Wrexham in mid week when they faced Bolton Wanderers – also away from home. As always, both players were in the starting XI. Â

Although they took the lead five minutes before half time, the O’s could not make it a perfect week, conceding two goals without reply in the second half – as they were condemned to a 2-1 defeat. Tough week having two games up North within the space of a few days. Â

Despite the defeat, Orient remain in the play off positions, with 53 points from 32 games – though are now only above Charlton Athletic and their hosts on goal difference.Â

Next up is a very tricky away game against runaway league leaders Birmingham City on Tuesday evening, for a 19:45 GMT kick off. Â

Down in the National League, Luca Gunter started for Wealdstone, as they made it two wins in a week with a 4-2 win at home to Ebbsfleet United. These wins have given the Stones some room to breathe – as they now sit in 18th place, with 35 points from their 32 games – two points above the relegation zone, with superior goal difference. Â

Next up is an away game against Tamworth on Tuesday evening, for a 19:45 GMT kick off.Â

Over in Belgium, Luka Vuskovic started for KVC Westerlo as they hosted Charleroi in the Belgium Pro League, though Alfie Devine was again out with an injury. In the first half, Vuskovic found the back of the net – for his seventh goal in 25 league outings this season – pretty incredible for a central defender. Â

However, despite this goal, Westerlo could not get the job done in the second half, conceding three uninterrupted goals to lose the game 3-1. This defeat leaves them in 13th place – the final relegation round place – with 30 points from their 27 games. Next up is an away game against OH Leuven on Sunday – for an 18:15 GMT kick off. Â

North of the border, Alfie Dorrington was an unused sub for Aberdeen – as they beat Kilmarnock 1-0 at home in the Scottish Premiership. This win has them third in the league, with 41 points from 27 games. Next up is an away game against Celtic on Tuesday evening, for a 20:00 GMT kick off. Â

Finally, Alejo Veliz was an unused sub for RCD Espanyol, as they pulled off a big 1-0 away to Alaves in La Liga. This win leaves them 15th in the league, with 27 points from their 25 games so far. Next up is an away game against Villarreal next Monday night – the third of March, for a 20:00 GMT kick off.Â

Like every position in the game, full-back evolves over the years as demands on players in that role change. There’s been attacking full-backs, defensive full-backs, full-backs that aren’t allowed over the halfway line, overlapping full-backs, and the development of “wing-backs” (I still remember the English media mocking an England manager once for using the term “wing-back” as if he had caused some great national insult). Sometimes, the style of play is associated with teams, eras, or even a decade. I recently was told Aaron Wan-Bissaka was transferred from Man United as he was too much of a “90s-style full-back”. (I’m not sure either. Man United were certainly more successful in the 90s than they are currently.)

Even with so many different iterations of the position, I don’t think I’ve seen a system designed to use them in quite the way that Ange does. There is sometimes the traditional overlap, but also often an underlap and done so in steps that they gradually move infield, often ending up in the central attacking positions. Whatever results Ange’s tactics yield (and this season has been a mix to say the least), I do like that we play on the front foot and do so a little differently to everyone else. We are trying something different.

And there’s few greater differences at the moment than one of own full-backs Djed Spence’s situation at Spurs. Spence’s start at Spurs hasn’t been smooth. A young player, signed in 2022 after impressing in the Championship for Nottingham Forest, Spence signed a long-term contract and good things were expected. The transfer seemed to have taken forever, which at least gave the impression of how much he must have been wanted by the management at the time. Then we barely saw him. A few very rare appearances for Spurs and 3 loans (Rennes, Leeds, Genoa) were quickly followed up by rumors of management never wanting the transfer and problems in training. It looked like a disappointing end might be in the future.

Fast forward to the most recent few months and Spence has arguably been our best player. He’s played much of that time on his opposite side at left-back but still impressed. He’s defending well but looking very comfortable on the ball, willing to take players on, dribbling past opponents. Full-back play like that has often been missing this season vs. last and it’s been noticeable in our overall performances. In some of our poorer games this season (thinking particularly league cup semi-final at Anfield), he’s even been our best attacking threat as well. It was interesting in the win at Ipswich this weekend, Spence again started at right back. A fair decision on recent form.

Now while Ange, as a manager who places a high degree of importance on the full-backs, should of course take some credit, it should also be remembered that Ange himself seemed reluctant to play Spence earlier this season. He chose not to even register him in the original Europa League squad.

In a season of many lows so far, it’s good to have found a high. And now Europa League gives us an opportunity for an amazing turnaround. And Djed’s been added to that Europa squad now. Who says Ange isn’t flexible?