Spurs Web

Tamworth FC midfielder Tom Tonks has admitted that he was in awe of how good Lucas Bergvall was for Tottenham when he came up against the North London club in the FA Cup last season.

The romance of the FA Cup comes from the fact that some of the highest-paid footballers in the world sometimes come against semi-professionals, who play many tiers lower.

That is what happened when Tottenham Hotspur were drawn away at non-league side Tamworth FC last season, which means that Spurs had to travel to Lamb Ground, which had a capacity of just 4000.

Ange Postecoglou’s men made hard work of the tie, which went into extra-time, but Spurs’ quality eventually told as they emerged 3-0 winners.

Tom Tonks admits Lucas Bergvall was on a different level in Tottenham clash

Even though Tamworth put on a decent showing, Tonks confessed that the Spurs players were on a different level in terms of their strength, athleticism and technical quality.

The midfielder admitted that he was particularly impressed with Lucas Bergvall, tipping the Swede to evolve into a top player.

When asked about facing Tottenham, the Tamworth man told Ballers Mindset: “Mate, it was so good. You know when people say, ‘I could play in the Prem’, nah man, you can’t play the Prem.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“They’re just so strong, so quick. Bissouma put his hand on my chest and nearly knocked me out – he was that strong, but the way they move across the pitch it’s different.

“That young lad, Bergvall, he glides across the pitch, and I think he was 18 years old, he’s going to be some player. There are levels to this game. They were very, very good.”

This could be a big season for Lucas Bergvall

Bergvall swept all of Tottenham’s end-of-season awards last season, which is a ridiculous achievement for a teenager in his first year in the Premier League.

The 19-year-old finds himself out of the team at the start of the Thomas Frank era, with Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Pape Sarr all seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.

Thomas Frank is already making an impression at Tottenham Hotspur, and Micky van de Ven has revealed something he has observed about his new manager.

Thomas Frank knew he was taking on a tough task when he made the decision to become the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur. Ange Postecoglou had just been sacked even after winning the Europa League, showing the high demands of the job.

Frank was in a fairly comfortable position at Brentford. Tottenham’s cross-city neighbours never looked in danger of relegation from the Premier League, while no one was calling for Frank’s sacking for failing to qualify for any European competitions.

However, Frank decided to take on the daunting task of managing Spurs and he is already experiencing how unpredictable it can be.

Tottenham got off to a dream start in the league, defeating Burnley and Manchester City. This was followed up with a home defeat to Bournemouth, showing that no one week is the same.

Micky van de Ven heaps praise on Thomas Frank at Tottenham

Despite Frank already tasting defeat against Bournemouth, as well as being on the wrong end of a UEFA Super Cup comeback, Micky van de Ven has been impressed with his new boss. He has revealed that Frank has standards which he expects his players to meet and they are already having an effect on the squad.

Van de Ven told Tottenham Hotspur: “You can see that he really lives the game. He loves it, and every time when he speaks about it, you see it, he’s on everything, even in pre-season.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“Of course, we still have a lot to improve, but even at this point, everyone knows what the gaffer expects from them, and everyone does it. I have the feeling that he just got his way of playing, way of thinking, the way he thinks about football, he got it quite quickly into the group.”

Frank has the chance to get Spurs on a winning run

Frank will be keen on continuing to share his philosophy and expectations after the international break, including with the club’s newest recruits. He will certainly have some confidence considering Tottenham’s upcoming fixtures.

Spurs are up against West Ham when club football returns, before hosting Manor Solomon and his Villarreal teammates in the Champions League. Tottenham will then take on Doncaster and Wolves before a trip to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt. This will be followed by Leeds away and Aston Villa at home.

Michael Dawson has opened up on his decision to swap Tottenham Hotspur for Hull City in 2014, with the former Spurs captain admitting that it was the wrong call.

While Dawson may not make anyone’s list of the top 20 players Tottenham have had in the Premier League era, few players were as revered by the Spurs faithful as he was.

The England international, who made 236 appearances for the Lilywhites over nine years, wore his heart on his sleeve and was a real leader at the back for the North Londoners.

The centre-back departed Tottenham ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s first season in charge, and in hindsight, he admits he made a mistake.

Michael Dawson reveals Mauricio Pochettino was happy to keep him at Tottenham

The Tottenham fan-favourite has now confessed that he left N17 too early and that he should have stayed at the club for a bit longer.

He explained that a number of factors, including the possibility of not getting regular game time, convinced him to leave, but he admitted he almost immediately regretted his decision.

Dawson told Hollie’s Hotspurs: “Emotional, a challenge and a chore. Was it the right time? It was the wrong decision in hindsight, but we don’t have got a crystal ball.

MORE SPURS STORIES

When asked about whether he would have liked to have played under Pochettino, the 41-year-old said: “100 per cent. I did pre-season with Poch, and he was a great guy, he didn’t say he wanted me to leave. I could have stayed, but was I going to play? A lot of things came into the decision to leave.

“I remember driving home from Hull, the day after I signed and remember thinking, ‘I wish I could phone Daniel (Levy) to tell him to take me back’. Nothing against Hull, it just wasn’t the right time for me to leave Spurs, but as I said, there were too many things in my mind that swayed me to make that decision.”

Another of Dawson’s former Spurs teammates regrets leaving

Just like Dawson, another one of his former Tottenham teammates has admitted multiple times over the years that he made a huge mistake by leaving the Lilywhites when he did.

Spurs hero Rafael van der Vaart has said that leaving Tottenham in 2012 was the worst decision of his career.

Tottenham Hotspur have just announced that they have hired another former Arsenal figure, who will follow Vinai Venkatesham to N17.

It has been a summer of change at the boardroom level for Spurs, with the most high-profile change coming last week when Daniel Levy was asked to leave by the Lewis family after 24 years at the helm of the club.

Peter Charrington, who serves as a director at ENIC, has been appointed non-executive chairman of Spurs in what will be a much less hands-on role than Levy.

The main responsibility will thus fall on Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who is no stranger to calling the shots at a top Premier League club, having previously served as the chief at Arsenal.

Adam Gardiner swaps Arsenal for Tottenham

Tottenham have now confirmed that yet another ex-Arsenal employee will be arriving at Lilywhite House, with Adam Gardiner being confirmed as Spurs’ new chief marketing officer.

Gardiner served as the Gunners’ marketing director for five years, before which he held various roles at the top of Nike for over a decade.

In their announcement, Spurs announced that Gardiner will begin in his new role at the turn of the year, and that he will “lead on the development and execution of the Club’s brand, marketing, and content strategies to further deepen engagement with our fans.”

MORE SPURS STORIES

Gardiner and Vinai Venkatesham react to the appointment

Gardiner admitted that he is thrilled to be joining Tottenham and stated his desire to make Spurs supporters proud in his new role.

He said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the club. Tottenham Hotspur has a rich history and strong values, and there’s a huge opportunity ahead. I’m honoured to be appointed and look forward to working with a talented team to make Spurs supporters proud.”

Venkatesham confirmed that Gardiner has been brought through the door primarily to strengthen the club’s connection with their supporters.

Tottenham Hotspur have now set a deadline for interested parties to declare whether they intend to bid for the club.

Just two days after the news of Daniel Levy’s departure, it emerged that two different consortia began talks with Tottenham regarding a takeover of the club.

The report revealed that one of them was PCP International Finance Limited, headed by former Newcastle United chief Amanda Staveley.

Spurs then announced on Sunday that they rejected two approaches to buy a stake in the club, including the one from PCP.

Tottenham Hotspur set a deadline for investors to declare bid intentions

Subsequently, PCP said that it does not intend to make an offer for Spurs but “reserves the right under the Takeover Code to re-enter negotiations if another party makes a formal offer.”

After that public declaration, PCP are not allowed to launch an offer for Tottenham Hotspur for the next six months, unless invited to do so by the club or if another party launches an offer.

Now, Sky Sports have said that Tottenham’s majority shareholder, ENIC, has set a deadline of 5 pm on October 5 for interested groups to declare whether or not they intend to bid for the club.

MORE SPURS STORIES

We will thus likely find out over the next few weeks how many consortia are seriously considering a takeover offer of the North London club.

The Lewis family maintain they do not want to sell

According to various reports, the Lewis family have maintained that they do not intend to sell Tottenham, and instead want to spearhead an ambitious project.

The same was also backed up by Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who hinted that the Lewis family are ready to invest in Spurs to help the club achieve on-pitch success.

It will be interesting to see if their stance changes if a sufficiently large offer arrives for the club.

Djed Spence won his first cap for England in their win over Serbia and, by doing so, helped Tottenham Hotspur set a new record.

With Dominic Solanke and James Maddison out injured, Spence was the only Tottenham Hotspur representative in the England squad.

It is a far cry from five or six years ago when Tottenham representatives dominated the Three Lions set-up.

The full-back came on in the 69th minute in Belgrade as England thrashed Serbia 5-0, and he made history in more ways than one.

Tottenham claim a proud England record

Spence became the first-ever Muslim player to play for England, but that was not the only record that was broken on Monday night.

The former Middlesbrough man became the 80th Tottenham player to represent England in their history.

That means that more Spurs players have represented the Three Lions than players from any other club across the sport.

MORE SPURS STORIES

Spurs fans will be hoping Spence’s development is the start of a turnaround

Within a few years, Tottenham have gone from having five or six players in and around the England starting eleven to barely anyone in the squad.

Spence is the first England debutant from Spurs for eight years, with Harry Winks being the last player to earn his first cap, all the way back in 2017.

Micky van de Ven was asked about how long he intends to remain at Tottenham Hotspur and his answer will delight Spurs supporters.

In recent history, Tottenham Hotspur have not been too fond of parting ways with their players. This is particularly true of the top performers in the Tottenham first-team squad. After all, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son were only allowed to leave with one year remaining on their contracts.

However, with the departure of Daniel Levy as Chairman, Spurs could adopt a different transfer strategy which would see a high rate of squad turnover.

Whether this happens or not, Tottenham should still be confident in holding onto one of their most important players for now in Micky van de Ven. The centre-back signed a six year contract when he joined, meaning there Spurs can relax for a year or two before thinking about offering him a new deal.

Micky van de Ven is keen to remain at Tottenham

It looked as though Spurs might lose van de Ven’s defensive partner earlier this summer. Cristian Romero was heavily linked with Atletico Madrid, but after all was said and done, the aggressive defender put pen to paper and committed his future to Spurs.

Van de Ven might not be thinking about signing a new contract just yet, but he has revealed that he is keen on being at Tottenham for the long-term.

When asked by Tottenham Hotspur if he sees himself as being Romero’s centre back partner for a long time, van de Ven replied: “Yes, that’s what I hope!”

MORE SPURS STORIES

Spurs need van de Ven and Romero as much as each other

Some Tottenham supporters enjoy debating about which of van de Ven and Romero is the better player, but why not just appreciate both? The defensive duo are both superb and both will be essential to any success Spurs experience this season.

The dip in quality when the two centre-backs were injured last season was as clear as day. Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray did their best, but van de Ven and Romero are on another level. Thomas Frank will be determined to ensure both are kept free from injury, particularly as Spurs did not sign another defender late in the transfer window, despite a number of rumours.

James Maddison has revealed what he really thinks about a Tottenham legend, describing him as one of the best finishers the Premier League has ever seen.

Tottenham Hotspur have had several former players nominated for the Premier League Hall of Fame, with voting now live for supporters to decide who makes the final cut.

Jermaine Defoe, Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand are all part of the latest shortlist, with their standout performances for Tottenham ensuring they are recognised amongst the league’s elite.

One current Tottenham player has now shared his thoughts on the inclusion of Jermaine Defoe, who is joined on the list by several other greats from English football’s top flight.

James Maddison hails Tottenham legend Jermain Defoe

James Maddison has paid tribute to the quality of Tottenham legend Jermain Defoe following his nomination for the Premier League Hall of Fame.

The former Leicester City midfielder made it clear that he has always been a fan of Defoe’s goalscoring instincts, insisting that the striker deserves to be remembered as one of the most clinical finishers in the history of the competition.

Writing on his Instagram story, Maddison said: “One of the best natural finishers the league’s ever seen, in my honest opinion.”

MORE SPURS STORIES

James Maddison made some Spurs history of his own

While Jermain Defoe’s place in Tottenham and Premier League history is unquestionable, James Maddison has already carved out his own legacy in north London.

The 28-year-old played a key role in Tottenham’s Europa League triumph last season, a victory that brought an end to the club’s 17-year wait for silverware and secured only the fourth major trophy in their history.

Micky van de Ven cannot go anywhere without meeting a Tottenham Hotspur supporter who thanks the flying Dutchman for his greatest moment in a Spurs shirt.

Tottenham Hotspur have a mixed history when it comes to signing centre-backs. For every Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, there is a Davinson Sanchez and a Federico Fazio.

Spending £43m on a Wolfsburg defender with no European competition experience might have seemed like a risky move. However, Micky van de Ven has been outstanding for Tottenham and was badly missed when he struggled with injuries last season.

The blistering pace of van de Ven is one of his standout qualities and he would surely not look out of place if he started further up the pitch, but he is also a solid defender. When it comes to one-on-one duels, van de Ven can often cause attacking players to become frustrated.

Van de Ven is still receiving praise for his Europa League final heroics

Until May this year, it would have been difficult to pinpoint van de Ven’s best moment since joining Spurs. This is because he has been so consistent that it is hard to pick one specific thing he did. However, this changed towards the end of the Europa League final, when the 24-year-old kept Tottenham level when it looked certain Manchester United would score.

Since this moment, van de Ven has continued to receive the adoration of Spurs supporters wherever he goes.

He told Tottenham Hotspur: “To be honest they [Tottenham supporters] keep bringing it up. Every time when I see a Tottenham fan in the city and they walk up to me they’re like, ‘thank you so much for the clearance’ or ‘thank you so much for the trophy’ and everything.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“That’s a nice thing where everybody just keeps reminding you.”

Micky Van de Ven will be ready for his next big Tottenham challenge

Micky van de Ven has had his first taste of the Europa League and it was a roaring success. Whenever he and Cristian Romero were fit to start, there was a notable difference in the quality of the Tottenham backline.

He now has an even greater opportunity this season, as Spurs compete with Europe’s best teams in the Champions League. Tottenham have already learned their league phase opponents and finishing in a good position will be far from straightforward.

Van de Ven was part of a Tottenham defence which fell apart in the final 10 minutes of the UEFA Super Cup and he must now face PSG again, only this time it is in Paris. The clash against Borussia Dortmund will also be tough, particularly as the last time van de Ven came up against them, his Wolfsburg team were battered 6-0 in a humiliating defeat.

However, van de Ven has improved since then and will be confident in his ability to battle the best attackers in Europe.

Tottenham Hotspur are still struggling to shift Yves Bissouma, but with windows abroad yet to close, there remains one final way out for the midfielder before the clock runs down.

Tottenham Hotspur have so far been unable to sell Yves Bissouma despite their attempts during the British transfer window, which officially shut on September 1.

Bissouma has been made available for a move away from North London, but all hope is not lost just yet, because while the Premier League window has slammed shut, others remain open across Europe and beyond, giving Spurs the chance to still negotiate an exit.

The Turkish transfer market stays active until 12 September, while the Saudi Pro League window remains open for a further two weeks.

Tottenham could sanction Yves Bissouma loan move

Tottenham have already made attempts to sell Yves Bissouma to Fenerbahce and Galatasaray; however, both moves collapsed amid concerns over his fitness levels.

According to Football Insider, there is now an alternative on the table, as Tottenham could look at sanctioning a loan move to offload the 29-year-old midfielder if no permanent deal is forthcoming before the foreign deadlines.

It is understood that although Spurs would ideally prefer a sale, the priority is to move the player out of N17, and with interest still bubbling abroad, a loan deal would allow them to reduce the wage bill and clear space in Thomas Frank’s squad.

Yves Bissouma’s wages add pressure on Spurs

Bissouma is one of Tottenham’s higher earners, picking up wages of around £60,000 per week. The midfielder also has just one year remaining on his current deal, which means that if Tottenham fail to move him on now, there is the looming risk of him walking away for free next summer.