Football London

Tottenham Hotspur will host Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday night knowing their season hinges on their fate in the competition.

Spurs have spluttered in the Premier League and lie 14th in the table, despite having scored the second-highest amount of goals in the competition. They reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals but exited in the fourth round of the FA Cup which means the Europa League offers the last chance for Ange Postecoglou and his players to make something of this campaign and try to win the rarest of things at Tottenham in recent decades - a trophy.

Frankfurt will present a tough test for the north London side, having dispatched Dutch giants Ajax with little fuss in the round of 16. Postecoglou finally has a nearly full squad to choose from, with only Dejan Kulusevski, Kevin Danso and long-term absentee Radu Dragusin missing.

The Tottenham head coach has decisions to make in various areas of the pitch, particularly in the full-back slots and who plays on the right wing. Spurs are then back in action on Sunday at Wolves and those who do not start against Frankfurt could well do so at Molineux with such a quick turnaround.

Here's the team we reckon Postecoglou might select for this big Europa League quarter-final clash:

It's been over two years since, arguably, Wales' greatest ever footballer - Gareth Bale - hung up his boots.

Before retiring, at the tender age of 33, the Cardiff-born sensation earned 111 caps for his beloved Wales, scoring a record 41 goals and also leading them to three major tournaments - including their first World Cup in 64 years.

On the club front, he kick-started his career at Southampton before becoming a key player at Tottenham and also securing a then-world record £85million transfer to Real Madrid.

During his stint in Spain, he claimed five Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles before wrapping up his career with an MLS Cup title with Los Angeles FC.

These victories ensured Bale retired as one of the most-decorated players of the modern era, boasting 18 trophies, while leaving an impressive legacy for those in Wales and beyond to aspire to.

Although he's no longer on the pitch, Bale hasn't lost his superstar status - spending much of his early retirement years jet-setting on dream holidays and attending top events alongside sporting and actual royalty, such as Novak Djokovic, Steph Curry and Prince William.

However, it hasn't all been leisure and relaxation for the Welshman, who remains in remarkable shape two years post-retirement, and has kept himself busy with various business ventures.

football.london brings you everything you need to know about Bale's incredible new life off the pitch;

Dream new life

Bale has been enjoying life off the pitch with his wife and children. He tied the knot with his childhood love, Emma Rhys-Jones, in 2019.

The couple already had three children - Alba, Nava and Axel - before welcoming their fourth child, Xander, in 2021.

Since hanging up his boots, Bale has shared numerous snaps of family time, jet-setting on holidays and creating cherished memories with his children. The family trips to Abu Dhabi, Lapland and the United States have all been documented on social media.

The Welshman has also graced several high-profile events, sitting front row at global fashion shows and adding to his modelling portfolio with Burberry.

He's rubbed shoulders with countless celebrities - snapping photos with Djokovic at Wimbledon, gaming with F1 star Lando Norris and playing golf with Rory McIlroy.

Even at home, Bale leads an enviable lifestyle. He's built a custom three-hole golf course in the garden of his £4m-valued mansion in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The mini-course features replicas of three of the world's most famous holes; comprising the 17th at Sawgrass, the 'postage stamp' 8th at Royal Troon and the 12th at Augusta National.

Net worth

Two years post-retirement, Bale's net worth is estimated to be a staggering £120m. The ex-Real Madrid star, who pocketed a staggering £600,000-per-week - while playing in Spain's capital - wasn't just content with his on-pitch earnings; he's made shrewd business decisions to secure his financial future.

Bale scored off the pitch when he opened 'Elevens' bar in Cardiff back in 2017 - a move that proved to be the start of a winning streak in the hospitality game. Embracing his passion for golf, he went on to launch Par 59 on Cardiff's lively St Mary Street, five years later, and replicated its success by opening another Par 59 in Bristol.

Despite not drinking himself, Bale showed business acumen with his 'significant investment' in Penderyn Distillery, becoming a minority shareholder. His business interests don't stop there; he's also teed up an investment in the TGL golf league, helmed by Tiger Woods and McIlroy.

Besides his ventures, Bale has enjoyed lucrative endorsement deals with global giants including Adidas, Playstation, and BMW throughout his illustrious career.

After hanging up his boots, speculation swirled around Bale possibly purchasing a football club. Former Wales assistant manager, Osian Roberts, shared with The Athletic how Bale's teammates nudged him towards buying Merthyr Town FC.

"They joked during the Euros that they wanted Gareth to buy a Welsh club lower down," Roberts said. "It was Merthyr (who play in the seventh tier of the English league system), actually.

"Everyone would sign for him and take them all the way through the pyramid to the Premier League so they could all play together every week. That's how close they were - they didn't want to just do it in the international breaks, they wanted to be together every day of the week."

Physique and sporting goals

The Tottenham icon recently flaunted his athletic build on Instagram during a getaway in Abu Dhabi, showcasing his chiselled abs and toned body - while enjoying some beach time. Despite hanging up his boots over two years ago, it's clear Bale has maintained a remarkable level of fitness, evidenced by his muscular frame and six-pack.

Off the pitch, Bale's passion for golf is no secret - and he's been seen sharpening his skills on the greens with an impressive handicap of two. Golf star McIlroy, who played with Bale at a recent event, commended his abilities, suggesting Bale has the potential to achieve a scratch handicap.

"He has the potential to get to scratch [a handicap of zero], the way he hits the ball he could be a scratch player, but he's only played for the last few years," McIlroy remarked.

Just after hanging up his boots, Bale wowed on the golf course by sinking his first hole-in-one during an outing in California, all caught on film by a buddy. A clip shared on his Instagram shows him gearing up for a swing when his pal suggests: "Hole-in-one time, never had one. This is the hole to do it."

The exhilaration was palpable when Bale and his group saw the ball drop into the cup from 200 yards out, in turn prompting his friend to celebrate saying: "He doesn't just do bicycle kicks" - a nod to Bale's iconic 2018 Champions League final goal.

In recent times, Bale took on the role of ambassador for the Underrated Golf European Tour, a concept by NBA legend Curry, while he has also been actively involved with Adidas creating golf content.

Sinking Saints and preparing for Frankfurt, click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham.

Brennan Johnson spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon at a Europa League press conference ahead of Tottenham's quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Despite a poor season, Spurs are looking to end the campaign on a high with silverware to play for in the European competition. Johnson will be looking to play his part after scoring twice in the win against Southampton to make it 16 goals this season and 20 goal involvements in all.

The Wales international could have ended up with a hat-trick if he had been allowed to take the penalty that he earned late in the game, only for teenager Mathys Tel to be handed the ball by vice-captain Cristian Romero to score his first Premier League goal with the team's usual penalty takers all off the pitch.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Johnson on Wednesday. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

You've got 16 goals now, how proud are you of that?

It is something that I am definitely proud of. It was a target for me at the start of the season to score more goals than I did last season. There’s a lot of work that goes into it, positionally, the types of finishes that I want to improve at. Sixteen goals is something I’m very happy with.

Do you just roll your eyes and think ‘typical’ with Forest having an amazing season after leaving them?

(Laughs) No. Of course I’m happy for Nottingham Forest and the season that they’re having but I’m delighted to be here. I’ve loved every second. I think the size of the club, the people within the club and the fans, it’s something that I could only have wished for when I was younger, so yeah, really happy to be here.

You've scored all of these goals, do you feel underappreciated?

Not really, no. Within the team and the staff we have here, it’s definitely made clear to me to feel appreciated and that’s all that matters to me, to be honest. My colleagues, the staff and the manager make me feel appreciated. I think the style of play really suits me. All the people in the club are super supportive of what I’ve achieved this season. Within these walls I feel really good about it.

You've got this habit of popping up at the back post?

It suits me just because the players we have, the profiles, a lot of fast players, so when the ball gets crossed, there tends to be a lot of space for the ball to go all the way across the pitch and it’s just about me gambling on what position to be in. More times than not this season I’ve been in the right position.

Work does go on on the training ground, there’s a lot of coaches who do a lot of work with me which I’m really appreciative of. There is work that goes into it. But it’s quite instinctive as well, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

Your goal involvements were pretty regular before your injury but you had a bit of a mini-drought before the two goals against the Saints, was it just about finding your sharpness after the injury?

Possibly. It was disappointing to pick up an injury that maybe went a bit longer than I expected. After the injury it’s always tough to hit the ground running. I did score against Ipswich but after that the games came really thick and fast. It was just about trying the best I can to build up my sharpness. I feel like when I’m at my best it is when I’m feeling really sharp, energetic and fit so it was possibly a little bit of that. Then it was more the performance maybe wasn’t as high as it was before that.

With the debate after Sunday's penalty incident, what struck me was that you didn’t want to put Tel off his stride even though you clearly wanted to take the penalty?

All of us attacking players, if there’s a chance to score from 12 yards without it being contested, all of us would want to take it. Once the decision had been made it’s not really my nature to argue or have a fight about who takes a penalty. I’ve been in that situation before, where people are really reluctant to let someone else have a penalty and it can put you off. So once the ball was with Mathys I just wanted to get on the edge of the box and support him. He put it away and he’s a quality player as well so it’s not like I’m doubting his quality. As soon as the ball was put in his hands I backed him to score.

During the winter with all the injuries how much did this competition keep you going as a light at end of the tunnel?

Massively. That period was really tough. There was a crazy amount of injuries. Even in the European games where we had the injuries the lads did really well. Everyone gave literally everything. I think there was one point where we had ten or 11 fit first team players so I was really proud of watching the lads, especially in Europe, for the way they fought in games until the end and got some really good results, away from home as well. Watching it made me proud. It just gave us a great elevation to push on in this competition.

Do you want to win it for Ange Postecoglou with the pressure he's been under?

We want to win it for everyone in the club. Us players and the manager and the backroom staff have been through some tough times this season,. It’s been down to our own mistakes, there have been a lot of games where we haven’t been good enough. It would be an unbelievable feeling to win this competition but I think we don’t want to look too far past this game on Thursday.

Did you hear what the manager said about people turning gold to crap when it came to the penalty incident? Did he speak to you after the match?

No, no, we didn’t speak about it after the game.

Do you agree with what he said, he was getting at wanting a winning mentality?

Yeah, I agree. I think we’re going to go into competitions that if it goes down to penalties or if there’s a penalty to be taken, there’s so much on the line so it’s about who is feeling the most confident, who is performing the best, who is performing the best and whoever is on penalties will take the penalty so I agree. In this tournament, it’s not about giving people free goals, it’s about scoring goals and if we get an opportunity to increase our lead, or get a goal back we have to make sure we score the goal so I agree with what he said about it.

With social media, you came off and went on a long scoring run? Are you still off it?

I don’t really use social media that much to be honest, I have some accounts on it, I don’t check it too much or go on it too much. For me personally, I don’t think it’s to do with football or wanting to perform on the football pitch, it’s more what I’m spending my time on when I’m not training. I want to make the most of the time that I get to spend the time with people close to me and I took a decision but the run that I went on after coming off it was a bit of a coincidence. A few people thought that was the key to scoring goals but it was just coincidence the way it happened.

Craig Bellamy was talking about you on Monday Night Football, and watching Raheem Sterling videos with you — can you talk about how that’s affected your season?

Yeah, I've really enjoyed playing with Wales. I feel like we're in a really good place at the minute, we have some players who are playing really well in the Premier League and at the highest level. The staff and the manager have been amazing, they give you little bits to watch.

A few of the members of staff had worked with Raheem Sterling, so they kind of just wanted to pass on a message that they'd worked with him, which I was all ears for, to be honest. I feel like he's an unbelievable player who's had an amazing career, but doesn't get the respect that he deserves. He scored so many goals in the Premier League and that's something that I want to do as well.

It feels like you've scored more one touch goals this season?

I think it's more just the position that the lads had got me in that I don't really need to take many touches to score. I'm very thankful for the great assists and the goals that I've been able to score.”

Can you go into the specifics of what the coaches have worked with you on this season?

One would be, for example, the first goal on the weekend: noticing that Dom [Solanke] made the run to the front post, and being in position when the ball gets cut back on my left foot. I think something like that — I had been told not to try and hit the ball too hard because it's coming at quite a pace. So, when it's on my left foot, not thinking about it too much, just trying to get a good contact on it.

Also, there's a lot of work that goes into trying to hit the ball into the ground, trying to make it hard for the goalkeepers. That's another tip that I've got this season. So, little things like this to keep in mind. I know, in a game, it's kind of hard to think about all the things that you've been told, but little things like this, if you keep practising it kind of sticks.

Tottenham’s critics have enjoyed this season: Arsenal supporters singing 'Are you Tottenham in disguise' yesterday — how much do you want to win to shut them up?

Personally, I just want to win it for the group of players and the staff. I don't really care about what other people sing and the critics, to be honest. I feel like I switched off from that a long time ago.

I love the lads, all the players in the squad, all the staff, the management team. I feel like we've created a real tight-knit group and I feel like we've all been under a lot of criticism, maybe different people at different points. So it's something that we can all kind of relate to, so we all have that understanding with each other.

When it comes to tournaments like this and being able to progress, it's something that we just want to do for each other because at the end of the day, we've had some tough times and there'd be no better joy to celebrate with the people that have had to go through it like I have as well.

Sinking Saints and preparing for Frankfurt - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media on Wednesday afternoon ahead of Tottenham's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Spurs are desperate to to end a difficult season with a rare piece of silverware and getting past a tricky opponent in Frankfurt over the two upcoming legs in north London and then Germany would be the first stage of doing that. Postecoglou spoke about the home leg on Thursday evening and the players available to him plus the latest injury news.

He was also asked about Brennan Johnson missing out on his hat-trick on Sunday in the win against Southampton after teenager Mathys Tel was handed the ball, for a late penalty Johnson earned, by vice-captain Cristian Romero to score his first Premier League goal.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Postecoglou. Here's the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

How's the team injury-wise and is everyone excited?

Everyone's good from the weekend from a physical standpoint. It's a good place to be for us, hasn't been many occasions when that's happened this year. We're all excited. It's a quarter-final of a European competition, a home game as well which adds to that excitement so looking forward to it.

The Arsenal fans were singing 'Are you Tottenham in disguise?' last night, how important is it to remove that whipping boys tag right now or am I looking into it too much?

I don't know. You're probably looking too much into it. We're trying to concentrate what's important to us right now and that's a big game tomorrow night.

What did you make of the Brennan Johnson and Mathys Tel penalty discussion?

We scored, we won. Delighted. It's incredible, it's just... literally turning gold into crap when it's Tottenham. Seriously. If we're 2-1 up tomorrow night and get a penalty in the last minute, I want the best penalty taker to take it. I mean the one slight against this club is apparently it hasn't been a winner. Well the winner's mentality in the last minute of the game is to score a goal. We scored a goal. And yet somehow in this ultimate universe where everything Tottenham does is wrong, that's come out as a negative. Be that as it may. From my point of view, I was delighted because as I said if that's tomorrow night and we get a penalty in the last minute and get a third goal which could be really decisive, I'm really pleased with the way the players handled it.

Has Brennan...

Mate it doesn't matter what Brennan...

I was going to move on.. Has Brennan given you a decision against Wilson Odobert in that position?

With Brennan, part of the strategy heading into this was we had quite a few players who were coming back from long-term injuries including Wilson, Destiny, Micky van de Ven, Romero. I could keep going on. We had to use games where we needed those guys to play because otherwise if I kept playing Brennan we would be at a point now where Wilson, Destiny, these guys would have had no game time and we may need them.

It wasn’t about just leaving Brennan out because he wasn’t performing. Part of the strategy was we needed to get Wilson some game time. So I’m pleased that both of them have got some game time. Most of our guys now, we are able to give Micky and Destiny a rest on the weekend, are in a position where they are not fatigued because they haven’t been overplayed but they have played enough and that has been really important for us. So we are in a good position from that point of view.

Do you need a positive atmosphere in the stands?

Hugely important. With every European game, whether you watching last night or tonight, whoever is playing at home the atmosphere makes a big impact absolutely it does. I think it is a big part of European football. A lot of teams who have success in European football is on the back of really strong home atmosphere. We hope it is the same tomorrow night for us. We think if we can get the crowd going tomorrow night, and we have had nights like that this year, European nights have been good, the semi-final of the Carabao Cup first leg against Liverpool was really good. We need that tomorrow night because in European football it is a big part of helping what are always tight ties for clubs to get an advantage.

Do you have to savour this moment and opportunity?

I’m not sure how many times the club has been in the quarter-finals of a European competition. Every time you get in there you don’t take it for granted. You have got to make the most of it for sure. It’s going to be a tough game tomorrow. Frankfurt are a good side. They are going well in the Bundesliga. They have a mixture of some really exciting young players and some experience in there. It will be a good challenge for us. When you get to the last eight of a European competition, that is what you expect to face and I’m looking forward to it.

How do you change the mentality of the club so that winning becomes normal?

We are still a little bit away from that. It’s still only the quarter-final stage but you have got yourself to a position where you have an opportunity to progress to the final stages. It is just one step at a time. The most important thing tomorrow night is that we focus on having a strong performance at home. Make sure we play the football that we want to play and we have tried to play. I think we are slowly getting ourselves back into that sort of ability to maintain the levels we need to on a more consistent basis with the players we have available so that has got to be the focus.

How do you think the team has done since you've had more players back? Have you been pleased with what you've seen over the past six or seven weeks?

I can assure you it hasn't been six or seven weeks. Anyway, I think we've been ok. Again, it's been disruptive, trying to juggle getting players game time while also resting some players at different times so we can get to this position where we've got a fairly fit and strong squad to tackle what's ahead.

I thought first half at the weekend was really good. I thought there were some really good signs both with and without the ball, that the lads are getting stronger in the areas we need them to.

You spoke about people turning gold into crap, how much is there an anger in the dressing room to prove to people after this season that with this game that the team is still fighting and is a quality side?

I think that feeling exists, but not because of that. I don't think that's a healthy motivation to have because ultimately you can't win that contest. I just think we're in that position that the good stuff we may do is going to be turned into a glass half full rhetoric and from that perspective I don't think that can be a driver in what we want to do. The lads are really keen to bring success to the club, keep driving the principles of what we started this whole journey with, in terms of the football we want to play, really stick together as they have through the toughest of periods and hopefully we've worked our way into a position where we can make an impact on our season, a really disappointing season for us. I just think there's a real determination to take the opportunity that they've earned at this point.

I don't think you're going to win that argument of convincing people, well I think John wrote that even if we win it, I'm gone anyway. That's not having a go at you, that's just saying the general sentiment of people. So if you're trying to use that as a motivation, you're not going to win that anyway. There's got to be more in it for us and for us what is the most important thing as a group is that we've been through a really tough time but we're still in a position where we can make an impact and you don't know how often you get those opportunities.

We're in a quarter-final and I don't know how many times the club has been in a quarter-final in European competition. You don't want to let that slip you by or have the wrong mindset going into it. I think the players are handling it well in terms of how they're trying to embrace this challenge. They're going to face a top team but they have the capabilities to overcome that.

At the weekend you mentioned Wilson not being ready after he came on, how important is it every player on bench is switched on?

Yeah hugely so and the point I was trying to make with Wilson is he was the key contributor to us winning the penalty at the end, so he makes a big impact. It is about all the players, not just Wilson, he was just an example I used. You kind of know in European competitions it is over two legs and more than likely the dying stages of both legs are going to be hugely important and the way you handle that. Usually that will be handled by guys who are coming on. No one starts and finishes the game with the same 11 players, so it’s about having a readiness for that.

At the moment we’ve got some really good options off the bench and the guys we need them to not just to come on and play their minutes, but to come on and really make an impact. Wilson was the one who won the ball back for Brennan’s penalty and that is the kind of impact we need from the whole group now because it will take the whole challenge of the group to overcome (Frankfurt).

What have you made of Chris Davies’ success at Birmingham?

Yeah delighted for him. I really enjoyed working with Chris. He was only with me for a short time last year, but I really enjoyed working with him. He was a big part of what we built last year. It was ground zero in terms of building a whole football programme in a different direction and he was a big part of that. Delighted for him. Your first job is pretty important when you’re trying to embark on a career as a senior manager and he’s done brilliantly well, which is not surprising. I am sure there is more to come from him.

You are used to changing staff when you go to different jobs, how did you mitigate against losing the consistency of what he brought as you tried to kick on into a second season?

Well I think there were still other people within like Wellsy, Mase, Mile, Birchy, so it wasn’t that disruptive. It would have been more difficult if Chris had been with me for 10 years and then he moves on, but the reason I haven’t had a group of people is that it’s an easy one for us to travail because there is a consistency in message with all the staff I have. Like I said he was great with us last year and I was more than pleased for him to take his opportunity and he’s done well with it.

It's a tough time for the team and yourself, you mentioned the speculation like John's article, how much has this competition kept you going as there's a chance no matter what happens to leave your mark on the club?

Again, you know the only reason I mention John’s article, is because I think that is the general sentiment. I have said before, that is not what drives me. I came to this club with a clear purpose and vision of what the club needed and what I could offer. That is to change the way the team plays, to obviously rejuvenate the squad because it was a squad that was coming towards the end of a cycle and to bring success.

As long as I’m in this position, that’s always my focus irrespective of whatever noise there is or what there may or not been in the future. I don’t see that, that should diminish my burning ambition, my desire and my determination to make that happen. Anything you achieve in life usually comes with a struggle. Certainly everything I have achieved in my life has come with a struggle from a professional perspective. This is just another struggle, but never through this struggle have I lost the will to fight for what I think is the right thing to do and I’ll continue to do that.

Sinking Saints and preparing for Frankfurt - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

Ange Postecoglou and Brennan Johnson are both speaking to the media on Wednesday afternoon at their Europa League press conference ahead of Tottenham's quarter-final first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Spurs are looking to end a difficult season with a rare piece of silverware and getting past a tricky opponent in Frankfurt over the two upcoming legs in north London and then Germany will be the first stage of doing that. Postecoglou will be speaking about the home leg and the players available to him plus any fresh injury news.

Johnson is also set to answer questions from journalists after scoring twice in the win against Southampton to make it 16 goals this season and 20 goal involvements.

The Wales international could have had a hat-trick if he had been allowed to take the penalty that he earned late in the game, only for teenager Mathys Tel to be handed the ball by vice-captain Cristian Romero to score his first Premier League goal. Both Postecoglou and Johnson are expected to be asked about the moment with the older player clearly wanting the opportunity to complete his treble with the team's usual penalty takers all off the pitch.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Postecoglou and Johnson. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

The Tottenham players were put through their paces on Wednesday morning ahead of their big Europa League quarter-final first leg clash against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Spurs' stuttering season of struggle hinges upon what happens on Thursday night and then the second leg in Germany next week as Ange Postecoglou looks to end a difficult campaign with some rare silverware for the north London club. The players were out on the Hotspur Way pitches on Wednesday morning as they went through their final preparations for the midweek match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Here are five things we noticed during the initial open stages of the session that the media were allowed to observe:

Who was missing?

Only three players were absent from the session and those not taking part were the injured trio of Dejan Kulusevski, Kevin Danso and the long-term absentee Radu Dragusin.

All of the other usual suspects were involved, including the unregistered Sergio Reguilon and Timo Werner.

Who joined in?

There was a young academy face among the players as 18-year-old defender James Rowswell joined in training with the first team group.

The teenager, who can play at either centre-back or right-back, was bolstering the numbers with Danso and Dragusin out of action and he looked settled among the senior stars, running on to the training pitches with fellow 18-year-old Archie Gray and slotting into the drills between captain Son Heung-min and vice-captain James Maddison.

Chilly Postecoglou

The Spurs boss came out a couple of minutes after the players did at the Enfield training complex, as they went through their warm-up drills, and immediately looked like the chilly temperatures were not to his liking.

Postecoglou looked visibly cold and soon pulled out a snood that he quickly pulled over his head and after rubbing his arms for a while and shifting from foot to foot, he then also pulled out some gloves from his pockets and put them on. He even started kicking a couple of balls around to up the body heat.

After recent sunny days in England, Wednesday morning's dip in temperatures appeared to catch the Australian off guard.

What they did

The media only get to see the first 15 minutes of the European open training sessions so it was all very light stuff on the whole, not that it's going to be hugely intensive anyway on the morning before a match.

The session began with stretching and jogging drills before going into a various passing exercises before the media were ushered away from the first team area.

Sinking Saints and preparing for Frankfurt - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

Last week saw the publication of Tottenham Hotspur’s accounts for the 2023/24 financial year, a year in which the club finished fifth in the Premier League.

The headline figures were that the club made a pre-tax loss of £26 million, down from the £94.7m pre-tax loss that was seen in the 2022/23 period. It was the fifth financial year in a row that Spurs had made a loss, a trend that started in 2019/20 during the first COVID-impacted campaign, but one that came on the back of the previous five years being profitable.

In recent times, with a world-class stadium completed back in 2019 that has been transformation to the club’s revenue-generating ability, there has been plenty of fan unrest related to a perceived lack of investment into the product on the pitch by chairman Daniel Levy and owners ENIC.

This season has been one of particular struggle, with head coach Ange Postecoglou’s future uncertain with the club languishing in 14th place albeit with the potential to still lift silverware in the UEFA Europa League, something that would see them find a route to next year's Champions League, the competition that supercharges the revenues of those who participate.

Spurs have long been run like a normal business, and in football that doesn’t always go hand in hand given the many unique variables.

When it comes to what clubs can spend within the confines of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), and what they actually spend in line with the business model, the picture varies greatly across the Premier League.

In recent seasons both Everton (twice) and Nottingham Forest have been punished with points deductions by the Premier League for breaching PSR, while clubs such as Chelsea have had to sell assets such as hotels, and even the women’s team, in order to ensure compliance. Aston Villa, Manchester United and Newcastle United are among the list of other Premier League clubs to have had to be mindful of their PSR position.

It hasn’t been much of a concern for Spurs, though. But where do the club stand with PSR up to 2023/24, and what challenges might they face in terms of compliance moving forward given that PSR is sticking around until at least the end of next season as clubs await greater clarity on associated party transaction rules, with the Premier League and Manchester City case yet to be resolved?

For PSR, club finances are assessed over a three-year period, with a maximum of £105m allowed to be lost during that period. There are allowable deductions for investment into infrastructure, the depreciation of tangible fixed assets, the women’s team, community initiatives and the academy.

We already know that all Premier League sides were PSR compliant as the league informed all clubs in early January after requiring them to submit accounts for scrutiny before the end of December last year. The three-year monitoring period for Spurs up to June 30, 2024, had the club reporting £182m in losses.

It was noted in the accounts that “the club continues to comply with and support both UEFA and the Premier League Financial Fair Play criteria.”

Given that the club were some £77million over the £105m allowance that might have seemed curious, but Spurs have a significant amount of allowable deductions, largely due to the depreciation related to the stadium, something that amounts to around £70m per season. Add to that the deductions for youth development, the women’s team and community work and the figure grows further.

Football finance expert Swiss Ramble estimated that Spurs had around £93m per year of allowable deductions when it came to PSR compliance, with that figure made up of depreciation of £70m, £15m on youth development and £3m each on the women’s team and the community.

Using those allowable deductions, Spurs came out as net positive for PSR in 2021/22 at £32m, negative for 2022/23 at £2m given the heavy £95m pre-tax loss, and net positive for 2023/24 at £66m.

That £96m sum, added on top of the £105m that as already allowed, meant that the club had some £201m in PSR headroom before having to be concerned about any kind of Premier League punishment. That was one of the healthiest PSR positions in the Premier League.

Next season’s position will likely see less headroom, but they still won’t be concerned about compliance given the breathing space that they have already created.

The figures for 2024/25 likely won’t make great reading. There will be no hefty player trading profit, which, let’s not forget, involved them having to sell European football’s best striker in Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in a deal that represented pure profit for the club. There will be an increase in European money from a deep run in the Europa League, which stood at just £1.3m for 2023/24, but that will just about touch the £30m mark, a fraction of the £100m-plus that Aston Villa will earn from their Champions League journey this season.

Spurs will also see a sum of around £25.5m drop off what they earned for finishing fifth in 2023/24 compared to what they would earn from the Premier League in merit payments should they end the season in 14th position.

Should Spurs manage to book a spot in the Champions League next season, which would take revenues above £600m from the £528m they stood at in 2024, then they also wouldn’t have issues meeting the financial controls imposed by UEFA.

European football’s governing body has a squad cost ratio as a financial control, where the ratio of player wages, transfers and agent fees is limited to 70 per cent of revenue and profit from player sales. According to Swiss Ramble estimates that stands at 49 per cent, well beneath the limit.

Spurs have the ability to invest, but with some uncertainty about just what revenue streams will look like if competitive success alludes them, much will ride on how they fare in the Europa League as to whether they have the confidence to engage in the market in a significant way this summer and who will be at the helm into next season.

Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham side face a pivotal week as they bid to end such a frustrating season on a high. Currently 14th in the Premier League table and eight points adrift of the top half, all eyes are on how Spurs fare in the Europa League.

The north London club are five games away from European glory, with the first of those coming on Thursday evening at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. The second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie will then take place in Germany seven days later.

Postecoglou is under such intense pressure right now and his job at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium may all come down to whether Spurs triumph in Bilbao come May or not. Spurs were the previous favourites to win the competition but Athletic Club and Manchester United have since jumped ahead of them in terms of the bookmakers' odds.

It certainly will not be straightforward for Tottenham if they are to get their hands on the Europa League as they face a crunch quarter-final showdown against Eintracht Frankfurt. So what exactly are the best and worst routes to the final for Spurs? football.london takes a look below.

Worst route to glory

Spurs know that if they progress beyond Eintracht Frankfurt then they will play either Lazio or Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals. The Italian side are red-hot favourites to knock out their Norwegian counterparts and it would be a shock if Marco Baroni's side were to be eliminated at the quarter-final stage.

It was Lazio who came out on top in the newly-formed league phase table after winning six of their eight games. Their only defeat came against Braga after they had already qualified for the knockout stage of the competition.

Lazio did claim some notable victories in the league phase after hitting Nice for four, securing home wins over Porto and Real Sociedad and beating Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam. It's not just the Europa League they have performed well in, though, as they are sixth in Serie A and only three points off Atalanta in third heading into the business end of the campaign.

If Spurs do overcome Eintracht Frankfurt and then Lazio in the semis to reach the final, Athletic Club would be the nightmare team to come up against. Not only is the final at their San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, they have enjoyed a really strong European campaign to date and they are also fourth in La Liga and on course for a place in next season's Champions League.

Ernesto Valverde's side also boast some excellent players, most notably Spain Euro 2024 winner Nico Williams. The attacker looks set to depart for one of Europe's top clubs sooner rather than later and he will want to go out in style in the Europa League if he is to bid farewell to his current club in the summer.

Best route to glory

Bodo/Glimt would be ideal opponents in the semi-finals if Tottenham are to reach the final four. The Norwegian side were incredibly unlucky to miss out on a top-eight finish in the league phase table as Rangers pipped them to the final spot on goal difference.

They did then get the better of Twente in the knockout phase play-offs following a remarkable second leg tie that saw the game go to extra time following three goals in stoppage time. Bodo/Glimt added two further goals to win 5-2 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate, before then beating Olympiacos 4-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

The Norwegian club have recorded some eye-catching results this campaign and they should not be underestimated at all if Tottenham are to come up against them. In terms of an ideal final opponent, many will see Rangers as the dream ticket.

The sides have already faced each other this season after playing out a 1-1 draw at Ibrox at the start of December, with Spurs needing a late Dejan Kulusevski goal to register a point in Glasgow. Rangers, who are now under the guidance of Barry Ferguson, put Fenerbahce to the sword in the round of 16 but their form under the club legend has been so up and down in the Scottish Premiership.

The Gers lost 2-0 at home to Hibs last weekend and in their previous match they needed three goals in the final 15 minutes to win 4-3 at Dundee after initially trailing 3-1.

Sinking Saints and preparing for Frankfurt - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham

For Tottenham Hotspur this Premier League season has been one of struggle under head coach Ange Postecoglou.

Sitting in 14th position, while hit by a spate of injuries during the season, the performances have fallen below what Spurs fans expect and the lift-off that supporters might have hoped to see by now through the club’s world-class stadium still hasn’t materialised.

Last week saw Spurs publish their financial results for the 2023/24 accounting year, a period in which the club finished fifth in the Premier League and qualified for the UEFA Europa League.

The headline figures were that the club made a pre-tax loss of £26 million, down from the £94.7m pre-tax loss that was seen in the 2022/23 period.

Total revenue for the year decreased by 4 per cent to £528.2m, down from £549.6m in 2023, while match receipts amounted to £105.8m, down from £117.6m due to nine fewer home games than prior year.

Other impactful areas included UEFA prize money sitting at £1.3m a steep decline from the £56.2m earned in 2023 when the club reached the last 16 of the Champions League.

There was also a significant bump in terms of the broadcast money received, with the new Premier League TV deal and a higher finish in the league compared to 2022/23 meaning that the club brought in £165.9m against a figure of £148.1m for 2023.

The losses being reduced 73 per cent year-on-year is, on the face of it, a significant positive in these days where compliance with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) is a major concern for many clubs in English football’s top flight.

But looking at some of the trends within the accounts, and what is to be expected for the rest of this current season with the Spurs financial year for 2024/25 running until June 30, suggests that there is a major risk of things looking worse before they get better. That may be impactful when it comes to how willing the club are to invest in the market in the summer, especially when considering that the future of Postecoglou remains uncertain and any exit for the Aussie would result in a multi-million pound severance package.

The profit and loss column was significantly impacted by the player trading for Spurs in 2023/24. The sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, with Kane having held no book value at Spurs due to him being a product of the club's academy, represented pure profit, allowing the club to book all of the guaranteed fee, helping them jump from £16m in player trading profit in 2023 to £82m in 2024.

That figure massively skews what Spurs have managed to achieve in terms of player trading in the last five accounting years, with the club having only made a combined profit on the disposal of player registrations of £80m in the preceding four years before Kane's sale. That makes them the sixth-worst in the Premier League when it comes to player trading profit.

When you consider how Chelsea have been able to invest in the squad heavily due to hugely successful player trading, to the tune of £417m in the five years up to 2022/23, and with Spurs being by some way the worst performer of the so-called 'big six' in that area, the inability to trade effectively has contributed to a trend of loss-making seasons, and points to the managerial tumult behind the scenes during that period and a lack of a working transfer strategy.

The long-held notion has been that Spurs are a profitable football club. Indeed, the club made a profit every year between 2015 and 2019, with cumulative profits of £328m. Since then, however, there have been five years of losses that have amounted to a combined £300m. The net profit for the last decade has been £28m, and no profitable season has been posted since the club moved to their new stadium.

Of course, the stadium built in 2019 will be a the main reason Spurs have hope for future growth but, with the significant debt attached albeit at far lower rates of borrowing that we currently see today, it has an impact on the balance sheet. The flip-side is that Spurs could not have raised matchday revenues in the way that they have, up from £41m in 2015 to a high of £118m in 2023, nor could they have seen commercial revenue increase from the £60m in 2015 to £255m for 2024.

But in order to stop the loss-making seasons continuing, the club has to improve both its player trading strategy, but also and most crucially, has to get back to being a regular competitor in the Champions League, especially given that it is now more lucrative than ever following the revamping of the competition to a league format for this season, adding an extra two games.

Spurs' North London rivals Arsenal have seen their revenues leap forward by more than £200m in the last three years thanks to getting back to the top table of European football. The 2025 Deloitte Football Money League, published in January, had the Gunners leapfrogging Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool when it came to revenue.

Spurs thought smarter and more long-term when it came to building a new stadium that allowed them to futureproof themselves, but the lack of such smarts when it comes to the football risks them falling behind some other clubs perceived to be smaller, who have managed to find a winning formula when it comes to player trading and recruitment.

Spurs could find themselves in the Champions League next season if they were to win this season's Europa League. The impact of such success cannot be overstated and would effectively allow the club the chance to get some forward motion far earlier than they would have otherwise anticipated.

The figures for 2024/25 likely won't make great reading. There will be no hefty player trading profit which, let's not forget, involved them having to sell European football's best striker. There will be an increase in European money from a deep run in the Europa League, but that will just about touch the £30m mark, a fraction of the £100m-plus that Aston Villa will earn from their Champions League journey this season.

Spurs will also see a sum of around £25.5m drop off what they earned for finishing fifth in 2023/24 compared to what they would earn from the Premier League in merit payments should they end the season in 14th position.

The club has enormous potential, and that is largely due to the stadium, location, fan base and way that the balance sheet has been managed sensibly to allow for investment without the threat of a PSR breach any time soon. But there is much work to do, and it is all to do with what happens on the pitch.

Successful strategy takes time to develop and work, and the managerial churn that has happened at the club has shown that there has not been a workable football strategy in place. This season's Europa League offers them a potential get out of jail free card, but achieving that will be no easy task given that Manchester United are chasing the exact same panacea.

Ange Postecoglou has quite the decision on his hands when it comes to selecting his full-backs for Tottenham's Europa League tie against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday evening. Pedro Porro and Djed Spence both started and impressed in Sunday's 3-1 win over Southampton, with Destiny Udogie taking his place on the Spurs bench.

The Italian, as well as Micky van de Ven, remained an unused substitute for the entirety of the match and Postecoglou admitted "it made sense to put them on ice" ahead of the European fixture considering the football they have missed this season. Udogie will be raring to go after not featuring at all at the weekend and he will have to wait and see if he does come straight into the XI for the match in N17.

It is quite a tricky decision for Postecoglou as Spence has proved over the past few months that he is undroppable, Porro demonstrated his quality against Saints and Udogie is an excellent full-back who will now be refreshed to take on the German side. One player who does look set to miss out in the first leg is Dejan Kulusevski.

The Swede hasn't played since February due to a foot issue and Postecoglou suggested last week that his attacking midfielder is still a couple of weeks away. He did hint that there is a chance he could be back in time for the crucial second leg in Frankfurt next Thursday, though.

On the latest episode of their Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast, football.london's Spurs writers Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest discussed the upcoming selection decisions facing Postecoglou before Thursday's home tie against Eintracht Frankfurt. The win over Southampton and James Maddison's performance was also on the agenda, as was if Tottenham need to look at signing another creative player in the summer to add to the England international and Kulusevski.

On that subject, Kevin De Bruyne's Manchester City exit was mentioned and why Kulusevski could potentially be linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium this summer considering he is very much a Pep Guardiola player. The Spaniard has waxed lyrical about him during the past but all connected with Tottenham will be hoping that City look elsewhere and Kulusevski continues to remain in the capital.

You can listen to the latest episode of the podcast right here or watch on YouTube by clicking here.

Sinking Saints and preparing for Frankfurt - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham