Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs Weekly #9 | Georgson explains his role in Frank's coaching staff

New for this season, our Official Matchday Programme will present fans a collection of photos sourced from a deep dive into our photography archive, most of which have never been seen before, for a feature 'Spurs Unseen'.

We'll bring you a taster of the gallery here on tottenhamhotspur.com...

Next up, Villa on Sunday...

Above - A stunning diving header from Cliff Jones doubles our lead in the FA Cup quarter-final of March 1962 - we beat Villa 2-0 in front of 63,479 at the Lane on our way to retaining the trophy.

We are delighted to announce that Blake Irow has signed his first professional contract with the club.

The 17-year-old goalkeeper has risen through our Academy system after joining us in the Under-8s and is currently in the midst of his first season as a full-time player.

A key figure in our Under-17 Premier League Cup-winning side last term, Blake made his debut for our Under-18s in November, 2024, and is now a regular member of matchday squads at that level.

On the international stage, he has been capped by England at Under-16 level to date.

Live Coverage: Spurs vs Aston Villa  Tottenham Hotspur

Lize Kop has been nominated for Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month award for October.

An ever-present in between our sticks in the opening six WSL games, the goalkeeper was at the heart at preserving our clean sheet against Brighton & Hove Albion before providing a calm figure in our spirited performance at Chelsea, conceding just one goal throughout October.

The Netherlands international kept the Seagulls at bay at Brisbane Road, producing a 100 per cent save record in the contest to help us earn a 1-0 victory over the south coast side.

Although Keira Walsh’s low strike from distance was enough for Chelsea to claim a 1-0 victory at Kingsmeadow, Lize was at hand to keep us in the contest until the very end in the London derby as she produced three saves in a resilient defensive display against the league leaders.

And it hasn’t just been her shot stopping that has caught the eye this season, but her composure on the ball and the ability to build attacks from the back – making more passes than any other goalkeeper in the WSL this season to date.

For the prize, Lize is up against Manchester City’s Iman Beney and Aoba Fujino, Manchester United’s Jess Park, London City Lionesses’ Jana Fernandez and Aston Villa’s Lynn Wilms.

Fan votes help decide the winner, so cast your vote to support Lize. Voting is now open and will close on Monday 20 October at 11am (UK).

Across this weekend’s Premier League fixtures, clubs will show their support for No Room for Racism – a campaign highlighting the league’s efforts to tackle racism in football and wider society, demonstrating the steps being taken to improve diversity across all areas of the game.

During recent months, the Club has taken action against a number of individuals who have used social media platforms to send unacceptable, abhorrent threats and racist abuse to our players and staff.

We are proud of our inclusivity work and our long-standing, zero tolerance approach to any form of discrimination. Our position is clear – criticism and debate are part of a healthy society; abuse and discrimination are not.

If you use your platform for abuse, racism or any other form of discrimination, you have no place in our Spurs family and you will not be welcome at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium or any Club premises. This includes Men's, Women's and Academy matches, as well as any third-party event we host.

So far this season, we have issued indefinite bans against a number of individuals in relation to racist comments and posts and/or threats. We are in the process of investigating several other reports of abusive, threatening and/or discriminatory comments and posts, and expect to take further action in due course - this includes the disgusting racist abuse recently directed at Mathys Tel and Jess Naz.

We will use all measures available to see the strongest possible action taken and to send a clear message that hatred is not accepted at Tottenham Hotspur. We will protect our players and staff at all times and continue to promote an inclusive, diverse and welcoming environment for everyone at our Club, working closely with our dedicated supporters’ associations – Spurs REACH, Proud Lilywhites, SpursAbility and Women of the Lane.

This afternoon will see Mathys visit a local primary school in Tottenham, where students have been participating in a No Room for Racism poetry competition as part of the Premier League Primary Stars project.

At Sunday’s home match with Aston Villa, No Room for Racism visuals will be seen throughout the stadium, alongside promotion of our matchday text reporting service. If you witness any racist abuse on a matchday, text RACISM to 07537404821 along with the Block, Row and Seat number where the offence has taken place.

Meanwhile, our Women’s team will continue to take a stand and wear bespoke ‘Spurs Against Racism’ warm-up tops ahead of this Sunday’s League Cup fixture with Birmingham City.

Continuing our '60 seconds on...' preview feature, where we take a closer look at our next opponents with the people who watch them week in, week out.

Villa are next up after the latest international break, so we've tapped into the knowledge of Jacob Tanswell - @J_Tanswell - Football Writers' Association Student Football Writer of the Year. in 2021, now Villa reporter for The Athletic.

What have you made of Villa's season so far?

Jacob: "Villa’s season has been tumultuous already. It started in the summer with the transfer window, of course, it didn't go their way, owing to various financial restrictions, so that made coming into the season and its preparations difficult. You saw that on the pitch, really. New signings came late in the window, three signings came on deadline day, and that start to the season - a draw against Everton, the draw against Sunderland, having had an extra player for over an hour, the 3-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace - was very difficult. But, as I'll come on to, they've started to pick up a little bit. The new signings are being integrated and it's a bit more of a lift and more confidence because previously the squad looked flat, it looked devoid of energy, ideas, and now they've got a bit more confidence."

Which of the new signings have caught the eye?

Jacob: "In fairness, the three deadline day signings in Jadon Sancho, Victor Lindelof and Harvey Elliott have barely featured, so you have to go a little bit further back. Evann Guessand, the winger/striker from Nice, is starting to grow, he's starting more games and he's showing flashes of his talent. But I would say the signing of the summer so far is the back-up keeper, Marco Bizot. Obviously with Emi Martinez out of the team, be it through injury or possibly a transfer away, he's had to come in and play more games than he probably would have expected. Every time he's played, he's been very reliable, he's shown a great attitude, he's very well liked by Emery and his staff, and he's a very capable understudy."

Four wins on the trot suggest things are starting to click - is that fair?

Jacob: "Things are starting to click. They're probably fixtures that Villa would have expected to win at the start of the season and certainly last season as well, but given their lack of confidence and essentially the, I wouldn't say crisis, but the varying issues around the club, it's been a really big confidence booster. They've been better, they've shown glimpses of improvement every game, they're still not the finished article and there's still a long way to go to get back to what they were last season and the year before that, But they're starting to show the old version of Villa in terms of controlling games, in terms of showing a bit more attacking prowess and generally sticking to the principles and ideal of Emery."

Anything different tactically this season from Unai Emery?

Jacob: "Emery's broadly kept the same structure, the same formations, the same on-pitch patterns. But what he has shown is something that he's always been great at is in terms of adapting game by game, just using subtle tweaks. You saw against Burnley, Donyell Malen started the game and it was probably the first time in a long time we've seen two strikers up top with Marlin essentially playing just behind Ollie Watkins. So, that was something different. As I say, overall the system, the personnel remains largely the same, but during games there are certain tweaks you see, be it a player's positioning or a directness in their play and it depends on the opposition. Emery has always been great at that and you've seen that in the last couple of games."

Who would be your 'one to watch' from Villa?

Jacob: "John McGinn's been Villa's best player so far this season and he's been ably assisted by Lamare Bogarde who's come into the team a young player and he's taken to it very well. He's adapted brilliantly and those two have really performed. McGinn's a big goal threat. I would say the one to watch is probably Donyell Malen. If he manages to play the game, he's put in a great performance against Burnley. He's been very bright in all his appearances so far this season. That game against Burnley was a proper performance because he started the game, he played well and he's always lively. He's always wanting to be direct and really drive at defenders, so he's certainly, I think, the one to watch."

How do you think it will pan out on Sunday?

Jacob: "It will be a difficult game for Villa. Even last season when Tottenham weren't at their best, Villa lost that game. If you go the year before that, Villa lose very rarely at home and Tottenham did that at Villa Park. This is a different game, obviously a different manager, but I think it's going to be a tight game where Villa will look to hang in there for large periods, look to settle and nullify Tottenham's best strengths and come into the game in the second half. They've done that previously at the stadium, so I think it will go like that. I would say that it will be a 1-1 draw."

Last time vs Villa in N17...

This is a prize draw run by Tottenham Hotspur Football & Athletic Co. Limited (company number 00057186) whose registered office is at Lilywhite House, 782 High Road, London, N17 0BX (the “Club”).

The promotion is a prize draw to win a Tottenham Hotspur shirt (the “Prize Draw”), which is open to participants who enter the Prize Draw in accordance with these terms and conditions between 9:00 UK time on 17 October 2025 and 23:59 UK time on 21 October 2025 (the “Prize Draw Period”). The winner will be chosen at random via a random number generator (the “Winner”).

To enter, participants must follow Tottenham Hotspur’s Instagram account (@spursindia), and comment on the dedicated post with a ‘tag’ of three friends during the Prize Draw Period.

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Only one (1) entry per person is permitted. Any additional attempted entries by the same entrant shall be disregarded.

The Winner will be notified by Direct Message on Instagram after 23:59 UK time on 22 October 2025.

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Any queries and comments should be directed to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in writing to: Supporter Services, Tottenham Hotspur Football & Athletic Co Ltd, Lilywhite House, 782 High Road, London, United Kingdom, N17 0BX or via email to supporterservices@tottenhamhotspur.com.

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Women’s Under-19s player Heidi Hills spoke of the ‘exciting opportunity’ to test themselves against senior side, Gwalia United, on Sunday in the FA Women’s National League Plate.

Having finished third in the FAWNL Cup group phase, securing our spot in round one of the Plate competition as one of the best third-placed sides, our young side now face a long trip to Wales to take on the Cardiff-based side this weekend.

Usually competing against fellow Professional Game Academy sides week in, week out, the cup competition gives the Under-19s to go toe-to-toe with experienced senior opposition in tiers three and four of the Women’s football pyramid.

Gwalia, who compete in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division (tier three), are one of the highest-ranked sides in the Plate – but defender Heidi is relishing the ‘physical’ challenge on Sunday.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity because we get to test our game style and style of play against senior opposition,” she told us, speaking to SPURSPLAY to preview the game. “It’s a different challenge compared to the PGA, where teams play in similar ways.

“It might be more physical, but that’s good - it helps us set a baseline of where we’re at and where we want to be in the future.

“I hadn’t experienced before,” Heidi said, when asked about the prospect of playing in-front of a packed crowd. “It can be quite daunting but it’s also exciting to see people who want to watch you play - that gives you extra motivation. It’s a cup competition, so we want to go as far as we possibly can.”

As the first phase of the PGA League comes to an end next month – our final game away at Bristol City on Wednesday 5 November – the young energetic full-back has been one of the standout performers.

Featuring in three PGA game so far this campaign, scoring her first goal for the Club last month in the clash with Brighton, the youngster has felt a vast improvement from the side in the early months.

“It's been very positive; in terms of the improvements we've made since the start of the season to now. We're not where we want to be yet, but I think we're starting to get towards where we want to be in the future.

“We had a lot of new players in and obviously a new Head Coach as well, so we’re all gelling together. I think it’s easier because we’re all working towards the same goal, so that’s helped the transition.

“Coming to Spurs was such a new environment, all the analysis sessions, the players and coaches you’re surrounded by, they’ve all come from different places. It has been great to learn from them.”

As we prepare to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday, here's a look at an FA Cup winning former player who began his career at Villa, and a goalscoring feat against the Villans in N17 that is now 67 years and waiting...

Record signing, league and FA Cup winner, oldest player for 89 years, golf pro, pub landlord - the life of Jimmy Cantrell...

Born in May, 1882, just before we were founded, Jimmy Cantrell signed for Villa in July, 1904, making his debut against Notts County on 12 November, 1904. He moved to Notts County in 1907 and after scoring 65 goals in 131 league games, we broke our transfer record to secure his services, paying a reported £1,500 fee, in October, 1912. After the First World War, Jimmy helped us lift the Second Division title in 1919/20 and our second FA Cup a year later, starting the final against Wolves at Stamford Bridge. By the time he played his last game for us against Birmingham on 21 April, 1923 he had become our oldest league player aged 40 years, 11 months and 14 days. That record would last until 2012, when Brad Friedel started for us against Bolton in the Premier League on 2 May, 2012 at 40 years, 11 months and 15 days. Brad would stretch his record to 42 years, 10 months and two days when he started against Benfica in March, 2014. Jimmy scored 84 goals in 174 appearances for us, 1912-1923. From August 1921, Jimmy was licencee of Ye Olde Corner Pin in Nottingham. A top golfer, he later worked as a golf professional. Jimmy passed away on 31 July, 1960.

Hat-tricks rare against Villa in N17...

One one Spur has scored a league hat-trick against Villa here at White Hart Lane/Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That was the great Bobby Smith - third in our all-time goalscoring list behind Harry Kane and Jimmy Greaves - who bagged four goals in a 6-2 victory against the Villans in the old First Division on 29 March, 1958. Many present believed Bobby had actually notched five that day, but it turned out Terry Medwin got the final touch to claim the opener. "I was going to leave the ball to roll over the line, but a defender loomed up and I had to touch it over to make sure," explained Medwin, who was almost apologetic for giving the final tap over the line! Since then, three players have claimed hat-tricks for us at Villa Park - Clive Allen on on the opening day of 1986/87 - 23 August, 1986 - on his way to a record 49-goal haul, Gareth Bale in a 4-0 win in the Premier League on Boxing Day, 2012 and most recently, Heung-Min Son in another 4-0 Premier League win on 9 April, 2022.