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Submitted by daniel on Thu, 03/04/2025 - 22:50

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Son To Start? | Predicted 4-2-3-1 Tottenham Hotspur Lineup To Face Chelsea

Submitted by daniel on Tue, 01/04/2025 - 22:20

Tottenham Hotspur’s dismal season could still be salvaged as they progressed to the quarter-final of the Europa League. Although they endured significant injury concerns, a bottom-half finish in the Premier League is highly unacceptable for a club of Spurs’ stature. They must turn things around in the campaign’s final stretch, starting with a result at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on Thursday night.

While the Blues are battling for a ‘top four’ finish, their lack of consistency is a worrying sign with several outfits, including Manchester City, Newcastle United and Aston Villa chasing a Champions League berth. However, they are likely to have Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke back in action, overcoming injury woes, and the Lilywhites boss Ange Postecoglou must fix his frailties in the defensive third to avoid another setback against their London rivals. They lost 3-4 at home in the reverse fixture, and it is to be seen whether the Aussie gaffer scripts a revenge on the road.

Predicted 4-2-3-1 Tottenham Hotspur Lineup To Face Chelsea

Defence

None of Fraser Forster, Brandon Austin, and the winter signing Antonin Kinsky could restore stability between the sticks in the wake of Guglielmo Vicario’s absence. But the Italian custodian reclaimed the ‘number 1’ status since recovering from his ankle injury.

Despite Kevin Danso and Radu Dragusin’s injuries, Tottenham have Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven available again in the heart of the backline. Right fullback Pedro Porro has impressed with his marauding runs, pinpoint crosses, and link-up play. Also, Djed Spence, a revelation on both flanks, should get the nod over Destiny Udogie down the left. Veteran Ben Davies and the versatile teenage sensation Archie Gray could be involved from the bench as second-half substitutes.

Midfield

Postecoglou has ample options who could slot in as a deep-lying playmaker. He should opt for Rodrigo Bentancur ahead of struggling Yves Bissouma, and the Uruguayan could partner with Pape Matar Sarr even though Lucas Bergvall is expected to be available for selection.

The ‘double pivot’ of Sarr and Bentancur should allow James Maddison a free role while featuring as a ‘number 10’. Spurs have depth and quality down the wide, but they might not risk Dejan Kulusevski from the start even if the Swedish attacker is declared fit. Wilson Odobert deserves a nod following a brace against AZ in their Europa League win, and the flair and finesse of skipper Heung-min Son must be utilized from the left irrespective of his underwhelming campaign. Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson might get introduced as ‘super subs’ to inject pace and directness.

Attack

Dominic Solanke had a stop-start season due to fitness reasons. But the Englishman is likely to spearhead the attack amid doubts over Richarlison’s availability for this midweek encounter.

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Daniel Levy makes ‘challenging season’ admission as Tottenham make official announcement

Submitted by daniel on Mon, 31/03/2025 - 23:06

Tottenham Hotspur continues to solidify its reputation as a global brand, maintaining financial stability even as performances on the pitch remain inconsistent.

Under chairman Daniel Levy’s leadership, Spurs have emerged as one of the best-managed clubs financially, but their commercial success has not always translated into footballing triumphs.

Levy recently unveiled Tottenham’s financial results for the year ending June 30, 2024, revealing a slight drop in revenue from £549.6 million in 2023 to £528.2 million.

The decline is primarily attributed to the club’s absence from European competition and a reduced number of home fixtures compared to the previous season.

Despite the financial dip, the Spurs chairman remains optimistic, particularly about the club’s Europa League campaign, which presents a pathway to both silverware and Champions League qualification—a vital boost both competitively and financially.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy stresses importance of Europa League success

With Tottenham currently struggling in the Premier League, sitting 14th in the table, Levy has highlighted the crucial role of European success in the club’s ambitions.

The Spurs chairman also addressed the club’s transfer strategy, revealing that since the opening of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, the club has invested over £700 million in player recruitment.

Despite Spurs being ranked among the richest clubs in world football, he warned that sustainable spending is essential to safeguarding the club’s long-term future.

Beyond football-related revenue, Tottenham’s off-field ventures, including events at their world-class stadium, continue to play a crucial role in maintaining financial stability.

Issuing the statement on the official Tottenham website, he stated:

“As we announce our financial results for the year to 30 June 2024, we currently find ourselves in 14th position in the Premier League, navigating what has been a highly challenging season on the pitch.”

“We are, however, in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. Winning this competition would see welcome silverware and mean qualification for the UEFA Champions League. We must do everything we can to support the team in these final key stages.”

“Since opening our new stadium in April 2019, we have invested over £700million net in player acquisitions. Recruitment remains a key focus, and we must ensure that we make smart purchases within our financial means.”

The need for the club to balance between footballing and financial ambition

While footballing success remains a priority, Tottenham’s off-field ventures continue to play a significant role in their financial strategy.

Events hosted at the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium—including NFL games, concerts, and other major sporting spectacles—provide a consistent source of revenue, ensuring the club remains financially resilient.

As the longest-serving chairman in the Premier League, Levy has overseen Tottenham’s evolution into a commercial powerhouse, spearheading stadium development and financial growth while frequently reshuffling the managerial deck in pursuit of silverware.

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Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur LIVE: Women's Super League team news, line-ups and more

Submitted by daniel on Sun, 30/03/2025 - 12:00

The new Women's Super League marks the start of a new era for reigning champions Chelsea, with long-serving boss Emma Hayes having departed in summer to start a new adventure with the USA Women's team.

Last year they just about did enough to claim the title on goal difference ahead of Manchester City, while Arsenal will again hope to make it a three-horse race for the WSL title. Meanwhile Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham will hope to progress after further rebuilding this summer.

Crystal Palace were promoted to replace Bristol City in the top flight, while on a wider note, the league is now under the management and operation of a new organisation set up to lead women's football towards further growth and progression, with Nikki Doucet overseeing both the WSL and Championship in a new phase for the game.

Follow the live action below as Leicester City face Tottenham Hotspur today in the WSL:

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Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur

Follow live football coverage with The Independent today.

Whether it's Premier League, Champions League, a European Championship or the World Cup we will keep you up to date with everything you need to know.

We will have all the latest scores, goals and updates plus analysis and reaction throughout the game here.

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Report: Tottenham genuinely interested in signing Manchester City ace with 32 goals & 41 assists

Submitted by daniel on Sun, 30/03/2025 - 06:00

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Manchester City attacker Jack Grealish this summer, as doubts grow over his future at the Etihad.

Grealish first rose to prominence at Aston Villa, captaining the club and playing a pivotal role in their promotion to the Premier League in 2019.

Across 213 appearances for Villa, he notched 32 goals and 41 assists, earning a record-breaking £100 million transfer to Manchester City in 2021—making him the most expensive British footballer at the time.

However, the 29-year-old has struggled to justify his hefty price tag at City. Pep Guardiola’s possession-based system has limited his ability to take on defenders and dictate play, unlike his more central and free-roaming role at Villa.

Injuries and increased competition, especially from players like Jeremy Doku, have further made it difficult for him to cement a regular starting spot.

This season, Grealish has made just 26 appearances across all competitions, scoring twice and providing five assists. More tellingly, only 14 of those appearances have come as a starter, underlining his diminished role in the squad.

Tottenham have genuine interest in Jack Grealish

His lack of impact and reduced role has made his future at the club uncertain, with Spurs emerging as a potential destination.

As per the latest from GiveMeSport, Tottenham had already shown interest in Grealish during the January window, though a move then was deemed unlikely.

However, key figures at Spurs reportedly hold a ‘genuine’ interest in the player and would be keen to sign him this summer—provided City’s asking price is reasonable.

A deal, though, would be far from straightforward. Grealish’s £300,000-per-week wages pose a significant hurdle, while City are unlikely to let him leave on the cheap.

Additionally, Tottenham face competition from Chelsea, who have also been linked, while Newcastle have reportedly been offered the chance to sign him.

With Grealish’s role at City continuing to diminish, speculation over his exit is intensifying. Whether Spurs can pull off the signing remains to be seen, but all signs point to the England international being on the move this summer.

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Amid losing streak, Tottenham Hotspur give head coach Robert Vilahamn time: ‘We’re doing this together’

Submitted by daniel on Mon, 24/03/2025 - 07:16

Tottenham Hotspur extended their losing run across all competitions to six games on Sunday following a 2-0 defeat to West Ham United. On the surface, the loss further reduces a season once replete with promise into a lifeless nub. Spurs have dropped to ninth in the Women’s Super League (WSL), are out of the FA Cup and searching for a purpose beyond avoiding another loss.

This current run of five WSL losses is their worst in two years. That previous nine-game streak cost former head coach Rehanne Skinner (now head coach of West Ham) her job, leaving Spurs two points above the relegation zone in March 2023 and the club’s women’s football blueprint in disarray.

Last year, head coach Robert Vilahamn turned things around, leading Spurs to a sixth-place finish and a first trip to an FA Cup final. However, the success has waned and two days before the latest loss, his job security came into question.

“I’m not scared of getting fired,” the Swedish coach told on Friday after the press room emptied following his pre-match press conference. “Overall, it’s not good enough, but it’s also not the end of the world. I know that the games coming up are the games where we should expect more from us.”

It’s a defiant declaration.

In the not-so-distant past, women’s football managers maintained their positions through torrid spells, even torrid years. But in the past six months, the life cycle has changed. Five of the 12 top-flight clubs have overseen managerial changes: Arsenal (Jonas Eidevall, October 2024), Aston Villa (Robert de Pauw, December 2024), Liverpool (Matt Beard, February 2025), Crystal Palace (Laura Kaminski, February 2025) and Manchester City (Gareth Taylor, March 2025).

Reasons for the departures are nuanced but major factors were poor runs and perceived unmet expectations. Eidevall won just one of his first four WSL matches this season. De Pauw, hired in June 2024, was sacked after one win in nine matches. Beard left after struggling to build on his side’s fourth-place finish last season. Kaminski’s newly-promoted Palace, despite positive performances, won only one game from 14 league fixtures. Taylor’s City sat outside the Champions League spots after 16.

Barring Kaminski, it should be said that none of these managers endured six-game losing streaks.

“Everything is connected to the result,” Vilahamn said. “If we lose games the way we are, then you can look at me. Or you need to look at the club. … Are (the clubs who fired coaches) actually looking at themselves in the mirror or only at the coach? Because I can do good stuff, I can do failure, but I cannot do magic.

“Success is connected to the whole project, what we do together. Right now, we’re doing this together as a club. The main thing when you look at how we’re investing is patience. If somebody else feels like this is too slow, then I’ll happily leave because I’m doing what I’m supposed to do and I’m trying to do my best according to that.”

Vilahamn knows patience is not a gripping sales pitch for fans and critics. Upon his arrival in July 2023, Spurs spoke boldly of a three-year plan to achieve Champions League qualification and establish Spurs as one of women’s football’s “most entertaining” teams.

Vilahamn’s first season ostensibly stepped in that direction and the club rewarded him with a three-year deal last summer. Yet, recent performances and results beg the question: is there really a plan?

Those within the club maintain that the plan remains the same. But there is an acknowledgment that this season has taken more steps backwards than forwards. The word “decline” is used regularly in meetings.

However, panic hasn’t settled in.

In the aftermath of Skinner’s exit, Spurs underwent an internal review of their women’s setup, appointing Andy Rogers — previously Spurs’ head of global development — to managing director of women’s football. Foundational pillars were established, and built around culture, environment and style. They headhunted a manager to fit the bill.

Vilahamn is still trusted to be the plan’s driver. While results are lacking, a breakdown in communication, trust and culture are considered triggers for sacking. Alarm bells in these departments are not ringing, with the January recruitment of goalkeeper Lize Kop from Leicester City, who was pursued strongly by Manchester United in the summer, viewed as evidence of an increasingly positive cultural reputation.

“We want to play against the top teams the way we want to, we want to be one of the top teams,” Kop told . “It’s easy to say it but you need to support it as a club. There are improvements to make but I feel like Spurs really want to support that.”

The work behind the scenes to address the recent failures is intense. It has been likened by one source, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, to a “laboratory”. Last season, Spurs’ expected goals (xG) was 27.8, the fifth-best in the league, and expected goals against (xGA) was 31.4. While the latter has improved this season (xGA: 24.0), Spurs’ xG has dropped alarmingly to 17.9, the ninth-best in the league. Big chances created and big chances missed have also dropped from fifth and fourth in the league respectively to eighth.

The loss of England midfielder Grace Clinton and Norway winger Celine Bizet — the latter whose short-term deal made her vulnerable to a buy-out clause in the final year of her deal — to Manchester United play a part. Both recorded four goals last season, the third most in the squad, while Clinton’s four assists were also a team high.

Replacing the pair’s attacking influence has been hampered by long-term injuries to key players, including midfielders Kit Graham and Eveliina Summanen, and top scorer Bethany England. Summer signings Hayley Raso (forward) and Ella Morris (defender), and January signing Olivia Holdt (midfielder), who is deemed an ideal replacement for Clinton, also began their tenures with injury.

Clinton and Bizet’s exits also coincided with the departures of head of women’s analysis and recruitment Zoe Mattheson (formally Matthews) and women’s performance analyst Alexander Adams, who joined NWSL’s Gotham FC and Leicester City men’s team respectively.

What was meant to be a season of building upwards quickly became a season of rebuilding.

“It’s a little frustrating that we cannot use everything we did in our first year in our second year,” Vilahamn said. “We did really good work last year in terms of our identity, key players, key staff, young upcoming players like Grace and Celine. They were people I invested in to make sure we all worked together. Then we lost a few of those investments to other clubs. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it takes time again to reinvest in people.

“I’m still very sure (in) what we’re doing and know what we’re doing, but it feels like we lost one year because of that.”

Spurs’ six-game losing streak includes successive matches against Manchester United (1-0 defeat), Arsenal (5-0) and Manchester City (2-1). The losses exacerbate Spurs’ dismal record against the top four — the other side being Chelsea — since winning promotion to the WSL in 2019: 55 matches played, won two, drawn six, lost 47. They have also proven a precarious quagmire for squad confidence, bleeding into performances against Brighton and West Ham.

Vilahamn does not deny there are self-inflicted failures throughout. In the seven league matches played against the top four this season (they have yet to play Chelsea twice), Spurs conceded at least one goal in the opening 15 minutes of play in six, turning already exceptional tasks into unassailable ones.

Against Arsenal, Spurs attempted to play Renee Slegers’ side at their own game, a decision Vilahamn brands a “failure”. Spurs adapted with some success against City, albeit stumbling against their superior depth. Yet, against Brighton, Vilahamn elected to play a similarly adapted style, producing one of the most dour performances of his tenure.

“I’m learning that against the top four, you need to adapt in a certain way,” Vilahamn said. “But when you play Brighton and lower, you shouldn’t adapt. Brighton are a very high-pressing team, so there were reasons. But when you have those three games (against the top four) before, it’s hard to work with self-confidence and bravery. Ultimately, it was a wrong decision.”

Recent performances and injuries have exposed Spurs’ shortcomings in squad depth and quality. While investment into the women’s team has doubled in the past two seasons from roughly £5million ($6.5m) to more than £10million, their overall investment into the first-team squad at the start of this season ranked among the bottom five sides in the WSL.

A top-four finish is regarded as the trigger for more investment. Vilahamn’s first season led many to believe his second would achieve this benchmark. But football is not static and as United, City and clubs such as Brighton increase investment each season, the goalposts to fourth-place invariably move.

The summer is expected to bring another thorough review to reset the plan. The club is currently recruiting a football technical director for the women’s first team and academy, but improving player and staff recruitment is a key issue.

“It’s going to be big decisions,” said Vilahamn. “Last year, I was confident but everything that has happened this season, seeing other clubs smash signings, I realise, okay, this may take an extra year.”

After the defeat to West Ham, Vilahamn looked dour, the players carrying a similar look of desolation. Vilahamn is, by his own admission, a ferocious competitor and this run does not come without hurt. Maintaining morale and a positive culture has become paramount.

“(This period) is difficult because media, players losing self-confidence but that’s why I was hired. It’s the fun part with this job as well. It’s not always how you win the trophy. It’s how you develop a club through this journey. That’s what I bought into when I signed for this club.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Tottenham Hotspur, UK Women's Football

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West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur LIVE: Women's Super League latest score, goals and updates from fixture

Submitted by daniel on Sun, 23/03/2025 - 10:00