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Former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness believes that Tottenham’s hope of hosting one of the biggest sporting events on the calendar might soon become a reality.

NFL matches a big money-spinner for Spurs

Tottenham have an agreement with the NFL to host two games a year at their stadium and that is proving to be a big money-spinner for the club, with the Lilywhites earning substantially in food and drinks sales during those events.

It was reported by The Daily Mail earlier this month Spurs could have an opportunity to further boost their relationship with the NFL in the future.

It was explained that the NFL could look to have a permanent franchise based in London in the future and the city could even host the Super Bowl before 2035.

A big opportunity for Tottenham

Wyness believes that hosting the Super Bowl in London would be of major commercial benefit to the NFL and suggested that Tottenham may be in a prime position to benefit significantly if their stadium is chosen to hold the marquee event.

When asked about the possibility, he told Football Insider: “I think it is possible. I was talking to a couple of guys over for the NFL London games, and there are seven or eight cities on the rota to host the Super Bowl.

“Adding London to that could be an option. It would be attractive for the fans. They’ve got to get the timing right, but I think for the fans to be able to come to London – it could be a great attraction.

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“Everyone has really enjoyed coming across for the games. I do think it would be a spectacle which would play well. I think it’s good to have this international exchange of games.

“Super Bowl is usually sponsors and corporate, so London could give it a shot in the arm. Tottenham could put on a really popular event at their stadium for years to come and get all the financial benefits which come from that.”

Super Bowl would be huge for Tottenham’s brand

Some purists will not like Spurs’ stadium playing host to an event like the Super Bowl as they would see it as further evidence that Tottenham are morphing from a football club into an entertainment brand.

However, it can only be a good thing for the North London club if their brand gets more recognition and if their financial coffers are boosted.

Spurs are in a unique position to capitalise on the NFL’s attempts to strengthen themselves in the English market and they would be foolish not to capitalise on that.

Bournemouth have just come up with a plan to stop Tottenham Hotspur from signing Antoine Semenyo, a former Spurs employee has revealed.

Spurs eyeing Antoine Semenyo raid

After successfully signing Dominic Solanke in the summer, it has been reported that Tottenham could raid Bournemouth again for one of their star players.

This time, it is Semenyo who is on Spurs’ radar, with Ange Postecoglou’s men thought to have been extremely impressed by the winger’s performances this campaign (GiveMeSport).

Some sources have insisted over recent weeks that Cherries are determined to keep hold of the 24-year-old and are not in the mood to entertain any offers for him in January (TBR Football).

Bournemouth’s plan revealed

According to Mick Brown, who formerly worked as a scout for Spurs, Man Utd and West Ham, Andoni Iraola’s men are ready to take drastic measures to keep hold of Semenyo.

He says that the South Coast club are prepared to offer the winger a new deal, even though he only signed a contract extension this summer.

When asked about the speculation over Semenyo’s future, Brown told Football Insider: “I’m told a lot of this talk is agent-led. They’re putting out the word on their client to drum up interest in his signature.

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“That could land him a new deal at Bournemouth, because it’s a two-way thing. I know the club think highly of him and don’t want to see him leave so they could discuss a new contract to put off interest.

“But the agent will be saying that if they don’t offer a contract, there’s now interest from other clubs, so it’s a win-win situation for them. That’s how agents work these days, they’re always looking to make things happen.”

Semenyo’s transfer admission

Semenyo himself had admitted a little over a week ago that he is ready to make a step up to a club which can offer him European football.

When asked if he wants to join a top club, he told The Athletic: “Yeah, any team that plays Champions League, Europa (League) — that’s the aim. I know that’s not going to come with a click of my fingers, it’s going to take some time.

“It’s going to take goals. It’s going to take a lot of consistent performances. But I’ve worked all my life for that and I’m just going to continue working hard. That’s my mentality.”

Only time will tell if this statement was a part of the strategy from the player’s camp to force Bournemouth back to the negotiating table over a new contract.

Ange Postecoglou now has bad news on the injury front, with Wilson Odobert man suffering a serious setback on his road to recovery.

Tottenham new boy suffers setback

When Wilson Odobert dazzled in his Premier League debut against Everton, he would have been hopeful of quickly making his mark at Tottenham.

However, after a promising start, the winger picked up a hamstring injury which kept him out for more than a month.

The Frenchman finally returned to action last week, coming on as a substitute in the Europa League clash against AZ Alkmaar, but he once again suffered a set-back, missing the 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Ange Postecoglou explains Wilson Odobert’s situation

Postecoglou has now made a worrying revelation about the £25m summer signing, revealing that the winger has had a significant setback this week.

The 59-year-old explained that he is waiting for more information about the injury but admitted that is a ‘serious one’.

Postecoglou said ahead of the Carabao Cup clash against Manchester City (via The Standard): “It seems like it is a serious one so we’re just waiting for more information.”

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When asked if it was the aggravation of the same hamstring problem, the Spurs boss responded: “It’s not exactly the same [injury] but the same area.”

Big blow for Tottenham

Odobert’s absence is a big blow for Spurs as he is one of the few wide players at the club who can run at the opposition and go past defenders, which adds a different dimension to Tottenham’s attack.

Ange Postecoglou has delivered a rather confusing message about the team he is going to pick for the Carabao Cup clash against Manchester City.

Big game for Tottenham

If one subscribes to the idea that winning a trophy is more important for Tottenham this season than finishing in the top four, one can argue that the upcoming clash against Manchester City is the club’s biggest of the season so far.

If the Lilywhites get past the Premier League champions, they will be just two matches away from a big Wembley final and having a crack at ending their 16-year trophy drought.

However, Postecoglou’s latest confession about the team he is going to select might worry some Spurs fans.

Ange Postecoglou’s admission about starting eleven

Postecoglou has now hinted that he will do what he has done in all of Tottenham’s midweek games so far this season.

He pointed out that it is important to manage the minutes of some players, given that they played on Sunday, but insisted that whatever team he picks is one he believes can win the game.

When asked what sort of team we can expect, the Spurs head coach said (via The Standard): “We’ll do similarly to what we’ve done in all our mid-weeks games, Europe included, [which] is try to pick a team we think will win the game and take into account we did play Sunday.

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“Obviously City played on Saturday so we’ve got to make sure the players we put out there tomorrow are able to compete physically with what’s going to be on the other side of the pitch from us.

“The good thing is just about the whole squad’s had some kind of football so that means whatever changes we make the players coming in are at a good physical level.”

Postecoglou addresses fans’ concerns

Postecoglou was told that some supporters view the Carabao Cup clash against Manchester City as more important than the one against Aston Villa on the weekend.

However, the 59-year-old insisted that it is not his role to win “brownie points” with the supporters by prioritising one game over another.

Postecoglou added: “I’m not a supporter of this club, I’m the manager of this football club & I’d hate to think that any supporter of this football club thinks that I try harder in one game than another.

“Supporters can feel what they like, which is the most important game. But it would be the biggest injustice for me as a manager if I said, ‘We’re going to try harder tomorrow than we do at the weekend or we did last weekend’. It doesn’t work that way.

“You need to separate supporters of a football club from people who have the responsibility of representing it. Our responsibility lies with trying to be the best we can be every day for our supporters, for everyone who’s part of this football club. It’s not about trying to gain brownie points. That’s not what our role is.”

Tottenham Hotspur will once again face their cup nemesis, Manchester City, in the Carabao Cup tomorrow. Speaking to the press ahead of the game, Ange Postecoglou discussed who could occupy that left-wing position.

Spurs and Man City have history

While it would be going too far to call Spurs and City rivals, there has certainly been a degree of healthy competition between the two teams in recent years.

Guardiola famously was unable to score, let alone win, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until last season, when his team finally broke that curse.

In doing so, City also ended Tottenham’s hopes of putting together a meaningful run in the FA Cup, dumping Ange Postecoglou‘s side out in the fourth round of the competition.

The Blues are also the last team to defeat Spurs in a cup final, securing a 1-0 win in the Carabao Cup final of 2021, shortly after Jose Mourinho’s unceremonious exit from the club.

Things could be a little different this time around, though, with City boss Guardiola already insisting he will field a weakened team as he cannot afford to take the Carabao Cup seriously this season.

Postecoglou comments on Man City strength

Still, Postecoglou will not be expecting an easy ride against City tomorrow. In his press conference today (via Football.London), the Spurs boss hinted at who could fill in at left-wing, with Heung-min Son out for another game.

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He said: “I think Richy has obviously played a lot of his football on the left and he’s definitely an option there for us and an option through the middle as well. He’s getting some good match minutes now so hopefully next couple of weeks we’ve still got a good game schedule.

“Like I said, he’s only just getting his season started so the more we can expose him without overburdening him in the early stages he’ll be able to contribute even more.

Spurs have to take advantage of Man City complacency

A month ago, I suggested Spurs drawing City in the cup was a win-win situation for the Lilywhites — win the game and you’ve knocked out one of the strongest teams, lose and it gives you more time to focus on more important competitions.

Now the game is upon us, I am much more inclined to say Spurs have to win this game. Guardiola’s comments about not taking the game seriously will haunt Postecoglou if he fails to defeat them, and it would be a real shame not to go further in this competition.

Tottenham Hotspur do not have much time to dwell on that disappointing defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend, with Carabao Cup action just around the corner. In his latest press conference, Ange Postecoglou discussed this quick turnaround.

Spurs were poor against Palace

After demolishing London rivals West Ham in the league last weekend, and then completing a professional win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League in midweek, expectations were high for Spurs to continue their winning ways against a Crystal Palace side yet to win this season.

However, Ange Postecoglou‘s men never looked like getting anything from the game at Selhurst Park and found themselves under the cosh from the very first minute.

Palace took the lead midway through the first half thanks to a Jean-Philippe Mateta goal, and Tottenham simply could not carve out a meaningful opportunity to level the scores.

The Lilywhites now have the ideal opportunity to remedy that, with a home tie against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup coming up tomorrow.

A big reaction needed

Of course, Postecoglou will be eager to put things right and will want to see that same energy from his players as they look to put together a cup run. However, he would rather concentrate on getting their game plan right in the first place than reacting to defeats.

Speaking to the press (via Football.London) about what he expects in terms of a reaction, Postecoglou said: “I don’t think it is about a reaction. It’s fairly understandable that the players and everyone was disappointed with the way things went for us at Palace, both performance and outcome, but we’ve got to get away from this reactions and trying to atone for something.

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“Part of the process for us is making sure every game we stick to our principles irrespective of what has happened in the past. If you wait for reactions for good performances you’re actually anticipating another challenge when you should just be trying to focus on consistency in performance and consistency in mentality of how we approach every game.”

Crashing out of the cup is not an option

There can be no excuse if Spurs do not get past City in this tie. We know Pep Guardiola is not taking the Carabao Cup seriously, we are at home, and the players are surely hungry to make amends for the weekend. Once again, this will be a real test of the attitudes of the players in this squad as we see how they react to the disappointment of the Palace game.

Richarlison has taken to social media to react furiously to a big development in the footballing world on Monday.

Controversial Ballon d’Or winner

The 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony took place in Paris on Monday night and the fact that Manchester City midfielder Rodri was chosen as the winner has created a lot of controversy.

In fact, Real Madrid officials and players even boycotted the event on hearing that the prize would be won by the Spaniard instead of Vinicius Junior (Sky Sports)

They felt that the Brazilian forward should have been the rightful winner after playing a key role in Los Blancos’ La Liga and Champions League victories last season.

Richarlison up in arms about the decision

Much like the rest of Brazil, Richarlison was also furious with the decision to award Rodri the prize over his compatriot. The Tottenham man suggested that Vinicius was undoubtedly the best in the world and labelled the decision as ’embarrassing’.

The striker wrote on Instagram: “All of us who live football look forward to the individual awards with great anxiety each season. Today, all Brazilians who love football woke up expecting to see another player from our country win an award for the best in the world after so long.

“Unfortunately, by criteria no one can understand, the prize did not come. And don’t get me wrong, Rodri is a good player who deserves to be among the best. But Vini not getting that Ballon d’Or was embarrassing, and the only person who lost today was football.

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“I remember Vini saying his dream was to see all of Brazil cheering for him. And that day was today! You are a giant and the best in the world, kido! And no trophy will change that. Move forward and never be quiet! We’re all together!”

Timing of Richarlison’s post not ideal

I am sure that a few at Tottenham will not be too happy that Richarlison has decided to make such an emotional outburst just a day after Spurs suffered an embarrassing defeat.

This may not sit well with some Tottenham supporters, who might wonder why this kind of passion is not channelled onto the pitch, particularly after the side’s lacklustre display at Selhurst Park.

George Weah makes a confession about Tottenham Hotspur and Harry Kane at the Ballon d’Or ceremony – and Spurs fans will love it.

The annual Ballon d’Or ceremony was held in Paris on Monday night, with the event causing a bit of controversy.

Manchester City and Spain star Rodri was awarded the prize, and this did not sit well with those associated with Real Madrid, who snubbed the ceremony in protest as they felt that Vinicius Jr deserved the award (The Athletic).

Interestingly, there was also one movement involving Spurs when one of the biggest names in the game addressed Harry Kane.

George Weah makes Tottenham’s admission

There were plenty of recognizable faces at the awards, including a number of former footballers. One of those was Weah, who is considered to be one of the greatest players to ever play the game and among the biggest icons in African football.

Weah, who remains the only African to win the Ballon d’Or to this day, admitted during the ceremony that he grew up as a Spurs fan and is thus a big fan of Kane.

When asked if any particular player has impressed him, the 58-year-old pointed at Kane and said (via The Daily Mail): “Yeah, that’s one of my players that I love. I’m a fan of Mr Kane. When you were playing for my team, I’m a fan.

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“I’m a very good fan because I believe that he’s a very strong and very clever striker. I support the team… Tottenham, since I was a kid. I love him.”

Bittersweet night for Harry Kane

Despite having 56 goal contributions for Bayern Munich last season (44 goals and 12 assists), Kane had to settle for 10th place in the Ballon d’Or rankings.

Pep Guardiola makes a big admission ahead of Manchester City’s Carabao Cup clash against Tottenham that may come as a big boost for the Lilywhites.

Tottenham desperate to bounce back

There is a feeling of doom and gloom around Spurs following the loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday and Ange Postecoglou will be desperate to see a response from his players against Manchester City.

Being knocked out of the Carabao Cup would severely dent the North London club’s chances of winning a trophy this season and would pile even more pressure on the Australian.

However, Postecoglou might have just received some good news from his counterpart ahead of the big game.

Pep Guardiola’s confession

Guardiola has said ahead of City’s trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that he will not be risking any of the players who are not 100 per cent fit. The Spaniard remarked that he might give the academy stars a chance to impress.

He said (via The Standard): “We are few, few people. I don’t know if I’m going to think against Spurs maybe some players from the academy. We will see. If the players are fine they are going to play against Spurs but if they have doubts I’m not going to take a risk, that’s for sure.”

The Standard suggests that Guardiola’s statement might rule out Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish or Jeremy Doku from Wednesday’s game as none of them are fully fit at the moment.

What side will Ange Postecoglou name?

It will be interesting to see what kind of side Postecoglou names for the clash and whether he is tempted to give some of the backups, such as Radu Dragusin, Djed Spence, Archie Gray, Richarlison and Timo Werner, some game time.

Given the pressure on the 59-year-old at the moment, one can argue that this is a must-win game, and he might thus be tempted to name a fairly strong lineup.

After another disappointing away performance in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup offers Tottenham a pathway to success.

Tottenham need to overcome big Carabao Cup

Ange Postecoglou’s goal is to coach Tottenham to the level of the best teams in England and of course, win trophies. Spurs have put in some imperious performances against lower and mid-table sides, but have often failed to secure results against the top teams during Ange’s tenure so far, currently leaving them 8th in the Premier League table.

The Carabao Cup, which is Tottenham’s next competitive fixture, still contains many of the best sides and presents itself as an opportunity to take that step.

In addition to their R16 opponents, Manchester City, the cup still contains many of England’s most prominent clubs, including; Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Additionally, there are Newcastle, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Leicester, all of whom Spurs have dropped points to this season.

City at home is a fixture steeped in chaos

Of course, Manchester City presents the greatest challenge. They are still ranked #1 in Uefa’s club coefficients and are capable of dismantling anyone. However, Tottenham have a history of snatching wins against Pep’s side when playing at home.

Manchester City have only managed 2 wins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it opened. Furthermore, only one other side who Pep Guardiola has managed against more than 5 times (Liverpool), has managed to take more points from Manchester City on average.

Although, within that, Tottenham have failed to win against Manchester City in their last three attempts. The psychological hold, Tottenham previously possessed over Pep Guardiola, may no longer be an advantage Spurs can exploit.

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So far this season, Manchester City have a steadily growing injury crisis, missing some of their most influential players and are looking more vulnerable to threats in transition. Tottenham have struggled to maintain consistent form, but have generated more goals from counterattacks than any other side and hope to have a full-strength line-up available with the potential returns of Son Heung-min and Wilson Odobert.

It is a game which has the potential to go in any direction. With both sides looking at a hectic schedule of tough Premier League matches and European away games ahead of them, it is a match-up which could be decided by whoever gives the game a greater priority.

If Spurs can get past City, the sky is the limit

It is foolish to dismiss the challenge Manchester City present, however, if Tottenham were to manage this heroic Carabao Cup feat, there is no telling how far they could go.

In spite of the wealth of imposing clubs still in the competition, Tottenham would only have to bypass another two of them to reach the final. As is the case with all competitions, you can only play who you are drawn against, so the difficulty of your cup run is the luck of the draw.

Tottenham should not shy away against difficult cup ties. They will never reach the standard of the strongest clubs if they do not test themselves against the best opponents. Each of the teams still in the Carabao have recently inflicted wounds against Tottenham and the Spurs’ players should relish the chance for vengeance in a knockout system.

Both Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, two of the Premier League’s most successful managers used the League Cup as an opportunity to instil a trophy-winning mentality amongst their teams. This could be Postecoglou’s opportunity to set Tottenham on his projected path to glory.