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All-time leading Premier League goalscorer Alan Shearer has called upon Spurs' more experienced players to up their game to help them get back to winning ways.

Tottenham Hotspur have just four points from as many games to begin the new Premier League season, with their lack of cutting edge up top particularly costly in their opening-day draw against Leicester City, a defeat to Newcastle United that they dominated for large spells, and most recently in the North London derby against Arsenal.

A four-goal win against woeful Everton is currently doing a lot of heavy-lifting for Spurs goalscoring and expected goals tallies, leading Shearer to call on the side's attackers to offer more for Ange Postecoglou.

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Alan Shearer expects senior Tottenham players to step up

Tottenham brought in several new recruits over the summer, but £65m signing Dominic Solanke is the only one with significant years playing top-flight football under the belt, with the club pursuing a policy of bringing in young talents.

Speaking to Betfair, Shearer was asked if the likes of Son Heung-min and James Maddison therefore need to take more responsibility, and replied: "Yeah, absolutely. Solanke isn't quite up to speed yet - maybe understandable with the niggling injury he's had.

"He played the first game, then missed the next two and then was back for the Arsenal game, but there's no doubt they're misfiring in forward positions.

"Yes, Brennan Johnson has to improve. I'm sure he can, the ability is there but so does Son. So does Timo Werner when he comes on.

"That's where they have to improve. They had one or two half chances maybe in the first half. Kulusevski had a chance and Raya saved it but in the second half it was more hopeful than anything else. There was no real quality at all."

Tottenham's poor form extends back over the summer and into last season, when they won just two of their final seven games - both against relegated sides.

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Spurs have made their stance on Ange Postecgolou's position clear following Sunday's North London derby loss.

It comes after a former Tottenham star tipped the club to make a surprise managerial appointment.

Tottenham have splashed out well over £350m on new signings since appointing Ange Postecoglou as manager 15 months ago. As such, expectations of the silverware that has eluded the North London giants for so long are high.

Spurs have endured a bumpy start to the 2024/25 campaign, though, winning only one of their opening four games – 4-0 against bottom-of-the-table Everton – and losing their last two. Sunday's 1-0 derby defeat at home to Arsenal will have been a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

Right now, there is clearly a fair bit of work to do to get this team challenging for trophies. Will Postecoglou be given the time to get Tottenham into that position, though?

No matter who's in charge of Spurs come the end of the season, the club appear have made pretty advanced transfer plans. TEAMtalk have provided an update on one player heavily linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

They claim that Tottenham could be pipped to the signing of Real Betis defensive midfielder Johnny Cardoso by Milan. The Telegraph reported earlier this month that Spurs had secured a priority option to buy the USA international for £21m next summer – as part of their deal to sell Giovani Lo Celso back to Betis last month – albeit with a somewhat curious caveat: they would only have a two-week window in which to sign him.

As such, Milan – or any other club potentially interested in Cardoso – might try to steal the march in January. Tottenham, though are said to be at the front of the queue.

So, what does FourFourTwo think? Is this a bit of a transfer-market masterstroke from Spurs?

Well, on the face of it, it shows great forward-thinking, but it does also seem like a slightly risky approach. Or maybe Tottenham just aren't that keen on Cardoso...

Cardoso is worth €25m, according to Transfermarkt. His contract expires in 2029.

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Spurs have made their stance on Ange Postecgolou's position clear following Sunday's North London derby loss.

It comes after a former Tottenham star tipped the club to make a surprise managerial appointment.

Tottenham Hotspur are nowhere close to considering giving manager Ange Postecoglou the ol' heave-ho despite their faltering start to the new Premier League season.

That's according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, who could barely put his understanding of the Australian's position in stronger terms when asked if Postecoglou's position was at risk following Sunday's derby defeat to Arsenal.

Tottenham got off to a blistering start under Postecoglou last season, dropping just four points in his first ten league games in charge, but then hit a run of poor form that repeated at the tail end of the campaign.

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Ange Postecoglou at no risk of losing Tottenham job despite poor start

Spurs have taken just four points from as many games so far this season, drawing away to newly-promoted Leicester City on the opening day then pummelling hopeless Everton 4-0 before losing to Newcastle United and Arsenal.

But asked if Postecoglou's position was in danger, Romano said on his Substack page: "Not at all, zero percent. No, no, no and no.

"It's absolutely everything under control at Tottenham - a slow start, of course, a disappointing North London derby, but at the same time, they are not considering any shocking decision for the manager.

"This project is completely, completely involved in the ideas, the plan... the whole project is around Ange Postecoglou. Even in the summer transfer window, they were blending transfers together with him: [Dominic] Solanke, and also the others.

"This is something they are building with the manager - not just for the manager, but with the manager, so they are not going to change anything now. It was again a poor start to the season where they were also unlucky, if you remember the Leicester game. So it's probably a difficult moment in general for Tottenham, but they absolutely trust in the manager and trust Postecoglou.

"So at the moment there is nothing negative ongoing at the club, no bad feelings, just the moment to change things, and they will do that on the pitch I'm sure."

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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been warned that ‘the pressure is going to start to build’ on him following Sunday’s north London derby defeat to Arsenal.

A second-half Gabriel header meant that the Gunners left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with all three points, as a host of familiar failings again proved to be Spurs’ undoing. This time out, he upped the stakes, telling Sky Sports: "I'll correct myself - I don't usually win things, I always win things in my second year. Nothing's changed.

"I've said it now. I don't say things unless I believe them."

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This claim was quickly shot down in the Sky Sports studio by former Arsenal star and current Strictly Come Dancing hopeful Paul Merson.

“I like Ange, I like him, but I've got more chance of winning Strictly,” Merson said.

'No, I don't see it at the moment. There's not a lot wrong but you look where they are and where Newcastle are. Tottenham have probably been playing better than them over the first three games and Newcastle have more points than them.

“If they get top four - brilliant. Honestly that would be amazing but 100 per cent, it would be amazing but they'll need to get Solanke to get 20-odd goals and they can only get 20-odd goals if the crossing improves.

“’If the crossing don't improve, you can put Haaland up there and it wouldn't improve.”

Spurs’ set-piece weakness was highlighted by former England defender Matt Upson on Radio 5 Live, who believes the pressure could soon build on the Australian.

"Tottenham are so susceptible defensively that it's a real problem. They are not being clinical enough either which is what the real hammer blow is.

"If you're going to be that offensive and that open and free, you've got to bang the ball in the back of the net and they're not doing that. The pressure is going to start to build a bit on the manager."

Plenty of Spurs fans took to social media following the match and while most were supportive of the Australian, who led the team to a fifth-placed Premier League finish last season, a minority were beginning to ask questions over the direction of the club.

“Do Spurs fans want to jump aboard the manager merry-go-round or do we have the patience to back the manager and back the journey?”, one fan posted on X. “Arteta finished 8th in his first two seasons. Trust the process. Back Ange.“

But patience was beginning to wear thin with other supporters.

“I’m not pushing Ange out yet 1 no idea who to recruit,” another posted on X. “Where do you draw the line though? How many more games do we need to lose? How many set pieces conceded, lack of chances created, bad recruitment? Lose next 5?”

Next up for Spurs is a League Cup trip to Coventry on Wednesday evening, before they host Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday.

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'Some players fighting relegation were on more than us: it wasn't right': Tottenham players were 'laughed at' by England team-mates - over how LITTLE they were paid

Tottenham tipped to make shock managerial appointment, as pressure builds on Ange Postecoglou

Former Tottenham defender Danny Rose has revealed that he and his Spurs team-mates were ‘laughed at’ while on England duty over how little they were being paid.

Rose enjoyed a 13-year-old spell at Tottenham after joining as a 17-year-old from Leeds United in 2007, and would go to win 29 England caps during his time in north London and was part of the squad that went to the 2018 World Cup.

He would win the 2008 League Cup with the team on his way to making more than 200 appearances for the club, but has now admitted that he and his team-mates at the time, who consistently qualified for European competition were not being appropriately compensated by the regime led by Daniel Levy.

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Speaking on the In The Zone podcast, Rose said: “When we would go away with England, the lads would laugh at us at what we're being paid. And I have one friend who was at another club.

“I remember one season where West Brom were fighting relegation while we were near the top and some of their players were on more than what we were on. That wasn't right. With Spurs and win bonuses, you had to win by at least a couple of goals to get a bonus from it.

“At the time, I don't regret saying anything about it because it was the truth but now I think the lads are being paid appropriately.”

Rose left Tottenham in 2021 at the end of his contract and would complete his career with a short stint at Watford.

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It was the sight that no Arsenal fan wanted to see during the international break.

With the Gunners already facing a couple of midfield absentees with Declan Rice suspended and Mikel Merino still sidelined ahead of Sunday's north London derby, seeing skipper Martin Odegaard limp out of action for Norway was the last thing Mikel Arteta would have wanted.

Odergaard suffered an ankle injury in the second half of Norway's Nations League win over Austria on Monday night, the timing of which could barely have been worse, considering the Gunners face Atalanta and Manchester City in the seven days following their trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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Will Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard be fit enough to play against Tottenham on Sunday?

Arsenal are yet to comment on the severity of Odegaard's injury, with Mikel Arteta due to face the media on Friday morning.

The status of his skipper will be top of the agenda, with the club currently assessing the injury after the player underwent an MRI scan.

However, quotes from Norway's team doctor earlier this week appear to indicate that the 25-year-old is a huge doubt for Sunday's north London derby and is set for a spell on the sidelines.

“Such ankle injuries often take at least three weeks," Ola Sand told the Norwegian media. Anything other than that is just a bonus. And then it can take longer

“What we have so far obtained from the MRI examination in London is that there is probably no fracture in the ankle.”

Arsenal make the short trip across north London looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League following their 1-1 draw with Brighton before the international break, while Spurs have won one, drawn one and lost one of their opening three matches so far this term.

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Former Tottenham defender Danny Rose believes that former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino could one day be in charge of the club again.

The Argentinian boss spent five years in charge of the north London side between 2014 and 2019 before being sacked by chairman Daniel Levy, just five months after taking the club to the Champions League final.

Pochettino has since had spells in charge of Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, before last month agreeing to take the USA national team job.

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Spurs, meanwhile have burned through a series of coaches since Pochettino’s exit, with Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte all coming and going before Ange Postecoglou’s arrival last summer.

With the club investing heavily in the summer transfer window, the pressure will now be on the Australian to return to the team to the Champions League this summer, with Rose admitting that he was surprised the club did not move for Pochettino last year.

“I definitely thought that pre-Chelsea, [Mauricio] Pochettino could return to Tottenham,” Rose told GiveMeSport.

“I don't think that him going to Chelsea for a year hinders that happening again in the future. Although it’s another four years until the next World Cup and hopefully, he's going to see it out with managing the USA.

“Of course, anything can happen in the next four years but before he went to Chelsea, I thought it was nailed on that he probably would have gone to Spurs before Ange. I still believe that he will return to Tottenham as manager one day.”

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The first north London derby of the season takes place on Sunday as Arsenal make the short trip over to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The match is always a lively affair and one of the most competitively fought fixtures in the Premier League calendar, with the match officials always in for a busy afternoon.

But as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta welcomes back his international players and prepares for the clash, he may not be best pleased with the refereeing appointment.

The Premier League have appointed Jarred Gillett for the match, with the Australian a familiar figure for the Gunners, with this already being his second Arsenal match of the season.

Gillett has overseen a number of controversial incidents when taking charge of Arsenal matches, including the season-opening match against Wolves, where he declined to send off Yerson Mosquera for grabbing Kai Havertz around the throat.

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Arsenal fans were left dumbfounded when Gillett did not take any action against the Wolves and then the VAR did not intervene. Mosquera then tussled with Gabriel Jesus, grabbing the Brazilian on the posterior, which led to Jesus being booked for his reaction.

Last season saw Gillett disallow a last-minute Havertz goal against Aston Villa, with the Gunners claiming that the referee did not have a clear view of the incident.

Arsenal fans have been stewing over another refereeing decision during the international break, after Chris Kavanagh controversially sent off Declan Rice against Brighton last time out.

Rice will miss the north London derby through suspension, with skipper Martin Odegaard also set to miss out after suffering an injury on international duty with Norway, while summer signing Mikel Merino is still sidelined with a shoulder injury that he suffered in his first training session with the club.

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At the height of his powers, winger David Bentley was compared to a young David Beckham and predicted to become a Three Lions legend.

But the former Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur winger ended up falling out of love with the game and retiring in 2013 at the age of 29 – to the shock of football fans across the country.

His reasons were clear: Bentley believed that football had become boring, predictable and too professional as a result of social media and increased commercialisation of the game. The dressing room antics of his youth were a thing of the past, and football had slowly become a chore.

"People sometimes ask me if I regret leaving Arsenal as a young player or retiring when I did but no," he tells FourFourTwo on behalf of William Hill ahead of this weekend's North London Derby. "I'd grown tired of the game and I wanted to spend more time at home with my family and focus on other things. I loved my career, don't get me wrong. I got to do something many people dream about but it was time to call it a day. I opened my bar in Marbella among other things and I wanted to give my attention to that."

Bentley's hijinks often got him into trouble during his playing days. One famous incident saw him tip a bucket of water over Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp's head after Spurs qualified for the Champions League – the player then preceded to dance around in his pants in front of cameras and his irate gaffer.

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Bentley was also alleged to have called his England manager Fabio Capello 'Postman Pat' to his face on at least one occasion. But asked whether he regrets any of those episodes, Bentley is resolute.

"No, never," he says. "I'm not the sort of person to have regrets. Everything happens for a reason and I was just a young bloke having a laugh. Nobody got hurt. Harry was obviously upset with me after the water incident but I was just happy. We'd qualified for the Champions League. I didn't play for Spurs much more after that but I'd do it again!"

Asked if there is anything he does look back on with shame, Bentley says no. Although one thing did come close.

"I suppose if I absolutely had to choose, the way I left Blackburn in 2008 could have been handled a bit better," he tells FFT. "I'd always given my best for Rovers but I felt it was time to move on. Spurs came in for me and it was a good opportunity. But I didn't really get the chance to explain myself to the fans or say goodbye.

"I did return to the club years later but that was different. It would have been nice to leave that first time on better terms. Still, that's not really a regret. Everything happens for a reason, like I said. That's my motto."

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Tottenham agreed to sell one £30m star at a staggering loss before the transfer window closed. Meanwhile, Arsenal could move Bukayo Saka in response to a new crisis.

Tottenham Hotspur aren't going to make any more signings this summer. They have, however, agreed a move for a £30 million star to leave.

The Lilywhites have invested a lot of money since Ange Postecoglou took over last summer and have made serious statements of intent once again. Dominic Solanke was the headline acquisition this summer, though Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray have joined the squad to offer promise for the future.

Tottenham have managed to offload the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Emerson Royal, too. Now, another sizeable signing looks like departing the club.

Marca and ABC Sevilla in Spain are reporting that an agreement has been reached between Tottenham and Real Betis over the transfer of Giovani Lo Celso. The Argentine played for the Seville outfit prior to his move to north London.

Lo Celso has appeared for Spurs in the Postecoglou era but has had two separate loan spells at Villarreal. With the emergence of Bergvall and Gray, however, Lo Celso is clearly surplus to requirements, with Tottenham looking to recoup some of the fee they spent on him.

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Transfermarkt notes that the 28-year-old cost €32m when he joined, around £30m. In that time, he did manage to make over 100 appearances for Tottenham.

Marca says that following talks, Spurs will get future rights to Johnny Cardoso. In terms of money, however, Tottenham will get €5m up front for Lo Celso with a 50 per cent resale clause.

In FourFourTwo's opinion, this deal might actually represent good value for Spurs. Lo Celso was a depreciating value that they had no interest in keeping and they have at least secured a good sell on percentage.

The more interesting aspect of the deal is with Cardoso. The Betis star could well head to Spurs in a future move.

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