Spurring Them On To Greatness

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

View attachment 244822
I’ve always been fascinated my Tottenham Hotspur. The name alone did it when I was a young lad growing up watching the likes of Klinsmann, Sheringham, Lineker, Gascoigne, Campbell and Ginola strutting their stuff in the Premier League. For a team that’s only finished outside the top 8 once in the past 10 seasons and has had some tremendous players in that time it’s a little surprising that the only trophy they’ve won in that period is the League Cup in 2008 and haven’t won a league title since 1961.

The club really missed an opportunity with the ‘Gareth Bale’ money. At the start of the 13/14 season Tottenham had received around £113m in players sales including the likes of Bale, Caulker, Defoe, Dempsey, Huddlestone and Parker. They reinvested that money into Soldado, Eriksen, Chadli, Lamela, Paulinho, Chiriches and Capoue. Only Eriksen out of that list has proved to be a success while Chadli has shown glimpses and Lamela is still being given time. The rest are being looked at as surplus to requirements.

With less of a scattergun and more of a sensible transfer policy Spurs could have already made that leap into the top four last season with United and Liverpool both struggling but it wasn’t to be….

My aim is to ‘spur’ Tottenham into a consistent top four side and then make that leap into the promise land of Premier League champions. In the short term I will look to strengthen the squad to make it competitive but over the long term I will be looking to invest in what is already a great youth setup and use that as my primary source of new blood and only topping it up with U19 signings and the very occasional ready made player. If I am successful enough and in a position financially to bring club legend Gareth Bale back I will also look to do that. I will give the current squad a chance to prove themselves as Pochettino did last season but if a good bid comes along for any player I deem to be surplus to requirements I will accept it.


Club Overview

View attachment 244819

As you can see the trophy cabinet isn’t bare but no League Title for 53 years, no Domestic Cup for 6 years and no European Cup for 30 years means the fans are ready for success. If we can get it all together on the field in time for our move to New White Hart Lane in 2018 then this club could become a world force quite soon.


Best Players

Hugo Lloris Jan Vertonghen Christian Eriksen

View attachment 244808 View attachment 244806 View attachment 244805

These three that form a part of my spine will be key to how we perform this year. I could of added a few others in like Lamela, Soldado and Kane but they need to prove to me that they are at the same level as these other guys.


Exciting Youngsters

Cameron Carter-Vickers Ismael Azzaoui Joshua Onomah

View attachment 244803 View attachment 244802 View attachment 244799

Will do my best to give these three some minutes this season. I'm guessing it will be in the Capital One Cup. I also have my eye on a couple of others aswell as a few on loan.


Transfer Budget

View attachment 244812

Agreed to by both myself and Daniel Levy, it gives me a chance to maneuver in the transfer market while I get 100% of all outgoing transfers to spend.

​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

August

Movement on the transfer front as players arrive at White Hart Lane
Promising start to the EPL
Europa League playoff success


Fixtures

Tottenham 5-0 Swansea
Soldado (3)
Lamela
Konoplyanka
Impressive start to the campaign as we tear apart Swansea. Soldado doing what has been expected since his arrival

Man Utd 3-1 Tottenham
Lamela
A real hiding. Should have been more but Falcao was very wasteful

Tottenham 1-0 Newcastle
Adebayor
Should have been more comfortable but Adebayor pops up with a late substitutes goal

Europa League Playoff 1st Leg

View attachment 244780

Tottenham 8-0 Esbjerg fB
Kane ( 6 )
Mason (2)
Amazing scenes!!! Kane scores a double hat trick inside the first 45 mins!!!

Europa League Playoff 2nd Leg

View attachment 244778

Esbjerg fB 0-3 Tottenham
Chadli
Bentaleb
Kane
A more subdued performance but Kane has 7 in 2 games and has started off on fire, proving that he deserves to be classed among our leading players.


EPL

View attachment 244769

A promising start to life in the premier league, Soldado and Lamela impressing early.


Player of the Month

Harry Kane

View attachment 244768

You can't go past a man who scores a double hat trick! I've played many saves with the best players in the world and I reckon I've only seen one other player do this in this years version.


Europa League Group Draw

View attachment 244767

Fairly straight forward group and should only see resistance from Club Brugge.


Transfer Window

View attachment 244766

Pretty happy with my business this window. Would have liked a few home grown players but they were few and far between and over priced. Darmian and Konoplyanka slot straight into the starting XI while the rest add depth to help with our competition on multiple fronts. Capoue leaves for a generous fee that could rise to about £15m.

View attachment 244765

A major overhaul of our backroom as some quality and diversity comes in while removing some deadwood.
​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

September

Eriksen and Chadli play no part due to injury
Our goalscoring touch deserts us
We save it up for Chelsea


Fixtures

Stoke 1-1 Tottenham
Fazio
Fazio scores a late equalizer in a game we dominate but can't find the net

West Brom 2-0 Tottenham
West Brom play perfect counter attacking football as we have all the ball but don't trouble the keeper

Tottenham 3-1 Chelsea
Cech (og)
Dembele
Kane
This game could have been very different, Soldado had two disallowed goals before Hazard scored a penalty with their first attempt. We rallied in the second to finally score the goals we've threatened to all month

Europa League Group A

Club Brugge 2-1 Tottenham
Kane
Another poor performance against an average side away from home

Capital One Cup 3rd Round

Norwich 0-0 Tottenham
(2-4 Pens)
Total domination but unable to find the net. Soldado has been very poor this month

Friendly

Barcelona 2-1 Tottenham
Kaboul
A cool £1m pocketed in this money spinning friendly


EPL

View attachment 244550

The Chelsea result keeps us in the hunt early on but performances, especially away from home need to improve drastically


Player of the Month

Jan Vertonghen

View attachment 244549

Has been solid at the back at a time when other's haven't. His responses to my team talks irk me but signed a new contract to ward off interest from United and Barca.
​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

October

Encouraging month in the league
Soldado continues to live his life offside
Capitol One Cup run comes to an end


Fixtures

Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham
Paulinho
Borini scores a second half double to drag Liverpool to victory after going behind

Tottenham 4-2 Southampton
Lamela (2)
Soldado
Konoplyanka
A dominant performance against the team ranked 20th!

Crystal Palace 0-3 Tottenham
Soldado (2)
Bentaleb
Straight forward victory with Soldado hitting his straps

Europa League Group A

Tottenham 3-0 Dinamo Moscow
Soldado (2)
Townsend

Maribor 1-3 Tottenham
Eriksen
Konoplyanka
Lamela

Capital One Cup 4th Round

Tottenham 1-3 Man United
Kane
Reserve side took an early lead before the much stronger United took control

Friendly

Bayern 0-1 Tottenham
Soldado
A half mill this time but a morale boosting result!


EPL

View attachment 244232

Our game in hand against Leicester will see us up to third with three points. A really good month to keep us there or there abouts.


Europa League Group A

View attachment 244231

Two wins sees us top the group but it is very tight at the top. With home games to come against second and third it's in our own hands to qualify. Kane and Townsend having a field day.


Player of the Month

Roberto Soldado

View attachment 244230

I can't look past the Spanish striker for his six goals. It could have been so much more as he had at least 4 goals disallowed for offside.


Finally in other news Harry Kane has asked to leave for Liverpool as he thinks it will be a great opportunity to play Champions League football. I've told him I will accept a bid if it meets our valuation. Little does he know our valuation is £30m+

​

 

[Disclaimer89]

So far so good! Me being a spurs fan, I'll be following this! Good luck!

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

So far so good! Me being a spurs fan, I'll be following this! Good luck!

Cheers mate, appreciate it. We're looking good at home but our away form is terrible!

 

[SamPeters]

I've always liked Spurs...always feel like going back and starting another game with them lol

A nice start to life at Spurs, over the season I can see you pushing further up

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

I've always liked Spurs...always feel like going back and starting another game with them lol

A nice start to life at Spurs, over the season I can see you pushing further up

Yeah I saw the potential in the side, surprised there wasn't more stories on here about them

Yeah if we can stop shipping goals away from home we'll be a chance. May need a change in formation away.

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

November

Mixed month in the league
European qualification assured
Red card in North London Derby


Fixtures

Tottenham 5-0 Leicester
Soldado (2)
Schwartzer (og)
Moore (og)
Chadli
Excellent performance against a weak side

West Ham 3-2 Tottenham
Dembele
Soldado
Chiriches gets sent off for a last man tackle that also saw the resulting penalty put us down 2-1 and to 10 men

Tottenham 1-1 Man City
Soldado
Held on for a good point. Eriksen was in inspired form

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
Lamela
Paulinho
Massive result after having Fazio sent off after eight mins but we manage to score a late winner to give the fans bragging rights for a few months

Europa League Group A

Tottenham 3-2 Maribor
Konoplyanka
Gil Romero
Dembele
Score looks closer than the game actually was. Result was never in doubt

Tottenham 3-0 Club Brugge
Eriksen
Townsend (2)
Straightforward result that sees us qualify from our group in first place

Friendly

Bayern 2-2 Tottenham
Soldado (2)
Another half mill and another credible result against the German heavyweights


EPL

View attachment 244197


A game in hand in sixth but Liverpool are opening up a bit of a gap. Soldado, Lamela and Eriksen have been outstanding for us so far


Europa League Group A

View attachment 244195

Confirmation that qualification and top spot is assured with a game remaining


Player of the Month

Christian Eriksen

View attachment 244194

This man orchestrated our midfield picking up a few assists and a goal. Dictated our play and was involved in all the good things. Showing why he is so highly regarded in the football world


The exodus continues! Vlad Chiriches and Nacer Chadli have also asked this month to join Liverpool if a bid comes in. Liverpool are also interested in Andros Townsend and Mousa Dembele

​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

December


Unbeaten month sees us in contention
Soldado gets two hat tricks
Players wanting to leave climbs to seven


Fixtures

Aston Villa 0-1 Tottenham
Delph (og)
Our away form takes a turn and we keep a rare clean sheet away

Tottenham 4-0 QPR
Soldado (3)
Konoplyanka
Soldado was lethal in front of goal even having time to have another goal disallowed for offside!

Sunderland 1-4 Tottenham
Soldado (3)
Eriksen
The Spaniard continues his great form with another impressive hat trick

Burnley 0-1 Tottenham
Konoplyanka
Professional performance away from home

Tottenham 0-0 Hull
Frustrated by Steve Bruce's back three and negative tactics. Still had thirty shots but couldn't find the net

Everton 0-2 Tottenham
Howard (og)
Kane
Could prove to be an important victory come seasons end especially with it being in the middle of a hectic Christmas period

Europa League Group A

Dinamo Moscow 3-3 Tottenham
Paulinho
Kane
Townsend
An exciting game for the neutrals to finish off the group stage


EPL

View attachment 243907

An excellent month sees us right in contention halfway through the season. Soldado leads the scoring, Eriksen leads the average ratings and Lamela leads the assists. If I can add a touch of quality in January we may very well be title contenders


Europa League Group A

View attachment 243906

Confirmation of the final group placings as Club Brugge join us in the knockout stages


Player of the Month

Matteo Darmian

View attachment 243905

It was tough to go past Soldado for his two hat tricks but Darmian has an average rating of 7.84 playing all but one game in December getting an assist and MoM to boot. Has kept Kyle Walker out of the starting XI upon his return from injury and has been worth every penny


Roberto 'Offside' Soldado

View attachment 243904

Just showing that I'm not exaggerating about Soldado spending his life offside. Has an extra 18 than Berahino halfway through the season


So there are now seven players that have asked to leave, most of them to Liverpool! The players in question are: Vertonghen, Chiriches, Bentaleb, Chadli, Townsend, Dembele and Kane

​

 

[ton789]

I had the same problem for my spurs save. So many players wanted to leave even though we were doing really well. No loyalty at all

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

I had the same problem for my spurs save. So many players wanted to leave even though we were doing really well. No loyalty at all

Yeah it's a joke really. We're sitting third and playing really well, all of those guys are playing in the first team but want Champions League football. I won't be letting any of the home grown players leave as we're struggling to fill out all our home grown spots in the Europa League

 

[xJamieWilliams]

Brilliant start to this mate, yeah everyone seems to want to leave when you are Spurs, not too sure why either!

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

January


Keeping pace at the top
Soldado continues his scoring run
Major upheaval at the club
Arsenal exact FA Cup revenge


Fixtures

Swansea 0-5 Tottenham
Soldado (2)
Paulinho
Konoplyanka
Dier
5 scored against Swansea for the second time this season. Soldado continues his fine run while Dier scores his first goal for the club

Tottenham 3-4 Man United
Soldado (2)
Lamela
A loss we couldn't really afford at home to a team sitting around us in the table

Newcastle 1-3 Tottenham
Sissoko (og)
Konoplyanka
Chadli
Very professional performance away from home against a potential bogey side.

Tottenham 1-0 Stoke
Soldado
Early Soldado penalty gives us a comfortable 3 points as Stoke have one shot on target for the 90 mins

Tottenham 3-1 West Brom
Chadli
Eriksen (2)
Another good and expected home win. Eriksen shows his class

FA Cup 3rd Round

Sunderland 0-4 Tottenham
Soldado
Sansone
Chadli
Lamela
Progression to the 4th round assured with a comfortable victory

FA Cup 4th Round

Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham
Sansone
Appalling result against our closest rivals


EPL

View attachment 243170

Within touching distance as we leave the New Year period unscathed in the Premier League. Soldado continues to top the scoring charts with 21 already. Lamela has 19 assists and will be looking to smash Thierry Henry's all time record of 20.


Player of the Month

Erik Lamela

View attachment 243167

With 6 assists and two goals this month it was impossible to go past him. Seem to be getting the best out of him and don't think it'll be long before a Chelsea or a Real Madrid come in for him


January Transfer Window

View attachment 243163

Big ins and outs this month as a few key players leave and some young talent arrives. The big talking points were Vertonghen joining Real Madrid for £27.5m plus add ons and Dembele left for Napoli for £17.5m and add ons. As much as I would have loved to keep Vertonghen the money we got for him was too much to turn down and as I mentioned earlier his reactions and complacency on the field irked me.
8 players aged 20 or younger have come in along with 22 year old Sergi Roberto on loan. Ginter is a direct replacement for Vertonghen, Powell and Roberto will take the workload of Dembele while Bernardo will give me an option in Eriksen's attacking mid role so as not to burn him out. The other players all give me a chance to increase the home grown numbers and future prospects within the club.

​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

February


A change of formation gives us the double over Chelsea
We lose ground after a loss to Liverpool
A 2nd knockout round appearance in the Europa League is achieved


Fixtures

Chelsea 2-3 Tottenham
Soldado (3)
A defensive formation was applied and Soldado managed to get up the other end and score an important hat trick

Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool
Simply beaten by a better side

Southampton 2-0 Tottenham
A really poor performance and result to match

Europa League 1st Knockout Round

First Leg
Trabzonspor 3-4 Tottenham
Konoplyanka
Dier
Lamela
Eriksen
A good result in spite of our porous defending. Went 3-0 up then preceded to concede 3 goals before getting a late winner through Eriksen

Second Leg
Tottenham 5-0 Trabzonspor
Mammana
Soldado (2)
Demirok (og)
Bentaleb
A more straightforward result sees us comfortably through to face Lille


Player of the Month

Roberto Soldado

View attachment 242777

Another 5 goals this month and he has been prolific for us. If he could cut out the offsides he would be on about 50 goals!
​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

March


A place in the Europa League Quarter Finals is achieved
A loss to City all but ends our Premier League title hilt
The goals keep rolling for Soldado


Fixtures

Leicester 0-3 Tottenham
Eriksen
Soldado
Ginter
The young German has settled in nicely and caps that off with a late goal

Tottenham 1-0 West Ham
Soldado
Ultra defensive West Ham keep the game tight but never really threatened

Man City 2-1 Tottenham
Mina
Youngster Mina scored a late equalizer before Dzeko went down and scored the winner in added time ending our Premier League title charge barring a miracle

Europa League 2nd Knockout Round

First Leg
Lille 2-2 Tottenham
Rose
Soldado
A two goal comeback sees us take a slim away goal advantage back to White Hart Lane

Second Leg
Tottenham 2-1 Lille
Soldado (2)
Soldado again the destroyer as we do the business at home setting up a quarter final against Wolfsburg


EPL

View attachment 242773

A nine point gap with a game in hand in fourth means the likely hood of becoming champions at the first attempt is unlikely at best


Player of the Month

Christian Eriksen

View attachment 242772

Creator of goals and general of the midfield he has been exemplary this season and continued it this month scoring a goal and an assist at an average rating of 8.00


Youth Intake 2015

View attachment 242771

Nothing to write home about from this years intake so no need to go into individual profiles but young CB Andy Harrison is said to have a promising future​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

April


Undefeated month in the league
Semi final date with Everton assured
Soldado takes his goal tally for the season to 37 in all competitions


Fixtures

Tottenham 2-0 Sunderland
Soldado
Lamela
Comfortable victory to keep our chances of a top four finish alive

Tottenham 2-1 Crystal Palace
Kane (2)
Come from behind victory as Kane scores two absolute scorchers on the turn from the edge of the area

Arsenal 0-0 Tottenham
Survived a gunners onslaught to earn a crucial point as Arsenal are in fifth and 9 points behind us. This draw almost ensures we'll finish in a champions league place

Tottenham 2-1 Aston Villa
Kane
Gil Romero
Another come from behind victory as our two subs come on and make an instant impact on the scoresheet

Europa League Quarter Final

First Leg
Tottenham 5-1 Wolfsburg
Soldado (2)
Lamela (2)
Paulinho
Five goals in the first 45 mins sees us kill this tie off as a contest before the second leg in Germany. Fazio got himself sent off in the 49th minute but it meant very little. Lamela was in amazing form in this one with two goals and the MoM.

Second Leg
Wolfsburg 1-1 Tottenham
Eriksen
Went to Wolfsburg with the intention of killing this game off and was able to achieve it despite Mammana getting sent off this time in the 68th minute. Lord Bendtner scored a screamer from outside the area in this one. Good to see FM getting his ability realistic


EPL

View attachment 242696

So as it stand we look to have clinched 4th place barring a complete slump in our last 4 games. Considering they are against QPR A, Everton H, Hull A and Burnley H I think we can get the 4 points required. Interestingly we are level on points with Chelsea who have Arsenal away in the next game


Player of the Month

Erik Lamela

View attachment 242695

More goals and assists from the Argentinian youngster this month to go along with the EPL goal of the month award. He's got 12 goals and 30 assists in 42 appearances this season.​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

May


Europa League Champions!
A poor finish to the league means we scrape fourth place


Fixtures

QPR 2-0 Tottenham
A really poor performance against a team threatened with relegation. Chelsea and United drew their games before ours and we weren't able to capiltalise

Tottenham 1-1 Everton
Roberto
In a curious set of circumstances we play Everton three games in a row with this EPL encounter wedged in between the two Europa League semi finals. It took a 92nd minute equalizer from Sergi Roberto to get a point from this one after beating them 3-1 only a couple of days before at the same venue

Hull 1-1 Tottenham
Bentaleb
Another poor result away from home as we seem to be declining as the season comes to an end

Tottenham 3-3 Burnley
Mina
Powell
Kane
A reserve side was put out with the Europa League final coming three days after this game and a champions league place already guaranteed. A late Harry Kane goal earned us a point but there were definite defensive concerns ahead of the Europa League final

Europa League Semi Final

First Leg
Tottenham 3-1 Everton
Soldado
Lamela (2)
We started this game in much the same fashion as the first leg against Wolfsburg piling on three goals before half time effectively ending the tie

Second Leg
Everton 3-3 Tottenham
Chadli (2)
Soldado
Soldado's goal and two assists send us through to the Europa League final against heavyweights Barcelona!

Europa League Final

View attachment 242374

Barcelona 0-3 Tottenham
Chadli
Soldado
Bentaleb
A quite incredible result as we completely dismantle Barcelona with our attacking brand of football. Bentaleb gets the MoM for bossing the midfield and nullifying the likes of Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets.


EPL

View attachment 242373

Confirmation of our fourth place finish and champions league football at White Hart Lane next season. Soldado and Lamela top the scoring and assist charts.


Player of the Month

Nabil Bentaleb

View attachment 242366

I've given it to Bentaleb mainly for his brilliant display in the final capped off with a goal. The media have labelled him a wonderkid. He didn't play as much as I would have liked this season with Paulinho and Dembele preferred before he was sold
​

 

[OhhhRickieLambert]

Spurring Them On To Greatness

2014/15 End of Season Review


Squad in order of appearances

View attachment 242325 View attachment 242324

Ryan Mason had a horrible run with injuries making it onto the field only 4 times this season. Younes Kaboul is surplus to requirements but hasn't had any offers while Kyle Walker is stuck behind Matteo Darmian who was a superb signing

Top Goalscorer
Roberto Soldado 40 Goals

View attachment 242322

Most Assists
Erik Lamela 32 Assists

View attachment 242321

Best Player
Christian Eriksen 43(2) Apps 8 Goals 22 Assists

View attachment 242318

Best Young Player
Nabil Bentaleb 26(6) Apps 5 Goals 8 Assists

View attachment 242317

EPL Awards

Soldado makes team of the year

View attachment 242316

Lamela wins Young Player of the Year

View attachment 242315

Soldado is EPL leading goalscorer

View attachment 242314

EPL 2014/15

View attachment 242311

So Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Sunderland all go down to the Championship while Norwich, Cardiff and Fulham join us in the top flight next season. On hearing the news that Villa were relegated I started putting tabs on a few of their players....

League Winners 2014/15

EPL - Liverpool
La Liga - Athletic Madrid
Bundesliga - Bayern Munich
Serie A - Juventus
Portuguese Premier League - Benfica
Ligue One - PSG
Eredivisie - PSV

​