EnemaOfTheState
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'Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy was today pleased to announce young manager Ollie Riley as new Spurs manager, after a sensational surprise move from Harry Redknapp back to Portsmouth.
"Despite his lack of first team managerial experience, I feel Ollie here will be the spark to ignite the Spurs flame and take us into a new era of European football."
Spurs fans are said to have qualms about the appointment of Riley, a former England international with 43 caps and 9 goals to his name, stating that a successfull playing career does not automatically equate to being good in the dugout.
Riley will doubtless be wanting to prove his far from confident fanbase wrong with a strong pre-season and a push towards Europe - something many believe to be a distinct possibility for Spurs this season.'
Pre-Season:
Signings
In a sensational double-swoop, new Spurs manager Ollie Riley has beaten several clubs to gaining the signatures of England superstar David Beckham and his former Manchester United team-mate Ruud Van Nistlerooy from Real Madrid for a combined total believed to be around £2m. Riley explained these signings to the press as a " much-needed addition of European playing experience to the squad" and going on to state that he feels van Nistlerooy and Beckham can provide "a wealth of class and skill to a squad already boasting exciting potential."
These signings no doubt overshadowed the other capture for Tottenham, young and gifted midfielder Sotiris Ninis from Panathanaikos for £3.7m. Fans were said to be reserving judgement on the young Ninis, with his credentials lacking and experience unproven, but were very happy with the signings of big-guns Beckham and van Nistlerooy.
Results:
Spurs 3 - 1 Spurs Reserves
A two-minute double from Peter Crouch and a Luka Modric penalty helped see off the Reserves in a match that players were evidently trying to impress in.
Spurs 3 - 2 Leicester City
A scoreline that belied the dominance of Tottenham, with goals from Keane, Lennon and Palacios that gave the home team a three goal lead at half-time.
Spurs 5 - 0 Glentoran
A much slicker Spurs side took apart admittedly poor opposition. Contributions from the in-form Palacios, Crouch, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko and new boy Sotiris Ninis.
Spurs 5 - 0 Arezzo
Modric, Crouch, dos Santos and a brace from Jermain Defoe saw Spurs cruise past Italian opposition Arezzo, the only downside being a silly red card for Huddlestone on 90 minutes.
Spurs 5 - 1 Brescia
Another good performance from a team evidently beginning to gel against a better standard Serie A side. Modric, Bassong, Lennon netted for Spurs, along with an own goal and first goal for David Beckham.
Spurs 2 - 3 AC Milan
The first major test for Spurs, a test they failed by the narrowest of margins. Early goals from Huntelaar put the home side two-up, but the fightback was on when Crouch netted in the 56th minute. Five minutes later, the Spurs comeback was on when Modric headed the away team level. However, despite an entertaining end-to-end game, Spurs were left disappointed after captain Ledley King conceded a late penalty, which Ronaldinho had no trouble sticking away. Aside from the late goal, the only disappointment to the Spurs manager will be the injury of Alan Hutton, who will be out for 3 weeks after pulling a hamstring. Added to the already extensive injury list including Gareth Bale, Jonathan Woodgate, Michael Dawson and Ruud van Nistlerooy, this is a real concern for the new boss.
Riley was said to be "proud and upbeat" after the defeat:
"We won't be meeting teams of Milan's quality every week. They are a fantastic footballing side, and the fact that we could have nicked it - at the San Siro too - gives me confidence about the upcoming season. The boys should be proud, and despite the result only being a pre-season friendly, we should take heart from this performance and result."
Spurs 1 - 1 San Jose Earthquakes
A poor game and a far cry from the performance put in against Milan. A goal midway through the first half from Keane was cancelled out ten minutes later, and the second-half was a drab affair. A disappointing end to a promising pre-season.
Van Nistlerooy Back In Action!
Tottenham's Reserve team match against GH Academy earlier today saw the debut of summer signing Ruud van Nistlerooy. A great performance from the Dutchman was capped by two goals as the visiting side eased to a 3-0 victory. After the game, Riley had this to say:
"We're not looking to rush Ruud, a cruciate ligament injury is always a serious issue. He's trained well in the past week, and given time he'll be back to full match fitness and hopefully be banging in the goals for us. The two he scored today are testament to his quality and desire. The reason we took him off with half an hour to go is nothing major - as I said, we're not rushing him back to fitness. Ruud knows he has the quality to score for us in this league, and he'll get plenty of game time as the season goes on."
The start of the season is days away - I'll keep you posted!
As I'm doing this season with another mate (who's taken charge at Arsenal), updates may be sporadic, but he loves the new Footy Man as much as me so I doubt there'll be any problems. This is my first story thing, so if its too wordy or there's any general comments you have, please tell me and I can sort it out. Cheers! <)
"Despite his lack of first team managerial experience, I feel Ollie here will be the spark to ignite the Spurs flame and take us into a new era of European football."
Spurs fans are said to have qualms about the appointment of Riley, a former England international with 43 caps and 9 goals to his name, stating that a successfull playing career does not automatically equate to being good in the dugout.
Riley will doubtless be wanting to prove his far from confident fanbase wrong with a strong pre-season and a push towards Europe - something many believe to be a distinct possibility for Spurs this season.'
Pre-Season:
Signings
In a sensational double-swoop, new Spurs manager Ollie Riley has beaten several clubs to gaining the signatures of England superstar David Beckham and his former Manchester United team-mate Ruud Van Nistlerooy from Real Madrid for a combined total believed to be around £2m. Riley explained these signings to the press as a " much-needed addition of European playing experience to the squad" and going on to state that he feels van Nistlerooy and Beckham can provide "a wealth of class and skill to a squad already boasting exciting potential."
These signings no doubt overshadowed the other capture for Tottenham, young and gifted midfielder Sotiris Ninis from Panathanaikos for £3.7m. Fans were said to be reserving judgement on the young Ninis, with his credentials lacking and experience unproven, but were very happy with the signings of big-guns Beckham and van Nistlerooy.
Results:
Spurs 3 - 1 Spurs Reserves
A two-minute double from Peter Crouch and a Luka Modric penalty helped see off the Reserves in a match that players were evidently trying to impress in.
Spurs 3 - 2 Leicester City
A scoreline that belied the dominance of Tottenham, with goals from Keane, Lennon and Palacios that gave the home team a three goal lead at half-time.
Spurs 5 - 0 Glentoran
A much slicker Spurs side took apart admittedly poor opposition. Contributions from the in-form Palacios, Crouch, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko and new boy Sotiris Ninis.
Spurs 5 - 0 Arezzo
Modric, Crouch, dos Santos and a brace from Jermain Defoe saw Spurs cruise past Italian opposition Arezzo, the only downside being a silly red card for Huddlestone on 90 minutes.
Spurs 5 - 1 Brescia
Another good performance from a team evidently beginning to gel against a better standard Serie A side. Modric, Bassong, Lennon netted for Spurs, along with an own goal and first goal for David Beckham.
Spurs 2 - 3 AC Milan
The first major test for Spurs, a test they failed by the narrowest of margins. Early goals from Huntelaar put the home side two-up, but the fightback was on when Crouch netted in the 56th minute. Five minutes later, the Spurs comeback was on when Modric headed the away team level. However, despite an entertaining end-to-end game, Spurs were left disappointed after captain Ledley King conceded a late penalty, which Ronaldinho had no trouble sticking away. Aside from the late goal, the only disappointment to the Spurs manager will be the injury of Alan Hutton, who will be out for 3 weeks after pulling a hamstring. Added to the already extensive injury list including Gareth Bale, Jonathan Woodgate, Michael Dawson and Ruud van Nistlerooy, this is a real concern for the new boss.
Riley was said to be "proud and upbeat" after the defeat:
"We won't be meeting teams of Milan's quality every week. They are a fantastic footballing side, and the fact that we could have nicked it - at the San Siro too - gives me confidence about the upcoming season. The boys should be proud, and despite the result only being a pre-season friendly, we should take heart from this performance and result."
Spurs 1 - 1 San Jose Earthquakes
A poor game and a far cry from the performance put in against Milan. A goal midway through the first half from Keane was cancelled out ten minutes later, and the second-half was a drab affair. A disappointing end to a promising pre-season.
Van Nistlerooy Back In Action!
Tottenham's Reserve team match against GH Academy earlier today saw the debut of summer signing Ruud van Nistlerooy. A great performance from the Dutchman was capped by two goals as the visiting side eased to a 3-0 victory. After the game, Riley had this to say:
"We're not looking to rush Ruud, a cruciate ligament injury is always a serious issue. He's trained well in the past week, and given time he'll be back to full match fitness and hopefully be banging in the goals for us. The two he scored today are testament to his quality and desire. The reason we took him off with half an hour to go is nothing major - as I said, we're not rushing him back to fitness. Ruud knows he has the quality to score for us in this league, and he'll get plenty of game time as the season goes on."
The start of the season is days away - I'll keep you posted!
As I'm doing this season with another mate (who's taken charge at Arsenal), updates may be sporadic, but he loves the new Footy Man as much as me so I doubt there'll be any problems. This is my first story thing, so if its too wordy or there's any general comments you have, please tell me and I can sort it out. Cheers! <)
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