Firstly, I’d like to apologise for this blog post being a day behind schedule, I had a good blog post written out and saved in my drafts section, but when I logged on it had disappeared, and I would much rather put out a good standard blog a day late, than a rushed and poor one on time. I know this is no excuse.
So, this Thursday’s blog is going to be all about North-London side Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs currently sit second in the league, 10 points behind fellow Londoners, Chelsea, losing just 3 all season, to Liverpool, Man United and Chelsea themselves. Chelsea seem to have the trophy already in their cabinet and are showing no sign of letting up, so it seems to be shaping up to be another ‘nearly’ season.
I have a soft spot for The Lilywhites. I do tend to see them as a more likeable side than clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester city. This is not without reason, though. I believe that Spurs are the last of a dying breed, yet they are doing it brilliantly. In years gone by, sides relied on their youth academy to create their winning sides, this was all before we started paying £50 million for players who are, quite frankly, not worth £50. I’m looking at you Hebei China Fortune.
If goals by only English players counted this season, Spurs would be sitting at the top with a 13 point cushion over Burnley in Second. Manchester City would be in a relegation battle at 17th, with just 26 points, and real life leaders, Chelsea, would be down to 13th with 31 points.
Spurs have a steady stream of excellent young English talent coming out of their youth academy. Take, for example, forward Harry Kane, who has scored 24 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions this season, and has spent a while out injured too. Also, defensive midfielder/attacking defender Eric Dier has been excellent over the last two seasons or so, playing at Euro 2016. I realise that teammate Dele Alli was bought from MK Dons, but he still classes as a homegrown player as he graduated from an English side’s football academy, yet Dier would not, as he graduated from a Portuguese side’s academy, namely Sporting Lisbon. However, he is still English and I believe would not have reached the level he has reached should he not have signed for Spurs.
Full backs Danny Rose and Kyle walker are also great examples of young English talent being signed and nurtured by The Lilywhites, both receiving multiple England caps, and being the Three Lions first choice options for Euro 2016.
You see many clubs trying to replicate this Spurs system, but to not much avail. The reason it works for spurs is because they have the perfect balance of buying talent in and bringing through the young players. Harry Kane may be the first spurs player to spring to mind, but purchases such as creative midfielders Heung-Min Son and Christian Eriksen have been vital in the team’s success this season, and with the way they’re going at the moment, I can see spurs winning the league in the next two seasons.
To conclude, I think we could see Spurs becoming the next big hotshot in world football, thanks to their excellent youth system, but also because of their genius combonation of assured talent and risks.
In the dugout 