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Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou promises best is yet to come as delirious Spurs delight in Europa League glory
Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou promises best is yet to come as delirious Spurs delight in Europa League glory

Yahoo

time23-05-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou promises best is yet to come as delirious Spurs delight in Europa League glory

They descended on north London in their thousands, Tottenham supporters of all ages and backgrounds, decked in replica shirts and clutching beers, flags and babies, determined to make it a party. Spurs were expecting 150,000 fans for their Europa League trophy parade but it was impossible to say how many showed up, with people lining the route of the open-top bus from Edmonton Green to the stadium from early in the day, and more arriving in steady streams down the High Road long into the evening. By the time the parade reached a climax, there was not an inch of space to be found on the roads surrounding the stadium. "Words can't describe it, it's so loud," said midfielder Archie Gray. "I want to describe it without swearing but it's difficult. It's unbelievable." Around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, fans clawed to gain any vantage point. They clambered onto the roofs lining the High Road, with a ladder erected just behind the Harry Kane mural to help supporters scale the houses. Every bus stop, wall, barrier or climbable object was manned. The energy had a frenetic quality, not unlike the feel in London ahead of Euro 2020 Final, which coincided with the end of lockdown restrictions, only without the nasty edge. For many supporters, it must have felt like a release of at least 17 years of frustration since Spurs' last piece of silverware. The younger fans there will never have seen the club win a trophy and even middle-aged supporters will struggle to remember their last triumph in Europe, the 1984 UEFA Cup under manager Keith Burkinshaw. From early afternoon, there was music and entertainment around the ground. Match-day host Paul Coyte interviewed a series of familiar club legends on stage, from Sandro Raniere to Micky Hazard, and there was a return of the anthem of last season, 'Loving Big Ange instead' to the tune of Robbie Williams' Angels. Feelings towards Ange Postecoglou, the head coach who delivered the club's first European trophy in 41 years, had definitively turned. Postecoglou's name has not been chanted by supporters at matches for months but the Australian was repeatedly serenaded, including to the beat of White Stripes' Seven Nation Army. As the bus neared the stadium and euphoria set in, one supporter said: "It felt like Ange was looking down and smiling at everyone individually." At 17.30pm, the bus had set off on its slow way down the High Road, the players looking bleary-eyed and delirious, wearing dark shades and still swigging from beers. Heung-min Son, the club captain, was visibly worse for wear and spoke with a croak when he tried to put his emotions into words. "Look at this. An amazing feeling. I will never forget this moment," Son said, who had dropped two f-bombs on stage by the end of the night. "The last two days have gone so fast. I feel like I've slept five hours but it's already Friday." Son was the biggest draw for some supporters in the throng, including two South Korean women who had watched Wednesday's 1-0 win over Manchester United in their homeland but travelled to London specifically for the parade. One said of Son: "He's a national hero. We're so proud of him." James Maddison, who was injured for the final, was unsurprisingly the ringleader of the celebrations, declaring himself 'CEO of organising the afterparty'. "I love this club, man. It's the best decision I ever made, joining this club," said the midfielder. Spurs' final game of the league season, at home to Brighton on Sunday, could not have been further from anyone's mind and there was no sense that the parade was a final hurrah for the players before a sober return to business in the morning. "He's like my best mate at the club, Brennan," Maddison said of Wednesday's match-winner Brennan Johnson, who turned 24 on the day. "It's his birthday today, and let me tell you we are going to celebrate." There was poignancy too; Matt Wells, Postecoglou's assistant, revealed he had found a photograph of Spurs' 1961 title parade with his grandfather, Cliff Jones, at the front of the bus. Jones, who is now 90, was believed to be inside the ground. As the celebrations reached fever-pitch, Postecoglou delivered a rousing speech from the stage and signed off with the day's killer line: "I'll tell you something, I'll leave you with this: all the best television series, season three is better than season two." It felt like a challenge to the club. Postecoglou won back the fans, and now it is up to the board, led by chairman Daniel Levy, to decide the manager's future. And if there was a takeaway from the parade, aside from Postecoglou's position of strength, it the sense that the squad, many of whom were experiencing these kinds of scenes for the first time, had been given a taste of success and now want more. "If you experience this, you want to try to do it over and over again," said Micky van de Ven, whose goal-line clearance in the second half was arguably the standout moment of the final. "And we want to try and do the same beautiful things next season."

Are big games different for Leeds than other clubs in the EFL?
Are big games different for Leeds than other clubs in the EFL?

New York Times

time17-02-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

Are big games different for Leeds than other clubs in the EFL?

There has yet to be that feral feeling at Elland Road this season, that crackling undercurrent of Leeds United against the world. Visitors have not been good enough, there has not been adversity to rage against. Last season had it, perhaps twice. Leicester City's visit in February did the trick. It was a top-of-the-table clash. It was superior opposition. It was a night Leeds and their fans were asked to prove they were worthy of promotion. The anxiety of an impending loss was even allowed to fester until the 80th minute. Advertisement The population of LS11 took leave of their senses. As the goals flew in, from the relief of an equaliser to the mind-melt of 17-year-old Archie Gray's maiden goal (he later had it taken away, ruled as a Wout Faes own goal by the officials), all anyone could do was revert to basic motor functions. Leeds, players and supporters, had been asked if they were good enough and they answered emphatically. Even after the collapse of the run-in, Norwich City's visit in the play-offs brought the best out of Elland Road. There was not the same quality of opposition, but given what was at stake, the riotous procession of four uninterrupted goals basked the ground in belief. As the best team in the Championship this season, that same crackle has been hard to find. The league table would suggest Burnley and Sheffield United should have brought some kind of atmosphere. The former's visit arguably came too early in the campaign as Leeds were beaten 1-0, while the latter were seen off 2-0. Bramall Lane will host the return clash before the month is out, in what is a tantalising double-header for Daniel Farke and Leeds. It is Sunderland, the last of the top four to visit West Yorkshire, first. These are two games which could set Leeds up for the title. A win at Elland Road puts Leeds 10 points clear of the Wearside club. As Nigel Martyn recalls from his own experiences, Elland Road will be such a factor when Regis Le Bris' side visit on Monday night. The goalkeeper fondly remembers meetings with Milan and Manchester United during his time at Leeds between 1996 and 2003. 'Elland Road seems to create a great atmosphere,' he tells The Athletic. 'Crowd performances are the same as players' performances in games. There are certain games, for whatever reason, it's ramped up. 'If you are playing Man United, that's a huge atmosphere, and those European nights seemed to bring out (another level). The Milan game (a 1-0 win for Leeds in September 2000) was about as loud as I played in front of. 📅 | #OnThisNight in 2000, #LUFC defeated @acmilan 1-0 in the Champions League. 35,000 watched Lee Bowyer score the decisive goal at Elland Road — Leeds United (@LUFC) September 19, 2019 'There were few other games that were at that level. When Bow (Lee Bowyer) scored it was incredible.' The crowd's performance is an important aspect Simon Grayson picked up on too. Grayson was in the dugout for some of the biggest games between the Premier League years. He has been increasingly pleased with the improving atmospheres this season. 'The atmospheres have been really growing over the last few weeks,' he says. 'Even some of the games where you think it could be one of them days, the Cardiff (City) game, for example. Advertisement 'But the players scored early (sixth and 13th minute) and the connection between the players and the support has just hit levels. It was like, 'We're all in this together, let's drive'. 'The players have got to play their part in making the supporters get on the edge of their seats, but the supporters play a part when the players are under pressure. When there's a lull in the game, that's when you really need the supporters. 'The supporters, over the course of the season, have got a lot better at that because there have been times at Elland Road where the games have not been mind-blowing football. In the last six, eight weeks or so, it's been edge-of-your-seat stuff.' Like Farke, Grayson experienced play-off devastation with Leeds. The 2008-09 season ended with defeat in a League One play-off semi-final against Millwall over two legs. Then, in 2009-10, fuelled by that pain, they got over the line with a final-day win against Bristol Rovers at Elland Road sealing second place and automatic promotion. As he did with his team going into that 2009-10 season, Grayson expects Farke will be channelling last year's Wembley heartache when they were beaten to promotion by Southampton. 'We used it as a motivation from the disappointment of losing that particular game, which a lot of Leeds players will have been told about from Daniel in terms of the Southampton game,' he said. ''We don't want to be going through this horrible experience again, mentally and physically. 'That's what my first conversation was on pre-season day one was, 'This is what we're about to do'. You do draw from the special nights of positive results and the disappointing ones as well.' Big games can do strange things to players, but what about managers? 'As a manager, you are really zoned in on stuff,' says Grayson. 'People have asked me this quite a bit, especially being a supporter, 'Was I making decisions as a supporter or purely as a manager?' Advertisement 'Ninety-nine per cent of the time I'm managing as a manager rather than a supporter. There might have been the odd game where I'm thinking what would a supporter want me to do, but it was a very small percentage. 'If you let your heart rule your head, you're not going to get too many decisions right. I was on that touchline, business head on, cancelling out a lot of the noise from the outside, but also using some of it as a motivation, when people might be questioning my decisions. You wanted to back yourself or prove yourself against certain situations as well.' Farke has never allowed himself to get too high or too low with results. However, there can be no doubting the significance of two wins in the next two for the leaders. The manager has never let his heart rule his head — it will be quite the opposite on the terraces.

How old is Tottenham's starting XI?
How old is Tottenham's starting XI?

Yahoo

time31-01-2025

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

How old is Tottenham's starting XI?

In a season ransacked by injuries, has Ange Postecoglou stumbled across the solution to Tottenham's problems? Against Elfsborg on Thursday, a laboured performance from players out on their feet had new life injected by three academy graduates, all of whom got on the scoresheet to fire Spurs to victory. At the end of the game, the average age of the XI on the pitch was 22.5 (red dot in the chart below), considerably lower than Tottenham's average of 25.8 in Premier League starting line-ups this season. Postecoglou has been forced to use his young players already this season - teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall were both brought in last summer as bright future prospects only to find themselves learning on the job as integral players over the past two months. The average age of his team has still been slightly higher than his first season in charge (25.6) but there are still only three players over 30 in Tottenham's squad. Indeed, if it was not for having to field 36-year-old Fraser Forster seven times, it would have been much younger. Even so, perhaps this Europa League victory offers up an opportunity. Are the latest young players ready to step up? Winger Damalo Ajayi put his hand up for consideration as a wide forward to sub in for injured Brennan Johnson. Dane Scarlett has had mixed loans in the lower leagues but finally has his first goal for Tottenham. He also cannot play for another club this season so Postecoglou may as well integrate him given Richarlison and Dominic Solanke's fitness struggles. As for 17-year-old Mikey Moore, his goal made him the youngest English player to score in major European competition. He has only played 139 minutes in the Premier League so far for Tottenham but is banging on the manager's door for consideration. Sunday's trip to Brentford is one of the most daunting of the season given the Bees' home record. But Tottenham's best finishing position in the past 10 seasons came with their youngest average age (25 in 2015-16 when Spurs came second). Perhaps that fact can be instructive. Full commentary of Brentford v Tottenham from 14:00 GMT on Sunday on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

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