Tottenham fans, we know that you were all expecting to be celebrating a stunning 6-0 home win over Manchester United this week, and we’re just as gutted as you that it didn’t go ahead, however, that Dele Alli hat-trick against the Red Devils can wait, and in a world without football, we’re taking a light-hearted look at the Premier League history of this wonderful club.
Whilst fixtures are being postponed and football fans are craving their fix, we want any of you who disagree, or agree, for that matter, to hit us up in the comments section to this article, as we’re going to be putting forward what we believe to be Spurs’ best Premier League eleven.
Given the strength of the recent teams that Mauricio Pochettino has put together, this is going to feature an awful lot of players from the last decade, although that’s to be expected, and we just hope that even if you don’t agree with us, and a lot of you won’t, be kind in the comments – it’s all just a bit of fun.
So, without further ado, we’re starting in goal and it can only be one man…
GK: Hugo Lloris
We know that this season has been tough for Tottenham’s gloveman, but the Frenchman is a World Cup winning captain in his own right and despite the odd howler he’s thrown in for Spurs, he’s also given the Lilywhites some fantastic memories, making 316 appearances and keeping 108 clean sheets (Transfermarkt).
RB: Kyle Walker
Moving into the backline, crucially, we’ve gone with a flat-four at the back, meaning we’ve had a tough choice leaving out someone at centre-back, but it also means we get to see an iconic full-back pairing, starting with Walker at right-back. It’s no surprise that he cost Manchester City £45m (BBC), and after giving Spurs eight years of service (Transfermarkt), he’s an obvious choice here.
CB: Ledley King (c)
Summing up why King is in this team in only a few lines was always going to be the hardest part of this article. We’ve given him the captain’s armband and for good reason. Harry Redknapp described King as a ‘freak’ because of his ability to churn out performances at the highest level without training (The Telegraph), and despite famously having just one knee, he made 317 appearances and captained the club to their last trophy win in 2008 (Transfermarkt).
CB: Jan Vertonghen
Alongside captain fantastic Ledley King is a Belgian from recent times. However, it’s not Toby Alderweireld. Purely going on the longevity of his time at the club and the way he’s performed over a length of time, Vertonghen simply has to be in this side. Another notable absence who needs a mention is Michael Dawson, but for this team, we’re going with a defensive partnership of one-knee Ledley and Super Jan.
LB: Danny Rose
The way that Danny Rose’s Tottenham’s career has declined down the last few years is incredibly sad, but we cannot leave him out here. The defender came onto the scene with a bang, netting *that* goal against Arsenal in the north London derby, and from there he went from strength to strength up until the knee injury he suffered a few years back, but he’s still managed 39 combined goals and assists from left-back in 214 appearances (Transfermarkt).
CM: Luka Modric
Into midfield, and the first half of a two-man midfield pivot is the man that the Lilywhites’ £15.8m signing from back in 2008 (BBC), Luka Modric. The Croatian was one of the smoothest operators that Spurs have ever had, only really rivalled by the man he’s partnered with in this pivot, and despite the fact he’s currently 34-years-old, there won’t be many Spurs fans who wouldn’t take him back.
CM: Mousa Dembele
It may not be a question asked in the wider media, but had the Lilywhites not let Mousa Dembele leave north London in January 2019 (BBC), the chances of overcoming Liverpool in the Champions League final would have been much greater in our opinion. The Belgian was sublime for Spurs, and he very quickly became a key figure under Pochettino, missing just 17 league games over two seasons in 15/16 and 16/17 when Spurs came so close to winning the league (Transfermarkt).
RW: Heung-Min Son
We know that playing out on the right isn’t Son’s forte, but the ex-Leverkusen had to be in this team, and the same applies to the man starting on the left. It was tough leaving out Aaron Lennon, but when you look at the 127 combined goals and assists he’s contributed in 220 games for the club (Transfermarkt), we couldn’t leave out everyone’s favourite South Korean.
AM: Christian Eriksen
We already know that there will be many a call for Rafael Van der Vaart in the comment’s section, but we’ve made out call, and it was a very difficult one. To help justify this, put aside the recent performances that the Dane made for Spurs and look at the bigger picture. Now at Inter Milan, Eriksen is one of just six Spurs players with 50 or more Premier League goals (Transfermarkt), and in total, he’s contributed a massive 158 goals and assists for the club during his time in north London (Transfermarkt).
LW: Gareth Bale
One of the first names on the team sheet and for very good reason. This entire article could be filled with memories of Bale’s best goals and biggest moments for the club, but we’ll save that for another day. The Welshman has been one of the best players in the world for the last decade, and that was no different when he was at Spurs. His 56 goals and 58 assists in 203 games (Transfermarkt) will always have him down as a fan favourite, and it would have been criminal to leave him out here.
CF: Peter Cro- Harry Kane
Whilst Peter Crouch was a real hero for the Lilywhites, his 24 goals in 93 games (Transfermarkt) isn’t enough for him to get in this side, even if was recently voted as part of Spurs’ team of the decade (TalkSPORT).
No, of course, this is Harry Kane’s spot and the fans will not be at all surprised by that. In just 201 Premier League games he’s already scored 134 times (Transfermarkt), and if he remains at Tottenham there are very few doubts that he will surely captain the Lilywhites before long, and could well go on to smash Alan Shearer’s record 260 goals in the competition.
GAFFER: Mauricio Pochettino
Do we really need to explain this one?
Do you agree?
Yes
No
(4-2-3-1: Lloris; Walker, King, Vertonghen, Rose; Modric, Dembele; Son, Eriksen, Bale; Kane)
If you disagree, let us know who you think we’ve missed out! Remember, though, this is all a bit of fun…
Where’s Gary Doherty?
So apparently the Premier League started in the mid-noughties. Who knew? 😉
No place to even consider Sheringham, Klinsmann or Anderton? I’m not saying they’d get in the side, but at least some consideration.